#non fic slash writing related

[deluluass]

cooking is cool in the sense that if u add too much soy sauce then u would have only added too much soy sauce.

baking is also cool in the sense that if u put too much baking powder then u would have created a tear in the fabric of reality and thus becoming responsible for destroying all life forever.

[wangxianficfinder]

In the mood for...

Aug 26th

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1. hi, this is for itmf! pls rec me trans wangxian fics :3c no modern au tho pls, thank you!!

In Reflection, Truth by Shadaras (T, 55k, WangXian, WWX is summoned into a woman’s body, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-Typical Gore, this is a story about being transgender, Dysphoria, Misogynistic Slurs, Ableist Language, it’s not slow burn if it’s going to be faster than canon, Trans Male Character, Trans wish fulfillment, Canon Divergence - Yunmeng Brothers Have A Real Conversation) has wwx reincarnated as a women and trans!lwj if i remember correctly

You might be able to find a few in our Trans Wangxian Compilation

The waters and the wild by SecretStorm (T, 62k, WIP, WangXian, Alternate Universe, Fairy Tale Elements, Pied Piper WWX, Trans LWJ, Many juniors, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kid Fic, Sexual Tension) It's a wip that hasn't been updated in a few years, but really good! Trans LWJ in a canon-adjacent setting.

try author 🔒withbroombefore; they write a bunch of canon-era trans lan zhan and it's all *really good*

🔒 Water Sweeter by deliciousblizzardshark (E, 8k, WangXian, Historical, Rogue Cultivator WWX, Some kind of fairy or spirit or something LWJ, Intersex LWJ, Intersex Character, Fluff and Humor, Crack Treated Seriously, Thirst Trap WWX, Topping from the Bottom, WWX’s Canonical Cottage-core Fantasy, First Time, Domestic Fluff, Vaginal Sex)

hold her where you want her by damnslippyplanet (E, 6k, WangXian, Gender Changes, Trans Female LWJ, Female WWX, Burial Mounds Settlement Days)

scarcely trust my candid heart by Deastar (E, 6k, WangXian, A/B/O, Non-Traditional A/B/O Dynamics, Beta/Beta, Demisexual LWJ, Trans WWX, Fluff and Smut, Female WangXian, Partial Cisswap, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, poor LQR is just trying to be a supportive ace elder and doing a great job actually, too bad it goes right over his niece's head)

you can always find me here by ScarlettStorm (E, 15k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Getting Together, Genderswap, Cisswap, yes it's BOTH, trans woman LWJ, cis woman WWX, they're lesbians harold, the excuciating beauty of night hunting with your bestie, who you're very much in love with, and hoping they love you back, (spoiler: they do), First Time, Vaginal Fingering, Oral Sex, gratuitous descriptions of summer weather)

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2. Hi! This is for ITMF. I want a semi-serious (?) And slice-of-life fic. I dont know how to explain it. Just an example like WWX in his yiling laozu ers tells people in yiling that that person who sells talisman from yiling laozu is a fraud. And then it snowballed to people ask his service to banish monster or something and WWX reputation gets better. But the story focus on WWX everyday life like he make new inventation or trying to describe his cultivation. An example maybe something like Just as the Snow Melts by draechaeli or if a modern fic it is something like I Don't Want to Debut! By countingcr0ws or Anything For Wei Ying by panda_desu. Thanks! @idontknowwhattowriteforusername

Grave dirt by esama (T, 92k, WangXian, canon divergence, yiling wei sect au, demonic cultivation, farming, found family, pre-slash, politics, fix-it of sorts) is one that focuses on basically the life in burial mounds

🔒 the thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break by RoseThorne (E, 93k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Soulmates, Self-Esteem Issues, Fix-It, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, PTSD, Handfasting, Panic Attacks, Getting Together, First Time, Aftercare, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, /Referenced Torture, Scars, Chronic Pain, Golden Core Reveal, First Time, Switching, sex-related injury, LWJ Stays at the Burial Mounds, LSZ is a Wèi, Good Sibling JC, Dissociation, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Disability, Scheming NHS, Disabled Character)

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3. Hii!! for the next itmf can I please request some dark lwj?? sugar daddy vibes or just possessive lwj? i read a few mafia fics and I'm craving this trope a bit more now .thank you!!!

🔒 At heart by apathyinreverie (M, 36k, WangXian, WIP, Dark LWJ(Ish), Amnesia, WWX gets to be Not Okay after the BM, Hurt WWX, Recovery, Caring, Protective LWJ, Possessive LWJ, some definite manipulation, but not everything is as it seems, not nearly as dark as the tags make it sound, Canon Divergence, Golden Core Revea, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, kind of, Domestic WangXian, Fluff, WWX Goes to Gusu, Possessive WWX, WWX happily atticwifing away, Sunshot Campaign, BAMF WWX, BAMF LWJ)

🔒 As good as by apathyinreverie (T, 6k, WangXian, LQR & WWX, Fix-It, Canon Divergence, not a good uncle LQR story, but also not not?, Golden Core Reveal, Kind Of, Golden Core Fix-It, Also kind of, Addiction, Manipulation, not between wangxian, just...War politics, Sunshot Campaign, Not As Dark As The Tags Make It Sound, Possessive LWJ, Protective LWJ, Tired WWX, Genius WWX, Dual Cultivation, LQR is too old for teenage drama, Developing Relationship)

golden when the day met the night by glitteringmoonlight (Not rated, 95k, slow burn, sugar daddy LWJ, light, angst, fluff, developing relationship, eventual smut, WIP)

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4. Hi! For any future I'm In The Mood For, i'm looking for Wangxian fics that are cozy, like being wrapped up in a warm hug. @emrinalex

crystalized by gusuvibes (M, 25k, WangXian, Modern, Bakery, Pining, Getting Together, Baker LWJ, Nurse WWX, OYZZ in a STARRING ROLE, Bunnies With Bad Names, Elaborate Descriptions of Delicious Baked Goods, Frottage, Eventual Smut, Sexy, Baking, Time) is all cafe, cakes and kisses

🔒 and in the spring i shed my skin by wvlfqveen (T, 11k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, Professors, Shapeshifter LWJ, Not Quite Necromancer WWX, Mutual Pining, WWX being an oblivious idiot, Fluff, Love Confessions, yunmeng trio, Family Feels, get JC therapy 2020, Kissing)

i’ll have you and you’ll have me by sundiscus (T, 5k, WangXian, Modern, Established Relationship, Marriage Proposal, fluff with a sprinkling of angst (for flavor), Podfic Available)

Love Cats by so_shhy series (T, 14k, WangXian, Modern, Meet-Cute, Fluff, WWX is wet and adorable in a tree, With a Cat, LWJ had no chance, Don't Try This At Home, First Dates, LWJ likes ducks, WWX does not like dogs, They just have a nice date, picnic dates, Falling In Love, LWJ is briefly less than graceful, there is a spider, but like barely there and totally harmless, LWJ Loves Rabbits, Office Party, LXC is a Good Big Brother, WWX is an excellent boyfriend, POV Outsider, they are in love the world is full of joy, Everything is Beautiful except for baby coots)

The Late Great Custody Debate by stiltonbasket (G, 9k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, LXC/NMJ, JC & WWX & JYL, modern, Domestic Fluff, baby a-yuan, Single Parent WWX, LWJ is a confused rabbit owner, nielan are married, nhs is: xoxo gossip girl, Custody Arrangements, engagement, Confused WWX, WWX voice: if i’m the one with the kid why are you suing ME for child support?, LWJ kills his own love life in the worst way, Happy Ending)

Pigtail Pulling by protos_metazu_ison (G, 3k, WangXian, Fluff and Humor, Crack Treated Seriously, Cloud Recesses Shenanigans)

Just Say Yes Series by edenwolfie (T/M, 338k, WangXian, Matchmaking, Pining, Getting Together, Canon Divergence, POV Alternating, Fluff, First Kiss, Declarations Of Love, Humor, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Good Uncle LQR, Engagement, Hurt/Comfort, Fix-It)

🔒 yearned for by spookykingdomstarlight (G, 3k, WangXian, LXC & LWJ, Future Fic, Pining, Rabbits, Fluff, Kissing, Family)

If your heart is in your dream (No request is too extreme) by Spodumene (G, 1k, WangXIan, LWJ's Birthday, Fluff, Modern Setting)

Oh, your love is sunlight by feyburner (M, 9k, WangXian, Drabble Collection, Tags specified in each chapter, But it's all pretty soft and goofy)

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5. I love your blog so much! It helps me find fics i sometimes unknowingly overlook, so...thank you so much! Itmf fics in Lan Wangji's POV, any AU works but if its canonverse, may I request it be novel or donghua canon please? Also have another request for wangxian recs...jealous Lan Wangji because Lan Xichen flirted with/dated/fucked Wei Wuxian in the past (could be a rumour but I'd prefer him to have heard/seen it happen and decide he wants Wei Wuxian for himself)...any AU!

🔒 The Price of Old Wishes by SoManyJacks (E, 67k, WangXian, Minor canon divergence, Angst, POV LWJ, Depression, Suicidal Thoughts, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, Slow Burn, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, semi-verbal!LWJ, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Suicide) Retelling of the novel from LWJ's pov

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6. hii this is for itmf!! modern au or not but just anything where wwx gets pregnant with lwj's child and runs away for whatever reason without lwj knowing that they have a child together and then years after they will have a reunion and the big reveal. I just love tropes like this and idk what tags i have to place to get these results (so if anyone can kindly guide me on what tags are the best to look for these fics, i will be so grateful!!) Thank you!!!

The Winner Takes It All by YilingSani (M, 46k, WangXian, Modern AU, Single Parent WWX, Old Friends, One Night Stands, No Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending, PTSD, Panic Attacks, Forgiveness, Second Chances, Inspired by Mamma Mia! (Movies) Teen Pregnancy, Mpreg, mention of miscarriage, Birth Trauma, amniotic fluid embolism) Both feature Wei Ying leaving because he's led to believe that Lan Zhan wants nothing to do with him.

All The Years Lost by UseMyMuse (T, 26k, WangXian, Teen Pregnancy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Single Parent AU, Forced misunderstandings, Forced miscommunication, Mpreg) Both feature Wei Ying leaving because he's led to believe that Lan Zhan wants nothing to do with him.

