#what's fun about this series is that since it's published in universe you can say anything is just an unreliable narrator that you don't li

[red-riot-unbreakable-heart]

Shoto's First Kiss Timeline? Idk let's plot it out together

Gif Caption: Me and Shoto sitting together on the train, vibing. 💕

Hi All!!

If you're a fan of the Shoto's First Kiss series, Chapter 5 dropped at like 3:30 am EST this morning because I am an absolute HEATHEN and decided to have a late night/early morning editing session for 3 hours before posting. This was fun because I decided to add the whole Lisa Frank phone background scene for kicks and add a little more build up to the smut scene (I love a slowish burn...what can I say!?).

@brie-is-cheesy had some great questions in the comments of Chapter 5, I'm going to post it below and answer the best I can! I don't have a full answer to everything and I'm taking some ✨creative liberties ✨ here and there but lets see if I can clear some things up for my lovely readers!

Hiiiii, totally loved it; I was wondering when this is set? Like the timeline, I just got confused I'll leave the list of confusing things about the timeline,, I wrote about how much I love this in my reblog cuz this is awesome!! -since bnha is set in the mid to late 2100s I was wondering if the older songs they're listening to will include songs that are relatively new for us as of now? -when does this occur? Like you mentioned they're in their first year, and its after they've moved into the dorms but it's nearing the summer of next year, so is it after the war arc, or after the events of bnha entirely? Just wanted to ask! Thank you for the update!!<3 - brie-is-cheesy

Okay these are FAB questions and honestly I can't give you a straight answer to all of them!

Here's the background: So this story started out as a one shot - this past year, Shoto hasn't been one of my main MHA favorites. When I started the Red Riot Unbreakable Heart blog, my goal was to focus on what I've been calling "My Big Three." This includes Kirishima (lol thus my username), Hakws, and Hitoshi Shinsou (I love me an emo man). I was sprinkling in smutty one shots here and there involving other characters (ex. BakuDeku Smut: Hooking Up At A Pro Hero Gala and Beneath the Bookshelves | BakuDeku ). Shoto was one of those random one offs that I was like, huh why not!? But then I published Shoto's First Kiss (Part One) this one shot about Reader x Shoto totally took off in a way I wasn't expecting. Shoto resonates a lot with you all and the more I started writing for him, the more I grew to love him. He's so complex and in need of love and care. He has so much capacity for love!! I wanted to explore that more and figure out how he would act in his first encounters with intimacy and relationships. So I kept posting chapters, and started plotting out this wild story!

Timeline: When I started writing the one shot, I wanted the story to ambiguously take place in the 2nd or 3rd year when the characters were a little older. I was kind of working it in an AU where the war had vaguely happened and was over but everyone is okay and no one was injured/died/had their quirk impacted by AFO. In the context of Shoto's First Kiss chapter one - the war doesn't matter (at least if you re-read it I hope you don't find any plot holes mentioning the war!?). Also I have tried to say "Class A" instead of "Class 1A" because as I wrote more chapters, I still hadn't figured out what year we are in here.

Now that we're world building and have a more fleshed out story, here's what I'm thinking. Bare with me, we are going to need to suspend some disbelief here and I might need to go back and make some tweaks to previous chapters to keep everything in line with this line of thinking. But let's say this:

Timeline: The timeline takes place in the character's 1st year. I just combed through this timeline of MHA that someone put together on Reddit. I'm thinking this likely takes place at the end of Term 1. Final exams are coming up, and the students have heard a little about the training camp. Most of the MHA events so far are probably cannon in my fic universe, unless otherwise mentioned. The great thing for me is - most of MHA is in the context of Izuku's experiences, so there's a lot of wiggle room in the timeline for what could be happening between Shoto x The Reader. I haven't decided if the current chapters take place before or after Shoto/Izuku/Ida's encounter with Stain, because I can see some interesting plot points coming from that. I'll think about it!! This may change, but for purposes of continuity I think this could work as I move forward with my plotting!

Age: All the characters are at least 16. Let's just roll with that and take some creative liberties here. I'm aging everyone up.

The Dorms: In this fic universe, I pictured the students moving into the dorms at the start of the year. Like the dorms are just part of the normal UA experience - for all intents and purposes it's a boarding school.

The Songs: Okay this is a really interesting idea! I am literally just putting in playlists of music I like right now, I didn't think much about modern music flowing into the story. Lol would Honenuki listen to BRAT!? Maybe. I love him and think of him as a sweet chill cinnamon roll of a dude, though. I think he would be scandalized by Guess Featuring Billie Eilish. Or maybe he'd love it. He'd def love Chappell Roan, though. Dude is a sloot for Red Wine Super Nova and I just know it!

The Vibe: @ all of my beloved readers - I realize that this story means a lot to people, and I love that!! Even though we explore complex and serious subject matter at times, this is still a goofy silly story that I write for fun! Please don't hold me to these ideas that I'm throwing out in a semi-public brainstorm. I am but a simple fanfic writer who churns out most of the Shoto pages at midnight after I work two jobs. Shoto's First Kiss is a project that I write purely for fun and to build community with other adult MHA fans. I'm not like going to publish this as a book or put it on Patr*on behind a paywall or something. So let's keep it light! That being said, I love interacting with everyone so if there are fun questions that you think would be interesting for me to answer in this story, let me know! I'm very open to hearing thoughts and considering new ideas here :)

Okay okay SORRY FOR SO MUCH INFO! Thanks again @brie-is-cheesy for being so thoughtful in your reading and for asking these great questions! This is def going to help me guide the next few chapters of the story as I plot things out and as we get a satisfying next chapter in The Party arc. I'm going to post this reply on my Master List so we can all keep track of it and come back to it easily if needed.

As always, thanks for reading!! Sending good vibes to all ☺️

XOXO,

Red Riot Unbreakable Heart ❤️

Shoto's First Kiss Series:

Part 1: Shoto Todoroki x Reader | First Kiss ❄️🔥💋

Part 2: Shoto Todoroki x Reader | First Kiss ❄️🔥💋 PART 2

Part 3: Shoto Todoroki x Reader | First Kiss ❄️🔥💋 PART 3

Part 4: Shoto Todoroki x Reader | First Kiss ❄️🔥💋 PART 4

Part 5: Shoto Todoroki x Reader | First Kiss ❄️🔥💋 PART 5

My Master List

Red's Recos: If you're looking for more fun smutty stories from my writing desk, I'll share 3 of my all time favorites from my Master List. These are all fairly long and have a lot of sexual tension/build up with some satisfying smut scenes:

How to Suck Your Best Friend’s D*ck 🍆💋

BakuDeku Smut: Hooking Up At A Pro Hero Gala

A Long, *Hard* Night with Eijiro Kirishima

[konigbabe]

'plagiarism' issue

Not one for drama, yet I want to bring attention to this. I won’t elaborate on this issue more.

So it happened.

A while ago but it remains slowly nipping at my brain. For that case, I have decided to write it all down and collect my thoughts using this post.

My work like real people do (and the whole thought/idea behind it) has been taken, rewritten, tweaked and published as someone else's idea (that they apparently had since spring). I asked them to take it down privately. They did add my @ and for some time, I was content until they started creating the whole "universe" around it and taking praise for it even tho it's not their original idea.

The dark side of fanfiction is that there is not much I can do but at least I can make awareness about the issue.

Starting this with some definitions and clearance:

plagiarism: "Presenting work or ideas from another source as your own...by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgment.[1]"

I love this by Wattpad themself:

What if they give credit?

"It is still plagiarism even if you give credit. Even when someone uses an artist's base or picture they are expected to change it up to become something new, rather than just running it through a filter, or tweaking it with a few minor edits. There is a major difference between copying another person's storyline and making edits and actually writing a story.[2]"

Now to the point:

For LRPD, I have created a very specific premise that I haven't read/seen before:

Leon is a single dad of a young girl (didn't specify age but definitely a preteen, around fourth grade).

He is absent from his daughter's life, especially from her school activities. He becomes this "enigma" for the teachers.

The daughter doesn't have a mother. 

Teacher!reader is concerned for the daughter's wellbeing so one day, when Leon picks her up, she requires to have a talk with him.

During the talk, he offers her a dinner instead of having to participate in school activities.

Teacher!reader and Leon sleep together during the first off-school meeting. 

Teacher!reader wakes up before Leon and looks at his exposed [muscular] back.

Teacher!reader searches for the bathroom, notices Leon’s poorly decorated apartment except for his daughter’s stuff. 

Teacher!reader is reffered to as "Miss teacher" in this universe.

They copied almost THE WHOLE premise. It'd be okay to write your own version of single dad Leon and his kid's teacher - I don't own the trope - but following the SAME ORIGINAL STORYLINE is not okay [with me]...

The parts after "Keep reading" consists of photo 'evidence' of the similarities (some are less obvious but I'll mention them regardless). It is LONG because I have a lot to say.

