#about the author tag

[writing-intheundercroft]

Interview with a Writer

Thank you for the tag @kaidynsarell!!

Answers and tags below the cut :)

WHEN DID YOU START WRITING

I started writing fics when I was thirteen (RIP Mibba) and probably stopped around sixteen when I got into RP. I definitely stopped in my later years of high school, and rediscovered my love for fanfic around 2021. I had a few drafts running, but never felt the inspiration or bravery to post until HL came out.

ARE THERE DIFFERENT THEMES OR GENRES YOU ENJOY READING THAN WHAT YOU WRITE

I find it really hard to write dark! versions of characters, so I really enjoy getting into a good fic featuring darker takes. I am also terrible at writing action, but have enjoyed every fic I've read that has action sequences.

IS THERE A WRITER YOU WANT TO EMULATE OR GET COMPARED TO OFTEN.

As far as published authors, I think I based my early writing technique on Emily Henry. I've yet to get any comparisons though!

CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR WRITING SPACE

I wish I could write on my phone, but I get far too distracted! Most of my writing is done curled up on the couch with my cats after everyone else has gone to bed. I consider it my enrichment time and try to write for at least 30 minutes a day.

WHATS YOUR MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO MUSTER UP A MUSE

I make a pinterest board for every fic I write, and a spotify playlist! Currently, my most active playlist is the one for my modern au dad!Seb fic.

ARE THERE ANY RECURRING THEMES IN YOUR WRITING? DO THEY SURPRISE YOU.

Making Sebastian Sallow miserable? In a serious way, the transition from youth to adulthood. Or writing realistic relationships.

WHAT IS YOUR REASON FOR WRITING

My therapist once said to remember what made you happy before life got in the way. So writing silly love stories, no matter how many people read them, has brought a ton of joy and meaning to my life in the last year. And on top of that, all the lovely online friends I've made as well!

IS THERE ANY SPECIFIC COMMENT OR TYPE OF COMMENT YOU FIND PARTICULARLY MOTIVATING

I love when people pick up on little details I've put in the chapter from previous chapters. I spend a lot of time pouring through old chapters trying to link up everything, so that makes me feel like the effort was worthwhile.

HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE THOUGHT OF BY YOUR READERS

I hope my readers find me relatable and approachable, because I love nothing more than talking to readers!

WHAT DO YOU FEEL LIKE IS YOUR GREATEST STRENGTH AS A WRITER

Call me back for the answer to this when I finish my long fic LOL. But otherwise I'd say its coming up with AU situations and linking them up to the characters in a way that makes sense.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR OWN WRITING

Writing is such a fun release for me. There's something to be said about rediscovering a love you once had after spending years away from it. I love everything I've written and I hope you guys do as well.

No pressure tags💕💕

@myokk @pluviowriting @kaviary-blog @applinsandoranges @cuffmeinblack

[the-golden-comet]

Getting To Know Me/About the Author Tag

Thank you for the tag, @willtheweaver !

Favorite color: Gold

Last song: “Soak Up The Sun” by Sheryl Crow

Currently Reading: Doom Metal Love Story by @fortunatetragedy and I Am Your Lover (I Am Your Jailor) by @justabigoldnerd

Currently Watching: Helluva Boss

Currently Craving: hugs from my husband 💍✨

Coffee or tea?: I really can’t choose. It depends on the day. Hazelnut caramel mocha is my favorite coffee, and peppermint/sleepytime echinacea is my favorite tea ☕️ 🫖✨

+open tag for anyone who wants to join! 💫

[companionquest]

Top Ten Cullen Rutherford Blunders

[leftneb]

Is anyone else feeling terminally ill about Oscar clearly being in pain from laughing (see: holding what I assume to be the bit with the broken rib) but still laughing at basically every 2nd sentence from Lando. Like he just can't help himself. Like it would hurt Oscar more not to laugh with Lando than it does to break a rib. Like it's worth it. And that makes me think: did Lando know before we did? Was he told or did he notice through Oscar's body language? I wouldn't put it past him. Did he ever feel bad for making Oscar laugh? For causing him pain? Does he realise that Oscar doesn't mind?