Family Pictures (Or: “Mark Rothko is very, very dead, Wei Ying.”) by belleweather (M, 37k, WangXian, Kid Fic, Post Mpreg, Modern AU, Cindarella Story, Mistaken Identity, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, art conservator lwj, idiot WWX, (he gets better slowly), shockingly little actual sex omg what happened to me, fake/mistaken cheating, no actual infidelity)

Nothing but your heart by airinshaw (E, 21k, WangXian, Modern AU, A/B/O Dynamics, Implied Mpreg, First Time, Getting Together, Angst and Drama, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anal Sex, Whump, Breeding Kink)

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7. Hello, for itmf id like ask for work in modern premises where lxc and others accidentally or semi intentionally killed wwx and conspired to never talk about it. Lwj is relentless in searching for wwx. Canon period is ok if there is no canon conflict as the reason @best-before-end

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8. Hi! For the ITMF, I wanted to ask if there are any fics where WWX died at the end of the war? I don't know if it's hc or canon but I keep having the thought that he didn't expect to survive the war without a core. I was wondering how it would have been if WWX over did it or something and died. I'm looking specifically for him dying at the end when the sun shot campaign isn't hindered by it, I suppose. Thanks to everyone in advance! @hikato-chan

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9. heyo! can you rec me a canon compliant/canon divergence wangxian fic that

A) has one of them explore his sexuality, identity, all that good stuff

B) has both of them explore the above together

basically i just want fics where wangxian explores and accepts their own queerness and sexualities and it's a verh lovely time, hehe

~*~

10. Itmf fics that highlight how sweet wen ning is, and his friendship with wwx. (Also any sweet-yet-badass wen ning stories, esp if wen ning gets the recognition he deserves, with a good title/respect etc.)

~*~

11. For the next imtf, can you recommend me some of your favorite non English FFs on Ao3

I’m sorry, Good bye by NHaraki (M, 35k, WWX/WRH, WIP, Jiang Family Bashing, Time Travel Fix-It, YZY Bashing) I translated it via Google Chrome and it was fine. It's an WWX/WRH fic where WWX returns to his childhood after the Siege. Stuff happens, YZY throws him into the burial mounts and WRH finds him. It's a lot of healing and hiding WWX. Found family. WC is raised better. It's adorable

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12. I recently finished reading a wangxian fic told from Jingyi's POV and in that post-canon fic, everyone loves and lusts for wei wuxian to the point many believe its not even possible for his original body to have been better in terms of attractiveness. So itmf of wangxian fics with like...sorta similar premise in the way everyone loves/lusts for/is awed by wei wuxian to the point of hero-worshipping/using him as a standard for future spouse, etc. Lots of wei wuxian swooning and sighing about not finding someone better than him and so on please!

~*~

13. any truth spell/potion fics for itmf? as long as it’s not a sad ending i’m game for anything involving the truth being revealed in some manner like this!

🔒 in the shadow of moonlit flowers by Reverie (cl410) (T, 56k, wangxian, LXC/NMJ, Cloud Recesses, LWJ & NHS Friendship, Developing Relationship, POV LWJ, Minor Injuries, Autistic LWJ, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, aka the Madam Yu warning, Genius WWX, Light Angst And Hurt/Comfort, WWX Protection Squad, Gusu Lan Sect, Slow Burn, Protective LWJ, LWJ-centric) is not quite the ask but its about lwj who can tell lie apart from truth because of a spell his mother gave him

the breaking of your soul (upon my lips) by sunsandships (M, 40k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Mutual Pining, Golden Core Reveal, Happy Ending) Not sure if these fit for 13, but Wei Wing develops a talisman to trace curses back to their caster

The Fire Lapping Up the Creek by notevenyou (E, 66k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Injury, Injury Recovery, Blood, Respiratory Illness, Major Illness, Fever, Grief/Mourning, Burial Mounds, Angst with a Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Hunger and food scarcity, Surgery, Fix-It of Sorts) Not sure if these fit for 13, but Wei Wing develops a talisman to trace curses back to their caster

when you’re doing all the leaving (then it’s never your love lost) by tardigradeschool (T, 26k, wangxian, canon divergence, hurt/comfort, canon-typical violence, sharing clothes, sharing a bed, fix-it, golden core transfer) Not sure if these fit for 13, but Wei Wing develops a talisman to trace curses back to their caster

All Things Belong by kuroi_atropos (M, 65k, WRH & WWX, wangxian, WN & WWX, Wen WWX, abuse, whipping, manipulations, smart WWX, possessive behavior, implied/Referenced rape/non-con, past rape/non-con, WIP) Wei Ying develops a way to show blood relations/family members

And Time Is But a Paper Moon by sami (M, 138k, WangXian, XiChengQing, Time Travel, Fix-It, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Healing, Mental Health Issues, PTSD, Hurt/Comfort, Depression, BAMF WWX, BAMF JC, BAMF LWJ, BAMF JYL, Getting Together) Wei Ying develops a way to show blood relations/family members

Debts of a Child Part 2 by Hauntcats (M, 111k, WangXian, YZY Bashing, Not Jiang Family Friendly, Angst and Feels, lots of anger, JC Bashing, not Jiang friendly, Angst with a Happy Ending, Content warning for icky spiders in later chapters., hurt no comfort for Jiang siblings.) Wei Ying develops a way to show blood relations/family members

🔒 this body yet survives by RoseThorne (T, 57k, WangXian, WIP, No War AU, Recovery, Trauma, Dissociation, Courtship, Courting Rituals, Near Death Experiences, Attempted Murder, Eventual Happy Ending, Panic Attacks, Vomiting, Siblings, Protective Siblings, Soup, Triggers, Protective LWJ, Protective LQR, Yúnmèng Siblings Dynamics, Bad Parent YZY, POV Third Person, POV LWJ, reference to poisoning, reference to assassination, Reference to chronic illness, reference to infanticide, Depression, Minor Injuries, Painting, Gift Giving, WWX Has a Fear of Dogs, Good Sibling JC, Good Sibling JYL, BAMF WWX,, Jealous SS, WWX Protection Squad) Wei Ying develops a way to show blood relations/family members

~*~

14. Looking for a fic where it’s like “we just did something super duper gay what happened”

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15. I always see fics about people falling for lan wangji’s cold beauty but for the next itmf, do you have any fics for people are crushing on wei wuxian for his looks or charms? it can be existing characters or ocs, idm!

Endgame wangxian though, please!

~*~

16. Hello! ITMF Jin Guangshan surviving until Wei Wuxian comes back to life, so that Wei Wuxian can take revenge/get justice from Jin Guangshan himself. Thank you!

~*~

17. Based on one of Kay's commentaries on a fic rec, I was wondering if anyone had any fics that put Wei Wuxian through an "emotional blender" lmao.

Silenced by Tasharene (M, 63k, WangXian, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, PTSD, Temporary Blindness, Aversion to touch, Fear of crowds, Panic Attacks, Post-Canon, WWX Whump, Hurt WWX, Whump, Angst with a Happy Ending, world-class troll LXC, see the archive Warnings BEFORE you accuse me of not tagging things!!!) warning- ALOT of angst like alot lot but its a happy ending

~*~

If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

[f-oighear]

Fanfic writer interview!

tagged by @ashenaura. Merci bien ! ;)

How many works do you have on AO3?

145.

Your top 5 stories by kudos/likes:

I'll Follow

Where The Heart Is

Your World

Everything and More

Brittlest

(... yup, it's all SAU and those numbers will never not shock me)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Of course. It might take me forever (my inbox is staring at me dead in the eyes), but I will respond. It means the world to me and if anyone makes the effort, they deserve a response. Easy.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I need happy endings with my angst so... yeah. I think... Yesterday I died (tomorrow's bleeding) is quite sad.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

I guess the SAU has the happiest ending. Everything And More's last chapter is literally sunshine and calmness which, yk, is needed after the whole thing.

Do you write crossovers?

I've just gotten into it! I didn't see the hype before but um that was because I never tried to mash together the right verses I think. The Arkham Horror x Black Clover crossover is very dear to me.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

*touching wood* Nope.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I've written steamy but never full smut. Well, I've written bits. But they're unpublished and I don't think I ever will publish them soooo yeah.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, no.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Someone translated Her Most Precious Memories in Russian (Её самые драгоценные воспоминания).

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Just like crossovers, I'm just getting into it. And just like crossovers, I'm absolutely loving it.

@kalolasfantasyworld knows. We've written that Olympics Swimming one, Silver Scorching Interdimensional Slash: the Magical Medley Relay of Doom, and we're writing the most wonderful Formula for a Crush.

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

All time favorite... royai probably.

it's just the angst... it's just the sillies... it's just the war criminals... there's a dog... they're both so stupid... i love them...

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

fhjfhds all of them. If I start a wip it's that I want to see it finished (because I want to read it). Sadly, I often don't have the motivation to. The wip list is ever growing.

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue and internal monologues, I think.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Besides everything syntax and grammar-related because what even is English, I'd say description, especially of action scenes. It takes me forever to even dare put down a few words and I always feel like I'm describing like a 7yo would (no shade to 7yo but surely with 20 more years on this planet I should be able to do better).

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I did it in Formula for a Crush for Vanessa and Helena because Helena typically does it so it felt normal to As long as it's one word or one expression I don't really mind. (my Italian is non-existent and my Spanish is uhhh not good so, there's that.).

In my own work, I prefer to keep it in English and italicize. Less risk to completely fumble a whole language.

(I just realized that Zora doesn't even utter one word in French in FFAC and I'm French [I dare think I can speak and write the language relatively well]. so it's less down to messing up a language than personal preferences in writing ig..? I never really thought about it.)

What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

Nothing comes to mind. Rarepair Week was a great occasion to tick some of these boxes too.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I've had this question ten thousand times and I think I reply differently every time dhjfdjskj. It's a tough one.

Right now I'm having a lot of fun with Formula for a Crush (nah, you can't tell with how much I'm talking about it).

what even is football anyway will always be very dear to me and I'll probably say it's this one.

Blue Hours (and its sequel, I might even like the sequel more simply for the rant about the dishes) is special because I loved the concept and I experienced a bit with the narration.

Thicker Than Blood because it's a longer one and it was a really non-pressure kind of fic (I expected no one to read it so I really had fun)

Yesterday I died (tomorrow's bleeding) and posing questions to a silent universe (my very thoughts a curse) for some nice Mia angst.

Lost in a storm, It’s a big office, chief, for some nice Phoenix angst.

Tell Me About Cruelty means a lot to me.

