#the fic I have not written yet

[hsm-sideblog]

It’s been less than two weeks, I have already daydreamed my way through 15 Troy/Chad fics, 7 Chad/Ryan fics and 3.5 Troy/Chad/Ryan fics and written exactly none of them.

[starchbean]

The reason I'm diving so headlong into the SVSSS fandom when I also love TGCF (I haven't yet read MDZS) but haven't delved NEARLY as deep into the fandom is thus:

Fanfic for TGCF... well, it FEELS like fanfic. That isn't bad. I LOVE fanfic. But the story of TGCF is self-contained. The /real/ Xie Lian and Hua Cheng etc are them as portrayed by MXTX. They had the trials they will have, and now these poor old men get to rest in each others' arms, which is beautiful.

AND ACROSS THE ROOM

Scum Villain fic does NOT feel like fanfic, because IT IS REAL! It happened! It ALL happened! Thanks to the Bing-ge extra, the persistent existence of multiverse and multiple instances of Binghes and Shens etc is evidence that there is definitely more out there the original MXTX story doesn't touch on. And the best part is, it doesn't matter how wacky it is, it's STILL REAL!

Terminally ill Shen Yuan finds his way to a catgirl cafe where femboy catboy transmigrator Binghe is trying to work his way out of poverty? Mobei Jun kidnaps Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky and forces him to rewrite PIDW so that HE becomes the demon emperor because Binghe is real fuckin unstable and it's a headache--and every written change alters their world immediately after Airplane writes it? It's out there somewhere in the multiverse, surely!

And of COURSE they'd act slightly differently between iterations, BE slightly different--it's not OOC, it's multidimensional variation. No matter how hard you meme, it doesn't feel fake at all, and that's INCREDIBLE! It lends itself to being a superfandom!

I'M COMPLETELY NORMAL ABOUT THIS! ABSOLUTELY HINGED! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!

[bluuscreen]

silly silly silly

i’m apparently not immune to the idea of domestic saxteen [and tensimm is also there. if that’s what that in the top left of the canvas counts as]

[happypeachsludgeflower]

I don’t always make Feng Xin suffer, but when I do? God do I make that man suffer. He’s just my little meow meow and I want to see him cry 🥸

[toxinoire]

Kara never thought of it when Lena first asked her this question.

"What if someone says; in like a few years maybe, I'd be...gone?" Lena asks, staring at the distance.

Kara got confused at this question. But decided to answer anyway. "Well, I'd most likely, punch them or something. I'm not letting that happen."

Lena chuckled. "You're right...I guess it's just another existential crisis."

"Want to talk about it?" Kara asks softly. Lena just smiles at her. "No, darling. It's alright. It's just one of those times."

"Well, if you need anything...food, movies, a hug, I'm right here."

Lena laughs and nods. "Got that."

She didn't ask that question for no reason. She isn't sure if Kara already figured this fact out already, but their time is limited. Because Kara won't die unless she gets killed with Kryptonite or the day the yellow sun flying over them dies.

Lena knows there's a chance that Kara's life could be at stake at any given moment, but at the same time...there's a possibility that she could have Kara for the rest of her life. While Kara won't have Lena, nor the rest of their family for the rest of her life.

See here's the thing, Kara knew that. But ignorance is a bliss, as they say. She pretends that the day won't come.

But...maybe she indulged herself too much.

Because right now, Kara, swear to Rao, drops the car she's currently carrying as her eyes widen in fear. Through a window, not that big, but big enough for her to witness it firsthand.

Lena, sweet, gentle, beautiful Lena, with a knife pierced through her neck. She heard the enemy responsible for it, the one who's back is facing the window, laugh. Fucking laugh. Kara and Lena make eye contact through the window, Lena smiling gently, softly, warmly, at her. Muttering something no human could hear, but Kara heard so clearly. Her voice as soft as her gaze.

"I love you."

Kara barges in, breaking the whole wall, she rushes to her, hoping she could still save her. Hoping she wouldn't lose her. She can't lose Lena, she just can't.

However, it was too late. The knife stabbed a very fatal spot, and Kara witnesses Lena drop to the ground.

Kara can no longer hear her heartbeat.

"Aww, look at Supergirl. The Paragon of Hope, looking hopeless-"

Before this asshole can finish, Kara pushes him, actually pushes him off the broken wall, she hears him scream and plummet down, but she doesn't care.

"Lena?"

Nothing.

"Please, no. No. Fuck. Please don't leave me, don't take her too, please." Kara tries to get help, but to no avail.

Lena Luthor's death was publicly announced two days later. Many were happy at the fact that there was not a single Luthor left. The Superfriends grieved in their own ways. At least some people in the city actually acknowledged what Lena did for the world and paid their respects. The Superfriends tried to comfort Kara. She appreciates it, of course, but it won't bring Lena, Kara's...everything, back to her.

Now everywhere she goes, Kara just sees Lena.

