dark-tovver

[spacedace]

Been doing a plot overhaul of Ghosts of Gotham and the time line is getting wild but at least I have the general vibes of each of the four big plot lines figured out:

(shoutout to Brennan Lee Mulligan's portrayl of Tula on Burrow's End for making me realize what Dan's story was gonna be lol)

[hauntedeanwinchester]

wow writing two dean's together in scenes in a fanfic is really fucking hard. why did i do this to myself again???????

[spinner-of-yarns]

well. bad omens is officially the longest thing i’ve ever written. and it’s still not fucking done.

[novella-november]

Novella November 2024 Announcement Post

Hate AI, but love writing challenges?

Want to take part in a global, fun project to write a Novella in one month?

Grab some friends, and take part in Novella November, by writing 1,000 words a day for the month of November, ending with a 30,000 word Novella to test and stretch your novel-writing skills!

Your goal is not perfection, but merely getting into the habit of writing a litte bit every single day :D

No website, no sign-ups -- Just a community initiative to write using only your own word!

What are the rules? Just Three so far!

#1 - No AI

#2 - No Plagiarizing

#3 - Wordcount for the month should only come from what you write during the month.

What does that mean?

Only words written during November should go towards your Wordcount for the month... but! Feel free to use your 30k words as a continuation of previous writing, or just make it the first 30k words in a longer novel!

Don't think you can write a whole entire 30k word story? Write a series of short stories that total up to 30k!

Not ready to write original works yet? Write a 30k word fanfiction that you can post after the month is over!

Share your writing experience, tips, encouragement, and questions in the #Novella November tag!

---

EDIT, from the tags: Want a progress tracker? Track your progress with TrackBear!

https://trackbear.app/

Don't have a word processor? Use LibreOffice , the free and open-source alternative to Microsoft Word!

Want to organize/storyboard your Novel and don't want to pay a subscription? Try 7writer by Simon Haynes!

Want to be able to listen to your story aloud for proofreading using TTS (text to speech)? Try Balabolka!

Or, create some custom progress / Goal Cards in advance you can fill out as you reach word goals! For ideas and templates, search this blog for "goal cards" :D

Want to do a writing challenge in more than just November? Check out my ideas here for year round challenges to keep you writing consistently! Got feedback? Send it in, I'd love to see everyone's ideas!

---

EDIT 2: I almost forgot to mention, if you are unable to write/type your story, you can also narrate/dictate your story to your preferred recording device!

If you're doing a Recording only and it doesn't automatically generate a transcript, it would obviously be hard to judge the word count -- but you're also working with a lot of obstacles, so I'd say if you're able to complete your story via voice recording from start to finish, you've definitely achieved the goal!

Edit #3: added the title "Novella November 2024 announcement post" to the top to make it more standard with my Ominous October and Drabble December posts (will be updating Outline October shortly) , added "Official Announcement Post 2024" to the tags so people can easily find the monthly events for 2024, and added a bit of bold to the third bullet point in the original post from September 2nd 2024 for emphasis.

[pilots-and-protons]

I really want to start posting chapters of my WIP Tom/Harry/B’Elanna fanfic (featuring Tom whump of course), but I seem to keep going back and adding/changing bits and pieces of earlier parts.

I don’t want to have to retroactively fix already posted chapters because I realized something was missing or not working right, but I also want to let people start reading it.... 😭

[galateaknife]

Supernatural Wincest Reclist:

All stories here are over (roughly) 30k words, written before 2020, not frequently recommended these days (as far as I can tell), unearthed from various storage areas on my computer, and end with Sam and Dean together.

Please mind any tags and author-written descriptions.

If a story says (podfic available) underneath it, that means that I have a copy of the podfic. Feel free to dm me for a file.

I hope you find something new to enjoy here!

Under my skin by yourkidney. ~31k words. Post-S1. Ghost-induced mind meld.

https://yourkidney.livejournal.com/27595.html

(podfic available)

Chains of Babylon by poisontaster. ~43k words. Post-S1 futurefic. Dean is trapped in an evil mental institution.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/5721952

(podfic available)

Turn of the Wheel series by gekizetsu. ~111k words. Vague S2. There’s a war between the elements, and Sam and Dean get caught in the crossfire.

https://amalthia.mediawood.org/ebooks/viewstory.php?sid=127

This is Ourselves (Under Pressure) by clex_monkie89. ~30k words. Post 2x12. On the run from the FBI.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/230040

(podfic available)

The Things We Carry With Us by lovesrain44. ~48k words. Late S2. Dean thinks that Sam needs to get laid.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/267862

(if anyone has a copy of this podfic lmk, I lost mine a couple laptops ago.)

