#mimofic

[mimosaeyes]

Hello MLC fandom~

I've started posting the third fic in my post-canon series. The first chapter is up now and updates will be weekly. Summary:

“Xiaobao,” he says slowly. “What are you going to do after this?” Fang Duobing is scraping the bottom of the bowl. Without looking up, he makes a confused sound. “Stay with you, of course. What are you talking about?” “I don’t mean today. I mean…” Li Lianhua feels his expression grow clouded. “In the future.” The delicate sound of porcelain against porcelain comes to a halt. Fang Duobing lowers the bowl. “Stay with you,” he repeats, quietly. Or: while visiting Tianji Manor with Fang Duobing, Li Lianhua has his first flare-up since his return.

It's Lotus Trio (albeit with more Fang Duobing/Li Lianhua, especially at first) plus another OT3 (He Xiaofeng/Liangyi Xianzi/Zhan Yunfei). If I'm not mistaken, this is the first fic in English on AO3 for that throuple :O

You may have seen me refer to this fic variously as the one where Li Lianhua holds a baby, and the one with the hot springs scene (that I got stuck writing for nine months). Regardless how it's received, I'm happy that I'm finally able to share this work!

[mimosaeyes]

last line game

@a-memory-a-distant-echo tagged me months ago but I didn't have a WIP until now (have been sucked into a whirlwind of writing and now have 2.7k words in a day, oops).

rules: share the last line you’ve written, then tag some people, and have fun

You finally found someone who could match you.

tagging: @momosandlemonsoda @mekare-art @thelaithlyworm @sharkbeneaththelotus no pressure though!

[mimosaeyes]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Spread the self-love!

Thank you for thinking of me!

For no reason at all, I tried to pick fics from across different years and fandoms. Let's do this in reverse chronological order, with the most recently published fic first.

来日方长 | the days ahead are long (Mysterious Lotus Casebook) is about Fang Duobing and Li Lianhua fixing up Lotus Tower together and beginning to heal. It's soft and sad and hopeful, and means a lot to me personally in terms of my mental health journey.

我的脚步脊梁都挺在这里 (Daomu Biji) has Liu Sang visiting the Iron Triangle in Rain Village and meeting four adorable chicks, one of whom is an impostor, gasp! I've been told this fic is like a vacation, and so chill it makes your heartbeat slow down.

flew like a moth to you (Guardian) is classic hurt/comfort featuring Zhao Yunlan ineptly but tenderly taking care of Shen Wei after his imprisonment in Dixing. I still like the imagery in the closing lines, and the touches of humour that balance out the angst.

I Was Found (The Magnus Archives) is my post-canon fic about Jon and Martin adopting a calico cat who is blind in one eye. Bizarrely, a year after I published this fic, my sister adopted a calico cat who is blind in one eye. Also, in retrospect, I realise that this fic establishes a niche I now keep going back to: post-canon + established relationship + healing vibes + cute animals

like a clockmaker fixes time (The Watchmaker of Filigree Street novels) fills in the two-year time skip near the end of The Lost Future of Pepperharrow, with Mori working through his guilt and looking after Thaniel. Mori's clairvoyance and Thaniel's synesthesia add a fun twist to the writing, and a couple of commenters said they felt like they were still reading the actual novel.

Tagging @tinbramble, @missfangirll, @thelaithlyworm, @the-gail, @chancellorxofxtrash and @justawanderingbabbit

[mimosaeyes]

WIP game

Thanks for the tag @momosandlemonsoda!

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

Mysterious Lotus Casebook

llh holding a baby because I have needs

...Yeah, I've only got one WIP right now. Normally the filenames I use are really straightforward; you just had to tag me when I'm on a silly one, huh :P

Tagging @daydreamorama and anyone else who wants to do this~

[mimosaeyes]

AO3 wrapped: 19 & 28

19. What's one pairing you want to explore next year?

More of Fang Duobing and Li Lianhua; possibly liansanjiao OT3! I'm currently drafting the third fic in my post-canon series for Mysterious Lotus Casebook, and the fourth fic would bring Di Feisheng back into the picture. I've been struggling quite a lot, though, and am not sure I'll finish this WIP, or continue the series. So this is all very tentative.

28. Favourite work you wrote this year?

It's a tough call to make, but probably 来日方长 | the days ahead are long for MLC. I seem to always be writing "the characters get time to heal post-canon" fics across various fandoms, but this one means even more to me because of the ways in which Li Lianhua's story resonates with me.

