There’s a quality that certain books/movies/TV shows have that leads me to say, “Yeah, I can see people making fanfiction of that.” It’s something to do, I think, with how tight the story is, how much feels open-ended or like it could be elaborated on.
Something like Breaking Bad, for example, has low squiggability (that’s what I’m calling this quality). It’s tightly written, the characters are consistent, there’s little left to interpolate or extrapolate. Obviously, people DO write fanfic of Breaking Bad, but it still has a low squiggability score. Whereas something like Supernatural has a high squiggability score. Fantasy and science fiction often have high squiggability scores. This suggests squiggability could also be related to worldbuilding and potential for people to borrow a premise or setting.
And sometimes you’ll read or watch something and you’ll say, “Ah, low squiggability,” and then you’ll open tumblr and find out that everyone else seem to think its squiggability was very high indeed.
Love how tumblr has its own folk stories. Yeah the God of Arepo we’ve all heard the story and we all still cry about it. Yeah that one about the woman locked up for centuries finally getting free. That one about the witch who would marry anyone who could get her house key from her cat and it’s revealed she IS the cat after the narrator befriends the cat.
Everyone's all "ohhh 2026 bring back physical media" until I start talking illuminated manuscripts and then suddenly we're not on the same page anymore
the feeling of having fics stored in your docs that you're never gonna post because it's a super niche or overhated ship in that fandom or just makes no sense for the characters
writer culture is feeling proud of your fanfic that got you out of your writer slump but it doesn't get any hits, kudos and comments so now you feel like you wasted your time on the fanfic
fanfic writers will go "anyone gonna explore the kinda fucked up or emotionally impactful implications of this minor canon detail?" and then not wait for an answer.
So far my recs have been solely Ao3 for some reason. Plenty of fics are cross-posted and I haven’t double-checked every single one to be sure that they aren’t. Just don’t wanna miss out on any! Here are some more goodies.
A bunch of these are canon-divergent(ish), so I’ve noted the episode they diverge from.
Bellarke One Shots - chapter 18 is my person fave. 111K
worn and haggard, weathered and torn - bookstore AU. 6K
Every Day - post 4x13, separation. 9K
Vulnerability - post 2x08, grief. 3K
Winter’s Kiss - season 1 winter. 2K
Sacrifice and Survival - post 3x07. 43K
Uneven - alt-canon season 1. 81K
Shadows of a Dream - short stories. 7K
A Quiet Moment - started during a storm. 51K *fave*
Abiding Love - post 2x16. 60K
Command Me to be Well - hurt/comfort. 5K
Survivors - post 1x13. 42K
Entropy - after 2x06. 57K
Her Own Rescuer - after 1x11. 24K
Rain - season 1 stuff. 44K *fave*
But with you I’ve learned to just let it out - no words needed. 12K *fave*
You crept up on me - winter is coming, on the ground. 11K
warning: This challenge contains heavy material. Please Read with caution. 18+, MINORS DNI.
characters: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, Jake "Hangman" Seresin, Rip Wheeler, Kayce Dutton, Jay Halstead, Will Halstead, Conor Rhodes
requests for whumptober are still open! Any days that haven't been crossed off are free!
whumptober '24 taglist form
1: RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK
Character: Bradley Bradshaw x Dragon Trace
synopsis: Dragon had made a promise to herself at young age to never be in a relationship, but all that changed when she met Bradley. Now, years later, she is wondering if she made the right choice to give up that promise.
warnings: infidelity, verbal abuse, childhood trauma, mentions of miscarriage, mentions of infant death, cursing, religious trauma, religious abuse.
2: TRUST ISSUES
Character: Bradley Bradshaw
synopsis: Bradley is forced to go to the annual TopGun ball, but will he be able to put past demons aside, or will he be forced to deal with what he has done
warnings: mentions of character death, mentions of sabotaging a plane, guilt, betrayal, cursing
3: SET UP FOR FAILURE
Character: Jay Halstead
synopsis: Life with Jay had never been easy, and you knew that being with a police officer wasn't going to be easy. But when a newly released criminal starts repeating the same patterns that got him put behind bars, Jay starts to worry about your safety.
warnings: cursing, robbery gone wrong, attempted murder, mentions of large amounts of blood, crime scenes, pregnancy, kidnapping, mentions of a non-consensual c-section.
