#but also the one person who gave it attention was one of my fave authors ever ever so

[lemon-mint-writes]

I wish more people liked chapter 7 of Fall, or at least commented on it. Like the epilogue is just fluff to wrap it up and show that they "live happily ever after" and whatever but chapter 7 is, objectively, the best one. Everything that happens, especially the conversation at the end, is what the entire fic was building up to, the prize at the end that could only be achieved with the foundation of 6 whole chapters before it. That's the real resolution, the real satisfying ending. Idk I guess I just wish it got more recognition but obviously the epilogue is the end so that's where all the comments go, and the epilogue has it's deep meaning and significant moments but it's not the best chapter.

[velvetwyrme]

TOP FAVE READER INSERT UNDERTALE (OR ANY OTHER AU’S) FICS???? /genq /nf

>:3c

Oh you don't have to worry about forcing me. I've been wanting to do this for a while and you just gave me the perfect excuse!!!

List under the cut because it's LONG and I love to chatter.

A little note before you continue: I won't pick any PURELY explicit fics (... with a couple exceptions) since if I did, I'd be here forever

BUT fair warning that some of these will be dark, and may deal with heavy topics. Some will also have some spicy/explicit content in them, but I'll do my best to mark them accordingly! (I won't mark ones with just suggestive themes/moments, since I cant guarantee I'll catch all of them. Similarly, unless there is graphic death or gore, I won't mark it as such.)

I have also included the STATUS of each fic as such: Finished, Ongoing/Unfinished, Discontinued. Please note that unless the author specified that the fic is Discontinued or on Indefinite Hiatus, I will mark it as Ongoing/Unfinished. Oneshots are also marked as such.

ALSO for some of these fics it's been years since I last read them, so if I miss any warnings for them, that's why! As always, check the tags before reading and take care :]!!

MULTICHAPTERS

When Words Get Broken - Papyrus/Reader - Finished

Featuring: Some of the best Papyrus characterisation that I’ve read. The most unkissable kissable skeleton. If you want to know what I mean by that, go read this fic. I love him so so so dearly.  

Life Like A Ghibli Movie - Papyrus/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

One of the fics ever. Broke me apart and put me together again. Lives permanently in my brain.

Vacuous Happiness - Sans/Reader - Finished

Rewired my brain. I feel like I went on a roadtrip which changed me irreversibly as a person. The same author is also writing a Firewatch inspired fic featuring UF!Sans which I’m enjoying as well :]

Thunderstruck - Underfell!Papyrus/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

If you haven’t read Thunderstruck what are you doing. Go read it. You’ve probably already read this fic but go read it again!!!! One of my favourite portrayals of UF!Papyrus ever. Almost certainly has some amount of influence on the way I'm writing Flipping Fate.

You, Me, and Dr. G - W.D. Gaster/Reader

I love this fic so so much. *drinks it up like water*

This is part of a series that also contains fics I love; Story That Might Happen When You Date Sans (F) and Black Thumb (F), which are respectively a Sans/Reader and Asgore/Reader. Both are really good as well. This one is just my favourite out of the 3 though. The same author also wrote Just One Word (F), which is a soulmate AU Mettaton/Reader which I also enjoyed.

Teach Me How - Sans/Reader - Finished

I read this fic waaay before I realised I was somewhere on the aro/ace spectrum and hoooo boy my obsession with it when I was younger really makes sense now. Incredibly sweet, they go from hate to love, and the reader is aro/ace. It’s a little messy, but isn’t everything?

In writing this I also realised this is by the same author who wrote You, Me and Dr. G!!! >:O

Pursuit of Happiness - Sans/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

SO good. Y'all at Rock Bottom babey!!

A Home for Mending Souls - Underfell!Skelebros/Reader - Finished

Extremely soft. Recovery/Healing fics beloved. I love the characterisation in this fic so much. Made me very emotional.

Backroads and Bad Jokes - Horrortale!Sans/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

I love this fic so much. Sooo many scenes live rent free in my head. I won't spoil things ;] I think it takes place in the same universe as A Home for Mending Souls?

The Nebular Theory - Skelebros/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

If it's not obvious already, I absolutely adore this fic. You want some REALLY good characterisation? A juicy plot that has me wishing I had the space for a red-string theory board? An attention to canon details that make me scream? Communication between characters!!!!!

READ THIS FIC.

Love? It's Complicated - Series - Finished (...?)

[Warning: Contains Dark/Heavy Themes.]

I'm cheating here by linking the entire series (which is 11 fics of various levels of interconnectedness) but it's so worth it. This series tore my heart out, stomped on it, stuck it back in and gave me a sweet little kiss at the end. Several times over!! I cried like 4 times in one night while binging it!! Also this series contains one of the few OC/Canon stories that I enjoy!!

I actually read Burning Mountain first and then everything else in order and proceeded to LOSE MY GODDAMN MIND reading the first and second fics because OH. That's why the end of BM was so... OHhhhHHhhhh.........

The current fics included in the series are all finished, but I'm not sure if the author intends to come back to it in the future.

In the meantime, their other fics A Little Bit(ty) of Trouble (F) and Cold Blood, Warm Heart (O/U) have also stolen my heart. Those ALSO deal with dark, complicated topics so tread carefully and enjoy!

Bearskinner in Three Worlds - Various/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

The plot and writing has gripped me and won’t let go. The reader goes through so much and it’s so worth it. Loooove the polyamory negotiations. I don't want to spoil anything!!! Go read it!!

Penitent Island - Various/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

Really good plot and fun interactions! By the same author as Bearskinner. Did I mention I love this author's poly negotiations?

Transmigration of the Soul - Papyrus/Reader - Finished

One of the good ol’ classics. Japes! Drama! Romance! Really good plot! Apparently optional smut according to the tags! I don't recall that but it's a thing!

The impact of this fic can still be seen in the way I view Kindness souls and how they behave lol.

When Two Tsunderes Do on A Date, Does the Void Explode - Fellswap!Sans/Reader - Finished (?)

This series is so so funny. They’re both kinda idiots. And they're both SUPER TSUNDERE. I love all the characters here so much.

My Dearly Detested Deliveryman - Swapfell!Papyrus/Reader - Finished

Every single one of Little_old_lady’s fics are fucking hilarious. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. This one you go through enemies to lovers with your deliveryman. Just go read it already.

Black Coffee - Swapfell!Sans/Reader - Finished

Soulmate AU!! Unbelievably silly. I love it so much. Papyrus is such a little shit here.

Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been? - Fellswap!Sans/Reader - Finished

Another banger by Little_old_lady. Both Papyrus and the reader are so dumb I love them. Also Sans is a tsundere.

There’s a snake in my bed! - Mafiafell!Sans/Reader - Finished

Sans is a wholeass dumbass in this one. He's got a snake (think Daemons from His Dark Materials/The Golden Compass) who loves to go into your room. You like the snake too :D

The Skeleton Games - Underfell!Sans/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

[Warning: Contains Explicit Content]

He’s so pathetic in this I love it. It's far more complicated than that but hrkjsjhsgf pathetic little guy.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me A Match - Skelebros/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

Super heckin cute!!! I wanna give the reader a little smooch too. They are so lonely but they are making friends!!!

Dirty Laundry - Swapfell!Skelebros/Reader - Finished

THE Swapfell fic. It had me in a vice grip when I read through it the first time. And the second. And the- you get it. Brilliant characterisation and really delicious talks about developing relationships and more.

Honestly all of this author’s works are fantastic, but in particular I love Roadside Attraction (O/U), Fur a Good Time, Call… (F) and also her AU vignettes… Flotsam & Jetsam, Not So Spooky-Scary and Make Your Mark.

A Smile From the East - Underfell!Papyrus/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

I read this way back when it was still updating and it has lived in my brain since. It has everything. UF!Papyrus in all his edgy glory. Flower shop AU. Angst. Romance. It's left me hanging for like 5 years waiting for the last chapter and I encourage you to let it do the same to you.

Re-Hate-tionship - Swapfell!Papyrus/Reader - Finished

[Warning: Contains Explicit Content.]

ENEMIES TO LOVERS!! They hate each other so so much and they WILL fuck about it. Somehow despite being very very mean to each other, they are both very sweet.

Twice a Month I Fall In Love - SwapfellPapyrus/Reader/Swap!Papyrus - Ongoing/Unfinished

I love love love this fic (I even read it again pretty recently…) SF!Papyrus and the reader swap bodies twice a month. Romance and shenanigans ensue. The reader is not the hinge in this poly! Weird things happen when you kind of want to kiss some dude you met in this other guy’s body (who you incidentally are also falling for).

Becoming Edge - Underfell!Papyrus/Reader - Finished

Not only is this fic just so so sweet, but it also sparked me to start experimenting more with my wardrobe which has made me much happier. Actually cured my depression because of that (Partly anyway!)

Paper Flowers - Sans/Reader - Finished

[Warning: INCREDIBLY SAD]

I need to read this again, but I still feel like I can wholeheartedly rec it. I still remember enough that thinking about the title makes me want to cry, so...

Just a Little Offbeat - Bitty SwapBros/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

Hi. Not-so-secret about me. I love bitty fics. This one in particular is really good.

Bitty Hunt - Reverse Harem/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

We all know the [Number] Skeletons and You" setup. We all know Bittybones AUS. But what if… YOU were the bitty? Who is incidentally a landlady? Lots of fun! Many shenanigans.

You all probably know this one but I still love it lol.

His Name Was Bob - Bitty Underfell!Sans/Reader - Finished

One of the OG bitty fics from my recollection. Really good!!!

Skeleton Kisses – Sans/Reader – Finished

SO heckin SWEET. You are in fact scared of him but it all works out :]

Tits and Dick – Underfell!Sans/Reader – Ongoing/Unfinished

I love them so dearly. They’re both so fucking stupid.

All the Right Moves - Dancetale!Sans/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

I almost got into colourguard because of this fic. I haven't read it in a long time so I can't guarantee anything about quality/content but... I really wanted to get into colourguard after reading this.

Honey, We Bee-Long - Underswap!Papyrus/Reader - Finished

This is actually part of series but this is just the one I liked the most ;3c Pretty cute!!!!

New Home on the Range - Cowboy AU!Skelebros/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

Yeehaw. I love cowboys too much not to include this. The reader is described a lil bit, but I will overlook that because I want to kiss these boys sooooo bad. Papyrus in this is such a sweetie. Also plot >:3c

Where the Daffodils Grow - Papyrus Ensemble/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

Chances are, at least some percentage of you are here because you saw the comic I drew of this fic. I love it so. Reverse harem set in Underswap!!! Lets GOOO!! PAPYRUS ENSEMBLE LETS GOOOOOO!!!!!

Cash It In - Swapfell!Papyrus/Reader - Finished

[Warning: Contains Explicit Content.]

Tumultuous soulmate AU!!!! WAH. Super super cute!!!!! UhhhhHH I FORGOT THERE'S SMUT FIRST CHAPTER BUT LISTEN OKAY I LOVE THIS FIC TOO MUCH TO NOT INCLUDE IT KAJDHJFH

Kintsugi - Underswap!Papyrus/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

[Warning: Contains Explicit Content.]

I found this fic last year but APPARENTLY I left kudos on it?? Years ago???? SO I GOT TO REREAD IT FRESH. Dramatic, tense, and a really good read overall.

Panic Room – Swapfell/Reader – Ongoing/Unfinished

[Warning: Contains Dark/Heavy Themes.]

This one you really REALLY need to read the warnings, but if it interests you, hot damn is it a good story. SUPER dark but chewed through my brain like drywall. The worldbuilding is spectacular.

In the Language of Flowers – Various/Reader (???) – Ongoing/Unfinished

[Warning: Contains Dark/Heavy Themes.]

One of the pioneers of the “Reader is a Sans” tropes. Slowburn to the nth degree. Extremely dramatic, it's fantastic. Marked as (???) for the relationship because IDK what the specific ending relationships are going to be. Also technically Sans/Sans since… the reader is a Sans? It gets complicated man.

Joined at the Hip - Various/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

Another Reader is a Sans fic. Enemies to lovers except you are also kinda sharing the same body?? SIGN ME UP. Again, gets complicated with romance stuff because of it.

The Wolf - Various/Reader(?) - Ongoing/Unfinished

As always, it gets confusing when they’re sharing a body. In this one I love that they get along and have all that figured out. Mostly. They have the problems of two people mashed into one body. Plus! I love the naming structure in this one. Also, I (as a reader) am simping hard for Orion. He’s off the table in the fic because he’s Gemini’s brother but PERSONALLY, I love him.

He was Real. – Horrorswap!Sans/Reader – Finished

In which you dream of a strange skeleton and- he’s REAL OH OKAY YOU SHOULD PROBABLY HELP HIM HUH. Fun concept, very well executed.

A collection of Fables and Romances – Sans/Reader (Various) – Ongoing/Unfinished Series

As the title implies, it’s a collection of short fics! All of them are very good :]

Poor Little Meow Meow – Killer/Reader – Ongoing/Unfinished

Killer adopts cats. He’s got so many cats. And also you :>

Still Counting – Sans/Reader Series - Finished

I’m not cheating by including this entire series- it’s all one long story. And goodness gracious is it a GOOD story. It’s got [REDACTED]- well shit I guess you just gotta go read it.

thinking of you. – Underswap/Reader – Ongoing/Unfinished      

You think that Swap!Sans is a figment of your imagination, but whoop turns out he’s not!! He’s REAL babey!! Go kiss a ghost(ly skeleton) and a less than ghostly skeleton! Very cute.

Who Done It? - SpicyMobKustard/Reader - Finished

(Mafiatale!Sans/Fell!Papyrus/Reader/Fell!Sans Polycule)

The dynamics between characters are really good and it's got a solid mystery plot underscoring the developing romance :D Please note that the reader is Not the hinge in this poly- they are part of the polycule (and the only two who aren't dating are UF!Sans and UF!Papyrus, since they are related here) so if that's not your thing, don't click! If it is! Enjoy!!

R&R (Rabble & Rampallions) - Bad Sanses (plus)/Reader - Finished

This finished recently (as of writing) and it’s been such a wild ride. I want to read it again and again and again. And I will once I've let it settle in my brain more. I CRIED at the end.

Gloom & Doom All Up in Your Room - Bad Sanses/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

If you are craving more Bad Sanses content after finishing R&R… hey look there’s another brilliant fic featuring them guys. The vibe is different but still so good. Dust is very much bleeding out in your living room when you first meet him, which I feel sets the scene in terms of what sort of violence and/or gore you’ll see here.

Little Assistant - Bad Sanses/Bitty!Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

MORE Bad Sanses content. But they’ve got a bitty (you!) this time. The Star Sanses kinda accidentally suck in this, but they (or at least ONE of them) is trying to get better.

do you live with abusive skeletons? pull a power move and fuck their dad! - W.D. Gaster/Reader - Finished

Incredibly funny (and self-explanatory) title. I enjoy trope reversal and subversion >:3c

Blackcurrant - Horror Swapfell/Reader - HIATUS

Black adopts you as a pet because he doesn’t realise you are sapient. Mutt on the other hand is fully aware and thus is hostile towards you. Lots of fun :] Also very lovely art! Currently on hiatus though.

Skeleton Sisters and the Architect - Fem!Skeleharem/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

I’m so fucking gay. Girls. Holy shit. GIRLS. I am looking so respectfully. They’re all so cute and I love their names.

a full course meal - Horrortale!Sans/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

* Edited after note from the author! There are future installments planned 👀

A very cute series of oneshots centered around the reader and HT!Sans!!! HE’S SO BIG. WAIT THERE’S A THIRD PART I DIDN’T SEE THAT BEFORE.

Potato Soup (with a side of skeleton) - Horrortale!Sans/Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

INCREDIBLY FUNNY PREMISE. Neither of them know how to open up but it’s somehow very endearing.

Chasing the End - Grillby/Reader - Finished

The plot had me yelling. Love some good old "before the barrier" content. We get to see baby Sans and Pap also!!!

=========================

ONESHOTS

A Unique Definition - Underswap!Papyrus/Reader - Oneshot

Really cute oneshot! You steal US Paps’ hoodie and it’s the cutest thing in the world.

