There have been a lot of fic rec posts flying by on my dash recently as we celebrate the end of 2020. I have always loved reading fic, but I think I needed it more than ever this year.
I frequently think of this fandom as an embarrassment of riches-- there are SO MANY talented writers and artists who breathe life (and love) into these characters year after year. I’m thankful for all of you.
This list is to celebrate some of the fics written this year that I enjoyed that maybe haven't quite found the audience they deserve yet.
As of today, January 1, 2021, all of the fics on this list have less than 100 kudos. If you find something here that's new to you, go leave it some love!
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The Flight of the Swans by Saki101 (23,624 words, T)
A gorgeous and poetic casefic.
I Have Not Lingered by saintscully (8,585 words, M)
A glimpse of several heartwrenching moments in Sherlock's life on the run after TRF.
a taste of home by simplyclockwork (896 words, M)
Sherlock comforts himself with thoughts of John while being held in Serbia. Short and painful.
Inksolation 2020 by tepidspongebath (6,803 words, series, G)
A fun series of sweet vignettes that give us a glimpse into Sherlock and John's lives together in quarantine.
Consulting for Christmas by ohlooktheresabee (40,154 words, G)
A charming and fun Christmas casefic with just the right touch of angst and misunderstanding.
Ghosts of the Past by PipMer (3,438 words, T)
A ghost story that's more wistful than frightening, and an absolutely engrossing read.
Rupert Street by WritingOutLoud (27,262 words, M)
A fun alternate meeting for Sherlock and John.
Survival Mode by BakerTumblings (23,563 words, M)
Sherlock and John, each struggling with their own demons, meet via crisis hotline.
Lightning Fields by insistentbass (10,703 words, E)
Sherlock and John attend a wedding and dance around their own regrets and unspoken words. Beautifully written.
Lost Souls by Raina_at (49,949 words, M)
A fantastic adventure that pulls you in right from the start and doesn't let go. Sherlock and John are children sent to the country during WW2. There, as the years pass and they grow up together, they discover a mystery and quite literally stumble into another world.
Peace to Men, Now and Forever More, Amen by Algy Swinburne (5,044 words, T)
A sweet and heartwarming Christmas at 221B.
The Unwinding by tiltedsyllogism (4,912 words, M)
A remix of my own horror fic, The Web, that removes many of the supernatural overtones and manages to be even more chilling for it. Richly layered, haunting, and unforgettable.
Etude for Lovers by UrbanHymnal (7,006 words, M)
One of those beautiful fics that creates the perfect ache in your heart. John can't quite forgive Sherlock after his return. It takes them years to find their way back to one another.
The Adventure of the Cardboard Hoax by pagimag (39,622 words, M)
Sherlock and John navigate their complicated feelings for one another while investigating a case that Sherlock is certain ties back to Moriarty.
Nothing More Deceptive by thetimemoves (221 words, T)
The absolutely delightful 221b ficlet shows us a world where Sherlock really was the old man who turned up at John's surgery. I can't help but wonder what happens next!
The Snow Has Yet to Fall by FinAmour (829 words, G)
A beautiful, painful ficlet that drops in on Sherlock as he spends Christmas alone in 221B, missing John.
Virtual Postcard Tales by mydogwatson (40,320 words, series, T)
An ongoing series of one-shots. Always delightful.
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Please be sure to note the tags on each individual fic before reading.
I'm sure there are still many, many wonderful fics that I've missed. Please feel free to rec me your favorite underrated fic from 2020 if you don't see it on this list!
My top fic of 2020 is a WIP but has my heart in a way I haven’t experienced before: Of Mates and Men by bananaheathen. I’m in love with the banter and the friendships and the emotional growth. Feel free to come scream at me about it.
There is no hierarchy among the rest and I enjoyed all of these a lot. But I’m trying to break them into categories.
Exes to Lovers:
an entire desert in our hourglass @sunflowrsix
Mine Would Be You @crinkle-eyed-boo
an island without waves @sunflowrsix
I Met You and Now I Can’t Get Rid of You:
we can take the long road home
fallin' and laughin' at the drinks we spilled @non-binharry
Fine Line bananaheathen
Dark and Twisty:
The Devil In My Brain
Soaked In The Blood Of Angels
1940s Love on a Farm:
An Invincible Summer @twopoppies
Ever Since I Tried Your Way @lesbianiconharrystyles
Soulmates:
every universe but ours @28finelines
Light, Spark and Fire @greenfeelings
Quiet People Have the Loudest Minds @2tiedships2
Hot AF:
Whoever, However @twopoppies
Gentle Sin
stop the world ('cause i wanna get off with you) @devilinmybrain
Space / Fantasy:
The Stars Look Very Different Today @kingsofeverything
How Fitting and Sweet @soidiallednine
the school of extraordinary lovers @aliensingucci
We Work Together (Sort of):
gathered on wings @twopoppies
Our Lives, Non-Fiction @indiaalphawhiskey
Eat Your Vegetables bananaheathen
The Section bananaheathen
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea @kingsofeverything
since 2020 is almost over, i thought i’d share (some of) my favorite fics that made my 2020 a lot better.
[note: not all of these fics were written/published in 2020, although most of them are, there are some that are older, but that i’ve read or re-read this year]
“Is this true?” Harry grabbed the beta by the shoulders. “Bryce, where did you hear that?”
“There’s rumors going around the castle,” he smirked. “stories about his beauty and his cold attitude. They know he is an omega only because of his scent, but he has never had a heat.”
“Do you know what this means?”
Bryce smirk grew into a big smile. “He can’t give you an heir.”
A cold prince, an alpha with nothing left to lose and a kingdom with a secret.
Louis was even hallucinating now. He closed his eyes.
“Hey, you.”
He chuckled wetly, head still leaning against the door.
“Can you get out of the way? You're blocking the door.”
He exhaled sharply before slowly turning around. His eyes fixed onto muddy Nike trainers before it traveled up to impossibly short jogging shorts. The yellow color was atrocious, simply ghastly.
“What happened to being polite, Harold?”
OR Omega Louis would never guess that he would be trying to hack into Alpha Harry's Wifi. That is until everything changes when he tries to get to know his enemy.
He’s tall—that’s the first thing that registers in Louis’ head when he spots him, standing with his hands behind his back. Tall, with curly hair, staring at them with the widest, greenest eyes Louis has ever seen. And wait, are those dimples? Louis didn’t know ghosts could have dimples.
Because he’s definitely a ghost, this boy. At first glance he looks normal, standing there pigeon-toed in a band shirt (The Ramones, Louis can’t help but note incredulously), dark jeans, and some boots, with rings on both hands, and tattoos littering his left arm—a sleeve made of anchors and names and roses and other completely unrelated things. But he’s also a little bit translucent; if Louis focuses, he can see the outline of the furniture, the design of the wallpaper through him.
“Hi,” the boy—the ghost—says to Louis. His face shifts; somehow his dimples dig deeper into his cheeks. His eyes flit from Louis, to Niall, to Liam, and finally to Zayn, and his face goes from shocked to elated. “I’m Harry.”
At in that exact moment, standing between three of his best friends and staring at a (quite handsome) ghost, Louis can only think one thing.
Figure skating is as vital to Louis’ identity as his DNA, so when his skates go missing right before the last Olympics of his career there may be a meltdown only vanilla bath salts can fix. Well, that and the stupidly charming hockey player he met on the plane.