Black Velocities and Shining Movements by dimeliora. ~40k words. Late S2 AU. Sam is seriously injured, and something is seriously wrong.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19454164

Swear By All Flowers by sweetestdrain. ~37k words. Post-S2. Sam’s out of the game, and Dean is cursed.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18507

(podfic available)

Crush by sonofabiscuit77. ~61k words. AU from mid S3. Partially outsider POV. Dean owns a mechanic shop and Sam teaches.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/826173

(if anyone has a copy of this podfic, I’ve lost mine)

Threefold Path series by rei_c. ~182k words. Alternate end to S3. Sam gets Dean out of his deal. It changes everything.

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1581844

I’d Gladly Lose Me To Find You by flawedamythyst. ~36k words. Post S3. Sam makes a vow of silence to save his brother.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/2215497

(podfic available)

And So Awakens Devils by concernedlily. ~59k words. Alternate S4. Sam ends the world.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/190731

Not Time’s Fool by FayJay. ~58k words. Mid S4. Dean gets turned into a girl.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/4720

(I’ve also lost my copy of this podfic and would appreciate another copy)

The incestuous courtship of the antichrist’s bride by fleshflutter. ~48k words. Post-S4 AU. A classic.

https://fleshflutter.livejournal.com/102268.html

(podfic available)

As Through a Glass and Darkly by lexicale. ~118k words. Preseries and S1-5 AU with Hindu mythology instead of Christian.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/524025/chapters/927238

Hidden by AxeMeAboutAxinomancy. ~79k words. S6 Daemon!AU. Sam’s back from hell but daemon is missing.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/9488537

(podfic available)

Tornado Warning by dear_tiger. ~28k words. Early S6. Sam is walking around without a soul, and a man with no memory gets a job at a butcher shop.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/475602

Choir of Furies by Atanih88. ~32k words. Late S6. Sam’s wall has sprung a leak.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/221544

(podfic available)

Another Brick in the Wall by road_rhythm. ~170k words. Late S6. Sam disappears. Dean searches for him. Sam tries to survive.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/3207755

The Allegory of the Cave by Jay Tryfanstone. ~36k words. Post-S6. Memories and emotions and a hunt in New York City.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/488058

(podfic available)

Absolute Zero by pixymisa and selecasharp. ~61k words. Post-S8 AU. Sam closed the gates of Hell, and now he can’t die and can’t wake up.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/4156011

Sam Winchester’s Guide to Blood Magic, or How the Rockies Were Made by badbastion, thursdaysisters. ~46k words. S9AU. The apocalypse everyone forgot.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/4147914

(podfic available)

The Partisan by nigeltde. ~39k words. Mid S9. Post-Gadreel claustrophobia and restlessness.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/2049891

The Babel Fish Has Forsaken Us by orphan_account (indiachick). ~34k words. Late S9 AU. Phantasmagoria.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/2146206

a long hard day, a long hard night by deadlybride. ~39k words. Post-S9. Dean’s body disappeared. Sam gets him back.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16475585

Apophenia by MeltinSkelton. ~149k words. S10 or thereabouts. There’s a hunt and human evil in a town by Austin. Mutual pining and fever dreams, with a side of pining Cas.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17274647/chapters/40624721

Baba O’Riley and Eleanor Rigby walk into a bar by thecapn. ~33k words. The only non-hunting AU I’m likely to ever recommend.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27906127

Captured by the Game by rivkat. ~54k words. Raised apart AU. Azazel sends Sam to gain the confidence of Dean Winchester.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1389

(podfic available)

[adhd-fandom-hyperfocus]

Do you ever wake up so riled over a topic your brain decided to fester on while you were sleeping? Well I'm experiencing that and I'm going to just let it out here:

I cannot tell if people dislike Guilliman because they don't realize Ward is gone or are still on the Ultramarine hate train because of Ward. And yes I get not everyone will like a character I totally get that.

However, I cannot notice an interesting occurrence with Guilliman with what is going on in current events. Roboute is making some, maybe not terrible choice, but some that are incredibly side-eye worthy. Forcing the 500 back under Astartes rule again among them. And I get it, even I was like, "Bobby, what are you doin'?"

And yes it was written as like the ones resisting weren't overly the best, however! This is Guilliman, this is a man who saw a son of his who became the founding leader of the Nova Marines get censured for running tests to see how to defeat other Astartes, and guess what? It was needed.

Guilliman saw how close and far they were from the dream in 30k. Saw that he and his brothers aren't infallible. That the Emperor wasn't.

