#word count 500

[parwatisingari]

Mischief Managed

The #souljourney or #aatmayana was to be #unfettered and best way to do is to #create a #structure. #WriteAPageADay from @Blogchatter.

Wodehousian Chronicles to Being Unfettered. Ah, what ho! ‘Tis the season for scribbling at Blogchatter, what with their quaint little challenge of one page a day. Quite the scheme, if you ask me, leaving one’s literary endeavors entirely to one’s own devices. Last year, I fancied myself quite the daring chap, allowing the muse of the moment to dictate my prose. But it was akin to juggling…

[destinationtoast]

Question: Several years ago, you outlined the most common fic wordcounts for AO3. Given that the data was from 2014, will you do an update to see if fics have gotten, on average, longer/shorter over time? (P.S. Thank you for creating these! I've followed your blog for a number of years, and your analyses help put fandoms and fandom trends in perspective.)

Good question (and thank you :) )! I just took a look, and I was interested to find that AO3 fanworks have, on average, gotten longer over the past 10 years.

Here's the data from 2014:

And here's updated data from 2024:

(Edited to fix an incorrect max word count)

These graphs, along with the data and any clarifications and corrections are also available on AO3.

[yurislotusgarden]

ʚїɞ Not just a little crush ʚїɞ

ʚїɞ Port mafia!Dazai Osamu x Gn!Reader

ʚїɞ Keep in mind English is not my first language, so you may find mistakes!

ʚїɞ word count: 1k

ʚїɞ Tw’s: literally nothing, just pure fluff of him being down bad

ʚїɞ This is literally just 1k words of Pmzai being down bad, whipped, even lovesick, for his crush🤷‍♀️

How did he end up like this?

The youngest executive in Port Mafia’s history, The demon Prodigy, one of the most feared people in Yokohama if not the whole of Japan, Dazai Osamu has fallen in love.

He tried to tell himself that it wasn't that. That the nice feeling he got whenever he was around you was just because of him standing near, or spending time with a friend, a close one, but denial can go on only for so long.

The brunette at first thought that his crush, as Chuuya had called it when he had caught onto Dazai's more than normally weird behavior, was one-sided. After all, there was no way that someone like you could love him, that just wasn't a possibility in Dazai's mind, yet you decided to go against his calculations once again, you seemed to like doing that and causing him to freak out.

It wasn't too long before he realized that, just maybe, you did at least like him in a romantic way, some acts just couldn't be brushed off as a friend gesture.

One thing he just couldn't brush off, as well as it being the reason he realized his crush may not be one-sided, was him remembering one of the times you cooked him food, even though you were aware how picky he could get with that matter.

///////////////////////////

A figure with brown-haired locks could be seen walking on the deserted sidewalk. Moonlight shone on him as he arrived at his destination, your house.

You always greeted him so sweetly, especially when compared to all the people in his life. Welcomed him like he was a classmate, a friend, a normal person that you both knew he wasn’t. He wasn't treated like a superior, like someone who would kill if the smallest mistake was made around him, and Dazai knew that he liked it from the very start.

Dazai had thought before how would it be if you somehow were in the PM, but to his surprise, he realized he hated, even despised that idea. Something about the concept of someone like you, a person who in his eyes could be an angel for all he cares, being in a dark place full of violence and death like the Port Mafia, was just absolutely not right.

Dazai had arrived at your door, not having to wait long after knocking for the door to be opened by you.

“Dazai?”

You. Oh, the lovely little thing that you were in his eyes. Innocent compared to him, a civilian who somehow met and befriended a feared mafioso without the slightest care in the world.

He had no idea how he managed to get where he was, but he had no regrets.

“Yes, me! Now let me in, it's damn cold!”

///////////////////////////

You disliked crab.

In fact, you disliked most seafood, he was perfectly aware of it, and yet, you did this just for him. 

A crab that could as well look like it was made by a restaurant chef laid in front of him on the table. It looked well-seasoned, the crab’s shell was purely gotten rid of, and the smell wasn’t overwhelming like a lot of food tends to be like to him… you really thought it out carefully. 

“What is this?” It was kind of a stupid question, but he wanted to know your reasons.

“What do you mean? I thought you liked crab?”

“I do-”

“Then shush and eat, you stick.”

What did you just call him? Did he hear it right?

“...’Stick’?” You turned to look at him as he said that, stopping the cleanup you were doing just moments before.

“Yes, have you seen yourself? When was the last time that you ate a proper meal, dear?”

Oh. Goddammit. Don’t get him started on the pet names. He was aware that you used it on people you considered close to you, as long as they agreed, and he’s been lowkey embarrassed ever since you asked for his permission to use them on him, or more like embarrassed on how fast he agreed to that. Dazai didn’t know why he liked it so much, maybe it was because of how no one ever referred to him as such, maybe it was the way you sounded when you addressed him with them, or maybe it was entirely just the fault of your voice but he simply didn’t care anymore.

“I think we both know that you’d rather not know the answer.” His answer caused you to let out a soft sigh, but what he said was kind of true. In truth, he would answer that it was the last time he ate at your place, which on one side wasn’t that long ago, but otherwise, he barely eats anything. You and Chuuya were the only ones getting any kind of nutrition into his body, which he supposed he should be thankful for… not like he’s ever going to voice it out.

