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jpdoingwords · 5 months ago

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Master List

Welcome to my writing side-blog!

I'm Jenn, a published author living in Australia. This is where I stash all my writing so that I - and you - can find it easily.

My writing tag is #jpdoingwords. You can see my fan fiction covers here and my original fiction covers here.

A complete list of my work available online follows below the cut.

Original Fiction

I am currently in the process of adding all of my original fiction to Wattpad (Writing blurbs 😑 is the worst].

It's empty just now, but you can find my account here.

Fanfic

Assassin's Creed Odyssey Fanfiction

The Good Spartan

aka. the Alexidas The Good Spartan Summary: It's 431 BCE. Brasidas prepares to take up his first major posting, unaware of all that lays before him in the coming years of the Peloponnesian War. The story is told almost entirely from Brasidas' perspective and follows him from before his first major historical action at Methone to his last, at Amphipolis. This is a crossover between AC Odyssey and Thucydides' history, The Peloponnesian War, favouring Thucydides. I am being as historically accurate as I can, game canon is paid lip service at best. Historical notes are included at the end of each chapter.

Another Life: [Alternative Ending of The Good Spartan]. Summary: Brasidas survives the Battle of Amphipolis, thanks to Alexios' visit to the Underworld; but even before the battle, he knew he'd never go back to Sparta. He's no longer a good Spartan, nor willing to make the sacrifices required to go on pretending to be one. He just needs to persuade Alexios, and recover from his wounds… and together, find somewhere they might have a little peace.

Hunger, Desire, Anger, Roads [WIP] A collection of short pieces of writing and some art associated with characters (including OCs) and events around The Good Spartan, as it's currently published and alternative versions. These include threads taken from the original version of the fic and reworked; alternative points of view which develop characters who necessarily have no voice in the published fic; and a variety of other exploratory pieces set within this AU. They're all part of the framework around which The Good Spartan grew - and continues to grow.

The House in the Plane Tree Grove [WIP] Set after Alexios has earnt his Spartan citizenship back, and before events at Pylos/Sphakteria, this fic follows Alexios and Brasidas as their relationship develops over time. Or: Alexios and Brasidas fall in love in Sparta.

Another Kind of Odyssey

aka. the Thalexios The Warmth of Home Summary: After the events of Odyssey, Alexios has been hiding from the world, loitering in the northern regions of Greece. When he decides to return to Athens for the winter, Demosthenes seeks him out for a job only he can do - whether he wants to or not. This leads him to cross paths with Thaletas again, discovering that this old flame burns the brightest of all.

Love Me in Storms Summary: Following on from the Warmth of Home, Alexios and Thaletas face the challenge of making their relationship clear to their families back in Sparta, with mixed results. This fic fills in some relatively large gaps left between the original Warmth of Home (now completely rewritten) and Unfinished Business (rewrite currently underway), as well as taking some of the plot points out of Unfinished Business entirely and putting them here, in this new context. This is necessary to smooth over some serious timeline problems

By His Hand [WIP] Summary: Alexios and Thaletas are back in Sparta in order for Alexios to attend a reunion of the Brasideioi - the army which marched north under Brasidas. Despite their having been together for years, this event triggers Thaletas' jealousy about one of the largest unknowns of Alexios' past - what happened during the Northern Campaign, and in particular, what the nature of the relationship between the Alexios and Brasidas had been. Also - Stentor gets married :)

Unfinished Business Summary: Stentor arrives at Stymphalos, where Thaletas and Alexios settled four years previously. He comes with a message: Alcibiades is in Sparta, and wants to see Alexios - urgently. Answering this request will sweep them into events they could not foresee.

[A fifth part will slot in here the future. Working title Argolis]

The Turning Tide Summary: Spring, 413BCE. The Peace of Nikias has ended. Sparta and Athens are at one another's throats again. Before the Peace, Sparta was having few successes; but they have a plan they hope will turn the tide against Athens... Against this backdrop of renewed hostilities, Alexios and Thaletas are called upon to complete a mission for King Agis, which will test them and their relationship in ways they haven’t been tested before...

In the Heart of Things Summary: 412BCE. Reunited after a difficult year, Alexios and Thaletas have been sent to Chios by King Agis to keep an eye on the situation there as the theatre of the Peloponnesian War shifts eastwards, into the islands. There, they will discover more than they could have bargained for about themselves and their people, and what it is that lies at the heart of things...

A Few Olives Summary: Alexios decided to buy a farm. Thaletas went along with it. But the plan was not what he had expected, but then nothing ever had been with Alexios. This is the story of a relationship that has grown up in difficult times, and peace is now the hardest thing to deal with. Thaletas struggles to know himself, and Alexios doesn’t understand. Sometimes things must break before they can be reformed.

The Fire and the Flood

aka. The Alexithenes This series is rated E. An Athenian Summer Summary: Early in the War, Alexios allows Socrates to lure him to Athens for the summer. During his stay in the city, his relationship with Demosthenes, not yet a general of Athens, will change significantly... But as the war rages on, will the pressures of the messy world beyond Athens' walls bring the pair together or drive them apart? This story takes liberties with canon; as much as possible, I try to keep characters true to their game-selves; original characters are mostly secondary characters, though of necessity I have provided Demosthenes with more character than he had in the game.

The Blue Cloak Alexios and Timotheos are flirting with the idea of being an item when, in order to help the brothers move past the events in canon, Alexios comes up with a plan to further Lykinos' dream of being a poet in Athens. Things take an unexpected turn when Alexios finds himself waking up aboard the Adrestia wearing a cloak he has never seen before.... aka. drunk Alexios gets himself into a situation. This is the edited version of a story previously published as So it is With Us. This version has an additional chapter added at the end and has been rewritten in parts, particularly the first half.

Short and Experimental Pieces

aka. The Deimos fic Shadow-Twin He felt like neither Deimos nor Alexios. They were two skins he’d shed - and what remained now? What new skin might he grow? Who might he become? They’d all demanded answers of him at one time or another. They’d all asked where he’d been when he went out, what he’d been doing. With concern or with curiosity or what they perhaps thought of as friendship. What they meant was: Let me in. Tell me who are you. He gave always the same reply: a grunt. How could he answer that when he didn’t know?

From the Darkness, Light: Brasidas & Deimos!Kassandra Having failed to keep his involvement in the assassination of the Monger in Korinth under wraps, Brasidas is sent by the Kings to Paros on a 'special mission' which he suspects is a punishment. His task is to find a missing lokhagos, but what he uncovers is far bigger and darker than the abduction of one man.

aka the Herodietas (Thaletas x Herodianos) Rising to the Surface: Rated E for the first two parts. After the events during the Mykonos arc of the story, Thaletas is left behind to face the consequences of Alexios' actions. Herodianos, who has been his loyal friend for a long time, does everything he can to comfort him - and so the hands of the Fates are set to work. This was an exercise in writing - Smut, Fluff and Angst, a chapter for each, in that order. Features the power of puppies to dispel the pain of existence.

