#And generally I’d like to have more canon characters in my fic even if they’re minor

[lieutenant-amuel]

Calculating characters’ ages so they fit into the timeline of the fic my beloathed.

[anjumstar]

anjum's bkdk recs 20

Ten more (complete) sfw bkdk fic recs. If you read any of these and enjoy them, lmk! And, more importantly, let the authors know with a comment! Plus, send me your recs, and maybe they’ll make the next list!

Legend

hyperlinked title by author | word count

Genre warning(s): where relevant Summary/review

💚🧡 = fave

Recs are under the cut, organized by word count, low to high.

61. notebook by delicate cherry, sobashouto (snowandfire) | 2.3k

romance, general A really short and sweet fic that’s kind of the moments just before bkdk start dating. The boys aren’t quite seeing eye-to-eye, Baku isn’t communicating exactly what he’s feeling, but that’s what makes it feel really in character. They’re not great at this, but they’re just starting to try.

62. Hey, I’m Fine by majjale | 3.2k 💚🧡

angst, romance Angst with a happy ending! I didn’t trust this author, though, haha, I really thought I was about to get staked through the heart. (I don’t always read tags…) Lovely characterization, especially for Deku. It’s tender and domestic meets pro hero life. Love that intersection, as it’s basically all I want for bkdk. Pro hero canonverse action with soft domesticity. Perfect.

63. Diversion Tactic by garbage_dono | 7.5k 💚🧡

romance A cute take on UA bkdk getting together! Feels grounded in canon with good characterization. And it’s somehow fresh in its initiating event, with following gay panic from our beloved Bakugou.

64. Not All Heroes Wear Capes by vulcanhighblood | 11k

romance, fake dating, get together Fake dating fic! Bakugou has the brilliant idea to fake date Deku to get paparazzi off Deku’s back. Maybe not brilliant, lol. The fic has good doses of Baku’s brand of immaturity, it feels age appropriate, and Deku surely has a backbone against Baku’s silly scheme.

65. half drunk, happy by froggenbie | 13.2k

warning: drunk (non-explicit) (bkdk not dkbk) sex romance, get together Bkdk are roommates after graduation, and they start having drunk hookups. Then they’re not so drunk. I knew the writing would be quality right at the beginning of this fic. Sometimes you just know. Bkdk have their horrible communication skills but natural chemistry and deep need for each other and it was a great take on a familiar story.

66. Go Get Your Man, Young Bakugou! by red_sneakers | 16.6k

comedy, romance This one is pretty silly. Not quite crack, because I can kind of believe it for these losers XD They need a bit of help and extra guidance to get together, but it’s nice to see the boys being stupid together while falling in love.

67. Voicemail by raeryn | 20.7k

angst warning: MCD If you wanna cry on the train like I did, read this one. I’ll go ahead and tell you, since it’s clear from early on—Deku is dead and Baku isn’t handling it well. The story is his long journey to reaching some level of closure with some help from his friends. Unhappy ending isn’t usually my fave genre, but idk, this one ends nicely, even if the sad doesn’t fully go away.

68. Walls I Didn’t Know I Had by Elisa Jaded | 21.5k

hurt/comfort, romance Post-war, Katsuki wakes up from his injuries to find that Deku isn’t in the shelter with everyone else. Turns out he’s somewhere else, in desperate need of Baku’s support. They find happiness again together, good balance of realistic angst to romance!

69. Healing Pains by lurethegalaxy | 23.2k

romance Pining Bakugou and oblivious Deku is such a delicious flavor. Bakugou having done some level of emotional work on himself—but still being constipated to heck and gone—while Deku just avoids avoids avoids feels so correct to me. I liked living in that take with a fic recent enough that it feels really grounded in what the directly post-war aftermath would have felt like.

70. The Night We Met by majjale | 37.3k

angst, adventure, romance Another painful one. Baku is immortal and Deku keeps dying. AU. Now, you know I hate AUs, (and I had the same issues here I always do, tbh…) but the prose is magnificent. I wish I’d been highlighting as I read. Even if I imagine these as OCs, it’s worth the read because of the writing quality. The brief, cryptic author’s notes add to it. If you’re okay with a pretty heavy dose of angst, please give it a go. (I linked the series, as there are 2 very short sequels)

more recs can be found here 💚🧡

[musicalmoritz]

A more positive take on fanon Aoinene

I���ve talked extensively about the problems with how Aoi and Nene are characterized by fans of the ship, and I’m not here to take it all back. However, upon reflecting, I realized I may have contributed a bit towards fandoms’ negative perception of femslash. That was never my goal, my point in all my Aoinene-critical posts is that femslash ships deserve to be treated with just as much nuance as slash ships. This includes criticizing them without needlessly bashing them. I’d say I’ve been successful in my journey to make the TBHK fandom take Aoinene more seriously, so today I’d like to celebrate that progress by talking about the things I love about Aoinene shippers!!

First off, Aoinene is among the top 10 most written for ships on TBHK ao3. It’s above multiple canon pairings like Aoi/Akane, Sakura/Natsuhiko, and Sumire/Hakubo. Whether you think it deserves to be above those ships or not, it makes me happy to see a femslash ship be so popular in a fandom. It’s still the only popular femslash ship in this fandom (as much as people talk abt Aoi/Mei, there’s still very little creations for it), but baby steps. Aoinene has so many fan fictions, edits, fan arts, fan accounts, etc. It’s rare for femslash pairings to be so popular in fandoms dominated by male characters. I think it helps that the women in TBHK are generally well-written and important, but I’d say the male characters still outnumber them slightly. So just seeing a fandom so invested in two women getting together is enough to make me smile

I know I’ve critiqued their characterization a lot, but I’ve seen some major progress lately!! Both with how they’re written, and with how the fandom talks about them. It’s not as often nowadays that I see people bashing the canon ships to put them down, and most of their fans seem to be capable of acknowledging their flaws. There are some exceptions ofc but I see Aoinene mischaracterization way less than when I first got into the fandom. I’ve seen an increase in people depicting them as “toxic/doomed yuri,” aka the term that lowkey saved sapphic ships in fandoms lol. Keep in mind that when TBHK first came out, femslash was not nearly as popular as it is now (and we’re only just beginning, there’s still a long way to go). It was common, and still is, for femslash ships in shonen fandoms to be depicted as the fluffy, unproblematic side pairing. Fans saw femslash as a way to take a breather from all the angsty men. Aoinene was turned into another boring ship among dozens, but they haven’t stayed that way. With femslash gaining popularity, I’ve seen improvement in how femslash ships are characterized all across the board

Onto the fics themselves, I have never read an Aoinene fic I disliked!! (Besides the weird ones I skimmed for shock value). The vast majority of them are super cute and written so prettily. When I talk about their mischaracterization, I’m pointing out trends I’ve noticed rather than the fics themselves. The reason you don’t see me talk this way about Teru/Akane and Mitsuba/Kou is because I simply don’t read that much slash fan fiction, even for mlm ships I like (not anymore at least, I used to be way more into slash). I’ve read through the ao3 tags for p much every TBHK femslash ship, but if I’m reading a fic that’s mlm or mlw it has to be suited to my tastes. I could definitely talk abt how Mitsuba and Kou are mischaracterized by the fandom but I don’t really bother with fics that write them that way so it’s not gonna nag me to the extent that Aoinene mischaracterization does.

I'm saying this because I don’t want it to seem like I’m targeting them unfairly compared to other ships, I point out room for improvement because Aoinene is my favorite and I want to see more diversity in the way they’re written. Hear that? Diversity, the problem isn’t the fics themselves, I just want to see more where they’re written in a way that explores their conflict. Fics like this already exist but they’re not as common. My gripe isn’t wanting to see less of a “bad” thing, it’s wanting to see more of a really good thing

And also…not everyone has to agree with me. There are some sapphics that just want to see completely fluffy wlw content, or that want to limit the angst to “it was one-sided :(“. And ykw? I may want to see more than that, but if other fans want to keep writing or reading them a certain way then that’s great. There are also shippers who wish Aoi and Nene had been written differently, and I agree. I wish their friendship was given more depth than the crumbs we get in canon, though I still hold out hope that AidaIro will give them development. Some shippers specifically wish Aoi had been a lesbian, and that Nene had been the one to understand her rather than Akane. I disagree with this take- well okay I would love a canon lesbian character but I’m happy with Aoi and Akane being canon + I like that Aoinene have their own set of struggles. But if other people wish the manga had gone in a different direction then they’re perfectly entitled to that opinion. I don’t have to agree with them, and they don’t have to agree with me

Now I want to talk about some Aoinene fanon tropes I love because I don’t see people do that with them that often:

• When Aoi gets all flustered over how strong Nene is…the reverse is cute too but I have a soft spot for damsel in distress Aoi. Let Nene carry her girlfriend!!

• Fics that have Aoi open up to Nene and let them talk about their problems. THIS is the thing we need more of omg I love it. This is what Aoinene is all about guys

• The flowers!! There are so many flowers in Aoinene fics!! Ahhhhh I love it sm. That one Beecalm fic where Aoi owned a magical flower shop and Nene took one home…it lives rent free in my mind

• Them having constant sleepovers, it feels so biblically accurate

• When they’re always going out and doing things together like going to the beach or shopping; again it feels very true to their dynamic

• Aoi pining is great and all but when people turn Nene into the pining one it’s so galaxy brain. Obviously mutual pining is superior but Nene being down bad for her best friend is so real

• I’m a big fan of fics that acknowledge that Aoi only gaf abt two ppl lmao, when they show her obvious bias towards Nene is makes me giggle

• Any fic that includes Aoi’s mommy issues

• The theme of seasons in their fics!! Omg it’s so creative. “my summer, my winter” by novaselic is a personal fave of mine (in addition to Beecalm, novaselic is also on the Aoinene Mount Rushmore btw)

• I know it’s overused in sapphic fics but I love when they go on picnics

• Nene showing up late to class and Aoi being early

• I love when fics lean into the extroverted side of Nene’s personality or in general have her act like an awkward ball of energy. Yes she’s very insecure and angsty but she’s also so funny and it makes me happy when I see writers capturing both sides of her personality. This girl befriends ppl so easily in canon, we should talk abt it more

• Whenever they simp for Sakura. Idc which one of them it is, it could even be both of them, it feels so canon. Sakura being the Teru to Aoi’s Nene is something that can be so personal

• When their friends know they like each other and tease them/try to wingman. Wingman Akane you will always be famous

Okay I’m gonna end it there because I could yap abt Aoinene fics forever. I might need to reread some, or find some ones I haven’t read yet. Every now and then I go through the tag and find some I’ve missed. Orrrrrr I might write Aoinene fan fiction, I should see if I can finish the Snow White au this weekend. No promises tho

Anyways I wrote this as a love letter to the Aoinene community; I love you guys, keep up the good work. If it weren’t for ya’ll I’d be alone in my hyperfixation so I’m glad others enjoy them as much as I do <3

[voxofthevoid]

Commencing Mundane Unclekuna Wednesday #1—yes, these names get more ridiculous by the day. The actual fic title is bloodstains on the collar means just don't ask, which is significantly cooler on account of not being mine.

