#~*a tale of souls and swords

[alittlelessalone]

Fun Scum Villain fic concept:

So Shen Yuan and Shang Qinghua are sent back to their original world temporarily due to system shenanigans and need to wait x number of days until they can go back. They wake up at the times of their deaths and get to use this time to do some final things in the world before returning back.

So Shen Yuan of course wants to spend the time with his family and getting to see them again and say goodbye in a less depressing way. But Shang Qinghua doesn’t have that and he’s just finished PIDW.

Shen Yuan makes sure he has enough money to get him through the timeframe (after learning about Shang Qinghua’s financial situation), so he doesn’t need to work to keep himself alive, so he decides he wants to write something a little more heartfelt as a sort of last hurrah.

He decides in honor of the two lives he and Shen Yuan stole, he’s going to share the backstory of Shen Jiu and write a story about Shang Qinghua.

Shen Jiu comes first and it’s mainly just a tale about him and Yue Qingyuan using his unposted backstory, but in the end he decides to make some minor changes so it’s not as depressing. Namely, that when they died, their souls were both sucked into Xuan Su. The pair ended up trapped there, but they were trapped there together in a world that couldn’t hurt them anymore and allowed them to finally be together.

It’s a poignant and bittersweet story that doesn’t excuse Shen Jiu’s behavior, but it does a lot to explain it and expand his character. And while it of course has its detractors, people generally like it and Peerless Cucumber is there in the comments singing its praises for all to see (and there in Shang Qinghua’s apartment smacking him over the head with a rolled up magazine and scolding him for being by such a good writer and selling out on PIDW).

The Original Shang Qinghua story doesn’t really have any old notes to go off. He was never meant to be a fleshed out character and was always just a plot device villain. But Shang Qinghua feels bad for PIDW’s Mobei-Jun, so he decides to write something for his sake too.

In this story, it’s revealed that Mobei-Jun didn’t actually kill the Original Shang Qinghua, but instead worked with him to fake his death after Lou Binghe ordered him dead. Shang Qinghua reveals that the pair were actually lovers and maintained their secret relationship over the years and that was why Mobei-Jun never seemed interested in romance.

And most readers are like wtf except for the bl fans who love it. And even Peerless Cucumber is a little more hesitant to praise it since it sort of came out of nowhere, but he can admit that it’s clever and well written. And Shen Yuan can tease Shang Qinghua relentlessly for it, even if he also approves and finds it very sweet.

Depending on how much more time they’re stuck there, maybe the pair can also write one more story, giving the original Lou Binghe a happier ending too.

Eventually, it’s time for them to go back. Shen Yuan says goodbye to has family and Shang Qinghua says goodbye to PIDW and hopes that his changes and additions can bring people some peace, even if it’s probably too late for those who need them most.

Shen Yuan realizes that Shang Qinghua was trying to alter the canon in hidden ways so that the system could silently incorporate them into the world without breaking anything. He figures it’s mainly for Bing-ge’s universe that’s still more or less PIDW, but being the mega-fan that he is, he decides to put a theory to the test.

It takes a lot less time with the help of the sect, but he manages to grow another plant body like his own. And then with Yue Qingyuan’s permission, he uses some of Shang Qinghua’s new hand-wavy canon to reach out to Xuan Su. And the next thing he knows, Shen Jiu is waking back up in the plant body after years trapped inside the sword.

And of course there’s a lot of questions and Binghe tears, but Yue Qingyuan gets his Xiao Jiu back and Shang Qinghua realizes that his changes must have taken in the other universe too, now meaning there’s less suffering there as well. He gets to curl back up in his king’s arms that night and rest assured that no matter what universe he’s in, both his king and that universe’s Shang Qinghua are well and truly loved.

[bokutoasavillain]

Hello! Could you recommend your favorite System fanfictions?

I have put this off for so long bc I have so many that I love and making a list that big seemed terrifying but I love sharing fanfics so here’s my best attempt <3

Bingqiu:

Tale Within A Tale

Rated T, It is so good!! The concept is so clever and it is such a satisfying read<33

it's you I find like a ghost in my mind

Rated M, a great identity reveal with a lot of dreamsharing

Treading Well-Worn Paths

Rated T, post-canon sqq turns into a kid and yqy and lbh look after him. I cannot tell you how I love this. The characterization, the dynamics, the identity reveal are all so perfect. Everything progresses so naturally and it is so good. The ending is a bit bittersweet and honestly it’s so fitting and just read this it’s perfect

We Are Not Wise

Rated T, in an au where cultivators draw their swords from their souls, sj takes in sy (a bit of blackmailing included). Sy and lbh are both disciples and soulmates. The focus is more on the relationship between sy and sj and it’s probably one of my favorite ways their relationship is portrayed. It is heavier on the angst and I was crying. It is so beautiful <33

The Mortifying Ordeal Of Being Known

Rated T, such a sweet and lighthearted post-canon truth spell fic <33

side effects may include indefinite photosensitivity

This is a three part series taking place post-canon. It’s about relationship development and also character development bc these two are so so young and have so much time to still grow. It is so sweet and also has some genderqueer bingqiu (as a treat)

Also one of my favorite quotes ever that still makes me cry to this day:

“I think I am mourning something that never existed to begin with,” […]“I think I am the thing that never existed to begin with.” (It’s in the third fic)

lonely little heartbeat

Rated E, lbh reverse transmigrates at 15 (I don’t want to spoil it but it’s great)

colored bright green

Rated T, Binghe also transmigrates to pidw and finds out he’s not the only one! It’s a slow burn and so sweet

Now Entering Incognito Mode!

Rated E, sqq flees cqms while lbh is in the abyss and he meets a mysterious young lady, I don’t want to spoil this it is soooo good!!!

I'll make the world safe and sound for you

Rated M, babytrapping (kinda?) its sweet and beautiful

go with the flow

Rated T, no plot just sweet post-canon husbands

End Racism in the OTW -- Infinite First Dates

Rated M, set during the five years sqq is dead, a lot of dream sharing. It’s really fun and lovely and just perfect <33

Type Casting

Rated E, oh god this one is soooo good!! What if sqqs mushroom body was that of a woman? And what if he didn’t remember his death?? And what if he himself assigned himself the role of the female lead bc well she’s a woman now so she obviously has to marry lbh right? Right???

Also sqqs inner monologue is so perfect and so good!!!!

I love this one so much pleeeeaase read it!!

the adventure of tiny bing

Rated E, tiny bingbing!! They’re friends and husbands and silly your honor

Error 404: Shizun Not Found?

Rated M, such a unique concept done so well

Promise Me Your Heart

Rated T, such a sweet and so underrated fic! I love it so much it fills me with all the mushy sweet feelings and it’s so tender and romantic and just sooo sweet <33

We’ll Meet While Rain is Falling

Rated E, amnesia that gets fixed by you guessed it papapa!! (It’s really sweet and tender)

Size Empress

Rated E, genderqueer sqq has a dream and well it progresses really well

Benign Deviations

Rated M, Bingge and Bingmei switch places and it’s amazing

shallow water weather

Rated T, MERMAID BINGQIU!! It’s so good (also anything my nyoomerr is amazing so read them all)

continued

Rated T, this one is really hard to describe so just go and read it it’s so fun and hilarious

To Boil a Frog

Rated M, the narrator in this one is so good and fun and overall it’s great

a gentler lesson

Rated T, KISSES!! SOO MANY KISSES!!!!

I (immortal, M) think I might be developing feelings for my roommate (27M). Help!!!

Rated M, so stupid so good just what it says in the title

A Transmigrator and a Time Traveler Walk Into the Bamboo House

Rated T, I just really love this one! Definitely so worth reading (I might have read it twice)

open my lungs to let you in

Rated T, also one I’ve reread a few times

Can't we just skip to the end?

Rated E, time travel baby! This and the sequels are so good!!

night of yearning

Rated E, lbh gets selective amnesia, this absolutely destroyed my soul

As to Me, As to You

Rated T, such an amazing concept with so much potential for future shenanigans and overall so satisfying

right from the start, I gave you my heart

Rated T, sqq is under an obedience curse when the jinlan reunion happens what could possibly go wrong?

