#niche rarepairs my beloved

[daintyduck99]

Because I love your Bobby, can I have 'adorable big eyes that widens a little when they listen to your rant keenly' for any Bobby pair

Julie doesn't mean to stomp into the apartment. Especially since it's not hers.

And the guys' poor "have no fear, we're all queer" doormat already has to deal with being stolen or kicked halfway down the hall on a pretty regular basis. It's just.

That one fucking guy.

She shoulders through the door and lets it slam shut, wincing as the cheerful orange flowers rattle in their glass on the kitchen table. She really ought to be more gentle. A quick glance tells her that Reggie isn't home yet, though, as his jacket and boots are still MIA, so she feels a little less bad for messing up his work.

She stops to fix it, resisting the urge to snatch her hands away and wheel around when she senses eyes on her. She keeps her head bent over the flowers even as bemusement radiates from her observer.

"You're a horribly inconsistent intruder."

"Not intruding," she fires back, giving the flowers one last prod before she twists to look properly at Bobby, crossing her arms.

He's leaning in the doorway, all lithe lines even in his black hoodie, which fits him perfectly. His hair is sleep tousled, but he's also wearing jeans, and she's not sure whether he sleeps in those or if he tugged them on hurriedly when she waltzed in like a hurricane. The former seems more likely, if only because it's hard to imagine him losing his cool unless Luke's riling him up.

His eyebrows have made the subtle switch from a bemused to a purely amused slant, and it shouldn't be such a good look on him. He waits, as if he can sense her inner turmoil, and she tries to bury it under a scowl, hugging herself tighter.

"You said I could come by anytime, and you left the door unlocked. If anything, you're a horribly inconsistent host."

"Ouch." It comes out deadpan, but she doesn't miss the way his lips twitch, and his eyes are warm as he studies her. "You wanna call a truce so you can tell me what you're really upset about? I won't tease."

She lets herself deflate, collapsing into a kitchen chair. "We might be here a while."

"That's fine." He shrugs, still wearing that hint of a smile. "I'll make some tea."

Julie spends a good portion of her rant with her hands curled around her mug, glaring into the depths, but as she pauses to take a sip and the taste hits her tongue, she realizes that he had been listening, several weeks ago, when she made that offhand comment about how she only really likes the citresy stuff. He usually only has chai on hand.

He's been listening to her intently this entire time, as well, apparently, leaning towards her with his head propped in his hand. His eyes are huge, like it'll help him hold more information, and she has no idea how she missed it, venting or not.

"And?" he prompts. "You stopped right in the middle. I can't validate you if you don't tell me everything, miss Molina."

She huffs a laugh as warmth spreads through her chest. It's only partially from the tea. A grin slips comfortably onto her lips even as she shakes her head.

"Apologies, Doctor Shaw."

He smiles a bit more openly. "Not yet."

"You'll make a great therapist," she insists, reaching across the table to touch his elbow. "I'm not even mad anymore!"

His eyebrows go all slanted again, and she flushes, doing her best to casually pull her hand back to her body as he hums.

"Yes, you are. We've deflected, but the smallest reminder will set you off again because you haven't gotten it all out of your system. All I have to do is say 'mansplain' and—"

"Oh my god he absolutely was!"

She kicks his ankle as he covers his mouth to hide a full-blown grin, eyes shining. She huffs another laugh.

"Shut up! You said you wouldn't tease. It was awful! I have to deal with this guy as my partner for the rest of the semester unless he drops out. Or I kill him first."

"I'll kick his ass for you," Bobby offers.

He's only partially joking, and it shouldn't set off butterflies in her stomach.

She takes a hasty gulp of tea in an effort to smother them as she gropes for a decent reply, but it doesn't really work.

"Thanks," she settles on, "but something tells me that would be bad for business. You might come across as a little too invested in your patients."

He lowers his hand. The smile has shrunk, but it's still there, and his eyes are wide with sincerity as he says, "Technically, you're not my patient. This is all off record. Just a friend helping a friend. Yeah?"

Heat laces through her, though she's sure she's imagining the suggestive undertone in that sentence. Her throat goes tight.

She's saved from responding when the door crashes open, rattling Reggie’s flowers again. Bobby's expression soothes out, and he lifts his mug to his lips as Luke and Reggie loudly give their hellos.

She can't help but wonder what Bobby heard in her little moment of silence.

[dawdlecentric]

Yeag...

[sanchoyo]

whys ygo the only fandom I’m in that’s really populated with crackships/rarepairs out the wazoo. Like there’s ofc A Lot of popular ships but no one looks twice at ‘weirder’ ones like ones where the charas never spoke. More fandoms could learn from this 😔

[messydiabolical]

Asking all my beloved talented creative amazing friends on here to reblog your own work. More than once. Reblog regularly, and proudly, and unashamedly. It's so easy to miss a piece if you are in a different timezone, or just don't go online at the right time. If you follow a lot of blogs, it can get lost in the dash so easily. And these days: let's face it, people often like and don't reblog, so the circulation of creations doesn't happen as much. This is also an older site; some things have been lost to time. Some of us are in niche fandoms, or niche/rarepairs within a fandom, so there's less people to share the love. But I want to see your amazing creations. And searching by a tag doesn't always lead me to them. So be proud! You did the thing! I am so fucking proud of you! Reblog your own work. Often. You are amazing.

