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gargoyleandgremlinpress · 6 months ago

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Sudden Nature by everbrighter

This MDZS fic/series is a modern AU that's mostly without magic... except there's a heavenly bureaucracy. And every once in a while, it makes a mistake, and sends someone who's died back to earth. This is rare, but frequent enough that hospitals have resurrection wards just in case.

If you're at all familiar with canon, I think we can all see where this is going.

Wei Ying is a a whistleblower on the Wen Corporation in this one, who's adopted baby A-Yuan. When he's killed in an accident, Lan Zhan raises Lan Yuan and lives with his grief... and then Wei Ying comes back. This is a story that's emotional and heartfelt, and very funny in bits, about grief and loss and family, and getting something back you never thought you would, much like canon.

The series is a bunch of interconnected short fic with two long segments. The first one is from one from Lan Sizhui's point of view: "Lan Yuan has lived most of his sixteen years not knowing the man who raised him as a toddler. So when Wei Ying suddenly comes back to life, both Lan Yuan and his dad, Lan Zhan, work to make room in their lives for him. Too bad he has a science project due this week..."

The second one is from Wei Ying's: "Wei Ying comes back from the dead, all of a sudden. Over the course of a week, he remembers what it is to be alive, and what it is to be in love." (Not gonna lie, I kind of love the parts where Wei Ying is adjusting to no longer having the body of a twenty year old, in terms of sleeping for a week on the couch now has CONSEQUENCES.)

But it was the very first part of the series that hooked me, where Lan Zhan falls in love. And it's not who you think.

"Aren’t there classes for this? Aren’t there books a person is supposed to read for this? Should he have done research? Shouldn’t he have prepared? But ah, it’s too late now, and there’s a baby in his arms, face to the shoulder of Lan Zhan’s cable-knit sweater."

I finished the typeset for this fic back in the fall of 2022, and it was in my pile of text blocks to finish binding for Binderary, an annual fanbinding challenge, in February, 2023. It was the last one left. I looked at the text block. I looked at my bookcloth and paper options for the cover. I pulled out two options... and couldn't decide. It turns out, I just didn't have the right combination of colours.

In the interim, I obtained some Duo book cloth, a particular line that has a two-tone colour shift to it, gorgeous in person, but really hard to photograph. The company that makes it, sadly, has gone out of business, and the final group orders for it obtained near epic status among @renegadeguild circles. (It has its own lore. And fic.)

Which is to say, the spine of this book is Duo Dragonfly, and the cover is chiyogami paper. The endbands were my first time trying a double core, in sewing thread, and are a little bit shaky as a result, though I'm pretty happy with the colour combo. Lettering stencilled in gold acrylic paint.

I was going for an ethereal, heavenly feel with the title page, and a shout out to the Toronto setting with the spread on the table of contents. (Hello, fellow Canadians!)

A few interior shots here, and a vaguely Lan cloud used for the section breaks. I did a bit of formatting to mimic a newspaper column for the article that starts off "Thirty-Seven," the long section from Wei Ying's point of view.

I am pretty happy with how it turned out, and glad I held off to get the match that felt right for the cover materials!

And behind the cut for spoilers... the last sentence in the short chapter right before Wei Ying's death gets me RIGHT IN THE FEELS every single time I read it.

Lan Zhan held onto A-Yuan! He held him for fifteen minutes, and then for the next sixteen years it took for Wei Ying to come back from getting milk at the 7-11! Oh my heart. Nnngh.

(Also, I slid in a fan art illustration for the fic from GreenTeaPikachu, so enjoy the drunk!LanZhan Does Parkour as an added bonus for clicking through!)

#fanbinding #ficbinding #my binds #mdzs fic #wangxian #sudden nature #everbrighter #just a really elaborate fic rec #modern au #right in the feels #using the notorious duo book cloth

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braunaza · 5 months ago

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saccharine summer .•° ✿

➸ ᴇʟʟɪᴇ ᴡɪʟʟɪᴀᴍꜱ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

ᴘᴀʀᴛ ᴏɴᴇ

➸ salty seas and sweet strawberries

ᴍʏ ᴍᴀꜱᴛᴇʀʟɪꜱᴛ ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ ᴍᴀꜱᴛᴇʀʟɪꜱᴛ

ᴘᴀʀᴛ ᴛᴡᴏ

∘◦❀◦∘ i haven’t really written anything before so this is a first for me! open to any and all criticisms or ideas cus this lowkey sucks but please bear with me. i hope you guys enjoy this tho. happy summer!

∘◦❀◦∘ warnings -> (very) light swearing

∘◦❀◦∘ loser!ellie x (lowkey) loser!reader + acquaintances to lovers + friends(?) to lovers, fluff!!

