#the funniest part of my outline is the part that just goes like

[acaciapines]

nano day seven

words today: 2148

words total: 14430

happy with the progress i'm making! i've solidified the outline for the chapters, and i know where things are going...i've been pondering for a while how exactly i want the collector's story to play out, because a big focus of it is how everyone is always lying to them--they never get the things they want because theyre always being tricked, ALWAYS, and thats been my plan for the big climax...this huge fight between king and the collector, which leads to the collector pushing everyone away, which leads to watching and dreaming once luz and everyone else return to the demon realm.

ive got my line to get there! i just have to...write it....

its up and down with this project. its always hardest to write. but once i get the words down i find they're usually pretty good. never as bad as i think, at least. sure, i'll have to do some editing, but...i like the foundation.

also this is a fanfic im writing for funsies <3 it does Not have to be perfect lol. it just has to be something im excited to read.

my favorite part of what i wrote today:

“Well, the slayground is right there.” King nods to the structures in front of them. “I, uh—used to play this game where I took over the slide and defended it against all the other kids who tried to go up or down. We could play that? Take turns defending and stealing.” They say, “I wanna be a Titan in the game.” “Okay.” King pauses, for a moment. “I’ll be you, then! We can swap. And!” He raises his voice. “If you aren’t fast enough, I’ll blast you! With stardust!” They giggle, “that’s what I say!” and make a running leap for the slide, scrambling up it on all-fours and grrring low like Titans can, pretending like that’ll make the world something a bit different. The whole town is still empty. There’s all these places without stardust ‘n they think stardust should be there, ‘cause it was once ‘n they thought that meant it’d come back one day. But for a little bit when they play the world is bright and golden with Titan-magic, with glyphs they trace out in dirt ‘n blast at King, but not so hard to make him go away, and stardust, too, that spills into the empty spaces, fills them up, and is King King King, like a blanket they wanna grab onto and never let go.

[0junemeatcleaver0]

okay so my brain apparently wants to focus solely on a shit post instead of outlining this fic, working on my novel, or finishing my substack post but here we go because my brain worms have decided to fixate on the boys playing with guns. cool.

𝖇𝖆𝖓𝖌 𝖇𝖆𝖓𝖌 𝖒𝖞 𝖇𝖆𝖇𝖞 𝖘𝖍𝖔𝖙 𝖒𝖊 𝖉𝖔𝖜𝖓

but i just keep picturing armand deciding his latest fixation is now guns. pistols, specifically, and he's got quite a lovely collection going on. he probably finds it really meditative to take them apart and restore them, the ones that are worse for wear.

and so there are just a bunch of fucking hand guns out on a table when lestat comes over. some are already restored, some are being worked on. armand has a thin sheen of blood sweat coating his forehead from sheer concentration alone--the goal is always, for him, to make the gun operable but not to damage it in any way and never accidentally strip any of the patina off, which can lower the value of the gun drastically.

they're fussing at each other. it's mostly playful and the funniest part about this whole debacle is that it's not even the worst fight they've ever had. it's not even ugly for the forms their spats take in the modern era.

but lestat, as always, is feeling cheeky and in mock offense scoops a gun off the table and aims it squarely at armand's chest--laughing at the momentary look of shocked outrage that crosses his face.

"knock it off, lestat." armand scowls, picking up one of his many small tools to resume work on the pistol currently in his hands.

"why? scared?" he's smiling but the truth is, he is the one that is scared. something happened when he picked up the pistol--his heart beginning to trip over itself. the last time he pointed a gun at something, it mattered, it meant something. he's not had much reason to point a gun at anything since his turning but some near-human part of him (or an echo of his former humanity) is screaming and thrashing like a beast inside of him.

"please." armand rolls his eyes, spitting the word out as though the thought of ever being scared of lestat is the stupidest thing he can imagine. he doesn't even have the decency to look up to mock him, just keeps running a small, soft bottle brush inside the barrel of the gun in his hand.

anger momentarily flares in lestat and he's shocked to find his finger tightening on the trigger a fraction before he eases off the pressure.

"i could, you know." lestat sniffs haughtily. "i could shoot you."

"oh, and what a tragedy that would be." armand sounds bored of him already. he's hold a gun on the little shit and he's bored. "please, sir," he mocks, voice dripping sarcasm, "don't kill me. i'm too young to die!"

they both flinch when the gun goes off in lestat's hand. and while he doesn't remember telling his brain to pull the trigger he does recall the split second decision he made to aim just over armand's shoulder--bullet colliding with something breakable behind him. lestat doesn't know what he's just atomized into a fine powder that hangs in the air but armand doesn't even seem to need to turn to figure it out, chair legs scraping loudly over the floor as he rises to his feet like a VHS skipping --and isn't that an old reference! one he doubts his son would understand. but don't worry, viktor, i'm full of outdated references that would boggle the mind--

logically he cannot work out which he's aware of first--the sound of the shot or the bullet connecting with his shoulder. do bullets travel faster than the speed of sound? modern ones certainly, but these hunks of rust?

"--my damned Yongzheng vase!" armand is saying when he tunes back into what's being screamed at him.

it ultimately doesn't matter--the shot won't kill him but it certainly hurts and so that's the only bit of the tirade he catches before his attention is squarely on his shoulder and the searing pain radiating out from it, down his bicep and into his back.

"would you rather i had hit you?" lestat hisses through his teeth. his senses are a heady mixture of hot pain, the coppery-sweet smell of his blood, and the sensation of his body starting to knit itself together.

"yes!" it's one of the most ridiculous things lestat has heard in a minute but the seriousness with which its said sets him off into a fit of laughter again--guffawing harder and the look of irritation on aramnd's face.

"fine!" he proclaims between giggles, "have this, then."

he's not truly aiming when he squeezes the trigger this time, just points it vaguely at armand's form and fires. it grazes his side, sliding between the barely-there hollow between ribs. lestat's not certain if the bullet has even had time to settle into the wall behind armand before he's being shot at again--this time the bullet connecting with his hip.

it's worse than before, his leg buckling so that he must catch himself on the table before him. the pain is bad enough but his heightened senses means he can acutely hear the bone chipping and splintering where armand's shot has caught his pelvis.

his vision is red, the roaring in his head drowning out whatever thoughts he's having. whether he thinks to shoot again is lost on even him, his brain only coming on line quick enough to watch a large red stain spread stickily over the torso of armand's shirt, hearing himself finish whatever he was saying with a resounding, "--my fucking hip!"

it happens too quickly--he thinks perhaps he's feeling that tingling under his skin that feels so much like a million ants marching to duty to weave together the fibers of his muscle, cement his bone back in place. or it is merely the sensation of blood leaking carelessly from his body, trickling over his skin. he doesn't have time to puzzle it out before the gun goes off in armand's hand again.

the last thing he feels before momentary night engulfs him is the sensation--and sound, my god the sound!--of his lower jaw cracking, the right side parting from his face entirely. the indignity of feeling his mandible swinging like a barn door in a storm, marring the perfect beauty of his face.

the next thing he knows, he's staring up into the disapproving face of marius, shoving his open wrist into the red-gape of writhing pain where lestat's mouth used to be.

[rockclimbinglover12107]

Unpopular OITNB opinions because I’m bored and procrastinating

I had little to no interest in Taystee and found her outright annoying at times. She was okay in the earlier seasons and my idea of her was that she was good character that I didn’t like due to personal preference. However, in the later season, I felt that she could be irritating, irrational and depressing in an unenjoyable way and that she got far too much screen time for what I considered to be a rather dull plot.

I find it hilarious when people try to complain about people on the show being mean or bad people. Like yes, that’s why 99% of them have landed themselves in prison. The funniest examples of this complaint are when people say that Lorna, someone who grew up Italian-American in New York, could sometimes say racist things or when Flaritza, two girls who probably couldn’t even legally drink before they went to prison and, in Maritza’s case at least, didn’t seem to have parents who cared for them, could sometimes be bitchy and immature. These comments are even funnier when whoever says this then goes on to say that they love Frieda, Carol and Barb.

In my personal opinion, Season 2 was the best season quality-wise but Season 4 was better when it came down to drama and entertainment. Season 3 was actually one of my favourites aside from Alex’s whole paranoid arc and I didn’t really mind the panty storyline. Season 1 was obviously good, if a little slow and boring at first. Season 5 shouldn’t have dragged on for so long, if they were only going to cover three days, although I probably would have enjoyed it if it hadn’t felt so absurd and weird compared to previous seasons. Season 7 was depressing trauma porn from start to finish and Season 6 was dreadful n every single way and a terrible conclusion for the riot.

I felt like the family dynamics became way less cohesive it’s the show progressed and people that had once gotten on perfectly well were suddenly at each other’s throats and vice versa. A good example of this was Spanish Harlem which went from a clearly outlined family where Aleida and Gloria acted as parents, Blanca was not a part of the group and the other four ( Maria, Daya, Maritza and Flaca ) pretty much did whatever Aleida said. Contrast this to Season 4/5 where Aleida leaves but Flaritza and Maria don’t seem to even notice, Gloria just let’s Maria have control over Harlem with no complaints whatsoever, Maria and Maritza seem to be at each other’s throats one second and back to there seemingly rather good Season 2/3 friendship the next, Blanca is suddenly an active member of the group and Gloria only cares about Daya. This faulty dynamic is true for all of the other groups as well, and never gets the chance to recover after they are sent to Max.

I didn’t like how some of the seriously traumatic stuff that happened to some of these characters, especially in Season 4, was never addressed by the show again and seemed to forgotten after the episode ended by both the writers and the character themself. You’re telling me that Maritza was creeped on, forced to eat a live animal, held at gunpoint and repeatedly harassed but she bounced back after throwing up like twice and hugging Flaca. In reality, she would probably take a long while to recover or feel truly comfortable in her own skin again, maybe even experiencing some PTSD, which could have been an interesting storyline to take her character down through Season 5, instead of relegating her back to comedy bits and pop culture references.

That’s all my opinions for now, although I will probably make a Part 2 for this post. Hope you agreed with at least one of my takes and that you don’t want to kill me for some of the things I said.

[stergeon]

HOW TO PLAY

Last updated 5/3/2024

What is this?

This is a collaborative story about Hubert von Vestra from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. The goal of the game is to help Hubert have a perfectly normal day without too much excitement or fanfare.

The story progresses based on the results of the poll at the end of each chapter. The gameplay is intended to emulate old text-based adventure games (and, yes, Homestuck).

Mostly, this is an excuse for me to draw silly stuff and make stupid websites.

---

What do I do?

Be Hubert.

Vote for the action you want Hubert to take.

????

Profit

---

OK but seriously how do you play this?

I'll draw a panel and write a post. The end of the post will contain a poll or other question to decide where the story goes next.

You can help direct the story by:

Voting in the poll

Providing a custom response in the post tags or replies

Asking for clarification or details via ask or by replying to the post, ex. in the replies on this post

In each post, words that appear in BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS have definitions in Hubert's JOURNAL. The first time a defined word appears in a post, it will link to the part in the journal where the definition appears. Any subsequent time the word appears in the post, it will only be BOLDED AND CAPITALIZED.

The post may also contain links to minigames I've made (ex. the coffee game) or to other pages on my website that are related to the game (ex. Hubert's inventory, aka his pocket). I don't intend to link to any other websites, but if I do end up linking to another site in the post, I'll give a heads up.

Depending on the choices made in the story, Hubert's mental state may be affected. You will want to keep that in mind when voting. Remember: YOU are Hubert. And you want to have a perfectly normal day.

---

How does voting work?

Options for Hubert to take will be listed in a poll at the end of each post. The poll duration will be one day. When the time has elapsed, Hubert will take the highest-voted action. I'll write/draw how it plays out, then post a new poll to choose the next action.

Polls will have a minimum of four options representing potential actions for Hubert to take. Three or more will be preset options, and the last will be an "Other/Write-In" option for a custom response.

---

How does the Other/Write-In/Something Else option work?

If you vote for Other in the poll, please provide the action you want Hubert to take by leaving a reply on the post or in the tags.

---

If the Other/Write-In/Something Else option wins, how will a response be selected?

I don't know yet! We'll find out together. Either I'll take the most common response, I'll pick one at random, or I'll just choose the one I think is funniest.

---

How will the story play out?

I have an outline for the story. To the best of my ability, I'm going to try and keep it on track, but I'm leaving most of it to the winds of chance. If things start to really get off-track, I may eliminate the write-in option and just give three preset choices, but here's hoping it doesn't come to that.

---

When does the game update?

The game will update after the current poll has expired and whenever I get around to drawing and writing the response. I'm making an attempt to turn things around in 24-48 hours after the poll ends, but who knows how long I'll keep that up.

Note that many of the pages for game mechanics, such as the JOURNAL and Mind Wasteland, are updated almost as often as new posts are made, depending on how the story plays out. You might want to keep an eye on those.

---

Something is broken/not working on one of the webpages.

UH-OH! That's not good!

If you run into any problems with the site(s), please refresh the page and, if it's still not working, check back in 5-10 minutes. I'm coding this like a lazy person (read: rawdogging it without version control—yeehaw!) so it's entirely possible that if something is busted, it's because I'm actively tinkering with the site.

If it stays busted for more than 5-10 minutes, or if you run into responsiveness or accessibility issues, please shoot me a DM or an ask and I'll try to get it fixed shortly. Your help is appreciated!

---

I have a question about the current poll options/a game mechanic.

Send me your question via a reply on the post or an ask and I'll get you an answer :0)

---

STORY DETAILS

What knowledge do I need going into this game?

The game is set just over two years after the end of Fire Emblem: Three House’s Crimson Flower route. Consider that route utterly spoiled.

There may be references to events that have happened in my post-war fanfic series, In the Days After. However, you don't need to have read the series to know what's going on in the game. Hubert will also keep notes on anything that is relevant in his journal and you can reference the information there.

(FYI: the journal, minigames, and related tools are not hosted on tumblr and are instead on my own website for formatting/organization purposes. I'll give a heads up if linking to any pages not on this blog or my own website.)

---

Does this include DLC or FEW: Three Hopes content?

Sorry, I’m a fake fan. I haven’t played Three Hopes or the FE3H DLC and have a child’s knowledge of what happens in either of those games. I’m sticking with my area of expertise.

---

What ships appear in this game?

