Fanfic. We all know what it is. Many of us love it, some of us treat it like the guiltiest of pleasures. It’s fandom’s way to create the stories we want to read, with no worries about contracts, budgets, character rights, or any of the 99 problems that surface when we think of how cool it would be to see Justice League go up against the Avengers, with the X-Men waiting to jump in.

Despite some people giving the side-eye or outright mocking fic readers and writers, fanfic – when done well – can be a fan’s lifeblood, and a gateway to even more stories, in alternate and unlimited universes and scenarios, than ever before. Frenchie, who’s our Rat Queen resident Fic Guru, has written about fic as a coping mechanism when you’re in between movie installments or TV seasons:

Fanfiction. Now, if you’re prone to scoffing, swallow that for a moment and just consider the fact that there are millions of honest to goodness quality writers out there who are just as obsessed with Harris’s world as you are. Just because they’re not published, it doesn’t mean that they suck. There are established writers as well as burgeoning writers in the fandom, all of them in favor of constructive criticism and, frankly, friends to flail with.

Without further ado, let’s get to it: here are a few of my faves. What are some of yours?

I Am Stretched on Your Grave by SidheMail (AO3, Rated Mature, Loki/Sif) This one is pretty much the definitive fic for the Rat Queens. We all love Loki, and the Loki/Sif (Sifki) ship sails with a strong wind at our backs. This is a brutal, gorgeous story about Sif, Loki, and very, very horrible things. When this fic first posted a few years ago, a chapter left off at a critical scene, I didn’t know when she was going to post a resolution, and Nancy Joyce had to stay up all night with me, consoling me via text. Sifki fans, if you haven’t read this one, just pause here, click on the link, and come back. We’ll wait.

You’ve Returned to Me, by Lobaby (AO3, rated Mature, Loki/Sigyn) I have a Loki preference, clearly, in my fic. I also have HUGE feels for Loki/Sigyn, because she got a raw deal in the comics and I’d love to see her brought back now that Marvel’s got a successful Loki: Agent of Asgard title run. In this story, Sigyn is there when Loki is brought back to Asgard, post-Avengers, to receive his sentence from Odin.

The Damned Have No Right to Weep, by Alara Rogers (FanFiction.net, Rated Teen, Magneto and Wolverine) Magneto has finally triumphed over the X-Men. It’s not a great feeling. Wolverine is coming to settle the score.

Want to find fic in your fandom? Check out Archive of Our Own (aka AO3), Fanfiction.net, or type in your fandom, plus “fanfiction”, and your Tumblr dashboard will reward you. Go forth and fanfic!