#my favorite fandom honestly those are some good fics too

[anachronic-cobra]

Love that while online fandom in general is having a weird meltdown about the morality of enjoying anything darker than sanitized fluff in fiction, the Danny Phantom fandom is still sitting in the corner 16 years after the show ended with a blankie and cocoa and their 10,000th deep-fanon supertorture cannibalism vivisection psychological horror fic

[noperopesaredope]

I recently watched a video talking about what your favorite Mouthwashing ship says about you (spoilers: most of them are bad), and one thing I explained in the comments that I think is important to explain to certain people (in general with a lot of fandoms, tbh) is that a lot of shippers in the fandom understand that these relationships would not be good and are in fact deeply unhealthy, but perhaps that's the point.

Like, most of the Jambone x Curly shippers I've seen don't like the ship because it's cute or good, but because it's narratively interesting and would be extremely compelling to see. I honestly get it even if I'm not super interested in it. Jildo and Curly already have an extremely interesting and unhealthy relationship dynamic. It is heavily implied that JarJar acts very emotionally abusive towards Curly, belittling and manipulating him frequently and likely damaging his confidence and ability to stand up to people. But he is also obsessed with Curly in a very fascinating way.

Meanwhile, Curly has not only been friends with Jimbo for a long time, but has a fatal flaw of being too loyal and passive for his own good. As many have said, Curly is like a golden retriever in both a good and bad way.

Curly is Jackass' victim and enabler at the same time, which is why he is one of my favorite characters in the game. You both feel bad for him but also understand that he really fucked up and a lot of stuff is his fault. His most endearing traits are also some of his worst traits. Again, the golden retriever comparison is very accurate. He is friendly and loyal and believes the best in everyone (and very cute), but that loyalty and belief in everyone are also his fatal flaws.

He enables Jello because he thinks that there is good in him, and like a dog, he sees no wrong with most people no matter what they do (until it's far too late). I can't remember the fic I saw this in, but one good line I saw once was something along the lines of: "You believe in people and see nothing wrong with them no matter what until they abandon you at the park in the middle of the night." Curly sees no wrong in his friend because that's the type of person he is, and while it can be cute, it's also dangerous.

It can also often be detrimental to himself, as we see Juice be cruel to him as well, yet Curly excuses it as just Jizz being Jizz. He doesn't see anything wrong with the way he is treated, making him become desensitized to Jive's behavior and seeing it as not a big deal.

I think Curly's status as both victim and enabler would be interesting under the context of an abusive romantic relationship. There is an even greater power imbalance present, and Jojo may do a lot worse things as a result and be a lot more controlling and manipulative. He could be more physically and verbally abusive, make more threats, and even be sexually abusive (since he is canonically a rapist already, and hates Curly more than he hates Anya, thus he would probably put more aggressive hate into it). The whole relationship would be horrible and disturbing, but also interesting to see.

I love fics exploring their unhealthy friendship, so seeing it as an unhealthy romantic relationship could be even crazier to see.

~~~~~~

There's also the nuances of Anya x Curly. Most people ship it specifically in the context of AUs where Curly actually stands up for Anya and helps her out. Their dynamic as characters could be really cute, especially if he puts in the work to protect her.

I personally find the potential of post-crash Anya x Curly to be interesting as hell. I generally find their non-romantic dynamic post-crash to be interesting enough on its own, but I also think it could be absolutely crazy if they developed romantic feelings because those feelings would develop from some really unhealthy places for the most part.

I see Anya as someone who still holds some resentment towards Curly, but also sees herself in him and feels he doesn't deserve what happened to him. Maybe at one point seeing him go through something similar to what she went through might feel a little cathartic, but anything after that is too much to her. She is also his primary caretaker and a nurse, so she feels responsible for his wellbeing and wants to take care of him. She also seems to read and talk to him a lot, which probably feels nice because she can have some company while also being safe because Curly is not in a position to be able to hurt her. Anya doesn't exactly develop proper feelings for him per say, but she still uses him as a bit of an emotional crutch of sorts and becomes very attached to him because of it.

Meanwhile, Curly feels deeply guilty for not helping Anya and feels she deserves better. He believes she has no reason to care for him, but chooses to anyway, and thus he is extremely grateful towards her, possibly idolizing her to a certain degree. He slowly develops his own weird feelings, seeing himself as unworthy of her kindness and wanting the best for her, while also being dependent on her, even if it's in a more direct way.

They never get together or even realize that they themselves have feelings for each other since those feelings are #messy, but do form a weird codependent relationship of sorts. I've seen some cool fanart of Anya hugging/holding onto post-crash Curly, and it made me think about the potential this whole dynamic has and how unhealthy it could be, both for Anya and Curly. I believe they would not work out or be healthy (though probably better than Jazzy x Curly), but could be interesting narratively.

~~~~~~

Basically, what I'm trying to explain is that a lot of people don't ship certain Mouthwashing ships because they think it's good or want to romanticize it, but because it is narratively compelling and can explore complex dynamics more.

[lustfulslxt]

can you make a fic where reader has a secret tumblr account and she’s a pretty popular writer for the sturniolo fandom (matt fics only). she also happens to be dating mr matthew 🤭🤭🤭

anyway she gets a shit ton of reqs from an account (u can pick the username lol) and PPL EAT THEM UPPP they’re dirty filthy naughty requests. one day she’s on matt’s phone and sees the tumblr app and confronts him ab it and they both figure out the other one’s lil secret 🤭

Mr. Wrinkleton - Matt Sturniolo

warnings : freaky freaky freaky

—

Looking through my recent activity, I can't help the wide smile that covers my face. Writing on Tumblr has honestly been so fun and exhilarating. I'm only in the Sturniolo fandom, specifically for Matthew, my boyfriend. I came across this app while I was scrolling through comments on TikTok. Just from the way people were talking about it, I knew it was a NSFW type of ordeal.  Me being me, I was quick to download it. Let's just say, I do not regret it.

After a couple of weeks of browsing through the Sturniolo hashtag, I decided to go ahead and write something of my own. Simply to say, people ate it up. I find joy in writing half imaginative, half true experiences with my boyfriend, and the love I get makes me proud. Nobody knows Matt and I are together, and even if they did, my account is completely anonymous. I would be mortified if it somehow got out. Matt would probably think I'm a freak, and not a good one.

I have a few 'fans' on my account, some that request a lot of fanfictions. There's one in particular that I love, Mr.Wrinkleton. They send in so many good requests, ones that I love fulfilling. They have a very peculiar imagination, some things I'd love to try with Matt, and some I have tried with him. Thinking back on those moments brings a smile to my lips, those were great nights.

As I lay sprawled out on the bed, Matt sits at his desk, buried in his PC, playing the game with his brothers. He has his headset on, so loud that I can hear the commotion from across the room. Saying that, he can't hear my continuous giggling. Tumblr has definitely become my favorite app, my guilty pleasure.

Setting my phone aside, I saunter over to my boyfriend, placing my hands on his shoulders. He slightly jumps, removing his headset from one ear and shooting me a quick glance before directing his eyes back to the screen in front of him.

"What's up, baby?" He asks, his attention solely on the game. "You good?"

I chuckle, shaking my head. "Yeah, I'm fine."

I plant a short kiss on his cheek, rubbing his chin a bit, and walk towards the bedroom door. With my hand on the doorknob, I turn back to him just before he places his headset back over his ear.

"Do you want anything from the kitchen?" I ask him.

"What?" He asks, only shooting me another quick glance. A second later, he's yelling at the game. "Bro, you're trash! That was such an easy kill!"

Simply rolling my eyes, I walk out the room. As I walk down the hall, I can hear Matt calling for me, but I just head into the kitchen to grab something to drink. I grab me a bottle of water and Matt a can of root beer before making my way back to the bedroom. I walk in, softly shutting the door, and place the can of soda in front of Matt. I'm about to head back to the bed when his hand catches my wrist, halting me in place.

"Thank you, gorgeous." He says, kissing my hand. "Sorry, I'm super invested in this. We're doing so good right now."

"It's all good." I say, placing a kiss on his head, then make my way back to the comfort of our sheets.

As I lay back down, ready to pick my phone up and continue with my naughty secrets, Matt's phone, on the nightstand table beside me, flashes with a couple of notifications.

"Matt, your phone." I say, only to be ignored. "Matt?"

He doesn't budge, so I pick his phone up to give to him, only to freeze when I see the icon on his screen. I know that icon all too well. There's absolutely no way, I must be seeing things. I dramatically wipe my eyes, glancing back on the glowing screen. It's definitely the same. I unlock his phone and read the notification.

Tumblr @flowerxbunnie liked your post: "wow."

My jaw drops, shock evident on my face. Without a second thought, I click the notification. Once it loads, my jaw drops even more. It's one of the fanfictions I wrote. I'm so confused. Matt has a Tumblr account? There's no way. I hesitantly click on his profile, and if it were possible, my jaw would quite literally be on the floor.

Mr.Wrinkleton.

Is this real life? Am I imagining things? Have I been spending too much time on Tumblr? I close the app and it's still there. I open the app, going back to his profile, and it's still there. Matt is Mr.Wrinkleton. Matt's been sending me dirty requests to write fanfiction about him.

Before I can even stop myself, I'm shrieking, "Matt!"

His head snaps to me, confusion ridden on his face. He takes his headset off and turns towards me.

"What's wrong?"

I can't even form words, so I hold his phone out. He sets his headset down and walks over to me, completely unaware of why I screamed his name. Once he grabs his phone and glances at the screen, every ounce of color drains from his face. His eyes are wide as he stares down at the opened app on his phone.

He looks up at me, his mouth formed into an 'O' shape. "Oh my god. Uh-"

"You have a Tumblr account." I state, as if we haven't established that.

"You weren't supposed to see that." He cringes, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "Did you read any of that?"

"I didn't have to." I say, because I already knew.

That's when I start hysterically laughing. What are the odds? His face suddenly flushes with a deep red color, his eyes still wide, only now from embarrassment. I can't even form any words because of how hard I'm laughing. I just pick up my phone and open my Tumblr app, handing it to him. His eyes read over the screen, before his head snaps over to me and his mouth is wide open again.

