#the fic i’m talking about here was an ofmd fic

[bloomeng]

I just finished a fic that dealt heavily with disability and terminal illness and if I had to guess I’d say the author was speaking from experience whether that be themselves or someone close to them so as you can imagine it was very inclusive.

And yet they had the only female character (at least to have a speaking role) go out of her way to be ableist. That was the only purpose she served in the story. She had less than a paragraph of ooc, out of left field, mean ass dialogue, and a single throw away line after. Her comment wasn’t just snide, it was genuinely abhorrent. It was the worst kind of “she would never fucking say that,” because it wasn’t just out of character, it was needlessly misogynistic.

It pisses me off how misogynistic fandom spaces get without even realizing it. I know I’ve talked about this before but why is it in fics that these one dimension villains that exist solely to be bad plot devices always have to be women? I don’t know which is worse; making a whole new female oc to be your one dimensional bad guy or twisting a canon female character to not even resemble herself for the sake of “well I needed someone to suck for conflict.”

In this fic it also felt like such a backhanded thing too because we went so far out of our way to be inclusive and to explore the nuances of these male characters yet the only female character got nothing more than a shitty throw away comment. Made even worse by the fact that there’s a range of male characters in ofmd who are even more likely to have said the ableist thing.

Like it already sucks that female characters don’t get the same level of attention in fandom spaces. Searching for wlw ships is a constant struggle of weeding out all the fics where they’re tagged as a side couple. And you know what I’m not even absolved of this. I’m guilty of also engaging more with male characters and I think the conversation is complex because it’s a feedback loop. Which like…. you can write essays about that. There probably are essays on it.

But the issue of villainizing female characters for the sake of bad conflict isn’t complex.

Which is why I find it so much more frustrating to see people go out of their way to strip female characters of their personalities for the sake of their gay ships and male favs. I want to assume most of these authors don’t even realize they’re doing it, however I’ve seen multiple authors directly state in the notes “I don’t hate *insert female character* but somebody needed to be the villain.” It’s laughable.

Disclaimer: I’m not saying women in fics can’t do bad things or be villains or even be bad people. Men in fics get to be all these things and deep. So why is it that women can’t?

[blakbonnet]

AUTHOR OF THE WEEK: @clairegregoryau 💕

Everytime the topic of fandom kindness and community comes up, of helping each other out and fostering a quiet corner where people can be themselves, most people in our little fandom think of Claire. She's written over a million words of OFMD fic and read even more, and you can always see so so many recs over on her twitter. Incredible good vibes, and an author who truly lives to lift other authors up. She also does SO SO much for fic authors over on the OFMD Fic Club server <3 And she was incredibly kind and shared her entire writing process with me:

What's your writing process like? Do you start with the beginning or the end? Do you write in order or as the scenes come to you?

I’m a huge advance planner, which is a process that has developed for me over more than 25 years of writing original fiction. I’ll get whacked with a story idea, then I’ll sit down and set out the central kernel of that idea, and where it needs to start, where it needs to end, and what the turning points need to be to get there.

A lot of the time I use a three-act structure, largely because Jenkins has talked about OFMD using that structure (one example here). So that makes it easy for me to hold to the canon beats when I’m writing AU stories, or to mirror them in canon-era stories, which is also something I try to do most of the time. With long experience (and now 1.7 million words of OFMD fic written (!)), I find this part of the process really easy. I’ll usually do that plotting by hand-writing out my notes, because it really fires up a different part of your brain.

Because I am such an advance planner, I do tend to write in a completely linear way from start to finish (I also pretty commonly post my long-fics as I write- each chapter goes up as soon as it’s finished and has a final editing pass). Punching through it in a linear way, knowing the ending that I’m working towards and being enthusiastic to get there, really keeps me motivated.

I do all of my writing in 30-minute sprints at the OFMD Fic Club Discord, where we’ve built a lovely and LOUDLY enthusiastic writing community that anyone is welcome to hop into 24/7. For those who find the constant chat a bit overwhelming, we also have a Quiet Focus Sprints channel. Again via long practice, I’m a very fast writer, but that’s accelerated a lot more over the last couple of years, paradoxically because I couldn’t write the way I used to anymore.

I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that includes some fun brain impacts at times, and it’s really hit my working memory especially. I used to be able to hold all the strands of a complicated story together in my head as I wrote, but now I can’t do that as easily. So that’s why the outline is important for me, so I never lose track of the idea- I’ll also do a quick outline at the start of each chapter I’m writing that notes what needs to happen, and then I’ll write in what I call layers, getting down whatever I can first, and then doing sweeps back through it to add internals, narrative detail, sensory details and so on. I make a LOT of notes and square brackets as I go to remind myself of things to look at later.

I also use a plot matrix [Twitter thread, Example Matrix] that you may have seen floating around- I mostly use it to keep track of plot details that have already happened within a story, so that I can check it out at a glance, but I will sometimes plan certain elements in advance (as in the case of Tree Change, which covered 87 of the 93 Kinktober prompts last year across 12 carefully planned chapters). There’s always space when I’m writing for the characters to surprise me within that plot framework- as a final plotting thing, once I’m at the halfway mark I’ll often plot backwards from the planned end to make sure that I’m on course, and to see what I need to adjust.

Favourite trope or headcanon you like to explore while writing?

I really like to dig into the friends-to-lovers trope that sits at the heart of the show. The Ed and Stede relationship reminds me immensely of my own- like Rhys and Taika as friends, we’ve been yes-anding each other for over 25 years (all of my least hinged fic ideas come from bouncing thoughts back and forth with my husband), and it’s been a steady mix of constant silliness, curiosity, and care. We’re best friends first and that’s one of my favourite things about Ed and Stede, that they are, too.

What I really love about it is the vulnerability of these two people who’ve been hurt so much by others in the past, who’ve never been fully appreciated for all the things that they are, and in each other they find the one absolutely perfect person who just gets them, and it makes all the difference. It’s always fun to play with that and variations on it in fics, and it’s usually the beating heart of my stories.

Whose voice is easier to write - Ed or Stede? Why?

I want to say that I find them both equally easy depending on the story. Ed as a character speaks very much the way I think- he has that ADHD buzz, the high swear level, and a very AoNZ turn of phrase that’s also very familiar to Australians (like me). Writing Ed is like turning the inside of my head out and it always flows easily.

But I have always said that I see myself in both characters in equal parts, so I find Stede pretty easy to write as well. I feel like I pretty solidly understand him as a person, with his history of rejection and his commitment to trying anyway, and trying to be kind, and letting himself be fascinated by things, from piracy to books to moths to Ed (that one’s not hard).

Your personal favourite thing you've written that you'd like more people to read

This is a near-impossible question with 69 OFMD fics up on AO3 😅 I really do love them all, and I have a lot of smaller one-shots that haven’t been read as much, but overall I’m incredibly lucky with readership and so so grateful for everyone who enjoys my work.

But my recent Reverse Bang fic The Broken Lines is hugely important to me and I think it’s probably one of the best things I’ve ever written anywhere. It’s set in the aftermath of the First World War (my professional zone of expertise), and features a Stede who’s lost his voice, his memory, and as far as he knows, his Ed. He gradually remembers what happened with the help of the crew and another Ed, who appears in his mirror from 1719, searching for his own Stede. It was a beautiful collaboration with artist Gerlinde to begin with, but I also got to work with one of my longest-term writing friends Jill @followedmystar as my beta, and then with Boy, who made a truly transcendent podfic that I can’t yell about enough.

What is the one word that you think you use a lot?

I think the word I have to zap more than any other is “actually”, and there are still a million of them in there when I’m done. The main reason is that to stick close to canon voice, I try to incorporate a lot of the less iconic/ more ordinary turns of phrase that the characters use a lot in their speech (I’ve watched every episode of the show… way too many times), and both Ed and Stede actually use “actually” a surprising amount. I just use it an even more surprising amount 😂

(This just sent me on a QUEST to find a specific number because I am that kind of nerd- Stede says it 15 times in S1 and 12 in S2, and Ed says it 8 times in each, for totals of 27 and 16, many of them in distinctive moments; it just gives that little buzz of recognition for me. I started out screenwriting before I moved to prose, so my writing tends to lean pretty strongly on having a recognisable, almost audible voice to the dialogue, as well as a cinematic visual style for the big adventures especially).

Do you have a beta reader? Have they made you a better writer?

I quite deliberately don’t use a beta reader for most of my OFMD fics, because being in this space is an exercise in recovering from lifelong paralysing perfectionism around writing especially. I’ve spent so many years not finishing original work because it never feels like it passes the invisible bar for perfection that exists in my own head. So when I started writing OFMD fic, I set out to accept good enough as good enough, and to get back to enjoying writing as fully as I can.

Obviously this means that my work could be better, but I’m actively working on letting that thought go and loving everything I’ve made just as it is. When I have worked with beta readers on projects that require them, like the Reverse Bang, it’s been with friends who I trust and adore, who I know will listen to what I need (cheerleading, mostly), and will do their best to work with me on improving the story without letting me spiral into hating it all because it wakes the perfectionist beast back up.