Cumplane:

slow dance with you

Rated T, Kissies<33

I've got $400 and a really bad idea

Rated T, fake dating hehehe

Cumplane Summary Archive

Rated T, Outsider pov and overall hilarious

huddle for warmth

Rated G, so sweet and funny

Bros before... well everything I guess

Rated T, theyre a family <33

Moshang:

The Pen is Mightier

Rated E, Mbj seducing his husband <33

speak your mind

Rated T, sweet and touch starved

technically our marriage is saved

Rated T, so fun

Cold Hands, Warm Heart

Rated T, this is so good! It destroyed me emotionally and just ugh. My notes after reading it: „My chest hurt and oh my god this is perfect and painful and beautiful“

A Child Once

Rated T, post-canon sqh gets deaged and it’s really good

retrograde

Rated T, amnesia and misunderstandings work out

maine nazaron se tujhe chu liya

Rated M, soulmate marks and a bit of mystery (kinda)

If Not You

Rated E, fuck or die and it’s really good. I stayed up reading this until I could not see properly and I was dizzy

Ok this is it! I went through all my bookmarks for this and it took me the entire day. I hope you enjoy and if you ever need anything specific I can probably find it for you<3

[comicaurora]

Following off of, but moving away slightly from all the Fate talk: If you were to write a ‘King Arthur but female’ story, how would you go about it? What would you look for in such a story?

I can think of a couple ways I'd do it!

First, the easy part. Sword in the anvil/stone, whosoever draws it forth is the rightful king of England. Well shit, that little peasant girl just pulled it out like it was nothing. Hail to the king, any objections can be directed to The Indomitable Soul Of Albion Herself.

Or, if ancient England accepting a lady king is too much of a stretch, Merlin has a habit of helping people out with magical disguises. If necessary - and if it would be fun from a story standpoint - our peasant girl of Secret Noble Heritage could get a magical disguise that lets her appear male. Could even go full fairy tale and do something like having her appear as her true self at night, and King Arthur during the day. If we really wanted to blend it, we could let her female identity be Morgan le Fay, Merlin's student with an affinity for dark times. However, doing that would spoil the potential gay drama of letting Morgan be a powerful villainess who learns Arthur's true identity early on, and that might be too good to pass up. And since Arthur's eventual destiny is to be taken to Avalon by Morgan to sleep until England's greatest hour of need, that gets Cool Layers if we let them have a whole enemies-to-lovers thing going throughout.

Arthuriana is extremely loose in the canon department anyway, so while there are touchpoints I'd want to hit, we'd have a lot of freedom of movement in how we'd hit them. This would basically just add layers of characterization to how Arthur would handle the various adventures she gets into - especially if she feels the need to obscure her identity from some or all of her knights. There's a surplus of damsels in various folktales that could be Arthur stuck in her secret identity due to Magical Hijinks.

Unfortunately, Guinevere's foundational role in the story almost always involves her sleeping with dudes who are not Arthur, and since the overall story of Camelot is a tragedy whose downfall is brought on by a schism in the royal family, we might need to keep that for thematic consistency. And it takes on layers if we stick with the "Arthur's public identity, at least at first, is a Dude" thing, because - shocking as this may be - some people actually aren't even a little bit gay, and if Guinevere ended up politically wedded to Arthur only to learn that her husband is in fact not her preferred gender of lover, she might not be jazzed about that.

Other than that, let the cool swordfights and quests remain unchanged and I think you've got a good recipe for episodic character drama.

[creepercraftguy]

Pokemon Scarlet/Violet - Voice Actor Headcanons.

So here’s the latest update of this little series on my blog where I assign official voice actors to characters that don’t have them. I also did this with the previous title, Legends: Arceus.

I have to reiterate the same points every time, but it’s just so we’re all aware - 

This is NOT CANON. These are HEADCANONS and are unofficial. It’s just a hypothetical situation. If the characters were voiced, this is who I imagine would voice them.

Every major character in both games is included here, so there are HEAVY SPOILERS for the game’s main storylines. DO NOT READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED THE GAME OR DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILED.

The only character I did not include in this is Jacq. He already has an official VA thanks to the Pokemon Go Gimmighoul Trailer. I don’t know who it is though because they go uncredited.

So without further ado, I hope you enjoy my ideas. Or don’t. Your choice.

Nemona - KAYLI MILLS

Also Voiced:

Emilia (Re:Zero)

Alice Synthesis Thirty (Sword Art Online: Alicazation)

Keqing (Genshin Impact

Katy - DOROTHY FAHN

Also Voiced:

Konan (Naruto)

Tsumugi Shirogane (Danganronpa V3)

Mercedes (Fire Emblem: Three Houses/Three Hopes)

Brassius - ROBBIE DAYMOND

Also Voiced:

Goro Akechi (Persona 5)

Hubert (Fire Emblem: Three Houses/Three Hopes)

Prompto Argentum (Final Fantasy XV)

Iono - IRONMOUSE

Also Voiced:

Herself (On her twitch videos and Speak of the Devil)

Tanith (An Incorrect Summary of Elden Ring | The King & The Serpent)

Kofu - CHRIS RAGER

Also Voiced:

Hercule Satan (Dragon Ball)

Marshal D. Teach/Blackbeard (One Piece)

Gahuko Asano (Assassination Classroom)

Larry - XANDER MOBUS

Also Voiced:

Joker (Persona 5)

Master Hand (Super Smash Bros)

Rokuzo Taguchi (Bungo Stray Dogs)

Ryme - REGINA KING

Also Voiced:

Huey and Riley Freeman (The Boondocks)

Kreela (The Ant Bully)

Dynamite (Planes: Fire and Rescue)

Grusha - ALEJANDRO SAAB

Also Voiced:

Cyno (Genshin Impact)

Yuri (Fire Emblem: Three Houses/Three Hopes)

Izumi Miyamura (Horimiya)

Tulip - MELANIE MINICHINO

Also Voiced:

Alice Hiiragi (Persona 5 Strikers)

Anya Corazon/Spider-Girl (Spider-Man (2017))

Yan (Indivisible)

Director Clavell - KIRK THORNTON

Also Voiced: 

Kisame Hoshigaki (Naruto)

Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Jade Curtiss (Tales of Zesteria)

Penny - AMANDA CELINE MILLER

Also Voiced:

Toko Fukawa (Danganronpa/Danganronpa Another Episode)

Boruto Uzumaki (Naruto)

Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter (Sailor Moon)

Mela - ERIN FITZGERALD

Also Voiced:

Chie Satonaka (Persona 4)

Noire/Black Heart (Hyperdimension Neptunia series)

Junko Enoshima (Danganronpa series)

Giacomo - SEAN CHIPLOCK

Also Voiced:

Diluc (Genshin Impact)

Rean Schwarzer (Trails of Cold Steel)

Guido Mista (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind)

Atticus - TODD HABERKORN

Also Voiced:

Korekiyo Shinguji (Danganronpa V3)

Death The Kid (Soul Eater)

Shiro Iori (Kill La Kill)

Ortega - CASEY MONGILLO

Also Voiced:

Emporio Alnino (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean)

Protagonist (Shin Megami Tensei V)

Shinji Ikari (Neon Genesis Evengelion)

Eri - CHERAMI LEIGH

Also Voiced: 

Makoto Niijima (Persona 5)

Asuna Yuuki (Sword Art Online)

A2 (Nier:Automata)

Arven - KAIJI TANG

Also Voiced: 

Owain (Fire Emblem Awakening)

Gonta Gokuhara (Danganronpa V3)

Archer (Fate)

Rika - SUZIE YEUNG

Also Voiced:

Eula (Genshin Impact)

Makima (Chainsaw Man)

Pumpkin Pie Cookie (Cookie Run Kingdom)

Poppy - KIMBERLY ANNE CAMPBELL

Also Voiced:

Nahida (Genshin Impact)

Hayase Nagatoro (Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro)

Typhon (Re:Zero)

Hassel - JAMIESON PRICE

Also Voiced: 

Sojiro Sakura (Persona 5)

Leo Whitefang (Guilty Gear Strive)

Rider (Fate)

Geeta - SHARA KIRBY

Also Voiced: 

Candace (Genshin Impact)

Franceska Mila Rose (Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War)

Tomomi Takei (Kageki Shojo!!)

