#typical traincat

I was tagged ages ago by both @green-fifteen and @doomrichards with this: Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. If you do not write fanfic, then simply pass it on to those who do! Spread the self-love.

Since I was tagged twice, and since so much of what I write is Spideytorch, I'm doing two editions -- the Non-Spideytorch Fic and the Spideytorch Fic. Because I'm a cheater.

Non-Spideytorch Top 5 Fics

1. The Devoted, Fire Emblem 9/10, IkeSoren, rated E. 78k.

In Hatari, Queen Nailah had spoken of other lands, continents thought lost to the great flood. Ike wanted to see them. He traced imaginary landscapes over Soren’s back at night, the patterns of his fingers making rivers and lakes, the line of Soren’s spine mountains. “We’ll need maps, if there are any to be found,” Soren said. “Food and water. Logic dictates that we won’t speak the language, but everyone speaks the language of gold. Ike, are you listening to me?” “Sure,” Ike yawned. “Or we can make like the hawk tribe and wing it.” “Ike, I love you more than anything or anyone else in this world,” Soren said. “That is why I refuse to allow you to starve to death in some pathetic dinghy in the middle of the ocean.” -- Ike and Soren's journey is interrupted when Soren is injured by a cursed sword. With Soren poisoned and running out of time, Ike embarks on a desperate quest.

This was the fic I wished I had the skills to write back when I first played Tellius so I was really thrilled to be able to write it for the Tellius Big Bang, and even more thrilled to partner up with @charmwitch. Major spoilers for the entire game.

2. Daylight, Fire Emblem 9/10, Ike/Soren, rated M. 21k.  

Once upon a time, a boy in Gallia gave Soren his sandwich to eat. -- Ike and Soren, and meals over the years.

They're so in love and this is just a fic about them being in love. I love writing about like, love and food, in really mundane ways, and they're perfect for that. A love story that started with a sandwich.

3. The Only Cat Who Knows Where It's At, Spider-Man PS4, PeterFelicia, rated T. 21k.

Felicia Hardy was always a sight to behold, but there was a certain kind of joy Peter took in catching her in the act. She always froze in a funny way, her shoulders stiff and her eyes so wide they almost looked like headlights. The closest analogy Peter had ever been able to come up with was that she looked like a naughty housecat spotted with one paw in the fish tank. -- Three generations of Hardys show up at Peter's window.

When The Heist came out, several of us promptly lost our minds over the concept of a PeterFel baby, and I still maintain Felicia never says she doesn't have a son. I loved writing this one. Walter Benjamin Hardy-Parker is canon to me.

4. To Have and to Hold, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, May Parker/Olivia Octavius, rated T. 2.5k.

The music swelled. Liv appeared. There were fresh daisies dotting her wild hair and she wore a white lace dress that fell in asymmetrical tiers to her ankles. Someone had decorated her Birkenstocks with rhinestones around the buckles. Her own tentacles were held to one side, prepared, apparently, to walk her down the aisle. Peter swore under his breath. J Jonah Jameson, seated in the opposite row, promptly burst into tears. He buried his face in a monogrammed handkerchief as his wife patted his shoulder. “I just love weddings!” he sobbed gruffly. “Parker, why aren’t you up there, taking photos for the society page?” “Maybe because it’s my aunt’s wedding that I am not working at and because I am filled with hatred,” Peter suggested. “Pictures, Parker,” Jonah sobbed, ignoring him. “I want pictures of this wedding!”

Okay I can explain. So in Amazing Spider-Man #131, Doc Ock attempts to marry Aunt May in order to obtain the nuclear power plant she is set to inherit. Don't ask too many questions. Anyway when ITSV hit, I like. I had to do it. Obviously I had to do it. I think I wrote this in like a day.

5. frame the halves and call them brothers, Marvel 616, Kaine Parker&Janine Godbe gen, rated T. 11k.

