valancietrinit

[valancietrinit]

itafushikugi fic sequel for literally no reason

[valancietrinit]

Cackling at the Nobara tag on your challengers fic cuz she would let Yuji and Megs yaoi out before bouncing the night before their match

How do the three of them synchronize after Yuji gets training from (presumably) Nanami, and how do other characters like Yuta, Geto and Todo factor into things, if at all

she absolutely would do that, i stand by that narrative choice.

(apologies on the delay for replying to this) in terms of further au notes on characters, here is what i have:

yuuta was initially gonna get a mention or two as gojou's former protege, prior to him taking on megumi, but i cut them from the fic bc they made whatever section they were part of feel too bulky. yuuta's new coach would be miguel, who wants yuuta to focus on dominating lower ranking events (i.e. challengers) before throwing his hat in the ring for grand slam events (i.e. US Open, Wimbledon, Australian Open, etc.) megumi n yuuji would run into him later down the track, & be both a refreshing opponent to play against + their first real challenge that isn't each other.

nobara makes reference to yuki in the fic, as a joke about being a philosopher in regards to tennis -- yuki's role in this au would be as todo's semi-absentee coach. she would have played events before gojou entered the tennis scene, made her mark as an epic player, & then gotten into a lot of mental health ventures around the pressures put on young tennis players by the social hierarchies running the circuits. she's sort of like the adult who keeps pulling people aside after their games and going "hey nice work out there, are you actually happy, tho? be real w me."

todo in comparison is very intense abt his game (as in canon), & attempts to take yuuji under his wing at multiple events (each instance ended by nanami carting yuuji off bc he needs to be resting before his games, not expending all his energy in mock-sets). he's a talented player, but he's prone to pushing himself too far on the court and injuring himself, as well as getting points deducted for yelling at his opponents + the ref in the heat of the game. he's really just very enthusiastic, but doesn't communicate this well.

getou was gojou's doubles partner in their junior circuits, before yaga (their joint coach) persuaded them to play some singles games, & they permanently split to play singles professionally. gojou saw great success, while getou became quickly disillusioned from the game, due to a mixture of losing games & traumatic events (seeing riko (younger player he'd mentored somewhat) get seriously injured in a game; facing toji while still a really green pro player himself; getting pulled aside by yuki directly after said game; etc.), & quits quickly after. he then disappears off the face of the planet, no-contact with anyone, hermiting it up, & makes a comeback later in the main au coaching for the hasaba twins, who begged him to let them play. he n gojou have a LOT of unspoken tension going around that EVERYONE can pick up on.

gojou in comparison stayed completely focused on his singles career bc he had so much riding on it - sponsorships, shoko's career as a physio, his own reputation & goals for a grand slam in his first few years of playing pro. around the same time as getou, he has a match against toji that is kind of brutal to watch (yayyy brutaliser vs. brutaliser yayyyyyyy) & they both sustain injuries that could b potentially career-ending. toji retires after the events that year end, but gojou pushes on & wins the first grand slam of his career. he does keep exacerbating his injuries tho, pushing himself really hard to maintain his title as one of the top ranked tennis players in the world. this only ends when he's around 27, & yes, you guessed it, has a match against sukuna. exacerbated injury flares up something fucking awful (brutaliser vs. brutaliser TWO [peggle 2 jump.gif] yayyyyyy) & after losing that match, shoko tells him to retire or she'll fucking strangle him to death. following that, he takes on yuuta as his student, and then megumi.

nanami is another of yaga's students who trained occasionally with getou n gojou but quit a little after suguru, claiming that the tennis world is toxic. he only reenters it at gojou's request, when he watches megumi's game against yuuji, & agrees to coach yuuji should the boy accept. from there on in the au, he's yuuji's coach.

as far as main trio au notes go (i didn't really plan out too much past what i ended up publishing, bc i felt it would become derivative + ooc to continually pull on challengers plot points to work off of), here is the very vague outline i noted down:

as with challengers canon, megumi and nobara pursue higher education while fielding school tennis comps, while yuuji's playing circuits under nanami's guidance. when he's in town briefly & figures out they're playing a school comp, he visits and they reconnect vaguely & a little awakwardly.

