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thatonebirdwrites · 7 days

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Favorite Korrasami Fics

I'll include word counts for those that want to start with shorter ones first.

At the end of this post, I'll drop a few of my own fics as an addendum for anyone interested. I like to think my work is good, but well, you'll have to read and let me know what you think. :) If any of you have recs for good Korrasami fics, feel free to drop it in the comments.

Bird's favorites:

Lovedeathcats's It Belongs In A Museum (186,403 words) This is an Indiana Jone-esque AU, where Asami Sato a professor seeks the long-lost Elements of Eternity, relics rumored to grant the power of the Avatar over the four elements to stop them from falling into wrong hands. Korra and Krew joins her on this adventure.

Lovedeathcat's Beneath the Surface (still ongoing as of today 5/13/2024 and currently at 67,231 words) Premise: Set in a Modern Day AU where bending is a hidden art. "When Asami accepts a job at an isolated, hidden boarding school, she finds more than she bargained for - as well as everything she's been searching for."

Shigan's Such Essential and Invisible Things series: * Stake in the Pond (3,158 words) * Bedrolls (4,120 words) * When Meelo Brought the Porn (6,443 words) * All These Tiny Moments (772 words)

Progman's Repairs, Retrofits, and Upgrades (part of the Spin Your Rails series). (220,963 words) *Note the series as a whole as seven works in it that range from 3k to 220k in length. The other stories sort of serve as gap fillers for the main series, and the series as a whole is fairly close to canon. (The comics do not filter into this series).

FuzziFox's South (Currently 185,235 words, though it is still being updated as of today 5/13/2024). Premise: what if when Asami asked if Korra wanted company going South, Korra said yes instead of no?

Islandofme's Korra, not alone (35,080 words) -- Premise: what if Asami came and visited Korra while Korra was recovering?

RainbowRosie's Restoring a Frozen World series *The Girl in the Iceberg (352,793 words) Premise: Asami Sato uncovers a girl frozen in an iceberg, who turns out to be Korra the Avatar. Set in a 1920s version of Avatarverse, where bending doesn't seem to exist anymore. *The Church of Raava (still being updated as of today 5/13/2024 and is currently at 58,977 words)

@asamiontop's Where the Snow Takes Us (283,139 words) Premise: Korra is a ski instructor and Asami is a student. They meet. (It's a very cute tale that takes place in a Modern AU.)

@korrasamibottles's Under Me, Over Me, Any Way You'll Have Me (5,098 words) Premise: Height difference shenanigans.

Vetofan's Balance of Power series, which dives into Korra not realizing she is the Avatar (growing up thinking she's a nonbender) but having to face all the same challenges while she figures out what to do about this newfound Avatar powers. While falling in love with Asami Sato. (Currently 289,062 words with five works, though the fifth work is still being updated as of 5/13/2024).

Paxbanana's Place In This World (303,813 words) -- sticks with canon and chronicles the period after the show ended.

Valkrez's A Second Glance series (186,877 words and five works) This is mostly canonical, and it chronicles the times between episodes. It's all about Korra and Asami's off and on again relationship until they finally get together at the end of the series (the last fic is them in the future after years of being together). This one is heavy on the smut.

mustangsgloves's Falling For You (13,977 words) Premise: the four times Korra ignored her feelings for Asami when sparring and the one time she doesn't.

Tempest (sniperct)'s The Avatar and the Inventor Series: * There's nine works in this series that range from 700 words to 82,000. I really loved the "A Thousand Ways to Love A Woman the most), but all the fics are good in their own ways.

GallifreyanFairytale's with every drop of rain, singing (i love you) (1,385 words) -- it's a cute one-shot of a rainy day.

wegglebots's The Engineer's Guide to Dating the Avatar (17,989 words) -- it's just an adorable collection of ficlets that are extra silly and details Korra and Asami's relationship.

gayestcatra's The Path to You Series (2 works that total 194,288 words) It is canon-compliant, and just tells the story of how Korra and Asami fell in love. Includes the events of Turf Wars too.

Just_Addie's Uncivil Wars (3 works that total 88,737 words) Premise: The Winter Soldier but set in the Avatarverse.

The Road Trip Universe has a bunch of fics by the following authors: BarbWireThong, L2_BBOC, lanagotconed20, OccasionalWriterHD, Volchise. It's a modern day AU. (34 works that total 190,809 words. Each fic various in word count from 747 words to 36k words)

SifuTurtz's The Calm Before the Storm (2,978 words) A canonical fic that takes place the night before Kuvira's army reaches Republic City.

