#this is my first fic for trc

[cabeswaterdrowned]

haven’t aftgposted in a hot minute but I do want to say that now I’ve had some distance from hyperfixation I can say that I think the most interesting/captivating relationships from it to me in order are Kevin/Andrew, Andrew & Nicky, Andrew & Renee, Andreil and Renee/Dan

[carporeal]

i've written a little pynch fic. no big deal or anything, I'm being super chill about it. they make out in a tree house. check it out if you want :P

[iammistressofmyfate]

First Sentence Tag Game

Rules: Post the first sentence of your last ten fics. If you haven't written ten fics, share as many first sentences as you have.

Thank you to @annaofaza for the tag! <3

Let Me Hit (A Home Run) | E | Pynch | OnlyFans AU Ronan Lynch sat in front of his laptop at his kitchen table, reviewing his newest content for the week.

Make You Mine | E | Pynch | D/s relationship Adam Parrish was exhausted.

Diamond in the Rough | E | Pynch | sugar daddy AU Adam Parrish stared at his bank account balance, feeling the familiar creep of anxiety crawl its way up his spine.

Stay (Over) | T | Pynch | canon pre-Pynch sleepover It had become somewhat of a routine. 

A Little Cold | T | Pynch | Pynch!baby sick fic Ronan Lynch had faced down some pretty terrifying things in his life. 

Uncanny | M | Pynch | Psychic-Medium!Adam and Irish!Ronan who is being haunted Adam Parrish was uncanny. 

The Chaps | E | Pynch | Cowboys and chaps Ronan stood on the front porch of the farmhouse that sat on his family’s ranch. 

Feels Like Forever | E | Pynch | Post-canon, pre-TDT Pynch Ronan Lynch leaned against the side of his BMW, arms crossed over his chest, observing the stream of students leaving the hallowed halls of Aglionby Academy.

Sorry You Saw | M | Pynch | Meet-ugly Adam Parrish was sure that he was going to die of mortification.

The Way That You Love Me | E | Pynch | PWP Adam woke up to the sound of wind.

Tagging @mychemicalrachel, @lizpaige, @zephfair, @itwasabout and whoever else wants to play! Please don't feel obligated to do this if you don't want to! <3

[ao3soidade]

In Manibus Habui (1360 words) by soidade Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish Characters: Ronan Lynch, Adam Parrish Additional Tags: post-trk, Pre-Epilogue, Getting Together, Sharing a Bed, Feelings, Adam Parrish is Bad at Feelings, but he's making progress with them Summary: After Gansey's death and subsequent resurrection, Adam spends the night at Monmouth.

[adamprrishcycle]

First Lines

Rules: Post the first lines of your last 10 fics posted to AO3. (Sort by date posted.) If you have less than 10 fics posted, post what you have! Tagged by @clotpolesonly

Declan watched as his younger brother’s dipped their fingers into the holy water as they entered the church. - That Feeling, When It Comes

For a summer when Ronan was a kid, he’d prayed so often and for so long at a time that his knees matched the shade of the veins in his wrists. - God Complex

Ronan sees the small gathering of people dressed in black huddled together around the open grave and he approaches slowly, pausing a short distance away as generic prayers are read from a sheet of paper. - Reasons that I think are sure

Adam can feel the sweat running down his back, his T-shirt sticking to him uncomfortably as he shoves the last wheelbarrow full of dirt over, watching it spill out in a mound. - All He Wanted

Back downstairs, Ronan made Adam a sandwich. - A Quiet Night at the Barns

Adam closed the door to his small bathroom, clinging to the handle for a moment as he held it shut, worried, not for the first time, that someone on the other side was about to force their way out. - Unknowable

I'd love to tag people but I lost touch with all my fic writing friends so I don't know anyone who writes anymore (except Jess who tagged me! thanksssss xx)

[msbigredmachine]

💖Beginners' Guide to MsBigRedMachine's Fanfics💖

Thank you once again to two of my faves @southerngirl41 and @harmshake for the tags!

Intro: I'm Ada! I write fanfiction mainly for Roman Reigns, but I expanded to Jey Uso and now I've added his twin Jimmy, lol. Also have a Samoa Joe fic lurking somewhere.

Pairings: As you'll see in my masterlist, ALL my OCs are Black women. Dark skin, light skin, caramel, slim, big...all beautiful Black baddies. Also, being Nigerian, I aim to incorporate more Nigerian names in my fics too. Sorry, I don't do slash of any kind. I've been asked before and it's just not my thing.