"Are you serious?" He asks, "Am I being pranked right now?"

"Matthew!" I laugh, "You're such a freak!"

Getting over the initial shock, he's now laughing with me. "I'm the freak?! You're the one writing everyone's dirtiest fantasies!"

"Everyone -- including you!" I tease, my laughter growing more.

He nudges my shoulder, his face still beet red, "Shut up!"

Once my giggling subsides, I pull him into me. "So, you like that stuff?"

He swallows, whispering, "Yes."

"Which one's your favorite?" I ask him, my tone soft and sultry.

He shakes his head, an embarrassed smile pulling to his lips. "You're gonna laugh at me."

I pull him onto the bed with me, us sitting side by side. I shake my head, "I would never." Receiving a pointed look from him, that causes me to laugh again, I continue, "Okay, that was different. I just never expected that. But I would never laugh at your fantasies. From what you've requested, they're pretty hot."

He bites his lips, looking down at me, his voice low and husky as he speaks, "Um, that so called witchcraft."

My mouth fell open, surprise taking over my features. I can feel the desire growing between my legs. I love that story, specifically that detail. A sly smirk pulls to my lips as I stare at him. I can tell by the cheeky grin on his face that he can read it all over me, I want to recreate it. He nods his head, beckoning me over to him.

"What about your game?" I ask, standing in between his legs.

"What about it? It'll be there tomorrow." He mutters, running his hands up my shirt.

His cold fingertips trail over my skin, causing me to shiver. He holds my shirt up, peppering soft kisses along my stomach, his tongue trailing in between his lips. His hands run along my back, easily finding the clasp to my bra and unbuckling it. In one swift motion, he pulls my shirt over my head and lets my bra slide down my arms, onto the floor. The cool air hits my nipples, hardening them instantly.

"Such perfect tits." He mumbles, taking them in his hands, massaging them.

"Love your hands on me, baby." I softly moan, indulging in the way he touches me so effortlessly.

He continues groping my boobs and begins kissing all over my stomach, and up my chest. He sticks his tongue out and drags it between the valley of my breasts, causing me to pull my bottom lip between my teeth to minimize the noises threatening to escape. My hands tangle in his hair, softly tugging every so often.

"You don't understand the power you have over me." He groans against my skin, his hands gliding down my body. "Every little thing you do drives me absolutely insane."

A soft moan leaves my mouth at his words. His hands go around to my ass, squeezing my cheeks through my shorts, massaging them in circles. He grabs the waistband of my bottoms and swiftly pulls them down, leaving me in nothing but my panties. His hands trail up my legs, rubbing them from the outside in. The closer he gets to my core, the more desperate I become. The outside of his hand firmly presses against my clothed center as he grazes along my thigh, and I'm suddenly very aware of the damp patch in the cotton fabric.

"Always so easy to get you going." He says, his voice holding a rasp to it.

All that leaves my mouth are small, breathy moans as he continues putting pressure right where I need him. He suddenly stands up, now towering over me. One of his hands wrap around my throat, his other hand full of ass, and he yanks me into him. His lips slam against mine in a hot and needy kiss. Our teeth clash as our lips surround one another, then he shoves his tongue in my mouth, exploring every nook and cranny.

It's always so easy to get lost in his kiss. He never fails to make me feel like I'm floating on clouds, whether it be soft and delicate or wet and sloppy, like right now. It's as if he's sucking my breath from me, and I'm left in a hazy daze, high from the feeling he bestows upon me. Time seems to be standing still around us. After a moment, he pulls away, both of us breathless, strings of saliva connecting our mouths.

"God, I can't wait to make a mess of you." He whispers, his warm breath fanning my face.

He plants a few more kisses on my lips, pulling away to remove his shirt. I gently tug on the waistband of his sweats, indicating I want them off, to which he obliges and strips from them. His hand comes to my face, connecting our mouths once again, his other hand guiding me onto the bed, never breaking our kiss once. He straddles my legs; I can feel his hard on pressing into me. There's only two layers of clothing preventing us from succumbing to our needs, and I know it's only a matter of time before they're lying on the floor with the rest of the discarded items.

Matt pulls away from my mouth, his going straight to my boobs. His lips envelop my nipple, sucking and taking turns between the two. The sensation from his warm, wet mouth on me has me clenching around nothing. Desperate for more, I reach down and grab at his constricted erection. I can feel him throbbing under my touch, and knowing he wants me as bad as I want him turns me to putty.

"Matt." I moan as he grinds his hips against mine, his dick adding much needed pressure to my core.

"Haven't even done anything yet, and you're already a mess under me." He tsks, smirking. "Don't worry, baby. I'm gonna give you what you want."

Without another word, he pulls his boxers down and places his dick on my pussy. He moves back and forth, rubbing over the soaked fabric. My eyes roll to the back of my head as he brushes over my clit, and I can feel myself practically oozing juices. He pulls my panties to the side and continues gliding his dick through my glistening folds.

"So wet and warm for me." He moans.

"All for you. Only you." I agree, my hands gripping the sheets.

Suddenly, he pulls away, causing me to whine at the loss of friction and warmth he provided. He quickly pulls down my panties, throwing them across the room. Sliding up and down my folds a few more times, he's slowly sinking into me. He tosses his head back, a groan emitting from his throat. I squeeze my eyes shut from the pleasure, subconsciously clenching around him.

Placing a hand on my stomach, he starts thrusting in and out, his speed increasing with every stroke. I can't help the moans that fall from my lips, my entire body overcome with ecstasy. He always knows how to make me feel so good. His hand travels up my torso, applying just the right amount of pressure as he goes. His fingers hook into my open mouth, pulling my jaw down, almost as if he was using me as leverage. The moans coming out of me are now broken and muffled seeing as my mouth is now stuffed with his fingers. I take advantage of this and wrap my lips around them, my tongue sliding all around them as I harshly suck.

He bites his lip, suppressing a loud moan, "Fuck. You make me wanna do very dirty things to you."

"What's stopping you?" I moan as his thrusts grew fiercer.

He instantly leans back from me and lifts my legs over his shoulders. He places his hands beside me to hold himself up as he starts drilling into me. The sound of skin slapping echoes around the room, and you can hear how wet I am. He's reaching places only he's ever been, leaving my legs quivering atop of him. My hands grip onto his biceps, my fingernails digging into his skin, surely leaving crescent shapes behind. One of his hands travels between my legs, rubbing fast circles into my clit, causing me to spasm beneath him.

"Oh god." I whine, feeling the intense knot build in my abdomen.

With my repeated clenching around him, his thrusts grow sloppy, and I can tell he's close. Lewd moans leave both of our mouths, our states of mind clouded with bliss. A throaty groan emits from him, before he quickly pulls out and releases his hot load all over my pussy. It feels so good, especially when he rubs his tip over my clit, then pushes back into me.

He only got a few more pumps in when he pulls out with a hiss, "Touch yourself."

I eagerly do as he says, my fingers easily finding my center. Once I come in contact with his cum, I drag my fingers through it, spreading it into my folds. My fingers brush over my clit, causing me to convulse with pleasure. I rub my clit in slow circles, enjoying the feeling of his seed all over me. Gathering more of his nut, I plunge two fingers into my entrance with a loud moan.

Matt's gaze hasn't left me this entire time, his dead eyes full of lust. I notice him repeatedly lick his lips, as if he wants to dive in and devour me, watch me come undone on his tongue. I fuck my fingers into my pussy, eliciting pornographic moans from me. Like he can't take it anymore, Matt removes me hand and replaces it with his own. Two of his fingers pumping in and out of me while his thumb rubs my clit. My entire body is shaking underneath him. He always knew how to make me feel good, better than I ever could. He knows my body inside and out, knowing exactly what to do to make me unravel. And sure enough, the pressure building in my stomach grows until it ruptures.

"Oh, my fucking god." I moan out, my back arching from the bed as I release onto his hand.

He continues fucking his fingers into me a few more times, before pulling out, "Such a pretty sight."

I am spent. Falling back into the bed, I attempt to catch my breath. Watching Matt with tired eyes, I see him slip his two fingers into his mouth, sucking our mix of fluids off. He leans over me and takes me in for a deep kiss, his tongue sliding all over mine, our blended concoction melting into my mouth. I can't help but moan into the kiss.

He then collapses next to me, immediately pulling me into him. "How about whenever we have something new in mind that we want to try, we just give it a shot rather than searching for it in fiction?"

"Agreed." I breathe, weakening into his embrace. 

Thank god for Tumblr. 

—

a/n : quick shoutout to my baby for the witchcraft idea 🫶🏼🫶🏼 enjoy, love u bunches xx

[spaghettiposts]

Who are some of your favourite writers here?

That's a tough one because I love A LOT of them, but here are the ones that have stuck out to me.

Firstly I'll talk about some Wanda writers:

@mionemymind: one of the most compelling writers out there. I think I have a personal bias because we're similar and share similar interests (star wars lol), they've literally written a star wars based wanda fic!!! Apart from that they have really good one shots and stories. My personal favorite one shots have to be To Be Loved Is To Be Considered, The Actress & The Geek, and my personal favorite Blood Drive.

Aside from being a writer Mionemymind is also a really great person to the community and friends, and I can't tell you how many times I've smiled because of their reblogs. Truly awesome sauce.

@targaryenmarvel: From the moment her story "Fallin all in you" came onto my feed, I was desperately hooked. Absolutely one killer of a story and I can't wait for more. Really great writing and its just so perfect, that story meant everything to me at one point <3

@fortuositywritings: I love everything about this authors writing, but my most favorite thing about their style is the humor. It's so natural and well paced, it makes me smile without fail every time. They aren't as active, and I hope they're doing amazing but if I could let this author know that their series I Said No, and Love Bug changed my writing forever, I would do it in a heartbeat. They're one of the reasons I'm writing for Wanda here today.

@ziggyzolch: I discovered their fic on ao3 first and I've got to say it has me hooked. They deal with more serious topics on series and its one of my favorite parts about their style, honestly Your Prettiness is Seeping Through has got to be hands down one of my favorite series in 2024. Amazing work and great representation to those who need it.

