#Hmm. I need to make some prequels posts | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

alesyira · 2 years ago

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here, have the next part. this might need some heavy revision with all the new developments, but i was holding off posting it anywhere while i work on Izuku's prequel vigilante storyline. As it's in full swing and i'm feeling kind, enjoy.

He tucks the notebook back onto the shelf and slips into the next room. It's filled with a mismatched array of well-worn workout equipment. Their brief interactions earlier seemed to indicate he's somewhat like a scared rabbit, easily herded into exactly where he wants him, flinching back from anything new and uncertain. But this stuff... he leans closer to the weight apparatus to check his most recent settings.

Hitoshi's eyebrows tick upwards. Surely not. There's no way this reading is accurate. His gaze flicks over the equipment, examining the peeling tape for any indication that it's been falsified somehow. He knows he's being dumb, but he cannot wrap his mind around the idea that the little green-haired snack of a man is capable of lifting-

He bites at his lip with a moment of indecision.

This is a terrible idea.

He knows it is, but Shi will keep watch for him. He slides into the machine, adjusts his position, unhooks the bar from its rest, and is promptly embarrassed by needing his capture weapon to rescue him from a weight that's set just a smidge heavier than what he normally lifts. He could build up to this with some warmups, but attempting this cold?

Ugh, he's a moron.

This confirms that Izuku a lot stronger than he looks, especially for a guy so much shorter than him. He hid it well beneath the oversized, flour-dusted hoodie he'd shown up wearing. Now, why would a smart guy work out like this?

Hobbyist bodybuilders tend to show off their hard work with plenty of bared skin and form-fitting outfits, not conceal it behind shapeless lumps of fabric. Summertime with the long sleeves of a hoodie would indicate either perpetual chill due to poor circulation, or he has something to hide. He briefly considers what he'll look like once he gets him into something a little more ...comfortable.

Hmm. Soon enough.

He saunters out of the room and down the hallway.

The walls are free from decorations. No indications of favorite styles of art. No certificates of achievement.

A single plant is tucked away in a corner by the balcony.

There are a concerning number of locks on the front door, but most of them look aged and well-worn. He suspects they've been in place for at least a few years at this point, and depending on when Izuku moved in, they might be holdovers from a previous (and paranoid) occupant.

This particular building has more than a handful of interesting secrets in place from what he's gleaned after letting Shi loose in the vents. *AN: This statement could be followed by a huge number of perfectly valid and appropriate-for-this-story statements that would spoil the shit out of Trouble. I’ll just leave it up to your imagination, and maybe one day I’ll come back and drop some extra details in there when it’s no longer spoilery, or maybe i'll just add it because it makes sense here and readers that are following both storylines just get extra context xD

The rest of the apartment is mostly uninteresting. The kitchen is decently stocked. Based on what he'd made earlier (which was delicious), the guy seems to do a lot of cooking.

There's a clearly worn spot on the couch, which Hitoshi sinks into with a little grin. This is Izuku's spot, which means... He scoots over a few feet. This is now my spot. Unless he's convincing Izuku to sit in his lap, at which point they'll share the favored spot while they share each other.

There's a strange lack of personal photographs on display throughout the apartment. The place is clearly well-lived in, so he's been here for longer than a year. There are no images of Izuku, nor of family or friends. No snapshots of vacations or parties.

He flicks on the television.

News.

-annual memorial services for the collapse of Nighteye's Agency have been postponed again due to a bomb threat in the area-

He hits the recent button to flip back to the previous selection.

It's one of those channels that runs documentaries all day long.

Hm.

He flicks off the TV and glances around the apartment. There's nothing to indicate this guy has much of a life outside of whatever it is that he does.

Is he a local? Is this apartment in the same city where he grew up, or is he a transplant from somewhere else, living away from those he might care about to keep them safe?

His phone buzzes with a new notice from Mei, drawing his attention from the odd mysteries of his neighbor's minimalistic apartment.

> do you have ANY IDEA what's on those pages?

> if you have broken into an evil mastermind's lair GTFO IMMEDIATELY

> your life is definitely in danger when they find you

> at least make sure shi escapes so i can have my baby back

> we'll put up a memorial plaque for you

> if i have time

'Anomalous' sneak peek, pt2, probably the start to chapter 2

Izuku is gone by the time he returns to his apartment with a few packets of Mei's little surveillance devices. He'd expected this, but he's feeling a little weird about the fact that Izuku hasn’t returned by the time night falls.

When midnight rolls around and there's still no sign of his new obsession little mystery, he decides to do a little snooping.

He steps out onto their shared balcony and peers into the darkened apartment. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s done a little breaking and entering to find answers to questions he hadn’t realized he’d had.

For this little anomaly to have shown up at his door begging for sugar of all things and be apparently immune to his quirk? There has to be some kind of setup going on here.

Maybe a commission plant? (Unlikely, but assuming everyone’s a potential threat has served him well for the last several years.)

Maybe a test from his benefactor to ensure he hasn’t grown lax in his awareness? It makes more sense. He’s been overseas in a variety of countries with much less stringent rules and regulations for nearly two years, now. It’s been a veritable vacation of assignments, and upon his return, the only thing he’d found in the assignment safety deposit box had been the address and keys to the nondescript safe house.

His first two guesses are that it’s either just a safe place to stay that’s not Mei’s couch, or it’s some kind of test by his shadowy employer that-is-definitely-not-Nedzu. But now that he’s been directed to live next door to someone that coincidentally has a natural immunity to his quirk? There’s a third possibility teasing at the edge of his thoughts, but he’s not sure what it might be just yet.

(Hitoshi has found that there are rarely true coincidences in his line of work.)

His neighbor’s apartment is utterly still.

Shi weaves back through his open balcony door, up through a vent, and across into the neighboring apartment to unlock the window leading into what he assumes is Izuku’s bedroom.

His eye twitches with mixed amusement. It’s too easy.

Maybe too easy.

He doesn’t drop his guard as he slips through the silent interior. He’s adjusted Shi's volume to pick up the faint hum of any powered devices, but the home is nearly silent save for a quiet rumble in the distance as the building AC cranks up.

There’s a sleeping laptop atop a small stack of paper. He eyes the ports on the side of the machine, contemplating if it’s worth wasting one of his piggyback chips to break into the device.

Maybe later, depending on how much information he can get out of him without resorting to more intrusive methods.

Shi lifts the laptop so that he can peek at the printed paperwork. He thinks it might be French. He takes a photo and runs it through a translation tool, and it turns out to be a really dry reading about poor (and easily exploitable) employee habits at a European company.

He narrows his eyes with consideration.

This kind of intel is pretty tame to most anyone that might come across it at random, but to someone in Hitoshi’s line of work, it’s the stuff he likes to know about prior to infiltrating a target's base of operations.

He carefully sifts through the closet and drawers, looking for anything hidden or potentially incriminating. There is a concerning number of long-sleeved shirts and hoodies when compared to the three short-sleeved tees he finds, two of which appear to be used for sleeping.

Strange.

Tucked away in the very back of his closet, he finds two button-up shirts and a jacket, which indicates that he probably has a pretty low-key place of employment. It’s doubtful that he meets with anyone important in person, but if that employee report tells him anything, it's that he probably does remote reporting for international clientele.

He doesn't find any secret compartments in either the closet or the drawers, but he does happen upon some private items he expects Izuku probably never intended another living soul to ever see. In various shapes and styles.

Hm.

Perhaps he shouldn't be so excited by the sight of someone's sex toys, but the idea of keeping this little mystery around on a more long-term basis is starting to take root.

He contemplates the merits of seducing this person that's drawn his interest. If his quirk doesn't work on him, then he has a chance of trying a real, safe, and normal(ish) relationship.

(Normal-ish? Who is he kidding... There cannot be anything normal about being in a relationship with someone like him.)

At least he won't ever have to worry about accidentally catching him with his quirk. He's intrigued by the possibilities, but...unfortunately has no idea how to go about enticing a potential partner.

Obviously, he can't go the usual route and pay for his services.

Hm.

He eyes the pile of innocuous reporting. Maybe he can pay for services, just of a different sort.

Request some similar work, pay him for services rendered, and ease him into a more physical relationship?

There already seems to be a perfectly functional chemistry between them.

He eyes the lines of notebooks along two shelves. He sidles over and picks one at random, flipping through pages of coded entries. He runs the tip of his tongue along his lip, feeling a surge of growing interest.

First, French intel on a company's weakness?

Now these notebooks absolutely packed with content that's written in a manner to discourage nosey snoops?

There are tables and calculations scribbled in the margins alongside a few illustrations of vaguely familiar support items with labels pointing to what he thinks might be weak points.

His heartbeat ticks up as his excitement grows. He's found something big. He snaps a few photographs and sends one to Mei, curious what she might say.

There's a beat of ten seconds before she blows up his phone with replies:

Mei: HITO

Mei: WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU FIND THAT

Mei: CAN I HAVE MORE

He chuckles and sends a few more photographs her way.

The intrigue builds.

#anomalous AU #bnha #bnha fanfiction #mha #mha fanfiction #shindeku #shinzuku #shinsou hitoshi #midoriya izuku #sentient capture scarf #Hitoshi's POV #two steps to the left AU #behind the scenes #check the end of the reblog for the next part

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emcandon · 3 years ago

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Hmm, so would the Ronin universe's version of the Prequel Era be based on the rise of fascism and psychotic ultra militarism in Imperial Japan instead of the hodgepodge mix of Nazi Germany, the late Roman Republic and not so settle commentary on the Bush Administration in Canon?

My other idea would be the "Clone Wars" taking some loose inspiration from the Boshin War and Satsuma Rebellion, with the increasingly marginalized Jedi rising up and being faced with the Empire sending in armies of Clone Troopers.

Good question! My answer would be dictated by the needs of the greater project -- as IP is beholden to be -- but I will try to concoct an answer based on what we see in The Duel and what I drew on for Ronin.

(Am I procrastinating on line edits? No! YOU'RE procrastinating on line edits!!)

On one hand I agree that Ronin is an OT-analogous book bc I've joked about how the Ronin is kind of like if Anakin Skywalker did the whole "descent into murder" stuff, took a step back, and went, "Uh... Oops! Uh-oh. Oops! I gotta go." On the other hand it feels kind of prequel territory in that it's a world governed by a great big political body that's sliding into decay.

That said, given that I was loosely drawing from jidaigeki's love of the Warring States period + had positioned Ronin as loosely post-Warring States, if the Sith Rebellion had been what allowed re-unification under the emperor:

I think I'd play a Ronin prequel through the lens of the Warring States period, where people are yearning for an end to generalized violence between feudal lords. Some of those lords just want to be sovereign unto themselves (some of them are okay, some of them are shitty), but enough of them are dreaming about a mythical past where there was an emperor who everybody actually listened to (this is a fairy tale! obviously!) that it's become a real ongoing problem for everybody. Some of these guys want to restore that imperial line while others want to BE that emperor, and to that end, some politics, lots of war. Meanwhile, non-lord people are for the most part just trying to be alive, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Simultaneously, I'd probably make this the tale of how the Jedi clans decided they would swear fealty to the lords after all. Which is a nice bit of tragic irony (we're talking PT here, after all!) in a situation where the lords are the ones causing everybody so much grief. The Jedi clans could start out as a separate entity -- maybe more monastic like Chie alludes to -- but over time they'd become so embroiled in politics and various loyalties that there'd be messy bloodshed, terrible use of terrifying power all over the place, etc. In short, I would explore the events that compelled the Jedi to believe they shouldn't be the foremost arbiters of their own power. What horrors convinced them to yield that control?

(How many of them would be horrified to see Hanrai one day accepting lordship himself? How many of them would see the Ronin and his rebellion as the worst version of themselves -- as exactly what they're trying to stop themselves from becoming?)

(In other news, wife and I have acquired a roomba, and as it is large, black, fundamentally helpful, and constantly running into walls, we have dubbed it the Ronin.)

#ask reply #star wars #star wars ronin

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inevitably-johnlocked · 4 years ago

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hey Steph, really adore your blog. I saw your ask about s3 and s4 John and his anger. do you have any pics that deal with that? I think his anger is caused by his jealousy. he loves Sherlock and is deeply insecure about S's love for him. I'd love to find some fics that actually deal with all of that. thank you. x

Hey Nonny!!

I DO!!! Been waiting for another ask to finally get this list up and out! Hope you find something you enjoy on this one! <3

ANGRY / CRANKY JOHN

See also:

Jealous John b/c of Other People

Jealous John

Jealous John Pt. 2 and Jealous Sherlock Pt 2

Jealous John Pt 3 and Jealous Sherlock Pt 3

Jealous John and Sherlock Pt. 4

Jealous John and Sherlock Pt. 5

Texts and Tea by JillianWatson1058 (K, 959 w., 1 Ch. || Friendship, Texting, Humour, Fluff, POV John, Cranky John) – A John who is woken up at 2:30 in the morning is not a happy John. Sherlock, frankly, doesn’t care. He just wants his tea.

And, Usually, He's the One Who GIVES Me a Headache by Cumberbatch Critter (T, 1,315 w., 1 Ch. || Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, POV John, Cranky John, Headaches, Head Massage) – A migraine is never fun.

Hallucinations can't open doors by Bespectacled dreamer (K+, 1,330 w., 1 Ch. || Reunion, Hurt / Comfort, Friendship, Hallucinations, John’s Wedding, Light Humour) – In which John gets married and Sherlock gets a broken nose.

