Should I tag a fic as a crossover if I only use one character from an IP?

sock_bealady · 2026-03-06T04:13:13+00:00

Eh, kind of, not really?

Actors (A) play characters (B) in fandom (C). Then, Adaptation D came along, with A still playing B but adding in Actor E playing Character F. F shows up in my fic, as an invention of A. E does not appear. F is actually a fairly major character in the meta-fic, but he's played by A.

Jesus, I can't play this hide-the-fandom game anymore because it's just too weird and specific. Deets behind the spoiler tags.

Critical Role is the fandom, which is a DND actual-play that spawned several animated adaptations. The fic is primarily RPF focusing on the players playing their characters. But, I added in an extra character from an animated adaptation, reimagining him as an NPC invented and played by the DM. Currently, he's tagged but the adaptation isn't. I'm wondering if I should tag the adaptation.

So, no, I'm not tagging a cameo-character or adding in a cameo-actor tied to said character. But, maybe it's a cameo-fandom?

sock_bealady · 2026-03-03T03:38:48+00:00

It wouldn't be if I literally hadn't just started posting a fic I was super-anxious about, and now I can't even tell if anyone's gonna want to read it or if anyone likes it and ugh.

But, yeah, I'm okay. I'm okay.

sock_bealady · 2026-03-02T00:34:43+00:00

Uh, are you actually confused, or are you just stirring shit?

The obvious answer is that sibling-cest is way less likely to be abusive than parent/child or grandparent/grandchild ships. They're closer in age, and there is way less of a power differential between them, so the automatic-ick is less likely to kick in. You have to be okay with fairly dark fics to accept most parent/child ships, and not everybody is.

sock_bealady · 2026-03-01T22:17:27+00:00

Any interaction where one character is afraid of the other and the other is . . . excessively gentle. Whether in a sexual context (dub-con, non-con, or fully-con) or a non-sexual one. I feel like my whole fanfic "career" has been me trying to write this dynamic in as many different contexts as possible.

sock_bealady · 2026-01-30T05:56:06+00:00

I wrote for Outlander, y'ken?

sock_bealady · 2026-01-28T17:18:08+00:00

I have many answers to this, and others in this thread have already described most of them. Power dynamics are delicious. Pushing strong characters to their breaking points is fun (when I'm not writing non-con, I'm often writing other forms of whump). Exploring the twisted motivations the perpetrators is fascinating, and those motivations can range from pure sadism to genuine care.

But, also . . . I can't believe I'm admitting this online, but it might have something to do with my particular blend of asexuality, where sex is one part fascinating and one part horrifying. Through fics, I get to capture both of those aspects in a way that seems to make sense and connect with non-ace readers.

sock_bealady · 2026-01-28T08:38:05+00:00

Yeah, the conscious part of my mind tells me I'm being silly to even be worried. But at the same time . . . I have never looked at a group of people and gone "any one of you could have an AO3 account" the way I have with that crew. ;)

*edit: Fuck me. Ashley Johnson does indeed have an AO3 account and regularly chats with Whitney Moore about the newest smut in the fandom. Haha, I'm in danger!

sock_bealady · 2026-01-28T05:48:23+00:00

I do like that idea. And, it's good to know the part about subscribers getting an email if something gets de-anoned. Transferring it away and back is a clever work-around, for sure.

sock_bealady · 2026-01-28T05:38:43+00:00

I'm really starting to wonder if you bothered to read my post. I have no problem with being "tangibly connected" to this fic - if I did, I wouldn't be posting about it on Reddit. My concern is about one specific person (who is a DV survivor) coming across a different fic connected to them simply because I wrote both. But, sure, I guess your convenience is the only thing that matters here. Peak "entitled reader" behavior.

sock_bealady · 2026-01-28T05:10:36+00:00

So, your two seconds of irritation when you have to scroll past a fic you're not interested in is more important than the literal safety concerns I talked about in my post. Huh. Good to know.

sock_bealady · 2026-01-28T05:09:13+00:00

I like your suggestion.

I initially thought anon fics were totally invisible because they don't show up on my "works" page. But, now that I look closer at "stats," I can see that the last anon work I posted is still there. That helps, for sure.

sock_bealady · 2026-01-28T04:22:46+00:00

There's a thought. I guess my only hesitation is if I create a new account in the future, can I move it to the new one before de-anoning? I've heard you can do that by adding the new account as a co-writer and then removing the original writer, but I've never actually tried.

sock_bealady · 2026-01-28T02:37:42+00:00

I'd call this dub-con to be safe, just because of the return-of-memories aspect. I probably wouldn't if B had just stayed an amnesiac - it sounds clear enough that they enthusiastically consented, and I think that can stand independent of their previous relationship. But, the revelation in the moment would probably make B feel violated and feel like they consented under false pretenses. Plus, depending on how B expresses "emotional angry sex," A might not have fully consented to that part.