LRPD was published May 2, 2023, their story was published August 14, 2023.

Fun fact: Few days ago, I created a separate masterlist for the series and few days later, they did the same thing.

: ̗̀➛ Example 1 - Leon sits on the chair

My story (LRPD):

Theirs:

: ̗̀➛ Example 2 - Could've been a...

My story (LRPD):

Theirs:

: ̗̀➛ Example 3 - Leon's absent from his daughter's life, especially from her school activities, and teacher!reader saying that he should be more present...

My story (LRPD):

Theirs:

: ̗̀➛ Example 4 - Leon snaps because the kid's mother is mentioned (also mention of him having his arms folded during the meeting which the other person mentioned earlier in their work)...

My story (LRPD):

Theirs:

: ̗̀➛ Example 5 - Leon invites you to dinner instead of attenting the school event…

My story (LRPD):

Theirs:

: ̗̀➛ Example 6 - Aunt Claire makes an appereance (mentioned only)

My story (LRPD):

Theirs:

: ̗̀➛ Example 7 (NSFW) - Teacher!reader worried where is Leon's kid during heavy make-out session that leads to s*x (they did wrote a full original smut scene, which I skipped so idk if there are any familiarities; I have decided that a full smut scene doesn't do it for me in this story)

My story (LRPD):

Theirs:

: ̗̀➛ Example 8 - Morning after

My story (LRPD):

Theirs:

: ̗̀➛ Example 9 - Leon's apartment description (they basically just simplified my abstact, "show, don't tell" description)

My story (LRPD):

Theirs:

: ̗̀➛ Example 10 - Aunt Claire calls to tell Leon to pick his daughter in the morning after

My story (LRPD):

Theirs:

: ̗̀➛ Example 11 - AND Miss Teacher's significant petname has an alternative but also makes an appereance (in the same formating on top of that)

My story (LRPD):

Theirs - NSFW (alternative + miss teacher):

They were smart by rewritting it in their own words but it still lays heavy on my chest that a story I have crafted for WEEKS has been taken from me like that. It's more glaring if you read both stories instead of me splitting it into excerpts (and I didn't insert all of them as there is a limit to pictures per post).

Taking inspiration or straight-up rewritting someone's detailed idea is a difference.

Sources:

[1] https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/guidance/skills/plagiarism

[2] https://www.wattpad.com/128409012-how-to-write-fanfiction-plagiarism-vs-inspiration

[eemcintyre]

Masterlist alert

Something to Talk About universe

Something to Talk About - you and 90s!Tom are secretly married, and while on vacation, you realize that the press has finally caught you together and published the photos.

One More Night - It’s the last night of you and Tom’s vacation where your relationship was uncovered by the media. He surprises you with a motorcycle ride, a beautiful view, and a special gift to close the day out.

All Eyes on Us - Oscars night finally arrives and you and Tom make your official debut as a couple. You are overwhelmed by the attention and some invasive interview questions, but Tom supports you through it.

Production assistant reader x TC

The Door is Open - you are a production assistant on the set of a 90s Tom Cruise movie, and he steps in when one of his costars threatens you.

Behind Closed Doors - Over the last several weeks since you met Tom on the movie set where you work, you have discovered an undeniable attraction to each other. Although neither one of you is sure where it will lead, you’ve been getting the tension out with secretive meetings in his trailer.

Parental fics

Good Morning - Trying to make up for how busy he's been lately, Tom takes your daughter off your hands for the morning and obv cuteness ensues.

Flipped - Tom's daughter keeps him company from her playpen while he cooks dinner.

Miscellaneous fics

Surprise Me - One of your friends, after a poor track record of setting you up on dates, gets one more chance and makes the most of it. You meet the date for dinner at an elegant NYC restaurant to discover that your friend has set you up with Tom Cruise.

Repaying the Favor - Tom comes home to find you in a great deal of pain because ~it’s that time of the month amirite ladies~, and he does what he can to try and make things better, despite you insisting that you can handle it.

All or Nothing at All - Attending a friend's wedding compels Tom to ask you an important ~question~, and it invites a conversation about the direction of your relationship and your anxieties about it.

It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over - (Sequel to "All or Nothing at All") After a long time of being apart, you and Tom reunite, but what should have been a pleasant evening turns into a fight when Tom's exhaustion and frustration causes his personal issues to make an appearance.

Thirty Minutes - You're making last-minute preparations for the Halloween gathering that you and Tom are hosting. Since you have a tendency to go overboard with these kinds of events, Tom has to remind you to have some fun.

Cruel to be Kind universe

Cruel to be Kind - Terry finds out that a coworker has been bothering you and you insist he stays out of it, but he takes matters into his own hands. Literally.

Tainted Love - You are in extreme turmoil after the... incident... at the house. While doing everything in your power to avoid Terry, you're trying to figure out what you should do and how you feel about who he's revealed himself to be.

Both Sides Now - You have an intense nightmare and Terry comforts you. The next morning, after a great deal of thought, you finally decide the future of your relationship.

Enemies-to-lovers/fake dating series

Let the Games Begin - Terry Silver (80s edition™️) is determined to claim the one woman at Dynatox who doesn't appear to be interested in him, and he concocts an elaborate scheme by which to do so.

Looking the Part - Valerie visits the luxury shops of Rodeo Drive to prepare for her role as Terry's girlfriend. Afterward, she and Terry meet for lunch, and then they practice how to kiss each other for the first time.

Playing the Part - The vibes between Valerie and Terry are now noticeably different. Terry arranges for the media to discover them when they soft-launch their relationship to the public at a cafe.

People Will Say We're in Love - The first news story about Valerie and Terry is released, and Valerie must cope with heightened scrutiny from her family, friends, and strangers. She also learns that Terry will be hosting a cocktail party to welcome the investment group and that she needs to be there.

Miscellaneous fics

Wicked Game - Terry Silver takes an interest in one of his adult students; an innocent and inexperienced girl with an obvious crush on him.

Who Am I To You? - Reader is embarrassed to ask Terry (CK era) if she can call him by a certain title.

Reunion - You and Terry spend a night together in the bath after a long time apart.

"The Firm" (1993)

"Cocktail" (1988)

"Ulterior Motives" (1992)

"Crackerjack" (1994)

"Excessive Force" (1993)

"Hollow Point" (1996)

"Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision" (2003)

"Seawolf: The Pirate's Curse" (2005)

"Stretch" (2014)

"Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning (Part One)" (2023)

"Longlegs" (2024)

[circuitspinner]

got any spiderverse fic recs?

actually, i do! it's pretty much all ghostflower though (and entirely gwen-focused due to my personal biases; i do intend to branch out more at some point) so sorry if you wanted something a little different!

(also, this isn't every fic i've read and liked, just some of my absolute favorites!)

look at me, falling fast is a fic that i have thought about literally daily since i first read it, which means a little over two weeks now. it goes over gwen's perspective of the scenes we get with her and miles on earth-1610 in atsv, and its take on these characters (and gwen in particular) just clicked with me in a way not a lot of fics i've read in this fandom have so far

threading the needle is the only incomplete fic on this list, because i generally avoid things that are unfinished- it was published as a one-shot initially, and the first chapter can be taken as a standalone. the premise is pretty simple: how would atsv be different if gwen had known about the existence of earth-8? once again, i just love the way she's characterized here, especially in that first standalone chapter.

watercolor skies is set sometime after the hypothetical end of btsv, where gwen still hasn't returned home to earth-65. for lack of a better way to phrase it, there's something that feels very relatable about her complicated relationship with her father.

salad days takes place during the timeskip between gwen joining up with the spider society and finally going to earth-1610. i don't have a lot to say about it, other than (like everything on this list) i really like the way it handles the characters.

waiting is a little alternate-universe fake dating au (that spirals into a full-on series that ends up hitting some of the same beats as atsv does, interestingly enough) that i think is really fun to see with these characters! gwen actually makes a decent first impression on miles' parents in this universe

watercolour girl is, in some sense, about gwen's relationship to her hair- and how it relates to the people she loves.

a litany for survival is about the canon events in gwen's life. it's something that just really resonated with me the first time i read it. something about the way it's written just really clicks for me, i think?

to slip from your tongue like words is actually from hobie's perspective; his observations on gwen's obvious affection for miles and his subtle (for him, anyway) attempts at encouraging her to go against the society.

ghost of me is about gwen struggling to cope with the guilt and grief over what happened with her world's peter parker, and being blindsided by the anniversary of his death.

