#authors i love love love

[consistentsquash]

ǟʟʍǟɢɛֆȶ is the first fic that had me crying for real. You did not exaggerate. It's searing romance with a gripping plot, an epic story of a lifetime, prose poetry, characterizations and everything else aethonrecs and you said. On top of that, it has a masterful portrait of Dumbledore which is unlike anything I encountered in fic. Obsessed. Since you are familiar with the author's works, any suggestions on what's a good order to start reading?

Yay! Lots of kudos for @aethon-recs who recced it in the first place <3 It's not really a fic that's super easy to rec!! I know that for a fact because I recced it on 21 fics from 21 years and really struggled. aethon's rec actually captures the spirit of the fic. Definitely a fic that's seriously slept on and deserves seriously more love than it gets.

For reading next. Depends on your reading taste actually. If you are into character studies go for Frabjous and Byzantium. If you are ok with good weird, go for Bestiarium. If you are more into the plotty novel length fics just go with the type of plot that's your thing.

Almagest - mass surveillance

Pandemic - pandemic, social media, ponzi schemes.

Republic - Brexit vibes but you can also see a lot of general right wing politics

Brown Sugar - prisoner ethics

Ouroboros - dark side of immortality

Unvollendete - cult of personality

Caliban - class system

Bright be the light of thy soul - lolita but not really

Catullus 16 - classic m/m enemies to lovers on one level, really dark satire on a toxic relationship dynamic on another level.

But honestly you cant really go wrong.

Yeah. Dumbledore! I feel like writers have things that they can do without effort and things they have to work more to get right. In eldritcher's case I feel they have a pretty unique talent in how they write this combo of highly neurodivergent, highly intelligent and highly emotionally complex characters. Dumbledore is really the best one to explain that because it's a recognizable theme in most of their fics which on some level have sneaky Dumbledore character studies. For me personally, it makes their fics super dense and hard to read. My normal comfort zone is highly emotionally complex characters because Snarry. I love reading highly intelligent characters who are emotionally complex because Snape during Ambiguous Snape era was pretty much that. But I don't really remember reading a lot of neurodivergent+intelligent+emotionally complex type. The characterization eldritcher writes for Dumbledore and to some degree for Voldemort, McGonagall, Walburga are in that zone. Snape and Harry are generally more emotional and less neurodivergent. My opinions. YMMV. But I feel like that's kind of the secret recipe for the uncomfortableness of their fics? They have these weird left brain/right brain combos going on in their characterizations. idk how to explain but anyway.

[majoringinsarcasm]

DONT BE AFRAID TO COMMENT ON OLD FICS DONT BE AFRAID TO COMMENT ON FICS IN A FANDOM THE AUTHOR MAY NO LONGER BE ACTIVE IN. IF THE STORY IS STILL UP LET THEM KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS IT MIGHT JUST BE THE REMINDER THAT MAKES THEIR DAY.

SINCERELY SOMEONE WHO JUST GOT A REPLY THAT MADE ME WANNA MAKE THIS POST

[reallybadblackoutpoems]

meditations on first philosophy (1641) - rene descartes

"who give a shit"

[throesofincreasingwonder]

"A story doesn't need a theme in order to be good" I'm only saying this once but a theme isn't some secret coded message an author weaves into a piece so that your English teacher can talk about Death or Family. A theme is a summary of an idea in the work. If the story is "Susan went grocery shopping and saw a weird bird" then it might have themes like 'birds don't belong in grocery stores' or 'nature is interesting and worth paying attention to' or 'small things can be worth hearing about.' Those could be the themes of the work. It doesn't matter if the author intended them or not, because reading is collaborative and the text gets its meaning from the reader (this is what "death of the author" means).

Every work has themes in it, and not just the ones your teachers made you read in high school. Stories that are bad or clearly not intended to have deep messages still have themes. It is inherent in being a story. All stories have themes, even if those themes are shallow, because stories are sentences connected together for the purpose of expressing ideas, and ideas are all that themes are.

[waitineedaname]

I simply don't think that's true eBooks.com but thank you anyway

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

I am incredibly serious right now when I beg you all, please, and if you have Twitter or Tiktok or whatever to please spread the word: click on an author's profile on Ao3.