This is my first non-canon JJK AU—as opposed to the canon divergence, minor or major, that I favor—and despite the name, this isn't just sukuita; there's also goyuu. Quick, act shocked.

A lot of the AU development/exposition so far has focused on adapting canon details about the Itadori family for a no-powers, all-human context—like this post shows. On the character end, sorting out a version of Sukuna who's not a cannibalistic mass murderer but is sure as hell not nice, kind, or even sane has been a fun challenge, especially when depicting him from Yuuji's perspective. Gojou and the goyuu bits also needed some work, since taking them out of the canon context while keeping their age gap and teacher–student dynamic changes the flavor of fuckery. The most fun has been Yuuji though—you can see why here.

The fic is currently 3 chapters and 14k. I have a total of 7 chapters planned, though that may increase by one or two depending on how the sex scenes come along. For this week, instead of a single scene, I've picked a goyuu section from Chapter 2 and a sukuita one from Chapter 3.

Goyuu

Satoru plucks the manga that’s been resting on the table, balancing it on a finger while watching Itadori struggle to watch Satoru’s hand, chest, and face all at the same time. “School’s a boring place to wait. You can meet up at some café, can’t you?”

“I…guess?” Itadori shrugs. “It’s fine. I mean, I don’t mind. It’s more fun to go with people.”

“Shy?” Satoru asks, setting the manga down. “Or are you afraid people will think you’re some delinquent?”

Itadori looks both bewildered and entrained. He has a very expressive face. The eyes, especially.

“Nothing like that, sensei,” he says, and Satoru leans in a little at his tone—the same amused patience Satoru’s heard in people who can tolerate him best, except they generally take months, if not years, to get to that level of resigned acceptance. Itadori leans in too, matching Satoru consciously or unconsciously. “You ask a lot of questions.”

“I’m a curious guy,” Satoru drawls. It’s not even a lie. “And you’re interesting.”

Itadori blushes again. “Oh. Um, thanks?”

Satoru smiles. This time, Itadori’s eyes drop to his mouth, and Satoru can’t help smiling a little wider.

Itadori swallows.

“Back to the question then.” Satoru links his hands and props his chin on it. Itadori’s gaze doesn’t leave his mouth. “Why’d your uncle come pick you up?”

Itadori’s well within his rights to tell Satoru to fuck off—diplomatically, maybe, since they’re teacher and student, but the sentiment would be the same. Even Satoru’s closest friends aren’t shy about firmly and often physically steering his nose out of their business.

But Itadori answers: “My parents left town pretty suddenly, and I’d forgotten my phone at home. They couldn’t tell me to go to Sukuna’s place instead. So he came here.”

Satoru hums. “I’d say you’re old enough to stay home alone. Don’t tell me you’re the sort to cause trouble with a bit of freedom.”

“No?” Itadori looks genuinely confused. “I mean, I don’t think so. I don’t mind staying alone either, but my dad worries, so…”

“So you’re being a considerate son,” Satoru finishes in his own words. “What a good boy.”

Itadori’s breath catches audibly. His eyes are darker now, giving an animal edge to his face. It’s an interesting expression, and it makes him look a bit more like his uncle.

Satoru gives him a moment.

Then— “He seems like an interesting man to live with, your uncle.”

Itadori blinks. A frown takes over his face, even though his eyes stay tellingly dark. “You could say that. Gojou-sensei, you aren’t…?”

Satoru waits, but Itadori doesn’t complete the question, just stares at Satoru like he’s trying to telepathically pour the rest of the words into his head. Unfortunately, Satoru isn’t fluent in awkward teenager.

“Go on,” Satoru prods.

Itadori grimaces, and it shows in his voice when he asks, “You’re not, like, into Sukuna, are you?”

Satoru’s dumbfounded for a moment. Then he’s stifling laughter, not all that successfully. Itadori’s expression shifts from disgusted discomfort to just plain embarrassment, but even through that, he stares at Satoru—his mouth and his eyes.

Brave boy.

“Sorry,” Satoru says, not meaning it one whit. He’s loving this. “Reasonable assumption on your part, really. But don’t worry, your uncle’s safe from me.”

Itadori seems to relax a little. “It’s more the other way around.”

“Oh?” Satoru asks, intrigued. “Is he trouble?”

Itadori squints at him. “Sensei, you sound way too excited about that.”

“I did say I’m curious! I can promise not to hit on him, if that’ll put you at ease.” Satoru holds out his hand invitingly. “Gentleman’s agreement.”

Itadori stares at the hand for a full second.

Then he slowly, warily takes it.

It’s not a small hand; Itadori’s not a small boy. Satoru is bigger though, and his hand envelops Itadori’s, the tips of his index and middle fingers coming to a gentle rest against Itadori’s pulse. His hand is shockingly rough, with hard calluses brushing Satoru’s skin.

He squeezes gently.

Itadori’s blush hasn’t faded fully since Satoru called him a good boy, but now, it flares, splattering gracelessly across his face. It goes shockingly well with his hair.

Lines are being crossed. Satoru feels it keenly, the change in the air.

He drags his hand out of Itadori’s, slower and more delicate than he needs to. His fingers trail from Itadori’s racing pulse to the trembling tips of his fingers, and even after Satoru’s leaned back again, folding his hands demurely in his lap, Itadori’s hand hovers in the air over the table for a good few seconds before dropping limply to the surface.

Satoru winks at him. “Now spill.”

Itadori blinks slowly. Satoru can practically see his brain rebooting.

“What was the question again?” Itadori asks.

Sukuita

Movement wakes him, eons before the touch.

A hand settles on his hip, searing even through the cloth. It’s limp, flopping there in a decent mimicry of a sleep-heavy limb. Sukuna knows better.

Wasn’t always like this. The kid was a kid once. More of a kid. Small, helpless, useless. A piece of shit from the start though. The first time Jin handed him to Sukuna, practically forcing his little bundle of snotty joy into his hands, the little fucker had thrown up on his face.

Jin laughed, the bastard. He didn’t mean to, that much was clear from the stifled snorts and painfully red face. Kenjaku had no such compunctions, chortling like the same brat hadn’t damn near killed them on his way out of their cunt.

Kaori had the sense to take the baby away before Sukuna could toss him out a window. The most sensible of the lot, and of course she’s the one who went and died. Sukuna’s been seeing a lot more of the kid since then. Even more since Wasuke followed suit.

Shit luck to be born into a family like this. He used to think the brat didn’t fit in, with his big baby eyes and bleeding heart. Worse than his father. Turns out he’s weirder too, but Sukuna blames Kenjaku for that.

Blood will always out.

That’s no excuse for this—the hand sliding down to his stomach, the body pressing against his back. The kid’s warm.

He’s not, usually. That body runs cold. Sukuna noticed it the first time when the kid was tiny, barely the length of his forearm. A frail mass of fabric and fluff nestled against his chest, leeching off his body heat. Not that it took much to warm that tiny thing.

’Course, then the kid woke up and promptly latched on to a nipple because he was even dumber then, and when Sukuna pried him off while yelling for Kenjaku, he’d been treated to a deranged shriek that damn near ruptured his ear drums.

Nothing much has changed over the years. The brat went from screaming at him to biting him to scowling at him to punching him to trying to fucking kill him. Wildcat, through and through. The only part of him Sukuna’s ever bothered to nurture.

It’s different when he’s asleep. The baby soaking in his warmth. The toddler sprawled on his chest. The boy curled up in his lap.

Small and weak and utterly unbothered about it.

How the fuck do you live like that, trust like that?

At least this is better. It’s not trust breathing into his nape and groping his stomach. It’s just human filth.

They’re testing touches, slow enough and idle enough that the brat probably thinks they’d pass as sleepy ministrations.

Idiot.

Nobody would miss the intent behind this. It’s scorching.

If someone held him at gunpoint and forced him to admit the one thing he has in common with his brother’s spawn, it wouldn’t be the hair or the blood or the killing rage—it’d be this, the hunger.

Sukuna can tell the exact moment the brat decides he’s actually asleep. His palm presses flat against Sukuna’s stomach, skin to skin. That’s on him for sleeping shirtless despite his impromptu bedmate, but like hell is he changing his habits just because this little creep wants to molest him in his sleep. Not like clothes would stop him anyway.

Sukuna continues to feign sleep, his breathing steady and just a little uneven—a rhythm he memorized and learned to mimic for situations a lot more dire than the badly planned porno playing out right now.

The kid’s patient. Or just a fucking virgin. Sukuna can’t imagine why else he’d spent minutes just touching his stomach, that warm palm rubbing lazy circles over his abs. Sometimes, it presses down, denting the soft layer of fat on his belly to dig into the muscle underneath. It’s a struggle not to flex then. A few muscles jump, entirely involuntary, but the brat just breathes heavier and wetter, squirming closer to Sukuna.

There’s another hand between their bodies—an entire arm, the line of it doing nothing to hide what it’s touching. It’s not moving, yet, and Sukuna still hasn’t figured out whether it’s there just for the pressure or if the stupid shit actually thinks that not digging his boner into Sukuna’s back means something.

Some line to not cross. Some precious moral to cling to.

Sukuna wouldn’t put it past him, but the brazen bullshit the other day told a different story. It sure wasn’t guilt or even shame that darkened the brat’s eyes when Sukuna tore him off his back and pinned him by the throat.

[your-writer-beta-side-piece]

Looks like it’s time for me to pop back up again begging for fics about my new hyper fixation!

What’s in store for you in this post:

*An impassioned plea throughout the whole post to all of you amazing writers

*Gifs that will keep you up at night too

🎅 *My Gator Tillman fic Christmas wishlist 🎅

🏆*A (Smutty) Rec at the bottom for the best Gator x OC I’ve found so far🏆

*More gifs because goddamn I’m in a chokehold 

It is seriously criminal how there’s like, two Gator x OC’s (that I can find, if you have any don’t hold out on me please!! I feel like I’m going through withdrawals having to wait a week for another episode as it is) on here and AO3. 

I mean come on we all love ourselves a slutty, dominate, broken character that we all fantasize about fixing. 