She would try to go to Big Belly Burger, she just remembers that time they celebrated Lena's birthday there. Noonan's? She just sees Lena's smile when Kara gives her coffee from that place. The park in National City? That time Lena used her magic fully for the first time. CatCo? She remembers every hall Lena ever walked in. She sees a book? She remembers Lena giving her one.

Her own apartment also reminds her of Lena, all the times they had there. Certain foods remind her of Lena. Everything around her is now just a ghost of Lena. Even fucking kryptonite reminds her of Lena.

She's everywhere Kara goes.

No one in the city realized how much Supergirl was so torn over the loss of Lena Luthor.

Some dickwads actually thought she was happy about it, which some idiot reporter asked her one day.

"You must be really relieved that the last Luthor is no longer a threat."

Kara stays silent, yet her eyes emmit everything she wants to say.

Kelly holds back an angry Alex from hitting someone, but Kelly herself is yelling about how insensitive that was, about how this reporter is disrespecting the dead, about how they forgot that Lena worked with Supergirl. Both Brainy and Nia list down everything that Lena has done to save the city.

Kara? She's been silent, before taking a deep breath, looking at the reporter, knowing there are cameras surrounding her, she says,

"This world is nothing without her."

Then, she flies away, higher into the blue skies and screams.

Would you look at that, world. There's a Luthor that successfully broke a Super.

[lenievi]

Am I writing a fix-it? Maybe.

---

“I’m all yours now,” Valjean said through the rain, offering his wrists. Faint scars peeked under the cuffs.

Javert’s lungs felt like stone. He had unlocked Valjean’s shackles in the carriage and made a decision to let Valjean go. He wouldn’t… He couldn’t…

Valjean… was a good man.

The water trickling down Valjean’s face couldn’t hide the strangely intense look that lacked all traces of resistance.

Javert was tired.

He turned around and started to walk, his feet heavy, feeling like a ship that had lost its anchor and drifted away from the known waters.

“Javert?”

If he focused on the rhythm of his steps, perhaps he wouldn’t have to think.

“Javert.”

He felt lost without the truncheon he’d left in the carriage.

“Javert!”

A hand landed on his shoulder.

He stopped. 

“Get your hand away from me,” Javert said weakly.

Valjean kept his palm in place, a light touch with no force, and Javert didn’t shake it off. He couldn’t remember the last time he allowed anyone to touch him.

The rain grew heavier.

“Where’s the carriage?” Valjean asked, raising his voice to be heard through the rain, and when he didn’t get an answer, he followed with, “Come inside.”

“No.” Javert’s answer was immediate. He had to leave. He couldn’t be around Valjean anymore.

“Until the rain stops.”

“No,” Javert repeated. “Let me go.”

Valjean turned him around, and Javert seized him by the collar of his wet shirt before he realised where he was. Before he realised who it was he now had in his grasp. Jean Valjean. His heart pounded in his chest.

Valjean was no longer a prisoner. Javert had let him go. He wouldn’t… He couldn’t go back on his decision. And yet, he had Valjean in his grasp again, and what he felt wasn’t a triumph.

Valjean looked down at him calmly, and something in Javert trembled. A strange thrill, unlike anything he had felt before, coursed through him like a stormy river, leaving behind cracks and disorder.

Javert’s hand on Valjean’s collar tightened.

Lightning crossed the sky followed by a clap of thunder.

“Come inside, Javert,” Valjean said again and lay his hand upon Javert’s. 

The sounds of the storm had disappeared. All Javert could hear as he watched Valjean slowly prying the fingers seizing his collar open was a rapid thudding of his heart.

[johnslittlespoon]

all the actor/celebrity au posts lately combined with troye bringing ross on stage last night for one of your girls has got me thinking...

a musician x musician au where gale is a troye sivan–esque ultra–famous queer pop star, and john's the singer of a well known indie rock band, and he gets asked by gale's team to star in a music video similar to one of your girls...

to everyone who doesn't know him personally, gale feels like this untouchable pop star. he's been in the industry for years, one of those classic 'i used to make music in my bedroom in my small town' stories, working his ass off before finally a song of his blows up and gets traction and then it's such a fast rise to stardom that he doesn't have time to wrap his head around it.

he never gets used to it, but he doesn't get an ego from it; he still hangs out with the same group of friends he's had since high school, and his team does most of his social media posting for him, because it freaks him out having all that attention, as grateful as he is. he's not shy by any means, not like he was when he started out, but he's not the biggest fan of all the fanfare and interviews and being put on a pedestal and all that. he keeps himself pretty distant online, and that coupled with the diva/superstar energy in his music/projects gives him this air of being on another level– a rare type of star all around.

john has a similar story, the whole growing up on the internet thing, making music in his basement in high school with the friends he's now in a pretty popular indie rock band with, working tirelessly to make a name for him and his friends. but that's kinda where their similarities end.

because john is known for being an absolute shit–poster, a little fiend online, a running joke in his fandom that 'john doesn't know that he's famous', 'should someone remind him this isn't a finsta?' type of vibe. he feels so accessible and down to earth, and while he's just as level headed and humble about his celebrity status as gale is, he displays it by being more present and trying to show the human side of it all, vs gale trying to create distance between gale cleven and the gale persona the world knows.