And lastly @wandascosmic: I haven't seen much of her until today but her new series you belong with me has quickly become so special to me that I can't help but mention her. The humor between reader and Sam is amazing, but also the interactions between reader and Wanda have my heart aching so sweetly. I feel like a leech with how quickly I've sunk into this story, you belong with me is so sweetly written and I enjoy every second of it. Amazing work.

Now for the Jenna Ortega fandom, I think I have quite a list. There's so many amazing writers out there it's crazy, I'm always so well fed by both fandoms.

I've got to start out with the legendary @cobaltperun: I binged Lost, for 2 days straight. I was HOOKED. so hooked this story got in the way of my personal life because I couldn't stay away from my phone. I love the way you write Tara and gosh did the series kill and heal me. Aside from Lost, Woe out the storm is also such a sweet story. The whole concept Raiju is so interesting to me now and damn do I love a good slow burn. Im just so deeply impressed too by their rapid request process, and how much they get done, its moving.

Another legend @letorip: First I've just got to mention, his headcannons for characters are amazing and I'm CONSTANTLY having to restrain myself from asking for more because I would only continue. I highly recommend them, they're like stories in themselves. But aside from Headcannons, my personal favorite fic of his would have to be somethin' stupid, especially part 3. The whole series is a must read and gosh do I love the writing, its so beautifully described, every inch of it.

@ajortga: every fic of hers is a fucking BANGER. there's never a fic in which I'm left dissatisfied. I love it all, eat it all. When I find her on my feed, you know I'm immediately digging in. Everything is always so fluffy and nice and just makes a girl feel better yk? I completely recommend reading Cute and Absolute, My Girl, and Bear hugs. All super fluffy and heart warming fics, its crazy <333

@persevereforahappyending: This author stabs me, kills me, brings me back to life, and then stabs me again with angst but I go back every time. Specifically to their newest series A Legacies Secret which is. So. Fucking. Good. They really cooked with that one. Every Friday like clockwork I'm checking for notifications and I'm never disappointed. Their writing style just leaves a grip on you and the plots are so clever too, they're very unique and I love them. Luck Runs Out is another great series and damn I revisit that thing once every two weeks for a reminder on what true love really is.

And lastly but not least one of my newest favorite authors of all time is @honorarysimp: Uncanny Distortion was one of the best things I ever read, the plot, whilst held similarities to scream, had such a creative own twist to the authors imagination. I absolutely loved it, Tara and Detective made my day for weeks, and then came Rumor has it and now two others hold my heart, and break it, a lot. this series feels like its gonna hurt me. But overall Honorary simp is such an underrated writer and I really hope that more people will notice you out there and give you some more well deserved attention because God damn your fics are masterfully crafted and I don't even have the words to describe how much I adore them, all I can say is that I carved a space in my heart for Detective and Lucky.

that was longer than I intended but all of these authors came from the top of my head so they mean a lot to me. Tumblr is a way better place with all of these creative souls in it and honestly I wouldn't have gotten far without all this inspiration surrounding me ❤️

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is: starryeyedjanai! @starryeyedjanai has 74 fics in the Stranger Things fandom and 60 of them are in the Steddie tag!

@steddieas-shegoes recommends the following works by @starryeyedjanai:

All things end and all things change.

what lurks beneath

nights like this

if i could hold you for a minute (i’d go through it again)

"Janai is one of those authors that can make absolutely anything hot. I could sit and talk for hours about how they characterize Steve and Eddie. I absolutely love everything they write and always make it a priority to open the AO3 email when the notification comes in!" -- @steddieas-shegoes

Below the cut, @starryeyedjanai answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

These two burrowed their way into my brain and just won’t leave. I can’t not write them when I am thinking about them literally all the time and am brimming with new ways for them to fall in love.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

I’m kind of a sucker for steddie talking via notes, letters, etc. before they ever meet in person. There’s just something so special about them falling in love in unconventional ways before they ever meet in person that hits the spot, you know? I also just really love all the creative AUs that people come up with that I never would have thought of writing.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

I love writing anything that has friends to lovers and especially if they are so, so stupid about it. Idiot4idiot my beloved. friends/acquaintances to lovers is So fun to explore because there are a million ways to do it. I love a good oh moment where things just click into place.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

It is So hard to pick just one!!! So i’ll list a few: One that I have reread a few times that I just really, really love is All I Do Is Want by novemberthorne. There’s just something really special about it—all the emotion in the beginning and then the smut which is just top tier. like a sack of bricks and literally anything by alligator_writes is great off the beaten path by pukner is also really, really great

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

I have a fic idea that I've been thinking about for a while that involves alternate universes, like the metaverse, because if the Upside Down exists, there are probably other dimensions as well.

What is your writing process like?

It is honestly so variable. For the majority of my ficlets, I get an idea and just start hacking away at it intermittently until it’s done, so it’s safe to say that at any given time, I have like eight ficlets that are partially written. I never used to outline because I didn’t really write fics longer than around 5k, but since I’ve started writing longer fics, it is almost necessary for me to have an outline that hits all the major plot points because otherwise I will forget what I have planned. So for anything that I know will be longer than a ficlet, I’ll write out an outline, even just a few bullet points so that I can reference it when I’m writing and not lose sight of where the story is going. 

Do you have any writing quirks?

I use way too many em-dashes and my sentences are sometimes comically long, but the way I write is indicative of how fast my brain is moving, kind of. I typically headcanon Steve and Eddie to both have ADHD, so any fics in their points of view will have their thoughts coming out as fast as my own typically are. And sentence length and structure can really help convey that.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

I prefer posting once I’ve finished writing because my focus shifts around a lot and it sometimes takes a while for me to actually finish projects (like i had a fic that sat at 16k for months as I worked on other things that caught my attention and then I finally returned to finish the last couple thousand words six or so months later)

Which fic are you most proud of?

I am proud of all of my fics, but I really, really love how All things end and all things change. turned out. Some fics just come together so easily and this was one of them. I outlined the fic and let the idea marinate for a couple months and then I wrote ~20k in about a week and finished the fic.

How did you get the idea for All things end and all things change.?

This fic was for a holiday server exchange so my giftee gave me three prompts and I found ways to incorporate all of the prompts. I saw the prompt for mutual pining roommates and immediately knew I was going to write Eddie taking Steve home to Wayne over the holidays. I originally only planned on using that prompt, but the prompt for a snowy cabin getaway really called to me as I got further along in the fic and needed more tension between them. It was just a really excellent set of prompts.

When writing All things end and all things change., what was something you didn’t expect?

I did not expect it to get so long! My original estimate was 10k, but then I kept adding more to Wayne and Eddie showing Steve how special Christmas could be with people who care about him and then I added the cabin scene which added an easy 5k to the fic and then I was staring at what was, at that time, my longest complete fic. Wild.

What inspired what lurks beneath?

This honestly came out of left field for me because I had only ever written one other fic like it. I was doing kinktober for the first time and had a few different ideas for the prompt for that day and then I saw that the date of that prompt was Joey (@matchingbatebites)’s birthday and remembered her lake monster Eddie ficlet and instantly knew I wanted to explore a different version of lake monster Eddie.

What was your favorite part to write from if i could hold you for a minute (i’d go through it again)?

I really, really loved writing the flashes into the future at the end of the fic. Throughout the fic, there was some yearning and pining from afar and getting to write that everything works out in the end was cathartic.

How do/did you feel writing if i could hold you for a minute (i’d go through it again)?

Oh boy, this fic put me through the ringer. This was written for the steddie big bang and it was the first longer fic that I was attempting to write. I just had so many different ideas for this fic that it made it hard to choose the direction I wanted to go in. I probably have like an additional 20k words that just did not end up in the fic because it contradicted things that did end up in the fic or just didn’t fit with the vibe I was going for. There were times that I felt discouraged and felt like I might never finish it, but I am very pleased with how it turned out in the end! It was extremely rewarding to finally finish it and get it posted in February!

What was the most difficult part of writing nights like this?

Honestly, I don’t remember this one giving me any trouble at all. Once I got the idea in my brain, I think I sat down and wrote all 2.5k in a day. I do not know what my brain was doing during kinktober, but I think I ended up writing like over 60k that month and it was the only time that I’ve ever really been able to sit down and write a ficlet from start to finish like that and it happened with multiple of the ficlets that I ended up writing the day before they were published.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

I really love the lead up to the smut in my fic catch the embers on my tongue. Like eddie being a little self-deprecating and in awe that steve might feel the same way he does was so fun to write. Also the summary for surface level freak is probably one of my favorite things i’ve written.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

Some of the projects I’m working on right now are things I can’t really talk about, but look forward to fics from me in the Steddie Summer Exchange, the Steddie Bang 2024, and the ST Sapphic Mini Bang!

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

Whoever nominated me, I am kissing you full on the mouth with tongue (if you’re into that kind of thing)

Thank you to our author, @starryeyedjanai, and our nominator, @steddieas-shegoes! See more of starryeyedjanai's works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[faeriekit]

some venting: on parent fandom acceptance and the danny phantom tag

Honestly, the worst thing that certain Danny Phantom fans have done on this site to other fans is say that dp x dc is its own fandom. It's not. There's no such thing as a "crossover fandom" unique unto itself. You can say that people are too into this crossover or too into this au or whatever, but people who are fans of DC and Danny Phantom are into Danny Phantom and DC. That's just. What it is. Both properties are cool and combining them adds more characters and settings to play with together. All lore leads back to one or both parent fandoms, because those are the source material.

"Well the DC crossovers are so different—" Please. There have been Danny Phantom and Teen Titans crossovers since Danny Phantom was airing. I have read crossovers with House, NCIS, Supernatural, and probably anything else ffn had to bother with. One of my favorite works is a Gravity Falls fancomic that I still hope will update one day. No one cared how it was crossover then. In fact, I would say that we were one of the most crossed-over properties I knew of at the time that wasn't a SuperWhoLock-type popular show. DC crossovers are not new, they're just popular now.

"Well, it's got its own lore! >:(" Oh, like the vivisection aus? The Full Ghost aus? The corpse aus? The Danny-is-a-portal aus?? Tell me more about how new it is for an au to have its own unique lore. Love to hear it. Definitely it's the same for every author with no variation. There's for sure no unique takes from fans at every step of the way.

