#ifd2025

Join us in celebration of International Fanworks Day with our annual week-long challenge, the IFD Fanlore Challenge! From February 10th to the 16th, come celebrate fandom with us by completing fun editing challenges and earning our sparkling gem-themed badges!

Not sure where to start, or new to Fanlore? Don’t worry—our challenges are for newcomers and veteran editors alike. For those who are more experienced or are feeling adventurous, each day also comes with a bonus challenge. Complete either, or both, to earn that day’s badge.

Day 1, February 10th: Challenge: Create a Fanlore account! Bonus: Add some information to your user page! Check out examples from other Fanlore users if you’re stuck for what to write about.

Day 2, February 11th: Challenge: Expand either a stub or a short page. Bonus: Make a page from a redlink, which are listed here in descending number of "what links here" connections. Redlinks are internal links created to pages that don’t exist yet - creating pages from redlinks helps Fanlore grow!

Day 3, February 12th: Challenge: Make an edit to any page related to a book fandom. In October Fanlore will have a book fandom month on our social media. Bonus: Make and edit to any page related to print zines or fanbinding.

Day 4, February 13th: Challenge: Edit any page related to horror or supernatural fandom. Bonus: Make an edit to a page related to creatures of any kind. May will be “Creature Feature” month on our social media.

Day 5, February 14th: Valentine's Day! Challenge: Add to any ship page, such as a het, non-binary, or slash pairing, or a moresome. Bonus: Add to a femslash ship page, or you can always create a new femslash page! During all of February, we're highlighting femslash-related pages on our tumblr, X (Twitter) and BlueSky for our own version of Femslash February.

Day 6, February 15th: Happy International Fanworks Day! Challenge: Add anything to a fan convention page. Bonus: Add an internal link to a convention page, to improve connections between Fanlore pages!

Day 7, February 16th: Challenge: Make at least 10 individual edits this week - just one each day + a couple more! Tell us in the edit "Summary" on your 10th edit. Bonus: Make 20 edits!

Happy editing, and happy IFD week! Feel free to ask us any questions about the challenge - you can also join our Discord server to chat about the challenge and compare notes with other editors!

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February 15th is International Fanworks Day, if you would like to learn more about that check out @transformativeworks post.

On Comment Exchange we celebrate the IFD by suspending the comment first rule, which means you can submit works without having to proof you commented on another work first. Of course you're still encouraged to comment on as many works as you can today, it's the perfect day to spread love and appreciation in fandom.

You can submit works through the tumblr submission function, or trough our google submission form. Just please make sure to read the rules first.

This Saturday, 15th February, is International Fanworks Day.

Making the use of with time zones, the 15th February starts at 11.15pm on the 14th February (when the Chatham Islands hit the 15th) and goes until 11pm 16th February (my local time) when the 15th February ends in Hawaii (which is a whole 23 hours behind me).

This is pretty much a 48 hour time period. I am setting myself some goals/challenges. Join in if you want (and set your own goals!)

Write 1 new fic and post it

Draw 2 1 pieces of fanart

Watch 3 movies

Update 4 3 WIPs

Read 5 pieces of fanfic and leave comments

Edited 15th February 6pm - done my reading and commenting, updated one fic and aiming for another tonight.

For International Fanworks Day I have been reading fic (and leaving comments!), which isn't something I allow myself to do very often because the need to write is MORE.

However read @hangmanbradshaw's I talk a big game that I'm scared of losin' and then wanted to draw boxer Bradley, which fits in with me wanting to try and draw two things for IFD2025.

International Fandom Day #2

this is my second post for international fandom day 2025 and this one will be of my favourite topgun fanfics

sidenote: I'm not your mother and I'm sure you guys are old enough to read tags and warnings on ao3 so no tags just reccomendations

i've got a blank space (i'll write your name) - @halestrom

"Bradley just wants to find love. Jake is his divorce lawyer." Starting my Top Gun fanfic recs off with an absolute banger. This fanfic is so, so, so good. The way they treat each other, the way they work is just incredibly well written and the seperate characters are written so incredibly well. I AM SICKKK-

When We Get Around to Talking About It - @compacflt

"Goose has been dead for a week and a half when Iceman loses his first wingman in a dogfight with six Soviet MiGs over the Sea of Okhotsk. Goose has been dead for thirty years when Iceman loses his second wingman to a surface-to-air missile on the tail-end of a mission he's responsible for: he's sent his family on a suicide mission to destroy a uranium enrichment facility in Russia's Far East. This is the story of those thirty years in the middle. (Or: Tom Kazansky rises through the ranks while trying to stay a good man. If he ever was one to begin with.)" Just finished this on Tuesday night and I was literally crying at the club last weekend over this! I heavily recommend the entire series if u like torturing yourself with old man yaoi.

