#I’m working on kind of a *secret* project and it’s been really inspiring

[messy-crisantemo]

🎼 ?

(Incase it hasn’t already been asked)

Oh! So my favorite music to draw to right now. I’ve been pretty obsessed with Nimona’s soundtrack lately, it’s so cool!

[meowmeowmeowmeow4x]

tumblr.com/emdeerm insert-that-spiderman-meme

based on this prompt and the amazing fanfic "Wait I'm a Cartoon Over Here?!"

Ahem Damian flopped onto his bed, exhausted after having had to clean the bat litter once more, as per Alfred's instruction. However, that exhaustion was punctuated by an underlying satisfaction. Despite everything, he and Richard had succeeded. They made contact with Team Phantom (part of him felt dizzy and giddy at the notion, but he'd impale anyone who'd suggest it) and managed to keep Father and the others from combusting at the notion of their existence. Phantom had sworn up and down to never expose their identities, knowing just how important they are. ("You were my hero since I was 7, I'd rather eat Dash's underwear again than betray your trust!") If only he knew...

Speaking of whom, Damian clamped his hands of his ears as the girlish squealing in this room entered a fever pitch. He was starting to regret allowing Kent to enter the Manor while team Phantom were visiting.

"DANNY DANNY DANNY DANNY DANNY I'M SUCH A HUGE FAN OF YOU CAN YOU PLEASE SIGN THIS AND THIS AND THIS AND-" Damian could've sworn that's the spiel Jonathan had opened with about twenty minutes ago. Fenton, for his part, was doing his best to withstand the onslaught of super-powered pre-teen fandom.

He'd never be caught dead doing something so... debased. So petty and pointless as to gawk at a fictional character. He, the blood son of the Bat and his future successor.

"Come on Damian, aren't you excited too?" His heart rate spiked. Blast. How quickly could he break into Father's kryptonite vault...

"You sure you wanna mess him with right now? He really looks like he could kill you, and I read the issue where he tried to murder Tim."

Damian prickled, even felt a hint of shame knowing that Fenton knew just as much about him as he did, how shameful. No not shameful at all, why would he care about someone who probably wasn't even real. Damian moved to sit up and shot Jonathan the deadliest glare he could muster, an expression copy-pasted right off his Father's Batglare.

Jonathan, for his part, cowered behind Fenton. "You'd do well to keep remain silent, Kent, before I remind you that your life is as fragile as a dying rat." He all but spat out. However, instead of cowering further, Jonathan's lips curled into a devious expression.

Fenton's head bounced between the two. "Maybe this personal arc hasn't been published yet..." He muttered.

"Hey Danny..." Jonathan began, hesitantly. This could not be happening. Damian grabbed the nearest katana and lunged. However, his efforts were made fruitless as he passed through the duo like they weren't there. Dammit! "I know this is kind of embarassing, but we put in a lot of work and you're like my number two inspiration after my dad and we don't know how long you'll be here so., but you gotta keep this a total secret, like a total secret, you can't tell anyone."

Jonathan reached into his backpack. Damian swung his sword again. Anything, anything to prevent the inevitable. If this were allowed to happen, his life would be forfeit. Curse his hero this hero for being so overpowered. Where was the lipstick laser when you needed it? Or the fenton thermos? or the anti-creep stick, or anything?!