Harry’s too old to be the wonder kid and too young to be taken seriously in the NHL. As an alternate thrown in at the last second, he fights to prove himself on the national team at the largest sporting event known to man. Or he will, once he gets off this flight and can focus on something other than the fussy figure skater and his stunningly blue eyes.
A baggage mix-up skews both of their perfectly laid plans for gold, forcing the two to work together as the clock clicks towards the minute they’re expected to shine on centre ice.
The most prestigious English third-level institution, Candling University, accepts omega students for the first time and Louis Tomlinson applies with bright eyes and brighter ambitions. There he encounters personal obstacles, traditional mindsets and a beautiful boy who inverts every prejudice Louis has ever known.
Mine Would Be You by crinkle-eyed-boo (KimmieRocks)
Louis blinks his eyes open, his eyelids fluttering as the room swims around him. He takes several gulps of beer once he confirms that he’s definitely not hallucinating, that the very first portrait Harry Styles ever painted of him is hanging on that wall.
Louis stares at the wall, his heart jackrabbiting in his chest as he realizes that there’s not just one painting of him, there’s five, the portraits lined up like they’re some sort of storyboard depicting the rise and fall of his deepest love. His greatest heartache. A pain that cut him so deep that he left the fucking country, severing all ties with his life in New York, now suddenly surrounding him as if he’d never left.
Fucking shit motherfucker fuck.
Louis returns to New York City five years after he left it – and the love of his life – behind. He didn't intend to see Harry again, but fate has a funny way of pulling them together, whether they like it or not. After making a begrudging truce, they both start to wonder: Would it be so bad if history repeated itself?
The ghoul boys are back, but this time around there are some unresolved feelings involved. Harry is a skeptic, Louis is not. Watch them go on their ongoing investigation into the question: are ghosts real?
“For fuck’s sake,” he huffs, grabbing the pillow and pulling it on top of his head in an attempt to block out the banging coming from the other side of the wall.
It’s the third time this week that his neighbour has woken him up in the middle of the night with his little ‘rendezvous.’ Honestly, he's quite sick of it. There’s only so much sex he can bear to hear in one week and he has already hit his limit. If he wanted to listen to someone having sex, he’d turn to porn.
As if the noises weren’t enough, Harry immediately becomes aware of the faint aroma of weed filling his flat.
“I’m going to murder him.”
Sleep. Harry just wants one good night of sleep. However, his neighbour has a thing for headboard-banging-against-the-wall-sex every night. After a secret set-up and a bet, Harry may finally get the sleep he so much desires.
“We have to get out of here, outside,” Harry whispered, turning his hand in Louis’s grip to hold on and pull them both to their feet.
“And how do we fucking do that?” Louis hissed, carefully rising and pulling Harry to his feet before Harry could do it. His gaze darted to the front then back of the arena. “None of the doors are where they’re supposed to be.”
“What?” Harry looked around again too, couldn’t see any doors, only knew that they must be there, somewhere. “How do you know?”
Confusion slid over Louis's features.
“Because we’ve been here before, Haz. It’s the O2.”
The show. It must be the first night of their tour. They were too late; they were out of time.
Louis is cursed after a night out with the lads and the five have just three days to figure out what happened and how to break it before Harry and Louis both lose their sanity and maybe something more. Louis can hear everything Harry thinks and Harry isn’t sure he can keep his feelings for Louis a secret from his own mind.
Ridiculous amounts of banter and angst, a lot of Harry and Louis alone together, a healthy dose of OT5 friendship, and one very magical weekend.
I'd Give Up Everything Just Ask Me To by Rearviewdreamer
They don't usually exchange Christmas gifts, but this year is different. This year, Louis knows exactly what he wants to put under the tree to make his boyfriend smile. He just doesn't know how he's going to get it.
The first is that it’s boring as fuck. The second reason is a bit more personal, a bit more focused in a way. As in it’s focused on one specific thing, or in his case, person.
“Dear diary. Today is going to be a good day, and here’s why...”
“What are you doing?” Louis mumbled as he bit into a piece of toast.
“It’s been almost two years and today Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson reunite. Louis is very excited about…”
Louis’ chair screeched along the kitchen floor as he flew up out of his seat, quickly grabbing the paper from Niall’s grasp. As he scanned the page he found it amounted to lines of nothing.
“What is this?” Louis asked again. “We’ve discussed how Harry Styles will never be spoken of in this flat. I don’t care how long it’s been.”
Niall snatched the paper from Louis and proceeded to draw a line across the page before writing.
“Today is the day that he-who-shall-not-be-named is coming to dinner.”
Or the one where Harry and Louis don’t believe in soulmates… until they do.
“Just promise me you’ll do whatever it takes to keep us all safe while we’re in there,” Liam says.
Through the crack in the door, Louis can just barely make out the broad curve of Harry’s back, the slope of his curls as they tumble down all sleep-soft and lazy, and the sharp twist of his arm - all leading down to where he’s got his pointer and middle finger crossed over each other behind his back.
“I promise,” he tells Liam firmly, “I promise.”
--
or; a charlie’s angels inspired fic where louis is the brains, harry is the charm, liam is the muscle, and niall drives the getaway car - and zayn is there, too. sometimes.
“Welcome home!” Niall yelled, clapping his hands in excitement. “Isn’t it great?”
Louis looked between Niall and the house, unsure how to respond.
“I don’t understand,” Louis finally managed to say. “Aren’t we a little old to be living so close to campus?”
Niall scoffed. “You’re only twenty-four for fuck’s sake. There is still plenty of partying left for us to do. What better place than one street over from where a car was set on fire after the Michigan game last year?”
“Is there proof of that? Did the car have Michigan plates or something? Is there a photo I can send in a DM to Wolfie?”
As if on cue, a Twitter notification popped up on Louis’ Apple watch. He had tweeted again.
Or a reverse You’ve Got Mail au inspired by the Ohio State/Michigan rivalry. Featuring duplex neighbors, (kind of) enemies to lovers, and an anonymous Twitter feud between omega Louis and alpha Harry.
Hi ya’ll! I took some inspiration from my girl @supernatural-jackles and did a round up of all the fics I posted this year! Anything from 2020 is below and organized by pairing. I never realized I did so many oneshots this year until now. I’m looking forward to what 2021 brings!
Out Of The Way (Part 2) (Bartender!Dean x reader) - The reader has been working at the bar for a while and things seem to be running smoothly as she and Dean continue to grow closer.
Creep (Dean x reader) - The reader runs into an old flame at the bar.
Girl’s Trip (Dean x reader) - Dean wakes up the reader and her friends after the reader’s bachorlette party in Vegas.
Quarantine (Doctor!Dean x Nurse!reader) - After an accident at work leaves the reader exposed to a dangerous virus, she has has to spend two weeks in quarantine with her ex-boyfriend, Dean.
Not Stupid (Dean x reader) (11x17 Rewrite) - After a hunt goes wrong, the reader and Sam are injured and it only gets worse from there.
Rough Ride (Dean x reader) (smut) - The reader gets in trouble with Dean on purpose but he’s going to make her work to get off.
Stranded (EMT!Dean x reader) (smut) - After a car accident, the reader and Dean are stranded on the side of the road in a storm and begin to bicker. When Dean nearly leaves, she incentivizes him to stay.
Anything For You (Michael!Dean x reader) (smut) - The reader has another one of her control lessons with Michael.