the band is first and foremost john's thing, but as he's grown in popularity, he's of course gotten offers for other avenues here and there, and at the insistence of his manager he decides to agree to try out a modelling shoot one day. he's not naive; he's more than aware of all the comments going on about his looks, stumbles across more tiktok thirst trap edits of him sweaty and shirtless on stage than he can count, isn't all too sfw in some of his band's songs, either.

he finds it all funny, but he also is someone who will always jump on new opportunities/experiences, and he ends up having a good time modelling, and picks up more gigs as time goes on. this is how gale becomes aware of him, somewhat because gale does occasional modelling too, but mostly because he's worked with a lot of big fashion names for tours and videos, so his and john's circles occasionally crossover, though they never actually meet in person.

so then comes this music video shoot, one that gale's been agonizing over for months, planning every little detail and making sure everything is perfect. it's something that drives his manager (marge? <3 gotta include the angel in every au obvs) insane because gale's got so much on his plate as is, but he likes to be so hands on with his projects, and she knows by now there's no talking him out of that. and everything is going great, until the person who's meant to be starring opposite gale has to pull out last minute due to a scheduling conflict or personal emergency or something.

and the usually very collected and put together gale is freaking out. it's the day before the shoot, everyone involved has already travelled to be on location, choreography is set in stone– this is his nightmare scenario, never doing well in situations where he has a lack of control. it's half of what scares him so much about being as famous as he is, is that he doesn't have a lot of autonomy or control over his own image or how he's perceived in the public eye (and digging deeper into backstory, probably stems from wanting to take back control after a childhood filled with being controlled by family.)

but it's situations like these where he's reminded why marge is his manager and he isn't, because she leaps into action the moment they find out about the cancellation, calming gale down so they can put their heads together to find a replacement. they reach out to a few of the names they have connections to, but it's too short notice for all of them, so maybe marge even just resorts to going through the people gale follows on instagram, and stumbles across john's page. he's got a good rep in industry and has worked on less 'conventional' projects before, so marge shuts down gale's fretting over "would he be comfortable with something like this?" by telling him there's only one way to find out, and contacting john's manager.

john agrees before he even hears the full pitch, and he's just as keen afterwards (albeit a bit nervous because by no means is he a professional dancer), knowing it'll be good publicity, and curious to explore a more artsy/out there gig, but also curious about the illusive gale, who he'd been surprised to receive a follow from a few weeks back.

john is flown out that night to the city of the shoot location, barely having a few minutes to change and head to the rehearsal space, where he meets a very frazzled but very thankful gale for the first time.

maybe they both have some preconceived notions about each other, despite having mutual respect and no actual interactions; john probably expects gale to be a bit stand–offish or conceited given his high celebrity status, but finds gale's actually bashful and quiet and easygoing when the cameras are off (when they're on, it's like he flips a switch, slipping into this persona, exuding confidence and sexuality and it honestly blows john's mind to witness in person).

gale probably expects to john to be loud and abrasive based off his well known social media posts, maybe even a little uncomfortable around gale, who is openly queer, whereas john isn't– maybe john hasn't ever stated his sexuality, has never given much thought to it, it doesn't matter much to him. instead he finds john's actually a little shy, much less bravado than he'd anticipated, but very enthusiastic and eager to learn and get the choreo and everything else right, assuring gale repeatedly that he's down to do whatever is needed.

so the two of them rehearse till the early hours of the morning, john taking it as seriously as though it's his own project he's invested months into, and gale gains such admiration for his commitment and willingness to stick his neck out for a borderline stranger (even though he's obviously aware this is a big boost for john's career). john gains a newfound appreciation for gale's work ethic and how much effort goes into every little thing for a huge artist like him.

and inevitably... there is sexual tension during the rehearsals. they're both overtired and sweaty and it's such a strange situation to meet for like five minutes and then jump right into dancing together so intimately, having to shed any inhibitions and self consciousness, but it's a blessing in the sense that they have to get comfortable around each other so quickly. there's no room for modesty or shyness, and john is genuinely speechless at how gale puts business first, and after double checking that john isn't uncomfortable, how he has no qualms about physically directing john, moving him how he wants him.

it's hot to john, the way gale knows exactly what he wants and is so passionate about his vision, and he'd be lying if he said the combination of being starstruck and being lowkey manhandled isn't getting to his head a bit. which is a whole other thing to unpack, because aside from vague acknowledgement of some men being attractive/beautiful, he's never actually found himself flustered by one like this, and it catches him off guard. he stays professional, but he still can't help but let his naturally flirtatious/joking personality slip out as the night drags on; he's like that with everyone he works with or hangs out with, and he thinks it would be weirder if he wasn't like that with gale, like everyone else would somehow notice.