It Was Just Red "Nothing ever ends poetically. It ends and we turn it into poetry. All that blood was never once beautiful. It was just red." Kait Rakowski This story was prompted by a post I saw recently on Tumblr. It showed Kass sitting at the empty table back in Sparta during the final dinner scene, against which the poster had written something along the lines of: this is the best possible ending – the least amount of Spartans left alive. The following work is an exercise in exploring what that outcome might look like, and seeks to detail some sense of the possible shifting feelings Alexios might have around losing his whole family, mostly at his own hands (a version of the game I’ve never played and frankly never will) and to explore the main question this post prompted in me: Is there a way in which I might believe this could be the best outcome? Fair warning: This work doesn’t honour the game timeline, and as always, I'm disinterested in strict compliance with canon. It’s canon divergent from the get-go simply because it’s Alexios, anyway.

Odyssey Shorts Summary: This is a collection of odds and ends I wrote alongside longer pieces, mainly in response to prompt lists. So far, these consist of: Four based on the tarot: Alexios as a teenager throwing himself into the sea to Anais' horror (an early version of a piece included in It Was Only Red); Brasidas finding himself in the Underworld (a tiny fix-it fic); a tentative beginning to a Daphnae fic I've always contemplated writing; a scene with Demosthenes and Alexios which fits nowhere else; two snippets of modern day AU with an Alexidas focus; and a random Brasidas x reader which I have never written before and quite likely won't again. I will be adding to this collection in time, as I continue working through existing beginning and maybe a few little new things.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

Thread Upon Thread Series

Ubba x M!Eivor Snatched Moments A series of inserted scenes developing the relationship between Eivor (male) and Ubba Ragnarsson which is only hinted at in Valhalla. There will be unavoidable spoilers. Sorry! I am mostly canon compliant, but there are some things I have changed, and there will be an alternative ending to what was provided in the game (for Ubba.) The Gods Only Know Ubba survived the battle on the Afon River, and lives now in Ravensthorpe at the side of Eivor Wolfkissed, the man he loves. Their happiness is only marred by one thing that seems impossible - their desire to have sons.

The Ravensthorpe Hotel. Summary: The pub in Ravensthorpe, Western Australia, is under new management after the passing of Ragnar. When it re-opens, the townspeople go en-masse to check out the new owners, among them, Eivor (male) and his best friends Randvi and Sigurd.

Collected Loose Threads This is a collection of odds and ends related to my Ubba/Eivor series, Thread Upon Thread, mostly following on from The Gods Only Know. I had imagined I would work them up into something more complete, but that seems unlikely now, so thought I would share them as is. Now includes The Hunting Trip, which was originally posted as the third part of the series, and a discarded continuation of the Ravensthorpe Hotel modern AU.

Miscellaneous Fandoms

Stardew Valley

Aka. The Stardew fic [Shane x M!Farmer] Another Turn Around the Wheel Summary: "The stranger came into the Stardrop Saloon on a Friday night, smelling of the sea. His hair, deeply black, was in a state of chaos; as though he’d been outdoors from the day he was born, and had never looked in the mirror, even once. Yet, as he reached the bar, only a few paces from where Shane stood, he could see that the face beneath it wasn’t as rugged as he’d expected." The farmer has been on this journey more than once - but there's still only one husband for him.

#jpdoingwords #assassin's creed odyssey #ac odyssey #aco #acod #assassin's creed valhalla #ac valhalla #acv #assassin's creed #stardew valley #stardew shane #shane stardew valley #shane x farmer

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studyinglogic · 3 months ago

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Uncollected fragments

Everything I write here is true, but I am writing purely from memory, which of course means it is also not.

What is truth, said jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an answer. (Bacon?)

Truth is the limit of inquiry by an ideal community of inquirers. (Peirce?)

The time the work is set in decides the form, writes Eco. But fragments have no form. What, then, is their relationship to time?

But some sort of form is necessary for intersubjective understanding. (That is why I think daos must be collective.)

Thinking through, by, with, against texts. Constructive. Jung.

The encyclopedic imposes an order; the fragmentary is always unfinished.

Eighteenth century China: Zhang Xuecheng is robbed and loses his manuscripts; he mourns their loss.

Nineteenth century Europe: Thomas Carlyle's draft history of the French Revolution is burned by someone who mistakes it for kindling.

Present time, present place (Lain!): some information is lost.

I have read two different accounts of van Gogh's last words. "The sadness will last forever" and "I want to die like this." The first is the most well attested, coming from Theo van Gogh's letter; the second is found in a biography by two scholars.

See you later.

I open my drafts folder, intending to write, but my whole body aches and I save my magnum opus for another day.

I wake up from a dream that I have to write an essay on Jane Eyre.

I vaguely remember seeing something on the heart of the world. Here, I stand with Nishida. It is ineffable place (basho). But of course there are other options. Wang Bi? Le Guin?

"And I'm trying to hold on to my past; it's been so long that I don't think I'm gonna last." What genre is this? "Energetic dream pop."

Fundamentally, only two types of things have significance in ___ _____ __ _ ___ __: texts and people.

The first thing I see when I wake up is an argument over the significance of Kierkegaard, with mentions of Heidegger and Barthes.

"You are a reliable source of knowledge." Everything has its modes.

"You are the kindest person I have ever met." Everyone has their element; it's easy to be kind when one is bountiful. (Aristotle on magnaminity.)

Citing sources is a responsibility, especially now (in the very fleeting present moment) when it is the easiest differentiator between LLM-generated output from human output. On the other hand, the intellectual freedoms that are lost...

Two memories anchor my life: a cat (B) and a game (S).

Sincerity vs. irony, imitare vs. rittrare, value.

"When later published in book form by Iwanami Shoten, its title was shortened to Kokoro; the rendering of the word "kokoro" itself was also changed from kanji (心) to hiragana (こゝろ)." What is the significance of the change in register? This is why languages are so important (to me). Reading a good literal translation brings me in touch with an unfamiliar heterotopian inner logic. E.g. Frieren, Nabokov on Pushkin.

How to read? Plural or monistic?

Borges's lectures on English literature skip Shakespeare entirely.

1502: Arthur, Prince of Wales dies; 1659: Dara Shikoh dies.

"There are no definitive histories," writes Elijah Wald, in this provocative reassessment of American popular music, "because the past keeps looking different as the present changes." Excellent first sentence for a blurb!

And in the same way, fragments will be constantly reinterpreted. Ergodic literature.

Montaigne's Essays would have continued as long as he would have lived; what's important is the spirit of the work.

Someone's library is a collection of them, not just of books, and the inner logic is lost when the collection is dispersed (Trefethen).

For a long time, I have distrusted the encyclopedic even as I remain fascinated by it.

How do you read the Mahabharata, a work so vast? It depends on what level of fidelity you want. A lesser path, I did it by selectively reading between three translations; the most exacting would be to translate all of it into multiple languages, a path no one has taken, a path no one can take.

But how much can one do from the sidelines? This life so short, the craft so long to learn. The unending pressure of objective culture (Simmel). All the texts and people I keep in my heart.

#fragments #self

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thepixelelf · 5 months ago

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ursa's golden child masterlist 🍓

fan faves: 🍓 personal faves: 💕

all reader characters are gender neutral unless specified

multi

Been There, Done That (social media au) - suspended indefinitely 💕🍓

Introducing Been There, Done That, a collection of 10 terribly overused clichés featuring Golden Child! Each of the connected mini-series highlights a different cliché and a different main character to endure every cringey second.