My Oh My (Alpha!Dean x omega!reader) (smut) - The reader and her next door neighbor Dean have an arrangement to help one another through heats and ruts or just to fool around when they feel like it. When the reader’s heat hits though, things go differently this time around.
Omega Mine (Omega!Dean x omega!reader) (smut) - After a long hunt, Dean’s heat hits him full on and triggers the reader’s as well. But Dean needs to be taken care of first, the reader has just the trick.
Hot Pink (Dean x reader) (smut) - After a hunt, Dean needs an extra roll of bandages and finds something intriguing in the reader’s bag.
Harder (AU Dom!Dean x sub!reader) (smut) - The reader has a bad day at work and needs Dean to help her unwind, even if she might take it too far.
Natural (Dean x reader) (smut) - After sharing their feelings for one another, the reader and Dean are finally about to get intimate. Only the reader gets nervous about how she might look downstairs.
The Game (Dean x reader) - After Dean’s death, the reader isn’t in great shape and would prefer to stay home and be miserable. But when she gets a letter from Dean, she soon starts playing a game he created for her in the event that he died to help her try to get the closure she needs.
Can’t Stand The Heat (Cowboy!Dean x reader) (smut) - After a long day at work, Dean comes home to a very warm reader in very little clothing.
Dry Spell (Dean x reader) (smut) - When Dean is cursed on a hunt, he discovers a few things belonging to him may be missing. It may be some time before they find a cure but the reader doesn’t see a problem with this.
Five Times I Fell For You (Dean x reader) - Five different times Dean has fallen in love with the reader over the course of their relationship.
Blank Slate (Actor!Dean x reader) - After losing her memories of her life with her family, the reader has to try and piece together what exactly happened to her with her husband’s help.
Mateless Mate (Alpha!Dean x Human!reader) - The reader moves into her new apartment and meets her Alpha neighbor, Dean. He seems friendly enough but he’s very adamant that he and the reader are going to be something more.
Mated For Life (Alpha!Dean x Omega!reader) - It’s not a good night when Dean’s father comes over unannounced to try and drag Dean on a hunt. Unfortunately, things go from bad to worse fast.
A New Kind Of Misery (Part 1) (Soulmate!Dean x Actress!reader) - After a night out, the reader wakes up the next day to discover her soulmate mark is now on her body. Except she has no idea who they are.
A New Kind Of Misery (Part 2) (Soulmate!Dean x Actress!reader) - After a night out, the reader wakes up the next day to discover her soulmate mark is now on her body. Except she has no idea who they are.
Somebody I Used To Know (Endverse!Dean x reader) - Months into the end of the world, the reader helps out a mysterious man she’s never seen before. He asks her to meet up with him where she learns she used to know him better than anyone.
One Room Left (Dean x reader) - Dean and the reader find out their motel room only has one bed. This ends up being a very good thing.
Roommates (AU!Dean x reader) - The reader’s roommate, Dean, is looking a little worse for wear after work one night. When he passes out on the couch, she knows something needs to change.
Snowed In (AU!Dean x reader) - The reader is staying over her best friend Dean’s house for the weekend due to a nasty winter storm. During a game of truth or dare, Dean makes an unusual dare that will make serious changes to their friendship.
What You Wish For (Prince!Dean x Princess!reader) - Princess Y/N isn’t pleased to have to attend a boring business dinner with the royal family of the neighboring kingdom. When she complains to her fairy godfather about it, she and a certain young prince get a lesson in being careful what you wish for.
Memories (Dean x reader) - When Dean discovers the reader has abilities she’s never told him about, he breaks things off. But when she wanders back into the Winchester’s lives a year later, he starts to realize there’s more to the situation than just a few lies.
Three’s Company (Dean x reader) (smut) - The reader discovers that the AU Dean that’s been living with them lately may have a thing for her. Dean’s known for a while though and is okay with letting the reader play out a certain desire of hers with the alternate Dean.
Change Of Plans (Dean x reader) - As the reader and Dean begin their romantic weekend away, mother nature decides to visit the reader a week early and throw off all of their plans. Dean however is intent on making sure the reader feels okay and is still enjoying their time together.
15 x 20 (Dean x reader) - This is a semi-rewrite of episode 15x20.
The Boss From Hell (Demon!Dean x reader) (smut) - After Hell rose up under the rule of Boyking Sam and took over the earth, the reader has found herself working for Hell Corp and trying to be as productive an employee as possible to save herself from death. When she gets a call to meet with Sam himself though, he has a new job for her, one involving seducing his demon brother.
Unspoken (Dean x reader) - Dean is cursed with the inability to speak unless a cure can be found. It begins to wear on him in more ways than one.
Pajama Man (Dean x reader) - For their first holiday season away from hunting, Dean decides to get everyone some Christmas themed pajamas and something a little extra to celebrate Hanukkah too.
Good Point (AU!Dean x reader) - The reader isn’t too happy when the number on the scale has gone up during quarantine despite their best efforts to be healthier recently. Dean however has a different viewpoint that helps put things into perspective.
Imagine…Demon Dean Catching You (Demon!Dean x reader)
Imagine…Secretly Dating Dean (Dean x reader)
Imagine…Meeting Your Online Date In Person (Dean x reader)
Imagine…Dean Debating Asking You Out (Dean x reader)
Imagine…Dean Noticing When You’re Down (Dean x reader)
Imagine…Meeting The Other Winchesters (Dean x reader)
Imagine…Running Into AU Dean (AU!Dean x AU!reader)
Imagine…A Day On The River (Dean x reader)
Imagine…Dean Being Cursed To Only Tell The Truth (Dean x reader)
Imagine…Counting Dean’s Freckles (Dean x reader)
Imagine…Dean On Game Night (Dean x reader)
Imagine…Dean’s First Sleepover (Daddy!Dean x reader)
Imagine…The Power Going Out (Dean x reader)
Imagine…Getting A Sunburn (Dean x reader)
Imagine…An Accidental Kiss (Dean x reader)
Imagine…Working Out With Dean (Dean x reader)
Imagine…Warming Up With Dean (Dean x reader)
Imagine…A Nighttime Hayride (Dean x reader)
Imagine…After A Bad Hunt (Dean x reader)
Imagine…Touch Football (AU!Dean x reader)
Imagine…Taking A Midnight Swim (Dean x reader)
Imagine…Sam Teasing You About Dean (Dean x reader)
Imagine…Nesting With Dean (Alpha!Dean x omega!reader)
Imagine…Running Into Your Ex (Dean x reader)
Imagine…Dean & His Babies (Daddy!Dean x reader)
Imagine…Dean Replacing Your Jacket With You Knowing (Dean x reader)
Imagine…Dean Teaching You To Drive Baby (Dean x reader)
Imagine…An Elf On The Shelf Following Dean (Dean x reader)
Imagine…Decorating The Bunker (Dean x reader)
Imagine…Getting A Card From Dean (Dean x reader)
Imagine…Dean Liking Harry Potter (Dean x reader)
Imagine…Dean Shoveling Snow (Dean x reader)
Not Losing You (Mechanic!Dean x reader) (Completed)
-The reader is pulled over on the side of the road when a man suddenly appears and proceeds to collapse in front of her. Little does she know, that may be a good thing for them both…
Make It Through The Night (Apocalypse!Dean x reader) (Completed)
- One year into the apocalypse, the reader finds herself in some trouble when a mysterious stranger shows up. When she finds out what exactly was the cause of the end of the world, she agrees to help him make things right…
The Shallows (Wildlife Agent!Dean x reader) (Completed)
-A few months after moving to a quiet little lake town on the edge of the state park, the reader has a near death experience and is saved by a man close by. When the police don’t take her seriously, he does and the pair stumble onto something bigger than they imagined…
