#this is one of those posts that deserves like 50k notes

[steddieunderdogfics]

NOTE: this is for the Monday theme (challenge fics) if you’re allowing WIPs?

but the author of this one recently confided in me (!) that they aren’t letting their 2024 big bang get written without simultaneously working on REwriting what left of their 2023 big bang (which got eaten by gdocs mid-posting iirc, to the tune of something like 50k+ lost maybe? 😭) and basically it’s a sweeping soulmate AU but it ALSO has this free will factor that takes the potential “ick” out of the trope?

So if you’re okay with recs that are WIPs but only due to CIRCUMSTANCES and also are committed to being finished on a timetable that exists for ANOTHER challenge (almost like two challenges in one), then I’d propose the slow-burn/life saving soulmate power/deep deep love fic, ✨Made of Light✨ by hitlikehammers, for the fic on its own, AND also to help encourage the author to keep going with trying to write what is essentially two simultaneous big bangs (which is arguably insane)

archiveofourown.org/works/50535199/

or this tag I think if it needs to be tumblr? 

www.tumblr.com/hitlikehammers/search/steddiebang23

Made of Light by hitlikehammers

@hitlikehammers

Rating: Explicit

97,130 words, 12/15 chapters

Archive Warning: No Warnings

Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Soulmates, Trope Subversion, Soulmates with Free Will, Pre-Season/Series 01, Post-Season/Series 04, True Love, Misunderstandings, (But Really: If Soulmate A is Told to Hide Their Soulmark Because It Shames The Family), (Then Keeps Doing It Because of Interdimensional Demons and the Feds and the Russians), (And Soulmate B is Taught to Love His Mark and Be Loud and Proud About It), (But Maybe Try Keeping the Gender Ambiguous Given All The Preexisting Targets on His Back Already), (Then What ARE They Expected to Have But MISUNDERSTANDINGS?!), oblivious boys, (to the nth degree though seriously; but it’s not really their faults), Near Death Experiences, Love at First Sight, (but not actually SIGHT because they both just KNOW they love their SOULMATE whoever they ARE), Slow Burn, (because that’s also 100-percent true given they don’t KNOW they’re EACH OTHER’S Soulmate for AGES), Soul Bond, Magical Realism, Sex But Make It Soulmate-esque™, As In: The Most Emotionally Charged Cosmically Connected Near-Preternaturally Romantic Sex, Intercrural Sex, Oral Sex, Happy Ending

Summary:

Soulmates are anything but de rigueur in polite society—more like foolish nonsense, fairytale child’s play: embarrassments. Inconvenient, at best. But the people who have them, and still seek them out; who believe despite the odds, who still commit to finding them and binding their souls to them despite the naysaying and the backlash? Those people know the truth. Because Soulmates? Don’t force love. Aren’t bound without choice. Are built instead on pure potential, of proportions never fathomed—and certainly never found—outside those so-called ‘old fashioned’ Bonds. They are the potential to protect love. To save love. To save the lives that kind of ineffable love holds more than just dear; the kind it holds as essential. Some people even say Soulbonds can almost change the whole world, defy the laws of physics and nature, but then—even among the believers: those stories are relegated to legend. At best. And so: this is the story of two boys from Indiana who—dodging dangers and demons and near-death experiences—wind up in a love never seen before, somehow writing out the kind of legend no one ever dared to dream.

Thanks for the rec!

This rec is a part of Challenge Monday. The challenge this week was Fics from fandom challenges.

Know a fic that deserves extra love? Submit through our asks or the submission box!

[blazehedgehog]

About a month ago, there was an incident where an employee at Evening Star quote retweeted a tweet from Liam Robertson saying that while they’re happy for the excitement the studio was getting, they didn’t want it to come at the expense of Arzest. (https://x.com/hunterbridges/status/1756529367365370258?s=61&t=JxRMPFFdpEwOhL-ir8S0sw) This apparently lead to a bunch of Sonic fans harassing him, resulting in Liam accusing the guy of siccing them on him over not liking Sonic Superstars (NOTE: Linking a tweet containing a screenshot in case the original tweet was deleted.) (https://x.com/lubbasmg2/status/1756670973535834307?s=61&t=JxRMPFFdpEwOhL-ir8S0sw), though I’ve only found Quote retweets of the original QRT that simply say “Hey. I think you made a mistake” or something along those lines. It got me thinking, what do you make of this whole thing? Should excitement for a devs work come at the expense of other devs? Personally, I don’t think so.

I mean, listen.

When it comes to the retail market, everybody is in competition with everyone at all times, in ways that both can be controlled and cannot be controlled. One game is always taking away from another game. Always. I know we live in a world where a digital marketplace has theoretically infinite shelf space, but a popular game is still bumping off promotion for something smaller. In order for somebody to win, losers have to exist. It's happiness/sadness, pleasure/pain, yin/yang. That's life.

People should not be jerks.

Always be aware of the scope of your own celebrity. 500-1000+ followers might not seem like very much compared to those with 20k, 50k, even 1m+ followers, but if you imagine 500 people standing in front of you at a convention or something, it's a lot of people. It's a small army. You may not feel like a big deal but in my opinion you still have a responsibility to recognize your ability to accidentally dogpile someone and control a large group. This is the hardest thing to do, I think, and is something I'm also a little guilty of.

All of that being said... I don't want to throw stones here, or say anyone deserves anything, but I've seen Liam Robertson kind of be a little shit sometimes. To be fair, Hunter might have been too. In both cases that was many years ago, and we all change over time. Especially because, like, there's this stigma that you are an adult when you turn 21, and I'd argue you aren't really an adult until somewhere in your 30's. So if someone was young and dumb? It's forgivable.

For what it's worth, Hunter's post there is extremely innocuous. If Liam's out there saying a "we're all friends here" post incited harassment against him, then... I don't have anything constructive to say about that. But it does not look like Hunter is in the wrong here, having only seen what you have presented me with.

In general, you probably shouldn't drag people like me into issues like this.

[sucrosette]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

28, 32 if you count the MCU fics I am not particularly proud of. But some people seem to like them, so they stay.

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

266,092 - I probably have a good 50k+ in sitting in my wips.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Genshin Impact, BSD, VLD (but only klance), the Wolfstar corner of HP, and BNHA. Also, I'm planning to write for Carry On for Carry On Countdown this year. At some point I’d like to write for kingdom hearts and sk8. (Previously MCU but as mentioned that's been long abandoned.)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Whoops, There Goes My Heart (T, 38.4k)

Iced Coffee is Not Supposed to be Spicy (E, 11.1k)

He Makes Me Bloom (E, 30.5k)

Rosé & Bubblegum (E, 11.3k)

Make This Home Yours (E, 10.8k)

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

Yes! I like engaging with my readers, sometimes I'm just very slow. Or like in the context of a wip, I don't always respond until I'm ready to post the next chapter. Which can be very quick or very slow, depending.

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

If Love Was Labeled Poison (E), definitely, easily, by a mile. It's a wip, but it was originally written as just this first chapter. And its ending is heartbreaking. And it's still not gonna be the happiest ending when I post the following two either.

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

Most of my fics have happy endings, so just a fic that's extremely precious to me in its healing feelings: and it was enough (T)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I wouldn't call it hate. There have been a couple weird comments I've deleted since entering VLD's fandom space about headcanons but I don't think it's hate. Just people being kind of asses. And in general it doesn't bother me, most of the comments I get are glowing.

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

So much smut. Very kinky, queer smut. No one is hetero and no one is cis. I generally try and tag dynamics and kinks used though so no one gets jump scared.

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

No. I mean, I've thought about it, but in the end, I just end up pulling elements from what would be the borrowed setting for the characters I want to write for. I'm not generally the sort who would dabble in crossover character interactions for longfic. Maybe in a silly drabble, if someone requested some of my favs.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, but I'm unsure if those translations are still available somewhere.

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

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far away, before the time of ao3. But not since. I do have a couple ideas with one of my partners that we might hash out eventually.

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

Honestly? I love all my ships, I couldn't exactly rank them and it depends entirely on my mood. But, if there's one ship I'll always come back to, it's probably tddk, it's my comfort ship, they're always there for me. I have written exactly one fic, but they mean a lot to me. I'm going to write them more. (On that note, please give The Tea Shoppe at the End of Time (T) some love).

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

I don't think I have one. I know I have some old wips, but I do plan to go back and polish them up and finish them out.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'd say... probably emotionally evocative imagery and metaphor, I think? I'm very much a smut author, but I think my imagery deserves note. Probably also snarky dialogue I love me some snarky ships.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Fight scenes. Yep. Fight scenes.

