#the most i have read fics since joining tumblr easily

[londonfoginacup]

A New Larrie’s Guide to Tumblr

A probably incomprehensible, certainly incomplete list of what you need to know; whether you’re coming from a different platform or discovering Larry for the first time. 

My credentials

Hello! I’m Emmu. I’ve had tumblr since… 2008? Maybe 2009. I moved over from deviantArt and used Tumblr as a personal art blog for many years. I joined the One Direction fandom in 2014, so my 1D blog has 8+ years at this point. That being said, I will get on my soapbox a bit during this. Please excuse me, I’m quite passionate about cultivating a happy and healthy fandom.

What makes Tumblr different

The biggest thing that makes Tumblr, as a site, different from Twitter or Instagram is the rejection of algorithms. The “following” tab on your dashboard is in chronological order (and if it isn’t, you can – and should – change that), and the “for you” tab is both a recent feature and rarely used. Tumblr has very little algorithm, and the algorithm they have isn’t very good. It means that you’ll get the most god awful ads you’ve ever seen on this site, because they don’t utilize your data well. And that’s to your advantage.

Tumblr is a great place because you can curate what you see more than other social media. The people that you choose to follow are the only people that you see on your dash (unless you choose to follow tags, which I guess is an option? @lululawrence says “it is and it used to not do anything unless you went to the search page and then it would like autofill your followed tags options, but NOW they take those followed tags and plop them on your dash... SOMETIMES. usually only on mobile. but if there's only one new post in the tag, it shows you that post OVER. AND OVER. AND OVER AGAIN. IT'S SUPER ANNOYING ACTUALLY. SO I STOPPED FOLLOWING TAGS. lol anyway”).

So, the site is in chronological order. This is its biggest selling point.

There is also the opportunity for long posts. Masterposts. Things that are searchable without having to read through pages of screenshots or condensed twitter threads. You can write a whole lot more without worrying about character limit. People publish whole fics on here (I suggest ao3 for that, but tumblr is technically an option!).

Another important thing to know about tumblr is that the archives on tumblr run deep. There are newer larries here, and a lot of them, but you can also find older larries. People whose 1D blogs go back to 2010 or 2011. You can dive into the archives and read firsthand accounts of what was happening with One Direction or larry at that very time. Doing a bit of research means you find cute fetus pictures of the boys, but also you’re able to figure out for yourself whether something actually happened. Rumors always seem to spread quite easily and fandom memory always seems impossibly short, but here on tumblr you’re able to find out for yourself. That means the next time you hear about how xyz thing happened a long time ago, check out some of those archives and see what you can find.

Also, my personal favorite part of tumblr is that old posts are just as valid as new posts. Find a masterpost about RBB and SBB from 2015? Go ahead and reblog that; bring it back to the circulating dash. People will love that. Find a fanartist that you really like? Search through their tags, reblog anything you want. It’s not considered stalking or weird in any way. We love bringing back old posts here. Tumblr is a website where you’re not meant to just talk about the present. 

The cultural difference between Tumblr and Twitter

Speaking of the ways that tumblr and twitter are different, let’s talk for a moment about the 1D fandom in particular.

I’ve held this theory for a while that the twitter (and instagram) algorithm is fracturing the fandom. Because twitter is so dependent on the algorithm, people are more likely to split apart and join smaller and smaller communities based on smaller, more specific opinions. Tumblr, being a place where you don’t just get a post on your dash because someone else liked it, doesn’t have those smaller cliques. There are larries, and there are antis.

(if you get really in the weeds, there are also larry shippers [who don’t believe they’re together but like to read it in fic], and houis [who think they were together but broke up], but I just don’t hear about them as much).

While I do occasionally hear about blouies on my dash, for the most part this is a culture that exists primarily on other sites. 

On another note, because tumblr doesn’t have that handy algorithm, we have to work to make it a more active space. Likes don’t do anything here for anyone other than you, and it doesn’t really change anything about what you’ll see on your dash. Think of them more like the bookmark setting on twitter or instagram. Reblogs are necessary to get anything spread. Anything that you enjoy, or that looks interesting for any reason? Reblog it! That’s the only way other people will see it! And leave a happy comment in the tags if you’ve got one (more on that later). 

And, while lurkers do exist in this fandom (and we love them), it’s important to get an icon and blog header that make you look like a real person. People on tumblr have long been in the habit of blocking shady blogs, mostly because of a bot problem, so if you want to lurk, you have to look like a lurker. Maybe reblog a post or two to establish yourself, and make sure you don’t accidentally look like an icon-less bot posing as a sugar daddy. 

How to set up your account

Okay, so you’ve got a tumblr. Let’s take a minute to fix up the settings so that you’re not getting, well, the worst version of the site. 

My advice is to start by going into your dashboard preferences and:

Turn off the best stuff first (it’ll just show you things you’ve already seen)

Turn off “include stuff in your orbit” (you’ll see terrible posts that are mostly NOT in your orbit)

Turn off “Included based on your likes” (again, you’ll see posts you hate)

Turn off “shorten long posts”. It’s a ridiculous setting that, like many things on tumblr, had potential but was rolled out in an incredibly unhelpful and user unfriendly way.

Once you’ve got that squared away, go into filtering and block any tags and content you don’t like, as that is always proper fandom etiquette. Not seeing things you don’t like is your responsibility, not the responsibility of the person posting them. I personally suggest adding the topics you don’t want to see to both the content list and the filtered tags list, as that gives a much better likelihood of posts that are particularly unsavory for you getting caught by the filters. Please also note this might need to be done on both desktop and the app separately as, depending on where tumblr is at the moment, these filters do not always carry over from one application to the other.

Now scroll down to tumblr labs. These are their experimental things. Some are good! Some are very bad. They do change, though, so this might get out of date pretty fast.

Personally, I enabled fast queue

And disabled everything else

ALSO, an important note, if you are using the apple app, you need to go in and turn off the adult content filter. No idea offhand where that is, but it means posts that include tags like “mine” and “girl” are blocked. It’s ridiculous. 

Who to follow and how to find them

So, you’ve got a new tumblr and need people to follow. This makes sense! To really fill up your dash, I’d suggest the following

Find one person you like. There’s a good chance you know at least someone from twitter who also has a tumblr, so you can start there. If you’re not from twitter, or are looking to start fresh, you can dive into the search function (I’ve never tried finding someone this way myself, but searching larry stylinson or something similar would probably get you started)

Find the people they reblog from and check out each of their blogs! Follow people that make you happy

Follow some update accounts! Thinking of some off the top of my head, there’s @HLUpdate, @Stylesnews, @dailytomlinson, @HLDailyUpdate, or @neilswaterbottles (there’s definitely more though). 

Follow some fanart or fic rec accounts! 

I’d always suggest @1d-fanart or @hlcreators for art. 

For fic, you could check out @hlficlibrary, @ficsyoumayhavemissed, or @thelarriefics. 

Or, recurring fic fests! @onedirectionbigbang or @wordplayfics, which happen every year.

And if you end up not enjoying someone you’ve followed? Unfollow them! It’ll make you happier.

How to interact with posts

Tumblr is all about tags. Do you have a comment or thought? Reblog a post and say your thought in the tags. That way anyone you follow will see it, and the person who made the post will see it. This way a post doesn’t end up with a lot of cluttery additions that don’t mean a lot to the average person reblogging it, but if you browse the tags of posts you’ll find lots of interesting things. Tags can be used to keep track of things, too, of course — some people tag all pictures with who’s in them, or tag art or fic with tags that mean they can find them again. Tags are versatile! But reblog, don’t just like, and tag! The more you interact, the happier content creators are!

What not to do

Don’t repost. If you see something you like on tumblr, reblog it. Even if it’s a really old piece of fanart (like circa 2011). Reblog that old post! Reposting means people don’t get credit, and it doesn’t link back to them. That’s not cool, and in the long term makes fandom less happy.

How to cultivate a happy and healthy fandom

Send happy anons! Ask how people are doing, do question memes, say how much you loved fic/art/edits, etc.

Reblog art. Reblog fic. Reblog what makes you laugh. The more you reblog, the more other people see, the more the fandom moves! Content creators just want their things seen; every time you reblog, their phone gets that little notification and you’ve given someone a bit of happiness.

Unfollow people who annoy you. Follow people who make you happy!

If someone has a take about 1D that you don’t agree with, don’t tell them or send them argumentative anons. Find people who will agree with you, and complain to them privately. Or make your own post, not shading anyone, just presenting your own opinion and theories!

Remember that everyone is a real person. Cut them some slack when you find them being annoying. But also, unfollow. Curate your dash.

[kedreeva]

hi Ked! hope the snakewatching is going well. I've been meaning to ask, because I know you've been writing fanfiction for quite a while: do you ever feel as though community engagement has trended down over the years? and if so, do you have any advice for fighting the feeling that you're wasting your time/energy for a silent audience that just consumes and moves on?

I think it has, but I think it hasn't. But I think our perspective on it has changed, vastly.

The thing is, fandom back in the day was just plain old smaller and more tightly-knit by necessity. Before the net was so big, spaces we could go were limited, mostly fan-controlled, often difficult to find, sometimes clunky to use if you were learning (waving at IRC, hello, I hate you still), and due to all of this were often just... smaller. You could know MOST of the people in a fandom space. You had some degree of genial relationship with readers because you talked to them. Archives outside of ff.net were common, curated spaces with amounts of fic that were relatively consumable in total, as in you could go to a fan-run archive, read every piece of fiction there, and then have to find a new one, which probably had at least some of the same fic on it. Even ff.net, a lot of the fandoms present in the early days it was just like. you had 20 fics, you had 100 fics, whatever the number was, and because the spaces were small and the population online was smaller than now, there just... weren't enough creators to constantly have access to new fic or art. I remember waiting for archives to update their collections because most of them you couldn't just add your work to yourself. And I remember that the best way to encourage that to happen faster was to go and get the creator worked up/excited about their thing again by talking to them about it.

Now, fandom is easily accessible. Now, there are platforms all over the place. If you don't like the section of fandom you're in, it's easy to find another, even within the same platform. Don't like this part of tumblr? Block some people and follow others. Don't like this discord server? leave and join a different one (or make one). Don't like twitter/instagram/tiktok/tumblr/livejournal/wattpad/pillowfort/whatever the fuck other platform? Try a different one!

I am grateful for this sprawl. I'm grateful for fandom being easy for everyone to access, for it being so much easier to find somewhere you can settle and have others who like things you like. I think everyone should have a home.

But that does mean sometimes fandom spreads thin. It does mean that instead of 100 creators, there could be a thousand. There could be two thousand. And instead of one place to find it all, there's a gabillion.

But... the amount of story and art a single human being is physically capable of finding and interacting with (reading, viewing, commenting on etc) hasn't gone up. I can only read at the pace I read at, same for anyone. The fandom I'm in has created AT LEAST 29,000 works in the last 11 months, on one platform (AO3). That's almost 90 fics a day for 11 months. And I know for a fact that not all of the stuff that's been written gets posted there, that's just the stuff I KNOW for SURE has been written since a specific date because I searched a character tag for a character that didn't exist before a certain date.

I don't know about you, but I'm not Readers Georg. I can't engage with every fic in a fandom anymore. I can't even engage with a tenth of the fic in fandom anymore just to purely read it, and by the time I'm done reading one, there's 7 more to take its place.

So, I don't think engagement has trended downward so much as I think it's spread out as fandom spreads out. I think it's more important now than it was before, to try to actively engage with creators, because of this. And I think it's important for creators to try to engage back, too. But I also know it's impossible to go back to how things were, and impossible to make a large fandom behave the way a small fandom did. I also also know that if you ever go into a small fandom, like a rarepair, you will almost certainly see an echo of the past with regards to engagement. I wrote a couple things for small fandoms more recently, and because they have far, far less fic available, they seemed to comment more on what was there. They engaged in community ways, going back and forth in comments instead of just "good job""thanks" the end. they have more time for it. A small enough fandom may go days or weeks without new fic, leaving them time to do those sorts of things, without the fear they're missing out on one of today's 90+ fics.

