Hey Everyone

Most popular fics of 2020

✔ subjectively sorted by Hits || alphabetically listed || as of 2021.10 (5868 works) ✔ 2020 in review : (daily) complete fics + (monthly) longest fics + list of all the fests ✔ most popular fics of other years

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(Un)wanted by @aibidil [E, 36k]

Accidental Magic by @penguinanimagus [E, 34k]

Adventures in Truth and Texting by @fluxweeed [E, 11k]

Adventures of a Suicidal Gentleman by GallaPlacidia [?, 47k]

Aletheia by @lazywonderlvnd [E, 8k]

The Alpha’s precious treasure by @polly-weasley [E, 3k]

‘And The Forest Met The Sky’ by Silverhood [M, 87k]

Another Heart Whispers Back by @slytherco [E, 53k]

the best treasure is up Harry’s arse by @bafflinghaze [E, 2k]

A Big Black Sky by @alxmeg [M, 90k]

Bitter Transmutation : Cruel Transformation by @dorthyanndrarry [M, 103k]

The Blind & The Silent by darkpyroangel06 [E, 59k]

Bond Bright by @caedes12 [E, 36k]

A Brother to Basilisks by Lomonaaeren [M, 613k]

The Bucket List by GallaPlacidia [?, 32k]

Can’t Afford to Fall by @p1013 [E, 100k]

Can’t Fight The Moonlight by @magicalrocketships [M, 16k]

Can’t Fight This Feeling by @writcraft [E, 10k]

Cassiopeia Lily Malfoy by GallaPlacidia [?, 37k]

Caught by the Ferret Tail by Alien_Slushie [T, 4k]

The Changing Lights by @lazywonderlvnd [E, 142k]

Clouds That Veil the Midnight Moon by @drarrytrash [E, 36k]

The Courting by the Pureblood Who Only Has Five Milligrams of Romantic Intelligence and Thinks He’s Real Smooth by @cibeewastaken [T, 19k]

Criminal by @the-sinking-ship [E, 83k]

Crown Witness by @slytherco [E, 70k]

The Curse of the Sea by @samyistrying [E, 62k]

Diffraction Patterns (I Don’t Know How to Forget You) by @yourdifferentoctober [E, 93k]

Doing love the right way by Linola [E, 2k]

Draco might not be a Weasley by blood, but he’s family by @mfingenius [M, 50k]

Evitative by @k-vichan [T, 222k]

Ex Nihilo (And Other Feats of An Untrained Veela) by Kandakicksass [M, 127k]

A Family of Our Own by @dwell-on-dreams [E, 2k]

The Ferret’s Nest by @l0vegl0wsinthedark [E, 9k]

Found Family by Doctor_Who_Cares [E, 148k]

The Four Doors by @fluxweeed [E, 48k]

freely, as men strive for right by @bixgirl1 [E, 17k]

Friends? Is That What We Are? by @l0vegl0wsinthedark [E, 33k]

Get Your Kinks Out by @cassiopeiasshadow [E, 38k]

The Gryffindor And His Slytherin by ridleyrey [E, 59k]

Heart Like Neon by @lqtraintracks [E, 41k]

Hogwarts a school for all kinds of creatures by UnicornPower1 [E, 254k]

I Was Held In Chains But Now I’m Free by gayshiit [E, 24k]

I’ll Tell You Mine (If You Tell Me Yours) by @drarryruinedme7 [E, 4k]

I’m So Tired by andrewminyardenthusiast & @brekkerenthusiast [T, 84k]

If an Injury Is to Be Inflicted by @shealwaysreads [E, 44k]

If It Takes All Night by @tackytigerfic [M, 10k]

In Another Life (I Would Make You Stay) by aboutmalfoy [T, 112k]

in heat by @bonesliketambourines [E, 4k]

Inside Your Mind by @lazywonderlvnd [E, 36k]

knickers in a twist by technicolourbeat [E, 86k]