“Are you serious?” Ellie asked, her voice wavering too loud against the quietness of the study hall.

Jesse shrugged apologetically in response to Ellie’s outburst as Dina shot her a sympathetic look. The inner of Dina’s dark eyebrows curled up inwards remorsefully, before speaking.

“I’m sorry! I wish I could stay but Talia’s taking me to Europe.” Dina responded in a hushed tone; contrasting Ellie’s.

“And I’m going to Korea. Seeing my extended family and all that.” Jesse added.

Ellie couldn’t help the sigh that left her mouth, filled to the brim with disappointment, as she leaned back on the broken school chair. The corner of her slit eyebrows knitted together as a contorted look of frustration passed across her freckled face.

“You’re both going to be gone all summer?” Ellie muttered as she took her hands out of her pockets and brought them upwards, massaging her temples. Jesse lightly scratched the back of his neck but didn’t answer. Dina didn’t dare respond either. An awkward quietness filled the air between the three of them blending in with their still scenery. The silence gave Ellie her answer.

“Great.”

Ellie had never liked summer. The humid heat made her feel gross; only to be heightened by the copious amount of sweating that occurred due to the summer’s blaze. The never-ending boredom didn’t help. Especially now that Ellie was going to be alone for the next two months. She already knew how this summer would play out. She’d end up spending the whole time inside, in fear of both pollen and UV rays, re-playing the resident evil series on her bygone PS4. Ellie could already hear Joel’s voice; nagging her to leave the comfort of her bedroom and have some fun in the sun.

“At least you won’t be completely alone.” As Dina spoke up, Ellie snapped out of her thoughts. At her words, a slight scowl traversed Ellie’s face. She knew that Dina was referring to you as a few days ago, Ellie had overheard you expressing your dismay at not travelling this summer. This meant that Ellie was left alone with you.

It’s not that Ellie had a problem with you. You were simply Dina and Jesse’s friend. Not hers. You were just too nice. It pissed her off. In fact, everything about you irrationally pissed Ellie off. From the way your sunny smile shined so brightly to your obnoxiously loud giggles. But what agitated Ellie the most was your fruity perfume. The one that she could smell from a mile away; overpowering whichever room you currently occupied. To her, you were summer personified.

You were so sweet; it sickened her. And she was stuck with you.

Ellie’s face scrunched up tightly as you waved a vividly coloured piece of paper in her face. The current assault ended with Ellie snatching the sheet out of your loose grasp. As she held it up, she allowed her eyes to scan over it. It was a list. An annoyingly aesthetic list.

“What is this?” Ellie asked as she lowered the yellow page, your eyes peering over the top of it expectantly.

“A bucket list!” You responded with too much enthusiasm as your everbright smile flashed at her. “I made it for the two of us to do over the summer.” Ellie’s pale green eyes scanned the sheet again. She couldn’t help the small laugh that left her lips as she read the last point.

Kiss someone.

As Ellie chuckled, your head tilted to the side slightly in confusion. Ellie took her eyes off of the decorative paper and moved her gaze onto you. Her slit eyebrow perked up slightly, simultaneously out of confusion and disbelief, before speaking up once again.

“I’m not into you like that.”

Ellie’s blunt statement only added to your confusion and deepened the puzzled expression that adorned your face. That’s when the realisation hit you. As embarrassment overcame you, your head lowered to the school’s wooden floor; focusing on Ellie’s worn down converses. You let out a small, yet awkward, laugh in a poor attempt to laugh off the misunderstanding.

“That’s not what I meant. I didn’t mean it like that.” You stuttered bashfully, your eyes finally drawing back to Ellie’s face.

“It was meant to encourage us, you know. Use it as an excuse to step outside our comfort zones.” You continued. “Neither of us are exactly the pinnacle of popularity. It might be nice to have a makeshift hot girl summer.” The expression left your mouth before you could think; resulting in you cringing at your own word choice.

Ellie paused for a moment as she listened to your yapping. The scowl that usually adorned her face when conversing with you had faded.

“That’s lame.” The moment of softness was over; broken by Ellie’s frank statement. A groan left your lips before pouting slightly. If Ellie didn’t want to hang out with you this summer, you’d probably turn into some video gaming loser who never left their room. You needed her to agree.

Not wanting to give up, you continued to stare at Ellie; your eyes peering up at her with pure desperation. Eventually, her eyes gently closed before letting out a quiet sigh.

“Fine. I’ll do your stupid bucket list.” A look of absolute glee spread across your face as you swung your arms around Ellie’s neck and pulled her into a tight hug.