4: HALLUCINATIONS
Character: Nick Bradshaw
synopsis: You had a thing for the night sky since you can remember, and Goose loves sharing in your obsession.
warnings: hallucinations, dying, character death, mentions of graphic injuries, cursing, mentions of cheating, mentions of pregnancy, mentions of an affair, pre-death anxiety
5: SUNBURN
Character: Kayce Dutton
synopsis: The Montana summers weren't for the weak. You and Kayce have unspoken history.
warnings: heatstroke, passing out, vomiting, mentions of abuse, mentions of drug usage, mentions of running away, Monica and Tate don't exist.
6: I REMEMBER EVERYTHING
Character: Jake Seresin
synopsis: In the aftermath of a crash, Jake tries to remember what happened, but unfortunately, he has picked up some new habits along the way
warnings: character death, grief, mentions of drinking, unhealthy ways of coping, brain injury, memory loss
7: ONLY FOR EMERGENCIES
Character: Jake Seresin
synopsis: You decide it's time to try and tame the beast, and you go to the one place where you know you'll be able to do it.
warnings: drug abuse, drug related death, cursing, mentions of death, detoxing, vomiting, mentions of relapse, mentions of parental death
8: LEAVE THE LIGHTS ON
Character: Bradley Bradshaw
synopsis: Bradley goes back to work for the first time since him and Dragon welcomed their baby boy into the world. Dragon comes to face to face with her darkest thoughts.
warnings: postpartum depression, suicidal thoughts, mentions of a c-section, mentions of having a child in the NICU, crying, infant neglect (not serious or life threatening), mentions of parental death, mentions of previous miscarriages, mental breakdown
9: FRAME ME UP ON THE WALL
Character: Nick Bradshaw
synopsis: Going to TopGun was a once in a life time opportunity, and the chance of a life time. Being the first female Aviator in the program had a lot of challenges, but being there with your husband had even more.
warnings: character death, sexism, cursing, feelings of doom, fear, mentions of parental death, mentions of trying for a child.
10: BLOW TO THE HEAD
Character: Jay Halstead
synopsis: you had always dreamed of being a police officer, but one bad accident left you with a lifetime of pain. Luckily for you, Jay is the perfect person to be by your side.
warnings: car accident, swearing, mentions of child crimes, mentions of sex trafficking crimes, mentions of passing out, mentions of vomiting, slurring words, intense pain
synopsis: The Montana summers weren't for the weak. You and Kayce have unspoken history.
warnings: heatstroke, passing out, vomiting, mentions of abuse, mentions of drug usage, mentions of running away, Monica and Tate don't exist.
word count: 2.1k
There was something about Montana summers.
The valley in which the Yellowstone ranch laid, had its fair share of weather changes. The winters were brutal, feet of snow coating the land, the wind bitter against the skin making it hard to want to get up in the morning and do chores. Spring usually brought inches upon inches of rain, damn near flooding the place and making it a muddy mess trying to move cattle in preparation for breeding season. Fall was a vibrant display of changing leaves, and the scent of fields being harvested in time before the first frost.
But the summers, the summers were something else. Blame global warming, or whatever you wanted, but the summers in Montana were hot and steamy. The sun was unforgiving most days, beating down on you and your horse as you worked from sunup till sundown, training and cleaning horse stalls, helping move cattle from pasture to pasture, and carrying out the daily maintenance of the ranch. Most of the cowboys didn’t have an issue, but you on the other hand, never quite got along with the heat.
It was supposed to be an “easy day”, Rip had barked at all of you as you shuffled into the barn to get tack up your horses, but the sun was already blaring its god awful rays down on the earth. Your skin felt sticky from the humidity and your hair was already sticking to your forehead underneath your hat. You left your water jug in the bunkhouse, choosing to fuel your body with the dark roast coffee Loyd had made instead.
“You think the Devil just walked up here and decided to fuck with the temperature,” Ryan said, sitting on top of the fence, watching you and Colby rake it out.
“Don’t know,” Colby grunted, “Think you could quit fucking complaining and help?”