Let Out the Beast by @acupforslytherin [E, 9k]

Licking a Path to You by @drarryruinedme7 [E, 18k]

Light up the Night by Saras_Girl [M, 98k]

Love and Other Unsafe Medical Practices by @tedahfromtayla [E, 116k]

Lucid by @dracoladon [E, 4k]

Luckiest Baby in the World by @mfingenius [M, 18k]

The Mirror of Ecidyrue by starbrigid [ series ]

Modern Love by @tackytigerfic [E, 61k]

Nero su bianco by @zuzallove [E, 40k]

Never Grow A Wishbone by @shanastoryteller [T, 123k]

The New Flight Instructor by @mxmaneater [E, 143k]

The Nobility of Ascent by Lomonaaeren [E, 27k]

Nothing Stays the Same by isabelbarret [E, 103k]

Nyctophilia by prolonged_autumn [E, 108k]

Of Custody and Guardianship by Ghostnic [T, 50k]

Omega’s Binding by @madriddler [E, 49k]

The One Where Draco Loses his Mind and Gains a Boyfriend by @dianacopland & @sassy-cissa [E, 18k]

Owl Was Well by @fencer-x [T, 66k]

A Perfectly Valid Dare by @ano-ka-ba & @kittymiaomeow [E, 5k]

Ruined Omega by @madriddler [E, 97k]

See It My Way by @queenofthyme [E, 26k]

Sententia by @anchanee [M, 313k]

The Sinner’s Redemption by @dianacopland [E, 55k]

Snowball Kisses by @eatamilkbone [E, 21k]

A Social Arrangement by @bitkahuna [E, 143k]

Something Good (The Second Time Around) by Ravenclaw626 [E, 99k]

Split by @pocketwatchangora [E, 41k]

Strawberries and Pajamas by @drarrysht [E, 3k]

Sucker by @ruinsplume-lefthandedbasilisk [E, 117k]

Synonyms For Pretend by Scarlett_Lucian [T, 33k]

There Will Be Time. by dracoseratonin [T, 62k]

There’s Too Many People (That Walk Alone) by huffinglepuff [T, 39k]

Time and Again by @manixzen [E, 68k]

To Be Out of Your Own (and consumed by another) by @cassiaratheslytherpuff [E, 18k]

True Children Still by @gracerene09 [E, 34k]

Two Trees by @eelwinks [E, 36k]

Under My Skin by @polly-weasley [E, 8k]

Vanished by @devilrising [E, 134k]

Vortex by @xanthippe74 [T, 20k]

The Wand That Chose Two Wizards by @talkingtravesties [T, 116k]

What Dreams May Come by @firethesound [E, 36k]

What’s Left Behind by ElvaDeath [T, 74k]

when evil blooms by thedoomofvalyria [E, 83k]

When The Smoke Clears by GoldFrostbite13 [M, 158k]

Where The Falcons Fly by MyNameIsThunder [M, 283k]

With Friends Like These by @bixgirl1 [E, 6k]

The Wrong Sort by @caffeinatedflumadiddle [T, 289k]

You Look the Way I Feel by @yourdifferentoctober [E, 108k]

You were made for me by @polly-weasley [E, 4k]

Your Daddy Knows (You’re A Flame) by @ladderofyears [E, 27k]

Albert Camus, from The Myth of Sisyphus

in the palm of your hand

[i was re-reading @habken's incredible scammers to lovers au and wrote this short fic. I really love their work and couldn't help myself lmaoo. anyways i hope you all enjoy!!!]

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“Hi! Can I help you with- oh,” says the angel from the IT department, spinny chair swiveling to a stop. “It’s you again.”

The first week Katsuki had come in, Deku had been relatively understanding and chipper- bright and sunny and shit. More personal than the strained smile and forced cheer that most customer service workers spoke with- of course I’ll fix your laptop, no problem, just leave it to me. 