My Little Secret (Mechanic!Dean x reader) (Completed)
-When a tragic accident happens, Dean takes a drastic measure in order to save the person he cares about most…
Still The One (Mechanic!Dean x reader) (Completed)
-When the reader’s childhood best friend, Dean, shows up at her door one night after a fight with his roommate, she invites him to stay. But things aren’t as simple as they seem…
The Wedding Date (AU!Dean x reader) (Completed)
- When the reader is in desperate need of a date to her sister’s wedding, she calls a service to fulfill the need and ends up meeting Dean Winchester…
A Nightmare In A Dream (Serial Killer!Dean x reader) (Completed)
- Six months after reuniting with the Winchesters and her brother, things are going good for the reader. She and Dean are happily together and occasionally stay with her brother, Matty, and Sam, who has been getting him used to normal life. Life appears to be heading in a good direction when the past has a way of creeping up again and dropping a bombshell on them all…
Strangers (Doctor!Dean x patient!reader) (Completed) - While getting a snack out of the vending machine, the reader bumps into a frustrated doctor who’s having a bad night and helps him get some perspective on things…
Home Bound (Dean x reader) (Dean’s POV) (Completed) - After defeating Chuck, Dean wakes up in the middle of nowhere Colorado four months after dying. He has no idea why he’s alive again or what’s going on. All he knows is his family is gone and he needs to get back home to figure out what brought him back to life and why. It’s easier said than done though in the middle of a brutal ice storm with Dean’s grief threatening to consume him every passing moment. Dean knows if he can just make it home, he’ll be okay again or so he hopes…
Soldier Boy (Superhero!Dean x reader) (Completed) - When the reader is saved by Soldier Boy, she isn’t all that happy with him. She makes an impression on him though which is perfect for her plans. But her simple job of getting Soldier Boy to fall for her for a little revenge isn’t so easy when she starts to see the man behind the mask…
You Ever…
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Sam x Reader
Heir To The Throne (Boyking!Sam x reader) (smut) - Sam’s had a hard day at work and needs to unwind.
Let Go (Dom!Sam x sub!reader) (smut) - The reader and Sam are beginning their new relationship but the reader has a few things to learn about being a sub.
Say It (Sam x reader) (smut) - The reader brings her bar hookup home and discovers that permission turns him a whole lot more than she thought it would.
Surprises (Sam x reader) (smut) - The reader has a few birthday surprises for Sam.
Sam’s Self-care Routine (Sam x reader)
Sex In The Impala (Sam x reader)
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Jensen x Reader
Breathe (Jensen x reader) (smut) - The reader is having an off day and wants to be left alone. Jensen on the other hand comes up with the perfect plan to make the reader feel wanted.
Twisted (Jensen x reader) - The reader goes to a sleepover at her boyfriend Jensen’s place but the night doesn’t end well when she starts feeling insecure.
Unexpected (Jensen x reader) - The reader and Jensen discover their odds of having children are low and look into adoption. When they end up fostering a teenager though, they realize what they thought they wanted might be right in front of them.
Mardi Gras (Jensen x reader) (smut) - A year after Jensen’s reign as King for Mardi Gras, the reader has a surprise for him. Only he has one for her as well.
Wrong Number (Jensen x reader) - An accidental text message leads to something more between Jensen and the reader.
Mated (Alpha!Jensen x Omega!reader) - The reader discovers that her old school classmate is in fact her true mate and she’s not sure how to feel about that at first.
Best Laid Plans (Jensen x reader) - When Jensen starts acting strange around the reader, she has a talk with Jared to ease her worries. In doing so, she reveals a secret of her own and may just put an end to her friendship with Jensen for good.
Love Notes (Jensen x reader) - After the show has finished filming, Jensen’s returned home and is feeling a little off. The reader decides to make a scavenger hunt to cheer him up with a fun surprise waiting at the end.
More Than Words (Jensen x reader) - The reader and her boyfriend Jensen have been together for years but she feels him slipping away when the physical distance between them starts affecting their relationship. She decides to end things for both their sakes when she feels him stop caring and tries to move on with her life. But an afternoon get together is going to change hers forever and she now has to figure out what that means for both her and Jensen.
Dark Little Places (Jensen x reader) - The reader makes an out of the blue comment about being happy which concerns Jensen that she might not be as happy as she seems to be.
All The Friends With Benefits (Jensen x reader) - The reader and Jensen are attending their friends Halloween party when they start flirting a little too hard for their own good.
I Got You (Part 1) (Jensen x reader) - The reader is celebrating her two year anniversary with her fiance when her best friend from childhood, Jensen, calls. Something’s wrong with him and he tries to play it off once he remembers what night it is for her but the reader isn’t budging and that may be a good thing for the both of them.
I Got You (Part 2) (Jensen x reader) - The reader has a quieter morning with Jensen while trying to convince him that he needs to talk to his family sooner rather than later if he wants to start feeling better.
The One Who Got Away (Jensen x reader) - While out with friends one night, the reader bumps into her old high school best friend, Jensen. They always had a will they, won’t they relationship but the reader finds things with Jensen don’t seem to be going as well she thinks they are.
Honey & Sweetheart (Jensen x reader) - The reader talks to Jensen and a special friend about struggling with parts of the finale.
Christmas Card (Photographer!Jensen x reader) - The reader and her family are getting some Christmas photos done when the reader inadvertently leaves her phone behind. When she goes to retrieve it, she gets to talking to the photographer.
The Glitter Prank (Jensen x reader)
Meeting Jensen Grocery Shopping (Jensen x reader)
Imagine…Jensen’s Self-care Routine (Jensen x reader)
Won’t You Stay (Jensen x Director!reader) (Completed)
- Having grown up with Ethan Y/L/N, one of Hollywood’s biggest and most loved stars, as a father, the reader is following in his footsteps and is directing her first movie. Even better, it’s the story she wrote and published years earlier, The Dark Woods, and her dad is set to play one of the leads. On the surface, her life seems perfect, even while she keeps the truth hidden. When the other lead actor drops out the first day of filming, they’re forced to find a replacement and fast. Jensen Ackles is an up and comer and seemingly knows the character inside and out. But he has a past too and the last thing either one of them wants is to get involved. But if they can get over their fears of being hurt again, they may find that they’re exactly what the other needs…
________
Jared x Reader
Saxx (Jared x reader) (smut) - The reader is determined to have Jared bottom for her tonight but first, she wants a special strip show from him.
A Texas Dream (Jared x reader) (smut) - After a shopping trip, Jared finds out the reader purchased a pair of her first authentic cowboy boots while the reader discovers that Jared really has a thing for them, even if he doesn’t want to admit it at first.
Reflect (Jared x reader) - Jared notices the reader shying away from him and suspects something serious with the way she views herself is going on.
Jared’s Self-Care Routine (Jared x reader)
_________
No Pairing
Seeing Double (Part 2) (Alpha!Dean x Jensen) (platonic) - After the Winchesters show up at Jensen’s apartment, they discover getting the boys home may not be possible.
