#like miles was hellbent on building this pErFecT universe

[troped-fanfic-challenge]

The Chopped Madness Champion is….

@the-most-beautiful-broom​

the-most-beautiful-broom was a steady force in this competition, writing everything from a Canonverse Bellarke Robin Hood Fairy Tale AU to a Marper Titanic Angst AU (+ Marper Aeronauts Angst) to a Political Aassassins Memori Dystopia AU to a Zaven Spider-verse Superheroes AU to a Luna/Lincoln Mirror Universe Thriller AU and they were all FANTASTIC! That’s six (6!) fics and 31k words during the weeks of this competition! You deserve the title of CHOPPED MADNESS CHAMPION! Congratulations! Check out all her fics below:

Qualifying Round Fic: we'd up and fly (if there were wings for flying)

Mods’ Review: Robin Hood was such an awesome fairtytale to choose, we loved this fic! You were really able to bring us into the world of your story so well! Your description of Wells’ death was great, and it really helped bring us into that “robin hood medieval” world that this story needed! And, obviously, we LOVE wells, so this death was so rough, but so well done!! We really loved Villain Kane, the whole quarry/slavery/chancelor kane concept was so good and so well executed! We really loved the concept, with Bellamy as Robin Hood and Clarke as Maid Marion! It was so great, we need more!! Bellamy being so badass, and putting his name on the packages to make sure Kane knew it was him, was EXCELLENT! We love a Hero!Bellamy plot, but let’s be real here… who doesn’t! We also really loved your little hand washing tutorial, always important, but even more so now… your corona is showing ;)! Bellamy giving Clarke the ring that Wells gave him for her was so sweet! You always manage to bring in such soft, sweet character moments that really bring your stories so much life! This story had so much heart to it, and we loved every word! 

Round 1 Fic: Macushla & Both

Mods’ Review: The whole concept of the Macushla fic, the Titanic and the “road trip” being them on their life boat trying to escape, was so creative and exciting. You were able to really nail this setting and story, we loved this fic! Harper just absolutely murdering that journalist was such an awesome opening scene!! The set up of the sinking ship and her trying to find her way to a lifeboat was so good! We were on the edge of our seats, you really established the life or death nature of the situation really well! Also, we love the touch of Monroe being involved somehow! Harper trying so hard to get more people aboard their lifeboat was so harrowing and sad to watch, and it was a really nice touch to see her pushing the people onboard to do their part, and shaming them when they didn’t. It was a really nice character moment for Harper, and felt very true to who she is. Harper choosing to steer the ship was so good! It really added to the story to see how much she wanted to be a part of the effort to help in whatever way she could. She was a heroine we wanted to root for! You were really able to craft this story exceptionally well, and we loved reading it!

We also have to add your Aeronauts AU, Both, to this review! We can’t believe you wrote two fics this round and we’re sorry you couldn’t enter them both for the competition! But we are glad we get this fic in it’s entirety! It’s so beautifully written and a really great look at Harper and Monty. Going from Strangers to Lovers in a hot air balloon “road trip”, was mesmerizing. And it had just the right touch of angst that had us going back to read this fic over and over. Thanks so much for sharing it! 

Round 2 Fic: Good to be Back

Mods’ Review: Big fan of the opening, with the radio calls back and forth! It gave the audience the information we needed to get going with the story, while also adding some mystery and suspense as well! Murphy selling salt cubes, and using saltwater as currency, was so creative and fun! It was a nice touch of world building that really added depth to the story! Abby’s death leading to a political coup of some kind was such a great plot line, and it set up your fic so well! Assassins is always such an exciting plot! The “accidental death” assassination was so cool, it showed the expertise that Emori and Murphy have in their line of work, and it was a really cool scene. Hiding the syringe in a tampon wrapper? Genius!! Forced bed sharing to keep up with their married couple facade? Oh the angst! We love a good wake up scene, all sleepy and cute while they lovingly gaze at the other person, and this was no exception! You were able to add such a nice touch of romance and sweetness to a pretty gnarly story, well done! The Resistance pushing Murphy and Emori out after they did their dirty work for them is so good, it made the story feel even more real, and the stakes even more intense! The fact that the reaction to the death by the government was mass destruction was so unsettling but also so believable, you really created a very real dystopia that had us white knuckling it throughout the whole story! Loved that ending, of them planning to keep the work going, and try to save the world. Memori as sort of underground heroes is always a great storyline! This fic was so good! 

