Original Fiction Recommendations

Honestly, the fact that some people have the skill to write original fiction and the courage to share it never ceases to amaze me. Below, you'll find instances of our phenomenally talented OF writers from the FFT archives. I'm in awe of them. As always, let me know if you check these stories out and, if so, what you think!

sour dumplings and rice by @just.a.willow.tree
Length / Completed: 7645 words / 3 chapters (incomplete)
Genre(s): Angst, Drama, General, Humor, Romance
Summary: In the span of half an hour, Clementine Li goes from making soup to getting assaulted by rainwater—which leaves her cursed like a fish out of water. She and her mother search high and low for remedies for this curse, and it all seems hopeless until she comes across a pretty witch with friendly smiles and spells to boot...
(A story of water-witches, scrumptious foods, and one very confused young woman in the midst of it all.)
Reasons for Recommendation: Eva is one of the most skilled writers I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Her fanfiction is stunning, and her OF is just as incredible. This story is gorgeous. The worldbuilding in it is incomparable. Eva's style is nothing less than effervescent. This story feels like a fairytale passed down for generations. Clementine is a character who you instantly love and root for. And the plot keeps you coming back for more. This story truly feels so polished and transcendent that you almost can't believe Eva started it as a teenager.

The Moth and the Flame by @sinnersandsapphics
Length / Completed: 2595 words / 1 chapter (complete)
Genre(s): Dark, Microfiction, Romance
Summary: The moth don't care when he sees the flame
He might get burned, but he's in the game
And once he's in, he can't go back
He'll beat his wings till he burns them back
Reasons for Recommendation: I think it's actually illegal to write this well. It's also illegal to read this recommendation and then not read the story. Because, honestly, Sam might have written one of the best pieces of OF I've ever read. (Not just on FFT, but ever.) This story is so eerie and devastating. You feel the disturbing nature of the relationship throughout it. And it's written in a really unique way that keeps you reading and questioning what's going to happen next. It's honestly just so amazing. You have to read it. Really. Do it. Now.

Bruises and Sweet Spots by @Jo Raskoph
Length/Completed: 1617 words / 1 chapter (complete)
Genre(s): Drama, Romance
Summary: Magda met Leo when she was seventeen; she would lose him six years later, but she didn't know that then. All she knew was that his eyes sparkled when he winked at her over the bucket of apricots she handed him.
Reasons for Recommendation: I've said it before; I'll say it again: Jo is the type of writer that everyone should aspire to be like. She has a way with words that is more than stunning. She's able to turn phrases into poetry within prose. Her worldbuilding is unrivaled. And her characters...ugh. Her characters. There's something indescribably real about the characters in this story. Leo and Magda are like people you know, or people you've seen from a distance and thought, "They look so happy." Because Jo shows their love so fully but is unflinching in portraying not just the ups but also the downs of life. Things don't always go as Magda and Leo plan, but there's such love in all of their interactions, and the way they support each other leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy. And lastly (most importantly), the spectrum of emotions in this story will take your breath away. Highly, highly recommend.

Season of Love by @Jo Raskoph
Length/Completed: 3298 words / 1 chapter (complete)
Genre(s): Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Summary: Between enduring her parents' disappointment and possibly getting dumped, Vera is hardly feeling festive. But fortunately, blood is not the only thing that makes a family.
Reasons for Recommendation: Again, I have to compliment Jo. I recommended this story as a wonderful portrayal of polyamory+, but it deserves its own recommendation as OF as well. Jo's characterization of Vera and Nina in this story is flawless. They both seem so very real and so very complex. They aren't cookie-cutter OCs in any way. They're just...they're wonderful and unique and vibrant, and their love is evident in every word and interaction they share. The way they support each other is beautiful, and their relationship is a large part of why this story earns all the praise I continue to give it. The love between them is the crux of the story, and Jo does so well showing how that love shapes who Vera and Nina are and how they are together. I've praised Vera's characterization in particular in this story, and I'll repeat it here: she's the epitome of love—for the world and for people—and she feels everything so deeply. Her emotions feel so real and vivid. You want to know her and hold her. This story is stunning.

The Maidens and the Tower by @mydearfoxy
Length/Completed: 4160 words / 2 chapters (incomplete)
Genre(s): Drama, Fairy Tale/Fable, Romance
Summary: 
Then the King flew into a passion, and ordered a dark tower to be built, into which no ray of sunlight or moonlight should enter. When it was finished, he said, “Therein shalt thou be imprisoned for seven years, and then I will come and see if thy perverse spirit is broken.” Meat and drink for the seven years were carried into the tower, and then she and her waiting-woman were led into it and walled up, and thus cut off from the sky and from the earth...
A story of love on the American prairie.
Inspired by 'Maid Maleen,' as collected and recorded by the Brothers Grimm
Reasons for Recommendation: Renee straight-up wrecked me by only writing two chapters of this story. But the two chapters that do exist are stunning enough that I'm going to recommend you read them right now. The voice throughout this story is so crisp and vivid and really adds to the worldbuilding in fabulous ways. The setting, time period, and characterization are all enhanced by the tone that Renee is able to evoke. In particular, it helps shape Hattie and Martha as characters. And Renee describes both of them in a way that will have you hoping they get their happily-ever-after. Although I haven't read the fairy tale this was based on, this story feels inspired by fantasy all the same. And it's queer. Which will have you hoping by chapter 2 that Hattie and Martha will fall in love and escape the "tower" and have grand adventures hand in Sapphic hand.

