the fandom librarian

More accurately my beloved aramley sat me down when I visited over Thanksgiving and showed me a series of youtube videos with the stated intention of tripping me so I'd fall down the kpop hole, but it's all good, we're having a great time down here! I'm contemplating the ideal sequence of videos with which to spread the kpop brain infection to others, but in the meantime, I really need to compile a list of fics that I want to be able to find again, so here we are. Maybe these will tempt you to also get incredibly invested in the singing and dancing career of a bunch of infants? We'll see!

( list of dramatis personae, if you want one!  )

Not K-Pop Idols

can you kiss me more? by werelino (Seungmin/Minho): I don't even like university AUs but the relationship conflict in this one is just DEVASTATING and legitimately made me cry, two thumbs up.

Amongst the Flock by Mntsnflrs (Minho/Jisung): for that special moment when you're in the mood for some bananapants whump in which boys cry and their boyfriends go feral, please enjoy this completely over-the-top AU in which depressed shut-in rich boy Jisung falls in love with the bodyguard his abusive mother has hired to watch him. this is technically the second story in the series but I highly recommend starting here, then doubling back to read the Chan/Felix story that precedes it and continuing on to the Changbin/Hyunjin story afterward.

heaven calling in the distance by chajatta (Chan/Felix): really fun urban fantasy AU in which Felix (a sun elf) gets set up with Chan (a werewolf). definitely definitely read the second fic in the series as well!

oh, you kissed me just to kiss me by natigail (Minho/Jisung): REALLY fascinating sex work AU; Jisung, an anxious touch-starved asexual, hires Minho to cuddle him.

marginal, hereditary by harrowsong (Changbin/Hyunjin): space AU! also omegaverse! one of the most creative concepts I've ever read, and also REALLY adorable.

cross my mind by noonwitching (Chan/Felix): alternate universe where Chan washed out of idol training and doesn't quite realize how much the psychological scarring is still affecting him until he's trying to define his relationship with Felix, even to himself.

on the road to divorce by meloncafe (Seungmin/Minho): Minho sends Seungmin divorce papers, so he shows up at Minho's door to try to win him back.

now I got you in my space by LetMeDown (Chan/Felix): this is genuinely just 45k of a/b/o universe mutual pining while fucking through Felix's heat so like. please know going in that there is zero trope subversion, it's exactly what it says on the tin, but frankly it's a pretty good translation of the extremely vanilla normcore "picket fence and a dog" vibes that Chan and Felix give off in real life and it's very sweet!

the book of us: electricity by orphan_account (Seungmin/Hyunjin): look I don't really read many high school AUs so when I say that this one transformed my brain chemistry, trust me, I mean it.

hand over hand by afterthedisco (Seungmin/Minho): Seungmin has a lot of issues, and Minho falls in love with him anyway. (warning for disordered eating and what I would consider to be self-harm through excessive exercise)

LMCat_98 has joined the chat by foxiyeny (Minho/Jisung): minsung sex work AU 2: electric boogaloo! Minho is a camboy and Jisung wins a giveaway for a private stream

puppy love by hyunnies (Seungmin/Hyunjin, eventual Seungmin/Jeongin/Hyunjin): puppy play: the fic. that's it! Hyunjin is mean in an extremely loving way and it's overall just super soft. (you may need the context that the Stray Kids all have officially designated animalsonas and Seungmin's is a puppy.)

back to my heart by gorgonforhire (Minho/Jisung): exes Minho and Jisung run into each other at a party and immediately pick up where they left off. extremely soft bondage, yay!

ksm, virgo disaster by werelino (Seungmin/Minho): short and truly adorable college AU in which Seungmin is determined not to date Minho until he's closer to his best self (and Minho, obviously, thinks his current self is more than good enough)

we're so lucky by anoymous (Changbin/Hyunjin): omegaverse where Hyunjin is pregnant with Changbin's baby, played completely straight: NONE of this is anything I'm especially into, but this fic is so good and so funny and Changbin is absolutely pitch-perfect as the adoring dad-to-be going along with Hyunjin's every whim

here by me by skzinger (Minho/Jisung): Minho, Jisung's emergency contact, gets a terrifying phone call summoning him to the hospital after a bad accident. this is LONG and satisfyingly soapy, and the slow reveal of what happened to cause the catastrophic break-up before the beginning of the story is really well done.

