#alex's 1M celebraish

[asroarke]

Those of you who follow my shenanigans regularly already know that I hit one million words on ao3 last night. Today, I’m kicking off my celebration by highlighting every single one of those one million words as I shamelessly self promote all 24 works that got me to this number.

Matched

“If this ends badly, I blame you.”

“I got you onto one of the most popular dating shows on TV where they basically guarantee that they’ll find your soulmate. If this ends badly, it’s on you, sweetheart,” her mom snapped back with a smile.

Reality Show AU where everyone has a perfect match in the house and if everyone finds their perfect match by the end, they win one million dollars.

Rated: M | Chapters: 18/18 | Words: 78,309

Mismatched

“This has to be some kind of mistake,” Clarke whispered, knowing what happens if you’re a perfect match on this show. They were going to have to pack up and move into the honeymoon suite… together. She would have to spend eight weeks trapped in a hotel room with Bellamy.

“We hate each other,” Bellamy whispered, not taking his eyes off the screen, as his face was covered in disbelief.

An alternative version of Matched where Bellamy and Clarke find out they’re a perfect match toward the beginning of the competition.

Rated: E | Chapters: 1/1 | Words: 27,032

Medici Magic

“Are we really going to do this again this summer?”

“Are you referring to me giving you legitimate critiques and you not being able to handle it correctly? Because if so, I really hope not. I would have hoped that we had evolved past that kind of pettiness,” he joked.

Renaissance Fair AU where our favorite delinquents spend their summer working for Medici Magic, a traveling renaissance fair.

Rated: E | Chapters: 33/33 | Words: 90,249

Wrecked

She looked out into the water, wondering where Wells’  lifeboat was, and if everyone else had gotten to safety in time. She wondered if the crew radioed for help before they jumped onto the lifeboat.

And she wondered if she was going to die on this lifeboat.

Deserted Island AU where deadly storms and dangerous wildlife were the least of their problems.

Rated: E | Chapters: 20/20 | Words: 91,319

I’m Gonna Leave You Anyway

“Why did you come over here?”

“To make sure, you know, that you know last night was just a one-time thing,” he said, looking down at his hands as he spoke.

“Message received. You can go back to your friends now,” she said, with a strange expression on her face.

Modern AU inspired by the show You’re the Worst, where Bellamy and Clarke hook up after a wedding.

Rated: E | Chapters: 11/11 | Words: 65,537

I’m Gonna Watch You Walk Away

She forgot about the fact that a man she loved just married someone else. She forgot that almost all her friends abandoned her as soon as she became known as the other woman. She forgot that people already judged her without ever meeting her. She forgot that she was in a place in life where she had to go to weddings all alone. And she willfully ignored the fact that it was becoming harder and harder for her to just hook up with someone to forget these things.

Because, as soon as it was over, all those horrible thoughts started drowning Clarke’s brain again.

Modern AU inspired by the show You’re the Worst, where Bellamy and Clarke hook up after wedding. Same story line from I’m Gonna Leave You Anyway, but this time from Clarke’s POV.

Rated: E | Chapters: 11/11 | Words: 64,519

We Can Do Better Than This

“And if we couldn’t find an apartment, maybe we could look at a house. You know, then Cleo could have a backyard,” Bellamy replied.

“A house?” Clarke asked, and Bellamy glanced back down at her, seeing a nervous expression on her face. He immediately recognized his mistake.

A follow up to I’m Gonna Leave You Anyway, where Bellamy and Clarke buy their first house.

Rated: T | Chapters: 1/1 | Words: 4,881

I’m Gonna Love You Anyway

“You were a one-night stand.”

“You and I bought a house together, Clarke. If I was supposed to be a one-night stand, you really messed that one up,” he teased, before leaning down to kiss her forehead.

She giggled, before resting her head on his shoulder. It was kind of crazy to think about the day they met. It was weird, thinking that if she had gotten what she wanted back then, she would have hooked up with him once and never seen him again. She was really glad she didn’t get what she wanted. Instead, she got what she needed.

A follow up to I’m Gonna Leave You Anyway, where Bellamy is trying to propose to Clarke, but she’s too busy roasting him to notice.

