#found this languishing in my drafts

[sendmyresignation]

i think it's sooooo funny whenever any single person jokingly compares pete wentz and gerard way (two comparable people because they are peers and contemporaries!) a lot of people get incredibly defensive. sorry it wasn't gerard who said the scene was an arms race!!!

[all-de-fandoms]

I am fairly confident that Suzanne Collins has at least slightly more intention behind her work that JKR ever did anon.

"omg, you guys actually need to know that Suzanne Collins wrote the Hunger Games thinking about Palestine!!!"

"did you ever see Katniss as one of the brave children of Gaza??? because I think it's fair to compare them!!!"

I need you all to shut up.

Shut the fuck up.

You can enjoy YA medias without making it about issues that have NOTHING to do with it and that are insanely bigger than novels with plot holes as huge as the moon.

This is how you create monsters like JK Rowling: they write silly little novels for kids that dare have a little more weight than a Peppa Pig episode, and suddenly they find themselves surrounded by fans who have no idea of how the real world works but are willing to bend backwards three times to make their favorite author the most politically aware person in the world.

If you want to read about Gaza, read the goddamn news, stop trying to make it a fantasy novel with a love story to the side because otherwise it's not palatable enough.

--

I feel confident that if they do want to read a book, someone from Gaza has written one.

[afurtivecake]

Found this languishing in my drafts file from when I first finished AFTG and felt the urge to just write: Andrew's POV of the scene after Nicky gets Neil all dolled-up for his first trip to Colombia.

cw: none

---------------------

Fuck Nicky to hell. 

That was the first coherent thought that came to Andrew’s mind the moment he saw Neil emerge from the bathroom. 

After everything Andrew had said to Kevin, to Wymack — to fucking Bee — about how they were all so fucking wrong about Neil Josten, it was disappointing that the one person whose initial assessment hadn’t been wrong was Nicky. 

Nicky, who was as shallow as he was gay, and equally loud about both, had noticed it the moment he laid eyes on Neil. While the rest of them were distracted by Neil’s behaviour, trying to figure out what kind of broken Kevin’s skittish, new striker was, Nicky’s dumbass brain had gone straight for the first incontrovertible truth about Neil. Or rather, his dick had. 

How fucking disappointing, Andrew thought to himself as he took Neil by the back of his neck and turned those piercing blue eyes full of defiance and palpable discomfort on himself.

He fought Andrew only a bit, and only out of instinct. Like Kevin, there was fear there, cut deep into him by the hands of others, though none of that fear was for Andrew. 

Neil had been given the chance to run. Instead, he had dressed himself in the clothes Andrew had gotten for him and bared those blue eyes because Andrew had made him, all while exuding a hostility that Andrew had put there.

“Damn, Neil! You clean up good!” Nicky said, smiling the smug smile of someone who had known all along that his taste in men was impeccable and couldn’t be fooled by whatever shabbiness Neil Josten tried to hide himself under.

Andrew shouldn’t have noticed the soft fuzz of hair beneath his fingers, or the warmth of the skin pulsing with a rabbit-quick beat under his tight hold. He shouldn’t have felt anything about it without the drugs adding its peachy-tinted haze. 

Neil ignored Nicky and glared pure dislike down at Andrew. Andrew smiled. 

Good, Andrew thought. A fizzle of satisfaction tickled against his chest that he squashed down.

Good, because he hated him too. 

And he had the whole night to prove it.

[writing-for-life]

He Hears the Sound of Her Wings…

When Death Equals Solace

This meta started out as part of an exploration of Dream’s relationship with his siblings (and what we learn from their very first appearances) that’s been languishing in my drafts for ages. But since we’re discussing “The Sound of Her Wings” in our community at the moment, I just decided to pull these bits up now (maybe also better to write about the siblings individually than in one novel-length meta 🙈). So here goes…

Dream’s relationship to his sister is undoubtedly special. He is closest to her—but what does that actually tell us?

When she shows up for the first time in issue 8 (“The Sound of Her Wings”), we see Dream desolate, seeking purpose beyond his function. And seeking purpose beyond his function is what's at the root of the deep schism between being Morpheus and being Dream (I am fully aware they are one and the same at this point, but bear with me): Morpheus wants something that is real, but Dream is the unreal.

When we read/watch “The Sound of Her Wings”, we tend to focus on that she helps him remember what his function is, and what it means to be what he is. All of that is true. But while she reminds him of what he his, and why, she ignores his deep longing for something else—a personhood, if you will. That's neither a What nor a Why—that's a Who. And I don't blame her, purely because of what she is. Her function already defines something real: Life and death. You can’t get any more real than that. But Dream is the unreal.

And Dream's meeting with his sister in “The Sound of Her Wings” reminds him of his function and purpose, true. But that isn’t solely helpful—it’s also painful. Because his main takeaway, in a nutshell, is actually this (more about that in a sec):

If we remember that the Endless are concepts, it’s is near impossible to read “The Sound of her Wings” as anything other than it is in the narrative arc: Of all the siblings, Dream is closest to Death. There’s meaning in that sentence. He perceives what she has to offer as a gift. He finds solace in her. This is abundantly clear when he recites the following (I’m still sad we didn’t get to hear it in the show to be honest):

Death is before me today: Like the home that a man longs to see, after years spent as a captive.

Recited by Morpheus, who just escaped captivity 😩

And it would be easy to still revert to thinking, “Ah well, she just reminded him of his responsibilities and his purpose, and that he’ll be okay.” But if you look at these panels…

It’s near OOC for Morpheus to say that his responsibilities can wait. But he does it here, and it becomes so clear that there’s another epiphany in there. A solace was found. In Death. Who is his sister but also always, always her function. I personally believe (and people are free to disagree of course) this is the very moment he knows, in his heart of hearts, that his only way out is D/death. And that’s something peaceful for him, not something he is afraid of.