Not a single thought I’ve had about this man has of the Christ like variety, and I don’t think I really need to explain why just look at these gifs/photos:

HE HAS HANDCUFFS ON THE BED THE FICS ARE WRITING THEMSELVES 

🎅My Gator Tillman Fanfic Christmas wishlist🎅:

I want a full story fleshing out our new favorite loser, but still somehow so damn attractive, Gator

I want an ofc that is too good for him but we all know we’d sink that low too girl

I’d LOVE it if it followed canon. Like how in the show he’s trying to get her/he's going after her like he is trying to get Dot 

(come on if he was stalking you and called out to you and said “mama it’s time to come home” YOU TOO WOULD FOLD)

I want him to use those handcuffs on our girl once he finally gets her

I want smut 

Y’all on AO3 come up with the best damn oc’s there’s a reason they’re binding yalls books and talking about them all over booktok like you guys are published authors 

(Im not saying it’s right/that I participate or that it is even legal, I’m saying Ive seen it and I know you guys have the caliber of writing to make some people not give a fuck and try the law for some of you guy's stories)

I want him to call her mama

I want the dominance, the stalking, the cat and mouse chase

I want a plot as wild as this season and those families are

I know some people hate fics that follow plots of books or shows but this season is AMAZING and so fucking wild. I love it and I’d love to read about it and be immersed further into Fargo. I don’t want to leave the season 5 Fargo world I want to stay longer... with Gator

I want more smut 

A plot that can only be contrived by fanfic authors who have been reading and writing since they were 15 or even younger

I want even more smut 

I want all of the angst, good writing, and humor you can think of

I have a feeling we’ll need some of you fic doctors to write us a fix it fic of some sort 

But I especially want smut. I want to drown in smut. 

I want it all and you guys have served it all before so I know it's possible

If I could outline a whole plot, along with side plots, new characters and character arcs, write, and edit as fast as some of you guys can I would do it myself. I would do it for us. I’ve considered it. I mean I’ve been really considering it these past few days since it’s dryer out here than the Lyon’s bed. I’ve got an idea, lust, Christmas candy, and the hyper-focus to keep me interested for at least three to four weeks!! (I might have started if it wasn't the week before finals for me right now)

But some of you guys who’ve written for Steve Harrington (let alone other fandoms) have the ability to be best selling authors, so I know these communities have both the talent, ability, and the horniness to do this. 

I believe in you guys, I believe in us. Let's do it for Christmas 🎄

REC I PROMISED:

Since it is the season of giving, I’m going to share my favorite fic so far. Let me know if there’s any fics we need to add, OR if there’s any books with love interests like Gator, for science 👀 

Again the general criteria I’m using is along the lines of:

Is there an actual story going on?

Is there an oc who has a purpose, goals, wants, needs, an actual arc of some sort?

Is Gator Tillman still sexy af?

Is it following canon or is it original?

Is the plot and characterization good?

Does Gator call her mama or is it at least probable that he will 👀 ?

Is the grammar/writing good?

Basically the same stuff we all want to check off 

MY FAVORITE FIC SO FAR REC: 

The best I’ve found so far has been: 

Every Little Thing

By BuckysGrace

Link:

Why I like love it:

1.) The writing is pretty damn good

Normally we have to wait a few weeks or months with new movies/shows/books for people to have time to write and publish their well written and plotted fics but we have been blessed early!!

I really like the sprinkle of tid bits to come here and there. The authors really laying the foundation down for this story leaving little comments and hints here and there in their writing and characters conversations. 

I can tell that the author is really working hard to create believable oc's and a world that could actually be a part of the Fargo TV show universe.

2.) Damn the little taste of smut we got just flamed the fire!

Tell me why I could actually visualize Gator during that scene?!?! It really felt like his characterization was perfect here! And damn I love me some dominant, possessive, jealous himbos who would kill for me or worse.

I PROMISE I'M TRYING SO HARD NOT TO SPOIL ANYTHING FOR YOU GUYS!!!

3.) I really like our girl Daphne (OC)

I feel like I can actually see her. Like I can hear her when she speaks. I can feel the awkwardness of her situation and her uncomfortableness radiating through me. 

I like that she's shaping up to be a character with wants and goals and not just a 2-d romantic partner

4.) GODDAMN THAT DINNER WAS AWKWARD AND SEXY 

I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE AFTERMATH ooooooo boy.  I’m not spoiling anything. You can suffer (and enjoy 😏) that part all for yourselves

5.) We have confirmation from the author that there is a whole ass plot and story in the works

I love to hear it almost as much as I love to read it! But I could tell that they had some stuff in mind from the way they were writing alone before the confirmation. 

6.) AND ITS GOING TO FOLLOW CANON EVENTUALLY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME US! 

I might just get to hear Gator call our girl mama before I die from fic starvation. Plus we just might get the stalker Gator on page like we have on screen!

7.) I like the dual time line

It’s done a good job of getting me hooked. I’m really interested in learning more about Daphne’s past and her relationship with Gator. I think as time goes on as we learn more about their relationship and her relationship with both her family and his things are really gonna kick off.

4.) Gators characterization seems to be pretty accurate 

He's selfish, possessive, dominante, kind of a jackass, but he is also sweet to those he cares about. Which, is something I've noticed when watching the show, and I've seen some posts talking along similar lines. I don't think he's mean deep down, I don't think he has it in him. I think the facade he puts on is the product of his father.

BUT I'm not excusing anything he's done of course

6.) The grammar is pretty good 

Good writing like punctuation and sentence structure along with good story telling is just so important to me. I'm one of those people who can't get into a story if it's not written well.

7.) GUYS IM SMELLING THE ANGST COMING

Some of us are like blood hounds for this stuff, you read hundreds or even thousands of fics and books and you can start to know what goodies are coming your way. And I can feel the pain train a comin down the tracks! 

8.) The smut is promising to be real real good 

I just want to circle back to this for a moment because I am so excited to read more

What I don’t like about it:

It’s not longer/finished already so I can't devour it in one sitting 😭

You might not have read it yet 

@buckysgrace

I think the only way through this is to fill our thirst for this man and if here and TikTok have shown me anything it’s that we’re DAMN thirsty! 

WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE!? GO WRITE MORE GATOR X OC SO WE CAN ALL DEVOUR IT ON A03 OR READ BUCKYSGRACE’S FIC AND CRY WITH ME THAT THERES NOT MORE OF IT OR MORE OF ANY OTHER GATOR X OFC FICS 😭😭😭

*Did I write all of this instead of doing homework and studying for next weeks finals? Yes. Am I eventually going to devolve into a fic rec/review only blog? Maybe maybe not.

More gifs/photos for research purposes

[winderlylandchime]

Fanfiction Year in Review 2023

I fell out of fandom in 2021-ish for mental health and other reasons (iykyk). I returned this past year and reunited with old friends and made new ones. I absolutely adore fandom and all that it brings with it. The passion, the love, the community, the complete bypassing of cringe. Please, more.

This year, I returned to fanfiction and published over 150k words. I know absolutely that word counts mean nothing but if we’re taking writing as a symptom of emotional and mental well-being for me (for me!), then I feel so very good about this. I also learned how many ways someone can write about the same theme (prom! arc!) without completely losing their audience. I wanted to do a little year-in-review by listing the fics I’ve published and my favorite line from each.

Thank you so much to every single person who encouraged me in DMs, servers, kudos, and comments. Writing brings me happiness but the community around writing brings me the most joy. I would not have returned to fandom without each of you.

And then there were three rating: T, word count: 727, ficlet, inspired by a prompt by @lostcol and a bit of a character study of Brian Kinney.

Favorite line: Oh, there are mothers in Brian’s life now. They’re surrounding him as he sits, head bowed, face covered in tears-streaked blood, scent of death and ammonia in his nose.

(and I’d do it again) rating: E, word count: 6,865, one-shot, canon divergence in S5, maybe something other than a bomb can bring them back together

Favorite line: It’s not like Justin is going to come back to the loft with him. Not after he up and left five weeks and three - no four days ago. He’s ready to wash his hands of this night. Ready to be done to the extent that he’ll ever be done with Justin. To the extent that he’ll ever be able to fully wash his hands of any of this. He feels like Lady Macbeth with her eternal spot, forever marked by blood on the cold cement floor of a parking garage.

carried me with you rating: E, word count: 36,405, after prom Jennifer asks Brian to stay away from Justin, and he does

Favorite line: ”But that’s not me taking care of you. That’s, that’s - ” I struggled to find the words to convey what was natural, what was something that didn’t require effort or thought or intention. “ - that’s like breathing.”

love is so short (forgetting is so long) rating: T, word count: 2,777, WARNING MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, what the fuck was I thinking?

Favorite line: His mama, an artist, just said, “Gussy, some people, most people, have an infinite capacity to love. Other people have the capacity to love one person infinitely.” He never asked again.

clothes mean nothing until until somebody lives in them rating: M, word count: 3,007, 5+1 things and clothes sharing

Favorite line: That night, Justin lies in Michael’s old bed and holds the shirt over his face while he remembers the vibrations of Brian’s moans against his skin as he ate him out the night before. He jerks off to the memory. Not the first boy to jerk off to thoughts of Brian in this bed.

you’re like a tattoo (something i can’t undo) rating: E, word count: 87,170, my first QAF complete AU, sugar daddy AU. also kinneycutt!

favorite line: “Oh, darling,” Emmett’s voice is dripping with something cashmere soft. “Oh, oh, oh . Darling, you are fucked. Oh, you are beyond fucked.” He looks at Brian. “And you don’t even know it.”

beautiful like the darkness between the fireflies rating: E, word count: 18,611 (WIP), my first QAF post canon, exes-to-lovers, soft fluffity fluff

favorite line: “And, dad?” There’s a hopeful edge to Gus’ voice, something that hasn’t been killed by the spectacular failure of their moms’ marriage and generally having Brian as a third parent.

“Yeah?” He feels the word bubble up from deep in his chest. He wants this kid to hold onto hope for as long as they can.

“An anchor can be good, it can keep you grounded, you know?”

very low-key, no pressure, tagging to share your 2023 wins fanfic, gifs, or otherwise: @getmehighonmagic @magicandarchery @lostcol @kiranerysed @sophsun1 @bigassbowlingballhead @bartbarthelme @sheisraging @eusuntgratie @xoxoemynn

[lesbianwyllravengard]

do you have any good DBH fic recommendation lists?