“Right. Now eat, I don't need you collapsing on my floor.”

“But I don't wanna!” If any of his subordinates saw him like this, whining because of food, they would be dead on the spot, but he's alone with you, and he’s been over being embarrassed about his behavior with you a long time ago.

You sighed, and he knew that you were about to use the biggest thing you have on the brunet against him, just to get him to eat… Not like that wasn't Dazai’s plan from the start, he's gotta get his fair share of you, doesn't he?

“You eat the most you can and you get cuddles.”

“With you playing with my hair?”

You smiled softly and said, “I'll even add head kisses to the mix.” knowing damn well that it’s gonna win him over.

You knew what you were doing, you had to, and he didn't mind as long as you kept your side of the deal. He's gonna finish that damn plate if it means affection from his favorite person will be solely on him for as long as he wants it.

Hearts, comments, and reblogs are greatly appreciated

[flightlessfinch]

inevitable - jegulus microfic - 530 words

Regulus cuts off a lock of James’ hair and ties it with a ribbon so he can keep a piece of him forever. James laughs. He asks him if he’s making a potion, or a clone, or a doll to stick pins in when he's angry.

He says, “I’m right here. You could just keep me.”

Regulus presses a finger to his lips.

“I am keeping you.” He holds James in both of his hands and tries to memorize the human details. Unbeautiful things. The whisper of dark hair on his upper lip, the softness under his chin, the acne on the edge of his jaw... the way he looks at him. Like he loves him, like he always will. That’s ugly too. “Right here.” James kisses him. Regulus stares at James until he gets nervous. His dark eyes wander away then back again, any long silence and stillness is unbearable to James. Unwelcome thoughts seem to creep into him. Regulus can feel his heartbeat. He wants to keep his heart more than anything, even if he loses the rest of him. “Forever.”

He puts it in a locket and takes it out at night when he’s alone. He presses it to his lips.

When the inevitable happens, and James is gone, not all of him is missing. His eyes are fading from his memory like pictures bleached by sunlight. Memories of James glow too brightly for him to make out any details when he looks back. It’s all a faded, dreamlike blur.

But he has the colour of his hair.

It’s the only bit of darkness left to him in the shadowy end notes before the music finally stops. The shape of his smile, the curl of his eyelash, the scar inside his arm… all of these things he knows he remembered once, but now he has to strain to see them. It’s consoling, for Regulus, to think that he won’t live long enough to forget him completely.

(james is staring at the ceiling in the dark because the pieces he has of regulus only belong to him in dreams. 

each day he mends a little, he smiles when he’s meant to smile and laughs when he’s meant to laugh, but the dreams are so vivid he wakes up with his heart in a thousand pieces again every morning. the pain is always brand new. sometimes when he moves too quickly he can hear a rattling behind his ribs, something sharp cutting him from the inside, but he doesn’t want the dreams to stop. to sleep is to have him and lose him all over again, sisyphean, but how else could he keep him? he looks at the ghostly silhouette of a living boy, dead in all the ways that matter, and turns toward the green light creeping over his bedspread. birds sing, impossibly, under the lake.

he feels his hair between his fingers, and a kiss in the palm of his hand. everything is washed in light. regulus leans into him, as solemn as a sculpture of an angel in a graveyard, and james realizes the daylight is coming from him instead of the sun.)

[midnight-mourning]

DCA Promptober Day 12: Carousel

Who wants to be back in the fever dream again? It's you!! Yes you do, yes you do!

Just the one today, which is great as that means I'm back on track finally, hope you enjoy!

Word count: 937

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

"Ow!" You say as you bang your head against the control the lip of the panel opening in the carousel's center, "Stupid, frickin'... thing."

You weren't a mechanic, at least you don't think you are, you don't know how to repair machinery like this. The fact that your employer expected you to just pick up the ability to read wiring diagrams and the likes as if it was nothing felt a bit unfair. If you're being honest. 

Sure, you had a manual. But it was hard to read in this low light. Which, that's another thing, why are you even working in the dark in the first place? Are you even supposed to be working in these conditions? Feels like an OSHA violation. 

Your rubbing a hand over the sore spot on your head when all the hair raises on your skin. A chuckle follows soon thereafter. You scramble for your flashlight, waving it around wildly once you manage to turn it on. No luck. He's not here. 

Another laugh, somewhere up above. Correction then, he's not close. 

You frown, and lean back down to snatch up a screwdriver, starting to work on the operator's controls now, flashlight in one hand while you work. It starts to flicker after a minute and you curse to yourself, turning it off for the meantime. 

Moon tuts at this. 

You scoff, "Don't make it seem like I have a choice here."

"Go to sleep," Is his response.

Moon rarely spoke in full sentences you noticed. And tended to repeat the same phrases over and over. If you hadn't heard him say something direct to you that one time, when was that, anyhow? Feels like ages ago, you'd believe that they were all he could say. 

"Can't. I have work to do. As you can see here.," You don't even know if you could sleep with this on-

With what on? You shake your head, frustrated. You hope you get a break soon, you're getting real sick of your brain not functioning properly due to what you're assuming hoping is sleeplessness.