Thank you for this ask, anon~

[ao3 wrapped writers edition]

[mimosaeyes]

来日方长 | the days ahead are long (Fang Duobing & Li Lianhua, 7.7k)

As soon as Li Lianhua has regained enough breath to speak, he grumbles, “I’m fine,” in a voice still hoarse from coughing. “If the deadliest poison in the world couldn’t kill me, do you think some dust will? Honestly.” Or: Fang Duobing and Li Lianhua return to Lotus Tower, fix it up, and begin healing.

Thanks @sharkbeneaththelotus for the beta!

You can read this fic on AO3 here.

[mimosaeyes]

like rain that you slept through (Fang Duobing & Li Lianhua, 3.6k)

Fang Duobing takes one step forward, then another more slowly, as though afraid Li Lianhua will spook like a wild animal. Disappear like an old ghost. Or: a little worse for wear, Li Lianhua comes home to the two people (and one dog) who never stopped looking for him.

Thanks @missjudge-me for the beta!

You can read this fic on AO3 here.

[mimosaeyes]

love has called my name (Liu Sang-centric, 9.2k, h/c set in Reboot 2x21)

It unnerves him to not hear his own voice when he speaks. So instead of talking, he grasps Wu Xie’s hand where it’s resting on his shoulder. He’s tired, and his ear is beginning to throb; he has to force himself to focus and recall the right pattern in the knocking language. How can you be sure? he asks, tapping his index finger against Wu Xie’s thumb.

Liu Sang’s other fingers are curled around his wrist. His pinky is just above his pulse point. He can feel his heartbeat, a little quick but steady.

Some of the tension leaves his body.

Set in Reboot 2x21. Liu Sang struggles with losing his hearing, Wu Xie struggles with guilt, and the grave robbing found family are all soft for one another.

Read it on AO3 here!

[mimosaeyes]

ao3 wrapped 3!

hello friend thank you for the ask <3

3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

That would be love has called my name for DMBJ. In hindsight, I think it's one of the best whump and h/c fics I've ever written. There's a good balance of angst and fluff, it fits seamlessly into canon, and it juggles so many characters and their relationships and histories — pretty well, I'd say. I'd never attempted to do that before.

I'm proud of this fic not only because it pushed my writing further, but also because it was my first time bouncing off ideas with my friends on the Yu Cun Discord server, and being cheered on by them. No exaggeration, that community of lovely people has changed my life this year.

[ao3 wrapped writers edition]

[mimosaeyes]

don’t know why I hesitate (Pangzi & Zhang Qiling, 3.8k)

Zhang Qiling sifts for the right words. In the end, he settles on, “He drank the soup.”

Pangzi’s next hit lands weakly, a little oblique. Zhang Qiling reaches over and steadies the blanket for him.

Set in Reboot 1x16. After Wu Xie's secret is revealed, Zhang Qiling and Pangzi lean on each other.

Thanks @mekare-art for the beta!

For Pingpang Week and the Xiaoge.mp3 challenge. Read it on AO3 here!

[mimosaeyes]

我的脚步脊梁都挺在这里 (Liu Sang & Iron Triangle, 8.8k, Rain Village era)

Hey, he types. Would it be convenient if I come and visit now?

When Pangzi invited him, he said to drop by any time, but it feels weird to show up out of the blue. On the other hand, Liu Sang reflects, saying now makes him seem too eager.

I’m in the area, he adds, trying to sound more casual.

He isn’t in the area.

Or: the one where Liu Sang comes for a visit, and one of the baby chickens... isn’t.

Thanks @mekare-art for the beta!

For Liu Chang characters fortnight. Read it on AO3 here!

[mimosaeyes]

✨ weekend wip exposure club ✨

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

thanks for thinking of me, @momosandlemonsoda! here is a sneak peek from the next chapter of but suffer my devotion, in which we flashback to a 'missing scene' between li lianhua and liangyi xianzi:

Up until then, she had been quiet in a way that Li Lianhua recognised — trying to save her strength. Now, she finally spoke. “This physician’s internal power is certainly well-suited to his trade. May I ask the name of the technique?” Li Lianhua looked at her consideringly. It made little sense for a person in her circumstances to ask that question, unless she already knew the answer. So there was no point in him spinning a tale about Suzhoukuai and fated encounters in mountain caves. He felt a surge of admiration for her observational skills and fortitude. Even in such a poor physical state, she could still notice things and speculate about his identity. Ordinary civilians would not have questioned the person trying to save them. No wonder Liangyi Xianzi had made a name for herself in her own right, even before marrying Sixiang Qingzun. As if unbothered by his silence, Liangyi Xianzi continued, “The technique has been refined to a high degree, yet the power is weak. So I think you had better not waste your strength…” She paused before addressing him, “Li-menzhu.”