Oh my God YES (Mostly Reed900 and Simarkus :D)

The first fic I'll always recommend to everyone is Leading By Example by Kurana. It's hands down the best Simarkus fic I've ever read, and one of the best fics I've ever read in general. It's got fake relationship to lovers, mutual pining, sharing a bed, emotional intimacy, good North content, dad Carl, even some minor dad Hank in the background, and a cool plot with Kamski that interprets his character a bit differently than I would but is just as fascinating and intriguing. I love it so much and it makes me feel emotions I didn't know I had. I still cry everytime I read it.

White Lilac by WritingIsMyCoffee - This has LOTS of Dad Hank/Anderson Fam content, which is why I read it in the first place. It's kinda Chloe x Connor centric, which I don't ship but I didn't mind it, and it was cute for the story. There's background Simarkus and developing Reed900. Very angsty, but has a happy ending.

From now on forever by KaterinaSentByCyberLife, if you like wedding fluff (I usually don’t, but this one is so good). Reed900, background Simarkus, and Dad Hank, it’s beautiful I love it a lot

Interstellar Methods of Love and Murder by wordscavenger. It's Simarkus and Reed900, and an AU fic. idk what the AU is exactly but they're gay and in space, shit goes down, and they have to stop it. It's got a super cool plot and the pining is real. I love it. Also has funny RK bros shenanigans.

and the secret garden bloomed and bloomed by farouche. It's a beautiful modern AU Simarkus fic and also Simon works in a flower shop and Markus is an artist who's drawn to him. There's also some funny Daniel and Simon being brothers content.

Heavenly Bodies by raphae11e - Simarkus canon compliant AU, everything's the same except the revolution lasts several months rather than a week, and there's so much mutual pining.

welcome to hell by honeybvnches. It’s like a texting fic and it is hilarious, it’s Simarkus with background Chloenorth and Reed900

Turning the Tide by LupoLight and He's My Partner by LupoLight. They’re not related fics but I like them both a lot.

Nines is Nefarious by AndroidTrash800. It's a Reed900 Dexter AU (basically, serial killer with morals) and it's amazing. It's also funny and angsty but with a beautiful happy ending. Also Dad Hank <3

Time in a Tree and The Last Romance by SunshineHead. It's a two part series and it's so sad and sweet and ofc it has a happy ending bc I can't do angst without a happy ending but it def made me tear up. More Dad Hank <3 (Nines is called Conan in this series but I just downloaded it as an epub, opened it through the Calibre e-book editor, and used the find and replace feature to replace every instance of "Conan" with "Nines" bc I can't read him with a different name djfhsj)

GRIND ME DOWN by @texssins (texs_sins on ao3). I was expecting smut with casual plot and got blindsided by some excellent angst. There's also a twist that I SHOULD have seen coming but definitely didn't and it was awesome.

And of course, last but certainly not least, I have to recommend Adapt and Endure (the fic and the comic) by @aydaptic. It's a staple Reed900 fic. The second part - Liberosis - is great as well.

There’s probably more, but these are just the ones off the top of my head. If you have any fic recs too I’d LOVE to see them <333

[love-kurdt]

How to Write a Good Fanfiction: A 5 Step Manual

Hello! My name is @love_kurdt, also known as Eva, and I’m a Wattpad Veteran of the early 2010s, where the genres of Slash Fics, Y/N, and Imagines ran rampant. I spent years of my life as a kid scrolling through my iPod touch, weeding through Wattpad’s plethora of profiles, on a quest to find quality fanfictions. I found a handful, which I added to a specific reading list to come back to when I needed a break from screaming into my pillow because of the sheer audacity of thought-criminals who called themselves writers.

When I’d reached the point of reading the same five works over and over in a never ending cycle, I decided to make the life-altering decision to start publishing my fanfictions online. Granted, I was only thirteen at this point, so my writing wasn’t spectacular by any means, but I came to discover that over time, the mere acts of reading and writing can light a spark of inspiration that can carry you to creative success.

I’ve been writing my own works for over ten years now, and can confidently say that I have cracked the code to writing a good fanfiction that will have your readers captivated instead of cringing. Please don’t get me wrong– if you want to just write fanfic on the internet for fun, and not to write a novel, that’s great, too! That’s what the internet is for; exercising your free will. But this manual is tailored towards those who want to hone in on their craft and gain a substantial following as strictly fanfiction authors. So without further ado, let’s jump into it. Godspeed!

Step 1: Choose Your Fandom

What show, movie, or book has drawn you in and left you feeling like there should be more to the story? When one of those media comes to mind, you’ve chosen your fandom!

Step 2: Do Your Research

When writing fanfiction, it’s kind of an unspoken rule that you need to know the canon of the fandom you’re writing about. The canon is also known as the source material. For example, if someone were to write a Draco Malfoy x OC fanfiction (*cough* a 200+ page Draco Malfoy self insert fic written at 11 years old in a series of notebooks bound together with multiple layers of Gorilla tape *cough*), the canon would be the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. It’s, in essence, what “really” happened. It’s totally fine if you want to write a non-canon compliant fic, too! In fact, they’re extremely popular, specifically within the “fix-it” genre, which usually involves characters that died in the canon but the author kept alive in their fanfiction. Either way, you should have a general idea of how the canon functions within the context of the fandom, so you can make creative choices that diverge from or stick to the canon.

With the canon comes the fanon, which is basically a compilation of fan theories and headcanons that are often common themes in both canon and non-canon compliant fanfics. A pretty niche example of this is the Byler fandom (the ship between Stranger Things characters Will Byers and Mike Wheeler), where there’s an official list of theories on Tumblr that are used in many, if not most Byler fanfictions. There’s FlickerGate, where the flickering of the garage light in Season 1 is actually Will and Mike in the Upside Down in Season 5. There’s BirthdayGate, where the antagonist, Vecna, manipulates the minds of everyone in Hawkins to forget Will’s birthday, which is a central plot point in a lot of Byler fics since no one seems to remember it, not even his best friend. There’s also LetterGate, where Will confronts Mike in the canon about not sending any letters after he’d moved away, but the theory reveals that Mike wrote plenty of letters– he just never sent them because they ended up turning into love letters, which in turn resulted in internalized homophobia. You get the picture. Most theories reach far into the land of delusion, but it doesn’t stop writers from creating incredible work that could easily be mistaken for a script.

But Eva, what if I just think the characters are hot and I don’t give a shit about the cannonball? I can’t tell you what to do, my friend, but I highly suggest you at least consider the canon so you can avoid all the petty, obnoxious gatekeepers in some fandoms who can be unhinged enough to send death threats if you leave out a significant canonical detail. But you do you!

Step 3: Choose Your Platform

There are three popular platforms to choose from: Archive of Our Own (ao3), Tumblr, and Wattpad. There are also a few other lesser known or dead pages such as fanfiction.net, but I honestly wouldn’t bother with those, since they’re more infiltrated with anons and bots nowadays.

This is where you want to think about 1) where most of the members in the fandom you chose reside, and 2) the demographic of readers you want to reach. For example, I observed a higher number of Nirvana fans on Wattpad than the other two platforms, which is why I chose to post my full length Kurt Cobain fanfiction, “You Know You’re Right,” on there. It also helped that my favorite author of another Kurt Cobain fanfiction on Wattpad, @/ugh-nirvana, had hits in the hundreds of thousands, so I was confident that my book would do well on that specific platform. On the other hand, the Stranger Things fandom is in full swing on Tumblr and ao3, so I chose to post those fanfictions on there rather than on Wattpad. It all just depends on who’s where.

You also have to consider how active you want to be on your platform(s). Tumblr is more of a blog situation, while ao3 and Wattpad are solely for publishing the work. If you want to have a life beyond the realms of the world wide web, choose Wattpad or ao3, as inconsistent updates are a bit more accepted than on Tumblr. But if you want to throw yourself headfirst into a fandom and put your whole author-ussy into your fanfic, then Tumblr is the platform for you.

You should be aware, however, that Tumblr involves a lot of upkeep, as well as constant, strategic, and active participation within your fandom. Visual aesthetic is vital to any functional Tumblr blog. Most profiles have directories, with color coded links to each work’s homepage, which is linked to each individual chapter, which are then distinguished by a unique GIF to capture a prospective reader’s attention while they’re scrolling through copious amounts of content. And there are always new ideas and theories in development in certain fandoms, so it’s crucial to keep up with recent updates in order to stay relevant.

After all is said and done, you don’t have to get married to one platform for the rest of your life. You can choose to be exclusive to one or two platforms, or publish everything on all of them! The decision is ultimately yours!

Step 4: Obey the Writer’s Trifecta of Consistency

Yes, I came up with this term, and yes, it should be a real thing. Because in every piece of writing, whether it be fanfiction, a short story, an actual book, a screenplay, what have you, it is critical to be consistent in your People, your POV, and your Plot. Let me explain.

People

Your people, or your ensemble of characters, consists of three hierarchical levels: your protagonist/antagonist, your side characters, and other background characters. I should emphasize the importance of building character profiles for everyone, including your pre-existing characters from the fandom, but specifically for your original character(s) if you have them. That way, you know who serves as a major plot device, who serves as someone who just helps time move faster, and those who are mentioned by name but have very little significance to the events of the story. I’m going to reference Harry Potter again, since most of the world is familiar with the characters. Harry and Voldemort are the protagonist and antagonist; Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Professor Dumbledore, Hagrid and company are side characters; and Peeves, Seamus Finnigan, and Blaise Zabini are background characters. Keep this hierarchy in check; don’t let your main characters fade away, and don’t let your background characters shift to the forefront for no reason. If you do plan to move a character up or down the ladder, make sure to have clear motive as to why you’re bringing this character into or out of play.

2. POV

Your POV is the point of view in which you’re writing from. Assuming you’ve been in a typical middle school English class, you’ve heard of the first, second, and third person points of view. I cannot tell you how many times I have read fanfictions that jump from one POV to another, sometimes within the same sentence. I open the door and see Kurt Cobain standing in the corner of the room. She walked across the floor to meet him there. See what I did there? I jumped from first person present tense to third person past tense. Do not attempt this at home.

The least common of the three points of view is the second person, or what I like to call the Y/N point of view. In fanfiction, second person POV is often used in self-insert fics, where instead of a character’s name, it’s replaced with “you.” That’s why a lot of romantic character x reader fics are so popular. You should feel free to use this one, especially if that’s the kind of vibe you’re going for, but I’m going to elaborate a little bit more on first and third person, as they’re a bit more “literary.”

