#I think those are great things to explore in fanfic

[jadesarerocks]

My fanfics: healing relationships with parenthood and family and creating your own family.

Me: forget fAmiLy *hasn’t seen another person in days*

[artfulacrostic]

y'all ever just have like. insane anxiety, and you're irritated about the thing that's causing it, and that makes u more anxious? bc i'm like fully aware that i'm having it bc of my anxiety disorder. but i'm still going in a circle here gdi 😑

[sleepingdiaryzzz]

I want... A yandere romantic/platonic batfam (n other characters) x reader... That's not.. Neglected ☹️

Those neglected reader fics r fire as fuck, yeah, but I think I am getting sick of it always being the same ideas that I could predict the plot or always being the same concept... NO HATE TO THOSE WHO MAKES EM AND THOSE FICS I REALLY THINK ITS GREAT I jst wanted to see other things, other concepts, more on the romantic side (bc I'm desperate leyk dat 🤷🏽‍♀️) or maybe more of the characters on DC (like there's more DC characters that other than the batfamily that could be written a yandere fanfic of)

It's jst that I want to explore (😏) more of yandere DC fanfic ifyk what I mean, if not, I mean I want thengs like romantic yandere DC x reader or a platonic one that's the exception of neglected reader concepts. and I think I've read all of the yandere romantic and platonic (thats apart from the neglected reader) Dc x reader ffs

So Chat If you got recommendations help dis gal out cuz she hungry 😣😿😵💔

(Also dis just a short ramble of mine cuz I've been dying to yap dis out to everyone, no hate directed to anyone)

[pangaeaseas]

The Problem of Religion in Harry Potter (or, what is Wizard God?)

tl; dr: I wish more hp fics did something with religion and the wizarding world

so to state my credentials up front: I've read a lot of hp fanfiction, a little on the Reformation and religious history--like, I have probably more background knowledge than the average person but I am very emphatically not an expert and have never actually taken a class specifically on any kind of religious history, and I'm an ex-Catholic who did ten ish years of religion classes. There are probably a LOT more people more qualified to talk about this than me but whatever I've never actually seen very much meta written out on this specific issue so I'm giving it a try. (if you have written or read such meta, please send me recs)

ahh the Problem of Religion one of the great unsolved mysteries of the hp world building (similar issues include What the Fuck is Going on with Ireland, How Does the Ministry Actually Work, What is the Population, etc) and I call it 'unsolved' because the fandom has no massively popular solution (like Lordships for the Problem of the Wizengamot) and in general tends to just not think about it, much like JKR originally did. Now IMO she probably intended most wizards to be, like, generically Church of England or whatever without much investment--basically copying the Muggle equivalent whenever it isn't spelled out how the two worlds differ, which is I think a lot of her un-filled-out world building is meant to be. Which. OK. You can do that, but, you know, religion is a very very important aspect of worldbuilding and in my opinion ignoring it and expecting it to be just the same as 1990s Muggle Britain is uninteresting and lazy.

This (wizards are meant to be some kind of Christian and probably Church of England just for simplicity's sake) is evidenced by things like Hogwarts having Christmas and Easter breaks, James and Lily having a Bible quote picked out by Dumbledore on their tombstone, and Draco Malfoy, most emblematically wizard of wizard characters who can be taken as a potential baseline, automatically saying things like 'Good God'. Which, you know, implies that the idea of a single God, and probably the Judaeo-Christian God because that's the same cultural background as the rest of Britain, is taken for granted by wizarding society. It doesn't necessarily imply anything about Draco's or even the Malfoys' personal beliefs, and of course you have other characters saying things like 'Oh my Merlin' and "Morgana" and things like that. Which in my opinion wasn't meant to be indications of some kind of Merlin or Morgana worship but more quirky and fun flavor things of the kind jkr loves to include without thinking out the implications. But you absolutely can take those statements that way--this post is absolutely not meant to dictate how people want to headcanon and I am absolutely here for giving wizards a well thought out pagan or Non-Christian religion, I just don't think that was the author's intent. There's also plenty of other things that imply Wizarding cultural Christianity that I'm not remembering off the top of my head.

And, of course, much better writers than me have extensively discussed all the Christian themes in HP. Of course, themes don't need to affect how people worldbuild in fanfic.

So: with HP canon, we are looking at a society that is probably culturally Christian and probably (key word) intended to be Church of England. But, because JKR wasn't putting much thought into it and basically just took a Chrisitian bedrock of society for granted, the implications of this are not really explored at all. So what I'm interested in is how fandom deals with it.

Mostly, that is...not at all, either taking cultural Christianity in the Wizarding World for granted the way JKR does or by ind of handwaving that wizards have evolved beyond the need for religion and that's just how it is. And that's perfectly fine! Not everyone wants to come up with a full, working, wizard society, and even if they are trying to worldbuild some aspects of wizarding society religion is often ignored, because people don't want to deal with it for often valid reasons (religious trauma, just disinterest, grew up agnostic, not Christian but thinks wizards probably are etc, etc, etc, ) Personally I wish more fics delved into what wizarding religious belief actually is, but to put it bluntly, that's just me. And I have never dealt with religion in my own fics. So don't takethis as judgement at all.

But there are interesting headcanons when people do choose to try and worldbuild religion in HP.

Fom what I've seen, one of the major ways to deal with religion in HP (aside from not dealing with it at all) is to give wizards, often pureblood wizards, some kind of pagan, often Celtic-inspired, religion. And this is quite defensible! Sometimes this is badly executed and/or turned into Death Eater apologia, but the idea of wizards having a different religion is really interesting and a good deal more interesting (IMO of course) than just not mentioning religion at all. Most fics that I've seen don't delve too deeply into, like the actual history and theology of these religions, but there are definitely some that do. (Also if you know any PLEASE send me recs). So if handled well, this is a great way to add some religion worldbuilding in the world of Harry Potter.

However, my personal favorite set of possibilities--obviously I have some personal bias as a history nerd with a long standing if never as deeply researched as I would like to interest in the history of Christianity and as an ex-Catholic--is that, well, we know the statute of secrecy started..when, exactly? 1690. So this much is obviously a result of JKR's Hollywood understanding of witch hunts (a subject for another time and someone far more qualified). For interested wrodlbuilders, we can take this as a guideline at best, as personally I think it would have taken a good deal longer than one year to agree on and implement something like the Statute and I tend to take 1690 as an end date, not a start. I also tend to take the Statue as a largely European phenomenon, at least at first. But, uh, what was happening in Britain at the time..oh, right...the Glorious Revolution....what was happening that created the conditions for the Glorious Revolution...oh, the English Civil War...which was because of...oh yeah, and what was also happening on the continent, maybe it involved, wait, thirty years..oooh, the Thirty Years War...wait weren't there a whole bunch of massive social shifts happening in Europe at this point in time isn't that funny but surely the stature of secrecy could be considered a part of these massive social shifts...all of which was heavily influenced by...you guessed it, the Protestant Reformation.

Wait. So. Maybe, the separation of Wizards from Muggles, at least in Britain, wasn't actually about Muggles hating wizards or wizards hating Muggles. Maybe it was about religion. Now personally I find this ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING. The possibilities, the possibilities...

