#wip wednesday

[forgetmenotsassenach17]

WIP Wednesday Weekend

Happy Sunday! @lara-frasers tagged me to share a wee WIP update, and since I just finished my first edit of chapter 7 of Time Comes in Roses (to be posted on 9/29!), I thought I would share a little preview of what's to come.

His question, she thought, was a fair one. Or, if not fair, one she expected he would eventually ask. Every time Frank had come up in conversations between them, she had either shut down the conversation or quickly moved past it, never feeling ready to share with Jamie something she was still trying to understand herself. She knew she did not owe Jamie an explanation, but ever since the bonfire, when he was so quick to comfort her, she found herself wanting to tell him. She trusted him with her secrets, even if the process of telling him remained terrifying. Claire took a deep, steadying breath and decided to try.

If you haven't shared anything lately and are so inspired, please do! I always want to read it!

[eirenical]

For the WIP game, laugh??

Well, you just gave me an excuse to post a very belated...

WiP Wednesday

...so, thank you, @thehumantrampoline! ;D

[If anyone else wants to send words for the WiP game, please do! And if you want to try specifying a fandom, you can do so. If it's a fandom I've been in, odds are I have a WiP for it. XD]

Set about 6-12 months after Li Lianhua visits Tianji Hall to impart a little Yangzhouman-healing to Fang Duobing...

[Earlier snippets of this fic in no particular order.]

Li Lianhua put the latest of Xiaobao's letters into the box with the rest and tucked it away.  Most of his letters were much the same: effusive thanks, admonishments to take care of himself, threats against Wuyan's imaginary thieving impulses, offers of hospitality… and now this.

Li Lianhua lifted the box that had come with this latest letter.  He'd ignored Xiaobao's offer of gifts and assistance, because such things hadn't been necessary.  They had their garden, they had his doctoring skills, and Lao Di had numerous accounts that no one in Jinyuanmeng was even aware of, much less would notice if they were utilized.  They didn't want for anything… at least not anything money could buy.

It seemed, however, that Xiaobao was determined to send gifts, regardless of their need or lack thereof.  Li Lianhua slowly opened the box, then sucked in a breath.

The hairpin was delicate silver in the shape of a branch, with little fans of needle-like leaves sprouting from the forked end.  It was delicately made, but had a comforting heft to it, sturdy enough to take some rough handling.  It wasn't the quite the lotus theme he had been thus far drawn to in the hair ornaments he'd worn in this new life, but it was close kin.  Li Lianhua rans his fingers over it, a smile twitching onto his lips in spite of himself.

It was beautiful.

It also wasn't an entirely appropriate gift for a child to give an adult.  The craftsmanship was masterful, the detailing exquisite; it must have cost a small fortune.  And if Li Lianhua wished to spend that kind of money on his hair ornaments, then he would have done.  He didn't need a child picking out his accessories.

…then again, the money was already spent.  So what was the harm?

Later on, as he was making dinner, gentle fingers ran themselves along the new hairpin, where it was threaded through his hair, before drifting down his neck in a gentle caress.  Li Lianhua shivered as those hands were replaced by lips and a hint of teeth.  Just as Li Lianhua was about to put down his knife and forget about dinner for a while, those hands and those lips disappeared, replaced by a low grumble of a voice.

"The hairpin is new."

A pause.

"Fang Duobing?"

Li Lianhua returned to chopping up the vegetables for dinner.  "How did you know?"

"He might have mentioned it one or two letters ago.  Sent a drawing.  Asked if I thought you'd like it."

Li Lianhua snorted out a brief laugh.  "Did he, now.  And you neglected to warn me about this, why?"

Those hands returned, this time wrapping around his middle, A-Fei's body pressed all along his back.  There was still enough of a chill in the air from the last vestiges of winter that Li Lianhua appreciated the heat that came with the cuddling, but it was going to be far more difficult to cook with A-Fei hanging off of him like an octopus.  "That isn't an answer, Lao Di."

A-Fei buried his smile into the crook of Li Lianhua's neck, along with a few scattered kisses.  When he eventually lifted his head, Li Lianhua's own head was spinning just a little, and he'd almost forgotten his own question by the time Lao Di answered it.

"I wanted it to be a surprise."

Li Lianhua took a moment to regather his widely scattered thoughts before responding.  "…why?"

