X Never Marks the Spot

The sundial_exchange went live last Friday and now is up to an incredibly 171 works and counting! Guardian had a great showing but The Lost Tomb came in a strong second.

My gift was amazing:

A Tolerance for Pain (18470 words) by marycrawford
Chapters: 3/3
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Shen Wei (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan, Da Qing (Guardian)
Additional Tags: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Presumed Dead, Not Really Character Death, set after Episode 23 (the one with the Kitchen Scene), Canon Divergence, Magical Exhaustion
Summary:

Shen Wei faced the storm and let it break around him. In the center of catastrophe, he closed his eyes. He could hear no heartbeats, could feel no life around him other than his own.

Zhao Yunlan. Where are you?

18K of presumed dead!!! and other angst!!! Shen Wei being totally metal and then getting to nap (in Zhao Yunlan's arms, of course) -- I could not have asked for more (actually I didn't, I totally forgot to put "presumed dead" in my wants, but marycrawford is a mind-reader among her other skills and knew just what I want!) Plus the resolution of the antagonist is just what I like (Zhao Yunlan, you softie) and there are tasty bits of headcanon for flavor throughout -- so good!


And I also! got treats?!

Cover art for my story "How to break up with your boyfriend" by naye
Such an adorable image, with the blog title and everything, and HAH Zhu Hong! Such the perfect attitude!

Fanart: Traces in the snow by yue_ix
Gorgeous Zhao Yunlan h/c that manages to tell a whole story in a single image (Shen Weeeeiiiii come rescue your boyfriend stat!!)


I wrote a The Lost Tomb Reboot post-canon fic for laireshi, who has the most excellent taste in h/c, and Xiaoge hides pain with the best iron woobies (until he can't):

Nor Shall the Flame Scorch You (11546 words) by Xparrot
Fandom: 盗墓笔记重启 | The Lost Tomb Reboot (TV), 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | The Grave Robbers' Chronicles - Xu Lei
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Wang Pangzi & Wu Xie & Zhang Qiling, Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling
Characters: Zhang Qiling, Wu Xie (DMBJ Series), Wang Pangzi
Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Action/Adventure, Post-Canon, Poison, Fever, Peril, just constant peril, Xiaoge Has a Bad Day, Tombs Are Very Dangerous, especially when your resident badass is down for the count, (technically it's a temple but who's counting), Iron Triangle feels

The bronze needle was tiny, not three centimeters long and without even a tuft of feathers to mark it. Zhang Qiling closed his fingers around it, plucked it from his biceps and tossed it away.


I've been working through the rest, should do some recs later!

--But don't miss naye's TLTR vid! I've been waiting for this one to come out since she finished it. If you know the Iron Triangle, here is 3 minutes of solid squee; and if you don't know them yet, find out why you should if you're an h/c fan:

[vid] I'll Wait (314 words) by Naye Visuals
Fandom: 盗墓笔记重启 | The Lost Tomb Reboot (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Wang Pangzi & Wu Xie & Zhang Qiling
Characters: Wu Xie (DMBJ Series), Wang Pangzi, Zhang Qiling
Additional Tags: Fanvids, Iron Triangle feels, Any configuration you want them, It's all about the love, Also about the whump and the holding, Hurt/Comfort, Friendship/Love, Video Format: Streaming, Video Format: MP4
Summary:

3-minute fanvid celebrating the love the Iron Triangle have for each other.

I'll wait, I'll wait to be the one
To catch you when you're falling
Always, always, I'll be the one
To answer when you're calling

This is basically just copied from my signup for sundial_exchange, but I'm making a post so I'm able to add to it if need be!

( Read more... )

Life continues to be very busy but it's currently feeling...manageable? Yay for longer days, and for coffee & tea, and for getting to introduce things like Toy Story to kidlets for the first time (though the climax of Toy Story 3 was too intense and required cuddles. Aww.)

Plus, after almost three weeks of not writing a word, I seem to have found my way back to a few of them! And returned a fic I've been working on for over a year now. Does it still make sense? I don't even know! But I like the story (for the aaaaaaangst) and hope to someday share it in more than a few random pieces.

Until then, though -- another random piece:

Da Qing nodded. "Lao-Zhao's worried about the same thing. But what could they try this late anyway? If we sleep now, then we'll be awake later to catch them, whatever they're up to."

