#goldcranes

[nonsequitur22]

Fanfic Authors to reread

Here's a list of my favorite fanfic authors that write such masterpieces I'm left in awe. I have reread many, many of their stories because the writing is so good.

Astolat - I've read all of her Witcher and Transformer works at least seven times each, lol. The Game of Thrones stories are mind-bogglingly creative, and the Harry Potter works are the best I've ever read in the entire fandom ever. I love how quickly each story progresses and how immersive each world is, and I find that her stories are the ones my mind most often turns to and thinks about while I'm daydreaming.

spqr - phenomenal, breathtaking, single-chapter oneshots that slice into a fandom with such precision that you don't even have to know what the fandom is but you'll love it and feel like you've been a part of it for years. Masterful, exquisite, heartfelt stories that are like a solid jab to the solar plexus when you step into them.

betts - oh my gosh does this author know how messy emotions and relationships and life can be. She flays apart characters, sees what makes them who they are--all the flaws, mistakes, grief, bad parts of them--and shows exactly what it means to be human. I've never felt seen like this before. betts has a gift and each story is an absolute treasure.

glimmerglanger - this makes me want to cry. I've bookmarked every single one of their stories. Read many of them over and over and over. Screamed in elation when a new update came through. but - they're gone. Nuked. Obliterated. My heart goes to the author. This is a reminder to treat these writers better, to not nag or insult or complain about the writing they do for free. I sobbed when I found out their entire archive had been deleted. Those stories were breathtaking. Staggeringly creative. All Codywan fics set in such masterful worlds: the Mermaid AU, Magic AU, Yellowstone, Baseball, Time Travel, Captured by Vader and tortured, heck, even the Animal Crossing crack!fic was a blast to read. The rarepairs were so much fun, Just Right with Obi-Wan/Alpha 17 was a personal favorite. I hope glimmerglanger is doing ok and knows that they have so much support from dedicated fans.

objectlesson - alright this is my guilty pleasure. Here's who to go to if you want interesting, hot, probably out of your comfort zone but gosh darnit if it doesn't awaken something in you, smut. Never thought I'd read Doc/Lightning McQueen fanfic but here we are. This author knows exactly what's she's doing and I'm all for it.

goldcranes - Masterclass of intense focus on little details. On exactly which lens setting you use to set the scene, what to focus on, how to best portray what's happening to wrench on your reader's heartstrings and make them feel. Phenomenal writing.

esama - my first fandom crush :). Whispers in Corners is my #1 favorite fanfic of all time. She's who I turned to when I first started reading fanfic a decade ago and I still lovingly go back and read what I consider her greatest hits.

#fanfic recs #ao3 fanfic #read on ao3 #favorite stories #astolat #spqr #betts #glimmerglanger #objectlesson #goldcranes #esama #nonsequitur writes

[valkyrhys]

amber i have to ask... if you could read ANY submission to ofic, what would it be? what do you most want to see? (brought to you by my burning desire to submit but my soul-crushing inability to settle on an idea)

fantastic question!! personally, I would love to read an illicit romance of some kind... you know I love an age gap, especially a teacher/student dynamic. something with dynamite smut and passionate feelings and super engaging stakes.

I would also love to read more fantasy! it's really hard to nail fantasy in the short form because the genre generally requires so much worldbuilding, but I think it's possible.

at the end of the day I'm just such a sucker for a love story in any form tbh. and I know I'd be frothing at the mouth if you submitted anything <3

#goldcranes #ofic mag

[sugaredrhubarb]

Reading with Ru: Aug/Sept Fic Recs

I know I'm certainly in need of some positivity and escapism lately, so I'm gonna try to do semi-regular fic and book recs! Starting with a retroactive what I've been reading from the past couple of months with this account! (I might go back in time and make an all-time rec list later)

COD

starting with cod because i know most of you go here

Sergeant Squeaks by @charliemwrites - (series of one-shots ghost x reader and price x reader separately) both one of my favourite reader characters and my favourite canon setting depictions of Ghost and Price. their own weird brands of showing love are wonderful; the tension leading to getting together is fantastic, and the sex is super enjoyable.

Ghost Stories by @kneelingshadowsalome - (ghost x medic!reader) I'm repeating myself, but I love Salome's writing. This is where I was first introduced to it, and I think it's really special. Ghost POV as he struggles with developing and then accepting love. felt so real and grounded. angsty and then fluffy, and you can't help but adore the reader as well.

saltwater by @ceilidho - (ghost x reader) It's pretty unlikely any of you don't know Ceil, but on the off chance you haven't given this one a read yet, it really is a must. I lump praise on her pretty regularly, but I don't know anyone who is able to portray their character's emotions as intimately as Ceil. her ghost feels really grounded in all his complexity. there is a common theme in these recs of really enjoyable reader characters, and this is not an exception; the reader feels like a full but still ambiguous character who is vulnerable and strong and really great.

don't leave me locked in your heart by @ohbo-ohno - (ghoap x reader dark!) we all know bo, we all love bo. I always love the way she depicts ghost and soap's dynamic changing and evolving to include the reader. the descent into dark territory in this is really really fun. It's also just hot and well-written! if you haven't read it before, go read it, and then go read all of bo's drabbles and asks on here. genuinely one of my favourite dark but still fun writers. I think she balances it really well.