Round 3 Fic: Into the Blue

Mods’ Review: It’s amazing how you managed to capture the very essence of the Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse movie into your fic! Raven’s introduction to the Other Times Square (and to us) was the perfect setup! We became obsessed with all your character choices, too! Raven as Gwen, Miles/Zeke as Spider-man, Jordan as Miles, Octavia as Doc Ock!, Jasper as Prowler, Diyoza as Aunt May, Madi and her robot, Bellamy as Spidernoir and Murphy as Spider-Pig?! SO CREATIVE! The added layer of angst you weaved between these characters is something to behold. The simple glances between Zaven and lines like, “The universe gives her back her best friend for him to not know her, to be older and colder and to not know her. And then kills another version of him, just for fun.” Or “Who was your Jasper?” Raven had been alone in her world and you explored the found family trope so wonderfully in this fic. “It’s been so long since she let herself rely on others...a part of her wants to go back with each of them. She doesn’t do friends. This feels a little more like a family.” Cue the tears as they all said goodbye and Raven went into the blue!!!  And the final scene much later as she goes into yellow hinting at more for Zaven is just perfect. We enjoyed this fic so much!!!!

Round 4 Fic: we cross our bridges and burn them behind us

Mods’ Review: We love the idea of a Science Squad who are HELLBENT on proving the multiverse, it feels so true to the sci-fi thriller genre, to have a team of ‘good guys’ who make some discovery, and then have to deal with the repercussions. Also, such a nice touch, using Nadia’s last name for Luna. It’s a nice change from the ‘water’ based last names that Bailey is definitely guilty of lol. The escaped double is an excellent concept, and so very exciting! Honestly, HOLY SHIT. ALIE leveled midtown in like four hours?! That's Insane! You are always so deft at creating real tension within your stories, while still making sure they have real meaning and emotion behind them, and we love that you never pull your punches! “I don’t do teams” “wrong earth for that” FANTASTIC. It's like ‘you will join this found family and you will LIKE IT.’ And from Wells, our hearts! We always love any mention of Wells! We ALSO love a  suspenseful two hour countdown! Very ‘end of the world, 1 man can save us’, like one of those movies where Gerard Butler is somehow the only man who can save the President from certain doom, but obviously in a good way! Raven’s motivational hero speech being ‘nah it’ll be good as long as we get to it’ is so in character and hilarious, we loved it! Oh my god… Jasper’s death scene, Bailey literally had her mouth hanging open. We loved that you had Luna ask if he knew, and the weight of the realization that it was usually Luna, even if he didn’t say it. So much emotion happening in such an intense scene, so well done! The twist that she’s not actually Luna 47!!! SOO well done, we can’t deal! And it makes the scene a little earlier, where Lincoln said “thought it was you” make so much more sense! We were honestly BLOWN away by this fic, it was intense and exciting, heartfelt and sweet, full of deftly handled intense plots and really amazing character moments. This fic was definitely deserving of pushing you over the edge to become our Chopped Champion! 

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Now that Chopped Madness is complete, all the fics written for Chopped Madness by all authors have been revealed and you can post about your fics! Don’t forget to tag us!

Our non-anonymous collection is still open for anyone who is interested in sharing fics they’ve written based on any of the Chopped Madness prompts! We’d love to see what you come up with, and we’ll happily share your work on our blog! The non-anon collection can be found here! To submit your fic to the collection, simply enter ‘chopped_non_anonymous’ as the name of the collection when uploading your fic!!!

Non-Anon AO3 Collection Link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Chopped_Non_Anonymous

This is the end of Chopped Madness! Thanks so much to the 16+ authors who participated in this event, we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!!

[eternalstereksecretsanta]

The path to heaven runs through miles of clouded hell

@wiskix | AO3 

Canon, Fluff, Angst, Hurt/comfort, get-together

Derek is given more than enough time after the end of S6 to think about what he really wants out of his life while Stiles and most those graduating from the pack continue their lives’ path. But what happens when he realizes just how central Stiles is to those wants?

