#fanfic authors are BUILT DIFFERENT it’s incredible

[thesaintofnevergettingitright]

Neil Gaiman works hard but fanfic authors work harder. The new season may have ripped my heart out of chest, but never fear, I’ve already read 3 fix-it fics that made it all better.

[shadowkoo]

I just needed to come here and vent for a moment. As a writer, I put a lot of time and thought into curating my ideas and outlining fics before I even begin writing. So, you can imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning to a tumblr notification that someone had tagged me in a post titled “[My Fic Title] Part 2.”

Naturally, I was a bit shocked. After scrolling through it, I realized that this user had written a second part to one of my fanfics, and they tagged me to credit me for the original story.

While I won’t name the specific fic or the user (they did remove it per my request), I feel the need to address this publicly with a quick PSA.

My characters, storylines, cliffhangers, and everything in between are my intellectual property. Yes, the characters are inspired by real idols, and yes, some of my plots exist within established TV/film/book universes. But the ideas, twists, and execution are mine, and I’m the one who will decide how they unfold. (For clarity, the fic in question isn’t set in another media universe, but I wanted include this line since it is relevant for a couple of my other works).

I appreciate that this person enjoyed my fic enough to be inspired to write something themselves, but to be completely honest, I don’t think what they did was okay. I have some serious issues with this, and I want to share them to hopefully prevent this from happening to me—or anyone else—again.

First off, I find it incredibly rude that they didn’t reach out to ask my permission beforehand. Had they done so, I would’ve immediately told them not to go forward with it. Instead, I found out through a tag after the fic had already been posted, which felt like a slap in the face. To make matters worse, because of time zone differences, the post was live for hours while I was asleep, gaining traction.

I know that in the fanfic community, it’s somewhat common to write alternate endings or continuations for larger works from big-name authors or shows, but that’s not what’s happening here. I’m a hobby kpop fanfic writer. Writing a fanfic of my fanfic just feels out of line.

To be blunt, it felt like they were piggybacking off the success of my story, trying to steal some of the excitement I’d built for an upcoming second part. It also seemed like an attempt to siphon engagement, followers, and interactions from my readers—people who were already invested in the original work.

What bothers me even more is that I’ve publicly mentioned I’m already working on a second part. It left me with a bad taste, like this person was trying to rush out their version before I could post mine. That kind of move creates confusion for readers and, from where I stand, feels calculated and disrespectful.

So let me make this crystal clear: No one has my consent to rewrite my work, create additional parts to my fics whether they’re complete, on hiatus, or in-progress, whether or not i have mentioned that i'm writing another part, or to publish alternate endings, etc.

Thank you for understanding. - Raven

[webcomixwastaken]

Honestly, every time I see someone insist they need AI for writing, be it for getting an idea or drafting their piece or even basic grammar my instinct is to say:

"Just... GET GOOD."

Like, have no ideas? Then read more books in ALL sorts of genres, styles, and authors. Even read different age groups (if you only read YA but are over the age of 20, I promise you there is plenty of Adult out there you will love. Find it. You deserve it.) Do the same for movies, shows, and plays. Go to festivals and exhibitions and concerts. Dabble in different hobbies to observe and talk to people, all sorts of people. EXPERIENCE LIFE, that's how you'll be inspired to write about it. Know the world and how you feel in it beyond what the internet tells you to. (Also, you'll find out that your "brilliantly unique concept" has likely been done before and that your personal life experience will be the thing that makes it genuinely unique.)

Think your writing is bad? AI can't make it good for you. AI is a shitty writer. If you want to write I assume you like to read. (If you want to write but don't like to read then you have an incredibly tough, nigh impossible road to "being a good writer" ahead of you.) Again, read as widely as you can. Fanfic alone will not help you unless you only want to write fanfic which I do know applies to a lot of people. There's a fantastic thread floating around here that explains why writing for fanfic vs writing original work for publication are very different spheres. And as someone who reads a bunch of both, the best fanfic still has structure, character development, and actual plot, very similarly to books. (This is very much my subjective opinion, but I despise "no plot only vibes" -- to me both are integral to a good read. This 100% applies to tradpub too; the social media trope-focused marketing annoys me to no end. What is your story ABOUT?? If you can't tell me I have no interest in reading it.)

Instead of taking the shortcut that is actually sending you back to the start anyway, just... GET GOOD. And you get good by BEING BAD. Compose some trite purple prose nonsense rife with cliches. Have all your characters be shameless Mary Sues. Or, as I see the most often in early writers, be pedantic and repetitive as fuck because you don't know that you're doing it yet until after a year or so you look back and go "why the hell did I talk so much about this irrelevant thing? it totally disrupted the momentum of the scene and doesn't even develop character." And then, you'll realise that you've learned how to edit! Congratulations! You must understand that AI doesn't know this. AI is just plagiarising a couple hundred thousand people. AI has no brain. Don't trust it. Don't even play with it. It is a pathetic zombie concoction that only causes damage to others and the environment. Trust YOUR BRAIN. You are SO MUCH SMARTER. You KNOW what you want and like, you have way better ideas and images you want to convey. And in time you will know how to convey them accurately and compellingly in a way that sounds like you.

And finally, AI for grammar and spelling? Hoo boy do I have some opinions. Well, just one. Which is to simply GET GOOD!!

People bitch that English is a difficult language to learn but hey! All languages have their rules and nuances, so that's merely subjective! Whatever language you want to write in, learn those rules!! Seriously, just GET GOOD!! it's doable! I do it! In fact, many people do it and have DONE SO FOR YEARS.

Honestly, I don't use ANY kind of grammar software beyond the basic spellcheck automatically built into browsers and word processors nowadays (the ones that give you wiggly lines while you're typing and even then I rarely right click to accept since I find it faster to simply retype properly) because I KNOW MY SHIT. I know how to construct sentences, use consistent tense, punctuate properly, and capitalise or italicise or utilise any other convention of the English language I wish to follow or break because this is my craft, and I know how to shape it to become what I want my work to be.

So here is where I expect people to be all like "but what if I'm NOT a native speaker of the language huh huh??" Well, you're choosing to write in this language though. Do your level best -- and here is where I will say that this grammar stuff IS the most forgivable aspect anyway. Spelling errors or janky phrasing never hurt anyone when we can tell it's coming from a place of true diligence and effort, in fact one of my favourite fanfics of all time was set a summer camp and the NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKING author wrote "councilor" until about chapter 20 when they asked us, utterly mortified, in the notes why nobody had corrected them (because the plot and characterisation were immersive AF and felt like it came from a real person with real experiences). Some of the most poetic syntax and delightful descriptions I've come across were from people writing in not their first language, or even second or third -- children and adults alike, still learning and still TRYING because they took this shit seriously and were putting in their all.

This is the part that I personally cannot comprehend (but in a practical way I do, only because I see it EVERYWHERE) of people claiming that they just can't "get" grammar and need some brainless software running on codes and algorithms to "correct" them - don't you want to be FREE of this dependence?? Wouldn't you prefer to write KNOWING that it says what you WANT it to say instead of hoping that maybe 30% will remain after a program strips it of voice and style (and then because you're no longer paying attention, it also makes your sentences just WORSE and not "succinct" at all)?? Don't you want to be grown and confident with SKILLS instead of whining for help (which just boils to someone doing it FOR you, not actual help) all the time???????? Like seriously!! Have some self-esteem!!!!! You deserve it!!!! GET GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been teaching fiction writing as my day job for nearly a decade now and when my students fret over their sub-par skills I always ask them how old they are. Because they should know that 9 year olds aren't supposed to spell everything correctly. Instead, they're supposed to make mistakes so they can learn how to fix them. Then, they should practise and practise and practise until they're 19 and realise that the habit has developed so beautifully that they're finding it HARD to make mistakes!

And if you're 29 and still struggling, no it's not too late. The best time was to start 20 years ago but the second best is now. Writing is pretty much a lifetime gig so keep going, and GET GOOD!!

[the-tmnt-ficfinder]

Ficfinder finds: by touch, by sight

Rottmnt Fanfic Summary: In which time dilation ruins everything. In which ten minutes on Staten Island translates to months in the Prison Dimension. In which Leo comes back, but he comes back wrong. In which there's nothing for their weird, traumatized little sewer family to do but take care of one another.

by touch, by sight: Appraisal and Ratings

(Don't know what fanfic "Appraisal and Ratings" means? Check out my explanation on my Main Masterpost! Looking for a different fanfic to read? Head on over to my Fanfic List Masterpost!)

Disclaimer: This fanfic is written by @story-monger! This fanfic is unfinished, and still updating, so as the fic updates, the post will too!

The fanfic ratings are not based on quality, favoritism, or how good I think it is, but rather, how intense a subject may be. Like a movie review, or the tags on Ao3, letting the readers know what to expect.