Dendra - ALEX CAZARES

Also Voiced:

Rebecca (Cyberpunk: Edgerunners)

Oblina (Nickelodean: All-Star Brawl)

Dagr (Fire Emblem Heroes)

Saguaro - PATRICK SEITZ

Also Voiced:

Dio Brando (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)

Ira Gamagoori (Kill La Kill)

Ladiva (GranBlue Fantasy: Versus)

Salvatore - BRYCE PAPENBROOK

Also Voiced:

Kirito (Sword Art Online)

Eren Jaeger (Attack on Titan)

Nagito Komaeda (Danganronpa 2)

Tyme - REGINA KING

Also Voiced:

Huey and Riley Freeman (The Boondocks)

Kreela (The Ant Bully)

Dynamite (Planes: Fire and Rescue)

Miriam - XANTHE HUYNH

Also Voiced:

Haru Okumura (Persona 5)

Marianne (Fire Emblem Three Houses/Three Hopes)

Ui Hirasawa (K-On)

Raifort - ALLEGRA CLARK

Also Voiced: 

Shamir (Fire Emblem: Three Houses/Three Hopes)

Maki Zenin (Jujutsu Kaisen)

Beidou (Genshin Impact)

Professor Sada - JENNIFER LOSI

Also Voiced:

Ganyu (Genshin Impact)

Shinobu Kawajiri (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable)

Mizuki Nakahara (Lycoris Recoil)

Professor Turo - KEITH SILVERSTEIN

Also Voiced:

Zhongli (Genshin Impact)

Johan Liebert (Monster)

Hisoka (HunterXHunter)

[emilykaldwen]

Title: Moonshadow Ship: Jacaerys x Helaena WC: 859 Rating: Gen Summary: Jace and Helaena tell stories beneath the light of the moon. Written for the @hotd-bigbang prompt: Moon Notes: Many many thanks to @acrossthesestars for her beta powers and helping me find the jace and helaena pictures and to @selfproclaimedunicorn reassuring me it wasn't terrible to begin with. this story isn't specifically related to any of my other projects, but you are welcome to consider it part of Maiden canon, or for last year's entry, The Lighting of the Blaze

The pair of them sat atop Visenya’s tower - the tallest in the Holdfast. Jace’s heart jumped into his throat when Helaena had clambered upon the red ledge, the wind catching at her silver hair, her laughter dancing on the breeze.

“You’ll fall,” he told her, but followed, as he always did, to perch beside her. The height was dizzying in a way that flying did not quite catch. He thought it was, perhaps, because there was no safety of his dragon beneath him. Just stone, warm from the day’s sun and his own practiced balance to be safe.

He tangled his fingers through Helaena’s, not for a moment thinking that he’d be able to pull her back should she fall. No, instead he would fall with her. She had woken up, frantic and tearful, and found her way to his rooms a night not so long ago, gasping as she crawled into bed with him. 

“I fell I fell I lost my wings I lost them they were taken I fell I fell.” 

Helaena had babbled those words over and over until his neck and nightshirt were soaked with her tears and he had to keep her sobs muffled lest one of the guards hear and discover them.

Her fingers were delicate, deceptively fragile when he knew how strong her grip was; how those very fingers could turn to claws just as they could stroke gently down the line of his spine.

“The Red Priest in the market told a story,” she whispered now, months later, far less frightened than before. The night was bright; the moon hung heavy and round in the sky, the blanket of twinkling stars so beautiful and wondrous, streaked with distant clouds that caught the light.He felt so small beneath the expanse. “He said that Azor Ahai thrust his sword into the breast of his wife, Nissa Nissa, and her cry of anguish and ecstasy left a crack across the moon.”

“I don’t see a crack,” Jace mused, his gaze searching across the bright shine of it. Dark blotches, certainly, but no tell-tale crack of an egg. “That’s a cruel way to treat the woman he loved the most in the world.”

“Are you saying you would not use my soul and blood to forge a great blade that would save the world?” Helaena laughed, her breath warm against his ear as the stone was warm beneath him. Jace squeezed her hand and her fingers tightened around his, reassuring. “There’s another story. There were two moons, my maid told me. One wandered too close to the sun and cracked open, birthing the dragons.”

“One of my grandfather’s crewmen told me a tale from Volantis.” It was Jace’s turn now. “That a shepherd approached the only dragon, to tame it by feeding him sheep. They would meet beneath the light of the moon.”

“In the night?” Helaena asked, a curious furrow to her brow that he brushed a kiss against to smooth. “But why is the shepherd visiting a dragon at night?”

“Because she was watching the flock to protect them from wolves,” he told her, tracking along the pictures in the sky, seeking out the fish, the lion, the hunter. “A dragon, she thought, would surely be the finest protector of her flock, for what wolf or thief would dare rouse the anger of the dragon.” She hummed softly but did not interrupt, her fingers playing with his. “Each night she came, feeding him one of the sheep to sate his hunger, so he might trust her, and eventually the shepherd lay with the dragon. The moons turned and the shepherd gave birth to more dragons.”

Helaena’s teeth scraped against her lower lip. “So the shepherd lay with the dragon and the dragon… fit?”

He snorted. “She was a very special woman.”

She shivered, giggling. “So the shepherd lay with the dragon. There were no other dragons?”

“I guess not. That’s what the story says: it was the only dragon. And that’s how the other dragons came to be, I suppose.”

“They do say that Old Valyria was founded by sheep herders,” Helaena mused. He felt her carefully shift to rest her chin upon his shoulder, and Jace turned his head slightly to brush his nose against hers. She smelled of citrus, of lemon balm and mint. “Kivio biantys,” she murmured. 

His cheeks turned red, his heart stuttering at the whisper. Promised shepherd, caretaker of the soul. Soulmates, as the Westerosi called it. His mouth went dry, his throat bobbing as he swallowed.

“Did you dream this?” he asked, the Valyrian he’d learned from the cradle rolling off his tongue, the accent of his mother, of Laenor, of his grandmother coating the words. It was warm, different from the elegant polish of Helaena’s maester taught tongue. Sometimes he felt they should exchange how they sounded, to match their insides.

“Daor.” She blinked, soft and slow, matching lavender gaze reflecting the shine of stars, the pierce of moonglow that caught on her hair and Jace thought she was otherworldly with it - the woman of the tale he’d spun for her. “I just know it.”

[gallusrostromegalus]

AEIWAM - Some details about whats going on with Komamura. IIRC canon said he was a werewolf, are you doing anything with him?

Me: What IS Komamura's backstory? Me: *reads backstory and eventual canon fate of Komamura* Me: Hm. Me: That's thematically weird and depressing. Me: I'll just ignore that :)

---

So in An Elephant Is Warm And Mushy, there's ALL KINDS of animal-people and supernatural creatures of varying degrees of anthropomorphic states in the Soul Society! Wolf people! Yokai! Centaurs But Bad! Snake people (sneople)! Mothmen! Whatever the fuck The Philosopher Wax is! Hell, Zaraki Kenpachi was raised by eagles! More nonhuman persons than you can shake a stick at!

They just stay away from the humans because The Humans are TERRIBLE.

...Not as terrible as my immediate family though, The Young Wolf is willing to gamble. he has to leave his home suddenly, in the middle of the night, frightened and injured. Family feuds are bad enough, but a drought year for a large group of apex carnivores and great-grandmother dying and creating a power vacuum? I'm lucky I got out alive! He reasons, tightening the bandages and wincing.

It doesn't look so bad. he lies to himself, looking at his reflection in the where he had finally collapsed from exhaustion and blood loss the previous night and somehow woke up alive this morning. Great-Grandfather did me a favor, trying to bite me in half like that- a tail would just make it even harder to blend in with the humans!

...Clothes would help more though. He sighs.

One man's trash is another's treasure, and that has never been more true than in the case of wolves that want to live with humans. The Young Wolf nearly weeps with joy when he finds the dump- barely-rotted animal carcasses to eat! broken wood for a fire! and clothes! Big enough to fit him! Alright that's definitely a bloodstain with a big, sort of sword-slash-shaped hole in the middle, but nothing a dunk in the river won't solve!

...Or not. Well, at least being covered in mud is less suspicious than being covered in blood? How does this thing even go on anyway? The garment is so confusing, he almost doesn't hear the humans who came to dump something until they are nearly upon him, and realizing they'll panic if they see his face, he grabs a broken basket and jams it over his head.

"Hey!" one of the humans calls out, seeing the movement. "What're you?" An old man peers around the pile at him, curious.

The Young Wolf sputters- he's heard tales of humans before, but this is the first human he's ever actually seen- The stories tell of their strange dark eyes and flattened faces how their fur is so fine they're nearly bald all over, and this man fits the description perfectly. An old woman- he guesses this one is a Woman, because what little fur she has is longer- she appears behind him, equally curious, then smacks the man under the ear.

"You dummy!" She snaps. "That's a monk!"

"Big damn monk!" The man laughs- indeed, even though he's one of the smallest of his people and not even grown, The Young Wolf towers over him- but still, he extends his open hand. Like the stories say, his claws are blunt and pale and the pads of his paws are soft. "What's yer name, venerable?"

"He can't answer that, he's a monk!" the woman snaps, exasperated. "They got- whatchyamacallit- Vows of Silence!"

"Oh, right!" the old man laughs. "Well, wouldn't matter if you could talk anyhow- my Old Lady's deaf as a post and I'm dumb as a rock! Come on, this is no place for a holy man!" he waved.

"Our home is up this way- it isn't much, but it's better than sleeping in Garbage! You stay with us and I'll fix that ratty old robe right up!" She said, grabbing him by the hand-

-

Ba-San looks down at his hand- it feels strange in hers, but it's not the fine gray fur covering his fingers or the rough pads on his palm or the dark nails that taper to claws.

It's that the hand is bleeding, scraped and cut and one of his nails missing like it had been torn off in a fight.