“I don’t want to melt,” Ryan chirped back and you rolled your eyes. The two of them fought like an old married couple most days.
Colby and Ryan were the first two to make you feel welcome in the bunkhouse. It was hard walking into a house full of men, no one knowing who you are or what you had shown up at the ranch for. Everyone knew bits and pieces of your story, you had known Kayce when you were younger, highschool sweethearts or something of the sort. He was the one who got away, or so you had said. While he was thriving in the military, you were left behind, struggling and doing anything you could to make a buck. You had shown up on his doorstep, soaking wet in the rain and begging for a job, begging to finally leave behind the life you had created for yourself. Kayce barely gave you the time of day, telling you to walk back down the road, take a left, and keep going until you reach the bunkhouse, that there would be someone there to help you. Since then, you and Kayce had been walking on eggshells around each other.
“Okay, Princess,” You rolled your eyes, lifting your hat slightly off your head, and wiping away the sweat, “It’s fucking hot.” You stared at the heat waves rippling off of the earth for a moment, as the familiar sound of cowboy boots crunching on the gravel drew close.
“What up, boss man,” Kolby greeted Kayce with a nod of his head, “Come to sweat with the worst of us?”
“No, I need the girl,” Kayce said gruffly, and you turned to look at him, “We’re moving cattle. Let’s go,” He turned and walked back the direction he came without another word. You scoffed, throwing the pitchfork down.
“What a fucking douche,” You grumbled, but went and followed after him to where the horses were enjoying the cool air of the barn. Kayce’s horse, of course, was already saddled up. You weren’t about to ask him for help as you grabbed your saddle from the wall, and walked down to your horse’s stall. You could feel his impatient tension like an extra cloud of heat in the air.
“Ready?” Kayce asked as you walked your horse down the barn alley, and you nodded, silently following him outside.
The two of you rode in silence for most of the journey, slowly but surely pushing cattle from one pasture into another. You weren’t sure why you, of all the people on the Yellowstone Ranch, had to be the one out here, sweating with Kayce. Normally, you wouldn’t have minded the silent rides through the rolling fields, but it wasn’t just the heat making you not want to be out here.
Kayce thought that asking you to come out here with him would be the perfect chance to tell you how he felt. He, just as much as you, was tired of the awkward dance that you had been doing since you showed up. He didn’t need to ask too many questions that night when you came knocking on his door, soaked to the bone, nothing more than skin and bones. When he left for the Navy, a mere days after graduation and breaking your heart, he had asked Beth to keep an eye out for you. Begrudgingly, she did so, and told him about the shift in your life. You had always dreamed of getting out of Montana, but you never made it that far.
Every time Kayce thought of saying something, of apologizing or even just asking how you have been, his mouth went dry and his mind blank. Instead, he thought that maybe even getting you near would break some of the tension, but he was so wrong. It seemed as if the tension had picked up a notch as the two of you rode next to each other.
“Fuck, is it hotter out here, or is it just me,” You mumbled as you sat on top of your horse. The body heat from the animal was soaking into you, paired with the brutal beatdown from the sun, your skin felt like it was physically burning.
“Complainin’ ain’t gonna make the sun go away,” Kayce said back and you rolled your eyes. The last thing you needed was the sass from him. Your skin felt dry and your head was pounding. All you wanted was to feel the cold stream of water in the bunkhouse shower.
— — —
You had never felt so happy to have your feet back on the ground. Three hours sitting up on a horse in the sun, slowly moving cattle into a new pasture. You knew that your shoulders were horribly sunburnt, and the sweat stains in between your thighs from sitting on the saddle made it look like you wet yourself.
Kayce felt happy too, to be back on solid ground. He would be lying if he said the heat hadn’t gotten to him either. He was used to being in hot temp areas, but he would take being in full kit in Afghanistan versus sitting on a horse waiting for cattle to hurry up and move. Kayce had taken his horse back to the barn, carefully taking the tack off of him and hanging it up. He told Loyd to give the animal a good wash down, wanting to make sure his horse was cooled down before being put away for the night.
Kayce slowly made his way down the alley of the barn, stopping just right outside of your horse’s stall. He had been thinking of what he was going to say to you since the moment he got you alone out in the field. The two of you had yet to have “the talk” since you arrived months ago, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could go without it. Every time he saw you, the words that he wanted to say were right at the tip of his tongue, but the second you looked at him, they all seemed to go blank. But now, it was as good a time as any.