Rated: T | Chapters: 1/1 | Words: 6,595

No Longer Just Us

“Princess, Octavia and Lincoln are here,” he announced.

“Why?” she grumbled, and Bellamy threw his head back. Of course, Clarke forgot. This had become an all too common occurrence these days.

“We are wine tasting for the wedding, remember?” Bellamy reminded her, and Clarke sat up with a grumpy expression on her face, her hair messy from bedhead. She had come home from work two hours ago, a bit sleep deprived since one of her patients went into labor in the middle of the night. She immediately went upstairs to take a nap, after Bellamy reminded her for the hundredth time that Lincoln and Octavia were coming over.

“I already took my bra off,” she whined, throwing her head back.

Another follow up to I’m Gonna Leave You Anyway where Bellamy and Clarke are completely over the wedding planning nonsense and get very drunk.

Rated: T | Chapters: 1/1 | Words: 2,855

Double Infinity

They were running out of time. Eighteen years had already passed. All the pieces they needed to get the job done were finally in place. And, when Wells didn’t fit, they found Clarke. He was too close to let it all fall apart now.

And he would do everything he could to make sure she walked out of this unscathed.

Modern AU inspired by Revenge, where Bellamy and Octavia are willing to do whatever it takes to find justice for their mother’s murder, even if it means using Clarke Griffin.

Rated: E | Chapters: 23/23 | Words: 142,705

Hidden Infinity

"You played me too, Clarke,” Bellamy snapped, and she didn’t hesitate to slap him across the face. He gripped her wrist tightly, shooting her a warning look… practically daring her to try that again. “You knew what I was doing, and instead of confronting me, you let me think I was succeeding. When I said I loved you, you said it back. When I proposed, you said yes. You had an active part in all of this,” he growled as if somehow what Clarke did to him could ever compare to what he did to her.

“But you played me first,” Clarke yelled, pushing him back. Bellamy lied to her first. Bellamy used her first. Clarke didn’t start this, but she was determined to finish it.

Double Infinity, but from Clarke’s POV. A Modern AU inspired by Revenge, where Clarke Griffin swore that she would stay out of the plan to avenge Mt. Weather, but got dragged into it anyway.

Rated: E | Chapters: 11/23 | Words: 58,914

Something Always Survives

Bellamy had been trapped in this place for over two years. He can’t even count how many cellmates he lost over that time, how many times he had to meet a new voice from a person he would never see… And, almost every time, he found himself telling them a story to help calm them down, to reassure them that everything was going to be okay, even when he knew it would never be okay. Clarke had been no different than the others until this moment.

She was the first one to ever try to comfort him in return. So, he whispered, “Okay,” and pressed his ear to the corner.

Modern AU loosely inspired by The OA where Clarke finds herself abducted and caged with four strangers as they all struggle to make sense of their captor’s experiments.

Rated: E | Chapters: 18/18 | Words: 74,232

50 First Proposals

“Tell her we got engaged just so we could get some cheesecake,” he smirked, and accepting the challenge, Clarke pulled out her phone and started typing away.

After that night, it just became a thing they did. Every month or so… really, whenever both of their crazy lives let them grab dinner between shifts, they would go to a new restaurant and Bellamy would fake propose. He got a little more carried away each time. Their fake proposals became an opportunity for Bellamy to unleash some of his most pent up affections for Clarke… an opportunity he desperately needed.

OR the forty-nine times Bellamy proposed to Clarke to get free dessert and the one time he didn’t care about the dessert.

Rated: T | Chapters: 1/1 | Words: 2,723

Will You Tie My Shoe?

“I know, it’s silly. And I never thought I’d actually see you again, or that Madi would recognize you. She’s also convinced that she is some kind of matchmaker because she set my friends Raven and Wells up,” she rambled, looking at him with an embarrassed expression on his face.

“Is your daughter some kind of matchmaker?” he teased, and Clarke bit her lip, chuckling slightly. He liked the way her smile kept escaping even though she was trying to play it cool.

“Well, unless you fall madly in love with me, she only has a 50% success rate,” she joked, and Bellamy threw his head back in laughter.

OR the one where Madi decides to play matchmaker, and Bellamy and Clarke are totally fine with the results.

