Hello! I'm back for more delicious recommendations from the Virtual Book Club. I'm changing it up a bit and requesting Batman recs centering Jason Todd. I do tend to have a stronger preference for gen fic when it comes to reading Batman, however I am also open to being persuaded when it comes to ships. Favorite genres include hurt/comfort and time travel, but as always, I'll read just about anything. Thanks in advance for the recs! I can't wait to see what gems I get handed next 👀
Hello Hello!! I've asked our Discord server - and one member was absolutely thrilled because Jason is their baby and your ask meant that "it was their time to shine!!" 😂 They have curated a bunch of suggestions for you.
Remember, for the task, you can read any of them, but we hope you'll be interested in all of them. Happy Reading!
The Time Before by @cdelphiki (22/22 - Gen - G)
Summary: One moment, Red Hood was fighting with Black Mask, listening to the idiot go on about how he'd murder Jason long before he'd become a problem. The next... Jason was ten years in the past, nine-years-old, and fending for himself on the streets of Gotham. Bruce might not know about Jason yet in the timeline, but Batman was the only one who could protect him against Black Mask. If only Jason didn't hate him so much...
Author’s Note by @trekkele (1/1 - Gen - G)
Summary: Jason may have been trying to take over the criminal underworld while avoiding Batman until his big dramatic reveal, but he still had time for hobbies. Hobbies like finally finishing the Pride and Prejudice AU he had started before his death, and posting the finished chapters for the 3 people who were still interested. Maybe he should have double checked the subscribers list first.
Mama Red & The Ducks of Park Row by @gracieparkerr (1/1 - Gen - T)
Summary: Word traveled fast in Crime Alley. It became yet another Alley-kid code word. If someone said they were telling Mama, that meant Jason Todd would get an earful while he planned out his next drug bust. If someone said Mama’s paying for dinner, it meant a free meal to any kid who showed up to the diner that day. (or: "a toddler who was being saved by the red hood called him "mama" once and now crime alley kids will refer to him as mama all. the. time.")
Tell Me What I Am (Carry Me Home) by @primeemeraldheiress (1/1 - Gen - T)
Summary: Every time Bruce's gaze rested on Jason now, he had a wary look. Jason was never going to be the Robin that Batman wanted. “He’s going to wind up just like his father, Alfred.”
Totentanz (La Danse Macabre) by Balrog_Roike (1/1 - Gen - M)
Summary: "Vengeance is nothing but justice long overdue…" The Lazarus Pit thinks so, too.
(Fae)r or Not by @skalidra (1/1 - Gen - T)
Summary: Red Hood isn't exactly the first person Slade would have expected to see getting dragged over to the cell next to him. Another high-profile mercenary, maybe, or a metahuman of some variety or another, but a human vigilante from the opposite side of the country? Interesting disparity in prisoners, there.
It’s a Horrible Morning in Gotham by @bittercape (10/10 - Jason/Slade - M)
Summary: The goose, when it materializes, is not something that can be ignored. It’s a hurricane of feathers and smacking wings and a surprising amount of claws, hell bent on murder. Any goose is too much for most people, and an enraged soulmate goose is certainly far too much for Jason’s would-be abductor, who is lucky to escape with the distinctive scarring that a goose to the face will give you, as well as several broken bones from falling backwards down the stairs. Catherine does not wake up. Jason, who has always slept like the dead (and as such been an absolute delight of a baby), sleeps on, oblivious. The goose preens at the top of the stairs, self-satisfied, before it disappears.
hey okay i am SO stupid but i have literally no one else to ask and i am too embarrassed to post on my main to ask
what do u do with the badges??? like, if you get one from participating? are they like displayed on ur profile or do u just get an image to share around and say "hey I did this woahhh" (no hate to that last option honestly I'd love to do that)
This is a fun question. No judgement whatsoever because I also pondered on what to do with my badges when we got them my first year.
I never personally change my profile picture on anything (I'm the same pfp everywhere) - but some folks change theirs here on Tumblr or on their Discord or on Ao3.
Personally, I just display them on my Ao3 profile page with a link back to the challenge. (Here is a link to show you my example). And I make an end of the year post with my annual run-down of what I read during the year and share my earned badge on that tumblr post too.