MISSION: Aether Rising (ra pam pam dystopia au) - unfinished

No air to breathe. No hope to spare. When only the rich and powerful hold the key to salvation, just how far are the people of what was once earth willing to go?

Volleyball AU Collection w/ Lina @blossom-hwa 💕🍓💕

Oh, Golden Day

Wanna Make Out?

daeyeol

Please Linger 💕

In a world where a soulmate’s touch can heal any wound, Daeyeol knows his own soulmate can only heal so much.

Blurbs:

[plunge it deep] 💕 [here, kitty kitty] [solve me] ⤷[solve me, before] [speaker with the dead]

sungyoon

Blurbs:

[brand new gravity] [save me, save you] (title swap game with @weuschoiceheart) 💕 [subjectification] 💕 [feel my rhythm] [a melody for you, who are hiding in the dark] (title swap game with @camellia-bee) [sooo, what did I miss?] 💕

jangjun

Blurbs:

[softer spike] [proper proposal] [the antithesis of tranquility] 💕 [patching up]

youngtaek

Blurbs:

[things we know] [meet the magic] [unsweet treats]

seungmin

Blurbs:

[meet me beneath the waves] 💕 [find me] [dress and decorum] [the colour of enthusiasm and nature] [not to me]

jaehyun

Blurbs:

[no need] [fan the fire] [head, meet wall]

jibeom

Blurbs:

[tell it to the moon] [take your second left at] [target practice] 💕 ⤷[target aquired] [the night has just begun] 💕🍓 [on this morning] [love you like] [one step, two steps] (title swap game with @blossom-hwa) [the colour of timeless elegance]

donghyun

Hold Me; Heal Me 💕

In a world where a soulmate’s touch can heal any wound, you would think you’d have no worries. But after your soulmate told you he didn’t want to be exactly that, you set your heart aside. It shouldn’t matter anyways, you reasoned. What need does a vigilante have of soulmates? Part two: Find Me; Fear Me

Blurbs:

[sweet typos] [liquid sunlight] 💕 [electronic network love]

joochan

Blurbs:

[stranger in blue] [dream walker] [troubled waters] [the colour of happiness and energy]

Bomin

Rookie Moves

On his first ever mission, Bomin decides to play hero.

Blurbs:

[not for tomorrow] [warm welcome] 🍓 [what could’ve been a nightmare] [the colour of courage and roses]

main masterlist

#golcha masterlist

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ievaxol · 2 years ago

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MUNK'S (simple) CRASH COURSE TO BOOKMARKS ON AO3

So, a recent discussion alerted me to the fact that not everyone knows that you can bookmark on ao3 or how, so here’s another ao3 crash course for this useful function!

Picture this; you’ve read a fantastic story and you want to save it somehow so you can revisit it over and over. Alternately, you are reading an unfinished fic and (like me) despise emails and would like a way other than subscribing to check on those sweet WIPs. That’s where bookmarks come in!

(i browsed ao3 in light mode for this. appreciate this sacrifice)

Self-explanatory perhaps, but clicking the bookmarks button at the bottom of a fic brings up this menu:

This is where the fun begins (now this is bookmarking!)

The notes section is where you can write a little blurb to yourself about the fic. Want to jot down your thoughts? Want to make a note of it being unfinished so you remember to revisit? This is where that can be done.

Underneath that comes your tags — extremely useful once your bookmarks hit the 100+ amount! You can tag it with fandoms, tropes, anything that’ll help you sort those bookmarks out. Simply type up a tag and either press enter or comma once you're done and watch that beautiful sorting system take shape.

Unfinished, hurt/comfort, oneshot,fandom Y — for example.

For the sake of simplicity I’ll be skipping the add to collections, since that’s not often done and most authors have toggled so that they have to give permission for the work to be collected, whereas bookmarks can be done on all fics.

The last toggle is one of the most important features of bookmarks! If you click Private Bookmark, it’ll be hidden on your profile and while the author can see the number of bookmarks in their stats, they won’t actually be able to see who has bookmarked if it's marked private. This also hides your commentary in the notes as well as your tags.

If you instead toggle Rec or simply none of those boxes at all, then the author as well as anyone visiting your profile will see it listed among your bookmarks. While I’m not here to decide for you what the right etiquette is when it comes to criticism in bookmarks, adding ratings for yourself or such things — keep that in mind. Be kind and remember, authors are people who do this for the love the given fandom.

Rec marks the bookmark with a heart in your profile and shows it off as a work you recommend to everyone.

Once you’re done with as much or little customization as you like, we hit create!

yippeeeee

Within a few minutes it’ll appear on your profile.

(nice)

Here you’ll find a full list of all your bookmarks, both private and public and recommended.

Screenshotted from ao3’s own symbols key, this is an easy way to determine if your bookmark is public or not.

Once in your bookmark list you can use the search as you would when looking for other ao3 fics (i’ve made a crash course to searching here) and you can even include or exclude your own tags, making it easy to find and check on those unfinished fics, or perhaps locate that hurt/comfort you read ages back and vaguely remember bookmarking… It’s a brilliant way to sort fics you’ve read and enjoyed, as well as keep little notes about how the fic made you feel, the thoughts on the new chapters — the sky’s your limit!

If you discover that guilty pleasure fic you don’t want everyone else to know you read and enjoyed is public on your profile, then simply hit the edit and mark the bookmark as private. You can also add/delete tags, update your notes and so on.

Hopefully this enlightened you somewhat on the bookmarks function, happy reading!

#ao3 #archive of our own #i see a lot of people unaware of the fact that their bookmarks (and comments both kind and unkind) are visible by default #if you dont toggle private #on one hand i love reading bookmark musings on the other i've had some rude comments there too #hopefully this helps at least one person confused about the bookmark system!

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aldrendaux · 10 months ago

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I've been going through the fanfics in the fandom I recently got obsessed with results page by results page, reading the ones with summaries that appeal to me.

Basically, I've filtered out the ships/age rating/categories I'm not interested in, filtered in my favorite character, and as I've worked my way into fanfics past (the ones that haven't updated since 2021 or earlier), I've filtered out unfinished fics so that I don't get invested in too many abandoned works as there's no accounting for incomplete series or fics the were purposefully abandoned (sometimes I can't help myself in spite of the oftentimes giant "DISCONTINUED" or "PERMANENT hiatus" emblazoned in the summary if the story's blurb is interesting enough).

I've found some real gems as I've gone back through the years of this fandom's fanfics, I'm currently working through fics from 2012/11, and I'm on the 242nd page of 278 pages of results for the filters I've set, and that's just for Ao3!

FF.net is a bit more difficult to go through with its more imprecise filters and the app doesn't let me start from the earliest (my preferred method of fic combing on that site), only the latest, so I've somewhat given up on FF.net's collection, since the site became so clunky to use.

Go read an old fic.

There’s such recency bias in fandom. As an author you post something, get a few reactions, and then it goes off into the bin. As a reader you check the tags, see what’s new, and move on. But a lot of old stuff is really good. It’s just sitting there, gathering dust, waiting for someone to take a peek.

So go on. Treat yourself.

Read an old fic.

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ldportfo · 1 year ago

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Starting this just so I have a place I can collect my various work from junior college up to my current independent work, will be updated as projects are worked on. Most of the early posts are art projects from various courses throughout college, most animations throughout college will be rough and/or unfinished. Posts will be accompanied by a short blurb providing context for the piece in question.

