#i'm gonna be writing a christmas fic until january but oh well

[mirjam-writes]

What about you? What writing are you happy about this year?? Is there anything you want to brag about?

Happy Yule, solstice, Christmas, Festivus, (belated) Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Doctor Who Day! And anything else you might celebrate, or happy Monday if you don’t!

Thank you so so much for asking 🧡🧡

This was quite a writing year for me. I wrote only four stories, but I'm quite proud of all of them. To Love Somebody was my first foray in rare pairs. An angsty backstory for Shadwell, and what made him the way he is. It has an hopeful ending, and I'm quite proud of the structure, and how much I managed to squeeze into the small word count. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun is a short and wholesome outsider pov story I wrote for an event. I was surprised how much people liked it! It was also my first attempt on present tense, which continued in A Stable Relationship, one of my FTH stories for this year (the second one will probably be a bit late, and be completed in January). I had fun writing it, and it turned out to be a good one, and the only one of these oneshots that was Explicit. It was set in horse riding world.

The reason why I wrote only three oneshots, and why my second FTH piece is late, was of course my favourite story of all time: Be Still My Soul trilogy. A human AU story set in the sad moments of Finnish history.

Despite the class differences, landowner Azirafel Fjäll and sawmill worker Anton Crowley have been friends since childhood. The Great War rages over Europe and the Empire of Russia is in the firm grip of a revolution. The echoes of these fateful events carry over to the Grand Duchy of Finland, vaguely sauntering towards independence. Azirafel and Crowley find themselves on the opposite sides of a conflict that will eventually lead to a bitter civil war, tearing the country apart.

Is there a possibility for them to find their own side, or will this be the end of their budding love story?

I started writing the third part in January, and finished it just before S2 aired in July. It finished posting in October, and it's now complete and done, though I'm still commissioning art for it. This story took over my life for over two years, and it's my baby. I've had such a hard time to let go of it! It also has its own blog @be-still-my-soul-fanfic where I posted dozens of posts about historical and cultural facts. The story is written in a way you don't need to know anything of the Finnish history beforehand (my American betas made sure of that). It's a lovestory, not a history lesson, BUT if you want to learn more, there's a lot of extra info available 😅

I think it's the best story I've ever written (and probably ever will). Many readers have agreed, but it's angsty with very heavy themes until the happy ending, so it's not for everyone and I think posting it just when S2 aired cut some of the potential readers. The third part of the trilogy is now five kudos shy of 100 kudos, and I'm hoping it could get past that milestone before new years. 😂 So yeah, my own personal favourite gets the least interaction of them all. Oh well.

I'm gonna sound a bit self-absorbed, but I'm proud I finished it and it turned out even better than I hoped. My dream would be to print a physical copy or to record a podfic of that, but both might be a bit too much work.

For the next year I have two zine fics to finish, and I have applied to a third one. I have one event fic in the works as well, but the FTH story will be the one I'll concentrate until it's done. It's an oneshot human AU which somehow grew limbs and now it's 7.6k words and nowhere near done 😱 That's my holiday project.

Thank you for asking!! I was so delighted to get a chance to ramble myself 🧡 There's never enough chances for writers to gush about their own work because it always feels a bit self centered. That's why I like to wander around Tumblr and give people the perfect excuse to do that! Peek at the #writer's favourites tag if you want to see other fanfic writers sharing their favourites! And feel free to use the tag yourself if I forgot to ask someone (I was very much not organised when going through the blogs and I'm not good at matching blog names with writer names 😅)

I hope you'll have a magnificent new year 🧡

[whimsicalmeerkat]

Top & Favorite Fics by Month - 2023

This is something I did last year and enjoyed putting together. Basically, it's my top fic by kudos in the month it's posted and my favorite. I've left out wips to make it more interesting. For me, anyway. I'm not tagging anyone, but I'd love to see this if other people do it. All the fics & summaries are after the cut. Happy New Year!

🔥 Top

💜 Favorite

January

🔥 graveyard: Teen Wolf, Sterek, 300 words, teen

“I wonder if it has anything to do with that graveyard by the lake,” Stiles muses. “You know, the one with the pentacles and shit.”