The 3x John Carried Sherlock, and Once ViceVersa by ShinkonoKokoro (K+, 1,673 w., 1 Ch. || Fluff, Friendship, Three and One, BAMF John, Sherlock Whump, Worried Sherlock, John Gets Shot) – It happens more than he suspects.

Baskerville After Dark by Ttime42 (T, 1,921 w., 1 Ch. || THoB, Friendship, Humor, Bed Sharing, Missing Scenes, Cranky John, Cuddles) – John and Sherlock have to share a bed at Baskerville. Gen, but can be preslash.

Stay by sussexbound (M, 2,067 w., 1 Ch. || Post TAB, Suicidal Ideation Mention, Implied / Referenced Drug Use, Kissing, Love Confessions, Frottage, Coming in Pants) – “Why? Why did you do it? Hmm…?” He takes a deep breath, waits, lets it out again. “Look at me.” There’s no denying him when he takes this tone. “Why did you kill him? Hmm…? For her? After…” A muscle twitches in the corner of John’s eye, and he clamps his jaw down tightly, swallows and sniffs a little before continuing. “For her? After everything she’s done?” “For you.” Before he can even stop himself. Just like that.

Denial Isn’t Just a River in Egypt by satanatemycat (T, 2,107 w., 1 Ch. || Humour, Friendship, Texting, Bored/Cranky Sherlock) – In which John makes a bet with a co-worker. If he wins, she shuts up about him and Sherlock being a couple. If he loses… well, that doesn’t matter, because he won’t lose. Because he and Sherlock ARE NOT a couple. Right?

Nothing Left Untouched by ForeverShippingJohnlock (K+, 2,617 w., 1 Ch. || Friendship, Romance, Bed Sharing, Oblivious Sherlock, Anxious/Worried Sherlock, Grumpy John, Fluff and Cuddles) – Sherlock rearranges the flat. So what if John's bedroom is now a research library. It's not like John needs a bedroom, he can share with Sherlock. They're friends and John has obviously slept in close quarters with men before and it's not like Sherlock sleeps much anyway. It'll be fine.

Those Days by StillWaters1 (T, 2,663 w., 1 Ch. || Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, PTSD / Sensory Attacks, Caring Sherlock) – If Sherlock had danger nights, then these were John's danger days.

Extraordinary by ardenteurophile (T, 2,739 w., 7 Ch. || Angst, Pining, Romance, Second Person POV Sherlock, Pre-Slash) – Sherlock tries to understand his preoccupation with one Doctor John Watson - the one case he can never solve.

BBCSH 'The Comfort of Company' by tigersilver (T, 2,769 w., 1 Ch. || Post-TRF/Mary, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Bed Sharing, Grumpy John, Touching, Clingy/Handsy Sherlock, Cranky Sherlock, Fluff and Light Angst) – It's a trope that John and Sherlock end up sharing in the same bed eventually and I admit I do adore it unconditionally, along with all it infers as to the lowering of defenses and the heightening of trust. I put forth for your consideration that the notion persists because those who think about these things realize these two men are each in dire need of some good company.

Unquantifiable by 221b_hound (M, 2,799 w. 1 Ch. || Est. Rel., Grumpy John, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Pet Names, Texting, Sweet Sherlock, Princess Bride References) – John remains a terrible and foul-tempered patient, but he does try to make up for it with pet names and text message silliness. In the meantime, Sally Donovan visits Baker Street for a hint about the Milverton case, and has to deal with a Sherlock Holmes who can't find words big enough to thank her for saving John's life at the warehouse. For afters, there's a viewing of The Princess Bride. Part 33 of the Unkissed series

Bathroom Accessories by Evenlodes_Friend (E, 3,324 w., 1 Ch. || Sex Toys, Butt Plug, First Kiss / Time, Romance, Horny Sherlock, John’s Patience Wears Thin, Humour, Bottomlock) – John discovers that Sherlock has been playing with some very adult toys in the bath.

After the Bombs by VampirePam (T, 3,337 w., 2 Ch. || THoB AU, Drugs, John’s PTSD, Panic Attack, Nightmares, Caring Sherlock, Cuddles, Bed Sharing, Angst, Hurt/Comfort) – In which the drugs Sherlock used to dose John trigger a severe episode of PTSD. When terrors old and new cause John to fall apart, Sherlock must rectify his mistake and pick up the pieces.

Breakfast, acronyms and brotherhood by Rose de Sharon (K+, 4,074 w., 1 Ch. || TBB Fic, Friendship/Bromance, Hurt/Comfort, Protective John, Fluff) – Set after The Blind Banker: my take of Sherlock and John's conversation over breakfast. S/J friendship, bromance, no slash.

Afghanistan in Baskerville by Amaya Ramiel (K+, 4,357 w., 1 Ch. || THoB Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Drugged John, PTSD / Panic Attack, Hallucinations, Worried Sherlock, John’s Past, Friendship) – What if John hadn't seen the hound when Sherlock trapped him in the lab? What if instead, his very real nightmares of the war had materialized all around him? Trapped and drugged, John can't tell what's real and what's not. How will Sherlock react?

What John Doesn't Know (Won't Hurt Him) by blueink3 (NR [T], 4,392 w., 1 Ch, || S3 Fix It, Pining Sherlock, Snippets of Life, Hurt/Comfort, Scars, Fluff and Angst, Five and One, Hopeful Ending, POV Sherlock) – Five people who see Sherlock's scars before John Watson. But Sherlock's secrets were never something he could keep from his blogger for long.

Overture by Kate_Lear (M, 4,435 w., 1 Ch. || First Kiss / Time, Friends to Lovers, Angry John, Introspection, Dev. Rel., Embarassed / Insecure Sherlock, Morning After, Bed Sharing, Cuddles / Limpet Sherlock) – A short snippet on how John and Sherlock might have got together.

When Your Belly's in the Trench by Morgan_Stuart (T, 4,743 w., 1 Ch. || PTSD, Character Study, Rescue, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Torture, Trauma, Danger, Drama, Kidnapping/Captivity) – The next time that door opens, John Watson will kill the person on the other side.

Given In Evidence by verityburns (M, 5,034 w., 19 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Post-TRF, Angst, Drama, Case Fic, Romance, BAMF!John, Submissive Sherlock, First Kiss, Humour) – Coming back from the dead can be a complicated business. With a new case on the horizon, rebuilding a life is one thing... rebuilding a friendship quite another. For Sherlock and John, things may never be just the same...

This Year by DiscordantWords (T, 6,283 w., 2 Ch. || TEH Divergence / No Mary, New Year’s Eve, John’s A Mess, Jealous John, Awkward Conversations, Trapped in a Closet, Estranged After Return, John POV, Semi-Reunion, Angry John, First Kiss, Reconciliation, Clueless Sherlock, Happy Ending) – Last year, Sherlock Holmes showed up at the Landmark with a fake moustache and a bad French accent and threw John's entire life into disarray with two words: "Not dead." This year, there are more surprises in store.

An Interpretation of Viewing Habits by akitsuko (E, 6,653 w., 1 Ch. || Porn Watching, Masturbation, Anal, Friends to Lovers, First Kiss / Time, Declarations of Love, Jealous Sherlock, Fantasizing, John in Denial / Internalized Homophobia, Bottomlock, Pining Idiots, Sherlock Has No Boundaries, Cockblocking Sherlock) – John watches porn. It's a perfectly normal thing to do.If every video he watches happens to feature actors with remarkable physical similarities to his flatmate, well, that's no one's business but his own. Or: John is in denial, until his infatuation with Sherlock is impossible to deny anymore.

BANG by ElvendorkInfinity (T, 7,016 w., 3 Ch. || Post-TGG AU, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Worried / Scared Sherlock, Alternating POV, Whump, Hospital Recovery, Open Ending) – 'I should warn you,' Sherlock says, his voice steady and his eyes fixed on Moriarty. 'You are sadly misinformed.' And he fires. Prequel to M Is For Moriarty

Stranded by BeautifulFiction (T, 5, 798 w., 1 Ch. || First Kiss, Communication / Relationship Discussion, Pining Sherlock, Sherlock POV, BAMF John, Doctor John, Case Fic, Drinking, Huddling For Warmth, Friends to More) – When stranded on a derelict barge at high tide, John and Sherlock reconsider their friendship.

London Gods by a_different_equation (E, 11,092 w., 5 Ch. || American Gods Fusion || Magical Realism, Sex Magic, True Love, PTSD John, First Kiss/Time, Marathon Sex, Sensuality, Genie Sherlock, Human John, Internalize Homophobia, Star-Crossed Lovers, Soul Mates) – Sherlock Holmes is a jinn who does not grant wishes. However, when Dr. John H. Watson, recently returned from the war in Afghanistan, gets into his cab by "accident", it might not even need magic to grant both men their deepest wish: love.

There's So Much Labour Just in Breathing Lately by Susan (E, 12,708 w., 1 Ch. || Post-TRF / Mentions of S3 Events, Romance, Angst, Grief/Mourning, Grieving John, Mutual Pining, Meddling Mycroft, Therapy, Ambiguous Hopeful Ending, Infidelity) – The dreams he hated most – the ones that left him a sweating, shaking mess when he woke – were the ones in which Sherlock was just Sherlock. Laughing or drinking tea. Sitting across the table from him at Angelo’s eating pasta. Trailing his open hand behind him on the way to the bedroom. “C’mon, John. I’m about to have my way with you.”

Shuteye Shenanigans by Ayakae (K+, 13,263 w., 8 Ch. || Post-TRF, Friendship / Epic Bromance, John’s Nightmares, Angsty Fluff, Bed Sharing, Humour, Cuddles, Taking Care of Each Other, Domestics) – John Watson has never slept with Sherlock Holmes. Never ever ever. And never will, thank you very much. Well, there was that one time, but John didn't count that. It was completely different, just like the second time it happened. And the third. And the fourth. Epic bromance, but it can be read as pre-slash if you wish.

The Palmyra Atoll by elwinglyre (E, 16,609 w., 3 Ch. || TSo3 Divergence / Episode Fix-It, Stockholm Syndrome, Kidnapped John Watson, John Whump, Evil Mary, Angst, Cuddling & Snuggling, Toplock, Limited 3rd John POV) – As John's preparing for the wedding, Sherlock is preparing to have his heart broken, and Mary is prepared to do the unthinkable. Intervention required. Enter Sherlock. Set before Sign of Three with a far different outcome. John is drugged, kidnapped, and left on an island, but not just any old island.

Wonderful, Etcetera. by VictoryCandescence (T, 16,955 w., 3 Ch. || Wonderful Life AU || Alternate Timelines, Brotherhood, Homophobia, Suicidal Ideations, Mentions of Drug Use, Friendship, Different TRF, Sherlock’s Past, Victor Trevor is Past Boyfriend, Depression, Hallucination?, Love Confessions, Christmas, First Kiss) – Sherlock thinks everyone would be better off if he had never existed, including and especially himself. When he finds himself in a world in which his wish has been granted, he begins to think perhaps even he could be wrong – but it takes an unlikely chaperone to make him not only observe, but understand.

I Think I've Come A Long Long Way To Sit Before You Here Today by ArwenKenobi (T, 18,251 w., 3 Ch. || Grief/Mourning, Passage of Time, Major Character Death, Alternating POV, Sherlock Whump, Pining Sherlock, Hospitalization, Coma, Revenge Murders, Hallucinations, Love Confessions, Brutal Accident, Mystrade, Ghost John) – One year after John is killed Sherlock starts to wonder whether John has actually gone anywhere.

Out of the Woods by SilentAuror (E, 20,471 w., 1 Ch. || Post S4, Romance, Slow Burn, Flirting, Drunk Sex, Practical Jokes, POV Sherlock, Bottomlock, Possessive John, Pining Sherlock, Frustrated Wanking, Frottage, Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, First Kiss/Time, Virgin Sherlock, Love Confessions, Soft Sherlock, Dancing, Bum Appreciation, Hanging out with the Yard) – Sherlock is fairly certain that John has taken to flirting with him of late, but can't be entirely certain of it. At least, not until a case takes them into a forest, along with Lestrade's team and something happens that will change everything about their lives...

A Quiet Life by DiscordantWords (M, 25,176 w., 6 Ch. || Post S4, Retirement, POV Sherlock, Awkwardness, Established Relationship, Family Dynamics, Minor Character Death, Questionable Parenting Choices, Non-Linear Narrative, 20 Year Old Rosie, Meddling Mycroft, Pining Sherlock, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Angst, Sherlock Whump) – There had been three days of silence and a funeral. Sherlock had the terrible feeling that whatever happened next would depend, entirely, on him.

To Mend Icarus by AlessNox (T, 28,347 w., 14 Ch. || Post-TRF / Pre-S3 Divergence, BAMF John, Anger, Fighting, Sex, Bed Sharing, Stalking, Case Fic, John’s Past, Introspection, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Crime, Mythology, Darkness) – After a case lands John Watson in court, he tells Sherlock that he is leaving. Not understanding why, Sherlock decides that the only way to learn the truth is to investigate his flatmate, Dr. John Watson. Sherlock finds that coming back is not enough to fix all of the damage that he caused by leaving. A post Reichenbach, post reunion re-discovery fic.