The first person POV confines the narration to the mind of one character. It can also be done with multiple characters, but be sure to do it so it’s painstakingly obvious to the reader whose POV you’re writing from. Also note that if you plan to write multiple first person POVs, try to keep that number on the lower side, as a large number of POVs can get really complicated really quickly. Third person narration can be done from two angles: limited or omniscient. Limited is more similar to first person, in which you’re confined to one person’s viewpoint, but they aren’t the narrator; you’re just seeing the story through their eyes. Omniscient is my favorite, because you can narrate from a bird’s eye view with the freedom to travel from mind to mind and read their thoughts.

Building character profiles can be really helpful when developing both first or third person POV; if you connect with a particular character more strongly than the rest, that should tell you whose POV you should write in. If you choose to switch POVs, be sure to do it either on an alternating/rotating basis, or if you repeat, it should be apparent as to why that particular character is the “voice” of that scene.

3. Plot

Dare I say that Plot is the most important step of them all, so do not skip this one, whatever you do! The biggest mistake most fanfiction writers make is having a concept but lacking a plot. It’s like biting into an apple just to discover it’s a lemon. Many writers are capable of starting off strong, but once their initial story begins to meander, traveling into uncharted territory, their brainchild can become a monstrosity.

In order to write a solid plot, it’s pretty common knowledge that you need to have a beginning, middle, and end in place. It doesn’t need to be overly specific or down to the last detail, you just need to figure out how your characters make it from point A to point Z (the larger scale), and how points B through Y factor into the plot (the smaller scale). There are a few routes that you can take in order to do this: you can write the entire thing ahead of time without any input, you can write the entire thing with the feedback of a beta reader or proofreader to help you work out any kinks or mistakes before you publish it for the entire platform to see, or you can publish it gradually and take feedback from your readers as you go. Should you go with the last option, though, you should be made aware that if you aren’t already an established author, it may feel like you’re talking to a wall, and you will likely feel discouraged from writing the story altogether.

I find it helpful to outline the whole thing. I have a closet door in my house dedicated to a Dave Grohl true crime fanfiction I’m working on. I’ve written the entire story from beginning to end on index cards, split into four different parts with each card representing a chapter. What’s good about outlining is that I can edit my story as I go along. If I decide to change something, I can add or remove an index card, then replace or rearrange the other index cards to work around the change I made, and that way, I don’t have to start over from scratch. It’s helpful to see everything laid out in front of me, so I’m not left at the end of a completely improvised plot with a slew of loose ends that I’ll need to go back and edit. It’s also better than publishing each part individually then having to redo everything after your readers have already seen it. And I don’t know about you, but I enjoy it when I’m able to save some time, energy, and lengthy explanations to random people online. That is, unless you enjoy constant feedback from readers, in which case you can change the plot on a chapter by chapter basis based on their feedback.

Consistency in all of these respects is key. I cannot emphasize this enough. Keeping all of these elements in check will help you create a sort of cohesiveness that will neatly wrap the story up with a little bow on top. 

Step 5: Use Relevant Tags and Content Warnings

Repeat after me: tags matter! Again: tags matter! When you’re about to publish your fanfiction, you’re going to be given the option to add tags to your work. For my first few years spent on Wattpad, I had no idea what tags were, so I didn’t use them. Thankfully, the platform was still pretty small, so people still found my work pretty easily. Nowadays, though, it’s nearly impossible to find what you’re looking for without searching excessively specific tags and using a million filters. It’s unfortunate, but look at it this way: there are so many people contributing to so many fandoms that the content is seemingly endless!

What you’re going to want to do is add as many tags as you can but keep it as simple as possible. I know that sounds kind of oxymoronic, but I mean it in a way that all of your tags relate directly to your story, and not just to the fandom itself. A lot of readers feel misled when they’re scrolling through their filtered search page for, let’s just say, a Byler fanfic, and end up neck deep in a Mileven fanfic in disguise. That’s not a fun experience.

Lastly, please remember that you are publishing your work on the internet, and you don’t know who may encounter your work! Listen, we live in a world where everything needs to be overexplained, everything needs trigger warnings, and everything needs to be neutral or else someone is going to hate you. I get it. I’ve been writing fanfiction for a long time. It might be annoying to add content warnings, especially if one of those warnings spoils a major plotline, but if I’m being honest, I’d rather be safe and add the damn warning than not add the warning and be responsible for someone’s worsened emotional or mental state. Bottom line, it’s just fanfiction! Let’s do our due diligence to create a community full of love and understanding for everyone!

After that, you should be all set to publish! Let’s review one more time for the road:

Choose Your Fandom

Do Your Research

Choose Your Platform

Obey the Writer’s Trifecta of Consistency

Use Relevant Tags and Content Warnings

If you’ve stuck around for this long, thank you so much!

I hope this manual helps you along your fanfiction writing journey, wherever it takes you <3

[giggly-squiggily]

Helloo if req is open may you write a platonic tk fic between rin and sae if it is posible? Thank you so much!

Oh my god YES! :D These two need it, I swear! Okay so; general heads up: I'm exclusively an anime watcher when it comes to Blue Lock- meaning I don't really know how these two's relationship stands or what goes down during/post the whole U-20 arc; I just know they deserve to be happy. I hope you like it! :D

CW: Swearing, angst with a happy ending, sass, possible OOC-ness of the characters (I tried to keep it as close to their canon personalities as possible but yeah), Spoilers for Sae and Rin's backstory- kinda. Not full detailed ones but I'll tag accordingly anyway

Cloud 9 (Taglist):

@myreygn, @cupcake-spice13

“Hey, who allowed you to get so tall?” Sae narrowed his eyes at him.

“Genetics.” Rin shrugged, pushing down the toaster shelf.

If you told Rin Itoshi he’d have a relationship with his brother again in the near future, he would have told you to fuck off. Possibly throw shoes at you too.

Then he’d feel bad for throwing shoes because he was raised better than that, but still.

Things kinda happened in a blur since the U-20 match. A call had come; an invite to dinner. Then he was at Sae’s hotel room, splitting a pizza when the restaurant proved too crowded for either of them. Words were exchanged, a few tears were shed, and by the end of the night, Rin found he could finally breathe again in the presence of Sae.

They’re relationship was still fairly awkward at times; it was impossible to go back to where they were before Sae went to Spain. Still- when Rin called him and mentioned they’d gotten time off from Blue Lock, a room was made up for him at the apartment; clean and prepped with fresh bedding, as if it’d been waiting for him this entire time.

“No mint on the pillow?” He joked upon getting there.

“Please, we already have Shidou. We don’t need anymore pests.” Sae had rolled his eyes, the gesture lacking any real malice upon mentioning the demonic player.

That’s where they were now- getting comfortable in their newfound relationship.

“Tch.” Sae scoffed, shaking his head in mock disapproval as he turned from the coffee maker, mug in hand. “I remember when you barely came up to my elbow. You were so small- running after me on those stubby legs of yours, trying to kick the ball out from beneath my feet.” He shook his head, a rare smile tugging on his lips. “You’d get so worked up about it too. I’d have to buy you a popsicle so you’d stop crying.”

“Shut up, I was six.” Rin rolled his eyes, a blush burning his face at the memory. “Of course I was short. At least I grew since then.” He turned, raising a brow at his brother. “What’s your excuse?”

A look of shock passed his brother’s face, jaw dropped and brows raised. Rin felt a twinge of satisfaction. If the Press could see his usually stoic brother now, they’d probably faint. “I see you gained a mouth along with all that height in these past few years.” He sounded a touch impressed.

“More than you gained, it seems.” Rin couldn’t help himself. It wasn’t even that Sae could be called short; it was just so satisfying to sass him. He deserved it, probably. 

“Tall as you are, you’re still a little shit.” Sae put down his mug, rolling up his sleeves with a dangerous glint. “Seems like I’m gonna have to remind you just who you’re talking to.”

Rin ignored him- mainly due to the toaster popping, presenting his warmed Pop-tart. He should have known Sae didn’t make empty threats.

The moment his poptart touched the plate, hands were latching onto his sides, digging into his ribs with relentless pressure. Rin-much to his embarrassment- let out a loud squawk, the poptart nearly flying out of hand as he doubled over. “Gah! N-No! Dohon’t!”

“All this time later and you’re still ticklish?” Sae sounded deeply amused, a rare smile pulling on his lips as he carried on wiggling his fingers up and down the younger boy’s sides. “Maybe you should have considered that before you started sassing me.”

Rin went to retort with yet another remark, but Sae had found a terrible spot beneath his lower ribs, clogging his throat with growing giggles. “Ngh! N-No! S-Sae!”

“Hm? What, no retort?” The older boy asked, keeping one hand on Rin’s lower ribs while the other came around to his belly, clawing. “Come on- just laugh. You know you want to.”

That did it. Rin let out a wheeze before he doubled over, laughter bubbling over his lips as he tried sinking to the kitchen floor. “Fuuhuhuhuhuhuck! Fuhuuhhuhuck, gahhahahahahahha! Nohoohohoohooho, Sahahahahhahahe you ahahhahahahhahass!”

“Oi, show some respect, you brat.” Sae switched to digging into Rin’s armpits when his hips proved too far to reach, barely fighting down a chuckle at the harsh swear his brother let out, immediately followed by childlike giggles. “Look at you- you can barely say my name, let alone stand. Tell you what- take back what you said about me being short and I’ll let you live.”

“Nehehehhehver, shohoohohort stahhahahahck!” Rin declared without any hesitation. Ever the stubborn one.

Sae tsked, slowing down his tickles and giving the other a chance to breathe. “You really are determined to die today, are you? I’m starting to regret letting you stay here- how the hell am I going to hide your body?” He reached out, squeezing the back of Rin’s neck, earning a yelp as the boy scrunched up. “Maybe I’ll bury you in the backyard and plant a garden over you. Think Shidou would notice?”

“Prohoohbably not.” Rin groaned, and then- because he could. “He’s used to shitty things. That’s why he’s dating you.”

Sae, who was turning back to his coffee, froze, slowly looking back at Rin with scary eyes. Oh, he was DEAD. “And to think I was gonna be merciful this morning.”

Seconds later, Rin was kicked onto his back, Sae pinning him faster than he could react. He wasn’t much of a fighter- neither of the brother’s were- though Rin was faster to throw a punch. He went to do just that before a scream ripped from his throat, laughter returning stronger than ever. “GAHEHHAHAHAH! SHAHAHAHHAE!”

“I tried to be nice, but it’s clear to me that you’re still a little shit all this time later.” Sae scolded as he drilled his thumbs into Rin’s hips, going right for his worst spot. “Now- do you wanna repeat what you just said?”

“AHEHAHHAHA!” Rin was a mess, hands trying to shove off Sae’s vice grip as he thrashed and squirmed against the kitchen floor, feet kicking and scoffing the ground. His face felt like it was on fire, and his hair blinded him, hiding his scrunched up eyes. It was humiliating and stupid and he wanted to rip his skin off as a means of escape.

