#and it's a very self-indulgent fic but <3 couldn't help myself <3

[morganee]

Byler Week 2023 - Day 2: 80s films

Mr. Clarke gives the Party an assignment for the winter holidays: re-create a scene from a movie.

title: this is when the feeling sinks in word count: 7807 link: this is when the feeling sinks in on ao3

[peachpety]

Upon reflecting this past year, I’m reminded of one area as a fandom citizen that i am lacking - reading fic. And so was born an idea to canvas my fandom family and friends to share with me a fic they've written, art they've created, a podfic they've recorded in 2023 of which they are most proud.

This two part 'rec yourself' list is the result.

Part One features Drarry creations (heavily featured since that's my OTP). Part Two (here) includes a kick-ass mix of various HP ships and ships from other fandoms, including Carry On, Check Please!, Good Omens, Teen Wolf, and Stranger Things. Also, and most importantly, each entry presents a smol blurb from the creator about why they chose their particular piece as their 2023 favorite.

For ease in reading, I've also placed all submitted works posted to AO3 into a filterable bookmark collection, Rec Yourself 2023. Be aware that there's a range of ratings and archive/creator tags, so please, take appropriate responsibility for your personal consumption. And please also be sure to shower the creators with kudos and lovely comments.

Y'all. This endeavor has been a fucking blast. One thing's for sure, I am blessed, humbled and honored to know a whole bunch of fantastic, brilliant, fun folks. Big love to you all, and thank you for participating.

So go forth. Indulge and enjoy! xo peach

* * *

✩ @pato-roldnart ✩ Quiet as a mouse HP | Viktor Krum x Ron Weasely | ART | G rating | Unleashed!Fest 2023 I'm quite proud of this one, I don't know how I made it, I had never drawn them before! My mind went full "oh yeah ronvik " Also, I like the idea of them bonding over their pets and Ron seeing that Viktor cares about something else that is not Quidditch.

✩ @tontonguetonks ✩ Coffee and a Croissant HP Next Gen | Scorpius x Albus | 903 FIC | G rating There are parts of myself and my lived experience in every story and character I write—how I socialize, how I take my coffee… I can’t help it. In *Coffee and a Croissant*, I put a lot of myself in my ace and autistic Albus. He is very dear to me in this story, and in my Fizzy Lifting Drinks drabble. The fic is just a toe-dip in the Soulmate waters where Albus grapples with what to do if he is someone’s Soulmate, but they’re not his. Parts 2 and 3 are in the works, but there is no timeline on either of them. Maybe in 2024?

✩ @crazybutgood ✩ I Bloom Pink For You HP | Narcissa Malfoy x Pansy Parkinson | 993 FIC + ORIGAMI COMIC | M rating | HP Bodice Ripper Fest 2023 This whole idea came about because I got so excited to fold a corset for hp bodice ripper fest, realised I couldn't just submit that one thing, and started brainstorming more loose ideas. It all clicked together when I was inspired by a fic by @schmem14, whose writing I adore. I was so grateful and even more excited when Em gave permission to make this. From there started the self-indulgent process of folding fancy things with fancier papers for this origami comic, and I couldn't have done it without Em and my lovely support team.

✩ @seekercass ✩ Something Cosmic HP | Cedric x Draco x Harry | 1.7k FIC | M rating | Polyship Week 2022 A self-rec that I am still extremely proud of is a short fic written for Polyshipping Week 2022 called Something Cosmic. It's a small coda to Something Good to Always Keep, another fic that I wrote for Quidditch Fest 2021 that I cherish very much. Even though writing is still hard for me these days, I often think about this 'verse and what life is like for Harry, Draco and Cedric after they graduated from Oxford. These three and slice of life bring me such joy. I hope to write more of them.

✩ @roseharpermaxwell ✩ Sounds Worth It HP | Hermione x Draco | 5k FIC | T rating | D/Hr Advent 2023 Being nominated for d/hr advent was a sweet surprise. It gave me a good excuse to remember how to write and the nudge I needed to create something this year.

✩ @basicallyahedgehog ✩ (They) Keep Me Warm HP | Hermione x Harry x Ron | 5.8k FIC | E rating | HP Trans Fest 2023 This was my transfest fic - I wrote it as a love letter to all my trans and Enby friends and as a way of processing some of my own feelings. It’s my first (and so far only) foray into poly golden trio and I loved playing with their dynamics with that added layer to their relationship.

✩ @lumosatnight ✩ For I Have Found Salvation HP | Harry x Severus | 7.1k FIC | E rating | Snarry AUctoberfest 2023 Although this is a smut fic at its core, I tried really hard to make the pacing flow, bringing in background characters, and creating memorable imagery. I am very proud of how it turned out. However, this is probably my favorite fic from 2023 simply for the fact that I had the most fun writing it!

✩ @sugareey-makes-stuff ✩ Feel You Breathing Teen Wolf | Derek Hale x Stiles Stilinski | 8.4k TEXTING FIC | E rating | 2023 Year of the OTP This is my fav 2023 piece because I learned how to create a custom text message AO3 skin, stylize things for plain text reading, and I wrote a whole story  that had some plot that was told through text messages. Also, I did not know I could achieve so much spiciness and throw in so many bad pick-up lines through this medium, but hey, the more you know! XD

✩ @schmem14 ✩ Mastermind HP | Harry x Ron; Draco x Harry; Ron x Draco | 10.7k FIC | E rating | Dronarry Fest 2023 This is one of the few times a story just flew out of me. Possessive stalker Draco sets out to win over Ron in this creepy thriller, but there’s a catch: Ron is already in love with Draco’s boyfriend, Harry.

✩ @drwhoisginnyholmes & @fledglinger ✩ Not Bad, For A 6000 Year Old Classic! Good Omens | Aziraphale x Crowley | 11.8k FIC + ART | E rating | DIWS Reverse! Reverse! Mini Bang

✩ @sniperjade ✩ The Sounds of Us HP Marauders | Regulus x Remus | 20.4k FIC | M rating | Remus Lupin Fest 2023; HPFC Spring Fling 2023 I've been thinking about this for a couple of days and whilst I would really love to say it was the drarry I wrote for this fest last year my favourite would have to be this moonseeker I wrote for Remus Lupin Fest last year. It's my favourite because I lived this fic. It became the entirety of my personality for a whole month because I desperately needed to get to the chapter where Regulus was riding on Padfoots back, through the forbidden forest, with only the light of the full moon to guide them, just to try and help Remus. It's also just because it's very musical and I'm very musical so that makes me love it all the more.

✩ @ghaniblue ✩ Sleeping With Ghosts HP | Regulus x Draco x Harry | 21.9k FIC | M rating | Harry Potter Rare Pair Fest IV I posted a Regulus/Harry/Draco fic last month that I'm very fond of. I started writing it more than 1 1/2 years ago, before I ever read a single Regulus fic. It's triad fic, and I'm pretty proud of the way the individual relationships develop. That was important to me, and I think I succeeded. Posting the first fic on ao3 with this triad tag doesn't hurt either.

