#and probably also the 1k kudos mark

[adara-writer]

Goals for tonight are to finish writing chapter 8, start editing it, and work on the rest of the outline. I actually know where this story is going to end, so I'm really hoping I might be to get a rough chapter count to add onto the fic when I update it tomorrow.

[autisticandroids]

free space: medium-sized destiel

so in my reclists for @spnficrecfest i haven't been including many fics that are very "big destiel."

this is partly because i've been trying to keep the kudos count lower (though obviously this hasn't been absolute), and also because i actively did not include any "post empty destiel fix it" type fics in the dabb era reclist because they're kind of a genre unto themselves. nor have i intentionally made space in other reclists for fics that have a particular destiel romance novel vibe. obviously there's some, but those tend to dominate reclists, and i wanted to highlight smaller fics.

so this is my "big destiel" reclist, except i still did not include anything that had >2k kudos, because those are generally speaking pretty well known already.

some of these fics are small and just have the big destiel vibes, but a lot of them are more in the 1k kudos range than the hundred kudos range, on account of being big, or medium-sized, destiel.

in order of word count:

ain't that the worst thing you ever heard? by everytuesday, 1k

a couple of takes on the confession scene. very special to me.

rot and grace by extemporaneous, 3k, violence warning

cas watches dean murder the world. corruption kink.

some dying star looks dull in the light by sp8ce, 4k

heaven angst with a happy ending, post-empty.

one step closer by rhinestoneangels, 4k

an empty rescue. i love the empty geography in this one.

i didn't feel it on the first day, and now i got it in the worst way by wintertree, 6k

meg pov on a post-widower arc destiel.

the doorway to a thousand churches by sonatine, 6k

cas and the deans from goodbye stranger.

if you try sometimes, well you just might find by jenthesweetie, 9k

cas pov on dean's wants.

godot ain't got nothing on me and my baby by ilovehowyouletmefall, 10k

post empty, cas became death. the only way dean could see him is by dying.

before and after breakfast by spocklee, 10k

a silly little case where cas and dean realize how they see each other.

solitudes by ilovehowyouletmefall, 21k

cas sees dean see cas die. a wonderful little melodrama. i actually really liked how it handled dean's alcoholism (not really as something to be solved but just as a... reality to be dealt with) and i'm OBSESSED with the director's commentary. if this had been published in 2021 instead of 2023, every heller would have read it three times over.

powerless in dreams by calicoyak, 24k

a post-empty fic. i really liked some of the cas stuff in this one.

between a rock and a hard place by amidsizefrog, 24k

dean's dick doesn't work. also cas is dead. maybe the two are related.

every single thing by thestoryinsideme, 37k

a charming and goofy season nine fic. dean is a shitty little man in a very canonical way that is also deeply sweet and adorable.

a light above descending by hedderstheowl, 38k

a mark of cain fic with chefkiss angel stuff. a recent favorite of mine. really put this author on the map for me.

with understanding by apokteino, 427k, chose not to warn and noncon warning

yeah it's with understanding. you've heard of it. go read it now chop chop.

and if your wondering which fics (that you've probably read) got the axe for having too many kudos: it was on labor, the bee movie fic, time has come today, and r/supernatural. that's my taste. if you were curious.

[swaps55]

Ao3 mememe

Tagged eons ago by @moosemonstrous. Thank you!

Tagging @cr-noble-writes, @mallaidhsomo, @urrone, @screwyouflightlieutenant, @stormikins and anyone else who wants to play.

I love end of the year memes, but I wrote very little this year in comparison to the last 4 years or so. So I appreciate that this meme in particular is a little more comprehensive. It's nice to look back on a full body of work and take a moment to be proud of it, vs fret over what did or didn't get written in the last 365 days.

How many works do you have on ao3? 52

What’s your total word count? 1,043,782 words (!!!!!!) over 11 years.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Sonata (mshenko, longfic set between the end of ME1 and beginning of ME1)

Cantata (mshenko longfic, pre-ME1)

Celestial Navigation (mshenko smut, but not Sam)

Fugue (mshenko, Alchera and the 2 years before Lazarus)

Pieces Form the Whole (collection of mshenko prompts and one shots).

Do you respond to comments? Why/why not?

Yes. Someone took the time to tell me my story meant something to them, and I will thank them/flail with them/take pleasure in their pain/etc. Fandom is community. To build a community, you need to engage with the people who love the characters and worlds you love. If my spoons are low I may not respond right away, but I will respond.

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

There is one fic of mine that hates happiness and also puppies, but it’s not even 1k words long, so I don’t feel it counts. Fugue probably has the angstiest ending for what is the angstiest thing I have ever written, because it ends with Kaidan still believing he’s lost Sam forever. But I also like to think it’s a hopeful ending. At the end, you know that whatever happens next, he’ll be ok.

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

I’m a happy endings kinda person, so most of them? The first kiss AUs in the Opus Multiverse probably have the edge over something like Sonata, because they exist within their own little bubble free of things like consequences and Alchera.

Do you write crossovers?

I have daydreamed about something like a Mass Effect/Stargate crossover, because it would practically write itself, but I doubt I’ll ever actually do it. A Mass Effect/Dragon Age crossover could be fun, but others who would do it better already have, and I wouldn’t be committed enough to it.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Eons ago on ff.net, by someone who was probably very young and very convinced it was their sacred duty to tell internet strangers they sucked. I only remember it because it’s the only time I’ve ever encountered something like that. I’ve received some insensitive comments, but not hate.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do write it on occasion, though it’s not a mainstay. I stick to very emotionally-driven smut because I don’t have the slightest idea how to write actual sexual attraction. XD  

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No one has asked me about doing a translation, but I have had others podfic a couple of stories, which is REALLY cool.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Once, and it went very poorly. I am not built for collabs, unfortunately.

What's your all-time favourite ship?

The SSV Normandy, which beats out the NCC-1701-D by a nose hair. JK. Sort of.

It’s hard not to say Commander Shepard/Kaidan Alenko. I’ve written well over 500k words about them specifically, and I certainly haven’t done that for any other ship. I’m actually not that shippy when you get down to it. A romantic element isn’t usually what compels me. I am drawn to powerful connections, be it between two people or a group of people.  

So really, my original answer isn’t far off the mark. The group of people on both those ships are my favorite.

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

I don’t have a stack of WIPs, because really I can only focus on one thing at a time. I have an unposted multiverse AU that I’ve scribbled close to 10k words on that likely won’t go anywhere until Opus is finished, which won’t be for a while. But I don’t have any real reason to think I’ll never go back to it. That fic has a host of challenges I need to figure out a way around, so that might be its undoing, but some of the writing in it is stellar and I am patient.

What are your writing strengths?

I’ll say working with multiple POVs. It’s something I love doing to the point I can’t really imagine not doing it. I like seeing the same series of events through the eyes of different people, how it creates a whole only the reader gets to see. I like the challenge of sitting between an unfamiliar set of ears and figuring out what goes on there. It’s a lot of fun.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I am absolute shit at scene setting. I am terrible at visualizing, and I forget what words are when it comes to describing architecture of any kind, people, or clothing. If you are at all surprised to read this, it is because I work VERY HARD at scene setting. Because I’m bad at it. “Where are these characters, Swaps?” “Uh. They’re in a room. With stuff. Don’t worry about it.”

When it comes to a character's appearance, I cheat and instead describe what their clothing/appearance evokes, rather than what they look like, because fuck if I know what they look like.

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

If I could do it, I would, but another thing I am quite bad at is languages and dialect.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Technically, I put Alec Ramsey and the Black Stallion on a spaceship when I was maybe ten. But that aside, I had reams of Star Trek fanfic scribbled in notebooks before there was an internet to post them on.

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

I have had ideas for Horizon and Warframe, and occasionally think it would be fun to try my hand at Stargate, or even go back to Star Trek. But in the end, Mass Effect is where I live and I still have stories to tell there, so here I stay.

What's your favourite fic you've written?

That is such a hard question to answer because I wrote them all with an intended audience of me and I know me really well, lol.

The long fic I have gone back to the most is Cantata, and the one shot I have reread the most is probably The Words That Change Us.

[faggotryandtransjesterism]

VegasPete Fic Rec List (Part 2)

Favorites marked with a (*)

A Close Shave by @fleet-off | 4k | M *

The bathroom walls feel claustrophobically tight, and Vegas’s stomach is a ball of leaden frustration poised to turn molten. He wants to shatter the mirror with his fist, to yell at Pete to stand up straight, to curse his uselessness--just another one of Vegas’s failures. The razor sits on the edge of the sink. This was a bad idea.

Vegas gives Pete a shave.

another one of my all-time favorites! the tension! the pete saengtham messy bitch agenda! i've been spending a lot of time lately screaming in fleet's comment boxes, and you should too!

somewhere between the heart and the vein by @veliseraptor | 20k | T

In the aftermath of the failed coup, Pete has: an unconscious and possibly dying Vegas Theerapanyakul, a whole lot of feelings to work through, and no job.

He goes from there.

another recovery fic, another lise fic, you literally cannot go wrong.

begging to bleed by @veliseraptor | 10k | E *

Vegas is trying to be good. Pete's getting a little fed up with it.

His staged intervention produces positive results.

yet another lise fic! PWP of the highest order. PWT, if you will. porn with themes. big fan of pete knowing what he wants <3

Finders Keepers by @veliseraptor | 3k | T

Vegas was supposed to kill Pete. Vegas has not killed Pete, and it turns out that is working out pretty well for him.

Up until Kan discovers the safehouse's extra inhabitant.

pure angst. don't look at me. i left this thing with shell shock and new sources of anger

Brand Recognition by @iffervescent | 6k | E *

Vegas wants his top billing back. Pete likes being on the bottom.

porn star AU PWP. feminization. electrotoy. need i say more?

won't give up these ghosts by @fleet-off | 7k | E *

Vegas lays him on a patch of firm ground. From his cocoon, Pete hears the rhythmic thud of a shovel sinking into loose earth. Vegas is digging him a grave.

In which Pete finds playing dead relaxing, and Vegas decidedly does not.

this may genuinely be my favorite vegaspete fic of all time. it's literally perfect and there is nothing else like it on earth. read it. read it right now. let it awaken something in you.

swinging from the willow tree by incendir | 2k | T

Every single ingredient is here. Vegas rolls up his sleeves and gets to work.

