Avid fanfiction reader.

Reading fanfic since 2004. Most of my posts are queued

[nocturnus33]

With over 20 years in fandom, I dedicate myself to binding the stories I like: with more passion than talent 😂. I also reblog the work of others as a way of celebrating fandom and these beautiful works of fan art that are bound fan fiction. For other ficbinders' work, I always use the same hashtag so that they can be found easily: "Fantastic ficbinders and where to find them"

Keep fandom free!

[livelaughwriteit]

Advice on Endings

I hate ending my stories. I will drag a story on long after it should have ended even though I know it should be done with. If anyone else struggles as well, here is a list of the different types of endings that are common.

Full Circle – Mirror the beginning of the story, show how the tone has shifted from start to end

Bittersweet – Character wins at the cost of something else, creates emotional depth

Emotional resolution – Focuses more on the growth of the characters than the events of the story

Twist – reveal something that changes the readers perspective or understanding

Open – doesn’t answer all the questions or solve all the conflicts of the story, leaving room for interpretation

Quiet – Subtle, reflective ending rather than a dramatic event

Sacrifice – The character has to give something up to achieve a greater goal

Hopeful – Despite the events of the story, there is a distinct sense that everything will be okay

Consequence – Shows how the characters choices throughout the story impact the world or their relationship

Character choice – centers on a decision that defines who the character has become through the story

[mostlyinthemorning]

I kind of suck at tagging, so I made this infographic to help make it easier.

[nocturnus33]

I think it's very useful. Tags help people find your story, and you want readers to be able to find it easily.

[dragonleighs]

Hey so you remember that fic I was binding back in January and then never finished? I finally got around to finishing it and I'm VERY happy with the result

It stalled because despite measuring the width of the book cloth four times it ended up being too short so the cover was flush with the text block. Which was not what I wanted. So then I was debating what to do about it before eventually sucking it up and buying more book cloth, cutting off the old one and sticking on the new with slightly wider hinge gaps. Worked a treat and only ended up taking about an hour. But I'm really happy with the final result!

[sits-bound]

Bound: The Dream of Having No Room by rickyisms

This fic has a lot of texting and messaging in various apps so it was fun to give them their own fonts. At least until I realized one of them didn’t print properly and of course I didn’t notice until I was folding signatures so I had to change the font and hope it didn’t affect any pages down the line. It’s a 100k work fic so I really didn’t want to have to reprint the whole thing! (It was fine, in the end.)

Oh look I speckled the edges! It's not as messy as I feared. I also played around with different spine title orientations. Because I am wild and crazy like that.

Highly recommend this fic (and the other 300k words in the series!) but you should definitely listen to the podfic of it, it’s beautifully made. I helped out a bit by doing the cover art, so, yay past sits for doing the hard work for me way back then, as I was able to modify it for the title page.

[sevenblackravens]

Y'all, I'm having so much fanbinding. I made this typeset of the fic a while ago, but I printed and bound this over the last three evenings. I'm so happy with how this turned out.

This is a copy of @etoilegarden's Man of Masks fic, which I love and thought would be a fun practice! Link for any fans of The Raven Cycle and Pynch: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31242875/chapters/7722697

[moonmolecule]

This is one of my first fic bindings. I tried using photo paper for the first time, and I adored the result. I still need to correct a few things while binding, but I think I'm making good progress.

The fic is Pocket Paladin by The_opal_essence and if you like Voltron and g/t, you absolutely need to read it because it's a gem.

[ao3org]

AO3 Minor Degraded Performance

AO3 is currently experiencing some slowness. We’ve resolved the issue and are monitoring. Some users on older devices may still encounter errors as we continue making adjustments. For more updates, please refer to our statuspage. Posted: 12:00 UTC, 16 May 2026

[nomorezerocomments]

Do you have any advice / know any good guides for adding additional tags to fics? Additional tags are one of the main ways I filter when I'm looking for something to read but I never know what to add when I'm tagging my own work

god i suck at additional tags. if anyone has any more specific advice, please feel free to add on or link any advice posts you have. but this is what i do.

when im tagging, i reread the fic im posting. it helps me remember what actually happens in the fic so i know what to tag

first, i always tag fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, or smut appropriately. this is a major thing people filter for

always tag an unhappy ending, and tag anything that could be trigger (abuse, sexual assault, etc)

if youre using a specific headcanon for a character (say your headcanoning a character as trans, gay, ace, or... alive) tag that

if youre writing for a series, when in the series does it take place (pre canon, post canon, during which book/episode/film).

do they kiss, hug, fight (verbally or physically). tag that

does anyone die, minor or otherwise? tag it

is it a specific "type" of fic? a fix-it, an AU, a sickfic, a songfic, an alternative POV? tag all that.

tag the pov character if you want (i forget to do this all the time)

[ravensilversea]

I generally refer to this graphic by @mostlyinthemorning for when I'm staring at the tag box and going "Now what." It gives some general categories of what you may want to consider tagging as well as some examples. You can also search for tags on Ao3 (leaving all of the categories blank in the tag search will return all the tags ever used) or Fanlore has a Tropes & Genres category for all the trope and genre pages to browse as well.