body electric by @yeyinde and Afterburn by @sprout-fics - (141 + Los Vaqueros x reader) a classic. I've returned to these so many times. sometimes you just want to read dirty, filthy, well done, smut and then warm cozy aftercare. not to wax poetic about pure sex (except that's exactly what one should do), but I think it can be really hard to write group sex like this and still have such insightful and individual glimpses into each character and dynamic, and Lev does it wonderfully. and then it's also hard to find good aftercare fic, and Sprout's feels like literal aftercare for both the reader character and the reader.

other fandoms

tried to curate to themes i think overlap in some of the cod works! and I think most of these can be read fandom blind.

i revisited @winterrose527's fic in August, and even though she already knows how much I love her work, I won't skip a chance to repeat it. Anna writes for asoiaf and is pretty much the queen of Robb Stark/Myrcella Baratheon, but I would say the modern AUs (my favs) can be read almost completely fandom blind. Any contemporary romance enjoyer would love her work. I'm really partial to her kid/single-parent fics. I think it's so hard to get right, and I always adore reading her kid characters and how she approaches love stories when kids are involved. anna's works are always brimming with love and incredible platonic, familiar, parent-child, and romantic relationships (if kid fic isn't your thing she also has a ton of other great fics). personal favs: We Could Be a Little Something, And There They Are, All the Same

Lawless by @goldcranes - (arthur morgan x ofc) age difference, cowboy love story, essentially a romance novel. if goldcranes has no fans, I'm dead. I encourage you to explore her work; very few people write as strongly across multiple fandoms as she does, and each of her works feels like a really strong love story with special characters.

The Odyssey by @sunlightmurdock - (bradley bradshaw x reader) 1980's roman literature prof x virgin student - no need to know top gun. katie's work is another entry in the 'feels like it stands really strongly separately from the source material' category. she has multiple ongoing AU's that I really love, but this one is a favourite. i think she does complex characters really well - their actions always feel intentional, and as flawed as they are, I always love them.

Wouldn't it be Nice by allyoops - (m/f captive A/B/O) if you aren't reading original works smut on ao3 you are missing out and allyoops is a great place to start for noncon, dubcon, age gap, taboo etc. enjoyers. they have a ton of works; usually one shots with lots of really delicious dynamics and different settings and tropes.

An Intoxicating Presence by FormerlyIR - (mob a/b/o haladriel) MOB. A/B/O. HALADRIEL. picks up with Halbrand in prison thanks to undercover FBI agent (and his mate!) Galadriel. does that sound crazy and awesome? well it is. mix it with Gal's internal struggle, the added complication of omegaverse, and overall great writing. really fun and really damn good.

civitas terrena by banalityofweevil - (darklina) angel Alina on an exploration of love in immortality with fallen angel Aleks. honestly, it's just a must-read for enjoyers of writing. incredibly creative with divine (literally and figuratively) imagery. i think one of my comments was on the precision of lulu's diction and I really stand by that.

tinsel into gold by ribbonedhare - (darklina) ddlg and cnc friends, this changed me. it is so warm and soft and my god, is it good. just scrumptious.

Be My Babydoll by KittyDruthers - (darklina) ddlg dollification need I say more

check the reading with ru tag for more!

#reading with ru #if you read any of these and wanna yell about em with me my asks are open! #fic rec #ao3 #fanfiction #fanfics #cod #darklina #fanfic recs

[iamstartraveller776]

THE TRUTH IN OUR HEARTS 1/?

Written for the @darklinaserver's Secret Sankta Fic Exchange for @goldcranes. I hope you enjoy it! Ack!

Summary: Seemingly on a whim, Alina is given away in marriage to the leader of Ravka's most feared warriors. Though terrified, she's prepared to make the union one he'll regret. Only, he's much more than he seems to be with hidden truths that can either bring them closer together or tear them apart.

Genre: AU (No Powers), Arranged Marriage, Romance, Slow burn

Rating: T (may or may not change)

Also on AO3

THE TRUTH IN OUR HEARTS

Alina’s attendants are silent as they dress her. The gown isn’t the bright brocade currently in fashion at court, but black with a hint of gilded embroidery in the skirts and at the collar. A fitting omen for what she’s about to do. One of the servants yanks at the corset laces, though not tight enough to quell the stir of bile in Alina’s middle or quiet the pounding in her chest. Her lungs burn with a trapped scream, but she says nothing as they pull a dark glove over her hand and up past her elbow and then the other. She doesn’t wince as they wrench her hair into an elaborate twist or when one of the hairpins gouges her scalp. Her reflection stares listlessly back at her before a thin veil of starless lace falls over her face.

The servants exit as wordlessly as they came, leaving her alone in front of the mirror. She looks like a young woman in mourning. She supposes she is. Her life—what little was left of it—ended the moment King Pyotr made that terrible declaration.

