#definitely bookmarking linked fics to read later ;)

[cowboylikeyouu]

🦾 WINTERHAWK RECS 🏹

@bl0ssomized asked for some winterhawk fic recs & i took that as my sign to finally sit down, go through my 500+ bookmarks and provide y'all with my fav fics <3 if you end up reading/enjoying any of these, PLEASE make sure to leave a comment on ao3, the authors deserve all the nice words in the world!!

about this list:

most of these fics are pretty popular in the fandom, so this list is more directed at new fans just joining the winterhawk paradise!! (there's a lot on here tho, so maybe you find one you haven't read yet)

mika/bee asked for little to no smut, so i'm not gonna rec any pwp works here (with a few exceptions). if you want smut recs, hmu tho, i got y'all

there's obviously still smut in many of these fics, but i tried to tell you if it's important/skippable or not. if you don't mind smut i obviously recommend reading it bc GOD these authors just know their shit, but i think nobody should miss out on the amazing long fics just bc they don't like smut :)

i put a "notes" section for every fic where i just yap about it and/or my feelings towards it for a bit bc i literally can't shut up about these two guys.

alright, i think that's all, let's go!! pls tell me if i messed up the links somwhere :)

50k+ words 

Lucky In Love by dr_girlfriend 

words: ~60k 

important tags: no powers AU, oh my god they were roommates!, friends to lovers, mutual pining 

notes: every time i give winterhawk recs to a new fan i start with lucky in love, bc even tho it’s an AU, it has soo many of the typical winterhawk tropes i love so much. PLUS: roomates. and lucky. and every chapter is titled “aw, [something], no” and i find that way too funny to not mention. idk it’s just one of that fics that gives me the warmest & fuzziest of warm fuzzy feelings and i think everyone should read it. 

smut: even tho it has the wonderful, wonderful tag “not gonna tag every sex act just trust me there’s plenty”, there’s actually not that many. in my opinion, the perfect amount for a 60k, 21 chapters winterhawk fic. it’s quite a slow-burn, so they’re only in the later chapters anyway, and the build up to it is soOoo good. this is one of the fics where i know exactly where to find the smut scenes so feel free to hmu. 

Like Real People Do by Kangofu_CB

words: ~67k 

important tags: “i actually just wanted to watch these two idiots fall in love in a secluded cabin ok”; civil war fix it 

notes: no one, NO ONE  gets me like this fic, it checks like every single one of my boxes. perfection. not lying when i say it’s my favorite fic of all time. it doesn’t have a special premise or anything, but that’s the good thing about it. it’s just so… cozy. comfy. feels like home. i can’t even remember if like real people do is my favorite hozier song because of this fic or if it’s my fav fic bc like real people do is my fav hozier song, but i know that i never cried as hard as i did when i heard lrpd live and could only think about this fic. nothing makes me feel as good as re-reading this story, i want to eat it.

smut: yes, but only like 2,5 scenes. hmu and i tell you the exact fucking paragraph number or smth, this fic is literally engraved in my soul. thank you CB. some day i’ll leave a 2k words comment on every single chapter. 

The Other Man out of Time by sara_holmes 

words: ~97k 

important tags: time travel, falling in love, clint barton centric 

notes: okay, objectively speaking: this is the best winterhawk fic in existence. not my absolute favorite bc it makes me cry too much, but definitely top 3. no other winterhawk fic made me sob this hard, no other winterhawk fic makes me wanna curl up on the floor and cry for an hour every time i think about it. that being said: IT HAS A HAPPY ENDING!!! and a lot of stuff in between is SO sweet as well. premise is basically: clint travels back in time and fights in wwii alongside bucky and they fall in love. and then bucky!canon happens. you get it? you get it. it’s- UGH it’s so good. jesus. i’m crying. 

smut: a few short sexy scenes i think, but no SMUT smut, and it’s definitely definitely DEFINITELY not the focus of the story. can’t emphasise enough how much everyone should read this 

Hipsters get Remembered, Legend’s Never Die by sara_holmes

words: ~90k 

important tags: millennial bucky barnes, awesome clint barton, recovery 

notes: millennial bucky is one of the most entertaining things fandom came up with, and this fic is the epitome of that trope. love love LOVE. plus, clint’s really fucking awesome in this. 

smut: yes, but only like two or three times in 11 chapters, easily skippable

Puzzle Pieces (series) by sara_holmes 

words: ~446k 

important tags: steve/tony, kid fic, emotional hurt

notes: if you don’t like stony this one isn’t for you, just skip to next one :) if you like stony: GOD pls read puzzle pieces!! the first 200k words fic is stony focused and has only pre-slash winterhawk, but even tho they don’t get together in this one yet it’s literally one of my favorite clint/bucky portrayals of all time, no one gets them like sara, it’s perfect. the stony/kid fic storyline is SO amazing as well, so if that’s your cup of tea, check. it. out. after that they’re a few longer winterhawk instalments, and while some of them are really angsty and painful, there’s always a happy ending. god i need to re-read this entire thing. it makes me wanna cry and throw up in all the good ways. 

smut: some, but you can definitely skip it.

I’ll keep you safe here with me by sara_holmes 

words: ~110k 

important tags: kidnapping, PTSD, mind control aftermath & recovery 

notes: ngl i haven’t read this one in a long time, but everything by sara is perfect and this one’s one of the most kudo’d winterhawk fics, so it’s basically a must read. everyone needs to read a good clint & the winter soldier fic at least once

smut: it’s rated mature, so no really explicit smut. can’t remember if they don’t get a bit horny tho.

A Heart Worth Loving by Kangofu_CB 

words: ~82k 

important tages: soulmate AU, no powers AU, modern bucky barnes, forced cohabitation 

notes: GOOD FUCKING SOUP. soulmate au AND they were roommates????? beat that. it takes them ages to figure out they’re soulmates, which makes this equally amazing and frustrating, but it’s all so so worth it 

smut: yes, at the end of it. you CAN skip it, although i recommend skimming through it and read the dialogue parts and stuff. 

if you were a mythical thing by Kangofu_CB

words: ~75k 

important tags: teachers au, kid fic, werewolves 

notes: quick story time for this one bc i remember it so so well lmao: winterhawk olympic bang 2022, most authors had started to post their fics except for CB and i KNEW she had written one, and i was literally checking my emails every hour for days. and then she finally posted it and i already started screaming when i saw the taylor lyrics as a title, and then i read those three tags and literally had to sit on my floor for 20 minutes to calm down bc i was so excited. i remember posting like 20 stories on my private insta that were just me keysmashing lmaoo. idk but teachers + kid fic + werewolves is just such a BONKERS combination, and i can promise you’re in for a treat, it’s so so fun. 15/10. 

smut: yes, but it takes some time to get there and it’s skippable

Adventures in dogsitting by Call_Me_Kayyyyy 

words: ~53k

important tags: friends to lovers, dogsitting, pining 

notes: another olympic bang fic, thank you. cute, fun, lots of lucky content :) good soup 

smut: NO SMUT

Under My skin (series) by finely honed 

words: ~360k

important tags: Steve/Tony (the “main” instalment is stony focused), PTSD, Life after the army, AU - Tattoo Parlour 

notes: the “first” instalment is a stony fic (one of my all time favs honestly) but with a lot of amazing side-winterhawk, and there’s a winterhawk spin-off, that’s a prequel to the stony arc, so you can just read that first if you want. it was one of the first english winterhawk fics i’ve ever read and it always makes me wanna cry when i think about it (in a good way).

smut: they’re quite horny in both big instalments, but i would say the smut is skippable. it’s not un-important for both the winterhawk and the stony dynamic tho, so i wouldn’t recommend doing that

This is Not a Date, it’s a Kidnapping by sara_holmes 

words: ~50k 

important tags: Fake Kidnapping, also real kidnapping, Bucky Barnes recovering, fake relationship 

notes: all sara_holmes is good sara_holmes, but this one’s one of my favs, it’s just so fun. GOD i miss winterhawk olympic bang 2021, this was such a blast to read when it first came out!! 

smut: NO SMUT

Freedom’s Reach by dr_girlfriend 

words: ~68k 

important tags: arranged marriage, western/historical AU, slow burn 

notes: aaaand another  winterhawk olympic bang 2021 fic! pretty sure this one was my fav during the bang, like i remember hitting up a friend of mine and screaming at each other for like an hour every time a new chapter dropped, we were SO invested. very good soup. 

smut: yes, but it’s a sloooow build, so it’s only in the later chapters. pretty sure it’s easily skippable 

ghost in the machine by squadrickchestopher

words: ~75k 

important tags: fake character death, heavy angst, ghosts, loneliness 

notes: UGHHHH clint “dies”, becomes a ghost and only bucky can see him. touch starved clint final boss basically. amazing shit. painful shit. (happy ending tho) 

smut: it’s rated explicit and it’s by squaddy, so i’m like 99% sure there’s smut, i actually can’t remember tho lmao 

Barton’s Halfway House for Ex-Brainwashed Assassins (series) by Kangofu_CB 

words: ~90k 

important tags: the slowest burn, the mcu reimagined completely, accidental baby acquisition, found family, kid fic

notes: this one’s an ongoing series, and it’s such an amazing one, you can feel all the love that’s been put into this. you have to go through like 60k of slow burn before winterhawk actually happens, but it’s soooo worth it. plus: kid fic. kid fic’s always good. 

smut: yes, but only in the 3rd part and the short pwp oneshot. easily skippable

something magic, something tragic by squadrickchestopher 

words: ~55k

important tags: supernatural elements, vampire bucky, enemies to lovers 

notes: VAMPIRES!!! that should be enough to convince you to read this fic!! and it’s by squaddy, it literally can’t be bad if it’s by squaddy.

smut: ughhh not entirely sure, pretty sure the mature rating is mostly for violence, but, again, it’s squaddy, so it’s very possible there’s some sexy stuff hiding in there.

