#maybe I need to actually post that fixit fic for him

[tockamybeloved]

Nods in deep understanding and hands you a delicious bowl of fruit to eat while waiting...

The Legend of Shen Li, Episode 36

Xu Haiqiao as Feng Lai

[dsudis]

2022 Fic Year in Review

Scope note: I am including the WIP I completed this year, which will also appear in the previous year during which chapters were posted, if I ever get around to making a fic year in review post for that year. Stories posted for 2022 Christmas fic exchanges are included in this post.

In 2022 I posted 17 stories, including the concluding chapters of one WIP begun in 2021, for a total of over 104,000 words of fic posted in four fandoms. This was a pretty average number of stories for the past several years (since 2017, I've posted 12-18 stories per year) and a bit of a bounce back from last year's total of less than 82,000 words of fic posted. Weirdly, my word count total for 2022 was within a hundred words of my total from 2007, when I was, uh… working full time, in grad school, and shoveling most of my writing into a story I wouldn't post until the following year. 2022… also had its challenges, but I continue to regard it as The Year My Writing Came Back From The War, so I am pretty pleased all in all.

I actually wrote over 155,000 words of fic this year, with most of the unposted word count going to the Sandman Nightmare Apocalypse AU I started as a Nanowrimo project which… only needs another 80K or so, so… it could get finished in 2023? Maybe??

Story titles this year quoted The Mountain Goats, Taylor Swift, Rainier Maria Rilke, Beck, Swedish synth-pop duo The Knife, U2, T.S. Eliot and Sammy Cahn, who I have just this moment learned was the lyricist responsible for "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"

Under the cut: fic list and year in review questions answered!

Critical Role

Whomever You Call Out to in the Night (Critical Role: Mighty Nein, Caduceus & Caleb, platonic rope bondage) Just One More Thing (Critical Role: Bells Hells, Orym & Ashton, Ashton's touch aversion) Dangerous Company (Critical Role: Bells Hells, Orym & Fearne, Teen, discussion of the PvP powder keg that is this party) Live Along Some Distant Day (Critical Role: Mighty Nein, Caleb/Essek, Teen, bonding over childhood religious trauma) One Hit, One Kiss (Critical Role: Mighty Nein, Molly/Caleb, Explicit, semi-public sex & spanking)

The Witcher

If I Could Never Give You Peace Emhyr var Emreis + Wolf Witchers, Teen, Emhyr is very confused by why all these people want him alive but inclined to go with it) The End Is Where We Start (Duny/Pavetta, VERY minor Geralt/Jaskier, implications of Many Complex Future Pairings, Explicit, time-travel fixit AU)

The Sandman

Licking the Spoon (Dreamling, Explicit, touch-starved Dream does some sensation-seeking with Hob) Lying in Wait (one-sided Dreamling, Mature, Dream in captivity fantasizes about Hob Gadling) An Endless End (Dream & Death, Teen, thoughts on what happens to Our Hero post-The Kindly Ones, Softer than you might think) A Dream of Unusual Size (Dreamling, Teen, Dream is Smol instead of Big for once) Introduction to Goncharov Studies (Dreamling + That Whole Goncharov Phenomenon, Explicit, Dream just gets Really Excited about story-making okay) The Weather Outside Is Frightful (Dreamling, Teen, Hurt/Comfort) Held Now by This Love (Dreamling, Explicit, kink/bondage/shibari)

Rock Bottom of a Hallowed Ground (Never Refuse You #1, Dreamling, Explicit, Dream decides that the Hob Gadling of 1689 needs some looking after and takes him on a visit to the Dreaming) A Symbol of Your Exegesis (Never Refuse You #2, Dreamling, Explicit, Hob is wandering around the Dreaming and encounters Big Dream)

The Cabots - Cat Sebastian

Caleb Murphy Gets a Hug

My best story this year: Probably "Rock Bottom of a Hallowed Ground", I think?

My favorite story this year: "Licking the Spoon"

My most popular story this year: Also "Licking the Spoon" by a fair margin but I swear I would love it even if it weren't!

Most fun story to write: Probably "Introduction to Goncharov Studies"!

Story with the single sexiest moment: (So I am cutting and pasting these questions from a previous year and the answer to this question from 2018 began with "I guess it depends on how you feel about tentacles?" which technically is not a relevant answer this year because I haven't posted any of that kind of Dreamling fic yet, but it feels very apt anyway.) "One Hit, One Kiss"

Story with the single sweetest moment: "The Weather Outside Is Frightful" almost in its entirety.

Story with the single saddest moment: Logic compels me to at least consider that it's "An Endless End" but I don't think of that as a sad story? I think it's probably "Live Along Some Distant Day" or possibly one of the other ones with Caleb in them because I mean: Caleb.

My weirdest/kinkiest story as demonstrated by reader response: "One Hit One Kiss" wins the private bookmarks quotient with 54% private, edging out "Held Now by This Love" with 48% and "Whomever You Call Out to in the Night" with 45%. "Whomever" did win the highest ratio of kudos to comments (which I fondly interpret as the "I liked this but I don't want to talk about it" quotient) with 21.4 kudos per comment, just edging out "A Dream of Unusual Size" (21.3) and "A Symbol of Your Exegesis" (20).

My most startlingly wholesome story as demonstrated by reader response: "Caleb Murphy Gets a Hug" has just one private bookmark!

Hardest story to write: [2018 answer: Oh, God. All of them, in the first three quarters of the year.] Oh, God. All of them, in the first three quarters of the year. "The End Is Where We Start" probably takes the cake, since I started it back in October of 2020.

Biggest surprise: [2018 answer: Monsterfucking!] My total failure to finish writing hardly any monsterfucking, given that I got into this year's Big Monsterfucking Pairing in September! Also, getting into this year's Big Monsterfucking Pairing in September.

This year’s theme and the story that demonstrates it most: Well, rope bondage made a surprisingly strong showing, but I think I wrote a lot of stories this year about people having their needs understood and accepted and getting what they need no matter how poor a job they do of asking for it, which is pretty on-brand for me, so I'll say that "Whomever You Call Out to in the Night" and "Held Now by This Love" kind of epitomize that (and are also the ones about rope bondage, and also the first and last one-shot stories I posted this year!)

Favorite opening line: Hob Gadling had a great deal to say about how much he had to live for, and no hesitation over saying it to Dream in a great rush of meandering detail. from "Rock Bottom of a Hallowed Ground"

Favorite closing line: It will be a nice problem to have. from "Lying in Wait"

[paalove]

NOT ME FIC MASTERPOST

tumblr prompts: (ao3 link)

gramyok flirting while black seethes, 159 words

nuchgene friendship ep 7 coda, 336 words.

danyok angst, 490 words.

what if it wasn't todd who found white tied up? 125 words.

post-canon gramblack fluff, 462 words.

gram pov post-ep-10 twin reveal, cracky, 834 words.

black pov ep 11, 647 words.

russian mafia-connected white, 344 words.

brother-in-law postcanon sean+black, 220 words.

gramblack with pining black, 898 words.

the note is for black au, gramblack, 689 words.

gone series fusion, seanwhite+gen, 999 words.

NOT ME PROMPT MONTH - tumblr, twitter, ao3

ao3 one-offs:

walking on an edge (that's how i stay alive) - oneshot, 2225 words. au twin reveal where the whole gang sees them together. seanwhite. (original shorter tumblr version here)

now they're going to bed (and my stomach is sick) - oneshot, 2552 words. canon divergence au, cockblock black, seanwhite.

dreams i've borrowed - oneshot, 1683 words. post ep 9 fixit, seanwhite.

get that shit inside your head - oneshot, 1341 words. friends-nearly to lovers, canon divergence au, background gramblack focused on nuchgene.

(i'll be on the way) like a bat out of hell - 2/2 chapters, 4380 words. the insane four post ep 10 fixits i wrote in the four hours after the episode aired, i was DISTRAUGHT 😅. seanwhite.

don't need poltergeists for sidekicks - oneshot, 2145 words. ep 11 fixit. seanwhite

patiently burning - oneshot, 2084 words. black-centric ep 12 fixit, gen.

'cause i still am (and i still do) - oneshot, 1113 words. me shoving black into the van rescue scene because i love him. gen.

answers to questions (you didn't know to ask) - oneshot, 1005 words. eugene actually getting to have a reaction to revelations. background seanwhite, gen.

when it breaks (something you can't shake) - oneshot, 1560 words. black and gram are kidnapped, and gram is injured. gramblack.

you're in the race (to watch the roots corrode) - oneshot, 1225 words. NOT ME WEEK DAY 1 - "what was your plan b?" pre-seanwhite.

but it's much too late (when the storm decays) - oneshot, 1229 words. NOT ME WEEK DAY 2 - outsider pov. seanwhite.

it comforts me much more (fix your heart) - oneshot, 1629 words. NOT ME WEEK DAY 3 - body swap au. pre-seanwhite.

antihero (you look stressed out) - oneshot, 1010 words. NOT ME WEEK DAY 4 - "don't move." gen, black-centric.

you must build an altar where it rests - oneshot, 1027 words. NOT ME WEEK DAY 5 - "when did you notice?" danyok.

let it flood, let it flood, let it wash away - oneshot, 3643 words. NOT ME WEEK DAY 6 - fake relationship au. namogene.

take his body as a relic to be canonized - oneshot, 3137 words. NOT ME WEEK DAY 7 - time loop au. toddblack.

let's dream out loud - 2/2 chapters, 2848 words. didn't know we were dating trope, gramblack. (tumblr ch1, ch2)

you can sleep in a coffin - oneshot, 1000 words. uwma fusion, seanwhite. (original shorter tumblr version here)

rock away this feeling for me - oneshot, 2610 words. 5+1 hugs, seanwhite. (original tumblr version here)

we are the rust upon your gears - oneshot, 2941 words. mission+aftermath fic. explicit, seanwhite.

inside the warm embracing air - oneshot, 2636 words. ropes and piercings, explicit, seanwhite. (original tumblr version here)

feeling helpless to the tide (we fight this war on different sides) - 4/4 chapters, 2049 words. genderswapped ust between seanwhite, toddblack, seanblack, and toddwhite.

world above the ground - oneshot, 3116 words. white and the girls friendship fic, au twin reunion, implied future seanwhite. gen.

and my strings are digging in - oneshot, 1062 words. post-canon short with white getting hurt so sean won't go to prison. seanwhite. (original tumblr version here)

unlocked doors and windows cracked - oneshot, 1446 words. just before canon, black got some information on todd that was so dangerous todd needed to take drastic action. maybe that involved them fucking in the hot tub; here's some speculation. toddblack.

burning up together, baby - oneshot, 1115 words. postcanon gang hangouts! some seanwhite, some blackyok, mostly gen.

found a world worth dying for - oneshot, 1068 words. sean whump in which sean, over a day after some vague incident, stumbles back to the garage covered in blood. white takes care of him. seanwhite.

places inside me that i find you (leave me at the roadside) - oneshot, 25 words. 5+1 fic about sean, yok, and marks. some seanwhite, some more danyok, but mostly sean&yok.

ao3 multichapters:

fall out of the heavens/crawl up from under. 22/22 chapters, 47279 words. the blond!white fic. seanwhite and gramblacknuch

shape you like an ocean (come alive or come undone) - 17/17 chapters, 22471 words. post-van pre epilogue-y bits, blackyok. (original tumblr prompt here)

still lurk on distant foreign shores - 4/4 chapters, 6027 words. continuation of the mafia!white prompt above, seanwhite.