It's my story and I'm gonna make it gay. As of, uhhh, right now, these are the confirmed ships:

Hubert / Ferdinand

Edelgard / F!Byleth

Dorothea / Petra

---

RESOURCES

Links

Beginning of the story

All posts up to this point

Tools and mechanics

The tools listed below are updated almost every time a new post is made, depending on how the story progresses.

Hubert's Journal

To-Do List

Mind Wasteland

Pocket

Games

Games probably won't get updated again unless I get a sudden burst of inspiration or if there's a bug. If there's a bug, please let me know via ask or emailing me at stergeonGeneral@gmail.com.

Dress-up

Make a cup of coffee

[thekuraning]

fic writing asks : 17 and 27, 28?

hope you’re doing well!! I’m just about to finally catch up with the latest chapter of moving on in a maelstrom (I haven’t checked my ao3 inbox for updates in a hot minute!!), thank you as ever for writing!

WASABI THANK YOU FOR SENDING im hanging in there i hope youre doing good too <3 and i hope you enjoy the latest chapter grelhbqughoeiqg

:') i talk a lot gomen

17. talk about your writing and editing process

so i'm definitely not the kind of person who sits down and outlines their story and all the plot points or does a ton of planning (kind of a bad habit probably!!) and mostly my fics comes from some broad concepts or ideas, vibes, or any sort of vivid scene I imagine up while im daydreaming on the way to work, and then I just kind of run with it. Actually I think from all the fics I've actually tried to follow an outline for in the past, only one has gotten past a handful of chapters (that would be Turning Point, which is shockingly complete!)

And like the scenes or vibes or ideas aren't always related to major plot points or anything either, they're just character moments and either a) do not need backstory to explain the situation, so they get to be a oneshot, or b) are VERY PARTICULAR about the backstory of the Scene and then they end up a full-fledged novella/novel/epic.

So like for example, I started on Maelstrom fic for a very specific scene with a very specific character--and you might expect it to be related to the main villain! Except I didn't even have a design for him until the day I sat down to write chapter 5 (which came to me in a caffeine-fueled fever dream) and wasn't even sure what his NEXT ability would be until chapter 8. Yeah he's the main antagonist. But this entire fic. This entire damn fic. Is a stepping stone. To a scene where Yuri is going insane under house arrest and Barnaby goes to visit him. And it's the funniest fucking thing in my head. Like I want to be so clear this is just an elaborate slide puzzle to a one-paragraph gag and I have no idea if the set-up is even worth it. But then once I get started writing things kind of start to fall into place like dominoes because I spend a lot of time overthinking the world building and the canon orz

Anyways as for editing uhhhh well!!! You have probably noticed!! I have SO MANY TYPOS IN MY CHAPTERS!!! My cat hears me say so many swears after chapters are posted :( I tend to be like constantly reading and rereading and editing... the first half of a chapter. The further I go the more excited I get to post! And the less I end up reading. So uhhh yeah if anyone ever goes back to read any fic I've ever posted EVER and you're like huh I don't remember that or huh I thought it was different yeah. yeah it was. I edited it 3 months later when I reread part and realized I had 15 typos, non-sequitors, and the worst sentence composition known to man OTL

27. your favorite part of the writing process

getting experimental with it! :') i like fucking around with imagery and description and pacing to try and see what kind of vibes i can squeeze out of something. actually i forget how long ago it was but i think my buddy isleofair sent an ask once where I went on a rant about what makes a slow burn a slow burn and ever since then I've REALLY wanted to try and write a slow burn that diagetically takes place in like. one or two hours. i have no idea how it would work but i think it would be really fun to try.

otherwise i think my favorite thing is like world building but through the little background details, like trying to squish in regional dialects or brands or in-universe entertainment franchises. I was really fucking proud of myself for Barnaby's Gatorade ad reel and his promotional coffee in Maelstrom lmfaooo or like getting so fucky with Proton's slang in my pokemon fics. Still trying to figure out how to write an entire oneshot about no one understanding what he means when he says "freezycaff."

28. your least favorite part of the writing process

>:( what do you MEAN I have to have a coherent plot!!! What do you MEAN I should probably plan to avoid plotholes!!! What do you MEAN i have to write through writer's block or take breaks when I burn out creatively!!!!! NO STOPPING ONLY VIBES ONLY GOOFS AND GAFFS!!! ONLY FICS!!!

On a more serious note. My least favorite part really is since I don't do a lot of planning beforehand :( sometimes all I got be them vibes, and getting from point a to point b can be like pulling teeth if I'm not like. manic. A lot of times I feel like I have a big picture with a lot of missing little pieces, and sometrimes I just can't figure out a satisfying way to get over it. Then the perma-hiatus hammer comes out UmU RIP in pepperonis dead fics from 2018.

Thank u again for sending!! <3

[mercurial-vroom]

Hi Meg!

I just finished binge reading GTG and hopped on straight here to yap about it.

I don't think I've EVER had this much fun reading any fic!!! The humour was, the EASTER EGGS from irl F1, the pace, the group dynamic and ofc CarCar!! You guys are absolute geniuses! The jokes during the group interactions were especially my favourite but nothing will beat the utter chaos of the gc when Lando outed CarCar. I had to legit stop reading to laugh at that one for at least a couple of minutes straight!!

And your Charles has got to be my most favourite Charles from ANY fic based in ANY universe!! Loved loved loveddddd his ditzy characterisation.

If you do actually end up writing more for this universe - which I hope you do - I sure hope you consider writing a gc interaction at some point. I would totally not mind the entire spin off or multiple chapters being solely in the chat format. You guys are hilarious, your humour is top notch and so is your writing so I'm sure you'd COOOOOK with it!! And I'd gobble it up!!

Okay that's enough rambling haha. Just, thank you for writing this beautiful fic and for sharing it with the CarCar fandom. We definitely need more CarCar enthusiasts like you to keep this ship sailing!

Wahhhh this is the absolute kindest ask I've ever gotten! Thank you so much!!! ❤️❤️❤️ We had just so so so much fun writing Grill the Grid, and it makes me immensely happy that people are getting even a fraction of the same joy and laughter out of reading it that we got from writing it.

And I am definitely planning to add more to the GTG-verse! At the risk of making promises I may not 100% deliver on, we already have a couple ideas that we're considering for little bonus oneshots or follow-ups (none are guaranteed to actually be written, but we're having lots of fun spitballing concepts):

An entirely groupchat-based spin-off, like you said! I wrote all the messaging bits in the original story, and they were so fun to do... the texts from the "CarCar get caught" scene in Ch 9 came out of me literally jolting awake at like 4am one day with them having popped into my head fully formed, and I had to frantically type them up in my notes app before I went back to sleep and forgot all about them.

Something Maxiel focused - Their developing background relationship was a really fun part of the story to write, so I've definitely been thinking about ways to make them the focus of a spin-off... either something going back into how their relationship came to be/what they really got up to at that holiday party, or maybe something in the future, like a fluffy little oneshot of Max helping Daniel come up with questions for a week he's not going to be there (including lots of couple-y bickering and subsequent makeup sex, ofc).

The Chaotic Adventures of Charles - My husband sent me this idea in the middle of a workday last week, and I can't stop laughing every time I think about it. 😭😭😭 The idea of Charles getting into Situations all day and then having a Slumdog Millionaire-esque sweep of trivia that night (to everyone else's immense surprise) based on the random things he learned is soooo funnysilly to me. He is allegedly drafting up an outline for me of this and was responsible for most of Charles's funniest lines/general aura in Grill the Grid, so we will see!

4. Galex? - I adored writing Galex's dynamics and would love to write a whole spinoff chapter that focuses on them, but I am stumped by the fact that I never actually decided whether they are together or just, like, intense platonic soulmates. So maybe that's something to be explored? Though I also don't want to ruin their intentional aura of mystery!

5. CarCar in Spain - I've thought a little "meeting the family" oneshot of Carlos and Oscar in Spain for the holidays could be fun... possibly alongside snippets of a trivia night back in Austin that goes very unsuccessfully without their presence, lol.

Anyway, for anyone who enjoyed Grill the Grid enough to read through this entire stream-of-consciousness text wall -- would love to hear what type of spin-offs you'd be most excited to see, or if there are other ideas or characters you think could be fun to explore!! ❤️

[sometimesraven]

any writing advice for someone writing their first novel? (*cough, cough, aka me*)

<3

Disclaimer: what works for me might not work for you, so feel free to take, twist and scrap whatever you need. I recommend asking/shopping around for ideas and other authors' processes, and it'll take some trial and error before you find what works best for you. But here's how I personally write.

Disclaimer disclaimer: this got real long while I was writing it and I realised how terrifying it must look to a first time writer. Take it step by step, at your own pace. It's not as scary as it looks xx

BEFORE YOU WRITE

(I'm going to be focusing on the story itself, but I'm sure it goes without saying that you should have your characters planned out first)

First things first: have a basic idea of the story beats. It doesn't have to be a Big Old Detailed Outline, just a basic compass to keep you going in the right direction so you're less likely to hit a roadblock. Personally I use the Plot Embryo! Here's my favourite video explaining it:

It's a nice simplified, easy to use tool for plotting. Here's a page from one of my journals breaking it down in a way I can personally come back to and understand:

hopefully you can read my shitty handwriting but I've put a little breakdown in the image description.

I then use these prompts to scribble down the basic idea of what journey I want my main character/s to go through, and use that as my blueprint for when I write.

WHILE WRITING

First things first: if you're like me, and seeing errors or plot holes in the stuff you've already written will bug you forever, do what I do and NEVER READ BACK OVER YOUR WORK WHILE IT'S STILL IN PROGRESS. Sometimes I have to skim back to remember where I am but as a rule, once something is written it's no longer my problem until the whole thing is done.

Don't worry about chapters and other such structure. I use the plot embryo to split things up so I know where I am, but otherwise chapters and scenes Do Not Exist until the editing process. Here's the "chapters" of a WIP as an example (this is a slightly different embryo adapted for romance but you get the idea)

Then just keep going until you're done. You don't even have to do it in order. If I'm stuck on a scene, I'll just put a big word in all caps that I can ctrl+f easily (usually either ELEPHANT or PENIS sklfsgskjf) and move on to the next bit I have ideas for, then come back to it later.

This first finished story will be bad. It'll be rough, patchy, full of holes. THAT'S OKAY. This is what we sometimes call the "Zero Draft". The draft that literally exists just to get the story out of your head to make the whole thing easier.

EDITING

Warning: editing is the longest, hardest part of writing a novel. Your book will go through several different versions, be scrapped and torn apart and put back together again. This is what makes the story great.

This is where every author differs, and there's a whole bunch of ways this can go. Personally, the first thing I do once the zero/first draft is done is put it down. Don't look at it, don't touch it, don't think about it. For at least a month. This allows you to come back to it with fresh eyes that haven't been staring at the same words for so long they just hate the whole thing regardless (and you WILL HATE IT. This is normal).

Then, the first thing I do is read back over the whole thing, adding notes and reactions as if I am a reader. If a part of what I've written makes me go 🥺🥺🥺, I'll write that down. If something could be worded better, I write that down. If you think a certain thing that you would put in the tags of a tumblr post, write it down. Treat it like you're someone else's beta reader, note down every negative, every positive, every ???? part. This will give you an idea of what is and isn't working. Here's some of my funniest notes from my zero draft of book 2 just to prove how literal I'm being here:

Then, and this is a controversial move that doesn't work for everyone but it works for my autistic adhd self-loathing brain: WRITE THE WHOLE THING AGAIN. FROM SCRATCH.

This sounds daunting and it is, but you've already written it once, so the second time is easier. Usually I don't worry about making this perfect because again, this is just another draft. I'll copy from my zero draft anything that I think is fine and write new bits or scrap bits as I go.

Sometimes, the story is fine. Sometimes this is an easy refining process. However, if you're anything like me, sometimes the whole thing is messy and you'll realise halfway through rewriting that the whole thing needs restructuring. Do not despair. This is normal.

I'm using book 2 of the Truth Saga as an example for this. I got 40k words into rewriting it before I realised that the reason it felt so 'off' was because the whole thing was sagging in the middle, characters were being left behind, and the whole thing needed restructuring.

It was a rough realisation, as Reckless Truth (book 1) was such a comparatively easy process. I only did three drafts and didn't have to restructure much. Book 2 is giving me so much grief and I'm gonna slap it when it's done.

If you hit this roadblock, it might be time to do what all mood writers hate. Detailed plotting. Go right back to basics. Write down every plot point in detail this time. Act like you're spoiling the whole entire story for someone. Have you ever watched a movie or book review where the reviewer does a full breakdown of the plot? Do that. In this you'll find out exactly where you're going wrong and be able to tweak and fix it. If you have more than one main character, I recommend doing a separate plot thing for each of them and one for the book as a whole so that you can make sure their emotional arc is getting the attention it deserves.

Then, when you're happy with the new plot you've written based on the draft of your story, go back and try to rewrite it again. If this sounds like a nightmare, it is. But it's worth the work, I promise.

From there it's a case of rinse and repeat, reread, rewrite, re-edit until you're mostly happy with what you've got. Then send it to beta readers and editors to tear apart even more and put it back together until you think it's ready! I also recommend joining some writing discords, watching streams or videos about writing, just research research research basically

Happy writing!

[hypnostheory]

WIP Weekend Tag Game

I got tagged by @kiwiana-writes , @gayflyboy, and @happiness-of-the-pursuit .

Rules: List your WIPs below (if you only write one fic at a time, feel free to include future WIPs/ideas!) then answer the following questions. Then, tag as many people as you have WIPs (or more). (If you're an artist or other non-fic fandom creator, questions can be found here!)

1. WIP List:

Okay so let’s put realistic WIP here (these are not in any particular order)

you don’t want to know me (needs a final chapter)

fell apart (in the usual way) - Bodyguard!Alex pt. 2

in a faith forgotten land (surprise)

secret moments in a crowded room (ThreesGiving)

sit there in this hurt (another surprise)

Whatever the piercer part 3 is going to be called

2. Which of your WIPs is currently the longest?

So you don’t want to know me is the only chapter fic of the bunch, so by default??? However, in a faith forgotten land is probably going to be a long one, and sit here in this hurt might end up being a two-parter.

3. Which WIP do you expect will end up the longest?

Same as the previous answer, it’s absolutely you don’t know me but I’m probably going to be most surprised by in a faith forgotten land or sit here in this hurt.