Has he already, perhaps subconsciously, laid a few traps for himself well before that? Yes, for instance in a Midsummer Night's Dream. Has he already learned certain lessons beforehand? Yes, in Dream Hunters. But I believe the difference is that the way out becomes crystal clear to him here, and that from this point onwards, the traps become fully baited, and he can't (or won’t) back out anymore because his sense of responsibility made him paint himself into a corner (consciously or subconsciously—I'd hazard a guess it's all the same to him anyway). And we all know this one…

Even in his last moments, he never forgets about his responsibilities. But the responsibilities he only talked about a few panels before can wait. For once. And it’s very hard to know what a stickler for responsibilities Dream is and not find that significant. We are reading a return to what matters, finding new purpose and hence saying “responsibilities can wait” into these scenes because on the surface, it makes sense. Because we are human. And Dream becomes more human in his outlook as the story progresses (and that’s not without consequence).

Ultimately however, the Endless are concepts, and all dreams ultimately die—either because they are fulfilled, hence stop being unreal, or because they cannot be fulfilled and are either given up on or turn into something else. And all of these messages are central to The Sandman.

Dream loves Death, the darkness lifts from his soul when he is with her, and from this moment onwards, the sound of her wings is the solace he turns to. And that’s both beautiful and heavy…

[skyward-floored]

I found a scrapped fic idea I had for febuwhump, so here’s the bit of it I wrote so it doesn’t languish in my drafts forever. Dumb conversations heh. Incredibles au.

...

“Is Wind okay?!” Wild asked as he and Four ran up to his uncle’s side, Warriors carrying Wind piggyback. Wind’s eyes were only half open, and he looked vaguely nauseous.

“Guy said it was truth serum, he’ll be alright,” Warriors assured, and Wind groaned into his shoulder.

“My head feels like the triplets ganged up on it,” he mumbled, and Wild patted his head.

“Hyrule’ll fix you up Wind, you’ll be okay.”

“That won’t fix the serum though,” Warriors said with a frown. “He’ll probably have to sleep that off.”

“How will we know when it’s out of his system?” Four asked worriedly.

“When he won’t answer questions like ‘who’s his favorite uncle’ instantly anymore,” Warriors said with a faint smile.

“Who is your favorite uncle?” Four asked.

“It’s Warriors, but Sky gives better hugs because he has wings,” Wind muttered, then blinked, looking bewildered.

“How about your favorite brother?” Four continued with a mischievous look, and Wind hummed.

“Depends. Twilight is nicest but he treats me like I’m five sometimes.”

“Whoa, can I try?” Wild asked, then didn’t wait for an answer. “Wind, were you the one who stole my Halloween candy last year?”

“Yes but I only took the peanut butter cups, Legend took the rest but swore me to secrecy,” Wind rattled off, then slapped a hand over his mouth. “Oh no!”

“Hey, this isn’t a game, knock it off,” Warriors reprimanded, frowning at his nephews. “You wouldn’t want Wind to take advantage of you if you were the one who’d been exposed to this stuff, right?”

“...no,” Wild admitted. “Sorry Wind.”

“Are you kidding? He’d probably do the same,” Four pointed out. “Wouldn’t you, Wind?”

“Yeah, no hesitation,” Wind replied, then groaned. Warriors patted him on the head. “Can I have my filter back? I liked not speaking constant truth.”

“We could gag you I guess,” Wild suggested, but at the glares shot his way, raised his hands in defeat. “I was kidding! Sheesh.”

[twig-tea]

TWIG! Friend! I couldn't help but notice your tags in my excitement post about getting to La Pluie -- I see that you and I are YYY mutuals. :) Let's call YYY... say... zany or offbeat -- off the beaten path of the usual romance-dominated field of Thai BLs. What are some other "zanier" BLs (not just Thailand, but everywhere in Asia) that you love and would recommend for an off-the-wall experience? And, why?

@waitmyturtles I'm so sorry you sent this a million years ago and then I kept letting it languish. And it's extra rude because I love this question! It's so hard to add something like YYY to a rec list without a billion caveats, so this is a great chance to shout out some of the series & shorts that don't get as much attention. A few of these I know you've seen but I have to include them for completeness.

First, for the sake of other people reading this, as Turtles has written about, Cheewin brings his own kind of zaniness to almost everything he works on; my faves of his other than YYY are Make It Right and Secret Crush on You (the exception is Bed Friend, which is not in any way zany but I still liked it).

Also going to mention that since Turtles asked for off the beaten path zany, I won't be mentioning any of the popular comedies (in case you're wondering why I Became the Lead in A BL Drama or Man Who Defies the World of BL aren't on this list).

Alright now that's out of the way, let's get into the other recs!

Zany lesser-known BLs other than YYY

Ossan's Love Franchise (Japanese, 2016-2024, GagaOOLala)

It is... less true now that this series is lesser-known than it was when I started writing this draft (in uh... August 2023) but I shall persist! The franchise details alone for this series are complete crack:

A 2016 45-minute short [skippable imo];

The 2018 original series which builds the short into a zany 7-episode comedy series about a man in his late 20s who suddenly finds himself the love interest of his older boss (in his ~50s) and his coworker/roommate (in his mid-20s);

The sequel film Ossan's Love: Love or Dead (2019)which turns into an action film halfway through for no clear reason but also remains a romantic comedy in which the mains from the original season decide if they want to stay together

The AU season Ossan's Love: In the Sky (2019) which has the same characters of the lead and his boss from S1 and the short, but this time they work in an airport and all of the surrounding cast is different and leads to a very confusing love rhombus. Incredible 10/10 no notes [people hate this because they like the mains from S1 & the film but I loved the mess]

The sequel season to S1 and the film, Ossan's Love Returns (2024) which you can absolutely watch in isolation and is about the main couple re-establishing their relationship and their found family friend group after being long distance for a few years.