A knock on the door interrupts her bleak musings. A man stands just outside the threshold, square-shoulders with his hands clasped behind his back. With a quavering breath, she takes in his long high-collared crimson coat with dark filigree—kefta, they call it—and the obsidian mask that obscures his features. Her eyes want to slide away from the grotesque image sculpted into the false face. Despite her time in the First Army and despite her brief apprenticeship at the Grand Palace, she’s never grown accustomed to the unsettling guise that the Grisha general and his shadows favored. She grew up with the whispered tales of what hid behind those masks, men and women more creature than human. Half-mad with battle lust.

Dark as night with snarling white teeth, the specter stands holding an onyx blade, blood dripping from its tip as an inferno rages beyond. Burning, consuming, coming for her.

She squeezes her eyes shut against the old, familiar nightmare. She can’t remember a time when she didn’t have it, when she didn’t wake with a gasping breath, tangled in sweat-soaked sheets. But the light of morning always chased the dream away. She won’t wake from the new horror that awaits her.

“Follow me, Miss Starkov,” the nameless shadow commands in a frosty monotone.

For a heartbeat, she toys with the idea of flinging a chair at the window, of climbing over the fractured glass and somehow scaling the rough granite walls to flee into the waning twilight. A brittle laugh bubbles in her throat at the futile plan, though. Trained practically from birth for speed and agility, the Grisha warrior will be on her before she can lift a stick of furniture. Even now, there’s a tension in his stance as though he suspects her wistful thoughts. No, there is no escape for her—not here.

With grim resignation, she nods for him to lead on. He scrutinizes her for a protracted moment as if he distrusts her but then he turns, his posture rigid as he heads into the empty corridor. She trails after him, quickening her pace to keep up with his determined strides. His boots bang against the stone floor, the sound echoing in the stairwell when they descend, and it reminds her of the army. Of marches for days in the perpetual chill next to creaking wagons. Of the boom of rifle and cannon fire. The shouting. The shrieks of pain and eyes like glass, unseeing as his life ebbs away, hand going slack in hers.

“Why me?” she asks too loudly, anxious to drown out the unwanted memories.

“Because he’s chosen you,” her escort says gruffly as if that ought to be answer enough.

She almost has to jog to keep up with him. “What could he possibly want with me? I’m nobody.”

Just a middling cartographer who lost the only friend—only family—she’s ever had. A soldier with battle shock whose commander sent to the Grand Palace to help update the war maps. Not out of pity. No one pities an orphan with the face of the enemy. No, she’d become a liability.

The Grisha snorts dismissively but doesn’t reply.

Maybe that’s the point—that she is a nobody. That she can be used and abused without consequence. The revelation turns her blood to ice.

When her companion pushes open a set of large, ornately carved doors and gestures for her to enter, fear climbs out of the pit of her stomach and claws up to squeeze her heart. Her legs are sluggish as she obeys, slippers dragging on the floor with every step down the aisle of the chapel. The Apparat waits behind a pale marble altar, his aged face pinched in a grimace. He’s dwarfed by statues of the thirteen Saints, glittering in the orange glow of candlelight.

She turns toward her escort to—to what? Plead for her life? Her freedom? She chokes on the half-formed appeal when it’s not the Grisha she sees through her veil, but him. The man who will steal the last crumb of peace she’s managed for herself with this unwanted union.

“Have you met our novice mapmaker, Kirigan?” King Pyotr says, clapping a meaty hand on Alina’s back. “I’m told Miss Starkov is getting on brilliantly in her apprenticeship. As talented as she is pretty.”

The compliment feels a touch disingenuous, too saccharine, but she blushes anyway. The king’s much taller companion, the infamous Darkling, gives her a passing glance through his sinister mask made to be the unholy spawn of wolf and boar.

“Indeed,” he replies indifferently, gaze already elsewhere.

She attempts to excuse herself, but the king holds her in place, thick fingers digging into her shoulder.

“How are you enjoying the festivities, young lady?” he asks with uncomfortable interest. He’s never spoken to her before this night, and she’s not entirely sure that she likes his sudden attention.

“It’s incredible,” she answers honestly. “There isn’t anything like it in Keramzin.”

The Darkling’s head swivels back to her, dark eyes searching her face. “Keramzin? Is that where your family is from?”

Heat rises to her cheeks. He, like everyone else, has probably mistaken her to be some Shu refugee. “If you count Duke Keramsov’s orphanage as family.” She swallows back a spike of grief and offers him a gaunt smile.

He wears the same black-on-black kefta from the fete, the same unnerving mask. Somehow more than his towering height and stature, he looms over her. She glances behind him at the doors swinging closed, panic building like lightning beneath her skin. If she’s fast enough, maybe—

The Darkling takes her elbow, tugs her toward the altar. She tries to yank out of his grasp, but he’s too strong.

“Wait!” She hates the desperation cracking at the edge of her voice, the burning in her eyes. “This is a mistake.”

He pauses then, lancing gaze sweeping over her. “I don’t make mistakes.” The statement is cold, sharp steel cutting away the anemic thread of fight remaining inside of her—almost.

When he pulls on her arm again, she digs in her heels. “I won’t take your name.”

“You can keep yours,” he replies as though her demand is inconsequential.

Emboldened, she makes another: “I won’t bear your children.”

