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bigskydreaming · 1 year

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Totally random thought, but you know how no fandom has such a thing as completely normalized tags, BUT many fandoms or parts of a fandom have popular tags for finding fics on Ao3 with specific tropes?

Like for instance, I remember a few years back that a lot of the fic writers in the pro-Scott corner of Teen Wolf fandom tried to idk, kinda start a trend of using tags like ‘Scott-centric’ or ‘Scott McCall as Primary Character’ when posting fics on Ao3, because we wanted to make it easier for Scott fans to find fics that were specifically ABOUT him, given that there’s usually no way to differentiate between those kinds of fics and fics that have him tagged as being in it.....but he’s just a completely background character in a S/tydia or S/terek fic who has maybe a few lines....which of course is just....not what most Scott fans are looking for when they use Scott McCall in the search filters to try and find something about him to read.

And so anyone who follows us on tumblr, where we talked about this, know to search for ‘Scott-centric’ or ‘Scott McCall as Primary Character’ and they’ll definitely find any fics written by various pro-Scott mutuals....but tumblr isn’t the entirety of any fandom, lol, and there’s plenty of other fics on Ao3 that do fit that tag but wouldn’t necessarily think to use that tag in specific for people to search for.....and even if they DID try to make a distinct tag to advertise that Scott is the main character of their fic, there’s no guarantee that what they come up with would be similar enough phrasing to get sorted into the an common parent tag.

Because something I was thinking about recently is the fact that like......I SUCK at coming up with tags when posting a fic on Ao3. Its easily my least favorite part of the posting process because uh....as any longtime follower knows, I may be creative but ORGANIZED? Not a strength of mine, lol. I can write a 5K one shot no problem, but then tell me now I have to come up with tags that are actually helpful in guiding people who might be interested in it to find it, and I’m like.....Kalen.exe has stopped working.

And I do know I’m not the only one who struggles with tags....both coming up with ones to help people find their fic, or coming up with tags to search for to narrow down their options when looking to read a fic that falls within specific parameters.

The problem of course is getting specific tags to catch on in a way that’s actually opt-in and helpful to both writers and readers.

For example.....fics where Dick Grayson is depicted as being an asshole to Jason Todd when they were younger? Obviously on my no-fly list. Not what I’m ever looking to read, and not something I’d ever write. So of course I always filter out ‘Dick Grayson is a bad brother’ the same way I filter out ‘Scott McCall is a Bad Friend’....but its not like this is guaranteed to catch all or even most fics that contain these tropes. Because while there are writers who dislike these characters enough to highlight that they think they’re jerks, there’s plenty who also write the characters that way but almost as an afterthought or due to popular fanon trends.....while they themselves don’t actually think about the character in question enough that it even occurs to them to include tags that are specific to their depiction of characters who are just....not priorities for them, personally.

But at the same time, as a writer.....whenever I tag fics where I want fans of these characters to know that I am definitely not writing these specific tropes, so fans who are frankly exhausted by the prevalence can easily find my fic among the thousands and thousands of fics that pop up when you just search out their character tags.....

Like, I don’t actually think oh just use the exact opposite tag, even though I wrote the fic to BE the exact opposite of a Dick hates Jason or a Scott is a bad friend fic.

And THAT is because of how many fics get tagged something like Dick Grayson is a Good Brother.....by writers who view ‘being a good brother’ as Dick only ever appearing in that fic to support or prop up one of his siblings. Just like many Scott fans never go searching the ‘Scott McCall is a Good Friend’ tag because of how damn MANY fics tagged that only consider him a good friend when writing him as just.....existing to affirm or validate Stiles and only do what he says at any given opportunity, lol.

Obviously this is a generalization and there ARE fics tagged Dick Grayson is a Good Brother that I would like due to him having a positive relationship with various siblings but WITHOUT being sidelined and still getting to have a sizable role in the fic or a plot of his own....but unless they’re written or recommended by a mutual, I’m not necessarily likely to ever find that fic because in large fandoms like Batfam or Teen Wolf, even specific character tags can be tiring to wade through.

Like I don’t filter OUT these tags in the same way I do specifically negative tags, but I don’t search them out and I certainly don’t tag my stuff with these tags, because as an example....Scott McCall is a Good Friend pulls up 1,800 fics when I search just that tag in specific on Ao3.

And I think most Scott fans would agree that there are NOT 1,800 fics where Scott is portrayed as a good friend....but in a way that still lets him be the kind of nuanced or spotlighted kind of character Scott fans are looking for when they search for something to read. But its still a hell of an undertaking to search through even ‘just’ 1,800 fics in search of the relative few where he is a good friend BUT in a way that actually respects his character and doesn’t just make him a prop for the actual focal characters in a fic.

So when tagging fics I want LIKE-MINDED Dick Grayson or Scott McCall fans to find easily, I’m more likely to tag a fic with something like ‘Dick and Jason don’t hate each other’ or ‘Dick didn’t fire Tim.’

I don’t want to tag fics ‘Bruce Wayne Is A Bad Parent’ because so many of those fics exaggerate him into a one-dimensional abusive monster and that’s never what I’m trying to write and I don’t want people automatically filtering out my fic if I use that tag when THEY’RE just trying to avoid over-the-top abusive Bruce fics.....but at the same time, I DO like to focus on specific canon instances where Bruce has been problematic as hell, like NTT #55.

And I know and respect that there are many Bruce fans who consider a lot of these instances OOC and are just not what they’re looking to read when they look for fics about his dynamic with his kids.....so I’m not about to go tagging a Bruce-critical fic with ‘Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent’ just because I’m not writing that fic to smear Bruce’s character or paint him as an irredeemable monster. Because I get that 90% of the people who go searching the Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent tag aren’t looking to read a fic that highlights one of his more fucked up character moments while still trying to reconcile that within his larger characterization overall....realistically, most fans who search out the Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent tag usually prefer fics that don’t treat his worst parenting instances as canon.

So I think tags that are more nuanced or specific than ‘Bruce Wayne is a Good/Bad Parent’ or ‘Dick Grayson is a Good Brother’ or Scott McCall is a Good Friend absolutely WOULD be helpful for a lot of writers and readers alike....but only if they’re tagged with a phrasing that people actually search out, or that the writer thinks to specify as a tag.

The problem of course being....how do you make more specific tags popular or common enough that they actually catch on in a way that makes it easier to search for fics because these tags become a go-to search option for fans rather than just being a matter of one getting lucky enough to search with a phrasing that a writer thought to specifically tag for?

All of which led me to this thought:

What if instead of trying to make various tags commonplace among specific fandom circles of writers/readers.....any interested writers make use of just ONE specific tag. Something like including “open to tagging suggestions” - not unlike how many writers tag their fics ‘ask to tag’ when open to readers suggesting they include a specific trigger warning that they the writer might have overlooked or not thought to include in the first place?

It has to be acknowledged that you are occasionally going to run into the problem of some readers being presumptive or overbearing about this, framing their suggestions not as suggestions but as ‘you should have tagged your fic with this’......BUT I think the potential benefits mitigate or outweigh this likelihood.

A) Obviously no writer HAS to use any tags suggested by readers, but all the suggestions readers might make for tags an author hasn’t already included.....are going to be tags that reader would have searched for specifically TO find a fic like the one they’re commenting on.

And while it depends on how many suggestions a writer gets, its not necessarily realistic that a writer is going to end up adding EVERY tag suggested by readers.....but there’s definitely likely to be SOME suggestions that are useful and help guide more interested readers to that fic. Especially if you’re a writer who struggles with tagging and never finds it easy to decide what tags might be relevant or helpful for finding your fic.

B) Volunteering that you’re open to hearing about tagging suggestions makes it more likely that any readers who were put-off by your fic would be polite and helpful when suggesting there’s a tag that could help warn off fans who aren’t looking for the kind of takes you’re offering. The entire reason that tags like “Dick Grayson is a Bad Brother” ARE helpful as search filters is because a writer who uses that tag gets that fans of the character are not likely to enjoy their take on the character. They’re not the intended audience for that fic. Not everything appeals to every reader.

So there is a precedent for tags intended to warn off fans of various characters that this fic includes characterizations they’re not going to like.....and advertising that you as a writer are receptive to hearing about tags that could warn other readers they might not be the target audience for your fic - especially with longer fics - could in the longrun help you weed out readers who are most likely to be bothered by your characterization of their fave.

C) It could lead to more reader engagement with your fic in general. Readers who might otherwise just leave a kudo, not because they don’t WANT to comment on your fic but because many readers don’t know have a clear idea of what they want to say about a fic or what they liked about it......might be more inclined to think about what about that fic specifically appealed to them, and mention this with a suggestion for a tag.

Fans who like specific takes on a fave character WANT to see more of these specific takes. The more popular fics that use that take are, the more commonplace that take is likely to become, inspiring others in turn. The more fans are able to regularly seek out fics with this specific take, the more that take becomes known as something fans WANT to seek out, which in turn lets authors know hey, there’s an audience for this take.

So even if you’re a reader who doesn’t frequently comment because you don’t have any idea what to say other than ‘great fic, I really loved it’ and you worry that’s a lame comment or writers don’t want to hear that (its not, btw, I love any and all comments I get).....like, writers using a tag like ‘open to tagging suggestion’ provides both a focus for a potential comment and a REASON to leave a comment when you might not otherwise.

Because if there is a specific aspect of a fic that you really loved, or it resonated with you because of the author’s specific take on a fave character, letting that author know that this is something that you would’ve sought out their fic for specifically, if they knew from your tags that your fic contained this element or take.....that means there’s likely other readers who would be interested in this fic if they knew that specific appealing element was present.

And you’d not only be helping that author potentially find more readers who are the intended or ideal audience for that specific fic, but having that reason to focus on what about the fic made you love it so much makes it that much easier to come up with something specific to say about it, ie ‘and btw, I really loved this aspect of your fic in particular, or for this specific reason.’

Both of which - more readers and specifics about what readers liked - are things I think most writers would agree we all love.

Anyway, just a musing I was pondering. Thoughts?

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sugareey-makes-stuff · 1 year

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Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💙

Hiya, friend! Thanks for sending this to me! This will probs be a mix of HP and TW (since I'm writing for both fandoms now), so here goes: Harry Potter: 🖊️ Where do we go from here? (Perciver, WIP series, G-T, 4/13 ficlets)

All the missing moments we didn’t get to see between Percy and Oliver. This is a one-shot fic series that explores their complicated journey of how they went from being friends, to friends with benefits, to eventual long-term lovers.

Okay, fine. This has 4 ficlets so far in this series, but I am soo proud of them all since this whole story arc was how I got back into writing again 2 years ago. Had it not been for this series, I definitely wouldn't be writing fic right now, and I owe it to Perciver for recharging and revamping my writing style to what it is today.

🖊️ Again and Again (Ginsy, E, 400 words)

Pansy never thought Ginny Weasley would get on her knees and go down on her in the Harpies’ locker room. But here they were, where anyone could see them.

This is a (spicy) drabble, and it was nice to write more sapphics fic this year. I love the energy between Ginny and Pansy, and it was a fun challenge to write something that captured the heat of a moment (with a hell lotta kinks) in so few words. Definitely a mission accomplished!

🖊️ Love you (for the rest of my life) (Deamus, 12-part microfic series, G-E, 600 words)

You're all my strength and my weakness, and that's when I knew you were the one... A collection of microfics that captures and highlights missing moments over the years between Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas.

It has been a hot minute since I wrote anything for Dean and Seamus, so I'm glad I got to write something fun for them during Microfic May! I feel like there are so many perspectives we haven't seen, so it just made sense to capture a glimpse of moments as friends who become eventual lovers. Each microfic can also be read individually under the tag #love you for the rest of my life.

Teen Wolf:

🖊️ Made From Scratch (Sterek, T, 2k)

Derek missed Stiles. He hadn’t realized how much…until now. Something had to change. But where did he even start? [Or: That one time Derek makes dinner for Stiles, thanks to inspiration from a family recipe and some nudging from Cora.]

I'm really proud of this one since a. I wrote this in 2 weeks for an exchange, b. the requirement was 2k max or less, and c. it was my first time writing in Derek's PoV. I loved doing all the cooking research and adding some Hale roots. Derek is so soft, even though he tries to deny it. Also, sibling dynamics ftw!

🖊️ Feel You Breathing (Sterek, E, 8.4k)

Derek: So, you need a distraction. Stiles: Maybe Stiles: It’d be better if you were here to help me with that. Stiles: ;D [Or: Sexy things start late one night when Derek gets a text from Stiles and escalate from there. A few secrets are revealed along the way.]

I just posted this fic up last week, but I'm reccing it (again) since it's my first text fic ever, it's stylized with a skin (but can also be read in plain text), and it's the longest thing I've written since I started writing again. This was my biggest writing challenge to date because it took 3 attempts to write a text fic. I had lots of fun making Stiles and Derek banter and choosing all the emojis though. It was such a different way of writing dialogue only (and much harder to code than I thought, heh). So worth it though!

#tag game #perciver #sterek #deamus #ginsy #hp fanfic #teen wolf fanfiction #fic recs #rec lists #self rec #sugareey #ask meme #asked and answered #about me #writng #sugareey recs things

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unforth · 4 years

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The 2021 Destiel Favs Survey!

The December, 2020 edition of the Destiel Fan Favorites Survey is now completed! I got 340 submissions, the most I’ve received since the first time I did the survey in 2017 (this is the fifth time). Since the inception of the survey, I’ve received 1372 surveys, reflecting the tastes of those in the fandom at the time they did the survey and completed especially with an eye toward highlighting excellent lesser-known works.

On the latest survey, 336 different authors were listed as favorites! 165 of these authors were added to the list for the first time. Across all five times I’ve given this survey, 700 authors (on the nose!) have been listed as favorites. You can view a list of all those authors, and links to their accounts, here!