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

I like it, I support it, sometimes I do it. It can feel very intimate, but I try and have a native speaker double check my work, and always leave translation notes for my readers.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Oh, if we reach way back when... Probably Yuyu Hakusho or One Piece. But who knows where those ran off to. It was before ao3 times. I wasn't even an adult.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

To be honest, I can't really pick a favorite. But if I had to pick a writing I've done I think people should read (that I haven't already mentioned) I present Pettiness in Portraiture (E). Mind the tags, it's fucking rough.

[mummer]

When people describe asoiaf as grimdark it makes me tear at the wallpaper. Do you think that label is from a misunderstanding of the text/only a surface level reading, or the way got portrayed the books?

i mean, on one hand, i get it. there ARE parts of asoiaf that are very deeply nihilistic and cynical. especially compared with other mainstream fantasy. it became really trite to associate got/asoiaf with constant character death… but it IS a departure from the standard! maybe you’d get a mentor or supporting figure dying, your obi wans and boromirs, but ned, cat and robb, oberyn.. these are shocking moments for a reason lol. they ARE subversive! and quentyn and tyrion in adwd in particular feel truly angry and pessimistic. there’s plenty of grimness and darkness to mine from. But firstly, there is…. nothing wrong with being “grimdark”! it’s not wrong to refuse to write about utopias, or to be ultimately cynical and pessimistic about human nature, or for characters not to get what they (as decided by the ~ultimate morality~ of the author) “deserve”— aka the ultimate building block of tragedy. i want more angry art, more art that makes you miserable! sometimes the world does feel hopeless lmao like it’s okay to wallow in the darkness of the human soul or whatever!! asoiaf is not as a whole grimdark, but if it was, that wouldnt be an immoral way to write! (and i dont think GOT is even that much more grimdark than the books— its problem is that it is.. extremely badly written, not that x character didnt get y happy ending therefore it is bad 🤷🏻‍♂️)

i probably dont need to reiterate why it ISNT grimdark— theon adwd, sam, brienne, et cetera, you know the gist. better writers than me have talked about this. i think it’s a bit troubling that a story can get a dismissive response just for genuinely being interested in the whole ugly picture of human experience lol. idk if it’s YA brain or ted lasso kindnesscore or what, and maybe it’d be dismissive to attribute it just to that. but tbh, i dont think the people who write those 50k note posts on here or twitter about how asoiaf is ontologically evil for portraying a broken world have actually read the books at all. there’s plenty of ways to engage in actual criticism of the series if you wanted to. but they are really not interested in having a conversation about themes and stuff, they just want an easy dunk ❤️ so whatever

[teacup-tai]

Tai Recs: Crazy Looong Fics

My best friends used to have a running joke about my fanfic reading habits, saying that "Tai wouldn't touch anything shorter than 50k". Let's say they were not far from wrong. xD #facepalm

I am a sucker for really long stories. How writers provide us with a crazy amount of world building and character's development/study, and all kinds of mix of Slow Burn, Scorching UST, Brilliant Case fics, Political Plots, Adventure, Action, Beautiful Slice of Life & etc!

I devote my whole heart, gratitude and appreciation to all the Monster Writers, for such incredible long rides, for your time, hard work and for sharing this huge gifts with us!

Welcome to the: Crazy Long Fics 'Rec List! (>300k)

Drarry Favourites

TURN by Saras_girl (E, 306k)

One good turn always deserves another. Apparently.

A classic. No one in the Drarry fandom can go without having read, or attempted to read, Turn. The kind of fic that make you question your life and decisions. The kind of fic that don't let you go untouched.

Twist of Fate by Oakstone730 (T, 302k)

Draco asks Harry to help him beat the Imperius curse during 4th year. The lessons turn into more than either expected. A story of redemption and forgiveness.

ToF is another huge Drarry classic. It goes without saying that it will grab you and not let you leave without finishing. The angst is brilliant, the canon rewrite magnificent. A must read.

Foundations !verse (Series) by Saras_girl (E, 364k)

Harry is about to discover that the steepest learning curve comes after Healer training, and that second chances can be found in unexpected places.

This series is composed by 2 main fics (Reparations (87k) and Foundations (236k)) and 11 adjacent oneshots. Healer Harry wasn't something that I knew I needed until I read this. I learned so much with this universe; about being human, about learning from one's patients, about working with people. Reparations is my fave Saras_girl fic.

The Secret Language of Plants (Series) by @llendrinall (373k)

“Just… tell me. Tell me what is going on, Snape.”

What was going on was that Severus Snape had no trouble tracking down one Petunia Evans, now Dursley, to a little town in Surrey where he saw how exactly she was treating her nephew. Which somehow led to last night and Severus knocking on Lupin’s door with a toddler half-asleep in his arms.

This amazing series is composed by 4 parts, and it starts with Snape and Remus stealing and raising Harry, while falling in love with each other. It's bloody amazing how Endrina retells the story with such a nice canon rewrite, and gives us Drarry with such a nice twist <3

Tales From the Special Branch (Series) by @femmequixotic (E, 1.214k)

When Gawain Robards asks him to form Special Branch seven-four-alpha, Harry Potter knows they'll have to work outside the confines of the law--even though they are the law.

This is one of the most intertwined and interesting Drarry plots I've ever read. The amount of world-building in this 5 amazing fics is insane, the backstories to all the characters are impressive, how everything connects in such perfect way is amazing, how the plot thickens is breathtaking and the sex- lol hotter than firewhiskey. A mix of Action-politics-scorching hot smut-Slytherins being aurors-Harry Potter being a hot mess. (warning: WIP. ;_;)

Next in my to-read list:

Hush of War by @lol-zeitgeistic (E, 453k)

Conscience by sordidhumor (E, 1,450k)

Blood Magic by houseofhebrideanblacks & Thestralsofspinnersend (E, 335k)

My Favourites Outside HP fandom

I'm adding 2 non-HP series, bc I honestly think it is such a loss that there are folks in the world who never read it, so here, have at it:

Death Note (L/Light)

Those Who Stand For Nothing Falls For Anything - The Hinterland Doctrine Series by @halfpromise (E, 676k). 4 fics, WIP.

Light is a politician. What could go wrong?

Look at me: this is THE BEST POLITICS AU FIC I'VE EVER READ IN MY WHOLE LIFE. This is crazy long, crazy intense, it has a very very dark sense of humour, a very narcissistic and unreliable first narrator (Light) and it is such a toxic relationship. It's a utter delight to appreciate how Laura put it so well together, this is a literary recommendation for those with a strong stomach. Check the tags. (I've read it twice)

Naruto (Neji/Shikamaru | multiship)

Break to Breathe (Series) by @okamirayne (E, 1.240k). ffnet | AO3

Neji has always been in control. There's just one problem. It's killing him - and only Shikamaru can tell. But sometimes being pulled back from the edge is just as dangerous as being pushed there.

If you like Naruto and deep psychological plots, you should read this masterpiece. BtB is one of the biggest loves of my life. It should be published in a big editing house! xD Ninjas gone deep and real and raw and in love! This is a monsterfuck rollercoaster wrapped up in 4 books (1.240k). Rayne does a really good job in delving her fingers in the characters and making them hers but never making them OOC. Now my favourite Monster Writer is back and giving us a bit more of deep angsty-post-war-vibes <3

[whyihatetonystark]

The reality that there are so many anti-Tony fics that were never published always surprises me. There are many people who wanted to write a fic but never did it because they didn't want to upset other people or didn't want to add negativity. And that's just always such a "wow" moment to me.

Anti-Tonys don't write anti fics because we're considerate about fans who do like him. That sounds like a self-wank but just look at the evidence. Look at the amount of anti-steve/anti-wanda fics vs the anti-tony fics. There are so few anti-tony fics, and even those fics are barely anti. He's mean 1 time and that's it. Meanwhile anti-steve be writing literal assault, murder, r*pe, and torture and then say that team cap fans deserve the same treatment.

Find any fic that's vaguely anti-tony and the author will make an entire note like "I don't hate him I just needed this for the plot I know he's good and I like him too please don't send me hate please please" or something like that, because you can't say 1 mean word about Stark or the crazy fans dive on top of you. While anti-stevers say all his fans are racist maga-supporters who deserve physical harm.

Also, look at the comments of the few anti-tony fics that do exist. Guess who are bitching in the comments saying "get a life"? Like dude there are hundreds of 50k+ anti-steve fics, go suck Stark's dick or smthing🙄

Good luck on your fic!!

So. Fucking.True. I agree 1000%

I mean, I stopped writing the fic because I had so many mutuals, who are great! but they all liked Tony and weren't really into looking at marvel critically. I don't think they would have been awful about it, but I still felt so uncomfortable anyway. It's also the reason my fics are tagged to the max, so I definitely lose all the people who have the anti tags filtered out. Remember that post about why there's no official Anti Tony Stark tag when there's one for Steve and Wanda and everyone else? The answer was, ao3 didn't want people who'd harass Tony antis to find them instantly (there are enough ways to find us just as quickly, so...). So honestly, Tony antis can't be anywhere as bad as Steve antis or Wanda antis if even ao3 recognises how much harassment we face.