Now, about three weeks later he looks at Katsuki like he’s just bitten into a lemon. As in, like Katsuki had come into the IT department, looked Deku in the eye, bit into a lemon, and then made a puckered up face and writhed in discomfort and then showed up with another lemon the next day, rinse and repeat for nearly a month. A complicated mix of intrigue and confusion and mild horror at this endless display of masochism.

Which is fair; there really is no other way to look at a top ten Pro Hero who repeatedly comes in to have his laptop fixed and won’t admit under penalty of death that it was because he clicked a pop-up in hopes of having a proper conversation with a dreamy IT guy. Not that Dreamy IT guy in question knows about all of that, but whatever. If Katsuki was in Deku’s position, he would also be worried about the fact that the safety and integrity of the public was left in the hands of guys who can’t stop getting scammed by obvious pop-up ads. 

“Your laptop’s broken again?” Deku says incredulously, as if reading Katsuki’s mind. His voice is really nice, even when he sounds confused as shit. Smooth and soft like- like a satin pillowcase. Or something. Whatever. It’s not like they pay him to be good with words. 

Then again, it’s not like they pay him to (unsuccessfully) flirt with the guy he’s normally supposed to see once a month max, but here he was. 

“Yeah,” says Katsuki, like he said two days ago, and then three days before that, and for the past month. It’s easier to say than I got a pop-up ad for a BL manga and I am ninety percent sure the twink on the cover was just a recolor of Sasuke Uchiha and I clicked it because I’m a fucking dumbass and I needed an excuse to keep coming in here and gazing into your dreamy-ass eyes. If you even care. 

He’s surprised Deku’s even asking. He’s been consistently coming in here for exactly the same reason: his laptop ‘mysteriously’ got a virus and now he needs it fixed. He’ll be back to pick it up soon, no, he’s not getting a new laptop, no, he’s not sure what happened, no, he’s not going to install some fancy-ass ad-blocker because he doesn’t want to (and it would get rid of his excuse), and Deku’s never asked this but yes, he would love to go get dinner sometime, he’s free today and tomorrow and the day after that and the rest of his life, forever, actually- 

“...Did you,” Deku begins, like he’s searching for the right words. “Uh. Do you have any idea what could have happened? Any idea at all?” 

I gazed into the dead-eyed stare of poorly-recolored Sasuke’s green eyes and thought of you because your eyes are also green, and less unnerving to look at, and the more I thought about that the more my mouse moved away from the ‘x’ button and the next thing I know, I have a virus and my desire to carnally hold your hand has overpowered any other logical thought. That’s what happened. 

“No,” Katsuki says belatedly. “Fuck. Look, can you fix it or not?” 

“Of course,” says Deku. He’s still got that little furrow in his brow. Katsuki wants to bite at it like taffy- which, is a weird fucking thing to think, scratch that- “Just- give it over, and I’ll be sure to have it ready for you in a little while.”

“Cool.” He holds out his laptop. It’s reminiscent of when he was four and showing off the cool rhinoceros beetle he caught to his mom. He’s internally beaming with pride at his success so far, and Deku’s got that same baffled, borderline horrified expression that his mom did. 

Although, that particular interaction ended with the thing flying out of his hands and into his mom’s cardigan and with him getting yelled at, so, maybe it’s not the ideal scenario to compare this to.

 But this encounter will end differently. He’s got a grip on the rhinoceros beetle, now. He just has to play his cards right. 

“So,” he says, shoving his hands into the pockets of his slacks so Deku won’t see how fucking sweaty they are. “You’ll have it ready by lunch tomorrow?” 

Deku takes the laptop and tilts his head. “Uh. Yeah, I will. In fact, I can get it to you earlier than that-”

“I’ll be busy for the rest of the day,” Katsuki lies. All his incident reports are done, and he’s got the night shift on patrol tomorrow. “You’re done by 2 tomorrow, right?”

“...Yes?”