[Or, the first step in starting over]

vegas cooking fics are my weakness

Bite the Hand by @ghost--houses | 1k | E

The second Vegas uncuffs Pete from the headboard, Pete grabs for Vegas' left hand and pulls it into his mouth. He says nothing, he doesn't look at Vegas, just puts his teeth to Vegas' skin and keeps them there, gnawing.

subdrop fics are. also my weakness

Fidelity by @veliseraptor | 2k | T

Vegas visits his father's grave.

father-son angst my beloved. again, kinda character-study oneshot

Five Year Itch by puckbaes | 78k | NR

Pete has everything he could’ve dreamed of, a husband that loves him and a family to call his own. It’s perfect, until the day it isn’t. What do you do when you find out the love of your life is one of the most prominent mob bosses in Bangkok? Turns out, clean breaks are notoriously difficult when you have a son together.

A getting back together fic featuring mafia!Vegas, shared custody of Venice, and Pete’s inability to stay away from danger.

i usually don't stray from canon universe with vegaspete to be honest, or at least not too far from it. this one's fluffy it's angsty she's got it all. i really thought normie!Pete was gonna be a deal breaker for me, but i actually really enjoyed this and i think it's really well done.

And that's a wrap! My collection's always growing, so part 3 at some point probably lol. Once again, if anyone knows more of these authors on tumblr, please tag them! Enjoy and scream in my asks about them (and don't forget to leave kudos and comments for the lovely authors!)

[trueliarose]

20 questions for fic writers!

Thanks for the tag @givereadersahug (x)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

I currently have 5 works, but there's a few drafts ready to be posted and a few works anonymous because of fests. Yay!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

136k - wow, that is a lot. I didn't even realise I crossed the 100k mark on my long WIP.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling 

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Finding (a way) Home (Snape&Harry Mentor, 100k, WIP!, rated M)

(secret fest-fic)

Of Kittens and Serpents (Poppy/Minerva, 6k, rated T)

Gaining Sight (Severus&Harry, drabble, rated T)

Silent Tears (Severus&Sirius, 1k, rated T)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do, eventhough most of the times I am too emotional to write a long response. I'm so, so humbled whenever someone takes the time to leave me a comment!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I'm not sure, probably Silent Tears (Severus&Sirius, 1k) but could also be Gaining Sight (Severus&Harry, 300 words)... but there are more in my drafts, so this will probably change soon.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Of Kittens and Serpents (Poppyscotch, fluff, 6k) definetely!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

So far I don't and I hope it will stay this way. I will never understand why people feel the need to hate on things (especially free stories on the internet... why?)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I am - I didn' think I would, but then it somehow happened and in the future I'll try to do it more often.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I don't (so far) but there are so many ideas in my head it might only be a matter of time.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Luckily no.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No. It would be an honour, and I did even get asked once, but as I don't feel comfortable seeing my work outside of AO3 it didn't work out.

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

I haven't and I don't know if I would be any good at it. It could go one of two ways: either it works out very well or I annoy the person I'm working with so much that they quit.

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

This depends so much on my current state of mind (and which fandom I am reading at the moment). I love to explore characters and ships in different fandoms, I will never be able to answer this.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

As I only have one WIP on which I am working I hope I will finish it. (but to be honest my updates on Finding (a way) Home are slower than I'd like because I participate in too many fests)

16. What are your writing strengths?

Depicting emotions (especially dark ones), maybe also describing them in a way that pulls the readerin (especially ones linked to trauma)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

SPAG, writing fluff without adding a little dark/sad/angsty moment, keeping my works short if I don't have a set limit

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Why not? I have done it, but as a reader I appreciate if the author provides a translation because google can be a little off sometimes and it is sad if you lose depth/meaning because of that.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Twilight (so, so many years ago and luckily no longer available anywhere on the internet)

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

right now: Fae Blessings (Lovegood family fluff, 1.5k)

Tagging (no pressure): @serenaew @sanctuary-angel

[lighthouseas]

17, 21, 29, 30!

hi jo! thank u for the ask :)

17 - post a line from the wip you're working on

okay instead of spoiling my bylerween fic more, i'll do something different hehehe >:)

Mike exhales shakily. “I think,” he reiterates, “I have to kill myself.”

i promise this is meant to be funny not sad okay. Okay

21 - tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? what is it about them that you admire?

oh well that's a lot....hm. i guess in terms of fanfic writers, i really admire my beloved @wayward-sherlock. wayli is so talented and all of the ideas she has are like...insane. Bonkers Fucking Insane /pos and how she finds time to execute all of her amazing ideas, i have no clue, but it's amazing and i really, really, really admire them for it. also, they're just super duper supportive and sweet and so fun to brainstorm with !!!!

and. well. noah @pimplepogue i hope u don't mind me calling u out but having gotten some Sneak Peeks of your writing...falls to my knees at your feet. sir you are SO talented and i greatly admire the way you Write About Things and Think About Things and Come Up With Things....ur just. ur so good at it and SO creative and ur big brain gets my creative juices a'flowing (<- hahahahaha. HA). so. yeah. i admire u a Lot in that aspect (but in SO many other aspects too ofc )

+ ofc there's a lot more writers i admire because. well. look at me. but i can't think of them off the top of my head sooooo pls accept this lols

29 - do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like?

all of them jk lol um....probably my Iumax fic, yesterday i got so old (it made me want to cry) .... i really really enjoyed writing for them and was really proud of it. also it's just. so fluffy and sweet.

also, probably my highler fic (i believe you've already read it question mark?), i would tell you that i loved you (if i thought that you would stay) which is. kind of a sad fic but whatever i was really proud of it and think it deserves more love....sigh....(desperately needs to write more highler)

also don't mind the fact that both of these are named after the cure songs okayyy

30 - in contrast to 29 is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at?

lol , probably the first byler fic i ever posted tbh strange sleeping arrangements. only because yk. it wasn't That good in my opinion but ended up getting like 1k+ kudos which was like ???? wtf. i mean it's funny i Guess but i feel like i've written SO much better than it lol

fanfic writer ask game

[hsvh-hp-ficrecs]

Hi! This is a sideblog of a sideblog, where I will be posting fic recs from the HP fandom. The fics will be about 99% Drarry as that’s my OTP, although I also enjoy some other pairings as well as gen fics. This blog is 18+ and a queer safe space (special shout-out to my fellow trans folks, given the current political climate). We don't like JKR in this house. Don’t Like; Don’t Read, Ship and Let Ship, KINKTOMATO, etc. It takes more energy for you to send anon hate than for me to delete it. Blog mechanics under the cut:

I have probably the most chaotic method of choosing which fics I read. I hit Mark For Later very liberally on AO3, to the point my reading list-turned-pool is nearing 5000. I use random number generators to decide which fics to download and put on my e-reader, and then I go in blind and open-minded. What I like about this method is that I frequently stumble upon gold I otherwise never would’ve found in such a massive fandom. In that vein, I will not be reccing fics with more than 10,000 kudos. Though I’ve loved many fics beyond that number, what more can be said about them than already has been?

(Also, if a fic appears on this blog that has over 10k kudos, it had less at the time I did my rec.) I’ve written each post ahead of time and then queued them up. I’ve spaced them so that a max word count of 5000 will be recced per day. For example, 5k word fic, another rec will follow the next day. Same for a 1k word fic. A 20k word fic will have a 4-day long break following. The max length between recs will be 14 days (so for anything over 70k). I’ll be starting with fics I’m currently reading. As they occur to me, I’ll include fics I’ve read in past. I would love to go through all my AO3 bookmarks and give each of those fics the love they deserve, but the task is a bit daunting to me right now. If you find one of your fics on this blog, know again that I loved your work dearly. I’m not 100% on everyone’s socials, so feel free to shoot me a message with links! Also, if you'd prefer I didn't link to your tumblr, also just let me know and I'll remove it right away! Cheers, Britt

[kaz3313]

20 question writer meme!! Tagged by @jaggededges123

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

I have 122!

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

239,332. :D a lot more then I thought!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

So I’m a “i write what I fancy” BUT my top fandoms I’ve written for are MDZS,Nope, Good Omens, and Danganronpa (if combined all my fics of each series together). My current fandom I’m writing for is Team Fortress Two where I have too many wips 😂

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Kidnapped? Rescued? Lies or Truth? - Svsss, 500 on the dot, Shen Jiu/Tianlang-Jun, Not rated

Can Peacocks Swim? - MDZS, under 1k, Jin Zixuan/Wei Wuxian, Teen

Talk Dirty To Me (In that Unnatural Voice of Your’s)- Scream, under 1k, Billy/Stu, Mature

Crowley is a very bad demon who does terrible things. Like take care of a bunch of orphans. - Good Omens, 3k, Teen

A Mark Without Pain- TGCF, under 1k, Qi Rong/Lang Qianqiu, Mature

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Almost always! Unless a comment makes me uncomfortable I try to respond to everything! Ive recently got some “more” comments that I haven’t but even comments that are just emojis i respond to. I love comments and love reading them so I try to get across to people I really appreciate them ☺️

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I remember you… Do you remember me? ( https://archiveofourown.org/works/36298375 ) I had a whole 2022 Whumptober yet I think this one takes the cake on angst. So angsty I had to write an alternate less angsty ending 😂

7. What is a fic you wrote with the happiest of endings?

A New Beginning (https://archiveofourown.org/works/37391902 )

So I’m taking this as something that has angst but a happy conclusion - and I feel this fic is one of those.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Surprisingly no? I’ve gotten a few comments that are kinda iffy but most comments are very sweet!

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Lots of smut- so much in fact most of its in my Works in Progress 😭 I’m so terrible at finishing smut but I usually go with darker themes ☺️

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Oh!! Their all in my wips 😭 I did start making a Mdzs/Nope crossover which would probably be my strangest if I ever finished it up

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope, but one time one of my aus I made with a friend got stolen! But that’s s story for another time

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Unfortunately I don’t have the link of the translation but my fic Pocky got translated into Russian ! (https://archiveofourown.org/works/27507364)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before

Nope

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Statistically speaking- if going by number of fics- Aziraphale/Crowley. However, I have to say an all time fav would be Jessie/James (Pokémon) a ship I’ve never read nor wrote for. Just one of those childhood nostalgia ones.

15. What’s a wip you want to finsih but probably never will?

All of them 😭 In all serious though I’m terrible with long fics and while I have grand ideas it’s hard for me to stick through them. My Danganronpa/TGCF AU will forever be in my heart (and full planned on a discord server) but will likely never see any light of day.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I’ve been told my dialogue flows well and that I have a good hold on how people would react.

17. Writing weaknesses?

… Smut? I feel I’m slow on making it because I overthink it.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Oh!! I’ve done this!! It’s fun and also terrible. I feel I’m getting translations wrong but I do my best. I did once try to write a whole fic in another language— unfortunately that fic is lost to time.