So, being brave enough to actually post anti Tony fics, and then to keep going despite the comments telling you to "get a life"... that's actually really hard. But I hope now that Tonky's been dead for years (!) and now that his stans aren't quite as rabid anymore, more people will come out of the woodwork and just do whatever the hell they want. And thank you! I was super inspired yesterday and today, which my schoolwork of course suffered from....

[aelaer]

Re: Blood in Your Veins

Hey so uh.

As anyone who’s been following me for a while knows, I started the serial “The Blood In Your Veins” about this time last year (it used to be ‘my veins’ but retitled it on its move to AO3 because execution of prompt had changed a bit over writing). It’s a prompt that I couldn’t stop thinking about and just dabbled in slowly to see where it went. Then 2020 fully hit and my writing came to almost a complete stop until about October, which is when I began again on Illuminating the Shadows, which was finished and posted in December.

Anyway, I’ve been poking and prodding fairly continuously at The Blood in Your Veins. The first four parts that I posted originally here on tumblr are now all on AO3, and once part 5′s up I’ll link it here and link everyone who wanted alerts to the updates then so they can see the new part. Then all future parts will be linked here as well.

(Cut because why the *hell* did I write this much about this?)

I’ve been slow in posting because I, against better judgement but why not, decided to post it as a WIP. But that means I keep on making edits to older parts because I think of something new that should be addressed earlier in the story. Like uh, when I was writing part 9, I realized I needed to go back to part 5 and add an addendum. When I was writing part 12, I realized I totally forgot a part that I ended up adding in part 8, because I needed it for a future connection. This happens all the time in my writing and makes posting WIPs almost dangerous because my thinking is rarely linear if the story takes place over a course of more than a couple days. Thus the very slow posting.

So this silly little prompt thing that I was just prodding and poking at to see where it went? The farking doc passed 50k words tonight. Yup.

Granted, like 10k of that is probably outlining, personal notes, and A/Ns filled to the brim with meta, medical science, fake science, and technical/computer engineering because I love talking about it and giving people info to access easily for their own knowledge. I figure I can’t be the only one who finds this stuff super fascinating and fanfic makes it unique in that it’s not a book where the research is irrelevant, you can show off all the interesting stuff right here and talk about it with people! I love that about fanfic, so much. Sometimes the A/Ns are just as interesting as the story in some stories.

So it’s gonna be a bit slow for however long, but I finished 11 parts (with 10 betaed), have the 12th largely written out (though I’m not 100% sure about it yet so I want to poke at it more), and parts uh, 13 to 17ish outlined. But considering I was like “yeah this is 8 parts at most” like, at the beginning of this, that number is bound to change because characters keep saying things and doing things (including the supporting OCs, who are demanding to be fully fleshed out within the bounds of supporting character roles).

And yeah, this is just a ramble of what I’ve been mostly doing as I haven’t been super active on tumblr this month as this has consumed most of my free time. I haven’t read a lot of works either, and once this is completed I hope to remedy that, before I go into my next two big projects (which were meant to be what I was working on *now*, but then this took over and what will you do. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to complete three novel-length fics in the course of the year, but I’ll see what I can do. I really want to tell these stories).

Uh, this was really long. Sorry, I’m super verbose and don’t know how to be like, succinct. My old boss, two bosses ago now, used to quote Twain about brevity being a sign of wit, but if it is, call me 100% unwitty because I like to ramble. And then I always feel a little bit guilty for writing *so much* about my bullshit, so I feel like if you read this far, you 100% deserve to read a preview of an upcoming section. Especially since you pressed the Read More button! So here you go, thanks for reading my rambles. This is a section from the longest part so far, part 8. It’s a long little bit!

---

"How high's the toxicity now?" Tony asked as he stepped off the scale.

"Yesterday's blood sample came back at 0.45 milligrams per kilogram of your weight," Stephen replied. He snapped on a pair of latex gloves.

Tony offered his arm for the blood draw. "And if 3 milligrams is the magic number for fatality, that'd put my current blood toxicity at 15%."

Stephen inserted the needle at the crook of Tony's elbow and watched the tube fill up. "That's not quite how it works."

"It makes sense to me."

"That's still not how it works." He removed the needle and capped the tube, and as he put everything away, explained, "Saying that your blood toxicity is at 15% implies that you're talking about the whole volume of blood in your body. You're probably at about 5,500 milliliters with your weight, and with the density of blood equaling about 1.06 grams per milliliter, it is like you're saying—"

"That 874.5 grams of my blood is toxic, yeah, yeah, I know," Tony interrupted. By now he was setting up the table for their breakfast.

"I was getting there."

"You were going too slow," he shot back easily. Stephen gave the engineer a look at the comment, but Tony ignored it. "Yeah, I know it's not my whole body's blood volume. Obviously. But putting a percentage on how long until I reach the point that I'm dead makes sense to me. I'm not measuring the whole volume of my blood, I'm measuring how much more can I handle until I'm dead."

Stephen shot him a frown. "It doesn't make sense to call it 'blood toxicity' then."

"Maybe not to you, but it does to me. And I'd design such a measuring tool for me."

The statement caught him off guard. "Design?" He finished packing up the kit and joined Tony at the table.

"Well, if I wasn't stuck in here, I'd design something to automatically read a blood sample, like how glucose meters read blood sugar levels. Wouldn't be hard to engineer something like that. And I'd have it give me the amount of toxicity as a percentage relating to how far along it was until the amount was lethal. Sure, I could memorize the numbers, but the percentage would be more concrete in my head."

Stephen smeared butter over a piece of bread as he listened. He shook his head at the end of Tony's explanation. "Wouldn't work for the consumer market; there's too much room for interpretation as to what the percentage means."

Tony huffed. "Well, like I said, it'd be for me. Not the consumer market."

His brow furrowed. "You're telling me that you can make a blood test as simple as the one used for testing blood sugar levels for something as rare as palladium poisoning?"

He narrowed his eyes. "... yes…"

"You can make it portable like the glucose meters?"

"Yeah, of course."

"And affordable to most hospitals?"

Tony looked up in thought. "I don't usually factor in the costs of materials and manufacturing in personal projects, and others do the number crunching to see if my ideas are viable for production in company projects. If they aren't, but I really want them to be, I'll tinker a bit more, sure."

Stephen couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Do you realize the amount of money you could save for both hospitals and patients across the country with such technology? Specialized blood tests—like for many metal poisonings, for instance—aren't offered at every hospital. It may not be available even in every state. Those types of lab results can take weeks to get back to a doctor and the patient. And you're saying that you can not only potentially create this type of technology, but that you may be able to make it affordable if you really want them to be?"

"Well yeah, sure. I've done it a few times with other things. I could probably do that with a blood meter thing. I doubt the tech's that complicated."

His mouth was partially hanging open, Stephen realized this, but he couldn't bother at the moment. He was flabbergasted. The first thought that came to mind went to his mouth, unfiltered. "And you spent the last two decades building weapons."

"Don't." The word was sharp and filled with an overabundance of emotion.

Stephen fell silent. He crossed a boundary he had yet to see before now, and he was not so callous as to push against it. Instead he turned to his meal and focused on eating. He avoided looking at the other man.

A couple minutes later, Tony spoke again. It was low, pensive. Thoughtful. "There was a good reason I shut down weapons manufacturing after I got back from Afghanistan, you know. If the department ever comes back, it will be with major restrictions and modifications. Likely more defensive than offensive. More shields, less missiles. But in the meantime I've been restructuring. Expanded in commercial aerospace and industry. We entered the energy market properly. Consumer products is coming soon—end of the year, probably." A pause. "Don't see why we can't look into medical tech, either. Certainly wouldn't hurt to try."

He could only nod and say, "It certainly wouldn't."

[vespertineflora]

WangXian Fics

Ongoing:

as the sun will rise E, Fairy Tale AU, Slow Romance/Happy Ending, 50k+ For centuries, the villagers surrounding the Qianlian Forest have been beholden to a fearsome creature. A once loved Prince was long ago cursed into a monstrous form, and ever since has required the sacrifice of maidens to ensure the safety of the forest and the people living around it. This forlorn tradition might have continued for centuries longer... but when it comes time for Lotus Pier to send a maiden as tribute, Jiang Yanli is chosen, and Wei Wuxian won't stand for it. His plan is simple; he'll send Jiang Yanli off to live the long life she deserves with her fiancé, and offer himself as a sacrifice to the Prince instead.