I wonder how Kim feels about this. the objective stupidity of it all

[cocoabell]

The snail in my ear whispered something to me and I listened

Just started watching fma:b and I'm having the best and worst time simultaneously

[doverstar]

can't express accurately how happy it makes me that c.s. lewis did not leave room for many interpretations in narnia. it's christian and you can't get around it. susan chose to care more about worldly things than what matters and he said what he said. the lion is Jesus. evil is evil and good is good and people have to choose. and that makes some readers angry because it's nearly impossible to ignore and they want to ignore it. they want it to be something else and they can't make it something else without making it not narnia. love that. that is doing it right

[deermouth]

Scavengers Reign (Joseph Bennett, Charles Huettner, 2023) // The Southern Reach Trilogy, from Authority and Acceptance (Jeff VanderMeer, 2014)

[vinelark]

in honor of his birthday i would like to ask if you, as a master of a pangy fic writing, have any pangy jason fics to recommend

❗️ you’ve given me a quest! i do indeed have pangy jason fic recs, and here are some of them:

pre-death:

Not All Kidnappings are Bad by @cdelphiki

a “bruce finds jason early” au, featuring 9 y/o jason’s understandable trust issues, bruce’s terminal awkwardness, and slow-burn family. the identity reveal here is also one of my favorite moments.

we’re released pushing daisies by shoutowo

jason starts acting strange out of the blue, and bruce is fraying at the seams trying to figure out why. i love how the pov is so deftly navigated here; the reader knows almost exactly what’s going on, even if bruce never does, and we still get a little catharsis.

these words you can’t say by glaciya

a short, excellent, gut-punch of a fic in which jason is figuring out his place in the family, and dick takes out some of his bruce issues on jason (but does his best to fix it later).

A MOMENT THAT'S HELD IN YOUR ARMS. by orpheusaki

possibly my fav early days jason pang fic of all time; jason and bruce are stumbling toward learning to communicate, and bruce runs headfirst into one of jason’s (understandable) misconceptions.

Safe Space by Cerusee

the summary puts it perfectly: “Turns out, Bruce and Jason aren’t quite on the same page about who’s parenting whom.” feat. some exploration of jason’s past + trauma around being a caretaker to a parent figure.

post-resurrection:

the only way out (is as a carcass) by @silk-scarlet-ribbons

red hood gets mentally rewound to his robin days, and has A Time. this fic also delves a bit into jason grappling with the major changes his body went through since he was robin, which is a particularly compelling pang to me.

all my love and terror balanced there by @burins

in which jason and bruce have a conversation, and i cry. (this line has lived in my head since i read it: "I lost you too," Jason says. "You always forget that. And I never got you back.")

Tap Out by @coyote-nebula

jason gets poisoned as a civilian, which kicks off a character study of jason & bruce + trying not to hurt each other. one of my favorite jason povs!

The Cold Like Coming Home by cabezas_de_vaca

jason rescues bruce wayne from a kidnapping across the globe from gotham. this one made me experience the full spectrum of jason & bruce emotions, pangs and all.

butcherbird, fly away home by e_va

unrelated to the previous fic, but: jason rescues bruce wayne from a kidnapping across the globe from gotham. here, bruce doesn’t know jason’s alive yet, jason doesn’t tell bruce the truth about what happened to him (at first), and they both Go Through It before eventually going home.

It Doesn’t Look Bitter on You by ManURonaldo

a story about jason’s food insecurity, with some really excellent pangs in both the past & present timelines. (also comes with a side of tim pangs, as a treat.)

[the-golden-comet]

Thank you for the tag, @far-cry-from-finality !

Favorite color: Gold ✨

Last song: “Before He Cheats”—Carrie Underwood ( @justabigoldnerd I’m STILL listening to it on repeat 😂)

Currently reading: Fanfiction and Original stories from all my mutuals. I’ve got a long list ✨

Currently watching: My husband platinum every game on PS5 he owns.

Currently craving: Sushi still….man, I need to just go and get some 🍣✨

Coffee or tea?: Nope can’t choose. Depends on the day. I love coffee with chocolate and sugar in it, and I love tea with peppermint and honey. Depends on the vibe and where I need my energy levels to be at ✨

Thank you again! I will tag @wyked-ao3 , @cybercelestian , @aziz-reads , +open tag for whoever wants to join! 💫

open tag from @theneverwriter

rules: answer + tag 9 people you want to get know better and/or catch up with!

favorite color: burgundy and forest green

last song: motorcycle drive by by third eye blind

currently reading: rereading the sun is also a star <3

currently watching: nothing atm, sporadically rewatching twd eps in no particular order

currently craving: some pancakes 🥞

coffee or tea? coffee. always.

i’ll tag @cosmowitch133, @hiro--aoki, @the-golden-comet, @soooooolar, @illarian-rambling and anyone else who wants to play!