meanwhile gale is fighting his own demons because he's got a very sought–after, very hot, very straight man dropping everything for him and letting him puppeteer him, on top of being so stubborn that even though gale can tell he's exhausted, john's refusing to call it a night until gale does, and THEN as if all that's not enough, john's effortlessly witty and complimentary and flirty. and gale's not one to mix business and pleasure, so he's not even entertaining these emotions, but he can't help but feel flattered by it all, while also reminding himself that john probably doesn't swing that way.

basically they both are discovering they have competence kinks lmao, like objectively they both find the other attractive, but it's not like they aren't constantly surrounded by beautiful humans in their lines of work, so it's more so the emotional side/work ethic that gets them both flustered, coupled with the inherent sexuality of dancing with very little clothing, hands on sweaty skin and toned muscles. but neither of them act on it, too tired by the time they call it a night even if they'd wanted to, and then it's back to their respective hotels to get a few hours of sleep before the shoot.

john isn't called to be on location until mid afternoon, and when he wakes up to his phone ringing and glances at the time, he freaks out, thinking he's slept through the shoot or something because he'd expected to be called early in the morning. he's told that he didn't sleep through it, but he's disoriented until he shows up, when he's told that gale had moved things around, filming as many scenes as he could without him before john was needed for his part, so that john could get more rest. (john swoons. just a little.)

he gets swept up in the capable hands of hair and makeup and wardrobe in his own trailer, and he doesn't see gale until it's time to film, and when he does, he almost doesn't believe it's gale. the glam makeup, the long blonde wig, the form–fitting sheer black dress and heels– gale's pretty as is, but with his features accentuated like that, john doesn't even know what to do with himself, feels like he's going through a midlife crisis at the ripe age of 25. he'd known gale would be in some sort of getup for their choreo, but nothing could've prepared him for this.

it makes it even more endearing that gale seems so awkward about it when he greets john, clearly out of his comfort zone in the ensemble, but john knows there's no way gale doesn't know how stunning he is, it's not a lack of confidence that's making him awkward. john keeps it together, reminds himself to be professional. tells gale it was really sweet that he let him sleep in, that he didn't have to do that, to which gale waves him off like it's no big deal. and he compliments gale too as they walk onto set, tells him, "you look great, wow," tame as he can be, and gale tells him "could say the same for you," and john snorts, gesturing to his simple jeans and boots and lack of shirt, says "feeling a bit underdressed, actually," and it gets a laugh out of gale.

when the cameras are rolling, any of that visible discomfort or awkwardness in gale disappears like someone's snapped their fingers and rid him of it, movements fluid like water, not an ounce of anything other than confidence and power and sensuality seeping through as he commands the camera with his energy. despite his aching body, john's grateful they ran the routine into the ground last night to the point that it's nearly muscle memory, because it's hard to concentrate when gale's looking down at him through long faux–lashes and gloss–plumped lips, caressing his jaw, playing with his hair, the sway of his hips and roll of his waist beneath john's hands so mesmerizing, john's half convinced he's being serenaded by a siren.

the tension would be insane, but equally confusing because neither of them would be able to discern what's an act and what's not, or if it's all just an act, pushing and pulling at an invisible line but never quite stepping over it even once the shoot wraps, both for the sake of professionalism but also for fear of rejection.

maybe after it all, john's on his flight back home and realizes in the whirlwind of everything, he never got gale's number (has a moment of 'why would i need it? this was just a gig' lol okay yearner). john's not even sure at that point what/how he's feeling about gale, the conflicting emotions of feeling attraction to him while in borderline drag doing nothing to help the confusion, especially because he can't excuse the attraction as just that when he was feeling things during rehearsal in casual clothes too.

he knows he could easily ask his manager to reach out to gale's manager for his number, but then he gets in his head convincing himself that if gale had wanted to talk further, surely he would've asked for john's number, since gale has way more reason to be selective with his own with his status.

he doesn't realize that on the other end of things, gale's realizing he also never got john's number, only he's talking himself out of reaching out because he doesn't want to read into john's friendliness as something flirtatious when as far as he knows, john is straight, and this was likely just a job for john, as well as they seemed to get along.

cue miscommunication when one of them actually works up the courage to dm the other on instagram since they're mutuals– either john dms gale something simple, a 'thanks again for the opportunity', and because gale is never on his socials and gale's team doesn't check messages much, it's weeks before anyone clocks john's message, during which john becomes sure he's nothing more than a coworker to gale, which he understands but is sad about. or, gale dms john, but from a private account with an innocuous username that he has just for friends and family, and john never even opens it because the lack of profile picture and generic user blends in with all the other message requests he gets a day.

they only end up reconnecting when the music video actually drops, because obviously it breaks the internet, and john happens to be doing promo interviews and radio shows at the time for his band's new album and tour, so an interviewer of course asks him what the experience was like working on a set like that and working with gale. john gives a glowing review, goes out of his way to praise gale– "the nicest guy you'll ever meet, and the craziest work ethic i've ever witnessed firsthand in hollywood."