Completed:

at night your body is a symphony E, Post-Canon, Established Relationship, 7k Two weeks ago, mere days after Wei Wuxian’s confession and their first shared kiss, Lan Wangji had been a semi-clueless virgin. Now, Lan Wangji had seemingly unlocked whatever secret code was required to reduce Wei Wuxian to a quivering mess in just a few sparse minutes, playing him as expertly as he played his guqin. Wei Wuxian was half-convinced he'd been seduced by a demon.

do you know who tells the truth? E, Post-Canon, Confessions, 21k Wei Wuxian has been wallowing in feelings for Lan Wangji that he's had a hard time accepting and sometimes, when you need a healthy heaping of the truth, the best place to get it is from drunks and children. (the one in which a short-tempered Jin Ling and a drunk Lan Xichen open Wei Wuxian's eyes to some very convenient truths)

a call to motion E, Post-Canon, Confessions, 14.6k Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji take the junior disciples out on what they expect to be a standard night-hunt, but when Wei Wuxian is targeted with an odd talisman, they end up with a much stranger problem than any of them could have anticipated.

i'd like to drown with you E, Post-Canon, Hot Springs Sex, 7k As soon as Wei Wuxian learns the Cloud Recesses has hot springs, he insists his husband take him, but knowing Wei Wuxian, his intentions go far beyond just taking a relaxing soak.

so full of love E, Post-Canon, Co/ckwarming, 5.1k Wei Wuxian’s head lolled back against Lan Wangji’s shoulder behind him as he let out a faint and content sigh. It was late, well past when Lan Wangji would normally have headed to bed. The only light in the room was the warm glow of the lantern on the desk in front of them, illuminating the hunt notes that Lan Wangji would have graded earlier if Wei Wuxian hadn’t seduced him into bed immediately after their return from dinner. It was a chilly autumn night, and Wei Wuxian was naked, but he had found the warmest seat possible in Lan Wangji’s lap.

oh but you're good to me E, Canon Divergent, Omegaverse, 10k Wei Wuxian had never been good at keeping track of his heats, even though he'd been dealing with them for years. It was one of the many ways Jiang Yanli spoiled him too much, always warning him a couple of days ahead of time so that he'd be prepared... But he and Jiang Cheng had been in Wen territory for weeks now, and after accidentally leading a coup against Wen Chao and being left behind in a cave with Lan Wangji and the terrifying demi-xuanwu, the last thing Wei Wuxian expected was for his heat to sneak up on him now. (basically, an aboverse au where poor omega Wei Wuxian goes into heat while he and an alpha Lan Wangji are waiting for rescue in the cave.)

The Beauty of Love As It Was Made To Be (series, complete) love; it will not betray you E, Canon Divergent, Omegaverse, 17.9k (pt 1) When Wei Wuxian realizes how strange it is that Lan Wangji is the only disciple from his sect at the Wen Sect's indoctrination, he puts together a haphazard plan to get punished with him and get some time alone to talk to him--only to get punished again when Wen Chao catches him mid-conversation attempt. At first, Wei Wuxian laughs off getting shoved into the empty dungeon, but he soon notices that some strange scent in the room is making him go into heat, which is a twist that Wei Wuxian doesn't understand. It's only when a rutting Lan Wangji gets shoved into the room with him that Wei Wuxian realizes Wen Chao's idea for punishing him is far more demented than he could have imagined. (canon divergent from The Untamed, episode 12)

love; it will set you free E, Canon Divergent, Omegaverse, 25.5k (pt 2) Lan Wangji hadn't been prepared for the punishment Wen Chao had had in mind--and he certainly hadn't been prepared for how it would play out, from Wei Wuxian's suggested solution, to the claiming bite and resulting bond that revealed deeper emotions than Lan Wangji could ever have anticipated from Wei Wuxian. Surviving the indoctrination camp is only the first step down a long road towards the life he's desperate to have with his new mate.

imagine being loved by me E, Post-Canon, Rope Bondage, 11.2k After a year together, Wei Wuxian has been tied up with his husband's forehead ribbon enough times to get an idea of what he likes, and decides to get him a present to make things a little more fun for both of them. But as usual, when Wei Wuxian asks for trouble, he always gets a little more of it back than he's expecting.

the best of you (belongs to me) E, Modern AU, Bondage & Sensory Deprivation, 7.4k Having received no reaction from Lan Zhan, Wei Ying couldn’t help himself; he rubbed his hips more pointedly against Lan Zhan, moaning faintly at the fiction he’d generated as he inhaled slowly, the scent Lan Zhan was wearing filling his nose and making his head buzz with memories of Lan Zhan pinning him to the bathroom wall, taking him forcefully as he covered his mouth with his hand to keep him quiet...

The chopping of vegetables stopped. “Wei Ying, I started cooking because you said you were hungry,” Lan Zhan said, trying to sound patient, though his tone was faintly vexed. “Do you want dinner or do you want sex?”

Wei Ying huffed softly, pouting at his own inner turmoil, before replying, “...yes.”

the heart is hard to translate E, Post-Canon, Consensual Non-Consent, 10.8k For months, Wei Wuxian had been haunted by the most enticing fantasies of Lan Wangji kissing him on Phoenix Mountain turning into something quite a bit more explicit--which was nothing new for him, really. He'd been babbling about fantasies of Lan Wangji overpowering and ravishing his younger self ever since their very first time together, and it wasn't as if those fantasies had gone away over time. If anything, they'd just grown more diverse, more... creative. The moment comes almost out of the blue when, one relaxed spring afternoon, Lan Wangji decides that he's ready to offer Wei Wuxian an opportunity to play out that very delicious fantasy about their stolen first kiss.

and i'll get you lost E, Post-Canon, Fem!Wangxian, 8.4k After a year of marriage to her wonderful wife, Wei Ying's sex life is anything but stale--but she's nothing if not always eager to try something new. The minute Lan Zhan tells her she has a surprise for them, Wei Ying can hardly wait to find out what it is. (a canon-compliant, post-series AU where Wei Ying and Lan Zhan are both ladies)

these words are knives that often leave scars T, Post-Canon, Hurt/Comfort, 6.5k Wei Wuxian hadn’t been lying the night he’d told Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji that he didn’t remember the days after the massacre at Nightless City, but his memory had always been awful, so he hadn't given much thought to just how many pieces of his memory were missing. Since his reincarnation, memories from his past life have been coming back to him bit by bit, and he doesn't seem to have much control over it--but if he did, he would have chosen to never remember what happened those days in that cave in Yiling.

one last drink T, During Canon, Grief/Mourning, 1.1k Wei Wuxian had always said that the Emperor's Smile in Gusu was the best liquor he'd ever had. He'd never have a chance to drink it again now, so the least Lan Wangji could do was have a drink in his memory. (WangXian Week 2020 Prompt: Emperor's Smile)

how it was to feel alive T, During Canon, Grief & Hurt/Comfort, 4k On Lan Wangji's first day out of the Jingshi in the months since his severe punishment, he takes Lan Yuan to go visit his rabbits. The trip doesn't go according to plan, but it ends up being the push Lan Wangji needs to move forward. (An au where everything is the same, EXCEPT Lan Wangji's rabbits are Flemish Giants). Written for Untamed FallFest 2020: Remains.

r/relationships T, Modern AU, Pining & Confessions, 10.6k Lan Zhan has been in love with his best friend for nearly a decade and despite his attempts, has never managed to confess. Now that Wei Ying's lease is almost up, there's a chance he'll be moving in with him soon, and Lan Zhan isn't sure that's something he'll survive... The impending stress leads to a drink, which in turn leads to a desperate Reddit post that goes viral and attracts attention and advice from... well, none other than Wei Ying, resulting in a series of failed attempts at getting Wei Ying to realize just how Lan Zhan feels about him.

surely to the sea T, Modern AU, Hair Washing/Non-Sexual Intimacy, 2.1k Lan Zhan has had a rough week at work, so Wei Ying decides to do something very sweet for him.

[jsficrecs]

A Tale Told Before, Told Again - The Witcher

A Tale Told Before, Told Again by taran

Rating: 16+ Audiences

Word Count: 57375

Status: Incomplete

Summary: Fleeing across a war-torn Cintra on her quest to find Geralt of Rivia, Ciri finds... not Geralt.

*

“I want you to let me go!” She snapped, and pulled her arm from his grasp. He let her go easily. “It’s, it’s no business of yours what I am doing,” she declared, every inch royalty in her moment. It fled her the next, leaving a scared little girl in its wake. “Please, let me be.”

“I can’t,” Jaskier replied instantly, and he found he meant it. “Let me help you,” he said.

After a long, squint-eyed moment of suspicion, her chin thrust up defiantly.“I won’t lie on my back for you.”

“Lie on your-- no,” he retched, horrified, but her face remained as it had, cagey, untrusting, jaded. “Princess, no. I want nothing so vile from you, I promise you. You must leave this place, immediately. You need accompaniment,” he pressed, even as she shook her head. “You- you need to find Geralt of Rivia!”