Hellfire by testosterone_tea (E, 28,596 w., 9 Ch. || Fantasy / Magic / Mages / Elementals AU || Mage Sherlock, Elemental John, Developing Relationship, Torture, Powerful / BAMF John, POV Alternating, Dark / Blood Magic, UST, First Kiss) – Sherlock is a Mage that gets involved with a case involving Dark Summoning rituals, leading him to John Watson, a man with Berserker blood. The only thing is, Berserkers have been extinct for centuries. And of course, nothing involving Mycroft and his interfering ways is ever simple. This time, even Sherlock may have bitten off more than he can chew.

A Home for Us by sussexbound (M, 30,581 w., 12 Ch. || Scars, Bedsharing, Grief, Doctor John, Hurt/Comfort, Post-TRF, Implied/Referenced Torture, Sherlock POV, Pining Sherlock, Suicidal Ideation, Heavy Emotions, Clingy Sherlock, Hallucinations, Disassociation, Emotional Turmoil) – He has been on the road for two years, and he is exhausted. He’s almost accepted that he will never see London (John) again—almost. But then there are nights like tonight, where he is weak, and all he can think of is the warmth of the flat they once shared, the crackle of the fire in the hearth, the teasing smile playing at the corner of John’s lips, the boxes of half-eaten Chinese takeaway balanced precariously in their laps. He aches at the memory of it, at the realisation that it is something he may never experience again.

carrying up his morning tea by darcylindbergh (E, 34,504 w., 5 Ch. || Post S3, Minor Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Wakes/Funerals, Estranged John, Pining Sherlock, Depression/Insecurity, Slow Burn, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Chronic Pain/Injury, Reconciliation, Awkwardness, Loneliness, Scars, Angst With Happy Ending) – His fingers tremble as he dials and he can’t force them steady. Familiar number, even though he hasn’t used it in two years. He isn’t even sure he should be calling it now, but she’d asked. She’d made him promise.

(Never) Turn Your Back to the Sea by DiscordantWords (M, 39,968 w., 7 Ch. || Post S4 Fix It || Grief / Mourning, Victor Trevor, Friendship, Sherlock is Not Okay, Nightmares/Flashbacks/Panic Attacks, Parentlock, Pining Sherlock, Angst with Happy Ending, John Comes Home) – Baker Street is very much the same. Only different. And Sherlock is just trying not to drown.

Only To Be With You by SinceWhenDoYouCallMe_John (M, 40,768 w., 4 Ch. || Black Mirror / Future AU || Character Death, Future Technology, Sickness/Cancer/Illness, Heavy Angst with Happy Ending, First Person POV John, Pining John, Heart-Wrenching Angst) – I tell myself that next time I’ll come near this same place again. Wait around for the mysterious stranger in his coat to dash past me, hot on the heels of a new criminal in black. I think this all the way back to my Exit, planning where I’ll wait and what I’ll say when I see him. Scheming on how to get his name. It’s only once I reach the Exit Point door that I realize two hours and forty-five minutes have passed, and I realize that this won’t be the last time I Visit. It won’t be the last time at all.

Guidelines by WithLoweredVoices (M, 43,018 w., 15 Ch. || Winglock || Angels, Fantasy, Angst, BAMF! John, War, Jealous Sherlock, Possessive Sherlock, Jealous John, Falling in Various Ways) – The Good Soldier, one of the oldest and strongest of the fallen, is offered a bargain: to live as John Watson and to Guide a fledgling archangel so that he will stay on the path of good. Of course, Sherlock Holmes has different ideas about his destiny. Fantasy AU. Warnings for violence, occasional gore, and a whole load of hurt and angst.

The Real Great Perfumers by shelleysprometheus (E, 45,355 w., 68 Ch. || Case Fic, Alternating POV, Gay Sherlock / Bi John, Canon Compliant with Divergence at TRF, Friends to Lovers, Oral / Anal, Pining, First Kiss / Time, Dev. Rel., Drugging, Body Worship, Bathing, Love Confessions, Travelling, Bottomlock, Cranky Sherlock, BJ’s, Alternating POV, Jealous John) – The case, this case. This extraordinary, fascinating, scintillating case. A house. Designed entirely by its eccentric owner, built by no less than five hundred expert tradesmen in the heart of Marrakesh. A house that had, seemingly not only driven its owner out, but also to his quite unpleasant death. And a perfumer, a chemist no less, the very thought of the secrets that house could reveal, would reveal was irresistible. Sherlock had to have this case ... and it seems, he also had to have John! Part 1 of the Forethought and Fire series

Inscrutable to the Last by DiscordantWords (M, 48,842 w., 6 Ch. || Post-TRF, Alternate S3, John’s Blog/S3 is a Story By John, Divorce, Marital Difficulties, John is a Mess, Emotional Reunion, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Grief / Mourning, Pining John, First Kiss, Adorably Clueless Sherlock, Nostalgia, Love Confessions, Eventual Happy Ending) – He wasn't Sherlock, he couldn't work miracles. All he'd ever been able to do was write about them.

Impossible to Feign by achray (M, 49,204 w., 12 Ch. || TRF Rewrite / Reverse Reichenbach, Suicidal Ideations / Discussions, Drug Use/Abuse, Mutual Pining, Friends With Benefits, John Accepts his Sexuality, Anxious Sherlock, Meddling Mycroft, Depression, Hallucinations, Secret Agent John, BAMF John, Reunion, Make-Up Sex, Ambiguous Ending) – Sherlock leant forward, his long fingers curving round to grip John’s.“I won’t let him win,” he said, eyes hard. “I will do whatever it takes to get you out.”

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by SilentAuror (E, 50,635 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S4/S4 Divergence, Case Fic, For a Case / Reverse Fake-Relationship, Conferences, Marriage Equality, Travelling / New York, Pride, Homophobia, Bottomlock, Marriage Proposal, John POV, Sexuality, Love Confessions, Emotional Love Making, Public Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Passionate Kissing, Needy/Clingy Sherlock, Virgin Sherlock, Touching / Hand Holding, Bed Sharing, Little Spoon Sherlock, Intense Orgasms) – John and Sherlock go to New York to attend a conference run by the National Defence of Traditional Marriage Coalition in order to investigate the potential bombing of the annual Manhattan Pride parade. As the conference unfolds, John finds himself repulsed by the toxic ideology being presented, which becomes relevent to his own unacknowledged issues and his friendship with Sherlock...

Repairing the Broken Things by BakerTumblings (M, 75,252 w., 15 Ch. || S4 Compliant, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Medical Trauma, Hospitals, Big Brother Mycroft, Misunderstandings, Realizations, Severe Accident, John Whump, Pneumonia, Medical Procedures, Bed Sharing, First Time, Healing, Happy Ending) – "I'm calling today to notify you that there's been an accident."

The Hollow Woman by ScopesMonkey (M, 51,335 w., 22 Ch. || Post-TRF, Major Character Death, Mystery, Romance, Friendship, Family, Angst, Crime, Reunion, First Kiss / Time, Nightmares, Doctor John, Jealous Sherlock, Jealous John, BAMF John, Angry John, Dub-Con, Rough Sex, Bottomlock, Possessive John, Villain Mary, Open Ending) – Forced to return to London sooner than expected, Sherlock falls into a case too close to home. Part 1 of the Hollowverse series

A Goose Quill Dipped in Venom by Polyphony (M, 52,748 w., 16 Ch. || Celebrity John AU || Alternate First Meeting, TV Host John, Supermodel Mary, Character Death, Mystery, Romance, Case Fic, First Kiss/Time, Meddling Mycroft, Drug Abuse, Doctor John, PDA, Deductions, POV Sherlock, Toplock, Sexual Tension, Angry/Rough Sex, Hopeful Ending, Asperger’s Sherlock) – Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective, is called in to a very ordinary although brutal murder. Something is badly out of tune with the whole scenario and Sherlock finds himself becoming more and more obsessed with the crime - and also with the victim.

Points by lifeonmars (E, 53,791 w., 42 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || HLV Rewrite / Canon Divergence, Married Life, Pregnancy / Baby Watson, Drinking to Cope, Boxing / Fisticuffs, Clueless John, Angst, Minor Medical Drama, Tattoos, Christmas, First Kiss/Time, Eventual Happy Ending, Love Confessions, Doctor John, Sexuality Crisis, Slow Burn, Case Fic, Drugging, Blow/Hand Job, Emotional Love Making, Parenthood, Passage of Time) – What if His Last Vow never happened? This fic picks up a few months after John and Mary's wedding, in an alternate universe where Magnussen doesn't exist, but Mary is still pregnant. Life continues -- just in a different direction. And slowly, Sherlock and John find their way to each other.

Never Change a Running System by Lorelei_Lee (E, 54,246 w., 18 Ch. || Pre-TRF, Romance, Humour, Drama, Sex Toys, Anal, Rimming, Masturbation, Frottage, Blow Jobs, Public Sex, First Kiss / Time, Virgin Sherlock / Loss of Virginity, Accidental Voyeurism, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Experiments, Naive Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Jealous Sherlock, Possessive Sherlock, Straight With an Exception John, Hand Jobs) – Sherlock discovers his sexuality – with far-reaching consequences for John.

Albion and the Woodsman by Glenmore (NR [E], 54,437 w., 50 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Post S3, Parentlock, Pining Sherlock, Angst, Family, Drug Use, Depression, Sherlock POV, Light Humour, Reconnecting, Declarations of Love) – Sherlock and John are devastated after Mary Morstan makes her final moves. Sherlock relapses at the crack house, John walks around the world … and a lot happens in between. Parentlock, in the good way.

The Thing Is by TSylvestris (E, 56,743 w., 21 Ch. || Case Fic, Dev. Rel., Anal/Oral, Blow Jobs, Meddling Mycroft, Drama, Romance, Humour, Casual Encounters, Pining Idiots, Possessive Sherlock, Orgasm Delay, Rough / Alley Sex, Public Sex, John Whump, Drugged John, Emotional Love Making, Awkward Relationship, Marriage of Convenience, Switchlock) – The problem with living with Sherlock, John thought, was that you never, never, ever knew the significance of anything. Like your flatmate's nose buried in your hair. Whilst you're in bed. Part 1 of Nitroglycerine

Lunar Landscapes by J_Baillier (M, 57,046 w., 21 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || S3/TAB Fix-It, Slow Burn Angst, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Confessions, Drugs, Pain, Medical, Injury, Sherlock Whump, Mental Health Issues, Panic Attacks, Romance, Secrets, Tragedy, Trauma, BAMF John, Doctor!John, Drug Addict Sherlock, Injured Sherlock, Grieving John, Idiots In Love, Protective John, POV John Watson, PTSD Sherlock, Sherlock is a Mess, Medical Realism) – An accident forces John to face the fact that Sherlock's downward spiral had started long before his flight to exile even left the tarmac.

The Bells of King's College by SilentAuror (E, 64,019 w., 5 Ch. || Post-S4, Missed Opportunities, Angst with Happy Ending, Fake Relationship, Case Fic, John POV, Jealous John, John in Denial, Travelling / Holidays, Virgin Sherlock, Wedding Proposals) – It's only been two weeks since Eurus Holmes disrupted their lives when Mycroft sends John and Sherlock to Cambridge to pose as an engaged couple at a wedding show in the hopes of solving six unsolved deaths...

Hell Sent, Heaven Bound by ConsultingHound (M, 64,381 w, 16 Ch. || Angels / Demons AU || Fallen Angel Sherlock / Angel Cop John, Alternate First Meeting, Slow Burn, Case Fic, John & Lestrade are Friends Before Sherlock, BAMF John, Mind Palace John, Friends to Lovers, John in Denial, Sherlock Picks Out John’s Clothing, Clubbing / Dancing, Mildly Jealous John, Awkwardness, Kidnapping, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Sacrifice, Worried / Anxious Sherlock, Angst with Happy Ending, Immortal to Mortal) – Ex-War healer and current angelic guard John Watson is not having the best day. He overslept, he’s underpaid, and now there’s someone tagging the Council’s building walls. However things may be about to get interesting: there’s an unusual stranger hanging around (the definition of tall, dark, and handsome), a literal underground cult is brewing, and rumblings are coming from hell. Can he keep his neighbourhood safe, how and why is he being connected to all this, and who the hell is Sherlock Holmes?

White Knight by DiscordantWords (M, 69,840 w., 13 Ch. || S4 Compliant/Post S4, Marriage For a Case, Jealous John, Pining John, Janine / Sherlock Fake Relationship, Serial Killers, Case Fic, Undercover as a Couple, Weddings, John is a Mess, Misunderstandings, Wedding Planning, Jealousy, Drunkenness, Love Confessions, Angst with Happy Ending) – Green. The word green was used to convey a great many things. Illness. Envy. Inexperience. Standing there amidst Janine's chattering bridesmaids, watching Sherlock furrow his brow and study fabric swatches, watching him smile and simper and flirt, John thought it a remarkably apt colour choice. Because he felt quite sick to his stomach, he feared the source of said sickness might very well be jealousy, and he had absolutely no idea at all what to do about it. Or: Sherlock needs to fake a relationship for a case. He doesn't ask John.