You want to know if an author has written more? Want to know if they're still writing? Want to see more from them? Want to know if they've written a trope or kink or sex scenario you enjoy?

Click on their name. And look at their profile.

I cannot tell you how many times in the last six months someone has read a new or newer fic of mine and said they (a new reader who has read nothing else I've done) "can't wait to see what you do next!" I've written 50+ fics and over a million words already.

"I don't know if you're still writing..." click on my profile. I am. I literally wrote a 128k+ fic for that ship last month.

"Would you ever do X?" "Please do Y!" I already did. Click on my name and look at my works.

Archive of our Own is a library. It's an archive. Not social media. It is your responsibility to fight back against the laziness that corporate algorithms have trained into you.

Click my author name. Just click it. Just click it.

Before you demand more, or ask if a writer will do XYZ, or wonder if the author still writing, or anything - click on their profile. Click on the author's profile.

I'm not trying to be mean or condescending or anything like that. I'm just exhausted. It's disheartening and frustrating to repeat myself ad nauseam, because someone couldn't take thirty seconds to do the tiniest bit of work to see if I've written lately, if I've written more for their ship, or scan my works to see if I've written what they're asking for. Please. Please. I'm begging.

Click the author's name, and explore before you ask.

[consistentsquash]

“I am the one chosen by the lion at sundown and dragged back from the shining water. Yanked back to bushes and torn open, blood blazing at the throat and breast of me. Taken as meat,” Maman’s favourite poet wrote proudly of her stupid love. It’s none of his business. He’s happy for them because he’s never seen them as happy. This isn’t the giddy ecstasy of Max’s first championship. But it’s still joy and it’s an equal kind.

The one chosen by the lion at sundown! Omg, the artwork is so beautiful. I love the linework, the incredible intensity of the "sundown". Checo and Max are my faves and your art is a perfect, perfect match for a story rich in imagery, lyricism, emotion and scale.

E wrote a powerful, powerful fic with Love: A Diptych and I am extra happy to see folks love it <3 <3 Researching for this was probably one of my best fandom experiences. They have a high bar for writing and I had such a good time working with them.

I didn't check out the playlist yet but super excited and looking forward to it :D

In reference to one of my favorite stories in a long time.

[tadfools]

You guys are commenting on the fics you read right? You’re at least leaving kudos on the Astarion smut and the pairs that have less than 20 fics for them too? You’re bookmarking stories you really like that are still being updated and ones that haven’t been touched in over a year right?

You know that even the smallest interactions are like cocaine to fic writers right? You understand how important a string of emoji hearts left behind on a chapter at three am is right?? Right????

You’re treating AO3 like a community and not a content factory….right?

[fanficmemes]

Love when writers do an insane amount of unnecessary research for their fics. I follow an author that did like 8 months of intense research into 14th century Scotland so they could write smut about it, and guess what. It was some fucking incredible porn AND I learned about old Scottish politics

[time-to-write-and-suffer]

I love how on Tumblr, "media literacy" has become "Um, just because someone writes about this doesn't mean they're endorsing this. I hate all these media puritans ruining everything."

I'm sad to inform you that knowing when and whether an author is endorsing something, implying something, saying something, is also part of media literacy. Knowing when they are doing this and when they're not is part of media literacy. Assuming that no author has ever endorsed a bad thing is how you fall for proper gander. It's not media literacy to always assume that nobody ever has agreed with the morally reprehensible ideas in their work.

Sometimes, authors are endorsing something, and you need to be aware when that happens, and you also need to be aware when you're doing it as an author. All media isn't horny dubcon fanfic where you and the author know it's problematic IRL but you get off to it in the privacy of your brain. Sometimes very smart people can convince you of something that'll hurt others in the real world. Sometimes very dumb people will romanticize something without realizing they're doing it and you'll be caught up in it without realizing that you are.

Being aware of this is also media literacy. Being aware of the narrative tools used to affect your thinking is media literacy. Deciding on your own whether you agree with an author or not is media literacy. Enjoying characters doing bad things and allowing authors to create flawed or cruel characters for the sake of a story is perfectly fine, but it is not the same as being media literate. Being smug about how you never think an author has bad intentions tells me you're edgy, not that you're media literate. You can't use one rule to apply to all media. That's not how media literacy works. Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Aheem heem. Anyway.