💜 midnight: Teen Wolf, Sterek, 100 words, teen

“He said it was due at midnight on the first but is that in five minutes or 24 hours and five minutes?”

February

🔥 💜 again: Teen Wolf, Sterek, 100 words, teen

“Witches took Derek!” Isaac’s panic is clear.

March

🔥 glitter: Teen Wolf, Sterek, 2,760 words, explicit

Stiles stared up at his ceiling, impressed and slightly horrified. “How did I get glitter there?” Someone sneezed explosively behind him, startling him so badly he fell out of his chair. “What the fuck?” He looked over, completely unsurprised to see that it was Derek standing near his window. “Oh no.” ~ In which Stiles accidentally showers Derek in glitter, but it all works out better than expected

💜 enough: The Hollows, Trent Kalamack/Rachel Morgan, 823 words, teen

And just like that, he found himself standing naked in his shower thinking about Rachel Morgan. Again. It would be demoralizing if he was the sort of man to let such things get to him. Or: The author reread Every Which Way But Dead and had the idea to write a fic about Trent jerking off in the shower,

April

🔥 💜 my heart was connected: Teen Wolf, Steterek, 11,329 words, explicit

“Derek, dude, relax. We’ve got this. We’re gonna Hallmark movie the shit out of this Christmas.” ~ Derek brings Stiles home to pretend to be his boyfriend and act as a buffer between him and Peter. That’s not exactly how it works out.

May

🔥 pie, chase, dysfunctional: Teen Wolf, Sterek, 100 words, gen

Stiles stood on the porch of the Hale house and watched the betas chase each other. “What did you do?”

💜 so we remain the same: The Hollows, Trent Kalamack/Rachel Morgan, 2,001 words, explicit

“You are the most infuriating woman I have ever met.” Trent tries to hold onto some semblance of his normal composure, he really does, but it’s hard to sound calm when Rachel insists on biting his lip and all he can think of is how good it feels and what a terrible idea this is. “Yeah, well, you have no morals.” ~ It’s just another night where Rachel is Trent’s security escort and has to save his life right up until it takes an unusual turn.

June

🔥 💜 be gay do crimes: Psy-Changeling, Aden Kai/Vasic Zen, 100 words, gen

“What does it mean?” Aden and Vasic stood in front of a wall spray painted with a rainbow flag and the words ‘be gay do crimes’.

July

🔥 electric, fire, plastic: Teen Wolf, Sterek, 100 words, teen

“I wonder if were-eels are a thing? Imagine being able to shift into an electric eel. What would the beta shift be like, though?”

💜 late, festive, wide: Teen Wolf, Sterek, 100 words, gen

“You’ve been planning this for a month?”

August

🔥 Fucking Witches, Man: Teen Wolf, Sterek, 1,228 words, explicit

Stiles’ phone rings at three in the morning on a Saturday night. It’s the full moon, so he really shouldn’t be surprised that it’s Derek. “Oh god, what now?” is the way he chooses to answer it. ~ A witch blows a mysterious powder all over Derek. I think we all know where this story’s going.

💜 until the Darkness takes us: Black Jewles, Daemon Sadi/Lucivar Yaslana, 3,837 words, explicit

Lucivar stands at the top of the tower outside SaDiablo Hall in Kaleer and looks at the stars. It’s been more than two centuries since he first got to this realm, but it still surprises him sometimes that the stars are the same. ~ Lucivar and Daemon’s relationship shifts and develops over time.

September

🔥 I'll Always Know It's You: The Hollows, Trent Kalamack/Rachel Morgan, 1,488 words, teen

Rachel really was talented with disguises. She appeared to be a brunette with a tan she would only ever achieve with an amulet. From a distance it looked like her eyes were dark and the shape of her face was completely changed. Trent still knew it was her. ~ Rachel shows up to a charity event looking like someone else. Trent wants to know why.

💜 sweater weather: Radiance Series, Evain Marha/Leth ka Tariel, 100 words, gen

“What are you doing?” Leth’s voice makes Evain jump and drop three stitches.

October

🔥 jump, brain, gaudy: Teen Wolf, Sterek, 100 words, gen

“There is a single tasteful rhinestone belt. That isn’t gaudy!”

