#all of y’all’s fix-it-fics are technically canon

[dollarstoreartsupplies]

Hi!!! Sorry I know you reblogged that DVD fic commentary post like literally last year HOWEVER I have been going insane over your Cinderella!pete fic and (not)imaginary friend tinkly and was hoping you would like to share your thoughts? It’s fine if you don’t I just really love all of your npmd fics!

Hi Hi Hi @sanguineed!!! Sorry this took so long I have SO many thoughts and honestly i apologize if this is NOTHING i truly just infodumped about thought process for like a million words and have no clue if it's anything or even coherent hgkjdflkll

(Cinderella Pete fic link)

(Imaginary Friend fic link)

OKAY SO starting with Cinderella pete:

I’m honestly obsessed with Cinderella aus they’re my one weakness because I’m a big hurt/comfort and fairy tale loser and they are DEEP in that hurt-comfort-fairy-tale sauce, but they’re also a very fun blank slate that you can do SO MUCH WITH

So, honestly, from the second I watched NPMD and the characters burrowed their way deeply into my beautiful mind I had a really bare bones ‘day-dream-a-fic-in-my-brain’ lautski cinderella au that was nothing and I never planned on writing it and then one of the Lautski Week prompts was fairy tale and I rewatched season one of once upon a time (unrelated to the prompt list, i do that like once a year) it very rapidly because A Much More Detailed thing

I didn’t want to just do a normal step-family plot line because then that gets very weird and complicated having to really hone in on the non-existent spankoffski parents and I wanted Ted to be involved, so i just, honestly, fully yoinked Erica from princess and the pauper’s backstory and went ‘okay that works’

AND THEN back to once upon a time (in case y’all aren’t fellow ouat-heads): so in that show rumplestiltskin canonically murders cinderella’s fairy godmother and becomes her new fairy godmother (just, like, much more sinisterly) and that concept is so horrific and fascinating that it has been rotating in my brain since I was nine years old and resurfaced just in time as I was starting this fic

Because I honestly wasn’t sure if I was going to have a traditional fairy godmother at first? I was just going to have his friends help him, and then I was like OH! Miss Holloway! Of course! And then tinky slowly rose into view in the middle distance and unfortunately there was NOTHING i could do but make him the fairy godmother stand in (which, thank god, tbh idk if I would have been able to write a substantial enough plot without him there to make things Bad)

It just all worked out SO well in a way I really wasn’t expecting because Steph is a REALLY fun prince(ss) charming! Because she’s Not! Good! At! It! But thats almost entirely because she’s Not! Trying! To! Be!

It’s just very fun to show the contrast between both steph and pete having been born into their roles/titles, and how it affects them/they react to it. Steph’s got way more expectations, and her role is technically more ‘important’ but she resents a lot of the really awful parts and isn’t being supported in the way she should be so of course she’s not the best at it! And on the flip side pete is WAY overqualified for what he has to do and he KNOWS that but there's literally nothing he can do to fix it,,,,, and,,,, they’re gonna kiss,..,.,..

Ughghghh theres so much more about this fic id love to talk about but honestly all the really fun stuff is still coming so I may have to come back to this post so i dont spoil! I do have to say: pete’s about to have such a bad time and then eventually SUCH a good time!

AND THEN YES NON-IMAGINARY FRIEND TINKY!!!! MY BELOVED!!!

I’m honestly so thrilled I was actually able to pull that one into a real fic, because it was just such a fun concept that bonked around in my head for like a week and I was convinced it was gonna stay there. But it didn’t! And you all seem to enjoy it so im very glad!!

Honestly that one stems ENTIRELY from the line in the nmt Yellow Jacket where Lex says she used to be able to see Webby (i thinkkkkkk someone also made a tumblr post about the same thing that wormed it’s way into my brain but i have NOT been able to find it so if someone knows the one Im talking about plssss let me know) and i started to think about the lords in black potentially pulling a webby on their own chosen?

Because Tinky is obsessed with ted, we know this, but theres a HUGE age gap between pete and ted and i think it would be very fun for a tinky to look down at one time line’s ted, whose already eighteen-ish and at best would think he was losing his mind, and try to get to him through his not-yet-born brother,,,,, like it’s so upsetting,,,,, very fun though

I also just REALLY love writing the spankoffski brothers (i’ve got two older siblings, one of whom is significantly older than me, and sibling dynamics are some of my favorites to write) and it was really fun to explore them at the Peak of their age gap. Ted is such an interesting character; he loves his little brother but he’s also an asshole and pretty self-centered so he’s doing a lot right (answering pete’s questions, not caring what Pete wears, trying his best not to swear or upset him) but he isn’t Built for child care so he’s also ignoring pete for his tv show and prone to snap when something that (admittedly is so incredibly fucked up) upsets him gets brought up. 

He’s a guy who works best in extreme situations; he’s the best at being a brother when he’s thrown into action (getting pete out of the road/forcing his parents to get pete help), but he’s not exactly a Bad brother other times,,,, he’s just a dude,,,, just a guy,,,, 

I also kind of wanted to make it unclear if pete Does have low blood sugar episodes or if thats tinky all on his own, because i think playing with the Power Of Belief is a really fun thing in stories like this (can you…. tell i ran essentially an It fandom blog for like three years ghfksl)

So, to break the Pete-tinky belief timeline down (prob unnecessarily but i think it’s fun):

Pete was born and tinky has ALWAYS been there, Pete does not think this is at all weird and also has always known tinky so it would be like suddenly deciding your mom isn’t real– you wouldn’t do it, it wouldn’t even cross your mind

He’s a kid, so everyone humors him and assumes it’s an imaginary friend thing (and his parents are older and old fashioned so even if it sometimes tilted a little farther from conceivable little kid with an imaginary friend territory they’d never EVER assume or mention that it could be something a little more serious/an actual problem)

Any time his voices doubts about people thinking tinky was imaginary tinky 'very logically' explains it as pete just being special, so the only one who can see him, and, once again, he’s always seen and known tinky was there so this makes way more sense then him just NOT BEING REAL

He does something really dangerous, TED specifically forces everyone to actually figure it out, and the only conceivable thing a doctor can find is pete is diabetic, specifically prone to low blood sugar episodes, which can cause hallucinations

Pete is a Very Logical kid, and suddenly a seed of doubt has actually been planted with reasoning

Tinky knows this and Does Not Like it but as it keeps going and he keeps getting more upset and everyone keeps making a plan to deal with pete’s diabetes he’s started to get more and more convinced that tinky might not actually be real

Once he’s more convinced than he isn’t that tinky is a hallucination tinky starts to lose his hold, and once pete starts taking low blood sugar precautions he either creates a block so tinky can ONLY show up to him when his blood sugar is low OR tinky personally fucks with his blood sugar so he can be seen (like a fucked up version of lex with webby- it’s just a far more logic and fact based way of growing out of it/not being allowed to fully see him)

As he grows up he forgets just how convinced he had been that tinky was real and just generally gets used to this weird little quirk of his low blood sugar/fully dreads it

THEN pete goes into the old waylon place and because it’s the main alter for the LIB tinky regains ALL his power and then some over pete/the physical world of the house while inside

That’s where the fic gets to, and honestly probably where it’ll stay, but if i was to write more i think it would sort of waver in the opposite direction time line wise, where pete holds onto the belief that tinky isn’t real for a littttle longer than he probably should, even after he kills max and eventually as doubt really creeps in tinky starts showing up more

THEN OKAY SO the one scene I really wanted to write but couldn’t fit it in so I blended parts of it up into the end of the current fic was a little precursor summoning?

So, obviously theres the real summoning, which is SO fun in this au and I’m still praying one day I’ll get enough ideas/spoons to write it, and idk where this would fit in the show timeline, maybe where if I loved you kind of fits or right before it, but essentially:

Pete comes clean to steph, in a way that fits with all the weird supernatural fuckery going on but not fully, honestly (so she doesn’t know the full extent until post-summoning), and the two of them make a plan (that steph DOES NOT LIKE) where he’ll, like, chug some coffee and purposefully trigger a low blood sugar episode so he can see tinky and ask him questions

If i had ended up writing it that would have been when he really realizes that tinky is a real thing; he probably would have pushed it a little too hard until steph gets nervous and kind of forces him swallow a glucose tablet and he snaps out of it (and tinky goes away, but just to fuck with pete and build the tension, not because he has to now)

I hadn’t been totally able to figure out how it would work out in a timeline (Which is why it never got written) but my plan was potentially to have solomon not be the one to show them the book, but instead tinky gives pete the directions, OR, if Solomon does show it to them, pete knows uncomfortably intrinsically how to do the ritual and is almost falling exactly in step with steph’s dad to find the book and on what to do

BUT YES!! Them!!! I know this was a way more general summary kind of overview, so if there were any specific scenes or characters or anything you were interested in lmk! I would love to get into it! Thank you so so much!! There's literally NEVER a time limit on any ask prompt things i reblog im always thrilled to answer! <3<3<3

[myaimistrue]

del myaimistrue’s underrated destiel fic recs part 3!

as with part 1 and part 2, these are all fics that aren’t necessarily as popular or well known as more common recs. they all have less than 10k hits on ao3 OR were published pre-2015 OR both. this a good list y’all i’m excited to share them with you :) leave a comment and kudos for the author if you enjoy a fic!!

list under the cut, organized by word count!

children get older (and i'm getting older, too) by flightsofangels

2k. fics that make you sob hysterically. this is SOOOO sweet. it’s a little story written for transnatural week (if you’re looking for some really fantastic fics, check out their ao3 collection) in which dean and cas discuss their experiences with gender. featuring dad dean and cas, and so many good moments between tfw 2.0.

through the stars by LoversAntiquities

2k fic about dean’s fortieth birthday, on which he wakes up with swollen hands from his arthritis. just a quick sweet story about how loved dean is, and the gifts sam and cas get for him will make both you and dean cry!

if you are hungry then take note by a_good_soldier

2.2k. basically i’m never tired of post-canon curtain fics, and this is one of the best. cas writing poetry is EVERYTHING to me. dean as a mentor to queer kids is also incredible. just a really sweet, soft story about growing old in the safety of your home with somebody you love <3

Clear as a Bell by charcoalcas

2.3k human cas sickfic! he gets chickenpox and dean takes care of him which is as sweet as you think it’d be. it’s the night before their anniversary (september 18th) as well, and they talk about the very beginnings of their relationship. super cute and fun to read!

so comfort came by Newtondale

4k post-canon fic. dean reckons with the concept of retirement now that he and cas aren’t regularly hunting anymore. very sweet little fix-it. dean and cas are so in love <3

love, now and forever by LoversAntiquities

5.4k. michael leaves dean’s body and cas is left to pick up the pieces in a small cabin while they wait for their family to arrive. hurt/comfort is my personal favorite trope to read and this is heavy on both the hurt and comfort. very heavy at the beginning (dean is not in a good place) so be careful, but it has a really sweet ending.

of fire and circles by deanspurpleflannel

7.9k. post 15x18 toddler!jack fic in which the bunker burns down. i left a rambling comment on it the first time i read it because it made me feel sooooo much. dean’s grief over cas was expertly written, and the claire & dean & jack dynamic was perfect. plus it’s a fun twist on the cas returning from empty trope! will bring a tear to your eye by the end. 

