#good in character writing and good worldbuilding studies B)

[runawaymun]

Hey! Any advice on writing multi chaptered fics or just longer stories?

I feel like I'm okay for like snippets but have no idea how to write the middle of a story or move a character or story from point a to point b.

And asking you because you're writing is phenomenal and I'd love some advice.

(But if no brain space for advice I totally get that too and feel free to hide this ask or something)

(Anyway great updates on boundless and the one shot Brimbrond)

Sorry for taking so long to respond to this! I just wanted to take some good time to gather my thoughts because oh man oh boy I am a bit of a nerd about plot structure, even if I pants it a lot of the time -- because middles and structure absolutely plagued me when I was a beginner and so I spent a long, long time studying it and breaking it down.

I'm going to start with some very, very basic advice and then get into some more specific stuff. So let's talk first about how to structure a long-form plot first.

DISCLAIMER: this is how I personally structure plots. More often than not I veer off my own track. And this is a very western way of structuring a plot. It's well worth looking into how storytellers from around the world structure their work because it can vary wildly (Miyazaki is a great example of this). Take this with a grain of salt. It's a guideline which I find helpful. This is going to get very, very long. Bear with me:

When I'm first thinking about how to create a plot around a story I want to tell, this is the process I walk myself through, and it tends to work about 75% of the time for the stories I like to tell (I'm not much of a thriller or mystery writer and those tend to have different kinds of structure). Main recipe is as follows:

Status quo - establish the setting and the character. Do this by the middle-to-end of chapter one, preferably. You can get away with drawing it out a bit in sci-fi or fantasy works that require more worldbuilding, but try not to.

Inciting incident - I won't tell you to start in media res, as that varies from writer to writer and story to story. Generally you want to have this somewhere in chapters 1-3. Say we're talking about LOTR - I'd say the inciting incident is when Bilbo goes invisible at his birthday party and leaves for retirement. Everything sort of snowballs from there (Gandalf confirming this is The One Ring, the Ring being passed to Frodo, the adventure beginning, etc. etc). This is where your character can lose something, or be confronted with a huge problem, or gain some new information. This is the point where your story really picks up.

Point of no return - your character has been presented with a problem or is put in a situation and now they have to decide what to do about it. Sometimes characters choose to run away, or choose inaction. It's up to you and your character as to what they do next.

The annoying part - the most helpful way I've ever found to think about middles is in terms of a series of decisions and consequences. Your character must decide what to do (or try to get what they want), and this will then come with consequences to those decisions. I ignore a lot of writing advice because writers seem to be very cagey about how they compose middles and plots for some reason, but the one piece I heard that helped me was: "What does my character want, and what stops them from getting it?" -- and this can be anything, right? Frodo wants (has to) take the Ring to Mordor. Luke wants to learn to be a Jedi like his father. Inspector Poirot needs to catch the murderer. Odysseus wants to return home. Each of these characters are going to make a series of decisions toward their goal, and they may be working from incomplete information, or bad paradigms, or racing against the clock, or against impossible odds. They're going to make mistakes. Over and over and over again. The middle is a series of decisions, consequences for those decisions, and obstacles (more on that later).

Point of no return 2, electric boogaloo (i.e. the actual midpoint to the story) - the part right before the climax -- the climax IS NOT the midpoint of your story, nor is it the end. This is your midpoint where Everything Fucking Sucks. Your character's back is against the wall. They have to change, or fail.

Paradigm shift: your character learns something new, or develops in some crucial way that leads to:

The climax/confrontation: 3/4 - 7/8th of the way through your plot. Frodo decides to keep the ring. Luke uses the force to blow up the death star. Anakin's fear and the manipulation from Palpatine overtakes him and he turns to the dark side. Inspector Poirot gets his last crucial piece of information and gathers everybody together for the Big Reveal. Odysseus gets home and chases the suitors out of his house. Etc. Etc. This is that Big Point in the story we all think as the most important or crucial point (but it's not. That's the key here. THE most important point is the whole middle of how we got here).

Consequences and paradigm shift 2 electric boogaloo: varies from story to story, but this is the fallout of the last decision or confrontation. Your character may reflect on what they've learned. The killer goes to jail. Frodo returns to the Shire and it's saved, but not for him. The journey your character has been on has irreparably altered them, or the world around them -- for better or for worse.

Resolution: the place where you land the story ;) what is the final impression you want your readers to have of your character, or this world?

Alright so that's all kind of nebulous. Let me give you a slightly more specific form of this plot structure that I use pretty often, because I almost exclusively write character and relationship-driven stories since that's what interests me most:

So most of this looks much the same (the inciting incident is some kind of meetcute. The characters then have to decide if they want to have some kind of relationship -- I like to name this part the callback). Then we have a whole weird squishy section of building interest and tension, before once again we have The Big Fight (darkest before the dawn or what have you), before one or both characters have some kind of paradigm shift, they confess their feelings (or resolve the fight or whatever), and the security of the relationship is established -- happy go lucky times, everything is beautiful and nothing hurts.

So the middle here is of course still squishy and nebulous, but the focus here is still on "What decisions are the characters making? What are the consequences of those decisions? What are they learning, and how do they respond to it?" Maybe the tension is in one character being more reticent, while the other is more open. Maybe the tension is a sexual tension (will they, won't they?). Maybe a character is working off of incomplete information, or a misunderstanding, and that needs to be cleared up before the relationship (or even their own personal growth) can progress (both Elrian and Thalionel in Stars and Boundless Sky follow this pattern). The middle is a push-pull between your character's desires and outside forces that are stopping them from getting what they want, or achieving what they want to achieve.

So okay, that's all well and good. That's basic plot structure. Let me get into my thought process about middles specifically:

Begin with your ending in mind. I do not mean that you need to have like the whole resolution to your story fleshed out. If you're that kind of writer, great! But if you're more of a pantser like me, then that can be a big ask. Instead, ask yourself: what do I want my character to have learned by the end of the story? How do I want them to have changed, or grown? Do I want it to be for better, or for worse? Is there a specific plot goal you have in mind? (saving the world, or catching the murderer, solving the mystery, exorcizing the ghost, the couple getting together at the end, the found family finally gelling with each other, or whatever).

Once you have that thought in mind, now start to think about what your character might need to get from their starting point to their ending point. If it's a murder mystery, this is your information gathering section. You can lead your character to wrong or right conclusions. Have them make mistakes. Etc. etc. If it's a romance, this is where you create a string of scenes where the characters have opportunities to interact and learn more about each other (works for platonic slowburns, too). If this is a traditional hero's journey, this is where you plop in your actual journey.

Not to repeat this ad nauseum, but your middle is all about getting your character to your end goal, but in the most difficult way possible lmao. Let them make mistakes. Let them make bad decisions -- and then follow through with the consequences of those bad decisions. Give them bad information. This is where understanding your character's fundamental flaws becomes extremely important. Your entire plot, imo, stems from your character's fundamental flaws -- because ultimately that is what is going to slow them down the most from reaching their goal. Sure, you may have the big bad evil guy (bbeg), but we're not worried about him. That's an external factor and that's easy to drop in when you need a quick problem to place in front of your protagonist -- but that problem needs to be in service to your character or your worldbuilding. Teach them something. Give them an opportunity for growth. Aragorn needs to lead at Helm's Deep so he can inhabit his leadership role. The mountain pass of Caradhras needs to force the Fellowship through the mines so that Gandalf falls fighting the Balrog and comes back leveled up and ready to fight, and other characters in the fellowship have a chance to grow into their roles without relying on Gandalf for leadership. Your middle is all about crafting little opportunities for character growth, always while moving toward your end goal -- whatever that may be.

The paradigm shifts are crucial, and they can shift for better or for worse. It's up to you and your characters and the story you want to tell as to which it'll be.

If you're bored, your reader is bored. Only write what excites you, skip all the rest, and make it make sense at the end -- I'm so serious. Yes you need to add in breaks for pacing (like the whole Rivendell section in LOTR), but in those breaks still make sure that you're either expanding your worldbuilding, or giving your characters and opportunity for growth.

If you want to tell a really long (novel length) type of story, sideplots and alternate POVs are your best friend. They are structured exactly the same as a regular plot, they're just simpler or smaller and generally work in service to the main plot. Maybe there are side characters or side relationships you'd like to develop. Maybe there's a smaller mystery or a part of your worldbuilding you'd like to explore. Action plots can be side plots to romantic or platonic slowburn plots, just as much as it can be the other way around. And this is not something you need to structure out the gate. Just be curious and playful. Find points in your story that interest you, and explore them a bit. You'll find that they expand the story.

Biggest and best tip I can give you, when all is said and done, is to decide what kind of story you want to tell and then examine how other people are doing it. If you want to write a superhero story, pick out your favorites and look at how they're structured. If you want to write a mystery, same thing. If you're writing a romance or a drama, again -- same thing. Look at the pieces of fiction that you like, figure out what you like about it, and then apply it to your own work.

That's all the general advice off the top of my head. IDK how helpful this was lol. If you want more tips on middles I can try to look at it a bit more in depth, but to be quite honest middles are really what defines a genre. Romances have different middles to thrillers. Thrillers have different middles to mysteries. Mysteries have different middles to dystopian sci-fis. Etc. Etc. So take the general advice with a grain of salt and look more specifically at the genre of story that you're looking to tell.

Thanks for coming to my tedtalk <3

[saikolikes]

Aki’s P5R  fanfic recs! (part 2)

Hi and welcome to another one of my recs posts! As you can see, this is part two: part one of this post can be found HERE and includes fics I bookmarked between April 2019 and December 2020. This second post will deal with everything I bookmarked during 2021 and 2022 (... so yes, part 3 is bound to happen some times in the future)

Here a brief disclaimer:

Everything in here is spoiler for either P5 vanilla, Royal, or Strikers;

I won’t report the tags, as it would take too long, so if you’re interested in a fic, please open the link;

Fic recs obviously reflect my tastes and preferences. For example, I love suffering and I don’t like fluff or domestic works, so browse this list knowing that;

The stark majority of the works here is shuakeshu

If you want more recs you can find them in my bookmarks, most of them are public!

MY ONGOING RECS Again, I don't read a lot of ongoing works (although, admittedly more than in the past) and these are the ones I'm subscribed to that I'm adoring!