(you might realize: I cannot choose. I'm looking at the 145 fics and I'm like. they're all special to me in some way. even those I wish I could erase from the face of the earth I'm like. I like that line, that scene, that hug. it's terrible and it's wonderful.)

--

tagging (no pressure, do it if you want) @kalolasfantasyworld (because ofc I'm tagging you), @wildflowerwoodsworld

[manipulatedstars]

We'll Be Alright

Genre: fluff, slight angst if you squint, non-idol AU, office romance, coworkers-slash-friends-slash-idiots-to-lovers

Pairing: Mingi x gn!reader

Word Count: 3.3k

Warnings: Pink Mingi (a valid warning), symptoms of anxiety and panic but nothing serious, mentions of gambling ig, Wooyoung being Wooyoung

Summary: When Mingi overhears some colleagues talking, he realizes he has to finally make his feelings known - easier said than done.

A/N: Can you believe this bitch (me)? Apparently I write now?? This is my first ever finished fic, and I'm eternally grateful to @hobarine for being the greatest beta reader without agreeing to being one in the first place. I love your sexy brain. [clears throat and wipes tears] I'd also like to thank my dear friends who made this possible in the first place - check the end of the fic for what violently inspired me to write this. Feedback and reblogs appreciated! Also - this is not a song fic (well... I suppose it very much is, but not in that way), but I'll Keep You Safe by Sleeping At Last very much set the tone for this, so I highly recommend you check it out.

The first couple times your new coworker had poked his head around the side of your cubicle, it was all business - or at least as much business as it could be considering that new colleague was Song Mingi.

It had all started out with work-related questions when he joined the company and, being one of the company’s top salespeople, you were quickly tasked with showing him around and answering any questions he might have. Your boss had personally offered Mingi the position, so he wanted to make sure the newcomer was going to stay, considering he was a “natural at his job” and would “undoubtedly prove to be a huge asset to the team.” You'd learned not to question your boss's decisions after he'd proven time and time again that he had a gift for picking out new team members, despite his sometimes questionable and unusual methods.

You also didn't question why Mingi, even after he'd grown accustomed to his new work environment, kept sticking around you. He never addressed this but he was shy around other people and you were still the only one he sort-of knew. And you, having grown to enjoy his company despite him being borderline clueless and painfully clumsy at times, weren't gonna complain.

So what started out as, "I'm so so so sorry, could you please explain the printer to me again? I'm so sor-" quickly turned into deeper, more personal questions and conversations. Not in a weird way, of course, he just really enjoyed being around you and wanted to get to know you better. Or so he kept telling himself and others when someone pointed it out. Over time, he had become fairly confident that you two could be considered friends, and he couldn't be happier. So you got used to him just poking his head, adorned with his signature pink hair, around the corner and asking you about movies and books you’d recently enjoyed, your most hated color (because according to him, asking for a favorite everything was overused), and your go-to spots in the area. At times you'd even catch yourself thinking how cute his childlike nature was. The only thing that put a damper on his mood was when one day he was put in a cubicle on the side of the office furthest away from you, for “productivity reasons" - not that it actually kept him from coming over to you just as often. In fact, he claimed to need a rest at your desk from the “extensive workout” they made him do in order to come this way. You never commented on how he was the only one to blame for full-on sprinting through the office space instead of walking like a normal person.

His favorite days are measured by how often, and how loudly, he managed to make you laugh that day. He could get lost in the sound, and knowing he was the reason for it? He wouldn't be able to wipe the smile from his face if he tried.

If only he knew that his visits had started to become the best part of your day, too...

You were thoroughly enjoying each other's presence. Always having lunch together, and taking a little bit too long to walk to your respective cars after work.

It was a regular Tuesday when Mingi made his way to the break room to get his regular drinks - a green tea for you, and a coffee with an obscene amount of sugar for himself - something you’d chided him for, telling him time and time again it would kill him one day.

He didn’t mind waiting for some coworkers to free up the coffee machine. He’d gotten used to it pretty quickly after the second one had broken some time ago. This just meant that the room was less crowded, since the majority of his colleagues had since chosen to head to the cafeteria downstairs instead of having to stand in line like he was now. But in his opinion, they were the ones missing out. He enjoyed getting to know the usual suspects of the breakroom a little better each time they happened to get something to drink when he did - which was the same time every day.

So it would’ve been just a regular coffee run on a regular Tuesday, if it hadn’t been for the conversation happening in front of him. He wasn’t one to eavesdrop, but nothing caught his attention quite like you did. Or, in this case, your name falling from one of the men’s lips. Mingi decided that he didn’t like the way it sounded coming from someone else, someone who probably didn’t even appreciate you in the way you deserved.

The men didn’t seem to notice him standing close by, or simply didn’t care whether they could be overheard or not, because their conversation didn’t seize.

‘’...I mean have you seen them lately?’’

He sure had.

‘’I’d be stupid not to make a move. They’re a catch.’’

NO! Well, yes..but-

’’Isn’t Song head over heels for them though? Kind of a dick move if you ask me…’’

They knew?

’’Come on, we both know he’s too much of a coward to actually go for it.’’

Mingi began to panic. He’d been so enamored with you since the two of you had been introduced that he’d never even entertained the idea of someone else possibly hitting on you. Of course he knew you were pretty. Gorgeous, even - he had eyes after all. He also knew you were the epitome of grace and kindness. Anyone would be lucky to be with you. But he’d been trying slowly and carefully to inch his way into your heart, and now realized that he was so focused that he hadn’t even considered the possibility of anyone else sharing the same end goal.

God he was so stupid-

He knew he had to act. Fast. Despite his insecurities trying to convince him that you’d surely be better off with someone who didn’t stumble over their words, someone who was confident and could sweep you off your feet, he knew he would forever regret it if he didn’t at least try.

Even if the chances may be slim, he couldn’t live with himself if he lost the opportunity to make you his, especially if he lost it to his own mind.

You were just typing up a response to Park Seonghwa from HR, who had once again asked you to consider joining their team, when suddenly, a loud BANG startled you out of your thoughts. You joined some of your other coworkers in getting up from their seats to see what the commotion was about, and you couldn’t help a bright smile from lighting up your face the moment you saw Mingi standing in the doorway. Though your smile dropped just as quickly when you noticed the look of pure distress on his face, his eyes scanning across the room rapidly. The second your eyes met, he started hurriedly making his way over to you, ignoring any of the worried and questioning glances and occasional comments that people were throwing his way.

What was going on?

‘’Mingi, what-’’ your question was cut short when he gripped your shoulders the moment he reached your cubicle. He was panting, eyes blown wide and never leaving yours, as if he was afraid you’d disappear the moment he so much as blinked.

As if he was only now noticing the stares and whispers directed his way, he glanced around the room timidly. His nerves seemed to catch up with him, because he turned and went to leave as quickly as he’d arrived - if it hadn't been for your quick reflexes and your hand curling around his wrist, stopping him in his motion.

It took you gently calling his name a couple of times for him to finally turn around to face you again - and now you could see the sheen of sweat covering his forehead.

He was also avoiding eye contact.

Now you were really worried. Was he sick? Did something happen?

"Hey, what's wrong?'' No answer. ''You look really pale... are you not feeling well?"

When he stayed silent again, you brought one hand up to his forehead - an instinctive action for you, but definitely not what he’d expected, because his face quickly went from looking sickly pale to flushing a deep scarlet.

Your eyes widened when you noticed how warm his skin was, placing your other hand on one of his cheeks. "Mingi, you're burning up. Do you need to see a doctor?" When again he didn't answer, you turned to grab your things, preparing to carry this man to the nearest hospital if need be, but now it was his hand around your wrist that kept you from moving further.

You glanced from where he was touching you with a gentle yet desperate, clammy hand and back to his face, noting the panic in his eyes that were still refusing to meet your own.

Any stranger passing by would've assumed you were approaching a stray kitten, desperately trying not to scare it off, but you knew how much of a flight risk Mingi could be when things got too much to handle. "Hey, you know you can talk to me, right? I'm only trying to help you," you said with the gentlest voice you could muster despite your racing thoughts.

Yeah, that was the main problem, he thought, you're the only person who makes this job bearable, and I can't lose you by messing this up. You bring both your hands up to cup his cheeks when you notice the tears welling up in his eyes, threatening to spill over.

"Hey, look at me.’’ you dipped your head trying to lure his eyes into meeting yours. ‘’You won't lose me. Why would you?’’ a gentle brush of your thumbs over his pretty cheekbones ‘’How could I make it through one day at this crappy office, with its crappy coffee and the crappy AC that’s broken more often than not, without you?"

Oh shit, his eyes widened even further. Did I say that out loud? Oh god-

He was about to bolt again, mentally calculating how long it would take him to make a detour to a wig store or a hairdresser on his way to the airport, determined to start over in a faraway country, when he involuntarily locked eyes with you. He never understood how you did it, and he was sure there was no possible scientific explanation for the effect you had on him, because the way your eyes, filled with nothing but kindness and understanding, always managed to calm him down instantly was nothing short of magical.

You had to be a heavenly being sent to look out for him - him, this mere human - and him alone. It was in this moment that he remembered what you'd told him time and time again. Realized that he really could say what had been running rampant in his mind for months now. Reminded himself that he could be open and vulnerable with you. You, who had never shown him anything but support and guidance, even when you were having a bad day yourself. Alright. You, who always managed to find a peaceful solution to any argument or tension that arose in the office… He'd be alright. You, who somehow didn't hold grudges even when people had wronged you. You'd both be alright.

You must've noticed the change in his demeanor, because your lips curled up into a small version of one of your beautiful smiles that he loved so much. Shit, he wouldn't be surprised if you could hear his pulse slowing down, his heart rate finally dropping to a point that wouldn't have sent an entire hospital wing into a panic had he been hooked up to a monitor, with news reporters flocking to his bed trying score an interview to find out how the hell he had managed to survive that.

So he closed his eyes, which were now stinging in protest to having been kept open wide for way too long, and took a deep, if shaky, breath.

That was all you, too. Your encouragement to face difficult situations despite every fiber of his being telling him to run. Your influence. You were the one who told him time and time again that things were going to be okay. You showed him that he was in control of his fate and his feelings, and that even when it felt like the whole world was against him, you'd be by his side. No wonder the HR department was desperate to get you to join them…

Mingi couldn't run away now if he tried. He owed you this much. If nothing else, he owed you an explanation, and honesty. He wanted to make you proud.