[messrsrarchives]

we are incredibly blesseddddd in the harry potter fandom. no matter what era you are reading, there is such a wide array of fics for you to enjoy - such a multitudeeee of long-fics, aus, ships, tropes etc etc. we are so blessed to have this much to engage with.

but with that comes a lot of entitlement i feel. because there's more to "compare", there's more to call "the big fics" or "the best fics" and suddenly we're no longer blessed, because people don't appreciate fandom for what it is - a bunch of losers (affectionate) sitting in their rooms, writing fanfiction about wizards in their spare time, and sharing it with strangers online. rather it starts becoming competitive.

and 99.99% of the time, it's not the people writing these fics that start the comparisons and the competitions, it's those reading it. they'll publicly question why a fic has so many hits, they'll assume that fandom etiquette no longer applies just because a fic is popular, and they'll forget that these are people writing them, not just ao3 pseudonyms. they'll critique writing styles, get hung up on typos or grammatical errors etc etc. they'll start saying which piece of creative writing done by a person in their free time as a hobby is "worth it" and which ones aren't. and it's wild because they're the ones that have put these fics at the top. they're the ones that have decided these fics are the most worthy,,, and then they critique them?

and most of this is because of the hierarchy, absolutely. there's been a mass separation of readers-writers because people refuse to engage, and they start viewing themselves as "customers" receiving a "product" and they complain when it doesn't fit their standards. some of it is also the changing face of fandom spaces as they get big on more traction-based platforms like tiktok. all of it comes down to entitlement.

they start enforcing standards for fanfictions to live up to and start dictating what "good" writing is, as if that doesn't go against the very nature of a fandom space. a space where everybody's voice is heard and everybody has the same opportunity to create things (side tangent: this is not the time to be dictating what voices/experiences/talents deserve to be heard. free and open sources of literature are incredibly important right now. we often talk about the fact we hold fanfiction to the same standard as publit, which yes we do and that is not what we should be doing. but now we're starting to police it the same way publit is, and now is not the time. there is never a time tbh, but now when book bans are running rampant across the world? you want to decide which fics deserve to be read and which ones don't? hm).

and the worst thing is that not only are people critiquing the works we already have, but they demand more.

they'll say there's no more long-fics getting written, and then they won't go and engage with WIPs and encourage authors to continue, they won't start a fic until it's complete and then complain that nothing is complete. they'll say there's not enough fics for a certain ship, and instead of engaging with those producing them or encouraging love and engagement for them with others, they'll go into comment sections and hate on another ship. they'll say there's not enough of a certain trope and then they'll read one and go "hm. not like that" or not enough of a certain character and then go "actually i don't see them like this so this is written awfully".

most of all, they'll say that certain fics or ships have a ruined a fandom, and then they'll post things that go sooooo against what a fandom is, and just add to what is actually ruining wider fandom spaces - entitlement.

you are not entitled to long-fics, these are being written by people in their free time, and you refuse to engage with them as they're being written. you are not entitled to perfect grammar and presentation, fanfiction is for everybody and it is not a profession, it's a hobby. you are not entitled to the characterisations that you deem to be best, everything is malleable and you engage with what you like (better yet, write it yourself if you're so open to shitting on others. you do it then). you are not entitled to regular and consistent updates, you do not get a monopoly over this person's time. and you're going to see a lot less works over time if this is the way you treat them.

you are not entitled to any content in a fandom space, and no one is required to provide it for you. and most of all, your opinions and your characterisations and things you enjoy are not more worthy than anyone elses' - reading is subjective, we learnt this in primary school.

fandom is for self-exploration and it is self-curated. it's so self-curated and if you are having such a negative time in fandom because you can't find anything "good" or "worth it"? maybe there's some self-reflection to do as well. maybe you should sit and wonder why you feel entitled to things and why you feel the need to pit authors against each other or critique free works publicly, instead of wondering why other people are reading them.

we are so incredibly blessed to be in a fandom as diverse as this one with such an array of interpretations and such a wide spread of fics to choose from, but let's return to our roots and remember that - despite how many there are - everything is written by a Human Being. in their Free Time. For Fun.

and it's not fun to watch videos calling works bad get thousands of views and likes. you are not owed anything. and it is not okay to say these things just because "they'll never see it" - it says a lotttt about you as a person that there has to be some kind of impact for you to be kind.

it's like,,, would you go to a free bake sale and go "god i fucking hate red velvet!!!" and tell them they're doing a bad job, or would you pick up the chocolate cupcake you like instead and move on with your day whilst acknowledging that someone, not you but someone elseee, might like red velvet??? ykkkk??? you get me????

