#Elenothar

[lunarriviera]

fandom: 猎罪图鉴 | Under the Skin words: 12.5k rating: T warnings: no archive warnings apply relationships: Shen Yi/Du Cheng characters: He Rongyue, Xiaoxuan | Shen Yi's Cat, Yan Tansheng, Qu Lanxin tags: alternate universe, omegaverse, non-traditional alpha/beta/omega dynamics, relationship negotiation, awkward conversations, getting together, self-acceptance, character study, pining summary:

When Shen Yi enters Beijiang branch for the first time in seven years, he smells like nothing at all.

•

Friends. Readers. Gentle folk. Under the Skin fans. I am here to take your face very carefully in my two hands and turn it towards this fic because you need it in your life like eyesight, space, and liberty, possibly also oxygen and water. Elenothar is always an infinitely subtle writer but here she has outdone herself in taking the omegaverse genre, picking it up very carefully and turning it absolutely inside out, and in the process, giving us one of the most nuanced and intimate character studies of Shen Yi I’ve ever read. It’s alternating POV so you get Du Cheng’s inner workings as well (though they revolve more around snacks and Shen Yi, and are therefore simpler, but no less affecting). Elenothar has this trick of making you feel everything the characters feel, and it sure is a lot. In conclusion spend some quality time with this fic; you will be glad you did.

[read it on the ao3]

[quotablefanfiction]

“I swear, if one more journalist attempts to ask Master Windu whether the Jedi Order was aware of Palpatine’s affiliation with the Sith he’s going to kill someone.”

Anakin to Obi-Wan (chp. 1)

who cares about your lonely heart by Elenothar (AO3) Star Wars – Teen – Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker #Alternate Universe #Wingfic #Asexual Character #Developing Relationship #Fix-It #They all need some mental health days

After the Battle for Coruscant, Obi-Wan has wings, a Sith Lord to handle, and a former Padawan who's still not following a code of conduct for the Jedi. Facing the Sith Lord might be the easy part.

Inspired by, and a sequel to, What's An Angel? (AO3)* by dogmatix, norcumi. *a restricted story

[harleykeener]

lay down your sweet and weary head

Thorin dies. Thorin wakes up. He is understandably confused by this, especially since he appears to be in the Erebor he knew as a young dwarf, about to be attacked by a dragon.

[achray1]

I’m so happy to hear that you’ve got a few plot bunnies hopping around your head! While they may certainly be enemies in the show, they’ve demonstrated the ability to work together if needed. Cang Xuan promised Xiang Liu and his men a mountain. Xiang Liu promised to save the life of the woman Cang Xuan cared about the most. They would be the greatest enemies to reluctant friends to lovers and you know they’d fall love kicking and screaming, all while saying that they’re in a relationship only for Xiao Yao. The denial…the angst…. They’re both traumatized from their past so you know they’re coming in with so much baggage that putting them together would be soooo good.

Also on a more shallow note, imagine Xiang Liu as part of Cang Xuan’s harem. All the palace harem drama!!! 😂

anon, I am very shallow. This may not be what you were thinking of in relation to palace harem drama, but it's what I'm thinking of.

pre-slash snippet, Lost You Forever, Cang Xuan/Xiang Liu, canonical gender switching (yes there is canonical gender switching in this show, and that is one of many reasons why all the rest of you should watch it XD)

“Fetch the newest concubine, the one who just arrived,” Cang Xuan ordered. He wanted to pace the room, waiting; instead he deliberately made himself stand by the window and look out at the night, thinking through tomorrow’s strategy meetings. 

When he heard the door open, he turned around. The woman who had entered, escorted by a servant, had her eyes cast down demurely. Her figure was slim yet voluptuous, just as Cang Xuan—he wrenched his gaze away, to the ceiling. 

“My lord,” she said, with a bow so perfectly executed that it seemed deliberate. “How may this humble one serve you?”

“You can stop that,” Cang Xuan said, irritated. 

The woman fell to her knees. “If I have offended…” She blinked at him, appealingly, her red lips parted. Her eyelashes were very long.

“Get up,” Cang Xuan said, very conscious of the wide eyes of the servant. “Leave us,” he ordered him. 

“I seek only to please you,” the woman murmured, a tremble in her voice. 

The doors closed behind the guard. 

Cang Xuan blew out an irritated breath. “Is this really necessary?” 

Xiang Liu stood up, gracefully. She—he—was a very attractive woman. All her—his—movements were convincing: it was very disconcerting. 

“You are the one who refuses to let me take Xiaoyao under the sea, where no assassin could ever find her,” Xiang Liu said. 

“And if we don’t find the assassin, when would she come back?”

Xiang Liu’s eyes glittered at him. “You know my thoughts about using Xiaoyao as bait. You might at least let me sleep in her room.”

Cang Xuan snorted. “The answer is still no. And can you—I can’t talk to you like this.” He made a loose gesture towards Xiang Liu. “Turn back.”

Xiang Liu’s lips curved. Cang Xuan turned away, somehow feeling it was indecent to witness this transformation. There was no discernable noise or motion, but when he turned back, Xiang Liu was in his male form, mask in place, and still smirking at him. 

“I asked you here to see if there was anything to report,” Cang Xuan said, stiff. 

Xiang Liu shrugged. “No. I have only been here a day. Things among your women seem…as usual." 