ADDENDUM:

My works:

Korrasami Adventures Series (All works in this series are canon-compliant) *How Was Those Three Years (21,397 words) Premise: How Asami handles those three years without Korra. *Spirit World Vacation (currently on hiatus but will finish soon, at 20,769 as of 5/13/2024). *Asami's Hidden Box of Poetry's And Letters ( 2,274 words ) -- a short, completed fic that's just fluff of our two favorite gals. *Is This a Romance? (14,411 words ) -- a silly retelling of the Asami's attempts to date the Avatar and the three year gap from Asami's perspective.

Shared Moments Series (Currently 6 works totalling about 960,009 words)-- this is canonical through Book 1.5. *Book 2 is my rewrite. Civil War turns into a World War, and Korrasami happens by end of Book 2. *Book 2.5 covers the aftermath of the World War in Book 2. *Book 3 is canon-adjacent as in same villains with similar plot beats. It has the repercussions of my Book 2 and 2.5 cascading through it. *Book 3.5 is my current project and I'm still updating as of today 5/13/2024. It sets the stage for Korra and Asami's healing journey, Bolin spy shenanigans, Blue Spirit Rises Again, and Earth Kingdom Civil War. *Book 4 and 5 are in note stage still. These two books will detail the repercussion of all prior books, the Second World War, and its Aftermath.

Enjoy!

#korrasami #legend of korra #the legend of korra #tlok #asami sato #avatar korra #writing #fic recs #fic recommendation #my works #my fics #ao3 fanfic

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hermiones-amortentia · 12 days

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Even though I ship zutara I never found a zutara fanfic that was as amazing as measure each step to infinity by paxbanana.

#atla katara #zuko x katara #katara #azula×katara #azula redemption #princess azula #azula #prince zuko #avatar zuko #zutara #azutara

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honeydewsblue · 2 months

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#ao3moirecs. moirae’s ao3 fic recommendations.

a masterlist for all my favorite ao3 fics; fics i think should get more love, in no particular order. send the authors some love 🤍!!

disclaimer : most of these are reader inserts… sorry i need my dopamine fix. also read the tags!! read!! the!! tags!!!! my review will not be sufficient!!

includes … jjk (9), atla (2), genshin (1), misc. (1)

jujutsu kaisen

kintsugi, by kirketeer (21.3k wc) || toge inumaki / reader

sign language fic, looove how it deals with the hypothetical aftermath of shibuya arc! super funny too, overall a heartfelt and lighter, happier read :-)

ask me to bleed (for you i will), by kirketeer (3.2k wc) || geto suguru / reader

non-sorcerer reader. ‘you will die just as every other non-sorcerer dies: alone and afraid. and suguru will let it happen, because he knows his ideals are unflawed. they must be.’ ao3 author kirketeer you never miss

the color yellow, by rhydonium (29.9k wc) || gojo satoru / reader

hanahaki au. haven’t read in a couple years but i remember being utterly heartbroken. i also remember the concept of gojo and having everything and yet being unable to do anything in the face of something that can’t be helped sticking with me. (also read as: gojo and reader with a terminal illness.)

ariadne’s thread, by hawnks (3.8k wc) || gojo satoru / reader

‘he loses himself. he finds you instead.’ gojo dealing with losing and living. i can’t get enough of their characterization for him!! it’s too good. so much written in under 4k words—it made me appreciate how much storytelling you can do even without a higher wc. fell in love with the portrayal of falling in love.

let your hand become a blade so i may take it, by pantao (~10k wc, ongoing) || gojo satoru / f!reader

knight & princess au. ohhh my God. The writing is so good i’m sick. gojo in this… Phew. started my obsession with royalty aus. i crave the pining in loyalty and trust

doctor, coroner, mourner, by deadpooled (2.3k wc) || shoko ieiri

— and her companionship with death. character study. beautifully written :-( oh how i miss her so. i love her so much, i neeeed to read more works of her :-(

lover’s vigil, by nariveri (24.6k wc) || gojo satoru / f!reader

she fell first, he fell harder. gojo and taking care of ill readers pt2. love the characterization of gojo in this too!! gojo helplessly in love… gojo dealing with the repercussions (guilt) of being rude…

the natural movement of particles, by goldenlake (2k wc) || nobara & gojo

nobara has a talk with her teacher. what we could have had… love little stories that expand on things we don’t see in the original :’-)