I can't offer any kind of quick fix, because I don't think it's necessarily broken. But I can say that you should always try to be the change you want to see. When you read something, leave the kind of comment you'd want to get. There's another fic around the corner, yes, but you can't read 90+ fics a day for 11 months straight. And neither can anyone else, and remembering that might put it into perspective.

If you want community, read the OTHER COMMENTS when you read stuff, and engage with the other readers; if anything, THAT is the major missing factor in this day... readers engaging each other over fan creations, rather than just creator-> consumer or consumer-> creator. The most fun i ever had writing on AO3 was when I was writing Siren's Song and readers started talking to each other in the comments about what would happen. A whole little community sprung up around readers talking to each other about what happened after one of my other fics ended. I think that's a missing element that often goes unspoken, and maybe that could help a lot if you feel like the audience is silent. Maybe they are. Maybe they don't know it's okay to talk to each other, too. Go into the audience and make some noise.

[eldritch-spouse]

HELLOOOOO (⁠人⁠*⁠´⁠∀⁠｀⁠)⁠｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+

First of all, i love ur content so much holy shit, like just the world building is amazing but also the really well written characters AND THE LORE, so good, just *chef's kiss* and the fact English is not ur first language always takes me by surprise bc your writing is so good 🙏 like I love reading about ocs and the likes, but yours is definitely my favourite :')

Seconly, I'm here on my knees,asking, if perhaps you could write a small fic/more headcanons on how it'll be like to be in a poly relationship with Obie,Mervin, and Ludwig?

You wrote about it slightly before and since then i couldn't take it out of my brain😔

P.S- i wonder, how long did you have the idea about Krulu and Admin, and The Clergy, and the entire wrold-building before you decided to publish it on Tumblr?

Anyway, that is all, HAVE A GOOD NIGHT/MORNING AND A GREAT CHRISTMAS 🥰💜💜🥳🥳🥳😚😚

[AAAhjldc- Thenk, that genuinely makes me shriek with happiness, I'm glad you're enjoying the stuff! I can't really do ya a fic in a timely manner, so I'm going to ramble if you don't mind. :V]

It's already been discussed that Ludwig is the first one to meet you, and interacting with him on his own is nothing out of ordinary. You'd never expect that he has two other, utterly insane siblings, that he's in fact just as batshit mental, just better at hiding it. Truly, putting all three together is the key to seeing their true nature.

While Lud is the one to introduce you to his brothers, Mervin is actually the first one that'll declare this dynamic a relationship. There will be a lot of confusion for you initially, as you're getting swayed into romantic situations with each of the brothers seemingly behind the other's back. You're likely to reach a breaking point, and confront all three about it- Only to have the fork tell you something among the lines of "What do you mean, dipshit?! We've all been dating you for weeks now." And while it's far from a gentle nudge, if he hadn't told you that to the face, the other brothers would have taken much longer to make a statement.

The most affectionate of the bunch is Obie. Out of the trio, he's got the less hangups about physical touch and will often drape himself over you like a blanket. Lud and Merv definitely think he overdoes it and will make efforts to either join or rip you away from the glutton. This is easier said than done.

Ludwig and Mervin will be investing in your self-defense skill, as you'll eventually be brought into the Common Ring of Hell to meet Katia. Mervin teaches you directly how to fight with or without weapons, and your opponent is almost always Ludwig, because it kind of gets him off to fight you. By the end of this, you'll be able to hopefully buy yourself some time if a more powerful demon attempts to make a victim out of you.

Katia is a very nice lady who's just happy to see her boys found love, you'll be accepted into her heart without issue and you'll definitely get to see the ever elusive baby demon pictures. There's nothing cuter than seeing a picture of baby Ludwig putting Mervin in a chokehold while Obie's standing by their side, casually eating a pillow. That album is a bit cursed... But Katia does want a picture of you four together! Speaking of, she's here when you have trouble with any of them okay? If they start getting any funny ideas, she's just a call away. You're likely to be quickly escorted away by the three heathens when sloth mama starts mentioning grandkids.

Ludwig is the designated piggyback ride giver.

Obie is oftentimes oblivious to your flirts, Mervin has to hit him over the head and whisper the obvious.

It may seem like Mervin has more brain cells, but he does not, that's Ludwig's unwanted privilege. Nonetheless, the prideful demon often spearheads most outings.

Mervin is somehow more easily flustered than Obie by your antics. The hardest to fluster is Ludwig, but when it does happen, he gets quiet and extremely blushy, so pat yourself in the back.

As mentioned before, fighting between them over the smallest thing is common, and even healthy for demons, but some fights will be started purely because they want you to wedge in-between and give them attention.

Obie is the one that lends you clothes the most, although Mervin disagrees with this because the glutton is a "slob" and "has no taste".

The three are trying to decipher how to propose to you and can't reach an agreement. Ludwig argues they should polish the skulls of their enemies and put the wedding ring on one of the horns. Mervin can't afford the ring he wants so he's just going to steal it. With a lot of effort. Obie wants to do it with a massive feast that'll put even Vorticia to shame. Needless to say, it's going to be a very bizarre proposal.

I can't think of more right now, but you can always ask. <:1

[fulltimeviking]

I'm gonna throw your question right back at you!

Please give me your list of httyd recs. Just, all your favorites. The ones that are classic to you.

Sorry it’s taken so long to answer but !!!!!!!!! I love you for this ask alkjdhkahgdlks.

What’s awkward is that I don’t really have many titles to give you because aside from the fact I don’t read fanfic that often most of my favourites aren’t just straight up fics, they’re mostly short Tumblr drabbles or fanfic.net exclusives that have since vanished from the face of the earth 😭 but I can definitely still name some.  

So my favourite Drabble writers that come to mind are CuriosityRedux/Hiilikedragons and Avannak - I couldn’t name any particular fics haha but they’re just total nostalgia bombs for me. Hiilikedragons was maybe the first Tumblr blog I ever followed back in 2014 when I joined the fandom, and I used to keep up to date on her countdown to httyd 2 drabbles religiously. There’s something I can’t quite place about Avannak’s writing as well that I’ve always really admired. I think the way they write the characters manages to feel both true to the source material whilst still having their own unique spin on them? without feeling false or out of character? Especially for their httyd 2 era fics I just get lost in those so easily. 

Also she’s not really written many fics I don’t think, I think she mostly just did head canons but I have to mention how much I loooooved edge-of-bizarre’s modern au’s back in 2014, especially the beach fics omg - the entire gang getting up to frat kid activities, deffo my guilty pleasure (and idgaf about an oc usually but I really loved grimhilda and tuffnut 😭)

As for FIC Fics:

One of my favourites that I haven’t read in FOREVER… I don’t actually know the name of or who wrote it lmao. I have mentioned it before on this page though, it’s a short one that takes place right after the events of the second movie and it’s about Astrid’s guilty conscience over leading Drago to Valka’s sanctuary, Stoick’s death, the siege on Berk etc. It’s so good and angsty and I love it so bad, just wish I could find it and read it again (this is also a cry for help, if you know who might’ve wrote it PLEASE let me know I’ll owe u my life)

Some others off the top of my head that are rlly good are Ripped by Tysonrunningfox and The Elements of Surprise by Ecoutez! 

There are so many more writers and fics that I know I love that I’ve forgotten to mention haha, but these are the ones I have on bookmark that I revisit the most! Thank you so much for asking it genuinely made my day when I saw this in my inbox (however many months ago that was now 💀).

If anyone knows of any good fics/writers like the ones I’ve mentioned as well pleaseeee give me some recs or tag your favourites, cos I’d love to read ‘em! 

[crestfallercanyon]

weekly tag wednesday ☁️

thanks for the tag @mmmichyyy!!! Been a while since I've actually done one of these but I'm always excited to see others tags <3

name: crest

age: late 20s

your time zone: actually currently it's mountain time but that's not typical.

what do you do for work? I'm an attorney.

do you have any pets? yes, I have one cat, he's adorable.

what first drew you to this fandom? admittedly I at first started seeing gifsets, and then I realized they were coming from a beloved mutual @go-catch-a-chickn and I was slowly becoming obsessed and wanted to know more about the show, talked to my sibling who has already seen Shameless too, and then when I finally made the plunge everyone was SO NICE and LOVELY! So while I'm back to being a bit on the fringes (of all things fandom lately, not just Shameless) I do still adore it.

are you a morning person or a night owl? quite genuinely I am both and neither. It really depends on how well I've slept, how much time to myself I feel I've had, or how busy I am.

what are your hobbies? writing, getting back into drawing, video games, hiking, I play an instrument in my community orchestra as well, as well as others.

how tall are you? 5'4ish?

if you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live? I don't know actually -- some days I just want to go back to the midwest, other days I want to live in New York and experience that. I'm pretty happy where I'm at, though.

favorite color? green

favorite book? Oof, favorites are really hard. I don't know if I have a true favorite book, just recency bias lmao. I absolutely loved This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. However, I will say, I actually reread The Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff Vandermere (particularly the first two books, Annihilation and Authority) fairly often. It is one of the most compelling stories I've read, and every time I reread it I catch a new clue as to what's going on and a new creepy detail.

favorite movie? Steel Magnolias. No other movie makes me laugh and cry as hard as that one does.

favorite fic? there's so many, I've read in so many different fandoms, too, this isn't really quantifiable. That being said, I probably reread Stag and Wolf, Wyvern and Rabbit by deadlifts (Fire Emblem Three Houses Claude/Felix fic) the most. I've also read Ready (Maze Runner Gally/Minho fic) by comebacknow a lot. They're both amazing, I greatly recommend.

favorite musical artist: glass animals and the japanese house. this is also subject to change all the time, but I adore these two for sure.

what is your average screen time so far this week? way too fucking high. I've been easily distracted recently.

what’s the first app you open in the morning? this will date me for sure -- probably snapchat. i've got streaks with friends spanning years, not about to let 'em die.

how long have you been on tumblr? not until around the pandemic area, think 2021? My vibe screams I was on tumblr when I was a preteen, but when I was a kid we only had one computer for the whole house and it was ancient -- which means I never got to use it and had actually never heard of tumblr until after it "died" the first time.

finally (and i know this one is hard) tell me a fun fact about yourself: no one ever expects it, but I'm actually a pretty good dancer, and I love to go salsa dancing.

no pressure tags: @go-catch-a-chickn, @michellemisfit, @jrooc, @callivich, and anyone else who wants to join!

[girls-are-weird]

MASTER LIST: One Fic for Each Fandom [A-I]

i've been working on this for months now, y'all, i'm so tired. Dx

many, soooo many years ago, i came up with the idea of recommending one fic, not necessarily the best or biggest or most popular fic, but definitely my ultimate favorite fic for every fandom i was in at the time or had been in at some point up to then. there are some fics i love so much that i go back to them periodically, maybe every couple of years, even if i'm not active in that fandom anymore. so i thought having a list of them somewhere i could easily find them was a pretty good idea.

narrator: she forgot where to "easily" find the list.

but i still liked the idea a lot, and i told myself when i found the list again, i would update it with fics for all the fandoms i've joined/read for since then. well, a couple of days as of the first drafting of this post, i finally found my original list on my old livejournal (christ, i'm old) and decided i would start on that update, but to post on my tumblr blog instead.

so here it is. they're not all romance, though most of these will include one or more of my favorite ships for their respective fandom (which you can find at my ships archive), even if it's just in the background. some of the fics are the same as i had in my original list, but some of them are not, simply because i've found fics i love even more since then. needless to say, most of those that were 'ported from my original list are quite old or written before canon was finished (the list is from 2006… please refrain from commenting if you weren't born back then, lol. i'm acutely aware that my early fandom life is basically ancient history to most of you). even some from more recent fandoms might be pretty old or non-canon-compliant, simply because i've been collecting fandoms since time immemorial. some might contain elements that would be considered problematic in this day and age. some might be unfinished. they're all special to me in some way.

some fandoms seem to have slipped through the cracks in the transition between FFN (where favorites and alerts are very organized but i always forgot to use them, and there's no read history) and AO3 (where subscriptions and history are unreliable and impossible to search through, and there's no way to see which fics you've left kudos on)-- srsly, how hard is it to just save everything in this age of big data? smdh. some of the links might not work, as you might imagine-- it'll take me some time to find new links, or to figure out if the fic is still even on the internet. if you've heard of these fics and know where they can be currently found, please let me know! because of that reason, i haven't listed ratings for every single one, though i've tried to add that in where i can find it. still, i hope this is helpful for someone, and i'm going to keep it pinned on my blog so i NEVER, EVER forget where it is again (and can regularly update it as i am sucked into more fandoms).

back in the day, i had hoped this format could catch on as a meme type of thing, so that other people could take it as a template and make their own fandom recs lists. so i'd love to see yours! be sure to tag me if you decide to do this. :)

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[ FANDOMS A-I BELOW, J-Z HERE ]

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THE ADVENTURES OF SHIRLEY HOLMES

the case of the mysterious man (and sequels!) by HA senidal / @ha-senidal (PG/T).

with newcomer blake hewitt joining her and bo, shirley investigates a stranger who might know something about the recently stolen mona lisa.