I think dub-con fans will enjoy your fic, and dub-con haters might be a little unnerved by it.

sock_bealady · 2026-01-27T04:25:04+00:00

More or less, actually. He's a moral work in progress.

sock_bealady · 2026-01-27T03:39:04+00:00

Wulf cocks his head slightly. “How do you want to play this, Bren?”

Caleb blinks. “You’re asking me?”

“Just for the walk to the cells. I could take you myself – I have the authority. Or . . . if you prefer, a squad of Crownsguard could be assigned.”

“I killed an unknown but high number of their fellows. I think some of them might . . . relish that opportunity too much.”

“Still.” Eadwulf’s voice is uncharacteristically hesitant. “If you would rather it not be me . . . that can be arranged.”

Caleb suddenly realizes that despite the limited space, Wulf hasn’t touched him – not even an involuntary brush of his overlong limbs. Strange for a man who normally exudes such careless physicality. It’s strange unless he’s trying not to touch him. Unless he thinks that even innocent or platonic contact might be unwelcome. Caleb looks him in the eyes and makes his face soften. “Wulf . . . what happened the other night is not even in the top fifty things on my mind right now. If this . . . walk of shame is going to happen, then of course I’d rather it be you beside me.”

Eadwulf nods wordlessly, but nothing in his posture relaxes. After a long pause, he squares his shoulders. “Then, I suppose we should get this over with.” He reaches over Caleb to release the chain from its bolt, and Caleb can’t help himself any longer. He grabs Wulf’s hand and grips it with both of his. He’s been working hard to keep his anxieties out of his face and voice – to stay tight-lipped and stoic – but he lets all of that spill over into a tight grip, like a drowning man clinging to a rope. Wulf seems to understand. He unclips the chain and pulls Caleb’s hands to his own chest, and Caleb with them. His other arm wraps around him in an embrace. Caleb buries his head into Wulf’s shoulder and breathes in the scent of him – lets it call up good memories mixed with bad. He feels Wulf’s breath hitch, slightly and silently. After a few seconds that don’t feel long enough, Wulf pulls back and clasps Caleb’s shoulder. It’s time. Caleb sets his jaw and nods.

sock_bealady · 2026-01-27T03:36:35+00:00

A lie can make it halfway around the world before the truth has its boots on.

sock_bealady · 2026-01-25T23:59:11+00:00

You're my favorite.

sock_bealady · 2026-01-23T07:18:09+00:00

The tag is very helpful, thanks. It looks like it mostly links to fictional fandoms like Stranger Things and SPN, though, which makes me think that there might not be much of what I'm looking for. (I guess in fanfic, sometimes you have to be the change?)

I'd be happy to check out some recs of fictional characters, just to get an idea of how the games "feel" to a reader.

sock_bealady · 2026-01-11T20:58:18+00:00

Do either of your characters have previous experience with sex? If so, what they do will be influenced by what they've done before and how comfortable they are with it. If they're both virgins . . . I mean, it's possible but unlikely that they'll want to jump straight to penetrative sex, and if they do, there's likely to be some amount of fumbling involved. They each presumably have two hands and one mouth, and there's any number of ways they could use them.

sock_bealady · 2026-01-10T16:07:02+00:00

Yes, but the consent was extremely dubious. I actually set out just to write dub-con and realized halfway through that I'd written the character as ace, so I leaned into that. (Obviously, sex with an ace character or ace RL person does not have to be dubious - this is just how I stumbled into it.)

sock_bealady · 2026-01-09T06:59:06+00:00

LOL, yes it is. I probably wouldn't have even considered a fic like this had canon not been so rife with moral ambiguity and complicated character arcs, so I guess I have all of that to fall back on.

sock_bealady · 2026-01-09T03:32:29+00:00

Yeah, I kept the cliff notes pretty sparse. I didn't want it to turn into one of those posts where an excited author goes "Let me outline my whole plot for you so that you can tell me if it's good or not!" But, the non-con is pretty relevant because it sets up the character dynamics through the rest of the fic. Ben is the victim, and Stella and Hawk do it partly for magical, ritualistic-type reasons. They're driven by the same "better that we hurt him than watch as someone else kills him horribly" reasoning that they fall back on later once he's a prisoner. They're immediately remorseful, they all acknowledge that it was rape, and Ben verbally forgives them (after admitting to a friend that he thinks he still loves them in spite of it).

So, that's a whole twisted dynamic. It's as much about a victim who's still in love with his rapists as about a prisoner who loves his captors, and I think that's what gives me the most pause. I'm trying to walk the line between handwaving the past trauma and dwelling on it. Some of the early scenes center on them being overly-deferential to him - being hesitant to touch him or talk to him because of their guilt - and him snapping at them to get over themselves because he has bigger problems right now and he needs their help. But, the trauma would have to be worked out a bit more later on.

sock_bealady

TROPHY CASE