#popular fanfiction tropes the series

[prankdoeswriting]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Fairy Tail Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Natsu Dragneel & Wendy Marvell & Gajeel Redfox, Natsu Dragneel & Gajeel Redfox, Wendy Marvell & Gajeel Redfox Characters: Wendy Marvell, Gajeel Redfox, Natsu Dragneel Additional Tags: One Shot, Anthology, Slice of Life, Fluff, Not Beta Read, Fairy Tail Week 2024, Fairy Tail Week, Baking, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, References to Canon, Natsu Dragneel Being a Good Big Brother, Gajeel Redfox Being a Good Big Brother, Natsu Dragneel Being a Little Shit Series: Part 32 of Popular Fanfiction Tropes the Series (based on the ColeyDoesThings videos), Part 67 of Works by "Prank" (Pseud Series) Summary:

Natsu and Gajeel try to be good big brothers to Wendy by helping her run her dream bakery. Here are some highlights of their lives:

AKA: They just try their best.

(For Fairy Tail Week Day 7. Also fulfills the "Baking AU" trope for my trope series.)

[doubleca5t]

I feel like everything about the modern isekai genre makes way more sense when you realize that a lot of the genre's main tropes and hallmarks come from fanfiction. like hmmm why do all of these series feel like self-indulgent wish fulfillment set in a copyright safe version of a popular piece of media I wonder where they got that tendency

[margueritedaisies]

Hubba bubba😔🤌🥀✨

And so the plot thickens:

I have a plot idea where Pentious writes steamy selfshipping romance books involving his self insert and The Radio Demon as a hobby. Somehow he gained popularity and money out of it. He goes by a feminine pseudonym to hide his identity. Quite popular among the female audience, he just has a way with satisfying the female gaze through words.

Most of his works always follow psychological horror ,mystery, crime, and maybe gothic romance tropes lol. His mastery is comparable to Anne Rice with a mix of Dostoevsky. I mean what do you even expect from a Victorian man in writing fanfiction?😂

***************

(To our standards his works are a literary masterpiece but tbh he aint even trying , probably just his silly fantasies and took inspiration from his fave reading material. To Victorian standards his work would be considered frivolous and mediocre even scandalous. I mean he lived a life where he has the privilege to interact with artistic geniuses, discuss politics/social/philosophical ideologies among the elite in parlors.

And most likely really influential since he was an inventor who was involved in creating the new fangled steam powered machines.)

*****************

Praising his achievements and background aside let me get back to continuing my plot😂I just love him sm

Alastor knows about the book series but doesnt know the author's identity, he has no interest in dwelling on their existence any further. He already used to this side of his fanbase and only wishes to be left alone by them, at least they got an outlet already.

When Pentious started staying at the hotel he had to be extra careful not to let anyone know of his hobby while at the same time trying to continue it. But one day he got sloppy, Niffty figured him out for a few days. Either noticing weird behavioral patterns.

Once she purposefully tripped him so the suspicious manuscripts he was carrying were dropped so she can"help" him collect them but he reacted paranoidly to her on coming close.

She caught a glimpse anyway but not enough to satisfy her curiosity. And then her suspicions were solidified when she sneaked inside Pentious's lair/suite for cleaning duty and came across his typewriter.

After discovering Pentious was the author whom she was a huge fan of (yes she has a copy of his works) she set out on a mission to befriend the snake so she can have premium access to his drafts😂

[birdsandbeetlesandmoths]

The Sonic Movie Franchise and The Found Family Trope

A personal request by my dear moot and friend @writer--in--theory, which I am entirely happy to deliver on.

Feel free to point out inconsistencies or anything you think I can improve on in my analysis.

Alright, so, the Found Family trope. Extremely popular and very well done, along with one of the tropes I find the most fulfilling to write in to fanfiction.

As I, and I believe most people in fandom, consider the Sonic movies to be an AU, I’m not going to be comparing specific relationships or characterization to any other games or media, other than that the familial aspect is more apparent in these films than in most games, and I haven’t read enough of the comics, either Archie or IDW to develop opinions as to those.

The Sonic movies do a fascinating job at truly displaying and fleshing out that found family trope that is more of a notion or behavioral quirk between characters in most games. They aren’t given as much concrete development in games as the movies have allowed, since the Sonic games focused more on the gameplay aspect rather than a more slice-of-life/slower storyline (a story that takes its time to create relationships between characters) that found families are most often found in.

I'm going to go by specific character relationships, and connect them as needed.

Sonic's Characterization

The first Sonic movie begins with Sonic losing his only parental figure, an extremely traumatic event that leaves a hole in him for the rest of the series and leaves him to fend for himself during his most formative years. He grows up alone, but retains the sassy, care-free demeanor.

I believe the reason he's still so outwardly unaffected by that trauma is that he coped for much of the unseen years between Longclaw's death and formally meeting the Wachowskis through exploring the world. He finds a home in Green Hill because he sees a home in the Wachowskis. We know that he had already been "spying" on them for a while and hanging around their house without them knowing. And he feels that longing for a home, a family, for what he had with Longclaw, and he wants that back.

But he is still aware of what he is, of how they might see him, as only an alien. And that is what keeps him away, that fear of the possibility and being rejected again, being alone again. So he's content with just viewing their life, imagining himself with Tom and Maddie.

I think that's one of my favorite parts of Movie!Sonic. Despite many of his characterizations by the fandom is as an emotionally unavailable character, Movie!Sonic is emotionally intelligent, whether already or as a result of having to grow up too soon. To take care of himself early on, and as much as he may boast or pride that he is totally fine having fun and running around the world, he is, in the end, running to escape the possibility of standing still and realizing that he is still incredibly lonely. While he may not explicitly say it, much of that initial montage in his cave and at Tom and Maddie's movie night, from the outside always looking in, he is aware of what he feels. However, that fear keeps him away.

It pushes him to the baseball diamond, and him running to escape the emotions, the memories, and his imagination, creates that very first outburst of incredible energy and power that alerts the real danger (GUN).

It's only the possibility of being found out by an unknown danger, being attacked and forced out of his cave, out of his home yet again, that forces him to finally act. Not quite meet the Wachowskis yet, as that isn't his intention.

But he does knowingly go to the only other place he feels safe at. The Wachowski's home.

He realizes that he needs to run to escape this danger, doing what Longclaw's last words bade him do before she sacrificed herself for him, but is found by Tom (and promptly shot with a tranquilizer, but, y'know, it starts rocky sometimes!!).

As for the Wachowski's, as original characters we have nothing to expect of them. But they are immediately charming and unique and, while understandably wary of Sonic at first, immediately realize the danger he's in and want to help him.

Sonic and Tom Wachowski

An obvious father-son relationship within the overarching found family (which will eventually include Tails and Knuckles, but I'll get to them later). However, Tom's interactions with Sonic are written in a way that feels incredibly sincere and I think their believability together made my skepticism for humans being related to Sonic (as a character and as a story) disappear.