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” You squealed into her neck. As you practically latched onto her, Ellie awkwardly patted you on the back as the hug swayed from side to side. From this close your obnoxious perfume was phenomenally stronger. God, you were too sweet.

It was an unspoken rule that the first day of summer was for relaxing. The day was to be spent laying around doing nothing. Ellie was prepared to devote the day to League of Legends, yet she found herself being dragged out of bed at the untimely hour of eleven to go to the beach. You claimed that it would a fun way to start the holiday and would put her in the ‘summer mood’.

By miracle, you had chosen the perfect day. The sun had been out shining since the early hours causing the air around you to dramatically heat up. Ellie could already feel the sweat running down her back. It was disgusting. She had even tried to cool herself down by swapping her jeans for jorts and leaving her flannels behind. You, however, didn’t seem affected by the blaze. In fact, you seemed to be completely in your element.

Ellie had been complaining the entire walk over. To her, it was far too hot. Yet every time she grumbled about it, you’d shoot down the comment. You’d claim that it ‘wasn’t that bad’ and that she just ‘needed to get used to it.’

“You remembered to bring a swimsuit, right?” You questioned as you continued your journey with too much pep in your step. Ellie nodded in response as she trailed along begrudgingly beside you. “Sunscreen?”

Ellie let out a small groan before nodding lazily again.

“I brought everything with me. I’m not stupid.” Ellie retorted at your nagging. Due to the combination of heat and tiredness, she wasn’t in the best mood. The last thing Ellie needed was for you to be nagging her all day.

After traversing the streets with the burning sun on your backs, you finally arrived at the local beach. Unsurprisingly, it was packed with many families. This caused the loud chattering from the groups to overpower the peaceful sounds of the waves. The whole thing seemed so overwhelming to Ellie. You, however, took no bother to it. You scanned the shore to find an empty spot for the two of you to sit and as your eyes landed on an open space, you began to make your way over forcing Ellie to trail along behind you.

As you began to settle yourselves in the spot, Ellie chucked her army green satchel onto the ground allowing grains of sand to creep into its crevasses. Meanwhile, you gently placed your tote bag down before taking out a pink and white towel. The difference between the two of you was staggering. You lay the towel gracefully on the shore before Ellie plopped herself down on it.

“It’s so hot.” Ellie grumbled for the one millionth time as she held her hand over her face, sheltering herself from the searing sun. “I feel like I’m gonna burn up and die.”

You giggle at her dramatics before responding.

“Come take a dip with me.” You piped up. Ellie was about to retort until she caught a glimpse of you taking off your oversized shirt which hung loosely on you. Underneath revealed a blue bikini adorned with graphic white flowers. Did everything about you have to be aesthetic? Looking at your stylish beach outfit made Ellie feel uncharacteristically ashamed about her own.

“I can’t.” Ellie responded as her eyes quickly shifted to her feet digging into the sand. An unexpected sense of embarrassment washed over Ellie as she spoke. “I need to put sunscreen on first.”

She didn’t tan. In the sun, most people brown slightly with a topaz colour glossing over their regular skin tone. Ellie wasn’t most people. With the presence of the sun, Ellie burnt tragically, causing her naturally pale skin to redden and flake. Not only did it look horrible, but it also hurt like a bitch.

After rummaging around her satchel for a few seconds, Ellie eventually found her desired object. Taking it out, the item was revealed to be a bottle of ‘SPF 50 Sunscreen’. Ignoring the slight snicker from you, Ellie pulled off her Smiths shirt; leaving her in a black sports bra. You watched her impatiently as she began to lather the white lotion over her arms and legs.

What felt like a century passed as Ellie’s soft skin finally began to absorb the cream. The time had been spent making awkward small talk here and there, and you constantly checking the time on your phone. You were absolutely desperate to dip your toes in the sea.

“Let’s go!” You cheered as the recommended thirty minutes passed. Quickly, you pushed yourself up onto your sandy feet. At the sound of your eager tone, Ellie couldn’t help the slightly chuckle that escaped your lips. She allowed herself to be pulled upwards, by your hand, and dragged towards the water.

“Wait! I’m still in my shorts?” She pointed out causing a small ‘oh’ sound to leave your lips. Ellie unzipped her jorts and kicked them off; revealing a pair of black swim shorts patterned with bold yellow bats. She was wearing a Batman swimsuit. A Batman swimsuit. As hard as you tried, you couldn’t help the cackle that bursted out of you. Total embarrassment erupted through Ellie. “Don’t laugh at me!”

“I’m sorry.” You chortled in between your fit of giggles. Ellie shot you a glare only for her self-conscious expression to return a second later. “It’s cute.” You said half-seriously as you continued to laugh.