WIP - bone-dry, bloodshot eyes - 2/? chapters, 4371 words. au where everything's already gone as wrong as possible before white even finds them. character death in backstory. seanwhiteyok.

ao3 series:

i won't cross these streets until you hold my hand: au where sean finds white on facebook by mistake while white still lives in russia, comes up to the start of the canon timeline. total words: 38778.

are we just getting more lost - oneshot, 695 words. pre-seanwhite

i'll show you mine if you show me yours first - 3/3 chapters, 4179 words. pre-seanwhite, other background ships.

the part where the needle skips - 6/6 chapters, 13602 words. developing seanwhite, other background ships.

conspiring by candlelight (shine your light on me) - 4/4 chapters, 20302 words. seanwhite, background toddblack, gramblack, and namonuch.

(garage) of wolves: au where the garage gang are a werewolf pack. total words: 48612.

innocence for days - 7/7 chapters, 7045 words.

you see me creeping up these halls - 5/5 chapters, 41567 words. seanwhite.

you stole my heart but i had it first. established relationship gramblack canon divergence au. total words: 3889.

i dug this pain into my chest - oneshot, 1347 words. established relationship, canon divergence gramblack. (tumblr post here)

you and i drove off the darkest streets - 3/3 chapters, 5040 words. black tries to figure out wtf white has been up to, sean tries to stop him. gramblack, seanwhite. (tumblr)

i will die in this place. uwma fusion fic, total words: 5713.

you can sleep in a coffin - oneshot, 1000 words. the fated couple make eye contact (and so do the non-fated couple).

sometimes you scrape and sink so low - 2/2 chapters, 2101 words. some revelations about how their past selves died, and some meetings. pre-seanwhite, pre-????black.

but honey, what're you gonna do? - 2/2 chapters, 2610 words. car rides, rain, and couples starting to fall together pre-seanwhite, pre-gramblacktodd.

bitter years since i've been seeing - 3/3 chapters, 3238 words. more revelations about their past selves - and who one of them was related to. pre-seanwhite.

[olderthannetfic]

Out of curiosity I looked up Clint/Coulson on A03 and 11k fics?! Just why? I mean I'm all about ship what you want but 11k fics! I'm curious about the appeal of these two together. Is it something from the comics? Because in fic a lot of people write MCU Clint like his comic counterpart.

--

Hahaha. Oh god.

No, it is absolutely not comics.

Okay, so, I dislike how C/C gets used in dumb arguments as though ships like this are commonplace when it's really just this one and maybe Kylux and/or Arthur/Eames... But I'm more than happy to talk about the weird outliers as that.

Clint/Coulson needs to be understood in the context of Avengers fandom where it sprang up. First, let's look at posting dates:

This is really a 2012 phenomenon that got big enough to be self-sustaining for a while. And being a 2012 phenomenon, it has nothing to do with Clint.

You heard me: Nobody cared about Clint. Nobody cared about comics. This was 100% fandom being Horny For Coulson.

At the time, MCU was some of the origin movies. Everyone was really looking forward to Avengers where the characters would meet for the first time. With fewer overall movies, the cameo characters stood out more, especially Coulson with his funny one-liners. People loved him in the first two Iron Mans, but there was nobody to ship him with. And then came Thor. Yeah, it's like two seconds, but he has that funny radio conversation with Hawkeye. Bingo! Shipping potential!

And then Avengers came out and killed Coulson.

So not only did people finally have a cardboard cutout who'd been in Coulson's vicinity to ship him with, but they had fixit fic to write, and fandom has always loved fixit fic. And Clint was conveniently mind controlled for 90% of his, at the time, very minimal screen time so he was a blank slate aside from the tasty built-in angst of him being mind controlled while Coulson was getting killed. Cue the bajillions of fics where they're secretly married and no one knew (boring) and the heaps where Clint had a secret crush and now it's too late to confess except oh wait (my jam).

It was at that point that people started going to comics (or, realistically, comics wikis) to fill in some actual personality and backstory for Clint. However, I read a bunch of the fic at the time, and it all had the unmistakable ring of being pure asset/handler trope. I'm a sucker for that, and I also love the trope of the dude who looks like an accountant but is a secret badass.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Thor's Hammer is the most epic unadulterated dose of 'secret badass looks like an accountant' I've ever seen.

Finding out Coulson was coming back for real fueled the fire more. Agents of SHIELD started in 2013... but Coulson fans weren't that wild about him on that show. Interest started to wane pretty quickly. People who liked the show mostly liked it for other things.

But the phenomenon was big, and it was so fanon-y and compartmentalized that it was easy to go play without knowing much about the comics or about the increasingly vast MCU. That kept it chugging along longer than some fads. Ships tend to be semi-self sustaining after a certain point because the back catalogue of fic itself attracts people and forms the canon in a sense.

I think a lot of people who lack this taste for secret badasses look at Coulson and assume he was picked for adjacency to Clint, but it's actually that fandom took one look at Coulson and went "RAW ME, DADDY!"

[jaynovz]

Fics with John Silver Backstory/Past Rec List

Hello hello! 

In celebration/honor of me finally finishing my Gigantic Silver Backstory, I’ve compiled a list of other fics which either feature their own versions or heavily hint at Past Horrors. So not all of these have a full Deal, but they all hint at/touch on Silver’s past in some way. I was def inspired by a lot of these stories, but at the same time tried to carve my own path. 

(this doesn’t include any mod au stuff, only canon era)

Hope you enjoy~

--

el cuentacuento by straddling_the_atmosphere:

Summary: At the end of the day, John Silver is an unreliable narrator.

Or: a storyteller's story.

Notes: Exactly what it says on the tin. The format of this one is brilliant, wow, it gives me chills. Silver telling stories interspersed with flashback memories. Really quite phenomenal. Heed the tags!

More Than One Odysseus by Freudhood, mcicioni:

Summary: Reunion fic, about two years after 4.10. Quite a lot of talking and a little of the following: fishing, sex, hunting, bathtubs, Jewish surnames, books, stories, and Terra Australis.

Notes: This is a post-canon fixit with Jewish!Silver revealing a few things about his past, giving Flint something so he’ll start to trust him again. It has one of my FUCKING FAVORITE Silver philosophies on storytelling as a whole: 

“You start with a fact,” he says, and it’s still fucking general and vague, but it’s the best he can do for the moment. “And then you work it over, like you would with a piece of steel that’ll eventually become a knife, or a sword. You forge it.You hammer it. You file it. You grind it. You polish it. And you’ve got a story.”

Wow it’s so good. A really well-rounded and good story!

upon the tedious shores by Aisalynn:

Summary: He didn’t remember his mother. He didn’t know if she held him close to her body and rocked him in her arms, whispering his name into the top of his head. Didn’t know if she named him at all.

It didn’t matter. When you live a life as unremarkable as his, no one cares what you are called.

Notes: Silver ruminates on the names he’s been called over the years. A rehash of canon of sorts as well as a fix-it.

I read this wonderful little fic around the time I first started writing my own backstory and was struck by the similarities. Truly the Black Sails Silver lovers share a braincell at times.

Cloth of Gold by dornfelder:

Summary: "Tell me one thing," Flint says.

Silver lifts his head, eyes full of apprehension. "If I can."

"If you were to tell me about your past – about all the things you cannot bear for me to know – what do you think I might do?"

Notes: This might be my favorite story about Silver’s past that doesn’t actually reveal anything solid? The way it’s done is BRILLIANT. It is Flint Seeing him without needing any of the firm/finer details that Silver simply Cannot Speak. ABSOLUTELY INSPIRED.

To Be Free of Temptation by anselm0:

Summary: “What would you suggest we do instead, then?”

Maybe it was the way he said it, the way Flint was sitting with his knees sprawled out, or the secrets he guarded so closely; Silver didn’t know what it was, but somebody’s Devil took ahold of his tongue then and he said, “I think we should fuck.”

Notes: This story doesn’t have explicit Silver past, but it hints very heavily at past noncon/sexual trauma. Also it’s just a BRILLIANT Silverflint fic where they come together in a sort of alt early s3.

One of my forever faves for how awkward the sex is at first, the miscommunication, and then Flint taking the time to figure out What is Happening and fix it. I have def taken cues from this dynamic in other fics, as you’ve seen :P And I am ofc a FIRM believer of Silver having had sex work go very very wrong in his Unspeakable Past.

Ponce De Leon Avenue by flawlessassholes:

Summary: "Hey," He says, his eyes crinkling. "You think we've found the Fountain of Youth?"

Silver snorts. "I hope not. You'd be terrible at being immortal."

---

After the events of 2x01, Flint and Silver leave for St. Augustine and find the Fountain of Youth.

Notes: Another Jewish!Silver interpretation. A canon au after 2.1 that has the Most Fascinating OT4, wow. And wow this story in general is so so interesting and devastating. The Silverflint dynamic here is unique and choice. They’re immortals here, if that wasn’t clear from the summary.

let us possess one world by vowelinthug:

Summary: They return to Nassau after their defeat of the British Navy, only to be met by Agitator Billy and his propaganda machine. This is why Captain Flint tries not to let other people decide things.