Rated: G | Chapters: 1/1 | Words: 3,905

Sometimes Lightning Strikes Twice

It was ridiculous. He didn’t even know this girl’s name. All he knew was that she was pretty, that she was trying her best to be a good sport about being here probably just so her friends had fun, and that she was maybe a little bit shy. Well, and he also knew that every time she looked at him he got flustered and repeatedly messed up the blocking.

It was official. Bellamy Blake, part-time stripper and full-time overthinker, developed a crush on some blonde bride.

OR the Strip Club AU no one asked for, where Bellamy meets Clarke Griffin while working her bachelorette party, and the poor guy doesn’t have the first clue about what to do about it.

Rated: M | Chapters: 1/1 | Words: 2,557

Sounds Fake But Okay

“Babe, don’t be jealous,” Clarke teased, reaching her hand out. Murphy grabbed it and started swinging it as he laughed.

“Can’t help it, babe. Just love you so much,” Murphy said, still chuckling.

“You two better be able to keep a straight face when Ontari gets here, or else all of us suffered through this for nothing,” Bellamy reminded, and Clarke erupted into laughter, burying her face into Bellamy’s shoulder.

OR the fake dating fic no one asked for, where Murphy pretends to be dating Clarke, and Bellamy is fine with it. Totally fine. Does not care at all. Maybe.

Rated: T | Chapters: 1/1 | Words: 4,766

Fatal Innocence

“I’ll be fine,” she muttered, shaking her head as she opened the front door. And, there the body was, right where it fell. The others rushed in behind her. Raven took the trophy toward the kitchen, probably to wash it off. Monty and Bellamy moved toward the body, and she could see that Bellamy was thinking about using the rug to wrap him up in.

There was no way in hell that all five of them were going to get away with this.

The How to Get Away with Murder AU where they all become interns for Professor Kane, not expecting their semester to take such a deadly turn.

Rated: E | Chapters: 25/25 | Words: 184,868

Don’t Marry Him

Bellamy tried to be as supportive of a friend as he could be, reserving his own frustrations toward Finn for when he, Murphy, and Miller went out for drinks. Usually, those evenings divulged into Murphy pointing out that Finn probably isn’t as bad as Bellamy makes him out to be. Then, Bellamy would break down item by item every terrible thing he has said or done to hurt Clarke. To which, Miller would always tease him… saying that it was strange that Bellamy could list all that off so readily when Clarke was just his best friend.

Bellamy knew what they were implying, of course. And it was to the point that Bellamy stopped trying to deny it. It wouldn’t do him any good to deny it, anyway. Everyone knew how Bellamy felt. Well, everyone except Clarke, apparently.

Modern AU where Clarke was hoping that Bellamy would be excited about her engagement, and instead, he begs her not to marry Finn.

Rated: T | Chapters: 1/1 | Words: 5,291

Forget Me Not

“Am I Clarke?” Clarke asked, and Bellamy’s fear was confirmed. Clarke didn’t remember them. She didn’t recognize any of them, not even Madi. She didn’t even know that she was Clarke. He could feel Madi tugging nervously on his sleeve, and he turned to look at her scared face.

“It’s called amnesia,” Bellamy whispered, and Madi’s head tilted in confusion. “Sometimes when people hit their head really hard they lose their memories.”

Post Season Four reunion fic where Bellamy finally finds Clarke… but she doesn’t remember who he is.

Rated: T | Chapters: 1/1 | Words: 8,684

Off Guard

“You have to figure out your opponent’s weakness if you want to beat them,” he added in, and Clarke cocked her head to the side. He could see the gears turning in that head of hers as she stepped toward him. “Unfortunately for you, I have no weaknesses,” he joked, and a giggle escaped her lips.

“So, there is absolutely nothing I can do that would catch you off guard?” she asked curiously, and Bellamy cocked his head to the side… trying to figure out what was going through Clarke’s head.

“You are more than welcome to try,” he chuckled, earning a smirk from Clarke.

Royalty AU where Bellamy tries to teach Clarke how to use a sword, and she finds her own sneaky way to beat him.

