#which is like after at least 100k words

[fushitoru]

note how if i have an opinion about something, i'll tag it as discourse? very demure. very mindful. i don't go clogging up x reader tags just so i can gain more exposure and ragebait more people! very cutsey, very modest. i also block people who make content i don't like instead of sending anon hate! very classy. very considerate.

[callmehere-iwillappear]

18k...................

[tacky-optic]

gonna be normal about lupin up top and insane about zeni at the bottom for a sec.

i love when people talk about lupin and Legacy because i. cannot. it eludes me. lupin eludes me. but for the variations of lupin where I and II's ghosts are very much prevalent, yes. simply yes. lupin III earned his rivalry with zenigata.

anyway, zaza man. good god ok one second. im fine im okay im so okay about this

i love thinking about past/transition/present zeni. you made me crack out my list op. my little zenigata timeline list that i made to try and define what the hell he is, or what he could be from special to movie to series. there are SO MANY goddamn depictions of this guy, but this was the easiest way to nail it down for me. inside you there are three zenigatas....

early zeni

- generic noir detective angstlord - tired - one of those total workaholic hardasses. no fun, no chill, ever - not even remotely pleasant to be around. runs solo because getting assigned to be his partner is some sorta Higher Form of Punishment - cruel, cold, calculating, etc etc, to a borderline villainish degree - anger issues because of-- - VERY repressed fellings for lupin. surely that tight little feeling he gets in his chest whenever he sees him must be hatred

mid zeni

- insane - tired - probably subconsciously aware that he's into lupin, but the denial is still off the charts - bombastic? that's a word - actually lets himself be happy! sorta. he's trying but its still kind of a lie - probably the simplest phase imo, if only bc he's going through a wholeass Total Restructuring right under everyone's noses

late zeni

- took over a decade but he actually mellowed out, good for him - tired - calculating in like, a cool unscary way - still has bursts of anger/insanity, just not as intense as early/mid - definitely more amicable/tolerable to be around, both on and off the case - wholly aware he loves lupin in some regard. the guy, the rivalry, the chase, the whatever. he feels love and no longer denies that it is, in fact, love

the basic gist tends to be "he was Miserable and Horrible until he Wasn't." ok ok, to be fair, there is still a degree of fatigue at play here that'd drive most other folks insane. he kinda had to become that little piece of the pie that "most" doesn't cover to compensate, hence why he's still totally miserable, just in a new special edition "indeterminably lupin" flavor (and the extra side of hypercompetency he's adopted that comes with it).

zenigata really did throw everything away for lupin. that's going to fking hurt and we're shown it fking hurts, whether it's played off for laughs or for genuine sympathy, and it's a real and resonant feeling, despite the oddness of its origin. but when presented with the choice between misery within perpetual mediocrity versus self-isolationist misery with the chance of a madcap burst of genuine, bone-deep, near-manic enjoyment here and there, we all know what this guy will end up choosing 100% of the time.

one of my favorites from the untranslated manga was this short storyline where zeni starts out as this mega cliche Serious Noir Detective Guy (from what i can gather the first panel is basically your run-of-the-mill angsty monologue about how crummy the city is) but the literal second lupin's mentioned the entire genre of his life changes.

friendlier art style. genuinely smiling. the japanese roughly translates to "playtime's over". all of that intense shit they just showed him doing?? that's nothing. easy. just another day. but then BAM. LUIPIN. AND HIS LIFE STARTS FROM HERE. HIS LIFE STARTS FROM HERE.

there's no way the more introspective variations of his character don't think about, or at the very least consider it. he doesn't wholly understand everything about himself, but he knows what he is at his core and he knows what feels right and wrong.

the split between then and now probably throws him off. there's totally embarrassment for how he behaves with lupin versus dealing with the aftermath of lupin. imo the distinction between that transition period and now would probably be that he doesn't deny when he gets out of line anymore. takes it more in stride than being all denial-crazed/cagey about it, doesn't try to write it off as entirely lupin's fault. "there's always some softcore justice in there but that was mostly me doing what i wanted to do" he says to some effect in front of the burning dozen-car freeway pileup

but yeah. now this might just be how i interpret "self" in a general sense, but his true self is whatever he is at the present moment y'know? but there's no shot in hell that'd ever cross his mind lmao. nothing's ever so simple and it's alllllll lupin's fault

Sometimes I think about how Zenigata gave up his entire life for Lupin and I feel so full of every nameless emotion. Like… that is such pure love to me.

Imagine living a life where you’re respected by your peers and good at your job and every day when you go to the store the man at the counter knows you not because you’re on tv but because you’re a stand-up guy and a pillar in your local community, and then one day you realise you could have everything and nothing every day forever INSTEAD of a guaranteed regular adequacy all the time and you go, “that works,” because it means that you get to lay eyes on someone you hate to your core and love to your core and feeling everything is better to you than feeling just a little.

I wonder if Zeni lost himself a little in that transition, and how much he ‘found’ once it evened out. I wonder if he’s closer to two selves than one, now. The person he was before Lupin is so disconnected from who he is with Lupin to me. I’m not sure I could pinpoint which one is his ‘true’ self tbh. Also like.

Do you think in the same way Zenigata lost himself— his old self— when he found Lupin, Lupin found himself when he found Zenigata? Because I figure that kind of thing must click into place when, as someone who has spent their entire life feeling like a clone of those before you, suddenly you have a driving force that is all your own. You have a person who never went after your father or your grandfather, you have someone who hears your name and thinks of you and not them and it’s like. Wow I finally have the agency I’ve been craving.

Is that love? I think this is love. Maybe this is what they mean when they talk about how a relationship requires give and take. Sigh.

[cursedhaglette]

Solavellan fic recs please I’m so hungry 🥺🥺

oh I'd love to provide! these have been my personal favorites so far (also fair warning, I am a solavellan fucked in DAI truther and that is reflected in my choices below so your mileage may vary)

Everything by niceasspavus - especially their fic Servitude which is an absolute masterwork. The prose is succinct but spectacular, the smut is excellent and never feels out of place (smut sometimes can with solavellan okay) and they dig into Solas' mind in a really beautiful way. They also started a modern AU fic and while that's not usually my trope at all, I've actually read what they have posted so far like three times because it's so good. Can't wait to see if they grace us with more.

Fellchaser by @rosieofcorona - Okay make that literally anything Darcy touches I recommend but Fellchaser is...I want to plaster my walls with it. The walls of my mind prison at least. The first time I read it, I literally read it five times back to back to back (I was admittedly very high but that's NOT THE POINT) because I was so taken with the prose and every detail. It is absolute perfection, seriously, the only thing wrong with it is that it isn't 100k words

What He Wouldn't Give by sugarhihello - a devastating take what happens immediately after the Crestwood scene we know and hate to love. I'm scared of writers who can make me want more of a scene like that and yet this fic gives me that

The Waiting by say_lene - solavellan thigh riding, need I say more?

Even Gods Need Miracles by callmebecks - A study of Solas' mindset from DAI to now include the DAV ending.

A Field as Wild as Your Heart by lillith_morgana - An exceptional take on the solavellan ending/post-DAV with gorgeous prose

Dreadful Recollections by @scaryanneee - if you know me from the bg3 era at all, you know Think of Me is a smut of all time so scaryanne joining us in solavellan hell has been SO FUN (for me personally at least eheheh) This little smut is so brilliant because it truly gave me so many ideas to play with for my own ship during this time period while also being so hot??? Also just read the tags on this and you know you're in for a great time

Handle With Care by feynite - I'm sure you've seen feynite if you've looked at solavellan fics because Looking Glass is the biggest one but I think this is just a really excellent little fic of theirs. Sad AND sexy - what every Solas fan is looking for I think

solavellan moots, please feel free to add on - I'm always looking for more and I'm sure others are too! anon - hope this gave you some tasty morsels and feel free to come back if you need more! xoxox

[elumish]

My Experience With Digital-First Royalty-Only Publishing (Part 1)

Disclaimer: this is just my experience and my not reflect everyone's experience with this story of publishing.

The Concept:

The are two major distinct components of this sort of publishing: that it's digital first and royalty only. Digital first means that their primary business model is based in selling ebooks rather than physical boks. They don't sell in brick-and-mortar stores, but for my publisher, at least, you can buy physical copies of the books, which are made to order. Royalty only means that authors aren't paid an advance for the book. Instead, all of their payment is directly from royalties, which they start getting paid immediately (as opposed to needing to earn the advance before you get paid any royalties). Generally, these royalties are higher than for traditional publishers.