Warnings: Smut, angst, drama, more smut. No one under the age of 18 should read my stuff or interact with me on it, or you'll be outed without hesitation.

So where to start reading...?

---

My first fic: My first-ever one was actually an RVD fic called Shattered Rose that I never finished, when white women were my OCs. I know wayyyy better now😬

My longest fic: My first baby, Into The Deep End. March 6, 2024 will make it ten years since I first published it on another platform. I worked so hard on it as a stress reliever when I was studying for my Masters, and to know that it still gets so much love on all the sites I've posted it on truly warms my heart. Targets is my second-longest, I really enjoyed that one too.

My shortest fic: Definitely Wait For You. Marian tagged me in a "Seven Sentence" challenge and this was the result. I'm terrible with <1000 word fics and it was truly a challenge, lol.

My most popular fic: So, there's three answers. Overall, Into The Deep End for sure. But for my one-shots, I still get messages and quotes about Power Couple (Roman/OC) and On Sight (Jey Uso/OC) to this day.

My personal fave fic: Lol this answer changes all the time. They're all my babies, I really can't choose. Each time I re-read one, I fall in love with it.

---

💖About me💖

30+, a qualified lawyer/attorney by profession. I've been writing all sorts of stuff since I was a child. There's something about putting your imagination down on paper that is so liberating and I really enjoy it. Maybe one day I will have the courage to actually publish something.

I've been posting my fics on tumblr for years now. I'm truly happy to have met such great authors along the way, and I appreciate all the likes, reblogs and especially the amazing comments and feedback. Forgive me for all my late responses, work and Nigeria's WAT time zone messes me up lol.

Thank you all again, and enjoy!

Click here if you're not yet on my tag list and you want to be added.

---

Again, tagging everyone: @jxtina-86 @wrestlingprincess80 @southerngirl41 @alyyaanna @squishyguishy @jstarr86 @murrylove @thewarlordsworld @mzv11 @cozyaliensuperstar7 @nayys-world @hunnidmilly @cyberdejos2 @papireigns-05 @niknakbucks92 @captainwithoutmakingitlove @sovereigngoth @aisharmi @kennedi0818 @alichesmi @thesamoanqueen @herwickedlittlesins @harmshake @fame-ass-ers@questionable-behaviour @tribalchiefreigns @2-muchsauce @thatbxtchsblog @raya-hunter01 @marchi36753 @lovelysuccess @christinabae @wooahmiri @thatonecarebear @tabletheofhead @rheaanddamianfan @vebner37 @hanley1577 @princessesareforsuckers @-naturally @joannasteez @bbygirlky18 @lilucey @theninthwonder @melaninsugababy @chocovibesonly @msbluehaz3 @scarlettnoir01 @heerah34 @empressdede @tbmotw @darkangelchronicles @visionarymode @marasdeathnote @aintnorainbows @meggylynnloves @shantinextdoor @harlemblipster @trc-punzel @afterdarkprincess @nbanenefrmdao @sassginaswanmills @purplehairgawdess @holisticcoach @girlwhogaf @royalkay23 @heyitsnajabrinee @stoner2k @reci1996 @catxo @iamimanim @lookmais @ts1mp0ne @shonny09 @lizzyd1ish @gomussy @m3llowww @skyesthebomb @final1miya

[lizpaige]

Fics I Read This Week 👩‍💻

hi I want to smooch all of you for the amazing adam's birthday we all had 😘 trc tumblr was popping off like it was the 2010s lmao this is a list of some of the fics i read this week that i loved and think you will toooooo

First Ditch Effort by @clotpolesonly - I don't normally tag authors (bc I can't always find their tumblrs haha) but I must in this case because their commentary in the tags on every post is just amazing lmao. The pynch dynamic in this fic is INCREDIBLE UNREAL SHOWSTOPPING like do yourself a favor and read this and then re-read it.

the cost of a lover by summerequinox - help! i love an escort!Adam fic, r u kidding meeeeeee???? there aren't enough. This one is great, I re-read it. Plus painter!Ronan is just the best profession for him in any non-magic!au.

at my best when I'm at my worst by shinealightonme - pretty sure this was a re-read too. The jealousy in this fic is so delicious. Ronan is such a dumby being jealous of Adam and Declan going to the same college. The long distance struggles are too real it hurts, but it's so good.