Tom is obviously skeptical as well at first, especially after finding out that Sonic had just been spying on them for years. But when he learns of Sonic’s past and how he’s been alone for all of the years after that, he understands. He wants to protect Sonic from whoever is hunting him, from experiencing that loneliness again, and after getting to know that little blue blur, is willing to do anything to make sure that Sonic is safe, that he has a home.

And Sonic is bracing for the inevitable rejection again, after he chooses to stay in Green Hill and not escape to a new world, near the end of the movie.

But they surprise him by showing him that they want him to stay, setting up a whole room for him, and allowing him to be a kid!! He doesn’t have to be alone anymore, because he has a family who wants to take care of him, who cares about him and would literally throw the rest of their life to the side to care for this little hedgehog who crashed into their life one day.

There isn’t enough content between Maddie and Sonic only for me to give her a section as well, but she definitely feels the same. The protectiveness she feels is just as strong.

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles

Sonic and Tails

Now, for the even better found family relationship. Sorry, as much as I love Tom and Sonic, these two will forever be my heart.

Tails, in the movie, is also coming from another planet, bullied and ostracized from his village most of his life for the mutation causing his double tails. He hears news of a blue speedster and, beginning to practically idolize him, uses his capability with technology to track Sonic down. While it’s barely explained why Tails is looking for Sonic in the first place, he is clearly expecting for something to happen to Sonic, saying that he hopes he “isn’t too late.” What exactly, he’s worried about, isn’t explained either, and he and Sonic are pulled into the race to find the Master Emerald against Robotnik and Knuckles.

Tails is, thankfully, not characterized as naive or too young to be responsible, which I am glad for, as I was initially worried that they’d infantilize him as a result of him just being a younger kid. He wants to prove himself, rather, and shows his skills through his gadgetry and eagerness to help Sonic, and his initial adoration and interest in Sonic changes into something more brotherly. Tails was inspired by Sonic and saw someone who was clearly different, other. Just like him. And he thought that if Sonic could be great, then maybe he could too, and his otherness didn’t have to stop him.

My favorite scene for this is when they’re in the inn in Siberia, and both of them are finally able to see a more relaxed, actual child-like version of the other.

Sonic is told that he’s Tails’ first real friend, the first person to truly care about him, and to not judge him for his appearance or his interest in tech. And Tails is surprised by this fact, not sure at first if Sonic is being genuine, but once realizing that he is, hugs Sonic and reveals the parts of himself, the feelings and his past, that he hid and felt shame for for so long.

Sonic and Knuckles

Sonic and Knuckles have a classic rivals to friends relationship and it was probably one of my favorite parts of the movie besides Sonic and Tails being absolutely adorable.

Knuckles is another character who is alone, the last of his kind, a race of fierce warriors and protectors, who value loyalty, strength, and honor above all. He’s seemingly destined for a solitary life, much like Sonic assumed himself to be, from the beginning of the movie, and his lack of knowledge of the world he is adjusting to allows him to be taken advantage of by Robotnik so easily.

(Christ, loneliness and loss is a really reoccurring theme, and I haven’t even gotten to Shadow yet)

Knuckles is only able to truly interact with and talk with Sonic after he is betrayed by Robotnik, breaking one of his key values and shattering his worldview and who he believed was the right side. However, he fully expects Sonic to leave him behind as well after the temple battle, the flood overtaking him. But Sonic, seeing only someone who was taken advantage of and who also lost everything he loved, chooses to save him, nearly sacrificing himself in the process. Knuckles also saves Sonic as well, after realizing that Sonic didn’t swim to the surface with him.

Sonic chooses to deliberately ignore that Knuckles was apart of the tribe that killed Longclaw, letting it bring them together in grief instead of driving them apart, and doesn’t care that Knuckles has been attacking him since they met, as Sonic understands why and forgives him for that. Knuckles doesn’t understand, at first, why Sonic saved him in the first place, but when Sonic explains his hero concept and that he needs to take responsibility for others and couldn’t just let Knuckles die, Knuckles sees who Sonic is.

And a mutual respect is gained.

Knuckles, while he is incredibly blunt, deliberate, and honest, understands this. He sees a pure will that he admires in Sonic.

Altogether . .

The third movie only strengthens their bond, as both Tails and Knuckles have been accepted into the family, as the Wachowski’s are happy to adopt another couple of super powered alien kids.

Tails and Knuckles, while still sidelined due to Shadow’s storyline, are key factors in how their team functions and they work the best together. This is a result of the familial relationship formed in the time between movies 2 and 3, as they, during that time, are able to live together and learn from each other.

While they do have a 3rd act separation that I was worried about, it’s established that it’s only allowed through the trust formed between Sonic and Knuckles. Which they handled perfectly, as it wasn’t out of character and wasn’t even malicious, it was a result of the trust between all three of them. They all suffered when Tom was critically injured, they all watched the ambulance drive off with the same, devastated look. They had become so close over these few months together.

Their relationship becomes the most adorable and genuine of sibling relationships, as they are all able to bond over discovering the world, learning and playing and being allowed to be kids. I know I emphasized this before but I will do it again: What makes this found family so incredibly strong is that all of them are able to learn from each other, to build and grow alongside each other and they have all greatly affected each other’s lives in ways that changed them for the better.

Their shared experiences of otherness, of loss, of grief, brought them together into warmer emotions of family, of friendship, of trust.

That is the basis of a found family. People brought together through mutual respect, understanding, and love.

Outside of Sonic-related relationships . . .

Shadow and Maria

Shadow crashed into Earth from a meteorite and supposedly spent the first moments of his life on Earth in a lab, in a tube, isolated but for scientists who would stare and write and run tests and treat him as, honestly, less than a being with a conscience.

The time before Maria was probably extremely lonely, despite him being surrounded by people, setting a precedent that Shadow would assume that humans wouldn’t want anything to do with him, didn’t care about him aside for his powers.

But when he meets Maria, she immediately interacts with him, smiles and mocks him playfully, not for the purpose of analyzing him, but just because he was another kid in the lab, and she wanted to be friends out of pure interest for who Shadow was, not his alien blood.

The montages of their time together in the lab, spent having fun running around the halls, Maria introducing Shadow to dancing and music and sweets and movies and everything he would never have gotten to experience if not for her, only reinforce their close bond, the family he found with her. She was the only one who could understand him in the lab, probably in his whole life, as we have no clue what happened before he crashed to Earth.

The rooftop scene is my personal favorite, as Shadow feels comfortable, safe enough, to confide in Maria about his self-consciousness, his fear that his power will make him only terrifying, only a monster.

Maria comforts him, telling him that he can choose who he wants to be for himself, that he’ll know who he wants to be in his heart. She teaches him that his purpose and life doesn’t have to be dictated by what he possesses or what he appears to be, as his actions and decisions are what truly matter.

That even when a star has long since faded, their light still shines.

This barely concealed metaphor for the effect your life can have on the people you know is beautifully poetic, and reminds Shadow, near the end, of what his true goal should’ve been.

