#and of course this makes me want to write a destiel fic about it

[wanderingcas]

my fascination has extended from lighthouses to fire tower lookouts. people are up there all day, isolated, and a lot of times they have hobbies while they whiddle away the day. just saw a post about someone who's stationed at a fire tower in Montana who also makes violins. that's?? so cool??

it would take a very specific type of person to voluntarily want to do that job and live in isolation. and it'd be really interesting to explore what would lead someone to want to do it.

[orchidshark]

I have an idea to write a supernatural fic (i know its 2025 fricken sue me) inspired by Epic. Some wild found family shit with def some Sabriel and Destiel thrown in there. Ofc just barely cannon compliant to make the story line and ships work.

Basic outline, Sam and Dean end up having to take in a girl (around 11) when her family dies and shes left with instructions to call John of all people. Oops tho they didnt get the message that his dead and she gets Sam and Dean instead. Already been raised by hunters and thus knowing WAY too much about the supernatural (great parenting choices made all around IM LOOKIN AT YOU JOHN), the boys take her in. We get some found family with Sam and Dean basically trying to do things better than their dad. "No, you cant come with us. NOT because you arent capable, youre plenty that, but youre a kid. So for once, be a kid." and stuff like that. I see Sam becoming more of a parental figure to her because of how he views his childhood compared to Dean. With Dean still in his "our childhood was pretty great, dad did his best" mentality, I see him slowly come to realize that giving a kid a GUN when they are scared of their closet was not a great choice.

Cas is there of course and Gabe comes back not long after faking his death in season 5 (I NEED MY SHIPS). The boys are able to get Sam back from Hell with the help of our fave archangel turned trickster.

The angels and demons are PISSED about their plans and figure that they need to separate this little found family. Dean and Cas are left alone at Bobby's to try and figure this all out and Gabriel is captured and taken to Asmodeus (I need his headquarters to be somewhere on earth with a connection to hell. this will make sense later). The angels take the kid and place her in a random ass town middle of no where and in the foster system, with only an Angel (im thinkin Anna cause canon does not exist here) keeping guard to make sure she cant leave and cant contact anyone.

Sam, cause hes sam and cant catch a break, goes on what he thinks is a normal salt-and-burn on his own but ends up being stopped by some supernatural being whenever he tries to go home. HE IS OUR ODYSSEUS. Lucifer is Posideon in this case, and wants him to feed into the "monster" within him so he'll say yes again and finally take over. Sam is constantly beat down, losing every person he comes into contact with on his journey, and becoming the "monster" or hunter in this case, that John was always trying to get him to be. He just wants to get home to his family.

The girl, on the other hand, is stuck with no way home and just wants to be with her family again. She wants to be just like Sam and Dean and decides so start doing research and helping out in this middle of no where town when crazy supernatural stuff does happen. She was raised by hunters and then our favorite boys after all so she has a good idea of what to do but cant actually ask anyone for help. SHE IS OUR TELEMACHUS.

They are all separated from each other for about 3 years.

She eventually finds that Anna has a bit of a soft spot left from when she used to be human and creates the opening to Asmodeus's for the kid to find. She stubbles in there and finds who? her basically step-dad, Gabriel! She steals him away and finds some of his grace to take back with her. He starts to get better but then the kid is taken. Gabriel is strong enough now to send a message to Cas. Anna thinks they all have been punished for too long.

Sam finally beats the shit outta lucifer and makes his way to bobby's just as Cas finds out that Gabriel and the kid are alive and in the same place. Our trio runs to this backwater town and heads down to Asmodeus's. The suitors are the Demons there and Sam is in a fuckin RAGE. They not only kidnapped and tortured his boyfriend for the last three years (much longer for Gabriel) but now they have his kid. Two of the people hes been fighting so hard to get back to. Sam (with help from Dean and Cas) fight off the demons and find the kid. On the way out they find Asmodeus and hes PISSED. At the last moment, Gabriel comes in full archangel and smites the bastard.

And of course we end on reunions all around (think "I cant help but wonder") and a supernatural rendition of "would you fall in love with me again" between Sam and Gabriel (cause HE IS OUR PENELOPE). Sam feels like hes changed, hes not the same person he was when he left. Hes done horrible things, killed so many creatures, allowed so many to die, just so he can go home. He wants to be with his family but knows that he might never be able to be Sam again. Gabriel has been under Asmodeus' watch for years, his grace diminished, waiting for someone to come and find him. He hoped it would be his family, his Sam. And now that he's got Sam back? Hes never letting go again. He'll fall in love with Sam over and over again because he may have changed but his soul didnt. And damn if Gabriel hadnt been waiting.

So thats my idea..........sorry this is long but anyone like?

[happilyfeatherafter]

Happilyfeatherafter’s ficrec Fridays

Back back back again, and I don't know guys, I think we should all just totally stab Caesar! Welcome back to a new fortnight of fics that I’ve read and loved recently.

If you want to find more you can see my previous rec lists here!

15 March 2024

Are You Writing From the Heart? by  @luckshiptoshore is now complete!! Congrats Luck! Full disclosure, Luck is one of my very best friends, but that just means I know not only how much of a talented fic writer she is, but also how much of her heart and soul she poured into writing this love letter to queer storytelling, season 4 Destiel as a romcom, meta text (and subtext), and finding out who you really are when society and your upbringing is fighting against you. Castiel is a ghostwriter for L.S. Shore's Supernatural novels about Neal and his brother. Caught in a storytelling rut, Cas finds himself adding the fallen angel character of Bel...what could possible go wrong? Meanwhile at his local writing coffee shop spot, he meets the handsome stranger Dean who is an up and coming standup comedian and Supernatural fanboy. They because firm friends, but that's definitely it because Cas is straight....right?! Following these two dummies as they FAIL TO USE THEIR WORDS is a total joy, as Luck's humorous and emotional writing paired with her eye for detail is so very on point, and I'm so excited more people will finally get to read this story in full.

Baker Six by komodobits because !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot tell you how goddamn excited I was to get this email notification and finally be back in 91w world, and to witness these early stages of Dean and Cas' relationship through Dean's eyes at last. This barely needs a rec because it's THEE 91w Dean, but komodobits hasn't missed a beat in getting back inside their heads and I was once again swept away by this iconic love story against the odds. Head the trigger warnings as always, this is truly on the front lines as a medic in a war zone. Baker Six was written for the very good cause of the fandom Palestine fundraiser, in support of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. Please donate if you can!

Truth & despair by @shallowseeker was a recent discovery and such a fascinating read! It's set in a post-15x18 verse, but importantly it features a fun Sam narrative perspective that delights in his lens by...being a bit of an unsympathetic oblivious dummy (affectionate). I really appreciate a crunchy Sam characterisation and oooboy does this pay off. Dean is steeped in his grief for Cas, and Sam is oh so concerned. He reaches out to Mia Vallens to understand his own grieving, and that leads to him making a discovery...Dean's memories of Cas' death aren't what he claims happened. With the unwelcome reappearance of Chuck (he lost...didn't he?) and LITERAL sinkholes appearing in the fabric of the universe, can they figure out what's happening to save Cas and save the world? This wip plays with physics, theology and narrative fuckery in such intriguing ways. I can't wait to see how it wraps up in the next two chapters.

The Leap by @friendofcarlotta started reading this one when Tina reshared it on Leap Day...because of course. I'd actually read it before but it more than lived up to the reread. 'Castiel Krushnic is a police officer in Soviet-occupied East Berlin. He is also gay, in a city where that’s a dangerous thing to be. One night, he meets Dean Winchester, a mechanic from the American sector. Their mutual attraction is instant, and a convenient hookup quickly turns into a passionate love affair that defies all rules and expectations.' Meticulously researched, emotional, heartrending and thought provoking. I highly recommend taking the leap on this fic!