the blood on your lies by inkin_brushes (Chan/Felix, Minho/Jeongin, Changbin/Seungmin, Hyunjin/Jisung): incredibly long and incredibly dramatic gang AU that perfectly scratches the itch for a soapy good time; the platonic devotion between Felix and Hyunjin is worth the price of admission completely on its own

we have to keep trying by ockleibi (Changbin/Hyunjin): screamingly funny and very sweet story set in the regular non-mpreg world where Hyunjin abruptly and inexplicably gets obsessed with trying to get Changbin pregnant

Take It Easy by theproblematique (Chan/Felix): cockwarming: the fic

guard my heart by LetMeDown (Chan/Felix): bodyguard AU! Felix is still Felix and Chan is is his bodyguard in France

Yes K-Pop Idols

Multistable Perception by scheherazaade (Seungmin/Minho): this story makes me want to SCREAM, I read it four times in a single day. a masterwork in limited perspective! (you may require the context that Minho and Seungmin's on-camera relationship concept is "divorced".)

break in case of emergency by martyrsdaughter (Minho/Jisung): slight scifi AU where Minho is a bodyguard instead of being in Stray Kids and he's telepathically bonded to Jisung to help him manage his anxiety.

i'll wait for you, my sweet by chajatta (Changbin/Hyunjin): Changbin takes Hyunjin to get his fortune told. this read on the conflict between Hyunjin wanting to be open to love and being scared of getting hurt again by being vulnerable absolutely opened my third eye!

Just look at me, baby by AlphabetMinusQ (Minho/Jisung): a really interesting take on being idols in an a/b/o universe and not matching gender stereotypes, maybe a bit less polished but I enjoyed it!

merry christmas, 자기야 by bulletbulletbullet (Chan/Young K): Chan is now the super-responsible leader of Stray Kids but once upon a time he was the cute beloved baby of a bunch of older idols-in-training at his company including Brian Kang aka Young K and sometimes! it's just nice! to think about him getting spoiled by someone who loves him and wants him to have nice things!

at the end of the maze (find me) by firemblem (Changbin/Hyunjin): I will admit to being biased but the contrast between Changbin's constant flirting with Hyunjin on-camera and Hyunjin's frankly irrational insecurity makes me insane, and I feel like this fic gets that better than most! watch the clips in the author's note for fun additional context.

cracks by Anonymous (Chan/Felix): Felix develops an eating disorder and none of the other kids really knows what to do or how to help; very heavy but also cathartic.

push through, break through by sunnyskies (cassiopeihwa) (Seungmin/Minho): Minho discovers that Seungmin doesn't know how to finger himself and decides to remedy the situation.

strike gently by cryptonomica (Hyunjin/Jeongin): Jeongin feels awkward about not having had his first kiss yet, and Hyunjin offers to help him out.

split seam by tandembike (Seungmin/Minho): Seungmin and Minho are dating, but they seem to have radically different ideas about how committed Minho is to the whole thing. SUCH good pangs!

He Loves Me Not by nuttinonice (Chan/Felix): Chan forgets an important date and makes Felix cry :( which then makes Chan cry! this fandom is so good if you enjoy crying!

Whatever Else by Mntsnflrs (Minho/Jisung): the first time Jisung has sex goes badly. Minho tries to give him a better experience. the confession scene is incredible and makes me want to howl at the moon!

rare devotion by gorgonforhire, thereisnoreality (Changbin/Hyunjin): the eternal stalemate of Hyunjin going out of his mind because he wants to be loved versus Changbin trying and failing to make him believe that he does love him already. this is technically the sequel to a story about Hyunjin hooking up with Minho and Felix but I think you could get everything you need from context clues if that doesn't sound appealing.

waiting for us by dandyboy (smartlove) (Seungmin/Jeongin): Seungmin keeps writing songs about Jeongin, and Jeongin has no idea.