[sometimes-love-is-enough]

Syzygy: Some Closing Thoughts

I'm writing this at 8pm on my backyard porch, under the wavering light of a distant full moon.  Hello, moon! Please don't kidnap me. I just wanted to hang out with you for a while as I collect my final thoughts. It's a pretty cloudy night tonight, so it's not properly visible, which I suppose is the cloud cover shielding me from a terrible lunar fate. It gives a deliciously hazy atmosphere for the absolute essay I'm about to write.

Apparently, the Farmer's Almanac says that tonight's full moon is a 'Pink Moon', which sounds like it'd be a very pleasant viewing experience. I imagine pastel frangipanis spontaneously sprouting all over the moon's surface, covering every inch of its rocks and crags until the soft pink glow is visible from all the way down here on Earth. Unfortunately it's not named 'Pink Moon' because of that; there's some American environmental factors, etc.

I think it's kind of charming that there's a list of names for every possible full moon, as if the moon's putting on different masks or incarnations every time it tilts just enough that we can see its full face. I'm looking at a list of them now instead of writing these final notes like I probably should. The names are so delightful. Strawberry Moon. Sturgeon Moon. Apparently last month's full moon was Worm Moon. WORM MOON. I could go on. I won't. Let's talk about Syzygy instead.

Syzygy is... Man, where do I even start with this? Let's try the beginning. I started writing Syzygy in February of 2021, after ruminating on it for probably a few months before that, as I often do. That's three years ago, so my memories of the reasons why are a bit fuzzy, but I think I did it for two reasons: one, a desire to have a long-form meaty slowburn fic for a beloved rarepair in the tag so other people could enjoy it, and two, a fascination with the idea of fractured identity, what it means to be a Side without a Centre. The whole thing with the alternate-history steampunk swapped-around Earth came about naturally from that.

Except that's actually kind of a lie, because that's not the beginning, this began in 2020, when I wrote a pitch for a local station that was accepting radio play submissions (rejected, of course) featuring a hardboiled noir detective in a starlit city whose latest client was a tiny shiny girl asking him to solve her father's murder. And that's also a lie, because I think it really began when I tried to write an original novel in high school where the protagonist's name was Avery Allen, because I liked the way the name tripped off my lips.

My stories are always built on each other, especially stories I never get to write. They all recycle into each other in a weird blend of concepts and characters. 2021 was when I sat down and told myself I was going to write the Thomceit time loop fic, and I dove into it with aplomb. I can't recall the exact timeline of events, but at some point I underwent some truly gnarly health problems that left me unable to use my hands for extended periods of time, and so the fic that was meant to be for a Big Bang ended up... Just sitting in a folder for a while. But me and my beta managed to pull it the fuck together, and after adding some extra bits and pieces (the cutaways were a LAST MINUTE ADDITION even though I think they're some of my favorite bits in the whole thing) I started putting it all up.

Okay, there we go, that's enough of an abridged history of this thing. Let's just say: I never expected as many people to like it as it turned out, I thought that it would be a niche little fic for a rarepair, and I was honestly pretty content with that. So it was delightful to see so many people getting so into it, I have enjoyed the FUCK out of all of your comments and theories and predictions. It's been delightful when people predicted a plot point correctly, and honestly even more delightful when they predicted incorrectly. I've had such a blast.

As for the writing... Suffice to say I have many notebooks full of notes and thoughts, more than one spreadsheet to keep track of time loops and lore, and a semi-complete list of all of Virgil's tarot cards, which one day I'll probably polish and share properly, because I think the concept is neat. But that's kind of how it always goes with my writing.

Naming every inspiration for this would take forever and I'd still miss a few, but I'll just throw out a key few ones, because I gotta:

17776: What Will Football Look Like In The Future, because when I first read it I got the wrong idea and thought that Juice (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) was short for Betelgeuse (the star), and that sparked a whole thing about living stars in my brain. Also, just the general way that the worldbuilding and absurdity is handled in that world, it scratches my brain just right.

Welcome To Night Vale. I don't think I need to explain this one.

Madeleine L'Engle's writing, particularly A Wind In The Door, particularly-particularly the bit of it where Proginoskes explains why, precisely, he has to remember and Name every star in the universe. Fucking beautiful book.

A particular Untamed/Mo Dao Zu Shi fic I read years ago and haven't been able to track down again, which also features two people stuck in a time loop who are initially unaware that they're in it together AND dying at the same time. I believe they also meet on a bus? The details are fuzzy. The worldbuilding and descriptions of that fic were so stunning to me, it had me unable to read anything for a solid few weeks, it is definitely a superior work to mine in every respect. If anyone finds it, let me know, I don't think I finished reading it and want to know how it ends.

An unpublished fic that I had the privilege to read while it was being written, that changed my brain chemistry re: the Sides unknowingly existing without Thomas. The Flowerwall Cafe originally hails from this one, too, graciously borrowed and greatly beloved.

Both Ghibli films in general AND Dianna Wynne Jones books in general, and obviously the intersection between the two, Howl's Moving Castle, which is fascinating in how both mediums handle the setting.

The Doctor Who audio drama Scherzo, which is a wild ride, and there's a major plot point revolving around the two main characters holding hands and fusing gruesomely into each other - and another involving an in-story fairy tale.

There was no huge inspiration for the clockwork city and weird steampunk carriages, apart from (perhaps) Fallen London. Certainly, the idea of a background organization that wants to kill the sun, who also happens to be a sentient being, is cribbed from the Liberation of Night.