And yet in 40k he is walking this path where you want to shake him sometimes and go "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Frankly, I'm glad. Because let's be real if this was Ward, Guilliman wouldn't be making these choices, or the people nobles and such in question would be so mustache twirlingly even you would roll your eyes at them eating puppies.

And Another reason I like it, is because I feel this is an unspoken reaction to his fear and depression. Many of the books show the Primarchs have emotions, very real ones and they sometimes ramp up to 11. But because of how they were made it shows differently. Hel, even Dorn had to have fear explained to him, and then it was like, "Oh...I'm afraid" even then it was channeled differntly.

Guilliman is the jokes aside, the smart analytical brother, and fear and depression isn't something you can just sort away easily if at all. So what does he do because he's scared? Because woke up to an Imperium he can't fathom. That has people looking at him with fanatical eroticism? His creator going from calling him a thing, to suddenly saving him and calling him son? He tries to gain control so he can feel safe. Get control so he make sure it goes right. This is his fear showing itself and it's, well, human.

Jokes aside man is going through it, and no he isn't handling all the things in the best way, and it's terrifying because he is a demigod, whether or not he likes it. I am just glad he's not being perfect. And now I know this is Grimdark, but let a hopeful romantic dream. With the great character growth Lion is having, maybe Lion can be the one to help Guilliman calm back down and reign in his need for control to help him get through his fears.

Maybe this is how the bring Corvus back completely. Corvus seemed to understand greatly the betrayal of Horus had on baseline humans and what they as Primarchs were truly. Like the brothers who are alive and are coming back, help each other not make the same mistakes, and better yet, be better than their creator. Mostly because it would allow for some dangling plot stuff floating around to be used over "And here is Heresy 2.0"

Anyhow, thanks for reading, and if you just don't like the big Blueberry I get it, and that's fine. I just needed to get this off my chest.

[swifty-fox]

yo you post your fics on AO3? if so please share your user babe

omg yes I do! you can check my swiftywrites tag but

Masters of the Air:

Kingdom for a Kiss - 104k Long-form Postwar exploration of Clegan's relationship and their trauma. Explicit.

Gale takes a deep breath to compose himself, tucks the jagged angry edges of himself back to face inwards. “You said you would write.”

understanding in a plane crash: WIP (5 parter, three parts up) Prequel fic to Kfak, as told from John Brady's perspective as a POW

“The thing you can't quite put your finger on about DeMarco,” He says, “is that you want him to fuck you til you cry. Sorry to spoil the game for you.”

Brady stares at him and stares at him, alone in the Base’s Chapel and rosary halfway finished. He thinks he might throw up, or maybe strangle Curt Biddick and then throw up.

“Lock it up, Johnny, they’re gonna see you bleeding it all over soon.”

press your tired hands against my lips darling: Finished. 3K word re-write of the Bucks final conversation in the cockpit. Loose prequel to KfaK but with some minor inaccuracies Mostly SFW

Gale takes John's hand, brings the scarred knuckles to his mouth and holds it there, turns their hands over til he can place his lips to the pulse point at John’s wrist. It’s not a kiss, there’s no press or pursing of lips, but tender nevertheless, intimate in a way that makes Gale shudder. Cautious of whether John will even allow this.  

“I ain’t prayed in a long time,” Gale says whisper-soft. He feels John’s pulse skip a beat, “but I prayed every day you were safe and alive and coming back to me. Every morning, and every night.”  He lets himself cry again, tears hidden against the scarred skin of John's hand. 

Little Beast: Ongoing. Porn with a bit of Plot modern au of Burnout John and Priest Gale. total of 30k of them fucking and arguing. Three Parts so far. NSFW to the max

“It’s such a shame you’re cooped up in here like Rapunzel there Buck.” John drawls lazily. He makes a show of looking around “Is Mother Gothel nearby?” 

Buck has to fight back against another smile, wouldn't give him the satisfaction or the encouragement “Father Huglin is away at a conference today.”

“All alone without a chaperone.” 

The Old Guard:

in another life maybe you and i would be walking down an aisle in white: Finished Joe/Nicky (18K) Art Professor Joe & Art Conservator Nicky reconnect after ten years. This one is uh. Sad. Mind the tags. It's an incredibly personal piece to me and probably one of my favorites .NSFW

Dear Joe, you have always been the brave one and I wished every moment for even a drop of that. Perhaps that is why I claimed you as mine, out of a desperate need to have even an ounce of what made you, you. I desired you but I would not, could not ever let you in. I loved you and kept you and hurt you, keelhauled you against the impenetrable ship that was my heart and when the ragged pieces were left behind I still asked of you your silence.  

It is no wonder our love was left in bloody tatters on that lawn. 