Honeydew - Horrortale!Sans/Reader - Oneshot

Sweet! You meet him on a train and share honeydew it’s all very cute.

No Strings Attached - Underfell!Sans/Reader - Oneshot

Rewired the way I conceptualise UF!Sans. (The other fics in this series are explicit!)

Human Anatomy Fanatic - Papyrus/Reader - Oneshot

[Warning: Explicit content]

Papyrus is a little freak and loves every weird and strange part of your human anatomy. Some of the sections deals (briefly) with explicit stuff, but even then, it is more focused on Papyrus being SUPER FASCINATED by how human bodies work. Somehow!! Really cute!

Pat? - Swapfell!Papyrus/Reader - Oneshot

DOGY. DOGGY MEETCUTE. Super cute!! Very embarrassing!!!! PATS!!!!!!

Emotional Drought - Bitty Horrortale!Sans/Reader - Oneshot

LONG oneshot. Very good. Prepare for complex relationships and also a delightfully open and ambiguous ending. I love this one to bits.

Soulmate of the Century - Nightmare!Sans/Reader - Oneshot

The sillies. Really silly. Super cute.

Black Coffee Isn’t Too Bitter - Swapfell!Sans/Reader - Oneshot

Black sends Chara and Mutt to tell a human he likes them. They do a spectactularly bad job at it, but someone better than when he goes in to tell them himself. It works out somehow.

Red and the Bitty - Underfell!Sans/Reader - Oneshot

The title says Bitty, but it’s Red who’s the giant. You get sacrificed to the big bad monster and he’s an ass about it. Somehow, still pretty cute.

=========================

MISC. READER INSERTS

For the non-romantic/platonic fics that are still reader inserts.

Bitty Reader Adventures -Various & Reader - Ongoing/Unfinished

THE bitty reader fic. Series of fics. Whatever. The OG!!! I used to reread these all the time and I still like em :]

Help, I've Fallen Into a Surveillance State and I Can't Get Up! - Reader is a Sans/OC, Platonic Relationships - Ongoing/Unfinished

Yes, there is one chapter so far. Yes, it is 17k words long.

I am so fucking obsessed with this fic. It’s got trope subversion, absolutely amazing worldbuilding, snappy writing, black comedy and light-hearted normalcy in the face of horrors, paired with just enough serious introspection to balance it out?? WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT. I want to eat this fic whole. Also there is lovely art ;>

Street Kitty - Platonic Reader Insert - Ongoing/Unfinished

YOU’RE A KITTY. You menace Sans. You are literally the best cat.

Pieces - Platonic Reader Insert - Ongoing/Unfinished

I need to reread this again, but this was another one that ingrained itself into my bones. You wake up as a flower (like Flowey) and you essentially turn into Frisk’s guide. Love this fic to bits.

Monsters Should Be Cute! - Bitty Sans & Reader - Finished

Pumpkin is a menace and I love him. The undefined-other-reader-dash-underling is also a great character.

Oops, I have a Naga - Naga Bitty Sans & Reader - Finished

Sweet fic !!!!! Real cute! You have a naga now! A naga with TRAUMA.

Tib and Rib – Sans & Papyrus & Reader – Ongoing/Unfinished

This one has me crying and weeping. BLASTER BOYS. On account of the power dynamics here being messed up, this is more a platonic/QPP kinda deal. They hurt so much but they are recovering!!! It updated while I was writing this! Let me go cry!!

Honey, I’m in the mafia. – Platonic Reader Insert – Ongoing/Unfinished

Hi mossy. You thought I would include the fic you wrote inspired by my own fic?? THINK AGAIN. This fic is freakin hilarious. You have to babysit Mafiafell!Sans and Papyrus who are young teens. This can only go well.

(I actually read it the other day but realised I didn't leave kudos. djfgfgkjkajsdkjsd)

Up in the Attic – Platonic Reader Insert – Ongoing/Unfinished

You’re a kid who lives in the Swapfell’s attic. They become your guardians :D

=========================

NON-READER INSERTS

You thought I was DONE? HAHAHA ha. I had to include these.

One by One – Finished

… (Knock, knock, knock)

If you need an indication as to how much I love this fic; I wrote out the last line on a blackboard and that remained on my wall for at least 5 years. It’s since been rubbed off, but I can still recite it to this day.

Cathartic AND beautiful. I've read this many times and also tried to copy-paste by hand into a word document before I realised Ao3 had a download feature.

Day to Day and One by One’s sequel, Truant similarly demolished me.

Brothers Beyond Bonedaries - Finished

Another fic which I haven’t read in years but really should. Both Sans and Papyrus are fallen humans who die and then...? Well go read it and find out ;]

How to raise your bitty - Finished (?)

Don’t have a brother? Storebought Adopted is fine! AKA. Razz (SF!Sans) gets a bitty named Slim (SF!Papyrus). I love it dearly. Again, it’s a series, so the series is technically unfinished, but each individual fic is complete.

The Planet Sanses - Ongoing/Unfinished

REALLY fun concept- what if Blue recruited the Bad Sanses to also help out when the other Star Sanses are busy. Thus the Bad Sanses become!! THE PLANET SANSES. The rest of the series is also fun- I liked the first fic, Blood Moon the most though :]!!

Remembrance - Finished

Some old-school Papyrus angst. This one is the first Undertale fic I bookmarked and thus holds an important place in my heart. Papyrus is so so so sad.

Appreciation for Honesty - Finished

AND WHAT’S THIS? MORE PAPYRUS ANGST? You can really see I was going through it back then. This one similarly broke my heart. You ever think about how many lies Papyrus is told? He does.

Flowey Is Not A Good Life Coach - Finished

[Warning: Contains Dark/Heavy Content.]

*Deep breath* Okay so. This is pure whump. Papyrus gets hurt. He gets hurt and it gets better but oh my goodness gracious does he get hurt.

If you want to read about Papyrus getting broken (in more ways than one) then you should read this fic. If you don’t, then go read one of the other fics I’ve linked that have nicer themes. Something funny. Or cute.

The Pap Chat Logs – Finished

[Warning: Contains Dark/Heavy Content.]

Read these if you want to be SAD. These are mostly chatlogs from an old discord server (that I actually joined and never talked in) which all deal with a great amount of PAPYRUS ANGST. Please note that these talk about a lot very very heavy content. Read the tags and click away if you need to.

In particular, I’d recommend Deitale and "The Great Papyrus" is an Excellent Host- the latter has also been turned into a comic! (Which you should also read, if you haven’t already)

=========================

And there we are! I ran out of links! Not as in I don't have more fics I want to add to this list, but rather tumblr only allows you to add 100 links. Augh. Suffering.

But I don't want to end it on such an angsty note!!! SO... the only logical course of action is to link...

SAUCY FICTION!! - Finished

[Warning: EXPLICIT!!!!! Talk about dicks and boobs!!!]

The only fully explicit fic I will link here. It is the funniest thing I’ve read in my life. Also, there’s a comic of it. I never need to read anything else in my entire life ever.

Wait, there’s a sequel-

=========================

This list in theory is much longer, but I was forcibly cut short by tumblr's limit to 100 links per post. Theoretically I could do a reblog and add more, but I've already gone on long enough. Tumblr Is barely letting me save this post as is ^^"

Also, I'm terrible at remembering to bookmark fics I like, so there's probably a ton I missed!!! :( Not to mention a few have been deleted since I last went and looked :< snowflakeimagines' Meet Ugly series... I would have added you to my list if I could.

There were a bunch of "weirder" fics that didn't make the cut, but this is still a pretty comprehensive list of fics I like :]

If any of yall have recommendations... hand them over. I have gone through the entirety of the reader insert tags, but somehow I still miss things.

Thank you for reading ;3c!!

[asphaltvalkyrie]

I had an extremely slow day at work today, so I chose to look busy by writing about BG3. Someone smarter than me has probably had this revelation before, but it gave me pause enough for me to feel like I need to share it.

I decided to romance Gale in my 2nd playthrough, with the intent of letting him get ahold of the Crown of Karsus, and its making me Feel Things.  I like this walking apocalypse of a wizard a lot (he and Karlach are my easy faves,) but its taken romancing him to really see that

tl;dr Gale's backstory really makes a handy allegory for gifted kid burnout.

From the beginning he was special, a golden child, someone who would do great things and go far. So, he ended up building his entire personality on that eventuality.  Older authority figures took a special interest in his talent and he immediately wanted nothing more than to please them, at the cost of making friends or learning life skills (well, except cooking apparently?) 

(Then there's the whole issue of him developing a sexual relationship with Mystra who was without a doubt considerably older than he was and had that "but he's so mature for his age," mindset and all the fuckery that comes with that holy shit I can't even begin to desconstruct how much that would fuck someone up.)

Then he makes a mistake. He breaks a rule he didn't know existed. Why doesn't he know that rule existed?  Because no one told him.  They conflated his intelligence with maturity and his self-confidence with knowing his own limits. They forgot that he's basically a kid compared to them. (Elminster is what, centuries old?  And Mystra is a fucking deity.) He lacks the emotional maturity to understand why what he did was so bad. 

Gifted kids know.  Among the absolute worst thing an adult can say to you is "I expected more of you," or "you should have known better." Which is pretty much what Elminster and Mystra said to him. And then they not only withdrew their attentions and support, but they also refused  to help him deal with the orb - an omnipresent physical and spiritual reminder of his trangression. After that... he just has no idea what to do with himself. He sits in his wizard tower until the Mind Flayers get him.

By the time the others find him, he's realized that the talent he used to get by on no longer serves him, but since he built his whole personality around it, he doesn't know how else to act.  So he maintains the bluff and bluster of a child prodigy, but he's now keenly aware of how pointless it is. He seems insufferably arrogant at times, but there's a razor-fine edge of self-loathing to that arrogance that he couches in self-aware humor. Over the course of his short time with the party he starts to feel like he's cared for and among friends, and even proves himself an attentive, affectionate and very grateful partner if you romance him.

Then Elminster shows up and tells him to atone for what he did by suicide bombing the Elder Brain. Bam, there goes his hope of finding a life outside of that "greatness" others told him he was destined for.  Once a gifted kid always a gifted kid.  Destined to be a human sacrifice on the altar of someone else's expectations, for good or ill. 

And in a semi-related note, when you take him through the Dryad's trial, the answer to the question "whats his biggest flaw" is that "he thinks the world would be better off with him dead" and he says that its very true, but he didn't realize it until you said it.

Then you find the Annals of Karsus, and what does he say he wants to do with it? Reforge the Crown of Karsus with it so that he can obtain godlike power and make the world better for mortals, and he wants to share it with you.  With how smart he is, he really should know thats a terrible idea. But he doesn't, because of a combination of hubris and naivete.  He learned absolutely zero lessons from the orb debacle because he hasn't really been allowed to learn any lessons beyond "I just have to do the thing I'm good at, only I have to try harder this time."

I'm only on the second netherstone, but I have a feeling that this is going to end very badly.

[ruthlesslistener]

It's been so long, but I just want to get this off my chest cause what you dis really messed me up to this day.

Being accused of being a pedophile over headcanoning that a small creature whose form is that of a mysterious goo is an adult really ruined my experience with the Hollow Knight community and myself. I saw Ghost as a little sanrio character cause as an Asian who grew up in an Asian country, I was surrounded by little mascot characters whose height did not tell their age at all. You were one of my fave fic writers out there before all this, so seeing you sprout how people like me who have different headcanons are someone dangerous really messed me up as a survivor of abuse. I'm not telling you this to harass you like what your followers may insist cause last I checked they coddled you so much during this time, I'm telling you this cause you ruined one of my special interests with your redtagging. I hope you are happy. I think you pretty much rekindled one of my triggers too: Seeing popular fanfic writers redtag and harass others over headcanons.

Gonna block you again, but I'm just going to say this once: please be kind to others and remember that shit like this isn't enough to say someone is a predator. It just creates and breeds harassment and a person like you with thousands of followers should know better and be more responsible.

Anon, I truly am sorry that my reaction had such a profoundly negative effect on you. That was not my intention and I am genuinely distressed that I caused you such upset. If it helps, this experience actually did greatly sour my experience with the fandom as well, because I did not intend to have that effect and I did not want that effect. I was very, very tempted to simply delete my blog and start all over again specifically to erase any sort of concept of 'authority' that I might have in the fandom space, because the simple thought that someone might take my personal opinions and use them as an excuse to harass others just because I write fanfiction in my free time nearly gave me a panic attack. This isn't to draw the attention off of the fact that I hurt you- this is to drive home the fact that I am not in this fandom to be popular and there is nothing that I say that should be treated as word of god or used to harass others. I should not have that sort of power. Nor do I want it. It honestly makes my skin crawl and if I could wipe my name from everyone's minds while also leaving my work out there for others to find, then I would.

However, I never thought that you specifically were a pedophile, and I was in the wrong to say something that could be constructed as such. I spoke without thinking and without understanding that there was that headcanon beyond unsavory characters in the first place, my interactions with which greatly tarnished my perception of the headcanon because I didn't know any better. Genuinely- I went and asked the people I know in discord (who were likely most of those fans that 'coddled' me), and they told me I was wrong and all the ways that I was wrong, which gave me a big 'oh shit' moment. That's why I shifted my argument to simply explaining why I didn't like it- because yeah, I still fucking don't, but to me it's about as impactful as if someone likes pie vs cake. This shit, at the end of the day, isn't real. It's pixels on a screen and drawing on paper. When I spoke about how it left a bad taste in my mouth and how I had poor experiences with it in the past, that was about a personal bias and experience talking about a broad concept, not anyone specifically. Just because I considered it a red flag due to prior experiences, as stated, does not mean that it is a certainty of danger. I do not at all think that ones fictional preferences are honest indicators of the type of people they are in real life, just indicators that they're people I wouldn't get along with.

(fuckin hell, I'm fucking riddled with red flags myself- just look at my propensity for gore and tragedy and dark, violent media. That's as much of a red flag as what I was talking about before, but I can't handle the imagery of the other for reasons I can't explain other than irrational brain stuff. I also fully expect other people to look at the shit I'm into with disgust and mistrust and to block me on sight- there's plenty of people I've never interacted with who've done that already. Can't blame them for that.)

As for the thing about Ghost being similar to Asian mascots- I genuinely had no idea that was even a thing. I understand that I am biased in this regard. I was raised in a western country who has very different means of telling stories than eastern ones, and not only that, I also grew up in a very closeted-in all forms of the world-household. I didn't have any access to media other than what my local library had until I was around 11, and that was pretty much limited to fanfiction and googling all the shit that my parents banned from me. So I made zero connection to the sort of cutesy mascots in Asian cultures and Ghost until you brought that point up just now. My apologies again on that one, it's genuinely a blind spot on my part and had I known that before I certainly would have taken that into account.

However- and I'm also saying this as someone who has also encountered abuse (though admittedly a very different kind, so I cannot understand nor will pretend to understand that I know how you feel): please also understand that there will be many instances in your life where people trigger you by accident, and they have no idea that they did so until you point it out. This does not mean that they were deliberately trying to harm you. In this case, I was not at all trying to target you specifically- I don't even know you. I had no idea that what I said was an honest-to-god trigger because the whole time I was operating under the assumption that I was talking about something being 'fucking gross' the same way that lasagna is fucking gross, not as in 'I think everyone who thinks this way are genuinely dangerous people'. That's also why I responded so defensively, and why people who knew what I meant came to defend me- because from my perspective, I was talking casually, and then was getting angry replies back about something I did not mean, which felt like I was having words being put into my mouth. And that is a trigger for me as well. Which made it an even bigger fucking mess.

(There is also- and I will now fully admit to this now bc fuck I'm tired of fucking around with these goddamn arbitrary social media rules- a desire to keep antis off my back by playing up my disgust and vitrol to the subject. I've been at the center of their harassment and nearly lost friends bc of people labeling me a proshipper, so I figured the safe way to deal with it is to simply overflaunt a preexisting disgust response so that people don't attack me or accuse me of being something I'm not again.)

