I love how you really put a lot of thought into how you regard and read fanfic as well as how you respond to questions about how you feel aout it. Can I ask what are some parts/ideas in fics that really made you go wow, this is well planned or like I never would have thought about this or I forgot that this plot point and device were even a thing! I hope this makes sense
I love you, kind stranger. Thank you for reading my delirious posts and giving me the chance to scream about fics, which is always a pleasure.Â
Note: If your fic is in this post and you donât want it to be, let me know and Iâll take it down.Â
Zeitnot by thereshaegoes
I love the idea of time travel, so when I read this ficâs summary I bookmarked it instantly. At first, I thought it was going to be eight chapters of Laurent waking up the day of the battle of Marlas, but the author really surprised me.
I loved that someone died at the end of each chapter (at first, at least) but what really made me go âohâ is when Lauret realizes the Damen from âthis new realityâ is, in fact, his Damen!Â
Damen not being with Jokaste was weird to me, but I shrugged it off as a personal choice the author had made. Then, when Damen was talking about abolishing slavery, I was still in denial. âOh, well, some people donât like to write Damen as a slave owner, which is coolâ. And then, when the big reveal finally came, I was just⌠amazed. I literally put my phone down and went, âokay, this person really knows what theyâre doing when it comes to writingâ.Â
I love the little plot twists. In my head, a plot twist most basic example is âoh, X is a traitorâ but⌠this? This is so much better.
Between the Shadow and the Soul by Anonymous
This work was⌠insanely refreshing, innovative, transgressive, and outrageously good. It does feature a lot of sex scenes, but at the same time, it felt like sex was the least important part of the story. I donât know how to explain myself when it comes to this fic (and God knows Iâve tried) but⌠The sex scenes arenât there just for the smut of it all, if that makes any sense.Â
Auguste as a narrator is so unusual, and yet it made the fic so painful and enjoyable! I loved the way it left you wondering just how accurate his POV was. I loved the sex scenes with actual characterization. This author never, not even for one second, stopped focusing on the dynamic between Laurent, Auguste, and Damen. It could be argued that the Laurent/Auguste bit weighted more than the overall OT3 bit, but still⌠I had literally forgotten what sex scenes were for until I read this fic.
Sex scenes, especially in this particular work, are not parentheses in the story. Theyâre not there for the reader to take a break from the âactual plotâ or ânarrationâ. They are what holds the story together, and theyâre opportunities for the reader to learn more about the characters
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Cherry Wine by SteeleStingray
Yes, Iâm back on my bullshit. Yes, Iâm talking about CW again. But Iâll make it short because there is no way you donât know how I feel about this work. If you donât, check out this comment (which, by the way, is not even a fraction of what I wanted to say to the author when I read the fic).Â
What I found innovative and made me go âis this allowed?â about CW is not the idea of an OT3, but rather this particular take on a relationship that consists of three people. Iâve read a few published books that feature similar couples (all of them suck, and when I say they suck I mean it) so I was very hesitant to read this because of that reason.Â
Usually, when people write OT3 they pepper in a lot of stuff I donât like to read about: extreme jealousy, misunderstandings, cheating, weird dynamics that feel stilted, awkward sex scenes where one of the three just sits in a chair and watches the other two like some voyeur from Juan JosĂŠ Saerâs stories. Guess what doesnât happen in CW?Â
Another thing I liked about this work is that it reminded me that themes in fiction arenât limited to one specific work. This author really likes nicknames. At the time, when I had only read CW, I thought it was just a one-time thing. Turns out, itâs not. An emerald-coloured nightmare also features nicknames. I like this idea that you can tell who wrote something based on little details and narrative choices. Itâs like the author is winking at you, going âha, did you get it?â
Ink on Paper by deripmaver
I donât usually like fics with non-linear narrative because Iâm a lazy bitch who canât keep up. Iâd never really seen the point in using flashbacks, scenes from the past, or anything like that because my writing style (oh, fuck off, my writing style, who the fuck do I think I am) is more about references. And then I read this fic. And I was like, âokay, Iâve seen the light of not writing everything linearly like an idiotâ.Â
The Mannequin Gallery by marrieddorks
Yes, I realize Iâm talking about all my favorite fics. I feel no shame.