when the interviewer asks if john would ever consider working with him again, y'know, the classic question an interviewer has to ask so they can drum up clicks with a 'john egan hints at possible future project with gale cleven!' title, john lays it on thick the way he always does with a wink at the camera and a "he can call me up anytime," but then adds a serious "no, really, i would love to work with him again, he was great."

predictably, the people who are already losing their shit over the music video and making edits and fan theories about the two of them go even crazier, spam–tagging gale and his team in the comments of this interview post, which leads to it eventually making its way to gale, and gale then realizes that john hasn't been uninterested; he must've just not seen his message since surely he would've replied if he had (marge looks at him with so much disappointment when gale mentions his attempt to reach out– "gale, no one with that kind of following is going through dm requests from faceless, private instagram pages, you of all people should know this").

gale hasn't told marge about his possible feelings, but marge isn't dumb; she didn't stand on set for nearly 24 hours with her eagle–eyes and not notice the way gale had been looking at john. to anyone else, it might've just seemed like he was leaning into his persona, but marge has known gale for a long time, and she could tell it wasn't all him playing it up for the cameras.

so marge puts her manager–brain and best friend–brain together and decides that with all the hype surrounding the new song and video, the two of them being seen together in public and making a few posts together would be a great boost for both of them. but she knows gale will never go for it if she voices this to him, because he'd see it as using john for popularity; she reasons that if he doesn't know, it can't be using. so she reaches out to john's manager and figures out when they'll both be back in the same city, and relays her plan as if it's just business, asking for john's manager to let john know that gale will be in town the next week if he wants to set something up, and she gives the manager gale's number for john to contact.

when gale wakes up one morning to a 'hi, this is john! my manager passed on your number to me, hope that's okay. i was told you're in town next week? :)' and then 'egan. btw. lots of johns out there.' and then 'the music video guy.' (john, absolutely panicking on his end, worrying that gale might not even remember his name, not knowing gale's been stalking his socials and confusion–pining just as much as john has been doing the same.)

and then more miscommunication after they arrange to hang out, because john assumes this is just for publicity based on what his manager told him, and he understands, as much as he wishes they're hanging out properly. but gale assumes this is a genuine hangout, because john never says otherwise, until the end of the evening, when gale has to leave for a dinner event and john says "we better take those pics for the 'gram before we say goodbye, or the big guns'll have a fit."

and either gale masks his surprise and then disappointment and goes along with it, thinking maybe he missed a memo or misread things, and this conflict and miscommunication is dragged out even longer, or gale doesn't hide his confusion in time, and john is then equally confused, says "your manager didn't...?" and gale says "sorry, i didn't know; i guess i misread your texts," feeling stupid that he's been thinking the hangout is anything other than a pr stunt. and then there's the awkward "no! no– well, yeah, i was told that this was to promote the video, so i thought– i mean, i would've liked to hang anyway, i just didn't think you wanted to?" from john.

gale is slowly connecting the dots in his head and he's so embarrassed, but also relieved that he hasn't misread things and made a fool of himself. john looks on the verge jumping out of his skin as gale sits quietly, so gale puts him out of his misery, smiles and pushes his irritation about the incident down and says "i do want to, john. i think marge– it doesn't matter. it was a miscommunication, i guess." and all the tension evaporates out of john's body, and he lets out a laugh, and a "oh, thank god. fuck. i was about to walk into the street," and gale lets himself relax too, scoffing at john.

so they decide to have a redo the next week, since they both do feel obligated to take their stupid pictures now to please their teams (and the internet), and thus a tentative friendship is born, the two of them dancing around each other and around feelings because everything is confusing as is, let alone with the way their careers affect every aspect of their lives. so much slowburn, lots of john trying to figure his attraction out and gale keeping his walls up because the thought of literally becoming the person he's singing about in his music video is laughable, he doesn't wanna be strung around or used as an experiment for john.

and john respects this unspoken boundary and also appreciates that they can get to know each other as friends while he tries to stop freaking out every time he pictures him and gale doing less than platonic things. probably a whole lot of chaos on john's end with the absolute tornado that he is, ie: '4am 'am i gay' quizzes taken in the dark of his bunk on a tour bus, asking an openly queer friend from his band if his feelings toward gale are normal, rumours started by a fan that they saw john in a gay club after a show, etc.

because john doesn't do anything halfway– he's ready to literally go out and kiss men and explore his newfound feelings, not just to prove himself to gale, but to figure himself out, because he's terrified of hurting gale since john doesn't have the best track record with relationships. overthinks the shit out of everything and doesn't realize it's not that deep, that liking gale doesn't mean he's suddenly attracted to all men, that all gale wants is for john to be confident in himself and his feelings for him before pursuing anything.

there's a lot of back and forth and messiness and emotions stacked on top of their already crazy hectic schedules and lives, the theorizing and prying from fans and paparazzi, caution from management, but when they eventually have their point of no return moment and cross that line from friends to more, the chemistry is so intense that both of them feel stupid for dragging things out for so long.