[occudo]

do u have any more fic recs perchance... I read the beauty and the beast one and it was FANTASTIC

Ohoho-- do I? Yes, yes I do. First of all, glad you liked it! ( if anyone interested the fic is @cirrus-grey 's Not quite a tale as old as time ) If you like fairy-tale re-tellings, I suggest Beastly Behaviour by Prim_the_Amazing -also based on Beauty and a Beast.

Other, generally fantasy fic, I finished not to long ago and loved was @callmearcturus 's fic dustsceawung (with moth fae Jon)

If you also like vampire AUs, I highly recommend Strange Manner by @crit20art (vampire Jon) @milkteamoon 's Tounge to Teeth (victorian vampire Jon) and enthralling by Prim_the_Amazing (vampire Martin)

I also made a list of some of my other favorites here If you find something here you like, give them some love! Kudos and comments! They deserve it. (Also, just an extra disclamier some of these are rated T- just mind the tags)

[becausebuckley]

michelle's buddie fic recs: week 48!

hello loves i'm so sorry for the delay!! life has been kicking my ass lately BUT i've been reading some good fics still and i'm happy to share them <3

this is a mix of fics with all ratings, so some include NSFW content. please take a look at both the ratings and the fic tags before reading! some might also contain spoilers for season 8.

if you come across something you like in this list, remember to show some love to the author by leaving kudos and a comment!

any way the wind blows | notathingtoseehere | 10.1k | M

A post s08e08 look into how Buck could backslide into his season 1 habits when his best friend leaves him. hmmm tis the season of speculation for many more months... may i recommend this one to start off with? i love a return to buck 1.0 so much!! also op i need you to know i did in fact say good job out loud lol

can i be close to you? | myemergence | 4.2k | T

“Woah, woah,” Chim laughs, “please, Buck, do not tell us what or who it is you’ve been dreaming about.” A fic written for a prompt on the Buddie discord, about forehead kisses. Fluff ensues. yes i have in fact been going through the entire buddie forehead kisses tag this past week. no i do not wat to talk about it. but i DO want to talk about this lovely little fic!!

cool | LovelyLittleGrim | 5.6k | T

Buck keeps kissing Eddie on the forehead. Eddie has some THOUGHTS about it. eddie has thoughts and so i do and those thoughts are that buck should keep doing this forever and ever <3 so cute!!

eddie diaz can't have sex | notathingtoseehere | 11.9k | M

Eddie Diaz would like to say that the 118 needs a more involved HR department, or maybe he just needs friends who do less meddling. i love firefam shenanigans and i love demi eddie and i love buddie so basically i love this fic <3

eddie diaz vs the buck's boyfriend agenda | songbvrd/@songbvrd | 23.4k | M

Eddie starts gathering information about why no one trusts Tommy. As he grows to hate their relationship more, he learns more about himself and what he wants. eddie's agenda 🤝 my agenda. all of this author's works are a delight and this is no exception <3

feels like falling in love | justhockey | 5.2k | not rated

five times Eddie doesn’t mean to kiss Buck, and the one time he does. delicious delicious 5+1 fic <3

home is not a place | ithilien22/@ithilien-writes | 9.7k | T

In which Eddie has a series of long overdue conversations - with Chris, with his parents, and also with Buck. eddie and chris having heartfelt conversations at the lake!! this is brilliant and captures their dynamic so well <3

howling all night | clytemnestra/@clytemnestraaa | 3.3k | E

Buck helps him pack. Of course he does. Buck’s helpful like that. Eddie leaves for Texas. this hurt in the best way possible <3 so gorgeous!

i've lost my mind | evenatraitormaymend | 9.4k | T

Buck doesn’t tell anyone about his insomnia for six months. Eddie notices anyway, but neither of them talk about it until it’s nearly six am and he wakes up to Buck climbing in his bed—not having slept since before their 24-hour shift started yesterday. Eddie gets to show Buck how much he’s loved. okay two things i LOVE are eddie taking care of buck but also buck researching and setting up routines and taking care of himself, so basically this is the perfect fic for me <3

the aftermath of liberation and love confessions | ElvenSorceress | 17.3k | T

In which Eddie comes out, sexuality is complicated but coffee is not, Buck makes an excessive salad and is also roasted, everyone has a love confession, and December is the most dramatic time of year. this was a lovely lovely morning read a few days ago!! i love me some good idiots in love <3

the missing children's parents club | notathingtoseehere | 34.5k | T

With Christopher in El Paso and Mara pulled out of custody, there's a lot of parents around the 118 that are missing their kids, and a lot of comfort that can be found with each other. not me realising as i'm putting this together that i keep reccing the same author... i had no idea but i promise they're all brilliant brilliant fics!! think i might have to check out their other works lol this must be a sign