Just To Hold You Close by sussexbound (E, 70,841 w., 18 Ch. || Alternate First Meeting, Sherlock POV, ASD Sherlock, PTSD John, Demisexual Sherlock, Bisexual John, Cuddling/Snuggling, Platonic Cuddling, Enthusiastic Consent, Bed Sharing, Love Confessions, First Kiss/Time, Sexual Tension, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Cuddle Negotiations, For a Case Until It Isn’t, Hair Petting, Sexual Negotiation, Anxiety, Trust Issues, Slow Burn, Panic Attacks, Frottage, Hand/Blow Jobs, Referenced Self Harm / Abuse / Suicidal Ideation, First Kiss/Time, Anal) – When a woman is murdered and the last person to see her alive is recently invalided army vet turned reluctant (and prickly) professional cuddler, John Watson, Sherlock Holmes is pulled into a world of intimacy and intrigue he never could have imagined. John is a conundrum and mystery: frank yet reserved, tender yet angry, open yet afraid. Sherlock is instantly drawn into his orbit, and begins to feel and desire things he never has before.

The Vapor Variant by 88thParallel (CanadaHolm) (M, 72,684 w., 18 Ch. || Post-THoB, John Whump, Protective Sherlock, Guilty Sherlock, Anxious/Worried Sherlock, Virgin Sherlock, Angst with Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, PTSD John, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Suspense, Virus, Sickfic, Big Brother Mycroft) – They stood face to face in the middle of a clearing. The dim light of the moon barely allowed Sherlock to see the glassy terror in John’s eyes and the sweat that glistened off his forehead. His nose was bleeding again, blood dripping in a slow stream from his right nostril. They were both gasping for air, John’s eyes locked on Sherlock’s. There was no recognition there, just wild animal fear. Time stood still for an eternal few seconds, and Sherlock took a shaky breath. “John—”Spell broken, John spun and bolted back into the woods. Still heaving for air, Sherlock took off after him.

The Monument of Memory by J_Baillier (M, 79,663 w., 14 Ch. || Post S4 Fix It Fic / S4 is Canon, Angst, Family Drama, Guilt, Case Fic, John Loves Sherlock, Complicated Feelings, Mentalism / Hypnosis, Murder, Grieving John, Sherlock is a Bit Not Good, Team Work, Trust Issues, BAMF John, Psychological Trauma, Protective John, Autistic-Spectrum Sherlock, Parentlock, John POV) – A genius traumatised by a past he's only beginning to recall. The psychopath sister that time forgot. A missing woman and a mentalist who may or may not be a murderer. And, in the middle of it all, stands John Watson.

Thermocline by J_Baillier (M, 83,557 w., 14 Ch. || Scuba Diving AU || Adventure, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Marine Archaeology, Asexual Sherlock, Horny John, Relationship Drama, Technical/Scuba/Wreck Diving, Slow Burn, Underwater / Medical Peril, Doctor John, Hurt Sherlock, Anxious Sherlock, John POV, Protective John, Body Appreciation) – John "Five Oceans" Watson — technical dive instructor, dive accident analyst and weapon of mass seduction — meets recluse professor of maritime archaeology Holmes. As they head out to a remote archipelago off the coast of Guatemala to study and film its shipwrecks for a documentary, will sparks fly or fizzle out?

Not Broken, Just Bent by Schmiezi (E, 87,585 w., 43 Ch. || Pining, Love Confessions, Rape/Sexual Assault, Torture, Hurt/Comfort, Heavy Angst, Villain!Mary, Suicidal Ideations, Main Character Death, Sherlock First Person POV, Parentlock, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Grief/Mourning, Emotional Love Making, Possessiveness, Depression, PTSD, Kidnapping, Virgin Sherlock, Eventual Happy Ending) – "For a second, I allow myself to remember teaching John how to waltz. There is a special room in my mind palace for it. A big one, with a proper parquet dance floor. For a second, I go there. I remember holding him, closer than the World Dance Council asks for, excusing it with the fact that we are training for a wedding, not for a competition. For a second, I feel his hand on mine again, smell his sweat, hear the song we used. For a second, I allow myself to love him deeply. For a second, only a second, that love reflects on my face." Fix-it for S3, starting at the end of TSoT. Evil Mary.

Kintsukuroi by sussexbound (E, 91,823 w., 20 Ch. || S4 Compliant / Post-TLD, Grief / Mourning, PTSD, Internalized Homophobia, Therapy, Past Abuse, Alcohol Abuse, Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Depression, Anxiety, Bed Sharing, Love Confessions, Cuddling, Suicidal Ideation, Masturbation, Minor Character Death, Sexting, Frottage, Inexperienced Sherlock, Rimming / Anal / BJ’s, Emotional Turmoil, Finding Each Other) – “I love you.” Sherlock sees the words hit John with almost physical force. He reels back a little, jaw twitching and eyes filling. “I love you,” he repeats, a little softer, a little more gentle, as earnest as he possibly can. Because they’ve been teetering on the brink of this thing for years, and it had become painfully obvious over the last few months that they were at a tipping point. This had to happen. Now it has. Now they can see where they end up. The tears in John’s eyes spill over, and he wipes at them angrily. “Do you even know what that means?”

The Summer Boy by khorazir (T, 94,706 w., 6 Ch. || Post S3/Post TAB/Alternate S4, Friends to Lovers, Asexual Sherlock, POV Sherlock, Flashbacks, Bullying, 1980′s Kid Sherlock, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Inexperienced Sherlock, Grief/Mourning, Pining Sherlock, Case Fic, Sherlock’s Past, Awkward Conversations, Anxious Sherlock, John Separated From His Child) – About half a year after the fateful events at Appledore, Sherlock and John embark on a private case in Sussex. For Sherlock, it’s a journey into his past, bringing up memories both happy and sad that he has locked away for almost thirty years. For John, it means coming to terms with the present – and a potential future with Sherlock. Part 1 of the The Summer Boy series

Northwest Passage by Kryptaria (E, 95,157 w., 27 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Canadian AU || BAMF!John, Canadian John, PTSD, Anal / Oral Sex, Rimming, Emotional Hurt / Comfort, Drug Rehab, Falling in Love, Pining Sherlock, Love Confessions, Sherlock’s Violin, Panic Attacks, Switching, Anxious / Protective Sherlock, Hugs for Comfort, Suicide Mentions, Healing Each Other) – Seven years ago, Captain John Watson of the Canadian Forces Medical Service withdrew from society, seeking a simple, isolated life in the distant northern wilderness of Canada. Though he survives from one day to the next, he doesn't truly live until someone from his dark past calls in a favor and turns his world upside-down with the introduction of Sherlock Holmes." Part 1 of Tales from the Northwest

The Cost of a Wish by slashscribe (E, 102,493 w., 12 Ch. || xxxHolic Fusion || Spirits / Ghosts and Magic, Love Confessions, Slow Burn, Soul Mates / Fated Lovers, Adventure, Immortal Sherlock, Powerful John, POV John, Frottage, Wish Granting, Angst with Happy Ending, Nightmares) – John has been plagued by a secret his entire life that has made him feel hopeless until he meets a mysterious, seemingly omniscient man named Sherlock Holmes who owns a wish-granting shop. Their meeting sets off a series of inevitable events that will change the course of both of their lives forever.

Two Two One Bravo Baker by abundantlyqueer (E, 114,574 w., 27 Ch. || Military AU || Afghanistan, War Story, Thriller) – Captain John Watson of 40 Commando, the Royal Marines, is assigned to protect and assist Sherlock Holmes as he investigates what appears to be a simple war atrocity in Afghanistan. An intense attraction ignites between the two men as they uncover a conspiracy that threatens everything they’ve ever known, but Sherlock is as much hunted as hunter, and everyone close to him is in deadly danger. Can he solve the case in time to save himself and John? Part 1 of Two Two One Bravo Baker Universe

A Further Sea by i_ship_an_armada & ShinySherlock (E, 125,492 w., 23 Ch. || Historical Pirates AU || Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Doctor John / Pirate Captain Sherlock, Sailing, UST / RST, Masturbation, Action / Adventure, Mild Angst & Peril, Romance, Shaving, Molly/Janine, Bottomlock, Past Drug Use, Slow Burn, Mild Violence, Happy Ending) – Here be a tale of adventure for both body and soul, but beware if ye be not of stout heart, for this be piratelock, ya savvy? Luckless ship's surgeon John Watson takes a chance, and finds himself eye to eye with The Ghost, the scourge of the seven seas and a definite thorn in the side of the blaggard, James Moriarty. But when John finds there's more to this most cunning pirate than be meetin' the eye, he has to choose... is it a pirate's life for him?

The Bang and the Clatter by earlgreytea68 (M, 137,049 w., 37 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Baseball AU || Slow Burn / Dev. Rel., Possessive/Obsessive Sherlock, Jealous Sherlock, Mutual Pining, Body Appreciation, Depression, Closeted Sexuality, Family, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Ogling Each Other, Anxious Sherlock, Panic Attack, Drunkenness, Talk of Forever, Big Feelings™) – Sherlock Holmes is a pitcher and John Watson is a catcher. No, no, no, it's a baseball AU. Part 1 of Baseball

The Adventure of the Silver Scars by tangledblue (NR [M], 142,458 w., 41 Ch. || S3 Fix-It, Post-HLV/ Post-TAB / Canon Compliant, Case Fic, No Baby, Angst, Humour, UST, Slow Burn, Angry John, Reconciliation, Not Nice Mary / Leaving Mary, Dependent Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Caretaker John, Fist Fights, It’s An Experiment, Virgin Sherlock, Dancing, Drugging, John Whump, Pet Names, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Scars) – It’s been thirteen months since Mary shot Sherlock and John finds he’s still pissed off about it. Sherlock had thought everything was settled: John and Mary, domestic bliss. But when John turns up at Baker Street with suitcases, the world’s only consulting detective might not be prepared for the consequences. A new case. Some old scores to settle. Certain danger. Concertos, waltzes, and whisky.

The Lost Special: Family Matters (As Do Relationships) by ShirleyCarlton (M, 144,688 w., 40 Ch. || S4 Fix It Fic / Meta Fic, Unreliable Narrator, John’s Mind Bungalow, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Demisexual Sherlock, Holmes Family, John Whump, Gay Mycroft, Misunderstandings, Drug Addiction, Parenting, TFP is a Nightmare, Virgin Sherlock, Slow Burn, Minor Character Death, Switchlock, John’s Past, Sherlock’s Past, Eurus, Love Confessions) – Sherrinford is not really the name of some high security prison. That was just a figment of John’s frantic coma dream. And Eurus is not actually Sherlock’s sister. That’s just something random she said to John before shooting him. Sherlock and John were never actually estranged. That was just their act to cover up what really happened to Mary – or Rosamund Moran, as her real name has turned out to be. Sherlock does have a secret sibling, though, and his name is Sherrinford. After finally eliminating Moran – though in a rather dramatically different way than they had envisioned – and exposing the truth about Eurus, John encourages Sherlock to delve into his past and to find out whether the reasons to keep Sherrinford away from Sherlock were the right ones, and to discover what really happened in 1981. Along the way, Sherlock and John gradually, finally, stop keeping each other at a distance, and eventually become a proper family of their own.

Against the Rest of the World by SilentAuror (E, 151,714 w., 20 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Post-TRF, Hiatus Fic, POV First Person Sherlock, Present Tense, First Kiss/Time, Big Brother Mycroft, Escaping from Capture, Soft Sherlock, Toplock, Insecurity, Infidelity, Travelling, Introspection, Pining Sherlock, Depression, Fantasies, Yearning for the Past, PTSD Sherlock, Suicidal Ideation) – Sherlock has been away from London for nine hundred and twelve days and counting, and has no idea what sort of reception to expect when he finally returns.

Proving A Point by elldotsee & J_Baillier (E, 186,270 w., 28 Ch. || Me Before You Fusion || Medical Realism, Insecure John, Depression, Romance, Angst, POV John, Sherlock Whump, Serious Illness, Doctor John, Injury Recovery, Assisted Suicide, Sherlock’s Violin, Awkward Sexual Situations, Alcoholism, Drugs, Idiots in Love, Slow Burn, Body Image, Friends to Lovers, Hurt / Comfort, Pain, Big Brother Mycroft, Intimacy, Anxiety, PTSD, Family Issues, Psychological Trauma, John Whump, Case Fics, Loneliness, Pain) – Invalided home from Afghanistan, running out of funds and convinced that his surgical career is over, John Watson accepts a mysterious job offer to provide care and companionship for a disabled person. Little does he know how much hangs in the balance of his performance as he settles into his new life at Musgrave Court.

#steph replies #johnlock fic recs #angry john #cranky john #my fic recs #long post

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callunavulgari · 3 years ago

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YEAR-IN-BOOKS | 2022

This was unfortunately the second year in a row that I’ve actually had to decrease my goal on goodreads to actually meet the goal. I decreased it once in August when I realized that I wasn’t going to get anywhere near 80 books by the end of the year, then I had to decrease a second time at the end of November. Very sad.

Nevertheless, I did churn through a total of 54 books, on track for my goal of at least 55 by the end of December. I think that next year I will be setting my sights low, just so I can pleasantly surprise myself if I exceed rather than have to decrease.

1. a book you loved?

I think that my all time favorite book this year was A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers. Now, Becky writes some solid literature. I have never once been disappointed by one of her works. But the Monk and Robot series seized onto this soft human part of me and just twisted until I leaked. They’re gorgeous little books that make you feel things about your place in the world, make you feel things about the nature of being human. If I could only recommend one author for the rest of time, it would be her.