All other nights are black, all other hours are cold by jamjarjane

9.7k. SUPER sweet getting together fic with lots of pining. dean is very touch-starved and cas knows it. the last two scenes are so tender and so beautifully written--the want and the love between dean and cas are palpable. 

Flying in Circles Inside a Jar by prosopopeya

11k season 5 getting together fic. i am such a sucker for kripke era deancas, and this one is so perfect at capturing that dynamic. super fun and sexy and in-character. fully laughed out loud multiple times while reading, with plenty of sweet moments to balance it out!

Repose by Thalius

a 14.4k season 6 fic. cas needs a break from the civil war and heaven and comes to see the winchesters at bobby’s house. the push and pull between dean wanting to take care of cas while still being afraid to deal with how he feels for him is perfectly illustrated here. also it has super interesting takes on soul-touching/angelic healing!

Fight or Flight by ellispark

this is a 23.1k canon divergent season 12 story that has basically everything i love in a supernatural fic. established deancas! interesting mary character work! hurt/comfort! compelling plot! great sam moments independent of dean and cas! family drama! plus the non-linear narrative is a super interesting choice that is so fun to read. seriously one of my absolute all-time favorites

until the end and after by Philyra912

27.9k. literally one of my new favorite deancas fics of all time, and possibly my favorite post-canon curtain fic. set a year after they save the world, dean and cas are living in an old farmhouse together and making a life… except they aren’t technically together. it’s so in-character and so gentle and so good. seriously 10/10 in every regard. 

[starryevermore]

long story short: the epilogue (25) ✧ sam and colby

long story short ✧ a parallel universe snc au | ao3

disclaimer: i do not own any aspect of the karate kid universe. does not *totally* follow the karate kid canon (i’ve taken a few creative liberties). 

summary: the ending.

word count: 1,168

warning(s): mention of panic attacks; title drop for the series that this fic and future parallel universe fics exist in at the end :); also,,, arden’s real name drop??? y’all being treated tonight 

“Wait!” Colby shouted, reaching out to Arden. He still had more to say. Even though living in this universe had been less than stellar, he had grown to like her. Sure, she had been rough around the edges, but she was a good person. He wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye.

But she said nothing more. She pushed a small leather-bound book and a small device that looked like a cellphone into his hands, before waving goodbye. Then—

All he could see was light. It enveloped them, like a warm hug, until it overtook all of their senses. When it finally faded, they were left standing in the trap house, staring down at Jake’s hunk of junk.

“Hey, brother, what’re you staring at that for?” 

“Huh?” Colby mumbled, still clutching the book and phone-looking thing, as he turned around.

Everything felt blurry. Honestly, he couldn’t even really see straight. His ears were ringing, and his heart was racing. If he didn’t know better, he would think he was having a panic attack. Was he? No. He usually hyperventilated when he was having a panic attack. Was this because he traveled through the universes? Why hadn’t he felt like this before? Was it because he wasn’t ready to go yet? Because he was actively trying to stay? Is that why Sam looked normal? Because Sam was ready to go home? 

“You’ve been staring at thing for, like, ten minutes,” Jake said. “I’m telling you, man, that thing doesn’t work. Total waste of money.” 

Colby wasn’t entirely sure what he was saying when he asked, “Could I buy it off you? I kinda like the look of it, and I don’t wanna just take it from you.” 

Jake shrugged. “I’m not gonna turn down free money. Just Venmo me, and it’s all yours.” 

Colby nodded. “I’ll do that.”

Then he looked to Sam and asked, “Help me carry it to my room?” 

Sam nodded, grabbing an end of the hunk of junk. He couldn’t help but wonder how Jake managed to carry the whole thing on his own. It was fucking heavy. Colby grabbed the other end, shuffling the book and phone-looking thing to be under his arm, and together they carried the device up to Colby’s room.

As they reached the privacy of Colby’s room, Sam asked, “So, why are we buying this off Jake?”

“I’m buying it off Jake.”

“We share a bank account. Technically, I’m buying, too.” 

Colby stared for a moment, trying to find a way to argue. But when he came up with nothing, he explained, “Clearly the thing works. The last thing I want is for one of our friends to get trapped in another universe. If it’s in my room, there’s no risk of that.” 

“Oh, I didn’t think of that.” 

They took the device to Colby’s desk, placing it on the corner before shuffling around his computer so the device had more space. 

“So, what’s that book say?” Sam asked.

Colby had forgotten about the book. He took it from under his arm, placing the phone-looking thing on the desk beside the device, and flipped through the book. There were all sorts of weird diagrams and lists and long-winded explanations of things. “I think it’s some sort of manual?” Colby mumbled.

“Why would Arden give us a manual?” 

“I don’t—” Colby got to the front, where a piece of notebook paper had been taped into the book. “Hold on, there’s a note.”

Sam shuffled around to stand beside Colby and read the note with him.

Dearest Sam and Colby, 

I would like to personally thank you for everything that you’ve done for the Multidimensional Travel Division. Because of your courage, tenacity, and ability to rise above the odds, you were able to set the universe back on track and fix any wrongdoings that had been committed. We are forever indebted to you. (I’m legally obligated to say that but, speaking as someone off the clock and not a worker for the MTD, we kindly blame you for having to be indebted to you. But, I don’t think there could be any better duo to owe a debt to.)

I would also like to personally thank you for changing my life. Because of you, I am no longer an agent in training. The MTD determined that my work with the two of you was exemplary of the kind of person they would like in their ranks. I have since been promoted to full agent status. Now I’m the youngest full agent in MTD history. Thank you so, so much for that. You will never understand how much this means to me, and I know that I wouldn’t have been able to earn this achievement so early on in my career had it not been for your mischief. 

But enough with the sappy shit. While we had been trying to fix the Karate Kid universe together, I was also investigating how you managed to end up traveling between the universes in the first place. And you’ll never believe what I found. The device you had inadvertently used to get to the beach? It belonged to my great-grandmother.

Colby’s heart skipped a beat. He knew how much this had meant to Arden. She and her family had been working for decades to find the portal opener. And Arden herself had made it her mission to rectify that mistake. 

I trust that the two of you will keep it out of the wrong hands. Technically, I should be returning it to the MTD so that it can be decommissioned. But, I know of no better pair of people to look after it than the two of you. Do good with it. 

And one more thing before I go: should you ever want to travel the universes again, you can use the device that I gave you before I sent you home. It’s an updated portal opener—much less bulky than the one you currently have. But, before you go around using it, make sure to read that manual I gave you. I fought long and hard to get you licenses to travel (which are under this note—keep them on your person at all times when you travel). Don’t go fucking things up. I don’t need to be forced to save your asses again, even if it would be fun. 

I also know of a few places that could be fun to check out, if you wanted something more lighthearted than having the fate of an entire universe resting on your shoulders.

Long story short, it’s Sam and Colby vs. the Universes. Make the most of it. And don’t be afraid to call—the portal opener you have has the ability to call for me, should you ever need me or just want to see me. I won’t bite too hard. 

Love,

Agent 77

P.S. You can call me Lux, if you’d like. I think you’ve earned that honor. 

[orangepanic]

20 Fic Writer Questions

Finally getting around to this. Thanks for the tags @rasnak2 @theboyfrommakapu @old-and-new-friends

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

37

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

798,770. I want to do something when I get to one million, but that might be cry? I dunno, suggestions welcome.

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

Technically three: Avatar: Legend of Korra; Avatar: The Last Airbender; and Harry Potter. But I only have one ATLA fic and the HP one was a crossover. The vast majority of what I write is LOK.

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

“AWOL,” my S2 re-write

“Glass,” my sequel to that

“Firestorm,” my sequel to that

“Smoke,” an Equalist Asami fic

“The Lies We Tell Ourselves,” a post S1 fix-it where Iroh and Asami become roommates.

Which, now that I see this, I kind of love? Sometimes I feel like there’s a lot of pressure to write shorter, fluffier fics because they’re “fun” or whatever. And they are fun, don’t get me wrong. Sometimes I need the brain break to write something like "Hotman" or "Mangosami." But it’s a nice reminder that over time what readers seem to enjoy the most are what I’d also consider my more “serious” writing, and that it’s okay for me to indulge in long multi-chapter fics even if they don’t deliver quick wins. If someone asked me for five fics of mine to recommend I’d not be at all disappointed with this list.

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

Sometimes? I need to work on this. I love comments. I love them so much. But I have a few regular readers who are kind enough to comment on a lot of chapters, and I feel like I’m bothering them if I respond to every comment? Which maybe I shouldn’t? I don’t know. I’m so grateful for every reader and comment that I worry about chasing people away by being too needy. But then I love it when authors respond to my comments, so...?

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

“Yao Li’s Blade” for sure, my fic about Ozai’s hair stylist. It’s not even close. My Irosami is all angst with a happy ending — though “Smoke” may tip that balance by the time I finish it.

7) What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Hard to say because I have a lot of HEA-type endings. I’m very partial to the Epilogue in “Glass” though.

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

Very rarely, and only when I’m in a very silly mood to match. I think the only one I’ve posted is “Asami Sato and the Goblet of Fire,” which is a little one-shot imagining Asami as a muggle exchange student and Iroh as one of the Durmstrang competitors during Book 4. Asami is a Slytherin, by the way, and all y’all who put her in Ravenclaw are missing a trick. I consider this one of my most under-appreciated stories.

9) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not often, but yes. 100% of it is from Korrasami shippers calling me homophobic for shipping a canonically bi female character with a male. I used to try to respond and ask for constructive feedback on how I could make Asami feel more bi in my stories, but I’ve never gotten any, so now I delete comments like that and then feel like shit for a week before moving on.

10) Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes. Not well. And not… hard, I guess? All of my Irosami smut is of the sweet and rather giggly kind between two people who obviously love each other, and that one Kuviroh fic is just Iroh being drunk and awkward. Fluffy smut. Flut?

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don’t think so. I’d honestly be a little flattered? Also pissed, but really the idea that anyone cares enough about my writing to steal it is absurd.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of.

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

I’m currently co-writing “Harmonic Convergence” with @ideklolwat, and @the-hopefulpenguin and I started something together that’s on a little hiatus as we both got busy with other projects. It’s a learning experience for me for sure.

14) What’s your all-time favorite ship?

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

I WILL FINISH EVERY FIC IF IT’S THE LAST THING I DO

16) What are your writing strengths?

I’m not entirely sure. I used to think it was writing emotions but the more I read of other people’s work the more I doubt that assessment. Maybe something like fleshing out main characters? I’ve been told a few times that my Asami and especially my Iroh are better than canon. But I’m not as good with side characters.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

Oh god, probably everything, but the thing that’s bothering me at the moment is trying to insert descriptions and movement into dialog. I can’t figure out how to say what is going on without breaking the conversation flow. I’m also shit at world building in the sense that I mostly make things up. I am awed by writers who do a ton of research and bring those elements into their stories. Most of what I have feels kind of modern AU even when it isn't.

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

I rarely have cause for this. It seems like everyone in the Avatar world speaks the same language. But I’ve had some fun throwing in allusions to other languages, such as creating a bit of a dialect for Southwest Earth Kingdom that mostly manifests in the pronunciation of names, or having someone study “old Omashan,” or having there be a song in another language and Iroh’s like “I have no idea what it means, I just thought it was pretty.”

19) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Legend of Korra. I’m relatively new to fan fiction.

20) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I don’t pick favorites. I love them all in different ways.

Tagging @chiefbeifongcanrailme, @alishatheninth @ohmygodtheywereparabatai and anyone else who wants in

[thehaemanthus]

Chapters: 1/1
 Fandom: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
 Rating: Mature
 Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Feyre Archeron/Rhysand
 Characters: Feyre Archeron, Rhysand (ACoTaR), Original Feyre Archeron/Rhysand Child(ren), Nesta Archeron, Elain Archeron 
Additional Tags: Childbirth, childbirth complications, Pregnancy, Angst, Fluff, Humor, technically non-canon compliant, potentially OOC I gotta admit, Rhys is just a stressed partner, Babies!, Graphic Labor and Delivery, this is an incredibly niche fic
 Series: Part 2 of you could make this place beautiful


Summary: Part of the live once (once is enough) universe. The five times Feyre gives birth. may these words be the first to find your ears
 the world is brighter than the sun, now that you’re here 
-Light, Sleeping at Last

Edit: sorry y’all, the formatting got all messed up in this post. I tried to fix it!

[thelordice]

This Was a Triumph...

...I’m making a note here, huge success! Well, sorta. So I’ve been more or less absent from the world for several days - between recurring gastric distress, a host of technical issues, and anxiety... tumblr dawt com wasn’t exactly the first thing on my mind at the moment.

But it is as if I have survived the Rite of M’al Sharran. I emerge alive, pure of mind, and inspired. Just a quick summary of the visions I have been sent:

* Essentially the back half of the Construct of Yisk WIP.

* The last quarter to third of Homeward Bound, integrating character and worldbuilding segments.

* Words! Malrissian words! I’ve got ideas for the vocal structure and root Earth inspirations for how to flesh it out - nothing too fancy, I’m not Tolkien... yet!

* Several chapters in Tales of the Tribal Era which will need more fleshing out.

* A damn near perfect alignment of myriad ideas from other stories into a way that ties back into the greater whole.

* More ideas for Rygo’s Journey.

* A story flow for the Star Wars OC fic I’ve been playing out in my head.

* More Treknobabble than I can list for a bunch of different things.

I also found a pocket rulebook for tabletop games, so I can finally learn poker and shit and have scenes with characters playing cards properly!

So, once I’ve made sure my keyboard is 100% sorted, I’m going to run it into the god damned ground, and y’all are gonna see some of it! I’ll post rough drafts of chapters of some stories as I finish them - mostly leaning towards posting my Star Wars stuff, plus one-offs when I burn out on being a productive member of society. These will probably be mostly SG-1 as I do a pick-and-choose rewatch, or Atlantis as I steam through my first viewing of Season 2.

I am entirely open to requests for one-off fics, just drop me an Ask, use the Submit box if I have one, send me a message, tag me in a post, I giveth no fucks how good inspiration comes to me - if I get enough, I’ll outline a full set of request guidelines, but basic rules are easy: 1: I don’t write what I don’t know, so try to either request an IP I’m familiar with (I have a sample in my bio - you can always ask if I’m familiar with something and I’ll happily discuss the matter) or provide me with reference and research material. 2: I reserve the right to reject a request for any reason, or none at all. I’m a shitposter, a gamer, and a young able-bodied adult male in a house with a pair of aging grandparents - one an Army vet, the other of questionable fitness at times. So I get busy. And I sleep a lot. And I forget Tumblr exists for a day or two. --2a: I will always try to respond to a request as quickly as possible. If I have to delay it, I’ll let you know. If I decide I’m not interested, I’ll tell you why. You can try and convince me otherwise, so long as the next rule gets followed. 3: Keep it civil. Everyone likes something different. I will happily discuss why I don’t like a fic idea, or a part of a canon, or a specific ship. I can even get a little hot-headed. But I will never judge you for what you like. Long and short of it. I could be diametrically opposed to the very idea, and give you an earful as to why. But I will never think less of you for liking it. (Within reasonable limits, of course - no kid stuff, no non-consensual... Keep it R-Rated.)

Crux of the keyboard issue is simple: It seems like sometimes it doesn’t detect when I’ve pressed a button. Most of the time, it’s in a game where I handle combat with a jury-rigged controller, so it’s more of a nuisance than an issue. But it will rarely crop up outside of that - I’ve had to fix a few of the errors its caused while typing this. Could be my big ol’ sausage fingers, could be the keyboard (it’s generic Dell from a decade back - they were old when I used shit like this in school, and I was told that while it should work fine, don’t be surprised if it kicks the bucket.

But further, I have a pair of interconnected issues. I’m overweight, and I have a near-sighted astigmatism. Text at distance gets blurry and hard to read. But I’m 6′3″, my monitor is stationary, and while it’s good size (27″), I can’t get close enough to read the screen at the font sizes I prefer without a headache. On top of this, the keyboard is wired, so I can only go so far anyway, so I tend to sit cross-legged and hunched over - not good for my back or my unpleasant and inconvenient gut. And since I got my stimulus, I’m looking to go on a peripheral splurge. A new mouse - mine’s kinda had it, but it works alright and it is at least wireless - a wireless keyboard, a wireless headset with a working microphone... and a new set of glasses. Don’t think I’ve had a new pair in four years now.

And now... The shitposting dark age continues. I shall shitpost again... probably sooner than I’d like, but not just now. For now... I have work to do.

[mego42]

I 100% agree about wanting more fanfic lists! I honestly think it's the best way to get a variety. Everybody has personal preferences, if someone, who mostly reads long, fluffy au Brio fic, is making recs, they're not likely to mention short, angsty, canon Brio (which is understandable and fair!) so ideally someone else, who does like those, would also do recs. I'm pretty sure I've read or at least tried the vast majority of Brio fics, but the recs often make me re-read the fic and author.

YAAASSSS!!! I mean like, okay, I v much get why people have issues with rec lists, and I def do not by any stretch endorse the idea that recs/rec lists should be considered anything other than one person sharing a think they liked, but to me a lot of the issues (the same fics/authors getting recced, feeling like awesome fics/authors are going unrecognized) can be solved by more reccing, not less. everyone’s got different taste and different stuff they look/read for and I am extremely pro sharing that.

Idk, I think about it like this: in a previous internet life I was a YA book blogger and I lived and died by recs from other bloggers whose taste and preferences I knew. I mean, you know, I’d check out a book bc the premise sounded interesting but literally the first thing I would do was go to Goodreads and look for a handful of people who tended to like the same books I did and see what they were saying about it bc that was the best way to get a good idea of if I wanted to give it a shot. Or, on the flip side, there were some people whose reviews I followed bc I knew we v much did not read for the same things so if they hated a book for X, Y and Z reasons, I was probs going to like it (one thing about book blogging is if you want to keep current, you do not have a lot of time to mess around, snap judgements are key but that’s a whole other thing and idk if it’s even relevant anymore bc that landscape has changed so much). 

ANYWAY, the point is, I got in the habit and now I do the same thing with fic bc, tbh, I don’t have a ton of time to read, esp not when I’m actively writing which, with the exception of the last week or two, I’ve been doing p non-stop since I got here. All of which to say is, I am desperately in favor of fic recs for purely selfish reasons, I need them! Give them to me!!! Please!!!!!

That said, I uh, am v bad at returning the favor and I recognize that (I think I’ve made what? two rec lists for this fandom?) so I will try to do better to live by my own, idek what this is, moving on and here are 10 recs not really thematically linked by anything other than I’ve read them and loved them and don’t think I’ve put any of them on one of my rec lists yet (and if I have, my blog is a trainwreck I cannot be expected to remember what’s on it LET ME LIVE):

The Goodest Boy by EnsignDisaster

There’s a key turning in the lock and Buddy rushes over to greet his Master excited for her to meet his new friends. The door opens and he dances around Master’s feet rejoicing on the fact that she’s made it home. It's been literally forever.

“Hey Buddy what’s wrong? Need to go potty? Need to pee-pee?”

“Nah he’s good we took him out.”

Master does something very unMasterlike, she drops all the food she’d brought in on the ground and screams. It’s a non traditional avant garde type of hello…Buddy loves it. Mostly because while Master taps furiously on her small light box and sits tense in the corner opposite his new friend Buddy can lick up the egg smashed on the hardwood floor.