"Well, there's so MUCH of it." Tell me more about how other people having fun in their own way is your problem. Go ahead. Tell me more about how other people doing their own thing is personally horrible to you. It's really terrible when people do things you don't want to engage with, isn't it. It has to be separate from your fun. There is definitely no place where they blend; it has to be segregated altogether.

"But they're doing it in MY tag!" Oh, the Danny Phantom tag? The one with Danny in it? Where he's a main character? In the art and fic where he features??

The result is exactly as you'd expect; people who would be interested in joining the Danny Phantom community and making art and fic long-term because they like the characters and the show are getting sidelined because they're failing to like the show in the 'right way'. People who might love to join in and participate in community events and discussion and bring new ideas and aus to the table are being told that they like something completely different than the show in a way that, you know, somehow the original and extremely malleable fandom isn't??

I've been following multiple Danny Phantom blogs (or their author blogs that used to post dp fic) on and off on different accounts since 2015. I used to read Danny Phantom fanfic on ffn on my ipod touch during lunch or on my laptop once I made it home from school years before I even made a tumblr. I used to look forward to Dannymay and Ectober and I think I was even on tumblr the year that Narwhals started the Dannypocalypse?? (I for sure only saw the fallout though. I think I was busy that day)

I don't even open the Danny Phantom tag anymore. I still follow the people I follow...minus the people who've talked crap about fans who like Danny Phantom wrong, apparently, and I hope that good art comes my way without the constant underlying message that we're a scourge on our own fandom, I guess.

Congrats. There are no Danny Phantom fans who find the show through this form of crossover content. You've convinced them there's no point. They have their own tag, their own headcanons, their own fics, and their own culture. Are you happy now? Are you proud to be the fandom that doesn't want new fans? Is it nice, that people won't want to see your art and fics now, despite being hungry for new content? Did it help? Are you better for it? Did you maintain that canon purity you craved??

I saw a supernatural x danny phantom art piece today that kicked ass. It's from an artist I really, really like, who makes a lot of great stuff. I've bought their merch before and was excited all the way through their creative journey. No one tried to jump on them for crossover posting in the Danny Phantom space, using lore that's unique to that crossover.

But it's not about the crossover itself, is it.

[lavendermoonlitskies]

2024 Fic Roundup

Thanks @bellisima-writes for the tag!

What fandoms do you write for?

Only Good Omens. I can’t explain why but that show has been the only one that has ever inspired me this much.

How many words have you published in 2024?

Oh wow I just checked and I guess that would be 41,513 in total 🙈

What is your greatest achievement this year?

I was pretty proud of Dream A Little Dream of Me when I finished that, but now I guess I’d say that my greatest achievement is not giving up on a story I believe in (current WIP) despite everything that has happened in the fandom as well as in my personal life. I don’t expect it to reach “fandom classic” status, it’s probably going to end up flying somewhat under the radar, but that’s okay. I don’t need a lot of attention as some sort of “reward” for my hard work, I just want to write.

What are your top 3 favorite fics you wrote this year?

The Road Less Traveled (WIP)

Rating: unrated

Word count (current): 12,143

The road is Crowley’s only friend in the wake of Aziraphale’s departure. Endless landscapes, filled with the memories of a simpler time, becoming nothing more than a blur as the demon drove impossibly fast to avoid even a glance in its direction.

Maybe he’s running from his past, but is it truly possible to run forever?

It’s A Big, Lonely Universe Out There

Rating: Mature

Word count: 5,618

Crowley softened, watching Aziraphale’s terrified eyes imagine the lonely existence he was dangerously close to. He began to feel the drafty air in Heaven that was just a little bit too cold, a headache forming from the blinding white that covered every inch of that space. The looming threat of being tossed into the fiery pits of Hell over the tiniest hint of disobedience, with nobody there to come to his rescue. The cold stares of his colleagues, each and every one of them glaring at him with disdain and disapproval over the blasphemous ways in which he’d chosen to spend his time on earth. It was cold, so cold.

“Please don’t leave me alone.”

***

It's 1941 in London, England, and Aziraphale & Crowley have had a very eventful evening. The night is almost over when they're sat in the middle of a dimly-lit bookshop, wine glasses in hand. Things may start to go awry when they get a little too drunk, and start admitting things they probably shouldn't.

Find Me In Your Dreams, My Dear/Le Chant du Rossignol (Song of the Nightingale)

Parts 1 and 4 of Dream A Little Dream of Me. Part 1 was the first time I stepped out of my shell a little bit and had someone beta read, and I was really happy with the final product after that (thanks @serenity-black !). You definitely have to read parts 2 and 3 in order to understand what’s going on in Le Chant, but I felt better about how part 4 was written. I guess the more action-packed parts of the stories I write are not totally my strong suit, maybe I’m better at the emotional aspect; what’s going on in these characters’ heads before and after the big event.

What have you learned?

From a technical standpoint I learned a lot about formatting/basic grammar rules for writing a story with dialogue and all that 😅

But I’ve also learned a lot more about myself and what I apparently love to do. Big thanks to the GO fandom for reintroducing me to the joys of reading and writing 🥰

Also I researched a fuckton of random topics for these works, and anyways now I’m a lot more familiar with the map of Europe and I know a lot about Centaurus/Alpha Centauri

What fic did you want to do but never made it off the ground?

I tried joining one of those fic bangs this spring because I thought it would bring me more out of my shell, and it kind of did in a way but overall it just didn’t work out. I was excited about collaborating with people and making connections, but it wasn’t exactly like that and the fic itself just wasn’t sparking anything in me. It felt more like a job than something I was doing for fun 🤷‍♀️

Did you beta any fics?

I honestly don’t remember lmao

I don’t think so?

What three fics have you read this year that you love?

Phersu by JunKolt

I absolutely LOVE any fics that place Aziraphale and Crowley in different moments in history, especially when you can tell that the writer really did their research and the historical accuracy is THERE. Beautifully written, romantic, very bittersweet.

Don’t Fall Away From Me by @phoen1xr0se

Technically I read this at the very end of 2023 but I’m counting it anyway

If this fic has no fans I am dead. Fr. Absolutely brilliant. Bravo fellow moot👏👏👏

run across the river (just to hold you tonight) by hope_in_the_dark

Yk I had to throw in a short one just for good measure

Short, sweet, beautiful writing. Perfect for a lil bed time story from time to time, as a treat

Who do you want to thank?

The first one who comes to mind is @thavron who asked me to join their writing group for November (now continuing on into December ofc)! Without the little extra push that your server has given me, I honestly don’t know that I would’ve kept going with my current WIP despite how much I do believe in it. Big thanks ✌️💜

Thanks to @serenity-black (and also Aves whose Tumblr I don’t believe I have if they’re even on here) for beta-reading! It felt weirdly vulnerable to ask someone to take a look at my writing and tell me what they thought but I’m glad I did it and thank you for being so encouraging when you did☺️

Thank you to @thinkinginscripts @butterflywithsass and @manicpixiecatlady for working with me on the “fanfic book club” for the Good Omens fandom! I think it’s been wonderful so far 🥰

And a big thank you to every person who has left a nice comment on my works, you have no idea what that means to me

Happy holidays! ✌️🎄

[erisweekofficial]

Tonight we're so so so excited to highlight @parkerslatte!

If you want smut, angst, or fluff for Eris x Reader, she has you covered! You can view her Eris masterlist here, though she writes for SO many characters and fandoms 🤯

To ge you started, here are some of our favorite fics:

Need fluff with a little more? 😏 Try Warm Me Up.

Friends to loves with some angst? Definitely check out Unspoken!

A fan of completed, multi-chap fics? Read Overlooked!

you really can't go wrong with any of these 🧡🧡🧡

Read on to learn more about @parkerslatte's view on Eris!

What do you enjoy most about creating content for Eris?

I honestly love that we don’t know too much about him. Whereas we know a lot about backstory’s of other characters and more of their personalities, Eris is more of a blank slate I can create my own head-cannons for and interpret his personality in the way I wish to (while still including the canonical aspects we are already given) He is a fun character to write for and love exploring his relationship with his family and the Inner Circle.

What do you hope to convey through your portrayal of Eris?

I hope to convey his protectiveness in my fics. In the books, Eris seems to be quite a protective character due to a scene where he subtly puts himself between his mother and any danger. I believe Eris will have an arc similar to Rhys where we find out that he was putting up this cruel facade all along. I’m my fics I always aim to convey that while he can be cruel and say things he doesn’t mean, he isn’t doing them because he actually believes them, he is doing it for the good of those around him to protect them for harm.

Can you give me a name for one of Eris's brothers? And also for one of his dogs?

In one of my fics I have been writing, I’ve named one of Eris’s brothers Tycho. Since Eris is Greek in origin, I decided to go with another name of Greek origin for his brothers. And I haven’t actually thought about a name for his dogs but I would love to see Eris have a sweet and cute name for his dogs. Even though it is a common dog’s name, I love Basil!

What board game would you play with Eris?

Not technically a board game but I’d love to play Uno with Eris. I can see him taunting you about how you are going to lose yet you have two cards in your hand while he has fifteen and he is about to pick up another four while you call uno!

[okay-babe]

Hiya Dot! Sorry for the random ask but I am so in love with your writing that it single-handedly got me into this accursed fandom, and now I'm wondering where to start with other authors. Do you happen to have any fic or author recs??

Hi there, anon! I'm so glad you asked because I definitely have some author/fic recs that I'm more than happy to share with you/anyone else who comes across this post!