That Maria would have never wanted him to hurt others, to destroy the world, in order to avenge her. Because she loved the world. And Shadow would never want to destroy what she loved.

They make me hurt in the best way. Maria’s line about a star’s light still shining even after it’s long since faded breaks me every time.

Agent Stone and Ivo Robotnik

I know that this isn’t necessarily found family in the familial sense, but if you don’t ship them or believe them to be romantic, don’t worry, this further analysis is purely from a non-shipping perspective.

While the power dynamic is clearly tilted towards Ivo, and I think this acknowledgement of the relationship is very one-sided in the way that Stone is very aware of how he feels towards Ivo, with his devotion and willingness to do whatever it takes for Ivo, while Ivo does not outwardly admit how attached he’d become to his agent, his presence and intelligence, and that he appreciates and needs Stone’s company. Ivo has never spoken his feelings aloud while Stone has practically worn them on his sleeve.

My point is that the third movie, in terms of Ivo’s plot, outlines the choice between blood relations and your chosen family.

Ivo has a chosen family, which consists of only Stone. He’s never had a true family before, no blood relatives, no parents to speak of, and when he discovers Gerald, who may be the first blood family he’s ever had, he begins to value blood over chosen, leaving Stone to pursue a life with his grandpappy over him.

However, when it’s revealed that Gerald never cared about Ivo in the first place, only needing him to be able to achieve his goal of destroying the world in order to avenge Maria, even going far enough to say that Ivo could never be Maria. Could never be what Maria was to Gerald. Ivo realizes the mistake he’s made.

Ivo has his hero moment, to attempt to redirect the Eclipse Cannon’s impending explosion, that “if he can’t rule the world, he might as well save it.” He is still, as much as he may say he hates it, affected by his humanity.

And when giving his final livestream, he finally speaks aloud the feelings, the effect Stone has had on him, in his own words that he knew Stone would know the true, sincere meaning of. That he truly did value him and care about him (“I love the way you make them”), which wasn’t even just about the work Stone did for him, but also what Stone brought to his life, that consolation and trust.

Ivo said that Stone was the only person in his life he could trust. That he was the only person who truly cared about him. As tragic as that sentiment is, he’s right. Stone loved Ivo unconditionally, and Ivo didn’t realize this, didn’t realize that he also cared for Stone, until it was too late for him, but not too late for him to make sure that Stone lived.

——————————————————————————

All in all, the Found Family dynamic, in all of its forms, from parental to siblings to a weird boss-employee relationship, is practically perfect.

These relationships are well-built, developed by shared experiences that characters bond and heal over, mutual respect for each other, a strong trust, and an unconditional love between them.

Oh, the unconditional love is the most important part. Because that is what brings so many people into the found family trope.

Those who are experienced with not getting that constant trust and unbreakable bond from blood, seek that love from others. Build their own family. And the families crafted in these films are beautiful.

[aziraphales-library]

Hi! Thank you so much for all the work you put into this archive. I've spent so many hours reading fics lately and enjoying every second thanks to you all!

I wonder if you have any recs for human!au fics where Crowley and Azi meet either online, as penpals or some other way that's anonymous, but maybe they don't know each other in real life or they don't know the other is their online friend/penpal. I really like the build-up towards meeting each other and things like that! I hope it's not too confusing. Any suggestions with those themes would be wonderful ❤️

We have loads of fics along these lines on our #social media tag, a specific pen pals post here, and you'll find similar kinds of fics our our #mistaken identity tag. I've got a bunch now, but I'm sure these'll all be on the tags mentioned, because there are only so many (unfortunately; I too love this trope!)...

Texts from an Unknown Number by GaryOldman (T)

The human wrong number AU I have been craving. Trapped at a boring Halloween party, Aziraphale tries to get in touch with Gabriel but his text ends up in the wrong place.

Press L in the Chat (for Love) by Phoenix_Soar (E)

Bickering fan-content creators Aziraphale and Crowley only have three things in common — they are both avid fans of a new revolutionary TV series about pirates, they are popular for their fantastic fanfiction and fanart… and they are members of the same discord server. Neither of them likes the other, but across the chaotic virtual world of a discord chatroom, who knows what can happen when these two unlikely fans are paired up for an exciting collaboration? Us. We know ;) Discord Server AU — a collaboration between Phoenix_Soar (fic) and Djapchan (multivoice podfic organization & editing) for Pod-Together 2022

A Tricky Situation (Entirely of his own making) by sixbynine (E)

"Crowley stood up and went to leave, he turned back just as he opened the door and took a deep breath. “You know I was quite excited to come here and work with you. I enjoyed reading your work. I disagree with a lot of it, but your writing style is lovely and every so often you’d let that privileged rich white boy mask drop and it was fantastic. I was hoping to meet that Professor Fell, but I’m beginning to think maybe he doesn’t exist and I’m going to be stuck with a rude stuck up arsehole for the next five years.” He slammed the door behind him before Aziraphale could respond. Aziraphale gaped, open mouthed, at the shut door." -- Aziraphale is teaching at Kings College London. He's been teaching at King College London for a long time now thank you very much and he does not take kindly to new Professors being sprung on him suddenly. Especially when this one has quite publically made his opinon of Aziraphale's work known. Luckily Aziraphale has an understanding penpal...

Readings From the Books of Ashtoreth by Quefish (E)

Vicar Aziraphale Bookman has a comfortable life. He lives in and serves the small village community of Tadfield. He enjoys contributing to local businesses, taking walks, and of course reading. His 'guilty pleasure', which gives him no guilt and all pleasure, is a series of novels by one AJ Ashtoreth. But what happens when he reaches out with an innocent bit of fanmail?

The Anon Before Christmas by foolishlovers (E)

When Crowley’s friend, blogging buddy and business partner Anathema announces her annual Secret Santa Exchange on Tumblr, she is very adamant Crowley should join this year. The old-fashioned (but admittedly compassionate) man he gets assigned to send anonymous messages to every day until Christmas sounds awfully similar to the fussy bookseller that his friends adore, yet Crowley tries to avoid at all costs. But surely his friends would have mentioned if Aziraphale had taken an interest in the Bad Omens fandom as well… right? Or: An Enemies to Lovers Secret Santa Tumblr AU.

I Knew I Loved You by AppleSeeds (E)

In September 1999, when his family gets connected to the internet, prospective Marine Biology student Crowley discovers an online forum where he can actually talk to people who share his passion for saving the whales. He begins corresponding with a kind stranger he knows only as Ocean_Angel, and is incredibly excited when the opportunity arises to meet this mysterious person in real life. As their friendship develops, Crowley shares things with Angel that he can't talk about with anyone else, and Angel's insights help him to explore and embrace his own identity. As Crowley works towards finding a place in this world where he feels like he really belongs, he realises that a big part of the answer to that question might actually be right in front of him. What if where he belongs is with Angel?

Big Name Feelings by ghostrat (E)

FANDOM AU! • Crowley is a BNF fic writer, and Aziraphale is a lurking artist who might be just a little parasocially in love with him. How they ever became friends is beyond him, but here they are: One month out from Prophet Con, and Crowley is asking him to be his boyfriend. Just for the weekend, of course.

