#2023 fic reading challenge

[jandjsalmon]

2023 FFRC - November ❄️

Happy December, my friends! I was delayed in this post because the basketball season has begun again and I'll spend the next 4 months chasing after my daughter and her teammates as they try to defend their Provincial Title for their final year of high school. This weekend, we travelled far for her first tournament of the year. It was a lot of driving - which meant a lot of opportunity to read fanfiction.

With that in mind, as of yesterday morning, I finished the complete @fanfic-reading-challenge and I feel super accomplished. It’s a fun challenge. If you’re interested in fanfiction challenges, next year’s will be just as awesome. Lots of fun pairings explored and SO many great stories. I'm going to keep counting on my tracking sheet so I can reach my goal of 20 million words read this year. I'm SO CLOSE!

November 2023

Since my challenge is complete, I'm free to read anything I want. If you have any suggestions or favourites - please point me in their direction. I'll need stories to read on the way to 🏀

Anyway - Here are just a couple favourites from November. Enjoy!

–*–

like some passing afternoon. by @theravenandtheartist (Wenvier - M 1/1) Notes: A Hanahaki Disease fic. There are lots of these in various fandoms and they always make my heart twist with worry. This one is no exception - when one of the pairing is as emotionally constipated as any character ever has been, it's unsurprising when she doesn't realize that he's been pining and in love with her until it's almost too late. But I'm here for only happy endings of course. It's a new-ish author and I really like them. Give it a try!

–*–

Scars by IndianSummer13 (Bughead- T 20/20) Notes: I reread a lot of favourites this month. Comfort fics - and this one is my ultimate comfort Bughead fic. I reread it often and if you're one of the very few people in the fandom who haven't read it yet - I implore you. Juggie is a photographer. Betty is a model. Some pretty horrible things happen to her and Juggie is able to be a friend to her and then help heal her (by helping her heal herself). If chef's kiss was a fanfiction - for me at least, it would be this one.

–*–

Anyway - the holidays are almost upon us. I hope you’re all able to be rested and find joy in whatever holiday you celebrate.

[stingray-art]

He had to stop himself from fiddling with the gold band, so unfamiliar on his finger.  Acting the part of a dashing ladies' man for his jobs was one thing, but a doting and devoted husband was another. Especially when it was her.

Based on @ladycrescentvenus’s fic, Lucifer’s 13, for the Greed Island Server card #13, Luck Bankbook 💎

@hxhevents

[ensinia-internetstranger]

Me waiting for the day this mf loses his shit please we need to see his sanity go out the window

[ficreadingchallenge]

Summer Fic Reading Bingo

This is a low key summer reading challenge specifically for fandom. All you have to do to participate is get a bingo card, read a fic, leave a comment, and mark that square off on your card! We hope this will encourage you to step outside your go-to fandom paths and find something new and amazing.

Sign up here.

The challenge will run from June 21, 2023 to September 21, 2023.

Your friendly mods are @carcrash429 and @therealjambery. Now get reading!

FAQ below the cut.

Q: What's all this, then? A: This is a low key summer reading challenge specifically for fandom. All you have to do to participate is get a bingo card, read a fic, leave a comment, and mark that square off on your card!

Q: How do I sign up? A: Fill out this form!

Q: What are the dates of the challenge? A: This year the summer reading challenge starts on the summer solstice, June 21, 2023. You have until the fall equinox, September 21, 2023 to complete your bingo card.

Q: Who can participate? A: Anyone who reads fanfiction!

Q: Can I get a text-based bingo card instead of an image? A: Absolutely, please let us know you’d prefer that format when you sign up.

Q: Do I have to leave a comment to complete the square? A: Yes. I mean, we're not going to check up on you or anything, so it's the honor system. But let's give creators some love, shall we?

Q: Can I listen to podfic instead? A: Yup! The comment rule still applies, though.

Q: What if the thing I'm using to complete my square isn't on AO3? A: That's fine. You can reblog on Tumblr, leave a comment on a blog post, or otherwise let the creator know you enjoyed their story/art/podfic.

Q: What sort of things are on the bingo card? A: You can see our full list here.