“Y/N,” Kayce said, stepping into the horse stall. You stood by your horse, your hand on its belly, back facing Kayce, “We need to talk.”
You blinked a couple of times, trying to stop the black spots floating in your vision, and trying to keep yourself up right. You felt like your knees could give out at any moment.
“Y/N?” Kayce called out. He reached out to touch your shoulder, as you doubled over and vomited into the hay sheddings, “Holy shit,” Kayce moved quickly, rushing to you as your legs gave out and you collapsed in his arms. He was alarmed by the flush color of your skin, and your chapped lips. Your eyes looked glossed over as you looked up at Kayce.
“I-I don’t feel,” Your words were slurred as Kayce hoisted you up in his arms.
“I know, we gotta cool you down,” Kayce said to you, and you weakly nodded your head.
Kayce moved you quickly to the bunkhouse, the first flash of cool air made you instantly shiver. He walked you to the bathroom, and you were thankful that the house seemed to be quiet, not wanting any of the other cowboys to see you like this. It was hard enough being one of the only females here, you didn’t need this to be held over your head. Kayce gently sets you down on the shower tile, reaching above you and barely turning the water on. The second the cold water hit your skin, you gasped.
“No! No!” You cried.
“It’s okay,” Kayce cooed, “I have to cool you down.”
“Please,” Tears were welling in your vision, and you weren’t really sure why you were crying. You summed it up to your body being in such shock, you didn’t have control over your emotions.
“It’s okay,” Kayce said again, running a hand up and down your back as you leaned into him, feeling your body grow weak again, “You’re going to be okay. It’ll be okay.” You let out a whine as your body had shifted temperature, but welcomed the cool water against your warm skin.
— — —
You weren’t sure when you fell asleep or maybe you passed out, but you woke up in an unfamiliar bed, with a box fan pointed right at you. It took you a moment, your head pounding as you looked around the room, noticing the various country-esq landscape paintings and the giant deer head on the wall. It was nearing night time, or so you had guessed by the last remnants of the sunset peaking through the wooden blinds. You tried to sit up, but let out a groan instead, your head starting to swim and black spots filling your vision.
“Y/N?” You froze as you heard Kayce’s voice from the other side of the door, “Can I come in?”
‘Holy shit’ You cursed to yourself, ‘I’m in Kayce’s room.’
“Yeah,” Your voice was raspy, and you could still feel the sting of bile.
Ever so gently, Kayce pushed the door to his bedroom open, sticking his head in first before coming all the way in, “Hey,” You nodded your head as he walked towards you, a glass of water in his hand and some tylenol, “Drink this and take these. It’ll help the headache and muscle cramps.”
“How do you know?” You asked, taking the water and medicine. Now that he mentioned it, your legs felt heavier than normal with a slight ache to them.
“They train you on the basics of heat stroke in the Navy,” Kayce said, “Seen one too many guys fall over.” You felt your cheeks pink up in embarrassment, “No one saw, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Am I that transparent?” You said barely above a whisper, “You didn’t have to bring me here. They would’ve taken care of me at the bunkhouse.”
“I know,” Kayce swallowed thickly. He wasn’t all too sure why he had picked you up and put you in his truck, driving back to his house for you to rest somewhere quiet and comfortable. But he did, and he didn’t regret it. He knew that he would’ve been a nervous wreck leaving you in the bunkhouse, “I needed to make sure you were going to be okay. . . You scared me.”
“I’m sorry,” You squeaked out.
“Don’t apologize, Y/N,” Kayce said, shifting closer to you on the bed, “One of my first summer's running cattle with my dad, I did the same thing. We’d been out all day and came back, and the second I climbed off my hose I hit the ground. Face first in shit shavings,” You couldn’t help but chuckle, “At least you picked a clean stall to upchuck and pass out in.”
You rolled your eyes, “Thanks for catching me.”
“Always,” Kayce said, grabbing your hand. You glanced down between your hands and back up at Kayce, who had a slight blush on his face. He went to pull his hand away but you squeezed it and then laced your fingers with his.