- Mod D

[greenerteacups]

Your last chapter was delightful! Thank you so much!

You’ve mentioned All the Young Dudes in one of your posts and it has been a revelation. Do you have all time favorite hp fics and would care to share your recommendations please?

Oh, man, how could I ever choose? Manacled and DMATMOOBIL are obviously all-timers, but they don't need me to recommend them. Wait and Hope, similarly, is in no need of exhortation by me, but I'll do it anyway, I ate that shit up. Anything by @PacificRimbaud. Especially anything with Pansy in it. Especially Les Pèlerins. Anything by provocative_envy. Especially the college/internship AUs. You don't think an American AU for Harry Potter is going to work, until you're reading it, and wow, does it ever. Bending Light by scullymurphy. Talk about fucking atmosphere, my God. (I haven't read Falling Dark yet, I've been meaning to get around to it.) I've also been meaning to read the Gravitation series, I read the first chapter forever ago and it was one helluva opening. See, now I'm just talking about fics I haven't read and want to. Okay.

All the Young Dudes was formative because it was the first time I realized the scope of what fanfiction could do. Until then, I had a very narrow, constrained version of the kinds of stories fanfic was meant to tell (and what fanfic audiences were looking for). ATYD blew the ceiling off that by telling a story that was non-traditional, slow-paced, and completely non-focused on romance for at least half of it, and people adored it anyway. It taught me to be bolder and more creative with my choices. It made me think "well, Gryffindor Draco may not be the most popular trope in the bucket, but maybe some people will like it!" And it turned out some people did!

The Disappearances of Draco Malfoy. This was for a long time my favorite Draco redemption arc, and it remains the first fic I recommend to anyone looking to get into Dramione, because it's the perfect branching-off point for someone who loves the books. Stylistically honest and feels like Book 7, only better. Draco is not let off the hook for fuck, as is right and proper. (I'm a sucker for Book 7 rewrites, for obvious reasons.)

Boy with a Scar. All of it. Made me tear up like four times. This person understands things about Harry Potter that Rowling doesn't and perhaps never could.

Birds of a Feather is a great Tomione Hogwarts fic, and of any fic I've read, it's most interested in the practical day-to-day of life at Hogwarts, which was one of my favorite parts of the books. It's really a book about how someone like Tom, or Hermione for that matter, would experience Hogwarts if there weren't any diabolical plots happening around them: that is, as a very cool, very beautiful, but ultimately sort of mundane boarding school. It makes the place feel lived-in and real in a way that makes it a joy to come back to. And it has the most realistic depiction of child!Tom that I've ever read.

And I'm finding new ones all the time.

[destieltropecollection]

Destiel Trope Collection 2024 | Day 28: Coffee Shop AU

The barista and the bookshop | @abi-cosmos Rating: Explicit Word Count: 55,794 Main Tags/Warnings: Barista Dean Winchester, Librarian/Bookshop owner Castiel, Friends to lovers, Mutual pining, Bisexual Dean Winchester, Gay Castiel, Slow burn, Angst with a happy ending, Depression, Costume parties and masquerades, Top Castiel/Bottom Dean Winchester, Sharing a bed, Coffeeshop AU Summary: In a sleepy mountain town, stitched together with fairy lights, Dean Winchester has been running Squirrel and Moose Coffeehouse since his Dad died. Next door, anchored by family obligation, librarian Castiel has been tasked with taking over Chuck’s Bookshop. Wanting a distraction after his brother leaves town, Dean offers to help Castiel fix it up. It’s a job, something to get his hands on, it doesn’t matter that the librarian is hot and kinda weird. Castiel doesn’t understand why Dean is helping him, but he’s happy that he is, and their friendship grows until he can’t deny what’s right in front of him. But when their time together is cut short, both face a decision they aren't ready for. In a sleepy mountain town, stitched together with fairy lights, what's it gonna be? Peace or freedom?

Are You Writing From The Heart? | @luckshiptoshore Rating: Explicit Word Count: 86,788 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Writer Castiel (Supernatural), Bisexual Dean Winchester, comedian dean, Season/Series 04, Masturbation, Alcohol, Writer Dean Winchester, Slow Burn, Alternate Universe - Writing & Publishing, Fanfiction Writer Dean Winchester, dean/crowley relationship in the past of the fic, cas/meg and cas/hannah relationships in the past of the fic, Internalized Homophobia, Hand Jobs Summary: Castiel Novak's a writer who's waiting for his big break. His last book didn't sell, so now he's doing work for hire, ghostwriting the next in a series of ridiculous horror novels about two hot brothers who hunt monsters together. It’s pretty popular, and the fans are desperate for the next instalment — which is a problem, because the guy who usually writes them just up and vanished a couple of months ago. He left behind a signed contract and the outline for the next two stories, so the publisher’s been looking for someone else who could pick up where Chuck left off. And that's Cas. So he heads to a cafe to get the words out ... and that's where he meets Dean, a smartass wannabe comedian who's working on his stand-up set. Cas is straight, obviously, but there's something about this guy that he's fascinated with. The two of them strike up a friendship ... and soon the world Cas is writing and the world he's living in begin to get mixed up. Sometimes you're writing what you know without even realizing it ...

Finding You In Every Sign | @casblackfeathers Rating: Explicit Word Count: 99,407 Main Tags/Warnings: Deaf!castiel, mutual pining, angst with a happy ending, flower shop au, coffee shop au, strangers to lovers, bottom!dean, bottom!castiel, sweet!dean, hurt!dean, hurt and comfort Summary: Castiel was content with the constant flow of his life. He had his brother Gabriel, had his coffee shop and the weekly book club meetings as well as a small but solid group of friends. If there was one thing his hateful family had taught him, it was how fast things could go wrong if he let too many variables shape his life. So when he met Dean, a gradual regular at his shop, Castiel knew he was trouble, because Dean was like a comet, beautiful but beyond reach. Ever since his father died, there wasn’t a single constant in Dean’s life. Moving on, never stopping, never getting attached to one thing for too long had made him a drifter for the past seven years. Being the only hearing person in his family hadn’t been easy with a father like John Winchester, so as soon as Dean saw an escape, he took it. Settling down to open his flower shop was anything but easy, especially when he met the elusive deaf owner of the coffee shop next door. The more he discovered about Cas, the louder the voice in the back of his head whispered that maybe Castiel was the person finally worth staying for. And maybe, just maybe, Dean was willing to listen now.

[spencer-sweets]

House MD Fic Recs | House/Wilson (2)

[Part 1] [Part 2]

aparently its been a while since i posted on tumblr and there is a character limit(?)

well guess that means change of plans... will just keep making new sequel posts to add to my fic recs. kind of disapointing but it is what it is. i will be including a link to each post in the series at the top or you can just look at the fandom or ship tag on my page.