when the initial new relationship shyness wears off, the sex is also insane, all the exploration and playfulness (and inevitability of the whole feminization thing coming back into play since that's what starts everything in the first place lol). they're barely able to keep their hands off each other, almost always spending the night at each other's places, stealing as much time as they can to make up for the time apart when there are tours or other events separating them.

they try to keep things private for a while, but with how active john is online, he slips up a good few times– tiktoks where a hat or something of gale's is accidentally left in the background, story posts where john's wearing one of gale's hoodies unthinkingly, mirror selfies where there's a mystery hand or leg in the background. the internet is torn, some convinced it's coincidence, some certain it's all a pr stunt to get people talking, some adamant that they're in a secret relationship. gale's never upset about it; they both just know how much things will change if they go public.

months are spent sneaking around, rarely going on public dates, the odd paparazzi shots still leaking out until it finally gets to the point that there's no point hiding things anymore, it's obvious that they're not just friends. they never actually announce it or make some relationship launch post; they just stop caring, and it's freeing and neither of them expect to be so affected by being able to publicly show affection for each other, but it's such a sweet thing and makes things feel so much more real.

john goes to gale's sold out arena shows and stares up at him in awe and can't believe that gale chooses him every day, and gale goes to john's band's high energy festival sets and watches his golden boy light up with joy every time he glances at him side stage and can't believe john chooses him too.

:-)

lol this post was meant to just be the two lines above the cut but then i got to thinking about origin stories and whoops new au drabble because i'm a master at getting carried away!!

[that-was-anticlimactic]

all of my dreams are in color

His hand is the brush now, his blood the ink. He drags his injury across the canvas, spreading it haphazardly across the weretiger’s scattered limbs.

It stings, not a lot, but enough, and for a moment, Ryuunosuke thinks he feels human again.

Yes, blood is a fine substitute for ink.

[or, akutagawa paints the weretiger and reflects]

🖌2,400 words | akutagawa-centric, sskk🖌

🖌a birthday present for @ryuvnosuke <3🖌

[silkoodles]

decided my first draft at Brown sucked a lot actually so i redesigned them for a fic idea I drafted up. Came up with this villain duo.

Also Carmen Mother Jump Scare!

[barrencelenny]

✨fav fics published in 2023 ✨

173 fics (+ 15 podfics) (in English) were published in the coldflash tag in 2023! Bless everybody who continues to write fic for a show that has now ended!! Here is a semi complete list of all my faves from this year in lieu of a Spotify wrapped fics edition!!!

heading off the rails by Sandrine shaw

-let Barry be drunk (for a little bit) that's what I always say! he's in his 20s he should be at the club! and that's where he is here! incredible.

Into the Speed Force by captainicecube

-ahhh I just love fics where the speed force is a character and is also Super Creepy Eldritch Horror about it

detox just to retox (i’d promise you anything) by trespresh

-coming back to this series after years since the previous instalment made me go relisten to disloyal order of water buffaloes and single handedly restarted my fob obsession so thanks for that

Seek Comfort, Find Faith by Annawry

-love when fics just have the characters be cursed by magic. it's already a superhero show set in a universe with canon magic users it's not even a reach. also love when their solution is to fuck about it.

to give hope by Aerica_Menai

-Star Trek mention gives me so much serotonin it’s not even funny + honorary mention to ‘Just Another Tuesday Amongst the Stars’ for also being about Star Trek

small favours in high doses by QLaLa

-pov outsider and teacher!barry you are everything to me. the DTR bit had me in stitches. they're both SO goddamn embarrassing my god.

There’s blood on your teeth (let me get that for you) by SoftBoyDepot

-the tag being “if you’re a fan of Leonard Snart begging this is the fic for you!” and boy did it deliver

I Won’t Ever be Too Far Away to Feel You by RedRidingStiles

-this is the only fic where I would agree with len being a cop because it’s so good. the second hand embarrassment of the initial call from Barry makes my chest hurt but hey, that just tells you how visceral the experience of reading can be lmao

So Long, Scarlet Speedster by HowToKillAVampire

-time! travel! You are everything to me! Time travellers wife-esque situations where they meeting out of sync is catnip to me I’m gobbling this fic right up

The Fair Price of a Plate of Dinner by RetroactiveCon

-hehe love fics where both Barry and len are being little shits and causing problems for Joe. Me 🤝 Len “has no interest in Christmas, but do just about anything to cause problems on purpose”

slipstream by wednesday

- competent! Barry is everything to me. Misunderstanding is delicious to me. Len not knowing how to deal with random acts of kindness is Kryptonite to me. You see how this fic is exactly up my alley

[twicethetrouble]

New family web!

[da-janela-lateral]

I open Archive of Your Own and search for Mob Psycho 100 fanfiction. I find something with an interesting concept which catches my attention, so I read. The story suddenly hits me with a paragraph about how Tsubomi was "cruel and uncaring". I calmly close the tab.

