#plus their friendship dynamic is my fave

[quickdeaths]

(coming soon to a blog near you)

[vagabond-umlaut]

gojo satoru x reader fic recs (I)

‣ now that i've got loads of free time, thought why shouldn't i use it well by showing (few of) my fave authors their much well-deserved love, respect and attention? ^_^

‣ this is merely a list of works i've enjoyed reading. kindly heed the tags and warnings in each of them and consume content responsibly, at your own discretion. that being said, i own neither these fics nor the characters nor the above gif. enjoy reading! 🥰

⌀ all that is solid [series] by GrilledTandooriSmoke on ao3

one of the best series there is. period. the fluff, the angst, the drama, the humor, the romance, the friendship, the plot, the dialogues - everything is top-notch in this series, i'm telling you. bonus points for being narrated in both reader's and gojo's pov.

⌀ The King is But a Man [series] by Petrichorium on ao3 (@petrichorium on tumblr)

royal!gojo who's terribly in love with the reader x reader who's equally (but way more discreetly) in love with gojo. add to that, the trope of childhood sweethearts reunited as adults, excellent communication between the couple and a wonderfully-crafted world and dialogues - what more could you ask from a series?

⌀ Ten to None (Soulmate AU) (oneshot) by Oreosmama on ao3

a fic which i adore with every fibre of my being. i will not say anything more about this, except to request you to go read this. you'll love it. (especially the fantabulous ending. btw, did i already say how much i'm in love with how well-written this fic is?)

⌀ Scarred [oneshot] by cainis on ao3

one of the best angst-with-a-happy-ending fic there is. i wish i could give thousands of kudos for the heart-wrenchingly amazing way the author has portrayed gojo's character here.

⌀ Mother of otherness, Eat me [oneshot] by itsbaby on ao3

one of the most beautiful works i've read so far. told from yuuji's pov, it explores gojo and reader's relationship and its nuances in a way seldom done before. however, what stole the show for me, was the soft and sweet mother-son duo the reader and yuuji grow to be in this fic. i really love this one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

⌀ something sweet [oneshot] by heresan on ao3 (@pretty-toru on tumblr)

i love love love this fic. it's so fluffy, so funny, so cute, so heart-warming... just read this fic, people. you won't ever be disappointed by the dynamics reader and gojo have in this one. one of my all-time faves, tbh.

⌀ teen dad Gojo [series] by pantao on ao3 (@seravphs on tumblr)

a sweet and realistic depiction of reader and gojo being teenaged parents to young megumi, all the while they try to figure out their feelings for each other. a perfect mixture of fluff, angst, drama, slice-of-life and romance, imo. (also, the author's notes are pure gold. whatever you do, please don't miss reading them! :D)

⌀ To see those eyes I prize above mine own (twoshot) by koyama on ao3

if you wish to watch godlike!gojo willing to let go of his powers, out of guilt and immense, immense, protective love for the reader, this is the ideal fic for you. i'm in awe of the way the writer wrote gojo's complex persona and the way the sorcerer realized his feelings for the reader. (the second chapter's the cherry on the cake. it's so good!!!!)

⌀ keeping up with the fushigojos (series) by @augustinewrites on tumblr

fluff? A+; angst? A+; drama? A+; characterization & dialogues? A+; humour? A+++++. a sureshot way to end a long hectic tiring day on a happy note is to read this series. (my go-to comfort series, ngl. :])

⌀ CAT & DOG (oneshot) by @mimiriko on tumblr

an adorable fic of gojo being in love with the reader, who knows, yet doesn't really know, much about it. plus, the feline-like features of gojo are sooo cute... and this fic is sooo sweet... the story left me smiling when i finished reading it.

⌀ surely summer wasn't over yet [3 chapters] by 3rdgymbros on ao3

an amazing fic set against the backdrop of the hidden inventory arc. the portrayal of the characters and their dynamics is simply impeccable. despite my kind-of-dislike towards this particular arc of the manga, i really enjoyed reading this one.

[starrylayle]

My fave marauders ships and dynamics as a multi-shipper !! Ok so, there are certain ships I like to imagine as canon in the canon universe, and there are other ships that I prefer in aus and such but still ship them so much!! So I thought I’d just ramble abt them here lol.

My fave ships that are canon/I think I should be endgame:

First off, Jily ofc. My loves. I’m generally not super excited abt str8 couples but they’re just too cute. My fave dynamic with them is that they’re academic rivals — well at least lily thinks they are, James is just hopelessly in love with her and enjoys competition lol. Lily thinks he’s an idiot, immature and a bit of a bully at first but slowly warms up to him as she sees his kind-heartedness and stance on justice. Plus, she’s always found him a little hot :)

Wolfstar, duh. I don’t think I have to go into detail coz I already do so much on my blog lol.

Dorlene — aaah I love my tragic, angsty lil lesbians. Sucker for the quidditch-rivals-to-lovers trope. Ooh and i headcanon Dorcas as transfem. But yeah if you’ve read ‘the hands that feeds’ by rollercoasterwords that’s basically how I see their dynamic.

Fralice — cuties and did not deserve the ending they got ;((

Rosekiller — ok, ok. I know I’ve ranted abt how I don’t like the fanonization of their characters in fandom,, but I will admit I do like them together. Especially when they’re depicted as the awful people they are lol. I like to think that they’re still hooking up in GoF on nights where barty’s poly juice wears off lmaoo. Also random but I hc Barty to be in ravenclaw.

Pandora x Xenophillius (idk how to spell his name) — I like to imagine Pandora as a goth who runs an underground magical weed business and Xeno as a hippie weirdo and conspiracy theorist. Both are bi/pan tho and have def hooked up with ppl of the same gender before.

Andromeda x Ted Tonks — iconic. Love them. Andy was the og rebellious black family child.

Emmary — love, love this ship. For context, I picture Emmaline as a little older than Mary (maybe 2 or 3 years) and they meet when Em’s at the order. Mary’s a bisexual girlie who’s predominantly been with men at this point, and Em’s a big Butch lesbian who loves Mary so much but isn’t sure if Mary likes her back, at first. Ofc they end up together after the first war but when Em wants to join the second war, Mary oblivates herself and retreats to the muggle world entirely because she cannot bear more pain.

My fave ships that I like to think are semi-canon, as in their unrequited, or right person wrong time, or both have feelings that the other doesn’t know — they just don’t workout for some reason:

First off, Marylene — my absolute fave, right person, wrong time ship. Love the whole, ‘Marlene loved her too early, Mary loved her too late idea’. I’m a sucker for best friends to lovers ahhh. I imagine that Marls had crush on Mary since they were eleven and came out to her later, and although Mary was supportive she didn’t like her back at that point. Then Marls got with Dorcas and maybe Mary got a tad bit jealous. And then Marlene was killed ofc so Mary moved on and went with Emmaline, but she never really stopped loving Marlene.

Nobleflower — bi narcissa and Alice rights!! I like to think that they had a bit of a homoerotic friendship back in their hogwarts years, but the fact that they were on opposite sides eventually pulled them apart. And so Alice gets with Frank and Narcissa with Malfoy. Aaah so tragic I love them

Lily x Remus — I like to think Lily had a little crush on Remus when they were younger but she got over it and they became besties !!

Bellatrix / Lady Zabini — Toxic murder comphet lesbians!! Tho I imagine they ‘broke up’ their fling coz Bellatrix was murdering with pure blood fascism in mind,,, and lady Zabini was just like,, why can’t we just kill ppl for the sake of killing them?? 🥺🥺

Jegulus — ok so I don’t like jegulus as a canon(ish) ship, buuut I love me some unrequited jegulus, specifically from Regulus’ side coz sorry I just personally don’t see James ever liking Reg in canon. I imagine Reg goes into hogwarts wanting to hate the guy who stole his brother but ends up falling for him just the same. He has internalised homophobia and hates the fact that he’s gay, esp for someone like James lol.

