#author: queseraone

[chenfordfanficquotes]

“I shouldn’t have walked away,” he says, his thumb tracing absently over her skin, and her eyes flutter shut briefly. “It wasn’t fair for me to force the conversation and then bail when it got hard.” There’s a faraway look in his eye, and he exhales, long and slow. “You’re right. I am scared.” She nods, chewing on the inside of her cheek. “But Lucy,” he continues, squeezing her hand. “Just because I’m scared doesn’t mean I’m not in this with you.” She’s quiet for a moment, letting his words sink in. It’s the first time he’s truly been honest with her about how he feels, and it feels like a weight has been lifted. “I think I’m scared too,” she murmurs. “That you’ll wake up one day and realize this is all too much for you.” “Never.”

-see how fully i've been broke (and let me start again) by @queseraone (submitted by @roguetwelve)

[theflyindutchwoman]

Do you have any Chenford fic recommendations?

I wasn't sure what kind of fics you liked, dear Anon, so I tried to include a little bit of everything. You can already search my tag Chenford fanfic to get you started. And here are some more suggestions (in no particular order) : I tried to only pick one fic by author to keep this list short and sweet, but really, I recommend checking all their stories

Every High And Every Low (M), by @onlymylovesurvive - Inspired by, “A dead kid is different. A dead kid changes you forever.” (3.09)

All The Bright Places (M), by Ellitheria - AU from 1.11 : Lucy is diagnosed with cancer

Who could stay (you could stay), by @queseraone - The fear has always been there—always. (About Tim's fear of being like his father)

A great honor to hold you up, by @fromiftowhen - Missing scenes and post-ep for Day of Death

Beneath Your Beautiful (E), by @cfr749 - AU where Tim and Lucy gets married at first sight for a TV show

Streetlamp to Streetlamp, by amaradangeli - Lucy is told she can get Caleb's tattoo removed once it's fully healed. A lot can happen in six weeks

Empty bed's and Broken memories, by AllMyTomorrows - Waking up to find Lucy not in his bed or house triggers deep fears inside him that even he didn't realise he had.

Roots Won't Keep Me Warm, by @silverskull - AU 4.22 : Tim and Lucy go undercover to take down Mid-Wilshire's greasiest drug baron (written during the summer hiatus)

Where we gonna go? (i think he knows), by @fromiftowhen - Tim and Lucy go on a first date. It doesn’t go exactly as planned (written before s5)

Tell me you love me (without any words), by @dmarx - AU 5.13 : Tim struggles to put his feelings into words after Lucy finds him a new job.

Little bit of Love, by @chenfordspiral - A look into what the future may hold for Tim and Lucy

Baby, it's halloween (there’s a first time for everything), by @americorys - AU from 5.05/5.06 : Tim and Lucy spend Halloween (not) giving out candy in costume and (definitely not) skirting around their feelings for each other

You Taste Like Whiskey When You Kiss Me, (E) by universallongings - Tim and Lucy go to Las Vegas (for Angela's bachelorette party)

Oh and you can also check out @centralperkchenford who's doing an amazing job at keeping us fed every day with new stories.

[makeitastrength]

I love your work, and in my experience writers who write a pairing really well also have excellent taste in how they like to read those characters as well.

What are your top 5 Chenford fic recs?

Hey anon!

This is such a hard question because there are so many good fics out there and I know I'm going to end up accidentally leaving out so many that deserve to be on this list. But I'll try my best.

Here are 5 authors who have each written so many amazing stories + my current favorite fic by each of them. (But you should go check out all their other stuff as well, because choosing just one favorite from each of them was not easy.)

@queseraone - this was one of those fics where when I started reading it, I had no idea where it was going to go, but it was such a lovely journey!

@silverskull - I'm so glad Chenford is canon now but damn did the pining phase hurt so good. This was one of my favs from that era!

@chenfordspiral - I'm a sucker for introspection fics, and this one that digs into Tim's thoughts for the first half of season 5 was so enjoyable!

@jennahbennah - I've never thought I was a soulmate AU person, but these two fics are a rewrite of the series with the incorporation of the soulmate element and I love them both so much!

@BimadaBomily - current fav is this one which I've re-read at least 3 times already because it's so soft and sweet an adorable!

Also @cfr749, @poppypickle, @universallongings, @fromiftowhen, and @americorys know just how to punch you in the feels with their words.