On this survey, an astonishing 1,448 stories received a vote!! The majority - 891 works - were added to the collection for the first time, which is absolutely thrilling to me. 253 of the authors of these works had never been listed before, and now know - they’re someone’s favorite. How awesome is that?

Since the inception of this survey, 3,544 stories by 1,365 different authors have been named as someone’s favorite. All of these works are assembled in a collection that you can view on AO3 here! (works that aren’t on AO3 are bookmarked, as are the works of author’s who chose not to accept the invite to the collection; 210 invites are still pending from the 2021 survey; if authors don’t add their works by next weekend, I’ll bookmark them). Alternatively, you can view a list of every work in the collection, and a link to access the work if it’s still available online, here!

By far, the best way to navigate the collection is to go to the AO3 Collection and use the tags searches and filters to find works that appeal to you. That said, I know some people are curious about results. It’s outside my ability to make lists that include every work, and so I do in general compile some of the data and share those who got the “top” results (not in a ranking, only in alphabetical order). If you’re interested, keep reading...

(read more)

if you are having trouble seeing the links on this post, please access it on pillowfort here: https://www.pillowfort.social/posts/1967244

In the past, I've done an annotated "Top 20 Authors" list, where I list (in alphabetical, not ranked) order the authors who received the most votes and every work they have in the collection. I will not be doing that this year. I'll give the top 20 list, but not list all their fics - it's too much, and too many of these authors are the same as previous years. The goal of the Collection is and always has been to highlight the works of authors who don't get as much love and aren't as well known, and I've come to feel the Top 20 list doesn't serve that goal effectively. As such, I will instead be doing a "Rookies of the Year" list, listing 10 authors who have not been on the top 20 list previously, and a "Top New Stories" list, with the 10 most popular stories added to the collection this year.

You can see the past top lists at these links:

January, 2020

June, 2018

March, 2017

I also have done a number of rec lists based on the data, but not since the last two surveys (the collection has grown too big, and I don’t have time any longer). These are also all available on pillowfort.

All lists are in alphabetical order! These are not rankings!

Rookies of the Year! A list ten authors who’ve scored highly for the first time on the survey, and every work they’ve written that received at least one vote in the survey!

Desirae

After the Darkness (Series) (26,438 words, 6 works). Explicit. Archive Warnings Not Used. Canon divergent AU where Dean goes missing.

Angel Bridge (55,944 words). Explicit. Archive Warnings Not Used. Paranormal writer Dean meets Wiccan Castiel.

Autumn in His Eyes (50,452 words). Explicit. Archive Warnings Not Used. Artist Castiel, retreating to seclusion to avoid the paparazzi, meets small-town Dean.

The Bond-Breaker Murders (75,696 words). Explicit. Archive Warnings Not Used. Detective Dean and his partner Castiel hunt a serial killer.

The Deal (29,094 words). Explicit. Archive Warnings Not Used. Business owners Dean and Castiel meet soon after Castiel’s divorce.

Finding Home (42,828 words). Explicit. Archive Warnings Not Used. Bakery owner Dean and writer Emmanuel aren’t sure what’s drawing them together, but they’re sure something is.

Ghosts (Series) (71,676 words, 2 works). Explicit. Archive Warnings Not Used. Paranormal investigator Dean Winchester doesn’t believe in ghosts and definitely doesn’t believe scam artist Castiel.

I'm the Only (25,121 words). Explicit. Archive Warnings Not Used. Professor Dean and tattoo artist Castiel look back on how they meet.

Lojacked (28,393 words). Explicit. Archive Warnings Not Used. Guidance Counselor Dean is kidnapped days before the anniversary of his marriage to Detective Castiel.

Loved You Forever (Series) (98,896 words, 21 works). Explicit. Archive Warnings Not Used. Mechanic Dean has been in love with his best friend Professor Castiel since they were children, but has never told.

Parking Lot Confessions (3,820 words). Explicit. Archive Warnings Not Used. Castiel gets hit with a truth spell, and Sam learns far more than he expected.

Remember Me After the Storm (47,425 words). Explicit. Archive Warnings Not Used. After a car accident, Castiel doesn’t remember the past 13 years of his life with Dean.

Duckyboos

Bitch Better Have My Money (Series) (247,834 words, 4 works). Explicit. Graphic Depictions of Violence. Dean’s suburban life goes to hell in a hand basket after he meets a devil with the face of an angel.

The Card Cheat (3,101 words). Explicit. Archive Warnings Not Used. Dean and Castiel are hitmen who hate working together.

Chronicles of a Serial Killer (Series) (52,760 words, 2 works, second is a work in progress). Explicit. Graphic Depictions of Violence. Detective Dean Winchester is intrigued by the newest serial killer operating in his jurisdiction.

Dial "M" for Monster (23,809 words). Explicit. Graphic Depictions of Violence. Baker/Vigilante Dean investigates the haunted rooms at Castiel’s motel.

I Only Come When You Scream (Series) (23,117 words, 7 works). Explicit. Archive Warnings Not Used, Graphic Depictions of Violence. Three serial killers meet over coffee.

Interview with the Vampire's Wife (6,040 words). Teen+. No Warnings Apply. A vampire’s wife walks into PI Dean’s office.

Lock Stock and Two Smokin' Winchesters (29,392 words). Explicit. Graphic Depictions of Violence. Boxers Dean and Sam are fucked when they run afoul of Crowley and his prize fighter Castiel.

Murder Ballads (Series) (97,416 words, 3 works). Explicit. Graphic Depictions of Violence. Serial Killer Castiel sets his sites on Dean.

My Whole Existence is Flawed (6,388 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Dean accidentally flirts with Castiel, with whom he had a relationship in high school.

Number 1 Crush (103,891 words). Explicit. Graphic Depictions of Violence. College friends Dean and Castiel meet up with some college buddies just as Dean’s college stalker comes after him.

Stone by Stone (37,269 words). Explicit. Archive Warnings Not Used. Teacher Castiel and student Dean find trouble together.

EllenofOz

Baby Whispering 101 (2,835 words). Gen. No Warnings Apply. Castiel has to bring his daughter to class, but Professor Winchester doesn’t mind.

Bunker Files (30,519 words, work in progress). Teen+. No Warnings Apply. Canon Divergent AU, where the British Men of Letters hear more than they bargained for.

Dark Blue, Dark Blue (36,112 words). Mature. No Warnings Apply. Online friends Dean and Castiel come to meet in person after Castiel’s meatspace life puts him in danger.

A Demon Like Him (24,595 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Warlock Dean isn’t sure if he should work with incubus Castiel.

Drunk Texts and Midnight Snacks (4,589 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. College AU. Dean keeps sending Castiel drunk texts...until he stops.

Felix in Aeternum (23,837 words, work in progress). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Castiel meets Dean at a Halloween festival and learns maybe there’s some supernatural in the world after all.

For a Dream's Sake (28,511 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Canon divergent AU during season 13. Castiel falls into a djinn dream.

Lonely Eden (Co-written with Threshie) (44,091 words). Explicit. Graphic Depictions of Violence. Dean and Sam deal with the aftermath of the Croatoan outbreak until they meet a lone uninfected man, Castiel.

Profound Magic (Series, Co-written with Trenchcoatbaby) (227,233 words, 2 works). Occult student Dean runs into trouble with his strict thesis advisor, Castiel.

Season Z (by multiple authors). (220,673 words). Explicit. Graphic Depictions of Violence. Canon Divergent AU, post season 14, with zombies.

Undercover Angel (Series) (44,716 words, 3 works). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Canon divergent AU where Dean discovers that Castiel has a panty kink.

emmbrancsxx0

Departure Strategy (Co-written with choranaptyxic) (39,778 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Dean and Castiel meet when Mary decides to contact Castiel’s employers for their help assisting her suicide.

Castiel Novak's Office, This is Dean (121,472 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Dean and Castiel have a one night stand...and then Dean finds out Castiel is his new boss.

Evangelist (334,398 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Wealthy business heir Castiel meets poor Dean.

Five Ways to Wake Dean Winchester (without Getting Shot) (1,598 words). Mature. No Warnings Apply. Canon divergent AU. “Sometimes, Dean’s dreams are violent.”

Halloween Horror (Series) (117,399 words, 4 works). Canon divergent AU. Castiel and Dean discover a haunted house while cataloguing a Men of Letters library.

Ipamis Ol Olpri (56,418 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Canon divergent AU. Castiel and Jack need John Winchester’s blood to kill Michael.

On Falling (996 words). Unrated. No Warnings Apply. “He had fallen, further and faster than any angel before him.”

Saint's Hollow (Co-written with sleepinnude) (43,718 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Five years after Castiel and Dean are estranged, they’re forced to meet each other, and their shared past, again.

The Shawnee Trail (166,094 words). Unrated. Graphic Depictions of Violence. Stagecoach messenger Dean and Doctor Castiel have to deal with outlaws in 1887 Lawrence.

everandanon

All Things in Succession (313,468 words). Mature. No Warnings Apply. A/B/O Dynamics. Omega Prince Castiel is bound to Alpha Knight Dean in an arranged marraige.

At Midnight (8,516 words). Teen+. No Warnings Apply. Dean’s been pining for his best friend Castiel for a decade, and tonight he’s determined to kiss him.

By Any Other Name (6,785 words). Teen+. No Warnings Apply. Dean doesn’t want anyone to see his soul mark...but Sam sees, and tracks down Castiel.

Casicorn (56,649 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Detective Dean gets a new, mysterious roommate.

Expectations (418,319 words). Explicit. No Warnings apply. A/B/O Dyanmics. Omega Castiel is infuriated that his sister is to be wed to the Alpha crown prince Dean, whom they’ve never met.

I'll Be Home for Christmas (3,872 words). Teen+. No Warnings Apply. Castiel’s family has vastly misunderstood his relationship with his college roommate.

Issues (Series) (252,401 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Childhood best friends Castiel and Dean have a falling out that leads to them pretending to date.

Quarantension (129,289 words, work in progress). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. College roommates Dean and Cas quarantine together - strictly platonic, of course (yes, that includes the orgasms).

With Interest (161,935 words, work in progress). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. High School AU. Bad-boy Castiel bets he can make nerdy Dean fall in love with him.

FagurFiskur

All Been Blown Out (1,908 words). Explicit. No Warnings apply. Stripper Dean and mafioso Castiel have sex sometimes.

Anything You Can Do (21,087 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Dean, who is definitely straight (right?), is determined to prove by any means necessary that he’s better at sex than Castiel.

Becoming (4,924 words). Teen+. No Warnings Apply. Dean develops a relationship with the android, Castiel, who owns the coffeeshop down the street from him.

Don't You Cry No More (5,094 words). Teen+. No Warnings Apply. A rewrite of 15x20.

I Leave in My Heart (3,343 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Office workers Dean and Castiel are just friends with benefits...aren’t they?

Make It That Much Better (2,469 words). Gen. No Warnings Apply. Four times people mistook Dean and Castiel for a couple.

The Novak Hickey Mystery (1,540 words). Gen. No Warnings Apply. Professor Castiel’s class isn’t sure how he got a hickey.

Picture Perfect (13,356 words, work in progress). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Castiel is attracted to a man he sees in an old photograph...and then they meet in real life.

You Start to Grow Wings (10,911 words). Teen+. No Warnings Apply. Dean and Castiel have a relationship when they’re young, part ways, and meet against twenty years later.

LoversAntiquities

Beautiful Mess (12,849 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Dean grows wings, and has to deal with all the issues that arise thereafter.

Dean Winchester: Monster Fucker (30,358 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Cursed Dean finds himself disturbingly attractive to monsters...and Castiel.

Doubting Thomas (40,184 words). Mature. Graphic Depictions of Violence. Two months after disappearing, Dean and Sam appear in Castiel’s garden, and they’ve been made into angels.

Forget the Sky (26,392 words). Teen+. No Warnings Apply. Canon divergent AU. Dean wins big on a scratch off ticket, and he and Castiel go to Japan.

Heart Like a Wheel (24,921 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. College student Dean decides to model for Professor Castiel.

If Love Was a River (17,364 words). Mature. No Warnings Apply. Canon divergent AU. Orion is missing a star, and Castiel has fallen from the sky.

A Kite (720 words). Gen. No Warnings Apply. “Two gold bands burn a hole in his pocket - he doesn’t think he can wait any longer.”

Lights (2,671 words). Mature. No Warnings Apply. Pre-canon Dean meets season 5 Castiel.

Lonesome Roads (Series) (12,934 words, 2 works). Mature. No Warnings Apply. Canon divergent AU. Terminally ill Castiel merges with the earth to heal, and returns many years later.

Me in Honey (6,520 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. A/B/O dynamics. Castiel goes into heat, and Dean gets more than he expects.

Rooms to Let (Series) (32,962 words, 2 works). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Hunter Dean finds an angel crucified to a cross.

The Rosary (9,082 words). Teen+. No Warnings Apply. Castiel escapes from a home for stray angels and is found in the forest by a stranger.

The Safest Place (5,312 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. A/B/O dynamics. Dean feels the urge to nest.

Through the Mists of Time (Series) (24,689 words, 2 works). Explicit. Graphic Depictions of Violence. Dean is sent back in time 700 years and lands in the bedroom of the handsome Scottish Lord Castiel.

We Fly By Night (15,672 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. A/B/O dynamics. Business owner DEan can’t get rid of a strange mark on his arm.

We Gave Love a Chance (5,210 words). Teen+. No Warnings Apply. Canon divergent AU. Team Free Will gets a chance to rest on a Florida beach.

MandalaRose

Cupcakes and Kittens (73,937 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Dean finds himself with an abandoned kitten, and Castiel finds himself in a baking class, and fortunately, they also find each other.