Lao Di stepped back, taking all that lovely warmth with him, as he slowly slid the hair ornament out of his own hair and began to strip off his outer layers.  Li Lianhua found himself shivering again… and not altogether from the cold.  By the time A-Fei had reached the bed and stretched out on it, he was completely, gloriously nude.  He crooked a finger in Li Lianhua's direction, and for just a moment, Li Lianhua had no idea how he was supposed to respond to all of that on display in his bed.

Then A-Fei smiled.  "Don't you want the rest of your present?"

…maybe he could get used to surprises.

[chu-cho]

frat wip

[zarstarss]

gaybariel wip, on a mini-vacation so hopefully it’ll be done by the end of the week

[skyrim-forever]

idk if this has been done but

[dakimchi]

[WIP] Revolutionary Girl Utena as Bouguereau's Pietà 🌹 can't wait to finish this omg-

[corniart]

Lissen I too just want to press my face into Fearns tig ol biddies. Have some callowmoore wip I’ll probably never finish.

[aliengirlart]

Working on my page for the Monster High fashion Zine 🙈

[inflomora-art]

wip wednesday steddie 🖤

[a-s-fischer]

She is off the loom, and I am now twisting the fringes!

[eiochevart]

Echoes of Wisdom WIP

[lialivingart]

Work in progress

[escyn]

some more thoughts about Her (Suki aged 25-30)

+ some bonus zukki

[draykray]

"It was by no means the longest of his scars, stretching only six inches from the base of his skull to the center of his throat, but it was the scar he dwelled on the most. On occasion--when lost in thought--his fingers traced the raised line of skin, his heartbeat solid under the touch, unaware of how close it had come to stopping." --Snippet from my current Soulmate AU WIP :)

[human-rocket]

Obi-Wan trying to articulate his feelings and not having a good time

[clockwayswrites]

Black Smoke Custody: Watchtower drop in

WC: 504 Masterpost

Cleaned up an old, undone part of BSC for WIP Wednesday~ who knows if this will actually make it into the story, whenever I get around to it!

-

Batman was mid sentence when Constantine jerked back from the meeting table. The base of the chair screeched against the floor as John pushed himself out of it.

"Constantine?" Batman asked; an order for information.

Constantine spun to look at him, blinking rapidly. Black smoke started to pour from the bottom of his trench coat. “Well, this is going to be a right mare.

He collapsed to his knees with a shout of pain. His fingers scrambled at the smooth floor. His back arched. Then as suddenly as it came, all the tension bled away. He slumped wearily onto his elbows.

Flash darted close only to stop himself short, hovering nervously around the Hellblazer. “Um, John?”

“Constantine,” Batman ordered again.

John ignored them both in favor of peeling back the lapel of his trench coat to peer at the smoke pooling there.

“What happened, kid?” His voice was gentle in a way that froze the rest of the founders, gentle in a way that they hadn’t heard from him before. It was still Constantine, still gruff and with that smoker’s rasp so it was unlikely they had to worry about a possession, but the tone was unmistakably softened.

The swirling black shifted, suddenly. John landed back on his ass as it curled around his torso tightly.

Constantine’s hand hovered just over the bulk of the smoke. “Okay, kid, you’re coming undone here. Can you pull yourself together a little?”

Slowly under Constantine’s gentle encouragement, the smoke condensed and started to solidify into a head with a unruly tuft of smoky black hair pressed tight into Constantine’s shoulder. Thin arms were wrapped around John’s waist. It was just as Constantine had addressed the being: a kid.

Wonder Woman lowered her blade.

“They found me!” The kid’s voice was filled with the static of a thousand overlapping voices at once. Superman flinched back at the sound, but Constantine didn’t even falter in the hand that was rubbing circles on the kid’s back. “They found me and I needed to—”

"Shit, fuck. It's okay. I've got you. You're safe. Nothing is going to get up here."

The kid froze— or froze as much as a being’s who’s form was made of soot and smoke was able to. “Up here?” They pulled their face away from Constantine’s shoulder just enough to glance around the room with startling bright green eyes. “Oh shit, this is the Watchtower! You’re in your meeting. I forgot, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to come up here!”

The kid started to practically disintegrate as they spoke. Their legs became see through and whole chunks of their arms were flaking away.

“Kid, Danny, don’t fade on me,” John urged. “It’s fine. It’s okay. I’m glad you came to me. You’re safer up here than anywhere. I’m sure that Bats will understand he can’t send you back when you’re in danger.”

As he said this, Constantine looked at Batman. His stare was burning— promising hell if Batman refused.

“Why don’t we get you settled,” Batman rumbled.