So with another deep breath, this one a little less shaky (the first one had you worried he might burst into full sobs at any second), he covered your hands in his much larger ones, pulled them from his face and intertwined your fingers with his between your bodies. When he finally opened his eyes again, they were full of determination.

This shift in tone, with him being calmer and more confident than you'd ever seen him, had you thankful for the grasp he had on you, needing his hands around yours in support as your breath hitched when you noticed the raw adoration in his gaze.

His voice, beautifully airy and deeper than you swore you'd ever heard it before, sent shivers down your spine. There was everything yet nothing as you got lost in his gorgeous, warm eyes, and now his voice too. You weren't in your office anymore. You were standing barefoot in a forest, surrounded by majestic trees and vibrant wildlife, a gentle breeze almost calling out your name. You were on a beach, the warm sand comforting between your toes, the waves softly crashing behind you, a pair of strong arms wrapped around your shoulders. You decided then and there that his eyes' gorgeous shade of brown was your new favorite color.

It took his voice calling your name softly to bring you back to the present moment, a bashful smile on his stupidly handsome face. Had he always been this pretty?

"Please tell me you heard what I just said?'' he asked shyly, knowing full well you'd completely spaced out.

"Uh..." You grimaced. At that, he couldn't help but turn his face downward as he murmured to himself, but you were so focused on him now that you had no trouble making out the words. "Oh my god, I can't believe you're making me do this again". He would've buried his face in his hands had they not been occupied with the much more important job of holding the world's greatest treasure.

He hadn't missed the way you'd gotten lost in his eyes, and it only fueled his confidence. He hoped that maybe, just maybe, it was the same way he’d been looking at you more often than not since he'd met you.

He took a deep breath. "I said..." he paused as he brought one of his hands up to your cheek, his other hand easily holding both of yours in their previous position.

You felt yourself blushing. Hard.

Stroking his thumb over your cheek gently, he continued "...that I like you. I like like you. No, scratch that -’’ a gentle shake of his head ‘’-I'm crazy about you.’’ His gaze dropped again as he started rambling. ‘’I hope this doesn't make things weird between us, and I'm so sorry if I read things wrong, and if y-" he started mumbling, nerves catching up to him again, insecurities trying to invade his mind and win back precious land. But you noticed. And you smiled at him in adoration, and squeezed his hand in reassurance. This made him look up at you again. You're going to be alright, you tried to convey with your eyes, we're going to be alright.

Another deep breath, followed by a lighthearted chuckle at his own antics.

"The point is, I really like you, a-and I would love to take you out on a date? O-only if you want to of co-" he couldn't finish the sentence, because you promptly freed your hands and grabbed his face again, pulling him down to you (what they fed him as a kid to get him so tall, you'd really have to ask his parents one day) and pressed your lips to his in a firm and reassuring kiss.

His eyes widened again, cheeks heating back up, but he melted into you as soon as the first shock wore off, arms wrapping around you almost on instinct. As if holding you was their only job, and what they were meant to be doing all his life. He pulled you up to his level seemingly without effort before getting lost in the next kiss. Feeling your fingers running through his hair, he groaned inwardly. Mingi could do this forever, and he would if you let him. He'd figure out a way to survive without oxygen. If not, he decided the team would be fine without him.

You only pulled apart when you noticed the cheers and clapping that had erupted around you, even the occasional wolf-whistle coming from your coworkers, most of who'd gotten up from their seats again, if they’d even settled down after the shock of Mingi’s arrival. You hadn't seen them this lively since the day your boss had ordered a coffee and snack truck to the parking lot in celebration of sealing a deal everybody had worked hard to finally make happen. The majority of them had their headsets still attached, and had you not been so ecstatic you would've felt bad for whoever was getting their ears damaged on the other end of their lines.

"About damn time, Song..."

"TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!!

"He finally grew a pair!"

These were only some of the lines being thrown at the two of you that had you blushing furiously, and Mingi hiding his face in the crook of your neck.

You could've sworn you saw a few fist bumps and some money being passed around, but you decided not to dwell on it for your own sanity’s sake...

After the noise had mostly died down, Mingi put you back on your feet just so he could press his forehead to yours, both of your breaths mingling. Maybe oxygen wasn't so bad after all if he got to share it with you.

You almost missed the signature fake gagging sound of your most obnoxious co-worker, but before you could chase him off like you usually would when he started to tease you about the way you, in his words, "spent more time staring at Mingi than actually working", the telltale sound of a palm making not-so-gentle contact with the back of someone's head (and the dramatic pained yelp that followed) made you realize that your boss had already taken care of Wooyoung himself. You swore he kept an extra set of eyes on the mischievous man-child just so he wouldn't miss an opportunity to reprimand him.

The same boss who sent you a curt nod and a small smile, before telling “the two lovebirds" to get back to work. Though you knew that he’d want to have a word with Mingi later, seeing as how the force with which he’d slammed open the door must’ve left at least an indent on the wall behind it.

It was safe to say you didn't get much work done the rest of that day, but you also never had to eat lunch alone again, or walk to your car without a strong, loving hand holding your own...or drive to work yourself, really.

Even years later, with your left ring finger now permanently occupied, you loved to remind him how proud of him you were.

✨Lore time✨

Here's how everything started:

Bonus:

(I was, in fact, not almost done)

A loving shoutout to my dear friends for planting this idea in my head. And thank you to everyone who read through it and left valuable feedback - you know who you are 💜

©manipulatedstars 2023 - do not steal, copy, repost, translate or otherwise plagiarize my work. If you do, I'll eat all your cereal and pour milk in your shoes.

[languajix]

TMNT Write Fight Fic: Pizza Party

Prompt by @donniepodsshow: "The first pizza party and/or family movie night post-Rise!Kraang invasion. Good opportunity for Casey Jr. to learn and try some stuff he never got in his timeline!" @tmnt-write-fight

Word Count: 1,018

Summary: The Rise turtles introduce Casey Junior to the many varieties of pizza available in the present.

"Okay, Casey, your mission, if you choose to accept it... is to try a bite out of every one of these."

"And don't worry! Raph will eat whatever you don't!" Raph added reassuringly, and his stomach rumbled right on cue.

The spread out before them was a veritable feast - rarely before had there been such a variety of pizza pies all in one place. Only in the Ninja Turtles' lair would a meat lovers sit peacefully beside a veggie delite! Of course, those were ordinary, uninteresting fare when compared to some of the options they'd picked up from Hueso's specifically for the occasion - a Super Creepy Supreme, of course, and a hot one that literally set your tongue on fire, among others.

When Casey Junior had made it clear he'd never so much as tried a piece of pizza before, they'd gotten a classic pepperoni into his hands as fast as possible, but to introduce him to the broader world of pizza really required a more formal occasion. A pizza party, if you will.

"That's a lot of food," Casey Junior breathed, looking a little pale. "Where do we even-"

"There are many ways to approach the pizza party spread," Donnie said flatly, pulling up a few holographic diagrams. "Right to left is a classic, as is common to uncommon-slash-unpopular, which may be more appropriate for the tastebuds of someone who isn't used to pizza at all. Of course, the mild-to-spicy is also a tastebud-friendly approach, and if I were you, I'd start with a combination of the two - with a third, less significant vector relating to general popularity."

Leo pressed a hand between Casey Junior's shoulderblades, pushing him forward. "You know what I think?" He felt the guy perk up, like he really cared about what Leo thought, which was such a confidence booster. "I think you let yourself feel the pizza, be the pizza, and your instinct will guide you to the right pizza."

Casey Junior swallowed. He pasted on a smile. After careful consideration - which Leo appreciated, this was serious business, after all - Casey Junior picked up a slice of barbecue pizza.

Mikey stood in the middle of the room with a clipboard and glasses, tapping the eraser against his lips. "Going for a non-standard sauce out the gate... interesting. Very interesting." He scribbled something down in his notebook.

Casey moved to put it down, but Leo clucked his tongue. "You touched it, it's yours, Case! You gotta try it now. No takebacks."

Casey sighed. He looked at the slice in his hand with curiosity, then shoved it in his mouth.

They all leaned forward, jittery with anticipation.

He chewed, paused for a second, kept chewing and then swallowed.

"So...?" Donnie began.

"If you had to rate it out of ten, ten being the best most awesome thing you've ever tasted in your life and one being the worst thing you've ever had-" Mikey paused to adjust his glasses thoughtfully, "-which is probably really really bad-"

Casey Junior tilted his head. "Nine."

--

"Is it supposed to be wiggling? And, uh, speaking to me?"

"Hueso follows the classic recipe, which involves serving them alive so they can beg to be eaten," Donnie replied.

Mikey bounced on the balls of his feet. "I'm reading about the culinary history of this and other live pizza dishes in the Hidden City, and it's actually pretty cool!"

Casey Junior stared at the slice in his hands. "Cool. Sure." Still, he hesitated. Leo was sure he'd seen worse, but something about the writhing tentacles just wasn't doing it for him.

...yeah. Okay. Given where he'd come from, that was pretty understandable actually.

Leo swiped the piece from his hands, shoving it in his mouth. "Whoops! Guess you gotta pick something else," he said past the mouthful of unchewed crust and squirming creatures.

Casey Junior blinked wide eyes at him, but then grinned, already reaching for the next pizza down the line.

---

"If you don't like this one, I will absolutely be crushed," Donnie admitted flatly. "The perfect blend of several cheeses to provide the optimal texture, an alternative to the normally quite greasy classic pepperoni..."

Casey bit into it and gave him a thumbs up, and Donnie outright whooped, throwing his hands in the air. Mikey did it along with him, because Mikey liked being included in celebrations.

--

"Sometimes you just gotta add some spice to your life," April declared, holding out a slice of jalapeno pizza with hot sauce sauce and hot pepper flakes baked into the crust. "Brace yourself, though, it's gonna be a rough ride."

Casey took a big ol' bite, and everybody but April and Raph flinched in sympathy.

He just chewed a couple of times and swallowed, blinking innocently around the room. "What?"

Leo swiped a piece just to check, and upon a single sniff he immediately started choking. What was this guy made of?

---

By the end of the night they had all ended up sprawled out on the floor, hands on their stomachs, empty pizza boxes scattered around the scene of the crime.

"And how would you rate this pizza party experience?" Donny asked the ceiling from his own spot on the floor. "Educational, very very educational-"

"Delicious," Casey Junior concluded. "But yeah, I'd say I learned a lot. Like that the present really likes grease and cheese."

