for the fic ask game! 12, 18, 21?
second try because tumblr ate my first answer!
if it wasn't obvious i like diluc it will be soon
repeating fics here but your heart; a doorway because that opener on the first chapter “Yes. Many people died in this house,” Al-Haitham confirms. “Some of them are even buried on the land.” And then, almost like an afterthought, he answers, “It is my house.” hooked me so hard into it and had me spamming the fic to everyone i knew.
the angel's share cat also got me because i thought it was incredible that diluc named things after the month he got them he's just like me fr. little did i know the series would emotionally crush me.
18. Fic(s) that keep you up at night (Either reading or thinking about)
ough. OUGHSFG. there's a lot and they tend to be darker fics so mind the tags, but--
so Grow up, Soldier has got to be one of my favorite diluc pain + bad parent crepus fics (i like crepus ok just,,, i like when fanfiction explores other things too) like. the entire time i was reading it (from like 2 to 6am i could not put it down) i was banging my table crying because every bit of it was stabbing me in the heart. 10/10 would read again it haunts me everywhere
"He was remade to be admired, not loved." (diluc and mizuki but mostly diluc going through it) i read like, a few hours ago, but its description was so violent and visceral (reminded me of bird in the hand (diluc and columbina)) and i just know i'll be thinking about it for a good while
Hidden States of Matter (haikaveh) has such an exhilarating ending i struggled to breathe when i read it at first because reading desperation chokes me internally
Conversations is still updating but i??? can't fucking believe???? that apparently the author watched my animatic????? god i love so many of HAL_berd's fics but this one specifically grips me so hard with crepus and kaeya's dynamic, i am so engrossed in their paranoia and i am always down for morally gray crepus.
18. Fic(s) you would/have forced someone else to read
ok so i have tried to force my friends to read many fics and so far @justheblueberry has read a few and reacted to them so i can only say that
recognize, embrace, and believe him has to be one of my favorite kaeya diluc reconciliation fics because i feel so VINDICATED by it because they aren't just compelling because they're brothers/soulmates/lovers/some secret third thing but because
“You’re all I have left,” he says helplessly. “You’re all I have left, you can’t—you can’t leave me, too. Please. Please don’t leave me again. I’m begging you. Not again.”
Diluc wraps his arms around him as tightly as he can, and Kaeya brings his spare hand up to cradle the back of his head and pull him close.
“I’m sorry,” Diluc whispers, as a spot of warmth blooms against his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I don’t—I don’t want to leave you all alone. But I won’t—I won’t kill you.” He lets out a strangled laugh. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. I’d…I’d join you in seconds. You know that.”
THEY LOVE EACH OTHER IN SUCH DESTRUCTIVE WAYS. THAT'S THE IMPORTANT PART OF IT. (this is going to get a bit awkward but) i am sick and tired of people using familial ties to explain why they care about each other. it's a very simple example of show vs tell where you can tell me they're brothers, but you're not convincing me by showing how much they actually care. hell, 50% of the fanbase is convinced they still 100% hate each other even though it's been like five fucking years. i just personally don't like it when i read "you're my brother, i love you" (keith kogane style) because WHERE WAS ALL THAT LOVE BEFORE THEN HUH. i went on a rant about this in some tags before but basically, i've read my fair share of kaeya angst and it has compelled me to make my own out of spite.
they're messy, they're complicated, and if there was anything a kaeya diluc reconciliation fic didn't need, it's diluc hugging kaeya and magically fixing everything with "you'll always be my brother" without any fucking growth beforehand.
i also forced blueberry to read your heart; a doorway i've talked about this like three times now. heartslogos youuuu *shakes fist*
and Life Lessons because collei <3
northbound & reaching is a kaeluc magic fic and i just really loved the imagery and their dynamic together, kaeya is so forlorn and lost and aughahrhh
particles in motion ahahAHAHHA yeah kaveh is so relatable im actually basically him right now in that fic except i dont have anyone who could help me nor am i getting any validation for my skills like he does.
one lifetime too short absolutely, join me on the haikaveh modern au 10 year journey where kaveh has been married to someone who's not alhaitham and had an entire child in the meantime
another name for a companion haikaveh and dottotham fascinating character studies, get into this
the hands of god nahida character study and also THE nahida character study. i spent several days reading and digesting this and i hope someone else will too.
and Fortune's Fool, a tgcf yin yu fic that follows him through the 400ish years he's followed hua cheng