#autistic!halt fic fest

[solarishashernoseinabook]

It's here! The Autistic Halt Fic Fest has been revealed!

Please take some of the lovely fics people wrote! Huge thanks to everyone who shared, wrote, or submitted prompts for the fest - every one of your contributions hav ebeen so incredibly valuable to me, and helped make the fest a success ☺

[solarishashernoseinabook]

[Image ID: Art of Lady Pauline with Halt, both seated. Pauline is wearing a blue dress with a brown belt and has her grey-blonde hair tied back in a bun, and she's holding up a shining pendant. She's smiling softly as she looks at Halt. Halt is wearing a green shirt, brown belt and brown trousers, and is looking at the pendant. /end]

HELLO DARLING. I humbly request a Haltine treat please ❤

I will stumble through the weeds of art block just for you, my darling <3 Check out the amazing fic that this art piece is from! This was a lot of fun to draw, and the first time I've ever drawn them together!

[ao3feed-rangersapprentice]

Their Final Pursuit His First Arrow

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/fF6p2Mq by solarishashernoseinabook Canon tells us that when Halt left Dun Kilty, Ferris sent guards after him to finish him off. Halt spent months evading them before finally reaching Araluen. This is that story. Words: 6150, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: Gen Characters: Halt O'Carrick, Original Characters Additional Tags: Pursuit, Escape, Minor Character Death, Blood and Injury, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, it's no worse than you'd read in the books but please proceed with caution folks, Ranger's Apprentice Trick or Treat Fic Fest 2k24, Canon Compliant, Autistic Halt O'Carrick read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/fF6p2Mq

[solarishashernoseinabook]

A list of prompts for the Autistic!Halt fic fest!

Feel free to use as many as you like! These prompts are NOT exclusive, so don't worry about any prompts being "taken" <3

Halt shutdown/meltdown, Will's reaction

Halt's interest is mythology and folklore.

He is good in languages and likes to learn them. But since he struggles with social skills, he doesn't speak as much as he would like to.

He loves animals.

He never worried about his behaviour until he hears castle staff whispering he's fae-kissed. He's read enough to know what they mean and he starts to mask.

He has sensory issues with clothes, food and weather (warm/cold). He also doesn't like it to be touched, though from some persons he allows it (e.g. Caitlyn can hug him).

He stims only around Caitlyn. With everyone else he masks

He loves to read and can get lost into it if not told to stop.

Aside from Caitlyn, Pritchard is the only one who knows about Halt's autism. He figured it out when Halt had a meltdown.

When he got apprentices, Halt spent lots of time in his room to prevent getting overwhelmed. Gilan and Will rather thought he was mad at them. Halt never told them, until they asked about it. Gilan learned about his autism when he was in his second year, Will only learned about it when he was about to finish his apprenticeship.

Halt has a special interest in flowers in his early years. In his older years, they’re not a special interest anymore but he holds a certain fondness for them. What’s his favorite type of flower? How does his bio family react vs. how his found family reacts? (I was going to put examples but the ideas were from other posts. Like how Caitlyn made a book of flowers for him, flower crowns, the possibility that he picks out flowers based on their meaning for certain situations…)

I can see Halt having alexithymia. So, how would that impact himself and his relationships? (Example from an article by Jessica Penot, who is autistic/has alexithymia, “I overcompensate by being a compulsive caretaker in relationships but have no idea how to let people into my inner world or explain it.” Also he might have trouble with telling how serious an injury on his person is until someone else notices).

Masking (well, attempting to mask) by copying his brother—

(Kind of related) practicing different expressions in the mirror with his brother’s/mother’s/father’s urging

Learning to unmask :’)

Abelard helping Halt with sensory issues/calming down.

A category 5 autism event happens and Halt ends up infodumping about his special interest to someone he feels safe with

An abrupt change of plans. No time to transition. Halt somehow has to hold it together for the next several hours

[solarishashernoseinabook]

Hey all, here's the link to the collection for the Autistic!Halt Fic Fest! The collection will be revealed Thursday, September 21st, so make sure your fic is submitted before then!

[solarishashernoseinabook]

Okay final update on the Autistic!Halt fic fest

So the poll is over and the majority of people don't want a fic exchange, so a straight collection it'll be! Here's how it'll work:

I'll create a collection on AO3 and people will submit their fics there. Obviously feel free to gift them to people if you so choose :3

I'll be accepting suggestions for prompts for the next week! Send asks or DMs here or on Discord and I'll post them next Tuesday, August 21st. These prompts are not exclusive, so as many people can use any prompt or any combination of prompts as they like!