Beg For It (Lucifer x Michael) (smut) - Michael wants it again and Lucifer knows that. Tonight though, he wants to hear his brother beg.
Baby Brothers (Dean x sister!reader) - Dean shows up at the reader’s doorstep injured and looking for help. Little does he know, the reader is going to do more than fix up a few cuts for him.
________
Poly Pairing
Jared x Reader x Jensen
Silver Lining - After poor weather cancels their flight into Vancouver, the group rents a car in hopes of driving into town before filming is set to start. Unfortunately for them, their bad luck follows them and their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere.
Jenneel x reader (Jensen x Reader x Danneel)
Photos - The reader and Danneel have a small fight over a present for Jensen that leads to his intervening and a small confession.
Sam x reader x Dean
Imagine…Telling The Boys You’re Pregnant (Sam x reader x Dean)
_________
Benny x Reader
Dangerous (Benny x reader) (smut) - The reader gets injured on a hunt and gets in idea have some fun with her favorite vampire.
What a year! I started this blog on December 23rd, 2019, and posted my first agere fanfiction in January 2020. Since then, I’ve posted 18 stories and 32 headcanon sets!
Here’s to another great year.
--
Stella’s Stories of 2020 (Alphabetical by Fandom)
The Best Fish: Achievement Hunter. regressor!Gavin, telling Ryan about his regression.
Safety In Numbers: Be More Chill. regressor!Rich, worried Jeremy
Old Friends: Calvin and Hobbes. regressor!Calvin visiting home and rediscovering Hobbes
Books and Pigments: Critical Role. regressor!Jester and regressor!Caleb playdate in a ‘regression is known’ universe.
Evenings Of Eternity: Good Omens series! regressor!Crowley and cg!Aziraphale, just two lost divine beings experimenting with age and forgiveness. (chapter two here)
Cupcakes and Moms: Homestuck. regressor!Dave and his mom Roxy!
>Dirk: Regress: Homestuck. Dirk alone and regressing for an afternoon.
Song of the Hive: The Magnus Archives. regressor!Jane Prentiss story with horror overtones.
BONUS: Entities and Age Regression (The Magnus Archives)
Quiet Days: Marvel. cg!Natasha and regressor!reader drabble.
Shapes and Friends: Night In The Woods. regressor!Mae hanging out with Gregg while Angus orders pizza.
Bowed, Yet Unbroken: Original dnd characters! Hurt/comfort regression in a fantasy universe.
Forever More: Phantom Of The Opera. regressor!Erik and cg!Christine, post-canon and happily ever after.
Just Plane Overwhelmed: Sanders Sides. regressor!Virgil and cg!Patton on a stressful plane ride.
The Playtime Solution: Sanders Sides. regressor!Logan needs a break, cg!Patton saves the day.
To The Moon And Back: Sanders Sides. regressor!Logan, cg!Roman playdate.
Safe and Sound: Steven Universe. regressor!Steven tries to stop regressing, cg!Crystal Gems
Cold Palms, Warm Words: Twilight. regressor!reader with cg!Alice and Jasper
A Story For Sans: Undertale. regressor!Sans is exhausted, and Papyrus is worried.
Headcanon Sets Under ‘Read More’!
The Adventure Zone
taako regression
taako and lup regressing together
Beetlejuice
regressor!lydia
Be More Chill
puppy regressor jake
Critical Role
caregiver!mollymauk
caregiver!caduceus
Death Note
regressor!L
Disney
caregiver!merida
caregiver!jack skellington
Doctor Who
ninth doctor (caregiver)
tenth doctor (caregiver)
Gravity Falls
regressor!dipper
Harry Potter
regressor!harry and cg!draco
regressor!draco
Hazbin Hotel
cg!charlie and cg!vaggie
Hetalia
regressor!canada
Homestuck
regressor!vriska and june
The Magnus Archives
regressor!sasha
Marvel
deadpool regression
The Mechanisms
regressor!mordred
Night In The Woods
regressor!mae
caregiver!bea
Rick and Morty
regressor!morty
Sherlock
regressor!sherlock and cg!john
Skulduggery Pleasant
anton shudder regression
Supernatural
dean winchester regression with sam and cas as cgs)
Twilight
headcanons for alice and jasper adopting the reader
cg!felix volturi
Undertale
regressor!sans
caregiver!papyrus
Welcome To Night Vale
regressor!cecil and cg!carlos
These feminist films of 2020 are actually the most disempowering.
After I watched the film “Promising Young Woman” I spent days in an internal tangent over what I did not like about the film. I realized that this internal tangent was very similar to the one I’d had after watching “Wonder Woman 1984″. I’ve concluded that it’s because both of these films were marketed as feminist films centering on powerful female protagonists and neither delivered.
(SPOILERS & LONG REVIEW AHEAD)
First, let’s look at Wonder Woman 1984. In the first film, Diana was curious, naive, and playful. We watched her learn about the world. We felt her heartbreak when people weren’t as good as she believed them to be. We saw her eyes opened a little bit more.
While the sequel may have taken place decades later, there seemed to be nothing of Diana left. The 1980′s were an iconic time in America and Diana had little interaction with any of it. She was in a mall, okay, but her style was unchanged. Her home decor was bland. Her hobbies nonexistent. Why has Diana stopped engaging in the world?
The film seemed to want us to believe that Diana was stuck on Steve, that she had been pining (more like Chris Pining....sorry) over him for actual DECADES. He was the first man she’d ever been with and there’s nothing to suggest he isn’t the ONLY man. Diana is a GOD. She is an Amazonian princess. Why does she have to be a saint? If you’re going to make a female superhero virginal, at least give me a reason for it aside from “Her heart is broken.”
You know what would have been better? If another Amazon joined Diana in the city and she was the fish-out-of-water, not Steve. Diana could have shown her everything she loved about the 1980′s. We could have learned more about Diana’s life. Every other superhero gets to have a life outside of being a hero. This movie deprived Diana of that.
Now, let’s talk about Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig). Why is it that in film when a woman is becoming “more attractive” she loses her glasses and starts wearing heavy eyeliner? WHY? Give me a break. And the film wouldn’t even let us have Barbara as a true villain, she had to be “losing her soul”. Her evilness was out of her control. Why did Barbara have to be a victim? Why do women have to be the victim so often? Why are women only allowed to be strong if they have superhero strength in this universe? Barbara was deprived the chance to be a formidable opponent for Diana. Are we really so afraid to have two women battle in a film that we must turn one into a big cat? In the first film Diana didn’t want to save Ares, she wanted to kill him. If you don’t want Diana to kill a human, give her another God to kill. This sequel seemed to forget that Diana was once called the God Killer.
Finally, the elephant in the WW84 room is that Steve is in another man’s body, a man who is not conscious of what is happening and is not able to consent to what is done to said body. This isn’t okay, and if this was the movie “Promising Young Woman”, the character Cassie would give Diana a stern talking to and then walk away.
And yes, with that I am going to transition to “Promising Young Woman.”
The trailers for “Promising Young Woman” gave me the impression that, while the film was going to be a bit “on the nose” I was going to watch a bunch of shitty dudes get murdered. Or at the very least, I thought they would get a nice big tattoo like Lisbeth gave her rapist guardian in “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.”