We're All Haunting's Waiting To Happen - @halestrom

"Ever since he was a kid, Jake was able to see ghosts just like his family before him. As he got older, they taught him how to use his gifts to help people move on to be at peace and now, living in San Diego, he spends his days helping the people who need the help and hopes that, at the end of the day, he is making a difference and those people are at peace. Sadly, helping people move on doesn't pay the bills and so he moonlights as Hollie Gibson, the worlds number one contemporary romance author. With multiple number one best sellers and a movie in the works, Jake's writing career is at the top of the game. Too bad he's got a massive case of writers block. At least until he meets Bradley Bradshaw and the two of them fall into a casual relationship that could've been ripped straight from one of Jake's books and sparks more than just Jake's writing." Okay, I have to admit that I probably have read all of halestroms tgm fics…BUT THIS ONE changed my brain chemistry. The premise alone is so good it will knock your sock off. Once again the way halestrom writes Jake's character is just so good that I lack the words to express how I felt reading this.

Formula 1: Deceive to Achieve - greenstuff

"When new teammates, Jake and Bradley, agree to pretend they’re in a committed relationship to land a sponsorship deal, they probably should have factored in the possibility they might fall for their own lies." Take one look at my profile picture and tell me why the premise alone wouldn't catch me. But this was a pleasure to read!

we met and you claimed me (series) - haridwar

"“Did we really do this?” Bradley asked. It was the first thing he had said since Jake’s brainwave and Jake was not a fan of how upset he sounded. “Are we- did we get married?” or: what happens in Vegas…" arguably THE vegas fic of the topgun fandom

change is alright - haridwar

"Jake bet fifty-fifty on whether he was going to enjoy this conversation and stepped up to the passenger side door just as the window rolled down. He was greeted with a warm, smiling, moustachioed face which took him off guard. Though Jake didn’t recognise the driver, something about him verged upon familiar. His smile faltered as his gaze flitted over Jake’s face, eyes tightening in a way Jake didn’t want to overanalyse, but it made him seem no less friendly overall. “Where you headed?” “Closest ranch,” Jake replied, trying to keep his tone neutral as he made the snap decision to not identify himself for reasons he would rather not think about. or… little bit of homecoming, whole lot of drama" If this fic has 30k fans I am one of them, if it has 10 I am one of them, if it has one, its me and if it has none, i am fucking dead.

we're fools to make war - whimsicule

"In a Walmart at three am, between beef jerky and tortilla chips, with the lights flickering above them like it’s the fucking twilight zone, Bradley wants him more than he’s ever wanted anyone. or: it's a hundred degrees in texas." About the story. I have two words: immaculate and messy.

More than movie magic… - SunMonTue ( @tgmsunmontue )

"Jake is a Hollywood actor and Bradley is a stunt coordinator. Jake's about to make a few self-discoveries." Another one of those fics that i can re-read until my eyes fall out.

thank you so much for reading through these and feel free to comment if you have read them too!

To celebrate, here are some of my favorite fics (all on Ao3). Go give 'em a read!

+Misunderstandings + Pizza Margherita by @elspirito23 --My dear dear sister wrote this. She's the one that got me into fic and introduced me to the term 'whump'. This is one of my favorites by her! It's a Man From UNCLE fic, with Napoleon whump, Illya guilt, and a nice dose of fluff. I love it so much!

+And on the seventh... by Dorinda --A Master and Commander Jack Aubrey/Stephen Maturin fic wherein they both go overboard during a battle and end up stranded on an island together. It's very well written and whumpy, and seems meticulously researched with lots of cool little details.

+The Forest Primeval by athena_crikey --An Endeavour whump fic! This is one of the very first fics I read on Ao3 and holds a special place in my heart. The characterizations are great and the whump is v good!

+The Ex by Marchling --911 Bucktommy Buck Whump fic! It's very good whump. And there was recently(ish) a second chapter added, so you get to read about it from both Buck and Tommy's POV which is super neat!

+Who are the Wolves in your Head? by LittleDarlingXOX --This was one of my favorite fics over on ff.net back in the day, and I recently discovered that it's on Ao3 as well! It's got Dick Grayson whump (hell yeah) and Jason Todd angst, it's sooo good! Sad and lovely!

+Lazarus Syndrome by Miss_Six --This Pacific Rim fic isn't overly whumpy, but it's very, very good. A super interesting take on the Drift. Super lovely fic with good Raleigh angst!

+sometimes the short end of the stick is the sharpest by @cartwrong --Slow Horses has been a unique experience for me in terms of fandom, in that I got in very early, and it's one of the smaller fandoms I've been in--and also one of the most active! And a large percentage of us like to put River Cartwright through it (and by it I mean hell, sorry River). This fic is no exception. The characterizations are on point and the whump is great!

It's International Fanworks Day 2025! AO3's theme this year is 'Fan Communities are Ecosystems', where we celebrate diversity in fandom and fanworks, and the unique fan ecosystem it creates.

To celebrate, I wanted to make a list some of the fandom blogs/fanwork creators I adore in the fandoms I am a part of. All of these people truly embody the theme of helping a fandom feel like an ecosystem both on AO3 and on Tumblr.