However, just as Jonathan was about to retrieve the forbidden contraband, a fist flew out and blew him away. "Woah what is this?" Exclaimed one Danielle Phantom. It was at that moment that Damian knew, there was nothing more that could be done.

~~~~~

Danielle rifled through the pages of the comic book that Jon was about to pull out (which, btw, was amazing! Danny might be into Nightwing and Martian Manhunter, but she could not count the number of nights she'd dreamt of flying with the Super Sons. Basically she was never gonna wash that fist again anyway) and was shocked to find the contents. "Yo Danny, have you seen this??"

Her template/brother/cousin/dad (his status is in a weird gray area at the moment) leaned over, eyes widening too.

For within her hands was the latest issue of the celebrated fancomic, the Secret Adventures of Danny Phantom, which circulated around this universe's social media forums and the schoolyards of Metropolis and Gotham. Danielle flipped through pages upon pages of lovingly hand-drawn panels.

"I didn't know we were a comic, too! I've never looked that cool before." Danny said, nothing the cover art.

"I dont think this is official, i mean, whatever official canon means these days. Look, there's no logo from the channel our cartoon's on."

"I can't believe I have fans who know enough about me to make a fancomic." Danny groaned.

"Oh shut up, Danny. you don't see me getting any fanart." Dani teased, until she reached the beautiful two-page spread of her, Robin and Superboy swooping in to save Danny from the GiW. Special attention was placed by the artist on her hair, and the unnatural glow of her ghostly eyes. Overall it was a very flattering picture. the real Dani's jaw dropped.

Danny turned to the gaping Jon, and the limp Damian, both of whose faces were drained of colour, looking even more dead than himself on a cold day. Realisation dawned inside of him. "Wait, did you guys make this?"

His interoogation could not continue furhter before Dani squealed with excitement. She phased out of the bedroom door in an instant before anyone could react, yelling in excitement about this amazing fancomic that Damian and Jon had made, like it was fate... Her voice was followed by one Dick Grayon's comment on Damian's evolving artstyle, before more joined the chorus. As for Damian? He rolled for 60d6 psychic damage, took 300, and lost the wlil to live. Jon was not far behind.

[roleplayfinder]

Would anyone be interested in a slice of life fxf roleplay? 

About me; I'm citrus, 23, she/her, and I'm looking for 18+ roleplay partners! My preferred literacy is semi lit (from 200-500 words) and I can respond once or twice a week! I’m open to nsfw, I have very few triggers, and I'm hoping to bounce ideas back and forth with my partner! I prefer to write on discord. 

I’ve been really craving a fxf rp, inspired by anime and manga. I was thinking of a highschool or college age rp, where our ocs are students. Some of my ideas, and who i’d like to play, are as follows;

Popular girl x Tsundere girl (i’d play the tsundere)- where your oc is a popular and talented girl, and my oc is jealous of her- but later comes to realize her jealousy is borne from a crush on your oc. 

Shy girl x Outing girl (i’d play the outgoing one)- where your oc is shy and reserved, and my oc, who is peppy and outgoing, reaches out to befriend her. With time, feelings start to develop between them. 

Goth girl x girly girl (i’d play the girly girl)- an unlikely duo of two very different girls- what brought them together is up to us! Maybe they’re neighbors, maybe they’re assigned to the same group project, anything works for me! I was thinking at first they dont get along, but they grow closer over time. 

Childhood best friends- where our ocs are best friends from childhood, and somewhere along the way, one has developed feelings for the other. 

Academic rivals- where our ocs are the two smartest girls in school, always competing for the best marks in all their classes. 

I also have a really spicy one where our ocs both have crushes on other people, but can't be with them, so our ocs agree to date to sort of ‘fill the void’ and try to move on. 

I also have some miscellaneous ideas and tropes, which we can incorporate into any of the ideas listed above, or we can make into their own thing! Some ideas are; 

Our ocs are the leads in a school play 

Our ocs are in the same after school cub (book club, art club, school council, etc) 

Secret relationship (either from their families or from the school) 

Some kind of soulmate au (i personally love the ‘soulmates name written on your wrist’ but i’m open to any) 

Like this post if you’re interested and I'll reach out to you! 

.

[ink-flavored]

Get to Know Your Moots Writeblr Interview

This looked fun, and I love answering lists of questions

Tagging: @foxys-fantasy-tales @noblebs @ceph-the-ghost-writer @auntdarth @damageinkorporated @srjacksin @wyked-ao3 @alesseia and anyone else who wants to do it!

Blank Questions for those who join me!

-

On the Tumblr Writing Community

How long have you had your writing Tumblr/Writeblr? A fast and loose estimate is fine!

I’ve been on Tumblr since 2014, but I didn’t make this writeblr sideblog until 2019.

What led you to create it?

Mainly because I crave organization, and I felt weird posting my fanfiction to a blog where I didn’t really talk about writing. Plus, I didn’t feel like anyone on my main would have been interested in hearing me talk about my original writing either, and even if they were, it would have been drowned in everything else I reblogged. I wanted to have a place that was 100% dedicated to writing to keep my blog topics more organized.

What’s your favorite thing about the Writeblr community?

I love talking about writing, for one, but I also love how many varied ideas you see in this community. There are SO MANY incredible WIPs waiting to be discovered here, of any genre you can think of, featuring ideas that make you salivate. The world-building some of you people have going on is fucking amazing, and I’m eating it.

What’s one thing you’d like your mutuals to know about you?

I love talking about stories, including yours! Come say hello if you feel at all inclined to!

Is there anything you’d like to see more of on your dash?

More people going crazy and/or stupid about their own stuff. Be your own biggest fan, and others will follow!

The kinds of writing I always enjoy seeing more of, in general, though: poetry (literally any kind of poetry), fantasy (high & urban), sci-fi (hard & soft), crime (bonus points if set during the Prohibition), romance, erotica (bonus points if kinky), detailed world-building (bonus points for fiddly politics, more bonus points if it’s inspired by other cultures than the generic European template), and any of these things in combination with each other!

What tips/advice do you have for someone who made a Writeblr today?

Reblog other people’s work if you want them to reblog yours, always send someone an ask if you reblog an ask game from them, don’t be afraid to self-reblog no matter how annoying you think it is, but most importantly, do whatever you want forever. Have fun.

Lots more under the cut!

WIP it Good

Which Works-in-Progress (WIPs) or writing projects are you noodling about, lately?

Mainly my [currently untitled] urban fantasy anthologies and Pride & Justice. My anthologies are getting outlined for my own make-shift “write as much as you can” challenge I’m doing in parallel to NaNo this year, and I’m basically always thinking about P&J at all times whether I like it or not.

How long have you been working on them?

My anthologies are only officially around… a year or two old, probably? I had the initial impetus to start them ages ago (like, closer to 4 or 5 years ago), but didn’t start working on them as an actual project until relatively recently. Hell, I didn’t have the idea for an erotic urban fantasy anthology until December 2023!!

As for Pride & Justice, it will celebrate its second birthday on August 9th! It’s the only WIP I have such a specific date for, since it originally started as a fanfic I did for AUgust2022.

Do you remember what inspired them/what got you started?

For my anthologies, I’ve always loved urban fantasy, but pretty much all the urban fantasy I could find growing up was lacking in some way (to me). Either the fantasy elements were pasted onto our already existing world—usually “in secret” or with some other excuse to keep the “regular people” from finding out—or it was a genuine fantasy world with more advanced technology, but always a detective story. Seriously, what’s with urban fantasy and detective thrillers? They’re cool, but there’s so many of them…

I craved something closer to a “slice of life” urban fantasy—what would a fantasy world with our current level of technology and manufacturing actually look like? How would people live, what would a city be like, how would things like magic change what a sufficiently advanced culture looks like? And then, of course, the crazy magical sex????? That’s the logic I’m working from with both my anthologies, a sort of “what-if” combined with a slice-of-life peek into urban fantasy lives.

For P&J it’s a lot simpler: the fanfiction I wrote simply didn’t want to be a fanfiction. It wanted to be something bigger, more original, with more room to breathe. I gave it permission to be itself.

How much time, in your best estimation, do you spend thinking about them?

All of the time. Forever. If I am thinking about something, it’s probably my WIPs.

When someone asks the dreaded, “What do you write about,” question, what do you usually say?

I reflexively answer “fantasy, and I dabble in sci-fi and contemporary fiction.” Sometimes I clarify I write both high and urban fantasy, because most people assume high fantasy. I usually also mention I write poetry, and sometimes I’ll mention my Magnet Monday schtick.

What do you want to say (if it’s different from what you do say)?

Well, if people could get really cool about me saying “fantasy romance and erotica” that would be neat. I think we’re still a little ways off from other people’s reactions not being 1) smiling stiffly but politely before changing the subject or 2) making a rude face before changing the subject.

Let’s Rotate Blorbos

Name any characters you created.  Side characters, protagonists, antagonists, characters who’ve never been written, the first original abomination you ever pulled from your ass; whomever you’d like!

List them all? We’d be here a while.

I have an OC Roulette that I spin when I need to pick a character at random for whatever reason, so I’ll just list the ones currently on it:  Pride, Justice, Kindness, Ollie, Sofia, Dante, Honesty, Lust, Xinya, Yu-Qi, Jao, Han Lao, Sita Zhai, Asim, Mira, Cahaya, Priscilla, Henry, Yvonne, Harlan, Hayden, Lenora, Teconia, Seraph, Park, Jamie, Kiran. And the OC Roulette list will surely expand as I come up with more blorbos.

Who’s the most unhinged?

It depends on how you define unhinged, I guess? Yu-Qi could be considered unhinged because she’s a God-Dragon who does not care much what you think of her and does literally whatever she wants, whenever she wants. Priscilla enjoys violence to a suspicious degree, to the point where her husband just sighs and shrugs about it. Honesty is an Evangelical Christian angel with the one and only mission to carry out God’s Word. Take your pick, really.

Who comes the most naturally for you to write?

Can I just blanket say “the protagonists”? Generally, I use the POV characters for a reason, and it’s because I find them the most comfortable to write. I very rarely write multi-POV stories, and when I do switch POVs, it’s usually for one very significant part that the regular POV character isn’t present for or something. So—Pride, Xinya, Asim, Priscilla, etc.

Do you ever cringe at them?

Honestly, not really. Sometimes I get nervous about people accusing me of self-inserting or whatever, but then I remember that those people are stupid and lame. Of course my characters are going to be at least a little like me—I created them. Some will be more similar than others, but I put a little bit of myself into everything I write, including the characters. And even if they were self-inserts, who cares? I can do whatever I want, and don’t need to cater to pissants.

How much control do you feel you have over your characters?  AKA, do they ever “write themselves,” refuse to cooperate, or do things you didn’t expect? To what degree? Are some less cooperative than others?

They fly off the handle sometimes. The most persistent example is from The God-Dragon’s Wife, which was supposed to be about a monogamous couple, but a prominent side character started hassling me to make it a polycule so she could join in. I am now rethinking the entire plot to see if I can make it work.

In general, though, I feel like my characters exist somewhere in between “totally under my control” and “completely unrestrained.” I can drop a character into a scenario and act them through it, and there are absolutely times where I go “nah that’s out of character,” and have to change something. But for the most part, it’s like… observation. If I have a good handle on a character’s personality, arc, and motivations, I can just watch. Wow, look at ‘em go…