4. Which WIP is your favourite to write/the most enjoyable to write? Why?

I’m really enjoying secret moments in a crowded room because it’s funny, but I also like the blocking of fell apart (in the usual way).

5. Which WIP do you find the most intimidating to write? Why?

Definitely you don’t know me, just because it’s the follow up to my most popular work and a lot of people have opinions on it.

6. Which WIP do you experience the most self-doubt about. Why?

I stare at the outline of in a faith forgotten land every day. It’s very ambitious (read: overly complicated).

7. Which of your WIPs will you seek out a beta/sensitivity reader for? Why?

Everything I read goes through my partner. They check my dialogue and fact check, and they’re also good at fixing areas I’m stuck on.

8. Have any of your WIPs been struck by the curse of writer's block?

Name one that ain’t.

9. Which WIP has your favourite OC? Tell us about them?

Don’t really do OCs, I try to traffic in cannon characters and only use an OC if I have to. Alex has a pretty fun secretary for in a faith forgotten land, but that’s about it.

10. Which WIP is the sexiest?

That’s like asking which clown drives the car, they’re all porn lol. I personally like all the shit happening in fell apart because Bodyguard!Alex is just inherently hot but secret moments is gonna have some spice.

11. Which WIP is the angstiest?

Either you don’t want to know me or sit there in this hurt.

12. Which WIP has the best characterisation (in your humble opinion)?

Secret moments, but my partner says piercer part three.

13. Which WIP has the best scene setting (in your humble opinion)?

Probably secret moments, but I do like the scene setting for in a faith forgotten land.

14. Which WIP have you worked the hardest on?

Research wise, it’s you don’t want to know me or faith forgotten. Writing wise, probably fell apart because I’ve been picking at it for weeks.

15. Which WIP do you have the highest expectations for? Why?

Well you don’t want to know me has to close out the series, so that’s pretty high. I think secret moments is going to be great, it’s really building on a character that doesn’t get a lot of love. And my partner will riot if piercer part three isn’t good lol.

16. Do you dream about any of your WIPs?

That would imply I sleep.

17. Do any of your WIPs have particular complexities that your other fics don't?

So like, writing chronic pain is very complex and the emotions involved are also very hard, which makes you don’t know me difficult. It’s also intensely autobiographical, so there’s a lot of layers. (Which is why updating it has taken so long, sorry lol)

18. Which WIP is the funniest or has the most humour?

Absolutely secret moments, that’s half a comedy and half a smut fic.

19. Do any of your WIPs contain outside POVs or a deep dive on a character other than the main ship? How are you finding that process?

you don’t want to know me had one from June. There’s going to be a deep dive in secret moments on a side character. I think it’s interesting to go outside the main ship, especially for minor characters. I’m a background bitch stan.

20. Tell us one thing we don't know about one or more of your WIPs.

Hmm I blab constantly but in secret moments I’m basing a characters personality on Elliot from Chambers, so there’s that.

I’m not going to be tagging as many people as I have WIPs because I have a lot, but I can for sure tag @futureseaempress and @affectionatelyrs 💖

[tyrantchimera]

Tagged by @shreedle

Row 1:

That's "has" a FF.net account, not "had"

Had a wattpad account, didn't post much I was just taking the username

Have an AO3 account and regularly try yo support the site (though I tried to get a gift once and it never showed up...)

Definitely roleplaysd, never finished anything.

Row 2:

A absolutely used to beta, and not just for friends. I still do on rare occasion but I'm not fast at it anymore.

Don't know if I've published a fully unbeta'd fic but I've definitely rushed a oneshot here or there.

Tried to leave kudos on something I already kudos'd before. Didn't work but "A for effort" lol

Row 3:

The middle is self explanatory. Just look at all the marvel recreations or altered/adapted Shakespeare plays. They just offical AUs.

Multifandom writer indeed. Just look at my pages lol.

Don't always love it, but will often research as needed (ie how children of young ages act or react to traumas for "Finders Keepers". Mind you it was very light research)

Row 4:

I often write a plot outline before any major fic, or just to write down an idea before I forget it. This is the funniest part for me and often the fics don't make it past this part. I like having multiple scenarios and playing connect-the-dots with them. Critical thinking excercises are fun.

I am a feedback whore. Gimme all the validation.

I have done art trades or received fanart, but don't recall having commissioned any.

...too many WIPs and abandoned outlines. Way too many. I don't have the levels of energy or motivation that I used to. Yay Depression...

Editing/formatting is something I do A LOT. The average chapter may get 3-4 re-read and edits before posting minimum before it goes up. And I still miss things XP

Row 5:

I have learned that if I have an idea at 2am or whatever, I have to write it down. Immediately. Or I'll forget and be mad about it.

I am an attention seeker and I want all the attention for all my fics. But especially my Megaman ZX fics, or "Finders Keepers". This fandom needs more live, it's basically undead.

I have a few WIP original books, but as mentioned earlier, my motivation is critically low. And I seem unable to get at all excited about my own characters. It's a problem.

Fandoms I write/have written for:

Megaman Zero, Megaman ZX, Final Fantasy VII, Nefarious, Owlboy, Metroid/Halo, Legend of Zelda, Holliw Knight, A Hat in Time, and so on. Mostly derivatives or derivatives or relative fandoms.

Feel free to do this if you'd like but I'm not up for tagging anyone.

[writingwintermoon]

Fennec.

Fennec Shand is handsome, clever, and rich, and rules the town of Mos Espa alongside her best friend, the Daimyo Boba Fett. Since consolidating their control of the sector, there has been little to distress or vex them.

Fennec-Emma AU, featuring Boba/Fennec, Jo/Drash, Din/Cobb, some slight Fennec/Bo-Katan, and implied Bo/Koska but now that I have the Nitearmor bug that may be included too 🤭 this is just an outline but these are two of my favorite things, Star Wars and Jane Austen lol

I highly encourage anyone who has not yet seen Emma. (2020) starring Anya Taylor-Joy to witness its excellence.

- (This is all because I accidentally put “I’ll dance with you, if you’ll have me” in another fic lmao)

- Fennec as Emma

- Boba as Mr. Knightley

- (they’re kind of both Emma and both Mr. Knightley, and also both kind of Mr. Woodhouse) (Boba moreso though)

- The people of Mos Espa are the broad concept of Mr. Woodhouse? Somehow.

- The Majordomo as Bartholomew the long-suffering manservant?

- Din as Harriet (Because he is The New Girl, & kind of also Jane Fairfax, because he is also Mysterious and That Bitch)

- Cobb as Robert Martin (he already is kind of Boba’s tenant farmer)

- Taanti as Mrs. Martin Senior

- The Tuskens who helped with the Kryat dragon as the Martin sisters

- the Armorer would be Mrs. Goddard…

- Paz as one of the schoolgirls (lmao)

- Drash and Jo as Miss Taylor and “Ms.” Weston

- Boba gives Drash away at the wedding and is beside himself with joy

- though he does do a bit of "poor Miss Taylor"-ing about how Drash is moving to Freetown

- Din asks, “Who cried most?” (it was Taanti)

- (Din wasn't there bc he had to go get the Armorer and Paz) (and I guess Ragnar’s there too)

- Peli as Miss Bates

- (and R5 as Mrs. Bates)

- (I’m thinking like the 2020 version where Mrs. Bates doesn’t talk at all until the very end and then won’t shut up)

- The other gotras would be the Coles etc

- The Modifier as Dr. Perry

- DENGAR AND MANAROO AS JOHN AND ISABELLA

- We can probably throw Bossk in there for no good reason for the Christmas Life Day dinner scene

- Highbury is Tatooine broadly/Mos Espa specifically

- The Palace is Donwell Abbey ... and also Hartfield

- The Parish is like, the abstract concept of (Bo-Katan's version of) the Mandalorian Way

- Brighton (or is it Bath he goes to??) is Mandalore?

- London is Coruscant ofc

- The Churchills’ estates are the abstract concept of the Jedi order

- Ford��s would be Garsa’s sanctuary

- BO-KATAN WOULD BE MR. ELTON (broadly)

- The portrait would instead be Bo-Katan suggesting to Din (& maybe Boba’s there too) that they make Fennec a cuirasse & new helmet (not of beskar, but at least in the Mandalorian style)

- Carriage scene, “I was flirting with Din for political reasons, for the darksaber! I was trying to get you to like me to get close to Boba! I don’t care about any of you, I only care about Mandalore!”

- All her other Mando gang would be Mrs. Elton, being kind of annoying and disrespectful & weirdly familiar to Mr. Knightley but also the best/funniest part of the whole thing

- Luke would also be both Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill… Because he is Also Mysterious and That Bitch

- All the secret Jane Fairfax shit is Luke keeping all the Jedi stuff/his Skywalker backstory kind of secret

- Leia and Han as Miss Campbell and Mr. Dixon!

- the seaside incident = the Sarlacc incident???

- (I mean Han has saved Luke’s ass so many times—“that’s two you owe me, junior”)

- Luke letting Grogu go back to Din would be the pianoforte…

- GROGU IS THE PIANOFORTE

- Everyone (at least Bo-Katan) assumes it’s some kind of rescue mission or ultimatum by Boba but no, Luke let Grogu choose

- Luke did Din a great service!! (rescuing Grogu!!) (LIKE FRANK & HARRIET AND THE TRAVELERS)

- this situation would be the Travelers Incident (=> The Pity Dance) = Hearing Grogu's Call (=> Letting Grogu Choose)

- And then Boba (Mr. Knightley) can get over his dislike of Luke (Frank Churchill) since he helped Din (& Grogu) (Harriet)!!!

- any flirting with Fennec would be all Luke "I'm pure sunshine, charming naturally" Skywalker

- we shall have our ball indeed...

- Mr. Knightley sending his carriage would be Boba going to personally pick up Din, Cobb, Drash, & Jo from Freetown for their little event...

- Still need to include the Mr. Knightley singing with Jane scene

- ....but would this be Luke or Din as Jane?? 😱 THIS WOULD BE DIN, THEY'D BE SINGING A MANDO SONG

- AND BO-KATAN WOULD BE LIKE 😡 that should be me...

- The Strawberry picking outing at Donwell Abbey would be some kind of Mandalorian holiday…

- Boba just hangs out with Din the whole time, ignoring Bo-Katan, who is trying to set Din up as a governess/journeyman for her kind of Mandalorian (maybe even to help take care of foundlings??) so she’s heated

- Luke arrives late and is like 🤷‍♀️ I’m not a Mando, guess I'll leave

- Fennec is like, I’m not either, but Boba invited you to show favor to Grogu & by extension Din

- (He wanted to sit down with Din & Bo-Katan & Boba and explain about Tarre Vizsla, how Grogu can walk the way of the Mandalore while still following Jedi teachings, but the vibes are atrocious)

- He says, when I am missed… tell the others

- Fennec is like, okay fine, leave then

- Luke is like [shocked Pikachu face]

- Box Hill as a pod race instead???

- Fennec says something [unintentionally] nasty to Peli about how junk can still win

- It’s only funny when Peli says that herself…

- Of course Din takes Peli's side, so Cobb does too

- Even the Mods are like, be careful what you call junk...

- Badly done, Fennec!

- she sulks in the tower...

- Boba cheers Peli up by lettering her work on his “antique” (he grits his teeth when he says it ... but for real that ship has been around for a while lol)

That’s all I have for now, but I’ve been stewing on this for like a year.

@daimyosprincess @pickleprickle I feel like we are feeling the same wavelength here!

[alisheaburgess]

Korean Birthday Flower -Saffron/Crocus

So...

I have recently found the Korean Birthday Flowers again (I often find things before I'll need them and then go back)

This time around I have more information that really helped me see and understand the info a bit better.

Whether or not you take this seriously, I couldn't help get into it.

I was born on September 21st and my flower is Saffron/Crocus (sometimes listed as Autumn Crocus, Fall-Blooming Crocus, or even Meadow Crocus...which isn't even a Crocus...)

It was a bit confusing, to be honest. I like straight forward answers and this for sure wasn't one. But in the end I can see how all of that actually made it more relevant to my story.

The part that stays the same for all the listings though is the saying that goes along with the flower:

"Youth without Regret"

Mhm, sure...

They are supposed to be joyful little flowers that bloom in the Spring! Except, September is the fall... My birthday is specifically the last day before Autumn starts. And all the ones listed are fall blooming, not winter, not spring!

So I looked a little further (too much further, perhaps).

I was already getting far too into Greek mythology and was ecstatic to learn that Crocus had a myth there.

Like all flowers in these myths...it was about death lol so lovely and flowery XD

This particular story was that Hermes accidently killed him (Crocus) with a discus (a lot of that going around in ancient Greece...). So he got turned into a flower. This is one of the few stories where nobody was trying anything sneaky... I appreciate that. No jealousy, just a bad throw. Which is a bit more hilarious when I realized that one of my worst fears is for people to get hurt doing something stupid. Yikes...

Hermes was a GOD yall. If he can accidently kill people...nobody is safe...

There is obviously was more to the flower, it's meaning, and my story unfolding while I looked into it. This was just the funniest part to me.

The flower language seems to mostly be about love (platonic or other) and the myths that I have found of people turning into flowers is from love-tastophies... They didn't end well so they get turned into a flower. Yikes...

I figure this means that maybe we have some lessons packed away in our little flowers. I certainly saw my story in my flower like I haven't in any other flower. The layers!!! It also HIGHLY depends and involves what you think love is. Lot's of thoughts for sure.

"Youth without Regret" meant nothing to me at first, it may even have upset me... When I got further into it though, I do agree.

Saffron and Crocus in general have so many mythologies and cultural uses that I could write a post about each one for maybe forever (at least a week). Not even counting the Meadow Crocus which again isn't a crocus at all. They all show up in my story in some bizarre ways that make me giggle and wanna keep reading... it's like a reverse book. It's my story and I have to go find it, but I'll know it when I get it.

It's been fun so far 😊

I think I'm going to write about the different parts of the journey. I'm not sure where I will start. It'll probably be whichever part upsets the most that I need to figure out lol

I did so much in just like 3 days.

I created a deck with each piece meaning something.

I purged an extraordinary amount of baggage that wasn't mine (some call it 'Tea' lol

I even outlined a little story for the flower hehe

and so, so much research 😂Just because

Anybody else know their flower? Especially if you went full deep dive 😅😂

[thedeadhandofseldon]

The Anti-Mercer Effect

On the Accessibility of D&D, Why Unprepared Casters is so Fun, and Why Haley Whipjack is possibly the greatest DM of our generation.