Before we begin though, shout out to all of the people I mention below! I hope none of you mind being tagged/linked but let me know if you do and I'll remove everything asap :)

1. Starting off strong, we have the amazing @jyoongim! She's been my mutual since I think like day one or two of me creating this account, and I honestly cannot think of anyone more kind or welcoming. Plus, their writing is amazing! Like genuinely so good, I cannot recommend her highly enough. 2. Also, if you're into smut, I am always utterly baffled at the quality of @hazelfoureyes' work. Like, as someone on the ace spectrum, I can say very firmly that sometimes, I don't want to read smut, but even so, I will always read a new post from Hazel when I see it because they're just so well written that I simply cannot wait lol. Plus, their sense of humor is just *chef's kiss*. Love them, truly. (Note: I used they/them here because I don't know Hazel's pronouns, but if anyone does and they aren't gn feel free to let me know and I'll edit this post asap) 3. Additionally, if you like headcannon style writing @a-hazbin-reader is incredible. I've spent actual hours on her page just reading through some of the absolute art she posts there, and it is always a treat. Plus her interactions with her readers are usually either hilarious or incredibly sweet/kind, so it's a good time all around.

As for story/specific fic recommendations, I do have a few of those too!

1. The Deer Dolly series by @ohproserpine (Genuinely incredible writing and a killer story line). 2. You & Me for the worst eternity to come by Notafraidtosimp on AO3 (Definitely not your typical x reader series, but I love everything about it and would never forgive myself if I didn't use this opportunity to share it with everyone). 3. The Partners in Death... and Life series by @safination (This might just be my favorite Alastor series I have ever read, the writing is incredible and I simply cannot recommend it highly enough). 4. Even Death Can Never Part Us by JuliaRobHURTS on AO3 (This is an amazing ongoing long-fic that makes me gasp audibly every time I see that there's been an update. The way the characters are written is utter perfection every time).

I definitely forgot some amazing fics/authors here in my haste to get this posted before class, so everyone should feel more than welcome to comment some other recs if they want to! <3

[s-brant]

okay for my steve girlies i’m just having some thoughts abt him as a boyfriend rn that i cannot get out of my head so you’ll have to put up with this.

as a partner i feel like he’d be the most touchy person on the face of the earth. constantly having his hands on you in a casual way whether it be holding hands, pulling you onto his lap to sit there even when there’s a spot open right next to him, standing behind you with an arm wrapped around you, playing with your hair/clothes/jewelry, and so on. he’s probably very touch-starved so i feel like he would be on you 24/7 and very shameless in terms of PDA because he’s just dying to have someone to love. robin and dustin would fake gag in the background but he could care less. also he gives me the vibes of someone who is just constantly warm. like the human incarnation of a furnace, so cozy and inviting in terms of cuddling.

boyfriend steve in season two was very cute to me (i.e: him coming to apologize with flowers even though he literally didn’t even know what he was sorry for because she was the one who hurt him, trying to cut her off when she was drinking too much/take care of her) so i can only imagine he’d be an even sweeter boyfriend in the later seasons with his character growth. i picture him being chivalrous for some reason, like always opening the car door for you, wordlessly taking off his jacket to put it over your shoulders when it’s cold and you stubbornly didn’t wear one, and not wanting you to pay for dinner even though his salary at family video is probably not that great. long story short he is a simp and very romantic. i feel like that’s just canon at this point but i digress.

anyway for the sexy stuff you’re gonna have to go under the cut

okay here we GO

i personally feel, despite my love for the kinkier fics, that steve is pretty vanilla in bed. at least, until he’s exposed to something new by a partner? like i feel that he would be open to trying certain things with you because duh you’re you and he loves you and why wouldn’t he wanna try slightly freaky shit with you, but it’s not something he just thinks up himself if that makes sense? but that doesn’t mean he can’t rock your world, let’s be 100% clear on that. this man eats pussy like it’s a five course meal and i will die on that hill. he’d get so into it, his eyes would close and he’d make soft little noises into you every time you pull on his hair UGH. you sitting on his face is probably his favorite thing you two have ever done because, honestly, suffocation between your thighs is a great way to go as far as he’s concerned.

also, it’s canon at this point that he’s hung right? did that originate from joe keery’s bulge in those tight ass vintage levi’s? probably, but it’s a steve thing now and i wholeheartedly agree with the fandom’s unanimous decision that he has unparalleled big dick energy. that being said, i also feel like he knows how to use it. a lot of well endowed guys aren’t that great because they’re like “oh i have big dick so sex with me is good already and i don’t need to do anything” but steve is a ladies man. he knows what he’s doing, and he doesn’t even need the buffer of kinks and shit to fuck you stupid. and he would be soooo cocky about it. i feel like he would be into degradation and dumbification a bit. he loves the fact that you are basically rendered useless when he’s fucking you open with his thick cock, caging you in with his arms by your head and cooing at you while the room is filled with the wet sound of him pounding into you. the filthiest he gets is whispering stuff like, “look at you. hardly even fucked you yet and you’re already a dumb little slut for me, huh?” like he can get nasty but i feel like it wouldn’t go far beyond dirty talk like that.

then there comes the hopeless romantic in him that cannot resist the opportunity to make love to you. i fully believe he is one of the people who seeks out that type of intimacy more often than the type in the paragraph above simply because he is so needy to be loved. his parents literally have never been in the show and never seem to care, he hasn’t had a steady girlfriend since nancy, and he doesn’t exactly get affection from other people in his life, so he would be absolutely insatiable with you.

his favorite kind of lovemaking is that slow, barely conscious morning sex when the two of you wake up right as the sun’s rising and he is faced with the realization of how much he loves you in those quiet moments. he’d be so sleepy, most of his weight would be let go if he’s on top of you, but you don’t even care because you’re caught on that hazy line between being asleep and awake as well, and the pleasure of him fucking you is heightened by it. it’d be full of sloppy kisses and heavy-lidded eye contact, both of your noses brushing with every deep thrust he makes into you. sometimes you’re on top though, and for those times he’ll just wrap his arms around your back to pull you down so you’re chest to chest while you do the work, albeit very lazily, and enjoy the sight of you. his favorite position for this lazy morning sex is when he’s spooning you tho. it happens the most often anyway, when he wakes up hard and naturally starts grinding into you from behind, which then escalates as normal. he’d keep a hand on your face to keep it turned for him to kiss your mouth and cheek though. just because he’s behind you doesn’t mean he won’t long to see your face and kiss you during.

i also feel like there would be a natural dominance to him that’s unrelated to any actual bdsm or dom/sub thing but rather his default disposition with you. he could definitely get down with being in a more submissive position sometimes and allow you to take care of/worship him—which would probably leave him with teary eyes by the end because of how overwhelming it is—but he gives me a lot of casually dominant energy. he loves sneaking into your bedroom in the middle of the night and fucking you with a hand over your mouth right across the hall from where your parents are sleeping, whispering to you that you have to be quiet and good. he also loves manhandling you, it turns him on unlike anything else to just toss you down on his bed and rip your clothes off because he can hardly wait to be inside of you. it’s also little sfw things like knowing what you like from your favorite take out place so he just orders for you or stopping to tie your shoe when it comes undone because he just loves taking care of his girl in the most innocent ways as well as a sexually.

he has a breeding kink by the way. it’s not something he acknowledges as a kink officially or even fully realizes, but considering that the man wants six children in canon, i feel like the idea of getting you pregnant, or even just coming inside of you whether or not you’re on a contraceptive, definitely gets him going. and if you are pregnant eventually once/if you two decide it’s what you want, forget about it. my god, he would be on you all the time. he’d love having you ride him with your breasts bouncing and a bit fuller from the hormones, your belly protruding with a bump as an undeniable piece of evidence that you’re his. it just checks all the boxes for him. i also believe that his chivalrous behavior would increase tenfold when you’re pregnant. in the later months, you physically cannot tie your shoes so he is right there to help you. he’s always extending his hand to hold while you walk, walking with his body closest to the street and yours closer to where it’s safer, and in general being even more of a simp than usual. if you thought he was a gentleman before, when he knows his baby is inside of you, he’s literally trying to do anything and everything he can for you.

now don’t even get me started on him as a dad. this has gone on long enough.

[perexcri]

fic recs!!

i woke up to being on a couple of fic rec lists and really appreciated it, so i wanted to capitalize on the nice energy and make a list of some of my own favs that i've read recently that i didn't necessarily see on the other lists :D check these out because they have some of the best prose/plots/characterization that i've read in the fandom :] 💜

one soft infested summer (M, 18k+, 3/7 ongoing) by @wheelersboy - this one is perfect for all the highler fans out there! it's got stoner byler of course, a music festival, lots out camping, and some really amazing writing! i started it just for the fun stoner vibes because Why Not, but i'm staying for the beautiful writing and the really complex and delicate relationship mike and will have in this one

Light Sleepers (T, 15k+, 2/6 ongoing) by @helioleti - WillEl-centric fic set during the time gap between the end of s3 and the beginning of s4 that explores their dynamic and their respective problems with mike, all while trying to cope with moving across the country from everything they know. each chapter is meant to reflect a certain stage of grief, which fits so well with all the complicated emotions everyone is going through!

drank my poison all alone (T, 4k, one-shot) by silverluminoqity - mike gets vecna'd and has to face his past self who's ashamed of who he's grown up to be, and my dudes the writing goes SO HARD. by far one of the best mike gets vecna'd fics i've read with such a good take on his character

star eater (T, >1k, one-shot) by @lowlightt - another fic where the writing does not play. honestly if you have a few minutes, READ THIS FIC. it's mostly just a confrontation between will and vecna, but it's so so powerful and impactful. and again, i cannot state it enough: the writing is AMAZING

tell me again (you said yes) (M, 32k, 3/3 complete) by @willow-lark - hey remember when cleradin was like a Thing for a brief second a few months ago? well if you miss those vibes, or if you just like great writing and some of the best weaving of canon into a fantasy au i've ever read, please look no further than this fic (and it's first part, fireball him! (cast protection)). i love this one dearly and enjoyed the wonderful ways Lark wove canon (specifically s1) into such a different setting, plus it was nice to see many of the other characters play a role in the events. beautiful, astounding, heart-wrenching - and did i mention there's an elopement 👀