Some Thoughts: I absolutely treasure this fanfic, despite the fact that it hasn’t updated since April. Personally, I really like long fanfics, and would try to consume as much of the really long fanfics as possible, and this fanfic has 9 chapters for 50k+ words. The bells were ringing in my head, especially after I saw the tags, to read it. I was like, “Okay, brain. Whatever you say, but if it’s bad, you know what to do.” And it was not bad. It was great. I finished that fanfic in one morning. It was so good, so well written, and Geralt hasn’t even appeared yet! 

Half-way through the fanfic, I already knew it was going to be good. The premise alone is so different and seems like something straight out of my fantasies, and I just wish there was more like it. Of course, there are fanfics where Ciri finds Jaskier, or fanfics where Dara remains with Ciri, or Mousesack lives, but I’m shocked at how well the author combined these elements into such a good and compelling story with such a different dynamic. After I recommended this to my friend, she messaged me while she was reading it to tell me how well written it was. 

Don’t stop yourself from reading it because it’s ongoing. The risk is there, I understand, but it’s also so worth it. I loved reading the first 9 chapters–– the way Jaskier in this fanfic is portrayed is likely one of my favorites, and Ciri’s and Dara’s characterization works so well. It’s charming, thrilling, and I’m so grateful to the author for writing this. This deserves more kudos than what it’s getting. Just please read it, look at it, and enjoy the first 9 chapters as much as I have. 

Available on Site(s): Ao3

Part of a Series: No.

Other Notes: Kudos: 2800+; Bookmarks: 1600+; Hits: 820+ (if you’re into those kinds of statistics). Dadskier; Post-Episode 6; Multi-chapter; Multiple POV; Canon Divergence; Sort of a Fix-it (Mousesack lives and Dara remains); Ongoing

[phanficawards]

Phanfiction Awards 2019!

Welcome to the Phanfiction Award Nominations! This year, things are going to be a bit different! We’ve merged with the @phanfictionawards (which are already running right now but will be moving to this blog) and will be using some of their categories and some of our old ones! There are also a couple rule changes, so make sure to keep reading to check them out! 

As the Awards are on Google Forms again this year, we’ve limited Nominations to one nomination per award per person. You will need a google account in order to place nominations, however this will also allow you to edit your nomination forms as often as you like until nominations close on New Years Day. Please note, however, that while we will not be checking in on nominations until the forms are closed, any person who leaves more than one nomination to one award will have their nominations discarded. This does not mean your entire form is null and void, just that one question.  The lack of character limit is only to allow ample room to fit the full fic title, author name, and website, not to allow more than one answer to be given.

Only fics started and in the year of 2019 will be included. This applies to chaptered fics as well. The only exception is the “Best Fic Completed in 2019″ Category. 

Remember to pick the fic that you personally think deserves to be nominated the most, even if it is a hard choice. Take your time and make sure you’ve nominated the fic you want to nominate most by the January 1 deadline! After that, we’ll have a tiebreaker vote if necessary to determine the top 5 nominated fics for each category. We’ll give you until January 7 to read the nominated fics, and then voting will be open until January 31. On February 1, we’ll announce the winners!

NEW THIS YEAR!  To allow multiple fics to get well-deserved recognition, each fic is only eligible to win first place in one award. Nominations will remain the same, but if the same fic places first in multiple votes, it will only win first place in the one it won by the highest margin in. In the others, the second place winner will be bumped to first. Secondly, we are discouraging any form of self-promotion if you have been nominated as this can easily sway voting. A simple ‘hey guys! I was nominated for the phanfiction awards!’ will be fine, but a ‘hey guys! I was nominated for these awards on these fics and if you like those fics, maybe you can vote!’ can lead to a disqualification of those fics in the final results. To keep the voting fair, we’ll be checking to see if authors are swaying voting in any way.

Below are listed Categories and the Awards under their form with added explanations to help you understand what each Award is for.

Best By Genre:

Best Angst - best angst fic of 2019

Best Fluff - best fluff fic of 2019

Best Smut - best smut fic of 2019

Best Combination - best fic including elements of angst, fluff, and smut

Best Au - best overall alternate universe fic

Best Reality - best fic based on dan and phil’s real world and history

Best Slowburn - best fic that made you feel the burn of their slow going romance

Best Crack Fic - best fic that was clearly written as a joke in 2019

Best Horror Fic - best horror fic of 2019

Best Hardcore Smut - best fic where it’s PWP–porn without plot

Best Historical - best historically based fic of 2019 (e.g. WWII-based fic)

Best Sci-Fi - best science fiction fic of 2019 (e.g. alien or dystopia based)

Favorite Genre of 2019 - overall favorite genre of 2019 (e.g. angst, fluff, smut, au)

Best By Trope:

Best Parent!phan - best fic in which Dan and/or Phil has kids, written in 2019

Best Punk x Pastel - best fic in which one of them is pastel and the other is punk, written in 2019

Best Coffee Shop!Au - best fic in which Dan and Phil meet in a coffee shop, written in 2019

Best Songfic - best fic based off a song in 2019

Best 2009!Phan - best fic based off of Dan and Phil in 2009, written in 2019

Best Polyamorous Fic - best fic that features Dan and Phil romantically or sexually involved with a third person

Best Teenage!phan - best fic in which Dan and Phil are teenagers

Best Present!phan - best fic based on Dan and Phil in present time

Best Fem!phan - best genderswap fic of 2019

Best Omegaverse - best omegaverse fic of 2019

Favorite Fanfic Trope of 2019 - favorite overall trope of 2019 (e.g. Pastel/Punk, Coffee Shop, Soulmates)

Best By Length/Status:

Best Drabble - best fic written in less than 1k words

Best Oneshot - best fic posted in one chunk

Best Chaptered Fic - best fic posted in chapters

Best Long Fic - best fic with 50k+ words

Best WIP - best Work in Progress

Best Abandoned Fic - best fic that an author no longer is working on but still deserves recognition

Best Undiscovered Fic - best fic with under 50 notes that deserves more

Best Series - best series as in it’s a fic with more than one part–but not chaptered!!

Best Miscellaneous:

Most Unique Storyline - fic with the most original storyline in 2019

Most Unique Writing Style - fic with the most interesting and unique writing style in 2019

Best Fic to Make You Smile - the fic that you couldn’t stop smiling at in 2019

Best Fic to Make You Cry - the fic that made you an emotional wreck in 2019

Best Fic to Make You Laugh - the best written fic in 2019 meant to make you laugh

Most Cliche Fic - best written cliche-based fic of 2019 (e.g. meet-cutes in a coffee shop) 

Most Memorable - the fic from 2019 that you’ll never be able to forget

Best Characterization - the fic with the best characterization of Dan, Phil, or both in 2019 

Best Fic to Have You on the Edge of Your Seat - the fic in 2019 that made you feel like you were constantly on the edge of your seat 

Best Original Character - fic that used an original character best in 2019

Favorite friend of Dan and Phil to add to a fic - Cat, Bryony, etc.

Best Overall:

Best Author of 2019 - the author you think rocked 2019

Best Author - your overall favorite phanfic author

Best Up and Coming Author - author who began writing fics within the last year

Best Beta Reader - the beta reader who you feel deserves recognition

Best Ao3 Fic - best fic only posted on Ao3

Best Tumblr Fic - best fic only posted on Tumblr

Best Wattpad Fic - best fic only posted on Wattpad

Best Collaboration - best fic with 2 or more authors

Best Fic of 2019 - best fic written AND finished in 2019

Original Categories (Categories from the old Phanfic Awards!) 

Favorite Phan Blogger - for your favorite phan tumblr blog!

Favorite 2019 Dan Moment - favorite moment involving just Dan

Favorite 2019 Phil Video - favorite video Phil did alone

Favorite Phan Moment of 2019 - favorite Dan and Phil moment that happened in 2019

Favorite 2019 Dan Tweet - favorite Dan tweet of the year

Favorite 2019 Phil Tweet - favorite Phil tweet of the year

Most Memorable 2019 Dan Instagram Story

Most Memorable 2019 Phil Instagram Story

Best Platonic Fic - best fic where Dan and Phil are platonic friends

Best Fantasy - best fic written in a fantasy-esque setting (Hogwarts, Supernatural, Alien, etc.)

Best Trope - best trope-based fic (Pastel/Punk, Coffee Shop, Soulmates, etc.)

Best LGBTQ+ - best fic dealing directly with LGBTQ+ issues

Best Universe Augmentation - best fic based on reality with one fact changed to change the world (e.g. Dan and Phil as they are, but they didn’t meet until later)

Alternative Work Award - best fic written in an alternative style (e.g. poem, texting)

Pure Fluff Award - the best, fluffiest fic of 2019

If you have any more questions about the category or our merger, check out our FAQ, and if you can’t find your answers there, send us an ask!