Make me a Saint: Finished (8k) Nicky and Nile mete out some justice to a corrupt priest. NSFW for violence. Mind the tags. As of right now, my most popular fic

“ I was a priest before your bible was even written old man ” Nickys voice thunders in the tiny room, crackling over the walls like fire. Even Nile flinches at the sudden volume. He takes another step forwards, bracketing Father Marcus’ arthritic twisted feet with his own.

His voice does not shake.

“I preached the word of God before your language was even invented . I have known the church for longer than you can comprehend. I have seen great men and evil men take up the word of the Lord and I have seen them all rendered dust. I have seen you and I have judged you, Father Marcus. The Church may practice restraint but I do not. The diocese may have turned a blind eye I but I do not. The courts may have found you innocent but I do not . 

Calcification of a God: Finished (4K) Nicky has a lil Menty B and then Joe gives him a bath. Mostly SFW if I recall correctly

“I think,” Nicky says “If I were God, it was you I modeled humanity after. I think if I were God I would have left my throne in heaven to walk beside you and I would have been richer for it”

Yusuf chuckles “Death makes you sentimental my darling.”

Wolfstar:

Oh Captain, My Captain!: Finished, 1.6k Drabble of Wolfstar cuddling and reciting poetry. SFW

He cups the back of Remus’s head, presses him further into the safety of his body with a hand on his mismatched, misaligned rib cage and rocks them slightly. Remus grunts slightly. Sirius hides the teeth of his smile against the follow of his own neck and allows the curtain of his hair to cover them both for a moment. He listens to the two of them breath, always slightly out of sync, out of rhythm. Remus quick and labored, Sirius racing to catch up only to find himself charging ahead only to drop back behind when he tries to slow down. 

“ If I vibrate with vibrations other than yours, must you conclude that my flesh is insensitive ” That doesn’t fit quite right, so he tries another, brow furrowed and fingers tracing the knobs of Remus’ spine like the knots on a tree, with reverence and a little hint of greed. 

[sulfurousdreamscapes]

How I Hacked My Short Story Brain into Developing a Novel

I promised I'd make this post, so here it is, but with a proper title and everything so that it'll be more generally helpful to other writers.

Regulars of this blog have probably noticed that I've struggled a lot with long-form fiction over the years, despite having churned out a library's worth of short fiction.

This time though, things are coming together, and it's because I've got a technique down that plays to my strengths as a short story writer.

Step 1: Outline and Draft Something

After writing and abandoning several outlines for my WIP Last Night, New Body, I finally set one in stone and wrote a draft for it this January.

The rough, first, skeleton draft was 30,000 words long - far from ideal, but better than nothing. It was tough, but I got it done in two months.

Step 2: Read Through and Take Notes

Next, I read through the draft and took notes on how I thought the novel could be improved. This included notes on plot, characters, and setting. The notes were all taken in a spread sheet in the following format:

Page Number -> Note Title -> Description -> Category

The 'Note Title' could be something witty or referential, but it has to be short, like the name of an achievement in a video game. So for example, it could be:

23 -> Enemy at the Gates -> Why does Nadia shut the door when she sees that Rhea has come to visit? -> Character

I took these notes freely, writing down any point that I thought could be changed, expanded, removed, or otherwise mused.

Once I was done with these notes, the question arose: what the hell do I do with these notes?

Step 3: Treat the Notes As Writing Prompts

This step is in-progress at the moment, but I'm halfway through it already! The idea is to take each note and write 500 words for it.

This comes naturally to me because I've written hundreds upon hundreds of flash fiction pieces for my blog, each one targetted for 500 words. This means I'm now developing the novel 500 words at a time, based on the notes I took while reading through the skeleton draft.

The process has been beautifully productive so far, and I've come up with so much detail, so many new scenes, and better developed characters. My next draft will be assuredly be much longer than the 30k words I got down before.

So how long will this take? That depends on how many notes you take. I initially took 72 notes, but I've found that as the story develops and changes, I've had to "delete" many notes because they became redundant or irrelevant. I say delete in quotes because I've actually moved them to a 'recycle bin' sheet of sorts, so that I can retrieve them later if I deem them important after all.

Next Steps? Outline and Draft the Thing

I'm generating a lot of meat for the skeleton draft, and I'm dying to put that meat on the bones. To do that, I plan on first constructing a very detailed outline, including as much detail from the expanded notes (the 500-word pieces) as possible.

This done, I'll write the 'flesh draft' while referencing both this outline and the skeleton draft. As excited as I am for this, I do anticipate this process to be difficult, so I might find a way to divide it into small, short story sized chunks as well.

Then come the edits and everything else. We'll cross those bridges when we get there.