Q: What if there is one of my triggers or something that squicks me on the list? A: Just let us know when you sign up and we'll make sure you get a card that doesn't have those things on it.

Q: What do you mean by [fill in the blank]? Does this fic count for that square? A: It's up to your interpretation - we wanted to leave things as broad as possible. If you're really stuck, send us an ask and we can talk about it!

Q: What do I win if I get a bingo? A: The priceless satisfaction of a job well done. Also, we might have something special for you at the end. Guess you'll have to participate to find out.

[fanfic-reading-challenge]

2023 has come to an end!

Hi everyone, thanks to all who participated to whatever degree you wished! Special thanks to those of the Discord group who provided a sense of camaraderie to myself and others all year. We'll definitely be continuing that in the new year. (Link will go up in the 2024 intro post.) And another special thanks to @jandjsalmon for being my right hand lady.

This post is to give the participants their absolutely awesome badges created for us by @a-kinkajou. Seriously, they're awesome.

We didn't do a Google Form this year to 'verify' your level of participation. We've learned we can trust everyone over the years! So grab which badge(s) apply to you! (A higher tier can also claim the lower tier badges.)

Participation: At least 1 task completed

Regular Mode: 80 tasks completed

Hard Mode: 160 tasks completed

Extreme Mode: 240 tasks completed

...and a surprise badge for those who completed 100% of the tasks!

And here are the badges!!!

Congratulations to everyone!!!!!!

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

Day 6: Show/Fear

Prompt List

Pt. 5 of The Empire of Samadhi AU

Pt. 1 | Pt. 2 | Pt. 3 | Pt. 4 | Pt. 5 (you are here) | Pt. 6

(This is day 6 of the Monkie Destiny Challenge Prompt Month October 2023)

Wordcount: 2k

Summary: Red Son is the son of an old empire, Mei is the daughter of a new one. Red Son, consumed by fire, was put into an induced stasis sleep to stop the world from burning until his family can find a way to safely remove the fire. They find a way but he never wakes up. Hundreds of years later he awakes to discover his power resides within another as she stares at him with wide eyes on fire.

Welcome to the Show. 

(This one’s a bit of a spookier one in light of this festive All Hallows’ Eve month. So warning for some mild body horror and creepy description. Please check the tags if you want more detail)

Their landing was awkward. 

Red Son ended up at the bottom of the pile with his face pressed into the floor with the other two on top of him. He knew immediately the destination was wrong when he felt wooden floorboards rather than dusty ash against his cheek. 

They had landed somewhere they weren’t supposed to. 

“Get off.” Red Son attempted to throw the two mortals off him and was kicked in the face twice by Mk before he managed to shove them both off onto the floor. “Idiots.” 

He lifted his head to look around and found they’d landed in a theatre of some kind. It was empty but the lights were on, bringing a warm sort of atmosphere. 

“Uh,” said Mei, with Mk draped over her lap like a limp rag-doll. “Hey, Samadhi Sifu… I think you took a wrong turn.” 

“I didn’t do anything,” Red Son spat. “Some idiot hijacked my portal.” He pushed himself to his feet, cursing under his breath. “They never would have been able to do so if I was at my full strength.” He straightened up after brushing small bits of gold dust from that shattered plate off his hanfu. It didn’t matter much due to the fact it was already covered in soot, but that couldn’t be helped. Merciful Buddha, he wanted a bath. 

“Ow,” said Mk, like he was the one who had gotten kicked in the face. Mei patted his back. 

Red Son glanced around the theatre. It was mostly built from wood. At first glance it appeared to be new, but the closer he looked the more blemishes and broken things there were. It was an old theatre. The curtains were threadbare. There were chips in the wood. The lanterns only lit the space dimly, just bright enough to create shadows without really lighting all that much. All the seats faced a massive white screen at the head of the room. It reminded Red Son of a shadow puppet screen, only much, much bigger. 

“We’ve got another thirty minutes here until my spell kicks back in,” Red Son said, glancing around for the doors or at least some sort of exit. He heard shuffling behind him and turned to see Mk falling off of Mei’s lap and face down onto the floor before popping back up, sitting cross-legged next to her. 

“Well, at least there’s no spooky monkey here,” Mei said. 