Maybe New York by eternal_octopus (Jisung/Hyunjin): Hyunjin and Jisung start hooking up on tour, and Jisung isn't sure what it will mean for their relationship when they go home.

count on me by kamsangi (Chan/Young K): accidental sugar baby Chan is such a good concept, two enthusiastic thumbs up.

can't read your mind (can read your playlists) by MindelanWolf (Changbin/Chan): EXTREMELY cute story about Changbin monitoring Chan's emotional state via the medium of Chan's Spotify activity

April 10th by MindelanWolf (Seungmin/Minho): possibly the only "Minho fell first" story I've ever read, but while I was reading, I was convinced! also, this fic is correct and grocery shopping together is the absolute pinnacle of romance. (the previous story in the series is Chan/Felix and also very cute!)

you should be (loving someone) by sharpa (Chan/Felix): really lovely and somewhat melancholy story about Chan and Felix deciding not to be together in the present day, but still trying to reassure each other that they're committed to an indefinite future where they can be.

all the ways you say my name by hyvnin (Minho/Hyunjin): the most delightful pangs always come from two people trying to express their love in a form the other one doesn't understand! the confession scene is perfect.

maximum accident by martyrsdaughter (Chan/Felix): FAKE DATING FAKE DATING FAKE DATING

i love you, i love you, i love you by ockleibi (Changbin/Hyunjin): ockleibi just GETS this ship, the perfect push-pull between Hyunjin's ever-changing needs and Changbin's steady willingness to meet him wherever he is, without making it heavy at all

Little Beast by realfriends (Chan/Felix): Felix starts wearing skirts occasionally and Chan's guilt complex about being attracted to him goes into overdrive

roses by gorgonforhire (Changbin/Hyunjin): set in a nebulous post-Stray Kids future where they've mostly finished their military service, Changbin hooks up with Hyunjin and then Hyunjin stops talking to him. So much of the dynamic for this ship is based on the game they're always playing in public where Changbin chases and Hyunjin runs away, and I really appreciate this story for asking what would happen if Hyunjin ever hurt Changbin for real.

feel the light by thereisnoreality (Chan/Seungmin): AU where Chan is older and became a producer instead of an idol, and the rest of the group wasn't as successful without him; Seungmin is recording a solo album, Chan is working with him on it, and the lure of a sexy older man is just so irresistible

make this house a home by thereisnoreality (Changbin/Hyunjin): ok so for context in 2024 Hyunjin and Changbin moved into an apartment together and promptly started publicly referring to each other as "wife" and I'm a little obsessed with it, and this series is a delightful exploration of all that domestic wife-ness

little world fallin’ apart by sinkingmyships (Chan/Felix): Chan's lack of self-worth and compulsive desire to protect the rest of the kids (especially Felix) starts manifesting as lycanthropy

Bug Like an Angel by realfriends (Minho/Jisung): Minho (atheist) falls in love with Jisung (Catholic) and has a religious crisis about it

Pro Re Nata by theproblematique (OT8): DO NOT click on this unless you're down with some pretty nasty omegaverse shenanigans, but tragically I am into the nasty omegaverse shenanigans and Chan as the lone omega in an otherwise all-alpha pack who DESPERATELY wants to be passed around like a party favor yet is cockblocking himself because he can't bring himself to express any personal desires is so tasty to me

to be just friends, you're too beautiful by babbyleeknow (Hyunjin/Changbin): I would read about Hyunjin and Changbin finally consummating seven years of sexual tension in their new marital dorm infinite times, and Changbin's POV is so delightfully oblivious

anyone can be anything (you can be everything) by babbyleeknow (Minho/Jisung): a really good exploration of acespec Jisung! After he and Minho confess their feelings for each other, Jisung experiences sexual attraction for the first time and proceeds to lose his mind (in a good way and then, unfortunately, in a less-good way)

bone marrow by LetMeDown (OT8): ...ok so just remember what I said about nasty omegaverse shenanigans. But the pack dynamics are so good! 

inside the bright fields by torigates (Chan/Felix): Felix finally calls Chan out for isolating himself rather than asking for help

cover you by skzinger (Minho/Jisung/Chan): Minho and Jisung team up to fuck the brainworms out of Chan

unravel by halloflino (Chan/Felix): Chan and Felix semi-independently invent a D/s dynamic, which given Chan's raging lack of self-worth does not go well

no more than usual by torigates (Chan/Felix): someone hits Felix with a spell that makes everyone fall in love with him! ...everyone except Chan.