It's truly excellent comedy, and gets better every outing; there are some barriers that might prevent some enjoying the earlier seasons but the most recent one is really delightful. You can hear me talk more about this series with @bengiyo and @shortpplfedup on The Conversation podcast!

Diary of Tootsies (Thai, 2017, grey/Netflix (for the movie))

I love Diary of Tootsies and the follow-ups so much. SO much. One of the best laughs of my life was the opening to the movie, and I cannot be in a long car ride without thinking about the purse incident in s1. This show doesn't get a lot of BL fandom attention because the romance arcs are not typical for BL (but that's one of the things I love about them). And the friendship in this series is truly what sells it. Season 1 is self-contained, a lot of people dislike the romance plot of S2; I really like the arc across s2 to the movie (as established above, I tend to be less invested in a particular ship across a franchise or multiple franchises). The movie plot is all about reconciling who you thought you wanted and who you are with (amongst all kinds of shenanigans).

HeHe and He (Hong Kong, 2018-ongoing, YouTube)

This mockumentary sitcom-style series does tackle some serious topics and is also absolutely hilarious nonsense across its 3 seasons. The very simple premise is that a gay guy ("hehe" is slang for gay) and a straight guy who are old friends become roommates when the gay friend breaks up with his longterm boyfriend and needs a place to stay, and hijinks ensue. They do direct-to-camera confessionals spliced in with scenes from their lives. I love this show so much, and it would actually be high up in my indie BL rankings if it were completed. I lose it at least once an episode. It's very queer (if you want a show that tackles everything from hookups to turning everything into a joke to being so, so mean to each other while also loving each other dearly to even chemsex, look no further), and I am in love with all of the wacky characters that have formed a love-hate found family that is deeply relatable. The creators posted a video a few months ago saying they're struggling to end it in a way that they're happy with so I'm not sure we'll ever get an ending for the show. But if you like comedy and queer content it's worth a watch even incomplete! I've been very patiently following this project since 2018 and it's legitimately one of my favourite shows.

Rainbow Prince the Series (Filippino, 2022, YouTube)

This is a musical; it is a lot of campy nonsense. There is royalty, political intrigue, a dog, kidnappings, and so. much. singing. The songs are surprisingly catchy and it's all extremely good fun. Also a lot of the dialogue is very clearly improvised.

Hey! First Love (Vietnamese, 2019, YouTube)

This series of shorts are mostly just silly fluff. The very tenuous plot is that these shorts are slice-of-life moments from a young established couple, but it's all really just excuses for Vietnamese comedy and BL romance tropes. If you haven't watched anything from Vietnam, this is a very low-stakes commitment (I think it's under 30 minutes of content all told; there are 4 "episodes" which are spliced together shorts, each of which has a tiny plot but there is not much of an overarching narrative, and then a Q&A with the actors at the end) and gives you a sense of the Vietnamese sense of humour. Both of these actors have gone on to continue to be in other Vietnamese BLs, so if you have watched Vietnamese BL you may recognize them! The production quality on this is charmingly low.

Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (India, 2019, Amazon Prime)

This film was such a joy to experience in a live theatre. Billed "the first Gay Bollywood RomCom", this movie was a riot of chaos, dance numbers, shenanigans, hilarity, and cuteness. I loved the way this film incorporated the very real legal change to decriminalize homosexuality in its story. Arguably not "BL" as it very much fits in the bollywood tradition not the BL tradition, but OP did ask for all of Asia!

Like Love (China, 2014-15, grey)

And no I don't mean censored--this is from before China started censoring its BLs. This show has kisses as shown in the gif, and even (poorly cropped) sex scenes. It also is super bizarre. I was so confused by this show, the characterization, the fourth wall breaks, and how disjointed it was so I went to read the source material and...it turns out it's one of the most perfect adaptations I've ever seen, the book is in fact exactly like this. The characters are caricatures, there is no bridging between scenes, and the plot is the most absurd take on 'loserfail no-thoughts-head-empty character who doesn't admit he's gay but still ends up in a dedicated and loving relationship with a rich handsome domineering man ' I've ever seen. It's a bewildering experience. Note the sound quality on this one is suuuper miserable. I like s2 way more than s1 (s1 is getting together and includes a lot of the bullying-teasing and I'm-not-gay-I-just-need-him-to-pay-attention-to-me stuff, s2 is the honeymoon phase + getting the homophobic parents on board) but S1 is definitely the zanier of the two. That being said, if you wanted, I think you can dive right in to s2 (there's a direct-to-camera explanation of what happened in s1 at the start of it). Note that they set up a cliffhanger at the end of 2 in anticipation of s3 which was going to be made in 2016 but was cancelled because of the political changes in China in 2016 (this is one of the reasons I went to read the source material; they do get a happy ending in the books).

This is an extremely silly but also touching franchise with a lot of tropes I don't love, but also a lot of things I do (and just neat to see some stuff so early in BL: Underwater kiss? Helicopter ride? Femme fatale becomes friend of the faen? Supportive grandparent? It's all here). There are some fantastic speeches in s2 about supporting your gay children; I liked how in this the kids didn't give up on their parents but try to reconcile their filial piety with their dedication to each other. If you do watch S1, highly recommended you watch the series version rather than the film. For "S2"/the follow-up film, make sure you look for the uncensored film version.

