#My bookmark fic folder for this ship is called that

[deadbydairy]

I just finished watching Burnt and never have I been so quick to look for fanfics that will give my adorable babie Tony Balerdi what he fucking deserves. That man was in love with Adam and is still in love him even after the shitshow in Paris and years later. Also when Tony rushes to room 659 to tell Adam the good news of how they still have a shot at that third star, Adam had the audacity to kiss Tony and then proceed to makeout with Helene when he left???? Uhm???? I think tf not???? I'm just an angry gay who wants their precious lil gay babie to get his man cause unrequited love to that extent? That shit hurts ;-;-;-;

#tony balerdi #adam jones #tony x adam #adam x tony #Tony balerdi deserves better tbh #Its 4am and I'm angry #burnt #I'm so fuckin mad bro #My bookmark fic folder for this ship is called that #burnt 2015 #First post but I really just ranted lmao

[cursedvibes]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @voxofthevoid

Thank you! And congratulations to the 2 mil words 🥳

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

22

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

228,925

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Only Jujutsu Kaisen so far. And I published an original fic anonymously. I also have some ideas for Naruto (or more like the Sannin), Houseki no Kuni and Monster fics, but I'm not getting there any time soon.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

People really seem to like the more or less wholesome Itadori family stuff

Call Me A Familiar Stranger (Kenjaku & Yuuji) - I really didn't expect this one to be so popular, since it was essentially just a scrapped idea for another chapter of Chance Encounter.

Chance Encounter (Kenjaku & Yuuji)

Familial Units (Kenjaku & Yuuji, Jin/Kenjaku)

Stitches Across the Eye (Jin/Kenjaku) - my long term project that I will hopefully finish next year...

First Time (Jin/Kenjaku) - My #1 smut fic. It's really surprising to see it this high because it didn't do that well in the beginning, but recently I've been getting a lot of notifications for it.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to, but it might take weeks 😬 It's always in the back of my head though and especially with the longer ones I feel bad for not responding quickly. Usually, I feel really stupid with the stuff I say in response, but I hope that doesn't shine through. I really appreciate every single one. I have a whole folder of screenshotted comments, bookmark descriptions and tumblr tags, asks and mentions.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Oh boy, that's a tough pick. I'd say either Midnight Tea or In the Quiet of the Cold because they both end with Jin's corpse rotting on the floor and a deeply traumatized Yuuji.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I think First Time is my most wholesome fic so far. Lots of vivid descriptions of Kenjaku's brain, but Jin is actually really happy about how touching his wife's organs can be a bonding experience. It's how he copes with Kaori's temporal death uwu. Even Kenjaku catches some feelings.

8. Do you get hate on fic?

Not really. There was that comment recently saying I should tag First Time dead dove, but that was more weird, not hateful. Some people also have some strong emotions about Kenjaku surgically removing Gojo's eye in Familial Units, but they always end in "I didn't read the tags/didn't take them seriously, my bad".

9. Do you write smut?

I try to...it's one of the writing things I struggle with the most. I have a couple of smut WIPs, but most I don't think are good enough to be published.

10. Do you write crossovers?

No. I don't read many crossovers either. Just doesn't interest me.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I actually got asked just yesterday by someone if they could translate Don't Think About The Past into Spanish. It's a first for me, I feel really honoured.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No. Depending on the idea I wouldn't be opposed to it tho.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

I don't think I have something like that. There aren't that many ships I'm really crazy about anyway. TenKen and JinKen are definitely my favourite to write about tho.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but probably won’t?

Feel The Life Unmade. I just don't feel that satisfied about the set-up and the characters I included in there. The topic and time period is really interesting though and I want to write more about the Death Painting experiment, but not here. I decided that I will write a little bit more of chapter 3 until I get to a specific cut-off point (around 1k more words than I already have in my draft of ch3), then throw it on AO3 and incorporate the rest of my ideas in other fics. The first chapter of Haunting Past is how I wanted to end Life Unmade and some other ideas will be included in the WIP I'm currently writing.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Atmosphere I would say, particularly writing unsettling and creepy scenes. I've also been told by people that they really like my characterizations. Recently, someone commented that I manage to write Kenjaku in a way that you feel their old age, but also connection to current society and culture, which made me really happy because that's a balance I try to pay close attention to.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Smut. And I really mean smut, not sex. I can write sex, but making it hot and appealing is where I struggle. It always feels so hollow and silly when I reread it. Gross, anxiety inducing sex scenes I can do, but making sex sexy is hard for me. Guess that's the reason I have an easier time with MahiKen smut. It's nastier. Action scenes are hard too, but I haven't really encountered many scenarios where I would really need them, so I just don't have much practice in writing them. I also tend to focus more on a character's inner world and actions scenes don't lend themselves well to that.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

It's fine I guess? I don't think I ever had to incorporate that in a fic (if we're talking about an exchange of multiple sentences and not just short phrases) and I would only include it if the POV character doesn't understand the language. I'd also only use it if it's a language I am confident I can represent properly. I suffered through a lot of broken German, I know how it is to have supposed native speakers not know basic grammar (or in TV pronunciation...it's one thing to have an accent, but German in American shows/movies is often just unintelligible).

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Technically Tanz der Vampire, when I was 14 or 15, but I didn't publish any of it. Wouldn't know where I would've done that anyway. Besides that, JJK is the first fandom I decided to invest a lot of time in to write and publish fanfics for.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Picking Up The Pieces. I threw in a lot of my Heian TenKen hcs and it allowed me to explore a more manipulative side of Tengen. Also, it is very fun to have Kenjaku in such a vulnerable position, that doesn't happen very often.

I don't know 20 fic writers :') (or not well enough to dare to tag them) No pressure to do this or respond of course. Also, if anyone else sees this and wants to do it, feel free to take this as your tag

@hxhhasmysoul @perelka-l @urostakako @kaitakushi @frankenjoly @kenjakusbrainstem

#my stuff

[thelibraryloser]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

thanks @kasienda, @ladyofthenoodle, and @chocoluckchipz for tagging me!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 18

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 145,000 even

3. What fandoms do you write for? really just the lovesquare but… i have some other stuff floating out there. i will not elaborate.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Imbalance, akumas don’t count, What You’ve Been Calling Love, our little secret, with this ring

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? yes! i used to respond to every single one but then i got behind… now i’m over 500 behind and it haunts me. i love you. i’m sorry.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? life is but a dream is my angstiest published one. i also wrote an alternate ending to For the Last Time that was too angsty to be acceptable to me so it haunts my doc folder like a nasty spectre.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? happy endings are kind of my thing but probably The Stomach Bug

8. Do you get hate on fics? not really. had a couple rude bookmark tags

9. Do you write smut? no, but i’ve got some decent kisses

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? i have not

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? there’s a fic out there i strongly suspect of blatantly borrowing from one of mine without credit. rude.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? yes! in a prev fandom

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? nope

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? lovesquare

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? i’ve got a long-distance mega slowburn in my wips id love to have time to finish but nothing posted

16. What are your writing strengths? idk maybe plot

17. What are your writing weaknesses? ha. writing.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic? i probably wouldn’t unless i had direct help from a fluent speaker bc i lack confidence

19. First fandom you wrote for? that’s classified

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written? honestly either Imbalance or in case you don’t know me tomorrow due to time spent and sweat poured, ya know?

#ask game

[salthien]

do u have any favorite hollow knight ships or headcanons? :)

yes have you heard about quirrelhol- [cartoonishly large anvil drops directly onto my skull]

(discussion below the cut - I've censored character names/keywords with periods so this (hopefully) doesn't show up in tags as it's entirely just me rambling.)

The requisite #1 Gay Bugs In My Heart aside, there are a handful of others I do care about! I really am fond of She.o and the Nailsm.ith. what if two big round bugs fell in love over a shared calling to Create and the finding of purpose beyond achieving 'perfection' in their respective crafts. I've a mind to go through their fic tag at some point. I'm curious about Lacen.et but it's hard for me to get into it with zero story context, so my interest in that will probably be very passive until The Day Of Reckoning (SS release date).

I honestly don't have much else romantically I'm very into - most other ships I'm either of the "it's cute/fine/funny, I can see it" or "not my thing, but live your life" camp, since I'm not generally a multishipper and Quir.rel and Holl.ow seem like the most popular people to throw other characters at. Generally not a big 'dead dove'/'problematic' ship fan, and I won't touch that pressurized can of worms any further than that. I'm not here to evangelize or condemn, just to do my thing like everyone else! If anyone really really needs to know my opinions on a specific ship, send me an ask/DM me and I can give my honest answer (I just don't want to kick up any drama, even accidentally.)

That being said, I am incredibly interested in explorations of quite a few of the nonromantic relationships in HK - I love anything to do with the Dreamers (Her.rah <3333) and postgame stuff with the siblings. I've got a long list of fics bookmarked in a Need To Read folder (includes stuff like sbab.l, Worldse.nse, Los.t Kin, etc.) and will likely have more properly-formed thoughts then, but I'm a sucker for narratives about healing and growth and general bittersweet angst-with-hope stuff so postgame fix-it stuff is probably always going to appeal to me the most.