I know I'm forgetting people; it's nothing personal, I just can't possibly remember every single fic I've loved. I do have a bunch more bookmarked on my AO3 so I'd say check those out as well because there are just so many amazing authors in this fandom so it's a much longer list!

[timandlucy]

What’s your top 5 favorite Chenford fics you’ve read that aren’t yours?

This is absolutely unfair to make me pick five in a fandom where there are so many! However, I dug into my bookmarks for you to pick some of my favourites!

First of all - anything and everything by @queseraone. Like seriously, her writing is just my fave, but if I had to pick, it would be "i want you to be happier" where she uses Isabel's pov to speculate about 5x20, and she does it literally so amazing, I was on the floor after reading.

This is a bit older, but from a fandom-favourite writer, and I still, to this day, go and re-read it whenever I'm craving a DOD-related Chenford fix. It's just so soft and so comforting, and I just love it! Highly recommend: "a great honor to hold you up".

Come a Little Closer by @poppypickle is a fave to revisit whenever I'm craving a more smutty fic, and it literally never lets down. One of my favourite sexual tension fics!

I'm a sucker for the "accidentally moving in together" trope, and the fic "we could leave the Christmas lights up 'til January" hits all the right spots for me! I'm so glad it exists, because it's definitely one of my comfort fics. I might be mistaken, but it seems like this author deleted the majority of their chenford fics, because I remember there being another one that was also my favorite.

This is a recent favourite, because I am an absolute sucker for hurt/comfort fics, and this one just hits literally every spot for me. It's called "Solace", and it's a great exploration of Tim's trauma and how Chenford is stronger together after the events of 5x19. I already know I'm gonna re-read it a billion times. (and by the way this is me just realizing that this author is @dmarx on tumblr because I did not put that together before this moment - anyway you're awesome thanks for such amazing fics!).

And of course, these are all amazing writers, and it would be remiss of me not to encourage you to explore their other fics, as there are many jewels hiding in there!

Thanks for the ask :) let me know if you've read any of them already!

[silverskull]

What made you start writing fanfic?

MS QUESERAONE

These asks do not always appear on my phone, and it sometimes takes me loading coal into the engine of my laptop and then navigating to tumblr dot com to find them...

I started writing (terrible) fic as a teenager back in my Stargate SG-1 days, because I fell in love with Sam and Jack, and had only recently discovered that you were allowed to imagine scenarios in your head and not just say your prayers when you went to bed at night. (I also had a brief Pokemon phase, but I’m not gonna even bold that one.) That fic all disappeared in a Blue Screen of Death home PC crash back in the day, and I gave up on investing effort into digital files until I had a more reliable backup plan. Despite that, I recently discovered (and discarded, with love) pages of A4 notes I wrote in secondary school that were actually just Harry/Hermione or Sam/Jack fic starters. Love the dedication - in fountain pen, no less! - from teenage me!

After college, cue LiveJournal! And Fringe! And community fic prompts! I loved it so much. I definitely wrote 3 solid fics for Peter and Olivia back then, but I was very at sea in real life, and I didn't keep it up. I uploaded them to AO3 in recent years, and I’m glad they’ve been saved for posterity. That show was very important to me too.

After LiveJournal died/sold out to the Russians, I gave up once again, and didn't even really read fic in any of my following fandoms. But then came The Pandemic, and Lockdowns, and lots and lots of time to rewatch my favourite shows, and my brain decided to fixate on The Rookie and Lucy and Tim. I am not sorry. I was struck with the disease and forced to stay at home and go on my little mental health 2.5km walk loops, and my mind started to suggest that I could write fic again. That I'd done it before. That the brain pictures could meld into a story, and that fic archiving (with the advent of AO3) was a lot more reliable.

So, a few lockdowns later, along came "In the Hole Together", a spec-fic for 422 that was founded on fan-detectivery and paracetamol. And when people actually got interested, I thought this was something I might be able to do.

AND THEN THERE WAS ACTUAL 422.

And "Roots Won't Keep Me Warm" was born.

I've never ever written something so long, so detailed and so intense, and it became a personal challenge as much as a dedication to the readers that were following along. The only two rules I've set for myself since then are 1) Don't try to use song lyrics as titles anymore, Sil, and 2) Always finish a multi-chap.

The way my brain operates, I can only work on one fic at a time, so I never have written WIPs hanging around (though I have many, many head-plots, and some of them are even stored as bullet points in a google doc...). I hope that the one thing I will always do is finish out a fic to its conclusion, as it is absolutely an undertaking I most appreciate in the authors I love.