This fic is a Modern AU. Everyone who has ever written a Modern AU knows that one of the trickiest parts is finding characters professions that make sense with who they are/what they like/what theyâre good at. This story features Damen as an influencer. Thatâs it, thatâs my whole tweet.Â
It reminded me that even when youâre writing a Modern AU (or any sort of AU, really) itâs important to know what the essence of the characters youâre writing is. The way even Jordâs job makes sense⌠And how it feels like the author didnât just steal the charactersâ names and use them to create a random story (which is valid, too)... and⌠Okay, this has nothing to do with a plot twist or a narrative device but have you read this Nicaise? Have you? You havenât read Nicaise until youâve read this fic.
(and that's why) you're so beautiful now by iwasgonegonegone
This fic is 612 words. It has no plot. One of the tags reads, âlisten they're in love and they're cute and that's all i have to sayâ and I⌠yes. This fic inspired me to write plot-less stories again. Not only that, it made me enjoy writing them.Â
Lately, Iâve been talking to a friend of mine about a new pairing we both like a lot. We go back and forth for hours sometimes just talking about what theyâd do, details about the worldbuilding, a billion âwhat-ifsâ... and I love it. If one of us sat down to write a story based on all our conversations, it would be a character study fic. It would have, maybe, some plot to it, but⌠Plot would feel like an excuse to talk about their relationship. And I love that. I fucking hate plot, I hate it, and this⌠Yes. This fic is like a little slice of life. The author has mentioned before that they enjoy writing poetry (more than longer pieces of fiction) and this story reads like a poem. You know when you read a poem and you get this weird tingly feeling? Read this and feel that, youâre welcome.
The Life We Live by homewithyou
Iâve said before that I donât go looking for mpreg. Sometimes, mpreg has come looking for me, and Iâve closed my door on its face. I read this fic mainly because I never pay attention to the tags on AO3 (healthy, I know) and I was too busy making myself toast to read the summary.Â
I was five paragraphs in and this bit hit me like a fucking electric hammer to the head: â...which had been going haywire more often than not since the pregnancy began five months ago.â I was like, âwait, did Iâam I readingâwhy am Iââ and then I just shut my mouth and continued reading. Iâm glad I did. Iâm glad I didnât let my narrowmindedness stop me from giving this fic a try. Iâm glad people out there are writing stories that they enjoy, about topics a few others would deem controversial.Â
This also applies to the Lamen/Auguste fic I mentioned above. Whatâs the point of writing if youâre not going to take risks and be honest about what you like to write about? It takes honesty and commitment to write anything that strays from the norm. And so Iâm glad this person posted this story, because it changed me in a small way (âwhat if I shut the fuck up and read more mpreg instead of instantly clicking out?â).
This is another perfect example of how plot is poison and you donât need it in your life (unless you enjoy poison. In that case consume the plot, write the plot, sniff the plot. And die). A morning in bed, just nuzzling and talking⌠living life⌠Again, this made me realize that you can say a lot about two characters just from a morning in bed. It made me want to write 25 pages of dialogue in bed (this and Manuel Puigâs book titled Kiss of the spider woman, which I recommend fervently).Â
Plot? In this house? We donât know her. Youâre a strong, independent writer. You donât need no plot.
For a more general response, Iâd say that Steeleâs worldbuilding is impeccable and made me look at the setting of stories differently.Â
Foreshadowing is always amazing, but I havenât read a lot of fics where itâs a prominent element (which is not to say authors arenât good at it, I just donât read enough fics to give you a good example of this).Â
I really like oxymorons and when writers use funny adverbs. GallaPlacidiaâs adverbs are to die for, so definitely check out her stories if youâre interested in that.Â
I also love the way xlydiadeetz writes archs. She does this thing where she divides the story into different⌠timelines? archs? I⌠donât even know. Amazing.
I hope this answer made sense.Â


