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harleyacoincidence · 1 year ago

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Hi! Im trying to collect information from writeblrs about the stories everyone writes. That includes you! Yay!

If you dont mind, can you share wips, characters, blurbs, funfacts? Go nuts, im here to listen!

I apologize for not getting back to you for a little while. It took me some time to type all of this out and make sure it was somewhat concise.

Fun Facts About the Author:

I’ve been writing/telling stories for as long as I can remember.

I was obsessed with reading until I was about thirteen, when I began to get more serious about creative writing.

The franchises and books that were partial to me when I was a kid have influenced all my works, whether accidentally or on purpose. This means that if we’ve ever had a fandom in common, you will most likely know due to the way I write or the events that take place/characters I have in my works. While I’ve never directly copied a character from an existing work into one of my original ones, I tend to take a trait that I liked from the original character and tweak it, using said trait as a base for one of my characters.

Alright, onto the meat of this post. Get some popcorn and a drink, we’re going to be here for a while.

WIPS I Am Currently Editing/Working On:

The WIP With No Name

Love Corrupts Fresh Lilies

The Devoted Musician

These do not include completed WIPs, deleted WIPs, forgotten WIPs (rest in peace to those ones) or WIPs that were not originally created by me. You will not find any WIPs that someone else made the idea for that I assisted with here, as they are not my WIPs. Keep scrolling if you would like a short and mostly spoiler-free explanation of each.

Still here? Great! Welcome to the abominable mess that is my head.

The WIP With No Name

I started this WIP all the way back in high school. It’s certainly not my best work, but I was proud of it at the time.

I’ve since updated it to fit the times (and another WIP I helped with at one point), but it’s still not perfect and most likely never will be.

It has three instalments, the last of which is still unfinished. I am unsure where to take the plot, but I’m quite close to figuring it out. After I’ve officially finished all three instalments, I plan to rework it.

The cast for this series is quite large, which is one of the problems, as I cannot develop all the characters in it properly for the length that fits it best.

This series is about a young girl who finds herself to be the outcast in many places outside of school. She’s adopted and doesn’t have the best relationship with her parents (especially her father). Her cousin is jealous of her ability to summon demons better than she can. The whole demon-summoning thing starts the protagonist down a long and dark path, getting more corrupt with every being she hosts.

I do not associate any songs with this WIP.

Out of Context Blurbs:

“You thinking about your parents again?” he asked, not letting go.

“Yeah…”

“Don’t worry. I know it’s hard.”

“I know I’m adopted, but…does that really make me unwanted? Why do they never seem to have time for me? Am I that bad? Do they just want to use me for insurance or something? Did I do something?”

“Henriette!”

“Sydney, don’t tell me what to do! I’m just sharing my ideas. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s a free country, right?”

“Who taught you that phrase? You’re eight!”

“You, dingus. Remember?”

“Oh yeah. Sorry.”

“You’re going to kill me anyway. I might as well stall you for as long as I can before you kill everyone else I know too. You’re making things easier by using weapons, you know. Are they just for show, or are you more human than demon? Something seems off about you. Are you sure Henriette’s not the one in control? Besides, what’s up with these weapons? None of them make any sense to be together, unless you’re actually just somebody who runs tabletop RPGs. I mean, that’s cool with me, I did that once. Actually, it would explain a lot of things about you. You seem like the type of guy to railroad your players though, and I don’t respect that. Do you run tabletop RPGs? You should. You could, like, give your players a better experience by, like, actually showing them the areas they’re in and the monsters they’re fighting. I think it would be good for you,” Elliot babbled, not entirely sure of what he was saying anymore.

“What-”

“Yeah, if you want help getting players or setting up a story or something, I’m your guy! I’ve done this stuff before, so I can give you some help or advice, whatever you need. Don’t hesitate to ask!” Elliot grinned, inching past Hadeon and slowly backing into the hallway. Hadeon watched him as he walked by, a puzzled expression on his face.

“I-”

“WELL IT WAS NICE KNOWING YOU, BYEEEEE!” Elliot shrieked as he sprinted down the hall, through the first room, and out the metal door, dropping the whip as he ran.

Love Corrupts Fresh Lilies

In other words, the “Look Ma, the WIP with a title!” one.

While there is a title, it’s only a working one. It always seemed a bit long, but it’s the one on my list that fits the story best.

I started this WIP a few years ago (can’t recall how many as of now) as a collection of poems.

I’ve been slowly turning the list of poems into a novel, and hopefully it’ll be better than my last WIP. If it’s not, I’ll throw my microwave out my window. (I won’t actually do that, I just want a WIP that’s not entirely trash. I desperately need to improve my writing skills.)

This WIP is similar to the last in terms of the protagonist and their development, but the plot is completely different. The protagonist is almost entirely forsaken by members of society and has an awful relationship with her cousin. However, instead of bringing beings from other worlds into hers, she falls into another dimension, one full of different deities. She finds love there and is slowly corrupted to her lover’s liking. How charming!

Some songs I associate with this WIP include Sway With Me by Saweetie & GALXARA, Me and the Devil by Soap&Skin, and Feed the Machine by Poor Man’s Poison.

Out of Context Blurbs:

It stung as it hit my skin. It stung even more as I felt the object reposition itself and pump my veins full of the substance I wasn’t allowed to see. I could imagine it being somewhat viscous, like thinned paint. I didn’t know what colour it was, but I thought of it as something dark and dreary, like old mauve or hunter green. Maybe even a deep plum or navy. No, navy was too unnatural. What’s navy coloured other than a boring prep school’s uniform?

I found everything I loved in that aroma. Roses. Pine trees. Tomatoes. Old books. Sawdust. Smoked gouda.

The Devoted Musician

Oh boy, this is always either the WIP I have to do the most explaining for or the one I explain the least about, for the same reason.

This WIP is one that I’ve worked on consistently for seven years. Well, I’ve worked on three of the characters for eight, but not the actual story.

This WIP is the closest to completion and takes the form of an analog horror series. A partner and I (who has asked to remain anonymous on Tumblr) are working on producing it together, though the original story is mine.

I don’t want to spoil too much, but the first instalment is up on YouTube, and for its purpose, it looks great.

This WIP follows my foolproof formula of “idiot does something stupid and pays the price for it, as does everyone else”.

There isn’t much else I can share about this WIP, as I don’t want to spoil too much (in other words, I actually am posting this entire one).

The main song I associate with this WIP is Who Is She? by I Monster.

In terms of my characters, see A Comprehensive Guide to My OCs - A Masterlist

#answered ask

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burtlederp · 3 years ago

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A Collection of Unfinished Blurbs: Part 2

If you'd like to be added to the taglist for this funky little series, just let me know!

Written 20 June, 2020; It is extremely unlikely that I'll ever continue this piece, no matter how much everyone might or might not like it. The reason being that I have no idea who is the center of this piece. I don't know if it's Elias, Milo, Grant, no idea. And I can tell this was supposed to Go Somewhere, but without knowing who it is, I can't go anywhere with it. :( Which is very sad, because I quite love this a lot.

TW: Excessive self-hate.

----

I'm not good enough.

He thinks it constantly. The incandescent lights overhead buzz endlessly, like cicadas in the summer, on and on and on.