[ravenwilds]

Merthur fic recs for my @merlinbingo square H2 'enemies to lovers'

This is one of my favourite tropes and I have loved re-reading some of these fics while putting these recs together. My recs are all smutty, some very smutty, but I guess that's kinda what I love about this trope :))

World Enough and Time by alicephantomwise

Explicit; 19K; posted 2021; modern au

This is one of my very favourite Merlin fics. They are both expert assassins on opposite sides, with a slight age difference - the dynamic between them is so perfect and Arthur is so besotted with Merlin and the angst is so gorgeous. Can't recommend this enough. The summary and tags don't really sell it but it is so worth reading!

Arthur had had it all figured out. And then Merlin shot him in Beijing.

six months, four days by merelydovely

Explicit; 5.5K; posted 2021; modern with magic

This was gifted to me for the 2021 Glompfest and I love it so much! So much story and world building, great characterisation, very very hot! Merlin is a leader of the magical resistance tasked with seducing Arthur to enable one of their plans

“As long as it’s not my idiot brother,” says Morgana, making a face. “I dunno,” says Merlin, eyeing the headshot labeled 'Arthur Pendragon'. “Magic-hater or not, he’s quite fit.” The Resistance movement needs an in with a member of an elite anti-magic task force. Merlin ends up far more entangled than he'd planned.

Sweet Retribution by SPowell

Explicit; 30K; posted 2012; modern au; dub-con

The whole premise of this fic is non-con/dub-con - Arthur is contracted to Merlin by Uther in order to save his business. In that context the fic is actually very sweet overall (but not sweet at all in places) and both characters go on a huge emotional journey, especially Merlin, and the shift in how Merlin thinks about himself and Arthur over time is brilliantly written. Features a great Merlin and Will friendship too. It may be too dark for some and it doesn't have many tags so if you want to know more about it before trying it feel free to DM me

Merlin hates the wealthy. A perfect opportunity to purge himself of his feelings of helplessness against them comes in the form of the young Arthur Pendragon.

Excalibur Hotel and Casino by rubyjayne

Mature; 3.2K; posted 2021; modern au

The hottest kiss on AO3 - big claim I know but it lives up to it. Such excellent 1:1 vibes with Merlin being a little shit and Arthur full of arrogant swagger *fans self*

“You just coughed, deliberately.” The man clenches his jaw, a look of genuine irritation on his face, and Merlin can’t help but roll his eyes. “Admit it.”  “Bravo, jackass, you caught me,” Merlin deadpans, slightly pissed now. “No fooling you, huh?” The iconic 5x12 tavern scene, but Merlin meets Arthur at a casino in Las Vegas.

My Significant Bother by Leandra

Explicit; 96K; posted 2021; modern royal au

I love all Leandra's fics and this one is a modern royalty au with such good snark and friction turning to feelings and affection between Merlin and Arthur - the fake boyfriends with benefits phase is so hot

Merlin's job as PR junior on the royal account isn't as glamorous as people believe: Most nights, he's saving Arthur, Duke of York and black sheep of the family, from possibly committing monarchy-shattering shenanigans... Roped into posing as Arthur's fake boyfriend, he's supposed to make Arthur's popularity levels rise with his steadfast and relatable presence and elevate him from scandalous rake to romantic figure...

This Is Not What I Came for (It's Better) by GeekLover

Explicit; 56K; posted 2016; modern sports au

An Olympics AU is perfect for enemies to lovers, right? In this one they are both gymnasts who do not like each other. Until they do ;-) Gaius is the unsung hero of this fic, trying to deal with them both

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Great Britain's men's gymnastics is ready to work together to win gold, except two members can't get along. When Merlin & Arthur get caught on camera fighting like idiots, Gaius comes up with a solution to knock some sense into them. Merlin and Arthur have to share a room and decide if what they have in common outweighs their major differences.

Just Can't Get Enough by Ravenwilds

Explicit; 1.7k; posted 2024; mob/mafia au

And a bonus self-rec - it's a hate sex mob/mafia AU and more enemies to fuck-buddies than enemies to lovers but I was happy with how it turned out

“There’s no need to be pissy. I’ll go if you want me to.” Arthur paused. “If that is what you really want.” “Yes, it's what I want,” Merlin spat back. “Or do you want my knee in your balls again?” “I want your face in my balls and you fucking want it there too, sweetheart,” Arthur replied.