Buddy! The! Dog! POV! no further explanation necessary. Technically WIP, but it covers the whole pilot in a way that could be read as standalone (THOUGH THAT WOULD V MUCH GIVE ME A SAD though, when did the show forget the Bolands had a dog? so maybe that’s a tragic casualty of canon, idk)

May The Moon’s Silvery Beams by @pynkhues

Emma hums in agreement, and Rio turns her around to sit her on the counter, grabbing one of the older looking boxes of muesli while she kicks her legs out, heels bumping back against the counter, watching him. He gropes around the inside of the box, finally just opting to pull the plastic cereal bag out and peering inside. He can’t quite keep the grin off his face when he sees the wad of cash lining the bottom. This woman kills him, she really does.

Then there’s a little face peering up beside him, trying to peek into the box.

“What is it?” she asks, and he tilts the box sideways so she can see inside.

The upside to not getting here until s3 is that old fic is new to me! Huzzah!! Idk how many of y’all have already read this on but if you haven’t I highkey recommend. Extremely cute take on what if Emma woke up when Rio and came by to collect his/Beth’s/whoever's money during the shutdown. Cannot believe I’m reccing kidfic. Witchcraft!!!!!!

Maybe You’re My Fantasy by ohmisterjapan

He fucking loves the involuntary. It speaks to how he likes to unlock chaos and walk away. He's been called a control freak before and it felt like such a misunderstanding of him - he's all about self control but he doesn't want to control others. It's more that he enjoys revealing to them how little they can control themselves. It's more that he likes to stand still in the eye of someone else's storm and pick coldly through the wreckage.

Another oldie but a goodie. This fic is more like an extended character study (first chapter Rio POV, second chapter Beth) and I LIVE FOR THIS KIND OF SHIT. I really really really love the take on both characters, it really digs in and pulls out some nuances that made me sit and think about my own read of them and I love it.

A Shock Of Blue by mintletters16

“You don’t look very well. Would you… like me to get you a glass of water or something?”

Her voice is low but smooth, laced with a softness that cuts straight though to his core. Strawberry blonde locks fall gently just above the pair of magnets freezing him in place.

He can still feel the chaos tearing through his veins - emanating from the gold plated gun stuffed in his waistband - and suddenly he can’t be here anymore. Can’t meet this wide-eyed gaze that’s been locked on his for the past God-knows-how-long anymore.

Can’t see blue alive and concerned when he just left it cold and void somewhere in oblivion.

She’s looking at him like he’s on the brink of madness. He thinks maybe he is.

Apparently, it’s backlist rec day over here and I’m not sorry. This one is another technical WIP but the chapter works as a standalone (BUT if the author decided to return to it I WOULD NOT BE MAD). It’s a what if Beth and Rio met pre-canon and it works so!!! well!!!! The tension and fascination and build are all *chef’s kiss* plus the writing is gorgeous and lyrical and ugh, I love it.

for a moment we were strangers by openhearts

“We got stuff,” Rio motions with a nod to the backpack Beth hadn’t noticed when they arrived hanging on the back of one of the chairs at the island.

She swallows and turns back to the dishes, realizing Rio apparently means to sleep there , assuming the place isn’t bugged.  Or for some kind of cover story if it is.  She turns and fixes Rio with a narrow-eyed stare, studying his face, the corner of his jaw especially prominent from the angle she’s looking up at him.  He’s methodical about drying each dish and setting it back on the rack, maddeningly ignoring her hard stare, so when he goes to take the next plate from her hands she grips it tightly and gets his attention.

“Hey.”

“What you on about now?” he asks, irritated.

It gets her gut uneasy, how he’s just . . . there, settling in, in ways he never had before, no matter how nonchalantly he would let himself in through her locked doors.  

“This is,” Beth tries, failing, to find words for it, “. . . it’s weird .”

This one takes place post 204 and Rio and Marcus end up spending a long weekend staying with Beth and Emma for reasons (that work, for the record, I’m just not trying to summarize rn) and it’s domestic and cute but honestly my fav part of it is how weirded out Beth is by how easily they slip into sync. The story does an excellent job balancing where they are in canon (uneasy post-sex truce) with a snapshot of what they could be if they got over themselves (HA! as if) and Beth is DEEPLY FREAKED which makes her slow slide into realizing she could maybe sort of kind of oh shit like it/him??? that much more satisfying.

Not So Careful by @bensonstablers

When he doesn’t answer, her eyes go to his but he’s too busy watching the letter opener which is still pressed against the back of his hand. Curiously, Beth runs it up his arm, careful not to press too hard, and smiles a little as he shivers. Pulling her leg up onto the bed, she shuffles closer to him before pressing the tip of the sword to his chest and slowly circling his left nipple with it, being sure not to get too close.

“You ain’t gotta be that careful.”

And when she lifts her eyes to meet his, he’s got that look. The one that always makes a lump form in her throat and for her to fall back into bed with him without a single thought of what they have to do that day. Only thing is, this time they’ve got nothing to do for the rest of the weekend and well, staying in bed the entire time had seemed like an appealing idea so she allows herself to give in a little to that look.

It makes me EXTREMELY SAD that knifeplay ranked so low on the kink survey so I’m gonna need y’all to check out this V V V EXCELLENT example of it and come back and tell me you’re sorry and you voted wrong. I am v reasonable what are you talking about.

love (where it wasn’t supposed to be) by @lilliloves

"You know what I can't stand?" Rio asks, stepping closer. It's a rhetorical question but he pauses for a second and watches Dean sniff, watches a bead of sweat trickle down his forehead, watches him shift on both his feet as he contemplates making a run for it.

"A guy who don’t realize how good he's got it." Rio continues, looking Dean up and down in disgust. "A guy that will literally fuck up a good thing just to get his dick wet."

"Yeah, well I can't stand a guy who can have anyone he wants but chooses the married woman he's not entitled to.” Dean shoots back. "And I really can't stand the fact that you're always in the room with us even when you aren't there."

And who brings him into the room Dean hmmmmm????? Jk, jk (or am I). In this one Rio catches Dean out on the town with another woman (bc of course he is) and tries to call him out but whoops! gets called out himself. I really love the like, idk, undercurrent of wistful regret in this fic. I love Dean straight up calling Rio out on his feelings (spoilers but there’s an exchange right after this one that made me straight up holler), and, you know, obvs I am here for Rio making Dean feel like an ass. 

Hell Is Other People by makemanybraver

Rio: We're in Hell, Elizabeth! If you don't think you belong here, then repent! Don't fuck everyone in the room in hopes that you get to go out!

Beth: Why do I have to repent?!

Rio: Because you did some fucked up shit in your life, Elizabeth! You keep doing fucked up shit here, too! And you think you don't belong here!

Beth [screaming at the top of her lungs]: Because I don't!

This fic is existentially bonkers and I love it. It’s the kind of experimental format/homage/what have you kind of thing that I L O V E. Based on No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre, Beth, Rio, and Fitzpatrick are stuck together in a room in hell for all eternity. What more do you need, honestly.

Working On Things by odenkirk

Unknown Hold up, Elizabeth. I'm really thinkin about you here.

Beth turned her face into the pillow, effectively suffocating herself for a moment, but thinking it was a good trade off for the way the cool silk of her pillowcase chilled her skin.

She lifted her head to glance at the still sleeping Dean before replying.

Beth I'm thinking about you too. But this can't happen.

She wanted him to know she wanted him, but she also thought that admitting she was already there would save Rio from trying to convince her. She wanted him, but morals had to win just once in a while.

YES this is technically Beth/Dean while also being Beth/Rio BUT it’s also sort of Rio/Dean and I am HERE FOR THE DIVERSITY OF SHIPPING leave me alone who asked you.

Five Times He Knew What She Was Thinking, and One Time He Didn't by JoeyLee

Aight, so tell ‘em I was hittin’ it. Said deliberately blunt, eyes locked on her face the whole time, just to see those blue eyes widen. She looked so shocked that he almost laughed, so he softened it teasingly just to keep her going. Oh, I’m sorry, sweetheart, tell ‘em we were makin’ love.

Then he just watched her, just watched her face, just fucking fascinated. Her lips were parted and her eyes were big as saucers, and…there it was. Before she could look away flustered, he watched the thought go through her mind. Him and her together.

He wondered what she was picturing or where. Them in the back seat, her bed, a motel?  Her on top or him from behind or his face between her legs?

Whatever it was, the blush started immediately, and he watched it bloom out from her cheeks to her hair. Then she was tearing her eyes away to gulp a little.  But it didn’t knock her down for long before she was looking back. And then, wait, was she actually asking him how to go about telling a fed they were fucking?

Okay this is another technical WIP but works as a standalone. I am absolutely fucking feral for character POV takes of canon scenes and this is a supremely excellent take on Rio POV of some notable scenes from the pilot through 204. Imo it brilliantly captures Rio’s voice and I love it a lot. 

HEADS UP I am absolute shite at tracking ao3 to tumblr unless people have specifically told me someone’s ao3/tumblr name SO if you recognize any of the non-tumblr authors on please lmk so I can tag them and YES I recognize that I am asking y’all to do things for me throughout this entire post and I’M SORRY OKAY I’M A WHOLE ASS MESS LOVE YOU BYE

[withbroombefore]

AO3 Wrapped 2020

Tagged by @theleakypen.

Here are some of my AO3 stats this year!

Total Word Count: 250,675 published on AO3, spread over 16 fics. All for the Untamed.

Top 5 by Word Count:

Shield (41,977): Fix-it AU. Sequel to Swordless and Betweentimes. Wens get rescued properly, Lan Wangji makes friends, some good trans content. LWJ POV.

Song (41,205): Fix-it AU. Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, Jiang Cheng, and Jin Zixuan stay in Qishan after escaping the cave to wreak some havoc. Four-way platonic soulbond ensues (I enjoy the Old Guard and also the Circle of Magic books and you can probably tell). WWX POV.

Swordless (32,430): Fix-it AU. Wei Wuxian goes to Gusu when Lan Xichen invites him after the Sunshot Campaign. Soft romance with Lan Wangji and also therapy/philosophy sessions with Lan Qiren ensue. Technically a sequel to Betweentimes. WWX POV.

Company (29,827): Fix-it AU. Wei Wuxian goes to Gusu as a teenager. There’s a little plot and queer teens figuring themselves out and, most importantly, a kitten. LWJ POV.

Harmony (27,747): Fix-it AU. Sequel to Song. Our boys go to war. Jin Zixuan POV (he was so much fun to write, y’all).

Top 5 by Kudos:

Song (2,126): See above.

Company (1,972): See above.

Swordless (1,619): See above.