Hot Gym Guys (Series) (18,805 words, 2 works). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Dean can’t keep his eyes of the sexy owner of Healing Hands Spa and Gym.

Interrupted (5,818 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Dean loves his kids but is ready to do just about anything for some alone time with his husband Castiel.

It's in His Kiss (7,877 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Hockey player Dean gets put on the kiss cam while standing next to his best friend (and secret crush) Castiel.

Netflix and Chills (15,503 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Canon divergent AU. Team Free Will tries to figure out if the coronavirus is Chuck’s next move.

New Holiday (6,258 words). Teen+. No Warnings Apply. A finale fix-it.

Paparazzi (7,004 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Hockey player Dean Winchester gets caught sleeping with billionaire Castiel.

The Shots We Don't Take (56,534 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. College senior Castiel hooks up with hockey player and playboy Dean.

Stay With Me (Series) (162,055 words, 4 works). Explicit. Graphic Depictions of Violence. Firefighter Dean rescues injured Castiel from his mangled vehicle after a car crash.

What I Need Most (32,397 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Canon divergent AU. Who does Dean really need most?

Y Tu Dean Tambien (6,909 words). Teen+. Archive Warnings Not Used. Dean has managed to keep his crush secret from absolutely everyone...except his crush, Castiel.

PallasPerilous

Baby, Baby (728 words). Teen+. No Warnings Apply. Musician Castiel and Engineer Dean meet ugly.

Boneless Wings (4,333 words). Mature. No Warnings Apply. Castiel’s wings aren’t always as sexy as Dean might wish them to be.

Fifty Ways to Lose Your Lover (1,106 words). Teen+. No Warnings Apply. Fix it for 15x18.

Funny Bone (4,933 words). Mature. No Warnings Apply. Canon divergent AU. Dean would give a lot to know why the posed skeleton is admiring his ass.

Occursus (4,341 words). Teen+. No Warnings Apply. Post-canon/15x20 fix it.

Piledriver (1,815 words). Teen+. No Warnings Apply. 15x18 coda.

Twenty Questions (1,246 words). Teen+. No Warnings Apply. Canon divergent AU. Castiel and Sam have a chat about Dean.

tiamatv

(Atypical) Love Story (13,360 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. A/B/O dynamics. Castiel is shocked when Dean is attracted to his scent.

Biological Imperatives (or Not) (29,103 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. A/B/O dynamics. Charlie convinces Dean to go on a date with her awkward professor friend.

Deference (9,981 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Criminal Castiel makes torturer Dean kneel.

Epistolary (9,408 words). Teen+. No Warnings Apply. Castiel leaves an unexpected note for Dean.

Intangible (13,927 words). Explicit. Major Character Death. Mechanic Dean loses his soulmate, and gets him back as a ghost.

Koinophilia (Series) (31,139 words, 2 works). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. A/B/O dynamics. Dean refuses to talk about why his heats come so infrequently.

The Neighborhood Watch (Series) (31,628 words, 6 works). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Castiel and Dean are husbands living a happy suburban life.

Nightshade (3,111 words). Teen+. No Warnings Apply. Canon divergent AU. Rowena accidentally feeds Dean a cursed aphrodisiac.

Pigment (1,573 words). Gen. No Warnings Apply. Canon divergent AU. Dean takes up painting.

South Side Swing (Series) (75,859 words, 6 works). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Dean, boss of the Chicago outfit, runs into trouble with Castiel, head of the Bratva.

Stripes (Series) (32,368 words, 3 works). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Castiel insists that he and Dean are not soulmates.

Tentacle Husbands (Series) (23,658 words, 3 works). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Octo Castiel and Prince Dean are happily married.

Top 20 authors over all: aeli_kindara, almaasi, bendingsignpost, castielslostwings, Desirae, Duckyboos, EllenofOz, followyourenergy, komodobits, ltleflrt, MalMuses, MandalaRose, NorthernSparrow, riseofthefallenone, saltyfeathers, sharkfish, tiamatv, tricia_16, whelvenwings, xylodemon

All authors who’ve ever been in the top 20: 60r3d0m, aeli_kindara, almaasi, Annie D (scaramouche), anyrei, bendingsignpost, castielslostwings, CloudyJenn, deathbanjo, Desirae, dothraki_shieldmaiden, Duckyboos, EllenofOz, emwebb17, followyourenergy, imogenbynight, jemariel, jhoom, jupiter_james, K_K_TiBal, komodobits, ltleflrt, MalMuses, MandalaRose, microcomets (formerly mishcollin), MittenWraith, museaway, NorthernSparrow, orange_crushed, ozonecologne, pantheon_of_discord, PersephoneShadow, quiettewandering, riseofthefallenone, saltnhalo, saltyfeathers, SaltyWords (agent4hire22), seperis, sharkfish, thepinupchemist, tiamatv, Trenchcoatbaby, tricia_16, unforth, VioletHaze, violue, whelvenwings, WinJennster, xylodemon, youaresunlight

The Top Ten Newly-Inducted Fics in 2021:

The Care and Feeding of Castiel by MalMuses (24,190 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Canon divergent AU. Castiel starts acting strange.

The Courtship of Combat by bendingsignpost (18,250 words). Teen+. No Warnings Apply. A/B/O dynamics. Castiel lies about his feelings for omega Dean to avoid an arranged marriage by his king.

Cupcakes and Kittens by MandalaRose (linked above)

Bitch Better Have My Money by Duckyboos (linked above)

Fire and Ice by Castielslostwings (189,629 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Firefighter Dean falls into bed with his best friend, EMT Castiel.

A Fish Out of Water by MalMuses (42,966 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Dean goes undercover at Brock Pleasure Ranch and discovers that merman Castiel is less a monster than he’d imagined.

Ghosts that We Know by dothraki_shieldmaiden (89,411 words). Explicit. Archive Warnings Not Used. Hunter Dean could wish that the best partner he’s ever had, Castiel, wasn’t a ghost.

Option C by followyourenergy (63,310 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. Dean and Castiel fake a relationship during their senior year of college to get rid of their asshole third roommate Vaughn.

Starstruck by peanutbutterjelly-pie (146,461 words). Teen+. No Warnings Apply. Castiel used to live next door to movie star Dean, but doesn’t think much of it...until he does.

Welcome to Pine Shores! by andimeantittosting (20,901 words). Explicit. No Warnings Apply. After retiring from hunting, Dean and Castiel buy a motel together, and they run it for years, and Dean pines the entire time.

The Top 20 fics of 2021:

And This, Your Living Kiss by opal_bullets

Angel’s Wild by LimonadeGaby and riseofthefallenone

Bitch Better Have My Money (series) by Duckyboos (linked above)

The Breath of All Things by KismetJeska

Cinderwings by bendingsignpost

The Courtship of Combat by bendingsignpost (linked above)

Cupcakes and Kittens by MandalaRose (linked above)

Fire and Ice by Castielslostwings (linked above)

A Fish Out of Water by MalMuses (linked above)

Four Letter Word for Intercourse by bendingsignpost

Not Part of the Plan (series) by Annie D (scaramouche)

Down to Agincourt by seperis

Ninety One Whiskey (series) by komodobits

Riptides by sharkfish

Russian to the Altar by MalMuses

So Says the Sword by komodobits

Stay With Me (series) by MandalaRose (linked above)

A Turn of the Earth by microcomets (formerly mishcollin)

Wild (series) by Castielslostwings

With Understanding by apokteino (not available online)

And may I just say, this is the first year that Twist and Shout didn’t make the top 20 list, and I am thrilled.

All Fics that Have Ever Made the Top 20/Top 10 List:

All Things Shining by Askance (doomcountry) and standbyme

And This, Your Living Kiss by opal_bullets

Angel’s Wild by LimonadeGaby and riseofthefallenone

A Beginner’s Guide to Communing with the Dead by suspiciousflashlight

Bitch Better Have My Money (series) by Duckyboos (linked above)

The Breath of All Things by KismetJeska

Broken Reflections (series) by anyrei and mugglerock

Carnival Oasis (series) by violue

Carry On by TamrynEradani (deleted)

Cinderwings by bendingsignpost

The Courtship of Combat by bendingsignpost (linked above)

Cupcakes and Chlamydia (series) by violue

Cupcakes and Kittens by MandalaRose (linked above)

Dean (and Cas’) Top 13 Zepp Traxx by pantheon_of_discord

The Dean Winchester Beat Sheet by saltyfeathers

The Dick Pic Verse (series) by Dangerousnotbroken

Down to Agincourt (series) by seperis

Fire and Ice by Castielslostwings (linked above)

A Fish Out of Water by MalMuses (linked above)

Flight by NorthernSparrow

Four Letter Word for Intercourse by bendingsignpost

Get a Whiff of This by bendingsignpost

The Graveyard Shift by riseofthefallenone

Hideaway (series) by thepinupchemist

Hooked on Your Love (series) by Ltleflrt

I Wanna Get Outside (of Me) by emwebb17

I’d Do it Over and Over Again (series) by tricia_16

I’d Rather Have You (series) by Ltleflrt

Kiss the Baker (series) by Ltleflrt

The Meaning on My Skin by saltnhalo

Not Part of the Plan (series) by Annie D (scaramouche)

Ninety One Whiskey (series) by komodobits

Oddly Shaped Empty by jemariel

Out of the Deep (series) by riseofthefallenone

Painted Angels (series) by WinJennster

The Path of Fireflies (series) by museaway

Protect and Serve by jupiter_james

PWP: Pie Without Plot by MajorEnglishEsquire and orange_crushed

Redemption Road (series) by multiple authors

Riptides by sharkfish

A Room of One’s Own by NorthernSparrow

Russian to the Altar by MalMuses

Satin and Sawdust by Ltleflrt

So Says the Sword by komodobits

Stay With Me (series) by MandalaRose (linked above)

Traveling Light by sharkfish

A Turn of the Earth by microcomets (formerly mishcollin)

Twist and Shout by gabriel and standbyme

Vagabonds by chevrolangels (formerly amarillogrande)

The Walk (series) by Persephoneshadow

What has Eight Tentacles and Isn’t Allowed to Eat Pie? by Annie D (scaramouche)

Where the Weeds Take Root by deathbanjo

Wild (series) by Castielslostwings

With Understanding by apokteino (not available online)

You Can Keep Holding On by NorthernSparrow

#spn #destiel #destiel favs survey #well that took almost four hours #gaaaaah #but it's finally done #so much for accomplishing anything else today

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princeescaluswords · 3 years

Note

*once more, dons the fancy and stylish hat of fandom logic and dramatically runs on all fours onto stage like Derek Hale* Following fanon criteria of what constitutes a "good alpha", Derek is terrible. You all say yourselves that his repeated awful decisions are "he's trying his BEST!1" and coddling him because he has Trauma. Well, maybe that makes him unfit for the role. Why didn't he kill Kate? How hard could it be for a superior born werewolf to kill a human? Murder is the best choice right? Shouldn't he have also sensed that Deaton wasn't a werewolf, let alone a Alpha, like how he sneered at Scott for using his smell at lacrosse practice? Shouldn't Derek have a sacred, special connection to the Hale alpha spark and sensed it inside Peter? Why can't this incompetent 20 something do ANYTHING right?

Competence has always been a red herring, for both the production and the fandom.

The production used it as a red herring in a positive way, highlighting that true strength and heroism comes from your motives and methods and not the final result. Yes, part of the subversiveness of Teen Wolf is that it rejects a staple of the urban fantasy/horror genre, saying that the end does not justify the means. Scott isn't the True Alpha because he'll destroy those who threaten his loved ones or pass judgment on those who don't agree with him, he's the True Alpha because ... well, let's go to the tape for some examples.

In Venomous (2x05):

Derek: I don't know why you think you have to protect everyone now, Scott, but even so, Lydia has killed people and she's gonna do it again, and next time, it's gonna be one of us.

Scott: What if you're wrong?

In Currents (3x07):

Deaton: It's rare. It's something that doesn't happen within 100 years, but every once in a while a beta can become an Alpha without having to steal or take that power. They call it a true Alpha. It's one who rises purely on the strength of the character, by virtue, by sheer force of will.

In Illuminated (3x16):

Ethan: You don't get it, do you? Scott doesn't care about power. He cares about people. You want to be a wolf in his pack? Try being a human in high school.

In Monstrous (4x10):

Meredith: He's the alpha. He's always been the alpha. He'll make it right. It never was with us. Too many people died because of us. We're the monsters. Even Banshees. Even me.

Lydia: I don't believe that. Not all monsters do monstrous things.

Meredith: Like who?

Lydia: Like Scott.

In Strange Frequencies (5x07):

Theo: If Scott really gave up on you for some piece of crap like Donovan, then he wouldn't be a True Alpha, would he?

Stiles: Or maybe that's the definition of one, someone who doesn't put up with murder.

In Apotheosis (5x20):

Kira: Me again. I have to leave. But I'm coming back to help. I promise. Because you're right, Scott. If anyone's going to save Mason, it's you. It's us.

In Pressure Test (6x05):

Tierney: Why do you care anyway?

Theo: Oh, I don't. But you should find Scott McCall. He's got a thing for taking in strays.

Again and again, Scott places the most value on each and every individual life, regardless of who it is and what it means in the grand scheme of things, and that is how he changes the world. Notice that this has nothing to do with whether he succeeds or not. In the show, he's not the strongest, or the smartest, or the best speaker, or the best tracker, or the most skilled fighter. People -- a lot of people -- still die as he struggles to defeat the villains. He does, however, care for others -- even Peter who transformed and violated him, even Chris Argent who hunted him, even Derek who manipulated him and beat him, even Deucalion who tried to reshape Scott into his image, even Stiles who lied to him and betrayed him, even Liam and Theo who worked together to murder him.