[welcome-to-hyrulepark]

[HYRULE PARK: 5TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL]

July 30th marked 5 years since I published the first drawing of Link meeting the boys from South Park. You have no idea what has happened over the years. First of all, Hyrule Park has outlived most of the other South Park AU comics such as Mirai Park, Hell Park, Revenge Park, SP Fleur Blue, SP Left 4 Dead, my pals South Park High and others. While they were actively developing and then abruptly canceled, Hyrule Park was just drawing its second chapter😆. During this time, my AU acquired a couple of fans but the comic took so long to develop that most of those fans lost interest in it (and some even lost interest in Zelda and/or South Park in general). But despite all this, I do not lose hope of acquiring my own fan base who would draw me fanarts, made memes, or just asking me, "When is the next part?"

Guys, I hope that your interest in Hyrule Park will be renewed, because I actually waited all these years for the release of Tears of the Kingdom so that I could immediately build the entire chronology of events, and at the same time honed my writing skills. Someone will say: “Hey, why do you need to hone something? Your pursuit of ideals will only destroy you! Do whatever you want.” And I really did. And here is the result: the comic version is being reworked, because I started making it back when I knew very little about the lore of both the Breath of the Wild saga and the Zelda universe in general.

Fun fact: I did not plan this story as a multimedia saga. It was supposed to be a short banter comic about Stan, Craig, and their homies ending up the world of Breath of the Wild, meeting Link, going on an adventure, saving Zelda and going home. But then I found out that the BotW sequel is in development, then I found out how fan comics work and what is interesting to fandoms. Then Age of Calamity was released, and I came up with a prequel fanfic called Hyrule Warriors: Backstories, after which I learned about new needs in the fandom. By the time I adapted this story for Ficbook.me, its canon had changed to such an extent that I had to rewrite everything from the beginning. Fortunately, I only wrote the first two chapters. Then I got other projects (FNAF MA, The EDM Gang and even the lore of my cybersona grew into a plot worthy of a manga), I had a need for promotion, so I started doing all these marathons of my favorite animated series and AU, taking part in Linktober and Art Fight... In the end, I have ADHD, a mental disorder that makes it hard to concentrate on anything, so my brain needed a change of activity all the time, which distracted me from Hyrule Park.

So, yeah. There are a crap ton of reasons for delays. But there is good news: I am already prepared enough to continue this story. I changed its format, and now I don’t have to draw every scene of the comic. Instead, I can describe some of them with text. I also formulated a more or less clear picture of further events. All I need are those for whom I will try, and I need to know about such people through feedback.

Hyrule Park - 5 years later, everything is just beginning!

[OG DRAWING] [BETTER QUALITY]

[wakfu-weekly]

Devblog: Necroworld interview

A devblog was published talking about the newly added Necroworld dungeon to the mmo.

You should read it for yourself if you are curious, but here are the bits I found interesting (and my thoughts on it):

(Text taken from the article colored in purple)

"Why did you specifically choose to create a 3-person dungeon for Toross Mordal?

In the 3-person dungeons, we try as much as possible to go with bosses that have a transmedia presence. Basically, these are bosses that players who've had experience with the Krosmoz universe will be eager to fight. So we want to make them more accessible to players who are playing with one character or one account. (…)”

I didn’t know they had this approach. This explains a lot of the other design choices like it being a single room that just goes straight to the boss and the more straightforward wakfu drain mechanic. Making the mmo more accessible to other Krosmoz fans is often a tricky task, which is especially highlighted here since you have to be at least level 215 to even be allowed inside of the Necroworld. At this level bracket you are already deep into the mmo trenches, which could be why I’ve seen the sentiment of the Toross fight being too easy echoed from some players. This is meant to be a fun, simpler fight that was placed at the highest level bracket of the game where the most dedicated players reside.

Was it hard to maintain story consistency with WAKFU S4 with the addition of the Necroworld?

I wouldn't say it was hard, but it was definitely an important issue as we were developing the quest. We had to implement the player's discovery of the Necroworld in the timeline of WAKFU MMO while also justifying the shared discovery of the Necroworld by all Twelvians in Season 4 of the WAKFU animated series.

I worked with [Sly] and [Siu] to write the quest. The narrative goal was to get the player into the Necroworld while involving as few characters as possible. Ultimately, we had the idea to use a little trick with Otomai and his links to the Eliatropes' story. But I won't reveal any more here, so that people can discover the quest for themselves.

Okay, so there is a quest! I was left under the erroneous impression that there wasn’t (since I’m not the right level yet, I’ve only gotten footage and glimpses from watching another friend play it on release day. They didn’t get a quest related to it. A bug maybe?)

I was particularly wondering about the story here. Hearing that they wrote it with “as few characters as possible” makes sense to avoid the continuity nightmares but also. Uh oh. That sounds… Pretty telling? Alas since I haven’t actually played through the quest, I cannot comment on it.

I’ve been enjoying the quests and story from the newest updates so far, so I’m willing to trust them on this one.

Where'd you get your inspiration for this new boss's equipment?

The first source of inspiration was, of course, Toross and his army, the iconic characters from season 4 of WAKFU. What I like about these new monsters is the striking contrast between their desaturated colors and the pink Stasis, which allows us to establish a strong visual identity for the equipment.

they are right. The greys with the super saturated colors do go pretty hard.

[edwinspaynes]

What is ur personal favourite, hands down recommended reading order? The way you like most, the way that's the most optimal way of reading it? According to you of course (and maybe including extra chapters) ? :))

Key:

Cassie Clare Canon -> If a short story is listed by name, it means I recommend you read it there rather than where I list the rest of the story collection. Or, you know, you could reread the story and have fun ;)

My fanfic

NOT PUBLISHED YET. Indicates a WIP that I am actively working on. I did not list WIPs that I am not actively working on.

My fanfic, but NSFW

@vwritesaus fanfic because I accept all her works as canon and also we share almost every headcanon so they fit in with all the other stuff on this list.

W/T -> Wessa

M -> Matthew

EIR -> Expert in Romantics Series

T/A -> Thomastair

TWLTB -> Together We'll Learn to Breathe Series

J/C -> Herondaisy

Note: I have only included fanfics that are fully canon compliant. I have others as does V, and you should read those too :P But these are just canon and bonus chapters.

TID

When Our Eyes Meet, Darling, I Fancy You

Have I Known You Twenty Seconds or Twenty Years? W/T

Leaves, Cider Donuts, and William Herondale W/T

Happy Birthday, My Tess W/T

Tale as Old as Time W/T

The Howling Wind W/T

My Hips and Thighs and Whispered Sighs (Oh Lord) W/T

The Whitechapel Fiend

A Tale of a Great Behemoth W/T

Nothing But Shadows

Cast Long Shadows

Come Feel This Magic I've Been Feeling Since I Met You T/A

Every Exquisite Thing

A Combination of Shock and Awe M

The Midnight Heir

The Penultimate Hours

Chain of Gold

Empty Bottles, Heavy Hearts, the Memories of Broken Dreams T & Lily

The Letter Game

Part-Time Soulmate, Full-Time Problem T/A

Chain of Iron

Chain of Thorns

Daisy, My Daisy... J/C

breathe T/A

Enouement J/C

Chrysalism T/A

Can We Dance Through an Avalanche? T/A

Serindipity Ari/Anna NOT PUBLISHED YET.

Adronitis NOT PUBLISHED YET.

