#by the time the month is over i'll have written probably at least 10K words of fic for this if not much much more

[ghostintheheadset]

watchmojo's top five headphones_haver fics of 2023 (not clickbait)

I'm looking at my 2023 stats on ao3 and fandom disparities are really funny to me lmao, my main fandom at the moment is fe3h, and of the 22 fics I posted this year, 19 of them were fe3h.

All three of the non-fe3h fics are my top three most kudos'ed fics of the year:

It goes without saying ofc that these numbers don't really matter, if I was only doing this for the kudos I'd be writing m/m genshin fic, and it's not really surprising why the numbers are the way they are- both my Pokemon and Zelda fics were posted within a few months of the game coming, and gwitch is also relatively new and I was writing for far and away the most popular ship. Meanwhile, 3h is now past the 4 year mark, and largely m/m dominated while the majority of my fics are f/f. While I would certainly enjoy all my fics getting popular, seeing the numbers like this makes it easy to remember that engagement isn't a metric of quality.

(In that vein, Falling is probably the fic I spent the least amount of time on this year, being impulse-written in about 2 hours. Sometimes niche fics you pour your heart and soul into can't reach the same level of popularity as wider-appeal stories you wrote much more quickly, and that's okay)

That said, though, I am happy with the fics that made top 2. There's something satisfying about my first and last fics of the year being the most popular, and I am very happy with how the both of them turned out. They're both representative of the themes I like writing about and are both wholesome yuri, so I think they "belong" in the top 5 as much as any fic could be said to.

Numbers 4 and 5 are kind of a surprise to me- Pegasus Knight Dysphoria is a gen fic about a trans girl and Someday is an f/f rarepair. Of the 19 (wow) 3h fics I've written over 2023, these are not the two I'd expect to break into the top 5, but it's a pleasant surprise that they did!

Anyway, none of that actually matters beyond being mildly interesting to me specifically. Onward to 2024:

According to my stats page, I posted 126k words of fic in 2023, which averaged out to a little over 10k words a month or about 345 words a day. Not bad! Looking to get those numbers up next year though. If I don't, then that'll be okay, but 126k is the Word Count To Beat if possible.

I would also like to do some more fandom events! Apparently there's a FE rarepair week happening literally right now that I wasn't aware of until yesterday. Hoooopefully I'll be able to see more of that kind of thing now that I'm here, as they've always been a lot of fun when I could participate. I'm not leaving 3h just yet, but I would like to branch out a bit more- I definitely have more gwitch fics lined up, and I'd like to also branch out a bit and write for some other fandoms I haven't gotten around to yet.

Big writing goal is to finish Together We Ride, and also work on it more consistently. I was putting off starting it for a while because I wanted to "wait for a good time", but I realized if I kept that up it would never get started. Considering I started it in April and there's currently 7 chapters, it was in fact "not a good time", but! I am committed to seeing it through in the upcoming year.

That's about it I think. It's been lovely writing fic over the past year (and a great way to unwind from the Grad School Stress), and I'm very much looking forward to exploring more next year.

(might do a roundup later today of some fics from this year I really liked we'll see)

[lalaurelia]

2023 Fic in Review

Another year gone, so let's see how it was for me writing-wise. I haven't written a lot in English this year because I was still hijacked by the game, and then by the Russian fandom-wide event that stretched on for months, and then the work was hectic - you know, the usual. On top of all the rest that's been going on.

Okay. So. I think it's the first time I'd be counting my Russian-language stories in this review, because without them it's gonna look very sad.

total number of completed stories: 19, but 7 of these are translations, and 4 were, I think, written earlier than 2023 but I don't know the exact date - but I brought them over to Ao3 in 2023, and so be it. +1 micro game for the fandom event.

total word count: 45046 words. And maybe around, like... 10K into the game and the fandom extras.

fandoms written in: It's still exclusively Gotham and Gobblepot.

looking back, did you expect to write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected? This was probably one of the years when I was being realistic and thinking I would write very little. But then somehow the event sparked some kind of competitiveness in me that urged me to finish some of my myriad of WIPs and edit the ones that have been lying around ready for years. Oh, and there was this time when I whipped up a story in like an hour or so and completed it five minutes before the fandom event deadline closing and published it mere seconds before the event closed. That was fun XD I wouldn't have done anything like that without that kind of fucked up motivation lol

what’s your own favorite story of the year? You know what, it's probably that quickie one I mentioned previously - К вопросу об устрицах. Yup, sorry, no English translation available yet. It was fun to write though.