As for headcanons, I am notoriously terrible at coming up with them myself oops. You'll notice I tend to gather what I like from fanon and mess with it in my own little sandbox (with all due credit) so common things like eight-limbed Horne.t, the Child of Three Queens lore (which I think is more cut-canon than fanon??), Quir.rel's antennae (and general elaboration on buggy qualities in general, for everyone), etc. As a personal headcanon for the Knight/Ghost of Hallown.est/whatever you wanna call our funky little player character, they are like. Absolute peak autism to me (in the absolute most loving way possible). Fully a sentient adult, but nonverbal/generally noncommunicative and not really a former-of-solid-relationships. They come and they go as they please and everyone finds them charming, even those who might not admit it right away.

I'm much better at "here is this idea, expand it" than "come up with something new from a vacuum". I will take a headcanon and run wild with it, but generating those on my own? That requires brain cells that I usually do not have a proper hold on.

Wow this got long. Anyways! them's my thoughts there's a billion of them

#sal.txt

[pennywaltzy]

25th Year Of Fic Writing Anniversary Prompt-A-Thon!

You read that right, folks. 2023 is not only 25 years after I graduated high school, but it's also 25 years since I started writing fanfic (I typically celebrate July 15th as my anniversary). And I'm doing a rest of the year celebration for it!

Basically, give me a ship/fandom, a color, and a number between 1 and 25 and I will go into my inbox and find that number prompt for the ship and write it for you. If I don't have that many for the ship I'll go into my general prompts lists and count down. And I am also opening this to EVERY FANDOM I HAVE EVER WRITTEN. I wrote one drabble years ago that you love? Ask for the same fandom. There's a full list on my AO3 dashboard page of all the fandoms I have published there (please note not all the fandoms have fic, and some are just graphics; some are for art I've done for WIPBB and other challenges, so click the fandom link to double-check I've written it before).

I'm pinning this post so I can keep a running log of what I've written under the cut. I'll also put them in a series on AO3/Tumblr tag called afteriwake's 25th Anniversary Prompt-A-Thon if you want to bookmark that.

I will also be uploading an older fic a day if I can get computer access, just to empty out the folders of old Buffyverse and CSIverse stuff I've got on my laptop that isn't on AO3 yet.

#afteriwake's 25th Anniversary Prompt-A-Thon #fanfic #fanfiction #taking prompts #sherlock #elementary #doctor who #star trek aos #wholock #supernatural #bleach #csi #csi miami #csi new york #buffy the vampire slayer #angel the series #mcu #dc comics

[tundrainafrica]

Note: Instead of posting a meta or a fic today, allow me to take a quick break from that because I think I really need to appreciate some people here and the fandom overall.  

February 7, 2021. 

Today, I turned 24 and my boyfriend surprised me with a gift I think I’ll be taking to heart for a very long time. 

The story behind the gift was as precious (or even more precious) as the gift itself and I thought I’d share it since it turned out some content creators were involved in this gift and I very much want to express how much this gift has defined this day for me and will place my 24th birthday as one of those birthdays I don’t think I’ll ever forget. 

Apparently, I had casually dropped both my tumblr and my ao3 account during one of our conversations and somewhere around November he had started looking through my bookmarks, my posts on tumblr and some of my interactions with people in the fandom.

I should have seen it coming. It had started with my boyfriend suddenly asking about my hyperfixation with Levihan.

Sav? Shipping? Sav? Binge reading ships and meta posts? Sav? Gushing about a fictional ship?

And I remember gushing about this with my seemingly uninterested boyfriend a long night after explaining what was oddly the most out of character thing for someone like me. 

I was sharing with him my metas and hcs and maybe, I was dropping a few of my favorite quotes along the way and it turned out he was interested. Suddenly he was asking me about my favorite fics, my favorite scenes. Suddenly, he was rereading my favorite fics with me and a few times, he was quoting those same scenes. I did find out he was looking through my blog when I got a random message from a really sketchy tumblr telling me to open my facebook. 

I suspected a few times that he could be planning something. December passed with nothing and eventually he stopped asking so I clocked that as a fevered dream or unnecessary assuming on my end and didn’t think too much of it after. 

It turned out my boyfriend had messaged my favorite authors about their fics and he commissioned one of my favorite artists (if not my favorite) to draw a few photos and bound them into a Levihan Anthology 

And it feels fucking amazing to receive something like this. To get Levihan which helped me through the worst of 2020, bound forever as a book I can just open up and read anytime. And I guess tearing up at receiving such a gift had me thinking of a lot of things at once (which were always at the back of mind) but I thought of sharing now. 

The past year wasn’t easy. Actually. don’t think it’s an understatement to say this past year was dog shit. With the covid pandemic and all plans after that cancelled, I’m sure we can all agree we had our ups and downs. 

I had a lot of my own plans completely thrown out the window for numerous reasons. I had plans of going to law school part time while building a career. And, I got a job right after college to make these plans come true. In September the law school I got accepted to (after working so damn hard the past year to get accepted) denied my appeal for night classes. I decided to drop my enrollment to focus on my career. A week later, my job laid me off. 

And for once in my life, I wasn’t going anywhere. And I lived in a house where everyone was always doing something and as soon as I lost my job I was pressured to find another one. But as we all know, searching for a job during this pandemic isn’t easy. I was still reeling after having dropped my enrollment just to focus on my job only to lose that job the week after with no prior notice. Everyone around me was busy doing their own thing. I had no one to talk to and for a while, I was falling into this pit of depression. 

My days consisted of me hiding under the covers of my bed in between the few interviews I would take day to day. Around that time, I decided to binge watch Attack on Titan as well 

I was never one to get hyper fixated in ships. In fact, this was the first ship since Royai and Victuuri which I have been so passionate. And this is a whole new level of passion. I think this is the first time I’ve ever written so much in this small amount of time. It was slow going. Just like Levi and Hange’s relationship, my fixation with this ship was a slowburn. 

Those days alone, I was reading fanfiction by the bundle, I was scrolling through the Levihan tag like a simp, leaving kudos in ao3 on a throwaway account and just scrolling through random people’s tumblr accounts. 

What happened during the one month? And when I was alone, sad, lonely and stagnant with no one to talk to, when everyone around me was living their own lives, all I had alone in the bedroom was Levi and Hange’s stories to keep me company between interviews. 

And the meta analyses and headcanons I had about their relationship were teaching me things. They were teaching me that life was never about how quickly you progress or how far you go. Maybe the real winners in life are the ones who can build good relationships, build relationships so mutually satisfying they keep each other growing and in those few moments reading, headcanoning ships, I did realize, maybe even as stagnant as I was at that moment, my life wasn’t dogshit. 

No one’s life is dogshit for a few small bumps along the way. Sometimes it just is part of the process of growing, learning to get past the worse, learning to manage relationships. And maybe it’s these relationships which make life worth living. Maybe it’s these struggles depicted in these stories and the bounce back. Maybe it’s the love, the life, the emotions so carefully described and depicted in every single story which makes life, life. 

With every single fic I read and every single fan art I scrolled through. Levihan was teaching my things about love, loss and life. 

Sometimes, these fandoms are the things which can catch people before they fall too low into something. These works and stories authors and artists shared so generously were what pulled me out of this state and are what inspired me to explore this relationship for all the potential its worth and maybe share my own stories and headcanons which people may learn a thing or two from or maybe just find some comfort and hope in.  

And these inspirations eventually evolved to writing. Writing 10,000 words in a day in between three interviews? I never was a writer but somehow, I found myself spending hours exploring the themes of love, loss and life with our favorite pairing 

I didn’t start writing out of nowhere. I didn’t start making metas out of nowhere. I needed the right inspiration, the right content to get me into this point where I could continue writing, reading, meta-ing, appreciating, headcanoning and everything in between.

And I just wanted to express my gratefulness to every single person in the fandom who had made it possible for me to pull out of that blackhole. Fandoms are underrated and I believe there are so many lessons which can be learned from the right content and from the right people. 

To the people who so willingly went along with my boyfriend’s little project: 

@faerielleart​ I saved A LOT of your art and they’re sitting in my google photos under a folder called Levihan and maybe I did share a few of your photos (the cheeks one and the beast titan one and the les miserables) ones to my boyfriend unsolicited just to show him how beautiful Levihan can be. Thank you so much for these beautiful drawings.

@lizaloveslevihan​ You were one of the first people I talked with in this fandom and dreams really was one of those stories that fucked me up a little bit, had me make a few misses on the commute on the way home one day but maybe it did have me explore the angst genre a little more, maybe it did have me explore Levi’s character a little more. 

@ariadneamare​ YELLOW. OH GOD. You know those letters? The ones which Hange left Levi at the end of the story? I ended up copying and pasting them and sending them to my boyfriend right after reading and I remember talking to him about this. We might be facing that same type of story in the future and I guess that ended up becoming a lot of foundation of our discussion and I guess, it’s just proof that there is so much to learn from fanfiction. There’s just so much to explore and fanfiction as a genre just does not get the credit it deserves.

@fanmoose12​​ I was exploring your works even before I started this tumblr up again. Maybe it was even your works which got me building my own headcanons from Levihan and writing from there. And I think I did leave a few anonymous messages telling you how I started exploring other genres because of your fics. Your works got my out of my dark place, it got me exploring a lot of other genres and for that I’m eternally grateful.