Plot: 💛💛💛💛💛

"Plot is five out of five!! The plot for by touch, by sight, is riveting, and very engaging!! As the author stated in the beginning notes, the story itself is inspired by @cupcakeslushie's Feral Leo Au (which is a comic series that can be found here). By touch, by sight is another version of a Feral Leo Au, told from a different authors perspective! ^^"

Suspense/Mystery: 💛💛💛💛🖤

"Suspense/Mystery is four out of five!! In the beginning, there is much more suspense and mystery as Leo is healing, and the family is looking out for him. Then as the story evolves, the suspense shifts into a new setting. The suspense in this story, greatly revolves around Leo, and his mental states."

Angst/Hurt: 💛💛💛💛💛

"Angst/Hurt is five out of five!! As this is a Feral Leo Au, this story is practically built upon angst and hurt!! This fic contains emotional angst, physical angst, medical angst, and plenty of trauma!!"

Fluff/Comfort: 💛💛💛💛🖤

"Fluff/Comfort is four out of five!! This fic has a good blend of hurt and comfort all throughout it. While Leo is struggling, his family is there to help as much as they can, offering support, and kindness to him."

Emotions Conveyed: 💛💛🖤🖤🖤

"Emotions Conveyed is two out of five!! While this fic does go into some traumatic things, nothing is incredibly graphic nor disturbing. This fic won't mess with your head or psyche much, and instead will just effect your emotions."

Drama/Tension Level: 💛💛💛🖤🖤

"Drama/Tension Level is three out of five!! The drama and tension between the family is mostly triggered by Leo's inability to communicate, and the family not knowing what to do. This fic has some tension between the brothers concerning Leo's stay in the prison dimension."

Triggers: 💛💛💛🖤🖤

"Triggers are three out of five!! By touch, by sight has some darker themes in it, though nothing shown is very graphic. I'd say this fic has a good balance between just enough angst to make to appealing, while not so much as to be overwhelming. Make sure to check the authors notes on each chapter for a TW and read the tags just to stay safe!!"

Legibility (Reading): 💛💛💛💛💛

"Legibility (Reading) is five out of five!! The writing is easy to follow, and has no difficult to read fonts or special effects."

Legibility (Audio): 💛💛💛💛💛

"Legibility (Audio) is five out of five!! I have listened to each of the chapters in audio book form so far, and they have all be wonderfully compatible!! This fic works well for reading, and listening to!!"

Length: 💛💛🖤🖤🖤

"Length is two out of five!! Currently, by touch, by sight has a chapter count of 20+ chapters, though that may end up changing."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

by touch, by sight: Chapter List

(Chapters will be added as I rate and appraise them ^^)

(Yet to be added)

[blightsbian]

in case its not obvious i was incredibly disappointed in the finale. the writing was bad, the characterization was all over the place, they completely shafted the secondary cast, they wasted tons of time on dream sequences and weed belos visuals. there was no satisfying conclusion to the caleb/philip history, there was no satisfying reason for flapjack's death other than giving hunter magic he didn't use. the foreshadowing was painfully heavy-handed ("wow, the titan's heart is still beating, titans are sooo strong").

the epilogue was straight fanservice that totally dismissed a lot of major previous conflicts, like the existence of a door. they killed off luz for absolutely no emotional payoff because they shunted camila and the hexsquad so hard that they didn't even know luz died? if you cut out every shot of camila and hexsquad in the collector's palace NOTHING changes. total dismissal of the dynamics built in the prior two episodes for a fucking clipshow of how luz eda king became friends? why? who asked for that?

idk. i really disliked this. there are a handful of things i did enjoy but the rest felt like cobbled together voice lines written by a new fanfic author. it completely destroyed any emotional weight it might have held for me, and i am genuinely baffled seeing people say they cried. glad yall enjoyed it but this feels so drastically different from the rest of the show in both themes and quality that it genuinely makes me unhappy with the show on the whole.

i also do not see this as a symptom of disney shortening the show unless they personally sent in their worst writer to redo the script here. the team took on more than they could handle with the collector and they couldn't pull it off. the writing in this episode is the sort of thing toh satirizes. what the hell happened.

[sweetiecutiedarling]

Quick reminder to be very clear, because I write fanfic and have been reading fanfic for nearly two decades: You cannot sell fanfiction. You cannot bind it and sell the bound book. You cannot sell your fanfic ebook. You cannot sell your fanfic audiobook. You cannot sell someone else's fanfic. (Seriously why does this have to be said.) You cannot profit from fanfiction.

Fanfiction is only legally protected because money is not exchanged.

This means that you cannot buy fanfiction either. Most commonly- Don't buy a bound book or an ebook (re: ebooks - AO3 has a download feature and there are third-party apps to download off of websites like FanFiction.net). "I didn't know any better." Fair enough- you do now. "But I want a bound book." Learn to bind it. "But I can't." Hashtag me neither, bad hands gang unite- find someone to ask to do it just like the fanfic author wrote the book for you for free. "That's not feasible to me because xyz." I don't know what to tell you. You can't always get what you want. It's rough like that. You're contributing to the problem when you purchase fanfiction. Don't do it.

It is more than this though, though those of us who were here when Anne Rice was attacking fanfic authors viciously (or even shortly after) know how important this is. The culture of fanfiction, which is so valuable and unique that it has been studied by universities, is built upon the premise of free fanfic works. They are a gift, a personal project, a love letter to the original work, or to what the author believes the original work could have been. (Shout out to the Twilight community for universally hating their author more than any other fandom I've seen, so proud of us.) That's why we don't offer unsolicited critiques, we scroll on. It's why collaboration is so common. It's why we can leave up our old fics, or indeed post them when we know we are at the beginning to learning to write, without the same level of concern that we have to have when we officially publish our writing. There is something so pure about posting and sharing art because we love to do it, why would we risk that?

* By mixing creative work and profits, things get messy and the original intent of the art is often distorted. Example: The difference between Korra and Asami's relationship in the Legend of Korra tv series vs the comics has been cited as due to what could or couldn't get approved in the network.

Writing is an art form like any other and fanfiction is a lovely little bubble that remains relatively unharmed by capitalism. The second we start profiting off of it we run the risk of losing our fanfic websites, facing personal legal consequences, and destroying the incredible community we're in.

Stop. Selling. Fanfiction.

[wickermayne]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. spread the self-love ❤

Ahh thank you for the ask Lavender, although choosing my favourite fics I've written is like choosing a favourite child 🤣

Tenderness (Five Years After)

Summary: Sasuke and Naruto share a moment before he leaves on his journey of atonement. Fem!Naruto. Oneshot.

Rating: T

Ship: Fem!Naruto/Sasuke

Word Count: 1215

I really love chapter 699 of Naruto which is Sasuke reflecting on his relationship with Naruto. This is my rendition of it with Fem!Naruto and some more romance. I felt it was pretty poetic!

Control

Summary: Being the head of the Uchiha clan came with incredible pressures. And whenever it became too overwhelming, Naruto was there to take control and relax her.

Fem!Sasuke, heavy dom/sub themes. Oneshot.

Rating: E

Ship: Naruto/Fem!Sasuke

Word Count: 3774

I love exploring the intimacy of Naruto and Sasuke's relationship, whether its as friends or more. I can't get over the idea that they understand each other the most. Anyway I wrote that intimacy bleeding into really rough dom/sub sex 🤪

Don't Want to Meet Your Daddy

Summary: Naruto’s not the kind of man Sakura wants.

But he can pretend to be. Oneshot.

Rating: E

Ship: Naruto/Sakura

Word Count: 2141

This is one of my worst performing fics in terms of hits/kudos ect, but I love it because it's getting across the sort of built in angst the Naruto/Sakura/Sasuke dynamic has, yearning for someone who likes you but doesn't want you, taking what you can get 😮‍💨 Anyway, not all my smut needs to have a happy ending 🤣

Hinata Hyuuga, the Housewife That Needed My Help!

Summary: Naruto Uzumaki works for a small construction company in Tokyo. Due to his coworker injuring himself on a job site, Naruto takes his place in the deep countryside. There he meets the gorgeous housewife, Hinata Hyuuga, and then her husband.

And they need Naruto's help. WIP.

Rating: E

Ship: Naruto/Hinata

Word Count: 5806

I'm often inspired by porn and hentai for my writing, but this is the first time I've tried adapting a doujin into a Naruto fanfic and I'm really enjoying it. I especially like how Naruto is in awe of Hinata's beauty, and the depravity of the indecent situation is so hot 🤭

Chicken Ramen for the Pervert's Soul

Summary: Naruto fucking different women, what else could you want?

A Plot-What-Plot? One-shot smut series involving Naruto and various lovely ladies of the Naruto world. Featuring graphic lemons, obviously. Some really nourishing stuff. WIP.