How would he know, Cang Xuan thought, and then instantly dismissed the thought. He wanted to ask Xiang Liu to behave with…propriety, but it seemed futile. He’d known he and Jing would regret this idea. Though watching Xiang Liu’s sharp gaze round the room, and remembering what it was like to fight him, at least he was man enough to acknowledge that he could hardly have found anyone stronger to protect Xiaoyao from credible threat.

“Then if there is nothing to report…” he said. He could get back to his plans, it wasn’t that late. 

Xiang Liu arched his eyebrows at him. “Didn’t you want your people to think we were fucking? If I leave now, won’t that seem unusually quick, even for you?”

“You—” Cang Xuan started, clenching his fist. He found, to his horror, that he was blushing. 

Xiang Liu cocked his head. “Perhaps we should make some convincing sounds, too. For the effect.”

“Don’t make me kill you,” Cang Xuan said, through his teeth.

“As if you could.” Xiang Liu’s eyes gleamed red, for a moment, and then it was gone. 

Cang Xuan made himself take a deep breath. “Fine. I have work to do. You may amuse yourself for…an appropriate amount of time.”

As he busied himself with his papers, he found himself glancing across the room. Xiang Liu was half-sprawled over his window seat, seemingly meditating. His head was tipped back, his eyes closed. Cang Xuan traced the line of his jaw with his gaze: was it the same, when he was a woman? Then he noticed what he was doing, and looked back down at the papers, unseeing. 

This had been a terrible mistake, and now he was stuck with it, for as long as it took an unknown assassin or assassins to make their move. He almost wished it would be soon. 

[hms-tardimpala]

Goldsickness collection

So I bound a collection of goldsickness-centered fics and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. This post is about the binding, and I'll do the fic recs in another post so they can be found separately later, but I'll still say a huge THANK YOU to the authors here for writing these and replying when I reached out!

A list of the fics:

As Befits a King by @ladysisyphus

Chains of Gold by Plooby

What was promised by @stillparanoidnolongerafridge

Lay your troubles down by @avelera

Covet by @pomgore

Red Lines in Dark Stone by @elenothar

Of Monsters and Men by MsThunderFrost

Burning with a magnificent madness by EmilianaDarling

My intention with this binding was to make a book that could look like a jewel in Thrór's treasure hoard. I wanted it to evoke opulence, so it's voluntarily very busy for the eye. The fabric is holographic golden pleather (which is so hard to take a picture of, the book actually looks darker and truly gold, but the camera shows reflections from every angle), it looks like it's shifting in the light (and it gives me a headache if I stare at it too long, but I want to stare at it, which echoes the gold getting to Thorin's head nicely). The endpapers are sparkly like silver and diamond dust, and I gilded the edges for the first time. Notice the black headbands and blue ribbon as a callback to Thorin's hair and eyes.

This fantastic fanart and its colors were part of my inspiration.

Mistakes What I learned this time

The book has flaws, of course. The main problem is that I did a straight spine instead of a round one as I usally do: I misjudged the size difference between the text block and the cover, it should have been bigger because of the added thickness of the spine. I used a fabric that's very thick and unwieldy and not made for bookbinding, so I have big prominent corners. And since this is the first time I use a guillotine, I need to loose some habits I had when typesetting to get my margins to look good without cutting. This time, I actually could cut, and it was too tight. The acrylic paint gilding isn't great either.

But!

It's fine. It's a small book, but all the text I wanted to preserve is there, it's beautiful to me, and I'm very proud!

Materials:

Holographic pleather, 30x20 cm, amazon

Clairefontaine A4 paper, ivory color, 80g/m², bought in store

Acrylic paint Créalia, "matt silver pearl", cultura

Gray cardboard, 2mm thick, apg reliure

Ribbon, 6mm, amazon

Headband, amazon

[the-marron]

✨ weekend wip exposure club ✨

rules: post 7 sentences/a snippet of an unfinished work

Tagged by @dual-domination, thank you! 😁 I said I don't have any wips lying around and was in the meantime reminded that I do - they are just not meant for publishing so I disregarded them for the purpose of the game.

However, since I have the permission (thank you, @baiyubai 😘) to share, here it is:

Heixie [Weilan derivatives], Indiana Jones au:

“You are tiring yourself out with all that thinking, young master,” Hei Qi suddenly says, still looking at the road ahead. He seems tired, and with the darkness around them, he is most likely to lose his focus soon. Wu Xie decides to prove himself to be a good teammate and keep him awake.

“I am just speculating about your experience, Master Hei.” Hei Qi gives him a quick annoyed look.

“Stop pretending to have manners.”

Wu Xie makes himself more comfortable under the warmth of the blanket and smiles. 

“So, Hei Qi, you say you don’t remember anything about the lady. Do you kill a lot of people?” The bluntness of the question makes the mercenary cackle, and well, Wu Xie is not complaining - he certainly looks more awake. 

“More like I do things and people sometimes get killed on the way,” he says, his eyes returning to the road. There is a cocky smile playing on his lips that makes Wu Xie even more interested. 

“Are you a spy?”

“Stupid question. If I was, I would either lie or kill you.”

