#and I love that THANK YOU FOR THE AWESOME AU OPU YOURE DOING GREAT!!

[passable-talent]

CREATOR TAG GAME

Rules: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your five (ish) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many artists/writers/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

I just wanna thank @anakinswhore for the tag- the fact that you even think about me, a lowly peasant, for something like this is astonishing. you’re seriously one of my favorite creators on this site.

honestly, it was super hard to pick. not because I love too many, but because I’m so hard on myself as to what I consider good writing. I have to really impress in order to impress myself. I’m happy with this list, though. no particular order.

autumn - a creative little essay-thing I did back in July. I love it because a) I love autumn and b) it was practice with metaphors and feelings and tone that I really needed [and still do]

death - a Newt x reader fic taking place during the last Maze runner movie. looking back on this one, I feel like I could’ve done better in the detail of the emotional turmoil, but I’m still proud of myself for what I did, because I struggle with discussing reader’s emotion and not just their thought process. this fic was an important step in a learning process I’m still taking.

The Boom - honestly, I could’ve put anything from my synesthesia playlist, but this one was the most important, thanks to it being the first. I’ve had a really hard time understanding my synesthesia, which was hard on me because I couldn’t articulate how important it was to me, and this was the first step toward understanding it.

dragon - a fantasy au, reader x anakin skywalker. while the writing in this is okay (not bad, not great, just okay), it really caught attention for the Worldbuilding, and that I’m quite proud of. my little plot twists that were hinted at, the manipulation of canon and matching it to the setting. there are things that I’d change, but I’m so happy with the way it is.

vampire - anakin skywalker x reader, vampire au. I said no particular order, but I know that this fic takes the fucking cake. I don’t know what kind of sharpie-fume-induced-high I was on when I wrote this, but whatever it was, it allowed me to see god. I love the metaphors, the imagery, the au-Worldbuilding, hell, even the gifs are top notch. I brought my a-game to this one, and I’m proud of it to this day.

tagging: @iscariot-rising @haydens-moles @duderulestheworld (your paintings count) @ronaldrx @fastidious-and-a-mess (even if it’s just your magnum opus of spn posts) @haydenchristensengifs (I wanna see them gifs) @sunsetkenobi

-🦌 Roe

[alectoperdita]

2020 Fanworks Highlights

Tagged by @heyholmesletsgo. Thank you!

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your favourite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

So it’s all YGO fanfiction because that’s all I’m capable of haha!

Side Deck- Does this count? I mean, I started this fic back in 2015 and didn’t finish it until last year. Anyway, Side Deck is my baby. My magnum opus. This is probably where I peaked. I doubt anything else I’ll write going forward will come close to it in terms of length and scope.

A Fool’s Puzzle- So this one is strangely personal to me, but I’m reticent to explain why. Anyway, I hope most readers find this to be a fun and satisfying unique take on the soulmate AU. It was also a great chance to practice writing smut with feelings.

The Best Laid Plan- Like so many of my fics, it started as a one-shot that expanded into multiple chapters. It’s an absolute kitchen sink of a fic: fluff, smut, some angst, and all-around self-indulgent. Most importantly, it was fun to write! (Yes, especially the estate planning chapter because that’s the kind of weirdo I am. *infodumps about Japanese inheritance law like my life depends on it)

Spell Calling- 🥺 I just like their dynamics in this one, and I hope you do too.

Day 18 of Fictober 2020- Yakuza boys live rent-free in my head, as the kids say. I can’t wait to share the expanded/edited version on AO3 this year. <3

Tagging: @writelovetomeempress, @elexica, @life-0r-death, @dominocity, @nnarly, @kaibasetc, @atems-leather-pants, @adora-belle, @xauroraxborealisx and whoever else wants to do this

[swaps55]

I'm an anon from earlier-I didn't expect your answer so quickly, thank you :D I don't want to spam on your tumblr blog so I logged on my old account and omg! There is a chat now? Last time I was here we didn't have such luxuries! I feel old. Anyway, for now I just want to ask two questions: 1. Why fics in your Opus series are titled after musical forms(I suck at music so probably I miss something obvious)? 2. Do you write smth original with OC? Your charachters seems alive, I bet it'd be awesome

These are such fun questions, thank you for asking!!!