Do you enjoy people asking questions about your characters? And do you have a preferred means of receiving said questions? For example, as Asks, as replies, as reblogs, as tag notes, as comments on AO3, etc.

YEAH!!!!! ALWAYS AND FOREVER!!!!!!

Honestly, no preferred medium for questions. Send me an ask, reply in a post, DM me, message me on Discord (if you have it), leave a comment on my website, whatever. I love talking about my characters, and if you also want to talk to me about my characters, well that means I love you too.

On Writeblr Engagement

What makes you want to follow another Writeblr account? Do you follow ‘em as you see ‘em, or take time scoping out the blog to make sure you align with its content? Do you follow based on WIPs, or vibes?

Usually I scope out a blog and see if their WIPs are interesting enough for me to want to see regularly on my dash. Sometimes I’ll see a post from someone looking for other blogs that post [x] genre or [y] content, and if they match up with what I do, I’ll skim their intros (if they have them). I don’t like horror, so I’m not gonna follow people who only post horror stuff. I really like fantasy, so I’m more inclined to follow people who post fantasy stuff. If I see a particularly interesting WIP, I’ll follow the person even if it’s not the kind of thing I normally read. It all depends!

What makes you decide against following?

Genres I don’t like to read and my personal squicks, usually. Maybe the WIPs didn’t grab me. Some writeblr blogs are also people’s main blogs where they post a lot of other non-writing things, and I usually don’t follow those since I’m here for the writing first and foremost.

Do you interact with non-mutuals often?

Sometimes! Usually it’s my mutuals who talk to me the most, so I interact with them the most. As a general rule though, if you talk to me, I’m gonna talk to you back, no matter what our following status is.

Do your mutuals’ characters occupy space in your noodle?

If I know enough about them, yeah! I have plenty of other people’s OCs floating around in my brain from time to time, especially if they’re a regular occurrence on my dash.

[thegrimygrim]

Starting my new blog off with the stupidest take ever because I’ve seen a few posts that inspired me to write some thoughts out

I’m surprised all of the nonsensical straight woman Y/N fanfics of Leon portray him as this macho man who’s all dominant and rude or as this little soft baby who pretends he’s strong but he’s not or whatever when since the dawn of time Capcom has been portraying him as a bit of a dummy loser.

Like, idk, maybe I’m just projecting but Leon reads to me as the kind of guy who’s a straight up pathetically annoying nerd when it comes to certain media or… anything. He quotes movies often, brings shows up often, all of the stupid shit he did in Vendetta, every last Avengers-Level-Backflip or landing pose he has done, the bitchy complaining and action hero one-liners, the list goes on.

He’s so painfully a geek loser and he does so much unnecessary shit in every single piece of media he shows up in and idk, I’m surprised people are so worked up about him not because of this but just because of how he looks.

I don’t really think I have a point here, I’m just saying shit. It’s just wild that he’s either ‘dominant bad boy’ or ‘secret uwu soft boy’ and not ‘fucking loser who will talk your ear off about symbolism while watching a movie’ to most people who say they adore him.

Not saying any of this in a rude way btw, I’m just talking. If anybody stumbles upon this give me your take :]

Loser counter: 3

[prettyflyshyguy]

Anyway here's wonderwall. I'm trying to start the new year off strong. Already feel sad its been a week and I've barely accomplished this. But that's the kind of negative talk that's so 2023. I'm throwing it in the bin. We focusing on personal achievements only.

I've been writing tonight! It's been fun! I'm still trying to get into the groove and struggling with the age old issue of whenever I hit a 'blank' I just stop working on the project, opting to wait for the stroke of inspiration to hit. This isn't helpful, and means I don't work through the issue. So 2023. Fuck that noise.

I'm still building my confidence back after having it a bit crushed last year, so no ETA on the final chapter of the main C Virus Fic, but you'll probably see some other mini projects pop up. Less stressful, helps me practice for the big stuff.

Anyway the song "Talking in your Sleep" has had me at gunpoint for 2 hours and I'm really happy with this interaction so here's a taster under the cut.

Chris and Leon attend a meeting with a Big Pharma client post-incident cleanup and they can't handle the heat of corporate talk.

Something had felt off about the job from the minute he set boots on the ground outside the factory. Chris had assured him that it’d be smooth, he’d done it a hundred times before, there shouldn’t be any issues. It was a C-Virus outbreak for sure, but not the normal kind. Valhanian was working on vaccines and preventative medication, blockers for the immune system that could quickly and effectively obliterate the virus or prevent it from even gaining a hold on the system. The most common form was the standard strains that had a very similar effect on humans as the T-Virus did, which they were lead to believe was the main focus of the factory - manufacturing and R&D for the ‘zombie’ strains. 

What they found waiting for them was most certainly not the standard C-Virus infected humans. 

Chris had brushed it off at the time, claiming that with how volatile the virus was, he wasn’t surprised that something had gone wrong and there were chrysalid variants in the facility.

Nothing’s without risk, something must have gone wrong, it’s not like we haven’t handled this sort of thing before.

Leon knew that there was no way in hell that a company with that much money in the game of vaccines would fuck around and find out - risking everything in the process. But it wasn’t worth arguing with Chris, he insisted that it wasn’t his job to worry about the science team’s side of things and that ‘Rebecca will figure it out.’ 

Chris was ever the optimist on his good days. Leon had seen too much to trust any corporation that invested in the field of medicine. You don’t get fission without fusion, and anyone who claimed that advancements in bio-organic warfare had no links to advancements in medicine, was a fool or a liar. Most likely both. 

Of course something went wrong on the job, sure he’d had a little ‘mutation’ incident, but Rebecca’s drugs worked a treat, they just took a while to fully kick in. 

“I don’t know what this is or what you’re trying to do, we don’t employ BOWs, whatever you’re trying to claim is unfounded.”

No no no you dumbass, don’t give it to them Chris!

“Mr. Redfield I’m just being thorough. You’re no stranger to the industry, and I’m sure you understand we are very conscious and concerned about protecting our trade secrets. Incidents like this are of a high concern to us as the entire reason we brought the BSAA in to assist us was to stop a B.O.W incident.”

Chris glanced briefly at the BSAA staff seated around him, and Leon. Fear and panic in his eyes, crying for help silently. He knew who was in the photograph and could only lie about it for so long before the game was given away.

Leon cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the sharks.

“Ms Harker I can assure you that Chris is just as shocked as you are, and that the BSAA operates at the highest level of-”

“Thank you for your assurance, Mr Kennedy, but I believe you are not a member of the BSAA is that correct?” her full attention snapped to Leon, her eyes looked predatory.

“Yes, I’m temporarily assigned to assist them in operations regarding the C-Virus as I have first hand experience with it that has proven invaluable in us combatting further outbreaks.”

“I don’t doubt that Mr. Kennedy. I’m aware of your reputation and high standing. Our country has a lot to thank you for.” 

He shivered. There was no kindness in her tone.

“I just wish to express my concerns, as the security footage doesn’t lie.”

Leon digged his fingers into his thigh, scrunching the fabric of the chinos, his hands hidden under the table. 

“Trust is critical to any operation as I’m sure everyone in this room is well aware. How can we trust the BSAA after seeing this? How can you trust yourselves?”

Chris began to speak, being swiftly interrupted by Harker’s shrill tone.

“Have you considered that there may be individuals laying dormantly infected, unbeknownst to the world?

Leon bit down on his tongue. 

“Perhaps there’s an infected individual sitting in this room with us right now.”

The colour drained from Chris’s face.

“Perhaps it's someone not within the BSAA.”

Leon felt the eyes of every member of the meeting shift to look at him.

[rcreveal]

Maggie's Nana's Valentine Birthday

Summary:

Crowley goes to find out why Nina is trying to ditch on Maggie's Nana's Valentine's birthday party. Inspired by Sendarya's Writer's Prompt Group willowmaid's comment that they are the kind of friends that drink together and call each other names.

Work Text:

“Wot are you doing in here?” 

Nina looked over into a black shirt, black jacket, and up past some jewelry into Crowley’s dark sunglasses.  She caught a glimpse of orange as he looked over the top of them, taking in the state of her.

“I’m drinking, you prat.  What does it look like I’m doing,” replied Nina, taking another sip of red wine.

Grabbing a chair out from under a patron who miraculously just got up at the next table, Crowley spins it around and flops into it, chin on the back as he straddles it at her table.

“Thank you, Ms. Obvious.  Why are you drinking alone in the Dirty Donkey on Valentine’s Day?” persisted Crowley, “Why aren’t you with Maggie?”

“Why would I be with Maggie?  Why won’t any of you stop shipping me and Maggie?  Especially Maggie!!” Nina shakes her fists and glares down at her phone.  Then glares at Crowley as he deftly swats away her hands and snatches the phone from under her nose.

Eyebrows nonchalantly raised as he reads Maggie’s text thread, with sunglasses on in the dim bar, Crowley asks, “And you aren’t accompanying Maggie to her grandmother’s birthday celebration tonight because…?” 

“Because I’m drunk. See!?” she waves at herself.

“Please.  You call this self-sabotaging behavior?  You barely walked 3 feet from all our businesses.  Plus, I can easily make you not drunk,” Crowley leaned to the side and made a little gesture.

“Hey! I spent good money to get drunk on that wine!” Nina barked, unwelcomely sober.

Crowley wrinkled his nose, sniffing the glass and finishing off her drink before she can grab it back, “You call this worthy of a fit-of-pique drunk?  Maybe on the third bottle…”

Nina pointed at him with her eyes narrowed, “We found you drinking hand sanitizer after Mr Fell left.”

“Pfft. Yah, after I drank all the alcohol on this side of town,” replies Crowley calmly, not to be deterred,  “Now, why don’t you want to go to Maggie’s grandmother’s birthday party tonight.  Really. You already come to movie night together.  You’ve met her family.”

Crowley looked at Nina’s aggressively flat stare. “You’ve been ducking out of meeting her family,” Crowley continues in the same fact-stating tone.

“Yeah! Obviously! And I’m not going to meet them now at an intimate, quiet little family get together for a 98 year old woman!” huffs Nina.  "I'm way to rough for what her family's like!"

Crowley started to laugh, “Quiet?” he hooted, “Little?” he snorted, “Intimate, well, only if she has her wily ways with Aziraphale, but that’s why I’m coming.” Head to the side he says, "Too rough?  I don't think so."

Nina stops looking like she’s weighing whether or not she'll get banned from the pub if she were to haul off and punch Crowley, “What are you talking about? We’re talking about the same thing? Maggie’s Nana’s 98th birthday party, right?”

“Yeah! Obviously!” parroted Crowley, “But it’s a huge affair, family, friends, random young men she chats up in the produce aisle.  Everyone makes her favorite cocktails and drinks them before she insists on showing them how to do the jitterbug.  Aziraphale swears that she and Maggie’s mother have a secret code to get him close enough so she can pinch his bottom.  It’s the first year I’ve been invited, I can’t wait to hear her tell embarrassing stories about Aziraphale!  So come on, I need someone to help pick out the chocolates and cocktail fixings,” Crowley stands up, winks at her, and rather genteelly offers the crook of his arm.

Nina is grinning at the thought of watching Mr Fell trying to avoid the advances of a 98 year old and hearing the old woman's embarrassing stories.  Then a truly wicked grin crosses her face as she stands up and takes Crowley’s elbow as they start to wade through the bar crowd together.  

“So, it was just an ulterior motive to get me to come and pick out the treats for you, huh?” she’s still grinning like the cat that ate the canary when they make it to the pavement.

Crowley looks over at her side-eyed, a little pleased smirk on his face, “I am a demon, you know,” he says, snapping the Bentley’s car doors open.

“Yeah, wonder what kind of embarrassing stories she’ll have about you?” grins Nina.

“Gie in th’ car, woman!!!” roars Crowley, while Nina guffaws.

[winter-dayz]

Bringer of Death

Pairing: Shin Yuna x Reader Mummy AU; Inspired by The Mummy (1999) Genre: Angst; Fluff Words: 3278 Warnings: implied major character death; implied suicide; strong language