'til my lungs give out | time_leigh | 1.1k | G

Buck wakes slowly, gently. He lays still, breathing slowly, enveloped in the soft embrace of a duvet. He is not awake enough to open his eyes and shifts, slowly turning his head deeper into his pillow, feeling the drag of the cotton, smelling home. There is an arm laced over his chest. Slowly, an ear-splitting grin grows across his face. soft and sweet and absolutely tooth-rotting fluff in the best way possible <3

transduce the mind | detectivemeer/@buick118 | 2.4k | E

Buck’s talking about how nearly a third of US gymnasts are in the southeast and how Maddie did rhythmic dance—not dance, Eddie—and he’s reaching for the remote to find their next binge when all the bad ideas Eddie’s ever successfully obliterated resurrect themselves. And Eddie figures, in a cold empty echo, that his life is already ruined. What's one more grenade launched at the rubble? this is STUNNING and so so so well-written, i loved every second of it!!

trying to be cool about it | jukoist | 6.1k | G

Buck and Eddie have always tried too hard to force themselves to like the people they're dating (to varying degrees of success). They have very different responses to realizing how easy it has been to be in love all along. this is the most brilliant most buddie premise ever and it's executed so so well and i love it!! such a good time <3

when everything's on fire | beartowns/@glowingyears | 15.4k | T

Eddie and Chris move in with Buck after a fire. Buck breaks up with his boyfriend, buys a house with Eddie, and realizes he's in love. In precisely that order. oh the buddie house hunting always hits so good <3 this is a beautiful take on that trope and it's just such a wonderful fic!!

[anythingneverythingnstuffs]

simon 'ghost' riley

"On your back, love."

He didn't have to tell you twice.

No sooner were you on your back did Simon's body completely cover yours, his arms moving to pin yours at the sides of your head. His body was like the most delicious weighted blanket on top of yours, and heated, too.

Not to mention his tank-like muscles and hard as fuck-

"Simon," you moaned quietly as you felt his hips grind against yours. His lust for you was very obvious now, pressing stiffly against your lower abdomen. When he ground his hips against yours, it just rubbed all the right ways. "Fuck..."

"Dirty mouth, lass. You like that, don't you?" he whispered against your ear, his breath hot against your skin, making your body shiver. "You feel how bloody hard you make me?"

You opened your mouth to reply, but just as the words were about to escape your lips, his mouth moved to the sensitive spot on your neck. You inhaled sharply as he began to nip and suck at that sensitive spot.

Simon tightened his grip on your wrists, his lips moving from your neck to your collarbone. "That's it, love... Such pretty sounds you make for me..."

His lips didn't leave your décolletage for ages, it seemed like, and you just knew that you'd be able to see evidence of it in the mirror tomorrow.

Finally, his lips made their way back up to yours. You could feel yourself almost whine into his mouth as his tongue began to dance with your own. Your hips tried desperately to buckle up against his, as if they had a mind of their own-

Simon pulled back with a smirk. "Eager, are we?"

"Simon," you pouted desperately. "Please?"

Fuck, who was he to say no to your please?

With a low growl, Simon released your wrists from his grasp and began undressing you. He managed not to tear any of the fabric, although that wouldn't have been a first, as he basically ripped your clothes from your body until all you were left in were your undergarments.

"C'mon, Si, wanna see you~"

"Patience," he chuckled, beginning to unbutton his shirt. "Don't want to sound too eager, do we?" He was clearly having way too much fun watching you squirm beneath him as he undressed painfully slowly.

Once his shirt was off, he tossed it haphazardly to the floor, not caring about where it landed. His eyes were on you, and your eyes were on him.

His chest was littered about with scars, memories of his past, wounds that scared him not only physically, but mentally- and you couldn't help but be amazed by him. Simon, your Simon, was just so strong... He had been through so much...

"You need help taking those pants off...?" you asked him with a sheepish grin, your mind flipping back to where you were.

"Naughty little minx, thinks she's in charge," Simon mumbled as he began to unbuckle his belt. "Be a good girl for me and don't move, yeah? I've got this part." He knelt down at you for a split second to nip at your earlobe.

His jeans were finally gone, and the sight of the bulge in his boxers just about made your mouth water.

"Eyes are up here, lass," Simon smirked.