The Lovers, Reversed by salexectria, Terra5 (E) | Royalty a/b/o AU | akeshu | series in three parts, ongoing "A Thief is caught stealing from the Northern King, and is sentenced to death for his crimes. The Alpha Prince intervenes, but at what cost to them both?" What I love about this AU is the amount of politics and worldbuilding put into it, as well as the uniqueness of double povs who constantly switch from Akira to Goro creating one back and forth that acts literally like poking into their minds. Plus the slow burn and the pining are just on point.

never die when I'm dead by threerings (E) | Royal & post-Royal | akeshu | series in 2 parts, ongoing Two one shots featuring one of my absolute flavors of this ship: sad, intense and unhinged

IDC FOR UPDATES I resolved to defeat my abandoned-wip trauma one excellent fic at a time so here's a list of works that haven't been updated in a while or the author straight up confirmed they won't keep writing them, but they are so good you just have to read them and let them remodel you. Do it. Do it now.

the year of the knife by theexistentiallyqueer (M) | No powers AU | shuakeshu | 2 chapters "The plan for Akira's junior year of high school was to keep his head down and his nose clean, but he hadn't counted on his new high school having more trouble than it was worth--and he specifically didn't plan on Akechi Goro, the haughty, machiavellian vice president of Shujin Academy's student council, dragging him face-first into political scandal and a series of encounters that would change his life." Please let teq bring you through a journey of spot-on characterization and stunning prose that will rewire your brain chemistry completely. Their take on machiavellian Akechi is really good, and the snark Akira spits in this fic is really something I cherish.

kiss & cry by MajorGodComplex (T) | Figure skating AU | shuakeshu | 2 chapters "Goro’s first thought when he hits the ground is some combination of the words ‘shit fuck hell fucking bullshit bitch fuck motherfucking hell.’ His next thought is wondering whether Akira Kurusu, senior debut, constant thorn in Goro’s side, and the only person anyone this season seems to talk about, is also trying to land a quad axel at the moment." I don't know what to tell you, the prose of this one is so witty and funny you just have to read what's published of it as of now!

honeybrains by succubused (T) | Time loop | shuakeshu | 4 chapters "a chronicle of the twenty-fourth time akira kurusu lived through the month of january 2017" What can I say, I am really a sucker for time loops and this fic took me by the heart. Tagged as character study and with rights because the characterization here is very interesting!

in the snow globe by aminami (E) | Time travel | shuake | 1 chapter "It’s your heart,” Joker says like it’s the most obvious thing. “Your desires, your hopes, your fears. I’ll carry them with me always. My little snow globe." This fic will hurt you so badly but it will be so worth it, I swear. It's just so melancholic and tender and angsty and it carved a place in my heart.

my love has never lived indoors by rhodophytae (E) | a/b/o | shuake | 1 chapter "Ren Amamiya knows he's an alpha, and he's comfortable with that, but he's pretty sure that being an alpha is, well...different for him than it is for other people. He resigned himself a long time ago to the fact that he'd probably go his whole life without finding anyone else like him. And then he meets Goro Akechi." This fic has such an interesting take on omegaverse! Paired with a stellar characterization and delicious pining, it's no surprise it's a fic I will never forget.

GENERAL RECS The fics I’ve enjoyed the most and that I go back to reading sometimes.

how joker and crow survived the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 by shntlvs (T) | Royal | shuakeshu | series of 2 works "Escaping from Maruki's false reality gets interrupted by the Coronavirus pandemic." Could you have ever imagined reading a fic centered around the pandemic? Me neither, but this one and its sequel work so well and have very compelling bits of characterization for the boys. Unexpected premise, but I utterly loved it.

straw house, straw dog by caelam (T) | 3rd sem | gen | one shot "In the saccharine utopia of Maruki’s reality, Goro Akechi’s mother is still alive." I admittedly don't read too many fics with mamakechi so I won't claim to be an expert, but this one really left me impressed with how clear and tangible the tangle of feelings is.

Knight of Pentacles, King of Spades by Naometry (M) | Medieval AU | shuakeshu | 11 chapters "“Hifumi passed on your greetings,” Akira Kurusu says, fury simmering beneath his conversational tone. “And I’m polite enough to give you my own in person. So greetings, General Goro Akechi. I am the man who will kill you.”" I started reading this fic for the war captive trope but this story has so much more to it than just that. Nao's superb skill with writing violence and viciousness will have you thrust into a cruel world where two boys seem to be bound to kill each other... unless?

Ripples by Riona (T) | gen | canon compliant | one shot "Ten people know exactly who the news is talking about, and now they’re going to have to deal with that." A peek into the heads of 10 of Joker's confidants upon learning about his death. The fic I would never imagined myself reading, but I did because it was recced to me, and now I'm recc'ing it to you, too.

When Your Eyes Meet Mine by seths_dream (E) | no powers AU | shuake | one shot "The way the bellboy lingered on him made his heart jolt, made him think that maybe, maybe the bellboy was looking at Goro the same way Goro was looking at him." I've lost count of how many times I read this fic because the horny is just so juicy, it's unironically one of the fics I come back to when I need to remind myself how to write horny stuff. (the same author also wrote this delicious pegoryu that you have to read)

a study in what not to say by succubused (T) | 3rd sem | shuake | one shot "Akira has finally had enough of Akechi's bullshit; they resolve it the only ways they know how." If you like the boys being really nasty to each other, this fic is a must. It has excellent dialogue, dynamics, and a tad of homoerotic wound tending which can't hurt no one!

MY ALL-TIME FAVOURITES The fics that rewired my brain chemistry, took my heart out, slapped it, put it back, and left me a whole new person.

27 steps to seduce a crow by relationshipcrimes (G) | Royal | shuakeshu | one shot "A handy bullet-pointed list on how to flirt with, seduce, and keep your local Akechi Goro." Still to this day, I think of this fic in terms of Goro's characterization. If I have a thing for post-canon shuake chasing each other, it's probably due to this one.

The Brigverse by TzviaAriella (E but most works are M) | Pirates AU | akeshuake | series, ongoing I admittedly don't care that much about pirates but the og fic from this series (A Brig Too Far) was being passed on so much that I gave it a try and. Oh boy. Not only is the characterization impeccable, the story compelling, and the action thrilling, but at least one scene and/or line from each work in this series has altered my brain permanently. I am a new person after reading Brigverse.

wild and free by bangandawhimper (E) | a/b/o | shuakeshu | one shot "Akira Kurusu hasn’t always been an omega. But now everyone he meets in this city assumes he’s an omega. He’s treated like an omega. He feels like an omega. He knows he feels like an omega because he remembers what it was to be an alpha." This work might have my favourite take ever on shuakeshu omegaverse, it's so fitting for them, so thought out, and the characterization is so on point... my god. Read this fic now.

The Diamond Chest by kinneas (E) | post-Royal | shuakeshu | 3 chapters, complete "Who says you have to see Morgana speak in the Metaverse before you can hear him in the real world? Not the few hundred officers who arrested Ren in Sae’s Palace two years ago, that’s for sure." Honestly everything kinnes writes is gold but I'm shouting this fic out because I reread more than a few scenes from this fic more than once, and it's a 100k-words baby. I am a sucker for heist stories, I am a sucker for dealing with trauma in very tangible ways, and I'm a sucker for kinneas' characterization of the boys.

before midnight by specterthief (Not rated) | 3rd sem, canon compliant | gen | one shot "“I—” Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Sumire sets down her chopsticks and rubs her face with both hands. “Um—who told you I was going to training camp?” (On January 9th, Sumire goes home.)" This is the stellar Sumire characterization fic you're looking for. Read this. Read this right now.

I HOPE THIS DOESN'T AWAKEN SOMETHING IN ME (DELUSIONAL) I clicked on these fics solely due to my trust in the authors/the summary/one rec and now I find myself with a new kink. Thanks.

Containment Breach by salexectria (E) | Space pirates AU | akeshu | one shot Akira gets stranded on an abandoned spaceship seemingly infested by a terrifying creature. He finds the lonely survivor of the crew and they begrudgingly start to work together to contact help and survive. I am just going to say that I clicked for salex's name, I stayed for the stellar characterization, pining and top-tier bantering, and got overwhelmed by the tentacle sex. (/pos)

it takes two by lumensd (E) | 3rd sem | akeshu | two-shots By all means, this series has some things I usually am not interested in (phone sex, degradation) but Jay is so skilled and his akeshus are so fucked in the head that now I've signed up for the masochist Joker agenda. Hurray!

i dream of you draped in wires by rime (E) | 3rd sem | akeshu | one shot "Maruki's Shadows don't want to fight; they just want to collect data. Wait, are those cat ears?" You would think a work with the tag "catboy shibari gunplay fuckordie" can't be too serious. Wrong! Excellent character study attack 🔪🔪🔪 (from the same author there's also this P5 vanilla fic that is excellent)

Darken my doorway by EnlacingLines (E) | 3rd sem-post canon | akeshu | one shot ""I don’t need to test my theory. You should be thanking me, really. Opening this door for you.” “A door to what?” Akira says, exasperated by just how self congratulatory Goro still sounds.“ Submission.” Or: I am a firm switch shuake shipper, I don't vibe with too-extreme dynamics *proceeds to go ballistics over this fic regardless*, *awakens to the wonder of d/s a lil fucked up dynamics*

[branwendaughterofllyr]

Do you have any other fic recs for your poison tree fans 🙏 it's dire out here

Anon, I KNOW. There are very few HoTD fics that I unabashedly like, and even fewer long form political ones.

But there’s some I can recommend.

I recently blitzed through Dragonskin by Missybee303 and it’s one of the few Aemond/OC fics I’ve actually really enjoyed. The premise seemed just a tad far fetched to me at the start but it completely earns it by the end. Jeyne, a farrier’s daughter and secret skinchanger in King’s Landing, encounters Aemond after Vhagar’s saddle breaks, and this changed the course of their lives and the Dance. The author clearly did their homework, and this is one of the few Dance fics that I’ve seen actually tackle the politics and emotions of the Dance based on the barebones F&B gives us, and it does it with grace and style. I loved loved loved the side characters the author built in (special shout out to Jeyne’s dad, Denys, who stole my heart and the show.) and how organically they meshed into canon. This the only long form Dance fic I can pretty unabashedly recommend, especially if you are interested in world building and wider ensembles. (It even avoids the over competent Aemond syndrome trap that so many show fics stumble into.) My one gripe is there is A Lot of smut, to the point that I was like “enough! Get back to the story!” But I know that will be a positive to many people, hahah. It’s almost done so you don’t have to worry about it being abandoned and it’s very long and satisfying.

I’m keeping an eye on Scorched Earth by 0Junebug0 which is a Rhaenyra’s daughter OC/Aemond fic. But wait!! Before you run away at this tired old premise, know that so far this has been primarily been a character study of the Team Black family dynamics, particularly how Rhaenyra would deal with a daughter and how being a Targaryen women is not all it’s cracked up to be. It’s only six (normal length) chapters at the moment but it updates frequently. As of the last chapter, Aemond has finally appeared on the scene, so I can’t speak to how the main pairing is going to play out, but I have high hopes. And the prose is genuinely very gorgeous and atmospheric, so if you are were drawn to “a poison tree” by the writing style, this might just hit the spot for you.

The oddball on this list is Salvation by Targresurgence, which is another Aemond/OC fic. Jeyne Hightower (wow, I really do believe in Jeyne supremacy in HoTD fics), the daughter of Ormund Hightower is sent to KL for Alicent to make her a match. Aemond decides that actually fuck all of that, his mom’s cousin deserves only the best (him) and shenanigans ensue. I like this fic, but it’s sometimes against my better judgement, but when it’s good, it’s good. I respect this fic primarily for the massive mommy issues it gives Aemond and Aegon II, and it’s attempts at worldbuilding that are a little hit or miss (but when it hits, it HITS). It also has one of my personal pet peeves in it, which is killing off Johanna or Elenda to make Jason or Borros into sexual threats to one of the female characters (why this is so popular, I do not know. Drives me bonkers) but that’s my nitpick. It IS a bit of a wonky fic in places, so fair warning on that, and prepare to suspend some disbelief. It is unfinished and hasn’t been updated in a little while, but it’s fanfic. Never give up hope.