“You owe him,” Janine said, her every word a knife. “You think I care that he stabbed you? That it makes me think less of him? He could kill you a hundred times and it still wouldn’t pay back the torture you inflicted on him. He’s suffering, Kaine. You should know something about that.” All she’s ever known in her life is suffering, Ben had said once in a burning diner, reaching out to Kaine. You of all people understand what that’s like. “Fuck you, Janine,” he said, staring right back at her. -- After the events of Spider-Man Beyond, Janine goes to the only person she can for help: Kaine. AKA the terrible in-law road trip fic.

Ugh this fic is my baby. The awful in-laws road trip. Kaine and Janine and the ways in which they are parallels and victims and survivors and the ways in which Kaine hurt Janine in order to hurt himself and the way that his present doesn't change his past, but that doesn't mean he hasn't changed. Kaine and what it means when Ben is the one unraveling at the seams. Janine and what it means when the only person you can trust is a person you hate, and when you still understand that person better than almost anyone else. Spider-Man Beyond I am still so mad at you.

Spideytorch Top 5 Fics

1. The Boy From New York City, The Amazing Spider-Man (Webb)/Fant4stic (2015), rated E. 84.5k.

Central City, California is beautiful, but it’s not where Johnny wants to be – and he’s not who he wants to be, either. Inspired by the recent return of Spider-Man, Johnny convinces the newly minted Fantastic Four to return to the Baxter Building, the site of the incident that gave them their powers. But not everything is what it seems, and worse yet, Spider-Man wants nothing to do with the Human Torch. In the wake of Gwen’s death, Peter has finally put the mask back on, but nothing’s the same as it once was, and the thrill has gone out of Spider-Man. The Fantastic Four’s arrival only makes everything worse. The Human Torch is good looking, he’ll give him that much, but Peter has no plans of making friends. A series of strange attacks and a fateful encounter on the docks may not leave him much choice.

Do you know. How many times. I watched TASM/TASM2 trying to nail Andrew Garfield's Peter's specific voice and mannerisms. Because he comes at everything so sideways and I needed to get that down for this fic. This is basically The Amazing Spider-Man 3: The Fanfiction, dedicated to the time Andrew Garfield said Peter Parker should be bisexual and Michael B. Jordan should play his love interest.

2. The Spider and the Last Spark, Marvel 616, rated E. 42.5k.

The Spider let out a sigh as he shifted to face to Johnny. He drew the backs of his knuckles down Johnny’s cheek, then cupped his face almost lovingly as he leaned in. “I missed you, firefly,” he said. “I want to make you comfortable here. But if you ever say my wife’s name again, I’ll throw you into the ring and make Ben watch while my people rip you to shreds.” Johnny swallowed hard. It was almost ludicrous, hearing those words come out of Peter’s mouth, but this one said it like he meant it. Johnny had to wonder – did he know? Had his world’s Johnny been through the same things he had? Johnny remembered the arena, the heat of the Negative Zone’s alien air, the dirt beneath his feet as he squared his stance and readied himself to face whatever Annihilus had chosen to kill him that day. But this wasn’t the Negative Zone, and there would be no worms to bring him back. He breathed in deep and cranked the tiny bit of his dying fire up a couple hundred degrees. The Spider’s skin sizzled as he yanked his hand away with a shout. “I get it, Pete,” Johnny said, staring at him as the Spider bent over his burnt hand. “We won’t have any problems.”

I think this fic has a cult. This was honestly for me and like five other people, but I hated the way the Spider was written in Marvel Two-in-1, a comic I otherwise love, and I needed to fix it. I think I succeeded. At the very least, I got to write Victor von Doom suggesting Johnny seduce Peter for their freedom.