That doesn’t mean I’m without regular support, or that I’m not trying to improve my writing! I read an absolutely insane amount of fic, and I’m always in awe of the talent we have on this ship, and always learning from what other people do well. In lieu of beta readers, we share snippets of work all the time in our sprints team, so I get feedback there; I also get it from readers in progress, who often give me a sense of what’s hitting the way I hoped and what needs a bit of tweaking. I also have lovely group chats and individual friends like Kerry @communionnimrod and Lis @ghostalservice and Jill who I can run to if I need an opinion on whether an idea feels right or not, which I will often ask.

I’m very very careful with my writing, but in a couple of rare instances readers have also DMd me to note spots where I’ve inadvertently included something that doesn’t reach the sensitivity standard I’m aiming for. I’m always grateful for that gentleness and bravery in reaching out and I’m always happy to change something or to add tags or notes as needed.

Why OFMD 🥹

I watched the whole show in one hit a week after the final episode aired, and I loved it immediately, but I thought I was going to be normal about it. The unravelling into complete, unrelenting obsession happened gradually as I rewatched it with my husband and teen, then again, and again, then started to read fics and hunt up art, then started joining fan spaces, and then dived into writing my first fic in two and a half decades (all original writing between The X-Files and here), thinking it would also be my last.

I’m still here, still writing constantly, and a major portion of it is the show and how distinctly it reflected all the many parts of me, some of which I’d never seen so clearly before. I had a tough childhood in a few different family respects. I didn’t understand that I was neurodivergent until I turned 40 and my own kids were heading for diagnosis, and I’d been rejected constantly throughout my life for being too much. I was a high achiever who was in the process of crumpling under pressure right when I watched it, and while I’d been figuring out my sense of my own queerness for a few years, I’d never had a community that helped me feel at home with that.

And in the end it’s the community that’s been the reason I’ve been fully sucked into fandom for the first time since my teens- the writing in this space is top-tier wonderful, and the community is such a found family, just like the Revenge. Being able to write and have people actually want to read that writing, being able to cheer others on and hype their work, being able to help set up the OFMD Fic Club Discord and make it a safe spaceship for so many people, has been incredibly fulfilling and lovely. 

Please head over to @ofmdlovelyletters (who also made the header) and send your love to all your favourite authors (and authors of the week 😈 watch that blog for some special letters coming your way)

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

Hi! I’m sorry if this is dumb but I’m not understanding why the Ed hate is racist? From what I’ve seen it has nothing to do with his race, just his actions? What is racist about it? I’m asking this very genuinely because I want to understand and learn more from this so please don’t take this as being annoying or patronizing or something!

ok so not all Ed hate falls under the racism catagory some people just have genuinely bad taste. The thing that is racist is insisting that he's an abuser. I've explained several times why he's not abusive, as have many many others. But, here's the quick recap: Izzy was abusing him, Ed has a history of lashing out towards his abusers with physical violence and Izzy established that he had been doing this sort of thing to Ed for years so you know, he's going the way of Ed's father and nobody would argue that Ed was abusing his father. Ed wasn't abusive towards the crew. Like he did some shitty things while suicidal. He hurt his friends I'm not saying he didn't. However: 1. This show is full of very very over the top violence and no one is getting up Button's ass about Lucius's finger. 2. It would be an incredibly strange move for a rom com to make one of it's leads a domestic abuser, It's not such a weird move to give a character in a rom com a suicidal arc where they push all their friends away. The first choice would yeild a completely unwatchable show the second is what happened in ofmd. 3. David Jenkins himself has talked about this and he said "What Blackbeard did was by the standards of the pirate world a bit much" I don't know if I even agree with this considering everything we've heard about Hornigold but I certainly agree with the sentiment that Ed did some shitty things but nothing that was significantly more horrific than other characters in the show who nobody treats the way they treat Ed.

So with all of that in mind: Why is it racist to call him an abuser. Like sure, all of this adds up to the abuse truthers being wrong and stupid but what does it have to do with Ed's skin color? This ties into the history that the Maori people share with a lot of indigenous groups who were colonized by europeans. I would encourage you to do more research on your own but I'll point you in the generally right direction. Indigenous men are portrayed as hyper violent in order to justify their subjugation (see head hunters stereotypes or how often people assume indigenous cultures were doing human sacrifice). A lot of the Ed hate exaggerates how violent he is in comparison to other characters. Indigenous men are portrayed as dirty and barbaric and in need of being civilized by a benevolent white savior. A lot of fic and meta positions either Stede or Izzy as needing to save Ed from himself, or as needing to babysit him or teach him to read or bathe, ect. That's why people are so up in arms about the soap eating joke.

And finally the abuse thing. Positioning indigenous men as abusers has been used historically as a shoddy justification for family separation. This stereotype pairs incredibly well with the violent stereotype. So IF Ed was abusing poor defenseless little white Izzy it would actually be a racist decision for the writers to make. Like there's a way to portray characters of color doing abuse, because being nonwhite doesn't make you incapable of doing shitty things, but that would not be it. Thankfully that is catagorically not what's happening, we've been told that the Kraken is an abuse responce, Izzy provokes the Kraken, we've seen Izzy be paralelled with Ed's two other abusers (Hornigold and Ed's dad), we've been shown Izzy controlling the flow of information between Ed and his crew, we've been showing Izzy manipulating Ed, we've been shown him lying to turn the crew against Ed, we've been shown Izzy attempting to murder someone Ed cares about specifically because Ed cares about them, we've seen Izzy threaten Ed's life for acting wrong, we've heard Izzy confess to doing all of that shit FOR YEARS on his death bed (a time which it would completely undercut the emotional impact of the scene if he was lying). So like... people ignoring all of that shit in order to portray Ed as shooting off his leg for no fucking reason and say he's the abuser is very... "You forgot the racism don't worry we'll add it back in for you" and continuing to insist on that and be shitty to people who won't cop to your dumbass shit is actively making the fandom a more racist space.

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

I mostly lurk and don't read a lot of ofmd fic (short ones, no au) but one I haven't seen much of is hurt/comfort where Stede is the hurtee/comfortee. I know Ed gets the most comforting but, IMO, Stede deserves some too, poor guy. I do like hurt/comfort a lot, so if you are moved to write something like this I would love to read it.

I remember an expression from back in the bronze age of fanfic, h/c, and slashfic that "if he's smaller or blonder, he's toast." Stede meets both those requirements, LOL! Anyway, thanks for asking for asks. Enjoy your posts and fic.

Yesss, Stede needs some comfort!! Bon appetit!

Send me a prompt and I'll write a 1k word fic!

--

Ed didn’t realize what had woken him up, at first. The sunlight was just beginning to creep in through the curtains, and Stede’s shoulders were shaking. Stede was crying, little hiccups and hitching breaths as he tried to stay quiet, and Ed was reaching for his hand before he opened his eyes.

“Sorry,” Stede mumbled, squeezing Ed’s fingers with one hand and rubbing at his eyes with the other. His voice was creaky and wet, and it made Ed’s chest feel tight. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.” Ed couldn’t say Stede hadn’t woken him up, because he had. It wasn’t his fault, it just…was. He thought he would’ve felt it, no matter how hard Stede tried to hide it. He would have felt Stede’s pain in the air itself. “I’m glad you did,” he said instead, and it was true. He never wanted Stede to have to cry alone again. “What’s wrong?” Stede’s bottom lip trembled. “Have a bad dream?” Ed guessed. Slowly, Stede nodded, and Ed repositioned them, tangling their legs together under the blankets and pulling Stede into his chest. Stede pillowed his head on Ed’s bicep, one hand slipping under the covers to rest over Ed’s bare hip, tracing little nonsense patterns onto his skin. “You can tell me about it,” Ed said softly. “You don’t have to. But you can if you want to, you know I’ll listen.” Stede stared up at the ceiling, pursing his lips. “Might make you feel better,” Ed offered. Stede’s hand had gone all still where he’d been rubbing circles over Ed’s hip. “You listen to me talking about mine,” Ed went on. “It’s not fair, for you to just go on pretending you’re not having them. You don’t have to - no talking required here! - but you can. If you wanna.”

“I don’t know if I can,” Stede said carefully, his eyes flicking away from Ed’s. He sighed up at the ceiling. “Hardly seems fair. You have more right to bad dreams than I do-” “Stede, babe, it doesn’t work like that.” Ed reached up with his free hand to pull his hair, still in the ponytail he’d put it up in before bed, over his shoulder. The gesture accomplished what he’d set out to do, and Stede got his hand in it immediately, gently running a hand through his hair. “It’s not a competition. We can both have bad dreams, doesn’t mean you’re trying to…what, steal all the attention?” “Well,” Stede wheedled. “You listen here, Bonnet,” Ed said, lowering his voice to be all fake-menacing, “you better let me give you all the attention I want, or there’ll be - I dunno, consequences?” “Oh, no, not the consequences,” Stede pretended to whine. “Yep. I’ll eat all your dessert tonight,” Ed vowed. “So, if you feel like you wanna, you better talk to me. If you don’t want consequences. Because I’ll do that.” “Oh, I don’t doubt you would,” Stede chuckled, but he still looked hesitant, so… “How about this,” Ed said. “You could always make it into a story, if you like. Pretend you’re talking about someone else? Might be easier.” “I could try that,” Stede conceded. Ed hummed softly as Stede thought, enjoying the feeling of Stede’s gentle hand in his hair. “Once upon a time,” Stede began, “there was a very, very selfish man-” “Hey.” Ed gently poked Stede’s ribs. “What have we decided about this?” “Ow!” Stede squirmed away from Ed’s fingers, then flicked the tip of his nose in retaliation, and they both burst into giggles. “Seriously, though,” Ed said through his laugh.