I'm not good enough.

He's writing, the sound of his pen echoing in the office as it scrapes against the paper. With every word, every letter, every curved line, he thinks it.

I'm not good enough.

He's critiqing his own work as he goes but changing very few things. He's mentally kicking himself and wishing he could do it physically as well, just to drive his own points, his own scathing corrections home.

I'm not good enough.

His hand is bleeding, but he doesn't notice until a drop of bright red suddenly appears on the paper, like it came from out of the pen. He gasps softly, lifting his pen and looking for its source. He notices a sore on the first knuckle of his ring finger, rubbed raw and open and bleeding from holding his writing utensil incorrectly, to his horror.

I'm not good enough.

He feels the sting now of the sore as he stares at it, feels the ache of his hand and his wrist from holding the pencil so tightly for so long. His rear has gone numb in his seat. His head is pounding, he's parched, his stomach is empty, he feels weak and tired and--

I'm not good enough.

He puts down his pen and leans back in his chair, sighing. He rubs his face, trying to bring his thoughts back together. He'd had them all in once place, all lined up neat and orderly, but then he got distracted and--

I'm not good enough.

He stared tiredly down at the paper, feeling empty in more ways than just hunger. He has to get this report filed before he goes home, but as he stares down at the words he's written in neat, hand-lettered script, they blur and lose meaning.

#whump #whump writing #burtlederp whumps #burtlederp writes #burtlederp posts #self hate #tw self hate #self-hate #tw self-hate #mystery oc #burtlederp's mystery oc #my oc #sad oc :(#writing #short #blurb #writing blurb #a collection of unfinished blurbs

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flooficandii · 1 year ago

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oh good god a writing feature umm umm ermmmm looks around haha wym i dont write .... you lie....

ok anyway head in hands . flooficandii hidden fanfiction feature lets get into it

whats in the wipbox floofi????

roulette - not really a singular file . more of a media/project in general ??? does this count if me and the co author havent exactly written it yet??? For a while???? anyway in short this is me and stars' original universe . technically theirs but we merged our ocverses in like 2018/2019 so now we have a very rich deep story with several layers of worldbuilding and lore....that we arent touching because the fandom brainworms are too strong (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

in which a reception is spoiled - not quite a wip since its already finished but i barely leave stuff unfinished anyway so . putting it on here just to have smth . a ficlet detailing the night paloma pascual was invited to her ex-husband's wedding.. and how she handles it after a few drinks

Title - yeah this is untitled dawg i use my notes app i just start writing 😭😭 anyway this one is a short dialogue in valorant's voicemail format. this details the past events of episode 5, in which nuniq is sent on missions to omega earth, and how it takes a toll on her

jag stuff - very loose, messy characterbuilding notes for jaguar . loosely details his childhood and life before joining the military. has a partner file that explores how he navigates relationships

vel99 - an even looser collection of details, dialogue blurbs, character and dynamic exploration for paloma and miguel's situationship that i started writing literally after i finished watching atsv for the first time . building up on it as i go as their concept gets more refined

got tagged by @thesungod and @seavoice to post the names of five files in my wip folder—regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous.

(ask me about any of this im more than happy to infodump!!!)

den of dens: concepts, outline, and everything else - aka the very messy first draft of my biggest project (so far)!! to summarize: judas iscariot gets reincarnated as highschool teacher ezel osman in martial law philippines. ezel is forced to reconcile with the fate of his past self and the aftermaths of his Choice, two thousand years later.

nothing new about the new year, kuya - a dialogue scene between ezel's daughter, arwen osman, and her best friend alyosha trinidad. on new year's eve, arwen prepares to make an important decision. written in manuscript form.

with or without you, i'll get over fine - fic outline, post-ToA. apollo dies in tartarus + olympus falls apart + nico and meg team up to retrieve his corpse. i have No Idea how to turn this into a proper fic

unnamed good omens/dod crossover - completely, embarrassingly, self indulgent......that's all i'm gonna say for now.......

unnamed one piece oc x canon time travel fic - siso and zoro get into an argument. unable to control her godly temper, siso accidentally transports the straw hat pirates back in time and into her past.

tagging @stygianheart @swordsmans @ohsoldier @flooficandii and @starstainedtarts !! i love y'all's writing sm

#anyway stan den of dens #genuinely its so cool and its also really fun observing the development process #will i ever post the contents of my note app on this acc. maybe. if i get enough demand lmao

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p-artsypants · 1 month ago

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Blurb #53

I'm going to try to share 70 blurbs from my WIPs and unfinished fics to celebrate reaching 70 posted fics! To help with this endeavor, please feel free to send me a word or a fandom you know I write for, and I'll share the blurb. IDK if I'll get 70 prompts, but let's try it! Send as many as you want!

Astrid dressed and emerged from her house. Now she could see the dragons in the firelight. More encouraging, she could see her fellow Vikings waving eels around more than swords.

She ran down to the supply warehouse to collect an eel for her own, only once there, she was disappointed to find they were all gone, taken by vikings one step ahead of her.

Well, maybe there were some at the docks!

A flaming Nightmare screamed over her head, colliding manically into the warehouse, and predictably igniting it. The Nightmare shook off its collision and flew off.

“Come on, man,” Astrid chastised the beast, long after it was gone. At that point, she began the water brigade, grabbing a bucket and getting to work putting out fires. That’s what she was supposed to do, anyways. What all the teens her age were supposed to do. Anyone that hadn’t passed dragon training was on water duty.

She held the bucket in her off hand, because with her right, she still couldn’t form a fist to hold the handle.

A grim reminder of what was lost.

But it didn’t matter. She had Stormfly now, and soon, Stormfly would be living among them. Stormfly, Toothless, Cloudjumper, and Valka. They could all have a home in the village.

Once three houses were out, Astrid could see a lot of the dragons retreating. The raid was coming to its close, with a lot more smoke and fire in the air than ever before. Astrid decided it was time to get Stormfly and rendezvous with Hiccup, even if he had never asked for it.

“Astrid! Lass!” Phlegma ran towards her, just as she was turning towards the woods. “Your house is on fire!”

“Oh come on!” Astrid threw her arms up in defeat, and went to go get the bucket again.

#fanfiction #httyd #how to train your dragon #hiccup #astrid hofferson #70 for 70 celebration

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salparadiselost · 2 years ago

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WIP Game!

Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have wips. (You can make your own post or reblog this one!) I have deemed that this isn’t just for writing either. Sketch titles? Comics? Dnd campaigns? If you have an unfinished project, it counts!!

Thank you for the tag @starsonthewalls!

I feel like my draft titles are pretty boring, but here's a collection of them. In this list, I'm including stories that haven't been posted so these aren't currently my ao3 wips.

Demon - Clark & Bruce

Babysitter

Tim being Bored

Collar Shifter Jube

Cold Tim

Another Drabble

SuperBat Vamps

Tim Blob x Sadness

Night of the Museum AU

Medieval Demon Things

The Need to Knead

Voicemail

Airport 07/28

ABO Mob Boss Thing

Ship of Theseus

dream a little dream of me

the past still has teeth

The Flight of Flamebird

So yeah! These are my currently working wips of ideas that aren't already posted on ao3. Shoot me an ask if you want a snippet or a blurb.