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AA! MEGAMI-SAMA / OH! MY GODDESS

no mere mortal (and sequels!), by ed sharpe.

keiichi's cousin kenji comes to visit the temple for a week. what mischief will he get in with the three goddesses?

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AGENT CARTER

renegades by inkdust / @ink-dust (M).

or, peggy & daniel against the world

the real world doesn't have a hollywood ending. in fact it doesn't even pause. but they're a team. a wonderful team.

post-finale.

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ANNE WITH AN E

the secret of distance by lil_redhead / @royalcordelia (T).

anne and gilbert embark on their journeys, but stay close to each other at heart. courting across 1000 miles isn't easy, but they're more than willing to step up to the task. (a post s3 story).

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ARTEMIS FOWL

endings and beginnings by novawastaken / @nova-fanart-dump (T).

begins right after the second to last chapter of the last guardian and continues on to the final chapter and beyond. spoilers for the last guardian! SPOILERS! no romance in here, but artemis/holly romance in the epilogue.

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ATTACK ON TITAN

stress relief by pepin-bones (M).

soldiers lead stressful lives, which means they need ways to unwind and cope with the stress of what they see and what they do - sometimes in unconventional ways. but eren thinks it's ridiculous, or at least he did…

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AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER

annakpok by dariussobreitus (E).

a "stolen" wife amdist a world rebuilding after a century of war, a repentant fire nation trying to redeem its wrongs and earn good deeds. excuse for invasion or not, the wife who left the northern tribe chief will be reclaimed, even if the poles of the south, and the capital city of the southern tribe, annakpok, must melt.

an AU of the avatar series with events inspired by the movie troy and their versions of the illiad. there will be differences, in both characters and events, with emphasis on key characters, battles, war, strategy and hopefully some the nuance within.

while serving in similar roles to the illiad/troy counterparts, the avatar characters are very much themselves and not heavily influenced by the illiad characterizations.

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BACCANO!

the successful wooing of chane laforet by splashfree (T).

“i’m in love with you, chane laforet,” he says. “and at the end of the day, that’s all there is to it.”

claire and chane go on a date. wackiness ensues.

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BANANA FISH

fool for lesser things by snow_falls / @nightofviolet (E).

"he knew irrefutably that if eiji left he would take something fundamental to ash with him, and without that, what would be the point in living? he might as well have let Foxx finish him, if he was going to cop out now. no, sing was right, the little brat, what the fuck would be the point if he didn’t go with eiji? god, he was an idiot."

or the fix it fic we all need. the alternate ending i cherish in my heart of hearts.

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BLEACH

next, home by inlay (T).

rukia was sitting in his room the first time he opened his eyes after. he does not know if this was a dream, or reality—remembers only that she looked very pale, and that there was a small, black hell butterfly perched on her finger. in this vision, she looked startlingly similar to the girl who used to crouch on his windowsill before school, shiny black shoes and black hair. he watched her for as long as his eyes could stay open, waiting for her to notice him and tell him what was happening. the battle hadn't felt like the deciding, dramatic finale he'd been subconsciously expecting, and he keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop.

what next?

(or, sometimes it takes a couple lifetimes to learn the difference between a love and a soulmate)

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THE BOOK THIEF

a changing of hands by antistar_e (kaikamahine) / @kaikamahine (T).

it happens like this, in a single fateful moment. a pilot sneezes, and the bombs, when they fall, are off-target. [AU].

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CAPTAIN PLANET

heroes for earth (and sequels!) by stephensmat (T).

our world is in peril. the conscious soul of the earth is aware that since the error is ours, the power to stop the chaos must be ours as well. an updated retelling of the series pilot. an origin story based on the premise of the show.

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CARD CAPTOR SAKURA

haikei (and its sequel, kitaku), by ciircee (PG/M).

when eriol left japan tomoyo promised to write. a history of time, in letters. ExT. part of third arc universe.

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COWBOY BEBOP

tuesday's gone by neviana (M).

she always had a way of surprising him. everything from emptying her glock into the ceiling of the bebop when he left to the icy glare she gave him upon his return. though somehow, this stunt seemed to top them all … spikeXfaye.

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DANCING WITH THE LION SERIES / ALEXANDER TRILOGY / ALEXANDER THE GREAT RPF

non frustra vixis by aramley, meretricula / @meretricula (NR).

in 2008, the previously all-women st. hilda's college at oxford began admitting men. in 2009, classics afficionado, rowing prodigy, and all-around posh bastard alexander macedon decided his new ambition was to join his best friend at hilda's and start a men's rowing dynasty.

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DARK

face your fears by narrative_bear (T).

the inevitability of an event doesn’t necessarily make it any easier to experience. the recent birth of mikkel nielsen weighs heavily on michael kahnwald, who begins to withdraw from his family. in an effort to reconnect with his wife and son, michael decides to accompanies them to the nielsens’ where he is forced to confront his past.

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DERRY GIRLS

maybe someday series by areseebee / @areseebee (T).

capturing moments when james and erin are growing up and growing together at 17, 19, and 27.

these fics all take place in the same timeline and build on the overall story in each part. while personal space can stand on its own, smoke break and someday are best enjoyed as companion pieces.

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DIGIMON ADVENTURE

if you by chichamunkyhead.

sora poses as yama's girlfriend… sorato, takari, jyoumi, hint of kenyako. that's all of a summary you're getting!

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DRAGON BALL/Z/GT

automatic flowers (and sequels!) by rayne.

running away was never the way of the son family and pan son learns this lesson the hard way as she returns home to face a problem she never could quite solve.

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THE DRAGON PRINCE

a delicate arrangement by jelly / @jelzorz (M).

it’s not that it’s a bad idea. in all honesty, ezran thinks it’s a well thought-out, completely reasonable, perfectly sound idea that could solve a lot of his own problems, callum’s problems, and katolis’ problems, in one fell swoop - if it works, that is. it’s a little risky, he’ll admit, but it’s not the same as, say, running away from home at ten years old with his brother and a moonshadow elf assassin (whose mission was to kill him, mind) to return a dragon egg in the midst of a centuries-long war, and hey, they’d managed that all right. compared to that mess, politics should be easy, right?

right?

[or, the arranged marriage rayllum romantic drama no one asked for]

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FINAL FANTASY VIII

new seed (and sequels!) by klepto_maniac0 / @klepto-maniac0 (E).

an accidental start to something not so innocent. how far can a relationship run on pure lust before it turns into something else? set in a time when things haven't gone downhill yet.

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FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST (2003 ANIME)

he who searches for himself, by yuuki hikari / weatheringtea / @weatheringtea (M).

this story continues on fullmetal alchemist where episode 51 finished off. alternate ending to the series, not based on the movie. FMA gen!fic. characters and events up to 51 are included. the rating is for language and later violence.

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GUNDAM WING

a toast to the bride and groom, by orla.

in this fic by orla, duo made the mistake of opening the floor for speeches at his wedding. see what everyone has to say.

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HARRY POTTER

paradigm of uncertainty (and sequels!), by lori summers.

carla says: this fanfic series is the bible for any self-respected H/Hr shipper. lori's a wonderful storyteller. it is SO well-constructed.

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HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON

persephone by sunflowerb (M).

she was meant to be the price for peace; her life in exchange for the dragon master's mercy. her captor wasn't supposed to be a ghost from her past, and she wasn't supposed to become his ally…or his lover. and when news spreads of a blonde-haired girl at the dragon master's side, there will be repercussions for dragons and vikings alike. AU. hiccstrid. multichap

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THE HUNGER GAMES

lone star state of mine by jenye (M).

modern AU. there are three types of people in dawson, texas: those who are trying to flee, those who embrace their small town fate, and the mellarks. mellark ranch; largest cattle ranch south of dallas, employer of ranch hand, katniss everdeen, and home of the ohio state buckeyes' running back, peeta mellark. and peeta mellark is coming back home today.

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INUYASHA

dressing wounds (and sequels!), by personification of fluff.

SM [completed] rated R for citrusy situations. when sango finds out how much miroku cares for her, it's the battle of the sexes! the prize? sango's heart, of course. fluff-filled chapters, and an attempt to break every cliche and fill each plothole!

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[ FANDOMS J-Z HERE ]

[sephyathredon-writing]

Today is my 10th Anniversary of being on Ao3!

Hello everyone! I have been publishing fics on Ao3 for a whole 10 years! In that time, I have published a whole 67 fics, a number which I'm very proud of (and two of those are longfics with three chapters each).

I plan on ranking almost every fic I've written (I may exclude the ones from the epic and MCSM fandoms even though they're the earliest ones there), because I've noticed that there are some that I felt I could have definitely improved on. That will be in a different post though, hopefully sometime today. I plan to do a breakdown in this one.

First up, statistics.

Almost 200,000 word count, 20k left to go before I hit that, so I think that'll be one of my goals for 2024 (which I should hit easily if I write even half the stuff I have planned)

Almost 45k hits too! I'm surprised that my fics are that popular. I'm grateful to everyone who's ever read my fics!

An interesting lineup for sure. It's no surprise that the Breath of the Wild stuff is popular, but I am surprised to see my quirky Zack time travel fic up there. Also, congrats to "Watch It All Fall" for being so new and still being number four on this chart. That's impressive.

"Break Like Time", "Birdsong", and "Watch It All Fall" are on this one too, but in different positions. Not surprising to see "Kiss of Life" on here too, considering it's another BoTW fic.

I am not at all surprised to see "Watch It All Fall" taking the lead in this category. It surprised me with just how many comments it got in the few days since I put it up. Neither am I surprised to see "The Reason We Rise, We Rise" Since it's a longfic that's fairly new and stars characters from Crisis Core.

Actually, the only one of these that doesn't have multiple chapters is "To Break Like Time". "Through the Storm" is an old fic from when I was in the Epic (BlueSky 2013) fandom. It has two chapters and I'm surprised a fic for such a niche fandom managed to get 7 comments.

I am kind of surprised to see "Rude of the Turks" (10,053 words) standing toe to toe with my three chapter Crisis Core fic (12,557 words). At the same time, though, I am not. Rude of the Turks details Rude's life from when he was young, to when he met Reno, to the moment he joined the Turks, and also shows how his life turn out post meteorfall. You need a lot of words to write something like that.

What I am really surprised by is "The Night that Nibelheim Burned" (9,347 words) being there, higher than "Watch It All Fall" (8,342 words) Which is also three chapters long.

Now time for the Psued breakdown!

With the addition of my new Nimona Psued, I have officially made 10 of them! They are:

Diplomatic Translator (4 fics)

For my Dragon Prince fics, named after my blog of the same name on Tumblr. I shipped Gren and Amaya before another ship with Amaya became canon. All these fics are Gren-centric, except for Silent Songs.

FFVI_Stories (2 fics)

For my Final Fantasy 6 fics. I am no longer interested in this fandom anymore, but there is a story about Shadow and another one about Sabin and Gau on there.