And, much to the show's credit, they didn't have Scott doing this effortlessly, implying that it's an innate function or Chosen-One destiny. Scott had moments of anger, of resentment, of ruthlessness, or giving in to the urge to win at any cost. In order for Teen Wolf to make its point, Scott had to be shown as just as capable of being a goal-oriented prick as any other character. That's why they had him threaten Gerard as he did, why they had him toss Isaac into a wall, why he dreamed of murdering Liam, and why he lied to Kira and violated Corey. The show didn't want to imply that only special people are capable of this feat, that he was somehow unique in the world, but that he chose to be this way.

And, parts of the fandom, as parts of the fandom always do, performed a nose-plant into the dirt to allow this point -- telegraphed so often -- to wiz right on past their head.

You see, the show -- much to my personal irritation -- allowed individuals like Peter to be successful. After all, Peter killed everyone involved with the Hale fire. He resurrected himself. He escaped Eichen House and the Wild Hunt. He discovered his daughter and forcibly inserted himself into her life. He ended the show having reclaimed his families legacy with his freedom and wealth intact.

But we will always know that he ended the series in such a positive position because of Scott. Just as Derek was able to change the way he approached the world, was able to move past his trust issues and put to rest his demons because of Scott. Just as Theo was able to find a new way to live because of Scott. As Chris Argent did. As Lydia did. Scott's leadership was, to use a phrase, transformative.

And yes, I hear the anti-Scott white-power Machiavellian wannabes grinding their teeth in outrage. There's scene after scene of text -- and not invented subtext -- which makes that the point of the show. They'll choke on it before they can bring themselves to admit it.

#scott mccall #true alpha #scott mccall defense squad #teen wolf fandom problems #teen wolf meta

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ectonurites · 3 years

Note

hey! how knowledgeable are you on stephanie brown? because i got in a bit of an argument with a dc fan on reddit who claims she's all these awful things, but im still relatively new to steph and i want to see what was true and what wasn't. link to screenie right here: https://ibb.co/vh6CYCJ

these may be matters of opinion, but even then, i'd like to know your take. i haven't read her firsthand often enough and i trust your judgement over this random redditor who seems to have some sort of blonde-woman related trauma left untapped.

I'm not necessarily the most knowledgable on her in the world, but I do know a decent amount because she's one of my absolute faves and I love her

But ohhhh boy that screenshot is a lot.

I will say that several of the things this person brings up are based in canon but are taken in the worst faith and framed in the way that makes her look as bad as possible, if that makes sense? It’s ripping things away from any context, because there's a very clear bias against her here.

I'll go through it point by point under the cut

First of all though before digging into this, I want to make it clear she was a 15 year old for the majority of the things this person is talking about. Like just pause for a second and remember she’s a 15 year old victim of abuse. That is something that I think factors into a lot of her behavior! Anyways, I kinda while doing this got into a ranty 'talking at you' format in response to the person who wrote all that, so don't take any of this as me yelling at you who asked the question/you anyone reading this.

"She always acted entitled" - Saying Steph is entitled is absolutely ridiculous to me. Stephanie grew up with a very unstable childhood due to her dad frequently being in prison and her mom dealing with a drug addiction, living in a lower class part of the city. Tim is entitled. I don’t mean that as like a bad thing about him, but he is based on his living situation, she is not. She has wanted life to be better for herself and her mom, and is determined about that, but she is not and does not act entitled.

(Secret Origins 80 Page Giant)

"and stubborn" - I will give you stubborn though, that one is true. She’s stubborn as hell! I don’t really see that as a bad thing though, pretty much every bat is stubborn?

"demanding that Batman and Robin accept her untrained ass" - Steph may have been untrained in fighting but she's shown to have exceptional gymnastics skills from the start, and at one point Bruce even says that with the right training she could be as good if not better than Tim (in Robin #88)! So like... her realizing she enjoys trying to be a hero after she tried it out to deal with her personal business, so she looks to the local experts… and is determined about it… how is that a bad thing? It’s also not like she walked up to them and said ‘im perfect as i am let me in’ what she wanted was a chance to be a hero. But she also wasn't even really looking for approval, either, not having Batman's blessing was never going to stop her. ("So excuse me if I don't jump when you bark, Batman." in Robin #16) Later when Bruce does bring her in to train (and she also gets to train with the BoP) she's excited! She’s stubborn about wanting to be in the hero business, but it’s not like she’s unwilling to work for it.

"advocating leaving criminals to die because they 'deserve it'" - She’s a 15 year old who grew up knowing firsthand how dangerous Gotham criminals can be because of her dad, of course off the bat when they’re in a dangerous situation where any of them could die (because that’s the context here, this is in Robin #35 where they’re trapped in some super dangerous snow) she thinks they shouldn’t go back for another criminal who just tried to kill them and should instead save themselves. But she also literally WITHIN THAT SAME ISSUE then says she realized she learned something after listening to Tim and trying to save the guy! In the same issue! Characters in a story aren’t supposed to be perfect from the start… they learn things along the way???

(Robin #35)

"trying to steal from the shops they just stopped from being burglarized" - She’s 15 and doesn’t have a ton of money. She was gonna take two sodas, and when Tim said not to do it she paid with very little fuss. They stopped people who were robbing the place at gunpoint for prescription drugs. If you can’t understand the difference in severity between those things like… I do not even know where to start. (this situation is in Robin #56 btw)

"forcing physical affection onto Tim despite his visible discomfort and repeated objections (not even stopping when he told her he had a girlfriend)" - This one I will give you because she did cross boundaries with all that! But I do also want to clarify that she didn't start coming onto him until after Tim kissed her first (in Robin #5) while not telling her he had a girlfriend. That doesn’t excuse her later actions but for the first issue that she’s coming onto him from her perspective he expressed interest and she was just returning it! She even specifically says 'Maybe I should pay you back for saving my life the same way you paid me' (in Robin #16) before kissing him. That first time she kissed him unprompted was under essentially the same circumstances he kissed her unprompted, and she literally did not know about Ariana until after the fact. From that point once she knew about Ari she definitely should have backed off and she didn’t, that’s a very fair thing to criticize about her as a character. But Tim lead her on first, and I feel a lot of people like to casually forget that when talking about this situation. The way this is phrased of ‘not even stopping when he told her-‘ implies she was repeatedly doing the bad behavior before he told her, which is not the case. She still did bad things here but don’t misrepresent the situation.

"And lashing out at Tim, her mother, and her classmates in violent fits of anger" - Every comic book character lashes out at other people for the sake of drama like, I dare you to come up with a well-known superhero character who hasn’t done shit like that to a partner/family/friends in a moment of high tension/stress?

"She treated the girls around her like they were stupid bitches" - frankly this ones a little too vague like, I'm not sure off the top of my head exactly what they're talking about? in that era right around her pregnancy and stuff I really don't recall her being mean with other girls? I could be forgetting something I guess but the closest I can think of is a bit after this period of time when she has the confrontation with Greta in Young Justice but that was Greta attacking her first, not the other way around.

"got insanely jealous if Tim so much as expressed concern about another girl" - Steph getting jealous and thinking Tim was cheating isn’t that crazy when STEPHANIE BASICALLY WAS THE OTHER GIRL DURING TIM’S LAST RELATIONSHIP? Tim has cheated a little bit before! Tim cheated on Ari with both Jubilee from Marvel (during a crossover thing where he even mentions Ari specifically so it’s not like this was out of continuity/a setting she wasn't an issue or something) and also with Steph. While most of the kissing between them was Steph coming onto Tim which I wouldn’t count as cheating on his end, he did still kiss her which I would count. Not to mention that the jealousy thing (I imagine they’re talking about the instance with Star, the girl who taught Tim to skateboard, this arc of stuff starts in Robin #80 and continues for a few issues) is happening during the time she’s dating him while she still doesn’t even know his real name. He literally has a whole other life she doesn’t know about, and is someone who has initiated romantic moments with other girls while in a relationship multiple times before! With that in mind I don’t think a 16 (she's def 16 by this point) year old girl being kinda paranoid about how he interacts with girls he might know in his civilian life is that unreasonable? The later big instance with jealousy is the Darla situation- where Steph sees Darla kiss him and gets mad about it (and doesn’t talk to him about it) and thats what prompts her to become Robin. The important thing to remember about Steph in this time frame is that DC decided she had to die and they wanted to make her Robin first to drum up more attention for that death. They were doing ooc things with her to set those pieces in motion, and that needs to be taken into account. I think her getting upset about seeing something like that isn’t even ooc, but her using it as motivation to become Robin and not even saying anything to him about it is. In the earlier instance where she’s upset/jealous about Star, she does communicate to him what’s going on at least a little bit on the rooftop after they’d saved her. She makes it clear the thing she was upset about is that she feels like she can’t trust him because she doesn’t really know him while he knows everything about her, and that’s why she thinks he’s cheating. Her reaction to the Darla thing is not in line with how earlier in canon Steph would have handled the same situation, because they wanted her to die and needed a way to explain her becoming Robin.

"and expressed that jealousy by accusing him of cheating and throwing things at him" - I just addressed the cheating stuff but the throwing things was fucking slapstick oh my god this is a comic book for kids/teens like. ah yes this is horrible abuse in this little funny montage of how Steph wants him to leave her alone because she’s mad at him and he refuses to give her space

(Robin #82)

I don’t think anyone at DC or even in fandom would/should try to argue she’s perfect, because she’s not! And I don’t want her to be because perfect characters are boring. Steph is flawed, Steph has been compared in canon to Robin-era Jason by Cass & Bruce

(Detective Comics #790)

And I think these highlight some of her very real flaws that are an interesting part of her character. These plus her stubbornness and determination are part of what makes her her.

And for fuck's sake the world was mean to her, and to act like it wasn’t is just blatantly ignoring a lot. A criminal father who made her life really difficult (‘when my dad was mad at me he’d lock me in the closet!’), that time she got kidnapped for two weeks and her mom had left her (a 15 year old) alone at home so long she didn't even find out it happened (in text Steph says Crystal was visiting friends, a lot of people interpret that as her mom possibly being in rehab for her addictions again), that whole thing about how one of her dad’s friends tried to sexually assault her as a child, also just how due to her dad's work sometimes criminals would be living in their house (Literally the fucking Riddler at one point!), the fact that we as an audience watched her get tortured for several days because a plan she tried to enact to prove herself backfired since Batman didn’t trust her with important information (something Selina even calls him out on in her internal narration), like… sorry but in what way is all that not the world being mean to her?

She was Robin, she dated Robin, she likes Eggplant (because purple would've looked stupid), and makes jokes. She’s also impulsive, headstrong and determined, and wants to prove to herself and others that she can be more than just the daughter of a shitty criminal, that she can actually be a force to do good in the world.

She’s a complex character, and nobody is required to like her, but to act like she doesn’t have a single redeeming trait is ridiculous. You could write a paragraph like that with the worst moments of basically any character and make them look like shit if that's what you were setting out to do.

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nymph1e · 4 years

Note

Okay fuck it, I gotta give in, I gotta watch through Supernatural. AFAIK, it's all on Netflix; at least I saw it on there in passing. Going into this, is there anything I should be aware of? Are there any episodes I should skip, any seasons? Should I start from season 4? I know the basic plot and concept, and I know it's very monster-of-the-week. But aside from me highkey shipping Destiel already, that's all.

Well my first piece of advice would be

but uh, let’s fucking ~GO~

If you’re actually jumping into this hellhole (why why why) don’t start at season 4. It’s tempting, but seasons 1-3 are some of the best shit in the whole show, also having context for Sam and Dean’s characters, and their relationship with the supernatural up to season 4 really highlights how fucking wild the introduction of angels is in the show. it’s basically a complete paradigm shift.

I would recommend you watch seasons 1-5 basically as is, though if you’re in a rush, season three is kinda skippable as long as you read a general synopsis. This is the original arc of the show and it shows. A friend of mine, @sammwinchestersdimples has said she’d have been fine if the show had ended there, and I can totally see her point. After season five things start to get... uhhhhh... not as good. THAT BEING SAID some really amazing seasons come later, and you’d get nowhere NEAR the Full Destiel Experience without them. What REALLY sucks is that all the seasons have good moments in them, so even if the seasons are generally bad, they’ll have episodes of GOLD. But fuck it, here’s a season-by-season breakdown.

Season 6 - This is the first... “eh” season. There’s a lot of character choices made in this one that I don’t like. The plot also doesn’t quite seem to know what to do with itself and it has no real main villain... or I guess it has a twist villain? This is also the season where they start chucking in the typical “no homos” you get when a show is queerbaiting, so they can point to the no homo bits and claim the queers are delusional.

Season 7 - The absolute WORST season, imo, is season 7, and it features Cas the least out of all the post season 4 seasons. You can tell the writers genuinely tried to write Cas off here. Not to mention the main plot is completely stupid. HOWEVER this is the season where we get golden things like Cas showing up to Dean’s prayer naked and covered in bees, and the episode where Charlie (best girl) is introduced and Dean subsequently has to flirt with a dude because she, a lesbian, cannot. (Wow so straight, Dean)

Episodes Not To Skip:

6x03 - A good Cas/plot episode (spot the famous destiel quote)

6x04 - A good all-round episode, also Jackles directed it so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

6x09 - This is one of the Batshit Episodes. Definitely watch.

6x10 - On the one hand, Cas episode. On the other, no homo, megstiel episode. Your choice.

6x11 - Good episode.

6x15 - THE ULTIMATE META EPISODE. Sam and Dean are teleported into Jared Padelecki and Jensen Ackles’ lives on the set of Supernatural and it is so batshit.

6x17 - Jolly good episode, and nice destiel content.

6x18 - Time travel episode, which is always fun.