At this, he releases her arm, draws so close to her that she has to crane her neck to keep her eyes on his. She remembers then that he’s no mere man. He’s killed dozens—hundreds, even—some with his bare hands, if the stories are true. He could snap her in two with hardly any effort at all. But she stands firm despite her racing pulse and the quiver in her knees.

The Apparat clears his throat.

“If that is your wish.” There’s a finality in the Darkling’s tone, as if the concession used up his short supply of goodwill.

She doesn’t resist when he ushers her the final few steps to the altar. As she sinks to her knees before it, she looks up at the stony-faced Saints and almost begs them for a miracle. But when had they ever answered her prayers? Ana Kuya used to say that it was because Alina lacked faith.

“General Kirigan,” the Apparat says, “I worry that the king will be most displeased to be excluded. Perhaps we can postpone until the royal family can attend. A week, maybe two at most. Surely a man of your standing should have a proper ceremony.”

Alina looks up, a germ of hope taking root in her chest.

“There have been festivities enough,” the Darkling bites out. “I will not delay any longer.”

“And if I would delay?” She tries to infuse the question with as much backbone as she can muster, but her trembling voice gives away the truth. She’s afraid. Angry, but terrified.

The Darkling looks at her, and she wishes he would take off that abominable mask, bare whatever savage face he’s hidden beneath so she can read his expression. “Begin,” is all he says.

The Apparat opens his mouth as if to object further, but then closes it as quickly. Alina catches movement from the corner of her eye, traces it to the man in the red kefta. He stands near where his general kneels, hand casually resting on the hilt of the long dagger at his waist in unspoken warning.

And with that, the seedling is irrevocably crushed.

She turns back to the altar, only half-hearing the Apparat as he begins the marriage rites. A pair of flower crowns lay before her. The buds are dried, the greenery yellowed. She wonders who lent their keepsakes for these rushed nuptials. Did they know that, instead of a love match, the unwitting bride has been given away as a prize for ending the decades-long conflict with Shu Han?

She very nearly had it once—love. Dreamt of it. Of a farm far away from war where they would raise sheep and goats. A beautiful picture shattered by a bullet.

“Miss Starkov?” The Apparat stares down at her. “Your vows.”

She blinks back tears and glares at her wretched groom, willing him to see through her veil the vows she wishes she could speak. Promises to hate him. To make their marriage so difficult that he’ll regret ever demanding her as his boon from the crown. Aloud, though, she spits the traditional words with gritted teeth, swears herself to him but makes it clear that she doesn’t mean any of it.

His vows are different. Not a covenant of undying love and devotion, but one of protection. The weapon in her hand, the fighter at her side. To march with her in times of war, to rest with her in times of peace. The speech has a disturbing air of authenticity to it, at odds with the impersonal act they were engaged in, and it stokes her building fury.

The Apparat picks up the crowns, chants in old Ravkan as he places them on their heads. Though light as a feather, the crude circlet might as well be an iron shackle, forever binding her to the man known as the monster of all monsters. As the last phrase echoes out into the empty chapel, she steels herself, prepared to turn away should her new husband attempt to seal their union with an unwelcome kiss.

“It’s done,” he says, rising to his feet and holding a hand out to her. When she doesn’t take it, he pulls off his crown, nodding to the other Grisha. “Bring her to the Little Palace.”

He leaves without another word to her.

“This way,” her escort says.

She drops her crown on the altar, tears off her veil as they exit through an exterior door. It’s full dark outside, the night air chill, and she hugs herself. The journey to the Little Palace—her prison—isn’t far enough to require horse or carriage. She casts furtive glances at her torchlit surroundings as they walk, fantasizing about hitching up her skirts and dashing off. But there are a few guards milling about and a handful of Grisha in black masks and colorful keftas. The latter watch her pass with tactile curiosity, and she turns away. Do they know what she is? A young deer to be sacrificed to their god? Have there been others before her?

Blessedly, they arrive at the doors. Once inside, she’s passed off to the care of a young woman hardly older than her. Alina doesn’t catch her name, doesn’t care to, and when it becomes clear that she’s not interested in making idle conversation, the girl leads her quietly to her rooms. His rooms.

She notices little of the outer areas, but the bed chamber she sees with stark clarity. It’s smaller than she expects—bigger than every place she’s called home in her short life, but terribly simple for the general of the Second Army. A bureau with a small mirror, a wardrobe, and a desk match the four poster bed that she tries not to look at, tries not to think about.

The girl undoes the laces of Alina’s dress, says something about the general having her things brought over from the Grand Palace in the morning. Nods to the night gown laid out on the back of the desk chair. It’s made of soft white fabric with delicate lace at the cuffs and neck. Trepidation coils in Alina’s stomach, makes her ill.

Too soon, her companion finishes her work and is gone. Alina pads to the door, cracks it open and sucks in a hissing breath when she finds the same Grisha in red sitting in a chair across the way. He stares back at her as if daring her to make the attempt. She slams the door shut, locks it, though she knows it won’t keep the Darkling out.

She checks the windows to no avail, then goes in search of something to defend herself. There is little in the wardrobe and bureau. Small clothes, shirts, and trousers, though surprisingly few. She finds pens, ink, and parchment in the desk. Candles and boot black and—thank the Saints—a knife. The blade is hardly longer than her thumb, but it will do.