The Scientific Method by cirrocumulus (LJ)* PG 5,805 House has a plan.

a realistic look into how house could figure out wilson loves him. it was very in character and had some great dialogue. it was a short and sweet read.

Brain Damage by fourteencandles (thingsbaker) (ao3) Mature 8135 "You jerk," Wilson sighed when House walked in and set a mug on Wilson's desk. Wilson was stretched out on his own couch. The nausea had ebbed slightly during the morning, but then he'd tried to eat a little oatmeal, and now it seemed in danger of flowing again. "It's tea," House said. Wilson glanced up at him, and House looked away. "From Cameron." "Yes, God forbid I think you care," Wilson said.

hurt!wilson and house gets arrested. recipe for an interesting fic.

House/Wilson First F*ck mini-series by hwshipper (ao3) Explicit 26,651 A light-hearted romp through a House/Wilson established relationship, including co-habitation, engagement, marriage and honeymoon.

a series of three fanfictions that make up my favorite take on the betting pool trope in this fandom. written by a pillar of this fandom (who i admittedly haven't read the most popular works by) who has written 60+ fics in this fandom and was even mentioned in many fic recs during my deep dive into pre-ao3 house fandom fic recs,

Wired by bmax (ff.net) Teen+ 60,245  House gets into a fight and winds up with his jaw wired shut.

this fic was funny and angsty and felt really in character. house is a dick and so is wilson but they balance each other out well. its also just kinda funny to imagine house not able to verbally abuse everyone.

Infectious Personalities, Toxic Lives, and Standing Ethics by Katling (ff.net) Mature 79,580 House faces two challenges. A strange new case involving a rather horrifying set of symptoms and a change in direction in his relationship with Wilson. Set three weeks after Infectious Personalities. Two interesting cases land in House’s lap at once. While he tries to solve both cases, he and Wilson navigate the waters of their new relationship.  Set after Infectious Personalities & Toxic Lives. A young man with a rare & intriguing genetic disorder creates some medical & ethical problems as House deals with his continuing relationship with Wilson & the arrival of Stacy. 

a nice series of three fics written in 2005/6. nice case fics mixed in with the romance between house and wilson. set around season 1 and 2 and written as they came out. i was actually interested in the cases as well. very well written and in character.

i'll update this in the future until i run out of characters and have to make another part.

[adachikiyoshi]

major difference between cherry magic and all the other manga (or in mdzs case, novels) adaptations is that while hyd, itakiss, mdzs also have an absurd amount of adaptations, their source material is one of the most popular in their respective niche/demographic. cherry magic's manga however, is not nearly extraordinarily popular neither in general nor in the bl sphere. this is not to discredit the manga at all because you know i love it the most at the moment, but it's crazy how much success the story has been able to see just because the japanese drama from 2020 went super viral. this is why i think it's silly to ignore (or even be offended) that every version after it wasn't directly influenced by the jdrama (namely the thai drama is the biggest offender of this and also the chinese radio drama). it's also proof that if you show up for a genuinely well made live action and not dismiss it for xyz reasons, the series you like is more likely to get more opportunities. of course, domestic popularity of the drama played a huge role but also the buzz around the show globally thanks to the fansubber reached the staff and we even got a last minute simulcast with english subtitles which was lowkey unprecedented for something like this. and then every adaptation after that was shown love and attention and it's no wonder we keep seeing more versions pop up. the story is so beloved it's even become a fanfiction trope. even its weakest iterations are shown love.

[willowisapillow]

👑🍑 Why Peach Is One Of My Favorite Comfort Characters 🍑👑

It’s Princess Peach Month, babes, and as a fangirl, I’m obligated to make a post like this become a reality. Feels quite sinful that I wasn’t able to jack for the month last year (aside from reposting some cringy fanart), but this year I’ll try and bring my A game this year. Was also inspired to make this post after reading some articles that are in defense of characters that are in a similar vein to Peach, like Daphne Blake and the Disney Princesses (specifically the classic ones like Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora).

Last year, I made a post where I partially went in defense of the pink diplomat, but for this post, I’m gonna go in full defense of her, and also why she’s personally special to me.

Now, where do I even begin? Imo, Peach has been one of the most unnecessarily lambasted, maligned, overhated but also misunderstood characters in not just Super Mario, video games, but also fiction as a whole.

One of the most talked about criticisms I hear about her is, “ShE’s UsElEsS, aNd Is aLwAyS bEiNg KiDnApPeD LiKe EvErY dAy”. While it kinda has become somewhat of a running gag in the series, I am willing to admit that she’s not always able to defend herself. However, I’m still here to say that’s she’s far from useless or weak, girlie clearly can defend herself, like- are y’all really forgetting the many times where she can be strong like in SM3DW, Mario + Rabbids, SMB2, SMBW, SMRPG, and so many other titles? Hell, are we really forgetting about the movie that literally just came out a year ago where she’s being a strong, dutiful leader, AND the fact that she has two solo starring games where it was her turn to save the day all by herself? Let’s also not forget the Smash Bros. series where she’s one of the highest ranked characters in three of the entries. And also, it’s not, “every day”, some of y’all need to stop exaggerating that 💀

Even when in captivity, she still manages to help out Mario by sneaking 1-Ups like in Mario Galaxy. It irks me with how stuff like this is often ignored in order to pigeonhole her into the damsel role, when she is strong in her own right. She doesn’t always get captured, and more people could understand this if they stopped degrading her for Bowser and Daisy’s actions.

Speaking of Daisy, another criticism that I hear about her is, “ShE’s A bAd FrIeNd To DaIsY, aNd BeTrAyEd HeR fOr RoSaLiNa.” Jesus H. Christ, this one genuinely makes my blood boil. Daisy is another one of my favorite characters in the series that is special to me, and it makes me upset with how her and Peach’s friendship is often portrayed in the fandom. Like, show me proof. Show me factual evidence that Peach “betrayed” Daisy that isn’t from fanart, fanfiction, animations, or anything else fanmade. This is giving the same vibes as, “Mario is a bad/abusive brother to Luigi” rumor that MatPat popularized and I hate it sm. And while we’re at it, can we not throw Rosalina under the bus, she herself gets an unnecessary and unneeded amount of hate already :/

Peach and Daisy are canonically BFFLs, and I hate hate hate how they’re usually portrayed as enemies. I remember seeing so much fanart back in the day where Daisy is bullying, fighting, or being straight up toxic towards Peach. I do see Daisy playfully teasing Peach and being competitive, but being toxic? No, honey, no 😣

And now moving on to my next criticism which is, “ShE’s ToO sTuPiD aNd GiRlY”. Aah yes, the whole, “being hyper feminine/girly is bad” trope, oh how I have not missed you. First of all, Peach is not stupid. Naive? Yes. But she’s no dumb blonde, or airhead, or ditz, or bimbo, or whatever the hell type of pejorative, misogynistic, blonde stereotype-based word you wanna throw at her. She’s clever, and has been able to use her smarts to outwit her captors. And newsflash, there's absolutely nothing wrong with loving traditionally feminine things like baking cakes, or fashion, or liking the color pink. It kinda rubs me the wrong way with how people remove the feminine aspects about Peach and the other things that make her special in order to have her be taken seriously. They just end up making her a Daisy clone. You can be both girly and badass too, y’know!