A Therapeutic Chain of Events T/A TWLTB

The Closet Game A & C

The Golden Age of Something Good and Right and Real T/A

Butterflies J/C

Prices & Vices (I End Up in Crisis) M & A

Your Flower's Filled With Vitriol M & A

In the Gutter, Looking at the Stars M & A

The Name We Give Our Mistakes M

Summer Went Away (Still the Yearning Stays) M

Love Thorns All Over This Rose J/C

You Drew Scars Around My Stars T/A TWLTB

Passed Down Like Folk Songs (The Love Lasts So Long) T/A

Taffy Stuck and Tongue Tied A & Grace

It's a Love Story (Baby Just Say Yes) J/C

Soul to the Universe (Wings to the Mind) J/C, T/A, M

I Can See You (Up Against a Wall With Me) J/C

Across our Great Divide There Is a Glorious Sunrise M

Fourty-Eight M

Dreamscapes on the Wall T/A

I'm a Fire and I'll Keep Your Brittle Heart Warm T/A

The Diaries of Sir Thomas Lightwood, Age 14 T/A

what's in a kiss (by any other touch would feel just as sweet) T/A

A Troublesome Tale of Truffles & Trifles T/A

Religion in Your Lips (the Altar Is My Hips) T/A

A Dazzling Haze, A Mysterious Way About You T/A

Seeking Lapsang Souchang J/C

The Crown You Never Take Off T/A

Closets of Backlogged Dreams T/A

dear christopher T/A

Life Is Not Complex (We Are Complex) M EIR Eugenia/OC

The Cheap Severity of Abstract Ethics M & T/A

Walk, Walk, Fashion Baby M & T

Got Me Right Where You Want Me, Baby (Could I Be More Obvious?) T/A

More Than Anything: A Thomas and Alastair Drabble Collection T/A

The Besotted Couple's Guide to Half-Baked Mistakes J/C

Privacy Sign on the Whole World J/C

Until the Stars Burn Out: A James and Cordelia Drabble Collection J/C

Flying in a Dream, Stars By the Pocketful T/A

Twenty Minutes T/A

hygge T/A

Like a Candle You Burnt Out T/A

Christmas on the Balcony W/T

The Surprise T/A & C

i'm only me when i'm with you J/C

Every Tear's a Rain Parade From Hell T/A TWLTB

A Dwindling Mercurial High T/A TWLTB

Bloodsucker, Famefucker T/A TWLTB

Baby You Got Lucky Cause You're Rockin With the Best T/A

Is This the End of All the Endings? (My Broken Bones Are Mending) T/A

Dinner in the Dark T/A

For One Moment, Our Lives Met (Our Souls Touched) M EIR Ragnor/Catarina

Fashion Is Ephemeral (Art Is Eternal) Matthew EIR T/A

A Little Sincerity (A Dangerous Thing) M EIR Risa/OC

The Moon in Her Chariot of Pearl M EIR T/A

Days Future: Paris 1912 T/A

A Ribbon of Dream T/A

Kaleidoscope of Loud Heartbeats Under Coats T/A

Moonlight Sonata and I T/A

Connecting the Tide to the Sand That Was Dry T/A

Love on Ice T/A

portrait of a dissipated parisian T/A

Time, Mystical Time M

TMI 1-4

The Red Scrolls of Magic

TMI 5-6

Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy

The Bane Chronicles

TDA, if you absolutely must, but I usually recommend people don't waste their time.

Ghosts of the Shadow Market

The Lost Book of the White

Sentimental Boy Is My Nom de Plume W/T

This Beautiful Beast M T/A and Kit H

TWP

[lord-squiggletits]

I wish to love and appreciate idw optimus more too. But I also don’t want to read through the entirety of IDW 1.0. Can you please recommend me any specific issues/parts?

My best friend and fellow IDW Optimus lover made a post compiling all the comics with major story beats involving Optimus. Her list has a lot of the same things mine does, but also a lot more specific issues because she actually knows which specific issues of which series you can read specifically for ones focused on IDW Optimus. We don't agree on everything (I love some comics she dislikes and vice versa), but I would recommend her list simply because it's the most well-documented and thorough. Link I also have a lot of far less coherent but still genuine posts about IDW OP on my #idw op love tag.

As for specific parts I would recommend... since you don't want to read through all of IDW1, I'll go ahead and recommend you things based on in-universe chronological order rather than story release order, but if anything here interests you then I would recommend reading IDW1 in release order so that you get a better grasp of the story's context and how new lore was given out over time:

Chaos Theory and Police Action by James Roberts (The Transformers 2009 issues 22-23): I love love LOVE the way JRO writes Optimus talking to Megatron during the present day, it's very IDW-Optimus flavored because of how blunt, abrasive, and snappy Optimus is. There's a part in the comic where Megatron claims that he "knows [Optimus] better than anyone else," and he's right, but it's also true that Optimus knows Megatron well enough to see that he's bullshitting and it's very entertaining watching Optimus slowly lose his patience with him. I love the dialogue especially, no one (canon or fandom) has ever quite written the same IDW OP who's in this set of comics. It's also the most MegOP comic of all time because the sexual tension and the subliminal imagery of them doing BDSM together is unreal, plus it really captures their dynamic of two old soldiers who snap together with chemistry despite (or perhaps because of) being such long-time enemies. They just UNDERSTAND each other so well. Also, as a bonus point, Chaos Theory is where the pre-war lore for IDW1 began being published, so if you read Chaos Theory then the context for future pre-war lore makes a little more sense.

Shadowplay by James Roberts (More Than Meets the Eye issues 10-11): More pre-war lore that picks up where Chaos Theory/Police action left off. Important because it establishes a lot of IDW OP's character relationships, especially with "the Senator," Roller, and to a degree Ratchet and some minor side characters. I don't really know what to say about this besides it's just really fucking fun to read and features IDW OP getting to do cool shit like fight bad guys, investigate conspiracies, and do heists while also establishing one of his key character traits: being disastrously gay for suspicious men that he places entirely too much trust in to tell him what the right thing to do is.

Spotlight: Orion Pax by James Roberts: Okay, I'm really sorry for recommending JRO's stuff because it feels like favoritism and I don't even think JRO does the best version of IDW OP, it's just going in in-universe chronological order means that a lot of JRO stuff ends up first on the list. This one doesn't really have much of consequence in it and is honestly one of the weaker Spotlight issues, but like Shadowplay, it involves Orion Pax doing fun action shit and having way too much trust in a suspicious man (a new one from the suspicious man in Shadowplay).

The Autocracy Trilogy (Autocracy, Monstrosity, Primacy) by Chris Metzen: Oh my fucking god this is THE IDW Optimus to me, this trilogy is literally what made my ears perk up to even start liking IDW OP because it's what took me from "Optimus Prime, that's the guy who's the super awesome leader that everyone likes and is a paragron to everyone, yeah I know him" to "Oh.... holy shit this is such a good plot/worldbuilding, Optimus has so much CONFLICT and DRAMA with other people." It covers one of my favorite periods of the general Transformers formula, namely pre-war and early war plot events as conflicts come to a boiling point, there's political conflicts and personal conflicts, the planet is falling to shit and everyone is trying to escape and things are as depressing and scary as you would expect for a war that's literally about to consume a whole planet. I found the general plotlines to be gripping and intense (Autocracy is the weakest in this regard, but the writing gets better with each book) and I really like seeing how Optimus grapples with leadership. Especially the negative parts where people hate/fear him because of his association with Zeta's regime (the previous Prime, who Orion worked for), call his judgment into question, refuse his calls to action or waver in their faith in him, and so forth. I found it to be a really nuanced yet sympathetic view of IDW Optimus that made me fall in love with him. Because really, the thing that humanizes a character the most is making them flawed, and Autocracy trilogy Optimus is so incredibly flawed and conflicted. And also it shows him being shit on by other characters in a way that's well written in a plot that makes sense and doesn't feel like the entire plot is conspiring to shit all over him.

The Death of Optimus Prime by James Roberts and John Barber: This comic is basically the transition from phase 1 to phase 2, it establishes the branching plotlines of MTMTE and exRID, so this is another one of those comics that will help you understand IDW1 better if you want to read for more than just Optimus. Anyways, DoOP is great because it has a similar vibe to the Autocracy trilogy in that society is chaos and full of people who fucking hate Optimus' guts for the role he played in the war. You can also compare/contrast the way OP was before the war and early in the war versus the way he is after the war and see how much the war changed him (Chaos Theory also kind of is like this but it more shows bitchy Optimus specifically in his dynamic with Megatron). It also features a fair amount of Optimus Heroic Moments, Optimus Brooding, and Optimus being so fucking depressed he's literally sad when he wakes up and realizes he's not dead dude get some fucking therapy please I'm begging you--

Punishment by John Barber: This skips ahead quite a bit in the story but I think stands decently well on its own without having to understand the wider context. It's one of Barber's best-written stories and one of the only ones I've come back to reread for its own sake. It features Optimus trying to solve the murder-mystery of a bunch of Decepticons, featuring really cool plot conflicts like Optimus trying to navigate post-war society and the tensions that still linger from the Autobot-Decepticon war. I really like this one because it has that whole "not everyone loves OP and a lot of people hate him for justified reasons" thing that makes IDW OP a much more 3D character, PLUS it has some politics with the way Decepticons are treated post war. And I think it does really interesting things with Optimus in terms of showing how he DOES have this idealistic, merciful side that wants people to choose peace and letting go of vengeance, but of course it's not so easy to expect that of people after a 4 million year war. So when people inevitably choose violence, Optimus gets frustrated and angry and lashes out in a way that feels very real and understandable. It's a really good example of a comic that shows IDW OP in a nuanced way, showcasing both his virtues and flaws in a complicated situation that shows that there's no easy solution to these problems and no way for Optimus to escape without getting his hands dirty. Unlike future comics which involve OP being in complicated situations but instead the plot is super contrived and seems to overwhelmingly shit on OP without ever mentioning the very obvious ways that he could be defended, creating a story that's conceptually fascinating but incredibly mediocre in execution.

If I had to recommend any single one of these to read, I would recommend the Autocracy trilogy the most because it's literally the story that made me love IDW Optimus and made me realize "whoa, this guy is super nuanced and not what I expected of him." That's not to say that no other Optimi have depth and nuance, but I think the Autocracy trilogy was great for me personally as one of the first IDW1 comics I read. It struck a really good balance between "uh Optimus was part of some bad things that warrant being shit on" and "Optimus is struggling to overcome those bad associations he did, succeeding with some people and failing with others" and "Optimus is an optimist who has faith in others even when they don't have faith in themselves." Also, as a bonus, the Autocracy trilogy also features cunty murder-husband Megatron, an interesting character arc for Hot Rod, and the Dinobots as really interesting supporting characters (including their leader, Grimlock, having a cute veteran-rookie dynamic with Hot Rod that I wish we got more of).