Wizards had a massive religious civil war that created the blood status system in its modern form? Particular families have wildly different denominations? Excellent. Religion both in terms of level of religiosity and in terms of denomination is a blood status marker? Excellent. Purebloods are all Catholic (what does this do to both Catholic and not Muggleborns?) Excellent. Purebloods are all Puritans? Weird, but if you can pull it off excellent. Purebloods are all one of the wacky new denominations that sprung up after the Reformation and then either died out or conquered the world? Excellent. Pure bloods are all Lutherans who really hated Henry VIII? Excellent. One of my favoirite ways to create a wizarding religion was someone who had most pure bloods follow a denomination that split off from Catholicism in the Great Schism and then a small minority being Catholic, with the worlds splitting around the Reformation. Even the paganism headcanons can be incorporated: the Reformation could conceivably have made it much more difficult to keep practicing wizard paganism causing separation of the worlds.

Personally I would love to see a world that used the history of the Protestant Reformation super well, but it's not the only way to relate a Wizarding religion or a Wizarding religious history. I just wish more people tried to do that at all. Let wizards be religious! Or let them be irreligious but have thought about it, instead of just ignoring religion at all as something that might conceivably have influenced human societies. Maybe Wizarding Britain has state sponsored atheism. Just say that outright!

Another thing I'd like to see more fic doing is theology: how does having magic impact people's religious doctrine? Does every major religion essentially have a wizarding branch with its own theology because magic impacts their view of the world so much, or do most wizards simply follow the majority Muggle religion in their country with no modifications? if so, why? Do some wizards disagree, potentially violently, over how to incorporate magic into their religion? Do some people refuse to use magic because they think it goes against their religion? Etc etc etc you could go on forever. I've seen fic, which randomly enough was about Regulus Black, do this pretty well (or I thought so as a non-Jew) for Judaism, and I'd love it if done with other religions.

Anyway. Now I have to figure out how the hell religion works in the Wizarding Britain of my own headcanon.

[fixyourwritinghabits]

No Such Thing As Filler

Okay, so yes, this is another post based on something I saw that irritated me, but it seems like this idea keeps coming up, so I need y'all to internalize this. There is no such thing as filler in good writing. None. Do not approach your work thinking you have to fill space in a story, I will beat you with this wiffle bat. Don't ask me where I got the wiffle bat. Don't even worry about it.

The idea of filler comes from a very particular place - when an anime or TV show has to fit in a certain number of episodes, but doesn't have enough content (hasn't caught up with the manga, the source material isn't long enough, etc) to cover those episodes. An episode has to be written, but the characters can't really progress, and so are given something else to do. Many a trope has come from these episodes, and they're sometimes necessary. Filler in this context is something that makes sense.

The dark side of filler is the idea that you need some space between Big Event 1 and Big Event 2 in your story, therefore you need throw anything in there to take up space and make your word count. This is a mistake I've made and I've seen plenty of other writers do it too, but it's a huge waste of your time. You do need something between those big action scenes, but you should always be writing to accomplish something.

Instead of thinking of that writing as filler, try to approach it with three things in mind:

Move Forward With Character Development and Backstory - Your characters barely survived a huge gunfight, and they won't encounter the big bad again for another few chapters. How do your characters decompress from that gunfight, and what does that say about them? Did a cocky character go in guns blazing, only to be deeply shaken by how a real fight works? Did that fight spark a moment of deep trauma for the main character that they have to reflect on afterwards?

Filling this space with meaningless scenes is a huge waste of opportunity. Think about how to dive deeper into your characters.

Move Forward With Plot and Subplot Development - The bad guy beat the heroes to the stolen gem, but they left behind a clue to why they want it. However that clue could reveal some painful truths about the protagonist's beloved great aunt... Carmen Sandiego???

A major goal following a big action scene is having the characters figure out what to do with what they've learned and what to do next. It's where romance subplots or secret relative subplots make progress, when truths are revealed and next steps are taken. You can absolutely do this in any setting - a flirty conversation while at the battling cages, a tense moment of feelings while hunting down a wayward chicken - but your main goal is making progress for both the characters and plot.

Move Forward With Worldbuilding - Worldbuilding has it challenges, believe me. You don't want to write a chapter on how an airship works only to have to cut it later. But you should still try to flesh out your world, and you should do so with the perspective of how to use that worldbuilding to your benefit. Maybe a critical scene hinges on the main characters knowing how that airship works, or that lake your main character often stares at is the setting of the big Act 3 Boat Battle. The weather can play into both perspective and emotions. Knowing what the main character's house and car looks like can reflect a lot on their personal character or backstory.

When you're struggling with a scene or a chapter, rather than writing filler, take a few steps back and think. What can you establish with your worldbuilding? What can you reveal about your characters through their dialogue and actions? What subplot could you explore or add in these between moments?

Filler from a fandom perspective - Now let me make this clear - if you're writing a fanfic just to have a cute moment between the characters you like, or you really want to force everyone to do that weird Twilight baseball scene, that's fine. You don't need a grand goal to achieve for every story, there's no need to justify your fanwork in any way other than you wanted to do it.

But I'd also argue fanwork doesn't fall under the filler label either - something you create, be it a character snapshot or a 'what if the gang meets Slenderman' parody, isn't taking up meaningless space. It's something fun you did that you and others enjoy, and there's nothing wasteful or pointless about that.

[neokamui414]

I really like crossover fanfics and fan art, I really do. However I sometimes feel like some of the most popular fandom crossovers are also ones that perpetually fall into boring and predictable patterns while simultaneously and consistently ignoring/forgetting the most obvious and easy ways two or more fictional properties could be combined or crossed over.

And I think this is nowhere more apparent than the absolute proliferation of Danny Phantom and DC comics content here on this site.

Because you know what, I think there are some really cool and interesting things you could do with placing Danny and company in the world of DC or vice versa. The problem is that overwhelmingly I don't see any of those interesting ideas being done.

It's all the same variation of like three different plot points, all of which are exacerbated in their boring unoriginality and fandom cringiness by the fact that they also almost entirely revolve around the same flanderizations of DC characters that originate from people whose understanding of these comic book characters is entirely based off of watching the Teen Titans and Young Justice cartoons.

I am so so so so tired of seeing the same premise of Danny getting involved with Batman because he's a dark-haired light colored eyed superhero "twink" just like the rest of the male Robins. I'm tired of him getting adopted by Bruce, I'm tired of him being secretly Dick Grayson's long lost relative.

What's even worse is this crossovers frequent demonstration of what I think is the inexcusable sin of unoriginally using John Constantine, a character that I by and large think the vast majority of this website and it's user base just doesn't understand and probably never will. (this is a whole separate rant but the website that at one point had the majority of its user-base obsessed with an imaginary queer interpretation of one of the most aggressively mediocre and dude bro heterosexual paranormal TV shows to have ever existed is one that I think is fundamentally incapable of actually understanding or appreciating a legitimately compelling queer paranormal/urban fantasy character. The website that thinks Cas and & Dean were anything, whether that be a compelling romance, compelling characters or even in a good or enjoyable show, I think are forever incapable of actually understanding John.)