It had been several months since Derek had last set eyes in Stiles, since they had been back in Beacon hills after helping clear Derek’s name for something he didn’t do. Since they’d helped the new junior pack members to get established since Scott was hellbent on leaving the town to study and be an actual normal teenager instead of an alpha with the world on his shoulders.

They’d shared a few laughs and caught up on the way back to their pack land but once there it seemed like Stiles’ priorities had changed to helping Scott, like always, leaving Derek tagging along when they needed him and falling back when it was clear they didn’t. But after all was said and done, the pack members that he still thought of as innocent teenagers had dispersed to their various universities and Stiles back at the FBI academy. It left Derek with no clue what to do with himself. He’d always had something to fixate on before, whether it was avenging Laura or the Hale Pack’s murders, dealing with Peter like always or doing everything with his remaining connections as the supposed Hale Alpha to help Scott, it had kept things interesting.

But now there was nothing to keep him in Beacon Hills as there had been nothing to make him stay when he’d left in the first place. Cora was happily resettled with her pack in Argentina, making all the right moves and saying all the right words to easily be the head beta when the time came. Isaac was in France with Argent trying to make connections with the local pack in Bordeaux to help him have some sense of purpose. Derek had spoken to his only remaining cub a couple of times, never even mentioning Isaac returning but it seemed clear every time that Isaac would never be able to come back to Beacon Hills. The memory of what happened to not just Allison but Erica and Boyd seeming to make him want to keep his distance.

He didn’t mention that the rest of the pack had split up or that Scott was always none too subtly hinting about asking for Isaac to join him in Washington because he knew it would make no difference. Other than Derek, Isaac had completely severed his ties with the McCall Pack and that was probably for the best.

Peter hadn’t been seen for some time either, though Derek wasn’t sure if that was because he was hunting down Kate now that Argent seemed to have left it to the Calaveras or he’d just wanted to move somewhere else. And though Malia remained it was more with a kind of reluctance to be anywhere else, like Beacon Hills was all she knew and the big wide world outside the valley was too overwhelming for her to consider exploring just yet. Though to be fair she had been roaming the preserve as a Coyote for eight years, so it was more a sense of comfort than anything else.

But there was the new mini pack to keep an eye on, something that Scott had made him promise to do before he went east. It was something Derek was reluctant to do because he hadn’t exactly been much of a help to Scott in his first few years, that had been all Stiles and Scott’s own sense of determination. It was something he mentioned to Stiles while the other had hung around a bit longer before making his way back to Virginia to pick up his studying with the FBI.

“What do you mean you weren’t much help? Derek, you looked out for us and were there when we needed your support. You probably put up with more crap because of us than you would have done if you’d just stayed in the shell of your house. It makes you the perfect one to watch out for them.” Stiles said, the two walking through the familiar pathways in the preserve, more out of habit than anything else.

“I’m not so sure. I mean let’s face it, in the beginning I was an ass when Scott refused to join my mini pack but in the long term it was probably for the best. Besides, look what happened to Erica and Boyd because of me. I just don’t know if I can put myself in that kind of situation again,” Derek sighed, hands buried in the pockets of his jacket as he followed Stiles over a few parts of the path where rocks were embedded in the soil.

“What happened to them wasn’t your fault, how many times do we need to go over this? Just think of it this way Derek, who else can we honestly trust to keep Liam and Mason out of trouble? Who else can call either me or Scott if something is happening and they are too stubborn to do it themselves? No-one. I mean Malia could do it sure, but even now her social skills are rusty. We trust and want you to do it for a reason.” Stiles said, turning around and resting a hand on Derek’s arm.

“But staying here, it’s going to be no less painful than it was the first time Stiles. It was the reason I left in the first place remember? I just needed some space away from here and maybe it would be better for me to just go back to New York and get on with the non-supernatural part of my life.” Derek said, looking around them at the woods to avoid how his heart leapt in his chest and his wolf prowled at the closeness between them.

“But being a wolf is only part of who you are Derek. Not just who you are but it’s a very big part. Maybe give it some thought and if you honestly feel like you can’t handle it then fine, I’ll try and talk Malia into it.” Stiles said, with a smile that made Derek want to just ignore the fact he was going to be in Virginia for the next seventeen weeks.

