Round 185 Theme Poll
Mar. 17th, 2026 09:38 amApril will be a Flashback round where we revisit a classic theme from the early years of the comm.
Poll #34378 round 185 theme poll
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: Just the Poll Creator, participants: 54
Pick the next theme of fancake:
Arranged Marriage
26 (48.1%)
Forced Proximity
13 (24.1%)
Threesome
15 (27.8%)
Torchwood: Fanfic: Spring Planting
Mar. 17th, 2026 01:41 pmTitle: Spring Planting
Fandom: Torchwood
Author:
Characters: Ianto, Jack.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 767
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Ianto and Jack are planting things in their garden.
Content Notes: None needed.
Written For: Challenge 509: Nap.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
Vorkosiverse: The Cukoo, by callmecasandra
Mar. 17th, 2026 01:43 amFandom: Vorkosigan
Pairings/Characters: Gregor Vorbarra, Ivan Vorpatril
Rating: Gen
Length: 7k
Creator Links:
callmecasandra
Theme: siblings, AU, fork in the road, family, gen, old fandoms, book fandoms
Summary: Gregor need not have worried.
Reccer's Notes: Gregor Vorbarra is Emperor of Barrayar, and he has monsters in his family tree. His father Serg was a rapist and a murderer who died when he was a small child (and Serg's own father Emperor Ezar arranged his death), and his great uncle was Mad Emperor Yuri who was paranoid and homicidal and awful. Gregor understandably has issues about his family.
But what if Ezar had seen the sort of person Serg was, and how many monsters are in the family tree, and not only made sure Serg died before inheriting the throne, but also ... made sure that Serg would not father the next emperor of Barrayar?
This is a short but compelling AU. The series is marked incomplete, but there are no dangling plot threads and it hasn't been updated in over a decade.
Fanwork Links: The Cuckoo
Pairings/Characters: Gregor Vorbarra, Ivan Vorpatril
Rating: Gen
Length: 7k
Creator Links:
Theme: siblings, AU, fork in the road, family, gen, old fandoms, book fandoms
Summary: Gregor need not have worried.
Reccer's Notes: Gregor Vorbarra is Emperor of Barrayar, and he has monsters in his family tree. His father Serg was a rapist and a murderer who died when he was a small child (and Serg's own father Emperor Ezar arranged his death), and his great uncle was Mad Emperor Yuri who was paranoid and homicidal and awful. Gregor understandably has issues about his family.
But what if Ezar had seen the sort of person Serg was, and how many monsters are in the family tree, and not only made sure Serg died before inheriting the throne, but also ... made sure that Serg would not father the next emperor of Barrayar?
This is a short but compelling AU. The series is marked incomplete, but there are no dangling plot threads and it hasn't been updated in over a decade.
Fanwork Links: The Cuckoo
Star Wars: Lonely In Your Company by Darkmagyk
Mar. 17th, 2026 01:36 amFandom: Star Wars
Pairings/Characters: Leia Organa
Rating: Gen
Length: 2k
Creator Links:
Darkmagyk
Theme: siblings, gen, family,
Summary: “We were very close.” Sola says, and Leia smiles her politician's smile in response.
This woman is convinced she and her sister were the best of friends. And she’s telling the secret daughter, from a secret marriage, all about it.
Leia doesn't need the force to know it wasn't true.
Reccer's Notes: This is about Padmé and her sister Sola, but it's also about Luke and Leia, and about family, and about memory.
Fanwork Links: Lonely In Your Company
Pairings/Characters: Leia Organa
Rating: Gen
Length: 2k
Creator Links:
Theme: siblings, gen, family,
Summary: “We were very close.” Sola says, and Leia smiles her politician's smile in response.
This woman is convinced she and her sister were the best of friends. And she’s telling the secret daughter, from a secret marriage, all about it.
Leia doesn't need the force to know it wasn't true.
Reccer's Notes: This is about Padmé and her sister Sola, but it's also about Luke and Leia, and about family, and about memory.
Fanwork Links: Lonely In Your Company
Captain Americs: My Brother, The Hero by Odsbodkins
Mar. 17th, 2026 01:13 amFandom: Captain America
Characters/Pairings: Steve/Bucky
Rating: G
Length: 16,400 words
Creator Links:
odsbodkins
Theme: Outside POV, siblings, female characters, gen,
Summary: Becca Barnes is eight years old, and her big brother can do no wrong. The events of the two Captain America movies, from the perspective of one of the sisters Bucky leaves behind.