It's Always Sunny in Henrietta by dealwiththedevil - I must confess I have not seen the show just clips and memes BUT you def don't have to to enjoy this fic. Adam the flirty af bartender trying to seduce the angsty bouncer Ronan (with the help of Henry + Blue) - its so silly and good!

For the kiss, I would do most anything by DiltonsBunker (AmbivalentPug) - The soft and awkward dynamics of first loves and first times were just impeccable here. Pynch are so sweet to each other and it is so fluffy and good.

bury me in your bedroom without sheets by burningcicadas - We need more fem!Pynch and we need more fem!Pynch without name changes. The PINING in this is just sooooooo fucking good. But like pls write another part and let them smooch I am begging you

dig into the ribs by sunmoontruth - there needs to be more trans fics in the fandom. This is a new one and a greaaaaaaat one. Both Adam and Ronan are trans with wildly different experiences, love the religious refs, love a supportive older bro declan, just so good

[foxufortunes]

So like, I was gonna add this onto my post about the Raven's win percentage and how that compared to lacrosse with NCAA Exy and NCAA Lacrosse being about the same age, but I figured I'd put it here so everyone can see, because this is what I mean about the exy timeline being complicated and why zero losses makes sense over 30 years.

And yes, I know AFTG is not aiming for hyper realism grounded in reality, but I like figuring out a cohesive timeline for things like fics it's TRC all over again. Also I just like to think way too deep about this things, and if I'm descending into madness over these things you're coming with me.

That said, the timeline of exy and Evermore as much as I can make sense of it:

So, the exy/Evermore timeline in kind of a mess and a great example of how adding more makes something make less sense. What we're going to do is take the books at their most concrete fact and say that Tetsuji and Kayleigh invented exy 30 years pre-canon, and for ease of timeline we'll call it exactly 30years. So, here we go:

So our base line in 1976 (for the record NCAA Lacrosse was formed 1971, this is what I mean when I say they're roughly the same age). Tetsuji and Kayleigh were in university and in Japan, but it's not clear at what point in their studies they were and how long they had left to go at university.

Nora's EC says that Tetsuji was reaching out to the NCAA before he graduated. During his last semester he was reaching out promising funding and himself as a coach. So this is, at most a few years after exy was created unless Tetsuji had the slowest university career ever.

The next fall semester NCAA Exy officially starts with Ravens vs Trojans at Castle Evermore. So, as I've said before, the Big 3 were in on the ground floor. This is why they're so dominant, but that they started with the Ravens means they should be more competitive. The Raven's won the first match 13-12 and if it's that close at the start, the idea that the Raven's undefeated 20year+ streak is because they've been around longer loses all ground.

Evermore was the first stadium completed, followed by the Golden Court for the Trojans and Pride Court for Penn State Lions (which is such a cute name, I want a book on them please Nora). Pride Court was delayed but Penn State kept up training, while USC and EAU had their courts built at impossible speed. For reference, building a sports stadium, from first plans to completion is at speed roughly an 18month endeavour, if everything goes right, but depending on how you read the point above this could be just a few months. Either way, it's very fast. Other universities had pop up stadiums or played at the bigger stadiums of the Big 3 or local stadiums until theirs were complete. Ironically, given his apparent treatment of his female players, a lot of Tetsuji's funding came from getting women on board, promoting how co-ed the sport was.

The first pro teams were formed around the first graduates from the NCAA league. So 5 years after Evermore and we get a professional league.

And the US Court 2 years after. So 7 years from the start of the NCAA competition and we get a national team.

Then exy is in the Olympics the next year. So 8 years from the first NCAA game for exy to be Olympic recognised (a generous estimate makes that 1988, 1992 at a push, 14-18 years pre-canon and roughly a decade pre-foundation of the Foxes).

The problem with all this, of course, being that the book in only chapter 2 of TFC says that Kevin (born in 1986) and Riko were around with Tetsuji when Evemore was still in the blueprint stage.

Now, there's a couple of way I can think to maybe square this all. Firstly, obviously the 30years is a rough but that should mean closer to 30 than anything else, but to be generous either way, we're looking at between '71 (35years pre-canon) and '81 (25years pre-canon) and the later timeline can square a little better. It's also possible our Castle Evermore is a new stadium and the first Castle Evermore is an old one they've knocked down and replaced at the new one is the one Kevin and Riko were around for. It's also possible to be more generous with Tetsuji's university career: say he was in his first year in 1976, did a longer/postgrad course and stayed for say 7 years giving us 1983 for his graduation, then be generous and say "next fall semester" actually means '84 (which is still fast for a stadium) for Evermore's completion and the NCAA starting, which gives us the '92 Olympics.

