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#(one for the 75k note post)
shinseifer · 1 year
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"average cat owner spends 3 years in prison" factoid actualy just statistical error. average owner spends 0 years in prison. Miette's mother, who kicked her body like the football and went to jail for One Thousand Years is an outlier adn should not have been counted
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phosphorus-noodles · 29 days
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like to boop their bald head. reblog to boop their bald head.
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theyoungeragrippina · 5 months
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✨ 15 gentlebeard fic recs ✨
i have spent the last month trawling the pages of ao3 for you, dear reader, to find the best ofmd fics. all the works on this list:
are longer-form (generally 40k+)
have no steddyhands (simply not my thing)
are generally, all around brilliant (well-written, had me kicking my feet and giggling, laughing, or crying)
are complete!
part 2 and part 3
A Heart Unsated by roughwinds
48k, explicit
"Stede Bonnet has just moved into Orange Crescent. There’s a house on the corner, opposite Stede’s own, with a garden full of flowers and a gleaming motorbike on the driveway. He’s forgotten to buy sugar.
Edward Teach has his morning disturbed by his new neighbour. Enamoured at first sight, he invites Stede round for a chat, and then another, and then another.
This is the story of them."
man i normally avoid fics with lots of alma and louis in them because its just not for me, but literally every second of the family bonding in this was so wholesome i was forced to change my entire mind.
all you left me was a pearl by @sightofsea
88k, mature
"1717. The Golden Age of Piracy. Stede Bonnet sets about wooing the love of his life through any means necessary.
Things do not go as planned."
every day i wish for a precise memory erasing potion to be invented so i can read this again for the first time. i would devour like 2000k more words of this if it was offered to me. brilliant.
forgive & forget by @fool-for-luv
44k, mature
"It hits him then, like a wave breaking on sand, loud as thunder when it crashes, then trickling away into little rivulets flowing back home, murmuring one word over and over and over. Ed.
The problem is, Stede doesn’t recall ever having met anyone named Ed."
so sweet and wonderful, and i wish there was more.
#gentlebeard is trending! by regional_catastrophe
41k, teen
"In which Stede accidentally convinces the pirating world that Gentlebeard (or Blackbonnet or Stedward; there's a poll) is canon, reunites his crew, and gets his boyfriend back."
hilarious & silly & great, but also the most compelling notes of any fic i've ever read. a proper learning experience.
if music be the food of love (then darling, you're a feast) by @fool-for-luv
107k, unrated
"“Hey, so, those two, right, they get together in the end?” Ed asks.
“I would protest spoiling it, but I think it's rather obvious, isn't it?” Stede says. His nose wrinkles as he smiles. “The tension is certainly there from the beginning. It just takes them a while to get there.”
“Good. Would have been a shit story otherwise.""
i love sassy stede and i love ed who is a grump and i love that they share one single braincell at any given time.
If You Were Mine to Keep by @mysterybees
162k, explicit
"Caught between the gallows and the end of an English sword, Ed accepts the Act of Grace: marry into the aristocracy, leave the English ships alone, and live to sail another day. But who in their right mind would ever agree to marry the mad devil pirate Blackbeard?"
Worth every second of tiredness I felt after pulling an all nighter to finish reading.
It's Only Right by hexuponye
53k, explicit
"A modern AU based on Imagine Me & You, in which Edward is a florist who does the flowers for Stede's wedding."
mary gets to be a little silly sometimes too as a treat.
pliocene by unfortunatelyobsessed
75k, mature
""man, it's just ocean for miles.” Ed motions out to the waves, where there is no sign of any sort of ship, their small dinghy pulled far up on the sand. “I told you when the clouds look like seagulls you take fuckin' cover. Goddamn ocean mutinied me.”"
william golding wishes he did something this brilliant and significant when he wrote Lord of the Flies. the best deserted island story.
quite a career shift by @stedesparasol
157k, explicit
"Stede's been posting book reviews on Youtube for two months now. It's taken him that long to finally get a comment, and the person it comes from is rather unexpected."
rip stede you would've LOVED booktube. furious i can never really watch his content.
Semaphore by komodobits
124k, explicit
"Talking things through as a crew is easier said than done, and honest communication has never really been Stede’s strong suit. When it comes to Ed, he is willing to try."
so good that i was properly and truly laughing and gasping and 'oh no-ing' out loud while i read it.
Such Joie de Vivre by @louciferish
94k, explicit
"Professional thief Edward Teach is tired of hole in the wall apartments, shitty pub food, and skipping town every few months to keep the cops off their tail. He’s well past the age he meant to flee the country and retire, and all he needs is One Last Job to set him up for life. When he hears that some rich bastard outside of town has just the sort of treasure he’d trade his good knee for, Ed sets out in disguise to get the lay of the land."
i (so so foolishly) avoided reading this for a while because i simply didn't think i was one for nanny aus. i was so, terribly wrong. don't make the same mistakes i did. showstopping. incredible stuff.
The Chains of Flowers are Fragile Things by @grandmastattoo
62k, explicit
"Stede can't see the shop he's inherited from his late father as anything other than a burden, another insult added to a life that's going nowhere fast. Then he meets the charismatic man who owns the tattoo studio next door, and Stede finds himself forced to consider the idea of home."
maybe i love tattoo shop owner ed fics, sue me. i love this stede and i love his embarrassing mistake tattoo.
The Love Experiment by karawrites
65k, mature
a married at first sight (aus) au. i didn't know i needed it until i read it.
Water/line by @the-gentleman-mermaid
60k, teen
"During a raid on a smuggler ship, Ed finds a merman named Stede locked in the hold."
So good that I would actually pay the author real person money to do a similar story but where Ed is the mermaid.
Where the Daylight Begins by @xoxoemynn
116k words, explicit
"Modern day AU slow burn featuring a pining Ed, a clueless Stede, found family, roughly a million animals, and a very magical house."
This one sort of gave me House on the Cerulean Sea vibes; it was so much fun and genuinely necessitates a proper use of the word whimsical.
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wangxianficfinder · 6 months
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In the mood for...
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1. Thank you fabulous mods for all you do! Itmf wangxian fics where Wei Ying recovers from starvation or struggles with eating.
💖 the absence of hunger by parsnipit (M, 27k, wangxian, angst w/ happy ending, eating disorder, PTSD, food as a metaphor for love)
a kind of emptiness by ScarlettStorm (E, 11k, wangxian, Post-Canon, Established Relationship, Eating Disorders, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, featuring WWX's fucked-up relationship with food, and his own body, Eating Disorder Recovery, tricking your brain into better habits, bad choices, followed by good choices, low angst, Happy Ending, Tender smut, Frottage, Praise Kink, Additional Warnings In Author's Note)
The Second Hand Unwinds by trulywicked (E, 20k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, Time Travel Fix-It, not JC friendly, not Yúnmèng Jiāng Sect friendly, not Jiāng Family friendly, not YZY friendly, Time Travelling LWJ, Protective LWJ, Fluff, Minor Angst, Minor Character Death, JGS is his own warning, Wooing, LWJ is romantic af, Inventor WWX, Genius WWX, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Protective Gūsū Lán Sect, Supportive LXC, Good Uncle LQR, WIP) It's only 3 chapters in & idk where the author plans to take it, but there's discussion of WWX being starved in the past & he is put on a special diet to make up for that
my eyes got used to the darkness by curiositykilled (M, 4k, JC & WWX, JC & WWX & JYL, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Body Horror, Implied Cannibalism, Dehumanization, Sunshot Campaign, YLLZ WWX, Demonic Cultivation, PTSD, Suicidal Thoughts, Ghosts, Disordered Eating, Referenced Animal Abuse)
~*~
2. hi, thanks to the mods and everyone for all the recs! i have a few requests for itmf if i may 🙏🏽
a) could people recommend their fave non-english fics (ao3 or not)? i know mtl isnt that great but i'm hoping it's passable enough to enjoy fics that I've missed (peferably wx/gen but anything's good!)
b) yiling sibs feels? or bm family? even if it's not the focus of the fic! canon or modern (truth will out is one such brilliant example)
c) i saw a fun post that the juniors (or jl and lsz) each experienced canon as a different genre of YA protag. are there similar fics, of like, canon retelling/divergence but as the junior in question Goes Through It? (full quartet is great too of course!) @danmeiireader
2A)
【羡忘】落花时节又逢君 by Faywangper (E, 245k, wangxian, ABO, Alpha WWX, Omega LWJ) My favourite non-English fic is a very long and delicious AU written in Chinese
2B)
so you’ve been robbed by a museum by yukla (M, 5k, WangXian, JC & WWX, Modern AU, Mutual Pining, yearning tm, Mild Sexual Content, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Getting Together, immortal cultivators in a modern world, JC is a good brother, WWX has a couple self-worth issues)
Lynchpin by ShanaStoryteller (Not Rated, 103k, WangXian, JC & WWX, Time Travel, Fix-It, Lynchpin [PODFIC] by Opalsong, [PODFIC] Lynchpin by Gwogobo)
And Time Is But a Paper Moon by sami (M, 139k, 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)
2C)
❤️ kick at the darkness ‘til it bleeds daylight by AlfAlfAlfAlfAlf, tardigradeschool (T, 75k, WangXian, Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Eventual Happy Ending, Getting Together, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Inspired by The Parent Trap (1998), Kid Fic, teen shenanigans, two a-yuans, Fluff and Angst)
~*~
3. Are there any fics where Madam Lan's death actually pushes LWJ into being a (secret?) rebel instead of a perfect disciple?? I think I read an SBWY fic (I think it was Pancho's privated fic that someone looked for a few fic finders back) with something vaguely similar, but I would love to read if someone explored that idea! Thank you!
Following the Rules by BegrudginglyTumbling (SarcasticSmiler) (T, 2k, wangxian, gusu lan rules, fluff & humor, LWJ being a little shit) Not quite what the request asked for because it doesn't really delve into the why, but this has LWJ rebelling via malicious compliance
Awaiting Your Return by Karmiya (E, 114k, wangxian, burial mounds settlement days, found family, opposite of slow burn, WIP) has Lan Wanji basically acting as a rogue cultivator only rarely returning to the cloud recesses, though that is a relatively small part of the fic
~*~
4. Hello!!! I'm looking for some wangxian (a)stripper aus, and (b) prostitution aus
All Old Things are New Again by The Feels Whale (miscellea) (M, 51k, WangXian, XuanLi, ChengQing, Reincarnation, Modern AU, canon still happened, extreme post canon, Sugar Daddy, Kink Negotiation, gentle dom!LWJ, canonical levels of consent play, Modern Cultivators) though not quite either A or B, All Old Things Are New Again has Camboy!WWX
4A)
Wuji Club Remix by babybeets (E, 30k, WangXian, Modern AU, College/University, fancy rich prep school flash back, Library Sex, Strippers & Strip Clubs, Deepthroating, Aftercare, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Getting Together, Friendship, lan zhan FUCKS, Dancer LWJ, Addled WWX, WWX & WQ Friendship)
please forgive my most passionate disruptions by pumpkinpaix (E, 65k, WangXian, Stripper/Exotic Dancer, Strippers & Strip Clubs, Modern AU, Modern with Magic, Modern: Still Have Powers, stripper!WWX, Graduate School)
little bun by eightroses (E, 6k, WangXian, Modern AU, Stripper AU, PWP, bunny tail plug, Dirty Talk, Lingerie, Double Penetration, Trans WWX, Sex Work, First Time, Confessions, Trans Male Character)
~*~
5. Hiiii!!!
I'm on the mood for a fic where Lz has his hair cut when he's punished with the discipline whip.