Rating: E

Ship: Naruto/Multi

Word Count: 190608

Of course I must include this! My magnus opus if I ever have one, I started this as practice to improve my smut writing and it just ballooned into my most popular fic by miles. Three years later and I'm approaching 100 chapters!

[sunderedazem]

Going to add! With some basic site-mechanics tips for ao3 newcomers mixed in, because I'd hazard a guess that some of the lack of etiquette might be remedied if new folks understood how to use this kind of website a little better - it runs very differently from the algorithm-spam of many websites today, and people who missed early internet days due to lack of access or lack of being born yet might face a bit of a learning curve.

Prefacing all this with - as stated earlier, ao3 is not a social media site. It is an archive. That means it's more similar to JSTOR or other online research databases than it is to social-media fandom hubs. It's just Not Built the same. If attention and statistics are your driving force, this site *will* disappoint.

Learn some database searching tricks! Most search engines will respond to certain phrasing (i.e. searching something like 'dog*' will return multiple results beginning with "dog" such as dog, doggo, doge, dogs, dogged, dogma, etc), and ao3 is no exception. Here's a helpful starter site for these kinds of tricks. They should also work on regular search engines like Google!

Make sure to check tags when a fic updates, especially if the author has noted something like "rating may change" or "additional tags to be added". Sometimes a surprise shock factor tag might show up that you don't like after the fic has been posted - seat-of-the-pants authors get bouts of Horrible Whimsy sometimes, and while most will warn of major changes in notes, ultimately it is on the reader to tag-check. (I am seat-of-the-pants authors)

While constructive criticism (unless specifically okayed) is usually considered rude, you can always politely ask an author to add a tag you feel may be relevant. They might say no (which is their call - only the major archive tags are required checkboxes) but asking never hurts as long as you respect the decision they make.

Learn to use site skins! There's plenty of available ones on ao3 for you to choose from that can modify your ao3 site appearance to something that better suits your tastes or needs, or filter certain things from results for you, and you don't have to be particularly ao3-savvy to apply a pre-built site skin - the option to preview and apply is built in through the site itself.

Learn a little HTML! You can insert clickable hyperlinks to your tumblr or social media or etc this way, format your fics if you want to, and you can also embed images into the text of your fics using html. You can also use this to customize site skins! (It's also very handy for customizing your tumblr too, btw)

Choose Not to Warn is not the same as No Archive Warnings Apply. If you go into a CNTW fic you're knowingly walking into something that could be incredibly disturbing or triggering, and not be explicitly tagged for that disturbing or triggering thing - the CNTW tag covers it. It's a risk you have to accept when you read that fic.

Authors can see what you say in your bookmarks, even if said bookmarks aren't visible to others. (Giving a story a "grade" in bookmarks is not the move, folks)

Favoriting tags pins them to the ao3 homepage! Very useful for quickly finding fics with your favorite ships or tropes or characters.

Do NOT mention the word "commissions" or anything similar when posting your fic - this will get your story removed because AO3's big legal defense of fanfic hinges on people NOT making money from it. This also means do NOT link to a commission site or a Ko-fi. It's not personal, it's just so they can keep themselves from eating a lawsuit.

Edit: one more! Essays and meta ARE allowed - fannish nonfiction is totally cool, just tag it appropriately.

AO3 Etiquette

It would seem a whole new kind of AO3 reader/writer is emerging and it is becoming clear not everyone quite understands how the website community works. Here is some basic guidance on how most people expect you to go about using AO3 to keep this a fun community archive that funtions correctly:

Kudos is for when the story was interesting enough to make you finish reading. If it sucked or was badly written, you probably left. If you finished - you kudos.

If you liked it, you should comment. It can be long and detailed or a literal keysmash. Writers don't care, we just love comments.

No critisism unless the author has specifically asked or agreed to hear it. Even constructive critisism is a no-no unless an author note tells you it's okay. Many people write as a fun hobby or a way to cope with, among other things, insecurity. Don't ruin that for them.

Do not comment to ask the author to write/update something else. It's tacky and off-putting and will probably have the opposite effect than the one you want.

There is no algorithm, it's an archive. Use the search and filter function to add/remove the pairings/characters/tropes etc. you want to read about and it will find you the fics that fit the bill.

For this to work, writers must tag and rate stories. This avoids readers finding the wrong things and missing the stuff they want. I don't care how cringy that trope is in your eyes - it gets tagged.

Character A/Character B means a ROMANTIC or SEXUAL relationship of some kind. Character A&Character B is PLANTONIC, like friendship or family.

Nothing is banned. This is an implicit rule because banning one thing is a slipperly slope to banning another and another, until nothing is allowed anymore. Do not expect anyone to censor for you. Because of the tags system, you are responsible for your own reading experience.

People can create new chapters and sequels/fic series any time after they "complete" a story. So it's considered perfectly normal to subscribe, even to a finished story. You can even subscribe to the author instead just to cover your bases.

Do not repost stories or change the publishing date without an extremely good reason (like a complete top to bottom rewrite). It's an archive, not social media. No one cares what's the most recent, only what fits their tag needs.

Avoid deleting a story you wrote if you hate it - orphan it so others can still enjoy it, without it being connected to you anymore.

This is a creative fanfiction archive. No essays on your insights or theories please. There are other places for that.

I KNOW there's plenty more I missed but I'm trying to cover most of the basics that people seem to be struggling with.

I invite anyone to add to this, but please explain, don't berate.

[onwriting-hrarby]

theres so many good things i could say about sunshine and rainbows honestly its so hard to pick a favourite part!! but for me, i really really loved when it was the performance night at the end, and we watched it in erens pov. like legit my heart fluttered at the way the author wrote it, i could truly honestly feel how high up against the world mikasa is seen by eren, the genuine way his whole heart and soul believes her to be his only goddess. that particular scene the way it was decribed and executed was so magical to me. they’re two very different scenes, but that scene had as much impact and magic on me as that scene in “instead they said” where em makes love in the sea!! so incredible so much depth and beauty. i literally held my breath youre so good

but i think the angst as sad as it was really was what kept me hooked to sunshine and rainbow. i legit felt like i was torturing myself reading mikasas pov after she caught eren and hisu. legit tears in my eyes and my heart ached so baaad. that level of insecurity and feeling of inadequacy mikasa felt had felt so horrible even to me as a reader. theres just something so vile in the feeling of betrayal and jealousy and how it eats on your skin. (tbh i looooove reading that in em fanfics, it hurts so bad but its such good angst😩 idk why i keep torturing myself)

but yeah same here, i wouldve probably reacted like sasha, it was actually hard for me to empathise with hisu even because in earlier chapters she wasnt really that nice to mikasa. i believe sunshine and rainbows mikasa is an actually whole saint to have sympathised and requested eren to go talk and apologise to hisu, not sure if i wouldve done that myself no ones built like mikasa lol. but yeah i do commend the way the author had somewhat villainize historia (in a writing perspective) where its hard to completely empathise with this character knowing what shes like in other scenes. now that i think about it, her flawed character reminds me of RJ historia where we cant fully empathise with her because she had some inherent racism herself right? like the way she viewed RJ mikasa or compared her struggle to poc’s and minorities. its like a hate love relationship between us and its characters. i love love love it when writers really make you think about how you feel about a character

sorry im rabbling, please stop me if you dont feel comfortable!!

Oh please, not at all, I love rambling AND i love interacting, so feel free!

You're completely right about Mikasa's pov after cheating!!! I had forgotten about that chapter and I really liked the way the author relied on just one sentence that Mikasa kept repeating to ensure that angst and confusion. I've never been in a cheatin situation but I have felt the inequacy of being you multiple times, and it hit hard. I could empathize with Mikasa much more than with Eren in that fic, mostly because I am tired of the "I'm so hurt I'm not a good person" narrative. I've had some friends who went through something similar to Eren, and they kind of passed their bad behaviour through hurt. But for me, there are no excuses to hurt others. I did empatize with Historia, though! I have been in competitive groups like dancing and that kind of relationships exists, and the way it was portrayed it felt very real that H and M wouldn't have had a good relationship because Historia feels threatened. I don't feel that Mikasa was a saint, though, because the cheating was Eren's fault, not Historia!

Yes, it's a hate-love relationship with our characters snd the way we craft them, and I think that' the beauty of not creating purely good characters or people. We humans are not pure at all! We might want good things but we also hurt a lot. It's complicated to manage expectation as readers, too! But those kind of stories that made us feel all wrong are the best because we get to go deep inside a character enough to be willing to understand them, while we would have turned the other way in real life.

(Ps: thank you very much for your nice words about Rj and ITS! I can't believe someone remembers that fic. I am torn about uploading it again but I want my sis to read it before so I know whether to turn it into a novel or not!)

[greatwyrmgold]

Probably weird of me to focus on this, but...