Leafman_Finn (4 fics)

This was originally my name when I started my Ao3 account, but when I realized I really wanted to publish more than just epic fics, I changed my main Ao3 to match my main blog here on Tumblr and this became a Psued.

Lukas_the_Loyal (3 fics)

A Psued for another dead fandom. I really loved MCSM back in the day and shipped Lukesse (Lukas and Jesse, specifically Male Jesse). Despite that, my fics are varied. "Vanish" is the Lukesse one. "Unraveling" is about Jack dealing with Nurm being left behind, and "Aftermath" is my favorite MCSM one about Lukas and Petra.

Luminary_Oleander (6 fics)

For my Dragon Quest XI fics. I played the game a long time ago and really loved shipping the Luminary with Erik. Most of these fics are Luminerik, but there's a good variety of interactions with other party members (I like Hendrik and Sylvando too!).

Misc-SephyAthredon (9 fics)

For fics in fandoms that I don't want to make another Psued for (Though I really should make one for BoTW and ToTK). Fandoms include BoTW/ToTK, Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, Persona 5, and a singular fanfic for Jak and Daxter that I wrote for Whumptober. The BoTW/ToTK fics are all Sidlink (Sidon x Link), the Jak and Daxter one is Jak x Torn, P5 is Akira x Yusuke, and one out of two of the GAA ones are Ryunosuke x Kazuma, both fics also heavily feature Barok Van Zieks.

SephyAthredon (16 fics)

As you can probably tell by the high fic count, this is my main Psued. All fics under this one are Final Fantasy VII fics. It's my main fandom. I have a variety of them too. I mentioned my quirky Zack Time Travel fic before, then there's my long fic which is about Zack and Sephiroth leaving Shinra with a very sick Cloud in tow. There's also a small fic about Hojo experimenting on Cloud and making his party members watch, and another small fic about Cloud defending Denzel from burglers. There are also a couple of fics I find a little embarrassing by now, staring a FFVII version of Terra from KH. I loved that AU for him so much that I wrote fics based on it. Still, they're part of my history on Ao3 and I still love "The Execution" even if it might seem silly to an outsider. I feel like I wrote it believably enough for it not to be a glorified self insert fic. Shoutout to "IvaliceForever" on Ao3 for enjoying this AU too and being the only people to comment on those fics. I started publishing fics in the FFVII fandom when I did my first Whumptober and the rest was history.

Tired-Teacher (6 fics)

Back when I was in the My Hero Academia fandom, I would write a lot of stuff about Aizawa. He was my favorite, still is my favorite from that fandom. I particularly liked the father-like relationship that the fandom gave him with Eri. I also shipped EraserMic and EraserMight. "A Hero on the Brink" is my stand out favorite fic here. While I wish I could re-write some parts, I love the atmosphere overall. "Under the Rubble" and "Held Hostage" are also good fics. Half of the fics here are EraserMic, and the other half focuses on Aizawa as a parent of some sort. "A Hero On the Brink" is about Aizawa's somewhat paternal relationship with the students of Class 1-A. "A Fatherly Touch" Is about his paternal relationship with Eri", and "Broken Engines" Is about a platonic relationship specifically with Iida (since he's my second favorite character).

Whumping Ambrosius (9 fics)

And now we come to my newest Psued for the Nimona fandom! When I watched Nimona, I fell in love and I wanted to write a million things for it. All of Whumptober last year was Nimona themed as a result. This Psued may be called Whumping Ambrosius, but lets be honest, I whump both halves of the Golenheart ship. It's apparently what I do to ships that I really enjoy XD All of these fics are Goldenheart (Ballister x Ambrosius). I fell in love with the ship as much as I fell in love with the movie. There will continue to be more fics in this Psued, I guarantee it.

Willful_Wayfarer (8 fics)

Named after my Blog here on Tumblr, this Psued contains all of my Kingdom Hearts fics. It was originally made for me to publish Terra-centric fics in, but in the last few years, I found myself becoming really interested in the Strifehart ship, thanks to a blog on Tumblr who I'm really good friends with that had a Squall/Leon blog. Naturally, that meant that I started writing Strifehart fics. Two of my favorite ones are "Calming the Beast" (Which I affectionately call my "Domestic werewolf AU") and "Shot in the Dark" (Which has not only Cloud and Leon but Sora in it too, and Sora is the one getting whumped.)

Whew, that was a lot. One more thing before I finish the post. I want to do a round up of all the events I participated in!

So, right of the bat. I've participated in 4 years of Whumptobers, which is very impressive, I think. No matter how much or how little I feel like writing, It's always a tradition for me to set aside a whole month to write every October. You can tell how much energy I have for writing by how many fics I put out.

The fic that kicked off the tradition was a Dragon's Dogma fic that I didn't put on Ao3. It's called "The First Fall of Aiden The Arisen" and it's not hard to find here if you want to read, but since it includes my own personal Arisen and Pawn, I didn't think it had a place on Ao3.

FFVII Secret Spring 2021

Entry: To Break Like Time

Gift: SOLDIER of Hubris

I am not joking when I told you I outlined "To Break Like Time" in a few days and banged out the whole fic in a weekend. It was exhilarating. It was quite a magical thing to be able to do something like that, even if I didn't entirely like the fic that came out at the end. I think I liked it more before I actually published it. "SOLDIER of Hubris" was an amazing fic to get as a gift. As much as I adore shipping Cloud and Zack, I also have a weak spot for polyshipping him with Aerith and Tifa. Not to mention Cloud gets whumped, and back then Cloud whump was my favorite type of whump.

FF7 Fanworks Exchange '21

Entry: Flowers for Zack

Gift: Fragile Peace

I'm not a big fan of the one that I wrote for this exchange, but I like the idea. It was hard to put together and the ending was pretty rushed, but I did like the parts with Cissnei. I think I remember this one being slow to actually plan out and put together. "Fragile Peace" was a cute little fic of Cloud being a dad and was everything that I could have asked for in a fic. Incredibly, tooth rottingly fluffy, which is a little odd, since I usually ask for whump, but this time I wanted something about Cloud being a dad.

2021 FFVII Secret Santa

Entry: The Night That Nibelheim Burned

Gift: Sulphur and Cinders

I really remember liking the challenge of tacking Kunsel in this Exchange. He's a character that everyone brings their own unique characteristics too since up until Crisis Core Reunion came out, he didn't even have his own voice, and we still don't know what he looks like. I also enjoyed messing around with a text message and e-mail format for this fic. "Sulphur and Cinders" is a good little fic fulfilling one of the prompts that I was curious about when I finished the Remake. "What if Hojo got to tell Cloud that he wasn't a real member of SOLDIER?" This fic tackles that idea really well and in such a whumpy way.

FF7 Fanworks Exchange '22

Entry: Rude of the Turks

Gift: A Hollow Chest and Warmth

Rude was an interesting character to tackle for one of the Exchanges. He's so different from any other character I write, being so stoic and all. Before then, the only Turk I had really ever tackled when it comes to writing was Cissnei. However, once I had the idea that Rude was from Corel and his full name was "Rudolph", I took the idea and ran with it. The actual crux of the fic, though, was the decision that the beads that hang off Rude's pants in his character model are prayer beads. Well, Rude didn't strike me as a particularly religious man, so they had to be important to him in some other way. So I decided they were the only thing he had to remind him of his mother. Then the fic took off from there. "A Hollow Chest and Warmth" is a fresh take on a Zack lives AU. It features a significantly weaker Zack that in Crisis Core and has some very very sweet Clack moments (I'm a big Clack shipper).

2022 FF7 Secret Santa

Entry: Shivamas Reflections

Gift: Unpack Your Heart

Shivamas Reflections is one I don't have a lot to say about. The prompt was something Christmas inspired, so I wrote a fic about Cloud remembering past Christmas' and celebrating Denzel's first one with him. (I don't know where I got the idea this was Denzel's "first" one. His family probably celebrated it before with him.) Unpack Your Heart is a nice little polyship fic between Cloud, Zack, and Vincent. Basically the prompt was "What would happen if Zack opened Vincent's coffin and asked him for help when they were breaking out of the labs." It's got a nice sense of humor to it.

FF7 Fanworks Exchange '23

Entry: You Make Me Human

Gift: The Tongue Stuck in My Jaw

When I write Sephiroth, he's always softer than he probably would be in canon. I like the side of Sephiroth that genuinely loved to hang out with his friends and who leaned on them when things went wrong. This is a very short fic but I enjoyed it. I rarely tackle writing Sephiroth and one of my favorite things about Crisis Core is how it shows his human side very well. "The Tongue Stuck in My Jaw" is another very sweet dad Cloud fic about Cloud struggling to figure out what to do after he brings Denzel home. One of my favorite scenes in ACC was the scene where Cloud find Denzel so I based my prompt off of that.

One more thing before I finish this post. I also participate in DoGoodWeirdly. I started in 2022 and have kept doing them every time they come up. My fics for DGW are:

Calming the Beast (January 2022) An Unpublished Yakuza Like a Dragon/Dragon Quest XI Crossover fic (July 2022) Ch 1 of The Reason We Rise, We Rise (January 2023) Ch 3 of The Reason We Rise, We Rise (July 2023)

In conclusion, thank you to anyone who has ever shown any interest in my fics, weather it's one of my old Epic or Dragon Prince fics or one of my new Nimona fics, it means the world to me! I appreciate you even if you didn't comment, even if you just left me a kudo or decided to bookmark the fic. I love that people love my fics.

Oh and for anyone debating on if they should draw art based off my fics, I adore getting art that someone drew of something from my fics! You don't need to ask permission.

Here's to another 10 years of writing fanfiction!

[superbattrash]

Full answer: Well, hyperfixation, for one. No, but in all seriousness I’ve been a huge Batman fan since I was around 5 years old. It wasn’t until 2021 when I re-joined tumblr and a friend said “Hey, why don’t you try writing superbat fanfiction?” that I thought I was “allowed”. I haven’t read all the comics, I haven’t seen all the movies etc, etc, but what I do have is a certain set of skills… Sorry.

As soon as I wrote the first sentence of my first Superbat fic, I realized that it was like coming home, like something clicked into place. They have my favorite dynamics in any and all fandom I’ve ever been a part of, and both of them come somewhat easily to me to write. Most of my OCs have a little bit of either Bruce or Clark in them if I look close enough and they’re just the most amazing characters. I can project onto them, I can put them through torture and they still come out the other side just as strong and awe-inspiring.

And there you have it, folks! Tune in for more Q&As tomorrow -- and in the meantime, you should go check out @wfzine and all the amazing artists >:3

[m1ckeyb3rry]

STOP! YOU HAVE TUMBLR? 😭😭I love your stories so much, the amount of times I read ‘Promise’ is unbelievable. I love your writing style, it’s so beautiful. The words are creative yet they are so simple and flow so well with each other. And Y/N is always so funny, it’s never the perfect Y/N since we can see the flaws clearly within her and she understands them.

My favourite without a doubt is ‘Promise’. It’s so hard to find a character who joins the Military Police or is born a noble (plus the Eren is a bonus). Her relationship with both friends and family are important to her since in most stories it just focuses on romance. Also poor Levi. I never realised how funny of a best friend Jean would be, and I live for their friendship. I swear my sister is so bored and tired of my ranting about this story. When I read ‘Swear’ I could tell the difference but also the similarities, both were so fun to read. I’m excited to see what happens next with Swear if you continue to write it.

Endure…. That had me bawling. It was so heartbreaking yet sweet. She went through so much shit and managed to pull herself together even when the man she loved was destroying everything. And the fact she moved on was so sweet yet sad, she loved Eren but Armin and was so torned between them. And the cabin scene with the little waltz that she taught him a long time ago gave me tears. You know how to make me cry, I also cried in the last chapter of Promise when she dies and they meet again in another life. I swear most Y/Ns always live up to the end, the plot armour is so strong.

I recently started SITH and the Colt love ❤,but I’m also suffering from second lead syndrome cuz he is so sweet. But I am also curious what will happen to the Jeagerist Ackerman Y/N? I’ve never seen a type like that before and I’m so curious to know what happened next. I’m dying of my impatience to see her arc and story and I think I will most likely cry in it.