This is considered indie publishing, as opposed to traditional publishing through one of the Big Five (Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan). I have basically only seen this for romance publishers, though there may be others that I haven't seen.

This is not vanity publishing--I don't pay my publisher, they pay me.

My Publishing Story:

In 2023, I wrote 10k words of a new story in three days, mostly on my phone. After a bit of random internet hunting, I decided to send it in to the publisher with a series plan for another three short pieces (10-15k words) that would together make one full story. A couple months later, they responded and asked if I would make it a full novel and also write another two in the same series. I agreed.

In April 2024, the book was released.

The Submission Process:

A number of digital first romance publishers (including those that give advances, like Harlequin) accept both agented and unagented submissions. That means that you don't need to already have an agent to submit to them, as opposed to most more traditional publishing companies, which only accept agented submissions.

Pro: lower barrier to entry, you get to avoid the querying process

Con: you have to advocate for yourself

Every publisher has a different submission process and different guidelines--some have broad word/topic guidelines and anything within that is fair game, some have specific calls for stories (e.g., we want stories of 30-80k words about billionaires), some have specific imprints or subgenres with different guidelines (e.g., historical romance for 50-80k words, fantasy romance for 60-100k words).

Generally they also request a summary, an equivalent of a query letter, and sometimes also some verion of a series plan.

The Contract:

Probably my biggest issue with working with this publisher was the contract. After a bunch of back and forth after they sent me the contract, they told me that they don't negotiate their contracts with unagented authors.

This is a sort of nuts line to draw, and to be totally honest I almost decided not to publish with them because of it. It would be totally reasonable for you to not publish with anyone who has that policy.

Ultimately, I decided to still publish with them for three reasons: 1) I did a lot of internet sleuthing and couldn't find anyone talking about issues with working with the publisher any time in the last decade, 2) I was comfortable enough with the contract terms to agree to them, and 3) the book is a niche enough subgenre that there's basically no chance I would get it published elsewhere.

If it was a different book or I was in a different stage in my career, I might have made a different decision.

Editing:

The editing I received was primarily copyediting rather than developmental editing. There was a little bit of developmental editing, but the vast majority was copyediting. I'm not so arrogant as to think that that's because my writing is just so perfect that it didn't need developmental editing.

There were ~3 rounds of editing that I went through with my editor. She would make a combination of edits in track changes and comments, and i would either accept, reject, or change. There were some things I rejected because they were intentional stylistic choices, and there were some things I accepted even if I didn't love them because they were part of the publisher's style guide. Everything else was a negotiation.

Overall, I didn't give in to something that I hated, and I don't think my writing suffered for the editing. There are choices that I wouldn't have made, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm right.

Part 2 will include marketing, payment, and my path forward in publishing

[madlori]

I'm asking this to you because you're the only person I know who's been around fandoms for so long — do you find this shipping-situation weird? I've been in many fandoms but I've never really seen this insistence on there being only one acceptable ship for a character and encouraging the idea that anything other than the norm is almost sacrilegious. Almost every big fandom over the years have had multiple conflicting pairings, take for example, Marvel. Even works of media that have a canon romantic pairing have had fans who ship others with the leads (that was what shipping was tbh) and no one has ever shown up to their doorsteps with pitchforks in hand, at least not that I'm aware of. So I guess I'd really like your opinion on why you think this is happening now? Have things always been this way, just not in plain sight? Is this just the new fandom culture that is developing now with the influx of younger people? Or is this fandom an aberration where a group of people are so used to being the majority that they simply aren't taking well to things not going their way?

I've been thinking about this today, and I'm still not sure what I think.

I've been in fandoms with a hugely dominant ship before. I've been in fandoms that had ship wars. I've been in fandoms with a lot of peacefully co-existing ships. I'm not sure this fandom is really all that different. To answer your first question, no, I don't find it all that weird. In fact I sort of expected it.

Let me tell you a story about the Brokeback Mountain fandom, which managed to have a ship war despite having really only one ship, the canon ship. So BBM fic fell into several broad categories, the biggest of which were fix-the-ending/canon divergence fics and the straight-up AU fics (I wrote one of each, lol). Post-canon fics weren't as common, because you had to deal with one half of the canon pairing being...well, dead.

There was a post-canon fic that gained a lot of fans...and when I say "fic" that's really an understatement. It was a SAGA, and I don't use that term lightly. It was a series of like...6 or 7 epic 100K+ word fics and it was over a million words total. The author would put out more than one 5K chapters per DAY. I'm still in awe of this woman's output. But it was the content that created the issue.

(Brief recap for those who have not seen BBM - two ranch hands in the 1960s, Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) spend a season herding sheep together, have sex, form a bond, then separate to go about their expected hetero lives but get together for fishing trips every year or so to have sex and spend time together. Jack wants more, Ennis is terrified. Both marry and have families. Eventually Jack dies in what is implied to be a gay-bashing but who knows, and Ennis makes his peace with the love he'd felt for him)

The saga picked up a couple of years after the film's events. Ennis decides to tentatively explore what being queer means, goes to Laramie, finds a gay bar, and very cautiously enters. Through a Series of Events he gets mixed up in an assault there and befriends a local sheriff's deputy, who is also gay. They begin a relationship.

Now, this series was COMPLEX. A huge cast of characters, a long and thorough evolution of this relationship, a lot of angst over Jack's memory, and it really worked for a LOT of readers. The new love interest she created was a really great character.

For others...it did not work and they hated it.

The animosity between fans who loved this saga and those that did not grew pretty heated. This was like '05 so there was no twitter or tumblr, this was all on LJ and dedicated fandom forums (some of which banned discussion of this fic for this reason), but there was doxxing and namecalling and real vitriol.

I guess my point in all this is that when there's strong feelings, some fans will find a way to be horrible to each other.

I was in the Sherlock fandom, another fandom 98% dominated by one ship. There were other ships, but somehow they seemed to co-exist mostly peacefully barring some snide remarks and rude comments (I could be wrong about this, if you asked someone who shipped a non-Johnlock ship they might have a different answer). No, the insanity in the Sherlock fandom was not ship-war-related.

I was also in the Criminal Minds fandom, which has a whole bunch of disparate ships and no ship wars that I can recall.

Then there are other fandoms, like Avatar, with TERRIBLE ship wars that are still going on.

I don't think the situation in 9-1-1 is as unique or different from other fandom wanks as has sometimes been asserted. I think terrible fandom wars are sort of inevitable, whether they're ship related or not. But for what it's worth, here are some of my thoughts on what's going on here.

A loooooong time (5.5 seasons) with one very dominant non-canonical queer ship. No other ship really ever approached the level of saturation or devotion of Buddie.

A pervasive belief that this ship might possibly become canon. That's a feature a lot of other ships do not have.

A lack of intense devotion to any of the other love interests. BuckTaylor was never a challenger to Buddie. Neither was Eddie and Shannon, or anybody else. It's hard to fight when there's no worthy challenger.

But now? BuckTommy is not only canon, but it has a lot of fans. It's a threat. And it's not only a threat in a feelings kind of way (as in, people like a thing that is not the thing I like and it makes me upset) but there's a perception that it's an ACTUAL threat, as in if people like this ship and promote it, it could cause it to become a permanent relationship (the degree to which fan response actually affects how the show unfolds is...debatable).

I do not personally think this is the case, but some fans strongly believe that Buddie could still happen if it weren't for BuckTommy. So if you're still wanting Buddie and believe it will or could happen, the existence of an alternate love interest represents a direct obstacle to that happening. That's a heck of an incentive to hate that competing ship. I get it.

That...might be a somewhat unique situation. There's a fight now because there's a challenger who might actually stand a chance.

This goes along with what we saw in the immediate aftermath of 7x04. I read someone else say (apologies, I don't know who it was, feel free to @ me if it was you and I'll credit you) that the early post-7x04 enthusiasm and acceptance of Tommy reflected the belief that he was temporary. A lot of folks thought it was just a way for Buck to get with Eddie, like, very soon after that. But the more time went by, the clearer it became that this was not the plan or the intention. So the mood soured for those who were still pulling for Buddie.

Other fandoms I've been in with a hugely dominant ship...Sherlock and X-Files are the two that spring immediately to mind...there was never a challenger with any legs. X-Files fandom wank was between the ship and the...lack of ship, shall we say. But a concrete, tangible "opponent" makes a fight so much more visceral, doesn't it?