19. First Fandom I wrote For?

On ao3 Rick and Morty. On amino, though, I wrote for Undertale first. And my first fics were mini comics I made at home for Pokémon.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

The Inter(Viewers) ( https://archiveofourown.org/works/40985745/chapters/102715464)

It’s the longest finished fic of mine and I’m really proud of that fact! I put a lot into it and it has some of my favorite scenes.

Tags: I’m sorry I don’t know who to tag- please my fellow writers jump on this if you want to do this!

[graveexcitement]

Which stat matters most to you (if at all!): subscriptions, kudos/favorites, comments, bookmarks, word count, or hits?

hmmm... kudos is probably the stat that i notice first! comments are what are actually most important to me, but that's mostly qualitative rather than quantitative (so i care about what they say more than the stat, if that makes sense, though i do like having more of them!) bookmarks are also nice and it amuses me to see the discrepancy between the public bookmarks count and the count on my statistics page (which includes private bookmarks), lol

subscriptions doesn't mean much to me because 95% of my works are one-shots and so if 18 people subscribe to a fic marked "complete" i'm just kinda like lol wyd

hits don't mean much to me because they could mean someone read my fic 5 times or that they opened it in a new tab and then never read it.

wordcount is more of a personal goal type of thing, and i always feel pleased when i write something longer than 2k... and slightly baffled when some of my shortest (under 1k) fics are some of my most popular ever (including my #1 kudosed fic right now, lol)

[neondiamond]

❄️ Recently Read Fics - January 2022 ❄️

I’ve been meaning to start doing monthly fic recs for a while now, but never truly committed to it... New year, new me I guess, so here goes nothing!

These are all the amazing fics I read over the past month (from shortest to longest). Don’t forget to leave kudos and comments to show the authors your appreciation if you read any of these! 💙

❄️ tea and rainy day by @justalarryblog (471, G)

Harry wanted to surprise Louis with a dinner for their anniversary, but then it rained.

❄️ around you like the rings of saturn by @hershelsue (577, G)

Niall and Harry are best friends. Because they're both omegas who live together, they decide to help each other during their heats. It becomes something else.

❄️ hush-a-bi by @peggyschuylerbasically (670, G)

Harry can't sleep and there's an ice cream truck outside.

❄️ The Wolf Wash by @haztobegood (1k, NR)

It's bath night for the pups after they catch fleas at preschool.

❄️ through your brand new eyes by @hershelsue (2k, M)

Harry has been at the clinic for three months. Life's difficult and his fear of windows grows each day. Things turn for the best when he meets Louis, a sweet boy who narrates to him what he sees through the window.

❄️ Ground Control to Major Tomlinson by @thestylinsons (3k, T)

What if Space Oddity's Major Tom was Major Louis W. Tomlinson, on his first endeavor to the moon?

❄️ you fit me better by @hershelsue (3k, E)

Louis moves back to Cheshire with no prospects and lacking a laundry machine for his apartment. At the laundromat, he meets Harry, a meddlesome alpha who smells divinely enough to ease his anxiety. When Louis goes back home, he finds out he switched clothing with Harry, meaning he needs to meet him again to give it back.

❄️ a visit from two friendly ghosts by @onlyforbravest (4k, T)

“It’s probably just Harry or Louis moving around,” Charlie says with a shrug, moving past Emmy to head to the bathroom.

"What?" Emmy's voice is high with fear, and he almost runs after Charlie. “What do you mean? Who are Harry and Louis? I thought you said we were alone!”

“Sorry,” Charlie apologizes. “Harry and Louis lived here before us. They built the house when they got married and lived here the rest of their lives.” Charlie shrugs, knowing the story by heart. The love it seemed like they had shared is one he wants for himself one day.

(Harry and Louis never truly left the home they built themselves. They're still there, making the next generations feel safe and inspired by the love the two of them had shared. This is their story.)

❄️ So Paris When We Kiss by @beelou (4k, G)

Harry shakes his head to himself and gets situated with his laptop on the table and a sip of his drink.

Ah, that’s better.

That is, until he opens his laptop. “Dammit Niall,” Harry curses under his breath. There’s a travel website open that he certainly did not open himself. Niall has been trying to get him to Paris ever since he got his mark. There’s not any particular reason why he hasn’t gone, it just never felt like the right time. But he is 26 and maybe Niall is on to something. He starts checking fares and calculating in his head if he can afford it. A new environment might help him with inspiration for his novel as well.

Looks like he’s finally going to Paris.

❄️ A Picture of Your Open Throat by @larry-hiatus (4k, E)

What happens when Harry accidentally sends an inappropriate picture to his boss' son? He's about to find out and possibly have his wildest dreams come true.

❄️ Love Mail by @neondiamond (5k, G, yes this is mine, but we love a bit of self-promo around here)

A week after moving into a new apartment complex, Harry discovers the mailman doesn’t seem to know the difference between numbers 23 and 28. He’s not too mad about it when he finds out just how handsome his neighbour from apartment 28 really is.

Or the one where Harry and Louis keep mistakingly receiving each other’s mail (and also fall in love).

❄️ I’ll Keep You Warm by @parmahamlarrie (5k, T)

Louis is the kind of guy who keeps his head down and minds his own business. He’s lived on the same street for years and barely would recognize the buildings, let alone his neighbours. That’s all about to change however, due to a broken key and an unexpected snow storm.

❄️ i met a superhero by Anonymous (7k, M)

Harry has fibromyalgia and Niall is an idiot, leaving Louis to bump into Harry at 6am in a hospital corridor. It ends up as something much more wonderful than Harry ever could have expected, stood with a walker in his ratty PJs after a nasty flare-up, and he finally finds someone who can love him just the way he is.

❄️ Just Your Jinx by @larryatendoftheday (10k, T)

Harry Styles may or may not have accidentally jinxed his extremely fit new neighbor, and it's not so easy to make things right.

❄️ Mistletoe, Memories, and Mayhem by @jacaranda-bloom​ (12k, M)

Louis had a plan. A solid plan. A brilliant plan. A plan that would sweep the love of his life off his feet and propel them both towards the marriage Louis so desperately wanted. He just hadn’t accounted for the calamitous unfolding of events as he tried to execute said brilliant plan.

 ❄️ Don’t Come Home For Christmas by @larry-hiatus (14k, T)

What do Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson have in common? Only three things: they used to be best friends; they despise each other all these years later; and they’re both staying at Harry’s place for Christmas. One way they differ, however, is that only Louis knows the real reason they became enemies, and he’s not telling anyone.

❄️interim by @sun-lt (17k, T, please read tags and warnings)

When Harry stops cooking, Louis considers it a minor inconvenience.

When Harry stops baking, Louis feels the world—his world, their world—tilt on its axis.

When Harry stops wanting to eat, Louis drags everything he feels deep inside and stores it all in the pit of his stomach where it settles like a chunk of lead.

It's just three weeks before Christmas.

❄️ learned to lose you (can't afford to) by @lt2soon (23k, M, please read tags and warnings)

“Hey,” he reaches out, putting a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “This might sound crazy,” he blows air out, knowing it will. “But ask me again tomorrow, okay?”

“Tomorrow?”

“Mhm.”

“You make no sense,” Harry shakes his head, but can’t contain the smile. “But it’s a promise.”

Louis is just happy he doesn’t look so sad anymore. Even if tomorrow’s promise might be a lie.

[natsugia]

I’ve been on a recent literati binge, obsessed with them, and stumbled upon your literati fic, “‘this is tailored made (so what’s the sense in waiting?)”, and wanted to say thank you so much for it. I can honestly say it took over my life for a brief 3 day stint and now, I’m yearning for more of them! YOU DID AMAZING! You gave them justice where the revival lacked. The closure desired from these two. It gave me so much pain and happiness, you wouldn’t believe it. I left reviews, ofc. I can’t thank you enough for how amazing that journey was for me, a delight, through and through. You are a marvelous and gut wrenching writer! You actually know these characters. Thank you so much, again, and I hope to see more from you! Will be checking out your other literati fics, indubitably!

🥰❤️ Thank you so much! The love for this fic has absolutely blown me away. I’m truly humbled and feel blessed to have you and others as such lovely amazing readers. And thank you for leaving a review. They mean the world to me. I’m completely backed up, but eventually I will respond to the rest of them, even the ones who have been waiting for a reply for like a year or two. I’m sorry! You’re not forgotten, I promise. Just overwhelmed with life. 😘 (@milothirst I haven’t forgotten about the Jess + sex post. Posting it soon!)

As for more in the universe, I have a small-ish follow-up I’m working on. TITM’s coming up on the 1k kudos mark on AO3 😱🤯, so I thought to maybe do a wedding sequel as a 1k celebration. I’m about 20% done with it at this point. Given how slow I am at writing with my hectic life schedule right now, we’ll see when I can get that out. Hopefully before summer of next year.

As for my other fics, I am still working on those as well. Next update will be for TWWCIL. I’ve got about 65% of the full story written, but of course it’s mostly towards the end. Once I finish fleshing out the middle, I’ll be able to rewrite chapter 4 and start a more regular update process. After that will be Chapter 8 of OSAS, the full story which has about 7 more chapters left to write before it is finally complete and we can post it regularly as well. And then I’ll post the 2 part Chilton AU, the Lit + cats au, and then finally the time loop AU I’ve been writing in my head for like four years.

So a lot of things to come. I just really need the time to be able to sit down and write. Thought I would have it this year, but my car got taken from me at the beginning of this year due to theft and vandalism, which was a huge loss cause my car IS my livelihood. I make majority of my money from driving gigs, and now that I’m spending about $500 a week with the rental I have while also making less money than before due to constraints of the rental program, it’s been a lot of expenses that I’m juggling at the moment. Once I’m able to buy a new car, I can go back to my ideal three day/weekend work week and get back to writing semi regularly.

I hope you’ll stay tuned. Feel free to come by here to chat or for any updates. I also recently made a Twitter (I HATE myself), so I’m gonna try and start posting more on there as well. Anon from months ago, if you’re still here, you can now find me @natsugia1 on Twitter. I should warn you though that my twitter will probably be a LOT more eclectic in terms of what I tweet on there, given what I’ve already been sucked into on that dumpster fire of a platform.

