Rider's Quadrant Guide to Fanfic

Brought to you by Yams, Wingleader of Fanworks Wing, Fanfiction Squadleader Nivaria, Executive Officer AlexanDia and Executive Officer Jackdaw

Just finished Fourth Wing and Iron Flame and find yourself in need of new content, fresh interpretations or you just want to see these characters in all sort of crazy situations and contexts, but you have no idea where to start from? We know that the first time searching the Empyrean series on AO3 can be a bit daunting and confusing and we are here to provide a little guidance on how to navigate this side of our growing fandom.

The first question you should ask yourself is what kind of fanfic you would like to read – do you want a certain ship? do you lean towards more cannon-compliant fics or would you like to see this cast of characters in a modern setting as well? do you want a more complex story or are you more into one-shots?

If you're not sure what you're interested in, we recommend checking out fics written for Rider's Quadrant server events! There are collections on the AO3 for RQ Server writers in general and sub-collections for fic challenges and exchanges we've held. These collections include everything from serious novel-length fics to short missing scenes and dramatic romance to absolute silliness.

We took the liberty to put together a list of the most popular categories of fanfics, with brief descriptions for you – it’s like walking into a bookstore, but everything is free and you can actually talk to the authors and share your thoughts with them in the #scribequadrant! Keep in mind this is just meant to be an introduction to the major categories of fanfic and the writers you're likely to run into in the Rider's Quadrant. There's more than a thousand fics in our fandom now and with more books coming, that's definitely going to increase.

Other Viewpoints

Because Fourth Wing is told from Vioket's point of view, there's a lot we don't see. One of the most popular reasons to read and write fic is to explore other peoples' thoughts, missing scenes, and what is going on when Violet's not looking.

FW/IF retold from Xaden's perspective

Prequels

Missing scenes and other dynamics

Alternate Universes

Sometimes the most interesting ideas result in AUs (fics where the action is placed in an Alternative Universe). Some of these are fics set in a canon or near-canon setting where there are changes to the timeline (perhaps Fen's rebellion succeeded) or there's a worldbuilding change (perhaps soulmates exist) but the world itself is otherwise the same. No-magic AUs/AUs reinterpreting the characters in a world more like our own are fairly common and can highlight a variety of different facets of the characters.

Those are great but I want more romance and/or smut

On the Archive of Our Own, you'll find fanfics tagged by the names of the characters with a slash between them to indicate romance (as opposed to the & between them, which indicates platonic relationships - "Violet/Tairn" is very different from "Violet & Tairn") but in other fandom settings like Discord/Tumblr/Reddit many pairings have a ship name that's created by putting together the names of the people involved.

As of the most recent update, these fics may contain spoilers for Fourth Wing and Iron Flame but none should contain Onyx Storm spoilers. Some are set in the canon setting and some are in different settings. Read the summary and tags so you know what you're getting into!

Riorgail (Xaden/Violet)

Imrrick (Imogen/Garrick)

Bodoc/Bodhiam (Bodhi and Ridoc/Liam)

Slam/Slain (Sloane and Aaric/Dain)

Brennaolin (Brennan/Naolin)

Rareships

We also have some very interesting (and very hot) rareships- pairings that aren't as common, either because the characters are usually paired with other people or just because they aren't as popular.

Crack

Crack fics are stories that meant to be silly and fun, not taken seriously, like Adventure Friends, about the marked ones as kids, or The Legend of Machete Man by Lydi. There's a running joke in #fanfic-discussion that if you're stuck and frustrated with a fic you can have Sawyer come in with a machete and solve the problem by killing everyone, and Lydi managed to turn that into a funny fic.

Hurt/Comfort

Hurt/comfort fics are stories where the action starts with someone getting hurt- maybe a literal illness or injury, or maybe an emotional one- and then the arc of the story is how someone else takes care of them. Mint has a number of fics in this genre if you want to try it out, all of them wonderful.

Fluff

Fluff stories are meant to feel good all the way through. They're usually light in conflict. Server member overjoyedisland made a list of fluffy 4W fics she recommended over on Tumblr.

This is in no way intended to be an exhaustive list - if nothing else, new fanworks are being posted every day! - but it can give you an idea where to start browsing and see what excites you. If you're on Tumblr you can also check out Fic Wing Recs to see what other people are recommending or ask for suggestions.

And hey, if there's a category that's missing here but you want people to know more about, feel free to collect a couple of links and message one of the Fanworks mods!

What should I do if I like a fanfic?

If you're reading on the AO3 website, you can start by clicking the "kudos" button at the end of the fic. That lets the author know someone read the fic! The best gift you can give an author, though, is a comment. Whether it's a short comment that says "this made me feel fhwvievnonovvroeeb" or "I really liked how you wrote Violet's inner monologue" or a longer comment talking about all the details you noticed and all of your favorite lines, I promise you, the author will appreciate it!

I'm reading this fanfic and I want to talk about it!

That's awesome! Feel free to come by #fanfic-discussion and tell us about it! If the author is active in the RQ Server they probably already have a Scribe Quadrant thread for talking about their fic and you can go wild. If not, we're happy to get you set up with a thread to talk about it in-depth! You're also welcome to just talk about what fic you are reading in general, ask for recommendations, or join in on the sometimes-wild threads we have about worldbuilding for fic purposes.

I think I want to write my first fic!

That's even more awesome! Feel free to let us know and we'll be happy to cheer you on. If you haven't already, you'll want to either sign up for the waiting list an AO3 account (it usually takes about a week) or ask in the server if someone can give you an invite code to skip the line. There are tons of guides to posting on the AO3 out there.

We have #writing-sprints for when you need some accountability to focus on your writing. Use Professor Markam (aka sprinto) to set a timer for your writing and track your starting and ending words. Writing with other people can be tremendously motivating!

Once you're ready, you can post your accounts in #account-sharing and link to your fanfic in #fanfic.

I'm writing a fic and I need to know X detail!

Fee free to ask in #fanfic-discussion and check out pinned posts. We've also got #writing-resources, including a thread for shared general headcanons (though you're also welcome to ignore those things, since they're not official).

The most important thing to remember is that we're all here because we love this world and these characters and we want to have fun. Don't be a dick and remember that fandom is a gift economy: we're all writing and sharing for free, because it makes us happy to do it. Read what makes you happy, ignore what doesn't, and enjoy!