The Lover Room 709 Cut (Korean/Japanese, 2016, grey)

This starts extremely silly, plays with BL tropes, and gets a little bit serious at the end but is mostly just full of puns and innuendos. Includes one of the most hilarious takes on kabedon, and egregious use of the soundtrack from Brokeback Mountain. Also: fart jokes. Folks worried it was going to stay teasing the audience but it does commit and we do get an actual resolution that is satisfying. I admit I've never seen the whole series (which includes stories of 3 other couples in the apartment building) but the BL cut is readily available if you search. Make sure you look for the deleted scene with the lotion application--this scene walked so IFYLITA could run (I'm kidding, but it's very funny seeing this scene now and thinking about that one).

The Boy Next Door (Korean, 2018, YouTube)

This is another older series playing with censorship (similar to The Lover) in which the two characters end up in BL romance tropes but are not actually in love...or are they? The shenanigans are very fun. This one is left more ambiguous than The Lover, which is one of the reasons it's further down the list.

Go! Go! G-Boys (Taiwan, 2006, grey)

I debated between this and another quirky comedy from Taiwan in the early 2000s, Formula 17, but while that's unequivocally a better movie, this one is lesser known and more zany, so it technically better fits the bill for this ask (but if you haven't, go watch Formula 17!). The plot is a bit cringe--straight boy signs up to gay beauty contest to pay off his girlfriend's debts (accompanied by his gay childhood friend who is in love with him) and finds his truth. Meanwhile a homophobic police officer has also infiltrated the contest for investigative purposes. Amongst all that admittedly not great setup, however, are several bizarre sequences including the incredible Lord of the Rings recreation scene (complete with Gatchaman of course), a killer soundtrack, a random delivery of poultry, someone slapping a cake, and, most absurdly unbelievable at all: police taking harassing death threats to the gay contest seriously. It does a great job of setting up what should be a dramatic scene and then immediately undercutting the tension with something absurd. It's not narratively good, but it is a fun ride! And yes, there is a happy ending. Stick around for a fourth wall break (literally) after the credits.

Something Crunchy Crunchy (Korean, 2018, GagaOOLala)

Extremely bizarre little musical short in which snacks are anthropomorphized as hot guys and they sing songs about being eaten and wanting to be eaten. Played entirely sincerely, but the concept is screamingly funny. Fascinating. Also, kind of poly?

Dom (Korean, 2016, GagaOOLala)

Another hilarious and weird Korean short, this time in which we see the protagonist's sex life from the perspective of the condom boxes that are anthropomorphized and given personalities based on their brands.

And since we can't leave out the ladies,

A few zany GLs:

Lily Fever (Korean, 2015, YouTube)

I wrote about this one a little in my GL rec list; it is absolutely bonkers nonsense. There is not really a plot, it's a fever dream of a show. Chaos! Not so much a romance as an excuse to see cute girls flirt and make out.

Legend of Yunqian (China, 2020, grey)

I debated including this one because only the middle is really the zany part, it's sandwiched with more serious xianxia drama. But in the middle of this miniseries is an extremely cute interlude in which xianxia characters time travel to present day for ~reasons. It's censored but there is very little uncertainty about feelings, and manages to be absolutely charming. Worth the short runtime for this kitten quickcut (subbed "Whomst?!" in the show for ultimate comedy). Warning for character death (but it's ok because time travel to reincarnated character!) Subtitled by the indispensable @douqi7s [see their pinned post for links].

BetCin (Filippino, 2022, WeTV)

A lesbian couple with a YouTube following decide to break up but then find out there's a contest for couples, and they decide to pretend to still be together to try and win the contest rather than tell their fans they've broken up. This series does some really interesting things by starting with a breakup and then looking at how two people who are no longer dating manage BGP while also managing their feelings. There's a lot going on in this show, and the hijinks definitely ensue!

Perfect One Night Stand (Korean, 2020, GagaOOLala)

This is a cute Strongberry GL short in which a friend agrees to help her other friend find a girl to have sex with before the day is over; they go through several quirky candidates looking for the titular perfect one night stand.

[ladywaffles]

wip tag game

rules: share one sentence/excerpt from your wip(s) that starts with each letter of the word you've been given!

tagged by: @redbelles, who gave me the word SING

unfortunately for you, i am physically incapable of resisting the urge to start a new wip, and so here i lounge, on my throne of unfinished drafts.

[as of yet untitled duke and maria mitchell origin story, brought to you by my "Maverick Mitchell Is Pinoy, Argue With The Wall" headcanon]

She is delightful and everything he's ever dreamed of loving. He knows he wants to marry her when he walks her back to her brother's house, this time with her hand in the crook of his elbow like the polite gentleman his mother raised him to be. Maria blushes prettily, and she kisses like he belongs to her. He'd give her the whole world if he could. when maria kisses him, he feels like he's being shot off the catapult into the open sky on a clear blue day. There is no better feeling.

[we now interrupt your regularly scheduled ladywaffles/lamby fic for untitled and unhinged icemav smut]

If Ice hadn’t spent the whole evening riling him up only to deny him before he came, and if Ice weren’t currently grinding his cock into Maverick’s prostate with every shift of his hips, and if Ice didn’t have a hand on his throat, gently squeezing in the way they both know makes Maverick melt into the mattress until all he can think about, all he wants, is to make Ice happy— If Ice hadn’t done all of that, Maverick could have responded in a way that wouldn’t immediately result in Ice tossing him out of the Navy before he took his dick out of Maverick’s ass.

modification over alteration: bradley bradshaw blue-skidoos into an alternate universe where iceman is still alive and married to admiral (?!) maverick mitchell, and bradley's other self looks remarkably familiar... [insert mustachioed glen powell here]