Wishing you a beautiful and wonderful summer. Sending you the QUEEN for Fun and Love and Life

[parvuls]

* adapted from @librajiminn on twitter

a fun game to celebrate 2020 ending! the rules are simple: recommend your favorite omgcp fics so everyone can enjoy them, while trying to fill in enough slots to get a bingo! i ordered my recs starting from top left; my filled bingo card is at the end ✨

most recent fic you bookmarked don't tell your mother by seeingrightly [rating: unrated, probably t | words: 1k] essentially: jack is in madison, and things aren’t easy but at least they’re together. i have an unhealthy obsession with madison/4th of july fics, and every new one i discover brings me joy. i liked this one in particular because of the lovely, clean flow of the writing, and for its attention to the problematic environment: the (assumed) homophobic nature of georgia, and bitty's tension when he’s home as a result.

a fic that made you cry Your heart hurts, mine does too by the_p_in_raspberry (@thepinraspberry) [rating: t | words: 19k] essentially: this fic fills the prompt ‘what if bitty hadn’t come out to shitty?’ the fic deals with exactly the subject material implied, and is inherently painful. this what if version of bitty’s journey with his sexuality was so, so raw, but it was the good kind of pain. i’ll say that while this fic is jack/bitty at its core, i really think its real strength is the team dynamics. they are so there for each other, and it was a beautiful read.

a fic you’ve re-read multiple times Prove To Me You Got Some Coordination by amalnahurriyeh [rating: explicit | words: 17k; the series is 24.5k] “In which Jack Zimmermann has a favorite stripper, some very strong feelings about labour relations, and a good heart.“ when i prepared myself for reading a stripper au, this is not what i expected. this fic is one of my all-time favorites. i adored the politics angle, jack's awkward Helpless Good Guy gestures, and bitty being a complete badass. their soft flirting, the realistic (but positive!) take on sex work, and the careful handling of a potential unequal power dynamic. i don’t think i can count on one hand the amount of times i read this fic.

a fic from your to-read list Never Will You Ever by thefiveboxingwizards (@thefiveboxingwizards) [rating: explicit | words: ~25k (WIP)] essentially: during fall semester of Y2 the team plays never have i ever, which results in jack coming out to bitty. bitty decides to move on, just as jack starts to realize his own feelings. this is the first time i’m reccing a fic i haven’t actually read. i have a strict rule against reading wips for my own mental health (although i have great appreciation for all writers who decide to post them; kudos to you). the premise of this fic sounds so alluring, however, that i couldn’t help but marking it for later and then checking if it’s updated every few days. can’t wait to read it when it’s finished!

FREE SLOT and now what words do I have? by MyCupOfTea (@marchingatmidnight) [rating: m | words: 10k] essentially: jack and bitty love each other. bitty moves to france. jack and bitty continue to love each other, even when it’s hard. this fic could’ve fit several of my slots, but eventually i decided to just rec it on its own. it’s one of my absolute favorites in this fandom. i love it for the writing, the pacing, the decision to tackle a real obstacle in a relationship without unnecessary dramatization. i love the softness the pining trope is painted with; how the distance is awful but they deal with it so well, so healthily. i love when angst is used to build and show the strengths of a relationship, not just to hurt.

a pwp With New Eyes by luckie_dee (@luckiedee) [rating: m | words: 3.5k] essentially: mirror sex with a flavor of intercrural. this fic is set during bitty’s first visit to providence, which shifts the entire tone of the fic accordingly. everything is so tentative and new, and i just really liked how gentle jack and bitty are with each other, how they savor new things. the setting and bitty's thoughts and the whole thing was perfect, and so in character.

a fic that is pure fluff Over Heels by anonymous [rating: gen | words: 2.5k] essentially: jack and bitty and marriage. this is such a soft portrayal that it made my chest ache. it isn’t Y4-compliant, but it is so goddamn cute it doesn’t matter. i especially loved the communication between them, the choice of rings (plus the subtle mentions of jack stimming), and this sort of low key, understated proposal. the last scene with jack kissing the ring clinched it for me: i could picture it so clearly my heart flipped.

a fic with your favorite trope How to Blow a Fuck Ton of Meal Points in 1.5 Semesters. by YourPalYourBuddy (@ivecarvedawoodenheart) [rating: t | words: 5k] essentially: jack finds himself with more meal points than he could ever need, and proceeds to spend them on his team (read: bitty) - which leads to some realizations. the trope this fits is ‘year 2 canon-divergence getting together’, and it’s one trope i will never tire of. i absolutely loved the set up of this because it's so college. i loved jack's characterization, and also their conversations, how well bitty's feelings are translated through jack's eyes even when jack's not completely aware of them, and the ending.

a fic with a trope you don’t usually read Tipping the Scales by akaparalian (@floralegia) [rating: t | words : 7.5k] “Prince Eric, training for a tournament to prove his worth as a knight, goes for a ride in the woods. He accidentally finds a dragon, who accidentally became a dragon because he pissed off the wrong witch.” i’m not normally a fan of fantasy or royalty AUs, but something drew me to this fic anyway. i was not disappointed. i laughed out loud several times during this fic. i adored the translations of their personalities into a knight and a dragon (for example, jack's reaction to training - dying, dead, oh my god).

a drabble that made you want more Picture Us Together by RabbitRunnah (@doggernaut) [rating: t | words: 800] essentially: bitty sets a picture of his boyfriend as his lock screen during the madison visit, and jack finds out. it seems only fitting that i put more than one rec taking place during 4th of july on this list. the prompt was so simple, but the execution was so lovely i wished it would go on and on. things between them at this time were so new and fragile and sweet that i just never want it to end.

a fic with domestic fluff I'll settle in and dream by Stultiloquentia [rating: t | words: 9k] essentially: a future fic with emphasis on jack’s and bitty’s adult life. the realistic domesticity in this killed me dead. it is so, so lovely and soft. i enjoyed every detail, from the dog to the scenery descriptions to jack's hockey arc. every setting was so easy to imagine, and i really enjoyed the journey this fic takes the reader on.

[diyeoracha]

IwaOi Fanfiction Masterlist with 90+ Works

Hello! In celebration accumulating over 290 bookmarks on my AO3 account featuring IwaOi, Haikyuu S4 part 2, and @haikyuuweek2020​ (Day 7 - Free Choice), I decided to create a masterlist of all of my favorite Iwaoi fics in order to keep myself organized as well as contributing to more traffic for those works! Works are split up into genres such as alternate universe (either not childhood friends or set on Earth), angst, canon compliant (post timeskip with spoilers), canon divergent (childhood friends but divergent timeline post timeskip), high school, and university au

Formatting update: Jan 13, 2021 (spacing is wonky on the mobile app!).

Fic update: Jan 7, 2021

This is incomplete as I got distracted while re-reading a lot of these and have only gone through half of my bookmarks, but feel free to check my own page here for the rest of them! I really do hope you guys enjoy reading these and leave comments and kudos! Please reblog and like so more people can enjoy

Titles marked with (♡) are my absolute favorites and there’s a chance I cried while reading them but otherwise they’re in alphabetical order

Alternate Universe

an allegory of all the things we could’ve been

Word count: 16k

Summary: “I don’t know anything about some red string,” Iwaizumi murmurs into the cracks of Oikawa’s skin, “or even about lifetimes or fate. But no matter where you are, I’ll find you. Gods or otherwise.” Reincarnation AU

And All the Prince’s Men

Word count: 65k

Summary: “Father only loves that which he owns, and I am the one thing that can never truly be his.” Royalty AU

Built a Temple in Me

Word count: 55k

Summary: Up the mossy mountain steps, past the komainu guardians and the faded red gate, and beyond the boundaries of the green shrine—that’s where the forest and the spirit world within it lies. That’s were Hajime met him, and where their story began.But intertwining of destinies can be ugly business, Hajime finds, when their first meeting begins with blood and the too-human eyes of a beast. God Oikawa AU

Quote: It fills his heart anyway, heals the hole in his chest that had been bleeding since he cut Tooru so forcibly from him.

Cotton Breathing

Word count: 13k

Summary: Long-distance and summer only but childhood friends AU

Conquering the Great King

Word count: 105k

Summary: Oikawa's lips twitched into a smirk and he brought them hovering just over Iwaizumi's, "One time thing, Two time thing, what's it matter as long as it's not a Relationship thing?"

Quote: Oikawa's eyes twitched wide for less than a second, his knee pressed in hard against Iwaizumi's thigh, "I may be gorgeous, but I'm not a doll."

dear diary, i met a boy

Word count: 15k

Summary: Iwaizumi's first impression of his upstairs neighbor involves getting woken up at two in the morning to the sound of Oikawa singing along to trashy pop music. He'd thought it would get better, but it all just goes downhill from there. Modern AU

Desperado

Word count: 82k

Summary: Clearly Iwaizumi had a checkered past. Kyoutani has never asked about it, nor has Iwaizumi ever brought it up. He knows it’s a sore spot for his mentor, just like the gorgeous Monte Carlo he keeps hidden away is, so he leaves it alone. Out on the streets, you learn a little something about when to turn a blind eye in order to survive; Kyoutani knows better than most to leave the past of men like Iwaizumi well alone. Heist AU

Even Heroes (have the right to dream)

Word count: 20k

Summary: Oikawa Tooru, ace reporter of the superhero beat of Asahi Shimbun, hates superheroes. Or maybe he just hasn’t met the knight one yet. Superhero AU

♡Infinite Risks

Word count: 8k

Summary: “It’s my fate,” Oikawa responds slowly. He’s crying. “It’s too lonely,” Iwaizumi’s heart sounded broken. “And I’m not there with you. Not really.” Edge of Tomorrow AU

In Defense of Reptiles

Word count: 9k

Summary: In their seventh year, Oikawa is chosen to be the Hogwarts champion in the Triwizard Tournament, and Iwaizumi suffers. Harry Potter AU

Quote: “You are so spoiled,” Iwaizumi tells him, but lets him shuffle down until Iwaizumi’s hand is now running through Oikawa’s hair instead of rubbing his shoulder.

In the Telling

Word count: 6k

Summary: Muggleborn Iwaizumi could not be less impressed with pureblood Oikawa Tooru. Harry Potter AU

♡Lockdown

Word count: 72k

Summary: Within the first few months of his stay, Oikawa gets caught up in a war between cellblocks, becomes a prime target, and must decide just how far he's willing to go to protect Iwaizumi Hajime. Prison AU

♡long nights, no peace

Word count: 18k

Summary: It's the steady knowledge that Iwaizumi Hajime will always be someone that he can rely on, that no matter what the world throws at the two of them, they share in a piece of each other's soul. Pacific Rim AU

Quote: Quiet settles between them softly, like the warm pressure of the blanket, or Iwaizumi's fingers curling to lightly hold the fabric of Oikawa's shirt.

The Long Light

Word count: 36k

Summary: Iwaizumi Hajime's seventh year at Hogwarts begins, and begins, and begins, and begins. Somehow, Oikawa Tooru is always there. Harry Potter AU

Magic Man

Word count: 12k

Summary: Oikawa is named the most desirable wizard in France. Iwaizumi is not impressed. Harry Potter AU

Quote: You keep saying partner or them. Is it rude of me to ask you to clarify?