1. Why fics in your Opus series are titled after musical forms?

Don’t worry – you are not missing anything. I do not come from a musical background either, and this has an answer I find very amusing. 

The short version: It’s all songfic! Every chapter of every story in Opus has a song that is tied to it, hence the soundtracks. This is something only I really care about, but I care about it a lot. Therefore every story has a music-themed title, and each chapter title is derived from a lyric of the song it’s tied to. 

The long version: Sam and Kaidan’s adventures started because I went to visit @makoparkingonly in the Before Covid Times, and as we do, we hung out at Starbucks and doodled fic. She had put together an OTP playlist and had the lovely idea to write a quick one shot for each story on the playlist.  

HOW FUN, I thought. I SHOULD DO THAT, I thought. It’ll be quick and simple and fun, I THOUGHT. (Ok, it’s fun, but definitely not the other two things). Next thing you know this playlist had a chronology to it. And narrative arcs! “I will tell Sam and Kaidan’s entire story, from when they met before the Normandy to their happily ever after! And since each story will be based on a song, I’ll give the series a cute music-themed name.” I went with Concerto, because, and I am not kidding, there was a racehorse I really liked in late 90s who was named Concerto. 

So, while working on this now-spiraling out of control series of stories, I got stuck. And joked about writing a fake dating story. The fake dating story went from a one-shot distraction to a 77k fic before I could blink, and then I had a problem, because what was supposed to be an AU of my mildly-AU series was now suddenly full of the best character development I’d ever written, and I couldn’t just…leave it out of Concerto. And it didn’t fit in Concerto. It was very much its own story. 

SO, to make a long story even longer, I named the fake dating fic Sonata, because it was still songfic, and decided to break Concerto up into multiple stories so I could wedge Sonata in where it belonged. 

In some cases, there is a vague attempt to make the music term somehow match the subject matter. In the case of Sonata, it just sounded cool. In the case of Fugue…well, how do you resist that. 

2. Do you write smth original with OC? Your characters seems alive, I bet it'd be awesome

Thank you!!! I have written original fic before, but I am a terrible world builder. I love being handed a world and being creative within it vs being in God Mode and making up all the rules myself. But I do spend a lot of time developing the OC characters in my fic, and often they take on traits or aspects of people I know in real life. Lora Alenko, for example, is a very odd blend of several people I know plus shit I just made up. 

I think the secret to making them feel alive is to really think about how who they are and the perspectives they bring can change and impact a story. How can their character arc both support the plot while also recognizing that character is on their own journey independent of the main protagonist? I’ll stick with Lora because she’s such a good example. Tali, though not an OC, is another one.

The trick to bringing Lora to life (and it took me several tries) was really thinking about how this story looked through her eyes. Is she invested in the main fake dating plot? Well, yes, but not in the same way Sam or Kaidan or the Normandy crew are. So why would she be invested in Kaidan being with Sam? This is the conclusion I came to:

Kaidan is her only child, and she’s missed a lot of his adult life. I thought a lot about what it would feel like if your kid walked out the door at 17, and is now 32, and in that intervening time, she’s seen him twice. She would barely know him. After knowing every little thing there was to know about him growing up, now she has to not only learn who he is now, but reconcile that with the person she used to know. That would be hard. Especially for someone like her, who is intent on fixing all the world’s problems.

So why is Sam important? He’s Lora’s missing link! Sam has a ton of Kaidan’s history she’s missing. She’s invested in them being together because Sam can help her rediscover her own son. In some ways, it’s a selfish act. When this all starts, she doesn’t really care about Sam so much as she cares about what Sam can give her, and the happiness he can give to Kaidan. That’s what she cares about, and so when we’re in her POV, that’s the story she’s telling.    

What this means for the fic is that I have a fully realized character who puts a new perspective on the plot because she has her own motivations. 

I cannot wait until y’all get to see more of her in Fugue. She is, quite simply, a motherfucking hero. 