And somehow, my boyfriend picked that all up from late night discussions and one-on-one metas. Surprisingly, he wasn’t just playing along to humor his girlfriend. He was exploring the themes of love, life, loss and Levihan right along with me. (And got spoiled about Hange’s death along the way… Oops.) 

And I am eternally grateful for that and I made sure to shower him with a lot of kisses after he kept me in the loop with what has been going on these past few months with his sudden interest in Levihan.

And this huge thank you goes out to all content creators (authors, artists, gif creators, shitposters alike). Sometimes you never know who’s thinking about your work, who’s shoehorning your works and quoting them to their best friends. Sometimes, you never will find out but your work had pulled someone out of a blackhole which they’ve been stuck in and sometimes you never know that your work has been that seemingly small thing that had taught them a lesson in love, life or relationships. Sometimes, that one work turned out to be an inspiration which got them writing and sharing their own stories or making their own drawings

And I guess, the point is, keep writing. Keep drawing. Keep sharing pouring your love, passion and emotions into works of art because you never really know whose heart you touched or whose life you changed.

I have a job now. I decided to push law school a few years back and maybe take the time to work on myself now and maybe spend the next months or maybe years writing metas and fanfictions. I was pulled out of my hole. I was inspired. I have my own stories to tell and I don’t think I would have been here if I hadn’t spent the last few months reading fic after fic, meta after meta, appreciating art after art, 

So anyway, I just wanted to share some pics of my favortie fics, immortalized in one anthology, all organized by my boyfriend. And I think he made some great decisions with these.

(Bookbinding credits to @mayerwien)

#levihan #levi x hange #levi x hanji #lyf #life post

[camxlots-retxrn]

.. also 🧣?? I need some recs and am curious ab what you like so- ahhshs

🧣 ~ merlin fanfic suggestion i have so many

YES I HAVE SO MANY I have folders upon folders of bookmarks so here are just 6 of my favorite in no particular order :)

btw most of these are merthur! i think some of them are up to interpretation, but I’ve a horrid memory so I can’t recall which akjdkskd

An Ox on the Tongue by seapotato - 21.7k, teen & up

Not for the first time Merlin wondered if he'd been doing too good a job saving Arthur's princely hide. This time, it's because Merlin had realized, belatedly, that the assassination attempt targeted him, not Arthur.

this is in my top fanfics ever. one of my favorite lines from it is, “[H]is magic hummed through him, steady and almost happy, the way it always did when he used it for Arthur.” LIKE AHh beautiful it literally reads like an actual novel

/|\

the scent of rain by TheCourtSorcerer - 410, teen & up

Merlin closed his eyes as the rain splashed against his skin. The cold dripping water wetting his hair, soaking his clothes… He loved it.

He sat back in his patio chair, closing his eyes as he leaned his head back, baring his neck as he faced skyward. He knew he shouldn’t be outside. He should be in, tucked into bed, where it was warm…

this one is just so sweet!! merlin loves the rain & it’s because of this fic that I added that to my headcanons list <3 it’s domestic!! seriously adore it :’)))

/|\

Between by Emachinestcat - 3.6k, teen & up

When Uther finds out about Merlin’s magic, Arthur has already known for some time – and Arthur has no intention of letting his father kill his servant. Written for Febuwhump on Tumblr. Day 17: identity reveal

this one just has a beautiful depiction of the whole “two sides of the same coin” thing. much of Merlin & Arthur being protective of one another (+ Uther getting told off a bit)

/|\

Finding Home by riventhorn - 7.8k, explicit, translations available into Français by Aconit

Written for a kinkme_merlin prompt. When Gaius retires a new physician takes over and quickly kicks Merlin out of his room and takes it for himself. Arthur finds Merlin sleeping in the stables...and it's winter.

much angst much whump much Supportive Arthur(tm) it’s all very lovely :’)

/|\

When You Know, You Know by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle - 4.4k, teen & up

"You can take Daisy out to fetch the cloak-"

"How do you know that?"

Arthur closed his eyes, expression riddled with irritation before turning to look at Merlin expectantly.

"Know what?"

“The mare I use. You know I call her Daisy? I never told you that." Merlin explained. Arthur stared for a few moments. He could see the flicker of emotions pass easily over him. Anger, annoyance, exasperation, indignance, and finally acceptance...AKA the Five Stages of Grief (Pendragon Edition).

"You talk to the horse.” He pointed out. Merlin narrowed his eyes.

“I whisper to the horse.”

"...am I supposed to not hear it?” Arthur asked. Merlin wondered how likely it would be that he also heard him whispering magical spells if he heard him murmuring to the bloody horse. “Also, only you would choose such a ridiculous name.” He muttered. Merlin swallowed. This wasn't a problem at all, right? Right.

Or

Merlin knows Arthur well. Better than he knew himself apparently. What he hadn't expected was for Arthur to know his servant just as well... This causes problems. (also known as "The Time Merlin Had a Mental Breakdown Over Arthur Being a Normal Human")

I honestly read this a long time ago so can’t recall the finer details, but big “two halves of a whole” energy in this one. love it :)

/|\

andddd finally my favorite long fic ever-

and like the cycle of the year, we begin again by kathrynefromphilly - 200k, mature

Set after the Merlin Series 5 Finale "Diamond of the Day". Canon Compliant. In Character. Arthur Pendragon Returns.

———

For many long years Merlin waited.

For the other part of his soul, for the other half of his life. He was born to serve Arthur. So that meant he was also born to wait. Even if it took a thousand years. Even if the wait seemed never to end.

Until one day, suddenly, it did.

When Arthur stumbles from the Lake of Avalon 1,500 years after his death, he finds a world unlike the one he knew. Faced with the loss of everyone he loved, and the threat of impending prophecy, Arthur must learn what it means to be not just a king, but the Once and Future King. Merlin does all he can to guide him, even as he struggles to hide his love for his king, and his fear of losing him again.

Story includes sass, banter, horseplay, & True Love.

words can’t describe this fic & honestly anyone who ships Arthur & Merlin h a s to read this at some point. I don’t usually read long fics (this was the last long fic I read, and that was last year..) but I blew through this in two days. i literally fucked up my grades because I neglected school so much & it took like two weeks to get back to normal & I don’t regret it bahaha

apologies this is so long bahahah, but I hope it’s satisfactory! author’s like TheCourtSorcerer (who’s lovely blog is @tcs-main!), seapotato, & platonic_boner are brilliant author’s so you can really just page through their works for more stuff to read! (that isn’t to say the other listed author’s don’t have more lovely content, I just haven’t looked yet!)

honestly I have a lot of recs so I’ve been considering putting together an actual formal list akfjksfj

from my 100 Followers Celebration

#💫august's 100 follower ask game #bbc merlin #arthur pendragon #merlin emrys #merlin #merthur #fic rec #rec list #ask box #send asks #tireddruid #🧣

[handlebarstiedtothestars]

fic ask game!

Welp @forineffablereasons  left this open to anyone and given I’m a baby in this writing game I doubt anyone will ever specifically tag me SO here we go y’all

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

8!! I know that’s not many but I was surprised I even finished 1, let alone 8!?

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

80,881. Honestly the fact that I got stumped 40k into a book I tried to write and yet I’ve written nearly 81k online is just nuts.

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Only Good Omens really, but I have done the My Fair Lady crossover and the romcom It Happened One Night crossover, so kinda them too?

4) What are your top five fics by kudos?

My Fair Angel, Quicken To The New Life, Any Which Way, Let ‘Em Topple, Champagne and Chocolate Cake

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Always! Sometimes takes me a while to find time to get logged on, but always once I do. Even just to say thanks!

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Uhhh not really any of them, but a few get a little angsty in the middle. Maybe Any Which Way, arguably, cos that resolves its angst right at the very end.

7) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Definitely the My Fair Lady crossover. That was pure discord mania as soon as we found out there was a song in the musical called the Ascot Gavotte 🤣

8) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Someone tagged their bookmark of My Fair Angel with “Oh Dear”. Bit rude lol. It’s still there actually.

9) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I have triiiiiiied y’all and I just crack myself up laughing.

10) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of and I hope I never do!!

11) Have you ever had a fic translated?

No but I’d be thrilled if someone wanted to translate or podfic or do anything with any of my writing! Draw art, whatever. 

12) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

My Fair Angel was certainly a big collab with WyvernQuill in terms bouncing ideas around (and the amazing artwork), but not officially no.

13) What’s your all time favourite ship?

Honestly it’s a toss up between Aziraphale and Crowley or Eleanor and Chidi from The Good Place. Maybe Jason and Janet too. I hate choices haha.

14) What’s a WIP you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I mean there’s my attempts at smut lurking about in my folders that I don’t think I’ll go back to. A few beginnings of legit books I’ve tried to go back to and never got back into the groove of. Lots of WIPs. A graveyard of WIPs I see before me.

15) What are your writing strengths?

I’ve been told I write realistic (and/or Pratchett-esque) drunk dialogue so there’s that 😂

16) What are your writing weaknesses?

I lose focus of the point/the plot sometimes.

17) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I’ve done it briefly and I double check it with a native speaker where I can.

18) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Good Omens! Hmm. Actually. I remember writing some drabbles for Ouran High School Host Club when I was like 13 but I don’t think they really ever saw the light of day.