Tagging: @chaosgene, @a-worthy-mystery and @elenothar. @forerussake is already tagged, but I want to tag you either way 😂

[elenothar]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 猎罪图鉴 | Under the Skin (TV 2022) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Du Cheng & Shen Yi (Under the Skin 2022), Du Cheng/Shen Yi (Under the Skin 2022) Characters: Shen Yi (Under the Skin 2022), Du Cheng (Under the Skin 2022) Additional Tags: Season 2, Mild Spoilers, Domesticity, Slice of Life, Fluff, Intimacy Summary:

He hadn’t thought much about giving Du Cheng the access code to his new door. For safety reasons it’s always good to have a trusted colleague ‘in possession of lawful means of ingress’ (as the police manual calls it), and anyway, he’s used to Du Cheng coming and going frequently these days .

A few snapshots from season 2.

[veryace-ficrecs]

Mission Impossible Fic Recs

This list will include all ratings and tags, so read at your own discretion! :)

Elevator Music by inmyriadbits - Rated G

Julia is pretty sure most people don't have to worry about running into their exes like this.

Afterheat by simplecoffee - Rated G

It's a hard job, averting the apocalypse; harder to remember how to breathe again after. Sometimes, after all, it's an apocalypse that began with you.

Flu Protocol by ariadnes_string - Rated G

“Poison,” Benji had declared, when he and Jane and Brandt had started sneezing almost simultaneously. Which had seemed unlikely—who would choose a poison designed to basically ache and sniffle and annoy you to death? But then the four of them getting sick at the same time had seemed pretty unlikely too.

Out of Nine Lives I've Spent Seven by ariadnes_string - Rated G

Ethan had five or six hours before the poison kicked in. Plenty of time to complete the mission, right?

The First Law of Nature by BlackDog_66 - Rated G

His life would be so much easier if Hunt wasn't a trouble magnet with a malfunctioning sense of self-preservation and an unhealthy adrenaline addiction.

don't ask me what I want by Elenothar - Rated T

Twelve hours later, when Luther informs him that he’s hacked a Russian satellite without authorisation, Ethan is hanging off the side of a rapidly rising A400 Airbus, and Benji completely fails to understand the basic concept of what constitutes a door as opposed to, say, a loading ramp, Will wonders why he even bothered trying. (Pre Rogue Nation)

ribcages, and other things that need help to heal by chockfullofsecrets - Rated G

“Did I ever tell you that Ethan is ticklish?” Luther blinked. Julia, sitting across from him as she types up Ethan’s worryingly long medical report, blinked innocently back at him. In which a plot is hatched regarding the mighty Ethan Hunt and a very particular weakness. Edit: now containing revenge and, somehow, a Fallout coda. Go figure.

you get eyes like flashlights by CaptainKyburz (orphan_account) - Rated M

“What’s the mission?” Brandt has kept the phone close at hand since Seattle, more than half prepared for whatever the IMF is throwing at them this time. “Oh, good, you took the phone. Was hoping you would,” Benji—who is decidedly not Ethan—says. “And yeah, fair warning, Ethan doesn’t just call with missions. He’s a big fan of spontaneous rock climbing as a team-building exercise.” Figures.

Live in this Moment by capsilvers - Rated G

Ethan Hunt is a one man army, no one could deny that. But even he has limits and after the events of Fallout, his team takes a moment to watch over their friend to make sure he returns to proper health.

And one person get's to say goodbye, one last time.

Follow You (To Your Deepest Low) by ValorousLeader - Rated G

Luther has only known this kid for a few days, but there's something about him that Luther can't help but want to protect.

Child's Play by why_am_i_pluto - Rated T

Benji finds himself playing 'dad' to three toddlers who wind up in his care. This should be a cinch with his teammates to help, right? Not when his teammates ARE the toddlers. And this is only the start of the tech's worries.

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder by SpaghettiCanActivist (orphan_account) - Not Rated

It's Benji's turn to seduce the rich guy.

[guardianbingo]

Fest Recap

It's hard to believe it's been TWO YEARS since Guardian Bingo launched. In that time, we issued 138 cards and more than 100 badges. There are 456 works in the AO3 collection and many other posts on tumblr with art, edits, meta, fanARTifacts, and other creations. While it's now time to say goodbye (at least for this fest - the story will keep on going), I didn't want to leave without recognizing the people who made this fest so amazing. First, a HUGE thanks to @highlynerdy, who created all of the gorgeous fest graphics (banner, icon, cards, and badges) and @sasamelons, who provided invaluable help with initial prompts and then supplied each month's bonus prompt. Without them, this fest wouldn't have happened. They have been awesome co-mods!!! Second, a massive thank you to everyone who participated!!!! It's been so great to see all the amazing creations that the prompts inspired. Guardian fandom, you are truly talented!!! To celebrate everyone's creations, I'm loading the queue with reblogs of fills from the past two years.

Below the cut, I've posted a list of badges claimed. (Not everyone who participated claimed a badge.) I'm only tagging people once with the highest badge they earned. (So if you earned a Lit Guardian Lantern, your name will only appear in that list since earning that badge means you also earned the others.) Users that aren't tagged aren't on tumblr. I think I have everyone, but many apologies if I missed you.