I do think there's been a fandom shift towards needing ships to be canon that I don't really get, but it's there. There's been a lot written about fandom culture in the last ten years, the breakdown of boundaries between fans and creators, the access to those creators, a sense of ownership/entitlement, purity culture, obsession with shipping "correctly" (which leads into wanting things to be canon for the validation)...these are all newish features. So pile that on top of 9-1-1 having a longtime single ship that's legitimately threatened for the first time in its existence by a competing canon ship and it's kind of a powderkeg.

No wonder it's caught on fire.

[getvalentined]

everyone seems to know something about James Somerton that i don't. the notes on your post are full of people saying "sigh THIS guy again", and i would like to know if he's done something other than make those queer theory youtube videos which seem extemporaneous in nature. i would google it but i trust some of you more than reddit

James Somerton was recently exposed as having completely plagiarized probably 90% of his work—from Wikipedia, news outlets, smaller queer creators, and at least two dead queer creators. (The last one is particularly egregious, in my opinion, given his extremely fucked up claim a while back that all the Cool Gays died during the AIDS Crisis, apparently including the authors whose work he stole.)

You can see the entire rundown in HBomberguy's video Plagiarism and You(Tube), which has a staggering runtime of almost four hours, a solid half of which is dedicated entirely to James Somerton. The first two hours of the video cover other cases, one in meatspace (Harlan Ellison and Ben Bova's landmark case against Paramount and ABC over the plagiarism in Future Cop) and then some smaller instances on YouTube (Filip, Internet Historian, iilluminaughtii). The second half, timestamped starting here, is exclusively about James—and while it goes over the plagiarism, touches on the misogyny and misinformation*, and briefly covers his various other grifts, it doesn't cover everything.

*For more on the misinformation aspect, Todd in the Shadows did a two hour video exclusively about that!

Assuming James Somerton's entire body of paying supporters on Patreon are at the $1 tier, that's around $3k per month. Since we know that isn't the case, it's probably closer to 5-10 times that amount. This doesn't include ad revenue from YouTube, any sponsorships, or his crowdfunding efforts to produce films that have never come into being. This man has been raking in over $100k per year, at minimum, by stealing words from other creators, pretending they're his own, and then lying every single time he's been called out for it. He claimed one person doxxed him and sent him death threats, although all they'd actually done was engaged in a firm but polite conversation on Twitter about how he needs to do more than plug in a credit at the end of a video description if he's just reading out of someone else's book.

Yesterday he posted a trash apology video where he started off by claiming he'd just gotten out of the hospital after making an attempt on his own life, talked about moving back home, referred to what he'd done as "poor citation practices," and said that he'd be reopening his Patreon and putting all his old videos back up so that he could donate the ad revenue to Hbomb's fund to compensate the authors that James himself stole from.

So yeah. Uh. Fuck that guy.

[wrongcaitlyn]

Ok now that we have a secound tsats book coming out i feel the need to read all the solangelo fics

Do you have any long solangelo fic recs? U feel like I've read them all

of COURSE i do omg i have to admit that a lot of the fics in my bookmarks are shorter ones/oneshots but i think that the solangelo fandom just tends to write more of those?? or at least that's just my experience based on what i've read - but here are some longer fics that are must-reads!! (don't have as much time to write in depth reviews as my past recs so just assume that i have lines of caps lock keysmashes for all of them bc i swear they're incredible)

la vita è fatta così by HowlingAlchemist

When Bianca somehow comes back from the dead, she, Nico and Will are sent on a quest that will hopefully answer some lingering questions. But Nico and Bianca are not the kids that they once were, and things get very difficult as a result. this one is more bianca & nico focused as a plot HOWEVER there's a lot of absolutely wonderful solangelo!!

The Stolen God by @tsarinatorment

Python is defeated. The prophecies are restored, and Nero has fallen. Apollo has not been seen since. His trials are over; why isn’t he back on Olympus? i KNOW that i've already rec'd this one but if you haven't read it. like literally. go read it. seriously. (and also it's another one where solangelo isn't really the *main* focus, BUT there's lots of solangelo content <3)

FAR GALAXIES by @rosyredlipstick

She didn’t answer. Instead, she pulled out her PADD from her coat, slow enough that Nico only slightly twitched. Jason’s transmission was loaded up on the screen—at the bottom, their signature tag was spelled out. “Guardians of the Galaxy. That supposed to be a joke?” “More like an aspiration,” Jason said. - Space, the final frontier. Or whatever. this one's actually one im currently reading and i'm abt halfway through rn and love it!!

okay usually i define a "long" fic as 100k+ words but after looking through all of my bookmarks im realizing that those are literally the only ones i have. so! we're lowering the word count minimum to over 40k+ words bc these are also amazing fics!! (currently wishing there was a way to sort bookmarks by word count)

peach tea by ghosttotheparty

Please Stay by CoolBeesBro

like the sun and stars above by demigodbeautiies

Bad Sons by thesungod

will also subtly self promo my hunger games fic which has a lot of mcd and is very very fun imo

so that's wild it looks like i need some long solangelo fic recs too?? why are most of my bookmarks oneshots??? its actually so funny bc in other fandoms i have a bunch of long fic bookmarks and rarely any oneshots so it's an interesting little statistic. pls drop more recs if you have any!!

[bridenore]

HD longer fics recs : 70k to 80k words

Here are a few recs for fics ranging between 90k and 100k words.

You can see my recs for fics that have more than 200k here, between 150k and 200k here, between 125k and 150k here, between 100k and 125k here and between 90k and 100k here.

Breathe Me by @kedavranox [73k]

Since the singular incident of being a Horcrux for many years has left Harry with a sensitivity to Dark magic, Harry begins training with Jacob, a Wizard who lives in New York, using this sensitivity to his advantage to cleanse magical spaces of Dark magic. After a year of training, Draco Malfoy shows up, wanting to learn from Jacob as well, and unexpectedly the two men grow a bond, both magical and physical. But Jacob’s sudden death leaves Harry floundering and growing increasingly dependent on drugs and sex to avoid his problems. After his brief and tumultuous affair with Draco ends, Harry begins a life of travel, avoiding returning home permanently and continuing his drug habit. He flits from job to job, from place to place, never settling down for a moment, until, years later, Harry is called back to England by his friends to help Draco find his way out of a cursed Manor.

Choices of the Heart by Naadi [78k]

Immediately after defeating Voldemort, Harry begins to have strange dreams, dreams that pull him once more into the realm of the newly dead. At first, the dreams are only a curious mystery, and Harry sets about putting his life back in order after the war. But when Harry dreams of Narcissa Malfoy, his life suddenly goes in a much different direction than the one he’d always imagined.

The Claiming of Grimmauld Place by @bixgirl1 [74k]

When Grimmauld Place begins fighting against Harry’s ownership of it, he decides he needs help to train the historic home — but little does he expect that it’ll be Malfoy who’s most suitable for the challenge. However, as Malfoy and Harry get closer, Harry comes to understand that expectations aren’t always the best path by which to guide his heart — and in the process learns just what is needed to make a house a home.

Crown Witness by @slytherco [70k]

After the war, wizarding society is oppressed by a new kind of plague—an organised crime group calling itself the Family. When Harry Potter goes to interrogate a potential witness, he doesn’t expect to end up on the run again, trying to keep Draco Malfoy alive, while a manhunt follows in their footsteps, adamant on eliminating the one witness that could ruin everything. In which Harry and Draco learn that the way to each other might just have to go through the dingiest hotels in Britain.

Faerie Felicities by @quackquackcey  [79k]

Draco dies and wakes up to the emerald drapes of the Slytherin dormitory at the end of 5th year. Thus ensues new possibilities, new choices, a new life, and a new romance(?) Featuring fluffy shenanigans, lots of baking, and a hopefully not-so-bad war (fingers crossed). Or in other words, a somewhat Christmassy canon rewrite fic.

From the Sea by wantsunicorns [78k]

Scorpius Malfoy has never been one to leave stones unturned in his quest for adventure, and he’s not about to start when it comes to finding a cure for his father’s mysterious illness. Albus Potter has his work cut out for him, making sure Scorpius doesn’t get himself killed or drive Albus around the bend. – A tale of adventure and civilisations long forgotten, where not everything is quite as is seems.