All Exits Look The Same by Ahlai (T, 14k, LSZ & LWJ, LXC & LWJ, Madam Lan & LWJ, wangxian, Canon Divergence, Madam Lán Lives, Family Feels, Healing, Grief/Mourning) They cut his hair when he leaves the sect in this one
my life’s journey is far from over by thelastdboy (E, 148k, wangxian, Modern Cultivation, Canon Divergence, Madam Lán Lives, JYL Lives, WQ Lives, Post-Sunshot Campaign, POV WWX, Slow Burn, YLLZ WWX, Recovery, Hurt/Comfort, Healing Is a Slow Process, therapy is good actually, All women deserve better, mlm/wlw solidarity, the mortifying ordeal of discovering you're into bdsm while you're caught up in political intrigue, Kink Negotiation, Kink Exploration, Not Everyone Dies au, WWX Lives, Mental Health Issues, References to Depression, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Burial Mounds Ensemble as Family, Single Parent WWX, Selectively Mute LWJ, Eventual Smut, Light Dom/sub, Happy Ending)
~*~
6. hi, do you know of any royalty wangxian AUs where wwx is the royal instead of lwj? ty!
travelers through the empty gate by stiltonbasket (M, 99k, WIP, WangXian, Royalty, Emperor WWX, Mistaken Identity, Poor LWJ, Bookshop owner LWJ, Intrigue, Court Drama, Forced Marriage, Confused WWX, POV Alternating, Parenthood, Misunderstandings, Empress LWJ, Requited Unrequited Love, Fluff, Humor, Married Life, Angst with a Happy Ending)
Silver & Silk Series by farawayanddreaming (M/E, 55k, WangXian, Established Relationship, Emperor WWX, Concubine LWJ, Implied/Referenced Sex, Light Bondage, Devotion, No Plot/Plotless, vibes only, Bottom LWJ/Top WWX)
Conquering the Emperor by catbrainedschemes (E, 21k, WangXian, Historical, Imperial China, Emperor!WWX, General!LWJ, Mutual Pining, Idiots in Love, Historically Inaccurate, Misunderstandings, Fluff, Eventual Smut, Light Angst, Slow Burn, Happy Ending)
Son of Heaven and Frost General Series by Aki_no_hikari (M/T, 7k, WangXian, Royalty, Historical, Emperor/General, Fade to Black, Romance)
The Last Concubine by deliciousblizzardshark (T, 13k, WangXian, Royalty AU, Emperor WWX, Concubine LWJ, LWJ Whump, Forced Marriage, Starvation, Non-physical spousal abuse, Fluff and Angst, Doing the Wrong Thing for the Right Reasons, Happy Ending, WWX Takes Care of LWJ)
The Most Important Man in the Empire by Marayanna (G, 14k, wangxian, Royalty, Emperor WWX, Secretary/head of state LWJ, overworked WWX, Supportive LWJ, POV WWX, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, competent LWJ, Happy Ending, Inspired by the book The Hands of the Emperor, But you don't need to know it to read the fic, Competent WWX, LWJ Takes Care of WWX, As much as he is politically able to, Is 'working together to make the world a better place' considered flirting, it should be)
~*~
7. hello, how are you. For the next itmf
(a). Fics where lan wanji is incredibly inlove with wei ying. Whether is Canon or Au but he is just showering wei ying with love
(b). Fics where wangxian are the shameless couple. People will be finding them kissing in the corner or they are keeping cloud recess awake with their noice. It can also be canon or an Au.
(c). I would also like bamf weiying.
🧡 Stunted, Starving Juvenility by TomatenMark (E, 712k, WangXian, WIP, Fix-it of sorts, Talisman master WWX, Not JFM Friendly, Study Arc, Getting together, Fluff and Angst, Engagement) kind of answers all three requests
7A)
Snow by kuro (M, 38k, wangxian, Modern, Snow, Sick Character, Caretaking, Fluff, Sugar Daddy, only they're like… bad at it, Angst, Rabbits, Food, Sexy Times, occasionally)
A Matter of Time series by mrcformoso (E, 70 k, WangXian, Time Travel Fix-It, POV LWJ, POV JC, Dark LWJ, Manipulation, Grooming, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, Consensual Underage Sex, Except problematic please read warning in first chapter, Blood and Violence, Insane LWJ, Manic LWJ, Conditioning, WWX is a Lán, Minor Character Death, Confused JC, Golden Core Reveal, Good Friend NHS, WWX Isn’t Adopted by the Jiāngs, Abusive Jiāng Family, Jiāng Family Bashing, Jiāng Family Critical, POV NHS, Dark NHS, Anal Sex, Marathon Sex, Dual Cultivation, Qīnghéng-jūn Lives, LWJ Has a Big Dick, WWX Self-Lubricates, Plot Twists, Porn With Plot, Scheming NHS, Manipulative NHS, BAMF LWJ, BAMF WWX) (also fits 7C) i think they'll enjoy A Matter of Time but heed tags and warnings
7B)
Wangxian’s Time-Travelling Shenanigansseries by pupeez4eva (M, 18k, wangxian, time travel fix-it, Humor, Love Confessions, PDA, Wangxian being their shameless selves, Nothing will ruin WWX’s confession, Not even dozens of very confused disciples, or confused family members because LQR and JC are not amused, time travel at the most inconvenient moment, Everyone is just very confused, Wangxian elope with no explanation and leave everyone else to deal with the aftermath, LXC is a very good big brother, JC is probably going to end up killing WWX, Canon Divergence, Featuring: many horrified bystanders, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, AU of Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now, The many moments that Wangxian could have travelled to, POV Outsider) Features WWX & LWJ being shameless throughout & part 3 of the series has them keeping CR awake with their noise
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8. Hi friends!! do you know of any fic where Lan Wangji moves into the burial mounds right after Wei Wuxian takes the Wens there? I’m not sure what to even search on ao3 for it but I would owe you my life if you knew any! @spectrelle
wide enough and wild by impossibletruths (E, 64k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Getting Together, Canonical Accidental Baby Acquisition, Families of Choice, References to Depression, Happy Ending, I Swear To God I’m Giving Them A Happy Ending, Overzealous Use Of Imagery, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Well Except WN But He Was Already Dead So, Fix-It of Sorts) WWX doesn't stay in the Burial Mounds in this, but LWJ joins him anyway, so idk if this counts?
A Narrow Bridge by FrameofMind, Jo Lasalle (Jo_Lasalle) (E, 700k, WangXian, Time Travel Fix-It, Canon Divergence, Slow Burn, Getting Together, First Time, Pining while fucking, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Angst with a Happy Ending, CQL Verse, almost everybody lives/almost nobody dies, epistolary-ish, canon-ish side pairings, radishes)
Home and the Heartland by Witch_Nova221 (T, 210k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, Burial Mounds, LWJ Stays at the Burial Mounds, Slow Romance, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Fix-It, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Self-Discovery, Golden Core Reveal, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon Divergence, the burial mounds aren't always a happy place, but wangxian do their best)
no one ever said the single-plank bridge had to be walked alone by roserocksrapidly (T, 174k, wangxian, Canon Divergence, Yílíng Wèi Sect, Fix-It, Not Everyone Dies au, LWJ Stays at the Burial Mounds, Fluff, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Found Family, Slow Burn, LWJ and WWX get to be Dads together, the healing power of homoerotic flute/guqin duets, Happy Ending)
Also re: 8 - Requester might be interested in the tag Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī Stays at the Burial Mounds
~*~
9. I've got another itmf request. Does anyone know of fics where nhs gets angry or criticizes nmj/the nie sect for their part in what happens to wwx? Or ones where nhs shows that he's protective of wwx to the nie sect/cultivation world whether that's covertly or overtly. Thanks all!
and having a marvelous time by varnes (E, 108k, WangXian, Yúnmèng Siblings, Sound of Music AU, (i know!!! i know. stay with me on this.), Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Family Feels, spies to lovers???, Protective Siblings, Sometimes You Just Want Your Dads To Admit They’re Your Dads, Angst with a Happy Ending)
A Matter of Time series by mrcformoso (E, 70 k, WangXian, Time Travel Fix-It, POV LWJ, POV JC, Dark LWJ, Manipulation, Grooming, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, Consensual Underage Sex, Except problematic please read warning in first chapter, Blood and Violence, Insane LWJ, Manic LWJ, Conditioning, WWX is a Lán, Minor Character Death, Confused JC, Golden Core Reveal, Good Friend NHS, WWX Isn’t Adopted by the Jiāngs, Abusive Jiāng Family, Jiāng Family Bashing, Jiāng Family Critical, POV NHS, Dark NHS, Anal Sex, Marathon Sex, Dual Cultivation, Qīnghéng-jūn Lives, LWJ Has a Big Dick, WWX Self-Lubricates, Plot Twists, Porn With Plot, Scheming NHS, Manipulative NHS, BAMF LWJ, BAMF WWX) (link in #7A) i think they'll enjoy A Matter of Time but heed tags and warnings
~*~
10. Can you find me a fanfic where wei wuxian doesn’t die, instead he goes into a mountain and takes orphans in to take care of them and one day lan wangji stumbles upon his mountain. Kind of like baoshan sanren except there is no immortal thing, but it’s ok if there is ofc. Also it should have a good amount of wangxian with a happy ending
and having a marvelous time by varnes (E, 108k, WangXian, Yúnmèng Siblings, Sound of Music AU, (i know!!! i know. stay with me on this.), Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Family Feels, spies to lovers???, Protective Siblings, Sometimes You Just Want Your Dads To Admit They’re Your Dads, Angst with a Happy Ending) link in #9
~*~
11. Hii , are there fics where wei ying becomes the wen sect leader , if so can you please recommend some? 🙏 @karinasnowwwx
assuming this is for the Wen remnants, the user might want to try the Yiling Wei sect tag
uncertain if this is asking for wen zongzhu wwx or yiling wei fic so one of each!
To the Heavens and the Earth by IsilmeLasgalen (E, 77k, WangXian, NingSang, XuanLi, MingXu, ChengYu, WWX is a Wen, POV LWJ, Good Parent LWJ, Marriage of convenience, Accidental Marriage, Implied Mpreg, Time Travel, Canon Divergence, WWX isn't adopted by the Jiang's, CSSR and WCZ Live, BAMF WWX, BAMF LWJ, Cultivation Sect Politics, Bottom LWJ, Top WWX, POV NHS, Protective LJY, Good Person WRH, Protective LXC, Immortal LWJ and WWX, POV LXC, Mpreg, WangXian in Love, Soft WangXian, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, POV JZX, Emperor WWX, Emperor LWJ, Past WWX/Other(s), Everybody Lives, Fluff, Angst, Smut, LWJ is LJY's Parent) wen sect leader wwx
A Narrow Bridge by FrameofMind, Jo Lasalle (Jo_Lasalle) (E, 700k, WangXian, Time Travel Fix-It, Canon Divergence, Slow Burn, Getting Together, First Time, Pining while fucking, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Angst with a Happy Ending, CQL Verse, almost everybody lives/almost nobody dies, epistolary-ish, canon-ish side pairings, radishes) burial mounds settlement becomes a sect
~*~
12. Is there a Pacific rim AU for wangxian? I would love to read one. Trying to quit smoking, need a good distraction.
Lightning’s Call, Abyss’ Song by DiamondCrystalInk (T, 37k, WangXian, Pacific Rim Fusion, Slow Burn, Happy Ending, but i guess, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drift Compatibility, but also..., Soulmates, Sword fights but romantic)
The Weight of the World by KouriArashi (T, 67k, WangXian, XiYao, XuanLi, Pacific Rim Fusion, Robots, Monsters, robots fighting monsters, Family, Romance, Developing Relationship, Angst, (but not about the romances), Hurt/Comfort, Politics, Happy Ending)
or for a whole list, including ones I have not read
The 'whole list' link under 12 does not work. The asker might use the shiptag and then use 'Pacific Rim' in the 'Search within Results' box to get that list.