Upon being reminded of what exactly they’d been, not running, but retreating from, Red Son’s ire at whoever had portal-jacked him was washed over and drowned out by a very different sort of feeling. 

Mk and Mei seemed content to stay on the ground as Red Son started to pace in front of them. He muttered under his breath. 

Mk looked pale. Red Son had no doubt he’d be looking even paler if he’d known just who had been reaching for him. 

Red Son feared nothing. Not death, not life, and no living being. 

But his hands were shaking. 

From the cold, he hissed to himself through gritted teeth. He would never have been shaking if he had his fire. He wouldn’t be so vulnerable if he had it. The white lady hadn’t seemed like a threat at first. She seemed a mild annoyance at best. He couldn’t sense any massive power coming from her, so how did she manage to get to him? He needed to rethink. Reevaluate. He needed to think. He needed to get his fire back or they were going to die. 

“Well, well! That was quite a show!” 

Red Son’s head snapped back to look where the voice was coming from. It seemed to bounce and echo over the walls, coming from nowhere and everywhere at once. Shadows seemed to tilt, getting darker, stretching further.

Mei was on her feet in an instance, Mk scrambling up close behind her, staggering a lot more. 

The shadows seemed to converge on the stage, onto the screen rising up like ink until a shape was painted across it and then received form. 

It was a shadow puppet. 

A monkey. Merciful Buddha, Red Son had seen enough monkeys already today. Its mouth had been cut into a wide, unnerving smile, stretching over nearly half its face. 

"I see you all met the Lady Bone Demon's puppet.” The puppet slumped sideways, limp, head tilting to almost upside down. It was strange. It moved in a way shadow puppets normally didn’t, to Red Son’s knowledge. 

Red Son scoffed, folding his arms over his chest. “You look more like the puppet here.” 

“Oho!” said the shadow puppet. “Good-” it flipped, revealing its other side, where the only difference was there was an slashed X in the place its eyes should have been, “--eye.” The puppet laughed. It doubled over with shrieking laughter at an awkward angle that didn’t look right. 

Red Son found himself recoiling a bit. The thing sounded insane. Granted not as insane as him when he laughed, his cackle was much more impressive. 

Out of the corner of his eye Red Son saw Mk grab Mei’s arm. 

“Mei,” Mk said, his voice slightly shaky, urgent, “that sounds like-” 

“I know,” Mei said, her voice grave, on edge. 

“What are you two talking about?” Red Son snapped. 

“Is that the Dragon Heir I see?” The puppet twisted itself as though it were hanging upside down from a branch. Sure enough the shadow of a tree rose up to assist the illusion. “And another puppet!” Its smile looked almost thrilled looking at Mk. “Isn't this all just so interesting? But who’s the third? I’ve never seen you before.” It dropped back down, into more of an animalistic, unnatural crawl. The shadow seemed to grow bigger as it crawled towards them, but it never moved off the screen. 

“Who I am is none of the business of the likes of you,” Red Son said. “You know very well who you brought here. So cut the theatrics and state your business or we will burn your little theatre to the ground and you along with it.” 

The puppet seemed to find that very funny, laughing and twisting. Red Son could feel something in the wood of this place. Something in the shadows growing thicker and moving. 

“Oh, but the show is the best part!” 

Mk cried out. 

Red Son spun around to see shadows wrapping around his ankles and wrists. They lashed out around his arms binding him tightly and then pulled before any of them could react. 

“Mk!” Mei yelled, reaching for him. She grabbed his wrist just before he was pulled into the shadows. 

The rings lit. Mei practically spat out fire. “Let go of him.”

“There’s the famous fire!” The puppet seemed to smile wider, bigger, it sounded like it was a twisted form of excitement. “What a performance you gave that day!” 

The strands of shadow snapped when Mei’s fire neared it and she caught Mk before pulling him to his feet.

“Mei,” said Mk, clinging to her. 

“I know,” said Mei. “It's him.” 

“What are you two peasants talking about-” 

“You know,” said the puppet, drawing their attention, “really, it was rather impressive how you played right into her hands, bud.” It walked across the screen, but this time it continued off it, onto the wall. The laughter echoed. 