If you are interested in more book canon and Alicent centric fics, I really like what we’ve gotten so far of The Heretical Education of Lady Alicent by @aifsaath. It’s part of a larger ongoing series, The Sky is Always Red Above Valyria, exploring various dynamics of book canon, with a heavy focus on Alicent, Aegon II, and Baela, but this one has to be my favourite. It’s also beautifully illustrated, so even though it’s only three chapters long at the moment, for sure check it out.

In the same breath, the joint work Our Father’s Clad in Red by @gwenllian-in-the-abbey and @aifsaath is a book canon Aegon II/Baela fic that explores the aftermath of the Dance and how House Targaryen is to rebuild in a world without dragons. If you like world building, psychological exploration, good prose, and gorgeous illustrations, this may just be the book canon fic for you.

A brief shoutout to signs amidst the starry mirth by xiaolongbaobei, because I know this one is very popular and gets recommended a lot (as it should). This is a fem!Aemond fic with very GRRM-esque writing and the most terrifying and well-thought out Daemon I think I’ve ever seen in a fic. I really love gender-bending fics that really think it through and this one just has a great prose style and is actually addressing the politics of the Dance.

Obligatory witchcraft in your lips by slaymond mention. This is Aemond/Sansa crack treated with deadly seriousness and somehow. It’s really really really good. Great writing style, on point characterization, I’m sure you’ve already seen this fic recommended somewhere.

…. I also kinda vibed with @charmtion’s Daemyra fics? I’m not a daemyra stan by any means, but I’ve loved charmtion since their Jonsa days, and I liked salt more than I thought I would. If you have an inkling of an inclination towards Daemyra as a pairing, check this out. They also have a Helaemond fic, thyme, if that’s more your speed. Charmtion has a very loose, vivid, dreamy style that I have just adored for ages, so I would not count these fics out at all.

And is it even an HoTD fic recommendation list without including the one and only See, What Happened Was… by the legendary @daylander1000? This Aemond/Rhaena fic asks the question “what if the Velaryons actually had plot and character relevance and also what if Aemond and Rhaena had the chance to be weird, slightly murderous children together?” One of my favorite depictions of Alicent and Criston to boot (especially since now Mine Was The Hand You Reached For by HaughtHightower appears to be deleted 😔). It’s not been updated in a while but the author is a very busy person and I’m very happy to let her take her time.

I’ve read a lot of HoTD fics by now and these are the ones that I’m like “other people should read these too actually.”

Oh! An addendum! If you are seriously looking for a long piece of fiction that deals with a succession crisis, you might want to read When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Kay Penmen about the real history of the Anarchy, the civil war between Matilda and Stephen over the English crown that inspired the Dance of the Dragons in the first place. In this time of fandom drought, if you are a fan of “a poison tree,” you should seriously consider giving this book a read. It’s so good.

[lobotomy-maybe-bestie]

AO3 Underrated Original Fic Recs

Here are five original fics on ao3 that need way more love

Please comment (& kudos) on fics you like!

1.

Spring

Spring is about a trio of American boys, at a vague time in the past. One of them is sent to a conversion camp, the other two break him out.

TWs for: child abuse, homophobia, guns but no gun violence

Why I liked this one: Definitely the style. Thematically each section opens with a definition of the word spring, which is genius, but it also has this gorgeous innocent-but-not-oblivious POV that is just so nice to read. It portrays love and friendship and community and despite the darker plot it's just so Sweet. Absolutely recommend if you want something to make you smile.

2.

Memories

This is a less than 700 words short story about a really interesting fantasy concept: What if you had to give up a memory, that then becomes a newborn's first and forever clearest memory.

TWs for: nothing as far as I can tell

Why I liked this one: The concept is just really cool, and the way the story underlines just how important a memory is 1) when you can't remember it and 2) when it's not yours is just really nicely done. It's short, it's to the point, if you're into concepts like this you'll think about what else you can do with it for days. What's not to love?

3.

Saturn

I actually found this through a drabble from the author about the characters from this, but the drabble makes very little sense by itself, so here is the "main" story the characters are from.

Saturn is apparently an AU of a comic (if someone figures out where to find said comic I will owe you my life) in which Nicolas, the snarky, lovable protagonist and Orion, a death cultist weirdo, escape the aforementioned death cult.

TWs for: SELF-HARM (a LOT of it), abuse & child abuse, self-mutilation, PTSD, human sacrifice, the kind of mindset that comes with being raised in a fucked up death cult

Why I liked this one: This person is a god among character writers I swear. 18k words of an unfinished fic and I'm as attached to the two protagonists as if I'd read three whole books about them. If you like angst, hurt/comfort, or are a Harrowhark stan, this is for you.

4.

The Faintness of Petrichor

B used to be a god, but now he has no followers and no powers, and lives alone and miserable in an apartment, until an invitation for a ceremony comes along.

TWs for: cultural appropriation, religious trauma inspired writing

Why I liked this one: I love fictional religion, and the worldbuilding in this one is absolutely immaculate. Also, B is an amazing character whose emotions are so SO well shown. I recommend if you love gods being human-but-not-human.

5.

dung upon the earth

This is a character study of the author's OC Jay. We follow him as he grows and takes five sacraments over time.

TWs for: catholicism, catholic guilt, slurs, ableism

Why I liked this one: Look you can get me so so easily with the well-done catholicism. Whether this person did a whole lot of research or has lived experience, they made sure everything is super accurate and I just LOVE that. This is an angsty, guilt-filled, sad story and it's really so good at being one. If you like characters experiencing the trauma of just not quite fitting in, and other quiet and real things that shape one's childhood, you will love this.

Tag List:

@necromycologist @notquiteaghost

If anyone else would like to be tagged in potential future original fic rec posts let me know!!

[queenaeducan-writes]

saw this question floating around and thought it would be fun and interesting answers! If you had to pick 5 fics you’ve written to make a “crash course” and sum up your writing personality, which would they be?

i honestly don't know what my writing personality is! i prefer dialogue, and when something is short on dialogue it gets very introspective, instead. and i think my prose is somewhere between easy/dense. sometimes i forget about setting (although i think i've gotten better at it since i've moved from rp).

i like shorter fics focused on slice of life scenarios or hurt comfort, my beloved trope. also gen fic. i also think i'm ok at changing my prose to capture a character's voice? is worldbuilding/expanding a writing personality?? when i googled it i got some MBTI-like results.

Celestine Black (Josephine & Solas) slice of life gen fic. i tried to dig into setting in this to get a vibe for solas's room and examine his character through it/josephine's eyes.

Who Am I in Your Arms? (Ian x Solas) hurt-comfort central, and also very introspective while being light on dialogue.

Spokes in the Wheel (Kirrahe x Mordin) 200 word snapshots meant to capture moments of the short salarian lifespan. also i went hard on the mordin-speak for the prose, which paired nicely with the 200-word limit i imposed.

A Study of Hands (Gale x Tav) linking the first chapter specifically b/c the whole thing started as an exercise to get me more comfortable writing gale pov with mostly canon dialogue. i feel like it's a good fic to contrast w/ povs i'm more well-versed in like solas, esp since i think there are similarities with how they approach them (even given their vast differences kjdf).

Five Times Defended (Solas & Mythal) it's short stuff. it's gen fic. i world build but also don't explain anything and hope it's intriguing!

[dcviated]

【ME & 𝗣𝗘𝗢𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗜'𝗗 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗚𝗘𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥】

- ALIAS / NAME: Bear / Will

- BIRTHDAY: February 6th

- ZODIAC SIGN: Aquarius but didn't that change idk I can't keep track of that stuff.

- HEIGHT: 6'2"

- HOBBIES: Juggling them. I can actually juggle a tiny bit? Anyhow- writing, model kits, tabletop, brewing, and I try to call myself a gamer but the casualness is catching up bad.

- FAVORITE COLOR: Gemtones!! But I like the green-indigo range the most by far. Orange can also be gorgeous.

- FAVORITE BOOK: Was just thinking the other day maybe I should re-read my childhood dragon series- The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. But I also really liked the Millennium series (girl with dragon tattoo)

- LAST SONG: Drums of Ripped Jawbone - Liam Peregrine Vaughan off of the Wildsea album.

- LAST FILM / SHOW: I tend to peek in on whatever my wife is watching (kdrama or cooking or travel) but the last thing I've been watching has been Dungeon Meshi. :^)

- RECENT READS: Do TTRPG manuals count? Because I've been flipping through quite a few of those. Amazing the kind of worldbuilding people have come up with I'm enamored.

- STORY BEHIND URL: I've always seen my characters as a little strange, especially when they were just my smattering of OCs. So a little.... deviated from the normal you could say. It's the one I had for my first multimuse back in 2016, much better than the previous one.

- FUN FACT ABOUT ME: I'm bad at fun random facts about myself just like my muses. I try to come up with some things but it comes off like I'm bragging? Or smart-assed? Plus I already share 'fun' things I've been up to.

Uhhh... I recently finished putting setting up my hobby table in the office? Woo! Overhead lights. Backboard. Good for work/study/kitting.

Also my left iris is shaped like pacman.

TAGGED BY: @more-than-a-princess I didnt forget this! Thanks for the tag B) TAGGING: steal it if you want it! :V

[jovianjournal]

March 2024

Should i just do one big post for novels and comics at the same time? Anyway, here's the novels i read in march, mostly SFF plus one romcom

Uprooted -- Naomi Novik, French translation by Benjamin Kuntzer

A young woman is sent to the local wizard's tower as a yearly tribute (or something like that) where she learns magic and try to discover why the forest is being weird. Very long and frankly a little boring, i had pretty high expectations and i was a bit disappointed. At first it seemed right up my alley, there were some blue beard, dark fantasy vibes... that kind of went nowhere tbh. most of the characters are extremely annoying (although i did like Agniezka as a protagonist! and her friend Kasia. it could have been gay... it should have been gay!!) and the plot felt stretched out for no reason. But i did enjoy the old folk tale aesthetic, the magic system based around rhymes was beautiful.

*

A Study in Drowning -- Ava Reid

A college student is sent to a crumbling mansion by the sea for an architecture project, alongside her academic rival, mystery ensues. The vibes were perfect, the rising sea, the damp air, the raging storm, water everywhere. I have one complain tho: I spent the Whole Goddamn Book SCREAMING at the characters "why aren't you checking this One Thing???" and as soon as they did check this one thing the mystery was resolved. so that was a little annoying.

Overall I really liked this book, i'd recommend it if you're into Dark Academia, A House as A Character, and metaphors about sexist and sexual violence. Also the writing is really pretty! i want to read other books by this author.

*

The Mars House -- Natasha Pulley

disclaimer: i love Natasha Pulley So. Much. she is probably my fav author currently, and i am very aware that she tends to always write the same book, but listen : i am autistic and i like knowing what im getting into and knowing that im going to like a story before investing the time in it.