You finish with tightening the front face of the operator panel back into place. You didn't bother with putting the panel back over the carousel's main access, something told you you'd probably just have to remove it again. Why did this thing even need repaired so often? Had anybody even used it since the last time you did? Have you even left the building once?

You flick the lever and then hit the main button. Least you think it's the right one, it's so damn hard to see-

"Nighty-night~"

You glance up in time to see red eyes hanging just above your head. He swings a clawed hand at you and you jump backwards, managing to dodge but falling down in the process. 

Your hands search for your flashlight as the carousel starts to power on, music starting up as you feel yourself start to rotate with the platform you've landed on. 

"Ah, ah," Moon tsks, causing you to look up to him. 

In his hands is your flashlight, you can only watch in horror as your breaks it in two, chuckling as its remains clatter to the floor. 

His faceplate spins, eyes narrowing, "Light's out."

You brace for the worst, but he only stares as you start to move away from him as the carousel takes off. Disappearing into the dark above after a moment. 

It's then you realized you forgot to flip on the ride's lights. 

You quickly stand up, taking a moment to get your balance.  You look around for any sign of the night-themed bot. You can hear him, somewhere on the other side of the machine. Bells twinkling as he searches around for you. 

You pass by the operator's podium once. You hear Moon start getting closer. 

Shit, you need a distraction. And fast. 

You make another turn. In the dark you find half of your flashlight. You hit it against your palm once or twice just to make sure it's unusable. 

"Naughty, naughty," Moon says, he's much closer now. But hasn't seen you yet. 

You duck down behind one of the benches on the ride, hand covering your mouth to keep from making a noise.

You feel fear crawl down your spine as you see the light of his eyes scan across the horses in front of you. It then disappears quickly. You swallow, closing your eyes as you wait for it to all be over.

There's a loud screech as moon's claws rip into the wooden animal off to your far left. He makes a displeased noise. 

He missed. He doesn't know where you are.

The operator's podium passes by you one more time. Move. 

You wait a few seconds then toss the broken flashlight piece somewhere off into the dark. 

You see a flash of Moon's eyes as he darts over to the sound. 

When you finish your next lap, your quickly roll off the machine and crawl over to the control panel. 

You flip the switch. 

There's a hiss behind you, you turn around in time to watch Moon retreat back into the shadow's away from the carousel. Away from you. 

You sigh, collapsing back against the podium. It's then that you feel something cold on your right shoulder. 

Reaching back, you feel a large hole that's been ripped into the back of your shirt. 

Somewhere off in the distance, you hear Moon speak.

"It's past your bedtime," He snickers. Which is his way of saying 'Until next time' you've realized.

You grumble, rubbing a hand over your eye.

This job sucks.

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

Little more light-hearted compared to yesterdays. Which you can find here if you haven't seen it or any of my other promptobers already. Thanks for reading!

[happypeachsludgeflower]

dream curse au outline

Beginning of Chapter 1

While on a joint mission, Mu Qing is hit with a curse and falls unconscious. Feng Xin, worried, takes him back to heaven and has someone fetch someone that might know something about the curse (Ling Wen perhaps?). Before anyone can arrive, Mu Qing wakes up. Feng Xin was in the middle of checking the other man’s meridian’s and is caught by surprise when Mu Qing calls him husband fondly and drags him down for a kiss. Feng Xin, after a moment of stunned panic, breaks away and knocks Mu Qing unconscious again and orders the surprised Xuan Zhen deputies to tell the person they called for to hurry the fuck up. 

Mu Qingfang arrives a moment later to check Mu Qing over. He sends a message to Ling Wen to double check some information (he was asking for some documents about a similar incident that happened from his peak lord days that ended in a bingliushen wedding and is the reason that Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu never ascended to heaven and are still in the mortal realm with their husband, Luo Binghe, to this day) and informs Feng Xin and the deputies that Mu Qing is affected by a dream curse. Mu Qing is convinced he's living his fantasy life and acting as if his deepest desires are true. (In the background the deputies are snickering, and another is long suffering and passes them money.) Thinking back to Mu Qing calling Feng Xin “husband” and kissing him, Feng Xin tells Mu Qingfang that he’s bullshitting him. There’s no way that’s what Mu Qing is cursed with. Obviously, this is some sort of opposite curse or something where the person does a complete reversal of their actual desires. Internally, Feng Xin is upset that Mu Qing dislikes him so much that he’d only dream of calling Feng Xin “husband” in the midst of a nightmare. 

Mu Qingfang gives Feng Xin a polite but patronizing stare and remembers how freaked out Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu were when Liu Qingge was convinced he was married to both of them. After a pause where he exchanges a look with the deputies behind Feng Xin (and probably looks at where Feng Xin is still holding Mu Qing’s hand), he tells him that the “reversal” curse is still broken the same way as the “dream curse”. Mu Qing’s ideal fantasy has to become true for the day or he’ll stay stuck in the curse forever. Feng Xin has to go along with every single one of Mu Qing’s whims until the curse is broken.

After a moment of pensive contemplation, Feng Xin shakes his head and insists that no, there has to be another way to break the curse. He storms out of the room and leaves for the mortal realm to recheck the place they were at when Mu Qing was cursed. He gets there and combs over the area, but all evidence he finds seems to agree with Mu Qingfang’s assessment. Frustrated and flustered at remembering what Mu Qing was convinced of, he returns to heaven and goes to find Mu Qingfang to ask is certain that’s the only way.