But also…it was fun. Really fun. He hadn’t felt like this since they were kids, when Sae would tickle him until he was squealing through tears caused by a scraped knee. He could almost see the fond smile his brother wore when he did so. The memory even during all this made his heart ache.

“Do you give up?” Sae asked, bringing him back to reality. Right- his death. A small part of him was tempted to shake his head, declare that he’d never give up just to see what would happen.

What came out of his mouth instead shocked both of them.

“NIHIIHIIHIHIIHI-SAHHAHAN PLEHAHAHAHHASE!” The squeal of mercy was the true end of it all. Sae’s hands stopped almost immediately, pulling away from Rin’s prone body. The younger boy scooted up the floor a few paces arms tossed loosely around his waist as he tried to catch his breath. Well, at least it was over-

Oh god.

Oh GOD.

“Shit…” He groaned, covering his face with his hands, mortified. He didn’t just say that outloud-he didn’t! Across from him, Sae was silent as stone, seeming to be frozen to the floor. Great- there goes any real progress they made at fixing their relationship. Rin readied the speech in his head. I’ll head back to our parent’s house. I’ll be fine. I’ll be gone in the morning-

“Heh, you haven’t called me that in years.” Sae spoke, his voice strangely soft. When Rin dared a peek, he saw it.

 It wasn’t as open as it was years before, but the same fond look was in his eyes, softening his carefully stoic expression immensely. A ghost of a smile was on his brother’s lips, not quite there yet, but it was something.

“Don’t remind me. God, that was- that…Fuck! You suck!” Rin growled, scooting back with a proper glare. Sure his face was still on fire, and his body was still tingling with a cross of tickly residue and nostalgia, but he was adamant on being angry. “What the hell? My Poptart-”

Sae then did the unexpected. He bursted into laughter.

“Pfft- Gehehhahahaa! Good god, aahhhafter all that, and you're worried about a POPTART?” He cackled, falling back on his ass as he held his gut, head thrown back and smile wide. “Good God, Rin! You haven’t changed at all.”

“....Tch, whatever.” Rin rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he fought down his own fit of laughter, the struggle increasing when Sae let out an ungodly pig snort. “Ugh, you’re so annoying.” He kicked his leg gently, too tired to stand. He felt light and breathless and exhausted and just…

“What’s up?” Sae shook his ankle, gaining his attention. “You look sad.”

“I’m not.” Rin ducked his head, hiding his expression. “I’m not. I just…I don’t know- I think part of me…misses this.” He waved between them. “I missed just…laughing with you, I guess. It all feels so far away, still.”

Sae hummed, considering. Then he stood, walking over and offering a hand. “It doesn’t have to be a distant memory anymore.” When Rin looked up, Sae’s face was back to its usual calm, but his eyes were kind. “I’m here. And I don’t plan on leaving again.”

“Promise?” Rin hated how small his voice sounded. He hated it more when he saw something break in Sae’s eyes, dark with remorse.

“I promise.” He sounded a tag hoarse as he ruffled Rin’s hair, breaking the tension. “Come on then, I’ll make breakfast.”

“Please don’t.” Rin cringed as he stood. “You can’t cook.”

“Do you want me to tickle you again?” Sae raised a brow. Rin couldn’t help but grin.

They ended up ordering breakfast instead.

Thanks for reading!

[nashiriel]

I have to say both Consanguinity and Victory stand out for me as usually I can't stand reading A/B/O often all feelings seem...removed? Good or Bad and the hyper feminization of any "omega" often just...makes them nothing like the character they are supposed to be?

In Victory were Luke, for all almost every control is taken from him...he fights back (with help).

In Consanguinity sure Addam especially finds Luke very cute, but at least the (saner) members of houses Targaryen and Velaryon still respect that he is a living breathing person. He also still feels like Luke.

This is rambly but anyways, glad I took a chance of those two after reading Carrion. ^_^

I wrote such a long response to this and Tumblr ate it 😑 Thank you so much for such a lovely comment! I’m so happy that you took a chance on both of those fics and found it worth it. You’ll have to forgive the incoming recreated essay:

I have to admit, I’m not massively fond of some common tropes in A/B/O fic gender dynamics - at least, not when they’re played straight. Considering ASOIAF already features pretty strict gender roles with characters who struggle massively against them, there’s definitely a lot to explore when you introduce A/B/O into the mix!

When I was picking prior Targaryen omegas, Alysanne seemed an obvious choice - not just for the sheer number of children, but the fact that she was so focused on gender roles and improving rights, whilst being married/bonded to a guy who very much fell short in that regard. So the idea of her and Jaehaerys being held up as the Targaryen ideal pair as a bonded alpha/omega in that context was quite interesting.

I did think about Vaegon being an omega for the lol factor, but given Jaehaerys’ treatment of his daughters, I didn’t see him letting Vaegon off with a Citadel career if that had been the case.

And then I chose Visenya for the other, because I quite liked the idea of one of the fiercest, deadliest members of House Targaryen being an omega (you can bet Rhaenyra, Visenya fangirl that she is, helped hype Luke up with stories about how badass omegas could be after he presented), and also because that was quite an intriguing dynamic to me - an omega who could only produce the one child, the multiple bride aspects (I don’t think Aegon ever actually bonded with Visenya) and with Rhaenys being the more traditionally feminine one who Aegon preferred as a beta instead.

So for Luke in both fics, I definitely wanted to write him in a similar way to how I’d write in non-A/B/O fics. The fact that Jace is an alpha in Victory and yet is in a similar situation was quite important; he and Luke empathise with and empower each other, and Luke is very much the ringleader of their whole plan there (fun fact: his expression at the end is very much reminiscent of him smirking at Aemond over the roasted pig in canon).

Even with other characters, my rule of thumb is generally that their personalities should not really shift depending on what I’ve assigned them as but rather on the situations they find themselves in. Aegon III, who is obviously quite withdrawn and traumatised in canon, getting ready to dump wine on Aegon II’s head at the start of Victory because of the treatment of his family despite being a beta is probably a good example.

In Consanguinity, the power dynamics between Luke and Addam - Luke is younger and rides a smaller dragon, but he’s future Lord of the Tides and was massively higher on the social totem pole than Addam until a short time ago - and the fact that Addam is so laidback, makes writing them as a pair quite fun! The bit where Luke admits he’s not sorry for taking Aemond’s eye and Addam finding his feralness pretty appealing was in my mind from the start. You can see hints that here as well the Greens are far more traditionalist in their mindset, which is a definite cause of friction between both sides.

As Joffrey demonstrates, the Blacks very much consider Luke to be every much a fighter and future lord in his own right as his brothers, and if someone objects, they’re very happy to introduce them to their dragons. Which is going to be a pretty important factor for certain characters going forward.

[daddysboydean]

Hey! ^_^

So I'm copy pasting this cause I'm asking several people the same thing to gather answers, and I dont want to mess up my wording.

Why do you ship Wincest, why do you like it?

And I know a base answer would be "look at the way they look at each other" but you can notice that people have a thing for each other or acknowledge a couple without shipping it, without being invested in it or liking it.

For me it's because I think it's cute and sweet, that they would be able to make something nice out of the, to be frank, dumpster fire of their life, that they could cut a weird little hole for themselves and say "in the midst of all this bad, THIS is for us." It also interests me to think about how they would get to this point, to cross so many lines and become attached to each other in a way that is VERY atypical, even for their isolated situation. Cause not every set of siblings, even when put through a ridiculous amount of trauma, turn towards each other in a incestuous way. They might be codependently bonded, but it doesn't usually spill over into the physical or romantic. (I'm talking about all this in a very fictional setting btw).

So I enjoy the created home and comfort, and the psychological(?) aspect of what would make it happen.

And I was curious about what the appeal was for you.

Thank you! ♡

such an interesting question! there are easy answers, like you said, look at the way they look at each other. the actors had great chemistry which makes it easy to ship their characters together. and it fascinates/torments me that they’re brothers and yet the homoeroticism on the show was fucking intentional, like i will never ever get over how absolutely bonkers that is. drives me wild. 

why do i ship them, though? honestly i think i have a pretty basic bitch answer. it comes down to wincest having everything in it that i got into fanfic for in the first place. my previous ships were all darker, and i was generally drawn to even darker iterations of those ships in the fic I read. i like it when there’s something wrong about the couple, some reason they shouldn’t be together (forbidden romance <3 yay <3). i like unhealthy power dynamics, obsession and codependence, morally gray characters and anti-heros, characters who feel born wrong or made dirty, outsiders, ‘us against the world’ and when there are external forces at play that the pairing has to go up against. bonus points if there are supernatural/magical elements and if the pair are on opposite sides of...something. i don’t like a lot of fluff — just a sprinkle of it, really, a taste, enough to provide a little reprieve from all the darkness and raise the stakes but not enough to outshine it. gimme whump and character studies. i’m big on sexual tension even if it’s not an explicitly sexual fic. none of my previous ships were canonically incestuous, but i’d find the incest AUs anyway — usually daddy/daughter stuff (wincest is actually my first queer ship). 

anyway, wincest has all of that in spades. it’s kind of like my perfect ship. you said they're atypical even for their situash and yes, they’re so fucked up and wrong, and on a very visceral level. they’re more fucked up than any other ship I’ve ever shipped, and it’s fucking canon. you don’t have to even try to make them as unhealthy as possible because they’re already there. and digging into that? sticking your fingers in the wounds of their psyche to see what makes them tick then pouring salt on that shit to make it worse? literally makes me want to scream! they’re sick in the head for each other and i’m sick in the head for them. even if we’re not talking wincest as in my dick is hard for my brother, even if it’s just gencest or weirdcest, it’s totally fascinating to crack them open and take a peek inside. and yet there’s capacity for such a painful, gut-wrenching softness between them that ruins me. it ruins me. you can put the happiest spin on their story but it'll always be a tragedy.

the last thing i’ll say is that there’s a lot of material to work with. i typically stick to preseries or kripke era fic when i read and write, but SPN is kinda special because yeah there are 15 seasons to pick at and dissect and expand on, but the writing was also super sketch at times and the storylines weren’t terribly cohesive throughout, plus it was written for a family network, so a lot is still left to the imagination. they gave us enough (whether intentionally or accidentally) to make for some seriously compelling theories and headcanons — and to imagine how things could be X rated. really no limit to what you can come up with, and that’s a fun playground to roll around in.   

thanks for asking! this is something i've thought about in a back burner sort of way but never really looked at head-on.