He may have forced her into marriage, but she will not be forced into his bed.

She props the chair against the door, climbs onto it, drawing her knees to her chest. Knife clutched firmly in hand, she finally lets herself weep.

Exhaustion eventually darkens her vision and takes her to a field of long grass bowing in the wind.

TBC

#darklina secret sankta 2023 #darklina #darklina ff #darklina fic #aleksander morozova x alina starkov #alina starkov x aleksander morozova #au #no powers #my fic

[ohbo-ohno]

i’m going feral at the moment. please can you rec some darklina fics for this trying time?

why yes of course

the loml @ceilidho has 4 - hand in unlovable hand (dark abo), savoureux (abo aocolypse), angel number: 333 (idk how to summarize this one), animal magnetism (my fav! mafia au)

arms like prison bars by solnichka - alina runs away from aleksander and he catches her before she can get too far :/ very fucked up noncon but delicious!

called to the devil and the devil did come by siebilant - idk how to really summarize this... trainwreck of a human alina meets rich man aleksander and they have a very toxic relationship. noncon!

projections by anonymous - alpha aleksander forces alpha alina to become his omega while alone in the mountains. very dark, noncon!

no shelter but mine by valkyrhys - THE darklina mafia fic! nanny alina x single dad/mafia boss aleksander ft. shitloads of found family

in the forests of the night by MyAnnabell_Lee - i don't fully know how to describe this one. alina is forced to marry aleksander and completely acclimate to his culture, but this is basically an original novel

the great divide by Dr_Roslin - alina's ex-husband shows up on the one-month anniversary of their divorce and things get emotional and sad while they reminisce. i love this one so much

safest sounds by kneeinjurie - abo love is blind au

1-800-miss-ur-guts by kneeinjurie - alina's ex boyfriend aleksander moves back to town and they both reconcile with their lingering feelings

transition stunt by goldcranes - cheerleader alina x her coach aleksander

tonight the moon gives chase by Silberias - alina is tasked with keeping the general aleksander warm during the winter

teach me by quiet_rebel - alina x her russian tutor. dubcon

my sweetest friend by OneEqualTemper - aleksander spanks alina regularly but they're "friends"

sweet spot by larry_hystereks - alina x trans!aleksander in college. very soft <3

the grisha cup by inkbug - hockey au!!!!

Humbug by mzladybird - Chef Aleksander x Baker Alina who Do Not Like Each Other (wink wink nudge nudge)

ÉCHAPPÉ by themilkteeth - uhhhhh. my favorite ever. mafia au

statement piece by littlefoolswriting - a series of stories where alina works as a "statue" at a sex exhibition, aka attendants can do whatever they want to her and she can't move. aleksander falls for her very quickly

#recs #new tag ig lol #asks and answers

[natashatrace]

For the ask game-

📚👑🌻

📚 Is there a fanfic or fanfic writer you recommend?

only about a billion. I will read literally everything by @reiverreturns and @lesbiradshaw - too many good ones to pick specifics

this sereshace fic by @megalong changed my brain chemistry. I’m still unwell about it to anyone that asks. (pls feel free to ask.)

I think about this hangster fic all the time (idk if the author is on tumblr, though!) some of the best hangster characterization out there.

sleeper hit by @goldcranes is still a reread for me every few weeks. the “it’s something, isn’t it? being loved by him” re: Maverick just. makes my soul sing.

this mavnix fic started my mavnix love affair and my @mavnix love affair 😘

👑 Do you like writing short fics or long fics?

short!!! short. I want to slip into a scene and slip right out. I want to write whatever the song I’m listening to is making me feel and then let it go. I want to hit post and be done.

🌻 How often do you read your own fics?

often! I go through phases where I won’t for a while, but when I do, I tend to reread a bunch at once. It helps me remember why I love poking around in my brain at these characters bc most of the time, the stuff that ends up on the page is me just letting the characters guide me and I love that process of discovery very much

#liv answers #ask game #top gun maverick #mavnix #sereshace #hangster #tgm #tgm fic

[part-timewonders]

10 fic recs for International Fanworks Day

10 fics I enjoyed greatly, in no particular order, and picked randomly from my bookmarks on ao3! as always, check the ratings, tags, etc :)

milkteeth by tkillamockingbird (game of thrones; jonsa)

Expedience by goldcranes (game of thrones; jaimsa)

you're in my blood like holy wine by magneticwave (game of thrones; jonsa)

A Hand That Holds by vuas (shadow and bone; darklina)

while you're at it by smc_27 (shadow and bone; darklina)

Will There Be Stars by sternfleck (star wars; kylux)

Progeny by ezlebe (star wars; kylux)

Forty Eight in the Shade by halfthewords (yugioh gen)

by night by mimsical (yugioh; prideshipping)

In bed with the mob by Alecto (yugioh; puppyshipping)

(I also wrote a YGO-specific rec list a few months ago.)