Mu Qingfang had waited at Xuan Zhen palace knowing Feng Xin would be back soon (he remembers the bingliushen incident and knows denial is just one of the steps; Luo Binghe was in denial for a while that Liu Qingge wanted him and not just Shen Qingqiu and dragged the curse out an entire week while freaking out) and is having some tea with some of the Xuan Zhen deputies. When Mu Qingfang says that it's the only way to break the curse, Feng Xin asks what to do if what Mu Qing wants to do to break the curse will harm Mu Qing’s cultivation path. Before Mu Qingfang can answer, the deputies snicker and reassure Feng Xin that that won’t be a problem. Feng Xin asks them what they mean, confused, and the deputies let Feng Xin know that Mu Qing changed his cultivation path centuries ago, but never informed the rest of heaven. Feng Xin is very flustered with this information. 

As Mu Qingfang and the deputies leave to let Feng Xin handle Mu Qing by himself (they are all very aware of exactly what their general is probably going to want from Feng Xin), Feng Xin asks them where Mu Qing is. They laugh and tell Feng Xin that Mu Qing is busy preparing a special meal for his husband in the kitchen and refusing to do any of his godly duties. Feng Xin goes to find Mu Qing, still very confused and reminding himself that Mu Qingfang was bullshitting him about the exact details of the curse and that this is Mu Qing’s opposite, not what Mu Qing wants (even though the evidence in the mortal realm says otherwise too). All he has to do is break the curse and get it over with and Mu Qing will be back to normal. Feng Xin is deep in the throes of denial. 

End of Chapter 1 

Beginning of Chapter 2 (here is the post with the beginning of this written)

When he finds Mu Qing, Mu Qing has woken up a while ago, as the deputies had said, and changed into skimpy robes and prepared a meal for Feng Xin that he’s laid out on the table for him and proceeds to be very dedicated to welcoming his “husband” home. What follows is a lot of seductive Mu Qing dragging his husband from one domestic activity to another, interspersed with copious amounts of sex. (Mu Qing has a domestic kink and wants to cook with Feng Xin and cuddle a lot and liberally call Feng Xin his husband.) Feng Xin is convinced he is losing his mind and possibly that he’s the one that’s actually cursed (as opposed to Mu Qing) and that he’s living out his own fantasy of Mu Qing wanting him in a dream. He is convinced there’s no way any of this is actually happening. Over the course of the day, Feng Xin goes through all the stages of grief for the loss of his sanity and finally settles into acceptance that this is what Mu Qing wants. 

More details need to be added on the exact shenanigans that occur. 

When the curse breaks* the next day however, and as he wakes up, Mu Qing remembers everything that happened and freaks out. He’s convinced that Feng Xin went along with it because he felt obligated to break the curse and not because Feng Xin wanted to. Mu Qing is mortified that his feelings were exposed and probably not reciprocated, and that the other day was probably a pity fuck as he reminds himself. He bolts out of bed (they fell asleep together cuddling the night before) and throws on a robe and starts to have a meltdown. Feng Xin wakes up and sleepily asks him if he’s okay (calling him “Qing-er” as he does), at which point Mu Qing loses it completely and starts rudely snapping at Feng Xin about anything and everything he can think of. He tells Feng Xin to get out and, desperate to save face, tells Feng Xin that yesterday was a reversal curse and nothing else. He rudely tells Feng Xin that he would never want Feng Xin of all people and that whoever said the curse was Mu Qing’s true feelings obviously lied. 

Feng Xin is devastated. Over the course of the other day, he had accepted that Mu Qing actually wanted him back and loved him and now he’s being told that Mu Qing doesn’t. He thinks he tricked himself into believing a lie because he wanted it to be true so badly. He manages to stutter out a single “Qing-er” at which Mu Qing grabs a vase and throws it at him and orders him to get out again. The vase shatters and Mu Qing finally actually looks at Feng Xin and notices that Feng Xin is crying and broken-hearted. It is at this point that Mu Qing realizes he fucked up and that maybe Feng Xin actually did want him, but by this point, Feng Xin is stumbling back out of the room and turning away from him to high tail it out of Xuan Zhen palace. Mu Qing tries to take it back by saying “No, wait, stop--” and reaching out to grab Feng Xin, but the door slams in his face and Feng Xin is gone. 

End of Chapter 2

Beginning of Chapter 3 aka Mu Qing’s journey of trying to reconcile with Feng Xin 

Mu Qing slumps to the ground in front of his door that has just been slammed in his face and buries his face in his hands. He starts to cry realizing he’s fucked up. After a few moments of despair, he tries to reach out to Feng Xin through the array, but doesn’t receive an answer. Time passes as Mu Qing wallows in self deprecating pity. A tentative knock comes at the door and breaks him out of his spiral. He wipes his face and takes a moment to compose himself slightly before asking what the person needs. (He does not open the door at this point because he doesn’t want to face anyone yet. Also, he sounds awful. The deputy pretends to not notice.)