Syzygy also happens to be packed full of many obscure references to... like... personal projects of mine, some published and some unpublished, as well as a lot of my friends and co-writers, and some really REALLY niche stuff that only I will ever properly understand. I buried a lot of myself into this story, is what I'm saying. Juice hails from a completely different project (a TTRPG with my friends, of which she is a beloved and cherished NPC), the in-universe author for Avery Allen (and Mallory Wynn too) are named for a fictional TV author I created when the writing discord was making a nonexistent fandom, Logan's dumpling recipe is my favorite recipe of all time.

I have an apartment ghost, too. I talk to it regularly.

Final thank-yous, because I want to post this very very soon, I've been typing for too long and the mosquitoes are starting to get to me. Thank you to:

Everyone on the TSS writing server who listened to me complain while I was writing it the first time round, and has subsequently listened to me complain while editing it these past two years. So many people in there are responsible for little bits and pieces - phrasings, words, nicknames, jokes - and I couldn't begin to name everyone who helped.

Saphira and the rest of the people who are currently working on making a full-cast audio drama out of this fic (???) (???!!!!??) (!!!!). It is SO baffling to me that it's happening, I'm in complete disbelief whenever we talk about it or I see the script or I get asked logistics questions, I'm terrified and thrilled to see how it turns out, what the fuck! The very existence of that project has ended up influencing a few things about this fic's endgame, too.

Everyone who's commented extensively, commented entire academic analyses, commented numbered lists, commented laconically, left a single emoji in the comments, left kudos, bookmarked it, sent me asks on Tumblr, given me thumbs-ups on Discord, or even just silently read the fic without interacting at all. Your witness brings my words to existence. Love you love you love you.

And Len, who lives in my brain and my body and my heart and my throat, and who is honestly singlehandedly responsible for dragging this fic out of the depths of Google Docs and into the arms of AO3. They've already said I don't need to thank them, but come on, I totally do. Len is the best beta, and puts up with all sorts of deranged nonsense from me, because I have an unhinged writing process where I don't think about anything before I put it down on the page, and I use way too many connecting-dashes and not enough semicolons. Kisses kisses kisses. Thanks for doing this with me, and I can't wait to do it again.

Myself. I managed to write this and I managed to finish it. That makes me a pretty cool person, all things considered. I'm glad I did this.

What next? I've got to rest. Well, I need to get some things done... and then rest. I've been juggling a hellish amount of projects for a while now, and now Syzygy's finally cleared from my plate, I'm going to try to let the others get cleared too so I can take some time and be less stressed. The Locked Tomb AU will be ongoing, as I get through final edits of chapters, so keep an eye out for that - if you're interested in a fic that's rather less starry and shiny, but very much Thomceit and death themes, check it out  - and then....... Well, whatever comes next, whenever I have the energy to do it. I adore writing in this fandom. I'll be back with something weird soon enough.

Ad astra, baby! It's been a blast.

- Min (2024)

[iinryer]

What's one facet of drawing that you used to not be as good at/confident with, and how did you get better at it? How did you get into drawing 9-1-1 - was there a particular character that you *had* to draw? Top three rarepairs/crack ships for 9-1-1? 😁

— oh my god HANDS. ive told this story before in the gotcha discord, but when i was a high schooler and trying to do more art i absolutely hated drawing hands. i hated them so bad, i would hide them or crop drawings so i wouldn’t have to draw them at all, and i kind of just got really frustrated with myself for this one little thing limiting what i could draw!! so for like my entire senior year, i would base every single project i did for my drawing class around hands. i drew SO many hands that year, i did studies and stuff for class and even on my own time until i fucking GOT ‘EM. and even now any time i run into my drawing teacher in my hometown she asks if im still drawing hands 😭😭

— man believe it or not i actually didn’t feel super compelled to draw anything for 911 for a WHILE when i was first getting into it!! I wrote a ton (that I never finished or posted), which was nuts for me because I’d only ever written fic to post like once before in my life?? but I got really into my marjan fic and then wrote the taylor/lena exes with benefits and then I kind of went wild after that gjgjdhf the most I had drawn at that point was like one or two things from fics I had written, and a tiny hen doodle. actually now that im looking at it like this it was all women right away 🤣 the lesbianism compels me. hfgkfhdh but the thing that actually opened the floodgates was drawing juicebox chimney. from there i lost all sense of chill <33

— i love to arbitrarily decide tertiary women are together. i made a post about it years ago ill try to find it and link it here, but like. nancymarjan. my fucking BELOVED. lena/lucy. phenomenal. no notes. past shannon/grace. niche as fuck. crossover. incredible.

[feu-eau]

Fic Author Self-Rec Tag Game

That's a long title... lol

I was tagged by @joeys-piano to share 5 fics I've written and tag 5 writers to keep the chain going? I'm making the rules up lol

So, let's start.

1- "No Man's Land Pretenders"

My beloved Los Simuladores polygun fic. It might be kind of boring, it might be aimed at an incredibly niche intersection of fandoms, and on top of that it might be about a rarepair, but, I still love that story to bits. They said write for yourself and I commited to it.

2- "Penumbra y Sal"

One of the short stories about my silly vampire OC, Julian. I think I really nailed a vibe and atmosphere in this one. It's always interesting to try to write from the pov of a character so different from myself.

3- "Rosas Blancas"

Is it cheating to keep including original stories? Too late now lol. This is another snippet about Julian's story. I was thinking about grief and family cycles after watching a movie and I got curious to explore those themes from Julian's pov. It's a very short story but I like the writing a lot.