Meet me in the grey area

Word count: 24k

Summary: Set in a hero/villain AU with Iwa as our trusty hero and Oikawa as our charming villain

Saw You at the Fish Market

Word count: 14k

Summary: In other words, Oikawa befriends hot part-time worker Iwaizumi and tries to impress him both off and on the court, in hopes of more.

♡♡ (sing with me) A Song of Conquest and Fate

Word count: 26k

Summary: When Seijou receives a missive from Aobajousai to discuss a potential peace, its emperor Oikawa Tooru could not have foreseen the series of events that would follow. Historical fantasy AU

Similar Creatures

Word count: 53k

Summary: "What's your name?" "Whatever you want it to be."(Or, Oikawa gets directions from an attractive stranger on a street corner.). Escort AU

♡Something Like Us

Word count: 28k

Summary: Friends since childhood, Oikawa and Iwaizumi now live together, both playing for the National Team. It's no secret that athletes who are bonded perform better. So if the two of them happen to bond...It'd be for the good of the team, right? A/B/O AU

Space

Word count: 44k

Summary: Tries not to think of his rooftop garden, or the apartment he used to inhabit, or Hajime’s broken expression on the night they whispered their goodbyes before Tooru’s launch, attempting to push it all to the back of his mind behind visions of this alien world terraformed. Astronaut AU

Stop the Time

Word count: 10k

Summary: Iwaizumi Hajime, 27, E.R. nurse at University of Tokyo Hospital. Hospital AU

♡♡The Loyalty of A Traitor

Word count: 76k

Summary: Iwaizumi Hajime was an undercover officer with a single objective: Infiltrate the Seijoh Syndicate of the Yakuza and tear them down from the inside out. His primary target was the boss, Oikawa Tooru. The job itself was simple enough, until Iwaizumi got in too deep and absconded not only from the mission, but from the city itself. Yakuza AU

These Flowers I Stole For You

Word count: 3k

Summary: ANBU don't cry. They tear themselves apart, bit by bit, and then they stitch themselves whole again. Naruto AU

on shipwreck shore

Word count: 8k

Summary: “I’m going to murder you in cold blood and feed you to the basilisks,” Iwaizumi says conversationally. “You can’t do that, I’m your boss,” Oikawa sings, positively sparkling. “Also we’re partners, which means,” he points at Iwaizumi and leans in, “you’re stuck with me.” Detective AU

Page 305 of 304

Word count: 53k

Summary: “…she called you ‘papa’,” iwaizumi managed. oikawa just stared for a moment longer before relaxing in a smile. “yeah. cute, right? but you can call me ‘daddy’ if you want.”

Temporary fix

Word count: 12k

 Summary: “And you’ve shampooed his hair how many times now? Hmm. Yeah, that’s not technically a bromance.” A/B/O AU

Tokyo Boy

Word count: 16k

Summary: He has feelings for Iwaizumi Hajime, who probably has casual lovers just like him in every major city he visits on business. Oikawa is just his Tokyo Boy, just another pit-stop on Iwaizumi’s travels. Businessman AU

Trial by Fire

Word count: 78k

Summary: (lawyer!AU - in which Iwaizumi loves his objections, Oikawa is beautiful, and they have more chemistry than two opposing attorneys probably should.)

Watch Me

Word count: 32k

Summary: Oikawa's a cam model. It’s been a month since Iwaizumi first spoke in his chat. When they meet in person, things get complicated. Cam model AU

Angst

open when

Word count: 1k

Summary: Iwaizumi knew it was coming, but it still hurt. It still hurt when he opens one letter and drowns it in the tears he cannot keep at bay.

Chasing Paper Suns

Word count: 10k

Summary: Post-high school,     Oikawa makes it to the national volleyball team but Iwaizumi doesn't. The     next three years become an exercise in growing up without growing apart

Quote: “ ‘it’s just—I’m     just trying so hard—’‘What, and I’m not?’

Timeless (We Have 30 Days)

Word count: 12k

Summary: Or AU where you're branded 50 days before you die. But Oikawa doesn't tell anyone so now there's only 30 days left.

the weight of water

Word count: 6k

Summary: “Again,” he says, the smallest tremor in his voice, and Oikawa blinks at him a moment before smiling, soft and sweet. “Iwa-chan,” he replies, and Iwaizumi closes his eyes. “Again.” “Iwa-chan.”

Canon Compliant

Are You Listening?

Word count: 4k

Summary: 30 times oikawa said i love you and 1 time he didn't have to

Quote: “Iwa-chan, watch out for the log—!” Oikawa looked on in horror as his best friend tripped and fell flat on his face.

Edge of the balcony

Word count: 8k

Summary: Iwaizumi looks older, he realizes. Oikawa knew he had aged as well, and so did everyone around him, but the thing was when you see people often, you don't notice the subtle changes in appearance. And Oikawa hadn't seen Iwaizumi in four years.

How can this loser ever win

Word count: 2k

Summary: everyone is in stupid love with Iwaizumi Hajime and he has no idea

♡♡♡Lost in Translation

Word count: 9k

Summary: Because misfortune come in threes, Iwaizumi Hajime starts his Thursday having a screaming fight with Shittykawa, spends his lunch break listening to the UCI women's volleyball team gossiping about how Ushijima Wakatoshi had gone public about his longtime love affair with Oikawa Tooru, and closes out the day by drunkenly dropping his phone into a sewer grate.

maybe we could be enough

Word count: 9k

Summary: iwaizumi hums in reply as the car goes silent, frank ocean crooning from the speakers. they stop at a red light when iwaizumi feels eyes at the side of his face, and turns to look at oikawa.

Most people never even get a single high school rival

Word count: 5k

Summary: Team Argentina gets to know Iwaizumi Hajime (27) Athletic Trainer.

Primavera

Word count: 8k

Summary: They say it takes twenty-six years, for certain breeds to fully bloom.

Quote: Did you know that distance is only me, growing towards you?

♡♡♡rest on your laurels

Word count: 4k

Summary: In Iwaizumi’s heart of hearts, untouched by time, they are young and alive, burning with the hearth of home and bright as winter light. Unbreakable. Invincible.

♡♡♡Something Borrowed

Word count: 16k

Summary: In which Oikawa and Iwaizumi have always been a foregone conclusion to everyone else, but a massive, unanswered question to one another.

‘Til Infinity

Word count: 2k

Summary: “Hey,” he says, “that cloud looks kind of like a dick.”

Quote: “I got you ladybug”

♡♡♡ You Set Off a Dream In Me

Word count: 15k

Summary: In which Oikawa is 41 and ready to retire. He's at the top of his game and ready to find a new challenge. Turns out his new challenge is pretty familiar. It's high school, round 2.

Quote: A past with an Iwaizumi that wasn’t on the opposite side of the net, monsters on all sides, guiding a setter that had lived the dream left behind in the ruins of Tooru’s past self.

Canon Divergent

a world alone

Word count: 60k

Summary: Iwaizumi has his medical books on the musculoskeletal system. Oikawa has his research papers on parallel universes. It isn't until much, much later that they realize they have each other.

♡Almost a Stranger

Word count: 16k

Summary: Iwa-chan's leaving Kapan. Tooru's not sure he can forgive him, but he's not going to admit his long-held feelings, either. A trip to Miyajima complicates everything.

Quote: There are only two things that have ever broken Oikawa Tooru’s heart. Iwa-chan would say Tooru has no heart to break, but that’s simply untrue.

Count your blessings, it goes 1,2,3, me

Word count: 7k

Summary: He's unsettled by the undefined boundaries of their relationship so it's all his luck that he accidentally wins three wishes to be granted just for him, and all that comes to mind is Iwaizumi.

Quote: Now, as an adult, past convenience of circumstance and the haze of hormonal lust, exactly none of his feelings have worn off

♡♡♡the courtship ritual of the hercules beetle

Word count: 66k

Summary: Tooru is pretty sure he could manage the mating habits of a mosquito. It’s the mating habits of people he can’t seem to get right.

♡days fall away

Word count:17k

Summary: Except now he’s back home, so close to his old haunts and to Oikawa himself, and it's—weird.

Quote: “You and Tooru,” he begins, and then shrugs. “I was just thinking, you look at each other a lot.” And he walks away, leaving Hajime winded, and sort of aching, somewhere deep in his chest. Whatever that means.

♡here comes your man

Word count: 8k

Summary: Iwa-chan, it reads, Have a good day today! Good luck! <3 <3 <3 Suga chokes. It’s hard to imagine anyone calling the scowling and fierce Doctor Iwaizumi “Iwa-chan.” But marriage probably comes with all sorts of liberties. Doctor AU

♡♡In damp earth my body

Word count: 15k

Summary: Onscreen, the nation’s favorite setter has arranged himself so that he’s bowing, forehead pressed to the court, like he’s thanking everyone for their kindness thus far, like he’s asking for forgiveness. Hajime thinks: shit, it’s really happening

In the Business of Love

Word count: 22k

Summary: Meet Oikawa Tooru: He's a best-selling shoujo manga artist, a hardcore romantic and you won't believe where he's getting his lovey dovey fodder from...Enter Iwaizumi Hajime: He's Oikawa's best friend, a realist who also happens to be a wedding magazine writer despite not believing in romance...

Quote: A flare of pride lit in Oikawa as he watched Iwaizumi's eyes crinkle with mirth and in that yawning second, it bloomed into a warmth that bordered on a burn, forcing a bittersweet inhale.

it's been so long (nobody knows me the way you do)

Word count: 8k

Summary: Tooru hums, only half-listening. Somewhere along the way, Hajime’s palm has settled itself over the curve of Tooru’s cheek, thumb tracing over the line of his jaw.

Quote: Iwaizumi blushes even more. “That you’re here, I mean. I’m happy that you’re here. With me.”

♡♡♡Mint

Word count: 19k

Summary: It's the December after Iwaizumi’s last year in university when Tokyo welcomes him with a new ad campaign for Bright Days toothpaste, and Oikawa Tooru—fresh off a run at the 2016 Summer Olympics—has decided to grace the city with his signature grin, a flip of his wayfarer sunglasses, and the most irrepressible tag line for the signboard above.

Quote: "To be able to tell him, in the new year."  This comes under Oikawa's breath, so low that Matsukawa and Hanamaki can't hear, and the game continues.

Six-Month Lover

Word count: 89k

Summary: Iwaizumi barks out a laugh. “I’m still trying to get over the fact that you made a PowerPoint presentation about why we should date.” Oikawa doesn’t tell him the file has existed for the last twelve years, constantly receives updates, and that the original copy contained almost a hundred slides before he forced himself to get a grip.

Special Relativity

Word count: 22k

Summary: Time moves differently for people in different inertial reference frames. Oikawa goes on a two-year exploratory mission in space. Iwaizumi's been waiting for a lot longer than that.