✩ @celilasart & @wolfspurr ✩ Shifted Teen Wolf | Derek Hale x Stiles Stilinski | 25k FIC + ART | T rating | Sterek Reverse Bang This work was created for sterek reverse bang, a collaboration fest where the artists create first and the writers write second. wolfspurr and I just clicked when we talked about my art and the things that it inspired in their writer brain ;D the result is just an amazingly sweet and wholesome fic, that is still set in the teenwolf universe as we know it. but unlike many other fics which are full of violence and danger, this one starts with a bang and then it is a beautifully woven story of two people who just complete each other. also... the working title for my art was: tiny fox & sour wolf.

✩ @orange-peony ✩ At the speed of light Carry On | Basilton Pitch x Simon Snow | 26.3k FIC | E rating I picked [this fic] because I had a lot of fun writing it! It started off as a drabble and ended up 26k because I just had a blast writing it and the fandom support was so lovely. Last but not least, Pato made an absolutely stunning art piece for this fic, and it was the best present ever.

✩ @wynnyfryd ✩ i don’t know, you figure it out Stranger Things | Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson | 35.4k WIP FIC | E rating bragging about yourself is difficult, but i’ll just say it’s my favorite because i’m proud of myself for sticking to one project for this long, i love all the artwork the fic has inspired, and i just think the line “the river styx must taste like pennies” fucks severely lmao.

✩ @decaflondonfog ✩ growing pains Check Please! | Eric Bittle x Kent Parson | 50k FIC | T rating i am not usually a long fic gal, which i think is in part lack of patience, but also how attached i get to a universe if i’m working on it for a longer period of time. i finished writing this back in june but this fic felt very “me” in many ways and i think about them so often still  so it’s definitely my 2023 creation i’m proudest of!

[thomashewittmybeloved]

Distraction

(gif by me)

Pairing : Ted Logan x reader

Summary : Just like every Monday, you study History with Bill and Ted. But during this lesson, Ted seems to be quite distracted, and you're not helping at all.

Warnings : none ! just a fluffy fic w/ Ted ! with some footsie under the table. Also tried to make it G/N reader ;)

A/N : I really like the idea of a reader who's a History nerd (kind of self indulgent there) and who helps them study so, yeah! that again for this fic<3

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾

Just like any other Monday afternoon, I was in the library studying with my two best friends, Bill and Ted. We always had trouble with school, not being very scholar people. But if there was one subject I'm good at, it's History ! I always found myself fascinated by it; mostly only watching period shows, movies, losing myself in period novels and loving to learn some random facts about History. Sadly, it wasn't the same for my two dear friends who were the complete opposite...No matter how hard they tried, they could not seem to learn a single fact correctly. I made it my personal mission to help them as best as I could, no matter how long it took. That's how "the excellent Monday studying day" came to exist !

As I was going through the history textbook with Bill, trying to choose a subject, I couldn't help but notice Ted staring at me.

"Need help ?" I asked, still looking at the pages. "Ted ?"

"Uh ?" He jumped slightly before rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh no no, still reading about that French girl !"

My brows furrowed slightly. "Which one ?" I looked up at him, right when he looked away.

"You know, the fighting one..."

"Joan of Arc ?" I asked, giggling slightly while Bill chose a page.

"Yup. That one." He let his hair fall in front of his face. "She's very..."

"Fighting dudes in skirts !" Bill exclaims, cutting Ted off. "They look so cool !"

"They're called Gladiator's." I laugh quietly, putting the textbook in front of both of us. "You want us to study ancient Rome today ?"

"Is that the one with the salad dressing dude, right ?" He ask, smiling at me proudly.

"Yup, that's the one." I smile back. "You ok with studying this Ted, or you'll do something else ?"

"Oh yeah no, salad dressing dude is fine !"

"Perfect then !" I clap my hands, straightening my back. "Let's get started then."

As the hour passed, Bill was as serious as ever, which really impressed me. I don't know what's so fascinating to him about gladiators but he seems to love it ! Ted was a whole other story; he was constantly making jokes and staring at me, always looking somewhere else whenever I looked back.

"Come on, Ted," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "We have to study, Mr. Ryan might give us a suprise history test this week."

Ted shrugged, smiling slightly.

"You've been awfully quiet during this hour..." I put my bag on my lap, opening it. "I hope it's because you were studying really, really hard."

I took out a stack of flashcards, one they both knew very well. Bill looked up at the sight of the bright pink flashcards, glancing at Ted with a smirk. "Good luck dude !"

Ted groaned, putting his face in his hands.

"Ok Ted; what was the name of Edward Teach's ship?"

"Who's that ?"

I sigh. "Blackbeard."

"Oh ! That dude !" He smiles proudly. "The Revenge ! Queen Revenge or something !"

I widen my eyes, smiling brightly. "Queen Anne's Revenge ! Wow Ted, good job !"

I continued quizzing him on various historical events, he was surprisingly knowledgeable, answering right at a lot more questions than I would have thought. But every time I caught him staring at me, he stumbled over his words, unable to respond even if he seemed to know the answer. And seeing how much of an effect I had on him by simply looking back was making me feel giddy...

"Um, can you repeat the question?" he asked, his cheeks turning pink. "I didn't, didn't really understood dude."

A smile start to appear on my face as I keep staring at him, letting myself hope. I quickly glance at Bill who's busy writing every information possible on the Roman Empire but, sometimes switched to important American wars. He's pretty concentrated... I looked back at Ted, an idea growing in my mind; how much of an effect do I have on him and his concentration? That's when this genius idea came to mind, why not play footsie with him under the table to try and distract him even more ? I always kind of knew that Ted had somewhat of a crush on me, he's not a very closed guy with his emotions, really bad poker face. And to be honest, I also have somewhat of a crush on him. We're best friends, always been, I don't know if it's a good idea to act on those feelings for now... But nothing say's we can't have some fun !

I try to contain my giggle as much as I can, lowering my head to try and hide it. Sadly, he sees my growing smile right away, probably because he can't stop staring at me every chance he gets. I let myself slide slightly on my chair to get closer to me while he frowns, titling his head a little on the right. He jumps the moment my foot touches his ankle, looking at me with wide eyes.

"What are you doing?" he whispered, his face turning a bright red.

"Just trying to help you relax," I lied with a smirk, feeling my heart beat faster. "You seemed tensed !"

Ted shook his head, clearly flustered. "You're making it harder for me to concentrate dude..."

I continue, letting my foot get higher and higher, feeling a thrill every time I see him blush and wiggle in his seat, going left and right, even up and down sometimes. Every Time I pull a new flashcard, he can't even form one word without stuttering, coughing and moving in his seat.

"Hey, guys, can we focus here?" Bill asked, tapping his pencil on the table. "Dude, stop moving so much ! I can't write if you keep moving the table !"