I hope you've all enjoyed this fest and that it was fun and low-stress. In a week or so, I plan to post a few cards in case anyone is looking for inspiration. While we won't be issuing more badges or posting new bonus prompts, I am leaving the AO3 collection open and will periodically check the fest account. If you create something based on a card prompt, @ us in your post and we'll reblog it. Guardian Bingo, it has been a BLAST!!! Thank you all for making this a fabulous fest!!!! mod @tehfanglyfish

First Fill @unforth Lit Guardian Lantern (Blackout)

@tinypinkmouse @miss-ingno @the-marron @stupid-lemon-eater @buriedbybooks @theworldisabrokenbonebutitishome @flamingwell velithya @forerussake @jayswing101 @bladedweaponsandswishycoats @programmedradly @avaantares @tehfanglyfish Unlit Lantern (Two Lines) @elenothar Mountain-River (One Line) @mimosaeyes @sasamelons @justacoyote

Longevity Dial (One Fill) @yaaurens @missfangirll @crystalinn @true-unicorn-queen jade @spicymayoblandketchup @presumenothing @drjezdzany samarium @dancing-out-in-space @evnissyn @lacommunarde @silvandar

[extraordinarilyextreme]

6, 7, 13, 43 for the ao3 wrapped game:D

hehe thank u for the ask~

6. your most written for fandom this year

surprising nobody, it's 异人之下 I Am Nobody 🤭🤭🤭

7. your most read pairing this year

also surprising nobody, it has to be Wang Ye/Zhuge Qing lol

13. your personal favorite fic you read this year

ooo... i'm indecisive, so here's a few in no particular order... (yes, i read some of them for the first time in 2023 but i reread them this year and loved them just as much 😊)

好久不见 by @/做不成好人了 on lofter

棋魂 Hikaru no Go: Chu Ying/Shi Guang

post-canon fix-it

握瑜 by poorbuggy on AO3

一人之下 Hitori no Shita: The Outcast: Zhuge Qing/Wang Ye

Republican Era wuxia AU

又逢春 by buerzi on AO3

一人之下 Hitori No Shita: The Outcast: Wang Ye/Zhuge Qing

post-canon, ZGQ "dies"; HE

into the blue by @elenothar on AO3

猎罪图鉴 Under the Skin: Du Cheng/Shen Yi

post-canon feelings realisation

the warmth of our doorways by calmthestorms on AO3

Witch Hat Atelier: Olruggio/Qifrey

post-canon, angst with a happy ending

Bolt From The Blue by @rongzhi on AO3

狂飙 The Knockout: An Xin/Zhang Biao

pre- and post-canon (i didn't even watch this show but i've reread this fic so many times 😭😭😭)

if i could, in our corner of the world by @yilan-meiyuan on AO3

莲花楼 Mysterious Lotus Casebook: Fang Duobing/Li Lianhua

missing scene

动心是真正的爱之马杀鸡 by Qinghewildest on AO3

一人之下 Hitori no Shita: The Outcast: Wang Zhenqiu/Zhang Chulan

missing scene after manhua ch. 466

43. non-canon pairing you read the most this year

same answer as above, it has to be yeqingye 🤭🤭🤭

[forerussake]

Writers New Years Resolution TAG GAME

Rules: write your resolutions for your writing for next year/the new year

I was tagged by @the-marron for this one too yay!!!!! <333

Now this is also hard, because I haven't really thought about this yet. What do I want to accomplish with my writing this year? Maybe:

Try to finish 1 of my multi-chapter WIPs.

Learn to write shorter things. Not every idea has to turn into a 12k epic. Maybe I can let a single scene just be a single scene for once.

Find a good balance between more dialogue-driven and more description-driven writing. I used to do mostly the latter, and now I feel like I've gone the other way a little too much. I would like to find a happy medium.

Write poetry again.

Thanks this was fun to think about!!

Tagging: @hideyseek @programmedradly @dual-domination @lungache @lynne-monstr @tinypinkmouse @elenothar if you feel like it <3

[lunarriviera]

the year in fic: 2024

So every January, @programmedradly and I go through the @ficwip list of year in review questions and pick 5 we want to answer, and 5 for the other person. This saves us having to answer all of them, and saves you having to read it! You’re welcome! Plus it’s more fun.

This year she picked these for me:

8. What fic meant the most to you to write? 9. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on? 16. What’s your favorite title of the year? 23. If you had to choose one, what was the most satisfying writing moment of your year? 30. What would you like to write next year?

And I picked these for myself:

5. What ships captured your heart? 11. What fic was the most difficult to write? 19. Share your favorite piece of dialogue. 20. Share your funniest line. 21. What’s something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story?

Without further ado! Endless palaver behind the cut!

5. What ships captured your heart?

Oh my god [swoons a little bit]. Since I read Mo Du I’ve been absolutely shattered about Luo Wenzhou/Fei Du and I’m starting to think that’s never going to change. The grumpy one and the sunshine one? Red oni/blue oni? The lion and the raven? Oh please, spare me. Try “the one with the unwavering moral compass who will throw himself unhesitatingly into the line of fire for you, even though you’re a lying liar who lies and you’re constantly yanking his chain but you have his whole heart anyway,” paired with “the one for whom it’s still sort of up in the air whether he's a sociopath or just traumatized to the point of insanity, but he's also clearly a genius and has been crafting this plan his entire life so I guess his new cop boyfriend will help him carry it out, oh and by the way guess what he's now falling in love with the cop's innate compassion and goodness, haha you didn’t see that coming did you Fei Du, SURPRISE.”

Honestly I’ve never read anything else like it.