19) What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

Oof. Honestly bits of all of them. Chapter 7 of My Fair Angel. The parenting in Quicken To The New Life. The 14th century chapter of Any Which Way. The musical nerdiness of Sweet Love and Soul’s Delight. The Jesus cameos. There’s fun stuff in all of them.

I will taaaaaaag the aforementioned amazing @wyvernquill and the delectable @lurlur and anyone else who wants to do this!!

#ask game #fanfiction #fanfic #ao3 #good omens #writing #me #get to know me #or my writing i guess

[scioscribe]

have you got any Star Trek fic recommendations? I love what you’ve written and I’m super into the fandom atm

Oh, boy, do I.  I’ll try to keep this reasonably compact, but there’s a ton of excellent fic.  My to-read folder for this fandom currently has 262 items, and I’m also way behind on leaving comments on the stories I’ve loved because I’ve been glomming them so enthusiastically.  Hopefully this will shame me into appreciating the authors as they deserve.

My definition of “reasonably compact” apparently means “twenty-two separate recs,” so have a cut, everyone.

Kirk/Spock

Communication: One of my all-time favorites.  It’s a beautiful, incredibly romantic epistolary romance where Kirk and Spock wind up captaining separate ships during a war with the Tholians.  They write each other letters where they slowly feel out a resolution to their mutual pining, and the characterization is exquisite.

To Sing the Sun in Flight: I will happily read a million “Amok Time” AUs, but this might be my favorite.  It’s simple, hot, beautifully written, and perfectly characterized.

Our Bodies Safe to Shore: Excellent, plotty, and emotionally complex fic where Spock’s body is taken over by a hostile alien intelligence, one that can read his thoughts and imitate him, and he’s locked helplessly inside.  And the alien has noticed his feelings for Jim.

Joyboy: Post-Tarsus IV story where Kirk and Spock meet as teenagers, when Spock is with his father on a diplomatic mission where the Tarsus survivors are brought for temporary shelter.  Great characterization, maybe especially of Kirk, who gets to be both the woobie (he’s being shunned by a lot of people for doing sex work on Tarsus to stay alive) and the controlled, honorable budding leader.  Little bit of underage, but not particularly explicit.

Fulfilling the Needs of the One (Or the Both): Sweet Old Married Spirk story that blends slice-of-life with a nuanced emotional plot where Spock suddenly fears that he hasn’t been giving Jim the emotional support and romance Jim needs.  (Jim begs to differ.)

Sunlight: Kirk, Spock, and McCoy start filling out one of those “getting to know you” questionnaires together for a crew newsletter, and of course Spock and Kirk have ridiculously detailed opinions about things as simple as the other one’s hair color and eye color and what kind of animal they would be.  Also some cute McCoy characterization and appreciation for shortish Jim, which I always appreciate.

Freely Given: The last by this author, I promise!  This is the best “McCoy subtly plays matchmaker” fic I’ve read, where his prods and a trip to a planet where on-the-mouth kisses are a common form of greeting make Spock start thinking about what he wants from his relationship with Kirk.  Delightful, sharp Bones, a Kirk who wants to make sure his authority as captain isn’t coming into play here, and a beautifully analytical Spock who is slowly realizing the depths of his pining.

Great Expectations: My favorite bit of xeno!  Kirk and Spock are about to have their first time together, but Spock shies away from getting completely naked, and when he finally does, Kirk has an unfortunate reflexive reaction to his unfamiliar genitals.  Before sweetly and humorously consoling Spock about it and boldly and sexily going where no man has gone before.  This is hot and romantic and perfectly characterized, and I just want to give Spock a hug.

Centennial: More Old Married Spirk!  Kirk is turning one hundred, and he’s feeling his age a little.  But Spock has the perfect gift for him.  Absolutely heartwarming, and written with grace and restraint.

A Private Obsession: Outsider-POV narrated by a man from a rigid, sexually conservative planet.  He owns a factory where Kirk and Spock (clearly stranded and/or forced undercover for purposes the narrator doesn’t know) wind up working.  He becomes sexually and romantically obsessed with Kirk and painfully jealous of Spock–and the ease with which the two men love each other–and, of course, leveraging Spock’s failing health to get Kirk into his bed doesn’t, and can’t, solve his problems.

Famous Last Words: Super adorable fic where there’s a shipboard poll of everyone’s favorite quotes of famous people’s last words, and all of Kirk’s have, um, a certain subtext about seconds-in-command, love, and sex.  Contains flirting and foreplay and love confessions via quotes.  Which is fitting, because Kirk and Spock are enormous nerds.

The Game: Funny, insightful story with Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Scotty playing a game–come up with something another person at the table would never, ever say–that then takes a sharp turn into devastating pining.  This ends as UST, but I can’t believe they don’t get together.  I mean, come on.

Warm Thoughts: Lovely, aching post-”Amok Time” story where Kirk wants to talk about what happened on Vulcan, Spock really doesn’t, and everything is brought to a head by an absolute hurt/comfort gift of a situation where Kirk comes back from a planet with an inability to get warm.  Spock can ostensibly use mind melds to help him a little–but things keep slipping through that he’d rather not deal with.  Excellent hurt/comfort and pining.

…And a Bottle of Rum: Adorable, hilarious, sexy established relationship fic where Kirk tries to use the “Shore Leave” planet for a bit of fun pirate role-play and Spock tries to be a good sport about it.  Hilarity ensues: “Help, help,” Spock called dutifully, and was set down again with a thump as Jim collapsed in a paroxysm of laughter.

Not So Last Words: Heartbreaking post-Wrath of Khan soulmate AU.  Your soulmate’s last words are supposed to be written on your wrist, but Kirk can’t understand how Spock could have died without saying what’s on his.  There is beautifully layered tearjerker stuff here.

Round is a Shape: There are a bunch of “older Kirk is self-conscious about his weight, Spock loves him just the way he is,” and I will read them all, because I am a chubby sap.  But this is my favorite.  Utterly adorable.

And the Truth Shall Set You Free: Smug telepathic aliens force Kirk to publicly declare his feelings to a shocked, unresponsive Spock who has been avoiding him lately.  The aliens feel like they could come straight out of an episode–there’s lots of debating about morality!  I love debating about morality!–and the romance is lovely and the crew is 1000% in Kirk and Spock’s corner.  And it’s delightful.

Cut Point: Spock gets an exceptionally flattering haircut, one that would probably make me moan, “I want to touch his hair,” even more than I already do.  Suddenly, everyone on the ship can’t stop talking about how good he looks, while Kirk loses his mind due to what he thinks is unrequited love.

Gen

Way, Hey, An’ Up She Rises: Nuanced and exquisitely written first meeting story about Kirk coming onto the Enterprise and Spock evaluating him.  Really well-characterized and great at the tentative feeling of the two of them feeling each other out.  And has “pretty shitty but not actually an indiscriminate villain” Gary Mitchell, which is a take I’m especially fond of.

Second Decent Destiny: Very shippy and technically pre-slash, but reads comfortably enough as gen.  “Amok Time” AU where T’Pau doesn’t alibi them to Starfleet and Kirk winds up with an honorable discharge for diverting the ship.  Spock joins him in extremely early retirement and the two of them try to figure out where they’re going from here.  Lovely, and a very good idea for a second-chance life.

Fortune’s Favoured Child: The formatting on this is kind of terrible, but it’s extremely well-worth it if you love Kirk hurt/comfort as much as I do.  In the aftermath of the deaths of Edith Keeler and his brother, Kirk is foundering a little, and seems to snap under the impact of yet another crisis–and in the process, reveals layers of suppressed pain that even his friends didn’t know about.

Lost and Found: Again, superb Kirk hurt/comfort–well-plotted, tense, angsty, and perfectly executed.  Kirk has been kidnapped and brutally tortured by Romulans, and as the story opens, he’s been brought back to the Federation in disgrace, having made a televised confession to all manner of crimes and (presumably) spilled Federation secrets to stay alive.  His crew is supposed to keep him in the brig and bring him to justice, but of course their loyalty is such that their immediate response is basically, “Fuck no.”  (I am bowled over by the sweetness of a particular gesture here.)  And Kirk gets to be both extremely damaged and extremely resourceful and inventive.

Other Ships

Matchmaker of Mars: I initially left this off by mistake because I was going through my bookmarks, and I always just get to this one through my gift page!  It’s Uhura/T’Pring 1930s Science Fiction Writer AU, which should be enough to make you want to read it--it has lovely characterization, note-perfect pastiche, and the two of them struggling to deal with John W. Campbell.

Oh, okay, so this was the short version.  It could have been longer, I promise.  This was relative restraint!

#star trek #star trek tos #fic recs

[primeemeraldheiress]

1, 5, 23, and 35?

1. What was your first fic and could you stand to reread it today?

Why must I publicly reveal my shame?

Okay, so I started writing fanfic at like sixteen. I was in my emo angsty stage. My pen name was something like Lady Siren Jade Riddle on fanfic.net. (If you play The Wizards Chronicles on Byond, you know me! Congratulations!) I don’t remember if it was actually the first one I wrote/posted but it’s the first one I certainly remember writing/posting. It was called The Power of the Bond. It was a Harry Potter fanfic featuring (please note the sarcasm) Powerful!Harry, Dark!Harry, Veela!Harry! Dark Veela, Soulmates! Bonding and more! Where Draco was Harry’s True Mate! That’s really all I remember of the plot. I do remember that it got a lot of reviews and a lot of people really liked it but given what I do have of my high school writing, I know it was cringy af. CRINGY AS FUCK, Y’ALL.