The Worm fandom (especially the part still reading and writing fanfic a decade later) has an intimate understanding of the ins and outs of its power system. They know the difference between a Changer and a Breaker; they know all powers are designed for conflict; they know how trigger events work.

But most people within the setting don't know any of this. Power categories (and especially ratings) are technical jargon, only important to PRT officers and nerds; powers being intentionally conflict-oriented is a fringe theory, usually dismissed with a brief consideration of human ingenuity and violence; Taylor didn't even know trigger events existed when she joined the Undersiders, despite being months into her superhero prep and research. (And, you know, having a trigger event herself.)

We see behind the curtain, we have Word of God and conspirators' Interludes and Weaver Dice. We see everything about the power system, from Enity to PRT database, as a complete and pristine whole. That's not how anyone sees it in-universe—not even Cauldron, whose nigh-omniscience has built-in limitations against power gunk.

Everything before the trigger event is unfounded speculation. Trigger events are obscured by people who lie about them (whether to keep their identities secret, hide their Cauldron ties, or because it was a deeply personal trauma that they don't want to talk with random researchers about). The PRT rating system is a collection of multiple smaller organizations' systems cleaned up to a form convenient for Wildbow's purposes that worked well enough, before being frozen so that they didn't have to update their files every six months because someone decided to relitigate the Master/Stranger split again.

All of this is within the original text, no Word of God needed. Some of it is major plot points, some of it sets up chapter-ending-cliffhanger levels of awkwardness, some of it is casually mentioned when the rating system is introduced, but all of it is present. And fanfic writers are inconsistent about remembering any of it.

[insert grumbling about Worm fanfic authors that only read other fanfic]

Now, I haven't seen many fanfics where random people correctly guess half of the big Entity twist with just publicly-available information about powers, and there are some where PRT ratings and stuff are treated as geeky stuff only PRT officials and Victoria Dallon care about. But most seem to forget that most capes don't know much about, say, PRT rating systems, and that civilians know even less.

The big offender, unsurprisingly, is Taylor Hebert. On one hand, we can be 100% certain that she wasn't a cape nerd (unless your definition is loose enough to include owning an Alexandria t-shirt at age 9). On the other hand, fanfic authors often write her with an encyclopedic knowledge of PRT jargon, as though the author forgot people in Earth Bet could describe powers without them.

It's an incredibly petty pet peeve, I realize, but it bothers me, in the same way that some fanfics will have characters look at, like, the Holy Grail and decide it must be tinkertech. It feels like the author is just using jargon from the series without considering that jargon's place in the world or the characters using them. It feels hollow and thoughtless.

[rollercoasterwords]

like okay something that drives me up the wall is seeing those critiques of the current state of the publishing industry where people will talk about how fanfiction is rotting books because now authors are just pushing conglomerations of tropes and marketing shit as like "grumpy/sunshine enemies to lovers!!" and it's deteriorating the substance of the fiction that gets published and like. yes? but that....doesn't mean that books are becoming more like fanfiction, actually. because like. the reason that fanfiction has popularized so many of these tropes and the reason fanfiction works as a form of media that revolves largely around tropes is that fanfiction doesn't need the same world-building as original fiction. like fanfic is already starting off with a rich, complex setting and cast of characters, which is why it works and can genuinely be good art and good writing to just take that world and then dress it up differently or twist it into a new shape, and the way a writer engages with the source material is a unique skill that can make their story better or worse.

but original fiction does not start with a world already built, which is why it feels incredibly shallow when an author tries to publish something that is essentially just a bunch of tropes thrown together. like, it doesn't work for an author writing original fiction to try to emulate what fanfic writers are doing on a blank slate. but that doesn't mean that what fanfic writers are doing is also shallow and bad art--it means that they are different art forms and need to be approached differently, and trying to use the methods of one to create art for the other will probably lead to bad art. does that make sense???

[hailsatanacab]

Okay.

OP here, ready to add my two cents.

First of all, thank you to everyone that has been defending fanfic authors and championing creative freedom in fandom, you're doing the lord's work, thank you so much.

Secondly, what the actual hell are you both doing?

Honestly, @jedipirateking, I was going to live and let live and just ignore the whole mess you've created on this post because frankly I didn't have the time nor the energy to interact with you, but @shadowykittengladiator added their grievances and I couldn't not say something.

This is a creative post. This is, in fact, my creative post. I wrote something that I'm proud of - and while it's not an entirely serious piece of fic (it's crack! it's not meant to be serious!) it still hurts to have to people find it, criticise it, and dislike it enough that they then have to go on and list all the things that they don't like about the fandom on it.

I appreciate that it started with, what I hope was, an earnest desire to be helpful in telling me whether the code was canon or not. I can understand why you did that and I'm not angry or upset with that. I can also understand why you do that to other, similar posts. You like DC and you want to share that with people, and that's great!

What I am upset about, and what I can imagine a lot of people are upset about, is the holier than thou attitude that comes with your corrections and additions.

Fandom is not about superiority. Fanfiction is not about superiority.

Adhering to canon does not make a fanfic any better than one that doesn't - otherwise you wouldn't be getting some of the dope AUs floating around.

What I'm trying to say is, canon is not the be-all and end-all of fic and to treat it as such is a disservice to both fandom as a whole and creators in general.

And, on the other end of the spectrum, nor is fanon! Yes, a lot of the DP fandom is built on fanon, but the fantastic part about that is that there's always an author or artist or blog that headcanons it differently.

When it comes to fandom, there's always going to be bits you don't like, people you don't like, fics, fanart, tropes, whatever, that you don't like. That's fine, that's understandable. There's a lot in this fandom that I'm not a fan of, either! We all have our opinions.

But what makes you think it's right to go on someone's post and list out everything that you dislike, everything that you think is wrong with the fandom that you're in, under the guise of being helpful?

It's rude, it's incredibly mean, and frankly, it's childish.

Not everyone wants corrections on canon or characterisation. Especially when it comes to shit like DC, where canon and characterisation varies so widely from author to author and run to run.

We're all just having fun playing with the building blocks that canon has given us, throwing out the bits we don't like and molding our own to fill in the gaps. You're more than welcome to play with what's been created, to add your own bits, or offer your suggestions, but coming in and knocking everything over because it's not the exact shape that canon gave us is ridiculous.

Finally, I want to address your last sentence, @shadowykittengladiator -

Overall, all I'm saying fics people write would be a lot more great than they already are if people respected the characters and took them a bit serious.

The sheer amount of entitlement in that sentence alone is what spurred me to respond to this. Are you kidding me? Do you understand the amount of work that goes into fanfic? They are, quite literally, labours of love born out of the passion people have for the source material, and you have the audacity to think that they need to respect the characters more? That they're not taking it seriously when they can sink hours/days/fucking years into it?

I said earlier that the fic on this post was just a bit of fun, a bit of crack specifically made to make people laugh, but for you to come here and tell me that I don't respect the characters enough to write better fic about them is such a slap in the face.

It's mind-boggling that you think that's okay. I cannot get my head around how you think it's okay to imply that people don't care enough about their passions simply because they don't cater to your specific tastes in fandom.

I'm a firm believer that people should be allowed to write and draw what they want.

So am I. I'm glad we can agree on that. I wish we could have agreed about that on a post specifically meant to say that and not, say, on my fic where I wrote exactly what I wanted, regardless of how well it fits into canon or how much you like it.

One of the core, unwritten rules of fandom and fanfiction is DLDR. Don't Like Don't Read. I implore you both to use it.

Even better, DLDC. Don't Like Don't Comment. I can guarantee that you'll get a lot less people arguing with you in the reblogs if you did.

I'm glad you like canon. I'm glad you like dpxdc. I'm glad you like reading the fics people put out. I've never been in a more supportive and creative fandom and I love it to pieces. At the end of the day, I'm happy you're both here and enjoying yourselves in it, too.

I just wish you'd both be a bit more gracious in the way you handled fandom and the people that create in it.

Family Dinners - dpxdc

"Holy shit, you're Bruce Wayne!" Danny gaped, jabbing a finger at the man sitting at the head of the table.

The bustling dining room goes silent as everyone turns to look at him.

"Danny, who did you think was going to be here?" Tim asks, disbelief plain in his voice and Danny feels his face flush red.

"Sorry, I, uh, I guess I just never put it together. Tim Drake-Wayne. Wayne Manor. It, uh, makes sense now." He laughs sheepishly and scrubs at his neck before slumping back down into his chair.

"Well," Tim says with an indulgent sigh, "at least I know you're not just friends with me for my connections."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry, I just never thought about it, I guess."

Danny sinks lower as everyone around him laughs. Come to dinner, he said, the food is the best, he said, ignore the family, he said. Danny really wishes he'd listened to Tim and just ignored them—almost as much as he's regretting accepting the offer in the first place—but... he's having dinner with Batman.