the eightfold path, by hawnks (~16k wc, ongoing) || geto suguru / reader

soulmate au. ‘in the great scheme of things, you’re no one special. you are, however, the key to bringing suguru getou back down to earth.’ so! good! geto suguru is the people’s man… Ugh

avatar the last airbender

☆ measure each step into infinity, by paxbanana (200k wc) || azula / katara

azula’s growth from war and love. This is my Roman Empire. i can’t do this fic justice through a summary, but it altered the entirety of my chemistry. i appreciate and adore their exploration of azula’s character so, so much. this is my standard now. i want a physical copy ** since it doesn’t have additional tags, cw for nsfw/sex, descriptions of torture, heed the depictions of violence warning

make a meal of you, by thatweirdguyinthebushes (4.6k wc) || sokka

character study, ‘[his relationship] with the concept of war’. ‘the first time he kills someone, sokka is fifteen years old.’ so very beautifully written

genshin impact

what the wind brought, by jupiterism (38k wc) || kaeya alberich / reader

bookshop keeper reader. also haven’t read this one in a while, but i remember loving the storytelling and characterization :-)

miscellaneous

translations, by bignostalgias (~18k wc, ongoing) — hiccup haddock / jack frost

crossover. language barrier fic. did not know this ship was a thing until i found this fic one day when i got obsessed with the guardians movie… (there’s a whole crossover with tangled, brave, httyd, and guardians????) so, so well written. executes such a creative idea so, so well. worldbuilding is amazing. god i love writers

#moirecs #m.list #jujutsu kaisen #jjk #jjk x reader #gojo satoru x reader #avatar the last airbender #atla

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xi-xi-chen · 2 months

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Hi, I love your art so much, you are an amazing artist. By the way, do you have any Kazula (Katara x Azula) fics recommendations? Tysm

Hello~ this is long overdue, I apologize for that...

It's been awhile since I've visited Azutara fics, but you definitely had to have read—

Measure Each Step to Infinity by paxbanana

To me, it's the mother of Azutara fics.

Other than that, I'm not sure if you have read these or not, but these were pretty good in imo:

Confluence by HenryMercury

the fire lily that blooms in adversity by tophsgf (this is mostly zukka but squint and you have the gals too)

if this were a movie by LesbeanLatte

one girl in all the world by LesbeanLatte

the corners of the world our mere prologue by Theo (Theodur) [I actually haven't read this yet, let me know how it is, seems interesting]

My Virtual Girlfriend by ItspronouncedJulia

You can find this on Archive Of Our Own (Ao3)

#xi-chat

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theriverbeyond · 6 months

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I've found it very hard to find good arcane fic for some reason, but I'd recommend TheHomelyBadger for consistently fun, interesting, well written fic, including some stuff in the past 6 months. If you don't mind older stuff I'll also rec Misthios for amazing characterization and lots of great trans rep. I'm also a bit obsessed with paxbanana's epic canon-compliant series which is rich and dense with the caveat that there's big copaganda in there

I really like THB's smut oneshots but honestly haven't been able to really get into the longfics -- they rely a lot on other (i assume) League characters that aren't in Arcane and I just can't bring myself to care about them..... I did ljke the Alien AU and hope they continue that someday!! I've read all of Misthios' stuff multiple times (Threads is my fav but they're all good) and unfortunately for your last recomendation i cannot do fics with copaganda.

And there was only one healer by UmbreonGurl is a solid favorite though, 65k iirc and even though it brings in LOL characters it felt very accessible for me as a non-LOL fan. My other favorite longfic is Hellhound of the Underground by kerosene_dream and i pray every day for the author to be blessed with time and energy and fifty thousand dollars cash

#ask #anon #FJNDING GOOD CAITVI FICS THAT ARENT COPAGANDA IS SO HARD.....#filler ///#filler /#fic rec #i looked through the tag the other day. it is dire

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julietwiskey1 · 6 months

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I like your thoughts on Arcane. Do you read fanfiction?

I would HIGHLY recommend "All the King's Horses" by paxbanana and it's series. It's long ngl but worth it and I think you're gonna like it. Address the corruption you mention and the wars between shimmer and hextec, council and chembarons, Ekko and... everyone? Gives role to Jinx. I must say, it still is primarily a Caitvi fic and that's the focus, but they are so involved in the world around, you can't write about them without addressing all of the above. Also, great writing! Just, as a warning, it's explicit and not just sexual content but with violence too (and a bit of gore too).

That's it! If you write something, I would love to read it!