"Sorry !" I said, letting my foot go back on the floor, making Ted groan at the sudden lack of contact. "You want to try the flashcards, Bill ?"

Ted shot me a disappointed look, but I knew it was for the best. I helped Bill with some of the flashcards, trying to keep the conversation focused on history, but Ted couldn't help himself from trying to get my attention back.

"So, Y/N, have you heard the one about the Roman gladiator who walked into a bar?" Ted asked, stopping Bill from answering my question about the Roman Empire.

I glanc at Bill who's leaning in, clearly wanting to heard the end of the joke. I roll my eyes, unable to stop smiling at his playfulness. "No, I haven't. Tell me."

As Ted launched into his joke, I could see Bill glancing back and forth between us with a confused expression. I know I have to keep things light with him so he won't suspect anything, especially since Ted had no idea I reciprocated his crush.

"So, Bill, did you know that the Boston Tea Party wasn't actually a party?" I asked, trying to divert his attention back to studying while Ted sighed.

"Yeah, I think I learned that in third grade dude !" He chuckled. "Don't even think they had tea..."

I laughed too, glancing up at Ted only to notice him staring at me again but this time, with longing in his eyes. His cheek was in the palm of his hand, the light from outside making his brown eyes shine perfectly. I felt my cheeks burn while something tightened in my chest, making me look down. This time he kept looking at me while I looked away, how the tables have turned...

"Come on, Ted, focus !" I said, trying to bring his attention back to the History book by putting it in front of his face. "Learn this chapter."

"I'm trying, I'm trying," Ted said, putting the book down in front of him ."You're just too distracting..."

I sigh, turning my attention back to Bill next to me who seemed too focused on his textbook to notice what's happening. I continued quizzing Bill, on the Revolutionary War this time, during the rest of the hour. Then, out of nowhere, I felt Ted's foot brushing against mine under the table, as I try to hide the smile on my face. He's getting bolder and bolder.

"You're killing me, Ted," I said, trying to sound stern. "I'm trying to help Bill !"

"I can't help it dude !" he said, moving his feet higher. "I need help too !"

I blush and look away, trying to hide my smile behind the cards. I knew I had to focus on helping Bill with his History, but it's hard with Ted's footsie game distracting me. Payback I guess.

"Alright, Bill, let's see if you can remember when was the Battle of Bunker Hill over." I murmur, trying to ignore Ted's foot on my calf.

As Bill struggled to answer, holding his hair in his hands, Ted's foot moved higher up my leg, and I could feel myself getting more and more flustered.

"Uh, uh, uh," Bill stuttered, unable to come up with the answer. "It's, like, a date..."

I could see the frustration on Ted's face as I helped Bill with the answer, showing no sign of being flustered like he was, even if I feel warm inside. Hearing him puff, I look back at him once I finished with Bill only to look down at his foot who was just laying in my lap lazily.

"Your shoe is so dirty Ted !" I giggled, trying to push it away. "Get. it. ooooff !"

He puts his hands on his heart, pulling is other foot on my lap. "Calling me dirty, pushing me away, how cruel !"

Bill looked up, laughing at our banter. "Your shoes are dirty dude." He said, trying to help me push his feets off.

"Traitor !" Ted points at Bill, holding the table so we won't be able to get him off. "All of you, traitors dude's !"

"THE THREE OF YOU." We all jumped, even gasping a bit. "OUT."

After hurrying to take our textbooks and bags out while stuffing a laughter, we finally got out and burst out laughing, putting everything in our bags. I sling it on my back, looking down at my tights. "Ted !"

"What is it dudette ?"

"Look how dirty I am, thanks to you !"

Both of them looked at my thighs, laughing even harder seeing the dirt stains. "My bad dude !"

He rubs my thighs to get it off, not noticing my reddening face at this sudden contact. I feel the warmth of his fingers through the fabric, making the lower part of my stomach tingle. "It, It's ok don't worry ! It's ok !"

"Sorry 'bout that." He whispers, smiling up at me.

"Yeah no, don't worry !" I laugh nervously, rubbing my thighs just like he did without noticing.

"Thanks for helping me, Iléna," Bill said, smiling at me. "You're the most excellent babe to ever exist !"

"No problem, Bill. You're going to do great," I said, patting him on the back, blushing slightly at his compliment. "If Mr. Ryan ask's about gladiators I know you'll kill it !"

As we started walking to go back home, I felt Ted's hand brush against mine after he bumped my shoulder into his. I look up at him, and he give's me a shy smile, trying to hide behind strands of his hair.

"Hey, do you dudes want to grab a pizza or something?" Ted asked, trying to hide the eagerness in his voice.

"Sure," I said, trying to sound nonchalant. "That sounds like a good idea."

"I'm starving...." Bill sighed, putting his palm on his stomach. "Could we also get slushies ?"

"Oh yeah, slushies !" I said excited.

I glanced at Ted, noticing him staring at me again, his burning hand still brushing my cold one. Suddenly, Ted slips his hand into mine, and I feel my heart skip a beat at his sudden boldness.

"To the pizzeria we go !" He exclaimed, starting to run.

I yelped, catching Bill hand quickly before he dragged me too far away. We all ran togheter, laughing and smiling.

Maybe I'm not ready to confess to Ted how I feel but, at least, I know that no matter what, he will always bring me with him.

[protect-namine]

fic commenting and leaving feedback is its own skill tbh. I remember someone irl approached me because their friend sent them a self-insert fic and asked for feedback, and she didn't want to be mean about it but (in her opinion) the fic really sucked and she couldn't say anything nice about it. but she didn't want to just ignore the writer either.

and I was like, "if it's okay with you, I can read a couple of excerpts and come up with something nice and encouraging for you to say" because we both established that the writer is new to writing and we don't want to discourage them from writing regardless of the quality of their work. this is for fun! and everyone starts somewhere!

and honestly I think a combination of: 1) trying to comment more last year; 2) being a fic writer myself (albeit not someone who updates that often); 3) getting better at code reviews at work (it's basically like the programming equivalent of concrit) (at work we encourage being kind and patient about feedback since some of our codebase is open source, so from time to time we do have to review code from people outside the company and from different experience levels, including newbies, and for them we have to be more encouraging and provide guidance) has helped me get better at leaving feedback in general.

so like. even when my friend couldn't say anything nice about the fic, I do think it's more an issue of "I don't know how to leave good feedback without being too critical" and less of "the fic was really atrocious that there's nothing good about it." because when I read excerpts of the fic, I thought it was like. yeah it was definitely written by a beginner and very clearly self-indulgent, but it wasn't bad. there were interesting things going on in the fic. there were interesting turn of phrases and characterizations going on. it's not unreadable.

so I told my friend, if I was going to review it I would say something like, "I like how you described [specific line I actually did enjoy reading] because I can clearly imagine the scene happening as I was reading. [character A] having a [fic personality trait] is interesting especially in context with their canon relationship with [character B]." etc etc.