See you in two weeks and OMG it's @deancaspinefest time!!!! I'm so excited *clears calendar*

Tag list under the cut - let me know if you'd like to be added to be notified of future recs!

@dean-you-assbutt-cas-loves-you

[spnfanficpond]

January 2024 Angel Fish Awards

(Angel Fish design by @slytherkins!!)

Every month all of you fantastic writers work your asses off to post some truly incredible stories. Our Angel Fish Awards are the way for all of us, as a community of writers and readers, to lift each other up and give praise to those who have captured our attention and deserve a few kind words. (Click here to learn more about how to nominate a fic for an award!)

Nominated by @heavenssexiestangel

The Unconventional Meet-Cute by @schizonephilim

I wanted to read something different from my usual go-to, and I had this story in my To Be Read 'pile' for a while, so I read chapter 1! I can't wait to read chapter 2. It's really well-written and the sexy times are awesome.

~*~*~

Nominated by @spn-fanfic-reblog-writes

Full of Grace by ilovehowyouletmefall (AO3)

I love this fic. I have read this thing so many times. I love the intimacy and how they develop organically. How Cas just takes why Dean gives and it’s how it should be in my head. It’s sweet and fluffy. I wish Dean would stop calling Cas “pal” as if he’s fucking Mickey Mouse and Pluto but it’s amazing. I return to it a lot. It’s a comforting story that deals with mental health and I’m glad it’s set in heaven.

Cuddle Deprivation by @destielshipper4cas

This is sooo good. It’s an incubus that feeds off affection and emotions through touch. It is so good. So fluff, Castiel and Dean confused about the different cultures, which I think is a great element because it's a common problem with relationships from people of different countries or even skin color at times. Must read.

Cuddlibus by @destielshipper4cas

It’s an incubus that feeds off affection and emotions through touch. It is so good. So fluff, Castiel and Dean confused about the different cultures, which I think is a great element because it's a common problem with relationships from people of different countries or even skin color at times.

Heartstring Promenade by @winchester-reload

This is the ending to the series I wanted.

Destiel's 1st Time by @chaoticmotherofall

Holy shit. Wow, primal. Rawr. Must read smut. I think it’s the scene most of the fandom would want to see if they could. Sorry, not sorry.

Dean's Delights by Redamber79 (AO3)

Destiel. Baker Dean. Can smell each other through blockers. Insecure Cas. Love it! He just wants to eat Dean up and kind of does! True mates are delicious, don’t ya think?

The Company by CasCase (AO3)

You’re gonna get intimidated by the language of ballet vocab but don’t worry, it isn’t important. It’s such an amazing love story and so well written. Wow. There is even artwork of the seriously important emotional scenes that just make it so much better. Omg! I wish this was a fucking movie because it’d be gorgeous!

Room for Two (The Mattress AU) by @almassi

Schmoopy fluffiness. I love it! I also love that Cas actually gets everything but doesn’t show it. Lol. He got the references.

truly there's nobody for you but me by Abi_in_the_Cosmos (AO3)

Omfg, hotness. Cas so teasing Dean. The shorts are used. The shorts in the BTS on the show of Jensen wearing denim short shorts, which of course Dean says they exist for an in-story reason. I don’t care. It’s great.

this heart and flesh shall fail by ValandraWrites (AO3)

Monsterfucker story, technically. Great story. Dean is not technically underaged despite what it says. Twist ending. Beautiful story with a sexy but sad twist.

The Biological Ways by @sitruunavohveli

Three words: Accidental office romance Destiel! A/b/o! Love it. Love that it’s Charlie too. Yay! I also am a huge fan of this author’s works. I’ve had the pleasure of working with them and they’re just amazing to work with. Please check them out.

Weighted by amireal, tiamatv (AO3)

I absolutely love this fic because I actually sleep with a weighted blanket and when my kids are sick, they love their own. I even have one in the car. It’s light but enough to feel it. This is just so fluffy and romantic all thanks to our favorite redhead introducing weighted blankets which helps so much. It’s been shown to even help babies but blankets aren’t great for them. Anyway, they’re so cute and that scene where Dean opens his eyes all slow and gentle with “hey”, just broke me. My husband and I do that periodically and it just means more snuggles and sleep. lol. Poor Castiel thinking he couldn’t have Dean which I understand since Dean has said so much he is straight or implied it rather often. Ugh. This was done so well. Thank you both!

~*~*~

Nominated by @deeranger

When There's Only You by AnOddSock (AO3)

It's such a visceral and extremely well-written story, dark and full of intense angst but at the same time it highlights that profound tenderness and affection between Sam and Dean. The whole "there is no me if there is no you". I was on the edge of my seat all the way through, my heart breaking for the brothers in such a delightful way. This fic is a great rollercoaster ride, like a dark porn with a substantial amount of well-thought-out plot. Heed the tags though... Your feels might not come out intact.

~*~*~

Nominated by @spnexploration

She Thought She Was Normal (series) by @aylacavebear

This is @Aylacavebear's first fic she's putting out into the wild and it's going to be a long multi-chapter journey. What a way to start! This first chapter takes us to poor Maria as a child, who has just lost her mother to a yellow-eyed demon, and Bobby sets her and her Dad up with Sam and Dean. Can't wait to see the whole journey!

Cuddle Deprivation by @destielshipper4cas

This was adorable!! The whole concept of cuddlibus was so cute and I loved when both Dean and Cas were trying to get more out of the relationship but thinking the other didn't want it. And including Sam's cuddlibus daughter was also adorable

Power Grows out of the Barrel of a Gun by Alaisabel (AO3)

I absolutely loved this AU. There are so many twists and turns and I had such a fun time working out what was going on. Dean is so anti-authority and he ends up in a relationship with Cas, a cop.

~*~*~

Nominated by @mrswhozeewhatsis

Fluffy Faerie Tales (series) by @ladylilithprime

This universe and the characters in it are so fascinating! Sam and Dean are half-fae, and Jimmy and Cas have a backstory that is wildly different than anything else I've ever read! (No spoilers!) Sam/Cas/Jimmy is a threesome I've never read before, I don't think, and I'm loving it. So far, all of these stories are filled with plenty of fluff, and the perfect way to end my day. Sweet dreams of faeries and friends are always welcome!

Cuddle Deprivation and Cuddlibus by @destielshipper4cas

I am now OBSESSED with the idea of cuddlibi!!! Like those who have nominated this story above, I find this idea adorable and sweet. And Cas is just SO SWEET! And there's so much delicious pining in both of these stories!! I now want to read ALL the cuddlibus stories!!

THANK YOU ALL, KEEP UP THE AMAZING WORK, AND AS ALWAYS, HAPPY WRITING!

- From your Admins and Manta Rays, @manawhaat, @mrswhozeewhatsis, @mariekoukie6661, @thoughtslikeaminefield, @spencereliotwinchester, and @heavenssexiestangel!

[spn-fanfic-reblog-writes]

Hiii Your WIP list is impressive o.o I would love to hear more about:

An Angel's Unexpected Companion, Sam Wesson x Gabriel, Falling in love with Angel, Tell Me No Lies, Two Men and the Virgin, annnnd The Virus

>.>" I feel like that's a lot for one ask but I am curious

🤣

Plot bunnies don’t escape me. My brain just comes up with ideas and I write them down thinking I’ll get back to it…eventually.