4- "Speak Your Tongue"

Changing the vibes drastically, Grimmichi Fashion Week AU lol. This was truly one of the most fun fics I've written and it gained a spot amongst my favorites. Knowing very little about the fandom and characters felt so freeing, I just vibed and did whatever I wanted lol I'll forever be a Ulquiorra as a Yohji Yamamoto model truther 🔥

5- "Green Fire"

Yes, you guessed it. I take every chance to talk about this fic I can lol. Truly one of my favorites and one where I think I managed some very good writing while still aligining with the character's voice. All this to say it was incredibly fun to write Qi Rong swearing in all caps (and to headcanon some sort of redemption arc and a better emotional closure for Guzi).

Tagging (but zero pressure of course): @artingstarvist, @rubberduckieassassin, @hamykia, @user-needs-new-hyperfixation, @chaoticbuka

[starmo]

hey! Big fan of your BTTF fics! I only recently got (back) into BTTF, but it seems you’ve been here for a few years, plus you’re an nsfw author in this fandom, so I was wondering if you might have some insight on why Mammett is practically the only ship with lots of nsfw material? The only straight ships I’ve seen is Marty/Lorraine or Marty/OC. Why no Marty/Jennifer, or George/Lorraine, or even Doc/Clara? I want some nsfw Marty/Jennifer so bad and can’t find it anywhere! Did it ever exist? Was it deleted? Hope you don’t mind the random horny. Just curious and want someone to ask/rant to, one BTTF fan to another :)

Hey there! Thanks for your inquiry! I am so glad to hear that you're a fan of my work! 😄

I actually haven't any clue as to why mammett recieves more attention from NSFW creators. Believe it or not, this surprisingly comes as a shock to me!

Though my allegiance is sworn to mammett (😂), I had been under the impression that it was the least popular of the ships typically associated w/ BTTF, on account of it's... divisiveness? For lack of a better term.

Though, if I were to reckon a guess as to why it's so beloved by degenerates (jk) like myself, I'd say it has just as much to do with the taboo nature of their relationship as hating mammett for it is!

Which is exactly why it doesn't surprise me that one of the only heteronormative ships from BTTF that recieves an abundance of attention is Lorraine x Marty.

Like mammett, Lorraine x Marty involves two individuals whose sexual/romantic relationship would be met with disapproval (because, y'know, incest), which just makes for a fun jaunt when it comes to writing smut fic. The juicier and more depraved, the better!

Aside from that, though there are many other reasons as to why I (and likely many others) are attached to Doc x Marty--I think a major contributing factor to the abundant creation of NSFW mammett fic is the fact that much of what we see of their on-screen interactions (of the physical variety, especially) is interlaced w/ homoerotic subtext, albeit (likely) unintentionally.

That and taking their age gap into account, and the time in which BTTF is set, when homosexuality was still HIGHLY frowned upon, it kind of makes for a deliciously provocative "torrid love affair" type deal.

And, I (personally) am also very much attracted to both Christopher Lloyd and Michael J Fox (hence why I've so many rarepairs involving their characters 😂) which only adds fuel to the "I want to see them bang" fire.

In summary, Doc and Marty tick off all the boxes for somebody like me (in both a "omg, my otp, I wanna cry, I love them so much!!" type way, and a "I want to see Doc absolutely DESTROY Marty" type way). I imagine people must feel similarly about ships like Lorraine x Marty, George x Marty, etc.

I guess the more canon-typical ships like Jennifer x Marty and Clara x Doc haven't as much allure to NSFW writers on account of the fact that they'e likely considered to be "vanilla"? Though I can only speculate on that.

As for your frustrations in this regard, I completely understand. Scouring the tags on ao3 or similar websites in search of at least just one fic involving a ship you're invested in, only to come up short, is one of the most infuriating things in the world.

I take similar issue w/ trans Marty vs cis Marty fics.

I am one of very few mammett fic writers who solely portray Marty as being trans, and that is largely due to the fact that as a trans man myself, I wanted to see more pre-op trans representation in smut fics; something which was virtually non-existent in the fandom prior to my contributions.

I also like to write smut fic for a wide variety of niche audiences; though some of the things I've written about and or plan to write about in the future aren't necessarily kinks of my own, I still want to offer something else to the fandom aside from the repetative "Doc and Marty have flowery prose gay sex in the garage" fics (not that there's anything wrong w/ those fics, but admittedly after reading about 6 or 7 of them I tend to go "but where's the pizazz??" ..."pizazz" being the nastiest shit you can conceive of, of course, lmao).

To this day one of my all-time favorite fics I've aided in the creation of is the one where Marty is a gas-station attendant and he and Doc end up banging by the dumpster in the back alleyway behind Marty's workplace.

Not only is it deliciously, viscerally filthy, but they (being Doc and Marty) are also still very much themselves; their affection and fondness for one another knows no bounds, and thus doesn't feel out of place even in a fic involving watersports, armpit licking and non-con kink.

Perhaps now that I know there is an audience for it, in the form of, at least, you, I could try my hand at writing some Jennifer x Marty or Clara x Doc fics!

I've only two WIPS as of right now that involve a Jennifer x Marty sex scene (sorta...); that being a fic in which Jennifer is present when an experiment involving some chemicals (of the horny variety) goes awry and Doc is in dire need of uh... relief--and a sequel fic to Nocturnal Emissions that immediately begins with Jennifer eating Marty out.

These are two fics that I hope to complete and upload at some point, but in the meantime, if you're curious (and/or would like to talk more about mammett/BTTF in general) feel free to DM me and I'd be more than happy to share what I've written for these fics w/ you! 😄

[moondane-lovers]

✍️🤪🥰😡🌦️🏷️❤️💞☕️🛌🪐💘🙈💌👀 4 the canonical ask game since u said you wanted it ~ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆Generous Anon⋆˚｡⁺⋆

youre a madman. you are. everything i have ever wanted. i'm doing this for both my s/i's because i just. i can. you are my hero.