That Being Said, i have two and a half pages of notes in my journal that boil down to "i didn't like this book as much as i hoped :/". This is a sci-fi story about immigration and xenophobia where one of the main character is a martian right-wing politician and also there's some Gender Stuff in martian society that felt a little terfy? (which is weird bc basically in this book Martian society has Abolished Gender). I still adored this book! i'd wholeheartedly recommend it! the writing is spectacular, i loved the characters, the worldbuilding is super interesting, there's fun tragic irony where you know what's going on while the characters don't, there's fricking Mammoths. Read it, and then read The Watchmaker of FIligree Street, and then read the Kingdoms, and then read all of her other books.

*

Ariah -- B. R. Sanders

I don't know how to describe this book. A 400-page character study about a Pretty Annoying Guy? I think i picked it up bc i was looking for books with polyam relationships and that's why i powered all the way through it. I actually don't remember much about the plot. It's a high fantasy story, the main character has mind powers he has trouble controlling, he's kind of a dick to his lovers, every time something important happens the narration completely glosses over it. Reading over my notes, i did like the last part of the story, and the happy end felt deserved. don't have much more to say.

*

Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake -- Alexis Hall

Alexis Hall is another one of my comfort authors, im slowly getting through their bibliography. this one was okay! it's a great british bake off fan fiction, it was fun (but not as good as the Stucky fanfic). good banter, tropey plot. averages to and okay book.

[stingslikeabee]

meet the mun

1. what made you pick up the current muse(s) you have?

I always credit Melissa to a combo of three particular things: a) my personal interest and passion for the Japanese nightlife scene and its uniqueness; b) the movie 'Sucker Punch' (and particularly the character of Vera Gorski); and c) a post that once made the rounds when I first joined the FFVII rpc that wondered if the Turks didn't visit Wall Market for the chili fries or because the girls happened to have the best intel.

And then it was like something clicked inside - I sudden had this 'vision' and Melissa was born after some crafting as a brothel madame who had strong mama bear/caring and nurturing vibes and who had set herself in opposition to Corneo. The two alternatives in terms of earning people's loyalty (fear/love), a cold war of sorts, a lot of fun and layered dynamics to play with from a Wall Market perspective (such as trading intel, working as an informant, etc) and tying in to the game main events.

I always preferred to pick 'minor' muses or to craft characters that fill in spaces and make a world livelier - Melissa just felt right. I guess she works nicely because no one ever thought it was absurd to have Corneo as a nemesis - even with Remake revamping the HBI and making it something else, I decided to stick to my OG view and I was incredibly well-accepted! :)

2. is there anything you don't like to write?

I am very plot driven - and therefore threads that are just winging something and with no ulterior purpose just bore me and I lose muse fast. I like threads to be like book chapters, with an objective in mind - once that's done, I prefer wrapping it up and starting a new one. Smaller things I deal with in asks (although there is nothing preventing me from turning an ask into a thread when it sparks the good muse food).

So I tend to have a basic, over-arching plot line to follow and I enjoy discussing it offline with my partners so we can ask each other what we are thinking in terms of next steps, if a certain event would be interesting, etc. Believe me, this doesn't take away the surprise - I have been hit by unexpected feelings so many times, I love it.

In addition to that, I struggle with fighting/action sequences (I am just super bad at it), overly descriptive things (a room, someone's clothes, a landscape). It just feels like everything I have ever studied about English goes out of the window and my writing turns super dull, I hate it.

3. is there anything you really enjoy writing?

Emotional stuff - of any kind. I have found out that my preferred writing method is one that mixes a lot of thoughts, emotions and bits of lore together, so although a given reply may not give much in terms of objective actions, it will make room for further emotional or introspective discussions to happen. Characters working out their own feelings and perceptions in relation to certain things is a favorite of mine and my replies are frequently novella-like because Melissa thinks (and feels) so damn much.

I also do like setting the scene (as in giving context for a particular interaction) in starters or asks and expanding on lore. Worldbuilding is another favorite of mine and I often make extensive research into stuff that is only going to be briefly mentioned in a thread. Other than that, I'm also into sharing/including NPCs to make the flow of a thread feel more like a book and crafting these small cameos is super fun.

Oh - I do enjoy writing the usual shippy things (including those on the platonic side of things), particularly with Melissa who has such a strong preference for these themes when compared to other muses. However, without plotting (and since she's an OC), it all feels very soulless if I don't know how to get there in a way that makes sense or seems to be aligned with every character involved.

4. how do you come up with headcanons?

I get inspired by different types of media and a lot of real-life references. For general lore/worldbuilding, I tend to leverage from historical or current events whenever possible, all the while trying to tie these things with the existing canon; for muse-specific verses, anything can spark an idea: a quote in a movie, a song, a certain TV show.

5. do you write in silence or do you play music?

I always have music on - it tends to change depending on the specific verse or muse, but I generally have key songs to fall to while writing.

6. do you plan your replies or wing them?

I plan them as a rule (including asks and memes) - even if it's mostly in my brain and as a general line that I want to follow so I can go from A to B within a few paragraphs. It doesn't always work, though - sometimes I rework the entire idea, or get hijacked by the muse and directed to something else instead.

7. do you enjoy shipping?

Yes - I adore it, and building connections and creating ships is something I really like to do, from discussing it to dropping aesthetic posts to a customized tag. For Melissa in particular, they play a large and significant role as she is someone very much transformed and shaped by love and attachment to people, so my ships for her invariably become a part of much larger and complex verses.

This also goes for platonic dynamics - I like the concept of ships because they allow me to visualize a setting/plot much better and build around it with so many little additions that it feels alive and organic. I start creating timelines and events and it is just so satisfying to see it all coming together.

One thing I have learned with time is that, despite enjoying shipping, I like to be able to talk/connect to the other mun offline (talking about it and plotting is fun!) but also I try to be selective to the point of exclusivity. Because I am so plot-driven, I end up building so much around one variant/portrayal of a given character that I just become partial to it and blind to others - and because I don't want to project my dynamics onto duplicates, I'm multi-single-ship as a result (as in multiple ships, but just a single one per each muse - although exceptions sometimes apply).

8. what's your alias/name?

Mari, because that's how everyone calls me anywhere, anytime. I actually get confused/bothered if my full name is used because it sounds more serious and I just think it's either a stranger calling me or a boss/my mother being angry, haha.

9. age?

Old enough to remember the hype re. having a Blockbuster card around here; these where the premium video rental shops, haha (and nope, I never had one, I only wished I had).

10. birthday?

A late winter/early spring child! As a kid I thought I was born in spring and loved it, but then I realized spring is just later in September and that I was actually a winter kid by a few days, haha. But growing up, winter (winter as I know it, mind you) became my favorite season, so it was all good!

11. favorite color(s)?

Used to be black, silver and blue but these days I'm super fond of turquoise and shades of green? I seemingly cannot settle on a single one forever.

12. favorite song(s)?

I am contractually required to always reply with 'GLAY' and 'Yuuwaku' haha (this song is so damn important in my life). Here's an awesome video to introduce you to my favorite band.

13. last movie you watched?

'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' - one of my top 10 favorite movies, one of my top 5 movie openings, one of my top 3 Fincher movies.

14. last show you watched?

I just finished (re)watching 'Nana', only this time I made it to the last episode. I forgot how emotional this show made me feel and how epic the soundtrack is.

15. last song you listened to?

'Raise Your Glass' by P!nk, a courtesy of my spotify shuffling things haha.

16. favorite food?

I never know what to say here, there is just SO MUCH I love? I think pasta generally ranks very high, followed by pastel and pão de queijo. On the sweet side, I am obsessed with coconut and paçoca.

17. favorite season?

I might have spoiled it here, but it's winter - again, my winter. Brazilian winter. Tropical winter. The winter I have experienced in the Netherlands was depressing, dark and horrible where my nose bled, my skin cracked, I got shocked every time I touched anything metallic and I was just miserable; I love blue skies with sunshine and something below 20 degrees outside.

18. do you have a tumblr best friend?

I do! I mean, I could just say that I have a bunch of really awesome mutuals and I wouldn't be lying; or that I am closer to some than to others, and that would also be true. But it's no secret that @dojimakaichou is just on another level because Dawn and I talk every day to the point I feel weird if we don't; we don't just talk about roleplay, we talk about everything, we have weekly movie dates, we send each other gifts, we record videos for our families and we spent 10 days together last year with plans for more annual encounters. :) She's my bestie (and not just a 'tumblr' bestie) and honestly I only wish we lived closer but we make do!

tagged by: @bitterarcs cursed me (and I loved it!) tagging: anyone who wants to - this has gone around for some time now so I'm pretty sure I'd be tagging people again~

[findyourrp]

OOGH I (21+) have such a need for this MxM dynamic....

give me a plot where A and B have been friends for a while. childhood friends, even? A is fairly high status, involved in an exclusive organization of magic users. he's a bit rough around the edges, may be snappy sometimes, but he's ultimately got a good heart, and will soften up to those he cares about. B is one of A's good friends, a bit lower on the social ladder. despite having less status, he's more popular. he seems to have a way with people, always seeming kind, patient, the sort of reliable guy people can count on. he's been studying magic in secret, separate from the organization. because B is one of the people who can soften A up, A will sometimes seek B's help around tasks he has to carry out. B is eager to step up and offer assistance.

B... hasn't been entirely honest, however. B wants revenge on A's organization, and will stop at nothing to get it, including taking advantage of A's trust in him. can A change B's heart, or will he be caught on the crossfire of B's revenge plot instead?

I'm looking for someone to write A, and I have a character idea for B already! my idea revolves around medieval fantasy, but I'm willing to adapt it to any genre or time period that may have come to your mind while reading it. note that I only use descriptions as far as FCs are concerned. I can give you some ideas as far as specifics of this plot are concerned, but I'd love to work out specifics with you! please come prepared with ideas, and don't expect me to railroad you by deciding everything myself. I can answer some general questions about the concept of this plot, but I want this to be collaborative in the end. would love to explore worldbuilding here, but it's not a requirement!

I write only on discord, and prefer literate to novella responses. semi-lit and below (<3 paragraphs per reply) need not apply! I'd love for this to be a slow-burn, exploring these characters and their feelings towards one another and the world they're in. I'm open to smut, but I don't enjoy writing against characters that are purely bottoms. I'd prefer a switch, especially for this sort of dynamic!if this sounds interesting to you, drop a like and I'll shoot you a message! ♥️

.

[findroleplay]

OOGH I (21+) have such a need for this MxM dynamic....

give me a plot where A and B have been friends for a while. childhood friends, even? A is fairly high status, involved in an exclusive organization of magic users. he's a bit rough around the edges, may be snappy sometimes, but he's ultimately got a good heart, and will soften up to those he cares about. B is one of A's good friends, a bit lower on the social ladder. despite having less status, he's more popular with people. he seems to have a way with people, always seeming kind, patient, the sort of reliable guy people can count on. he's been studying magic in secret, separate from the organization. because B is one of the people who can soften A up, A will sometimes seek B's help around tasks he has to carry out. B is eager to step up and offer assistance.