For a moment Red Son thought the shadow was talking to Mei, but then Mei was stepping in front of Mk and shielding him with her arm, flames flickering dangerously above her. 

“Mk had nothing to do with it,” Mei snapped. 

The puppet laughed again, tumbling through shadows and bouncing from one place to the other around the room. It bent in unnatural directions. “Nothing? Nothing? He caused this.” 

Red Son had to admit, he was curious. Curious as to how the man half-cowering behind Mei was responsible for… well, it was rather hard to understand what the puppet was referring to. 

“I didn’t,” said Mk, but he didn't sound very confident about it. 

“Do you think she would have gotten your precious friends if it weren’t for you? You think she would have gotten to your pathetic Sifu without your help?” 

“He’s not pathetic!” Mk shouted at it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about-” 

“All your second chances, all your do-good kindness lead to this. If it weren’t for you the Lady Bone Demon would have never gotten her hands on the rings.” 

“But,” said Mk, his voice small, “I didn’t do anything…” 

“And you think that’s a good thing?” The puppet laughed far too much in Red Son’s opinion. It lost its effectiveness after a while. At least on him. Mei and Mk just looked more and more unsettled and anxious. “You and your Master, so alike. Neither of you said anything to each other, did you?”

“What is he talking about?” Red Son asked, looking at Mk curiously. 

Mk shrunk back from his gaze. 

“It doesn’t matter,” Mei said. “Whatever happened doesn’t matter. So you better shut your mouth, Liú.” 

The puppet stood for a moment, frozen still. Then it’s head snapped off the wall to look at Mei. 

It became less of a shadow and more of a tangible thing. Its eyes were lifeless, its skin was more alive looking than a puppets should be. It had lace designs stretching across its skin in dark cracks across its skin. Its mouth stretched just as wide, but despite its upward tilting motion it didn’t look like it was smiling. It didn’t look completely like an object nor completely alive, some mix of both. Red Son could see both its eyes at once now, the slashed X over one of them looking like a gaping black hole. Its one eye was a pinprick amongst a pool, just as black, its pupil surrounded by a ring of purple. 

“You’re cursed,” Red Son realized. 

Its head snapped to look at him and Red Son felt frozen in place by it. The weight was nowhere near that of his fire contained in the rings above Mei’s head. But it was uncomfortable all the same. This thing in front of him was twisted and wrong and there was a lack of sanity in its one working eye that made it feel as though something would snap at any second. It looked as though it should be twitching but all it did was stay deathly still, not breathing but very clearly alive. 

“Not our problem,” Red Son forced out, despite the way the words tried to lodge in his throat with the things one eye on him. “Dragon Girl, we’re leaving.” 

“There’s no doors,” Mei muttered. 

Red Son whipped his head around to check. And she was right. He hadn’t realized it at first, but there were no doors, no windows, no holes or cracks in the wall to slip through. 

There was no way out. 

It was a claustrophobic feeling. But Red Son wasn’t about to let a sealed room intimidate him. 

“Very well then. Let us make one.” 

“I can’t let you leave,” said the puppet that Mei called Liú. “They’ll come soon.” 

“Elder Liú,” said Mk, “we can help you.” 

“I can’t let you leave,” it said again, its mouth moving with the words unlike its shadow had when it spoke before. It was a horrifying sight. Shadows moved behind them, creeping closer. “I can’t let you leave. I can’t let you leave. I can’t let you leave-” 

Red Son snorted. “You can’t stop us.” 

It just kept repeating it over and over again, ignoring him. The shadows stretched higher. They curled over top of them. Red Son watched them creep out of the wall, wrapping around the puppet, over its mouth and face and dragging it back into the wall. 

“Guys,” Mei said, glancing at her feet. “I think we’re in trouble here.”

“Then use my fire,” Red Son said through gritted teeth. 

“Oh yeah,” Mei said, “right.” She shook off the shadows that had started to cling to her foot and the rings blazed brighter above her. 

“Wait! Stop!” said Mk. 

“What?” Mei said. Then yelped, because a shadow lashed out and wrapped around her arm. 

One latched around Red Son’s leg and the shadows suddenly seemed a lot thicker and stronger than before. 