Thank you, and I do read fanfiction. I have already read the series “All the Kings Horses” and absolutely loved it. It is definitely one of my favorite fanfics I have read if not my all time favorite. It’s rare to find a political thriller style fanfic, and this one was excellently done.

While it is definitely Caitvi focused it has a great blend with a larger plot and characters. While it was sexually explicit it never read much like smut, usually it felt like it was more focused on the characters and how they are progressing and served the wider story (though I believe there is a smut piece in the series, but I haven’t read it.)

Jinx is particularly well done I feel has a very nice development through the story. She was honestly my favorite part of it and her role in the larger plot. Which I’m impressed by, Jinx is a character I have a hard time imagining stories for even though she is a favorite of mine.

It has an interesting take on the corruption. But I feel like it hasn’t yet actually questioned the nature of it when it comes to the larger system of power and the roles of Cassandra, Caitlyn and Vi. The series is the main reason why I have become interested in those questions.

Particularly Cassandra. She comes across as very corrupt and interested in her family’s profits, reputation and power. In a way she reminds me of Silco, the corrupt councilor who is a loving mother compared to the drug kingpin who is a loving father. She is also shown to be a hypocrite in the last few chapters. But it hasn’t really been questioned yet if she is something other than good.

#Wiskey answers #marydrawsometimes #arcane #fanfic rec #I know I questioned it #but really only in the way you can when you love a story #cassandra kiramman

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diudiudiu · 6 days

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Hi! I really enjoy your fics. I generally believe that good writers have good taste so I was wondering who some of your favorite fanfiction and non-fanfiction writers are? Thanks!

hi! and thank you!! 😊

i have to admit, i haven't been reading a ton of new stuff recently and it's def hard for me to single out any individuals since there are so many talented writers out there but i've been re-reading a bunch of older stuff, so i can mention a few of them

also i have no idea why i seem so fixated on re-reading and rewatching things recently. just nostalgia ig? and also there's just something comforting about knowing what's going to happen 😌

Fanfiction

i know these authors may write for more fandoms, but i'm listing out ones that i've read of theirs

paxbanana: ATLA, ALOK, Arcane i'm re-reading Measure Each Step to Infinity atm and this in particular is one of my fav fanfics ever. if anyone knows if she's published any books, please let me know so i can buy them!!

PrimalInfinity: RWBY they've been strongly holding down the white rose fort since 2021 with quality fic after quality fic and i am super grateful for their continued service 🫡

SimplyKorra: RWBY, ALOK, Warrior Nun really enjoy all of her fics, her writing style is very easy to read 😊

RaeDMagdon: ATLA, ALOK, She-Ra, The 100 she's written a lot of well known ABO fics (and for good reason)

Non-fanfiction

Melissa Brayden i've pretty much read most of her books and she's one of the authors where i just know any new book she releases will be solid

ZR Reed i'm also re-reading Charon Docks at Daylight atm and will be excited when this is officially published in 2025 🙌

and finally, not sapphic and a completely diff media but i also wanted to specifically mention Kotaro Uchikoshi - he's written a lot of real clever stories for games (mainly visual novel type ones). i love plot twists and stories that make you dink the dink 🤔 i don't think i'll ever forget the way the plot twists in ever17 and his zero escape series made me feel. they were just so original - both for their time and the vn genre in general

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gideonisms · 11 months

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It's true, I find it interesting that in some fandoms you can just browse ao3 and easily stumble on something fantastic and in others you can't find shit with a find sieve. Anyway here are my top 3 caitvi authors: Misthios, featuring a modern mma au, a stillwater au, a regency au, and a 'fucking the thief that broke into my house' au; the characterization and dialogue are delicious and the writing is always full of heart, and the trans rep is so good and authentic. TheHomelyBadger, featuring a contractor vi au, a bodyguard noir-ish au, a hockey au, and many an excellent smut fic; there's a really engaging specificity to each of the settings that makes them feel real, the writing is incredibly fun and there's a certain edge I enjoy. paxbanana, featuring a truly sprawling, intricate, mesmerizing canon-compliant casefic-esque au that centers the relationship conflict and just crystallizes the character flaws. The characterization is so beautifully fleshed out, deep and rounded, the conflicts are SO human and sharp and affecting, the stakes are real, the emotion is staggering, the way the writing doesn't fucking flinch, I'm obsessed. But! The politics are terrible. Big copaganda. The writing is just soooo good that I can't not recommend.

