It's always funny to me when people give their blorbos all the same "correct" far left political views which while I understand the urge to make these blorbos as progressive as possible as political commentary, there are some characters that I feel in my bones are 100% centrist, pro-ai, pro-capitalism or absolutely refuse to vote and its supported by the source material. As a narrative tool these features are still great for being political commentary, even if the character never changes.
i was like 'whoa this chapter might be the longest yet' but then i rechecked and apparently ch5 has 7k words and ch8 won't be longer than that. hopefully
📚 Had a blast reading Apple Biters and would love tobhear your fanfic recommendations as clearly you have great taste and a wonderful mind. I find the way you write vox and his rich inner world/narration wonderfully human alive and its something that lives in the back of my head as writing to aspire to.
THANK YOU SO MUCH THAT’S SO KIND OMG
(for this ask)
Okay I’m afraid this post might expose the weird way in which I read fics but It’s FINE
My favorite fic of all times that I will never stop glazing is World Ain’t Ready (Les Mis) — I found it at the beginning of a three-days long college trip and got so immersed I stayed up to 4 AM each day to read it. It’s basically a self-contained fake dating modern AU with insanely strong POV writing. While never losing focus from Grantaire and his struggles, it still fleshes out a huge cast and manages to develop the mc’s relationships with all of them! The found family in this one is soo tender y’all. Note that I wasn’t even in the Les Mis fandom, I just listened to the soundtrack while in a car ride — most of the characters present in this fic are not even named in the musical, yet I never found myself confused and by the time I was done reading, I felt like I know all of them so well! (And then I sent it to my friend who knew nothing of Les Mis except that it exists, and she had a blast as well!)
This summer I got completely enamored by We are Each our Own Devil (Kuroshitsuji) after me and my brother tried watching Kuroshitsuji S2 for the laughs (we’ve never seen S1). I was primed to get attached to Alois since I once read a compelling article on him on Anime Feminist, and even though we only watched one episode, I did get attached! Hence, AO3. We are Each our Own Devil is a wonderful exploration of Alois and his trauma that spans years, with so much character growth and healing (and a gentle exploration of queer identity in Victorian times which is so yummy!!) While there’s a lot of focus on the romantic relationship in the second half, the story never forgets how important it is to have a bigger support net. I cried, I laughed, I reread bits and pieces, and once I forget enough, I Will read it again!
For Hazbin Hotel specifically, I love the issues of control series — the basic premise is that Velvette has an ED which Vox notices but doesn’t quite know how to address. It’s one of my favorite portrayals of Vox and Velvette’s relationship; I love when Vox has to fight his own ego and inability to be vulnerable for the Vees’ sake, and I love how Velvette’s ED struggles feel both very realistic and very in character for her! I can’t recommend it enough especially if you love Vox&Velvette friendship :)
(I also want to quickly rec my favorite novels because a lot of my work and especially the way I portray characters is inspired by litfic!! Books below!)
My absolutely favorite author is Heather O’Neill, she basically taught me the plasticity of words and how far you can stretch a thought or a metaphor. If you only have time to read one of her works, please let it be When We Lost Our Heads — it’s a novel about two women in 19th century Montreal who in childhood develop a friendship so life-changing it turns into an obsession that follows them throughout their whole lives. A masterclass in writing intense, complicated, and perhaps unlikable protagonists. Also, peak toxic yuri.
Another one I love and wish more people knew about is Idlewild, which is about a deeply codependent friendship between two queer creatives that develops at an artsy Quaker School following 9/11. It has such a raw portrayal of queer teenagehood and how toxic and codependent teenage friendships can be; while both of the main characters think and do some cruel things, they’re written with so much empathy and complexity it’s impossible to not understand them at least a little bit.
The third one I want to shout out is Chlorine, a coming of age about a competitive swimmer who realizes all of her issues could be solved if she became a mermaid. It’s written in first person retrospective and uses it to its full potential and the main character, Ren, is such an intense and compelling protagonist. Also one of the main themes is toxic girlhood, and it’s queer, and a fast read! I read it within a day!! Please read it!!
vaporwave
stormborns
titsay
germansingergirl
izzy806
origamiaround
kaledo-art