“They’re shadows,” Mk said. “The more light you give them the stronger they’ll be.” 

“How does that make sense?” 

“Just look, the more light there is, the more shadow can be seen. Unless we could get enough light to get rid of every shadow, more light would just be making it worse.” 

“Then what’s your suggestion,” Red Son snapped, clawing at the shadow that had attached itself to his wrist. 

“Less light,” Mk said. “They can’t touch us if there’s no shadows to shape in the dark. We need to break the lanterns.” 

“This is a terrible idea,” Red Son said. 

“Do you think I have enough control over these rings to light up a whole room?” Mei asked. 

Red Son did not think that. 

“That’s what I thought.” 

“Fine,” Red Son snapped. He snatched some fire away from Mei. The shadows had crept up to his hips now, wrapping and slowly sludging further up. He burnt some off his wrist so his hand was free. “Aim for the lanterns.” 

Mei missed twice. Red Son’s feeble second-hand fire couldn’t reach very far but the sparks landed and managed to light the lantern. 

“No,” the voice echoed, “what are you doing? Stop- stop I can’t exist without them-” 

“It's okay, Elder Liú,” Mk said, “we’ll get you out of here.” 

“Stop!”

“Ugh,” said Red Son, straining against the shadows that were now up to his shoulders. “You’re disgustingly reassuring, aren’t you.” 

“I try,” Mk said. He was trying to hide it but Red Son could hear the panic in his voice. 

The last lamp went out, burned to nothing, but light still remained. 

“Dragon Girl, the rings.” 

Mei cursed. 

“Mei-” Mk’s voice was cut off as the shadows wrapped around his mouth and started dragging him down. 

“Mk!” 

“THE RINGS!” Red Son yelled at her.

“I GOT IT,” Mei roared back. 

The shadows wrapped around Red Son’s mouth and started pulling. 

The rings flickered. 

“NO!” the puppet appeared in front of Mei’s face, reaching. 

All at once the light went out. 

Red Son fell flat on the floor, followed by two thumps. 

“HA!” said Mk. “I told you! How can you get grabbed by something when you’re already in it! It's like swimming!” 

“Water has currents that can grab you,” Red Son snapped at him. 

“Shadows aren’t tangible like water.” 

“You make less sense the more you talk.” 

“It worked, didn’t it?” Mk huffed. 

“Woo! Mk!” Mei cheered. “I’m gonna see that last bit in my nightmares! Haha! Where’d Old Liú go anyway?” 

“Um, I’m not sure,” Mk said. “Let me check.” 

There was a moment of shuffling and silence in the pitch black. Then Mk’s bright voice came. 

“Found him! He’s small now. Looks like a real shadow puppet.” 

“What? How can you see?” 

“Huh, I wonder if we could un-curse him like how we unpossessed Mk,” Mei said, ignoring Red Son’s question.  

“He feels like he’s made out of dry stuff,” Mk said. “I don’t know if it's safe to try.” 

“Just give him to me,” Red Son scoffed, blinding feeling around for Mk. “I’ll seal him in so he won’t jump back out the moment there’s shadows to jump from if you’re both so worried about it. You can figure out what to do with this thing later. We’re going to be pulled back any minute now.” 

Red Son heard a sound that took him a moment to place as Mk’s muffled laughter. 

“What? What are you laughing at?” 

“Nothing,” Mk said. “Here, hold still, I'll hand him to you.”

Red Son sighed and held out his hand impatiently. 

He could feel Mk standing in front of him, hesitating. 

“What now?” he groaned. 

“Just… be careful with him. Don’t hurt him okay?” Mk finally handed him over. 

“Whatever,” said Red Son, casting the spell to seal the puppet in its current form. “He’s none of my concern, living or dead.” 

Mk didn’t reply to that, but he could practically feel his worry.

“There,” Red Son said, shoving him back at him. “He won’t be any trouble for now.” 

“Great,” said Mei. “So do we need to talk about why Liú looks like a monkey? Or…?” 

The ground lit up underneath them. 

Mk yelped, his face illuminated and rushed to stuff the small shadow-puppet into his hanfu. 