anyway, again I'm not saying everyone has to comment on fics like they're writing a positive book report. and I do think just leaving a kudos or saying "I loved it" is fine. I'm even in the camp of, "comments are nice, but optional; readers aren't obligated to leave a comment if they don't have the energy or don't know what to say" (though I understand that writers in general would love more comments and treating fics as a gift economy instead of content creation -- that is another conversation that deserves its own separate post tbh)

but like. commenting beyond a simple, "I like this fic" does take effort and sometimes practice. the more you comment, or read other people's comments, the better you'll get at it. so what I'm saying is, just like how no one's born good at writing (it is a skill you practice and get better at through reading other people's works and writing your own), no one is also born already good at commenting or leaving feedback. you could love a fic so much you want to re-read it all the time, but might not be able to articulate (yet) why or what you love about it.

anyway, personally as a writer I do want to give grace to fic readers and commenters. I'm happy with just a string of emojis or kudos tbh. comments are nice, but don't beat yourself up too much for not saying anything more in the comments section, or not commenting at all. commenting is itself also writing, and writing of any form takes effort, which is what I wanted to acknowledge in this post

[flameohotwife]

for the fic ask game: 1, 14, and 24!

Happy belated New Year, northern! I'm very sorry I'm *just now* getting to the end of year ask game... but here goes!

1 favorite fic you wrote this year: I think my favorite fic of the year has to be Unspoken, Undeniable (rated T). It's completely self-indulgent, but apparently that's what other people wanted to read, too? Because it's also my most kudos'ed fic of the year. I'm also really proud of myself for outlining, planning, writing out and finishing a multi-chaptered work in less than a year (I think I started planning in March, wrote a few chapters, then took a break bc the kids were on summer vacation and I could barely write, then picked up again in the fall and finished in mid-November). I could not have done it without @coyotelemon's help and encouragement and excitement.

14. a fic you didn’t expect to write: Definitely Free as the Wind (rated T). I've mentioned this in asks before but from my very first days in fandom I never ever ever wanted to write this event. When I started for the kataang week prompt "sneaking off" I honestly thought it was just going to be a mildly spicy little drabble or one-shot, but then it turned into this 6k behemoth full of cultural elements that I had to painstakingly research and that I was constantly second-guessing. I'm still glad I wrote it, ultimately, but it definitely surprised me with the direction it took.

24. favorite fic you read this year: I have read many many great fics this year, though not nearly as many as I would like to. My favorite completed fic that I read this year is I think Without Water (rated T) by @chocomd. I love love love the way choco explored that time when Aang was in a coma, its intense affects on Katara, the way physical touch--something we all know as Katara's love language--becomes healing in ways she couldn't foresee, and so much more. It's emotional, but the best kind of hurt/comfort.

In terms of long-fics that are still currently updating, I cannot praise Beautiful Boy (rated G) by @anervoussapphic enough. It has everything I have ever wanted in terms of mixed-race cloud family fic. The kids are older, but we get so many flashbacks to the post-war period, and a lot of clues into how the war affected each member of the gaang. I love how the whole gaang is aunties and uncles to each other's kids: it is the most truly authentic Asian diaspora family fic I have read, and the ways this author explores the cloudbabies' relationship with their mixed heritage is so relatable I could cry. I'm so glad to have this fic in fandom, even if I'm several chapters behind right now because life has gotten in the way of reading. EVERYONE should read this fic!

Thank you so much for the ask and deepest apologies for taking so long to answer it and not sending one in return! I will try to be better in the New Year <3

[x-authorship-x]

3. What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?

27. How long did it take to write [insert fic]? Describe the process.

40. Do you tend to reread fics or are you a one-and-done kind of person?

👋

Hey anon! 👋

3. What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?

Uhhhh probably the disjointedness of my action scenes, thoughts half formed and sentences cutting into each other. I think it helps give a sense of frantic motion and having to act on instinct to survive. Also the general broodiness of my POVs, I haven't written anyone too hotheaded or thoughtless.

27. How long did it take to write [insert fic]? Describe the process.

You didn't specify a fic so I'm just gonna wing it? I'll do a completed fic so let's go with-

This took me.... Eight months. I wrote the whole thing out on my laptop, I had the morning free so hitting 5K wasn't too terrible and then I did another sweep of it, fixing plotholes and adding more dialogue until evening. And then-

I froze.

Sometimes this happens, it happens with big fics as much as it does with little ones, new and old, and my brain just digs it's heels in and refuses to move. I didn't know if I wanted a much larger fic, detailing all the drama and logistics of getting Itachi from protection from politics and the Elders, and that meant I couldn't go anywhere with it until I knew the answer.

So it just sat there, from August 2021 and then, suddenly, in March 2022... I found myself editing it on my phone, to make use of predictive text, and then Katlou303 was kind enough to skim her eye over it and we talked a bit about my aversion to smaller projects (I always have to make a Big Deal with my WIPs, which is something I'm trying to relax on), before I did another proof and posted! Sometimes I feel like the fic isn't good enough but other times I love the pace and gentle comedy and it's comforting.

40. Do you tend to reread fics or are you a one-and-done kind of person?

Oh boy, it depends on the fic. I like lots of bookmarks, I don't bookmark what I don't finish or like and I'm very very good at clicking off a tab and filtering works, so I usually bookmark automatically after I finished a fic. Rereading fics is something I do constantly but, as I have between 5-6K bookmarks on AO3, I obviously don't reread all of them. I get new favourites all the time, old favourites stick around. For my Big Favs, I usually have to reread them every time a fandom calls me back, even if that's just a morning spent popping my head in the door of the fandom on Tumblr. There is one fic, however, which I have reread about 50 times, I read it every six months or so and usually back-to-back twice when I do read it. Its ultimate self indulgent and it's not a fandom I'm personally involved in, so it's even more unusual!

[storiesofsvu]

3 + 4 for the fic ask game?

3. what fic are you emotionally attached to?

or lort... Serendipitous Secrets and Surprises for SURE. it was just so nice to write something a little different, it slides right in with canon so well, i liked y'all not knowing who the wife was at the start and leaving little clues (and misdirects LOL) for ya'll to try and figure it out. i'm also just so fucking soft and loving for Rita obvi.

and tbh. the other one's gotta be Classified Affairs LOL. obviously as i ended up creating two sequels for it, and would love to rework it into an original rather than fanfic. i started re-reading it yesterday. i wanted to read all three of them and then finally do the Redemption epilogue cause it's a christmas piece and well... it's christmas eve, so hopefully i can start that today and get it posted by tomorrow.

4. what fic of your own do you readfor comfort?

honestly, any of the period or sick ones. Esp if i am on said period or feeling sick. So..

Accidental Murder Scene, Admitting Defeat, (Rita).