[starrystevie]

everything is hazy and maybe it's from the sticky sweet smoke of the joint they're sharing, but the thick tennessee humidity isn't helping matters. the night air feels heavy, clinging to their bare arms and foreheads like laying in quicksand, and it makes it hard for things to feel light. it all feels important, from the blades of grass in the field tickling the backs of eddie's knees as he lays propped up on his elbows to the stars shimmering above them to the sounds of nature chirping them a love song in time with his heartbeat.

"y'know," eddie starts, turning to look at steve by dropping his head to the side. the rusted arm of the lawn chair steve's sitting in creaks as the side of his head rests against the metal. the sudden motion makes the earth tilt on it's axis but sometimes that's what looking at steve just does to him. "the mountains here are old."

steve snorts out a laugh and drops a hand onto the top of eddie's head. his hand pushes through the curls for the briefest of seconds and eddie waits, wanting steve to keep his hand there, but then he's moving eddie's head to lean against his knee instead. it feels more like a win than he expects it to. "yeah, all mountains are old, man. how high are you?"

"no, steve, these-" eddie opens his arms wide to the appalachias in front of him and ignores the sharp pang of homesickness in his chest at the view. "-are older than fucking bones. they're older than saturn's rings. they-"

steve's hand returns to his curls and it stalls him. the homesick feeling that made a place in his chest warms up to nostalgia and hope and his head is filled of images of he and steve doing this again for years to come. images of them as older men, and maybe they're together and maybe they aren't, but they come back to the old plot of land he grew up on and smoke better weed and have a few beers and feel young and maybe in love again.

"it's kinda magical to think about. that these mountains that aren't nearly as impressive as the fucking rockies or somethin' have the coolest history. like, there are caves up there with zero fuckin' fossils because they were formed before invertebrates. and no one gives 'em the time of day just cause they aren't like peak skiing conditions or whatever. it's bullshit."

they fall into silence and before eddie can let himself over think about oversharing, steve's fingers linger on the side of his temple, tap a little beat before stilling. "you're accent comes out when you're excited."

eddie's face flushes and he hopes steve can't feel the heat under his fingertips. he can feel himself freeze, ready to laugh off this whole thing as being too high off his shitty weed or too tipsy from the beers or the general intoxication that comes from seeing steve fucking harrington sitting in his mom's shitty old folding chair with his mountains as the backdrop. but then steve's fingers start petting over his head again and all the noise between his ears fades away.

"i like your accent," steve whisper. eddie can barely hear it over the crickets. "it's cute."

eddie lifts his head up, risks a glance at steve and sees a matching blush to his own. it's right that the mountains are there to witness it, he thinks, as steve's hand cups his cheek and pulls him up so his knees dig into the dewy grass. they have as much of a home in his chest as steve does, it's about time they get properly acquainted.

[fabled-lady-twilla]

Which of the following ShigaDeku fic ideas sound the most interesting to you?

I have a handful of ShigaDeku fics I've been consistently working on over the past couple of months. I keep switching back and forth and writing out small scenes for each story in order to get a sense of the direction I want to take them in. They're all different flavors of dark romance and hurt/comfort and have great potential. I just can't decide which one I want to write first. Help meeeeeee! 😭😭😭

I need your opinions, ShigaDeku fans! Could you tell me which one of the following story ideas sounds the most interesting or even rate them out of four like 1/4, 2/4, etc. based on your interest? 🥺👉👈

Canon Divergence Soulmate AU

Dark romance, action, hurt/comfort, and psychological drama.

Long-lost childhood friends to mortal enemies to soulmates.

Heroes vs. villains dilemma (fixing systemic issues in hero society together with Hawks + Aizawa + the League of Villains).

Izu and Shiga discovering they're not only childhood friends but also soulmates whose souls are tied to each other for eternity.

Set in canon universe and loosely follows the MHA storyline EXCEPT it actually has a genuinely hopeful ending, gives the League a redemption arc, and achieves lasting changes for society!

Yakuza Stepbrother AU

Dark romance, suspense, hurt/comfort, and crime drama.

Izu and Shiga are stepbrothers through Inko's secret marriage to All For One fifteen years prior to the beginning of the story.

Shigaraki inheritance dilemma (Izu signs away his rights to the fortune away because Inko (on her deathbed) told him to do so in order to protect him from getting involved with mafia drama. Too bad she didn't consider Shiga becoming obsessed with Izu upon meeting him and dragging him into the mafia world anyway). 😅

Yakuza territory war dilemma (because Izu is technically Shiga's stepbrother by marriage, he's threatened strongly encouraged to stay with the Shigaraki family until its safe for him to move out.

Tartarus Rehabilitation AU

Dark romance, thriller, hurt/comfort, and psychological drama.

Izu is a therapist-in-training who believes in rehabilitation for criminals. Shiga is a serial killer incarcerated in Tartarus for going on killing sprees targeting people who are cruel to animals.

Due to one of Izu's co-workers being sick, he's called in to cover for an interview with none other than Shiga himself. By the end of the interview, Shiga becomes infatuated with Izu and refuses to speak to anyone else or release important details about his murders unless Izu is the one questioning him.