♡♡sunset towns

Word count: 33k

Summary: In the summer of 2020, Oikawa Tooru returns home from his first successful stint as captain of Japan’s national volleyball team. In one hand, he holds the undisputed weight of an Olympic medal, and in the other, his unresolved feelings for a childhood best friend.

♡♡Thirty Years and Change (the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad)

Word count:     19k

Summary: It’s July 10th, 2024, and Oikawa Tooru is an Olympian. His smiling face airs on an NHK promo every 45 seconds. He’s captain of the national men’s volleyball team, reigning star of the professional leagues, and he hasn't spoken to Iwaizumi Hajime in two years.

Quote: Oikawa’s grin in  the last set of the morning’s game. Oikawa’s grin as they sat on their asses on a golf course. Oikawa’s grin when they were in college. When they were in high school. When they were twenty-two, seventeen, fifteen, twelve, six.

High School

Bet On It

Word count: 13k

Summary: Hajime knows exactly how shitty Oikawa's personality is, and has no scruples whatsover about betting Oikawa six thousand yen that he can't be nice for an entire week.

Quote: The whole instant-compliance thing was seriously creeping him out. Oikawa from a week ago would have made a crack about how if he'd wanted something cold, he could have just put his face on Hajime's shoulder.

Betweens

Word count: 2k

Summary: Iwaizumi is asleep in the club room. Oikawa is blindingly awake in the club room. The sun moves slowly across the sky, and Iwaizumi’s skin is gold underneath it. Oikawa watches the changing shadows on Iwaizumi’s face and thinks about nothing in particular.

Don’t think too much

Word count: 6k

Summary:  In which Oikawa and Iwaizumi have a confusing, drunken encounter and then deal with the (sticky) consequences.

Quote: As soon as that thought crossed his mind, though, Oikawa did what he always did:  exactly the opposite of what Hajime wanted

Gates

Word count: 12k

Summary: The day after their graduation ceremony, they drive to the beach at Shirahama. Iwaizumi drives, because it’s his car, and as he has told Oikawa on multiple occasions, he’d rather die than let him touch the wheel.

Quote: ‘Yeah,’ he says, because they’re on a beach, and they’re supposed to be on a metaphorical journey, and they’re supposed to be growing up, and completing rites of passage, so it’s honesty, today - just for today, at least.

♡♡i sing the body electric

Word count: 8k

Summary: It was never part of the plan, falling in love with his best friend, but then again, most things in Iwaizumi’s life that involve Oikawa rarely unfold the way he thinks they will.

Quote: But Iwaizumi thinks about Oikawa laughing with that girl in the low light of the gym, a particular kind of quiet intimacy that Iwaizumi’s only ever read about in books hovering in the air, and all it makes him feel is small and petty and spiteful.

it’s better than words

Word count: 3k

Summary: [ or : oikawa makes iwaizumi participate in three bonding activities for new friends, and iwaizumi just wants to know why oikawa's being so weird about this]

Make sure you cross the line

Word count: 4k

Summary: With graduation just around the corner, Iwaizumi knows he has to gather the courage to really ask Oikawa out.

Quote: He’s been asking Iwaizumi to go out with him every single day this past week, increasingly panicked about getting his time and attention now that they’re nearing the end of this season of their lives.

Only the jellyfish know

Word count: 6k

Summary: Their third and final year at Aoba Jousai has come to an end, and the guys decide to go to the beach the day after graduation. That day, the ocean water is salty, the watermelon is sweet, and the people are sweeter.

static

Word count: 6k

Summary: Being snowed in with all of Seijou volleyball in his childhood home brings back a lot of memories for Iwaizumi, because it's kinda Oikawa's childhood home too.

Quote: It's fate that brought them together and choice that keeps them that way. The closest description in Hajime’s vocabulary is partners, but only because Oikawa taught him what its true definition is.

Told before and told again

Word count: 3k

Summary: This is how Hajime and Tooru fall in love, through the accounts of those around them.

Quote: When Oikawa lets out a long, heavy breath, Iwaizumi looks up at him and frowns, and flings a towel over Oikawa’s head to cover his face. Then, he tugs, once, on Oikawa’s fingers, and leads him down the hallway, Oikawa walking quietly in tow.

♡we can do better than that

Word count: 16k

Summary: Oikawa and Iwaizumi go on a road trip during the summer after their high school graduation. It doesn't go as expected, but maybe that's not such a bad thing after all.

Quote: Because Iwaizumi’s known Oikawa nearly all his life and never felt anything more than vague affection usually followed by intense irritation for him. But then suddenly at eighteen years old and nearly two weeks into a very badly planned road trip, it’s like someone flipped a switch somewhere inside Iwaizumi

♡when it starts to rain, they go inside

Word count: 33k

Summary: “Where?” starts Iwaizumi.“ My parent’s old lakehouse, silly, didn’t you hear me the first time?” OR: Oikawa takes Iwaizumi to his lakehouse for two weeks, post-graduation.

reassemble it

Word count: 15k

Summary: When Tooru was six years old, he discovered—unbeknownst to him at the time—two of the most important things in his life: volleyball and Iwaizumi Hajime. It was ironic that he had stumbled upon them hand in hand—quite literally, too.

♡things that change, things that stay the same

Word count: 8k

Summary: Oikawa realizes he's in love with his best friend; it sucks for a while. (But only a while.)

Quote: Iwaizumi’s expression right now is less terrified than it used to get back then, but he’s tight-lipped with concern, and his broad body blocks out other passengers as if their stares might be a danger to Tooru too.

University AU

An Archaeology of Affection

Word count: 23k

Summary: For Hajime, it is a riddle and simultaneously so evident. It fills his chest, surging like water, paints heat up his neck. In retrospect, it eats up his days, makes them its own until it feels like his heart has always been in his throat at the smile thrown over Oikawa’s shoulder, the stilling of his fingers on Hajime’s sleeve.

closure

Word count: 22k

Summary: In his first year of university, Oikawa builds a new friendship and upgrades an old one. Or: Ushijima is not a great wingman, but he tries his best.

Quote: “On the first day of his university career, Oikawa Tooru walks into his dorm, spots his assigned roommate, and turns one hundred and eighty degrees and walks right back out. He dials a familiar phone number - the first one he ever memorized - and starts complaining before Iwaizumi even gets the chance to say hello. “Iwa-chan,” he says, “tell me why Ushiwaka is in my dorm room.”

♡♡♡galaxies, within you

Word count: 21k

Summary: Hajime and Tooru move in together at the start of university. Too bad they’re stuck with the two gremlins that haunt their apartment.

Quote: I AM A HEADASS

Hands to yourself

Word count: 11k

Summary: He missed his parents, and he missed Takeru, and Takeru's badly behaved puppy. He missed Aoba Jousai, and he missed the volleyball team. He even missed Karasuno and Shiratorizawa, just a little.

Home, and how we made ours

Word count: 3k

Summary: “No, I like it here.” There’s a rustling as Iwaizumi shifts, inching closer. “I like it here, as in this crappy apartment—with you.”

Quote: “Do your fights end up being like—you know, about actual things and then extending into toddler days and suddenly you’re accusing Iwaizumi of kissing the girl you used to like in preschool?”

in progress to you

Word count: 6k

Summary: The eventuality of Oikawa and Iwaizumi falling toward each other is dramatically lackluster. Still, it's a process to go through.

Quote: “But what if you didn’t eat my pudding all the time?” Iwaizumi asks flatly, ignoring the way Oikawa is slapping his thigh to get out of his chokehold. “Do you think I buy them for you, huh? I buy them for me, you turd.”

Like we’re made of starlight

Word count: 6k

Summary: (a look into iwaizumi hajime’s journey of falling in love with oikawa tooru, from when they’re babies meeting for the first time to young adults moving in together.)

Ninety nine percent

Word count: 14k

Summary: more than anything, oikawa tooru wants to be with iwaizumi hajime, but he's only ninety nine percent of the way there.

Quote: Their ace was lining up for the ball, knees bent and arm pulled back, just as Tooru tosses the ball……to Hajime.

no sleep in the city

Word count: 7k

Summary: Along their journey to find Tokyo's best ramen, Iwaizumi finds himself asked again and again why Oikawa is still single.

Quote: “I was only telling Hanamaki literally yesterday that your personality isn’t as vile as before,” Iwaizumi informs, slightly stiff from the way Oikawa’s got an arm looped through his own. “Why do you make me such a liar to people I care about?”

Out of nowhere

Word count: 8k

Summary: They move in together after graduation and it's doing weird things to Iwaizumi's heart. He's a little in denial about it.

Quote: Oikawa excitedly ran up to him when Iwaizumi came home with groceries the other day. Not about the food but just to say how boring everything is when Iwaizumi's not there, eyes shining, and he couldn't meet his gaze after from blushing down to his neck. He doesn't know how much more he can take.

♡♡shiver

Word count: 16k

Summary: Oikawa was always the brave one. Hajime just followed two paces behind.

Quote: “I’m in love with you,” Oikawa tells him three days after they graduate junior high, head in his lap and hands gently folded over his chest and completely and totally unconcerned that he’d just shattered Hajime’s world.

Terpischore

Word count: 38k

Summary: They’d ended up going to different universities, Tooru and he. The distance was good for them. The confession Hajime dropped in both their laps wasn’t. That’s how it’d ended – a lifetime of friendship crumbled to dust in the space of five minutes. (Or, a lesson in learning to move on from things you can't have, in finding old loves in new ways and in understanding that life is never truly simple... till it is.)

terrarium

Word count: 11k

Summary: At this point, is he really happy with just staying best friends forever? Will he be writing journals and collecting rocks forever (he will, he knows, but that is aside from the point)?

these foolish things (remind me of you)

Word count: 3k

Summary: Oikawa helps Iwaizumi move into his new college dorm.

Quote: He’s desperate for something to happen. It must show on his face because Iwaizumi blushes and looks away. The thing is, Oikawa always looks at him like this when Iwaizumi isn’t paying attention.

They say it rains diamonds on Jupiter

Word count: 35k

Summary: "You're in love with him. "Hajime considers denying it. "Yeah," he says instead.

Quote: “Share the weight of your feelings with me, Hajime wants to beg when he hears Tooru's first hitched breath. Let me carry some of your burdens”

to be first, to be best

Word count: 26k

Summary: Hajime is apparently something of a masochist, and as he stares down at the tie-dyed AREA51 T-shirt in his hands, he thinks “I’m totally in love with this asshole, aren't I?”

Undecipherable

Word count: 4k

Summary: "Koi no yokan," he says. "The sense one can have upon first meeting a person that the two of you are going to fall in love."