Hi there! I've never done trickortreatex before, so hopefully I'm doing this right. I'm really excited for Halloween this year, and I hope you are too! This post has some extra information about what I like/don't like, but standard disclaimer: if you prefer to just go from the prompts, you don't have to read any of this. I want you to write the story you want to write. If there is ever a question in your heart as to whether you should fulfill some nitpicking optional detail in my request or write the story you have dreamed of writing since you offered the fandom, go with the story of your dreams, because if you love writing it, I'm sure I'll love reading it! The purpose of this post is to make your life easier, not harder. Also, my prompts tend to be very shippy, but if we only matched on one character or you just aren't feeling the romance, that's totally fine! Write the character you signed up for, don't worry about the prompt.

(If you want even more information about me, which I don't think anyone would but I know some people like to read their recipient's blog, I'm meretricula everywhere -- AO3, LJ, DW, and Tumblr. I'm somewhat more active on Tumblr these days than anywhere else.)

Likes: Happiness. I want everybody to be happy or at least not overtly miserable at the end of the fic. They can suffer and be angsty in the beginning or middle but please please please let the ending be sunshine and rainbows or the promise of sunshine and rainbows on the not-too-distant horizon. I'm also happy to get a fic that's 100% fluffy sunshine and rainbows all the way through. I'm a big fan of tropes where characters have a lot of history between them -- friends to lovers, childhood sweethearts, best frenemies, sibling relationships, etc. -- and you'll see those popping up a lot in my prompts. Basically I'm ALL ABOUT THE FEELINGS. I'm not a big fan of porn for porn's sake but if you're happier writing about people expressing their feelings via sex, that's great too!

I also like: lots of background detail; tropes and cliches; subverted/inverted tropes and cliches; lots of dialogue; limited third person POV; canon settings, canon divergences AND alternate universes; food; competence; found families; mixed media/documentation fic.

Dislikes: major character death (as in, this character is gone and not coming back; death followed by resurrection or altered form of existence is fine so long as the character is still around); humiliation; intense angst; graphic violence and gore; noncon and dubcon; first and second person POV; AUs that change the nature of characters' backstory together (e.g. if two people have known each other since childhood I'd rather not have an AU where they meet for the first time as adults, but an AU where they meet under different circumstances but around the same point in their lives is fine).

Trick or Treat preference: well, I like happy stuff, so treats are good! But I also love love love stories with monsters and magic and the supernatural, so I'm 100% down for trick fic so long as it ends happily.

Fanfic/Fanart preference: I'm not a very visual person, so I generally prefer words over pictures.

( Anime & Manga: Free! and Kuroko no Basket )

( Cartoons & Comics & Graphic Novels: Penny & Aggie and Questionable Content )

( Books & Literature: Emelan )

( TV Shows: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell )

( Movies: Fast & Furious )

( Celebrities & Real People: Tennis RPF )

First things first! THANK YOU, WONDERFUL WRITER, FOR OFFERING ONE OF MY TINY BELOVED FANDOMS. I am so excited to read whatever you write, and I hope you will have a wonderful time writing for me! This post has some general information about stuff I like/don't like, because I prefer it when my recipient gives me extra stuff to go on, but if you prefer to just go from the prompts, you don't have to read any of this! I want you to write the story you want to write. If there is ever a question in your heart as to whether you should fulfill some nitpicking optional detail in my request or write the story you have dreamed of writing since you offered the fandom, go with the story of your dreams, because if you love writing it, I'm sure I'll love reading it! The purpose of this post is to make your life easier, not harder. (If you want even more information about me, which I don't think anyone would but I know some people like to read their recipient's blog, I'm meretricula on tumblr as well, and more active over there.)

( optional details are optional! )

( Some Girls (Amber Dean and Saz Kaur) )

( Blurred Lines Sexy Boys Parody (Caela Bailey, Sexy Boy With Long Hair | Trojan Original, Sexy Boy With Shaved Head | The Luminous Pariah, and Sexy Boy With Short Hair | Paris Original) )

( Tennis RPF (Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova) )

( A Countess Below Stairs (Susie Rabinovitch and Tom Byrne) )

( The Outlaws of Sherwood (Cecily and Little John) )

Happy yuletide!