“You don’t have to have a reason to be tired. You don’t have to earn rest or comfort. You’re allowed to just be.” < This quote, from Prayer goes hand in hand with the quote from her previous book in the series that I waffled on about last year. The foundation of this entire premise is laid on these quotes, that you don’t need to do anything special to be human. You’re allowed to just be you. Be at peace. That’s enough. And I just really needed to hear that these last two years.

2. a book you hated?

Probably The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner. I’d been hyped up for it, which was probably the first problem. The main character was so astoundingly selfish that I closed the book after the first 40 or so pages and never picked it back up again. It doesn’t help that they brought the pandemic into it and like? I’m sorry, but too soon. I don’t want to read about the effing pandemic when I’m still being forced to live in it. It’s ongoing and the last two years were effing traumatic. Don’t make it a plot point.

3. a book that made you cry?

I mean, obviously I got super weepy over A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, but I just talked about that, so the one that made me weepiest after that was Peter Darling by Austin Chant.

”This book is for every villain who ever inspired a queer awakening, and for every queer child who ever saw a piece of themself in the enemy.”

Someone posted the above words on twitter earlier this year, which turned out to be the dedication page for Peter Darling. I loved it enough that I went looking for the book and managed to get a hold of it after being on the hold list for my library’s single copy of it for... months? Suffice to say, the book gutted me over and over again. It is absolutely perfect and definitely in my top five this year.

4. a book that made you happy?

Okay, so the Watcher Boys put out a book - Buzzfeed Unsolved Supernatural: 101 True Tales of Hauntings, Demons, and the Paranormal. It would be a great book even if I’d read the physical copy, HOWEVER, I made the glorious decision to purchase the audiobook, and sure enough, Shane Madej and Ryan Bergara narrate. It cracked me up over and over again, and just generally made a shitty week better.

5. the best sequel?

Hmm, I only read a few prequel and morequels this year, but I think of those my two favorites were Nona and The Golden Enclaves. They were both great follow-ups to their previous books and in the case of The Golden Enclaves, an all-together (or mostly) fantastic end to the series. I did love Nona despite thinking I wouldn’t. I loved her so completely that the ending of the book left me legitimately grieving a bit. And my only complaint about The Golden Enclaves is that I think it would have been more satisfying if certain people had stayed dead.

6. most anticipated release for the new year?

Honestly? For the first year I genuinely can’t think of anything coming out next year? I think a whole lot of them have been delayed. But if they are coming out next year, I’m looking forward to the sequel to Dark Rise and the final Locked Tomb novel. I feel like they both may have been delayed until 2024, though?

7. favorite new author?

I finally bit the bullet and took on Samantha Shannon’s incredibly long but equally epic novel The Priory of the Orange Tree. Shannon may not be a debut author, but she is new to me, so it counts. The book exceeded even my wildest expectations. The world-building was fantastic and the characters were fully realized and I absolutely got attached.

Also, Lee Mandelo introduced me to Summer Boys, a book of horror and love and toxicity and it was so perfectly my vibe.

8. favorite book to film adaptation?

I loved the adaptations of Sandman and Paper Girls. Both were fantastic.

9. the most surprising book?

I downloaded the audiobook for The Rise of Kyoshi mostly on a whim, but it was so good. It really delved deep into the existing Avatar worldbuilding and then proceeded to expand on it in all kinds of delightfully grimdark ways that the show never would have been allowed to show off.

10. the most interesting villain?

I mean, obviously Peter Darling is the clear answer here. BUT! The Traitor Baru Cormorant also sort of counts, right? Since she’s basically making herself the villain of her own series to crush an empire?

11. the best makeouts?

Honestly, probably The Love Hypothesis. I ALMOST answered with Ice Planet Barbarians, but that’s not really best executed makeouts, just the horniest. Love Hypothesis is basically a Reylo modern-day AU where they’re both chemists, and you know? It just really worked for me.

12. a book that was super frustrating?

If it wasn’t The Summer Place, it was Dial A For Aunties, which was the only other book that I did not finish. I wanted to like it so, so bad, but I just couldn’t suspend my disbelief long enough to keep up with the pretense of her dumb decisions. I know it’s a staple of romcoms, but it hurt too much for this one.

13. a book you texted about, and the text was IN CAPSLOCK?

I think I ranted to Nick about a couple of them, but I don’t have enough book friends.

14. a book for the small children in your life?

I don’t think I read any books appropriate for small children this year. Actually, I lied. There was this really sweet one that our local park told in small increments as you go along the trail - Over and Under the Pond.

15. a book you learned from?

I literally only read fiction this year.

16. a book you wouldn’t normally try?

I don’t know. I think all of the books that I read this year were pretty on brand, to be honest.

17. a book with something magical in it?

A Lesson in Vengeance was very spooky and witchy with a generous helping of dark academia. I believe it was the first book I truly loved this year.

18. the best clothes?

Definitely either The Priory of the Orange Tree or The Jasmine Throne.

19. the most well-rounded characters?

Either Siren Queen by Nghi Vo, or The Traitor Baru Cormorant. Every single one of those characters - but especially the main ones - know exactly who they are.

20. the best world-building?

The Priory of the Orange Tree. 100%. That book was a masterpiece.

21. the worst world-building?

Eh, the world building I feel like was okay in most of them. The ones that I didn’t like I generally hated because of the characters.

22. a book with a good sidekick?

Casey Mcquiston has a talent for writing compelling side-characters, and spoilers, she’s still great at it. I Kissed Shara Wheeler had several really well-built side characters that I genuinely gave a shit about.

23. the most insufferable narrator?

I made the mistake of getting The Lost Metal in audiobook form, and it’s the same narrator who did The Stand. He is very, very dry.

24. a book you were excited to read for months beforehand?

I’ve been really looking forward to reading A Restless Truth, but I’ve been too effing busy. Other than that, your usual suspects. Maggie’s third and final Dreamer novel, the third and final Scholomance novel. A Prayer for the Crown-shy.

25. a book you picked up on a whim?

Hmm, I think maybe Notorious Sorcerer? His red coat reminded me of Kell from A Darker Shade of Magic. It was a great book.

26. a book that should be read in a foreign country?

All of them? Book Lovers was a good summer/beach read.

27. your favorite cover art?

I actually really loved the cover art for The Ones We Burn.

28. a book you read in translation?

I don’t think any were.

29. a book from another century?

I don’t think any of them were written in another century, but a couple of them took place in another century. Does that count?

30. a book you reread?

Wow, I don’t think I reread ANY this year. Maybe I should remedy that and go reread The Captive Prince series for the fifth time.

31. a book you’re dying to talk about, and why?

I feel like this question should be further up the list. I thought for sure that I’d touched on them all, but turns out I was wrong! Nettle and Bone was a lovely little dark fairytale. From the ingredients in the spells to the depth of all the characters, I genuinely enjoyed this book, far far more than the last Kingfisher novel I’d read.

#heather says what #year in review #new year's memes #2022 #book recommendations #recommendations

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honourablepopcorn · 4 years ago

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A ramble about Kingsman

I need to post this somewhere because I didn’t know what the Kingsman movie franchise was about until I watched the two movies consecutively yesterday. AND I NEED TO RANT BUT I HAVE NO ONE TO TALK ABOUT IT TO!!!!

Based off of the title of the first movie (Kingsman: The Secret Service), I assumed it was about the behind-the-scenes of royalty conspiring against the people they are supposed to look after. I thought, ‘Hmm… this seems like it’s dramatic, and I’m not really on the mood for drama so guess I’ll put this on my “to watch list” and disregard it until further notice.’ Upon reading the movie synopsis, I realised it was actually about gentlemen spies so I knew that I had to watch it.

I think the movies are adapted from a comic franchise(?). I’m not 100% sure on this but whoever the original creator is, they are an absolute genius. It was a mixture of comedy, drama, action and so much more. It’s also one of the most quotable movies I have seen this year; from “Manners maketh man” to “there’s a reason aristocrats developed weak chins” to Eggsy simply adding “fuck” in every other sentence he says.

I don’t usually enjoy comedy films these days because I feel like the humour is forced, the jokes are overused and overall, just doesn’t flow well with the scenes. But in Kingsman, they don’t overuse humour and it doesn’t feel like you have to force yourself to laugh at the jokes they make. The movies are like… a friend? It feels familiar and you can really just sit and enjoy. At times I found myself laughing because the amputations and headshots were so unreal but was obviously added humour.

It’s also very educational and shows sides to politics that is somewhat easier to understand. I still struggle understanding climate change sometimes because statistics are always stacked on top of each other… no matter how much I try to educate myself there’s always more to find out. Kingsman provided another explanation that was easier for someone like me to understand. The analogy of the earth being sick and climate change being the fever to get rid of the virus?? *chef’s kiss* (also thanks to my bio teachers for helping me understand that reference ig lol). The Golden Circle educated me further on the war on drugs, which I’m thankful for. IT ALSO SHOWED just how big a mess politicians always are. It’s very admirable, I think.

As much as I loved “Manners maketh man” as a quote from the movie, followed by the flawless fighting from the gentlemen, my favourite favourite quote was the one about the aristocrats I mentioned earlier.

“…there’s a reason aristocrats developed weak chins.”

I had to google it initially because I didn’t fully grasp the idea of a ‘weak chin’ but basically weak chin = weak character. I thought it was maybe how powerful, wealthy people grow bigger because they don’t work as hard as the people they pay to do their dirty work. Weak chin meaning that they have a rounder face and an undefined chin because they are just consuming their money’s worth of food?? Maybe it’s another, more complicated way to think about what I literally googled. I’m not really sure how to explain my thought process but anyway.

THERES A REASON WHY ARISTOCRATS DEVELOPED WEAK CHINS!!! ITS BECAUSE THEY EXPLOIT PEOPLE WHO ARE WILLING TO DO THEIR WORK FOR THEM, WHO ARE MORE CONFIDENT AND THOSE WHO NEED EMPLOYMENT TO GET BY IN LIFE. ARISTOCRATS ARE USELESS BECAUSE THEY DO NOTHING THEMSELVES AND LIVE OFF OF PEOPLES HARD WORK YET STILL HAVE THE LUXURY TO ENJOY LIFE.

Okay this has gone on for way too long, I’m even boring myself at this point. Some final things before I give up on this: the characters are well-done, the acting is great (they have undoubtedly done so well with the casting), the plot is a solid 9/10 just because there’s always room to improve, the cinematography was also consistent! I can’t wait for the prequel which is supposedly coming out this year (2021) I probably won’t ramble about that one though so farewell to this post for now I guess.

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seoafin · 4 years ago

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I saw some of your old posts about stoner geto hc’s being racist and I’m glad I did bc ngl it never occurred to me that people did that due to his eye shape. I just figured that ppl picked him as most likely to smoke weed bc of the earrings, long hair, and him not caring if something is illegal since he killed over 100 people including his own parents.

why ppl always pick geto to fetishize....hmm...i think we all know why 💀

anyway I hate stoner geto with a passion. and everyone who reads or writes that shitty content should educate themselves bc im tired of seeing it😁

it’s always the ones with visibly asian features, and they always make him sleazy too (and it’s not even prequel geto sleazy) like is that what you think of ppl with "exotic" (yes i’ve seen ppl describing geto as exotic lmao) looking features??? some ppl rlly shouldn’t be writing

like not only is there a clear correlation, there’s precedent. people just want their gratuitous OOC fanfics while ignoring how it contributes to racist stereotypes and im sick of it. i think of racism every single day and I really don’t need to be seeing it in online anime spaces too

#just stick to ur american characters for weed hcs jesus 😭#it's ALWAYS bc of the eyes there have been so many other anime characters with slanted eyes and ppl are like 'oh he's a stoner' SHUT UP!!!#weed is illegal in japan SUPER ILLEGAL #not to mention it's hard to get weed in japan i know lmaooo #and it's always GETO being the one to smoke weed #not gojo?????#yikes dnfdksfjkdsndfk #discourse #diskhorse

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demenior · 4 years ago

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Dem’s Big Post About The Spn Fics Part 1/2

aka The Wrap Up to celebrate To Exist Again and To Become a Man now being finished!

(This will be a long post. This is your only warning.)

Admittedly this is a bit of a weird thing to be doing, but I wanted to try it out for 3 reasons:

I love talking about my own work and

It functions really well as a self-reflective tool for me to improve on, and

I can answer some big questions people might have because there was a LOT of worldbuilding in these stories.

We’ll start off with reflective stuff, and move into the juicier world-building focused stuff later into the post. There will be major spoilers for both fics to come!

To begin with a funny anecdote, Why Did I Write These Stories?

I was beginning to write and work out the story that I wanted to write for Spn (what will now be To Destroy a Man. As I was writing the scene, I realized I had a LOT of ideas and while I was trying to avoid as much exposition as I could, it became quickly apparent that I was needing to create my own au (this scene eventually became chapter 34 of To Become a Man). A short prequel seemed like a good idea, to quickly hash out the ‘prior’ events that I needed to go through so all the readers could be on the same page. While plotting out prequel points, I realized Sam and Dean were going to have drastically different experiences during the same time period, and I was trying to figure out who’s pov would be better for which scenes, and how to keep momentum when they’re going through such radically different types of changes. Ultimately I decided to split their povs, which I also thought would be a fun project! And I naively assumed each pov would take about 2 chapters each, rounding out to maybe 15k total.