Ba-San is so old that everyone has forgotten her name and they just call her Ba-San, even her husband (who is so old that everyone has forgotten his name and calls him Jii-san, even his wife), and she didn't get this ancient by being an idiot. She glances up at the broken basket she knows got thrown in here by her neighbor not a week ago and sees the large golden eyes inside, staring down at her.

She's also old enough to know what a frightened child looks like, no matter how tall or what species he is.

She makes a show of squinting at his hand. "Why, your nails are FILTHY! You can wash up at the well out back too." She pats his hand.

"Of course! That's right!" Jii-san laughs. "Like I said- I got gravel for brains! He can sleep in Sajin's bed- Sajin is our Boy, but he's long since left home. It'll be good to have a young person around again!" he says, taking the boy's other hand.

He follows, stumbling awkwardly in the badly-tied robe and like he's been injured, but if he leaves paw-prints behind him, they don't remark upon it. - After about a month, the boy has something to confess. And something to ask.

Ba-San and Jii-San have been kind to him- they let him into their home and fed him and Ba-San didn't fix his robe so much as make an entirely new one "appropriate for a Monk", and Jii-san found a pair of old work gloves for him "so you can do your Good Works without losing another nail". Ba-San always gives him her soup-bones "I don't have the teeth to chew them anymore" and Jii-san always moves over so they can both sleep in the sun-patch that appears in the middle of their home every afternoon.

He's tried to repay them how he can- he's tall enough to fix the holes in the roof of their one-room shack standing flat-footed on the floor, and he carries water from the well every day to wash the stone steps outside and re-painted the red gate out front and every morning he makes them breakfast to wake them up and every night he rubs their tired necks and shoulders.

"Mmm-rr." he tries at breakfast, and they both look up, but it's hard enough practicing human words in the woods behind the shack to the birds, let alone now, at the table with the two people he cares most about in the world.

"You say something, Venerable?" Jii-san asks. "Don't worry- I won't tattle to the abbot on you-" he teases.

"Shush!" Ba-san barks at him. "What is it?"

He sighs, and tries again, focusing on the sounds. "mMnoddamunk."

The two elders stare blankly at him.

"Ahm nodda munk." he tries again, enunciating better. "Ahm nodda yumn eethrr."

The two look at each other, then turn back to him and place a hand on each of his.

"...Sorta figur'd the first when you didn't recognize the shrine." Nods Jii-san. "-But that's alright. You take good care of us."

"...Sort of figured the second when I saw your hand on the day we met." Nods Ba-San. "-But that's alright. You're a good person, which is a very different thing than being a Good Human."

The Boy stares at them, stunned, then cringes, embarrassed. Of course! They're old, not stupid. "Aiyee- r-r-r MN! Aiyee LLied." he apologizes, stumbling over the difficult consonant in the middle, determined to conquer it.

"I didn't hear any lies, did you, Jii-san?" asks Ba-san.

"I didn't hear nothin' and my ears even work!" he grins, ears perking up.

The Boy sighs, still exasperated with their antics but mostly relieved.

...Then something Jii-san said caught up with him, and he frowns.

"Aiyee- Aye haffa..." Another tricky consonant. "Aye needa assk ssmmng." he changed tracks. L was enough of a battle for one day, Q and his frustrating wife U could wait.

"Whadday wanna know, Venerable?" Jii-san asked, and Ba-san frowned, turning her ear out behind their home, already suspecting his questions.

He held up two fingers and they nodded, waiting. He'd gotten very good at numbers and pointing already, and until today, that had carried the conversation. "sssHrrine?" he asked.

Jii-san frowned. "...what's your second question?"

"th-Therre'ss ah- Grrrave?" he pointed out behind the shrine, to where a stone stood, with what he now recognized as marks signifying a name carved into it. "wHo?"

Ba-San and Jii-san looked at each other, distraught for some time before Ba-San finally turned back to him, both hands on his.

"...Venerable," She finally spoke. "You had to run away from home in a hurry, didn't you?"

The boy nods.

"-And Jii-san and I were the first people you met that weren't you family, right?" She continues.

He nods again. She purses her lips, agitated.

"Jii-San." She finally speaks. "I think we ought to show him Sajin."

Jii-san sighs and nods, agreeing with her, and stands up. At the back of the house, there is a little cabinet with two boxes they never open, and something covered by a black cloth. Jii-san opens the cabinet and takes out the thing covered by the black cloth, pulling the cloth aside and bringing the thing to the table. It's a flat rectangle, and on it is a drawing of a very strange creature.

It's face is almost perfectly circular, and it's body covered in clothes, like how Humans dress, including a funny hat. What the boy can see of the creature is perfectly smooth and hairless and the same color as not-quite-ripe peaches. It has a long mane of straight dark gray hair growing from the top of its head, and a beard a bit like a billy-goat's

"This is Sajin," Says Jii-san, voice wavering a bit. "He wasn't our son- you can tell, we're not related by blood- but he was Our Boy. He took care of us, like you do now."

"He was Our Boy." nods Ba-San, on the verge of tears. "Then he was Our Man. And then he was Our Old Man, and then-" She stopped, and began to cry in earnest. "-And then he left home, and we buried his body out behind the shrine, and marked his grave, as Humans do."

The boy continued to stare at Sajin's portrait. "...Sajin." he whispered, and the name didn't fight him at all. "...Ihff- if Sajin iss Yumann-?" he looked up at his friends. "Whattrrre You?"

Ba-San beckons him and Jii-san back to the cabinet, and puts her hand on one of The Boxes They Never Open. Jii-San puts his hand on the other, and together, the open the lids just a tiny bit for The Boy to see inside.

He gasps and steps back in horror- the things in the boxes are very much like the skulls he's seen of his people before, but the noses are all smooshed like they didn't grow right, and the eyes are too large and- -And they're just the right size each to belong to Ba-San and Jii-San.

"We are Koma, Guardian Dogs, and this is our shrine." Says Jii-san, closing the lid on his box as Ba-san closed hers, and placing the drawing of Sajin back on the shelf above them. "We wear clothes and speak like humans because we once took Names, a very long time ago, and thus we are People and we act like People." He explained.

"Nnames?" the boy asks.

"A Name is... a sort of contract, that the humans made up." Says Ba-San, locking the cabinet back up. "Humans can live together in such huge packs and crowded cities because they have Rules- you're not allowed to kill other people except in self-defense. You're not allowed to take food someone else caught. Nobody is allowed to kill a child for any reason, things like that. If you take a Name, it's like saying- 'I am this Person! And I agree to abide by the rules of being a person!', and you have to follow the rules, but everyone else has to follow the rules for you too, because you have a Name. So Humans can live very close to each other, because they all have an understanding that nobody is going to violate those rules."

"It's not just humans that can take names- long ago, some wolves decided to take names, and those wolves became Dogs, that live with humans. They were our ancestors, and like our ancestors, we took Names, and we obeyed the rules, and for that, we were fed and allowed to sleep inside and given soup-bones and let to sleep in the sun-patch, but most of all, we were Loved." Said Jii-san.

"-And just the same, we Loved Sajin. He was Our Boy. And We were His Dogs." Said Ba-san, bursting into tears again. Jii-san held her, tears running down his face as well.

Ba-san cried into Jii-san's shoulder for a long time, and The Boy Who Was A Wolf That Wanted To Live Among The Humans sat in silence, thinking.

"...Cour-could Aye- take a nName?" He asks, slowly.

"You'd have to take two, and learn all the rules-" Nodded Jii-san. "But yes. Anyone who can talk can take a name. And you've been talking my tail off!" he wagged.

"Two?" the boy asked. He didn't need to use his fingers this time.

"Humans have two names- one is the name of that specific human, and one is the name of their family or the place they came from or what they did, as a sort of... Introduction. Humans are very big on introducing themselves and all their friends- though I suppose it makes sense, what with them having names to introduce themselves with."

"You can be a Komamura!" Jii-san said, wagging excitedly. "Ba-san and Jii-san are Koma, and we are your Ba-San and Jii-San, so you must be part of our family, so that makes you Mura, a relative- so you're a Koma-mura!" he nodded.

"Humans also give their children names of revered ancestors, to honor the ancestor, and protect the child." Added Ba-san. "You do Sajin's chores, you sleep in Sajin's bed, you take care of Sajin's Dogs... You must be Sajin!"

"That's your name, if you want it- Komamura Sajin!" Said Jii-san. The Boy stared at them for a long time, completely still, until they realized that, for the first time since they'd known him, the scarred nub on his backside was wagging too.

"Thank you." Said Sajin, tears streaming down his face too. --

Many months later, a Monk* leaves the little shrine to Ba-san and Jii-san at the edge of the dump. He leaves his home in no particular rush- if anything, he's lingering- in the middle of a bright morning, hale and with joy in his heart. He waves to his Ba-san and Jii-san as he heads down the road, promising to come back and visit.