So, let's work backwards instead. For Evermore to be being built while Kevin and Riko "already had custom racquets" we'll be generous and lowball age 2? So, we'll work with Evermore opening around '88. Even working with the most generous estimate of when exy was invented (1981, 25years rather than 30) that means, assuming Tetsuji spent his freshman year in Japan, he was in university for 6 or 7 years (depending on how you read next fall). Putting us at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and making NCAA exy 20ish years old.

[aaronstveit]

i would loooove to hear more of your director's commentary about deep end! <3 not sure how much you can say without spoiling but did you make a lot of changes from the original draft? and are there any scene that didn't make it into the final fic? thank youuu <3

omg hi anon this question made my entire day <3333 gonna answer beneath a read more as always because when talking about deep end i am this trc meme

okay so firstly! i wrote deep end 3 times. the original draft had a final wordcount of 126,978 words. the middle draft had a final wordcount of 175,065 words. the final draft's wordcount is not finalized yet because i am still editing & still adding one scene to the epilogue, but obviously we've already surpassed the first draft's wordcount, so that's fun.

as you can see, about 50k words were added in the middle draft! there are a lot of reasons for this. chapters 8 & 9, as well as about half of chapter 10, did not exist in the original draft. i added them during rewriting because i felt we hadn't spent enough time with enjolras & cosette.

combeferre and éponine were almost nonexistent in the original draft. not just as a couple, but individually as well. every single grantaire & éponine scene was added in the middle draft, and most of enjolras & combeferre's scenes as well.

i actually didn't cut any full scenes out! there were quite a few though where i started writing a scene, realized it was wrong, and erased what i had written and started over. for instance, this bit in chapter 18:

in the original draft, i tried writing enjolras turning to grantaire at this point and saying, "I think I'm in love with you," before cosette answered the door. obviously, i ended up deciding against this, mostly because i decided the kiss scene would pack more of a punch if enjolras realizes he's in love with grantaire right when he's in the middle of their argument.

i also deleted soooooooooo many arguments. this is probably surprising considering how often they argue in this fic, but at least once a chapter i really had to stop myself and say, okay no this is getting unhealthy. i enjoy writing arguments too much apparently - which is good for writing exr, but only to a certain extent.

originally, grantaire was not going to have a sister. it genuinely did not even occur to me until chapter 11 (which was chapter 8 at the time), but once it did occur to me, i couldn't not do it. his grief plotline became way too dear to me way too quickly.

the biggest changes i made during writing all had to do with reordering events!! originally, karaoke happened somewhere around chapter 8. i ended up moving it wayyyyyyyyy back because i felt like their flirting was out of place so early in the story.

i also moved enjolras' arguments with cosette and grantaire to an earlier point than i originally intended. at first, i thought they were going to happen around the second-to-last chapter, but i moved them forward a lot earlier because i thought more work needed to be done with enjolras.

the chapter that underwent the most changes from the middle draft to the finished draft is chapter 24. obviously i can't say just yet what those changes are, but i'm really really happy with how that chapter turned out and i hope you all will be as well <3

several of my personal favorite scenes in this fic are actually cannibalized from something i tried writing and gave up on a few months ago. marius getting mugged in chapter 4, the hamlet conversation in chapter 7, and enjolras tending to grantaire's broken nose in chapter 14 were all taken from the same abandoned wip.

as for some more random tidbits that i find fun:

a fun fact for everyone is that cosette did not pull the phrase "who has a flag where he should have a heart" out of thin air! she takes this from courfeyrac in chapter 13:

which is why courfeyrac winces when enjolras says it in chapter 19:

also in chapter 19, enjolras means to say that Train to Busan is his favorite horror movie ending. i didn't just choose that because i love that movie (although i really really do) but because. well. i'm not going to spoil the ending for you if you haven't seen it, but... it was very deliberate is all i'm saying.