To give a fair amount of time to get something written after that, the collection will be revealed one month after the prompts go live, which will be Thursday, September 21st. This is a busy time of year for a lot of people, with many people returning to school, so this should give everyone a good amount of time to turn something in

There is no limit on how long or short your fic is

Stories can be about anything, but Halt's autism must be a factor in the stories or be noticeable in some way. Feel free to have fun with it, give him whatever stims or boundaries you like <3

I can't wait to see what everyone writes <33

[solarishashernoseinabook]

Some prompts for the Autistic Halt Fic Fest

1. Halt's interest is mythology and folklore.

2. He is good in languages and likes to learn them. But since he struggles with social skills, he doesn't speak as much as he would like to.

3. He loves animals.

4. He never worried about his behaviour until he hears castle staff whispering he's fae-kissed. He's read enough to know what they mean and he starts to mask.

5. He has sensory issues with clothes, food and weather (warm/cold). He also doesn't like it to be touched, though from some persons he allows it (e.g. Caitlyn can hug him).

6. He stims only around Caitlyn. With everyone else he masks

7. He loves to read and can get lost into it if not told to stop.

8. Aside from Caitlyn, Pritchard is the only one who knows about Halt's autism. He figured it out when Halt had a meltdown.

9. When he got apprentices, Halt spent lots of time in his room to prevent getting overwhelmed. Gilan and Will rather thought he was mad at them. Halt never told them, until they asked about it. Gilan learned about his autism when he was in his second year, Will only learned about it when he was about to finish his apprenticeship.

these are great and amazing and wonderful and omg the second one THE SECOND ONE

[solarishashernoseinabook]

Ok this is the 4th time I’ve written this so bear with me.

Prompts for the Autistic!Halt Fic Fest.

Halt has a special interest in flowers in his early years. In his older years, they’re not a special interest anymore but he holds a certain fondness for them. What’s his favorite type of flower? How does his bio family react vs. how his found family reacts? (I was going to put examples but the ideas were from other posts. Like how Caitlyn made a book of flowers for him, flower crowns, the possibility that he picks out flowers based on their meaning for certain situations…)

I can see Halt having alexithymia. So, how would that impact himself and his relationships? (Example from an article by Jessica Penot, who is autistic/has alexithymia, “I overcompensate by being a compulsive caretaker in relationships but have no idea how to let people into my inner world or explain it.” Also he might have trouble with telling how serious an injury on his person is until someone else notices).

Masking (well, attempting to mask) by copying his brother—

(Kind of related) practicing different expressions in the mirror with his brother’s/mother’s/father’s urging

Learning to unmask :’)

Abelard helping Halt with sensory issues/calming down.

Maybe I’ll be back with more later because I can’t think of anything else rn.

omg omG i lOVE these all

[solarishashernoseinabook]

HELLO HUSBAND MY BELOVED!

Can I get a Haltine treat please?

Have yet another lil ficlet featuring autistic!halt!

And make sure you check out Angel's accompanying art piece!

~

Pauline hummed quietly to herself as she pinned her hair in place. She wore a blue dress today instead of her usual white, and she had added a simple pendant to the ensemble: a colourful riverstone carved and polished to a shine and set on a delicate chain. She wasn’t going anywhere fancy tonight, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to look nice. Gilan had requested help on a small matter in Merric, so Halt had sent Will along to deal with it. With the cabin empty, Halt had asked Pauline if she would like to join him for dinner. His letter had tried to make it seem like this was simply a matter of using up leftovers, but Pauline knew he was lonely. She and Halt had been spending a lot of time together over the past few months, which Pauline had found extremely pleasant. Halt was still quiet, but it was a comfortable silence; they had learned to anticipate each others’ needs; and, perhaps best of all, Halt had become more comfortable fidgeting around her. Pauline found herself relishing the time they spent together, and missing Halt keenly when they were apart.

When she was ready, Pauline swung her cloak over her shoulders and set off for Halt’s cabin. It was a pleasant evening, and she decided to walk instead of take a horse. Abelard whinnied when she got close, and she paused at the door of the stable to smile at him and scratch his nose.