Betweentimes (1,613): Originally not meant as a canon divergence, but turned into the prequel to Swordless and Shield. Missing scenes from the Sunshot Campaign after Wei Wuxian comes back. LWJ POV.

Letters (1,353): Post-canon. Wei Wuxian spends quality time with his various family members. There is soup. WWX POV.

So before this year, my longest finished fic was under 3,000 words and my most popular one had (has) 275 kudos. (This is The Year of King JJ from a strange little semi-crackfic Yuri on Ice series; I’m still very fond of it.) My longest written work in real life is a non-fiction book that’s around 55,000 words. Then the Untamed happened, and 2020 happened, and here we are.

Tagging anybody who wants to play.

[bladedweaponsandswishycoats]

Another Ask game from @theleakypen

Name: myro (not really, but for here). bladedweaponsandswishycoats on tumblr, bladedweapons on fandom twitter.

Fandoms I have written for: Only MDZS/The Untamed so far, really. (Technically I wrote a 1 sentence fic for Gideon the Ninth, but that doesn’t really count, it was a furious 1am angry post when I finished the book and was mad at the ending.)

Where you post: AO3, twitter, whatever on here, though less here. 

Favorite one-shot (yes I changed the prompt): Missed Connections, Yunmeng which is Yunmeng siblings pov of the last bit of the flashback/episode 33. It is angsty and only 400 words but I love it.

Favorite multichapter: I think probably my Mo Xuanyu fix-it that I have not yet started posting. It’s a postcanon wangxian casefic that rescues Mo Xuanyu. Here’s a bit from a WiP Weds post. But since it is not posted yet, in the interests of talking about what is posted, maybe It Must Be Tuesday (Wei Wuxian’s in Trouble), which is a Burial Mounds canon divergence. I haven’t updated it in a bit, but that is because I’ve decided to write the whole rest of it so that I can post it quickly over a few weeks, and at this point its nearly there. 

Fic you were nervous to post: Oh My God, There’s Two of Them Now, which is a crossover with a lot of meta-textual silliness and dimension jumping, in which comics-Loki, wangxian, and Jiang Cheng team up to go help other demonic cultivators in other fandoms, starting with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Yes, Buffy is a demonic cultivator, fight me. I was nervous to post it because crossovers are not usually as popular and I wasn’t sure anyone would want to read it. 

How do you choose your titles: Uh, I don’t really have a consistent method. My first fic in the fandom was based on a translated Wuji lyric, the Tuesday one is based on a line of dialogue in Buffy, and the crossover is based on my reaction/ how I assume the rest of the characters in MDZS/Untamed would react if faced with WWX and Loki, with TWICE the chaotic queer gremlin energy of either one alone. 

Do you outline: Yes, but sometimes it means I do so much outlining it is then hard to start writing, so I have been reconsidering maybe using the method less.

WiP I’m most excited about: (untitled) the Lanpires fic - the canon-verse Wangxian fic where the Lans are all vampires, that I’m writing with @iamwestiec- It’s so and sexy and fun, y’all. What’s better than just Yiling Laozu vibe? Yiling Laozu AND horny bitey Lan Zhan vampire vibes (Not posted yet but here’s a WiP Weds clip)

Other WiPs/not yet started (besides those already mentioned - but I have a rule of no more than 3 WiPs posting at a time so will be a while for some): 

MDZS/Untamed:

 One-shot about a nightmare where playing Inquiry turns into Vanquish (not posted)

written out form of this threadfic I did about the Lan forehead ribbon being woven with spells for compliance and obedience

(not yet started but exists in full form in my head) prequel to the Loki crossover where Loki as a multiverse-hopping god(dess) of story jumps into the Burial Mounds, see the mess that is the MDZS/Untamed verse, and proceeds to help Wei Wuxian unfuck the narrative and save some lives/make a happier ending for MDZS/Untamed.

Pseudo-academic paper-based fic in which academics several hundred years post-MDZS canon theorize about the “Qinghe Patron X” and their potential involvement in pivotal events leading to the Four Sects Era. In which academics theorize about Nie Huaisang, meanwhile Nie Huaisang is still alive and thinks it is hilarious to drop false clues and fuck with them. 

TGCF:

Hualian smutty one-shot where Xie Lian and Hua Cheng find out that drinking divine/demonic(ghost) blood allows the demon(ghost)/god to control the drinker (like in SVSSS) and decide to have fun with it, involving blood drinking, Xie Lian with fangs, and bodily control fun.

Postcanon cathartic Beefleaf fix-it and get-together (mostly an outline so far)

 Ghost Bros - about He Xuan and Hua Cheng being friends (so far some random chunks of dialogue but I want to do more but I lack a plot)

Prompts: I haven’t really done prompts, but I totally would try. Fair warning I am better at angst than I am at fluff. I was doing 3-sentence fic prompts for a while this summer and this Wei Wuxian + ghosts Murder Boi one is my favorite. (Prompt was Wang Lingjiao + Chenqing “thankful”)

Not tagging anyone because I am, as usual, too shy to presume so much (and also I think most people who might do this already have.)

[blackfemmecharacterdependency]

I.T. & Grace Monroe (Again) Chat

Thank you for such a great response! I can’t every imaging the suspense waiting a week for each episode! Lemme tell you the first season I was annoyed with tulip but understood when she was used to expose the trains true meaning /use. MT/Lake story was equally annoying but I appreciated how they used her brattiness to reenforce the methods of the train. What seems impossible to handle in real life becomes more palatable on the train...it brakes it down into bite sized pieces for the passengers to understand and consume. It’s a vr problem solving machine(who would want that). But the major flaw becomes visible to me, by the end of season 1, adults do not fair as well as kids. Amelia did not fair well, her mind was so fixed on the outcome she wanted, that she overlooked any lessons from the train. She forced a square peg into a round hole and her numbers started rising. When she ran into Grace as a child even though is seems like a brief interaction, Grace was already primed to become another Amelia. Her background of affluence, she knows exactly how adults change the world around them to their liking. She already knew the game to be played, so seeing someone with power and influence in that train car , save her, control the enviroment (like her parents would) and have the most numbers she knew what to do. I think she was there to learn not to live to please others, not to feel abandoned and powerless, that not all attention and power is good, that she can stand alone in safety. When she met Simon, she was right back to her old behaviors. What was sad is that by the last episode of that season you know that his real life situation was full of hate and abuse. Grace fell into her enabler and Simon thought he found a mirror. They trauma bonded. It looked like he even developed romantic feelings for her. Still every chance the train sent her to learn those lessons she literally did that opposite of what she wanted. She did what she and Simon agreed to do, Simon looked like he was the mastermind behind all of the Apex rules. I can imagine them trying to figure out how their gang would run with Simon saying something and Grace agreeing then adding to it. I bet Simon felt judged, inferior and misunderstood in real life, because he just could not adapt to seeing Grace form a bond with Hazel and Tuba. The fact that his numbers were decreasing along with Grace’s at one point due to him following her lead was a telling, he was there to learn to find and accept the similarities with the train’s life forms (sorry I forget what they called them) and to build a found family based on that. His attacks on Grace were so brutal, he went to the cat with intent to find something to make Grace fall back inline, to force her back into his ideal world. He rallied the Apex kids to turn against her. He couldn’t even accept the conductor, the ‘god’ of his reality when he met her he just wanted what all adults wanted on that train, to make his world his way. So many adults do this, it’s got to be the reason the train exists right? Catch them as kids, teach them how to find the solution to their problems and send them back into the real world to teach others. Like a gigantic roomba for mental health issues lol. I didn’t expect that Simon wouldn’t make it but there was no way he would have ever left that train on his own. Grace was his way off, and I think he knew that deep down. Makes you wander just how bad his life was, or if he just had an untreated psychosis. Grace’s relationship with Hazel and Tuba became stronger the moment she accepted what she wanted and not what was good for the gang. The years that passed and the numbers that accumulated were undone in a few weeks by that bond, and Simon was watching his world crumble right before his eyes. I really love watching interracial couples on screen, and it’s been great to see how they made Grace and Simon. BwWm (or any combo of black and white or biracial) relationships don’t all have to be racism struggle or forbidden love. It can be as unique as this, scared kids in a new environment. Love it!

You know, to be frank, I shipped this as a ship before it became a season. Whenever I saw them last time, I was like, “Well, they seem cute n’ cozy.” Then, of course, whenever they were revealed to be a hate group, I was like... Well... I hope we find out more because I definitely fucking feel a way about them now. I don’t have very good history with hate groups. My activism hasn’t allowed it, my hometown didn’t allow it - I just have too many bad experiences with hate groups and so since I was reading them as such, my main purpose of watching their season was to see how the train was going to help to change them.

I honestly was like, “Ship be damned,” by the time we got to 6-8 and was just hoping for maybe some friendship building and growth together as better humans. Like. I could care less about a ship on just about any given day (which is why even whenever “my ships” fall apart (and mine always involve Black girls, so that’s like a what 98% failure rate, just because creators never like to see Black girls or women happy anyway), I’m usually fine with it not taking place IF the girl is in a good place and/or there aren’t hella people around her all boo’d up while she’s the strong single. Shadowhunters, looking at y’all bitch ass with a hard side-eye. You as well, Glee. You as well, Battlestar Gallactica and True Blood... Y’all killed the bitches for really no reason. ANYWAYS, I was fine with them not being a ship if it meant growth...

I was shocked that he died, but I also didn’t feel as hurt as I would have had he not done EVERYTHING in his goddamn power to overthrow and murder this girl. Because, I had to repeatedly be like, “This dude is technically a goddamn child,” but then again, so is she. They never grew up in any healthy environment, and I ABSOLUTELY envision Apex creation and building exactly as you did. See, it’s something we got as older Black women looking at this story that the girls just be missing. The signs were so obvious to me that he was the muscle and she was the face, but a lot of people were extremely convinced that she had somehow strong armed this poor, innocent boy into her belief system, even though she literally was always the one with the soft voice.

They read this as manipulation a lot, and perhaps because I’ve been in situations where I knew, “If I don’t charm this person, it is gonna be a very bad day, indeed,” I just didn’t read her actions as harmful. I didn’t see her using her charms to get someone killed or anything dangerous. Only to cheer him up when he was moody, get him to go along with something that wasn’t bad for him at all, etc. So, I mean, whatever, if it’s manipulation, oh well. We do it on a daily basis in the real world whenever we try to let folk down gently as to not get shot on the side of the road, so I’m never jumping to any conclusion that any girl, especially not a Black girl is manipulating somebody without actual evidence, which, I saw none of. She was labeled as his motivation for being a villain from the moment she appeared, so the petty Black fangirl in me rejoiced that canon shot that all straight to hell, and then I received icing on the cake when she not only did not die, but got a redemption arc? YASSSSS BITCH. GIVE MAMA MY THANGS!