“No, just his better half. I’m supposed to be on leave right now, so uncle duties got delegated to me while Mav gets to wrangle the bureaucracy until I go back to the office on Monday. His luck had to run out at some point,” Ice winks. “You married Maverick?” Bradley asks. He zeroes in on the silver band on Ice’s left hand, a perfect foil to the academy ring on his right hand. Ice twists it off so he can look at it; there’s a string of numbers, coordinates, etched on the inside, followed by a date—sometime in October 2015. “Of course, that’s just the official one,” Ice says as he accepts the ring back. “We’ve been together for much longer than that. I’m surprised that you’re surprised by this.”

dress and tie: a pennymav fic that's been languishing in my drafts folder for Far Too Long

“Good to go,” he tells her. “Thank you,” she says softly. She spins on the balls of her feet to face him. “What do you think?” Pete breaks out into that smile of his, that look that makes her forget every time he’s broken her heart and charms her into giving him another chance. “You’re always a stunner, but this…” he trails off, his eyes bright. “You look great.”  It’s the same thing he said to her, when she found him sitting at her bar, but the admiration doesn’t seem to have melted away at all.  “Don’t give me that look,” she tells him. I’ll never leave for this date if you keep looking at me like that.

tagging: @sluttyhenley @twinkboimler @starrybouquet @thebaconsandwichofregret and anyone else who wants to play! <3 your word is STIR

[iced-blood]

Sugar, Spice, and Everything Ice.

I’ve been quiet this year.

This isn’t to say I haven’t been doing anything, as folks may have noticed. I’ve put up a whole mess of links to the work I’ve been doing in 2023—a grand total of 105 chapters—and that’s what I want to touch base on, at this tail-end of the year.

I found out early on in January that a dear friend of mine, my creative partner and the reason for my Paved with Good Intentions series, passed away in 2021. I’m not sure what it was, but that news hit me in a particular way. I realized that two of the projects in that aforementioned series, Blue Eyes, Violet Eyes and Lightbringer, were unfinished.

That didn’t sit right with me.

I set out to fix that.

There are many projects I’ve started that I never finished, and have been left languishing for . . . ten years? Yeah. Ten years.

That’s just ridiculous.

I decided that 2023 was going to cooperate with me whether it wanted to or not.

So, I bought a day-planner and set to work. Let’s go over the list, shall we?

Coronam Crepusculum

This was first on my list because it was a work that I owed a good friend of mine, who is no longer a regular user of Tumblr. It’s a take on the Soulsborne universe, built around a series of personal interviews with relevant characters conducted by an OC I created specifically for this purpose, Wandulfin of Vinheim.

(the latin title translates, hopefully, to “crown of twilight”)

                                51,377 words.

Paved with Good Intentions: Blue Eyes, Violet Eyes

The first of the two stories I knew I needed to finish in memory of my departed friend, I resolved to write the 19 chapters required to reach a clean finish line for this one-shot collection of 100 installments. It felt like the right way to go about things, and I think I worked out a lot of important elements of the Kaiba brothers through those 19 chapters.

                                165,386 words.

Paved with Good Intentions: Lightbringer

The second of the two stories written in my friend’s memory, this is still being published every Saturday. I wrote what amounted to the second half of this story, 55 chapters to be exact, for a grand total of 110 (of which 98 are published as of this post). I think it’s some of my best work to date, and I can only hope my partner would have appreciated what became of it. Have you ever wondered how Seto and Mokuba would react to meeting their parents again? If so, this is the story for you.

                                Published + Rough Draft: 159,930 words.

The City That Wouldn’t Die

The first full storyline of my personal take on World of Warcraft and my main character’s place in it, this story has undergone a lot of changes since I last touched it. This year, I resolved to end it at a part that made at least some amount of sense, but I won’t pretend that it’s entirely satisfactory. All I can say at this point is that I do intend to come back to Azeroth eventually. And this time, I hope to give my characters the story they deserve.

                                41,890 words.

Cult of the Dragon King

I’m pretty sure this is the one that’s been left alone the longest; if it isn’t, it’s close. The basic thrust of this story is that Atem failed in his quest to gather the Millennium Items and put them to rest properly, and so it falls to Seto Kaiba to try this time. I could go into detail why I picked Seto to be Atem’s successor, but I think y’all know what to expect here. I picked Seto because he’s my favorite. Anyway, this one isn’t ready to resume publishing, but it has been drafted. Anyone who’s been waiting for this one to continue will want to pay attention to this blog in 2024.

                                Published + Rough Draft: 175,246 words.

The Lost Dragon's Lullaby

Another AU centered around the Kaiba family (what can I say? I'm a creature of habit), this story wonders what it would have been like if Noa had lived. What if Seto and Mokuba had another brother when they were adopted? What if they had a mother? What would the Kaiba family look like if it were whole?

Approx. 62,609 words.

Watching the Lights Go Down

One of two stories I revived this year, and will resume publication in the new year. Do you Blueship? Do you wonder how Seto and Kisara might interact in the modern world, regardless of romantic intentions? This is the story for you. I took a set of 100 words to use as prompts to build this story, and through these 100 snapshots I think you’ll get a pretty clear picture of how I imagine Seto’s relationship with his favorite dragon would unfold if said dragon was a woman. And his bodyguard.

                                Approx. 52,789 words.

Letting the Cables Sleep

This is a sister story to the one I just outlined. Taking place concurrently with Lights, this story explores the relationship between Noa Kaiba and Ryo Bakura. Why these two? Why not? I don’t really have an answer, except to say that I found their dynamic interesting. Unlike its other half, Cables is explicitly romantic. So if you’re interested in Domino City’s resident white-haired cryptid hooking up with an android, well, here’s where you wanna go. I used the same list of 100 words, but in reverse order, to build this story.

                                Approx. 52,708 words.

Butterflies and Hurricanes

The other contender for “story Ice left to languish for the longest time,” I’m not sure I have to explain to anyone reading this why I might have stopped working on a Harry Potter story. Put basically, this story is an exploration into what would happen if a fae prince took an interest in taking down Lord Voldemort, and then settled on Sirius Black as his instrument. It’s a time travel story at its core, with all the nonsense you might expect from such a thing.