Reccer's Notes: This story has an excellent child's perspective, and a deep and abiding love between Becca and Bucky. It's lovely and it makes me cry.
Fanwork Links: My Brother, the Hero
Characters/Pairings: Steve/Bucky
Rating: G
Length: 16,400 words
Creator Links:
Theme: Outside POV, siblings, female characters, gen,
Summary: Becca Barnes is eight years old, and her big brother can do no wrong. The events of the two Captain America movies, from the perspective of one of the sisters Bucky leaves behind.
Reccer's Notes: This story has an excellent child's perspective, and a deep and abiding love between Becca and Bucky. It's lovely and it makes me cry.
Fanwork Links: My Brother, the Hero
SGA: Last Will and Testament by speranza
Mar. 17th, 2026 07:31 pmFandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, Jeannie Miller, Jack O'Neill
Rating: Explicit
Length: 23,191, 02:40:45
Content Notes: no AO3 warnings apply.
Creator Links: speranza on AO3, speranza's own site
Themes: Siblings, Action/adventure, Family, AU, AU - fork in the road
Summary: "Jean isn't your sister," Rodney said, speaking to John as if he was a small child. "Jean is my sister."
John's whole face changed. "What?"
Reccer's Notes: Written as a slightly cracky Harlequin fic, this is a favourite story of mine, full of action, adventure, and family complications. John and Rodney meet at Patrick Sheppard's funeral and afterwards happen on an alien artifact at his apartment. A wild ride ensues as they try to get it to Area 51. Rodney's a physicist and John's air force, but at the start, neither of them know about the Stargate program. There's lots of excellent drama, romance, and snark as they gradually discover all the secrets their parents hid from them.
Fanwork Links: Last Will and Testament on speranza's site, and on AO3
And I podficced the story
Characters/Pairings: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, Jeannie Miller, Jack O'Neill
Rating: Explicit
Length: 23,191, 02:40:45
Content Notes: no AO3 warnings apply.
spoilery content note
Rodney and John weren't raised as brothers, but they discover they are. After having fucked. This causes some angst for a while, and Rodney's rationalisations are amusing.Creator Links: speranza on AO3, speranza's own site
Themes: Siblings, Action/adventure, Family, AU, AU - fork in the road
Summary: "Jean isn't your sister," Rodney said, speaking to John as if he was a small child. "Jean is my sister."
John's whole face changed. "What?"
Reccer's Notes: Written as a slightly cracky Harlequin fic, this is a favourite story of mine, full of action, adventure, and family complications. John and Rodney meet at Patrick Sheppard's funeral and afterwards happen on an alien artifact at his apartment. A wild ride ensues as they try to get it to Area 51. Rodney's a physicist and John's air force, but at the start, neither of them know about the Stargate program. There's lots of excellent drama, romance, and snark as they gradually discover all the secrets their parents hid from them.
Fanwork Links: Last Will and Testament on speranza's site, and on AO3
And I podficced the story
[#292 | Daydreaming] Voting Post
Mar. 16th, 2026 09:16 pmHere are the entries for this challenge:
( List of entries )
Please Note: Because we only have 4 entries this week, there is only a First Place and Runner Up to vote for!
In order to vote, please reply to this post using the form provided. All comments are screened, and entries are listed in the order they were submitted. For your vote to qualify, you must fill out your entire voting card (both spots) in order to be counted. Winner votes are worth 2 points, Runner Up votes are worth 1 point. Meeting the bonus goal on an entry gets an extra point for that submission.
When voting, please copy/paste the ENTRY NUMBER and the FIC TITLE from the list above into the spot you're voting for (this prevents accidentally mis-numbering a vote and casting it for the wrong entry). It should look like this:
First Place: 61. Fic Title Here
Runner Up: 88. Another Fic Title
Please note that you cannot vote for your own entry, and that votes cannot be made anonymously. You do not have to be a member of the community in order to vote, nor have submitted an entry for this week; everyone is welcome to participate in the voting. IP addresses are logged to prevent duplicate voting.
Voting closes Wednesday, March 18 at 9:00PM EST.
( List of entries )
Please Note: Because we only have 4 entries this week, there is only a First Place and Runner Up to vote for!
In order to vote, please reply to this post using the form provided. All comments are screened, and entries are listed in the order they were submitted. For your vote to qualify, you must fill out your entire voting card (both spots) in order to be counted. Winner votes are worth 2 points, Runner Up votes are worth 1 point. Meeting the bonus goal on an entry gets an extra point for that submission.