"Mmmm, grease and cheese," Raph mumbled.

When Leo looked over, Casey Junior was grinning from ear. "Thanks, guys. This was fun. I don't think I remember the last time I felt... full."

"We're gonna give you all sorts of stuff to try and you're gonna forget what it ever felt like to feel hungry, okay?" Leo assured him. "Hot dogs..."

"...nachos..."

"...fried rice..."

"...maybe a salad or something," April added and almost everyone blew a raspberry at that, even Casey Junior, props to him. Mikey snapped his fingers in appreciation, but that was Mikey.

Yeah, they'd feed him well. Casey Junior would never go hungry, and there were so many things in the world for him to try. Leo, for one, couldn't wait to show him.

[malevolentaroweek]

Frequently Asked Questions

✦ How can I participate?

Create any kind of fanwork, post about it here and @ us using the appropriate tags! As long as it’s Malevolent and related to aromanticism/arospec identities, you’re good to go. Fics, art, cosplay, music, crafts, headcanons, etc; any and all types are welcome! We just ask that if you include an image in your post, please include an image description in the alt text or in the body of the post.

✦ Why aromanticism and not just queer?

While Malevolent is not an explicitly queer podcast, the show lends itself to queer readings, and as such has built an audience of predominantly LGBTQ+ folks. Due to the nature of the characters, the ways they relate to one another and their environment, we believe that particular respect should be given to arospec identities within the show, as in fandom such identities are typically overlooked in favor of romantic dynamics. The creators of this week are both aromantic and wanted to create an event that further explored those aspects of their favorite podcast :)

✦ Does it have to be strictly aromantic?

If you mean, does the content created have to be strictly and exclusively non-spectrum aromantic, then no. This event includes all kinds of aromanticism from all across the spectrum. You want to write a fic about John being grayro and falling in love with Oscar? Go for it! Wanna draw a comic about Arthur being a loveless aromantic? Be our guest!

However, we only ask that the main focus of the week be aromanticism and not other related orientations. Exclusively arospec content is rare in online spaces, and we'd like to change that.

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Alongside each day's prompt, we've added two suggested pairings of characters through which to explore the prompts. This is not mandatory, but if you’re unsure of what direction to take a specific prompt, those characters/pairings may serve as a guide to help you build a framework for that day. While the characters are suggested through “slash” pairings colloquially viewed as romantic, their involvement in a work can be through shipping character studies, or simply having the characters interact in some way.

✦ Will there be spoilers?

While we cannot determine what participants will create over the week, it is safe to assume that spoilers for episodes of Malevolent will occur. We will tag #malevolent spoilers for content related to the most recent episode(s), as Part 38 will most likely be out by the time of the event. Beyond this, it would be unrealistic to tag any content relating to spoilers for any point in the show as such, as due to the storyline, almost everything would be tagged as such. If you are concerned about spoilers, we recommend catching up to the show before engaging with content created for the event.

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[shadowphoenixrider]

The Rescue Gambit (1/5) Meet the Team

(When Gambit's solo mission goes terribly wrong and the rest of the X-men aren't available to bail him out, Shadow turns to some old friends to mount a rescue mission. Shenanigans ensue.)

(Welcome to this monster of a fic, the longest I have ever written in my life (14K in total, give or take). Thankfully for you, dear reader, this is split into parts! Who knew writing a silly little rescue fic with my friends' characters would turn into this. Regardless, enjoy!)

Shadow strode down the street, weaving past people with single-minded determination. Her destination was a small, non-descript cafe on the corner of a city street, and she pushed her way inside.

The cafe’s atmosphere reflected the more relaxed area of the city; only a couple of patrons taking up the wooden tables and chairs as they sipped their beverages, and the person behind the counter only barely glanced up at the new arrival into their establishment.

Shadow’s eyes wandered over the room until she spotted a group of men and a woman gathered around one of the larger tables by the window, three of the gents on the hard chairs and the woman and other man in the plush cushioned seats backing up against the glass, supplying most of the noise with their chatter.

She grinned broadly, and headed towards them.

One of the men saw her first, large and bald with a neatly braided brown beard, and he threw his arms wide, beaming widely.

“Shadow!” He cried in his rich Geordie accent, and the others’ heads immediately whipped around to see her approaching.

A chorus of greetings went up as they rose out of their chairs and stumbled out from behind the table towards her, taking it in turns to wrap her up in a hug.

The first was Ber, a large Polish man whose true name was beyond the English speakers' ability to pronounce, as much as they tried. He shared a similar build to the man who had spotted her; a large, five foot nine man with soft features and body, bald except for his neatly trimmed dark brown beard and icy blue-grey eyes. He was clad in a light brown jacket over a pink top with the picture of a grinning, winking demon over the text of ‘SMILE MORE!’, soft grey tracksuit bottoms and well-worn green trekking boots. He hugged her close and yet with an endless gentleness that befitted the animal his name was related to.

Myst was second, a more wiry fellow of five foot six, with short brunette hair that was also trimmed short in a beard and moustache and darker brown eyes. A dark shirt and jeans, a shield with a grey-ish purple skull and crossbones printed on the former, with a teal zip jacket overtop was his clothing ensemble, and he gave Shadow a cheeky grin, eyes darting to the side just to check no-one had followed her.

Lemming, the man who had seen her first, gleefully swept her up into his embrace almost as soon as Myst had stepped away. His hazel brown eyes, sequestered behind his rectangular glasses, sparked with excitement, his grin wide and crooked, wearing a black shirt proudly displaying the logo of a local metal band. This was overtop of black cargo pants and equally dark coloured trainers. He was the tallest of the group, at five foot eleven.

Drifting came next, smiling serenely as she stepped up to the smaller woman. She, like all the others, stood taller than Shadow at five foot seven, with bright green eyes and gorgeous long wine-red hair, wearing an asymmetrical halter top of white and green on top of black jeans. There was a brief hesitation before she embraced Shadow too, which Shadow warmly returned.

And then last, but certainly not least, came Shadow’s adoptive brother and the only one of the group she could look directly in the eyes: Ebak. He strolled up to her casually, his cheeky, knowing smile on his face, reflected in eyes so dark brown many mistook them for black. His long curly ginger hair was tied back in a ponytail, a scruffy stubble over his cheeks and chin whilst a childhood scar slashed through his thick right eyebrow. He wore a button-up green and grey varsity-like hoodie over a black shirt displaying the red targeting computer from the first Star Wars movie, along with blue jeans. The short, stocky man opened his arms widely, gathering his sister up in a tight embrace.

“It’s good to see you again.” Ebak spoke as he pulled away, his accent rich and soft around the words.

“We’ve missed you!” Ber added from close by.

“I’ve missed you all too.” Shadow smiled, her heart feeling so swollen it threatened to burst out of her chest. She took a breath to hold back the tears threatening to well up in her eyes. “I’m sorry I’ve not managed to see you guys again before today. Things have been…complicated.”

“So I hear.” Lemming replied, leaning back in his seat.

“Yeah, I was wondering what happened to you after you suddenly stopped turning up at the hospital.” Drifting commented, as the rest all took their chairs again. Shadow slipped into the empty spot in the window beside her and Lemming, sighing.

“It’s a long story.” Shadow admitted. “But the short version is someone got me suspended on the 'suspicion’ of being a mutant - a suspension that’s still in place, by the way - and then I went and got myself involved in a fight between a Friends of Humanity weirdo and the X-Men. The latter of which took me in to their place to keep me safe from retaliation, which is why I haven’t exactly been present until now.”

“Wait, hold up.” Myst held his hands up. “You’ve been living with the X-Men this whole time?!”

“Technically still am.” Shadow added.

“What?!” Multiple people exclaimed, except for Ebak, who just listened calmly. Myst turned to him, narrowing his eyes.

“You knew already, didn’t you?”

Ebak shrugged nonchalantly.

“She called me a couple of days back to tell me what was happening. Which was good, because I was juust about to go and have a look around the place myself.” He eyed Shadow, arching his scarred eyebrow.

“Which was what I was afraid of.” She replied, folding her arms. “The last thing I want is my brother coming face to face with Wolverine and having to work out how to un-fillet him. As you can imagine, I've not really had the experience re-attaching limbs!" Ebak waved his hand dismissively.

“I’m glad they’ve been keeping you safe.” Ber said, his voice gentle and reaching across the table towards her. “I was worried about you.”

“I know.” Shadow smiled weakly, squeezing his hand. “I’m sorry I’ve been so quiet about it. We’re pretty sure any time those thugs would kick off is long past, though.”

“Let’s hope so.” Drifting commented. “But, correct me if I’m wrong, but you have a reason for calling us all here, right? I’m pretty sure hanging out with your friends involves less panicked 'hey can you meet at Leon’s as soon as you can, please?’ messages.”

“Maybe Shadow really, really missed our company.” Replied Lemming. Drifting gave him a tired, long-suffering look.

“As much as Shadow likes our company, I don’t think she’s ever been that desperate to see us.” Drifting retorted.

Ebak cleared his throat loudly, silencing any further discussion.

“Shadow?” He asked.

She took a breath, looking between all her friends.

“I need your help with a rescue mission,” she said.

“Rescue mission?” Myst asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” Shadow nodded. “Bit of background. This morning, I and another one of the X-Men, Gambit, were out in the city…”

“Gambit, I’m not sure this is a great idea.” Shadow said, glancing around the wall to the small fenced compound beyond. “You’re not exactly geared for infiltration right now.”

The Cajun grinned.

“Don’t worry chère, Gambit not gonna stay for long. Jus’ quick in an’ out, get de lay of de land, swipe some formula, den come right back to you.”

Shadow sighed, exasperated.

“Look, I don’t doubt you’re an excellent thief, but I’ve really got a bad feeling about this. This isn’t just some shady office block downtown. We should at least wait until the others are back.”

“Contact said dey recently got a shipment in.” Gambit replied, his tone now serious. “Dis be the time to swipe it. Waitin’ for backup might give 'em the chance to move it on. Den we might never figure out what it is.”

Shadow swore internally, knowing he was right. And yet…

“Okay. At least let me call for backup if you don’t make it out, alright?”

He looked back at her, searching her face.

“Give me least fifteen minutes, chère,” he said. “If I’m not out by den, call de others.” He grinned widely. “But Gambit will be by ya side soon enough, you’ll see.”

“I sure hope so.” She sighed, reaching out to squeeze his hand. “You take care now, alright?”

“Always, mon amie.” Gambit flashed her a wink. “See ya on de other side.”