i really cannot overstate how much of this fic only exists because of cossette notebookmusical. for starters, i only even attempted writing it because she said "jamie if you don't write this." she also got to spend months listening to me bitch about it and receiving so many horrible snippets from the original draft so coco, if you're reading this, thank you from the very bottom of my heart 🫶🏻

more specifically, the entire beginning sequence of chapter 17 with grantaire staying the night at enjolras' apartment was inspired by cossette! i was asking her for situations to put the blond man in and one of her ideas was that he loses his keys. so everyone say thank you cossette!

also the bit in chapter 19 where enjolras thinks about combeferre a psychology minor is the worst thing to ever happen to you was added after i said something to cossette and she said something along the lines of, "would you like to elaborate on that?"

the ending bit of chapter 23 is also inspired by and written for cossette. you'll see what i mean in a few weeks.

there are a lot more bits and pieces inspired by things that cossette has said and done, or added just to make her laugh, but if i listed all of them i would be here forever. just know that this entire fic is cocoservice and it is only because of cossette that it exists at all <333333

there is also a collection of scenes i'm considering writing as "bonus content" for when the fic is fully posted - mostly scenes that already exist, but from another point of view, and a few that are only mentioned in passing.

okay i'm cutting myself off now because this is a lot of yapping even for me but you may always ask more if you're so inclined <3333 thank you sm for asking i had so much fun answering this! i really can't tell you how much it means to me not only that you're not only reading but also enjoying it so much that you're asking about it like... this is literally a fic writer's DREAM. thank you so so so much <3333

[rekikiri]

hi ask game!

send me an emoji relating to one of my WIPs and I’ll post a couple lines or a note written for it that isn’t posted yet !

✍️something original

🐦‍⬛🦊the raven cycle x all for the game crossover (aftg x trc)

🐦‍⬛raven!neil (aftg)

🐰different first meeting / amputee neil (aftg)

♠️ ace aaron (aftg)

🎶my conan gray song fic series (aftg)

🌶️something spicy 👀 (aftg)

🎸andrew and aaron pre canon (partially posted)

🧡something else not listed (mha, haikyuu, aftg, trc, in repair, icebreaker)

[adamnsey]

abby (adamnsey)’s super-duper funky fresh adansey fic rec masterpost

Hello friends. i like to think of myself as a connoisseur of adansey fanfiction and so i thought i’d put some of my favs here in a list. no one asked for this but here it is. yippeeeee

this is what i live for by kitschlet

this is my favourrrite adansey fic EVVVERRRR. this fic has everything: adam as a vampire. gansey as a human. gansey desperately wanting adam to suck his blood. adam being to proud to suck gansey’s blood. gansey being a jealous little brat about this. SEXUAL VAMPIRE TENSION. THIS FIC IS A GODSENT.

A Complex Superiority by cloudsweater

is this my own fic? yes. do i feel a bit bad about including it? yes. do i also think it is a wonderful exploration of a pre-trc adansey kiss at an aglionby party? also yes. :)

With My Hands Open by HindsightHero

this one is just sooooo well written and i love the details and their dialogue is really good ummmm.... probs one of my fav kiss stories & it takes place in cabeswater so there’s that

forests / fields / seas by VioletSargent

have u ever wondered.... what would happen if after adam walked away from the gansey house in tdt... what if after they found adam they spent another night in D.C..... well this fic answers that!!

Twelve Days ‘Til Christmas by flitwickslittlebrotha

this fic is xmas themed but I! LOVE! IT!!!! it’s just a sweet au where gansey frequents the pub adam works at and its SO CUTEEEE

A Study of Living in Your Own Skin: A Presentation by Adam Parrish to Richard Campbell Gansey III by Kasket

i just LOVE a good au and this one delivers. they get paired up to do an assignment today and there’s tension and crushes and just AH. SO GOOD.

cowboyland by Ophelia Marina

gansey visits adam at harvard and things ENSUE......

BONUS ROUND !!! ADANSEY MOVIE AU LETS GOOOOOOO

The Raven Network by declantheelynch

SORRY MY PRADA’S AT THE CLEANERS, ALONG WITH MY POLO AND MY FUCK-YOU BOAT-SHOES, YOU PRETENTIOUS DOUCHE-BAG

where is my mind? by Fix9

the first rule of the adansey fight club au fic is that we must talk about the adansey fight club au

carcass for the vultures to colonize by robinsegg

UMMMM MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO ADANSEY AU ANYONE?

Bleed All The Sweetness Away by Zee

(new addition!) HUNGER GAMES AUUU DFSHJKJDKSFJH. THIS WORKS SOOO WELL! GREAT FIC!