"Look at that." says Ba-San. "Our Boy is leaving home again."

"I know," Says Jii-san. "-but this time it'll be alright."

--

[s-aint-elmo]

digging out the eah content i created in a frenzy during last year’s summer of obsession part 1: my personal sapphic multishipping guide (created to explain to my friends which of these dolls i think should hold hands)

(more in-depth discussion of the ships below the cut)

the polycule that will take over ever after

kitty/lizzie; kitty/maddie; maddie/lizzie

self-explanatory. frequently purchased together do not separate. bonus shoutout to maddie canonically giving kitty a little kissie on the cheek and getting off scot-free in the books though. a wonderlandiful world was a banquet to me

cedar protection squad

once again a wonderlandiful world and once upon a time i owe you my life. kitty ESP being so adamant abt not giving a shit then turning around and fucking up those boys who were mean to cedar...... i love friendship

kitty/cerise

also self-explanatory. she was a catgirl she was a wolfgirl can i make it anymore obvious. also doribuki’s phenomenal fake dating fanfic....... transformative foundational transcendental

cerise/raven

YOU MUST UNDERSTAND. i entered eah a rapple shipper and exited the book series ready to burn at the stake for cerise/raven. book two was SO MUCH. it had everything. raven befriending cerise despite her attempts to isolate herself. texting in class. winking at each other. raven meeting the parents and hearing embarrassing baby cerise stories. cerise putting it all on the line to save raven. i’m ambivalent about shadow high but cerise gets literally one (1) mention and it’s in raven’s internal monologue wherein she equates cerise’s hood w feelings of warmth and safety. like how was that in any way necessary. i rest my case 

raven & maddie

self-explanatory as well. dabesties. the ride or dies. it means so much to me that raven always has a friend in maddie no matter how many clowns and jokers (derogatory) treat her like the antichrist. maddie the character ever

raven/apple

WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN. the gelphie dynamic is a classic and i am EXTREMELY vulnerable to it. they are THE ship and i will pay my respects to the end of time. i am a big fan of how they trade their roles throughout the franchise and how rich the drama and history are between them. it’s pure fucking poetry.

raven/darling

TBH. a serve. the only thing juicier than evil queen/damsel in distress is evil queen/princess charming. big big fan of darling giving raven the five star princess treatment after a lifetime of being feared and shunned and vilified. equally big fan of raven’s momentous act of rebellion giving darling the courage to be true to herself. ALSO. the absolute archetype-subversion slay of the Pure-Hearted Hero(TM) confronting the Mistress of Evil(TM) and dropping their sword. looking through the smoke and mirrors and the will of Fate itself to see the girl who has wanted nothing but to be kind beneath. swearing their heart and soul and sword to the one true good they have found. picture it. i can almost see the 100-word drabble

raven/apple/darling

now THIS is just THE fairytale couple. the evil queen, the damsel in distress and the princess charming ALL holding hands and riding off into the sunset together. dappling on its own doesn’t do it for me but raven in the mix just makes everything gel perfectly. she’s the tomato in the ratatouille the cornstarch in the spring roll water, etc etc

darling/holly

this is one of those ships where i read a really convincing fic and the more i thought of it the more it just made sense. like they'd read swashbucklers and tales of courtly love together. holly would 100% write a darling placeholder in her self-insert romance fanfic pre-relationship as a way to express her feelings. darling would 100% find out and gently pull her out of the pit of sheer mortification she drilled into the ground to escape. also the height difference is a thing of beauty

safe from the polycule

duchess/poppy

they have one singular episode to their name and it was enough. it was Everything. the dynamic you can extrapolate from that one single interaction is so incredibly appealing to me. duchess’s bitchiness belied by her palpable air of vulnerability coming up against poppy’s spine of steel tempered by her skill in gaining perspective. poppy can challenge duchess into being a better person and duchess can be poppy’s character flaw like idk she just has shit taste in women that was the price she had to pay to be moisturized and unbothered by destiny. i just think they have the potential to be the unexpected, inexplicable power couple of eah

briar/faybelle

do i even need to say anything they had a whole movie to make their case. they’re rapple if rapple got their shit together before armageddon, with the bonus of a potential curse-breaking true love’s kiss for the fanfic authors to thrash between their teeth. truly unlimited. also unlike rapple where raven is 100% against being a villain and therefore it’s apple who has to do the mental gymnastics to open herself to the possibility of a relationship w raven, faybelle is just chomping at the bit to make her momma proud and presents a compelling perspective for the whole “falling in love w your fated nemesis” thing

blondie/cupid

they are icons, they are legends, and they ARE the moment. these two are so chaotic individually, what with blondie’s criminal skillset and habit of menacing innocent woodland creatures and cupid’s matchmaking powers combined w her shitty aim, that putting them together can only mean good things. there’s this whole element of their shared passion as public figures who at their best seek the truth and guide others through matters of the heart respectively that’s always interesting as a point of irony/obstacle when they start catching feelings and have to decide what to do with them. their joint youtuber/podcaster slay can level nations

[howlingday]

What if Jaune was a Xiao-Long? Does he either inherit Tai’s puns but are actually good, or Summer’s obsession with weapons, specifically swords.

Well, let's talk about the changes that would come with Jaune being born a Xiao Long. I'm assuming that he's Raven and Tai's son and Yang's twin brother, since him being Ruby's twin would potentially give him silver eyes and take away Ruby's role as the innocent and pure soul that she is, since she'd have to share the big hero spotlight.

As a Xiao-Long Branwen, Jaune's eyes would be red, blue, or purple, which is a choice of colors I love. Like, Yang isn't red like her mothers or blue like her fathers, but a lovely mix of purple to show she is both her mother's and her father's child. So Jaune also being born with these would be nice, though him having either Tai's or Raven's colored eyes would be a nice contrast to Yang. Also, fourth option, just putting it on the table so it's there, Jaune being heterochromatic with red and blue eyes. But to be honest, that feels a little too OC for me. Honestly, I'm leaning to Tai eyes since it would give Raven more reason to not stick around.

Jaune would grow up with Yang and help raise Ruby, but I could see him acting more like a brother than a father with her. He plays video games and reads comic books with her, while Yang is acting more as a mother-figure, filling in the space Summer left. I can also see Jaune having a Luigi dynamic to Yang's Mario, with him being the more timid and cautious twin of the two. Like, I'm imagining the three leaving to look for Summer with Jaune making constant whines like "Yaaang, we should go back!"

Now, with Jaune's weapon, let's address the goliath in the room. Crocea Mors? Not a thing. There's no family heirloom for him to take from the wall to attend Beacon. Instead, since he'd attend Signal and Beacon with his sisters, he'd make his own weapons. What weapons? Ooh... That's... Oof... If you're familiar with my Ru-Ja-Gun-Con series, you know that there are A LOT of weapons Jaune could choose and be inspired by. I even hinted at one being a solid choice for me if I had my way, BUT that was Jaune in canon. This is an entirely different Jaune. However, since this Jaune is still, essentially, Jaune, I would still like to keep the Jaune Arc style, so I'll let him keep the sword and shield and say he was inspired by the fairy tale stories he would read to Ruby, and yes, it is the Rusted Knight. However, I'd also like to borrow from the Joan of Arc inspiration and give Jaune something from her arsenal. I'm thinking a sword and shield/sheath that can be turned into a crossbow! But wait, there's more! Since both Ruby and Yang use theirs for combat AND mobility, I'd like to suggest Jaune has a rappelling line/bolt that he can slide on. Neat, right? Now we just need a name... How about... Juniper Rose, named after his favorite character from his favorite fairy tale.

"But what about his semblance?!" The voice in my head cries, mimicking what I think is what you're asking. Well, since he is heading off to Signal and Beacon with his sisters, it would only make sense to have Jaune unlock his aura and his semblance, but instead of coming up with something wild like Juniper Rose, I'd suggest keeping Aura Amp as his semblance BUT obviously have it unlocked sooner. I'm imagining a scenario during training where Ruby or Yang got really hurt, so he rushes over to help them and uses his semblance to quickly heal them.

But yeah, there's my Jaune Xiao-Long for you.

[innumerable-stars]

Promo Post: Farmer Giles of Ham

Summary

Farmer Giles is a simple soul in a world of clever dragons, arrogant kings, fancy knights, and massive giants. He has his blunderbuss and he has his dog, and that’s good enough for him. This is the story of how an unlikely farmer becomes the Darling of the Land, complete with wordplay, an overabundance of names, and a legendary sword.

Why Should I Check Out This Canon?

Farmer Giles of Ham is a very funny and witty short story with a dragon to rival Smaug in Chrysophylax Dives, a very silly dog named Garm, and a pun to cap the whole thing off. If you’ve ever wondered why the river Thames is spelled like that but pronounced like Tames, this story provides one explanation for you!