(Apologies to my mutuals who aren’t in this fandom for the length of this, but as you all know I have never in my life shut up about anything so… we’ll call it even for the number of posts about Destiel I see every day.

To fellow UC fans - I haven’t listened to arc 4 yet, I started drafting this in early August, and I promise I will write a nice post about how great Gus the Bard is once I get the chance to listen to more of his DMing).

Structure - Or, “This is not the finale, there will be more podding cast”

So, first of all, let’s just talk about how Unprepared Casters works. Because it’s kind of unusual! Most of the other big-name D&D podcasts favor this long, grand arcs; UC has about 10 hours of podcast per each arc. And that’s a major strength in a lot of ways: it makes it really accessible to new listeners, because you can just start with the current arc and understand what’s going on!

And by starting new arcs every six or seven episodes, they can explore lots of ways to play D&D! Classic dungeon delve arc! Heist arc! Epic heroes save the world arc! Sportsball arc! They can touch on all sorts of things!

And while I’m talking about that: Dragons in Dungeons, the first arc, makes it incredibly accessible as a show - because it lets the unfamiliar listener get a sense of what D&D actually is. (It’s about telling stories and making your friends feel heroic and laugh and cry, for the record). If I had to pick a way to introduce someone to the game without actually playing it with them, that arc would definitely be it.

And I’d be remise not to note one very important thing: Haley Whipjack and Gus the Bard are just very funny, very charismatic people. Look. Episode 0s tend to be about 50%(?) those two just talking to each other about their own podcast. It shouldn’t work. And yet it DOES, its one of my favorite parts, because Haley and Gus are just cool.

And a side note that doesn’t fit anywhere else: I throw my soul at him! I throw a scone at him - that’s it, that’s the vibe. The whole podcast alternates between laughing with your friends and brooding alone in a dark tavern corner - but the laughs never forced and the dark corner is never too dark for too long.

Whipjack the Great - Or, the DM is Also a Player!

I think Haley Whipjack is one of the greatest Dungeon Masters alive. The plots and characters! The mechanical shenanigans! The descriptions!

Actually, let’s start there: with the descriptions. (Both Haley and Gus do this really fucking well). As we know, Episode 0 of each arc sees the DM reading a description - of a small town, or the Up North, or the recent history of a great party. And Haley always strikes this tricky balance - one I think a lot of us who DM struggle with - between giving too much description and  worldbuilding, and not telling us anything at all. She describes people and events in just enough detail to imagine them, but never so much they seem static and unreal - just clear enough to envision, but with enough vagueness left to let your imagination begin to run wild.

While I’m thinking about arc 3’s party, let’s talk about a really bold move she made in that arc: letting the players have ongoing control of their history. Loser Lars! She didn’t try to spell out every detail of this high-level party’s history, or restrict their past to only what she decided to allow - she gave them the broad outlines, and let them embellish it. And that made for a much more alive story than any attempt to create it by herself would have - but I think it takes a lot of courage to let your players have that agency. Most Dungeon Masters (myself included) tend to struggle with being control freaks.

And the plots! Yeah, arc one is built of classic tropes - but she actually uses them, she doesn’t get caught up in subverting everything or laughing at the cliches. And it’s fun! In arc 3, there really isn’t a straight line for the players to follow, either - which makes the game much more interesting and much trickier to run. And her NPCs are fantastic and I will talk about them in the next section.

Above all, though, I think what is really impressive is how Haley balances mechanics, and rules as written, with the narrative and rule of cool - and puts both rules and story in the service of playing a fun game. And the secret to that? She’s the DM, but the DM is a player, and the DM is clearly having fun. Hope Lovejoy mechanically shouldn’t get that spellslot back, but she does, and it’s fun. The changeling merchant in Thymore doesn’t really make some Grand Artistic Narrative better, but wow is it fun. And she never tries to force it one way or the other - the story might be more dramatic if Annie didn’t manage to banish the demon from the vault, but it’s a lot cooler and a lot more fun for the players if Annie gets to be a badass instead - and the rules and the dice say that Annie managed it.

Settings feel like places, NPCs feel like people, and the narrative plot feels like a real villainous plot.

Anyway. I could go on about the various ways in which Whipjack is awesome for quite a while - she’s right, first place in D&D is when your friends laugh and super first place is when they cry - but I’m going to stop here and just. Make another post about it some other time. For now, for the record I hold her opinions about the game in higher esteem than I do several official sourcebooks; that is all.

Characters - Or, Bombyx Mori Is Not an Asshole, And That Matters

Okay, I said I would talk about characters! And I will!

Just a general place to start: the party! All of the first three parties are interesting to me, because they all care about each other. Not even necessarily in a Found Family Trope sort of way, though often that too. But they generally aren’t assholes to each other. The players create characters that actually work together, that are interesting; even when there’s internal divisions like SK-73 v. Sir Mr. Person, they aren’t just unpleasant and antagonistic all the time. Listening to the podcast, we’re “with” these people for a couple hours - and it isn’t unpleasant. That matters a lot. (To take a counter-example: I love Critical Role, but the episode when Vox Machina pranked Scanlan after he died and was resurrected wasn’t fun to listen to, it was just uncomfortable and angering and vaguely cruel).

All of the PCs are amazing, and the players in each arc did a great job. If you disagree with me about that, well, you have the right to be incorrect and I am sorry for your loss. Annie Wintersummer, for one example: tragic and sad and I want to give her a hug, but also Fuck Yeah Wintersummer, and also her familiar Charles the Owl is the cutest and funniest and I love him. And we understand what’s going on with Annie, she isn’t some infinite pool of hidden depths because this arc is 7 episodes and we don’t have time for that, but she also has enough complexity to be interesting. Same with Fey Moss: yeah, a lot of her is a silly pun about fame that carries into how she behaves, but a lot of how she behaves is also down to some good classic half-elven angst about parenthood and wanting to be known and seen and important. (Side note: if your half-elf character doesn’t have angst, well, that’s impressive and also I don’t think I believe you).

There are multiple lesbian cat-people in a 4-person party and they both have requited romantic interests who aren’t each other. This is the future liberals want and I am glad for it.

Sir Mister Person, the human fighter! Thavius, the edge lord! Even when a character is “simple,” they’re interesting, because of how they’re played as people and not action-figures. And that matters a lot.

In the same way: the NPCs. There really aren’t a lot of them! And some of them come from Patreon submissions, so uh good work gang, you’re part of the awesomeness and I’m proud of you! The point being, the NPCs work because enough of them are interesting to matter. It’s not just a servant who opens Count Michael’s door, it’s a character with a name (Oleandra!) and a personality and history. They’re interesting. Penny Lovejoy didn’t need to be interesting, the merchant outside the Laughing Mausoleum didn’t need to be interesting, but they ARE! And Haley and Gus EXCEL at making the NPCs matter, not just to the story but to us as viewers. I agree with Sir Mister Person, actually, I would die for the princesses of the kingdom. I actually care about Gem Lovejoy of all people - that wouldn’t happen in an ordinary campaign! That’s the thing that makes Unprepared Casters spectacular - and, frankly, it’s especially impressive because D&D does not tend to be good at making a lot of interesting compared to a lot of other sorts of stories.

And, just as an exemplar of all this: Bombyx Mori. Immortal, reincarnating(?), and described as the incarnation of the player’s ADHD. I expected to hate Bombyx, because as the mom friend both in and out of my friend-group’s campaigns, the chaos-causer is always exhausting to me. And yeah, Bombyx causes problems on purpose! But! She is not an asshole.

And that’s important. Bombyx goes and sits with the queen and comforts her. Bombyx gives Annie emotional support. Bombyx isn’t just a vehicle to jerk around the DM and other players; Bombyx really is a character we can care about. To compare with another case - in the first couple episodes of The Adventure Zone, the PCs are just dicks. Funny, but dicks. Bombyx holds out an arm “covered in larva” to shake with a count, and robs him of magical items, but she also cares about her friends and other people! She uses a powerful magical gem to save her fertilizer guy from death! Yeah, Bombyx is ridiculous, but she’s not just an asshole the party has to keep around for plot reasons; you can see why her party would keep her around. And one layer of meta up, she’s the perfect example of how to make a chaotic character like that while still being fun for everyone you’re playing with, which is often not the case. And I love her.

The Anti-Mercer Effect - Or, “I think we proved it can be fun, you can have a good time with your friends. And it doesn’t have to be scary, you can just work with what you know”

The Mercer Effect basically constitutes this: Matthew Mercer, Dungeon Master of Critical Role, is incredible (as are all of his players). They’re all professional story-tellers in a way, remember, and so Critical Role treats D&D like a narrative art-form, and it’s inspiring. Seeing that on Critical Role sets impossible standards - and people go into their own home games imagining that their campaigns will be like Critical Role, and the burden of that expectation tends to fall disproportionately on the DM. And the end result, I think, of the Mercer Effect is that we get discouraged or intimidated, because our game isn’t “as good as” theirs. (And I should note - Matt certainly doesn’t want that to be our reaction).

So the Anti-Mercer Effect is two things: it’s D&D treated like a game, and it’s inspiring but not intimidating. And Unprepared Casters manages both of those really freaking well. Because they play it like a game! A UC arc looks just like a good campaign in anyone’s home game. They have the vibes of 20-somethings and college students playing D&D for fun because that’s who they are (as a 20-something college student who plays a lot of D&D, watching it felt like watching my friends play an especially good campaign). They’re trying to tell a good story, sure, and they always do. But first and foremost, they’re trying to have fun, and it shows, and I love the UC cast for it.

And that’s the other half of it: it’s inspiring! It’s approachable; you can see that Haley and Gus put plenty of work into preparing the game but it also doesn’t make you feel like you need hundreds of pages of worldbuilding to run a game. Sometimes a cleric makes Haley cry and she gives them back a spell-slot from their deity! That’s fantastic! It’s just inspiring - listening to this over the summer, when my last campaign had fallen apart under the strain of graduation, is why I decided to plan and run my new one!

That quote from Haley Whipjack that I used as the title for this section? That’s the whole core of this idea, and really, I think, the core of the podcast.

The Mercer Effect is when you go “that’s really cool, I could never do that.” But Unprepared Casters makes you look at D&D and go “wow, that looks really fun. I bet I can do that!” And I love the show for it.

And I bet a lot of you do too.

[melatovnik]

ok ur top faves wangxian fics go

hey yati! 🥰️

alright, so first things first, here’s a big wangxian fic rec list i made a while ago, if you wanna check that one out too! consider the list below part 2. these are all my faves so far since my last rec list (as you'll quickly see, i have a LOT of faves).

and just a fyi/psa/disclaimer for anyone reading this: some of these fics have disturbing themes and/or kinky/freaky sex! make sure to check the authors’ tags and notes before reading. also, much like my first rec list, there’s going to be a mix of mdzs and cql canon, characterizations, dynamics, etc., so bear that in mind.

....ok GO

live from new york by varnes | rated E | 87K words | THE snl au fic!!!! yes, by snl i mean saturday night live. this is perhaps the best and funniest story i've ever read, period. varnes is a fucking genius. read this fic.

Wei Ying lets out a long, ugly groan. “I am fine, Lan Zhan. Everybody is overreacting, it’s so embarrassing for all of you.”

“You had undiagnosed pneumonia, which you walked around with for weeks until you passed out during dress,” Lan Wangji corrects him. “It got a big laugh, until everyone thought you were dead.”

He keeps his voice even and does not tell Wei Ying that it had been Lan Wangji who caught him, who called the ambulance, and who rode with him to the hospital, where he was yelled at by nurses who wanted to know why he hadn’t noticed that Wei Ying couldn’t stop shivering or string proper sentences together.

“Rumors of my demise have been vastly overstated,” Wei Ying says. “Anyway, I’m already feeling much better. Basically fine. Really almost completely back to normal, so stop babying me and tell me why the fuck you let your stupid brother hire the worst man in the world to host our show.”

-

OR: the one where they all work at SNL, Yanli's ex-boyfriend is hosting, and that's just the beginning of everybody's problems.

swiss cheese theory by varnes | rated M | 19K words | sequel to snl au fic!!!!!! another must-read.

The Swiss Cheese model of accident causation likens human system defences to a series of slices of randomly-holed Swiss Cheese arranged vertically and parallel to each other with gaps in-between each slice. Defences against failure are modelled as a series of barriers, represented as slices of the cheese. The holes in the cheese slices represent individual weaknesses in individual parts of the system. The system as a whole produces failures when holes in all of the slices momentarily align, permitting "a trajectory of accident opportunity," so that a hazard passes through holes in all of the defences, leading to an accident.

OR: Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian go to the courthouse.

OR: “Sweethearts,” the city clerk had said, very gently, “you’re already married.”

best friends forever by varnes | rated T | 17K words | alright, so like, strictly speaking, wangxian isn't the focus of this fic, BUT. this fic is so good!! it is seriously so good, and it made me fall in love with jin ling/lan jingyi. also, it's varnes, so read it!

It happened like this: Jin Ling was a sect leader now, which was, and Jingyi really meant this, fucking hilarious. There were few things funnier, in his honest opinion.

Because he was young, and inexperienced, and also — it had to be said — a real shithead, there was apparently some belief amongst his advisors that the best way forward, to promote the picture of a stable, mature sect leader who absolutely did not cry at the drop of a hat, was for Jin Ling to get married.

-

OR: Jin Ling and Jingyi get engaged.

Things spiral from there.

For a Good Time, Call by ScarlettStorm | rated E | 171K words

The picture is of Wei Ying, that much is clear. It’s of a lot more of Wei Ying than Lan Zhan is used to seeing. He supposes that, technically, Wei Ying is dressed. It’s a bare technicality, since one of Wei Ying’s hands has rucked up his black tank top practically to his collarbone, showing a long expanse of abdomen and one nipple. Sweat beads on his sternum, catching the light like jewels. His other hand is--Lan Zhan feels his eyes widen, as though unable to look away from a train wreck--on his hip, one thumb tugging down the waistband of a pair of red briefs. Wei Ying is biting his lower lip and looking directly into the camera, sultry, his eyes dark and inviting. His erection is obvious, outlined against the red of the briefs and framed carefully with the hand on his hip. Lan Zhan’s brain goes wildly, screamingly blank.