Bartylus — My hc is that neither of them liked each other romantically, but they settled and got off each other to pass time. It’s transactional, at least it’s starts off being..maybe barty’s a little more into it than reg thinks they are.

Peter/Bertha Jorkins — I like to imagine they dated for awhile during hogwarts — until Bertha got bored of him and dumped him. Peter never really got over it and was still bitter.

Peter/Sybil — oooh I remember this one was trending on marauders tik tok awhile back but I’m still not over it. Happens after Bertha/Peter. Sybil breaks up with Peter maybe coz she gets a prophecy that he becomes evil. Peter is confused and heartbroken.

Snily — ok hear me out!! I don’t care for their portrayals in a lot of fics coz I think the pro / anti Snape bias is always there — but I would be open to exploring the complexity of their dynamic in a fic when snapes actions aren’t justified or excused, but he’s not portrayed as a one dimensional bad guy. And I think it would be interesting to explore more of Lily’s character and why she stuck by him so long.

Ok, now onto ships that I only enjoy in aus:

Marylily/macevans — by far my fave ship in aus. Best friends to lovers >>>> also half the marauders edits saved on my phone are marylily edits lmaoo they’re just so cute!!

Jegulus — requited this time!! If it’s an au and James is not reduced to a generic sunshine people pleasing character, then they’re a little cute I’ll admit. Not the biggest fan of the 'best friend's brother' trope but the drama is entertaining at least.

Mary/Dorcas — I don’t think they’re a very popular on here but I personally like it. In a way they’re opposites but they’re motivations are a lot more similar than they realise.

Pandalily — so, so cute. Fanart is spectacular

Dorlily — so academic rivals to lovers coded

Prongsfoot — specifically in aus where James and Sirius are on opposing sides, for example, slytherin!Sirius au

Wolfstarbucks — James and sirius share everything!! Including their lovers apparently. Mostly enjoy it as a crack ship tho.

Well this was fun!! I love multi-shipping <33

[gendrie]

five reasons why you ship gendrya?

1. they complement each other.

arya and gendry have a lot of qualities in common, but many of their most prominent traits are complementary. arya is sociable and friendly. gendry is more reserved and standoffish. arya is audacious and focused on the big picture. gendry is cautious and detailed orientated. arya is becoming skilled at concealment, but gendry is transparent. the combination of traits is what makes them such a good team. its not just personality, though. i’ve always felt that arya/gendry are a great example of an ice and fire pairing in asoiaf. arya is water/the north/the old gods/quick/lady/trueborn/sword and gendry is fire/the south/r’hllor/strong/lowborn/bastard/shield. honestly, they’re just a good match. gendry is strong and brave and loyal he’s the perfect partner for arya. he’s every bit as stubborn as her too so arya cant just railroad him into doing what she wants. 

2. similar experiences 

before they even meet they have scenes with ned who notes their resemblance to lyanna and robert respectively, but more importantly he tries to take their treasured items and a/g are totally defiant. later, they both flee kings landing together as they’re pursued by the same enemy which set them apart from the very beginning. “only gendry was different” arya recognizes this and trusts him bc of it. nearly every experience after the fact? they share: the battles, the starvation, the imprisonment, the trauma of the war. they went through all of that together. they played mom and dad to their little band of war orphans. which i think creates a level of understanding that few others could truly relate to. this theme continues even after they’re separated too. they're seeking justice, but their trauma and grief lead them both to religious cults that are dark, teaching them to kill regardless of guilt as per their boss who is the embodiment of death. gendry’s is a vengeful zombie (who also happens to be arya’s mother) and arya's the many faced god. they are BOTH serving death. this is genuinely one of my fave things about them as a ship. 

3. “but gendry came back” + “i don’t care what you say, i’m going back for him”

when everyone left arya and that baby behind gendry went back for them. he tries to get arya to go thru the tunnel before he does. when they run from harrenhal gendry is the one who convinces arya to stop and sleep. he lets her eat before him at the inn of the kneeling man too. he protects her and her identity. “she’s not alone. do like she says and leave us be” arya does the same for him. she shares her rabbit leg with gendry. she went after him when he was captured by the mountain’s men. she wanted him to go home with her to meet her mother and “stay” she frequently reflects on gendry’s counsel and how it was wise even if she couldnt see it in the moment. “and Arya knew he was right.” theres mutual respect and care. 

4. the playful vibe

as a pair they really do bring a youthful, fresh, energy to the story. acorn hall does 98% of the heavy lifting to lighten up what is otherwise a very dark book. theres also not a lot of friendship based ships in asoiaf. i actually cannot think of even one other example in the main series. which makes them a unique dynamic in this universe. and their scenes are just fun! like even when they’re fighting. everything from “then pull your cock out and take a piss” to “would m’lady permit????” and “you stupid stupid stupid STUPID” and “not the fucking moss again” (paraphrased) plus they hit a lot of tropes i personally enjoy. uptown girl, lady and knight, unresolved romantic tension, battle couple, like an old married couple, eating the eye candy, childhood friend to lovers, ect. 

5: “she was much the same at winterfell”

harwin says this to arya when gendry is being scolded and i love it so much. its about how a/g in relation to arya's identity. because with gendry arya can embrace her true self. she doesn’t have to be on guard. she doesn’t have to put on an act for survival. when everyone else sees arry or weasel or nan gendry knows the truth. she’s just “arya” when he asks her to go to the smithy to have a look. arya finally gets a chance to just play again. gendry is one of the few people she can truly be herself with and in an arc thats defined by identity that in itself is so significant.  and then theres: “those soft little things?” gendry has seen arya’s hands covered in the blood of her enemies, LITERALLY, and he still thinks they’re soft and little. one of arya’s greatest fears is that she won’t be wanted because she doesnt meet an arbitrary femininity standard and on account of the things she’s done to survive. but gendry has seen arya in rags, shaved head, eating worms, slitting throats, and thought “she’s the one” lol 

bonus: the potential

arya/gendry already has a great foundation going into the last two books. they're hardly an eleventh hour ship. but theres still so much to explore at the same time. they’ve grown up a lot. i wanna see what their dynamic looks like with the romantic subtext turned up a bit. theres a lot of foreshadowing suggesting their relationship will continue to be important. ive made this comparison before and i know its corny but they really are just this little acorn of potential that could grow into a tree so strong it can weather any storm. 

[faeriecinna]

the lovers and the fool for the ask game!

00 THE FOOL: BEGINNINGS (What is the opening line to your current work?)

"The breaking light of dawn did nothing to alleviate the fear that was thrummed through Nevaeh's veins."

06. THE LOVERS: RELATIONSHIPS (What are your favorite relationships to write about, whether romantic, familial, or platonic?)

I suck at familial relationships, probably because I've never properly experienced one 🤪 Like I'd do anything for my baby brother but oh man, trying to write sibling dynamics makes me SICK I don't know why I just cringe so bad lmao.

Obviously I love a good romance, especially an enemies to lovers type beat. I think it's so slutty when a character is so wretchedly hopelessly SICKENINGLY besotted with their partner, I absolutely a d o r e it. I will write about lingering touches, kiss-reddened lips and acts of devotion until I breathe my last damned brEATH.

Platonic relationships are also my faves, especially found family 'I've only had Arlo for a day and a half, but if anything happened to him, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself' kinda friendships. Plus whenever I write a small group of friends I always sprinkle a little bit of my irl besties into them and it makes them all the more special. I love my pals with my whole heart so writing a solid platonic relationship is very important to me and something I can throw my whole soul into.