“Great. Look, I have to stop at that fucking- crepe place, down the street, right,” he says, praying to every God there is that he looks cool and casual and not like a ‘Deranged Goblin Man’, as the Hero Times described him a few months ago. “So. When you get off work you should meet me there. At the crepe place. Tomorrow. At two pm.”

He doesn’t know what’s worse- the fact that he’s really doing this, being reduced to the same sort of emotional sap he would have made fun of only five years ago; or the fact that Present Mic’s lessons on subtlety and hidden meanings in text were actually good for something. 

Look at him, effortlessly weaving together words to create sentences with underlying motives. He’s like a modern-day Shakespeare. He’s golden. He’s killing it. Bakugou Katsuki, master of words. He’s on cloud-fucking-nine. He’s-

…aaaaand Deku isn’t responding. 

Deku blinks. He opens his mouth. Closes it. He sets the laptop down, staring up at Katsuki intently, and Katsuki starts to sweat. 

You are Bakugou Katsuki, he reminds himself. You might be down bad, but you’re not weak. It will not kill you if he rejects you. Well, it’ll kill you a little. But not that much. 

“At the crepe pla- to give you the laptop, right?” says Deku slowly. His face is turning bright red. Katsuki goes a little weak in the knees. 

“Sure, yeah,” Katsuki says half-heartedly. “Look, if you want, I could. I dunno. Fucking- buy you a crepe or something. As payment.” 

He’s so smooth. Eat your fucking heart out, Dunce Face. ‘Zero game’, his ass. 

“Sure,” Deku says, scratching the back of his neck, smile just a tad bit shy. His face is still mildly flushed. Katsuki swoons (and does his best to not let it show on his face). “I- uh. I’d like that. I guess.” 

“Cool,” says Katsuki. “Cool. Great. Okay, bye. Be there or else. Bye. See you.”

He turns on his heel and power walks out of the room, not once looking back, even when Pigtails nearly crashes into him or when Deku makes a noise suspiciously like he’s slamming his head against the desk. He walks out of the room, into the hallway, back to his own office.

The door slams shut behind him. He takes a deep breath. Squeezes his eyes shut. A breathlessly excited grin forces his way onto his face, and he pumps his fists, victorious. 

He's got a date.

I've started hitting the gym again

hope, determination, and acceptance

You can do these while watching television or, break them up throughout the day! All you have to do is commit. -Source

Little Women (2019) // Simone de Beauvoir // The Woman Who Rides Like a Man (Tamora Pierce) // The Color Purple // Persuasion (Jane Austen) // Catherine, Called Birdy (2022) // tumblr.com

—Sarah Jean Alexander

!SPOILERS!

ANOTHER BIG THING INTERNATIONAL VIEWERS MAY NOT PICK UP FOR SQUID GAME:

any viewer for squid game will understand that each game/round in the show are all childhood games from korea. this is well known.

but a smaller, unsubtle nod to another korean classic is actually the very last episode. it's titled 'A Lucky Day' or in korean '운수 좋은 날'. a modern classical literature text written by a korean author in 1924 about a rickshaw driver who went out to work despite his sick wife's protests, had a unusually lucky day and earned enough money, but upon returning home found his wife dead.

a big symbolism noted in the book itself is its showcase of rain and the wife's yearning (for warm broth). the very last game/battle between gihun and sangwoo ends in rain. when gihun returns home its raining heavily. gihun gets fish (well albeit rather reluctantly takes it from sangwoo's mom) for his own mother only to find her dead. despite how the games initially seems favourable in gihun's part, his world ends up rotten to the core when he returns back home. everyone he cared for now died.

i just feel like the director-writer made it such that the whole plot is a big nod to old korean classics (be it games or literature) and i just didnt see this noticed in social media so just wanted to share this! very happy to see such symbolism of korean literature in squid game.

p.s. anyone notice that both junho and inho, the two brothers, are actually playing hide-and-seek throughout the show— 👁👁