3. The Devil's in the Details, Marvel 616, rated M. 17k.

“Does this new man even like you?” Darren said. “Or is this just the latest in a long line of cries for attention? I’d have thought Johnny Storm, back from the dead, would’ve kept you going for a few more months.” “What?” Johnny said. “I mean,” Darren said, shrugging with that kind of deceptive casualness Johnny recognized so well but had never been able to replicate. “This new boyfriend rumor’s everywhere, you’ve been snapped a couple times, but he’s never around you, he hasn’t met any of your friends. No one’s seen hide nor hair of him, and now this? He can’t even be bothered to make it to your birthday party?” -- Months after his return from the Negative Zone, a surprise party awakens a host of old insecurities in Johnny.

This was an excuse to write both Negative Zone + Skrull marriage trauma in one convenient fic. I like looking at Spideytorch after they get together and at Johnny's past and the ways that certain things look from the outside.

4. tripped and fell into his bed, Marvel 616, rated T. 7k.

“So you’ve been playin’ hide the webshooter with the bug,” Ben said. “Tell me something I don’t know.” “First off, gross,” Johnny said. “Second off – wait, you knew?” “Do you want to tell me what’s wrong or do you want me to pretend yer the master of all subtlety?” Ben asked. Ideally, Johnny would have liked both. Still, he knew when to cut his losses. He let go of Ben so he could hoist himself up on the edge of the table. Ben heaved a long sigh, apparently realizing he wasn’t getting out of this one, put down his newspaper. “Okay,” Johnny said. “So this is gonna sound weird, but stay with me here. Have you heard about the body butter that attracts spiders?”

With sincere apologies to Sol de Janeiro. I'm sure your body butter is fine and doesn't attract wolf spiders at all. Look, I had to do it.

5. Work Song, Marvel 616, rated E. 51k.

Johnny’s bright eyes sparkled, his grin breathtaking. Peter had always known Johnny was beautiful, but knowing it and having it hit him like this were two different things. Very carefully, like he was afraid he’d break the moment, he raised up a hand to brush a lock of Johnny’s hair back from his forehead. “I’ve got some rules, too, Mr. Let’s Not Talk About All My Shocking and Famous Love Affairs,” he said. “Rules, huh? Lay ‘em on me, boss man.” He twined his arms around Peter’s neck and kissed him long and deep, mouth sweet and hot. His long, lean body pressed hard up against Peter’s, and for one moment Peter forgot how words worked. “Clowns,” he said. “What?” Johnny said, laughing. Peter could feel his chest shake with it, which threw him all over again. “I can’t talk about clowns in bed,” Peter said, trying to keep his face serious. “If I picture ten men getting out of a tiny car – that’s it, cold shower, I’m out.”

This one is old, and I think the writing is a little clumsy, but I loved writing it and getting to write fix-it fic for Superior Spider-Man. Peter and his issues and him trying to ignore them through a "friendship with benefits" with Johnny, who is also falling apart. This period of canon was so good. I mean, for writing fic. Not for the characters in general. But in terms of inspiration I don't know, maybe they should banish the Fantastic Four from the shelves again. (Kidding. I'm kidding.)

BONUS CATEGORY: I lied. One more fic.

6. A House in the Hills, MC2-ish, Peter Parker/Johnny Storm/Mary Jane Watson, rated E. 35k.

“Anyway, did you ever think I might want to sleep with him?” Peter sat straight up in bed and turned on the bedside light. Mary Jane was still sitting up, her arms crossed defiantly over her chest, staring straight ahead at a spot on the wall, twin angry spots of color in her cheeks. “You want to sleep with another man?” he demanded. “Well, ideally you’d be there, too,” she said, scowling. “Ideally?!” he repeated, throwing his hands up. “You’re pushing your luck in that area right now, buddy,” she said, pointing a finger at him. “That’s all I’m saying.”

Look, this one is both Spideytorch and not strictly Spideytorch, because MJ is very much in there, so it goes in its own category. Again, I'm a cheater. Johnny marrying Lyja for real-real in MC2 literally drives me up the wall, so I wrote the Watson-Parkers homewrecking their way to his happiness.