B... hasn't been entirely honest, however. B wants revenge on A's organization, and will stop at nothing to get it, including taking advantage of A's trust in him. can A change B's heart, or will he be caught on the crossfire of B's revenge plot instead?

I'm looking for someone to write A, and I have a character idea for B already! my idea revolves around medieval fantasy, but I'm willing to adapt it to any genre or time period that may have come to your mind while reading it. note that I only use descriptions as far as FCs are concerned. I can give you some ideas as far as specifics of this plot are concerned, but I'd love to work out specifics with you! please come prepared with ideas, and don't expect me to railroad you by deciding everything myself. I can answer some general questions about the concept of this plot, but I want this to be collaborative in the end. would love to explore worldbuilding here, but it's not a requirement!

I write only on discord, and prefer literate to novella responses. semi-lit and below (<3 paragraphs per reply) need not apply! I'd love for this to be a slow-burn, exploring these characters and their feelings towards one another and the world they're in. I'm open to smut, but I don't enjoy writing against characters that are purely bottoms. I'd prefer a switch, especially for this sort of dynamic!if this sounds interesting to you, drop a like and I'll shoot you a message! ♥️

-

[creatively-cosmic]

What up, Starry—You already know who it is! B)

Sorry about Tumblr being a buggy mess and crashing halfway through! I’ve experienced the frustration of losing writing due to crashes and it always sucks. But thank you for continuing to answer these questions and satiate my curiosity! Learning more about Missing Numbers is like reading a book that just keeps getting better and better and better with every new chapter. Also: don’t worry about the delays or how long responding takes! You come first and foremost. Your health/work/school/whatever it is ya got going on in your personal life, is infinitely more important than me getting an answer to a question. So please, take your time, as much as you need—I will wait.

(Also, young Red being just as much of a little shit as Blue was is surprisingly wholesome and I love that. And after seeing their heights I realized I’m the same height as Blue! That detail is not important in the slightest, I just thought it was funny.)

Anywho, let’s get into the meat and potatoes, shall we?

First things first: Y’all mentioned biology mechanics and the nature of Glitches? 👀 Well, guess what? I love that kinda stuff! My curiosity is piqued—please explain.

Second question though: What is Leaf’s Duty? What does she do and how do her powers(?) work? Are her abilities like how the move Imprison was in Fallen Leaf?

And third: What’s the relationship/dynamic between Leaf and Red? That comic y’all posted has me wondering what Leaf is warning others about.

That’s all for now though! Please take care of yourself. Have a good day/afternoon/night!

Ahh, thank you so much for your patience! its really appreciated,, im glad youve still been enjoying things- your comments (and your FANART OH MY GOD??) have still been giving us LIFE i truly cannot thank you enough!

Red and Blue’s childhood friendship and rivalry has always been something we’ve wanted to come off as just plain silly and enjoyable- I’m glad we’ve been succeeding in that, hehe. And Blue was actually originally going to be shorter (our height, actually), we just added a few inches to be nicer to him lol

Per usual now, we’ll keep the big stuff under the cut! It’s another long one: Consider this Leaf Lore Part Two.

For the Glitch stuff, we’ve been thinking and might make a BIG formal post going over all of Professor Maple’s speculation and studies, to make it a good access point for the worldbuilding of Missing Numbers. I can’t promise it’ll come soon, but! As a starting point, I do have a pre-written thing with information on different classifications of Glitch that should clear up a good bit to start with. 

Unless we get any sudden further realizations, every Glitch, Corruption, and Anomaly in Missing Numbers (and arguably in Pokemon as a whole) can fall under these five classifications.

Leaf’s duty is the main aspect of what we failed to touch on in your previous question. So, I’ll finish that part of the story. :) 

To answer your questions, we first have to establish how she got her powers. When Leaf died, she did not get to rest peacefully. Most who die in this world don’t. The afterlife for the fallen and forgotten is not pretty. It is not merciful. There is no heaven for the ones who do not matter to God. 

The Distortion exists in layers. At it’s lowest, the farthest from contact with the main reality, is a void of unused, scrapped, and null data. A graveyard, or worse yet, a dump where things that can no longer exist in the surface world go to rot. Unused data. Scrapped NPCs. Removed characters, Pokemon, items. 

Assets of old games that never carried over.

Leaf's soul was discarded here when she was erased from existence at the end of Abandoned Loneliness. Left to rot with the unborn Ghosts that had haunted them both with the intent to drag someone of significance down with them. Hoping they too might escape. That they might receive mercy through her. 

Unfortunately, Leaf was the unloved child. So instead she fell to their ranks, swallowed up by the abyss that was their resting place- thrust as far from reality, from her home, from her friends, from her purpose as feasibly possible. Still conscious. Still aware. Still suffering.

… Leaf was not one to accept things lying down. Leaf was a fighter. She hated injustice, unfairness. She wouldn’t stand for this. She wouldn’t lie down and give up. No matter how suffocating the darkness was. No matter how the bloodied hands tried to drag her further down. No matter how the chaos and corruption tried to break and dismantle her. 

No. Matter. What.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. And if there was one thing that defined Leaf even more than her bleeding heart, it was that her will was unbreakable.

So she climbed. Climbing over the damned- the forgotten- the spiteful- the vengeful- everything trying to hurt her and pull her down. Focused solely on escaping, on going up. Until things began to become more tangible. Until she could see more than black and red. Until there was light, and color. Until data became form- albeit still broken, chaotic. Numbers. Misplaced bricks. Impossible plants. Incomprehensible collision. 

Glitch City.

She broke through the floor of the second lowest layer of the Distortion, and though the surface’s light was still so far… She’d found solid footing. 

And here, though it may have been quieter… She wasn’t so alone.

The City had the odd few inhabitants. But the first that she met was a strangely familiar boy, a teenager that reminded her of someone she knew, but wrong. With a cocky, lopsided grin, unruly black hair, and bright red eyes. 

Someone who wanted out just as badly as she did.

Leaf and Red never knew each other outside of Glitch City. But during their time trapped there together as children, they were friends. Leaf wasn’t the first person Red befriended there… 

But she was significant. They were allies with a shared goal, after all, and if one of them could find a way out, they could get out together! They worked in tandem to find hope, grasp at an escape. Everything they could, as a possibility. They were friends, after all. Right?

Right?

… Leaf didn’t wholly trust Red. It wasn’t personal, but there were things that were risky. She could see the instability of corruption plaguing him, and she wanted to ensure her loved ones’ safety more than she wanted to escape. The greater picture was something that she could wrap her head around, even if it was hard to grasp.

Red was not the same. Laser focused on his goal and uncaring of the consequences, it was a factor that, over time, divided them more and more as Leaf realized the severity of Red’s condition, and began to think…

Maybe he was here for a reason. … Still, she tried to turn a blind eye. Let herself hope things weren’t that bad. 

The growing obviousness for his resentment towards Fire, though Red tried to hide it, didn’t help- her distrust towards him only grew, further clouded by her personal fears and dedication to protecting her loved ones.

And one day, while discussing a possible window for escape… She let a thought she’d been hiding slip. The final nail in the coffin.

Afraid for her brother’s life, and angry seeing how Red reveled in the idea of hurting him, she left him behind and didn’t look back.

From there, we aren’t sure of the exact details of how she escaped. But we know she had help on the surface- from someone a little too curious about the nature of the Anomalous, who was all too eager to free a willing entity. Professor Ace Maple (specializing in “anomalies”, and original to the Missing Numbers story!) helped free her soul. 

Of course, releasing a long-buried corrupted entity wouldn’t go unnoticed by the higher power that had put her there. But… It saw how careful she was. How she was now completely wary of all glitches. How she’d come to understand the dangers they posed to the world and the people in it.

So, the Almighty came to her in a Golden light. Extending an offer to her.

YOU CANNOT BE PERMITTED TO EXIST IN THIS WORLD AS YOU ARE.

THERE IS A REASON YOUR KIND WERE BURIED.

THIS WORLD IS ENDANGERED EVERY TIME CORRUPTION ESCAPES.

I MUST PRESERVE THE ORDER OF THIS REALITY.

BUT YOU, HEROINE, HAVE PROVEN TO BE SPECIAL.

I AM WILLING TO MAKE A COMPROMISE FOR YOU ALONE.

YOU KNOW THINGS I CANNOT PERMIT ANYONE TO KNOW.

YOU’VE SEEN THINGS I CANNOT PERMIT ANYONE TO SEE.

I CAN ALLOW YOU TO KEEP THESE MEMORIES, AND YOUR PRESENCE HERE, ON SIMPLE TERMS.

DO NOT SPEAK OF IT TO ANOTHER SOUL…

AND PUT THIS KNOWLEDGE TO USE.

YOUR SHACKLES WILL BE YOUR WEAPON. KNOWLEDGE. POWER. 

PROTECT MY WORLD. CLEANSE THE CORRUPTION. HOLD THEM BELOW.

YOU ALONE WILL SEE EVERYTHING, FOR YOU ALONE SHALL BE THE WARDEN.

BUT DO NOT FORGET WHERE YOU CAME FROM.

DO NOT FORSAKE ME.

… Of course she accepted the bargain. It was all beneficial in her eyes. Her complete freedom, and the ability to protect those she loved most in ways she never could have before. What happened in their childhood would never happen again now.

Thus, Leaf was blessed with her body yet again. Rightfully hers, and aged to grow with her. Though she’d never again be a Vessel, that was okay. She was something far greater now. 

The chains could Imprison any code they touched, and they were completely under her control. With these, she could fight and restrain any anomalies necessary. She was also given the one-of-a-kind ability to freely move between the Main world, and the Distortion… To ensure that no activity occurred in either that could allow the escape of something catastrophic.

Of course, things weren’t perfect. The world and the people in it had changed since she’d been gone. It had been years. People would be different.

Blue, for one. It was hard to face him again. Tensions never stopped being high between them. They both remembered, after all.

She mostly just cared about her brother, now. It took her a bit to find him, idle at the top of Mount Silver. 

It was heartbreaking to see the emptiness in his eyes. Him barely acknowledging her. The realization that he’d never… He’d never looked for her. Never tried to free her. 

Never even mourned. 

She still loved him. She always would. He was her family. He was the only one who’d been anything like her.

It was okay that he got everything she had. It was okay that he’d completely replaced her. It was okay that he now had everything she ever wanted. It was okay that he wasn’t the one who looked for, found, freed her, instead of a complete stranger. It was okay that when he spoke it was soulless and objective and only reminding her of her duties. it was okay. it was okay. 

It was okay that he didn’t care. 

It was okay that he was living the life she should’ve wanted DESERVED that he was destined to.

It was okay that she had to protect him. It was part of her duty, after all.

She wasn’t bitter. She wasn’t mad. She loved him.

… And then there was Red- “Glitchy,” as she now called him, unwilling to give him the name that belonged to her brother. He never did give up on her. He was PISSED, mind you, that somehow she had escaped and left him and the others stuck down there behind- but he still refused to back down.

They were enemies now, though. As he grew more restless- and more powerful, much to Leaf’s horror- his imprisonment became a direct responsibility of hers. And as Professor Maple grew more curious about glitches, unknowingly bringing him closer and closer to true freedom, even though she felt indebted to them, she had to resist their studies. Warn them of everything- especially him.