She also took a discreet look in the compost barrel, just visible around the corner of the house, and smiled to herself. It held feathers from a freshly-plucked partridge and vegetable peels – Halt had cooked something fresh for her instead of using up leftovers. That was very like him, she reflected. Halt opened the door for her and Pauline drew herself away from Abelard to step onto the veranda. Halt took her hand and kissed it gently, and Pauline smiled warmly at him. ‘It’s lovely to see you again, Halt.’ ‘And you, Pauline. The food’s warm, I’m just waiting on coffee now.’ Pauline followed him to the small kitchen and took out some bowls, ladling stew into them. ‘Why don’t we eat on the veranda? It’s a lovely night, and this time of year I’m stuck inside all day.’ Halt nodded and put the dishes and coffee on a wooden platter, then went outside with her. ‘You’ve got a new crop of apprentices, right? How are they?’ ‘Oh, they’re quite fine, progressing nicely. All except for one young man – he doesn’t seem willing to use diplomacy when sneaking around would do instead.’ Pauline sighed softly. ‘I’m not sure he’s suited to Courier work.’ ‘You could send him over to the Ranger Corps,’ Halt said. Pauline smiled. ‘Oh? Volunteering to take on another apprentice, are you, Halt?’ ‘Oh gods no,’ Halt scoffed. ‘With how much of a pain in the neck Will’s been, I’m going to need a break.’ Pauline laughed. She knew, despite Halt’s gruff façade, that he would miss Will terribly. ‘Perhaps Gilan will be interested in taking an apprentice.’ ‘I could ask him for you,’ Halt offered. Pauline settled back in her chair, cradling her coffee mug in her hands. ‘Yes please, thank you.’ Halt set aside his empty bowl and topped up his coffee, then offered the kettle to her. Pauline shook her head. ‘If I have much more, I won’t be able to sleep.’ Halt put the kettle back down. He seemed to be gazing at her – no, she realised, at her pendant. She put her coffee down and unclasped it, handing it over. He accepted it and tilted it, catching the last rays of the day’s light and watching the faceted face sparkle. Pauline smiled, leaning her elbow against the arm of her chair and resting her chin on her fist. This was a side of himself Halt rarely showed, and the sight of his calm face and small smile warmed her heart. Before realising it, she spoke. ‘Why have we put it off for so long?’ ‘Hm?’ Halt looked up at her. ‘Us,’ Pauline said softly. ‘A relationship.’ After a moment, Halt shrugged. ‘Seemed like there was too much else we had to attend to.’ ‘It did,’ Pauline said, ‘but we don’t have to any longer.’ She reached across and took his weathered hand. ‘Halt, I’ve loved you for twenty years. These last few months have been perfect – and I don’t want them to end. I want to marry you.’ Pauline registered the look of momentary surprise before Halt quickly masked it. ‘You could do better than me.’ ‘No, I really don’t think I could,’ Pauline said. Halt smiled slowly. ‘Then I suppose I should say yes before you change your mind.’

[solarishashernoseinabook]

For your rangers trick or treat,

Treat

You won't happen to have any more autisticHalt and will apprenticeship thoughts would you?

They live rent free in my brain but said brain refuses to write its own stuff for fear of portraying it wrong.

Guess what bestie!! This got too long to fit into a tumblr post!!!

So here you go: I put the fic (and its tumblr-post-prequel) on ao3! Read it on there - and enjoy the preview below! :D

(and please please pLEASE write stuff or at least share what you want to write with me i sWEAR i will help you write it bc i'd love to see more from people!! reach out in DMs and we can talk about it on discord)

~

Halt avoided venturing into Wensley Village on market day if he could help it. Being so close to Castle Redmont, Wensley’s market was especially loud, and Halt had trouble dealing with it.

But they were running low on several things – coffee, honey, salt, spices, flour, soap – and Baron Arald had asked to see him and Will, so Halt could hardly avoid it. In an effort to mitigate any potential problems, Halt decided they would go to the market first thing that morning.

Unsurprisingly, Will was already fully awake and asking questions. ‘What does Baron Arald need us for? Is it going to take long? He doesn’t usually ask to see us, is this normal? Does it mean we’re getting a new mission?’

Halt sighed. ‘I’m sure if you waited a bit, you’ll find out from Arald himself.’

Will quieted down, but only for a few moments. As they approached Wensley Village, he stood in his stirrups. ‘Huh. I didn't think it’d be this busy so early.’