Hi anon, thanks for the recs!! I believe this is my second person reccing thehomelybadger if I'm remembering correctly, so it seems like their fics are well liked! I will have to give these a look 👀 As for copaganda, god (hypothetical) bless I probably will not be reading that but as a fan of many a casefile/monster of the week show I know the struggle jgjjllk

#replies #it's one thing finding copaganda in the x files tag but once i found utena copaganda...........#anyway #just now getting to replies hello to all my anons ♥️#arcane posting #mma au is SO galaxy brain too these look good!!

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ao3feed-piltovers-finest · 1 year

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All Along the Entresol

by paxbanana

Murder and mayhem are nothing new in Piltover or Zaun, but when a Ferros agent is found dead with Jinx’s graffiti overhead, the cities take note. Caitlyn and Vi must set aside personal disagreements to navigate their familial and professional obligations as they pursue the culprit. As usual, one thread of corruption unravels to multiple ties both Topside and Bottom, and this time around, it could spell the destruction of Zaun.

Words: 4541, Chapters: 1/14, Language: English

Series: Part 4 of ATKH series

Fandoms: Arcane: League of Legends (Cartoon 2021)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: F/F

Characters: Caitlyn (League of Legends), Vi (League of Legends), Jinx (League of Legends), Cassandra Kiramman, Ekko (League of Legends), Corina Veraza, Sevika (Arcane: League of Legends), Camille Ferros

Relationships: Caitlyn/Vi (League of Legends), Vi & Cassandra, Ekko & Jinx (League of Legends)

Additional Tags: Murder Mystery, Kidnapping, Mayhem

from AO3 works tagged 'Caitlyn/Vi (League of Legends)'

#ao3feed-piltovers-finest #a03feed-piltovers-finest #caitvi #arcane (league of legends) fanfiction

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proofthatihaveaheart · 1 year

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April 2023 Wrap-up

i had covid this month which was a terrible time EXCEPT that when i wasn’t miserable with fever watching chopped, i had a lot of time to read. and i read a lot of good stuff this month. bold + italics for faves

THINGS I READ:

Books:

Babel by R. F. Kuang - What a book!!! It’s one of my favorites from the year so far. The character arcs + relationships, especially Robin’s, are complicated and emotional and excellent. Pair that with the broader themes around the role of academia in colonization and student-led revolutions and the linguistics/history, and you’ve got an excellent reading experience. It’s not subtle in all its messages but it is utterly engrossing and it has a lot to say about violence. Also, the rich details of academia resonated with me - the love/hate relationship, the exam stress, the cohort camaraderie - it’s the most accurate depiction of what academia is like that I’ve read in fiction.

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon - I LOVED this book. One of my favorites (it was a good month for reading). Just the rich world-building, the amazing characters, the struggle between what is expected of you by others and your personal wants and how each main character fits into this greater theme, DRAGONS, it hits hard.

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong - Spectacular tour through animal sensory systems and worlds. I learned a lot of cool things that made me appreciate how different species perceive the world around them - and how much we still have yet to learn.

Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's by Tiffany Midge - humorous essay collection on politics, identity, and life written by a Native woman. overall, it was hit-or-miss for me - some were really fantastic and some fell flat

Die Vol. 2 Split the Party by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans - still very into this comic series. It’s got gorgeous art and messy characters and fun dynamics and really cool ideas playing with rpgs and fantasies and the things people do for their fantasies

Die Vol. 3 The Great Game by Kieron Gillen and Stepahnie Hans - really liked Izzy and Ash’s dynamic in this volume (and in general)

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline - I liked this book. Interesting premise that works well with the themes, good focus on family and tradition

Saga Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan - i can see why this is considered a classic. creative and funny with delightful characters. i’m excited to see where the story goes because these first six issues have done a great job setting things up

Fic (all for Arcane):

All the King’s Horses by paxbanana (Cait/Vi, 135k): All the walls come tumbling down. Jinx’s decision triggers catastrophic effects that leave Piltover reeling and Zaun on the brink of war. Vi is desperate to juggle all the broken pieces for Caitlyn and for Powder, but no matter how hard she tries, it’s not coming back together again. Or: Jinx's attack on Council brings down the whole tower. Vi, Caitlyn, and Jinx struggle with the aftermath. Vi balances being there for Caitlyn and cleaning up some of her sister's mess with finding a way to save her sister. Meanwhile, interested parties from Topside and Bottom plot to take advantage of the situation. [Oh this fic my beloved, the CaitVi dynamic, the mystery, the dialogue, the sister dynamic, I truly love this fic with all my heart.]