Regardless of anything this series’ author might have to say on the matter, my writing this story does not in any way endorse or condone transphobia or any of her other myriad bigotries. I have not given this woman money in 20 years. I do not support her in any way, shape, or form. This story’s completion is for my own satisfaction, and for the interest of anyone who might want to read it. That is all.

                Published + Rough Draft: 80,506 words.

The Whitest Lace of Light

A continuation of my pet take on the Bleach setting, focused again on Toshiro Hitsugaya and Rangiku Matsumoto and their Tenth Division. Throughout the 50 chapters of this story, they face off with a new threat to Soul Society as they try their hardest to rebuild after the Thousand-Year Blood War. Throughout this . . . suspense? Thriller? Thing. They come across new faces and old, and might just learn some things along the way. Or something. Look, I just wanted to write one of my favorite ships again.

                                Rough Draft: 30,033 words.

At Sixes and Sevens: A Prince for His Kingdom

The shortest work I completed this year, but certainly not the least important. This is a continuation of my pet take on the “Kaiba Bros Age Swap AU” as first shown to me by my dear friend @kintatsujo. How might Seto have handled an invitation to Duelist Kingdom if he’d been 9 years old when it took place? What about Mokuba, if he was 15? Shenanigans abound. I hope you like where I took this one, Kinta.

                                5,000 words.

Last but not least, I resolved to break my record for my longest NaNoWriMo project this year, because I’m ridiculous and don’t know when to quit.

Much like I approached World of Warcraft,I take every MMORPG I play as an excuse to build a story. Nowhere is this more obvious than Final Fantasy XIV. My take on Eorzea and its various magical idiosyncrasies—which I call The Song That God Forgot—set me on a road to 125,000 words this past November.

These projects, alongside various redrafts of my older stories in preparation for what I hope to be 2024’s migration from Fanfiction.Net to AO3, netted me a grand total of 902,580 words written in 2023.

I don’t say this to brag or to pat myself on the back (okay, maybe a bit), but to say . . . just hold on. Keep going. You’ll hit your stride eventually, even if it doesn’t seem like it. I’ve struggled to write regularly and with consistency for a decade now, and here I’ve got nearly a million words in a single year.

I believed in me this year, and I believe in you too.

Keep on truckin’. You’ll get there.

Happy New Year, y’all. I love you.

[burningdarkfire]

I'm not positive I've correctly tracked what has and hasn't been asked about already, but "CR SG free use"?

repeats are always just an opportunity to expound more! but yes, you have found some uncharted territory 😊

(ask me about my WIPs!)

this was an idea that @capitola tossed out that i then picked up and ran with: essek gifts caleb a book, and in return he gets free use of caleb while he's reading it

i finished a first draft of this fic ages ago, but as capi has gently confirmed, it is simply not very good in its current form and has thus been languishing in the folder until i can give it the time and energy it needs. here's a snippet that's at least halfway decent:

Caleb startled awake, his body jolting forward on instinct, some confused urgency of thought—

"It's alright," Essek said soothingly, shushing him. "It's just me, pet."

Sensations fell into place one at a time. The warmth of Essek's chest pressed against his back, his hand tucked securely around his stomach. The hard edge of the book digging into his shoulder—he must have fallen asleep while reading it. The creaking of the bed, the heavy weight of arousal between his legs, where his body had already reacted to Essek fucking his thighs, the steady slip and slide of his cock, hot and hard, between Caleb's legs. 

His thighs were already a mess and he was barely awake. He lifted a hand and then stopped, suddenly uncertain where to put it. Essek was panting, his breaths hot against Caleb's shoulder, and suddenly he grabbed at Caleb's hip and groaned.

[egginfroggin]

Snippet of a fic currently languishing in my drafts. I'll be posting it on Thursday next week, for day 4 of @bananacreamphi's Dojoshipping Week.

---------

He was smiling, she noticed in the light of the lanterns on the street corner and the soft glow of his eyes. It would be a slight thing on anyone else, mouth barely even curving, but it was equivalent to a blinding grin coming from him, and she wondered what had him so excited.

Especially considering the hour.

“I have something to show you,” he said. Ah, now his hands were fidgeting. Pent-up energy. She blinked a bit more awake.

“Now?” she asked, tilting her head. “Where?”

“Preferably, though it might happen again soon,” was the reply, oddly cryptic. “In the Fieldlands.”

Bafflement settled on her expression, and he edged a scant inch back, almost wilting. “Though it – it can wait, certainly.”

She shook her head, trying to force some lucidity back into her skull, and stepped away to slide on some sandals. “No, no, I’m curious. How far?

The spark was back again, and she found herself smiling at how bright he was.

“Not far,” he said, almost subconsciously reaching to take her hand as she stepped out and shut the door. “Just past the base camp.”

She blinked at their joined hands, almost stumbling as he pulled her along, and she held back a bemused laugh at the forwardness of the act.

“Somewhere further north would be better,” he said, hand still wrapped around hers, fingers still warm around hers. “The Icelands would be perfect, or the Temple of Sinnoh, but those are much too far now. Though it would be spectacular there," he mused, almost as an aside. "But the Fieldlands will work.”

Zisu did laugh, then, and she waved off the guard at the gate when he went to stop them.

“And what is this thing?” she said. “You’re ecstatic, Warden.”

He looked back at her, slowing slightly, perhaps noticing just how fast he’d been pulling her along, and ducked his head sheepishly.

“It’s –” he cut off, glancing up, and she went to follow his gaze only to be stopped when he made a distinctly protesting tut. “It's a surprise.”