i think i had plans for megumi to become a little resentful of yuuji & his friendliness? to the point where he'd see their relationship as a rivalry, meanwhile yuuji's trying to figure out if they're still friends/if megumi ever wants to make out again. bc yuuji would be down for that.

nobara on the other hand is continually hot n cold w both of them, while ruthlessly pursuing acknowledgement for her games. as mentioned in a previous post, she and maki have a close friendship that they play up as a rivalry for the drama of it on the court. further into the au, i was toying w reasons for her to quit (not bc i hate to see a woman winning, but bc of nobara's canon absence for a hot second & her canonical injury), but couldn't decisively narrow anything down. just wanted to explore her frustration with having to abandon something she loves bc she's no longer able to do it, & how that would effect her interactions w yuuji n megumi going forward. i imagine she'd make a very graceful exit from the tennis scene before anything got too bad, & uses her fame + expertise to secure a well-paying mentorship/teaching role somewhere. i also imagine she runs into megumi frequently while he's on the circuit & acts as a commentary reel for him before his sets, which he would find oddly comforting.

the culmination of this would be megumi, recovering from an injury that made him miss one of the grand slam events, enters the same challenger event that yuuji is playing at (under advice from yuuta), & megumi finally gets some clarity over yuuji's feelings for him during the game, helped along by nobara's bland commentary to him between sets.

yes, all three of them get another hotel room together, after. no, i did not decide who wins the challenger game, but that's also in keeping w challengers canon, isn't it.

[valancietrinit]

tumblr user nepenthean-sleep's favorite griddlehark fics of all time

hi. i promised a continuation of my griddlehark recs series literally a year ago and never posted it. this is because my life went and exploded in 14 different insane ways and i have been Going Through It. however, as a parting gift to 2024, one of the Years of all time, i present to you, from my personal and extremely picky collection: my all-time favorite griddlehark fics of various ratings.

and if you do, I'll know it's you T - astardanced a short collection of one-shots done in different literary styles: thomas malory, william shakespeare, and jane austen. this fic is so incredibly well done and it made me want to eat drywall. the shakespeare one in particular had me screaming

semi-charmed kinda life E - strangedelight / @griddlebait okay many people already know of this incredible fic nicknamed "sckl" but for those that don't: it's a long multi-chapter fic set in the 1990s. this is probably my favorite fanfiction, of any fandom, ever. my god the dyke drama, the portrayal of butchness, the nuance, the historical (yikes) accuracy, the slow burn, the poignancy, the tension!! the prose is incredible and every chapter leaves me hanging on the edge of my seat.

God Is Dog Spelled Backwards M - labyrinthineRetribution / @thatneoncrisis labyrinthineRetribution is one of my favorite writers in this entire fandom and this fic does not disappoint. it's a multi-chapter modern au where griddlehark are roommates and harrow suddenly adopts this weird dog. it's as much about weird magical dogs as it is about grief and loss and resentment and shared custody of a vibrator. labyrinthineRetribution is, as always, masterful at writing a griddlehark relationship that really channels the weird dysfunctionality and homoeroticism of the canon relationship and stays true to gideon and harrow's canon personalities.

fancy footwork & a bleeding bloodline M - JodsTablet / @jods-tablet this fic has been keeping me awake at 4am lately because i keep rereading it LMAO. multi-chapter professional ballet au. as someone who is dance and theatre-adjacent myself, i just absolutely love this fic so much. it really captures the thrill of performance and practicing and production, and how these emotions heighten the tension (be it positive or negative) between gideon and harrow. there are a lot of parallels to canon as well, which i really love, and i'm so excited to see where this fic goes. also i love g1deon, mercy, and augustine in this fic so much ❤

like the gates of hell E - Ptolemia post-ntn oneshot. this fic made me laugh so fucking hard, the dialogue is amazing. "yorf it" has, unfortunately, made it into my vocabulary. the fic is sweet (well. as much as post-ntn griddlehark can be, considering the corpse stuff) but its also deeply funny and comedic.

and then, for the returning favorites (aka copy-pasted from my previous rec series):

you're still the one pool where i'd happily drown E - valancytrinit / @valancietrinit long post-ntn speculative multi-chapter. i love everything about this fic. i was literally hanging on every word when i read each chapter for the first time. the writing is incredible. there is a shower scene that is legitimately fucking shakespearean. additionally, i absolutely love the way that harrow’s mental health is portrayed in this fic as someone who struggles with similar conditions.

illbringthestrap69420 liked your post E - imalwaysstraight / @nooomagnus long multi-chapter college/uni au. the enemies to anonymous tumblr mutuals to lovers fic. listen. this fic is an incredible experience for dramatic irony enjoyers. this fic is like dramatic irony: the fic. i love this fic so fucking much. another fic that has kept me on the edge of my seat while reading.