6x19 - “Baby in a trenchcoat.” ‘Nough said.

6x20 - The Man Who Would Be King is the destiel episode. It is infamous in the fandom, and for good reason. It’s not just a good destiel episode, but one of the best episodes in the series. With banging lines like “Freedom is a length of rope. God wants you to hang yourself with it.” and “For a brief moment, I was me again.”

6x21 & 6x22 - The last two episodes are kind of must-watches after TMWWBK, trust me.

Episodes Not To Skip:

7x01 & 7x02 - follows on from s6 final. You don’t wanna skip.

7x05 - Good general episode

7x06 - Again, good general episode. Sets ups plot for the season.

7x08 - Ugh. So the A plot for this episodes invoves Becky, the insane, stalker, fandom-insert character, roofie Sam into marrying her (and it’s heavily implied they have sex - and it’s treated as a joke despite being LITERAL RAPE). BUT this is the episode where Garth is introduced and Garth is fucking amazing. So. IDEK.

7x10 & 7x11 - Plot important.

7x12 - Time travel episode! See if you can catch the bi!dean moment ;)

7x17 - Cas is back! Or is he???

7x18 - GARTH EPISODE

7x20 - CHARLIE!!!! WATCH THIS EPISODE!!!!

7x21 - Cas episode. It’s... interesting.

7x22 - The tagline for this episode is “Sam and Dean seek out an Alpha” 😭. It’s a Cas episode.

7x23 - If Cas weren’t in this episode I’d say skip it.

Season 8 - A fantastic season. If The Man Who Would Be King is the destiel episode, season 8 is the destiel season. When you watch this, DM me so I can RANT about all the amazing destiel this season. It’s also, again, a great season in general I remember watching it as it was airing it was soooo good. You have the arrival of the Bunker, you have Kevin and Charlie being awesome, some nice sprinkles of batshit episodes, BEST BOY BENNY rocks up in all his glory. Fucking epic season. Only downside it Sam’s character takes a bit of a dive. I’d recommend you watch through all of this season.

Episodes To AVOID:

7x13 - I literally pretend this stupid fucking episode doesn’t exist. Basically Dean impregnates a woman with Super Pregnancy and she has a daughter who becomes an adult within hours and then dies. The end. Everyone hated it. Man fuck this episode. Of course it was written by Buckleming.

Season 9 - Sadly, after how amazing season 8 was, and how spectactularly season 9 was set up, this season is a disappointment. It’s an ok season. It’s not bad, it’s not good, it’s just a bit all over the place.

I was going to give you the normal episode list to not skip, but looking through, most episodes this season should be watched for one reason or another. Either they’re Cas heavy, they do some interesting character building, or they feature one of the awesome side characters like Charlie or Jody.

This season is probably the height of the war in the writers’ room about destiel. Some writers want to no homo the whole thing and back way off, while other writers want to lean into it hard. So in the same season where SPOILER Cas loses his virginity to a random reaper woman and Dean kicks Cas out of the bunker to fend for himself, you also have Cas’ fatal flaw used as propaganda against him by Metatron being that he’s "in love” with humanity Dean. /SPOILER Whatever you do DON’T SKIP THE FINAL FEW EPISODES. TRUST ME.

Season 10 - Haha oh dear. This season is likely the biggest for wasted potential. You saw the end of season 9, right? You go “HOLY SHIT YES LET’S DO THIS” and then they do... season 10. They really became experts at setting up an awesome season only to fuck it up in delivery, right? Again, not a bad season, per se.

Episodes To AVOID:

9x05 - In which Dean wants to fuck a dog. I am not joking. I wish I were. Basically a spell-gone-wrong makes Dean doglike. it’s weird. it’s batshit. Not the good kind.

Season 11 - Season 11 is a pretty good season! They tried to give Dean a female love interest but Jackles said ✨No✨ and played Dean as brainwashed and uncomfortable the whole time and I love him for it. Of special note this season is the episode Baby (11x04), which is my favourite episode in the series! It’s funny, it’s heartwarming, it’s weirdly shot. I love it! We also get casifer this season which is awesome! Some episodes are skippable, but they’re generally good episodes.

Episodes NOT to Skip (ignore the 10 year special):

10x01 & 10x02 - Great episodes, Dean in this is *chefs kiss*.

10x04 - *sighs* Fan Fiction. A 200th episode that is simultaneously a love letter to fans and laughing in fans’ faces. I’ve never liked this episode for the second-hand embarressment of it all, but you should watch it and see if you like it.

10x06 - Pretty good episode.

10x07 - Jody AND Donna! Fantastic episode!

10x08 - Dadstiel rears his ugly head. I fucking love how Cas adopts two (2) kids over the course of the series and in both cases Dean eventually goes “ah fuck, I guess I gotta co-parent this thing”. Also we get some KILLER destiel this episode. hey go on a DATE and Cas tells Dean he’s a good person ^_^

10x09 - Good episode. Much destiel.

10x10 - Charlie episode!

10x11 - Teen!Dean! Need I say more?

OK so I just had a look, and you really just need to watch every episode from this point in the season on. Enjoy!

Season 12 - Another example of a TERRRIBLE season, is season 12. Season 12 is also one of the most destiel-heavy seasons in the show. You see the issue? Like, it’s got a stupid plot that makes no sense and has no fucking cohesion, but you also FINALLY have the writers going “fuck it” and all in on the destiel. After this point Dean never has another non-Cas love interest and vice versa, they stop giving us whiplash from baiting and no-homoing. IF the conspiracy theory is true, and the end of the show is shit because of executive meddling, this season is the one where the writers decided they were gonna push for destiel endgame.

I gotta tell you the truth, I skipped this season in my rewatch, so all of my memories are from years ago when it first came out. This seson was the last that I watched live (for a reason). Should you skip it? No. But I’m not well informed enough about this season that I can point out what episodes you should or should not watch.

Season 13 - Congratulations! You’ve reached the point where the show’s gotten consistently good again! (just in time for most of the audience to have already left lol). We start off with SPOILERS Dean mourning Cas like he’s lost the will to fucking live. I’m talking complete despondence, praying for Cas to come back, lashing out in anger at everything, one of the darkest points we’ve ever seen him at on the show, then pulling a 180 and being super happy the second Cas comes back. /SPOILERS They also introduce Jack, who is the SECOND child Cas decides to adopt and Dean ends up co-parenting (Sam too). In fact, Jack is explicity Sam, Cas, and Dean’s kid.

Season 14 - Another good one. My only issue is where they decided to take the plot at the end of the season. I’d recommend watching it all, regardless.

Season 15 - And so we’ve come to the end of the line. This season was... well it was actually pretty good. It started off with what we hellers lovingly refer to as the “divorce arc” where Cas and Dean have a big blow up, and Cas leaves, but that ends with Dean praying on his knees for forgiveness and a nice hug. Honestly this season you can cut the tension between the two of them like a knife, and you can tell Misha and Jensen were doing it deliberately.

I’d say watch up until 15x18, then you decide what to do with the last two episodes. If you want you can watch them to understand just why people put their conspiracy theory hats on, or you can send me another ask and I’ll rec you some post 15x18 finale fics! There’s one fic that’s a replacement for 15x20 written in script format that is particularly good.

Anyway that’s it. It’s kind of left me a little sad, to break down the show in this way. Especially coming up to season 15 nd remembering all the wasted potential. Honestly if you do decide to watch the show, good luck. I hope you enjoy it. I’m also glad you never had to be put through the bullshit false hope that came about after 15x18.

#supernatural #destiel #deancas #spn

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jonroxton · 4 years

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can you talk about chlark beyond chloe? personally i think it's weird that the writers kept adding kisses and weird romantic moments without any pay off. i don't know much about the fandom back then but i think the writers were baiting fans since clark/chloe seems to be the second most popular ship after clex. second i personally think chloe would never be happy with clark or anyone tbh and she doesn't seem like the type of person who would have kids so the finale was weird to me.

this got looooong :)

0. it WAS weird, and the choice to never not once go for it with them was to the story's detriment. I'll get into it a little later on in this post.

Re: shipping in sv fandom. there was definitely drama (clana was HUGE when the show was airing and every ship was basically derailed by it lol) but I stayed in my clois lane with a small circle of fandom friends much like I do now. a good measure of clois fans were fans of lois and clark from other mediums, come to sv just for lois and clark, myself included. we were pretty insulated as a fandom even back then. I do remember seeing more Chlark after the S5 finale (when Chloe kisses him goodbye), but those dropped off after Jimmy was introduced right away in S6. The most drama I encountered was with Chloisers: Chloe fans who believed wholeheartedly that Chloe was Lois. They hated SV!Lois and were convinced she would die so Chloe could take her name and job and place by Clark's side, thus a Chlark endgame. this was a popular theory amongst that fandom even into s9, when the clois ball started to roll for true.

bait and switch

a lot of Chlark is rooted in this notion that chloe WOULD be the best thing for Clark, the ideal Lois, the true best friend, the human hand guiding him through Earth's troubles. she would be could be the BEST possible lois archetype for Clark. it's not a wrong interpretation. she was specifically written as a lois-and-lana-proxy (teenage lana is a reporter in some AUs and even some as an adult as a tv correspondent) and she's given many lois-ish traits (tenacious, secretly crushing on clark and in denial), but this interpretation is deeply flawed. first, because lois does eventually enter into the picture and she has her own defining traits that, when compared to chloe, make chloe seem much shallower than realized. secondly, within the complete context of the story, her position in the greater narrative is not as ~the one who got away, the way it did very early on in S1-S4, but one who clark tolerates.

they're friends because clark is forgiving and chloe has staying power. their friendship is riddled with insecurities and unknowns the characters create for themselves. their dynamic is defined by conflict, not resolutions. this is not made easy by the fact that chloe is such a strangely written character, but ultimately she is positioned as a counter to clark achieving his happiness. not a thematic narrative foil but an obstacle clark eventually relents to.

2. and it has been so from the get-go

S1 is the best season for them and the single season which actually considers Clark's side in this dynamic. everything about them later on can be explained with how they are in this season. and that's the problem. when they're 14 it's nice teen angst drama and works perfectly to establish the dynamic. when they're 24 it's at best a pattern, at worst regression. we expect certain behaviors, dismiss them too, when it's children, at least I do. clark and chloe never move beyond the dynamic they establish in s1 and early s2. in essence, clark and chloe remain children around each other. they have many discussions in the later seasons that make at least one appear petulant.

so S1 clark has just been told the greatest secret of his existence and he imprints on lana hard that same night (right AFTER jonathan tells him, he meets lana at the graveyard and talks to her for the first time EVER, a lot of childhood imprinting going on in SV). all of s1 follows clark's heartache over lana, watching her from afar and figuring out a way to be near her. this pain is exacerbated by the fact that he believes he caused her her greatest grief: the death of her parents via the meteor shower which he arrived in.

here the first beat of the chlark dynamic is established: chloe's job and passion – the wall of weird and her pursuing the meteor infected oddities of SV - directly affects clark in a negative way (he's suicidal for much of s1-s3). so her crush on him is countered with her unknowingly causing him great grief. om top of that: clark becomes part of this passion of hers and she eventually begins to pursue him as a story to be uncovered, very superman yes. here tho, it causes nothing but strife for them and paints chloe in an awful light (and clark too, highlighting his refusal to open up). I personally enjoy this aspect of them in s1. bc they're so young I give em a free pass and it's a good conflict playing around with old superman tropes, but it makes for a fraught friendship.

3. the second beat

is that neither chloe's crush on clark, nor his asking her to stop pursuing his truth, do anything to stay her. her tenaciousness becomes intrusiveness and inconsideration (many of her accomplishments irt the daily planet are directly bc she betrays clark). she simply will not listen to her friend and does not believe his livelihood and autonomy is worth losing a story over. this is literally the opposite of comics/live action lois lane, who in various versions drops the clark reveal story to protect him. this passion turns vindictive pretty early for chloe, who eventually pursues stories about clark out of jealousy and entitlement (against lana also).

4. the third beat

is that clark doesn't ever see chloe as romantic prospect except this time in s1. the tornado trapping lana pulls him away from any solidifying of the clark/chloe dynamic, and that's that. but we know clark was willing to go for it in early s2 when he apologizes to chloe about running off on her. it's chloe who decides not to go on with the relationship. clark is visibly confused, but also 15 so he can't see that chloe is putting on a brave front to protect herself from clark running off again. I liked this too as it's another play on superman tropes, but my sympathy for them stops here.

5. and stays here

these beats are the entirety of this dynamic. everything about chlark can be distilled down to their childhood. it's why I don't hate them completely, bc I have a lot of love for kids who hurt in such a way and that time is never easy. in s8 (I think its s8) when we get a flashback to when they meet as kids (more imprinting!). little tenacious cute chloe kisses insecure clark bc of the funny awkward tension, acknowledging it, and then immediately takes it back because they're better as friends. (also they’re like 11 lol)

every single romantic moment with them is undercut either by chloe herself, or by the presence of other storylines/romances the writers wanted to pursue. the lack of integrity in chloe and the lack of interest in clark, regardless of how sincere their connection or how messed up, is a central part of their dynamic that needs to be reconciled with their friendship. and its exhausting bc there is never a point they are ever truly comfortable around each other.