[cartoonemotion]

hiii. after watching class of 3000 what character interactions do u think would be most fun to explore. I almost typed explode

YAAAAY this is such a good question !!!!!! honestly as an ensemble cast i feel like class of 3000 overall balances itself and its cast interactions out pretty well (lil d, eddie, and philly phil maybe get some more extra centric episodes in my opinion though. granted it makes sense for lil d since there was an interview where andre said that the character was supposed to in some way kind of be based off him as a kid/his experiences in school)

ALL THAT TO BE SAID !!

pretty much tamika and anybody else. being fully transparent, this is bias cuz tamika is arguably one of my faves of the show and while she does actually get moments to shine i feel like shes just a liiiittle underutilized. when they start using her to set up gags about eddie being clearly infatuated with her instead of that being more of a consistent background detail it starts really negatively effecting the writing of both characters imo. she and madison have some charming bits and that episode where theyre paired up together but i would have also loved to see more of a dynamic between her and kim !! kim's very artistic and expressive and wants to be something of a trendsetter but is obviously (for very reasonable 12 year old reasons, i think) invested in still being apart of the "in" crowd and other people's perception of her, and i think that mirror's tamika's whole thing of being cool and tough but being afraid that that image might be compromised if she lets more of her softer side come through (her collecting dolls, baking cookies with her goofball dad, and actually really enjoying very mushy displays of affection for example) rather nicely ! plus their instruments (turn tables, misc percussive instruments and the harp) would go nicely together imo

I ALSO THINK tamkia and lil d would be fun to explore !!!!!! they kind of start off strong in the beginning of the first season but theres less of it as the show goes on which is a shame ! its funny to watch them squabble almost like siblings but its very clear that they still like and care about each other-- i mean in one episode where tamika goes to hang out with some other girls lil d laments that he misses her threatening him and when she shoves him he exclaims "we missed you tamika !!!" very earnestly !!! it would be nice to explore tamika's side of that yknow !!!

maybe the writers thought philly phil and madison were too similar since theyre both kind of eccentric goofballs to have them paired up more often but i think they could play off each other really nicely ! after all madison is supposed to be more of a ditzy but friendly hippie type and philly phil's mostly just socially inept and kind of clumsy, i think you could find a lot of comedy potential balancing that

i also think philly phil and kam could have gotten more screen time as a duo, seeing as they have the whole geek and nerd dichotomy going on. kam is more of a skeptic whereas philly phil seems to be more willing to believe in things like aliens and santa claus and unicorns even though hes a "man of science", i think it was a real missed opportunity to not have him and kam maybe get into friendly arguments about it or something, or maybe realize they have converging interests (like kam's belief/enthusiasm for bigfoot)

i like lil d and eddie's friendship ! it read to me like eddie was the closest to lil d out of everyone in the group, and i say that even without taking "eddie's money" into consideration (even though thats a great showcase i feel like as to what im talking about !) like everytime lil d needs to pay for something and hes just like "its whatever eddie's got it" eddie just does with very little to no complaint, idk !!! i just like em. plus i think they illustrate again some of the stuff andre was talking about in his goal of exploring the culture of atlanta and his own experiences there since lil d and eddie come from bankhead and buckhead respectively, and him (andre 3000 i mean) mentioning that he went to school on the other side of town with a whole bunch of ppl including the mayor's kids lol

i just love sunny's little individual mentor moments with the kids in general !!!!!! obviously he and lil d are big one and kind of the show's highlight for obvious reasons, but i also really love the one on one moments he gets with kim, which happen way more often than i initially expected !!! i would have loved to see him sort of guide and mentor again tamika a bit more too again to possibly help her reconcile both elements of her identity as both a no-nonsense butt-kicker and somebody with more "childish" or "girly" interests. and also him and philly phil, just because i think. it would be zany. and good for hijinks.

[0zzysaurus]

joey this ask is your excusebto talk about javert and jean i wanna know your headcanons

YAYAYAAY RICE I DIDNT SEE THIS ASK UNTIL JUST NOW BUT YOJRE SO BASED FOR INDULGING ME

So most of my HCs for them align pretty much with brick canon and also a mix of 1978 and 1998 — I would say a sprinkling of the stage musical too, but honestly not really besides some outfits. Big supporter of the Romani Javert headcanon even if it’s not necessarily fully present by the text, but it’s so pervasive in fandom and even in some licensed published works inspired/based on Les Mis that I can’t help but just believe it to be true, and depending on the translation you pick up it basically is at this point. Either way it adds interesting layers to how Javert is condemned by society as an individual who is not permitted to participate in society (that being convicts and guards from his perspective)

also If I am permitted to talk about Valvert for a minute I’m so so so crazy about Madeleine/Montreuil-sur-Mer Era Valvert, idk the power dynamics are sooooo 💕🙏💕🙏💕 I genuinely think it’s my favourite era to ship them in. I know people prefer post-Seine because it’s the least dubious and also gives people more room to have them shed most of their baggage and be fully and openly in love, but also consider the power dynamicsssss, like there’s a reason the Punish Me Monsieur le Maire tag exists on AO3 and it’s because Madeleine Era slaps. PLUS it opens the door for more AU stuff where they rescue Cosette together and Javert begrudgingly becomes a second father to her, some of my fave Les Mis fics cover that exact premise in one way or another. Idk I just like when Javert is forced to be a parent and the autism between him and Cosette (or Eponine or Gavroche depending on the AU) syncs up and it works out for him.

Fuck what elseeeee… I like seeing AUs where Javert and Valjean are kind of buddy-buddy in Toulon, like obviously not friends but maybe they start to like each other or one of them is protective over the other (usually big ol’ Jean le Cric protecting the new guard) — but then some disastrously traumatic event happens that absolutely ruptures any chance of friendship and rather instils a deep, painful memory of one another within them both. Perfecto.

I’m also CRAZY about any sort of angel/anthro fics, there are a handful. I just like it when fic writers go crazy with all the animal metaphors and just turn them into beast men. Also, another instance of brilliant a/b/o dynamics (without the bits we all know I don’t like)

Oh and I just like it in general when Valjean has power over Javert in any situation, knock that copper down a peg >:]] knock… kn… knock that copper u— *I am forcibly removed from the post*

[booksandpaperss]

elli booksandpaperss hello fellow sex education enjoyer. do you have any favorite character or characters in that show. i am very interested to hear your thoughts

I would like to start this out by saying this ask out of context would be hilarious to someone who didn’t know you were referring to a TV show while reading the first sentence kdjjsbs

but hiiiii omg thank u for this ask I literally love that show so much omfg it is rlly does cover a lot of different sexual experiences for teenagers (both queer and otherwise) and it is so genuine with its characters (and btw quite honestly its what a lot of people think heartstopper is in terms of queer rep and more soooooo)

its hard to say I have a favorite character because all of the major teen characters have found a place in my heart in their own way because every single one of them is so well written but! if I had to be forced to pick one favorite character I think it would be Eric. I adore his storyline in every season but I think the reason I would say he’s my favorite is because of season 3, I love the way he gets to explore his queerness in the context of his culture and I liked seeing how it impacted his relationship with Adam bc it showed that those two were having two very different queer experiences and how that was okay, and it was beautiful how going to Nigeria helped Eric figure out how he wanted to be his most authentic self. I also really loved how it put Eric’s black queerness specifically front and center for the season because rarely do you ever have shows that actually acknowledge that the POC queer experience can be different from the white queer experience, much less show it so beautifully and honestly. whiteness as a political concept and queerness aren’t compatible so it’s extremely ironic that most queer shows never really bother to show that. I also just really adore Eric as a character, the way he interacts with the other characters and with himself makes the general storyline so much richer, and I love his friendship with Otis almost as much as I love Maeve and Aimee’s friendship <3