And with that, the lithe mutant sprang gracefully up the side of the building, hopping from wall to wall until he disappeared over the lip of the roof.

“Considering we’re here, I’m guessing he…?” Myst trailed off. Shadow sighed, shaking her head.

“I gave him twenty minutes, just in case something came up. But when I returned to our previous look out, I was just in time to see his unconscious body being taken into the main building.” She explained. “As far as I know, he’s still being held in there now.”

A brief silence settled over the friends, all pensive.

It was Drifting who spoke first.

“Pardon me, but you’re with the X-Men, right? The group of mutants who go around saving people and blowing those Sentinels up? Why didn’t you go to them?”

“I would, if they weren’t dealing with some important mission right now.” Shadow explained, running a hand through her hair. “I don’t know if they’d be able to get over here in time before something happened to him. At best they’re just going to move him, at worse…” She shook her head. “I know you guys aren’t the same, and neither am I, but you were the only people I could think of that could get together to help me break him out.”

They looked amongst each other.

“Shadow, you really think we can go up against guys who took down an X-Man?” Lemming asked uncertainly.

“Just because Gambit’s an X-Man doesn’t make him any more a mutant than the rest of us.” She shook her head. “And he wasn’t geared for a mission, just casual clothes. All it would take is for someone to sneak up on him, or to make a mistake, and he’d be captured like anyone else.”

Ebak rubbed his scruffy chin thoughtfully.

“So sneak in, get Gambit, and sneak out again?” He said. Shadow nodded.

“Yes. If we could get a sample of that chemical formula those guys seem to be moving around, that would be ideal, but the main thing is to get Gambit out of there before anything happens to him.”

“That’s easy for you.” Myst folded his arms, eyeing the smaller man. “You can just blink in there when no-one’s watching.”

“If no-one’s watching.” Ebak repeated. “There’ll be security cameras in there for sure, and going in alone is what got Gambit caught.”

“Yeah, and I would prefer not to lose you to those bastards too.” Shadow added.

“I’m not sure my power is going to help you to be sneaky,” Ber piped up, smiling widely, “but you know that I will always help you, Shadow. Any way I can.”

She smiled warmly back, touched as always by his unwavering loyalty.

“Oh, I’m sure there’s something a big bear man can do to help us.” Ebak grinned over at his friend. “You always need a little bit of muscle when the stealth mission goes awry, right Number One?” He flashed a wink in his sister’s direction, and she rolled her eyes at his nickname for her.

“Well, I guess I’m coming too,” Drifting spoke. “On account of being able to almost completely disappear.”

“Only come if you want to.” Shadow eyed her seriously. “That goes for the rest of you too. I know this is big ask for you all, and I wouldn’t judge you at all for stepping away to keep yourselves safe. But know I wouldn’t’ve called you if I didn’t think you had it in you to help me.”

Drifting considered this for a long moment, before she nodded.

“You are going to need the one mutant with invisibility in this, and someone has to keep an eye on you all.” She smiled as Shadow chuckled. “Just don’t leave me alone in there, okay?”

“Of course not.” Said Shadow. “I intend to get everyone out of that place. No-one left behind.”

Ebak leant over in his chair towards Myst, looking at his friend expectantly. The younger man folded his arms, avoiding his gaze until he uttered a long sigh.

“…Fine. I’ll guess I’ll come along too.” He shot a glare at Ebak, now grinning smugly. “Someone has to keep E safe.”

“Your portals will be very useful.” Shadow smiled. “We’ll need a quick a getaway. And, maybe,” she smirked, meeting Ber’s gaze, “an instant-Ber delivery system, should things go south.”

Ber grinned widely, his ice-blue eyes sparkling with mischief. A smile pulled at Myst’s lips at that, entertained by the thought.

All eyes now turned to Lemming, who seemed to have shrunk in his seat. He glanced down at his hands, fidgeting with his watch.

“I dunno what I could do to help,” he said, unable to meet their gazes. “My power’s useless for this.”

“Hey, be kind yourself!” Ber cried. “Don’t make me come over there and hug you!”

“I have a few ideas how a man with manipulation of time perception could be useful.” Ebak spoke, drumming his fingers together. “Besides, you’re more than just your power, my friend.” He smiled, leaning forward. “Out of all of us, you’re the most knowledgeable of weapons - that could definitely help give us an edge in knowing what we’re going up against.”

“Yeah. If we know what they’re packing, we can get an idea of how well funded they are and how dangerous.” Myst added. Shadow nodded slowly.

“And that will definitely be information Cyclops and the others will wanna know after we get out,” she said. “Also. On the very real possibility that something does go horribly wrong, we will need someone on the outside to get the rest of the X-Men.”

Lemming paled slightly.

“You…you sure about this?”

“Very sure. I’ve been around them long enough to know you also need a back-up plan, even if that backup plan is 'oh shit I fucked up, I need an adult’.” Shadow reached into her pocket for a pen. “I’ll give you the address, anyone got some paper?”

There was rustling from around the table, until Drifting pushed a small scrap of paper over to the other woman. Shadow thanked her, before beginning to slowly write it out in her neatest handwriting.

“Here.” She handed it to Lemming, who looked it over, tucking it into his pocket.

“Alright. I’ll come along.” He smiled, resting a hand on Shadow’s small shoulder. “To make sure y'all come back safely.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.” Shadow smiled. “All of you. I know this isn’t gonna be easy or a walk in the park, so I’m really grateful for your help.”

“We’ll always be here for you.” Ber replied, smiling. “You know that.”

“What the Ber-man said!” Ebak added. “We’re your friends. Your problems are ours.”

Drifting nodded, as did Lemming.

“Besides, what the use of having the power to turn invisible if don’t use it to get into places I shouldn’t be.” Drifting commented, smiling wryly.

“Yeah! And think about it, how often does anyone get to say that they helped rescue an X-Men?” Myst pointed out. “Uh, provided we pull this off, of course.”

“I have faith in us.” Shadow smiled. “You’re not only my closest friends, but the finest group of mutants I know who aren’t famous. We can do this.”

“Right. Well, if we are going do this, we need to solve one very important problem,” Lemming said. “Communication. It’s not like any of us are telepathic or anything.”

“No worries, I had the exact same thought as you.” Shadow smirked, retrieving a small nylon pouch from her pocket. “When I briefly returned to the mansion to call you guys, I picked these up.”

She opened it, gently spilling its contents out. They leaned forwards to examine the small objects.

“Are these ear pieces?” Drifting asked, picking one up to examine it.

“Got it in one.” Shadow grinned. “They have the microphone attached, you can clip it subtly to a piece of your clothing, then press the body when you need to talk through. It’s what we use when we don’t have a dedicated comm. We’ll sort the frequency out in a bit.”

“Am I right in thinking you might have a plan for us, then?” Ebak asked, taking one of the ear pieces.

“A preliminary one, though we’ll need to do another rekkie before I’m sure.” Shadow said. “So, I was thinking…”

(Next: Break In)

[gryffindorkus]

Hey look, a pinned post:

Harry Potter blog for talking about my blorbos. I have equal love for next gen and the marauders (Regulus Black and Teddy Lupin are my favourite characters but Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy follow very closely behind), but most of my original postings slash ideas are about next gen

fic writer -> syoish is my ao3, currently writing my fic Scorpius Malfoy vs. The World

In 2017/18 this used to be a cosplay role play blog and, although I don't make that content anymore, I stand by my old posts being hilarious. >link to rp masterlist if you're curious<

My main blog, for non Hary Potter content, is @syoish (I'm currently obsessed with Omori)

James Potter coded as fuck - by which I mean I have a very cute girlfriend that's always mad at me, I'm in love with Regulus Black, and I was a bit a lot of a bitch ass punk in high school that talked too much shit before going through character development

Shipping is all I do. My top ships (in order of importance) are: JEGULILY, scorbus, tedtoira, and wolfstar ❤

Very big subscriber to the idea that fiction and reality are different. I personally believe you should be allowed to explore dark topics in fiction as long as the exploration of these topics doesn't begin to effect your actions irl.

⚠️ This blog does not support JK Rowling in any way! I do not endorse the purchasing of any official merchandise/books/movies, visiting of Harry Potter parks, playing of any Harry Potter affiliated video games, or supporting any other Harry Potter related projects that line the pockets of transphobes!!! ⚠️

[olderthannetfic]

Related to the difference in numbers between m/m and f/f. Recently I compared some kpop fandoms to others and found out there's a really big gap in bg and gg even though in non transformative spaces some of the gg are more popular than the bg.

I'm not trying to make any judgments but I'm interested in what makes bg fans more likely to write fic considering that female idols also have fun personalities and dynamics with other members that are shippable.

I don't really think it's related to fan's sexuality because a lot of bg fans (like me) identify as lesbian and there are also straight women in gg fandom.

--

Interesting question. I wonder how it varies by platform and space.

Wattpad has a metric fuckton of female self/Jungkook male idol. Boy groups are going to be more popular for that because self inserty het is more popular on Wattpad than self inserty f/f. The amount of fic that's idol/idol (or gen about idols interacting) seems a lot smaller. I do see some BTS/Blackpink ships along with the m/m for boy groups.

AO3 is slash central and was before kpop RPF got big there. I checked out BTS because there was a lot of m/m fic and then ended up liking their music. My second most listened to group is probably KARD, and I know next to nothing about them as people. I wouldn't say I have a particularly informed or broad knowledge of idol groups, which affects what fic I'll be into even if I like a lot of random songs I've run across on youtube. I think fic popularity can be self-feeding: people check out fictional canons because they have active fic fandoms too.

Last time I looked at AsianFanfics, I think I remember seeing male idol/OFC and male idol/female idol but not so much male idol/male idol. I've never been a regular there though.

The fact that it isn't about sexuality for everyone doesn't mean that sexuality doesn't have an influence on the big picture. I suspect the twin forces of more fic writers being attracted to men and more fic writers finding female bodies more contested are in play.

In my case, for me to care about shippy fanfic, I need to be attracted to the characters/celebrities. There's a massive disparity there for me.

Male idols are too scrawny for me to want to fuck in a lot of cases and have boring plastic surgery sameface, but some of them are pretty muscular, their clothing often covers up the full extent of their skinniness, and at least a few of them look different from each other. Their dances are also hot. Female idols go even more overboard on the plastic surgery sameface, are pre-selected to look even more similar, and have legs like twigs combined with tiny hotpants that show these off. Their dances just irritate me. It's what the industry forces on them, but it's a massive turn-off. KARD at least has kind of weird intermediate dances.