~*~
13. Hi, thank you for all your hardwork!!
I come here for "I'm in the mood for", I would like a any good fic with some bickering between Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng like 'Brothers in law', even if it is the main thing of the fic or just a passing scene. Don't have any preferences if it is canon or not.
Thank you once again. @anime-trash-parody
Time Kept Flowing by notoneforreality (T, 201k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Grief/Mourning, major character death is wwx, who comes back, Family, Autistic LWJ, Kid Fic, JC and LWJ raise the kids, Co-parenting is hard, Emotional Hurt/Comfort)
none lives forever, brother, and nothing lasts for long by eena (M, 38k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, LSZ raised at Lotus Pier, JC found him first, Twin Prides of Yúnmèng Dynamics, Yunmeng Bros Reconciliation)
whatever comes of you and me (I’d love to leave my memory with you) by sami (E, 12k, XiCheng, WangXian, references to past emotional manipulation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Healing, Recovery, Family, Brotherhood, Correcting for Poor Interfamily Communication, JFM’s A+ parenting, Not MY Friendly, Not JFM Friendly, Modern AU, Angst with a Happy Ending)
A Bell That Tells Us to Rise and Fight by DeerstalkerDeathFrisbee (T, 120k, wangxian, JC/WQ, JYL/JZX, SL/XXC, Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage, Everyone Lives au, Everyone Needs A Hug, Women Being Awesome, WQ is a goddess, content warning for JGS, content warning for XY, content warning for JGY, WWX's terrible awful brilliant plans, Yunmeng Bros, JYL is an angel, BAMF Women, I take it back NMJ still dies, Minor Character Death, NMJ is BACK and he is NOT HAPPY, MM is not paid enough for this shit) has a fun sort of brothers-in-law feeling between lwj and jc
This is our Get-Along Night Hunt by hmc73 (T, 28k, WangXian, Post-Canon, JC & WWX Reconciliation, LWJ has Feelings, canon-typical horror elements, POV LWJ, Canon Compliant, Fluff with Knives, It starts off funny but WATCH OUT, Case Fic, Good Sibling JC, Fluff and Angst)
~*~
14. Hi, me again, I have been looking for fics, Modern, with cultivation, conferences and the like, where Wei Wuxian is not treated well, were things similar to cannon happened and he's not recognised as a great cultivator and Lan Wangji and his family, Jiāng Yànlí, Jiāng Chéng or Wen Qíng and Wen Ning aren't ok with this and try to help him deal with reputation and things. they can be long or short. Please help. Be well @monicaop21
Hi, I'm number 14 in the last In the mood for…post!! I just wanted to share the fics that started my obsession with modern fics that speak well of WWX in the cultivation world!! One is My Zhiji's On Broadway by ScarlettStorm and the fic inspired by this beauty Let Her Leave Your by Worldspacewitchbot Both of them in Ao3 So amazing both of them!! More sequels!! ;) Be well and tons of thanks!! You are awesome!!
My Zhiji’s On Broadway by ScarlettStorm (E, 15k, wangxian, modern with cultivation, drunk LWJ, drunk shenanigans, getting together, first time, minor angst, major comedy, smut)
Let Her Leave Your World by spacewitchbot (E, 10k, MM/OFC, JC/WQ, JYL/JZX, modern cultivation, Seattle, Conventions, Getting Together, Jet Lag, One Night Stands, Alcohol Breastfeeding in public (not in a sexy way,) Infant Care, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, #metoo movement, Not quite everybody lives but more people do, People listen to Mianmian, That actually fixes a lot of stuff)
~*~
15. Hi! For the next ITMF, do you have a recommendation where LQR secretly fond of/have a soft spot for WWX? Thank you! @idontknowwhattowriteforusername
through the eyes of elders series by Fleetling (T, 13k, LXC & LWJ, LXC & LQR, wangxian, LXC & WWX, LQR & WWX, LQR pov, LQR is a good uncle, LXC recovering from the whole JGY thing is a major part, Wingman LXC)
💖 Lessons relearned by Iamnotawriter (T, 44k, WangXian, LQR & WWX, Not Madam Yu Friendly, Time Travel Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Inventor WWX, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, No Golden Core Transfer, YZY Bashing) LQR goes back in time & learns to appreciate WWX
🧡 Stunted, Starving Juvenility by TomatenMark (E, 712k, WangXian, WIP, Fix-it of sorts, Talisman master WWX, Not JFM Friendly, Study Arc, Getting together, Fluff and Angst, Engagement) link in #7 LQR recognises WWX talents (& his relationship with LWJ) during CRSA & encourages both
~*~
16. For the next ITMF: life of wwx or/with lwj after the revelations at the Guanyin temple. Preferably long fic, around more than 5 or 10 chapters or more than 10k words, and completed. Thank you!
💖 Germination by taotrooper (M, 14k, wangxian, post-canon, honeymoon, domestic fluff, comedy, teaching, character study)
Imprints by Lisa_Telramor (G, 47k, wangxian, post-canon, humor, panic attacks, phobia recovery, poor life choices, JC & WWX reconciliation, dogs)
Between The Lines by Witch_Nova221 (M, 153k, wangxian, WWX & LSZ & LWJ, WWX & OCs, Epistolary, Eventual Romance, Fluff and Angst, Letters, Falling In Love, Love Confessions, Love Letters, Long-Distance Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Loss, Canon-Typical Violence, Post-Canon, Idiots in Love)
Agapé (home is in your arms) by estel_willow (G, 15k, wangxian, fraternal bonding, Mutual Pining, Post-Canon, Wwx is oblivious, LXC is patient, LSZ remains the best son, Most of these characters could do with a good therapist, Wwx uses his words, Wwx is an unreliable narrator, Light Angst, canon-typical self dislike from our favourite chaotic disaster bi)
Vagabond by xantissa (E, 65k, wangxian, Slow Burn, Mystery, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Frottage, Case Fic, murders, Supernatural, Angst, Fluff, those two are so in love it hurts, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, badass LXC, Canon-Typical Violence, topLWJ, Bottom LWJ)
~*~
17. Hii! I saw a lot of tiktok that got me in the mood to read wangxian again! I love canonverse fics, but bc they’re so angsty (tho i do like a bit of it as one should) I wanted to ask for canondivergance fix it fics, prefferably with xicheng too! (*by fix it i mean shijie doesn’t die and a-cheng doesn’t hate his brother bc of it) 🥹 thank you!
~*~
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!***
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xoxobuckybarnes · 2 months
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February 2024 Stucky Fics
Completed
Keystrokes and Music Notes (Rated: M, Words: 32K) by goblininawig / @goblininawig
Summary: Bucky is paying Steve for help tracking down his stalker. Nothing happens until something happens: Steve falls in love.
Mr. Brick Wall & Mr. Overshare (Rated: T, Words: 7K) by LilyElk13
Summary: Based on the Tumblr post that's like "half of college professors are like 'you can know nothing about me except my name' and the other half are like 'and that's why my wife left me! anyway what's up with y'all'" and the response "There were two professors like this in my department and I was one of like 20 people who was taught by both of them so there was a very small gang of us who knew that Professor Brick Wall and Professor Overshare were married with two kids." except in this it's high school teachers instead of college :)
A Company Man (Rated: E, Words: 75K) by mambo / @whtaft
Summary: It’s the way that Bucky smiles at Steve from across his desk. No, it’s the way that Bucky���s hand brushes Steve’s as they stand side by side in an elevator not crowded enough to justify their closeness. Or maybe it’s the whispered conversations every Saturday night, the way Bucky saves Steve’s number under a different name in his phone. No matter what it is, the truth is the same: Steve Rogers is in love with Bucky Barnes, a married man.
Rock You Like a Hurricane (Rated: E, Words: 112K) by CelticCross
Summary: Bucky Barnes is an author, he's written many books in his Winter Soldier series, starring Lloyd Hansen and Nick Fowler. He hasn't written a word worth writing in the past three months and his agent, Sam Wilson, forces him to take a break. Sam books him a rental beach house in a place called Plum Cove in Mass for three months, hoping to break him out of his writer's block. The owner, Steve Rogers, retired Plum Cove Police Captain, landlord and part time surfer is surprised to get such a lengthy off season booking but takes it anyway. He doesn't expect to spend a lot of time with the person renting his house, but then he wasn't expecting the storm to be that fierce.
Closing Time (Rated: M, Words: 10K) by RecoveringTheSatellites / @thisonesatellite & art by maichan /@maichan808
Summary: Steve works in a Brooklyn dive bar. A tall, guarded guy comes in to drink at regular intervals. He always sits in the back corner. Steve leaves him alone. He looks like a guy who deserves some peace and quiet. He does find out the stranger's name is Bucky. Finds out what he likes to drink. And little by little, conversation happens. Connection happens. Until one day a cock-flock of dudebros comes in (i made up cock-flock, but really, is that not their collective term) and the heckling goes up to eleven once they’re good and drunk. Bucky gets asked to take it outside. Steve will have none of that, thankyouverymuch. . A tale of love and hope in unlikely places, sprinkled with a bit of PTSD, and the occasional sarcastic quip.
Use Your Agency (Rated: E, Words: 15K) by romanticalgirl
Summary: Bucky is given the assignment (punishment) of being the agent whose job it is to integrate the newly-thawed Captain America into life in a new century. Only maybe it's not so bad. Because Bucky ends up dealing with Steve Rogers, who is nothing like the Captain America in Bucky's history books. From coming out of the ice through AoU.
Stay with Me (Rated: E, Words: 79K) by maikurosaki / @allegra-dreams
Summary: When Bucky Barnes accompanies his family to a ceremony dedicated to George Barnes' activity, he expects free food and drinks, the occasional boring speech, and watching his dad blush furiously as he gets to finally meet his childhood hero. What he doesn't expect is saving Captain America's life and getting shot in the process. What follows is a slow road to recovery, eating hospital food (still disgusting), making new friends (Avengers!!! Seriously, the Avengers!) and pining over Captain America (he won't comment on that). It sounds simple, but it really isn’t!