In which: Flint wears a disguise, Silver tells a terrible story, one bathes the other, and only one man died the whole night which is, like, definitely a record for them.

Notes: More exploration of the Rise of Long John Silver, as well as a really great Silverflint fic. Silver shares a bit with Flint about his past. Written before s4 and 4.9, so the vibe is a little different, but it still fits beautifully.

slouches towards bethlehem to be born by straddling_the_atmosphere:

Summary: It takes two weeks to get Flint off of Skeleton Island.

Or rather, it takes two weeks for the island to let them go.

Notes: I’ve recced this one before, and here it is again lmao. It contains some terrifying hallucinations/flashbacks for Silver of his Unspeakable Past.

Also it’s a true horror story! Featuring Skeleton Island as an ancient entity which Silver and Flint must sacrifice to in order to escape. Another case of things being both resolved and unresolved between the lads. A forever favorite.

There is Freedom in the Dark by i_ship_an_armada:

Summary: After Savannah, James is a lost, broken man until a bit of magic helps him see what he missed in his past so he may choose a different path leading to the peace he so desperately wishes for.

A story of mistakes and bitterness, magic and mysterious messages, forgiveness and love, with a little bit of hope thrown in.

Notes: An extremely in-depth and compelling post-canon Silverflint fix-it, with supernatural elements. Very satisfying, with a Silver backstory take that I found extremely interesting and creative. But I won’t spoil it. :P

The Tether Series by stele3:

Summary: “So you did find him,” the man says faintly. When Thomas looks up he finds himself caught in perhaps the strangest regard one person has ever given another, a gaze that absolutely does not dissuade Thomas from the notion that a feral, scavenging animal has broken into their home.

Notes: This is an amazing series top to bottom and contains many wonderful stories. It’s my favorite Jewish!Silver interpretation by far and might be my favorite Silver backstory period. 

My two specific favorite sections for Silver are A Dance on the Floorboards and The Snake in the Grass, but you really should just read the whole series. It’s very long and very sad at points, but well worth the investment. Truly a freakin’ masterpiece.

The Canterbury Tales by Wind_Ryder:

Summary: Pirates. Attacking Georgia. A part of Thomas wants to believe that there's nothing at all relating the events outside to the events in his personal life.

But when he turns around and sees John Silver slipping in through the backdoor, he very much doubts that's the case. "Tea?" Thomas asks blandly, throwing the latch and shutting his blinds like a good Puritan man.

James, of course, chooses that moment to rush up the steps to Thomas's shop. All but colliding with the door, not expecting it to be locked, and Thomas takes pity. Opening it and closing it behind him the moment he's rushed in.

At first, James' attention was solely on Thomas. A pleasant thing in most circumstances, but Thomas can only smile blandly and watch with slight amusement as James' attention wavers. "What the fuck are you doing here?" He hisses, spotting John within seconds. And John responds by doing what any sane man should do when the weight of James' full ire is directed at him.

He swoons.

Notes: Another huge story investment with many twists and turns and lots of slowburn character resolutions. As in, a Gigantic Fix-it. I don’t want to spoil the Silver take here, but I haven’t seen anything else like it in the fandom. The Novel Discussions series as a whole is well worth your time.

the aftershocks remain by pdameron:

Summary: For as long as he can remember, John Silver has been able to see ghosts. He has no trouble keeping this secret from Flint - until Charlestown. Until Miranda.

-

the working title for this was "the paranorman fic"

Notes: The Miranda-Silver bonding fic we deserved. Featuring a lot of ghosts from Silver’s past, literally, that he’s spoken to over the years. Full of delicious flashbacks. I absolutely adore this story. Spooky and sweet and sad and wonderful.

The Power of the Telling by Farasha:

Summary: In a quiet moment back at New Providence, in Miranda's house, John Silver ponders the man James Flint might have been once upon a time. Flint still knows so little about his quartermaster, it seems that John can still surprise him, even in the smallest things.

Notes: Silver likes to read!! They talk about power and books and there’s some kissing. A lovely story.

yes and no by youatemytailor:

Summary: "I can sit for an oil painting if you like,” Silver says with a grin.

Notes: Jewish!Silver again. He’s circumcised and Flint keeps noticing. Eyes Emoji.

lost on you by youatemytailor:

Summary: Silver is in the room when it happens. He’s not sure if he’s glad for it, in retrospect.

Notes: A Flint-is-sick fic that I ADORE where Silver reveals a few things about himself. A very good Silverflint fic in general.

to know the worth of my life by mapped:

Summary: So big a name for so small a man.

John Silver feels very small.

Notes: A post-series fix-it and Silver character study. Ends with a reveal of his true name. Good shit.

What’s in a Name? by Craftnarok:

Summary: Some conversations in the dark between Flint and Silver, set during episode 3x09. They have a moment alone in the Maroon camp, after Mr. Scott's death, and what begins as curiosity and sharing develops into rather a lot more.

Notes: Just a really good Silverflint fic all around, with them sharing stories and bonding. Another story written before s4 and 4.9, so take that into account. I still really like it and think it’s a good take.

And I? by depugnare:

Summary: When he’s blown off the side of the ship, the last thing he sees is Flint’s horrified face looking down at him from above.

Wonders if it’s the fate of all of those closest to Flint to die this way.

Notes: When Silver is assumed dead in s4, he “kills” his past self for good. AHHH THE CHILLBUMPS.

a few good words and the tide by samedifference61:

Summary: A man can be anyone if the truth is buried deep enough.

Notes: A loose s4 rehash with flashbacks from Silver’s past. Very sad, very poignant. 

With Nothing on My Tongue by RosieTwiggs:

Summary: "Silver thinks: Maybe God likes it when I fight with him.

He wonders now, whether he’s been playing into God’s plan all along. Because no matter how angry he gets, how defensive, how many “fuck you”s he flings to the heaven, isn’t it all just proof that he still believes God is there, despite it all?

Silver doesn’t know how to counter that.

Maybe he doesn’t want to anymore."

The Jewish!John Silver character study no one asked for, but you're all getting anyway.

Notes: A canon rehash as seen through the lens of a Jewish!Silver. Absolutely devastating but just AMAZING. This is not a fix-it. HEED THE TAGS.

a hopeless violence (i named it love) by MaymayC:

Summary: “I have no idea who you were.” Flint looks almost shocked at this realization. John tries not to shift, repressing the urge to run that immediately rises up. “Not before we found you, at any rate.” John has to laugh at that, like he’s some stray that Flint decided to keep, here on these godforsaken cliffs that Flint insists they train atop.

Notes: Here’s another brilliant take on Jewish!John Silver, written in a stream of conscious style that is EXCELLENTLY done. Pitch perfect with some very immersive historical details which show careful research. Gave me a lot of feelings about my own story.

“Jesus Christ, don’t do that,” he says. “If you want to know where I come from just ask.” It almost even feels like the truth to say it, like if Flint asked him in the just the right way, John could find the words that would make his life till now into something that could be understood.

-

or, John Silver grapples with the concept of identity.

Ner Tamid by notfelix:

Summary: "He takes Muldoon’s hand, flesh cold and thick as deepest water. It requires some maneuvering before he finds the right position. The only thing that feels comfortable is to grip Muldoon exactly as he had while fighting, screaming, to keep them both above the surface. Silver tightens his hold, and flexes and pulls: this time he will do it better. This time he will do it correctly. This time he’ll get the man so much fucking air he won’t even know what to do with it."This time he will lift him up properly, and when it’s all over he will put him down properly, too."

—

Jewish!Silver character study by way of doldrums cannibalism fic. y'know. normal stuff.

Notes: Another Jewish!John Silver take that packs a PUNCH straight to your guts.  A perfect character study, a perfect short story. No, but the craft in this is stunning from top to bottom, I could teach a class about it. I simply cannot recommend this highly enough. This one will get inside your flesh and stay with you like the most brutally emotional haunting. Mind tags as always.

--

Okay, phew, this list is long!

As usual, hit me up if there’re any really good ones I’ve overlooked!

[irondad-creator-awards]

Winner Spotlight - Mshermia

Today we’re talking to @mshermia​ who wrote the fabulous If They Knew All About You which was the winner of the Plot Twist Award in the 2021 Awards.

How did you get into Irondad?

I think I just stumbled upon it on AO3 at some point. I used to read a lot of fanfics when I was still in school and in the first couple of years of university and then lost touch when I spent less time in my main fandom (Potter). But after Infinity War, I was just craving more Marvel content and found AO3. Back in the day, I used to read on fanfiction.net. It must have been in the phase where I was reading a lot of Stony post Civil-War break-up fics, that's when I must have stumbled upon Family by petersnotkingyet, a pretty short fic post Civil War where Peter had been co-parented by Tony and Steve and then found out that Tony got hurt by Steve in Siberia.

And then it spiraled from there.

 What’s your favourite Irondad scene?

It has to be the rooftop scene in Homecoming. It's such an intense scene with both RDJ and Tom at their best. A close second would be Tony flying after him Peter and the space donut in Infinity War, telling him “Pete, you gotta let go. I'm gonna catch you.”

I fell out of love with the movies after Endgame, but I still love to watch these two scenes.

 When did you start writing and what made you sit down and write that first story?

I used to write in school a lot. I got into fanfiction when I was about 14-15. Mostly it was me writing down my daydreaming about Orlando Bloom, so I'm not sure if that counts as a first “real” story, but that's what I used to do instead of paying attention in class. Thankfully, I was a good student despite it ;)

 What do you like about writing most?

It's a one-person kind of task. I like that I can just sit down whereever and write whenever I feel like it. Yes, sometimes it's nice and necessary to speak to someone about a scene or a conflict when I get stuck (shout out to my lovely betas Spagbol99 & tufteatsunglasses for their help and time), but mostly it's something I just need myself and my imagination for, not a whole team of people that need to be coordinated. I write mostly for myself, stories that I would want to read, so it's nice to put something on the page that will work out the way I would want it to work out for once ;)

 Which of your stories is your favourite and why?

It changes all to time but right now, “Like You'd Know How It Works” is probably my favorite out of all my stories. It's a fixit for Endgame that I started writing only a couple of days after watching that horrid movie and likely the story of mine that is closest to the actual MCU canon. I often write AUs that aren't anchored in any particular part of the MCU canon. “Like You'd Know How It Works” is different because I intended it to be a real fix it to Endgame picking up right after the battle and incorporating the scenes of the movie but making it better and make actual sense. I've also created a series that contains different stories from that alternate timeline and I find it really challenging to stick to a sound logic how all these stories fit together, which is a lot of fun to me.