I am so sorry I wrote this much. These were great questions and I really love to talk about this stuff.

[thesummerfox]

Hello, so you are an An Awesome Writer™ - sincerely, you rock! And so that all of your readers can shower you with some extra love today, please tell us your favourite five (or as many as you want) stories of yours and why you like them!

Thank you so much for that compliment! What a lovely ask this is.

1. Gather Ye Children Of Men

This is hands-down my favourite of all the Kastle-fics I’ve written. It’s a very spun-out introspection from Frank, fragmented through all the broken shards that he is trying to glue together, which evolves into an exploration of Karen’s family and how two shattered people eventually wind up sharing grief on Christmas Eve. It’s not a happy fic by any standards, but it’s something I can revisit any day and feel proud of having done. I think this was one of those that just streamed out onto the page -- and it’s seasonally appropriate to mention it again now that we’re so close to Christmas! 

2. At Her Feet, The Sun

Another Kastle-fic, and this time one that’s entirely and firmly AU. This image right here was the foundation for this piece, because it gave me Karen-as-a-goddess vibes and I just had to do something with it. That something wound up becoming the Punisher meeting a deity over coffee. That something became lyrical and near-magical in my writing, and ends on a note of immortality. I’m so pleased with the words I chose in this fic and proud of the visuals I created with this. (I also know this is a fave of more than one of my readers, so that’s a huge heartwarming thing for me!)

3. .--. .- .-. .- / -... . .-.. .-.. ..- --

This? This is my Frank-centric oneshot that I wrote a little before the Punisher’s first season aired. I consider this to be my Frank, through and through, skin and flesh and blood and bone and war, and I am extraordinarily proud of having written this one. I feel that this one, out of all my Frank-centric works, dances closest to actual canon from both series and comics -- it was an exercise for myself as a writer to explore what I see as Frank’s core, and I think it was a success. It was a gutpunch to write and I love every part of it still. 

4. fluttering banners of gathering night

This is a oneshot that somehow evolved into a 99000-word fic. This is what I’ve referred to as my magnum opus and what took several months this year to write. It counts sixteen chapters (all of which have been published at this point!) and centres around Trish Walker and Ward Meachum. I think of two of the later chapters as my way to play in the Defenders-sandbox, but what I love most about this fic overall are the softness and the character interactions. (Plus, it features the one smutty chapter that took me a full month to write and that alone makes it worth the read hahaha.) This is a pride and joy for me as the first multichapter I’ve completed in years, and it features my rarepair ship that should by all rights meet in canon next time if Marvel knows what it’s doing! (Plus, it features nice little bonuses such as the Trish/Marci/Karen friendship that needs to happen, almost the full cast of Defenders coming out for a scene or two, some vague Kastle-hints, my take on the Black Sky, and so much more. And trust me, by the time you’re done reading, you’ll think the world of Ward/Trish as a ship too.)

5. Passacaglia

My lone adventure (so far) into the Star Wars realm, featuring an if-you-squint version of Reylo that’s really just a tired Kylo Ren and the red thread of a certain Force-bond running through all his dreams until he wakes to it too. I consider this to be my most experimental, perhaps, of the fics I’ve done -- I am never quite sure on how to feel about this one, but it was born from something very deep-seated and real for me. Passacaglia is that rare fic that just floats and means different things upon different reads of it. It’s something to sit with and something I hope to explore again in future, at least!

[eloarei]

Creator 2017 tag Meme

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favorite works you’ve created this year (fics, art, edits, etc!) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you’ve brought into the world in 2017. Tag as many writers/artists/etc as you want (fan or original!) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works. <3