The Steadfast Soldier (Rated: E, Words: 12K) by danielosbourne
Summary: Bucky returns to Brooklyn to help his sister navigate a family crisis.
twelve twenty-five (Rated: E, Words: 43K) by burning_brighter / @burnin-brighter
Summary: “I have to say,” Winifred says, a mug of cocoa in her hands. “When you say you were bringing someone home, I thought you meant you were bringing a boyfriend. But I’m glad you brought Steve.” “Who says I’m not?” Bucky teases, laughing when Steve lets out an exasperated groan. “You two finally got your respective head out of your respective ass?” asks George, looking at Steve and Bucky intently. “No,” Steve says pointedly, “Bucky just thinks he’s so funny.” - Ever since they met, everyone assumed it was just a matter of time before Steve and Bucky became a thing. Ten years later and it has yet to happen. But when Bucky invites Steve to spend the holidays with him and his family in upstate New York, things start to change.
WIP
Every Me and Every You (Rated: M, Current Words: 38K) by deadto27 / @deadto27
Summary: Bucky Barnes is doing his best. He’s getting by after the blip, after Sam became Captain America, after Steve…well, it’s best he doesn’t think about that. The point is, his life is different now, and he’s trying his best. He just wishes the hollow feeling in his chest would go away.—–Bucky gets blinded by a bright light as the tear seems to implode in on itself and there’s an odd little jolt as the pulling stops, and then Bucky’s blinking, trying to get his vision right again as he loosens his grip on America.“You okay?” he checks, still squinting. He’s probably not blind, he thinks. It just feels like it right now.“I’m okay,” America tells him and he sees her nod shakily as his vision starts to clear, and he carefully lets go of her, seeing that she can support herself, hands pressing onto the floor next to her.“Uh…I don’t think I am,” says another voice, and Bucky turns his head so fast he might give himself whiplash. Because he knows that voice. He knows that voice better than any other voice on the planet and he’s missed that voice, so, so much.
Lost Vocabularies that Might Express (The Memory of These Broken Impressions) (Rated: E, Current Words: 103K) by dorian_burberrycanary / @burberrycanary
Summary: The worst of times, like the best, are always passing away. How’s that for some consolation on the road? A post-The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Stucky fix-it as part of the all-American road trip, detours included.
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bro-atz · 3 months
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Irresistible
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Gyuri seriously hates the CMO of her company, and the feeling seems to be mutual until one night after a company dinner, she gets involved with him in a way that she never in her wildest dream fathomed would ever happen.
San is the bane of her existence in every way possible— yet, he's irresistible.
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pair: cmo!san/employee!oc
word count: 75k
content: smut, corporation!au, enemies to lovers, forbidden love
author's note: yes i know gyuri is the same oc as 1024ub but cut me some slack it's hard coming up with new names/characters why do you think i write ffs LMAO
network: @cromernet
apply here to be part of the taglist!
MINORS DO NOT INTERACT nsfw chapters in red
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chapter one: why do you hate each other so much?
chapter two: smoking causes cancer
chapter three: who was it?
chapter four: let's pretend nothing happened
chapter five: rolling thunder hear my yelps
chapter six: how did i end up here?
chapter seven: why did you get out of his car?
chapter eight: a fucking nightmare
chapter nine: happy?
chapter ten: we need to stop waking up like this
chapter eleven: chain smoking
chapter twelve: there's no such thing as dibs
chapter thirteen: let's get the story straight
chapter fourteen: production problems
chapter fifteen: going with the flow
chapter sixteen: a really nice fucking dinner
chapter seventeen: bosses and bruises
chapter eighteen: and burns
chapter nineteen: this isn't just bad luck anymore, is it?
chapter twenty: white lily
chapter twenty-one: if that's what you want
chapter twenty-two: i really can't stay away anymore
chapter twenty-three: this... is love...
chapter twenty-four: the betrayal!
chapter twenty-five: i'm sorry...
chapter twenty-six: on the down low
chapter twenty-seven: this is why we can't have nice things
chapter twenty-eight: good riddance
chapter twenty-nine: bad and guilty
chapter thirty: how did you not know?
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first chapter will be dropped march 1st chapters will be posted every thursday at 18:00 EST
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missingn000 · 1 month
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a note about tpg's hiatus
hi everyone!! i've missed y'all <33 i want to share a quick note on tpg's hiatus, and how long it will last.
first and foremost, the tl;dr: i will not abandon tpg. the story remains incredibly important to me, and this hiatus is only that: a hiatus. i will return eventually, and while i am not exactly sure when "eventually" is, i hope to begin updating again soon.
now the long explanation. tpg's hiatus has lasted much, much longer than i expected. it wasn't until i took a break that i realized how mentally and emotionally drained i was after writing 600k+ in 2 years, along with being an engineering master's student then starting a job in aerospace. especially after writing sukuna's backstory (75k+ words in one month), my brain was utterly fried. all in all, it's been a lot.
as some of you may know, i started watching one piece in september. and i love it! it's an incredibly fun, well-written feel-good series. it's been a refreshing mental break to engage with a new series, especially since jjk canon has been so disappointing in both content and writing quality. 
if you check my ao3, you'll notice i took a break from jjk with other series in the past: namely dr. stone, sxf, and natsume yuujinchou. this is necessary for me to remain creative and explore narrative themes that i bring back to tpg when i return to it. but by the time my recent hiatus started, it had been well over a year since i engaged with any other series than jjk, and it was starting to take its toll on me. i'm almost caught up on one piece now, which means i'll be able to focus on tpg again soon.
when i return from tpg's hiatus, updates may be slower. releasing 15k+ word chapters every 2-4 weeks was incredibly mentally taxing and required much of my time and focus to constantly be on the story. it wasn't healthy, and other areas of my life were impacted negatively. it can be easy to forget that i'm a real person with real-life responsibilities writing this story in my spare time for free -- even i sometimes forgot this. 
another note on why taking a break has been so necessary is my mental health. when season 2 released and toji + satosugu was animated, the fandom exploded and tpg's readership drastically increased. while this meant an influx of amazing love and support, i also started to receive rude and hateful comments and messages.
don't get me wrong: not everyone has to like tpg. that's totally fine! but as a very sensitive person, receiving hate took a huge toll on my mental health and motivation, and i have needed time to recover from it. i've been doing better mentally lately, and have taken some measures to reduce unkind interactions. i'm working on becoming less sensitive in the meantime so i can handle it better if/when it happens again.
since i've been feeling guilty about not posting jjk content, i haven't been on tumblr quite as much, but i'm still around online on both discord and instagram. mutuals can request my priv @chiidoriii on IG, and my discord is @MissingN000 -- just shoot me a message with who you are when you request! i'll still post fic updates on both new stories as well as tpg content and previews on tumblr, so please stick around :)
thank you so much for your patience with me! i love you all so much, and truly appreciate your support. love, chi <333
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romirola · 9 months
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Balancing Act: A Redactedverse Fanfic (Chapter 1/18)
READ CHAPTER 1 OF BALANCING ACT ON AO3!
Summary:
Rating: T; WC: ~75K over 18 chapters
Note and Thank You Shoutouts: It’s here. It’s here! IT’S HERE! The Redactedverse power swap fic is finally here and ready to share with you all! I’ve been steadily working on this fic for months, barely able to contain myself as I shared the occasional snippet on Tumblr. I can’t tell you how much joy it brings me to contribute this long labor of love to the fandom. Before I kick things off, I want to give some special shoutouts to the wonderful people who let me incorporate their creativity into this story: @claracatlady, for Bob, William’s spoiled ragdoll cat; @pinksparkl, for suggesting Anaia be a panther shifter; @floofdeloop, for Asher’s surname “O’Connell” and his parents’ names, Ciaran and Áine; @frenchiefitzhere, for use of the Dahlia Academy for Magical Novices Alma-Mater Song; @gwenifred , for use of the character, Dani; @palilious, for use of the character, Manu; @itsdaifuku for letting me adapt this art into a textual moment; and @pycth for Zephyr, Lasko’s and his partner’s pet blue jay. Check out their amazing work if you haven’t already. Another thank you to everyone who showed support and excitement for this story during my months of writing it. One last deep and heartfelt thank you to anyone who chooses to read this story. I truly hope you enjoy. As always, any and all feedback is welcome and encouraged.
As requested, I’m tagging @starlitangels, @shellssstuff, @thegoldenlittlerose, and @halscafe in posting updates of this story. Would you like to be alerted when Balancing Act is updated? Please let me know and I’ll be happy to add you to the list. 
Looking for more info about this fic? Find a list of characters and tags at the above AO3 link or below the cut. Still have questions? Feel free to reach out to me! Ready to read? Then let’s go, because there is a lot of story to tell...
Characters: David, Angel, Asher, Babe, Milo, Sweetheart, Darling, Sam, Cutie, Huxley, Marie Greer, William Solaire, Starlight, Lasko, Damien, Geordi, Freelancer, Aaron, Gabe Shaw, Colm Greer, Aggro
Tags: Drama, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Love, Support, Trust, Communication, Friendship, Fluff, Banter, Suspense, Action, Adventure, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Guilt, Mates in Love, Relationship Growth, Memories, Healing, Character Growth, Happy Ending, Power Swap, Vernal Equinox, Exchange Ritual, Unempowered David, Shifter Angel, Smol-Wolf Asher, Vampire Babe, Big-Wolf Milo, Telepath Sweetheart, Unempowered Sam, Earth-Elemental Darling, D.U.M.P. is a Toxic Workplace, Vampire Discrimination, Negative Self-Talk, Consensual Trancing, Consensual Blood Drinking, Rival Pegasus Shifter Group, Mate Bond, Child Stealth, Magneto-Energetic Attack, Humor, Bonfire, All Listener Characters are Gender Neutral, Pack Anniversary Party, Pack Dynamics, Pack Bonding, Adult Language, Humor, Bonfire
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drarryspecificrecs · 11 months
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2023.05 ~ Top 7 longest fics posted on AO3
1. Demons Run (When A Good Man Goes To War) by @shewhomustnotbenamed [E, 124k]
►I need your help. Ordinarily, I wouldn't inveigle anyone into deciphering life from my contorted perspective, but I desperately need you to understand the entirety of the situation that I've found myself in. It's vital that you comprehend and embrace the events that have led me here- to have the clarity of mind that I lack because I am more lost than I have ever been, and I need saving. I need you to see. I need perspicuity. Help me, because I don't know how I got here, and I need to repair the damage I've done.
2. Symptom of Your Touch by @ghostofnoir [E, 115k]
►St. Mungo's Healer Draco Malfoy is used to being pushed to his limits when providing aide to the ailing, but when an unexpected encounter with an out of character Harry Potter throws his life out of balance one night, he is forced to ask himself how far he's willing to push his own levels of discomfort to be of aid to a man in need of help that only he can provide. And once that need for aid is over, how will he find balance in his life again?
3. Love lies somewhere deeper by DarkWizard [M, 96k]
►Harry cheated on his wife with Draco sodding Malfoy. And then, he didn't remember it.
4. we should just kiss (like real people do) by whenstheweddingcake [T, 75k, series]
►Harry's summer is better than ever before, and he returns to Hogwarts for his fifth year with more power, changing relationships, an army at his back, and another DADA teacher that seems to have it out for him.
5. the world is a garden (and you're my flower) by Rosie321go [T, 52k]
►Draco’s mother always said there was a fine line between love and hate. Apparently, his flowers think so too. /// [...] in which Draco doesn’t know how to deal with feelings, Granger doesn’t know how to help him, and Potter’s just trying to figure out what’s going on.