did you take any writing risks this year? Well, getting involved in that fandom event was a risk XD But when it comes to writing per se, hm... I suppose The Coffee Place counts - as I've wanted to do an outsider perspective fic for a while, and somehow it mashed up with Coffeeshop AU in my mind, and I kinda liked the result.

do you have any fanfic or profit goals for the new year? This time I'm kind of intrigued by what is meant by 'profit goals' in this question. I guess I'm mildly curious if I'd be able to produce something people would want to pay for - but it is a pipe dream on so many levels right now. So, anyway. Fanfic goals for the new year? Finish at least some of the WIPs. We'll see how it goes from there.

best story of the year? I think it would be Выбор для живых - yeah, sorry, no translation for that one either yet. But it's an alternative take on that one ep where Jim ends up in Valeska's blown up maze. So he's lying buried underground and contemplates things, and Oswald as well, and then rescue comes unexpectedly.

most popular story of the year? Ao3 stats tell me it's Ice, and other things which is not surprising, since it was the first story I put out once the year began. It had some time to accumulate kudos xD

story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: I can't name a single one, to be honest. The ones I've written in Russian aren't very popular, which I expected to happen. The ones in English are being read, so. There's that.

most fun story to write: Hmmm, I guess it would be И кое-что еще, because I needed to write a short and I wanted it to be sexy without being explicit, so I had some little fun with words there.

story with the single sexiest moment: Now that would be Skirting Around, no doubt.

sweetest story: I don't think I had anything particularly sweet written this year. It just wasn't a year for that.

“holy crap, thats wrong, even for you!” story: You know what, I'll just skip this one, because I always give the same answer here. Write whatever you want, just tag it appropriately.

story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters & most unintentionally telling story: Nothing for this one either, sorry.

hardest story to write: I'm afraid it's Skirting Around. I've been stuck at several spots in it for ages, and I'm still not completely satisfied by the ending. I'm not sure if I'm going to do anything about it. We'll see.

biggest disappointment: How little energy I seem to have for writing - doing anything, really. These past years haven't been kind and the emotional drain and constant fear are very exhausting. So every written word is a win. I can't be disappointed with what I manage to create.

biggest surprise: That there are still people I can make happy with my Gobblepot stories. It's really nice when I think about it. So thank you for that.

Not tagging anyone, but I'd be curious to see if you guys do year reviews of your stories.

[punkrockgirlalmighty]

Something broke inside of Carlos and with a gasp he arched his head back, twisting a fist up into TK’s hair and pulling his head down as he craned up to connect their lips.

This was what he wanted; TK’s tongue seeking out his own, his hand curling around his hip as he pulled Carlos back against him, to swallow up the needy moans TK was letting out.

He wanted TK to latch on to the hollow at the base of his neck and leave his own mark there right next to the cross.

He wanted to be able to wear them both with pride.

They tumbled sideways onto the bed and Carlos rolled onto his back as TK straddled his hips, diving back down to keep kissing him.

A loud clanging sound from the kitchen had them snapping apart. Carlos pulled a pillow over his crotch as TK tried to fix his hair.  It took them both a minute to realise no one was coming into the room.

TK laughed nervously. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.”

“I wanted you to.” Carlos raised the pillow off of his lap to show TK what he had done to him. “See.”

“Carlos,” TK groaned. “We can’t do this.”

“Why not?”

“Because we’re both leaving again in a few weeks.” TK sounded frustrated.

“Can’t we just pretend until then?” Carlos knew he wasn’t thinking entirely with his upstairs head when he said it, and that it would inevitably lead to more heart ache when their time together ended again, but he also knew he wouldn’t regret it.

TK’s eyes raked over him, pensively taking him in as he considered what Carlos was suggesting until his mouth spread into a slow grin. “Yes. Yes. Please let’s do that.”

Then he was on him again, discarding the pillow to one side so he could connect their hips and grinding down. It was like no time had passed as Carlos let the taste and smell and feel of TK on top of him overwhelm him. It wasn’t until TK was kissing down his chest, his hands climbing underneath his shirt to push it up, that a thought struck him. “Have you been with anyone else?”