I’ve seen a few “fix it fics” and AU’s, but only reading a few of them. I didn’t need anything fixed. I’m just enjoying a little side content (as best as i can anyways. I generally check out if anybody feels like they about to rewrite to go ahead and try to make Grace look responsible for any of that boy’s shit. That fuels my wrath. Because, people really think that they only do shit like this theoretically with fiction, but you not gon’ make me believe that the same people who want to overlook Grace’s trauma, and the way that Simon intentionally harmed her, or downplay her guts to face him head on and try to speak to him about changing and being wrong and not even attack him? (Which, tbh could have been because it’s her instinctual response to protect and care for him, because she’s been doing it since they met and also, nobody is convincing me that he *changed* into this person. That person was always there and Grace had to manipulate his ass into staying docile), but to try to take away that aspect of the story, which is super important to escaping abuse, escaping cults, and building up self - I can’t commit to stories like that. Those are the same people I equate with the people that my ex was COMPLETELY right about whenever he told me that people were always gonna believe him over me because he’s white, smart, and nice. And if we’re being 100, they don’t have to be all three to get people rally behind them while they literally try to hurt and kill you.

So, I just appreciated that the story rallied around the right one and that they didn’t make any room for for blaming his target, although fans will lie and say that they did. That’s just the regular degular misogynoir coming out to play. After leaving a situation in real life with someone like this and having SO MANY GODDAMN PEOPLE try to tell me how the fuck I was wrong, I don’t have patience for that shit. Honestly, if a roach dog monster could have melted and disintegrated Josh, I’d have had a fucking party. And maybe Josh was emotionally and mentally stunted and still a boy dealing with trauma, so that’s where my gray area comes in. It’s like, it’s sad that he chose not to change, but also like, had he been real and did what he did, I definitely would say he should die and not feel bad about that. So, gross scene, but I haven’t a lot of sorrow about it, either. He didn’t give ME much room to feel that bad for him, personally.

Girl, I’ve talked more about Infinity Train on this blog than any other series. Lol. 

[goatbi]

Hello friends. If you're seeing this, that means I finished The Riverbank! With these last chapters, starting with fourteen, I'm going to keep a list of things I wanted to say, but were spoilers for unwritten chapters! Here is that list. If you haven't read The Riverbank, than this is chock full of spoilers. Read at your own risk

(14)

*bubby tags fourteen with "benrey pain ends here please?"* Me, knowing that I plan for Benrey to almost die: ... oh sweet summer child-

(15)

I WANNA ADD THE TEMPORARY CHARACTER DEATH TAG !!!! I W A N T T O A D D T H E T E M P O R A R Y C H A R A C T E R D E A T H T A G !!!!!!!! God But i don’t wanna add it so people don’t know that Benny doesn’t actually die. Did you guys actually think that I was gonna kill off Benrey? Did you actually think I was gonna kill any of the science team? bro. Trust me. I promise. I don’t hurt people that badly in long term fics all that often. All of my super sad things? Like Bad Ending? One chapter. I don’t wanna do sad endings all that often. They make me super sad bro. Like sometimes I can’t even dish it. 

Also, if y’all wanna draw that scene that I technically haven’t written at the time of writing this bit (i’ve written chapter fifteen rn) if you wanna draw that scene with Gordon sobbing on the supposedly-dead Benrey with Darnold at his side? I would die. In so many ways. 

Don’t feel obligated to do any of this btw!! Like, just you guys enjoying The Riverbank is very wonderful! and I love it! a lot! I freaking love reading all your comments and getting Oliver freaking out in discord when I post chapters, it’s all very wonderful!! So don’t like? Feel obligated to draw anything for this story, especially if you don’t wanna draw the OCs. I may love them with all my heart (beats arcturus into the ground) but I get only wanting to do things with canon characters! 

I went off after chapter fifteen oops- 

(18) 

I can’t handle killing characters guys. Arcturus can die tho, fuck him. Like? You can trust me, I’m a sad bitch, Capella is FINE! This is post epilogue, so like... yeah. It’s not FINE fine, but it is alive still... kinda. I have no clue if I plan to write more with this verse and find a way to save and bring Capella back from the dead, but for now... stasis vibes. Thats where it can stay. Until I figure out... what the fuck to do :) 

(19) 

This is right before writing chapter 20, but earlier during a call, Oliver revealed to me that he is convinced I’m going to kill Benrey. I mean, he’s right? temporary character death is a thing after all. He’s just convinced it’s gonna be a permanent death which, babe. Why would I do that to you? 

Which also leads me into this, specifically targeted. You said that I told you I was going to kill one of the science team, but that has NEVER been part of the plan so I have no clue where you got that? I did say I was going to kill at least one person, out of the science team and OCs, so maybe you just didn’t hear the second part? Either way, I just let you suffer through thinking that. Love you!! 

(20) 

So that happened and my brain just wanted to be SO MEAN to Benrey here, cause like... I was half tempted to send him ‘you already know the answer to that :)’ CAUSE HE THINKS THAT I’M GONNA KILL BENREY HE REALLY THOUGHT I WAS GONNA DO THAT TO HIM LIKE BABE NO 

But I was really tempted to be mean, I’m mean today. 

(21)

guys. Benrey can’t die. I mean, he can die, but he’ll get better. Like it’s so funny to me rn to watch y’all reacting like this, when like. Bro. He can’t die. It’s Benrey. I’m not gonna kill Benrey because he’ll come back and get better bro. He’s fine. 

I mean he is gonna be a skeleton for like, a week, while he fixes his body, but :/. It’s fine. They can def cuddle a skeleton. 

There’s gonna be a lot of Sans Undertale jokes in Gordon’s future though. 

(22 + Epilogue) 

Okay, okay, okay. So technically I can post all of this now, but first. Babe. I love you. For everyone else who isn’t in my discord chat (which is basically everyone else reading Riverbank) the smiley face in the tags of 22 is misleading in hopes people THINK I’m gonna do it, but bro. I can’t do that. Also. Capella reveal. That was wild for me to think of. That wasn’t going to be a thing, but I think Capella deserves better. 

Anyways. Uh. Here’s this mess! Hope you had as much on this journey as I did! I dunno if there’s gonna be more for this verse, but GOD do I love Rigel. Just throwing that out there. Might be more with my girl <3 

[whocalledhimannux]

TBATD Chapter 21 Note

~spoilers abound~

So here’s the thing about this ending:

I’ve had it planned from, essentially, the moment I came up with this AU.

I’ve been second-guessing it since that moment.

My personal struggle with this chapter (and, to some extent, the previous three) is because the focus of the plot shifts somewhat--for most of the fic we’ve been firmly with Katara, on how she adjusts to her life in the Fire Nation and her relationship with Zuko. And now the culmination of the plot is essentially on Zuko becoming Fire Lord and Aang becoming the Avatar--which, to be fair, is what happens in canon, too. In my version, Katara also doesn’t technically win her fight with Azula. And up until literally five hours ago, she didn’t fight Azula, because I assumed that Aang would go into the Avatar state in a rage the moment Katara was threatened with lightning, and I was concerned that reducing Katara to a healing role was kinda sexist. Then my dumb ass remembered that I established earlier in the fic that Aang actually does have legit control over the Avatar state in my fic because he’s been working on it for ~two years and it’s totally fine for Katara and Azula to have more back-and-forth until Aang decides to step in.

SO. My worries about internalized sexism have been somewhat assuaged, but I had already written out a shit-ton of meta about this ending so I’m just going to keep at it. Basically I dithered over this for months, but the fundamental ending never actually changed. Every time I tried to think of alternate endings, I came back to the real catalyst for this fic, which is Iroh’s insight from The Old Masters: 

Even if I did defeat Ozai--and I don’t know that I could--it would be the wrong way to end the war. History would see it as just more senseless violence, a brother killing a brother to grab power. The only way for this war to end peacefully is for the Avatar to defeat the Fire Lord…Someone new must take the throne. An idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honor.

I mentioned this way back in my first chapter note; when I sat down to write this fic, I decided I wanted to change the established world as little as possible. I wanted Katara and Zuko to have all of the issues with each other they had in canon. I wanted the essential position of the Fire Nation and the South Pole to be the same. I wanted their friendships and familial relationships to be the same. I even tried to keep Zuko’s field trips! And I wanted Iroh to still be right about the politics of this slightly altered world.

Throughout the fic, I’ve touched on the ramifications of Iroh’s decision to kill his brother, in his relationship with Zuko, in Azula’s response (albeit hidden until like… now), in the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes’ perception of the Fire Nation, and a little bit in the Fire Nation’s perception of him as a ruler. Basically, he’s not trusted, nationally or internationally. And while Katara is, in my canon, very very well-liked, there are still some political limitations for her as a princess. So she can’t fix it until she’s Fire Lady--and she can’t be Fire Lady until her husband is the Fire Lord. Hence, Zuko becoming the Fire Lord takes a little bit of the focus in these later chapters.

Annnnnd then we get to the other part of Iroh’s statement, which is that the Avatar needs to be the one to end the war. Yeah. I think, if anything, that’s even more true in my fic than in canon. Think about it from the POV of, say, an Earth Kingdom general: “So, you’re telling me that they’ve had five Fire Lords in the last ~10 years, the first one died under mysterious circumstances after conveniently elevating his second son to the throne, the second one was killed extrajudicially by his brother, the third one was also accused of killing his nephew and abdicated to the fourth, who was then accused of being behind aforementioned assassination and was then usurped by the fifth one in a brawl that’s apparently totally legal by their standards… and I’m supposed to trust these people to be my friends?”

Somehow, I can’t see that working out. But the Avatar stabilizes things. The Avatar brings balance to the world, and is a neutral third party who can truly broker the peace… if and only if the people recognize his authority. Aang, in the world of this fic, disappeared for a hundred years, came back, died, came back again, and has been dicking around for two years while the adults solved all the problems. In canon, the world needed Zuko to be a good Fire Lord and Aang to be a fully realized and respected Avatar in order to achieve a true peace, and I felt that this fic needed those two things too.

