#aioli posts

I started reading this because at the time I was getting really sick of the constant finger-pointing fics had taken in the fandom. Character traits were blown to the absolute extremes (I'm sure a lot of us have at least seen one fic out there where Mari is an untouchable goddess who kills/destroys everyone around her and Felix is also there), and one character in particular got a LOT of hate.

Alya baby, I'm so sorry for what they did to you.

Told from Alya's POV, we jump in the MOMENT she realizes Lila's been lying to her. It's not much of a spoiler since it's mentioned in the fic summary, but here instead of being a bad liar with just plot armor, Lila is a bad liar with magic abilities (that quite honestly makes so much more sense than whatever the show was trying to do).

I originally fell in love with Miraculous because I loved the idea of a fun 'villain of the week' show with a super unique magic system that I felt was fresh and mysterious enough to keep me interested. Where the show has frankly gone off the rail, this fic's exploration of ML's magic system makes the original show make sense. And that's really what I'm trying to get at here. This fic drew me in for the premise of Alya being the best friend we know she's supposed to be, but I stayed for the wonderful analysis and exploration of ML's world and lore.

If you're like me, you get a bit intimidated by a ton of ship tags. And I get it, sometimes it's just not my cup of tea, but I think the balance of all the characters here is well done. The characters act and think like actual teenagers, and the romance is mostly on the side, so if you're here for plot like me, it won't hinder your reading experience.

Some great quotes:

It hadn’t been a sound so much as a feeling, a moment as fleeting and precise as a lightning strike. Her senses had stretched beyond her body and told her, in no uncertain terms, that someone here was on the verge of shattering Lila’s glamour for themselves. (Ch 5) Rena was good at that, certainly. Good enough to ensure every non-fakeout illusion she’d cast for Lila had just a touch of imperfection. (Ch 6)

I just think this fic deserves more attention for being SO damn good. when I started writing my ML ATLA au, I came back to this fic because I loved how the magic system was expanded out and made to feel so natural.

10/10, would read this a million times again. Happy reading and stay saucy!

This is a merthur fic about Merlin and Arthur running away from Camelot and living their own destiny. I found it years ago, and it scratches this itch I have for fics that are poetic and angsty and a quick punch in the face. The writing flows like water through each scene so beautifully, that it feels like a painting. You can feel the writer painting each brushstroke in their sentences, and paragraphs are built like layers of paint stacked on top of each other.

This fic also paces itself wonderfully. It’s short and sweet, and doesn’t spend too much of its time on extraneous details. Rather, its focus is on creating an emotion in the text. It's a great example of 'show don't tell', and the story comes alive with how the author describes the surrounding world and how Merlin and Arthur affect it.

Some beautiful quotes from this fic:

"One day Merlin wakes to find Arthur leaning on a spade with his hair in a bun at the nape of his neck. It has grown shaggy and falls just beyond his ears, but Merlin thinks he looks more like a king now than he ever did back in Camelot." "They vow to live in the places where time is thin and can be torn apart with their bare hands and they never breathe a word of it to anyone else."

This fic is a 10/10, and I always find myself coming back to it when I want to read something that balances the serious and dramatic undertones of the show with something warm and fluffy 🫶

I'll probably keep adding to this series so uh if y'all enjoy this lmk! Stay saucy!