I imagine the suggested violence and then the lack of it was intentional. The character Cassie almost never breaks the law. She is always in the “right”. The men are in the wrong and we live in a culture that has allowed men to sexually assault women without consequence. That message was loud and clear.
But in this film the assaulters still don’t have any consequences. Are we supposed to believe that Cassie’s intimidation is making a difference and that her death makes a difference? It seems likely the men she confronted will keep assaulting women and just find ways to make sure their date is truly unconscious. The men who were arrested at the end would probably get away with it because they’re rich, white, and, if none of them confess, it would be hard to prove which person in the group killed her.
The biggest question the film left me asking was: Why do women always have to sacrifice themselves for men?
Aside from that very big issue, I also felt the character of Cassie was all style and no substance. Her outfits, her environments were so manicured. Her final outfit felt designed specifically to become a Halloween costume; the nurse costume and the wig are probably coming to a Spirit Halloween near you. It’s like they portrayed this very real problem in our society in a very unrealistic way.
I know everyone is raving about Carey Mulligan’s performance, but she’s played far more dynamic characters in her career. For example her roles in “Wildlife”, “Mudbound”, “Shame”, and “Never Let Me Go”.
I suppose this role was more subtle, but I got the sense that Cassie was supposed to be a stereotypical Manic Pixie Dream Girl. And I understand that what happened to Cassie’s friend and the response by the school and the authorities has left her traumatized, depressed, and apathetic. But I find it hard to see how the men didn’t win in this film. Cassie lost her best friend, she lost her education and her career, she lost her social ties, and then she lost her life. Maybe I’m missing the moral of this story, or maybe I just don’t like it.
The final point I want to discuss with “Promising Young Woman” is one that bothers me in society in general. There are multiple points in the film when we’re told how smart Nina was, how she was the top of her class, and how they both would have been amazing doctors. And I actually yelled at my TV, “It shouldn’t matter how smart Nina was!” Even if she was failing her classes she didn’t deserve to be sexually assaulted. It’s a societal problem that we need victims of abuse to be promising in order to care that they were abused.
And if the character of Cassie is trying to be a defender of women, a martyr of sorts, why is she so dismissive of the teenage girl in the coffee shop? Her character sets out to punish men and in turn protect women from being assaulted, and yet she treats a teenage girl like garbage, like she doesn’t matter. I guess in this universe you only deserve respect if you’re a smart, successful female, not a teenage girl who dares to ask the barista for another coffee.
The protagonists of “Promising Young Woman” and “Wonder Woman 1984″ exemplify the very things they’re supposed to be fighting against and maybe that would work if it seemed at all intentional. Both of these films marketed themselves as the feminist films of 2020, but ultimately diminished the strength of the very female protagonists they had set out to empower.
There are far better films out there with strong female protagonists. Here are a few of my favorites: Winter’s Bone, Alien, Furie, First Wives Club, Okja, Mad Max: Fury Road, Girl’s Trip, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009), Mulan (1998), Sweetheart, Westward the Women, Waitress, Annihilation, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, A League of Their Own, Little Monsters (2019)
Both @captain-aralias and @palimpsessed did really nice posts to share their fics from this year as well as their thoughts on what they wrote, and I enjoyed reading their posts (and their fics!) so much that I thought I would take them up on their open invitation to do one too! I’m a big believer in keeping lists of your accomplishments to look at on days when self-doubt creeps in, so I encourage anyone else who might be interested to do this too! (All the questions are copied from @captain-aralias)
List of Completed Fics this year:
I wrote ten fics this year, as well as starting a ton of WIPs, which is amazing to me, considering I have only written fic once before in my life!
Slow - General, 3k
We’re Not in Genovia Anymore - Teen, 28k
Promises - General, 3k
A Privilege to Love You - Teen, 7k
Early Riser - General, >1k
Write This Down - General, 3k
As You Wish - Teen, 13k
The View from the Veranda - General, 4k
Down By The Sea - General, 2k
Just Want You to Know Who I Am - General, 1k (written in 2020, posted in 2021)
Total: 10 fics, 67k words, 100% Snowbaz
Pretty good for what is truly the first year that I have been an active participant in fandom!
Questions answered below the cut.
Best/worst title?
A Privilege to Love You is my favorite title, because I think the line is just so sweet, and it makes my heart melt.
We’re Not in Genovia Anymore is definitely my worst title, because that was just the placeholder name I gave the WIP, but then I got so used to it I forgot to change it to something better before posting. I still cringe a bit at that one.
Best/worst summary?
l am horrifically indecisive, so I have a few summaries that I like. Just Want You To Know Who I Am is short and sweet, and I think it conveys exactly what I want it to:
Baz is fine. He's fine. Everything is fine. (It just isn't.)
~A fic about being loved in all the little ways~
But I also really liked the quotes I pulled for The View from the Veranda, As You Wish, and A Privilege to Love You.
Early Riser also has a summary that I let break my heart:
Baz wakes up early now, even though Simon doesn’t.
I does very little to convey what the fic is about, but after reading the fic it hurts like I wanted it to, sooo.....
I think that Promises has the worst summary though:
Inspired by the song "Promises" from the musical Hadestown.
Simon and Baz have spent the last three years working on themselves and on their relationship. Now it's time for their next step together.
Best/worst first line?
Baz says it best to open The View from the Veranda:
I am not a man accustomed to enduring want.
However, Simon deserves an honorable mention for starting us off right in As You Wish:
Baz is such a prick.
As for worst opening lines, I don’t really think I have any. I have some that stand better as an opening paragraph than an opening line, but I place a lot of importance on the first line of a story, so I like to make sure all mine are strong.
Best/worst last line?
I am not going to spoil any last lines for anyone (I cover up the last page of books when I read to reveal it slowly, word by word, so I take last lines seriously!), but I will say that As You Wish has an adorably predictable last line that I love.
For worst last line, I have to say Slow. I liked the line itself when I wrote it, but then I learned later that people were interpreting it in a more steamy way than what I had intended, and because I feel like Slow is such an innocent fic and really highlights how important it is for Simon to not be rushed into every decision he makes, I don’t like that it sounds like he and Baz rushed into something else. (I just meant that they talked and maybe kissed a bit! That’s it!)
Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?
On December 31st, 2019, I was pet sitting when I came across a prompt for a Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement Snowbaz AU. I impulsively started to write, even though I had only written one other fic in my life (Check, Please!), and I had never written Snowbaz before. I kind of thought that maybe I would write one fic and that would be all, and that maybe one fic is all I would ever write, but I am so happy to have been wrong about that! I wrote way more than I could have predicted, and I even did NaNoWriMo! (I failed NaNoWriMo too, and I’m okay with that, because I want writing to be something I do for fun, not something that stresses me out.)
As a fun side note, Carry On is a fandom that I have returned to many times in my life, and it seems to have a special place on New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day for me. I was given Fangirl as a Christmas present, and started reading it on New Year’s Eve, only to finish it and realize that the new year had arrived while I was engrossed in the book. I have spent multiple New Year’s Eves since engrossed in a reread of the book, or reading fic, and so it feels really fitting that I got into properly writing fic for Carry On as the year turned over.
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?
Literally all of this was unexpected, as I never planned on writing any more fic, but I think I am most surprised to have written multiple songfics. I never read many songfics, and didn’t often care for them, but I wrote Promises off of the song from Hadestown, Write This Down off of George Strait’s song, and then Just Want You to Know Who I Am because Caity got the Goo Goo Dolls stuck in my head.