Shiga's obsession eventually becomes worse and worse until he breaks out of Tartarus with the help of All For One (because of course he does) and Izu is like, well shit, time to go into hiding!

Paranormal Fantasy AU

Dark romance, paranormal fantasy, hurt/comfort, and horror.

Izu is a mystic who specializes in healing medicine for immortal beings like vampires, lycans, shapeshifters, mages, certain kinds of demons, undead, cursed beings, and of course, all of the supernatural hunters who get hurt keeping these beings in line.

Shiga is a hybrid of unknown origin (haven't decided if he's going to be a half-demon or half-vampire yet) who gets grievously injured one day defending his territory from an opposing coven leader.

Dabi drags Shiga to Izu's remote cottage and demands that the mystics heal his coven leader or he'll slaughter him right then and there. Izu, never being able to deny someone in need of healing, decides that he'll heal Shiga as long as his coven provides protection while he stays in their territory, and Dabi agrees.

Over the course of a week, Shiga stays in Izu's cottage with him as Izu slowly uses his magic to heal Shiga's wounds. Shiga spends the entire time obsessively taking in every detail of Izu's life, trying to figure out why he's on the run and how Shiga can make Izu join his coven and make him stay with Shiga forever.

Pretty please let me know which one of these story ideas you liked the most! My ADHD brain is really struggling with which one to go for, so I would really appreciate your opinion on these. 💚💚💚

[evilpenguinrika]

Okay so I had another thought about Descendants Rise of Red

Under read more cuz it's gotten a tad long. Also spoilers.

Throughout the movie, I legit thought that Uliyana was a red herring with the whole horrible prank on Bridget that made her turn from a sweet girl into a tyrannical leader because of what Ella said about it when QoH was staging the coup.

Like I DON"T KNOW to me it felt like they were setting up Ella as the person who actually did the prank (maybe against her will or was just part of a group that decided to do it and she just stayed quiet and went along with it despite not vibing with the prank at all).

And then we got introduced to Uliyana and her group and like they very clearly obviously had her set up as the one responsible (even though I was still under the impression that she was still a red herring and it was actually Ella)

But no

It... It was Uliyana

I felt like the writers had such a perfect opportunity to dive just a little deeper into the complexities of high school drama and high school cliques and teenagers. Because yeah, teenagers can be so incredibly cruel and so incredibly mean. And like, I kinda also assumed it was like your typical dumb love triangle bs with Bridget Ella and Charming as well and maybe that's why Ella did the prank idk. Like the two girls are interested in him but it's also a little more apparent that Charming is interested in Bridget and maybe Ella got jealous. And with how horrible her home life is, she just wanted something for herself for once and had a horrible lapse in judgment in playing a mean prank on Bridget.

And like if you think about it, how horrifying is it to discover your one and only friend stabbed you in the back and humiliated you for selfish reasonings (or maybe other reasonings) and that's how she became the QoH, which could tie back into that song about how love ain't it or whatever it was called, like it would further emphasize just why QoH is the way that she is and why she finds the notion of love and trusting humans/humanity so asinine because she had something horrible happen to her, a trust and betrayal, that has since hardened her heart.

Idk if this made any sense I'm just word vomiting at this point

like IDK THEY HAD A PERFECT SET UP. ULIYANA WAS LIKE A CLEAR RED HERRING (kinda like first movie with snatching of the wand and ppl thought it was Mal but nope it was Jane. See? Red herring. Kinda. Probably.) like it was an obvious choice but then the reveal that it wasn't Uliyana would have been juicy

Oh, I also wished they had more of a clear consequence of time travelling at the end. Like I was holding my breath the entire time anticipating some sort of time-travel consequence

But

There was none

Which makes no sense because when you time travel and change the timeline, there's gonna be consequences. It's sort of an important story beat to have (one example I can think of right now is the first Life is Strange game with Max's time travelling powers and how the more she uses her powers, the more fuckery shit happens where you either watch your best friend die to save an entire town or sacrifice an entire town to save your best friend). I wish they gave us something, because then it would definitely help set us up for the next movie since apparently people are saying Rise of Red is supposed to be a two parter? Or maybe not have it so blatantly obvious but still have something there to let us know "oh, something ain't right" (like I get QoH having that drastic change is already like its own thing, but idk give us more. I want more.)

ANYWAYS again, idk, just word vomiting don't mind me

[sugarsnappeases]

out of context line!!

ty to my precious angels @velanavis @sixlane @quillkiller @static-radio-ao3 for the tags <33

“Don’t come then!” Petunia yells, her pale face splotchy red with anger, “Don’t come to my fucking wedding!”

Susan gasps, and, like with every argument the two sisters have ever had, she only tries to stop their fighting when they start swearing, usually long after the sharpest knives have hit their marks.

“Language!” she says, and then, rubbing Petunia’s arm, consoling, “You don’t mean that.”

soz if you’ve already done it but np tags for @inevitablestars @itsjaywalkers @carniferous @fatemy-friend @themuseoftheviolets <333