Headlights in the Snow by Saras_Girl [71k]

What’s big and purple and smells like tea? Harry is about to find out. Advent fic 2016.

Heartlines by @shiftylinguini [72k]

Harry never expected he’d end up chipping away at his virginity while wandless and bonded to Malfoy in Northern Europe. He never expected that would turn out to be the least surprising thing to happen while out on their training expedition in the middle of nowhere, either.

Kept in Cages by @sweet-s0rr0w [76k]

Deep in the heart of the Ministry lies the Beast Division: a hidden room where ancient beasts roam, and winged creatures soar, and grumpy giant ferrets eat all your biscuits unless you keep them well hidden. Draco Malfoy would know – he’s been working there for five years now, after all. Meanwhile, on Level One, ex-Golden Boy Harry Potter is stuck in another interminable policy meeting, completely unaware of the mysterious comings and goings just three floors below. But when a giant snake emergency requires the assistance of a Parselmouth, Harry finds himself thrust, unprepared, into Draco’s weird and wonderful world – and naturally, he can’t keep away…

Manticoria by @lol-zeitgeistic [70k]

In the dangerous days after Voldemort’s fall, Harry struggles to find a way to be with Draco—again. But as the magical world threatens to die all around them, it might be more difficult than he thought. Includes dying wards, dying beasts, and love struggling to live; sentient magic, wandlore, Founder lore, potion lore, and ward lore; and of course there is Zacharias Smith to ruin everything, as usual.

Monster by shushu_yaoi_lj / @orange-peony​ [71k]

“Hmm,” Hermione hums, tapping her index finger against her bottom lip and then smiling at Harry. “A broken music box, you say…” “A cursed one,” Harry corrects her. “Well, it’s still a music box that is not working properly,” Hermione points out with a very intent grin. “That will give you a chance to see him.” She wiggles her eyebrows, making him snort. As if Harry hadn’t thought about it straight away. As if Harry’s mind hadn’t immediately wandered to Draco Malfoy the moment Zabini mentioned a music box.

Now My Neck Is Open Wide (begging for a fist around it) by LadySlytherin [75k]

Six months post-war, Harry meets Grayson Wenke, a famous Quidditch player. Harry believes he’s found the love of his life, and a Happily Ever After ending suitable for the storybooks. When Grayson slowly goes from Prince Charming to a monster behind closed doors, Harry finds himself trapped, and alone, and fearing for his life. When Harry realizes he’s pregnant, the opportunity for escape - and a real Happily Ever After - presents itself as none other than Draco Malfoy. The only question is if Harry is brave enough to take a chance, and strong enough to heal.

Right Hand Red by @lqtraintracks [73k] 

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

Tea and No Sympathy by who_la_hoop [70k]

It’s Potter’s fault, of course, that Draco finds himself trapped in the same twenty-four-hour period, repeating itself over and over again. It’s been nearly a year since the unpleasant business at Hogwarts, and Draco’s getting on with his life quite nicely, thank you, until Harry sodding Potter steps in and ruins it all, just like always. At first, though, the time loop seems liberating. For the first time in his life, he can do anything, say anything, be anything, without consequence. But the more Draco repeats the day, the more he realises the uncomfortable truth: he’s falling head over heels for the speccy git. And suddenly, the time loop feels like a trap. For how can he ever get Harry to love him back when time is, quite literally, against him?

Teach Me, Life; Guide Me, Love by Kira OHara [79k]

Revelations both painful and joyous set the markers in the path of every life. Thankfully, Draco has spectacular company for the journey.

That Old Black Magic by @bixgirl1 [77k]

Centuries ago, marriage contracts were the norm — ready-made alliances between families, expected and complied with, without complaint. But norms have a way of changing, and when a long-dormant contract flares to life, Harry has to navigate an unexpected splintering of the path he’d thought would be easy after the war… with Draco Malfoy.

I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I did!

[storycraftcafe]

Hello there!

Do you have any neurospicy friendly tips for staying motivated? I'd love to write more, especially long-form, multi-chapter works but after a chapter or two I either get bitten by other plot bunnies or real life eats me whole.

Thanks!

Hello friend!

Oh this is right up my alley, grab a cuppa, I get wordy.

As a chronic “too many ideas, too little dopamine” ADHD brain that’s always seeking that lil extra dopamine, I suffer from the exact same problem. My motivation is a fickle thing, as is my ability to focus and my goblin brain is always after the new shiny idea.

But, I’m also at the end of drafting the biggest project I’ve ever completed(it's over 100k words right now), while also planning a novel, developing a few more ideas and writing short stories and doing this blog (intermittently at least for now).

How the hell did I manage that?

I learned to work with my brain, lean into novelty, made things really easy for myself and when needed, got some help and made things fun. 

The truth is, motivation comes and goes, as does inspiration. So we have to figure out how to keep writing without it, and how to wrangle those plot bunnies. That’s the work we do. 

My short answer is this: The solution to focusing on a big project is to make working on this project easier than working on anything else, make it the most enjoyable, and make it the most rewarding.

Here’s some advice on how:

Advice Tidbit the First: Work with your brain

Since us neurospicy types come in so many flavours, it’s impossible to give advice that works for everyone. So find what works for you. You know what helps you focus, you know what your weaknesses are and you know how your brain works. If you don’t, now is the time to find out how to work with your brain chemistry rather than against it. 

If this means having music, using a pomodoro timer, something like a special focus based word processor or a notebook, use it. If this means working with a trusted friend, a community, or alone, do that. 

For me it really means that the big project is always front and centre. It is always open, it is always flagged in my notebook, it is always present and easy to come back to and I always know where I’m going with it.

I’m gonna share some things that work for me and I encourage you to try them, keep what works, and cast off the rest.

Advice Tidbit the Second: Lean into Novelty

My brain relishes novelty, and will happily chase a new idea down a rabbit hole like a Jack Russell on speed and after years of fighting it, I’ve learned sometimes, it’s best to chase the white rabbit and see where it ends up. Just make sure you have a way of putting that idea on a back burner and coming home to the project you want to focus on.

And I do this through a few different means. 

First I write that new idea down, which in turn helps me get it out of my head instead of it repeating ad nauseum like the chewiest earworm. The brain repeats things to remember them, but if you write it down, and then immediately get what you wanna focus on in front of your eyeballs, you might be able to switch gears and get back on track.

Second, I create my own novelty by balancing a few projects at once, that are all at different stages of development, and focus on different ideas. I have the big one that's almost done, I have a novel that’s in planning, a few short story ideas that’s percolating  and this blog which is focused less on creation and more explaining things I’ve learned. And I bounce from these, as needed, to keep things fresh. 

Third, if all else fails, I stop fighting and go wild. I’ve stumbled onto some amazing gems of projects by embracing the mad rush of inspiration until I hit a wall. And the trick for me is, once I hit that wall, I go back to my big project and it always feels a little fresher after that time away.

Writers are creative creatures, and inspiration is a wonderful, amazing, maddening thing that we cannot rely on, but shouldn’t ignore when it strikes. 

Advice Tidbit the Third: Make that shit easy.

A fun, and by fun I mean hellish aspect of my brain chemistry is that the more barriers between me and doing a thing there are, the less likely I am to do the thing. Executive dysfunction is an asshole and should pay but until I can figure out a way to do that, I instead focus on making this as easy for me as possible. 

When it comes to focusing on a specific project, I make sure I have it ready to go when I wanna work on it. I open up the word doc before I go to bed, I leave some notes for myself before leaving it, I never close it unless I absolutely have to, and I always, always have a notebook or my phone on hand to write with, and I have a playlist on hand to get me in the mindset while writing or walking, or working out.

Now if you’re looking at that and going “But Cas, that’s a lot of prep-work”, yeah, it is, and that’s what I do to make things easier to start and stay focused with. Call it the neurospicy-tax. Sometimes shit comes with extra prepwork, but it will help you in the long run.

Thankfully the execution is less painful than it sounds. I just don’t close the word doc for my main project unless I absolutely have to. Opening it first thing is a habit I’ve developed over time as is carrying my notebook around everywhere. Right now I’m trying to build the habit of writing first thing in the morning after breakfast, which means I have the project, or project notes up to read while I eat.

The less I have to think about it, the less steps it takes to start, the easier it is to just do. And do it enough, consistently enough, it becomes habitual. Ish.

Advice Tidbit the Fourth and Most Important: Make the writing easier too.