There's also this list of Fanfiction Terminology and this list of Kinks and Other Smut Tropes for additional references

[zerocomment-shortfics]

Adding to this because I also struggle with tagging but I've been using this tagging guide by @lullabyknellficlets for a few years! It's big and extensive and I usually just skip to the additional tags category, but it's been really helpful for me ^^

[nocturnus33]

The way I see it, is that tags are a catalogue, not a comedy section! As a reader, I use them to find exactly what I want to read. They are your story's taxonomy, and consistency is key.

Tags like "everyone hates each other and then gets drunk" are useless for searching. I think it's better to keep funny notes, meta-commentary, or personal observations in the Author's Notes. The focus of a tag is the reader's discovery, not the author's thought process.

So, aim for clear, logical categories that act as search filters. Here are some questions that I find useful for defining tags.

Which is the main ship? Regulus/James

What is the core genre and mood of your story? (i.e., the main reason someone would read it) Romance, Thriller

If the story is driven by relationships, which trope or dynamic defines it? (A subgenre of Romance/Shipping) Enemies to lovers.

What is the main setting, and how much does it impact the plot? Time, places: Be specific about universe changes or canon deviations. Grindelwald war; Grindelwald era

What are the key thematic elements or events that drive the story's conflict? Themes / Topics: Identity & Self-Discovery, Political Intrigue, Identity Issues, Angst

What is the story's overall tone and structure? Pacing/Tone (This captures the style and reading experience) Slow burn, Emotional Harm/Emotional Comfort, novel length

What is the one major non-canon/original plot device or scenario you've introduced? Plot: Soulmates, Amnesia, Time Travel

Are there any major warnings or explicit elements that readers need to know before clicking? Safety and content tags (General warnings, as you do not want to spoil your story; but this is controversial, proceed with caution): Graphic Violence, Dark Themes (instead of listing every dark topic). Discussion of Trauma (instead of specifying the traumatic event). Implied/Referenced [Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Eating Disorders, Anxiety Attacks, Self-Harm, Body Horror, etc]

What is the length of the story, and is it complete or in-progress? Chaptered Work, Complete, WIP (Work In Progress), abandoned.

Which characters have a major focus, and what non-canon-compliant specific traits or roles define them in this story? (This goes beyond the main pairing, just be sure not to add every character list.) BAMF!Character Name, Aged-Up Character(s), Villain Character Name

Remember: You want people to read your story! Tags are your fic most powerful tool to be found. Use them wisely! ... yet, this is fandom, and ultimately, you can do whatever you want with your tags.

[transformativeworks]

World Password Day: Keeping Your Account Secure

Today is World Password Day and AO3's Policy & Abuse volunteers have some advice for you on keeping your account secure.

Bahasa Indonesia • català • English • español • Filipino • français • 日本語 • português brasileiro • slovenščina • Српски • svenska • Українська

[tbcbtq-v-real]

I gave my ao3 passwords on both accs to my friend the day before my surgery just in case i died hashtag my ao3 history is loose

[transformativeworks]

Did you know that we actually have a thing called Fannish Next of Kin?

A fannish next-of-kin agreement allows the Archive of Our Own (AO3) to transfer ownership of your account to your designated fannish next-of-kin in the event of your death or permanent incapacitation. This allows that person to manage your account and fanworks for you after your death. The agreement must be set up ahead of time, and you must choose a specific individual who you want to be your fannish next-of-kin. Both you and your fannish next-of-kin must be registered users of AO3.

You don't have to give out your passwords is what I'm sayin

[nocturnus33]

How to write a fanfic summary:

When I was a kid, my mum taught me to summarize using a simple Q&A method, and I still use that technique to structure all kind of writing.

Since, I come across many fanfics where the author says: I'm bad at making summaries; I decided to share some questions that can guide you in writing fanfic summaries; it doesn't work for all stories, but I hope it gives you a solid starting point!

Three main questions:

What is happening? Who is it happening to? Why should the reader care?

Additional questions:

What is the normal that is about to be shattered? What does life look like for your main character(s) just before the inciting incident? What is the consequence if they fail? What do your characters stand to lose? What is the emotional core? How does this conflict change the key relationship in the story? What is the unspoken tension between them? What is the promise of the story? A punchy final sentence that captures the story's tone (humor, angst, thrill). i.e Maybe working with the enemy isn't so bad after all

[nocturnus33]

Begging for fics recs

I just read the fantastic “Always already”, and I've become hungry for some fic where Drarry travels back to the Marauders' time. Hopefully one in which Harry tells them he's from the future and tries to save them. I don't care if it is WIP, but hopefully not an abandoned one, please.

[nocturnus33]

Hello, I'm still looking for a fic of this type 👆🏼 , in which Harry and Draco go back to the Marauders' era and try to fix things. If you don't know of a fic like this, can you point me to a blog that recommends one or search for one?

[kulapti]

The Curse of the Deserted Heart bookbinding, January 2026.

I never posted the pics of this, oops! Here are the two identical books I made for the Renegade bookbinding exchange, one for my assigned recipient and one for the author. I had a great time making these, including the cover art that I drew to match the description of the silly novel from the story itself.