Masterlist | Fictober Masterpost

Taglist:  @soobin-chois

This was your chance. This expedition would cement your place with the company’s excavation team. It was your shot to be taken seriously—to be seen as a real archaeologist and not a junior bookkeeper.

You made it to the dig site without much fanfare, a recently uncovered tomb that had just barely been breached. The original finders’ team gave up the excavation, opening the site to bids with historical societies. Your company won the bid, but since the more senior archaeologists were working on several other big projects across Egypt, China, Peru, and Mexico, you were tasked with the small, newly opened excavation.

As you trekked down the steep, crumbling stone stairs to the tomb’s entrance, you passed by the few remaining archaeologists from the original team. You nodded to them politely, skirting past, but were stopped short by a hand wrapping around your wrist.

“I wouldn’t go in there if I were you…” The last man in the small group whispered harshly. He looked up to his team members, all of whom glanced at you before rapidly looking away. They refused to meet your confused eyes.

You nodded politely, again, and had to yank your wrist from his tight grasp. “I think I’ll be fine with a few bones and dust. It should be a simple excavation, really.”

It really should. Why this team had chosen to give up a brand new find baffled everyone at your company, but you weren’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. This could be your big break.

“I’m tellin’ you, girlie. There’s something in that tomb. Something that don’t want us messin’ with it.” He gritted out. His eyes were wild, and as he reached to grab your arm again, you hustled down several more steps.

“Well, if I get turned into a mummy. You’ll be the first one I’m coming after.” You spat back at the aggressive man.

🎃

Contrary to what that man had warned you about, the tomb seemed to be mostly empty. Honestly, it was no wonder your company managed to snag the bid for so low.

After descending the stairs, an archway opened into a large empty stone room. There were two rooms off of the main room, filled with dust and grime. There were a few pedestals as if items were meant to be displayed, but there weren’t any actual artifacts. Maybe the previous team had looted them…

So, what was the point of this job, anyway? You were hoping this would’ve been your big breakthrough, but it was so barren, there wasn’t really anything to work with.

You meandered through the desolate rooms anyway, inspecting the stone work. Based on the uneven amounts of dust on the pedestals, it did seem that there used to be something perched on them, but it had still been many, many years since those items would’ve been stolen so it hadn’t been the original team like you’d previously thought. More likely raiders from a few decades ago at least.

What really threw you for a loop was one wall in the main room. You could swear you heard shuffling and felt a breeze behind a small section. You leaned in, noticing again how the grime on the stones seemed uneven, and pushed on those bricks.

A click. A rumble. The wall slid up.

Now this was the kind of thing you were hoping for. A secret room? It was just like The Mummy. Maybe you really would find something “scary” in a hidden room and that crazed man from before would’ve been proven right. It’d at least be more exciting than the dust you had been observing so far.

You wandered through the secret passage, which seemed to slope at a gentle downwards spiral. Eventually, you saw the flickering of candles through an open archway. You had no time to wonder who would be keeping the candles lit though when as soon as you crossed the arch’s threshold, you found yourself staring into the eyes of a woman.

She sat, straight and confident, upon a throne at the back of the room.

Around her neck were layers and layers of expensive looking chains and jeweled talisman necklaces; even her clothing seemed to be of the quality of linens and silks you couldn’t find just anywhere. Between the two of you laid a large, majestic sarcophagus. Vases, gems, silver and gold all laid about, overflowing around the room. And the kicker? Everything looked pristine. Not a speck of dirt, dust, or grime on anything. Even the stonework and murals on the walls looked as fresh as the day they would’ve been created.

The woman, young and beautiful, kept her big, round eyes narrowed on you as you took in the state of your surroundings with obvious confusion. She was a bit pale, which was understandable if she’d been trapped in this tomb since the previous team left—which had to be the only way she was here, right?

“Who are you? What are you doing in my domain?” The strange woman demanded, finally breaking your engrossment of everything.

Your eyes wide and head tilted in confusion. What were you doing here, no, what was she doing here? You assumed she must’ve been trapped and abandoned by the previous team, but then… How did she even get into this room? It had been sealed by a secret wall. The stones you had pressed to uncover it had been undisturbed. Also, if she had been abandoned accidentally, why didn’t she seem scared or hungry? Why was she just as luxurious and pristine as everything else in the room, despite the rest of the tomb being so dirty? 

You finally found your words through the endless stream of questions racking your brain. “My name is Y/N. I’m an archaeologist.”

“Speak plainly, peasant.” The woman kept her eyes narrowed and tilted her chin up to look at you down her nose. “What is your purpose here?”

How much more “plain” could you speak? Didn’t she know what an archaeologist is? “I…” You hesitated to find your wording, “I’m like a librarian.”

“Are you here to steal from me?”

“No!” You shouted, appalled. While some companies took things from archaeological digs to sell to museums or rich snobs, yours did not. It worked to document the history and culture before returning the items to a pristine, preserved condition that remained with the original country.  “I’m a scholar, not a treasure hunter.”

“So you have come here to study?”

“Um… yeah.” This was insane. Maybe you actually should’ve listened to that man’s warnings.

“What year is it? I am surprised by a woman scholar.” What year is it? My god, how long had she been trapped? You flinched but told her the date regardless. “Ah, well I’m glad to see humans have progressed.”

She stood from her throne and bowed politely. “I am Shin Yuna. This is my tomb.”

Holy shit. It really is like The Mummy.

🎃

To say you believed Yuna was the owner of the tomb would’ve been a gross misconception.

After being welcomed in by someone claiming to be a thousands-year-old woman, you acted politely and kept a six foot distance at all times, only gazing over the objects and not even truly studying anything.

You left early that day with the excuse that you didn’t have proper equipment.

And then the rug was ripped out from under you when you dug into the town’s local history and the country’s governmental archives.

Shin Yuna was the most revered princess in the country’s history… From 2000 years ago. Despite it not being a woman’s place at the time, she was a fierce warrior and intelligent scholar. The texts spoke of her love for crafting clothes and storytelling as well. She was an all-around enlightened and beloved woman of the area.

Unfortunately, she was killed in a surprise attack on one of the villages she had been visiting. She died protecting the children and mothers during the raid.

To show their admiration and deep grief at the loss of their princess, it was said the country performed a ritual when burying her in the tomb. She was put to rest with great treasures and supposed magical items to help her move on peacefully if she felt her duty was completed; however if Yuna’s spirit felt she had not accomplished enough, she would rise again to lead her people once more.

And it seemed to have worked.

As did the seal on the door to protect her ritual burial… Just, maybe that seal had worked a bit too well, since she hadn’t left her tomb in 2000 years.

Which definitely showed when you came back around to start working.

Yuna was insatiable for knowledge, and for days on end while you were carefully observing and cataloging the items in the tomb, she would ask questions. She wanted to know all about how the world had changed, evolved, and adapted. She wanted to know about how her country had blossomed. She wanted to know the things you had seen when you had traveled, the kinds of art and fashion in style throughout the centuries. She wanted to know if stories were still being told about her villages… which is when you had to disappoint her and tell her that, until recently when her tomb had been discovered, no one widespread had really known much of her people.

She hated that. It put her in a bad mood, and she began sulking.

You kinda hated that. Yuna, for essentially a mummy and immortal woman who had been trapped for an unimaginable amount of time, was such a bubbly person. To see her upset didn’t sit right with you, but there wasn’t much you thought you could do to fix it.

Until one afternoon it boiled over when you began actually moving items around to see the smaller artifacts.

“You can’t just go rifling through my things!” Yuna shouted, more of a whine than in anger, following closely behind you as you carefully moved a vase. “Have you no respect for the dead?”

You sighed, “Yuna, it’s literally my job. I have to catalog what has been discovered. Look, I’m being extremely careful and respectful. ” You added a muttered, “You’re not even really dead,” under your breath.

Yuna huffed, her cute lips pouting. Cute? Well… yes, she did look rather cute pouting like that even if you wish she wasn’t so upset recently… “Why do you even need to do that?” She mumbled through cute, pouty lips.

“So that we can teach and learn from your history.”

Her eyes brightened, and her lips split into a big grin. It was such a simple thing to you, just a part of your job. But, apparently, it was just the right thing to pull Yuna out of her funk. “You’ll tell stories about me and my people? Okay, then rifle away!”

Fuck, she’s adorable.

🎃

Something of a friendship blossomed between you and the former princess. Although, neither of you could deny the obvious attraction that grew as well.

You didn’t think “flirting” was a thing when Yuna was properly alive, but she was damn good at it, regardless.

You, on the other hand, were awkward. Like a little bird trying to impress, you brought her modern-day gifts and things to try. When she expressed her fascination with your manicure, you brought her nail polishes in all different colors to try. She loved the soft, subtle pinks the most. When you had an extra long day planned, you went and got pizzas. She didn’t need to eat, but she appreciated the new flavors anyway. When she talked about how much she used to love to sew and try new clothes, you brought her magazines. She had really loved your talks about art and fashion before so when she saw pictures, she was ecstatic.

And you… You felt a certain amount of pride in having brought such a big smile to such a beautiful face. You felt a warmth in your belly at the way her hand would gently caress your shoulder in thanks for a gift. You felt a dizziness when she would stand just a little bit closer to you and exchange stories and knowledge…

🎃

“Death is only the beginning…” You whispered out, polishing the stone.

Yuna looked up from where she was painting her nails. “Hm? What did you say, precious?”

You blushed, still unused to the nickname she had adopted for you, looking over your shoulder to the beautiful woman. She met your eyes with a playful glint. Even when you turned away, you knew she was watching you work. “Oh nothing… I was just reading the inscription on your sarcophagus. It’s a bit ominous, don’t you think?”

When you looked back to her, after she remained silent for a moment, you caught her shrugging nonchalantly. “I was trying to be optimistic, actually. Hopes for the afterlife to be paradise and all that.”

“Well, it kind of sounds foreboding.”

“Well, yeah, it was to stop tomb raiders too. They need to think there’s a curse here,” Yuna giggled softly.

“Curse, my ass.” You mumbled getting back to work.

Your new… friend might be a mummy. Magic might be real. But you’d be damned if you thought anything in this place was cursed.

Yuna paused in her painting, hopping down from where she perched on the throne and coming to lean against the sarcophagus. “You don’t believe in curses?”

“I didn’t say that. You’re real and alive… Kind of… So I’m sure curses are too. But, I can’t find it in me to believe that you would’ve actually cursed anything here.” You paused, pulling off your gloves. “Your plan to make outsiders believe this place is cursed is working, though, you know. I was at a bar one town over the other night, and this guy was so insistent to warn me away. ‘There is a creature in those depths. The Bringer of Death. It will never eat. Never sleep. Never stop.’ A superstitious drunk if I’ve ever seen one. He definitely didn’t believe that the tomb was a couple empty, dirty rooms like I countered with.”

Yuna and you tried to stare each other down but easily broke into giggles. You leaned against the sarcophagus, which you’re sure would make your boss spiral into a fit if they saw, and nudged her playfully.