6. Icarus by @soupy-george [M, 50k]
►[...] 2013 (The Unpleasant Present) - Sent undercover as a Professor at Hogwarts. Note: minding my own business, life ruined by dreadful turn of events. Note: Potter is DADA professor, a job he took out of the blue after I graduated from Auror training. His departure happened to coincide with a momentary lapse in judgement when we may have kissed, drunkenly … (and heatedly) against a wall. One time. Awkward? Yes. Reason to abandon whole career? Apparently.
7. Imperius by Jelliebabie [E, 46k]
►What if there was an eighth horcrux? What if Voldemort just wouldn't die? Draco Malfoy doesn't remember what came before his current existence, where he lives to serve the Death Eaters who control his every move, and through him, his magical inheritance. But when a memory from his past appears in his present, breaking the curse that imprisons him, he finds that he may be the one who holds the key to salvation. If only he isn't too broken to use it.
※ Word count: 1k ~ 10k
※ Word count: 10k ~ 40k
the first in line by @oflights [E, 29k]
Harry and Draco's Hogwarts Reunion by DarkPhoenixAscending [E, 13k]
Harry Potter and the Yuletide Potion by Grace_28 [G, 13k]
Just A Couple Of Strays by flowerpotboy [M, 20k]
love-stained hate by a_blur_on_the_highway [T, 18k]
Shades of Passion by CosmicallyFamous [E, 12k]
A Strange Twist of Fate by @shinigami714 [E, 18k]
Turn Back the Clock by @steampunkserpent27 [T, 14k]
Ongoing Fest/Exchange
※ Fics would be listed elsewhere.
Basilisks & Staircases - A Game of Drarry Fest | @gameofdrarry
HD Mpreg 2023 | @harrydracompreg
Lights Camera Drarry 2023 | @lcdrarry
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yoonia · 11 months
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Writing Update: 13.06.2023
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Below are some of my work in progress which I’m currently focusing on while I’m taking my time off the internet
Bedroom Hymns (myg x reader) ⏤ progress written: 26k words ⏤ estimated word count: 75k-ish words could be more...I’m not sure ⏤ might be releasing this one as a series. the masterlist will be posted soon
In Motion 13 (jjk x reader) ⏤ progress written: 3k words ⏤ estimated word count: 10-20k words
Blood Moon Rising 31 (pjm x reader) ⏤ progress written: 4k words ⏤ estimated word count: 8-10k words
Chance Encounter 6 (dpr ian x reader) ⏤ progress written: 4k words ⏤ estimated word count: 8-10k words
One of the fics mentioned above might be completed and posted earlier than planned (as I was planning to follow the posting orders based on this poll), so stay tuned for that. Will be back soon :)
note | If you’re interested in being added into my permanent taglist, please enter your url on this link. If you only want to be added on a specific update, please add your url and the fic you’re looking for in the replies below.
note 2.0 | recently added on my patreon: ⏤ Hunting Season teaser ⏤ About Time teaser & spoilers
xoxo, Dia <3
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Summary of the Hermitcraft Charity Livestream
Seen a number of posts of summaries but I essentially live blogged info along with some friends in a discord, so I have extensive notes that fit about 4 pages of a google doc. Since it’s so long, i’m hiding most of it under a ‘read more’
Scar started his stream a few minutes before the official start time so he was live when they reached the goal of 25k a minute before the official start time
Six minutes after the start, they changed the new goal to 75k, at which point they were already at around 60k
It was later mentioned they were planning stretch goals for if they made it past 25k and were trying to think of what they would do if they somehow made it to 50k
Mrs.Tango was originally going to swap out Tango’s hat every 1k for people to see on his facecam, 
Scar made a circle of chairs at midnight his time, aka less than 12 hours before the stream would start.
He made chairs for each participating person, two of note being one made of scaffolding and one that was a single stair
Bdubs was given the stair while Martyn was given the scaffolding chair
Martyn was a guest for the stream to read off the donations that were 100 dollars or more as there were too many to read all of them.
A number of the Hermits left donations, a few before the start of the stream. Jevin had the first donation of all, with a donation of $5 with the comment ‘First’
The list of Hermits there for the stream were Scar, who was running it, Cub, Ren, Grian, Cleo, Pearl, Bdubs, Keralis, False, Doc, Impulse, Zedaph, Tango, Iskall, Xisuma, and then Martyn as a guest.
They had another guest at the start of the stream, that being Zack from Gamers Outreach who joined the voice chat to give a short speech
The first game to be played was Total Chaos. They almost flew there before realizing Martyn was not given any gear like elytra, so they took the Nether Tunnel
Cub informed the people who hadn’t been there yet that walking on the wool was safe, which people did not do, though thankfully no one died
Before starting the game, Scar had to mute upon realizing they were almost to 125k because he was choking up a bit.
Doc ended up winning that game and they went back to the chair area right after
Etho came online and was told to join the voice call, joining the group soon after.
Martyn started reading the 100+ donations off at this point.
They reached 150k and upped the goal to 200k instead of 175k because of how fast it was moving.
Etho arrived at the group around the time one of the Hermits asked if Etho would be joining them, causing a number of the other hermits to exclaim he was there already.
Cub was assigned as game master to choose what games would be played and who would be on the teams for each game. They started by visiting Basalt Assault and Dunktank to have the rules reviewed, Grian messing around in the dunk tank water by still being in flying mode, making look odd as he spun around and making some of the hermits question what he was doing.
For Basalt Assault, the teams were Tango and Impulse versus Scar and Pearl. Dunk tank was Grian and Doc verses Zedaph and Bdubs. Everyone else was at Bdub’s horse race.
Before starting Basalt Assault, Tango managed to play an old voice clip from three years ago of his voice through a high pitched voice changer.
Scar and Pearl won Basalt Assault because they broke/exploded Tango and Impulse’s command center.
I was not watching the dunk tank perspective as bdubs was the only one streaming that game, but there were reports of it breaking.
Scar did a poll for people to pick an old skin of his to wear, those being Mayor Scar, Buff Scar from third life, or Hot Guy. Buff Scar won
Scar changed his skin while Grian was afk for about five minutes, and Grian returned to see Scar showing off the abs on his skin causing Grian to immediately complain about being gone for only five minutes and Scar already has his shirt off
They also pulled the first of their randomized stretch goals, those being for Cub to wear his old man Cub skin, Iskall to wear his pogskall skin (which he uses for the Isgall85 account)
At this point, some of the other hermits had already changed their skin. Cleo said she would change her skin when the reached 200k, which they had at that point, changing into a honey badger skin
Keralis changed into his Ker-Alice skin (based on Disney’s Alice in wonderland), Pearl was in her Double Life skin, Zedaph was briefly replaced with Worm Man before he left and Zedaph returned as they are definitely totally not the same person at all, False was in her banana costume skin, and Xisuma had transitioned from his bone mage skin to his regular skin with about 3 different skins in between as a transition.
Grian switched into his hunchback skin which freaked people out for a bit before he then changed to his sideways skin (saying the more money you raise, the worse it gets) and even later into his backwards skin.
Around this time is when Joe sent a message saying he would shave his beard later after the charity stream in a stream of his own if they reached 250k, which they did.
Cub split them into teams again for the same games, Ren, Keralis and Iskall vs Jevin and Cleo at Basalt Assault, Etho and False vs Cub and Xisuma at Dunk Tank, and the rest were sent to the Horse race.
Grian had his backwards skin on at this point and rode the horse with it, riding normally most of the way, but riding backwards to finish the race to make it look like he was facing forwards.
After the race, Scar changed to his Mayor Skin, and almost immediately Bdubs tried to be his right hand man again.
Impulse changed his skin to a buff Impulse skin before then changing to bald Impulse.
Tango and Zedaph crammed together under a trap door for some reason.
One of the donations was from someone using the name ‘EthoGirl’ making Etho hide in embarrassment while others made some jokes in good fun.
At this point they went to randomize another incentive, getting one for False to put her banana skin on. She didn’t realize she shouldn’t have put it on already, but she just kept it on and they randomized a new one, now getting one for False to put on her irl banana costume because the randomizer they had seemed to really want that with having two banana false requests in a row.
Pearl said if they reached 300k, she would put on an old man mask she had, which she did later put on.
Also around this time Pearl mentioned that the crossover between Empires and Hermitcraft would not be happening in the stream, though from Grian’s video that was posted during the stream, we can assume it’s instead happening in the hermitcraft videos themselves.
Scar showed off a Star Wars costume he had for trick or treating when he was very young. I believe he said it was from when he was seven, but I could be misremembering
They went over to False’s boat race, with Hermits debating on which boat type was best. Zedaph and Tango got in a boat together before the start of their race before getting in separate boats.
By the end of the race, Doc and Xisuma had gotten into boats that were being driven by a different hermit.
They reached 300k and pulled another random incentive prompt, that being for Doc to show how many diamond ore he had.
Doc brought the shulkers full of ore which were quickly opened and emptied by other hermits stealing the ore.
Impulse changed into this pink hair Impulse skin.
People asked for Grian to bring out the gong, and while he worked on turning off discord’s noise suppression, Ren started to explain to those who hadn’t experienced it yet about how calming it was.
He was interrupted by Grian bangging the gong loudly and yelling ‘Wawawawawawa!’ Watch a clip of this to get the full experience.
Grian then attempted to have everyone breathe in and hold their breath, but most of the hermits made various gasping noises, causing Grian to say ‘And we’re going to do that again because you all failed at breathing!’
Around this time was also when Doc threatened to blow the server up if he didn’t get his diamonds back.
They reached around 333k around the time Pearl changed to her original skin.
They were divided up into groups of four for four more games, then were told they would rotate what game they were playing after finishing their games, but that never happened.
Bdubs Tango Jevin and False played Derailed, Grian Impulse Etho and Cleo played Scaffolding,  Cub Ren Scar and Zedaph played Bucket Rush, and then Pearl Doc Xisuma and Iskall played Panda ‘Resue’ 
The hermits joked around about the misspelling of Rescue as Resue, and most people ended up referring to it as Panda Express.
Martyn joined the people at Bucket Rush to tp the players around if they died and give them the items they dropped or lost.
Martyn was also there to hit the lever to start the game, but refused to until Scar used the spyglass handed to him and said ‘A-Ha!’ instead thinging it was Ye-Haw and misreading that chat was saying Ye-Haw instead as there was a mix of people asking “ye-haw?” and others trying to correct it as a-ha, and it was a bit of a jumble.
With some of the games taking a while, after completing, they didn’t rotate and instead went back to the chairs to read off more donations.
Scar and Doc nerded out about how the helicopters from Scar’s Panda Rescue game was like a lego set they both had growing up and then went into talking about other lego sets, specifically when Doc mentioned almost getting a star wars one
Scar changed into his red double life skin before randomizing more incentives
Doc also talked about how his next project is going to be bringing the dragon to the overworld.
The incentives chosen were for ‘Landscaping Your Mind Chapter 7’ and Iskall to wear a diorite pogskall skin.
Scar read the chapter 7 snippet he was given, but had to look away from the hermits in game and hide his face cam to have the confidence for it. He also then finished the snippet and tried to make up more with little success.
Iskall came in with his new skin before being told to take the non-diorite pants off, causing him to leave to change the skin. He likely had to make a skin with diorite pants too as he was gone for a while.