There’s no way I could stand to reread it today. Not sure I even could physically reread it as I took down everything on fanfic.net and the only existing copies I have of my shitty teenage fanfic are on disks older than most of Gen Z. (Note the satire.)

5. Is there any fic that makes you super happy to reread and remember you wrote that?

Honestly, I am super proud of the way Life’s too short but the end is so long turned out. I really think it’s a good piece of writing. It doesn’t get a whole lot of love because it’s short, which is fair, but there are some lines in there that I just... wow. Sometimes I can’t believe I wrote that. 

On a plotline level, though, I really like Vertigo and Far From Olympus right now. Those two make me happy.

23. What’s the nicest review you’ve ever gotten?

So I don’t have... one. There are so many lovely comments and compliments I’ve gotten... I actually keep a folder on my computer labeled “Trophy Case” where I keep little screenshots of anything that makes me feel particularly accomplished or proud. Several of those are comments. Sometimes they’re other things. (I may have screenshotted when a couple of people have followed or bookmarked or kudosed me.)

I regularly go through the bookmarks of my fics and check out what people have put in there because there are some real gems in the notes people can write. 

One of the most amazing things I’ve had happen is that one of the people I’ve been a huge fan of in a different fandom who is a huge, well-known fic author started commenting on my fic. I nearly fucking died, guys. DIED. I fangirled for TWO DAYS.

Overall, though, I really love getting comments about my writing itself. The characterization, the subtly, the wordplay. Those are some of my favorites because those are my favorite parts of writing.

35. Have you ever written a ship into a fic without meaning to?

Actually, yeah, this is exactly how If I Told You happened.

It was never supposed to be a BruJay. When I started writing it, it was just supposed to be a sweet fic about the Bat Pack courting Jay and bringing him home. But, because I write out of order sometimes, when I went to write the end fight, where Bruce needed to prove that could win... well... It wouldn’t be written without a claiming bite... So... That happened. I tried to work around it but @garpie64 wouldn’t let me. lol Told me to keep it. So I had to write the rest of the fic BruJay. 

----------

I love doing these ask memes. :) Thanks, @thefightingbull

#Emerald Ask #thefightingbull #Ask Meme #IfIToldYou #AdAglaophotis #Lifestooshortbuttheendissolong #FarFromOlympus #BruJay

[jughead-jones]

That does help! Could you share some of your favorite bughead AUs? (fics, prompts, gifsets, etc) - your secret santa

Oh, boy. I’m probably the wrong person to ask this because a) the AUs that I desperately want haven’t been made/written yet because they’re still in my head and very slow in being actualised; b) I stopped reading Bughead fanfiction some time last year (okay, it was December); reasons being: I read fanfic in cycles — I binge on one ship and when it starts getting predictable, I binge read fanfic for another ship, and so on and so on. But alright, I looked though my bookmarks on ao3, and here are some fanfics:

Definitely AUs:

You’re Going to Go Far (Kid) by PastyPirate: Jughead has always been unable to say no to Jellybean. So if she wants to join a band of people he barely remembers from a town he’d abandoned years ago, well, then he’s joining a band.

Double Date with Danger by PastyPirate: The Serpents are a secret society of assassins, Jughead is a top ranking killer, Archie is in training, Veronica is a powerhouse, and Betty is just your All American Girl Next Door.

Murder on the Orient Express by formergirlwonder: The year is 1934. Jughead Jones, a successful mystery novelist, is called back to London from Istanbul by his agent. On the train he reunites with an old love…

Welcome to Camp Sweetwater by @twilightvxen: Jughead and Betty are camp counselors, and she makes him hate this place a little less every day.

take me home by @sylwrites: When Jughead used to imagine living in New York, it was always Manhattan — not a small town upstate. At least the shoot for Sweetwater is only seven months.

wonderstruck by @santiagone: A girl—undeniably pretty even from his distance—perching quaintly on top of a rumbling washing machine, scribbling down in a notebook, chewing at her bottom (admittedly very pink) lip. She’s dressed in a sweater several sizes too big for her, and sweatpants that are rolled up adora—accusingly at the ankles. / “You’re in my clothes,” he says after a moment, so stunned that his eyebrows almost creep up into his hat.

Ivy League Material by @confirmedbugheadtrash: Betty Cooper, had, despite her very best efforts, still ended up at an Ivy League school. Betty knew this was the perfect opportunity to show everyone that she wasn’t perfect. Jughead Jones, had, despite himself, ended up at an Ivy League school. Jughead Jones was neither bright nor shiny, dammit. At least, he tried his hardest not to be.

that The O.C. AU Ria @rivervixens and I discussed once upon a time…

canonish? AUs?:

Needing/Getting by slantedsunlight: In a Riverdale never shaken by Jason Blossom’s murder, Jughead Jones still has plenty keeping him up at night — like letting go of his enormous, unrequited crush on Betty Cooper, or how to get out of the school ski trip. As it turns out, he isn’t very good at either…

looking for a mind at work by @imreallyloveleee: When the fireworks start, Jughead and Betty are alone.

Roll The Dice by @ohkingsteve: Betty is oblivious, Jughead pines, Veronica spills the tea, and Reggie finds his One True Bro™.

Always Forward by @carynsilver: The Three Musketeers of Betty, Jughead, and Archie lose touch when Jughead and his family move away from Riverdale. Veronica never moved to Riverdale at all. When they all end up in NYC for college ten years later, the Core Four (plus Cheryl) meet up and have to figure out if they still have places in each other’s lives.

dust to dust by @lusterrdust: Betty’s head snaps over toward the boy, his lanky form leaning over his patio with the cigarette hanging from his fingers. Her stomach turns strangely at the way the moonlight highlights his features, accentuating his cheekbones and the inky black hair that falls over his eyes in soft curls. / He raises a brow at her and takes a deep drag of his cig before continuing. “Welcome to Riverdale.”

There have also been other fics, but they were deleted. One thing in common between all of them: They were Bughead as Musicians or Actors AUs. I kinda wish Bughead fandom was as wrought with AUs as Bellarke fandom — now there’s a group of people who can OTP-up any situation.

Here’s some things of my own:

roseblood series: the occasional time I find it in myself to write a fanfic. D: because my idea folder is bursting with notes, it really should have more material there, but I’m also The Worst™ so it doesn’t.

you have witchcraft in your lips: an Actors AU featuring Harry Potter that @jane-hoppers and I started writing before I dropped the ball. That will teach Kayla to rely on me. :/ It’s still an AU I love and dream of finishing. WE HAVE MATERIAL AND OUTLINES AND KAYLA’S SECOND CHAPTER, I AM JUST *makes fist* THE WORST AND CAN’T GET OVER A BLOCK. IT HAS BEEN A YEAR.

the Princess Bride AU that went no where. Ideally I’ll finish that gifset I was making, IDEALLY.

Game of Thrones AU that has around a lot of stuff written for it, but it’s disjoined so I can never produce a solid chapter. 

Zootopia AU that only I and @shibbycat fangirl over because we both love Zootopia more than is healthy.

there’s that Bughead ran away in 2x05 fanfic/gifset that I did…

that one time I made a picspam about a genderbent!Jughead/bi!Betty AU. I still have around 1.5k written for this one shot. alas, it’s not finished. it even has Jugs Jones fancast as young!Winona Ryder. :/

I hope this helped. D:

#bughead secret santa #* #anonymous #ask box

[pinkletterday]

Writer's Year In Review

This year has been a revelation. I went from deeply, irrevocably believing I can't write fiction at all to knowing that I'm actually pretty good at it!

It's given me the confidence to find work as a freelance writer and editor in real life, after years of unemployment and anxious paralysis resulting from chronic illness and trauma. A lot of other factors also helped but the fic writing played a huge role in getting my shit together.

General Fic Stats:

Word Count on AO3: 92284

Fics posted to AO3: 23

Favourite Fic:

Kiss It Better (Westallen).This fic is my baby. I love little Iris and little Barry in it so much, the hurt and confusion in each other they attempted to heal, how that healing carried into their adult love and family. It will always and always be my favourite thing I have ever written. Wee!stallen is my jam, and the reason I ship them so damn hard.

Do Not Go Gentle (Westallen). Ngl, I love this for the sheer amount of truly gratifying comments. Every single one of them have been emotional and flaily. It all makes me feel like I may have finally levelled up. Hallelujah. xD

Funniest Fic:

The Care and Feeding (Queenwestallen). This is my ultimate OT3. This fic, written as a list and discussion is 95% humour and contains some of my best banter and (I feel) characterization. An element I'm really proud of is how I managed to center and include all their important non-romantic relationships in their conversations. Iris's boisterous female friends, Oliver's friends, Cisco and Caitlin's snarky commentary all shoehorned themselves into the list with hilarious and wholesome results. 