other than Eric I can’t exactly say I have any other one fave but my other top characters if I had to pick would probably to Ola, Lily, and Maeve. I’m literally in love with Maeve, and Ola and Lily individually are great characters, plus I love their relationship (also they’re a great example of how to have a wlw couple that while isnt really the primary romance of the show still gets a storyline that actually gets attention outside of when it’s only convenient for the mlm and het couples yes heartstopper I’m looking at you I’m still pissed abt how Tara and Darcy literally felt like props to taoelle and nick and Charlie, ola and Lily have their own dynamic as well as their own development and issues and they never felt like props to Eric and Adam or Otis and Maeve)

and ofc an honorable mention goes to my girl Ruby, to me she was part of why season 3 was so good (can u tell season 3 is my favorite season lol). but SEE WHAT I MEAN I can’t rlly pick one character cuz I love them all since they’re all just so well written like in terms of character writing I’d say it’s easily one of the best Netflix shows

anyways feel free to ask me abt sex education anytime I love that show SO much and bee I hope u don’t mind that I used ur ask as an excuse to write an mini essay lol

[jovenshires]

top 5 fave scenes you’ve ever written and why? (director’s cut)

OOF......... okay this may be completely incoherent but stay with me. in no particular order:

the haircut scene from the right side of my neck: one of my simplest fics, and one of my faves in that regard. i was really new to writing spommy (literally the only thing i'd even started before this work was domo and that was. a Project) but i think the dialogue is solid, the description isn't too much or too little, and i still think the haircutting fic is an underrated genre and the domesticity is. everything. also the "drowned rat" line is one of my faves ever its just so quintessential tommy bowe to me

cuddling on the couch in he said baby: hsb is to this day one of my fave fics i've ever written and the couch scene is Why. so domestic, so tooth-rottingly sweet, so rooted in the act of caring For someone simply because you care About them even if they can do it themself... not to mention i just really like the dialogue in this one it just sounds like them to me.

the first kiss scene from right where you left me - the fight scene is a CLOSE second bc i loved writing damien yelling it was everything to me. BUT. the kiss was one of the first things i wrote and it's the core of the fic imo where it's like. wow you dumb dipshit shayne topp people CARE about you. he helps you every single fucking time for the love of god shayne

spencer's birthday party in domo: look. LOOK. all of domo, really. but in particular ! the birthday party scene. the silent spommy convo. the minor cast. the 'i like hiding out with you' moment. it's just the iconic combination of longing and the reality of their friendship that i think really gave way to the core of their dynamic in domo

its so hard to pick one scene from this fic but i think im gonna go with the talk on the landing from if we keep score: it was close between this and the first kiss BUT. i set out to examine tommy as a character here and i think i really accomplished it. cannot WAIT to write more of him in the sequel he's one of my favorite fictional characters i've ever written. plus i think the reveal for what spencer's like. Big Secret was being anticlimactic was so iconic. tommy "you self-important piece of shit" bowe my beloved

send me a top 5 anything!

[sineala]

Guardians of the Galaxy by Al Ewing

I wrote this review last month for Pride Month but am reposting it here.

No one asked for this, but in honor of Pride Month, I would like to review Al Ewing's Guardians of the Galaxy run, because I reread it last night and it is extremely, extremely, extremely gay and I know a lot of people don't read Guardians so you might not know how gay it is. It is very gay. All my faves are gay now. Plus, it was finally released in one big trade paperback in April, so you can get the whole run in a big book. (Also included is a noir-ish miniseries about Rocket; I didn't read it.) It's eighteen issues plus an annual; it's a pretty fast read.

This is, hands down, my favorite Guardians run. Everything else can move over.

The Guardians of the Galaxy are a team that was thrust into prominence by the MCU, and the subsequent post-MCU runs -- Bendis, Duggan, Cates -- have mostly pulled the team lineup and dynamic into something much closer to the MCU. If you're an Iron Man fan, the run you're probably familiar with is Bendis', which is the one where Tony went to space. I get the impression that Guardians fandom did not like this run much; IIRC, Bendis said he had never read Guardians, and it... kind of showed. It was Not Good.

I understand why Marvel wants to capitalize on the MCU success. I can't claim to have been a longtime Guardians fan before the MCU, but I very quickly became a fan of the 616 team. To prepare to watch the original GotG movie I decided to read all of DNA Cosmic in about two weeks, and I discovered that Phyla-Vell (Quasar, at the time) and Heather Douglas (Moondragon) were my new faves, because what's not to love about space lesbians, one of whom is sometimes a telepathic space dragon. I didn't even know they were a couple until I was halfway through Annihilation Conquest. I observed that they really cared about each other, and then I turned the page and they were kissing. Surprise!

DNA Cosmic also got me shipping Peter Quill and Rich Rider. Rich is one of the few other humans to have a consistent place in Cosmic Marvel; he's a character from the 70s, starting out as a teenager, who was given the status and powers of Nova Prime by the last surviving member of the Nova Corps -- their world, Xandar, is being destroyed -- and then had to defend the galaxy. Eventually Xandar was rebuilt, and Rich went to Earth for a bit and joined the New Warriors. (Civil War happens during the Annihilation event; Rich has some very complicated feelings.) During Annihilation, Xandar is destroyed again, and now Rich has to host the Nova Force and the entire Xandarian Worldmind in his body because he is the last of them. So there's a lot of angst for him. He has a very close friendship with Peter Quill. I dare you to read this run and not ship Peter/Rich. The scene where Peter has to leave Rich in the Cancerverse is extremely angsty. They clearly love each other. They were not, at this time, canonically into each other. But they were obviously BFFs.

So, to summarize, my favorite character elements of it were the relationship between Phyla-Vell and Heather Douglas, who quickly became my favorite Guardians, as well as Rich Rider and his friendship with Peter. Now I was definitely ready for the movie! I think you can see the problem here.

You know what isn't in the MCU? Any of that. Heather, Phyla, and Rich are not in the MCU. So I was disappointed. And then I had to sit through a bunch of Guardians runs where none of these people were main characters anymore because they weren't in the MCU and, thus, everything I loved best about the team wasn't there.

(Also Phyla and Heather have taken turns being dead, and given that they are not big names, they often stay dead for a while; at this point I think Phyla was dead, though she came back before the Cates run, although it was actually her from another universe, and she came with her Moondragon, and 616 Moondragon still existed. This wasn't really explored all that much, until Ewing's run, where the Moondragons merge.)

But then Al Ewing got the book, and he appears to have taken the stance that most of the major characters will be people who have never appeared in the MCU, the character dynamic will be much closer to DNA than the MCU, and, oh yeah, almost all of these people will be queer if they weren't already queer. A bold choice! I'm surprised editorial let him do this. But I am very happy.

Seriously, here are all the characters who are some flavor of queer or in some kind of queer relationship: Peter Quill, Gamora, Rich Rider, Heather Douglas, Phyla-Vell, Noh-Varr, Hercules, Billy Kaplan, Teddy Altman, Avril Kincaid. This is probably the majority of the heroes. You will also note that most of them are not in the MCU. 

Literally everyone on the starting team (Peter, Gamora, Rich, Heather, Phyla, Noh-Varr, Rocket, Groot) ends up in a queer relationship except Rocket and Groot and who even knows what counts as queer for those two.

I originally started reading this run because I was happy that Phyla and Heather were both alive again (after the events of Infinity Watch and Infinity Wars) and that they were both Guardians again and also a a couple again; IIRC they were also both in Cates' run but it wasn't really about them. They are major characters here. They go through, uh... let's just call it a rough patch... but they're together again by the end and the universe thing is resolved. And if this were all the run had done, it would have been enough, actually. More than enough. But then the rest of the run also happened.