“Yeah, I’ll think about it. Come on, I know you haven’t finished repacking for your trip back to Virginia.” Derek said, shoving Stiles in the right direction back towards where they’d parked up getting a yammer of objection from the other as he nearly fell over.

It had been hard to be there to say goodbye to Stiles when previously he’d already gone and had no knowledge of where the teenager was. It seemed to tug at his control over his wolf more and more, wanting him to just stay and be a sheriff like his Dad instead of considering the big league. But at the same time, he knew that Stiles would make a great FBI Agent, that it was what everything they had gone through had been building up to.

But there was also the fact that if he asked him to stay, Stiles would ask why and that wasn’t something that Derek felt he would ever be ready to admit at the time. After having to watch Stiles with Malia and in his short-lived thing with Lydia it had gradually become clear how he really felt about the younger, and knew no-one least of all Stiles would let him live it down if he found out.

No, it was going to hurt but it would be easier to let him go and do what he obviously dreamed of doing.   

They’d hugged on the sidewalk outside the Sheriff’s house, after the Sheriff had said his own goodbyes again, and Derek hadn’t been able to stop himself from burying his nose in Stiles’ neck and squeezing him tightly.

“Don’t look so down Sourwolf, you’d haven’t seen the last of me. Trust me.”  Stiles grinned, giving him one last squeeze before pulling back and getting into his car.

It left Derek standing there, watching him drive away and trying to figure out he was he was going to do with himself right now.

Despite his better judgement he did let Stiles’ words about him being the best possible person to guardian the new generation of Pack members persuade him. He’d texted Scott while sitting alone in his loft after skyping with Cora who’d been trying to persuade him to join her pack in Argentina. Scott had been thrilled and said he’d pass Derek’s number to all the junior members in case he was needed but that left Derek wondering what he was going to do in the meantime. There was only so many times he could walk through the woods and keep an eye on the Nemeton before he’d get bored.

So, he settled for doing small things to break up the time, like correspondence courses to help him finish his degree that he’d been part way through when Laura disappeared, sorting through and translating some more tricky parts of the bestiary that Stiles had been nagging him to do for years and sorting through the Hale Vaults which he’d been meaning to do since after the fire but always put off.

Thankfully all those things and the odd bit of contact from Stiles, Cora and Isaac seemed to keep him in a relatively relaxed state of mind. His inner wolf was a little less stressed than he would have expected it to be but that didn’t mean he was complacent and he kept an eye on the comings and goings of the supernatural level of the town which was almost like second nature to him.

The Junior pack members had called him a few times, but mostly for help with omega wolves that were passing through and the odd other creature that they’d never heard of but Derek had knowledge of. Mason, being the junior Stiles that he’d always known he would be, was the one contacting him the most in a way that he’d wished Stiles had done when a teenager instead of being headstrong and stubborn.

It made Derek feel useful again on top of the full moons when he’d herd the young ones through the woods when they’d turned into their wolf forms to keep them out of trouble. Normally it would be the Alpha looking out for them, but they seemed to look to him as their substitute while Scott was away and just followed his lead.

A couple of months passed with things settling into a rhythm that Derek always found soothing, though his thoughts of Stiles continued to linger. Of how grown up the teenager he’d first seen with a buzzcut engulfed in plaid, graphic t-shirts and hoodies was old enough and wise enough that they understood each other. How he’d grown into the features that had looked ridiculous when he was younger making him look like the man he truly was. How every weekend or so when Stiles skyped him he’d find himself waiting in anticipation, feeling like a ridiculous high school kid with a crush all over again.

It seemed to be obvious to the junior pack as they walked through the woods covered in snow giving it an ethereal kind of air asking him about when Stiles and Scott were back in town. Though the way they mentioned Stiles while giving each other the side eye made him sigh softly to himself, so a puff of mist left his lips.

“Scott’s coming back the weekend before Christmas, he’ll probably expect a pack meeting for updates and whatever, though I have told Stiles practically everything that’s happened so don’t be surprised if he mentions some things.” Derek said, hands pushed in the pockets of his jacket against the cold as his booted feet crunched through the snowy path.

“And Stiles?” Hayden asked from where she was huddled up to Liam.

“I’m not really sure. He did say he’d try and come back before Christmas, but he wants to try and finish his studies for the month before coming back. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.” Derek said, trying to ignore how they all exchanged glances.