It's not a popular OT3 but I feel like it's a good first attempt to drag this ship to water. xD

Cutest Fic:

Dancing Queen (Olivarry). Even after a year this contiues to be the fic with the highest kudos ratio (except for the more recent one) and the second most bookmarked. I love getting comments on this because they are all some variation of "my teeth hurt. I have diabetes!" xD Well, I did build it around a rainbow sprinkle icing sugar donut, but there is a significant dollop of angst there in the middle. A flangst donut.

Your Vigil In My Keeping (Westallen). This fic has less than 200 hits but has the highest kudos ratio of all. I guess kid fic isn't everyone's cup of tea, but Wee!stallen is cute af yo. I headcanon the origins of Barry and Iris's steadfast partnership in this story, where her faith and belief in him is as strong as his protectiveness of her, all tied up in the language and innocence of children.

Kinkiest Fic:

WA Smut and Kink Collection. I literally just posted this yesterday lol. So far it's just a face-sitting short, but I have quite a few hard and soft kinks lined up. Westallen needs more hard smut tbh, and they have such a unique powerfully loving dynamic that every kink I'm writing has required me to come at it a little bit sideways with a whole lot of emotional focus.

Saddest Fic:

Three fics I can't choose from.

Do Not Go Gentle (Westallen). This is basically Iris's grief and fear in a raging tempest, and it's strongly implied that the future Nora has warned them of will come to pass regardless of what they do. The fact is that there already is and will be a timeline where Iris loses Barry, just as there must be one where she won't, because that is the nature of potentiality. 

The Paradigm of Uncertainty (Westallen). This was a drabble almost, that ruminates on the probability that speedsters do not erase timelines but abandon them, along those versions of their loved ones. It's as @rkwago's brilliant comment says: "Iris hurts in so many weird, cosmic ways that her life is almost an eldritch horror house," which is the most perfect description ever of what it means to be a time traveller's wife.

The Universal Constant (Gen, background WA). A lot of people find the way Barry goes off on Joe cathartic in this fic, and so do I. But it's not so simple. I don't think Joe was wrong to form the views he did, or that anyone was in the wrong really. As @sophiainspace pointed out, it's a mediation of grief and love, their parallels and continuations between parents and children and lovers. The fact that it takes Henry's death for Barry to find the adult language to articulate to Joe why he will always believe in his father's innocence is a tragedy that cuts three ways.

(This fic is also the reason I have a folder in my drive marked "how to get away with murder" and probably a likely reason to get me arrested one day. xD)

Most Popular Fic:

Strangers In The Cold (Coldflash). The Coldflash fandom is a joy to feed. This was my first smut fic which was preceded by an entire chapter of banter about nothing in particular (except it ended up establishing a background that gave birth to the Coldflash vs Olivarry polyam series) And holy wow, for a newbie writer, the response has been amazing. Looking back, I wince at a lot of writing mistakes and its undeniably rough, but it really bolstered my confidence.

(I feel a little guilty that all my other CF stories are still in my WiP folder while I update the polyam series at snail's pace.)

The Shape of Us (Westallen). I wrote this on tumblr half-asleep one night, half as a rambly headcanon...and woke up to literally one hundred freaking notes. What the hell. Now at over 260, it's the most popular fic I've ever posted on tumblr.

I never consciously intended it to be a body-positivity fic but apparently women really relate to the insecurities of growing older and watching our bodies change with marriage, children and the sheer hectic pace of life. Even my non-fandom friends reblogged it simply for its representation of "real women". Barry's response is my own wish fulfillment fantasy; the sort of total acceptance and validation that we wish we could hear it the times we can't find it in ourselves. In light of the virulent body-shaming Candice Patton has been subjected to ever since she was revealed to have gained a fuller figure in S5, I'm very glad to have written it.

Least Popular Fic:

Carry On (Gen) This character study of Oliver Queen only has 135 hits a year after posting, which is par for the course with gen. But has a solid 12% kudos ratio, which means it's probably as good as I think it is. It's one of my favourite and easiest fics I have ever written.

Love Me Like You Do (Olivarry) Lordy, if my first Coldflash smut filled me with confidence, my first Olivarry smutfic all but ruined it. I struggled with it for a long time, unlike SitC, which I suppose shows in the over-descriptions. I got carried away with the quipping and I guess Barry topping at all is really not popular with slash fans?

Still, I'm honestly toying with the idea of deleting and rewriting it. At least it was a learning experience - don't write smut unless it makes you feel horny yourself.  

Most Challenging Fic:

Do Not Go Gentle (Westallen). I think the reason stories you knock off in two hours are instantly popular while the ones you slaved over for weeks barely get any attention is because the process is reflected in the ease of reading. But this one is an exception. It was an absolute monster, taking three weeks and several revisions to wrestle into submission - and it paid off in spades!  Going by the response, I seem to have achieved the wow factor I was going for.

My only regret is that I posted it on tumblr before the last revision that finally made it work, so that too many readers saw the lacklustre version rather than the polished one.

Honorable Mention:

A Stitch In Time (Olivarry for now, eventual Queenwestallen) Baby's first multi-chapter! Admittedly chapters 3 and 4 have been languishing in my drive for a few months now and this thing has 100% more deleted scenes and outtakes posted to my tumblr than the actual story on AO3. But I'm so proud of it! I learned to write action scenes because of it, how to write climaxes, dream sequences, news articles and tell a story in several different formats. It made me rediscover my empathy for Felicity and write her as a PoV character, think deeply on Laurel Lance's losses and give voice to her struggles, and explore how a real friendship and understanding could evolve between Oliver and Iris out of their mutual love for Barry. (Centering female characters within manpain narratives, ftw! Otoh, I centered Iris so much it veered off the Olivarry rails into Queenwestallen territory on its own)

There is so much meaty conflict and delicious looming disaster in this story that I'm determined going to keep at it, even if slow and steady. If only to bring the light of Barry/Iris/Oliver into the world. xD

Holding On (Olivarry). This real-world disability AU deals with chronic and mental illness and the precariousness and personal demons of that reality. I tore out the rawest parts of my life for this fic and put them on display so that I couldn't bear to show it to anyone for a year after it was written.

I'm very glad I did finally brush it off and put it up because it has struck a chord with so many people, especially other Spoonies. The low number of hits on a fic that deals in hurt/comfort rather stings, as I can't help but think the disinterest is because of the "disability" and "neurodivergence" tags. But I still think it's one of the best things I've written and one I'll always be proudest of.

General Reflections:

Things I've learned over the past year of writing:

- Self-deprecation is not my friend. I need to be honest enough with myself to acknowledge when my writing is good, because either I self-validate and build confidence or I become a black hole of insecurity where validation goes to die. And if I think I'm a bit better than I actually am, it's not just okay but necessary to believe it.

- What I call writer's block is perfectionism, anxiety and physical and mental fatigue. If I don't eat, sleep, hydrate and acheive a relaxed mental state, I won't be able to write. 

- Momentum is more my friend than any amount of inspiration and motivation. Sitting my ass down and make it a habit to churn out X number of words a day, even bad writing, will do more to help me than polishing an idea to a high shine. 

- If I don't forgive myself for the stories I can't write I'll never write anything. I am doing this for free, to share the love and joy and therefore obligated to no one. 

- I'm capable of writing things I don't have the first idea how to write. My fingers on a keyboard can paint the picture my brain can't visualize. 

I don't believe in New Year's resolutions, but I am going to make it a personal goal to write at least 15k words per month, learn to stick to a posting schedule where possible.  and end next year with an additional 150k words posted. 

To everyone who follows this blog, commented, reblogged and liked my posts - I see and remember and appreciate every one of you. You're the reason I feel seen and valued and why I am motivated to keep writing through all the difficulties life throws at me. <3<3<3

#the flash #myfic #fanfic #westallen #olivarry #arrow #oliver queen x barry allen #personal #barry allen x iris west #coldflash #queenwestallen #leonard snart x barry allen #oliver queen x iris west #writing #meme #review #year in review #happy new year #pinknote

[aromantic-eight]

G, H, Q, and T?

G: Care to share a favorite crack fic?

…I don’t think I’ve bookmarked any RWBY crack fics yet. Hmm. [pulls up pinboard] I’m a little rusty on the definition of ‘crack’, but. A few fics that come to mind:

Attack of the Chronofaeces by Charamei (Doctor Who)Summary: A blinky light on the TARDIS that none of the companions has ever seen before begins to flash urgently. There’s an incoming package… but the Doctor doesn’t seem too keen to explain what it’s a package *of*. (Worldbuilding gone cracky. Approach with caution, and an umbrella.)Note: I forgot about this fic. This is the end result of the first time I met Charamei and got sucked into the Classic Who fandom, and we threw essays at each other for a while, and this fic resulted. 

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by pendrecarc (Person of Interest)Summary: Day 1:“It’s taken care of, Finch,” Reese said. “The cameraman was the threat. Honestly, by the end I was tempted to let him get away with it.”“I’m glad it didn’t come to that. I’m afraid it doesn’t look like the roads will be passable until tomorrow morning, so you’ll be staying another night. At least you should have a quiet evening. You might consider it a holiday. I hope the accommodations at least are passable?”“I’ve had worse.”“Speak for yourself,” Shaw said. “I’ve had that song stuck in my head all day.”Notes: I just recced this fic to someone else, so I can list it here as one of the best fics I have ever read.