Rated: G | Chapters: 1/1 | Words: 2,548

Whisper Your Love and I’ll Whisper Mine

“I am not happy about this either, by the way,” he sighed, recalling the horrified look on her face when she realized what the Commander was proposing. Bellamy had never planned on getting married. Octavia was enough of a responsibility. But when he debated the idea of marriage, he certainly never pictured his future fiancée would have such a disgusted reaction. Nor did he ever picture himself marrying a child of his family’s sworn enemy.

Clarke glanced up at him, wiping away a few tears. “We should have never let them marry,” was all she said, and the guilt formed a knot in Bellamy’s stomach.

A historical AU inspired by Still Star-Crossed where Bellamy and Clarke are forced into an arranged marriage in an attempt keep their families from going to war.

Rated: E | Chapters: 8/8 | Words: 47,895

Listen to Your Heart

His lips lingered against her skin for just a moment too long, and Clarke noticed that his hug was even tighter than it normally was. She kept reminding herself that this was the Olympics… and that’s all this meant for him, although she could no longer deny that her feelings toward Bellamy were strictly platonic.

“So damn proud of you, Princess,” Bellamy said seriously, his hand still resting on her back as he spoke. Before Clarke could say anything else, Kane was pulling her into a hug and whispering his congratulations.

Olympics AU where Clarke realizes that her feelings for Bellamy might be less than platonic… which is a problem since he’s her coach.

Rated: T | Chapters: 1/1 | Words: 8,609

Love Is Not a Victory March

“You could have been here four years ago,” she reminded, raising her eyebrows at him.

“No, I couldn’t have. I needed to be here with you,” he replied, and Clarke felt like the breath had been knocked out of her. It wasn’t the first time he said something like that, of course. But it caught her off guard every damn time.

“Was it worth the wait?”

“Yes, you were,” he replied, and how could Clarke not kiss him after that?

Olympics AU where a knee injury kept Bellamy and Clarke from making it to the Olympics… the first time around.

Rated: T | Chapters: 1/1 | Words: 9,214

Lie to Me

Long before he met Gina, he decided that this name didn’t mean anything. That he had a choice in this, and that he would likely choose to ignore the universe’s choice for him. After all, there were many people who went their whole happy lives without finding the person whose name showed up when they turned eighteen.

He kept his eyes on his watch, counting down the seconds until it would appear. As soon as both hands hit twelve, he flipped his wrist over. But he wasn’t lucky enough to get some stranger’s name. He knew exactly who his soulmate was.

If Bellamy needed any more evidence that soulmates were bullshit, it was right there in front of him.

Soulmate AU where Bellamy finds out Clarke is his soulmate and doesn’t tell her.

Rated: T | Chapters: 1/1 | Words: 13,880

[asroarke]

Outlast by asroarke

“On one knee,” she interrupted, and Bellamy glared back at her smirk as he got down on one knee in front of her.

“Clarke,” he huffed, hating the smug look on her face as she looked down at him. “Will you marry me?” Bellamy knew she didn’t trust him, at least not enough for this to be a simple decision. But the facts were on Bellamy’s side. It was in Clarke’s best interest that Azgeda did not take out Polis, which meant it made sense for her to assist Bellamy. But that didn’t change the fact that she couldn’t stand him and he couldn’t stand her. “Will you go to war with me, Clarke?” he asked with a small smirk, noticing how her eyes narrowed decisively back at him.

“Yes,” she replied before pressing her lips together.

A Choose Your Own Adventure Royalty AU where you guys get to vote on what happens next at the end of each chapter.

In honor of hitting one million words on ao3, I wanted to do something special to celebrate. So, a choose your own adventure story was what I decided to do (shoutout to @sly2o for giving me this awesome idea). Here is how it will work: each chapter will end with a choice, you guys will vote on which choice I make in the story, and the following chapter will play out that choice. This is an experiment, and I'm making no guarantees that this will all go smoothly. But if it works, that would be awesome. I've got a cool story planned for you guys, one that currently has several potential endings. I can't wait to see where your choices get us!

Here is how voting will work: -The easiest way to vote is to leave a comment at the end of a chapter with your vote. -If you follow me on Twitter (@asroarke), I will have a poll set up and you can vote that way. -If you follow me on Tumblr (@asroarke), you can reblog or reply to the chapter update post I make. If you reblog, it is okay if your vote is put in your tags. -I will close voting five days after the chapter is updated so that I can tally the votes and start writing the next chapter in a relatively quick manner.