Tagging: @swordkallya @jube514 @kgraces @bunnvoid

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bereft-of-frogs · 3 years ago

Note

1 5 12 17 24 for the book asks

1. How many books did you read this year?

54!

Which is not the same number as Storygraph because some of them were French translations that weren’t in Storygraph and I was too lazy to add them manually.

5. What genre did you read the most of?

Storygraph says Fantasy! (34). Which is interesting because I would have guessed Science Fiction (apparently only 21), but I think probably because the line can be so blurry. And reviewing my own list, yeah I did read a lot of Fantasy.

12. Any books that disappointed you?

The two that were kind of disappointing were Force Collector by Kevin Shinick (in my Star Wars reading phase, it just didn’t quite live up to my expectations for the blurb) and Vita Nostra by Sergey and Marina Dyachenko (which was just...weird? I think in a different mood I might have liked it better, but it was...super weird. Very meta. Still not sure what happened in the end.)

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap, mostly because I usually have middling expectations for any collection of short stories, most of the time some of the stories are really good and others are sort of meh, but this collection was consistently so good.

24. Did you DNF anything? Why?

I have a DNF sticky note in my planner, but it’s mostly TV shows. With books I feel like...I still have hope that I’ll finish them someday, so I have a few ‘unfinished’ that I might eventually finish. There’s only one book on it that I’ve given up on, which was The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz. I’d borrowed it from a friend and had to give it back and...hm how do I say this nicely? It was...dragging. Like I probably would have lied to myself about maybe finishing it one day if I hadn’t had to return it, but...I probably wasn’t going to.* I put more under the cut, the spoilers are vague but in case someone wants to read it/loved it and doesn’t want to read me harping on it, you can avoid.

[end of year book asks - ask away!]

*Honestly, and I hope this doesn’t get taken the wrong way, but it was the kind of book that rather favored...wokeness over real character development or plot? Like it was very consciously signalling how much representation and how aware of progressive positions in a way that bogged down the actual storyline and sort of killed my actual engagement in it. The part I stopped at was when the time traveler goes back to 1910s Chicago and the plot grinds to a halt so that the main character can complain about white feminism and show how progressive these side characters were and it just got to this sort of ridiculous point where I was like....hey it’s been 30 pages, what’s going on with the actual plot? Like they were trying to make it this high-stakes plot about time travel and timeline wars and connect it to this horrible thing that happened in the past...but then we have to take a break to be like ‘oh look how consciously progressive this is, please clap.’

Just my opinion, might be an unpopular one, but eh.

#book asks #thanks for asking!

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consistentsquash · 3 years ago

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10 HP Slash Fic Recs with Rare Pair Longreads

Happy Hump Day!

Reccing rare pair longreads is hard! There aren't that many to begin with. I really struggled with this list.

Selection Criteria

Less than 50 completed fics in English on AO3 as of January 2021 where this is the main pairing. In most cases there's less than 20 completed fics on AO3.

Fics are in the 35000-100000 words length range.

No Harry centric fics. There are plenty of Harry centric rec lists out there. This list focuses on other characters.

Majority are intro friendly fics. No mpreg, A/B/O fics. There is one noncon fic in this list.

YMMV

Because getting rare pairs to work is hard, authors will use some writing choices to make the relationship happen. Whether that's going to work for you will depend on your tastes.

I highlighted the YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) parts in the blurbs. This is not concrit about the writing itself. It's just YMMV on reading tastes.

Like any rec list this is subjective based on my reading. The ordering is by the year of posting.

AO3 Collection for the list

A Matter of Trust: First Things First, Severus/Kingsley by kaiz, Josan, 2004

Sirius Black and the Land-In-Between, Sirius/Draco by Titti, 2004.

The Fields of St. Herve , Remus/Draco by Arsenic, 2006

The Glass Onion, Lee/George by mapleandmahogany, 2007

Extraordinary Lengths, Percy/Barty Jr. by MaxWrite, 2009

If These Walls Could Talk*, Albus Severus/Draco by calrissian18, 2013

Fantastic Beasts, Severus/Kettleburn by Delphi, 2013

Honey Trap, Moody/Draco by FanboyPhaedrus, 2016

Bright be the light of thy soul, Albus/Tom Riddle by eldritcher, 2017

Play Me Like A Love Song , Minerva/Wilhemina by bergatroll, owlpostart, writcraft, 2019

A Matter of Trust: First Things First

by kaiz and Josan (2004)

Genre - falling in love, wartime, hurt/comfort

Length - 85000 words

Pairing - Severus/Kingsley

How rare is the pair? - 33 completed English works with this as the main pairing and > 1000 words on AO3.

Blurb - Longread of Kingsley taking care of Snape. As a spy, Snape is undergoing a lot of pressure and torture during the war. The Order, Ministry and Dumbledore aren't supportive. Kingsley becomes Snape's champion. But Kingsley is also a double agent for a French organization. He convinces Snape to become a tripe agent. Gradual relationship progress. The writing is good. The fic has a good plot and executes it nicely.

YMMV - There's Dumbledore bashing and Order bashing going on here. How Kingsley is written to be good at Voodoo type magic can feel like stereotyping a PoC. It's definitely not the intent. It can just come across that way. Keep in mind the fic is from 2004. The characterizations can be black and white. Snape's character will appeal a lot if you like a softer version of him with a more powerful boyfriend. The pacing can be up and down. The trope of the world being an unfair place to Snape and needing a powerful boyfriend to protect him is definitely popular. Whether you like it or not will depend on your tastes.

Reread - I haven't gone back to reread it. Some of the points in the YMMV section didn't work for me.

Rec note - Fate is a Four Letter Word by Philo has a lot of similar vibes if you wanted more longreads with this pairing.

Sirius Black and the Land-In-Between

by Titti (2004)

Genre - Falling in love, light read, happy ending.

Length - 51000 words

Pairing - Sirius/Draco

How rare is the pair? - 43 completed English works with this as the main pairing and > 1000 words on AO3.

Blurb - I really love the concept of this fic. Sirius is sent back from the Veil because he has unfinished business. He is a ghost. But not really. Narcissa and Draco find him. Draco is helping him. At the same time, Draco is also trying to save Lucius from getting the Dementor's Kiss execution. Draco is really mature here. Sirius is more immature. I liked that dynamic. The remaining Blacks reconcile. Lucius is saved. Sirius gets back into his body. It's a sweet and fluffy fic with an unique plot.

YMMV - Draco and Sirius are cousins. This can be a problem for some readers. The characterizations can sometimes feel flat. The writing can use some editing and pacing work. The ending can feel rushed. It's crossgen slash which can be a problem for some readers.

Reread - I haven't gone back to reread it. Some of the points in the YMMV section didn't work for me.

The Fields of St. Herve

by Arsenic (2006)

Genre - Romance, Mourning, Roommates to Lovers, Happy ending

Length - 32000 words

Pairing - Remus/Draco

How rare is the pair? - 45 completed English works with this as the main pairing and > 1000 words on AO3.

Blurb - An incredible, incredible fic! It's probably the one Draco fic I can nonstop recommend. The characterizations, the writing, the pacing, the emotional connect! It's just brilliant. Draco is a werewolf because of Greyback. He lost his parents and Severus in the war. It takes him a long time to get back to living. Really, really poignant and sharp writing. His friendships, him trying to live without taking charity, his commitment to honoring the sacrifices Severus made for him. His struggle to fit in. He's really an outsider. Not just because of the werewolf part. Not a word out of place!