What’s your favourite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.
My favorite might actually be my most popular, so I’ll go with my close second favorites (it’s a tie)
A Privilege to Love You is a soulmate au, and those are my favorite things ever. I also received some of the best feedback on this one, and I feel like I did a lot of things that worked really well in this fic.
The View from the Veranda is just so wonderful for me though, it combines my love of history with absolute silliness for a friend (I love you Liz!!!), @krisrix did some INCREDIBLE art for it, and I just had so much fun writing it.
Okay, NOW your most popular story.
As You Wish was the most popular, hands down, with more hits, kudos, comments, and bookmarks than any other fic I wrote. It’s also the fic of mine that I reread the most, because it makes me so happy and I love all the silly moments.
Story most underappreciated by the universe?
We’re Not in Genovia Anymore is probably the answer here. This isn’t entirely backed up by metrics, since it does have more hits and kudos than some of my other fics, but for how long it is and the work that went into it, I think it only got a portion of the attention I was hoping it would. That’s mostly my fault though! It was the first fic I wrote for this fandom, and so I have definitely grown as a write since! Additionally, while I feel like it has a lot of great moments and fantastic lines, I have some lackluster bits too, and it really suffered from not having a beta (I was too shy to ask anyone back then). It’s also an AU of a movie that isn’t as widely viewed as I previously thought, so that didn’t help either, and as I already said, this fic could have a much better title.
All that aside though, the people who have read and talked to me about this fic have really seemed to like it, so I’m glad that I did right by my fellow Princess Diaries 2 fans! (and all of the wonderful people who read it and commented nice things having never seen the movie, y’all rock!)
Story that could have been better?
Everything I wrote before asking someone to beta. I just talked about what I would improve in We’re Not In Genovia Anymore, but Promises could use some work too. Having a few wonderful friends help me edit my fics has really improved what I post!
Sexiest story?
Oh gosh, I am not someone who writes sexy things.
Having said that, The View from the Veranda was written in the style of a bodice ripper, so I think that makes it the sexiest story by default. Kris’s art also enhances its sex appeal by at least 200% (I laughed out loud when I was making the list at the start of this post, because I had entirely forgotten that fic is rated G - honestly, that tells you everything you need to know about me, my romance novel fic can be read by children haha) (I might give it a T rating at some point, just because I feel like it should have that)
**I just remembered the bonus chapter for As You Wish.... that might be the sexiest thing I’ve written haha 🤣
Saddest story?
Early Riser - I am a big believer in giving everyone who deserves it a happy ending, but this one is just an interlude of sadness and depression without any resolution in sight.
(If you read it though, please know that in my head they do get therapy and things do get better! Snowbaz always has a happy ending in my fics, even if I don’t write it out fully)
Most fun?
As You Wish - this one to me feels like the happy chaos of running and sliding around a big house in stocking feet, and I don’t have a better way to describe it than that. There’s a tiny bit of angst from Baz, and a little bit of panic from Simon, but I was smiling and having so much fun while writing this fic, and I really think it comes across.
Story with single sweetest moment?
A Privilege to Love You - I’ll let you decide which of the many sweet moments is actually the sweetest ❤
Hardest story to write?
Promises, no question about it. I had written two fics by that point, and people had been so nice, and some of you lovely folks had even started tagging me in WIP Wednesday posts and in Six Sentence Sunday posts, but I felt like I had no inspiration left and I kept worrying that I wouldn’t be able to write again. So, I forced myself to write something, and it felt like pulling teeth (and it honestly wasn’t very good), but I gifted it to the person who had been my biggest cheerleader and who had tagged me a million times, and that’s how @foolofabookwyrm and I became friends. Writing the fic sucked, but her friendship is worth it, a million times over 💜💜💜
Easiest/most fun story to write?
The View from the Veranda. I’m a historian, and I work a lot with primary sources and spend time speaking with others in 18th century language, so once I got into my “work mindset” the words just flowed. This was also a silly, happy story for me, because I included a lot of jokes for Liz, and there are a ton of details that are just hilarious if you work at the same place I do (sorry that none of you do, but let me just tell you, the descriptions of Simon are all based off of my most attractive colleague, and at least 15% of this fic is silly quotes from work). I think this was only supposed to be about a thousand words long, and I messaged Kris multiple times while writing just to tell him that it was getting out of control and I couldn’t stop writing 😂
Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?
Writing for Agatha in We’re Not in Genovia Anymore really made realize how much some of her (canon) story resounded with me, and I liked the deeper character study I ended up doing for her. I’m still always going to be the most in love with Baz, but I have a deeper connection to Agatha now too.
Most overdue story?
It’s still overdue. I have so many WIPs, at least seven of which are soulmate AUs, and I just keep starting more. In terms of actual planned release date though? I started writing a The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue AU for NaNoWriMo, with the intention of publishing it in January. It’s already the longest fic I’ve ever written, and I don’t think I’m even a quarter of the way done with it. I wasn’t happy writing for NaNo, because I don’t do well with creativity on a deadline, and I chose to pause work on that fic so I can actually enjoy writing it and end up with something I like once I finally return to it. Apologies to those who are anxiously awaiting the fic, I do hope to finish it this year, and I won’t post until it’s all done, so you’ll get a very rapid update schedule when it does come out!
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?
I signed up for my first fandom event! I participated in the Secret Snowflake event, and wrote Down By The Sea for the wonderful @fight-surrender (and ended up with ideas for some other new fics too)! Even though I was actively failing NaNoWriMo when I signed up, I did manage to complete my fic on time, and I learned that it wasn’t quite as daunting as I was expecting it to be. (My biggest problem was my laptop breaking and having to do almost everything on my phone - I also learned once again just how amazing Liz is, as she helped me format and post to ao3, since I couldn’t do that properly without a computer)
I struggle with being creative on a deadline, but wanting to write a little over 1k in a month was much more achievable than feeling stressed about writing 50k in a month!
This year’s theme and the story that demonstrates it most:
I like the idea of the inevitability of love. I adore soulmate AUs, because I love the idea of a universe where not only does someone have a perfectly matched other person, but that there is a surefire way to find them. Even though I only published one soulmate AU this year, I feel like every time I write Snowbaz I am writing about a couple where love will, inevitably, win. In my mind they are always going to have a happy ending somewhere down the line where they are just purely in love. Even though love doesn’t magically fix everything, it’s still incredibly powerful, and I only want to create stories where Simon and Baz truly love each other.
Of course, with that as the theme, A Privilege to Love You has to be the fic that best demonstrates the idea of inevitable love - it’s a soulmate AU and a universe where Simon exercises his free will.
What are your fic writing goals for next year this year?
Finish and publish my Gentleman’s Guide AU
Finish and publish more soulmate AUs (I have so many WIPs you guys)
Plan more before writing
Work on improving dynamic scenes and the overall flow of my fics - I sometimes feel like I have too many lulls, and I want to write in a more engaging way
Promote my own work more! I am partially doing this post because there are multiple fics that I never shared on here! I plan to make banners for all of the fics I write this year, and to post them on tumblr at the same time I upload them to ao3.