[avelera]

Devastating. I went back and reread what I’ve got of my weird unpublished Thorin genderfuckery WIP (where Thorin is kidnapped by Thranduil after the BOTFA and kept prisoner until Bilbo goes looking for Thorin in Mirkwood, then Thranduil gives Thorin the chance to leave with Bilbo but only after Thorin gets magically disguised as a hobbit woman and Thranduil will only let him go if Thorin can convince Bilbo to rescue this random hobbit woman who is actually him instead, so there’s tons of disguised Thorin learning how much Bilbo cares about him, not knowing it’s really him, and anyway it’s convoluted ok but I still love it in all its fairytale genderfuckery nonsense) that I started, like, ten years ago and have never fully been able to get out of my head.

Unfortunately, it’s now officially from so far back in my writing career that there’s like… two scenes that I like well enough as is, without a substantial rewrite, but I can see all the ways I’d do it different now and a lot of the rest is incoherent or from all around the place in the chronology.

In theory, out of the 25k words I’ve written there’s probably 10k I’d save in a new draft of the fic that would probably be at least 30k. At this point it probably would be faster to just start it over with all the lessons I’ve learned about writing since or, more likely, it will just languish forever because I’ve moved on from the Hobbit fandom and YET… man sometimes I just can’t get that fic out of my head and I really wish it was in a state where I could just finish it quickly and put it out into the world…

[katy-l-wood]

Beta Search

I'm looking for a beta (or a few) for my new book who is willing to read it in chunks as I get them done. The book is heavily based around wildland firefighting, and that's something I know enough about that I don't know what isn't common knowledge anymore, so I'm looking for someone that knows nothing or next to nothing about wildland firefighting and can point out anything that's confusing to the average person. (Other feedback is also welcome! That's just the one main thing I know I need to get checked right off the bat, lol.)

These are three of the major characters. Left to right we've got:

Theo: second in command of his family's private wildland firefighting company, The Torch Crew, which was started in the fifties by his grandfather. Doing his best to keep the company alive despite the mismanagement of his much older second cousin who currently owns and runs it. Definition of "he a little confused but he got the spirit" queer ally.

Maddie: Theo's best friend. Trans woman. Takes no shit and is trying very hard to get Theo to stop taking his second cousin's shit. Very good at cutting down very scary trees and making it look easy. Lives by the mantra of "not my monkeys, not my circus" as much as possible, but when she jumps in she jumps IN.

Andreas: Main character. Asexual. 20 years old. College dropout who only joined the family firefighting company because he didn't know what else to do with himself. Nearly dies on page one and in the process accidentally ends up enmeshed in a bunch of nonsense with several Greek Gods, kicking off the plot.

Said plot, without giving too much away at this point, involves a lot of natural disaster and Andreas trying to navigate what it means to be favored by the gods, especially when at least one of those gods has it out for the existence of all mortals.

Overall themes of sacrifice, what sacrifice means, responsibility for the climate, and power as an individual vs. a collective.

I have about 30k written so far, and I'm thinking it'll end up around 80-100k, and will be a standalone. I'd send it to you in probably 2-3 chapter chunks as I get them done, plus that 30k chunk that's already done. I'd appreciate relatively quick feedback (weeks rather than months).

If you're interested, please DM me! I'd like to do this over Discord if possible, if not, email is fine. And it would be using Word for feedback as I don't use Google Docs.

I'll turn off reblogs when I've found enough people, so if reblogs are on I'm still looking. :)

[triskel-samulet]

Longest fic I've ever written

I was going to wait until this fic was finished to post the link, but I have no idea when it will be.

Tommy Kinard had it all- popularity, good friends, a hot girlfriend- but somehow he always felt out of place. Evan "Buck" Buckley was used to being ignored and liked to keep his nose in a book- always learning new things. What happens when these two get paired together in chemistry class?

AKA, the FireBeast high school au no one asked for but you all need. Currently a WIP, but is over 30K so far. Enjoy!

[sitp-recs]

Hi! I was wondering if you'd already given recs for Hogwarts romance drarry fics? If you haven't could you please guide me to some? I don't have a particular preference for the type of fic I'd just like their relationship to be one of the main points. Thank you!!

Hi anon! I have many rec lists for 8th year fics but I don’t think I’ve done a specific list for Hogwarts romance. Happy to share a few recs!

Nice Things by aideomai (M, 22k)

The first thing that happened was Theodore Nott came back from France.

Strange Bathfellows by @bixgirl1 (E, 27k)

It started with a bath. Or a potions accident. Or maybe it started before that, but who can tell anymore.

On Our Way by dynamic (E, 30k)

Draco is trying to spend the summer keeping his head down, but a repair project and a certain snowy owl have other plans for him.

Eager for the Sky by @oknowkiss (M, 35k)

It was announced, just as the Triwizard Tournament had been, at the start of term feast. A year-long, international Quidditch varsity match — the inaugural Wizarding Academy Cup.