Do I think you could write an interesting story with John Constantine interacting with Danny? Yeah sure but I think that that would be entirely predicated on one's ability to actually write John compellingly, which is a dubious ask in the first place AND regardless it's still the most uninspired and boring interpretation of what you could do with "Danny interacting with one of the supernatural characters of DC"

Here are some actual recommendations for interesting crossovers and universe fusions :

*The fact that people want to have Danny Fenton interact with DC characters and Deadman and Secret are not the characters that immediately come to mind for fic ideas shows I think either the fundamental lack of creativity on the part of people who like this crossover, or just that they really don't know shit about DC comics....... Danny and Boston Brand would play off each other so well both comedically and as potential mentor and mentee. Greta and Danny would be ADORABLE together whether it is just friends or in a shippy dynamic.

* We need stories where Danny is interacting with The Spector, and the lack of them is just plain criminal in my opinion. I really could see a bunch of really cool stories where GhostKing Danny is put into conflict with the Vengeance of God. Or make him team up with The Specter have and have him fight Eclipso.

*we know the DC afterlife is incredibly complicated and interconnected with other mystical realms such as The Dreaming and Hell, maybe explore how that would relate to DP's conception of the Ghost Zone. Danny, Zachary Zatara and Kid Devil's bizarre interdimensional odyssey would be a great fic!

* if one has to put Danny in Gotham for some reason or another have him fight against the Gentleman Ghost, play around with the relationship with the glowing green ectoplasm and the green glowing liquid of the Lazarus Pits, and if you do that you have an excuse to make him interact with Jason Todd if you absolutely can't resist bringing in a member of the Bat family. Remember, Jason has the ability to summon forth magical blades under certain circumstances and as a character who has repeatedly died and come back to life he's the only bat that I think would actually have interesting interactions with Danny.

* but above all if you have to have Danny Phantom and company goes to Gotham as your story premise, I cannot emphasize this enough, HAVE HIM TEAM UP WITH RAGMAN!!!!!! I swear to God, have the snarky Ghost Boy interact with the character whose costume is literally filled with ghosts!!!!!!

*going back to the ectoplasm and Lazarus Pit idea, make Danny an avatar of The Black/ Rot. I would absolutely love to see him have to contend with the likes of Anton Arcane or come into conflict with Swamp Thing and Animal Man. Also having Swamp Thing present in the story would give a far more organic reason as to why John Constantine would be interested in this teenager with ghost powers.

So yeah I would kindly ask the people who are so insistent on producing crossover content of these two fandoms to actually do some interesting ideas.

And incidentally while we're on the subject matter, the fact that so much of Danny Phantom is directly inspired by Spider-Man and yet there's not really a lot of crossover between DP and Marvel properties is really really bizarre to me, especially because this website's user base purports to be such huge appreciators of the Spider-Verse films........

[yeryeryea]

8 underrated eremika fanfics that I think definitely deserve way more recognition, appreciation, and love:

🤍 Anamnesis by Karizard (@karizard-ao3)

I've reread this a few times and it gave me a sci-fi movie vibe based on those romance, humor elements, and family scenes. It's rare to see Mikasa as a fuckgirl and Eren being the absolute wife guy ever (trust me, it's really sweet). The idea that every au of eremika has them deeply loving each other is so appealing, I love them and can easily imagine their lives when I'm dozing off lol. And I literally screamed when canon Eren appears! Imagine if this were a Netflix series, just picture the trailer with Eren's titan roar as one of the episodes even if it's just a quick black screen for one second. It would totally hype everyone up!

🤍 ocho by AphoticW

It's very sweet and I think Eremika in this au has the healthiest relationship ever! And for the first time I can actually accept jeankasa while reading. It was really refreshing and gave me a new perspective on their dynamic, something I didn't expect to enjoy as much as I did when I saw the title. It really caught me off guard in the best way possible.

🤍 My Emotional Kaleidoscope by On_kamis_green_earth

It's hard to find a mature fanfic that includes the topics I'm interested in, like addiction and its effects. There aren't many fluffy moments in this au but there are very realistic problems that really make you think. I was hooked right after the first chapter. It feels so raw and real, unlike the typical dramatic fanfics that can feel a bit too far removed from the harsh realities of life (yes I'm talking about DF lol). I love how it dives into deep emotional themes without sugarcoating anything. The complexity of the characters really stands out and keeps me engaged throughout.

🤍 see you later (the series) by sinigangsta (@sinigangsta-ao3)

This is a great series about canon eremika! The way it explores their bond is so genuine and heartfelt. I love how it delves into the everyday moments of their life and shows their connection. It's not just about the big moments but the little things that make their relationship so endearing. And there's smut! Plenty of them :) Lots of steamy moments that really add to the chemistry.

🤍 i can't think of anything funny to say by miriamika

[Still updating] It's hilarious and brings a fresh twist with its unique 1950s time setting. The humor is spot-on, and the fun mix of comedy and nostalgia had me laughing out loud while also appreciating the content. I really hope the author comes back one day to give us more!

🤍 Porcelain Menial by cxcassi (@cxcassii)

[Still updating] To say it's sexy, hot, sultry, passionate, or anything else is seriously an understatement! I love how Eren's character shifts from being kinda casual with his intentions to completely serious when they finally sleep together lol. It's like watching him evolve. This is definitely a fanfic people should check out and I'm waiting for more! Can't wait to see where it goes next!

🤍 The U and I in Security by Shining TEA

[Still updating] I don't think there's any other eremika fanfic that sets them up as security guards! It's hilarious, not just between eremika but literally between everyone. It's kind of a slow burn, but each chapter just keeps getting better. I was literally cracking up during their soccer game! Also, Eren tries to deny, or should I say, can't quite figure out his feelings in the cutest way, and it was so amazing. I hope the author updates soon!

🤍 Gangsta's Paradise by Drift1607

The criminal x cop relationship actually reminded me of Zootopia. I just realized it's kind of like an ‘old’ fanfic but I've reread it a few times now. Eren in this au is so funny and refreshing, unlike other aus where he's more serious or something, his lines had me laughing nonstop. But just a heads up, there's a bit of ereannie smut in one of the chapters (😿), but I'm sure it's still a great fanfic that's definitely worth reading! It's fun and full of personality, so if you like a unique spin on their dynamic, you'll love it.

[ateliersss]

Predator

...is part of The Bookshelf.

⇨ This is a collection of my favorite fanfics/oneshots on Tumblr I love to re-read once in a while. None of those works belong to me! Feel free to use it as well.

⇨ My own works are here

Need A Hero (Series)

Summary: (Y/N) is walking home from work, when she encounters a creature from another world and needs help.

Possession

Summary: A female Yautja stakes her claim on your mate.

Monster

Summary: You survived for so long. The Yautja came to clear out the Xenomorphs and to find you.

A Gift

Summary: He saves you and you repay him.

Taken

Summary: Being taken from not only your home but from Earth just to be the personal pet for an Elder Yautja made you realize just how insignificant your life was. Then, you got a new owner, and everything changed.

A Different Life

Summary: Every clan leader Yautja was an extremely powerful one. They had to lead the clan, show the way to grow and rule. Some used that power and respect to do horrible things, others never broke the code.

Mate of a Yautja

Summary: You never fit in, not in school, not at work. You were sure something was wrong with you. When you moved to Colorado, you hoped things would change, and to a degree they did, but as you grew up, you were still not fitting in. You didn’t know what to do, until one evening when all hell broke loose. 

Unexpected Family

Summary: Somehow, you were always at the wrong place at the wrong time. And what seemed to be your demise, turned into your future.