I know that, since Aang didn’t appear for a big chunk of this fic, it might seem like a bit of a cop-out, but… I always felt energybending was a bit of a cop-out in canon, too. Sure, it makes sense when you know the broader context, but there was verrrrry little foreshadowing in the show itself prior to the series finale–and least for this fic you had the foreshadowing of canon!

Yes, that does mean that Katara doesn’t WIN-win the agni kai in this fic, but tbh I don’t know if she has to? Something I appreciate about Katara’s growth in the show is that, in Book One, her waterbending abilities and her access to combat instruction are really her main hangups… and then they’re not. From Book Two on, she is recognized as an unquestionable waterbending master and one of the most competent benders in the world, and she feels comfortable in that role--her conflict in the remainder of the show is more about her personal relationships and her “dark side,” so to speak.

The agni kai is a fitting end for her storyline in canon because it happens during the comet, when she should be at a massive disadvantage. Take that away, and like… yeah, Katara beat somebody. What else is new? I don’t think she has to prove her worth in this universe. She’s been living in the Fire Nation, which is comfortable with female fighters and doesn’t assume she’s weak… and she’s been earning a reputation as a total BAMF for the last couple of months.

Katara’s conflicts in this fic have been on those other insecurities: whether bloodbending is wrong, if her anger or resentment are justified, how she fits into this new home, how she connects with her old one, her relationship with Zuko. So the fact that she has showed up, that she’s publicly defended the nation, that she risked her life to save Zuko, those are all things she gets “credit” towards and things that wrap up her main character growth. Katara ending this fic as an incredibly popular Fire Lady with a strong, stable marriage is a win from my perspective.

BONUS: this was my favorite ending for Azula.. I am working on a follow-up fic that will follow Azula. I’ll be upfront with y’all in saying that it is not finished and will not be up for a few months, at LEAST. (The reason I was able to update this fic every two/three days is because I spent four months writing it w/o posting a word.) I always kind of wished we’d seen Azula’s breakdown drawn out a little more in canon, and I was reeeeaaaaally pissed when I saw how Azula was treated in the beginning of The Search. When I considered Azula’s end in this fic (and how she might progress in a follow-up fic), I thought long and hard about what rock bottom would really look like for her, specifically what kind of issues she might be dealing with instead of the generic “craziness” that is treated pretty terribly in the comics, and what recovery would look like.

I think being without her firebending is unquestionably Azula’s rock bottom. Her identity as a prodigy means everything to her. From her perspective, she’s never really been loved by her mother or her uncle or Zuko–it’s all been Ozai, and his love has been predicated on her success. In canon, she got a glimpse of how easily Ozai would turn his back on her, and that’s her real breaking point; in this fic, she never got that, so while she has been dealing with grief in a pretty terrible, unhealthy way, her real breaking point is the loss of The Thing that ties her to her father.

But I think that also offers her the best chance for true recovery and redemption, because it strips her of the delusion that she is perfect and untouchable and doesn’t actually need love. Azula defines herself by her success, and what is she without success? She would say nothing; Katara, Zuko, et al, would say you’re still a person, actually, still a human being deserving of respect and love and forgiveness. My version of energybending and recovery is going to be a bit different than how it plays out in LoK, because Selective Death of the Author, and I think her recovery of her bending in my way will parallel her recovery in general quite nicely.

So. that’s a lot of meta for an ending I changed halfway through. I have spent so much time thinking about this fic and it’s truly been a joy, even when it’s been a pain in the ass. Thank you all so much for sticking with me.

[ja0-s-blank-canvas-fic]

Chapter 48 - Sports Festival: Birdbrains and Poprocks

AO3 - here

Fanfiction.net - here

Happy new year, dear readers! Another holiday treat for y’all! Again, regular Tuesday update will still happen. Anyway, we've got Tokoyami (bird) versus Shinsou (brain) and Kirishima (rock) versus Bakugou (pop). Yes, technically that would be rockpops with the name order instead of poprocks but that's not how the word goes! Oh and a flaming sorry excuse of a father shows up too. Wonder how that's going to go...

Thanks to those who shared their thoughts on the Tensei situation in the comments on AO3. I'm still deciding but the exchange of ideas is getting my mind coming up with some fun ideas of my own. So thanks very much and keep 'em coming if you have something to share!

Warning for a Katsuki pov.

Now, I won’t be posting on every holiday. Just when I feel like it. But this holiday season really helped me get through the sports festival arc faster. It’s so much longer than I thought it would be! XD There’s just so much to cover! Though the sports festival arc is half of season 2 of the anime and 20 chapters of the manga so I digress. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Linktree to all the things!

End notes for the chapter are under the line.

Uh oh! Broccoli boy is now an angry broccoli boy! Watch it, Endeavor, or Izuku will, as a commentor suggested, turn a fire extinguisher on you someday. I know Endeavor is going through a redemption arc in the manga which is kind of going up in flames. Is that too much of a spoiler? Anyway, for this fic, since I'm using it to vent and fix things, I'm having him be worse than in canon. Not a large amount but enough to satisfy my brain and its many plans for this fic.

Hoped you liked Hitoshi's match! Not sure if anyone else has had him brainwash Dark Shadow before because I've never come across that in my readings of other fics. But I thought it would be an interesting twist! Dark Shadow is sentient after all so there's gotta be a mind for him to brainwash in there somewhere. Also, I had fun playing with Dark Shadow's character again. The spirit is just so cute!

Katsuki, as ever, is harsh and brash and holds nothing back. Kirishima put up a good fight but lost in the end. I kept this fight the same because I feel the point of quirk exhaustion was important. We did see it with Uraraka's fight too but that was a combination of running around along with quirk use while this fight was almost purely just quirk use. If that makes sense.

Fun Facts About Japan:

Another break from sports festival facts to talk about New Years. Now, on the topic of Christmas, I had said that it was more of a couple's holiday than a family one while in the US it's the opposite. For New Years, I'd say we typically think of it as a couple's holiday in the US. Yes, people throw parties and get togethers. But more among friends rather than specifically family. Not to mention the whole 'kissing someone you love at midnight' part. So in the US I feel it's a couple's holiday. Well, again, in Japan, it's the opposite. New Years, or shougatsu ( 正月 , しょうがつ ), is the big family holiday. Not to mention one of the most important holidays, if not the most, of the year. Businesses shut down and families gather together during that time. Now I never experienced a Japanese New Year family gathering myself during my time there as I would go home to spend the time back in the US with my family, but I'll share what I was told, learned, and experienced in regards to that.

Each new year is seen as separate from the last. Businesses and the like even throw a bounenkai ( 忘年会 , ぼうねんかい ) which is a 'forget the year' party where everyone gathers, eats, and drinks the passing year's problems away. Like a clean slate. I've been to a few and they are fun. My first school they had a white elephant gift exchange. Now me, I love giving gag gifts or just down right silly ones. It's just fun that way. So I got one of those toy hammers that squeaks when you hit it. And it ended up being given to this science teacher who loved it and found it hilarious. He was one of the teachers that dressed like a human Gudetama man back in chapter 36's end notes. Specifically a green one so kind of a 'green eyes and ham' type of deal. XD Also at that same party there were two teachers dressed up. One was a male teacher in a Christmas dress and a wig just for the silliness of it. The other was dressed up as Pikotaro from PPAP which was a huge hit with the students my first year in Japan. Any time pens or pineapples or apples came up in conversation they would start singing and doing the gestures! Talk of pens? In a school? That never comes up! ;)

There are special phrases in Japanese you say to those you see for the first time after the turning of the year. Kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu. ( 今年もよろしくお願いします , ことしもよろしくおねがいします ) Which basically means 'Please take care of me again this year' or 'I hope to work well with you again this year'. More or less. Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu. ( あけましておめでとうございます ) Which is 'happy new year'.

I have more about New Year stuff but am dwindling in available characters so I'll save them for next chapter. :)

Speaking of next chapter, it's one of those moments you've been waiting for. Izuku versus Todoroki! The ice, the fire, the breaking of walls, and reaffirming of friendships. That's what's in store next update. Till then stay safe, report typos or weirdness, and have a happy new year!

[bae-science]

y’all asked, i deliver! here’s some more fic recs now that valentines’ day is starting to encroach:

Music of the Night by @novapple

i am constantly BEGGING people to use newt being musical in their fics more and THIS is proof of how excellent a canon concept it is because: MY TWO JOYS: newt being musical AND the precursors letting him play music sometimes and him using that as a coping mechanism during and after. also, like, the writing style is really crisp and clear and has an EXCELLENT voice in terms of newt’s characterization both before and after uprising, and that’s not easy to do in the same fic

Bear Your Neighbor’s Burden Within Reason

this whole series is really good but as someone who’s recently physically disabled myself, i fucking appreciate a fic that gets hermann’s disability right AND has newt be a good abled ally. not ONCE do we get a forced-feeling pity party or newt having to “learn a valuable lesson” about autonomy or whatever; from the getgo he’s polite, respectful, and still a fucking moron who i love. like, if you’re a ho for touch starvation and characters being each others’ rocks, this is for YOU. AND it doesn’t fall into the trope you think it does when you read the description, which was a genuinely interesting and very in character decision. the whole author’s newmann tag is really really good, including, like. some straight up excellent spicy stuff, so set aside some time to go through it all.

The Six Million Pillows Man by @callmealois on twitter

bro straight up this is so fucking cute why don’t people write more hermann with pillows. 

newton geiszler, oblivious moron extraordinaire by @three-black-cats

SORRY BUGABOO IT WAS TOO GOOD I HAD TO INCLUDE ITTTTTT. this is like, a fucking MASTERCLASS in pining. jesus christ. if you like fics where NOBODY has the brain cell, sit your ass down and bone appetit. like charles i KNOW it’s self indulgent i ENCOURAGE this kind of behavior from you because IT TURNS OUT SHIT LIKE THIS.

the truth about me (and the truth about you) by @buttfucknowhere-spaceville

genuinely the most interesting and original take on the “amnesia fake married” trope EVER i’m not kidding. like, you will not expect where this fic goes, but it’s a GENIUS writing choice that’s SO fucking funny and clears up any weird messy consent issues while leading to an ending that’s really emotionally impactful and satisfying. oh, and did i mention this is the first fic mary’s written in EIGHT YEARS. WHAT THE FUCK MAN. genuinely got me into the trope now.

Sequitur

whoever realized that the logical extension of the drift hangover trope would be hermann getting newt’s adhd is a fucking GENIUS. someone do this with hermann’s autism.

