Dear Fandom 5k Author
Apr. 7th, 2026 02:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beatrice_otterI use the same name everywhere so I am beatrice_otter on AO3. Treats are awesome.
I would rather get a story you were happy with than "well, she said she liked x, so I guess I have to do x even though I don't like x and/or am not inspired that way." This letter is long with lots of suggestions and preferences if you find it helpful, but feel free to ignore it if it is not helpful. I'm fairly easy to please; I've been doing ficathons for a long time and am usually very happy with my gifts.
The most important thing for me in a fic is that the characters are well-written and recognizably themselves. Even when I don't like a character, I don't go in for character-bashing. If nothing else, if the rest of this letter is too much or my kinks don't fit yours, just concentrate on writing a story with everyone in character and good spelling and grammar and I will almost certainly love what you come up with.
I have an embarrassment squick, which makes humor kind of hit-or-miss sometimes. The kind of humor where someone does something embarrassing and the audience is laughing at them makes me uncomfortable. On the other hand, the kind of humor where the audience is laughing with the characters I really enjoy.
( General Likes and Dislikes )
( Crossovers )
( Rivers of London )
( SWOT )
( DS9 )
( Moon Knight )
( Enterprise )
( TNG )
( TOS )
( Voyager )
beatrice_otter on AO3. Treats are awesome.I would rather get a story you were happy with than "well, she said she liked x, so I guess I have to do x even though I don't like x and/or am not inspired that way." This letter is long with lots of suggestions and preferences if you find it helpful, but feel free to ignore it if it is not helpful. I'm fairly easy to please; I've been doing ficathons for a long time and am usually very happy with my gifts.
The most important thing for me in a fic is that the characters are well-written and recognizably themselves. Even when I don't like a character, I don't go in for character-bashing. If nothing else, if the rest of this letter is too much or my kinks don't fit yours, just concentrate on writing a story with everyone in character and good spelling and grammar and I will almost certainly love what you come up with.
I have an embarrassment squick, which makes humor kind of hit-or-miss sometimes. The kind of humor where someone does something embarrassing and the audience is laughing at them makes me uncomfortable. On the other hand, the kind of humor where the audience is laughing with the characters I really enjoy.
( General Likes and Dislikes )
( Crossovers )
( Rivers of London )
( SWOT )
( DS9 )
( Moon Knight )
( Enterprise )
( TNG )
( TOS )
( Voyager )
Heated Rivalry - I wasn't using that attention span for anything anyway
Apr. 6th, 2026 11:38 pmgrammarwomanIn a move that should surprise absolutely no one, I have fallen deep into "Heated Rivalry". It's so refreshing to be only a few months late to a TV show fandom's debut! I absolutely love every part of it, from the steamy love scenes, to the tropealicious romance arc, to the gorgeous and talented leads, to the unhinged interviews with the cast (Hudson Williams, you horny chaos gremlin, never change), to the showrunner Jacob Tierney and his uncompromising vision of a gay love story with passionate love scenes that doesn't end in punishing tragedy, as well as his media savvy and whip-smart presence. The only thing that could have made me love it even more is if they had hired some of the old gang from the Seacouver Acting Mafia. David Hewlett as a crotchety coach? Tahmoh Penikett as a hockey enforcer? Throw us a bone here, Jacob!
I love everybody in this bar and have a ridiculous number of tabs open and a huge swath of fic marked for later on A03.
In no particular order, here are some of my favorites:
Gay Hockey Show
An absolute gem of a filk + vid (do I need to call them edits now? Fuck I'm old). This had me literally clapping and kicking my feet. I may have hit octaves only my dog heard with my squees of joy.
Shane & Ilya - We Found Love [Heated Rivalry]
Do you ever get lost in new relationship energy and every song on your playlist could be the soundtrack for a vid? And then sometimes you get lucky enough that someone has already had your brilliant idea and done a fantastic job so you don't have to? Yeah, that's this one with Rihanna's "We Found Love". I swear I watched it on repeat for a week to get my micro dopamine hits for this show. I really want to learn how to incorporate dialogue and audio from the source with the vid song to be able to make something like this.
clear to a hedgehog by magneticwave
An AU where Boston Raider Ilya Rozanov wonders if his casual fling Doctor Shane Hollander thinks he's actually in the Russian mafia. If I could send the author flowers and accolades and beg for more of this, I would. Delicious prose, fantastic character voices, super hot.
the secret society of stick handlers by gurlsrool
A screamingly funny epistolary series which had me shrieking so loud my husband was laughing at me.
So yeah, that's where my brain is at. What are you up to?
I love everybody in this bar and have a ridiculous number of tabs open and a huge swath of fic marked for later on A03.
In no particular order, here are some of my favorites:
Gay Hockey Show
An absolute gem of a filk + vid (do I need to call them edits now? Fuck I'm old). This had me literally clapping and kicking my feet. I may have hit octaves only my dog heard with my squees of joy.
Shane & Ilya - We Found Love [Heated Rivalry]
Do you ever get lost in new relationship energy and every song on your playlist could be the soundtrack for a vid? And then sometimes you get lucky enough that someone has already had your brilliant idea and done a fantastic job so you don't have to? Yeah, that's this one with Rihanna's "We Found Love". I swear I watched it on repeat for a week to get my micro dopamine hits for this show. I really want to learn how to incorporate dialogue and audio from the source with the vid song to be able to make something like this.
clear to a hedgehog by magneticwave
An AU where Boston Raider Ilya Rozanov wonders if his casual fling Doctor Shane Hollander thinks he's actually in the Russian mafia. If I could send the author flowers and accolades and beg for more of this, I would. Delicious prose, fantastic character voices, super hot.
the secret society of stick handlers by gurlsrool
A screamingly funny epistolary series which had me shrieking so loud my husband was laughing at me.