A deputy calls softly through the door and asks if Mu Qing is ready for his morning tea or not. (The deputy is actually worried about Mu Qing as they all saw Feng Xin leave in a hurry crying and is trying to ask if he’s okay without saying it because he knows that Mu Qing won’t take well to being asked directly.) Mu Qing quickly tries to straighten himself and his clothing and tells his deputy he’ll be out in a minute. He takes another moment to compose himself before getting up and getting ready for the day. He does all of this in a daze. 

He leaves the room and makes his way to his office where he usually starts his day with tea and paperwork. He sits at his desk and nods to his deputies (they notice his eyes are red and puffy but politely don’t comment). He stares at the tea that’s been freshly prepared for him. A cough breaks him from his focus on his tea and a deputy tells him that Mu Qingfang is there to talk to him (a deputy summoned him when they noticed how fucked up their general was). Mu Qing nods and tells them to see him in. 

Mu Qingfang enters and greets him politely and sits down at the table. A deputy pours him some tea. The two gods sit in silence for a moment, before Mu Qing asks why Mu Qingfang has come to see him. Mu Qingfang informs him that he has come to check on Mu Qing health and his meridians to make sure he is recovering from the after effects of the curse. Mu Qing tells him that he’s fine and that’s unnecessary. Mu Qingfang asks that Mu Qing humors him and takes Mu Qing’s wrist to check his meridians. As he checks Mu Qing, Mu Qingfang starts reminiscing out loud about the time when he was a Peak Lord (before ascending to godhood) when his martial brother, Liu Qingge, experienced the same curse. He tells Mu Qing all about the shenanigans that Luo Binghe, Shen Qingqiu, and Liu Qingge got up to for the week that Liu Qingge was cursed and the messy fallout of when the curse finally broke. Liu Qingge had been very embarrassed about the whole thing and fled. He had disappeared from the Sect for months. Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu had been very upset by the whole thing and Liu Qingge might have not come back at all if they hadn’t gone looking for him to make it clear that they wanted Liu Qingge too. 

Mu Qing quietly asks how Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu were able to forgive Liu Qingge for hurting them. Mu Qingfang hums and tells him that they did because they loved Liu Qingge and he apologized. [ “Even if he was avoiding them?” ] (Mu Qing is asking about bingliushen but really thinking about himself and Feng Xin; the two situations aren’t a perfect parallel, what with them being different people and reacting differently, but they are similar enough.) Mu Qingfang points out that all Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu had to do was find him and the rest worked itself out. Mu Qingfang lets go of Mu Qing’s wrist and tells him that his meridians seem to be fine and he’s recovered well. He gets up and bows politely and says he’ll see himself out. Mu Qing continues to sit there thinking about what Mu Qingfang said. (Mu Qingfang didn’t actually come to check Mu Qing’s meridians--he knew they’d be fine. He came to tell Mu Qing about the bingliushen incident to try and help Mu Qing figure out what he should do, but he figured saying it was for the meridians would make Mu Qing let him in.)

Tentatively, Mu Qing attempts to activate Feng Xin’s communication array again, but he finds that the password has been changed. He thinks about bingliushen and comes to the conclusion that he’ll have to go to Feng Xin. He gets up and gives some vague orders to the deputies to take care of his godly duties for the day and leaves to go to Nan Yang Palace to talk to Feng Xin. When he gets there though, the deputies tell him Feng Xin has left for the mortal realm. 

Need a more detailed outline, but basically, Feng Xin keeps avoiding Mu Qing and Mu Qing keeps trying to find Feng Xin to apologize. Feng Xin has his deputies prevent Mu Qing from entering his palace and changes his communication array password. At one point, Mu Qing even goes to Xie Lian for advice and possibly goes to meet with bingliushen to ask their advice too since they’ve experienced the fallout of the curse before. (Shen Qingqiu saying that love is more important than dignity would be fantastic and delicious and I need it.)

Eventually, Mu Qing comes to the conclusion that if he can’t get Feng Xin to talk to him, he’ll have to do it in public even if it means losing face in front of other officials (which is actually his worst nightmare--appearing weak in front of others) because it’s the only place Feng Xin can’t avoid him entirely. So Mu Qing catches him in the middle of the street with many onlookers (who are very excited to witness Mu Qing’s embarrassment because they’re gossipy bitches like that, and Mu Qing wasn’t wrong about the majority of heaven’s opinion of him; the officials that don’t like him begin projecting the event of “Xuan Zhen’s disgrace” into the dreams of their believers in glee that everyone will get to see Xuan Zhen be embarrassed) and admits that he lied and that he loves Feng Xin and that he messed up. He begs Feng Xin to talk to him again and give him another chance, but says that it’s in Feng Xin’s right if he doesn’t want to forgive him. He starts crying at some point in the confession and can’t even look at Feng Xin through his tears so he doesn’t get to see Feng Xin’s expressions go from surprise to softening into fondness. 

Feng Xin approaches Mu Qing and takes his face in his hands and wipes his tears away. He leans his forehead against Mu Qing and whispers softly, “Qing’er, of course I’ll forgive you.” He then kisses Mu Qing. 

In the background the officials that thought they were about to witness Mu Qing’s embarrassment are starting to realize that maybe projecting this into their worshipers' dreams was a Bad Idea ™. But alas, they can’t undo it. In the mortal realm, the legend of Xuan Zhen and Nan Yang’s romance becomes one of the most famous love stories and becomes the focus of many many plays and poems for centuries to come. 