Mostly Void, Partially Starships by Norickayer (Young Avengers)Summary: “Hey Kate!” Eli yells over the din of the bar. “Want to do something stupid?”“Give me like six hours of sleep and some pain killers and I’m yours,” she calls back.“You’re just going to hop over to the Sol system and, what, tell Thanos you’re very disappointed in him?” Billy asks, incredulous. “You’re all going to die.”“Maybe,” Eli agrees. “You coming?”(or, Young Avengers IN SPAAAAAAAAAACE!)Notes: Norickayer’s one of the best authors in the Young Avengers fandom, hands down, and has written a ton of short and fun AU one-shots. This one’s probably the closest to the crack fic genre. 

H: How would you describe your style?

Uhhhh. Excessive worldbuilding and niche story concepts, probably. I’m good at coming up with ways of making stuff work and the occasional broad IC narrative line, rather than things like dialogue or tiny narrative details. 

Q: Do you have any discarded scenes/storylines/projects?

[id: Screenshot of a google drive folder. The folder path at the top lists “My Drive > fusions > NON-PRIORITY > Other AUs” and what follows is a list of folders and documents listing an excessive number of AU ideas, with a scroll bar indicating more are below. end id]

A Couple. 

T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?

Lots, probably. It’s midnight tho so the only thing that comes to mind is like. I love subverted soulmate AUs, but I actually rly dislike when it’s played straight. Uh. When people write a romance and their characters suddenly morph into some kind of stock Romantic Relationship archetype instead of, you know, their actual personalities. Tbh goes for a couple other scenarios where people seem to just. Have one or two set personalities for the concept and just rename those personalities with whatever the character names of the ship are and call it IC. 

#ask meme reply #it's midnight here so that's #probably all I'll answer tonight #will look at any other asks tomorrow #gorgeousgalatea

[chaoticgriffins]

Captain Swan fanfic list

Whilst I am fairly new to this beautiful fandom and ship, as I just started watching in August, I have spent a shameful amount of time since then reading as much of the delightful fanfiction this world has to offer (there are some extremely talented writers obsessed with this show, we are blessed) and as such, I want to keep my favorites all in one place, as well as recommend these to anyone interested. I know most of these have been featured on many a list but alas, I feel they deserve all the recognition they can get. 

I still have a very large bookmark folder of reading to go, so I may add to this. Also if anyone wants to recommend anything to me that’s not listed, that’d be fab

*Added to list 11/17/17

**Added to list 12/09/17

***Added to list 3/07/18

-- AU/CANON-DIVERGENCE MULTI-CHAPTER  --

Walking on Water by Ms Starlight (Rated M)-  Princess!Emma meets our beloved pirate Captain Killian Jones when his crew abducts her off one of her kingdom’s ships, interrupting her journey home from a diplomatic mission after attempting to seek aid for her kingdom during the Ogre Wars. Beautiful characterization, very interesting twists and manipulations on canon plot lines. This one is definitely a favorite. 

Something like you love me by killians-dimples (Rated T) - Friends to Lovers  (because apparently I am absolute trash for this trope) and Fake!Dating. Emma and Killian have been best friends since college, and when Mary Margaret just doesn’t know when to quit pushing her towards Walsh, Killian offers to pretend to be her boyfriend for a trip home to get her mom off her back. Beautiful and heartbreaking at times, loved it.

Walking in a Straight Line by msgenevieve447 (Rated M) - Another Friends to Lovers.Emma and Killian share a few drinks and a kiss, but only one of them remembers. VERY well written, fun to read, and I loved her characterizations. Plus Killian is a lawyer, which suits him so well for some reason. A personal favorite. (Prequel and Sequel one-shots below!)

The Darling Affair by Ice_Cube44 (Rated T) - I LOVED this one. Devoured it in one sitting. Killian is ex-military and his path crosses SocialWorker!Emma’s when one of her charges is kidnapped by the Gold family, the very same Killian’s been trying to track down for years. The story is so compelling, the characterization is awesome (especially Killian, I don’t know why but I am borderline obsessed with this version), PLUS there’s Liam, so you get all the Brothers Jones glory. (Prequel one-shots linked below) 

Crimson by qqueenofhades (Rated M) - Professor!Killian meets Emma when she starts taking his class. This one is a long, mysterious, awesome ride. A fascinating twist to the canon curse and our beloved pirate and wonderful writing and storytelling.

One Against the Wind by 4getfulimaginator (Rated T) - Set in the 1700′s, Emma is shipwrecked with a friend when they are rescued and brought aboard the Jolly Roger. This is a beautiful story, and one of the few that features awesome original characters. Heartbreaking and just wonderful.

Land Next to Me by swans-and-pirates (Rated T) - LieutenantDuckling. King’s Navy Hero Killian Jones meets Princess!Emma aboard the luxury spaceliner The Swan. When the unthinkable happens and they are forced to abandon ship, they end up stuck together on a mysterious planet. A sweet and compelling story with an awesome twist.

The Lost Boys by niniadepapa (Rated M) - Rockstar!Killian meets Actress!Emma. Their agents convince them to fake a relationship for the sake of their reputations. So much fun to read, and the cast of side characters are almost as fabulous as our dynamic duo. 

Second Star to the Right by Rhianna-Aurora (Rated M) - Canon Divergence, Emma doesn’t leave Killian at the top of the beanstalk and lets him come back to Storybrooke. Well-written and lovely read. 

Under the Horizon by romancered (Rated T) - Emma falls through a portal in Neverland and ends up three hundred years in the past, on the deck of the Jolly Roger, under the watch of a newly minted and grieving Captain Hook. 

To The End by StrawberryFields4ever (Rated T) - The adventure through Neverland to find Henry takes a fascinating turn. Emma falls into an Alternate Cursed version of Storybrooke while Killian, Mary Margaret, David, Regina, and Rumple try to find Emma and Henry in Neverland. 

Call it Love by Montana-Rosalie (Rated T) - Lieutenant Duckling. Princess!Emma and Killian are friends as children, before life drags them apart and brings them back together. ALL of Montana-Rosalie’s stories are worth reading, really. This one is sweet and sad at times, but a wonderful story.

All We’d Ever Need by Montana-Rosalie (Rated T) - Ballerina!Emma and Pianist!Killian are best friends, and find their lives crumbling on the same night. Fluffy, sweet, and angsty, but really beautifully written. Plus daddy!Killian always.

Written in the Stars by Montana-Rosalie (Rated T) -Last one, these three were my favorites of hers, but again, read all of them. Princess!Emma meets Blacksmith!Killian, and decides to fight for her true love. Angst abounds, but it’s so worth it in the end. Love love love. 

The Path That Moonbeams Make by KnifeEdge (Rated T) - S2 Canon Divergence. Everyone’s favorite pirate climbs through Emma’s window after midnight, but not for the reasons you might think. Beautifully written. 

The Secret of Drowning by momothelemur (Rated T) - S2 Canon Divergence. Emma and Killian fall through the portal and end up where they least expect. They have to learn to trust each other as they go on a wild journey through the realms to try and get home to Storybrooke. 

* Incarcerus by qqueenofhades (Rated M) - Emma and Killian are vampires. I did not expect to love this one as much as I did, but it was so so fantastic. Their relationship is so unexpectedly sweet, and I loved the side characters just as much as I did CS. The story line is so well thought out and intriguing. 

*The Lightbearers by qqueenofhades (Rated M) - This one made me so emotional so many times. Steampunk AU, Emma is a bounty hunter sent after the infamous sky pirate Killian Jones. There are so many twists and turns to this story, and I’m so in love with this author’s Will Scarlet.

*The Reason by xHookedonKillianx (Rated M) - Another friends to lovers and secret dating fic, this is one of my new favorites of that trope. The progression of their relationship is endearing and heartbreaking at times, and I love when a fic can make me love the relationships between the side characters as I am with CS. Bonus Liam Jones, whom I love dearly. 

*Lethologica by lifeinahole (Rated M) - Friends to Lovers/Secret Dating. Looooved this one. Chef!Killian and Emma is in the military. So sweet and fun to read, and the twist towards the end made me emotional. 

**Warm Nights and Firelight by Oubliette14 (Rated M) - Emma runs away from a messy breakup straight back home to her parents’ horse ranch. There she meets Killian, who works as a ranch hand for her father. This one is so loving and beautiful. 

**The Trouble with Faking It by nowforruin (Rated M) - Killian is a Hollywood actor one mistake away from blowing his career. Emma is the down on her luck bail bonds woman that KJ’s manager finds, and makes her an offer she can’t refuse. FakeDating! but so sooo fantastically raw and heartbreaking. 

**Wait For the Moonrise by lifeinahole (Rated E) - Enchanted Forest/Storybrooke AU with LieutenantDuckling. On the day Killian intends to propose to Princess!Emma, she disappears, swept up in a curse. He’ll do anything to find her. 

**To Every Thing a Season by Ice_Cube44 (Rated T) - I’ve been waiting for this one to be finished for awhile and pounced the second it was done. Killian is a scientist at Storybrooke University, trying to crack the code to travel back in time to save Liam from being murdered. Emma’s his lab assistant who didn’t quite know what she was getting into. I knew I’d love this because I loved The Darling Affair, and it definitely didn’t disappoint. A wonderful knot of fluff and angst with a beautiful ending. 