I triggered you. I did not know that, but that is not an excuse. You, however, also triggered me, which made the whole mess even worse. Let me explain- I grew up as an autistic child in a highly confrontational household, with a parent who would either deliberately set up scenarios that I would fail at or look for reasons to get angry at so he could blow up at me, yelling abuse and sometimes resorting to physical violence. Because I was the eldest who was supposed to be 'responsible' and 'a good role model' to my younger siblings, this meant that I was second in line for him to take out his anger on. He put words in my mouth and implications I did not mean all the time just so that he wouldn't feel bad later about backing me into a corner, destroying my possessions, and threatening to kill my pets if he did not outright hit me (which he only ever held back on because he was afraid of someone finding the marks and him being taken to jail). Me crying or apologizing only ever made him angrier, but getting angry and aggressive in return made it blow over quicker. So did trying to explain myself, because it at least let me verbally work over that the response I got was irrational. That was why I responded so defensively when I got put into a similar situation here, which is something that I somewhat regret but also do not entirely feel terrible about because how the fuck else was I supposed to respond when I kept explaining myself and you did not listen to me.

We're both human. Humans are messy and flawed. I am not someone that you should look up to or hold on a pedestal in any way because of this, nor should anyone else- I'm literally just a 23 year old guy who's obsessed enough with a story to write stories based on it in my free time, not some sage or king or god. I did not call you a pedophile personally for thinking that a fuckload of pixels I thought was a child wasn't, and when I was explaining why I don't like it, I was explaining my personal bias, not some tried-and-true gospel of divining the true meaning of fiction over something that is- as we just proved- incredibly difficult to discuss due to how subjective it is. I still maintain that my discomfort is very real and that it has a genuine basis in my own experiences, but that doesn't mean that it's valid or any more morally pure than yours. At the end of the day, it's not real, and the actual reason why I dragged this whole dilemma on for so long was because of the nature of the discussion itself throwing up all my self-defense actions rather than anything else. If I knew that it was a genuine trigger instead of fandom wank, and if I stopped getting asks in the first place, then I would have shut the fuck up a long time ago.

Def. recommend keeping me blocked, because while I certainly wouldn't mind reconciliation of a sort, I also think that our triggers overlap and that's not something that either of us should have to deal with. And I'm not talking about the Ghost headcanon either, because I no longer have that shitty knee-jerk reaction of 'oh god another cringe porn artist' to it, and- believe it or not!- have friends who are into completely different interpretations and ships and the like that I personally really dislike that I am also completely chill with because its my irrational meat brain that's the problem. I'm talking about the fact that when you're triggered, you get defensive and start jumping to conclusions (not unfounded ones btw) that unfortunately triggers my own defensive responses because jumping to conclusions is a stupid-niche trigger for me in turn. Shit's not good for either of us and I think you'd be way better off without me in your life.

And again, I really am very sorry that you thought I called you a pedophile. As I have said before, that was not my intention, and I have never believed that. I also will straight-up fight anyone who takes my irrational kneejerk dislike reaction and uses it to attack you, because that was ALSO not what I intended in the slightest and the thought of someone using my inability to shut up about my special interests as a means of 'word-of-god-ing' my likes and dislikes into fandom wank makes me want to hurl.

[madaraservingcunt]

What are your fave manga

I love these types of asks! And I love lists too, so I'll tell ya all about them.

❤️🩷🧡💛💚💙🩵💜🤎🖤🩶🤍

Top four favorite manga in order

#1: Death Note

Death Note was the first anime I ever saw which got me interested in the manga.

The art is gorgeous.

One thing I like about manga is the little side comics the author adds. It's amusing to see their humor added, especially for darker stories.

I like the manga better because it fits better for this type of story. The anime is also pretty inconsistent with the art quality. But then again, Naoya Uchida is one of the voice actors, so it's forgiven.

#2: Jujustu Kaisen

It's funny that I got this ask today because I just binge read this entire series last night. Fucking excellent story, but some of the explainations for their powers are pretty confusing and dumb, if I'm being honest.

Stunning attention to detail. The anime does a great adaptation and is better than the manga, in my opinion, because of how well the fight scenes are animated. Seriously amazing show. If you've been thinking about checking it out, do it!

Guess who is my fav character...

#3: Legend of Zelda:

Majora's Mask

Cute adaptation of my favorite video game!

The video game is pretty thorough with the plot, but the manga adds some more layers from Link's perspective, and it gives him a spunky personality. It's nostalgic for me and the art style is cute!

#4: Naruto

Despite what this blog may lead you to believe, it's the lowest on my list. Not to shit on it by any means. It is a unique story that undoubtly influenced many manga artists and storytellers, and Kishimoto really shows off his artwork skills. The manga is better than the anime, in my opinion, again for consistent art styles. There are some fight scenes that are adapted well into the anime, but overall, the story fits better on paper.

And it gave us Madara Uchiha of course.

As far as the story goes, it's all over the place and has lots of plot holes. There are better mangas, but Naruto holds a special place in my heart.

I guess to sum it up, I appreciate the attention to detail for art, and if it has a unique story, that's a plus!

[liloinkoink]

I wake up and realize belatedly that you asked for my list of trusted techno authors! Let’s go.

hoorayy (author of deviltown)— not a techno or emduo main, but consistently writes pitch-perfect techno in ensemble stuff.

third_crow: also writes ensemble stuff, did an excellent boreal-focused fantasy fic and is now writing a SBI foster au that’s actually nuanced and good? Who knew.

Odaigahara: I see you’ve already mentioned her. Everything she writes is so good. AHHHH.

EmJay_Panziku: the horror fic. The space fic. Somehow it’s not Tommy-centric for once. I am throwing my credit card at the screen. MORE PLZ.

AdrianaintheSnow: if you are okay with Tommy-centric SBI, this is actually good and fun character writing for everyone in that quartet, interesting worldbuilding, soft and cute moments.

Scrolling through my bookmarks like Odaigahara, Odaigahara, Odaigahara again…

Beans_McGee: I think they’ve gone over to hermitcraft now, but they have an unfinished series named Angel teeth that is just some of the best actually funny techno writing around.

Spice_ghouls: haven’t updated in a while so I don’t know if they left the fandom, but some very good emduo.

Inallthingsgoodorbad: okay so yes their most recent work is superhero AU, but it’s a really GOOD one, actually.

Dreamdx (thereisdefinitelyawordforthat): everything they write I must put immediately into my eyeballs. I am throwing my credit card at the screen again.

Fensandmarshes: !!!!! He is so good at every character but his technoooooooo (okay yes I am an awkward autistic but beyond that). Worldbuilding! Voice! Autistic characters!

H_mellohi: they’re more focused on angelduo, but when they write techno or emduo I just relax knowing they are in safe hands.

So for this one the author is anon, but if you search up I Asked For A Monster And You Gave Me A Fairytale, the author has two fics, (both Tommy centric but y’know, you gotta muscle past that I guess in this fandom), one where Tommy goes into the woods to die and gets adopted by a house of monsters, one where Tommy’s a vegan neceomancer used by a cult to bring The Blood God back. They are both very stressed.

Sigh so much of this fandom is Tommy-centric I’m still scrolling—

Okay we all know about findingkairos BUT ALSO FINDINGKAIROS.

OHHH THANK YOU.... i guess i should go grab links for these authors for myself and others hold on lemme--

i dont know hoorayy bc i havent read devil town or anything else by them, but ive heard good things about the fic!

third_crow.. OH TRUST ME. THE BOREAL TRIO FIC, YOU MEAN VISAGE? I KNOW ABOUT VISAGE. ITS MY ALL TIME FAVE DSMP FIC. IM OBSESSED W IT. CANNOT RECOMMEND VISAGE ENOUGH. PLEASE READ VISAGE

i didnt realize how much odaigahara i read until i made that list for that last ask but i really will have to read thru their works purposefully now that its come to my attention. good stuff, quality author

EmJay_Panziku i have read just the space fic (which i absolutely adore) but now that i have their account open i see they have another fic noted, in the tags, as being similar to Sweet Home.. I fucking LOVED that comic!! i followed it for years!! i will be back for this fic For Certain. (i assume this is "the horror fic" you mentuoned)

AdrianaintheSnow ill be honest i just. dont read tommy centric sbi i cant. not my thing. i get bored if techno isnt there and that happens much faster if its tommy instead. HOWEVER if youre ranking this author as being as good as all the other ones that i know in this list then i am sure theyre very good and to my followers who might find this of interest? heres a person to look at. esp if you said their worldbuilding is good, i love fun worldbuilding

Beans_McGee i have read these fics actually theyre fun. i def recommend ppl give the angel teeth series a shot, tho its been a while since i read them so i cant remember specifics anymore

Spice_ghouls ive seen these fics but i havent read them, ill have to check them out!!

Inallthingsgoodorbad i have NOT seen these fics but scrollling thru they look really interesting! i like superhero aus well enough so thats no deterrent, and the snippets of writing used in the summaries on here sound very neat indeed

Dreamdx OH YES. I KNOW THEM. LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR... SO SHIT HAS HIT THE FAN... SO MANY GOOD FICS IN HERE. really nice writing style and really honest and compassionate look at a lot of characters, esp the latter fic's handling of The Fireworks Duo Issues And Problems. its rlly interesting and thoughtful

Fensandmarshes this dude has 400 works. thats insane?? kudos to this author jesus. i dont know if i knew any of their work bc thats So Much to look thru but ill def check this dude out

H_mellohi i trust h with my life. h if you see this i trust you with my life. i love love Love red eggs and ham but i also have read and liked more of their fics but i really need to go back and check out Even More i think

findingkairos. findingkairos

heres a link to that anonymously published fic you mentioned. honestly seems incredibly entertaining as a premise. i dunno i'd personally want to read it but it sounds like an objectively good read

also i want to add to your list, if you dont mind... acuteroses, who ive liked quite a few fics from!

thank you so much or this list!! of the authors of yours i have read, you have fantastic taste

[iliveiloveiwrite]

Millie’s Massive Fic Rec Post

To celebrate 700 followers I’m showing all the love, people. What you’ll find here are fics that were sent to me who I agree deserve a bit more love as well as fics I’ve read and adored. They’re split into characters so all you need to do is scroll to find your fave and bask in its glory. There is some swearing but it’s only because it’s the only way I know how to express my feelings. This is also my thank you to each of the authors involved for taking the time out of their day to write these fics for free. There are also some authors I know I’ve forgotten and I am so so sorry if I have, I promise you it wasn't intentional, I love you all very much.

As always, I love and appreciate you all. Let’s get started on this ridiculously long post!!

Harry Potter:

Don’t Walk Away - @kalimagik - THE ANGST. I was on the edge of my seat through it all; I knew what was coming but did I look away? No. I was completely sucked it and that ending... oh my god, I was broken. If you’re looking for an incredibly written piece of angst that has you in tears, then this is the fic.

Dandelions - @lupins-sweater - The first post of A Very Harry Potter Summer and it was kicked off so brilliantly!! This fic had me wishing for my very own Harry to take morning walks with. It’s so wonderful; it has you wanting a summery morning and dandelions to make wishes on.

Always You - @bl597 - inspired by Louis Tomlinson’s song Always You, so I was already sold on that front. It’s an angst piece - Harry pining from afar, regretting his decisions but with a happy ending. I love that it's written from his perspective, that he realises what he’s done. I really do love this fic, and I aim to work my way through her masterlist!

The Truth Behind The Kiss - @justauthoring​ - the anticipation from the first sentence, I was on the edge of my seat. I loved every single word of this fic, it’s written so well. I just, I need you all to read this fic bc it is SO GOOD. Harry, Triwizard tournament, feelings, fluff - it has it all. 

For how long? - @siriusly-addicted-to-writing​ - It seems for Harry fics I am drawn to angst even though I write nothing but fluff for him. This fic is no different. Dani, this fic is wonderful, I love it. You capture the angst brilliantly! Go read this everyone!

Ron Weasley:

“can we pretend I never said that?” - @hello-everyfandom - I love this so much! Ron calling himself ‘the snog master’ had me snorting out loud - it’s great. And then the dialogue continues to be brilliant. I really enjoyed this fic! Ron needs more attention people!!  

Crossing Lines - @kalimagik - ADORABLE. CUTE. WONDERFUL. Oh, Ron. Everything about this fic is marvellous. The relationship between Ron and the reader, the realisation, the meddling. It was perfect, so so perfect.

birthday - @lupinsdarling - FLUFFY AND CHAOTIC AND I LOVE IT. Why oh why doesn't Ron get more love? Why doesn't this fic have more attention? It’s so fluffy and Ron is so bloody cute that my heart physically hurt while reading this. It hurt because it was so PURE.

Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley:

Girls in one room - @eleven-times-lively - Hermione x Reader - oh my god I snorted at Ron, I love it. And the fluff? There’s so much fluff, I can't deal with the fluff. If you’re going to read a Hermione fic, read this one!

just as lovely - @vanillann - this is so pure! it’s so wonderful, and the relationship between Hermione and the reader is so cute! 

Hug ur friends drabble - @firewhisky-kisses - Ginny x Reader - it’s the cutest thing I’ve read, oh my god, is it cute! I love everything about this, Steph is so talented! But I go into that further down.

Neville Longbottom:

Never the Bride - @obsessedwithrandomthings - Dee’s fic reads as a rom com, it’s so brilliantly done. By the time you're at the end, you feel as if you’ve just watched a two hour rom com and need to squeal into your pillow because of the feels. I love this fic.

Moonlight Swim - @kalimagik - Neville. Oh, Neville. This fic stole my heart and it won't give me it back. The idea of a moonlight swim with Neville? Here for it. And the confession? *chefs kiss* incredible. 

Healing - @firewhisky-kisses - I cannot put into words how much I loved this fic,. Steph is just so incredibly talented and writes Neville so wonderfully. Healing is the first fic of two and that second part had me in happy tears because Neville deserves the world. I go back and reread this a lot when I need to boost my emotions, so thank you for this Steph.

Good News - @peachesandpinks - Let me explain something here, Ron repeatedly and without fail hypes up fic writers to the point where she makes me cry happy tears at her comments. Her writing (and I'm going to swear now) is fucking brilliant. I love it, I adore it. Ren has a way with words that I only hope to master. This fic? Marvellous, magnificent, wonderful - pick a synonym and go wild. It’s so sweet and wholesome - what more could you possibly want other than to be on her taglist?

Tally Marks - @obsessedwithrandomthings NEVILLE WITH TATTOOS PEOPLE! NEVILLE! WITH! TATTOOS! Do I need to say anymore? Yes? Okay. Dee is a fantastic writer but she writes Neville perfectly. We have had many conversations about her love for Neville and her love for him shines through in this fic. She writes with such care and I love reading everything.

Draco Malfoy: 

The Purist - @mxl-foy - This series is so good. Like, so good, that if it was a physical book, it would be sat on my shelves. I would religiously check her account every time I came onto Tumblr to see if a new chapter was posted, and if there was, you best believe there was a happy dance. It’s so incredibly thought out and plotted. And there’s going to be a part two! It’s so great!

Notes - @malfoys-demigod - This is so sweet! I live for fluffy Draco as you all know if you read my Draco fics, but I adore reading fluffy Draco as well. This fic is so adorable, I love it! 

Always so Cold - @teheharrypotter - Five times Draco gave you his sweater and the one time you accepted. I love these sort of fics, they’re my indulgence fics. Jealous!Draco is one of my favourite things to read as well. and he’s so dramatic. I couldn't ask for more in a fic, definitely one of my favourites. 

the distance between us - @sdicapriox - This is a genius idea. I love this idea, and I love how it was executed. Almost 10k words of brilliance. I love the reader and her first letter to Draco and her entire personality - fish funeral? genius. I really like how you portray Draco and the effort you put into his internal monologue, it really is something excellent. The ending as well, I won't spoil, I just urge people to read this. 

Heartbreak - @slytherinprincess03 - you have to have a little bit of angst in a Draco fic rec right? This fic has it but the ending is perfect and fluffy, gah! I love it!. Not to mention, Draco is such a gentlemen in it. I can't wait to see what else you write, lovely!!

Hardly A Date - @fanficflaneuse - I love this fic. I love it so much. I tend not to read sibling!reader but I adored this. The relationship between Harry and the reader, and then Draco and the reader. It’s amazing. I could rant for hours and hours about how much I love her work - her series are out of this world and she captures Draco’s character perfectly. 