I have a ton of prompts and plot docs too. I even have a prompt list.

I guess it is a lot.

I’m impressed. You even asked about my two novels I’m working on. I’ll do it in order of your list.

An Angel’s Unexpected Companion.

This ideas was inspired by a few different fics. I know one was Hunters Throne by LadyKnightSkye. I love their work! Anyway, it’s about a woman who is a Nephilim (or was it an Elioud?) and prophesied to ending the war between Heaven, Purgstory, and Hell. The way this happens is she becomes an “Angel’s Companion” which is a human that is bonded to an angel (voluntarily) to increase their power and abilities. In this case, they are a second companion to an angel which is so rare. It’s a Cas/Dean with Dean as the first human companion. The woman actually being a Nephilim means they provide more power and a stronger bond. The whole thing is slowly brought to the attention of the archangels and Chuck himself (good dad) that eventually he does recognize her and knows that this is his grandchild. He already knew for he is God.

That’s as far as I got with the story. I don’t know if I’ll ever finish it. It’s a lot of background to keep up with.

Sam Wesson x Gabriel

This is a request for me to retell 4x17 It’s a Terrible Life from Sam Wesson’s perspective with an interfering Gabriel. This does eventually lead to Sabriel.

Falling in love with Angel

This is an urban fantasy romance novel I am working on where a devout psychic woman runs into a fallen angel who has lost faith in God and his mission. Through her he learns that there are many paths to God and they fall in love in the process. It wasn’t supposed to be a religious story but it sort of became that way with my thinking.

I want to get this one published.

Tell Me No Lies

It’s an AU-Canon Divergence fic where the OFC, Ember, is hit with a spell that prevents her from telling a lie. She’s a hunter who reveals she a witch and eventually leads to complications of the heart. This story leads to a triad relationship.

The reason there are two versions is because I tried a different way. The Nightingale Witch version is she’s a special witch where she sings her magic through song—any song because singing evokes and enhances magic from her soul. She’s still get hits with the truth telling spell but the story goes different when it comes to complications of the heart. This story is more of a polycule relationship.

I still haven’t decided which way I wanna go.

Two Men and a Virgin

This a Destiel x Virgin!F!Reader fic. The Reader is a hopeless romantic and wants to save herself for love. She’s just never fallen in love; however, she has moved in next to Cas and Dean, married husband that have become best friends. She, of course, has fallen in love with them and has tried to get over it without success. The Reader has made assumptions that they’re a gay married couple when in fact they’re a pansexual couple and find this out (after five years of knowing them) one drunken night where they all kind of end up making out that leads to sex. It’s indulgent.

There are few real poly fics in the Supernatural fandom and I love Destiel, so yeah.

The Virus

This is an urban fantasy/scifi novel I am trying to write. It’s the omegaverse or a/b/o trope from the very beginning in how it came to be and follows it through humanity witnessing changes into packs and relationship dynamics and the change of laws.

Omegaverse (a/b/o) is my favorite trope.

[queerdeans]

🌙 hi, i'm virginia, i'm 29 but also 309. into: my wife, my cats, writing. and the cw's supernatural (2005).

🌙 my stuff: writing. videos. text posts/spn memes.

🌙 i post about mostly supernatural but you'll find a couple of other things (X Files, Buffy, Doctor Who, Captain America, Our Flag Means Death...) in the mix.

🌙 my agatha all along sideblog: @agathaspussy

🌙 no terfs, no incest. ever.

tags: amvs I like; fics I like or want to read; fanart I like; resources for fic

meta tags: queer, dean, sam, castiel, jack, writers, and tagged by episode (i.e. "meta: 1x01")

My A03

(fics linked under the cut)

Supernatural Fics:

All My Love | In-Progress | 40k+ words — Destiel

Dean's got his hands full with his kids and isn't looking for love. Emma's 13, a young and rebellious teenager, and Dean's still trying to figure out co-parenting 5-year-old Ben with Lisa after their separation. Castiel has just moved to Lawrence to become caregiver for his 3-year-old nephew, Jack, after his sister Anna's sudden death. When the two meet at the local fall festival, neither is able to resist their desire for the other, despite the complications of family life.

Those Who Get in the Way of Peace | Completed | 47k words — Destiel

“Don’t make me an optimist. You will ruin my life.” Dean Winchester finally has his shit together: business is booming at his auto repair shop, he's eating healthy (okay, he's eating salad with bacon bits), he's exercising (in a cemetery). He's single, but he's claiming it as a good thing. And so what if Sam's not talking to him? So what if his dad is marrying an insane artist? And so what if the priest marrying them is hot as hell with a name that sounds like a sin just to say it — Castiel? AKA: another Fleabag fic, but maybe it'll have a happy ending. Maybe.

My Suptober24 | Ficlets

Featuring fluff, smut, angst, and everything in between

Play It Again | Ficlet | 2,500 words — Destiel

“Dear piano player in apartment #3, do you take requests? you should, because I’ve woken up to you playing piano every day for a year and a half now. led zeppelin. that’s my request. play it or get the led out. ;) -dean winchester, apartment #2”

5 Times Castiel Was Human and One Time He Really Was | Ficlet | 4,200 words — Destiel

Of course Eve ate the fruit.

[catgrassplantdad]

fic writer interview

i was tagged by the luminous @energievie & @suzy-queued to fill this bad boy out! i remember doing this last year too, how fun! 🩷

1. How many works do you have on AO3?  I've got 20 on there now!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 143,320

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? kinda raw, float, cinematic, and i'm your warm receiver, watching. the four after kinda raw are all pretty close together in terms of kudos, but kinda raw has a lot more kudos than the one after it and i don't understand why. i have written better fics lmfao! y'all are just nasty. and honestly i appreciate that.

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? i try to always respond, but sometimes it gets away from me! i just really appreciate people taking the time to leave a comment, and i want to show that appreciation.

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? i don't think any of mine have been angsty!

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending? they're all happy, but it might be you outshined the best there was just because of the nature of the story. soft dads, seen from mickey's perspective as he grows into fatherhood over the course of a year, but also so, so plotless. soft!

7. Do you write crossovers? no and i doubt i ever will. one of my very favorite conversations though is when my husband and i insert characters from other media we like into star trek tng or ds9. it's so dumb and so funny. lmao what if i wrote it

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic? yeah! once, on one of my favorite fics, ligature. they told me i should sterilize myself because i'm glorifying abuse by writing bdsm, it's a good read

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? i almost exclusively write smut! nasty and loving. i don't know how to describe it but whenever i think i've written something disgusting i inevitably get comments about how sweet it is. which, yeah, it's not like they're mutually exclusive ways to fuck. so yeah, sweet and dirty husbands

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen? i don't think so! i mean i hope not

11. Have you ever had a fic translated? nope!

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before? i haven't, but i've collaborated on a couple of projects with my dear friend @heymrspatel! i wrote and she made art for cinematic and honeycomb. cinematic was more julissa making art for parts i'd already written, but honeycomb especially was a collaborative process with the way that a bunch of what i wrote was based on things that julissa was visualizing for her art, so parts of it did feel like co-writing. it was the most fun i've had working on anything!

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship? don't make me choose between the angel who fell in love with a faithless man, and the closeted thug who fell in love with the kid who had it bad for him and ultimately had the most satisfying ending. destiel and gallavich are both such incredibly compelling ships!! aahhh!!

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? if there's something i'm not going to finish, it's generally because it became something i didn't want to work on anymore.