Which was uniquely feline logic, but Shen Wei could not deny that a little rest might be restorative. Or else that was just his own weakness--of his injured lung, and his heart too, when Da Qing said, imploringly, "Come on, Lao-Zhao will want me to tell him you got some sleep, and I hate lying to him..."

That was asking too much, perhaps; but Shen Wei at least changed into pajamas. He didn't go to the bedroom, though, but sat back down on the couch to meditate.

Da Qing grumbled, but sat down beside him, round and furred. Curling up with his curving spine pressed against the side of Shen Wei's leg, he said softly, "Shen-laoshi--it's going to be okay."

The last few weeks have been very confusing for me writing-wise because somehow my brain decided to deal with all the stress and disruption of present times by making me write porn. Which is pretty normal stress-relief for a lot of people, but I...am just not into smut? For the longest time I've said I'm both the worse gen fan ever because I have so many ships; but also the worst slash fan because while I love romance, I always just skim the sticky bits.

I've been writing explicit stuff on occasion for years now -- I actually enjoy writing it more than reading it, have never figured that one out -- but this run I think is about the most I've ever written at once (...and I think it's pretty tame stuff really, but it feels like A Lot to me ^^;;;)

But I seem to be working it out of my system because last night I went back to an old and much-loved trope wheelhouse and wrote pure angst and ahh, it was very nice! Not sure yet what I'm going to do with this, if anything. But there was some talk on Twitter a bit ago about presumed dead and how there wasn't enough of it in Guardian fic, and this is a variation on one of the ideas that came up...

( Read more... )

I started writing this last month, when I needed some escapism from life getting stressful, and now just about everyone can use a little escapism, so...

Flowers & Grass (9820 words) by Xparrot
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shěn Wēi/Zhào Yúnlán
Characters: Shěn Wēi, Zhào Yúnlán
Additional Tags: Action/Adventure, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Altered Mental States, Magic Pollen, not exactly sex pollen, much to Zhao Yunlan's disappointment
Summary:

Zhao Yunlan studied Shen Wei's face in the flashlight's reflected glow. "Just how high are you right now?"

Shen Wei blinked. "We're quite deep underground," he pointed out.

Things have been stressful lately and I haven't been writing, which really doesn't help my stress levels. I started this and then haven't gotten back to it but I'm posting it here in hopes of prodding myself.

...And yeah, stress means self-indulgence, which means...I believe the formal term is "back on my bullshit." :P

"Shen Wei?" Zhao Yunlan tilted the flashlight up toward his face, and Shen Wei raised his free hand to shade his eyes.

"Shen Wei, why aren't you wearing your breathing mask?" Zhao Yunlan demanded.

Shen Wei blinked back the momentary sparkles to look at Zhao Yunlan's face--his eyes were narrowed, echoing the inexplicable alarm in his voice. "My what?"

Zhao Yunlan reached to the annoying encumbrance hanging around Shen Wei's neck, gave it a tug. "Oh," Shen Wei said, "that--I couldn't properly smell the fragrance with it on."

"Yeah," Zhao Yunlan said, "wasn't that the point?"

Shen Wei tried to think. He had a vague memory of Lin Jing explaining something while giving them the masks, but the details slipped his mind now. But Zhao Yunlan was looking at him expectantly, so he hazarded, "Yes, that was the point."

"But then you took off the mask to better smell the murder flower's poison pollen."

"Yes, I did," Shen Wei confirmed, relieved to be on more certain ground.

Happy holidays & season's greetings!

I've been blocked with writing lately so haven't had much to post...but I've been trying to force myself to write at least a couple hundred words a day, and though I'm frustrated with them, that's 3K more words than I had last week, so that's something! And last night I was plotting out my sundial_exchange fic and think I have something workable.

This is my angst fic, which I'm back at work on...only it's gone all plotty on me and now Xiao-Guo is undercover and Zhu Hong and Shen Wei have been debating Dixing-Yashou politics and I don't even know. But there is some angst still...

Shen Wei moved his trembling fingers, typed into the phone, You shouldn't risk this, Zhao Yunlan.

Then he stared at those stark words, and wrote beneath them, I miss you too.