[threebooksoneplot]

so first of all, THANK YOU for creating this podcast. it just may be the best thing that’s happened in this entire century, apart from twilight coming into existence in general.

i found your podcast as i was desperately seeking some new way of filling every single second of my day with consuming twilight in any shape or form. i mean truly, one can only listen to the audio books while working from home so many times, which for me was every single working day for three years. not. exaggerating.

letting that sink in, imagine my reaction when you revealed your tumblr and ao3 names in the early days of the podcast and i realized that it’s made by literally my favorite bloggers/fanfiction authors in this fandom. i may or may not have full stopped in the middle of the street. seriously, i’ve been reading your works for years and i eat it up every single time.

anywaysss, now that that’s out of the way, the reason for this ask is because i can’t seem to find show notes for episode 17 – “big jeep energy” and i was looking for them because i was wondering if g ever remembered the name of esme’s dead son that the fans voted for at a q&a? sorry if you’ve already answered this or posted about it on here, i just didn’t find anything!

once again, thank you for creating this podcast, you and all your guests are a joy to listen to and it’s so refreshing to listen to someone talk about twilight in the same way that i would!

The "official" name of Esme's dead son is Joseph! Here's ohmycarlisle's account of how this came to be (and oops a bunch of episodes' show notes are still languishing in the drafts. it's my summer project —g)

[elephant-in-the-pride-parade]

10, 13, 24 for the writer asks, please!

Thank you for the asks! im sorry it took a while to write a response to these!

From these asks

10. What is the longest amount of time you’ve let a draft rest before you finished it?

This is not hard to answer, but it is embarassing.

8 years and still going.

I started writing Age of Aquarius Part 2, the second in my "holy god i didnt anticipate how long this would be" post-canon series in.... 2016. it ran right into the Americorps and grad school years of my 20s, when i was working and studying so much that i wrote the least of any other time in my life. and then in that time I rediscovered Star Trek, discovered Trek fandom for the first time, and the sheer amount of engagement i found there really inspired so much fic that i had to follow that impulse. it has been amazing. i have gotten so so so much better as a writer thanks to the range of writing ideas ive been driven and challenged to attempt, and have found such a robust community too. Al that writing experience and experimentarion made the work i have been able to put in on Age of Aquarius (and Sailor Moon H) so so much better.

but Aquarius has languished for it. and my small but amazing community of Sailor Moon friends is the only reason ive kept writing it - for them, because theyve been with me so long through everything and I know how much they love it.

I entered the WIP Big Bang with Aquarius this year. im not sure if i will finish it in time for the end of the challenge but i know what happens in every chapter and slowly but surely im making progress. That is nice to feel 🥰

13. a fandom you’re thinking about writing for

I've never written for Star Trek Strange New Worlds or for RWBY. And I only wrote a little for Madam Secretary. All three have really compelling characters I'd love to sink my teeth into given the right time and the right idea. Especially RWBY if it never gets a new season, I have been yearning to see what happens in Vacuo and after the Wonderland arc and if the canon doesn't continue now that Rooster Teeth has folded, i would feel really motivated to try to imagine an ending for myself

24. how do you recharge when you’re not feeling creative?

Books and Video games. Both ways i can enjoy a story i didnt have to create myself. or doing something physical instead that lets the creative part of my brain rest. I'd also travel more if i could. it's a great way to find new things that inspire you!

[bisexualamy]

Echoes and/or Red (for the Wip writing ask)

I was really surprised but the word "echo" doesn't appear in any of my WIPs but some later episodes of the Artisan script. In the show there's a community of some different queer folks in their 20s-40s who do mutual aid and community outreach, which Maya helped found. She's just finding out her friend lied to her. Noel is her roommate and good friend.

NOEL: Stop. Take a deep breath. MAYA: I don't even know if people's apartments are safe anymore. He had everyone's current address. He helped some of them move into those apartments. But it's not like everyone can just leave immediately. NOEL: Maya, breathe. MAYA: Don't tell me to fucking breathe! Her voice might as well have echoed off the walls. The room feels empty, hollow. MAYA (CONT'D): Sorry.

I knew instantly which WIP to pull from for "red." Ok so as a Known Lucy Saxon Enjoyer I have this AU ficverse that reawakened in my brain during the lockdown that kinda spins on her. I've posted a few fics like. related to it but I've been wanting to publish a longer chapfic setting it up so I can play in this space with other people. (Chris @hallasurvivor does but sometimes she has to go do math). It's been languishing in the drafts bc I can really only work on one Big Project at Artisan is a bigger priority rn but I've been thinking about her again recently....

She's talking to the Master don't worry about why and cw abuse discussion

Lucy took a step away from the counter, pursed her lips, then finally said, “you don’t get it. I mean you really don’t get it at all.” She revised with a shake of her head, her words exasperated and sharp. “And I knew it- I just didn’t get how much-” Finally, she stopped pacing and stared straight at him. “I can’t wear red anymore.” He took a moment before venturing, “...what?” “I can’t wear red anymore,” she repeated, with even more conviction. “And that’s it right there. That’s the whole thing. Because when you dolled me up, a perfect little showpiece for launch day, you put me in that awful, ugly dress. Fake satin and horrid to walk in and so red it brought out the color in all the scratches and bruises.” She grabbed the wine bottle from off the counter and topped off her glass. Both of them watched her pour. It was the only sound in the living room. “Every goddamn John and Jane in the country saw me in that dress,” she said quietly. She picked up the wine glass and took another step away from the counter. “You got a big photo op after all,” she said with a small, sardonic smile. “I just had to kill you first. UNIT forced the Valiant to land. They put you on a stretcher. The Master, carried out of his castle by a team of human EMTs.” She took a long sip, and her face fell. “Then a photographer got me. Probably didn’t even see me, just the headline, and snapped the photo that would ruin my life. It was in every newspaper, on every broadcast channel. Poor, widowed Lucy Saxon, dead-eyed in a bright evening gown. Look how sad she is over her husband. Gone before his time. I wear red now, and all anyone can see is the widow. I can feel their pity on me. It sticks to my skin.”