SPANDAM

✍️: Overall, how does the fandom trait you? Are you a beloved character, or hated? Are you popular, or a minor side character? Anything in between?

Definitely more of a side character. There's a lot of uh. weird dudebros in the fandom that despise LQBTQIA+ characters so I feel like that group would hate them, while the fellow queers would probably find them pretty neat. Definitely more of a side character, all things considered.

🤪: What is your trait that fanon would exaggerate?

The autism. DEFINITELY the autism. Also, Pluto is genuinely devoted to her work as a cleaner, but I imagine that would be misinterpreted as “i love to clean!” Instead of “this is what I do, i’m just good at it.” If glossed over.

🥰: How would someone who loved you portray you?

I don't really know. People in the fandom use a lot of words for their faves. Great autistic rep? They/She icon? Tough ass underdog who deserves the world? I just... don't know. Very positively I imagine, with heavy emphasis on the less obvious bits of symbolism and story hints that are present? Probably loved by the over analyzers.

😡: How would someone who hated you portray you?

Annoying, failed tradwife material that was turned into a “stupid gay" who got written in to make Spandam less hateable, or getting in the way of other ships (this is incorrect)

🌦️: Would you be accompanied by mostly fluff or angst fanfics? Both? Explain why.

I feel like a mix of both? There's a lot of brutality and pain that can be grabbed from their backstory and youth, so it could go a number of ways depending on what's focused on.

🏷️: What is you and your f/o’s ship name?

I haven’t thought of this, myself! Pluspan? Spando? Coffeemops? Who knows. I imagine there would be a bunch.

❤️: How popular is you x your f/o? Are you a rarepair?

Considering Spandam isn’t a very popular character and there is already at least one minor fandom ship with him, not a rarepair since canon but probably not like, popular. A niche ship. Definitely a few specific superfans who churn out fanworks.

💞: Aside from with your f/o, who else would you commonly be shipped with? Why?

Probably Jabra, Kumadori or Fukurou, since there would be canonical flashbacks of them interacting with the three during her time in Enies Lobby, and she was friendly with them and able to handle their antics. Especially among the “they deserve better!” crowd.

☕️: What are the most common plots of shipping fics between you and your f/o?

I imagine a lot of fics would involve their time at Enies lobby and the happenings then. That and timeskips/post-ending fics, since there’s not a lot to work with between what would be given.

🛌: What tropes show up in fics involving your ship?

Definitely forbidden love, one sided pining and a lot of slow burn. I haven’t thought about this one much. OH, hurt-comfort and whump.

🪐: What would be your most popular AU and why?

Hear me out. Arranged marriage or royalty aus. I just feel it. I don’t know why, but it feels like those would be all over the place. Also! Aus where they stayed at Enies lobby during the actual arc and buster call, for maximum angst.

💘: Why would people love your ship? Why would people dislike your ship? How might it start debates?

People would love it for its nuance and deeper story that is hidden in the “show don’t tell” sort of presentation, as well as it being an unexpectedly healthy outcome. People would hate it because 1: spandam, 2: you gave the queer rep to spandam? 3: They deserve better

Debate wise oh my GOD I feel like somehow discourse would start from some dumb reason to call it problematic or the really weird new “two grown adults have an age gap” argument. (And no, I’m not referring to the very much questionable the middle aged man/woman creeping on a freshly 18 year old thing, that weird me out too.)

I think overall, they would have an older fanbase.

🙈: Why would your ship be thought of as cute/fluffy? Why would your ship be considered problematic?

I mean, this is Spandam. There will be people who will automatically see it as “he doesn’t deserve them” or with critically low media literacy, “him having a love interest is problematic”. Outside of that, I feel like the people who like it would see it as pretty wholesome and hopeful with the dynamics.

💌: How would your dynamic be portrayed? What might people focus on most? Any misconceptions?

I feel like the dynamics would be very easily misconstrued due to how... you know, shitty Spandam is in canon. Their relationship is strange and complex but healthy and structured, just contains a long winding road to get there. Mischaracterization of either would definitely lead to assumptions about the relationship. As for focuses, I feel like power dynamics would hold a big part.

👀: How does your ship with your f/o influence both of your characterisations and the world? Would there be any interesting metas written about your dynamic?

Spandam would definitely have more apologists thanks to their interactions, his overall characterization is definitely less brutal as his actions would have some more lore behind them and be less harsh due to the positive influence of Pluto, but he's still a huge shit. Meta wise, I feel like people would absolutely tear into Pluto's willingness to accommodate him and how that changes him as time goes on. On pluto's side, autism in relationships would be a big thing to analyze with the way they act.