[mostweakhamlets]

Sometimes I feel like fanfic writers kinda get the short end of the stick in terms of audience. Especially in bigger fandoms. And this is nothing against fanartists bc y'all are lovely people, and you deserve the money you're making through commissions and patreons. But I just never see fic writers get the same opportunities, and I think that there's a lot of things at play.

For starters, I think a lot of people think writing is easy and doesn't take time (both for original works and fics). But people who are really serious about posting fics on a schedule (or regularly) and who are honing their writing and editing skills through fic are putting a lot of effort into it. They're just like fanartists who are posting new works every week or two.

Then there's art being this readily accessible medium. You can look at it, reblog it, and move on to the next piece. With fic, you need to put more time into consuming it bc that's just how reading works. So 1) look at the art longer bc hours and hours of work went into it you could at least look at it for more than 2 seconds and 2) if you have the free time, don't just blow off a fic that comes across your dash. Fanartists can get thousands and thousands of notes on tumblr, but I never see fics getting those same notes until they're short.

Which brings me to my next point: fandom attention span. I get that you don't always have time to sit down and read a long fic, and no one is ever going to hold that against you. If you're busy, you're busy. If you don't have the energy, you don't have the energy. But I feel like there's a sort of illiteracy and stubborness in fandom where people don't want to read works that don't already conform to their interests.

I see too often "Oh, I don't like AUs." Really? Every single AU? You come across a beautifully written piece of work but because it's tagged as AU on AO3, you won't read it? You judge medieval AUs and coffee shop AUs and celebrity AUs all the same? I understand when it comes to pairings and genres and ratings, but people constantly seek out the same tropes over and over without giving something new a chance. I see people with really interesting stories get not a lot of hits on AO3 bc they don't fall in with the latest "slow-burn, friends to lovers, 50k" trends or whatever. That means people don't even open these fics. And read what you like, but don't limit yourself to things you already know you like. Experiment a little. You don't have to love everything you read. Reading a fic you didn't enjoy isn't wasted time. Also, not every author writes the same tropes the same.

I think my final point is that people don't circulate fics like they do with art. Art gets reblogged. Fics get comments and then shoved to the bottom of the AO3 page after an hour. So share fics that you like! Bookmark them and make rec lists and share them in discord servers! Send the link to a friend! Do something that gets it more hits and comments or tumblr notes. Do it out of spite for E.L James who frequently posted short updates to her Twilight fanfic, constantly keeping it at the top of the feed and getting lots of views which encouraged her to make it into 50 Shades of Gray.

And if you see a fic writer mention something about a Kofi page, consider dropping a few bucks in. Because writers don't get to advertise that with fics on AO3.

[imyourliquor-youremypoison]

LotR fic rec - Éomer x Lothíriel (2)

This is the second part to this post (+ this one because this particular fanfic deserved a post of its own) because one does not simply stop at 10 éothiriel fanfictions when there are so many more to read out there. Binge reading is now a thing, I speak it into existence as I go from fic to fic for this one pairing.

Of Falcons and Mûmakil, by Lialathuveril (114k)

Set a year after the end of the Ring War, this is the story of how Éomer and Lothiriel first met, fell in love and got married. They managed to do this despite several obstacles on the way including his sister, her eldest brother and a foolhardy band of Southrons. I’ve tried to keep Éomer in character to how he’s described in the books, brave and strong, with a sudden temper but also with a keen sense of humour. Lothiriel I see as quite young (she's twenty at the time they meet) and not quite sure of her role in life yet, impulsive and warmhearted

I find once again Lialathuveril’s style. After reading several of The Moonlily’s fanfictions in a row I became used to her prose, but Lialathuveril is just as good even if it’s different. The main difference being that they each have their own way to write Lothiriel, but in this fanfiction I find she became of mix of each of these author’s preferred personality for her.

Despite how long the fanfiction is, it’s easy to read, and rather quick too. You just read chapter after chapter, devouring them all, and before you know it you’ve reached the end and long for more.

I particularly like that we get as much of Eomer’s thoughts on what’s happening as we get Lothiriel’s. It’s not restricted to a single point of view, which allows you to feel closer to Eomer’s character (because sometimes it’s not the case, since he’s present in the books/movies, the authors assume we know him and don’t need to be imersed in his thoughts, therefore they focus on Lothiriel whom we barely know anything about).

Open My Eyes, by The Moonlily (36k)

A young, unusual lady teaches the King of Rohan that some of the most important things you can't see with your eyes.

Very different take on the usual Eothiriel stories, I think it’s fair to say that I had a few expectations when I opened this fanfiction. While it is the usual high quality fiction provided by The Moonlily, some of those expectations were not fulfilled, which is partly to be blamed on me really. As the story progressed I tried to guess what would happen next, and in the end I liked the theory I came up with so much that I was a little disappointed by the final twist.

But aside from all personal feelings I still think that the final reveal wasn’t as dramatic as it could (should?) have been, given how much of a deal the characters made of it.

Other than that it was a very enjoyable story that I recommend to everyone, if only because it’s well written, not so long as to take a lot of your time if you end up not liking it, and because of how different it is from all other eothiriel stories I’ve read (which is 15 so far if you must know).

Second Time Lucky, by heckofabecca  (14k)

When Lothíriel makes a hasty promise to a lady in distress, she must use all her wits to keep her footing. But there's more than one type of falling... 

Very, very nice and funny to read. This Lothiriel has nothing to envy to all the others I’ve read about though she is quite different, and maybe closer to what we imagine a Princess of Dol Amroth to be like.

Bound by Duty, by Lady Bluejay (99k)

Coming to terms with her arranged marriage, Lothiriel has to face returning to Meduseld alone. How will she cope with those who did not want a Gondorian for a Queen? 

A liiittle bit of a slow burn, just enough to have me foaming at the mouth but not so long as to make me wish I’d never opened it. It’s good guys, it’s so good. Of course you’re going to tell me “why, yes, Alyssa, of course it’s good, this is lady bluejay” and you are right my friend, but it doesn’t hurt do say it twice. This is also one of the sexiest fanfictions I’ve read for this couple? I did not expect it, but the intimacy is treated in a very delicate yet bold way. Loved it. Read it.

Heart of a Queen, by The Moonlily (50k)

"You are a Princess of Dol Amroth, Lothíriel, and you were born as brave and proud as your brothers." 

GOD this story gave me emotional blue balls! I am SO HAPPY it isn’t one of The Moonlily’s longer works because it could very well have ended me right then and there. It gives you an in-depth view of Lothiriel’s inner journey and thoughts as she gets familiar with Rohan and its enigmatic king. As a reader, I was just as frustrated as her in face of Eomer’s aloofness and cryptic behavior, maybe even more because I KNEW there was more to it, we just didn’t know what yet.

As always a nice, refreshing new light shines on the characters (still marveling at how the author can do that after writing so many fanfictions for this pairing) especially on Lothiriel, and while it is not my personal favorite take of her persona, it is still a pleasure to read, and a beautiful tribute to Tolkien and his work. Much like Bound by Duty, she is much more princess-ish and feminine and delicate - and everything you might expect a princess to be. Which is all fair and good, but I have a slight preference for the bold, adventurous Lothiriel.

See ya soon for another review of a The Moonlily fanfic (at this point I should just rename this fic rec to ‘the Moonlily fangirling’)

Game of Hearts, by hannah.jpg (31k)

Humiliated at her waning popularity in Minas Tirith, Lothíriel seeks to regain her reputation: by snagging the King of Rohan, of course. What could go wrong?

I had never read about a Lothiriel like this one before this story, and I’m not sure what to think about her. The story is quite short and well-written, I’ll say that first, and I don’t regret the hours spent reading it (I am a very slow reader) because I love reading about new ways this ship gets together, they never disappoint. But I’ll also say that Lothiriel did elicit some contradictory emotions. She gets through quite a bit of character development within 31k words, therefore at the end, she’s where I like her to be (so to say). However, at the beginning, I was very put off by her characterization, and I admit I (maybe) would have stopped reading had the fanfic been 50k+, but I’m glad I didn’t because she got back in my good graces.

The story is told from Lothiriel’s point of view, though to conclude, I’ll add that it was Eomer’s character that transpires the most, even if we only get to see what he thinks through the dialogue. I guess what you don’t say is as telling as the things you say out loud.

A Long and Winding Road (292k) by The Moonlily

To flee from a dreadful fate, she is sent into hiding. But how can she hide her heart from the man who also holds her secret? 

Yeah, that’s right. Another fanfiction from The Moonlily. Another excellent story with good characterization, lovable side characters, heartfelt conversations by the hearth and painful mutual pining. This one made be very horny because the sexual tension between Eomer and Lothiriel was too much for me. Seriously, this story makes you lust for both physical and emotional intimacy, I am not alright as I write this, folks.