[solar-halos]

uh oh! maybe your jobs aren’t as hard as you thought!!

[lamentable-comedy]

Ralph and Julie are alive? Ralph and Julie are alive. Do you ever think about that??? Think about how Ralph Montgomery and Julie Capsom are alive???? How Arden took one of the most well know tragedies, possibly in the world, and changed the ending so they LIVE??!???!?? In the “they’re going to die” play???????? In the “hi the story hasn’t started yet but just a heads up they will die— we know this is based on an older story, but just in case you didn’t know, they are going to die at the end” play????? And they LIVE??????????????

It’s been four and a half years since I listened and I haven’t stopped thinking about how Ralph and Julie are alive. They made it out. Just this once. Just this once, they made it out alive.

[lissomelace]

So, I was rereading your fic (as one does) bc I was feeling like horny with feelings and then I got off the public transport and almost walked into a very loud puffed up pigeon (very rude of me, I know, but I was at a good place in the fic so I didn't want to stop reading, okay?) and I looked up and saw the pigeon.

First thought: oh it's mating season for them!

Second thought: do elves puff up their hair when they want to get laid?

Third thought: ooops, maybe I should stop walking and reading when pigeons are out and about

Moral of the story: I really need to decide if I think elves puff up their hair when horny (new headcanon maybe?). But now I can't stop picturing elves in your verse doing it.

Firstly, I am so excited you have been enjoying my fic! Particularly enough to reread it aaaaaaaa! I am aware rereading it is no small commitment given how long it has gotten (though as both a fanfic writer and reader, I am also acutely aware of the proportional wild relationship between fanfic writers writing hundreds of thousands of words and fanfic readers reading all of them at, like, one in the morning. Or while walking!).

Secondly, I got MOST of the way through an incredibly extensive answer where I basically wrote a (what is a positive word for diatribe? Monologue, I guess) monologue about piloerection (fur puffing up) in mammals vs. birds fluffing up, and the fun of hair being an erogenous zone for elves but also piloerection tends to mean different things behaviorally in cats, and I’m not even sure big cats DO that because I can’t find a source in a quick search and I unfortunately do not have access to the academic databases or textbooks of zoological medicine that MIGHT (and probably don’t) have that answer, and…then got self-conscious and worried it could be misinterpreted as me arguing with you over your incredibly fun new headcanon instead of an excited…oration…on all the different fun worldbuilding concepts that can be ‘borrowed’ (read: stolen and stuck in magical humanoid immortals) from the natural world.

(I do try to keep my worldbuilding rants short, or only directed at people who specifically ask for them. Because I do worry about launching a hundreds-to-thousands of words unedited essay at people who might not have even wanted that!)

Suffice it to say, that sounds super fun and like a wonderful continuation of elf hair headcanons! I do absolutely love birds and bird behavior as well as cats and cat behavior (this is NOT a cue for my brain to begin building out a wingfic, even though the level of grooming in those goes really well with what I love about elvish hair as an erogenous zone headcanons brain please have mercy I’m trying to finish something here). And that would be a super fun and apt thing for elves to do in context with hair worldbuilding/culture/biology.

And I love pigeons, they are such fun birds and get so much flak for reasons that are COMPLETELY not their fault. I also do love reading and walking, though I am very much out of the habit since I no longer live in a walkable (well, comparatively walkable) environment.

Anyway, I am so, so glad you are enjoying my fic (so long as both you and the pigeons are unharmed, lol), and thank you so much for sharing your wonderful headcanon! That is definitely such a fun thing to consider!

[parwatisingari]

The So What...Thought.

The So What Now Guide To Clarity. Back to square one, schedules and deadlines might seem like they’re boxing us in, but truth is, they’re the real deal for scoring freedom. They help us laser in on the stuff that truly matters without getting sidetracked. But, you know what’s the real menace? Those flashy planners and organizers with their stickers and whatnot. They’re more distracting than…

[chosen-hero-inari]

Whumptober Day 6: Bad Coping Mechanisms

Scars in your heart

A deep breath in, then out. Again, and again.

He’s fine. He reminds himself that he’s fine, that nothing can hurt him right now, because he’s safe here, in his room.

Akito picks at the sore where the cuffs were and tries to calm himself. He’s scared of nothing, a half-remembered nightmare that obviously featured her but nothing else specific.

It’s not enough to call Toya, to wake him up and make him worry.

So Akito is fine. Really! He has to be.

The next day at school, everything’s a blur. He’s tired now, never did get back to sleep.

“Hey Shinonome!” One of the guys from the soccer team pats him in the back and Akito leaps out of his skin.

Stupid, he’s jumping at shadows. How long has it been now, six months? He’s a second year now, he’s older, he should be over it.

He feels An and Kusanagi’s concerned gazes drilling into the back of his head like a hole, and he knows soon others will notice and follow suit.

Because if they, the ones who saw, who rescued him were worried, then something serious must be wrong.

Akito curls his hands into fists so tightly his knuckles are paper white and he focuses on the literature passage in front of him.

Get through the period, then the day, then the week and eventually he’ll be over it.

Tsukasa-senpai stops him in the hallway and asks something, and Akito doesn’t listen because he can see the concern in his eyes and knows he’s trying to cheer him up, which he doesn’t need.

