Tips For Writing Those Gala Scenes, From Someone Who Goes To Them Occasionally:

Idk if/how this will be extended but when I played through Rafayel's Your Fragrance card, I near-instantly imagined being Ranwan so here's a written snippet ! Aka, MR's obession with haitang -- “Shizun,” Mo Ran murmurs, running his nose along the line of Chu Wanning’s wrist. He inhales, his lips brushing lightly against the skin, and voices a name on the exhale, the syllables layered in honey. “Chu Wanning.”

“….! Mo Ran!” Chu Wanning instinctively pulls his arm back, but the attempt is weak in his surprise and Mo Ran tightens his grip enough to almost be painful.

Despite the grip, Mo Ran huffs a sheepish laugh. “Sorry, Shizun.” He presses his mouth to Chu Wanning’s wrist in a long, lingering kiss. When he pulls away, he presses his cheek against Chu Wanning’s palm. “You just smell so…” he sighs, licking his lips and looking through half-lidded eyes. “…Sweet.”

His eyes fall to Chu Wanning’s neck and his smile is like syrup, sugary slow. He drifts closer as though unconsciously, stretching his hand outwards. Chu Wanning watches it with wide eyes, unable to understand what’s going on. Mo Ran’s hand is hot against his skin, firm as he tugs Chu Wanning closer, ticklish as he rubs his fingers against the nape. “Baobei,” Mo Ran calls, hushed. Chu Wanning can feel Mo Ran’s breath against his neck, the soft sound of an inhale, a slight brush of pressure from— from—!

Chu Wanning’s instincts kick in and he moves without thinking, hitting Mo Ran’s pressure point in a swift and clinical palm strike. Neither of them expect it. Mo Ran is unconscious before he realizes it, and Chu Wanning is left to stumble with the entirety of Mo Ran’s deadweight.

crack au where Kim Dokja finds an abandoned toddler/smol child by the garbage and takes her(?) in (it’s biyoo). Years later, he finds a handsome man lying passed out on top of the garbage and, against his better rationality, also brings him home (it’s Yoo Joonghyuk). yes it’s crack because while finding passed out pretty boys in sketchy areas is a very real cliche, deciding to take home a stranger is b o l d.

this this this this

i feel like their journeys and character arcs change drastically depending on who the traveller is. Lumine as a reserved girl who becomes a villain? Stereotypical. Lumine as a reserved girl who has a coming of age arc underscored by grief and loss and insecurity? amazing Also if Aether is the abyss sibling then it's like, wtf happened for the sunshine guy who cares so much about his sister to become so cold? He talked SO MUCH in that dream flashback and when he meets his sister again, he says like 2 sentences?? Maybe it's the passage of time or whatever but the extreme change in his character creates so much interest

I love Aether as the traveler and Lumine as the Abyss princess I think that makes a lot of sense and is really fitting for the story. Plus abyss Lumine is hot af 🫶

But

I much prefer Lumine as the traveler and Aether as the abyss prince. I’m probably biased as I picked Lumine but I just find it really interesting. It’s a bit generic having the sunshine boy the good guy and the cold mean girl the bad. If you reverse it and make it the sunshine boy turned bad and the cold mean girl forced to be the hero, it becomes a much more compelling story.

Just imagine, the man who’s too kind for his own good, always helping people, friendly and social, has gone through that much trauma and pain that he wants to get revenge on the very people he once stood for. On the brink of insanity from all of the hatred he feels.

Now imagine Lumine. Cold, distant, calculating. Someone who’s never been in the hero role before and has suddenly just been thrust into it out of nowhere. She’s in her brothers place. This is a scenario her brother would thrive in. Not her. To make matters worse, she still has absolutely no idea where he is. She doesn’t know what to do. She’s absolutely trapped.

She has to learn to adapt over time. Learn more empathy. Be able to make friends more. Feel like she can truly trust people. It’s a learning curve for both of them. Lumine learning that she can trust people other than her brother, Aether learning that he can trust a lot less people than he originally thought.

Though, with everyone new Lumine meets she becomes more and more agitated and even more angry over time. She wants her brother. She doesn’t want to save nations. She doesn’t want to save people.

Her and Aether are two halves of one whole. They are what the other isn’t. They can’t cope properly without each other. All she wants is him. Imagine her desperation when she learns he’s missing. Her frustration and anger as no one properly helping her or taking her seriously. Knowing he’s alive but where the hell could he be!? Her utter relief and joy when seeing him again. Thinking they are going to go back home.

Now imagine her distraught when that same brother chooses the abyss over her.

I didn’t have a bingo list but all my ships being destroyed in 2024 wasn’t on it

"A gun that shoots cards? What for?"