💜 We Were Helping!: Perilous Courts, Daromir Azri/Vana Dire, Vana Dire & Bellamy Sandry, 1,857 words, teen

“When I said you know better than to play drinking games with a dragonrider, I didn’t mean you should switch to doing shots with a foreign prince who holds a grudge against you instead.” ~ Bellamy is still mad about Rakos’ kidnapping. Vana insists they were helping. Eventually, they come to an understanding.

November

🔥 I think I know a secret: Teen Wolf, Sterek, 3,319 words, explicit

“Oh man, bobbing for apples. I bet you killed at that game, what with the fangs and all,” Stiles exclaims, pulling Derek from his thoughts. “You could clean up at that.” ~ Stiles learns something unexpected about Derek during the fall festival.

💜 in the middle of the night, Teen Wolf, Sterek, 1,680 words, explicit

Stiles leans back against his pillows and hits play on his laptop. He made sure it’s sitting a careful distance away, on the other side of him than the lube. Cleaning lube out of a laptop keyboard is an absolute bitch—ask him how he knows. ~ Stiles is jerking off. Derek shows up. This works out very well for both of them.

December

🔥 Merry Christmas, indeed: Teen Wolf, Steterek, 2,229 words, explicit

Stiles has his hand wrapped around his cock when someone clears their throat. He assumes it’s Derek—he’s stretched out in his bed in the loft, after all. When he opens his eyes, though, it’s to see Peter leaning against the wall, smirking at him. ~ Stiles sneaks into Derek’s loft to surprise him on Christmas. The results exceed his wildest dreams.

💜 then, now, and forever: Radiance Series, Evain Marha/Leth ka Tariel, 3,083 words, explicit

It’s a dark and stormy night and Evain Marha sits contemplating his lover. ~ Nothing to see here but smut.

[flickerofcalum]

once bitten, twice shy | part six

part one // part two // part three // part four // part five // masterlist

They’d been driving for only about thirty minutes and Luke was trying his hardest to sleep, but it was hard when Brinley was so close to him. The smell of her perfume, still the same as it had been when they were together, was intoxicating and she looked so cute with her blonde hair tucked under a beanie. He couldn’t stop himself from staring, but thankfully she was wrapped up in her own world. She was staring out the window with headphones in her ears, a blanket even fuzzier than the one Luke had brought draped over her knees. All Luke wanted to do was curl up next to her and go to sleep, but he knew that wasn’t an option.

Luke despised early mornings. There was nothing worse than forcing himself out of his comfortable and warm bed, especially now that it was snowing outside. However, the idea of getting out of his hometown for the weekend was a good consolation for having to get up so early. He felt a little strange being home, especially since his parents were out of the country and he was staying with Michael and his parents. It just felt like he didn’t belong anymore. So, he was definitely happy to get away from it all for a while, especially if it meant spending more time with Brinley.

After Luke helped her pick out a Christmas tree, it felt like something had shifted between them. He didn’t think Brinley was necessarily ready to forgive him, but it did feel like she was more open to the idea of a friendship with him. Luke knew he would always want more with her, but he knew he would be lucky to have her back in his life anyway he could. He was hoping to get a chance to really talk to her while they were at the cabin.

After forcing himself out of bed, Luke quickly took a shower and got ready, bundling himself up in a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. The cabin was about two hours away and thankfully he wasn’t trying, so he planned on bringing a blanket and curling up in the backseat of whatever car he ended up in.

He didn’t bother to knock as he went into Michael’s room, going over to his closet to steal one of his friend’s many fuzzy blankets. “You almost ready?”

Michael grumbled a bit from where he was in the bathroom brushing his teeth. “I can’t believe they’re making us leave this early.”

Luke snorted as he sat down on Michael’s bed. “Your girlfriend is the one who’s responsible for this.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Michael insisted as he came out of the bathroom, reaching for a hoodie and pulling it over his head.

“How long are you gonna tell yourself that lie?” Luke raised an eyebrow at him.

Michael rolled his eyes, spraying some cologne on himself. Luke had only seen him put on cologne when they went to special events back in LA and he was a bit amused that his friend was putting so much effort into getting ready. “She doesn’t want to be with me like that, dude. Besides, our lifestyle isn’t really the best circumstance for a relationship.”