“so, are you actually going to ask him out this time or you just going to continue to pine after him like a pathetic school girl?” Liam asked, taking a glance over his shoulder as Mason muttered something like a curse as he nearly fell over something hidden in the snow.

“I’m not pining for stiles.” Derek sighed, even though his heart jumped in his chest at the lie and from the way the wolves in the group raised their eyebrows they had obviously heard the lie as clear as a bell.

“But you like him, so why not?” Hayden asked, being gentler than her rather blunt boyfriend.

“Because I know he’s already taken.” Derek said, kicking some snow out in front of him to avoid looking at the group.

It was true that as the weeks had passed he had tried to psyche himself up to finally ask Stiles out, that he was just being an idiot by putting off something that could easily be reciprocated if their previous history was anything to go by. But that changed when he woke one morning to pictures on Stiles’ social media of him with some girl he’d been yammering about from one of his classes, the two of them looking very cosy and kissing in a way that felt like someone had stabbed a knife in Derek’s soul.

He’d tried to kid himself that it meant nothing, calling Stiles on Skype for once instead of waiting for the other to do so. Only for the call to be answered by a shirtless Stiles laid in bed and a bare pair of female legs behind him pulling on a pair of jeans. Derek didn’t even need to see their face to know it was the same one from the pictures and immediately his heart sunk to the pit of his stomach as Stiles filled Derek’s silence with conversation, like it was normal for him to answer a call with a girlfriend getting dressed and pressing goodbye kisses to his neck.

Derek hadn’t been able to contribute to the conversation, just forcing smiles and nodding before making up an excuse to go that had Stiles frowning. Still there hadn’t been any relief after hanging up and Stiles had been texting him to check in with him for the days since. But there was nothing to say, or at least that was what Derek’s inner heart-broken wolf seemed to think as it mourned the loss of something more bitterly.

“You mean the picture of him with that girl? It was probably nothing! I mean he’s a teenage boy he’s allowed to have friends.” Malia quipped from behind him, she seemed to make it her business to sneak up on him at the worst possible moment. Cousin or not Derek wanted to slam her into a wall.

“They aren’t <i>just</i> Friends Malia, they’re fucking.” Derek said bluntly which seemed cause the younger members to murmur in disbelief amongst themselves.

“So? Me and him fucked too in the beginning and it meant nothing. Same with me and Scott. It’s convenient nothing more.” Malia said with a shrug.

“Wow that’s reassuring.” Derek sighed, shaking his head.

“Come on Derek, you aren’t exactly whiter than white. I mean you’ve screwed how many hunters/mercenaries and Darachs for the hell of it? He’s just enjoying his freedom.” Malia said rolling her eyes.

“Well maybe I wish he was enjoying with me ok? Is that so hard to believe? But no, I’m done. I can’t handle the distance enough as it is, so I refuse to let myself be dragged down with what ifs about something that will never happen while he’s fucking whoever.” Derek said shaking his head.

“Derek, don’t give up.” Hayden said, resting a hand on his shoulder that he brushed off before skulking ahead of the rest, tired of the topic of conversation.

Scott and Lydia came back to town not long after Derek had been expecting them, the pair wanting to wait till Stiles came back before holding a pack meeting which Derek was dreading. He still hadn’t spoken to Stiles directly or indirectly since their last skype call, maintaining when anyone brought it up it was for the best. He’d had his heart trounced so many times by people he thought he could trust that he didn’t have the energy to deal with the rejection of Stiles saying no or rambling on and on about what’s her name as an explanation.

But soon it was unavoidable as Stiles came to town on the twentieth, and immediately appeared at Derek’s loft. Or at least he tried to as Derek had long since changed the locks and was sat on his bed with his gaze on the bestiary, ignoring the sounds of banging and his phone ringing with the ridiculous tune that Stiles had picked for himself.

The younger had soon left, leaving Derek with his chin on his knees staring at Stiles’ work and screwing his eyes closed when Scott’s ringtone started playing. Of course, when Derek wouldn’t respond Stiles would go to Scott to get some answers. Not that the Alpha knew about what had happened unless some of the younger pack members had said something but either way he didn’t really feel like speaking to Scott either.

The phone soon stopped ringing replaced with a text of the time and place for the pack meeting and that was that.

(read the rest on AO3)