When the Fog Clears by cloudsweater

im sorrrryyyy yes this another one of mine im SORRRRYY its not my fault i love picturing them in Alternate Universe Scenarios!!! anyways this is a Lighthouse AU and i think it’s really deranged and good :)

if anyone has any adansey fic recs please send them my wayyyyyy. these r just some of my favs and i wanted to put them all in one spot. thank u to everyone for dealing with my brainrot ok have a nice day bye <3

[cabeswaterdrowned]

okay so I have Blue as Lisa, Orla as Taffy, Noah as Creature, Jimmi as step mom, Artemus as Dale, Henry as Michael, T.J. (boy who drew a penis on Blue’s unicorn in BLLB) as Doug (other alternatives for this role are Tad Caruthers and Kavinsky), Ronan as goth girl (also considered Declan because he has more reason to hang around Henry but in context not his scene). — for the background my idea is that Maura has obviously been killed and it’s not confirmed but I’ll imply it could’ve been Greenmantle who killed her. Calla and Persephone don’t exist in this fic because if they did there’s no way any of this could happen, but Blue was raised by Maura and never knew who her father was but soon after she died Artemus gets in touch and Blue starts living with him, then like a month later Gansey who she was dating at the time dies am debating to have this be implied as suicide but I can also come up with another method or scrap the pre canon Bluesey part entirely. But I don’t want to go into great detail about either deaths the way that the movie doesn’t really linger in the details of Lisa’s mom’s death that much (well you get that whole sequence but it’s from Taffy’s pov Lisa’s doesn’t linger in it that much).

[magpiefngrl]

Can I ask your top 10 fav fics ever (from any fandom, if you don't mind)?

Also, just curious, is there a story behind your name "magpiefngrl"?

Hey, anon!

Oh fave fics! I love talking about fics and books, though I feel I talk about fics everyone knows and have nothing new to offer, esp since I've not read much in the last 2-3 years. Still, narrowing it down to 10 is super hard, so I've looked at my bookmarks and chose the ten fics that I've reread the most.

1. Bound Skerry by Frayach (drarry, M, 2.3k)

I've read this a hundred times and I'll keep coming back to it. Possibly my most read fic. The reason it's one of my Forever Fics is the prose. Absolutely stunning writing.

2. House Proud by astolat (drarry, M, 23k)

The original House Magic fic and the best one. I particularly love the hints of dark faerie magic, the horror elements and the brilliant worldbuilding. Astolat's prose is super readable and the pacing is excellent.

3. with exactness grinds he all by thistle_verse (drarry, M, 6k)

An aching fic with beautiful, lyrical writing. I've reread this so many times.

4. Art in Life by northofallmusic (tofsla) (wangxian, T, 2k)

I feel I'm repeating myself but this has excellent prose and it's aching and tender and made me feel all the feels.

5. Out of the Dead Land by orphan account (stucky, M, 63k)

OK so this hasn't stood the test of time because I finished it a few days ago, but WOW. Absolutely brilliant. I'm not even a stucky fan or anything. But I kept thinking about it when I was doing other stuff and I set aside the books I was reading so as to finish this. Now it's days later and it's still on my mind. I can't remember the last time I had a book/fic hangover. A very angsty fic and a fantastic exploration of Bucky's trauma. This is by one of my top authors of all time, who's now orphaned everything.

6. Mr Webster's Wager by Fahye + orphan author (same one as above) (Ash/Webster, E, 27k)

Now we're getting into the horny fics. This one is based on a KJ Charles short story which is the best romance short story ever written in my not so humble opinion. This takes the original story and the horniness of that scene and expands it into many horny scenes. It's masterful, very very hot, and just a fantastic fic.

7. Unhook the Stars by jad (drarry, E, 70k)

One of the first drarry fics I read and one that made a huge impression on me. Super kinky, lots of sex scenes, I've reread this a LOT.

8. IDK My BFF Hermione? by lettered (drarry, E, 19k)

Extraordinary. Phenomenal. It will always have a place in my Top 10. Also, very filthy, which is a huge plus in my book.

9. a better happier st sebastian by halsinator (Jonathan Strange, E, 6k)

Another one I reread a million times. Stunning prose and vibes and beautiful yearning. I keep coming back to it.