“I thought you hated injustice. Don’t you think this is unfair?”

Still, she had to face him often. And even in his madness, and even in chains, Red could speak so… Persuasively. 

“If you could escape, why shouldn’t I? You have the ability to free me.”

“And I know you’re hiding me from the others. Don’t they deserve to know?”

“You knew as a KID that Blue was looking for me. Doesn’t HE deserve it?”

“I think you know this isn’t the right thing to do.”

“You’re making a mistake.”

“But it’s okay. I’m not mad. I can be patient.”

“I’m sure you’ll come around.”

“After all, you’re just like me and you know it.”

[birdylion]

Fanfic tag game

Found a 2 year old tag game in my likes and I don't know if I ever replied! Thank you @hermitknut for tagging me all this time ago :D

AO3 name: birdylion on ao3, Wayfarer back on fanfiktion.de

Fandom(s): My first big fandom was HP. I wrote a little bit in German for Firefly and Discworld, and then in English for Green Rider, Rogue One, Good Omens, Mass Effect (trilogy + Andromeda), Rivers of London and The Memoirs of Lady Trent.

Number of fics: 23 on ao3. There are some, especially older HP stories on ff.de, that I haven't archived on ao3.

1. Fic you spent the most time on: I have a 70k unpublished (German) Minerva McGonagall/Pomona Sprout schoolgirl romance on my hard drive that would need a lot of reworking in order to be in a shape I would consider putting out there. I worked on that for a year on and off, and then for a summer intensely. From my published work: Probably my RoL one, Bintumani, because it's 12k and the words have to have come from somewhere. Also I spent a lot of time conversing with my beta reader and editing the fic.

2. Fic you spent the least time on: Sleepless Night, the 200 word Good Omens ficlet that I literally typed on my phone instead of sleeping.

3. Longest fic: Bintumani, my Rivers of London travel adventure with Elsie Winstanley and Mamusu Grant in the late 1970s in Sierra Leone which I wrote for yuletide last year.

4. Shortest fic: again Sleepless Night with 200 words :D

5. Most hits: For my English works: What we're made of, my trans Viktor Krum with Hermione at the yule ball HP fic that I wrote for the Trans Wizarding Tournament (a charity auction for trans organisations). But overall, if I count fanfiktion.de, it's Spürst du die Funken, my Dean Thomas/Seamus Finnigan getting together that I still want to translate into English. I have the half finished translation on my hard drive.

6. Most kudos: What we're made of.

7. Most comment: on ao3 Bintumani, on ff.de it's an old HP oneshot collection

8. Fave fic you wrote: hard to tell, and I'll just copy hermitknut's words: "normally whenever I’ve just finished something that one’s my favourite :)" but if I had to chose, I'd say my Lady Trent fic, Studying Dragons, if only because I love the books so much.

9. Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: oh that's easy! I want to expand on To Serve the Sacred, my latest ME Andromeda fic. It's part of a big worldbuilding headcanon I have and I would love to put more of it into a story. Much of the worldbuilding (and the story I linked above) is about the game's Bad Guys, and a) I would need to make readers care about it and b) it would be more interesting to write it from the perspective of known characters. The worldbuilding reveals/twists that I want to do are very clear in my head, and I have a vague idea how to set it up in a story, but ... I need to work out the details, especially which characters I'd use as POV characters. Probably the other Ryder twin, but they'd need a team too, and the characters are only slowly starting to take shape. Also it's such a big project that I've put it on the backburner for now bc I don't have the time for writing plot / novel length fic in English.

10. Share a bit of your WIP or share a story idea that you’re planning: I'm only writing in German right now because that flows easier. My fandom of choice is that one German detective/crime show with the dysfunctional homoerotic dynamic between two of the leads that gets to no1 trending on tumblr once year when there's a new episode. This is now for a story about teenage queer self discovery: (Sorry I tried putting it through Google Translate to share an English version but the translation is terrible.)

Leo stellte sein Rad ab und setzte sich zu Adam auf den Felsen. Groß genug für zwei war der schließlich. Auch, wenn Leo sich damit halb an Adam lehnte. Das war okay. Machten sie ständig. Es war doch okay, oder?

Ein paar Tage nach Ferienbeginn hatte Caro ihm erzählt, dass sie auf dem Halberg Open Air gesehen hatte, wie sich zwei ihrer Klassenkameradinnen während Tokio Hotel geküsst hatten. ‚Cool, dass sie so dazu stehen‘, hatte sie gesagt. ‚Ganz schön mutig. Ich könnte das ja nicht.‘

Leo war nicht schwul, aber wenn er es wäre, dann wäre es Adam vielleicht nicht recht, wenn Leo ihm so nahe war. Wenn er es wäre, dann müsste Leo fairerweise aufhören, neben Adam zu sitzen.

I'm tagging @shakespearerants, @weatheredlaw, @the-moon-loves-the-sea and uh everyone else who follows me and writes fic. Seriously, tell me about it.

[ty-bayonet-betteridge]

b and t for the ask game :)

(from this)

B: Any of your stories inspired by personal experience?

i dont think its possible to write without drawing on personal experience. all my characters are me, all their struggles are based in some way on things ive experienced, and the situations they find themselves in are ones that i have enough experience with to write about. most of that influence is unconscious, but it's inescapably there

that said, the most direct inspiration can be seen in Pack Tactics (which is based on a conversation one of our Pearl fictives had with one of our partner's Grian fictives) and Five Years and Three Hundred and Ten Million Cubic Kilometers of Saltwater (which draws very directly on our own experience of plurality.) there's also Wax Wings Still Catch The Wind (still ongoing!) which is a metaphor for a lot of things, some of which i have less experience with (disability being the big one as all of our disabilities are mental and Grian's is very much physical) and others which pull much more strongly from our own experiences (gender dysphoria, body dysmorphia, kin dysmorphia.) last fic i'll mention is Self-Reflection, which i intended to be a rumination on the relationship between reader, author, and text, but which ended up being partially that, partially character study of Aliza Schultz, and partially discussion of what it's like being a fictive.

sorry i like getting to talk about my own fics lol

T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?

there aren't any tropes i hate outright because i think there's always a way to write something in such a way that it will interest me - that said, there are some tropes that i think are often not written to their potential. soulmate aus, for instance, are frequently written in such a way that don't seem interested in engaging with their own worldbuilding, and i haven't found many that interest me. (you want to see what a good soulmate au SHOULD be, go watch Double Life :P) i also don't usually like A/B/O because it seems most writers of it aren't aware of the intersexism of their premise. oh - and coffee shop/cafe/domestic AUs vary WILDLY in quality, there are some that don't have any conflict and that's fine but not something i'm usually looking for. to me a good coffee shop au is incredibly hard to write bc it requires a real understanding of what the character is when you strip away the story around them.

[sobriquett]

Dear Trick or Treat Author 2023

Dearest author,

It's that most wonderful time of year, of longer nights and cooler weather and golden trees and Yuletide signups and Trick or Treat.

Thank you for thinking about writing for me. This letter contains some general likes and loves, a bit of context for my love of each fandom, and a handful of prompts. I have enjoyed all but two of these canons in their entirety in the past twelve months (at least if by The Witcher I mean specifically Wild Hunt!), so they're all fresh in my mind and my heart! If the prompts in some sections are more comprehensive than others, that's probably only because I've requested it frequently before. I love them all and I am easily pleased. Anything mentioned here (except for DNWs) is intended as an idea or a suggestion (and sometimes I have lots of ideas), not a restriction. Write what brings you joy.

If you're not already familiar with it, you should look at the tag set app and find many, many potential treats (or tricks!) to write.

Enjoy! And happy writing!

--

This letter is quite messy and rambling in places, and I've not been very good at separating out prompts for tricks vs. treats. I am open-minded to either in all of these fandoms, I love both happy/fluffy and dark/angsty fic. I'm hoping that a mix of ramblings, fandom-specific prompts and general likes and loves will spark joy.

If you would still like more information, please feel free to peruse past letters under the dear author letter tag, where I have requested several of these fandoms before and given extra information about likes/dislikes in certain genres, e.g. smut, epistolary. This may also be handy if I don't finish this letter before you receive it!

General Likes and Loves

5+1 Times | Alternate Endings | Angst | Backstory | Banter/Bickering | Bittersweet | Canon Compliant | Canon Divergence | Character Death | Character Death Aftermath | Character Study | Class Distinction | Coming of Age | Competence | Complicated Sibling Relationships | Cultural Differences | Dark Fic | Debt & Financial Pressures | Despair | Domesticity | Different Worldviews | Enemies to Friends/Lovers | Epistolary | Examining Societal Issues | First Meetings | First Time | Fix-It | Fluff | Found Family | Friends/Lovers to Enemies | Grief/Mourning | Grumpy Character/Sunshine Character | Historical Details | Humour | Hurt/Comfort | Last Time | Laws of Magic | Living Up/Down to Expectations | Long-Distance Friendship | Marriage of Convenience | Miscommunication | Missing Moment | Obeying Canonical Boundaries (Social/Cultural/Moral) | Outsider POV | Parent/Child Relationships | Pining | Platonic Intimacy | Politics & Intrigue | Poor Life Choices | Post-Canon | Pre-Canon | Presumed Dead | Protectiveness | Redemption | Religious Elements | Reunions | Romance | Sad Endings | Secret Relationships | Uneven Power Dynamics | Unexpected/Unlikely Friendship | Unreliable Narrators | Whump | Worldbuilding

Darkfic Likes

Apocalypse | Betrayal | Brainwashing | Character Death | Character Death Aftermath | Child Abuse | Claustrophobia | Conspiracy | Debt & Financial Pressures | Degradation | Disease | Dubious Consent | Dystopia | Fire | Forced Marriage | Gaslighting | Hauntings | Humiliation | Hypothermia | Insanity | Invasion of Privacy | Mind Control | Murder | Paranoia | Poisoning | Prison | PTSD | Slavery (Canon-Appropriate) | Suicide | Unhappy Endings | Violence

Darkfic DNWs

(Exceptions apply to Jane Eyre and The Last Kingdom. Please see those fandoms for details.)

Edit 22/9/23: I've noticed in re-reading this later that these are different to the DNWs in my signup, which are the only ones which are enforceable. Maybe better to read these as dislikes, then?)

A/B/O Dynamics | Animal Abuse (Canon-Typical Animal Death is fine, e.g. in battle) | Bestiality | Body Horror | Explicit, On-Screen Non-Con | Gore | Medical Experimentation | Mutilation | Non-Canonical Amputation | Sadism | Scat | Torture | Vore

Please note that although non-con is in my DNWs for most fandoms, dubious consent is very welcome. I enjoy exploration of iffy power dynamics or darker moments of history/canon (especially in Jane Eyre and The Last Kingdom). However, graphic and violent non-con for its own sake or without context would not be in the spirit of my prompts even within these fandoms and so I would prefer to avoid it, but it's a difficult line to draw and an even more difficult one to police.

--

Fandoms are in alphabetical order to avoid the appearance of favouritism!