And here’s my final criticism that I hear about her, “ShE’s A sPoIlEd, StUcK uP bRaT wHo DoEsN’t CaRe AbOuT mArIo”. Look, just because she’s filthy stinking rich, doesn’t mean she’s a spoiled brat. This is yet another thing I see her being portrayed in fanmade stuff; spoiled, bratty, entitled, and bitchy, and I’m just here like, “Did y’all mistake her for Wendy, or?”. Peach is one of the sweetest, empathetic, selfless, and most wholesome characters in the series, and would never act like that.

But nope, pink = girliness, and girliness = bad, so that means we gotta make her a complete Karen/s

I get alternative character interpretations exists, but I feel like people use that as an excuse to deliberately demonize and flanderize characters for the sake of it -_-

As for Mario, have you guys even played any of the games? She clearly does love and care about him and is grateful for what he’s done for her. She thanks him for helping her, giving him kisses, baking cakes for him, and inviting him to fun places. If she “didn’t care about him”, then she wouldn’t be doing all the above mentioned stuff for him. And something I also forgot to mention in my Y2K Peach post is how people assume she has Stockholm Syndrome- which she doesn’t. She clearly doesn’t like Bowser, wants nothing to do with him, and shows 0 romantic interest in him, so how could she have Stockholm Syndrome lmao

Phew, glad I got all of that off my chest. Stuff like this has been bugging me for so long, so I’m glad to finally let it all out. Now I’m gonna explain why I find Peach to be one of my favorite comfort characters.

Ever since I was a small tot, I’ve always admired Peach. She was pretty, pink, super girly and ruled a whole damn kingdom. While she isn’t always strong, there are still times where she’s able to put her foot down and stand up for her friends and herself. She puts her subjects' needs before her own needs, and is basically a gentle soul. She’s also a jack of all trades, she’s not just a baker, but also a golfer, tennis player, kart racer, equestrian, and so much more. She’s also able to be patient with others, and sees the good in even the wickedest of people.

I especially loved playing as her in the Smash Bros. games, I’ve been a Peach main ever since the Brawl days. Her inclusion in the series just shows me that, even if you love doing unapologetically feminine things like wearing dresses, painting your nails, shopping, or cooking, you still matter. You’re still capable and strong in your own way, and you can still save the day. Embrace who you are. To this day, I still find this to be an empowering message that not just young girls, but anyone can resonate with. This is why Peach has always been a special character to me <3

Apologies if I kinda went into, “I’m 14 and this is deep” territory, but that’s just what I truly feel about Peach. She’s no damsel in distress, or a pretty face, or a walking talking prize, she’s much much more than that. She’s one of the best characters, and deserves better not just in the games, but in the fandom as well.

I’m probably gonna get crucified and clowned on for this, but Idc, I spoke my truth 😤

Before I leave, if you still dislike Peach after reading this post, that’s perfectly fine, just make sure to keep the comments respectful and please don’t start any flame wars. Thank you 💕

Thank you all for reading my needlessly long and unhinged defense of one of my favorite Princess characters, and I hope you all have a good day or night, and make sure to stay safe out there ✌️

👑 🍑 👑

[prankdoeswriting]

Chapters: 7/7 Fandom: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game), この素晴らしい世界に祝福を! | KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! (Anime & Manga), Corpse Party (Video Game), Touhou Project, Fairy Tail, 崩坏：星穹铁道 | Honkai: Star Rail (Video Game), 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game), 転生したらスライムだった件 - 伏瀬 | Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken | That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime - Fuse, School Days (Visual Novel & Related Media), 蜘蛛ですが なにか? | Kumo desu ga Nani ka | So I'm a Spider So What? - Okina Baba Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Megumin (KonoSuba), Shinozaki Sachiko, Shiki Eiki, Gajeel Redfox, Laxus Dreyar, Blade (Honkai: Star Rail), Tartaglia | Childe (Genshin Impact), Sunday (Honkai: Star Rail), Kaku Seiga, Yakumo Yukari, Lyney (Genshin Impact), Scaramouche (Genshin Impact), Elio (Honkai: Star Rail), Kafka (Honkai: Star Rail), Luminous Valentine, Katsura Kotonoha, Juvia Lockser, Firefly (Honkai: Star Rail), Shiraori | Shiro, Silver Wolf (Honkai: Star Rail), Kijin Seija, Velzard (Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken), Guy Crimson Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Night Raven College (Twisted-Wonderland), Anthology, Co-ed Night Raven College (Twisted-Wonderland), Character Study, Not Beta Read, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Vignette, Slice of Life, Short, Headcanon, Continuity What Continuity, One Shot Collection Series: Part 31 of Popular Fanfiction Tropes the Series (based on the ColeyDoesThings videos), Part 75 of Works by "Prank" (Pseud Series) Summary:

Seven short stories each focusing on a student from each Night Raven College dorm, reflecting on their dorm and classmates.

Except these are familiar faces, who you haven't seen in this setting before. But if they did live in this story, rather than their own, where would the Dark Mirror place them?

(Fulfills the "Harry Potter AU" trope of the series, except I got a little cheeky with it and replaced Hogwarts houses with NRC dorms.)

[stjohnstarling]

I did a little googling about Fifty Shades of Grey's origins as a fanfic and oh my god I have opened a terrifyingly deep rabbit hole. It's so much more than Fifty Shades. I think all of self-publishing might be an offshoot of the Twilight fandom. I'm going insane.

This essay explains a lot. Twilight fans got sick of Twilight but still wanted to participate in the fandom, so they got creative:

There were stories where vampires didn't exist (like Fifty Shades of Grey). They got CRAZY popular within the community because they were essentially just generic romance novels with characters we already knew (made it easy to write and consume, as we already liked and cared about the characters). Though there were always nods to the original Twilight series within them, you didn't even have to know Twilight to enjoy an All Human-AU. I've gotten tons of reviews on my fanfic where readers say they've never even picked up the book. By 2010, probably a good 75% of Twilight fanfic being produced was All-Human. It was literally a chore to find a fanfic that had anything to do with vampires.

Twilight fanfiction diverged from its source material to the point where it was only a minor tweak for most popular authors to drop the Twilight link entirely and publish their fanfic as original novels. From a comment on that essay:

Seriously, Twilight fandom got really crazy big for a few years there. It was not totally uncommon to get multi-million clicks on a semi-popular story. It's weird looking back on it and calling it "Twilight fandom" because it was really more like "Romance Novel fandom". For real, for a period there, calling a Twilight fanfic author a 'Twilight fan' would be the ultimate insult. But they never stopped writing about Edward and Bella! It's so weird

And from the main Twilight article on Fanlore:

So what we've created in our neck of the woods are people using their fanwork to gain a huge audience, then removing the fanwork, filing it, publishing it, and sending cease and desist letters if the fanwork is shared. (The published works are then marketed back to the fandom via author profiles and banner ads on the archives.)