Sweet Home Was Home by there_must_be_a_lock 

words: ~110k 

important tags: “i sorta made my own franken-canon”, christmas fluff, soft feelings

notes: i found this one on accident once when i wasn’t really expecting to find another PERFECT long ass winterhawk fic i haven’t read yet, and then i binge-read it in one night, and it’s honestly one of the best i’ve ever read, it’s so so soft and… healing. for both bucky and clint and myself. it’s really not as popular as it should be imo, definitely worthy of a place on the first page of the ship tag!! highly HIGHLY recommend checking it out!! 

smut: yes, but skippable 

10k - 50k words 

Starving for the Light by thepartyresponsible 

words: ~45k 

important tags: magic AU, soul bond 

notes: jesus christ i wanna eat this fic so bad. definitely my favorite 2021 winterhawk olympic bang fic, it’s just THAT good. need to re-read it entirely to make sure, but i think it’s in my top 10 if not top 5 fav winterhawk fics of all time. clint’s just so… beautiful in this, idk how else to describe it. and idk, it has a such a unique premise and setting, i love everything about it. 

smut: yes, but skippable. 

Historic Features by flawedamythyst

words: ~19k

important tags: ghosts AU, homophobic violence 

notes: oooohhh my god, don’t make me think about this fic i’m gonna cry. it’s actually pretty fun and cute and fucking awesome, but clint & bucky’s backstory in this?? i’m ugly crying, leave me alone. premise is basically: they’re ghosts and haunting the apartment they died in years ago, scaring everyone who tries to live there out of it. then steve and tony wanna move in. it’s fucking great. 

smut: NO SMUT 

Call It What You Want To by Kangofu_CB 

words: ~48k 

important tags: modern bucky barnes, sugar daddy

notes: clint becomes bucky’s sugar daddy on accident without realising and it’s the funniest fucking shit i’ve ever seen, god i love him so much. plus, again,,, millennial bucky barnes. gimme all the millennial bucky barnes.

smut: 3 or 4 scenes i think, starting as early as chapter… 2??? i think??? pretty skippable tho, as long as you read like the foreplay and everything.

A Thistle Cannot Grow by ccbytheseashore

words: ~12k 

important tags: kid fic, developing relationship 

notes: AHHHSDJGHSKJDHG. enough right?? i’m always a sucker for some good dad!clint & soft!bucky content. this one’s so so sweet it’s one of my main comfort fics, can’t recommend it enough if you love kid fics! 

smut: yes, but it’s literally only like 500 words of frotting, you know when it’s coming and you know when it’s over :) (it’s amazing tho) 

Attachments by Lissadiane 

words: ~22k 

important tags: high school au, mother hen bucky barnes, clint barton needs a hug 

notes: i KNOW many people don’t like high school AUs and i don’t fucking care. teenage winterhawk has so much potential, i love them to death. which is exactly why you should read this ;) 

smut: NO SMUT

Outnumbered by sara_holmes 

words: ~18k 

important tags: kid fic, triplets, no powers AU, bucky comes home to new york 

notes: another single dad clint fic, but give him 3 boys this time!! —> chaos. amazing chaos. + amazing bucky. good soup. 

smut: NO SMUT 

Once Lost (now found) by Teeelsie 

words: 40k 

important tags: hurt clint barton, on the run, self sacrifice 

notes: hurt clint barton final boss. this was written for whumptober, so you can imagine how bad it gets. SO worth it tho, even if you don’t really love that kind of stuff! 

smut: NO SMUT (pretty sure clint’s too hurt to have any kind of sexual thoughts <3 stupid stupid stubborn man. i love him so much)

The Best Worst Thing (that hasn’t happened to you yet) by sara_holmes

words: ~48k 

important tags: enemies to friends to lovers, rescue missions 

notes: if you’re into comic winterhawk and read their tales of suspense run, you should definitely read this fic. if you haven’t read tales of suspense, go do that now and then come back to the fic, bc it’s basically a rewrite that gives us the bucky/clint & nat dynamic we fucking deserve

smut: don’t think so?

skylines and tan lines by flawedamythyst

words: ~33k 

important tags: no powers AU, coronovirus lockdown, long distance flirting 

notes: this was literally my fav fic during lockdown, i’m not lying when i say i read this at least 20 times in 2020/21 lmaoo. it’s just such a fun concept; bucky’s living with peggy/steve, and their dynamic is so enjoyable. 

smut: there’s quite a bit of sexting & phone sex, plus a smut scene at the end. doesn’t take up the entire fic tho, and the rest is worth it as well. 

Behind Bars by sara_holmes and Behind Bares (On The Other Side Remix) by flawedamythyst 

words: ~32k (sara), ~25k (amy)

important tags: prison AU 

notes: sara’s fic is the original, amy remixed it and wrote if from clint’s pov (with quite some changes). i love both fics, but i definitely read the remix more often and prefer it, but i highly recommend reading both, they’re amazing!! clint & bucky are cell mates!!! and it’s angsty!! a little bit!! 

smut: can’t remember what it’s like in sara’s version, but it’s only rated mature soo... there’s definitely one or two smut scenes in amy’s fic, but easilyyy skippable, only like a few handjobs or smth i think.

What do you mean we left Clint on Mars? by sara_holmes 

words: ~25k 

important tags: outer space, falling in love, clint feels 

notes: a classic. falling in love long-distance is soo fun, and i love it when author’s touch-starve clint, so there’s that <3

smut: NO SMUT

A Christmas Miracle: Getting Lucky by Lissadiane

words: ~11k 

important tags: christams, hallmark fic 

notes: LUCKY!!!! i read this every single christmas. you should too. you’re welcome. 

smut: NO SMUT 

Dear Super-Secret Diary by flawedamythyst 

words: ~16k 

important tags: christmas fluff 

notes: clint is bored and gets a diary (and the guy). a christmas must-read, it’s fun and cute and fluffy!!! one of the few times i will accept first person narration bc, well, it’s a goddamn diary 

smut: NO SMUT 

winterhawk punks in love (series) by 1000_directions 

words: ~19k words 

important tags: punk au, amputee bucky, deaf clint, ptsd, emotional hurt/comfort, recovery 

notes: punk!winterhawk is so important to me I NEED MORE OF IT!!! this one’s such a perfect mix of happiness and angst and comfort UGH it just hits that spot. 

smut: yes, but the fic’s still amazing if u skip it 

Apple Of My Eye by flawedamythyst

words: ~40k 

important tags: clint barton’s farm, found family, domestic 

notes: FARM FIC FARM FIC FARM FIC!!! bucky, clint and wanda basically start an apple business on his farm, and it’s just soo comfy and awesome.

smut: NO SMUT

Alone in the Bitterness by Lissadiane

words: ~16k

important tags: no pwers au, nurse bucky, disaster clint 

notes: nurse bucky nurse bucky nurse bucky nurse bucky!!! do i have to say more?? 

smut: NO SMUT

Team Spirit by Noxnthea 

words: 17k 

important tags: case fic, enemies to lovers lite 

notes: noxnthea is such an underrated author it’s a literal crime. i normally don’t love case fics that much, but this is a ghost hunters case fic AND their banter is so fun that it really doesn’t matter for me this time 

smut: NO SMUT

Reach Out by Kangofu_CB

words: ~11k 

important tags: 5+1, a lot of sex tags, porn with feelings, feelings realisation 

notes: CB’s smut always hits different, and idk, the +1 of this is just sooo funny and adorable, i love it to death. read this more times than i’ll admit. 

smut: basically pwp, big no no if you don’t like smut. 