But you can do whatever you like with them. Even if it's just sharing it with your friends and telling them that they too could have a cute badge like this one of they wanted to come participate with us. ;)
Hi!!! For the book club , perhaps a stranger things fanfic? (Basic, I know but it's UNFORTUNATELY my hyperfixation right now)
- 🦈
Hello Hello. We would never judge you for being basic - we love Stranger Things in this house! The only problem is that you gave no criteria of pairing, tropes, ratings or anything. So, I asked the general question in the Virtual Book Club - and the results were large and varied. Well, they were large (there were about 25 Steddie fics offered up - among a few others), so I didn't put them /all/ here or the post would be over the character limit and I tried to find you some other pairings too. I grabbed a bunch of different lengths and genres. I hope one of them works for you.
For the task, you can read any of them, but we hope you'll be interested in many of them. Happy Reading!
but words left unspoken (left us so brittle) by faronswoods (Gen - 2/2 - T)
Summary: There was something inside of Will that had always been there, lingering, quiet enough that he could ignore it most of the time. It started to grow louder over time, though, ceasing to bother hiding itself. It manifested itself in the little ways he wasn’t like the other kids, in the knot he got in his stomach when his friends talked about girls and he felt like he couldn’t say anything without someone seeing right through him to something even he didn’t know. In the feelings that started bursting in his chest when Mike looked at him softly. Will didn’t know what exactly it all meant, what this thing inside of him was. He didn’t really want to know. The episodes continued and they felt so real but the doctor continuously assured him and his mom that they weren’t. It made Will feel like he was hiding something, and like one day he was going to burst from all that he was holding in.
A Bargain Made in Winter by @sparkle-fiend (Steddie - 1/1 - T)
Summary: He was Fae. A wild thing - a spirit of music and curiosity. Once upon a time, he amused himself by taking part in the world of mortals; walking among them and watching their lives, making the occasional bargain when it was interesting. Many long years had passed since that was the case - until Richard and Margaret Harrington summon him with an unusual offer. Wealth and success, in exchange for their firstborn child.
Everyone Keeps Coming Out To Steve And He's Bisexual But Doesn't Want To Make It About Him: A Memoir by @pftones3482 (Gen - 1/1 - G)
Summary: All the kids (and then some) are coming out to Steve, and he can't get a word in edgewise. The myth is true: Gays travel in packs.
You Were All Yellow by @steddieasitgoes (Steddie - 1/1 - M)
Summary: It's the Spring of 1986, and Vecna is dead. Spring is in full effect. The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, and Eddie's feelings for Steve are blossoming into something new.
Red and The Metalhead by @cunninghamschrissy (Gen - 1/1 - G)
Summary: After Billy died, Max Mayfield needed an older brother who wasn’t an asshole. An unlikely person stepped up to fill the role.
twenty-one rules by elanor_gamgee (Hellcheer - 21/21 - T)
Summary: Chrissy needs a fake boyfriend so she can keep her ex away. Eddie needs to admit that he's falling in love with her. (fake dating to friends to lovers au in which absolutely nobody dies!)
put your lips close to mine, as long as they don’t touch. by @percyjacksonfan3 (Hellcheer - 10/10 - E)
Summary: Here's the thing about Chrissy Cunningham: she actually is the straight laced dependable good girl that everyone thinks she is. She's also, until she starts having these weird visions that make her feel like she's going out of her mind, insanely bored. Or, alternatively, the fix-it AU where Chrissy doesn't die and she and Eddie try and figure out what the hell is going on with her. And with them. Also, the usual gang is there. Eventually. Because these two need some serious help fighting demons and figuring out that they are not just friends.
You drew stars around my scars by @idontgettechnology (Hellcheer- 12/12 - E)
Summary: "Hellfire Ink,” she repeated, glancing around the still-unsettled front room. “You’re a…tattoo parlor?” “No,” he shook his head. “We specialize in Satanic calligraphy.” Chrissy stared at him for a long beat before she snorted and covered her mouth to hide a laugh. Suddenly, Eddie wanted to make her do that again. And again.
someone reaching back for me by @enoughtotemptme (Hellcheer - 24/24 - M)
Summary: The first time Eddie Munson watches Chrissy Cunningham die isn't the worst. It's the second, because he had thought she was going to live this time. The universe made a cosmic mistake the day Chrissy Cunningham was allowed to die. It set off a chain of events that led to catastrophe, at first local, then global, and eventually interdimensional. It led to the end of all there is, was, and would ever be. But the universe is rather interested in self-preservation. It couldn’t save itself in the future, but it could save itself then. If only someone would get it right.