It’s also a slow, and I mean very slow, burn. Hold onto ya feels because you are in for a long, long ride my friends. I was just about to snap and maybe pop a vein or something when they finally acted on their feelings, I cannot stress this enough: it’s a slow burn.

Lady of the Sea (53k), by The Moonlily

How the horselord first met the mermaid.

Listen, I’m not going to say anything again, just accept that I will rec all of The Moonlily’s fanfictions and move on. I loved Lothiriel’s character in this one, I always do when she’s a bit on the feisty side, I don’t know I just think it really suits her and it compliments Eomer’s personality too. As usual, their meeting was excellent in its originality and the skillful way the author always writes that first encounter.

NOTE: I should like to add that if any of the authors whose works are mentioned in my fic recs see this, they are free to keep, use, do whatever they want with the cover(s) I made.

[apocalyvse]

11/11/11

I was tagged by @water-writings <3

1. Do you write fanfictions or original stories and did you ever write fanfiction?

I write (and always have written) both; I actually started writing fanfiction when I was like 10 years old, before I even knew what fanfiction was, and then later discovered that it was a whole thing. For quite a few years now fanfic has been my main thing, but I’ve got a few original things that I’m knuckling down on this year and really enjoying, so we’ll see.

2. Did you ever write your stories in the middle of class instead of paying attention?

Not in the middle of class really, but I did write like half a harry potter au fic sort of thing based off of some rp characters at the end of my year 11/12 exams. The exams were like 3 hours long each, and like, I’m not smart but I am pretty quick at theory stuff so I’d have 1.5-2 hours per exam to fill, and I would never use the note paper for notes. So I’d fold my note paper into 8ths and write reeeeeally really small and fill it all up during my extra exam time. (I still have the sheets of paper if anyone wants to see xD)

3. How many notebooks do you have filled with your writing?

Since somewhere in 2015, I have filled 25 notebooks; not including anything I wrote straight out on a computer, on my phone, on random pieces of paper, or in other notebooks that aren’t included in my numbering system, which I have lmao.

4. What’s your favorite way to write? Notebook, Word Doc, Google Docs?

By hand in notebooks. I used to write in a word doc, and I still use word to type up into and edit it, but I find writing by hand really pushes my word counts up, and forces me to do an initial edit when I type it up, especially with fanfic because I don’t draft fanfic.

5. Do you write by yourself or do you need people writing with you?

I’ve always written alone - most of my friends don’t even know that I write, or don’t write anymore themselves, so it’s just me and myself over here. I was in a writing club at school for a while, and we tried to do a couple projects together, but the group got off course way too easily and nothing really got done, so I prefer to be alone with something I’m really passionate about finishing.

6. Have you ever cowritten with someone?

When I was liiiiiike 12, my friend and I co-wrote a lot of Avatar: The Last Airbender fanfic lmao, which to this day is one of my favourite writing memories. And I co-wrote an entire 50k ‘novel’ with my friend during middle school, which was actually pretty good fun - we traded off chapters and worked together on plot and worldbuilding and actually finished the whole thing. It was horrible (I can’t look at it anymore it’s so cringey), but a good experience to have. I’ve co-written with a few friends online too, with mixed results - nothing that’s ever really gone anywhere though.

7. Who do you bounce ideas off of?

No one lmao. I just throw them into the story and see if they work.

8. Have you ever taken an experience from your life and written it into a story?

Definitely! The most obvious example would probably be the series of short stories I’ve written and posted on this horse racing game I play, Flying For Home, which are sometimes drawn directly from stuff that happens around my workplace in real life, seeing as I work with racehorses in a big stable (the premise of the short stories lmao). 

Another example I can think of is, funnily enough, my other horse-related project; a novel called Vertigo, for which I have drawn on a lot of my own personal history and people that I’ve met in my life and thrown it into the mixing pot. It’s a bit of a personal daydream tbh xD Other than those, there’s a little bit of myself in everything I write, I think, though it’s hard to pick out sometimes.

9. Favorite type of music to listen to while you write.

I usually don’t let myself listen to music when I write, but if I do, it’ll be the playlist I inevitably have for the story, turned down very quiet so that it fades into the background - usually just pop and alternative/indie sort of stuff.

10. Have you ever had anyone give you “advice” that hurt you and prevented you from writing for a while?

I don’t think I’ve ever had anything that stopped me from writing, and I’ve certainly never had criticism from outsiders/strangers or whatever (generally people just ignore me). But I do keep my mum at a distance from my writing, as she tends to just push and push me to ‘publish something already’ and gives off the mentality of ‘it’s not worth wasting your time on if it won’t make you money’. She uh...doesn’t know that I have published over 100k of fanfic this year. Lol. She’s only trying to be supportive, in her own way, and I appreciate it, but I just don’t mention it to her very often, because she’s never really ready to listen to my point of view on it.

11. Have you ever had fans of your writing pester to write a certain way?

I don’t have fans xD

And from @starsandstormyseas because you asked good questions and I Want To...

1. Have you ever had an idea that sounded really great in your head, but when you started writing it, came out terrible for whatever reason?

Yesssss, Flicker has gone through 9 versions in 2 years because every time I start it, it just goes very quickly in directions that I don’t want it to and it never feels right. This version I’m working on now is the first time I’ve really liked all the ways I could go with it so hopefully we’re past book 2 blues and back on track.

2. What’s your favorite part in writing a story? The relationships (or shipping), the plot, the worldbuilding, something else?

The like, ‘main’ scenes, the big hitters. The culmination of all the middle bits into that one main plot point. And relationships too, though not romantic persay - I just really enjoy the scenes where two characters will bounce off of each other for like 7 pages of dialogue, whether its enemies, or friends, or romantic.

3. And weird habits you do when writing, or to keep yourself writing?

I write by hand mostly, and I have my own system to mark as I’m going sentences I don’t like, or words that don’t really fit but I couldn’t think of the right one, or facts I’ve made up on the fly that need to be googled. If I just mark down stuff that I want to change later as I go, I find that I set myself free in a way, and I can just move on without getting stuck on a google spiral (also I don’t forget to fix my plot holes later).

4. Do you keep the internet on or off when you write?

On, though it’s very distracting when I’m trying to write straight on my laptop lmao

5. What books, authors, fics, or any media, have heavily influenced your writing style?

I spent a lot of my childhood reading Enid Blyton and authors like her; older books, mostly my mum’s books from when she was a child, and things from my hometown’s very, very outdated library. So they had a huge impact on the way I learnt to write (they also had an impact on the way I talk too, but that’s another story). More recently, the whole tone and way that fanfic in general is written has really influenced me, and I’d like to think I’ve adopted it and made it my own in a good way.

6. What time is the best time to write? Day, night? Morning, evening?

Evening/night; some days, I cannot focus until like 8pm when I go to bed. And then I lose sleep because I’m writing but y’know. For editing/typing up, that’s a late afternoon kind of job.

7. Is there anyone IRL that you let read your work? 

I have a group of friends that I’ve known for 8 years now that are allowed to read my work. We used to rp together and all used to write and so we all know how bad we were back in the day xD. One girl from that group has been my friend since kindergarten, so she has always had me shoving handfuls of words in her face. There’s been a few other friends that have read some of my stuff, but not all of it, and the older I get, the less I share.

8. How do you handle negative or unhelpful reviews or critique? Does it impact the way you write?

I’ve never had any negative response, so I don’t know. The silence when you’re 4 chapters deep and no one has reviewed is deafening though.

9. Do you respond to every comment/reply you get? If not, which ones get your attention and why?

I only respond to the long/sincere ones, because I feel like they deserve some encouragement in return for taking the time to really let me know what they thought.

10. Ever gotten weird, unsolicited messages asking to join an RP group or some such because this person apparently read your writing (but probably didn’t)?

Hah. Once or twice.

11. What is your favorite platform to post your writing, talk about writing, or anything like that? 

My favourite place to post and to read by far is AO3 - but I find the best platform to get feedback on is FF.net. My favourite place to talk about writing is over here on tumblr.

MY QUESTIONS

How do you get yourself to focus on writing?

What’s your favourite thing you’ve ever written?

Tell me about your current WIP.

Do you write for yourself or for an audience?

Do you share your writing with anyone you know in real life?

What’s the nicest comment/review you’ve ever gotten?

What platform do you prefer to post your work on?

Do you plot or pants?

What have you learnt while writing your stories?

Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?

Can you give a spoiler for your WIP?