6. to a fault

knowing the secret doesn't change chloe's methods. it doesn't make chloe clark's great confidante. if anything, it complicates matters for both because their relationship then becomes about the greater good and clark's great destiny. everything chloe does becomes about that, which in theory sounds awesome, but is executed much the same way as s1!chlark: by reiterating behaviors that highlight the negative aspects of that loyalty and the negative aspects of their characters.

the single time they do actively examine what this loyalty means and how chloe's hero complex complicates things for chlark is with s8 and davis. she protects davis with the skills of subterfuge and secrecy she developed as clark's friend. and it costs her jimmy and a lot of her personal integrity as a character. tho ironically it makes chloe the strongest she's been as a character. this is the first time clark is forced to view chloe as an enemy and he never quite recovers from discovering the dark depths she’s willing to go to.

it's an arc dealing with the established beats: how far chloe is willing to go for a kryptonian (very far), how much she's willing to do for him (A LOT and all of it illegal), and what it costs her (jimmy). it deals with her jealousy (always second choice) and her motivations (uncovering the truth). this great want that she struggled with for years is turned on its head and examined, revealing just how weird and dark her hero complex is because obviously davis is not clark. davis/chloe served to highlight more than any other arc how it's really too bad that clark never saw her that way, because she has so much love to give and when channeled, it's a great force. only it's a great force for evil. clark has to confront that it’s not just lex but his other closest friend who is willing to go so far. they backtrack hard in s9 and s10 but they keep this underlying wariness in clark towards Chloe throughout. it’s not anything new, but it’s no longer subtext that clark doesn’t fully trust chloe.

7. And that's the rub

in the end. chloe and clark have many storylines they're in together and chloe's important.... to develop clark and as a counter to clark. clark never instigates anything, not once, for 9 years! when the show did give us Moments TM, clark is reacting, not actively making choices to connect to her. if anything, clark is incredibly awkward about chloe when they become intimate. he doesn't seem to know what to do with her crushing on him (the elevator scene is a great one to show just how awkward chloe makes him feel). more than that. clark never tells her his secret. and later on, chloe doesn't tell him half the crazy wild shit she does to protect him bc she knows he would disapprove. I still hold that the only reason they work is bc clark is a forgiving character and would give her chance after chance after chance. that's the watsonian explanation, but the doylist explanation is that the writers just never cared to explore them beyond this point.

8. and what was beyond that point?

they would've been a great counter to lexana in S6 and early clana (clark finally having a gf who knows). it’s playing the clark/Chloe as a straight lois/clark proxy before actually pursuing lois and clark. it could’ve been the precursor to davis and caused an even more personal conflict! the kiss at the end of s5 was their chance. they could've written chlark devolving much the same way lexana did in s6 (or not). but again. the writers never went that far and clearly never wanted to. it kept chlark forever in this stage of childhood friendship always on the brink of collapsing, tittering either way. it's also tough to speculate bc clark's just not into her. in fact he becomes more and more wary of her, to the point where he believes she can do horrible things, and he's right. the stories continually make their methods complete opposite.

they go out of their way to show chloe realizing how happy clark is with lois. and even play a joke on the fandom by literally turning her into lois and seeing the sparks between her friends. it's almost... cruel but it does serve to show how clark is when he's smitten and he's never looked at chloe that way except during the dance when they were kids. other unrequited dynamics have at least some spark from the desired, but nil from clark. clark is into chloe in late s1, but she shuts him down, and when he seems to be into her again (damn that s5 kiss was a good one lol), she shuts him down again. it's just a weird writing choice all around, and that they kept nuggets of it throughout the show is the thing I cringe at most whenever I rewatch.

9. bait and switch 2

with hindsight it is definitely ship baiting and that sucks for that dynamic bc without it their friendship would’ve been the stronger, or at least not full of so much negativity. all it did was remind everyone that chloe’s been duped since she was a kid and that clark is both stupid and strange for never noticing and letting her get away with shit just bc she’s the most loyal. I don’t ship them and even I get frustrated lol

#mystuff #smallville #superman #anti chlark #sayruq #my meta

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duketectivecomics · 4 years

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You might've answered this already and I just didn't find it, but one thing that always perplexed me about Duke was how old he was in comparison to the other Batkids. It's obvious he's younger than Dick and Babs, and I pretty sure he's younger than Jason and Cass, and older than Damian, but I cannot tell if he's meant to be Tim and Steph's ages, younger, or older. Could you help me?

You’re all kinds of good here, anon!!! I answered a similar ask abt the Order of Adoption but didn’t dive into specific ages on that post BECAUSE well they didn’t ask lmaooo but ALSO:

Comic ages are very fluid usually! While Years™️ might pass in the canon proper, or while time seems to slow to a crawl, having a character’s age outright stated is something that occurs very rarely for most characters, if at all!

Because it’s always much easier to have a floating age range to work and play around in! It’s easier to keep a character Perpetually 12 or 16 or 25 or mid-40s or- you get the idea. SO, with that in mind. Let’s do our Best to Break Down What Age Duke Might Be Currently A N D how it might interact with the Other Batkids!

(Warning for a Very Long Post, lots of issue citations, and a LOT of comics terminology regarding specific runs/events/continunity. I’m gonna try to keep it as clear/concise as possible ofc but plz keep these things in mind! If you’re not at least marginally familiar with Bat-Comics, you might find yourself feeling a little lost here!)

So from the Zero Year arc we see a common Trend that plays out pretty consistently with Batfam comics: a Life-Changing Event Occuring while the protag is Young™️.

(Batman (2011) #30)

With how Duke is drawn in these particular issues, and given the trends of the past, I’d place him in the 8-12 range. The historic precedent being ofc that that is the same range that canon usually places both Bruce and Dick at for their Tragedies™; the more benign reason being that he... just very much Looks to be drawn in that Range. He’s very clearly an Older/Prepubescent child here.

Fast Forward to his Next Appearance in the Endgame arc and-

(Batman (2011) #37)

He’s definitely older! He’s wiser! And he’s giving Batman a fistbump lmao. Again, no strict age given here BUT, since they condensed each Robin to a Year or Two tops with Bruce (its n52 and its fucked up is what it is), we can assume it’s been at least 4-5 since Zero Year (which would mean if we go off the age range I proposed for that year, then theoretically he could be anywhere from 12-16 here, and I think that tracks pretty well. Not Perfectly and Certainly Not so well with Pre52 continuity ofc, but I’ll talk about that later!)

In We Are Robin, while its not stated Directly In The Text, it IS given as an Informational Tidbit that Duke is 16 (specifically this can be found at the end of issue #4)! (Sweet sweet canon confirmation FINALLY)

We know that WAR takes place Fairly Soon after Endgame (almost immediately, give or take a month or two given that Duke’s been placed in a few foster homes at this point and has racked up Quite A File) now, again id like to remind y’all that while this is a NICE starting point to have, keep in mind that comics are fluid and this may be retconned slightly/ignored in later stories bc Keeping Duke 16-ish is in DC’s Best Interest at the moment. (Having Relatable Teen Characters afterall is a Good Marketing strategy™️. And the longer they can Keep them Young, the Better)

With that in mind let’s take a moment to Highlight the fact that Duke and Damian have crossed paths at this point AND the storylines that have occurred during this year that were meant to be in conjunction with one another!

Because Prior to Endgame, Damian had Died! And just a year (in real, meat-space time) before We Are Robin, he was resurrected and had begun his “Year of Atonement” in the Robin: Son of Batman maxiseries. Midway through both this series and WAR (and, we can assume, midway thru this “Year” for Damian) the Robin War begins/ends and we see at least one major Moment between these two boys who will soon call one another brothers:

(Robin War #2)

Given that R:SoB is followed up VERY quickly by Teen Titans Rebirth (in which Damian celebrates his 13th birthday), we can conclude that Damian would be 12 during this time (well, 12 and 1/2 to play it safe lmao). That being said, this Confirms about a 4yr gap between Duke and Damian! (One Batkid down at least! but he’s the key to the others so put a pin in him!)

As We Are Robin draws to its conclusion, DC was releasing another arc that would eventually flow into the Rebirth Era, by the end of which, Bruce would approach Duke with an Idea (which involves Bruce becoming Dukes temporary guardian & as he states Many Times “Trying Something New” with Duke).

And thus the Rebirth Era begins, and Duke began his Year of training (most directly encapsulated by the Cursed Wheel arc in the All-Star Batman run:

(All-Star Batman #1 (back-up story))

Bruce introduces Duke to a training regimen that Alfred has named “the Cursed Wheel”. It encompasses all the training Bruce and the other bats have undergone and condenses it down into color-coordinated segments that will take Duke a Year to Complete.

It can be assumed that by the End of this Year Duke will somehow miraculously still be 16, despite, again, an entire ass year passing.

There’s one story that takes place mid-year in All-Star Batman, and the Cursed Wheel is meant to be capped off by Duke’s first Official Day as the Signal (in the titular Batman & the Signal ofc) BUT, near as I can tell after this story, Dukes age is not brought up again. So until they DO bring it up either in Batman & the Outsiders or whatever future run Duke becomes involved in, we can assume DC will be working with the idea that he’s meant to be in that 16-18 range from here on out (ie still a minor).

But, dear anon, you might be saying “okay, that’s cool, but how does that relate to my question abt how he falls in with the other Bats?” You’ll have to be a little patient with me here, but I think I may have cracked the code!

Keep in mind I’m gonna be addressing both the Post-Crisis to Flashpoint Continuity (ie mid-80s to 2010 in comics history) and the N52-slash-Rebirth Era (2010-Today). Its generally agreed by fandom and DC alike that these points of rebooting &/or Major Events constitute the era of “Modern” comics, and that everything from the 80s-on might more or less be canon on some level, even if not All of it is.

(Plus, most of fandom usually likes to borrow elements from both eras and much more rarely from stories before it, SO-)

Lets do a quick rundown of how everyone who’s Closer to Duke’s Age, Relates to each other first, age-wise:

Given that Jason was 15 when he died, in A Lonely Place of Dying its established that Bruce had become increasingly reckless since his death, and by the end of the story, Tim has stepped in to fill Robin’s shoes (he states that he’s 13 during this story btw). Pretty soon after, Stephanie Brown is introduced & established to be about a year older than Tim (wish I could pin-point a specific issue BUT, i unfortunately haven’t read any Tim OR Steph-involved comics that predate No Man’s Land... Besides the aforementioned Lonely Place and Young Justice technically, but im working on remedying that soon!)

NOW, during the No Man’s Land event, Cassandra is introduced, and pretty soon into her Batgirl run, its revealed that she’s around the same age as Jason (or at least how old he Would Have Been, had he not died.) Now, given that Jay has an August bday and Cass has a January one, fandom sometimes likes to play around with the idea of one being older than the other (OR even speculating/placing them in an AU as twins/siblings, given that Lady Shiva (Cass’ mom) was a Possible Candidate to be Jason’s biological mother but that’s a Whole Other Thing i wont get into here.)

The point being, Cass, in this era of comics, IS slightly older than Tim and Steph. At Tim’s start as Robin, their ages could either line up like: Tim-13, Steph-14, Cass-15 (being a few months ‘behind’ Jay), then Jason at 15/16 (depending on how soon Tim filled the role after Jay died in April) OR Jason-15/16, Cass-16/17 (in this case she’d be a few months ‘ahead’ now instead)

So brief detour to talk New 52, however! Because Tim, Steph & Cass all got switched around from where DC originally left them prior to the reboot! Now I haven’t read much of them in this era, other than Batman & Robin: Eternal, so my Understanding of their current ages is Spotty at Best. The general consensus seems to be that while before N52, Stephanie had been attending her first year of College (& doing VERY WELL i might add), with the reboot she was set back a few years alongside Tim to a vague Late-Teen state (so 16-18-ish, instead of a Very Clearly Established 18/19). Cass is probably the worst off for this reboot, given that B&R:E basically constitutes her new origin for the new continuity, and does nothing to confirm her age (all I really know is that she’s a Vague Late-Teen too... Probably? Maybe?), given how much they infantilize her, and subsequently how fandom in turn has taken to infantilizing her too, theres a semi-popular fanon that places her Younger that Tim and Steph. And I, for one, propose that we ignore that bc its Weak Sauce my dudes.

Some fans chose to ignore N52 continuity due to this vagueness, and will stick to the ages established before the N52/Rebirth reboots. But its something to keep in mind regardless bc we’re all obviously going to pull from what’s most familiar to us!

But WHERE could we place Duke with regards to them, then? Because them being “Late Teens” is certainly much too vague to work with!

This is Where Damian is the key!

Because Damian is one of those rare exceptions to the Reboot Rule. His story flowed almost seamlessly over from before to after. While he was made a Robin at the age of 10, he continued to grow and learn even after the universe was being rewritten to suit the whims of DC editorial.

If we choose to ignore how everyone else’s ages and origins were swapped around, and stick with the growth that was presented before the reboot, then we can draw some interesting conclusions!

Firstly, though Stephanie also had Died and subsequently Returned, she hadn’t lost much, if any time, from the Ordeal. At the start of her Batgirl run, she is enrolled at a Gotham university and making headway with a more firm foot in the Batfamily (even to the point that she and Damian spend a few issues bonding. At this point in time, Damian is definitely 11, and again, Steph can be assumed to be 18/19 during the course of her run. We’ll assume 18 for clarity’s sake.)

So, then when Damian is 11, now our line up is as Follows:

Dami - 11, Steph - 18, Tim - 17, Cass 19-21 (the range depending again, if you subscribe to Cass being either older/younger than Jason).

WHICH MEANS, If during Robin War Damian is 12 (and a half) THEN We’ve got an age line-up that Potentially looks Like This:

Dami -12(and 1/2), Duke - 16, Tim - 18, Steph - 19, Cass - 20-22 (And Obvsly Jason, Babs & Dick at their varying Older Ages than everyone here)

and im just now realizing i Didnt include Harper in this line-up, but thats bc she’d also throw a big wrench in all this. I’d personally throw her in with being Steph’s age, but I’m pretty sure she was supposed to be either that, or between Steph and Cass (again, since its N52, i believe Cass was/is assumed to be Younger than Steph, but that contradicts the assumed following of pre52 canon that we have for the above line-up, obvsly, and so we ignore that lmao)

All this to say, however, that canon and fandom is what you make of it, and if you want to wiggle these ages around a little, you’re more than allowed! God Knows i usually like to skew the Tim-Steph-Cass age group to be a tad older than this in my own fic writing, and I like to have Duke start as a Robin at 14/15 instead of 16, but that’s just bc I like the dynamic potential it could bring with them being Definitively Older that him, and thus in a more secure place to be Mentoring him right alongside Bruce & the others.