TK stilled and rested his chin on Carlos’ stomach, looking up at him from beneath alluring eyelashes. “Do you really want to know that?”

Carlos thought it about it for a moment. He definitely didn’t want to have to admit to TK that he’d been with several boys since him and it would shatter every illusion he was trying to create if he pictured TK with someone else. They had the holiday to be together and he had condoms, that was good enough for him.

He shook his head. “No, I don’t.”

“Me neither,” TK said before reconnecting his lips with Carlos’ skin.

There was another crash from down the hall and Carlos groaned. “We can’t do this here.”

TK sighed and started to pull away. “My dad isn’t working tonight, he’s at home too.”

They stared at each other despondently. Carlos thought about his car but he didn’t know anywhere he could drive them that they wouldn’t risk getting caught and it was too cold for it to be fun anywhere outside. Memories from senior year flooded him and he looked at TK hopefully. “Treehouse?”

TK’s eyes lit up. “Treehouse!”

.

.

technically not wednesday yet but I am moving back to Australia tomorrow and since it is tomorrow there already here is a snippet of the 'tis the damn season fic

also the last time I moved to Aus was right before covid and I didn't get to see my family or friends for 2.5 years and it turns out I am not a fierce independent bad bitch but a bitch who very much can't survive without hugging her mama at least once every 6 months so I have been super stressed the past week and couldn't work on this fic much. I am hoping once I am settled back in Australia I will get this finished (also I am a really slow writer - like it takes me all day to write a thousand words, how people churn out 10k a week I'll never know - so it is probably going to be a while until this is done because I have written 30k and am about half way through)

So anyway , please give a very anxious and panicked girl some validation :)

[aimmyarrowshigh]

For the fanfic asks for the New Year, 1, 9, 11, 18, and 20.

1. Do you have a word-count goal for the upcoming year?

In an IDEAL world, 372,000, but I know I won't be anywhere close to that. I think a realistic goal is more like 250,000, which gives me plenty of days off or days not hitting 1k -- my goal is generally 1k/day between all of my various projects (drabbles + whatever WIP of the moment) but sometimes I only drabble. Sometimes I just don't feel like writing. I'm trying to maintain my 2022 energy of not beating myself up too much about that.

9. Short term goals… what do you hope to complete this week or in January?

This week, I want to do daily drabbles, finish my Bucky Barnes Bingo Round 4 card, and add at least 2k to each my Shrinkyclinks WIP and my Steve/Joyce. I'd love to finish and post Steve/Joyce this month, but I'm not sure how long it's going to end up being... I've mapped out enough writing days on it this month to account for it ballooning to 20k, but god I hope it's shorter than 20k. I also want to write the first of my Patreon thank-you 5k stories this month, ideally.

11. Would you like to try any new fanfic genres or tropes this year?

Hmm... I really don't tend to intentionally write many tropes per se, except for A/B/O, and sometimes I write cabinfic. I think I might want to try to write a mystery/casefic for either Leverage or Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries if I can think of an idea for one that wouldn't make more sense to just write as an original story? Otherwise, I feel like at this point I know my niche: quiet character studies with a weird amount of food in them.

18. Do you typically post multi-chapters as you write, or finish it all and then start posting? Would you like to change your posting method? 

HA, HAHAHA, HA... HA. Um. Well. I tend to post multi-chapters as I write and then I never post the last chapter(s)? So I should. Change that. I'm determined to finish all of my Shrinkyclinks WIP before I start to post so that I DON'T just leave it hanging without a final chapter (again) like I do (most) other things. I have no fucking idea how I wrote 10k chapters ever-other day and posted MYEYNL as I was writing it? Like I truly have no idea how I did that? Yeah, I'd written a good 150k of the story before I started to post, but that's STILL a hundred fucking thousand words that I wrote as I posted. HOW? WHY CAN'T I DO IT ANYMORE? I feel like the answer is "I wasn't yet medicated" and while that was good for wordcount, it was Bad for Everything Else.

20. Any plans to work on original fiction this year?

If I don't say yes, then a combination of my own guilt, @reachmouse, and @dracosollicitus will probably eat me. Also my dad will yell at me more, because he's never not yelling at me about wasting my time doing anything other than working on original writing.