Tagging (from writer peeps) @converginglives, @pen-in-hand (if you want another one I think mel got you xD), @aethryos, @paper-shield-and-wooden-sword, @siriusguided, @insertpenname-here, @indecentpause, @writing-at-dusk @sillyliterature @anoddconstellationofthoughts @writingtomorrow

[shower-racoon]

I know that I just posted an advance warning to tell you that this isn't as salty as it might seem to be, but just in case, I want to apologize again if it seems like this post is more than 3% salt, with the reason being that I can't convey sincerity that well

friendly reminder (for those who need it) that likes do nothing but give notes to a post, meanwhile reblogs actually help the post spread. there's no algorithm that shows the most liked posts on people's dashboards. if you reblog a post, the original poster still gets all the notes from the post, and you also get notes when people interact with the version of the post that you reblogged. I know that this can be a bit confusing when worded like this, so let me put it another way:

Bartholomew: character A. Original Poster (OP). has exactly 1 follower who actually interacts with their content. Sahara does not follow them.

Dragon: character B. has 354 followers, including Sahara.

Sahara: character C. a (fictional) tumblr celebrity. has over 50K followers. follows Dragon, but does not know Bartholomew exists.

Scene A: Bartholomew makes a post. Dragon gives the post a like and reblogs the post. Sahara sees Dragon's reblog of Bartholomew's post. Sahara finds the post funny and reblogs it from Dragon. both Bartholomew and Dragon get a notification that Sahara reblogged the post. Bartholomew is happy that the post they made is spreading.

Scene B: Bartholomew makes a post. Dragon gives the post a like, but does not reblog. Sahara, who follows Dragon but not Bartholomew, does not see the post and therefore does not know it exists. Bartholomew is sad that the post does not spread at all, aside from one like.

this is a very specific scenario, and the second scene might demonize Dragon more than they deserve (after all, they might've hit the post limit for that day), but the gist of this set of scenes is this: reblogs are helpful, and likes are okay, but liking in place of reblogging is harmful to the spread of posts (and the OP's self esteem)

this post is directed at people who come from sites where there are algorithms in place to show the most liked content first, but I do not mean to use this post to shame anyone. if you have been liking posts in place of reblogging because you didn't know that this is how this site works, don't be ashamed. this site is one of the few that doesn't have the "most liked content shows up on dashboard" algorithm in place, so it's understandable that you wouldn't get it right off the bat.

Also, if your name happens to be Bartholomew, Dragon, or Sahara, then I want to specify that I am not talking about you specifically in these scenarios. I chose 3 random names, and any affiliation with real people is completely coincidental.

[singt0me]

"Pick a passage of 500 words from one of my fics" I dunno if this is 500 words, but the part in chapter 3 of After when Minho and Gally are talking about leaving Paradise in one of the cars (Also, I'm gonna say now that After is one of the best if not the best fics I've ever read. Out of any pairing or any fandom. It deserves alllllll the awards!)

Sup! This got longer than i thought it would so under the cut :) 

(I apologise in advance for any dumb typos im v sleepy but i have no one to blame but myself so LETS GO)

Hello! First of all,  AAAHH thank you so much!!!! this fic is like my baby, as dramatic as that sounds - it’s the first thing i wrote for tmr and the first thing that was 50k, so it holds a special place in my heart and it means a lot to hear people say that :D

Ok so that scene. I’ll tell you what’s in my head both past and present. Present is good fucking god i need to edit this fic there are so many embarrassing typos people are READING this!!! Past was jesus christ they need to get to the beach already so that this can be close to done because, at that point, it honestly felt like i had been writing this forever. I can’t imagine how published authors feel, having to write 2 to 3 times that amount in less than half the time but I’d hope to find out someday yay aspirations.

What was going through Minho and Gally’s heads are both similar and very different. I think they both feel quite trapped at this point.

For Gally, he feels like he’s trapped in paradise more so than min and thomas and anyone else because he’s never seen what the world looks like beyond their little community. I like to think that the gladers’/the girls’ memories come back slowly and in fragments, sometimes intermingled with each other and scattered (those who didn’t choose to get their full memories restored at the beginning of tdc) and it would probs be pretty frustrating for them. All through After gal’s been dealing with these scattered memories of his life before WICKED, mostly memories of his father’s death that he hasn’t been able to get a solid grip on, but knows it has something to do with the ocean. he thinks going to to beach will help piece things together and give him some closure. and it does (i think it does. did it? it’s been a while wow i need to edit this fic)

For Minho: he’s flipping the fuck out. He feels trapped in Paradise becasue he’s been on scouting missions and knows full well what’s outside their community - i.e. very dangerous people who only tolerate their existence under the agreement that they leave each other alone. 

Think Mad Max. The Walking Dead, Terminus era. Post-Apocalyptic cannibals. yah.

And then gally has to go and be like “hey babe lets go on a holiday.” which, at that point, is by far the worst idea anyone could have had, in minho’s opinion, as he’s still recovering from the whole experience. He calms down some when gally tells him he has no intentions of actually going into the city, though. 

Side note: “I mean we can. We have transport.” He cocks a head at the red Wagon they’re sitting on. “And I’m not talking going to the Grand Canyon or anything. We’d need a boat for that …” They were originally supposed to find a berg early on in the fic and actually go to the grand canyon, but then i was like “if they have a berg and they’re using it for field trips, then whats the point of being isolated from the rest of the world to start over? idk what i was thinking.

For gally, leaving the community for a bit and going to see the ocean is something he needs more than wants at this point in the fic, and minho can most definitely see this, which is one of, if not the biggest, defining reason that he agrees to go, even if the thought terrifies him and boy, does it ever. 

Also quickly, in terms of minho and gally together and their building relationship at this point in the fic; i felt like they needed to get the heck out of there. It’s still not the healthiest – it’s by far tons better than it was previously – but they were getting too comfortable in this little bubble that they’d created, the honeymoon phase if you will, after the somewhat rocky period ended. But they still have walls up, they’re still not communicating as best as they should, and i felt like paradise was choking the ability to do so out of them. 

This is getting pretty long and i need to go to bed so i’m going to stop here before i start to ramble but yes! i hope that answers something! a while ago i was planning on writing a side fic on what happened in the city/how min found out about newt and idk maybe i’ll actually do it one day. I do miss this verse! 

Thanks! 

ask me totally self-indulgent questions

[onestepwiser]

Financial favours from my parents

I should probably treat this as a to-be-added-as-I-remember post rather than a one time list, lol.

Here are two things that are top of mind:

1. When I needed my first cell phone as a student, I was a month shy of turning 18 so my dad created the account in his name. I still paid the bills but the responsibility - and the credit record impact - were technically his. He’s never been on top of his credit as far as I know so I don’t think he ever really cared, but in retrospect I’m appalled that that account stayed in his name for like 6 years during which I did not have a perfect payment history because I was a student and my income was variable. It may not have been a significant drag on his credit but it wouldn’t have been good for my score or history so I’m really appreciative that he took that on for me. Basically, I got to start with a cleaner slate than I deserve, and when I look at the account history on my credit report now I’m amazed and grateful that those early years aren’t part of it. 

2. My parents saved about $9-10k for my 1st year university costs through monthly contributions over 12+years an RESP, which then generated an additional $9-12k of earnings which were paid directly to me through my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year of studies. That’s basically in the range of $20k that they provided for me, no strings attached. They never guilted me about my study choices or grades based on the concept that they had saved for my education - I mean if they did, I don’t even remember ever hearing it, so to me that’s the same as them not doing it! $20k no questions asked. The main reason I feel grateful for this is because of comparisons with what I’ve heard about other people’s parents. They couldn’t afford to me help in any other way in terms of paying for tuition or living expenses in real time while I was in school, their only majorly identifiable financial contribution was the RESP. So I ended up $50k in student loan debt and probably spent an additional maybe $6k of earnings while I was in school, and the question of whether my education was a wise use of $75k+ or not is a different question entirely. If I had made other choices, that $20k from my parents may have had a lot more impact than it did. But nonetheless the fact remains that $20k is a hefty chunk of cash I got to use towards this major experience in my life and it came purely because my parents put the arrangements in place for it (and more specifically because my mom paid all of the monthly premiums despite having a very modest income, apparently the CCTB she used to get for me basically went straight to the RESP whereas she could have used that money on other stuff for us). If I didn’t use it in the best fashion that’s on me and on just life circumstances but I really can’t say enough about how grateful I feel on the realization of just how much that actually was! I’ve been out of school for several years now, and it’s been even longer than that that I received my last RESP installment, so it’s a rather delayed realization. At the time, I was only aware that the amount from the RESP only paid a small portion of my costs for any given year so it always seemed paltry and I was never fully appreciative at the time. Now when I can look at it in aggregate, and with the perspective of a few years distance to understand what life would have looked like if I didn’t have it..ouff, yeah. Grateful all around :)

3. Oh yeah thought of a 3rd one...they started a bank account for me when I was like 10 years old. I didn’t accumulate much there in the way of savings but it meant I was ready to go by the time I was an adult, like already having an anchor in the world of personal finance...and as noted in my previous post, my bank then did me a number of favours over the years that leads me to still be happy with their services all this time later.