I had some extra time this (northern) summer (personal reasons) to devote to ChenfordWeek and finish my second Big Long Fic ("Shadows of Deception"), but it hasn't been sustainable since then, and it makes me very, very sad. I have been so harassed and harangued with real life, that I could barely even Do Imaginations for Chenford, and - to be frank - that has been critically depressing. It always has for me, since the days of SG-1.

I love writing fic, and I hope never to turn it into a job rather than a hobby, because that has never worked out well for me in the past. That said, I have you, Ms @queseraone, to thank for getting me to sit down and face the music this Christmas/Winter/Holiday season, and actually write some new Chenford content. And it is h a r d. It is hard to do the thinking and the linking and the typing. It is hard to find the time and the will and the motivation. It is hard to have a plan and then another plan and then discard it all when you actually sit down to type. But I am really happy to be doing it. I really am. 

And I can’t wait for @chenfordsecretsanta to arrive, and to share in the joy of a whole batch of new fics in our little fandom! To have something to look forward to that is closer than February 20th. To have someone believe in me enough to persist in prodding and poking me into committing to this challenge.

So thank you. Thank you, and I love you, and I appreciate you.

💖

[queseraone]

Tagged by: @suttonbradyy <3

Author Name: queseraone on tumblr, quesera1 on ff.net and quesera on ao3

Where You Post: tumblr, ff.net, ao3

Fandoms You Write For: LINSTEAD

Most Popular Oneshot: apparently My Hero, which, fun fact, is probably my least favourite piece of writing

Most Popular Multi-Chapter Story: Home (which ugh, I’m closing in on a year since updating, I need to get on that shit) or I guess Maybe One Day with @halsteadpd

Favorite Story You Wrote: I’m definitely most proud of I’m Fine (the Jay part, not so much the Erin part). It was my first foray into writing and I put so much time and energy and heart and soul into that... or Reminding Me (because I like angst and that thing practically wrote itself)

Story You Were Nervous to Post: Everything? I’m a chicken and it’s very scary to put yourself out there. But honestly I’m Fine, partly because it was my first fic, and part because it was painful af

How Do You Pick Your Titles: HAHAAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAA (I currently have a handful of in-progress fics, NONE of which have titles fml I suck at titles)

How Many of Your Stories are complete: 3

Do You Outline: not really (I hate myself for that every day)

Do You Accept Prompts: no, but sometimes I want to

In-Progress: Home, Contractor Jay (so far that’s the title fml), a 1x10-inspired AU (which I’m really excited about, but nervous because it’s different and is going to take a lot of planning), an FBI-ish AU, and probably a few others I don’t remember starting

Upcoming Story You’re the Most Excited For: Contractor Jay or the 1x10 one… if I ever get my shit together enough to continue/finish them

Coming Soon: well Contractor Jay is closest to completion (that’s not saying much)

Tagging: @halsteadpd, @pdshalstud, @sincerelytiffanyff

[halsteadpd]

Top 10 linstead fanfics?

Okay, this will be the most difficult ask I will EVER answer because there’s so many good fics out there, but this list will be comprised of stories that I’ve loved dearly and re-read many times.

1. Sober by @imjustwriting (if you could see how desperate I was in our texts, you’d probably pity me)

2. Aftermath by @justkillingtimewhileiwait (I’m actually re-reading my favourite parts of this story right now)

3. Small Bump by @halsteadandlindsay (fuck off with this one because it’s so fucking good)

4. A Fairytale by Another Name by brookebynature (it’s not complete but it’s so good!)

5. Bless the Broken Road That Led Me Straight to You by CPDxOTHLove

6. Any Other Day by the same author as above

7. Home by my girl @queseraone (yall wanna update or nah?)

8. Happenstance by @whistlewhileyouwrite(There’s just something about a college, soccer playing Jay that gets me good)

9. One Day At A Time by mushupork (FUCKING AMAZING, but not done yet)

10. Safe House by @pdshalstud (I am absolutely in love with this AU idea and who doesn’t like some shirtless, sweaty, soccer playing Uncle Jay?!)

I’ve also got a list of honourable mentions: Darkness on the Edge of Town by Drive All Night (this is a Burzek fic but it’s still pretty good); Scars That Wound: Scars That Heal + Beyond the Red Sky by Dedeen; Undercover Honeymoon + Undercover Life by 88Ashley88; Complications by Mindylynne and Stalker by Sincerely Tiffany

That was way more than 10 but I have such a big list of good fics and you can message me for more if you’ve read these.