Fifty Shades of Grey was the first of these to explode, but it's far from the only one. Every single one of EL James' fanfiction contemporaries I've looked into is not just a self-published author but among the biggest self-published authors in the world, many of whom were foundational to shaping the look and feel and tropes of the medium. Twilight fanfiction is absolutely foundational to all of self-publishing.

This explains so much about the mainstream parts of the industry to me. I don't think they've ever fully gotten out from under the weight of the Twilight fandom, even to this day. It's still the same stuff, look at this. From a former fan's ff.net profile:

My BFF Angel and I (who met through [writing Twilight fanfiction]!) are co-writing writing a dark YA series of standalone romances, with so many of my fave themes. Trauma, bullying, addiction, social issues, violence, pretty rich high school boys being douchebags, hurt/comfort, frantic dry humping, you feel me you feel me.

The resulting book series from 2021 has tens of thousands of Goodreads reviews.

[thebellekeys]

Summary: Virtual Author Talk with Cassandra Clare at San Anselmo Public Library (23/08/23)

Cassie wrote her first “novel” when she was 12 on a Mac computer, the infamous The Beautiful Cassandra that she regularly teases to us. She got into writing fiction professionally full-time after leaving her journalism job in 2006.

Finishing City of Bones took about 3-4 years because it was her first novel. Holly Black was the one who hooked her up with her first agent who then got the book published, which was a really new experience. She said that the publishing process was initially surprising to her because of how crazily long it takes to get a single book published.

Cassie acknowledges that City of Bones is starkly “different” from the rest of all her books in colour and voice, because of how experimental the novel writing process was for her. She said she thinks she’s evolved a lot as a writer since then.

She aims for psychological realism in her books even though it’s fantasy. She tries to see each character as a fully-formed person who can exist outside of the immediate plot. She creates worksheets to write her characters.

She also believes it’s necessary to let your main characters make bad mistakes – she cites Matthew as a prominent example i.e. someone highly reactive to their own mistakes. Matthew is defined by his regret and his need to fix his mistakes. She thinks Matthew is one of the most relatable characters because of this.

She’s very drawn to the found family trope because of how much she moved around as a kid – the stability and love of a found family is something she’s worked to build her whole life. She emphasizes the importance of friendship and its different forms in life.

Cassie cites Magnus as the character who turned out most differently than she had initially planned – she hadn’t originally anticipated how significant Magnus would be in the wider scheme of the series.

Doing The Last Hours was, at least a little, in response to people’s excitement about The Family Tree back in 2013.

Her advice for writing fantasy worlds is to create a flexible and expansive magic system so it can grow with you as a writer. She also emphasizes letting your favorite characters make poor decisions – your characters determine the plot and not the other way around.

Cassie strikes a balance between planning worldbuilding details beforehand and then spontaneously adding in new things in the writing process. The Scholomance is an example of something new that was added later in the TSC writing chronology.

She decided that Sword Catcher had to be in the adult publishing category because when she initially developed the characters, they just appeared as people in their twenties. With TSC, the characters had just appeared to her as teenagers then. Writing characters in these different life stages was interesting and challenging.

Sword Catcher is the first in a duology, but she’d like it to be four books if it’s successful.

Cassie has always wanted to write Shadowhunters in the Roaring ‘20s but she has no idea what the plot would possibly be.

She doesn’t read TSC fanfiction, but her husband has informed her of a popular Magnus X BTS fanfiction on AO3. She stays away from fanfiction, but she is very invested in the fanart of her works. Her favorite artist is, of course, Cassandra Jean, and she also loves Charlie Bowater.

She loves writing with Holly Black and probably would only do more Middle Grade writing with her.

She is very much anti-censorship and anti-banning books, especially because of the form it takes in the US (aka, censorsing books dealing with issues affecting the BIPOC and queer communities).

She doesn’t believe they’ll do another TMI adaptation in any form, even though she doesn’t believe the TMI books’ story was ever truly told. She hopes, one day, that TID can get made as it’s the most adaptable series in her catalogue for logistical reasons.

If she couldn’t be a fiction writer, her dream job would be a travel writer. She intensely loves traveling and making her characters travel as well.

Her favorite author of all time is Dorothy Dunnett. She thinks you should check out The Queen’s Thief by Megan Whaler Turner (I agree). And she’s currently reading Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak (I really enjoyed this one).

[sufferu]

MASTERPOST

Check the tags for quick and easy navigation. (this will no doubt end up being updated repeatedly lol)

Cool Tags

Reading the Light Novels for the First Time: At this point it’s more like reading the Web Novels for the first time, but it’s basically screenshots of quotes + commentary.

Reading the Side Stories for the First Time: Screenshots of quotes + commentary — this time from the side stories.

Re:Zero Brainworms: Cool thoughts/theories about Re:Zero.

My Inbox: Asks that I have actually answered (I am so sorry to everyone stuck in Inbox Purgatory —)

Fanart: Re:Zero Fanart. And also official art.

Fanfiction: Mostly commentary on popular Re:Zero fabric tropes tbh

My Fics: Completed fanfiction of my own. (Or. Completed chapters.)

My Ficlets: Small snippets of fanfics I am working on. I hope to add to this somewhat regularly.

Fan-made IF Routes

Nameless Wanderer AU: Julius loses his Name in Priestella and strikes out on his own, aimless, only to end up getting dragged along by the mysterious possibly-the-Archbishop-of-Pride named Schwartz who claims to be another victim of Gluttony.

Crusch IF: Reinhard brings Subaru to Ferris after Elsa’s assassination attempt, where he ends up being hired as a worker in Crusch’s mansion. Everything goes pretty well for the first month, until about two days before the Whale is scheduled to hit — at which point Subaru’s mind shatters.

Nect Reveal IF: Julius sees into Subaru’s memories when they link souls during the fight against Petelgeuse, where he 1) concludes that he is a couple months old, as he cannot see into his time from beyond the Great Waterfall and 2) figures out RBD in its entirety.

Housecat IF/Chewtoy IF: Everyone is an animal hybrid and housecat!Subaru has developed a complex where he has started to think that he was summoned here as a domesticated cat to serve as a chewtoy for all the wilder and more dangerous animal hybrids of the Re:Zero world.

Whale IF: Subaru dies during the Whale fight and resets to moments before it begins, where he spends about two months continuously looping in order to get every single person out alive. Everyone figures out that he has some sort of time travel ability behind his back. He has no idea.

Omegaverse IF: Omegaverse.

House Arrest IF: Reinhard kidnaps Subaru alongside Felt due to him being a suspected Witch Cultist.

Amnesia IF: Instead of Joshua and Julius losing their names in Priestella, Subaru loses his memories. Everyone gets a front-seat view to Subaru’s second spiral into madness as he rediscovers RBD, one loop at a time.