Pearl changed to another old skin in this time.
Iskall also said that he was pretending that it was marble and not diorite as Bdubs calls it marble, but then False said the incentive said diorite, so it’s that. Also the addition of pants made it actually look like a dress
They moved to play Etho’s game Battle Bane, which was completed after ten years in the making. It was 4 teams of four, Jevin Cleo Cub and Xisuma on Blue, Doc Zed Tango and Impulse on Yellow, Pearl Scar Grian and Bdubs on Red, and then Iskall False Keralis and Ren on Green.
Etho stood on top of the dome in the center to watch the game, getting shot at a couple of times from players thinking he was someone on one of the other teams. Martyn, meanwhile, acted as an announcer for the game.
Impulse also changed into an exercise skin for the game.
After the game, they started to wrap things up. Grian headed off to bed, Scar got some extra oxygen, Tango and Zedaph stood on either side of Doc wearing his head to make chat call them a Doc Wither, and people returned most of Doc’s diamonds.
Almost three hours and forty minutes into the livestream, the donations reached 400k, sixteen times (16x) their original goal.
Bdubs made a joke about them doing it again the same time tomorrow which Cleo quickly shut down.
Doc saw there were still diamonds missing, causing Martyn to joke that “plot twist is I took them [the diamonds] all and I'm never coming back!” before proceeding to log out temporarily.
The Hermits then moved to leave the call and talk with their chats by themselves. Around then they were at 410k.
Doc ended up with all his diamonds back, save for exactly One (1) diamond ore, which was seen in Martyn’s inventory. He said it was his fee for reading the donations.
Martyn did not log out on his stream. He did log out as far as the Hermits could see, but he was not seen logging out on his livestream.
Instead, he made his way to Grian’s rift and got into the portal, flying into it and ending his stream the moment he flew into the portal itself
Also later when the donations were at about 417k or so, Martyn donated nearly 3k (2.8k) with the message '420 lol' to get it to 420k
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zeenimf · 10 months
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Phei of the Wind | Update
Hej everyone! As promised earlier this week I wanted to post a general update regarding my darling dearest Phei of the Wind. As noted I recently passed the 50% mark of the story in this draft! I've separated the story into four acts, and the first and second one have been completed. So far it's 55359 words spread out over fifteen chapters, which feels fitting for the 100k goal I set out to reach.
The third draft is very different from the previous one. The first thing is that the second draft ended at an important plot point where a sequel would tell the rest of the story. That has been changed, however, as I added a whole lot to the end of the story in order to tell it in just one book. The other bigger change is that Phei is a lot more knowledgeable about her role as a Sage, even if she has only been trained while she was a child. This allows the spirit / sage part of the story to roll out more quickly. This new dynamic, especially with Aspen's general anti-magic stance are interesting to write, and it allows Phei to connect more quickly with spirits like Selia. Generally I'm feeling optimistic about this version of the story.
That said, having written so much of the story also feeds a lot into my insecurities. Once you have written something it is truly out there. A story in your head isn't a finished one, and thus isn't good or bad. But a written story? That is out there, and you are very tempted to attach some sort of value onto it. So then the regular evil thoughts pop in, thoughts that the story is terrible, that my writing is terrible, and that it will never convey the emotions I need it to. It doesn't help with the loneliness that writing can bring, but I'll keep writing, don't worry about that! This story is going to be told, kicking and screaming if I have to. You can decide if I am talking about me or the story with that one~
There are still a lot of things I am changing even though I've made a proper outline. I have like twenty different things scribbled at the bottom of the doc that I will have to include later. I've also moved around some scenes near the middle part just to pace everything a bit better, which sadly comes at the cost of delaying Phei's meeting with [redacted], but since they technically are a character that has been introduced in chapter four already, it will have to do. That said, I am on pace to reach 75k words before I go back home to the Netherlands, so I'll keep working hard! I'll leave you with a little snippet from the last part of chapter fifteen, where Lyra offer Phei a choice: Help her out and receive passage east, or leave with no method of crossing the ocean that separates Phei and her destination.
Much love Katrielle~
-x-
“If you do manage to seal those rifts as you call them we would be most grateful. Having our villages back would be a lifesaver, even if only for the resources we could gather and to give everyone a spark of hope. Which brings me to my next point, what do you want? Why are you here? What are you looking for?” “I am only travelling through Dalen to go further east.” Lyra’s eyes narrow, the wasteland east beyond Dalen just that, a wasteland. “And how do you intend to cross the water separating those two?” That is not something Phei has paid attention to. She has seen the water on the map, but it had been so far away it didn’t seem necessary to plan for. “I can arrange passage, if that is what you want. If you promise to help us.” “I don’t have time to go around Dalen closing rifts, if that is what you are asking of me. I just can't.” Lyra shrugs, the issue of time not something she concerns herself with. “If you can clear the rift, we can continue to discuss things. Or if you wish to leave to try your luck at the coast you are free to do so, although I’ve heard the ferry services in Sundrop have closed down due to a lack of tourists these days.” Phei bites her lip, feeling her muscles tensing, her spirit growing wild. The sound of nails scraping into wood catches her attention, as she finds her own claws digging into the chair she's sitting on. She jumps up, the chair falling back onto the ground with a loud thump causing her to flinch.
-x-
Taglist for Phei of the Wind :
@ink-fireplace-coffee | @write-the-stars-and-shadows | @henrike-does-writing-sometimes | @ladywithalamp | @chazzawrites | @writingonesdreams | @generalblizzarddreamer | @peepos-prose | @writing-is-a-martial-art | @dahliaornelas | @ofbloodandflowers | @magic-is-something-we-create | @ettawritesnstudies | @47crayons | @writing-with-l | @strangerays | @snowinks | @the-orangeauthor | @waysofink | @houndmouthed | @midnights-call | @phantomnations | @teriwrites
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mermaidsirennikita · 5 months
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As someone who has recently sold her first book with 0 advance (extremely common around here and my publisher is a small indie one) reading your post about the Cait Corrain situation and having to imagine someone getting a 75k advance (!!!!!!!! I don’t even make that per year at my full time job!!!!!) for a first novel and not thinking they have hit the author jackpot is astounding to me. How is that kind of money not reassuring (apparently the usual advance for first novel with the biggest publisher around here is 1000€!)? Is the author supposed to reimburse the advance if the sales don’t match it in the USA? I know everything is bigger in the States but damn, we really live in different worlds.
Hi! Congrats on your upcoming release!
Just to clarify, indie publishers without advances do exist in the USA, as does, of course, total self-publishing, where the author puts in all the cost and earns all the money. Part of why Cait got a $75K advance is because she was published through, I believe, Del Rey, which is under Penguin Random House, a "Big 5" publisher. The Big 5 dominate the trad industry. I've seen some pretty solid authors published under Del Rey. I think screenshots indicated that she was comparing her advance to that of Danielle Jensen and Molly Chang. I'm not super familiar with Molly Chang, but Danielle is a fairly established fantasy author...? Who's presumably done well; otherwise, she wouldn't keep getting book deals.
But yeah, Cait's advance is pretty solid by USA numbers (if not pretty high). I think some numbers I read years ago indicates that the typical debut romance author may be lucky if their advance is around $5K-$10K. Cait's book was being packaged to be a more noteworthy debut. I personally think that a lot of authors have outdated or optimistic ideas about advances. Like, back in the day Stephenie Meyer got $750K for her debut. Advances used to be MUCH bigger. But a lot has changed since then. Publishers overpaid back in the day, and now they're arguably underpaying while also putting very, very little into marketing budgets.
So... what if she hadn't earned out her advance? A lot of the info I've found about this over the years is kind of older, but general wisdom is that, unless she's got some reeeeeally shady deal with a reeeeeallly shady publisher going on, she's not paying back the advance. It's basically an investment and a bet on the book. Lots of investors lose money on the businesses they invest in; but unless something is a loan, you're not paying them back. It's a loss. And it is hard for a book to earn out its advance; some numbers citing for authors that earn out are around 25%-30%. There is the cost that goes into making the book, the discount the booksellers get, etc. The sticker price on a physical book is way higher than the "take home pay". Furthermore, depending on the book, the publisher may have different expectations for how long it will take authors to earn out. AND publishers can potentially write at least some of that loss off on their taxes.
You're not expected to pay the advance back; if but if you don't earn out, it's very possible (likely in some cases, depending on your genre and publisher expectations) that a debut will be dropped by their publisher, series orders are cancelled, etc.
Plus... worth noting that advances are usually paid out in installments. Dirty little secret, there. Additionally, authors are essentially working similarly to freelancers, and are taxed in the same sense. I can attest, as a former freelancer lol... Those taxes hit HARD. So how much is the author actually getting paid, especially when you factor in cost of living, the fact that the author usually isn't actually able to devote their full time to writing, etc? Meh. But of course, a $75K advance is more than a lot of authors are getting.
And then you bring in the celebrity memoir, which, if it's for like... the BIG stars... I think Prince Harry had a $1 million advance, lol. Publishers bet big in very rare, usually celeb-based situations.
But yeah, a lot of authors don't really know this part of the game, it's super murky, not all agents are good at their jobs, etc. Plus, through semi-complicated math that I don’t fully understand, books are (allegedly) profitable for the publisher before the advance earns out. The writer just doesn’t necessarily benefit much from that.
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boysplanetrecaps · 2 months
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Build Up, eps 1-2: General Pre-4 Wrap
I hope you're enjoying my Build Up recaps!
This post is just my last few thoughts on the Pre-4 mission, including:
Best Sweater Award
My ranking of the performances
Some general thoughts on the show so far
Let's go!
Favorite Sweater Award
Ok, first things first: my favorite sweater. Here are the top 4 candidates:
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Geonu’s see-through layering affair 
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Hong Sungwon’s ombre blue frayed number
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Woong’s fuzzy argyle delight
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Bitsaeon’s shaggy, swaggy stripes 
I thought long and hard about this, my beloved dongsaengs. I cast the runes, I did a draw on my tarot deck, I asked the crows, but in the end it was all my heart speaking to me and saying that the winner is… 
Hong Sungwon! I just thought that I genuinely want to wear this sweater, like every day, so it wins. 
Will Sungwon please come up to accept your award? 
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“Wow, I never thought I’d win Best Sweater. Honestly, I didn’t even know this award would be given out! But um, I guess I’ll thank the ajuma at the clothing shop who told me I looked nice in blue, and I’d like to thank my roommate who told me this sweater went with these pants. And um, yeah! Thanks! This one is for you, God!” -- Sungwon, probably 
My Performance Ranking
Next, I thought I’d list my personal opinion on the song performances, in rough order. Please note, my preferences are based at least partly on the song itself so this isn’t necessarily me saying I hate your favorite singer. I can’t help but prefer “If You” to most of the others because it’s easily my favorite song among the ten. The fact that “Don’t Go” is ranked so high is a testament to the singing that overcomes the song.
I’m also including the number of views on their “full version” youtube recording, out of interest. View counts marked with a star (*) were up for three weeks when I posted this, giving them a bit of a headstart on the others, which were only up for two weeks.  
I think it’s pretty interesting that my top two faves also seem to be the internet’s top two faves!