The Prize

Summary: Finding that incredible pyramid was only the beginning. Because soon, you’d find a very special room with writings on the wall. And you never expected a pyramid to change your life like this.

Protective

Summary: Yautja was a proud kind, always taking care of their own, and your Yautja took special care of you while you carried his little one.

No Title

Summary: You are dating one of the Yautja and a rival sees you and him together. He gets into a fight with your partner trying to whin your favor. Thinking you’ll choose the winning fighter he tries to take you but you refuse and tend to your wounded partner. 

Protected

Summary: Being a apart of the ‘Planetary Frontier’ was supposed to thrilling and exciting. Exploring new worlds and, beautiful unusual life forms. At first, it appeared to be a dream come true. Until your research team, accompanied by top notch U.S Military Marines got stranded on a planet that wasn’t on your radar. And to make matters worse? Something was out there… Hunting and watching…

Hold You

Summary: Yautja Prime is a large planet. It sits in the designated zone for life to sprout. And life easily thrives all over the place. Even when a bitter cold takes over the poles. Woftik lives there with you. Life is great. Until the frozen lands are swallowed with a blizzard. All the two of you could possibly do was wait out the storm with each other.

The Unexpected Human Problem (Series)

Summary: The night her abductors die, Rayelle finds herself running for her life. She doesn’t know where she is, what is following her, where to go. All she knows is she’s not on Earth any longer and the thing chasing her has the capacity to kill. Tai'qdei never anticipated finding a human when he took the job of tracking and subduing a small contingent of smugglers. It was only when the human attacked and fled fled, Tai'qdei - hopped up on the euphoria of a successful hunt - gave chase, instinct burning at his center. Will sense return to Tai'qdei before he catches Rayelle? Or will Rayelle be subjected to the yautja’s natural inclinations? And what happens afterwards?

The Prey Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8

Worth

[fushiglow]

glo! if you had to keep only one stsg fic for the apocalypse which one would it be?

Well, anon, the fic I would have chosen has unfortunately been removed by the author. I'm devastated, but an author's agency over their own work always comes first and foremost for me (I have controversial opinions about this, I think!). Since I can't share one fic, why not share a bunch of SatoSugu fic recs instead?

—

idolatry - pellucids

This is a fic I will keep screaming about until more people show it the love it deserves. If I could only read one E-rated SatoSugu fic for the rest of my life, I'd probably choose this one! Not only is the writing absolutely beautiful — poetic and evocative and right up my street — but the author's grasp on these characters is perfect to me.

For me, this fic is evidence that it's possible to explore depictions of gender and sexuality in nuanced and thoughtful ways while keeping characters recognisable to their canon counterparts, which is something I really value in a fanfic. I think the highest praise I can give this fic is that it feels like gender euphoria to me.

—

Born to Die - @detta-pica

I could talk at length about this fic, and I have in the comment section! Big, fat, long comments under each chapter — which speaks volumes all by itself.

You can see my thoughts in detail there, but in short, something I really enjoy about hermit's writing is that it's abundantly obvious that she has a strong grasp on the original material. Even in this really unique take on a vampire AU where there's always going to be a degree of give and take when it comes to characterisation and themes, hermit not only dissects those canon themes in a deeply satisfying way that feels true to the essence of the original work, but also sprinkles nods to the canon material into the text in simply delightful ways. As a writer, she's economical with her words in a way that's enviable to me, quite frankly!

If nothing else, read it because the fic is tagged "BAMF Geto Suguru". Suguru is unbearably cool in this, actually.

—

Crack My Ribs Open, I'll Show You My Heart - @alpha-hydra

You'll see the word "evocative" come up again and again in my descriptions of the fics I love. Perhaps this makes sense if you notice the things I focus on in my own writing, but it's something I look for in the fiction I read, too — immersive, descriptive writing that spirits you away to another world.

Alffy absolutely nails that here. They really engage all of the senses in this piece to paint a beautiful picture of the setting and the scenery. Plus, it's always delicious when a fic employs a non-linear narrative to great effect. I was dropped right into the middle of this story and instantly compelled. Ugh, I love this fic.

—

frostbitten - @neyasochi

This fic is still a work in progress, but it's already one of my favourites. Being familiar with sochi's writing already, I highly doubt the ending is going to change that. Once again, extremely evocative writing which means that, with the story taking place during a bitter winter, this one transports you away to a winter wonderland and feels magically cold to read.

I also think sochi's characterisation is just wonderful. Gojo is such a charming shit, and the name calling in this fic is delightful — "fussy little ingrate" and "bossy little peasant" are some of my favourites! Yes, it's light-hearted and fun, but there's a sizeable emotional kick to this story, with some really intense and intimate moments which sochi handles so well.

Lastly, the seasonal imagery and puppy Gojo vibes are all over this fic, so it'll come as no surprise to some of you that I'm enjoying it!

—

G.O.J.O. - yours_grubby

If you enjoyed Ex Machina, you'll enjoy this fic. It features all my favourite Gojo themes neatly bundled up into a unique AI concept that intrigued me immediately. The reason sci-fi settings are my favourite is because sci-fi is the perfect canvas for interrogating our humanity. I think many people are distracted by the technology and the sweeping world-building, but at their heart, sci-fi stories are almost always asking the question "what does it mean to be human?" in some form or another.

We make weapons out of humans, but what about when we make humans out of weapons? What does it say when our technological creations demonstrate more humanity than the humans that built them? Is it even possible for the human brain to construct a sentient artificial intelligence that won't ultimately be subject to the same unique pitfalls of the species that created it? To our unique strengths, too?

This fic had me asking all of these questions and thinking about humanity on a bigger scale. Stories that make me feel things, stories that make me question things, stories that appeal to my humanity — that's the good stuff.

—

That's all for now! The truth is, I don't read fanfic nearly as much as I used to, for a few different reasons. I am not ascribing any moral value to this statement (I can't believe I feel the need to make disclaimers like this these days), but the more time we spend in a world where Gege Akutami isn't actively developing the world and characters of Jujutsu Kaisen, the more I see fandom depictions departing from faithfulness to the original material in ways I don't personally enjoy. Related to that, I think I've also become much fussier as my preferences become more refined over time.

Plus, as many fanfic authors have said before me, reading time is writing time! For someone who published more words than are contained in the whole of The Fellowship of the Ring last year while working full time for an extremely under-resourced charity, that really doesn't leave much reading time unfortunately!