Ancients, that's so weird!

The last time he saw Batman was in the future and, suffice it to say, it was not going well. There hadn't really been time for family dinners there.

Wait. Family dinners?

He peers around the table, openly gawking at everyone as it all clicks into place.

"Everything alright, Danny? Now realising who everyone else is?" Tim asks with a roll of his eyes.

"Uh... something like that..." Danny mumbles as everyone laughs again.

From further down the table, the smallest Wayne scoffs and clicks his tongue.

"I thought you said he was smart, Drake?"

"So, you all do it, too, then?" he asks, ignoring the jibe. Danny's only a little bit jealous as he thinks of how much easier they must have it, how much easier it'd be if his family had been on his side, too. "You all work together?"

"Nah," Dick says from across the table with a brilliant grin. "Tim's the only one that works with Bruce, we all have different jobs. I'm a police officer in Bludhaven."

"Disgusting." Danny blurts out without thinking—because seriously, what kind of self-respecting vigilante would also be a police officer?—before clapping a hand over his mouth. "Sorry."

The whole table laughs again, the loudest being the blonde girl a few spaces down from Dick. Look, Danny wasn't really paying attention to names when they were all paraded in front of him. Dick only gets remembered because his name is a joke.

Come on, Danny, recover!

"That's, uh, not what I meant, though."

"Oh?" Dick asks, cocking his head slightly to the side. Is it Danny's imagination or does his smile tense slightly?

"Yeah, I mean like, you know, in costume. It must make it so much easier to have everyone together like this."

"Costume? What do you mean?"

Yeah, Danny's not imagining it, everyone tenses up at that. It's really only now that he's realising that this probably isn't how he should bring up that he knows about their... night time activities. In fact, he probably shouldn't be bringing it up at all.

"Uuhhh..." Danny looks wildly around the table as he continues making his stupid noise. Think, think, think! There must be a way out of this!

"Danny?" Tim asks, looking concerned.

"Oh, Ancients, this isn't how I wanted it to go at all," he mutters, slipping even further into his chair. He's almost on the floor now and he so, so wishes it could just swallow him up.

His real first meeting with Batman was meant to be cool! He had planned to be Phantom, maybe save them from a tight spot, prove his worth as a mysterious and powerful ally as thanks for the help Batman gave him in the future.

"Danny, what are you talking about?" Tim starts tugging on his sleeve in an attempt to pull him back up from his pit of despair.

Eventually, Danny relents and sits up straighter, hiding his face in his hands and whining all the while.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't expect him to be here and it threw me off so now I look stupid and it's so embarrassing!" he wails, flailing his arms wide. "Why wouldn't you warn me that Batman was your adopted dad, Tim? Couldn't you have let me know?"

"I'm sorry, what? Danny are you alright? There's no way Bruce can be Batman, look at him!"

"Yeah," the blonde girl laughs from the bottom of the table, "look at him! That's a wet noodle of a man! Batman can actually do things, B is incapable of pretty much everything."

"Thank you, Stephanie," Bruce sighs, massaging his forehead.

It's... Those are the first words Danny's heard Batman say since everything went down and it's enough to knock him out of his embarrassment.

It's really good to hear his voice again. Especially now, when it's strong and healthy and full of personality—even if that personality is little more than a tired father right now—far better than how it had been, at the end.

Danny sits up, back straight, and grins. He's got this. He remembers it perfectly. Some people count sheep to fall asleep, Danny repeats his mantra to be certain that he'll never forget it.

"Gamma alpha upsilon tau iota mu epsilon, 42, 63, 28, 1 colon 65 dash 9."

Once again, the whole table falls into silence.

"Holy shit..." breathes the other D name (Duke? Danny's pretty sure he's Signal) from opposite Stephanie. "Isn't that...?"

"The time travelling code." The littlest Wayne says stiffly. "We have met in the future?"

"That's not just the time travelling code, Dami." Dick says, looking between Danny and Bruce. "That's the family time travelling code."

Danny's grin freezes in place.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"1 colon 65 dash 9." Dick explains, still flicking between him and Bruce. "It means you've been adopted into the family and we should all treat you as such, no questions asked."

"Tell you what, I'm about to ask a question." Danny says, dumbstruck. "You just told me it was a code to identify time travellers, not anything about being adopted! What the hell, B?"

Bruce looks about as shellshocked as Danny feels.

"We must have been close," he says finally, after opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water a few times.

"No! Not that close!" Danny reels back, taking a deep breath ready to refute it all, but... "Well, I mean, you found me when I first got stuck, and you helped me get better despite being... And then we fought together against the, uh, bad guy, before he, um, he... before you couldn't."

An uncomfortable beat passes while they all pick up on what Danny tried so hard not to say.

"So, you're not from the future, then, you travelled there and came back?" Tim asks, breaking the tension and leaning forward with a glint in his eye.

"Yeah, it was a whole end of the world thing, but don't worry about it," Danny says with a hand wave, "It's all kosher now, won't ever happen."

"What did happen?"

"Seriously, don't worry about it, we cool."

"How long in the future was it?"

"About ten years? You were pretty spry for an old man, B," Danny laughs, wishing they'd get off the topic of what happened and get back to the adoption bit.

Everyone shares degrees of a cautious smile as they relax out of the shock, and Dick—whose grin is the biggest—says, "No wonder you got the family code, you're already riffing on him like one of us. How long were you there for?"

"A week, before I managed to get back to my present and stop him then."

"A week? Jeez, B, that has to set some kind of record, seriously."

"Oh!" Danny says, sitting bolt upright and blinking in surprise before pointing at Dick and bouncing in his seat. "You're Nightwing!"

"What?"

"That's exactly what Nightwing said when Batman told me the code! Makes so much more sense now."

Dick laughs and claps his hands, delighted.

"You were not formally adopted?" The grumpy small one—Dami?—asks, his face pinched.

"I didn't even know I was informally adopted."

"And your parents? Are they alive or dead?"

"Damian, stop—"

"They were dead in the future, but they're alive now." Danny says, looking down. He fiddles with the tablecloth, twisting the fabric around his fingers as he fights down the pang of sadness that he always feels when he thinks of them now. He forces a bright smile on his face and hopes it doesn’t look too strained. "I just, uh, can't talk to them much, anymore."

"Damian," Dick warns, "1 colon 65 dash 9. Treat them as family, no questions asked."

"This is Damian treating him as family, the little turd has no manners." Tim scoffs, rolling his eyes, but he gently bumps shoulders with Danny to knock him out of his funk. Danny can't help but send him a watery smile.

"I have the most exemplary manners, Drake, unlike some people." Damian spits, crossing his arms with a pout. "I was merely ascertaining his status to see how he could possibly fit into the family."

"I know this is all a bit sudden, Danny," Bruce smiles, ignoring Damian and reaching out to lay a warm hand on his arm, "for all of us. But if I felt strongly enough to give you that code after spending a week with you in the future, then you are more than welcome in this family, if you so choose it. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we'd like to get to know you a bit more."

"I know a threat when I hear it, Bruce." Danny snorts. "But, yeah, I get it. I'm sorry this is all so weird, it really wasn't how I wanted to find you again, but... I'm glad I did."

"So are we, Danny." Dick says, with a warm smile. "And formally or not, 1 colon 65 dash 9 means you're family. Welcome to the fun house! No take backs or refunds, sorry. You're stuck with us."

[oviids]

pls share some of your spn fic recs 🥺🥺

ok, a few things first:

followers and mutuals who do not have supernatural brainworms, kindly avert your eyes

i don’t normally rec or even read much fanfic any more but this is a CRISIS ok (cont.)

there is so. much. content for deancas out there and i have incredibly high standards, several ancient ao3 bookmarks, can speedread, and want to spare you guys the experience of wading through it all.

i also have a section for spn femslash since I was pretty into that back in the day (sadly a lot less fan content for this :/)

I don’t really like au’s or pure smut (I honestly usually just skim or skip those scenes) so if you’re mainly looking for that kind of thing this probably won’t be very helpful to you. jsyk.

i’m not great at describing stuff but i’ll do my best, i’ll also try and add tw’s when neccesary.

i wil try and keep updating this with any other decent fics i find, feel free to rec stuff too since i’m like 7 years behind.(edit 1/25/21) this is getting looooong so i’m going to start making another list on my spn blog rather than update this one

(edit 1/3/21) since this has gotten pretty long i’ve added rating/approximate word counts and marked my particular favorites with an asterisk.

Dean/Cas fic:

So Says The Sword*** - explicit/85k. FUCK its good...au/time travel where dean is not pulled out of hell by cas and says yes to becoming the michael sword. honestly could serve as an alternative to actually watching the show, if you want to get into dean/cas without actually doing that to yourself.