YMMV - The fic is incredibly strong on Draco's characterization. Pretty intense read. It's got the trope of two werewolves getting into a relationship.It's crossgen slash which can be a problem for some readers.

Rec note - This is one of the best Draco fanfics I have read, if not the best. I am pretty lukewarm about Draco fanfics in general unless it's written by an author whose fics I already like. This one was such an incredible surprise.

Reread - I read this fic multiple times. I wasn't fully sold on the relationship. But it's a Draco centric story. The pairing only comes in at the end of the fic. Easily a 5/5.

The Glass Onion

by mapleandmahogany (2007)

Genre - Romance, Flangst, Post-war, happy ending

Pairing - Lee Jordan/George Weasley

Length - 47000 words

How rare is the pair? - 40ish completed English works with this as the main pairing and > 1000 words on AO3.

Blurb - This is a solid fic. Because it was an exported fic from another archive it doesn't get discovered much. George is visiting Lee in the hospital. Lee is there because of a Death Eater attack. During this time George discovers his attraction. It takes them pining, misunderstandings and flangst before things work out. It's a sweet fic.

It wasn’t the same as loving a brother; or his left foot. But George felt love.

YMMV - The internalized homophobia George has can be a problem for some readers. This fic is going to be an easier read if you already ship these characters because the characterizations are based in canon and fanon.

Reread - I haven't gone back to reread it. The pairing and the plot didn't get me invested. My bias is for older characters and for more intense reads. So this is definitely not going to be the case for others.

Rec note - If you like the pairing check out Lost in Reality by seedee.

Extraordinary Lengths

by MaxWrite (2009)

Genre - noncon, rape, mind control, tragedy, darkfic, read the tags on AO3

How rare is the pair? - 3 completed English works with this as the main pairing and > 1000 words on AO3.

Pairing - Percy/Barty Jr.

Length - 46000 words

Blurb - Straight up psychological horror darkfic. Definitely read the AO3 tags. The fic has a lot going for it. The characterizations are really sharp. The writing is on point. The premise is unique.

Percy's characterization here is one of the best takes on him I have read in fanfics. He's Crouch's assistant going to his boss's home for errands. Barty Jr. has started to throw off the Imperius. Barty Jr. is completely unhinged. Barty Sr. is a horrible character. He's trying to keep his son happy by using blackmail on Percy.

Percy's situation is completely heartbreaking. But he's ambitious and he keeps thinking the horrifying tragedy is going to have some upside for him. Horror as a genre is really hard to get right in a fic. This fic does it brilliantly. Barty Jr. will give you Stephen King fic vibes. It's suspenseful, creepy and brutal. The pacing is gripping. Percy gets out. But at what cost?

YMMV - Trigger heavy. It can feel like the noncon part isn't really necessary repeatedly to show the horror.

Reread - It is a really solid fic. I would have read it again if the graphic noncon wasn't such a big part of the fic.

If These Walls Could Talk*

by calrissian18 (2013)

Genre - Ghost, Pining, bittersweet ending

Pairing - Albus Severus/Draco

Length - 42000 words

How rare is the pair? - 156 completed English works with this as the main pairing and > 1000 words on AO3. I messed up with the rare pair criteria < 50 works on this one. Sorry! If you have a suggestion for a completed rarepair long read meeting the criteria tell me in the comments! I can switch this out.

Blurb - A unique premise and executed brilliantly. Draco and the Malfoys were burned to death in their Manor when Draco was nineteen. Years later, Albus Severus gets the Ministry Demolition job to take the Manor down. This is the job of his lifetime. A Blue Unicorn job. Everybody knows how the magic of the Manor is hard to take down. He comes to the manor to find Draco existing there as a conduit for the Manor's magic. It's complicated to explain. But Albus Severus finds out a lot of secrets. The ending is sad. But it's a fitting ending for the fic. Solid writing and brilliant plot like all the other fics from this author.

YMMV - The author has a really strong sentient Manor as Draco framing. Whether you like this will depend on reader tastes. The ending can feel rushed. The fic has an alternate ending which is more of a happy ending. Depends on your tastes which ending you like. I personally felt the first ending fits the fic more.

Reread - I love fics where one MC of the pairing is a ghost or a portrait. This particular pairing didn't get me invested. The OCs didn't really land for me. But I love the plot. I'll be reading it again at some point.

Rec note - calrissian18 is the author I rec when somebody wants to start getting into rare pairs. They have a great collection of intro friendly rare pair fics featuring characters a lot of us like. Intro friendly doesn't mean light reading! Their fics get plenty intense and have a lot of bittersweet endings. The author's fics really shine in the <30000 words range.

Fantastic Beasts

by Delphi (2013)

Genre - Coworkers to friends to lovers, drama, romance, hurt/comfort, character study

Pairing - Severus Snape/Silvanus Kettleburn

Length - 36000 words

How rare is the pair? - 13 completed English works with this as the main pairing and > 1000 words on AO3. Every fic belongs to this series. As rare as it gets!

Blurb - A beautiful boy to man fic with love, tragedy and everything else.

Who is Silvanus Kettleburn? This was my first question. 36000 words later, he was a three-dimensional flesh and blood character for me. One of the reasons I love rare pairs is because they usually do a full characterization compared to bigger ships where fics can assume some knowledge of the character from canon or Fanon. Delphi is an author who's got me invested in characters that I didn't think about before. Aberforth. Filch. Silvanus Kettleburn. Delphi's brilliance at characterization shines here in Kettleburn's character development. Absolutely amazing work.

Delphi's Snape is ugly and beautiful at the same time. Snape returning to Hogwarts to teach is one of my favorite eras. I blame this fic for that. His imposter syndrome. How much of an outsider he must be given his age and his past. He's a total jittery mess here. Kettleburn's confidence and playfulness is a complete contrast.

>"A Hagrid Hire. You've done something terrible and Albus has all the dirt on you, so he's hired you on for sub-standard pay for his own secretive purposes." > > Kettleburn smiled amiably, as if it were a joke, and Severus attempted to mirror it. He could not actually feel his face. > > "I don't suppose," Kettleburn said, "you're going to confide in me as to which it is." > > Severus swallowed, or tried to. His mouth was very dry. "Who's to say that I haven't caught out Professor Dumbledore in something equally terrible and blackmailed him into providing me with three meals and a pension?" > > "Ah." Kettleburn's smiled widened, and he tilted his head up, looking at Severus for a moment too long. "Then you would be a very interesting man to get to know."

Albus Dumbledore's characterization is fascinating and brilliant. It's not for everybody. I personally like a softer take on him. But this take on his character is so perfect for the fic to show Snape's vulnerabilities. The courage it took Snape to come to Dumbledore and how judged and unworthy he feels is so vivid in their dynamic. This Snape is full of emotions. He's complex, vulnerable and an absolutely lovable mess. His insecurity is so intense here.

YMMV - Some readers can find the age gap problematic. Some readers can find it hard to get invested in Silvanus Kettleburn. The fic does a great job of making him come alive. But it can be tough for readers new to rare pairs to try this as an intro fic. Delphi's fics can be tough to read in the beginning if your reader flow state is used to our fandom's more common writing styles. The writing voice is intimate and unique.