15. What are your writing strengths? describing physical sensation and emotional impact, dialogue

16. What are your writing weaknesses? exposition

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? i like evie's idea of just indicating that they've switched to another language without actually writing the language out

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for? gallavich

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to? i really want to write destiel smut. i think the nonhuman element could be fun to play with. i've read a lot of grace sex and that shit is soooooo. hot. i want to try my hand at it.

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? this changes so often! one i come back to a lot is chapter two of 2022's kinktober collection, the prompts were wax & "yeah, that's it baby, just like that" and i wrote some wax play and i suppose cockwarming although it's not tagged as such. i also really fucking love lush, it's inspired by one of julissa's pieces and it's drunk lovemaking and breathplay. i also need to shout out a newer one, beauty in simplicity from this year's kinktober collection. mickey getting his ass eaten on the kitchen table. there's three fics! i don't care!

tagging @howlinchickhowl @whatwouldmickeydo @whatthebodygraspsnot @gallawitchxx @ohkate @sam-loves-seb @sisitrip @crossmydna @thisdivorce @mmmichyyy @arrowflier if you guys feel like playing 🖤

[fellshish]

Weird question, maybe?

What do you think you would recommend when you feel depression (and you're under treatment and all that), to love drawing art and writing again? I mean, there are some videos that inspire you or stuff like that? I have read your fic and recs and would love to be back into writing and all that 💕

Thank you for trusting me with such a vulnerable question. I applaud your choice to be in therapy, and i’m going to assume you’ve asked your therapist for helpful steps in this, too? If not, that could be a good idea since they know your personal circumstances.

I’m not a therapist. Please keep that in mind. But i too have struggled with long absences from creating, so i can give you some insights in how i came back from that.

An important thing is practicing kindness to myself. Of course, that’s far from easy. But if i don’t create? I forgive myself. If i was going to write and i didn’t? Well it’s a hobby, not a job, and i should only do it if it’s (mostly) fun. No matter how many days i haven’t written — it’s ok. That’s what i repeat to myself: it’s ok, and you will write when you want to.

Your mind might be too clouded with depression right now to create. That’s ok — it needs all the energy for healing from that. You’re doing that, and that’s already amazing.

Here’s what i also give myself permission for: to do things badly. To suck ass. To write horribly. As long as i’m having fun, who cares. If i wish to share my writing in the future i can always edit it. Whip it into shape. But at first, in the process? I am writing for me, and it’s allowed to be terrible. Again, i am not being paid, this is my creative outlet, i am doing this for fun.

You ask what inspires me. I’ve thought about it and, well, a lot does. I mostly get ideas (or solutions for ideas that are stuck) when i am doing other things, like doing dishes, or going on walks, or cleaning, or showering. That’s when suddenly something locks into place in my brain that’s been turning around without me even knowing.

And what inspires me to create (again), is other art. Reading books or graphic novels. Reading a funny or heartbreaking fic. Admiring fanart. But also going to a museum, a local drag show, a concert, … watching other artists extract joy from doing what they do. I get inspired by films, often too about artists, like dead poets society. Or i’ve started writing poetry again after reading a destiel au about a poet trying to find inspiration again after a long absence and struggling with self confidence. Fandom specific: rewatching the thing you want to create for, helps.

Reading about writing and listening to podcasts about writing, especially where writers talk about their insecurities, has also been helpful. Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott i found interesting. How to fail often has writer guests and is specifically about how failings and imposter syndrome have been part of even the most successful people’s careers. The writer files and The writers panel are interesting podcasts on writing as well.

I think my advice to you would be, take small steps. Forgive yourself every time along the way. Make a list of things that you love reading about and think of a way to put that in a blender for a story that will excite you. Allow yourself to write a bad first draft. To draw something imperfect. Fuck all the rules.

And start with short periods of creating. It’s a marathon not a sprint. Art is you, so you, it’s your self expression and though it might change over the years, it’s always yours. You can’t lose it. It’s still in there.

I hope this helped. Best of luck.

[autisticandroids]

14 & 22 for the end of year asks :-)

[questions here]

14. Something new you tried this year

so this was a big year for me for longform explorations of non-destiel pairings. which i haven't really done before.

first was wink, which was kind of in many ways now that i think about it, a trial run for what the year would become. it was shorter and not really on an external deadline in the same way (the other two were for bangs, which are pretty serious, but wink was for @spntoxicfemslashevent, which is as far as i can tell pretty lax about "deadlines" and such) and i think most importantly it was about a character who i didn't have that many pre-existing ideas about? like fundamentally wink is a character study of cassie and i just don't feel like i know cassie that well, so writing it felt like a process of getting to know her, rather than a process of trying to translate thoughts i already had into plot and character beats. i could shape the character i was understanding her to be around the necessities of having an arc and a story, i wasn't constrained by a predetermined specific set of personality traits and prior experiences that i was deeply invested in conveying.

obviously that comes with its own minefield. one reason that i'm often hesitant to play in a supernatural femslash space when it comes to other people's fic is that characters can end up voids of personality, squashed into the same five or six pre-made molds like dolls wearing different wigs. and this goes triple for single episode characters like cassie. so i did work really hard to ground cassie in her canonical appearance. i grounded her arc in the death of her father which is like, the main thing we learn about her in the show. i grounded her in cape girardeau (i actually researched some stuff about the city. not much but a bit). i grounded her in her job. i grounded her in the fact that she was willing to have her skepticism shaken by new evidence. i tried to work hard to produce a character and personality actually based in the character and personality we saw in the episode. but there's still only so far you can take it.

and there were other things that made wink simpler to write. it's got a straightforward horror arc which is really where i prefer to play. actually if you're wondering why so many of my pwp fics play out Like That it's because i use horror arcs a lot. like in the end that's just a very simple style for me to write in.

it's also more a character study than a romance. i spent more time with cassie than actually trying to make you buy cassie/meg, which is much easier for me.

and then of course, i know meg very well but i didn't need to bother to really dig into her or show her complexity at all, so that was easy. plus it was a treat to play in a meg 1.0 space, i never do that. a meg who is actively possessing meg masters and whose father is alive is an interesting doll to play with.

but also in the end meg is straightforwardly the villain of this piece. which means she's a convenient rock to throw at cassie. i didn't have to invent any rocks to throw at cassie i already had one built in.

so that's a lot of reasons wink was a lot simpler than the other two fics i want to talk about.

the second one i wrote was not him/not her/not me and this one was actually the hardest! i'm honestly still not totally happy with it, there was a lot of... i guess... meaning that i wanted to put into it that i just don't feel like got conveyed. i'm happier than i thought i would be, though, i think. if i rewrote this, i don't actually know if i would add any scenes, just make the ones in it longer, maybe. i don't know, maybe have more scene repetition. spend more time with cas' guilt towards her.

anyway, i hear you, you're saying megstiel? megstiel was your most difficult fic of the year? megstiel? the megstiel you've ALREADY written a fic for? that megstiel? and to that i say: yes. the thing about a post-canon megstiel is that... they actually lack a lot of tension? a lot of the tension in their relationship was circumstantial, not actually internal really. things kept happening to both of them to cause problems but they didn't really cause problems for each other. certainly not once they were both on the same side.

and if there were problems, it was cas causing problems for meg. like, she's the one who's embarrassed to have squishy little feelings for him. she's the one causing problems for herself to help him. and she's the one who feels left out in the cold when he goes running after sam and dean. so if one is writing from her perspective, there are rocks to be thrown. but for cas? meg has legitimately been pretty much nothing but a positive presence in his life. which means that the conflict basically has to be externally generated. and i wanted to be in cas' head. so.