Storms Within (Bridges Rebuilt) by Kangofu_CB 

words: ~11k 

important tags: star wars setting, force sensitive bucky & clint, crack treated seriously 

notes: guys you can’t imagine my excitement when the notif for this fic popped up in my emails. luke skywalker is one of my top 10 all time fav fictional characters AND HERE HE IS INTERACTING W MY FAV BOYS IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!!!! it’s so so good, if you’re into star wars you’re gonna love it!! (even if not, it’s by CB, impossible to not enjoy)

smut: NO SMUT

Draw, Breathe, Fire by FestiveFerret

words: ~15k 

important tags: falling in love, flirting, banter 

notes: haven’t read this in a long time, but i’m pretty sure it was like a perfect little bucky-recovering-and-falling-in-love-with-clint-while-living-in-the-tower-fic. he learns archery!! pretty sure they also adopt a ferret or something???? good shit

smut: NO SMUT

Hoist a Black Flag by Kangofu_CB 

words: ~11k 

important tags: pirate au 

notes: ITS BASICALLY AN OFMD AU OKAY HOW CAN U NOT LOVE IT???

smut: yes, but skippable

Cupid’s Arrows by flawedamythyst 

words: ~14k 

important tags: office AU, valentine’s day 

notes: clint dressed up as cupid, bad pick up lines, shenanigans. haven’t read this in quite a while, but i remember i enjoyed it A LOT a few years ago and re-read it multiple times!! 

smut: NO SMUT

The Best Thing since a Double-Shot Expresso by sara_holmes 

words: ~11k 

important tags: coffee shop AU, misunderstandings, getting together 

notes: friends to lovers final boss. they’ve been best friends (husbands) for years and literally live together, and it takes them an insane amount of jealousy and steve’s ass to finally get together. such a fun read, highly HIGHLY recommend 

smut: NO SMUT

Habits of My Heart by Kangofu_CB

words: ~18k 

important tags: Fuckbuddies to Lovers, no powers AU, grindr 

notes: fuckbuddies to lovers with loads of pining will always be THE most realistic winterhawk depiction for me, sorry not sorry. this one’s extra fun bc steve and nat have been trying to set them up for months, but they’ve been already hooking up for months. it’s great. 

smut: yes, but easily skippable.

In Which Peter Is Everyone’s Favourite Avenger by DestroyedConscience 

words: ~25k 

important tags: Twitter, everyone is gay, gen z humor 

notes: look, this is an unfinished, non-winterhawk-centric twitter fic, but as a fellow winterhawk twitter fic author i just HAVE to recommend it. if u like this kind of thing, go check it out, it’s so fun :) 

smut: NO SMUT

Look What The Cat Dragged In by flawedamythyst

words: 22k 

important tags: Bucky Barnes is a cat lover, domestic fluff 

notes: i haven’t read this in years, but i KNOW it was great. at this point just go check out amy’s account and read all of her winterhawk fics, she has over a hundred and they’re all great!! but this one has them co-parenting alpine, so it’s extra great!!

smut: NO SMUT

My Heart Will Be Your Home by dr_girlfriend 

words: ~49k 

important tags: soulmates au, single parent clint barton

notes: soulmate au plus kid fic guys, i repeat, SOULMATE AU PLUS KID FIC GUYS!!! BY DR GIRLFRIEND!!!! GOD i miss winterhawk olympic bang 21/22 this one was such a blast to read when it first came out. 

smut: yes, but skippable 

Chrome Plated Heart by dr_girlfriend 

words: ~20k 

important tags: pacific rim fusion

notes: i’ve never seen pacific rim and i still had a blast reading this one!! (she put a basic explanation for it somewhere in the story notes, so dw about it!!). it was SO nice to read a fic where they’re not heavily traumatised and just have a chill, easy getting together. really sweet stuff

smut: NO SMUT!!

Know When To Hold ‘Em by flawedamythyst

words: ~11k 

important tags: exes to lovers, no powers au, cambling 

notes: UGHHH i need more fics like this one, it’s so so SO good!! flashes back and forth to the time when they were first together and when they meet again and skjdghlksdhg my heart just hurts so much for both of them. (happy ending tho dw, clint’s just so sad in the present and it hurts my soul)

smut: yeah, the part in the present is basically just one big smut scene but it’s soOoOoO emotional and i always love me some emotional smut

Christmas in Colour by mariana_oconnor 

words: ~12k 

important tags: soulmates see in colour, christmas fluff 

notes: SOULMATES SEE IN COLOUR !!!!! *swoons so hard she falls to the floor* top 3 best soulmates tropes i dont make the rules i love it so much. ESPECIALLY when it’s with a character like clint who usually has a colour he loves SO SO much. a christmas must read :) 

smut: NO SMUT

Chaos By Another Name by shatteredhourglass 

words: ~13k 

important tags: dimension travel, time travel, friends to lovers 

notes: DIMENSION-HOPPING TIME-TRAVEL ADVENTURE GUYS!!! why wouldn’t you wanna read it??? 

smut: yes

I Still Choose You (The Public Domain Remix) by mariana_oconnor 

words: ~14k 

important tags: soulmates at first kiss, fake/pretend relationship 

notes: have a fic with two of the best tropes ever, you’re so very welcome. plus plus PLUS: demisexual bucky. as a demisexual/asexual/still trying to figure it out lesbian, i’m always ALWAYS here for any kind of ace spectrum winterhawk, so yeah. 

smut: NO SMUT

the road rising up to meet me by veryrach

words: ~24k 

important tags: pining, sexual reawakening, chaotic slutty clint barton 

notes: MORE DEMISEXUAL BUCKY!!! AND HOT CLINT!!! no other words needed. read it. 

smut: i’m so sorry but i can’t remember if it gets SMUTTY smutty. but there’s definitely a lot of sexual themes i mean look at the tags lmao

Showdown by shatteredhourglass 

words: ~14k 

important tags: fake/pretend relationship; fluff 

notes: breaking my silence: fake dating might me my fav trope of all time. in this one they’re pretending to date for the sole purpose of annoying steve and tony and i think that’s the best thing ever. 

smut: NO SMUT

Light the Spark by dr_girlfriend

words: ~26k 

important tags: fake/pretend relationship, mutual pining, enemies to friends to lovers

notes: aaaand the next fake dating fic >:) the enemies arc is like 0.2 seconds, blink and you miss it, but whoooo cares, we’re here for the fake dating & pining guys!!!

smut: yes, but you can skip it!

-10k words 

Wine and Pine by feathers_and_cigarettes 

words: 6k

Important tags: Touch-Starved, Fake Marriage, pining!clint 

Notes: this is one of those fics i always come back to without realising and it always hits that spot. like i said, fake dating is my favorite trope, and MISSION fake dating???? i'm in heaven

smut: there’s quite a bit of smut, but it’s at the end and even if you stop reading after they kiss it’s really worth it. 

Over Easy by Lissadiane

words: ~9k

important tags: hook up gone awry, awkwardly crashing the birth of a baby 

notes: need y’all to know that this has one of my all time fav smut scenes, i kinda know it by heart. don’t quote me on that, this is our secret. this one’s just so so SO much fun, i’m having the time of my life every time i read it (which is at least like once a month) 

smut: yes, and it’s kinda the best part, but everything else is so fun as well that i really wouldn’t wanna miss out on it

The Love You Deserve by flawedamythyst 

words: ~8k 

important tags: unhappy family holidays, homophobia, family issues, jewish bucky barnes 

notes: another must-read christmas fic for me; clint goes home for christmas to an uncle of his or something but they all turn out to be homophobic assholes or something and then bucky shows up to save the day <3

smut: NO SMUT 

what you really, really want by Noxnthea 

words: ~8k 

important tags: pining, misunderstandings 

notes: *blurts out* THEYVE BEEN IN LOVE FOR AGES AND THEN WANDA HEXES THEM SO THEY THINK THEVE BEEN DATING FOR YEARS!!! this is SUCH an underrated fic, it doesn’t even have 200 kudos like wtf??? SHOW IT SOME LOVE!!!

smut: NO SMUT

The 300 Club by Noxnthea 

words: ~10k 

important tags: no powers au, scientist clint & bucky 

notes: there aren’t enough scientist winterhawk AUs so HUGE THANKS noxnthea for feeding us. i will literally haunt you if you don’t read this one, ITS SO UNDERRATED!!! AND SO FUN!!

smut: NO SMUT

For Everything There is A Season by dr_girlfriend

words: ~9.7k 

important tags: crack fic, secret service agent!bucky, small business owner!clint barton 

notes: crack fics are always gold and this one especially, it’s such a ridiculous idea, how could you not love it? always a very fun read! 

smut: NO SMUT

Background Noise by Reremouse 

words: ~8k 

important tags: modern au, deaf clint barton 

notes: MILLENIAL BUCKY!!! clint is bucky’s upstairs neighbour and extremely loud bc he’s well… deaf. lol. and bucky’s a night shift worker which really isn’t a good combo on first thought. but on second thought, these are clint and bucky, so OBVIOUSLY they’re gonna make a great combo out of it. it’s fuckign amazing. plus bucky & sam friendship!! good shit guys, good shit.

smut: NO SMUT

you didn’t hear that by jedusaur 

words: ~2.6k 

important tags: roomates, eavesdropping��

notes: super self-indulgent rec, i always read this one when i need some cheering up lmao it’s just so fun and they’re kinda nasty and UGH. love. it explores the range of bucky’s super hearing. do with that what you want. 

smut: yes. it explores the range of bucky’s super hearing in every way ;)

one more time by squadrickchestopher 

words: ~4k 

important tags: touch starved, hurt clint barton 

notes: i don’t even know why i love this one so much, but it holds SUCH a special place in my heart. it might be my undying love for touch starved!clint who finally gets his well-needed hugs by bucky. there’s also an amazing podfic by flowerparrish for it, make sure to give kudso to them both!!! 

smut: NO SMUT

the salt on your lips by veryrach 

words: ~9k 

important tags: kissing, an absolutely ridiculous lack of communication 

notes: exactly what the tags say. it’s a 5+1 as well, WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED IN LIFE???? 10/10. i remember waiting for months for the last few chapters and it was SO worth it!!