[chicago-pd-is-weird]

I’m curious to know if there is anything you do and don’t write? Like a list of rules?

I’ve never made a list of rules or anything. As a general practice, I don’t write smut. I’ve sometimes tiptoed to the line, but the actual undressing to skin and sexual act I don’t write. So I guess that’s one thing.

I write for PD. It’s just what I do. I don’t write everything that comes to my inbox, because I just don’t want to. I’ve been working on BTB, but requests lately have been taking up a lot of my time. I really love BTB and want to keep working on it. It’s the thing I’m proudest of and I’ve put so much time and effort into.

I’ve never had like requests “open” or “closed” yaknow, it’s just whatever. If I feel like writing your ask or prompt, I will. I’ll admit, I’m more inclined to write it if it’s PD and whump/angst related. I do write fluffshots sometimes but I feel like outside of BTB, my fluff actually sucks, so. Fluffshots aren’t really my thing I guess. They’ll have fluff in them, but I’d rather write angst/whump/tragedy.

As for the Stellaride content lately, I don’t know where that came from, but it probably won’t last much longer. I’m on S11 of Fire and it’s boring compared to PD because they killed a lot of the best characters or they left. I like the people who are there now for the most part, but won’t write them generally because I don’t care lmao. Even Stellaride, I don’t really care about. I like them and ship them, but doesn’t mean I care about writing them.

I will NEVER write for Matt Casey unless it’s a hate fic. I hate him so much, honestly. (And sweet little Sylvie Brett deserves so much better than him.)

As for the rest of Fire, it’s meh. If the prompt is interesting enough, maybe, but… otherwise, I probably won’t write much for Fire anymore, not even Stellaride if it gets boring (which it’s already starting to.)

And, if anyone was interested in Med, I genuinely haven’t watched past the first season so, I don’t take any requests for Med, unless it’s a character I know and it’s with a PD character.

I do xReaders sometimes but meh. I generally would rather explore canon characters. xReaders are alright I guess but I’ll probably only write them nowadays if it’s a character I actually like/care about. And I won’t write it if it’s a weird request (like Y/N in labor… I’m not writing labor scenes, alright? That’s too intimate for my taste.)

I do sometimes write ships that nobody generally knows/likes, such as Hank/Al together. I won’t write them though if they’re too weird or out of character. Like Trudy/Adam is just not happening, yaknow?

So anyways… yeah, not sure what else to put but feel free to ask questions in my inbox or in DMs.

[musicalmoritz]

this gonna be a weird question but ever since i have know Aoinene. I have always found a consistent theme of Aoi being a lesbian. While it cool, interesting and all, it hard to found anything canonically to use to prove the interpretation beyond "it just a vibe" . It doesnt interfer with the shipping experience but it still an interesting HC that i would love to found some canon material to build on.

I’m so glad you asked this, I’ve been trying to find a way to talk about my feelings on the lesbian Aoi headcanon for a while now. I’ve written it in my own fics a lot but I have some issues with the way people treat it so I’d like to make this a more nuanced discussion

First off, where does it come from? To answer that question you have to keep in mind that as the manga chapters were being released, fans had no idea where AidaIro planned to go with Aoi and Akane’s relationship beyond what they could infer. While it seems obvious in hindsight that Aoi always liked Akane, a lot of lesbian readers overlooked those hints because they were able to relate to being pursued by a relentless man that they didn’t want. They found comfort in Aoi’s character because her perceived disinterest in Akane was something they could connect to their own experiences with their male best friends falling for them

Then we have this scene, which is a whole rollercoaster in and of itself. At this point in the manga, fans didn’t know Aoi was faking her personality. She only existed as Nene’s popular best friend, the girl with the rumors. And, of course, the girl who kept rejecting Akane. Aoi and Nene seemed to have a very close friendship, so when this scene came out, many readers jumped to the conclusion that Aoi planned to confess to Nene. This, coupled with her constant rejection of Akane, led many fans to believe Aoi was a lesbian. Not just as a cool headcanon, but as an actual theory. To this day some fans still call her queercoded, and that’s where I have a bit of an issue with the headcanon

Because, despite all of this, Aoi isn’t a lesbian in canon. She’s not even coded to be one. In fact her and Akane’s characters aren’t able to develop without each other. Some fans chalk this up to bad writing or lesbiphobia, stating that Aoi never showed interest in Akane up until chapter 69, but this simply isn’t true. There were numerous hints that Aoi liked Akane back, since his feelings for her were first introduced. She’s shown to be absolutely devastated at the possibility of him dating someone else, and in the Clock Keepers arc we see that she’s been encouraging his pursuit of her this whole time. Fans may not like them, but it’s impossible to deny they’ve been set up since the beginning of the manga- on both sides

However, if you were to call Aoi sapphic coded/bi coded in canon, you wouldn’t be far off. In the Hanako-Kun Of Magic au, Mei fell in love with Aoi through a spell. After the spell wore off, they were confirmed to still hang out. They hang out so frequently, that it makes Mei’s little sister jealous because Aoi is stealing all her attention

It wouldn’t be a reach to assume they’re dating in this au, which would make Aoi bi or bi-coded in canon (though it’s very up to interpretation so I wouldn’t say she’s as strongly bi-coded as Kou or even Nene). It rubs me the wrong way when people discuss her potential queercoding and entirely ignore her feelings for Akane just because they don’t like the ship, it feels biphobic. It’s also been implied that Aoi has liked men (or people in general) other than Akane, he joins school clubs based on whoever her current type is

Canon aside though, I’d like to talk about why people like the lesbian Aoi headcanon. Namely, why I still like it in fanon despite feeling that it has a very weak basis in canon. Because for some fans, Aoi’s true personality reveal only made their love of the lesbian Aoi headcanon stronger

Remember how I said fans overlooked Aoi’s feelings for Akane because they projected onto her? I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with that as long as they aren’t bringing their bias into analyses. I’ve read many Aoi queercoding analyses where the creator completely ignores Aoi’s attraction to men in canon due to their own projection, and I hate to say it but that is a bad way to analyze. I’ve mentioned before that I strongly relate to Nene’s shallow crushes on men because they remind me of my own experiences with comphet, but I would never call Nene lesbian coded because that would ignore her entire arc with Hanako. Project onto characters all you want but leave that out of your analyses

Anyways, the reveal that Aoi had been faking her personality only gave the lesbian Aoi headcanon more fuel. At this point in the manga, fans were already fully convinced that Aoi was a lesbian…so to find out the pretty popular girl was hiding her true self from the world?? I mean that sounds queercoded as hell. And I won’t lie, I relate to that a lot too. The need to hide who you really are is a nearly universal queer experience, so pretty much any character that has that storyline is going to hit home for a lot of queer readers. That same trope also plays into Mitsuba’s queercoding, so yeah. Despite all the romance stuff with Akane that happened in those chapters, the big takeaway for lesbian Aoi truthers was that Aoi had been hiding a part of herself that the world would shame her for

This is furthered by her relationship with femininity. Aoi plays the role of the ideal popular girl, a common archetype in media. These girls are feminine, passive, kind, humble, and all the boys love them. That is the image Aoi presents to the rest of the school. However, the real Aoi is nothing like that. I wouldn’t go as far as to call her masculine, but she doesn’t act like the poster child for femininity when she’s being her true self. She’s bitter, arrogant, spiteful, and she only really cares about two people. Lesbians tend to have a very complicated relationship with femininity, because heteronormativity asserts that the defining trait of being a woman is your relationship to a man. As a woman, you are someone’s wife, daughter, mother, sister. So when a woman has no interest in men, she loses a core part of her “femininity.” Some lesbians choose to embrace this, they have no interest in femininity so they perform whatever gender presentation they want. Other lesbians reclaim femininity as something defined by themselves, not society. So when lesbians see a character faking her personality to conform to the societal expectations for her gender…oops she’s one of us now lol. This is also why the transmasc Aoi headcanon is popular, though I won’t be getting into that today

There are more simplistic reasons people like the lesbian Aoi headcanon. It fits a trope, the popular girl who’s pressured to be perfect is secretly a lesbian. Then she falls for her fun and quirky bisexual best friend. Unfortunately this is where the headcanon gets very boiled down, people want Aoi to be something that she’s not in canon. They want her to be a trope rather than her own, unique character. The aesthetic girlboss lesbian. She hates Akane and has a huge crush on Nene, maybe some mommy issues and that’s all there is to her. I don’t like these type of headcanons very much, they reduce queerness to an aesthetic rather than an experience. As I mentioned, the lesbian Aoi headcanon does have potential for fanon content, but some fans sadly reduce it to a stereotype

I’ve written both bisexual and lesbian Aoi, and I think they both have their perks. Lesbian Aoi requires a bit of stretching/rewriting of canon, which can be fun but it has to be handled very carefully. Otherwise you get fics that villainize Akane and ignore Aoi and Nene’s complexities. It’s perfectly fine to project onto a character and headcanon them a certain way for comfort, but in terms of characterization I would recommend people try to look past those biases when they’re writing analyses. Fanfic is a bit different bcuz that depends on whether or not you’re trying to stay in character lol, this might be controversial but some writers just don’t care and that’s fine too. They’re just writing it for fun, it doesn’t have to be that serious. Still, I would like to see more fics that keep Aoi and Nene closer to canon (they absolutely exist dw)

The reason I hesitated for so long to address this headcanon is because I wanted to find a way to talk about it sensitively. Queer fans, especially lesbians, already get a lot of flack for their headcanons and I didn’t want to make it seem like I was invalidating anyone’s experiences. If the lesbian Aoi headcanon brings you comfort then, yes, Aoi can absolutely be a lesbian. Fandom is about fan enjoyment, not authorial intent, so headcanon the characters however you want. Just don’t push those headcanons into others, and try to at least be aware of what’s going on in canon. And again, don’t write an analysis if you’re going to be biased. A better way to do it would be something like “I recognize that AidaIro didn’t go this route but it would’ve been interesting if they made Aoi a lesbian.” An analysis like that might have some weight to it!! Aoi and Akane are a super cute ship, but another straight relationship is nothing revolutionary in fiction. However, canon lesbians in a shonen series?? That’s something you don’t see every day. People have valid reasons for wishing Aoi had been written differently, I just wish they would accept that she didn’t get written that way rather than ignoring canon

Sorry if this isn’t what you were expecting, I hope I explained all sides of the headcanon well enough. Tbh a lot of it is just “vibes” but once you look past the surface, it goes a lot deeper. I also want to clarify that Aoi faking her personality reading as queercoding could absolutely work with her being bi too, bisexuals also have to hide a part of themselves and that’s something other lgbtq+ individuals often overlook. The reason it reads specifically as lesbian coding to some fans is because of her projection of femininity being fake so, by extension, her encouragement of the men who pursue her must be too. That’s obviously not canon but some fans believe it would’ve been a cool route to go. Okay that’s it I think I covered everything lol

Thanks again for the ask, I’m glad I finally got the opportunity to talk abt this <3

[meddow]

Fic Author Q&A

Thank you for tagging me @curator-on-ao3!