We Have Always Lived In The Apartment T - labyrinthineRetribution / @thatneoncrisis long multi-chapter modern au. (deep breath) one of my favorite tlt fics of all time. not to spoil anything, but the writing reminds me a lot of tamsyn's own writing style: there's weird identity shit going on, there's weird homoerotic shit going on, there's weird mystery shit going on. the girls are Heinous and there's bones. what more could you want from a tlt fic.

for better, for worse T - mutterandmumble oneshot. college AU. oh my god this one is hilarious i was crying laughing. two absolutely insufferable lesbians argue in a wendy's drive-through at 2am. one of my favorite fics of all time.

thank you to all the writers listed here for sharing your work with the fandom! i've had so much fun reading and rereading these fics ❤ thank you for all your hard work and thoughtfulness in writing these characters that are so dear to so many people.

[valancietrinit]

a oneshot is the most classic starting point for a rambling three-chaptered fic.

[valancietrinit]

just read your challengers au fic and i’m taking up the invitation in your author’s note to hit you up on tumblr and ask you more about it. i’d love to hear more of thoughts about the au that didn’t make it into your fic, preferably any thoughts you have about the zenin sisters in that au but if not i’ll take anything you want to share

ohhhh ty SO much for this. i have more of the challengers inspired au in my head than i really ought to. (the fic in question)

maki n mai have a finicky lil sideplot, wherein maki decides to heed advice & try out playing solo. mai (as in canon) feels betrayed & abandoned by this, & retaliates by attempting to keep playing doubles as if nothing has changed. she tries to recruit momo as a full time doubles partner, but after a few games they part ways, & following that she reaches out to nobara about partnering up, but nobara's really intent on playing singles.

maki, in direct comparison, actually hits her stride after they part ways professionally, and becomes nobara's main competitor at events. their rivalry is p much just for show & they keep it pretty professional, since nobara looks up to maki. at some point later in the timeline, maki becomes aware of mai entering a lot of singles challenger events, as sort of a last ditch effort to not be left behind, but when maki shows up at one, looking to support her, mai rejects her attempts at making up & fully quits, claiming it's always been maki's dream more than hers. she's probably a lot happier not trying to prove herself as a tennis player, as per canon probably being happier away from the jujutsu world, ya know? this would be relayed bit by bit, second-hand through either noabara or megumi's pov's.

[valancietrinit]

itakugifushi challengers inspired fic anyone?

[valancietrinit]

itakugifushi challengers inspired fic anyone?

[valancietrinit]

when two characters are intent on martyring themselves for the other instead of just talking abt their feelings

[valancietrinit]

writing a scene inspired by that post abt walking up to a farm w nothin but your hat in your hand & getting hired to do ranch work by the owner, n you have homoerotic tension w the owner's son while staying in his barn or whatever — except the owner of the ranch fucking hates you & doesn't want you there but lets you stay anyway & you're just happy to be around another person & somehow it's still homoerotic.

& of course instead of a farm, it's a massive, labyrinthine zoo

[valancietrinit]

never gain a steady audience if i never stop posting weird pairing oneshots. anyway. short shoko/fem nanami smth fic

[valancietrinit]

good news i thought of a better title. anyway. 2k itafushi smut here ya go

lord grant me the inspiration to not let this fic get published under this title

[valancietrinit]

lord grant me the inspiration to not let this fic get published under this title

[valancietrinit]

itafushikotsu post-shibuya threesome (is there an audience for this? idk)

[valancietrinit]

nanami/fushiguro character study w a side of smut? i'm as confused as you, dw

[valancietrinit]

nanami/fushiguro character study w a side of smut? i'm as confused as you, dw

[valancietrinit]

post-canon itakugifushi fic, ig

[valancietrinit]

post-canon itakugifushi fic, ig