Or: Lan Zhan accidentally finds his best friend's OnlyFans account and has an ongoing emotional crisis.

love, in fire and blood by cicer | rated E | 360K words | i actually haven't finished this one since i was reading it when it was a WIP, i need to reread it and catch up fjdskl;fjsd, but i love it very much!!!!!! oh my god he wanted to look nice for his husband..... 🙃 [screams with mouth closed]

"You want Wen Ruohan dead," the Patriarch continued idly. "You want his corpse puppets eliminated. You want his halls burned to the ground and his soldiers disemboweled and begging for mercy. Have I about covered it?"

He gave another knife-edged smile.

"But what will you give me in return?"

"We would be willing to offer quite a bit in return for Wen Ruohan's defeat," Lan Xichen admitted. "But I'm afraid we don't know what an immortal such as yourself desires. Please advise us."

The Patriarch waved at hand at the front of the tent. "I want Second Young Master Lan."

(In which the Sunshot Campaign ends through an arranged marriage to the Yiling Patriarch, and Lan Wangji suffers the mortifying ordeal of falling in love with his own husband.)

how to fall in love with a catfish: a guide by wei wuxian (disaster rat) by bwyn & Yuisaki | rated T | 55K words

A new plan hatches in Wei Wuxian’s head. If this nocturnal, bottom-feeding, slimy, invasive mudcat posing as a beautiful actor thinks he can sway Wei Wuxian with animal pictures and a sob story and an unbelievably stilted way of texting with still no dick pictures in the first five minutes of conversation, he has another thing coming. Wei Wuxian’s got it, alright, he has this in the fucking bag.

~

Wei Wuxian plots to expose a catfish using strategic memes and turtle pictures while wiggling his way out of family dinner. Lan Wangji just wants companions.

there’s no promised goodbye here by Yuisaki | rated T | 54K words

Jiang Cheng stares at him. “Didn’t you say you broke up five months ago?”

“Yeah.”

“So why do you have a picture of you two kissing taped to your fridge?”

“Because we’re too broke for magnets,” Wei Wuxian explains, then considers that statement. “Well, I’m too broke for magnets. Lan Zhan probably refuses to buy them because he’s trying to have lofty ideas about the moral failings of materialism.”

~

Wei Wuxian navigates the trials of living with his ex-boyfriend in apartment 1301.

paint smears on sunny days by SnowshadowAO3 | rated E | 54K words

To say that he runs to his car would be incorrect, as he is a Lan, and running is both undignified and unnecessary unless in immediate danger. Nor does he slam his key into the ignition, or aggressively swerve around the cars on the freeway, or have a mild panic attack at the fact he is picking A-Yuan up late from school for the first time ever.

He comes close, though.

By the time he arrives, it’s 4:35PM, and he has imagined about fifty different worse-case scenarios. The door is partly open when he gets to it, a messy label of 104B—Art Room scrawled with chalk on a placard next to the faded wood. As he opens it fully, he expects to see a wailing, terrified child, or perhaps a scene of utter misery and betrayal.

What he finds is his son, hands covered in paint, being sung to by a beautiful, dark-haired stranger.

“Ducks live in the pond, yellow ducks, happy ducks!”

Lan Wangji stops in his tracks.

(Or: Falling in love with your son’s art teacher, in five parts)

a paper friend by sunzu | rated G | 5K words

Lan Wangji finds a paperman far from its body and helps get it home.

-Or-

Lan Wangji unknowingly meets Wei Wuxian for the first time.

All Caught Up by brooklinegirl | rated E | 37K words

"Betrothed," Wei Ying says indignantly.

Lan Wangji can't stop his gaze from darting up to him. Wei Ying understands. Wei Ying is looking at him, wide-eyed and upset on his behalf.

"And you don't even like her," Wei Ying says.

"I don't even know her," Lan Wangji says quietly.

"But even if you did—" Wei Ying starts.

"I wouldn't want this," Lan Wangji finishes.

Lead Me On Through by mrsronweasley | rated E | 55K words | oh look another canon-era practice kissing fic fjdskfl;ds

"Who do you think your betrothed is?" Wei Wuxian asks, sprawling out in front of Lan Zhan and enjoying the prim thinning of his lips at the question. He shouldn't be sprawling—they're in the library, for one, and Lan Zhan is studying, for another—but he can't help himself. Wei Wuxian is a sprawler.

"I do not believe this to be of importance," Lan Zhan responds, without turning his gaze away from his book.

"What!" Wei Wuxian sits up. "How can you say that? Of course it's important! This is the person you'll be with for the rest of your life, Lan Zhan."

I Started From the Bottom/And Now I'm Rich by x_los | rated E | 58K words | ok so i know that in my spiel above i said to mind the tags, etc., but actually pay no mind to the first two relationship tags for this fic. i PROMISE that this isn't that sort of dead dove fic fjdksl;fjs;lifkj. i. it. it's wangxian. don't sweat it. don't even trip. just—this fic fucking rules. it's completely insane and it slaps. wei ying is a girlboss and a bitch and i like her So Much

“First, you get the money. Then you get the power, respect - hos come last.”

Wen Qing traps Wei Wuxian in the Demon Slaughtering Cave, but Wei Wuxian isn’t interested in being the beneficiary of the Wen Remnants’ noble sacrifice. His efforts to free himself accidentally send him back to the beginning of the Sunshot Campaign. Coreless but armed with demonic cultivation, knowledge of the future and his wits, Wei Wuxian takes advantage of this opportunity to come out on top of both the war and its aftermath—before either has a chance to happen—by marrying and swiftly burying the cultivation world’s worst men.

Lan Wangji is confused, hurt, and uncomfortably aroused by Wei Wuxian’s improbably elaborate series of Sect-themed bridal negligees.

rather cruelly used and rather reserved by x_los | rated M | 14K words

In the month between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian leaving Yi City and their attending the cultivation conference in Lanling, Wei Wuxian discovers a locked room in the Jingshi. It is a mystery that clever and curious Wei Wuxian is doing everything in his power to avoid solving.

But the rose was awake all night for your sake/Knowing your promise to me by x_los | rated E | 8K words | resentment tenties~

The resentful energy occupying Wei Wuxian's body like an enemy army is very interested in giving him Lan Wangji, tied up with a bow.

Wei Wuxian is hoping that Lan Wangji (who is far too noble and very keen to save Wei Wuxian's misguided soul) doesn't find out about any aspect of that.

Mo Money, Mo Problems by x_los | rated M | 3K words

After the Mo family perishes in distressing and mysterious circumstances, Wei Wuxian, still reeling from his reincarnation, tries to dip back into their manor for a little travelling money. (Forward planning! What a concept!) Lan Wangji catches him immediately, and is highly unimpressed (read: furious) with Wei Wuxian’s decision to run away from him in the first place.

Standing Engagement by x_los | rated M | 18K words

Lan Wangji believes he and Wei Wuxian are essentially engaged. While they search for his missing betrothed, he accidentally reveals as much to Jiang Wanyin. Now everyone in the cultivation world knows about the imminent marriage, except for Wei Wuxian himself.

Coming Back to Yourself by acernor | rated E | 22K words | genital swapping for fun and nonprofit!

Lan Wangji gets cursed with a ~woman's body~ and has to orgasm to go back. Since he's 1) a virgin 2) super repressed and 3) SUPER gay, he has no idea what to do.

If only he had a super nosy friend who's read lots of erotic novels who could help him figure out what to do... hm...

Save a Sword by etymologyplayground | rated E | 5K words | a fic inspired by the above fic!

Lan WangJi presses a kiss into his throat, which draws a shivering whine from him. "Like this," he agrees, his voice so low. Then he slides one warm elegant hand down Wei WuXian's chest to his belly, and then to his — to his —

--

fan ending for acernor's fabulous masterpiece "coming back to yourself" because i'm a huge goofball and that fic fucks

Our Eyes on the Road by etymologyplayground | rated E | 23K words | brought to you by lore (the author) and Orville Peck's hit song Drive Me, Crazy

Lan Zhan is silent for a long moment, and the van's speakers quietly pipe the second song on the album into the empty space between them. Then Lan Zhan shifts his hand a little on Wei Ying's leg, presses his fingers once into the meat of his thigh. "Alright," he says.

"Alright," Wei Ying echoes in a wheeze.

"Is that better?" Lan Zhan checks, because he is a good boy. Then he spreads his fingers out a little wider, because he is evil and must be stopped.

-

Lan Zhan is driving to Chicago. Wei Ying tags along.

Worship you till morning comes by feyburner | rated E | 7K words

A meet-cute, a first date, a sleepover.

Let's take a ride round the curves of desire by feyburner | rated E | 6K words | yeah........... uhh, yeah.

Wei Ying was sprawled on the floor in front of the oscillating fan when Lan Zhan got home from work.

The Roots Grow Riotous by hansbekhart | rated E | 105K words | a beautifully crafted, emotionally harrowing fic. i should warn you (since it's not quite tagged as such) that while wangxian is endgame, the overall story doesn't have the sort of happily-ever-after ending you might expect. i’ve seen it described as open-ended but hopeful and cathartic, which i find to be a pretty accurate assessment

Sometimes Lan Zhan doesn’t work through lunch. Sometimes he makes conversation with coworkers in the halls. Sometimes he goes home instead of spending the last hour trawling through Grindr. But mostly, that’s exactly what he does. The sameness is comforting. His life spools out in easily measured increments: capsule collections, yards of hand dyed textiles, ninety day lead times, sell through figures, cost of goods sold.

Every date in manufacturing can be calculated backwards and forward from a single horizon point: the date that the goods must arrive into the country where they'll be sold. Other than that, nothing else really matters.

总有一天; a place to hide (can’t find one near) by yiqie | rated E | 76K words | i can't recall a fic ever affecting me as much as this one did. one of the best stories i've ever read. so, so, so crushingly beautiful. it's viscerally distressing/upsetting at times, especially at the start, so please heed the tags and author's note (they provide a way to skip the beginning scene if needed)!

That’s just the thing, isn’t it? Wei Ying feels nothing. He doesn’t feel anything, and this emptiness should scare him. He knows he should be scared. He wants to be scared. He isn’t. Fear itself is never scary; fear is just a response. It means that your body wants you alive. It’s the absence of terror that scares him.

请兔子吃晚饭; treating a bunny to dinner by yiqie | rated T | 3K words | read this one to recover from the above fic

It’s not really about the food. Being able to share it in the same space is its own kind of magic.

爱不释手; never let me go by yiqie | rated E | 69K words | and then read this one to feel harrowed again, this time in canon-verse!

Wei Wuxian has certainly hoped so ardently in his two lifetimes, for so many different things, in so many different ways, that he could have summoned the demon to his front door with his bare hands. His eyes wander to Lan Zhan, settle on the back of his head, the blue-black curtain of his hair. Oh, how he has hoped.

在此恭迎夷陵老祖; to yiling laozu, the great and venerable by yiqie | rated M | 7K words | read this one to recover from the above fic (this time in canon-verse)

“You don’t know? In Yiling, there’s a tree at the edge of town, one that stands at the fringes of where the city ends and the Burial Mounds begin, called the Lover’s Tree. They say if you write a letter and nail it to its branches, Yiling Laozu will receive it, and he’ll reply.”

你的阳光下; wanna hide in your light by yiqie | rated T | 2K words | :')

Lan Zhan shuts off the water before it can start getting cold, because Wei Ying still needs to take one. Any other day, Wei Ying would have slunk in, pretending to be annoyed that Lan Zhan started without him, and neither of them would have want for hot water, but Wei Ying is still asleep.

From my heart's ground. by orange_crushed | rated E | 38K words | get (orange) CRUSHED!!!!!!!

After a while he can feel a palm against his face, gentle fingers soft and soothing. It’s not real, not exactly: he can tell the difference between a ghost’s touch and a living person’s, between a spirit-vision and an overactive imagination. His education has been thorough. But the beating has also been thorough, so for now he forgets what he knows and leans into it, into the hand cupping his cheek. It’s soft and dry as those forgotten petals, as the touch of a pillow. He can smell wildflowers, can taste blood and dirt. My baby, his mother says, and he closes his eyes. My treasure. He barely remembers the sound of her voice, but the feeling of it is just the same. Just the same as ever.

[In which Lan Wangji loses almost everything, plants a garden, and grows a second chance.]

Pentimento. by orange_crushed | rated E | 73K words | this fic briefly gave me a serious case of career envy :/ ......but seriously, this is an absolute must-read!!!

When Wangji was eighteen he’d walked into the first class of his fall semester painting module and there’d been a boy in a hilariously ugly floppy knit hat sitting cross-legged on the floor at the front of the room. He’d had a sheet of canvas paper taped to his board and his board clamped between his legs and a tackle box of brushes and tubes—a real fishing tackle box, with a fish-shaped logo on it that said BASS, not one of the nice art supply storage boxes they sold in the campus bookstore, like the one Wangji was carrying—open beside him. Everyone else had settled into the rows of stools and easels, but that boy had stayed on the floor for the whole two hour and thirty minute studio. Wangji had looked at him and thought, that idiot’s back is going to hurt.

[Former best friends Lan Wangji, paintings conservator, and Wei Wuxian, art handler, meet again and realize... neither of them were actually in unrequited love.]

Many happy returns. by orange_crushed | rated E | 25K words

His fingers are still clasped between Wangji's. In the mirror Wangji watches him tuck his coat between his thighs so that he can fuss with the tucked-in hem of his shirt, tousle up the side of his hair, all one-handed. "I hope what I'm wearing is okay."

"It's good," Wangji says. "You look good."

"I guess I must," Wei Ying says, and then he smiles and bites his teeth into his bottom lip for a second, devastatingly, and before Wangji can drop dead the doors to the elevator slide open, and the hostess station appears.

[In which lonely businessman Lan Wangji meets the right wrong person and changes the course of his life.]

The dreamers. by orange_crushed | rated E | 17K words

“Stop mothering me,” Wei Ying protests. “Why don’t you ever listen?” He scowls at Wangji, but then the lure of the clean water is too much; he sits grumbling and strips off his vambraces and loosens the collar of his robes and wipes himself down in the steam. Wangji sits on a stool and watches him, and after a while Wei Ying slaps the rag into the bowl and glares back. “Are you going to sit and stare the whole time?” he demands. “You want to see me strip naked and give my filthy evil self a good scrubbing, huh?”

Yes, Wangji thinks.