The room lit up in flames.

| beginning | next |

[fluffypotatey]

Monkie Destiny Challenge Day 4

yes i am 3 days late to this prompt but i am here now >:)

so actually this little ficlet will be a part of another installment in my tournament arc, but i am too tired rn to write the second half of this (bc day 4 is a flashback and the 2nd half is day 5). so! have this "sneak peak" of my tournament arc under the narration of Macky <3

prompt: Peaches//Thief

word count: 753

* * * * * * *

“How much do you want to bet the peaches in Heaven taste like?”

The Six Eared Macaque gave his friend, the Monkey King, an incredulous look. Said friend huffed in response. 

“What?”

“Seriously?”

“I’m just asking—”

“About Heaven’s immortal peaches? Casually? I’m not an idiot, Wukong.”

It had only been a couple days after Sun Wukong arrived back from Heaven. He hadn’t given Macaque any real information over what went down or why he arrived in such a rush— cheeks flushed dark red, breath heavy and fast, eyes wild and ravenous, excited, exhilarated— 

Macaque mentally shook the image away. Wukong was his friend. His only friend, actually. He could never really count the Brotherhood as a group he would trust implicitly like Wukong. Feel comfortable around or even know wholeheartedly like Wukong.

Speaking of knowing Wukong wholeheartedly, Macaque recognizes the signs for when his friend is hiding something. He had been ignoring it ever since Wukong came back, assured that the monkey king would tell him, and it looked like today was the day Wukong chose to come clean.

Sun Wukong pouts, bottom lip jutted out exaggeratedly with his eyes blown wide and adorable. He would always complain about how Macaque always ruined his surprises with his need to know everything. Macaque liked to call it his incredible observation skills, Wukong called him a creeper (which absolutely did not hurt his ego that first time at all). 

“J-just answer the question!” The monkey crossed his arms and looked away, cheeks flushed and tail twitching.

Macaque sighed with a smile. It was so hard to stay annoyed when he did that. It wasn’t even on purpose and yet there Wukong was, acting childish and fussy in the cutest way possible. Macaque couldn’t help but cave.

“Alright, okay, um…” He pursed his lips. “They taste like peaches?”

“Mac!” Wukong whined

“Okay, okay! Sorry, couldn’t help it.” 

This time, Macaque actually sat down and thought it over. 

“Well,” he began, “I’m guessing they taste sweeter? Never under or overripe, yeah? And you don’t have to worry about the pit because it's an immortal tree.”

Wukong giggled, tail now wagging to and fro.

“What?” Macaque could feel his face heating up. “What did I say?”

“Nothing! Nothing!” That goofy smile was still on his face. “These are very astute assumptions.”

“Astute? Really, Wukong.”

The giggle was now a full-body laugh. Ugh, and Macaque still couldn’t find it in himself to stay mad. He should be embarrassed, feel like his intelligence was being mocked, but…Wukong would never do something like that on purpose.

Not to him.

“So”— Ah, here it is— “what if I told you, you could test your theory?”

Macaque gave the monkey a blank stare. Wukong stayed firm despite his fidgeting nature and how much he was smiling. Macaque could not believe what his friend was insinuating.

“You don’t mean—”

“SO I HAVE THIS BAG!”

* * *

The peaches were amazing. Better than Macaque ever expected. Sure, they still had the pit at the center and they were still messy enough to annoy him, but they were (and excuse his pun) heavenly. Even if no one told him of their immortal properties, Macaque would have imagined that just from taste alone, these peaches were magic itself.

Delicious magic, if Macaque says so. 

“So?” Wukong waits with barely contained excitement. “Better than your wildest dreams?”

“Oh, I’ve had wild dreams.”

“Mac, come on!” He whines again.

“Sorry, sorry!” He laughs. “You make it too easy.”

Wukong grumbled something about I’ll make you too easy as if Macaque wouldn’t hear him. Which he did, but it was so confusing that he just laughed some more. Of course that simply led to the monkey king whining at Macaque once more, and the cycle repeated.

“Next time I steal peaches, I ain’t giving you nothing!” Wukong said with a huff. “And to think, I offered them out of the kindness of my heart.”

“Next time?” Macaque chuckled. “You honestly think Heaven would even let you in after this?”