He eats lunch on the roof alone.

Three hours left.

The rest of the day is easy, he answers questions when he’s called on, the teacher looks at him like an idiot a couple of times, but he genuinely doesn’t care if he’s right or wrong, he just needs the day to be over.

Some of the guys from the soccer team ask him to help as he’s walking briskly towards the gates at the end of the day, and Akito smiles and waves them off but it’s not right, something’s wrong because now they look bothered.

Whatever, he’s not going to think about it, he just runs home and curls back in on his bed and now he’s really fine. He’s really actually fine and safe and can calm down and wait for this stupid scared animal in his chest to leave him alone and stop screaming about him to watch every corner in case she’s behind it.

The door opens.

Akito’s breath stops but he swallows. He’s not stupid it’s fine.

He looks up and it’s just Toya and he leans back against the bed. Toya wordlessly climbs next to him and wraps his arms around him.

“Want to talk about it?” he asks.

“No. ‘S stupid.”

“This about singing or…”

“Her.”

“Yeah, ok. Wanna take a nap?”

“Stay?”

“Of course, why do you think I’m here?”

“Thanks, partner.” And for the first time all day, Akito feels relaxed.

[dykekarkat]

my ability to get fanfiction written while im in class when i should be taking notes compared to my ability at all other times. unparalleled.

[fourwingedwriter]

Cyborg Whump Arc 2 - A moment to Process

AN: This is late late, but here we are!! Didn't think I would write today but archery got me in the mood ig

First Part - Previous - Master Post

----

Caretaker sat on the counter watching the electric kettle. Her thoughts were a blur of panic, concern, and regret. She'd really messed up this time.

Sure, Whumpee had panic attacks before this evening, but this one was different. He'd looked so afraid of his own body, his eyes glued to the space the cybernetics left behind.

Caretaker couldn't make up her mind about the situation. They desprately needed to replace those parts. Whumpee had started to rust, his joints locking up and making him nearly fall an uncomfortable amount of times. It was only a matter of time till he got seriously injured. This was necessary. And yet Caretaker couldn't stop thinking about the horror in his gaze.

The way he trembled beneath her, frozen in shock. Catetaker was sure she would never forget the moment, the memory already haunting her so soon after. She needed to make this process as quick as possible to spare-

The kettle beeped, its internal light turning green to signal it getting to boiling. The mugs sat beside it, tea infusers ready on the counter.

Caretaker slid off the counter, pulling out the bench she'd built into the cabinets and sitting down as she prepped the drinks. They'd made the house more accessible, which was far kinder on Whumpee during bad days as well as Caretaker's worsening joints.

She eventually stood, both mugs in hand, struggling slightly to carry Whumpee's due to how he needs the handle shaped. Catetaker walked slowly to the room, making sure not to spill scalding hot tea all over herself.

Whumpee was waiting patiently for her, still visibly anxious but smiling as she entered. He moved to sit up straighter but froze slightly when he did so, cringing at the way his body felt.

Caretaker tried to keep her expession neutral, only failing slightly as her brow furrowed. She put his mug down and cradled her own with both hands, absorbing the warmth.

"How are you feeling physically?" Caretaker asked, only specifying because she needed to know if he was safe.

Whumpee considered himself for a moment, "Fine I think. As far as being half a body goes."

Caretaker wanted to argue with this, saying he's not "half" of anything. He was a human and deserved to be treated as such. But today, her words failed her and she could only sigh with relief at his report.

He reached out a tentative hand, now the only one he had available, even it limited to three fingers. Caretaker took it with both hands, kissing it before pressing her forehead to it.

"I love you," he said weakly, "You're being the best mechanic and spouse I could ask for."

"I- but... I didn't- I did something wrong," she looked up, distressed.

"You did everything right, and even if you made a mistake we'll get past it, okay?" He smiled at her, the action taking much effort for him.

"Okay," Caretaker was crying now, holding his hand tighter than ever.

---

Tagging: @tildeathiwillwrite @whumperofworlds @rainbowsandwhumperflies @mysticalshadow351 @dontasktwt @idkanonymystuff

[victorluvsalice]

Valicer Multiamory Month, Day Thirty-One: Morning routine (Valicer In The Dark AU)

It's the grand finale of Multiamory March -- thank you again @polyamships for creating this challenge! I had rather a lot of fun doing all these little fics. :) But it's time to wrap things up now (apart from the inevitable masterpost), and today's prompt was another one where I had a fairly firm idea of what I wanted to do, but wasn't sure what verse I wanted to set it in -- "Morning routine!" AKA, for me, "Smiler is a morning person and Alice and Victor are not." XD Accordingly, the first thing that popped into my head for this prompt was a scene where Smiler was up early, preparing tea in the kitchen and greeting Alice and Victor as they came in for breakfast -- but I wasn't sure which universe I wanted to set the scene in. It could fit so many! After much pondering, though, I decided to go with setting it in the Valicer In The Dark verse for three key reasons:

After doing a count, I realized that I'd written five stories each for the Modern AU and the Multiplayer Wonderland AU, and I wanted to make sure what is arguably my favorite AU for my trio got equal time

I also realized that putting it in the VITD universe would allow me to do an even cuter version of the scene, featuring all the gang's pets (and, after a last-minute remembrance, Elder Gutknecht as well)

And I couldn't resist the irony factor of doing this prompt for a world that, thanks to being shrouded in pretty much constant darkness, does not really HAVE mornings. XD

So yeah! To send off Multiamory March, have a look at a typical "morning" in the Three Pillar's lair once they've gotten all their pets and suchlike. Enjoy!