Sorry for the little rambling but you are my favourite author since your stories fit it so well and the characters are never ooc.

YESS I DO HAVE TUMBLR!!! I’m trying to be more active on here nowadays :) and thank you so much I’m so glad you like my writing!! I really try to balance being creative and having “poetic” writing with being easily understandable and not overly pretentious. I also don’t like reading perfect characters so i always try to write Y/N characters that have flaws and act at least SOMEWHAT realistically.

I’ll respond to everything else under the cut because I don’t want to take up too much space on the dash lol

I think promise is one of the only stories where Y/N is an MP!! I’m sure there’s others but definitely not many hahaha. To me when it’s just romance it makes the plot and experience of reading the story almost boring?? It definitely makes writing it boring so I usually focus on platonic and familial relationships as well as romantic ones ofc. JEAN IN PROMISE IS SO FUNNY i actually love him so much in all of my stories but especially that one…he’s just so good as a best friend character honestly. And noooo not your sister LMAOO I get it though I always make my best friend (the inspiration behind Tullia) listen to all of my story ideas and she’s definitely so done with it by now. If you ever want to rant about anything my inbox is always open!! You can send an ask or just dm

Honestly endure feels like a fever dream at this point I’m not sure why i just feel like a completely different person wrote it if that makes sense?? I’m not huge in the AOT fandom anymore so maybe that’s why 🤔 regardless endure always feels like home in a way because it’s my longest story and the one that most people have read so it’s just super important to me…kind of like a childhood room HAHAHA and yeah Y/N characters usually have massive plot armor but you’ll never catch me slipping like that 💪🏻

SitH was meant to be a Colt fic but at this point it’s a Y/N fic 😭 jkjkjk it’s still a Colt fic ofc but the romance is so not focused on we’re like 130k words in and they haven’t even kissed or anything — it’s more plot and character driven. I’m not sure how far into it you are so I don’t want to spoil or anything but SitH Y/N is probably my favorite Y/N I’ve written because she’s super unique and the story really leans heavily into some aspects of her character and trauma that a lot of fics don’t usually touch on. I definitely feel you about the second lead syndrome though I feel like it’s so easy to get with SitH because Friedrich is so bf material (idk if you’ve gotten to Hadrian yet but he also has very much second lead syndrome vibes although his situation is kind of different because he’s not exactly a second lead??? But he is??? But he isn’t??? I can’t explain it I’m sure you’ll know what I mean if you’ve gotten there already)

Unfortunately swear and hostis humani generis (the Jaegerist ackerman Y/N fic) were victims of the great m1ckeyb3rry cleanse and I don’t really anticipate finishing them 😭 I did have their endings planned out though so if you really want I can give you the sparknotes versions :) rest assured though both endings were very sad as is expected from me by now

I LOVE RAMBLING NEVER APOLOGIZE FOR IT!!! Long asks are literally my favorite thing ever I love reading and responding to them. Ramble as much as you like!! Also I’m super flattered to be your favorite author and it’s so nice to hear that you think my characters aren’t ooc because i’m always paranoid that they are. Thank you sm for reading and leaving an ask. UNRELATED BUT I SAW YOUR ART ON YOUR TUMBLR ACCOUNT IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL I’M JEALOUS

[ratherbefangirling]

Fanfic writing asks! 💖

8, 43, 57, 72, 63 💕

Omg I wasn't actually expecting it but thank you so much 💓

Warning this is long

Question list

8. Post an out-of-context spoiler from a wip.

Yoongi peels oranges sitting on the soft rug placed on the carpeted floor. He feeds a bit to everyone. For you though he has reserved a plate of your favourite food so that you can eat it with Namjoon who loves feeding you since he can't cook for you. You always told him it was fine but he just wanted to do something anything for you. So you let him do it. Let yourself be loved.

43. Is there a trope or idea that you’d really like to write but haven’t yet?

I dream a lot basically I have a string

•This Rapunzel AU where the reader has glasses

• Dragon Namjoon

•Yandere where he isn't originally obsessed with the reader but married to her

• Friend for rent

57. How conscious are you about including symbolism or foreshadowing in your fics?

Half conscious. Sometimes I do intend to portray things but a lot of times I leave that weird idea in a wip until it joins with something I later wrote. I very much write on whim for the life of me I cannot write otherwise.

I am very conscious about the moods and If there is a cliffhanger

72. What’s your favorite writing compliment you’ve gotten?

It has to be by @mintsugarmy ; I have told her I'm going to print her comments and put it on my wall, other one on top of my head is @bri-mal because she said if I ever wrote a book she'd get it

(I'm doing this out of memory because I realise I have a bigger masterlist than I realised)

63. What was the hardest part of writing [insert fic]?

Since you've not given any fic I'm going to talk in general. Firstly editing it, I used to write on my computer before but with tumblr it's written on my phone so autocorrect and everything and English not being my native or me not living in a west I feel like I don't know what universe it should be in.

Secondly like loosing motivation, for me story writing is like making a soup. So me writing it at first begins with full of energy then I need to let it simmer in my brain and some soups are easy others aren't and then when I serve the soup the response is so different that it's almost a gamble with myself. Often it feels like do they like my writing or was it fluke it turned out to thier taste.

Like any bts writer knows how maknae line fics easily steal the show and I began writingthinking I should try to make more hyung line to fill the gap but then I wanted to pay them all equal attention.

Also I see a lot of interaction with writers from thier followers that sometimes is disconcerting like what am I doing wrong. Ofcourse I take time to realise there is skill difference and some have been here far longer then I have and there is also the fact where I dont write NSFW but also I write yandere

As writer I can appreciate a growth in my work and I am grateful for the people and connections on this site and I do just like tumblr even without writing. Which is why I'm perpetually online lol.

Recently for my fic Belong I've recieved a lot of attention at first it made me happy. It is supposed to be a comforting fiction so that felt good but it was supposed to be short but a lot of people wanted to read more and I did enjoy writing something with minimal angst or drama. Just a feel good thing but after a while I feel overwhelmed by it and it sometimes feels unfair that the fic I've worked the most on recieves barely any attention as compared to belong. Writing for myself is fun and that is why I keep coming up with new things but it's plainly a lie to say if people's responses don't matter. I always appreciate people who question things about my writing because it means they're paying attention.

I think I got carried away haha. If you reached here thanks for reading.

And to anyone else reading this if you haven't already go check out @aris-ink works.

And I'm socially inept only because I kept reading novels about friends rather than making them so do you want to be mutuals? 💜💜

[palimpsessed]

I posted 4,475 times in 2021

178 posts created (4%)

4297 posts reblogged (96%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 24.1 posts.

I added 5,390 tags in 2021

#simon snow - 1066 posts

#baz pitch - 1013 posts

#tyrannus basilton grimm pitch - 1008 posts

#snowbaz - 734 posts

#awtwb spoilers - 534 posts

#coc 2021 - 223 posts

#wings and tail - 220 posts

#simon’s wings and tail - 220 posts

#coc2020 - 190 posts

#fic rec - 182 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#there is such pressure in the narrative of being queer i feel that places so much importance on labels and it’s nice to see a different take

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

@carryon-countdown 2021, Day 17: Decorating

🎵Don we now our gay apparel🎵

(Full size under the cut because he is looooong)

Click for best quality.

See the full post

218 notes • Posted 2021-12-12 16:18:29 GMT

#4

Thinking about Simon biting Baz, on his neck, over his old bite, and Baz asking Simon to be gentle. And how this mirrors Simon wanting to embrace Baz’s vampirism, and Baz resisting. And Simon wanting Baz to bite and drink from him and Baz refusing.

And how Simon biting Baz must have been particularly hard for Baz to sort through because of the way it inextricably ties to his vampirism and the monstrousness he struggles with so much.

Thinking about Simon trying to talk to Penelope in WS about coddling him, and Baz’s tentative touches, and Simon not wanting to feel like Baz thinks he’s going to break. And wanting to be touched harder and trying to touch Baz harder.

Thinking about how Simon was treating Baz the way he thought he wanted because of his own experience, and Baz treating Simon the way he thought he wanted because of his own experience.

Thinking about them asking each other for what they really want and need and finally being able to be intimate.

Thinking about Baz trying to decide if he wants Simon to stop being gentle or never stop. Thinking about Baz trying to figure out his relationship to his monstrosity and Simon’s relationship to Baz’s monstrosity.

Thinking about wanting to consume and wanting to be consumed.

340 notes • Posted 2021-07-08 16:11:15 GMT

#3

Ebb, CO:

Agatha, AWTWB:

Someone finally brought the nannies home. 😭

410 notes • Posted 2021-10-19 18:14:57 GMT

#2

He hides his face in my T-shirt. “It’s too much for me.”

I set the violin on the floor by the bed, then rest my hand over his on the hilt of the sword. He lets go. For a moment, I wonder if I’ll be able to lift it, but I can. I set it by the bed, too.

Simon crawls half into my lap, burrowing his face into my chest.

I lay my cheek on top of his head and hold him behind his ears.

“It would be too much for anyone,” I say.

—Chapter 91, Any Way the Wind Blows

@rainbowrowell thank you for this wonderful series and these characters that mean so much to me. It was such an absolute joy getting to see them get to this point together! ❤️❤️❤️

(Please click on the image for better quality.)

Notes, close ups, and process shots under the cut!

See the full post

552 notes • Posted 2021-08-07 17:39:07 GMT

#1

Hey. You post a lot of great stuff about Carry On. Can you talk about the biting in AWTWB. The Baz/Simon scenes.Trying to wrap my head around it to understand why Simon did that. Why he bites Baz and keeps biting. Bites his fangs through his cheek. Is it because Simon wants to be bitten? That he wants Baz so much and Baz can't be harmed? I'm really trying to understand it but . . . what do you think?

Anon, thank you for this ask, and also for liking whatever I'm doing on my blog.

Can I talk about the biting? You bet I can!

Why does Simon bite Baz? Is it because he wants to be bitten? In a word, yes! But of course, there's a lot more to it than that. And this went off in another direction than I thought it would, so I hope you can stick with me on this journey! Under the cut because it’s a bit long.

There is a motif running throughout the trilogy of love being a consuming force. So much of Simon and Baz's identities are tied up in hunger very early on: Baz, as a vampire, constantly craving blood; Simon, as the Humdrum, constantly sucking up magic; both of them starved of love and intimacy. There's also a lot of fire imagery, going all the way back to when they first met, and fire is another consuming force.

Simon and Baz are obsessed with each other. The only thing they think about is each other. ("Trying not to think about you…S'like trying not to think about an elephant that's standing on my chest.") They are consumed and they want to consume, and, at least in Simon's case, they want to be consumed.

In WS, Simon reflects on misunderstanding his feelings for Baz prior to eighth year, and the way he does it has always stuck out to me: "I thought about him all the time. I missed him so much in the summer. (I thought I was just lonely. I thought I was hungry. I thought I was bored.)" The second item on that list is what catches my attention. Simon missed Baz and he thought he was hungry. I think it says a lot about how Simon's love for Baz feels if he mistakes it for actual hunger.

In the biting scene you mentioned, Simon says to Baz: "If it were me, if I were you…I'd drain you fuckin' dry, Baz, and it still wouldn't be enough." That's intense. And it's absolutely Simon. We know how much hunger he's capable of; his hunger was so potent, it became a whole other being! I've long maintained that his hunger for magic is a metaphor for his hunger for love. Because Simon is so full of love, and just utterly bereft of people to give it to, and once he has people to love, he doesn't know how to do it without also hurting them. He's never had good relationship modeling. (He thinks Baz should know he loves him because of how many things he's killed for him.—He thinks about teaching Baz how to break someone's neck like it's a fun couples' activity.—He gets turned on by killing things and watching Baz kill, too.—Date night is helping Baz hunt down rats.) Simon is a mess. He wants to love so badly, but he just doesn't know how to do it. ("Is this what people do?")