“Why not? I’m adorable!”

Macaque didn’t even bother to answer that one, too amused by how Wukong played up his innocence in all this. Sure, he was worried about Heaven’s reaction when they finally realized who stole the peaches and trashed their peach festival, but with Wukong smiling so brightly and acting so nonchalantly, Macaque decided it was better to place this issue on the back burner. For now.

The mortal realm moved a lot faster than Heaven. They had plenty of time.

[kikiatthemirror]

Reading Challenge Destiel Edition 2023: What did you read?

it's almost Christmas!

I thought it was the right time to share the Reading Challenge Destiel edition 2023 I did. The pdf has links to the fanfics.

I hope to post the 2024 reading challenge in a few days, so you can start choosing what to read.

Remember! This challenge is for having fun, discovering new fanfics and talking about it with each others. No pressure.

Read what you feel like reading, it's not a competition!

My resolution for 2024 is to discover little-known fanfics, by little-known authors, and try to give them visibility. I already know that in some prompts I will fail in this regard, but I want to try.

And you? What will you read? What will you recommend? Let me know!

Reading Challege Destiel edition 2023 - links

[a-ramblinrose]

JOMP Book Photo Challenge || September 30 || Read In September:

[closetfascination]

Decided to do this summer reading challenge and read my first fic today for Heist. Really cute porn with plot one shot with Jean Moreau/Jeremy Knox are tasked to do an Art Heist together.

Rated E - ...Ready For It? - By Aneiria All for the Game Fandom

It's also just leave a comment fest and this fic will be my first towards that one.

Current tally: Fics - 1, Words - 6697, Comments - 1

[jandjsalmon]

2023 FFRC - September🍂

Hello friends! I hope you've had a wonderful September. We've started my daughter's senior year with her choosing to join the high school football team instead of the soccer team (to the shock of everyone - including her soccer coach). Therefore, we've been spending every Friday night at the field - and she scored a touchdown in her first game - so that's exciting.

My 2023 @fanfic-reading-challenge is nearly complete. The challenge has various completion levels - and if you're looking for something to help motivate you to read new things or expand your range - or even if you just want to challenge yourself, you should join us. You don't have to wait until the new year to start - and there are a bunch of us on the Discord server and it's a really nice and encouraging place to be.

–*–

September 2023

I read 58 new stories this month - and nearly 300 chapters. I'm closing in on 17 million words, so my year-long goal of 20 million words still isn't out of the realm of possibility. I also did a few podfic recordings... and was highly critical of all of them so I didn't post them. Maybe after I get more practise. lol.

Anyway, I’ve gathered a couple recs. I hope you enjoy them. 💖

–*–

before i knew which life was mine (3 fic series) by @smc-27 (Harry/Allie - The Society)  Summary: She’s got this weird feeling that everything with him is so natural and normal that there’s no way to imagine them not eventually ending up friends. Which is a fucked up thought, because prior to all this, all they had ever shared were barbs back and forth, or her calling him out on being a jerk to her sister. Notes: Okay - so this series is three separate fics that feel like they're unconnected - but really they are completely connected. They're like different dimensions or universes where Harry and Allie were friends (and they don't stay just friends). These are the "other worlds".

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The Percy/Jenna Anon Collection by Anonymous (Percy/Jenna - RPF - All E) Fic 1 - Howlin’ For You - A night of drunken UNO leads to explicit actions between two friends who have been secretly sleeping together. Fic 2 - Lonely Boy - A surprise visit between two friends, a phone call, and a splash of angst. And sex. Fic 3 - Gold on the Ceiling - When Jenna tells Percy it’s over she’s not sure what that means for either of them. And she doesn’t even begin to understand the gravity of her choice until she’s forced to put work on hold for the actor’s strike. Has she even been living? Or merely existing.. Light angst, heavy sex? But it’s introspective? Notes: Okay - so RPF isn't for everyone. It is for me though. This series was written by the same Anon author (it's very clear that it's the same author) - I don't know who it is, but they deserve a huge cookie. I cried during the third one. And then had to fan myself. It's an odd conundrum. The writing is amazing. I would read a million more stories by this author - rpf or fandom or whatever. If I can only figure out who they are. 😉

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three conversations about one thing by @imreallyloveleee (Bughead - T)  Summary: He’d known there would be consequences when he made this decision. But he hadn’t realized how quickly they might steamroll right over him. (Jughead & Veronica & Cheryl & Betty & memories of the future. Set post-7x19.) Notes: An absolutely lovely post-script on the final season of Riverdale.