Yoon Mi-rae is smokin' hot. I like Hwasa. But a lot of women in SK entertainment are a hard no for me. I love Blackpink's music, but I'd never be attracted to them. Well... maybe when they're 50.

I have no idea what fic-writing Korean fans think, but for me as a Westerner, male idols are a pleasant change from male celebrities in the US. They're expected to dress up, look pretty, and wear makeup. They're normative in their own context but read differently for me, inaccurate as that is. Female idols are the same old ultra-femme looks on steroids. I certainly don't need more of that in my life.

Maybe if I gave a shit about Fanxy Red's music, I'd be in that fandom. They're the gg that presents like a bg. They're originally from China but relocated.

Hmm... Yeah, I could be into that.

[spnfanficpond]

Weekly Pond Newsletter

It's Midsummer (or Midwinter if you're down south), which means we're about halfway through the year! How are we all doing on our New Year's resolutions? That good, eh?

Old Business:

The discord server was hopping this week, with Manta Rays hanging out, competitive writing sprints, and even some non-competitive writing sprints happening almost every day! Did you know that you can hop into the sprint room in our server and sprint any time you want? Anyone can operate the Sprinto bot with either slash commands or tagging the bot and giving the commands. Most of the time, there is an admin around to help you, and maybe even sprint with you! If you have ADHD, you may have heard of body doubling, and doing writing sprints is one way to do that. For a lot of people, it's just easier to get some writing done while sprinting, even if it's just by yourself. You're kind of holding yourself accountable, and the Sprinto bot keeps time for you and even gives you a lovely quote at the end! Be sure to check it out and ask the admins if you need help!

There was no New Member Spotlight for June, as we had no new members by the time we would usually have posted it. However, we've gotten a few new members this weekend, so July's post will be chock full of new people to meet!

Last week's #TweetFicTues prompt was:

JIB13 photos got us all up in our feels about Jeffrey Vincent Parise and his drums. This week's #TweetFicTues prompt is Asmodeus as the drummer in a band!

New Business:

Manta Rays in the discord server! Next weekend, there will be TWO Manta Rays in the discord server just hanging out! On Friday, @katbratsupernaturalwhore will be in there for an hour, and on Saturday, @princessmisery666 will be in there for a couple of hours. (She was originally scheduled for yesterday, but we postponed it because someone forgot to announce it -not naming names it was Michelle-.) This is your chance to get to know wave-makers in the Pond, get advice on writing or Tumblr, or just chat with some really cool people!

Fishing For Treasures at the @fanficocean is next weekend! In July, the Pond and the Ocean are celebrating Real People Fics, or RPF! Send us links to your favorite RPF stories, whether you wrote them or not. You can submit your links to our blogs or drop the links into the #fishing-for-treasures channel in our discord servers. The deadline for the Ocean's celebration is midnight Friday, Eastern US time. If you have any questions, feel free to send an ask to either the Ocean or to us!

It's almost the end of the month, so Angel Fish Award nominations are due if you want to participate in this month's raffle for prizes! Click here for info on the AFA's and how to participate. Want to know what's on the prize list? Click here for the list of current prizes up for grabs! We accept nominations ALL THE TIME, but the raffle ends at the end of the month every month.

(Divider by @glygriffe!)

That's all for this week! To see all Pond events, and also other SPN-related things like conventions and online concerts, check out our Google calendar! We try to keep it as up to date as possible. If there's something you want to see on the calendar that's not there (maybe a convention we missed, or cast birthdays, or something similar), send us an ASK and let us know!

Hope you have a great week! - From your Admins and Manta Rays, @manawhaat, @mrswhozeewhatsis, @mariekoukie6661, @princessmisery666, @thoughtslikeaminefield, and @katbratsupernaturalwhore!

[kcscribbler]

H/C Prompts Welcome

So, because my muse has been unreliable at best in the last few months and I've promised my therapist I'd find a new creative outlet, I'm going to try to do Whumptober this year.

Feel free to hop over here to see the potential themes and make any suggestions/requests that would fit under one of them.

Please keep in mind:

These likely will just be scenes/ficlets (500-1500 words), though they could be longer.

I specialize in gen!fic, that can be read as pre-slash if desired. No sexual prompts, please. I also don't typically write main character death or graphic torture/gore. Implied is fine.

The prompt has to be somewhat H/C-related to qualify, though I have zero problem writing crack!fic with a serious premise

Missing or cut/expanded scenes from any of my past stories are fair game

I need to at least know the fandom, though it doesn't necessarily have to be one of my current regulars.

Be as specific (or non-specific) as you like, but understand I have to interpret the prompt as I can make it work.

You can comment here or Ask Me, or leave it in a review to something on AO3, whatever's convenient

If you have something that doesn't fit in any of the themes, feel free to suggest it anyhow and we'll see if I can make it work.

Thank you in advance!

[rqgnarok]

writing commissions are open!

enosupetop i do both fanfic works and poetry, as listed below, can work as an editor, beta reader, or english to/from spanish translator. i can write in both english and spanish, english isn’t my first language but it is the one i write with the most! 

fanfic:

→ $20 for 2000 words / $5 for every subsequent 500 words (flexible if necessary!)

→ what i write: x readers, ocs, character studies, slash and &, aus, headcannon fics, crossovers, song fics, and you’re welcome to ask for anything else. 

→ what i don’t write: minor/adult, incest (any kind of biological or adopted relations), non-con and rape, anything rooted on any kind of hate. 

→ main fandoms:

marvel (movies and series)

any movie from any phase

any tv show including agents of shield and moonknight.

star wars (movies and the clone wars series)

criminal minds

law and order: svu

teen wolf

it chapter 1 and 2

the last of us (series)

9-1-1 

bridgerton

stranger things

top gun & top gun maverick

supernatural

ted lasso

barry

hamilton

enola holmes

mission impossible

ask about a certain fandom!

poetry:

$5 to $10 per poem, depending on the details, flexible if necessary. 

give me a topic / certain words / prompts / any specifications and i work with them!

→ ways of payment

50% after i’ve accepted working on the commission and 50% after it’s been delivered. proof of payment also required :)

paypal and ko-fi

→ contacts

eleowrites@gmail.com

dm www.instagram.com/poetbitesback 

message www.rqgnarok.tumblr.com 

→ examples of work under the cut

fanfic:

-

-

-

poetry: 

[ivyblooms]

Hiiii this might be weird lol but I saw your addition to the post discussing the correlation between the gay trans men phenomenon to misogyny and you brought up the topic of rising trans slash in fanfics - as someone whose been in fandoms for like 10+ years you’re sooo right!! Even though I do read all sorts of fanfic (gay, lesbian, platonic) I’d say I’ve always had a more critical approach in fandom stuff (plus getting more into radfem theory about 3 years ago) and from the get go I always saw the ~majority~ of male slash fanfic created by women as an expression of romance/smut through a non-misogynistic lens; “men get to be people while women are women yadda yadda”. A perception I’ve always had at the back of my mind, so it always confused me when in the past 5ish years suddenly women who had consumed so much gay fanficton were proclaiming they must actually be gay men

You mentioned the rise in trans slash media and honestly I thought I was going crazy lol. There has definitely been a huge shift, where suddenly the components that made the work gay could just be altered and it’s supposedly still the same. Apologies if this seems vulgar but the switch to now male characters actually being trans, feminization in sexual/non sexual manners, and sometimes just having a “boyp*ssy” at minimum has been really fucking weird, and in some fandom spaces I’m in the change seems to have skyrocketed in the past ~6 months

Honestly sorry for the random ramble and feel free to disregard but I would love to know if you have anymore to say on this topic. I think I’ve only encountered one light discussion overlapping fanfiction / feminist theory, so it’s always interesting when I see the topic brought up!

No worries sis, it's not weird.

I am there with you. I'd been noticing the trend but when I wanted to have a quick look at Captain Marvel femslash I was like 3 pages of results in and still hadn't seen one that didn't include 'girlpenis' or equivalent. I was legit annoyed, the last thing anyone wants when looking for fxf is the word penis getting involved.

I don't want to discount homophobic fetishisation of course. As a lesbian I never really believed that was real until I finally saw some hetero fandom friends genuinely being sexually attracted to males cast in live action versions of a cartoon and I was like .. wait a second u guys were serious?? So yeah thats real, but I highly doubt it's the main reason. Especially when so many lesbians are super into slash fic as well.

So to your point, while I do think the popularity of gay male slash fiction has largely been due to women wanted to escape misogyny, I don't believe it's been a conscious thought. I don't believe many of these girls and women actively thought they are lesser than men, I don't think choosing to write mxm was a decision to highlight misogyny, I think it's just an entirely internalised 'feeling' that somehow putting a woman with a man is demeaning or inequitable therefore they want their favourite blorbo to be with someone that doesnt give them that feeling. And, to straight women, men are hot.

Like notice how so many of the pov men in older mxm fics are the one that bottoms? Even the concept of strict set in stone roles for top and bottom defining your character (seme and uke) really is more reminiscent of hetero relationships that actual real life gay relationships. I truly do think there is reason to believe this is due to making one character (the bottom) more relatable as a subconscious woman stand in. They were always shorter, they were almost always weaker, they had less body hair, they were almost always prettier and more feminine, their male genitalia was small and often barely remarked on and there was no question that their main participation in sex was being penetrated. They were trans men before the idea of trans men and gender being unrelated to sex really ramped up.

It makes perfect sense to me that the next step in that train of thought, that men and women feel unequal and gender is not related to sex, is "well I relate to men as an equal therefore I must also be a man". Like if you haven't stepped back to understand your own bias, how would you ever realise the true answer is women are equal humans despite the way the world treats us? It's not correct and it comes from a place of homophobia where straights consider gayness a club they can join on a whim rather than a meaningful material experience, but it's understandable that's the leap being made.

You are right, it has gotten so much worse over the last six months. Maybe ABO has finally become truely accepted and now anyone feels they can put any genitals on any character like its a mix and match. Maybe trans ideology has finally fully taken over the majority of fandom spaces. Maybe actual gay writers and fans got sick of so much unwanted hetero we have started dropping out of popular fandom spaces.