Criminal Minds:

This section will be the longest since it's my main fandom. You have been warned ;-)

@swpf [swpf of AO3] has become one of my best friends in recent months after we first met in the comment section of one of my fics. She has reminded me how nice it is to have another fan/author to bounce headcanons and ideas off of. All of her fanfics are works of art, plus they bring so much to our fandom because they mostly focus on the rare pair of Tara/Penelope. From the canon-adjacent series [Drive], to her current WIP [I Believe] AU, everything she writes makes me feel so lucky to have her in the CM fandom.

@otahkoapisiakii [Phoenix_Falls on AO3] is one of my oldest friends and we met because we have both been in this fandom since the get-go. Our friendship began in 2014 when we were each other's favourite Jemily authors. In the decade of our friendship we have co-authored fics, beta read for each other, been each other's hype man, and created more unhinged Jemily content than you could imagine. For every angsty heartbreaking fic I wrote, Frankie would balance it out by posting tooth-rotting fluff, like the Jemily fan-favourite [Steps]. I truly believe their contributions to the JJ/Emily tag on AO3 were fundamental in turning what used to be our little rare pair (we had less than 100 Jemily works on AO3 back in 2015!) into what is now the fandom's most popular femslash ship.

@gaelic-symphony [TheLarkAscending on AO3] is also a backbone to the femslash side of this fandom. Bex writes the most masterful canon-compliant fanfics I have ever read. The way she weaves a narrative into the little in-betweens of each episode is a skill not many possess. Her fic [Caution to the Wind] is as foundational to the Tara/Emily ship, as @mjduncan [Take My Hand and Show me The Way] was to JJ/Emily. And although Tara/Emily is her favourite ship, Bex has also written an entire series of WLW canon re-writes focusing on a wide range of ships.

@artcake is one of our fandom's most amazing artists and I am so humbled that we have become each other's muses over the past couple of years. Commissioning Mer for art to go along with my fanfics has been a dream come true. Everything she creates blows my mind. From the art for Fooled Around (and Fell in Love), to the sexy smut art for [Sweetest Pie], to everything else she's created - Mer is such an important part of the CM fandom.

@cargopantsprentiss [sunshineandguns on AO3] is such an important part of this fandom for all Jemily fans. Rosie's writing can tear your heart to shreds, or make it burst from wholesomeness. As an author and an incredibly talented artist, she is a master at everything she does and a pinnacle to the CM fandom.

@justjasper [JustJasper on AO3] has been in this fandom as long as me. I remember reading their works, such as [Souls at Sea] when I first joined AO3 back in 2014 and I'm still reading their works (my current fave being [Only if For a Night]) in 2025. Not only is he an amazing writer, but he has also contributed his time and energy into organising last year's CM Kink Bingo which inspired over 130 works to be added to the CM fandom, including some that JustJasper wrote themself. Thank you for all you do for this fandom.

Fanworks aren't limited to just fics and fanart, gif sets and edits take just as much skill and time to create and without our talented gif makers, tumblr wouldn't be nearly as fun. Some of my favourite CM gif makers include: @emilypren-tiss, @wardengrill, @elles-greenaway, @ssaalexblake, @sculien

It's been a unique experience watching this fandom grow and change over the past two decades I've been a part of it and I am awed by every single one of the other talented, dedicated, fans I share it with. There are too many to list in one post, but please know I love and appreciate all of you!

[Find other CM Fic Recs here]

Critical Role:

* I am mostly a lurker in this fandom, which makes me even more appreciative of the talented people who contribute to it!

@astoriacolumnstaircase [astoriacolumnstaircase on AO3] is not only one of my favourite CritRole authors/artists, but she also has one of my fave blogs in general, because her vibes are immaculate. She's also done some guest pages for @southern-gothic-comic (more about that below!) an incredible Imogen/Laudna web comic. Fun Fact: My partner and I love Astoria's art style so much, I even commissioned her a couple of years ago to create art to accompany my partner's first fanfic.

@mintywolf is the creator of the @southern-gothic-comic. The art and story are SO good. The visual storytelling is so enthralling, I love it so much.

@distant-shadow aka @flybyenight [Cunthea on AO3] is easily one of my favourite aritsts on tumblr, period. Not just in the CritRole fandom. With gorgeous pieces such as [this], [this], and [this], I'm sure it's easy to see why. Brows is outrageously talented and it's always a joy to see anything Brows does on my dash.

lorelei_de_rolo on AO3 is also one of my favourite CritRole authors. The series [The Sexual Implications of Telepathy] permanently rewired my brain and gave me all sorts of new kinks in the process (and I thank the author for it!)

Other Misc. Recs:

Here are some other blogs I adore:

@fbisgayesttrio is the best TXF OT3 blog on tumblr. Finding someone else who are feral about Mulder/Scully/Skinner has been a delight and I appreciate seeing them on my dash.

@polyamships is an all-fandom blog celebrating any/all forms of polyamory in fanworks! This blog is SO important to me as a polyam person myself. I love seeing OT3+'s from other fandoms. Even if I don't go to them myself, I still celebrate the fact other fans are representing polyam ships!

@dwgif is my go-to Doctor Who blog! This blog is an amazing archive of all things DW

@chibnalldaily is also a Doctor Who blog, featuring gorgeous gifs that always leave me in awe