George Weasley:

Red with Rage - @kalimagik - AGH ANOTHER OF MAGGIE’S FICS. The prank? Genius, and that end line - incredible. Her characterisation of the twins is so good, I love reading her fics. She deserves more than 300 followers! So if you don’t already follow her, go now!

When Everything Changes - @strawberriesonsummer - Based on the song Everything Has Changed by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran. This is so pure, it’s so fluffy. George is adorable in this! I can't wait to read what else you write for George!

Come back to you - @dreamer821 - JJ, JJ, JJ. Ugh, this fic is a work of art and George is so bloody caring. I mention this a lot but the relationship between George and the reader is so important to get right and JJ does it flawlessly. My heart hurts for this fic and that last line, LOVE IT. I live for how JJ writes George, I could read her work all day. GO READ HER STUFF, YOU WON’T REGRET IT.

Fred Weasley:

The Right Bird - @dreamer821 - I’m not only just involving this because it was used in my writing challenge but oh my days, it is so wonderful. The relationship between Fred and the reader is just *chefs kiss* perfect. JJ has such a way with words and I just love how she depicts Fred.

Lost, are we? - @prongsies - I think I’m going to make my way through your masterlist because I loved this so much. The teasing was so cute, and Fred helping her at the beginning? Ahhhhh brilliant. 

Watermelon Sugar - @prongsies - COMPLETING THE FINEST SERVICE TO THE HP FANDOM AND WRITING FICS INSPIRED BY FINE LINE - I SALUTE YOU. This is so good, so so good. The references to the song are used so well and that little bit of fluff at the end? Amazing. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to put the song on repeat now...

Percy Weasley: 

Nothing We Can’t Forgive -  @firewhisky-kisses - This series really does showcase Steph’s talent. She’s an incredible writer and this fic deserves all the attention it can possibly get. It’s the first Percy fic I’ve ever read and I’m already planning a reread. Steph captures Percy’s character flawlessly whilst also depicting his healing in a manner that is so relatable. I’ve linked the masterlist because once you start reading, you won't want to stop. 

Sight is Relative - @hufflefluff-writer - This fic has a blind reader which I think makes it all the more beautiful. Amelia’s characterisation of Percy really is wonder, she captures him brilliantly. The fic after they eat is quite literally breathtaking. The description of colours, the dialogue - it’s fantastic.

Hufflepuff!Reader Headcanons - @soft-nerdy-wolf - I loved this from the beginning where the reader was already helping Percy out of his comfort zone by disregarding curfew. Then the further, I read, I loved more and more because of how fluffy it is! And the confession? So so sweet! This needs more attention!

Bill Weasley: 

Estrellita - @fanficflaneuse and @hufflefluff-writer - It is a fic inspired by the Sound of Music, what more could you possibly want? It’s so delicate and incredibly written by two extremely talented writers. The relationship between Bill and the reader = adorable. The whole series is so fantastic, I’ve linked part one and you’ll find the rest on Amelia’s masterlist, which you’ll need because you’ll be reading the entire thing in one sitting, I swear.

Charlie Weasley:

As Family the First Time - @kalimagik - you’ll have noticed that Maggie features a lot here but that’s because she is so damned talented that I adore most of her fics. The first Charlie Weasley fic I read and I fell in love. It’s just so fluffy and humorous with features from the whole Weasley family. Basically, by the end of it I was ready to raise dragons in Romania with a certain Weasley.

Meeting the Weasleys - @soft-nerdy-wolf - This made smile all sorts of stupid. From the beginning, I wanted to own Hepaestus (the perfect name for a dragon in my opinion - Zeus’ own forger, amazing.) And the fluff with Charlie straight after? I love, love, love it as well as the fun relationship they have. And the pranks with Fred and George? Ah! I just love.

Dragons blurb - @hufflefluff-writer - I know it’s only a blurb but oh my god, I loved it, I love it. Jealous!Charlie and a buttload of fluff - the best to boost your mood.

Cedric Diggory:

A Ghost Story - @wondernimbus - So beautifully haunting. Ysa has a way with words that make you feel as if you're physically there, living the fic alongside the characters. There aren't really any words to describe how talented Ysa is - all I can do is urge to read her masterlist and discover for yourself. 

My Boys - @potterverseimagine - Cedric and dogs - I am in love. This fic is so sweet and pure and playful. Playful Cedric is so great omg and this fic is full to the brim with it. I just... ah I love this so much. AND HE’S ALIVE. I LOVE FICS WHERE HE’S ALIVE. Thank you for this!!

It’s a Date - @angelinathebook​ - Lena, this is so good. You need to write more Cedric! Ah, I hate those boys so much but I love Cedric!! This is so good! Cedric needs more love 100% - if you haven't read this already, you need to read it now!!

Sirius Black: 

Lost Time - @obsessedwithrandomthings - Reader standing up for who she loves against Bellatrix? Yes, we love that. Slow burn romance with Sirius? I love that even more. Dee never fails to astound me when she writes Sirius, and I know she won’t fail to astound you too. Seriously (lol), go through Dee’s masterlist, read her works, you won't regret it. She’s the loveliest.

Our Godson - @nebulablakemurphy - Christina is so talented. The letters!!! Are so good!!! AND WHEN THEY FINALLY MEET? My heart! Christina, it's as if you broke it and then rebuilt it again all in the span of 2.8k words especially with that ending. I love this fic, and you will love this fic. 

Curiosity - @siriusly-the-best-gryffindor​ - I don’t know what else to say that I haven't already said in my reblog but I love this fic. I am heavily pierced and heavily tattooed and I love seeing a reader as the same. I love all of this fic, it 100% needs more love!

The Jimmy Jab Games - @im-a-writer-right​ - A Sirius fic inspired by Brooklyn-99. I loved every single chapter, it made me so happy. And that final chapter, I was smiling like a fool throughout. Sirius is a dream through this, and that bet? I love! I’ve linked the masterlist because you won’t want to move as you read.  

Secrets and fears - @firewhisky-kisses​ - Steph does it again with the masterpieces. Honestly, I squeal a little whenever I see her in my notifications with a new fic because everything she writes is stellar, and this is no exception. If you’re going to read anything tonight, let it be her masterlist. If you haven't read her latest Sirius piece as well, you are sorely missing out. 

Remus Lupin:

Protect - @obsessedwithrandomthings - Oh man, this one hurt. There are so many feels to this fic, so many layers. The enemies to lovers? Amazing. That ending as well - so fucking good. Like everything Dee writes, so fucking good.

Sleeping Beauty - @poppin-potter - This is adorable. There’s no other words for it. The relationship between the reader and Remus is so cute, I was smiling all the way through it. Not to mention the relationship between the reader and the Marauders, so bloody good. And that ending? It was so peaceful, like I was reading and I was like yeah, I would’t mind a piece of that.

Pain of reality - @heloisedaphnebrightmore - I had to involve some Remus angst, and oh my word. You smashed my heart into pieces in the beginning and had put it back together by the end. Heloise is an incredible writer, so so talented. This is a Remus fic you cannot miss out on!

Bruise and Scars - @peachesandpinks - Soulmate AU and Marauders Era Remus. What more could you possibly want? It’s poetic. If you look to my Neville section, you’ll see why I love Ren’s writing so much but let me tell you, I am a SUCKER for Remus. Always have been, always will be. You will not regret reading this fic or any of Ren’s fics.

Nights like These - @teheharrypotter - another fic in A Very Harry Potter Summer and the description in this fic is so good! The way the summer night described has you feeling every moment of it. And the conversation between Remus and the reader is so beautiful, where they touch upon their grief. It’s a wonderfully written piece of work.

James Potter:

Numb Love - @heloisedaphnebrightmore - Unrequited love is like my guilty pleasure because I love the angst of it, and this fic. Oh this fic, it destroyed me and I loved every single minute of it. How this fic doesn't have more notes, I have no clue. It’s a masterpiece of emotions. 

Reading between the lines - @approved-by-dentists - ohhh this fic is great, I love the flirtation between the reader and James in the beginning all the way to end. It was one of the first James fics I read (I’m late to the party, I’m well aware) and omg I love it. Just go read the fic!

Book-thief - @wondernimbus - I’m going to repeat my words from earlier, there are no words to describe Ysa’s talent. James Potter and a bookshop and I was sold. She captures his character so brilliantly. Just... go binge her work.

Summer revelations - @pregnant-piggy - I keep saying this about all the fics I put on here but I love this fic! I love it! First, I love James. Second, I need those muffins - seriously, where can I get these muffins? And their realisations and confessions! It’s such a pure fic, I’m absolutely in love with your portrayal of James.

Newt Scamander:

Cheeky Niffler - @eleven-times-lively - reader is an archaeologist - from that moment, I was sold. I loved reading this, I loved the idea and I love Niffler as it is! I always need more Newt in my life and this is perfect.

Online Love - @strawberriesonsummer​ - Modern AU! I really loved this idea, I love the idea of Newt with a phone and ringing the wrong number. It’s such a wonderful fic, I haven't read Newt in so long so this was such a lovely one to read! I can’t wait to read what other Newt fics are posted!

desire - @blisfvll​ - I am a huge fan of their works; their Draco fics are incredible and their Newt fics are just the same. This had me feeling all sorts of emotions, and I loved every second of it.  

You stared Newt right in the eyes. - @fantasticnewtimagines​ - I didn't know what the title to this was so I just type out the first sentence, I hope you don't mind! This is a delicious piece of angst with a lovely, happy ending. I adore this piece so much because it conveys so much. I love it!!

MARVEL:

I want to take a moment to appeal to the followers of mine who also enjoy reading marvel. @shaynawrites23​ has started to write some marvel fics and even entered my writing challenge and her fics definitely deserve some attention! She’s a wonderful writer and her fics are so cute! If you’re a fan of Bucky, you’ll love these fics!

Catty

Soulmate

Rosy Proposal

[kojinnie]

AOT Characters’ Modern Jobs Headcanon; The Vets Edition!

The jobs that The Vets would have in modern!au, their workplace antics and their back story. There might be some inaccuracies when describing the job as obviously I don’t work at these industries to know its intricacies. Most of the jobs are office jobs. Enjoyyyy!

My Masterlist .::. Pt. II: Zeke Yeager’s Modern Jobs Headcanon   

Most recent work: Dream Me Home (Before Shiganshina) | reader x erwin smith

A/N: I really need to finish a presentation deck due tonight for an early morning meeting tomorrow but of course, this comes first hahaha 

erwin!

A/N: Basically lawyer!erwin is the way to go, innit?

He's in his 40s, so he may have a settled career

He came from a white-collar, middle-class family. So he wasn’t silverspoon-fed, but his parents had enough money to put him through good school

Got a scholarship to go to one of the nation’s finest law schools

Kept it lowkey in college’s social circle, graduated with summa cum laude, developed a strong academic relation with his professor, and got recommended for an internship at top law firm at the capital city

Starting his career as a corporate lawyer, but then built his expertise as white-collar crime attorney

In his early 30s, he represented a union suing against conglomerate corporation in a big case that had national coverage, from then on he began to know his calling

Expanding his portfolio and became well-known for defending workers, consumers and civilians against corporate fraud scheme

Currently doing a lot of pro-bono cases for deprived victims of big corporate fraud. You would see him frequently gracing your local newspaper we love us some socialist king

On the side, he often writes for law journal and fills in as guest professor at local universities for summer courses

Established his own law firm with some of his partners, specializing in white collar crime and labor & employment law

He’s damn accomplished, but never really had any time for self-indulgence. Even after he becomes a household name in the country, with tens of attorneys working under him, his employees would still see him working on New Year’s Eve

He was always attentive to his employees, though. Although he has a very strict, borderline no-life work ethics, he never forces his employees to follow his habit, in fact he despises when his employees works on holidays and can be seen blaming himself for it a bit of a hypocrite but thats ok

He still takes metro to work. He prefers a very lowkey, ordinary lifestyle because he fears if he shows any knack for indulgence, he will be susceptible to gratification from potential enemies or crooked politicians

Definitely a sight to see at the workplace, for he's tall and always oozes a sense of authority in the way he speaks and carries himself generally

His emotional intelligence is top-notch, you would never meet someone who is able to be very objective and calculating, while being kind and compassionate at the same time

His fellow attorneys put a lot for respect for him, and hundreds of applicants come to his considerably small firm every week, because a lot of aspiring attorney find him inspiring to work with

He wasn’t oblivious to his shiny reputation, but he’s trying his hardest to not let the compliments get to his head. Sometimes he doesn’t give himself enough credit for it

Was approached by one of the political party’s committee to run for local senate, but turned it down

basically he’s perfect if you like a man who’s never home for christmas

Hange!

A/N: Ok ok, I really wanna see Paleontologist!Hange because it has always been my fave dream job, but I want Hange to be out and about with people so here it is

Hange is the type to be incredibly good at one thing, that she will dedicate her whole life for that pursuit, but will be awfully oblivious to a whole lot of things (not intentional of course, they just have a very limited attention span) (they wouldn’t know who kanye west is or what tiktok is)

Like Erwin, they came from a middle-class family. While Erwin’s parents might have been teachers, accountants or other common profession, Hange came from a family of academician and researchers

Hange studied Human Geography at uni, but later found passion specifically in its relation to industrialization and urban development

Hange aims to advocate for a better living condition for workforce, and nearby inhabitants of industrialized city detroit would be a beautiful city if only they let hange designed it

Hange is a professor at university, where they also led a non-profit research think-thank that also serves as pressure group for better government policy.

The university that Hange teaches in, is also the uni where Erwin teaches in summer. They’re close-knitted colleagues as they share similar passion. Erwin relies on Hange a lot for some intellectual insights to help his cases  

Hange is relentless in their cause, you may find Hange everywhere! From street protest to a hearing in the government court. They are passionate and will do anything for the cause they believe in

Hange was once hired by the government as an independent consultant for a new housing project, but left because they grew to be frustrated by the government’s bureaucracy and their outward reluctance to follow Hange's recommendation

Hange spends a lot of time overseas, consulting and advocating development in newly industrialized countries

On Hange’s birthday, her fellow researchers surprised them with a ‘pampering day’ where they took them to an optometrist because Hange had been complaining about their eyesight for a YEAR that gave them a lot of migraines, but was always either too busy or too lazy to go

Hange never really considers themselves as working, because they enjoy their job very much. Hange likes to spend months observing a community, talking to people for hours, and trying their best in understanding their problem

Out of so many great qualities that Hange has as a researcher that meets different set of people everyday, prejudice or preconceived judgment is completely absent in Hange’s demeanor and perspective

Hange doesn’t get a lot of free-time, even if they do, they’d wander around the city to do a little observation. But when the weather’s bad and they’re stuck at home with their pet lizard, they would logged into Quora to answer random internet questions

They’re an avid writer for National Geographic, and one time Hange won a pitch to make a documentary about an industrial city project they were working on

After the docu-series got broadcasted, Hange gained a small but passionate and loyal fans on the internet. You could even find a subreddit dedicated for Hange’s works

for real I want to be Hange. I want to have that kind of passion in life

levi!

A/N: I spent a lot of times thinking about Levi’s job in modern!au. Because here’s the thing, either we adopt his unfortunate childhood into its modern!au equivalent, or let’s just recreate his whole upbringing. But I think his personality stems from a specific things he experienced during childhood, so let’s not dismiss that.