#fic recs #ifd2024 #international fanworks day #yugioh #star wars sequel trilogy #shadow and bone #darklina #kylux #prideshipping #puppyshipping #jonsa

[burninghoneyatdusk]

Tag 9 people you want to get to know better / catch up with!

tagged by @she-who-the-river-could-not-hold — better late than never, thanks for the tag!!

Three (3) Ships: darklina (shadow & bone), daemyra (house of the dragon), bellarke (the 100)

First Ever Ship: I think tiva (ncis) was the first that truly had me in a chokehold

Last Song:

Last Movie: I'm not much of a movie person and I think the last I watched was It's A Wonderful Life on christmas eve...

Currently Reading: First Comes Scandal (Julia Quinn)

Currently Watching: The Killing

Currently Consuming: Just ate some chickpea pasta with broccoli, feta, honey, pesto, and parm

Currently Craving: mental health, the motivation to write, a glass of pinot grigio

Tagging: @stealing-jasons-job | @daisy-billy | @poppykru | @ninappon | @togetherkru | @andromedabennet | @bookwormythings | @goldcranes | @valkyrhys | @kneeinjurie | @wingardium-fic | @florisertum | @bluemoonjeans | @nakey-cats-take-bathsss | @bettycooper | @elessar-writings | @moonlight-shark | @chickens474 | @infp-with-all-the-feelings | @helloeurydice | @celadona123

#personal #tag games

[bettycooper]

The missive bounces off her thigh into the dirt. Alina reaches for it, her hands already shaking. It's the thin, yellowed paper carried by the scouting groups. There's blood on one corner.

“Another whole town.” Zoya doesn't give her time to read. “Three of the scouting group were killed on-site. They had to put down a fourth in the night. He tried to hide his bite.”

“We need another sun summoner,” says Genya, more gently. “Think how much we could do, Alina.”

-

A different type of terror has come to Ravka. One sun summoner will not be enough to hold back the tides forever. And everyone knows the best chance for a child to be a powerful Grisha is for it to have two powerful Grisha parents. - haunted & holy, made in glory by goldcranes

@darklinaserver Ben & Jessie Birthday Week

#darklina #darklinaedit #alina starkov #aleksander morozova #shadow and bone #sabedit #shadowandbonecentral #shadowandbonesource #alinastarkovedit #aleksandermorozovaedit #otpsource #jemmablossom #netfliedit #the darkling #usersource #darklingedit #darklinadaily #meowatthemoon #[ zombies & darklina?! a perfect match right here ]

[bettsfic]

first sentence game!

tagged by the wonderful and insanely talented @naamah-beherit!

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway.

i chose to do only my 10 most recent fics that have interesting first lines. this tag game has brought to my attention that i have a first line problem.

1. Chishiya was only a few years out of med school, but he had already learned that caring too much—caring at all—could kill you. (there & here, not posted yet)

2. “Where’s Rex?” Anakin asks. Not Merry Christmas. Just Where’s Rex. (organic chemistry)

3. The phone rings. Eddie snubs his cigarette out in an ashtray and answers it. “Hello?” (dirtbag)

4. On Google Maps the shop is called Lars Auto but there’s no sign anywhere to indicate that.  (lemon)

5. Yashiro had just entered Ryuuzaki’s apartment for his weekly dick appointment when he saw the hottest and largest man he’d ever seen in his life. (light)

6. Hua Cheng is hiding in a toilet stall which is covered in phosphorescent graffiti. (let ruin end here)

7. It started, as many things did, with Shi Qingxuan not minding his business. (digging for orchids)

8. When Lan Zhan moved in with Wei Ying, his first impression was “yikes.” (no certainty of doors between us)

9. Arendelle was a sleepy beach town with a population of a few thousand in summer, the tourist months, and almost no one in winter—shops and stores closed down, vacation homes sat abandoned, and you could look out at the beach for hours without seeing a single person. (renovations)

10. On Jesse’s sixteenth birthday, Mr. White passed back the first chemistry test of the year. (float)

tagging @valkyrhys @significationary @newer-fear @liceparade @lunarriviera @goldcranes @catja @volturialice and anyone else interested!

#this also made me realize how many fics i don't post #so i counted it up #i have 175k of unposted fic from the past 3 years #i should probably start #you know #finishing some of that #tag game #my fic

[acetonitril]

@topguncommentbingo

I made it! Excuse me for not posting a bingo before my blackout, I have literally no idea when my first bingo happened. The last two days have been a little crazy. But so much fun!

I also for the life of me can't figure out how to add the fics to the picture when I've only got my phone with me. So here's a casual list under the cut (I might actually link the fics at a later time but that too was too stressful with only my phone and half an hour to spare (in my timezone)). Go read them yourself!

