#fic history

[questionablecuttlefish]

This is a FASCINATING piece of Lightcannon history that us Lux/Jinx shippers really needed to know, thank you.

I'd love to track down these older fics and read them, but don't have an FF.net account so I might have to make one just for that.

Thanks for sharing!

So, thoughts on the whole Jinx x Lux shipping popularity blowing up? Why it happened, do you think it can work, especially with the context of Arcane involved?

I don't actually know the history of that ship, so I can't tell you much about that (someone else please reblog if you have a good timeline!)

I know it certainly bloomed with the Star Guardian skins, casting Lux and Jinx SPECIFICALLY as opposites and bitter rivals who nonetheless come together when it matters because they are bound by bonds of deep affection and mutual need, which, in the context of magical girls which are sapphic as F*** at a baseline, obviously was going to set some things in motion.

Their dynamic also works pretty well just on the trope level. Lux is a optimistic, bright ray of sunshine who wants to see the best and the good in everyone and everything but struggles tremendously feeling inadequate to her responsibilities, and Jinx is a sardonic, detached, self-destructive force of chaos who aggressively refuses to take anything seriously, and whose carefree demeanor hides a deep well of hurt and sorrow.

That's in Star Guardians, mind you, Jinx is... a bit all over the map as a personality across her incarnations, but they generally work well together as contrasting opposites with something meaningful to offer one another.

In Arcane, I have no idea what Demacia would be like, but assuming it goes like it does in the main canon, Lux and Jinx certainly would share some foundational traumas, both of them on the receiving end of rejection and systemic abuse by oppressive hierarchies, and experiencing severe rejection and abandonment by parental and sibling figures.

[cecilysass]

I was thinking about how back in the day there was a really popular genre of fic called MulderTorture. I don’t hear this commonly anymore, but it used to be huge. Do you remember this?

And there was ScullyTorture, too, although I feel like MulderTorture was way more popular, or maybe that’s just me remembering it better because I enjoyed it more.

I think now people would call this whump. The style of fic definitely still exists, although I feel like it used to go WAY further than it does now, sometimes disturbingly so. (In XF fanfic. In other fandoms I think it goes plenty far.) It’s just fic with Mulder suffering physically, mentally or emotionally for angst purposes and then usually hurt/comfort. It could be MSR or slash.

It was VERY popular. Sometimes very extreme. For sure a kinky dimension to some of it. And authors used to brag in notes and in atxc posts about how much they hurt Mulder, which I feel like read out of context now seems kind of weird, but I mean people talk the same way about pretty guys in really popular AO3 ships now, so I guess same same.

Here is the fanlore page about MulderTorture.

Here’s one MT fic page.

You all remember this, right?

[liminalmemories21]

Fic Origin Story

Tagged by @welcometololaland.  Thank you!

What was your first fandom (reading and/or writing)? Reading?  Highlander (I come from the time of geocities and angelfire, when we could not dream of the wonder of A03). Writing?  There’s a fairly appalling Smallville story that nobody except me has ever seen, but that still exists in my g-docs for my periodic nostaligia.

What was the first story you ever wrote (even if it was never posted) and what made you decide to write it? I co-wrote a Merlin University AU with a friend that has never seen the light of day because it was never quite finished.  It was 70% about the two of us missing each other, and 30% about both of us missing Edinburgh and has so many in jokes.  It also - bafflingly - kind of made Arthur and Merlin into actual friends (instead of boys with deep slashy tension).  I’m still not sure how we achieved that.

What's a piece of advice you would give to your younger fic-writing self? Be less afraid of what other people will think of you, and acknowledge that it has value if it makes you happy and you enjoyed writing it.

What's an early fandom interaction that stuck with you (be it a nice comment, a friend you made, a fic that got a lot of feedback etc.)? I think it’s just finding people who think like you do.  I’ve been a part of fandom for a lot longer than I’ve been posting in fandom, and some of my best friends are people I met in fandom and then kept long after we each moved on to different areas of the internet.  There’s something just about finding the people who share the same language that you do that is so important.