Natsumi IF/Homosexual IF: Crack AU where Subaru has internally accepted Natsumi Schwartz before the start of the series but is now consciously repressing her anyway due to fears of how crossdressing might be seen in this medieval-style fantasy world. He is so bad at this that everyone thinks he’s gay. This does not stop him from trying to present himself as a Man at every opportunity and giving everyone — especially the traditionally masculine men he is attempting to emulate — massive amounts of psychic damage.

Kintsugi IF: Reinsuba Soulmate AU where traumatic events show up as golden scars on your soulmate’s body. Reinhard has no idea who his soulmate is or what the fuck could be causing all of these horrifying injuries and he is trying desperately to find out whoever’s responsible.

Feral Subaru AU: Subaru is Isekai’d at ten years old and is immediately traumatized by Capella before being taken in by Emilia. He bites people sometimes.

Runaway IF: Subaru and Emilia have a miscommunication post-Petelgeuse that leads to Subaru (wrongly) concluding that he is unwanted, and for the very good reason of painting a target on everyone’s backs, and so he leaves in the middle of the night and accidentally kicks off a manhunt that lasts for an entire year.

Back to Zero IF: Everyone learns about RBD in its entirety, and then everyone except for Subaru gets sent back to Subaru’s duel against Julius. Chaos ensues.

[the-gateway-to-madness]

So I discovered there's a book series starting with a book called "Queen of Snow" that's basically reskinned Jelsa to avoid copyright and it's. it's basically OUAT jelsa?? but you wanna know the worst part-

it gave me idEAS.

So now I am outlining an honest to goodness BOOK. Not a fanfic- a book?? Loosely based on both Jelsa and my ocxcanon ship, but that isn't the point of it. The idea in my head keeps getting better and better and more and more chaotic and I want to do, like, a psychological exploration of romance and a trope breakdown of things that are popular in both the fanfiction and romance novel spheres and use like, a juxtaposition of a very unrealistic setting with very real concepts of relationships and romance??!? but also i am not very clever and i am worried i will ruin my brainconcept

[orionsangel86]

Seeing criticism of Good Omens Season 2 on here is a wild ride for me because I generally seem to agree with everything gomens critical people are saying whilst at the same time still absolutely loving gomens S2.

It's like this: Okay so you have written this super popular book revolving around this precocious kid who happens to be the antichrist whose birth kickstarts the apocalypse. The four horseman turn up as well as these other strange human characters one of which is an actual witch whose great great great grandmother wrote an accurate prophecy book which predicts armaggedon. Through a series of somewhat hilarious events, the kid, his friends, and the other weird humans manage to stop the apocalypse.

Also throughout the whole thing there are these angel and demon characters fussing about getting into arguments but not actually doing anything to forward the plot or make any difference to the main storyline. For some reason everyone reading the book finds these characters far more compelling and entertaining and seems to think they are the main characters. But they are not.

Then the book gets adapted into a show and the focus shifts onto the angel and demon characters because obviously they are the popular ones that everyone loves. So what's a writer to do when the fan favourite characters basically don't have any part in the primary plot points? Give them a more coherent side plot steeped in romantic tropes and claim that they are in love. Boom. Instant fandom catnip.

But then you are presented with a problem. The show has become super successful and everyone wants more story. You may have discussed a sequel over the years with your writing partner but it never really came to anything probably because its difficult to plot out a sequel centred around two characters who weren't the protagonist of the first book, and that story is done and dusted. Whats a writer to do?

Lean into the fans thirst for more angel on demon action and write what amounts to high budget fanfiction pulling the love story b plot of season 1 into the main focus for season 2. Of course book purists are gonna hate that!

Any legitimate sequel to Good Omens should have centered around Adam. The former antichrist now coping with everything he went through growing up a normal human whilst still having a creeping sense that its not quite over, that maybe heaven and hell still have a part for you to play in their grand plan. Sure, Crowley and Aziraphale could have been involved, continuing their b plot love story, but at least this way the sequel would have been more consistent with the plot of season 1.

The problem with continuing Adam's story is that, and I mean no disrespect here, no one cares about Adam. Adam and his friends are the weakest elements of season 1. People tune into Good Omens for the Crowley and Aziraphale show, and Neil Gaiman knows this.

The plot of Gomens S2 is weak. The mystery around Gabriel is a bit silly, and is only connected to the season 1 plot in the loosest sense. The fact that he and Beelzebub speedrun an angel/demon romance is bizarre and does come out of left field... like something out of fanfiction. It also does indeed rob some of what made Crowley/Aziraphale so special - the fact that they were unique in their love and respect for each other despite being on opposite sides. Also I wish Maggie and Nina were given more development (and less clunky dialogue).

The only criticism I really don't agree with is the criticism that Aziraphale was written out of character, because quite simply, season 1 never ever resolved the fundamental issue at the center of Crowley and Aziraphales relationship. Throughout season 1 Aziraphale constantly insults and berates Crowley, claiming he's the "bad one" and refusing to accept that they aren't on opposite sides. There have been plenty of metas stating that this was all out of fear and a need to protect Crowley, and sure, you can interpret it that way, but not once in season 1 does Aziraphale actually say "yes we are on our side. Yes we are the same. I was wrong to claim you were bad when you've clearly been showing me how good you are for millennia." Its maybe implied that he has learned, but its never truly confirmed, because season 1 wasn't about Crowley and Aziraphale and their relationship. But season 2 takes its lead from that.

It's just rather amusing to me how the discourse that has built around season 2 seems to be fundamentally forgetting these points. GOS2 isn't really a sequel to Good Omens. It's a spin off. It's a spin off about Crowley and Aziraphale and their silly relationship drama whilst they deal with a silly low stakes mystery regarding Heaven and Hell (also characters that were barely involved in the book if at all!). It doesn't really tie into the first story at all.

In my opinion, all it needed to link it more closely to season 1, was to bring back Frances McDormand as God to do the narration. If that had happened, season 2 would have been just fine. As it stands, it comes across rather like a spin off fanfiction. But I love fanfiction, and I have always only ever watched Good Omens for Aziraphale and Crowley. To me, season 2 is fantastic, its like if Supernatural had a spin off show all about Castiel in which he is the lead character, and part of the main A plot is him getting together with Dean finally - Dean being the love interest in this particular show. Amazing. 10/10 would watch another 15 seasons of just that - but general Supernatural fans who aren't fandom specific would probably HATE IT.

So yeah, I do understand the criticism its receiving, but I find it funny, because ultimately Neil Gaiman gave fans exactly what they wanted, he gave them an Ineffable Husbands fanfiction - M/M Romance, F/F OC Side Pairing, Rated: Teen and Up, #Fluff, #Dancing, #Excessive Jane Austen References, #Crack Treated Seriously, #Surprise Final Pairing (check the end notes for spoilers!), #Miscommunication, #Love Confessions, #First Kiss, #Angst #Hurt/No Comfort, #Cliffhanger Ending.

Can any of us really say we wouldn't immediately click "proceed" on this fic and then stay up til 3am reading it til our eyes bled? Me neither.