1. fic tagged Porn Without Plot

pulling down back streets, deep in your head - thegeckbros

2. WIP

he loves me, i love him not - hey_its_me88

3. fic that's the first part of a series

I Couldn’t Help It, It Had to Be You - mackwinnon

4. art rated gen / teen

western sunset - enthyrea

5. crossover / fusion

Cyrano - arami_d004

6. fic completed between March - May 2023

The Penguin Agenda - greenstuff

7. fic where the last comment was 5+ months ago

Kiss me, baby - julie_sailorway

8. fic completed in July or Aug 2022

Feel the Heat, See the Light - ForASecondThereWedWon

9. fic tagged first time / getting together

You got me stuck on the thought of you - Popstar

10. fic set post TGM canon

that summer (when your shadow merged with the shadows of the leaves) - deuceofgears

11. fic with fewer than 5 comments

take you like a drug - callsignvalley

12. fic with a ship you haven't read

Sleeper Hit - goldcranes

13. FREE CHOICE

Homesick - theinsouciantknitter

14. fic completed in June 2023 or later

bare - Saturn

15. fic less than 3k words

I’ll Kneel for You - ReformedTsundere

16. fic from a fandom event

hot as a fever, rattling bones - Notchka88

17. canon divergent fic

Song #86 - LadyLanera

18. fic rated mature

bad idea, right? - ok_thanks

19. fic with more than 15k words

the whole time, under the lights - teacupivy

20. fic focused on a POC

no need to take it slow - boasamishipper

21. fic you already commented on

Rack ‘Em Up, Big Blonde - Earthangel_44

22. fic from an author you haven't read

Spare - wordsonamission

23. fic rated teen

get your head in the game - abliafina

24. fic tagged fluff

Cravin’ You - Jeston17

25. fic with a trope you love

can you see me glowing - dracculaura

#top gun comment bingo #what a ride this was #thank you mods!! #tg #ff

[them1lkteeth]

tagged in last line challenge from the illustrious @madsmilfelsen so here’s some of the housewife 4 hire fic that i will, one day, post.

i am nominating @thegoodbutter @lilynails88 @goldcranes @darkcherrywines @wingardium-fic because i am greedy and want more of your writing :)

#writing #darklina #how do tags work

[thedarklingxalina]

Darklina Library 

Pregnancy/Darklina Children Fanfic Recommendations 

The Son In Splendour by artemisscribe

Summary: Pasha has always lived at the Little Palace

or

A look at a very damaged Darklina dynamic through the eyes of a very innocent child

Sinners and Saints by expositorbeauregard

Summary: Sorry this is a little delayed - it's the last week of school and I've been swamped with grading final essays. Next few chapters may be slightly delayed, but will try my best to stick to a weekly posting schedule!

Terrible, Beautiful, Unsaid Things by Orlissa

Summary:  He takes her on the table and worships her on the bed, not leaving an inch of skin untouched, unkissed, until pleasure mingles with glorious pain and she feels transcendent.

Mere hours later she is fleeing from the palace.

***

But the fleeting passion leaves Alina with consequences she was not ready for, and when she is eventually dragged back to the Little Palace, both she and Aleksander find things they are unable or unwilling to say out loud, making it nearly impossible to reach an understanding.

Series: Terrible, Beautiful, Unsaid Things

Vsegda, Always by vuas

Summary: “An heir?”

Alina hacks up half her tea, spoiling one of her finer dressing gowns. She’s too busy dabbing at the mess with napkins, cheeks warm, to notice the bemused look her husband gives over the top of the newspaper from where he sat reading across the breakfast table. She quickly learns he isn’t joking.

(Or: Aleksander Morozova asks his wife for a baby, and she doesn't find herself opposed to the idea.)

haunted & holy, made in glory by goldcranes

Summary: The missive bounces off her thigh into the dirt. Alina reaches for it, her hands already shaking. It's the thin, yellowed paper carried by the scouting groups. There's blood on one corner.

“Another whole town.” Zoya doesn't give her time to read. “Three of the scouting group were killed on-site. They had to put down a fourth in the night. He tried to hide his bite.”

“We need another sun summoner,” says Genya, more gently. “Think how much we could do, Alina.”

-A different type of terror has come to Ravka. One sun summoner will not be enough to hold back the tides forever. And everyone knows the best chance for a child to be a powerful Grisha is for it to have two powerful Grisha parents.

heavenfaced by larry_hystereks

Summary: “We don’t need to have a child now, it’s not safe for them, we don’t even know-”

Alina shakes her head sadly.

“We don’t even know they’ll be like us,” she says, voice low.“Grisha?”

“Immortal.”

or: alina and aleksander finally have a child.

(Don't You Ever) Tame Your Demons by arianakristine

Summary: Alina has drawn the line in the sand, and Aleksander will try not to cross it.

#darklina #the darkling x alina #darklina library #there was another one i wanted to rec #told from the pov of their son #alina ran away when she became pregnant and hid her child from the darkling #canny recall the name though

[sparrowsaidwhat]

Getting to Know You Ask Game

thanks for tagging me @darkcherrywines

Favorite color?

lavender & mint green

Currently reading?

Practical Magic - Alice Hoffman

Last song you listened to?

Last series you watched?

I'm still making my way through Futurama

Last movie you watched?

Wakanda Forever

Sweet/ Savory/ Spicy?

Savory, but sometimes you just need a hit of chocolate/cinnamon

Currently working on?