Tagged by @enchantedtalisman Thanks!! ^^ (Sorry if it doesn’t tag you. Tumblr’s dumb sometimes.)  1. Make the Most    [Izuku was always told it was impossible for him to get into UA, impossible to meet All Might, impossible to become a hero. Well he doesn’t believe in ‘impossible’ anymore. BnHA, DekuMight, college AU, 41k]     ---My first bnha fic, the one that catapulted me into this precious sub-fandom. I made a bunch of great friends and had SO many nice comments that have kept me going for months! Thanks to this fic and this fandom, I think I’ve really grown as a writer!  2. Rogue     [It’s been a hard 150 years for Hanna, pretending he’s not haunted by the demons of his past. It’s gonna be an even harder week, pretending he’s never met this amnesiac zombie before. HINABN, Hanna/Zombie, semi-historical AU, 141k and probably my magnum opus]      ---My first and longest and most painstaking longfic! I worked on this for over 2 years! It’s my darling. The fandom’s dead so it’s only gotten a little attention, but I’m very proud of it. This fic is THE reason I am the writer I am now. (Technically, most of this fic was written previous years, but I did finish it this year, so I’m counting it.)  3. Thanks to You     [All Might’s grandma is, quote, “not likely to live another year”, and all she wants is to see her grandson married. So, having only been dating a few months, Izuku is shopping for wedding rings. Because what better time than Thanksgiving to lie to your whole family? BnHA, DekuMight, future fic/ fake married trope/ holiday vacation, 27k]     ---A silly and lighthearted fic, but something I’ve never tried before. I followed a schedule and deadline for this fic, specifically with the intention of having it ready to read on the relevant day, and I had a lot of fun with it! Also I unexpectedly made myself cry on the Thanksgiving chapter hahaha 4. Atlas     [”I’ll never wander on my own, for I am yours until you call me home. I close my eyes and I can hear you say, ‘You’re not alone’.” BnHA, DekuMight, mythological AU, 4.5k]     ---Possibly one of my favorite fics to ever just happen. I’d never written anything that was supposed to read (somewhat) like a piece of mythology before, and I enjoyed it! I still get kinda mushy over this one.  5. Touch     [At a very young age, Izuku could feel his mysterious soulmate’s pain. Who was this person person who hurt so badly, and was there nothing he could do? Would a simple touch make all the pain worth it? BnHA, DekuMight, soulmate AU, 6.5k]      ---Again, this one just happened very spontaneously, but I really liked the capacity this idea had for external turmoil and drama, and internal peace. It’s a fun AU and my only problem is that the sequel doesn’t seem to want to end XD  Honestly, I have had more fun writing this year than probably the rest of my life combined. I’ve really hit my stride, it feels like, fallen into my niche. I can only hope that it continues! Thanks to everyone who’s been along for the journey!  And now to tag a few folks: @oldseablues @braincoins @thenightisdarkandfullofbooty @steelybanchodraws @godshattered @orionskingdom and any other artists/authors out there! 

[so-caffeinated]

You are the first and only writer I have read for this fandom. I love your work so much, I've re read all your Arrow stories twice (even the Firefly one even though I've never watched it). Do you have any favorite Olicity fics to recommend to keep me from going crazy my first hiatus? (I binged the first 4 seasons last year)

This is awesome!! Thank you! I’m super honored. And do I have recs? Oh yes, I have recs. 

First rec isn’t actually a fic, it’s a resource… @theolicitylibrary. If you want recs, they’ve got ‘em. If you want a specific trope or rating or genre, they’ve got that, too. Have a hankering for a fic where Oliver and Felicity are business rivals? There’s a link for that. Where she’s the vigilante instead? There’s a link for that, too. Where one of them is a werewolf? Yup. They’re an amazing resource and you can lose days (and weeks and months) going through lists of alpha/omega tropes and rockstar AUs and friends-to-lovers fics. 

But more specifically… how about I rec some authors, too? I haven’t been reading much lately - I spend all my time writing - so I’m more comfortable reccing authors I know are amazing and whose works I’m looking forward to catching up on. They’re all consistently excellent. This is by no means an all inclusive list.

@dust2dust34 - My co-writer for FiCoN and personal fav (though I admit to no small amount of bias). If you want smut and you want details and mining a scene for feelings, Bre is your girl. She has plenty of oneshots to choose from as well as some multichapter fics.  

@machawicket - Look, I can’t overstate Danielle’s skills as a writer. My husband doesn’t even read my fic but he likes hers. Her writing is funny, sweet, sexy and heartbreaking in turn but it’ll never leave you unsatisfied. She’s a master. 