Extra Cuddles (casey)

Comfort (Olivia)

Doctor Blake (alex blake... obviously lol)

Christmas Classics & Cuddles (poly duckie)

Dunbar Magic Cocoa (heather)

because they're all just soft fluffiness about having your love take care of you when you're feeling crappy and that's just what you really need/want, right? and like, the period ones and the heather one were very self indulgent because i either woke up with my period or was so sick i couldn't be bothered to even make myself soup and just wanted to be doted on, ya know?

ALSO, Mr Pickles (rita) because it's just this softness that explores rita & yn's relationship and how it goes from family friends as kids, and how yn completely unknowingly helps Rita cope with her assault at dowland and how that continues through the years and even up to when rita comes clean about things twenty years later.

thanks for asking! and brb while i go read all those comfort fics again! lol

[rogue-durin-16]

THINGS NEVER GO AS PLANNED (Part IV/VII)

"wrong name"

Summary: After Fred's death, George and Y/n lean on each other to carry on. This wasn't the most brilliant idea, though; George was pretty much in love with the girl, and Y/n— well, she had been dating Fred prior to the Battle of Hogwarts.

Pairing: George Weasley x Reader

Genre: angst-fluff

Tags:

Suggested by: @crispykittywitch

Things never go as planned: @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @beautyschoo1dropout @s1ut4georgeweasley @sunshineandshadowss @missmulti @accioweaslcy

Permanent taglist: @elia-the-bibliophile @randomparanoid @karlthecat15722 @thebutchersdaughtersblog @amourtentiaa

Warnings: language, mentions of Fred x Reader, brief mention of death ig (?) Feels

A/N: here's a Christmas fic that has no right to be this angsty lmao, enjoy nonetheless <3

Prologue: the aftermath

Part I: sleepless nights

Part II: candy floss

Part III: shock therapy

Part V: the perfect excuse

Part VI: the downfall

Part VII: apart

Epilogue: I still love you

Rogue-durin-16 masterlist

We apparated in the Weasley front yard together at dusk at the same time as Percy did; we greeted him with a hug and entered their old home, only to be met with more hugs.

I had only stayed at the Burrow once, arriving the night we escorted Harry, and leaving shortly after the tragic and abrupt ending of Bill and Fleur's wedding.

I had attended to the wedding as Fred's date. Even if we agreed that there was nothing serious between us, we cared deeply for one another, and I was important enough for him that he asked me to present ourselves together in front of his family.

How odd it was that the second time I was staying at the Burrow, it was because I had been asked to attend this Christmas gathering by none other than George —as friends, of course—; so odd that it made me anxious, but Arthur and Molly were way too welcoming for that anxiety to carry on longer than a minute after I stepped into their home.

"Y/n, dear!" Molly held me back while George went to greet his siblings, who had arrived earlier than us. "I'm so glad you could make it!"

"She didn't want to come." George snitched, coming back to us after hugging his father. "Said she felt like she was trespassing."

"George!" My cheeks burned when he exposed me.

"Oh, darling," Molly pulled me into the house to join the rest. "You're always welcomed here, don't be silly!"

Molly had liked me since day one, even before Fred and I became a thing. I was the one to receive her when the Weasley matriarch first visited the shop, and we immediately got along. Fred had explained to me that it was because I reminded his mother of her younger self.

"You're a snitch." I whispered into George's ear as we both walked behind Molly in the kitchen direction, his only response was to stick out his tongue, which made us both chuckle.

Molly looked over her shoulder and I caught in her eyes the same emotion I saw in Ginny's the first time she came to visit the shop after the reopening.

A profound emotion rooted in hope; a bittersweet feeling coming from the thought that, even though Fred was gone, George seemed to be coming back to us.

I felt it too, whenever he smiled. It was lovely to see him actually happy; I wished I could keep him like that forever, even in the nights, when everything would come down on his shoulders, tearing apart every spark of joy might have had in the day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

We weren't finished with food yet when Arthur wiped his mouth with the napkin and, clapping his hands once, exclaimed, "Alright, time for presents!" Teddy, who rested on Bill's lap, squealed, his hair turning pink; that baby was smart. "I'll get them, dear." He stopped his wife from standing up and went to get them himself.

He distributed the gifts, and I was surprised when he handed me one. "Oh! You didn't have to—"

"Nonsense!" Arthur stopped me, resuming his task with a warm smile. Everyone was happy in that moment, and I knew George's mood had a big part on that.

He unwrapped his, which turned out to be a purple and orange scarf and matching mittens. He was putting on the mittens when I tossed the wrap of my present, uncovering a cardigan formed by several tones of my favorite color.

"Put it on!" George requested excited. unbeknownst to me, it had been him who told Molly my favorite color. "Aw you look fantastic." He observed, poorly wrapping his scarf around his neck.

"Of course I do." I agreed, shifting on my chair to face him, my hands traveling to his scarf to relocate it properly.

Though we didn't notice, it wasn't the first time that more than one pair of eyes observed us that night, and it wouldn't be the last.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bill and Fleur had offered to take care of Teddy since they were leaving to Shell Cottage, so Harry and Ginny could spend the night at the Burrow without the worry of the baby.

Percy was terribly tired, so he withdrew from the living room to go to sleep.

Thank goodness he did; Percy was probably the second most affected by Fred death, and after that nice evening, he wouldn't have wanted to witness what was about to happen.

Ron, Hermione and I had colonized the settee, while Ginny and George were on their feet near the table, chatting about some nonsense; Molly was cleaning the dishes. Harry had offered to help her, but she refused, so the boy decided to talk with Arthur instead.

Molly pointed with her index finger at the remaining glasses laid on the table and called for George.

The thing is, she didn't really call for George.

"Fred, darling, hand me those."

The room fell silent.

It took a moment for her to realise, but an instant later, Molly was covering her mouth with her hand, her glassy stare fixed on the wrong named twin.

My eyes frantically travelled to every single person in the room, who had gone livid. We all seemed to be holding our breaths, waiting for some kind of explosive reaction.

Then my attention was drawn to George, whose, until that instant amused gaze, had turned blank and expressionless.

"Darling—" Molly's voice shattered with a single word. As Arthur went to console his wife, Ginny led her older brother aside and whispered things only he could hear, attempting to sooth him. "It slipped..." Molly cried.

I stayed sat on the couch with Hermione and Ron, the three of us frozen; I felt like I was an intruder witnessing a very intimate family moment.

"George don't—" we heard Ginny raising her voice before her brother disapparated. "Bloody hell!" She spun around and walked to me. "Y/n, speak to him, he'll listen to you." She practically begged, nodding her head at the window, prompting me to look at George standing alone at the edge of the cornfield, already making his way in.

"I-I..." I didn't need to look around in order to acknowledge all the eyes laid on me. "O-okay." I blinked away my own tears and rushed to the door, only to be stopped by Molly's shaky hand.

"Please- tell him I'm sorry."

"I don't think he'll blame you." I reassured the wrecked mother, offering her a comforting smile before making my way out and jogging into the cornfield myself.