Top tier:  If You 161k views* Don’t Go 203k views*
Middle tier (in rough order):  Sum/Breath  37k views Decalcomanie 31k views Ditto 75k views  Every Moment of You  66k views*  Tomboy 75k views  Beautiful 47k views 
Low tier:  Something Like That, 35k views  Shall I love you again?, 49k views 
Final Thoughts
Overall, these were 10 great performances, and I'm really enjoying this show. It's like, MNET lite -- much fewer reactions and instant replays, much less crying, much better singing. I wish there'd been a bit more variety in the song choices, but I guess if I were a fan of k-ballads, these songs would have felt quite distinct to me.
I hope that my nit-picking critique doesn't "yuck" anyone's "yum." Vocal quality is so idiosyncratic that it's hard to objectively say that one voice is "better" than another. That's like saying that home-made lasagna is better than Chicken McNuggets. Is it? I mean, it depends on what you like, right?
Also, even though I nitpick the voices, I do think that everyone on this show is here for a reason. This isn’t like Produce48 where a decent percentage of the girls literally could not sing. At all. Even a little. Couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. No, these guys can all sing and they all have something to recommend them, so if your favorite is my least favorite, I salute your good taste because I probably also like your favorite. I like all these guys. 
So, I'm going to keep going with these recaps. I might be a bit behind throughout because work is picking up, and my health isn't great, so please be understanding of any typos or little mistakes you might see. I just may not have time to proof-read these as well as I'd like to.
Thanks for your patience, thanks for reading, thanks for being a weirdo with me. Let's walk down that flower road to the end of the show! Kkeutkkaji!
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See you in the next one!
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curoopeez · 1 year
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Dreamblr and dteamblr there is a poll for mcyters pets. I'm gonna need you all to NOT submit patches as a contestant. Yes, she absolutely deserves to win, she's perfect, but the rest of mcyt tumblr won't see that, they'll just see dream's name and attack. It's bad and unfair, but there are a lot of drantis in the rest of the fandom. We are not going to enjoy ourselves there. So I really think we should sit this one out. We don't need this poll because patches already has a 75k+ notes post proving she is loved. For context, that's more notes than the scar x technoblade poll got votes
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succubusphan · 9 months
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Two Man Team - Chapter 1
Summary: This is the story of two struggling friends who after many trials and tribulations find their way back to each other and build the life they've always dreamed of.
Or how Phil changed his life by talking to random strangers on the internet.
Rating: E
Tags/warnings: Friends to lovers, Friends with benefits, mental health issues (mainly anxiety), Slow burn, Dan is a psych student. Canon divergence (the timeline is altered and some things never happened), Slutty Phil, Angst with a happy ending. The fic spans many years.
Author's Note: Written for the OSPBB 2023 @oldschoolpbb. Thank you @effingmeteors for being my life saviour and beta as usual and to my artist Lin @anironsidh.
Edits and the art will be added at some point, we are busy bees.
POSTING EVERY DAY UNTIL IT'S COMPLETED.
Total Word Count: 75k ish
Read on Ao3
CHAPTER 1: Somebody to Love
June 2005
Phil threw himself onto his bed and looked around at his neon green walls and carpet thinking how little time he had left in his childhood bedroom. He had one last summer in his hometown before uprooting his entire life and moving to York for uni. It was weird, in a way, to be in this sort of limbo where his basic education was over; he no longer felt like a child but didn’t feel like an adult either. It could be because he didn’t feel like he was fully himself, not to anyone he knew - not even his friends.
Could he really call them his friends if they didn’t know who he truly was, if he couldn’t share his attraction to boys like the others shared their crushes on girls and their flings? Maybe it wasn’t fair to think of them as near strangers, it was not their fault that he didn’t feel ready to talk about it. They had all been there for him his entire childhood and he still wasn’t ready. That was on him.
On the other hand, York presented him with a new opportunity, a chance to live his true life and finally get a boyfriend. That’s all he wanted, just - someone to cuddle with. Ok, also other stuff, but he wanted a proper boyfriend. It didn’t hurt to start looking now though.
Phil sat up and reached for his laptop, lifting the screen and connecting to the internet. He clicked on the Explorer icon and waited for everything to load for a few minutes. He logged into a random Yahoo chat room as per usual and greeted the 60 strangers chatting and sending emojis in the hopes of catching someone’s attention.
Snowdude: Hi. Anyone around 18? ;)
A private window popped up immediately.
DanTheMan: hi snowdude XD i’m dan
Snowdude: Hi. als?
DanTheMan: 16/m/reading. u?
Phil hesitated for a moment. It wasn’t often that dudes messaged him. Still, “Dan” was too young and still in school. Well, he didn’t have anything better to do than speak to him.
Snowdude: 18 m York. Are you in school?
DanTheMan: yeah just the A lvls to go. What’s ur favourrtie game?
Phil’s eyebrows shot up at the typo and he snorted. 
Snowdude: Final Fantasy 7 is ace.
DanTheMan: ace XD favourite show?
Snowdude: Buffy obviously. What is this, an interview? What’s your favourite subject in school?
DanTheMan: ouch, geography and psych and theatre.
Snowdude: hate geo, you act?
DanTheMan: don’t laugh. i always have but i’m cool.
Snowdude: nothing wrong with it. I’m a terrible actor. 
Looking at his ceiling, Phil felt bad for making Dan feel insecure by bringing up school, pointedly marking their age difference. He knew what it was like to be looked down upon by the older kids. He quickly typed another message.
Snowdude: I signed up to art because I thought it would be easy and almost failed. Seems like i suck at art.
DanTheMan: ROFL. ur weird.
DanTheMan: let’s be friends.
Snowdude: Lesbifriends
DanTheMan: forget it lol. I regret asking.
Snowdude: noooooooooooo 
DanTheMan: i have to go my mums calling. add me on msn i’m [email protected]
Snowdude: Rawr xD. ACe. Good luck with homework
DanTheMan: fuckoff with your capitalistion and good grammra ttyl
And just like that, Dan exited their chat. Phil smiled and logged into MSN, hesitating only for a second before adding his new friend.
Ian opened their conversation with a buzz as per usual and invited him over to play games with the girls. He hesitated, but another notification popped up and it brought a smile to his face.
GoThic chiK (Anja): coming or not phL?
Phil rolled his eyes, at least Anja would be there and even if he didn’t like girls like that, Anja was always cool. She was like a girl, but also not. Well, she was a girl of course, but she felt like a guy, but not - like him. He didn’t fit in as the kind of man his dad wanted to see in his son and Anja didn’t impress her mother either. Maybe they were losers but they still had each other.
Phil Strikr: omw Annie tell Ian
GoTik chiK (Anja): told you to stop butcherin ma name.
Phil laughed and sent her a buzz before logging out and getting into his favourite blue jeans and a green T-shirt.
--
The night went by in a breeze, with loads of pizza, drinking and a few rounds of TEG that ended in disaster. He mostly enjoyed it until the topic of dating came up yet again. All the guys had some sort of girlfriend or arrangement and Phil had barely anything to show for. For the umpteenth time, Phil considered coming out to them but he could never bring himself to do it. Maybe one of these days when he was drunk enough.
“Phil, Phil!” Someone said.
Anja snapped her fingers in front of his eyes, startling him and causing him to drop the dice he had been shaking for who knows how long. “Mate, what is it with you today?”
“Uh, nothing. I was just thinking about Buffy,” he said.
Anja gave him a look that let him know she was not buying it, but the rest rolled their eyes and continued with their conversation. For a moment Phil thought he was off the hook but Ian looked at him expectantly.
“What?” Phil asked.
Ian sighed heavily. “Sandra asked about you again, mate. When are you going to ask her out?”
Phil tried not to look like a deer caught in the headlights. “I think it would be weird to date your cousin, we are like brothers at this point.”
Ian snorted and shook his head. “We are like brothers but not actually. It’s not like incest or anything.”
“Ew, don’t say that,” Phil said, paling at the thought of Sandra and her wandering hands. He was not going to repeat the mistake of asking her out. One sloppy kiss was more than enough.
Richard, Noah and Keith laughed at the face he pulled but Ian merely smiled at him.
“Oi! Phil is mine, let him be,” Anja said, shuffling closer to him and resting her hand on his thigh.
Phil’s eyes widened but she gave him a small wink before looking back at their friends.
“What? Are you his girlfriend now?” asked Richard with a frown.
“Yeah,” she said, looking uncomfortable at the question. Anja didn’t like Richard like that, she loved him as a friend, but he had a huge crush on her and he was terrible at hiding it. Phil didn’t need to read her mind to know she didn’t want to break his heart or risk their friendship but it was bound to happen eventually.
Wrapping his arm around Anja’s waist loosely, he set his head on her shoulder. “Tell Sandra I’m taken,” Phil said and Anja relaxed against him, letting her head gently rest on his.
Richard looked disappointed but didn’t press the issue any further.
Eventually, the board games stopped being fun and the alcohol ran out so they declared the party over. As soon as Phil said goodbye and stood from his spot Anja followed him, making the others laugh and howl at them, half whispering about what they were going to do in Phil’s bedroom.
Once they were out, Phil turned to look at her. “Do you want me to walk you home?” He asked, hopefully.
“Nah, I was expecting to crash in your bed.” She began the walk back home and Phil followed her.
“What?” Phil squeaked.
Anja laughed and turned towards him, but her eyes looked a bit misty. “Don’t be daft, it’s not that.” She poked him gently, looking into his eyes. “I just feel sad and I don’t wanna be alone right now. I know I can trust you like that.” 
“Alright,” Phil said, still walking at her side. “Do you want to talk about it? What happened?”
Anja looked away from him, her eyes focusing on the moon for a moment as she spoke. “I was dating someone but they are not sure about it anymore and it sucks.”
Phil stopped walking and pulled her into a hug. “An- you know you can tell me anything, come stay with me too.”
“I know.” She returned the hug tightly only for a moment before stepping back. “Come on!” She said, grabbing his hand and pulling him along. “Kath will be fuming if we are not there before midnight.”
He snorted and laced their fingers together. “I’ll tell my mum you call her Kath behind her back one day, you know?”
“Meh,” Anja shrugged. “She loves me. I’ll live.”
They stayed silent for most of the 20 minute walk home and had to sneak in, but soon enough they were in his room. Phil gave Anja a big T-shirt and a pair of joggers and slipped into his own pyjamas while she changed in the bathroom. 
Five minutes later they were looking up at the ceiling as they lay under the covers in the small bed.
“Hey, Phil?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think Richard will get over his crush eventually?”
Phil turned on his side to look at her. “Probably, he has gotten over the others.”
She nodded. “Are you seeing anyone that you haven’t told us about?” she asked in a drastic change of topic.
Phil sputtered. “As if anyone would be interested.”
“You have pretty eyes and perfect eyebrows. I wish I had your eyebrows,” Anja said. “You should dye your hair black though, it would make your eyes pop.”
“I don’t know… Would you do it for me?”
“Of course, ginge,” She laughed.
“I’m not a ginger!” Phil whined.
“Course not.” She poked at his stomach. “Good night.”
“Good night, An,” he said and shut his eyes, letting sleep claim him.
---
It was a weird summer. Anja remained sad for the majority of it but refused to talk about her boyfriend, choosing to focus on giving Phil an extreme makeover instead. She dyed his hair black, took him to the mall to pick up black skinny jeans and to the stylist that had given her her emo haircut to tame his mane.