Post a sentence or two from one of your older fics, and a sentence or two from a newer one (if you want). From an Old Guard Academic AU that I co-wrote with the same friend I co-wrote the Merlin Academic AU (there’s a theme here), and that we should really finish and post because it’s actually like 95% done. The shape of their conversations change.  They become intimate in a way that he associates with late nights, body-warmed rumpled sheets, and the shelter of darkness.  They share stories dredged up from childhood, and things he's not sure he's ever told anyone else before.  The connection of the phone line, of Joe's quiet voice across thousands of miles, feels fragile and precious, and like they're building the foundation for something unshakeable and real. And for entertainment value, the first few lines of the Merlin Academic AU that will probably never be finished. Arthur sighed irritably and marched down the front walk to yank the horse out of range of the roses and tie him up where he couldn’t do any damage.  He walked back to loom over the man on the ground and asked again, “And who the hell are you?” The man grinned suddenly, “I’m Herne the Hunter.” Arthur blinked, “Come again?” He gestured vaguely, “Herne the Hunter, Elizabethan conceptualization of the Celtic deity Cernunnos,” he paused then added, “or possibly of the Anglo-Saxon god Woden.  It depends on which poorly researched popular theory you buy into.” Arthur raised an eyebrow, “You expect me to believe that the leader of the Wild Hunt can’t manage to stay on his own horse?” Herne, for lack of a better name, looked annoyed, “Obviously I’m not actually Herne the Hunter.”

I have no idea who is left to be tagged, but consider yourself tagged if you’re interested.

[gothamite-rambler]

Duke Thomas gets added to the payroll

Bruce Wayne (seeing Duke walk past his office): Duke.

Duke backwards walked to Bruce’s office.

Duke: Sup?

Bruce: Did you check your bank account? The direct deposit should’ve hit.

Duke: The what? Oh you were serious about that?

Bruce: Of course, you’re not only my son, but you do work for me and you deserve an income.

Duke: Thanks dude, but I can’t take your money I work at the library.

Bruce: Duke, trust me. You deserve this. I do it for all my kids… except Tim.

Duke: Why not Tim?

Bruce: Long story… he owns part of my company, plus he- he definitely embezzled a lot of my funds before I noticed so him working at my company is his paycheck.

Duke (alarmed): That was him?!

Bruce: Yeah, but that’s not important currently. You enjoy your first payhcheck and I’m proud of you.

Duke: Thanks man.

Duke left the office, checking his phone as he walked to his room. He nearly dropped his phone seeing the four digits in his bank account that had five dollars in it three days ago.

Duke (shocked, happy): Three- Three thousand dollars?! Woooooooo! I’m eating good tonight! No wait, game stop here I come!

Duke ran out the house passing by Stephanie and Jason.

Duke: I can finally buy a PlayStation!

Jason: Wait until he finds out it’s a monthly payment.

Stephanie: I’ll tell him later. Want to go tell Tim about it first?

Jason: 100% yes.

[arunneronthird]

did u know 9 year old damian was canonly exactly like this

[charlotlie]

bitches be like “this is the best piece of literature i have ever read” and it’s either a book that took them six weeks to finish or a fanfic they read at 3 AM

[lgbtlunaverse]

There's a version of the "don't go grocery shopping while hungry" rule specifically for writers where you should never under any circumstances be allowed to touch your draft within 3 hours of reading a really good story. Because sometimes when you read something great your head goes "fuck this is so much better than my stuff I should make that more like THIS instead!" Look at me. That's the devil talking and you should close the document NOW.

[theclockworkjudas]

I am not super into supernatural or incest fics, but I might actually track this one down out of sheer curiosity

*white knuckling the bathroom sink* do NOT infodump ppl about the fact that the first spn fic was a wincest one and that it was posted mere hours after the pilot and that the founder of ao3 was a wincestie and that the first fic on ao3 was wincest too and that the omegaverse as we know it was created by wincest shippers for jared/jensen fics *pointing at myself in the mirror with a shaky hand* ppl will think you're weird and off-putting you need to control yourself–

[noodles-and-tea]

Back at it with my enchanted merthur shenanigans

[dcxdpdabbles]