heart begins to beat by @ebongawk (Hellcheer - 11/11 - E)
Summary: He ran when she died. And she killed him in turn. Vecna is dead. Chrissy Cunningham and Eddie Munson were, too. Until they weren't.
the lathe by @palmviolet (Steddie - 13/13 - M)
Summary: "This time, do it right. This time Eddie won’t bleed out in his arms, in anyone’s arms. This time, Steve will do it right." — or, steve relives the day they try to kill vecna over and over, and eddie just can't seem to stop dying. steve finds this totally unacceptable.
The Last In Line by @xiaq (Steddie - 13/13 - M)
Summary: “Sorry,” Steve says. “I’m sorry, I know this doesn’t make any sense to you, but can I just–” Eddie lets him approach, this time. Lets him reach out to touch, to curl his fingers in the hem of Eddie’s shirt. “Sorry, I know I probably sound crazy, I just––” he pulls it up, stares at Eddie’s side, and then lets out a hysterical little noise that sounds like a cross between a laugh and a sob. “You’re ok,” Steve says. His fingers are hot on Eddie’s skin, pressed light and shockingly reverent to the space between his hip and rib cage. “You’re ok,” he repeats. It sounds like he’s trying to convince himself. “Hey,” Eddie says. It comes out more breathless than he’d prefer but Steve fucking Harrington has him backed against a wall in a bathroom with his hands up Eddie’s shirt so he thinks a little lack of air is warranted. “Are you ok?” The fingers on his abdomen flex. "No,” Steve says. His eyes are wide and fathomless and the look on his face is terrible. “No, I’m not even remotely ok.”
Afterlight by Rinagua (Mileven - 5/5 - T)
Summary: Mike Wheeler left Hawkins to escape the ghosts of his past. He didn’t expect to find one in a Swiss café.
If You’re Reading This (I’m Already Home) by lindsey_grissom (Hopper/Joyce - 1/1 - M)
Summary: He writes to Joyce while he’s in ‘Nam. There’s no one else who’d give a damn and they tell him it’s important to have someone on the other side to hold on to. Hopper writes to Joyce from Vietnam and it takes twenty years to find out if she got a single letter. Or; it took them a while but they’ve finally come home.
Hi, can you tell me how to officially register for this program? I can just need to download the form, fill it out, and wait for the year-end accounting?
I'm sorry to bother you with this stupid question, but I don't have access to Discord. Please forgive me.
Oh heavens. No need to apologize.
There isn't any official sign-up or registering. You can find the google sheet with the task link on the intro page and in the pinned post to this blog. Save yourself a copy and just read. We shared some optional tracking sheets but that's just for your own convenience. Keep track however you want.
There is no accounting at the end either. It's all the honour system. You know how many tasks you complete - no one will be double checking your work or anything.
Hello! For the January virtual book club, I think I'd like a fic from the Pride and Prejudice fandom. I'd prefer a story with plot over one that's just smut but I don't mind if it has some. I'm good with almost any pairing but would prefer no incest or Wickham's actions being seen in a positive light.
Oh I'd also prefer a happy ending over pure Angst and only canon typical violence even if the story veers away from canon.
I hope I did this correctly!
Helloo!! We can definitely help with this!
I put your question into the Virtual Book Club on the Discord and received some suggestions and fic recs for you to choose from! I'll link them below. For the task, you can read any of them, but we hope you'll be interested in all of them.
This ended up being way bigger than I thought, so I'll put it under a cut for you. Happy Reading!
Her Virtue is Worth More Than Rubies by PleaseLetMeReadInPeace (Mr. Bennet/Mrs. Bennet - 22/25 - E)
Summary: Wherein a 21st century professional woman finds herself in the body of a teenaged, future Mrs Bennet, and tries to make it work, hopefully without splitting up one of the greatest (and probably healthiest) fictional romances in history.
Ride This Feeling (As Far as it Goes) by @gallantrejoinder (Lydia Bennet/Georgiana Darcy (and Lizzie/Darcy) - 8/8 - T)
Summary: Lydia Bennet is no stranger to scandal, but when her husband abandons her, the consequences are too great to bear alone. Enter her sister, Elizabeth, and her brother-in-law, Darcy. While hiding away from the rest of the world at Pemberly, Lydia Bennet begins to rediscover who she was before Mr. Wickham stole everything from her. And then there's Mr. Darcy's sister, Georgiana, as beautiful as she is shy, and everything Lydia is not. But Lydia's starting to want to know her better ...