However, it means that the fics that do grab my attention tend to be absolute gems. I hope you and everyone else reading find something you enjoy in this post ♥

[kirbyluvr63]

need f1 fanfic recs

im SO fucking glad you asked!

im gonna give you some of my favs here and youll kinda notice a pattern, i guess! im about to expose my whole psyche in front of you.

first, one of my favorite ships is maxiel! but i particularly love anything that explores daniel's character specifically, so my first rec is an entry on Daniel Ricciardo's Internalized Homophobia Fic Fest!

heart's a mess by nunnit - just a great character study of internalized homophobia and trying to no-homo your way out of your own life until you lose the one guy you really loved. warning: there's a bittersweet ending! ships: Jenson Button/Daniel Ricciardo; Cyril Abiteboul/Daniel Ricciardo; Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen; Daniel Ricciardo/Blake Friend; Daniel Ricciardo/OMC

Montreal Bounds by ellipsis99 - this one has a happy ending! daniel's in a complicated relationship with a guy who has a girlfriend and max makes him reconsider a bunch of stuff. ships: Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen; Daniel Ricciardo/Scotty James; (brief Max Verstappen/Pierre Gasly)

pale green things by yekoc - historical fiction set during the tulip fever where jos is a rich tulip trader that commissions daniel to paint a portrait of max for his fiancee. yekoc is a GREAT author, i recommend anything by them! ships: Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen

glory, from a high rise by yekoc - speaking of, another BANGER from yekoc. daniel works at a bar and max is a neurotic alcoholic office worker who's also horny as all hell. there's some commitment issues involved as well. it's perfect. ships: Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen

honorable mentions:

a body wishes to be held and held by CamilleDuDemon

All We Knew of Home by LoveLeah

mon voisin by kitversuskat

now, my second favorite ship, my actual favorite drivers on the grid and the ones i cheer for: galex! <3

table in the back by crescenteluce - if you love miscommunication you'll love this one, the dialogue is so precise like you can clearly see how one would misinterpret what the other is saying and at the same time you get why the other person didn't even realize a misunderstanding happened aaaaaaarrrrgghhhh it's a bit infuriating too but so so good. ships: George Russell/Alex Albon

footnote in someone else's happiness by finedae - in this one george and alex kind of have a fucked up relationship... they break up so george can date women and fit in the box expected of him, but stays in touch with alex and alex has to, as the author put it themselves, keep things real. ships: George Russell/Alex Albon

ode to a conversation stuck in your throat by prettyrotten - this ones also crazy good and revolves around miscommunication.. i guess this is my favorite trope for them for some reason. george humiliates himself to keep his relationship with alex who just decides how george feels and makes things shitty for everyone. must warn you that i almost cried with this one, very angsty, but with a happy ending! ships: George Russell/Alex Albon

honorable mentions:

take care of you (take care of me) by ginnydear

Strike a Pose by amphibiangeorgerussell

carry you home (orphan work)

another ship that i adore is charlos! their dynamic is very interesting to me... between them and between ferrari and also i just like carlos and want to study him under a microscope. can't wait to find out how his chemistry will play out with alex once they're teammates tbh

In for a penny, in for a pound by chiliconcarlos - this one's the quintessential charlos fic; a required reading, if you will. charles gets drunk and hires an escort to accompany him at a wedding so he doesn't show up alone in front of his ex. he thinks he hired a female escort, but then carlos shows up and... the rest is history. just a very very good fic. ships: Carlos Sainz Jr/Charles Leclerc

the same as all those men by almondmilkk - idk about you but i'm obsessed with cowboys and this is THE cowboy au... carlos has a lot of repressed feelings and internalized homophobia and charles just doesn't give a fuck anymore, it's glorious. ships: Carlos Sainz Jr/Charles Leclerc

my blood is singing with your voice (the saints can't help me now) by choripan - if you like catholic guilt, this one's for you! there's a lot of religious imagery in this one and it's just... chef's kiss. charles and carlos meet at an abandoned church while on vacation at mallorca with their respective families. ships: Carlos Sainz Jr/Charles Leclerc

honorable mentions:

semiotic study by linearity

says he's gonna teach me just what fast is by foggystars

can't sleep 'til I feel your touch by chiliconcarlos

and now.... for my most deranged ship: george and lance. "WTF??" you may ask, and i say "don't knock it till you try it!" think of it this way: george is stuck up and hates himself a little and lance is just there and doesn't give a fuck and is the pillowest of princesses. unfortunately few see the vision so there isn't much, but i can't recommend enough Lesson Learned by bottomtxt who's also one of my favorite fanartist here on tumblr and the one who opened my eyes to this AMAZING ship dynamic! finger trap by rivalism is my other recommendation for this criminally underrated ship!

and this is it! i hope you'll enjoy it

ps.: sorry for taking a while but as you can see i was taking this very seriously and i had some college stuff to get done at the same time etc etc... feel free to keep talking to be about it, tho :)

[wonderfull-star]

I so wish more people would talk about Hazel and Dev reuniting in season 2. And how she, Winn and Jasmine try to mend fences with Dev again. And how the four of them become a team, getting into various adventures. It would be great if in one episode Dev was the one who saved everyone. It would be also great for his redemption arc. I don’t know, but I just don’t see Peri and Dev getting back together. At least not this early. I’m sure after the final episode Peri will be thinking clearly about something else. That is, about how this job wasn’t for him after all and he’ll try to find something different. And the fact that Dev stays with Dale isn’t such a tragedy as some people describe in fanfiction. Dale is certainly a bad father, but not to the point where it would threaten Dev. So to think that after the finale Peri will worry about Dev when his career (and even life) is going downhill is pretty stupid. Well, yes, he is now (f)unemployed ✨Who else to think about if not Dev 😒

I think that Hazel, her family and friends will be given more attention. Hazel will not make such big wishes for a while, but only certain small needs. While Cosmo and Wanda will spend more time at home. Perhaps we will even be shown more of what the house itself looks like, as well as what the other rooms look like. Probably there will even be a separate episode about this, where Hazel and her friends decide to explore Cosmo and Wanda’s house, discovering more and more secrets. So I think that at least at the beginning of the 2nd season Peri will not have much screen time. Perhaps we will be shown time with him for a few seconds and only by the 5th-10th episode he may be given his screen time (possibly related to his problem with choosing a career). There is also an option that until the middle of the 2nd season Peri will "disappear" in order to show him later at the most unexpected moment. So that everyone has intrigue.

For me, this whole "Dev and Peri reunion" thing is way overrated. Fanfics mostly only include this topic and have become painfully monotonous. And that's not even counting the typical cliches many give to characters that sometimes aren't even in the show itself. If you take only such fanfics, then usually there are: "Dale is a bad person and a bad father" - "Peri is of course the only one who understands this and tries to find a way to help Dev" - "Dev is rude and cold most of the time" - "Peri follows Dev like a tail" - "Later, Dev notices Peri's efforts and apologizes to him” - “Good ending”.

I have nothing against these fanfics and especially those who wrote them. I'm just wondering why so many people write mainly on this topic. And I cited the main cliche from what I once read before (of course, I will not read ALL such fanfics. Since I don’t like fanfics on this topic anymore).

That's why I SO want Hazel and Dev to reunite. Dev still needs to recover from what happened. He might not even go to school for a while. And if Dev does come to school one day, Hazel will probably be the first one to interact with him (as a parallel to episode 1 of season 1). I imagine how after everything that happened, Dev will become more quiet and withdrawn. And Hazel will be the one who will try to improve his condition over time by starting to be friends with him like they used to be. And over time, Winn and Jasmine will start to be friends with Dev too.

[theamityelf]

Hey! I love your descendants fic so fucking much I think I’ve read them all (The Worst Is Now The Victor is like one of my all time favorite fanfics of all time), I was wondering if you had any recs for fics like yours? Specifically sea three fics that don’t villainize the sea three? Thank you!

First of all, thank you so much!