Eventually, she sighed out, “Well, I am no man, and I care not for ‘bringing death,’ but that drunkard was right that I cannot sleep or eat. A shame too, I really enjoyed that pizza you brought me, precious.”

🎃

You don’t really know how you got here.

Logically, it made sense. Yuna and you had been dancing around each other, making heart eyes, for days.

But you hadn’t fathomed it would culminate in her soft lips against yours.

She held you firmly, despite her gentle disposition, refusing to let you move away for even a second to breathe. One hand grasped your waist, teasing to inch south and caress your backside, while the other trailed up your own arm. Her nails grazed lightly, soothingly, against your bare flesh and sent chills up your spine in the most pleasurable way.

You really couldn’t believe this was happening.

Yuna finally pulled away, only a hair’s breadth, to allow you to gasp in oxygen. You sighed as she ran her nose along yours, both of you with fluttering eyes and small smiles. Her grasp on you didn’t falter; one hand holding your waist firmly, the other now cupping your neck sweetly.

“Jesus, princess,” You spoke softly, leaning your forehead to hers. “You literally stole my breath away.”

Yuna hummed and rubbed her nose back and forth against yours affectionately. “If I could have it my way, I’d steal all of you and keep you here forever, precious.”

You both giggled, but yours trailed off as one of her talisman necklaces caught your eye.

It was mesmerizing, and you pulled away a bit further to get a better view. Your own hand, of which both had been wrapped around Yuna’s neck, trailed down to lift the stone.

“This amulet… There are legends about it…” You finally spoke again, still breathless. Both from the kiss and from the beautiful, opalescent gem resting between the two of your chests.

“Oh, really?” Yuna asked, sounding distracted. She would always indulge in your stories though, even if she was obviously eyeing your lips and thinking of other things. “Like what?”

“It’s rumored to have the power to bring the dead to life. I’ve heard, recently actually, of a treasure hunter searching for it. He wants to resurrect his wife.”

“We’ll make sure that we don’t bring anyone back from the dead then…” Yuna kissed your cheek, seeing the way you tilted your head at her in teasing disbelief. “Okay, well anyone else.” She smiled smally.

🎃

“The hunter you spoke of. He broke into the tomb last night.”

That was the last thing you wanted to be greeted with. “What!? Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Did he steal the amulet?”

“Thankfully, he did not discover the hidden door to this sanctum. Both I and the amulet are safe for now… The powers bestowed on me through these talismans allow me to see who crosses the threshold and inflict whatever hallucination and emotion I deem fit. When you first entered, your aura felt safe. Hungry, which I now know was for knowledge, but safe.” Yuna smiled at you, before it fell into a scowl. “This man, though… His aura felt like those that were here before you. Greedy, selfish, dark. Like them, I used my abilities to inflict a foreboding feeling of doom and death and hallucinations of the shadows enclosing. His resolve was stronger than theirs had been, I fear.”

“What do we need to do, princess?”

She smiled again, this time wistfully. “Not we… I.” Yuna removed the opalescent talisman from her neck. “You will take the unenchanted and non-magical artifacts with you today. I know you finished cataloging days ago anyway… I want you to tell stories about me and my people. I want everyone to know that the people of this country descend from a resilient ancestry full of magic and ferocity and brilliance. I want the little girls, especially, to know they can be a warrior and a scholar.” She breathed, her eyes watery. “You will do this. You will tell these stories and be successful and alive. And I will destroy this amulet and collapse the tomb. I will die along with this dangerous magic, but I will die having completed my duty in keeping my people safe.”

Your eyes widened, full of tears, at her words. “I don’t want to lose you! You’re… you’re my friend, princess.”

Yuna sniffled, holding back her own sobs with a joke, “Well, you cannot stay. I’m almost positive that would kill you. Lack of air and all…” She leaned in slowly to kiss the tear tracks from your cheeks. “Besides, it would get dull rather quickly when I am put to eternal rest.”

You nodded, slowly packing up your things. Yuna had taken the liberty to stack the artifacts into your wagon before you even arrived. “I’m going to miss you…”

“I’m sorry it must end this way, but I did enjoy our brief time together.” Yuna took off one of her other precious necklaces, clasping it around your neck before you left the chamber. “I guess I did turn out to be the Bringer of Death… Just, it is my own.”

[keepmeinmind-01]

For the WIP ask game 📖✨: 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, and 15 because I am nosy and they all sound so good!

thank you for asking :D

2 - dark!theseus and chemical brainwashing

So this is actually the one that I’m furthest along with because I’ve been working on outlining it for the last week! My only issue is that it’s pretty dark overall and was partly fuelled by my PMS, so I’ll probably need to work on it in bursts, because I get so emotionally invested when I write LOL. I don’t know how much this is “spoilers”, but I feel like on AO3, the tagging system kind of means you know everything up front, so I can give a fair bit of detail? But potential spoilers I suppose, haha?

The premise is that, at one of Grindelwald’s rallies, Leta joins him and Theseus follows her. They both get through the flames, although Theseus gets a little singed, but when it comes to fully integrating into Grindelwald’s ranks, Theseus starts to have doubts. He talks to Leta about running away and Grindelwald finds out, separates them, and uses a mixture of magic and chemical tools to brainwash and control Theseus. Theseus becomes pretty evil, and he and Newt cross paths several times on opposite sides. To be honest, I think it would be a bittersweet ending, but maybe happy given what came before LOL. But everyone would live - Leta and Theseus would be facing trials, potentially, and Theseus would be hugely destabilised and damaged from his experience - and Newt is also there as they try and figure out where to go next.

It takes a few of the plot bunnies I have for kmim and never wrote in (like Grindelwald trying to break Theseus’s “moral crown”, drug use, one of Theseus or Newt temporarily becoming dark) and moves them somewhere else so I’m not tempted to put them into an already busy plot 💀 It’s also darker, dialled up sibling angst but also, Leta is alive! Which I love and want to try and make the most of, so I need to make sure she has her flowers in the outline. Grindelwald is downright horrible in this one xd

3 - thesival war

I think a while ago I posted my complicated backstory for how Theseus and Percival met during the war, and I wanted to make this into a 5 times X happened and one time it didn’t fic. I’ve been trying to squeeze it into that structure and it’s not been working, so it’ll probably just be a normal layout.

It will start with Theseus in Ypres, then cover Theseus getting taken as a Prisoner of War, which is when he does magic (some on purpose in the fight around a village, some accidental when interrogated). Percival is an observer, a MACUSA Auror keeping an eye on the war, while Theseus has enlisted as a Muggle. So Percival tries to rescue Theseus before he ruins the Statue, which is a close call but they both get out. Then they both slowly make their way to Ukraine through a mixture of joining groups in the trenches and fighting/travelling as a pair, because that’s where Percival has been summoned for the dragon project. And then in Ukraine is where the spark really kicks off.

Then, which would be the “one time,” we go to FBAWTFT present day, which is when Theseus and Leta get a telegram Newt has been executed. Then, they also get the reveal Grindelwald was impersonating Percival. I think I might end with Theseus going to MACUSA and giving them a piece of his mind for nearly losing his brother and actually losing his (slightly more than) friend.

4 - newt’s abusive marriage

So @creative-girl and I were talking about this, inspired by Hamilton, and it was very much her idea! It would be what it says on the tin, possibly with Percy as the bad guy. Theseus chats to Percy at a party but ends up introducing him and Newt. The marriage between Newt and Percival turns sour but Newt keeps it a secret and becomes trapped and withdrawn. Some kind of reveal means Theseus comes in during one of the one-sided “fights” and intervenes, and then it would be fluffy after that. I feel like I tend to make Theseus the hurt party rather than Newt (this is actually an active consideration I have for kmim where I’m making sure it balances out LMAO) and I think the comfort afterwards could be really sweet.

8 - making out as cover

Very much what it says on the tin. I have a rough draft of this one. Percival and Theseus are on an assignment, they’re griping with one another, they’re meant to be watching a spot from their alleyway. They get spotted, and because they’re near a bar, Percival instantly kisses Theseus as cover. And when their cover is safe again (I.e., the people go or whatever, detective semantics) they’re like “okay hang on…” hahah

9 - Bunty and Lally!!

I love f/f ships with all my heart and yet the pieces of media I’m interested in rarely have them (other than Overwatch), so I thought it would be sweet to try. I saw it as perhaps modern AU, perhaps not, where both are a little younger. Lally is a barista in a coffee shop and Bunty is an awkward apprentice. Quite classic flirting and mixed signals where Bunty works up the courage to give the confident Lally a compliment. It could end after they swap numbers, or maybe they can actually go on a coffee date too. Maybe Bunty is quite shy or closeted and Lally is super confident and relaxed, and it could create quite a nice dynamic. So pretty wholesome.

15 - Lally/Seraphina

Inspired by your comment! This one is one of the least fleshed out ones and I added it into the middle of the list rather than the bottom like an organised person. I think there’s so much potential here and it could maybe be something set in MACUSA’s office buildings. Seraphina is like this reserved, cold authority figure and Lally is a rebellious, snarky, and warm academic. I think they could bond over their shared intelligence, maybe there’s some project Lally has to consult on that means they see a lot of one another. I think they both have quite strong personalities and once the spark caught, would both go after it.

so yeah!! thanks for asking, i loved writing out everything ahahaha <3

[bellafemme]

Billboard interview.

Why Lana Del Rey Is Opening Up About Her Family on ‘Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd’

There is, in fact, a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard. Though a few online spectators suspected the tunnel, which inspired the name of Lana Del Rey’s album Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, out March 24, might be located in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Del Rey recently revealed that the underground tunnel is actually in Long Beach, Calif. — not far from Los Angeles, where Del Rey has lived for the last six years.

The singer-songwriter’s use of SoCal iconography has been a cornerstone of her songwriting for over a decade, from Born To Die’s (2012) depictions to old Hollywood glamor to Norman Fucking Rockwell’s (2019) allusions to Venice Beach. While it’s present on her new project as well, Del Rey admits she is not quite as focused on “world building” as she once was, and instead is “living from the neck up,” focusing her craft on more lyrically driven and intimate songwriting.

Del Rey’s Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd discusses unrevealed details and stories about her “family of origin,” especially in songs like “Fingertips,” which she says “tells everything about everyone from day one.” Just weeks before its release, Del Rey – who is Billboard’s 2023 Women in Music Visionary honoree — talks about creating the album in her living room, and why she is ready to talk about her family.

How did your new album begin to take shape?

Mike Hermosa, who produced the majority of the songs on this album, would come over to my house, and I would hear him in my living room playing piano. He’s not even a musician full time. He’s a DP, a cameraman. I would hear him play, and I’d be like “can I record that?” or I’d sneakily record something. Eventually I asked if he could just keep playing, and I could sing. Then, every Sunday when he wasn’t working, he would just kind of noodle around, and I would sing. That’s how we wrote the first song: “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.” I knew right away that I really, really liked it. I enjoyed how casual writing with Mike was. He didn’t have a dog in the race. He wasn’t interested in anything beyond just playing. It’s fun that the entire album didn’t feel like we were making one until the end when Jack Antonoff came in and was like “I really like this. Can I put something on top of this?” When Jack comes in, you know you’re making a real record.