“Fine, fine!” Stede huffed. “Once upon a time, there was a man who really wasn’t terribly or unusually selfish, if you were very generous with your definitions and were also feeling charitable on the day you decided to describe him.” “That’s better,” Ed allowed. “Thank you.” Stede gave him a small smile, but his eyes were getting distant, again. He had a faraway look Ed didn’t care for. “And that only typically selfish man once hurt someone he loves very badly, and he was almost too late to ever see him again. And he worries that he might just keep hurting him, because there’s something - something rotten in him, and it hurts people. He’s trying to be brave, and strong, and he’s trying to believe he’s not broken. But he’s not all that brave, and he’s not all that strong. The end.” Stede’s voice went all weak and shaky at the end, and Ed let out a breath through his teeth. Talking it through, when it came to the two of them, was usually a bit of a weepy affair. But it didn’t always have to be. Ed was getting better, at trusting Stede, at trusting himself, at knowing what would make Stede feel better. “Not all that strong?” Ed playfully squeezed Stede’s bicep. “C’mon, mate, have you even seen these guns?” Stede laughed, gratefully burying his nose in Ed’s neck when Ed threw an arm across his waist to hold him close. “Seriously, babe.” Ed leaned forward for a sweet little peck of a kiss, only pulling back far enough to brush their noses together. “You’re, like, the strongest guy I know.” “Ed, I wish you wouldn’t tease me-” “No teasing here,” Ed promised. “Seriously, you blow me away. You’re so thoughtful, and kind, and you’re so you all the time-” “That might actually be part of the problem.” “No, Stede, don’t you get it?” Ed cupped Stede’s face in his hands, making him hold eye contact, making him listen without looking away. “That takes a lot of guts, man. You never let anyone tell you who you should be, and I admire the hell out of you for it.” “Well, that’s…” Stede tried to hold back a smile, obviously flattered. “You’re so sweet.” “Not just a pretty face, huh?” Stede laughed, pressing his forehead against Ed’s, and Ed leaned in to meet him for a kiss that tasted like home.

[shoeshineyboy]

hello this is the tumblr user formerly known as Za raymondshieldsofficial clocking back in to say what the fuck. to clarify I’m now currently mostly on twitter talking about how desperately I want the man who plays Izzy in OFMD and also writing fic about it but I’m here to say I predicted Tom Defender

[que3rduckling]

HELLO!!!! I have realized I have never done one of these before so I thought I would make an intro :DDD

The name is Duck/Muffin/Bizly (or Bebo)!!! Any of them works for me!!

I go by They/xe/it

🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦 (I’m Canadian!!)

Current hyperfixations (in order): Batfam, Mob Psycho 100, Xmen, Jrwi

My interest: Jrwi, Stranger Things, IT, ianowt, Good Omens, Ofmd, Doctor Who, Sherlock, mcyt, The Folk of the Air, Hazbin hotel/hellva boss, SCU, X-men, Mob Psycho 100, Dirk Gently, Rugby, Batfam and more !!

My asks are always open if you want to send something I will literally start jumping up and down I love getting asks!!

Also I always love getting new mutuals!!!! I have bad social anxiety that transports onto here so I may be bad at reaching out but I love y’all sm!!

I love to be tagged in stuff so pls do it you want too!!

I like to write and draw so expect that from me :DDD

Tags:

#Que3rduckling for all my Original ish posts

#duck’s rambles for all my rambles :3

#ducks mutuals for all my mutual related posts

#duck interacts with rps for when I interact with all the silly little rp blogs <3

#duck asks for all my asks

#ducks art for all my art posts

#jrwi rp blog list for all my rp blog list posts

#ducks boops the booping saga posts

#day in ducks life for me rambling about me life

#Duck loves Rugby for me talking about rugby

Fanfics/writings stuff links!!

Stanley uris gossiping, Reddie Valentine’s Day, Reddie hair dye, Stoneflame kid fic

If y’all ever need prompts make sure to check out @celestialwrites she makes the best ones!!!!

My magnum opus :3

The Jrwi rp blogs Master list

Mutual Tags:

#Lei-lei for @lei1600

#cheri-sol for @s0lar-ch3ri

#eldie <3 for @gilliontidestriderfan

#sillypirate <33 for @thesilliestpirate

#TRIPLET-RIP for @ripells

There will be more added!!!

[just-fandomthings]

21 for 21

In honor of my 21st birthday coming and passing, here are 21 of my favorite fanfics to ever exist (this is not an exhaustive list of my favorite works btw, there’s too many to list!):

Blackbonnet

Love & Metachrosis by multi_angxls

(My beloved Abby gifted this to me and it remains the very best ofmd fanfic to exist. I am only 3% biased in saying so, because it truly is a masterpiece.)

Frostiron

Blood on the Battlefield by STARSdidathing

(The angst in this one! I love me some good hurt!tony and the way this one utilizes that to bring maximum pain to Loki…ugh, it’s just so good. The best kind of angst in this one!)

Borrowed Heat by usedupshiver

(This is one of the very first frostiron fics I ever read, but this is the story that made me realize I had found a forever fandom in frostiron. It’s just everything.)

Entwined by STARSdidathing

(The feel-good story to end all feel-good stories, while also being enemies to friends to lovers. Incredible doesn’t begin to cover it.)

Fighting, Flyting, Flaunting, Flirting by Redring91

(I maintain this is the single best fanfiction I have ever read.)

Incarcerated by Shortsnout

(Something about this one just speaks to me. The subtleties, the emotions, the storyline…so. good!!! I’ve reread this one so many times I’ve lost count- I mean it. I’ve easily reread this over 50 times.)

Loki’s Song by NotEvenCloseToStraight

(I’m pretty sure this is the most beautiful thing I have ever read. Ever. It’s a masterclass.)

There All Along by STARSdidathing

(A/B/O is a trope I nearly never read because the dubious consent is something that triggers me to no end, but STARS creates an endlessly beautiful universe where a heat simply triggers an instinctive desire for closeness through cuddling. If it is possible for a story to be a safe space, this story is mine.).

The World At Your Fingertips by AMidnightDreary

(If I could only read five stories - no others - for the rest of my life, I’d choose this story as one of the five.)

Good Omens

So Still I Wait by HotCrossPigeon

(I read this one when I need the sort of pain that leaves you shaking. Mind-numbingly good.)

Spirk

Let’s Not Mind the Store After All by Reyka_Sivao

(This fanfic is the reason I created a folder titled “✨Best of the Best ✨” of fanfics bookmarked to read again. Truly, this is the best of the best.)

Some Kind of Love by WerewolvesAreReal

(This story just makes me feel at peace. It’s a feel-good read that soothes my soul and makes me feel warm.)

Stuckony

Cried For Love (Can’t Stand It) by Potrix

(This fanfic melts me. Every. Single. Damn. Time. It hits so hard and is just so well done!)

Small Time Boy by Just_Bill

(I love AUs like this so much, but this one is just supreme. It’s incredible in every way, 15/10. 150/10. It’s brilliant)

What Tony Stark Can’t Buy by ClarkeStetler and Goosenik

(*happy stims happy stims happy stims*)

Winteriron

1000 Paper Cranes to See You Kneel by Shi_Toyu

(When I say this one is a masterclass, I mean it. I really mean it. Emphasis on ‘mean it.’ It’s stellar.)

And Time Again by Amethystina

(This story hurts, but in the very best way possible. It is also like receiving a hug, at the same time. The very best!!)

One Winter Weather by ali_aliska

(The fluff!!! The sweetness and protectiveness and love present in every single action and conversation!! I love this one SO MUCH)

Paths Are Made by Walking by Potrix

(This one makes me grin stupidly at my phone while reading, which then makes my friends ask who I’m talking to, which then leads me to explain I’m talking to no one, I’m just reading the best fluff ever.)

Stronger by SkyShadow3246

(When I say this fanfic is devastating to read, I mean DEVASTATING. It aches, stings, and altogether wrecks me, but it also is a fanfic I revisit over and over again when I need to strong arm my way to the other side of what I’m going through.)

The Evidence by StrivingArtist

(This one just…hurts in a way that will always be deeply, deeply personal to me. The ache it leaves in my chest even days later will never not be powerful- the power of words right there. This is one of the best fanfics I’ve ever read, hands down.)

[ineffable-rohese]

Sounds like "Rose"

New pinned post! Cause some stuff needs updated. :)

Demographic info: Mid 40s white fat queer poly pagan genderfluid transmasc human living in the wet corner of North America. The genderfluid thing is newly realized and shiny and I’m sure I’ll be talking about it often over the next... while.

Personal (public facing): I'm an Aziraphale-coded hobbit. Like, so cozy and wholesome you might want to puke. I rewatch just the first disc of the LOTR extended edition because I love the Shire so much. I drink Earl Grey with milk and one sugar. (Or a good scotch, cause every Aziraphale needs a little bit of Crowley inside them, right Sheenie?) Outside of fic, I read mainly historical fiction, especially anything set in (actual, not fantasy) medieval Europe and I was at one point a medieval music history nerd. I wear cozy sweaters. I love rain on ferns and April flowers. I make soup with things I've tended and harvested. I work a Wholesome AF job. I unironically hug trees. I'm in love with the world.