OUGHHHH ITS DONE I'LL DO GULDO LATER

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

Thanks for the tag @branwendaughterofllyr

1. How many works do you have on ao3(or masterlist)? 20

2. What’s your total ao3 word count? 568,678

3. What fandoms do you write for? ASOIAF/F&B/HOTD and ROTE (Realm of the Elderlings)

4. Top five fics by kudos? All Kings Are Beautiful; Inside a Chrysalis, Writhing; Our Fathers Clad in Red; Sunlight and Air; Unbound and Infinite

5. Do you respond to comments? Yes! I might miss a few here or there, but I try to respond to most comments.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I think it's probably My Sister's Letter, a fic I wrote that takes place several decades after the end of Assassin's Fate

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Sunlight and Air, probably, my ROTE post F&F fix-it

8. Do you get hate on fics? I've gotten a few weird comments on All Kings Are Beautiful, mostly people being weird about me not writing Aegon as a hardass warrior. The most recent one was someone complaining that the fic shouldn't be tagged neutral because Rhaenyra doesn't become queen lol

9. Do you write smut? I have, occasionally, but it's not usually super explicit

10. Craziest crossover? I've never written any crossovers!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Nope!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Not that I know of!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes! Our Fathers Clad in Red is co-written with @aifsaath

14. All time favorite ship? Braime, probably. The rest of my ships are mostly rarepairs and crackships. RegalGold still has me in a chokehold, and of course my beloved Baegon.

15. What’s a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? All of my unfinished fics that are published I do plan to finish. I have a WIP in my drafts for a Fitzloved fic set during Fool's Assassin that I will probably never get to.

16. What are your writing strengths? Internality, dialogue, characterization.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Description. I can write good descriptions, but I'm more of a verbal person than a visual person. My co-writer often jokes that I'm the screenwriter and she's the director of photography.

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language? I tend to use italics and dialogue tags, unless the other characters aren't meant to understand what's being said.

19. First fandom you wrote in? Realm of the Elderlings, if you don't count the thinly veiled Star Trek knockoff I wrote when I was thirteen before I knew fanfic existed (pre-internet!)

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? Right now it's Our Fathers Clad in Red, but I'm also very proud of my Realm of the Elderlings Modern AUs. They're niche as fuck but I think they're fun.

no pressure tags: @aifsaath @dearlyfetching @theothermaidoftarth @inthedayswhenlandswerefew @tragediegh @whatevsbla @mellowthorn @spectrum-color

[daintyduck99]

Now every time I see a prompt list of yours I gotta prompt Bobby/Julie. A kiss on the corner of the mouth, plz?

Midterms are an excellent form of torture.

Bobby takes one look at her as she plops down heavily beside him in their favorite corner booth and snaps his laptop shut.

"You need chocolate. I'll bring you a croissant. You want your usual with it?"

She nods, and he's working his way around the table before she can even offer him her wallet. She bites down on a smile.

She'll get him next time. Maybe surprise him with some chicken adobo, just to see his eyes get adorably wide. Possibly, even, to witness one of his rare, full smiles.

He returns to their booth with half of one and a hefty tray, laden with her coffee and his tea and their baked goods and the fruit salad they rarely splurge for.

"We deserve a treat," he says before she can protest, sliding back into his spot and leaning towards her insistently. "Especially you. I know you sang your heart out for that vocal jury. And the week's not over. You're amazing, and I'm sure you're acing everything, but it'll be easier if you keep your energy up. Okay?"

She groans exaggeratedly, burying her face in her hands to hide her flush. He's so close, and all of the sincere praise is still ringing in her ears, although it's nearly drowned out by the pounding of her heart.

"Okay, dad. Thank you."

"Unlike our friends, I'm not big on TMI, but I'm not into that. Just so you know."

Julie nearly chokes.

"I don't know how anyone thinks you're not funny," she manages, taking a much-needed sip of her coffee.

Bobby shrugs. "No idea. I'm hilarious."

She laughs a little, smothering the sound with a bite of her chocolate croissant. He was right; it's exactly what she needs, flaky and filling and sweet. By the time they're finished with their food, the world seems a little brighter. A little more obtainable.

It wasn't the food, though, not really.

She can't resist giving him a soft smile.

"Seriously, Bobby. Thank you."

There's the moon eyes, round and shining. He clears his throat and looks away.

"You've got some chocolate on your face."

Of course she does. She groans again, hurriedly wiping at her mouth.

"Did I get it?"

He drags his gaze back to her lips.

It lingers, this time.

"No."

Her hand shakes as she raises it to her face. She hesitates.

"Maybe I should just—"

He wraps his fingers around her wrist and leaves a gentle, fleeting kiss at the corner of her mouth.

It lights her nerves on fire, and she turns her head to let their lips meet squarely, tenderly. Her fingers work their way into his, and she feels it when he fully smiles, which leaves her warm from head to toe.

"I got it," he murmurs, still wearing that smile, and she lets out a breathless laugh, laying their joined hands on the table.

"I'm not thanking you again."

He cocks his head. "Maybe I am into that."

She's out of quips, but that's okay. She's got a new option—

Kiss him again.

[six-demon-bag]

omggg im gonna die sitting on this fic im only halfway its not even that long but it feels like ill never be able to shareeee 😩

really really really wanna share this wip with the like. three people who might like it, but i have once again banned myself from posting unfinished works even if i'm actively writing them

[bitterfrosts]

For the shipping meme: Would you share your lanlan and songning thoughts with the class?

Ohohoho!!!! Those are my sleeper agent code words!

In my view for both of these, it’s quite a lot of “this person is the only person who understands what I’m going through”. That person is: Song Lan.

On the LanLan side: there’s quite a bit obviously to parallel. Both have lost people that they can never get back, even through reincarnation. Xiao Xingchen’s soul is so broken he removed himself from the cycle of rebirth entirely and both jiggy and nmj are trapped in that coffin so dead or alive or reanimated or what else have you, they’re gone. A huge chunk of what makes both so tragic is that aside from each other, in terms of having someone who can comfort you and knows what you’re going through? They’re alone. And for both of them at the ends of their respective stories it’s by choice!!!!! Song Lan goes off with xxc and aq’s souls and just… leaves! He could go anywhere and accompany anyone, and chose not to. There’s an interesting element of “walking off to his doom” present that makes the whole thing even worse. Lxc chooses seclusion and never comes out. This is, again, also by choice. I think from a meta standpoint, the only thing that could get him to come out is a heart to heart with Song Lan. Much as the twin jades love each other, Wangji can’t help him. I do honestly think the only way either of them could really move on is to move on together.