Do you feel this casual approach to songwriting was able to open you up creatively?

This process was almost like automatic singing. I just knew exactly every word to sing for everything he played because the chords were perfectly arranged. I think my overall feeling when writing this album was just, “wow, I got lucky.” Also, I realized that, even when I’m seeking so many other things in my life, music really seeks me. It’s like a little bird following me around. Somehow when I didn’t want to make music, I was presented with the best collaborators I’ve met. I just had them in my living room. I realized music is the one thing that constantly shows up for me, even when I’m looking for something else.

Since you were singing so automatically, as you put it, did you go back and edit, or did you leave it as is?

There was a lot of editing, because it was mostly a stream of consciousness, but every now and then I’ll have a complete song come to me fully formed. The song “Fingertips” I created in one sitting, voice memoed it, and sent it to [the producer and composer] Drew Erickson. He came back to me the next day with a full orchestra. Again, I just felt so lucky: lucky for the songs, lucky for these producers, lucky for the project.

You have Jack Antonoff coming back on this record. He’s worked on so many major albums in the last five years, including two of your own (Norman Fucking Rockwell and Chemtrails Over the Country Club). As someone who has worked with him so often, what’s his secret? Why does everyone want to work with him?

He can play anything on any instrument. He can fit the right instruments and melodies to any idea you’ve had. I think he plays something like 16 instruments. For us, it’s definitely very collaborative. I think probably out of any projects he’s worked on, he would say I give him the most direction. It’s funny because I recently heard all of his records he made from when he was in high school, and I still hear so much of what he’s done on Taylor [Swift]’s new record from that high school record. He’s just prolific. It’s absolutely wild to watch. That’s why it’s so fun because you really get to create any sound with him. He’s also a girl’s guy. He gets it!

He’s also a featured artist on the album too. How did that come about?

I was done with the album, and he came in for a couple days. We sat there, and I said, “let’s just play the piano.” I can make a song out of anything Jack plays. That’s actually how Norman got started too. He just plays and I just sing. He started playing something and then I was thinking about his fiancée [Margaret Qualley] who I just can’t live without! I love her. I started singing “he met Margaret on a rooftop / she was wearing white / and he was like / ‘I might be in trouble.’” I asked him what he thought we should say in the second verse because with him and Margaret it was a “when you know you know” situation. He had the idea to sing about what you should do when you don’t know. He started singing, and I told him he should just sing it on the record. It was really fun.

What overall themes did you try to capture in this record?

Family of origin is the overall theme. I think with Blue Banisters I wanted to capture this idea too, but I flew it under the radar. I was trying to address some criticisms that I had heard said after Chemtrials… mostly that people don’t know much about me. I didn’t promote that theme of Blue Banisters at all intentionally. In this album, I got to really finish my thoughts and get super specific, which I was not comfortable with completely before… I do list my grandpa, my brother, my dad, my Uncle Dave. In the song “Fingertips,” I sing “Charlie stop smoking / Caroline will you be with me / will the baby be alright? / Will I have one of mine?” I think I was able to open up about this because Mike was so casual to work with. All in my living room. It allowed for that. “Fingertips” tells everything about everyone from day one until now.

Are you nervous about being so forthcoming about your family in this record?

I was. I was so uncomfortable. Then, by the grace of God, I felt completely unburdened.

Your father, Rob Grant, is releasing an album on Decca Records on June 9, and you’ll be featured on two songs. Has he always been musical?

My dad has always played piano and he sang when he was younger with my uncle who’s a traveling organ player for Emmylou Harris and Buddy Guy. They wrote country records back in the day. I don’t know how and when it came to him. But I think he just decided he wanted to record it. And [my manager] played it for Decca Records, and they loved it. I’m not talkative when it comes to myself, but you will learn so much about me in hearing him. It gives so much context to the family.

How Lana Del Rey Became ‘Completely Unburdened’ For Her Most Personal Material Yet

Lana Del Rey practices "automatic singing." Using the improvisational songwriting technique, she lets her voice carry over accompaniments, not commandeering where her words or melodies take her, accepting all ideas she has in the moment and editing them later. Lately, her voice has led her home, back to memories of her childhood in Lake Placid, N.Y., and to ruminations on relationships with her family and the divergent paths they’ve taken. That subject underpins her upcoming ninth album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (out March 24). Del Rey, 37, says she hesitantly began to unpack this subject matter with her previous album, Blue Banisters — but now, she’s ready to dig deeper. “At first I was so uncomfortable,” she says of the more personal material. “Then, by the grace of God, I just felt completely unburdened.” As a singer-songwriter, this year’s Visionary honoree has embodied that word for over a decade. Her 2012 major-label debut, Born To Die, made her a star and defined music’s Tumblr era, as a young Del Rey toyed with both the romantic and the darker sides of the American dream. Her “world building,” as she calls it now, for her early work created a collage of beautiful and disparate images, pairing hip-hop aesthetics with references to the Kennedy family, Elvis Presley with John Wayne, and old Hollywood glamour with biker gang grit.

Since then, Del Rey has pushed musical boundaries — seamlessly peppering an album with features from Stevie Nicks to Playboi Carti (2017’s Lust for Life), reworking a Sublime cover into a contemporary Billboard Hot 100 hit (2019’s “Doin’ Time”), for instance — while achieving both critical acclaim and commercial success. She has earned six Grammy nominations and holds the record for most No. 1s on Billboard’s Alternative Albums chart. And somehow, each week, it seems a new song from her vast catalog gains traction on TikTok. (“West Coast” and “How To Disappear” are two recent breakouts.) Younger artists often cite her as an inspiration — including Billie Eilish, whom Del Rey now calls “my girl. It makes me feel comforted that music is going in such a good direction.”

Since 2019, you’ve released four albums. Is it fair to say you have more creative energy than ever?

I think it might look like that! It’s funny because I keep telling people, “I haven’t worked in three years,” but really I just haven’t done shows in three years. As soon as I start getting ready for a show, that’s when it feels like work.

How has your process changed since Born To Die came out?

Eleven years ago I wanted it to be so good. Now, I just sing exactly what I’m thinking. I’m thinking a little less big and bombastic. Maybe at some point I can have fun creating a world again, but right now, I would say there’s no world building. This music is about thought processing. It’s very, very wordy. I’m definitely living from the neck up.

Can you remember what it felt like creatively when you were just starting out?

I think back to the beginning, being in New York. I would just go to a little deli by Grand Central and all you had to do to sit at the table for hours was buy a black coffee. I remember thinking, “I’m doing it. I’m living it.” It was all very thrilling. I was so psyched back then.

You recently featured on Taylor Swift’s “Snow on the Beach.” What was collaborating with her like?

Well, first of all, I had no idea I was the only feature [on that song]. Had I known, I would have sung the entire second verse like she wanted. My job as a feature on a big artist’s album is to make sure I help add to the production of the song, so I was more focused on the production. She was very adamant that she wanted me to be on the album, and I really liked that song. I thought it was nice to be able to bridge that world, since Jack [Antonoff] and I work together and so do Jack and Taylor.

Who do you consider to be a visionary?

Joan Baez. I sang with her recently. She gave me a challenge: She said, “Go down a little road and look for a left turn and find my house [in Northern California]. If you find it and can play ‘Diamonds and Rust’s’ high harmony, I’ll come to Berkeley with you and sing.” So my sister and I rented a car and searched for the house. I was very nervous. I don’t play guitar that well, but I learned the first three chords and sat across from her, [and when] we stopped playing, she was like, “Great, I’ll see you at Berkeley.” And another visionary to me is Cat Power. I had heard that she would run offstage when she wasn’t feeling it or just turn her back to the [audience] and keep playing. That’s when I knew I could probably do this.

[jokers-bat]

Every Joker and Batman Fic Idea I Have

I’m currently working on other projects but here’s what’s been buzzing in my mind lately!

None of these have titles or plots right now so:

2004 Batman Thingy

Takes place after the episode where Batman goes into Joker’s mind. Dr. Strange decides to keep exploring with Joker’s mind and it quickly becomes a form of mental and psychological abuse. Batman finds out but by then Joker’s mind is so broken he has amnesia. He brings him to Wayne mansion to help him recover only for Joker and Bruce to form a friendship that is later tested when Joker’s memories start returning. (Angst, hurt/comfort, possibly redemption and romance)

Joker’s Sisters

This is partly inspired by the Jack Stauber’s Opal short. Joker has two younger sisters who he left behinds when he became the Joker. Depending on the story, Ruth and Emily either believe their brother is dead or Ruth knows the truth but made a deal to keep it a secret from Emily as long as Joker never involves them in his crimes or does anything that could potentially harm them (I’ll post drawings of them sometime).

High School AU

Imagine if Bruce were a typical student at a school for troubled and traumatized youth. Though he puts on a cold and standoffish exterior, he feels lonely in this new school but with classmates like John, a class clown who everyone calls Joker, Selina who rescues and takes care of stray cats, and Ozzy who pushes everyone away, Bruce finds he’s not alone in this cruel world. (Basically a fic where Batman befriends all his enemies in a high school setting 😆)

And I really want to try a post apocalyptic society kind of fic too but the idea keeps changing. 😅

[thestrangeillusion]

S (or just one of them), X? :D

S. link your favourite author.

Oh god, this is such a difficult question! For the sake of not going down a complete rabbit hole, I’m gonna limit myself to only Kinnporsche fanfics for this question. And because I cannot possibly just choose one author for this, I’m gonna link the three fic authors in this fandom that I feel have probably altered my brain chemistry the most with their fics:

@the-cookie-of-doom: I am currently very, very obsessed with their fic “Pas de Deux” because bratty Kim and exasperated but-still-so-kind Chay have me in a chokehold. And then their trans Kim and glory hole fic live rent free in my mind and are really inspire some of my own head canons of Kim cause the characterisations are just sooo on point! Which reminds me that I really need to re-read those as soon as I find the time.

@bisexualbard-writes: Her “benefits to open and honest communication” series were some of the earliest fics I read in this fandom and it definitely contributed very strongly to how obsessed I ended up becoming with KimChay as a ship and with KimChay fanfic. I adored camboy Chay, but even more than that I adored Kim sitting across from Chay week after week in that coffee shop, Kim reading therapy books and Chay installing a mod that makes all of Kim’s online game chicken look angry and Kim being frustrated as hell by that. Simply amazing! And then all the incredibly angsty and incredibly hot sex was just so delicious to read. Another thing I loved was reading the same story from both Chay’s and Kim’s POV and all the ways they sometimes completely misunderstood each other and misinterpreted each other’s actions. Oh yeah, and then she completely blew my mind once again with one of her newest fic in which Chay holds a very willing Kim hostage in the hottest and most hilarious way possible. (Also, she let me in on the secret of how to super easily convert my fics into html format ready for posting to AO3, which I will forever be grateful for.)