Personal (in private): I'm kinky and loving it. I'm primarily a Sensual Sadist with a significant Dominant streak. I often play as a Panther. I love consensual violence, and get great joy from hurting people who want me to hurt them. 

Fandoms: I fell in love with Good Omens in 2000 when a college roommate gave it to me. It was genuinely the funniest, greatest thing I had ever read, and I evangelized about it to anyone who would listen. S1 of the show immediately became a comfort show, and it got me through a time of massive loss and upheaval. I put it on when everything was too hard and I needed something that made me feel like it would be OK. S2 - well we're all here still, aren't we? It dropped when I desperately needed One Good Thing for my brain to latch on to as I got through some intense pressure, and boy howdy did it lodge itself in me. (I’m deeply upset about NG’s actions, but I’m also not about to throw away something so personally meaningful because one asshole involved made some really shitty choices.)

Other fandoms in roughly chronological order: Star Wars (original trilogy made me a child nerd), X-Files (first real social fandom, and intro to fanfic!), Buffy/Angel/Firefly, LOTR, Doctor Who, Torchwood (the only other show I've been driven to write fic for). OFMD and WWDITS are great fun, though not obsessions. Any of these and more might show up.

My Writing: Writing Index Here I’ve written nearly 100K of fic in the past year! My writing signatures are vivid sensory descriptions and kinky smut. Some angst, some fluff, some really dark stuff. My Ineffables tend to be deeply in love but also kinda fucked up in their own special ways. I’m still writing, a bit slowly at the moment due to Life, but there’s some great stuff in my docs I can’t wait to share when it’s ready.

What I post/don’t post: This is my fun space filled with things that I find interesting and/or bring me joy. Expect lots of Good Omens, GO Extended Universe (aka anything Tennant and/or Sheen), queer and kink-related content, other fandom things, my writing including NSFW snippets (below a cut if I remember), fat/body positivity, cats, nature awesomeness, things that make me laugh. Posts I write off the cuff as I wake up in the morning seem to be the ones that get shared, for some reason. I almost never post about current events unless it’s good news. The world is full of fear and despair; I try to keep this space one of hope and joy. There will be NSFW content on the regular (because kink, sex, and other such adult activities are a joy for me), so if you’re uncomfortable with that, I’m not the person to follow.

Tags: Honestly, I’m inconsistent about tags so please don’t rely on my tags for your safety. I do try to spoiler tag things if it’s close to when something comes out, but other than you’re at the whims of my ADHD.

Yay! I bring back my cats as a gift for reading all of this.

[theclaravoyant]

AN ~ Version 1 of about 16 trillion WIPS I have of Ed and Izzy finally facing each other again. Did I write 1500wd and technically not use the prompt phrase? Yes I did, but in my defense I'm haunted by It's not your fault you're broken, you were just trying to do your job.

For @fictober-event’s Fictober 2023 prompt: “It's not your fault." Spoilers up to Ep 6, in which it's theoretically based.

Masterpost of my Fictober OFMD fics

Fandom: Our Flag Means Death Characters/Relationships: Ed Teach, Izzy Hands. Tags: Canon Typical Violence, References to Suicidal Ideation and associated mutually-destructive stuff that went down in the early eps. Angst with a Hopeful Ending and hopefully healing vibes.

Try

Ed recognises the voice before he turns the corner. It’s so familiar and beautiful and missed, his heart clenches. Because Izzy doesn’t sing. Not the Izzy he knows. Not anymore. And yet.

His feet carry him forward like they haven’t caught on that this is a stupid idea.

The bell around his neck announces him and he can hardly stand to hear the song strangle itself in Izzy’s throat. If there was a dance in his step it’s gone now. Izzy stops and stares at him for a long, miserable, terrifying moment.

“Edward,” he croaks.

In the silence, one can hear the other shoe drop.

“Izzy. I think we need to talk.”

-

Stede has the good sense, and the sense of drama, to usher the rest of the crew below deck. The abandoned party makes for a fittingly morbid setting; its rainbow lanterns bobbing in the breeze, beautiful food and rich aromas doing little to drown out the rotting wound they’re about to rip open. Neither of them speak for a long time. There’s too much to say.

Eventually, Izzy steps down off the little dias they’ve been calling a stage. He ignores Ed as much as possible, and sets about cleaning up instead. He marches to the nearest table and begins scraping all the food scraps onto one plate. Now that they’ve gone and ruined the mood, he might as well. But he feels Ed’s eyes on him, knows that stupid bell is swaying in the breeze a micron away from tinkling as he only moves just enough to watch Izzy. The heat pricks the back of his neck until he can’t stand it anymore.

“You’re the one who wants to talk, Edward. I’m fine.”

“Sure. You look fine.”

“I was, ‘til you got here.”

It hurts, but Ed swallows. He did walk right into that one. But it’s not the uncharacteristically camp make-up or the… golden… unicorn leg apparently? … that’s got Ed worried. It’s the tension in his shoulders, his gaunt face. The way that he carries himself around Ed - even though he’s well out of arms’ reach - with an air of hesitation, like he’s terrified he’ll be suckerpunched at any given moment and is trying desperately not to show it.

I wasn’t laughing, it reminds him. I was screaming.

He remembers the sound of the bullet too. He remembers thinking Izzy was dead and gone. He’d hardly felt a thing at the time, but looking back he knew it would destroy him. It should destroy him. That’s what it should feel like, to have somebody so close to you for so long and in so many ways that losing them feels like - 

Well, like losing a limb. Isn’t that how the saying goes?

But his traitorous fucking tongue refuses to form fucking words, at least not ones that mean anything, so all he can do is dare step a little closer. He reaches out his arm - slowly, hesitantly, - and he watches Izzy equally slowly close a fist around the handle of one of the butter knives he’s packing away. So he stops. Izzy’s fingers uncurl, but Ed’s pretty sure he’d rather have been stabbed. It hurts, everything hurts.

“It’s getting late,” Izzy says at last. “Think I’ll call it a night, actually.”

“Izzy. Please.” The words barely make it past the lump in his throat. If they don’t push through it now, they might never, and that’s just- well, that’s just not an option.

“Are you going to order me to stay?”

“No. I’m not your Captain anymore.”

Ed wishes he could be offended at the implication that he’d ever use his position in such a way, but he definitely would. He definitely has. And maybe, just maybe, he’s finally come close enough to admitting that for one of the worst people on God’s Green Earth at apologies, because Izzy finally stops doing busywork and looks at him. Really looks at him, like he’s trying to figure out the answer to his own question. What am I, to you?

“Still on probation, then?” he asks instead.

“Oh. Yeah.” Ed flicks the bell at his neck. “Crew says the vote has to be unanimous. So.”

“So you need me to tick the last box on your little form.”

“Oh fuck off, you brought it up, not me.” Ed bites his tongue. All this is going to do is get them riled up until they strangle each other. He tries to channel his crash course in healthy emotional expression and drag himself back on track. He takes a deep breath. “What I mean is. You’ve got a lot of them going to bat for you, Iz. They really care about how you feel about- about all this. You should be proud. I know I am.”

Izzy blinks. “What?”

Ed plays back what he just said. Is he finally making the words go?

“I am… proud of you,” he repeats. Tears spring to his eyes and he feels a bit sick and overwhelmed but there it is, he said it. “And grateful. I really am. I don’t know what I would have done if you’d really- I mean if you hadn’t-” 

He swallows. And maybe it’s because he’s still trying to spare Ed or maybe it’s because Izzy is allergic to the full spectrum of human emotion or maybe it’s because the memory is swirling around them like the storm did and they can both taste the salt water in the air but Izzy cuts him off.

“I was just doing my job.”

“Your boss fucking sucks then.”

He gets a tearful snort out of Izzy for that one. 

“Yeah, well. Pretty sure I started it.”

And maybe it’s good they’ve been making a point of avoiding each other since they got back on board the Revenge. Maybe they’re… ready for something. (Please. Please let them be ready.)

Ed waits with bated breath as Izzy looks away, touches his finger to his eyes in case he’s been crying, and deliberates. Ed watches, wishing, pleading, contemplating falling to the deck and fucking praying that a whip crack of vicious vengeance isn’t going to come for him. Once upon a time - hell, even this morning - he would have offered the man his pistol to shoot him back. It’s the pirate way of doing things, an eye for an eye, and maybe it’s not the healthiest or whatever but he’ll take it if it means making things square with Izzy. He's already got a bad knee, what’s a little more metal crunching around in there?

The silence lasts so long it itches under his skin. It burns the tip of his tongue and he’s on the verge of opening his mouth to suggest that the man fucking shoots him (again) after all, when Izzy finally speaks.

“Well,” he announces. “If we’re doing this, I’m going to need a drink.”

Speaking of knees, they almost give way beneath him.

“Amen to that.”

-

There’s a lot to untangle; so much that if they had the time-bending powers of the gravy basket they might still have not got through it all. But it’s progress, and the two of them end up lying close on the deck with their hair and limbs tossed every which way and a red glow to their cheeks that betrays how much they’ve imbibed. They’ve cried. They’ve laughed, frankly a surprising amount. They’ve almost called it quits and stormed out a half a dozen times each. Yet they’ve both stayed, and they’ve both let those walls down further than they have in years. The wound they’ve been letting fester isn’t healed. It’s a long way from that. But it’s been cleaned and wrapped in new bandages and as the morning light starts to make its way across their faces, there’s a gentleness to the ache in their chests.