In Undertow (M, 17k+, 3/6 on-going) by @souverian-are-we - this and one soft infested summer have become my summer byler reads~ when i say i love this fic, i mean you will have to pry it from my cold, dead hands 🥰 we've got estranged byler, jancy engagement with some stoncy going on in the background, and most of the characters still reeling from the consequences of their final battle with the upside down. it's all set at a lake house, which provides some breathtaking/atmospheric writing that this author uses to their advantage. it has some of my favorite scenes i've ever read in fic too, ones that have literally taken my breath away

california show your teeth (T, 77k+, 10/19 on-going) by @fireflywitch - what if the Byers and Hopper families were from Lenora and moved to Hawkins? this fic takes this one simple premise and turns it into one of my favorite fics i've ever had the pleasure of following along with. it essentially functions as a retelling of s1 and s2, gives almost every main character that's been featured in the show thus far a lot of time and space for their own plots, all while culminating into one larger story underneath. i don't think i've read a fic quite like this one in terms of its scope, plotting, and characterization, because there are a lot of moving parts, but this author goes above and beyond. i cannot recommend it enough

all i know is pouring rain (and everything has changed) (T, 3k, one-shot) by @willelfanpage - i think i read this one at the beginning of my workday while i was running some report on my computer and had to go about the rest of my day as if everything was fine ahah :'D seriously though, it's 3k words that pack an emotional punch all while examining will's relationship to rain. the writing is just gorgeous, and it's a character study that i haven't really seen done before, which was quite enjoyable~

Chasing Heartlines by (T, 7k+, 1/2 on-going) @cherryisgone - if you liked Tip-Toeing on Lilypads then may i direct you to its sequel, which features so much pining mike that he might as well be a tree? again, if you like cleradin/fantasy aus, then Cherry my beloved has you covered 💜 it fits so neatly with Lilypads and provides some fun contrast between will and mike~

Touch Me Like You Know Me (M, 15k, 4/4 complete) by @starsarefire824 - this exists in the rare pantheon of fics that actually made me cry. imagine an estranged byler reunion with all the emotions turned up to an eleven, and lots of lingering on lost time and how life sometimes takes us places we never thought we'd go. it's absolutely beautiful and is a classic to me :]

come back to me and forgive everything (T, 78k, 18/18 complete) by @howtobecomeadragon - i saw a lot about this one when it was on-going but am only just now getting around to reading it, and all i can say is why did it take me so long to get to it :') this author does such a good job of writing will and mike's relationship with a lot of nuance and complexity while still managing to make them feel like the teenagers they are. basically, will has to spend every july at lonnie's house in indianapolis, and for this summer in particular, the event is a lot more emotionally impactful for both mike and will. there's lots of emotional depth, the complexities of coming out and/or realizing you're queer, and, at the heart of it, how two friends try to mend things between each other. it's so soft and sweet

that's all i've got for now!! i'm quickly running out of time on my lunch break :'D also haven't been writing as much, but it's been fun to read more and relax a bit. hope you guys enjoy these because they're genuinely some of the best stuff i've had the pleasure to read in a while 💜💜💜

[traincat]

hello!! i reaally wanted to write a fic centered around johnny and mayhaps the rest of the f4, but i haven't read many of their comics yet and i don't wanna accidentally make them too ooc. can you gimme some tips on characterization please???

also hey, here's the anon who asked u about f4 characterization. which comics would you recommend in terms of best characterization??

Hey anon, sorry for the wait! So honestly I've been thinking a lot about characterization and I think this is a general rule but also it goes especially for comic characters who have been written by so many people over the years -- there's never going to be one branch of "in character." Everything is filtered through every writer's experiences at all times. So I think an important thing is to look at your characterization and ask yourself whether it feels right and real to you. Ultimately, you're the one who has to be happy with it.

I also think the way "in character" is treated sometimes in fandom isn't necessarily helpful. As an example: say it's common practice in Made Up Fandom to say Character A never cries. If you have him cry in fic it's out of character, says snide tweet 2024 to eight billion likes. And like, sure, maybe Character A cries a lot in some fic and not so much in canon, but the thing is everyone cries. It's not particularly useful from a characterization standpoint to say "Character A never cries." It's more helpful to go, "In what situation do I think Character A would cry? What would push him to tears? Does he cry when he's happy, sad, angry?" When I wrote Work Song, I needed a scene where Peter broke down and revealed everything, which was a problem because he's not Mr. Let Other People Help. So I took the time to push him into a corner where I felt it was organic that the character would share his problems. It's easy to go "X is out of character" but not constructive. It stretches your muscles more to try and figure out how to get X to a point where what you want to happen is in character. Go with your instincts; they're usually pretty good and they're something that will only get better the more you use them.

Also, and your mileage may vary on this one, but what's useful for me is to kind of look at characterization as excavation -- you're digging up something, uncovering it piece by piece. You can see the ground layer but now you've got to break through underneath it. For characters who have been in hundreds of issues like Johnny, I like to hit up really weird little single issues or lesser known series. There's this one issue that's formatted as one of those Wizard Magazine interviews where Johnny lists his three favorite movies as two installments of a Simon Williams action piece that would be equivalent to the MCU-style movies and also Titanic, and that one has always stuck with me as a really fun detail. Or there's a Marvel Knights 4 issue where every other word out of Johnny's mouth is a reference to a horror movie.

(Marvel Knights 4 #26) Thanks Johnny. Another Johnny thing I really like to keep in mind is that what's going on underneath and what's going on on the surface are not necessarily the same thing. Johnny can come off selfish, entitled, immature, or uncaring, but there's a deep volcano of compassion inside there. He's a very emotional character, which is something that's always fun to write.

I also find repetition really helpful when I'm trying to get the basics of a character down, which, again, might not be helpful for anyone else. Or it might only be useful for certain characters -- it's a lot easier to reread twenty issues than two thousand. I love my reference folder because a lot of times I'll remember some line or little canon thing and want to look it up and read it again. If you don't like saving panels from comics, just writing down what issue something is in is helpful, too. But that's just what works for me.

For Johnny specific comics, I have a bunch of Fantastic Four comics recs here (note that the "current run" I advise against in this post is Slott's run and not North's) and here! I hope you find some comics that you love and that you write the Johnny fic of your dreams!

[suzukiblu]

hi! i have a question for you, if that’s ok? i always try to leave comments on fics i read, especially on ao3 where it’s really easy to do that. in other fandoms i’ve been in, before getting into dc, fic authors often responded to my comments on their works and it was pretty easy to make friends through that and other social media and have lots of fun interactions talking about the fandom and our favorite characters etc.

however, i’ve found with this fandom it seems to be very different? almost nobody seems to respond to comments on their fics and i’ve found it very difficult to make any fandom friends, even in a casual-tumblr-mutuals kind of way. (this isn’t about you btw, you seem like the friendliest person i’ve come across on here so far which is why i’m asking you haha)

i completely understand many people are busy or some authors may find responding to comments overwhelming, but i was just wondering if this is something you or anyone else has noticed? is it a quirk of the dc fandom in particular? or am i just getting older and fandoms in general are changing haha, idk.

anyway sorry for the long ramble, feel free to ignore if i’m making no sense. i really enjoy all your stories (and your art! your art style is so cute!) and i hope you’re having a great day :]

Thank you, I'm glad you like my stuff! Especially the art, that I always feel like I'm worse at, hah. ❤️ I hope you're having a great day too. And asking me questions is always okay, no worries! I can't always get to everything in my inbox, to be honest, but I do my best to respond to as much stuff as I can. Either way, though, I never mind getting questions.

Personally I don't currently respond to most of my comments (I try to answer questions that aren't spoilers, but that's usually it these days) because it's just really easy for me to run out of spoons doing it and end up down a rabbit hole of comments instead of actually WRITING, which stresses me out because then I don't feel suitably "productive" for my imposter syndrome brain, and I also know a few people who don't respond because of anxiety or things like that, but I don't know if it's specifically a DC fandom thing or an overall trend in fandom in general? Every fandom is different, obviously, and also certain SECTIONS of those fandoms are different. Like, when I was into MCU fandom, I never really expected super-involved responses when I wrote Stucky because there was SO MUCH Stucky that it seemed like a lot of people just kinda churned through it and it all blurred together for them, but when I wrote about Darcy Lewis oh BOY did people come out of the woodwork to tell me how much they loved it in GREAT detail. Having a niche in general helps, I think, because if you're doing something that isn't super-common or interested in something that isn't super-common, people will be more excited to see it from you or hear you appreciating it from them.

I WILL say there's only a couple DC authors I can currently think of who I generally assume I'll get replies from when I comment on their fic, but I don't know if that's the specific fandom or just that I'm not reading a ton of fic right now and therefore have a smaller pool of authors I'm commenting on. Like, it's hard to tell, honestly. Also DC is a very widespread fandom and pretty old and established, but there's definitely characters and series and canons that just get ignored by huge chunks of it, so if you're into them you either have a real easy time finding people who are excited to talk to you or a real HARD time, depending on where you're looking.

Either way, I think it's really great that you try to leave comments on everything you read and a really good habit for the fandom ecosystem, I know a TON of authors who appreciate getting even, like, a single friggin' emoji or kudos, whether they respond or not. Literally any not-a-hate-comment comment is good for the ecosystem, imo, even when it's not obvious that it is. I very literally once wrote, like, eighty thousand words pretty much just because someone left a very kind comment on an old fic I'd abandoned. I did not actually RESPOND to that comment, as far as I remember; I just changed my mind about abandoning the fic and went through the long-ass process of getting my brain back into it and then the even longer-ass process of writing another 80k over the next few months/year until I got to the end. So like, I VERY much am a person who believes in the value of feeding the ecosystem, hah.

I am largely a call-and-response type of writer myself, so like, getting comments or people talking to me in my replies/asks/messages is basically like somebody is putting tokens in the fic machine and pulling a lever, and we'll all just see if I write three sentences or 80k or secretly tailor a fic towards things a frequent commenter's mentioned appreciating/being into. It's a surprise every time, with me!! And like, that's just how I work, of course, everybody's different, but I have NEVER met anybody who told me they didn't like getting comments.

When I leave comments myself, I tend to feel like more like I'm just telling the author that I think they're on the right track with the thing they're writing, one way or another, and letting them know it got a reaction or feelings or the like out of me, but I'm generally not really expecting a response from them. For actually making friends, I've found MUCH more luck in talking to people on Tumblr and Discord than on AO3. I've made friends on AO3 on and off over the years, but it's just much, MUCH easier for me to do on Tumblr and Discord. Though I kind of have a cheat code there in the sense that I'm a pretty prolific writer and so I've kinda encouraged people to get into the habit of checking my blog pretty frequently or even put alerts on for it, so generally people have a lot of opportunities to talk to me or be reminded I'm around.