In raw word count I wrote the most for Du Cheng/Shen Yi (something that also feels like it will never change, because they’re so similar to Zhoudu). But I got truly blindsided by Ruan Nanzhu/Lin Qiushi, who took me out at the knees—I’d never read infinite flow before and I had no idea Nanzhu would break my heart (thanks in large part to Xia Zhiguang and his stupid eyes). Finally, at the end of the year Zheng Bei/Gu Yiran burst through the door and said, hey we’re also deeply fucked up and perfect for each other, will you write a bunch of fics for us, and after I was done crying I said, sure I guess. Why the fuck not.

Basically it’s been a solid twelve months of clutching my chest and whispering weakly, they’re in love, so, you know. Like that. (Having said this, Guardian is forever. I got wobbly about pingxie all over again when Tibetan Sea Flower aired—plus all I have to do is see a gifset of Ji Chen and Ji Xiaobing to be racked with heihua feelings. Do these things ever go away? I keep thinking of lines by Adrienne Rich: "We who were loved will never / unlive that crippling fever.")

8. What fic meant the most to you to write?

This will surprise exactly no one, but “asylum.” It’s been five years since I wrote anything much longer than 20-30k, and that experience (100k, a very made-up crossover) had been so fraught and left me so mind-wiped that I was scared to try again. And yet. I couldn’t stop thinking how 1) UTS still has no English fic longer than about 30k, 2) Chinese procedurals won't admit corruption exists even though it’s rampant, and 3) UTS repeatedly teases us with Shen Yi’s Dark Past but refuses to divulge anything more than the tiniest glimpses. Anyway it wouldn’t leave me alone so now it’s posting, sorry everyone for putting the entire cast plus all of us through the fucking wringer. The good news is there’s a ton of fluff and crack and smut and gen for this pairing (an alarming amount of which @elenothar and I have written), so you can always find solace there after I’m done heartlessly torturing the detectives of Beijiang.

9. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

There were two: “what are you doing to me now” (the Du Cheng amnesia fic, which was supposed to be purely cracky and wound up being unexpectedly kind of poignant) and “middle of the night (and you’re not here” (aka “Gu Yiran has a problem.”)—I think they made me happy because they were both so relatively easy? They came together early on in my head as visual scenes unfolding, and once I can picture a scene it’s mercifully straightforward just to write it out.

11. What fic was the most difficult to write?

Obviously “asylum,” simply because it has so many moving parts; but unexpectedly, also my fic for Yuletide, “which could mean nothing.” It was supposed to be a couple thousand words, ballooned into 12k, I panicked and nearly gave up on it and was saved at the last moment by @programmedradly and @sangcurcumasvp, who persuaded me to finish. I fervently wish I would write in sections, episodically; leave more to the reader’s imagination, summarize more. And yet I seem doomed to writing in-scene. I don’t know why. It’s exhausting.

16. What’s your favorite title of the year?

Honestly they were mostly so dumb—“undercover” and “the vacation” both stand out to me as exceptionally stupid. I guess I don’t mind “the branch, my mouth, your sword,” with its echoes from both hanahaki and Beijing opera; and “to hope your son becomes a dragon” isn’t bad either, coming as it does from an idiom, 望子成龙.

19. Share your favorite piece of dialogue.

I admit I love a lot of the dialogue in “what are you doing to me now” just because I'd finally cracked the elliptical yet blunt way that Du Cheng and Shen Yi speak to each other. It’s terse because neither of them is given to saying much, yet it’s also iceberg-like, with unspoken volumes submerged beneath each utterance, and it’s taken me a while to get that rhythm. This comes after Du Cheng has recovered his memory, in that handwavy way people do in fic:

They have some arguments. The arguments aren’t about anything recent, but Du Cheng having just remembered certain events all over again, he feels freshly aggrieved about them. “You just stood there, and you let him stab you.” “He stabbed the painting.” “It was a good painting! And you were on the other side of it.” “You and Jiang Feng were right behind me.” “But what if we hadn’t been?” “Then I wouldn’t have just stood there.” “Goddammit,” says Du Cheng, because he’s lost this one too. “Don’t, okay? Next time?” Shen Yi compresses his very pretty mouth into an unyielding line, and doesn’t promise anything, because he’s still a pain in Du Cheng’s ass.

20. Share your funniest line.

People seemed to like vastly different bits this year, e.g. @omaenanimonoda was amused by people “dancing like sweaty pickles in a jar.” But a few readers commented on this text exchange between Du Cheng and He Rongyue, initiated by a nervous Du Cheng about to go on a first date with Shen Yi. This is from “still have to change,” in which Shen Yi keeps interrupting all of Du Cheng’s blind dates—when, that is, they're not interrupted by major crimes.

何溶月: what’s up 杜城: nothing 杜城: i meet shen yi in an hour 杜城: at that place you suggested 何溶月: du cheng, it’s fine. it’ll be fine 杜城: what if he hates it 何溶月: he likes you, not a restaurant 杜城: how do you know 何溶月: he literally interrupted an autopsy 何溶月: to ask me why you keep going on dates 何溶月: with people who aren't him 杜城: what did you say 何溶月: i told him it was because you were an idiot

21. What’s something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story?

I’m a terrible pantser so that always happens, characters are always rearing up and opening their mouths and saying the most outrageous shit, and then I have to scramble to accommodate them. This happened again and again in “asylum” but it also came out of the woodwork in “held you close and breathed your name,” one of the year’s two DMBJ fics. Bai Ma really did just keep up and saying/doing stuff and then I would have to figure out how to jam that into her and Xiaoge’s story somehow. Again, I wish I were different, and would plot everything out beforehand, but I seem compelled to subject myself to characters just popping their heads up like prairie dogs and announcing their goddamn preferences.