Quote: Because for all the bravado, for all the flaunting Oikawa does, he wants Hajime by his side, and no one else.

♡we shine like diamonds

Word count: 26k

Summary: "You know Abe-kun from class?" they snicker, hands cupped around their mouths like they're passing along a filthy secret. "I hear his older brother is... gay."

Where you are (I’ll be)

Word count: 6k

Summary: Theirs is a love that starts out like a seed and it takes two sets of hands tending it for a shoot to appear. There are no dramatic declarations of love, only a pair of hands that find each other again and again and again.

Quote: Oikawa broke off into giggles as Hajime slowed the descent of his hand from a slap to the back of Oikawa’s head to a gentle ruffle of the taller boy’s hair

♡♡with every second that you could give

Word count: 9k

Summary: The journey of Iwaizumi and Oikawa going for gold.

Quote: He knows they’re too close. Iwaizumi knows it too, and they both decided to move in together anyway.

Your love is sunlight

Word count: 6k

Summary: It's Iwaizumi's birthday, and they have a talk about the future.

Quote: But Hajime doesn’t think any present could top this: them, kissing in a sun-dappled bathroom, Oikawa’s skin warm under his hands, and the promise of a life together stretched out before them.

[lilolilyr]

Tagged by @ongreenergrasses, thank you!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Way over 300! Tho it feels like it's been at 300sth so long by now, it'll be weird to look at once it hits 400 :D

Btw, funny how this tag meme asks for so much stuff that can be looked up by just... looking at my Ao3... without asking for any commentary by me? Lol

Anyhow, rest under the readmore bc this is 20 questions and Long!

Personal post - do not reblog

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

995596 - just a few more ficlets or 1 longer fic, and I've got a Million! Hey, maybe I should try to write one with... 4404? (I'd need to ask a calculator xD) words exactly... not rly a hardship with how many drabble exercises (exact wordcounts, 100 is the most used, I also do 200, 500, longest was 10000 exactly lol) I've already done... we'll see!

Over 400k for this year alone, and over half of that is my actual writing (not translations etc), I'm so proud! Last year I only barely hit 200k and that included a lot of translating work

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?  

Again, one could look this up in my works filtered - sorted by kudos? But all three of my incubus!jaskier witcher series are in it, part 2 of the series is highest with 1091 kudos, then a Venom halloween oneshot, and 'Belonging', a fluffy snake-crowley piece from my ineffable spouses series (yes, sth with under 1k words - 666 to be exact - is in the top 5... my poor longfics lol)

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

...I try to? But atm I have 202 unanswered (and I always click 'mark read' on replies so these are all comments on my own fic) even tho I told myself I'd not let it get past 200, and now I'm doing a tag meme instead of replying to anything so ummmm

Edit: 203 unread now

But I do love love love all the comments I get! And while atm it's still semi-manageable, if it ever gets to the point where I really can't manage to reply to everyone cause it's too much, i'd rly take that as a compliment lol :D I'd still try to reply to the longer and/or more thought through comments tho :)

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

*thinks* I have an MCD fic? But not only is that very much a case of ~posting a draft version that's barely in complete sentences insgead of taking the time to turn it into a real longfic~, I also just killed off the mlm couple I only semi care about and left the wlw couple with a happy/hopeful (rly don't remember) ending, so... hm idk whether that counts for angsty ending

Apart from that... I dunno, I just prefer my babies to be happy and fluffy? *.* i remember a mirror milippa in the mirrorverse one where in the end Michael is worried about lying to Philippa about her identity... there are some angsty TOG and Gomens ones but I think they end happy-ish (my memory is. Bad. but looking through my 'angst' tag I just saw a lot of h/c and 'angst with a happy ending')

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

They're all happy???!?

7. Do you write crossovers? If so what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Ahahahahahhahahaahaha

Check this out

I need you to know that all the works in that collection take part in the same universe (or rather, multiverse), and are alltogether just scratching the surface of my gigantic headcanon multiverse that I've been building in my mind since I was like 10

Actual crossovers other than that I don't remember writing

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yeh but I only remember clicking 'delete comment', as it should be

Recently I've just gotten a bunch of 'you Need to continue this' and 'omg why isn't there more' or 'this shouldn't end' type comments, not hate, probably not meant maliciously, but So Annoying (maybe espesh bc I don't want to just hit delete on these, but I also don't want to pretend it's fine, but I also don't have the energy for a fight, and trying to explain why that behaviour is entitled and annoying and that I write what I want to write and nice comments should praise what I actually have written, and hoping that they understand and don't get mad is... hard.)

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Check out my rated E and rated M in my works

Mostly femslash lately, but I did also write other smut in the past

Most is a bit dominant/submissive play, but I do also like good fluffy smut with feelings! Best in combo, really :D

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not in the sense of pretending someone else wrote it (that i know of), but posted to other sites without my permission - writing 'don't repost to other sites' etc did Not help, they even copied those tags lol, so I just let it be, choosing my battles wisely etcetc, I'd prefer for my fic not to be cross-posted by others bc then I can't edit or otherwise influence the fic anymore and don't see everyone's reactions to it, but as long as it's not someone pretending they wrote it, I only semi care, not enough to fight it tbh

PSA: I Only post fics to Ao3 (and WIPs/prompt fills to tumblr&discord at times), if you see them somewhere else that's Not Me and you'd do me a favour by checking them out on ao3 and kudosing&commenting there instead :)

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yup, one to Russian a while back, a floreleine (Gunpowder Milkshake) one to Korean just today actually, and I translated a bunch to German myself

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I made a TOG fic together with @cinnamonplums, well mostly I wrote and she made the art :D

Trying to remember whether I ever actually co-wrote anything... don't think so?

13. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Don't make me choose!!!

Atm Milippa is OTP bc I'm busy writing them for @discoveryfemslashfortnight (this is not a post to reblog for the fortnight), but I'm also still rly into Floreleine, Bering&Wells and Andromaquynh and Andronilynh, and I read a lot of Mirandy lately

All-time favs I'm not rly active in atm but will always be dear to me are the ineffable spouses, clintcoulson, heistwives, gosh so many more I'll stop here tho xD

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

A Heistwives Kinda Job immediately comes to mind

I also rly want to finish at least one cohesive original-ish storyline for the lverse that I already linked for the crossover question above, but I just have so much backstory (it's been over 10 years!!!) and it's... hard...

And everything else that's still WIP and untouched for more than a few months will probably have the same fate lol

Also have a few that haven't even seen the light of day at all, most recent a Mirandy ~what if Andy had been pregnant when Miranda hired her and how would it change the entire storyline~ bit - I wrote it in bulletpoints in one go as quickly as I could, I know I had the finished product in my mind, I don't remember anything now and don't feel like going through the bulletpoints painstakenly filling in the blanks

15. What are your writing strengths?

Writing one-shots quickly in one go

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Forgetting everything about a fic if I leave it in a draft for a second too long

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

There are many ways to go about it, and I think they all work (depending on the fic and the length and relevance of the dialogue)

I tend to leave single sentences as is, and for longer and important sequences use cursive and 'they said in xylanguage'.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

The Hobbit apparently? I remember thinking that fic was so long lol, it's 3k

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

Kat/Ana from Reef Break, they have Such Shippable Chemistry, and it would totally fit Kat's player personality to bang both siblings (she's canonically friends with benefits with Ana's half-brother)... but the ship has one (1!) fic on Ao3 *cries*

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

TOG Andromaquynh longfic In Your Stead has had the title since last year and probably for a while to come! I loved the story idea so much I really worked with several drafts and only! worked on that fic until it was finished so I wouldn't get distracted & forget about it, and the result was wonderful.

Tagging, if you want to do it, @sarah-fiers @purlturtle @cookie-sheet-toboggan @ussjellyfish @onaperduamedee @startrekgeorgiouery @rosalie-starfall @lonely-night @banashee @xvnot15 and everyone else who sees this

Questions to copy:

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?  4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? 5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? 6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending? 7. Do you write crossovers? If so what’s the craziest one you’ve written? 8. Have you ever received hate on a fic? 9. Do you write smut? If so what kind? 10. Have you ever had a fic stolen? 11. Have you ever had a fic translated? 12. Have you ever co-written a fic before? 13. What’s your all time favorite ship? 14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? 15. What are your writing strengths? 16. What are your writing weaknesses? 17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? 18. What was the first fandom you wrote for? 19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to? 20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

[wastrelwoods]

my favorite genre of rec lists are “good shit you’ll probably miss if you sort by kudos” so I figured it would be good to make one with. some underrated gems from the penumbra tag

1. sealed with a -- by availedobscurity (5k)

set mid-season 2, juno/peter, juno leaves mars, solves a train murder, and meets a familiar face. i love amy i love that she wrote this fic featuring my absolute favorite top-tier femme fatale trope which i WILL NOT spoil and i think about it all the time. technically marked as a WIP but stands alone as a perfectly good oneshot

2. shake the dust by caelta (16k)

season 3 casefic, juno/peter getting-back-together focus. wonderfully fraught and funny in all the right ways with just an excessive smattering of puns and delightful turns of phrase and dad jokes that are just so stylistically right for penumbra. juno and peter’s easy back-and-forth banter contrasted with all the pining going on just under the surface? i don’t know why more people don’t know about this one it deserves more

3. in remission by gaytypo (3k)

season 3 vespa character study, short and sweet but i just really appreciated the exploration of vespa’s schizophrenia by an author who knows what the hell they’re talking about! and also just the crime family looking out for each other

4. give us your strength, world by nex_et_nox (4k)

mid season 2, juno hanging out at the lighthouse after monster’s reflection and before returning to hyperion city...if u hadn’t guessed i love fics that focus on non-romantic relationships and those are ALWAYS criminally underrated but listen. why must a fic have a romance. is it not enough to see juno steel, 40, stumbling around and hissing like a feral kitten being domesticated?