By the end of this run, Peter Quill, Gamora, and Rich Rider are all in a romantic relationship together. I definitely did not see that coming.

Near the beginning of the run Peter dies. Both Rich and Gamora blame Rich for Peter's death.

 There's an entire issue of Rich going to therapy to attempt to deal with his grief.

In the course of this, we find out that Rich talked with Gamora, that Gamora used to be in love with Rich (they did date at one point, so this wasn't entirely out of left field), and also we find out that Rich was definitely in love with Peter. "I loved him too. You know that, right?" Rich asks her.

Gamora's response is "Yes, I know. That makes it worse." So, yeah. That's a thing now.

This is easily my favorite issue of the run. As far as I'm concerned, more heroes should go to therapy. I would absolutely read a comic book about a superhero therapist. A good one. Not, like, Faustus.

If you have ever read a comic book, you will know that Peter is not really dead. He is in another dimension where years pass, having a bisexual polyamorous relationship with a couple people in that dimension. (I wasn't kidding about how gay this was.)

And then eventually he comes back to life, joyously reunites with Rich first (priorities!)...

...and finds out Gamora is now mad at him.

So he has to rejoin the Guardians, defeat the main villain, and navigate his very complicated relationship with Gamora and Rich, who also have to work out their relationship with each other.

But all of them work out their issues, and just as they prepare to take down the villain, Peter tells Gamora, "I love him too. You know that, right?"

And this time Gamora says that makes it better, actually. Character growth! Rich then tells both of them he loves them. It's very sweet.

Anyway, the whole run ends with the team partying victoriously in a bar (Billy/Teddy and Phyla/Heather are both making out in the background, and no, I really wasn't kidding about how gay it all was).

And it's not really as clearly stated as I would have liked, but it is heavily, heavily implied that the three of them, who have their arms around each other, will be spending their vacation together. I'll take it. It's canon now.

If this run has a flaw, it's that the actual main plot keeps getting derailed by tie-ins. I know this is not entirely Ewing's fault, but a good part of this is King In Black and Empyre tie-ins. I didn't read King In Black, but I did fine anyway. Empyre -- which, yes, Ewing also co-wrote -- is probably the more important one to know, otherwise it might be a little confusing why Billy and Teddy are there for half the book. And then Peter and Rich go to the Hellfire Gala (where Rich picks a fight with Magneto), which is of course a crossover with Ewing's SWORD run at the time. It gets to be a bit much.

When it's staying on track, the main plot is serviceable enough. Ewing often has a tendency to make his cosmic work really big-picture and trippy (no, I didn't like his Ultimates run) but he refrains from that here, which I appreciate. The main villain ends up being Dormammu and it's easy to follow. Also watching them put Doctor Doom on the team was pretty great.

I have no idea how well it will read if you only know the MCU -- I'm guessing probably not well -- but if you'd like to see all your 616 faves be gay now, this is the book for you. It's the only Guardians run I've actually bothered buying in paper and not just reading on Unlimited. As far as I am concerned, this book was written for an audience of me and I am 100% fine with this. But if this sounds like your thing, please read it. It is delightful.

[sassybluee]

Dramas in 2023 roundup!

It's midway thru January, but it's never too late to reflect on the year before. I think I watched the most dramas I've ever had this past year, so I wanted to write a little roundup with my thoughts.

Here's an overview of the ones I completed!

Unchained Love (2022) ⭐️ 7.5

I've Fallen for You (2020) ⭐️ 8

Miss the Dragon (2021) ⭐️ 7

The Rational Life (2021) ⭐️ 9

Till the End of the Moon (2023) ⭐️8.5

A Romance of the Little Forest (2022) ⭐️ 7

Back from the Brink (2023) ⭐️ 8.5

The Starry Love (2023) ⭐️ 7.5

The Wolf (2020) ⭐️ 8.5

My Journey to You (2023) ⭐️ 8

Never Give Up (2023) ⭐️ 8.5

Ancient Love Poetry (2021) ⭐️ 9

Destined With You (2023) ⭐️ 7.5

Here are the ones I placed on hold/dropped

Legend of Anle

Love You Seven Times

Love in Flames of War

Only for Love (dropped)

The Snow Moon (dropped)

More detailed thoughts below the cut!

Unchained Love (2022) ⭐️ 7.5

Part palace drama, part comedy, this was a fun ride. I really liked watching the relationship between Bu Yinlou and Xiao Duo develop from friendship into romance. The comedy moments were really well done, and had me actually laughing out loud. The fight sequences were also really well done, and I liked the costumes. However, the last five or so episodes had such an abrupt tonal shift, and there were some questionable decisions made by otherwise smart characters, so it kind of fell flat at the end. BUT I would still watch it again, just maybe just skip the last eps.

I've Fallen for You (2020) ⭐️ 8

I didn't expect to like this one as much as I did. The basic concept is: childhood sweethearts try to find their way back to each other, end up married after a strange series of events, but they aren't sure their spouse is the childhood sweetheart they're looking for. It's silly, cute, and very good fun. I really liked the secondary couple as well. The ending managed to make me very emotional, which surprised me. And I enjoyed that the heroine was a fan of doing autopsies (something that does occasionally become plot-relevant).

Miss the Dragon (2021) ⭐️ 7

Okay, first off, I know this one has a reputation of being a bad drama. And tbh, I agree! Objectively, it's not very good. HOWEVER! The viewing experience? Was so fun. The characters? Very entertaining. The frenemy dynamic between the ML and 2ndML? Hilarious and also a bit gay. The FL is a bit flat, but she does develop more personality through her various reincarnations. My fave life of hers was the 3rd, I believe (the lady general arc). Wang Hedi's acting is not the best but I still think he's very cute lol and he's watchable! It's just maybe not what you'd expect from him if you saw CLJ or The Rational Life first.

The Rational Life (2021) ⭐️ 9

Yes, this was for a bit of a palate cleanser after the overall ride that was Miss the Dragon. I wasn't sure if I'd be into the modern cdrama genre cuz fantasy/historical is more my preferred vibe of media, HOWEVER, I wanted to give it a shot because I'd seen some cute gifs. I really loved it, far more than I expected to. Every character was really well done, and I really liked how the story was centred on women's experiences in various workplaces/times in their life. It also gave me age gap brainrot, I won't lie. I loved the gradual build from coworkers to friendship to romance with Qi Xiao and Shen Ruoxin. I will say tho... I would like to know what whoever dressed Wang Hedi in this show was thinking. Some of those outfits were... a choice lol.

Till the End of the Moon (2023) ⭐️ 8.5

Everyone has seen or at least heard about it at this point. Dare I say it's iconic? I won't lie, my rating upon finishing it was lower. I had issues with the pacing in parts and I found the last episodes difficult to get thru because they just didn't capture my attention the way the beginning of the drama did. However, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. Plus, the performances by Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu are amazing. And I really feel they embody the "enemies to lovers" trope better than anyone!

A Romance of the Little Forest (2022) ⭐️ 7

Tbh... this show deserves less than a 7, but I rated it as such because I love my queen Xinxin, and her chemistry with Zhang Binbin was good. I think this would've worked better as a 24-episode drama, as the last couple plot arcs felt kind of tacked on. It's great if you want to see Yu Shuxin in various adorable outfits and a fun fake dating plot, but maybe stopping midway is good enough. Fair warning, the second couple's storyline was awful on several levels. Essentially, the man lies about being in a wheelchair to garner sympathy with his crush, who herself is partially Deaf. Yeah, it's BAD. Just skip all their scenes.