I don't know. I feel like it's stupid for me to have, like, goals or hopes or dreams, so I... don't? Anymore? I used to want to be a published author so badly that I cried about it every day and made myself sick over it and beat myself up so much if I didn't write daily, and now I'm just like... if it were meant to happen, it would have happened already because I'm Old As Hell and my writing Isn't Popular, so ::shrug::

I mean, I'll work on my shit, but I'm not actually like... expecting it to matter. I don't know. That sounds dire. I don't mean it direly. I just mean it like this:

[eirenical]

AHAHAHAHA.

Well THAT was 2000 words of Hong Lan angst and Hong Lan + Tianying bonding I didn’t think I was going to be writing tonight, but HERE WE ARE I GUESS.  XD  It’s already two days late for the first of the two prompts and like... two weeks early for the second of the two prompts, so I’m going to hold off on editing until tomorrow and post it then.  OH WELL.  ;D

[thedamageofherdays]

This week's [23-08-2021 - 29-08-2021] reading log is here! I read a lot again this week and I feel like it's a lovely variety of fics. Most fics are Stucky like usual, but there's at least one other ship. I am constantly amazed by the talent people have in this fandom! There was one fic I read on Tumblr that I can't seem to find unfortunately, but when I do I'll make sure to reblog and rec it 💕

Favourites are marked with a 🌻

When life gives you lemons by moonthejedi394 @moonythejedi394 [Stucky, 40k words, Mature] (12/15 chapters available)

Or 13 Terrible Things to Do With Lemons Other Than Making Lemonade

Steve Rogers is a home health nurse. He works for an agency, which assigned him to the aging Winifred Barnes, the one and only Silent Era Hollywood darling. As her needs increased, she requested the agency assign Steve to her full-time. She could pay for it, so she got it. Steve then moved in with her, becoming her caregiver; he cooked, he cleaned, he managed her medications, he made sure she was comfortable.

Winifred's children treated him less than ideally. He was the help, after all. And then Steve had the audacity to go and turn out to be eldest son James Barnes's soulmate. No one saw that coming.

The Masseur and the Assassin by buckybarnesdeservestobehappy @buckybarnesdeservestobehappy [Stucky, 17k words, Explicit]

Bucky Barnes needed a vacation from his job. What he found was a happy ending.

The Words Breathe by buckbarnesdeservestobehappy [Stucky, 1k words, Mature]

All Steve has to do is keep his promise. When he doesn’t, Bucky gets mouthy.

Soft by this_wayward_life @wayward-lives [Stucky, 2k words, Explicit]

The last time he'd seen Bucky he'd looked unhealthy, with pallid skin and greasy, lanky hair. Now, Bucky shone; his hair was thick and silky, his skin a deep bronze from spending so much time outside. He was softer, too; the hard muscle that used to cover him was now replaced by soft fat, his body still strong, but in a more mundane way. His thighs were thicker, his ass plumper, and when he'd pulled Steve into the river Steve had noticed the pudge on his stomach.

Seeing Bucky so happy, well-fed and shining, was a bit of a kick in the face. For all the years they'd known each other, he'd never seen Bucky so... care-free. Now that Bucky was putting on weight, his middle soft and his body malleable, it sent a bolt of arousal through Steve every time he noticed the curves of Bucky's body.

Or: Bucky put on a bit of weight in Wakanda, and Steve is Not Coping.

🌻 Revive Another Side of Me by dontcallmebree @iamthe-wo-manwhocan [Stucky, 1k words, Mature]

Steve’s never lived in a world without Bucky, and he’s not living now. It takes them a while, much too long, to get that awaited rest, a little slice of peace after the dust has settled.Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes are inseparable, history remembers. But they’re not men of the past quite yet.

🌻 imagine being loved by me by spacebuck @spacebuck [Stucky, 20k words, Explicit]

Just after 1am - a few hours after he posted today’s photo - he hears the tell-tale sound of a twitter message. Bucky grabs his phone, not checking who it’s from as he opens it because it’s probably one of his mutuals yelling at him as per usual. When he actually looks at his phone, though, it’s not Natasha

The ‘verified’ check stares back at him for a long moment before he can even bring himself to process the name on his screen. Steve Rogers is messaging him. Or, he reasons, a very good fake. The handle looks right though, not that Bucky knows. Not that Bucky has Captain’s America’s tweets set up as notifications, or that Bucky’s own display name is set to captain america’s bitch. Not at all.