Inside Your Mind by @lazywonderlvnd (E, 36k)

Goyle's taken it upon himself to act as Malfoy's personal, one-man guard and Harry can't help but feel like it's only making the bullying worse.

Lumos by birdsofshore (E, 41k)

Harry never expected to spend eighth year listening to Draco Malfoy wanking.

Like Lightning at Your Fingertips by potterwatch (T, 43k)

The problem with living with another insomniac is, eventually, they find out you’re one, too. When Harry and Draco return for their eighth year, they think they’ll see very little of each other. Then McGonagall assigns them to room together. And the castle starts breaking. And there’s that thing with Potter’s magic.

The July Tree by @oknowkiss (E, 51k)

Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail… nor well-meaning friends, nor questionable communication skills, nor seven years of hating each other’s guts can keep Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy from falling in love.

The Promise of Summer by Omi_Ohmy (M, 66k)

How was Harry supposed to know that coming back for eighth year would be so confusing? Everything is the same, and yet not the same. And nowhere is this more obvious than with Draco Malfoy. Harry finds himself once more watching and following Malfoy, trying to work him out.

Right Hand Red by @lqtraintracks (E, 73k)

Harry felt Malfoy's breath on his lips as they came together over the bottle, hands firmly planted on the floor as though they each needed their familiar soil, refusing to cross into enemy territory. Except that Malfoy no longer felt like his enemy. Malfoy felt inevitable.

Inertia by @cavendishbutterfly (E, 83k)

It’s three months after the war. Harry has already mucked up all his plans. Draco is no longer the prince of Slytherin house. And they sure as hell didn’t both mean to go back to Hogwarts at the same time. Cue snarking, long conversations…and unexpected snogging.

Reparo by amalin (E, 85k)

Voldemort's final defeat does not mean Harry Potter's troubles are over; far from it. In the aftermath of war, he returns to a Hogwarts that is fractured and divided, but this is no break that can be fixed with a spell. New owls, fading scars, surprising alliances—and along the way, the hardest task of all, to live with it.

Helix by Saras_Girl (E, 92k)

Seven months after the end of the war, Harry is feeling lost. Fortunately, he is about to be offered an unexpected and sparkling chance to find himself again.

At Your Service by Faith Wood (E, 95k)

Hogwarts students are in danger; Harry is determined to save them all. There's only one thing he knows for certain: Draco Malfoy is somehow involved.

Far From The Tree by aideomai (E, 112k)

The arrival of Harry Potter’s children—snapped back in time, the children themselves guessed, twenty or so years—was the most interesting thing to happen at Hogwarts for years.

Written on the Heart by who_la_hoop (E, 114k)

Unnerved by the attention he’s attracting from everyone – the Slytherins are the least of it, to be fair – and struggling with a raft of changes to Hogwarts itself, Harry wishes he could be happy that one constant remains: Draco Malfoy really fucking hates him.

The Changing Lights by @lazywonderlvnd (E, 142k)

Harry returns for an eighth year following the end of the war and realises that although he's put his own animosity towards Malfoy aside, no one else seems to have done the same. When a hex leaves his oldest rival in the body of a female and ridicule doubles, Harry discovers that his hero complex is a difficult thing to fight.

Things Worth Knowing by Femme and noeon (E, 164k)

After the Battle, Harry thinks he's left Hogwarts for good, but Minerva insists that all students return for an Eighth Year if they wish to sit for NEWTs in the spring, and Harry needs those NEWTs to go into the Aurors. Draco's just grateful not to be in Azkaban. Or the Manor.

Mental by sara_holmes (M, 186k)

Harry has had quite enough of sharing his mind with someone else, thankyouverymuch. A miscast Legilimecy spell says otherwise.

Twist of Fate by Oakstone730 (T, 300k)

Draco asks Harry to help him beat the Imperius curse during 4th year. The lessons turn into more than either expected. A story of redemption and forgiveness.

[jinxquickfoot]

So I've been on fanfic TikTok probably far too much lately, and here's what I've learned:

Some readers won't read a fic under 100k

Some readers won't read a fic over 100k

Some readers won't read a one-shot under 30k

Some readers won't read a one-shot over 10k

Some readers won't read fics without good grammar

Some readers' favourite fics are those all written in lowercase

Some readers love OOC fanfic because they like seeing an original take on their favourite characters

Some readers will only read 3rd person POV

Some readers absolutely adore 1st person POV

Some readers will only read canon-compliant fics

Some readers won't touch the canon-compliant tag with a ten-foot pole

Some readers want two chapters of hurt and twenty of comfort

Some readers want twenty chapters of hurt and two of comfort

Some readers just want to read the same combination of tags over and over again and don't care how similar the stories are

Some readers will leave kudos on your WIP to say they want more

Some readers will only leave kudos on your story if they finished it and liked it

Some readers want to leave your story 1000 kudos but are too shy to leave comments

Some readers will subscribe to fics that haven't been updated in years just in case

And on and on. The point is... just write your fic the way you want to. You cannot please everyone. And just because it seems like everyone hates on a certain thing, does not mean everyone actually hates it. I've seen people defending all lowercase fics with no grammar saying they are the best ones. I've seen people who will not touch anything under 100k because they're convinced you can't tell a good story in anything shorter, when I can point to you to some of the most beautifully written 2000-word shorts ever written.