Ed sighs.

“Be honest, Iz,” he prompts. “Do you think there’s a version of us where we don’t wind up killing each other?”

Izzy frowns, struggling to turn his fuzzy mind to the subject without getting bogged down again in I had a dream where you killed me and Edward better watch his fucking step and the Spanish and the English and the way their downward spirals have been happening harder and faster lately. Rising sun be damned, it’s hard to have hope in the face of that.

“I don’t know,” he confesses.

Ed swallows. It’s hard to take. But he said to be honest, and they’re being honest in a new way now. In a new old way that reminds him of the way things were before, somehow. It’s like a light at the end of the tunnel, shining into the dark sea. Like the morning breaking over them. The sun is warm, and it reminds him of the things that are worth holding onto.

“Do you think-” he asks, “d’you think we could try?”

“Stranger things have happened.”

“Like Izzy Hands stone-cold-sober letting someone put glitter on his face?”

With a cheeky, if hesitant, hopeful smile, Ed glances over at Izzy the best he can at this angle. Izzy, best he can too, angles his chin to meet Ed’s eyes, and smiles back.

“Yeah,” he agrees. “Like that.”

[freneticfloetry]

Hey Courtney! This is so late so feel free to ignore but if you want to play, my ask for you is how did you find yourself in the Lonestar fandom? I’m so glad you’re here, I love your writing and the perspective you bring 💖

Hey Rae! I would never ignore you, my dear.

To be honest, I’m still not completely sure how I ended up in Lone Star fandom proper. I’d watched the show since the start and loved Tarlos since the beginning. I’d talked to friends about the ship and the show. But I’d never had the real urge to read or write fic. Maybe it was because the show started just before such a strange, terrible time in the world, and soon became pure escapism. Maybe it was because the early days of the show collided with the episode and events that pushed me headfirst into Magicians fandom (another show that I’d watched from the get go but hadn’t explored fic-wise) and I was soon completely wrapped up in a Big Bang with a deadline.

There are plenty of shows I’ve been happy to watch and enjoy as a fan and not a fic writer or reader (Schitt’s Creek, OFMD, and WWDitS come to mind). But sometimes all it takes to shove me over the line is a plot point with potential. I suspect it’s no coincidence that I waded into Lone Star fandom during The Season of Carlos, and all the fallout from The Iris Incident. The serial killer storyline, I think, is what finally pushed me over the edge — it is, at least, when I started plotting fic.

So, here I am. Happy to be here, grateful for the warm welcome. 😘 And curious to know what brought you to these parts!

[everythingsbetterunderthestars]

Hi my name is Anna

Im French

Im 18

My pronouns are she/her/they/them and I’m a lesbian and demigirl

Self diagnosed autistic

I speak fluent French, English and German

I’m also a fic writer! Here’s the link to my snowjanus fanfic (WIP)

Check this for more info

I love reading and watching shows

I have two cats and a dog

Sorry in advance I just have this one page for all my interests so you’ll get content about lots of different things (almost everything will be queer though)

My username is a quote from Radio Silence by the fabulous Alice Oseman because it’s one of my favourite books ever

I have too many fandoms but here are a few: Osemanverse, Young Royals, six of crows, Harry Potter (mostly marauders), Good Omens, RWRB, WTNV, IWTV, She Ra, the owl house, Buffy, stranger things, OFMD, I am not okay with this, the end of the fucking world, fleabag, Helluva Boss… and basically any queer content I can get my hands on (I have an unimaginably high TBR and extremely long to watch list)

Anyway if you want to talk about any of those interests or want to recommend me a queer book/show/movie I’d be delighted !

Or if you want queer books/shows recommendations I have a tonnnn ! (Especially books)

You’re welcome to just send me a message or an ask :)

(My music taste is also pretty gay, currently obsessed with baby queen, king princess, girl in red, Chloe Moriondo, Pomme, wasia project, Radiohead, Tamino, Matilda Mann, Alexandra Savior…)

My favourite colour is blue

Uhm that’s all I can think of for now so yeah welcome to my blog ! I’ll update this as I go

(Also I discovered tumblr thanks to Solitaire so I’m forever indebted to Alice Oseman)

(Just putting this here so I can find it again for Reasons)

[thetragicallynerdy]

wip wednesday - the die hard fic, continued

(AKA I'm writing Die Hard featuring Jim from OFMD as John McClane, Ed as Al Powell, but neither of them are cops. Also featuring the Badmintons as asshole cops.)

--

Staring up at the smoking building from the hood of his truck, Ed lifts the radio to his mouth and answers. “Yeah, Cowboy, I’m here. You alright?”

There’s a burst of laughter, followed by a hollow cough. “I’m fucking great, man.”

“You sure? That was a big fucking explosion, mate.” Big enough to take out an entire floor. He sure fucking hopes they weren’t near it.

More laughter. “Estoy bien, lo prometo. You remember those plastic explosives I told you about?”

Oh, fuck, they didn’t.

“Seemed like an appropriate time to use them,” Cowboy says, laughter breaking into a hoarse series of coughs. It’s a familiar sound, one he’s heard many times throughout his firefighting career – the sound of someone struggling to breathe because of smoke. Worry spikes. “Is the building on fire?”

A little bit. Not enough to put anyone on the thirtieth floor in danger, though.

“Nah. She’s gonna need a new paint job, though.”

“Eh, needed a facelift anyway.” Their voice goes serious. “Hey, muchacho, did I hit any cops with it?”

Ed shakes his head, makes his voice firm as he tucks his free hand around the hot chocolate thermos Stede sent with him. “Nope. You hit a few floors up. Looks like you took out the floor that the rockets were coming from.”

“Oh, thank fuck.”          

There’s a noise to the side. Ed looks up and sees Nigel and Chauncey Badminton storming towards him, both looking pissed as hell. “Incoming,” he mutters, setting the hot chocolate aside and sliding off the hood of his car.

“Is that them?” Nigel demands, gesturing at Ed’s radio. “Let me speak to them.”

“Hell no –“

But Nigel just swipes the receiver out of his hand, giving Ed the finger as he snarls into it. “You listen here - I don’t know who you think you are, but you just did millions of dollars in property damage. We don’t want, or need, your help. Do you understand me? Stop trying to help. Because of you, all of my officers down here are covered in glass –“

“Glass?” Cowboy cuts in. “Who gives a fuck about glass? Who the fuck is this? Put Ed back on, I’m not fucking talking to you.”

Ed doesn’t think he’s ever seen Nigel turn quite so red before. He’s normally bored, almost lazy in his command – but now he just looks pissed.

“This is Deputy Chief of Police Nigel Badminton,” Nigel says stiffly. “I’m the one in charge of this situation. Ed will no longer be your –“

“Oh, you’re in charge?” Cowboy laughs. “Did you tell that to the assholes in here? Because from where I’m sitting, it doesn’t look like you’re in charge of shit.”

Now Chauncey’s turning red, too. Ah, twins. He swipes the receiver from Nigel, sputters into it. “Listen here, you little shit –“

“Jesucristo, what the fuck is it with cops? Each and every one of you is a fucking shithead. Stop blabbering and put Ed back on!”

“When you get out of there, I’m arresting you,” Chauncey hisses. “You’re mine, you hear?”

Cowboy gives the tiredest laugh he’s ever heard in his fucking life. “Man, you think I’m making it out of here alive? Fuck off.”

Before Chauncey or Nigel can make it worse, Ed grabs the receiver, drags it out of his hand. He glares at them both, angrier than he’s been in decades.

“Get the fuck out of here,” he says, voice low. “Go run your little show.”

Nigel points a finger at him. “You find us if they tell you anything, or I’m arresting you too, Teach.”

“I already said I would. Go.”

They leave. It’s a fucking relief.

Ed hoists himself back onto the hood of his car, forces himself to breathe through the anger. “Cowboy? You alright?”

“Sí, sí, I’m fine,” they mutter back. “Real fucking glad I’ve got tons of support down there.”

“Hey. You have me,” he says firmly. “Me, and all the firefighters down here, we love you. We’re on your side. A bunch of the cops who aren’t assholes are rooting for you, too.”

He can’t imagine what it’s like. They’re alone, in a burning building, with half a dozen men or more trying to end their life. They’d called the cops looking for help, but now…

Ed feels like shit for calling in the forces. It was necessary, he knows it was, but if it ends with Cowboy being arrested for just trying to stay alive –

“Alright,” Cowboy says quietly. “Gracias.”

“Hang in there, mate,” Ed says softly, wishing he could fucking go in and help them. “Keep doing what you’re doing, and I’ll be here to help you when it’s all over.”

There’s a long exhale, then another rasping cough. “I’ll hold you to it.”

“Please do. And Cowboy – get yourself out of the fucking smoke, okay? It’ll fuck up your lungs real quick.”

“Sí, don’t worry.” There’s something warmer in their voice, and it’s a fucking relief to hear it. “I’m already on my way.”  

