All Eyes on Me

I don’t read a lot of fan fiction anymore. That sounds funny, since I still do write a fair bit, at least when I can find the time. But while I enjoy reading fic in theory, in practice it’s pretty tough to find the sort of thing that suits my taste. I have a fairly low tolerance for work I don’t consider to have good writing, and a strong if not overwhelming taste for things that fit into or continue on with established canon. What draws me to fan fiction has always been a desire for more of the story and characters I have come to love, so I’m not super interested in stuff that doesn’t build off of that. I think most fic writers prefer to play with and change things, at least based on what I’ve observed, so while there definitely is some of my preferred style out there, it’s often really difficult to sift out of the vast sea of alternate universes, what if scenarios, and outright garbage. I’m really just too busy these days to spend a lot of time digging, so the result is I just don’t read much fic anymore.

But every now and then, I get lucky, and come across something that ticks all the boxes. And it really is a special experience. For me this recently happened with a Fleabag story called “Parables of Peace” by a writer called Pennyante on AO3. I wasn’t particularly looking for Fleabag fic, but this came from a random recommendation I saw online that used the magic words— “like a third season of the show.” And to my delight, it actually was.

It really does capture the voice of the show, and meaningfully iterates on a characters in a way that feels true to them. It may be a bit less focused on the comedy/satire elements of the original, but that’s really the only thing. They way the central figures and relationship are explored and evolved is beautifully, authentically done. It was such an unexpected pleasure to find something like this, since it doesn’t happen very often. Definitely recommend it if you liked the Fleabag show.

It's late in the day, but it's still the 20th, so I'm technically still caught up!

This is another little bit of a Captain America fan fiction scene that I wrote as a drama, but could definitely use as the first draft of a prose fic. That technique often helps me get started. It's just a silly little moment, coming out of my personal preference for clean shaven Cap as opposed to bearded, which influences why I write him that way in my by-now pretty extensive post-Endgame series Forever Captain. I guess it's an attempt to find an in-character justification for it. There isn't a lot to this, but it could make for a cute little one shot that I could stick in the continuity of their early married years.

I guess there's also a tiny nod to that awful look Chris sported when he was performing Lobby Hero too.



( Day #20 - Bearded )

Today’s scene is a Text from Avengers Tower that was inspired by the meme below. It’s another one where a small feature of a character interaction is turned into a little observational joke. It’s dumb, but made me laugh. THAT’S ENOUGH FOR ME.



( Day #16 - First Impression )

I saw the Deadpool and Wolverine movie last weekend and enjoyed it very much, as I tend to with Marvel movies— they just make me happy in an uncomplicated way. It also reminded me that it’s been a really long time since I wrote a new Text from Avengers Tower, so I better get on that.

The fun of this one was working to capture Deadpool’s, shall we say, particular speaking idiom. Besides his obvious colorful vulgarity, his sentences use vivid vocabulary, can be surprisingly complex in structure, and are jam-packed with imagery. One of the things I love to do in fan fiction is capture the spirit of the source material, particularly coming up with original dialogue that still sounds believably in the characters’ voices. Texts from Avengers Tower has the additional dimension of figuring out how those same characters would text, such that their voices come through filtered by the way they would use the technology.

I think I did an okay job of that here. 😆 Minor spoilers for the Deadpool and Wolverine movie.



( Day #2 - Hundred-Way )

Forever Captain:
“Boulder in the Stream”
By Phoebe Roberts
~~~

Summary: “It’s been seven years since Steve Rogers retired to the midcentury after returning the Infinity Stones. By 1954, he’s built a contented new life as Grant Carter, Peggy’s husband and stay-at-home dad to two great kids. But he’s never been able to shake his fears of what his presence here will do to change the progress of the timeline. Or— perhaps worse —that he has no power to affect the course of events at all.

A direct continuation of “His Part to Play.” A more plot-focused adventure story.”

Previous chapters:
1. Glimmer
2. Siege
3. Backup
4. Onslaught
5. Operatives
6. Mission
7. Setting Out

Chapter summary: As Steve sets out on his mission, he reflects on his friendship with Bucky, and why they became so important to one another.

Forever Captain:
“The Scenic Route”
By Phoebe Roberts
~~~

Summary: When Uatu takes Captain Carter back to her own universe by the scenic route, she gets a chance to see if there is some timeline out there where she gets her happy ending.

~~~

( “The Scenic Route” )

~~~

The End

“Texts from Avengers Tower”
By Phoebe Roberts
~~~

Summary: “There are a lot of great things about being on a close-knit team like the Avengers. The group text chains aren’t one of them.

The short video versions of the collection of funny conversations in text messages between the cast of the MCU.”

~~~

( Previous Video Texts )

This text: Cologne, Germany, 2017. Natasha Romanov to Steve Rogers.

~~~

23. - “PSAs”

Watch on YouTube

Follow on: YouTube | TikTok

~~~

Forever Captain:
“Roads Less Traveled”
By Phoebe Roberts
~~~

Summary: Agent Mobius stands at a crossroads, unsure whether to continue his work at the TVA or see what the life he left might have had in store for him. He decides to ask for advice from the only person he can think of with similar experience-- a variant in a case that came across his desk just before all this craziness got started.

~~~

( Chapter 1 - “The Test Case” )

~~~

Next chapter: 2. Expert Advice

“Texts from Avengers Tower”
By Phoebe Roberts
~~~

Summary: “There are a lot of great things about being on a close-knit team like the Avengers. The group text chains aren’t one of them.

The short video versions of the collection of funny conversations in text messages between the cast of the MCU.”

~~~

( Previous Video Texts )

This text: Jersey City, 2025. Carol Danvers to Kamala Khan.

~~~

118. - “Invite”

Watch on YouTube

Find on: Youtube - Tiktok

~~~

“Texts from Avengers Tower”
By Phoebe Roberts
~~~

Summary: “There are a lot of great things about being on a close-knit team like the Avengers. The group text chains aren’t one of them.

The short video versions of the collection of funny conversations in text messages between the cast of the MCU.”

~~~

( Previous Video Texts )

This text: New Mexico, 2013. Darcy Lewis to Thor.

~~~

20. - “Plus One”

~~~

Watch on YouTube

Find on: Youtube - Tiktok

~~~

Next text: 21. Autocorrect