Hey, the first message says. It’s Steve.

🌻 JB’s Complete Lube Services by dixons_mama @dixons-mama [Stucky, 3k words, Explicit]

People just didn’t approach Captain America and proposition him. Although, sometimes Steve wished they would; even the pinnacle of virtue and justice needed to get dicked down from time to time.

Or, the one where Steve has the hots for a mechanic and decides to be proactive in getting that dick.

If it had to be someone by rainbow_nerds [Stucky, 1k words, Mature]

Bucky had known since he was a child that he didn’t have a choice in who he married, but he’d thought he had more time before the day arrived.

Miscalculations by christywantspizza @christywantspizza [Ransom Drysdale/Reader, 6k words, Explicit]

Ransom tries to get you to sleep with him by less than honorable means. You give him what he wants, just not how he wants it.

How to Seduce a Writer by obsessivereader [Stucky, 2k words, Teen]

What's a determined master strategist going to do when the oblivious writer he's trying to woo keeps missing all the clues?

He doesn’t think it’s because he hadn’t signaled his own interest to Bucky. He’s pretty much done everything short of hitting Bucky over the head with semaphore flags by this point. There’s no way Bucky could’ve missed them. Unless… There’d been that one link he’d stumbled upon when he’d googled ‘how to talk to a writer’. It’d been written by a writer, who’d been candid about how oblivious writers could be, and how someone could go about seducing one. An idea starts to form. It’s ridiculous, but at this point, he’s willing to go with ridiculous, since subtle wasn’t getting him anywhere.

🌻 Pod Bless America by Deisderium @deisderium [Stucky, 6k words, Teen]

Bucky can't believe his favorite podficcer recorded his newest fanfic AU of the show Commandos. He's even more surprised when the customer who busts him listening to fic while he's working in the office supply store turns out to be that podficcer.

* The guy—maybe bi_shield?—took his phone, looked down at the screen, and smiled. "Yeah, that one's mine," he said with no evidence of embarrassment. "It was a good one." He handed the phone back to Bucky.

"I wrote it," Bucky croaked.

take a bite by wearing_tearing [Stucky, 7k words, Mature]

"I’d never let anyone freeze to death.” Steve gives a big sigh and flutters his lashes. “All that blood gone to waste.”

Bucky’s lips turn down and his nose scrunches up a little. “I want to be grossed out, but…”

“But you get it.” Steve gives him a pointed look. “Vampires aren’t the only ones who can appreciate how juicy blood is.”

*

Or: Vampire Steve saves newly-turned werewolf Bucky from a snowstorm.

Leaving the Shield Behind by BuckyAboveEverything [Stucky, 6k words, Teen]

“So, on one hand, we have Steve Rogers - hunk, genius, animal lover. Buys you waffles and overpriced coffee. 100% wholesome all-American boy.”

“And, on the other hand, we have Capsicle – twink, smart-ass, fanboy. Reads your stories and sends you fanart. Possibly a pervert or a serial killer.”

Bucky groaned.

“I am 100% certain I am 0% sure of what to do."

Bucky Barnes, full-time copywriter and free-time fanfic writer, struggles to choose between two equally-attractive suitors, only to find that he doesn’t have to after all.

* Based on a true story *

Cap's Book Corner by Neche [Stucky, 2k words, Teen]

Recluse Author Bucky Barns stumbles into fanboy Steve Rogers bookstore one day...

Cat Nap by galwednesday @galwednesday [Stucky, 8k words, Teen]

Objectively, losing the Bucharest safehouse and its contents was the least of Bucky’s problems. The balding agent he’d seen directing the raid was apparently affiliated with SHIELD, which was a shadowy government agency that made representatives from other shadowy government agencies suddenly remember urgent appointments when Bucky tried to bribe, threaten, and otherwise shake them down for information on what the hell SHIELD might want with a former brainwashed assassin. Dodging SHIELD should be his number one priority.

Subjectively, he wanted his fucking cat back.

at any given moment by honeypuffed [Stucky, 1k words, Teen]

Steve and Bucky find out that everyone thinks they're sleeping together.

Brought to Brightness by eyres [Stucky, 10k words, Teen]

Army veteran Bucky Barnes has fallen in love with Steve, a guy he met online a few months after he returned from Afghanistan. Only problem is, he doesn't know Steve's last name or even what he looks like.