Been chipping away at Starkov(a) sisters, Shifter Aleksander, expanding on the Book prompt from darklina prompts

Tagging: @lilynails88, @goldcranes, @thegoodbutter, @nerdytshirts & anyone who wants to play 💗

#ask me

[alinastarkov]

getting to know me / getting to know all about me

🎶 or like, not everything? not yet? thanks to @darkcherrywines and @danceintheashes for asking me to do this mostly because they don't know yet that my tumblr m.o. in 2014 was to delete anything that didn't 'fit in' and make my theme and feed look pretty. i'm trying to get past that! i promise!

favorite color: i love green, all greens, but based on what i currently own it's probably like, dusty lavender and a really, really dark eggplant purple? currently reading: half a soul by olivia atwater + the bear and the nightingale by katherine arden! i'm trying to take a break from long fanfic binges because i miss writing and reading published books is the only thing that actually sparks my imagination enough to come up with more than just vibes for a plot, unfortunately. i am falling back into my fantasy/fairytelling black hole at the moment.

last song you listened to: i could cheat to be cool but i will tell all of you the truth, on the way home from buying premium raw food for my cats, i was listening to psycho by taylor acorn! s'not been an amazing day for me

last series you watched: i actually miss out on a lot of tv, because i can't really watch anything in the hospital, but i end up catching up on sleep or reading on my time off, so the last series that i actually watched all the way through was probably ms. marvel? i am picky about which mcu things i watch, but i really loved it. i felt like i was inside of a comic book, and it was so creative!

last movie you watched: the sword in the stone, underrated classic

sweet, savory or spicy: sweet + savory, i would kill someone for a chocolate covered pretzel or some fries from li'l woody's to dip in a milkshake, which is frequently my gastrointestinal consult order if i get to choose what we're spending too much money on

currently working on: i'm trying to reverse-engineer a murder in my pureblood-hermione fic, and also to front-engineer a murder in a modern coastal bluebeard retelling, and i need to engineer-engineer a murder in a fic where alina grows up in the little palace but there's a sprinkle of octavia living under the floor, hidden, for fun --- so like, a lot of murder? i should also finish the harmony fic i started last year about yule logs and loving your family even when they make you crazy? someday!

i'll tag: @colubrina, @larke1, @noncanonlove, @gloivy + @goldcranes

#i'm waiting to catch a boat #so i finally have time to do this

[valkyrhys]

oh i would LOVE the director’s cut on restoration if you haven’t been asked already! i’m so intrigued by how the idea came to you and how you mapped it out and got it written 😍

ahh yes!! this got long so the answer is under the cut :)

I had wanted to write something set in the Catskill mountains since I was 15 and stayed in a cabin in the mountains for a weekend. I drafted countless beginnings throughout high school and college, fics and original fiction alike, trying to get a sense of what type of world and circumstances I wanted to create. I could never quite merge my ideas together in a way that worked.

there was a brief time— literally no more than a few days— where I thought about trying to write it as a bellarke AU in the summer of 2019, but that idea never took off, and the idea remained dormant.

then I watched season 1 of the witcher a few months later.

I became absolutely obsessed with the potential of a ciri/geralt dynamic. after a bit of deliberation, I came to the realization that 1) I didn't know enough about the universe to feel comfortable writing a canon ciralt fic 2) I didn't feel like getting flayed alive by antis (that feeling has since passed) and 3) why should I attempt to translate that dense world into a modern AU when I can just write my own story?

historically, I had 0 success writing original work before. I could never finish anything, could barely start anything without losing steam super quick. but for some reason I just couldn't shake this idea. who were these new characters? they weren't ciri and geralt, but they were reminiscent in their dynamic and their bond to each other.

how did that bond come to be? what experiences forced them together? why do they stay together? what are the complications in their lives? how much sex do they have and when does it start?

those were some of the things i was thinking while the idea was taking shape in my mind. and then I came to the big question: how do you create a societally-appropriate age gap romance? how do you create a relationship between two people with wildly different life experiences where they're both on an even playing field?

answer: you take away the society. you create a new playing field.

once I came to that realization, it was like something in my brain chemistry changed. I was so excited to tell this story, so much so that constantly revising and updating my outline was not draining but invigorating. I could see it becoming better and more real with each pass.

I also came to understand the value of a shitty first draft. of stream of consciousness writing, putting every thought down and going back to make sense of it later.

this was mostly theoretical until march 2020, when the restaurant I was working at closed without warning and all of a sudden I had no job and lots of free time to dedicate to this. it was a huge outlet for me, something positive to focus on during such an awful time. in fact, the original plotline that I had devised for the bellarke AU had them hiding out in the mountains after a plague, but that was hitting too close to home so I changed it to zombies for this draft.

I was never an outliner. I barely used to revise anything. I had some teachers and professors that used to require us to submit a first draft, and for that I would usually make a copy of the essay I had already written and just add mistakes. I thought I was being efficient, and I guess I was, but at the cost of quality.

now, my process from outline to finished draft requires at least 6 revisions. I thought that revising and outlining would slow me down, but it's made me faster. I think I've written more in the last 18 months or so than I had in the years before because now I know how a story works. it's amazing!

the response to Restoration is something I never ever expected, and it's brought me to tears on more than a few occasions. everyone's support has been so wonderful and I'm just so happy that I was able to create something I'm proud of and that people seem to love it a much as I do.

#goldcranes #restoration