First of all: THANK YOU, amazing yulegoat, for signing up to write one of the tiny beloved fandoms of my heart! I hope that you will have a good time writing for me, and that your Yuletide will be full of joy and fannish delight! Or failing that, that at least my requests aren't already driving you to default in despair. But fingers crossed you'll have fun, and if there is ever a question in your heart as to whether you should fulfill some nitpicking optional detail in my request or write the story you have dreamed of writing since you offered the fandom, go with the story of your dreams, because if you love writing it, I'm sure I'll love reading it! This letter is just to give some additional guidance in case you want it; it's not meant to make things harder for you, and you should feel free to ignore the whole thing if you'd prefer.

That said, some general likes and dislikes:

Basically, I would prefer a happy ending. I want everybody to be happy or at least not overtly miserable at the end of the fic. They can suffer and be angsty in the beginning or middle but please please please let the ending be sunshine and rainbows or the promise of sunshine and rainbows on the not-too-distant horizon. I'm also happy to get a fic that's 100% fluffy sunshine and rainbows all the way through. I like characters bantering with each other and goofing off and being total dorks! And I love love love characters showing how much they love each other. It can be romantic, it can be familial, it can be friendship, but give me people who really care about each other and worry and hover and bully in a loving manner and just generally want to make each other happy. Also? Cuddling. I am a fan.

Other things that I like! Crazy AUs are always great. Want to write the fic where they're ice-skaters or porn stars or hookers or college students? Feel the urge to bring your fandom to work with you for a day? GO FOR IT! Reach into that box of cliches and pull one out at random if you feel like it, because I eat them up like candy. That said! I also really like stuff that stays super close to canon, but I am a tiny bit picky about things being accurate if you go this route. (I know, right? Anyone who's this into lunatic Alternate Universes has no ground to be fussing about canon compliance.) But anyway, if you are very familiar with the fandom and you're comfortable writing something that sticks obsessively close to canon, I love that too. Seriously, I like it when people put footnotes on their fic so I can check their references. I'm weird like that.

Things I don't like: pretty small list. No deathfic, please. No super-intense wrist-slashing angst, non-con or dub-con. No woman-bashing. No gay-bashing. If difficult topics like internalized misogyny or homophobia or racism are part of the canon or you want to explore them, don't feel like you need to white-wash anything, but do it carefully, okay? (I know it seems like that should go without saying but JUST IN CASE.) I'm a bit of a grammar nazi (I know, it's a character flaw) so if that's something you know you have issues with, get a beta to give it a quick scrub. :)

( my requests: blurred lines sexy boys parody, north and south, the outlaws of sherwood, some girls, tennis rpf )

Most importantly of all: HAVE FUN!

Vid recs again today! I've wanted to do a wordless vid rec post for a while, actually; it's something you don't see all that often but is really impressive when it's done well. (I had to cut down this list to get it to five, actually. :( I would have included more but then it's a slippery slope to indulging my completionist streak all the time!)

Girl on Fire, by Claire [The Hunger Games]
The sense of motion in this vid is really stunning, especially in the more violent interludes. The softer, slower sections are handled impressively, too; Jennifer Lawrence did a great job letting Katniss' facial expressions do her talking, and the vid captures those moments perfectly.

Heads Will Roll, by thedothatgirl [The Legend of Sleepy Hollow]
The music is actually not the Yeah Yeah Yeahs song of the same name but rather a string quartet cover of 'This Is Halloween', just so you know it does belong on this list. Ichabod's little face! All of his glorious incompetent flailing around! Again, really excellent sense of motion, and the comedic timing is perfect as well.

With Or Without You, by em [Doctor Who]
Nothing in this vid should work. Slowmo, weird color effects, the pacing is just mostly quite slow wih loooong clips. And yet it's perfect. GOD TEN LOVED ROSE SO MUCH, I CAN'T.

Mr. Brightside, by jarrow [The Talented Mr. Ripley]
Let's put it this way: somehow this movie is EVEN MORE HEARTBREAKING when compressed into three minutes and accompanied by string quartet.