Ohh, so I was looking at my storage and found these! I originally shared them on twitter before yeeting the platform. Anyway, feel free to use! Art memes for your oc :D

sasamiya working adults au

is so cute!!! We’re fed so well??? It’s also so nice seeing how they’d look like as adults and also how sasamiya meeting each other kind of changed their trajectory. Also in this AU they remember each other even after a decade???

author-sama knows the audience so well TvT I was seriously fangirling so hard at so many of the scenes and I’m glad that it didn’t end with them being together because sasamiya is a slowburn and that’s one of the things I love about them

Angst and longing and sadness aside, the fact that at least 85% of my Outlander twins personality headcanons/analysis/hypotheses seem to be TRUE makes me SO HAPPY

Are you already on your way? I've come with you this far, I'm never really lost, Our paths will surely cross.

ALNST Till is so good at singing??? (Even though his rebelliousness would make me assume otherwise and it adds even more complexity to his character)

I was rewatching all the MVs after reading a rlly good fic and first of all there’s so many details in all of the MVs and I give so many props to the creators and also Till is so amazingly good at singing?? I have zero musical experience so I unfortunately can’t explain how good he is, but his control of his voice in CURE is absolutely astounding, the way his tone goes from fragile to shattering in the span of 2 seconds, the changes in how much strength he’s using, from whisper-like to scraping-throat-raw and its done super smoothly. Especially contrasting the style in Unknown versus in Cure, Till has such a huge range and his skill level is insane. Everyone in ALNST is a good singer but Till gives me chills (and/or we’ve just seen his range the most) So props to AKUGETSU, of course!! But also in context of the lore, wtf??? On one hand, it pieces together the question of “if he’s so rebellious, how is he still in the running?” (He’s THAT good). On the other hand, how is he that good? He doesn’t seem like he would have voluntarily gone along with whatever vocal training they were forced to do, so it’s purely a case of training. Did he practice on his own? Does he enjoy singing? If so, it’s incredibly tragic how this thing he enjoys and is good at has become something to dread, and something that has killed his loved ones. Idk it’s something my brain munches on, the way Till would not have complied with vocal training (def not to best of his abilities…even if he’s singing quieter purely so he could hear Mizi better) versus his skill in singing. Isn’t that amazing ironic? The aliens’ competitive singing stage, where one of their top singers is someone none of the aliens like. Since we don’t fully see Till’s perspective on singing and songwriting and everything, it also adds a cool layer of complexity An obvious idea is: maybe he’s just talented. Born with it, a genius. But, hmmmmmmmmmm, sure maybe a bit but he has definitely practiced. You can be born with a good voice and an affinity, but can you be born with that kind of skill? I don’t think so. Plus, the sheer amount of emotion he displays in his songs? He doesn’t *have* to try as hard as he does, he could easily throw the competition. But even in round 6 he doesn’t sing badly, he chooses…to not sing at all. Maybe that hints on his perspective on singing; perhaps he can’t stomach the thought of ruining something as sacred as music by doing it badly? After all, it’s definitely a sort of outlet for him, and he works hard on it. I’m not sure where I’m going with this but my mind can’t stop munching on the dichotomy between his rebelliousness and how he performs on stage ^^’ super hyped for round 7. Give this man an award! (And his friends)

MariClaw AUs

AU thinking let's go. Bad boy x sunshine is a classic dynamic and I saw MariClaw (marinette x claw noir) and the possibilities are endless. Since I'm a love square shipper this is going to be MariClaw and Marinette x Emo!Adrien! Highkey I headcanon that Adrien became emo because Marinette did it first so I'm not going to dive into mechanics of why Adrien is emo but Marinette isn't. I would say 'maybe he watched too much anime' but the brand of claw noir feels a bit more more wattpad bad boy (back in 2016) than shoujo bad boy, depending on the shoujo. He's been pining for literal years AU

maybe she once gave him a bandaid, maybe he's always seen her from afar and curiousity became love, who knows! Point is, he's liked her for SO long and when he's given the chance to go to school, he's super excited because that's the school she goes to!! Cue manga cliches and the title is probably something like "The New Delinquent is Actually a Softie at Heart and He's is in Love With Me???" It could be so cliche, with very lighthearted and cute romcom moments. maybe a secret admirer AU!!