23. If you had to choose one, what was the most satisfying writing moment of your year?

I really loved writing “when you hold me (it holds me together)” for Fei Du’s birthday. I was honestly starting to wonder if I’d ever be able to write for that pairing, because needless to say Priest is a pretty fucking tough act to follow. And then it happened, and now I’m working on a new story for them, too. It’s such a knee-weakening feeling of relief when you’re able to do something terrifying that you wanted so desperately, but really doubted you could ever pull off.

30. What would you like to write next year?

I already have a list and here it is. I realize I am thus tempting the gods and now probably none of this will get written but instead I’ll write two dozen random fics for some miserable machine-translated drama no one has ever seen. Because that’s how these things work.

• little uts2 fic about [redacted] i’m writing with [person] • finish posting uts longfic (edit chs 6-21 without unaliving) • “gu yiran gets roofied” (sorry to this man) • wang yang rpf ft. some twink crying, not sure whomst yet • post-canon ptsd zhoudu ft. messed-up [redacted] roleplay • turn someone into a cat (shen yi again probably?) • lose omegaverse virginity (kod? rnz already gave lqs a claiming bite) • beach episode part 2? (nanqiu get drunk in tahiti bar, hijinks ensue) • Very Secret Project I Will Not Be Discussing Ever So Don’t Ask • something serious about uts s2 but I don’t know what yet (though I do now have two I hope shorter fics outlined, working titles “fang kaiyi gets out of prison” and “du cheng solves a tricky case”)

Thanks for reading, darlings; your ongoing presence—baffling, astounding, salvific—honestly keeps me from walking into the sea. Happy 2025, and I hope you enjoy everything you write.

[quotablefanfiction]

“Well, that could’ve been worse,” Obi-Wan groaned and promptly lost consciousness.

Obi-Wan is typical Obi-Wan (chp. 1)

who cares about your lonely heart by Elenothar (AO3) Star Wars – Teen – Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker #Alternate Universe #Wingfic #Asexual Character #Developing Relationship #Fix-It #They all need some mental health days

After the Battle for Coruscant, Obi-Wan has wings, a Sith Lord to handle, and a former Padawan who's still not following a code of conduct for the Jedi. Facing the Sith Lord might be the easy part.

Inspired by, and a sequel to, What's An Angel? (AO3)* by dogmatix, norcumi. *a restricted story

[eirenical]

WIP Title Game

Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

I was tagged by both @miss-ingno and @bbcphile and I haven't done this in a while so there ARE actually new things to add. ^_^ Also, classes start tomorrow so I could use a little distraction. Because I keep trying to find last minute things for myself to do instead of chilling out and relaxing and I need to stop doing that. O_o;;;

(These are alphabetical except for the newest categories (and thus fic) being at the top.)

Mysterious Lotus Casebook:

storytelling au (otherwise known in some circles as the "the donghai battle WAS a hatefuck" fic) ;D

JLQ dual cultivation noncon

dual cultivation (answered)

South Wind Knows:

drunk fic

DMBJ:

Laire fic heiping smut outtake

piaopiao fic

Time Swap AU

Wu Xie behind the Door AU

Xiaoge buried in cats fic

Composite Events II

___ birthday fic (name removed to preserve anonymity)

Jaded 2

Dollhouse HeiPing prequel thoughts

Granting You a Dreamlike Life

Awards Show Aftermath

brothel au thoughts

Chapter 3 – The Floating Life

Fusheng lives BUT AT WHAT COST

LFS Mei Gao Mei fic

Nightmare Art

Retribution

Soul of the City

threesome fic

Guardian

Amnesia

baiyubai inspired fic

elenothar birthday fic 2021 (…………..oops? XD)

lighthouse keeper fic_cowrite (elenothar)

Mirror Mirror

Shen Wei college fic 01

Shen Wei noncon

Thermos Commercial fic thoughts

The Kinge’s Avatar

Ye Xiu noncon

Hair the musical

AlgeaIII_

Les Miserables

Muet14

The Untamed

Legacies Found

Tagging: @elenothar, @fixaidea, @jadedbirch, @zoi-no-miko, @difeisheng, @laireshi, @enechelon, @buriedbybooks, @thearchivist-theprime, @slangerogkatter, @kingesstropolis, @lizardrosen, omg I have totally forgotten who is writing things these days. OTZ If you follow me and you see this and you want to do it, please consider yourself tagged and come tag me back so I can see what you're working on! ;D

[hils79]

DMBJ Entry Level Fanwork Recs

Following on from this post a few people asked for some recs for fanworks they can read to get a better handle on the fandom and the characters if they don't know much about what DMBJ is about

This is by no means a definitive list, and I'd suggest checking the tags on any fanworks to make sure it's something you'd enjoy before you dive in.

I have my own personal preferences when it comes to favourite characters and ships and while I've tried to throw a bit of everything in here this is a fandom that loves its rarepairs and poly ships so I can't cover everything.