So yeah, that's where my brain is at. What are you up to?
Fancake's Theme for April: Arranged Marriage
Apr. 4th, 2026 09:09 amrunpunkrun
Can I just tell you how many times I looked at the word "marriage" while making this banner and posting theme announcements and just being deeply unsure that's really how it's spelled? Like I'm still not sure. What is that "i" even doing there? What are we doing here?
Anyway,
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fancake's theme for April is arranged marriage, spelled some kind of way, and since this is a Flashback Round where we revisit a classic theme from the early years of the comm we've already got 41 recs in the archives in 31 fandoms if you want to browse through the tag.If you have any questions about this theme, or the comm, come talk to me!
March 2026 Reading Wrap-Up
Apr. 4th, 2026 01:48 pmbadfalconMarch had absolutely no plan.
No TBR. No structure. No 'I will read X books this month.' Just vibes, mood shifts, and whatever my brain decided it could focus on that day.
And somehow... I finished five books.
🌱 March Intentions
📖 Read gently
🎨 Create something small
🧡 Protect my energy
😴 Rest often
📝 Simplify tasks
Looking back, March really did lean into these. The reading wasn't forced, creativity stayed small and manageable, and I gave myself permission to rest without turning it into a failure.
📊 By the Numbers
Books read: 5
Average rating:3.9 ⭐
A very solid, quietly successful month - especially coming out of February's one-book energy.
⭐ Standout Vibes
Not a single overwhelming five-star this month, but a strong run of *consistently good* reads - the kind that keep you engaged without wrecking you emotionally (which, honestly, was exactly the energy I needed).
📚 Everything I Read
Ali Hazelwood - Loathe to Love You ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to Happiness ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Alison Maloney - Life Below Stairs ⭐⭐⭐½
Seanan McGuire - Beneath the Sugar Sky ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Nancy Warren - Mosaics and Magic ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A genuinely chaotic mix of romance, nonfiction, cosy mystery, and portal fantasy - which feels very on-brand for an unplanned reading month.
🧭 Reading Mood
March felt like a recovery month
After February's lack of focus, I found myself:
Picking up whatever held my attention fastest
Letting go of books without guilt
Leaning into comfort, familiarity, and lower-pressure reads
No overthinking. No forcing it. Just following the thread of 'does this work for me right now?'
And it worked.
💬 Mini Thoughts
Ali Hazelwood continues to be ridiculously readable - perfect for getting out of a slump
Beneath the Sugar Sky scratched that slightly surreal, emotional fantasy itch
Mosaics and Magic delivered peak cosy mystery vibes
Life Below Stairs was interesting, but didn't quite grip me the same way
Bill Bailey was exactly the kind of gentle, thoughtful nonfiction I needed this month
🌱 Final Thoughts
March didn't need structure to be successful.
It just needed permission.
Permission to read inconsistently. To follow moods. To enjoy books without turning them into a checklist.
And somehow, that led to one of the most balanced reading months I've had in a while.
If February was about softness, March was about trust.
Let's see what April brings.
No TBR. No structure. No 'I will read X books this month.' Just vibes, mood shifts, and whatever my brain decided it could focus on that day.
And somehow... I finished five books.
🌱 March Intentions
📖 Read gently
🎨 Create something small
🧡 Protect my energy
😴 Rest often
📝 Simplify tasks
Looking back, March really did lean into these. The reading wasn't forced, creativity stayed small and manageable, and I gave myself permission to rest without turning it into a failure.
📊 By the Numbers
Books read: 5
Average rating:3.9 ⭐
A very solid, quietly successful month - especially coming out of February's one-book energy.
⭐ Standout Vibes
Not a single overwhelming five-star this month, but a strong run of *consistently good* reads - the kind that keep you engaged without wrecking you emotionally (which, honestly, was exactly the energy I needed).
📚 Everything I Read
Ali Hazelwood - Loathe to Love You ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to Happiness ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Alison Maloney - Life Below Stairs ⭐⭐⭐½
Seanan McGuire - Beneath the Sugar Sky ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Nancy Warren - Mosaics and Magic ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A genuinely chaotic mix of romance, nonfiction, cosy mystery, and portal fantasy - which feels very on-brand for an unplanned reading month.
🧭 Reading Mood
March felt like a recovery month
After February's lack of focus, I found myself:
Picking up whatever held my attention fastest
Letting go of books without guilt
Leaning into comfort, familiarity, and lower-pressure reads
No overthinking. No forcing it. Just following the thread of 'does this work for me right now?'
And it worked.
💬 Mini Thoughts
Ali Hazelwood continues to be ridiculously readable - perfect for getting out of a slump
Beneath the Sugar Sky scratched that slightly surreal, emotional fantasy itch
Mosaics and Magic delivered peak cosy mystery vibes
Life Below Stairs was interesting, but didn't quite grip me the same way
Bill Bailey was exactly the kind of gentle, thoughtful nonfiction I needed this month
🌱 Final Thoughts
March didn't need structure to be successful.
It just needed permission.
Permission to read inconsistently. To follow moods. To enjoy books without turning them into a checklist.
And somehow, that led to one of the most balanced reading months I've had in a while.
If February was about softness, March was about trust.
Let's see what April brings.