Simon loves Baz so much, he can't fathom ever getting enough of him. Ever being able to consume enough of him. He can't stop biting and smelling and grabbing because he wants more, more, more. He fits his teeth over Baz's old scars because he needs to claim him—make his own mark on Baz, possess him.

Part of this, as you said, is the fact that Baz is a vampire. Baz can take the roughness (which is not to say that he should just because he can). Simon's fixation on Baz's vampirism, which used to play out as paranoia, has changed into a desire to be bitten. Simon is thinking about Baz's vampirism, thinking about draining Baz dry if he were the vampire, and Baz, the human.

The other part of this is that Simon is unfettered, but really only in the aggressive, physical sense. He's long hidden his desires behind aggression without realizing that's what he was doing. (In CO: "I just want to run him down and knock him over and figure it all out." In AWTWB: "I wanted to jump on you, I didn't really think past that.") He doesn't know how to be unfettered in the vulnerable, emotional sense, and that's what keeps him from being able to be intimate with Baz. ("I don't know how, Baz…To get enough.")

Simon desperately wants to have sex with Baz. Which is what he's trying to do in the biting scene, but all of his desires are warring for control, and he can't sort out what he wants, and what he should be doing in that moment, with Baz.

What this is all leading me to may be a bit off topic, but I think it's all tied up in Simon's head.

Simon doesn't know how to be gentle.

His hunger and his desire for Baz have never been gentle. It's aggression, it's violence, it's possession; it's a forest fire, it's not a hidden waterfall.

Simon has never learned how to be at peace. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Rainbow said she made Simon "fight of flight"—literally, he has wings! There's a reason that Simon couldn't handle the inaction at the beginning of CO and before the events of WS. There's a reason that Penelope thought that they were "being lulled" because there was no war actively being waged. There's a reason Penelope tells us in WS: "Lesson learned: Relaxation is the most insidious humdrum." These are characters who are so traumatized by childhoods being foot soldiers in a war waged by the adults they trusted, they don't know how to live without fighting! They don't know how to live in peace.

We all have "I can touch you less gently, but I won't love you less kindly" burned into our eyeballs by now, but let's move earlier in that conversation to what sparks this: "What if I asked you to be less kind to me?" —What if I asked you to be less kind to me?— Simon doesn't feel comfortable with Baz's kindness or gentleness, because it "makes me feel like I'm being turned inside out. Like I need to get away." Let's sit with this for a bit. Baz's loving touches make Simon want to run because they're kind and gentle and he doesn't know what to do with kind and gentle. His mind isn't programmed for kind and gentle.

It makes complete sense that Simon would show Baz affection in a way that Simon understands, considering, as I said before, that he hasn't had anyone in his life to show him a healthy way to do this. What does Simon most want from Baz? Love. What does Simon understand love to be? Consumption. He wants roughness and aggression, he wants the inferno, because these are things he understands.

Simon wants Baz's teeth, so he gives Baz his teeth.

This is how Simon feels comfortable. I made this post while processing my feelings about AWTWB. It talks about Simon trying to love Baz the way he wants to be loved, and Baz trying to love Simon the way he wants to be loved. They want to give each other everything, but they haven't actually communicated their needs to one another, and that's what keeps them from being able to work through their problems. It isn't until they voice their needs that they're able to be intimate. This is what I'm really trying to get at here.

"Is this what people do?" Simon asks, over and over again. When Simon was in therapy, he learned a technique to break up "life into bites you can swallow". He tells us he's doing this again in AWTWB "because [the future] is too terrifying. Too uncertain. There are parts of it that are too bright." —There are parts of it that are too bright.— Simon doesn't know how to be happy. He doesn't know how to cope with happiness. "Is this what people do when they're in love? Do they just keep touching and talking? And then what? Like what is it all leading to? I don't mean sex, I mean… If I knew what I meant, it wouldn't be so frightening." When Simon is having all these overwhelming feelings about his future with Baz, they're on the Tube, and Simon sees a guy giving him and Baz "a dirty look". He interrupts his introspective on therapy to tell us that he wants the guy to cause trouble "because I would dearly love to punch something right now. That's a decision I could wrap my brain around." He can wrap his brain around punching someone, but not around a bright future with the man he loves.

Simon doesn't know how to be at peace. He doesn't know how to be in love. He doesn't know how to be happy. I think this is what we're seeing at play when he bites Baz. He wants something so badly, but he doesn't know what it is, can't articulate it, can't get at it. In a way, when he bites Baz, Simon is trying to ask for what he wants, without words, and without really knowing what it is that he does want.

He can't figure out how to let himself be happy and feel good while being happy. He can't stand gentleness, or softness. In his head, he can't give that to Baz, because he can't handle it himself.

So, yes, Simon bites Baz because he wants to be bitten. And he bites Baz because he knows Baz can handle it. And he bites Baz because there's an emptiness inside of him that he's still trying to fill, and he doesn't understand how to do that. Someday, he will fill it. He and Baz are going to figure that out together.

I hope this makes sense. With your indulgence, Anon, I'm going to tag in @theflyingpeach who is all around brilliant, and I know has their own thoughts about this scene (and demon Simon 👀👀👀) that I would like to see more of. 🥰

A follow up to this ask can be found here.

Further reading on the relationship between consumption, food, and love compiled here.

691 notes • Posted 2021-07-19 03:05:10 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[greaseonmymouth]

Hi! I’m curious if you’re able to share any resources for book-binding? I saw your post of the Ed/Stede fic you recently binded and thought it looked amazing !!

Hi Anon! Yes, absolutely! (also, here is the link to the post with the Ed/Stede fic because everybody should read it)

A good place to start is DAS bookbinding on youtube, I have watched many of the videos there and there are some I refer back to frequently. here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/c/DASBookbinding

my main resource is the @renegadepublishing discord server, though. we all have varying levels of experience and access to tools and materials so there's a lot of DIY and brainstorming and helping each other out in there, and if you run into an issue there's always somebody willing to help. we do also share resources and quite a few members have written up tutorials. I think if you go to the Renegade tumblr there are links to public ones. And if you want to join the server the instructions are on the tumblr as well.

When I decided to get started on bookbinding instead of scavenging bits and bobs from all over or buying what I needed piecemeal I looked around for starter kits and since I'm in the UK I eventually bought the bookbinder's starter pack from Ratchford (link) which came with tools, some paper, some greyboard, and some cut-offs of bookcloth. I still use all of those tools (I have had to sharpen the knife a few times but otherwise everything is still exactly the same) and I still have loads of bookcloth leftover, they gave me SO MUCH bookcloth I could've easily covered at least 30 bookcases, and it was all really lovely colours too. there was only one colour I kinda disliked but I found a use for it anyway. I've re-stocked on greyboard, tapes and sewing thread since I received this kit, but I still have loads of mull and the tub of PVA that came with this kit is still half full. (I bought a tub of paste from Shepherd's in London, which is a slower-drying glue good for casing in, and that tub is also still half full. I also buy most of my fancy paper from there.)

As for other things like nipping presses/finishing presses/etc. I don't have any of those. I bought two cheap bamboo chopping boards from ikea and a box of 4 G clamps (F clamps would also work) from amazon, and that's my nipping press. I use the same chopping boards and clamp to DIY a finishing press when I need one. I don't have a sewing frame or a punching cradle and I'm doing fine without so probably won't bother getting either of those. Eventually I will buy (or make) proper presses (I have seen people use the same kind of chopping boards I have for their nipping presses, only they drilled holes in theirs to put in screws and bolts etc. but I don't have a drill so I just clamp). I also don't even have a worktop, I do all my bookbinding on my bed, using those same chopping boards as a working surface.

My point is, you don't need Every Tool Ever and a Whole Damn Studio etc. to bind books. You can use what you have. If all you have is a printer and some cheap embroidery thread, that's enough to get you started.

[greensaplinggrace]

do you have any darklina fic recs?

I certainly have a few! But first I want to clarify that I don’t really read fic when I’m writing it, and since I have so many fics in the works right now, I haven’t really been reading a lot of fanfiction. So this list probably won’t be as extensive as it could be.

Here are some other great fic recommendation posts, however:

DARKLINA FIC RECS by @vicioux

DARKLINA FIC RECS // part ii by @vicioux

Darklina Ruling the World Together Fic Recs by @clubofthestarlesssaint

Tumblr Ficlets

Aleksander’s First Memory by @kestrafagnor

Fivan Talk About Darklina by @jomiddlemarch

a little light in the great, big dark by @valkyrhys

Alina tells Mal she’s with Aleksander by @lorsanbitch

Darklina week day 5: intimacy & touch by @starlesscne

AO3 Fanfiction

if it ain’t me by larry_hystereks (Incomplete - 10/13 Chapters)

alina’s in her second year at Yale when she meets aleksander at one of his frat parties.

a hookup with the potential for more, only if alina wasn’t still struggling to piece herself together from last year’s breakup.

or: alina, zoya, their trust issues, and the men that fall for them

---

I’m only at about chapter 6 of this fic currently, but so far it’s one of my all time favorite Modern AUs. The characterization for Alina and Aleksander is incredibly well done, and the entire fic itself is so feminist and queer in such a refreshing way. Aleksander and Alina are bisexual as fuck, both with their own separate complex lives, and much of Alina’s own traumas and relationships are explored outside of Aleksander.

There’s some Zoyalina, with Nikolina friendship and endgame Zoyalai. There’s some mystery and some tension, but nothing too extreme, and a lot of the fic is merely an exploration in growth and overcoming one’s history and learning how to move on in healthy ways. I love it.

She Wears a Collar (With My Name) by Ceris_Malfoy (Complete)

She is immortal, and whatever lingering hints of humanity she may have once had have long been bleached from her heart.

I will grant you one wish, boy, if it is in my power to do so. What does a Shadow Smith most want?

"You," he answers.

Written for Darklina Week 2021 - Day 2: Role Reversal

---

This piece is just exquisite. This author’s writing style is one that I particularly enjoy. Their stuff is always so uniquely composed and crafted, and this one especially is a work of art. The way Darklina as a relationship is portrayed in particular is fascinating to me because it’s a role reversal but it’s still so complex. Aleksander’s character is nailed.

the bright sun was extinguish’d by athousandwinds (Complete)

Somewhere, deep in the dark forests of Ravka, a boy grows up on stories of Sankta Alina of the Wastes, the Sun-Scorched Saint.

---

This fic is just straight up magnificent. It’s so engaging and I love love love the way a role reversed Aleksander who joins the army is portrayed. He reminds me so much of Demon in the Woods Aleksander, as if he’s exactly what a grown version of that young boy would be. When I say I adore his characterization in this I’m not lying.

If I wanted any completed fic I’ve read to have a second chapter, it would be this one.

Winter in the Little Palace by redisxwing (Complete)

Written for Yuletide 2020.

Baghra and Alina's wildly different perspectives on the Darkling, and how things could have gone if nobody listened to Baghra.

Warning: Baghra is written as a harsh and arguably abusive parent, and this is darkfic about that relationship, with a side of shipping. Everything is terrible (except the parts that are pretty much okay).

Canon divergence pretty much as soon as Alina gets lessons in summoning.

This fic is likely not compatible with King of Scars (or any subsequent work).

---

As is said in the summary, this one makes Baghra a bit more extreme. If you’re a fan of Baghra, this fic probably isn’t for you. But since I’m not a fan of Baghra, I had no problems with it.

My biggest praise for this fic is in regards to the character interactions and the POVs. There’s a brilliant grasp of unique perspective and how to convey it, and that talent is carried over into the way character interactions are brought to life in the text. Also, there’s a scene where Alina gets kind of protective of the Darkling, which is one of my biggest weaknesses when it comes to Darklina.

Good Ideas by FelixRivers (Complete)

Alina Starkov had a very good idea. Aleksander Morozova would definitely agree. (or: Alina wants to go camping and Aleksander won't complain)

---

This fic is just straight up adorable and hilarious. They’re such a cute couple and Alina’s POV is great. It’s just pure fluff and humor 💕

I’m not a bad girl, but I do bad things with you by SanktaJenya - @sankta-arya (Complete)

Winter had been hard on Old Baghra and Ana Kuya was worried about her, so she decided that Alina should make the trip to her cottage on the other side of the woods to bring her some food and kvas. On her way there, Alina meets a stranger...