the final calm by @sihaya
Length/Completed: 1166 words / 1 chapter (complete)
Genre(s): General
Summary: This is what death looks like.
Reasons for Recommendation: When I first read this story, I'd never seen anyone die. I'd experienced grief from a distance—a close friend passing away suddenly after an accident, my grandmother fading over a couple of weeks and going quietly surrounded by my family while I was thousands of miles away—but now...Well, in September of last year, I held my grandpa's hand as he passed away. Even now, I can see that moment and the two weeks that preceded it. This story is so vividly real to the process of watching a loved one decline and die. It's absolutely heart-wrenchingly real. I loved this story when I read it years ago, and I love it now even more. Because it takes my breath away (what a turn of phrase) and makes me feel a little less alone. Sian is a fantastic writer, and this story more than proves her skill.

Peonies on Tuesday by @RonsGirlsPatronus
Length/Completed: 707 words / 1 chapter (complete)
Genre(s): Drama, General
Summary: I'm sorry I dropped the flowers.
Reasons for Recommendation: So, Melanie takes your heart and just stomps it with this story. But I promise that I say that in the best way possible.   Honestly, this story is so good. Mel weaves the narration into the plot of the story in a way that adds to the floaty/unsure tone throughout. Ben's dialogue (well, monologue) tells you everything you need to know about him and Annie and their lives, but it never feels like you're being overloaded with information. In fact, despite this story being very short, it gives you all the details you need for Ben and Annie's emotions to come blazing through. The realizations you'll have while reading this story come to you slowly. I won't spoil them here, but I'll just say that as you begin to see the bigger picture, the impact of the narrative fully hits you. It's amazing.

To Boil Telephone Porridge by @teh tarik
Length/Completed: 6407 words / 1 chapter (complete)
Genre(s): General
Summary: 
   “Hello?” Kwai Sim says.
   There’s a rustle at the other end, the plastic-pop of interference. Nobody answers, but the line is still holding.
   Her heartbeat leaps to a frenetic pace before she even realises why.
   “Daniel? Ah Khim? Is that you?” she says, very carefully. If she doesn’t say his name right, or with enough caution, it might not be him. Just her imagination, tricking the name off her tongue.
   A series of conversations between two people.
Reasons for Recommendation: If you haven't read this story yet, please go do so now. Because this might just change your life. Teh is fantastic. This story is absolutely stunning. It's told through phone calls between Daniel and his mother and is one of the most honest, heart-wrenching portrayals of the struggles of queer people around the world that I've ever read. I'm American, and while I know intuitively that being queer in other countries is much harder than in the U.S., it's something else entirely to read about it. This story is told through a Malaysian lens and voice and shows the depth of pain that LGBTQIA+ people suffer when their families don't accept them. Daniel's feelings of rejection and depression have colored his whole life, even a decade after he leaves home, and Teh doesn't shy away from that. You'll feel the distance that stretches between Daniel and his parents, and you'll feel the small moments of grace in his conversations with his mother. And you'll be in awe.

Reflections on Solitude by @Felpata_Lupin
Length/Completed: 3911 words / 26 chapters (complete)
Genre(s): Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Microfiction
Summary: A collection of unrelated drabbles, all somehow connected to the concept of solitude in its many facets.
Reasons for Recommendation: Chiara wrote this for my ABC Drabble Challenge (results coming very soon!!), and it is amazing. She's able to take the idea of solitude and show it in so many ways. There are moments of loneliness and fear, of course, but there are also moments of peace and tranquility. It's been nominated for an Inky award for Best Original Fiction, and two of the drabbles in the collection ("pianoforte" and "wonderland") were nominated as Best Drabble. It's a really lovely and poetic glimpse into the concept of being alone. I'd definitely recommend it.

tiny kisses by @just.a.willow.tree
Length/Completed: 3510 words / 26 chapters (complete)
Genre(s): General, Microfiction
Summary: tiny kisses | a collection of twenty-six abc drabbles
Reasons for Recommendation: This was another entry to my ABC Drabble Challenge (results coming very soon!!), and I'm thrilled that it's up for an Inky for Most Creative Story. Eva is a spectacular writer, and this is just another example of her prowess. She's so great at taking everyday images and turning them just so, making you look at them in an entirely new way and leaving you in awe.