Yeap. I’m gonna say it. Learn to plan in a way that works for you.

It is so much easier to write freely, consistently and confidently when I have a damn good idea of where I’m going and what targets I’m trying to hit. If you’ve read my waffling about approaching chapters, I go on at length about how that pre-planning makes the work easier. This doesn’t mean you need to have the whole thing planned down to the finest detail, you don’t need every chapter and scene on cards ready to go, unless that’s what works best for you.

However, I have found that I can stick with big projects the best if I have a rough plan consisting of story beats, knowing my character arcs, and solid idea of the ending. With that roadmap, it doesn't matter how lost or distracted I get or how long I spend in the warren of Ploticus Bunnicus, because I have that guide at hand to bring me back to my story. But when I don’t have it… I get lost. And I stay lost. I lose motivation, it’s harder to pick it up again, I lose hope and I abandon that story and feel awful about it.

So if there’s any advice I want you to try it’s this: Figure out where your story is going, where you want it to end up, a few ideas on how you’ll get there, and make a map to keep you heading in the right direction.

It can be as easy as dot points giving you a few ideas about what’s ahead, a few notes from the last writing session to remind you of where you were going, or a paragraph blocking out events in a really condensed summary. Whatever works for you, but have a plan for where you’re going for those moments when something shiny crosses your path. Make working on this main project easier than working on anything else, make it the most enjoyable, make it the most rewarding. Let me know if you want me to talk about my roadmapping/planning process.

Advice Tidbit the Fifth: Get some help.

I would not be as far along in my big project as I am if I didn’t have two really amazing people that helped me along my way as alpha readers. Ie: the two people who got frantic messages at 3am asking if they could look at the raw draft I had just churned out to see if it was okay, and who also, graciously, acted as rubber duckies and brainstorming partners and problem solvers as I figured my own process out.

I owe these two so much.

Writing can be a terribly solitary craft but it doesn’t have to be. So get a buddy, someone that can hold you to task, who can give their opinion, act as a sounding board, who is as excited about the project as you are. I am so glad to be that person for my bestest buddies and they are that person for me.

So find that person, someone you can trust, a friend, another writer, or just someone that has your back. And if you don’t have that person, there are communities aplenty floating around. And I am always, always, ready to cheerlead a fellow writer. Hell, I created a whole damn server just to help other writers that I haven’t been brave enough to advertise yet.  You can find it here. [If the link isn't active, feel free to ask me for one!]

Advice Tidbit the Sixth: Make that shit fun.

Writing is work, there’s no way to get around that and writing a big multi-chapter project is a LOT of work even if you don’t plan, edit, revise, or rewrite (though you should). All my advice so far has been focused on making that work easier, on working with your brain, embracing novelty for your own ends, making the work easier, and working with a friend.

Now we get to have fun.

What makes writing enjoyable for you? Is it having a tasty treat while working or after as a reward? Is it good music? An excuse to go to a cafe? To use a pretty pen? Whatever it is, DO IT. 

I like to have a nice cup of tea in a nice mug while I write. I always have music or something ignorable for background noise on the tv. And I use my very pretty pens in my very nice notebooks.

If you’re anything like me, you possess strong opinions regarding notebooks and pens, and likely have a neglected collection of some pretty stuff. So I’m gonna say something shocking: You should use those nice pens and notebooks.

 No seriously. 

Use them. Use the pretty inks and lovely pens and use them to make writing fun. Switch colours at the drop of a hat or to show scene and pov transitions, practise your handwriting. Use different notebooks for different projects or one big bullet journal style thing for all your writing. 

Create yourself an everyday writers kit and take it everywhere with you. Use it. If you’re doom scrolling, switch your phone for your writing kit and start jotting down some ideas or write a single sentence for your story. Use these pretty shiny things. I dare you.

Keep in mind, you DO NOT need expensive pens or papers ever at all. You can do this with a cheap notebook and a ballpoint. I’m just a stationery nerd and I like using the nice things I’ve bought instead of them sitting there doing nothing.

Here’s my kit, a black traveller’s notebook with three inserts and a kraft folder, two pen loops stuck onto the folder and two TWSBI eco fountain pens. Each insert is for a different kind of project (drafting the long project, brainstorming and planning or short stories, and planning and drafting articles for this blog.) and I have sticky tabs in the folder to make pages and specific projects. Sometimes I add a pouch of yet more fountain pens because I don’t have a problem, I have a collection.

Flex aside, my point is use tools that you enjoy using. If that means a nice clacky keyboard, use it, if that means fancy ass pens, use them, if that means something you’re not scared of breaking, use it. 

Now for gamification: A common bit of advice I hear for ADHD brains specifically is to gamify the tricky things and thank the gods, there’s a bunch of people who have figured out ways to do this.

For writers specifically we have a few tasty choices.

A quick search for ‘gamifying writing’ will turn up a bunch of results but here’s a few favourites of mine.

4thewords is web browser based RPG game where you write to battle monsters and make your way through the story. It is a subscription however but it’s fairly affordable ($4 USD a month) if you end up using it everyday. It comes with progress trackers, avatars you can get cool things for, a big community and it has a 15 day trial that does not need a credit card for. Wahoo. I’ve used it, it's a lot of  fun, but it doesn’t gel with my other needs quite as well but I do turn to it none and then when I really wanna buckle down and focus. Give it a go~

Write Or Die is a classic sprint writing tool that I’ve been a fan of for years. Basically you write or you are ‘punished’ via flashing screen, loud noises or if you’re brave, there’s the mode that eats your words if you stop typing for too long. It is a one man developer that said and a bit old and neglected but Write or Die 2 is worth it if this helps you stay focused.

Too high stress? Think about trying…

Written Kitten is a web browser based writing motivator that gives you a cute kitten picture every time you write a certain number of words. It’s adorable.

Or you can grab that writing buddy of yours, or just yourself, a timer and do a writing sprint. Pick a number of words, set your timer and write until the timer goes off. See how well you did, see how any words you can get and how far above the set number you can go.

In the end all this leads to the same key point, which is to make working on your long multi-chaptered project as easy, fun and rewarding as you possibly can. If you have a mind that chases fun, make the work fun, if it chases novelty, make the work novel, if it lacks focus, figure out how it likes to focus and apply that to your project. 

You can wrangle your brain, but you have to work to its strengths. But before I wrap this up

Advice Tidbit the Seventh: Go easy on yourself.

Neurospicy brains are particular and challenging and common advice doesn’t always work for us and that’s okay. It can be tricky figuring out what works and what doesn’t, and spoons aren’t always plentiful, our moods aren’t always cooperative and sometimes the work really is hard no matter what we do. And that’s okay. What matters, I think, is that we keep trying. A few words a day are still a few words a day.  It adds up.

You got this and I am always happy to have a chat or listen.

Good writing!

[moiraimyths]

Hi I was wondering if you guys have a roadmap or timeline doesn’t have to be set dates or anything for the routes to be released? As much as I want to see Maeve/Shaes’ routes I’m always a little hesitant to play games that aren’t completely released. And I’m very interested in Flannan and Keagan’s routes so I’d like to know if I should wait and check back to buy it when it’s complete or if part of their routes will be released soon? Or is that going to be a long time? Like if it’s over a year for their routes I’d probably wait to buy then. I hope this doesn’t come off as rude I’m very excited about the game🧎🏻‍♀️

Each route of NDM is likely to be over 100k words long at time of completion. We're basing this estimate on the first halves of Shae and Maeve's routes being 50k words in length individually. (The demo/vol. 1 is 37k.) It will likely take until at least next summer or fall to complete the second halves to our satisfaction, given that neither of the writers or the programmer draw income from Moirai Myths / NDM and therefore cannot materially afford to dedicate 100% of our time to development. That said: While we have not yet confirmed which two routes are coming after Maeve and Shae's, the next batch will contain one of the boys.

But to be completely honest with you? How long it takes for us to reach Flannán and Keagan's routes is entirely dependent on how much support Maeve and Shae receive. If hardly anyone purchases the game or plays/talks about their routes, then we have less internal financing to work with/may have to pay for future aspects of the game ourselves. Moirai Myths is not a large corporation with investors; we are five working class artists dependent on community support/engagement.