smut: NO SMUT

Love Potion No. 10 by Kangofu_CB 

words: ~8k 

important tags: love potion/spell, not actually unrequited love

notes: i won’t say anything about the story bc i don’t wanna spoiler it, but i’ll say that i re-read the second half of it at least once a month, it’s just THAT sweet. 

smut: NO SMUT

There’s No ‘I’ In Denial by flawedamythyst 

words: ~5k 

important tags: truth spells 

notes: clint gets hit by a magic truth gun and can’t lie anymore. such a fun & cute read every single time.

smut: NO SMUT

The Name of the Game by squadrickchestopher 

words: ~6k 

important tags: competition, trash talking, feelings realization 

notes: this one’s just so so fun, it has allllllll the winterhawk banter anyone could ask for. and i always love me some competitive idiots in love

smut: NO SMUT 

Full Barton by aw_writing_no 

words: ~6k 

important tags: no powers au, cop!bucky, human disaster clint 

notes: what the tags say. clint embarrassing himself in front of bucky who enjoys it a bit too much gotta be one of my fav tropes. 

smut: NO SMUT

one more little mistake by shatteredhourglass 

words: ~3k 

important tags: clint barton wears glasses, bucky barnes is horny for clint barton 

notes: these tags are basically the entire fic lmaooo. it’s great, i love nothing more than HOT HOT HOT clint barton and bucky realising how hot he is 

smut: almost lmao (they get interrupted while making out) 

my hands no longer an afterthought by shatteredhourglass 

words: ~3k 

important tags: getting back together 

notes: i have a sweet sweet SWEET spot for winterhawk getting back togethers if handled well, and this one handles it soo well. 

smut: NO SMUT

Five Lies People Believe About Clint and Bucky by EVVS 

words: ~1.5k 

important tags: established relationship 

notes: this is one of those fics i always go back to if i have a few minutes and need some (bitter)sweet fluff. it’s exactly what the title says, some lies are fun, some are painful, and all of them just hit that spot 

smut: NO SMUT

My Sausage Brings Alll the Boys To The Yard by flawedamythyst 

words: ~1.7k 

important tags: bad flirting 

notes: this one’s so stupid it probably shouldn’t be on here but i remember how i was reading this in class for the first time when i was still in school and i was almost pissing myself bc it made me laugh so hard. very fun, go read it >:(

smut: NO SMUT

bonus for the freaks:

Filthy Porn Fridays by squadrickchestopher 

there’s 18 works so far, it’s smut smut smut aaaand - you guessed it - smut. if you wanna see the boys fuck nastily, this is your place to be. 

(delicate tension is the best fic of the series, it’s actually a roadtrip AU and not just smut, highly highly recommend) 

alrightyyy, i think that's it for now :) this took me quite some time so i'd appreciate some reblogs or whatever!! we need to spread some winterhawk love guys!!

all my love goes out to every author i mentioned here, and every other author who's ever written winterhawk. you guys are my heroes, idk what i'd do without you. literally ripping my heart into a thousand pieces and giving every single one of you a tiny part 💜

[dangerpronebuddie]

Hi there! I love love love your Sub Eddie writings you've been doing. It's my favorite version of him haha. Do you know any other good blogs that mostly write sub eddie stuff and/or do you have any good fic recs? Thanks!

Hi baby 🩷 Thank you!!!! You're so sweet, I'm glad you're enjoying it 🥰. It's one of my favorite versions of him too lol. (Hopefully there will be a few more additions later today 😉)

There's some blogs I know love sub Eddie as much or more than me 😁...

@kitteneddiediaz Baz writes BRILLIANT sub Eddie fics and drabbles. You have to check out Buck's New Favorite Chair

@tizniz Tanis writes for it a bit as well, like in The Smutty Ones (a drabble collection like mine)

They both also share a sugar baby Eddie universe you definitely ought to check out too 😉 (I linked a drabble from Bazza but you'll find more on their blog and on Tanis'). And besides their sub Eddie work, they're really just amazing people 🥰🩷

I sifted through my bookmarks and found some really good ones for you:

IPA by @kitteneddiediaz

he speaks the languages of love by @glorious-spoon

short circuit by hauntsorchards

among the hungry and the patient by tinygiantsam

Check by jesuisici33

~~~~~

I know I have more marked for later, but these are ones I've read and love (and if anyone sees this and knows the urls of some of these authors, I'd be more than happy to tag them 🥰)

And if anyone wants to add more fics to the list please do!

[nothankyou138]

steve harrington fic recs

🐬- angst

🦕-fluff 

🐳-smut

🐋-series

*- triggering themes

none of these fics belong to me!!

they are just some of my favs that i’ve read

tumblr fics

•wildfire by @curiositydooropened

 masterlist

completed

*🐋🐳

enemies/rivals to lovers

When Hawkins opened up and slowly slipped into the Ether, you were there on the front lines. Now, nearly two years later, after the tragic loss of your best friend, you're left without a partner and a rage building inside you like a wildfire. When you're given the option to retire or partner with your rival, Steve Harrington, you struggle to put aside your differences for the sake of the world

•i read this like a couple months ago and like changed my life, like genuinely such a good fic

•she drives me crazy  by @upsidedownwithsteve

 masterlist

🐳

enemies to lovers

Welcome to Camp Upside Down, an idyllic spot nestled in Yellowwood State Park, Indiana. Founded in 1959, Camp Upside down hosts an array of many summer activities, from lake sports, hikes, arts and crafts and team building experiences… and Steve fucking Harrington.

•i read this one like last week, i got so hooked on it like the first paragraph is amazing and the rest of the fic does not dissapoint

•because of you by @crappymixtape

 masterlist

completed

🐳🐬

enemies to idiots in love

when they have to put aside their differences to fight upside down, they realize they actually have a lot in common

•i read this one a while ago tbh, don’t rlly remember much of it but i did finish it so it was definitly good

ao3

•adventures in monsterhunting by wjltedflower

incomplete

🐋

friends to lovers

In which you not only fall in love with your childhood best friend, but you discover the dangerous, dark secrets of Hawkins.

•every night when i go into ao3 to check my bookmarks and i see that this fic has updated it genuinely becomes one of the best nights of my life like i live this fic sm 

•in agreement by dearharriet

🦕

You’re scared to make things official with Steve, but a chat with your mom persuades you.

•lizzy mcalpine is one of my favourite artists so anytime i see a fic based one one of her songs like i get so giddy like i start giggling and kicking my feet not even an exaggeration, the fic itself did the exact same thing when i read it

•whispers of a ghost by Sourwolf_32

completed

*🐋

You were Billy Hargrove's twin sister. 

After recently being released from jail for a crime you didn't commit, your family moves to Hawkins wanting a fresh start.

However, you never imagined that your fresh start would involve monsters and alternate dimensions. But, the most surprising thing of all was finding yourself falling for popular, rich boy, Steve Harrington.

•gonna be real her i have re-read this fic multiple times, it is however a hargrove reader which does exclude some ppl from reading it as  she is like billy’s twin so… but other than that i love this fic sm like ugh i dint even have the words to describe it

if any of the links don’t work pls tell me!

i will be updating this list as i read more

if you want to recommend some to me i would definitely be so happy to hear some suggestions and i will read them i promise!! 

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2024: June Wrap-Up.

Okay, y'all have Convinced Me--I'm going to start doing little wrap up posts! Behold: a shelf of what I read in June (not pictured: the bookmark at page 466 of ORDINARY MONSTERS, because despite having read two (2) books worth of book so far, I'm still not quite done with that one).

June was kind of a slow reading month for me (I did a LOT of writing, looking back--nice). I wanted to take OTHER TERRORS and THE ELEMENTS OF ELOQUENCE a bite at a time so the horrors and figures of rhetoric (respectively) didn't all run together. Both of those, much like A SHINING, turned out to be pleasantly leisurely wanders, whereas MONSTERS is kind of a plod.

I already did bigger write-ups for TERRORS and SHINING, linked in the bullets below.

OTHER TERRORS - ★★★★ Great bite-sized horror anthology with a really inclusive mix, as promised! I enjoyed most of these (always nice in an anthology!)

A SHINING - ★★★★ Weird fucked up heavy little book in translation, lit-fic flavored, but very approachable, I thought. Tiny enough to swallow in a sitting, but also kind of exhausting to do it that way? I'll definitely reread this one in the future.

THE ELEMENTS OF ELOQUENCE - ★★★ Fun romp through rhetoric! The examples were fun, and I appreciated the humor, but I also find myself still uncertain what a bunch of the figures actually ARE, definitions-wise, despite having read a book full of so many of them (I did just buy his recommended A HANDLIST OF RHETORICAL TERMS to help with that, at least, which is. almost entirely. definitions by volume). Neat thing to have on my references shelf, but it wasn't as excellent as I was hoping it'd be.

ORDINARY MONSTERS - 466/658 pages read; will report back later (but it's not looking good, folks).

[quotidian-oblivion]

Wouldst THou be okay with questions???

What’s your favourite thing to do at 2am (follow up question, fic recs??????)

Love

'Course! I has puts blanket permission it on le pinned post.

Read/write fics. Unquestionably. And eat junk food (like ferrero rochers *cough cough*). If i was alone in the house at 2 am, i would probably be singing out as loud as i could.

But *sigh* I end up doing schoolwork half the time. The other half I'm laying in my bed, and sleep-deprived me takes over and magically produces a fic and its outline leaving daytime-me to write it out and expand on it.

Fic recs... hmmm... Lemme go visit my bookmarks and link the links here.

Okay, so Repletion by sardnoic-sprite is rlly good. Actually lol, im providing analyzations + some minor info and ideas on the 2.0 version of the fic to sprite rn. In this one, Uncle Edward does exist and is a certified asshole and abuser. He tries to control Tim and keep him away from the Bats and threatens to hurt Tim real bad if the Bats try to contact him.

Zugzwang by sardonic sprite is rlly good too! Very hurty. Much angst. Ra's captures the batfam and challenges Tim to a game of chess. Each move is dangerous. A small mistake puts any of the Bats at risk. And Tim has to predict which batfam member will get hurt depending on which chess piece he moves.

And the whole series of Celebrity Batwaynes by sardonic-sprite is rlly good too! It had me cracking up so much. But ofc there's angst there too, but mostly crack and i adore this series with my life. It's about the Gotham vigilantes, some rogues, and the Waynes doing internet challenges like Buzzfeed quizzes and other stuff too.

My Mummy Has Tattoos by I_is_a_fangirl_yee is v v angsty. And yes, im being prejudiced rn but what im not being prejudiced abt is the fact that i screamed out loud in class while beta-ing this fic.

Now, The Dream Of Flight by A_Canceled_Stamp is an excellent fic I will never stop yakking about. The plot is literally just Tim falling off a building. But the writing? The emotions captured within the writing, the pure act of storytelling through actions described by text is something out-of-the-world.

I adore Instead Of All The Colors I Saw by SilverSkiesAtMidnight. It deals with Tim dealing with the aftermath of Titans Tower and his relationship with Jason and oof- the angsty dialogue is PEAK.

All of Vamillepudding's works. Well, at least the Batman ones, those are the only ones i've read. But they are all. Just. So. Good. The writing and oh- the ideas especially. Definitely some of the greatest Tim joins the batfam early fics to ever have existed.

Living Dead Boy by Terranphuem. *SCREAMS*. This fic. Let me tell you, this fic. It reached into my heart, grabbed it and teared it out then bandaged it and put it back in again. It's about Tim encountering Jason from when he just rose from the grave. And Jason's catatonic and everything and Tim helps him all by himself (with special help a little later) to make him "good enough" to return back to Bruce. SUCH A GOOD READ ISTG.

untitled titan's tower fic #89268439 by Ashynarr. It's, as the title says, a TT fic, but in this one, Jason finds Tim's old fanfiction account and tortures him by rereading some stuff from there to Tim XD Doesnt get the attention it deserves imo.

come back home please by PurpleHeartsOne. Gosh, the writing in this one... it is Up There with the Greats. I love how the emotions is captured so well here and also how smoothly the progression of chapters goes! The character development and- oh! The character reveal! Ahhhhh! Please do mind, it is still incomplete 8/10 chapters rn.

sipping the piping hot tea by BlueTee. In this one, Tim sips tea and destroys Jason instead of Titans Tower happening. Gosh, i loved the nonverbal reactions so much 😂

Conference Room 2B by motelyfam. It's part of a series, but it's so good, it deserves its own special appearance. Big bro Jason Todd! And theater kid Jason Todd! They're both in here!!

of crime lords and literature by adelfie. Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh! The writing! The fucking- *slams table* THE WRITING!! It's a TT AU where Tim asks help from Jason for English h.w. There's more obviously, but that's where the plot starts. It is. so good.

don't drop the baby (i'm the baby) by Ms_Trickster. I will never ever ever shut up about this. I read this twice and both times I teared up. Both times. This fic means a lot to me on a personal level. Basically, Tim accidentally time-travels and meets a baby version of himself.

Late Night encounters by paperxcrowns. Oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh! I adore this fic! Not only is the writing especially good, but the story line, the slow and smooth and excellent progression of events and character! Ahhhh! It's about Tim meeting Jason accidentally at a cafe and him somehow accidentally helping Tim with his homework and becoming friends.

just be there by TaraLaurel is so so good. I wrote a fic inspired by it (it's Shiver btw, the title of the inspired fic). Heck, I love all the batfam fics written by them (I haven't read the other fandom fics). This one is touch-starved tim drake and who doesn't love touch-starved tim drake! But more particularly, the writing. The fucking- writing. I'm like, the person who reads fanfics, but the ones with good fucking writing become my favorite cuz then i can kinda read it again and learn from it yk? It's like, looking up to people. And I look up to this author. How they describe emotions through nonverbal actions and verbal actions and subtle actions but also the inner monologue as well. Love it all.

Lastly, I've been saving this for the end. Rebel Without A Clause by DangerBeckett. This fic covers topics like classism and has Deep Stuff in it which is so so fun to read! I started commenting from the third chapter. Then by the fifth chapter, my two-sentence comments turned to two-page comments. As did with so many other commenters. I love the author and their writing. It is truly top tier. I love the character development going on too and the retrospection of topics and events through fiction and fandom. Truly excellent. Honestly. I can go on and on. And I have! It's about Tim meeting the batfam through galas and slowly getting adopted by them. It's in-progress still.

Those were too many fics probably lol. But I kept going through my bookmarks like "Oh! I forgot about that one! It was so fun". Happy reading! Thanks for the ask! ^^

[puraiuddo]

1/3 HI don't mind me lured back towards tumblr for JP -- it was cool seeing your rec include some older and non-ao3 fics, both because those fics are FUN and because I'm excited someone else has gone down those strange trails haha