By the end of it, Phil had perfected a nice image for his MySpace page. He had even ventured into eyeliner for some pictures when he’d gotten bored waiting for Anja to get ready for a party. He’d enjoyed the results and even Ian and the guys said it looked cool on him. Even Dan thought he looked really cool when he saw the pics.
He got to talk to Dan quite a few times as well before going off to uni and caught up with life. It was amazing to learn that they were actually super compatible, liking many of the same games, music and shows. The best part was that Dan said there was a chance he would go to York like him so they could hang out and Phil liked the sound of that, even if Dan was still a full year away from it. Dan was honestly super cool and Phil really had come to consider him a friend in the last few months so it would be super fun to have someone close to hang out and play games with. It sounded like a great plan.
Daydreaming about their potential meet-up was a nice distraction from Dan’s home life, which seemed to be in constant turmoil as Phil came to find over time. There was a reason Dan barely mentioned his younger brother and he had vaguely complained about his father’s rage issues, so Phil always let Dan talk first, and let whatever was troubling him be aired so that he could offer his support or advice if it was needed. Phil also shared some of his issues and insecurities, but his problems were not nearly as bad as Dan’s so he tried to keep things on the positive side and help Dan out.
But Phil wasn’t expecting to catch Dan in a lie only weeks later. As it turned out, Dan had never been 16, he was a 14 year old kid. It was a silly lie, but it still hurt Phil, so he asked Dan to never lie to him again. Dan was very apologetic and begged him not to break their friendship, which Phil had briefly considered, but decided against, especially because of the kind of bullying Dan suffered at school on the regular. After the initial shock had worn off, Phil reassured him that they could be friends, even if they would have to be long distance.
Dan deserved to have supportive friends. He needed someone to be there for him and Phil knew he could be that someone. At an appropriate distance, of course.
It was a bit of a rough patch between them, but after they had resolved the issue, life went on as usual. Phil dived head first into his uni life and there were so many changes. He moved into the dorm and met new people at uni, but sadly, he wasn’t able to stay in touch with his friends back home as much as he’d have liked due to his schedule. In a way, he had inadvertently severed most contact with his life back home, but no matter how much things changed, some stayed the same: his lack of a love life and being trapped in the closet.
He decided that it was time to take his life by the horns and that marked the beginning of a new chapter for him, an exploring phase of sorts. After some consideration, he opened a profile on a dating website, hoping to find a nice guy he could date. His new look did seem to help a lot, but his popularity applied mostly to MySpace. The dating scene seemed a bit dry, or maybe he was just too awkward. There weren't a bunch of messages flooding his inbox by any means.
To be honest, he was starting to get really discouraged, thinking he would never meet someone, but his luck finally changed on a mighty weekend when in a hidden corner of a pub, he got his first taste of freedom. He was blonde and tall and three years older than Phil and his lips were on Phil’s, quickly taking him to heaven, making his blood rush south and his stomach tingle. His hands were inside Phil’s T-shirt and struggling with his jeans’ zipper in less than five minutes. It wasn’t too rough or something that Phil didn’t want, but the speed of it all scared him a bit. It was too much too soon and he wasn’t ready even though he wanted to be, so he took a step back and apologised.
“I’m sorry,” he said, still trying to catch his breath. “Listen, I’m not out yet, not even to my friends back home, my new uni friends or my roommates.”
The guy nodded and smiled at him. “That’s alright,” he said. “Could I get your phone number? Maybe we can meet up some other time.”
Phil nodded and saved it in the other’s phone, but he was not going to trick himself into thinking he was going to get a text. His chances were slim.
They parted ways with a quick kiss, which surprised Phil. He let out a deep sigh as he watched the blonde disappear into the crowd and surveyed the pub in search of his friends. 
Towering over most people did come in handy and allowed him to locate his roommates in under a minute. Phil tried to put on a brave smile as he made his way to them and accepted a beer, taking a zip and groaning at the bitter taste. It was performative and he knew it, but he didn’t know what else to do, so he followed along with what everyone was doing. He got drunk - and even made out with a girl briefly just out of boredom. 
He felt nothing, nothing at all, but his roommates cheered him on and the girl seemed happy enough. 
That made one of them.
--
Once back in his room, Phil put his phone to charge and turned it on. There were a few missed calls and texts from Dan, asking if he was free to talk. Phil got a bad feeling about it and tried to call him but Dan didn’t pick up. Maybe it was too late and he had fallen asleep. Biting the inside of his cheek, Phil hesitated before sending a text.
“I’m sorry I missed your calls, I was out until just now and my phone had died X.x . I’m free to talk in the morning!”
Phil lay in bed for what seemed like forever, the room spinning a bit around him, as he thought about the blonde guy, the boring night, the girl he kissed - and Dan. He wished he would have stayed home and talked to Dan, maybe played some games, or talked about school. It was sad that he got along better with a 14 year old than his own friends. What did that say about him? He fell into a fitful night of sleep just as the sun rose above the clouds.
The talk with Dan didn’t come the next day, or the following one. In fact, Dan stopped replying entirely for over a week and Phil’s stomach was twisted into knots. Over twenty messages unanswered could only mean bad news, right?
The following weekend, Phil sent yet another text: “Please, Dan. Just let me know that you are ok.”
Ten minutes later, his phone finally vibrated. “im ok. stop.”
Phil’s eyes welled up with tears. “I’m so sorry, Dan. I’ve been worried about you. I went out and had so many calls and missed texts, I thought something had happened and you needed to talk. It’s ok if you don’t want to, I just didn’t want you to think that I didn’t care. Sorry I missed your call.”
His screen lit up with a call immediately and Dan’s raspy voice greeted him on the other side. “Hey, sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s ok,” Phil said, trying to calm himself down, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. He swallowed thick and attempted a small smile, even if Dan could not see it. “What did you want to talk about?”
Dan was silent for a moment, but then he let out a tired sigh. “Nothing much, it’s fine.”
“You can tell me, you know you can,” Phil said with a frown.
“Last weekend I went to the mall and I had some problems with the usual shitheads…” he trailed off.
“Did they throw rocks at you again?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t care. And on Monday -” Dan paused.
“What happened on Monday?” Phil asked, frowning at the pain he could hear in Dan’s voice.
“One of the idiots grabbed me by the neck and slapped me for like 5 minutes,” Dan mumbled. “And I know what you’re going to say, one of the teachers saw and did nothing. He even laughed.”
“Dan,” Phil said, his heart breaking for his friend. “I’m so sorry, you don’t deserve any of that. I wish I could be there to help you.”
“It’s fine,” Dan said in a monotone voice. “I didn’t react, I didn’t want to give them that satisfaction.”
“It takes a lot of courage not to fight back. You were very brave.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Dan muttered. “Almost gave them another satisfaction.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m so tired sometimes, you know? Just so tired.” Then, Dan cleared his throat. “Anyway, I’ve been staying with my grandma since Tuesday, so I’m ok.”
Phil had to clear his throat too, trying not to get choked up by what Dan was implying. “You have to get good grades so you can get into uni and we can hang out, ok?”
Dan snorted. “As if you would hang out with me. You’re cool and I’m just a 14 year old loser.”
“You’re not a loser. You’re kind, and funny, and one of the coolest people I know. I know that one day you will be a great guy. Maybe you’ll be a famous actor, like you’ve always wanted.”
“Yeah… maybe,” Dan said. “Wanna play Mario Kart later? I have homework.”
Phil looked at the time, it was already late, but a few races wouldn’t hurt. “Sure. Text me when you’re done.”
“Thanks, Phil,” Dan said and Phil could picture a little smile on his face.
“No problem. See you later.”
“Yeah. Hey, can I follow your MySpace?” Dan asked.
“You can follow me anywhere,” Phil said. “We are friends.”
“Yeah, ok,” Dan snorted. “See you later, Philly.”
Phil rolled his eyes and hung up the phone.
Letting out a deep sigh, he decided to do the “adult thing” and study a little more for the exam he had the following morning so that he could join Dan online later. It was not a lot, but he felt better now that Dan knew Phil was on his side and he cared.
That night, Phil stayed on his DS until 4, but he managed to get a passing grade on the exam anyway. He rewarded himself with a 10 hour nap afterwards.
--
All through his first term at uni, Phil tried his best to keep in touch with Dan, but with his tight study schedule, the weekends pretending to be straight and attempting to not stress himself half to death with his new chaotic life, it was getting increasingly difficult.
Before long, Phil had to make a drastic choice. Something needed to change and he knew exactly what was the worst stressor for him: his straight-sex-maniac persona. And so it was decided. 
He invited his four roommates to their very limited common space and paced in the square foot of floor he had available to himself waving his hands around without uttering a word until one of the guys asked if he was ok. 
No, Phil was not ok at all, he was nearly crawling up the wall, so instead of giving a carefully planned and rehearsed speech, he stopped short of the wall, turned around and said: “I lied… I am not super experienced, I don’t have a lot of sex experience. In fact, I have zero experience, because… because I’m gay. I’m sorry that I lied, I just wanted you guys to like me, you are all so cool. I wanted to be your friend. I didn’t mean for it to get so out of hand. I-”
Peter got up from the armrest of the sofa, causing Phil to take a step back just in case, and gave him a hard pat on the shoulder. “It’s ok. We are all figuring things out,” he said. “Also, Sarah will be happy to know that you are not disgusted by her presence, you’re just thick as all fuck and gay. Right, Sarah?”
“You like me?” Phil squeaked, turning towards the popular blonde girl. She was super nice and also pretty, but she was still not a guy, so there was not even a chance.
“I do. I did, but it’s ok. We can be friends,” she said with a smile.
“We can?” Phil croaked.
Sarah nodded. “You’re a good guy, Phil. Why wouldn’t I want to be your friend? And the fact that you are not opposed to a little makeup also plays in your favour.”
Peter clapped once and rushed to the fridge. He got the Malibu out of the freezer, messily pouring the alcohol into various glasses and mugs and other liquid-holding implements before turning around to face the group and raising his glass. “To Phil, the gayest emo York has ever seen - and a good friend too!” He downed his drink without waiting for anyone else.
Sarah walked over to the kitchenette and grabbed a shot glass, raising it towards Phil with an encouraging smile. “Cheers,” she said and downed her drink. She then passed a repurposed laundry detergent cap full of Malibu to Phil. 
“Thank you,” he said, hoping that his eyes could convey the gratitude he felt. “Cheers,” he said and drank the entire thing.
Jimmy and Callan, who had been quiet until now, stood from the sofa and grabbed a mug each, raising them to Phil. 
“To Phil, the gay emo,” said Callan with a smirk.
“We can still be friends even if you’re gay and your willy is bigger than all of ours,” Jimmy said with a nod and necked his drink.
Phil laughed. “Stop talking about my dick, Jimmy. You saw nothing!”
“I will when it stops looking back at me every time you sit,” Jimmy cackled. 
Phil threw the laundry detergent cap at his head, hitting the target and causing the group to laugh.  Hours later, he crawled into his tiny bed and felt the effects of all the alcohol he had consumed rock him gently, like the waves in the sea. He let out a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his lips as he remembered how the night had started. His coming out had been awkward but still a success. Now he could truly be himself, at least in York, and he couldn’t wait until he was able to live his life fully everywhere.
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