[This is a story about a horrible war and a beautiful dream; about grabbing happiness where you can find it, and not letting go.]

mercy, tear it down. by orange_crushed | rated E | 31K words

“You want me to call you good?” Wangji says. “To make you feel good?” Wei Ying makes a wretched, soft, surprised sound in the back of his throat. “Then will you be good?”

“Uh,” Wei Ying says. His lashes flick down again, nervously. “Good how?”

Wangji hasn’t quite thought that far ahead.

Kingfisher Feathers by Anonymous | rated E | 83K words | WIP (7/10 chapters, last updated 4/13/21) | omg omegaverse!!!! @/ this anon author... keep up the great work! also i have feelings for u

With an almost trance-like detachment, Wei Wuxian touched his own neck, his fingers skimming over the fresh mark. The bite wound had stopped bleeding, although he had no doubts it would open again if agitated.

Bonded.

He was bonded for life.

"Shit," he whispered. He looked over at the sleeping form of Lan Wangji—the Second Prince of Gusu and, until his brother was found, the sole heir to the throne. "Oh, shit. Lan Qiren is going to kill me."

----------

Lan Wangji goes into a fevered rut and accidentally bonds with Wei Wuxian. When they next meet, he remembers none of it, and Wei Wuxian is determined to keep the bond a secret—even when he's sent to the Cloud Recesses to be a consort in Lan Wangji's harem.

(tl;dr concubine!wwx is already married to emperor!lwj, who has no idea. drama ensues.)

Pull out game weak by 74243 | rated E | 23K words | featuring the hottest meanest dom top lesbian lwj of your wildest dreams. i hope ao3 user 74243 is having an amazing day

Wei Ying swipes right.

Extra Time by Anonymous | rated E | 28K words | fic inspired by the above fic! seriously good

How Wei Ying learned to stop worrying and love the strap (an AU of 74243's Pull out game weak)

Superfan by 74243 | rated E | 19K words | ao3 user 74243 writing banger after banger as per usual

“I’m not going to apologize for my job,” Wei Ying said, “so if you want to give me some kind of lecture--”

“No,” Lan Zhan said. “You misunderstood. I am...” she paused, as if considering the best way to put it. “I’m a fan.”

Spit in my mouth, look in my eyes by 74243 | rated E | 7K works | i'm just going to list all of ao3 user 74243's fics, ok? that's what's gonna happen here

Wei Wuxian was a little surprised herself, although she felt bad for being surprised. Of course it didn’t really mean anything about you, how you presented, Wei Wuxian knew that better than anyone, but all the same it was hard to reconcile Lan Zhan as an omega.

(wwx makes an error of judgment)

If the shoe fits by 74243 | rated E | 8K words

Wei Ying loses a bet.

the And they were roommates series by 74243 | rated E | 19K words total

That was the other thing, when Wei Ying had moved in. She’d scented Lan Zhan immediately, the sandalwood and smoke rising off her, almost before she’d taken in Lan Zhan’s straight posture, her narrowed eyes. She’d known that Lan Zhan could tell, too. At the end, when they’d talked about the rent and Lan Zhan’s nearly finished PhD and Wei Ying’s working hours, Wei Ying had said, casual and effortless, “And you don’t mind that I’m an omega.”

“No,” Lan Zhan said.

Chef's kiss by 74243 | rated E | 7K words

Wei Ying said, “You know, in some ways I’m kind of depressed. I took your biggest dick on my first try. Now I don’t have anything to build up to.”

“There are bigger ones available,” Lan Zhan said lazily. “I can pay for express shipping.”

(Lan Zhan works the late shift.)

Gold-palmed Warrior Quest! by 74243 | rated E | 13K words

When Lan Wangji suggested that they camp along the way to the Unclean Realm, rather than staying at inns, Wei Wuxian had been sceptical.

Dway! by 74243 | rated E | 6K words

“Hm,” Wei Ying said. “You like it rough, though, right? You seem like that kind of alpha.” When she saw Lan Zhan’s expression she raised an eyebrow. “What? Was I wrong? Are you tender and sweet? Do you cry?”

“You were not wrong,” Lan Zhan said. “I do not cry. Do you?”

tgif by 74243 | rated E | 17K words

Today Lan Zhan says that if Wei Ying cannot control her mouth then she will have to tape it shut.

On the ground by 74243 | rated E | 5K words

“I think you will like it,” Lan Zhan said.

Does your mother know by 74243 | rated E | 5K words | editing this rec list on a monday morning to add this brand new fic fresh off the presses. thank u ao3 user 74243 for feeding us so well 🙏

“Lan Zhan is such a well-behaved girl,” Madam Yu said.

all that and more by Euphorion | rated E | 20K words

Wei Wuxian locks his phone and puts it down, blinks at his ceiling, and picks it up again. The pictures are still there.

His first thought is that Lan Zhan meant them for someone else. That he just woke up at—he checks the timestamp—6:30 am on a Sunday and decided to go absolute full nuclear seduction option on some poor boy he met on Grindr, who would now be missing out on the best thing to ever happen to him because Wei Wuxian had a bad habit of distracting—of—oh.

Pieces of last night start to resurface and paste themselves together in his head. He winces.

The Golden Cutsleeve by syrus_jones | rated E | 77K words | of my faves, this is one of my favorite... faves. top faves. incredibly fun and silly and hot. just... oh my GOD, wei YING!

“I know! Why don’t you try it? Let me go and I’ll lend it to you!” Wei Wuxian bribed hysterically, desperate to escape from this encounter by any means necessary. And then, his eyes blew wide, realizing what he just said. ‘Wait— just what am I offering Lan Zhan?!’ he thought. How was he so stupid, how did he just offer that without thinking—

“You want me...to use it… after you?” Lan Zhan asked, his voice unusually faint.

~*~

Wei Wuxian's test of mysterious, literally magical sex toy goes awry when Lan Wangji finds him in the woods 'experimenting' with it and it ends up in Lan Wangji's possession.

Unfortunately, neither of them is aware that the toy is anchored to Wei Wuxian's body. Too bad Wei Wuxian invited him to try it.

Boy Trouble, We've Got Double by saltyfeathers | rated E | 60K words | !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this is a really good fic

Lan Zhan stands there in his immaculate, cloud-patterned Lan robes, watching him calmly, one fist tucked up against his back. “I am betrothed.”

Wei Wuxian blinks. “Are you…” He tries to laugh. Again, it sounds inhuman. “Is this about last night? Are you mad at me? I only remember some of it, Lan Zhan. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I’m sure whatever I did I was just—” He gestures uselessly. He remembers being warm in Lan Zhan’s lap. He remembers fitting snugly in Lan Zhan’s lap. Wrapping his arms around Lan Zhan’s neck. Nosing at his jaw. “…playing around.”

“This has nothing to do with you, Wei Wuxian.”

none in the forest so bright as these by saltyfeathers | rated E | 6K words

Wei Wuxian puts a hand to his head, brain lost in fog. “Lan Zhan,” he pants. “Why are we here? Are we on a hunt?”

As Lan Zhan tries to remember, his brow furrows. He shakes his head slightly. “I don’t know.”

“This is bad,” Wei Wuxian says. When Lan Zhan cups his cheek again, sparks burst behind Wei Wuxian’s eyes. “Or maybe it’s not,” he says unthinkingly. Sighs, almost. Lan Zhan looks at his own arm like it's betrayed him. Wei Wuxian closes his eyes and presses his face into Lan Zhan’s palm. “Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan,” he murmurs. “What’s happening to us?”

out in the garden, there’s things you hid away by saltyfeathers | rated E | 121K words | oww oww oww 😣😣😣💘

There is a man with empty eye sockets and tears of fire in Wei Wuxian’s dreams. Tendrils of smoke curl around him in sleep, pressing at his most vulnerable spots, seeking entrance, slipping between his ribs.

When he ignores Lan Zhan's offers of help, he declines rapidly. He will die. Or, he should. Anyone else would.

Instead, he flees. And transforms.

crawling through your door by saltyfeathers | rated E | 12K words

Lan Wangji kisses him. When he pulls away, he speaks into the silence between them, because when he is with Wei Ying, he so rarely considers. “Why don’t you touch me anymore?”

Lan Zhan Works for the Historical Society by saltyfeathers | rated E | 7K words | some real real good lesbian action up in here

Pretty Lan Zhan. Beautiful Lan Zhan. Ice queen Lan Zhan. So intimidating and femme and coldly polite in public, yet meaner than a man in the bedroom. Wei Ying has slept with men before and none of them were mean-nice to her like Lan Zhan.

threadfic by saltyfeathers | not rated (each chapter rated/tagged individually) | 34K+ words | WIP (11/? chapters, last updated 3/15/21), but it’s a collection of stand-alone oneshots

semi cleaned-up wangxian twitter threadfic.

【已經打動我的心】So Sing To Me All Night by aroceu | rated T | 10K words | arrow writes wei ying so exquisitely well. i was weepy the whole time read this fic. for the best experience, i recommend following along with the accompanying spotify playlist.

No one listens to the radio in this day and age, but somehow from a bunch of left clicking and right clicking, through Facebook and Twitter and Youtube, Wei Ying finds himself on the WQHS homepage—the UPenn student radio station, promising eclectic tastes from a variety of hosts. Wei Ying can't remember giving a shit about his old college's student radio before he dropped out, but it's eleven at night and he has nothing else better to do. He clicks on the button that says Listen Here! and waits to be impressed.

get wild by aroceu | rated E | 24K words | 🔥🏀🔥 BASKETBALL FIC 🔥🏀🔥

He was looking for a specific reaction—to get Lan Zhan to lash out. All hard edges and demanding, the same way during the first scrim, Lan Zhan's dark voice had made him loose and obedient, itching to both rebel and obey at the same time.

It's them, whatever it is, but it doesn't belong on the basketball court.

~

Wei Ying didn't expect to enter a weird... something-with-benefits-plus-power-play with the captain of the Gusu basketball team. He's not sure if it's worth it.

without a warning by aroceu | rated T | 10K words | 🥺️🥺️🥺️

“Blegh,” Wei Ying says. “I hate being sick, Lan Zhan… my throat is so sore… why do I talk so much?”

“Stop talking then,” Lan Zhan says.

“You don’t mean that,” Wei Ying says, in his half-asleep daze. “I know you’ll never admit it, Lan Zhan, but you like it when I talk.”

your honor i’m a freak bitch by aroceu | rated E | 6K words

Wei Ying gestures to his outfit. His hands are buried deep within the hoodie; he’s mostly gesturing with the sleeves. “Well, it works with the whole get up, you see?”

“The…” Lan Zhan looks down at where his fingers are toying with the top of Wei Ying’s thigh highs. Wei Ying pretends he is not shivering. “…skirt. And these stockings.”

“Thigh highs, Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying says, batting at him with the end of a sleeve.

Play It By Ear by aroceu | rated T | 7K words | MY HEART !!!

In the virtual airplane flying over the island, appropriately called Yiling, Lan Zhan watches as bits and pieces of the island load in. There are many Statues of David, a gothic teacup ride, and, from what Lan Zhan can see, an entire field of spoiled turnips.

hanguang-jun @/hanguangjun Do you need turnips to sell?

timmy and tommy in a trenchcoat @/yilinglaozu oh! no haha! 😅 those are from a while ago but my brother insists i keep them there

for the ~aesthetic~

the key that our souls were singing by aroceu | rated M | 5K words

“I haven’t seen you since—Gusu, was it?” Wei Ying says. “Oh my god, it’s been so long. I didn’t even know you were LGBT! Unless you’re here as an ally, which is also totally cool—”

“No, I.” Lan Zhan coughs. Her throat feels dry. “I am a lesbian.”

abort retry fail by aroceu | rated E | 21K words

Lan Wangji must miss his husband over this amnesiac of a man Wei Wuxian has turned into. Well, Wei Wuxian will show him! He'll be even better—or at least, try to be just as good of a husband as he would be, without his memory loss.

Blackout If You Were Mine by aroceu | rated E | 9K words

Wei Ying likes to wear chokers a lot. So Lan Zhan buys some for him. Then, testing their limits, collars.

Wei Ying wears those, too.

-

Or, the one where Wei Ying and Lan Zhan accidentally stumble into a BDSM relationship.

eleven thousand meters & airborne by aroceu | rated E | 5K words | 😎✈️😎

Lan Zhan and Wei Ying join the mile high club.

many fox given by defractum | rated E | 24K words | can't go wrong with foxxian and dragonji content 🦊🐉

Lan Zhan is glaring at him. That's probably fair.

The last time they'd seen each other, Wei Ying had been digging through Lan Zhan's garbage. They'd made eye contact over the shredded bags, the week's trash scattered around him like stinky, oversized Lego.

Lan Zhan's eyes had been wide with horror, and Wei Ying's had been equally wide with feigned innocence. He'd reached out slowly, maintaining the eye contact, and then flipped over the food waste bin full of onion peel and carrot skin as a distraction and slunk off into the night. Probably not his finest moment.

-

Modern AU dragon!LWJ meets fox!WWX.

the tamed by defractum | rated E | 12K words

If the Second Jade of Lan insists on bringing the Yiling Patriarch as his guest to the next Cultivation Conference, he must first demonstrate a control over the Yiling Patriarch and his unnatural abilities.

The letter lies on their desk for days.

-

Post-canon, Wei Ying is invited, sort of, to a Discussion Conference.

us in a king-size, keep it a secret (say i'm your queen, i don't wanna leave this) by matcha_ado | rated E | 3K words

People always said Wei Ying was a royal pain in the ass. They were absolutely right, of course, just not in the way they thought.

it is wednesday my dudes by jelenedra | rated M | 4K words

Wednesday nights at Cloud Recesses strip club are always a little weird, but usually they're not this horny. Whatever Wei Ying and Lan Zhan get up to, Mianmian is not going to be the one to clean it up.

i'm the one for your fire by occultings | rated E | 43K words | cherry magic au! love it

Wei Ying, virgin and noted heterosexual, gets hit with a curse of an unusual nature on his 30th birthday — through physical contact, he can read the minds of others around him.

Enter Lan Zhan, hot former rival and current coworker, whose true thoughts about Wei Ying are nothing like he expects. (A loose Cherry Magic AU)

a thousand teeth, yours among them by darkredloveknot | rated E | 11K words

A one night stand in the time of zombies.

hoe to housewife pipeline by lanzhancore | rated E | 5K words

“You type fast,” Wei Ying murmurs, making a futile attempt at conversation while he waits for him to be done with… whatever. “Not to be pushy, but do you plan on fucking my ass anytime soon?”

or: wei ying has been thirsting after lan zhan for three slutty slutty years

can you feel it by lanzhancore | rated E | an instant classic

“What’s wrong?” Wei Ying asks finally, eyebrows drawn together. “Is everything okay?”