As for recommendations:

Mysterious Fathoms Below, by MissKate. This one has a really broad focus on lots of the characters and locations and concepts, but as someone who pretty much refuses to read almost anything that doesn't heavily feature Uma, I was satisfied with how much emphasis she got. The storytelling and the magic are really the star of the show, for this fic. I think probably all of the fics on this list do a really great job of bringing canon Disney characters in who don't have an established role in the Descendants movies and doing great things with them. This one did a REALLY cool thing with the Disney princesses. I made a TV Tropes page for this fic, so if you read it, you can check that out and maybe add to it, if you want.

We'll Light the Fuse, by evanescentdream93 (@edream93 on Tumblr). After D2, Ben keeps his promise to give Uma a chance. Very fun fic, and it explores the characters and world in a way I really enjoy. The elements of it that I remember most are ones I don't want to spoil, so I encourage you to read it. It's discontinued after Chapter 21, but the author provides an outline for the rest. I also made a TV Tropes page for this one, so feel free to add to that.

Til the Storm Comes and the World is Quiet, by elphaba_swan (@kindofchaoticgood). Okay, so this one is BRUTAL towards Auradon in a way I really like. The inherent violence of the situation is really interrogated, but the story starts very shortly before things are about to change, so you're not just immersing in how bad things are, if that makes sense. It's cathartic. And focuses a lot on Uma and her crew and how much they love and care for each other. I had to check to see if I made a TV Tropes page for this one, and I guess I didn't. It deserves one, though!

Without Crowns, Without Borders, by StainedGlassSpecs (@stainedglassspecs). Okay, I remember this one for having great character moments. I think the plot is that Uma and Ben are trying to open a community center on the Isle. I remember really liking it a lot and obsessing over the minor details; highly recommend! And give the author some love, because I think I got too busy to keep reading this one, and I feel bad about that. Also deserves a TV Tropes page.

Something About Her, by generic_epiphany. I'll be honest, I remember this one being DARK, but also I was definitely subscribed to this one. As I recall, it's very Huma-centric but also rather anti-Audrey. So, you win some, you lose some. But it's a good time, if you can handle some grim subject matters. (I don't know how hard to endorse this one, because I don't remember how grim it gets. As I recall, it didn't go into too much detail, but it did establish some very unpleasant things about some of the characters' pasts.)

Compound Interest, by TrueColours (@trueishcolours). Huma-centric, Harry and Uma growing up together, I won't spoil it, but it's seriously, seriously great. One chapter, over 10,000 words, really good.

NocturnaIV (@nocturna-iv) has a bunch of fics; just go ahead and check those out.

Same deal with the-knight-of-the-stars (@the-knight-of-the-stars). In particular, Children of the Reign is a cool reimagining of the characters and premise.

[syndrossi]

it’s that time again where i had a scene created in my noggin from a very cool song. today’s song: run boy run by woodkid

so i know that you’ve kept the Dance as something far off, you’re not confirming anything, you’re not exploring anything bc you’re simply not there yet and wanna focus on the now, which is great for the rest of us who enjoy fanfic on fanfic on fun (there’s gotta be a better way to phrase that). anyway, here it is.

today’s scenario:

right around the time Viserys dies and the Greens are quietly moving with mutiny, i know you explored the idea of the twins possibly being in KL during this happening, that way they’re a very good bargaining chip for them with Daemon, they don’t have to worry about their eldritch horror dragons being used against them, and the common folk love the boys.

The idea is that the boys are up late talking, perhaps even by one of those towers, idk, the idea is they aren’t in their chambers. Rhaegar notices things are weird from up where they are, people rushing through the night and lots of whispering and ordering servants into a line. Something’s up and Jon notices just as fast. It’s after a little moving around and overhearing they learn Viserys has passed, you get the usual rush of emotions for their uncle and how their father will be heartbroken, but then they remember: this is how it begins, the Dance. They realize they are outnumbered and alone and form a plan to get back to Shadow and Qelebrys. Only it’s very difficult. Lots of shots of them running to the beat of the song all throughout the castle, trying to stay hidden from guards and anyone who may rat them out.

Of course, it doesn’t last long. They do run into a few somebodies who call for more somebitches who are now becoming a strain and more difficult to handle. The boys fight back, swords clash, bones break, etc. But this time it’s the twins doing the breaking. They fight very well, but you can tell they’re outnumbered and won’t last forever. pretty soon they down to just a few more guards— until Alicent and Cole show up with another gaggle of guards. They boys look at each other and then at the fading moonlight on top of the balcony. They share a knowing look, nod, and take off in the direction of the balcony. They climb to the railing and Alicent orders the men back, for her to talk to the children (well, they’re teenagers).

She’s trying to coax then back in, promising different things she may not even have the authority to give. They have one final look before taking a step off the railing’s edge and falling down. Everyone freezes for a single second, then rushes over to where they were. Visions of what Daemon will do to them once they learn his children had committed suicide— something he will never believe to be true, instead a lie or a disgusting attempt to try and save themselves from Daemon and Caraxes’ rage. The Greens in the room are well aware that Daemon won’t believe a single thing they say about his children’s deaths, they also know he will never stop until each one of them have died bloody and screaming. Cole (and Otto if he were there) would almost think that the clever little dragons had planned it that way to ensure the end of the Greens.

Then they hear the sound of wings flapping, the familiar low growl that they’ve learned from the Dragon Keep, and they stare off that balcony into the darkness. They couldn’t see her coming, she was too fast. Qelebrys and a spot of white atop her spooked them easily enough to retreat back as fast they could. Following her was Shadow, the great beasts were both hidden amongst the darkness, called there by their riders to rescue them. The twins were alive, so Alicent breathed a bit better then, only for someone to mention that they had just lost their biggest leverage against the Blacks.

damn this got long; anyway the moment they decide to get on the ledge coincides with the song at around 2:22, then during that time it’s the Greens rushing to stop them and beg them not to until 2:44 when they finally do step off and then the rest of it is just the Greens freaking out until 3:29 (honestly wish the song had a bigger end here to signify or reveal better that they were alive, a bigger base drop to to speak).

i fell asleep in the middle of writing this.

Imagining dramatic scenes while listening to the perfect song is a time-honored tradition! It's actually very fitting that the song starts off with church-like bells (to signify Viserys's death).

Very cinematic, all of it! It is definitely harder to reunite with their dragons when they're no longer able to fit inside the halls--but it does make for a perfect escape.

(Qelebrys and Shadow being stealthy dragons has always been very intentional, so it's fun to see that being leveraged!)

I'm sure Alicent was considered their ace in the hole in terms of persuading the boys to surrender peacefully. Had they been in their rooms, they might even have sent Helaena to talk to them under heavy guard, in sort of a "see? don't you trust your sweet cousin Helaena?" gesture.

[buckevantommy]

As is the case with so much of media nowadays, when those in creative power lose their way and no longer do the characters or stories justice, or other powers interfere with the intended creative vision which results in something truly wasteful, fans are too often let down by shows they've fallen in love with and take great comfort in.

Fictional media is meant to be for the audience, which means for the characters, which doesn't mean for the meddling of tptb who think futzing with the script will make them more money or garner certain sponsors or not piss off a certain demographic (this is mostly a usamerican issue, obvs), or even for the creative minds behind the scenes who choose adventures on a whim without sense or reason other than shock-value, and who all the while are flippant with and dismissive of intriguing plot points and significant details because narrative cohesion means less than playing out their personal wayward fantasies on-screen.

Obviously, I'm bitter about this. I come from Supernatural fandom so I've experienced some of the worst of this shit.