[kaaaaaaarf]

20 asks for fic writers

Thank you for tagging me, @fruityindividual, @lynxindisguise, @butcherbacterium & @spindrifters <333

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

14

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

56,757

3. What fandoms do you write for?

HP Marauders.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Killing Time (unwillingly mine) aka murder husbands

Now I'm Spreading Your Legs (with mine in between) aka the original hatefuck

soft like silk chiffon aka silk slip Remus

back when we were dinosaurs aka museum

Rolling In The Deep aka divorced sopping wet wolfstar

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes, of course!! I love getting comments, they sustain me. I need them to live.

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending

Oh, hmm. I try to give all my fics a somewhat happy ending. I guess my blood is singing with your voice, which is my Midsommar au...I think you can guess how that ends.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I think that museum will probably win this once it's finished, but for now I would say I Knew Your Love Before I Knew Your Name and You Grew Tall (I Stayed The Same).

8. Do you get hate on fics?

So far no. I have received some weird feedback before, but nothing hateful.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

hahaha Listen. When I started writing fic I was like "I will never write smut, it's too hard to do it right." and then the first fic I published was my original hatefuck fic. 🤷 In fact, I think I'm best known for my Hatefuck Extended Universe series.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I have not, I don't really think it's for me.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of. Like Lynx said, I think there are a lot of themes and motifs that float around the fandom so inevitably you're going to find something that is similar to yours. I have had people reach out and ask if they can write something inspired by my fic or like, with a similar theme (murder husbands) and I really appreciated the asking.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not yet! I don't know how I feel about it...there's no way for me to ensure that they have kept the story the same, ya know? I guess it would be a case by case basis.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

B, Kels and I started a sort of Miami Vice AU, but it sort of fell to the side. It was fun to collaborate, but we collaborate on every fic we write anyways, so.

In general, I don't think I'm the right person to co-write with because my muse is so fickle and comes and goes. I wouldn't want to let anyone down.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Wolfstar at the moment! I will always be an everlark shipper though.

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I have had a wolfstar girldads au sitting in my notes app forever and I would love to write it, but the muse never sticks around for long. I also have a soulmate au that I started but will likely never finish. I think my take is unique, but I've just never been able to figure out how I could make it work.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Oh, I guess I have a really good grasp on the characters I'm trying to write, and I think I'm also good at humour. Also if you need a flowery metaphor, I'm your girl.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

World building. I'm just incredibly lazy and not that imaginative. I also have terrible grammar. I use em-dashes to hide that fact that I have no idea how to correctly use a semi-colon.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I mean I would do it, but only if I had a friend who could proof-read for me. The last thing I want to do is write something in another language that takes a native speaker out of the fic entirely.

The title of my fic In ár gCroíthe go deo is Irish, but it's also a song title from Fontaines DC so I didn't have to worry about that so much.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

This one! Marauders. I've only been writing since April.

20. Favourite fic you've written?

The ones I'm most proud of are The Killing Time (unwillingly mine) and back when we were dinosaurs.

no pressure tagging: @kaleidoscopexsighs, @grimjobs, @vajazzly, @crushofdoves, @greenvlvetcouch, @sommerregenjuniluft, @cancerravenclaw, @facewithoutheart, @sheisraging , @achilleslikespeas, @hihimissamericanbi, @colgatebluemintygel and @thefairylights

[cosmic-hoboandthehighlander]

20 questions for fic writers

Thanks for tagging me @daddygrandpaandthebeaver yesterday and thanks for the tag today from @babsvibes

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

46, about to be 47

2. What’s your total word count?

236,929

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Bob’s Burgers

I am slowly working on some WWDITS fic as well, but so far nothing has been posted.

I used to write for HP and my work can still be found on ao3.

4. Top 5 fics by kudos

Not counting my co-written fics (because I feel like that doesn’t count since I didn’t write all of it and one of them is a posted RP)

Take a Walk With Me

I Like That Sweater On You

Now I’ve Got It, Do I Want It?

That Over-Hyped Corporate Holiday

Gawky

Just for fun, since all my top fics are HP (I wrote for that fandom longer) I here’s my top Bob’s Burgers fics by kudos!

Wrong

Where You Belong

This Never Happened

Love, Your Sailor

Rainy Day

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to respond to every single one! I really really appreciate the support from the people who read my fics and a lot of them tend to be mutuals here on tumblr, so it’s nice to know that the people I interact with pretty much daily are enjoying what I put out.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Never Wanna Say Goodbye

For how much angst I love to write, I hate unhappy endings. This one is ambiguous, I’d say it’s the angstiest ending, even if it’s not the angstiest fic I’ve written. I think.

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

Never Too Old for a Bedtime Story

In a Lifetime

Probably. I don’t know, my opinion changes a lot. If you would have asked me months ago, I would have had a different answer. These two have endings that make me happy personally, so I choose these.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yes. Unfortunately this was common while I was part of the HP fandom and one of the reasons I stopped writing and updating several of my fics. I usually delete the worst ones before they even get posted because I have comment moderation on all of the HP fics left on ao3 now. The people in that fandom seem to be very particular about their fics. I don’t want to start discourse or create drama, but I will say that I realized that, especially after TikTok and the marauders fandom exploded, my fics had to meet some kind of invisible standard in order to be considered “good” (aka atyd standard) and it feels as if readers come to expect your work to read like a published for profit book you can buy at Barnes and Noble. Considering you’re not paying me to write fanfiction and I do it not as a career but as a hobby in my limited free time, I don’t think that’s a very fair expectation.

I have never once gotten a hate comment on a single one of my Bob’s Burgers fics though.

9. Do you write smut?

Yes! As an ace person who is generally sex-repulsed when it comes to their own body, this is mostly how I experience it. I know it’s not always everybody’s favorite thing, so I don’t write it into every fic, but my characters do tend to be very sexual (For personal reasons I don’t want to get into my past, though I do want to make it clear that I am not ace because of it, I don’t want anybody thinking trauma leads to asexuality) but I do enjoy both writing and reading a good smut scene.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Not typically. I can’t never figure out how to do it write. Sometimes I’ll write fic based in the universe of another fandom, but I wouldn’t consider that a crossover.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes, back in my HP days my best fandom friend and I co-wrote a series of Snupin fics based on songs from the Lumineers. Another one was an rp from discord that me and my rp partner at the time posted. Other than that, no I have not.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Tedmort

Obviously, since I am the (unofficial) tedmort CEO, what did you expect? ����

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

The Lupin-Snape Family Shitshow (title not permanent)

There is no real title for this because I affectionally have been calling it that since I started writing back in 2021. I wanted as much written as possible before I began posting to ao3, so that’s 77k already written for this mamma jamma! This is a Snupin fic in which Snape and Lupin became best friends after the war, married other people, and ended up cheating on their partners and falling in love.

I doubt I’ll ever finish it, even though I am still very interested in it and really love what I’ve written so far. Unfortunately, I don’t know how well the fandom would accept it (due to the ships and themes of infidelity) and I do not write for the HP fandom any longer. I haven’t even opened this fic since March 2022.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I write dialogue fairly well. I come up with some good, interesting ideas even if they don’t get posted. Im good at one shots and the one scene sort of thing - I’m a decent short form writer.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I struggle with connecting the dots between scene a lot, which is why I write a lot of one shots and drabbles. Those are the scenes I wanted to write and if I connect them together, I could make an entire story but I struggle with writing the parts that go in between.

Which is also why I have a hard time finishing longer works because I’ll write the “good stuff” first and struggle with making it into a coherent story that makes sense.

Another weakness is my adhd brain losing interest after I’ve posted a few chapters of a fic and then suddenly never feeling motivated to continue again.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

I use google translate because most of the languages I use, I don’t have fandom friends who speak it (to my knowledge?) which can be really tricky and can make things sound off to people who do speak that language.

I can only read, write, and speak in English, unfortunately, so on occasion I’ll write words or phrases into English sentences but not full dialogue.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Twilight, though I only posted one fic in 2009 to Fanfiction.net

Followed by Glee, which is when I actually started writing fanfiction for realsies. Up until that point, I had mostly written original fiction and never posted online.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

If you asked me before I joined the burger fandom…it would have been this one: That over-hyped Corporate Holiday And this awful crack fic that I still adore, years later for whatever reason: Dicked Down in Divination Feat. Severus Snape

But in all serious, this question was really hard. Maybe this isn’t the best work I’ve ever done and maybe I didn’t take ages to perfect it, but it makes me happy. It’s so sweet and I still adore the idea of mortuary student Mort and Navy sailor Teddy meeting in their twenties.