@anthfan - Nikki is one of those writers that’s so good she makes you forget you’re reading a story, because it’s just something you’re living. It’s an experience. Her characterization is spot-on and her plots are super engaging. She writes both one-shots and longer stories. They’re all worth your time.

@hannasus - Susannah’s writing is the perfect balance of detailed exposition and tight narrative that lets you feel like you’ve experienced the whole setting in just a few lines. Add to that fully in-character characterization and interesting plots that keep you reading and you really can’t go wrong. I recommend reading her Something Like Fate series ASAP as she’s adapted it into the basis for an original novel (which she’s publishing later this year) and it may not be up on AO3 a whole lot longer. 

@rosietwiggs - I can always tell Rosie’s work in just a few lines. Her narrative voice is so very distinctive and so gripping that it pulls me in effortlessly. I don’t believe she’s writing for Arrow anymore, but even her unfinished works are worth a read. I especially recommend The New Normal, Lengths and How The Mighty Fall In Love.

@supersillyanddorky06 - I’d be surprised if you hadn’t heard around about Matty’s writing because she’s right at the core of the Olicity fandom’s best known fanfics. With good reason. She’s prolific, plotty, smutty and evocative. If you have a weakness for Bratva!Oliver, I’d start here. 

@jsevick - I first met Jaimie after reading her Jurassic Park AU (really!) and being both delighted and amazed that she could make it work. I’m extremely lucky to have had her help as my beta pretty much ever since. If you like my writing, she’s a big part of it (along with @alizziebyanyothername). While she hasn’t posted in a while, her stories are just fun and if you like Gilmore Girls, her Arrow AU for Gilmore Girls is a treat!

@realityisoverrated-fic - I have no idea how you would feel about Smoaking Billionaires, Anon (I personally love it), but I’ve got to very highly recommend her Infinite Love series. At 110 parts and counting, it deals extensively with Oliver, Felicity and Tommy’s family longterm, including their kids. It’s alternately hot, sweet, and heartbreaking. But, most of all, it’s just well-written and interesting. If you’re willing to read them as a triad, I cannot recommend this strongly enough.

@geneeste - I would pay for more of Caught a Long Wind. Quite literally. But, that aside, Genie is a top notch writer. Whether her one-shots, WiPs or brilliant, ongoing epic co-written work with @machawicket, everything she writes should be devoured. 

@juliesioux - Julie uses the setting in a story as another character. There’s so much life to the world she puts her characters in that it practically breathes. Above that, she doesn’t shy away from hard topics. She will rush in head-first and dig deep to explore what her characters are going through. When you read her work, take her warnings seriously, but if you’re looking for a rich story to read that challenges you, she’s the perfect option to turn to.

@thatmasquedgirl - One of the most prolific Olicity fic authors (with 110 fics, including the absolute opus Technical Assistance). She’s consistently excellent, creative and she gives us as a fandom a whole lot to read. You can probably spent a huge chunk of hiatus happily buried in her work.

@entersomethingcleverhere - As a rule, I do not read first person stories. Not even when they’re published books sitting on shelves at my bookstore. I will break that rule for her writing. I like it that much. It’s heartfelt, moving, well-paced, and the connections between her characters are both real and evolving as you go. 

@arrow-through-my-writers-block - Shelby is… well, she’s just fun! She’s a solid writer who never disappoints. She’s got quite a few one-shots and a few ongoing multi-chapters. She’s probably best known for Starstruck, but all of her work is worth reading.  

@wagamiller - I just really love wagamiller’s work. Like a lot. There are very few authors I have on alert, but wagamiller is. Stories that make me laugh out loud are few and far between, but the 35B series surely did (as did @machawicket‘s Unbearable Hotness of Being, btw). Strong, sharp, witty writing that will leave you with a grin on your face.

@callistawolf - When I think of Callie’s work, I think of the fanfic version of sitting down with some hot cocoa and curling up with a warm blanket to watch a Hallmark Christmas special. She’s consistently excellent about finishing her work, which is lovely, and you can pretty much always count on a feel-good romantic ending. 