I suspect some of you have already been tagged, but here goes: @mekare-art @justawanderingbabbit @epicwalrus

[mimosaeyes]

For the writers ask meme! 3, 11, 16, and 19!

Hiya :P I answered questions 3 and 19 for other asks, here and here respectively. Which leaves me with...

11. What work took you the longest to write?

This took some detective work, but I think it was 我的脚步脊梁都挺在这里, which took me more than seven weeks. (But my current MLC WIP has already taken longer than that, and isn't even halfway done.) If you count collabs, then it's the ongoing multichap Unlearn the Way of Being Strangers, which spanned almost nine weeks. Both linked fics are for DMBJ.

16. What's your most common "Additional Tags" tag?

Perhaps predictably... Hurt/Comfort. Heh.

[ao3 wrapped writers edition]

[mimosaeyes]

your place in the family of things (Iron Triangle, 3.2k, Rain Village era)

Zhang Qiling’s stride seems oddly hesitant, and he keeps pausing to peer at the area around his feet.

He’s not moving like he’s hurt, though, or the two of them would already be running out to meet him. Curious, Pangzi wonders aloud, “Did something happen?”

He gets his answer a second later, when Zhang Qiling steps onto bare ground and several fluffy yellow chicks come trailing out of the grass behind him.

Or: the one where baby chickens imprint on Xiaoge.

For Iron Triangle Week. Read it on AO3 here!

[mimosaeyes]

can’t remember every spring (Pangxie-centric, 3.7k, h/c set after Reboot 2x04)

Patting Wu Xie’s hair, he coaxes, “Tianzhen, don’t be stubborn. You’re in pain and you’re still wheezing. Hospital now?”

A long beat passes while Wu Xie takes short sips of air, holding himself stiffly and trying to think his way out of this. At last, he concedes, “Yeah, hospital.”

“Great!” Pangzi declares. “Otherwise, I would’ve knocked you out and carried you, and my back is not what it used to be.”

Takes place between Reboot 2x04 and 2x05. When Wu Xie worries himself sick over Xiaoge, Pangzi looks after him.

Read it on AO3 here!

[mimosaeyes]

my 2022 in fics

I don’t think I’ve ever done one of these, but I’m feeling more reflective this year-end. Maybe it’s a sign I’m getting old...

What’s below the cut isn’t a typical fic round-up; it’s more of some personal background on the fandoms I’ve been getting into, and the fics I’ve produced along the way.

I posted seven fics this year, all of them for Chinese fandoms. Reading MDZS last July was apparently a gateway drug into a c-novel and c-drama rabbit hole. Who’d a thunk it?

Most recently, I’ve spent the last three months getting into DMBJ (as is becoming increasingly clear from my reblog queue). Fic for that... may happen, next year. The brainrot is pretty real, but so is the writer’s block, when it strikes.

Since early 2021, I’d been struggling to finish fics. After eking out a couple more that year, I went silent for roughly the first half of 2022, before finally finishing (wanna be) crashing into your shore for Word of Honor in June.

I thought that’d be all for a while, but that very day, I randomly decided to watch a show called Reset, and proceeded to write 恢复 | resume; recover about it. I wrote most of this fic in a hyper-focused haze, but made tweaks right up until I posted it in August. Specifically, on the day I tested positive for COVID-19.

While isolating in my room, away from my family, time lost all meaning and I ended up fixating on Guardian. I’d just finished reading the book and watching the show. I wrote the entirety of flew like a moth to you while coughing a lot, slightly struggling to breathe, and occasionally feverish. I make good choices. Anyway, that also went up in August.

At this juncture, I really need to give a shout-out to the Guardian fandom, particularly those participating in @guardianbingo in any way, shape or form. That event, and people’s supportiveness, are why I ended up continuing to write fics this year. I did one roughly every month:

by the still of your hand in September

no sweeter arrangement in October

livin’ small in a big house in early November

not made to be a crumb in late November

I even ended up earning a Mountain River Awl badge, completing one line of bingo prompts! It’s unprecedented for me to do so many prompts in any fandom event, and I remain shocked by how easy I found it, especially coming out of a dry spell in my writing.

Anyway, we’ll see what 2023 brings!