Eventually, when you managed to collect yourself and stop laughing, Ellie found herself being tugged towards the sea again. You braved up first; dipping your left foot into the crisp water.

“It’s not that cold.” You spoke as though your whole body wasn’t shivering. Carefully, you submerged the other one in as well; leaving Ellie on the shore. The pale girl looked apprehensive as she observed you walking deeper into the ocean. “Once you’re in it gets warmer. You just need to acclimatise!” Finally, Ellie took the plunge and stepped into the sea quickly.

“That’s fucking freezing.” Ellie yelped out.

You couldn’t help but giggle at her frigid body and screwed up face.

“You’re being a big baby! It’s not that bad.” You teased, causing Ellie to shoot you a scowl as her whole body shook.

An evil thought entered your head as Ellie stood there shivery. You pursed your lips together as you contemplated your diabolical actions. Eventually, your intrusive thoughts won. In one swift movement, you dipped your hands into the water, cupping it, and throwing it onto Ellie’s body. A loud squeal exited the girl as the nippy water splashed onto her. Ellie gaped at you in disbelief before returning with a splash of her own. That resulted in a water fight between the two of you, despite your grown age.

For a moment, Ellie was grateful that you had dragged her out that day.

“Truce! Truce!” Ellie called out as she tightly squeezed her eyes shut.

“You got sea water in my eyes!” Her complaint came out as an uncharacteristic whine. “It really stings.”

You let a sarcastic ‘aww’ sound as you took Ellie’s hand into your own and led her out of the sea. When you reached your previous spot on the beach, you sat softly on the sand before chucking your tasteful towel at the girl. Ellie shoved her face into the towel as she continued to grumble about the stinging sensation.

Still in your swimsuit, you tossed your head back letting the sun beam down on you. As you lay on the sand letting the heat dry you naturally, Ellie scrubbed herself down before tossing the towel over her auburn hair in a pathetic attempt to stay in the shade.

“If you go through all this and still burn, I’ll laugh.” You commented with a slight smirk at the ridiculous imagery beside you. Ellie shot you a glare before retorting.

“I thought you were supposed to be nice.”

“I’m an absolute sweetheart.” You countered causing Ellie to roll her eyes.

“Yet you’d laugh at my hypothetical pain.” She muttered with the towel still sitting on her head. Instead of continuing the banter, you decided to counter by snatching the towel from Ellie’s head. This action caused Ellie to let out a yelping sound before she grabbed the item back.

“Let the sun dry you instead. Let nature do its thang!” You laugh as Ellie both internally and externally cringes at your words.

“It’ll dry me out too much. I will burn.” Ellie emphasises.

A warm silence envelopes the both of you, as you bask in the sun’s radiance beaming down. For a moment, as she looked at your radiant presence laying in the sand beside her, Ellie thought that perhaps your quiet company was rather pleasant.

That was until the eerie music of an ice cream truck sounded, invoking a childlike squeal from you. All of a sudden, you jumped up and chucked your shirt back on over your damp bikini.

“Ellie, we’ve got to get ice cream.” You pleaded as you began to rummage through your bag for your purse. Ellie remained on the ground as you scrambled about. “It’ll make this beach day perfect!”

Slowly, Ellie picked herself up from the ground and sighed. She knew she would give in to your shenanigans eventually anyways.

“Fine.” She huffed, causing excitement to fill your sparkling eyes. “But you're paying for mine.”

“What am I? Your boyfriend?” You retorted, causing a grossed out expression to cross Ellie’s face.

Ellie shrugged on her shorts as you pressured her to hurry up. The second her zipper was zipped had you begun pulling her towards the van; joining in the queue of little kids. When you reached the front of the queue, Ellie ordered a single with a flake. It was a classic. However, when you ordered a strawberry flavoured ice cream, Ellie couldn’t help the small chuckle that left her.

“What?” You questioned as you took the ice cream from the seller.

“Nothing. It’s just very you.” Ellie commented with a slight smile dancing on her lips.

As the two of you walked back to your area, you both let the quiet sit between you as you enjoyed your ice creams. Ellie glanced at you before taking in a deep breath and letting out a soft sigh.

“Thank you for dragging me out today.” Ellie spoke with a bashful expression. You looked deeply at her face as she began to speak, however Ellie failed to meet your eyes. She looked rather cute like this. “It wasn’t as horrible as I thought it’d be.”

You couldn’t help the sweet smile that enveloped your face at her words. Perhaps you didn’t sicken her as much as she thought?

#braunaza #ellie williams #ellie williams x reader #ellie willams x reader #the last of us #the last of us 2 #tlou #tlou2 #ellie williams x y/n #ellie williams x you #ellie williams x female reader #ellie williams x f!reader #wlw #sapphic #lesbian

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