I hope you guys are as excited about this as I am! I've been looking forward to this for weeks! Love you guys!

Voting for this chapter closes on March 8th at 11:00 ET.

read Outlast on ao3 and don’t forget to vote

[asroarke]

Outlast by asroarke

“Where is your king?” she snapped, ignoring his nervous greeting.

“Fast asleep. I am sure whatever this is can wait until morning,” he deflected, and Clarke glanced back at Lincoln and raised her eyebrows, gesturing for him to take the bag off John Murphy’s head.

“Lord Kane, I do not like issuing threats if I do not have to,” she said calmly, stepping toward him. “But the best of your king’s men are inside my castle right now, unaware that I know they were sent to spy on me. If King Bellamy does not come explain to me personally why he betrayed me like this, I promise those men will not make it out of Arkadia alive.”

Chapter two is up and ready for voting! In this Choose Your Own Adventure Bellarke AU, you guys will be given a choice at the end of every chapter. I will then write the following chapter based on whatever you guys vote to do.

Here is how voting works:

-The easiest way to vote is to leave a comment at the end of a chapter with your vote. -If you follow me on Twitter (@asroarke), I will have a poll set up and you can vote that way. -If you follow me on Tumblr (@asroarke), you can reblog or reply to the chapter update post I make. If you reblog, it is okay if your vote is put in your tags. -I will close voting four days after the chapter is updated so that I can tally the votes and start writing the next chapter in a relatively quick manner.

Voting for this chapter closes on March 12th at 11:59 pm CT.

read chapter two of Outlast on ao3 and don’t forget to vote

start from the beginning

[asroarke]

Outlast by asroarke

All he had done since she arrived at Polis last time was mock her, spy on her, and make it perfectly clear that she was the last person he wanted to be in this situation with. It was no wonder she despised him. Bellamy just never thought he would care that she hated him.

“This can wait,” he whispered when she took his hand, and her jaw clenched as she looked up at him. As he gave her a once over, he realized that she had changed since earlier… likely due to the blood splatter or because she wanted to wear something that would cover her neck after what she just went through.

“No, it can’t. You need to trust me,” she replied, raising her eyebrows at him.

“I do trust you,” he reassured, and she narrowed her eyes at him.

“No, you don’t. You don’t trust anyone, remember?”

Chapter three is up and ready for voting! In this Choose Your Own Adventure Bellarke AU, you guys will be given a choice at the end of every chapter. I will then write the following chapter based on whatever you guys vote to do.

Here is how voting works:

-The easiest way to vote is to leave a comment at the end of a chapter with your vote. -If you follow me on Twitter (@asroarke), I will have a poll set up and you can vote that way. -If you follow me on Tumblr (@asroarke), you can reblog or reply to the chapter update post I make. If you reblog, it is okay if your vote is put in your tags. -I will close voting four days after the chapter is updated so that I can tally the votes and start writing the next chapter in a relatively quick manner.

Voting for this chapter closes on March 17th at 10 pm Central Time.

read chapter three of Outlast and don’t forget to vote

start from the beginning

[asroarke]

Well, I finally did it. Hit that one million words on ao3. I’ve written one million words since May 12, 2017. For fancy folk who like the stats, that’s an average of writing 3,431 words a day for 292 days.

Considering that exactly one year ago I was unable to get out of bed after a horrendous nervous breakdown, this feat means a lot. It’s a nice representation of the fact that I was able to accomplish something, even at times when my physical and mental health made something as simple as taking a shower or eating difficult.

I’ve got something special in the works for you guys coming up real soon (hopefully Saturday) to celebrate this. I’m not big on doing follower milestone celebrations (because I don’t know what constitutes as impressive and also I have no good ideas on what to do for them) but this is a milestone I intend to celebrate and brag about.

Learning to write again has given me a confidence that I haven’t had in a while. So, thank you all for reading and for giving me someone to write for. For every one of those million words I’ve written, someone has read them. And I know of a handful of people who have actually read all one million of my words. I love you guys! Thanks for letting me brag for a hot second. I’ll do a more eloquent thingy when I get ready to share the special fic I’ve got in the works for you guys.