Fic is on ao3 here! It's a fun and silly romance! Do you need to read a silly Mummy movie fic? Of course you do.

Marbled paper is by @renato-crepaldi. I got these two colors of the same pattern several years apart and I love how they go together for a desert color palette.

[thatwildwolfwrites]

Bound: triptych. by @thychesters

grey linen book cloth with spine and corner decorations from decorative cardstock. cover decoration is three indents to represent the triptych form of the fic. art by @mounted-archer (used with permission, of course!)

My first time rounding the corners for an entire book! Not sure if I'll keep doing this: I liked it as an experiment, but it makes the book look a little bit like a notebook 🤔

I haven't had much time for bookbinding recently but maybe once I finish the fic I'm writing, I can get back into it! I still have a lot of fics I wanna bind...

[lindstromm]

I wrote 126,572 words and then made it a book with 472 pages! Supernatural modern AU -- bow your head and say yes. In which Castiel is a gay Mormon bishop and Dean Winchester is his new neighbor.

I use a simplified bookbinding method (search #simplified bookbinding) (if you want to find the tutorials) (The links all broke because I changed my username since I made them). I admire and love all the elaborate and artistic books other bookbinders make. My goal is to just get the book on my shelf. So this is what a simplified book looks like. You can see the cover is just plain bookcloth. The spine text is laser printed on bookcloth -- if I change my printer's paper source to 'thick paper' then it prints just fine on bookcloth.

I use formatting templates to cut down on the amount of time that I spend typesetting. All my cover pages are: fandom name; fandom logo; title; author, arranged vertically. Chapter headings are just centered in biggish font.

In the photo below, you can see the headband isn't sewn. I tried sewing a headband. It looked like a drunken spider had a seizure on my book so I cut it off and went back to simplified headbands -- it's fabric glued over a piece of twine. Then it's glued to the spine instead of sewn.

The only fancy typesetting I did is for the text messages. Insert a table with two columns and as many rows as there are text messages. Right justify the responder's responses. Make the table rows invisible. And voila! You have text messages!

The text block is glued, so the text block has smooth edges. Instead of printing in signatures and sewing signatures together, I print on A5 size paper. I have to manually double-side it, meaning that I print 10 pieces of paper at a time, then turn them over and stick them back in the paper tray to print the other side. I use bookbinder glue to perfect bind them, with two layers of mull saturated in glue to stabilize the spine.

Again, the series of tutorials I made come up under the tag '#simplified bookbinding'.

[thefujoshit]

i just bound a fanfic. It took like 2 hours and it wasn't even that long (comparatively). And I messed up a lot. As in glued the spine while the inside pages weren't even stitched. But it worked out and was really rewarding! I just used what I had lying around for this one, but I think I'll buy some pva glue and greyboard for the next one so it turns out a little nicer. Excuse the low-effort cover :p

Cantor's Road by Ethereal Being, 26k incomplete bakudeku fic. I really love it, y'all should read this

[runawaymarbles]

Fanbinding: No Place Like by @clytemnestraaa

As is my way now it would seem, I started this one in September. The line in the typeset is the approximate shape of I-10, with LA chapter titles being on the west side and El Paso chapters being on the east side.

The cover was harder: I always thought of this fic as sort of a yellow, which didn't really seem right for a cover. I asked Cly for a description and they said "a warm window at night. so kind of cool blue grey purple evening and then also the warmth of a lamp. that’s so unhelpful my god" but it was, in fact, very helpful. And then this whole book proceeded to be a comedy of errors because:

I had what I thought was the perfect fabric, a sort of two-toned blue/black. I had exactly enough for the cover (thanks, Fitz!) and then proceeded to fuck it up (RIP) by first: gluing the cover (which is made of two thin pieces of board glued together, one of which has a rectangle cut in it) on upside down, so the window was on the bottom half, and then: leaving too much space around the spine.

So I made a new one with the blue moire, of which I have...plenty. Cover went fine. Got the paper window in perfectly. Did a practice run with the stamping machine (known hereonout as The Machine, to keep with my Princess Bride equipment name theme.) Measured it, then, like Icarus, though I could make a measurement adjustment on the fly and have it come out correctly. Reader, it did not:

I spent like ten minutes trying to convince myself that it was fine. But. It wasn't fine. So I started over.

Anyway. Covers 3 and 4 are what you see in the final versions. I eventually figured out that if I taped a few layers of watercolor paper on top of the cover to test the location in The Machine, I could make sure to line it up exactly correct. I also figured out that I could do this by adjusting the placement just slightly between stamps:

So maybe I'll try and do that on purpose at some point, though I'm sure that's when it'd ultimately fail me.

Anyway, the punchline of all of this is that after all of this, over the course of a few months, I made an error that was a first for me, and everyone I showed it to. The endpaper curled when I put paste on it, and I didn't notice. You kind of have to laugh:

I don't ENTIRELY hate it because there's no board showing and it gives an interesting page turn effect. but that was NOT the intended outcome. RIP. I sent the author the successful one.