@kimkhimhant: Their fics were also some of the first I ever read in this fandom (I went back to check and their “to love and be loved” series was actually my first ever bookmark in this fandom) and have also permanently formed and inspired my head canons for Kim and Chay and KimChay together. And I’m always reading their fics with my heart in my throat because of all the angst and hurt that they describe so viscerally, but at the same time I’ve always thought that their fics are really cathartic and feel healing as well. And at the moment I’m reading “this tender violence” which is so hard to read sometimes (and it must be so, so hard to write!) because of all the horrible things Kim is going through in it, but is just written so beautifully and with so much empathy that it definitely has a top spot in my list of favourite ongoing fics (and favourite fics in general).

X. give a summary of your current project!

While I have a ton of half-thought-out fic ideas sitting in my notes app that may or may not ever get written, the only project I’m currently actively working on is my WIP “i’m glad I didn’t die before I met you”. Basically, it’s a found family AU where Kim meets Porsche before Kinn ever does and triggers all of Porsche’s big brother instincts by being way too young to find himself in the mess he’s in (i.e. Korn trying to have him killed). I’ve been having a lot of fun exploring the KimPorsche friendship and messily blurring the lines between a big brother-little brother relationship and some underlying sexual (but NOT romantic) tension between them.  And then, because I’m a KimChay girl when it comes down to it, Chay is somehow finding himself in the middle of this, falling head over heels for Kim, all the while being sooo sure that Kim and Porsche have been fucking from day one (spoiler, they have not been) and might even be in love. Yeah, somehow I’ve found myself writing the misunderstandings trope, even though that’s not even a trope I usually particularly like, but I hope I’m doing it somewhat well… Anyway, this is not so much a summary as it is me rambling on about my WIP, but there you go.

Thank you so much for the ask! I obviously went way overboard answering this, as I always do 🙈 but it has been a lot of fun to answer 😊

[focsle]

Hi there! I’ve been doing a little project on the carbon impacts of the whaling industry and decided to read the current entirety of Going To Weather in one sitting as inspiration… honestly, all you do fascinates me but I am particularly impressed with how many fully rigged ships you willingly illustrated for all that! I’m curious if there was a specific way you studied them in order to draw them or if it’s more just a culmination of knowledge? I wish I understood all those intricacies better myself but it’s hard to figure out where to start…

Oh this is very kind of you to say haha! That’s a fascinating project—I’d love to see it when you’re done if you’d like to share it!

The secret is…they are absolutely not correct hahaha. If a tall ship sailor looked at my ships they’d be like ‘that’s wrong’ which is always why I’m like ‘shhhhh don’t look too closely’. But ultimately my aim is to tell a narrative, not draw a sailing guide. Regarding all the intricacies, I’m absolutely not drawing every line because there are dozens of them and I don’t consider it that important in the grand scope of telling a story. Same goes for tv and movies set on ships—often times their rigging is very much reduced for the sake of the readability of a set. Still, I try to get things vaguely correct looking, as far as the general structure of things so here’s where that helped:

The best way to understand how a boat works is to actually go sailing. But that is certainly not accessible for people in general, especially when it comes to square rigged tall ships (though opportunities DO exist). I’ve never been on a square rigger! No idea how they work! Would like to dabble someday. I’ve only worked on a fore-and-aft rigged vessel which is quite different, but it still gave me more of an understanding of how the sails actually work and what the lines actually do. Reading and watching things paled to being able to stand there and follow the lines to see where they went, and haul on them to see how they actually functioned. So if you ever get the opportunity to do any kind of sailing, that’s the best way to learn about how a ship works. I’m not a sailor by any means, but in my first venture into this I did start to learn a lot that I couldn’t really get from reading about it.

Watching videos helps too, though it’s sometimes hard to find ones that aren’t about operating contemporary sailboats. I found this series helpful just to get a basic understanding of how a square rig works.

Looking up diagrams can help too. I sometimes find diagrams of all the rigging challenging to parse in a 2d space, but when it’s broken down into smaller pieces I find that quite helpful. The Young Sea Officer’s Sheet Anchor by Darcy Lever has a lot of granular diagrams that are very well illustrated that I found helpful.

Finding a good model ship is also a decent way of starting to understand it. It’s in a 3d space in miniature so you can see the full scope of it at different angles, which I think is more helpful than drawings. It might not be completely accurate or have every single line represented, but it’s helpful to see how the lines lead to get the basic shape of them. I have a dream one day to have a model of the Charles W. Morgan. But good ones run for….thousands of dollars. So I’ve got a little wooden one that was my grandfather’s, but it’s still helpful to have on hand.

I also like looking at the illustrations of ships that my Whalers of Olde drew in their journals. It’s, again, not an accurate diagram, but they lived on that ship and in that life day in and day out, so when they draw them they tend to get to the spirit of the thing. I use their drawings to get a sense of what parts they felt most important to render, to inform how I render my own ships to get the point across even if they aren’t a perfect reflection of how a ship works.

I’m sure other folks have a wide net of resources beyond this, but these were some of the things that were helpful to me! But I certainly don’t have a vast accumulation of knowledge about sailing and it’s very much ‘that’s good enough to get the idea across in a comic panel someone will look at for 5 seconds’ ha!

[blazewatergem]

I have the overwhelming desire to talk about some of my recent Original Writings projects therefore you all shall be receiving ramblings/sales pitch on this post. You have been warned ;D

Bloody Roses: I’ve actually posted a chapter of this on my ao3 already! It’s heavily inspired by the online manwha I read, where the MC is isekai’d into the body of the main villainess, Amaris, a vampire queen. I’ve been joking it’s my spiciest story yet - but, considering me, it’s spicy in the same way pepper is spicy 😂 I’m mostly proudest of how I let myself really enjoy planning and writing for this. Like, I actually have Arcs written out! I think if you enjoy (obviously) monster romance, villain as the MC, and already established polyam relationships, you’ll like this one.

The Stars Above Midnight: Oh, this one. :’D Problem child of the group. The primary basis of it is how a new traveling doctor comes to a town called Midnight, claiming he wants to work there. He’s actually chasing down something his grandfather once saw, and the longer he stays in town - the more eyes are noticing him. This is pretty much my take on supernatural western(very much modern times though) with a lot of planned lingering dread. It’s my way of seeing how well I can do suspense and unease :3 I’m proudest of the scenes I’ve planned out already for this, two of them I am ECSTATIC to share once it’s time. If you like small town mysteries, country folk with secrets, and seeing eyes in the corn fields - this one’s for you!

The Song from Beneath: Funny enough, I refer to this one as The Stars Above Midnight’s “companion piece” despite them not being remotely related. It has a similar start in a private eye/detective coming to a isolated forest town looking for answers, but that’s where it veers off wildly. From missing people to disturbing dreams, this story is what I like to consider my deepest dive into Lovecraft Country. It’s also going to need tags like body horror, occult(but like, the fantasy kind), and of course - Eldritch terrors :D I’m proudest of how much I’m getting out of my standard style with this one. I haven’t really done extreme horror before, let alone Lovecraft Country style! And if things work out, I’m hoping this’ll be my scariest yet. Looking for dark drama, a board with pins and pictures all tied up in string, and a MC who starts to question their very reality? Look no further.

Instinct: My second isekai story on this list! This story is about a woman named Jax, who now takes on the role of “Evil Witch” in the world she’s ended up in. Except, she really isn’t about that life, and has a bone to pick with a lot of the people in this place. What’s the bone about? The kids. This story is mostly my agitation with how some kids in these fantasy stories/manwha get treated. I had a friend(*waves* Hi Sil!) call this a vent piece, and looking at it - she’s pretty right on the target. It will have fun, fluff in it too, but it’s really a bit of a power fantasy for me. I’m proud of this piece because it, it doesn’t have a big storyline or huge plot. It’s just me having fun, and writing what makes me happy. Sure, I do that anyways, but for this one - it’s all hands on deck. If any of this resonates with you, if you want strong “family is what you make it” vibes, or if you just want cute kid characters to coo over, here’s your story.

Help! The Evil Family Likes Me?!: Here we are at Isekai story number three. Heavily inspired by manwha that focus on the MC’s relationships with their new families, I’ve decided to try my hand at it. I’ve decided for this story, I wanted to focus more on familial relationships rather than romantic ones, so I’ve put the work in by plotting out the family and the history of said family HEAVILY. It’s a story about our MC, Evangelina Linwood, learning that while she’s read her share of manwha and knows the typical beats, it’s all different the minute you step into one yourself. With three brothers and a father to juggle, getting used to noble society, and trying to stay out of the main story’s way, she has her hands full. I’m proudest of, again, the work I’ve put into worldbuilding and her family. I believe I can honestly call it, my finest world yet. If you enjoy platonic and familial relationships in the spotlight, ruthlessness in the name of love, and learning to be accepted…well, your story starts here!

Thanks for reading 💜 I hope at least one of these sounds good! :D

[polizwrites]

PoliZ's WIP Update - 10 Jan 2024

Another mostly-average writing week - I touched  5 fics (2 new works & 3 WIPs)  for a total of  2053 words, with just about half on a single fic. I also posted my 500th fic this morning - which is kind of mind-blowing, if I think about it!

On Ao3, I posted: 

Chapter Two of  Keeping All My Secrets Safe Tonight -  Stony Spy AU where Steve doesn’t know Tony is a fellow spy.  

Without the Blind Adherence  - Canon compliant Soldier POV ficlet (What If …? S2:E2) 

On Tumblr I posted: 

 A Mission in Prague -  Red Room-era BuckyNat  mission fic from Natalia’s POV.  

I carried over 16 semi-active WIPs into the new year 😬 with my  current  deadlines being the Bucky Barnes Bingo which now wraps on 31 Jan and the Tony Stark Bingo & Stony AU Bingo which both wrap in February.    

See  below cut for what I’m working on/planning to work on - arranged more or less by bingos/challenges/etc.  As always, feel free to send me   prompts or plot bunnies as well as asks regarding  any of these projects  or any other WIPs I’ve got out there.   Interaction really helps feed the Muse and keep me motivated!

Bucky Barnes Bingo  - [BBB_R5]   (Ends 10 31 Jan 2024)

I’ve got  twenty-four fills  and six bingos, with  three WIPs - thanks to the extended deadline, I should get my blackout! 

* C2 - Yelena Belova–   The plan is to use this prompt in the next chapter of Peresmešnik,  (aka Three Avengers and a Baby), which is I poked at a little recently and is currently sitting at 1551  words (800-ish of which are mine).

* C3 - FREE - Posted  Without the Blind Adherence  earlier today.  Inspired by  What If…?  S2: E2, from the Soldier’s POV,  it came in at 556  words.

* C5 - Marriage of Convenience/Pretend Couple - pivoted and went with last week’s Flash Fiction Friday prompt: [#FFF234 How It Ends] to write  A Mission In Prague - a Red Room-era BuckyNat ficlet where she and the Soldier are pretending to be a couple in love at a Christmas market.  I tinkered with it some more and it’s coming in at 478 words.  The new version will get posted to Ao3 probably next week. 

* K2 - Humor - see TSB  KINK: Cock-blocking 'bots  below. 

* K3 - Magic -  Wrote up A (Not So) Misplaced Gift as a crossover with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt   [#FFF232 Among Any Option]. It came in at 301 words and will  post to Ao3 before this event ends.

* May Adopted - Insomnia - Posted  In the Dead of the Night to Ao3 this morning -  it came in at  317 words and  filled a Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF211 An Old Friend]. 

Tony Stark Bingo Round 7  - [TSB_R7]   (ends 15 Feb)

Twenty-two  fills and zero WIPs as of the moment, with a couple of ideas in play.  