We understand the hesitance, truly. No one likes feeling as though their money or time has been wasted. This is why NDM is a single-time purchase, and also why the game will be priced in accordance with the amount of content currently available. If you buy NDM on Nov. 1? It's $15 dollars (US) for a 137k word game that will eventually become a 700k word game. The 700k word game will be more than $15 dollars, and we can't tell you conclusively when it will arrive.

To end things off: Remember, all of your favourite characters will appear in the update. In big ways. We don't want to spoil you, but:

If you love Flannán, you really, really don't want to pass over either of these routes. Especially Maeve's.

[maple-seed]

What Ails You

Loki x Fem!Reader

Content: Pining, fluff

Summary: Loki is your closest friend in the tower, which leaves you struggling when you want something more.

Word Count: 3,444

Author's Notes: A fluffy little oneshot to see if I'm capable of telling a story in less than 100k words. Results are mixed! I'm dedicating this one to my friend @sarahscribbles and her follower milestone celebration. Congrats, Saz! You've earned it. <3

AO3 Link

Loki Fic Masterlist

You had decided to take advantage of the quiet and do some reading in the common room. The quiet never lasted long in the tower, and especially not in the common areas. Still, it was hard to beat the way the sun came through the windows in the lounge, so it was worth the attempt. Even if it was doomed to be short-lived, the quiet was nice.

As you turned your page the exact opposite of "quiet" strolled into the room.

"There she is!" Loki's arms spread wide. "My favorite mortal." You kept your face neutral, without looking up from your book. "What do you want, Loki?" Loki feigned hurt. "What do I want? Why should I want anything other than your company?" You looked up at him now. "You want something. You're trying to butter me up with that 'favorite' line." "Darling, it's true. You're more dear to me than anything else on this planet." "Loki, you hate this planet." He smiled brightly, spreading his hands. "All the more reason to rejoice; you have so little competition." You kept your expression hard, though the both of you knew you were going to give in.

When Loki first came to the tower the two of you became fast friends. It was probably easier for you than the others, since you hadn't been around for the whole "world domination" thing. Whether is was that or simply your natural proclivity for mischief, the two of you fell in together almost immediately. Then, later, you did a little more falling on your own. You had managed to keep your feelings under wraps so far, or at least you hoped you had, but every day was a new frustration.

Today it was the way the light hit his cheekbones as he looked down at you, leaning forward onto the back of the adjacent chair.

"Out with it, Laufeyson." You muttered. "Well, if you insist that there must be a favor to be garnered here, there is something that you could help me with." He casually inspected the upholstery, as if anything Loki did could ever be nonchalant. "Oh, is there really? Who could have thought?" "I am wounded. I was simply seeking you out to pass the time. This task was purely an afterthought." You rolled your eyes and closed your book. That was all he needed. "Excellent. You likely haven't heard, but yesterday I was issued an insult of the highest order-" "You once said that about a sandwich I made you." "Yes, and I stand by it. You used cheddar when it clearly called for provolone." You rolled your eyes again and waved for him to continue. "Thor has-" You held up a hand. "Stop. No. I can't prank Thor. He was pretty upset with me last time." He scoffed. "Hardly a concern." "It's a concern to me!" He dismissed it. "At any rate, you will not be committing the trick. In fact, you'll barely be involved at all." You sighed and fell back in the chair. "What do you need me to do?" He grinned, victory in sight. "Very simple. This afternoon after our training Thor will pass through the kitchen for one of those atrocious pastries before heading to his room to shower. Just post yourself in the kitchen and stall him. Distract him for a few minutes. A short conversation is all that's needed." "And what will you be doing during this conversation?" "I will be occupied elsewhere." His smirk told you that he wasn't going to give up anything else. You pursed your lips as you thought it over. Inevitably, you relented. "Fine." "Wonderful!" He stood and rounded the chair, lifting your hand and placing a kiss to your knuckles, which had you scrambling to remember how to breathe. "This is why you are my dearest friend." He flashed you a devastating smile before turning and striding out the room just as he had come.

You watched him leave while the word "friend" settled in your stomach like a lump of lead.

**

You were perched on a stool in the kitchen with a sandwich that was more of an alibi than a meal. Their training session would be over any minute now and you were peering cautiously down the hall.

"What are you up to, Trouble?" You jumped, nearly falling off the stool, and swung around to Tony. "What? No. Nothing." It was not your best performance. Tony raised a brow at you as he opened the fridge. "Don't give me that. I can tell when you and Prince Harming are scheming. I can practically smell it." You lifted your chin. "I don't know what you mean." "Fine. How about this." He pulled out a Chinese takeout box that was clearly marked "Rhodes" and grabbed a fork from the drawer. "Whatever it is that you're doing, leave me out of it, and I'll keep quiet." He speared a forkful of noodles and took a bite. You watched him for a moment. "Deal." He pointed the fork at you and winked before leaving the room.

You settled yourself back on the stool just in time to see the gods and the super soldiers coming down the hall in their post-workout ensembles. You watched Loki saunter past with his hair tied back, face flushed and glistening, and almost forgot why you were here. The sound of Thor rustling in the pantry brought you back to the task at hand. He had retrieved his pop-tarts and was turning to leave.

"Hey Thor." The greeting was casual. He stopped and smiled at you. "Good evening, my lady." You made a note of the super soldiers rummaging in the fridge. "How'd training treat you?" He grinned and flexed an arm. "You tell me." You laughed and prodded his bicep. "Pretty good. I mean, it's not vibranium, but that's pretty good." Behind Bucky, Steve's eyes widened. He gave you an imploring look and quickly shook his head. "Hah! A measly, metal, mortal arm is no match for a god's physique." Thor shifted and flexed again. Bucky scoffed and turned away from the fridge. "Hey, I gave you a run for your money today!" "Oh, certainly." Thor turned to the super soldier with a jovial smile. "But you are a friend, I didn't wish to hurt you." "What, so you're saying you were going easy on me?"

This devolved in the predictable way. In short order everything was swept off of the breakfast bar and they stood on either side and commenced an arm wrestling match. In the background Steve went about making his post-workout smoothie while periodically shooting them a disapproving look. Loki had said he only needed a few minutes, so when sparks of static began to crackle over their stalemate you stepped forward and placed your hands over their fists.

"Okay, guys, I think you've proven your points." You spoke to them as if they were children. "You're both very strong, I'm proud of you." The situation defused immediately. They reluctantly let go and both grumbled something about the next training session. You took your sandwich and made your way to your rooms.

Loki was already there, which was not a surprise. He often retreated here after pulling off a scheme. As if it were some kind of sanctuary. Maybe it had been at first, but everyone had caught on by now. If someone was trying to find him, his rooms would be the first place they would look. Your rooms would be the second. He was lounging casually on your couch with a book and had apparently used your shower, his dark curls hung damp on his shoulders. You pushed away the mental image of Loki in your shower and took a seat beside him.

"So, are you going to tell me what you were doing?" You asked before taking a bite of your sandwich. "Of course not, darling, I know how you like surprises." "I don't like surprises." "You know how I like surprises." You rolled your eyes. "Trust me, the reveal will be divine." He took the untouched half of your sandwich off the plate and took a bite, immediately frowning at you. "Really? Cheddar?" You smirked and shrugged. "It's my sandwich." He shook his head disapprovingly but took another bite.

You propped your feet up on the table and sat back. The two of you passed the time reading and chatting. It was not much time, the expected interruption arrived fairly quickly.

A pounding fist rang out at your door. "LOKI!" Thor's voice boomed through the wall. You looked to Loki, who smirked and waved you toward the door. More pounding. "LOKI! I know you are in there, you coward! Come out here at once!" You walked to the door and settled your face before opening it. "Hey Tho-" Your words were choked off mid-greeting. A hand flew up to clamp over your mouth as you took in the image before you with wide eyes.

Thor was standing before you, clothes hastily thrown on, it looked like he had showered too. His glorious golden locks had a new color: a vibrant shade of green.

He was wearing a powerful scowl and spoke through gritted teeth. "Where is my duplicitous brother?" You fought back your laughter and dropped your hand. "I'm sorry Thor, I don't know. I haven't seen him since this morning." "Lies!" He boomed. "I know this is his refuge." You stepped back and let the door swing open, giving him a full view of the room. It was empty. Thor scanned the room with a frown, giving you another doubting look. "Maybe check the library?" You offered helpfully. He scowled again, looking across the room one more time before silently storming off.

You closed the door and placed your back against it, immediately breaking into a fit of laughter. Loki reappeared on the couch with a victorious grin.