Love, Your Sailor

I’m not tagging anyone because most of the people I’d tag have already been tagged! But if you weren’t please do this I want to see all of your answers!!

[animehouse-moe]

Don't Call It Mystery Omnibus Volume 1: The Mystery That Isn't Mysterious

I'll cut to the chase (and completely ignore my terribly bad subtitle for this post), I think this is definitely a story that a lot of people will be interested in. Of course, there's reasons for that, but if you find the concept of a mystery series intriguing, you're bound to enjoy this unique rendition of it from the expert mangaka Yumi Tamura. So, allow me to walk you why, in a spoiler free fashion (spoilers: it's because it's so good you shouldn't read spoilers until you've read it).

So, Yumi Tamura isn't exactly a household name in English, especially in this day and age. But I can pretty comfortably say, within the Shoujosei community, they're very high up there as an accomplished and successful mangaka. They've several highly regarded series underneath their belt that includes the focus of this post, alongside Basara and 7 Seeds. Basara was published in English a long time ago, but has long since been out of print, so in this current day and age this is the only accessible Yumi Tamura manga, so people should absolutely be getting on it while they can.

Anyways, why is Don't Call It Mystery good? Well, I'll start with the art. I'll say it flat out, the paneling isn't something out of this world. It's not, and hoping for a dialogue heavy mystery manga like this to have some creative flow or anything is probably asking a little much. The art on the other hand? It's got that classic styling to it. The very old school and sort of wispy and sketchy approach that has characters with very unique and intriguing proportions. It's a style that's undoubtedly aged, but has done so like fine wine.

So what about the story then? In short, nothing less than incredibly interesting and highly engaging. Being so dialogue heavy and rather slow paced, it's very easy to find a story boring or disinteresting, but the format of Don't Call It Mystery keeps those feelings at bay. The whole idea is to follow our lead character, Totonou Kunou, as he gets roped into mystery after mystery, and how those cases come to a head. You could say it's like Sherlock Holmes, if he was arrested on suspect of murder, or was directly involved/subject to the crimes he was attempting to solve. And I think that's what makes it so interesting.

It flips mystery on its head

Rather than from the outside looking in, trying to put the pieces together to form the how, Don't Call It Mystery places the readers and Totonou in the hot seat, as we break apart the mystery from the inside out. If you want, you have the answers to each of the crimes and curiosities very early on, but that's not the focus. Rather than the how of the mystery, we look at the why alongside Totonou. And I think that's such a fun spin on the concept. You get placed in front of the murderers and sociopaths and social rejects, and are encouraged to piece together their worlds alongside Totonou.

And because of that, the focus shifts from the world to the characters. It's quite literally a world of difference, and I find it to be a really great idea. It turns solving a mystery into exploring one. You probe the minds of each characters as Totonou slips into guidance counselor mode (even though he's just a university student), and the conversations that arise from it speak to a desire to dig deeper into the existence of the person behind the conversation. Why is a serial killer doing what they're doing, what does a person think of death or killing, how do they view themselves and the world around them. It's a host of questions an curiosities that strikes at the core of each person and their insecurities.

Now, speaking about characters, you can't have a good character-centric story without good characters. And there's plenty of them through this first omnibus. More than anything, a lot of them come off playful, which I found interesting. You wouldn't think a tense murder plot would have room for flippant behavior, but it's there, and it works. It cuts the tension of the interactions very comfortably, and makes for a more relaxing read than you might expect. The levity really helps shift readers away from the gravity of violence and killing, and towards the curiosity and interest in exploring another person.

But let's talk specifics, specifically Totonou-kun. I really enjoy their character, for a lot of reasons. Namely, their perceived passivity of the world. It's as a way to pass time, or out of boredom, hardly ever is the mystery something that Totonou has express interest in. It's a bold strategy, but nonetheless one that certainly pays off. When faced with his interest in curry, or making it to an art exhibit on time, Totonou's disinterest in the dire situations and challenges he's faced with makes for an exciting approach. More than that though, it's the perfect personality to use as your vehicle for the exploration of the people around them. Without much a reason to, the unbiased prodding of those unfortunate enough to end up around him produces incredibly interesting results.

But I think I've rambled on long enough at this point. You want a mystery? This has got it. You want interesting theories and ideas? This has it. You want a refreshing take on the genre? It's right in front of you. Don't Call It Mystery checks so many boxes in regards to its experience that there's certainly far more people out there that would enjoy it than there is people that wouldn't. So, what's the hold up on it then? Grab a volume and get started on reading this oddly obvious mystery manga.

[epersonae]

20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by @yerbamansa, thanks!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

169 😅 150 of which are for The Adventure Zone (I wrote a LOT of small fic for TAZ, and just a lot of TAZ fic in general)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

604,338, which remains absolutely wild to me. I hit the half-million mark this year.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently Our Flag Means Death, but previously The Adventure Zone, and I have one Star Trek (TOS movies) fic.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Sea of Love (Our Flag Means Death (TV)) (6,697 words)

Phoenix Fire (The Adventure Zone (Podcast)) (2,031 words)

Commit to the Bit (Our Flag Means Death (TV)) (2,471 words)

Dinner & Conversation (The Adventure Zone (Podcast)) (826 words)

I have begun to long for you (Our Flag Means Death (TV)) (4,185 words)

Yeah, ok, some fun reunion porn for the big fandom and a collab with two pretty popular writers for the small fandom make sense for that top two in particular.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to, especially since I don't get that many, and I love getting comments so much that I just want to share my appreciation. Sometimes the spoons are low, sometimes I don't know what to say except "thanks!" and if someone just commented on several chapters I might not do that for all of them.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Well, Phoenix Fire is the Worst Ending, aka the destruction of the entire universe, plus unbearably sad between the main characters, so yeah.

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

I do have quite a bit of fluffy fic (Commit to the Bit comes to mind, there's also a Fantasy Costco Kravitz/Taako that's very sweet), but I immediately thought of for the benefit of all the broken hearts, just because it takes an incredibly bittersweet ending of the fic it's fixing and says FUCK THAT, how can everyone get a happy ending instead?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I've never gotten any, even managed to avoid the twitter wank that WFU got when I wrote fics of it! (long ago, I did get some vagueblogging about some stuff in my TAZ fic, but nothing ever addressed directly at me)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

That is where I started and why I started (my first smutty fic is pretty bad imho but it was popular, relatively speaking, because for a bit there it was the only unlocked smut for that pairing); my original rarepair was M/F bi4bi in a complicated polycule, and so there's some them+others works in there. (readers of for the benefit of all the broken hearts are nodding along like "ok this tracks") beyond that, I'm just going to say go look at my work.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Is for the benefit of all the broken hearts (and the rest of that series) a crossover??????? Like I'm legitimately staring into space thinking about the boundary line between modern AU and RPF and........ HUH.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

DO PEOPLE DO THAT

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

183 thousand words in a series: the only life you could save, with my beloved Ryn, when we were "just friends" - started as our attempt to co-write a reconciliation between Taako and Lucretia, and spun out into an entire timeline with themes spanning before the Stolen Century all the way into post-canon. Some pieces we wrote separately, much of it we wrote together. Even the last piece, which I published after Ryn died, includes a section that they wrote, about Taako trying to cope with Lucretia's death.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Probably Mulder/Scully lol, tho I don't know if I've ever read any fic of them????

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

One of my very first TAZ fics was a Hurley/Sloane backstory fic that was going to be basically a beat-for-beat retelling of The Fast and the Furious (oh, I guess that's also sort of a crossover?), but I only ever wrote the first chapter. I would love to write it at some point, because I think it would be fun as hell.

I'd also love to finish my TAZ Amnesty fic, sweetness follows, which is friends-to-lovers post-canon Minerva/Duck.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Character voice, I think. Possibly a stupid depth of canon knowledge for whatever the canon is, and I think I have a knack for figuring out how to reincorporate those details. Honestly, it's hard for me to say "oh these are my strengths and weaknesses", or at least today I'm having trouble pinning that down.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Punctuation Pokemon, or rather, my sentences do get very tangly. I find endings really tricky, I've done a lot of work thinking through how to stick the landing. (This is one of the ways in which Ryn continues to live in my head, because they could always spot when I hadn't quite made it.)

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Alas my Spanish (high school and college) is too rusty to even try, and I don't know any other languages.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The Adventure Zone, although I wrote quite a bit of Agatha Christie pastiche in junior high, and a lot of Anne Rice influenced original fiction in high school and college.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I love a lot of my fic, it's fun to go back and look and say "oh that!", and The Reckoning Arrives is up there, of course, because I loved writing it, and it saved my life. ("she's survived the impossible before" got me out of my marriage and 2 years later got me through the hospital. "you're here, so be here" got me through what came after that.)