THINGS I WATCHED

Movies:

Jurassic Park - my friends and i watched this because it’s the best one and not all of us had seen it. an excellent movie, holds up well

Jurassic World Dominion - and right after watching JP, without having planned it before, someone pitched watching the worst movie in the franchise... we had a lot of fun making fun of it but it was an awful movie

TV:

Chopped

The Last of Us (finished) - excellent adaptation of an excellent game

THINGS I PLAYED

Video games:

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure - charming, adorable, and chill. It’s simple but made for a nice few hours and I really liked all the real birds

Legends of Runeterra

#monthly wrap up

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drpoisonoaky · 5 months

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I just reread MES (and i hardly ever reread fanfics) and it’s still one of the best fanfics I have ever read.

It’s just perfect.

#avatar the last airbender #atla #azula #azutara #kazula #azutara fanfic #my fav azula fic ever #paxbanana wherever you are thanks for existing

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thatonebirdwrites · 5 months

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Answering Questions for Fun

20 Questions More

This is a deeper and more detailed version of the 20 questions for AO3 fanfic writers.

I yanked the questions from someone in the supercorp fandom. I forget who. I never get tagged since I'm not really well known writer yet (I'm still a tumblr newbie!), so I'm doing this just for funsies and because I like answering questions.

I will be answering this for the supercorp and korrasami fandoms. My works are here (though I do one-shots on tumblr sometimes).

1) How do you keep getting ideas for your ship / fandom?

By existing, reading, listening, writing, watching things, staring at the sky and watching the clouds drift by. Seriously, my ADHD's superpower is generating ideas. So I have way too many of them, and I have a note in my Scrivener projects with all the ideas. If anyone needs more ideas, I'll spin out so many. lol

2) Which authors inspire you in your fandom, and why are they so freakishly good?

So for the Korrasami fandom, that would be @korrasamibottles for their fantastic oneshots, Progman for one of the best post-series fics I've ever read (seriously, the Asami Sato of RRU is awesome), Shigan for some amazing korrasami oneshots, FuzziFox for an adorable and action-y AU where Asami goes south with Korra, lovedeathcats for the best Indiana Jones AU ever, RainbowRosie for a great AU where bending has vanished, paxbanana's Place in the World is an interesting AU take on Korrasami. @asamiontop's Modern world AU is a must read (she also has some great supercorp one-shots). For supercorp? @jazzfordshire has exquisitely written fics, everything @fazedlight writes is gold, @snowydragonscave's oneshots are adorable, @mycatismyeditor has some great AU's that really dig into the characters, @ekingston has some of the best written AU's I've ever read, @karalovesallthegirls has the most hilarious fics ever (Mime fic), robie's AUs are some of the best slow burn I've read, TheUnforgivingMinute wrote a fantastic spookysupercorp, @coffeeshib floored me with their gorgeous prose, @rustingcat not only does amazing art but the fics are such a great slow burn, @chaotic-super's back to Krypton was absolutely goldmine of fun and digging into the lore of Krypton. I could go on. Let's just say I LOVE Y'all's fics. The above are the people who had the most impact on me personally. Where I learned the art of fanfic writing. Since I'm a science fiction writer, I tend toward creative writing techniques that don't always jive well in the fandom realm, so learning from others helps me refine my writing to use the least amount of words for the biggest impact possible. It's also great practice for my original fiction honestly.

3) Aside from the characters of your main ship, who are the characters you love to write?

I really love writing Sam Arias. Nia is also super fun to write, and writing Brainy and Lena arguing about science is always fun too. Alex is a littler harder for me to write (her snark is hard for me to capture), but she's a blast once I get in the right headspace for it. For Korrasami, I really love writing Jinora and Bolin. Asami considers both of them basically siblings at this point, and Korra does too actually. heh.

4) Are there pairings or tropes you know for sure you'd never write about? Which ones?

I will NEVER EVER writing Makorra - that is a clusterfuck I will never touch. Hell, it's why I didn't rewrite book 1 of TLOK for my Shared Moments series because I really didn't want to touch it at all. lol I just skipped to the six months after and started there. I'll NEVER write Lames or any relationship that features Mon-el. Nope. Not touching it. I prefer to write sapphic pairings for the main protagonists. Sure, side characters can have het pairings (like Brainy and Nia), but I won't write a fic with them as the focus. Other folks can do that.

5) What is your writing process and why is it cursed?