Fata morgana.*  - teen/6k, pst s9 finale. very bela centric and i love it, she finds cas looking for dean in hell.

Redemption Road -misc/600+k. an incredibly long fic from a collaborative writing group back in the day. canon divergent from the end of s6 on, has a cool take on godstiel and the leviathans, as well as the lovecratian mythos connection. ngl when i reread it i only made it about 28% in but imo the casual reader can actually stop around there, the rest concerns a lovecraftian apocalypse that is still good (i think i don’t remember it very well) but not required to enjoy the first half. if you prefer i have an ebook version i can send you on gdrive.

Someone Who's Feeling For Me* - mature/45k, s12. they run into lisa braeden and dean thinks cas is into her while cas thinks dean still likes her. treats lisa way better than the show ever did and the miscommunication is pretty funny rather than annoying.

a turn of the earth - mature/95k. time travel fic where cas from s10 keeps showing up in deans life from a few years before s1 to right before the hellhounds take his soul.  slow burn, good character study, and at one point cas punches the dad in the face and it rules.

On the Wings of War - teen/85k, canon divergent s5. dean accidentally becomes the Horseman of War. plays fun, fast and loose with biblical lore, michael has some rights.

Named - mature/95k, alternate s5. EXTREMELY blasphemous in a fun sexy way. manages to predict metatron almost to a T. there’s one major character death and its literally jesus christ, everyone is very sad about it and it sets the rest of the story rolling. an alternate interpretation of cas’ mission to raise dean from hell which had me on the floor. ngl its kind of misogynistic at points, but its from 2010 and tracks with late oughts-2010 spn (sorry anna the author did you dirty here:/).

The Girlfriend Experience - explicit/15k. uhhh i don’t normally rec or even read smutty stuff unless someone i know is specifically asking for it but this has stuff like sam trying to be a good ally and dean thinking holding hands with cas is ‘kinda gay :/’ minutes after having gay sex with him.

i crippled your heart a hundred times - explicit/19k, s8. cas confesses his feelings and dean spends a long time getting his head out of his ass about it. truly hits different after the actual confession, despite being written six years early it feels like its actually what could have gone down more or less if the writers weren’t talentless demons who hate us.

My Roots Take Flight** - mature/125k. reverse au where cas is a hunter and dean’s an angel...OR IS IT???? an alternate retelling of s4. tw for briefly being set in a psychiatric hospital/the hospital being mentioned somewhat frequently throughout the fic, plus more references to torture in hell and heaven than usual.

The One Thing You Can't Lose* - teen/4k.you know those posts about how cas is a super-strong super-tough ancient warrior but he just lets dean tug him around because he likes it? thats it thats the fic.

Hands, From Which All Things Are Built - teen/14k, post s8′s ‘goodbye stranger.’ cas is on the run with the angel tablet but keeps in touch with sam and dean by text, he and dean still manage to be terrible at Actual communication.

Autrement, Danger - or, The Account of an Exceedingly Long Day - mature/30k, post s11. a monster that takes the appearance of your soulmate leads to some wild miscommunications and dealing with years of repression, also dean gets to see cas’ true form which is always cool. tw for non-graphic mentions of underage sexual assault/sex work.

Down to Agincourt - mature/explicit/900++++k, endverse continuation. endverse!cas survives his encounter with lucifer and discovers another time-displaced dean from s7. i’ve only read the two of four parts but its really good, veeeeery slow burn, has a lot of fun oc’s and takes a rather surprising but (imo) entertaining and intriguing turn into Hellenic history and mythology. usual tw’s for endverse/endverse!cas but nothing graphic, it’s actually pretty light-hearted (relatively speaking of course).

Nothing Equals the Splendor** - explicit/8k, THEE finale fix it fic you’ve been waiting for! posits that the entire final episode was just a (very bad and lame) djinn’s vision.

like moses and batman and james dean - explicit/31k, post s8. explores dean’s trauma and internalized homophoba from his technically canon experience with sex work and its impact on his relationship with cas. the sex work itself isn’t really shown in any detail but it’s still a relatively heavy fic.

Crazy Diamonds - explicit/25k, s4/alternate s14. fresh-out-of-hell dean and dean from 10 years in the future are displaced from time and sent to each other’s present.

where the weeds take root - explicit/30k. au where the men of letters kick them out of the bunker and they accidentally move out into the country, get over their codependence and semi retire. featuring chicken coop building, sam volunteering at a dog shelter, gardening, and blissfully mundane domesticity.

No Resting Place - teen/6k. djinn dream fic, switches back and forth between cas’ dream of being married to dean and retired from hunting to the aftermath when he wakes up. tw for brief mention of suicide since, y’know, djinn dream.

any port in a storm - mature/52k. post s8 finale. cas and dean have to pose as a couple going through a rough patch for a case and actually deal with their emotional baggage, cas struggles with being human and metatron is up to stuff.

all this and heaven too* - explicit/7k. in the author’s own words ‘...a love letter to every trans person who ever projected onto Dean Winchester.’ absolutely unzipped me emotionally and theologically, its just. so good. tw for very brief mentions of internalized transphobia/dysphoria.

Because it is* - mature/6k, finale fix it. killing chuck does not bring back anyone back and the winchesters spend a very long time dealing with what they’ve lost, cas and dean SOMEHOW still manage to have signifigant communication issues even after the confession. tw for suicidal thoughts/brief attempt.

Vena Amoris and Other Old-Fashioned Bullshit* - teen/4k, s6. when cas fell for dean it automatically soulbonded/angel married them, shenanigans ensue when dean finds out during the angel’s civil war. funny and actually written back when s6 was airing so cas is still (or at least pretending to be) kind of an OP asshole which is fun.

Rinse, Repeat - teen/3k, s8. angsty character study of cas as he’s reprogrammed and trained to kill dean. not really dean/cas since its just cas’ pov of canon events but its beautifully written and ends with him snapping out of it through the power of love (also now a canon event!).

Emergence - explicit/59k, canon divergent after s11. dean meets a hunter he only recognizes as their friend claire novak’s missing father, but soon realizes he might be the answer behind the mysterious void in his memories and feelings (aka everyone’s memories of cas are completely wiped away for three years).

Cuckoo And Nest - explicit/10k, early established relationship/character study, cas tries to figure out how he fits into dean’s life and space in the bunker.

Build a Home* - teen/20k, canon divergent s12. sam and eileen are cute and turn the bunker into men of letters/hunters hq and everyone but cas moves in, mutual miscommunication issues and pining ensues.

Down in the River - teen/5k, early s8, cas prays to dean in purgatory while sam and dean try to figure out a way to get him out.

Teaching Poetry to Fish* - mature/52k, ?? BC through the entire series/canon divergent s14 and 15. retelling of crucial scenes throughout the shows timeline from cas’ pov, feat. actual fish and poetry.

the minor fall, the major lift - gen/4k, post confession/finale fixit. dean goes into the empty to save cas and runs into several old friends (and enemies).

With the Kisses of His Mouth* - teen/3k, gen later seasons. dean and cas keep kissing by accident.

Remaining Grace - explicit/109k, alternate s6. au where cas asks dean for help with raphael and dean, of course, does. tw for temporary major character death/semi-graphic depictions of alcohol withdrawal.

The face of heaven.* - teen/10k, au, dean is a regular guy and cas is a fallen star (think ‘stardust’, kinda).

Stories Are Made of Mistakes*  - teen/5k. newly human cas has trouble getting used to a human body and humanity in general, but still figures out that he and dean are A Thing before dean does.

Hurry Up And Wait - mature/21k, canon divergent s12. a fairyland and quite possibly LOTR related case comes up and dean goes full fanboy, mary is introduced to the wonders of the peter jackson adaptions, many references and comparisons (including between cas and dean’s ‘friendship’ and arwen/aragon). also charle is still alive and has just been doing fairy stuff this whole time.

There Are Many Things - explicit/28k, s9. cas is extremely lonely/touch-starved and trying to figure out this whole human thing, as well as where he and dean stand after being kicked out of the bunker.

It's A Long Life to Always Be Longing - teen/40k, post s11 finale. amara helps dean by putting him in a magical coma so he can finally get some much needed rest and show him possible futures for him, sam and cas. meanwhile sam and cas go on a roadtrip (or several) to find componets for a spell to wake dean up. really good sam and cas friendship, they actually talk about their shared lucifer trauma and stuff.

Non-Photo Blue - gen/2k, s4/5/alternate s5. fifty moments from cas’ memories of dean.

Tall Grass - explicit/57k, canon divergent post series. cas becomes the ultimate plant dad. feat the wayward sisters gang, cathartic character growth, fun oc’s, domesticity, and lots of actual botanical info-dumping.

on vessels - no rating/gen/2k. established dean/cas, cas tells dean about how he used to imagine what it would be like to have him as his vessel.

search for tomorrow on every shore* - teen/11k, post-finale (extremely derogatory). some angels in jack’s new heaven act out and dean gets temporarily resurrected in 2003 and runs into his younger self.