For SongNing, the thing that song lan understands is being a fierce corpse. And on a surface level it seems like a shallow comparison but it really isn’t. We Ning may have been initially created out of distress and wanting him back, but it does not change that before the timeskip and Wei wuxian’s character development, wen ning fills the same niche that sl filled with xy. He’s a tool. A beloved one, but a tool nonetheless. Wei Wuxian can protest much as he likes, but his actions have him used that way. There’s something very isolating about the idea that everyone you live is gone and you will outlive them not because of cultivated immortality but because you’ve been made into an abomination. You will always be permanently “othered” and ordinary people will always (somewhat justifiably) be afraid of them. Fierce corpses are dangerous! And the average person might not have the luxury of double checking to see if they’re sentient or not before having to run away. For wen ning, song lan is an opportunity for a companion that both understands him and won’t fear him.

Anyway we love parallels in this house 🥹

I’d do the questions but I’m too rambly about them also both are rarepairs so I’m not sure any option on either would have an element of “unpopular?” So yeah 🤍

[thatgirlwithasquid]

tag game: stranger things edition 👻

tagged by @ratbastardbilly and @intothedysphoria (ty guys xx)

1. ride or die ship (your otp): CUNNINGWAY!!! They’re my girls. Chrissy and Heather my beloveds. I have never been so hyped for a ship before and this is the first time I’ve put this much effort into one, but if I don’t advocate for this rarepair then who will? (the answer is bambi. bambi will. but whatever, you get the point)

2. most annoying ship: there isn’t really a ship i find WHOLLY annoying. stancy maybe. i also think jancy and mileven have ran their course and jopper gives me a lil bit of the ick. obvi no hate to the ships or those that ship it!!

3. second favourite ship: ima have to say harringrove, but there are others i like a lot too!!

4. favourite platonic relationship: heather, chrissy & billy. the chaos trio. more should be done with them <3

5. underrated ship: there are so many!! argyle/chrissy (which i am lovingly referring to as pompompinapple, just try and stop me)? byergrove (billy/jonathan)? calicheer (billy/chrissy)??? how can i possibly choose????

6. overrated ship: uhhhh this feels dangerous. but steddie. dont get me wrong, i love this ship, but the boom in works for them was INSANE cause i dont think they have TOO MUCH chemistry in canon (tho there 100% is a good bit and it makes sense)

7. one thing i would change in canon: the blatant lack of care the main cast have for characters outside their group. no empathy for billy, barely anyone looking into heather, characters dying that no one mentions again…

8. something canon did right: I really liked steve and dustin’s dynamic. like, a LOT. they cocked it up a bit in s4 for the sake of ‘haha, dumb steve’ but yeah. theyre sweet :)

9. a thing i’m proud of creating for the fandom: my sideblog @poolsidepanic . i know that its a niche ship but i hope i help other people who love them as much as me actually be able to enjoy their ship and not just… be disappointed when they come up empty handed. the art and little fics and such i make over there make me so happy <3

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldnt change a thing): heather. sassy, bitchy, yet kindhearted lifeguard? yes. the only thing id change is the DISSERVICE THE DUFFERS GAVE HER WHEN THEY KILLED HER AND IGNORED HER EXISTENCE.

11. the character i relate most to the most and why: steve. just how he responds to the offhanded comments the people he cares about make to him, that they never seem to realise hurt.

12. character i hate most and why: neil, karen, brenner. no explanation needed

13. something ive learned from the fandom: idk. ive always wanted to be a positive person but seeing some of the toxicity in the fandom has made me really want to keep my little blog as positive and safe as i can for everyone. some things we see SUCK but if i can make someones day a lil better id like to? so not really a learn but an encouragement to be nicer wherever i can

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: i dont read a lot of st fanfiction, actually. i havent been in the mood for it for AGES!! but in general im a slow burn, hurt/comfort, angst kind of person. i love the occasional, agonising right person not enough time or some character bashing for the sake of compelling suffering (if done right!!!)

15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: ooooh fun!!! ‘Groan’, ‘Wet’ and ‘Maggot’ by Dazey and the Scouts are so Billy. ‘Drunk Walk Home’ by Mitski gives me Chrissy vibes, and ‘Maggot’ again for her tbh (billy and chrissy, my sad beloved blorbos). there arent any songs i associate with cunningway yet tho 😔

tagging: @bigdumbbambieyes @hargrove-mayfields @billyhargrovesupsidedownshadow @every-dayiwakeup and anyone else interested in sharing :)

[deafeninggardenerpanda]

if we’ve covered some red flags, what are some of your green flag ships? like of those “fuck yesssssss” ones that you really enjoy