[quillyfied]

Okay final episode thoughts that I don’t know that I can expand into real coherent thoughts so heck it we’re doing it live and cramming them together, no chronology just memory vibes, PART FOUR:

- I think part of the problem of it feeling so fast an episode, for me, is the anticipation; I waited to watch it with friends and by the time it was finally happening I had been waiting all day and it was killing me.

- That being said, the pace is breakneck, for something that starts so peacefully

- Love that we get immediate confirmation that Ed is not suited to a fisherman’s life. Though I do love the conflict inherent in Ed meaning “simple” as a compliment based on how hectic and chaotic his life has been up to this point, but of course someone who doesn’t know any of that would think he’s insulting them.

- Also very interested in the shift of Ed going to direct killing rather than trying to put a layer between it and himself; it’s the Kraken but in Protection Mode. Adore that for him. (And maybe the killing doesn’t count if they’re English Navy.)

- I had a feeling Stede was talking to Zheng about being a failure the longer the season went on. Delighted to be proven right. Was also shocked to hear she thought Auntie was dead but then had to reckon with the fact that she hasn’t analyzed a single screenshot and spotted Auntie like I did soooooo

- The simmering anger in my own gut when I saw Spanish Jackie’s overrun and the lady herself treated like that. Also OF COURSE THEY BUILD UP RESISTANCES TO IOCANE POWDER POISON IN THIS HOUSE

- (Side note but the number of ofmd fics, my own included, that have Princess Bride as a reference or element in them makes me smile)

- Calling Ricky Pinocchio. IZZY calling Ricky Pinocchio. The layers. The subtext. The intertextuality. The face-value humor. I’m salivating.

- The letter Ed reads! The way they say the words together!! If they don’t start next season with matching lover’s tattoos (or include it somewhere), I’m rioting.

- THEY GET TO RUN AT EACH OTHER ON A BEACH TO NINA SIMONE FOR REAL THIS TIME

- okay but is Ed’s knee brace a victim of the budget cuts this season bc I miss it

- the entire time they were running at each other I kept shrieking “please don’t stab each other. Please don’t stab each other. Boys please drop the swords and don’t accidentally stab each other”

- KISSIES.

- I LOVE YOU. TWICE.

- Zheng having it up to HERE with these useless gays

- NOT NOW ZHENG THEYRE VERBALLY AFFIRMING THEIR CARE FOR EACH OTHER AND ALSO KISSING

- Olu caring for Auntie. I cry.

- I also cry bc it has seemed to me all season that Auntie and Zheng have a dynamic similar to Izzy and Ed but less deeply toxic; I love that just because it isn’t as toxic, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t still hurt them both. Auntie choosing to listen to Olu and be softer and more open with Zheng, and Zheng returning the favor, is so important to me. Cannot emphasize enough its sweetness. Especially with Zheng thinking she’d lost Auntie.

- “It’s only a suicide plan if we die” STEDE.

- Giggling to myself at the butt shot bc 1. Of course the guy whose butt it is has a whole post about it where he’s a delight, and 2. Fandom has been begging for them to show hole all season, y’all satisfied? ;P

- Why does everyone look so hot in those uniforms though. Why is Ed putting on a tricorn hat so attractive. These are uniforms that represent imperialist cruelty, WHY IS EVERYONE HOT IN THEM

- (It’s the rebellion of it all I think)

- Awfully bold of Ricky to immediately turn on them when he’s still close enough to be shot, but I think it’s his Rich White Boy recklessness.

- Con O’Niell giving the performance of a lifetime to the very end. The subtlety of Izzy not being okay through the entire mad dash to the Revenge, culminating in him leaning on Ed AND Frenchie and the implications of that I EXPLODE

- So. Turns out my final mini theory about that bloody hand screenshot from the trailer was right; it is Izzy’s blood, and it is Jim that Ed’s hand is blocking.

- Izzy giving the apology we have been waiting for all season as a deathbed confession, HECK

- And giving voice to the fact that he loved and needed Blackbeard! And that he knew he was feeding it even though Ed had OUTGROWN it!! And giving Ed closure and release from having to be Blackbeard!!! GUUUUUHHHHH.

- I really didn’t think izzy was going to die until three days ago. Im so sad. It’s thematic and perfect and if someone had to die of course it had to be Izzy and they did him right by that death scene but I CARE MORE NOW. CHEFS KISS STORYTELLING.

- This end bit, to my memory, feels a little scattered and messy; Zheng wanting to work together to get back at Ricky…and then the ship sails off without Ed and Stede. Maybe I need to watch again but I got some whiplash there. Like yeah it’s way more important to the story that Ed and Stede get at the very least a break from piracy before the next season, more in line with the themes and character arcs, but. Idk. Felt sudden still?

- Pete and Lucius marriage ;A; “you may slash each other’s faces” ROACH PLEASE

- YES ED WE SEE YOUR ROMANTIC SIDE EYE

- FRENCHIE IS THE CAPTAIN NOW. Capitalizing on that quiet arc he’s had all season!! I love it!!! And showing that all of the Revenge crew have it in them to be leaders and the best versions of themselves when given an environment where they can. And now they have capable women aboard! Win-win!!

- I need to go dig up my post about the hollowness and toxicity of revenge in this show bc I have more examples to add to it and strengthen my theory

- Ed and Stede about to go through their Anne and Mary arc. Let’s hope they pivot faster than the other two and don’t get stuck in a rut the same way. But I love that they get to try this out together, to find new dreams and things to do together. They deserve that.

- I also respect the showrunners so much for giving us an ending that could be a decent end if Max doesn’t renew for a third. I like being able to hold my two favorite shows next to each other and see that the two extremes of ending in an uncertain place work—for GOmens, a heart-shattering cliffhanger was absolutely the right call. For OFMD, a soft ending that can be expanded on if allowed. I love them both.

- Gonna go rewatch and then rewatch the whole season and then rewatch both seasons, excuse me.

[octoberobserver]

OFMD Fic - Sneak Peek

(Read my other fics here)

Ed chuckled, knocking their shoulders together.

They ate in more-than-companionable silence for several minutes, eyes cast out to the horizon as the moon glimmered in hello.

“We gonna talk about it, then?”

Stede glanced to his left, where Ed was still steadfastly staring at the ocean. He looked…radiant.

“Talk about what?”

He could be referring to a number of things, really. For all their making up—kisses in the chaos, escaping the English, losing Izzy and saying goodbye to the crew—there hadn’t been much time for talking.

Ed seemed to ruminate on what had transpired the last seventy-two hours, too, before he finally turned his body to him and caught his eye.

Something uncomfortable unfurled in Stede’s gut, Ed’s haunting words from what felt like both years and mere hours ago echoing in his brain.

I think last night was a mistake. I’m not ready for whatever this is.

[ablogcalledrevenge]

A Stranger Things Hanukkah Special!

A/N: Happy Hanukkah to all my fellow Jews out there! I’ve been reading so many sweet and lovely Steddie Christmas fics that I felt like contributing myself. I personally headcanon the Byers and Eddie as Jewish, so I wanted to write something festive of my own. I’ll be completely transparent and admit I didn’t actually watch season 4, just got the synopsis from multiple people, but just like OFMD, the Steddie brainrot is real. I hope you like it and may your holidays be full of warmth and love!

Eddie arrived around noon at Steve’s house just before he was about to jump in the shower. He came in holding a bag of onions in one hand and a small sack of potatoes in the other. He also had a backpack that looks full to bursting.

“Good afternoon Mr Harrington. I’ve come to hijack your Christmas party.” Eddie announced, bowing low on Steve’s doorstep. Rolling his eyes fondly, Steve let him in from the cold.

“You’re hijacking my Christmas party?” He deadpanned, watching Eddie unload his things and wash his hands at the sink in the kitchen. There were plain sugar cookies cooling on the counter; Steve was going to let all the kids decorate them during the party.

“Well, I was talking to Jonathan, you know Jonnyboy right Stevie? Anyway, we were talking and he mentioned how much El loves Christmas because it’s still really brand new to her and how Joyce actually started teaching her about Hanukkah back in Cali because the Byers are actually Jewish so El by extension is too. So then I was like, no way I’m Jewish too! I can help you guys celebrate Hanukkah! And then Jonathan was like, oh we should have a Hanukkah party. And then I said, fuck that, let’s just merge with Steve’s.” Eddie rambled, scrubbing at the potatoes while Steve watched, his brain trying to follow the conversation.

“So here you are?” Steve realized, a smile breaking out onto his face.

“So here I am!” Eddie replied, brandishing a potato with a cheeky grin. 

“Well my house is your oyster, so go crazy. I think it’s a great idea. I mean, shit Eddie I didn’t even know you were Jewish! We could have done this from the beginning.” Steve said, feeling a small spike of guilt as he gestured to his kitchen and beyond. 

“No worries Stevie, it’s not a big deal. I’m Jewish on my mom’s side so it’s not like it’s super obvious. Like why give people another reason to target me, y’know? I just think having a Christmas and Hanukkah party would be nice for El, and everyone else. So, I’m making latkes!” He explained, making himself at home in Steve’s kitchen. It made the guilt fade away into something warmer.

“I was actually about to take a shower and then run out to grab a few last minute things. You can use whatever you can find. There are bowls and plates in that cabinet and the cutting boards are in that one under the knife block.” Steve pointed out while Eddie gave him a jaunty salute. 

