Thank you so much for the ask! <3 And thank you to @roomwithanopenfire who also sent me this ask! <3
Right off the bat, this fic needs a warning for trauma, injury, kidnapping, and suicidal ideation.
I definitely did not expect this to be top of the list. Fluff and happy endings are my M.O., but if I had to rec you one fic, it’d be the darkest fic of my collection? The strange truth, lol.
In any case, this story came to be during a time when I needed somewhere to go with my feelings. I wrote it with no intention of posting, and it was cathartic. When I read it back over, I realised that it was pretty good writing, and I thought I did justice to Baz’s character. So I hit post.
I like how the events of this fic feel like they exist in a bubble of space and time. I also like the format, and Simon’s voice. I didn’t hold back on devastation—physical and emotional. And I’ve always had a soft spot for Simon Saves Baz, even though this fic takes place after the Saving. Simon is used to slaying the monster and calling it a day. He flounders ever-so-slightly in this fic, but I think his determination to stay in the aftermath is a testament to how much he cares for Baz.
Coming in at number two, perhaps a more predictable option. To be honest, I love this guy for so many reasons. I wrote it during the weeks approaching RWRB movie’s release, and the hype!! …so freakin’ fun. It was my first foray into trans!firstprince, which is now a large portion of my collection. I’m proud of how I portrayed a trans experience in this story, and I think the premise is kinda clever, or at least a good romp. It has some of my personal favourite scenes I’ve written, including a spaghetti date and Alex wearing Henry’s suit jacket in the courtship photos. Capturing Henry and Alex’s dynamic came really naturally to me.
The reception for this fic has also been beyond my wildest dreams; getting so much lovely feedback was/is amazing. I reread this fic often, too, before bed or when I need a dash of comfort.
Okay, so hanahaki is not everyone’s cup of tea, and I totally understand that 😂 But it is my beverage of choice. I really got into the premise a while back when I was dealing with unrequited love myself, and admittedly, that is a very ✨ extra ✨ coping mechanism, but it helped, so.
Once I finally buckled and wrote a hanahaki fic, I went all out. I indulged myself completely. This fic has a lot to offer: drama, twisting a trope, family dynamics, hurt/comfort, angst with a happy ending, the language of flowers, love confessions, kind-of-sort-of amnesia, friends to lovers, self love…
Jenny, if you don’t mind me shouting out your wonderfully kind comment? @thewholelemon said “it feels like a bit of a magic trick that it didn’t feel more angsty, but I think that might be it. At the end, it felt loving, more than anything else,” and she totally summed up the fic better than I ever could 🥰
When I had the initial idea for this universe’s opening scene, I had no clue it would become a nearly-40k project, but I’m so glad it did. This is my ultimate friends to lovers timeline, lol.
The first story is hinged on the idea that Baz and Simon become friends when the Crucible pairs them together. Then their friendship is basically sabotaged by the adults in their lives. They’re brought back together when Baz’s fangs come in—Simon wants to help, and they realise that they can go against their parental figures and be friends.
This series has angst, Simon Saves Baz, and Baz Saves Simon, but it’s predominantly fluff. They have a big ol’ friend group. They hunt for Baz together and watch Doctor Who together. Agatha dates a Normal girl and Simon’s first kiss is Baz. Simon stays over at the Grimms’ each summer to help with the littluns; Daphne loves him, Malcolm grows to like him. And part three has one of my all-time fav scenes where Simon and Dev have a heart-to-heart.
This one also surprised me! Number five almost went to my trans Spiderman fic, but this won out.
The main thing that I can say for this fic is it’s freaking tender. The first of my Eras series, it’s a post-canon, brownstone fiancés fic where Alex wants jewellery and Henry gets it for him. The final scene where Alex opens the box is so vivid in my mind, honestly. The soft lighting in the bedroom, their cosy pjs, their expressions. I think that Alex spent a lot of the campaign—and his life—being an all-American cool guy, and so the possibility of him leaning into expressing his femininity as he gets older is an important and interesting topic.
This fic also lowkey made me discover stuff about myself lmfao. I was researching actual necklaces for Alex, and writing this whole oneshot about Henry spoiling him rotten, and I was like damn this is so cute 🥹 maybe I am a maximalist asjkasjkajskasjka 🤣
That was a hearty amount of self love, I may go lie down…