“Has she told you she doesn’t want to be in a relationship with you?” Luke said, clutching the blanket to his chest. He knew this thing between Olivia and Michael was complicated and had given up understanding a long time ago, but he could see the way his best friend lit up whenever he was with her. He never looked that happy to see anyone and that had to mean something. “Have you even told her how you feel?”

Michael avoided his gaze, grabbing the duffel bag he’d packed. “It’s complicated,” he said, making his way out of the room.

Luke followed him, grabbing his own bag from where he’d left it in the hallway before he made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen where Michael had gone. “Dude, you love her. You don’t even have to say it out loud. You’ve written nearly an entire album’s worth of songs about her, just play her one and she’ll know.”

The red-haired boy scoffed. “Who said they’re about her?”

“Because contrary to popular belief, I’m not a complete idiot,” Luke replied, hopping up on the counter after he grabbed one of the muffins Michael’s mom had baked for them the night before. That was one of the best things about staying with the Cliffords – Karen was always baking or cooking something delicious, expressing her worry about the amount of take out they had been eating while living in LA. “Who else would they be about?”

“Well, what about the songs you’ve written about Brinley?” Michael shot back as he grabbed a muffin as well.

Luke nearly choked on the bite of muffin he was eating. “What about them? I used to play songs I wrote for her all the time when we were together.”

Michael raised an eyebrow. “What about the ones you’ve written since you broke up?”

After the break up, songs about lost love and heartbreak had poured out of Luke. He’d been reluctant to show any of them to the guys because they all just felt so personal.  Although he knew it would happen eventually, the idea of Brinley hearing any of them was terrifying. “That’s different. I don’t have a chance in hell with her.”

“How are you so sure I have a chance with Liv?” Michael asked.

“Because any girl who’s been willing to put up with your shit this long must really love you,” Luke replied matter of factly, hopping off the counter. Michael stayed quiet and Luke hoped he was really considering his words. He just wanted to see his best friend happy. “We better get going, dude. I don’t want to hear Ash’s bitching about us being late.”

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

Things were going better than Luke could’ve hoped for. When he and Michael had met up with everyone else, Olivia announced that she and Michael would be taking her car with all the supplies and luggage loaded in the back while everyone else would be in Calum’s car. Of course, Ashton had called shotgun as soon as she’d finished speaking – as if anyone had any doubt about who was going to sit by Calum’s side – which meant he and Brinley were together in the back.

They’d been driving for only about thirty minutes and Luke was trying his hardest to sleep, but it was hard when Brinley was so close to him. The smell of her perfume, still the same as it had been when they were together, was intoxicating and she looked so cute with her blonde hair tucked under a beanie. He couldn’t stop himself from staring, but thankfully she was wrapped up in her own world. She was staring out the window with headphones in her ears, a blanket even fuzzier than the one Luke had brought draped over her knees. All Luke wanted to do was curl up next to her and go to sleep, but he knew that wasn’t an option. So, finally, he got the courage to actually speak to her, tapping her gently on the knee and smiling gently once she pulled one ear phone out.

“What are you listenin’ to?” He asked, chewing on his bottom lip.

“The 1975’s new album,” she said. “Have you heard it?”

Luke shook his head. He’d been a bit out of the loop since he’d gotten back into town, mostly focusing on writing his own music rather than listening to anything new. “S’it any good?”

Brinley bit her lip, seemingly mulling something over before she held out an ear bud. “Wanna listen with me?”

His stomach fluttered as he nodded, trying his hardest not to seem eager as he unhooked his seatbelt so he could slide into the seat in between them, sticking the headphone in his ear. Their knees brushed as he got comfortable next to her, pulling the blanket up to his chin and leaning his head back against the seat. As nervous as he was, being close to Brinley was still like second nature to him and somehow, he felt more relaxed than he had in months. He closed his eyes, focusing on the feeling of Brinley’s knee pressed against his and Matty Healy’s voice.

It was only a matter of time before his eyes started fluttering closed and he tentatively let his head rest against the girl’s shoulder. He held his breath, preparing himself to be pushed away, but instead Brinley just shifted so he could be more comfortable. Luke let himself start to drift off, a small smile on his lips.

@jetblackyoungblood, @dontstopisagoodsongchangemymind, @reallycalum