1. Bridgerton (TV)

Characters: Anthony Bridgerton, Kate Sharma, Simon Basset, Violet Bridgerton, Agatha Danbury, Queen Charlotte

Ships: Anthony Bridgerton/Kate Sharma, Anthony Bridgerton & Edwina Sharma

Season 2 was not what I was expecting, and nor was it a terribly faithful adaptation of the book. (Not a bad thing in my opinion; I stopped reading the books because they were too ridiculous for me, but the show hits just right with its own flavour of absurdity.) I was very, very “what the fuck” from the end of episode four right through to the end of the season, peaking in episode six with some what the actual FUCK, and basically watched it in one sitting on release day and into the night.

One thing Bridgerton doesn’t focus on enough (to my taste) is the realities of that lifestyle: social position and positioning, the responsibilities and expectations shouldered by the characters (however light we may consider them from a busy 21st century life, I imagine many of them would disagree, and the social season is exhaustingly nonstop), the gulf between high society and, well, regular society. (It nods to it, but never faces it full on.) I am a history nerd and will delight in anything that dances around the realities of the world, even shined up and sanitised and (especially) in Bridgerton’s parallel reality.

There’s so much potential for fun here; have at it!

Post-Gazebo fic – any consequences you please, or none at all

Kate leaves for India

Violet Bridgerton loses her position to Kate – her home, some of her responsibilities; how do both handle it?

Kate and/or any/all Bridgertons torment Anthony

Another incident with a bee

What happened to Kate’s fear of storms?

Somebody’s past comes back to haunt them

An unfortunate item in Lady Whistledown’s latest issue

Where is Simon in season 2? What does he think of all this? What does he have to say to Kate, Anthony, Daphne, anyone?

Further exploration of Anthony’s slightly unhinged understanding of his responsibilities/duty

This could be contrasted with Violet’s responsibilities as matriarch/mother, and her change in position with a new Lady Bridgerton in the family

Pall Mall

Riding and racing

Seasonal fic - spring, summer, autumn, winter; a typical (or exceptional) moment

Anthony and Edwina get married and have immediate regret! (There’s no easy way out!)

The charmed life breaks for one or more of the characters and they have an unpleasant brush with the real world

Further adventures with Colin’s special tea

2. The Godfather - Mario Puzo

Characters: Apollonia Vitelli Corleone, Carmela Corleone, Lucy Mancini

Ships: Apollonia Vitelli Corleone & Carmela Corleone, Carmela Corleone & Kay Adams Corleone

I reread this over the summer. (Well, more specifically, Audible finished one book and rolled straight into playing this one and I went with it.) As always, I want more of the women. The author (probably the author, but definitely the authorial voice) is wildly misogynistic, where all women are essentially defined in terms of their fuckability and/or relationships with men (specific and general), and very few women are ever really the POV character. Kay is occasionally, and possibly Lucy, but that’s it. But they are all defined by their (sexual) relationships to the Corleone men – wives, lovers, mothers. I want more of the women as women.

Apollonia says one word in the novel: "Grazie." Who is she? Give her some flesh, a spark, to be more than just a pretty shell.

Mama Corleone is much the same, she turns up for a moment here and there to (magnificently) berate one of her sons or to feed somebody, but she also feels like a thread of iron in the lives of those around her, holding them up, but it’s unspoken. I love her Catholicism, and how she converts Kay, and they go together to pray for the souls of their husbands. The ending of the novel is divine.

Kay is an outsider to the world for more than just having girl parts, and I’m curious how that changes her experience, and particularly how she relates to her mother-in-law (and sister-in-law) through cultural and generational differences.

Lucy’s character arc is literally defined by her vagina and she willingly and semi-knowingly lets herself continue to be used by the family through the hotels, but there is more to her than that. Like what? How does she balance what she wants to know, what she guesses, what she thinks, what she absolutely and definitely knows? Is Sonny a lingering ghost through her life?

I don’t really know what I want, just more of the women.

Apollonia and the American dream: what does she actually want? Is Michael a way to get it? (Children, comfort, fortune, adventure, love, other?)

Does Apollonia love Michael? Does it matter? Was her courtship/marriage a pleasant or a horrible experience? What did she think her future would look like?

What does Kay want? What does she think their future will look like?

The same questions for Kay as Apollonia, possibly different answers. Compare the women, be thoughtful or go dark.

I’m always intrigued by Kay’s Catholicism, especially in the book. The movie’s ending happens too, but then Kay goes to church with Mama Corleone and prays for Michael’s soul.

Michael’s grief at losing both women in his life, in very different ways. (Does he acknowledge them as women and individuals, or only as wives/lovers?)

A missing happy moment for any of these characters or either couple.

A contrast between weddings – Connie’s, Apollonia’s, Kay’s, others.

What if Apollonia had lived, and met Kay?

What if Apollonia lives?

I feel like Kay makes a “better” American wife for Michael, in the world he wants to move in. Would the path have unfolded differently with a different woman at his side?

Does the ghost of Apollonia haunt Michael at later points in his life?

How does Carmela respond to the milestones in her husband’s life? The shooting of Don Fanucci, having Clemenza and Tessio in her home, the Don’s first shooting, the rise in their fortunes, that magnificent carpet?

What if Apollonia had lived, and they’d returned to New York, and she’d lived in the compound? What place would she find in that family, in that life, in that country? What would Mama Corleone have thought of her new daughter-in-law? Would this have impacted Michael, how would he show it? Could Apollonia be happy? Or a very mixed bag?

3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

DNW exception: Non-con is welcome here, when in the spirit of the prompts.

Characters: Jane Eyre, Grace Poole

Ships: Jane Eyre/Edward Rochester, Jane Eyre/St. John Rivers, Jane Eyre & Maria Temple, Jane Eyre & Adele Varens, Jane Eyre & Alice Farifax

Jane Eyre is an unreliable narrator.

This is one of my favourite novels ever, but I read a new story each time I read (or rewatch – Ruth Wilson 2006 version, yes) it. I had a different experience of it as a child, teenager, young adult, and so on – and with time, I’ve come to see Rochester as more of a villain, and then also as a victim of circumstances and a product of his environment, and to increasingly believe that Jane Eyre lies to us. She’s also every bit as prejudiced and superior as those she criticises, but/because she’s also a product of her world. But I still love her, and love that she says she got a happy ending. But that doesn’t mean it has to stay happy, or even that she was telling the truth.

This is a fandom where I particularly enjoy a darker edge, and a playful approach to the text on the author’s part. The novel is a first person autobiography. Have fun with that! Jane Eyre is an unreliable narrator. The novel is her autobiography and I don’t believe that the story she told is necessarily the story that happened. What did she conceal? What did she tweak? What did she exaggerate or minimise? Is she trying to tell a moral story, and if so for whom? Does her faith endure and guide her quite as steadfastly, perfectly and purely as she says? I adore fics that play with this idea.

Prompts:

Post-canon happiness?

Post-canon unhappiness?

Canon divergence at any point.

A missing moment from the engagement - an evening spent together, a walk, a trip out. Tension, anticipation, uneasiness, a sense that all’s not quite right that can’t be entirely set aside. Rochester trying to claim more affection than Jane is yet willing to give, with either a playful or darker edge.

A missing moment between the interrupted wedding and Jane fleeing Thornfield? What if they do have a night of madness before Jane flees Thornfield, where just for a moment she gives in? Or is coerced? (Dubcon over non-con please? Also: gloriously awful or happy consequences welcome.)

How does Rochester discover Jane’s missing? How does Adele find out? Mrs Fairfax? How do they all react? What is that day like? (Jane’s absence would almost be the character in this case. She doesn’t have to appear, she’s still the focus.)

Jane, Mrs Fairfax and Adele are all dependents. Thornfield Hall might be where they live but it’s not their home, and there’s an inherent precariousness to their position that might be worth exploring – or what it’s worth when they finally do have a home that’s theirs, and they feel it.

Does Jane ever meet her Reed cousins again after Mrs Reed’s death? What would they think of her changed circumstances? Does Jane become – or put on the airs of – a great lady, and put them in their place? Or does she forgive, warmly, and try to cultivate relationships because she remembers what it was like to be alone, as her cousins may have become?

Do Jane and Mrs Fairfax meet again in the future? At Thornfield, they were the closest thing to peers as they were both ladies but dependents, but there was a huge gulf between them in terms of age, experience, and outlook. How does their relationship change?

If Jane and Rochester have children, what does that do to Adele’s place in the family? Is she beloved sister or unwanted burden? (I can’t see Jane considering her a burden but I could perhaps see Jane being torn in too many directions and having no time left for Adele, leaving her bereft.)

What if Adele’s mother returned to collect her, or for some other (nefarious) purpose?

Rochester dies in the fire. What happens then?

Jane goes with St. John and it doesn’t start/go/end well.

What if the first wedding isn’t interrupted? Rochester’s a bigamist and Jane a fallen woman when it comes out. (I have started writing this but not finished it.)

Jane tries to put Adele back together, after she’s traumatised by the sudden loss of her home, the dismissal of her nurse Sophie, the loss of Jane, the wrath/rage of Rochester, her cruel treatment at school, etc.

Does Jane come to see Rochester as a villain? Does she find herself corrupted, tarnished or lessened in his eyes in some way when he comes to marry/possess her and the sharper, darker side of his character turns on her once she’s off her pedestal?

Does Jane resent being Rochester’s carer, his eyes and hands?

Jane is not in the habit of receiving gifts, and still isn’t used to it. But she has grown to enjoy giving them to those she loves and cares for.

News articles of the aborted wedding, Thornfield fire and subsequent events?

Does Adele correspond with Jane or Rochester from her school? Either miserably from the school Rochester sends her to, or more happily from Jane’s choice?

Is Rochester more of a villain? How?

How does Adele find school, either the one Rochester sends her to, or the one Jane moves her to?

How does their wedding night go? How do Rochester’s blindness and injury affect this side of their relationship?

An in-character moment of passion, with badinage and fairy talk.

There are no fics about Jane Eyre and her former teacher, Maria Temple. Do they keep in touch through Jane’s adult life, or get in touch or meet again in the future? What does the former Miss Temple (I can’t at this moment remember her married name but it is given in the novel) think of how Jane’s life turns out, her choice of husband, his story? Does she offer Jane counsel? What if Jane goes to her instead of to the Rivers when she flees Thornfield? Would the story go differently?

Jane dies on the moors.

Does Jane resent being Rochester’s carer, his eyes and hands?

Is Rochester “really” as injured as Jane writes in her autobiography? Did she provide some sort of divine/literary punishment for his sins? Or what really happened instead, did he get a comeuppance?

4. The Last Kingdom (TV)

DNW exception: References to non-con and torture are fine in this fandom, but please avoid graphic on-page depiction.