10. live from new york by varnes (wangxian, E, 87k)

A masterpiece, a classic of wangxian, this is a Saturday Night Live AU, which is such a bizarre choice for an AU--and yet it works. I don't live in US, I have never watched SNL, but I adored the fic.

I've left out a ton of favourite works and authors I adore, but for more of my faves, my AO3 Bookmarks is the place to go.

I have to say, this exercise has been quite illuminating: I don't think I've ever had such a clear glimpse of what makes me tick. In short, sublime prose, an aching, yearning mood and/or filthy porn.

*****

As for my username, here's the story: I joined tumblr a gazillion years ago (way before I got into fandom) and my first blog (still exists: @magpie-x ) was mostly what you'd call an aesthetic blog. I'd reblog cool pics and quotes and occasionally post a personal post about my life. I named it magpie because it was a place where I collected everything shiny, like a magpie. I rarely used it after a while tbh. Years later I read The Raven Cycle and fell heads over heel with pynch and knew that the only place I'd find fans was tumblr. I got into the nascent TRC fandom and soon I needed a space exclusively for fannish posts. I created a sideblog called magpiefangirling and when I later got an AO3 account I shortened the name. Years later I got into drarry, I became very active on tumblr again, and the sideblog wasn't enough so I deleted it and created a brand new blog with my AO3 name.

In short, magpiefngrl, means magpie being a fangirl. It was a random decision but it has now shaped me and I think of myself as Magpie in fandom spaces, and even chose that as my pen name for my future original romance books.

[mykelneedssleep]

***Editing cause I can’t believe I forgot to mention my other Jacobi fic I have running where he keeps waking up in alternate universes but somehow they always revolve around Warren Kepler and I lowkey love it

I wish I was kidding when I say these three have been in my drive for over a year and I just haven’t been able to bring myself to do anything with them yet

Little more about your options:

1. Actually a personal fave because you know I love sad and this one is actually sad af. Jacobi attempts to build a life after the Hephaestus and everything he does keeps coming back to his lost team (particularly Kepler, he’s got a very fucked up messy relationship with Warren Kepler that he still doesn’t understand even after Kepler is dead)

2. The premise of this one was mostly Soap works for Shepherd before Price and is ordered to kill Graves and take his place as Shadow Company’s leader and take out the 141 so that there’s no loose ends. Don’t worry he doesn’t like doing it and I would say this one actually isn’t too bad on my angst scale

3. What can I say, I think about them way too much. I’ve literally created full lore for these funky little guys we saw in the books like twice and essentially it follows them from just before the timeline of The Raven Boys to after The Dream Thieves (I can’t say how far because it’s not done but I have little snippets of things they’re up to up until the fall after the Fourth of July). Anyway I love them and I think my little made up lore is cool

4. Idk bro, make a suggestion I guess, you all know what I do at this point I think or if you don’t you could probably make an educated guess based off the other three - I’ve been thinking of starting something either AFTG (again..) or maybe doing a marauders fic

[ninyard]

Heya! I’m new to writing fanfic despite reading for more than half of my life, and I have maybe a silly question: do you get help from a beta? How does one…find that help? 😅 I have a TRC and a TFC fic I need to complete and no godly clue how to find someone to read over what I write so I don’t obsess myself into spirals on my own haha.

I don't personally! But not for any specific reason - I think if literally ANYONE turned around to me and said they would be cool with beta reading my fics I would LOVE that shit. With the amount of mistakes I miss even after half a dozen rereads, I probably should have one lol

In general what I do is just step away from things for a day or two once I think they're finished, then read through it all, and if I trip up over anything in my brain, or find anything that feels a bit too wordy/like a mouthful, I'll revise it. I hate second drafts with a PASSION but for my first draft I usually write out the whole thing, with its bare bones, and fill in the gaps later. If you get stuck on something, just move on and come back to it later. Need to describe another character but don't know what to do? Just write 'He had blue eyes and brown hair' and move on. Things like that. It's so much easier to come back to it and fix it then fixating on it and getting nowhere. (i do a lot of additions in my edits, hence how my most recent fic went from 13k words in the first draft to 18k after the edit.)

I'm one of those losers that gets inspired by reading my own writing, so stepping away from fics when you think you've spent too much time spiralling over it, to come back to it later, is a LIFESAVER. Things you thought you were stuck on will get so much clearer once your brain has had a break, once you've """forgotten""" the exact words you wrote down. Read it from the beginning like it's your first time reading it, read every word, and if something takes you out of it, then figure out why and fix it.

