Ink Pools

Sunflower (Sunnie), she/they The bucket where I store my creative juices. Prompts for fanfiction and original works accepted! Ao3 Buy me a Kofi

[villainwithacrush]

[kvothes]

a good thread

[elumish]

I agree with all of this. But! I think it is also important to recognize that there are subgenres where it is significantly harder to find certain things, and it's actively unhelpful to readers to pretend that you can just find whatever type of book you want to read if you just know how to look for it, especially if you are sticking to trad publishing.

It is possible to find both sapphic SFF and M/M fantasy. It is significantly harder to find, say, aro urban fantasy. Or trans romantic suspense. Or intersex mystery.

A lot of the advice above only really works for trad published or popular books and for identities/subgenres/content that aren't too niche.

So here's some advice if the advice above isn't working for you (either because you can't find books with what you want or because the books you are finding don't end up being the vibe you want), from someone who reads a few hundred books a year:

Find websites or lists dedicated to the specific thing you are looking for. They will generally have more variety and will post you to examples that don't show up in regular rec lists. (ex: aro book recs, ace book recs, intersex #ownvoices database, sapphic books). Goodreads lists can (sometimes) also be your friend.

Get comfortable reading self-published and small press books. Trad publishing has its blind spots.

Check Reddit for recommendations

Start figuring out what it is specifically that you like and then start making your searches more specific. This can be subgenre (if you want urban fantasy, you're rarely going to find it just searching "fantasy"), tropes, plot devices, vibes, etc.

Look at the "readers also bought" on Goodreads/Amazon, similar books on Storygraph, etc. if you read a book you like. Even if you don't end up reading the one you click on, it can show you similar authors (similar to looking at the blurb on a cover), especially because far fewer books have blurbs now.

Check out the Literature Map for similar authors.

[nipple-brains]

Another fantastic resource is @queerliblib !!

They have lists on Libby with very specific topics and will answer questions on Tumblr about recs for people after very niche stuff and almost always have a starting point for someone!

[allwaswell16]

I just want to talk about the power of commenting on fics for a minute.

I have my main fandom, but when I read in other fandoms, I don't know many of the writers. So I usually just find fics by looking through the tag I want. And if it's a tag I'm really interested in, I'll read every fic in the tag. And if there's a fic I really liked in there, I'll start reading everything by that writer.

So what this means is I'm sometimes reading fics or writers that don't have tons of hits/kudos/comments on their fics, but I found them through some obscure tag I wanted to read. And so I'll get back some really incredibly sweet replies to my comments.

But then, something even more incredible started happening. I'd be reading WIPs by some of these writers and they'd literally start writing the rest of the fic for me. They started asking me what I hoped to see happen or if I had any requests. And when the fic was finished, one of them said the only reason they kept writing the fic was for me.

Sometimes there can be such a lovely connection between the writer and the reader just because you decided to leave a comment. And sometimes you as the commenting reader can become the lone reason why a fic makes its way into the world for all the other readers who come after you.

[kuno-chan]

Some of us really need to be doing “Finish That Fanfic We Haven’t Updated in a Year November” 💀

[curioscurio]

"I don't want to try making art because I'm worried it will be bad" bro you are making Pictures out of No Pictures with your own Hands. Thats cool as shit, no matter your skill level.

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

literally me every single night

[orgyofthedamned]

my art NEEDS to get bloodier, more grotesque in 2026

[orgyofthedamned]

YOUR art needs to get bloodier and more grotesque in 2026 🫵

[actualized-animal]

nothing’s more revealing than when an artist draws humanizations for a large group of things — like “here’s all the elements as anime girls” or “here’s anthro versions of all the starter pokemon” — and every single one of them is skinny. like it just immediately signals that the artist does not draw fat people or even consider the existence fat people when designing characters. ten or more character designs and they all have the exact same body type. if i saw a group of people like that in real life i would assume that they are just so rancid about fat people that they do not have any fat friends, and/or that they’re literally a cult

[sourdough-seal]

writing is easy actually. all you have to do is tell people what happened

[enjoylentgreen]

[tanoraqui]

#honestly though this is THEE most important thing to get down #as a new writer or one who's trying to level up #ask yourself with each paragraph: does this communicate what happened #after that you can get into things like communicating more things ABOUT what happened #and then y'know making sure the things that happen are interesting #and communicating the things that happen in a way that is cool and interesting #but fundamentals first #YOU MIGHT THINK THIS GOES WITHOUT SAYING. HOWEVER-- (@melongumi)

Writing down what happens, action after action & event after event, without care for emotion or word choice or whatever, is a GREAT way to do an early rough draft!