But I'm not here to rant about all that. I'm just here to say:

When media lets you down - because the people behind the stories let down their characters for whatever reason - one thing will always remain true: fanfic will save you.

When a story no longer brings me joy I turn to fic to fix things, to find the stories that should've been put on-screen. It's not all gay porn on ao3 (though thankfully we do have that), it's fixing what should never have been broken in the first place. Yes, there are many new adventures to explore with AUs and the like, but there's something so special about taking canon and undoing the parts that caused damage to the characters and to their stories and in so doing caused damage to the audience, and setting things right - like setting a broken bone so it can heal properly without the festering pain of a carelessly bandaged break inflicted by being shoved from a height onto hard unforgiving ground without a care and with the insane expectance that things would carry on as they always had pre-break.

All this to say: it seems I've fallen for another show with an ensemble of characters whom I adore - and who are being repeatedly shoved off a ledge and left to bare wounds that viewers feel in their hearts and minds even as the characters are forced not to acknowledge these injuries and pretend everything is fine while redirecting focus and plot elsewhere.

So: I won't continue watching. But I will continue reading, and creating, and relishing the safe space that fandom fosters, especially when those who brought these stories to life won't.

Thankyou fandom. Thankyou fanfiction. 😌🫶🫂

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is:  FkinKindaGauche! @fkinkindagauche has 27 fics posted to AO3 in the Stranger Things fandom and 19 of them are in the Steddie Fandom.

@dame-zoom-a-lot recommends the following works by FkinKindaGauche:

Hot Knife

Someone To Bleed

The Dog Ate Your Letter

The Most Gourd-geous Pumpkin in the Patch

Cocoon

"Gauche delivers incredible worldbuilding that's somehow both detailed and broad. They have a great instinct for just how much lore to add to drive the story forward and keep the reader wanting more. I love that they'll go into small stuff I wouldn't even have thought of like how male omegan anatomy would really work, or how vampires go to the bathroom. They're one of very few writers I've read who acknowledges morning breath and their fics are full of those types of moments that acknowledge and celebrate imperfections." -- @dame-zoom-a-lot

Below the cut, FkinKindaGauche answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

They’re just. So. Cute. I love both of the characters even outside of the Steddie relationship, so writing either of them is a delight. But put them together and there’s just so much potential for queer joy. One of the things I love about fanfic is getting to experience queer joy over and over again for the characters I love, both reading and writing. We don’t bury our gays here, we put them on a pedestal and give them many nice things (after we put them through it lol).

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

In the Steddie pairing, it’s friends to lovers, bonus if they’re idiots (idiot4idiot). I love when they’re both being absolute doofuses about each other. Closely followed by monsterfucking.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

I have a really fun time writing in the omegaverse (though I’m always doing non-traditional A/B/O where characters retain some mental faculties even in mating cycles). My favorite trope there is sudden/unexpected heat or rut. I love how it can drive relationship development that may not have happened without that push, and I enjoy figuring out what happens with the characters when they get so horny. And I don’t know if this is quite trope level, but I also have become incredibly fond of writing omegas topping alphas. I think I’ve done it in most of my longer omegaverse fics at this point. Maybe not in the Unbearable Horniness of Steve, I can’t honestly remember.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

A lot of my favorites are by Eddywoww. I love their smut to pieces and beyond. If I had to pick a favorite of theirs I’d go with the Dom Eddie series. From a non-smut perspective, my favorite fic is In a Mirrored Room, Talking to Myself by entanglednow. Such great horror vibes.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

Yes! I really want to do an arranged marriage fic at some point soon, probably as a Regency era thing, or possibly a fantasy AU. It would almost certainly be omegaverse.

What is your writing process like?

It’s pretty chaotic, even for my long fics. I start with an idea that is often quite vague, sometimes it’s a little conversation, sometimes a trope, and then I just start writing what comes into my head. I like to start with dialogue, as it gets my juices flowing with characterization. As I’m writing, I will start to take little notes of what I want to happen in the rest of the fic, but I never do a formal outline. I tend to write semi-linearly. I don’t jump around too much, but I will often go back and add scenes into earlier parts of the fic once I figure out the whole plot.

Do you have any writing quirks?

I’m not sure. I definitely have an unfortunate tendency toward run-on sentences that I’m trying to rein in, but I don’t know that I would consider that a quirk. 

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

When I was first doing multi-chapter fics, I needed the comments on those initial chapters to keep me writing, so I posted on a schedule, starting with the early chapters before I was done writing the whole thing. Now, I’ve started to prefer finishing a long fic before posting, to give myself a chance to edit the earlier bits more if things change as I’m writing. Especially since I don’t outline anything. I do still like to post multi-chaptered fics on a schedule, though, even if they’re complete when I start posting. I think it’s fun to get that interaction from people who enjoy reading WIPs on a schedule.

Which fic are you most proud of?

Of the stuff that’s already been fully published as I’m writing this response, I would say Someone To Bleed. It involved a lot more actual plotting outside of the romance bits, and gave me a chance to stretch my writing abilities more. But the fic I’m most proud of overall is my Eddie Munson Big Bang, which will start posting soon (probably already has started by the time this is up). I was able to dive deep into body horror and weird biology stuff in that one, and I’m proud of what came out of it!

How did you get the idea for Someone To Bleed?

I love vampire fiction from a weirdly science-y perspective, because I’m a pathologist, so I had to spend a lot of time learning about blood transfusion and other aspects of blood banking during my training. There was a sad paucity of vampire Steve fics in the fandom, so I was just sort of noodling on the idea a little, but not seriously considering writing it. I started to think about how to make Eddie into a blood bag from a medical perspective. When the idea of making Eddie have hereditary hemochromatosis (a genetic disorder which eventually requires blood-letting to decrease the iron load in the body) came to me, I knew I absolutely had to write it, because I’m a nerd. 

When writing Someone To Bleed, what was something you didn’t expect?

I didn’t expect to write a bunch of BDSM sex. It was all gonna be very wholesome, focus on the plot and not the sex, and then the Steve and Eddie in my head just went off the deep end. Pervs. Probably would’ve been at least 10-20K fewer words if they hadn’t done that.

What inspired Hot Knife?

I went through a Fiona Apple resurgence over the summer where I kept listening to all of her albums over and over. “Hot Knife” would get stuck in my head for daaaaaays. One of the lines in the song, “He makes my heart a CinemaScope screen / Showing the dancing bird of paradise” made me think about a situation where Steve has to pursue Eddie in some sort of mating dance, almost like a bird of paradise, and thus the fic was born. 

What was your favorite part to write from The Dog Ate Your Letter?

The whole first scene where Eddie is freaking out after he reads the letter that was meant for Steve. I love writing Eddie being overwhelmed and reacting in hilariously ridiculous ways, especially where Steve is involved. The fic was actually just gonna be a little ficlet with only that first scene, but then I couldn’t leave it there, I needed to make those Barbies kiss.

How do/did you feel writing The Most Gourd-geous Pumpkin in the Patch?

That one was definitely the most personal of all the fics I’ve written thus far. My cat had passed away not too long before, and I was feeling pretty awful in general. I needed to write something that was almost purely fluff to make myself feel better. It was strange to write something that long with very little tension in it, and I wasn’t sure if people would even like it, but it seems lots of people like to have a bolus of fluff now and then. And, of course, the cats in the fic are just my cats. Amos is the one who passed away recently, which is why he’s featured most prominently. That fic was partially my love letter to him.