Damian: Father, where is Alfred? I need his counsel on an issue. Bruce: He stepped out for some errands, but I can help in his place. What's the issue? Damian: No. Even I am more knowledgeable in the ways of the heart than you. I shall wait for Alfred's return. Bruce mouthing: In the ways of the heart? Later that evening: ........ Bruce: Did Damian talk to you about his problem today, Alfred? Alfred: Yes, Master Bruce. The lad seemed to be sweet on a classmate and was seeking guidance on how to approach the young man. Bruce: Why didn't he come to me!? I could help him! Alfred: Seeing as you failed to get Jack Fenton to glance in your direction, let alone consider you a romantic partner, I fail to see how you would help Master Damian with Danny Fenton. Bruce: Jack Fenton has a son!? A son Damian fancies!? Alfred: Yes, he does. Interestingly enough, I had a similar conversation with your father back when he learned Anthony Fenton's son was Jack. Bruce: I can't believe this. It's always the Fentons. WHY CAN'T THEY EVER LOVE US BACK?! Alfred: Well, you know what they say. The third time is the charm. Perhaps Master Damian will have better luck than you or your father did. Bruce: Do you really belive that? Alfred: Oh not at all. I've seen the way Mr.Fenton looks at Master Damian. That is not the expression of a boy who fancies someone. Rather, I would say it's the one a butcher aims at a cow for slaughter. Bruce sighing: And the cycle of heart break contuines.

[shaddyr]

I remember when fanfiction.net first launched, and we were so excited that there would be a centralized archive where all fic could live! Before that, finding fanfic was an internet spelunking mission, using Altavista, lycos, and webcrawler. And if you found a good archive, you downloaded everything your bandwidth would allow because who knew if the site would still be there the next week.

I wonder what happened to all the stories that used to be on Obsidian Moonlight. I'm sad when I think of all the great spuffy fics that disappeared into the aether...

oh how old am i? i remember when the main fanfic site was fanfiction.net, but it had such a bad reputation that people would nickname it ‘the pit of voles’

[frownyalfred]

hello. this is a PSA. ao3 is NOT releasing your browsing history, despite what you may have heard on tiktok.

if you’re signed into ao3, your history is viewable in the dashboard tab. it always has been, nothing is changing. please don’t believe everything you hear on tiktok.

no one is able to view your browsing history unless they are signed into your account.

[fictionadventurer]

I love libraries.

I'm browsing the WWI shelves (as you do) and notice a very old book about the war. I glance at the first pages that talk about how one day the war will be over and we'll look at this place and not see any signs of the battlefield.

Then it hits me. And I check the publishing date.

This book was printed before the war's end. Not written. Printed. The physical object was created in 1918, while the war in question was raging and the end was as yet uncertain.

Now I'm standing on the other side of the apocalypse, with this physical link to that era in my hands. I'm living proof that the war did end and life did go on and we can all look at the end of the world as a long-ago memory.

Reading old books is cool enough, connecting our minds and hearts through the ideas of people who lived long ago, but there's something extra profound about holding a copy of the book that comes from the time that it was written. It's a physical link between the past and the present connecting me to those long-ago people. A piece of the past come into the future that gives me the chance to almost take the hand of some long-ago reader, to hold something they could have held, connecting not just mentally but physically to their era, a moment of connection across more than a century.

Excuse me while I go weep.

[cassandracain52]

Reverse trope

where instead of the Bats forgetting that they’re adopted (something actual adoptees do on occasion and is hilarious) they forget that some of them *cough Damian cough* aren’t

_______

Jason in the heat of a probably ridiculous argument: Yeah well YOU’RE adopted!

Tim just as invested in said argument: So are YOU! We all are!

Damian who had previously been quietly watching this unfold while he drank his tea: Actually I’m not

Tim and Jason who didn’t realize he was there but are already DoneTM: …… Damian continuing to sip his tea entirely unbothered: :)

Damian: Because I’m not an orphan-

Jason: ok, yoU KNOW WHAT-

____

or like in their group texts (that we know they have thanks to Nightwing (2016) #79)

*Steph changed the group chat name to “Bruce Wayne’s Personal Orpanage”*

Jason: Really?

Steph: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Steph: It’s the truth Damian: Both my parents are very much alive

Steph: Shhh you don’t count

Cass: Mine too Duke: Technically so are mine

Barbara: I still have a dad so there’s that

Steph: YOU GUYS ARE RUINING THE JOKE

Tim: Stephanie aren’t BOTH of your parents alive???