There is potential for some fun stories involving worldbuilding, gapfillers, or further adventures, or art depicting the dragon, the dog, Farmer Giles himself, or the landscapes.

Where Can I Get This?

Farmer Giles of Ham is available for purchase as a book on its own, or as part of Tales from the Perilous Realm or The Tolkien Reader. It is also online as part of the Internet Archive’s copy of Tales from the Perilous Realm.

What Fanworks Already Exist?

There are currently 4 fanworks available on AO3. There is also some fanart to be found, such as this one of the Mock Dragon's Tail at the Christmas Feast.

[lisenberry]

Lizzah's Haladriel (Halbrand + Galadriel, The Rings of Power) Masterlist

Series:

Chef Halbrand - A spicy modern restaurant AU.

The nightly escapades of the staff at Shenanigans, with Galadriel as the new waitress, Celeborn as her boyfriend/boss, and Halbrand as the ex-con line cook.

The ocean is holding all the kings - A collection of related canon adjacent AUs.

Begins with a missing scene of Halbrand crafting Galadriel's suit of armor, and ends with the Galadriel sailing for Valinor at the end of the Third Age.

Completed:

No Crying (In Baseball) - A League of Their Own AU

While her husband is missing in action and presumed dead in WWII, Goldie O’Finarfin signs up to play baseball in the All Arda Girls Professional Baseball League to distract her from the grief of losing so many of her loved ones to war. She clashes with the surly team manager, Hank Smith, a recently returned veteran battling his own demons.

All the dead seem to know where I am - Hellbrand and Ghouladriel Halloween Week 2023 Entry

One was never to speak of Sauron in the dark, or alone. For his very name was an abomination. A curse. A cautionary tale of what happened to lesser beings who dreamed too loftily, aspired too greatly. Who coveted the power only held by the gods.

It burns like hell when two souls meet - Hellbrand and Ghouladriel Halloween Week 2023 Entry

A horror/noncon, in the vein of the Exorcist, where the demon Sauron possesses human Halbrand, and the nun-in-training Galadriel does her best to save him.

Where you drew the line, I would cross the line (a thousand times) - The Cutting Edge AU

A dubcon romcom with Galadriel as the rich figure skater, and Halbrand as the injured hockey player looking for another chance at glory.

WIPs:

Love is heavy and light, bright and dark - Haladriel Fic Exchange Spring 2024 Entry

A Regency fairytale featuring a ball, a pair of star-crossed lovers, a peculiar dagger, a borrowed dress, and revenge.

Come on love, draw your swords - Roman Empire AU

Galadriel Artanis is the last princess of an ancient Celtic tribe wiped out by General Sauronius, under the command of Emperor Melkor. Sauronius wishes to keep her as his war prize, but she has other plans.

Take care of the blood that your love runs through - Milkman/Appalachia AU

Celeborn leaves his new wife Galadriel home at his dilapidated family farmhouse while he's away on business. Dairy farmer Halbrand stops in to check on his pretty neighbor every now and then.

[taleofmuses]

@seaoftales

The sea burnt. Between the marine ships and the pirate ships lay a wasteland of burning debris. The Sunny was running out of canons slowly, the ship severely harmed already, about to face taking on water or having to run. The Red Force while looking better had taken on a devastating hit, burning already. One of the marine ships was in the process of sinking, following a pirate vessel and two more marine vessels to the ocean floor.

Suddenly fog settled over the ocean between the two sides of a war. One more canon shot rang out, then silence. An eerie singing joined the fog. Some sailors stepped away from the decks, slowly as dread gripped them. The stronger ones weren't yet touched by the tendrils of fear that rose up from the depths of the ocean, accompanied by a dark ship.

Tattered sails hung limp in the wind, holes graced the side of it. It shouldn't be able to float at all. It should take on water. And yet it glowed, a dark and eerie, almost purple glow.

"It's the Caleuch!" one poor soul cried out, recognizing it from children's tales. "We're all dead!"

Silence fell, the humming stopped as lightnight lit up the deck of the Caleuche, showing a few solid figures and many, many more shadows lingering on it.

One of the solid figures stepped atop the figure at the bow of the ship. He looked around at all the sailors, most of them destined to perish now, die in the hellfire the Caleuche would bring.

And yet as he looked, Athelar stopped, his gaze lingering on one man, wielding a sword and the Caleuch paused, unlike any story of the mythical ghost ship ever said.

[iwillrememberyoumarathon]

IWRY Fic Marathon 2023: November Roundup

See our previous roundup for fanworks posted from November 1-15.

Day 16: I Know Those Eyes/This Man Is Dead by Greensword101 Summary: Him. It was him. Buffy knew it in her heart. Angel standing in the shop, browsing aisles. In broad daylight. When he looked up, his eyes widened a fraction before ducking down again. But Buffy knew those eyes anywhere. They were always with her on nights that she was forced to relive thrusting that sword into his chest. But why did he pretend not to know who she was? (Rated G. 1,533 words)

Day 17: Of Prophecies and True Love’s Kiss by UltramarineOrchid (@ultramarineorchid) Summary: Buffy’s no damsel but just this once Angel might be. -or- The kind-of-sort-of Sleeping Beauty retelling no one asked for. (Rated G. 2,050 words)

Day 18: The Red Gate by bluestarsandclouds (@bluestarsandclouds) Summary: All the times Buffy and Angel met up at the place in the middle. (Rated G. 3,185 words)

Day 19: Overexcited by AmorousGreen (@calenlily) Summary: The first time Buffy takes him in her hand, he pops a knot without meaning to. It’s a loss of control every bit as shameful as the demon coming forward the first time they’d kissed. He’s two hundred years old and he’s always prided himself on his discipline, he shouldn’t be embarrassing himself like an overeager schoolboy. (Pre-Surprise in an Omegaverse AU.) (Rated E. 1,223 words)

Day 20: Angelus's Mercy: Part Two by MCorey1317 Summary: Buffy can't seem to stop finding herself in these predicaments ... (Rated E. 7,804 words)

Day 21: Being Known by Kean (@keanherself) Summary: Buffy sees Angel on the cover of Snooped and a late night phonecall ensues. Set during the summer between S4 & S5 of Buffy and S1 & S2 of Angel. (Rated T. 3,392 words)

Day 22: Not Like Before by buffytargaryen (@buffy-targaryen) Summary: Angel offers to help Buffy with her Homecoming pictures. Pining ensues. (Rated G. 1,622 words)

Day 23: I Can't Remember by MeTheMermaid (@casenpoint) Summary: A week after The Hyperion burns to the ground, Angel shows up on Buffy's doorstep. With a heartbeat. If this is Buffy's greatest fantasy finally come true, why can't she shake the feeling that this is a bad thing? Buffy will have to decide if she can overcome their complicated past for the sake of their future. (Rated E. 6,986 words)

Day 24: Side Mission by Taaroko (@taaroko) Summary: Angel invites Buffy for a romantic evening of clearing demons of indeterminate origin out of a cave on the beach. Or, what I like to imagine would've happened if Angel had made an appearance in "The Puppet Show." (Rated T. 3,162 words)

Day 25: The Chosen Princess and the Shadow Knight by KairosImprimatur (@kairosimperative) Summary: Gather 'round to hear the tale of Summer's Princess, who set out from the land of Solandale to seek her destiny, to vanquish the Dark Master, and mayhapse to find her one true love and break the curse upon him. (Not rated. 2,362 words)

Day 26: the girl and the ash by claddaghrings (@bangelism) Summary: there is no cure. (Rated T. 2,152 words)

Day 27: Our Little Family by twinkielove6 Summary: Buffy is having trouble dealing with her emotions after coming back from the dead. She needs to get out of Sunnydale and away from her friends for a little while, so she turns to the only person she needs right now. Angel. Angel has a newborn, Connor, who quickly becomes Buffy's son as well. Angel's soul has been made permanent and the pair live out their little fairytale. (Rated G. 2,294 words)

Day 28: Can It Be Right to Give What I Can Give? by asoulofstars & blackdragonhellfire (@asoulofstars) Summary: By the time we see Buffy and Angel in "What's My Line?", they are a SOLID couple. They're happy and seem to be on the same page. So, how did they get there? Well, Eyghon prompted some emotions on both ends that needed to be addressed, and it gives them a chance to get past all of their overdramatics. Canon compliant missing scene between "The Dark Ages" and "What's My Line? (Part 1)". (Rated T. 1,445 words)

Day 29: An Aspect Of by GraceNM Summary: Just because Buffy’s looking in a mirror doesn’t mean she’s getting a true reflection. Angel tells her what he sees, and the effect she has on him. Post-Earshot. (Rated M. 2,314 words)