the other thing is that, like. this was a reverse bang, right? it was for the @spnangelsanddemons-rb. and i saw this super cool art of cas and meg in the empty by @hawkland and i was like okay fab i love to think about cas and meg in the empty. cas and meg afterlife hangouts has been a frequent topic of contemplation for me since i read this fic. and i was fresh off writing he's gonna take my files for the @deancas-stabfest and i felt like there were still meat on those bones. specifically i had intentionally omitted cas' non-dean related memories from that fic for various reasons, but i felt like if i chose a theme to vamp on, instead of just "general bad memories," i could successfully venture outside that limited scope. but the thing is i didn't realize that putting a different spin on a similar premise is like. really hard. especially because like. personally i honestly think he's gonna take my files is really good? like it's a fic of mine that i like a lot. and i think that set me up for dissatisfaction with not him/not her/not me.

i also struggled with my theme? like the sort of direct parallel [parent figure (evil version) -> replacement god -> each other] was fun in theory but it was hard to make it work. mostly actually because differentiating between meg's relationship to azazel and her relationship with lucifer is kind of hard.

and then also while i was working on this fic i wrote the fic dog pit, mostly because i was already playing in that space for not him/not her/not me, like that's where dog pit came from. and that worked really well but then i had to find a way to not just basically rewrite dog pit for nhnhnm (<- good lord look at that acronym i've never typed it out before).

so really stressful and hard fic experience, like just much more difficult than you might expect.

then of course i also wrote every relationship has its stuff. which was somewhat less difficult than nhnhnm but a lot more work, obviously. it's the longest fic i've ever posted to ao3, which isn't that long, just 10k, but it was a lot for ME.

i ended up having a lot of similar experiences working on erhis as the other two. it has a kind of similar basic premise to wink in that it's about two young people dating in [a twisted version of] a pretty normal way. erhis was actually harder in this regard because at least in wink they were kind of doing girlbestfriendisms? erhis was kind of hard to create meaningful romantic tension because jack was quite literally doing exactly what people expected of him at all times. it's hard to make it clear what he wants and what he's just doing because he assumes he's supposed to because he's literally doing what he's supposed to. the furthest he steps outside that boundary re: harper specifically is 1) lying about her to tfw in the first few scenes and 2) being into it when she gets scary.

and then of course erhis has some intensely similar themes to nhnhnm. they're both basically immediately oedipal stories. they're about how the main characters are doomed to recreate their own worst parental relationships throughout their adult lives. except erhis is more constrained than nhnhnm because i don't really bring up jack's history. (man, that was also like crazymaking. i had to keep repeating trust your audience trust your audience to myself so that i could convince myself that people would like, remember the vibe in season fourteen and get what i was doing).

i've talked about this but it was often a struggle to write the harper scenes because like. i've already talked about this above with cassie, but she's a one episode character. except with harper it's hardmode because 1) she's not the main character of the fic so i have way less opportunity to draw her out, 2) i am trying to actually make her appealing. whatever else is going on in erhis i do want it to be in some way legitimately a romance fic, so i need harper to charm both jack and the audience at least somewhat? in a way meg didn't need to in wink because in the end that's horror. she's the villain. and 3) relatedly i needed harper to be more complex than just like. evil crazygirl. i wanted her to have personality beyond that and also to be grayer than that. in the end it's important that despite the fact that jack is kind of dating a little copy of dean in a lot of ways, he's also kind of getting his freedom through doing that. it's more complex than plain replication and it is a place where jack has power in his life. despite how much dating harper replicates his formative household lol. and i also, like nhnhnm and unlike wink, wanted there to be a degree of mutuality. as much as jack is the guy that went on a second date with the girl who kidnapped him for a first one, harper is the girl who went on a third date with the guy who infodumped to her about killing people with guns for a second date. as much as there is a specific kind of toxicity coming from harper that jack is specifically drawn to because it reminds him of dean, they are both the children of serial killer dynasties and there is a kind of sick innocence to their mutual derangement. neither of them really comprehend the idea that it's bad to kill people on an intellectual level, even as both of them exhibit visceral disturbance reactions to the reality of violence.

anyway writing harper and jack-and-harper was often a struggle. i frequently found myself feeling like the scenes between jack and his dads were tasty little treats to keep me going between the scenes of jack alone in his room or interacting with harper, which were a lot harder. like sam, dean, and cas are all rocks to throw at jack and i know them very well. i couldn't let harper just be a rock to throw at jack she needed her own stuff going on. also this was kind of a low conflict fic.

i want to compare it to i fold in half so easily, because there's definitely a similar vibe there in terms of a quiet domestic holding pattern fic where it's mostly about underlying sickness in relationships, but things are way more understated in erhis, for a lot of reasons. one is that the primary source of rock throwing and the love interest are, y'know, different, so you can't just have every love scene double as a rock throwing scene, lol. another is that i've, y'know, become a better writer. i look back on ifihse and it feels overblown and obvious in a way that makes me cringe, as much as i have a lot of affection for it. so i wanted to be subtler. and then of course there's the fact that in a destiel fic you expect dean dean to be a good guy, you know? he gets some benefit of the doubt. so there is some complexity lent there by virtue of him being the main character of supernatural. but harper is less the villain of erhis than dean is of ifihse, and harper is a minor, one episode villain in the show. she's exactly the type of character a fanfic writer would cast as unequivocally evil. so i had to work harder to avoid that assumption, you know?

anyway that's the new thing i did this year.

22. An idea you had that didn’t make the cut

this is hard because generally speaking an idea hasn't "failed to make the cut" until i've forgotten it, it's just been postponed. however, squeeze, which reached its final incarnation this year when i published it as a fluffy normie destiel smut fic, started out its life as this fic. the one i posted about in 2021 where i was like imagine if it was established destiel but cas told dean he'd watched dean and lisa fuck. but i just couldn't make it work so that fic it still in the pipeline.

[ltleflrt]

1, 11, 19 and 23 for the fanfic end of year ask game :)

Thanks for asking! 💜

favorite fic you wrote this year

Aside from the main big wip that I've been plugging away verrrry slowly at, its timestamp Weathering the Storm is my favorite. I got to write from the POV of 3 different characters that I was still getting to know, and it let me flesh them out as people and as a family. It also gave me Feels, so bonus points lol

11. fandom you enjoyed writing for the most this year

It's been so long since I've been able to actually answer this, because I went so long ONLY writing Destiel lol.. but this year I've got a little bit of Destiel, some Dragon Age, and Baldur's Gate 3. I don't think I've actively written for more than one fandom in a single year in over ten years 😆

Anyway, the actual answer here is Baldur's Gate 3. I created some OCs, with lots of AUs of their own stories, and I borrowed @joasakura's OC which was a neat writing experience. While I haven't actively added to my main wip for months, I'm still making notes and coming up with ideas all the time. They're all at the end of the story tho. Very unhelpful when I just want the next chapter, but still fun lol

19. any new fics to start next year

No plans for anything new. I just want to keep plunking away at either my bg3 wip or my da2 wip. We'll see how that goes. Never know what the muse will pop up with.

23. fics you wanted to write but didn’t

I wanted to work on my older wips of course. Reaching Out has been on hiatus since 2023, which makes me ITCH. Want so badly to finish! And I had a Destiel fic called Shameless that I only managed to post 2 chapter of before I got stuck. I'm beginning to think I'm never going back to that one, so I've hidden it for now. But I still dream of it.

For new ideas, I wanted to write a timestamp for The Brothers Tav that details the spider attack that nearly killed them all and left the eldest brother permanently scarred and the 2 younger brothers with crippling arachnophobia. I haven't yet because there's a lot of action involved, which I need to be in the right headspace for, and also I have chapters about it coming up in the main fic, and I don't want to spoil that for people following the wip and also reading the timestamps. Sure, I know I could post it after I post the context in the main fic, but also I could procrastinate.