"Loki! His hair!" You wheezed. "You are awful! He's so mad!" He shrugged. "It was a just retribution." "I doubt that." You wiped away a tear and returned to the couch. "I'm hurt you would take his side in this." "Hey, I'm harboring you, fugitive. That's hardly taking his side." "A true friend wouldn't doubt my motives." That word again. You ignored it. "A true friend wouldn't make me an accomplice." "You would be terribly bored with a friend like that." He stated confidently as he opened his book. "Lots of people like peace." "Not you." You scoffed. "What makes you say that?" "Because you like me." He looked at you, smirking and satisfied. It made you want to grab him by the collar and show him how true that was. Instead you rolled your eyes and crossed your arms. "Barely."

Loki stayed with you until he felt it was late enough to safely return to his rooms. When he was gone you took the throw pillow he was laying on to bed with you. His scent clung to it, and as you fell asleep you told yourself this wasn't pathetic at all.

**

You arrived in the kitchen early the next morning and made yourself breakfast as usual. Natasha was already sitting at the table with her mug. You took the seat beside her.

"Morning, Nat." "Good morning." She was drinking tea. That was strange. Usually she had coffee, especially this early in the morning. You didn't ask. The others were slowly filtering in and you didn't want to miss Thor's entrance.

You kept an eye on the doorway as you spread jam on your toast, the room filling up with the murmur of quiet conversations. Without notice, Nat reached over and snatched a triangle of toast from your plate. "Hey!" You dropped the knife back into the jar. "You make it so much better than me." She took a bite. You narrowed your eyes. "It's toast." "I know. It's my greatest shame that I can't get it right." She winked. Something wasn't right. You didn't have time to dwell on it, Wanda's gasp told you that Thor had arrived.

You looked up to see him walk through the door, dejected. The green had not faded in the slightest. The room had fallen completely silent. Then it exploded with laughter. It blended together into a roar, with a few jibes being thrown here and there. Thor simply stood and took it with a stern expression. From across the room Tony met your eye, giving a silent thumbs-up and sipping his coffee.

"Alright, alright, that's enough." Thor held up a hand to quiet the crowd. "This is not that funny." "It's pretty funny." Clint replied. Thor scowled. "This is a tremendous slight against me." "Come on, big guy." Tony jeered. "Why so serious?" Another roll of laughter. Thor glowered. "Has anyone seen my treacherous snake of a brother?" A murmur of answers in the negative between more laughs. Thor frowned. "I might kill him for this."

The cacophony had dwindled and normal conversation was returning. You took another bite of your breakfast then froze in place.

Natasha walked into the room, making her way to the coffee pot. She chuckled as she spotted Thor. "That's a look."

Every eye in the room turned in unison to the Natasha sitting next to you. She was wearing a very familiar smirk. "Well, you didn't think I was going to miss the show, did you?" A green light washed over her and Loki sat in her place.

A moment later the shape of Thor blurred past and suddenly the chair was knocked to the floor and two gods were having it out in a frenzy of limbs. The crowd watched with mild amusement as the brothers wrestled on the ground, growling ancient expletives at one another.

"And don't think-" Thor dislodged an arm from around his neck. "that I'm not aware your lady had a part to play in this." Your heart skipped a beat. His lady? "Hah!" Loki twisted a leg free. "You're only trying to target my mortal friend because you can't best me!"

Friend. You hid your reaction but it stung. You didn't need to see the rest, you knew how it would end. They would carry on for a bit then Steve would probably break it up, Loki would eventually change the hair back. You quietly stood and carried your plate to your room.

It was irrational, what you were feeling. You like being Loki's friend. You like that he claimed your room as sanctuary. You like that he steals food from your plate. You like that you were the first person he turned to for mischief.

Still, you want something else. You flopped onto your bed, lovesick, and wallowed for a bit. After a sufficient wallowing you decided you needed some time alone to clear your head. When a familiar knock came from your door you remained quiet and pretended you weren't there. He left. You didn't feel better.

**

Over the next two days you changed your routine. You ate at different times, trained at different times, you avoided the quiet places where Loki would usually find you. You started to think it was working. You didn't feel that lovesick ache in your chest so much. That came to a sudden stop when you turned the corner in your hallway and ran into Loki. Literally. You slammed into his chest and he caught your arms to keep you upright.

His face lit with a bright smile. "Dear heart, where have you been?" That was a new pet name. It had your stomach floating immediately. "Oh, I've been around. Just... busy. And tired. Tired lately." His hands slid down to take yours, his thumbs caressed your knuckles. "I've missed you." You stared, trying to decipher what his expression might mean and how you should respond. "I've just come from your room." Seeming to remember himself, he dropped your hands. "Barton will be hosting one of his... meat festivals." "I know you know that's not what it's called." He waved it away. "I can't be bothered to learn every inane detail of Midgardian culture." You pointed a finger. "It's a barbecue and you know it." He smirked. "At any rate, I wanted to make sure you would be attending. These rooftop events are unbearable without your company." You couldn't deny him, and numbly nodded. "Yeah, I'll be there. Sure." He smiled a gentle smile. "Excellent news." He took your hand again and pressed a kiss to it, like it was nothing, before releasing you and taking a step back. "Are you busy?" You recovered your faculty of speech. "Y-yeah, sorry. I was just about to go take a shower and head to bed." You glanced away. "Tired, you know." His disappointment was visible, but he only nodded and said, "I won't keep you." You managed a quick smile before stepping around him to head to your room. You felt his eyes on you the entire way.

You shut the door and leaned against it, closing your eyes. How did he do that? It was nothing for him, and you barely made it out of the interaction still on your feet. A cold anxiety settled into your stomach. You were going to end up giving yourself away. Embarrassing yourself. It was inevitable.

You hadn't actually been tired before, but you were exhausted now. You dragged yourself to bed, miserable.

**

It was inevitable, yes, but you decided to delay it anyway. You kept yourself away the next day, shut in your rooms, and when it was time for the barbecue you messaged the team to let them know you weren't feeling well and wouldn't be attending. You curled up on your couch with your book and did everything you could to avoid thinking about dark-haired gods and their perfect faces.

It worked for a while. Then there was a knock at the door. You knew who it was. You remained silent, maybe he would think you're asleep.

There was another knock, then he called your name through the door. You winced, calling back. "Loki, I'm sick. I'm not coming." "Yes, I've heard." His voice came through muffled. "I would like to come in." "You probably shouldn't. I'm sick." "Darling, you and I both know I can open this door." His tone made it clear that this was a courtesy.

You heaved a sigh, trudged over to the door and pulled it open.

Loki stood placidly on the other side. He didn't look upset, but you felt compelled to apologize regardless. "I'm sorry I didn't come, I'm just feeling a little under the weather." "Never mind it." He stepped past and turned to face you as you closed the door. "I haven't been feeling myself either." When you looked up you found he was studying you. You withered under the scrutiny, looking away and rubbing your arm. "I'm sorry, I'm just not up for having company right now." He wore a soft smile and stepped closer. "Surely you don't consider me to be company." You took a step back and hit the door. "No, I'm just... not feeling well." "Yes, so you've said." He stepped closer again, with a knowing look in his eye. "Tell me, what are your symptoms?" There was no space to back away. "Just... you know... tired." His gaze was making you squirm. He seemed to know it. "You did mention that." His eyes raked over you once and a slight smirk pulled at his mouth. "I think I may have the cure for what ails you." You scoffed. "Right. Of course you do." You looked up at him to retort but froze when you found something new in his expression. "Yes." His gaze was gentle and open. "I believe I suffer from the same affliction." You gaped at him, wide-eyed, and no longer felt the need to get away.

He slid an arm around your waist and dipped forward to kiss you as he pulled you close. You eagerly returned the kiss and as your hands found their way to his neck you felt his muscles relax beneath them. You pulled him closer and he hummed approvingly, his other arm finding its way around you. You clung to him, perhaps the only reason you remained upright. He broke the kiss with a sigh, pressing his forehead to yours. "How are you feeling?" You tilted back to see him more clearly. A smile curved one corner of his mouth, you reached up and traced the crease with your fingertip. "Better." You said quietly, looking up at him through your lashes. "But I think I might need another dose."

****

Loki Fic Masterlist

Maple's Loki Fic Tag list If you would like to be added or removed from this tag list please leave a comment or send me a message/ask.