[akaanmo]

i think i just witnessed a miracle

[fractiousrvt]

There is always hope

[parkchanwoohoo]

I love seeing stores and cafes that display and sell shitty local art. Everybody on the planet should be making shitty local art. Everyone in the community should get to see what shitty local art everyone else is making. Eventually you will find something and be like hold on. This weirdly speaks to me. I've never seen anything quite like this, whether because of this person's idiosyncratic style or strange choice of subject matter or what. And suddenly your favorite piece of art is a collage painting done by a woman who waits tables during the day and does roller derby at night and uses the excess flyers and paper menus from both places of work to make amateur art on the weekends and you realize this is such a bizarre combination of circumstances that has produced something so striking to you, how lucky you are to live in a world where this got to exist and you got to see it

[krispycl0uds]

This one resonated with me

[sunflowersandink]

Fic Rec Friday!

July 24th, 2026

I have been BOUNCING around tags this week. I feel like I'm about due to hyperfixate on a specific trope or relationship for a little while, but for now I'm snacking on everything tasty that I happen to float past. Fortunately the fic gods have been kind to me (TWO new Clark & Conner fics!! SEVERAL beloved fics updated!!!) and I am here to share my bounty 💛

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Fandom: DC

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Completed works:

🌻 our stained glass means nothing (without light) - thepinkcallalily Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne & Dick Grayson No Archive Warnings Apply 7,176 words, 1/1 chapters (first part of a series)  Completed: July 17th, 2026

Summary: 

“This place has been buzzing about you three all night,” Bruce says. “Is it right that this one is yours, on loan?”

He nods toward the artefact to their right. It’s less visually impressive than many of the things on display tonight, seeing as it’s just a hunk of rock with a portion of a swirling carving at one edge, clearly broken off of something larger. As he said, the plaque thanks the Drakes for the loan, and claims the rock was once part of a fairy circle, of all things.

“Actually, it was Tim who brought the exhibit to our attention,” Jack says. “I wouldn’t have ever thought of offering our own personal collection for this theme, but when Tim brought it up, I realised we had more supposed magic on our hands than I thought.”

He laughs, and Bruce and Janet chuckle along. Silent, Tim smiles, his pale eyes twinkling in the faux candlelight as they flick over to the rock and back. The doll in his arms watches on with a small, private smile, head stiffly staying upright even as its limbs dangle.

—

Tim is acting strange, and Bruce is growing increasingly concerned. It doesn’t have anything to do with the doll he won’t be separated from…right?

Rec: This is such a unique fic, I really don’t think I’ve ever read another quite like it. Such an AWESOME, eerie concept - it plays out like a horror story, but my heart is warmer at the end than it was when I started. I have so many questions, and I can’t wait to see what the author does with the rest of the series — but at the same time, the mystery around the answers we do get is definitely part of what I love about this story 💛

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🌻 Rubble - sElkieNight60 ( @selkienight60 ) Clark Kent & Conner Kent  No Archive Warnings Apply 3,766 words, 1/1 chapters (part 5 of series)  Published: July 21st, 2026

Summary: 

Amnesia: 1.

Conner Kent: 0.

OR: The result of getting bonked on the head during a sparring match.

Rec: seeing this fic in my inbox was like waking up to discover someone had placed a beautiful delicious cake in my fridge for breakfast. I LOVE the way Selkie writes the Kon & Clark dynamic — it’s so soft and gentle, and the underlying guilt seeded through it from the early days of their relationship in this verse is just — ousgh, absolutely tailor made to go straight to my heart. 10/10, WILL be rereading again and again, along with the rest of the series 💛

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🌻 too scared to dream - Myrime ( @blancheludis ) Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne No Archive Warnings Apply 4,404 words, 1/1 chapters (part 1 of series)  Published: October 5th, 2021

Summary: 

“I bought the bank,” Bruce says, his face unreadable as ever, but he looks like he is waiting for something.

Clark stands with his parents’ farm in his back, the farm that now belongs to Bruce, and he understands, loud and clear. I bought you.

So, with his mother’s home and well-being on the line, he has little choice but to follow when Bruce beckons.

Rec: I recced another fic by this same author last week, and to my delight, a friend followed that rec through to the rest of the author’s works, and dm’d me this fic asking if I’d read it yet. And I had! but what a wonderful excuse for a reread! 💖The misunderstanding in this one is SO painful and SO tasty, and the ending is heartbreaking with just a little bit of hope to sweeten it. I love Clark’s slow realization that things could have been good — if only the situation weren’t what he believes it to be.

A note of warning — while it’s marked as no archive warnings apply, there is a running theme of (non-graphic) dubious consent throughout this fic, given the perceived nature of their relationship through Clark’s eyes. 

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🌻 'Cause brick by brick you built us - TheSevenUmbrellas Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne No Archive Warnings Apply 3,613 words, 1/1 chapters  Published: February 20th, 2023

Summary: 

“In my defense, you were supposed to be out,” Dick says dryly. He’s propped up against the Batcave wall, the top part of his suit yanked down to his hips, and hands covered in a thick layer of blood. It’s not his proudest moment. But also, patching up a bullet wound is not the worst thing Bruce has caught him doing in the cave.