What’s your favourite trope to write?

Miscommunications. Is that a trope? I love it when Tony and Peter are both stubborn idiots and get into a lot more trouble because they are being stubborn and harbor a heavy helping of internalized inferiority, feeling like they aren't good enough for each other or the world in general only to learn how much they mean to one another.

Also, hiding or playing down injuries and the other one freaking out about it.

 What inspired the story, If They Knew All About You?

That one is easy. I read “Lost Boy” by winterda and just loved the Bio!Dad trope immediately. Back then, there were very few stories of that trope and none of them were finished and I really wanted to read one that would be finished, so I decided maybe I'll have to write it myself.

 Can you tell us a little about the experience of writing it — did anything stand out or was there a particular person that helped more than others?

Well, I can tell you that when I started I mapped it out, I thought it would be about 25 chapters. As I've just been polishing up chapters 90 and 91, well... it grew into something I couldn't have ever imagined. It's also been a lesson in patience for me because the scene that I started to write the story for in the first place – Tony finding out and the struggle he goes through in what to do with that information – turned out to be chapter 43! It wouldn't be published until a year and 4 months after I started writing the story and I'm still amazed that I didn't just shorten the whole thing to just get to that point in the story already, cause I'm generally not a very patient person. At all.

I ran a lot of the story by my sister at first. She's a great writer and also a Marvel fan, so it was really fun to hash out some of the plot points with her when I was struggling with how to bring all the strings together.

In the second half of the fic's life, @spagbol99​ has been an amazing beta for me. And many thanks go to her for listening to me ramble about the plot details of this story.

How did you feel to be a winner of the Awards last year?

I was super happy of course, when the story was nominated. I was honestly surprised that it won because there were so many awesome writers nominated who I really enjoy and that have so many people reading and avidly commenting on their work. It's incredibly flattering that the story was picked by the IronDad community as one of their favorites and I do want to thank everyone who has been part of this.

Thank you for chatting with us @mshermia​ xxx

[secret-engima]

Here's something that might come outta left field, what fics do you recommend in the FFXV fandom?

Oooooo okay hmmm. Lemme see what I have. I warn you now that most of these are either short, time-travel, or Prompto angst, but I’ll try to add a little summary to each so you can pick what interests you:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27588704 “Toward Daylight We Run” by SparkleMoose (here on Tumblr as @sparklecryptid) is a time-travel fixit involving Titus, who wakes up post being killed by Nyx with a case of confusion, anger, and le self-doubt, and a Glaive OC who died during the betrayal and who is very understandably angry at them. It’s gonna be a former-enemies-to-lovers thing eventually I think, and tho there’s only two chaps so far I recommend it (I recommend several of Moose’s actually, just watch the tags if you’re not into M-rated or have trigger warnings to look out for) This one does have trigger warning tags for suicidal thoughts and PTSD, so watch out for that.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27912505/chapters/68351254 “From Neath Dark Waters”, another one by SparkleMoose! This one is an FFXIV Warrior of Light reborn as a street rat in Insomnia and adopted by Clarus, again, just getting started, but very feelsy and I love it. Moose also has cool Galahdian worldbuilding stuff which is always fun.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23888788 “the Wound (A Place Where Light Enters)” Third one by SparkleMoose, featuring time-traveling Noctis and also a sort of time-traveling Warrior of Light named Azura who looks around, spots Noctis fighting someone and goes “welp time to go break someone’s face on behalf of a friend I guess” which is a great first impulse for a White Mage imho. These two are gonna be a ship and I love it. 

(honestly just go poke through SparkleMoose’s stuff on Ao3 and here on Tumblr, there’s quite a few FFXV fics and there’s bound to be at least a few you like. :D Just remember to read the tags first)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26644129 “The Great Livestream Debacle” by Choke-a-bro. This is just humor/crack oneshot but it makes me laugh on days that need a pick me up. Basically, Noctis runs a tiny twitch channel playing really old RPGs without telling Ignis or Regis and ONE DAY a stray new viewer happens to realize, “huh, this guy looks like the prince” and it spiral wonderfully from there.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27468421 “A Present for a Father” by illusorygardens. This is actually a little gift oneshot thing inspired by one of my AUs here on Tumblr (Clouds and Moonlit Skies) where a bunch of FFVII characters are reborn as various OCs and canon characters in FFXV. Zack is Noctis, Cloud is Prompto, Aerith is Luna, Titus is Sephiroth, and Rufus and Yuffie are reborn as Imperial Royal Twins with the world’s most terrible dad aka Emperor Aldercapt. So naturally Noctis has to prank the Emperor of Niflheim on their behalf.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26667253/chapters/65038747 “Light in the Night Sky” by mokulule. If you’ve read my Deleantur and liked it, then absolutely 1000% give this a try. It’s inspired by Deleantur verse in the sense of “Noctis goes back to the time of Somnus and Ardyn” but it’s cheerfully wandering off in a very different direction and there is WORLDBUILDING and BACKSTORY and Ardyn and Aera being ADORABLE. Seriously it’s great. Again, it’s only got a few chaps on it, but I love it already and highly recommend.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27611195/chapters/67550303 “Holding Secrets Like a Crystal” by LadyHallen. An AU where Monica Elshett is a telepath and proceeds to unknowingly wreck canon in all the best ways. It’s a 5 chap short story and I love it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18114572/chapters/42823973 “First Lightning, Then Thunder” by Nervous Otaku. This is a RAVUS time-travel fixit, 87 chaps long (tho the chaps are short) and fully completed. Basically Ravus dies, the Astrals think “Free Real Estate” and proceed to dump him into the past in the body of a Coeurl. It’s angst and shenanigans and Ravus stubbornly refusing to admit that he is growing attached to these tiny child versions of people all while going through hell and high water to protect them from destiny. It’s a happy ending too!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21681499/chapters/51709084 “Victorious” by Kyirah. This one hasn’t updated in a while? But it’s got 14 stellar chapters of Noctis being gently plopped back into his child self with only vague memories of the future while the Lucii and the Astrals set about fixiting the world on his behalf. It also features adorable, slightly daemon-but-don’t-worry-he’s-fine Prompto and Dadcor. Also ghost Ardyn.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18116312/chapters/42828299 “cyan boys” by dreamtowns. 6 chap, slightly cracky time-travel, only instead of straight time-travel, Noctis and Prompto wake up in a parallel dimension where some stuff is ... different. Such as them being kids while Gladio and Ignis of that world are already adults. It’s just a nice, quirky, kinda angsty-in-places read and I really enjoyed it (despite the undertones of slash that crop up in some places but hey maybe that’s your cup of tea) but as always read the tags and decide for thineself.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15073931/chapters/34948019 “Nocturne” by nirejseki. The Taur AU that inspired Nox Taur, 11/10 do recommend (even though there are slash and femslash ships in there later on but HEY just because I skipped over those parts doesn’t mean this fic isn’t great). Features baby Noctis being adorable, some cool world-building, Regis being a Good Dad, DadCor, and just- a great fixit all around with some amazing AU take on the Astrals and the prophecy and all that stuff.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11648547/chapters/26204799 “Introductions” by doodly_squat. This is ... essentially a canon compliant look at Prompto first introducing himself to and getting to be friends with Noctis. Picks up that moment in the Brotherhood episode where he says hi on the first day of high school. It’s short, but it’s finished and it’s great, there’s some Prompto angst, and it has a sequel with even more Prompto angst! That is also finished!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10869282/chapters/24144864 “Running Behind” by Asidian. An MT!Prompto AU where Prompto is raised as an MT (which are cyborgs here rather than canon’s ... whole thing) and then runs away when he learns he’s going to be decommissioned. He’s found a year-ish later by the other Chocobros on their roadtrip and they, unaware he’s a runaway MT, take him along because he clearly needs help. There’s feels and bonding and brotherly feels and also angst and drama because MT!Prompto is terrified of many things. There’s also descriptions of the aftermath of torture, which I didn’t find too bad but as always check the tags and the rating against your own comfort level. It has a happy ending tho.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11725950/chapters/26417871 “Poor Wayfaring Stranger” by lithos_saeculum. The last fic I’m gonna rec for now and just- I CANNOT rec this one enough. I love it so much. 59 chap, ongoing MT!Prompto AU where Cor finds this teenage MT unit and takes him home. There’s DadCor and Prompto learning how to People and the Chocobros getting attached and major angst at various stages because of how Prompto is treated (he has MT modifications and some people looking at you Clarus need to take a chill pill about it). It’s told entirely from Prompto’s POV which is FASCINATING and the author does a stellar job of picking out stuff that Prompto just- wouldn’t know about or understand because he’s been raised in a lab all his life.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hi Steph! What are your and you readers' favorite Johnlock visiting the Holmes parents fics? I'm talking about canon Holmeses - the ones we see in the show :)

Hi Nonny!! 

Ah, I’ve only got a few, but I’m sure everyone would love to add their own!

VISITING THE HOLMESES

Engaged by lifeonmars (NR, 3,146 w. || Marriage Proposal, Fluff, Holmes Family, Song Fic) – Sherlock did not believe in marriage, but he wanted to be married. He found this something of a surprise. Part 2 of Damage

Christmas at Holmes Cottage by johnlockedstarkid (G, 4,295 w., 7 Ch. || Christmas, Fake Relationship, Love Confessions, Holmes Family, Pining, Kisses, Fluff, Allusions to Mystrade) – Sherlock doesn’t want to have to deal with his mother’s wishes for him to find a partner when he goes to visit them for Christmas, so asks John to pose as his boyfriend. Little does he know he’s not the only one who wishes that the relationship could be real.

The Only Available Transportation by blueink3 (T, 5,379 w., 1 Ch. || Post S4, Fluff and Angst, Insecure Sherlock, Caring John, Parentlock, Sherlock’s Birthday, Family, Misunderstandings) – It’s possibly the desperation that’s seeped into his voice despite his best intentions, or perhaps it’s just a mother’s intuition, but she knows that whatever he’s calling about is Serious, hangover be damned. “What’s happened?” she asks, tone soft and as comforting as a hot cup of tea on a cold winter’s night. “Mummy,” he begins, voice catching. “I think John may be moving out.”