When voting, please copy/paste the ENTRY NUMBER and the FIC TITLE from the list above into the spot you're voting for (this prevents accidentally mis-numbering a vote and casting it for the wrong entry). It should look like this:
First Place: 61. Fic Title Here
Runner Up: 88. Another Fic Title
Please note that you cannot vote for your own entry, and that votes cannot be made anonymously. You do not have to be a member of the community in order to vote, nor have submitted an entry for this week; everyone is welcome to participate in the voting. IP addresses are logged to prevent duplicate voting.
Voting closes Wednesday, March 18 at 9:00PM EST.
S.W.A.T.: Fan Fiction: Plant of First Beginnings
Mar. 16th, 2026 08:15 amTitle: Plant of First Beginnings
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: No Warnings Apply
Fandom: S.W.A.T.
Relationships: Donovan Rocker/Molly Hicks
Tags: Getting Together, Fluff
Summary: The plant was a mystery.
Word Count: 949
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: No Warnings Apply
Fandom: S.W.A.T.
Relationships: Donovan Rocker/Molly Hicks
Tags: Getting Together, Fluff
Summary: The plant was a mystery.
Word Count: 949
[#292] The Ordinary World (Raven Cycle)
Mar. 16th, 2026 08:27 amTheme Prompt: #292 – Daydreaming
Title: The Ordinary World
Fandom: Raven Cycle
Rating/Warnings: G
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 656
( Read more... )
Title: The Ordinary World
Fandom: Raven Cycle
Rating/Warnings: G
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 656
( Read more... )
Goblin Emperor: Four Sisters by Akallabeth
Mar. 15th, 2026 07:57 pmFandom: the Goblin Emperor
Pairings/Characters: Ursu Perenched, Holitho Sevraseched, Nadeian Vizhenka, Shaleän Sevraseched
Rating: Gen
Length: 9k
Creator Links:
Akallabeth
Theme: siblings, minor characters, book fandoms, small fandoms, family, gen, female characters
Summary: Short scenes from the lives of four (half-)sisters, the unacknowledged daughters of the Great Avar.
Canon-compliant, to the best of my knowledge and ability.
Reccer's Notes: We only get a sentence in canon about each of these four sisters, but the details we get are really interesting. This is one of the best fics exploring the scant details we get.
Fanwork Links: Four Sisters
Pairings/Characters: Ursu Perenched, Holitho Sevraseched, Nadeian Vizhenka, Shaleän Sevraseched
Rating: Gen
Length: 9k
Creator Links:
Theme: siblings, minor characters, book fandoms, small fandoms, family, gen, female characters
Summary: Short scenes from the lives of four (half-)sisters, the unacknowledged daughters of the Great Avar.
Canon-compliant, to the best of my knowledge and ability.
Reccer's Notes: We only get a sentence in canon about each of these four sisters, but the details we get are really interesting. This is one of the best fics exploring the scant details we get.
Fanwork Links: Four Sisters
Batman: proper rites by the magpie said (hollowmen)
Mar. 15th, 2026 07:44 pmFandom: Batman
Pairings/Characters: Jason Todd, Damian Wayne
Rating: gen
Length: 7k
Creator Links: the magpie said (hollowmen)
Theme: siblings,
Summary: Being a cat for three weeks has repercussions, it turns out.
Jason snacks his way through one of them. Damian reads books. Both of them drink a lot of tea. It's nice, mostly, which Jason finds highly suspicious.
Reccer's Notes: This is sweet and deeply in character for both of them
Fanwork Links: proper rites
(Note: other fics by this author have been recced, but under a different pseud--they used to be magpiemountains (hollowmen))
Pairings/Characters: Jason Todd, Damian Wayne
Rating: gen
Length: 7k
Creator Links: the magpie said (hollowmen)
Theme: siblings,
Summary: Being a cat for three weeks has repercussions, it turns out.
Jason snacks his way through one of them. Damian reads books. Both of them drink a lot of tea. It's nice, mostly, which Jason finds highly suspicious.
Reccer's Notes: This is sweet and deeply in character for both of them
Fanwork Links: proper rites
(Note: other fics by this author have been recced, but under a different pseud--they used to be magpiemountains (hollowmen))
Persuasion: the natural sequel by rain_sleet_snow
Mar. 15th, 2026 07:21 pmFandom: Persuasion
Pairings/Characters: Anne/Frederick
Rating: Gen
Length: 8k words
Creator Links:
rain_sleet_snow
Theme: siblings, book fandoms, old fandoms, minor characters, small fandoms, five things
Summary: Five people who were surprised by Anne and Wentworth's engagement, and one who wasn't.