@hopedreamlovepray - Writing one-shots that stick with your reader is hard. Keeping a story to 1-2k and still being impactful is even harder. She absolutely manages it every time. Hope27 (as she’s known on AO3, so you can find her) has something like a hundred Olicity fics. These are, in my opinion, absolutely perfect if you want to lose yourself in a story on the train to work or during your lunch hour. 

@dettiot - Mel has a lot of great stories (like really great). My favorite is probably the “ink in my pen ran dry” series, but that’s a really tough call. Core Curriculum is super hot. The Felicity Stark series (crossover with Avengers-verse) is brilliant and fun and made me giddy while reading it. Beauty in the Breakdown is excellent. Jerry the EA series features one of the best takes on a relative OC I’ve read in fics. Love is Red made me squeal like a teenager with excitement (I’m not ashamed; it was warranted). And Two Men, Same Name (written with @melsanfo) is one of those that I am absolutely dying for the time to catch up on. While I’m at it, let’s rec Mel Sanfo, too. Her Masquerade is another novel-length fic absolutely worth a read. You really can’t go wrong with either of these ladies. 

@ash818 - Ash is freaking awesome. So, here’s the thing. Her Legacy series is mind-blowingly good. I have to admit, I’ve only read The Man Under The Hood in the series (this is intentional, for a reason you’ll see in a moment, but you need to read all of her work ASAP, okay? You do). This series… you’ve got future, married Olicity with teenage children as they continue their mission. There’s action, plot, heartbreak, angst, love, everything you could want. It’s in first person from their son’s perspective which is something I would probably never have clicked on in the first place had it not come highly recommended, but good lord is it amazing. All of her characters have life. All of them have depth. Her OCs are fully formed and vital to the story without overshadowing characters you already know. I haven’t read the later stories because after I decided to continue on with FiCoN verse, I didn’t want to inadvertently shade my views on Olicity’s growing family and continuing mission with anything she did in her series. If anything I do happens to run parallel to her work, I want to know beyond any doubt that it’s 100% coincidence. But her stories are something I’m absolutely itching to get to read… eventually. Her writing is excellent.  

@tinaday3w - I’m tempted to say “JUST READ IT” but that’s probably not enough… But really, just read it. No one does slow burn like Tina. Victorian era AU with pirate!Oliver? Yes, please. Hello. I’ll take two.

@emmilynestill - She’s just so good. And sooooo hot. I don’t know if you know this, Anon, but writing a good sex scene is hard. You don’t want your reader pulled out of the scene by wondering if a position is actually possible or when underwear came off (or if it did) or how gravity isn’t making them collapse. Like… smut is difficult. But it reads so effortlessly with Emmilyne’s writing. And, beyond that, she weaves it in beautifully with plot that keeps you wondering what’s next and emotion that builds and grows in an organic way. Orgasms and organic feelings. Honestly, what else could anyone really want?

@ruwithmeguys - Jess will gut you and leave you asking her to do it again. Indecent Proposal… just… read the warnings and be ready and read it with a lot of time on your hands and probably in chunks because ouch. But still… read it.

@academyofshipping - Sarah has this dry sense of humor that comes out in her fics that’s as clever as it is fun. Fluffy, funny, smart, cute and rich with feeling, Sarah’s writing is consistently strong. 

@someonesaidcake - Felice is fantastic for completed, multichapter AU fics. She has quite a few and I’m pretty sure every single one included smut at some point (if that’s your thing) as well as plot. 

And… I’ve spent like an hour and a half on this which was a lovely diversion for my day. I know I’m forgetting amazing people but I have to stop here. When in doubt, take the title of a fic you like, google that name in quotes along with “rec list” and find someone’s list where that story was included, then explore the others. Or, check the bookmarks on AO3 of an author you like, that’s a great place to mine for fics, too. And, again, I can’t rec @theolicitylibrary enough. That said… happy reading, Anon! We’ll get through this hiatus together… through fic and sheer force of will. ;-)