Simon began to climb back on top of you. The only barriers now between the two of your were his boxers, your panties, and your bra. And that was too much.

You gasped when you felt a rather large hand slip into the waistband of your panties.

His lips were next to your ear in an instant, right in time for him to groan. "So fucking wet already? Naughty girl..."

It took no time at all for the tips of his fingers to find your sensitive bundle of nerves. His fingertips began to swirl around, making you arch up against him instinctively as another whimper left your lips.

"That's it, love," he whispered, nipping at your ear once more. "Let me hear those pretty sounds of yours..."

His fingers began to pick up the pace, moving in small but rapid circles that only served to drive you wild.

"S-Simon-!"

"Doin' so well for me," he mumbled against your ear before leaving a small kiss just behind your ear. "Gotta make sure you're ready for me, hm?"

Simon was truly ruthless. He knew what he was working with, and let's just say it was much more than the average man's endowment. But he was also a gentleman when he needed to be.

As such, he refused to enter you unless you had at least come once. Just as a warm-up, you know?

His fingers didn't stop their assault until you had sweat dripping down from your forehead and you were panting like someone who had just run a marathon. Every time you had almost reached your peak, he would back off slightly and smirk into your neck, sucking and biting at your sensitive skin.

"P-Please, Si, I'm gonna-"

It had been the fourth time you said those words, but this time, he not only kept at his pace, but he quickened it slightly as his teeth sank into your neck.

You could feel your body begin to fall over the edge of ecstasy. There was a thick tension, and then all of a sudden, your ears begin to ring, all sounds in the room fading into the background. The ringing lasted a few seconds more, until-

You cried out his name as your body spasmed in pleasure, your nails digging into his shoulders, leaving half-moon marks in his skin.

And his fingers were still going at it.

He could still feel your pulse against his fingers as they continued to circle against your clit, his tongue grazing over all of the bite marks and hickeys he had left on your skin.

His fingers finally slowed to a stop as you caught your breath. Simon pushed himself up a bit on his forearms to look down at you properly, and damn, what a sight you were.

Your chest was still moving up and down. There was a thin layer of sweat over almost your entire body, and your eyelids looked heavy with either pleasure, contentment, or both.

Simon smirked to himself before slowly leaning down to press a kiss to your lips. "Don't tell me you need a break already. I'm only just getting started."

and to think, you still had your damn panties on.

~

i'm sorry but i'm also not sorry. and you're welcome. cheers.

masterlist

[chaos-of-the-abyss]

silm fans are really like "god i love the silm but you can really see how sexist tolkien was. anyway here's reason 3478283493 why this male character's awful actions are this female character's responsibility. why do we never talk about how much death and suffering she caused by pushing him to do what he did :(((("

[grabyourpillow]

My favorite Conclave fanfics (so far)

in no particular order

Encounters with Turtles - MostRemote ( @mostremote )

Under the pontificate of Innocent XIV, Thomas Lawrence attempts to further social reform while navigating a web of personal struggles. Caught between his troubling feelings about Vincent and a crisis besetting Aldo, Thomas is forced to reckon with the boundaries of friendship, love, and sexuality.

Wonderfully written, very credible and sensible. Love the insight in how the reform process would actually go, how Vincent would try bringing about change, how queer people perceive their place in the church. Bellini is just mwah chef's kiss in this, I can actually hear Stanley Tucci. Ongoing

And This Shall Be A Sign Unto You - Roguekaiju ( @roguekaiju )

He had hoped to see how Vincent was handling the rush of a Vatican Christmas, had hoped to offer some encouraging words ahead of the next few busy days, to tell him, truthfully, that he was excelling.

Lovely lovely fic that feels intimate and warm. Explores the things that hold meaning to Vincent, as he accommodates his new life in the Vatican. There's baking. Complete

Canticle - Marie ( @dagensdatter )

“Do you know some people say you are as John the Baptist to him? Make straight the way of the Lord.”

I don't know how to describe this fic, other than it fulfilled all my wishes in terms of how Vincent and Thomas would navigate what it is between them after the conclave; and how Thomas examines his faith. The writing is incredible and gripping, and incredibly fine-tuned on all that is faith. Introspective. Utterly DEVASTATING, in a good way. Complete

Oh, Sister - Veganthranduil ( @veganthranduil )

The first year of Pope Innocent XIV’s papacy, through the eyes of Sister Agnes.