2/3 Your list is similar to mine! enough thaaaat ok ok if you're already aware of these and chose not to feature them that's 100% valid and I'm sorry to presume, but given that ffn tf is rough to search, here's a few maybe you haven't seen and might enjoy reading? 3/3 In length order, with ffnet url endings: /s/2980742/1/Just-the-Cat-s-Meow (9k). /s/7188310/1/Yellow-Ribbon (50k) /s/9586024/31/Caro-Transmutata-Metallo (168k actually a "best friends" one iirc, also it's been like 10 years since I've fully read it, so it's ???)

lolololol s'all good! you got good taste in fics!!

Thank you for thinking of me!!

Also I couldn't help but laugh at "strange trails" being used in ref to ffn lmaooooooo. I first started reading fanfics on deviantart and then some wattpad. So ffn was the ordinary path after that. Now of course, I read fanfics on ao3 like everyone else, but when I've banged through all the fics in the pairing or topics I'm looking for, ffn's the natural choice after that lol. But now that ppl are starting on the internet with ao3, it's definitely leaving so many wonderful ffn fics in the dust which is super sad... Recently I've been using FicHub to download all the ones I really love so when ffn burns at least those won't be lost.

Long winded rant on ffn aside...... (￣▽ ￣˵)ゞ

in terms of the fics you linked... //barely holds off on exploding into a hundred pieces in a good way// OK SO... THERE'S BEEN THIS SCENE STUCK IN MY BRAIN... AND I COULD NOT REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS FROM OR HOW TO FIND IT. I AM QUITE CONFIDENT YOU HAVE HANDED IT TO ME IN YELLOW RIBBON. IF SO, I OWE YOU A DEBT OF GRATITUDE. 🫡

Now I really, really have to read it.

edit: It wasn’t it, fam. 😔

As for the other 2, I have Just the Cat's Meow in my ffn bookmarks! It was a cute fic, I'm just not sure I'd call it a JazzProwl fic I guess? 🤔 I do so love jazz being an angel of benevolent chaos tho, but I'm not so sure anything else about it like really especially stuck out to me? I guess I go for the worldbuilding or eerie fics more than anything lol. If there's something for me to overanalyze, I'm there.👌🏼

I'm also certainly gonna have to check out Caro Transmutata Metallo, though! It does sound awfully familiar so I may have saved a link for it somewhere with the intention to go read it later, but then never did... rip. Not sure about its standing on the JP list if it's Gen, but I'm looking forward to reading it regardless!

Thank you for your recs!!

[lurkinglurkerwholurks]

The Robin Manual

First posted: May 8, 2018

Focuses on: Bruce (with some Damian)

My favorite bookmark: "Dick and later Damian help Bruce with his depressed potato days"

Second favorite bookmark: "do not read if sad"

Tier: Definitely one of my quieter fics by all metrics.

This is my "behind the scenes" series where I indulge myself frightfully by annotating my fics. Link to the fic itself above. Thoughts below the cut.

This was only my third fic ever posted and my first one-shot. As best I can remember, it started because I was procrastinating on Much That Once Was Is Lost (in which Tim is verrrry depressed) and thinking about depression in general. That made me think of the posts about Batman's cape as a weighted blanket, and then I swapped out the cape for a Robin.

Bruce Wayne was having a very bad day that unfortunately had been preceded by a very good week.

This felt important, to set up at the start that Bruce is well-acquainted with bad days and can handle them, but that he also has happiness and that sometimes the light can make the gloom feel gloomier.

Most of the time, he could feel them coming the way a swimmer could feel the approach of something huge beneath the surface of the water. The pressure would start to build, tugging at him like undertow by the shore, and it was always a gamble to see how long he could tarry before the pull yanked him under.

My two earlier fics both had water imagery, too, so this third time's charm really cemented things, I think.

As Bruce Wayne, he charmed and cajoled and raised funds and awareness. As the Bat, he worked and fought and bled. 

"Why doesn't the billionaire just—" HE DOES!! THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT! This man has devoted EVVVVVVERY facet of his life to trying to heal his city and to prevent his own childhood trauma from happening to everyone else!!

Then Dick Grayson had come into his life. Bright, irrepressible Dick, who despite all he’d been through shone so fiercely with life that sometimes it hurt to look at him. Days with Dick meant chatter and laughter and so many questions that Bruce’s tongue felt like shoe leather by the end. He loved every minute.

This was also important to me, establishing Bruce as someone so very different from Dick but who loves that boy completely and irrevocably. This was also multiple years pre-Battinson. Get on my level, Reeves, I dare you.

And then, very carefully, a small body had climbed onto his back and lay down.

Confession: I very much wanted Bruce to be on his back when Dick came in, so Dick could sleep on his chest. Idiot wouldn't roll over for me. Turns out stomach-sleeping is the most depressed of poses.

He couldn’t risk sinking, couldn’t risk losing himself, even for a day. He forced himself up and through his bad days, his mind fathoms away but his body up, moving, fighting, protecting. It felt like trying to walk on a broken foot, each step grinding shattered bones further into dust. But he did it, because he had to. And then came the very bad day in the very good week.

Again, the good makes the bad seem worse. Also, Bruce has such mammoth willpower, it makes sense that he would push through mental pain the same way he would physical, because he felt like he had to, even to his own detriment, and only be able to fall apart once he was sure it was safe to do so.

Bruce didn’t know how long he had drifted until he bumped against the reef of that voice. Skeletal fingers scrabbled at its edges, trying to hold fast before he could float away again. His kids needed him. There was an emergency. A case. He needed to pull himself up onto those shattered bones and stride back into the fight.

I am pleased with my own imagery. That is all.

When Bruce woke some time later, he remembered to twist slowly and grab the child on his back before turning over completely. With a quiet, sleepy grunt, he settled the groggy boy onto his chest and tousled his dark hair.

Finally! I got him onto his back! Have a small child curled on your chest like a sleepy kitty as a reward!

Lastly: I forgot that in the endnotes for this one, I already had staked a flag in Bruce being touch-starved. Fascinating.

[crazylittlejester]

Got slammed into a fatigue wall so I'm lying in bed and thinking again. :>

I spent a few hours yesterday translating a Skyward Sword fic from English (American) to Portuguese (Brazilian) and I think it turned out okay. (It's probably also half the reason I'm so drained right now but I'm ignoring that.) I swear I have a point I'm trying to make, but it's going to take a few roundabouts to get there.

I've been doing Fic Rec Friday, and I think people like it. I like it, anyway. I've got way too many bookmarks and people keep writing new things, and I think it's fun to look through what I've read during the past month or so and pick something to showcase for the week. I've got a format figured out after a little bit of trial and error and I'm happy with it.

Back to translating. I'm not very good at it because I'm still learning. I haven't taken composition class yet, which is a whole other side tangent, so I'll stop there. But the point is I'm wondering if maybe I should post the links to what I've translated here in a similar format to how I've been posting Fic Rec Friday. I highly doubt many people would read them since there's like... 5 LU fics in total if you put the French and Spanish translations together. And I'm also self-conscious because I'm practically glued to my ENG-POR dictionary at this point. But it's a thought.

Which sort of leads to my next thought being whether or not I should go back to posting the fics I've written here or not. I was posting the Whumptober fics during October but I stopped doing that once the event ended even though I'm still chugging through. I'm definitely doing something to celebrate getting to the end once I finish.

All that to say, I'm not 100% sure what I want to do. I know I want to organize things again (the brain demands it), I'm just not sure if people mind seeing my Ao3 posts of dubious quality. I have more confidence in other people than I do myself, I guess.

Either way, don't feel like you have to give me advice, I just wanted to get my thoughts out there on the topic in case someone else was thinking about the same things. You're always really kind and empathetic and willing to listen to literally anything, too.

PS: I am planning to work on an EAH & LU crossover AU thing once I get myself together.

Okay first of all it’s really cool that ur translating fics. That sounds like a lot of work, but it’s so cool and like damn, good for you dude that’s awesome

Second: I LOVE UR FIC REC FRIDAY, i think we as a fandom should recommend more fics, i love when people share stuff they like and ive found a lot of awesome stuff that way! Plus it’s always fun to talk to people about really good fics :)

If you do decide to post ur fics on here that’d be really cool, I dunno if you mean like whole fics or just ao3 links or a combo of both, but i think that’d be nice to see em. I love opening tumblr and seeing people share their writing, and even if i cant read it right then, i almost always save it to come back to later :)

I’ll always listen to anything people say, and while I may not be the greatest at giving advice, i’ll try my best!! and if anyone else has any thoughts on this im sure they’ll leave a comment of some sorts

(i look forward to the au whenever you get around to it!!)

[olderthannetfic]

New pet peeve unlocked! There was a fic I began to read in 2021 until I needed to focus on more work related things, but I still kept the fic in my bookmarks to return to later. I randomly got the urge to reread it a few days ago, but when I searched for it in my bookmarks by filtering with the ship and other tags, I ended up with a link for a mystery work that's a part of the user's private collection. I do some more digging, and it turns out the author took down the fic and others to put behind a paywall on Patreon where she's still posting regular updates apparently. There isn't anything on their ao3 profile mentioning Patreon, so I was surprised it wasn't a case of a fic just being deleted. I didn't even know it was legal to charge for fanfiction on Patreon. The more you know, I guess.

--

It's not definitively illegal, but it's still not allowed by Patreon rules as far as I can tell. But that doesn't mean they catch everyone. After all, it's in their best monetary interests to turn a blind eye until someone complains.

[wolfstarlibrarian]

Hi can you help me find this fic? I can’t find it anywhere. I read it a few months ago. Remus is dating Benjy but when wolfstar meet they can’t be away from each other and Lily first thinks its due to a love spell but later they find out that their memories had been erased and they were together one. It’s an ao3 fic.

The Librarian has been so frustrated by this ask because it’s DEFINITELY one I’ve read, loved, and bookmarked. Eventually gave up, and then checked my own Memory Loss lists in the card catalogue for the last ask, and !!!! There it is! I feel silly, but I was always including Benjy as a keyword (not your fault as I also assumed that was part of my memory) but it’s actually an OC.

Phew! Your fic has been found (hopefully). Here’s and excerpt.

Remus closed his eyes and bowed his head. “I’ve tried to ignore you. I’ve tried to forget about you; your laugh and your smile, your eyes that look like storm clouds, your lips against mine, and your breath on my tongue, but I can’t. You’re here –“ Remus motioned to his body, “—and I don’t know why. You push at my bones, claw at my mind, and pull my heart into my throat and I hate you for it.”