"George?" When I didn't obtain an answer, it dawned on me how dumb it had been to dive into that area without knowing where to go. "George?"

I yelped when something tugged on my sleeve, making my body pivot on my heel. "You know how easy is to get lost in here?" The ginger questioned in a raspy tone, the hand that had been on my sleeve going down to mine, which invited him into my hold.

"She didn't mean— I reckon she just... Saw him in you for a second."

"I know." Though his eyes did look a bit red, he was calm.

"You alright?" I inquired, taking my hand to his cheek, on which he leaned.

"I just..." Sigh. His right hand travelled up to his face to hold mine in it before pulling away. "I need a moment alone."

I nodded. "Don't take too long or you'll catch a cold." He hummed affirmatively, and I half-heartedly left the cornfield and headed to the Burrow.

I excused George, assuring them he would be okay and, though the previous light-hearted environment didn't return, the tension in the air dissipated a bit.

A few minutes later, George came in; his mother welcomed with open arms and he returned the hug, having a small conversation against Molly's shoulder before making a beeline to me, sitting by my side.

I felt my cheeks flushing as he leaned on me, putting his head on my shoulder; suddenly self-conscious at the closeness between us. Somehow it was different being that close the privacy of our flat, than outside of it. Though it felt somehow inappropriate, when his long fingers intertwined with mines, I indulged him, trying hard not to meet neither Hermione's nor Ginny's eyes —they had been staring so much that I had noticed them an hour ago.

I was completely unaware of Molly's gaze laid on us too.

George, whose eyes had been closed, sit up straighter to whisper in my ear, "Can we go back to the flat?" My eyes met his and I realised we were even closer than I had thought in first place.

"I thought we were staying the night?" I murmured, trying in vain to keep his family out of the conversation they were pretending not to hear.

He leaned a bit closer only for me to hear his words. "I don't think I can sleep in my room."

"Do it for your mum." I squeezed his hand and he sighed. "I'm gonna stay in that room with you." Another sigh, but this one was of defeat, letting me know that I had talked some sense into him.

HERMIONE'S P. O. V.

At the beginning of the evening, when George and Y/n had first stepped into the Burrow, Ginny had come to me, urging me to observe them closely.

At first I didn't know why she would say that, but after the wrong name slipped out of Molly's lips, I started to get a hold of the matter, but it seemed so surreal— it just couldn't be.

Though the way Y/n's cheeks lighted up when George took a seat between us did remind me of the way I used to react when Ron got a tad too close to me in our sixth year.

After a while Y/n seemed to forget about our presence and eased besides George, making their bodies get closer.

When we decided to call it a day and the ones left in the living room started to retreat to their rooms for the night, Y/n got up without letting go of George's hold at any moment and, thanking Molly for her hospitality, they made their way upstairs.

Had my eyes not been trained on them, I would have missed the way George's hands went to Y/n's waist as his chin fell on her shoulder.

I left the sofa and walked to Ginny before she and Harry could slither to their dorm. "Are they...?"

"Not sure." Ginny replied with knitted brows. "What'd you think?"

"I... Don't know." I confessed.

GEORGE'S P. O. V.

We entered the dark room, illuminated only by the light provided by the night sky and started to discard our clothes in silence without looking at each other.

I was the first one to finish, making my way to my old bed and catching a glimpse of Y/n's silouhette while she threw a tee on.

I was utterly, hopelessly in love with her.

I had known I loved her for quite a while, but the feeling that had made my heart swell and my stomach flutter when she got into the cornfield without giving it a second thought in order to find me, that was something else.

I had also felt it when she had found me lifeless in Fred's room a couple of months ago; that feeling had been the reason why I found the strength in me to come back to life.

I was young, but I just knew what I felt went further from only love.

"What's on your mind?" She was already slipping under the covers by my side, her arms wrapping around me and bringing my back closer to her chest.

You, I wanted to say. "Not much."

"Liar." She tugged on my shirt and I turned on my other side so we would be facing each other. "C'mon, it's just me."

Words blurted out of my mouth, escaping my control. "Do you see him when you look at me?"

And I wasn't making anything up; It was, in fact, on my mind. It had appeared during the walk through the cornfield and it hadn't left, but Y/n's scent, touch and words had backed that thought to a corner of my mind.

She wondered, tucking one of my locks away from my forehead. "Sometimes, but not like you think." She must have sensed my inquiry because she explained further. "There are small gestures, jokes— things like that in you, that remind me of him." Her eyes were roaming all over my face, her hands bringing mines to her heart. "When you're happy, like tonight— I can't quite explain it but... it sorta seems like he's still here. So yeah, you could say I see a little bit of Fred when I look at you." Her eyes finally met mines. "It's not a bad thing— you love him so much that we can still see him through you."

"Loved." I corrected her, my thumb drawing circles on the back of her palm. "He's dead." A tear rolled down my cheek, but Y/n caught it with her fingertips before it could reach the pillow.

"Love never dies, Georgie." Her replied seem to carry more significance that someone would see at first sight, but I was too tired to discern it.

I couldn't tell if she had scooted closer, or if I had unconsciously leaned on, but the tips of our noses were nearly touching.

Initially, she didn't attempt to put more distance between us, and I couldn't help but let my hopes get high. I waited for a sign, something that would let me know I could close the gap between our lips —oh, how I craved to feel her lips—, but the sign didn't come and we stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity before she casted down her eyes, immediately breaking the spell.

"Goodnight, Y/n." I whispered, turning my back to her.

"Goodnight, George." She mumbled back, coming closer to cuddle me.

[justsomewhump]

just putting myself on anon since i don't want to out myself as smeone who reads krakillian fanfiction lol but the most memorable scene is emma rescuing killian from the cave after the kraken has had him. and killian asking her why she didn't rescue him sooner.

Aww! That's okay, anon, I'm glad you're enjoying my fics, the internet is meant for anonymity anyway <3

I didn't expect anyone to mention that fic! It was super duper self-indulgent so even to this day I'm happily surprised with the attention it got! And yeah Killian asking Emma why she didn't come sooner was an extra bit of angst I loved adding there. Like, she was already so upset he had been taken away, that she couldn't have helped him sooner, and hearing his own despair (and thus realizing how far gone he was) coming out by blaming her was just the cherry on top. (I mean, of course he didn't blame her. But he was in a very very bad place at the moment and that overrode his logic :} )

If I asked you what the most memorable scene from any fanfic of mine you've read is, what's the FIRST scene that comes to mind?

[skypied]

(yes, perfect, my plan worked!) I'm glad to hear that! and ty for always interacting with me, I really appreciate it<3 but I am not joking about talking your ear off, this is me trying to give a short response.

Hmm, writing seriously, not very long, just these past two months. I used to love creative writing back in school and easily got A's and B's in both Norwegian and English, but getting really depressed and losing all self-confidence for the better part of ten years squashed any hope I had of following my passions, and I was way too afraid to let people in to express myself in honesty.