5. zichronot by julomaiboulomai  (5k)

season 3, my favorite of the several very good fics about juno bein’ jewish. i like the contrast of the past and present sections and sort of. the two families juno has had? i also chug that respect julia juice hard i think her fic always slaps. AND i love that everybody gets a chance to have their relationship with juno highlighted and i think that juno being in. a season of life about recovery and making amends works really with the observation of Rosh Hashanah here basically it’s just a really well-crafted fic! its good

6. sunrise, sunset by easiIyamused (4k)

pre-canon, mag and peter! mag and PETER! cannot get enough of the complex, fraught family dynamics and just ANY exploration of mag being. a loving father but not a good man. and also nureyev being a precocious little twink....god i’d die for him. what a baby. who gave him a knife. SIGH anyway this is probably one of the MOST deeply underrated ones on the list

7. it’s alright, it’s ok by atlantisrises (3k)

season 3, juno/peter with an outsider pov. all the goodness of two queer men who had rough childhoods gently taking a child under their wing when she needs help...i’m weak to that damage. half a kidfic and half a casefic, i guess? anyway i think it’s great

8. a slightly kinder world by dooiney_oie (8k)

canon divergent AU, set at the end of murderous mask. i think it’s funny we all knew benzaiten was dead years before we knew the first thing about him but the second he showed up we all determined “no i’m gonna need more of this fool” . anyway i live for the benten&juno&”rex glass” dynamic here it’s really somethin

9. i’ve been having revelations (and i’m gonna let them shine) by barelyanybears, dreamsanddeath, gerrystamour (12k)

season 3, juno/peter focused but with some appearances from the rest of the family. just...just the most sweet domestic shit ok the concept? of just two thieves off exploring the galaxy and building a magpie nest together? and building a life together? good lord. i ALSO think on the other side of the coin the depiction of juno dealing with chronic pain was really nuanced and interesting and i stayed thinking about it for a long time

10. a distraction by aesphantasmal (1k) 

nonspecific AU....the juno/peter cat-and-mouse dynamic becomes...a homoerotic swordfight!! god everything this author writes is so good and underrated i think they have the banter so down every time they write it it’s just...the centerpiece here. as it should be! 

11. with feeling by acerbicsarcasm (9k)

juno/peter and also BEN. ALIVE. you know how it is! musician AU that feels romcom in tone to me in a way that i absolutely mean as a compliment because now i think about it this definitely inspired my last minibang fic

12. the signal and the noise by ty(umami) (10k)

what’s your toxic trait, mine is putting WIPs which haven’t been touched for a year and a half on a rec list. listen. i would pop bottles if this fic were to be continued but i do think what is already posted stands up as a SUPER interesting bit of writing with some cool worldbuilding and characterization. canon-divergent AU from the season 2 finale, that good theia! brand amnesia content, and really memorably good prose 

13. comfortably bound by axel_knochenmus (2k)

season 3, juno/peter but mostly focused on juno’s...extensive experience with uhhh riding the uh,, subway. choosing the bottom bunk. sfw but with obvious implications of past bdsm experience, basically. this is the funniest goddamn fic i think it’s delightful, and also i’m just charmed by fic that explores juno being kinky in a way that doesn’t imply it’s unhealthy of him to have a history with that. its like how he just knows a lot about cardstock and collects bad art. he’s lived a life

14. every story has its chapter in the desert by howlikeagod (1.5k)

mid-season 2, juno and jet missing scene immediately post “monster’s reflection”...sometimes a man does emergency brain surgery on you in the middle of the desert and you don’t actually know his name because you’re just not on that level yet. listen. i know i simp but i can’t not hype sarah up i think her writing is spectacular and i think a lot of it DOES get the recognition it deserves but this is one of her less known oneshots that i like a lot

15. do-over by vitreousmonotreme (2.5k)

AU/futurefic, peter nureyev and a mysterious stranger who corners him in an alley...this rly just caught me by the brain and hasn’t let go since 2017 but listen. if peter nureyev DID go on a heist with his kid from the future would that be bitchin or what

16. coltsfoot by northisnotup (6k)

ANOTHER futurefic and another kidfic. i’m being exposed here for my personal weakness to well-written kidfic but while THAT is undeniably cute enough this fic is ALSO a canon-divergent AU so sarah and ben are alive. and its really a fic about juno’s complex relationship to motherhood and recovery? YEAH anyway fuckin. tear this fic up into bite sized chunks dunk it in your soup it’ll cure what ails you

17. become a thief in the night (become a dog on the run) by elanoides (8k)

pre-canon, an alternate nureyev backstory written just before angel of brahma! i can see why it didn’t get an immense amount of traction considering that timing but like. i’m suggesting it, read it, you’re missing out. sometimes a fic does not have to be even a little bit canon-compliant to be a really compelling character study and i’m SO fond of this one because as i mentioned earlier kid!nureyev is just such a precocious twink

anyway that’s what i have that’s my gift to you 

[bedlamsbard]

Writing tag game -- tagged by @lessattitudemorealtitude

how many works do you have on Ao3?

Discounting podfic on which I’m listed as a co-author, 24.  My concept writing doesn’t go to AO3 and the vast majority of my Narnia fic was never cross-posted there.  (Or reposted there, actually, I think most of it pre-dates the AO3.)

what’s your total Ao3 word count?

1,050,810.  oh, huh, I didn’t actually realize I’d passed the one million word mark (probably with Crown).

what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

all of these ended up being Star Wars, which is not a huge surprise.  Morning will probably reach Dirt in the next couple of updates, I’d guess.

Immutable, or, Five Times Obi-Wan Kenobi Compromised His Jedi Ethics for Anakin Skywalker -- this is not the oldest Star Wars fic on there, but I think it’s the second oldest. people just really like 5 times fic.

Wake the Storm - did you know that when I started Wake I assumed it was a very niche trope in what was, at the time, a pretty dead fandom? the kudos count on Wake actually outnumbers Gambit by more than 1600 kudos, so the number of people who go from Wake to Gambit is a lot lower than you might think.

Queen's Gambit - a significantly lower kudos count than Wake or Immutable.  Gambit’s such a weirdo of a story, tbh, I can’t be surprised by anything about Gambit anymore.

On the Edge of the Devil's Backbone - about 600 kudos less than Gambit, so less difference between Gambit and Backbone than between Wake and Gambit.

Dirt in the Machine - another older fic.  I’d rewrite this one if I cared enough to do so, because it’s not at my current standards (Immutable isn’t either, for that matter) and I kind of wince every time I get comments on it.  this is the first one of the top five to have below 1K kudos.

do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I’ll usually respond to direct questions, but I very, very seldom respond to comments in general.  This is an old standing policy of mine that’s now more than a decade old -- it used to be I’d wait twenty-four hours before responding, then I’d respond right before the next chapter went up, and for a while I’d only respond to comments on the first few chapters of a story.  Now I just mostly do not.  The reasons for this are: (1) many, many years ago, I lost my temper pretty badly at a comment on a fic of mine (this was pre-AO3, this was back in my LJ days), and after that I moved to the “wait twenty-four hours” response so I didn’t say anything without thinking about it, (2) I do go back and reread comments but I hate rereading my own responses, (3) I prefer to know the comments numbers on my fic are all from actual comments and not from me saying “thanks for reading!”, (4) I can’t take that kind of responsibility for answering every single comment, man.

what’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Of stuff I’ve written in the past ten years? (I can’t really remember before that.)  Maybe Backbone, because it ends on that pretty upbeat “yay team we’re going to be rebels now!” note.  or Devil’s in the Details (other side part 1), though I don’t really want to consider it a finished fic even though it’s technically finished; it has another “yay team we’re back together (minus Ezra)” ending.  I tend to end on complicated and reasonably open endings, not like...happy endings.

what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

probably Gambit for the “everything is super fucked up” factor and also the fact that I never wrote the sequel. plus it ended with the entire Wake trio split up in a whole new universe, plus back in the Gambitverse Amidala not able to go back to Naboo, Ahsoka shunned, Palpatine’s new empire, Rex trapped in the Gambitverse, etc.

do you write crossovers?

I did in my Narnia days. I don’t anymore. Working in widespread fandoms like Star Wars or the MCU is basically like writing crossover fic within the same universe, anyway.

have you ever received hate on a fic?

*hysterical laughter*

...yes. yes I have. it’s the reason every time I get a comment notification on Gambit or Wake I freeze in absolute terror. people HATE Wake and Gambit.  I hate to say never, but I will probably never write those characters or in that series again.

do you write smut? if so, what kind?

not really?  I’ve done relatively non-explicit sex but it’s not something I’m super comfortable writing, especially in recent years. I’m much more likely to do a fade to black.

have you ever had a fic stolen?

I think Gambit got scraped once when it was still in progress and my response was something along the lines of “good luck, bro,” given the whole “still in progress” thing.

have you ever had a fic translated?

I’ve gotten a couple of translation requests but I can’t recall if anything’s ever been translated.  (Or if I responded to them...I know a few I forgot to respond.)

have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes, back in my Narnia days.  Some SW concept writing and that ended so badly that I’ll never co-write again.

what’s your all-time favourite ship?

Kanan/Hera, of course!

what’s a wip that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

gods, Dust in the Air, my Narnia Last Battle AU.  Back when I started it in 2008 or so I didn’t have the self-control or discipline I do now, even if I had a lot of the worldbuilding ability and the ability to conceive of if not execute long plot arcs, and I broke off more than I could chew.  If I ever went back to it I’d probably have to do a complete rewrite and it has the unique problem among my WIPs of being the last major fic I wrote in present tense -- I now write exclusively in past tense.  The bones of the story are good, I’d just have to go back to the bones and not just pick up where I left off.

what are your writing strengths?

Plot, worldbuilding/environment, action.  I also do genuinely think I’m very good at characterization too, but I think they’re all inter-related.  (Except the action, that’s me alone.  I love writing action and I generally get a lot of compliments on my action scenes.)  look, I know it’s conceited, but I’m good and I know I’m good, and I’m good in a pretty well-rounded way for the genre I write.

what are your writing weaknesses?

brevity. can’t do it.

honestly, there are others, but I don’t write stories where they’d come up.  I think I have a tendency to get to bogged down in dialogue in a way that I’ve never quite solved.  I also let my emotions take over too much and not in the good fannish way, in the “I’m having a fucked up relationship with canon or fandom and it’s affecting my ability to work” way.

what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

please stop having your Asgardians speak Latin for magic, man, that’s my feeling on it.

okay, my feelings on it for me -- I’ve sprinkled bits and pieces of Huttese, Twi’leki, and tee-tiny bits of other stuff here and there in fic.  I’d not be comfortable doing more than that because the only other language that I really feel comfortable doing anything significant in is Latin, and even then I’d hesitate. also, like, Latin! not a language that comes up in the fandoms I write in.  even then, like -- any extended dialogue should be intelligible to the audience, and I don’t expect my audience to be able read anything other than English; I’d rather just say “they switched to Twi’leki to say” or something similar.

what was the first fandom you wrote for?

like, online? Harry Potter. for things that I didn’t post online because I didn’t know what fic was yet? probably either The 10th Kingdom or The Mummy.

what’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

On the Edge of the Devil’s Backbone.  I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever written, I think it’s the most tightly plotted, I think it’s got the best worldbuilding, I think it’s remarkably consistent thematically, and it was, at the time, a fic that I was very devoted to finishing or dying trying, because I was going through it at the time and some of it was connected to the fic.

I don’t tag people, but please go for if you want!