Just a few characters--they weren't enough. But then, as spoken words they would still be inadequate. Far too small things to encompass the hollowness of the last few days--the fear of not knowing, the yawning emptiness.

He'd lived for years without Zhao Yunlan--waiting for Kunlun, for that promise to be fulfilled. He'd known loneliness, and the constant tug of yearning.

But that was nothing to this now--now, when he knew what it meant to have a life with Zhao Yunlan. Not just stolen moments between battles and nights hidden from the others, but to share work, meals, a bed. To make for him a home, and live in it with him, and know he would be coming back to it every night--Shen Wei hadn't realized how completely he had acclimated to it. Begun to expect it, to rely on it, in some deep unconscious part of himself. So to be deprived, even for those few days--to face that he might never have it again, no longer even waiting, but just--

The phone buzzed: I miss you so much, Xiao-Wei

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate, and happy fanning likewise!

--And I am planning on doing days 4-6 of WeiLan week eventually, but for now:

Weilan Week 2019 day 7 prompt: Say one Weilan/Guardian thing you're grateful for, and wish Guardian a happy birthday!

Happy birthday, Guardian! I'm grateful to be in a fandom with so many other creative people to collaborate with and enjoy what they make!

Such as my marvelous naye, who recently got into reading podfic -- and not only did she read several of her own awesome stories (I especially enjoyed her poetical rendition of This heart I gave you to hold is still beating), but two of mine as well:
Scars, and 'Twas Brillig -- which is over 20K words; the podfic is almost two and a half hours long!! I think it works even better in audio form, especially the end; the first time you actually hear Shen Wei's name is so affecting.

Then, frith_in_thorns is almost done posting Goblin Fruit, just one chapter to go, and I...cannot give a coherent rec of this fic, it is such a direct shot to my id, the most incredible mix of angsty h/c and devotion and magic-drug-altered POVs. But so much gratitude to Frith for letting me pre-read/beta and putting up with reactions that were 40% incoherent gibbering, 40% ridiculously overthinking nitpicking, and 40% shameless begging for even more (yes that's 120%. I'm so sorry, Frith! ^^;;;)

Finally, dzenka , who translated several of my fic into Russian and has been sharing with me a taste of the squeeful, seagull-screeching crack that is the Russian Guardian fandom (e.g. a Black-Cloaked Envoy vid...to the Darkwing Duck theme...in Russian) and is now posting their first English-language fic (a translation of their own fic from the original Russian) which I am helping beta: Where All the Light Burns Out, a long fix-it that diverges from canon in the last episodes, and I am so looking forward to seeing where it's going!

Weilan Week 2019 day 2 prompt: What do you love the most about Weilan?

The MOST? Ask a fan to choose one thing about her OTP?? Impossible!

But if I must...I think my favorite thing about them is their fantastic compatibility. Which cheatingly covers a whole range of things, but it's what makes them so satisfying. Especially because they're people who on the surface don't seem that compatible. They can come across as an opposites-attract couple because their exterior presentations are so different, between Shen Wei's ultra-reserved, iron-willed control and dignity, with his rigid posture and rigorously tailored suits and his actual literal mask; contrasted to Zhao Yunlan's casually insouciant slouching and scruffy distressed jeans, his aggressively informal attitude toward public and personal space and his easily expressed moods.

Except that there's so much more with them that is shared and mutual, when you look at little closer. ( Read more... )

No Sunday Snippet, but a followup to my last Snippet that I was so embarrassed about -- I went ahead and posted it anyway. It is in turn a sequel to a fic I did for my h/c comment-fest:

Out of Focus features Zhao Yunlan dealing with an accidentally hopelessly inebriated Shen Wei, thanks to the world's most contrived plot device.

Focus Pull doubles down on this with a deliberately but (eventually) just as hopelessly drunk Shen Wei, with bonus drunk Zhao Yunlan...for 20K words of lightly humorous fluff, which is the sticking point that had me hiding under my figurative bed. Characters getting trashed is its own genre of fic, but not for this long? Because most stories need, like, an actual plot to reach that wordcount? Or else a lot of porn? ^^;

( so yeah, the drunk-fic trope... )

In conclusion...people should write more drunk Shen Wei! (You might think after this I'd have it out of my system. You would be wrong...)