AYO SELF CARE HOURSSSSSS. i do genuinely like talking about the controversial ships but thank you for the positive vibes anon! love that

under the cut, just because the post is a little long:

actually im not super into shipping i think? i definitely value being able to imagine a dynamic for even the nichest pairings and have a lot of fun stretching or emphasizing certain parts of each characters' personalities to get them to work the best while opening up the potential for some development on each characters' side (thats exactly why im doing the ship bingo! its a ton of fun!), but theres very few things i actually like. Ship beyond surface level thoughts tbh. and recently the things i actually do ship have gotten increasingly niche. so enjoy this ramble that mostly pertains to specifically me and only me LMAO /lh

metadede ofc is the big one. not niche obviously. extremely beloved by me hiiiiiiiiii. they just have so much to work with in canon it makes so many varied interpretations which are a blast to see honestly. in general i love seeing how people portray their friendship too. an idiot whos smart to smart guy whos an idiot communication. enemies to friends to lovers..... their personalities bounce off of each other really well and the content the community makes is always a+. actually im going to take the opportunity to share my favorite mtdd fic ever. this is like pretty much peak metadede to me if anyone wants to know what i hope my personal interpretation will live up to [link!]

people might be able to tell ive been getting very into dametaberge. oh my god im so insane. no one look at me. dmk+jambacult found family Real. i have like three comics in my drafts for them. its mostly dametaberge thoughts rn but i like to think susie joins them later to make a poly ship. dmk and susie are a little tense at first but susie is, "like so over her knight phase," as she says, which dmk is extremely conflicted about whether to be offended or relieved at. and then they learn how to relax around each other and are always the two in the relationship to have awful destructive ideas, which flamberge vetos or approves of on a case by case basis. they get very happy and excited when flamberge approves of their awful plans

and of course my beloved gsa ships.............. theres falsgato which i am incredibly insane about thanks to my friend dragging me into it and now its a thing in my animeverse. enemies to friends to lovers I KEEP SAYING IM SO WEAK FOR THAT. dragato was a huge asshole to falspar for Various reasons regarding the nature of the gsa and perhaps dragatos own personal insecurity, but once they lost the war they got to bond since dragato like, realized how little the shit he antagonized falspar for actually mattered in the first place. and falspars a guy who really sees the best in people and ahahahghdjk its a whole thing its a whole thing i wont go into it rn LOL

theres also metarthur which is my very very beloved longtime rarepair. which i um. uh. ahahahah............. i get very slightly nervous talking about on main because a lot of people hc arthur as meta knights dad or parental figure but i shouldnt be nervous about hc differences really....... anyways theyre supposed to be like parallels of each other. people who are opposites thematically (arthur being leader of the gsa; mk being a former deeply infamous demon beast) who find themselves in similar positions in that they both kinda struggle with their sense of purpose vs their sense of self. meta knight sees his past struggles in arthur and so he finds himself drawn to him. he cant really Solve his situation, but (during their war-time relationship specifically) he hopes to offer some solace to him which functions as a form of catharsis to mk himself too. the two get to connect and understand each other in a unique way. i wont get too into this one right now either lol since the dynamic changes a lot depending on if its their during-war relationship or post-war relationship but theres the basics. i have a comic expanding on their general relationship in my drafts too but its at the bottom of my to-do list tbh. maybe someday though

im only into this one casually nowadays but morphogala... you really cant go wrong with "knight of death saves the greatest warrior in the galaxy from their torturous fate". something something the themes of wishing for the release of death being subverted into yes, death itself releasing you but in a way that actually Saves and rescues you instead. the hope and love in spite of all of the hopelessness AHHHHGH the themes of this one make me so weak. theres so much potential...... i really love this one on an aesthetic level too

you know i take my comment on "not super into shipping" back i think my multishipper ass has disillusioned myself into thinking being insane about like 4-5 ships isnt enough or isnt the norm. maybe i am insane about shipping......... oops

ships that make my thumbs up list in that i like them in concept but dont ship myself would be: marxolor; any of wave 3 x each other tbh. i have them as just besties in my hcs but paired up in any way is very fun; i kinda like shadow metadede but im really particular about the dynamic of that one; fransoos gets a very big thumbs up from me for themes and concept+enemies/rivals to lovers; metagala is. i dont super get it myself but the aesthetics alone are absolutely on-point enough to put this one in the thumbs up category. yayyyyyyy. im sure theres more that im missing but i think that covers any that arent too niche

[trippedandfell]

Hi! So since I saw your hockey rpf fic ref list months ago, I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole I never expected lol (I’m so not a sports person but I now know way more about hockey than I ever thought I would 😂) Anyway I was just wondering if you had any more hockey rpf recs? And because I love your buddies fics, I was wondering if you would ever write any hockey fics (and if so, what pairing?) Thank you!! 😊

i cannot believe this is my brand now but i do, in fact, have more recs for you!! happy to contribute to the 911 to hrpf pipeline 🫡

i fell down a rabbit hole of ao3 user gareth’s carter/nick fics lately, which are all based on approximately one (1) tiny interaction and are all wonderful. some favourites include:

this one, which i’d recommend starting with both for a fun plot and for a good background on who these blorbos actually are

this lawyers au, which made me feel like i needed to breathe into a paper bag to calm down after finishing it

this olympics au

this mandalorian au, featuring baby gritty

continuing on with niche ships featuring current/former flyers, i’ve been reading a lot of raffbee, which is just. the most fun relationship dynamic. recs include:

this one, aka the fallout of accidentally kissing your rookie on the lips

hoodie sharing my beloved

a fuckign fantastic space au, because i’m a sucker for those

some other great ones i’ve read lately:

i’ve already reblogged this one individually, but i haven’t been able to stop thinking about this mattdrai fic since i first read it

this jamie/trevor frat au, which is just a fun time

this tk/nolan one, which sent me into an existential crisis on new years eve

this very very fun, very very rarepair tinder au

happy reading!