God Loves, Man Kills, by meivocis [X-Men trilogy]
The X-Men series is really intense for something I remember as a Saturday morning cartoon. I think this vid lives up to that intensity -- the blinking effect seems like it should get annoying, but it really works. (Trigger warning for self-harm of a child and mutilation; the close-up on the stumps where Angel hacked off his wings is... really hard to bear.)

YULETIDE YULETIDE LALALA. At the moment I have nominated Some Girls, Tennis RPF, Blurred Lines Sexy Boys Parody and The Outlaws of Sherwood, but I've got some time in case I want to change my mind...

hey guys! if anyone here is still looking for football recs, I have updated the list. new fic is marked with an asterisk, as per usual. I also wanted to let you know that I think the list is now... complete, for lack of a better word. or at least not getting updated again. I obviously haven't been able to dedicate the time and attention to it that I used to given how long it's been since my last update, and I'm just not enthusiastic enough about it anymore to promise I'll be better.

I'm not leaving football fandom, and I might still add things to the list for all I know (hell, by the time cornerflag rolls around I might be back on the bandwagon), but at least for now, the rec shop is closed. there are other people in football fandom who do recs now, and I'm sure you'll all be able to find things to read without my assistance! it's been really great to meet so many people in the two and a half years I've been working on the list, and some minor wank aside, it's been a wonderful experience for me -- thank you all so much for writing all this lovely fic and for caring what I had to say about it! ♥

PS: I tried really, really hard to get through all of my backlog of "stuff to be recced" before closing it out. the lone holdout was the 2007 Secret Santa exchange. there was too much to read, I'm sorry, I just couldn't make myself do it -- but if any of you gets really desperate for something so old it's new to read, the full list is here.

that yuletide meme that's been going around! I've seen this from various people, but most recently norah.

( four and a half years of yuletide, and counting! )

muchissimas gracias to tabacoychanel, without whose encouragement I might have ended up defaulting this year. besos to you and your little dog too! ♥

I am supposed to be working right now but I wanted to pop in and tell everybody to go watch the first two episodes of Some Girls, which is a new BBC3 comedy about four friends who live in council housing and play for the school football team. It is hilarious and adorable and I wish it had come out in time for Yuletide nominations! Episode One and Episode Two, go go go!

AND NOW I RETURN TO MY REGULARLY SCHEDULED OVID FREAKOUT.

nobody but me would read a Flavia Pennetta/Gisela Dulko/Fernando Gago fic, would they. that's kind of a pity. they would make a hell of an attractive threesome.

(I'm so bored at work that I'm procrastinating on my procrastination. can you tell?)

school and work have been eating up all my time lately and that is why I haven't been posting! though it never seems like it's been all that long to me, and then I realize I haven't updated in over a month. so yeah. still ticking along, just quiet on the livejournal front!

YULETIDE. it's almost time for the best season of the year to start! what is everybody nominating? I have predictably started trying to organize the sports people, because that is what I do. I'm going for Olympics RPF, She's The Man and am wavering between Bend It Like Beckham (HOW AM I THE ONLY PERSON THINKING OF NOMINATING THIS? SERIOUSLY???) and Tennis RPF because I really want that Chrissie/Martina fic. but if nobody nominates Bend It Like Beckham I may have to abandon classic tennis for this year. :(

Amanda Palmer and Mumford & Sons both have new albums out! they're pretty ace, you should check them out.

missmollyetc filled a Baby Dream Team prompt for me over on touchline and it's awesome! go read: The Same Last Dream Again.

anybody want to play with memes? late to the party, I know. (seen this from a bunch of people but most recently aramley.)

Pick a trope from this list and provide a fandom/pairing and I’ll tell you something about the story I’d write for that combination!

1. genderswap
2. bodyswap
3. drunk!fic
4. huddling for warmth
5. pretending to be married
6. secretly a virgin
7. amnesia
8. cross-dressing
9. forced to share a bed
10. truth or dare
11. historical AU
12. accidental-baby-acquisition
13. apocalypse fic
14. telepathy
15. High School / College AU

PS: PIQUE AND SHAKIRA ARE HAVING A BABY!!!