Levi came from a struggling working class family. I reckon his parents might have had worked multiple jobs to sustain their living expense. Unfortunately they both passed away when Levi was very little, and left little to no inheritance

Levi’s parents were not close to their extended family, so when they died, Levi was admitted to the system and had to brace several foster families who didn’t really pay attention to him

Little Levi had come to realize that life’s all about survival and so he had been able to fend on for himself since very young age, he never asked for things

His uncle, Kenny, finally won custody over Levi when he was in elementary. Kenny made money from small-scale racketeering here and there. Levi never asked what he did for living, as long as he got food to eat and tuition paid off

Kenny was emotionally absent, but he loved spending time with the oddly quiet little child, teaching him a lot of crafts, from carpentering to how to flay pig’s skin

Levi didn’t really care about getting into college, and thought that he’d probably end up working for his uncle, so he put his bare minimum throughout school, although he was really good with numbers, especially in math, accounting and finance

One time in high school, Levi’s teacher asked him to sign up for the olympiad team, Levi turned it down because he thought that was a rich kid thing

He didn’t even apply for college, and worked odd jobs after high school. Probably working as cashiers or assistant to retail shop’s owner for couple of years, enough for him to afford a cheap studio apartment on his own

One of his bosses came to acknowledge Levi’s talent, and trusted him to handle the company’s accounting

By sheer luck, the company hit it big, and Levi found himself running the day-to-day accounting of mid-sized business with over 300 employees

He made good money already without a college degree, but with a new-found confidence Levi applied for uni, where he chose to study accounting (of course)

Although he was confident with his skills, he understood he needed to widen his horizon and network -- thus uni

Levi was one of the oldest members of his cohort in uni, but graduated with highest distinction

After graduating, with his skills and experience, it wasn’t hard for Levi to score a job at top accounting firm

There, he discovered an interest for forensic accounting, where through audits, analysis and investigation, he basically finds out if a company is doing fraud and embezzlement or not

This is where he came to know and get acquainted with Erwin and Hange (yippie they’re together again)

The firm he works for was assigned to investigate the finances of a troublesome company that had been sued by its workers for a jeopardizing working condition. Erwin was on the case, and Levi helped him with evidences for legal proceeding.

By chance, Erwin introduced Levi to Hange. At first, Levi would find Hange annoying and overtly energized, but after learning the things they have done, Levi grew to appreciate Hange’s passion (and secretly wants to have more of his positive outlook)

Levi is fucking good his job. In short amount of time, he could get a really ideal position in the office. He was almost foolproof, finding even the tiniest bit of discrepancy in his audit. He’d get assigned to the big league case/project.

Although really good at his job, he’s not a social person, especially in his office. He couldn’t understand the lavish lifestyle that finance and banking people often lead. He will only show up to office party if it is really necessary for him to show up (usually to receive some kind of informal awards for, again, being so fucking good) 

He leads a no-bullshit attitude at the office, largely because of his background. He is a self-made man, and is not easy to impress by some young executives from posh school that talk bigger than they can chew

His cold, seemingly dismissive attitude gained him a reputation of being scary, when actually he is very considerate

One of the things he enjoys doing is to actually teach, he really likes when a new kid at the office come to him with none of that pretentious, big talk, and really asks for his guidance. He would love to teach you a thing or two

He would frequently check on his mentee, just to keep up with their development

And he doesn’t take credit too. When his mentee makes a milestone, he believes it’s 100% your work

If you’re his mentee, he probably doesn’t give a crap about your personal life, so don’t expect him to make small talk about that (and don’t ask him about his personal life either). But he really cares about your skill and career development

Same with Erwin, he leads a very ordinary lifestyle. He doesn’t go out often and would rather reading detective novel with his cat on the couch

He likes to spend Sunday at Uncle Kenny’s house, because he finds himself worried about the old man very often. They became close as Levi grew

Overall, Levi is a really kind and caring person if you know how not to push his button

[matthewtkachuk]

how to be a heartbreaker: rule three - rafe cameron

Rafe Cameron’s privileged upbringing has let him get away with far too much, for far too long. Between his tormenting of the pogues, running his mouth without consequence, and arrogant attitude, it’s time someone knocked him down a peg. Breaking his bones didn’t work, but maybe you can break his heart.

co-authored with my love, freya @rekrappeter

pairing: Rafe Cameron x reader, unrequited!JJ x reader

warnings: angst, starting a relationship under false pretences, drinking and drug use, implied smut hehe

word count: 4.4k 

a/n: this one is my personal fave hehe, you’ll see what i mean when you get to the end. please please please leave us feedback, freya and i read every comment and cry hehe

“And if that doesn’t work?” you questioned, eyes solely on JJ. He moved from standing next to the chalkboard to flaking on the couch beside you. He had an arm resting on the back of the couch, his fingertips brushing your shoulder. He had just gone through rule number two and you were starting to think that there was no way this could work. It sounded too cliche, too romcom teen movie.

JJ sighed, sitting up slightly, “It’s going to work, trust me.”

“Trust you?” Pope asked, “You haven’t even thought this plan through.”

“We actually spent hours going through these rules,” John B pouted.

“Any time JJ spent trying to find a word to rhyme with attached doesn’t count,” Kie quipped.

“Listen, babe,” JJ turned his body to you, your legs brushing as you looked at him nervously, “You trust me, don’t you.” 

Despite the inner voice in your head that sounded suspiciously like Pope telling you otherwise, you did. “I do,” you told him softly. 

He grinned, sharp canine teeth on display, “Once you’ve got his attention, you have to take it a step further.”

Your brows furrowed, a step further? Ever your protector, Pope piped up, “What do you mean a step further, JJ?”

“You know,” he trailed off dramatically, “You have to look him in the eyes and plant one on him.” 

Sighing in relief that was what he meant by a step further, before freezing and stuttering out, “y-you want me to kiss him?” You gagged a little at the thought of putting your lips on Rafe’s. How did JJ expect you to kiss Rafe Cameron, your friends’ biggest bully without immediately vomiting after.

“That’s disgusting, JJ!” Kie called out, arms crossed over her chest, “You can’t seriously be asking y/n to kiss him.”

“If there’s no action, this will be a very short plan, it won’t work without the kiss.” 

You glanced around the room at the prying eyes, waiting for your answer. You thought back to your previous late night adventures, some more questionable than others, and if you were comparing them to Rafe, looks wise, you concluded that you were getting somewhat of an upgrade. “I-I guess,” you replied hesitantly, wondering if it was too late to back out, but JJ’s brilliant grin at your words kept you silent. He clapped his hands together in excitement, muttering a quick ‘perfect!’ before continuing.

“Rule number three: leave them at the door, wanting more”

There was tension in the air as you lounged around John B’s living room. You were glaring at JJ, Kie was glaring at the new addition of Sarah Cameron, and Pope was glaring at the scholarship application brochure in his hand.

You, of course, were still pissed at JJ for his outburst at the club the other day. You didn’t understand why he was so mad at you when all you were doing was furthering his stupid little plan. Briefly, you allowed your mind to wonder if part of his frustration was related to jealousy, but you quickly killed that thought. You had loved JJ your entire life, and you were sure he had some inkling of that fact. Not to mention he was so transparent he was almost see through, unable to keep a secret if you paid him a million dollars. If he had any feelings toward you, you would have already known. 

The tension between Sarah and Kie was a little more hostile and you knew you didn’t have the whole story. It was something to do with Kie’s kook year, you knew that. You also knew there was something about a birthday party Kie had to find out about on instagram and something about the cops being called. It wasn’t really your business, and honestly their issues kind of overshadowed yours and JJs, which you were grateful for because you didn’t need the pogues sticking their noses in your business. Especially Pope, he would have a lot to say if he knew you and JJ were arguing because of your antics with Rafe.

Pope’s tension made the least sense. He was the smartest guy you knew, and if any one of you was going to get off the island, it was Pope through the scholarship he was currently glaring at. 

Wanting to break up the awkward tension, you were never one for awkward silences, you opened your mouth without a clear idea of what you were going to say when the silence was broken by Sarah first. 

“So, y/n...” you looked over at her in shock. Honestly, you weren’t even sure she knew your name despite having been clinging to John B for the past few days like a koala on a tree.

“Sarah...” you replied back in the same tone, dragging the last syllable of her name out. You weren’t entirely fond of having her here either, but you weren’t going to be as hostile as Kie.

“I didn’t know you were such good friends with Rafe,” she spoke and you almost choked on your own spit. 

“I- what? We’re- we’re not,” you stumbled through your words, confused at the sudden interrogation.

“Well he wants to know if he can have your number,” she shrugged a shoulder at you, trying, and failing, to look disinterested.

“Hell yes!” JJ shouted, clearly forgetting that the plan was supposed to stay between the five of you.

“Shut up, JJ” you glared at him, still having not entirely forgiven him yet. “Sure, Sarah, that would be okay.”

“Why the sudden interest in my brother?” Sarah asked suspiciously, despite her own issues with him, he was still her brother after all.

Suddenly in a panic, you struggled to come up with a good enough reason, so you blurted the first thing that came to mind - “I dunno, I'm bored and he’s hot.” Pope definitely choked on his own spit, and JJ shot you a funny look, his brows furrowing together. 

“You think he’s hot?” You weren’t sure if JJ was just playing along for the sake of Sarah or if he really was annoyed that you found Rafe attractive. 

“Well, yeah,” you replied, unsure of how to defend yourself, “He might be kind of an asshole, but any girl with eyes can see he’s attractive. Kie back me up here.” Kie gave you a look that read ‘what the hell’ and shook her head. Rolling your eyes, you just sighed and shrugged. “Are we going to watch a movie or not? I brought maltesers.”

Settling deeper into the couch, you grabbed the throw blanket that had ended up on the ground and covered your cold legs with it as John B messed around with the tv. You groaned when some cheesy action flick appeared on the screen, turning your head to glare at John B, “I thought we were going to watch Disney?” 

“You were outvoted,” he shrugged and sat beside Sarah, throwing his arm around her. You rolled your eyes at him, ripping open the bag of chocolates and tossing a couple in your mouth. You rolled your eyes for a second time when JJ’s hand stretched out his hand between the two of you on the couch. 

“Get your own maltesers,” you told him with a glare, holding the bag a little closer to your chest. 

The movie passed by without much excitement on your behalf, b-level action movies weren’t really your thing and you thought you were about to watch Tangled or something. You noticed JJ wasn’t really paying attention to the movie either, he looked like he was deep in thought for once in his life. Annoyingly, he kept turning his head to look at you, that same unreadable expression on his face. You decided if he did it one more time you were going to kick him, but the next time he turned to look at you, he scooted over until there was no space between your bodies.

“Do you really think he’s hot?” JJ whispered, his breathing tickling your ear.

“Who? Shia Labeouf?” You asked, eying the actor on the tv screen. 

“What? No I don’t care if you think Shia La-whoever is hot.” JJ replied tensely. His tone caused you to look at him again.

“Well, who do you care if I think they’re hot?”

“Obviously Rafe, stupid.” He snapped back. You couldn’t understand what he was so bothered for.

“Don’t call me stupid, and whoever I think is hot is really my business anyway, not yours.” You were starting to get annoyed again.

“Thinking Rafe Cameron is hot is stupid, y/n. He’s the enemy!” He whispered harshly back at you. Your eyes flickered toward Sarah to make sure she hadn’t heard him. “Maybe Kie would have been better at this plan.”

Your jaw dropped, and before you could think better of it you punched him in the arm as hard as you can, a satisfied smile gracing your features when he whined. “Stop being a dick, you’re supposed to be my best friend.”

“As your best friend, I’m just looking out for you,” he grumbled, rubbing his arm where you hit him.

“I’m a big girl, J, I can take care of myself.” You replied.

“Can you two lovebirds stop arguing?” John B called from across the living room, earning a distasteful glare from JJ.

Your stomach dropped at the disgust you thought you saw in JJ’s eyes, but you were saved from any self-deprecating thoughts by your phone buzzing in your pocket.

unknown number: hey

unknown number: shit sorry this is rafe, sarah gave me your number

“Well that didn’t take long,” you whispered to JJ, pretending like your earlier conversation didn’t exist. You shoved your phone in his face, smiling a little when he grabbed your wrist to pull back your phone so that he could read.

“You’ve got him right where we want him,” he replied back, not nearly as excited as you thought he would be.

“Do you still want to continue with this?” You asked softly, hoping he would call the whole thing off because you didn’t think you had the courage to tell him you weren’t sure you could do it.

“Of course, I didn’t waste my entire Sunday coming up with the rules for nothing,” he replies back, with a bit more life to him. 

Looking at him warily, your thumbs hesitated over the keyboard of your phone, you didn’t know how to respond, should you go with flirty? Disinterested? Sighing you eventually just gave up and replied simply:

you: hey

rafe cameron: are you busy later?

Scrunching your nose up at the text, you wondered if this was his lame attempt at a booty call or something.

you: depends what time

rafe cameron: i’ll pick you up at 7, text me your address

You weren’t sure if you should show JJ the message, it’s not that you were thinking about hiding it from him, you just didn’t want him to go off on you again. When JJ’s upset with you, it’s truly exhausting. That thought reminds you of how angry he was last time when you didn’t ‘keep him in the loop’ or whatever, so you turn your phone to him again. You nibbled on your bottom lip, watching his eyes read the message. His stare flickered to your face, vague of any emotion. 

“It’s six now, you better go,” he whispered to you, not wanting to let the others hear him. 

“But we’re watching the movie,” your brows furrowed close together. 

“Rafe Cameron wants to take you on a date, I wouldn’t keep him waiting,” when the words left JJ’s mouth, he turned his focus back to the small television in John B’s living room and that was the end of the conversation. Sighing, you resisted the urge to roll your eyes to heaven, and stood up from the couch, allowing the blanket to fall from your knees to the floor, earning the attention of Kie.

“Where ya going?” she hissed, wrapping her fingers around your wrist. 

“I have a hot date,” you stuck your tongue out, climbing over Pope’s legs that were spread across the floor. You ignored your friends’ questions, knowing JJ would fill them in once Sarah left the room, you didn’t want to disclose in front of her that you were going on a date with her brother, with the aim of breaking his heart. 

Standing in front of your closet, it occurred to you that you didn’t know what to wear on a date with a kook. For some reason, you didn’t think ripped cut-off jean shorts and an off-the-shoulder crop top would be the most appropriate. Sighing you wondered why you were so concerned at all, it’s not like this was an actual date with a guy you were actually interested in. Rafe Cameron’s good qualities started and ended with his appearance. Finally deciding on a simple sundress, you figured you wouldn’t look too out of place wherever he ended up taking you. You took the time to braid your hair and throw on a little makeup, not wanting to look like you tried too hard.

You had finished getting ready right about the time your phone buzzed with a text from Rafe letting you know he was there. Shaking the nerves off, you quickly answered the door, feeling more than a little subconscious as his eyes took in the modest state of your home. You weren’t the poorest of the poor in the cut, but you knew your entryway couldn’t even possibly begin to compare to that of Tannyhill. 

“Hey,” you said simply, twisting your wrists nervously as his critical glare fell on you, eyes slowly roaming your figure up and down.

“Hey,” he parroted back, moving to follow you as you led him out the front door and locked it behind you. 

“So, where are we going tonight?” you hummed, stepping down off your porch and following Rafe to his truck. “Let me guess, some fancy expensive restaurant on the coast.”

Rafe looked over his shoulder at you, a smirk resting on his lips, “You’re not that lucky” he teased, absentmindedly reaching back to clasp your hands together. He’s been longing to touch you since he last saw you, and the electricity from your touch sent him soaring. 

Your heart beat a little bit faster in your chest, unwelcome thoughts betraying you again as his larger hand engulfed yours. Biting your lip, you let him lead you to the truck before he opened the door for you and helped you make the step up inside. You took a moment to collect your thoughts, eyes scanning the few belongings inside. There was gum in one of the cupholders, a blue iphone cord attached to the media center. You caught a glimpse of a photograph tucked into the sunvisor of the driver side and wondered briefly who would be contained within it. 

As he entered the other side of the truck, it occurred to you that the interior smelled like him, a distinct mix of laundry detergent and something you could only describe as soothing. As he started the truck, his last spotify playlist started to play and you smiled a little bit at his eclectic taste in music.

“You gonna rip on me for my playlist?” he asked, a ghost of a smile on his face as he took in your reaction. 

You mimed zipping your lips, “my lips are sealed.” He chuckled, throwing the truck into reverse and driving off. You sat in silence for a while before it began to feel awkward, “So if we’re not going to some fancy restaurant, where are you taking me? McDonalds?”

He laughed out loud this time, “Do I look like the kind of guy that takes a girl on a first date to McDonalds?” 

You pretended to think before shrugging, “I dunno, I don’t know what you’re into.” 