The Part of Her Hair by @scioscribe (Mary Bennet/OFC - 1/1 - T)
Summary: Miss Gibson said, “In the spirit of truthful admission, Miss Bennet, I intend to spend some time devising the right question for you. If I may see you again?” Why did that sound strange? But she always sounded strange to people herself. And it was a familiar kind of strangeness, as if it were something she had heard before, only not like this. Mary, constrained by the principles of truth, could only admit that she would enjoy that very much.
Let Her Own Works Praise Her in the Gates by @chronicbookworm (Mary Bennet/Mr. Collins - 1/1 - G)
Summary: Circumstances (and Mary) conspire to make Mr Collins propose to Mary instead of Charlotte Lucas. The new Mrs Collins finds a place for herself in Hunsford, finds a cause to champion, and finds more courage than she knew she had.
And then this is one of my own most favourite series ever! It starts as a canon-divergent from Lydia and Kitty going to Brighton - and then the author started writing another fic that kinda sandwiches into the first one. Then finished up the series with two one-shots. It's literally perfect and I can't reccomend it enough. Kitty seriously will become one of your favourites if you read this series, I promise. ;)
The Brighton Effect by Shem (Kitty/OMC - 29/29 - G)
Summary: Kitty's chance to go to Brighton with Lydia may just change everyone's fate
The Pemberley Effect by Shem (Lizzie/Darcy - 21/21 - G)
Authors Note: This is a companion/side-along piece to the Brighton Effect. I wanted to tell the story of Lizzy and Darcy but I found it difficult from a strict Kitty POV (and there are only so many times you can have Kitty lurking in bushes to eavesdrop. I will note which chapters correspond in the Brighton Effect. This chapter corresponds with Chapter Nine.
Summary: Lizzy returns from a pleasant and illuminating Derbyshire visit to discover just how close her family came to ruin while she was away.
The Christian Effect by Shem (Mary/OMC - 1/1 - G)
Summary: After the marriages of her sisters, Mary is determined to use her time in London wisely and find a publisher for her improving tracts. Unfortunately her plans go awry, but she does meet a handsome young man.
The Pirate Effect by Shem (Lydia/OMC - 1/1 - G)
Summary: How Lydia got her man despite being a very bad influence.
for virtual book club could I ask for some Faramir fics? Or any of the Gondorian characters if people have other recs
Also thank you so much to the person who kept recommending me (Don't) Notice Me, absolutely made my day :)
Hello Hello. We love making people's days - so YAY! I love Faramir dearly - and I've asked our Discord server - and they've come up with some suggestions for you. Remember, for the task, you can read any of them, but we hope you'll be interested in all of them. Happy Reading!
Healing the Shieldmaiden by @neutronstarchild (19/19 - Faramir/Éowyn - T)
Summary: Éowyn woke up, robbed of her glorious death, to find that she was yet again a prisoner. Watching her brother march away, she finds the healing she did not know she needed in the form of two companions: her soldier in arms Meriadoc Brandybuck and the new Steward of Gondor Faramir. Those days in the Houses of Healing opened her heart, and finally she knew what was in it. As they await the fate of Middle Earth, their healing runs deeper than the wounds and shadows.
A Chance to Show His Quality by Sansastarkofwinterfell (29/29 - Faramir/Éowyn - T)
Summary: "This was the most real dream he had had, and he knew what would happen. If Boromir went to Rivendell, he would die." An AU that has been done before, but this is my take on the 'Faramir goes to Rivendell in place of Boromir AU'
The Newly Soon To Be Weds by @torchwood-99 (3/3 - Faramir/Eowyn - NR)
Summary: The days following the betrothal of Lady Éowyn of Rohan, and Lord Faramir, Steward of Gondor, are filled with gossip, contemplation, flirting, and unnecessary break out schemes.