Please, by all means drop me an ask or a reply if you have any questions. I'm always willing to drag new people into the pits with me

A couple of things to start off with:

@foxofninetales has written a very useful list of possible entry points to the fandom

And if you want a very brief overview of the main players (this franchise has So Many characters it's totally okay to be confused) I wrote one over on Dreamwidth at the start of the year

Okay, to try and organise this in some sort of coherent way I'm going to break it up into canon fanworks and AU fanworks. Sometimes an AU is a better way to get to know the characters, or you might want to get a feel for the canonical settings. Reader's choice.

Then I'll break it down into ships in case Fox's guide has got you interested in something specific

Canon

Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling

Keepsakes Box by ShenWeiLightning

When Zhang Qiling loses his memories, the Zhang family attempt to whitewash Wu Xie from his world. Only the box he instructed they give him as a precaution was never checked for compartments and some of the pictures hidden inside, lead to certain conclusions...

The POV character has amnesia so you learn things along with him

Tabula Rasa by xantissa

Zhang Qiling forgets. Then he comes to some interesting conclusions regarding his relationship to the man named Wu Xie.

Another amnesia fic so same thing applies as above. I'm pretty sure this was the first fic I read in this fandom myself.

Visible to All But Me by Hils

“To the merging of the Wu and Zhang families,” his uncle toasts with a raise of his glass. "It's not what I'd hoped for in terms of securing the future of our family, as you know, but at least it's better than nothing."

Wu Xie blinks at him and raises his glass to take a drink while he tries to figure out what’s happening. There aren’t that many members of the Zhang family that his uncle has had dealings with. Xiaoge would have mentioned something if he’d entered into some sort of arrangement with his uncle. Perhaps his Ershu has made some sort of business deal with Zhang Rishan.

OR

Five times Wu Xie didn't know he was dating Zhang Qiling but everyone else did, and one time he figured it out (with some help)

Yes, it's probably poor netiquette to self-rec but this is hands down my most popular DMBJ fic and it's mostly just about Wu Xie being oblivious with no real ties to the canon plot

Liu Sang/Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling

Cat's Paw by Merinnan & Xantissa

While some very basic knowledge of The Lost Tomb Reboot is needed for this, you mostly find out what's happening through Liu Sang's perspective so it's not entirely necessary.

Wang Pangzi/Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling

A Distracting Effort by elenothar

“Teensy tiny favour,” Hei Xiazi starts, with the kind of grin that says he knows he’s about to stir some shit and is looking forward to it. “I need someone to distract Zhao Ji and you” – he points at Wu Xie – “happen to be exactly his type.”

Wu Xie blinks. That’s… not what he’d been expecting.

Next to him Pangzi looks like he’s readying himself to bristle in protective outrage at any moment now and across the room Xiaoge’s relaxed sprawl has turned into something rather more threatening.

or

Hei Xiazi has opinions on Wu Xie's wardrobe, Wu Xie has opinions on interior decorating, Pangzi has opinions on Wu Xie's flirting and Xiaoge lurks protectively (and pointedly).

While this is not about tomb raiding it is exactly the sort of nonsense that happens in canon on a regular basis

Reunion to Rain Village by achray, hils, teyla and fangirlishness

A series of stories that are all standalone but are all set in and around our shared version of Yucun. The stories are not connected beyond some background themes and characters.

The only thing you really need to know is that the canon franchise ends with the three main characters retiring to a country village to run a restaurant and live in a house that Wu Xie designed and built for them. This series is set during that time but apart from that no canon knowledge is needed.

Hei Xiazi/Xie Yuchen

Why does it have to be you? by blackwatervial

It’s common knowledge that, if a delicate flower finds itself in a dire situation, a knight in shining armour will come to the rescue. Only that Xie Yuchen is no delicate flower, and his knight in shining armour is more of an overpriced mercenary.

This fic is only short but it perfectly covers everything you need to know about their relationship

Gen

Cascade by frith_in_thorns

Liu Sang didn't need looking after. Absolutely not. It had only been a small stabbing.

Unfortunately, Wu Xie overrode him.

Even more unfortunately, that was only the start of everyone's problems.

An excellent tomb raiding adventure with plenty of whump, misunderstandings and tomb nonsense

Take a Cup Of Kindness Yet by fox_of_nine_tales

There are several reasons Liu Sang doesn’t drink, and all of them are true.

I'm trying not to make this rec post entirely about Liu Sang because, as I mentioned in my DW post he's really only in one of the dramas/books. But he's very popular in my corner of the fandom so...

AU

Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling

Those who fear darkness have never seen what light can do by Merinnan & Xantissa

When Wu Xie was seven years old, he snuck away from his guardian during one of the digs that Sanshu took him to. Only things went wrong, the entrance collapsed, and it took a week to dig the child out from the near collapsed tomb.

They expected a body. They prayed that the child had somehow survived, but seven days without food or water for an adult would have been deadly, a child had no chances of survival at all.

They found Wu Xie deep in the tomb, sleeping on his little backpack. He was warm and healthy, confused at why the adults were yelling, looking like he’d just stepped into the tomb five minutes ago.

An alternate first meeting where Zhang Qiling is a supernatural creature.

A Swiftly Tilting Planet by slutspeare

Yincangui is Where Lost Things Return, and Wu Xie, captain of the Wushanju , has been trying to find it since his uncle went missing fifteen years ago. The only thing is that no one is quite sure that it actually exists, except for Liu Sang, who manages to finagle his way onto Wu Xie's ship and into their quest. Without any solid proof or idea of where they're going, it seems like Yincangui is always going to be a lost dream... unless the crew of the Wushanju can unravel the threads of the universe and lead themselves to what they've been searching for.