“You could find out,” he smirked at you and you were grateful his attention was on the road rather than your facial expression as it took you a solid five seconds to recover from his remark. Willing the intrusive thoughts away again, you had to keep reminding yourself that you were talking to Rafe Cameron, public enemy numero uno, and you were on a mission to break his heart. 

“You’re not gonna tell me, are you?” You asked, ignoring his remark. 

He shook his head and replied, “nope,” lips making a popping sound as he enunciated the ‘p’. You just huffed and sat back in your seat arms crossed. Looking out the window, you didn’t like surprises ordinarily, and you especially didn’t think you’d enjoy a surprise from Rafe. You were half certain he was going to kill you and dump your body in the woods somewhere.

Rafe took the opportunity to look at you as you pouted slightly, eyes focused on the blurring landscape out the passenger side window. He couldn’t explain why he was suddenly so drawn to you, sure he’d always thought you were attractive, and he loved to use you to get under Maybank’s skin, but he’d never thought about you the way he was now. Truthfully he always thought you and JJ had some sort of thing going on, that was why he had picked at that thread so often when it came to the pogues. And now, you were in his truck and going on a date with him. You, a pogue. He almost thought it was too easy to get you to agree to go out with him, wondered if it was some kind of trick, but he didn’t think you were the type of person to do that.

It didn’t take much longer to arrive at your destination, and you were confused when you stopped in some random field, Rafe having backed his truck up to where a sheet was pinned between two trees. 

“What? What’s going on here?” You asked him confusedly, a little worried that he was actually planning on murdering you, and was going to roll your body up in the sheet or something. 

He just chuckled at your expression, telling you to ‘stay put’, and you watched as he went to the back and rolled up the truck bed cover. You tried to crane your neck to see whether he was grabbing his murder toolkit, but you couldn’t quite see from your position. You waited another few seconds, seeing only his face and broad shoulders in the rearview mirror as he moved things about in the back of the truck. Finally, he appeared on the other side of your door and opened it for you, offering you a hand and helping you out.

As he led you to the back, you gasped seeing the back of the truck outfitted with what looked to be a very soft comforter and a few fluffy pillows. At one end of the truck bed sat a yeti cooler, filled with what looked like pop and snacks. It was then that you also spotted the mini projector and your mind put two and two together, realizing Rafe had put together a little drive in movie for just the two of you.

“Did you do all this for me?” You asked softly, brain trying and failing to reconcile the Rafe who would put this all together with the Rafe who had literally just beat your friends to a pulp and spoke about you so vulgarly.

“Well I actually did it for another girl, but she cancelled and you were next on my list,” he sassed back, causing a small smile to cross your face. This time you didn’t have to pull on some happy memory in order to fake it, the smile happened all on its own. “C’mon I’ll help you up,” he offered you his arm.

“Don’t you dare look up my dress,” you warned him, taking his arm and allowing him to help you up into the bed of his truck. His other hand lingered on your waist as he assisted you. You situated yourself against the pillows, watching him dig around in the cooler before tossing you a pop and a bag of maltesers. Your grin widened at the sight of the red bag, before you looked back at him asking, “how did you know maltesers was my movie snack?”

“A little bird,” he shrugged, and you realized it had to have been Sarah. The thought gave you a little guilt as you remembered her suspicious gaze and realized she was right to be suspicious of you. 

Settling in beside you with his own pop and snack, he sat close enough that you could almost feel his warmth, but not close enough to actually touch you. After he pressed a couple of buttons on his phone, the familiar beginning of the Little Mermaid began to project on the screen 

You couldn't believe that Sarah had remembered your argument with the pogues over which Disney movie was the best, and even more than that you couldn't believe that Rafe had asked her about it. You just blinked stupidly at him, and he responded with a small smile at your dumbfounded look.

As the movie played, you found yourself shifting closer until you were resting against his side, your head on his shoulder. He didn’t make a single move the entire movie, his arm just awkwardly laying there, and you had to admit you were surprised. Based on the way he acted and the way he spoke, you had assumed he would have been pushing the limits throughout the entire movie, but he had been nothing but respectful. Again you were feeling uncertain about whether you could actually go through with this plan, but a different pair of blue eyes, those belonging to your best friend, appeared in your mind and you remembered how they had looked with one swollen almost shut.

Deciding to up the charm a little, you poked him and whispered, “you can put your arm around me, I won’t bite... unless you ask me too.” His laugh was slightly strangled as he shifted his arm to wrap comfortably around his shoulders.

During the scene where Ariel and Eric are on the boat as Sebastian and the other sea creatures serenade the two of them to the tune of “Kiss the Girl” you noticed Rafe out of your peripheral vision watching your reaction and occasionally dropping his gaze to your lips. Feeling a surge of confidence, you lifted your head from his shoulder and pressed your lips to his briefly. It felt like nothing ever had before, electric and sweet. As you pulled away, you witnessed his eyes remain shut and, smirking softly to yourself, you laid your head back down against his shoulder.

After the movie was over, he helped you get down and drove you back home before walking you to your door. “I had a good time tonight,” you said shyly, looking up at Rafe through your eyelashes. His taller figure engulfed your own as he grabbed your waist and pressed your lips together as you had done during the movie. Lost in the kiss, you wrapped your arms around his neck, leaning up on the tips of your toes to deepen it. His body pressed you into your own front door as he began to trail kisses down towards your neck, nudging your jaw with his nose to push your head to the side and allow him to suck a bruising mark on the juncture of your shoulder. 

Who were you and what were you doing right now? That was Rafe Cameron pressing you into the door and claiming your lips with his. You hated him so much, didn’t you? But your body was betraying you, leaning into his hot touch and kiss. 

Gasping, you pushed him away from you, the physical distance allowing your clouded thoughts to part and reason to break through. Breathing heavily and heart racing in your chest, you briefly pressed a kiss to his cheek and whispered, “goodnight,” before slipping into your house and pressing your back against the door. Thirty seconds passed and you realized enemy status be damned, you were attracted to Rafe Cameron and you didn’t want the night to end yet.

Throwing open the door, prepared to chase after him, you were surprised to find him leaning against your door frame, body weight held up by his thick arm. Smirking cockily at you for a moment, you just stood there and stared.

“I-”. Before you were able to get a word out, he was wrapping an arm around your waist and pushing you into your house. You let him lead you in, pressing you against the door to shut it behind you, and kissing you with a passion you hadn’t felt before. You made out like this for a few minutes, bodies pressed flush together, tongues exploring each other's mouths before you lightly shoved him and pushed yourself off the door. 

Reconnecting your lips again, you let your hands wander his body, stopping to squeeze his ass the way you had been day dreaming of that day on the golf course. Chuckling a little into the kiss, he responded by squeezing your left breast before trailing his hand down to grip your waist. You began to walk backwards, leading him to your room without ever breaking the kiss.

You squealed as he tossed you onto your own bed, before his warm body covered your own on top of the comforter. His arm wrapped around your back, lifting your body forward so that your head fell back against your pillows. Your hand wrapped around the back of his neck, pulling him down for another passionate kiss. His hand gripped the bottom of your sundress, slowly pushing the material up your body and caressing the skin he revealed beneath. Your own hands made quick work of the buttons on his button down before sliding under the material to push it off his chest. 

You weren’t thinking of the plan, or the implications of your actions, or even the reactions of your best friends as you let him rid you of your clothes, hands and mouth touching and tasting you everywhere. You didn’t think of the look that would inevitably cross JJ’s face as Rafe entered you slowly, groaning lowly above you at the sensation. You didn’t even think about how this was probably just Rafe’s endgame to his earlier flirtations - an attempt to bed you and he was successful. No, instead you spent the night thinking about how good Rafe Cameron was making you feel, damn everything else.

Tag list: htbah taglist (link to add yourself to the google form in the series masterlist!): @solllaris @drewswannabegirl @starrystarkey93 @httpstarkey @sweetlysilent @drewstarkey @dontjinx-it @ultranikilove @spencereidbasis @meaganjm @starlightstarkey @thortheestallion @jiaraendgame @idocarealot @tempestuousjj @pink-meringues @dpaccione @arianabrashierstuff @softstarkey @loveylangdon @xenagzb @teenwaywardasgardian @prejudic3 @nxsmss @canibeoneofthepogues @outerbanksbro @obx-direction-sos @nqbmf @digniteas @annedub @colorful-queen-of-the-roses @yesp0ny @loveniallandharryonedirection @fantasticpsychicfanfish @girls-breaking-hearts @beautyandthebleh @casper17 @mozz-are-lla @parkershoco @unfortunatekiwitrash @loverofmineluke @slutforjjmaybank @skiesofthesketchy @httpstarkey @sugarcoatedcalum @amorisxx @trinnwazheree @stargazingstarkey @obx-saltlife @juliarose21​ @hyperactive2411​ @sophiesshitshow @mcarignan​ @pizzapizza-Kira

rodeo rafe babies who said they were interested:

@royalmerchant​ @outerbankslut​ @honeyycheek​ @jellyfishbeansontoast​ @ilovejjmaybank​ @kindahavefeelingskindaheartless​ @girlsru1eboysdroo1​ @https-luna​ @butgilinsky​ @rae131415​

diverdcwn everything taglist:

@velyssaraptor​ @danicarosaline​ @copper-boom​ @x-lulu​ @prejudic3​ @downbytheouterbanks​ @ilovejjmaybank​ @bricksatanakinswindow​ @jellyfishbeansontoast​ @sunwardsss​ @rudyypankow​ @im-a-stranger-thing​ @alexa-playafricabytoto​ @maybankfullkook​ @sortagaysortahigh​ @socialwriter​ @bluesiderudy​ @anxietyandtacos​ @diverrdown​ @stargazingstarkey​

(if the tags dont work again im deactivating)

[ofpd]

trc . i’ve never read it i just want to listen to thoughts on it…

ok so i got this ask & i was like “oh i'll use this as motivation to finally finish the series” and it still took like a week. anyway,

favorite character

gansey beloved.... i <3 rich white boys who r also gay & neurodivergent & a minor and also so wonderful & lovely

second favorite character

adam parrish my overthinking paranoid self-hating insane bisexual king ...

least favorite character

this is a hard question bc like character who is the worst person? character i think is the most poorly written? im gonna go w that one teacher who told blue to pick reach schools & match schools & safety schools for college apps bc that scene gave war flashbacks

character i'm most like

not to be too much of an on-brand sokkakin but.. adam i think.

favorite pairing

ok well bluesey & pynch both wonderful of course but the one that really surprised me w how much i like it is chengsey bc u know how i don't like it when ppl ship teen boys just bc theyre teen boys but this teenboy ship is actually good? like be afraid and happy that's literally it that's what it's all about... also there were some scenes where i was like. there's no way the author didn't know this was gay. i mean obv like gansey & henry & blue all have 2 hands but the gansey/henry aspect of sarchengsey was surprisingly amazing for me

least favorite pairing

shipping is weird w this bc i kinda ship everyone? like not really in a “shipping” way even i just think their friendships are like. gay friendships they're friends but in a way where they're gay for each other even if it's not “romantic” necessarily if that makes sense. but that being said the fact that there are people who r legit into blue/adam is v weird to me

favorite moment

hmm probably the whole part where they're all at the barns in trk and just being together and all being so in love w each other <333333

rating out of 10

im gonna say 8.5/10. i really liked it but i don't think it'll be like a fave books of all time and it sometimes was difficult for it to keep my attention. but when i did get around to reading it i loved it.

[thisdancingheart]

Remember YFIP?

My Year of Grief and Cancellation

What was I trying to accomplish with my anonymous Tumblr?

By Liat Kaplan Feb. 25, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ET https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/25/style/your-fave-is-problematic-tumblr.html

If you were on Tumblr in the early 2010s, you may remember a blog called Your Fave Is Problematic. If not, its content should still sound familiar to you. The posts contained long lists of celebrities’ regrettable (racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, ethnophobic, ableist and so on) statements and actions — the stuff that gets people canceled these days.

That blog was my blog. I spent hours researching each post; as you can probably imagine, my search history was pretty ugly.

Your Fave Is Problematic had around 50,000 followers at its peak, in 2014, when I was a high school senior, but its influence was outsized. I got in a feud with a prominent young adult fiction author over his inclusion. One actor submitted himself, perhaps as a dare (or a plea) to dig up his worst. “Problematic fave” became a well-worn meme; even after I stopped posting, my blog was cited in books, articles, podcasts and think pieces. Through it all, my identity stayed private.

The blog started, as so many anonymous online projects do, as vengeful public shaming masquerading as social criticism. I was fine-tuning my moral compass and coming into my own as a feminist. So when I noticed classmates making sexist jokes on Facebook, including some about me, I started taking screenshots to post on a Tumblr called Calling Out Sexists. My policy was that I would take down a post only if its author publicly apologized.

A group of students brought the blog to the attention of our school’s administrators, who threatened to take legal action if I continued to write about them. Meanwhile, other Tumblr users had begun submitting screenshots featuring statements from minor celebrities. With graduation hanging in the balance, I shifted my focus away from my peers and toward public figures. I rebranded. Money and fame had protected them since time immemorial. What harm could my little blog do?

So I posted photos of Lady Gaga in V magazine with her skin bronzed to an unnatural brown. I pulled out troubling quotes from an essay Lena Dunham had written about a trip to Japan. I noted Taylor Swift’s since-changed homophobic lyric in “Picture to Burn.” My most popular posts tended to be about women — which makes sense, because the celebrity press tends to be more critical of them.

As it turned out, I had bigger things to worry about than dissecting the careers of celebrities I’d never met. On a winter morning, I woke up to the news that my older sister, Tamar, who was studying in Bolivia, had been in a bus crash, and the outlook was not good. I pored over research to escape from what felt like an impossible situation: my sister slowly dying of treatable injuries in a rural area thousands of miles away.

We held a public memorial service for Tamar in our hometown. Some of my classmates showed up, including a few who had written nasty things about me online. I found their shows of kindness insulting now, during what was quickly becoming the worst year of my life.

I tried going back to school after a few weeks, but I found myself picking frequent arguments with classmates and teachers. The school made an arrangement with my parents: I would be placed on “medical leave” for the remainder of the semester. I would graduate on time, but I wouldn’t return to campus.

Stuck at home, I devoted myself to Tumblr. What was I trying to accomplish? Mostly, I was interested in knocking people off their pedestals. I also enjoyed being popular, controversial, discussed. When a comedian I had posted about name-checked my blog on Twitter, I was giddy.

Then I started receiving threats. Someone sent me a screenshot of a house from Google Maps, claiming to have found my IP address. It wasn’t my house, but still. I realized that for every person on Tumblr who looked up to my blog, there were many more, online and offline, who hated it — and me. I started posting less and, eventually, stopped posting at all.

In the years since, I’ve looked back on my blog with shame and regret — about my pettiness, my motivating rage, my hard-and-fast assumptions that people were either good or bad. Who was I to lump together known misogynists with people who got tattoos in languages they didn’t speak? I just wanted to see someone face consequences; no one who’d hurt me ever had.

There’s something almost quaint about it all now: teenage me, teaching myself about social justice on Tumblr while also posturing as an authority on that very subject, thinking I was making a difference while engaging in a bit of schadenfreude. Meanwhile, other movements — local, global, unified in their purposes and rooted in progressive philosophies — were organizing for actual justice. Looking back, I was more of a cop than a social justice warrior, as people on Tumblr had come to think of me.

These days, there’s no shortage of online accountability efforts, the large part of them anonymously run. Some accounts post typically anodyne but occasionally explosive celebrity gossip. Others are explicitly aimed at naming, shaming and punishing people for all kinds of actions and missteps. My own work fell somewhere in the middle, I think; the information I posted was out in the open, but I was cataloging it to make a case against the veneration of the rich and famous.

As many have noted, the coronavirus pandemic has pronounced the distance between celebrities and the rest of us. And their actions have been subject to greater scrutiny — the vacations they’ve gone on, the parties they’ve held, the access they’ve had to testing and care during a health crisis that has taken millions of lives.