Back from the Brink (2023) ⭐️ 8.5

I really enjoyed this, especially how silly it could be. They really amped up the humour, and to me that worked well. At the same time, there were also some very heartfelt moments that made me tear up. I really liked the side couples as well, they were all quite likeable. It was just a really fun show from beginning to end.

The Starry Love (2023) ⭐️ 7.5

I really enjoyed this, up until the last arc. I found after that, it dragged a bit. To be honest, it dragged a bit in earlier parts too. What saved it for me was the humour, the relationship between the two sisters, the Void Realm subplots, and the adorable Di Lanjue. Unfortunately, Yetan/Youqin didn't really do much for me, but I still found them enjoyable at times.

The Wolf (2020) ⭐️ 8.5

This was a surprise for me. I didn't expect I'd like it much going in, but I still wanted to give it a try for my guy Xiao Zhan. I'd tried watching it before when it first aired, but I found the first couple episodes too cheesy. I still found them incredibly cheesy this time, but after about midway through episode 3 when the main plot kicked off, I found myself really invested. Fair warning, Xiao Zhan only shows up in episode 11, so if you're watching it just for him, you may be disappointed. Fortunately, I found myself invested in all the characters quite a bit. If you like messy toxic bitches, this is the drama for you. Warning: there was an attempted rape scene I found quite uncomfortable (though it's not played as being romantic, thankfully). There are a couple other dubcon incidents I wasn't a huge fan of, and one character has a miscarriage. Just things to keep in mind before viewing.

My Journey to You ⭐️ 8

Where do I even start here? Once again, I probably should rate it lower, because the story itself is a mess. HOWEVER, the characters, aesthetics, and cinematography are all excellent. The characters are really what stayed with me the most, and the episode focusing on Yun Que was devastating in all the best ways. The beginning episodes were also fantastic, the way the story unfurled. It just became clear in the latter half of the series that the writer had written himself into a corner and didn't know how to get out. Frustrating, but I don't regret my journey with this show (heh, get it). It's for that reason I'm not sure I can ever rec it to anyone, but I'll gladly talk about it to anyone who will listen.

Never Give Up (2023) ⭐️ 8.5

This was a fun office sitcom-style drama that I really breezed through after the horror show that was MJTY. Lighthearted with short episodes, it was very enjoyable. If you've ever worked in an office, you can probably relate. Once again, I'd like to speak with whoever dressed Wang Hedi cuz they made some interesting choices lol.

Ancient Love Poetry (2021) ⭐️ 9

Another surprise for me. I had tried the first episodes a while back and found it a bit dense, but restarting it this year I found it a lot more interesting. Maybe having more xianxia general knowledge helped me out. It was a really beautifully done drama. The CGI and sets were all superb. There was a whole host of characters to get invested in as well. It was a truly epic story from start to finish.

Destined With You (2023) ⭐️ 7.5

The one Kdrama on this list! I really loved the two actors, their chemistry, and the plot in general, but the pacing in the middle took me out a bit. I would still recommend watching it, as there was lots to enjoy. The modern with magic elements were really intriguing, as was the concept of past lives. I also like that the ML and 2ndML work together instead of constantly butting heads once it becomes clear who the FL will pick. The flashbacks to the past life were also really interesting--I wish we'd had more of that tbh! I'll definitely be looking out for both actors in other dramas!

As for the shows I placed on hold, I will likely stop lying to myself and drop them. But I might give them another shot before doing so. I'm still really disappointed by Only for Love, but I couldn't bring myself to finish it. Not even the power of Didi and Bai Lu could make me do it. It just got too frustrating.

Now, I'm currently watching Story of Kunning Palace, Royal Rumours, and The Last Immortal. I'm not super sold on the last 2, but SOKP has really grabbed me by the throat (just like Xie Wei to Jiang Xuening) so I'm glad to be starting the year off strong!

[baifengxis]

What are some of your fave cdramas that you would highly rec? I’m looking for something to watch and I would be grateful if you can share some. Thank you!!

Oh, thanks so much for this question, I love recommending cdramas haha!

LEGEND OF FEI [2020] Gotta start with the obvious, because I'll recommend this drama forever even to everyone who has started and can't get into it, I'll always be like, please try again lol It's feminist, fun, feel-good but with very nicely done heavy moments every few episodes, important messages about life and about becoming who you want to be, it has my, at this point, favorite cdrama ship ever, yunfei my beloved!! relationship goals! friendships, funny dynamics, siblings, AMAZING characters and...so much more, I won't continue because I'll never stop lmao

UNEXPECTED [2018] Such an underrated Drama! I don't know why it's so underrated, especially because it's made by the same writer as a very popular drama (The Romance of Tiger and Rose) and the stories are very similar, which I know can be boring but they also have differences that make each drama unique, there's just the same premise of a writer traveling into their own story.

I'VE FALLEN FOR YOU [2020] The perfect rom-com historical drama, with a very fun plot and with plot twists you don't expect, such good characters and two amazing ships! Comfort drama for sure!

THE LOVE BY HYPNOTIC [2019] If you love palace romance, arranged marriage turned true love, a few crazy (but very entertaining) villains and a love story for the ages! Even though it has some very heavy moments, it's one of my comfort dramas as well, because it also includes some VERY FUNNY moments, like I just love dramas that can somehow balance comedy, romance and serious moments so well!

THE QUEEN OF ATTACK [2021] There's so many short dramas nowadays and 80% of them have the same plot of someone traveling into a story lol and yes, this is one of them BUT it's such a good drama like it's insane, I'll wish forever it was a normal length one, but it's still so good, the episodes are 9-10 mins each but there are two seasons, and the episodes have been combined, so eventually it's like having a normal drama with 12 normal length episodes (6 for s1 and 6 for s2). It's so worth it and the two actors are so talented and have such good chemistry, plus the story is unique too, yes this premise has been done many times but I think they still made it so unique and different from others.

THE STARRY LOVE [2023] A recent drama and quite popular, but I'll still recommend it always. Other than the last episode that was a bit disappointing and rushed (still a happy-ish ending though), it's my favorite Xianxia and it was just so good, the story, the cinematography, THE OST, the actors, the ships, the friendships, the sisters, ALL THE WOMEN, youqin literally making all other MLs take notes from him on how to be the best ml out there, so many reasons to watch this drama, just ignore the last part and pretend we saw what they forgot to show us lol

LOVE LIKE THE GALAXY [2022] Where do I even begin??? (This is the first Zhao Lusi drama i recommend in this list, but I just wanna mention, I recommend almost all of them.) Anyway, LLTG is by far my favorite political drama, and non wuxia/xianxia historical cdrama. It's so different and unique, there's literally nothing like it. It's a slow paced drama, with very long scenes (you might only have 3-4 scenes in one episode for example) and it's the reason why It got me a while to get to it, but now I'M SO IN LOVE WITH IT!!! There is not an episode I don't enjoy, it's pure art. Cheng Shao Shang is one of my favorite girls ever and her and Ling Buyi???? I'D DIE FOR THEIR LOVE. Their chemistry is so so so good, now Zhao Lusi can have chemistry with a tree, it's true but still, one of the best cdrama ships out there. Even though I never truly watched classic cdramas like Nirvana on Fire and those "older" ones, I think LLTG somehow is the closest to those except it also loves its characters and focuses on romance more than any older political cdrama did but it works so so well.