Reccer's Notes: Anne's siblings (and siblings-in-law) are not the only ones reacting to news of the engagement in this story, but they are most of the people reacting. I love the way the news causes each of them to re-evaluate Anne, and what they thought they knew.
Fanwork Links: the natural sequel
Pairings/Characters: Anne/Frederick
Rating: Gen
Length: 8k words
Creator Links:
Theme: siblings, book fandoms, old fandoms, minor characters, small fandoms, five things
Summary: Five people who were surprised by Anne and Wentworth's engagement, and one who wasn't.
Reccer's Notes: Anne's siblings (and siblings-in-law) are not the only ones reacting to news of the engagement in this story, but they are most of the people reacting. I love the way the news causes each of them to re-evaluate Anne, and what they thought they knew.
Fanwork Links: the natural sequel
[#292] Daydreaming of Paradise (Miami Vice TV)
Mar. 15th, 2026 08:29 pmTheme Prompt: #292 – daydreaming
Title: Daydreaming of Paradise
Fandom: Miami Vice (TV)
Rating/Warnings: PG-13
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 676
Summary: When the daily grind of being a Miami Vice cop gets to be too much, Sonny escapes in his mind. Sometimes, though, the mind can be a tricky thing when one is half asleep…
Notes: Fluff, just pure (slightly spicy) fluff. And I was lucky enough to have been a repeat visitor to the location mentioned in this fic, back in the 1980s. It was paradise.
( Daydreaming of Paradise )
Title: Daydreaming of Paradise
Fandom: Miami Vice (TV)
Rating/Warnings: PG-13
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 676
Summary: When the daily grind of being a Miami Vice cop gets to be too much, Sonny escapes in his mind. Sometimes, though, the mind can be a tricky thing when one is half asleep…
Notes: Fluff, just pure (slightly spicy) fluff. And I was lucky enough to have been a repeat visitor to the location mentioned in this fic, back in the 1980s. It was paradise.
( Daydreaming of Paradise )
The 2026 Podfic Big Bang collection is now open!
Mar. 15th, 2026 04:53 pmhttps://archiveofourown.org/collections/PodficBigBang2026
We are open for business, baby! If you're done already, go ahead and post your podfic. If you're not ready, there's still two weeks and some change left to finish up. The collection is UNREVEALED until April 1st AOE.
This year, I PROBABLY won't be awake until midnight AOE (5am my time), so things won't reveal PRECISELY at deadline, but instead when I wake up around 7am PDT (which is UTC-7). So don't worry when there's a small delay! I'm just not awake and frantically finishing my podfic, for a change!
I will be mostly unreachable from 3/21 to 3/28, on the JoCo Cruise. If there's any fellow JoCoNauts, I'd love to meet up!
Well...I think that's it. Go forth!
OH, WAIT! I almost forgot! Before you go....
🔪🗡️⚔️🗡️🗡️🔪🔪🔪⚔️🗡️⚔️🗡️🗡️🔪🔪🗡️⚔️🗡️🗡️🔪🔪🔪⚔️🗡️⚔️🗡️🗡️🔪🔪🗡️⚔️🗡️🗡️🔪🔪⚔️🗡️⚔️🗡️🗡️🔪
Orderly line, orderly line, everyone. One knife per person, don't get greedy. And don't back out, now! Caesar isn't gonna stab himself, am I right?
Harry Potter: Fanart: Mandrake Potting
Mar. 15th, 2026 06:30 pmTitle: Mandrake Potting
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: G
Summary: Drawing of a mandrake half out of a pot, wailing, with earmuffs behind the pot.
( Read more... )
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: G
Summary: Drawing of a mandrake half out of a pot, wailing, with earmuffs behind the pot.
( Read more... )
due South: lay down your heavy load by Sixthlight
Mar. 15th, 2026 05:09 pmFandom: due South
Pairings/Characters: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Maggie McKenzie
Rating: General Audiences
Length: 4,422 words
Creator Links:Ao3, Tumblr
Theme: Siblings, post-canon
Summary: "Maggie, moving on."