Write what you want to write. Take breaks when you need to. Take the story where you think it should go. This is meant to be fun.

[bethanydelleman]

Thanks for the tag @firawren & @glassslippers-n-cowboyboots

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 45

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 208,023. And that's a bit surprising because a bunch of my longer fics are only on AHA or my website.

3. What fandoms do you write for? Mostly Jane Austen, all novels, Elizabeth Gaskell (Wives & Daughters), and Anne Bronte (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall). I have also technically written Oscar Wilde and My Happy Marriage, but those were very transformative.

I also have written some fics based on Kdramas, mostly for Alchemy of Souls.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

A Ride to Netherfield - Jane breaks her leg on the way to Netherfield and must stay for a month. Short one-shot (6k) and the first Pride & Prejudice variation I wrote.

Of Every Elizabeth - short and sweet Pride & Prejudice fluff, Darcy has nicknames for the plethora of Elizabeth's he's met over the course of his life (it was a super common name at the time)

Carry Me! - three vignettes of Jang Uk and Cho Yeong from Alchemy of Souls after they are married

The Fourth Bennet Sister - long fic (30k words), Pride & Prejudice variation where Kitty Bennet becomes aware that she is in a novel. She desperately tries to protect her sisters from harm.

All's Fair in Love and War - short Pride & Prejudice variation. Mrs. Bennet has weaponized compromise, men live in constant fear of being forced to marry.

5. Do you respond to comments? Yep. Every time.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Umm.... I'm not good at writing angst. I don't like characters to suffer for too long.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? All of them?

8. Do you get hate on fics? Yes, because I dared to write Mr. Darcy marrying Anne Elliot. People get more angry about that for some reason than Elizabeth Bennet marrying Captain Wentworth in the same fic. Someone even told me Darcy would rather "throw himself off of Pemberley" rather than marry anyone other than Elizabeth. (Fic is called One Week Late)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I have written smut a few times, it's pretty vanilla because I am pretty vanilla. I was reading Victorian erotica when I wrote my longest one, A Little Before Their Marriage (Jane & Bingley fic).

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I constantly write crossovers, my first published novel is a massive crossover, Prideful & Persuaded. One of my fun shorts is Fall on the Sword, where every canonically single woman in Austen's novels decides if they want to try for the recently divorced Mr. Rushworth.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not as far as I know.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? No, though someone did translate one of my meta posts from Tumblr. That was cool.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes, The Marriage Contest with Branch Cloudsky and two with Amelia Marie Logan, Poor Caroline and Inferior Connections. All Pride & Prejudice fics, all funny. (You need an AO3 account for that one, the other two are on my personal website)

14. What’s your all time favourite ship? Catherine Morland & Henry Tilney. They are the only Austen couple I cannot bear to break up.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I am writing a queer retelling of Emma called "Different Ways of Being in Love", where Jane Fairfax and Emma were lovers as teenagers, Jane is bi, Emma is a lesbian, and Mr. Knightley is ace, but I got stuck on the middle part. Someday hopefully!

16. What are your writing strengths? I'm told I write some pretty hilarious farces. I am told I do characterization well, which is my main goal when writing fan fiction. I try to stick as close to canon as possible.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I don't write enough filler or develop things well enough. I like writing action.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I would possibly try my hand at French, but probably never. I also have a lot of trouble reading accented speech (looking at you Wuthering Heights), so I'd probably never write it.

19. First fandom you wrote for? I am fairly certain I started writing a fix-it fic for Nineteen Eighty-Four after I read it in high school. Not sure I would be able to locate it but it did exist. The first since I started writing again was a sequel to Pride & Prejudice.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? Probably Unfairly Caught (my other published work) or The Fourth Bennet Sister. I NEEDED to write a Mansfield Park fic because I hate the ending, so it fixed my dissatisfied feelings. My goal is to edit The Fourth Bennet Sister and get it published sometime this year.

@wurzelbertzwerg, @kehlana-wolhamonao3 and @bad-at-names-and-faces