Most of the reads in our fandom are heavier on adventure, angst and drama. Delphi's fics including this one can feel unusual if that's what you are used to. The formula is definitely different. Nothing is trying to happen, if that's the right way to describe it. Like calrissian18 and eldritcher whose fics I also recced in this list, this is a case of either the writing will work for you and you'll become a lifelong believer or you'll find it hard to read. Delphi's writing voice isn't really meant to make it easier for the reader. It forces engagement and immersion. This isn't a casual read.

The fic is crossgen slash which can be a problem for some readers. The series is marked incomplete. But it feels like it's in a good ending point when you read it.

Reread - I read this fic multiple times. It's layered. Each reread brings up something new I didn't notice before.

Rec note - One of the best, if not the best, rare pair longread < 50K I have read in our fandom. This is a good intro fic for Delphi's works. The fic I usually recommend as an intro is Goat Song which has more in common with the writing styles in our fandom. Aberforth/Severus. I recced it on A-Z intense reads. If you liked this one try Gossamer which is a brilliant Albus/Severus fic. Actually try anything really from the author's works!

Honey Trap

by FanboyPhaedrus (2016)

Genre - Enemies to lovers, Romance, Wartime, Hurt/comfort, Happy ending

Pairing - Moody/Draco

Length - 80000 words

How rare is the pair? - 3 completed English works with this as the main pairing and > 1000 words on AO3. Rare!

Blurb - This author writes a great introverted and self-aware Draco. He's got his insecurities. He's strong in his own way. He's three-dimensional here. Don't underestimate the fic just because of the rare pair. It has some really strong character moments for Draco. The fic sets up the premise and executes the plot nicely. Pretty unique fic. Definitely an unicorn!

YMMV - The age gap can be a problem for some readers. The pacing can be up and down. Some readers are going to want tighter editing. Draco's characterization is really strong. It can make Moody's character feel flat.

Reread - I haven't gone back to reread it. Some of the points in the YMMV section didn't work for me.

Rec note - The author has more Draco-centric rare pair fics! Try them out if you liked this one.

Bright be the light of thy soul

by eldritcher (2017)

Genre - Falling in love, Pining, Angst, War, Power dynamics, Sacrifice, hopeful ending.

Pairing - Albus/Tom Riddle

Length - 75000 words

How rare is the pair? - 16 completed English works with this as the main pairing and > 1000 words on AO3.

Blurb- A brilliant love story with realism and grit. Incredible characterization work to show Dumbledore's fear of getting too close to anybody and how he's driven by love.

How do you write an impossible pairing without going into slavery/rape/abuse/soulmates gone wrong with tragedy/OOC/AUs? This is prime bashing territory. There are so many ways this pairing can go wrong. I can't imagine how hard it must be to write a fic like this. This is one of the best things I love about rare pairs. The best rare pair fics change things just enough to make the impossible possible.

Albus Dumbledore can be a polarizing character. Right now it's trendy in many fanfics to make him a villain. This fic has a beautiful take on Albus Dumbledore. His characterization is flawed, loving and nuanced. Vibes of Winston Churchill from The Darkest Hour. If you are a pure slash reader, the detour of Tom's marriage can make you impatient. It's definitely necessary for Tom's character development. He's obsessive and paranoid. But he's got a small number of people he cares about. The canon divergence caused by Tom's marriage in this fic makes the impossible possible.

The fic can get dark and uncomfortably intense sometimes. They both face their greatest fears. Albus faces loss when he finally begins to open up. Tom faces codependency when he finally begins to trust. They are really a mess. But it's a beautiful mess with a lot of complicated feelings that just makes them click.

> Most populist movements did not last. They could not, due to the very social forces that had birthed them. A desire to level soon turns into a desire to bring down. Those motivated by the idea of justice soon turn to vengeance. The lines are blurred, until Robespierre’s reign of terror claims him too. I believed in democracy, mind you. I did not believe it could be executed amongst our kind, imperfect as we were in our illiteracy, in our inability to reason, and in our innate biases.

Dumbledore's denial, courage and intelligence are so well done in this fic! A rare fic that handles both a heavy plot complexity with a lot of relationship and characterization complexity.

It takes them years to get on the same page. It's when they are both caught in the whirlwind of a Me Too movement affecting Minerva that they finally start trying. Things don't get easy after that. A great take on sacrifice with a really neat use of the Resurrection Stone. Albus Dumbledore Faces His Fears is a good subtitle for this fic.

There's a lot of control on pacing which can make it feel as if we share the character's experience of time progression.

YMMV - The fic can be tough to read in the beginning if your reader flow state is used to our fandom's more common writing styles. Eldritcher's writing voice is immersive and unique. The first-person POV gets shit on a lot in today's trends. This fic uses first-person POV brilliantly. But it can feel intense and unusual you are not used to reading layered fics like this. The writing style is heavily on the show side of show and tell. It's definitely not casual reading.

It's crossgen slash which can be a problem for some readers. A lot of readers today don't really read this kind of Albus characterization since they are more used to fics where he is villainized.

Reread - I read this fic multiple times. It's layered. Each reread brings up something new I didn't notice before.

Rec note - One of the best, if not the best, rare pair longread > 50K I have read in our fandom. This is a good intro fic for getting started with eldritcher's works. It doesn't feel as intense and tight as their other longfics. Definitely on the gentler side compared to their usual style. If you liked this one, try their other Dumbledore/Voldemort fic Almagest, which I recced before on the 21 years list.

Play Me Like A Love Song

bergatroll, owlpostart, writcraft (2019)

Genre - Queer Themes, Coming Out, Activism, Hurt/Comfort, Happy ending

Pairing - Wilhemina/Minerva

Length - 68000 words

How rare is the pair? - 14 completed English works with this as the main pairing and > 1000 words on AO3.

Blurb - Really strong femslash fic with literally all the queer themes you can possibly want. Coming out. Activism. Gender fluid characters. Queer culture over five decades. Great characterizations. Great flow of time over Minerva's life and how it connects to Little Compton Street. I really loved that The Street itself is a character here.

Little Compton Street lacks the seriousness of Diagon Alley, its streets alive with laughter and a palpable sense of community. It’s as though all of the best people on Diagon Alley have come here: the musicians, the dancers, the artists.

YMMV - Some readers may not like how much of the fic is about queer themes. Depends on how much non-shipping plot you like in a slash fic. The pacing can feel up and down sometimes.

Reread - It was an engaging read. But I haven't gone back to reread it. I felt like I wanted it to go deep in the characterizations more. At the same time I really liked the broader world building, the themed art and playlists here. This is subjective. I just personally like sharper character work and relationship progression compared to world building in fanfics.

Rec note - Checkout more femslash on HP WLW BigBang 2019

other rec lists

21 slash recs from 21 years (2001 to 2021)

A-Z recs for unforgettable, delicious, intense reads

Grindeldore recs

10 slash recs for 10 Albus pairings.

10 fic recs with Trans characters

10 fic recs with Crossdressing

#hpslash #fic recs #fanfic recs #recs #slash recs #rare pairs #hp rare pairs #rare pair slash #long reads

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