“No worries, big boy, I got this all under control. “He smiled, whipping out some cassettes from his backpack. Steve chuckled all the way up the stairs, the sound of Dio accompanying his shower.

~~~~~~~~

When Steve came back down the stairs, showered and dressed, the smell of oil and onions greeted him. Eddie had switched the music to something softer, still metal, but softer.

“Almost done?” He asked, startling Eddie in the middle of grating potatoes. The other boy flinched, and gave Steve an unimpressed glare. Then the pain caught up to him.

“Ah shit, cut my finger.” Eddie mumbled, a small dot of blood welling up on his knuckle. Steve sprung into action. He grabbed Eddie’s wrist, bringing his injured finger over to the sink to rinse in cold water. Then he grabbed his kitchen first aid kit, wisely kept under the sink, and dressed the minor wound with neosporin, a dinosaur bandage, and a soft kiss.

“Dinos huh?” Eddie asked, eyebrow raised.

“Oh shut up, it’s for the kids. Are you okay?” Steve shot back, blushing madly once he realized what he did. He was still holding Eddie’s hand as well. For some reason he didn’t want to let go. Not until Eddie assured him he was okay.

“Yeah I’m fine. It’s all part of the process anyway. You’re not making real latkes unless you cry or cut yourself. The blood adds flavor.”

“You got blood in the potatoes?!” Steve yelled, dropping Eddie’s hand and grabbing the bowl. He didn’t see any specks of red…

“Nah, probably not. That’s just an old wives’ saying, you know, to make the kids laugh when they hurt themselves while helping their moms.” Eddie replied, gently bumping his shoulder into Steve’s.

“Right, well, I’m going to head out before you give me a heart attack. Robin and the others should be here soon to finish decorating. I’ll be back in, like, an hour. Maybe a little more.” Steve said, grabbing his coat, scarf, and keys. Winter had officially come to Hawkins and he wasn’t taking any chances.

“Sounds good. Ooh, pick up some sour cream and applesauce while you’re out. We’ll need them for the latkes and you’re fresh out.” Eddie called over his shoulder. 

Steve nodded absently, tugging on his sneakers. Maybe a hat? Nah, he’d already done his hair and he didn’t want to have to do it again. 

He opened the door to a gust of wind that nearly knocked him on his ass, and felt all his hard work go to waste. 

“Hey, hold on. It’s cold out there. I know your hair is, like your thing, but I think protecting your whole head is a little more important.” Eddie teased, carefully placing a black knit hat over Steve’s head. It was the one he’d worn coming in and it smelled a little like tobacco smoke. They were very close and Steve could see the different shades of brown in Eddie’s eyes as he pulled the hat over his ears.

“There we go, nice and warm. See you in a bit.” Eddie said with finality, resting his hands on Steve’s shoulders. Struck with an almost uncontrollable urge to close the distance and kiss Eddie, Steve gave a shaky smile and pulled away. He didn’t look back as he closed the door behind him. The biting cold helped him remember what he needed to do and hopefully, eased the red he knew was on his cheeks.

~~~~~~~~

When Steve returned, bags in his arms, the house was full of light and noise. It seemed like almost everyone had come over during his absence and Eddie’s music had been replaced by the usual Christmas songs. 

Robin bounded over to him, Santa hat resting on her blonde head, and grabbed some of the bags. Then she took off the beanie Eddie had loaned him and replaced it with a Santa hat to match hers. Kissing her cheek in thanks, the two brought everything into the kitchen. One bag, Steve made sure to keep to himself.

Nancy and Jonathan greeted him as they started to empty the bags, putting things away. Eddie was at the stove, hair up in a messy ponytail. He gave a thumbs up when Steve showed him the sour cream and applesauce, lifting a golden brown latke out of the oil and onto a paper towel. 

“It smells great in here. I can’t wait to try them.” Steve said, stepping up close behind Eddie and peering over his shoulder.

“Thanks, it was my mom’s recipe. I’m actually so relieved they’re turning out so great. Last year I didn’t squeeze enough of the water out and they completely fell apart in the oil.”

“Ah rookie mistake but it happens to us all.” Jonathan piped up from his place leaning against the counter.

“Anyone want a beer?” Steve asked, opening his fridge to put away the sour cream. He got yeses from everyone, and pulled out a six pack. Someone screamed in the living room and every adult froze.

Then the sound of laughter reached them and Lucas yelled that El had to warn him before lifting him in the air. The adults in the kitchen relaxed, the fight going out of them like air in a balloon.

“I swear, these kids are gonna make me go grey.” Steve muttered, opening his beer. Once Eddie was done with the stove, he was going to pull out the mulled wine. He figured it would be nice for the older members of the party after dinner.

Dustin entered the kitchen, baseball hat firmly on his head. He was still dressed for the season though, sporting a handmade Christmas sweater that his mom had made him. It was bright red with green christmas trees and candy canes. Claudia had even weaved tinsel into the strands of the trees, making them sparkle. It was very charming and ridiculously ugly and Steve had a matching one upstairs.

“Is it almost time to eat? We finished decorating and I’m hungry.” He pouted, collapsing on the little table in the kitchen like he was too weak to stand. The others laughed.

“You see Eddie? This is your son.” Steve sighed, grabbing the plates and silverware. Eddie in turn, just cackled.

“Here, go make yourself useful and set the table for everyone.” Robin said, pointing to the plates and then to the dining room. Dustin gave a long suffering groan but did as he was told.

“And don’t forget a place for Argyle, he’s on his way.” Nancy called out, perfectly content to stay exactly where she was under Jonathan’s arm. Steve was just about to open his mouth and ask where the dude was, when the doorbell rang.

“I GOT IT!” Mike yelled skidding from the living room to the door in his fluffy socks. 

With the smell of pizza and sugar wafting, Argyle entered. His clothes were colorful and mismatching but still festive and Steve couldn’t help but laugh, his heart filled with that stupid Christmas joy everyone was always talking about.

“I brought the pizza and the jelly doughnuts dudes! So let’s eat, yeah?” He said, Mike leading him into the dining room to put down his boxes. Everyone, having heard his arrival, quickly ran to the table, eagerly awaiting the latkes. 

The adults in the kitchen joined them, leaving Steve and Eddie to each grab a platter. Eddie had the beautiful tower of latkes, while Steve spooned applesauce, sour cream, and jelly into bowls. 

The crowd cheered when the food was finally presented, everyone happily digging in. The quiet lasted for a few moments, everyone focused on putting their plate together and taking first bites. Then it exploded into the noise you’d expect from 7 kids and 6 adults. Heaps of praise were given to Eddie, everyone loving the latkes.

“These are way better than Mom’s.” Will whispered to his brother, causing them both to giggle. 

El asked for maple syrup at one point, which Steve got her, though he was confused.

“They’re pancakes? You eat pancakes with syrup right?” She asked sweetly, drowning said pancakes in it. Eddie laughed and took the syrup from her, adding it to his plate too.

“Right you are Supergirl! You can eat your latkes with whatever you want. I’ve even heard of some people using…” Here he paused for dramatic effect, “ketchup!” 

The whole table groaned as Eddie shuddered.

“Wait, that makes more sense than syrup. You eat French fries with ketchup, so why not latkes. It’s basically the same thing.”

“Try before you deny Steve-o.” Argyle piped up, a smear of sour cream on his chin. 

“Yeah, try before you deny!” El, Mike, and Will parroted back. 

“But it’s not just potato, there’s onion in it and- oh forget it. You guys are weird.” Steve sputtered, shaking his head. Eddie patted his knee under the table in a way that felt both condescending and settling. 

The group resumed eating their latkes and pizza, talking about holiday plans and hopes for the new year. Eddie told the story of Hanukkah as they ate, Jonathan and Will adding bits and pieces randomly. Someone, maybe Nancy, had lit candles in the middle of the table, giving the whole room a soft glow.

Steve glanced over at Robin sitting next to him, laughing at a barb Erica made towards Lucas, pizza grease on her fingers. Then he looked at Dustin, smiling wide, pearls on full display, while Max whispered something in El’s ear, the girl nodding in agreement. Finally he turned to Eddie on his other side, cutting up a latke and dipping it in syrup with a big smile on his face. He had taken his hair out of the ponytail from earlier and now it hung around his head in soft waves.