[searchingforserendipity25]

bodies of water for melian perhaps?

Melian crosses the waters and the wild, always in escape. 

–

1.

A truth about the creature that would be called Melian: she was the last to flee. 

The one to linger the longest in Beleriand, straining against the edict of Manwë for retreat behind the mountains of the Pélori across the sea.

She was the last, for she had been among the first to sing shadows nto the groves and grass into the fields. Afterwards, in Amanyar, she pined as if beset with one of Melkor’s sicknesses; and her longing for the works of her creation was very strong. 

 

2.

Escape from Lórien was impossible. The only option was to take enough of Lórien into herself, and in the undoing of the self become indistinguishable from it. Then, swiftly, to change skins and selves again.

Free at last, she came as a skirting mist, as a cool wind, as a starlit breeze. Cloaked in many aspects, over land and shore and surf, skimming in disguise. As a gull – a white-bellied albatross, a swift and tireless kite.

 It was a mad joy, that flight. Irmo’s dominion was not meant to be a prison, but good intent, she knew already, would not stop lovely Aman from making a smothering torment out of its glory.

And Melian was counted perverse, among her people; restless beyond the sensible, now that the time for singing the continents into form and shape had passed, and Melkor’s influence has been limited.

 She had learned much from Yavanna, once. Too much, perhaps; and among most thing, to despise the sundering from the far places, Almaren and the lands around Almaren where so much careful, marvelous work was done by the spirits of the earth and the sky. 

She longed to create beyond the boundaries of her assigned tasks, and return; for only Melkor’s violence had brought her across the sea the first time, and always a knowledge of a great task left unfinished had kept her from loving Amanyar to completion.

I cannot be a bound thing, the starlight whispered over the waves. Uinen, who knew only liberty, aided her then; and of Melian’s coming to Beleriand none of the Valar knew, until well after she was away from their might, delighting in the songs of her own birds, the enchanting of dark seedlings into dark groves.

3.

Elwë was dead.

Flies nested in those jewels that were his eyes. Sweet rot clung to the silver ribbon of his hair; the solidity of him diminished moment to moment. Colour leached out of him, as a dyed rag too often washed by the rain.

Melian could not bear it. Melian could have bourne anything but the erasing of her beloved from the Song. Bold Elwë, her own dearest treasure, for whom she had taken flesh, and upheld boundaries, and learned to love the Children; he was gone from her reaches, spirit meandering in his haughty way through the paths of Námo, where not even Melian could reach.

 Too much tied to Arda's cycles of life and rebirth was she, and not even in the unmaking of her raiment and the shedding of the body that birthed her child could she relearn Irmo’s arts, and reach the unplaces where her husband wandered.

Still, there were deep shadows where dreams mingled with memory. Melian fled – westwards, towards her old prison. There she slept a long grieving dream, not to wake until something of Elwë found his way back to life - wandering, searching, his coming a wonder heralded by a hundred singing birds guiding him towards Melian, his voice rising over the fast-running waters, rousing her from her dreaming at last to joy.

------

Thank you @thalion71! This one has been languishing in my drafts for ages, finally got around to polishing and posting it.

[cirrus-grey]

Omg okay so for the ask game

10 (the D&D one) and 17 (“The Research Journal of Jonathan Sims, c. 1818”)

👀

There are too many I want to know about!!

The D&D one was asked and answered here, and the Research Journal is my poor neglected child that's been languishing in my drafts for so long that I've been asked about it in two previous wip games here and here. Since the plot summaries are already out there, have some excerpts instead!

D&D:

“There are several departments in the Institute: the Research teams focus their efforts on recent experiences brought to their attention, tracking down any evidence they can to prove or disprove the veracity of the tales. The Library collects books containing the published knowledge of all things unnatural, laid out in perfect order for ease of access by the researchers. Artifact Storage is a dark place, containing those items that are collected by the researchers during the course of their investigations that must be contained for their... unpredictable nature. But you…” Georgie smiled thinly, tilting her head to the side a little. “You work in the Archive.

“The Archive is a place of dead ends and lost causes: it is where those tales of horror and tragedy come to die once the researchers have plucked every last morsel of useful information from them. The Magnus Institute has been in existence for two hundred years, so there are rather a lot of lost causes to store. Thousands of files fill the place, many spread loosely, others crushed into unmarked boxes. The previous Archivist seems to have cared very little about keeping them organized, so it will take a dedicated hand to get this place back into any sort of working order. And that, my friends, is your task.” Georgie grinned. “For now. Secrets lurk within the walls of this Archive, but be warned: as you look into its depths, something may start looking back…”

There was a moment of silence after she finished speaking; then Tim gave an exaggerated shiver.

“Spooky.”

Journal:

When I awoke this morning I scarce believed my own recollection of the events of the day before. It seemed too strange and wondrous that I should have been visited by a man from the future; even after rereading the notes I took before I slept last night, I found myself doubting the evidence of my own hand.

However, when I had dressed and gone downstairs to breakfast I found Mr. B. - or M.B., as he will be known henceforth, for reasons which I will soon disclose - already in my small kitchen, staring in dismay at the cast-iron stove set against the wall. I stared at him for a long moment, trying to come to terms in my own mind with the idea that the events of yesterday had been true; then, remembering my duties as a host, I stepped forward.

“Good morning,” I greeted him politely. “I trust you slept well.”

[starmaniamania]

Look what I found languishing at the bottom of my drafts! A gifset of Ziggy's solo songs which for some reason I never posted.