Thumbs stroking circles into his skin as if to comfort him, Lan Zhan says, “Don’t panic.”

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says, sitting up on his elbows. “What did you do to my ass?”

“Nothing,” Lan Zhan says, convincing nobody. “But we need to go to the hospital.”

or: wei ying really should have sprung for the model with the flared base. he learns this lesson the hard way.

because you're mine (i walk the line) by lanzhancore | rated E | 8K words

Wei Ying is freshly cream-pied and still trying to remember where his legs are when Lan Zhan outlaws masturbation.

or: wei ying fucks around and finds out

payload by lanzhancore | rated M | 3K words | babysitter wwx + dilfji, what more could you need

Wei Ying has a whole five hours and thirty-six minutes to calm down but when he hears Lan Zhan’s key turning in the front door lock later that evening he has to cling to the couch cushions to keep from marching into the laundry room to retrieve the briefs so he can wave them in Lan Zhan’s face and demand to know who owns them.

or: lan zhan's self-restraint is not limitless

the to the brim series by verseau | rated E | 14K words total

Wei Ying wants to rob him, but it wouldn’t even be satisfying, since this guy is just—giving away money. With his nice fingers. Maybe Wei Ying will just bite his fingers, and that will give the same endorphin rush as robbing him. / a day told across five parts.

get that message home by verseau | rated G | 2K words | ohhhhhhhhh myyyyy godddddd 😭

Sizhui's father cannot haggle. It is a shame on Sizhui’s honor to have such an honest father.

Author's note [i'm including it here because it's golden]:

there is a scene in arrested development where lucille, who is on the opposite spectrum of humanity as lan zhan, asks, "it's a banana, michael. how much could one cost? ten dollars?" there are no bananas in this story.

dreaming and getting a glimmer by verseau | rated E | 27K words | a particular favorite of mine 🔥🍆💦🕳🔥

Wei Ying discovers himself.

trust your fingertips by plonk | not rated (but really rated E) | 15K word | 🥵️🥵️🥵️🥵️🥵️ plonk you’ve done it again!

Lan Wangji must suppress a shiver at every brush and press of Wei Wuxian’s fingers.

Under different circumstances - less public ones - he would welcome touch, given that his body is in such an aroused state.

Alas, his circumstances are these: sitting quietly while Wei Wuxian, the famous (infamous) Doctor of Yunmeng, digs his fingertips into Lan Wangji’s shoulders and chest and sides and hums thoughtfully.

Doctor, Doctor by YunmengLotus | rated E | 4K words | mmmmhmm!

Wei Ying needs to get a prostate exam. How ever will he deal when the world's hottest doctor walks through the exam room door and tells him to bend over?

TAKOYAKI by ariskamalt | rated E | 3K words | lan zhan gets jealous of his own damn appendages. meanwhile, wei ying is just having a good time.

Lan Zhan…cannot always feel or tell what his tentacles will do.

His free hand curls into a fist. Underneath his skin, the tentacles give a little squirm, as if aware of the challenge he has just issued them. No touching Wei Ying unless he says so, because he wants to touch Wei Ying first. They squirm again, as if to say, Tentacles: 1, Lan Zhan: 0.

That will just have to be remedied.

Or, as phnelt first described: Tentacle-ji with the semi autonomous tentacles getting jealous of his tenties for touching Wei Ying in places he hasn't yet

Outage by SugarMilkTea | rated E | 3K words | [cough] 😳😳😳

The power goes out in Lan Zhan and Wei Ying's rural home in the countryside. Lan Zhan takes advantage of the darkness to give in to one of his baser urges, and Wei Ying's first rural power outage experience is about to get a lot more interesting.

big hands (i know you’re the one) by martyrsdaughter | rated E | 8K words | NICE. 🔥🔥🔥

“Not a big talker, hm?” Wei Ying tilts his head to one side. “That’s okay, I’ve been told I’m a good enough conversationalist for three. My tongue is multi-talented and—”

He has just enough time to feel her palm on the back of his neck and think, oh, her hands are so big, before his words are being stolen into her mouth.

darling, am i a chore? by martyrsdaughter | rated E | 7K words

“Are you done playing around?”

Knowing that’s not what either of them actually wants, Wei Wuxian reaches up to tickle under Lan Wangji’s chin. Soft little scritches, coaxing motions—Lan Wangji is weak to all of them.

“You know what I want,” Wei Wuxian purrs, reaching up on his tiptoes to throw his arms over Lan Wangji’s shoulders. “Call me gege, won’t you? Call me and I’ll stop.”

(or: five times Lan Wangji paid special attention to Wei Wuxian’s interest in being his gege.)

put him on his knees, give him something to believe in by dustyloves | rated E | 2K words | if the title is quoting WAP, then you should know by now it’s gonna be some of that good filth

The next time Wei Ying kisses him, Lan Zhan is careful again. Wei Ying seems determined to make it very difficult.

the hard way by dustyloves | rated E | 9K words

"Anyway, you make it sound like something lewd is going on," Wei Ying complains. "It's all totally above board. She's just being a nice person. It's just one kind alpha grad student offering one room of her huge house to one beta undergrad in need, what could be more appropriate than that?"

// Wei Ying makes a mistake and finds out the hard way.

Exhibition by sevenless | rated E | 5K words

“Oh?” Wei Wuxian raises an eyebrow. “The forbidden section, Lan Zhan?”

“Mn.”

“You’re not afraid of being heard?” Wei Wuxian thinks aloud. A smirk creeps onto his face, eyes glinting. “Or could it be that Lan-er-gongzi actually wants to be heard? Seen? Caught?” He skips in front of him, blocking his way. "Disciplined?”

Lan Wangji’s ears, as always, betray him.

a history of the body by northofallmusic | rated E | 14K words

Wei Ying's body hurts sometimes; she lets Lan Zhan help her.

A fic about the complicated nature of having a body, and also the versatility of sex toys.

(our friendship) up against the ropes by daltoneering | rated E | 36K words

The reboot completes, and Wei Ying’s brain smashes this information together into two mind-shattering thoughts. Number one, he knew very well already, and is now further seared by defined muscles and a mouth-watering tattoo into his every waking moment: Lan Zhan is the hottest fucking person on the planet.

Number two: that guy wasn’t visiting Lan Zhan’s neighbour, he was visiting Lan Zhan, which means:

Lan Zhan fucks. Lan Zhan fucks. Lan Zhan fucks.

;

Lan Zhan has been Wei Ying's best friend for years. Literally, years. How did he not already know? How has he missed this most important of facts? And more importantly, how is he ever going to get over it?

watching my heart go round by typefortydeductions | rated E | 38K+ words | WIP (2/4 chapters, last updated 5/2/21) | lan zhan i love you baby 💞

Lan Zhan falls apart. As it turns out, that's not the end.

~

oh man this list is so long sd;jfkdsjfhhh

yati, i hope you find some stuff in this pile here that you’ll enjoy! it's not an exhaustive list, so check out the authors’ other works and bookmarks for more goods, if you feel so inclined 😙💕

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

A friend recommended your work and I can say that I am extremely grateful that she did and I saw the fanfiction writers ask so 17, 37 and 40!

17) Post a line from a WIP that you’re working on.

This is for what would have been my re-write of Avengers: Endgame. In my version, Loki lives and Sigyn is taken in the snap. During the five years he kind of goes crazy trying to find a way to bring her back. I may have to rework it with the Loki Series, but in the meantime, here's a bit I wrote.

It had been proven now. If Loki were to die, Sigyn would find a way to move on. She may not ever marry again, but she would find her own purpose outside of him. She’d still have a life.

Loki now realized the reverse could not be said of him. He didn’t need to be with her every waking moment. The knowledge she was out there, somewhere, wandering the universe was enough for him. He knew, deep down, they’d find their way back to each other. They always did, even if it was by accident. Perhaps it was simply they were too alike, their lives would naturally cross. The romantic in him told him it was fate itself, but Sigyn would probably only roll her eyes at the notion.

But now, Sigyn wasn’t there. Her presence was gone from the universe, and Loki felt an emptiness he didn’t think he was capable of. It was like a part of him was missing. A small piece of his soul was an empty void. Not consuming. Not dark. Just empty. It pulled and throbbed and twisted inside of him. He hadn’t felt like this since his mother died, but even then he had other things to occupy his mind; vengeance the Dark Elves, vengeance on Odin, on Thor. And he still had Sigyn, even when she was realms away and believed he was dead. She still existed. He had none of that now. Thanos was dead and his quest for vengeance against his family had faded years ago. Now there was only a void with nothing to cure it.

37) What’s the funniest story you’ve written?

You'll have to tell me. I'm never sure when I'm being funny or not. Honestly though, probably most of my stuff for M*A*S*H has been funny. At least for the outlines I have of episode ideas I need to write.

40) Do people know you write fanfiction?

Only my sister has read any of my stuff IRL. My parents know I write fic, but not to the extent and what exactly I write. It's not a secret, but I won't bring it up willingly in conversation.

Fanfiction Writer Asks

[wickedobsessed101]

Fanfic Writer Asks

[SOURCE: criminal-minds-fanfiction: Most of the writer ask posts I come across are only like ten or so questions long so I thought I’d try to make a longer one because we like talking about our writing! Feel free to reblog!]

I’m answering all of these b/c I love Q & A’s about my writing, both for my fics and other things.

1) How old were you when you first starting writing fanfiction? It was 2013, so I was 14 years old. I’m now almost 23.

2) What fandoms do you write for and do you have a particular favourite if you write for more than one? I’m mostly in the Wicked Musical fandom, but I like to read for other fandoms, like Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Chronicles of Narnia, ect.

3) Do you prefer writing OC’s or reader inserts? Explain your answer. OCs, but I’m more than willing to create an OC for someone based on characteristics they give me.

4) What is your favourite genre to write for? I love me some fluffy romance and hurt/comfort, but I also love some angsty drama.

5) If you had to choose a favourite out of all of your multi-chaptered stories, which would it be and why? OMG, don’t make me choose! They’re all my babies! I love all my children equally! They all hold special places in my heart.

6) If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why? Goodness, most of my stories prior to 2017, because I was in high school and had no idea what I was doing because I was just getting my feet wet with writing.

7) When is your preferred time to write? Anytime really. The latest I’ve stayed up writing a fic was 4AM. *Glares at ‘Threads of Truth’*

8) Where do you take your inspiration from? Where ever it happens to come up. I’m not picky. Movies, music, people I’ve seen on the street, random thoughts that enter my head, anything.

9) In your xxx fic, what’s your favourite scene that you wrote? In ‘Threads of Truth’, it’s a tie between Villy’s first date, and an argument that happens in an upcoming chapter. And that’s all I’m saying about that.

10) In your xxx fic, why did you decide to end it like that? Did you have an alternative ending in mind? In ‘Play The Game’, I liked the epilogue ending that I gave Elphaba with her family, even without Fiyero. I like writing her with kids. Another ending would be with the Fiyeraba still together, but I’m satisfied with the ending it has.

11) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it? I’ll go back and fix typos that are pointed out, but I don’t change plot stuff. Like, I wrote what I wrote and I will amend my technique in future stories.

12) Who is your favourite character to write for? Why? Other than my OCs, because I get to fully create them and my lowkey babies, I’d have to say G(a)linda. She has so much potential and she’s so much fun.

13) Who is your least favourite character to write for? Why? Boq. Not because I hate him (I don’t!), but because I don’t normally know what to do with him. If he’s not with Nessa, he’s literally just standing there like a brick wall. No offence, Boq!

14) How did you come up with the title for the xxx? - You can ask about multiple stories. [Ask me about a specific story(ies)]

15) If you write OC’s, how do you decide on their names? I usually change consonants and vowels to already existing names, or add unnecessary letters because... reasons.

16) How did you come up with the idea for xxx? [Ask me about a specific story]

17) Post a line from a WIP that you’re working on. “Hopefully, this will soak up any more leaks.” (Upcoming Wicked fanfic)

18) Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them? Yes, 2. Both of them are a few years old and I’ve grown as a writer since then. Maybe one day, I’ll edit them and repost, but not anytime soon.

19) Are there any stories that you’ve written that you’d really love to do a sequel to? Not everything can have a sequel, y’all! XD

20) Are there any stories that you wished you’d ended differently? Yes! Around 60% of them.

21) Tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? What is it about them that you admire? @vinkunwildflowerqueen @raven-curls @mylittleelphie @weaselspeedfanfic Ultimate Queen of Cliffies

22) Do you have a story that you look back on and cringe when you reread it? This goes back to Question #6; most of what I posted prior to 2017.

23) Do you prefer listening to music when you’re writing or do you need silence? Silence. I need to focus.

24) How do you feel about writing smutty scenes? I can’t write it. They’ll make out, and then be pregnant in the next chapter. Y’all can do the math for yourselves.

25) Have you ever cried whilst writing a story? YES! Yes, I have! Both sad tears and tears of joy. I’ve also cringed from second-hand embarrassment at the things the characters do and say. I’m not in control of their actions all the time. Sometimes they tell me what they’re gonna do, and I’m like, “Well, alright, then.”

26) Which part of your xxx fic was the hardest to write? [Ask me about a specific story]

27) Do you make a general outline for your stories or do you just go with the flow? I write bullet points of things I want to happen in a chapter on the Word Doc, or in the story as a whole, and I try to keep those bullet points in order. And the Notes App on my phone holds a lot of my ideas, and sometimes full scenes.

28) What is something you wished you’d known before you started posting fanfiction? That I’d become obsessed with writing and continue doing it for almost ten years, as well as expanding to writing plays and musicals.

29) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like? Yeah. I’m not gonna say which one, but just know there’s one... or a few.

30) In contrast to 29 is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at? Yes, and I’m still not gonna say which one(s). I want all the love!

31) Send me a fic recommendation and I’ll post it for my followers to see! (The asker is to send the rec, not the answerer) Yeah, sure!

32) Are any of your characters based on real people? Yes. Villy Doiir from ‘Threads of Truth’ is based on 4 people I know in real life, all mixed together into one wholesome, mother figure/ mentor. Perhaps that’s why I like writing her so much.