[swordsonnet]

Chapters: 1/8 Fandom: The Magnus Archives (Podcast) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist Characters: Martin Blackwood, Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s), Tim Stoker (The Magnus Archives), Sasha James, Georgie Barker Additional Tags: No Fear Entities (The Magnus Archives), Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Family, Getting Together, Mutual Pining, Idiots in Love, Minor Character Death, (martin's mum), POV Alternating Summary:

When Martin needs a fake boyfriend to bring to his family reunion, Jonathan Sims is the last person he would have expected to volunteer.

Will our two unlikely co-conspirators keep up the act long enough to make it through the weekend, learn to confide in each other, and... maybe even develop some real feelings along the way?

may i offer you a jmart fake dating au in these trying times?

tagging @jonmartinweek because while this fic wasn’t specifically written for that event, it does fit today’s au prompt :3

[dykefever]

lestat was in my dream last night <3 he was plotting revenge and murder against louis but it was all. foreplay i think

[ficreadingchallenge]

We're almost ready to start the inaugural summer fic reading challenge! Watch this space tomorrow for more info and how to sign up.

[fanfic-reading-challenge]

Hey everyone!! It's finally here! 2023's fic reading challenge.

I'm going to keep this short as most of the information is available either on the spreadsheet or is linked (and can be added to) this post here, detailing exactly what is going on.

Thank you to @jandjsalmon for their help with some last minute preparations, as my mental health was going a little down the drain. Lifesaver! There may be and likely are some mistakes, such as items in the wrong categories, but I tried my best to sort them appropriately.

You'll notice a repeat with some of the previous years' tasks, as it seems to be rather difficult to come up with new things each year. :P To that end I'll be starting on 2024's earlier than I did 2023's, and I will be co-opting some help for it as well.

This year's challenge is a different format. There is one single spreadsheet and to achieve participation, regular, hard, and extreme modes only requires you to complete a set number of tasks. That's really the biggest change for this year's challenge.

Please feel free to send me Asks about anything you're concerned or confused about. :) My inbox is always open.

And without further fanfare... here is 2023's fanfic reading challenge!

2023's Fanfic Reading Challenge

[juuls]

January 2023 Fic Rec List

This comes from my fic reading challenge (@fanfic-reading-challeng) and I figured I'd post what I liked the last months of 2023!

Bearing the will of the flower by Solshine (Geraskier)

The way Jaskier sees it, his hobby of following a witcher around was always pretty likely to get him killed.The fact that it's happening now because the witcher in question doesn't love him, he thinks as he coughs up crumpled flowers, hardly makes a difference.

Are You My Mother? by LittleSixx

Someone leaves a baby on Hermione’s doorstep. She doesn’t know who or why, but something about those grey eyes is too familiar for Hermione to let him go.

The Queen and the Kinslayer by thimbleful

After everything that's happened, Jon wants to move on from the past and live out his days as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. After everything that's happened, Sansa still loves Jon, but does he feel the same? He never accepts her invitations to visit. Perhaps it's time she moves on. She does have to marry, after all, and have heirs. But then something brings him back to Winterfell. And he keeps returning, keeping an eye on her while also unknowingly keeping her love for him alive when he’s determined to keep his vows this time. His vow to protect her, aye, but also to remain Lord Commander, take no wife, father no children. As a kinslayer, that shouldn't be too hard. Who'd want him, anyway? A post s8 story where she’s deeply in love and desperately trying to hide it while he’s deep in denial and desperately trying to keep his distance.

The Reclamation of Black Magic by ShayaLonnie

Harry Potter's family isn't only at Number 4 Privet Drive. Unaware to even Dumbledore, an upheaval is approaching. The Ancient and Noble House of Black is reclaiming their power and changing the future of the magical world.

I'll post more later, as I have recommendations for each month!