Characters: Uhtred of Bebbanburg, Aelswith, Alfred the Great, Hild, Brida

Ships: Aelswith & Uhtred, Aethelflaed & Uhtred, Alfred & Uhtred, Aethelstan & Uhtred, Brida/Uhtred, Alfred/Uhtred

5. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (TV)

Characters: Miriam "Midge" Maisel, Joel Maisel, Susie Myerson

Ships: Miriam "Midge" Maisel & Susie Myerson, Miriam "Midge" Maisel/Joel Maisel, Lenny Bruce/Miriam "Midge" Maisel, Miriam "Midge" Maisel & Abe Weissman

6. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

Characters: Nitta Sayuri, Nobu Toshikazu, Mameha

Ships: Nitta Sayuri/Nobu Toshikazu, Mameha & Nitta Sayuri

Nobody’s here for this, are they? This does seem like a lovely exchange for this fandom though, a fleeting 300 world glimpse at a fleeting world. Not every fic needs to be a deep dive into the deeper nature of reality, perception, secrets, desire, etc.

Nobu/Sayuri is my rarest rare pair. I massively prefer the novel to the movie, mostly because there’s so much more Nobu. He’s my favourite character, for the gap between how he’s perceived and how he is. He inspires such loyalty and friendship in those who know and value him – Mameha, the Chairman, Sayuri - and yet more shallow characters (Hatsumomo) can’t stand him based only on his looks (and grumpiness). In many ways, the Chairman is the more ghost-like character in the novel, floating in the background as Sayuri develops a deep and genuine friendship with Nobu despite their differences. Her entire fantasy of the chairman is based on a five-minute encounter and a hanky and then she essentially doesn’t speak to him for a decade, and I wish she’d made a different choice. Nobu would have been an active choice, rather than continuing down the path she set as a child without consideration for how she’s changed as she’s grown up and seen more of the world. I understand Sayuri’s heartbreak knowing that having Nobu as her danna would preclude any possibility of such a relationship with the Chairman, but it would open up a world of other possibilities, and to kindness from a different source. Neither Nobu nor Sayuri know much kindness in their lives, and I really enjoy their repartee. It’s one of the few times Sayuri seems to have fun.

Mameha and Sayuri’s relationship is also one that changes over time, and the various parallels and differences between them are fascinating. Their experiences, sadnesses, hopes, fears, and how Mameha tries to send Sayuri down Mameha’s idea of the right path. I am curious about the price they’re willing to pay for independence and/or security, the degree to which either of them wants/needs those things. Mameha has paid a price, and part of Sayuri’s struggle in the novel is with that question.

I feel like I’m rambling and not making a lot of sense, even to myself.

General Prompts

What if Sayuri chose Nobu instead, and accepted him as her danna before the war? What if she accepted him after the war? Sayuri appreciating Nobu, with optional romantic edge How does Nobu feel when he realises what Sayuri’s done? What does he know, what is he told, does he try to find out more? Is his respect once lost gone forever? Sayuri could be the Chairman’s but he could never be hers – he already had a wife – but Nobu would have been hers. Would she want this? What would Sayuri want, given the opportunity? Nobu and Sayuri being affectionate to one another, even gruffly and distractedly. How would an evening with Sayuri, Nobu and the Chairman unfold? With or without Mameha to guide Sayuri’s choices to their advantage? Exploring the differences between the pair – in power (financial, sexual, influence), personal freedom, status, ability to make their own decisions, the rules they play by. What do they have in common? They are both survivors, at the top of but on the outside of their respective worlds. (Teahouses, factories, okiyas, battlefields.) Sayuri and Nobu have an en. How else does this manifest?            Do Nobu and Sayuri ever meet again, in the future? Are things frosty, all bridges burned? What if Pumpkin does bring Nobu instead of the Chairman? Mameha’s hair ornament metaphor A quiet tea for two Is Sayuri more of a daughter to Mameha than a sister?

7. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

Characters: Elizabeth Bennet, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Lydia Bennet, Georgiana Darcy, Charlotte Lucas, Catherine de Bourgh

Ships: Elizabeth Bennet/Fitzwilliam Darcy, Mary Bennet/William Collins, Jane Bennet & Fitzwilliam Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet & Jane Bennet, Elizabeth Bennet & Charlotte Lucas

8. Star Trek: Voyager

Characters: Kathryn Janeway, Seven of Nine, Tuvok, The Doctor, Kes

Ships: Chakotay/Kathryn Janeway, Chakotay & Kathryn Janeway, Seven of Nine & Tuvok, Seven of Nine & Naomi Wildman, The Doctor & Seven of Nine, Kathryn Janeway & Seven of Nine

9. Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game)

Characters: Barnabas-Basil Foulty, Geralt of Rivia, Roach,

Ships: Anna Henrietta & Sylvia Anna, Barnabas-Basil Foulty & Geralt of Rivia, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon & Geralt of Rivia, Geralt of Rivia & Regis, Geralt of Rivia & Roach

(I’ve only played The Witcher 3; it’s apparently my Covid game.)

I saved Blood and Wine as a Christmas gift for myself, and I luxuriated in it over the next month or so. It was an excruciating month personally and Toussaint was the perfect escape, whimsical and hilarious one moment and then ocean-deep in intrigue the next. I adored it. And if any world in The Witcher is set up for both tricks and treats, it’s Toussaint. I would love more from that part of this world.

I’m short on specific prompts here, but perhaps the generic list of likes and dislikes at the top of the letter will spark joy.

More of those mushrooms that let Geralt speak to Roach.

BB’s POV of any of Geralt’s exploits, heroic or nonsensical

Visitors to the vineyard

Explorations of the darker side of Toussaint – vampires, the orphanage

10. Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery

Characters: Anne Shirley

Ships: Anne Shirley/Gilbert Blythe

I’m reading the books at the moment for the first time, after enjoying most of Anne with an E earlier this year. I’ve finished the first three books so far (Anne of Green Gables/Avonlea/the Island) and now I’m half way through both Windy Poplars and House of Dreams, although I’m losing steam a bit.

I enjoy Anne’s imagination, and all its potential for getting her into trouble, even as a young woman. I love the richness of the seasons and the scenery. I wish there was more of Gilbert, who only seems to appear fleetingly (at least in any substantial way), and I also wish there was more of Anne’s childhood in her adulthood (so far). I’m new to the canon so I don’t have dozens of ideas and wishes, leading to a short list, but at the moment I am just looking for more – of any, of all. And that more can be treat-y, or you can lift the veil on the dark side of the stories for tricks, I will be delighted. If these prompts aren’t doing it for you, see if anything generic at the top of the letter sparks joy.

Gilbert POV of anything

A missing moment from their non-courtship (or their engagement)

Somebody’s presumed dead!

True horror in the haunted woods!

A grown-up look at a grown-up relationship

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Compilations

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General

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Amnesia/Memory Loss | Arranged Marriage/Accidental/Drunk Marriage

“Beautiful Writing and Good Plot” Compilation | Pt. 2

Canon Divergence pt.1 | Canon Divergence pt.2 | Characters reading/watching the series | Cloud Recesses Study Arc | Crack & Crack Treated Seriously | Crossdressing | Crossovers & Fandom Fusions pt.1 (not including SVSSS, TGCF, WOH, Guardian) | Crossovers and Fandom Fusions Pt.2 (only includes SVSSS/TGCF/WOH/Guardian) | Curses, Potions, and Spells (Oh my)

Daemons/Sentient Sword | Doctor/Firefighter/EMT | Dual Cultivation

Famous/YouTuber | Fake/Pretend Relationship

Golden Core Reveal/Golden Core Fix-It

Hair Brushing & Caretaking pt.2 | Heavy Angst | Holiday Comp | Horror

Identity Shenanigans | Interesting/Good Worldbuilding pt. 1 (Canon Era only) |Interesting/Good Worldbuilding pt.2 (AU's only)

Junior Centric

Mafia/Cop/Detective/Thief | Marriage of Convenience | Modern Cultivation/Modern with magic | Musician/Orchestra

Non-AO3 Part 1 (Twitter) | Pt.2

Podfics  

Reality TV | Royalty AU

Secret Relationship / Relationship Reveal | Shape-shifter AU | Sick Fic/Hurt/Comfort | Soulmate AU | Spies/Secret Agents/Assassins & Hitmen | Sports AU 

Teacher/Professor | Time Travel 1 | Time Travel 2 | Time Travel 3

War Prize AUs | WangxianFicRecs Presents: Hair Brushing & Caretaking

YilingWei Sect AU | YiZhan

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Wangxian Specific

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A/B/O

Disabled WangXian | Dom Wei Wuxian | Dom Lan Wangji

F/F Wangxian | M/F WangXian

Genderqueer/fluid WangXian | Ghost WangXian

Immortal Wangxian 

Mythical/Supernatural WangXian

Non-Cultivator WangXian

Parents/Parental WangXian | PregXian & PregJi

Trans Wangxian

WangXian in space

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Character Specific

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Jiang Cheng Bashing | Jiang Cheng Friendly/Yunmeng Bros Reconciliation | Junior Centric

Lan Wangji leaves the Lan Sect/Non-Gusu Lan Wangji

Non-Yunmeng Wei Wuxian

Single Parent Wei Wuxian | Single Parent Lan Wangji

Wei Wuxian keeps/gets his OG body - Resurrected by someone other than MXY

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Other

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Fanwork Research & Reference Guides | WangxianFicRecs Presents: (tag) | Mod Favorites pt.1

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[kikuism]

i wish people appreciated the depth and scope of work that goes into writing. whether it's a novel or a short story or a poem. it's so easy to read these things and go 'yeah that was good' and not give a second thought to the sheer depth of work that went into creating it. i once saw a tweet that was like 'it’s strange how someone can read in a few hours what i spent months/years writing' and i feel like unless you're actually a writer yourself, you don't have that deep sense of appreciation that comes with consuming a piece of writing. i'm sure the average reader isn't marveling at the way the author paced a certain event or how certain lines are placed together for a certain effect. i have always likened writing to composing an orchestral suite—the overall sound is the characters, plot, worldbuilding, etc, and the finer details like musicality and rhythm and tempo are the pacing, structure, tone—the way you write what you write. and i feel like it's the latter that the average reader doesn't tend to fully appreciate, and i really wish that wasn't the case because it is these fine tuned details that truly make up the essence of a piece of work. it's easy for anyone to look at a work of visual art and immediately marvel at the work that must have gone into it (‘this must have taken forever!’), but for writing, this appreciation goes unnoticed for the most part—i understand this is because art is a visual medium and very easily consumed, in a matter of seconds, and writing is a commitment—but as a writer, i still feel strongly about this. it's just as long and and complex of a process. writing really isn't just making characters go from point a to point b with some pretty descriptions along the way—it’s so, so much more than that. you're constantly in the headspace of a reader when you decide how to phrase certain things, how to pace, the rhythm of your sentences, what kind of effect you want to go for. all of this subtly affects how you read a story, like the faint beat of a pulse under skin. i really think that a part of the reason it takes me longer to finish books now is because i'm reading as a reader and a writer, and often i tell myself to actually take in what is happening with the plot and characters because i am so fixated on these minute details, like what exactly the author did with certain words to get this effect, or how the tempo changes in a slow paced scene and picks up again in a fast one. really good fast paced scenes actually make my heart race, and i love to study these scenes with a microscope to see how exactly this effect was accomplished, for example. all this to say that writing is very complex work....and i wish more people appreciated just how much time and effort and love and care goes into their favorite book, poem, etc.