Here’s your fic:

Monsters in the Box by @heartofspells

Sirius has never settled, and has never had any desire to do so. Travelling around the world, he’s always been relatively happy. When he returns home after a long absence, Sirius if forced to reconsider his choices and to choose which is more important to him: love or family?

And here’s a link to the post where it’s included. A very special thank you to @prettyremus for initially recommending it.

Wolfstar + Memory Loss 2

[astronicht]

Hey! I saw you mention your jonsa wip (which I will for sure be reading if/when it hits ao3) and it reminded me that I’m pretty sure you recced some quality jonsa longfics a while back on twitter. I thought I had saved the links, but I have so many fics marked for later that I now can’t find them. If that was indeed you, would you mind dropping some fic recs? I would appreciate very much!

Hope you are having a lovely day!

hello, sorry this is so belated, i usually can't see (or possibly just can't find) my inbox! thank u for your jonsa wip enthusiasm, i genuinely love it and it's amusingly plot-heavy for me (this does not mean much; an important emotional and narrative beat is Jon eating some fermented cabbage).

I have no idea if this was me, but a) sounds like me b) i'll give you some recs just in case :,)

you're in my blood like holy wine by magneticwave - E, 77k. regency AU, started my personal jonsa spiral. funniest reveal re: the battle of waterloo.

you mean you forgot cranberries too? by magneticwave - T, 9k. modern-Westeros AU. maybe my favorite modern AU job selection.

Come Down Like An Avalanche by SainTalia - E, 145k. modern-Westeros AU. i fuCKING love this one. All the unbridled horny joy of a paperback romance mixed with such a real grip on like, winter wilderness survival.

I've definitely read and enjoyed canon-verse ones, but apparently i was pretty lean with the bookmarks! ironically the wip itself is canon-verse. which canon i have no idea but it's involved.

[savethepinecones]

What are your three favourite fanfic tropes and what are your favourite fanfics with those tropes?

ooh good question! heads up i dont read dnp fic much so these are gonna be for other fandoms :3

fake dating is my all time favorite trope. im a sucker for miscommunication and pining and this tends to bring both out in full force.

my fav fake dating fic is currently Meet Me in the Middle (Underneath the Mistletoe) by Princessfbi, which is a 911 buddie fic. i also really enjoyed Not Spring, Love or Cherry Blossoms by mr_todoroki. i havent read it in a while since i havent read bnha fics much lately but its kiribaku and its definitely one of the first fics im gonna reread when i inevitably get sucked back into the fandom lol

second is friends to lovers. again, because pining. also its probs related to my being aroace spec and not really getting how someone could catch feelings for someone before knowing them well but like. thats not important lol

my fav friends to lovers fics are tell me about despair by hattalove which is another buddie fic (you can tell what ive been focusing on lately lmao) and Don't Freak Out by Sarah_Sandwich. its a harley keener/peter parker fic that i absolutely adore

my last pick is gonna have to be emotional hurt/comfort. anything that makes me cry because it made my soul hurt

my fav fics for this are look at the stars (look how they shine for you) by todobakutodo hours (snowandfire) which is in my bookmarks as "absolutely my favorite todobaku" and Freezing from the Inside Out by 7ate9 which is yet another buddie fic lol

im on mobile so i cant make the fics links but i may come back and do that later idk. theyre all on ao3 tho if anyone wants to check them out! thanks for sending this, i really enjoyed answering :3

[anonymous-dee]

Please read this fic I am begging you

I need some time to collect my thoughts about one of the best pieces of fan-fictional media I have ever come across in my 22 (almost 23) years of living. 

I know I may be late to the party, but I just finished reading 'carve your love into my skin' by EmpressofWallachia on Ao3 (link at the bottom of this post).

It's a Soukoku fic.

This entire story was dipped in rich, compelling prose, heart shattering angst, and detailed historical accuracy of which I have never before encountered in another Bungou Stray Dogs fanfiction. This fanfic definitely falls in my top 3 fanfics of all time, if not already taking the number one spot.

The historical references were tackled intensely and seriously in gripping, nauseating (/pos) detail, and I have yet to encounter a SKK fic that was able to CHARACTERIZE Chuuya and Dazai in such an accurate way that this fic does. This fic depicts SO BEAUTIFULLY their complex feelings and emotions towards one another and expands upon it in a way that felt novel and fresh and horrifically real and sad at the same time. It felt realistic, and I loved every second of it. When this fic says its a SLOW BURN, IT REALLY MEANS THAT.

It is very rare for me to find a fanfiction that emotionally moves me in a way such as this one did: I don't know if I will ever recover, and I mean this in the BEST WAY POSSIBLE. Most fics are alright, some are even pretty good! I remember many fics and bookmark them to read again later as a little treat. But it's hard for a fic to leave an emotional impact to the extent that this one did. THIS FIC stands above the rest, and towers over everything else like the Magnum Opus of any fanfiction ever written for the Bungou Stray Dogs fandom. 

The emotions of both Chuuya and Dazai are conveyed in such a way that I can physically feel their pains and sorrows, and the story is rich and sopping with delicious angst that I lick from the boots of the author with hungry desire. I feel as though I will never hunger, so long as this fic is here to satisfy me. I will proceed to go through the five stages of grief upon knowing this fic is over, and I might never recover from knowing that there might not be any fic better than this. This is the best of the best. 

[sushisocks]

11 for the ask thing ^_^

Eeeheheheh!!!

From the Get to know your fic writer list!

11. Link your three favorite fics right now

Ohkay, oh my god, I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume these aren't my own fics bcz besides the ones I wrote back in like 2018, I only have 3 out, and one isn't even finished jnbhvghbjbh

I'm also gonna limit myself to RDR2 ones bcz how many of yall are here for Drarry and Klance fic recs these days anyway?? I thought so, lmao, SO

1) OBVIOUSLY I have to start out with Faithless, by my dear friend Necromantic AKA @absolutedisaster69 !!! RDR2, Charthur, Unreliable Narrator, still ongoing, and REALLY FUCKED UP SO FAR, I am simply in LOVE with it okay. If you're looking for a completely different take on Charthur, and the VDL gang as a whole, this is IT!! AND, lol, if you look through the comment section of that fic you WILL find me in there analysing the shit out of nearly every chapter, it's WILD and I'm WILDIN'!!

2) Is one I genuinely think needs more attention -- Burn Like Whiskey Flames by Lysandra_Lewis AKA @ithinkthiswasabadidea is still my FAVORITE MacSummers fic to date. Imagine me, STARVED for content, going into the Sean/Lenny tag only to find this TREASURE of a fic buried among fics that only really list them as a sidepair. It is funny, and wholesome, and so sweet it will rot your TEETH out. It's Francesca's only RDR2 fic and it is a GIFT to the fandom, okay, and thusly SEVERELY underappreciated. When Sean comes into the lodge and starts "wooing" Lenny? Bro I've read this fic so many times and I am STILL giggling and blushing EVERY TIME!!!! They are SO dumb, and I'm genuinely obsessed with them and this fic okay!!!!

3) I mean, come on, we've all read Lost Country by iridian(ryehouses here on tumblr), right? If you haven't, it's Charthur, and don't be fooled by the coffee shop au tag because there is SO much more to this fic. It's been a while since my last readthrough of it, and I'm nearing a point where I'll want to reread again for sure, but I'll leave you with my bookmark comment to give you an idea of how I feel about this fic: "this fic changed me irrevocably. i was and am obsessed with everything about this fic. i listened to the playlist for months. certain songs still make me go feral. ill never forget how this fic made me feel." DEFINITE recommend, always!!

(Honorary mention to Strange Visitor by Necro, which I was very autistic about in its final months of posting, and is where I decided I wanted to be his friend!! One year later and I am a pest in his DMs all the time <3)

I know this just said to list them, but who in their right mind doesn't GRAB at the chance to gush about their favorite fics whenever they can? Give me a break, and go read these fantastic fics if you haven't already!!!

[triflesandparsnips]

When something is definitely not a game, but most definitely a gift

or, after sufficient thought and also some really very clever meta coming out of Good Omens fandom: What Javid Denkins means to me (and what I probably don't mean to "Javid Denkins")

Recap time!

In December of 2022-- wait, no, I already wrote that post, go read that. To summarize, though:

The (real) show Our Flag Means Death has a showrunner named David Jenkins. He started posting on tumblr in mid-July 2023.

The (fictional) show Blow the Man Down has a showrunner named Javid Denkins. He started posting on tumblr in early December 2022.

There was a period of time where OFMD fandom was uncertain whether these two people were one and the same, which led to a great deal of interest in the "season 2" puzzles, hints, breadcrumbs, and other fascinating bits of interactive, cross-media engagement coming out of the Javid Denkins account.

I was one of those people having A Good Time with the interaction -- I constructed puzzles for whoever was on the other end of the line, with no real belief that they would be engaged with. It was fun to do, though, and-- what if? (Bookmark this, I'm going to come back to it.)

Eventually it shook out that BTMD was a fictional show in an OFMD alternate universe fic, and from there the interactive multimedia elements expanded beyond just tumblr-- and beyond the edges of my first linked essay above.

And then, in June 2023, with the end of the story and a final post to the Javid account, it came to an end.

A brief rundown of the areas of play

There are multiple elements to the Javid Experience (tm) -- so far as I can tell and/or has been recorded by better fans than me (i.e., @eefaevie) [EDIT 9/27/23: twitter has shat the bed entirely, so here's a link to the threadreader collection]:

1. The Javid Denkins tumblr account: starts the experience, introduces the concept of games/puzzles, slowly introduces the show Blow the Man Down

2. The AU fic Blow the Man Down: makes clear the connection between the real Our Flag Means Death with the fictional BTMD, makes clear the use of games/puzzles, introduces the use of social media as an important driver of the plot and the characterization, and introduces the inciting incident for the story: Javid Denkins, showrunner of BTMD, saying that he would start a Twitter account (thus making him not the same as tumblr-Javid -- and also, unlike the other characters in the AU, not a one-to-one alt of the real David Jenkins -- which will become important later)

3. The BTMD fic collection: an open, unmoderated collection of fic that references only BTMD, treating it as a fandom in its own right while providing elements (and themes) for the main AU fic to reference

4. Several twitter accounts and group chats: these comprise, I would say, four groups/entities acting in real time and in concurrence with or directly affecting the plot of the AU. @turq8 put together a spreadsheet with the handles (as well as the assumed BTMD canon), but in short, these groups were:

the main characters of the AU (Ed and Stede, from OFMD, who in this story are fans of BTMD);