1. Why do you write fanfic?

It’s a bit of a combination firstly wanting to share a plot idea I have with others, secondly, wanting to see something happen which I know won’t happen in the original source, and thirdly, it can be a bit of a fun puzzle – I don’t like this canon, how do I fix it.

2. Which of your posted stories do you think about the most, even though the story is “finished”?

Lately, First Solitary Separate Singular Complete. It was the first fic I wrote after a long break and I was a very rusty when writing it, so mostly what I would have do differently.

3. If you could give yourself fic advice from when you first started writing fic, what would that advice be?

There will be times when you feel you’ve lost the ability to write. It will come back. It never strays that far away.

4. What’s your relationship to fic stats?

I do check them and quite often, but just for hits. I like seeing the hit count on my WIP steadily head up and like to interpret that as it has found an audience.

5. Is there a pairing or scenario or friendship you miss writing? If so, why? If not, why not?

I wouldn’t mind revisiting Lix/Randall (The Hour) a bit more. I still occasionally find myself coming up with AUs for them. I had half a Victorian detectives AU plotted out in my head back in the day and I wish I'd had the energy to write it. Anyway, it was six episodes over a decade ago and yet they still reside in my head.

6. What motivates you to write?

Partly it’s a race against time to get things down before my inspiration runs out. Partly is that writing for me is like cooking. It’s lovely cooking for myself, but its extra special getting to share what I’ve created with the world and seeing other people enjoy it

7. Why do you write for the fandom(s) that you write for?

My muse is very much motivated by newspaper articles and non-fiction and basically shit I see in the world which pisses me off, and Star Trek remains the ultimate franchise for being able to discuss contemporary issues with a shielding layer of fiction over the top.

For example (spoilers for the next chapter of The Endurance of Light) the villains I’m writing at the moment have an ideology which is based of a whole bunch of anti-master, anti-vaxxer and anti-science rhetoric I’ve seen around – and I’m getting to show how the ruling class of that planet use that ideology to oppress the masses and keep themselves in power, while finding and exploiting loopholes that benefit themselves. I don't know if I'm weird, but writing that kind of stuff for me is oddly fun.

Strange New Worlds in particular hits that sweet spot as it has a great set up and characters I adore, but never seems to have enough time/a high enough episode order to really explore the characters and I want to fix that.  

8. If you’re stuck writing a WIP, what do you do?

Go for a walk. I get all my best ideas either wandering around the local park, or in the shower.

9. What do you wish people knew about comments?

I can’t speak for any author but myself, but I’m happy to answer questions about future developments (or the general direction at least, I won’t give a blow by blow) if someone asks me in a comment. I don’t like tagging my fics with whether it’s a happy ending or not or whether a pairing is endgame or not because I feel that ruins any tension and/or mystery I want to build for everyone, but in the comments, I can put details below a spoiler cut.

10. Maybe there’s a question you wish had been on here. What’s that question (and answer)?

As a person who has aphantasia (the inability to picture things in my mind), I’d love to know what other people see when they’re writing, and how much detail. For me, I feel like for a scene I get enough in my mind to create one blurry film still per scene. There's no movement though. I can’t picture things like facial expressions changing or what characters are doing with their hands. Often I feel like I’m just writing off vibes.

I've seen a lot of people I follow tagged already, is there anyone who has missed out that wants to be?

[chaptersonetoinfinity]

You asked me, so I ask back <3

11, 20, 41, 69 and 74, if it's okay for you.

Thank you for the ask, Vil! Your curiosity is ALWAYS okay with me <3

Fanfiction Writing Asks

11. Do you write scenes in order, or do you jump around?

Oh, I bunny-hop like there’s no tomorrow when I’m drafting. I might have fully drafted scenes that will take place 20 chapters from now, while my upcoming chapter is still missing half of its scenes. Heck, a lot of times I jump around within one scene while I’m writing, too. I’ll have an idea of how to end the section so I’ll press “enter” a bunch of times and write the last paragraph when I’m only halfway through, then go back and fill in the middle part. Then in my second draft, I might even switch my paragraphs around, or move a sentence I like into a later paragraph where it will “pack more of a punch”.

20. Do you prefer writing AUs or canon fics?

My favorite setup is Canon Divergence, which is technically an AU but is usually set in the canon world (unless the divergence involves world-hopping). 

That said, I’m a huge fan of worldbuilding, and it’s often what draws me into a series before I get attached to the characters (e.g. the intricate magic system in Black Clover), so I’d prefer to write fics set in the canon world, at least, or an AU where the magic is slightly different but still there. I guess the best answer I can give is “I like to write canon AUs the most” :P

41. Who’s your favorite character you’ve written?

So I can never pick just one favorite character in a series, but I do have certain “favorites” to write for (in terms of POV). In general, I’d say I prefer to write from POVs of characters who have a lot of attitude, whether that’s internal or external. 

The most recent examples I have are Mereoleona with her brash temper, or Yuno with his sarcasm (both internally and externally XD). Yami is turning out pretty delightful too, because of how he makes fun of everything and breaks the fourth wall. Charlotte and Noelle POVs have also been “easy” for me to adapt to because they’re very no-nonsense and judgy (for better or worse) so I just channel my inner Hermione Granger. 

And any character who’s notably passionate—Cyrus and his all-encompassing green thumb made me love him so much more when I wrote from his POV, even if I had ten Google tabs open about random plants. So I’ll probably enjoy writing Fuegoleon’s POV as well when I get there. In comparison, I have a harder time writing from the minds of characters who are very “uncertain” or repressed in terms of their thoughts and decisions, or those who aren't as notably opinionated. William Vangeance's POV will be a hell of a challenge! 

69. What are your favorite fics at the moment?

Again, I have a hard time picking favorites (exhibit 1, the previous response where I picked like 8 “favorites”, LOL). It’s been a while since I’ve binged fics, but I have a feeling that your “The Scent of Lavender” and “Revenge of the Bride” will be right up on my list! Also FFAC, the Zobra collab from @f-oighear and @kalolasfantasyworld (yes, I’m referring to it by the acronym because it sounds like “fuck”). And I read a oneshot from @wildflowerwoodsworld which tickled my fancy recently, so I have a feeling I’ll enjoy their other works, too.

I’ll keep my to-read list a secret. so other authors on my radar can have a nice surprise when I get around to their fics and unleash myself in their comments sections! And I’m sure countless things from my to-read list will end up as my favorite fics, too :)

74. Do you have a fic you wish got a bit more love?

I’ll be real, no matter how much love my fics already got, I would ALWAYS love (ha!) for them to get more love. And I tend to veer toward niche topics (and ships), so I never know exactly what the reception will be like, and the surprise is part of the fun of posting by this point, haha. Maybe it’s because what I want to read for “bigger” ships (ships with more fics) have already been written, so I’m content to read what others wrote, and my ideas are filling a “void” in my imagination that only my own chaos can fulfill! 

All that is to say, I’m very “glass half full” about any interaction (I happy-screech over any love I get!), while I’d also love for anything I write to get more love <3 But since my heart is fully invested in Scarlet Cross (a Black Clover Canon Divergence and Gender Changes AU!) at the moment, I’ll choose that as my final answer! 

[sporkberries]

I saw your post about Tim and Jason and I’ve never agreed about something more. We need more fics where them getting closer is at least canon adjacent instead of the stuff we get in fanon. A lot of their fanon content really grosses me out because it sort of reads like Tim developing Stockholm syndrome for Jason who repeatedly abuses him but can’t be blamed for it because of “pit madness” 🤢. That might just be because of my personal experiences but it really grosses me out a lot of the time

YEAH NO I 100% AGREE. I think portraying Tim as automatically forgiving Jason for the awful things he does(TO TIM) and ohh Jason wants to hurt him but its not his faulltt. Is so fucking UEGH. I think its not only a disservice to both of their characters but a really weird dynamic to tag as “fluff” and “hurt/comfort”.

I especially dislike the Titan’s Tower stories not just because they misrepresent the actual scene(which is very ridiculous imo) but because having Jason beat the shit out of Tim and then WRITE ON THE WALLS WITH HIS BLOOD and then being like ohh no he’s his care taker now is so 😨. Like imagine someone beating you so bad THEY CAN WRITE WITH YOUR BLOOD and then them kidnapping you and “taking care of you” thats so fucked…

I think the fandom in general can turn Tim into a bit of a punching bag which… fair. Im not going to pretend like i dont like angst BUT when portraying these traumatic events or his interactions with the people around him they kinda make him… spineless? Which IS a valid trauma response but its not Tim. Tim can be literally on the verge of death and he’ll still probably be shit talking you y’know? He can be self sacrificing yeah but… come on.

IDK. Jason pre reboot is kinda not a great person and i think the fandom WANTS him to be and they want to twist it into “pit madness”(which isnt a long lasting thing) or “he protects women and kids”(does he?) when it just… isn’t true?

Fanon Jason as a whole is just kinda an OC with bits of current Jason mixed into him, he doesn’t exist outside the fandom. This is why i sometimes joke about being a “jason todd hater” when i dont really have much against the character(other than most his comics being shit 😔) but because i dislike some aspects of the fandom he represents.

I do think Tim and Jason have the POTENTIAL to get along. They’re both snarky bastards and that dynamic is fun to write and mess around with but there is A LOT of baggage to unpack. Titans tower stuff aside Tim broke Jason out of prison which resulted in Jason donning a batman suit and killing a bunch if people which Tim feels EXTREME guilt for. So even if pre reboot jason wants something to do with Tim(which i think he does as he continually reaches out to him) there is a lot they would need to work on. Which i admit would be interesting to read but sadly a lot of fics dont really follow the comics that well.

Anyhow closing this off i also want to mention again how the fandom prioritizes Tim’s largely fanon(or lobdell written so shouldnt be acknowledged ) relationship with jason over his long lasting canonical relationships with female characters( Cass and Helena[HELENA IS SUCH A VICTIM OF THIS OH MY GOD AND FANON JASON STEALS SO MANY OF HER TRAITS AN-]) 😔

But yeah fanon jason and tim is weird and i’d be interested to see an actual brotherhood develop between the two but i think it would take a lot of work from the both of them(which DC will definitely not put in 😔)