Maybe This Christmas by feverishsea (T, 6,021 w., 1 Ch. || Matchmaker Anthea, Anthea POV, Slight Mystrade, Holmes Family) – Anthea has given up her life, her own desires, even her name in service of something greater than herself. But that doesn’t mean she can’t see when someone else wants something – even if she doesn’t happen to care overmuch for that person. And it doesn’t mean she isn’t willing to help.

that thing you like by misspamela (E, 7,165 w., 1 Ch. || Holmes Family, Fake Relationship, Friends to Lovers) – “Happy Christmas, etc. etc.” Sherlock and John go to the Holmes’ for Christmas, and everyone thinks they’re together.

Merlot by Itsallfine (E, 14,844 w., 17 Ch. || Christmas, Pining Sherlock, Wine, Slow Burn, First Kiss / Time, Love Confessions, Wine, Holmes Family) – Sherlock and John work toward becoming something more as they prepare to host the Holmes parents at 221B for the holidays. Part of 25 Days of Fic-Mas 2015.

Never-Ending Cycle by orphan_account (T, 17,211 w., 1 Ch. || Christmas, Est. Rel., Proposal, Fluff) – Or, four times Sherlock Holmes attempted to propose to John Watson, and the Christmas Party at which he finally did. Sherlock thinks he’s a miserable failure, John is confused, Mrs. Hudson and Lestrade provide some unsatisfactory advice, and Mummy is, as always, the solution. All in a lovely, fluffy holiday theme.

Winter’s Delights by Kate_Lear (E, 21,173 w., 1 Ch. || Holmes Family, Christmas, Fake Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Bed Sharing, Domestics) – Sherlock takes John home for Christmas to meet the extended Holmes family. Part 1 of Winter’s Delights

echoes through time by chellefic (E, 21,619 w. || First Time, Romance, ACD & BBC, Epistolary) – Mummy sends a trunk from the Holmes cottage in Sussex to 221B. Its contents alter the way John and Sherlock see themselves and one another.

Ghost Stories by SwissMiss (M, 22,256 w., 1 Ch. || Pining, Holmes Family, Christmas, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Bed Sharing, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, First Time) – Sherlock’s parents think he and John are a couple. They might be onto something.

Hitting the Water at Sixty Miles an Hour by what_alchemy (E, 30,568 w., 5 Ch. || Fake Rel., Roadtrips, Slow Burn, Mummy Holmes) – “You love your mother, Sherlock?” John watched the muscles in Sherlock’s jaw jump. He nodded in one sharp jerk. “Then we’re going to her party and making her happy.” John let out a resigned sigh. “As a ruddy couple, you bastard.”

An Acquired Taste by kinklock (E, 31,059 w., 4 Ch. || Vampires AU || Vampire Sherlock, Misunderstandings, Bat!Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Humour, Magical Realism, Fluff and Angst, Blood Drinking, Holmes Family, Slow Burn) – At Montague Street when Sherlock was forced to sate his body’s needs, he was at least able to wander about the flat as much as he pleased. At Baker Street, it was mini-bags in a mini-fridge and bedroom confinement.

Spare Change by Ermerness (E, 51,966 w., 14 Ch. || Rich Holmeses AU || First Kiss / Time, Holmes Family, Virgin Sherlock, Anal, First Meetings, Bossy Bottomlock) – The Holmes family is one of the richest and most powerful in England. Sherlock spends his time flying around the world on the family’s private jet drinking a lot and shopping at expensive boutiques as a way of trying to alleviate his endless boredom. His mother decides it’s time he settles down with someone powerful, wealthy and well connected. John Watson happens to be none of those things.

John Watson’s Twelve Days of Christmas by earlgreytea68 (M, 53,464 w., 14 Ch. || Christmas, Holmes Family, Fake Relationship, Alternate First Meeting, Falling in Love, Fluff and Angst, Hardcore Pining) – It’s the holiday season. John Watson needs money. Sherlock Holmes needs something else.

The Wedding Garments by cwb (E, 105,390 w., 36 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Alternate Future AU || Alternate First Meeting, Dating / Arranged Marriages, Romance, First Kiss/Time, Heavy Petting, Cuddles, POV Sherlock, Virgin Sherlock, Idiots in Love, Slow Burn / Falling in Love / Dev. Rel., Nervous/Anxious Sherlock, Jealous/Cranky, Hiking, Vacation Homes / Honeymoon, Sherlock’s Family, Horny John/Sherlock, Patient John, Massages, Hand Jobs, Assassination Plots, Hand Jobs / Oral Sex, Case Fic, Emotional Love Making, Bath Time Fun) – This is the story of a young consulting detective who wants nothing to do with marriage and an army doctor who wants to find true love. It’s 2020 post-Brexit England and the British government is encouraging arranged marriages. Candidates meet through state-run agencies and date in hopes of finding love (and tax benefits). Sherlock doesn’t need or want a spouse, at least not until John Watson shows up. Hesitant to give in to his more carnal urges because of the way they derail his mind, how will Sherlock progress toward the more intimate aspects of a relationship? The answer lies in a very special wedding gift.

MARKED FOR LATER

(I haven’t read any of these, but I’ve tagged them as “Holmes Family” so I presume that they play a part in their lives)

Pillow Replacement by Atisenia (T, 4,754 w., 1 Ch. || Fluff, Humour, Domestic Fluff, Misunderstandings, Visiting the Holmeses) – They're visiting Sherlock's parents and Sherlock is acting very domestic. Is he only pretending for his parents' sake?

All I Want For Christmas by Mssmithlove (E, 19,508 w., 1 Ch. || Unilock, Mystrade, Christmas, Holmes Family, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Pining) – Taking Sherlock’s platonic university flatmate home with him for Christmas can be a tricky business. Especially when he wishes their relationship wasn’t platonic at all. Part 18 of Happiness Awaits

Sherlock Holmes & The Mysterious Ex by Gatergirl79 (M, 27,942 w. || Family, Romance, Holmes Family) – Sherlock and John are forced to spend Christmas with Sherlock’s family. An unsettling idea especially when John will have to play ‘Boyfriend’ thanks to Mycroft. But why exactly does Sherlock want to avoid a family party?

Sacré Coeur by Mamaorion (M, 95,235 w., 27 Ch. || S4 Fix It Rewrite, First Kiss, UST / RST, Eventual Happy Ending, Coming Out, Holmes Family, Marriage Proposal, Husbands, Healing, Evil Mary, Beekeeping, Caretaker Sherlock, Mind Palace, Alzheimer’s Disease, Protective / Big Brother Mycroft, TD-12) – In this s4 fixit, John must piece together the gaps in his altered memory if he and Sherlock are to face the terror that has plagued Sherlock since childhood. As they untangle the web, seven years of hidden love ignite.

October to Hogmanay by snorklepie (E, 127,318 w., 25 Ch. || Post HLV Fix-It, Awkward First Times, Hurt/Comfort, Sherlock is a Mess, Shameless Smut, Sherlock’s Past, Scotland, Poison, Holmes Family, Kilts, Dancing, Angst) – John stared at Sherlock’s profile against the cab window and exhaled slowly. After a long moment, he reached out and touched Sherlock’s long fingers where they were fiddling with the button on his coat. The tall man didn’t look around again, but his fingers slowly unfurled before curling deliberately around John’s hand. Part 2 of Scotland

The Lost Special: Family Matters (As Do Relationships) by ShirleyCarlton  (M, 144,688 w., 40 Ch. || S4 Fix It Fic, Unreliable Narrator, John’s Mind Bungalow, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending) – Sherrinford is not really the name of some high security prison. That was just a figment of John’s frantic coma dream. And Eurus is not actually Sherlock’s sister. That’s just something random she said to John before shooting him. Sherlock and John were never actually estranged. That was just their act to cover up what really happened to Mary – or Rosamund Moran, as her real name has turned out to be. Sherlock does have a secret sibling, though, and his name is Sherrinford. After finally eliminating Moran – though in a rather dramatically different way than they had envisioned – and exposing the truth about Eurus, John encourages Sherlock to delve into his past and to find out whether the reasons to keep Sherrinford away from Sherlock were the right ones, and to discover what really happened in 1981. Along the way, Sherlock and John gradually, finally, stop keeping each other at a distance, and eventually become a proper family of their own.

The Edinburgh Problem by snorklepie(E, 152,095 w., 39 Ch. || Post-HLV/S3 Fix It, Pre-Slash/Bromance to Romance, Travelling, Humour, First Kiss/Time, Holmes Family, Sherlock’s Big Feelings, Hurt/Comfort, Family Secrets, Case Fic, Slow Burn, Flashbacks, Attempted Sexual Assault, Jealousy, Implied Rape/Non-Con) – After he separates from Mary, John returns to Baker Street. Following a request for help from Sherlock’s cousin Violet, the detective and his blogger take a trip to Edinburgh. John discovers more about the Holmes family and Sherlock than he bargained for, but tries not to run screaming. Part 1 of the Scotland series

[doctor-bus]

final thoughts on aitsf ending under the cut, ovbs major spoilers for every route

Preface: overall I really LOVED the whole game, it was exactly the sort of BRILLIANT brain screw I’ve come to expect from Uchikoshi’s work. The way all the pieces really clicked into place was amazing, and I LOVED the deep, deep unsettling horror brought up by seeing Saito in the body you’ve come to know as Date, and the sense of wrongness the bodyswaps carried. It was such an interesting feeling of horror. And of course I do like the true ending, as it’s OBJECTIVELY the best. The least characters dead, the threat taken care of for good, everything tied up with a neat bow. Date gets his original life back and almost everyone gets a Good Happy End

Except

 They really did specifically shaft my two favorite characters. Pretty much everyone else got a nice little happy end, but then there’s Mizuki and Pewter.

Like yeah, Mizuki got to keep her best friend, but at what cost? Being neglected by the one adult she should be able to trust? Being all but written out of the narrative and out of Date’s heart? Mizuki should have been acknowledged as a main heroine in the end (bc for Left Route?? she WAS the main heroine. how tf are you gonna have her be the main heroine for half the game and then say she’s not as important as the other main heroine from the other half??) and gotten to ride around for goodbyes with Iris and Date. And her final convo shouldn’t have been “you and I live together but we never talk, we don’t really understand each other, and you being my legal dad doesn’t mean shit,” especially since in right route?? she really WAS neglected by him. Multiple characters point out that he’s neglecting her and not there when she needs him. And yet this is the good ending?