I had my ending points: Dean n Cas soul-merged and (basically) married, Cas on the lam from heaven and a complete anomaly, and Sam juiced up full of powers and a weird mix of archangel and antichrist but still 100% human and ready to fight God.

Now I needed to add weight to these changes, so I wrote 200k of build-up.

Am I proud of these fics?

OF COURSE I AM!!! These are the longest fics I’ve ever written AND finished AND in the fastest freakin turnaround ever (both were finished writing, barring edits, in like 6 months holy shit)

I didn’t write a single scene that I “didn’t” want to write. If I had trouble writing it, as in it was fighting me, I scrapped it. Most obviously was the scene in Dean’s pov where he and Sam were intended to meet some other hunters and Dean declines working with them because he’s nervous about being outed as queer. It was meant to be a good scene! I wanted to introduce some new characters! But it just wasn’t working so I said ‘thank you, next!’.

But it means this story was an absolute joy to write. Because for a while all I was doing was ‘if I wanted to write one scene into supernatural, what would I write?’ and then just DID that!! It’s why there’s a lot of ‘Salmondean do dumb shit or have really dumb heartfelt conversations’ scenes.

Would I change anything?

If I’d been less eager to start sharing, I might have planned out the story beats a little tighter so there were less ‘soft’ chapters and a draw/pull for people to come back and keep reading. I felt Dean’s story specifically lagged at points and could have used some tighter editing (there was a noticeable lull in directed movement between Dean n Cas getting together, until Sam corrupts Amy).

I also probably would have held Sam’s story until I’d finished Dean’s so I could make the two line up better! Probably could have inserted more scenes into Sam’s fic that way, and made sure things were a little more consistent. In an ideal world one concept I had was to release 1 chapter from each pov every week that would correspond to the same time frame so we’d be getting real-time SalmonDean pov narrative. Unfortunately that didn’t work!

The biggest takeaway overall is for me to focus more on what moves the plot, and to make my scenes do more than 1 thing so I can cut down on wordcount and increase my efficiency.

Of course every writer will find things they want to fix in anything they’ve ever written, so these are minor “mistakes” at best. I’m so dang proud of these fics.

Onto more interesting things!

How Did I Put These Fics Together (because it’s different than anything I’ve ever done before)

Normally when I write a story, I plan out the beats I need to hit, see where I need to insert any kind of foreshadowing/buildup, and then write from A to B to C and so on and so forth. Hence, this is why I can normally post things as I complete chapters, because it’s all a linear progression.

For these two stories, rather than linear plot/a normal story structure, I just sat and free-wrote any and every scene that came to mind and then pieced them into a kinda-linear form like putting a quilt together. You’ll note that this is why there’s not a lot of internal callback or a feeling of sense of time flowing within the fic (save for points where I went back and specifically edited it in). How long does the story take place over? Hard to say! Your author has the barest grasp on linear time even on a good day (how many times did I say ‘see you on [wrong day]’ at the end of chapters lmaaoooo)

This also meant EXTENSIVE editing on the back end once I decided in what order I wanted my ‘quilt pieces’ to be. Hard to say if this is a bonus or a negative!

But I did want to try and capture the vibe of the lives they lead, as a bit of a ‘slice of life’-style story, when the slice of life is the profound weirdness of the Winchester roaming life, and how things are status quo- until everyone almost dies oh shit!! And then they have to keep living because no therapy we die/undie like Winchesters. Do I think I captured this effectively? Hmm. Good question.

Dem where the FUCK did the inspiration for a lot of the magic and creature weirdness even come from?

Honestly? Music, primarily. And completely mishearing lyrics!

Nightwish ‘Ever Dream’: the line is ‘my song can but borrow you grace’ and because my brain is scrambled eggs on a good day, I heard ‘grace’ ‘song’ and ‘borrow’ in that order and have had, for YEARS, the mental image of Cas borrowing Dean’s soul to power himself up for battle.

From there I’ve always been enamored with the ‘wavelength of celestial intent’ descriptor that Cas drops in s6 for “what he is”.

I also really like ocean metaphors mostly because I’ve been obsessed with the ocean and things in it since I was like… 5??? So really this was me just rolling with what I know lmao. I love using (somewhat) accurate scientific metaphors for very intangible things!

I was also finishing my degree in biology/ecology while writing these fics and I think it shows

Stars ‘The Night Starts Here’ gives us the series title and the fic titles. Except for ‘To Exist Again’. TEA was almost titled ‘The Upwards Fall’ because I wanted all 3 of the Main Stories to have titles from this song, but I couldn’t make anything else work in tandem with the series name ‘The Love It Takes’ while also working for Sam’s personal story. So Sam, as always, is the rebel <3

Stars ‘Up In Our Bedroom, After The War’ is basically the vibes of the whole story. TFW has been, literally, to hell and back!!! There’s a bit of melancholy and sadness, a lingering dark, but the chance of a bright new tomorrow and a soft start.

Let’s Talk About Themes in The Story! What were you looking to accomplish?

My earliest notes for TFW are, as follows:

Dean’s journey of self-discovery (who am I when I’m not trying to be Dad?)

Dean wants to settle down! He wants a big family! He wants to be domestic!

Basically: Dean doesn’t want to have a short life of hunting. He wants to live!

Dean’s journey of realizing he’s bi, and him accepting that

Dean’s relationship to Sam is both older brother/parent

And continuing Dean balancing these roles while also letting Sam be an adult

Dean’s Big Issues/Fears about never being good enough for people to want to stay with him (these are effectively highlighted in that Cas thinks he’s not useful enough to be wanted)

Sub Plot:

Castiel’s autonomy

Cas’ fall from grace, to trying to restore Heaven, to wrecking it further

He’s majorly depressed by the end of s7 (before purgatory)

Wants to stay in Purgatory but doesn’t tell Dean

Remains depressed after leaving, but resolved to keep living on because he’s clearly meant for something

After the seraphim reveal: does he have free will?! How does he grapple with this? How does he live in a way he can be proud of?

And lastly

Sam gets his powers back CAUSE THATS HOT

where tf did they go????

he got them from Lucifer?????

sleeper agent??????

Sam is The Chosen One

Accepts that he is More Than Human and to celebrate all parts of him

Lucifer and Sam friends?? Work together????

Sam needs autonomy in his choices/his life

If you compare these to the overall arc of TFW within the two stories, I think I got a lot of them! But you’ll also note a lot of these things aren’t concrete goals that are easily measurable (ex: Dean wants to learn to bake pie. In chapter 1 he starts a fire in the kitchen. By the end of the story he finally makes A Good Pie.) part of the lack of concrete milestones was why I felt it was important to tell Dean (and Cas’) story by going back to the point they meet, in s4! Dean’s gradual change towards his feelings for Cas, his relationship to Sam (heavily influenced by the s7 events of this fic) and then his own relationship with himself were such slow burns that I felt it would be a disservice to try and cram a change like that into a timeline like “1 year”.

I felt like these subtle changes and adjustments actually felt a lot truer to life-- people often change in very small, gradual ways over time, even without realizing it and often times not consistently! If only we could all gain skills like the sims, where we can easily level up and remain at that high level of performance!

So the Guy Who Ate Satan, A Celestial Nuke that Developed Sentience, and Dean walk into a bar…

Sam’s story in Spn The Show has always been a ‘chosen one’ kind of narrative. Sam is living with one foot in the realm of the monsters, and I wanted to bring that back full force! It really makes sense for him that he should only continue to grow in power, might, and magic!! As the story progresses.

Cas also got a power up! I do desperately love in the show that he was kind of a grunt/nothing angel, and so even when he defected to TFW he was a huge help for them, but in the scale of things he was an annoying fly to most other angels. It really worked for the underdog story of s4/5. In this I wanted to give him a power up, and originally it was actually going to be close contact with Sam that eventually changed Cas into something unknown (you can still see traces of this in ch34 of TBAM, where Death remarks ‘Castiel could be [Sam’s] first creation’. But for a combo of reasons: how Sam’s magic needed to have intent, the entire concept of free will and consent, and how much I wanted Dean and Cas to have their effect on each other, I decided to go with the route that Cas has actually always been something angel-adjacent rather than becoming something new. TFW/Supernatural has always been about free will and making your own story, so I amplified that with Cas.

Dean has always been A Normal Guy, which is part of the appeal of him and Sam (2 normal dudes!) taking on the Very Not Normal. As explained above, Sam’s story is ‘normal guy finds out he’s the chosen one’ and so, in a story about very large concepts and huge monsters and acts of magic, I felt it was very important to keep Dean as normal as possible. To the point it became a running gag to me, personally, in that ‘no matter what cool shit happens around him, Dean has to stay as Just A Guy’. And it’s a very humanizing role that allows the story to have the scale it does!

What were the most important themes in your story?

Sam’s Autonomy

I wasn’t even going to include the plot about Lucifer’s death in this story— that was going to come up in a later story, actually! And rather than Sam having ate Lucifer, the original idea was that they’d become a SamandLucifer entity (this harkens back to a concept I wanted to write when Swan Song first aired).

That storyline would have involved a lot of mental ‘Sam and Lucifer discuss what it means to live, which one of them is more worthy of life and if they do deserve to destroy the world for the pain they’ve been forced to go through, just to create the dichotomy of good and evil for everyone else’ discussions. There would be a lot of talk about how Sam hates and fears Lucifer for the pain Lucifer put on Sam, how Lucifer hates Sam because he and Sam are the same but Sam’s brother loves him anyways, etc.

Ultimately that was scrapped because Sam’s entire story in the show is always about how the world and everyone around him manipulates him and that he never actually gets to make choices about his own life or body that aren’t influenced or part of someone elses’ design. And that always bothered me that Sam was never allowed to be himself without having to be ashamed of it, and I wanted to make sure that Sam’s triumph of being proud of himself/proudly choosing to exist (again) was evident in his story

In the end I needed Sam to have this visceral win over his tormentor. As the story shows, in this case Lucifer was abused and put into a position where he was incapable of empathy and could only express himself in violence. Sam even understands this! But it doesn’t change the fact that Lucifer tortured Sam in unimaginable ways for thousands of years.

With that in mind I didn’t like the idea of Lucifer and Sam having “co-ownership” of their new identity, so I made the choice that Sam had to be the survivor. This tied in well with Sam’s new crusade to restore free will to the universe, because he’s breaking the narrative of his own story!

While Castiel wasn’t a pov character, his own autonomy and free will was equally as important. You’ll note that many, many paragraphs and conversations revolved around that theme and that in the end Cas followed himself (and love!) which ensured his freedom of self <3

The Brothers are WEIRD PEOPLE!!!! And Codependent to a Worrying Degree, but It’s Also How They Survive

It’s very hard to show “unusual” relationships when you’re writing from the pov of the two people who don’t think there’s anything weird about their relationship. Sure, they say ‘yeah it’s probably weird that we still share a bed’ but that’s kinda more in line with ‘I had a nightmare and I want to be close to the person who makes me feel safe’. Hashtag normalize co-sleeping when you need it!!!

From there I did try to point out how the boys have a weird perception of lifestyle in the little things they did.

From thrifting everything from clothes to appliances to books (thrifting is a valid lifestyle! It’s incredibly handy when you’re on a budget.)

To never actually having condiments or knowing how to use a dishwasher cause they’ve lived in a car, a motel room, or squatted in old houses their whole life.

I tried to have them wear each others’ clothes or casually swap things as much as possible. They live out of each others’ pockets!

Also the brothers are just weird people!! It’s hard to show from their pov, cause they don’t know how far off from normal they are, but like…

Everything about Sam and Amelia was NOT right like holy shit those two were wilding in their grief. They are very lucky things worked out for them and that they got to be hashtag Weird Girls together

Dean explicitly, in the story, gets horny after killing stuff!! Violence has done a number on his psyche and he’s gotten some wires crossed that maybe shouldn’t have been, or maybe could be worked out in a safe space but… uh… how likely do we think Dean is gonna go find a safe space to deal with any of his shit???

LOVE!!! Love is truly what this whole story is all about

If you’ve read the stories, you know how much emphasis I put on love. Love is the strongest force in the Spn Universe! It’s what averted the apocalypse and saved the world (Swan Song), it’s what created free will (Cas’ entire arc!) I love love!!!!

I went out of my way to not put any definitions on platonic love vs romantic love because I think love is love is love and how you express that is the difference. Neither is more powerful than the other because LOVE is powerful!! Sam and Cas are the most important people in Dean’s life and he loves them equally! He shows this by giving Cas kisses and stealing Sam’s socks.

It’s a personal pet peeve of mine when I have to hear explanations like ‘I love you, like a brother’ or ‘I love you, but like, as a friend because I’m a lesbian and you’re a man’ etc etc in media. If you have to continuously define how your characters love each other, then I don’t think you’re doing a good job of portraying their relationship. So you’ll see that I never put those parameters in any conversation. Dean DOES muse that he loves Cas differently than he loves Sam or Bobby, specifically because there is a romantic and sexual tone that his feelings for Cas takes, but not because he loves Cas more or less than he loves Sam or Bobby.

Which means, if you haven’t realized it yet, the Series + Fic Titles are meant to be a complete sentence because the power of love IS the thesis of this series:

The Love It Takes To Exist Again (Sam’s journey!)