33) What’s the biggest compliment you’ve gotten? All reviews keep me going, no matter the length. But I love it when people review saying that they picked up on little references that were really just for me. It makes me feel like we’ve shared a moment.

34) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve gotten? A guest reviewer once said, “You tend to write Fiyero as an abusive person”. It wasn’t harsh, just... NOT TRUE. Especially for the story they were reviewing.

35) Do you share your story ideas with anyone else or do you keep them close to your chest? Close to my chest. I’ll share it with the world when I’m ready.

36) Can you give us a spoiler for one of your WIP’s? NOPE! You’ll just have to wait and see! LOL!

37) What’s the funniest story you’ve written? I... really don’t know. My stories all have their funny moments.

38) If you could collab with any other writer on here, who would it be? (Perhaps this question will inspire some collabs!) If you’re shy, don’t tag the blog, just name it. I’m very busy, and collabs aren’t really my thing, but I’m always willing to lend an extra pair of eyes pre-posting.

39) Do you prefer first, second or third person? I’ve written one story in the first person and it was fun to get into the character’s head, but I love third person, cause I like knowing what everyone is thinking. Second person makes me feel a certain way and that don’t really like.

40) Do people know you write fanfiction? IRL, no. It’s not something I bring up over dinner. I’ll talk about my plays and musicals, but not fanfiction. I like keeping my fics for the online peeps and my more personal writings for the RL peeps.

41) What’s you favourite minor character you’ve written? My OC, Princess Hannalyn, from ‘A Royal Romance’. She was so much fun!

42) Song fic - What made you decide to use the song xxx for xxx. I haven’t done a song fic.

43) Has anyone ever guessed the plot twist of one of your fics before you posted it? Not fully, but they’ve had little inklings, but certain details were still a surprise. And I’m not mad about it.

44) What is the last line you wrote? “I don’t want this to be the last time we see each other.”

45) What spurs you on during the writing process? When I’ll have one idea, and it spirals into many others, and when the characters write themselves. It makes it so much easier for me. Sometimes they tell me that they’re about to make a bad decision, and I just go along with it. They need to learn and grow somehow.

46) I really loved your xxx fic. If you were ever to do a sequel, what do you think might happen in it? [Ask me for a specific story]

47) Here’s a fic title - insert a made up title. What would this story be about? [Ask me]

48) What’s your favourite trope to write? I love a good Royalty AU (not fully AU ‘cause of our princey-prince, but still) and Holiday AUs. And I’ve never written a Coffeeshop AU, but I LOVE reading them. I’ll read anything. I’m not picky, and I love to see what ideas others have.

49) Can you remember the first fic you read? What was it about? Yes, and both of them were Gelphies: 1 - “Easier Said Than Done” by mecelphie - It’s part of a long, wonderful series of Elphaba and Glinda together at Shiz and how their lives evolve together and has many lovable OCs. 2 - “The Thropp Diaries” by denpa wave chick saki - It’s first-person Elphaba POV of the book. It expands on lots of mentioned moments and we get to journey through Elphaba’s thoughts.

50) If you could write only angst, fluff or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why? I’d have to say fluff, so I can get my escape from reality. But it’s hard to write pure fluff without a little bit of conflict.

If you wanna read my stories, they’re all right here: Fae’sFlower

[angelsswirl]

Slide

Summary: You're the 5th member of BLACKPINK. You're in the middle of practicing for your solo stage when your dance partner has to back out. Lisa, being the fantastic best friend that she is, decides to help you practice.

Rating: Mature for smut and language

Word Count: 2k+

Requested: No

Notes: This was just something that was begging to be written. If you would like to request for BLACKPINK please send in an ask! Girl x Girl pairings only please. Anyway, enjoy!

Doin' our thing, movin' too fast Candy paint with the windows all black

To say you had been looking forward to your first solo stage was an understatement. You were bounds passed excited and any other possible synonym.

You loved your members more than words could say, but you had longed for the chance to showcase your passion for dancing to your fans. And, expectedly, your members were very supportive.

So, when you got the news that you were to do a solo stage for some award show you didn't bother listening for, you began to practice as hard and as frequently as you possibly could.

Your dance partner, a boy you had known since your trainee days and who was now a choreographer for YGE, had also been very helpful throughout the process. The dance that you two had generated was rather sexy, and never once did he make you uncomfortable.

You're sure that if you weren't head over heels for someone else, you would be with him. He was the perfect gentleman. Well, he was a perfect gentleman when he wasn't half an hour late for your session.

You glared into the mirror as you stretched for the fourth time within the last fifteen minutes. You swiped imaginary dust off of your black biker shorts, then did the same to your plain white air force 1s. He chose today of all days to be late. Today you were supposed to film your dance practice.

You stood in front of the mirror for twenty more agonizing seconds before giving up and grabbing your phone out of your jacket pocket. You frowned at the lint that had collected on the screen and wiped it off on your tank top.

You had one message from Jisoo, asking what you wanted for dinner. That was it.

You huffed as you opened your message app, bypassing Jisoo's message and reaching your thread with Lino.

You: Oppa!! Where are you?! You know I don't think it's cute or endearing when you're late!

Lino: Oh sorry, babe! So, funniest thing happened. I sprained my ankle playing basketball this morning. I could've sworn I texted you earlier but I guess the painkillers are effecting more than just my ankle😭🤪

You: oh no, Li! Are you okay? How am I supposed to practice now?

Lino: I'm fine, Y/N/N. I'll be back to normal before the stage. And not that you need to practice anymore, but don't worry, I called in some reinforcements.

You were in the middle of asking him what could that possibly mean, when a knock sounded from behind.

"There you are, unnie, I've been looking all over for you."

You tried to fight off a blush.

Lino: you're welcome in advance. and make sure not to do anything I wouldn't do.😉

You refrained from asking what he meant by that, if only because the owner of the voice was slowly approaching you.

You placed your phone back onto your pile of belongings in the corner of the room. You then spun on your heels to face the girl who had just entered the practice room.

"Why were you looking for me?"

Lisa stopped moving toward you, "Lino didn't tell you? He asked me to replace him for the day. Which I found weird because I'm pretty sure he knows I hate him."

You giggled at the younger girl, it was indeed a well known fact around YG that Lisa couldn't stand Lino on a good day. It was especially funny to you, considering your member normally liked everyone she met.

"Why do you hate him so much?" You blushed again at the frown that question resulted in. It was clear Lino was a sore subject, but you and the rest of your members had never been privy to why exactly.

Maybe if you knew, you could solve the problem for the both of them. Then everyone would be happy. And that's all you wanted. For Lisa to be happy.

"....It's childish. Don't worry about it." Lisa crossed her arms over her chest. Her incredibly large flannel wasn't doing much to cover the fact that she was only wearing a Calvin Klein bra underneath. In contrast, her baggy sweatpants left much to the imagination. You only tried not to stare.

Your crush on Lisa was well documented by Jennie, Jisoo, and Rosé. The only person that hadn't seem to notice was Lisa. Hell, even Lino knew.

In hindsight, you're not really sure how you ever could've stopped yourself from falling for her. She was beautiful, talented, passionate, and possessed a sense of humor that, admittedly, could be better but she was cute! You love her. You never stood a chance. She just doesn't know it, and you didn't plan on telling her anytime soon.

"Well, if you hate him so much why'd you do him a favor?"

"I'd do anything for you."

You choked on a gasp. Lisa didn't seem too fazed by what she had said, but you were as fazed as one could ever be.

You cleared your throat, "Well, that's nice of you. But, you don't know the choreography and the camera guy is supposed to get here in 55 minutes."

"Of course I know the choreography. Lino sent me a video about half an hour ago." Lisa looked mildly offended that you thought she wouldn't learn an entire routine in just half an hour for you.

"And you're okay with that? It's a pretty sexy dance and you'd be doing the "boy" part." At this point you were practically begging for her to change her mind. You don't think you could handle being that close to Lisa alone.

"I think I'll be able to manage." Lisa smirked and stuffed her hands in her sweats pockets.

You nodded silently.

Okay, Y/N. You can do this. She's just your best friend who you're in love with. It doesn't mean anything when you grind onto her just like it doesn't mean anything with Lino.

You took a deep breath, "Okay, lets get started. Did you stretch?"

Lisa queued up the music on the stereo with a laugh, "I've been dancing all day. I think I'm as limber as a slinky at this point."

So much for your last ditch attempt at stalling.

"You ready?" The slightly taller woman offered up her hand to you. You took it with a short nod. Okay, if you can't trust yourself, hopefully you can trust Lisa.

"Great." Lisa backed away from you as the first thirty seconds of the song was just you.

She pressed a singular button on the remote and the music began. As soon as it did, you were consumed by the music and even managed to forget Lisa was behind you, watching you intensely.

All you wanna do is gas me How we end up in the backseat? Just tryna get to the bag We on the same page, you the same way

You body rolled probably more intensely than you normally did. You told yourself it was because you were practicing for when the camera man arrived and not because Lisa was watching you.

Baby, when we gon' slide? Hey, hey Up all night, baby, when we goin' slide? Oh, yeah, yeah Baby, when we goin' slide? Slide, slide, slide, slide

As soon as Lisa sidled up to you, you gulped heavily. She had barely even participated yet and you were already thinking less than appropriate thoughts.

Thoughts like what would it be like if she turned you around and pushed you up against the wall. Or worse, the mirror.

Her body rolled in times with yours, at times it seemed like you two fit perfectly together like a puzzle piece. It also goes to show just close you actually were to each other.

She began to guide you into the next move. Her arm wrapped around your waist as you pivot in a circle together. The move involved you being crouched so low to the ground that you're practically sitting on her lap.

And the worst part about it, it's become at least 20 degrees hotter in the room, and you can't tell if Lisa has even noticed.

Then again, maybe the warm wisp breath tickling your ear said otherwise.

Eventually, the music came to an end, but Lisa had yet to retreat from your back. You feel fortunate that you're facing away from the mirror, because you definitely would have gotten attached to that picture.

"Lisa..." You whispered breathily. You're sure the lack of air in your lungs has to do with Lisa still being pressed up against your back, holding you.

"I don't think I want you doing that with anyone else ever again." She whispered softly into your ear.

You stayed silent, you don't trust your voice.

"Are you and Lino..." Her voice trailed off, but you knew what she had intended to say.

"No."

"Good."

And before you can even think of anything to maybe choke out in response, her lips are attached to yours in a kiss that would probably take your breath away if you were ever breathing when she was near.

"Lisa."

"You've been doing this on purpose, haven't you, unnie?"

Her lips travelled down your neck leaving fire in their wake. You rolled your head back, your head coming into contact with the wall length mirror.

"D-doing what?"

"Trying to make me jealous." You felt her hands slowly trail down your body. One landed on your hip, while the other harshly cupped your center through your shorts.

You let out a strangled groan.

"You have to be quiet, unnie. Wouldn't want to be caught like this, now would you?"

You could practically feel yourself get wetter by the second. You didn't want to be caught with your member's hand down your shorts, but then again the thought was just so hot.

Lisa traced the outline of your center. Your hips bucked at the sensation. The other dancer only chuckled. You sort of felt like you were being punished for something you weren't aware of doing.

"Lisa, I nee-

She cut you off with a searing kiss. You nipped at her bottom lip. She moaned in response. Your hands that had since been resting precariously around her neck, slid to her exposed bra.

Lisa choked back another groan, "No, Y/N, this is only about you tonight."

The hand of hers that wasn't teasing your pussy mercilessly, guided your arms above your head.

"You know, if you wanted me to fuck you, you could've just asked."

You really wished she would stop talking. You're already drenched beyond belief, and she hadn't even actually touched you yet.

You feel a hand slide under your bra at the same time that Lisa finally dipped her fingers under your shorts.

"Fuck, where are you panties?" Lisa moaned.

You didn't bother to answer.

You moaned obscenely as Lisa slowly stroked over your outer lips, easily slipping through.

"You're soaked." She circled your clit slowly, watching with a small smirk as your hips flexed and buck underneath her hand.

You were panting now, Lisa was exactly where you wanted her, yet you were still being teased. Your hips move on their own accord, trying to force Lisa to to slip inside of you.

"Lisa, please."

Lisa continued to trail her fingers through slick folds. She soon decided she might as well give you what you wanted, you two were running out of time the longer she tortured you.

Her finger slipped into you easily, the resulting moan is the loudest one yet and just as sinful as the previous ones. You were trying your best to be quiet, but it was hard when you're deepest fantasies were coming true, and everything just felt so darn good.

Lisa eyed your face through her eyelashes. Your hips buckled once again and Lisa took that as her queue to resume moving.

She pulled out then, pushed back in slowly, her palm catching on your swollen clit.

You whimpered and panted, urging Lisa to pick up speed. And she happily obliged. She added a second finger and entered you again.

"You look so hot like this."

She pumped into you about as hard as the angle she was at let her, but it seemed to be enough for you. You rolled your hips against Lisa's hand, your moans increasing in pitch and volume until Lisa muffled you without another passionate kiss.

"Fuck, Lisa!"

It's not much longer that you let go into Lisa's hand. You breathed deeply and your back arched away from the mirror. Bringing you even closer to Lisa than you already were. She stroked you idly as you came down from your high.

When your senses finally returned to you, you smiled at the woman in front of you. Then you slapped her arm.

"Ow. What was that for?!" Lisa rubbed at her arm with a pout. You rolled your eyes at her dramatics.

"For making me think you didn't like me back! This entire time I thought this was completely one-sided." It was your turn to pout. You even crossed your arms for good measure.

"You didn't ask." Lisa shrugged.

You glared at her.

"Okay, I'm sorry, but what was I supposed to say? 'Unnie, I've had a crush on you since we met, please go on a date with me, and stop talking to Lino. I hate him.' That sounds stupid."

"I love you, I wouldn't have thought it was stupid." You fixed your hands on the collar of her flannel.

"You love me?"

"Yeah. Probably since we met and you tripped and fell right in front of me." You giggled at the memory. Lisa rolled her eyes, but blushed.

"I love you, too. Probably since we met and I tripped and fell right in front of you and you didn't laugh at me like everyone else did."

You only ducked your head down to smile softly at the floor.

"Go on a date with me." Lisa more stated than asked.

"I thought you'd never ask."

Ooh I got five, you know it's all live Tell me when to go, baby, when we gon' slide?