The Wings of the Shadow by aprilkat (11/11 - Frodo/Faramir - M)
Summary: “Faramir, I mean My Lord Steward,” Ioreth stammered. “Whose child has been hurt? What has happened to him?” She gestured him into the hall and talked as they hurried together down the hall towards a nearby alcove. “I sent the boy to call Damrien at once when I heard the gong sound.” She lit the lantern on the table with her candle, and pulled down the coverlet on one of the narrow beds against the wall. The Steward of Gondor stepped forward and carefully laid the tiny figure on its back in the bed. As Ioreth brought the lantern closer, her breath caught once more. The light flickered over dark curls, long lashes, pale cheeks- and a hand missing most of one finger. The Ringbearer!
Hello! Back in the new month for virtual book club recs! Does anyone on the discord have suggestions for fics about Eskel from The Witcher? Or that focus on Geralt of Rivia? Thanks in advance and thank you for running this event, I'm enjoying my second year doing the reading challenge even more than the first :)
Hello Hello. We're really thrilled that you're enjoying the challenge this year. It's been really fun for us too. 🖤 I've asked our Discord server - and they've come up with some suggestions for you. Remember, for the task, you can read any of them, but we hope you'll be interested in all of them. Happy Reading!
Joke's On You by @whimsicalmeerkat (8/8 - Emreis/Geralt - E)
Summary: Geralt has known for twenty years that Emhyr is his soulmate, but he never expected to do anything about it
lie beside me baby, that's an order by @whimsicalmeerkat (6/6 - Emreis/Geralt - E)
Summary: Emhyr shows up at Corvo Bianco because of a threat which can only be solved by Geralt, specifically by sleeping in Geralt's bed. What's a poor Witcher to do?
a soldier (who carries a mighty sword) by @ghostinthelibrarywrites (15/15 - Eskel/Geralt/Jaskier - E)
Summary: Fifteen years after Kaer Morhen became an independent city state and refuge for non-humans, Geralt— who somehow got elected its leader, despite his best intentions— is bewildered when King Vizimir of Redania suggests an arranged marriage between Geralt and his nephew. Eskel is a simple witcher who just wants to live out his retirement from the Path with Geralt. So when his lover gets betrothed to some Redanian viscount, Eskel dons a human disguise and decides to get away from Kaer Morhen for a while. Jaskier has no interest in becoming the husband of the infamous White Wolf; he just wants to be a bard. When he flees the guards escorting him to Kaer Morhen, he’s lucky enough to run into Eskel, a hunter who agrees to escort him to safety. But after only a few days in Eskel’s company, he’s half in love. When Jaskier is forced to go to Kaer Morhen to escape a bounty on his head, he finds the city nothing like the nest of monsters he expected. Meanwhile, Jaskier is nothing like what Geralt and Eskel expected.
A Hole In My Heart by Karlethandra_Merthensa (42/42 - Eskel/Geralt/Jaskier - E)
Summary: Jaskier of Kaer Morhen, beloved of the Warlord known as the White Wolf and his right hand, and dear friend to all Witchers, has a secret that not even he knows. However, it takes two to keep a secret, and the second holder truly has some secrets to tell…
hiii... im a late participant to the 2025 challenge, since i just found out about it, but i will definitely be participating in more years to come!! i do have a little bit of a weird question, though- i write a lot of fanfic, and i can be really picky about what i read. so, hypothetically speaking, if there's a task that i know i'll be picky about (some of the AU ones are definitely things i know i'll have a hard time finding a fic that i'll like/finish) then can i just... write something that fits? not like "oh character a and character b are mermaids, it's a mermaid au, end of story," like i'll actually put time and effort into writing/posting an actual fic for whatever prompt it is, but can i do that and count it as my entry for a task?
Hello Anon! We are thrilled that you've found us and are enjoying the challenge thus far! Every year, the spreadsheet with the tasks is different, so hopefully there will be more tasks in future that you can read to complete.
To answer your question about this year, though, the general consensus from the moderators is that the majority of the tasks completed need to be from reading a fanfiction written by others. So, only one-third of a category can be fics written by the participant. For every one fic you write, you would need to read 2 written by someone else..
That being said, no moderator comes and double-checks your sheet for accuracy. We're big believers in the honour system, so you can feel free to do whatever you feel comfortable with. No one is policing your work.
And remember, not everyone finishes the whole thing. There are levels of completion (see below). Plus, we have a Discord full of participants (of various levels) who may be able to suggest fics for troublesome tasks, too, and you're welcome to join mid-year. :)
I hope this has answered your question! Have a wonderful day! 🖤