The Love It Takes To Become a Man (Dean’s journey!)

The Love It Takes To Destroy a Man (TBA)

And now for fun stuff. Behind the scenes!!

What’s Something People Probably Don’t Know?

The demonic fungal/hydrothermal vent growth on Sam’s arm was thrown in literally as I was posting the chapter because I had just finished a 48 hour cram session of writing a report on tube worms for an ecology class (I was chanting my tube worm song as I wrote it) and it ended up being a HUGE hit with both readers and myself. But it was so last minute I had trouble fitting it in more throughout the rest of Sam’s story!

Cas’ orders? That may or may not have bound him to Dean and removed his free will? Were written into Sam’s story and I went ‘oh SHIT that’s compelling’ and then left them there as a ‘guess I’ll figure that out when I get to Dean’s story lol’

Originally Dean and Cas were supposed to get together after having their souls bonded, and have been in a UST limbo the entire time before that. Mostly because I think the entire concept of ‘we just got married of the soul I guess we should try dating?’ is very funny. CLEARLY the two of them were way more eager to fall in love than I anticipated (thank you Cas for your honesty) but you can still see shades of this original idea here and there (especially in ch35 of TBAM)

I never intended Dean and Benny to connect so well!! Benny was going to reunite with Andrea, she was going to live, and they were going to go off into the world and leave the story. And, uh, here we are. I’m still debating if I need to adjust the relationship tag or not haha. Polyamory is fun, especially when I was planning for Sam to be the polyamorous brother...

Speaking of, I can’t believe I forgot about Sam and his sexuality! If I rewrote TEA I would have had Sam contemplate more on his lack of sexual appetite due to trauma, up until he meets Benny and he gets to rediscover how he wants to be a sexual person

Many of Sam and Dean’s absolutely stupid sibling conversations were lifted near-verbatim from conversations I’ve had with my siblings

And lastly...

Dem where’s Kevin????????????? Where is our sweet baby boy????????

He’s SAFE!! He’s in the Hunter pipeline somewhere cause Sam handed him off to Bobby’s people. He and his mom are safe and at some point they probably got rib sigils like SalmonDean did against angels, but for demons. I didn’t have room in this story for him!!! But my baby boy is SAFE and I want to get him back to university because it’s WHAT HE DESERVES!!!!

To that point: god there were/are SO many characters that I just didn’t include in the story so far because I didn’t feel comfortable including them without stalling the story for them. To that point: pretty much everyone who is alive/dead in s8 is that way in this story, except Bobby who gets to live.

[Check Out Part 2 for reader questions!]

#the love it takes series #to exist again fic #to become a man fic #dem speaks

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todaydreambelieversfic · 5 years ago

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Author Spotlight : Honeysucklepink Day 3

Author : @honeysucklepink

How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

Depends on my beta (if I have one). If I'm working with a beta I will definitely revise. But sometimes I just go fuck it and hit "publish" (and them immediately find formatting issues, misspellings, and that time you typed "the" twice for some reason).

If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?

Hmm...I think I would take "We Drank a Toast to Innocence" and totally expand and revise it. That fic was very precise...I did 100-word drabbles for each chapter. But take away that restriction and I could do so much more with it.

What do you look for in a beta?

I have what I would call a regular beta, who is probably easier on me than I deserve. They'll mostly make grammar suggestions or call out when something needs to be explained or if continuity isn't being followed, and will encourage me to be brave or not hew so close to canon. It depends on the situation...for A Place That's Safe and Warm I had a "Boston beta" that was from the area and fact-checked things like train routes, apartment rentals, Dunkin' locations, cannoli wars, etc.

If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

I sort of tried that before, with A Change in the Weather...I'm a Blaine stan by heart, so anywhere where he's the "bad guy" I have to somehow figure out how to redeem him (not that he gets back with Kurt, but just so he doesn't suffer forever). Otherwise, I actually don't feel comfortable busting into someone else's universe (unless we were writing it together of course)!

Do you take liberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canon compliant?

I think my problem is that I get obsessive about being canon-compliant when I need to learn to let it go once in a while. I take liberties, but not as many as I should, if that's a wishy-washy enough answer for you!

Talk about a review that made your day.

Well, when I wrote Category Is... I got a lot of folks that were driven to watch Pose (yay!), and at least one that found my fic from Pose, NOT Glee (usually it's the other way around).

And anytime someone says that a fic of mine is one they come back to when they want a smile...I like that I'm someone's favorite or go-to...like a favorite pizza order!

Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?

I've gotten an occasional one, but not many. Usually I ignore...sometimes if it's REALLY nasty I'll delete it.

What advice do you have for people just starting to write?

Don't worry if you don't get a lot of comments or readers at first. Start small, don't try doing a Big Bang for your first effort. And maybe start with a prompt? Like I did advent prompts here and there the first time without doing every day of it.

Which fic do you most like to discuss with other people? Why?

I've discussed A Place That's Safe and Warm a lot, just because it is my longest and it's been out there a while. But I think any of the ones that are music-heavy, like Category Is or Hey Mister DJ, just because I love talking music!

What's one aspect of writing fic that gets you really excited?

I think it's finishing it and then getting to read it? I know it sounds weirdly self-centered, but it's kind of like baking a cake...once I've finished it I'm ready to cut off a big slice and indulge!

***

Check out Honeysucklepink’s fics:

Pulse (Klaine Advent Day 16) - Beyoncé's new album drops...Kurt and Blaine get the message.

We Drank a Toast to Innocence - For the Klaine Advent 2017, I am experimenting with honest-to-God drabbling (100 words exactly). I really don't know where this will lead, except of course for a Klaine ending! Title is a lyric from Dan Fogelberg's "Same Auld Lang Syne."

Category Is... - It's 1989 and Blaine has been disowned by his parents. Lost in New York, he stumbles upon a found family in the House of Evangelista, but his heart is drawn to the vogue champion Porcelain Abundance. A Glee/Pose AU. Written for the 2018 Todaydreambeliever Klaine Fic Exchange.

#author spotlight #honeysucklepink

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katnissmellarkkk · 5 years ago

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AN: Hi! So I know lots of people are sad in the Everlark fandom right now and I know tons of people dislike what the prequel makes us feel towards the original story—including me to be honest—so I thought why not write a little something.

To be honest again though, I’m terrible at writing fluff. I can only really write sad angsty things so this fic will eventually—hopefully—be longer and it’ll have a more serious storyline but I thought, why not post a little happy Everlark from the beginning? Which is the only coherent part I’ve written. Anyway, I hope this makes anyone reading it happy and feel better. I’m super new to this fandom but I love being apart of it. Everyone is so sweet and supportive of each other, I noticed it even from afar. And this is unedited so excuse my errors please, I just wanted to get something out for you guys. Anyways, thank you for reading!

I feel Peeta’s lips against my cheek before I hear him come up. “Your walk has gotten quieter over the years,” I compliment approvingly.

He laughs out loud, his mouth still against my face. “Does that mean I’m no longer banned from the woods?”

I pretend to think it over. “I wouldn’t risk taking you back there until deer season’s over. I’d hate for you to scare everything edible into District Ten.”

“You snap one branch one time-“

“That branch scared off the largest deer I saw the entire year!”

“And all of a sudden you’re no longer a friend to the woods.”

“Boy!” Haymitch barks from his yard across the street. “You’re scaring my geese with all your jabbering.”

“And apparently my wife isn’t talking?”

“She knows to keep her voice down low.”

Peeta looks between the two of us in mock disbelief. “I think this is the first time he’s ever complimented you.”

“It was long overdue.”

“Alright,” Haymitch waves his hand and the bottle clutched inside it towards us dismissively. “You both scattered. I need to gather these geese up and you two are making my life impossible.”

I smirk now. “Some things never change, huh?”

“Get lost, Sweetheart.”

“You can’t banish us to our own house, Haymitch,” Peeta jeers.

Our old mentor raises his bottle as if to throw it at us. “I can chase you into it, now can’t I?”

We both laugh at his idle threat and roll our eyes before heading inside our home. I instantly wrap my arms around his neck and press my lips there. “Mmm, I love the way you smell sometimes,” I whisper against his skin.

He leans his head back to smile at me. “Sometimes?”

My face instantly loses any flirty edge. “Nevermind,” I grumble, dropping my arms at once.

He isn’t having that though and scoops me up into his arms. I reflexively wrap my legs around his waist but refuse to put my arms around him, still disgruntled.

He leans his head onto my shoulder now, kissing the top of it gently, before opening his lips and pressing open mouth kisses over the skin my tank top leaves exposed.

I try to fight it but after his third kiss trailing down my shoulder and moving onto my chest I moan slightly and easily wrap my arms around his neck to bring him in closer.

He takes the hint and moves me to the couch residing in the living room. He lays me flat on my back and delicately moves the strap of my shirt lower, leaning over me so his lips can reach any newly exposed skin.

“Peeta,” I sigh into his mouth as he moves his lips back up to reach mine, his hands still slowly moving my tank top down lower.

As his mouth moves down, over my chin and across my throat though, a thought suddenly occurs to me. “Peeta?” I call out in a completely different kind of tone now, though my voice is still breathless.

“Hmm?”

“Why’d you come outside?”

That catches his attention and he moves to sit up, pulling my with him. “What?”

“Weren’t you supposed to be going through those boxes? That you found in my mom’s old bedroom closet?”

Last week Peeta had found piles and piles of boxes in the back of my mom’s wardrobe from when she lived with me after Peeta and I won our first games.

I’d tiredly told him to just give them to the people in District Twelve who were still without belongings from the bombs that’d destroyed the whole district. But he had said he thought we should go through them. I disagreed. Anything my mom left here in those boxes obviously wasn’t of importance or else she’d have asked for us to send them to District Four.

Still though, Peeta wanted to sift through them—I still think he just wanted to see if he could find any childhood mementos of me, even if he swore it was strictly for the sake of rescuing anything useless from ending up in the community home—and I chose to let it be. We’d been married for almost a year. I kept nothing from anymore. If he wanted to rummage through my mom’s junk, the most he’d find was how much prettier she’d been than me at my age.

He’d decided, with the bakery being slow today, that it was a good time to dig through the boxes. I’d merely watched him for ten minutes before becoming bored, as I watched him pull out mostly my mom’s old clothes from when she was young and living with her more wealthy, by Twelve’s standards at least, parents.

In truth, I’d feared seeing him come across anything that held a Prim connection. Her old clothing that we hadn’t been able to sell after my Dad died, one of the dolls I couldn’t bear steal from her for cash, a handcrafted bracelet she made for me and her out of old macaroni and other random, otherwise useless trinkets she could find.

If there was one wound that wouldn’t heal, no matter how many times I called that doctor or kept Peeta awake at night venting about, it was the image of seeing my little sister sky high. If there was one cut that never stopped bleeding, one bruise that always throbbed when pressed upon, it was that.

“Oh yeah,” he murmurs, bringing me back to reality, as realization crossing his face. “That’s why I came outside. I found something I thought you’d wanna see.”

He stands up and pulls me by the hand to follow him but I resist. “Peeta,” I start hesitantly.

He understands my reluctanance and quickly moves to reassure me. “I promise, I scoped out anything that could have been Prim’s before I went to get you,” he assures, rubbing my shoulder comfortingly now.

I release a breath I didn’t even know I was holding and nod, before squeezing the hand that was still gripping his and following behind him as he moves up the stairs and down the hall, to my mom’s old bedroom.

Inside Peeta has moved all the boxes into a pile, completely segregating one. It’s a smaller box, unlike the others. It’s filled to the brim with what looks like journals and photographs and letters and small ornaments.

I don’t need Peeta to tell me what’s inside this box because I already know from the photo laying on the top of the pile, the photo of my parents no older than me and Peeta right now, that this box was everything of my dad my mother had kept.

#everlark #thg #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark #everlark fic #everlark fanfic #the hunger games #snippet #my writing #100

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silentauroriamthereal · 5 years ago

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Author interview tag

I was tagged by @therealsaintscully! Thanks, you! :)

Name: SilentAuror

Fandoms: Just Sherlock, though I also follow some Old Guard blogs. :)

Where you post: AO3. Though I was almost knocked over the other day when I got a comment on an old HP fic over on skyehawke.com! It’s been literal YEARS since I got a review on anything over there! :P

Most popular multi-chapter fic: Against the Rest of the World for sure. :)

Favourite story you’ve written so far: With 87 posted fics and 2 more currently on the go, I can’t possibly answer that. That’s cruel. Lol.

Fic you were nervous to post: This, on the other hand, is easy, haha! Three stories, all for very different reasons:

1. The A.G.R.A Complex. This was my first Freebatch fic and I thought I might well be burnt at the stake for even writing any RPF. The notion for this story caught my muses’ attention, though, and they eventually forced me to write it against my will. I can’t be held responsible. Lol. It still amazes me that people continue to read it to this day. The notion: Martin and Benedict are friends. There’s a car accident and Martin suffers a fairly mild brain injury. While in his coma, dreams the entire first three seasons of Sherlock, which in this universe, haven’t happened. The nature of the brain injury is such that he keeps shifting mentally between the reality of who he and Benedict (and Amanda) are, and seeing himself and everyone else as their characters in the Sherlock universe. When I posted it, I intended it to be left up to the reader whether to see it as kind of an AU to actual reality, or else a prequel to the filming of Sherlock. When I finally decided to write a sequel, it meant that I had to be the one to make that clear, which made it a prequel. It became a three-part series, with the second part set during and just after the filming of series 3 (the dodgiest in the moral sense, since it dances around and into real life events), and then the third story takes place ten years later.