"fan" accounts for BTMD, some of whom are tied to fic authorship within the BTMD collection, and who served here as a mirror of fandom dynamics;

real accounts of fans of OFMD who were following the AU and were engaged in the Javid Experience;

Javid Denkins-- not the same Javid as tumblr-Javid or the fic-Javid, but rather one who was sockpuppeted by the Ed character

(For those keeping track, we are now up to... three different Javids: tumblr-Javid, fic-Javid, and Ed-Javid. Bookmark that.)

5. Several ancillary sites and social media accounts to add to the reality/unreality of the alternate universe, including but not limited to:

tumblr-Javid's site and its sub-pages, providing more clues/games than could necessarily be supported in tumblr's interface;

Stede's Pinterest board, providing real-time meta-narrative to support the story and the interactions the Stede twitter account was having with the OFMD fan accounts;

the instagram account and website for an in-universe animal rescue (with an event advertisement that became Relevant);

a fanzine and accompanying Mad Magazine-style fold-in (which led to a mirrored fanzine by the OFMD fans playing along);

a photograph of the alternate-universe's TV Guide with synopses of all 10 episodes of the first season of BTMD

a fake interview with the actors of BTMD ("fake interview" you say, BOOKMARK THAT);

and a youtube account ostensibly owned by one of the Javids that concluded the twitter aspects of the narrative by posting the "trailer" for season 2 of BTMD

These five areas are, I would say, the publicly accessible and still (to a degree) trackable elements of the experience, though their ephemerality is being tested with the changes to twitter and the general nature of digital-heavy works.

Now, with all that... I want to talk about two elements that aren't particularly public, and the one that finishes off the whole thing.

Three is a magic number (to triangulate a Theme)

1. The Letter

In the penultimate chapter of the AU, the author, Javid Denkins (which one?) describes a real life location, with a fictional hidden treasure, but with a real life pair of photos attached at the end.

What isn't clear, and what won't be clear to outside readers, is that there was, in fact, a real life treasure in that real life place.

I know this, because I went there. And I found it.

I describe the whole thing here, along with my Feelings about it, but in short, there was a letter that read:

In looking for the story, you became a part of it. Thank you for playing. Thank you for letting me believe it can be real. Javid

(Which Javid?)

2. The (First) Interview

The next thing that I imagine few outside readers would know about is the results of that Fic Club discord server interview I couldn't attend from the beginning-- but, thank all the little fishes, I was able to crash partway through and back-read.

Here's what you need to know:

There were not one, not two, but three Javids answering questions, demarcated by different colored icons.

Over the course of the hour, it became clear that one of the Javids was Ed-as-Javid (unaware that he exists in an AU, assumes he's dreaming up this interview); another was tumblr-Javid (aware of the AU, aware of the puzzles and games on tumblr, but unaware of The Letter); and then there was a third unknown Javid (who asked questions, cut off questions, and, in the end, was revealed to definitely know about The Letter).

The Javids answered a limited number of pre-defined questions, though there seemed to be some cross-talk and allowances for fan interaction -- thus making this, if it wasn't already obvious, a performance piece. A piece of the whole story.

The questions chosen can be found on the previously linked spreadsheet, under the "Q's for J.A.V.I.D." tab-- they mostly matched up with A3, A2, A4, A7/B2, B7, A7, C2, D4, F8, and C6, for those who want to dive in. (@clairegregoryau, who moderated, is working on releasing the transcript for public consumption, so you could also wait for that ETA: nope, just a summary/analysis -- though with the scripted nature of the Q&A, maybe someday Javid'll release that end of it? Whatever comes, I'll update here when it goes live).

But in the shortest possible sum up: the questions chosen/answered were about audience participation, unreality, and the nature of "Javid(s)" anonymity.

tumblr-Javid gave the most concrete answers to things; Ed-Javid provided a sort of meta-narrative similar to Stede's Pinterest in terms of inner-thoughts and whatnot, providing a "real person's" perspective to the fictional drama of the AU; and mystery-Javid... was a sharp-edged mystery. Until--

3. The (Second) Interview

On June 25th (the date listed on the pet rescue instagram), at 9:30 AM (the time listed within the post itself, making this a "real time" event), the tumblr account made its last post: an interview with Javid Denkins.

It's not the transcript of the first Fic Club interview. Rather, it's more of an essay, written in the style of a GQ or Esquire piece, with a first-person interviewer describing their sit-down with the showrunner of BTMD. It starts with the sentence:

Javid Denkins is not interested in answering questions. 

From there, it's slowly revealed that the second interview is, in itself, just a figment of Javid Denkins's imagination. And so is tumblr-Javid. And so is Ed-Javid. And more than that: This Javid imagined our entire universe -- OFMD, David Jenkins, the creation of the Javid tumblr and character, the BTMD augmented reality game, everything...

...as a thought experiment.

To see if, in some reality, somewhere, it was possible for him to be authentic and open as an artist-- and not be punished for it by an ouroborosing fandom.

It's an astonishing (and complicated to work out, because hooboy, did I need to sit down and diagram some stuff) piece. I have the barest edges of Feelings about it in this reblog, but as I say there: this second interview is about art, and celebrity, and fear, and humanity.

...but it is also about audience participation, unreality, and the nature of anonymity, as in the first interview. Because that's who this ultimate-Javid is -- he's the third Javid from Fic Club, still testing. He's the Javid from the AU (the one that doesn't match up with our universe's David Jenkins), self-inserting to try and explain again and again, to an audience that can't seem to hear him, why he's so angry.

Why he's so afraid.

(Anger, they say, is a secondary emotion.)

This second interview explains why this entire Javid Experience exists-- but even then, it's not entirely truthful, because it's still a story. It's a story that tells the truth through fiction. It tells the truth without revealing the magic behind it.

And it also makes me... look into the mirror, perhaps. Look deeper than I have until now, and question what I see.

Who am I (to Javid Denkins)

Here's the thing: Javid has never, ever spoken to me.

There was, for a long time, a pleasant fuzzy feeling when there appeared to be coincidences (such as the use of book codes, when I had referenced them earlier, etc). In my heart, though, and in my Very Reasonable brain, I knew that that's what they were: coincidences.

And then, when the chapters for the AU started to drop, I started noticing... more coincidences. More things that seemed to line up with someone, on the other side of the enclosure, talking back to me. I talk about this a little (a lot) in my original summary post. But it still wasn't anything direct, not really. I could play with the idea of being referenced, of being connected to, but that's all it could really be unless I was contacted directly: just a playful notion, a fun idea. Positive parasociality, I suppose.

Then, The Letter happened. And I was the one to find it. Things I knew to be coincidence -- because it literally could have been anyone! I didn't really have the time that day to go, but got swept up in the adventure! -- took on the weight of Significance. It felt real, in ways I can't even describe without going into personal details beyond the reach of a silly tumblr post.

Who was I to Javid Denkins? What did he want from me? It was exciting. It was thrilling. It was frightening, in a way, but to be perceived-- to be known by someone I admired-- felt like a kind of vindication.

Every good intention I had ever had regarding keeping a cool head and a distant interest: gone. I was all-in. I reveled in what I felt was attention.

...and then I read the first interview. I read the second interview.

I looked in the mirror. And what I saw:

1. There was someone on the other side of it. (There always had been.)

2. And that person was so angry (so afraid) of people finding meaning where none existed. Of people tearing down the walls of the enclosure, fists raised, to get that meaning whether it was freely given or not.

Here's the thing (again): There were things said in the essay that could apply to me. There are things that could apply to @eefaevie, and @turq8, and @clairegregoryau, and every other fan who participated in Javid's experiment.

But.

There are things that could apply to someone who has never heard of Our Flag Means Death. There are things that could apply to a musician, taking a smoke outside their venue and hoping no one bothers her. There are things that could apply to a puppeteer, glad he can go to the store without being bothered but upset, too, that he will never be known enough to be bothered.

There are things that could apply to a writer on the picket line, striking well after this story was written. There are things that could apply to an actor, decades dead, worried about coming out of the closet. There are things a painter, not yet born, will be scared to let drop from their brush.

Here's the thing (one last time, because three is a magic number): Javid has never, ever, ever spoken to me. Not directly, and not-- I believe now-- even indirectly. Because it's not about me. To assume it is, is... to find false positives in patterns that repeat across all public and private faces; across art, and the painful arithmetic of artist and audience. To take something universal and true, and make it small and mean and about just one thing: believing myself the main character.

What hubris. To make myself the main character of someone else's self-reflection. And to lose the world entire because of it.

Who am I to Javid Denkins? Nobody. Everybody.

The beauty of the Experience in its totality is that it is so deeply, painfully personal, so wrenching in its honesty, that it seems to speak directly to you. To reach out a hand, offering a gift that only exists if you don't demand its existence.

Each of us can accept this gift. None of us can claim it as our own, because it's not our gift to give. We can only hold out our own hands, give our own gifts, and hope that so many people find joy and comfort in it, as we did in our turn.

It's a gift that feels heavy in my hand, and I know now that I will give it over and over. For those who stumble close unseeing, until: a gleam.

[lokinightfury]

ao3 stats game

tagged by @justhere4thevibez (who has some **immaculate** ficlets going on at the minute - go check them out!)

Rules: Give us the links to your wonderful words with the most hits, most kudos, most comments, most bookmarks, most words, and least words.

Most Hits: Loser Kid - this was my first ever foray into fic writing, still kind of blows my mind so many people had read it?!

Most Kudos: I've been told to get you off my mind, but I hope I never lose the bruises you left behind (Bruises) This was my soulmate brain rot that wouldn't go away until I had written it

Most Comments: Bruises again!

Most Bookmarks: Loser Kid - I think this has a first child/height of fandom effect going because I am definitely prouder of later stuff!

Most Words: Come What May with a grand total of 83,443!

Least Words: The Backpack with a tiny 787 - this was a mini fic a few of us did based off a single inspo tweet about Chrissys backpack still being in Eddie's van... Pain. Paaaaaaiin.

That was a very lovely way to go down memory lane, so I'm going to tag @barriss @sloelimbs @jenniebellie so they get to do the same!