LIGHTER AND PRINCESS [2022] Favorite modern drama! I gotta be honest I'm not verrrryyyy into modern cdramas, I like a few, even love some, but generally it's hard to find a modern cdrama I'll go crazy over...but L&P changed that. Or well, it's still hard, maybe even harder now, to find something that tops it, but L&P is just so so good. Again, a quite popular drama, maybe it doesn't need the recommendation, but I have to mention it anyway 'cause it's my baby and I just cannot make a favorite cdramas list without it! Some reasons to watch: One of the best love stories out there, with such good angst and just everything you need on a ship, two main characters so unique that you'll definitely relate to (at least in some aspects), one of the best OSTS ever, perfect cinematography, directing and writing and one of my favorite endings on any show ever!

Some more dramas I recommend but I won't dig deeper (I talked a lot already):

Couple of Mirrors [2021]

Who Rules The World [2022]

Love Between Fairy and Devil [2022]

Young Blood [2019 - S2 starts tomorrow!]

Wait, My Youth [2019]

Zhaoyao/The Legends [2019]

Arsenal Military Academy [2019]

There's probably more but I think that's good for now, I hope I helped you find something to watch and I'm always here for more recs if you want :P <3

[haven-of-dusk]

for the ask game: headcanons for nico di angelo? (if you haven’t read the books, then ricky bowen 🤠)

Sorry this took me so long... I have indeed read the books, so I'll tackle both! Nico Di Angelo:

Sexuality - Gay

A ship - I actually do like Solangelo a fair bit, they're not my faves per se, but I don't have glaring issues with them (especially compared with say, Caleo).

However for the sake of fun, I also love Jasico (I hope I have that name right). Minor aside that I'm about 90% sure Jason is (he's fine, TBM didn't happen I promise) a closeted gay man based on a number of hints dropped in TBM, plus vibes plus he just screams internalized heteronormativity. So I really wish we could've explored more of Nico and Jason's dynamic. Plus they'd be incredibly adorable about one-upping each other's displays of "touch him and die" imo.

A BROTP - Percico, I totally get why shipping them romantically is a thing, but I also adore the dynamic idea that Nico completely got over Percy and Percy's a little salty about it, plus the level of trust they eventually displayed regardless of the definition of their relationship is very special to me. (End of MoA always gets me right in the feels).

A NOTP - I don't have any specific ones...so I guess I'll just say any ship that tries to get him involved romantically with a woman.

A random headcanon - Though he mostly put Mythomagic behind him, he has since become a massive D&D nerd, with multiple fully fleshed out characters and a couple campaign ideas that he badgers people to play with him. (Also the main cast of HoO playing D&D is a podcast I wish was real, Critical Role style...)

General Opinion - I love Nico, top 3 Percy Jackson Universe characters (I think, I haven't gone through and put together an exact ranking ever since I love almost all of them), not super happy when the writing leans too far into the 'edgy' side of him, but his dry wit is always a pleasure, and he's also capable of backing up the edge with badassery.

His original artwork will always give me nightmares though.

Richard 'Ricky' Bowen:

Sexuality - Bisexual

Gender - Cis Male, though he did experiment with they/them pronouns to see if they felt better to him. They didn't, but he's glad he tried.

A ship - Caswen. Obviously. I think my canon rewrite of half the show serves as adequate explanation of my love for them.

A BROTP - Redky. The friendship/brotherhood between Big Red and Ricky was something I really enjoyed in the first two seasons, it felt quite accurate to my high school experiences and I also find their interactions in fanfiction very endearing. Plus it provides more fuel to my fire that Caswen are NOT brotherly since we have a perfect brotherly relationship for Ricky right there and it looks nothing like his relationship to EJ imo.

Plus I'm still extra irritated that in addition to the rampant biphobia in how Big Red's storyline was handled, they also tried to shove him out of the picture and replace him with Jet in S4, with a scene in E3 especially feeling like the dialogue was written for BR and then they had Jet read it for...no discernable reason.

A NOTP - ...Rina /s.

In all seriousness the only answer I can readily come up with is Rily, because wtf was that subplot even supposed to be, but I struggle to think of NOTPs for Ricky since my brain is mostly Caswen or bust. I thought of the EJ alternatives purely because Tim is so militant about Rina, but I really don't know what Ricky would do outside of preferably Caswen or Tim's beloved 'canon' Rina. And while I do think Rini work better as friends, I also wouldn't call them a NOTP since I feel kind of bad for some Rini shippers (not the creepy ones, the normies for lack of a better term).

Idk, I guess I'll just say Rily and move on.

A random headcanon - Ricky loves the Spice Girls. Where did this HC come from you ask? I have no idea. But I feel like it fits.

The urge to write a mini-fic of Ricky and EJ dancing at their wedding to 'Spice up Your Life' is rising. (Totally not influenced by Doctor Who)

General Opinion - I love Ricky. Not quite as much as Elton, but that's a pretty high bar to clear since Elton rose to my top ten of all time list pretty easily. I have mixed feelings about S3 and S4 Ricky since I felt like they made him overly obsessed with Gina and lost a lot of the charm of his earlier plotlines centering on familial trauma and figuring out his own desires in life, but he's still high ranking for HSMTMTS characters, and I obviously love Caswen to death, so it's hard for me to say I don't also adore Ricky as a special little guy.

That spiraled into a bit of a ramble. Point is that I do really like Ricky, I just wish the writing for him later in the show was less...self-parodic...if that makes any sense.

[agrebel18]

Can you draw Gus and Willow bonding?

here they are!!! their friendship is VERY UNDERRATED, plus they're one of my fave dynamics in the whole show!!

[image description: a traditional colored drawing of Gus and Willow from The Owl House. From left to right, Gus is grinning, making a peace sign with his left hand, and is wearing his outfit from the epilogue of "Watching and Dreaming." Willow is putting her arm around him, and is also wearing her outfit from the epilogue. She is also grinning. The background is gray, and on the bottom of the page, there's something written that says "Best Friend - Aversary!" END ID]

[lenievi]

001 for both mckirk and spones please!

This is gonna be long :D I'm gonna have to use read more

001 | send me a ship and I will tell you: mckirk

when I started shipping it if I did: so when the lockdown in 2020 started, I had nothing to do and just watched stuff. I have this favourite dubber and I was looking at the list of stuff he dubbed, and saw Star Trek AOS on that list. This guy is the voice of 2000s Alan Rickman, Tom Hanks, Tony Stark, he also apparently dubbed Garak in that one Star Trek series, and so seeing the reboot films on the list and his name next to McCoy, I was like, gotta check how he sounds. The fact that Kirk was also dubbed by a guy I generally like was a plus. (funnily enough Captain America/Iron Man and Kirk/McCoy are dubbed by the same guys here, which is funny to me). So I checked youtube and the scene I saw was the scene in Beyond where Kirk and McCoy are alone and are having a drink. And that scene did something to my brain, and I was like this is the dynamic I want, I wanna read fics, so before that I had to watch the films. So I watched AOS, basically through McCoy (Kirk/McCoy) lenses and started to read fics. Three weeks later, I decided to watch TOS because a lot of the fics referenced Kirk's backstory, so I wanted to know about it. The three weeks reading fics and looking through livejournal, kind of made me think that McCoy wasn't really an important character in TOS and that AOS made up the mckirk relationship (such a lie), so when I started watching TOS, I only planned to watch episodes heavy on McCoy. Which like... were most of them at the beginning lol I kinda decided not to trust the fandom after like three episodes or something. I binged the three seasons of TOS in like three weeks. I've had a hard time seeing tos!Kirk with men for a long time (I've had a complicated "relationship" with tos!Kirk for so long), so my interest in tos!mckirk was primarily as a platonic relationship [but it was always my fave relationship, I liked it even more than spones, actually] (but romantic in aos), but I started to insert Kirk into my spones fics, wrote a part from his POV, and then one day I just woke up and decided to write a tos!mckirk fic (it was actually because I started to read aos fics again, getting back into aos!mckirk, but... the tos version has been calling me) and just embraced the romantic (and sexual lol) aspect of their relationship.

my thoughts: I love their friendship so much. It's very important to me. I like that McCoy knows what to say to pull Kirk back on the right path, I like that Kirk can be vulnerable around McCoy. In AOS I like that McCoy is the only one Kirk shares stuff with about his mother and his insecurities (in Beyond it looked like he never even allowed the other crew to acknowledge his birthday... until McCoy finally decided to give him a party, after 5 years on the Enterprise...)