I also really hate how Iris gets treated as his canon daughter (pretty much replacing Mizuki) and how the beautiful, heart-wrenching Mizuki end never happens in the true route. There’s implications of the parallel universe thing, and Date remembering parts of other timelines, but I still think that she and him should have bonded more on-screen in right route. It’d have been nice if we got that closeness again and there was more emphasis on how the FOUR of them are a family now.  I’ve been reading a ton of good fix-it fic that explores how maybe we can still have both. Honestly, it could have been a BEAUTIFUL ending for Mizuki about finding a family she truly belongs in-- a kind mother, a father who cares about her, and a best friend big sister. but instead she gets shafted. Orphaned, shot, and if the line about “we never talk” is to be believed, neglected in favor of Iris. Honestly, that really soured Iris’s whole character for me. I think I’d like her more too if I wasn’t resenting her for getting all the love that Mizuki never got to have. Iris gets to keep her mom and gets “uncle” back, Mizuki gets left out in the cold. Even if Date remembers being close with her, it’s not the same if the narrative doesn’t show that closeness existing in the true route. Remembering a good relationship is much, much different than actually having one. 

(the one saving grace is that Uchikoshi did say on twitter that they might get that closeness back post canon. I asked him and he said “maybe yes” so it’s not impossible ;-;)

and Pewter. Oh Pewter. I wish Pewter was slightly more sympathetically treated, bc again, in Left Route, he was 100% a good guy, and t b h in right route his reasons were SO understandable. I’d be confused and make bad choices too if my dearest person was injured and desperate and scared, especially if you add that Saito is a master manipulator to the mix. Their relationship had been going on for years prior, and Saito was doing such a good imitation of Renju, that I’m sure he was also confused!! bc HIS Renju wouldn’t have done those things!! I also don’t buy that he was trying to kill Date, bc if he was, there would have been a thousand easier ways of doing it. “oooh nooo, something went wrong in the psynch when he was left completely vulnerable. Oooooh noooo, Aiba malfunctioned and fried his brain. Ooooh no, the dosage for his medication got accidentally tampered with and made him sick.” like why do we just BELIEVE Saito when they say he wanted Date dead?????? I can’t buy it. I can’t buy that someone who has been a good friend to Date since before he even became Date and someone who was shown to be so dedicated for more than half of the game would do that. 

he didn’t deserve to be treated like a 100% bad dude. As if Date and Boss don’t know a thing or two about doing bad things for the people they love. Objectively the things both of them did were worse than what he did, but bc the things he did fucked over the protag specifically they were seen as worse :/ like he DID fuck up!! I’m not saying Pewter never did anything wrong, but he didn’t deserve to be pretty much entirely written out.

he at least deserved a little more sympathy, even if he still had to face the music for his crimes. at least let him be in the dance :( if Hitomi can be unparalyzed for the dance and have it written off as “it’s fantasy, don’t worry about it” then Pewter should have been allowed to participate too. He’s been so dedicated and helpful to Date for YEARS before this, it’s such a shame that it was all swept away, even if he DID fuck up. 

He lost literally everything in the course of a week, and it’s an absolute tragedy. I can’t accept that the ending is happy when that happens. He lost his love, his job, his friends, his freedom, everything. And he didn’t deserve any of it, let alone to be treated like nothing more than a crooked criminal on top of it. (By Date, at least. The narrative does give him some sympathy overall I think. But he really gets none from Date. And while that's UNDERSTANDABLE, since Date is still upset about Aiba, it would have been nice if the player got more positive closure w him. His final scene was so brief and Date was so hostile.)

anyway fixit fics are my life blood rn bc that ending is so bittersweet :( Pewter and Mizuki both deserve the world. Mizuki end canon in my heart. I would have liked if Mizuki end could have been part of the true end somehow-- still saving So and Iris, of course, but still considered part of the main timeline. 

[dontcallmecarrie]

Are you planing on ever making By Dawns Early Light into a full blown story? ... And is Thanos an issue in this AU? I think you havent mentioned him in it so well, I wondered?

UMM. *looks over what I’ve got in that tag, and winces*

geez this thing’s longer than some of my actual fics, when did that happen?

Here’s the thing, though: this AU’s meant to be a writer’s-block-buster. Which, if the current evidence is anything to go by, has been a resounding success. 

However. 

As of right now it’s just that, a thought-and-snippet-writing exercise, because there’s a lot of things that’d need tweaking before I’d even consider posting it on AO3 [aka my inner perfectionist strikes again]. 

Again, this is mostly just me messing around with a fluffy tumblr-exclusive [for now, anyway] AU because this feels smaller stakes than if I were to round this up and make it into a full-out fic.

Also, in regards to the second part of your ask: not exactly. By Dawn’s Early Light is, at its core, a fairly fluffy self-indulgent AU, which for me is also code for ‘nobody dies if I can help it’ and ‘if the MCU can have a Gary Stu villain then I can do what I want, Deus Ex Machina-levels of fixits included’.

How? Simple. By nerfing the heck out of him, while also unfridging as many other moms as I can, with a side of I-have-yet-to-forgive-the-writers-for-pulling-this-bs-seriously-what-kind-of-writing-was-that. 

Here’s how the entire Thanos situation would go down, in By Dawn’s Early Light (spoilers for a fic I have yet to write):

First, let’s take a step back, shall we? This is, among other things, a timeline-crunch AU. There’s a lot going down in a very compressed time frame [originally just because I wanted Howard to still be around just for Tony to be able to punch him, but now I’m invested in this so time go the full nine yards, buckle up everyone].

So. The entire situation around Maria Stark and Tony and Bucky’s been covered fairly well, but to sum up: when Howard turns out to be an abusive asshole of a husband, his wife smiles at him and promptly turns around and burns both SHIELD and Stark Industries, revealing HYDRA and Obadiah Stane’s double-dealing ahead of schedule [unintentional fixits ftw]. In the chaos, Bucky manages to escape and joins up with Maria and Tony as they go in hiding. 

Ripple effect that didn’t get mentioned: Hank Pym sees this shit going down, realizes that the most famous missing child in the country is about the same age as his daughter, and decides to not aim to be Absentee Father of the Year. He ends up being a tad overprotective, sure, but is way more involved in his kid’s life and Hope Van Dyne grows up with at least one (1) parental figure in her life, so…there’s that. 

Things happen, and the timeline for bringing Janet back gets moved up somehow, right around when the Avengers assemble.

Note to self: adjust part of Scott Lang’s origin story in this? Compare whistleblower laws of that time era, alt. entrance for him could be him somehow helping Tony hide because BDEL!Howard’s the type of petty and vindictive asshole who’d pull some strings if he found out this rando interfered with his search somehow. 

Bonus for giving Scott and Hank something to commiserate about, later on, and would also have Tony and Co. feeling indebted to him [which would result in a lot of shiny prototypes and records being expunged, later on, probably]

…though that might be a bit much. Hmm.

Reason to bring Janet back: I do what I want also I think the MCU fridged moms because otherwise they’d be too powerful 

Ripple effect that didn’t get mentioned, the second: since this is also the AU where moms get unfridged, Frigga’s going to be derailing the plot from her corner of the galaxy.

Also, since I finally watched Ragnarok but was a mythology nerd as a kid and have a passing knowledge of the comics, time to revamp how Hela fits into this universe.

Okay, she’s still murderous and powerful and ruthless. 

Only, turns out there’s a very good reason for it: she was one of Loki’s students [iirc she’s his daughter in the myths, that’s the best I can come up with atm] before Odin saddled her with the thankless duty of being the watchkeeper of Asgard’s enemies and prisoners. As in, Odin just straight-up went ‘hey you look pretty talented, here, I now hold you responsible for this entire goddamn realm of assholes and creeps, if any get out we’re all screwed’. 

Which is something Hela absolutely did not sign up for, but she’s now just about the only thing standing between said realm of undesirables and her home so she stays put […also maybe Odin sealed the only way back? Maybe? Idk].

It didn’t help that in the early days, these ruffians thought they could overpower her and escape to wreak havoc. So she had to kick everyone’s ass six ways to Sunday, until they finally accepted her as the head honcho of this dump and as someone Not To Be Fucked With.

Thus, why Hela’s known as the goddess of death and ruler of Helheim.  

…and it’s also why she accidentally came to Thanos’ attention.

(Because why the hell not, as if her day wasn’t bad enough Odin you owe her big time—)

Thanos, of course, is in love with her carnage and seems to be the kind of guy who doesn’t take no for an answer. Hela just wants to be left the alone but can’t tell him to fuck off because if she did, she’d risk leaving her home open to attack from enemy agents, which is how we get the story behind why Thanos is known as the madman who courted death. 

[Hela: fuck you and the horse you rode in on shoo you bastard and take your stupid flowers with you—]

Thanos was on one of his especially annoying ‘let me woo you with the ashes of this one civilization!’ kicks [Hela: ashes. How romantic. Not. Leave me alone already.] when some of the Dark Elves snuck out and killed Odin. 

Hela…is only pissed she couldn’t have done it with her own two hands. Also slightly embarrassed that the Dark Elves escaped in the first place, and relieved that it was only Odin who’d kicked it because his wife had seemed pretty nice, the one time Hela’d seen the lady before she’d been drop-kicked to this hellhole. 

Also— apparently she now can leave this place? Sayonara, bitches. 

.

Thanos is very displeased when he doesn’t find her standing guard over Helheim when he returns.

Displeased enough to get creative, as far as courting gifts go, and think that if she didn’t like rings or jewelry, well, maybe this Lady Death would appreciate a shiny, fully-assembled Infinity Gauntlet instead.

well…let’s be honest, if it weren’t for his ‘don’t take no for an answer’ thing, you’d have to give the guy props for trying. Nothing says ‘I love you’ more than ‘here have this item of absolute cosmic power’, amirite? [just kidding]

.

Hela now has mixed feelings about Asgard. Before she was crowned Queen of This Dump, she’d been a student of magic, had been used to certain things. There’s quite an element of culture shock to be had, now that she’s back. It’s the first time she’s seen sunlight in thousands of years, and also there’s a lot of systemic changes going on now that some of Odin’s dirty secrets are coming out at last. Turns out she’s not the only one who’d been pressed into duty: some of Loki’s other students[/children in the myths] came back with stories of the same. Fenrir was apparently voluntold to be the guardian of the Reality Stone, Jormungandr had apparently been busy on Midgard […which now had a school of Mystic Arts? Pfft. Overachiever], and the more Hela thought about it the angrier she got.