But you might see these age ranges and want to do something Different (say, making Tim, Steph, Cass, & Duke all the Same Age at 17 instead! And that very well tracks with how current comics kinda looks right now!) and you’re absolutely valid to do so! Because again, comic character’s ages are meant to be fluid, not fixed!

And at the end of the day, its all about wanting to see these teen heroes kick serious ass haha

#duke thomas #guest starring:#batfamily #damian wayne #tim drake #stephanie brown #cassandra cain #randywrites #randys meta #meta #asked and answered #anonymous asks #this was A LOT and i tried to throw some humor where i could #but uhhhh yeah!!! i hope this helps anon!!!#also just realizing its TWO AM WHERE DID THE TIME GO #ah well. Worth It

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conservativetranny · 4 years

Text

2020 blog update

Hello. No idea if any of you ‘remember’ me but I do seem to have a fair few followers on here. I managed to access the login information for this account and it is safe to say this blog is dead. I denounce everything I stood for on this stupid shit.

I’m writing this because it’s what the blog deserves. Not looking to be dramatic, not looking for sympathy, in fact I think i’ll get a bit of backlash for this but bring it on.

The past and the present- a summary

I had this blog when I was 14, unfortunately way too young to have a social media presence (one which carried any responsibility like this one anyway). No matter what age I said I was, no matter how I portrayed myself or how you, my followers interpreted me, I was a sad young trans guy desperately hoping to look big, cool, masculine and stoic, and that manifested in the most toxic way possible.

I’m 17 now, still very very young, and after developments in my life, especially pursuing my medical transition and becoming happy within myself, I no longer hold such toxic beliefs as I once did. I am happier with myself and no longer feel the need to sacrifice others’ dignity, respect, and unfortunately sometimes on this blog, privacy, for my own. I was a very insecure, stubborn, and ignorant teenager, who dealt with a lot of denial. I’m not blaming the way I treated people online on other factors, but of course external factors came into play. I was dealing with bullying and insecurity, with parental problems, and with loneliness and depression. I seeked some sort of community, and I wanted to push myself away from the ‘weak’ trans community (the way I viewed it at the time). I wasn’t in denial personally, with the fact that I was trans (being gay is a different story- I was in complete denial with the fact that I’m gay), more just with the way other people viewed me (I will expand on this). I could elaborate on the way in which I viewed other people and the way that projected onto my conduction online, but it is a complex and confusing story. I have completely changed my viewpoint on trans ‘discourse’, I am open minded, I am close friends with people I would have turned my ignorant nose up at years ago. I am so proud to say that I am a completely different person now. I grow every day, it seems, and I can assure that I will never return to this ignorant mindset.

Growth

With experience, I have grown too. Obviously, from 14-17 i have become more mature. I have different experiences now as well, for example, I don’t bind often at all really anymore, because its more comfortable and can sometimes make me more dysphoric to know I am binding. I’m bringing this up because I bet you back when I was active on this blog, I would’ve laughed at the more mature, tolerant me, and probably went on a tyrade about how I was a fake trans guy or less of a man for not binding. I often wonder what ‘old me’ would think of ‘new me’. Now obviously, three years isn’t a hell of a big difference, but to a 17 come 18 year old it is. I understand I am not an adult yet, but I’ve always taken pride in conducting myself with a sense of maturity and articulacy, and for this post and platform especially I feel it is appropriate.

The Truscum Mindset

Back when I ran this blog, I was in an echo chamber of like minded people, which didn’t help my ideological development. I watched youtubers like Blaire White and Kalvin Garrah, who I thought gave me a balanced, moderate, and fair opinion which is clear is not the case. Back then I would’ve scoffed at the idea of Blaire and Kalvin and other similar people as being radical or a gateway, but I urge you, if you feel you are slipping to obsession with those ideologies, to seek to widen your opinions and associations. I understand it’s a fairly niche discourse topic, but for me it opened a wider rabbit hole into the alt right. From wanting to fit into the lgbt and wider communities as a masculine male, this opened up the black hole of the alt right, I browsed (now deleted) subreddits and 4chan boards, and forums that put me in a very negative and dangerous place. If you’d like me to make a post elaborating on this, I am more than happy to, but this post is to address conservativetranny.

Denial and owning up to responsibility

Back in 2017/18, I was very much in denial of certain aspects of myself, especially my sexuality. I am gay. I thought that this was, and especially as a trans guy, a demasculating quality. I still deal with those feelings sometimes, as a lot of young gay guys do, but thankfully it does not manifest itself as toxic as it once did. I just wanted to portray myself online as how I thought I wanted to be viewed-I didn’t want to be viewed like ‘any other trans guy’. I wanted to be different, but now I can appreciate individuality and I can also embrace being trans as well.

I used to think that having alt views was the coolest thing ever, which contributed to my slip into the alt right, something on which I’ll elaborate on in later posts. I am now an advocate for deradicalisation, and being rational, truly rational. I’m also an advocate for maturity and owning up to your mistakes.

I have hurt people, especially in my personal life, throughout my time as a stupid, thoughtless immature teenager and i am sorry, from the bottom of my heart, for that. I now respect the hell out of those people and unfortunately, but definitely rightfully so, they have lost their respect for me. I don’t blame them, because as I said, up until very recently I was a horrible, toxic person. With maturity, in the past half a year I have been able to own up to my mistakes and I am now taking responsibility for that. No excuses, because I was a shitty person. Of course there is a line between excuses and justification, and I hope those which are reading this can distinguish and appreciate this difference.

Self Hatred and Truscum

Back when I ran this blog, it was very easy to tell I was self hating. Everything I wrote on here, pretty much, was hateful except for the odd two posts that were about something unrelated to my ideology. I was extremely dysphoric and in a bad place when I wrote these things and certainly projected my insecurities onto others. I wanted to find a community of different thinking people that would accept me, and this community was certainly the wrong turn. I had a feeling that it was wrong at the time, but I was too naive and cowardly to own up to it and seek a way out. I kind of just naturally fell out of it, a a lot of things happened in my personal life in late 2018 that forced me out of trans discourse and into much more toxic places like the alt right and true crime fandoms, and I think I’ve only recently ‘found myself’ in the past year or so. I might make a post on self growth on the future as I intend to keep this blog to elaborate and voice my opinions on deradicalisation and highlight the importance of owning up and self awareness.

Don’t fall into the rabbithole

I’m not too acquainted with trans discourse anymore, so I’m out of the loop on this one, but I’d imagine that there’s still ‘transmed vs tucute’ ideas. Kalvin Garrah’s community comes to mind, I haven’t watched his videos ‘as a fan’, if that makes sense, for a while now but I am aware he has a large fanbase of young trans teens that were in a similar mindset to where I was back when I ran this blog. I would love for this post to reach his opposers and supporters for that matter, as a means to show them that they don’t have to fall into this cycle of hate which can be very damaging. I used to be an avid fan of Kalvin, and Blaire White, amongst others. I watched exclusively their content alone and formed my opinions around theirs. If you’re doing that now, I urge you to consider other people when you do. Think about the people like Brennan Beckwith, people who were severely impacted and hurt by hateful rhetoric. Those people are human too, and with maturity you will learn that people with different experiences and views are, at the end of the day, the same as you, and they have feelings as well .I’m going to make a post in the future about Kalvin Garrah, certainly, but maybe Blaire White as well.

Why now?

You may be wondering why this post is being made now of all times, and that is a question that has every right to be asked. I feel as if this timing is right because I finally possess the level of maturity needed to own up to my mistakes and tell you that I was wrong and it was certainly wrong to post those opinions and mistakes online for all to see, and put people in my real life on blast like I did.

I had completely forgotten about this blog, and forgot about the rude and ignorant words I had written towards the people in my real life, until chance had it that I was in contact with one of the people mentioned in this post. [https://conservativetranny.tumblr.com/post/169351517511/no-one-pretends-to-be-trans]

I’m not going to go into the nuances of the conversation we had, but it turns out they had, for a while and definitely rightfully so been hurt by the fact that I had mentioned them, by name, in this post. And while I’d of course still like to keep these people anonymous and will not sacrifice their anonymity in order to tell a story or ‘save myself’, this post is quite funny to read back on as I am good friends with the people referred to as ‘P’ and ‘Shadow’ now.

This is the end of this post, as I feel I have said everything I have wanted to say regarding my previous conduct on this blog. I’m going to change my name on this blog and my bio as I do intend on further posts in the future. I’m not sure how many people, if any, this post will reach, but I’m satisfied I have written this anyway. I certainly do plan on writing future posts but I’m not exactly sure how to formulate them. But thank you so much for reading this far, and if you have, I appreciate it.

#truscum #transmed #ftm #trans #dysphoria #kalvin garrah #kalvin garbage #terf #deradicalisation #i have literally no idea how to tag this #tucute #do people even say that anymore lol

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destielficarchive · 4 years

Text

Deleted Author Profile: TamrynEradani

Author and co-author of more than 50 fics, for a while TamrynEradani was one of the most popular authors in the fandom, especially known for their break-out BDSM fic, “Carry On.” They’re also one of the easiest deleted authors to talk about, because they gave warning before they deleted so people could save files and (as far as I know, anyway) gave blanket permission for copies of their works to be distributed.

Work Highlights:

Carry On, and its Timestamp (Explicit). 148,087 words (main story); 5,985 words (timestamp). No Archive Warnings Apply.

When Sam gets into Stanford, Dean needs a bigger paycheck than Bobby's garage can give him. Luckily, he knows a guy.

This is the original summary but it unfortunately gives little idea of what Carry On is actually about; basically, from a “fandom history” stand point, Carry On (written in 2013) created the BDSM genre for the Destiel fandom. While of course it wasn’t the first Destiel BDSM fic, and far from the only one even at the time it was published, it was such a major work in terms of popularity, and so well known and widely read that, especially in 2014 and 2015, almost every BDSM story that came out bore echoes of Carry On. The basic premise is: Dean needs money for Sam’s tuition, and so he decides to become a sub-for-hire, and is hired by Cas. Sound familiar? Well, Carry On did it first. (don’t take this as a judgement call or a statement on the quality of Carry On or any of the works that came after).

(Archivist’s Note: don’t expect me to write quite so much about every story, but unlike the vast majority of the fics in the Archive, I actually read Carry On, when it was still up on AO3, and so I can speak a little more than usual to it’s backstory and plot.)

Set Me Up, Buttercup (Teen+). 30,071 words. No Archive Warnings Apply.

Dean is the starting setter for his college's volleyball team. His plans for the year include winning Conferences, passing his classes, kicking Benny's butt at basketball, and making sure Ash remembers to eat and bathe on a semi-regular basis. He doesn't plan on meeting Cas Milton but once he does, Dean's carefully planned year changes.

TamrynEradani’sentry to the 2013 Dean/Cas Bing Bang is a college AU with art by crimsonswirls.

Time of My Life (Teen+). 35,940 words. No Archive Warnings Apply.

Dean Winchester is an ice dancer who is scrambling to find a new partner after his couldn't skate with him anymore. Castiel is an ice dancer who can't seem to keep a partner. They're each other's last chance but can they also be each other's best chance?

It’s been years since I read this but irc, Time of My Life isn’t a Cutting Edge AU - TamrynEradani had never seen the movie, I think is in one of their author’s notes - but if you’ve seen the movie you’d never guess that. As the summary makes clear it’s not a precise overlap, but there’s definite commonalities.

The Dean Smith ‘Verse (Explicit). 6 stories, 28,483 words. No Archive Warnings Apply.

Dean Smith is a man of routine. Castiel takes him apart.

Another BDSM AU; Dean Smith becomes the sub for Cas. As a side note, the verse includes a threesome with Benny, but is most definitely primarily a Destiel AU.

This Crooked Fish, co-written with clotpoleofthelord (Explicit). 3 stories, 52,249 words.

With the first Lady Knight in centuries, a tournament and Progress to honor a Royal Marriage, and the Crown Prince falling in love with the King of the Rogues, it's certainly not going to be a boring year in the kingdom of Tortall.

Written with Tamryneradani, who is no longer on the internet.

Note that This Crooked Fish is still available on AO3.

Interested in any of these or other works by TamrynEradani? There is a publicly accessible list of their most popular works, with links to download them, that can be found here. (the archive also reblogged this post earlier this week)

Or, click on the read more below to see a list of which TamrynEradani fics are available in the Archive, and which we’re still looking for!

Warning: While I am willing to distribute what I have - please contact me by DM for more information - if I hear anything from the author or their representative asking me not to distribute these fics I will cease to do so. Thank you for understanding!