(questions from this post)

[obufalo]

obufalo 📌

this blog is essentially a mess, but i feel like i can make it easier to newcomers to understand what goes on here.

so, hi!

about me:

millennial

brazilian

she/her

i reblog fandom stuff (including nsfw) 90% of the time. 5% is yapping of my own (mostly about fandom) and the other 5% are memes, politics or art that are not related to fandom

i write fanfic! i'm herkind on AO3

main fandoms/obsessions:

our flag means death pretty much my fav show of all time. i'm an ed kinnie, love gentlebeard and am probably izzy's biggest hater.

x-men mainly morph and morpherine as of late, also love cherik and romy. i'm a morph kinnie, of course. not in love with other ships involving morph or wolverine (apart from deadpool/wolverine, not really in a romantic way though more in a hatefuck way. particularly dislike logan with jean or scott or both, even if i see where the appeal comes from), but i love most of the characters from x-men, anyway. nightcrawler can be considered a little side obsession.

what we do in the shadows (movie & tv) movie: one of my favs ever, love vianton. tv: i'm a nadjacoded laszlogirl. main ships are sean/laszlo and nadja/jenna (yea i know i'm the only one in the latter). don't hate nandermo, just don't feel that strongly about it. same for guidja.

amc's interview with the vampire i'm a louis kinnie. so, gotta give it to loustat. don't really like armand but am super invested in devil's minion.

house of the dragon rhaenicent. that's it.

supernatural i'm never breaking free from the chokehold this shitshow has on me. dean kinnie, destiel shipper, wincest hater - you know, the basics. the non-basic thing is that i also ship samifer (yes it's problematic and toxic: i like to acknowledge nuance and don't think shipping should always be morally correct).

the walking dead caryl is everything to me. also love richonne.

the good the bad and the ugly blonco (i actually love some westerns and have other ships of the sort, but blonco's the main one).

rpf i'm not proud of shipping real people but sometimes it's inevitable and i indulge in it 'cause this is the website for Indulging In It. you'll mostly see me reblogging/talking about jenmish aka cockles (and/or jenmisheel), rhys darby/taika waititi, emma d'arcy/olivia cooke and joey/frankie from the basement yard.

basically, i'm on tumblr to be a full-time fangirl. i'll be extremely happy to talk about any of these silly little things, so if anyone wants to be friends, just hit the ask box or the chat :)

oh, and i'll be doing a masterpost for my fics soon!

[scuderiacanucks]

fic writer interview! tagged by @bumblewyn @formulaocean and @sacharowan (SORRY i kept forgetting to do this the first two times)

How many works do you have on ao3? 42!

What’s your total word count? 217,747 and that's uh. about to jump again in a couple days. not sure where this sudden burst of creativity came from but i'm not complaining lol

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? The Idiot's Guide To Roommates (NCT/Kpop); Man's Second Best Friend (With Benefits) (F1); Always Bring A Banana To A Party (NCT); From the Top, Make it Drop (NCT); and How Not To Get a Boyfriend (NCT). you can notice a distinct theme in my fandoms lol

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? i ... try my best! i'd say i reply to most of them but there are definitely some i miss skdfjhskjdf

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? probably We Almost Nailed It (NCT) (i'm NOT recommending this one it's my first published work and i think it's. rough. but it is sad. tfw you have to kill your boyfriend for your job lol)

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending? that might be Golden Light (my beautiful transfem george i love you so so much)

Do you write crossovers? ummm im not anti-crossover but i think most of my crossover ideas never make it out of the docs. so yes? but not in a way that matters very much lol

Have you ever received hate on a fic? yeah lol

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? yes i do and id say its. sad? i don't think i'm capable of writing smut without putting Emotions and Angst in it usually. but i like it like that so its not a bad thing at all lol

Have you ever had a fic stolen? not that im aware of!

Have you ever had a fic translated? nope

Have you ever co-written a fic before? yes!!! this is where i plug my and @bumblewyn's charlando fic shut your mouth (give me your head) which is REALLY good if i do say so myself. it was such a blast writing it too!

What’s your all-time favourite ship? ... destiel. look. i'm not immune to angel of the lord raising the righteous man from hell, asking him why he doesn't think he deserves to be saved, and both of them then proceeding to save each other over and over. idk it just [shrimp emotions]

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? a naruto fic i got like 10k into and then suddenly stopped having the will to write. rest in peace sasunaru you will get your happy ending in some other universe but not that one

What are your writing strengths? i'd say characterisation for sure. i really enjoy getting to know a character and deciding what their voice will be in my head. i also think i'm not too bad at worldbuilding although i don't tend to spend a lot of time on it within fics

What are your writing weaknesses? endings ... i tremble at the thought of actually properly tying up a fic and settling everything down. also finding titles lol

What are your thoughts on dialogue in other languages in a fic? i don't do it and i don't like it (most of the time when it's in a language i know it just. doesn't work for me lol) (sometimes it can also be downright creepy due to cultural/linguistic differences) (PLEASE stop making max verstappen say schatje. thats gross)

What was the first fandom you wrote for? i used to hand-write self-insert little women fic when i was like eight. so probably that. i had thee biggest crush on jo lmao

What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to? i haven't written geochalex. yet. but it's going to happen at some point. otherwise i'd say charles/lewis would be a really interesting ship too

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written? if i have to pick one above the rest ... yeah, probably make me taste alive. it's galex, in which alex is a vampire and george is entirely normal about it, of course.

thanks so much for tagging me! genuinely, i think all the authors i know on here have already been tagged, but if you haven't and you see this, please use it as an open tag if you want to do this.

[explainslowly]

is omegaverse about trans and intersex people?

Spending all this time reading and thinking about omegaverse fic, I really want to put more thought into what relationship omegaverse has to trans and intersex people.

Disclaimer: thoughts based on my reading of Destiel omegaverse fic. Technically not the birthplace of abo, but you couldn't pay me enough to make me read J2, so close enough.

I think a fairly commonly held opinion is that omegaverse is simply transphobic/anti-intersex. I don't exactly agree with that 100% these days, because I want to investigate and think through what the popularity and content of omegaverse says about attitutes towards intersex/trans people more deeply, but I also don't begrudge anyone that opinion. I mean, it was my reaction too, for years.

Read a few omegaverse fics, especially the straightforward porn ones, and it becomes pretty clear pretty fast that these stories are very horny about trans and intersex bodies and genders but like, without anyone even breathing or thinking those words. M/M A/O is often like: what if a man had a vagina. What if a woman was amab. What if a man could get pregnant. What if intersex variations were even more common than they already are (which is - more common than you might think) and were publicly recognized as existing separate genders (yeah they are mostly kinda sci-fi, but also even in our very much existing, very much mundane world there exist people with all kinds of bodies and expressions of reproductive organs). And then the stories are about such people being super desirable and hot.

It has it's charms, but of course it's not that simple.

Considering the history and consequences of chaserism and fetishistic pornographic depiction of marginalized people, the hostility that a lot of trans/intersex people feel about the omegaverse is pretty understandable. Like, being into forcefem/sissy porn (which, lbr, a loooot of omegaverse writers clearly are) does not automatically make you an ally nor does the popularity of this kink make world less hostile to transfem people. The painful tension between desires that are covert and violence that is overt is present within this space just as much as it is everywhere else.