Especially when it turns out that her teacher had been mocked for suffering a breakdown and was also tortured by the creep who’d been flirting with her for millennia [Everyone: wait what Hela: I am going to KILL THAT BASTARD NEXT TIME I SEE HIM]. 

However, thanks to Frigga being Frigga and having a crazy-high charisma stat, Hela is still mostly willing to play ball with everyone else on Asgard. Despite her not being happy with how ungrateful the general populace acted [oh, magic’s just ‘tricks’? Here, have a fireball TO THE FACE I FOUGHT MONSTERS WITH THESE TRICKS FOR MILLENNIA]. 

So when Thanos shows up again, he gets one-shotted by Hela, who’s very very pissy about her vacation being interrupted.

Because this planet has sunlight and hot chocolate and punk rock and she’s got centuries’ worth of time off and she is damn well going to enjoy it.

.

…aka why Thanos is a bit of a non-entity in this one. Again, fixits are the name of the game for this AU.

[kalinara]

Because I think sometimes my vitriol obscures this point, I do want to clarify:

I honestly have nothing against the vast majority of “Reylo” fans.  I don’t even necessarily have anything against the vast majority of Kylo Ren fans, who wanted to see him get a redemption arc.

The only real issues I have is with these specific types of fan:

1) The ones who used to repeatedly insist that Reylo “will be canon” without any kind of acknowledgment that maybe, just maybe, it doesn’t matter how tortured or misunderstood Kylo is, the young girls who love Rey don’t necessarily need to see ANOTHER example of a young woman made to forgive and enter a relationship with a man who hurt her.

This is less important now, of course.  Reylo is “canon”...sort of.  One kiss does not necessarily forgiveness make.  I appreciate that the movie let her motives be ambiguous and showed her clearly moving on with her life.

I don’t honestly care what fans do in terms of fanwork, by the way.  Write all the fixit fics you like.  (I still think the whole idea of force-impregnated Rey is gross though.)

2) Cross-taggers.  Look, I know that anti-Reylos do it too.  It’s pretty awful either way.  But a lot of anti-Reylos specifically have issues about the pairing because it reminds them of their own abuse.  So it’s really bad form to turn around and shove that stuff in the tag specifically meant to avoid it.  

I get sometimes annoyed when people post Reylo or Kylo Ren apologia in other pairing/character tags, but sometimes they are actually relevant.  But posting in the anti-Reylo tag is a dick move.  And the defense of “anti-Reylos do it too” is childish.  None of us are five years old.  So let’s all try to behave ourselves.  (Anti-Reylos too, obviously.)

3) Victim-blaming/Abuse denial

It’s one thing to say that Kylo Ren is misunderstood, or conflicted, or abused by Snoke and therefore we should show him sympathy.  I don’t necessarily agree with that, but that’s your take so okay.

What does aggravate me is when Kylo Ren fans start trying to pretend that his abuse of Rey didn’t happen (He didn’t torture her apparently!  Her crying and telling him to stop was totally fine!   Telling her that she was nothing was Mr. Darcy style courtship!),  or that his actions on Jakku were justified.  (They were CIVILIANS, defending themselves from an INVASION.  And they were PACIFIED AND UNARMED when he ordered the Stormtroopers to fire!)  Or that he had “no choice” but to continue the assault on Crait.

War crimes are war crimes, thank you.

Also, if you ever find yourself calling Finn a coward or sexist or anything like that, you can go fuck off in a volcano.  Thanks.  I’ll add, anyone who decides to blame Rey for the crime of being saved by Kylo (WHEN SHE WAS DEAD) and surviving.

A lot of Reylo fans don’t do these things.  And I have nothing against them.  I think sometimes my anti Reylo/anti Kylo Ren posts hit at them too and I feel a little guilty about that.  (Though honestly, sorry, I am ALWAYS going to be happy that Kylo is dead.)

[overlordraax]

Galvatron + Cyclonus?

These two I do ship romantically. Though my thoughts on Galvatron are complicated… Generally it feels to me like there’s often a difference between how I want Galvatron and their relationship to be, versus how it tends to get written.

The thing I find intriguing is how different Cyclonus is as Second-In-Command compared to Starscream. The fact that he’s loyal and dedicated compared to Stars constant betrayals. It’s so interesting.I really feel the relationship should be the opposite to MegaStar, that rather than abusive, they should be supportive and functional together. Unfortunately I think we get a lot of the G1 writers thinking it’s really funny when Galvatron is being WEEEIIIRD! and CRAAAAZY!!!! and doing stuff like hitting his own men cos he’s just so INSAAAANE!!! Which I find.... disappointing.

So I was kinda disappointed when I did start watching series 3 and it wasn’t as well written as I’d hoped. However, there are some moments dotted throughout that I like. The fact that Cyclonus is actually concerned enough to try and get Galvatron proper treatment for his mental health problems is nice (though maybe he shouldn’t have taken a recommendation from a Quintesson).

I’d like to see better things done with Galvatron’s character, so that Cyclonus’s devotion to him really pays off. That’s how I’d like to see the relationship done, mostly that would involve giving Galvatron an actually decent character arc for a change.

I have a long list of things I would like to be done with Galvatron’s character which I may have to type in a separate post someday. But I also have a couple of fixit fics planned which I will probably need to get back to, but they’d explore a lot of how I would really like to see this relationship done, and how I would actually want to see Galvatron’s character handled.

[lodessa]

It’s been a while since I did this

Tagged by@carlynroth

List all the things you’re currently working on in as much or as little detail as you like then tag some friends to see what they’re working on: writing, art, gif sets, whatever.

Okay so I set some rules for myself in making this list in an attempt to maybe clear it out a bit to what I’m more likely to write any time soon: I did not allow myself to look at any of my previous lists OR my WIP documents/folders until after I’d made the list (only to add details/links after I’d finalized it).

Star Trek: Voyager - Janeway/Chakotay

Stumbling: Post Endgame Janeway and Chakotay struggle to get back what they once had (trust) even though they both want it.  Basically I really wanted to explore how messy emotions are and a realistic struggle to recover from what happened. I think it’s going to be like 8 chapters, but for all I know it will end up being 14 like Parameters and Voyager High; because, that’s apparently my natural length for drawn out chaptered fics.  Three chapters are currently posted. Chapter four is partly written.  Excerpt: 

“Here’s the thing: She still wants him.  It’s ironic, after all the years he was diligently waiting and she was able to stuff it down and put it aside some ninety something percent of the time Now, now she is so angry with him, so distrustful, but it’s like that pain has wrecked her self control. She can’t come back from the blunt honestly of her despair. When she’d been so secure in him it has been easy to set aside her desire.

Now. Now she feels raw, not just with the sting of his betrayal but also with her own longing.

Now he meets her for long afternoon walks between her meetings and his office hours and she can’t take comfort in his arm linked with her but she can’t ignore it either. His warmth beside her is a provocation, unsettling her.

He brings her a series of peace roses and part of her wants to feel comforted by the gesture but there’s something inside her that balks at any memory of how it used to be.” 

Just Once: Five times Janeway and Chakotay were only going to kiss once (and the time they finally gave that pretense up).  This is really a more drawn out version of “Why Janeway and Chakotay Can't Share the Couch: 5 Times They Slipped Up”   but it’s not like there can ever be enough of that type of fic. Currently I have posted 1 of 6 total chapters, but I do have all of it outlined.

The Greek Mythology AU Epic.  I only have a couple actual paragraphs of this written, but I have a very clear idea of the plot and style.  Basically it’s a homeric style epic, wherein Janeway is the hero and involves a plotline with her going down to the underworld to get Chakotay back.  Very different from my usual style, obviously.  Excerpt:

“You have heard, of course, about the great ship Voyager, and it’s captain: the wise but willful woman king known as Janeway, favored by Athena. The tale of how her ship was blown off course by a powerful storm and ended up in distant waters far from home, how she subdued the outlaw ship she’d been chasing on the other side of the world, won over it’s captain: the noble Chakotay, how together they kept raiders from causing Atlas to drop the world, and thereafter Chakotay and his followers served under her and he became her most trusted subject and against all odds they returned to Greece in seven years and seven days is widely known. 

Less famous, however, is the tale of Janeway’s descent into the Underworld and how she came to prevail upon Hades to undo what his wrathful brother, Poseidon, had done in spite and wounded pride.   Many heroes have gone down to plead with the king of the dead for lost loves, but few are those to emerge again to the sunlight.”

That One Where Chakotay Gets Pegged.  So I have a number of fic ideas involving this (Including a follow up to Happy Accident) but the longest standing one and one I really mean to write in the near future is one where Janeway happens to mention one of the ways she has gotten the upper hand in diplomacy situations with men who want to fuck her  involving a strap on and well... Chakotay can’t get the idea out of his head. 

Daxverse:  After three years of intending to do this AU with Jadzia on Voyager and not actually writing it and @talsi74656 having been in the same situation for a couple, we are seriously exploring joining forces and merging our two different versions into one in hopes of getting it written.  Because, the idea is too good to sit forever unpublished.

Year of Hell PWP: Chakotay offers Kathryn a different kind of birthday present.  Excerpt:

Kathryn felt herself blush deeply at his probably innocently intended question.  She was wound so tightly right now she might explode on impact at the slightest jostling.

Chakotay flushed as well as he realized from her expression what she wasn’t saying.

“Oh…” he pressed his lips together, “I see. No wonder you are having trouble sleeping.”

“Chakotay!” she replied with a scandalized gasp.

“Let me help?” his voice and his expression both were beseeching, “You know you’ll sleep better and that will make you way more productive.  You wouldn’t accept my birthday gift… at least let me do something for you.”

Cracktastic Anthropomorphic Voyager/Janeway/Chakotay Situation: Sentient Voyager takes human form and interacts with its Captain(s) in a variety of ways. Set over the course of the series and post series when Chakotay takes command.  Most likely ends with a threesome.

Post Endgame Angst Where Janeway is Hallucinating: Janeway cracks once the immediacy of all those years of pressure lets up and loses touch with reality.  Feeling abandoned and lost, she hallucinates a Chakotay who is cruel and kind in turns, and by the time the real Chakotay shows up she doesn’t believe he’s actually there.