When his sister helps him send his story into MTV's Catfish, he's hoping they can help him meet Steve or, at least, let him move on with his life if Steve isn't real. Little does he know, Steve and Captain America have more in common than just a first name.

🌻 Nokken Wood by leveragehunters @leveragehunters [Stucky, 10k words, Teen]

When Sam's friend needs a house-sitter for his place in the country, Steve jumps at the chance. Six months rent-free to do nothing but draw and paint and wander the countryside, looking for inspiration? It was like a dream. But when he gets lost in a storm and nearly falls into a pond he starts to rethink the whole like a dream aspect of life in the country. And when a red-eyed, sharp-clawed, silver-fanged creature rises out of the darkness, Steve is one hundred percent certain the dream's morphed into a nightmare.

...until it gives him a cup of tea.

(Inspired partly by this prompt a supernatural creature is supposed to scare you but instead it gives you a cup of tea and a blanket because you're having a bad day and you keep coming back and partly by this painting.)

Professional Pride by galwednesday [Stucky, 700 words, Teen]

Bucky is having a very good day, until he turns around and finds himself face-to-face with Captain America.

“Oh shit,” he blurts before he can stop himself, and Captain America blinks at him. “Hey, hi, I didn’t expect to see you here.” Here, at New York’s Pride parade, surrounded by thousands of happy screaming people wearing rainbows and sometimes not much else. What is he doing here? Is he on guard duty or something? Was he just on a mission and happened to be passing by on his way back?

He’s in uniform but with the cowl loose around his neck, so when he rubs the back of his head it fluffs up his matted hair. “I, uh. I saw one of your–temporary tattoos?” Captain fucking America says, like it’s a question.

The A-bridged Guide to Trolling by galwednesday [Stucky, 1k words, Teen]

“I don’t have any money.”

Oh no, now the girl looked upset. Her eyes were huge and her lip was wobbling. Bucky tried to think fast despite the oh shit oh shit oh shit looping through his head.

“That’s okay,” Bucky said gently. “I don’t need money. We can figure out another kind of toll.”

The girl frowned at him. “Like what?”

Bucky scratched his head, trying to think of something a kid was certain to have on hand. “Do you know any jokes?”

(Fantasy AU in which Steve is a hedge witch with a green thumb, Bucky is a bridge troll who's new in town, and knock-knock jokes are a viable form of currency.)

It's a bittersweet ending (if you know what I mean) by relenafanel [Stucky, 1k words, Teen]

“I’ll see you around, Steve,” Bucky answers with a smirk, moving away from the counter with a wink.

Steve watches him go. Bucky’s wearing a pair of skinny jeans coated in something to give the appearance of leather. It’s impossible to not watch him go.

stuck on you by wearing_tearing [Stucky, 5k words, Teen]

“Bucky? You don’t look so hot.”

Bucky makes a tiny little sound in the back of his throat, only to start coughing. Of course he doesn’t look hot. He’s sick and he’s dying and Steve obviously isn’t attracted to him.

Decision-Making in Relationships (Paid Research Opportunity!) by castiowl [Stucky, 8k words, Teen]

Clint looked thoughtfully at the flyer. “I guess your actual roommate wouldn’t be down with it?”

Bucky frowned. “Have you met Steve Rogers?”

no way out but through by hollimichele [Stucky, 9k words, Teen]

Steve never sees it coming.

you got blood on your hands (and i know it's mine) by nighimpossible [Stucky, 3k words, Teen]

Bucky refuses to see Steve after his deprogramming.

Like What You See by daisymondays [Stucky, 8k words, Teen]

For all the time Bucky’s spent fantasizing about meeting Captain America, he’d never imagined it would be while posing nude in front of a drawing class.

🌻 A Real Boy by itsnotbleak [Stucky, 5k words, Teen]

It took the Winter Soldier three weeks to remember that human beings needed to sleep and eat.

It took Steve far too long to realise the Winter Soldier was sleeping in his bed.

Amapola by chaya [Stucky, 830 words, Teen]

Total fluff. Bucky's recovering nicely. Steve's oblivious. Sometimes it's best to set aside subtlety for action.