***Guilty, Your Honor by shipping-goggles (Rated M) - Emma starts a new job at a law firm and realizes her one-time thing from the night before has already come back to haunt her. The journey from horribly awkward to friends to lovers is a lovely thing. 

***Headlights Fading by EvilIsntBorn337 (Rated K+) - When Emma Swan breaks down in the middle of nowhere, Maine, she finds help in the most unlikely of places, and by the time her car is ready to go, she has to decide if she is. Beautiful and sweet AU.

***If the Stars Align by twistedroses (Rated M) - This is a story world I loved and wasn’t quite ready for it to end. Emma is the Queen of France, and Killian is a loyal Musketeer who’d do anything for his queen. The stakes are high and angst abounds in this beautiful, unique twist on CS.

***Tripping Over the Blue Line by WelpThisIsHappening (Rated M) - Hockey AU. Killian is the Captain of the New York Rangers and Emma is the new Community Relations rep. Both of them have big plans and weren’t quite counting on the other to come along and change them. This is such a fun, wonderful world to spend time in even if you aren’t a sports fan (I’m not, but I still loved every minute of this fic) and I love her characterizations of Emma, Killian, and the whole crew. 

***The PyeongChang Triple by WelpThisIsHappening  (Rated M) - The fun continues in the Olympics sequel to Blue Line. 

***Out of the Frying Pan by WelpThisIsHappening (Rated M) - Celebrity Cooking AU. Emma’s trying to save her time slot for her show, and Killian wants to expand his restaurant - both of them need to win the All-Stars competition. Another fun story with completely immersive writing and a huge, lovable community. 

***You Play Ball Like a Girl by WelpThisIsHappening (Rated M) - Emma has plans to take New York sports journalism by storm, so when she starts to fall for her editor, she realizes she’s got a big problem. This one is a little more angsty than her other stories, but I loved it all the same.

***Light of All Lights by Ripplestitchskein (Rated E) - Dark Swan and Deckhand Killian AU. While the depiction of Killian as weak and fearful is hard to swallow at first, this story has an awesome depiction of Emma as the Dark One, and Killian’s growth is really beautiful by the end. Rated E for a reason, folks, but the story and characterizations are fascinating.

(Now I have a hard and fast rule not to read fics that aren’t complete, as I have mourned the loss of too many abandoned fics, but this one and the next sort of snuck up on me, and I’m recommending them because they are absolutely worth reading despite being unfinished. (They are, however, still being updated and haven’t been abandoned, so I eagerly await the endings.)

***Beyond the Horizon by AlexandraLyman (Rated M) -WIP- Princess Emma’s ship is attacked by pirates, and Captain Jones brings her aboard. Slowly but surely, they fall in love, and Killian finds a bit of the good man inside that he lost along the way while he helps Emma reunite with her parents and save her kingdom. BEAUTIFUL writing. Really, all I can talk about is how gorgeous this one is.

***Alone, Until I Get Home by phthalo (Rated M) -WIP- S3 Canon-Divergence, where Emma stays in New York after the curse for seven years instead of one. Henry and his little brother Ian find the story book in Emma’s bug, and just like that, he remembers everything and leads his family back to Storybrooke. I’m a sucker for 3B pining and this one delivers. Ian is, quite possibly, my absolute favorite OC and I love this story so much.

-- ONE-SHOTS/SHORT MULTI-CHAPTER --

Round and Round by killians-dimples (Rated T) - Enchanted Forest. Princess!Emma and Killian are best friends, and Emma is trying to pretend that’s all she feels for him. So sweet, but also dark - warnings for assault - but definitely a good read. 

Lend me some sugar, I am your neighbor  by killians-dimples (Rated M) - Friends to lovers, of course. Emma and Killian knew each other in school before she moved to a new foster home. They meet again as neighbors, and find their friendship evolving into something quite different. 

Lonely Hearts Club by niniadepapa (Rated T) - A cute one-shot where Killian starts exchanging notes on a table at Granny’s with a mysterious woman, only to be thrown for a loop when he finds out who it is. 

Heart’s a Mess by niniadepapa (Rated M) - Killian meets Emma when she becomes Milah’s new roommate. This one hurts, but in the best way.

Clouds in My Coffee by msgenevieve447 (Rated M) - One-Shot Sequel to Walking in a Straight Line. Fluffy sweetness.

Serendipity (or something like it) by msgenevieve447 (Rated K) - One-Shot prequel to Walking in a Straight Line, when Emma and Killian meet for the first time. 

Freaky Friday by msgenevieve447 (Rated M) - another one, yes, just read everything she writes. Emma and Killian are accidentally put together in the same hotel room as roommates for a business convention. 

the daylight seems so far away by VickyVicarious (Rated T) - Everyone has a tattoo on their wrist that tells them the age their soulmate will be when they finally meet. Emma thinks she’s broken, as her wrist says 232. 

Bad Form by VickyVicarious (Rated T) - Lieutenant!Killian meets Thief!Emma one night by the docks. One-Shot.

Bag Over Head, Held at Gunpoint, Outnumbered, Drugged, Guilt, Grief, Panic Attack by icecubelotr44 - a collection of one-shots set in The Darling Affair universe. Mostly set before, and mostly Brothers Jones, but reading these is what made me want to read The Darling Affair, so definitely worth a read.   

Theoretically by wtvoc (Rated E) - Friends to Lovers. Witty and unexpectedly sweet. Explicit for a reason BUT it has a really good story in between the smutty fun. 

Oh, Brother... by the-captains-ayebrows (Rated T) - Fake!Dating with a twist - Liam and Emma are roommates, and Emma offers to pretend to be his girlfriend when his brother comes to town...but things quickly get complicated when sparks fly between Emma and Killian. Really fun to read, plus anything with the Brothers Jones is always a pleasure.

**Roger by Oubliette14 (Rated T) - Emma’s dog gets hit by a car, but when Killian, who works at the vet’s office, offers to pay for the emergency surgery to save the dog’s life. SO SWEET and nearly made me cry. 

**Drag Me Down by seastarved (Rated T) - Just a little royals one-shot that might break your heart, but it’s so beautifully written, I kinda wish it was a multi-chap. 

**Chasing Thursdays by nowforruin (Rated M) - Elsa and Emma open an ice cream shop in Storybrooke, Killian owns the tattoo parlor across the street. He comes in every Thursday for ice cream, and Emma doesn’t quite realize how much he’s gotten under her skin until the day he doesn’t.

**We Got Us by lifeinahole (Rated M) - Emma and Killian are happy and in love...but scared to let their friends and family in on it, lest they ruin what they’ve got with drama. A cute one-shot in which the entire Swan/Charming/Jones crew spend a beach vacation together, with CS trying to hide their relationship.

**My Eyes, They Speak For Me by lifeinahole (Rated M) - Canon-Divergence from New York City Serenade. Killian goes back to NY for Emma and she takes the potion, but when they go back to Storybrooke...it’s not there. They go back to New York and try to figure out how to get back to Emma’s family. 

***Snowflakes and Starlight by AlexandraLyman (Rated K) - LieutenantDuckling sweetness with a dash of Brothers Jones, and I’m a sucker for both. Beautiful.  

***Team Bonding by msgenevieve447 (Rated M) - After an accidental kiss during Laser Tag between coworkers, and Emma learning that not everything is as it seems. A sweet short multi-chap with some delightful pining. 

***Where the Lovelight Gleams by icecubelotr44 (Rated K) - Christimas in the Darling Affair universe. This made me way too emotional, seriously. Emma’s facing her daughter’s first real Christmas without Killian without much enthusiasm when her husband has been MIA for months, but that changes when Liam delivers the best Christmas present of all. 

***The Legend of Captain Killian Jones by HollyeLeigh (Rated M) - Killian Jones is cursed to haunt the halls of his family’s manor as a ghost, only regaining corporeal form once every hundred years as a chance to break his curse. He gets some help from an unlikely source. A fun supernatural read with an awesome twist on Killian’s story.

***Bird of Prey by Shoedonym (Rated M) - Swan Mythology AU. This is so beautiful and poetic and I can’t sing its praises enough. Killian visits the lake on the third full moon of spring even though the stories warn against it, and he comes to the conclusion that the line between fact and fairy tales is a lot more blurry than one might think. 

***Two-Day Shipping by High-Seas-Swan (Rated T) - A sweet, fun little one-shot where Killian and Liam own a bait and tackle shop. Emma goes in looking for a chair, she doesn’t quite expect anything more. 

***Not One of Those Stories by effulgentcolors (Rated M) - Killian is the town’s recluse, a loner, and when he hears that there’s a new sheriff coming to town, all he really wants is the chance to have a friend. I really loved this story, with the unique twist on an older Killian. Read the thing. 

***Tim Finnegan’s Wake by icecubelotr44 (Rated T) - Emma’s a little annoyed with the music blasting from her neighbor’s apartment, so she’s all the more surprised at how concerned she is when it suddenly stops. A lovely amount of angst ensues. 

*** CS 0155 Data Witchcraft by strangetales (Rated M) - An awesome and creative take on Emma & Killian’s love story with modern witchcraft sprinkled in. Loved this story.

#captain swan #ouat #fanfic #ff rec #killian jones #emma swan