First, the majority of fandom does not have interest in acknowledging the existence of trans/intersex people within their stories. That itself is a form of violence, I hope we can all agree. Like erasing our existence (often quite nastily!) is bad.

Second, the stories themselves often include intersex themes in some form. Protagonist having a nonstandard issue of reproductive organs (whether by being the only human omega etc, or just having a nonstandard set within the world) is something I have seen enough to call it a somewhat common trope. It is never called an intersex condition within the text, but it seems to me that it clearly is just that. It's kind of a mixed bag as you might imagine, because it seems usually written out of ignorance about the real world equivalents and often with fetishy or tragedy porn undertones, but it also can be based in interest and compassion.

Transition seems to only come up in the form of 'bitching (if you are not aware, it's the term for an alpha turning another alpha into an omega, usually by knotting them) which is the omegaverse flavor of forcefem/sissyfication which I feel has been analyzed to death, and I don't think I have anything interesting to add there.

Last few years, there has been an uptick in writing about trans people (less so with intersex ppl, afaik), mostly *by* trans people, but it's still a drop in the bucket in comparrison to the amounts of omegaverse writing. Trans/intersex people are haunting fanfic, our bodies arranged and presented to be consumed for erotic pleasure, while we are never given the courtesy of having our experiences named. It's a weird, disorienting experience, much like existing in a society which is living in fear of gender transgression and body non-normativity, while at the same time furiously dennying it's existince. It's sickening. It's madening. I don't like it!!

This post is already way too long so I might end it here. I still want to look more closely at the expression of desire but I might think on that a little more.

[biasto-bias]

Re: that "not reading wips feels anti-fanfiction to me" post -

I think it makes sense. I agree with the general idea - I think the point of transformative fandom is creating things together! Even writing fanfic in the first place is, in its own way, creating something together with the original writer.

But it made me think about why I don't, personally, read WIPs (in most circumstances). I've actually been thinking about it since I saw the post yesterday. Fair warning, this is a long introspective ramble about my fandom-related preferences, and may or may not interest you.

I know it's because reaching the end of a WIP bothers me and has a negative effect on my mood. (Of course, that's enough - I don't have to look into it more - but I get curious about my own psyche, so here we are!) I think that happens because commenting on strangers' WIPs - participating in the writing process that way - isn't enough of a collaborative thing for me.

I LOVE bouncing fanfic ideas back and forth in a Discord server or (previously, RIP) Twitter threads. I love making up stories with friends. "And then the blorbo suffers!" "Ooh, but what if their love interest suffers along with them?" "YES, and then they can comfort each other afterwards!"

I like that when I do that, the story isn't pinned down yet - it can go anywhere. And even if one of us writes a more traditional piece based on what we talked about, and posts it on AO3 or wherever - the other participant(s) in the conversation, or even some other random fandom member who woke up too late to participate or something (if the conversation wasn't in DMs), can write their own piece, with their own interpretation of the idea, and that's encouraged. Two cakes!

Now, I know that some people would absolutely love it if a stranger read their AO3-posted WIP and went "I couldn't bear that it was unfinished, so I wrote my own ending." I'm one of those people! But I also know that some people would take offense. And that doesn't feel the same, to me, as starting with a collaboration - it feels closer to writing fanfic of original fiction. (Which I obviously think is awesome, but it's a much more distant form of conversation.)

When I read a WIP, I know the author (usually/often) has an outline for the rest of the fic. They know exactly how they want the plot points to go, if not the details. There is an ending, most/a lot of the time - I just don't know what it is, because it's not written/posted yet. And that bothers me. I think it would actually bother me even more if there wasn't an ending yet, even in the author's head! I'm the sort of person who seeks out spoilers - I want to know how the story ends before I invest in it. I can't do that with a WIP.

But with fic-spitballing, often the ending is the first thing you come up with. Or the second. Or you have a vague idea, and then you decide on something else. In any case, you're not at risk of investing a bunch of energy into something that surprises you with a final ending you dislike. If you dislike the idea your conversation partner(s) have for the ending, you can just make your own.

And importantly, that ending is just as much a part of the quasi-fic as theirs is. You're not changing their story, you're just making a new branch of the idea. I think that's the thing, for me. If I read a WIP, I'll finish it in my head, and that ending will become the "real" ending to me - even if I read the creator's original ending later. And that bothers me.

When I come up with a fic idea that changes canon - maybe a Bad End, or a genderbend, or something silly - it comforts me that canon is still there, and I can't actually change or erase it. It'll always be the "real" story to me. The fic will always be the derivative.

I prefer writing love letters to canon, rather than hate mail - I used to be in the Destiel fandom (Supernatural is famous for screwing its Destiel viewers over); now, I'm in fandoms for canon M/M romance, and I'm much happier. I don't think either way of engaging with canon is objectively better, and I know some people prefer the hate-mail one and find more meaning in it, but I do know that the love-letter one is better for me.

So I avoid canons I know I'll be unsatisfied with. And I do the same with published fanfic. If I know I'll feel like "this story isn't enough, I want to fix it or finish it" - even if I'll also feel like "this is good, and it inspires me" - most of the time, I won't even start, because that feeling (and the way I deal with it, by making my own version, whether or not I write it down) frustrates me.

Fic-spitballing, on the other hand, feels more like just an idea. A beginning. It's not something to fix or finish - it's not supposed to be a real story yet. It's not supposed to be "enough" yet. It's the birth of a story, one you get to participate in. And that works better for me - creating stories from the start, instead of fixing or adding onto a story that already exists.

Anyway, WIPs are great. I hope the culture of posting WIPs and commenting on them as they're uploaded never dies down. I've posted some of my own WIPs before, and getting comments on each chapter was essential to my motivation for writing the next one! It's just not something I, personally, can healthily do for other people. I'll stick to the form of creating-things-together that works for me.

If you read all of that, and you have thoughts about your own preferences and participation in fandom, I'm super interested! Please feel free to reply or reblog with your own rambles. :D

[spnfanficpond]

New Member Spotlight - December 2023

The Pond is always growing and we want to make our new members feel welcome! Here’s a list of recent additions to our fishy family, along with a little info about them!

Guppies, Jellies, and Mutuals, oh, my!

@mayalaen -

Other SM names? - Mayalaen on AO3, Discord, Twitter, Bluesky, LiveJournal, Dreamwidth, etc.

OTP? - I'm a multishipper so no true OTP.

Other fandoms? - Mostly Stranger Things, OFMD, Stargate SGA/SG1, Star Trek, X-FIles, and Angel the Series/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I'm interested in a lot of fandoms.

Looking for in the Pond? - I like to encourage people to write and create and I like to make friends in fandom. I was referred to the Pond for that by some members.

Something to signal boost? - I run a monthly writing/art challenge on AO3 called SPNColdestHits that you guys have already been boosting (THANK YOU!!). It's multifandom now and accepts art and original fic, not just fanfic. This is the AO3 collection link and of course, we're @spncoldesthits here on Tumblr, but we're also on Discord, Twitter, Bluesky, and Pillowfort.

Pairings you read? - I'll read pretty much any pairing, poly or otherwise. I'm not interested in reader insert, but I've read some.

Genres you read? - I prefer darkfic and/or kink, but I read anything.

Favorite writer(s)? - Xanthe Walter, but they haven't been active in fandom for about 2 years now.

What do you like to write? - My favorite is darkfic, D/S AU, and kink, but I also love writing crack and all other genres.

Masterlist!

Most underappreciated fic? - It's newer but it has the least amount of hits from the list of non-crack/non-gift fics and is an SPN/Blacklist crossover. Caging the Mongoose.