Knocking Boots With Sugar by buckybarnesdeservestobehappy [Stucky, 4k words, Explicit]

In between summers at college, Steve Rogers wants a new adventure beyond his lonely life in Brooklyn. He ends up in West Texas working on a dude ranch where Bucky Barnes is a long-time employee. When Bucky offers to buy Steve a drink, they end up drunk on tequila and making out in public. For the rest of the summer, they're inseparable. As the summer draws to a close, Steve realizes he doesn't want to leave.

Rogers and Associate by roe87 @jro616 [Stucky, 7k words, Teen]

When they first meet, Bucky is a hooker and Steve is a cop. She's been arrested, but Steve lets her off.

Years pass and they maintain a casual friendship, seeing each other out on the streets most nights.

Though he later makes detective, Steve loses faith in the system and quits his job.

He wants to set up as a private investigator, and he asks Bucky if she'd be his assistant.

Just in time by rainbow_nerds [Stucky, 1k words, Mature]

Bucky knew the apartment he was renting was old fashioned, but walking in the front door and finding himself transported back to 1938 was not on the list of things he had prepared himself for.

🌻 You Like What's in My Head by dontcallmebree [Stucky, 15k words, Explicit] (with art by @kocuria)

Bucky can’t decide if Steve’s a tough nut to crack or incredibly easy. The timbre of his voice, a low and almost amused, “Sure, kid,” when Bucky asks for a drink feels like something gripping him on the back of his neck.

He thinks this might be one of those moments in life he’ll pinpoint in the future and either curse at for dooming himself, or remember fondly with pride.

He’s right. Bucky Barnes blunders through falling in love with Commander Rogers and tries to find a deeper meaning behind the expensive gifts and thorough fucking.

Can I Sit Here? by BuckyFrickenBarnes [Stucky, 962 words, General]

Bucky has unusual methods for getting rid of his writer's block.

Or, Bucky needs that table.

Workplace Romance by BuckyFricken Barnes [Stucky, 1k words, General]

Bucky is under the impression that his boss hates him.

Or,

Steve needs to get better at dealing with his feelings.

🌻 1-800-MAYTAG by Miss Plum @misspluckyplum [Stucky, 1k words, Explicit]

Bucky just wants to get some housework done. It gets out of hand fast. Silly little fluff and smut romp with snarky stucky boys.

Eyes of the Forest by Lordelannette [Stucky, 7k words, Explicit] (2/8 chapters available)

When Omega Bucky Barnes comes to Eagle Lake, it was in search of wolves, a creature that had not been seen in the area for decades.

What he finds instead is Steve Rogers, a handsome, though quiet Alpha who seems to be everywhere in the forest.

[recurring-polynya]

How often does it usually take you to start and finish a fic?

Varies wildly, tbh.

For short fic, if I have an idea, I am capable of pounding out a <2k fic in a single evening, but I would say that generally it takes me about 3 days.

For a 5-10k fic, 1-2 weeks, unless I get stuck. Odds are that I am going to get stuck at least once in a fic of that size, so maybe plop on another week after that.

I would say it probably takes me about 4-6 months of actual work to write a 100k fanfic, but there are many, many more opportunities to get stuck, including getting stuck for prolonged periods of time, or diverting my attention around to other stuff. I just checked, and it took me 4 months to write Between Tides. Call Me Back took me 7 months of calendar time, but I wrote Portions for Foxes in the middle of that and did an entire Inktober, etc. What We Do with Our Hearts took me a year and a half to write, but we had a pandemic and I got super writer's block and many other excuses as well. I had about 30k of it done, much in a very messy state, but then I went heads down this past September and finished it in early December.

I've been tracking my word count pretty steadily for the past 3 years, and I usually write 2k-5k per week, although I can do 10k if I'm having a good week.

I've definitely been slowing down over time, probably just because I've written the stories I had really clear visions for. It is often the case these days that I'll want to write something set around a certain event or something like that, but I won't actually have a specific idea for it, and if I'm able to write anything, it comes in a lot more fits and starts and there's a lot more staring at the wall. It's also the case that I was still working during my first, most productive year, and I would spend my commute and a lot of boring meetings brewing fanfic in my head, and then it was just a matter of typing it up when I got home and had the time. I have a lot less forced boredom these days, so now I have to make time to actually think about my stories, which sounds bizarre, but it is, surprisingly enough, a part of the process.