Architecture of the Minotaur’s Heart - explicit/45k, very canon divergent post s1. dean’s new house seems to have a life and mind of its own, while in his dreams he sees glimpses of a world and apocalypse that never came to be and an angel that looks strangely like his mysterious neighbor, cas. loosely inspired by the book house of leaves (which i highly recommend for fans of weird horror).

The Distance Of The Setting Sun - explicit/17k, post s5. established dean/cas relationship, team free will finally takes advantage of cas’ abilities to go on vacation around the world.

diamond star halo - teen/5k, s11. dean lets cas use him as a temporary vessel while he recovers from rowena’s spell, sam is a long-suffering third-wheel.

Make Known** - teen/16k, s6/7. dean struggles to understand how cas could have become his enemy and whether he ever truly knew him in the first place.

blunt little instrument* - mature/1.4k, post finale. dean finally confronts his father in heaven, very cathartic.

my heart a compass*** - teen/10k, post confession. the empty forces cas to re-experience his most regretted moments while dean tries to snap him out of it and bring him home.

A Crash Course in Someone Else's History - teen/11k, s6. cas from the very start of s4 is brought forward in time by s6!cas to distract the brothers from his and crowley’s plans.

The Cuckoo Father - mature/8k, s7 au. the woman who found cas in the river post-leviathans does not marry him bc he was sent to her by god or whatever, but actually identifies him as jimmy novak and sends him back to claire and amelia.

The Dead Dean Clause* - teen/5k, post alt s5 ending. team free will celebrates surviving taking down lucifer by getting blitzed, cas lies to a cop and gets an impromptu driving lesson. title/description sound dark i know but it’s actually very funny and light.

Suck It, Judy Garland - mature/20k, s12 (after the ‘i love you...i love all of you’ episode). cas and sam have to pretend to be a couple for a case and dean is NOT happy about it.

By Daylight and In Dream - teen/16k, s5. pre-dean/cas, dean invites cas to use his dreams to hide from the other angels. tw for very brief mention of a memory/dream of alastair sexually assaulting dean.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven - mature/22k, post-canon. an actually happy (if sometimes bittersweet) heaven endgame written several years ago, though some details are rather eerily similar to the show’s ending.

heaven is a place on earth* - teen/2k. dean’s pov of some of the times cas left him behind throughout the show, and one alternate ending where he finally gets to stay.

I Cleanse The Mirror - teen/20k, alternate s6. dean’s body is stolen by an ancient elemental and his soul has to hitch a ride in cas’ vessel.

an exploration of gender; angelic*** - mature/4k. *oscar isaac voice* lets get into angel gender politics!! aka cas is trans.

Zenith - explicit/33k, s9. after 9x06 an angry witch curses cas with the ability to see supernatural beings and human souls.

La cucina. - gen/3k, alt s9. dean goes wild helping a newly-human cas find out what kinds of food he likes, or the early s9 domesticity we deserved!

Dean Winchester, Cocksucker at Rest***** - teen/7k, post-finale. john and mary finally come over for dinner and john reacts to dean/cas in a rather predictable fashion. SOOOOOOOOO good omg, its so funny and a little sad and very very cathartic. part of a series that has a few other really good short fics.

The Way You Didn't Go - teen/5k, s15. coda to 15.09, dean has nightmares about the moc!cas timeline.

On Drowning - teen/28k. dean saves cas after he nearly drowns, they both try and deal with the physical/mental fallout (aka the fic where thee iconic “you only touch me when you think I’m dead or dying” originates). tw for realistic depictions of drowning/triage/misc medical information.

The Thirty-Six Questions That Lead to Love* - mature/13k. claire has dean and cas pretend to be her gay dads for a case and they play the titular 36 question game, get mistaken for swingers, and birdwatch, among other things.

Assorted F/F stuff:

Deep Breaths* - mary/ellen, au where mary said no to azazel’s deal and let john stay dead, still becomes a milf.

Like Rebel Diamonds - krissy/claire, they become hunter gf’s on the hunt for cas to kick his ass for taking jimmy. not-so-stealth dean/cas as well.

To Ash and Bone - anna/ruby, same author as the previous fic (p much all of her stuff is good from what i recall). au where ruby is a witch and helps anna when she’s cursed.

Holy Clockwork Angels - jo/ruby, STEAMPUNK au with very cool worldbuiilding.

At Day's End - jo/anna (my fucking KINGDOM for more jo/anna content, the dean/cas parallels are allllll there), au where they are both at the camp in the endverse and gfs.

these posts - ok so not actually a fic but i’m now obsessed with this hannah/meg dynamic.

Tagelied - mary/ellen, the true story of how ellen got into hunting before angels interfered.

Hell's Bells** - meg/abaddon, alternate s8/9 where meg survives crowley’s attack with sam’s help and teams up with abaddon (who she has a sk year old crush on) to take back hell.

The Ecstasy of the Rose - anna/ruby, anna travels back in time to escape heaven and becomes a signifigant part of ruby’s old human life.

Angel Underground - anna/jo, kind of an urban fantasy au with a very intriguing premise (sadly its very short, i’d love to see more if this ‘verse).

Clover, Flame - billie/mary, billie was always the reaper that showed up to take mary after her death(s) over the years.

Drag Me To Heaven - anna/ruby, a variant on the ‘last night on earth’ thing with dean.

Come Home* - jo/anna, canon-divergent au where anna is the new waitress at the roadhouse and helps jo set up a (probably not really) haunted house for halloween.

[ink-and-blood-goddess]

Top Dollar with short, plus-sized, shy, and gentle S/O Headcanons

Requested by Anonymous-I don't know if your requests are still open, but if they are, may I ask for some romantic headcanons for Top Dollar (the crow) with a shy, gentle s/o who is very affectionate towards him, and who likes cooking for him? If it's ok, can she be described as short and on the heavier side (if not I understand). 

A/N-This is my first time writing character headcanons and this is a perfect way to use them for him too. It’s hard to believe that there’s hardly any fanfics of this character. I quite enjoy him. Anon I hope you enjoy the headcanons, I really enjoyed writing them myself :D

Warnings: Pure fluff, angst, anxiety, body issues, language, and mentions of violence

Citrus Scale: 🍎

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You were the only one affectionate towards him all the time. Your boss/employer of all things. You totally knew what you were getting yourself into when you fell head over heels in love with him

You didn’t know what his real name was, but others who work with him called him Top Dollar. The only two you used for him were ‘sir’ and ‘boss’. Giving him your respect for his authority in the workplace.

He was strikingly handsome for a crime boss. Striking facial features, such as his cheek bones. Dark, but beautiful eyes. Long and silky back length dark brown hair, cascading down over his broad shoulders. Medium built body. Very well dressed too. Standing quite tall whenever he wasn’t sitting most of the time. His voice. His fucking voice was the best part of him. It was so rough and gravely when he talked.

You, on the other hand, were quite different from him.  

You were a short and plus-sized person compared to him. But you were shy and gentle towards him. Never said much whenever you were around him.

He appreciates everything you do around the place.

The one thing you were best at was cooking

Anything you cook, he loves it. Every bite he takes makes you really happy. He also watches you cook in the kitchen.

He’s very romantic towards you and only you when the two of you are alone with one another.

Giving you meaningful kisses all over your hands, arms, neck, and face.

Also gives the most romantic hugs too

But the thing was that you felt like you didn’t fit quite right in with him at all

Any time you look at yourself in the mirror, you feel displeased with yourself. The size of your waist, hips, thighs, legs, and arms really bothered you alot.

Your anxiety would overcome you, whenever you caught a glimpse of yourself. Tears pricking at the corner of your eyes and looking away as quickly as possible. All you wanted to do was to hide from him and yourself.

“Don’t cry baby girl. You’re perfect in every way that I see you. I love you just the way you are,” kissing on top of your head, with his fingers playing with your (H/C) hair. Hugging you closely towards his chest, while you cry your eyes out. He was very right about that, he just loved the way you are.

The very first time that he met you, he noticed how incredibly shy and uncomfortable you were when you were next to him. He kept his distance, until you started getting used to your new surroundings and him.

Getting closer and closer whenever you spend your alone time with him. Being gentle with you. Working his hands and caressing every single spot of your body.

He knows very well to keep his mouth shut, while listening to you talk.

 Doesn’t make any fat jokes or inappropriate comments about you and your body, knowing that they really upset you.

Even his crew of thugs know when not to mess around with the boss’s S/O or him mostly.

One of them made a very inappropriate joke about you one night.

One minute he was laughing his ass off, the next a sword was sticking out of his eye socket. Thankfully you weren’t there when the whole thing went down.