But celebrity culture began to crumble long before Covid-19. Mounting accusations of many kinds, whispered between industry professionals, had become too loud to ignore. Social media, which gave celebrities more control over their images and influence over their fans, also opened them up to new kinds of criticism. People have lost jobs and entire careers because of the kinds of errors my blog cited. Others have apologized for work and behavior that, re-examined in a contemporary context, just doesn’t hold up.

For years, I’ve regretted the spotlight I put on other people’s mistakes, as if one day I wouldn’t make plenty of my own. There can be an unsparing purity to growing into one’s social conscience that is often overbroad.

My brain wasn’t ready for nuance. I was angered by hypocrisy and cruelty; what I did about it was apply a level of scrutiny that left no room for error. I’m not saying that I should be canceled for my teenage blog. (Please don't!) I just know what we all should know by now: that no one who has lived publicly, online or off, has a spotless record.

For these reasons, I’ve thought about deleting my Tumblr. But doing that would mean erasing my own errors of judgment. I almost feel like I need to leave it up to punish myself for having made it in the first place. That, and I know someone could (and probably would) just pull it up on Wayback Machine. The internet, after all, never forgets.

~~~~~~~

[mcfiddlestan]

Fic Writer Questions

I'm bored and this was in a note on my phone from forever ago, so I must have been tagged at some point. Apologies to whoever tagged me. 🥴

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

52. Though, I used to have a few more. I deleted a few fics some years ago bc I hated that they were just sitting there unfinished. I was going through a particularly brutal bout of writer's block that affected both my fic writing and my RP writing.

2) What's your total AO3 word count?

720,782. And I was stressing about a 30-page thesis. 😂 (which ended up being over 15,000 words)

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

I started writing fic in 2000 with *NSYNC, Christina Aguilera, and Backstreet Boys fics. I stopped writing a bit around 2004-2007 (because of a stupid boy) and picked it up again in 2012 after reading some awesome Cherik fics and wanting to write my own FrostIron College AU when I read one that was good, but kind of disturbing. I think I write for one fandom -- Marvel -- but, like different factions of it. FrostIron and WinterFrost mostly, with a dash of Stucky, ThunderFrost, DashingFrost, and WinterIron.

4) What are your Top 5 fics by kudos?

Black Light Special (WinterFrost) - 628 kudos

Can I Bum A Ride? (WinterFrost) - 425 kudos

Empire State of Mind (FrostIrom) - 420 kudos

Dark Side (FrostIron) - 398 kudos

A Worthy Collection (FrostIron) - 309 kudos

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

I really do make an effort to respond to every single comment, even the not-so-nice ones. I want people to know I've seen and read the comment they took the time to post, so even if I just thank them for reading and commenting, I respond.

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

Considering it features two -- count 'em, two! -- major character deaths, it's definitely Empire State of Mind. Though, I'd argue Dark Side is a pretty close second.

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

Probably Ghosts That We Knew. It was the final fic in the trilogy that is the Picture Perfect Series. It follows Loki and Tony from when they meet in college and ends 30+ years later.

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

No, not really. And I rarely, if ever, read them. There's no real reason behind it other than I've just never come upon one and thought "ooh I need to read that."

9) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yes. I got a lot of hateful messages after I completed Empire State of Mind. People were really angry at me for killing off two major characters. I mean, a lot of the messages were "omg I hate you but I loved this!" kind of vibe. But there were a few that cussed me out and called me names for writing it.

I had some chapters of a Fools Rush In FrostIron AU posted a while ago, in which Loki was a female, the only daughter in both the Odinson and Laufeyson families. Following the storyline of the Matthew Perry/Salma Hayek movie, Loki meets Tony Stark in a bar and gets pregnant from a one night stand. Anyway, I got a lot of messages telling me that Odin's misogyny and mistreatment of Loki was unrealistic -- even though I had literally modeled his behavior after the movie that inspired it. 🤷🏽

I have some prompts done for the 100 Ways to Say ILY writer's block challenge and for one of them, I borrowed the storyline from an episode of Will & Grace when Will's father dies of a heart attack after they have a bad argument where his father basically admits he wished Will wasn't gay so he could have had an easier life. In the epsiode, the fight starts because Will's parents gift his baby blanket to Grace, who is pregnant with her ex-husband's child. Will takes offense, they don't understand why bc he never mentioned wanting children, and a fight ensues. Similarly, in my fic, Frigga and Odin offer a pregnant Natasha (his BFF) Loki's blanket. Some readers did not like this and did not understand why I would write it. In another prompt, one that was literally how my last relationship ended, got some harsh critiques. Those ones hurt especially bc it was such a personal experience I wrote about.

And I actually got into a fight -- like a screaming match -- IRL with my best friend's boyfriend at the time. One of my bestie's friends asked about my fanfiction and I gave them the gist of one of my stories where Loki has a brief relationship with Sif that results in a child and later reconnects with Tony. Later on, Sif offers to be a surrogate for Tony and Loki and eventually births three more children for them. Bestie's boyfriend could not fathom why a woman would purposely get herself impregnated and then give the child away. I tried to explain that this was a thing that a lot of women did IRL -- and some don't even use their own eggs, but the eggs of a woman who cannot conceive; Sif used her own eggs so that all four children were half related (two by Loki, two by Tony). But he just did not believe me and told me I must not be a very good writer. Worst night of my life.

10) Do you write smut?

I was just telling @teadrinkingwolfgirl the other night how when I first started writing fic I did not write sex scenes. It was always inferred or glossed over. When I started writing again in 2012, for FrostIron, it was my first time writing more detailed sex. I cite Jackie Collins as my smut-writing mentor. I've written almost exclusively M/M smut.

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Which is like the best thing ever! A couple of my older fics have been translated to Russian. I have one *NSYNC fic that was made into an audio fic. And someone recently messaged me on ff*net to ask to translate as many of my fics as they can to Spanish. :D

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

No, not technically. I've gotten a lot of prompts and ideas from friends and mutuals, and I started reformatting my WinterFrost RP with my ex from 2014-2015 into novel form a while ago. That's tecnically the only thing I've written with someone else and published.

14) What's your all time favorite ship?

I have two that will always, ALWAYS, have my heart and attention. FrostIron (Tony Stark/Loki) and WinterFrost (Bucky Barnes/Loki). They are the two ships that I write the most, read the most, and seek out fanart for the most.

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

Probably The Flame. It's a fic that starts out ThunderFrost (not related; Asgardian Prince Thor semi-rescues an imprisoned Jotun Prince Loki) but eventually ends up FrostIron. It's the only fic I've ever written that features Loki with both male and female biology. I have a few chapters done but I haven't worked on it in years.

16) What are your writing strengths?

I like to think I write realistic relationships. And I think my dialogue is also realistic and easy to grasp. And I put a lot of humor in between all the angst and hurt.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

I think I get too detailed with background. I just reread my Picture Perfect series (which I do like once a year), and there are literal paragraphs of background that in Google Docs is like pages and pages. But I want to make sure people understand my characters! LOL

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

I'm a big fan of it. I featured a lot of Norwegian in the Picture Perfect series. And French. I think as long as it flows with the storytelling and it's not forced on the characters it can be really cool. It should be natural. I always leave a translation list at the end of the chapter or explain in-text what was said. Which I think most authors I've read do.

19) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

The Backstreet Boys. LOL. Don't judge. I started writing my own fics after discovering BSB fanfiction written by an author named Mistress Lynz. She wrote a lot of fics about bloodletting, but I really enjoyed the fics where the guys were hooking up with each other behind the scenes, LOL explains why I write mostly M/M now. 😂

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

They're kind of like my babies so at different times different ones are my faves. But if I really had to pick one, I would say Stay With Me is my favorite. I got some of the most amazing comments on this story from people that found meaning and themes in the story that I didn't even realize I'd put in there. It was one of my first WinterFrost fics I'd posted and the response was more than I could have asked for.

And now I have to tag people! @teadrinkingwolfgirl @incredifishface @incubigirl @rabentochter @marvelswinterfrost and whoever else feels up to it.

xoxo

[sofreddie]

Friday Feature: April 16, 2021

Welcome to Feature Friday, where every Friday I feature a different Fanfic Writer’s blog. This week’s Feature Blog is:

Link to Masterlist.

About the Author:

Hi all! I’m Saxxy, I’m 22, and I am a mixed, multi-tribal Indigenous gal living in Los Angeles. I’ve been writing for about 5 years, mainly for Supernatural, but last year I started writing for Marvel as well. I’m also a theatre major currently in community college.

Other info and plugs: I have hundreds of fics, NSFW drabbles, and series chapters on my Patreon. My lowest tier is just $3 a month, and you can gain access to all exclusive work on a month-to-month basis. You can follow/support my Etsy shops @scentsfromthebunker and @infinitybeads.

Saxxxy’s Fave Personal Fics:

What Goes Bump in the Night (series) - Alpha!Sam Winchester x Omega!Reader (Victorian!AU)

Summary: New York City, 1888: Omegas are considered a commodity, existing only to be sold to Alphas to continue their bloodlines, danger lurks in the alleyways of New York City, and Sam, who has recently acquired an Omega, finds himself torn between his life’s work, the “Family Business,” and loving the girl he never wanted.

Why Saxxy likes this fic:

I like this story because it takes place in one of my favorite eras. I wasn’t sure it would take off or be as well liked as it is, but out of all my works posted to Tumblr, it’s the only one receiving constant attention regardless of how long it’s been since it was written.

For Everyone to See - Soulless!Sam x Reader

Summary: Sam’s bored, and you’re his only source of entertainment.

Why Saxxxy likes this fic:

This story is just straight up filth for me and it’s got a little something for everybody who likes things rough without them being dark. I also just love Soulless!Sam and I indulge in him whenever I can.

Cosmo Says... (series) - Sam Winchester x Reader, Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: It all starts with a subscription to COSMO…

Why Saxxxy likes this fic:

I like this series because it was my first time openly writing a Winchester-duo relationship with the reader. I also never gave Dean much attention and it was honestly therapeutic to be able to write him the way I want to see him. This series did really well on patreon, but when I started posting it to Tumblr, reader engagement was super low, so while a few chapters are posted on Tumblr, the rest of the series is only available on Patreon.

Saxxxy’s Fic Recommendations:

Call Out My Name by @whitestarbucky - Steve Rogers x Native American!Reader

Summary: To Steve, you would always be his attractive ex-roommate that he happens to work with. The sex was just an added bonus. Until feelings started to build. His feelings. Not to be the one to push those feelings on you, he dedicated himself to burying them. Forever dwelling in this unrequited love. Unless, maybe, it wasn’t so unrequited after all?

Why Saxxxy likes this fic:

Riley is just a phenomenal writer and the fact that she wrote a Native American!Reader just made my heart explode. Indigenous fic writers are hard to find, even in a place where writers of color are boosted, so it felt really good to have a piece with one of my favorite fictional characters paired with a reader that I can identify with. Riley’s fic is also inclusive to any Indigenous background, which as a mixed, multi-tribal Native, made me really happy!

6 AM by @nacho-bucky - Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Bucky tackles some post-mission messes and chaos.

Why Saxxxy likes this fic:

I love this story because we get to see some of the craziness in Bucky’s life when he’s a father. It’s very sweet and fluffy and exactly what I’d expect if we saw this onscreen.

One More For Luck by @kittenofdoomage - Sam Winchester x Reader

Summary: He knows exactly how to get you going again.

Why Saxxxy likes this fic:

I love Sam, and I love Rhi, and I love smut. Rhi writes some of the most delicious smut out there, and I’m always on her Sam Winchester fics the second I see them posted.

Thank you for checking out this week’s Friday Feature. Be sure to check out Saxxxy’s blog, follow, send asks, go crazy! Check out all the fics linked and be sure to REBLOG and COMMENT!

Authors love to know what you think about their work - not just praise, but constructive criticism as well.

Constructive criticism is a helpful way of giving feedback that provides specific, actionable suggestions. Rather than providing general advice, constructive criticism gives specific recommendations on how to make positive improvements. Constructive criticism is clear, to the point and easy to put into action.

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[aclosetfan]

Sorry for the lack of content :/ (like I gave much anyway lmao) wanted to do stuff for WIP Wednesday, but I have writers block :/

so have my “character sheet” for Brick instead. I know, I know 🙄 another list of head canons, I’m sorry! Its not a hot take on his character, but I make him not Cool (tm). He doesn’t get a lot of dates lol. These are just vibes I try to give off when writing him. Some may look familiar!! I’ve posted about him before. Look under the cut:

- high intelligence, low wisdom, high drama

- has difficulty making friends b/c he’s too smart for his own good and is a rather intimidating arrogant asshole about it

- most of the time he acts that way on purpose to keep people out because he’s the one with the most abandonment issues. He’s an expert at building emotional walls. but a low key part of him still doesn’t get why he isn’t good at making friends. He has a tendency to feel lonely

- does not help that he also has a tendency to come off as condescending. He talks down to people often. social filters do not come easy to him.

- his intelligence doesn’t transfer well into a good work ethic. Pretty lazy and would prefer to shrink off work onto other people. He’s smart enough to talk his way out of things. Another reason why it’s hard for him to make friends, he’s a lazy a-hole. But why work harder when you can work smarter??

- not good with authority figures. He stirs the pot and makes things Difficult (tm)

- not shy but introverted.

- tired, so very tired. The poor kid has been through a lot :/ so when he “goes good” he catches up on sleep. He can sleep a looong ass time. People are a lil worried but they let him rest

- sleeping is still a bad coping skill. And it’s not his only one. Smokes when stressed. Doesn’t eat when he feels like his life is spiraling out of control. And he’s feels that his life is often spiraling out of control. Energy drinks and coffee. If he does eat, he’s really just snacking.

- a skinny kid with a lanky build. Probably too skinny, it worries his brothers. I wouldn’t see him as conventionally attractive. Super freckled with stick straight red hair that’s never tamed or brushed. Just runs his fingers through, pulls into a pony tail, and slaps his hat on. For a kid who’s always sleeping, he’s got dark circles under his eyes.

- Brick (depressed nihilist), who after three days realizes he still needs water to survive, would absolutely take a shot of water from his dirty ass water bottle and go “haha self care.” And Butch (not depressed b/c endorphins—Cue Elle Woods from Legally Blonde), who’s protein diet consists of him drinking two gallons of fucking water each day, would scream.

- but it’s not all bad for lil Brick. If you like dry wit he’s your guy. And when he’s in a particularly good mood he’ll even make fun of himself for the laughs.

- wears crocs unironically. Pajamas to school kid. Like do y’all remember that one girl who went to your high school and always wore the Cookie Monster pajamas pants?? That’s Brick.

- very passionate about the things he cares about and well versed in a good handful of topics from political debates to his fave dorky tv show. He can get pretty animated and it’s in those moments that people see him for who he truly is. Walls come down and he’s a nerdy dork. (Has a wide toothy smile that lights up a room/ he does not like this)

- but if he catches himself having too much fun he pulls back. He doesn’t like the idea of people rejecting him before he can reject them. Despite all that, he’s still a sucker for positive attention even if it embarrasses him (which makes him turn bright red—which is cute, but don’t tell him that). Easily flattered and can be bribed

- Very mischievous. Likes puzzles and riddles. Mystery games are his favorite. He knows how to make a quick buck off of people. One of those kids that some how always has money in their wallet even though you swear he doesn’t work

- takes command of situations very well. His methods of leadership aren’t by the book. He’s Mojo and HIMs son, he’s got some flair in him so his plans almost seem uncoordinated. But there’s a method to his madness. There’s no plan A B or C, but there is a goal and Brick always accomplishes that goal. He’s a quick thinker and has an easy time adjusting to sudden changes, but he does gripe about it if the sudden changes are not of his own doing. (Leadership style is where he differs the most from Blossom//she’s NOT laid back enough at all)

- most at home with his brothers. They’re his favorite people and they see the more passionate, animated side of him most often. Most relaxed around them. They make him feel safe. He doesn’t like them being separated for too long. When they “go good” he feels confident they won’t reject him/leave him behind, but gets his feeling hurt that they’re making friends without him. Boomer and Butch are his security blankets. He needs their unconditional support and relies on Boomer socially and Butch physically. They’re probably the only two people alive who could tell him to stfu and he’d maybe listen. They are also both his favorite people to pick on (that’s how he shows love)!