I wrote something like two short oneshot fanfics between ages 13-15 I think? that I have decided to never think about again because those were truly horrendous. I've always known I enjoy writing, but it felt too intensely personal. I've shied away from anything that can allow people to subconsciously learn things about me and understand how my brain works, if that makes sense?

But I've gotten a lot for free, my whole family has always been interested in literature and I was a very precocious child who read adult books way too early. (Not adult adult, haha, but for a more advanced reading age than mine at least). For a long time I struggled between knowing if my interest in literature and writing was me trying to emulate and fit in with my family, so I suppressed that interest in my teenage rebellion years (except for voraciously reading fanfiction), but the past couple of years gotten back into reading and discovered I do enjoy it. With it has come an increasing desire to write, but I have a very limited imagination and trying something original feels way out of my league. Simultaneously, I've been repressing how much I enjoy fandom and fanfic, I've had a couple of years now of actively nope-ing and denying my interests, but eased more into it the past year (I wouldn't have coped with covid lockdowns without fanfic).

Also, I studied film making and that helped me a lot with figuring out the technical stuff of storytelling, like structuring a plot and knowing when to cut stuff/kill your darlings. Not that I think I'm very good at either of those things yet, but I think it's definitely something that's helped me subconsciously.

Honestly, I've been trying for years to deny and repress that I want to express myself creatively, but looking back it's SO CLEAR I am a creative person, I've always drawn and written and yeah studied film so like. I obviously am, just struggled for a very long time with figuring out and daring to express myself.

And idk what happened, honestly. I watched Luca and had about a week of debate with myself if I would indulge myself in fanfic, but when I literally couldn't stop thinking about Them, I did, and read a lot of fic, took a little break because of an irl family vacation, came back to my own life and indulged in the obsession by making Luberto in Sims, and it took like, 20 minutes of playing before I went "You know what? We're gonna try writing fic." and wrote ch1 of Cliff's Edge in one sitting until 6am.

and it's just escalated from there really! I can't stop myself now, my brain just keeps going all by itself. I posted about it yesterday, but I woke up at 4am mid-dialogue between Luca and Alberto and had to deliriously write it down before I forgot it (and that's not the first time it's happened haha). So now I've gotta keep writing to keep my own sanity to be honest! And I am really enjoying how I can connect with people with it, like I mentioned I don't have a lot of irl friends who I can talk this freely to, nor any irl friends who are into the same fandom, so it's become a win-win really!

TLDR: I have not written very long, but I've read a lot, and I think that helps me write!

[theintentioncraft]

To continue supporting content makers, this tag game is meant to show the entire process of making creative content: this can be for any creation.

RULES - When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag up to 5 people with a specific link to one of their creative works you’d like to see the process of. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours.

I've been tagged by @lordbelacqua (thank you Dea! <3) to talk about Backlead aka: that one Masriel fic I wrote where I got massively carried away...

Rambling/essay under the cut - fair warning, it's a long one!

Okay so first of all just a little disclaimer that Backlead did not follow my usual writing process - the idea was 110% borne out of self-indulgence and it was also both my first foray into HDM fanfic and my return to fanfic as a whole after a long hiatus from writing, so for me this was really a chance to just get back into the swing of things. Everything from Heavenly Guard through to Swansong and all of my current WIPs follow a more structured process and I'm happy to discuss any of them in a separate post!

PLANNING: I tend to find with my fics that I either have a nice little timeline of events planned out pre-writing or I have a very specific event in my head and I just take that and see how things unravel from there and Backlead was 100% the latter.

All I had in my head initially was the ballroom dance scene and so a lot of my admittedly-minimal planning was around the technicalities of that particular section, as well as some of the more general details e.g Marisa's outfit, the setting of the ball, etc. Planning the dance was the most fun part because it was a chance for me to put a lot of my dance knowledge to good use and think up something that fits the back-and-forth way in which Marisa and Asriel frequently navigate their encounters. In a way though I'm actually very glad that a lot of this fic Just Happened instead of being planned out, sometimes it's nice to just run away with an idea!

MUSIC: This gets its own section because this is one of the most important things in my process. Every single fic I write is written to various pieces of music that just help me to put myself in the right headspace for whatever I'm writing at the time - sometimes its just a single piece of music (I wrote Swansong in one hour with just one track from the Unforgotten - a TV show in the UK for those of you not familiar with it - soundtrack on repeat) and sometimes its entire playlists. I do love geeking out about my music choices for fic writing so happy to talk more in a separate post about music for some of my other fics if anyone's curious!

For Backlead I found a couple of playlist-vids from the lovely raviolae on youtube that really worked wonders for my writing. This comes with a disclaimer that I did not necessarily attribute any of these specific songs to either dance scene and I wanted to leave that open for people's imagination - but it's still brilliant vibes for thinking about two once-lovers-now-enemies trying to one-up each other whilst ignoring how much they still find each other attractive.

The two playlist-vids in question are here: you're stuck on the dance floor with your rival and find out they're an annoyingly good dancer and you're dancing with your rival and both of you want to lead

WRITING: First step every time is to figure out who's POV I'm going to cover because that makes a major difference in the way I'm going to write. Characterisation is the big thing for me and there's nothing I love more than to really get inside a character's head and basically think like them, and figure out what makes them tick and how they'll react to the story I'm putting them in. With my initial idea for Backlead being basically about the subtle power dynamics of a ballroom dance, Marisa felt like the natural go-to for this one and I found it much easier in this instance to write in her headspace than in Asriel's.

I wrote this fic in a very out-of-order fashion. The first dance (the slower, waltz-style dance) was the first part I finished, then I did as hinted at above get very carried away and move onto the section in the hallway, then I went right to the start and covered the entire section leading up to that first dance. Then I revisited the hallway scene because I wanted to rework it (the initial version was planned to be more explicit and involved less dialogue - but I wasn't comfortable with writing out the former at that time and the latter got changed by way of me having a sudden burst of dialogue-themed inspiration). The second, more set piece style dance came last in terms of the 'major events' that I wrote purely because I spent a lot of time racking with my dance knowledge to try and make it work in a way that didn't feel forced.

My final major writing stage is to write the 'transitions' between each major part - small pieces where nothing particularly noteworthy happens but it helps the fic to flow from one conversation/event to the next and also sometimes allows me to sneak in a bit of characterisation that I couldn't fit in elsewhere.

Along the way I often leave sentences half-finished with a bracket indicator so I know to go back to it later or I make little notes if I've added something in that needs explaining earlier in the fic, and I make sure to sort those parts out before I jump to the self review/beta reader stage. A couple of examples are below:

Although sometimes this method does also annoy future me too 😂:

SELF REVIEW/BETA REVIEW: Whenever I finish a fic, it gets put away for a day or two and I stop thinking about it completely - if I'm using a beta reader (usually @thatlavanderbard but I sometimes enlist help from friends on discord), I'll send them a copy of my draft at this point so they can start going through and leaving comments for me to work on, but the idea is that when I go back to my work a few days later I'm looking at it with semi-fresh eyes and can properly sift through each sentence to make sure things make sense.