Darklina Red Riding Hood/Company of Wolves AU

Darklina Week, Day 4, Fairytales

---

This fic has a splendid grasp of tension and atmosphere. It’s very enchanting and dark and intriguing, and it nails those aspects with absolute precision. I love the style and the way the fairytale is incorporated into the narrative. It’s truly a masterpiece.

The Wretched by @aceofnowhere (Complete)

“We are strangers, but I want to help.” He growls at her, mocking and mistrustful. “I understand,” she said. “You think I am one of them. I certainly look like one of them. But I want to help you. Will you let me?” Prompt: fairytale. Alina saves a dragon.

---

Okay so I’ve mentioned this one before as one of my Top 5 fics of all time and I still stand by that. I can’t even describe why I love this fic so much except that the pacing is amazing and the prose is stunning and the story is beautiful. Aleksander is a dragon and Alina is a witch, and their relationship is just so...interesting and fascinating and lovely. I would literally kill for this fic. There’s such a softness to it as well. Such a tenderness. Idk, I just really love it.

Show Me Who You Are (I Want To Know) by Ceris_Malfoy (Incomplete - 12/?)

Alina takes her future in her own hands and makes her own decisions.

---

This is a great “what if Alina had stuck around after the reveal” rewrite. It doesn’t have Mal bashing and in fact still writes them as close friends, which is something I’m fond of in Darklina fics. Aleksander is allowed to be soft and Alina is allowed to be powerful, and I really enjoyed the take on their dynamics as a power couple wherein Alina is given a lot of control.

There’s something to be said for the way Aleksander is written in the scenes where he must be honest and earnest with Alina. I really enjoy the way they both come to equal ground, and I’m even more fond of the way Alina is allowed to grow darker without losing her light. She also engages a lot with quite a few other characters, developing tons of friendships and alliances on her own that help strengthen her as an individual character.

on this bridge between starshine and clay by @rhea-imagined (Complete)

"His breath narrows for a moment, his fist clenched tight before he forces himself to loosen it. She is his only opportunity for salvation, but vulnerability is not a cape he wears easily. “In those days, there was less prejudice against Shadow Summoners. But everyone fears the dark, in one way or another.” He does not look at her as he waits for the penny to drop, half-hoping it stays suspended in the air."

In which Alexander comes clean to Alina and tells her about his true identity in hopes that this will help convince her to take down the Fold.

A rewrite of the fountain scene in episode four, with a good!Darkling that is trying to make amends.

---

This is my all-time favorite good!Aleksander AU. He’s kept in character despite the major changes made to his motivations, and Alina is given a lot more agency in her own story. It’s the first fic in what might become a series, but it can stand alone beautifully.

I love how Aleksander and Alina’s relationship is allowed to grow tense without breaking, and how it’s a clear sign of change but not abandonment. I love how both characters are able to think for themselves and become self-aware and are given the chance to think critically. I love the character interaction so much because it’s honest and fresh and engaging. Everything from the smallest action to the most off-hand thought is in character and meaningful and incorporated with an amazing style of writing. It’s a very refreshing piece, and the writing only makes it that much better.

Bunnies of a Feather Stitch Together by Ill_Ratte (Complete)

"Just as Alina called to the light, gathering and twisting it into a ball in her hands, the door swung open.

Kirigan blacked out the door frame. His appearance enough would have surprised Alina, but there was something clutched in his arm, something dark and floppy. It almost looked like the stuffed toys that had been passed around to the younger Orphans." - Alina and The Darkling bond over a love of soft things

---

Soft stuffed animal shenanigans. Bits of trans!Aleksander, which I’m very fond of, as well as just a lot of fluff with a bit of something bittersweet and sad in a good way.

Half Lie by Ill_Ratte (Complete)

"Baghra always talked of the demon that had stolen her daughter." Or, Alina learns the hard way that the Darkling isn't the only one who deals in half-truths

---

This one is trans!Aleksander, and it handles it in a very interesting way. It’s quite sad, and deals a lot with Baghra & Aleksander’s relationship through Alina’s POV. I want to give a warning for transphobia, because it does center around that a lot as the premise, but it really is worth the read if that isn’t a trigger for you. This is one of my favorite trans!Aleksander fics, and the way it handles emotion and grief and pain is quite extraordinary.

The CEO and Helioseismologist by mrthology (Complete)

Aleksander Morozova doesn't get sick. He's the CEO of one of the most successful companies in the world, one that he had built from the ground up with blood, sweat, and tears. He exercised daily (usually), maintained a healthy diet, and kept himself fit.

He wasn’t sick.

Too bad no one believed him. And too bad Genya decided to call Ivan to take him home before also calling Alina to take care of him.

Maybe, just maybe, being sick wasn't so bad. Especially not when he has such a wonderful girlfriend.

---

Both of the fics in this series are great, but I love this one in particular because I’m an absolute sucker for hurt/comfort. Anyone who’s been on my blog for a while knows that it’s my all time favorite trope to read, and this fic fits the hurt/comfort trope to a T in the best of ways. It’s very tender and in character, and Aleksander and Alina are so soft with each other. It’s adorable and really makes you feel for Aleksander, and the caretaking is done perfectly.

All the different layers of dark (thousand little suns) by Anuna (Complete)

One month after the Winter Fete, Aleksander returns to the Little Palace, and Alina has been missing him.

Or

Episode five canon divergence in which Alina had never left Os Alta.

---

This one is soft emotional hurt/comfort smut. They’re both so open and vulnerable with each other, and it’s so beautiful to read. I love the writing style and the emotion in this one. It makes my heart ache in the best way.

An Honourable Man by liviy695 (Complete)

A reimagining of the scene after the winter fete. Alina catches a glimpse of a caring Darkling after he returns from integrating the Conductor. Plus, no Baghra interference.

---

This one is what it says on the tin, in that Baghra doesn’t interfere and they’re allowed to talk after the Darkling interrogates the Conductor. But more than that, it’s a great imagining of how a scene where Aleksander reveals Marie’s death would have gone. There’s a sort of quiet to it that I appreciate, with grief and solemnity weighed against care and vulnerability.

I see the real you (even if you don’t, I do) by Anonymous (Incomplete - 8/?)

A series of questionable decisions lead Alina to meet the Black General a bit earlier. Butterfly effect ensues.

---

I’ve only read half so far (I hadn’t realized it had updated!! 👀👀) but I’m already in love with this fic. Alina’s dialogue and perspective is perfect, her relationship with Mal and the other cartographers is great, and I really enjoy how much personality she has. Aleksander is so smitten, but more than that, his characterization is soft but not weak. It feels almost as if he’s swept up by Alina, instead of the other way around, and I quite like that.

Of parenting by Anuna (Complete)

Alina finds out how her husband handled yet another parenting situation.

---

This is pure adorable Darklina parenting fluff and I live for it. Yet it doesn’t lack depth and in fact explored Alina and Aleksander’s relationship with parenting quite well.

i have a longing by LRCee - @ladylyannastark (Complete)

“So, Alina Starkov, risk-taker, how did you end up being editing’s newest wunderkind?”

Alina Starkov is rising in the publishing world. Singlehandedly responsible for editing (see: rewriting) the hottest book of the year, she lands a coveted spot at Morovoz Publishers. It's the position she's always wanted, at the biggest publishing house in the country. Life is perfect. That crush on her boss though, that's gotta go.

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OKAY! I LOVE THIS ONE SO MUCH!! Let me tell you, as someone who is not too fond of Boss/Employee dynamics, I was very wary going into this fic. But boy did it deliver in a way that was perfect for me.

The relationship that develops between Aleksander and Alina is complex but healthy, and it never feels as if there’s too much of a power imbalance or anything that would make Alina feel forced or unhappy. The tension lies purely in how she fears others will perceive her, and not in how unhealthy her relationship with Aleksander is. For somebody who’s often attracted to unhealthy ships, I have to say that my favorite fics are usually ones that don’t have that type of dynamic between the characters. This fic delivers on that.

Also, Aleksander’s POV surrounding his struggle with his Russian heritage and his feelings for Alina is amazing, and has some of the best writing and characterization I’ve seen.

You receive: an evil demon; I receive: human souls by @aceofnowhere (Complete)

The next morning while she tried to tell herself it was a dream, that of course there wasn’t a fucking demon in her house, she found a note taped to her fridge.

“You might eat this shit,” it had written, “but I would like some fucking souls please.”

Darkling Week Prompt 7: free choice. Alina has a demon in her house.

This is absolute crack, and I have no idea what the fuck is wrong with me.

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May I just say that this is the most fun I’ve ever had when reading a fic. It’s interesting with a bit of mystery, and Aleksander as a little shit of a demon is hilarious. Alina in this fic is great too. It’s such a unique take on her POV, especially when you reread it after knowing the ending. 10000/10, this fic is brilliant in every way and I love it.

I had been lost to you, Sunlight by BrytteMystere (Complete)

A Girl became a Woman, became a Sankta, became a Goddess.

Or: An Immortal Alina calls upon merzost to reunite with the Prince of Shadows she lost long ago. She may have lost herself in the process.

But then again, maybe time and endless wars did that instead.

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You really just have to read this one to get it. It is utterly haunting and fascinating in the best of ways. The writing style is strange and novel and fits so well with the story being told. The composition of the fic as a whole is genius.

I Look Inside Myself (And See My Heart Is Black) by Ceris_Malfoy (Complete)

"When is a monster not a monster? Why, when you love it, of course."

Written for Darklina Week 2021 - Day 6: Favorite Quote • King & Queen • Monster

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Once more, this author comes through with an absolutely breathtaking writing style and story. The imagery is elegant yet brutal, simultaneously horrifying and glorious. There’s a certain way these stories are written, like fairytales, where the beautiful becomes the macabre and becomes ever more stunning because of it. It’s very dark but in a good way - an almost bewitching way.

Afterlife by @aceofnowhere (Complete)

“You are asking me to leave?”

“Not asking, shadow,” she said. “Telling. Time to get unlost, loser.”

Day 3 Darklina Week prompt: Modern AU (I mean, barely)

Alina expels ghosts from purgatory.

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@aceofnowhere once again bringing the best of the paranormal to the Grishaverse. Literally everything you write is amazing idk why I’m even pointing out individual fics when I could just rec your whole page. But anyways!! This is fun and interesting and Alina is a badass. Aleksander is, of course, compelling and dark and kind of a little shit, and it’s all incorporated seamlessly into an existential paranormal narrative.

Once Upon a Shooting Star by Ceris_Malfoy (Complete)

"But most of all, she was drawn to a vast darkness that reached out above all of them, a void so hungry for companionship that she knew she could fulfill."

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Let. Alina. Be. Feral!! Anyways, I clearly have a type when it comes to storytelling, and it’s whatever the fuck this person has got going on. Feral!Star!Alina is literally the light of my life. Her interactions with not only other people but the world in general are so well done, but my favorite parts about this fic are the numerous ways her relationship with Aleksander is described and depicted.

I love the dark and light imagery, especially with how it’s portrayed as them filling in the gaps of each other’s lives and supporting each other instead of trying to block each other out. There’s such clear passion and joy and love and devotion between them. The central focus of this fic is on her and Aleksander’s relationship, the interplay between them and their powers and the way her light fills his loneliness, the passing of adoration and trust and reliance between them. It’s very beautiful and I love it.

A Blaze of Light by Keira_63 (Complete)

They discover the Sun Summoner in the burnt-out remains of the Shu laboratory in which she has spent the last seven years of her life.

Or, the Darkling finds himself with a Sun Summoner whose greatest wish is to burn Shu Han to the ground. He is happy to oblige her.

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👀👀 Badass Alina and Badass Aleksander. The ultimate power couple, and Alina burning a path through Shu Han before they both burn a path through the world together. The darkness and rage in this one are handled very well, and the way that rage turns to coldness and then resolve is done so well. This fic is very cathartic and also very furious, and reading it is certainly a trip down emotion lane.