Day 30: Six Times Angel Lost Buffy And One Time He Didn't by aboutafox (@aboutafox) Summary: There are things you don't get used to. There are cycles you don't break. Until you do. (Rated T. 3,387 words)

Artworks

Bangel — I Will Remember You - gifset by @marie-moreaus

"So, no touching..." / "We stay in touch..." - photoedit by @oveliagirlhaditright

Buffy and Angel - Maybe If I Tell Myself Enough - video by @broke-me-into-pieces

Buffy and Angel - An Evening I Will Not Forget - video by @bluestarsandclouds

AtS 1.08 ♥ I Will Remember You - anniversary gifset by @liam-summers

"to live in this world you must be able to do three things..." - gifset by @sarahmichelegellar

Buffy and Angelus in Innocence - digital painting by @artsying-ifer

buffy and angel | work song - video by @bangelism

[wangxianficfinder]

Daemons / Sentient Sword

~*~

🧡 Song of Suibian and Bichen: Or, the Greatest (And Only) Furby Master of Demonic Cultivation by moonwaif (T, 64k, WangXian, Fix-It of Sorts, canon adjacent, The spiritual weapons are furbies, Angst with a Happy Ending, The parent trap but make it WangXian with furbies, Mutual Pining, Taking my favorite parts of every adaptation and smashing them together)

🧡 like speaking to my heart by SnowshadowAO3 (T, 613k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Daemons, Slow Burn, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canonical Character Death, Some people live!, additional warnings in specific chapters, if you don't know what daemons are that's ok because I explain it in the author's note, also by slow burn I VERY much mean slow burn)

The Grandmaster of Daemonic Cultivation by CaptainJojo (E, 104k, WangXian, ChengQing, XuanLi, Daemons, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, a lil bit of sexy in later chapters, Wangxian figures it out quicker, gratuitous bending of the rules of cultivation, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending, Metaphysical Sex, Daemon Touching, Canon Divergence, Eventual Happy Ending)

a shattering of souls by coffee_and_cardamom (M, 42k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Pre-Canon, Post-Canon, Canon Rewrite, Canon Temporary Character Death, Major Character Undeath, Angst with a Happy Ending, Heavy Angst, Comfort/Angst, Blood and Gore, Hurt/Comfort, Mildly Dubious Consent, Dubious Consent Due To Identity Issues, WWX in WWX's Body, YLLZ WWX, Oblivious WWX, BAMF WWX, POV LWJ, Protective LWJ, LWJ Character Study, Daemon Touching, Daemon Separation, Daemon Feels, Everyone Needs A Hug)

The Grand Master of Daemonic Cultivation by FayJay (G, 3k, wangxian, daemons au)

Kind of Evil by nirejseki (G, 1k, canon divergence, sentient swords, sentient sabers, BAMFs)

Crowded by nirejseki (G, 1k, NHS & WWX, wangxian, LWJ/NHS/WWX, canon divergence, different body offering ritual, atypical relationship dynamics, sentient sabers)

Close by nirejseki (Not rated, 11k, NMJ & Baxia, NMJ & NHS, body swap, sentient sabers)

Ch 25 & 33 of The Tales of Despereaux by stiltonbasket (T, 39k, wangxian, canon divergence, WWX summoned by QS, additional warnings in author's note when applicable)

the world passes by but for me there is only you by beeswaxing (E, 82k, wangxian, canon divergence, fix-it of sorts, accidental marriage, love confessions, first kiss, first time, horny teenagers, pining, fluff, everyone lives au, wedding night, emotional sex, golden core reveal) this one has sentient swords

Chenqing and Wangji Takes Matters Into Their Own Hands by HelloKitten (Not rated, 11k, wangxian, Bichen/Chenqin, fix-it of sorts, glimpse of future, time travel?)

If You Give a Cultivator a Daemon Series by ushauz (T, 23k, WangXian, XianNing, JC & WWX, Daemons, Yunmeng Bros Reconciliation, Polyamory Negotiations)

@zeldacw seems to be this fandom’s originator of the Anthromorphic Weapons trope; those comics can be found under the tag 忘情隨塵 (WangQingSuiChen) and post on her Tumblr and on her Twitter @/zeldacw; inspired Kindred Spirits by EstelweNadia (Not Rated, 2k, WIP, Bìchén/Suíbiàn, Chénqíng/Wangji, Humor, Angst, Eventual Romance, Drama, Slow Build, Slow Burn)

Spiritual Weapons Have Feelings Too Series by meicairoubingfan (kiradyn) (T, 10k, Suíbiàn/Chénqíng, Anthropomorphic Spiritual Weapons, Pining, Weapons As People, Angst, Separation, Grief/Mourning, Loss, Romantic Relationships Between Weapons, But Also Platonic Relationships, Brotherhood, commiserating, Reminiscing, Good Guy JC, Good Brother JC, Established Relationship, Between A Sword And A Flute, Canon Compliant, Foreshadowing of Bichen x Suibian, Foreshadowing Of Wangji x Chenqing)

A somewhat unconventional family by DamieMontclair (T, 1k, Bìchén/Suíbiàn, sentient sword spirits, sentient first class spiritual tools, Little bit of angst, Recovery, Getting Together, Fluff, and dare I say...., Domestic Fluff) crackfic where the weapon and instrument spirits are a family in their own right

~*~

[limpfisted]

but wyll does leave you as a squid. he tells you he can't be with you anymore and the solution he comes up with is basically one wherein he treats you like a pet, or worse, a dirty secret that he hides away in the bowels of baldur's gate because he still cares more about being the blade of frontiers than he does you. i love wyll but the way larian wrote that ending feels both ooc for him and a touch cruel toward the pc.

the way canon portrays a character cannot be ooc. you can disagree with it, you can change it, but thats why fanfiction is called “transformative work.” the text is the text. your interpretation of the text is subjective, the events of the game are not subjective. they are facts that happen on ur computer screen. wyll asks you if you want to be his basement squid lover. you can say no. he doesnt force that on you.

it is cruel. it is a bad thing to do. wyll should not do it. it is obviously a bad thing for both you AND him

but hes NOT the blade of frontiers in this ending. hes the grand duke of baldurs gate.

if hes the blade of frontiers—he dumps you bc he wants to go be an adventurer and that is the goal n oath he literally sold his soul for once, n the reason he lives his life. u cant be an adventurer with him. ull scare people, theyll try to kill you. he relies on his relationship with the people of the sword coast, they orotect him n give him their kindness shelter n hospitality in order for him to protect them. he cannot do this if u are a mindflayer.

if hes a grand duke, he NEEDS you. he wants you so desperately hes WILLING to do something awful to you BC he has so many fucked up feelings for you

wyll was 17 years old when he left bg, he stopped studying law, he never led an army, every patriar has been killed, 2 dukes are dead, the city is in ruins. he has no idea what hes doing. he no longer has any agency over his own life, he does not have his freedom, n he WANTS you

i believe the feeling of love and the action of love are different. he feels in that moment a desperation to have you and hold you, the normalcy, the fairy tale promised. he clings to something he cannot have in u just as he can no longer have his freedom to be a hero, to be the man he would choose to be on his own. he is in awe of you. you are the champion of his city—the city he is now shackled to, that fits like a wet kitchen glove.

wyll has so very little agency in this game. i see this ending as part of his “bad end.” but it is also an interesting one.

is ascended astarion “ooc.” is dark justiciar shar? no person is just one thing and there is no inherent good or evil inside anyone. we are the decisions we make, goid or bad, every single day, and the reasons we make them. you make decisions, you live with them, and who you choose to be in every second is who you are. we are not fixed states. good isnt a thing you are—its a thing you have to work to do every day, and something you can and SHOULD work to do every day. but people slip up. theyre messy, confused, traumatized, they have big feelings, that make them want things that hurt other people. everyone makes mistakes, even people as noble as wyll.

you can prefer one decision line of a character over another. obviously i would prefer to be with wyll in avernus kicking zariel’s ass.

but if you deny someone the mere notion that they could do something hurtful or evil even to the people they love—you are denying their humanity n the full complexity of their soul. n u are denying the effort it takes to BE so goid like wyll is so good,

wyll is not some perfect well-adjusted good boy that goes around with a soul full of sunshine. everyone had dark thoughts and impulses and violence in them. everyone is equally capable of hurting people.

it is HARD to be good.

wyll is not performing the act of love—love is healthy n consensual n nutritional. but he feels a desperate pull of love towards you. you have been his light in all this. you have kept him sane and kept him going. you made every major decision in this journey for him. you are his leader, his lover. he is about to have the hardest possible job in the world with no understanding of how this job works. he hasnt been here for ten fucking years. he wants you. he wishes you could fix it, like you fixed everyone else.

its a weakness and a flaw.

wyll has flaws.

why would you want wyll to be perfect no matter what decisions u make? if you don’t like it—pick different decisions in the game and “earn” your happy ending, bc it DOES exist.

this is one of wyll’s most interesting narrative beats and us a fascinating thing to discuss and analyze. its part of a larger narrative, it serves a purpose in the story n to wyll’s story.

it IS cruel. thats the point. the story could not be going “this is fucked up” any more if it tried

you can transform the work any way u want, thats what fanfic n rp r for, but like

be uncomfortable! its supposed to make you uncomfortable! not every story is supposed to make you happy! some are meant to challenge your perception of a character n what you thought a character was possible of!

rant over, have a good night anon

[waeirfaahl]

No reaction, no doubts

In my previous posts (here and here) I kicked the three alien gods. In this post I'll kick the different aspect of the moments with them. Specifically, the moment in 5 season.