Steve wanted to do this every year. He wanted to do it every day. He wanted to do this with Eddie.

~~~~~~~~

Latkes and pizza eaten, the Party had migrated into the living room for presents and dessert. Steve was warming up the mulled wine when Eddie bounded in, looking for his backpack. 

“I figure we can light the menorah and then open presents. It’s dark enough that it’ll look really nice next to the tree.” He explained, pulling out a box of candles.

“Oh wait, don’t move, I’ll be right back!” Steve said, running up the stairs to his bedroom where he’d stashed the last bag from today. He ran back down, almost out of breath from how fast he moved and presented the bag to Eddie.

Looking confused and a little worried, Eddie opened the bag and pulled out a pretty gold candle holder. 

“It’s a menorah! I got it for you, for Hanukkah. I mean, I got you another present for Christmas but I felt bad that you weren’t getting anything for your holiday so I found it at the store and thought you’d like it. Do you like it?” Steve said, feeling his nerves creeping up on him. 

Eddie hadn’t moved, or changed his expression. He just stared down at his present in shock. 

“Oh fuck, I messed up, didn’t I? You hate it? I wasn’t supposed to get that for you, I was overstepping. You probably have a super nice one and I’m being rude. You can return it, I think the receipt’s in the bag…” He rambled, feeling more and more like Robin with every passing moment. What the hell, he used to be smooth! But instead he could feel his heart jackrabbiting in his chest as Eddie put down the candle holder and stepped closer to Steve. Shit, he was gonna get punched now.

But instead, Eddie gently grabbed his face, stopping the rant mid word and kissed him.

All of Steve’s thoughts froze dead in their tracks. Luckily his body seemed to pick up the pace faster than Steve, because after a moment of surprise, his arms came to wrap around Eddie’s shoulders. He didn’t know why Eddie was kissing him, but he’d be damned if he didn’t make the most of it.

Eventually, oxygen became important and they had to break apart. Eddie was flushed, smiling brightly. Steve knew he had a similar dopey look on his face.

“That’s not a menorah.” Eddie whispered, kissing Steve again all soft and sweet.

“It’s not? But it has the spots for your candles.” He pointed out, pulling away from Eddie to grab it. Laughing quietly, Eddie wrapped his arms around Steve’s waist, resting a chin on his shoulder from behind.

“A menorah for Hanukkah needs 9 spots. One for each night and one for the helper candle, called a shamash. This one only has 6 but it’s beautiful and I appreciate the gesture. It means a lot that you wanted to get me something for Hanukkah.” Eddie said, kissing Steve’s cheek as he slumped against him.

“Well shit. I’m sorry.” He mumbled, giving said candle holder a glare. Eddie shook his head and turned Steve around.

“Nah, it’s perfect. It came from you and I love it.”

Steve leaned forward to kiss him again, feeling drunk with joy, when Robin’s voice echoed into the kitchen. 

“Hey what’s the hold up? The kids wanna open presents!”

Steve and Eddie laughed and unhappily pulled themselves apart. Eddie grabbed an actual menorah from his backpack and went into the living room while Steve poured out wine for everyone. They had candles to light and presents to open!

~~~~~~~~

Once everyone was in the living room and huddled around the fireplace mantle, they began. Jonathan pulled out a bag of yarmulkes, saved by Joyce over the years, for the boys to wear if they wanted. Steve got a gold satin one with the inscription Sammy and Ellen, A Golden Anniversary 1980. He hoped it brought him luck. Dustin put his on top of his baseball hat. (”It’s a gift from Suzie, I can’t take it off!”)

Eddie, Jonathan,  and Will said the prayers while lighting the candles, El and Nancy shakily following along. The sound was beautiful with all the different voices coming together. The prayer didn’t seem too complicated and it had a pretty rhythm. Eddie’s pinky brushed against Steve’s and linked for a moment which was probably Steve’s favorite part.

Candles lit and tree turned on, the kids flopped onto the floor to exchange presents. Steve may have gone a bit overboard this year, but the various squeals of delight made the hole in his wallet worth it. 

They drank the wine and ate the doughnuts, sufganiyot was what Eddie called it, as Will explained dreidel to them. 

“I’m not so sure this is a good idea. You guys can get pretty competitive...” Nancy said, looking wary.

“It’s not a competition if you know you’re gonna win.” Max scoffed, flicking her red hair over her shoulder. This started a lively debate about if dreidel was anything more than a game of chance. Eddie passed out gelt, one of which Argyle immediately unwrapped and ate. Considering there were so many of them, teams were picked.

Jonathan and Nancy. Will and Lucas. El and Max. Robin and Steve. Dustin and Mike. Eddie, Erica, and Argyle as the true wildcard team.

“You guys are going down!” Robin shouted, pointing at every other team.

“Oh please, like I’m going to lose to you. You still owe me ice cream.” Erica shot back, crossing her little arms across her chest.

They played for a good amount of time, Steve paying little attention to the clock on the wall. The candles in Eddie’s menorah slowly burned down as the Christmas lights twinkled. 

Finally, after much hemming and hawing and claims of cheating, one team stood victorious. 

El and Max sat behind the largest pile of gelt, smiling widely and looking very smug. Eddie proclaimed them the winners and scooped Max up, Jonathan following with El, and paraded them around the living room to cheers from their adoring fans.

Someone turned the radio back on, Christmas music playing quietly under the conversations. Steve, pressed up tight against Eddie on the couch, couldn’t remember a more enjoyable Christmas. Normally he’d spend the season alone, his parents coming home on the 25th to exchange gifts and then flit off to some fancy party. He’d gotten offers to spend the day with others, Robin and Dustin and his old friends, but he turned them down. He hated feeling like the odd man out. 

But now, with everyone in his home, warm and safe and happy, that feeling was gone. He was with his family, one that he had found and loved all by himself.

Plus Eddie, smelling like powdered sugar, oil, cinnamon, smoke, and all of Steve’s dreams rolled into one. Plus Eddie, who shared his heritage with all of them. Plus Eddie, who kissed him in the kitchen with the promise of more.

Finishing his cup of wine, Eddie leaned forward to place it on the coffee table, before laying back against the couch. His arm came up to wrap around Steve’s shoulders with a contented sigh. Steve mimicked the sound and snuggled deeper into the couch and Eddie.

Robin caught his eye and raised her eyebrow. Steve flushed and used their best friend/platonic soulmate mind reading powers to tell her they’d talk about it tomorrow. She gave the two of them a long, searching look, but apparently happy with what she saw, turned back to her conversation with Nancy.

~~~~~~~~

Much later, when everyone had left and the house was empty, Steve and Eddie cleaned up. They threw away wrapping paper and pizza boxes, picking up balls of metal gelt wrappers to toss as well. Eddie cleaned up the oil and the leftover potatoes. Steve boxed up food for Wayne and Keith, hoping to get in good with both. It was especially important now that he had a boyfriend.

Wait, did he?

“Does Hanukkah have any other traditions that we didn’t do?” He asked abruptly. Eddie wiped down the stovetop and made a noncommittal noise, focused on a stubborn grease mark.

“Like Christmas has tons of random traditions, does Hanukkah have those too?” He continued, resting his hands on his hips.

“Um well, I guess maybe if you’re Sephardic or from a completely different country. But as far as I know, we basically did everything for Hanukkah. We’re done for the night. Why? Was there something else you wanted to do?” Eddie asked, throwing out the paper towel.

“Well I wanted to know if Hanukkah had anything like mistletoe. I like mistletoe.” Steve whispered, suddenly embarrassed.

“I literally kissed you a few hours ago, you don’t need mistletoe if you want to do that again.” Eddie laughed, taking a step closer to Steve. 

“Yeah but it’s more romantic that way. Like I could kiss you”, which Steve did, “and then ask if you wanted to be my boyfriend. That would be so festive and romantic.”

Eddie sputtered and rested his head on Steve’s shoulder, pressing a kiss to his bare neck. 

“I don’t know. What you just did there was pretty romantic. Consider me wooed. Also yes, of course. I’ve been crushing on you since the moment you found me in the boathouse.” He admitted in the quiet of the kitchen. Steve’s heat soared and he lifted Eddie’s head to kiss him again.

“Happy Hanukkah Eddie. I had a really nice time tonight.”

“Happy Hanukkah Steve. Nes gadol haya poh.”

~~~~~~~~

[loki-is-my-kink-awakening]

Dialogue Tag

Prompt: share a section of dialogue that we like from our own work! It can be funny, sad, ridiculous, mysterious, plot-centric or just characters shooting the breeze…anything! And it can be from a WIP or a posted fic! It can be short or long! Let’s celebrate our beloveds having a chat.

Thanks for the tag, @cha-melodius. Doing this made me realise I don’t always have that much back and forth dialogue in a lot of my fics, which was interesting. I think I am getting better with dialogue, so these two are recent works.

From Keeping Hope Alive, Mobius and Ravonna talking like besties.

“Stop it,” she hissed.

He raised his eyebrows, pretending to be surprised. “So, there is something?”

“It’s part of the job.”

“Uh huh.”

“You are ridiculous.”

Mobius smiled. He knew exactly what she’d done. Despite all her carefulness, Mobius knew Ravonna too well to not pick up on all the missing details.

“When did it happen?”

Ravonna scowled. “I’m not having this conversation.”

“Fine,” Mobius chuckled. “I’ll tell you about Loki instead.”

A growl escaped Ravonna. “If it’s anything like before, I don’t want to hear about it.”

“You sure?” Mobius teased. “Not even to stop me asking about Kang?”

From a WIP Stizzy/Steddyhands fic for the OFMD Reverse Big Bang, created with @unlovedhands. I love Buttons and I couldn't help but have Izzy and him talking, first mate to first mate.

“Hmmm.”

“What?” Izzy asks.

“Karl just said there’s another ship chasing us. It’s quite far behind, though. We should be able to board this ship, rob it and then store everything away before we have to face whoever it is.”

Izzy frowns. He looks at the bird, who seems to eye him back.

“He said all that in just a few squawks?”

“The language of birds is much more refined than ours. It’s a wonder we can say anything at all with how many words we need to use.”

Tagging: @insert-witty-user-name-here @xianvar @echo-bleu @rauchendesgnu @dapperwerewolf @highwarlockofphilly @mojowitchcraft @jesskier @kingeomer @kickassfu if you wanna do it.