[chenfordfanficquotes]

She’s seen it in the big moments. Digging her out of the dirt with his bare hands. Passing on the Sergeant position at North Hollywood to finish training her. Adopting her dog when she can’t keep him. Bringing her back to his place so she doesn’t have to go back to her apartment the night Jackson dies. Taking a desk job so she won’t have to transfer. But she also sees it in the little things, too. The way he sends her flowers just because. How he makes sure the coffee’s ready for her, even on mornings where he’s up and gone to the station before she’s awake. By pulling a blanket over her when she falls asleep on the couch on movie night.

-you know what it was (he is in love) by @queseraone (submitted by @timandlucy)

[chenfordfanficquotes]

He looks so open, so earnest, so much like the Tim of a few months ago. The Tim who sat vigil by her hospital bed all night after Caleb. The Tim who stood in the station parking garage and told her he’d miss riding with her. The Tim who brought her back to his place and wrapped her in his arms on one of the worst nights of her life. The Tim she’s missed more than she even realized until this very moment.

-i'll be there if you're the toast of the town (or if you strike out and you're crawling home) by @queseraone (submitted by @timandlucy)

[chenfordfanficquotes]

He drives slowly, his gaze flickering back and forth between Lucy and the road, thinking about all the conversations they’ve shared over the years, sitting just like this. Him behind the wheel, her riding shotgun. Good, bad, and downright painful, they’ve seen it all, talked about it all. It’s strange sitting in silence like this—it feels foreign. For what may be the first time since he’s known her, Tim’s itching to talk.

-let it all go by @queseraone (submitted by @silverskull)

[chenfordfanficquotes]

He hears Angela say something about getting Lucy’s things, and as much as it pains him to delay things any further, he detours toward the locker rooms. He knows firsthand how the cold sterility of the hospital somehow manages to compound whatever you’re going through, and how something as simple as a familiar sweatshirt can make all the difference.

-let it all go by @queseraone (submitted by @thisnightissparkling089)

[chenfordfanficquotes]

He turns to Lucy, his hand extended, palm up and open in silent invitation. Her gaze flickers from his face to his hand, then back up again, and she doesn’t have to say it. The ghost of a smile on her lips says it all—it’s about damn time. She takes his hand, letting him pull her out onto the floor, and when she’s finally in his arms again, it’s like they’re making up for lost time. His palms settle on her lower back, hers landing on his shoulder and his chest. His gaze falls to her lips, all plump and soft and inviting. He wants to kiss her—no, he needs to kiss her—but he needs to clear the air first. “Clearly, I'm more conflicted about you working undercover than I realized,” he says, his eyes locked with hers. There’s something about the safety of her embrace that lets him be completely honest. He needs her to know that he not only sees what she’s been talking about, but that he’s not hiding from it. 

-even in my worst lies (you saw the truth in me) by @queseraone (submitted by @silverskull)

[chenfordfanficquotes]

But she knows him—too well—and before he’s even by her side, she’s opening her arms to pull him in. “Come here.”  He’s reluctant, but leans in slowly. He knows it’s not fair, not with what he’s about to do, but he’s just selfish enough to take the comfort she’s offering. He feels her fingers trailing along his back, her other hand curling along the back of his head, and lets himself get lost in her embrace. His eyes flutter shut, and he can feel his resolve weakening. For a moment, he almost lets himself believe that it’s going to be okay. “How’d it go with IA?” she asks as they separate.  And just like that, he feels the wave pulling him under again. 

-you don't wanna know me now by @queseraone (submitted anonymously)

[chenfordfanficquotes]

I understand the concept of this tumblr page, but I also think it’s pretty unfair because it’s highlighting the same writers and creating a bubble around popular stories/writers whilst leaving the smaller writers out. This is a growing theme I’ve been witnessing lately, on Twitter specifically and now it’s leaked over here. I just wish it could all be a bit more balanced.

We appreciate you reaching out to us regarding this, and we wanted to answer this more in depth.

When we started this blog, we both personally rummaged through old bookmarks and perused our AO3 history to bring some love to some of the older fics. If you go through the quotes, you will see some of them are from stories that are criminally underappreciated, some having very few kudos and comments. So it feels unfair to suggest that only popular writers have had their quotes submitted. We would like to think this blog has, and will continue to highlight every kind of writer. It's not a competition, and we have done our best to spread the word about the blog to increase our quote pool. We have a queue in place, and Sarah has even made a spreadsheet for us to avoid too many repetitions of the same authors.