* T2 - KINK: Cock-blocking 'bots -  Thanks to last week’s Flash Fiction Friday prompt,  [#FFF233 Imperfect Sign]  I finally sat down and wrote up the idea I’d been playing around with to  combine this with  the  Fictober Day 27: prompt   "I don't know if they will accept this."   I threw in my BBB - Humor prompt as well and ended up with  Competing for His Affections  - ‘bot shenanigans based on Tony & Bucky’s new romance.  It came in at 537 words and will be posted to Ao3 before this event is over. 

* T5 - Shawarma - possible crossover with SAUB Canon Divergence – Battle of New York-related?

* A2 - KINK: Concubine - possible crossover with SAUB Gentle Dom  and SRB Multiple Submissives.  I’ve got a fairly fleshed out  (so to speak) story in mind   (Dom!Tony/sub!Steve/sub!Bucky) - just need to get it on paper.   

* A3 -  FREE  – @SomeSortofItalianRoast and I are looking at collabing on a  Steve/Tony/Scott fic - still need to throw some ideas around on this.   

* R5 - Doppelganger/Evil Twins -   The Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF214 Broken Mirror] got me at least a good start on the idea I’ve been playing with for this square. I posted NamNori on Tumblr and have a general idea of how I want to build on it to also fill my SAUB AU: Crack square. It’s currently sitting at 360 words.

Stony AUniverse Bingo  [SAUB_R1] (ends 15 Feb)

Another brand-new bingo I’m helping co-mod!   Six fills, three WIPs and several  crossover ideas in play. 

* S1 - Edging - Filled this with Ringing in the New, where Tony makes a suggestion to improve/change up their love life. It’s a crossover with a Flash Fiction Friday prompt: How Do You Use ‘It’? and came in at 324 words - I will post it to Ao3 before the event is over.

* S2 - AU: Crack - see TSB   Doppelganger/Evil Twins

* S3 - AU: Wings - possibly Chapter Three of     Half of the Flesh and Blood That Makes Me Whole   - a Bucky POV remix of at least the first part of Take What Was Wrong (And Make it Right),

* S5 - Accidental Baby Acquisition - see BBB Yelena Belova

* T1 - AU: Fantasy -  CoffeeOwl shared a really cool dragon!Steve/indebted!Tony prompt in the ACB Discord server that I may be playing with for this.

* T4 - AU: Canon Divergence - see TSB Shawarma above.

* O1 - Breathless Kiss - Filled this with  Chapter 2 of Keeping All My Secrets Safe Tonight -  a Stony spy AU.  It came in at 1224 words and posted last Friday.   

* O2 - Omegaverse - I have a Vague Idea inspired by  @kandisheek’s lovely art piece.  

* N2 - Mutual Pining - crossover with CABB Royal Knight?

* N3 - Gentle Dom - see TSB KINK: Concubine above

* N5 - AU: Multiple Identities - Posted  The Secrets We Keep  to Tumblr.  It’s a first person alternating POV ficlet with mutual pining (and secret identity) Stony.   It came in at 314 words and will get posted to Ao3 before the event ends. 

* Y4 - AU: Soulmates  -  @chrissihr  posted a cool idea about Animated soulmarks, where  only your SM sees your mark move -  tinkering with this idea for Week 2 of the  Stony JAnUary event -   What the Soul Makes Visible  is sitting at 167 words and will probably get posted by Sunday.  

Captain (America) Bottom Bingo - Round 2 [CABB] (ends 28 Feb 2024)

I signed up for a 3x3 card for this bingo and have four fills, two WIPs and a couple of crossover ideas.

* B3 - Royal Knight - see SAUB Mutual Pining.

Post July Break Bingo  [JBB_23p] (Ends Apr 2024)

One fill on my  2x3 non-fandom-specific card - still working on  potential crossovers.

* A1 - “It’s you. It’s always been you.” - This might fit in with my TSB Doppelgangers/Evil Twins fill NamNori above :: ponders::

* B2 - Character’s personality is split into two different beings – I’ve never played with Bucky & the Soldier being two different people, but this seems like the perfect opportunity! Will see what might be a good crossover on BBB or WIB (or even SVB)

*  C1 - Touch Starved – another good fit for a Bucky-centric fic. (Steve or Tony or Clint).

* C2 - What are we? – possibly squeeze this into  SAUB  Soulmates AU.

Steve Rogers Bingo - Round 3 [SRB_R3] (ends  15 Jun 2024)

Four  fills  - need to ponder possible crossovers, especially with SAUB, & CABB.  

* C5 - Exes to Lovers  - crossover with  CABB - "B1 - "All I wanted was for you to be happy."  – Bucky or Tony as the Ex?   SAUB S4 - Arranged Marriage  might be an additional crossover  

* D1 - Multiple Submissives -  Stuckony crossover with  CABB - C3 - Bath/shower sex  and SAUB  Y1 - Pre-Serum Steve Rogers?  

* E4 - Tower Fic  - Using this for  Chapter 3 of  Half of the Flesh and Blood That Makes Me Whole – a  post CA:WS Stucky (eventual Stuckony) wingfic that’s a remix of Take What Was Wrong (And Make It Right).  Currently sitting at  1277 words with the intent to post on Friday.  

Build-A-Bucky Bingo [BaBB_R1]

Another fun year-long  event from the folks at  @buckybarnesevents!  Each month there’s a list of prompts and you choose (at least) one  each month for your card!

* November:  Crackfic - DONE  

* December: Wingman  - DONE

* January: Wingfic  -see SRB Tower Fic

Warm and Fluffy   Bingo  - [WFB]   (no end date)

Four  fills on my card, courtesy of   @warmandfluffybingocards  - need to try for another crossover or two! 

————

On  other creative fronts:  I am working on a  Baby Einstein Shape Clown Stuffed With Character figure as a commission;  still have one figure to go for one of my Marvel Trumps Hate  auction winners:  Captain Rambeau aka Photon. 

If  you’re looking for one of a kind gifts for birthdays or other celebrations, check  out Stuffed With Character    over on Facebook for a full list of my designs (now over 150!).   These soft stuffed figures are  mostly Marvel and monsters, but I have some Star Wars, Star Trek, DC   and Disney figures as well. Plus I love to take custom design   requests  for any fandom!

[deathbyoctopi]

So now, for the fic ask game.

F - I - M - N & S - T

As general asks.

And then as for D, I'd love your answer for "Phantom Threat" and/or "A Comedy of Yi City Errors". If not a Playlist than I'd be really curious to know how you came up with the story idea or what inspired you to write it.

I'd also just in general be interested in anything you'd like to share about one of your fics that no one has commented on so far but that you just want to gush about ☺️

D. A playlist associated with Phantom Threat or A comedy of Yi City errors?

Ever since university, whenever I have to concentrate and work hard on a project I listen to the same video of The Legend of Zelda relaxing music <3 It’s so engraved in my brain that it’s become like white noise for me, but it really does help. I doubt it has any impact on what I write, though, bc it’s the same music either for fluff, smut, angst or reports on the strengths and weaknesses of a nations macroeconomics XD

F. Share a snippet form one of your favourite dialogue scenes and why you’re proud of it

This bit from Phantom Threat:

“Silence! That he should be tainted by a piece of filth like you… You will pay for what you’ve done to him!” “And what do you know about what I’ve done with him? Hmm?” Daozhang’s not going to like this, he knows, but he’d prefer very much to still be alive to apologize later. And he’s enjoying himself too much to stop now. “What do you know of our nights together? This place can get so fucking cold, you know… Can you picture it, Song Zichen-daozhang? How he shivers in my arms, how I pin him down and spread him up, how I fuck him into the mattress until his voice is hoarse from screaming…” “Be quiet!” shouts Song Lan, and Xue Yang is almost certain he saw his hand shake in rage for a split second. “You beast! You lowliest scum–” “Oh, he wants it, too! He asks for it, begs for it! You should hear the sounds he makes." "I said, be quiet!" "And he’s so good with his hands… He draws them all over my body, touches everywhere because he wants to see me, because some ungrateful bastard stole his eyes!”

I really like the whole exchange between Xue Yang and Song Lan, when the latter was just going for the kill but Xue Yang keeps goading him into engaging in the conversation, because “Talk brings thoughts, which bring distractions, which bring mistakes.” Song Lan has always been the better swordsman, properly trained, so Xue Yang has to play dirty… so of course he TALKS dirty about him and Xiao Xingchen! Moreso, it stings more because (as Song Lan suspects/fears) he’s being completely honest! Plus, xuxiao is in a situation here where they’ve shared their secrets and are happy together, so Xue Yang’s trying to control himself not to kill Song Lan because he knows it would upset daozhang.

And he also knows talking this kind of filth will also upset him, but it’s not fatal and he can always apologize <3 I love the sweet dynamics they share in this fic… And the stinger: Xue Yang’s teasing did shake Song Lan up, but what really manages to break his concentration is the last line, his GUILT, when he stresses out that if Xiao Xingchen is so tactile with him is because he has no eyes to see… That really kicks Song Lan in the most vulnerable part of his soul. I’m very proud of that bit, I feel it reflects very well on each character’s personality and I love them so much…! ^-^

I. A guilty pleasure (writing or reading) Is it guilty, to want my favourite characters to suffer as much as possible? ^^U

M. Any premises you want to tackle

So much xuexiao swimming in my brain ///^W^/// And I want fluff and happiness for them, either within canon (three years to explore!) or after the Reveal, and living peacefully and happy together… BUT I also like trauma and pain, which is why I have been simmering in a very nasty idea I don’t think I’ll ever have the time or skill to write properly… Having Xue yang attacking Baixue and blinding Song Lan was just STEP 1 of his Evil Plan™️, the next one is following him up his mountain and massacring the hell out of all his shidis and shimeis. Maybe (surely) Baoshan Sanren would kick his ass to his next reencanation, but she could be out in a grocery run or very busy with song Lan’s eye surgery, but regardless I want her telling Xiao Xingchen “see?? THAT’S why I didn’t want you back, bringing your outside-world bullshit with you!” It would certainly destroy Xiao Xingchen, I feel bad for him already XD

N. Fic you want someone to write or finish for you?

Quite honestly, I want someone to write a sitcom-style story with The cloud Recesses in the previous generation of cultivator’s time. The young adventures of Cangse Sanren, Lan Qiren, Madam Yu, Jin Guangshan… and of course, Clan Leader Yao! In that vein, I’d love a retelling of The Untamed in a Lady Whistledown-style narration, as if Nie Huaisang had his own rumour-and-scandal little clandestine magazine ^w^

S. Fandom tropes you can’t resist?

Subtle power dynamics (the kick comes from the ambiguity, so I find a student-teacher or captain-officer situation much more interesting than a master-slave, which is very obvious and in-your-face pun VERY MUCH intended “There’s only one bed”, “A is hurt in places only B can help bandage”, and any other such tropes that lead to a situation of intimacy between two characters in early stages of attraction, when either don’t think they like the other yet.

T. Fandom tropes you can’t stand?

Miscommunication. If it’s justified by the narrative, it’s ok… but I’m so tired of seeing the character’s keep secrets for no reason as a cheap way to create tension and drama. And it runs rampant in c-dramas, which I find exhausting

Other random things to share:

My absolute otp, and the one to get me in writing fanfic, is xuexiao and I doubt that will change in the foreseeable future. However, lately someone (NOT looking at you @foxyyaoguai ) got me into jadecest, and I’m enjoying a lot that particular side of the mdzs navy. Lan ships are elegant and very hot, so I’ve written quite a bit in this direction, but I will come back to our ramshackle little boat of pain and candy and secrets ^-^ <3 Sometimes the titles are very self-explanatory, but sometimes I have no idea what to call them and I choose a verse of the latest song I have stuck in my head, that vaguely resonates with the fic or the characters. This is the case, for example, of To carry a bit of yesterday “Phantom thread” was the working title for my nameless fic, that had the sole purpose of filling a void in my xuexiao anthology (what if song lan gets to Yi City and xiao Xingchen already knows about Xue Yang, AND XUE YANG KNOWS HE KNOWS???) I had a fic with the first half of the premise, but not the second, so the game was limping a bit with a nonsensical continuity error. So I just made a fic up to fill that blank. It was the first original fic I wrote, and it remains one of my favourites… But there, the title was “phantom thread” because it was a story thread that was missing, and it ended with “Phantom threat” because of the sense Song Lan has during all that story that he is being threatened by Xue Yang, which turns out not to be true.

Final thing, and that’s more a matter of (lack of) self discipline… I barely ever revise or even re-read my fics before publishing them. AFTER, yes, frantically, and I try to edit as much typos and errors as fast as possible… and I keep editing on the go, when I’m in the train or at odd hours at work, because I love rereading my stuff once it’s out in the open and I have a mini heart-attack every time I see a mistake.