What was the most difficult part of writing Cocoon?

All of it, hahaha. It was my first multi-chapter fic, and my first fic of any kind after a long hiatus from writing, so it was a slog getting it all out. But if I had to pick one thing, it was probably hardest to make the romantic conflict happen. I set them up to be very perfect for each other and in love, so getting any sort of conflict to happen was difficult, but hopefully didn’t seem too contrived.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

This is a really hard question! I love them all so much, it’s hard to pick. If I have to pick just one, though, probably the scene at the end of Chapter 1 of Someone To Bleed, where Robin and Eddie are both comforting Steve. I love a Platonic Stobin/Steddie sandwich with Steve in the middle. That’s one of the things I loved so much about writing that fic - having both of those relationships be such a prominent part of Steve’s journey.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

I am very excited about my Eddie Munson Big Bang, PANDO. It was a real labor of love for me, my favorite thing that I’ve written thus far, but also a bit niche with a lot of body horror and fungus stuff. There’s some fantastic art that goes along with it, too! It will be finished posting by March 10th. 

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

Just that I appreciate SO MUCH every single person that reads one of my fics and leaves comments or kudos. You’re all amazing, and keep me going with churning out this nonsense!

Thank you to our author, @fkinkindagauche, and our nominator, @dame-zoom-a-lot! See more of FkinKindaGauche's works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[grayintogreen]

HELLO FELLOW NEIN AGAIN ENJOYERS. And happy Tombtakers Loredrop Day. Today I bring you a preview of a long term event coming this summer.

Are you sad that all the enticing lore dropped in CR2 episode "Fleeting Memories" might as well be an eternity away from bearing fruit? Did you think Cree was a fun NPC and wanted more of her? Are you a fan of fix-it fanfic that barely fixes anything and in fact just makes everything a little bit worse?

Well, I have something you might enjoy!

In honor of Nein Again reaching episode 26 on the day of LitMoR's fourth anniversary, I'm going to be running a weekly "bookclub" for the series to run parallel with Nein Again starting July 29th. You can find the full schedule for the entire duology, plus side stories and intermissions here (more dates to be added depending on where I get with the third mega novel and yet it's still going to take less time to get through than Nein Again). It runs exactly like Nein Again, only its a really long fanfic.

And you may be asking yourself? Uh, what's LitMoR? And I'm GLAD YOU ASKED.

life in the margins of redemption is a post-episode 26 canon divergent series I started writing four years ago after the end of Campaign Two to satiate my incredible need to retell the story but slightly to the left, keeping dead characters alive, making certain plot threads and themes more prevalent, and exploring some elements from the campaign that I thought were underdeveloped simply because those just weren't the things the cast wanted to focus on (and that is valid- this is in no way me going HERE'S MY BETTER VERSION OF CANON, it's a love letter to wanting more of these characters). At 1.6 million words and the main two stories of the duology remaining in the top three longest fics in the CR tag even after all these years, it is an absolute chonker and I'm still adding to it. It's a story that is very close to my heart and I thought it would be fun for people to either re-read or discover it while taking it in in bite-size chunks as you watch how it diverges from canon and goes off in wild new directions.

Below the cut is an FAQ ranging from what you can expect to the story to how the book club will be run if you'd like to participate. If there are any other questions, please don't hesitate to send me an ask! I look forward to seeing how this goes. Hopefully it'll be fun for the people who would love an excuse to reread and for new readers alike.

WHY ARE YOU DOING IT?

I've been told numerous times by people that LitMoR looks interesting, but is ultimately very daunting and intimidating. By promoting a book club, I hope that maybe those people who have wanted to read it will find it easier to do so. Also a lot of people who have read it thought it would be cool to do.

WHAT WILL WE BE DOING?

Whatever you like! You can read the assigned chapter and go "that's nice" and never do anything else. You can leave a comment on AO3! You can join my Discord and talk about it with other people. You can talk about it on tumblr. You can not do any that at all and instead do some secret additional thing. It's really up to you how you engage with it. I just ask that you be polite about it. It's all in fun.

WHAT IF I DON’T LIKE IT?

Back button. I really don't expect this to be a huge thing- it's just something that I'm proud of and want to share it with others and if there's a way to share it that makes it easier on people to read, that's great! But I will not be coming to your house and demanding you give me my flowers. I just ask, again, that you be nice. If it's not for you, it's not for you.

WHAT CHARACTERS DOES THIS FOCUS ON?

This is an ensemble story, so while there are significant narrative beats dedicated to Molly, Cree, and eventually Lucien, every character is given a chance to shine and have their own subplots and arcs. A lot of arcs still play out as they did in canon, but under radically different circumstances and in new ways and some characters whose personal growth wasn't focused on as much even get some additional layers.

WHAT IS THE SHIPPING/ROMANCE VIBE LIKE?

My rule of thumb is that if you absolutely despise any of the ships listed, this series isn't for you, but if you're indifferent at worst, you'll probably be okay, because the shipping is on par with how canon treats it- i.e. it's part of some characters' arcs, but it does not derail the plot nor does the romance override other relationships. Everyone is still intensely weird about one another, regardless of whether or not they are kissing.

EXPLAIN THE RATING

The rating is for violence, gore, intense situations, and a lot of mindfuckery, but I wouldn't say any of it is atypical of what you would see in canon. The tags represent anything that comes up more than once, but if something is specific to a chapter, I will usually put it in the author's notes.

WHAT TAGS SHOULD I USE IF I WANT TO POST ABOUT IT?

LitMoR, LitMoR bookclub or life in the margins of redemption are good tags to use! I would avoid using canon CR tags unless you're just really into them for organizational purposes so to not to annoy people who aren't here for this. I'm trying to make this as fun and hassle-free for all sides of the line. I will only be using the CR tags for this post and the starting post and every subsequent bookclub post after will be tagged with the series name or "LitMoR bookclub" to keep things tidy and not annoying so you can either follow me or the LitMoR bookclub tag for updates.

WILL THIS SPOIL FUTURE EPISODES?

If you are aware of things that are coming up narratively even if you don't know the details, then you should be okay, because for the first few weeks OUADYA will follow pretty close to canon before it wildly diverges and doesn't pick up canon events until much, much later. If you want ZERO spoilers ever, then you might wanna sit it out, because while it does take lore in a different direction and does operate under its own thing, it will likely spoil a lot of things for you.

I have heard that it's possible to enjoy the fic if you haven't seen the full campaign if you don't care about utterly spoiling yourself! If you decide to stop watching after episode 26 for... reasons, it is actually fully able to be enjoyed with just that context.

HOW CANON COMPLIANT IS THIS?

It does not consider TNEOL or Molly and Caduceus's Origins comics canon (the first story was written before any of them came out), and does, again, take things in wildly different directions and has intense, deep, and maybe not exactly what was intended by Matt and the cast, lore, on top of occasionally throwing out certain spell rules that get in the way of good storytelling (like Doric's infinite wildshapes in the Dungeons & Dragon movie). I do have it on good authority that my characterization is pretty damn accurate, but you'd have to ask the frequent readers to weigh in on that.

Also shockingly, I have accidentally predicted a lot of canon events, which is very funny.