Step 1: Wake up, wash up, and get tea. Step 2. Cuddle the cat to prepare myself. Step 3: Put on my compression gloves and stretch my arms. Step 4: Put on the correct playlist (absolutely essential step otherwise it'll throw off the entire scene and then I have to start over.) Step 5: Try to avoid Tumblr. (Doesn't always work, this place is cursed I swear. lol) Step 6. Open Scrivener project (who am I kidding, these primary projects are always open on m computer). Write while my brain is cooperating. (30 to 40 minutes before I got to rest for 45 minutes then I can start writing again. Chronic illness sucks like that.) Step 7: realize I need to research something and lose two hours to that. Step 8: AO3 emailed me! Who commented this time! Oh noes, now I've fallen down the looking at the Internets.

The other thing I do is carry my journal everywhere to document everything and end up with some weird random poetry, drawings, and dialogue from people I overhear. Oh, and on bad brain days, I'll draw cursed images.

I also use Scrivener and go all haywire on all its features to a ridiculous extent. Like, I try to stuff ALL my outlines, research, scenes, into that Scrivener so it's all in one place, that way I don't forget anything. It makes for large projects. ha.

6) What is your favorite part of your writing process?

Incorporating my research into the story in subtle ways to fill out the world and immerse the reader more fully. It's fun to put some of this research in the end-notes for my fics on AO3. (The power AO3 gave us writers with those end-notes!!)

7) What’s the weirdest thing you’ve had to research for a fic?

Maturation of bird species and the DNA overlap with human beings to see if I can craft an alien species that is at least 90% DNA similar to humans but is more birdlike.

I looked up the absorption of chemicals through skin. (This is why I use duckduck go for anonymity for this sort of stuff. LOL)

8) Is there a particular writing rule you struggle with (grammar, spelling, tense, reality in general)?

Reality in general - ha. Seriously though, the chronic illness makes it really hard to concentrate and have energy for writing or really anything. The second thing I struggle with is I have an annoying habit of adapting my tenses to what I'd last read. So if the story I read was past-tense, I'll jump into my writing using past tense (which most of my stories is that tense, but there's two that aren't so that's when it gets annoying).

9) What was your hardest scene to write so far and why?

The hardest scene was the end of Book 3 for Shared Moments for the Korrasami series. Both Asami and Korra (due to the bond they forged by accident at Harmonic Convergence) are captured by Zaheer, so that was a brutally painful set of scenes. Full of pain, fighting, poisoning, and a struggle to survive. I wept through it honestly. Whew. Yikes. For Supercorp, the hardest scene was when Nia assists Lena with her dreams and memories of her birth mother. Those were so sad and I totally teared up writing them. It was also hard to sort out the best way to reveal details without giving too much away either. Since Nia's powers are a little all over the place too.

10) Have your characters ever done something you didn’t expect, changing your plot completely?

All the time! For the TLOK: Shared Moments series, Asami keeps surprising me, so I often have to sit down and remap her timeline, and it always enriches the entire series. For Supercorp, Nia keeps doing things that surprise me. She's like this chaotic good agent that adds in humor and twists that enrich the tale in subtle ways I think. There's many other surprising moments the characters do. That's half the fun! Seeing where the characters end up and if I need to adjust my plans. :D

11) If you could converse with any of the characters, who would it be and why?

That's a tie between Asami Sato and Lena Luthor honestly. But then I sort of think of them as basically the same person (Lena may be more neutral in temperament while Asami is chaotic good. Also, Asami isn't afraid to fly planes and crash them for Korra. Lena would prefer no flying. lol). I just wanna talk science with them. Oh and ask them about how in-love they are with Korra and Kara respectively. (Lena will try to deny it, but Asami will gush and admit it because she's a little more in touch with her feelings). I just love these two so much. :D

12) What are some of the tropes or themes that you find yourself returning to in your writing?

Healing journeys. I really enjoy writing healing from trauma, because I feel like it's so relevant for our times, and the characters never really get that in their series (well, Supergirl characters don't, and they really need it!).

The theme of chosen family is another theme I come to again and again. Partly due to how my life is -- my bio family is not healthy for me (outright abusive), so my chosen family is my real family. So I like to dig into those dynamics a lot.

I also tend to write the survivor narrative a lot. It's a more interesting narrative structure, but it's also less used so that can startle readers. Sometimes in good ways? A good example of a survivor narrative structure is TLOK actually.

Another good example of the survivor narrative is Sam Arias' journey in Season 3 of Supergirl. Maybe I'll write an essay someday on it.

13) What's your most important resource as a writer?