Brilliant brilliant fic, told though the unyielding, perceptive, hard-working eyes of sister Agnes. It brilliantly explores, the dynamics with Vincent, Lawrence and co intertwined with the daily life of the sisters and also how enforcing systemic change would actually work, with attempts and mishaps. It's so clever to go with Agnes's point of view and hardly anyone wrote it when it makes SO MUCH SENSE. My description doesn't do it justice so... just give it a shot. Complete

No Small Consolation - searchingforserendipity ( @searchingforserendipity25 )

“Do you think our saintly dead come to us to remind us of our tasks?”

He seemed surprised, to have said it at all. But that happened often, when people spoke to Vincent; all his life, it had been so.

Listen, i can't get enough of the scenes between Vincent and Lawrence, and there were so precious few in the movie. This fic feels seamlessly like one of them. Love it. Complete

the very hairs on your head are all numbered - Ruthvsreality

Pope Innocent XIV has long hair. For some reason unknown to him, this is an issue.

This is such a fun one. It's difficult to make a fun yet credible one in the Conclave universe and yet this fic manages it! It's an entirely plausible discussion that Vincent might be subjected to. made super fun because... Well. Ray. Bellini. Vs Vincent being just "???" Complete, very short

[ekingston]

Hello! So sorry to bother, but have you had any updates on the Word-Stream/Speechify situation?

Just one: like I posted on Xitter and Bluesky last night, as of yesterday afternoon, the links to individual works as they were listed on WordStream are gone from both Google and Bing. Hurray, right? Surely we’re all sick of this whole debacle and there’s far more important things to worry about. If all is well that ends well, surely there’s no need to still be angry.

Well, I am. Here’s why:

When I checked on Wednesday, the links to my own work on WordStream were still listed. So rather than it taking a week after Cliff Weitzman first hid the fanwork from view, it took a little over a week from the moment he first promised privately that they would be deleted. Which, fine. Perhaps Cliff didn’t really know what he was talking about when he gave that timeframe. Or maybe he told a little white lie to create the impression that he always intended to do the right thing. It seems more likely to me, though, that Cliff still believed—even after the backlash he received—that he would get away with honoring only individual takedown requests. Or worse, that he needed just a little bit more time with the stolen material to figure out an alternative way to profit off it—preferably without us noticing, this time.

But who knows? I certainly don’t! All we can do is speculate, because publicly, Cliff Weitzman has remained completely silent on his copyright infringements. All we got was the initial justifications he and his sockpuppet accounts used in comments on the original Reddit and Tumblr posts. After those were so understandably ill-received, Cliff only ever communicated with a few individual authors who contacted him directly and repeatedly, blocking people who addressed the issue on Twitter and quietly distancing himself from WordStream by deleting a blog he’d posted to Speechify.com dated December 20th—where Cliff promoted WordStream’s platform specifically to fanfiction readers. (See my enormous timeline post for details and screenshots of said posts before they were taken down.)

And this is why I’m still angry: As long as Cliff Weitzman faces no real consequences for his actions, he won’t see a need to own up to his mistake; and as long as he’s able to delay taking responsibility, this isn’t over. This didn’t end well.

After all, wasn’t this the next-best scenario for Cliff, second only to him turning WordStream into a (for him) effortless, infinite money-making machine? He took something we provided for free and fed it to AI so he could more easily put it behind a paywall; we found out and protested; Cliff quietly erased all evidence of his crime; and we went—almost equally quietly—away.

I want to make sure you know that I continue to be genuinely amazed and intensely grateful for how quickly the news about WordStream’s copyright infringement was shared—and continues to be shared—throughout fandom, on tumblr in particular. If it hadn’t been for our collective outcry here and on Reddit, WordStream would very likely still be up in its original form, and Weitzman would be reaping the benefits (those subscription prices were steep) today.

But it’s been frustrating to see that, with the exception of mentions in articles on Substack and Fansplaining (the latter of which is a particularly awesome and thorough read on fandom’s decontextualization) and a Fanlore listing, our outrage never really spilled out beyond the safely insulated, out-of-the-way spaces that are tumblr, a handful of subreddits and bluesky. And I believe that—unfortunately—we are collectively responsible for that part, as well.

Most of us seemed content to only spread the word by circulating the same two posts on tumblr. (Have we all given up completely on every other social media platform? Am I the only remaining straggler?) And soon after Cliff Weitzman hid WordStream’s fanfiction category from view, our interest in the issue took a sharp dive even there. Are we genuinely deceived into believing the issue has been fully resolved? Do we truly fail to realize that Weitzman’s refusal to admit that what he did was wrong left the door wide open for the next greed-driven tech bro to wander through? Or is the true naivety in thinking that, as a community, we can keep this kind of attack on fandom from happening again? Has our disillusionment already gotten that bad?