2. The Final Proof. Why? Easy. Major character death, and it’s Sherlock. That’s clear from about the first sentence, I think. I had written At the Heart of it All, which features Sherlock running an experiment using the hearts of people who lived lives where they had loved and been loved, and people who hadn’t in an effort to prove his own ability to love to John. He says something at the end of that story about wishing he could see his own heart at the end of their life to see which of the hearts his own resembled by then. And then my muses, my terrible, terrible muses said, “hey... you could write that: you know: Sherlock at the very end of his life, making John promise to look at his heart after he’s died, and complete his experiment.” I, like, teared up just at the thought, and honestly, I cried for most of the writing of that story. I’m assured that about 99% of the people who have read it have also cried throughout, so... sorry. Yeah.

3. Scars. Why? Easy, again: the entire story is riddled with gaslighting and other types of emotional abuse and mind-fuckery, and an actual rape scene. It was painful to the point of being interally corrosive to write, but I still felt it was a story I needed to tell. I did my homework on this one, consulted multiple therapists who work specifically in the field of men who have been absued (emotionally, physically, sexually) by female partners. I thought no one would read it. I thought I might lose half my followers on tumblr. But I still wrote it. It still amazes me that people read it, even more when they actually like it, and still like me after. Lol.

How you choose your titles: Hmm... each title genesis is different, I would say! Sometimes it’s a general theme of the story, sometimes it’s a specific concept or single word, occasionally (but not often) it’s a song title. Sometimes it’s another language, particularly Latin. In The A.G.R.A Complex, the title of the story is also the name that the neurologists given to the brain injury Martin experiences. Vena Cava is titled for the name of the vein that Mary’s bullet punctured in Sherlock’s heart, based on a medical analysis I had read. Scars takes its theme from both Sherlock’s external scars from what he went through during his time away, and John’s internal scars from Mary’s emotional abuse. I also have a whole series of (unrelated) flower-themed stories: The Green Carnations comes from ACD era coding for homosexuality. The Yellow Poppies is the story I wrote after the deleted scene about Magnussen’s hospital visit came out, which features both he and Mary as dual villains, and yellow poppies placed in Sherlock’s room as a threat from one or the other of them. The White Lotuses has a leitmotif of Hinduism and slow-blooming self-awareness and romance. The Red Roses is a Molly POV where she helps Sherlock and John get together in spite of her own feelings, and The Wisteria Tree is an amnesia story that has Sherlock forget the past six years of his life, including the five years that he’s been married to John, and how they find their way back together in spite of that. Rosa Felicia - bonus, both a flower name AND Latin, lol! - is a coming-of-age story about Rosie at the age of 19. Where My Demons Hide is a mid-series 4 story that I wrote after The Lying Detective aired, but before The Final Problem did, and is the title of an Imagine Dragons song. Pater Noster is Latin for the title of the Lord’s Prayer in Latin, but also quite literally just means “our father”, and is a story that centres around the events surrounding the death (murder) of John and Harry’s father. You get the gist.

Do you outline: I always say that one should know how a story begins, how it ends, and at least a few of the major points between those two events. So yes, but loosely. I think that over-plotting kills creativity. It’s not an essay. But even essays need space to grow.

Complete: 105 stories back in my skyehawke days, the vast majority of which are HP, totalling in about 1.5 million words. 87 stories in the Sherlock fandom (though those include my 4 Freebatch fics), totalling in over 2.3 million words now.

In progress: I have two stories currently pending: a Christmas story called The Secret of Hazel Grange, and a trauma-based, co-sleeping fic called Nocturne.

Coming soon/not yet started: I never comment about fics I haven’t yet started. Might curse the entire process, lol.

Do you accept prompts: No, alas. Neither prompts nor commissions. While I’m constantly desperately poor, it takes something out of the writing process for me once it becomes a job. I just feel like that’s not what fanfic is about for me. No judgement to anyone else who does write for commissions, whatsoever - we all have our own process! For me, I’m happy (make that incredibly grateful!) to have donations or supporters through my Patreon (eep: x), but writing to order just doesn’t quite jive for me. I also don’t take prompts, not because I don’t want them, but because I have such a huge backlog of my own ideas that I’ll never get to as it is. There will never be enough time to write all the fics I want to write! That said, don’t think that you can’t still suggest your ideas. My “official policy” (lol) is that I don’t take prompts (for the aforementioned backlog reason), but that doesn’t mean that if you do send me one, my muses won’t seize upon it and force me to write it. You never know. I certainly don’t, at least. :P

Upcoming story you are most excited to write: I’m super excited by the notion of actually getting my Christmas fic finished by Christmas. Lol. Here’s hoping!!

Tagging: Anyone who reads this and is a writer, or thinking about becoming one. You’ve been tagged!

#writer stuff #memes and things #sherlock #johnlock #silentauror

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davidmann95 · 4 years ago

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Got a handful of DC-solicit asks, so I’ll just write up my thoughts on the whole batch again.

Mister Miracle: The Source of Freedom #1: The BALLS to not only do the next Mister Miracle thing after King and Gerads, but to do it with Shilo Norman and therefore invite Seven Soldiers comparisons as well. I wouldn’t be that interested, but the preview art that came with the announcement looked fun so this is a maybe for me.

Wonder Girl #1: I got a Yara Flor ask so I’ll go more into detail with that, but this sounds...not good.

Future State: Gotham #1: Hahaha, thanks, call me in six months if the next team does something there’s a reason to give a shit about. Except...wait, Dennis Culver cowrote that E Is For Extinction Secret Wars mini, dammit this might be good. Either way though, god willing we get a Future State: Metropolis book by Dan Watters too.

Legends of the Dark Knight #1: Hopefully this going with Sensational Wonder Woman means there’s a similar Superman anthology in the cards too, but I won’t hold my breath. Darick Robertson doing Batman is enticing, but I’m not familiar with his work as a writer and the premise doesn’t sound that gripping so I’ll wait and see. That Francavilla variant though? DC, blow that up to poster size and you’d make a mint.

Milestone Returns: Infinite Edition #0: Hmm. I got love for Static, but I might wait for further announcements and/or buzz before taking the plunge on this one.

DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration #1: This is a SERIOUSLY stacked lineup, definite buy.

Stargirl Spring Break Special #1: Impeccable timing, DC. It feels like it must be some kind of statement that there are no Morrison members of the Seven Soldiers in the mix (even swapping out Ystin for the original version of Shining Knight no one cares bout) - we focus on the Moore fixation, but there’s enough tidbits that I really do feel like Johns probably flat-out hates Morrison. And what’s this ‘secret eighth soldier’ nonsense? There’ve always been eight soldiers, people have been joking about it forever!

Justice League: Last Ride #1: Discussed that announcement here.

Batman: Earth One Vol. 3: *blinks*

*blinks again*

*squints at the cover art*

...Geoff Johns are you seriously trying to step to Morrison and use the Miagani tribe? YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN PEOPLE

I Am Not Starfire: Interesting concept that seems like it pushes into indie-flavored territory as much as DC’s superhero output just about ever has, if word-of-mouth is good there’s a decent chance I’ll get this.

Action Comics #1031: Wonder if this is serious about the potential of Kryptonian refugees, given PKJ suggested the idea in Worlds of War and that could play a significant part in the New Krypton stuff from Bendis’s Legion (with Johnson being clear he’s following up on a lot of Bendis’s ideas with his own Superman run).

Superman #31: This sounds big-time like Johnson hammering Superman into a swords-and-sorcery shape for an arc since that’s his bag, but Superman’s malleable enough for that to work so I’m not complaining.

American Vampire 1976 #8: Still not getting, so.

Batman #108: Tynion’s well and truly figured out how to game the direct market’s dopiest instincts, hasn’t he? Well, as long as that’s in service of him getting to continue doing weird Batman stuff with Jorge Jimenez like introducing whatever the ‘Unsanity Collective’ is, that’s fine with me. And more Ghostmaker!

Batman: Black & White #6: Not as packed for the finale as some previous issues, but still looking good. And there’s really never gonna be a ‘last’ Scott Snyder Batman story, is there? Sure it’ll be good but that’s kind of a shame, his Detective #1027 feature really felt like a nice full circle.

Batman: The Detective #2: Guess I wasn’t the only one wondering if it was a stealth DKR prequel and they wanted to cut that notion out at the knees.

Batman/Catwoman #6: Still very down for it, but BOY that Batwoman costume Mann debuted on Twitter.

The Batman & Scooby Doo Mysteries #2: I recently finally started reading Sholly Fisch and companies’ Scooby-Doo Team-Up! recently after getting the whole run for free on ComiXology earlier this year and have fallen in love with it, so I’m totally grabbing this digitally.

Batman/Superman #18: “The Dark Knight and the Man of Steel are on a mission to stop the godlike Auteur.io from destroying the pocket worlds he’s created...but where on Earth did Auteur.io even come from? The answer starts not on Earth at all, but with an ancient cult of World Forger worshippers on a planet far away—and if our heroes are to have a prayer of stopping this mythic behemoth, they’ll need to get to the bottom of his power source, and quick! It’s a race against time as the parallel lives of entire worlds hang in the balance!”

Anonymous said: Haha is Yang really doing Superman & Batman vs. Zack Snyder and the Snyder Cult (look up “auter” if you don’t know what I mean)? That’s fucking hilarious, especially since he apparently comes from the World Forge which is where all the shitty Earths full of bad ideas are made. Pretty pointed criticism there if I’m reading it right.

I’ve seen two or three people other than this anon independently conclude this arc is about the Supermen and Batmen of the Multiverse teaming up to stop Zack Snyder from destroying them all and at this point I’m ready to ask my LCS owner if I’m allowed to pay more than cover price for this run.

Batman: Urban Legends #3: Much more into this after the Grifter and Outsiders stories in Future State.

Catwoman #31: No reason not to assume this’ll continue to be great.

Challenge of the Super Sons #2: Good for the folks who want this, and that Nick Bradshaw variant is fun.

Crime Syndicate #3: I wanna be convinced to get this book, but the interviews are not persuading me.

Detective Comics #1036: How long is Mora sticking around?!

The Dreaming: Waking Hours #10: Another one I’ve got nothing to say about because I’ve never been getting it.

The Flash #770: Actually really excited to hear about how bad this run will suck now that I know it’s by the mind behind that “Geoff Johns’ OC - do not steal - beats up the Grant Morrison DC future” catastrophe from Future State.

Green Lantern #2: Really couldn’t wait a month for Far Sector to wrap up, huh?

Harley Quinn #3: Still not interested, but that *is* a nice cover.

The Joker #3: There’s a very real possibility I’ll have dropped the book by this point if it turns out to be the illustrated editorial mandate I get the feeling it could be, but fingers crossed.

Justice League #61: Not complaining, but wow, this really is Naomi 2 since Campbell’s busy in order to provide the necessary material for the CW show.

Looney Toons #260/Mad #20: Were these grouped with the rest of the solicits before?

Man-Bat #4: Very curious how this’ll be received, given nobody much cares about Man-Bat but Wielgosz seems to be quickly becoming a favorite.

The Next Batman: Second Son #2: Hadn’t realized this was only 4 issues - guess for at least one of them it’ll be the Luke Fox book everyone expected in the first place.

Nightwing #80: Dick Grayson vs. Heartless, not how I expected the DC/Kingdom Hearts crossover to happen but I’ll take it. That variant though? ALL TIMER:

The Other History of the DC Universe #4: I was trying to figure out who the focus of #4 would be since we know #5 is about Thunder and Lightning, forgot Montoya was confirmed.

Robin #2: Wanna care, so don’t care.

Rorschach #8: I will get it and probably like it.

RWBY/Justice League #2: My thoughts here will be their own post because there’s something particularly notable, but:

Anonymous said: Have you seen the BATtleaxe from the new art for RWBY/Justice League?

Yes, anon. Yes I have.

Sensational Wonder Woman #3: Eh, premise doesn’t grab me but maybe.

Strange Adventures #10: God I love the book about how Adam Strange sucks.

Suicide Squad #3/Teen Titans Academy #3: Hahahahaha

Superman: Red and Blue #3: Fiffe and Stokoe doing Superman stories!!! And...Nick Spencer. With Christian Ward art?! Sigh, fine, hopefully it’ll be Nick Spencer doing a nice little comedy, and not having Grant Morrison Superman throwing his t-shirt away because he grew up and realized changing things is too hard. A horrible shame Pope is doing the main cover though, the allegations against him I guess never really got any attention. At least there’s this JPL variant:

The Swamp Thing #3: Swampy will never be my guy but very happy for those who dig him, because I imagine this’ll be terrific.

Truth & Justice #4: Normally I wouldn’t care at all, but what I’m hearing on Twitter about this is a crying shame - that Jeff Trammell is really talented and Red Hood is a favorite of his and this is likely to be one of Jason Todd’s few Actually Good comics, but that artist Rob Guillory is a bullying transphobic piece of shit. Sucks all around.

Wonder Woman #772: I was so excited for this run, and then Immortal Wonder Woman had to go and suck.

#DC Comics #Opinion

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