Steph: KNOW WHAT? FINE

*Steph changed the group chat name to “The Technicality Police”*

Tim: well that’s more accurate at least

Steph: :)

_____

Damian in his 10th argument with Tim of the day: That’s- this is-

Tim in full Antagonizing Big Brother mode: I’m listening

Damian -a Gen Z and best friend to Jon Kent- extremely frustrated: This is such Motherless behavior!

Tim taken aback: [voice cracking] W-what-?

Damian who didn’t mean to say that but doubling down anyway because his bloodline doesn’t believe in admitting mistakes: THIS! This is such Motherless behavior!

The rest of the family who is also motherless: :O

Cass whose been spending way too much time with Meme Queen Stephanie Brown and not involved in the argument but finding it entertaining regardless: [nodding along seriously] Facts

Tim: [visibly betrayed] CASS WHAT-

A video copy of the interaction gets sent out anonymously to the entire family. Barbara is the prime suspect but there is no proof as of yet (and they will never find any)

Steph, Cass, and Duke continue to respond “Motherless behavior” everytime one of the bats does something they deem questionable/insane. It is said often

It only stops when one night in the middle of patrol. Batman is in full Dark Knight mode (possibly in the middle of threatening someone) and descends from the ceiling into the middle of a warehouse drug deal, dark cape billowing out behind him-

and Steph just automatically whispers “Motherless behavior” forgetting her com was still very much on

She immediately realizes what she said and frantically apologizes but it’s too late.

Bruce just- Blue Screens. Completely stunned into silence

Dick -who was unfortunate enough to be the one teamed up with Batman tonight- is fighting for his life to choke back his laughter

Jason doesn’t even try to stop his and has collapsed to his knees from lack of air from how hard he’s laughing. Cass try’s half heartedly patting his back to help to no avail

The criminals are terrified into surrender from The Red Hood just laughing hysterically at seemingly nothing while Batman just Stands There

Damian ends up being the only one still functioning enough to continue arresting everyone, though he is privately amused and strangely proud

Tim and Barbara have saved both the com recordings and cowl footage to at least three different servers and sent it to absolutely everyone before Batman even recovers

Duke finds out second hand the next morning and is furious he missed the chance to see it in person. He declares he is moving to the nightshift so it doesn’t happen again. (He is all talk and goes to bed by 9 pm)

Bruce bans the phrase for life and promises swift and server punishment to anyone who dares to use it again

[stilessflannel]

thinking about how well percy jackson would take care of you after a hard training session.

how he’d fuck you slow and deep and oh so good, knowing just where to angle to hips so that the next time he thrusts into you your toes curl. smirking as you weave your fingers into his soft hair, a silent plea for him to go harder.

intertwining your fingers with his, while his other hand presses into the pillow beneath your head, giving him more leverage to speed up the snap of his hips against yours. your eyebrows scrunch up with pleasure and your jaw goes slack as the tip of his cock brushes against your cervix with each push, and you rake your nails down his back toned with muscles, definitely leaving red marks for him to look at in the mirror the next morning.

he groans, dropping his sweaty forehead to rest against yours, bathing in your smell, your sounds. you smile softly up at him, pushing some of his hair out of his face. “my pretty boy” you murmur up to him.

he grins back at you, but his eyes scrunch up as your warm walls contract around him, biting his lip to muffle a moan. you lean your head up and kiss him, muffling each others noises with your mouths as he snakes a hand down your body, running a large palm over your breasts and trailing it down to your stomach, before creeping lower, finding your clit and rubbing tight, fast circles against the bundle of nerves. he grins against your mouth and swallows your mewls as he works you to your release.

[demigods-posts]

need a scene change in season five where percy asks for kiss because it's kind of a tradition. but instead of annabeth not looking at him. she stops what she's doing and walks up to him. they're nose-to-nose. staring at each other. and annabeth almost looks aggravated. until she tells him to come back alive and he'll see. and percy stares deep into her eyes just nods. and then they part ways. and immediately start kicking ass on opposite ends of the battlefield. and the remaining campers are stunned. but quickly gather themselves to exchange drachma before fighting because they placed a bet on whether or not these two have kissed yet. and apparently.