Your lover doesn’t take kindly or show anyone of his crew mercy when they talk shit about you.

“If any of you fucking assholes have anything to say about (Y/N), say it right now,” he’s isn’t fucking playing around now. He really scared them straight. None of them ever made jokes or comments ever again, after seeing their buddy be stabbed through the eye like that.

He’s very protective of you too.

Has a very hard time letting you go from his arms. Feeling your warmth coming from your skin. A very sweet scent intoxicating his own senses.

You’d be lost without him.

If it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t be with a very caring person who loves for who you are.

[the-way-astray]

starting to think the way you ship sokeefe is similar to the way i ship jurdan. let me explain in this far-too-long ramble.

don't know if you've read the cruel prince but for the sake of this explanation i'll pretend you have. (there's no spoilers in case you haven't. well except for. jude and cardan get together. but that's fairly obvious. it is kind of the selling point.)

like their relationship is kind of toxic! but that's kind of part of the charm? the dynamic is very much leaned into and acknowledged as toxic? but also they genuinely care about each other? and it's so cute? but also it's kinda fucked up how they started.

don't know how else to describe it like they're perfect for each other but in such a messed up way.

i ship them not in a “oh they're so sweet!!! so healthy!!! so perfect!!! this is exactly what i want in a relationship!!!” way but in a "wow they have. something there. for sure. and it's so interesting how much they care for each other not despite but because of each other's flaws as well as respecting each other for their good qualities too" kind of way.

but i think the difference is perception is all chalked up to the way they're written and the way the authors want you to perceive them.

jude and cardan are both incredibly morally gray and toxic as fuck and holly (author) very much understands that and wants the reader to understand that too. jude and cardan are not good people. you should not want to be like them or have a relationship as fucked up as theirs. that's kind of the point. they are so fucked up and that's why they're so interesting. because you can root for them and the way they embrace each other's flaws and good qualities despite knowing exactly what that means. it's almost like they see their own monster reflected in the other, and that's why they're so into each other. it makes their relationship feel more multifaceted and fleshed out, and overall i do love that series (haven't read it in a hot minute though, so if some of this is slightly inaccurate, sorry about that, lol).

but shannon clearly wants you to perceive sophie and keefe as a fluffy, cute, little teenage romance. that's the problem i have with the way they're written. i love me a good toxic, fucked up relationship with flawed people, but those flaws have to be portrayed as such, or else the entire thing just falls flat (for me). if an author includes all these flaws, but doesn't explore what that means for the relationship, and instead tries to pretend it's all fine and dandy, that's where they lose me. honestly, if sophie and keefe had been fucked up and full of flaws that shannon acknowledged and built their relationship around, i could've really enjoyed them (not saying that's really an option, considering the target age range, but hypothetically speaking). in other words, if shannon had leaned into the flawed dynamic, i think they could've been so good, not from a relationship perspective, but from a character study/writing perspective.

all this rambling is to say, i think this may be the way? you perceive sophie and keefe's dynamic? or at least the way you perceive keefe's flaws? as more of a character study into what trauma can do to a person rather than a more three-dimensional look at how it affects his interpersonal relationships or the story in general? that might be a bit wrong but i don't really know how to explain it better than that, lmfao. and honestly, that's a really interesting way of looking at keefe. it's why i said i don't hate fanon keefe, because there's so many ways to explore and interpret him that make him way more fascinating to me than whatever it is shannon did with him. but in canon, keefe's more negative traits are completely brushed over and not at all delved into, which is honestly such a shame. he could've been so interesting. it's (mostly) why i despise him in canon, or at least the way he's written.

i haven't read any of your fanfics or anything, so i don't know how precisely you see keefe as a character or as a love interest for sophie. i could be completely off the mark, but based on what you've said, i think this is it???

One of my favorite things about unlocked is seeing how broken keefe and Fitz’s relationship has become. Because yes, in the healing center scene, fitz is just trying to help and keefe is being extremely difficult, and while most of that can be chalked up to the fact that he just went through, like, insane trauma and is less okay than he’s ever been in the series (which is saying something), his narration explicitly cares more about Sophie’s feelings than Fitz’s.

Add this onto the list of things that make keefe interesting to me I suppose

[ruby-whistler]

a complete list of my writing and analysis

[ updated: 29/08/2021 ]

PSA's and the like:

- therapy vs. emotional support - on excusing c!tommy's actions because of ptsd - static vs. dynamic characters on the dream smp (outdated) - important things to keep in mind during analysis and discussions - characters aren't synonymous with their past actions - the dehumanization of c!dream in the dsmp fandom - tag your positive posts! / tag your crit! - welcome to dreblr - the unofficial guide

memes and joke posts:

- what freaks out the dream smp fandom - c!karl & c!dream my beloveds <3 - dream apologist vibes - scratch that no vibes send help - the "i'm you" c!ranboo bit is beginning to make a lot more sense - "fighting with words" and "talking with violence" on the smp - the fandom's both biased and hypocritical apparently - *casually hates on l'manberg again* - "why are you a dream apologist?" - "c!dream and techno are imminent threats" yeah sure- - the five stages of grief ft. ruby (3rd life smp ending) - hermits' vibes by ruby; the only trustworthy source of information /j - l'manberg weren't pacifists nor the victims in the war - ...so c!wilbur said c!dream apologists are partially right - it's "l'manberg" and i take no criticism - why are we here, just to suffer - why friend isn't in wilbur's limbo - look, i don't excuse c!dream's actions. ok maybe some of them- - c!everyone apologists are the best at analysis - apparently we have the most angst and hurt/comfort fanfic. Why - meme through the pain i want him back pls - dream apologists are an unstoppable force of nature - this is how endersmile happened, right - the only valid dsmp citizen meme - oh look i still follow booktubers - i want you all to suffer as much as i suffer dealing with you - i like c!dream for being horrible. fight me. // genuinely love him too - the l'manberg anti salt post - healing fics that remove a character's core trait are not good

creative essays and objective analysis:

- on villains, heroes, and the metanarrative of the dream smp - my perception of the dream smp story and the characters in it - putting ghostbur's death into context - an analysis of c!dream's motivation during the l'manberg war - on l'manberg and c!wilbur's "death of the author" - dehumanization and victim blaming of c!dream part one - please let people have feelings about minecraft rp - dehumanization and victim blaming of c!dream part two - the reasons for the dehumanization of c!dream - c!wilbur was sure as hell gonna be ambitious - c!dream cares about people so much he won't let them care back - why c!dream should (and probably will be) redeemed: an essay - short semi-factual analysis of the prison death scene - there's no redemption before healing - what happened to c!techno wasn't "peer pressure" (best post!) - a scene-by-scene analysis of the original disc war - on blaming characters for c!dream's neglect and abandonment - add-on to the previous point by me and @/simplepotatofarmer - l’manberg was nothing but something to sacrifice for [v. 2.0!] - metaphor on the nature of redemption in narratives - statement on c!dream, justification and sympathy - c!dream's actions aren't based on beliefs; they stem from mindsets - c!tommy didn't deserve exile and c!dream didn't deserve the prison - (c!)dream is afraid of death; a speculative essay - c!dream isn't selfish - c!dream cares even if it hurts him - saying c!dream / c!techno should've left l'manberg alone is naive - with c!techno, c!dream is allowed to be a person, above all else - c!dream isn't the "main villain" and he hasn't "hurt everyone" - saying c!dream never cared is a mischaracterization (by anon) - c!dream isn't manipulating c!ranboo, actually (collab post) - c!dream is very clearly hurt - his trauma isn't loud, but it's there - l'manberg was, without question, built on xenophobia - please listen to the writers of the story about the characters - roleplay is supposed to be collaborative, not pre-written - the dream smp also doesn't need a "lead writer" - the common misinterpretations of c!dream and why no one is right - final disc war analysis and why it makes no sense (by anon) - why i am so attached the c!dream's character - on healing, redemption, and forgiveness - c!dream killed c!tommy to prove he was worth keeping alive - the duel is an example of actions that speak louder than words - the themes of the story line up with c!techno's narrative - c!sam hurts c!dream out of hatred stemming from fear - c!dream in season one was an anti-hero - c!sapnap is a bad friend // and acts like a bad person // + el rapids - yes, morality is a sliding scale! ...they're still all in the grey area! - a c!dream redemption'd fit incredibly well with the story's themes - a pretty long list of loose ends in the dream smp's story - c!dream wasn't owed being cared about, but he was still alone - i love c!dream. he's important to me. and that's okay. - scar is so funny and entertaining and amazing i love watching him - there's a difference between "unrealiable narrator" and "liar" - don't cut the sharp edges off of characters - people have a "minecraft persona", which c!dream used to be - on c!dream's alleged obsession with c!tommy - colour coding in dsmp analysis - by coffee anon!