There's isn't any one most important resource. I'd say fellow writers and artists is a great resource, lore books is another, random research books (yes, I have a guide to weapons for writers, guide for poisons for writers, guide to x or y for writers, because I'm a nerd like that), the Internet, and lots of listening to others.

14) Can you share some of your strategies for editing and revising your work?

For editing/revising, I start with SPAG: spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Once I do a few run-throughs of that, then I look at the dialogue -- Is the dialogue true to the character's personality and quirks? Can I make the dialogue more succinct?

After that, I look at descriptions: Is the description immersive? Do I utilize the five senses in a concise way? Can I pare down the description while still keeping the immersive quality? Is there any description that doesn't add to the scene or character's growth and can that be moved to a different scene or saved for later?

Finally, I do a fresh read-through and check how it impacts my emotions. Do I laugh at the funny parts? Do I tear up at the sad/angst parts? Does it feel too dry or not emotive enough? What words could be used instead to better invoke emotions?

15) Which is worse: making the summary, picking the tags, or the anxiety when you post your fic?

Ugh, summaries are the worst. Sometimes it's easier to just pick an excerpt of a scene and slap that as the summary. Tags are even worse. I never know what to use for tags, especially since people seem to be kind of random with AO3 tags. I mean, I feel like some writers just will write a statement as a tag and it's amusing but also confusing.

16) How do you define success for your fanfic - hits? Kudos? Comments? Bookmarks? Or just if you like it?

I don't really measure success.

If I get comments from folks that say they're enjoying it? That's a source of joy for me but it's not about success. Because I'm writing mostly for my enjoyment, but to hear that others enjoy it too? Damn, that's like the best news ever. It really helps me feel better about myself and my writing. Like I'm valued and not forgotten. That I actually have an impact. So yeah, go leave comments if you like stuff, please. Us writers love it.

17) Do you have a playlist for your favorite character / ship?

YES. I Always make a playlist for each project I do. I craft it based on their personality, their character arcs, the mood of the piece, and I focus on a variety of genres. I think about the lyrics of songs and try to match it all together. I might spend way more time on playlists than I need, but since I have them playing as I write, I need them to fit the mood and atmosphere to increase inspiration.

18) If fan art was going to be made from your work, which fic would you pick and which fan artist would you like to create it?

Um. Huh. This is a hard question. I try to draw my own, but I can't do color (y'all that do color, are freaking WIZARDS). I think Confession fic and the scene where Lena resurrects Kara, and if and when I have money again, I'd ask @rustingcat if commissions are open for them.

For Korrasami, I'd choose Book 3 or 3.5 but I'm not sure on the artist.

19) How many WIPs do you currently have?

UM. If I count just fanfics, probably fifteen. I'm actively working on six. (Three in each fandom. Two are usually shorter, and one is the longer fic) If we include original fiction and fanfiction? Uhhhhh. Hahahah, that's like twenty-five or so. I'm only working on one original fiction piece set on my SF world of Elivera.

20) What's your advice to new fanfic writers?

Pace yourself and take some time to edit and revise before posting. Also, take some time to review the transcripts and how the characters talk. That can give some fun insight into the characters and ways to expand on them in interesting ways.

Ask questions a lot! There's so many nice folks in the fandom, and folks are so kind about answering questions. I know because I still ask questions and talk to folks about this, and more seasoned writers have been so lovely.

Write what you want. Don't write for your readers (unless someone requests and pays you for a fic, then I guess write for them. lol) but otherwise, write what you want. This is supposed to be fun. If you're getting stressed out, take a break otherwise you will get burned out. To avoid burn out, take time to rest. Read a bit, do fun hobbies, do some practice writing, and then dive back into your fic.

Yes, it's important to try to finish things, but don't feel pressured. Remember, having fun is crucial! It's okay to take your time. Readers will stick with you if they like your tale.

Happy Writing!

P.S. I'm going to quote Brenda Ueland who wrote one of the best books on writing (If You Want to Write):

“Don't always be appraising yourself, wondering if you are better or worse than other writers. "I will not Reason and Compare," said Blake; "my business is to Create." Besides, since you are like no other being ever created since the beginning of Time, you are incomparable. ” - Brenda Ueland

And:

“I want to assure you with all earnestness, that no writing is a waste of time, – no creative work where the feelings, the imagination, the intelligence must work. With every sentence you write, you have learned something. It has done you good. It has stretched your understanding.” - Brenda Ueland

#korrasami #supercorp #20 questions for fic writers #20 questions

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