But it does have to be for the benefit of all the broken hearts - she lives in my head, still, and I feel incredibly proud of all the work I put into it, the technical work, the emotional work.

---

Not tagging anybody, but PLEASE! if you feel like talking about your writing, do it!

[ariadne-mouse]

🌀🌧☔️ for the ask game?

Hi there! :) The first two are for The Unhinged AU, since that's what I'm trying to work on at the moment.

🌀Post the fic summary for a fic you haven't written/published yet. It can be hypothetical or something you really plan on releasing...

Supermodel and fashion entrepreneur Essek Thelyss doesn't believe in fate - only probability. But it seems probability has it out for him too, because his life is getting turned upside down by a series of ridiculous situations, each more improbable than the last. Why does he keep running into the same man? And more importantly... does he want it to stop?

🌧️Share something angsty from your WIP.

“You weren’t focused in your shoot.” Essek continued to seek the meaning of the universe in his ghostly reflection in the hotel room window.  Uraya was a faint blob of color in the background. He sighed.  “I know.  I just haven’t been feeling… motivated.” The blob drew closer.  “Burnout?” “Language,” Essek tutted. “Do not speak such evil here.  …And no, not exactly.” “You had a nice time at the museum, didn’t you?  You certainly stayed late enough.” “Yes, it was fine.”  Essek flicked his wrist, fanning away further inquisitiveness.  “It is only just… I feel like I go to these shoots and everyone knows me already and they have all these expectations and presumptions.  It’s like a trap.  I’m obligated to be the popular version of myself.”

“That’s being famous.”  The couch cushion dipped next to him, and Uraya’s face became more clear in the reflection overlaying the far-below topography of Zadash.  “Or so I’m told.  I’m only the PA.” “The best PA,” Essek corrected. “Yes, yes, that’s understood every time I say it.”  A pause.  “You could call Verin.” “No.” “Deirta?” “Not looking for a lecture about the family legacy, thank you.” “Hm.” Essek laughed. “The list does run out rather quickly, doesn’t it?”

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

Oh good question. Hmmmm I don't have a nice meaty fic concept to explain because I store those in my cheeks like a chipmunk does chestnuts for winter & the optimism of actually writing them someday. But! Sometimes my brain likes to process other media I watch by suggesting very niche crossover ideas. They don't have many legs to stand on other than the novelty of mashing worlds together, so they have the least momentum to mature into actual writing. For example:

Witcher crossover where Essek, Jester, and Caleb land in Witcher!verse? Excellent, inflict Essek and Yennefer on each other. The townsfolk probably would be alarmed by drow and tiefling looks, too, not being present in that world.

Riddick crossover purely for the fun of Essek with Darkvision looking at Riddick's silvered eyes and going "lol you're not special"? Great, put some of the M9 on a spaceship and have the fish-out-of-water experience. I like Essek and Fjord for that team-up, and maybe a hypothetical Fjorjester kid to activate Riddick's moral code about not endangering children.

Shadowgast wash up on a deserted island, their magic isn't working, and something is hunting them? Why yes I did rewatch some of the first season of Lost.

Anyway these are all in the "very indulgent snippet" kind of category, or maybe "brain movie to pass the time while you're in a boring meeting" stuff.

[juurensha]

2023 Fic Recap

It's close to the end of the year again, and while I do have a little piece ready to post for the New Year, all my fic for this year has been posted, so let's do a recap post now! According to Ao3, I've written 124,187 words this year. It's obviously not counting the many WIPs I have socked away that aren't done yet, but good enough considering this was a pretty difficult year for me this time!

Most popular fics by kudos this year: my love language is fighting, bickering, and caring, Marriage isn’t a Game (it’s a fight that we’re both going to win), Thirst Traps Not Feelings: The Grindr Fic, crocodiles are not nurturing (but they certainly protect their young), and kissing in the rain (while locked up in the zoo’s bird enclosure)

New fandoms written for this year: One Piece (both the manga/anime and live action), Glory (the Long Qi webnovel), Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order series, Eyeshield 21, and Barbie (2023 film)

(no fandom tags created this year)

Total new fics written: 17

Favorite fic written this year: I think this year, just based on how many times I've reread it myself, it's going to have to be my Eyeshield 21 fic, dissonant notes can combine into a beautiful song (and other stuff my weirdo boyfriend says). I just had so much fun cramming all my favorite E21 pairings into it, and it's such a fun whacky cast to play with. Sadly, the fandom is pretty dead, but supposedly the manga-ka is going to release a new chapter in the new year, so who knows!

Hardest fic to write: I think this year that's going to have to be Nightsister: Dawn, not really because of the fic itself but because around the same time I was trying to finish it before Jedi: Survivor released, a lot of things happened in my life, and afterwards, I really wasn't in the headspace to write. I actually had more planned out for this fic (there was originally going to be some smut), but afterwards, when Jedi: Survivor also released and kind of turned my fic into an AU, I just wasn't feeling it anymore. However, I did already have 10k written, and I didn't think what I already had was too bad, so I decided to just wrap it up and post it. I still really love Cal/Merrin, so maybe I'll write more for them in the future, it was just bad timing around this one.

Most self-indulgent fic written this year: So, both My family’s purple water yao has dragged off a silver cabbage and Scum Man Gege Knows Best are fierce contenders for the title, since one is a happy WTA AU fic where everything is fine and dandy, while the other is a cultivation AU for Glory, featuring all my headcanons of my favorite scummy gege, but in the end, I think the title has to go to See you in the stars (and recite some love poetry together). I know not many Tianbao fans have watched Dimension 20's Starstruck Odyssey or know what the Starstruck universe is, but I had so much fun sticking Tianbao into the zany retro scifi world of Starstruck and including all my favorite tropes in the quest to get both Longjun and Langlu together.

Most underrated fic this year: Even though I just posted it, I think that's going to have to be A Violet By Any Other Name. I knew it wouldn't get much attention considering it's mainly about a minor female side character, and that the basis of the fic comes from an offhand Q&A session by Oda (and that the main character doesn't even have a tag with her real name in Ao3, my god), but I really wanted to explore her feelings about romancing and working for the enemy for more than a decade. Personally, I think I did a good job with it!

Original Work published this year: I managed to get my "A Haunted Person" short story published in a Gothic Romance anthology, which was very exciting for me. Also had my horror story "What Comes Up From the World Below" get published by Haunted Word Press in their Ghoulish Grimoires Issue 6.

Fic Plans for Next Year: Hahaha, reading my plans from 2022 for this year, I realize that I....basically didn't follow any of them, but to be fair, WIP's pop up, and you just never know! I actually still am working on that Yugi/Kaiba piece; it's currently sitting at 20k with just a love confession, so it's....long going. I really would like to finish that at the start of next year and then figure out how to split it out and post it! Besides that, there's an AU Choso/Junpei fic I'm working on that I hope will be fun, and a Jason Todd/Dick Grayson fic that's an ongoing project that I pick up occasionally. I really do want to do that Gaara/Naruto I Ship My Adversary x Me AU piece eventually as well, but I know that one would be multi-chaptered, so we'll see what my schedule is like next year. I would also like to eventually write a post-canon LawLu piece, but I kind of want to see where the manga is going to end up first. And yes, yes, there's the 79 actor AU that still needs to be done, and I'd like to pick up the Schoolmance AU 2ha Xue Meng/Mei HanXue eventually again. But in the meanwhile, there's a lot of DabiHawks zine fics that I will hopefully be able to post next year, along with a JJK piece!

[aerialworms]

Thanks for the WIP meme tag! Can I ask for more details about Boldly Go, please? 👀

Absolutely, thank you for asking!!!

Boldy Go is the first fic I wrote in my Destiel Star Trek fusion AU, Tales From the USS Impala. It's a PWP where Dean (First Officer) notices Cas (half-Vulcan Captain) has been getting real stressed and is taking it out on the crew, so he suggests they sleep together as stress relief (and totally not cause he has a crush on his captain or anything, no, he just respects his uh. professionalism.) Cas sees this as a logical arrangement to meet both of their needs, and doesn't read any emotion into it, leaving Dean confused and a little hurt at the end when he treats it like a one-night stand.

What was difficult to write about it is that I wrote it from Cas' POV (in third person, but following Cas), and trying to write smut while using the voice of someone who a) is unfamiliar with human expressions and emotions, and b) would not know 'sexy-sounding' words for genitals etc was incredibly hard (pun intended). Mad respect to K/S shippers who write from Spock's POV! I think I pulled it off, though. I did try writing it from Dean's POV, but I found getting into Cas' head and observing Dean's behaviour from his alien point of view was way more interesting to me, if more difficult to get right. Plus, from Dean's POV Cas came off as detached and cold, but I wanted to show that despite his mask of emotionlessness he feels deeply, just like Spock.