Bump in the Night (NSFW)

i didn’t know you could write 8,000 words of slow burn awkward sex pollen phone sex based off the one joke line everyone always ribs newt about but apparently you can to extremely funny results.

Music, When Soft Voices Die by @kscientific

fun fact, i actually sang the song the title is from in middle school choir. anyway this is extremely cute and newt and hermann playing piano together needs to be a WAY more popular trope because this fic SOLD me.

The Stretch and Pull of Disused Hearts

this one was actually recommended to me by @skepticamoeba over on twitter, and i read it all in one sitting because it was. SO GOOD. another extremely well done depiction of hermann’s disability, and i actually really like newt’s development here in learning how to express how he wants to help hermann without coming off wrong. i admit, yeah, sometimes it’s really fucking hard to do the shit you need to do to take care of yourself, especially when spoons are in short supply, and even though hermann is technically doing the unhealthy thing here, you never feel annoyed with him because he’s written to be so so empathetic. like, yeah, there’s a fucking WAR going on! and physical limitations suck to think about! everybody gets a character arc here, and the angst and pining is HORRIFYING and so so good. if you’ve ever had to drag yourself out of bed at 3am to fix a 32 BG by chugging orange juice straight from the bottle while sweating like a christmas pig and about to pass out in the middle of the kitchen before furiously shoving pretzels and nutella in your mouth because your body is on the verge of severe hypoglycemia, or, y’know, something along the lines of that, this is for YOU.

hey jealousy by @provokiing (NSFW)

i’m fucking cryign i hate gay people so much i really do. raleigh becket RIGHTS nothing but respect for my king of allies.

oh and obviously read 3 Times Newt Was a Bad Diabetic + 1 Time Hermann Was a Good One to stan good taste and dr. anako flaerty

[iridescentoracle]

silmarillion fanfic recs i am absolutely desperately begging y’all to read, please someone share my obsession

A Brief Guide to the House of Finwe (A Hobbit's View, by Bilbo Baggins) by Drag0nst0rm

START WITH THIS, it’s hilarious but also functions as a genuinely REALLY GOOD PRIMER i’m dead serious, bilbo’s descriptions are spot-on and hilariously memorable it’s great. also hobbits in valinor is just easily the best genre of silmarillion fic by a mile

after that, drag0nst0rm’s other stuff is also consistently great but particular shoutouts to:

Ancient History by Drag0nst0rm

the day of aragorn and arwen’s wedding, a disgruntled scholar complains to a mysterious completely ordinary and in no way notable stranger about how his thesis is no longer viable bc suddenly it’s talking about the new queen’s family rather than a bunch of obscure historical figures. it is among the nerdier things i’ve ever read, possibly rivaled only by the music history fic i mention a few links down, and i mean that as the highest of compliments. the professor would be proud.

Can't Live With 'Em, Can't Time Travel Without 'Em by Drag0nst0rm

time travel fic! that does not automatically fix everything, but that does leave room for things to continue going at least somewhat less horribly than canon! funny, emotional, & makes fëanor a much better protagonist than in canon, by virtue of not being an absolutely unbearable asshole at all times in all situations. i mean like he’s still an asshole, it’s fëanor, but like, mostly tolerably so, depending on your tolerance levels for things like “everything about who fëanor is as a person”

Through All the Ages by Drag0nst0rm

more time travel fic! that, again, does not fix everything but does leave room for a happier path than canon trod and that is nice to elrond specifically which should always be a priority with silmarillion fic bc god knows canon isn’t

And What Happened After & The Very Wine of Blessedness by thearrogantemu

parts 5 & 6 of a series; the earlier stories are also good (though there’s some fingon/maeðros, which is not really my thing) but these two are absolutely next-level, mostly bc they are hobbits in valinor fics which have i mentioned is hands-down the best genre of silmarillion fic

Return to Aman by bunn

more fourth age/elrond-and-sometimes-hobbits in valinor fic, this one more firmly based around elrond and maglor and dealing with the Oath and various people’s lingering complicated feelings about first age drama. very well written, nicely nuanced characterization, doesn’t shy away from the characters continuing to very much have flaws and grudges and so forth but isn’t endless angst and conflict and has a good sense of humor

sir, take it easy by WalkingAmphigory

THIS FIC. oh my god. this fic. this is, literally, no exaggeration, it straight-up says in the tags and also the notes on every chapter, how the author studied for a music history final. it is arguably crackfic but also like works genuinely really well worldbuilding/characterization-wise and has some actual legit emotional bits (shoutout to the chapter which turns finrod having wolf-related trauma into something both lowkey devastating and hilarious simultaneously bc oh my god) and yes the name is derived from what google translate used to give you for “kyrie eleison”

please read this

i have more recs but these are probably my favorites and also all of them are either complete or end at places that feel complete even if they’re not technically marked as done so no cliffhanger concerns, i promise

[incomprehensiblelentils]

@swiftjolras tagged me in this fic writer meme, thanks buddy! Also because B and I do a lot of cowriting, I’m going to try to stick to the ones that only I have written for this meme. I guess if somebody wants I can do one about our cowritten stuff separately...? but I feel like this is a fair restriction.

Name: Megan

Fandoms: I mean. Do you want my like, current fandoms I write for or all the fandoms I’ve written for EVER? Actually the latter might be fun let’s do that! I think of my fanfic writing life as having 3 phases: the stuff I wrote when I was a little kid and didn’t know what fanfic was (Winnie the Pooh, Aladdin); the stuff I wrote as a middle/high schooler on ff.net (Cyberchase, The Princess Diaries, The Incredibles, LOTR, X-Men, Pirates of the Caribbean); and the stuff I’ve posted on AO3 in college and beyond (Doctor Who, Dollhouse, Alphas, RPF*, MCU - particularly Agents of SHIELD and Daredevil, Firefly, Once Upon a Time, Kingsman, Wreck-it-Ralph, Terminator: Dark Fate). I actually used to be a BNF in Incredibles fandom, which is hilarious in retrospect as my fic was very bad BUT it was an incredible ego boost for a fourteen-year-old who loved writing! At the moment I mostly write for SHIELD and Dark Fate, with detours into other random gay shit as I feel like it.

*cancel me for my T-rated stories from 2013 I DARE YOU

Where You Post: my AO3 is here and I have a writing blog here that I link stuff from although I’m bad at updating it lol

Most Popular One-Shot: According to hits, by a hair it’s you are the ditch I tumbled into running blind, the first Skimmons fic I ever wrote AND the first Skimmons fic posted on AO3. Although my high school AU has a couple hundred more kudos. They are both 7 years old! That’s wild.

Most Popular Multi-Chapter Story: Again, taking out mallverse which is cowritten and would be the obvious winner at over 40k hits over 6 years, it’s and for once you let go of your fears and your ghosts, which is my Victoria/Isabelle fix-it. It has over 800 hits and 47 kudos, which for a femslash ship in this fandom that isn’t popular at all is pretty damn good! (I wish it was my Kara fix-it, but what can you do when fandom is bad lol.)

Favorite Story You’ve Written: I talk about say you will, the Endgame Natasha/Laura fix-it, a lot, because it took me months to write and was born out of not only my hatred of Endgame but years of pent-up anger and frustration at how Natasha is treated in both canon and fandom. It’s probably my most personal fic - I wrote it as both a redemptive tribute for this character that I’ve loved for almost a decade and a goodbye to her. I got to fill in the blanks of Laura’s character that canon didn’t bother to address, and I made all three Barton kids autistic and gave them all traits that I and my brother and my friends have. I also had to write a lot of very uncomfortable emotions that I haven’t really dealt with in my writing too much and that was interesting and challenging. I know it won’t ever get the attention I’d like it to, but I still love it so much.

Story You Were Nervous to Post: lol all the Terminator porn, I’m not linking it again, y’all can find it, porn is scary bye

How You Choose Your Titles: I am shameless and steal lyrics. Terminator fics all have Carly Rae Jepsen lyrics, I also use TSwift and Marian Call a lot.

Complete: 50 exactly! And a couple dozen more I cowrote with B as well (mostly one-shots).

Incomplete: 5, at least one of which I should really go back and mark complete just because it’s a billion years old and I’ll probably never go back to it lol. But Three Lawyers and a Little Lady will definitely get updated someday because I love my Daredevil Accidental Baby Acquisition AU! And I have a shitton ongoing that B and I are working on together as well.

Do You Outline: Not usually for one-shots, but like, I ran into a real problem with say you will where I kept thinking of scenes that needed to be added and having to write them, and there were a couple of scenes that I had to sort of Frankenstein in because I’d written them early on and I wanted to include them real bad but they didn’t “technically” fit anywhere (I wonder if readers can tell lol). So I try to outline for long-running stuff because if I don’t it just goes extremely off the rails.

Coming Soon / Not Yet Started: I am in the middle of two right now: a Star Wars Jannah/Rose horse girls fic where they bond while riding orbaks and also kiss, and Halt and Catch Fire Donna/Cameron where Donna drags Cam to a PFLAG meeting to try and figure out how to talk to her lesbian daughter and everyone thinks they’re a couple (spoiler: they don’t know they are yet). These are the random gay shit detours I mentioned earlier. More on brand, I have at least one more Terminator porn in my brain and also a fluffy one where Grace proposes to Dani and Carl officiates their wedding. OH I FORGOT i was supposed to write a Charlie’s Angels 2019 fic where Sabina brought home a dog and the other two were like ????. I feel like that one will be pretty easily once I just sit down and do it because their voices seem pretty straightforward

Do You Accept Prompts: Um, I’m not like...I don’t want to say I’ll never do prompts, I once wrote Steve/Bucky as quarterback/cheerleader AU because my friend asked me to. But I don’t typically solicit them. The shit I like writing is usually way too random for people to think of lol.

Upcoming Story You Are Most Excited To Write: This is a someday-fic, but I swear I will write an epic redemption story for my beloved monster child Ruby Hale where she lives and becomes the Zuko of the group and also Daisy’s weird little protege and she and Elena are never like, close, and Elena doesn’t have to forgive her, and that’s okay. I just feel like they set her up as a perfect Ward foil and then really dropped the ball.

tagging uhhhh @unwind-myself @swashbucklery @amidalleia @allofthefeelings I forget which of my friends write fanfic anymore lololol if I tag you in this and you don’t VERY SORRY MY BAD also like, if you want to do this and pretend I tagged you please do!