Rec: REALLY soft and bittersweet fic, a snapshot of Bruce and Dick’s relationship after Alfred’s death and Dick’s amnesia arc. There’s so much history and love between the two of them, and it shows, both for better and for worse. 

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Ongoing Works:

❀ - updated within the last 6 months

❀ 🌻 Elsewhere, Everywhere - MoonBoo Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, Tim Drake & Alfred Pennyworth, Tim Drake & Everyone Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings 52,068 words, 16/? chapters  Updated: July 23rd, 2026

Summary: 

Tim, stuck on comms due to a broken leg, is attacked by a familiar cowled figure in the Batcave.

The problem? Bruce is still out on patrol.

An alternate Batman stranded far from home should be nothing more than a temporary complication. Instead, Tim finds himself growing close to a Bruce Wayne who has a Dick, a Jason, but no Tim.

And some doors, once opened, are hard to close.

Rec: we are in an absolutely EXCRUCIATING arc (in the very best way) (if you love Bruce caring about Tim and feeling Strong Emotions about whether Tim is okay or not you will be feasting) (I am feasting like a starfish on a whale fall, baby) and I am so glad this author has been updating so often because I am on the verge of losing my mind with each chapter 💛

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❀🌻 there is another sunshine - hoebiwan ( @homobiwan ) Clark Kent & Conner Kent, Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings 2,553 words, 1/? chapters  Updated: July 15th, 2026

Summary: 

Kon thinks Kal-El must have been soft once, too.

Or:

Out of a world where Superman and Batman offered nothing but pain, Kon-El falls into a childless Clark Kent's home.

Rec: the fact that there is not more Clark & Kon through the looking glass fic is a tragedy and the fact that this fic exists and is so well written is a blessing. I love the way that Kon’s mental state and character are being set up so far, and I love Clark’s clear desire to take care of him, even while being so in over his head. Absolutely a fic with the early makings of an all-time favorite 💛

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❀🌻 some of us have childhoods that aren't poems on sight (but darling, you're doing alright) - mrs_d ( @mrsd-writes ) Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, Tim Drake & Alfred Pennyworth, Dick Grayson & Alfred Pennyworth No Archive Warnings Apply  231,269 words, 60/? chapters Updated: July 19th, 2026

Summary: 

Bruce Wayne, as the world knew him, was only a few parenting skills away from Jack Drake, and, on paper anyway, his lifestyle was certainly familiar. But now Tim was in a bedroom in Wayne Manor, a mile away from where he grew up, and just six doors down from where the frickin’ Batman slept.

An AU in which Bruce Wayne starts fostering Tim Drake without any real knowledge of who Tim is. (While Tim, of course, knows exactly who Bruce is.)

Rec: the idea of this weekly rec list was to rec what I have been reading this week, and to that end I have been trying to rein myself in and not go digging back through my favorite fics looking for ones to rec unless I am organically rereading them, because I know my own capacity to overwhelm myself. That being said, this is one of the fics that I was actively anticipating getting to rec when I started this project in the first place, because oh my god. what a gorgeous work of characterization. what a beautifully paced blend of hurt/comfort, slow-burn platonic relationships, secret identities, and genuinely compelling case fic. everything about this fic is well-balanced and heartfelt, and just so, so well-written. Someday I want to teach myself fic binding for my own personal collection — this fic will be on my shelf when I do 💛

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Fandom: The Pitt

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Completed works:

🌻 DADT: Domestic Edition - Vamillepudding ( @vamillepudding ) Jack Abbot/Michael "Robby" Robinavitch No Archive Warnings Apply  6,940 words, oneshot  Published: July 11th, 2026

Summary: 

Jack stares at him. “I feel like you’ve skipped a few lines of script, brother. Why are you booking a hotel?”

“You said your friend is coming over,” Robby reminds him. “Look – I got it. Message received. I don’t mind crashing somewhere else for a few nights if it spares you telling all your army buddies that you’re dating a dude.”

Or: When Jack invites an old veteran friend to stay with them, it turns out Robby's vague worries about homophobia are only the tip of the iceberg.

Rec: such a gentle, grounded take on this scenario — the dynamic between Jack and Robby feels very real, their emotions true to both reality and character. Neither Robby’s insecurity nor Jack’s protectiveness and love feel over-exaggerated in the slightest. Just a very well-written fic all around 💛

[writingdose]

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

ao3 tips for starters!

you don’t have to use ao1 or ao2 before diving into ao3

[exhuastedpigeon]

The first rule of fandom is have fun. The second rule of fandom is find an enabler and become an enabler. Yes you should write that fic. What if it was even hornier? What if it was angstier? What if you wrote it just for me?

[suispiria]

lately I’ve been Overcome With Emotion