Absolutely stunningly written space AU where no real prior knowledge of canon is needed.

Liu Sang/Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling

Catch and Release by Merinnan & Xantissa

After weeks of being on the run from the people who'd been experimenting on him, Liu Sang was cold, hungry, and still hiding as a fox. When he came across a live capture trap in a large garden, baited with good, good food, he decided it was worth the risk. Then kept coming back again. And again.

Wu Xie just wanted to catch and socialise a feral cat into a pet. He hadn't planned on a fox deciding the trap he'd put out was a convenient and consistent source of food.

There's a lot of fics in this fandom where Liu Sang can turn into a fox. It's entirely down to this Liu Chang photoshoot so I figured I'd put one in here as a taster. Plenty more where that came from if you like it

Hei Xiazi/Xie Yuchen

Ad Hoc Services by fox_of_nine_tales

If assumptions make an ass out of you and me, well, why let a perfectly good ass go to waste?

In which Hei Xiazi is mistaken for a prostitute and his evening just gets better from there.

This might be an AU but it perfectly encapsulates how ridiculous these two idiots are

Vids

If you're more of a visual person these vids are a taster of what the fandom is all about (also linked in my DW post if you've already looked at that). It's a mixture of general fandom vibes and ship specific vids (and one solely about Pangzi because I love him)

This is just a very small sample to get you going. If you're not in the fandom and this has piqued your interest feel free to let me know and I can try and put together a more specific rec list for what you like

If you are in the fandom, feel free to reblog with any additions that you think should be on the list. This is only intended to be a sampler.

[hms-tardimpala]

Goldsickness collection: the recs!

Dragonsickness is a theme I love, it resonates with me with very much, and I had a great time reading fics to make this collection. Here are the eight I love the most and that make up this 376-pages-book.

As Befits a King by Ladysisyphus (explicit, 4,7k)

It was all too much to think about, so he thought about Thorin's hands.

This fic strikes a good balance between angst, hope and hot possessive sex. Thorin is teetering on the edge of madness here, despite Bilbo's best efforts.

Chains of Gold by Plooby (explicit, 4k)

He had not been in the king's chambers since their arrival, not since his youth, and the massive gilt doors opened only with groaning reluctance under his hands.

This is actually a sequel to the fic above, the authors worked on a series together. It's just as brilliant, hot and well-written. You can see the old Thorin under the madness.

What was promised by Paranoid_fridge (unrated, 6,9k)

Perhaps Bilbo is being selfish. But even though he knows that Thorin's mind has grown clouded from cursed gold, he is unwilling to give up on the intimacy they share. And when Thorin - with his mind still bespelled - asks for his hand, Bilbo does not decline either. With armies before the gate and a battle to come, things must come to a head.

Interesting concept: Thorin and Bilbo get married while Thorin is dragonsick. It raises the question of consent. The battles scenes are great and Bilbo is a badass.

Lay your troubles down by Avelera (explicit, 24k)

An extended version of "the acorn scene." Bilbo sees his chance to snap Thorin out of his madness, and takes it.

This fic is a great, slow deconstruction of Thorin's illness by Bilbo. The author goes all the way to the bedrock of the character to start healing him, and there are setbacks and false starts (which is what I prefer in fics where Thorin heals).

Covet by Pomgore (explicit, 33,3k)

"How is he?” Bilbo asked softly, trying to keep the worry from his voice. Balin’s face went dark, and he sipped thoughtfully on his tea. “... It’s slow, but his fever has begun to break,” he said. “Still, it’s the worst I’ve seen him. I think it’s the worst he’s ever had.” ~~~ Thorin recovers from both physical and mental afflictions. As with all recovery, the path of healing is non-linear and agonizingly difficult.

This is also a fantastic healing fic (this one post-canon) that treats dragonsickness as a mental illness, with relapses in the recovery. I loved that portrayal, I recognized myself in it. And the fic scratches some specific itches of mine.

Red Lines in Dark Stone by Elenothar (mature, 4,3k)

After BOFA Thorin is wrecked by guilt, convinced that most of the bloodshed is his fault (see: the arkenstone debacle). As king and responsible for Erebor, he decides that he will do anything to stop himself from succumbing to the gold sickness again, even if it means hurting himself. When his family and friends find out, they don't react as he'd expected them to.

Self-harm is another theme that's dear to me. This is an excellent portrayal of self-harm, the author got it perfectly right. It's good to read a post-canon fic where, even when he's past the goldsickness, Thorin still suffers its consequences.

Of Monsters and Men by MsThunderFrost (mature, 1,3k)

Thorin will protect Bilbo from everything. Even if that includes himself.

Look, I love dark and twisted stuff, so this fic was an absolute bitter candy for me, I dig it. Heed the warnings!

Burning with a magnificent madness by EmilianaDarling (mature, 7,3k)

Thorin’s madness had been like a dam bursting; fast and brutal and incomprehensible, like water rushing out and devastating everything in its path. For Bilbo, it’s more like a slow trickle over the course of a lifetime. Out of sight and out of mind - and almost imperceptible until he’s already drowning.

This is an incredibly moving study of madness in Thorin's and Bilbo's lives, caused by the gold and the One ring. Bilbo's life is really tragic and it's heartbreaking to see him sink into addiction to the ring. Prepare tissues.