Fics by TamrynEradani currently in the Destiel Fic Archive:

A Glimpse of the World

A Lesson in Communication

An Empty Heart and a Full Clip 1: An Empty Heart and a Full Clip

An Empty Heart and a Full Clip 2: Graduation Party

Baking Season

Beloved

Both Sides Now

Carry On 1: Carry On

Carry On 2: Five Times Sam and Cas Met

Dean Smith Verse 1: Delayed Gratification

Dean Smith Verse 2: Who I Am When I'm With You

Dean Smith Verse 3: Positive Reinforcement

Dean Smith Verse 4: Work It

Dean Smith Verse 5: Weekend Getaway

Dean Smith Verse 6: Caught in Between

Don't Stop Believing

Employee of the Month

Games We Play

Get Out Alive

He Prayed to You Every Night

Heavenly Delights

Here in Your Arms

Hero

His Mother's Son

I Can Haz Kittenz

I'm Sorry

If You Rock the Boat, You're Gonna Get Splashed

Inside Your Heaven

Like a Human

Morning Sunshine

Mornings Like These

Most Obnoxious Angel in the Garrison 1: Paging the Righteous Man

Most Obnoxious Angel in the Garrison 2: Baked Lays and Nail Polish

My Morning Light

Never Enough

No Place Like Home

Now I See

Part of the Family

Patchwork Project

Peace of Mind

Rest for the Weary

Set Me Up, Buttercup

Softly Spoken, Softly Received

Take Us Home

Teacher Dean 1: New Students and New Beginnings

Teacher Dean 2: Tea Parties and Burritos

Teenage Rebellion

The Auction

The Dean Winchester Guide to Dating 1: Consent and Intent

The Dean Winchester Guide to Dating 2: Flowers are a Must

The Life of a Hunter

The Monster Within

Time of My Life

To Boldly Go

Unusual Combinations

Welcome to the Dork Side

What's in a Name

Whisper My Confessions to the Dark

Work It

Fics I Do Not Have Copies Of - IF YOU HAVE COPIES AND ARE WILLING TO SHARE THEM WITH ME, PLEASE CONTACT ME!

A Lifetime Special

Angels We Have Heard on High

Deck the Halls

Drive-In

Get Off My Beach

I Put Myself in Your Hands

My Pretty Boy

Speak Now

Tinfoil Dinners

Note: if you know of or have a copy of a TamrynEradani work that is on neither of the two lists just above, that means I don’t know said story even exists, and even if you don’t have a copy I’d appreciate if you could tell me the work title so I can try to find it. I do my best to be thorough, but tracking down full work lists for deleted authors is an imperfect art at best, and can be nigh-impossible at worst. Thank you!

#the destiel fic archive #spn #destiel

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waywardfangirl · 4 years

Text

Both @captain-aralias and @palimpsessed did really nice posts to share their fics from this year as well as their thoughts on what they wrote, and I enjoyed reading their posts (and their fics!) so much that I thought I would take them up on their open invitation to do one too! I’m a big believer in keeping lists of your accomplishments to look at on days when self-doubt creeps in, so I encourage anyone else who might be interested to do this too! (All the questions are copied from @captain-aralias)

List of Completed Fics this year:

I wrote ten fics this year, as well as starting a ton of WIPs, which is amazing to me, considering I have only written fic once before in my life!

Slow - General, 3k

We’re Not in Genovia Anymore - Teen, 28k

Promises - General, 3k

A Privilege to Love You - Teen, 7k

Early Riser - General, >1k

Write This Down - General, 3k

As You Wish - Teen, 13k

The View from the Veranda - General, 4k

Down By The Sea - General, 2k

Just Want You to Know Who I Am - General, 1k (written in 2020, posted in 2021)

Total: 10 fics, 67k words, 100% Snowbaz

Pretty good for what is truly the first year that I have been an active participant in fandom!

Questions answered below the cut.

Best/worst title?

A Privilege to Love You is my favorite title, because I think the line is just so sweet, and it makes my heart melt.

We’re Not in Genovia Anymore is definitely my worst title, because that was just the placeholder name I gave the WIP, but then I got so used to it I forgot to change it to something better before posting. I still cringe a bit at that one.

Best/worst summary?

l am horrifically indecisive, so I have a few summaries that I like. Just Want You To Know Who I Am is short and sweet, and I think it conveys exactly what I want it to:

Baz is fine. He's fine. Everything is fine. (It just isn't.)

~A fic about being loved in all the little ways~

But I also really liked the quotes I pulled for The View from the Veranda, As You Wish, and A Privilege to Love You.

Early Riser also has a summary that I let break my heart:

Baz wakes up early now, even though Simon doesn’t.

I does very little to convey what the fic is about, but after reading the fic it hurts like I wanted it to, sooo.....

I think that Promises has the worst summary though:

Inspired by the song "Promises" from the musical Hadestown.

Simon and Baz have spent the last three years working on themselves and on their relationship. Now it's time for their next step together.

Best/worst first line?

Baz says it best to open The View from the Veranda:

I am not a man accustomed to enduring want.

However, Simon deserves an honorable mention for starting us off right in As You Wish:

Baz is such a prick.

As for worst opening lines, I don’t really think I have any. I have some that stand better as an opening paragraph than an opening line, but I place a lot of importance on the first line of a story, so I like to make sure all mine are strong.

Best/worst last line?

I am not going to spoil any last lines for anyone (I cover up the last page of books when I read to reveal it slowly, word by word, so I take last lines seriously!), but I will say that As You Wish has an adorably predictable last line that I love.

For worst last line, I have to say Slow. I liked the line itself when I wrote it, but then I learned later that people were interpreting it in a more steamy way than what I had intended, and because I feel like Slow is such an innocent fic and really highlights how important it is for Simon to not be rushed into every decision he makes, I don’t like that it sounds like he and Baz rushed into something else. (I just meant that they talked and maybe kissed a bit! That’s it!)

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

On December 31st, 2019, I was pet sitting when I came across a prompt for a Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement Snowbaz AU. I impulsively started to write, even though I had only written one other fic in my life (Check, Please!), and I had never written Snowbaz before. I kind of thought that maybe I would write one fic and that would be all, and that maybe one fic is all I would ever write, but I am so happy to have been wrong about that! I wrote way more than I could have predicted, and I even did NaNoWriMo! (I failed NaNoWriMo too, and I’m okay with that, because I want writing to be something I do for fun, not something that stresses me out.)

As a fun side note, Carry On is a fandom that I have returned to many times in my life, and it seems to have a special place on New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day for me. I was given Fangirl as a Christmas present, and started reading it on New Year’s Eve, only to finish it and realize that the new year had arrived while I was engrossed in the book. I have spent multiple New Year’s Eves since engrossed in a reread of the book, or reading fic, and so it feels really fitting that I got into properly writing fic for Carry On as the year turned over.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?

Literally all of this was unexpected, as I never planned on writing any more fic, but I think I am most surprised to have written multiple songfics. I never read many songfics, and didn’t often care for them, but I wrote Promises off of the song from Hadestown, Write This Down off of George Strait’s song, and then Just Want You to Know Who I Am because Caity got the Goo Goo Dolls stuck in my head.

What’s your favourite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

My favorite might actually be my most popular, so I’ll go with my close second favorites (it’s a tie)

A Privilege to Love You is a soulmate au, and those are my favorite things ever. I also received some of the best feedback on this one, and I feel like I did a lot of things that worked really well in this fic.

The View from the Veranda is just so wonderful for me though, it combines my love of history with absolute silliness for a friend (I love you Liz!!!), @krisrix did some INCREDIBLE art for it, and I just had so much fun writing it.

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

As You Wish was the most popular, hands down, with more hits, kudos, comments, and bookmarks than any other fic I wrote. It’s also the fic of mine that I reread the most, because it makes me so happy and I love all the silly moments.

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

We’re Not in Genovia Anymore is probably the answer here. This isn’t entirely backed up by metrics, since it does have more hits and kudos than some of my other fics, but for how long it is and the work that went into it, I think it only got a portion of the attention I was hoping it would. That’s mostly my fault though! It was the first fic I wrote for this fandom, and so I have definitely grown as a write since! Additionally, while I feel like it has a lot of great moments and fantastic lines, I have some lackluster bits too, and it really suffered from not having a beta (I was too shy to ask anyone back then). It’s also an AU of a movie that isn’t as widely viewed as I previously thought, so that didn’t help either, and as I already said, this fic could have a much better title.

All that aside though, the people who have read and talked to me about this fic have really seemed to like it, so I’m glad that I did right by my fellow Princess Diaries 2 fans! (and all of the wonderful people who read it and commented nice things having never seen the movie, y’all rock!)

Story that could have been better?

Everything I wrote before asking someone to beta. I just talked about what I would improve in We’re Not In Genovia Anymore, but Promises could use some work too. Having a few wonderful friends help me edit my fics has really improved what I post!

Sexiest story?

Oh gosh, I am not someone who writes sexy things.

Having said that, The View from the Veranda was written in the style of a bodice ripper, so I think that makes it the sexiest story by default. Kris’s art also enhances its sex appeal by at least 200% (I laughed out loud when I was making the list at the start of this post, because I had entirely forgotten that fic is rated G - honestly, that tells you everything you need to know about me, my romance novel fic can be read by children haha) (I might give it a T rating at some point, just because I feel like it should have that)

**I just remembered the bonus chapter for As You Wish.... that might be the sexiest thing I’ve written haha 🤣

Saddest story?

Early Riser - I am a big believer in giving everyone who deserves it a happy ending, but this one is just an interlude of sadness and depression without any resolution in sight.

(If you read it though, please know that in my head they do get therapy and things do get better! Snowbaz always has a happy ending in my fics, even if I don’t write it out fully)

Most fun?

As You Wish - this one to me feels like the happy chaos of running and sliding around a big house in stocking feet, and I don’t have a better way to describe it than that. There’s a tiny bit of angst from Baz, and a little bit of panic from Simon, but I was smiling and having so much fun while writing this fic, and I really think it comes across.

Story with single sweetest moment?

A Privilege to Love You - I’ll let you decide which of the many sweet moments is actually the sweetest ❤

Hardest story to write?

Promises, no question about it. I had written two fics by that point, and people had been so nice, and some of you lovely folks had even started tagging me in WIP Wednesday posts and in Six Sentence Sunday posts, but I felt like I had no inspiration left and I kept worrying that I wouldn’t be able to write again. So, I forced myself to write something, and it felt like pulling teeth (and it honestly wasn’t very good), but I gifted it to the person who had been my biggest cheerleader and who had tagged me a million times, and that’s how @foolofabookwyrm and I became friends. Writing the fic sucked, but her friendship is worth it, a million times over 💜💜💜

Easiest/most fun story to write?

The View from the Veranda. I’m a historian, and I work a lot with primary sources and spend time speaking with others in 18th century language, so once I got into my “work mindset” the words just flowed. This was also a silly, happy story for me, because I included a lot of jokes for Liz, and there are a ton of details that are just hilarious if you work at the same place I do (sorry that none of you do, but let me just tell you, the descriptions of Simon are all based off of my most attractive colleague, and at least 15% of this fic is silly quotes from work). I think this was only supposed to be about a thousand words long, and I messaged Kris multiple times while writing just to tell him that it was getting out of control and I couldn’t stop writing 😂

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?

Writing for Agatha in We’re Not in Genovia Anymore really made realize how much some of her (canon) story resounded with me, and I liked the deeper character study I ended up doing for her. I’m still always going to be the most in love with Baz, but I have a deeper connection to Agatha now too.

Most overdue story?

It’s still overdue. I have so many WIPs, at least seven of which are soulmate AUs, and I just keep starting more. In terms of actual planned release date though? I started writing a The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue AU for NaNoWriMo, with the intention of publishing it in January. It’s already the longest fic I’ve ever written, and I don’t think I’m even a quarter of the way done with it. I wasn’t happy writing for NaNo, because I don’t do well with creativity on a deadline, and I chose to pause work on that fic so I can actually enjoy writing it and end up with something I like once I finally return to it. Apologies to those who are anxiously awaiting the fic, I do hope to finish it this year, and I won’t post until it’s all done, so you’ll get a very rapid update schedule when it does come out!

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

I signed up for my first fandom event! I participated in the Secret Snowflake event, and wrote Down By The Sea for the wonderful @fight-surrender (and ended up with ideas for some other new fics too)! Even though I was actively failing NaNoWriMo when I signed up, I did manage to complete my fic on time, and I learned that it wasn’t quite as daunting as I was expecting it to be. (My biggest problem was my laptop breaking and having to do almost everything on my phone - I also learned once again just how amazing Liz is, as she helped me format and post to ao3, since I couldn’t do that properly without a computer)

I struggle with being creative on a deadline, but wanting to write a little over 1k in a month was much more achievable than feeling stressed about writing 50k in a month!

This year’s theme and the story that demonstrates it most:

I like the idea of the inevitability of love. I adore soulmate AUs, because I love the idea of a universe where not only does someone have a perfectly matched other person, but that there is a surefire way to find them. Even though I only published one soulmate AU this year, I feel like every time I write Snowbaz I am writing about a couple where love will, inevitably, win. In my mind they are always going to have a happy ending somewhere down the line where they are just purely in love. Even though love doesn’t magically fix everything, it’s still incredibly powerful, and I only want to create stories where Simon and Baz truly love each other.

Of course, with that as the theme, A Privilege to Love You has to be the fic that best demonstrates the idea of inevitable love - it’s a soulmate AU and a universe where Simon exercises his free will.

What are your fic writing goals for next year this year?

Finish and publish my Gentleman’s Guide AU

Finish and publish more soulmate AUs (I have so many WIPs you guys)

Plan more before writing

Work on improving dynamic scenes and the overall flow of my fics - I sometimes feel like I have too many lulls, and I want to write in a more engaging way

Promote my own work more! I am partially doing this post because there are multiple fics that I never shared on here! I plan to make banners for all of the fics I write this year, and to post them on tumblr at the same time I upload them to ao3.

The last few years have been a time of tremendous personal growth for me, and I really feel like I’m starting to understand who I am as a person, settle into myself, and like who I am. I’m thrilled to discover that fandom is still part of who I am and what I enjoy, and that I have more creative outlets in my life now than I ever expected to. My biggest goal is just to keep building on all of that, to use fic to explore who I am, to reflect what I like, make myself happy with my writing, and to hopefully make at least a few of you happy with my stories too!

#2020 fics #my writing #about me #year in review #fic masterpost #fanfic year in review #my fic #snowbaz #carry on

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