@cheekyscamp, @muddyorbsblr, @gigglingtigger, @imalovernotahater, @mischief2sarawr, @goddessofwonderland, @purplekitten30, @lokisgoodgirl, @ultrasnakesona, @ozymdias

[romanscool]

hey guys,,, teasing is officially on. a month after the end of which could mean nothing (but does it ever?), meet the second part of this little series:

which should mean nothing (but it always does)

-> F1 RPF - Max Verstappen/Daniel Ricciardo - Rated: E - WIP

Max must be a little too far away because he frowns a little. His bottom lip jutting out. Pouting. Young. Max’s young ears should be able to hear what Daniel just said but apparently Max is just the wrong side of young that mean inexperienced with clubs and loud musics that needs you to decipher unwanted sounds from Daniel’s voice. Daniel chuckles a little at that. Max’s eyebrows go down ever lower.  So, Daniel comes to him. His feet work on their own again, and his brain seems okay with it. Unhelpfully gives Daniel this need for closeness, which Daniel can’t help but indulge in. He leans his face close to Max’s ear, so close he could touch if he wanted. And Daniel wants. But he’s also the wrong side of older that mean his prefrontal cortex is fully developed and keeps him from making stupid decision and act too much on desires. Personal pleasures.  « Wanna dance, Maxy? »

OR: Daniel trying to cope with whatever the fuck he's been developing for Max since 2016

main tags: idiots in love (yes that's maxiel), unreliable narrator (that one is all daniel though), mental health issues, miscommunication, angst with a happy ending

will contain (at least): 15 to 20 chapters, 100k words, scenes not included in part 1 -wcmn (3 to 4 chapters like that), Daniel's side of everything that's happened in part 1-wcmn

-> FIRST CHAPTER OUT ON JANUARY 30th 2025 

read part 1-which could mean nothing (but does it ever?) on ao3, and find out everything about this series here!

[lenreli]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💗 (i don't know if you do these sorts of chain-letter things, or if you'd prefer not to, but for my part i do like to know which of their works a given author is especially hype on, so consider this an opportunity to gush!)

I do love the chain things! :D Just. Energy, y'know.

Can I rec all the writing?

A Superbat fic first: and it's a violent vertigo. Very explicit, and manages to hit all 4 of the BDSM letters. Quite proud of it honestly. :D

The Problem with Clark Kent - Explicit. Featuring Warworld Supes.... yeah. Also with some Dan Mora Bruce thrown in there. And aside from the insane thirst of Warworld Supes, also some fun roommate shenanigens!

And for Dreamling: (explicit)

god is dead and disappointed - demon!Hob/priest!Dream. This was very fun. I wrote half of it like I was possesed, so that was an experience. At least demon Hob pays rent in my head now. And waiting for people to get up to a certain scene is fun.

I wanna feel myself denied - I just really love.... messing with power dynamics. Even in the one dynamic there can be a thousand variations of it, and so. I am here. Writing the nth one, with more in my brain still. Anyway, this particular fic includes a scene in Dream's life that lives rent-free in his head. He wants more of it.

Going off that last one - my many dreamling drabbles! Altogether it's up to 100k+, which I did consistently for months. A very fun time, since I love thinking up new things, or riff off things talked about in servers or whatnot! I can see how my writing changes through the months of the drabbles, which is another point of fascination! How the words get easier or more fluid, and whatnot.

endless pawns playing a fixed game - Reacher inspired AU! Mainly because bodyguard Hob whose very good at killing. I'm writing a one-shot after it still because I love them and their complete lack of morals. And Hob's pointy shoes. And daggers.

Anyways. Yes. :D

[s0lifuge]

to celebrate hitting over 100k words of hp fanfic* on my ao3 account i'm going to self indulgently reflect on my favourites of the fics i've written so far in this fandom!

i was having visions of sugared pastry (cooked up in clarified butter)

rating: mature pairing: draco/harry warnings: eating disorders, violence, homophobia word count: 33,867 thoughts: this is my favourite fic that i've (co)written, and its metrics seem to reflect that readers agree. depicting draco's ED in this fic is maybe the most care i've ever put into writing something in my life. trying to capture the lived experiences of myself and my loved ones with EDs in a way that felt true to life AND to draco (and narcissa as his almond mom) was a remarkable challenge. i made something i'm proud of out of it. i know ED fics can be tough, but if there's anything of mine you're wiling to try to read, please let it be this!

i wanna be so real, you can't see the difference

rating: mature pairing: draco/harry warnings: body image issues, sectumsempra fallout word count: 5,248 thoughts: by kudos this is my second most popular fic, and i think i agree with that - it's similar in themes to sugared pastry, but more focused on harry and draco's relationship post-war (EWE of course). i really love exploring narcissa & draco's sometimes-loving sometimes-toxic thing i imagine for them, and i thought this had her spectre hanging over it in a really good way as well.

series: you can only get so wet

rating: explicit pairings: snape/draco, draco/harry, lucius/draco warnings: dead dove, teacher/student relationship, father/son incest word count: 20,190 (for now) thoughts: i find the idea of snape and draco getting into an illicit relationship, and how that interacts with draco's other relationships, both consensual (with harry) and nonconsensual (with his father) really compelling. this series is like, objectively gross, but i think my handling of the topics reflects my own lived experience of grooming and incest in a way i am proud to have articulated.

series: water of the womb

rating: explicit pairings: lucius/draco, draco/harry warnings: dead dove, teen pregnancy, father/son incest word count: 3,363 (for now) thoughts: so series is currently just one narsty fic about lucius being a terrible human being and transmasc draco suffering for it, BUT it inspired a mature-rated long slow burn i'm currently cowriting with the same author as sugared pastry about draco's pregnancy & how harry reacts throughout the process... we're really working to make it as perfect as possible so it's taking a while, but please keep an eye out for it! if you liked sugared pastry you'll like this one, and reading the dead dove is not necessary for getting the content of the longfic

tell me

rating: explicit pairings: draco/harry, lucius/draco warnings: fetishization of past sexual trauma, edgeplay word count: 2,908 thoughts: i just recently wrote this one, and honestly the porn is alright but the bulk of the fic that i really care about is how they negotiate the edgeplay during and after... it's challenging stuff but imo it really reflects what edgeplay is like, and how to healthily move forward from a scene when that's a part of your relationship.

bonus: the god-kings of wiltshire

rating: general pairings: draco/harry warnings: none word count: 1,996 (lol) thoughts: this is my least popular fic by every metric which is fine because it's so fucking specific lol but basically after seeing this amazing neolithic unesco world heritage site i was like "what about this but pureblood" and i think the result is pretty neat. check it out if you're feeling disturbed by every other recommendation on this list lmao

thanks for tolerating my navel gazing, and thanks to everyone who reads, reblogs, comments, leaves kudos, bookmarks, subscribes, you make writing so fun and lovely!!

[eusuntgratie]

ao3 wrapped

tagged by @stnichols @thighzp & @onward--upward <3 thank you!

i posted 32 fics in 9 fandoms this year... i'm sitting at 96k words in 2024 so i'm definitely planning to post at least one more something before the end of the year and hit 100k! i'm also excited to hit 500k total words on ao3... hopefully early in 2025. i have a lot of words written i just need to finish and post some fics.

disaster was my most popular fic by hits and comments, which makes sense since it's a long multichap that i posted chapter by chapter. after hours (the mechanic alex fic) was actually my most kudos-ed fic. chapter 3 of that one coming... who knows. hopefully soon. disaster was probably my favorite fic too because it was so fun to write and watch people react to it over time, but i picked already over which was my alex/raf fic because i just love that one so so so much.

also special shout out to my least kudos-ed fics from this year, my two vlamburn/roswell new mexico rpf fics because i love them and they are very hot.

reminder that stats don't mean anything! it is fun to look at it, but stats don't reflect quality. quit stressing about your hits to kudos ratio. if i click on your fic 6 times meaning to read it before i finally have time to, that's 6 hits but i'm only kudos-ing once. two of my favorite fics i wrote this year have less than 50 hits (and half of those are probably me) and 5 kudos each. it doesn't mean they aren't good (they are!); i just wrote them for an rpf ship for a show that went off the air a couple of years ago.

write what you want! if looking at your stats is fun, then do it! if it's stressing you out or demotivating you, stop looking at them <3

open tag for anyone who would like to do it!! it was fun to look back and see what all i wrote this year. tag me if you do it!

blank template by @ spicedrobot under the cut