Halt muttered a Hibernian curse. Will looked over at him quickly, but said nothing.

Various shopkeepers called greetings to them as they passed. Will responded to every one of them, but Halt could barely work up the energy to nod. He bought their items in silence, stowing them in their saddlebags. The market had been loud, and slightly uncomfortable, but everything had gone relatively smoothly—

A cart with a few barrels in the bed of it passed by behind them. It drove over a rut in the dirt road, rocking the cart and causing one of the barrels to knock hard against another. At the same moment, someone laughed loudly and a dog barked sharply. Halt and Will both jerked their heads away from the noise, and Halt actually stumbled momentarily. He could feel the change settling over him, and cursed internally.

Halt hadn’t had an episode in several years. He hoped Will would be all right.

[solarishashernoseinabook]

Hi hi! I was wondering, for the fic fest, does it have to be all the way complete? Like, if it could be turned into a multi-chap some how, could you put the first chapter into the collection and add to it after the fest is revealed? Thanks!

Yes absolutely!! I can't wait to see it :D

[solarishashernoseinabook]

For the 40 questions: 2, 28, 29 and 37 please :3

Thanks mel!

2. Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to? I've mentioned it before but I'm an absolute sucker for "former lovers, separated for years or decades, reunite and slowly, awkwardly rekindle their romance while navigating past hurts and new dynamics". oddly specific trope, i know. but I'd love to properly write it one day

28. Share three of your favourite fic writers and why you like them so much. @rangerangel has written some super banger stuff and has awesome ideas for future fics. I'll wait as long as I have to to read them. His ideas are engaging, he really cares a lot about detail and he gets me to empathise emotionally with his characters really well @stella-lesair writes such a diverse range of fics there's sure to be something for everyone. In particular, "The Flying Rangers", a How to Train your Dragon/Ranger's Apprentice crossover, is super cool @artsysurvivor has another autistic!halt fic (Part of the Other Crowd) and I'm so happy to see more autistic!halt content, as well as seeing other takes on the headcanon

29. If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose? None! i'm happy to let other people continue their stories :3

37. Talk about your current wips. One of the requests I got for the trick or treat fest was for a trick involving Halt. I immediately got an idea...but also knew it would be way too long to put on tumblr. I'm gonna post it to AO3, and I have further plans for it...sort of...which I'll elaborate on at a later date >D

Link to the ask game if you wanna play!

[solarishashernoseinabook]

Okay actually before I go to bed lemme gauge some interest in something here

would any RA fans be up for participating in an autistic-halt-themed fic fest on ao3?

[solarishashernoseinabook]

Okay so there's interest in the Autistic!Halt fic fest! Please respond to the poll so I know what people want to do, then I'll finalise the rules soon <3

As you can see, this poll only lasts for the day, so please reblog and vote!

[ao3feed-rangersapprentice]

How to Help Other People Cope With Your Fae-Kissed Mentor

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/gW62RUb by solarishashernoseinabook Two little stories about autistic!Halt and Will, one written as a tumblr post, the other for the Trick or Treat fic fest on tumblr :D Words: 2982, Chapters: 2/2, Language: English Fandoms: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: Gen Characters: Halt O'Carrick, Will Treaty, Baron Arald (Ranger's Apprentice), Rodney (Ranger's Apprentice), Martin (Ranger's Apprentice) Relationships: Halt O'Carrick & Will Treaty Additional Tags: autistic!halt, Apprentice Will, Sensory Overload, autistic shutdown, Autism, Post-The Battle For Skandia (Ranger's Apprentice) read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/gW62RUb

[ao3feed-rangersapprentice]

A New Addition to the Family

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/QsJV7xk by solarishashernoseinabook Halt and his partner Crowley have to spend the winter at Castle Redmont, where Halt becomes reacquainted with the child he left in the Ward after the war. Words: 4798, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: Gen, M/M Characters: Halt O'Carrick, Will Treaty, Crowley Meratyn, Baron Arald (Ranger's Apprentice), Original Characters Relationships: Halt O'Carrick & Will Treaty, Crowley Meratyn/Halt O'Carrick, Crowley Meratyn & Will Treaty Additional Tags: Fluff, Found Family, Adoption, Autistic Halt O'Carrick, Ranger's Apprentice Trick or Treat Fic Fest 2k24 read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/QsJV7xk