Most importantly try not to be too worried about numbers and other peoples' opinions. It's easy to become discouraged when you're 5 chapters into a fic and it feels like nobody is reading it or liking it, but write for yourself!

Practice makes better, because it’ll never be perfect. Just have fun, don’t take it too seriously, and write what you want to read. Make a post and tag the fandom on it asking if anyone wants to be a beta reader, or maybe ask if anyone wants to “swap” (you beta read theirs and they read yours). I don’t know though!!!! I have never ever written with a beta reader so I don’t really have any advice there:((

I'm sorry I know you didn't ask for advice and I hope this doesn’t come across as rude or anything. We all start somewhere!! Here’s snippets from a fic I wrote in 2016 vs a different one I wrote this year.

Everybody starts somewhere, I’ve been writing fics for like 12 years and I still doubt if my writing is any good. Sure, validation is nice, but you have to trust yourself (and like your own stuff!!). and if you feel worried about your writing just keep going!!!! You’ll find your style and settle into it but just trust yourself and have fun my friend!! You’ve got this<3

(This got way too long and I rambled too much I’m so sorry)

[effemar]

hi are there any trc fics you would recommend? (saw your tags on that one fandoms with good fic post)

ohhhhh tumblr user after my own heart...

First of all, some of my thoughts on the subject. I love fanfiction -- both as a phenomenon and as a genre of writing. I have a deep and sincere appreciation for the earnest engagement with media it fosters, the creative potential it holds, and the way it can be truly and deeply bad. This being said, what I think makes a fic good is different from what makes a book or a movie good. To me, a good piece of fanfiction is simultaneously a story and a piece of analysis. It should respond to the work it's based on, even (or perhaps, especially) to the detriment of its functionality as a standalone narrative.

This is all to say that the fics I'm recommending here rely heavily on knowledge of the books, and their main merit is in how they engage with the canon narrative. So bear that in mind.

TRC has a lot of fic in a variety of niches and tones. I will try to give you a diverse sampling. That being said, the vast majority of TRC fic that exists is Adam/Ronan (because fandoms are predictable like that) which means the recommendations here are slanted that way.

In no particular order:

Son of the Nuclear A-Bomb -- This is the fic I recommend most among this selection. A clear divergence from canon, it nevertheless extrapolates perfectly on existing themes, to the point that it straight-up predicted several plot points regarding Ronan's family in The Dreamer Trilogy. It's the TRC fic of all time.

Out for Re-henge -- Among TRC fics, there's a surprisingly substantial percentage that are, simply and exclusively, about Blue and Ronan having platonic bonding moments. It's just two teenagers having unmagnificent adventures. Like, as a distinct genre. I've never observed this in any other fandom. You can find more of these under the 'Ronan Lynch & Blue Sargent' relationship tag, with Gen checked as the work category. There's some real gems.

empire that runs on its own -- MIND THE TAGS. I said I'd give you diversity, so I'm giving you diversity. I hesitate to recommend this fic usually, as it can be unpleasant to read and has genuinely upsetting subject matter, but if I'm going to talk about how good TRC fic is, I have to pull out the big guns. It's genuinely incredible work. There's imagery and themes in this that still echo in my head, years after I first read it.

feels better biting down -- Everything by this author is incredible, but I enjoy this fic in particular because it's set in an unexplored bit of time before the series actually starts. It has a unique, lethargic tension that mimics the state of the characters' relationship at this point. It is almost pointedly unromantic, despite dealing with characters who we know have/will have a romantic dynamic during the events of the books.

my bones into your bones -- This fic frustrates me so much. It's incredibly emotionally intense, it has lines that are tattooed on the inside of my eyelids, and it's completely and unapologetically About People Fucking so I can't recommend it to anyone without paralyzing embarrassment. I skipped over this fic in the tag for like three years because of this, but eventually I decided to see what all the fuss was about, and gave it a try. When I tell you it's good, I mean that I felt like I'd been put through the fucking laundry.

Those are mostly pretty serious fics, so here's some light(er) runner-ups as palate-cleansers.

see you somewhere, someplace, sometime -- Ronan assholery, feat. Declan

Hey, Brother (PUNKBITCH) -- Ronan assholery, feat. Blue

in your manner of speaking -- Ronan assholery, feat. Adam (are you beginning to notice a pattern)