Something you haven't written but would like to try? Why not? How can we help? - I really would like to write some SPN/HDM fusions. I keep toying with the idea, but have never posted any of them. I always work better when I have prompts or ideas from others to spur me on.

.@leatafandom -

Other SM names? - @leatawrites, Leata (AO3 and Discord)

OTP? - Sabriel

Other fandoms? - Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Marvel, BBC Merlin, Star Trek, Doctor Who

Looking for in the Pond? - I could use some help with tags and challenging myself to write different things.

Pairings you read? - Ships, Gens, Poly fics

Genres you read? - Angst is my favorite but fluff and smut are always wonderful

Favorite writer(s)? - Yes, @idabbleincrazy on Tumblr or Gabriel_is_my_guardian_angel89 on Ao3

What do you like to write? - Angst, Horror, Smut, Bittersweet/Sad Things

Masterlist!

Most underappreciated fic? - My most underappreciated story is probably one of my original horror short stories. My most underappreciated fanfic is probably Becoming One,Two, and One Again.

Something you haven't written but would like to try? Why not? How can we help? -I really would like to write more horror however I feel like I struggle with expressing fear, scenery/detail descriptions, and word choice

@oganizediguana -

Other SM names? - Oganizediguana on Discord

OTP? - Destiel

Other fandoms? - I tiptoe through many fandoms, but SPN is my home. Good Omens

Looking for in the Pond? - I’d love to get encouragement for writing and the confidence to share my work. But I’d also love to just meet interesting people.

Pairings you read? - 99% destiel

Genres you read? - I read it all, but mutual pining slow burn is what makes me feel all the things. I love a good canon-compliant AU. I’m happy with anything that ends happily. Or at least hopefully.

Favorite writer(s)? - On AO3: NorthernSparrow, tenoko1, saltnhalo, there are so many amazing authors in this fandom!

What do you like to write? - Everything seems to turn into angst.

Something you haven't written but would like to try? Why not? How can we help? - I’d like the confidence to share what I have written.

@dragonslayer-5fanfiction -

Other SM names? - Ao3- Dragonslayer5

Other fandoms? - haikyuu, daria, lotr/the hobbit, tmnt

Looking for in the Pond? - I just want to make friends and read good fanfic. I like to beta read. Maybe write some fanfic, but I have writer's block rn.

Pairings you read? - Reader insert

Genres you read? - Fluff, crack. One bed, and arranged marriage forced proximity tropes.

What do you like to write? - Reader inserts. Fluff.

Masterlist! AO3 Works list

Most underappreciated fic? - Do You Think About Me? (not SPN)

Something you haven't written but would like to try? Why not? How can we help? -Honestly, writing two characters from the Fandom. I typically stick to reader insert, and I'm a little scared I won't get the characteristics right or the dynamic.

That's all for this month, folks! (If we're missing anyone, let us know and we'll add them to next month's list!) Make sure to say hi to the newbies and make them feel welcome! Thanks to all from @manawhaat, @mrswhozeewhatsis, @mariekoukie6661, @thoughtslikeaminefield, @katbratsupernaturalwhore and @heavenssexiestangel!

[what-if-i-just-did]

Writing Realistic Future Names

You writing something with aliens? Dystopian future? Doctor Who fic? 'Humans are the Weird ones' post? Need names?

Are you, like me, tired of dystopian names which are normal names written dumbly, or futuristic settings with normal names (looking at you Star Trek), or absolute nonsense? Well here's some cool ways to get futuristic names that make sense.

Celeb and Fandom Names

Names like Draco, Hermione, Sherlock, Mycroft, Enola, Benedict, Castiel, Destiel, Jensen, Danneel, Spock, Katniss, Primrose, Teyla, Elsa, Anakin, Loki, Constantine, Jinx, Rhianna, Catra, Adora, Zendaya, Halsey, Misha/Mischa, Korra, Katara, Toph, Cardi, Mabel, Ariel, Whoopi, Madonna, Oprah, Usain etc are gonna become increasingly popular, like they already are, even more so once enough time passes that people stop associating them with certain pieces of media or certain famous people.

Other Language Names

Historically, in different times different countries have a total global influence, and that will effect names. Right now, it's the USA. During the Rennasaince, it was France. We're pretty close to having Japan and other Asian cultures become the next big influence, what with all the anime everyone globally is watching/reading. Now, depending on how far in the future you're writing, add global influence from other countries. Dutch names like Marjolein and Ninthe and Brechtje, pronounced to the accent of the setting of your story. Try to go with cultures who have potential to be big: don't choose some small country somewhere that nobody has ever heard of. Go for Native American or Mexican or Russian or Japanese or Egyptian.

Surnames

Use surnames for first names! A lot of names that used to be surnames are now gender neutral first names, such as Avery. Use surnames! Johnson, Harris, Smith. All of it!

Strange Shortenings

Shorten traditional names in unntraditional ways! Richard always gets shortened to Richie or (for some unfathomable reason) Dick. What about Char? Chard? Those are kick-ass names. Chris for Christian? Cancelled. It's Tian now. Cathy for Catherine? Wrong. Let's make it Rhine. Amy from Amelia? Let's screw with that, turn it into Ammy. You get it.

Pretty Words

People tend to call their children by name of something pretty, and then those names exist untill after the words have lost their meaning. Right now, most of our names are Biblical Hebrew and Latin and Old English/German. We're at the point where slowly, child names are gonna mean things in today's language again. It's already happening a little; Dawn and Hope and Autumn... but give me children called Justice and Fauna and Prime and Amethyst and Earth. Ash and Queen and Happy and Light and Feline. Give me twins called Sapphire and Sapphic, like we call our twins Catherine and Caithlynn or Tim / Timothy and Tom / Thomas now.

Spelling

Spelling is going to shift with the years, and you want your names to reflect this. This one pretty much only works for at least a hundred years into the future. Here's some guidelines of what spelling might become:

t / th = d

s / k = c

ee = i

a = e (sometimes)

y = i (sometimes)

ks = x

o = oe

h = h (add more often)

Examples: Katherine = Caderine, Timothee = Dimoedhi, Blake = Bleke, Susanna = Cucennah etc. Of course, you can do it your own way, or only use some of these guidelines if you want. Feel free to play around with it. If you chose to go for this, keep in mind that there will still be some names in old spelling, just like we still have towns called Kooperdeck and stuff like that. This technique sounds dangerously close to the "say names while your mouth is full of oreos" technique that some dystopian writers use that I hate, but because it's based on logic and what the future might actually be like, as long as you use this in moderation, it'll sound really cool. Out of these examples, Caderine and Bleke are better to use than Dimoedhi and Cucennah, because "Timothee" and "Susanna" have been pretty much lost. If that's what you're looking for though, then that's your thing, I just personally like to be able to see realistic names and eventhough those names are based on logical prediction, they sound made-up.

Gender

You need to pay attention to the percieved gender of names. You can use names that are gendered or slightly gendered right now as gender neutral names. But if you're inventing new names, do pay attention to whatever percieved gender they have in your universe. You can use Chard and Jensen for girls, Caderine and Sapphire for guys. In fact, you should definetly use names like Loki and Earth and Rhine as non-binary names.

Disclaimer: I haven't studied history, and most things I reference here as 'historically, x has happened and is therefore likely to repeat in the future' are just things I've picked up on and heard about and logically deduced, and they could be wrong. However, I consider myself very smart and I really really like history, so you should consider this as a fairly accurate depection. Just know that if someone who actually studied or researched this topic says I'm wrong then I'm probably wrong.

So there you go! How to write realistic future names. Have fun!