I tend to notice people who show up repeatedly in my Tumblr mentions, personally, especially when they talk in the tags or comment in the replies or send me asks, and some of them I've either become friends with or just, like, secretly adopted as secret faves and sometimes sneak little extra treats of Things I Think That One Tumblr Person Would Like into my writing or pick specific WIPs to work on because I think "hey last time I wrote this [ TUMBLR FAVE ] really liked it, I should write more!" (and then I cackle in triumph/delight when they reblog it later, for that is a Victory, mwahaha), but like, it's a process? I definitely feel like making friends in fandom is generally slower than it was once upon a time, but also I'm a Fandom Old so there's been a few migrations and such over my time online too. And also Discord confuses me, hahaha. Discord is VERY confusing to me.

Ummm . . . okay I got INTO that reply, I guess, lol, but I hope that answered your question? Or at least helped answer it, if nothing else!

[arithmonym]

20 questions for 20 writers!

thanks to @accidentallyadorable for tagging me! this was fun. :3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

30! only 20 are visible from my profile, though. my older fics and drabbles are quarantined to a separate account, and a few things are posted anonymously.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

113,190 words.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

it’s mostly the locked tomb these days. i also have a few old works for the penumbra podcast, the magnus archives, and the adventure zone—and a few even older works for harry potter and percy jackson, but those are on ff.net so i can pretend they don’t exist.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

it’s familiar (but not too familiar) - fluffy griddlehark time travel fic. this was my first attempt at writing them and i could definitely do a better job now, but the prose still holds up.

alive, barely breathing - post-canon griddlehark first time fic that’s fucked-up and sad. sometimes i look at the comments when i want to feel good about my writing. :3

bring your hunger - post-canon griddlehark grief/relationship study. also a WIP. (honestly, this one might go on anon for a bit—it’s vulnerable in ways i don’t want to explain, and i’m shying away from writing the next chapter because the Fear of Being Known got to me a little.)

it’s not unusual - fluffy modern AU where team 69 go to a bar and play catan. palamedes has an oral fixation, because of course he does. this one is campal with background griddlehark getting-together, but i might write a sequel from harrow’s POV someday.

bad idea right? - modern AU chatfic inspired by this post by eskildit. it’s about camilla dealing with the paldulcie situationship™️ & enduring so much dyke drama thanks to the nature of her friend group. it received a podfic recently, which is fun!

(… i also want to write a camdulcie sequel for this one. i’ve been rotating the idea frequently.)

5. Do you respond to comments?

almost always. there are a few scattered comments i haven’t replied to yet, but i like responding! it’s an excuse to drop more lore about the fic and the writing process, IMO.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angiest ending?

the ace cam fic i haven’t finished yet, which will probably be posted on anon. (i feel like people are going to attack me for poor representation or something, but it’s inspired by my own experiences, so. can’t win them all. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

something sweet is pure, uncomplicated fluff, so i guess i’ll go with that!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not really. i’ve blocked a few people for being rude, but i haven’t gotten hate in years.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

occasionally. i’ve only posted 4 explicit fics, but so far it’s a pretty even mix of f/f, f/m, and other.

10. Do you write crossovers?

i have a tlt/w359 fusion AU i want to pick up again! i need to untangle some threads of the metaplot, though.

(also, the first fic i published on ff.net was a harry potter/rise of the guardians crossover. yes. it was cringe. yes, it’s probably still posted on the internet if you want to find it.)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

nope.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes, actually! a few of my old hp fics were translated into spanish or chinese.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

i wrote a round-robin fic with the campal server once. i also started co-writing a fic with quinn a while ago (before we both got busy with school) that i’d like to return to at some point, because the concept still makes me vibrate with glee.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

i’m not sure that i have one, actually? i’m a multishipper to my core.

15. What's one WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

i have so many WIPs in my google docs that i’ll probably never finish.

i’d like to revisit my fic about necromancers & dysautonomia some day, but my writing style has changed so much since then. i might have to rewrite what i’ve posted.

16. What are your writing strengths?

i’m frequently complimented on my worldbuilding. i’m good at examining the implications of things that other people might not think about, so my plots are original even when i’m writing a fandom trope. (i can’t wait to post my harrow nova AU for this exact reason.)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

sigh. pacing. i write from very close POVs, but sometimes i get too far into the character’s head, and it drags the story down. i’m trying to write sharper prose, but i’m going through an awkward growth phase as a writer—i know the structure i want, but it’s a struggle to get there concisely.

also, i over-edit instead of writing new words, which does me no favors.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i guess it depends on context? i have a pretty good grasp on code-switching from being bilingual but not quite fluent, but the memory of that one klance fic haunts me.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

i mentioned my first published fic earlier, but the first fic i wrote was a percy jackson self-insert fic when i was twelve.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

indelible! cam and pal figure out that dulcinea isn’t who she says she is at the fifth’s anniversary party, but it doesn’t change anything. <3

///

tagging @harrowharkwife @friendamedes @cindthia @logicbutton @thewinterstale @sluggydrabbles & anyone else who wants to participate!

[zuko-always-lies]

Rating my list of Azula AUs by how much they appeal/are interesting to me now

It's a long list, and some of these ideas are actually quite old, so I thought it would be worth giving each AU idea a rating out of 10. Note that some of these aren't my ideas and I intend no disrespect to anyone. I just want to rate how interested I would be in a story if someone used the AU idea as a basis.

Better parenting Ursa (8/10)-Would be a banger.

Azula raises Katara AU (and continued) and more (9/10)-I've never seen anything quite like this and would be very interesting.

Azula and Katara get friendly postwar and talk about their brothers. (7/10)-Good idea for a short story?

Mai is significantly older than Azula and Ty Lee AU (Older “sister” Mai) (4/10)-Could be interesting but honestly I find canon Azula-Mai's dynamic plenty interesting on its own.

Jin works at Iroh’s teashop but finds out about his past (5/10)-Perhaps worth a shot.

Zuko tells Azula about the Spirit Water (5/10)-Too close to canon?

Ursa and Ozai get along better, and it’s not a good thing AU (4/10)-A little dark for my tastes.

Imperialist Lu Ten survives the war and tries to regain his throne afterwards (9/10)-Now that would be incredible. Lots and lots drama and lots of lighting fandom takes on fire.

Zuko finds out more about his nation AU. (5/10) Somewhat interesting.

Revolutionary Azula takes over Ba Sing Se AU. (2/10) In retrospect it feels a bit too imperialist in tone.

Three different AU ideas in one (4/10) None of them are really that great.

Favoritism in the royal family is a little different (5/10) moderately interesting.

What if Zuko had a nonbending twin sister (who he doesn’t get along with). (10/10) The Zola AU. One of the most interesting and subversive ideas I've had.

Zuko’s daughter changes how he sees Azula (7/10). Could be worth a short story.

Zuko and Ursa try to isolate Azula (“for her own good”) (9/10). Brilliant dark AU, very subversive of fandom expectations.

Ozai gets exiled and the Gaang stupidly ally with him (6/10). Could be entertaining.

Earth Kingdom ends up with custody of Azula postwar and support her bid for the Fire Nation throne when Zuko starts another war with them. (10/10). Pure, wonderful chaos and Team Avatar are really in a bind.

The Gaang tries to figure out why Zuko joined them. (3/10). Might make a good short story.

Dangerous Ladies find Ursa in Book 2. (10/10). Ursa setting canon of fire is always worth it.

Azula and Toph fake dating (1/10). Not that interested in Tophzula.

Zuko/“world leaders” try to force Aang to take away Azula’s bending and he’s very much not OK with it. (4/10). Not too interesting.

Azula is thrown away to the NWT postwar as a trinket and Chief Arnook adopts her. (9/10). Wonderful idea for how to get a fire sibling adopted by the water tribes and have it make sense.

Comics! Ursa’s letter about Zuko being a bastard gets out. (2/10). Too associated with the comics.

Zuko and Katara lie about what happened during the Agni Kai (4/10). Shrug.

An exiled Azula finds Fire Imperialist! Ursa postwar. (10/10) Absolute banger of an idea, although quite dark. Azula and Ursa unite to overthrow Zuko.

Aang has to save Azula from being executed by Zuko (5/10) OKish

Zuko’s defection during DoBS goes very badly for Mai (4/10)

Zuko joins the Gaang at Ba Sing Se, but it ends poorly (10/10) let's make the writers of all those bad Zvtara fics suffer!

Zuko killed Azula during the Agni Kai, and now he has to deal with the consequences. (6/10). Dark/

AU idea where Zuko keeps Azula permanently imprisoned in bad and torturous conditions postwar, and Izumi finds out about when she’s relatively young, and draws exactly the sort of conclusions about her parents that you would expect. Not to mention being terrified that she might be treated the same way if she missteps… (7/10). Could be interesting.

Ozai never declares Zuko and Iroh traitors (7/10). Clever idea, would destroy canon as we know it.

Iroh-Azula roleswap au (9/10). Would be absolutely incredible.

Zuko asks Azula for help with his firebending. (5/10). I really don't like the fire siblings having a good relationship very much at this point.

Zuko wants Azula to like him but doesn’t get why she doesn’t like him (postwar) (8/10). Good idea for a shorter fic.

Katara has an arranged marriage with Zuko and Azula tries to get into the good graces of her sister in law (7/10). Might be interesting.

“Katara is supposed to have an arranged marriage with Zuko, but she falls in love with Azula instead.” (10/10). No explanation needed.

Another take on Zvtara (arranged marriage) and Maizula. (6/10). Good idea but maybe a little boring.

Azula-Katara AU idea (or: Katara runs into an Azula who has changed a lot in some ways and not very much in others) (7/10). Never could quite gets this to work.

Zuko is actually Ikem’s son (2/10). Enough about the comics!

Firelord Azula ends her brother’s exile 3/10. Nothing particularly interesting.