It could also be super angst/fluff. Marinette thinks the whole thing is a prank, or doesn't think he actually likes her, and it's the slowest burn or the most comedy romcom. OR it's the first person who appreciates her slash doesnt bully her (the standards are low here, kids, cause i'm going on the assumption she's heavily bullied), and it's a story of self-acceptance! All of these ideas assume that Adrien has the bravery to approach her and talk to her though :> (not quite romantically, thats up to you. Personally, I think he's too shy to be able to blatantly flirt) Integration of Claw Noir is possible is so many ways that I'm not going to go into it. He joined the Supreme to get back at her bullies + protect her AU I once read a villain!chat blanc fic where he and her are soulmates and he does questionable things like follow her around and is kind of wary but also curious. This would have the same vibes! Could also be more wholesome/pining where he stays in the shadows. Plus hurt/comfort when she realizes, plus the fact that his powers are corroding him! Sick fic potential Can also be a lovesquare enemies to lovers (+ mistaken/secret identity), if Ladybug is part of the Resistance and Claw Noir is with the Supreme ;) The Balcony cliche AU

Marinette has mixed feelings on the Supreme but there's one hero who she sees a lot (potential for pining on Claw's part) and it bothers her so much that one day she meets him on the balcony and gives him food and it becomes a Thing! Traditional Marichat vibes but with a more kuu/tsun-dere Noir

Reverse crush AU There's a certain brand of danmei where the MC is really really shy and it's a lot of angst until the ML realizes that the stoic MC is just shy and is actually the cutest, kindest person ever. This! Is! EmoAdrien x Marinette!! One of the potentials, anyway. Marinette thinks Adrien hates her because he keeps glaring/staring at her (and all the stares she's used to are judgemental ones), only talks to her in clipped sentences, and never goes near her. Then, something happens!! Maybe he gives his umbrella to an abandoned cat or something, idk. Point is, she gets more interested and it's a slow burn-ish progressive romance :) Now the above [she thinks he hates her] except he keeps partnering her with projects and events and everything and she's really confused by the mixed signals so can he please stop. I think everyone collectively died when EmoAdrien realized + quietly blushed in the movie so flirting would be SO fun here because both of them would get really embarrassed.

Secret Identity AU Maybe the secret is that he's Claw Noir or the secret is that he's Adrien Agreste but either way it'll be fun :> Maybe she hates his alt persona so he dies a little inside everytime she makes a comment or a jab and this can be either very comedic or very angsty or both Dengeki Daisy AU, same scenario, enough said. Would probably be more interesting if its Claw Noir + OG Adrien / Chat Noir + EmoAdrien, just to have more of a switch. (In Dengeki Daisy, MC has online friend A who she's never met, and a classmate B who she kind of hates. She talks to A about B, where she rants about B and A comforts her. A and B are the same people).

Manhwa style

Sweet, strong, feminine, girlboss MC? With a the stoic, rich, powerful, smitten ML? say less. He might be more of a tsundere than stoic, though. Gabriel Agreste is definitely the hidden boss. Could be the above but also a villainess/reincarnation/transmigation AU. Reincarnated into a game like an RPG or Stardew or something could also be fun, and bonus points if Mari liked him (as a character) before transmigation!

Gaming AU! Gaming AU. Maybe they meet in a game, on Discord, or because they're always playing at the same time and get matched? This is so beautifully canonical. Especially when Adrien is home schooled, he probably gets really attached to his online friend. And if they're both bullied?? they're each other's comfort (be careful to not let this be co-dependent, unless you're going for that). Can have secret identity AU. But, in my personal opinion, the super cute option is to also have them realize on their own! Maybe they've been doing discord calls for ages and recognize each other's voice. Maybe he's been telling her about the school and they realize they're going to attend the same one! Tbh this doesnt have to be mariclaw but the vibes are cute

Extra notes

Yeah Claw Noir doesn't have to have superpowers in all/most of the AUs

Marinette is a loner/bullied in most of these AUs because otherwise it feels a bit too much like a Mary Sue/self-insert (cute competent popular girl meets famous pretty emo boy who hates everyone except her). Can it be done if she's friends with Nino and Alya? Yep. Heavier themes on friendship where Alya (and maybe Nino) are more wary at first but grow to like him and help him be more self-confident. Less romance focus, more character development/trauma healing

If we're going with canon then for all of these, a true happy ending would involve the Supreme being dealt with, but I don't want to deal with that (plus I don't think we know who he is, anyway)

I realize a lot of these are a flavor of Chat Blanc but I had already written it all anyway

Personally, I am a sucker for smitten x insecure and EmoAdrien x OGMari fit that to a tee. Emo x Sunshine I have mixed feelings on because boi have I read a lot of that, but if it's done well it's super cute and MariClaw does that really well!! I could probably think of more AUs but I've already spent at least half an hour purely typing I pretty highly doubt I'll write any of these since they feel like longer fics + I don't have enough canon info on Claw Noir to comfortably characterize him; if anyone wants to write or draw something based on these then feel free to!