However the situation spins out from here, Cliff’s actions will set a precedent. If we fail to show Cliff and his ilk that attempts to profit off fandom’s unpaid labor have consequences, their tech companies will keep trying until something eventually sticks. They might be a little smarter about it next time; obscure their sources a bit better, maybe leave the titles and the authors’ names off. Or maybe they’ll go a bolder route: maybe next time they cross the line they’ll do it boldly enough for IP holders to take notice and stop tolerating fanwork entirely.

Doesn’t that make you angry, too?

There’s this whole other mess of thoughts I would love to be able to untangle about how commercial influence is contributing to the steady erosion of fandom’s foundations, but I’m tired, and other people have said it all much more eloquently than I ever could. Seriously, go read that article on Fansplaining. Or listen to the podcast version of it. Better yet, as long as you’re wearing your noise-canceling headphones, go listen to a podfic of one of your favorite fandoms’ works, and enjoy the collaborative joy and creativity of the people who Cliff Weitzman refuses to believe exist. (In one of Speechify’s other blogs, Cliff claims there are only 272 podfics on AO3. Would you like to run that ChatGPT prompt again, Cliff?). Honestly, much like Cliff Weitzman’s infuriating denial of the fact that fandom fucking has this covered, thank you very much, there’s so. Many. More. Things for us to talk about. There’s the connotations of WordStream’s dubious ‘upload’ button, for instance, or the fact that the app scraped (and in some cases, allegedly, still lists) copyright-protected original fiction as well, or WordStream’s complete lack of contact information, which is illegal for an internationally operating app. And oh! Has anyone reported more thoroughly on Cliff’s app’s options to ‘simplify’ or ‘modernize’ uploaded works, or—my own very favorite abomination—to translate them into something Cliff calls ‘Gen-Z Language’? Much like his atrocious AI book covers, it would be hilarious, if it didn’t make steam come out of my ears.

Anyway, there it is. I highly recommend you do all of that. And then, if you aren’t familiar with it already, go do some research re: fair use and your rights as the copyright owner of your works. A good number of people commenting on this controversy expressed stunned surprise or fearful hesitation about claiming any sort of ownership of their fanfiction. The more informed we are about our rights, the more willing we will be to defend them.

Please don’t stop writing or sharing your work. If you can’t bring yourself to work on your WIPs today (trust me, I get it), post about this situation instead. Tweets, skeets, whateverthefucks—about WordStream’s theft, about how this reflects on Speechify’s already shady business practices, about how Cliff’s actions and justifications have personally affected you. You’re welcome to share or copy my posts on these platforms, but since Cliff already blocked me, I very much prefer you post your own. If you do, call Cliff Weitzman by his full name and tag or include both WordStream and Speechify to ensure Weitzman will recognize he has both a personal as well as a professional stake in handling the situation with integrity. Leave your concerns in reviews on the Speechify app. (We weren’t provided with a more appropriate place to put them, after all!) Consider calling for a Speechify boycott until Cliff accepts accountability for his actions.

Do avoid making exaggerated claims, and don’t call for physical retaliation against Cliff’s person or his property. We don’t want to give him or Speechify even the weakest of grounds to claim defamation or threats of violence. Focus on the facts: they’re incriminating enough by themselves. Show Cliff that we’re determined to keep bringing up his company’s wrongdoings in public spaces until he demonstrates that he understands why taking these freely shared fanworks and monetizing them was wrong, and takes steps to ensure it won’t happen again.

One last thing—and this is really more of a general reminder—please stop suggesting I handle this situation for you. People have come to me asking for action items. The resulting flashbacks to my days as an office assistant were extremely upsetting. In all seriousness, casting me as some sort of coordinator or driving force behind this backlash actively hurts the cause. Not only does it downplay fandom’s collective efforts, it also makes our message extremely vulnerable. It would be all too easy for Cliff to silence one singular source. Wikipedia will not maintain mentions of this controversy as long as it leads only to Easter Kingston’s attempt to summarize what happened as it was happening. You only know my name because I stumbled upon WordStream’s theft and decided to get my friends involved. I am not more knowledgeable, more skilled or more angrily invested in this issue than you are (or can, or should, be). I draw pictures and I write stories and I worry about the shift I’m seeing in fandom after having been on this ride for even a few pre-livejournal rounds.

I’m not going to stop doing any of those things. But I am going to allow myself to step away for a bit, make my wife dinner, and catch up on our shows.

I trust you’ve got it from here.