Timeless Timeline Chakotay/Endgame Timeline Admiral Janeway Fixit AU: Somehow the Admiral goes sideways instead of back and ends up in the averted Timeless timeline. Both of them are so damaged by loss and time in these timelines and I’d love to see them interact. Ultimately, they join forces and go back to save their past/alternative selves from becoming the selves they are then and there.  This started out as a coauthored fic that got abandoned midway through, but I still really love the idea.  Excerpt:

"Well that depends, what year is it and how long have I been dead for." She said it teasingly but the question still felt heavy, "How do you think I died?"

"Are you sure you want me to tell you? I'm not even sure I can." He shook his head, running his hand over his face, suddenly overwhelmed with the memory of seeing Kathryn dead on Voyager's bridge.

"It's important, I think." she sighed, running her fingers through his hair, "Unless you'd rather I tell you."

He wasn't sure what was worse, watching the pain that crossed Kathryn's face when she mentioned his death, or thinking about how hard it would be to relive her death. He couldn't bring himself to cause her more pain than he had to, even if that meant bearing the brunt of it himself.

"It was the slipstream drive..." he said quietly, trying not to go back to that day, "Harry and I went ahead in the Delta Flyer, but we'd miscalculated..."

He could barely get the words out, as the lump formed at the back of his throat. She reached for him, her hand cupping his face.

"All these years, and you still..." He could see her calculating how long it must have been.

"Always." He kissed her softly.

Her hands lingered on his face, thumb stroking his cheek.

"It's an alternate timeline," she said at last, "we never attempted that slipstream flight... Seven," he couldn't help but notice something off in Kathryn's voice as she said the former drone's name, "Seven got a message warning us."

RPF

KM/RB Fic No One Wants That Involves RealTalk(TM) Racism.  Because I feel like this needs to be addressed in terms of KM’s exoticism when it comes to him and also that she only publicly dates white dudes. She looks like a jerk in this one.

Another One No One Asked For: Why Both KM and Braga Got Pissed At RB Really. As JR is added to the cast, RB is upset that KM chose Hagan and decides to get back at her by exploiting somewhere he knows she’s already feeling vulnerable.  He looks like a jerk in this one.

KM Has Zero Sympathy for the Problems RB Created For Himself. Because KM sass is life and seriously CHOICES dude.

KM/RB As a Taurus/Scorpio Dynamic Case Study. Because they are.

Veronica Mars

Balacing Act: Two parts are written. Part 3 of the series is still in progress.  Continued  post movie threesome action with Logan, Weevil, and Veronica. Excerpt:

“I have acquired bagels… and coffee.”

It takes a moment for Eli to remember where he is or how he got there, gradually regaining enough consciousness to register Veronica’s way too chipper voice and remember that it must be Logan’s fucking arm he can feel slung across his hip. Reluctantly, he opens his eyes and there she is, looming over them with a take out tray of coffee cups in one hand and a paper bag in the other, looking cheerful and relaxed, like this is something that happens every day instead of being unprecedented, like she is used to him fucking Echolls up the ass until they both come.

“Enjoying the view from above from once, V?” he teases, refusing to act like this is weird if she isn’t going to.

“Wait… you went all the way to-“ Logan sits up, looking perfectly mussed as he notes the logo on the coffee cups.

This is weird. This is definitely weird, even for them.

That Season 3 AU I Started Around the Time The Movie Came Out: So season 3 was a mess as a whole, but it also always bugged me that Veronica’s “I was wrong not to trust” moment is about Logan (who didn’t deserve her trust and yeah actually his explanation in the end was shitty) and not about her dad (who deserved better than her judgement and criticism) and Weevil (seriously did she really think he’d rip Lilly’s necklace off her).  It’s a lot bigger than that, but basically this AU starts from there and has Weevil be the one to find her in the parking garage instead of Logan and goes from there. I need to finish it because it’s important, even if it’s a dead fandom. Excerpt:

“Would now be an appropriate time for me to list the reasons why you shouldn’t even be wasting your time with that spoiled gringo asshole?”

Weevil knew that was never going to be a productive addition to any conversation with her.  She had some mad feelings about Logan Echolls, every bit as much as Lilly had.  He didn’t think about Lilly so much these days, but sitting in Veronica’s car talking about whether Logan was a bad boyfriend was bringing the memories back.

She must have noticed the parallel too; because she said, “Is that what you told Lilly?”

They had never talked about Lilly.  Whenever possible she stuck to cases, favors, and harmless flirtatious banter that he knew didn’t mean anything at all. They avoided talking about Logan, but this - this was taboo.  And Weevil doesn’t know what to feel about that.

And what the hell is Veronica thinking, anyway?  Maybe it was the lingering effects of the drugs.  What the docs call trauma?  He hasn’t got a freaking clue .  All he knows is that Veronica Mars had bought up the girl whose ghost seemed to have more life than most of the people walking around Neptune. And he doesn’t like to say no to Veronica Mars.

“Sometimes I think it was what she wanted me to do.” He answered, deciding to pursue this line of potential honesty, “It was probably just a way to stroke her ego.   It’s not like I don’t get that, but she sure did like to paint a picture to me about how unhappy she was with him…”

“You and me both.” Veronica replied, gaze fixed away from him. “What were you supposed to tell her?  That she could do so much better?”

Sometimes these days he almost forgot that Veronica had been Lilly’s best friend, that she told her everything that really mattered.  Of course, that meant that he didn’t really matter.  He had always known that, even when he maybe wanted to believe otherwise, but there is maybe a small part of him that wanted to hold on to the idea that maybe he did.  

“Is that what you would tell me? If I said yes… If I asked you to tell me why I shouldn’t be with Logan?” Veronica turned around sharply to look him in the eyes.

“Pretty sure it would be a better option than giving you the spiel I gave her, the one that goes something like ‘I’d never let you feel alone’ and ‘Just let me show you how much better it can be.’ You know, that kind of crap.”

It was his turn to stare out the windshield, away from her.  Normally he would make a joke out of it, wink and suggest that maybe she wanted that all along, for him to profess his undying love, but not now.  They were both too raw.

“Tell you what.  If I ever do decide I want you to talk me out of dating Logan, I’ll let you know which version of the speech I’m looking for.”

“Deal.”  He agreed.  He knew they would never have that conversation, or at least not that version of it. That was what Lilly wanted to hear - she got  off  on hearing how much he wanted her. But Veronica wasn’t Lilly. She liked having leverage of a different kind.  Getting the better of someone.  Oneupsmanship . Veronica wasn’t interested in the straight power of someone finding her desirable, even if she used it to her advantage if she felt it was needed.

A Song of Ice and Fire (really not Game of Thrones)

Jaime/Brienne Adventure Romance:  Because this ship deserves a long plotty romance novel and I wasn’t ready to write that kind of thing in 2008 when I stopped writing them but I am now.  Definitely book and not show universe.  Jaime and Brienne go looking for Arya across Essos.  Excerpt:

“Indeed father.  He does know me.  Do you not recognize Ser Jaime Lannister, the Kingslayer?”

Brienne waited for Jaime to respond to the barb, but he did not. Her father looked surprised, doubtless he had expected Brienne’s visitor to be of less consequence. She could see him going over Jaime’s features and attire, as if putting the pieces together.

“It is an honor Ser. We so rarely get such important visitors here on our humble island.”

“Doubtless, Ser Jaime is here for his reward.”

“Reward?” Lord Selwyn looked, if possible, more perplexed.

“For saving my life, father.  Surely you will satisfy him.”

“He… he saved your life?”  

“Yes, when I was in the bear pit at Harrenhal. Really father, you’d think you didn’t listen to a word I said about my travels.”

Her father was indeed no longer listening to her.  Doubtless he was busy concocting some heroic version of her rescue that would culminate in his at long last marrying off his daughter.  Brienne was sure that’s what he thought the outcome of this visit would be, though he must have known Jaime was part of the Kingsguard.

At last Jaime spoke, “You mistake me, my lady.  I came seeking no reward.”

“Surely Ser, you came for something.”

“I came to see you, Brienne, for there are things I wish to discuss with you.  That is all.”

“You might have sent a letter.”

“Perhaps, but it I did not.  Will you walk with me?  While I am here I was hoping to witness the splendor of the Sapphire Isle.”

Jon/Sansa Fake!Married Trope:  Also definitely book!verse.  Following Danaerys’ reconquest, both remaining Starks attempt to leave Westeros without attention.  They run into each other. Excerpt:

She was undeniably lovely, with creamy skin and blue eyes he hadn't seen the like of since he left Winterfell.  She stared at Ghost in surprise, but not in fear.  Indeed she seemed transfixed by the direwolf as she reached her hands out to him and Ghost nuzzled his head against her.  Jon was amazed; he did not think she had noticed his own approach, she seemed so distracted.  

“It can't be.” She murmured to the direwolf, “But there is no mistaking you.  How did you get so far?”

Jon was unsure of how to alert her to his presence without startling her, yet it seemed rude just to stand here.

“They are all gone now, aren't they? Lady, and Nymeria, and Summer, and Greywind, and even Shaggydog.  Is he gone too Ghost, is that why you've found me?”

The woman sounded close to tears, and stranger yet she'd known. She had known not only Ghost but all the rest of the direwolf pups.  Realization dawned on Jon and he recognized Sansa, although his half sister had grown from a pretty child to a beautiful woman since he'd last seen her.  He wanted to say something, but the words caught in his mouth as he watched her fling her arms around the direwolf with a sob.

Crossovers

Restoration: Dresden Files/Revolution NBC, coauthored with @jaqofspades.  Miles Matheson doesn’t remember he’s a wizard, not that it matters with all the magic gone after the blackout.  Dark twisty multishipping with every kind of delicious wrong.  We need to get back on writing this eventually. 

Tagging: @talsi74656, @jaqofspades, @joyful-voyager, @sophia-helix, and @starfleet-vs-maquis if you guys want.

ETA: Oh I forgot one my favorite current projects!

That Massive 24th Century Trek Series Crossover AU: Which is a follow up to The Smallest Twine, in which certain details of the Cardassian Treaty get leaked before it is signed and the Federation is very nearly plunged into civil war.  It continues to explore the J/C relationship from the first story in the AU but also features a lot of our favorites from TNG and DS9 as well as more of the VOY characters.