When I'm self-reviewing I generally tend to follow this order of operations: spelling/grammar check (via docs') -> flow check (making sure any deliberate time skips/POV changes/etc in my fic flow smoothly from one part to the next) -> address beta reader comments (because they almost always pick up on things I myself would've picked up on anyway) -> general detailed final read through to make sure I'm happy with every single line and it all makes sense.

Backlead didn't get a full beta read because I had hit a point with it where I just wanted it up ASAP and my impatience got the better of me, but the rest of the above self-review stages still happened and I still spent a fair few evenings going through it properly and also running the occasional sentence or two by some helpful discord friends if I didn't like the way it flowed but couldn't quite figure out how to remedy it!

POSTING: First step was to reset my AO3 password because I forgot it yet again whoops

On a more serious note this part is pretty straightforward - once I'm ready to post a new fic I generally just go on autopilot for this part of the process (other than when I get to 'additional tags' and immediately get brain freeze...). As soon as it's up on AO3 I swing by here to make a post about it, then swing by discord to drop the link to friends who may be interested in reading it and then I normally nervously scuttle away from my notifications for a while out of fear that people hate it lmao.

That last part was especially true for Backlead because of it being my first trip into HDM fanfic and I always get extra nervous when posting my first fanfic for a new show/game/etc. Thankfully I got quite a few nice comments both on here and on discord that provided good motivation to stick around and post a few more things!

I always panic when asked to tag people lmao but I'll tag @fortheloveofwii for any part of the Onward, Onward series, @lyracordelia for any chapter in Hiraeth or the fic as a whole, and @glassrunner for this absolutely gorgeous gifset of beautiful game soundtracks. Please don't feel like you have to do this if you don't want to though!

[nostalgicatsea]

Five favorite works from the past year

Tagged by @firebrands. Thank you and sorry for the belated reply! I haven’t been on this account as much because I’ve been busy irl/on non-fandom/MTH accounts, trying to get involved with what’s going on and pretty much been passing out on my bed after scrolling through my dash and Twitter feed briefly. I kept forgetting to reply to this, but I didn’t want you think I was ignoring you!

ANYWAY, here’s the challenge:

The rules of this circulating challenge are as follows: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you’ve brought into the world. 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!

1. Blood in the Water (998 words, fanmix with liner notes for each song)

Fanmix for "Plunge" by kiyaar, one of the most beautiful and tragic fics in the Steve/Tony fandom. He wonders what’s worse, the fact that Steve actually thought he was better than this or the fact that Steve made him believe it for a bit, there, too. The song order follows the plot, and the playlist covers Steve and Tony’s POV throughout the story, individually and then both of their POV at the same time before ending with Steve's.

My first-ever fanmix for one of my favorite fics! This is one of the very few stories that have made cry, which only happens rarely. I really like the cover art I made for this. You can see it here without going on AO3. I spent so much time looking for the perfect photos and font, and I like the opacity change of the title on the front cover. I wanted to follow the story chronologically, with each song representing a specific part. 

2. Pyriscence (6.9k, @marveltrumpshate fill for @sabrecmc)

In the wake of the Decimation, there's nothing but total destruction, death and chaos that spread like wildfire, uncontained. All Natasha can do is hold fast to her hope in the aftermath—hope that there’s a way out. Hope that Tony will come back to them. To Steve.

This is my favorite fic that I wrote last year and one of my favorites overall. I like that it’s a departure from my other fics as it’s an outsider’s POV (Natasha’s), and I think I did a good job capturing the numbing grief that came in the aftermath of the Decimation as well as Steve and Tony’s relationship. I also liked getting into Natasha’s head, figuring out what her feelings are about Steve and Tony individually and together, her relationships with them, and the way she sees and feels around Rhodey and Pepper. There’s also one parallel that no one has picked up on, and it’s like a nice little secret for myself. If only I could write like this again. :))))

3. Mending Each Other and Calling It Love (2.5k, Fandom Stocking present for @ashes0909)

His hands were busted, the skin raw and torn, when Steve pulled off his gloves. Hitting the heavy bag wasn't his go-to method for chasing calmness or sleep, but Tony had been hellbent on beating his nightmares back, even if he scraped himself bloody while he did it.

I love the quiet intimacy that comes late at night. Both Steve and Tony have let down their walls here. This was a bit self-indulgent because I love it when one character bandages up another character, and I love the image of scraped knuckles. I used to find the idea of writing MCU Tony so daunting, but I think I got him right here. Two of the metaphors I love the most are also in this fic: 1. Steve and Tony’s relationship like an uneven structure, but Tony viewing himself as an engineer who can stabilize it and 2. Steve unleashing his power in the gym, like a myth come to life, coming from my own thoughts of what it would be like to see such a demonstration of strength from a very mortal POV. 

4. Leaving You Forward (3.3k, @lightsonparkave fill) 

It would be easy, staying here like this with Tony. But Steve knew he couldn't—because he had never taken the easy way out and because he loved Tony.

Full disclosure, I reread this recently and got emotional, which rarely happens with my own works because I’ve read them at least 700 times by the time I post due to my editing style. Anyway, I’m proud of this fic even if there are lines that I want to fix because this fic was long abandoned. I remember having to go on so many walks around the neighborhood during the fall when I tried to first write this back in 2014. It makes me reminisce about that time of my life every time I think about it. I was FINALLY able to write it after EG. It came at the right time and makes me think of how much I’ve grown since then. I love how this fic perfectly captures the idea of letting go and moving on despite all the suffering you endured and how Steve and Tony always, always, always push each other to grow, to not be stagnant. I know this made people cry, but I really think this one is so full of hope! 

5. In My Hands and Gone Again (136 words, @lightsonparkave fill)

Memories were like fish, Tony had explained, or the tease of one. A flash of silver, and his hands would plunge down. Sometimes he would catch one; other times, it would dart out of reach. He wouldn’t be sure whether it had been real or just a trick of the light, after.

Lol the summary is almost half as long as the fic itself. I’ve been having trouble writing lately, but I missed it and this was my way of dipping my feet in the pool. The fic came to me almost instantly except I kept trying to make it longer and whined at erde, Jen, magic, and Alanna about it before realizing, with their help, that it was better as it was with maybe a few lines added here and there. I wanted something short and packed a punch, and this was it. It was fun returning to my roots; I used to be incapable of writing more than 1-2k, but then I couldn’t go back to writing fics as short as that. Anyway, this was the first time in a long while that I felt some sort of emotion while writing, and I hope that that can happen as I work on the fics I want and need to work on in the coming months.

Tagging @mizzy2k, @ishipallthings, @pineapplebread, @venusiaries, and anyone else who wants to do this!