- closest person outside his brothers is Blossom. They actually become close because they play off each other’s differences quite well. He reminds her to chill, she challenged him to be better. He also can just say things to her and she just gets it without further explanation (Vice versa), which they both find refreshing. He would consider her his best friend if he’s ever admit they were friends.

- He appreciates Buttercup for her sense of humor and courage. He’ll admit she’s pretty tough to beat. She doesn’t expect anything of him and that’s a relief b/c half the time he’s at a loss when it comes to being good. She’s a good anchor for him to have.

- Bubbles, on the other hand, makes zero sense to him, but they get along by picking on Boomer. Bubbles swears her and Brick are best friends (despite their bickering—she’s the optimism to his natural pessimism). This 1) flusters Brick b/c obviously she wants something from him 2) or she’s being genuine and that’s somehow worse.

To sum up Brick’s characterization, remember this pic:

[duchesschameleon]

Your top five (or ten of it’s easier) favorite characters and WHY you like them?

can I just say I LOVE this question? and there are so many more characters I could have used. but off the top of my head, here are my top 10 in no particular order! under a read more because I am long winded

hermione granger (harry potter)

okay, I was raised on hp and it still means a lot to me and shaped me into the person I am today, regardless of what the stupid author says. hermione was one of the first characters who really embraced and celebrated her smarts that I interacted with and I have ALWAYS wanted to be like her and aspired to be her. I’ve been hermione countless times for halloween and she was the first character I cosplayed. I love her and for that reason, she’s a fave

luna lovegood (harry potter)

the other hp character. because luna has always been unapologetically herself and didn’t care what others thought of her. it was luna who made me realize that I’m 100% a ravenclaw and her creativity and the way she sees the world has always amazed me and now I see or think of her and feel at home

percy jackson (percy jackson & the olympians)

I love percy so much because he is so freaking funny and also so damn loyal to his friends. his loyalty, the way he sticks by his friends, and the strength he finds from his friends has always been something I love and admire. not to mention, I just love his narration and how badass he is without screaming it from the rooftops

belle (beauty and the beast)

belle has always been my favorite disney princess. whether it was because of her brown hair (which didn’t actually match mine until I was seven but I digress) or her love of books that matched mine, I always loved her and always will. her sense of adventure, fairness, imagination, and determination keeps her cemented as my favorite

macey mchenry (gallagher girls)

macey is a feminine girl with a “couldn’t care less” attitude when she comes to gallagher. by the end of the series, she’s a fully fledged badass who cares about her friends and the people she loves. macey still enjoys makeup and traditionally “girly” things but now with the love and support of her friends, she’s become more and she is self confident in a healthier way. macey’s growth is amazing and it makes her one of my favorite characters in the series. she isn’t born into this business, she didn’t start at gallagher at 12 like everyone else, but with support and nurture and people paying attention to her she can do so much awesome stuff. and I love that so much.

auden west (along for the ride)

along for the ride is my favorite sarah dessen book and a large part of this is auden. shockingly, she’s another bookish girl who grew up quickly, is incredibly smart, and lacks social skills. I have a pattern and type, I know. but I met auden when I was in high school and seeing how auden was able to merge two parts of her life, the book smart overachiever and the social life she started to gain in colby with eli, gave me hope and was so fun to watch auden experience her childhood and see how people can change right as she finished high school. I’m probably explaining this poorly, but auden’s growth and transformation and her transition to college has given me so much hope and her story will always have a special place in my heart.

phillipe de clermont (all souls trilogy)

a true family man, a planner, a strategist, a hilarious man. phillipe is here because I just love him so much. I don’t see myself in him, I only tangentially relate to him in that family means a lot to me, but I love this man as a character and he will always be one of my favorites in the all souls world

samwise gamgee (lord of the rings)

samwise gamgee is just the best man. he wants to live in the shire, marry rosie cotton, and take care of a garden. what a life, what a man. samwise is just so great and arguably, the true hero of lotr. frodo is great and definitely the hero, but we all know frodo doesn’t destroy the ring without sam. sam’s loyalty and how much he cares about frodo is just the best and I love him SO MUCH

nathan scott (one tree hill)

local man simps for his wife. that is nathan scott from mid s1-end of the show. nathan loves haley and once he realizes he actually likes her, he changes so much. a large part nathan makes this list is because of his AMAZING character growth and how much it is organic and makes sense and it sticks. he doesn’t fake anything just to get with haley, he really does change and become a better man and I love it so much. and he’s just…he’s got a good head on his shoulders and he’s amazing. and he’s proof that who your parents are or how they act doesn’t necessarily mean you will be like them. nathan is one of the best people despite the tire fires his parents are. and I could go on and on about this man and why he is one of the best people in the world. nathan scott is the best scott. always and forever.

brooke davis (one tree hill)

for how shitty the one tree hill show runners were, they wrote two great characters in brooke and nathan. brooke goes from bitchy cheerleader to amazing woman with true depth, morals, and heart. she’s incredible and so strong and takes zero shit from anyone. brooke knows who she is and she lives her life the way she wants to, she doesn’t care what others say. she doesn’t care what is being done in the fashion industry, she will not have size zero models. she is amazing and incredible and filled with so much depth and love and humor and I love her so much. she’s amazing.

ahhhhhh thank you so much for this question!!!!! I loved this!!!

[gffa]

I was talking with @himboskywalker​ about Tolkien and fandom and fic, because I’m always curious where people’s “area” of the wider Legendarium are at, whether they’re a fan of the Dwarves or the Humans or the Elves or the Valar or what!  (As a surprise to absolutely no one, the Elves are where my heart is at, where I very much love the Noldor, but if you give me a choice I’m going to run over to that Sindar-centric fic every time.) Which got us onto the topic of fic recs, where, yes, I’ve done a LOT of Tolkien fic recs but I tend to read something of a wide variety and this is a list specifically aimed at those who are familiar with the wider Tolkien world, but haven’t really read much fic and want to know where to start! Other Recs First: - If you haven’t gotten further into Tolkien’s work (like say beyond the movies), I’ve done something of a primer here, which includes fic recs and brief explanations and links to videos that help explain some things.  It’s not as hard as it seems to get involved, honest! - Some other fic recs here, as an addition to the above. - My Tolkien blog (which I haven’t been on in awhile, though, I haven’t let it go in my heart yet) has, I’m not kidding, A LOT of fic recs, I did recs regularly for about three years, so it’s almost as massive as my collection of SW recs. If I Could Only Pick Three To Start You With: ✦ And What Happened After by thearrogantemu - This is the fic that took me from enjoying the Silm characters to diving face-first into really loving them, because it wove such an engaging story about the characters sailing to Aman at the end of LOTR, where various characters you wouldn’t think interacting would be as meaningful as they are, but the fic absolutely sells them on it.  Frodo and Feanor having a conversation about language?  Sam and Maglor sharing a boat to the West?  These things are amazing, as this is a fic about healing and what it means to sail into the Undying Lands.  Also, it has a Feanor and Fingolfin reunion that literally put tears in my eyes. ✦ Interrupted Journeys by ellisk - I’m generally not someone who does a lot of rereading of fic just because I have so many new ones to get to, but I’ve read my favorites in this series (parts 3 to 5 are my sweet spot especially) probably four times through now because “Elfling Legolas growing up in Greenwod with a whole cast of characters around him, as the Shadow so very, very slowly creeps towards them” may sound somewhat simple, but the worldbuilding here is off the scale.  The weaving in of how much the First Age and various Elven politics influenced Thranduil’s ruling of a Silvan people is a major theme, but it’s also good parents raising that precious Elfling right and he and his cousins+friends getting into all sorts of mischief, so it’s balanced between humor and drama in the exact amounts I want.  You can skip the first two fics and jump into the third if you like, which is when Legolas is introduced, but I enjoy the whole thing. ✦ Return to Aman OR Quenta Narquelion by bunn - I can’t pick between these two, they’re both incredible.  Return to Aman is basically “Elrond grabs Maglor and drags him to Aman with them” and it breaths such incredible lift into all the characters of Aman, it doesn’t negate the terrible things the Feanorians did, but neither does it negate Elrond’s love for them and his biological family, too.  It’s another fic that’s about healing and forgiveness and it made me glow to read it.  Quenta Narquelion is basically “Feanor refused the call of Mandos after he died and everything started to snowball from there” and it’s an absolutely heartbreaking look at all our Problematic Fave Feanorians and how they were once good people trying to do the best they could, but bit by bit they slipped into the dark.  It’s especially amazing for capturing the complexities of Feanor, as he hovers over his children as a spirit and it really brought me around on his character. The Silmarillion and other First Age Batshit Faves: ✦ The Starlit Sky by Cirth is the fic that really made me get the potential of reading about Maedhros and Maglor raising Elrond and Elros, where it does such a fantastic job of showing that there was genuine affection there, even the midst of all the angst and trauma and pain.  You really get why Elrond could never give up on them, after reading this fic. ✦ In Courts of Living Stone by ncfan - “What if Maeglin never left Nan Elmoth and instead, several decades later, found himself on an errand to Menegroth and developed a relationship with Finduilas instead?” isn’t a fic I expected to capture my heart, but boy did it ever.  Beautiful characterization and beautiful writing, it really captured my imagination, but also gave me ALLLLLL the Maeglin feelings, as well as made me pine that this Finduilas couldn’t have been more common in fandom. ✦ naught but the shores and the sea by ncfan is more of Elrond and Maglor, where it’s an AU that has Elrond finding Maglor after the disastrous attempt to recover the Silmarils and I loved it a lot. ✦ The Crane Wife by Trebia is one that takes an underused character from Tolkien (Lalwen, in this case) and breathes this incredible life into her, gives her personality and joy and sorrow and meaning and, look, any fic that can convince me that Thranduil would marry a Noldo and utterly believe it, you know it’s well-written! The Second Age Is Kind of Quiet in Fandom But I Love It Regardless: ✦ The Art of Long-Distance Grandparenting by Kazaera is a lovely and bittersweet (but mostly lighter in tone) fic about the separation of the Sea between family members and does a wonderful job with Idril’s character, as she tries to stay connected to her grandchildren while being so distant from them and unable to see them, unless they choose to come to Aman.  There’s joy to be found here and it’s a lovely read. ✦ Relativity by French Pony is a lovely look at the final meeting between Elrond and Elros and strikes the right amount of bittersweetness, where it’s awkward and difficult and heartbreaking, but also feels natural and like this was how it was meant to be.  I had many, many Elven Twin feelings during the whole thing.  (I like all their fic, they’re worth checking out their other stuff for, too!) ✦ A Thing or Two About Elrond by Crookneck is a series of fics about Elrond and the various relationships he has--with Celebrian, with his children, with Gil-Galad, etc.--and I remember being really charmed by all of them and how much shit Elrond has seen over the course of his life. The Third Age, Lord of the Rings Version: ✦ Boromir's Return by Osheen Nevoy - This one is sort hard to summarize, but it’s basically “Boromir lives, makes a friend, and slowly changes everything about the LOTR plot”, but it’s so much more than that, where the worldbuilding is phenomenal, the pacing is incredible, it made me fall in love with Boromir as a character all over again, it contains probably the best portrayal of Denethor I’ve ever read in fandom, and I really loved the OC and so on.  It’s utterly engrossing and honestly I cannot recommend it highly enough, even if you’re not usually into this sort of thing. ✦ The River by Indigo Bunting is a fic where Legolas and Sam get separated from the others for a brief time and I love fics that take two characters who don’t interact much, throw them into an intense situation, and sees what happens.  It’s not precisely a light-hearted fic, it’s very intense, but it’ll make you fall in love with the sheer good in both characters and the friendship they develop.  It’s brilliantly written and I cannot recommend it enough. ✦ A Bit of Rope by Aiwendiel is a fic where Gandalf doesn’t fall at Moria and it changes everything--not necessarily for the better.  The slow, creeping sense of things changing, things going just a little bit worse here and there, until you realize how much darker the Fellowship’s journey could have been, was brilliantly done, and one I thought did justice to the idea, it’s not grimdark, there’s still light and hope here, but it makes you feel like, oh, maybe things happened as they did for a reason, even as hard as that seemed sometimes.  Gorgeously plotted and utterly engrossing. The Third Age, Mirkwood Version: ✦ daw the minstrel has an entire series of fics about Legolas growing up in Mirkwood and there’s absolutely a reason why she was one of the most well-known authors in that corner of fandom.  Her ability to create new characters (including two brothers for Legolas) was incredible, I cared so much about the family dynamics and got swept up in the drama (which was in a very loving family, but Legolas was definitely a mischief-seeker) and they’re fantastic.  If you find yourself in something of a stretch with too many OCs and your attention wavers, you can always skip around, they don’t have to be read in order and a lot of the non-canon characters can be skimmed over, imo. ✦ In a Field of Blood and Stone by ScribeofArda is so much better than what The Hobbit movies gave us of the Battle of Five Armies, it does such beautiful justice to the complicated character of Thranduil and Legolas, not sacrificing the warmth there for how difficult these times are and the war they find themselves in the middle of.  This Bard is also really engaging and fun to read--I read pretty much the entire novel’s worth in, like, a day or two because I could not put this one down. ✦ Swordplay and Swimming by cliodna_bright has an incredible meeting where Thranduil comes to visit Rivendell, runs into Elladan and Elrohir, who are young enough that they speak without thinking, and it’s not precisely a humor fic, but I was screaming the entire time because it’s so sharply written and so absolutely delightful, I LOVE IT. ✦ Deep and Crisp and Even by rivlee made me fall in love with how Elves and humans may look very similar, but there’s this sense of otherworldliness to the Elves, as shown through Bard’s eyes when he has a meeting with Thranduil.  Beautifully written and just the right amount of atmospheric. The Fourth Age Where Everything Actually Does Mostly Work Out: ✦ Far Horizons by Bodkin is the Fourth Age fic of my heart, where the various Elves that we came to know in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are all in Aman and decide to build their own realm there.  Which is difficult because Elven Politics even just amongst themselves, much less clashing with all the established politics of the other Elven realms in Aman!  But it’s a light-hearted fic (for the most part) that’s about healing and moving forward, balancing their ties to their history versus that Middle-Earth changed them, and I love it for soothing my soul.  (Thranduil sailed, you can’t tell me otherwise!!!)(Bonus moments of Glorfindel being pretty hilarious.)  I like all of bodkin’s work, but this one has a special place with me. ✦ Age of Healing by trollmela is one where Maedhros and Legolas have a conversation in Aman and it’s about the bittersweetness of healing and how difficult it is, taking two characters who would never have met in canon and weaving something entirely engaging and poignant out of it. Collections That Span The Ages: ✦ This Taste of Shadow by Mira_Jade - This is a collection of dozens of various shorter stories (or sometimes 10k “ficlets”) that you can largely skip around in if you have specific characters you like or you can just start at the beginning and read through.  It contains looks at pretty much everyone, from Maedhros to Galadriel to Thranduil to Elrond to Caranthir to Glorfindel to the Valar, etc.  I’ve enjoyed pretty much everything I’ve read in this collection! ✦ Fiondil's Tapestry and Tales from Vairë's Loom by Fiondil are in the same vein and I have really enjoyed everything I’ve read from both of them!  I especially remember that there was one chapter that had a scene between Thranduil and Cirdan and thinking, ahhhh, why has no one ever written that before!? as an example of the neat things it does.  But also lots about Elrond and Glorfindel and the Valar and so on! This probably doesn’t feel like a super extensive list, but those collection series will give you an excellent spanning of Elves, Humans, Dwarves, Hobbits, etc., not just the same central characters, but giving time to a lot of lesser focused ones as well.  Like, I feel I’ve read a fair chunk of Elwing fic, but I couldn’t point you to a specific one in my list of recs, which means I’m pretty sure it was in the collections ones or else she got some good scenes in one of the Aman-based fics, so I swear the above is at least a solid place to start for dipping one’s toe into Tolkien fic. AS ALWAYS, OTHER PEOPLE’S RECS ARE WELCOME, god knows I haven’t read anything in the last two years (and will have missed a lot even before that) and so I always need more recs, too!