The last few years have been a time of tremendous personal growth for me, and I really feel like I’m starting to understand who I am as a person, settle into myself, and like who I am. I’m thrilled to discover that fandom is still part of who I am and what I enjoy, and that I have more creative outlets in my life now than I ever expected to. My biggest goal is just to keep building on all of that, to use fic to explore who I am, to reflect what I like, make myself happy with my writing, and to hopefully make at least a few of you happy with my stories too!
A/N: My brain: relaxing Sunday morning. Let’s finish some angst. A part of my What If series, Reyna’s thoughts and reaction to Jason’s death. I had one more scene I wanted but I wanted to post something for my lovely readers. Sorry if this feels rushed! Enjoy!
Something was off about the day, an unrest presence in the back of Reyna’s mind before she went to bed. Her alarm didn’t go off as she gradually awake to Aurum and Argentum clawing at her door. She blinked away the sleepiness, staring at the red numbers of her digital clock.
8:39AM
“Fuck.” Reyna swore as she swept her legs off, scrambling to change in the dimly lit room. Her hand waved wildly as she shifted through the notes she needed for the early Senate meeting. Her elbow hit a photo frame sending it tumbling down, shattering the glass. She flinched at the sharp sound and frowned at the mess.
“Ouch.” Reyna glared at the fresh cut the glass left on her finger. Flipping the image over, the moment in time squeezed at Reyna’s heart. It was Jason and Reyna in their official Praetor outfit with olive laurels in their hair and pride in their young faces. Behind the serious image, tucked away, was a photo booth strip from their first day off, a date. Silly faces, warm tender looks, the cusp of something more.
Reyna pressed her lips together before turning away, grabbing her keys and sweeping her long hair out of her face. She had work to do.
~~~
“I can feel you staring, Zhang.” Reyna murmured as they walked through the halls of the Senate towards their office. Other New Rome officials passed by, nodding to the young leaders. Reyna could feel the weight of their stares, noticing how Reyna was without her signature braid, her clothes a little messier than usual. But Frank’s gaze was the heaviness. He will notice things.
“You’re off your game today.” Frank mentioned as he opened the door for her, such a casual effortless gesture. Reyna set her papers down and gave him her trademark wolf glare. Frank didn’t wilt underneath it unlike a few months ago. He crossed his arms and smiled kindly, patiently. She’s proud of the boy, glad for the obvious growth in her praetor partner. It’s hard to believe the boy was dumped three weeks ago. “What’s wrong, Reyna?”
“Jason sent a cryptic note a few days ago.” Reyna confessed, sinking into her seat. She pulled it out and handed it to the boy. It was a nondescript piece of lined notebook paper torn out of a spiral notebook. But Reyna recognized Jason’s messy handwriting from anywhere. Off being a hero. See you soon. Frank frowned at the words. “Thought he retired from being a hero.”
“That’s an option?” Frank joked as he looked over the paper. “Where can I sign up?” They shared a private smile, knowing their job was rarely done especially as Praetors. He sat at his desk, reaching down to pet Aurum. “I’m sure Jason is fine. He’s one of the Big Three kids.”
“They’re not invincible, Frank. Remember, we’re still half-mortal.” Reyna reminded, feeling that nagging feeling in the back of her mind. Frank opened his mouth to reply but a heavy knock cut through the room. The two traded curious glances. “Come in,” Reyna ordered, standing up. It creaked open revealing Hazel with a somber expression on her young face. “Hazel?”
Frank looked down, avoiding his ex-girlfriend’s form but Hazel didn’t spare him a glance, her amber eyes focused on Reyna. “There’s someone here to see you, both of you. He’s by the entrance with…” Her voice trailed off as her eyes fluttered closed. Hazel’s hands balled up like the thought physically hurt her somehow. Reyna stepped forward, placing her hands on Hazel’s shoulders and squeezed gently, pulling her back to now.
“Thank you Hazel.” Reyna whispered as Frank moved ahead with the dogs. Reyna took one step before Hazel wrapped her arms around her waist suddenly.
“I’m sorry,” her voice muffled as she pressed her face against Reyna’s side. “I’m so sorry.” Dread pooled in Reyna’s stomach as she gently peeled Hazel’s arms off. I’ve fought in wars. I’ve faced Titans. Reyna reminded herself as she walked through the open windy streets. The sun sat high, beating down hotly as they approached the boundaries. A small crowd gathered around a beat up black car with smoke floating from the engine.
Two ragged figures stood beside Lavinia Asimov with grim expressions on their weary faces. A young man with curly dark hair looked up, immediately locking eyes with Reyna. Her throat tightened as she noticed the deep blue of his eyes just like Jason’s. He stepped towards her with a bundle of papers. She knew that folder, seen it on her kitchen table for many nights when he needed to stay late.
“Those are Jason’s…” Reyna whispered, reaching out for the bundle but pulled back. She thought of Hazel’s whispered apology, of the bad feeling looming of her, of the broken picture frame in her room. “Who are you?” Words icy and cold.
“My mortal name is Lester but I prefer Apollo. I’m sorry, Praetor Reyna, Jason… Jason Grace died protecting us.”
###
Reyna didn’t cry at the funeral. She didn’t cry when they lit the pyre, one last send off for their golden son. Reyna isn’t sure how she felt as she sat in the dark Principia alone with her swirling thoughts and feelings. The city sat quiet, a suffocating silence as they mourned for one of their greatest heroes. Reyna closed her eyes, not even remembering her speech to the city, words so practiced for so many deaths. Apollo performed the last rites, she didn’t hear the words disappearing into the shadows. She could’ve stand there anymore being a public figure. She wanted to just be Reyna.
“Gods, you’re so stupid, Jason.” Reyna whispered, looking at the Principia. So many Praetors fluttered in and out of this room but the ones with Jason were the clearest despite being one for only a month.
Her hand brushed over the hard wood of the desk, the same desk they stood in front when accepting their first quests together, young naive and thirsty to prove themselves. She looked at the wall size map of New Rome, remembering looking up at it with Jason as they waited for Felix or Audrey. One day we’ll lead this place. Jason told her back then with his cheeky smile. Reyna shook her head. “There was no we, Jason. It’s just me.”
A light knock interrupted Reyna’s thoughts. The door creaked open as a sliver of light pierced the room. Apollo stood there awkwardly in his mortal form unlike his golden godly form. “There’s a quest.”
Reyna clenched her teeth, taking a step towards him. “Of course there’s a quest. There’s always a quest.” She sneered. Gods, Reyna wanted to hit something. She wanted to lash out, flipp the papers off her desk and say screw it, screw the gods and let them fix their own messes. “I’m…” Reyna noticed the chessboard in the corner, tucked away. Her anger softened as the truth she knew all her life resurfaced.
If not her, which poor demigod would the gods choose. Which fool would they use for their bidding? Which Jason would they pluck out of their normal life and thrust them into this horrible cycle. Reyna sighed. Not another one. No one else.
“You treat us like pieces on a board, moving us with your invisible hands.” Reyna whispered, needing someone to hear her words. She picked up the white knight, Jason’s piece. People always likened Jason to one, so brace, so strong, so ready to do what’s right. Off being a hero. Look at where that got you. “You gods are unfazed when we fall. No reaction when we don’t get up.” Reyna locked eyes with Apollo, needing him to hear her words, her meaning. “What an existence.”
“I…” Apollo tried.
“Don’t. I don’t need your apology. Gods will keep doing this. It’s a vicious cycle.” Reyna set the piece down and squared her shoulders, ready to take her place. “Tell me about the quest.”