Azula raises Izumi (it’s complicated) (8/10) Really would be worth engaging with.

“AU idea: Azula commits suicide out of despair, and just about everyone is convinced that Zuko had her murdered or at the very least “encouraged” her to do it.” (3/10). More Zuko angst.

Dangerous Ladies get banished/declared traitors and Azula basically gives up. Mai has to step up her place. (9/10), would be a very interesting look at Mai.

I have to say, “Zuko has to deal with finding out that Ursa very much isn’t who he believed she was” remains excellent fanfic fodder. (8/10). Ursa for the win!

“AU idea: Ursa is more aware of Ozai’s abuse and potential for abuse than in canon, so, right after her exile, she seeks out Iroh and charges him with protecting both of her children.” 6/10. I don't find like Iroh enough to really like an idea which had him be so central.

Firelord Iroh treats Azula in a really screwed up way. 9/10, very dark but could have great payoff.

“AU where Azula dies during the latter stages of the war or right after it, and Mai is the only person who ever morns her as a person, not as a politically convenient symbol (Ty Lee runs away from her complex feelings on Azula as much as she can).” 7/10, could be a good oneshot

Dark idea (5/10).

“Since so much of the fandom is convinced that Azula is Zuko’s older sister, I need an AU where this is true and Zuko is just as throne-obsessed as canon and spends all his time trying to usurp his older sister.” (1/10). Not really an idea which stands on its own.

“AU where Ozai has a heart attack and dies right after the fire siblings return to the Fire Nation, and Zuko and Azula have to pick up the pieces. Meanwhile, the Gaang are plotting to overthrow them and bring the war to a close once and for all…” 8/10. Could be a banger.

King Kuai adopts Azula as his heir 7/10. Interesting idea

Things get complicated, darkly (Azula exiled postwar AU) 6/10. A little convoluted.

What if Zuko tried to be a good brother 5/10. Zuko is boring.

“I really need an AU where Lu Ten returns and is pissed over Ozai’s usurpation, so he kills Ozai, seizes the throne, and continues the war. Of course, Iroh ends up supporting his actual son in all of this, and the conflict in the Fire Nation ends up boiling down to Zuko and Azula vs. Lu Ten and Iroh as the situation spirals toward civil war, at the same time the 100 years war continues.” 8/10. Nice chaotic edge.

“Maizula AU where Mai married Zuko, but he died not long after Izumi was born, and Azula and Mai are secretly carrying out a relationship while raising Izumi and ruling the Fire Nation as her regents.” 8/10. Maizula for the win. Could work as a short story.

Azula joins the Gaang with a twist… 7/10.

“The chaos which would result if Lu Ten showed up alive again in Book 1 and launched a rebellion against Ozai in pursuit of “his” throne.” (5/10). Less interesting than the other Lu Ten ideas.

Ursa opposes Firelord Zuko 7/10. More good Ursa content!

Iroh tries to kill Azula during “The Chase” (5/10). OKish.

Mai and Ty Lee on trial for “war crimes”“ and Azula has to save them 9/10, would be wonder with a great Maizulee dynamic.

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is:  fragilecapric0rn! @fragilecapric0rnn has written 22 fics in the Stranger Things fandom and 21 of them are in the Steddie tag!

@cheatghost recommends the following works by @fragilecapric0rnn:

It Might Be Worth It For Once

clown music at the disco

you can take the heart from your chest to use as a compass when you are lost

Catch Me (I'm Falling)

Anyway, It's About Old Friends

"Sen's body of work is like a truly love letter to the characters. No matter the universe, Steve and Eddie always feel authentic to themselves. Sen's love for classic rom-coms influences a lot of her writing and makes for really romantic, touching stories. It's an absolute delight to dive into a world crafted by this author!" -- @cheatghost

Below the cut, @fragilecapric0rnn answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

I think in May of 2022 I was bit by the same bug as everyone else. Before I started writing Steddie, I was on a 4-year fic writing hiatus, and it was like seeing those two interact on screen zapped my brain awake. The chemistry, the potential, the fact that one half of the ship got ripped away from us too soon. All of those components really did something to my brain and I decided I had to write them and I haven’t looked back since!

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

I love a idiots to lovers! These two really have the potential to fit that trope so well!

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

Second-chance at romance! If you’ve seen any of my fics, you know that I love and will take any chance to write 90s older steddie, haven’t spoken or seen each other in years, who re-meet and fall in love. It is so them, it is my favorite version of them. It’s the version of them that lives in my head!

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

There are so many good ones to choose from, but I think I have to go with Show Me the Place Where He Inserted the Blade by the incomparable, the magnificently talented and outstanding Cheatghost. Lou, who I am very proud to call a friend, is one of the most talented people I know and I feel very lucky to have had them brought into my life via the Steddie brainrot.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

Is it lame if I say no? LOL. Honestly, I have written almost everything I have felt the need to explore with this pairing. A lot of my ideas moving forward are expansions/continuations of ideas that I already started or have posted before. 

What is your writing process like?

Right now it’s at its most unstructured because I am rawdogging life without my ADHD meds for the first time in 7 years, which has been a whirlwind but I am managing. However, it usually depends on the fic I’m writing! For a lot of my longfic, I have a physical notebook that has an outline and major plot points I want to hit at certain times in my stories. Other times, for the shorter fics/one-shots, I just write them all in one go. It starts with a (usually silly) idea, and then I get possessed by the writing demons, and suddenly, I haven’t moved from my chair in 2 hours and I have four thousand words on my screen. I contain multitudes!

Do you have any writing quirks?

I am a victim of the: One word. One phrase. Lin breaks for emphasis. And I will be doing it until someone who is being paid real money to publish one of my original works tells me to knock it off!

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

Again, asking if it’s bad if I say neither? When I first started posting fic again, I was very much writing it all and then posting it over the course of a few days. But now, I tend to write sporadically and post even more sporadically. And I prefer the latter! Fanfiction, and fandom in general, is a collaborative experience in its heart and soul. One of my favorite things about longfic is posting a chapter and seeing what people take away from it, because 9/10 it’ll be different then what the writer thinks they’re going to take away! And the chance to change and rework and let yourself be influenced by other fans of the ship is taken away when you write it all at once and post it all at once.

Which fic are you most proud of?

Anyway, It’s About Old Friends. Even in its unfinished form, it is my magnum opus. My white whale. I have done some of my best writing in it (chapter 2 MY BELOVED) and the fact that its so close to the end is both exciting and terrifying. It is a fic I wrote and continue to write for me, and the fact that other people are reading and enjoying it is a win!

How did you get the idea for It Might Be Worth It For Once?

HA! So, I was chatting with my friend Emily (JudasofSuburbia) about a potential Pornstar!Steve AU offhandedly back in the fall. Then, I got paired with them for a little fic exchange between friends, and it felt natural to take that one off little conversation and turn it into a fic for her. It was one of those fics that started out as a silly idea and then suddenly it’s been six hours and I wrote the whole thing in one go! After some polishing and editing, it became a Pornstar!AU with not as much smut as I expected. It was so fun to write, made even more fun as it was for a dear friend.

When writing Anyway, It's About Old Friends, what was something you didn’t expect?

I didn’t expect it to change and mold and morph in the way that it did. There is a version of this fic where they do hook-up earlier, there’s a version where they re-meet at gay club and not a wedding, there’s a version where Steve marries a Evie and Eddie is Raul. But, this version feels the most right. It’s a story about heartbreak, about finding love (in all it forms) in unexpected places, and it’s about found family most of all. All of that was stumbled on accidentally! My only intention was to write a Steddie-fied When Harry Met Sally fic, and accidentally flashed my heart and soul. Whoops!

What inspired clown music at the disco?

I used to be an opener at a coffee shop and there is something so disorienting and mind altering about having disco music blasting on the speakers at 4am. But, it was in one of those moments, where I was so tired I was nauseous, that the fic idea came to me! I had already been thinking of writing as my first fic, Steve and Eddie accidentally have a Devil’s Sacrament moment at the gay bar, but the line “But it’s Disco Night”, came to me at the ungodly hour of 4 in the morning. What a time!

What was your favorite part to write from you can take the heart from your chest to use as a compass when you are lost?

The Never Have I Ever Scene! It was the first time I wrote the entire party in one scene and it’s chaotic and a little messy but it was one of my favorite parts of the fic. It also made me realize how much I love writing ensemble scenes! Just everyone trying to talk over each other, chaos in its best form.

How do/did you feel writing Catch Me (I'm Falling)?

I wrote this fic in the span of like almost 3 weeks? I was sick and burnt out for most of the time I was writing it, but it was almost a compulsion. I had the idea and I just HAD to write it. No outline, just vibes and Steve Harrington in a cheerleading uniform! I took it down for a while because I was turning it into something else, but then had a change of heart and put it back up. And part of me is glad that I took it down for a moment because people love to be weird about the feminizing Steve’s character, and even though I was writing him as a cheerleader, I tried really hard to keep him earnestly himself, and in character.

What was the most difficult part of writing Anyway, It's About Old Friends?

Writing about San Francisco while being the most homesick I have ever been in my life. Also writing Eddie in those first few chapters as an asshole but not unlikable. I didn’t want him to be “fine” (because no one is fine in this universe, especially not in the beginning) but I also didn’t want him to do or say anything too bad. I think I got a handle on it pretty well.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

In Faces Freedom With A Little Fear, the first scene in the hospital with Steve’s sister. She storms in, threatens federal agents, all for her brother. JJ Harrington you will always be famous!

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

Just my current WIPs! Anyway It’s About Old Friends; the When Harry Met Sally AU of my dreams. Hand on My Stupid Heart; the modern AU, where the UD exists but everyone has iPhones and Steve deals with his bisexuality!

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

Shout out to my boys! Kkpwnall, judasofsuburbia, figthefruitfaeth, gideoncharov, cheatghost, fastcardotmp3, snowangeldotmp3 you guys rule and they’re all so talented!!!! Thank you to whoever nominated me! I feel the love and give it back to you tenfold!!!!!!

Thank you to our author, @fragilecapric0rnn, and our nominator, @cheatghost! See more of fragilecapric0rn's works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!