--

“Happy Numbers, Alice!”

Alice looked at them, then shook her head. “I still don’t understand how you can be this perky this early in the day,” she muttered, pushing her hair out of her face.

“Oh, I’ve always been an ‘up with the Embers’ kind of person, you know that,” Smiler said, grinning as they dropped the tea balls into everyone’s cups. “Anyway – sleep well?”

“You were in the same bed as me – you should know the answer to that question already,” Alice replied, though without any real rancor. She headed to the pantry, pulling out flour and sugar. “Pancakes this morning?”

“Yes please!” Smiler stooped and got her the frying pan. “And while I was in the same bed, we were both unconscious at the time, so the question stands.”

Alice snorted. “All right – I slept fine, thank you,” she said, accepting the pan. “And I hope you did the same.”

“Rawk!”

“Peeep!”

A flapping of feathery and scaly wings announced the arrival of Sooty and Benny into the kitchen. Sooty promptly soared over to Smiler’s shoulder, giving their hair a greeting preen, while Benny wrapped himself around Alice’s neck like a dark blue scarf. “Hello you two,” Smiler greeted them, stroking Sooty’s head. “Looking for breakfast yourselves, I take it?”

Sooty nipped lightly at their finger, while Benny peeped again and looked with interest at the flour and sugar tins. “I’m sorry – if you want those, you’re going to have to wait until I’ve mixed them together,” Alice informed him as she got the mixing bowl. “Plenty of rats about if you want something now.”

Whatever reply Benny might have had for that was cut off by a “Ruff!” from the doorway. Moments later, Dogmeat trotted into the room, followed by a yawning Victor. “Happy Numbers! And hey, you’re just in time,” Smiler said, nodding as they checked on the steeping tea. “Give me a moment to get it the way you like – sleep well?” they added as they headed to the cold box to get the milk.

“As well as I ever do,” Victor replied, giving Dogmeat’s fur a ruffle – the dog barked and licked his fingers. “Good boy...I did start having a bad dream at one point, but – well. A certain someone took care of that.”

We couldn’t let our spooky friend feel bad!

Us scurried into the room, followed closely by Guide. Besides, you told us we could eat your bad dreams, they continued, waving their tentacles at Victor. You said it was allowed.

“I did,” Victor said, crouching down to give Us a pat and Guide a scritch under the chin. “And I appreciate it.”

“Mmm – anything that helps Victor sleep better is fine by us,” Alice agreed, smiling as Guide came over to wind about her legs. “Smiler, while you’re over there, could you grab me an egg?”

“Sure thing!” Smiler pulled one out of the carton and brought it over to her. “Pancakes,” they added in Victor’s direction.

“In roughly twenty minutes, anyway,” Alice added, dumping her flour in her bowl.

“That’s fine – I can wait.” Victor stood, leaning against the table as he shook his head and blinked. “Ugh...I do wish I could wake up easier in the morning.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, my boy – I was always a late riser myself.”

Elder Gutknecht floated in through the wall, getting a startled “merow!” from Guide. “Granted, that was probably because I often stayed up half the night studying, but still,” he added with a chuckle. “So long as you’re awake enough to eat breakfast, you’ll be fine.”

“We’re working on it,” Alice said, bending down to stroke Guide before resuming getting the pancake batter ready. “Aren’t we, Benny?”

Benny agreed with a “peeep!” Dogmeat added a “woof!” of his own, then playfully bopped Us’s side with his nose before hurrying away. Hey! Get back here! Us cried, scurrying after him in hot pursuit.

“Be careful!” Victor yelled, watching as they came dangerously close to upsetting a chair. “Don’t knock over anything!” He sighed and looked over at Smiler. “Goodness, we do have busy breakfasts, don’t we?”

“We do,” Smiler agreed, adding the milk to Victor’s cup before stealing some of Alice’s sugar. They looked around, taking in the cozily-crowded room, and smiled. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

[burgycreeper405-blog]

hgidosagjdafkds ok umm hi!

i think your style is really super cool, and specifically i love the way you do humanizations of the ii characters. like the object-head thing is super unique (as far as i've seen) and very very cool looking .

so this is kind of a weird question but i was wondering if i could use that,,,, concept?? style??? for my own object ocs? with credit ofc!

like, it wouldn't be ripping off your own art (i dont think), but the designs feel so heavily inspired by your style it feels a little weird to post them without crediting you as the inspiration. and ummm i guess im just asking if you're okay with that?

sorry if this is weirdly worded/unclear,, i'd be happy to send you the pics later

thanks. tho im not really the first one to do the object head style tho so lolol

and sure. feel free to do so bruv

[valiant-if]

y'know, initially i was gonna write two origin-esque short stories for the Ko-fi bonuses this month, but i decided i'm gonna do something a little different

so instead you're gonna get a little au snippet fluff series of getting stuck in a snowstorm with each of the ROs ☃❄