Let's look at the comics for the start. Jack lost his sword due to the energy burst during his attempt to open the time portal. In despair, he wanders and hides from Aku (and in the comics Aku immediately felt the destruction of the sword and put Jack on the wanted list, so everyone is ordered/offered to kill Jack — pretty weird that Aku didn't use his mirror for finding and killing Jack himself, because I doubt that changing of your clothess and getting long hair and beard will hide you from magic mirror, so Aku used for this Jack's blood, given to him by the bounty hunter robot, and then finally found out Jack without the sword). And then the exhausted and weakened Jack remembers his dad and the tale of how Emperor got the sword.

And here Emperor tells the story, very close to the events in "Birth of Evil". And apparently it happens before 1 season 1 episode. I guess, Jack was too young to not notice, how his dad doesn't mention some events in later iterations. Because, as I pointed out here, there's contradiction. Or the alien gods really started to erase some memories of Jack's dad?

Here Emperor admits that he watched Aku's birth, but doesn't aknowledge (or doesn't realize his responsibility) that he himself accidentally created Aku, gave the life to him. Because here he doesn't mention about the poisoned arrow and his attempt to destroy the dark shred, which instead caused Aku's birth.

For some reason their laser from eyes here is green instead of blue. Hmm, just like the color of the poison the Emperor used... But no matter, Jack is exhausted and simply hallucinates.

This color changing could be done because of visual aesthetics, but still pretty weird.

I mean, their main color is exactly blue. In "Birth of Evil" their laser/fire is blue, the light from their weapons is blue, even the eyes of their animals are blue. Ra's crocodile, Odin's stallion, although Rama's elephant has pink eyes, but I think that it's implying that Rama and his animal are blind (because Rama's eyes are black). Plus, the raven, another Odin's animal, also has blue eyes and blue light as well, when it teleported Jack to the castle of the alien gods, where they made the sword to Jack's dad in "Birth of Evil". (yep, even here the comics are authentic and respectful to the classic seasons and their canon — if in "Birth of Evil" Odin's stallion leads Jack's dad to their castle, in the comics Odin's raven leads Jack).

Later the alien gods appear in their true form (just like the classic episodes, the comics also hint that the monks are simply their human forms/avatars) and tell to Jack another part of the story, the beginning. Jack is calm here, because he knows about them from his father's tales. Remember that moment.

And this scene has own weird moments. Notice that they never refer to Aku as to a living being (which was deprived of free will and chance to become accepted, loved and "good guy" creature). They refer to Aku as the part of the Void of Ultimate Evil. And the most astounding thing — they don't mention that both they and the Void arose from the same star. Simply saying, the thing they know nothing about they themselves mark as the evil and kill, as well as the offspring (Aku) of this void they treat as the shred of the evil, which must be killed. They created the rules of this game. And they don't mention that Emperor created Aku as well. They test and judge Jack for loss of the sword (ah, guys, you themselves have weapons for "destroying the evil", what's problem? and why didn't you say to Jack that it's a bad idea to create time paradoxes?). And they also hint to Jack what his father said to him once in 1 episode of 1 season — the sword is just a tool, the main thing is the soul and its strength and purity.

They don't make to Jack the new sword, they don't restore Emperor's sword, they hint the way how Jack can make his own spirit to be his own weapon. And Jack does this in the deadly battle with Aku. He'll never give up.

Incredibly epic and powerful moment. Despite some strange moments, the comics really nailed the core of the show and the character. Awesome arc, leading to his decision to fight for the future and his friends he met and helped.

But this beauty was destroyed and threw away from canon in favor of the cursed 5 season. Hence nothing of this happened in the show anymore. What caught me out of guard in 5 season — Jack's absolutely absent reaction at the alien gods during his first encounter with them. Emperor never told to him about the alien gods and what they did, Jack never knew about it. Simply saying, he sees them for the first time, but there's no fear, no suspicion, no distrust, no assumption that they can be another spies or bounty hunters etc. And when they briefly mention that Jack was the chosen one just like his father, Jack again has no reaction. He doesn't ask them at all about "You knew my dad? You created the sword? Who are you? You know Aku — what caused the conflict in the first place? Why you ignored me all these 50 years? Why you ignored Aku's crimes on Earth and didn't beat him themselves all this time?". Why?!

Like, at least, in "Birth of Evil" Emperor's "absent" reaction (his face was literally "WTF is going on?!") was understandable — like, he encounters the supernatural beings for the first time in his life, he wants to protect his family and kingdom from the creature he created (without realizing this) and saw as the deadly threat, so he seeks for help and easily believes to the creepy trio's words about Ultimate Evil thing, because they create the weapon for him to succeed in defeating the demon. Why Jack has no reaction and no doubts, I have no idea.

[kisuminight]

Right, so c!Slimecicle in the DSMP Blade System AU.

I mentioned before, he is a lightning-element defense-type Blade. His Soul Weapon is a sword and his core crystal is green. He is more of the debuff-into-oblivion type of defense than tanky.

In this AU, Slime gets his appearance from his first Driver, who was a slime hybrid Player. Slime and his first Driver were around and exploring when the universe was new and DreamXD and his Aegis Blade, Reverie, were creating the server. They took part in Reverie's experiments, which ended up with a successful Memory Patch being applied to Slime. He remembers each life.

Slime's first Driver died before the Entity became a Problem. Slime's core crystal ended up in the resting area where c!Quackity eventually found it.

I mentioned before that sometimes mobs can be aether-sensitive as well? So, occasionally, an aether-sensitive slime mob would form and temporarily reAwaken Slimecicle. This is how Slimecicle has his past period memories/the "spying" on the server. Quackity found Slime in a period between slime mob Drivers and became Slime's new Driver.

Slime's abilities:

As a lightning Blade, Slime's passive ability is that he can process things faster than other Blades (in essence, his core crystal has more RAM).

For active abilities, he has "Channeling," with the exception that he can use it with any weapon and not just tridents.

He has the ability to turn any type of potion into a Splash potion (without needing the gunpowder for crafting) by adding a bit of electric charge before he throws it.

Static Shock - touch-range ability that applies Weakness II and Slowness II to the target.

I don't know much about QSMP, but I understand the fact that q!Slimecicle having Sweeping Edge was a Big Deal (for lore-related reasons), so he gets that here as well.

For an older Blade with above-average power, Slime does not have much in the way of combat abilities. His first Driver was not very combat focused, and slime mobs can't use swords or want to use spells, so he doesn't have much practice with either magic or weapons. He's good on social observation, but not so much social skills.

Slime and Quackity's relationship is pretty much the same as in canon. Slime gives Quackity power (information, status, and martial power) and Quackity teaches Slime about how to be a person. Even though Slime did have a Player for a Driver once, it was a long time ago and things have changed since.

~

As part of his passive allowing him to process things more quickly, Slime is very adept in noticing when things around him are going wrong--he's just not very good about figuring out and then applying a solution to them. He's also not quite sure when something would be considered "weird" or not, and oftentimes accidentally misleads people because he's being literal about the questions they're asking, but also applying his own definitions to the questions they're asking.

For example, c!Karl and c!Sapnap ending up as part of Las Nevadas does not stop DreamXD from taking Karl for Tales of the SMP/time travel nonsense, though he does get better at putting Karl back in the timeline shortly after he left.

So as far as the other characters are concerned, Karl will occasionally wander off, have an "episode" and come back 1 - 3 hours later with his memory worse than before. It gets to the point where Quackity assigns Slime to follow Karl and make sure he's okay.

Karl has a trip while Slime is watching him. Quackity asks Slime in the aftermath if he noticed anything unusual with Karl that day. Slime, who thinks that being pulled aside by the local god and/or his Aegis Blade is perfectly normal (it happened to him and his first Driver a bunch!) says that nothing unusual happened, even though he watched DreamXD take Karl away and bring him back. Quackity does not ask any follow-up questions, so this misunderstanding does not get brought to light or clarified.