We’re so happy to announce this year’s badges for the 2025 Fanfic Reading Challenge (2025 FRC)!!
As you might know, the fanfic reading challenge is a, well, challenge, to readers to sort of push one outside of their comfort zone or to read more of what they usually like. We, in turn, like to reward this enthusiasm and participation with artistic badges for the different tiers which our challenge offers.
Which, by the way, will open itself earlier to Discord members than to Tumblr! (But will be available in the new year to Tumblr as well.) We do highly encourage and value participation but do not require it, and you can complete the challenge entirely solo.
Anyway!
Here are the badges for this year, from the entirely amazingly talented @thefriendlypigeon !!
Included are the participation, regular, hard, extreme and complete mode badges! (If you’d like higher resolution or transparent backgrounds, please DM @juuls!)
We have also introduced a new badge (and thus a new category) this year, which is the ‘Category Challenge’, an arcing challenging you complete over each category… I mean, if you didn’t already get the idea. ;)
Fantastic!!!
Congratulations to those who have already completed these modes, and those who will complete them over the following days of the end of the year. 💙❤️💜
hi! i was wondering how you might feel if i made a sort of adapted version of this challenge for my fandom? i know there's a lot of us who only read in this one specific fandom, so while i do recommend your challenge to folks every year, i think it's hard for them to actually get very far into it. i wouldn't copy your exact prompts or anything, i'd make some tweaks to make it probably smaller and maybe specific to our fandom, but i would absolutely credit you as the source inspiration. i haven't started on this or anything, so will not proceed if you'd prefer for me to not to do it. just wanted to get your thoughts! also happy to talk off anon if you'd prefer. thanks!!
Hi!
This is the creator of the challenge, Juulna (juuls). I’m totally okay with this and indeed encourage it! I love this! I am such a huge proponent of broadening people’s perspectives, even if that’s just within one fandom or one ship. We try to make it doable for people to achieve at least regular mode with one ship (I’ve been able to do so the last two years with one ship I’ve apparently been obsessed with) but of course encourage more from participants. But are totally okay with people doing it within their comfort space. We have a couple people who participate even with small ships only, and they have fun and enjoy participating in our Discord!
So even though you’re creating your own challenge, I invite you and your participants to still join our server if you like. :) We accept anyone and have a lot of fun sometimes, just talking life, or fandoms, or ships, or anything! We especially love giving people random numbers for random number generator type tasks. ;)
In any case, you are welcome to contact myself or any of the admins (noxsoulmate or jandjsalmon) if you like, and even if not, we wish you the best and really look forward to seeing what you come up with!!
I'm looking for a rec for my Reading Challenge for the Virtual Book Club. I forgot to post my results last year, but this is my second year doing it and I'm having so much fun! As for pairings, I'll take anything slightly queer from the Harry Potter universe please and thank you.
Hello! We're thrilled that you are enjoying the challenge!
I'm sorry about the delay in responding to this ask. I didn't have any recs for you myself, so I asked on our Discord and got some suggestions. Here are some faves that the team over there gave me.
Hopefully, you'll find something here that you like. Enjoy!
🖤Jandy
A Sapphic Fest just posted their collection here:
https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HP_PEAR_Sapphic_Fest_25
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The Shoebox Project - Sirius/Remus (Wolfstar) 229k Rated M
https://archiveofourown.org/works/58567984/
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What Pride Doesn't Know by igrockspock - Percy/Oliver fic mainly focused on Percy's complicated relationship with his family.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/425509
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Parasite, n.m. by Skaelds - 13K CoS AU, a retelling where Ginny is a transgirl https://archiveofourown.org/works/37873606
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About This Place by academicdisaster - 10K Post-DH AU, mostly about a queer bar. Drarry, explicit, trans Harry https://archiveofourown.org/works/47679469
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Sister Suns by starsailorwrites - 62k Harry/Voldemort, Harry becomes Voldemort's apprentice.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/48533368/
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The Walking Paradox by starsailorwrites - 57k Hermione/Harry/Ron and Daphne/Luna - Time Travel Fix-It
https://archiveofourown.org/works/50505910/
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Sugar and Spice by InLoveWithForever E-rated poly (Theo/Hermione/Draco) HP fic - really well done relationships bloom and then follows them on.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/16820299
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When You Call My Name - It's Like a Little Prayer by BasicHumanWrites - M/M (M, Theo/ Charlie, 1995 words)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/63777217
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the girl who lived (again) by dirgewithoutmusic - G, Harry/Ginny, Major Character Death, trans woman Harry, lesbian relationship https://archiveofourown.org/works/7900501
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Being Liquid by rotaryphones - M, Teddy Lupin/Victoire Weasley, genderqueer/genderfluid teddyhttps://archiveofourown.org/works/285360
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One Community Member just gave the links to their favourites:
Bil/Hermione/Charlie, searching for Hermione's parents - https://archiveofourown.org/works/18211508/chapters/43082714
Some great Lunar Harmony (Luna/Harry/Hermione) recs I received from a fellow server-mate and enjoyed: https://www.reddit.com/r/HermioneAndHarry/comments/17fx9vk/triad_harryhermioneluna/
Dramionarry, prophecies!! (i mean, it's in the title, but this time it's about Hermione) - https://archiveofourown.org/works/14067228/chapters/32407638
We hope that some of what our server has recommended tickles your fancy! If you want anything more specific then please let us know what you would like in more particular terms! Happy to help.