Seriously trying to find gay fanfiction now is so much harder than ever before, but it's something people not in fandom spaces are missing because if you see nothing more than the characters in ships you'd think it was gay. Fandom spaces are becoming hostile to homosexuality in a way I wouldn't have predicted 10 years ago. I think they probably always were, tbh, it was just that misogynistic straight women didn't realise they had another option and could get by on the fetish until they found this solution.

[youknowmevj]

Alright, here's a question for you. What inspired you to go with fem!Voldemort for Closer the Better? I ask because while you've written a lot for the pairing, this is the first time you've done a non-slash version of the pairing. Were you inspired by other big fem!Voldemort fics or did this idea come to you on its own?

Hey, thanks for the question!

I chose fem!Voldemort for CTB because when I started it, I found myself to be a Voldy kinnie and desperately wanted to see a Harry being pegged by a badass powerful female character hahaha

When I first published it, I didn't find many fem!V/male!H stories around ao3 and decided to write it myself. Finding only fem!Harrys was not helping me. Ngl at first I decided to write just a pwp but things took a turn and I decided to expand.

Your fic 'Departure from the Diary' helped me with my feelings a lot when I was madly searching for more fem!Tom content, so thank you for that! I love that story.

My other fics are slash 'cause I find their authenticity compelling, but Closer the Better is closer to my heart because it makes me able to relate to Voldy better (I hope that makes sense? Hahah)

[academicdisasterfic]

The Laws of Fandom Protect Whiteness.

Disclaimer: I do think that fandom only works if people stick to the Three Laws of Fandom, i.e. SALS, DL;DR, and YKINMK. I am anti-anti and I believe that writing problematic things does not make you problematic in real life. Basically: I'm on your side, fellow fic writers.

But there is a caveat. We have to remember why the Three Laws exist. They are there so that fandom is a safe space for everyone. So it can be a place we all come to and feel respected and heard. But this undoubtedly privileges White people.

The Three Laws of Fandom will inherently protect White people's safety because we don't have to worry about unconscious bias or racist conditioning towards our race or ethnicity. The Three Laws of Fandom do not inherently protect People of Colour because White people in fandom will have forms of racist bias that we have to unlearn. Therefore, the Laws only work if White people choose to be actively anti-racist and listen to POC in the fandom.

Let's expand on this.

This is not saying that writing racism, or writing racially-charged themes, should be censored or off-limits to White people. But when we do write them, we need to remember that the Laws also only work because fandom operates on a comprehensive tagging system. We are able to enforce DL;DR because we have tags showing us exactly what is in the fic. Therefore - don't like age difference? Don't like non-con? Don't like violence? You can opt out!

But if you write racially-charged themes and don't give appropriate content warnings, then you aren't giving POC the chance to opt out. In fact, you are endangering their mental and emotional safety by pulling them into subject matter that has real-world implications for them. And yes, entering fiction always carries a risk of reading something that you don't like - but is far more dangerous for POC than for White people.

It is one thing to accidentally read a fic that depicts a kink you don't like, it is another for a POC to read their own experiences being depicted in a way that makes them out to be no big deal, and not even a big enough deal to be appropriately tagged.

It is also important to note that a POC alerting you to racist themes or passages in your work and asking you to appropriately tag or consider the way you wrote them isn't the same as them flaming you. In fact, it shows care. This person thinks that you are worth their time and effort to try and have a conversation with. If you shut that down and prioritise your right to write anything you want above someone's safety, that is a racist act.

This type of racism results in people like Stitch's Media Mix taking a hard line against the Laws altogether, as they are so regularly used as excuses by White people to justify racism. While I disagree with Stitch's ultimate conclusion, can I blame her for how they got there? The Laws have certainly never been leveraged against me to dismiss my lived experience or concerns, and have only contributed to fandom being a safer space for me. But Stitch is Black and speaks about antiblackness and racism in fandom - and gets barrages of death threats and hate mail for doing so, from fans participating in these spaces.

How are we supposed to tell POC that the Laws keep their spaces safe when they so clearly do not?

On a related note, I think the prioritisation of ✨positivity✨ over any sort of critique or conversation is another mechanism to protect Whiteness. It's important to remember that particularly in slash fandoms, the majority of fans tend to be white queer AFABs or genderqueer people, so the normal structures of patriarchy and heteronormativity that we navigate in our regular lives don't enter into fandom as pervasively. Whiteness, however, is the oppressive structure that tends to persist in slash fandoms, and therefore we need to be cognisant of how this can marginalise and isolate POC fans.

If you avoid difficult, race-based conversations because you only spread "positivity", then you do not actually care about everyone in fandom having a positive experience.

Paraphrasing from 'Conflict is Not Abuse' by Sarah Schulman, conflict isn't inherently bad. It's productive. It shows care. It's growth.

The Laws of Fandom can and should work for everyone. But we are the actual enforcers. We have to recognise the potential ways people can abuse the Laws to marginalise, threaten and isolate POC fans.

People of Colour deserve a seat at the table of fandom. They deserve a safe space. They deserve to feel wanted and seen and respected.

I don't have all the solutions for this - I'm White and recognise that everything I'm saying here I only learned from POC and have probably not said it as well or as eloquently as they have been doing (but no one's listening). I welcome any additions, critiques or insights from POC to this post.

The type of fandom I want to cultivate is safe and inclusive for everyone, and we need to start thinking about what that actually means.

[xfilesfanficexchange]

NEW FANFICTION EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENTS!

We're waiting on the final One Bed fics to come in, but in the meantime, I wanted to make sure to get the exchange sign ups out for those ready for more!

In typical exchanges, there are certain things participants are discouraged from asking for. In particular: triggering content, ships other than MSR, and non-XF related content.

I realize these limitations can be annoying to individuals who enjoy this content, and I never want to exclude anyone from participating. So for the October/November exchanges, we will be focusing on THREE themes that allow the aforementioned tropes that are usually banned.

I would like to announce the following new exchanges (details on each to follow)! 

The Darkfic Exchange (October 29th)

The Stella/Scully Exchange (November 5th)

The Slash Exchange (November 19th)

I know three might seem like a lot, but I presume people might not be as interested in doing all three of these since they're a bit niche theme-wise (but more power to you if you do). Also, unlike the other multiple-theme exchange announcements, these events will be on different dates

1) THE DARKFIC EXCHANGE

In most exchanges, any content that might be triggering is discouraged. However, I understand that exploring dark topics (writing or reading) can be very cathartic and I think it's a valuable tool for exploration. So for this exchange, think of any topics you've wanted to ask for, but second-guessed or thought it was "too dark." This is the time!

There are definitely different "shades" of darkfic, here are some examples: Character death, assault, torture, self-harm, infidelity, miscarriage, /other, breakup, sick fic, suicide, etc. Maybe there's a happy ending, maybe there's not -- it's up to you!

Before anyone judges and says "Why would anyone want to write/read ________," please understand this can be very therapeutic for individuals. At the end of the day, using these characters in fic can help us interpret our own lives.

With that being said, I still want to be sensitive to the fact these topics are triggering. Maybe you want to sign up and ask for X, but the thought of writing Y is very uncomfortable for you. Just let me know privately and I will ensure you don't get a prompt that is triggering.

I will also be sending the authors some information regarding writing triggering content in the welcome email. In regards to the community, on the exchange day everything will be posted with #XFDarkFic2022 and you can mute the tag to avoid any posts.

Details Darkfic Exchange

Sign Up Ends: Sunday, September 25th 11:59pm CST

Exchange Date: October 29th

This is a five(ish) week writing period.

Word Minimum: 2k 

Link Here!

2) THE STELLA/SCULLY EXCHANGE 

I knew I was going to have a slash exchange, and I know Stella/Scully is a very popular slash pairing but that some people might only want to write for TXF. As a result, I figured the S/S could have an exchange all their own!

I admittedly do not know much about this pairing, nor if the authors of the community are familiar with/have participated in exchanges before -- but please know that you are welcome here!

As the title suggest, this exchange is dedicated to all things Stella and Scully! I apologize that I don't know much about the conventions of the genre to add anything else, but I'm excited to see what y'all come up with!

Details Stella/Scully Exchange

Sign Up Ends: Sunday, September 25th 11:59pm CST

Exchange Date: November 5thThis is a six(ish) week writing period

Word Minimum: 2k

The manip of Stella and Scully came from dawnofthewench on tumblr!

Link Here!

3) THE SLASH EXCHANGE 

In the past, people have expressed apprehension about getting a slash prompt that they didn't feel comfortable writing. It became a trend that if someone got a slash prompt, they'd drop out. As a result, usually I ask for MSR or gen only

NOT THIS TIME, BABY - HEAR ME LOUD AND QUEER, NOVEMBER 19TH WILL BE GAY. Mulder and Krycek, Scully and Reyes, Mulder and Skinner, Scully and Marita, Scully and Diana, Mulder and Flukeman -- is it queer? Then it's perfect.

I, Nicole, the admin, am obviously queer. This often (has put/)puts individuals in an awkward position of fearing they might come across as homophobic if they don't want to write a queer ship. I completely understand that is not the case.

Maybe you LOVE Mulder/Krycek but have no idea what you'd do if you had to write a WLW ship or vice versa. I understand that is a valid concern. In the sign up sheet, I have an area where you can mark if there's a certain type of ship you'd prefer not writing. Just lemme know.

Details Slash Exchange

Sign Up Ends: Sunday, September 15th 11:59PM CST

Exchange Date: November 19th

This is a two(ish) month writing period.

Word Minimum: 2k 

Link Here!

GENERAL 

I am so excited to see what everyone comes up with! Again, these are three independent exchanges with nothing to do with one another. You can sign up for one, all three, none, whatever you feel like.

If you've never signed up before and/or are uncertain of the rules, I would advise that you read chapter one of this fic!  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me!

Just some misc things about signing up:

- If you're not comfortable putting your address on this document, no problem. You just need to ensure that I have it.

- Some people have issues accessing the sign-up sheet on their phones. If you're having problems, I suggest trying it on your desktop. If nothing seems to be working, then just send me your info and I'll put it on the sheet.

- I know it can be tricky to think of prompts, and I totally don't mind at all if you have TBD in place of the prompt for a while, but please try to put something in there when you can -- even if you change your mind later. I just ask this because sometimes people are hesitant to sign up if they don't know what the prompts are. Again, please feel free to put TBD so that your info is confirmed and you're joined, just add the prompt when you think of it!

Thank you for reading the thread! If you've made it here and are just ready to sign up, here are all the links in one place! 

Darkfic

Stella/Scully

Slash

All signups close Sunday the 25th at 11:59pm CST