One more for the Road by Rist (Complete)

He returns to the war room shaken, and finds an Alina that cannot leave without at least having tried.

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This one hurts so much but its soooo gooood!!! Very smutty but also very tender and very bittersweet. Sad and soft all at once. I just... love the way Alina and Aleksander are written so much, and Alina’s complicated feelings for him are explored in such detail and depth. This one is truly worth the read.

[hamartia-grander]

A, E, F, H, K, R, S, T, X, Z! Go wild <3

Mar I love you to death thank you <333

A - Ships that you currently like a lot: I'm currently obsessed with simarkus, reed900, and Hank and Connor's father-son familial relationship in DBH; also Ethan Winters' polycule (Heisenberg, Chris, and Mia) in Resident Evil.

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom? If so, what?: I don't think so? I mean I wrote a semi crack fic for DBH on tumblr a few months ago but idk if that counts cause it was technically only one paragraph of crack. Behind the scenes, however, I'm writing scripts for a crack Resident Evil short film and a crack Detroit: Become Human Brooklyn 99-esque show. Those won't greet the public for a long time though, if at all.

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?: Technically star wars has been a constant fandom since I was 6 thanks to my f*ther, but it's such a big franchise with so many different parts it's kinda like having fandoms within fandoms. I.e, I have my clone wars phases, my sequel trilogy phases, my mandalorian phases, rebels, the games, the books, that kinda thing. The Mandalorian and the Sequels were the longest though, lasting several months. Same with DBH, I've been in that fandom since last November which is crazy for me. (same length of time as my dincobb era,,,)

H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., TV shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)?: It used to be books, and I do still love reading books, but I think shows and games are my #1 favourites now. With my declining attention span those are about the only things I can latch onto easily.

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?: AGENT KALLUS FROM STAR WARS REBELS. I lived his development arc, the metaphor being that my parents are the empire and the ISB is conditioned homophobia, the Rebels being the Gays, etc etc. For that reason it was so incredible and refreshing to get to see a character go from having a conditioned and ignorant perspective to breaking free of that because of one catalyst who made him question everything he thought he knew. And then, not only does he break free of it, he actively fights back against it, risking his life so many times to gather intel for the Rebels and keep them safe. And then when he finally gets to join them he is just the most dedicated, intelligent, strong willed fighter and he listens to others. He doesn't wallow in self pity over being a former imperial; he works to undo the harm he caused, he moves forward, he asks forgiveness but doesn't need it to change, and he forms strong friendships (and in one case a relationship) with the people he used to fight. It's beautiful and I love him so much.

R - Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?: I love Hank and Connor's father-son relationship with my whole heart. Found family is my shit. Same with the Jericrew, and Kara Alice and Luther. DBH has some excellent found family content. I also love fics/headcanons where Gavin and Connor are Best Bros. And speaking of Rebels, that is a show full to the brim of found family. I feel like Dave Filoni also has some familial trauma or something bc all of his shows have intense found family themes (clone wars, rebels, bad batch, the mandalorian) which like good for him

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon: In Resident Evil I headcanon that [SPOILERS] Ethan survives obviously and that he is in love with Mia, Chris, and Heisenberg bc I love them all and he deserves all the love. Also yk most of what I like about Gavin Reed are either things Neil Newbon (his VA) has said about him or my own headcanons.

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending?: Connor from DBH is asexual and aromantic and I will die on this hill. Also Ethan Winters from RE is bi polyamorous. Also also Chris Redfield is a Gay Man but that's kinda technically canon too. Poe and Finn Dameron are married. Gavin Reed is gay and a dog person (Neil confirmed ;). Hank and Connor are father and son but that is canon, I just unfortunately have to defend it from fans who are gross. Also so many characters are trans: Gavin Reed, Ethan and Mia Winters, Leon Kennedy, Heisenberg, Lady Dimitrescu, Chloe North Josh and Rupert from DBH, Han Solo, I could go on.

X - A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom: I'm an absolute slut for fake dating/relationship to lovers. I'm sure a therapist could explain why but I sure can't. Idk why it has such a hold on me but I promise if a fic's got a fake relationship trope I'm gonna love it. Just the mutual pining and complete dumbassery, the tension, the yearning, the denial, it's like actually addicting for me. There's not enough of it.

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go!: It's crazy the amount of entitled fans there are, especially on this site. And I mean, anywhere from fans who invade the privacy of the actors/creators they're fans of, to fans who shit on the things other people love or actively go out of their way to be rude to other fans who are just enjoying something. When I dislike things in fandoms, I block the tags and I do not interact. I don't want to see it so I don't go looking for it. But there are fans that think they have the right to go into other people's safe spaces and attack them for any opinion that are different from theirs. Chill tf out y'all. You're not entitled to other people's privacy, to their opinions, to their content, etc. You are entitled to stfu and leave. So do that.

On a lighter note, I've made such wonderful friends through fandoms who have made all the shitty people absolutely worth it. I love y'all💜💕

[choicesficwriterscreations]

Choices Fandom Appreciation Week - Meet the Writer

This has been a wonderful week of love and appreciation in our fandom! To celebrate, we randomly selected a writer to share a little bit about themselves and their work with us. Please allow us to introduce the winner, Kat @writer-ish!

Blog: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/writer-ish

Name (and/or pet name): Kat

Birth Month: May

Nationality: Canadian

Current residency: Canada eh!

Languages you speak: English, Greek

Masterlist/AO3/Choices Fanfic Archive:

Quick Links: https://writer-ish.tumblr.com/post/660820759362551808/hi-there

Masterlist: https://writer-ish.tumblr.com/post/656714909442244608/choices-open-heart

1- Is there a meaning behind your url name?

Well, when I first joined Tumblr for Choices purposes, I was @brooks-eden, which was sort of my throwaway jokey account name for what I’d assumed would be only a lurker account. How wrong I was.

After almost (over?) a year in fandom, and also dabbling in another fandom, I decided to change it to writer-ish. It has a double meaning: one, I’m a writer… sort of. And two, it’s like saying “writer ish” aka writer shit. My writing stuff. Does anyone still talk like that? No?

2- When did you start playing Choices? What's the first book you played?

I started playing Choices in late 2019 but didn’t really get into it until the pandemic hit full force in early 2020. The first book I played was The Royal Romance. Team Drake!

3- When did you decide to join Choices fandom?

I decided to officially join the fandom in September 2020 (aka the busiest month of my life thus far 😂), but I had been lurking at that point for a bit and had also spent a few months on Choices Reddit lol.

4- Go back to your archive and tell us what was your first post on your Choices blog was about.

My very first post that wasn’t a reblog from another person was a text post that just said “Wait, some of y’all are happy about Chapter 13??” It got 1 note.

5- How long have you been writing fanfiction?

I’ve been writing fanfic (not Choices fanfic) since 2006 online and probably even earlier than that with pen and paper. Yes - pen and paper.

6- Share the first fanfic you wrote with us. Do you still like it or would you change anything about it?

I wrote “Hopeful Hearts” which was a retelling of the Gala chapter in Open Heart Book 2. I basically used the script to delve into the thoughts and actions of Ethan and MC for the first half of that book. You can read it here: https://writer-ish.tumblr.com/post/632549312844513280/hopeful-hearts The second story I wrote was a follow-up to Hopeful Hearts aka the smut part of that chapter.

The first thing I ever wrote for Choices was my text fic series about MC in Vegas: https://writer-ish.tumblr.com/post/631012282125680640/mc-texts-ethan-from-vegas Thus began a text fic journey that would span months and two Choices books. Seriously, the most fun I had writing in this fandom LOL.

7- What are your favorite Choices books to write about?

Open Heart, Open Heart, and Open Heart. :) Although, special shout out to Platinum and Foreign Affairs, the only other two books I really enjoyed reading other people’s fic for.

8- What is your specialty as a fanfic writer?

I think I’m pretty good at capturing voice and characterization, especially in text fics. Otherwise, I’m not sure! It’s hard to wade through all my crippling insecurities to identify something as strong as a “specialty”!

9- If you could write only angst, fluff, or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

Oof, probably angst (with a side of smut). I just love the anguish, the pining, the “will they-won’t they” of it all. I love torturing my characters, just a bit. Fluff is nice, too. It just doesn’t come as naturally LOL.

10- Do you ever recognize yourself in what you write?

This is a good question! I do think my writing is easily identifiable (to me lol) but I’m not sure if I have a clear “voice” to others.

11- What element of writing do you struggle with most?

Writing.

No, seriously. My days are so jam-packed with so many different responsibilities, it’s very difficult to find time to write and, when I do, it’s a struggle to get into the right “zone” to do it properly.

I would kill for days (weeks?!) of uninterrupted time where I could just write whenever I felt like it and not in 10-20 minute windows at the end of the night when I’m too exhausted to keep my eyes open.

12- Is there any neglected work of yours you wished you would finish?

Yes! I have a Q&A sent to me by the lovely Leah (@lem-20) that has been sitting in my Drafts. I’m dying to finish it. And I will - one day!

13- If someone you know in real life who isn’t involved in fandoms asked to read your work, would you let them? If yes, what would you recommend they read first?

Sure, I guess lol… My husband knows I write fanfic but he’s not scrambling to read it all. If anyone else wanted to, I’d probably toss them my masterlist and then yeet myself out of there.

14- Are there any writers (published authors and/or fanfic writers) who influenced your writing?

Definitely Bree and Ruby were huge inspirations to me as I started off in this fandom. I also loved @raleighcarrera’s fics and @coldshrugs, who isn’t Choices, but is one of my favourite writers across fandom. Published authors who inspire me are Lisa Kleypas, Madeline Miller, and Sally Rooney.

15- Which one of your stories would you most like to see as a movie/series?

Hmmm… any, as long as the money is right. Bahahaha. No, but really, I loved “makai”, my Hawaii story: https://writer-ish.tumblr.com/post/649645215457624064/makai A whole movie about Ethan and MC in Hawaii? Yes, please.

16- What’s your favorite emoji?

I’ve always had a soft spot (pun intended) for this lil sheep 🐑

17- Do you write original stories?

I do. 🥰 Stay tuned.

[gracie-rosee]

Happy New Year ♡

I don't really know what to say here since I've never done this before but here goes...

I've been on Tumblr for barely a year and I have made some really amazing friends here. I know this is cheesy and everyone does this but these people mean a lot to me and I'm so glad I have the pleasure of knowing them.

@morganofthewildfire, you were my very first friend on here. I have been reading your fics since you posted your very first one and I've been obsessed with every single thing you've written since. You're awesome! Thank you! ❤

@tswaney17 Taylor!!! I loved obsessing over elriel and talking theories with you. And don't even get me started with your phenomenal writing. You're an amazing person and I'm so glad to know you. Thank you!

@tomtenadia your writing makes me so so happy. And you are literally the sweetest person ever (...except when you make me cry with your stories lol) but still, thank you so much!!

@themoonthestarsthesuriel, @live-the-fangirl-life, @writtenonreceipts, @shyvioletcat - your writing has gotten me through this year and these past few months especially. I love reading about the characters we all love so much and I'm so glad I decided to join these fandoms because it led me to you guys- the most amazing people I know!

Some other writers I would like to thank for making this year wonderful: @perseusannabeth (thank you SO much for teaching me how to post a fic on this hellsite super easily. You are a life saver), @seasonofthewicth Kate!! you are awesome and I love you dearly. @westofmoon, @punkassbookjockey26, @rowaelinrambling, @story-scribbler, @rowanaelinn, @heirofflowers, @manonblaqkbeak, @whimsicallyreading, @imaginedhaven, @acciowests, @charincharge - you guys are all awesome.

@hellasblessed, @llyncooljones, @schattensaenger, @the-regal-warrior, @swankii-art-teacher, @mardereads19, @starswhogaze, @bookologist, @fawnandshadows, @thewayshedreamed, @thefangirlofhp, @lemonade-coolattas, @rreputatiions and anyone I may have accidentally forgotten, thank you for making 2021 suck less. I hope you all have a wonderful new year! ❤❤❤