Reccer's Notes: This is a post-canon fic from the point of view of Maggie, Ben's sister. They didn't grow up together and she appears in exactly one episode of due South before disappearing back up to the Arctic Circle. In this post-canon fic they end up working together and get to know each other better. See also Sixthlight's short AU fic about Benton and Maggie from dS Ladies Fest!
Fanwork Links: Ao3
Pairings/Characters: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Maggie McKenzie
Rating: General Audiences
Length: 4,422 words
Creator Links:Ao3, Tumblr
Theme: Siblings, post-canon
Summary: "Maggie, moving on."
Reccer's Notes: This is a post-canon fic from the point of view of Maggie, Ben's sister. They didn't grow up together and she appears in exactly one episode of due South before disappearing back up to the Arctic Circle. In this post-canon fic they end up working together and get to know each other better. See also Sixthlight's short AU fic about Benton and Maggie from dS Ladies Fest!
Fanwork Links: Ao3
SGA: Postcards to Jeannie by Sholio
Mar. 15th, 2026 05:00 pmFandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: Jeannie Miller, Teyla Emmagan, John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Ronon Dex
Rating: Gen
Length: 5000-10,000 (best guess) - the individual postcards are mostly text-based, in different fonts, but it's too hard to add it all up. There are 8 or so sets of postcards/images, plus two longer narrative interludes.
Content Notes: Not all of the postcards or notes have text equivalents, so it's not fully accessible. Rodney at one point talks about a relationship he had at uni with an older woman he describes as a "sex addict".
Creator Links: Sholio on AO3, Sholio's own site
Themes: Siblings, Epistolary, Friendship, Family, Team as family, Unconventional format and style
Summary: (more notes than a summary) Contains spoilers for the Season 3 episode "McKay & Mrs. Miller". I might be taking a certain amount of liberty with the timeline; let's assume that a few months went by between "M&MM" and "Return".
This is a very image-intensive story. Illustrations and photos are all by me, aside from one or two photos taken by my husband. A couple of the postcards utilize (heavily Photoshopped) patterns that I got off the Internet to represent fabrics and such, because I didn't have anything suitable.
Reccer's Notes: This is a heartwarming epistolary story in which Teyla and Jeannie (Rodney's sister) write to each other. Eventually the other team members are brought in as well, especially John and Rodney. It's a mix of tales about Jeannie's life, and of the team's, especially Teyla's, adventures, and although the format as a series of postcard/image pages is a little awkward to negotiate, it's very much worth reading. The postcards start off somewhat formally, and quickly become more personal, and one theme is of the correspondence bringing Rodney and Jeannie closer together. It's touching, funny, tinged with the realities and sadnesses of life in the Pegasus galaxy, and an excellent read.
Fanwork Links: Postcards to Jeannie (and the sequel is Pictures for Jeannie)
Characters/Pairings: Jeannie Miller, Teyla Emmagan, John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Ronon Dex
Rating: Gen
Length: 5000-10,000 (best guess) - the individual postcards are mostly text-based, in different fonts, but it's too hard to add it all up. There are 8 or so sets of postcards/images, plus two longer narrative interludes.
Content Notes: Not all of the postcards or notes have text equivalents, so it's not fully accessible. Rodney at one point talks about a relationship he had at uni with an older woman he describes as a "sex addict".
Creator Links: Sholio on AO3, Sholio's own site
Themes: Siblings, Epistolary, Friendship, Family, Team as family, Unconventional format and style
Summary: (more notes than a summary) Contains spoilers for the Season 3 episode "McKay & Mrs. Miller". I might be taking a certain amount of liberty with the timeline; let's assume that a few months went by between "M&MM" and "Return".
This is a very image-intensive story. Illustrations and photos are all by me, aside from one or two photos taken by my husband. A couple of the postcards utilize (heavily Photoshopped) patterns that I got off the Internet to represent fabrics and such, because I didn't have anything suitable.
Reccer's Notes: This is a heartwarming epistolary story in which Teyla and Jeannie (Rodney's sister) write to each other. Eventually the other team members are brought in as well, especially John and Rodney. It's a mix of tales about Jeannie's life, and of the team's, especially Teyla's, adventures, and although the format as a series of postcard/image pages is a little awkward to negotiate, it's very much worth reading. The postcards start off somewhat formally, and quickly become more personal, and one theme is of the correspondence bringing Rodney and Jeannie closer together. It's touching, funny, tinged with the realities and sadnesses of life in the Pegasus galaxy, and an excellent read.
Fanwork Links: Postcards to Jeannie (and the sequel is Pictures for Jeannie)