Hi there! Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I'm new-ish to GoogleDocs and was looking for some clarification. Are we meant to make our own copy of the challenge spreadsheet? That made sense to me, but then are you still able to see when we've checked off various entries if we're no longer working on the original document?
Regardless, I'm really looking forward to this! Thank you all so much for the work you've put in to make this challenge available!!
Hello! No questions are stupid unless they are unasked. Pft!!!
So good to have new participants! Most of us sort of gather on Discord as we have a very friendly community of under 100 and we feel like a nice family of 3 Aunties (admins), a bunch of cousins (veterans of the challenge) and some niblings running around being corralled (or encouraged lol). But we also have a lot of answers and resources and recommendations and spreadsheet help!
So. As for the clarification of the spreadsheet.
With the main 2025 challenge spreadsheet, you need to "make a copy" of the link shared in the posts. This allows YOU to make changes to the sheet, and doesn't allow anyone else to make changes or even to view the sheet. We don't have access to it and can't see it once you make a copy of it, unless you share it with us or someone else (sometimes people do, for help, but they can then block people again). This is to protect your privacy and to allow you to have the most fun with the challenge as possible. It's also because we operate on the honour system for this challenge. Whatever you say you completed at the end of 2025? That's what you completed! Don't care if you're lying; that's between you and god/gods/your parents/you/your conscience/whomever.
But aside from all that, it's a matter of logistics: if we were all working on the same document, someone checking a task off would check it off for another who might not have completed said task! It would be a nightmare!
All thanks (most, fine :P) go to @noxsoulmate for their tremendous work on this year's challenge.
We hope that you enjoy! If you have further questions, don't hesitate to ask! Or, heck, don't hesitate to join the Discord! We love all the people. <3
Best, and may the reading gods be in your favour!
Juulna
Hi! First of all thank you so much for hosting this. Second of all, had a question about the challenge category for ships.
SHIPS CC: My OTP Is My Obsession: Pick one ship and read 75 fics with it. Use 50 of those in tasks throughout the entire FRC.
Does this mean that if multiple fics are used for the same task (e.g you use two fics for the same numbers task) you can count both of them towards the 50 fics used in FRC? Or do each of the 50 fics have to come from a unique task?
Thanks :)
Thank you so much for the kind words and for participating!
Ooo sneaky sneaky. smh 😂😁
Simply put, no. If you look closely, it says “read 75, use 50 of THOSE (thus 50 fics) in tasks”. So unfortunately no, using one fic would not count twice if you used it for two tasks hehehe.
I actually tackled the Ship CC first and Tag CC right after because the tag was related to the same fandom. I found it really much easier to read based off of the list I had for the CCs and THEN fit them into tasks in the FRC. The best place to fit random fics into were Numbers, Titles, and Tags (sometimes). Content sometimes. But I had the best luck with the first two.
I hope that both answers your question and helps some!
hello! I come humbly seeking some fic recs for the "Virtual Book Club" task! For ships: Ted Lasso/Trent Crimm is ideal, or if you don't have any there I'd be happy with any Raven Cycle ships, Cherik, or Davekat. Thank you so much for running this challenge, this is my first year hearing of it and I have been absolutely obsessed with it!!
You're welcome, but it's our pleasure to run it and we are so pleased to hear that you're enjoying it!!
I asked around the server and we came up with 3 in a short time, but a few others say they might have some on open tabs on their work or home pc (which they are not currently on). They may reblog with those additions later!
Ted Lasso/Trent Crimm: Fathers and Sons and Boyfriends (Oh My) by r_n_g_are_dead - A bit long at 91k but comes well-recommended! I may even give it a read. I love those two.
Cherik: 'Tis the Season by ikeracity - 30k
Cherik: with so much of my heart (none is left to protest) by friendlytikek - 3,100