But there is only so much we can do on our own.

Obviously we don’t want this to be a sour experience for anyone, so we are sorry if that’s been the case for you. But we hope that if you do feel this way, that will encourage you to send in quotes! Send quotes from the smaller, lesser-known authors we may be missing, and help more people discover them. We have not, and will not turn any quote away!

But what we also will not do, is lay blame on people spreading love for their favorite fics, just because it's not the fics you want. This is a space for everyone.

Thus far, we've had submissions for 41 different writers. And we've barely been doing it for a month. Obviously, a lot of the submissions so far are from both of us, so that we could get this blog up and running. But with time, we're definitely expecting for this number to grow. And we can only grow if people continue to submit quotes, including ones from writers they feel deserve more recognition.

Note: We do have a queue in place, so if you've submitted a quote and it has not yet been posted, that's why!

We want this to be a positive thing, not a negative one, so we hope you'll take this feeling and act on it - share some quotes from writers/fics you haven't seen on here yet. That's the beauty of it, we want to highlight great work, and in a lot of cases, that means introducing readers to hidden gems they may have missed.

We're looking forward to your submissions, so we can continue to help empower all writers.

-Admins @timandlucy & @queseraone

[makeitastrength]

Writer’s ask, questions ending in 5 or 8 please ☺️

5. What techniques do you use to create believable dialogue?

I say it in my head or sometimes out loud to see if it’s how a person in general, and that character in particular, would actually talk. Also, @queseraone said this in her answer but it’s true and it bears repeating: learn by reading. Sometimes I read something and my brain just goes, “nope that’s not right” and then I’ll sit back and try to figure out what about it doesn’t feel right to me, and then I can use that to help me in the future.

8. Do you have any rituals or habits that help you get into the zone?

I wouldn’t call it a ritual or habit, but walking away from my computer and trying to sleep or shower or do something else always (annoyingly) seems to get the words flowing.

I guess one thing I do when I want to write but don’t have any particular ideas is just to open all my WIPs and start reading through them until my brain latches onto something. It doesn’t always work, but sometimes it does.

15. Do you plan your fics or prefer to let the story unfold as you write?

I plan in the vaguest sense of the word. Like, I usually know the start and approximately where I want it to end, and I may have a few vague ideas of how I’ll get there, but I don’t write outlines or anything like that unless it’s a very long multi-chapter that requires a clear timeline.

18. Are there any fics or authors that have been particularly influential or inspiring to you?

Well you, for starters 😊 Your ability to tackle challenging topics in a sensitive fashion is something I strive for, and your ability to write intense emotion is amazing! I think you've probably brought me to tears more than anyone else in this fandom. There are so many other amazing authors in the fandom as well, and I know I'm going to forget someone if I start listing names, so suffice it to say if I've ever flailed all over your fics in the comments section, you're on this list!

25. Are there any specific writing tools that you find helpful?

I use OneLook all the time because I frequently get halfway through a sentence and cannot for the life of me think of the word I'm looking for. Other than that, just the standard spellcheck/grammar checker in Word.

28. What's the most ambitious or challenging fic you've ever written?

Back when I wrote for Castle, I challenged myself to write a case-centric fic that read a little more like an episode. I'm actually proud of how it turned out, but it was super out of my wheelhouse and really difficult. More recently, I'd say the fic I just finished. It wasn't necessarily challenging, but rewriting the entire first 4 seasons from two POVs was definitely ambitious.

35. What do you enjoy most about being a fic writer?

Two things: (1) it’s my outlet, hobby, and a way to relax, and (2) the community. I never imagined I would make friends through fandom, but I did!

Thank you for the questions!

[timandlucy]

Hi, i’m not sure if you’re still in the cpd linstead fandom but i’m reaching out to ask if you know this fanfic i’ve been desperately looking for. in this fic jay and erin are raising a kid together (i think her name was jessie but i’m not really sure). but the kid isn’t biologically jay’s, he he stepped up cause he loves erin. one day, i think jay tried to propose to erin or something but she declined and say something along the line of like the kid isn’t his so he should stop worrying so much. and from that point they kind of drift apart. that’s all i can remember but i can’t seem to find it. if you somehow do know, please post this ask. if not, please ignore and excuse my rambling. thank you so much!!

Hello lovely! So this didn't ring any bells to me, so I reached out to @queseraone who knows the story, but tells me this author has deleted all of her linstead fics. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news here 😔