That said, I might rewrite it once I've written the first (chronologically) fic in the series. I'm wary of changing their characters in the prequel to this, so I want to have that drafted before I edit this one and the third in the series, since how they meet/interact in the prequel will inform their characterization later on. We'll see!

Also, fun fact: Boldly Go is a working title, shorthand in my WIP folder for To Boldly Come (Where No Man Has Come Before). There's a good chance I'll just publish it under that name, since I can't think of a better one 😁

Some behind the scenes stuff: I wrote this fic at the start of NaNoWriMo last year, after saying I was going to spend November finishing my other WIPs. I'd just started watching Star Trek and absolutely loved the Kirk/Spock dynamic and thought it mapped well onto Dean/Cas. So naturally, instead of working on any of my other fics, my brain latched onto the AU and made me write it. It was just supposed to be a oneshot (And then I was totally gonna go work on my WIPs!), but then I kept thinking of more and more fic ideas for this fusion AU, and I wanted to tell the story of how they met (A Rose By Any Other Name Would Be Just As Annoying), then have some angsty getting together (The Law of Possession), because after Boldly Go, they become friends with benefits and they both catch feelings, although neither of them talk about it properly cause they're repressed idiots (affectionate), and, and, and ---

I ended up with 13 fic ideas for this universe.

None of my other WIPs got finished.

So!

I hope to actually start posting this series soon, since I fixed a plot problem in A Rose and can now bash out a first draft. There's plenty of stuff in my head and on paper, I just gotta keep at it!

[jujupepi]

A Pre-History of Fanfiction I: Disclaimer, Introduction, Pamela, & Gulliver's Travels

Disclaimer:

This was originally written as a script for a video essay, so you might find reference to this medium. I am releasing this in this format mainly to get myself more comfortable with showing my writing publicly. I am not a trained scholar or journalist. I research this using the wealth of wonderful fanmade blog and wikis as well as scholarly articles available on JSTOR. If you noticed any mistakes or can offer more context to what I'm saying, please let me know! I love this topic and always want to learn more.

Introduction & Definitions

I’m not going to start this with “fanfiction has been around since the dawn of time; if you think about it the greek myths are fanfic!” because you’ve heard it before and it doesn’t really help us. Instead, I want to talk about operating (loosely) within a fanfiction definition that I came up with arbitrarily: Fanfiction is print based fiction inspired by the characters, settings, or situations derived from copyrightable work. Special bonus for fiction based on works owned by a national or international media corporation. So we’ll be mostly focused on the pre-1980’s era before the internet! Or atleast, before normal people used the internet on a regular basis. 

That’s not to say any other definitions of fanfic aren’t valid; I’m just not using them for our purposes here. I’d also like to say that my scope is limited to fanworks created in the UK, USA, and Canada. 

If you do any amount of sleuthing on the early days of fanfic you will come across a common origin myth: fanfiction was created by housewives who watched Star Trek and then wrote Kirk/Spock slash for fan magazine (nicknamed fanzines or zine). This isn’t untrue but it doesn’t tell you the whole story. We’ll try to track the beginning of modern fanfiction from the birth of copyright in the 18th century to the death of the fanzine in the 80s and 90s. We’ll talk about who was writing it, the tv shows and books that inspired it,  the moral and legal paranoia surrounding it, and oh yeah, we’ll talk about The Gays™. 

Chapter 1: Earliest Examples

Printing, mass literacy, and the rise of the middle class had a huge impact on the reading habits of 18th century Britons. The novel as a medium was born at the beginning of this century. The novel became hugely popular especially among the middle class. 

The novel leaves no space between the mind of the character and the mind of the reader making the medium uniquely suited to explore the interiority of a character. Though characters brought to life in the theater, Shakespeare’s Falstaff for one, were beloved, the particularities of the novel allow the reader to inhabit the inner life of a character in ways that hadn’t been possible before.

Thus begins an obsession over fictional characters in a way that is familiar to internet-users today. One of the earliest characters that inspired this kind of devotion was Lemuel Gulliver from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels published in 1976. If you’re unfamiliar, Gulliver’s Travels satirizes human nature while exploring a fantastical world of miniature people and other strange creatures. Not only did the audience get to experience Gulliver’s Travels through the narrator’s point of view, Swift himself implied an off-page life for Capt. Gulliver. He suggests other episodes in the Travels like “The Malingers” and the “Opinions of the Learned Men” which set fans’ minds ablaze with ideas. These inventive incidents created the ideal launching pad for other stories within this *ahem* shared universe. 

The first people to get in on the fun were members of Jonathan Swift’s writing group known as the Scriblerians. Together in May 1727, they published Several Copies of Verses Explanatory and Commendatory, a series of dramatic monologues by characters from Travels or who else might be believably part of that world. One of these characters was the hilariously named Titty Tit Esq, poet laureate of Lilliput who I only bring up because his name gives me joy. 

The most interesting of these poems, to me at least, is the lament of Gulliver’s wife Mary. She bemoans her husband’s absence and inadequacies. She implies that her husband might be more sexually suited for the stable boy than her. SLASH ALERT!

These verses are arguably fanfiction since they are stories about already established characters, settings, and situations not written by the original author but they are legitimized. Swift knew about these stories and they are included in most post-1727 versions of Gulliver’s Travels. Meaning that readers would have consumed these works together. The inclusions of these addendums muddle the canocity of what can be considered one of Gulliver’s Travels and what cannot. Contemporary picked up on this and went wild with the concept. 

Non-Scriblerians wrote Gulliver stories, too. One such appeared in Apple’s Original Weekly Journal wherein the author writes from Gulliver’s perspective, hinting at unsee and as of yet unimagined adventures. These Gulliver stories didn’t have to agree with each other either, they all represented possibilities within a fictional universe. Fans voraciously wrote and read Gulliver’s continuing tales. David Brewer says that these stories are not exhaustive in their explorations of Gulliver’s worlds but instead, “a bundle of possibilities held together by the magnetic field of a proper name (40)”. 

Another sensation in the 18th century was the novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson published in 1740. The novel was a huge success especially with men who had an affection and a sexual interest for the eponymous character. Pamela deals with the common 18th century themes of shifting social strata and rapidly evolving marriage norms. Pamela is a 15 year old girl with impoverished parents who works as a servant in the house of the wealthy Mr. B. Mr. B sexually harasses and attempts to rape Pamela, eventually kidnapping her. She virtuously fights off these attempts all the while writing to her parents about the tension she feels between her propriety and her desire to please her employee. Due to Pamela’s moral strength, Mr. B is reformed and asks her to marry him, which she accepts, launching herself from the lower class to the upper. The second volume deals with her negotiating her new place in society. 

I don’t need to tell you how messed up, creepy, and damaging the events in the novel are. It’s disgusting to me that the harassment of a working young girl is entertainment for so many adult men. BUUUUTTTT, it serves as an interesting case study in early fanfiction. 

Like Twilight and Nightlight or Lord of the Rings and Bored of the Rings, Pamela inspired it’s own parody novel named An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews or Shamela written by Henry Fielding in 1741. The novel imagines Pamela not as a docile servant girl but as a scheming daughter of a prostitute who entraps her employer. The novel was a success and Fielding went on to write Joseph Andrews in 1742, lampooning the idea of a male Pamela figure. Like in Stephanie Meyer’s Life and Death and endless fanfic, Joseph gives us our first taste of genderswap fiction. In an Anne Rice-ian move, Richardson rejected Fielding's works calling them “lewd and ungenerous engraftment of both Paemla and his Property (Brewer 121)”

The off-page lives of these characters don’t stop at Fielding's novel however. Samuel Richardson’s correspondence is full of asking fans for ideas on the proposed next Pamela column. Readers like Aaron Hill showed an ownership over character that echoes to this day. Hill wrote to Richardson that he shouldn’t make an illustrated edition of Pamela since Hill’s visual conception of the character and Richardson’s are different. Richardson describes Pamela as quite slim, but Hill thinks of her as ‘plump.’ 

Reader George Cheyne wrote a long list of incidents for the next edition mostly about medical emergencies. This is notable because Cheyne himself was a physician. These grown men projected so much of their own lives onto this fictional teenage girl. Pamela was ubiquitous because of “the collective mass of appropriations made by the individual reader (Brewer).” This meaning, fans could take Richardon’s Pamela and create her in their own image. 

Pamela, both the novel and character, had a massive following but it all centered around Richardson. Though Richardson asked fans for ideas, he ignored their contributions entirely. Fan didn’t correspond with each other but instead with Richardson directly. This is a huge difference from fandom later on that largely ignores the creator. 

I posit that it was the rise of the novel as a medium that allowed for fanfiction to emerge as a fan activity. The immediacy of the character’s interiority is not a function of any other artistic medium but the novel. This led to readers inhabiting the mind of their beloved characters and imaging an off-page life for them. These 18th century reading trends served as the starting point for modern fanfiction.