[muppetfreak]

Mr. Riordan, it is truly a pleasure getting to experience your second draft.

[galaghiel]

Both Jack and Maddie stared at him, speechless. Silence blanketed the lab, everything but Danny’s strangled crying, his hand pressed over the muzzle as if to hide it. No- to hold it still, to still the dozen wicked barbs that were digging into his tongue, probably ripping it with each sob.

a little sketch of @liketolaugh-writes amazing one-shot fanfic that you can read here

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

News spreads fast.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[occudo]

An incomplete list of TMA fics I adore

-beacuse of this ask

(If you liked the fics I previously recommended/made fanart for, I think you'll gonna like these as well, but you know, read the tags, know what you are going into)

Yesterday is Here by CirrusGrey @cirrus-grey

Time Travel Fix-it! Slow burn! So good! So much sass from future!Jon- I doubt I have to introduce anyone this amazing author, but if you somehow missed them till now, this is your time! I highly recommend all of their other fics as well, for example one of a more recent one, The Stranger I Know Best is also a lovely read.

enthralling by Prim_the_Amazing @primtheamazing

Vampire!Martin!! I have no words of how much I love this concept, this story, everything about this. I think I'm going to repeat myself through this list, but I also recommend everything else they've written!

to fill... my heart with music? by godshaper @godshaper so their Martin and Jon design are different from mine, also they made a way better art for this- but still, I wanted to include this really good fic in this list.

Do It All Anew by inkfingers_mcgee or @crit20art

You know the feeling when you read a book that makes you cry, and after that you recommend it to your friend? Well- there is no reason I mentioned this, I'm just so normal about this fic. Or any other fic from inkfingers_mcgee... like Strange Manner of what I made another fanart way back. Also, check out their art!

Anyway, here is Aamal- she is not going to cause emotional damage.

And they were sidekicks (oh my god, they were sidekicks) by arthureameslove @arthureameslove

A lighthearted series where Jon and Martin are sidekicks of supervillains- it's just a really fun fic, also recommend everyting from this author - I previously draw fanart here for an other fic of theirs Like a Lighthouse, Call Me Home

neither sad, nor sick, nor merry, nor well by saintbleeding @saintbleeding

To quote the aurthour: "Post-divorce Jon and Martin in a wedding-based romcom" It's such a comfort read, also has a Tim/Sasha wedding, and lots of cameos! I realised most of these authors I made fanarts for before- like this one for some kind of miraculous bind, this one is oneshot and a bit more serious in tone.

Give Me the Words by rakel @rakel-on-ao3

"Jon and Martin try to make the most of a bad situation in the Scottish Highlands. The situation is worse than they realised." You know that one post about wanting to write PWP, but it keeps turning into character study? Well, this one comes to my mind each time I see that.

i wanna find a home (i wanna share it with you) by heartshapedguy @transgenderboobs

So what would have happened if instead of the cot (tm), Jon offered Martin his own flat to stay? There is no way it's going to change their relationship, right? Such a good read, if you want some fluff, I highly recommend it!

Lucky Stars by magnetarmadda @magnetarmadda

Martin has a lovely family (except his mother) but still, he needs a fake boyfriend, and Jon comes to the rescue. It's one of the first fics I remember reading after I finished the series. It is such a comfort read of mine~

(+enjoy a rare tall Jon from me)

There are so many more fics that also deserve the spotlight, these are just the ones I read multiple times and/or didn't made fanarts for before. If you find something here you like, give them some love! Kudos and comments! They deserve it. (Also, just an extra disclamier some of these are PWP or rated T- just mind the tags)

I tried to link and tag everything, I hope it works.

[tourettesdog]

I am begging people to be normal about completed fics, and in particular one shots.

I am begging people to stop demanding more from authors, and insisting that one shots need to be longer or have sequels.

I don't think yall understand how many fanfic authors are one more "where's the rest of it?" comment away from throwing out any plans they might have had to continue an idea.

Unless an author like specifically says they might write more for an idea, just-- assume something marked as completed is complete, and respect it as it stands, please.

[watchyourbuck]

oh i recognize that smirk,,,, welcome back s1 buck

1x01 “Pilot” — 8x01 “Buzzkill”