What makes me happy about them: we see both of them the most at ease around each other. They can forget who they are around each other, for a moment, at least. McCoy gives Kirk some of his most brightest smiles; McCoy can make Kirk genuinely laugh. Kirk needs him. badly.

What makes me sad about them: I eat angst for breakfast, so uhm...

things done in fanfic that annoys me: the lack of their friendship even in gen fics T_T (we all know what annoys me in aos fic, we don't need a rehash)

things I look for in fanfic: having more fics would be fun lol You know, just a genuine intimacy they show in the the show. Jim's sense of duty being the cause of angst.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:  McCoy with Spock (I do like the idea of mckirk to spones after the movie era, more or less). tos movie era Kirk? Actually, no one.

My happily ever after for them: buying a cabin in the mountains and getting two dogs (one big and one small) post TUC (then we can stop time lol or not...)

who is the big spoon/little spoon: idk haven't thought about their sleeping position. It would probably change based on what kind of story I'd wanna tell

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: .... you know, they're happy when they find the time to have sex...

spones under the cut

001 | send me a ship and I will tell you: spones

when I started shipping it if I did: so above I said that I started to watch TOS because of mckirk, right? Mainly because of The Conscience of the King and Tarsus IV, right? Well... I finished that episode shipping spones LMAO It really was quite quick for me.

my thoughts: the most engaging dynamic in TOS imho

What makes me happy about them: The loyalty, the trust. They were in each other's lives for 100 years. 100 years. That they're more similar than different. That they actually understand each other, but would never admit it. "I don't think I could stand to lose you again." < what is that? so real to have McCoy say that

What makes me sad about them: that they would leave the other one behind and die if it meant to save Kirk (this isn't meant negatively, I'm not really explicit about it or talk about it, but my spones know that Kirk's life is a priority, sometimes even just to show that no, we're not emotionally compromised, we know what our duty is kinda way. I just think it'd be great to explore that in a fic)

things done in fanfic that annoys me: uhm (I'm speaking in general, it is just my opinion based on my taste; I believe that everyone should write what makes them happy, we can't ever please every single person) McCoy using hobgoblin, elf, jackrabbit (the last two are terms that Kirk used to make Spock angry) as a form of affection/endearment, or at all tbh. McCoy being insecure because of Kirk. (give me Spock being insecure because of McCoy-Kirk friendship) Some people feeling guilty about writing spones and therefore still making kirk-spock have the specialest bond *rolls eyes* I just don't get the need to quantify relationships, I guess. Any kind of pet names.

things I look for in fanfic: balanced relationship, mature arguments that don't rely on pettiness, trying to combine the different world views, not needing to express love in a traditional way, but a way that works for the two of them and their two differing cultures.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: McCoy with Kirk, obviously. Spock with Chapel or T'Pring (even during the movie era, yes).

My happily ever after for them: 100 years. What more do you want? LOL My personal hc is that when McCoy dies, and Spock goes to Romulus, McCoy's spirit is always there because a part of his soul stayed inside Spock's katra. So Spock is just haunted by McCoy's spirit until he dies on New Vulcan, and then they're put into the katra stone. Together forever.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: I imagine them more as Spock sleeping on his back and McCoy's head on his arm/chest.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: banter (they especially enjoy if it makes Kirk exasperated)

[ask meme]

[owls-den]

Hii. What is your opinion on the pokemon XY anime gang?

Hi! Thanks for the ask!

Oh man, I have a lot of thoughts regarding XY! Let's see...

Ash: I like the way he was portrayed this season honestly. He was very likeable and went through a lot of key character moments especially thanks to his Greninja. I had multiple moments where I just told my friend "man he's such a cool guy". Very good portrayal of his character :))

Serena: I'm a bit mixed with Serena. I like her but also feel like she didn't have as much character as any of the female protags before her. I liked her character arc but it felt a bit rushed weirdly enough? There was also a lot of fanservice around her which felt a bit weird (and the romance with Ash was... Well, no shade to Amourshippers at all but I did not see the chemistry. It felt like they didn't want to commit with it. If anything she had more chemistry with Aria imo) and in the finale everyone had a role except her (Bonnie was calming Zygarde, Clemont was taking care of the Lumiose tower, Ash was battling Lysandre but... Serena was just... There.) All in all I like her but she feels a bit like wasted potential? Of course that is merely my opinion on the matter. I think she improved dramatically in her small appearances in Journeys <3

Clemont: I love this little guy! He has such a nice bromance with Ash! His catchphrase and the ensuing running gag somehow always gets me. I just like that they committed with the character. He's very distinguishable from Cilan and Brock which is a plus in my book and gosh, his role in the finale broke me. I cried twice and the Citroid "death" was one of them. Clemont makes me happy :))

Bonnie: I honestly really like Bonnie! She was well written in my book and she had a lot of moments where my cynical ass had to sit down and say "... Yeah, that's cute actually". She fills me with uncontrollable cute aggression (that feeling when something is so adorable you just have to squish like bug) especially with the way she was with Zygarde. Remember how I said I cried twice during the finale?... Her singing to a rampaging Zygarde was the second time.

Some minor characters below!

Professor Sycamore: I love that he appeared often although his plot relevance is more in relation to Alain than it is to Lysandre in this. I'm a bit sad that he doesn't actually know Lysandre before the events of the Mega Evolution Special because MAN it would have been fascinating to see him torn up between the man he loves as a dear lover friend and his son assistant! Loved his dynamic with Alain <3

Tierno: HE GOT SUCH A GLOW UP??? Like I didn't care much for Tierno in the game but NOW HE'S IN MY TOP TEN FAVE POKEMON CHARACTERS???

Shauna: Wish she had appeared more because I really liked her <3

Trevor: Such a tiny guy! I think a tiny bit of his bite was lost in the anime adaptation but I still really love his friendship with Tierno. Boy best friends!

Sawyer: I love how it introduces the concept that EXP might exist or is a pseudo science in this world?? He's a tiny guy who packs a punch and that's great for him :)) very likeable.

Miette: I want to like her and I do but this whole "love rival" was introduced and then severely underutilized 😔

Alain: Is it a secret that I love Alain? I was making fun of him a lot during my first watch, calling him a bit of an edgelord but, hey, that's how I show my love. After multiple months of intense roleplaying with my friend I ended up... Really REALLY loving him??? And now whenever I rewatch his breakdown I feel terrible inside 😢

Mairin: You know how Bonnie fills me with cute aggression? Mairin is even better at triggering it. I love her with every fibre of my being <3 Her dynamic with Alain is everything to me. (He just wants to see her smile again 🥺🥺🥺🥺)

Lysandre: Might as well talk about him! I did like his portrayal (even if the line of "protecting the professor at all cost" at the start sounds super parasocial considering they never formally met?????) and he has some crazy good moments for only being introduced in XYZ and the Mega Evolution Special. He's grand ! I still can't believe the scene where he flungs himself off of the tower exists but it made me gasp very loudly!

SORRY FOR THIS LONG POST I didn't know if you met just the main four or more soooo here are my thoughts on most of the main cast?? Anyways haha hope you enjoyed that? Overall I really liked the entire XY series especially XYZ. It started a bit slow for me but had a lot of cool moments I'll remember for a while.