Magister of Misery

Another quick post to share more fanfics!

I wrote these for fandomtrees and candyheartsex

Fairytale Gone Right, a Grimm Nick/Monroe action, true love's kiss ficlet for kalika_999

All's Fair, a Grimm Eve & Trubel action ficlet for empty_marrow

Toil and Trouble, a Grimm Henrietta & Renard canon-compliant convo ficlet for trobadora

Two (Love) Birds, One Stone, a Guardian Weilan fake dating undercover while secretly dating ficlet for china_shop

Off the Straight and Yarrow, a DC Comics Catherine Todd/Bruce Wayne & Jason Todd Royalty + Soulmates AU for Inkwell1013

And! I got this one for fffx, an exchange with a 10k minimum!

Caledonia, a Grimm Nick/Juliette/Renard (& Monroe/Rosalee) fic in which Juliette receives a mystical sword to turn her even more badass, including some wonderful medieval lore :D

I had the pleasure of creating three fics for this year's ficinabox!

Title: Keeping Secrets for kitsune_scribe
Fandom: DC Comics/Batfamily
Ship/Characters: Tim Drake/Jason Todd & Dick Grayson
Words: 2.4k
Tags: Secret Relationship, Cuddle Pollen, Oblivious Dick Grayson, Or Is he?

Summary: Hit with cuddle pollen, Dick crashes Jason's and Tim's date. Except he doesn't know that they're dating.

Title: Grave Mistake for NobleDragon
Fandom: DC Comics/Batfamily
Ship/Characters: Tim Drake & Jason Todd
Words: 8.7k
Tags: Eldritch AU, Eldritch Tim Drake, Human Jason Todd, Revenant Jason Todd, Temporary Character Death, Jason Todd's Resurrection, Jason Todd's Attack on Titans Tower, Tim Drake's Hero Worship, All-Blades, Enemies to Brothers

Summary: Later, Tim would wonder if it wasn't his fault. Jason seemed to grow erratic after their encounter, and not much later he left the country after a fight with Bruce. If Tim hadn't tainted Jason's bright soul with his own, would he still have fought with Bruce? Would he have left in a fit of rage? Would he still have died?

In which Tim is a Lovecraftian horror determined to bring Jason back from the dead. It doesn't quite go as planned.

Title: Revolution (Resolution) for Kalcifer
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters
Ship/Characters: Noah Kaiba & Mokuba Kaiba & Seto Kaiba
Words: 1.4k
Tags: Slice of Life, Return to life, School, Brothers, Character Study, Android Noah Kaiba

Summary: Noah Kaiba's miraculous return to life (and to school). At least he has his brothers by his side.

I've been really busy recently between work and family, so I didn't manage to post about this before creator reveals... but guys!!!! I got 3 (THREE!!!!) gifts in fandom5k! I am Blessed 😍 (I *think* I was double- or triple-assigned??? since they're all 5k+. But that has to mean 3 people liked my prompts so much they gamed for only me to write? I am so incredibly _flattered_ I cannot even)

Title: uncool by TechnicolorRevel
Fandom: Disney's Descendants
Ship: Jane/Uma
Words: 6.5k
Tags: Hair Dyeing, Insecurity, Pining, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Alternate Universe - Mal and Uma are friends
Summary: Jane has always known she's uncool. So what's she supposed to do when the coolest person she's ever seen comes to Auradon Prep?

I never expected to get this rarepair! That alone made me really excited (I've been shipping this ever since I wrote them as a bit of a joke and then I tricked myself into actually shipping them, they're barely even on screen together during the movies at all, I love them Your Honor). And it's written with such lovely attention to detail! Especially Jane's character development as her relationships with her mother and her crush grow are fantastic. It's very high school first crush vibe, with all that wallflower insecurity on Jane's side and that stand-offish "I've been hurt by the world and I won't let it again" vibe from Uma, it's very Grumpy/Sunshine lesbians in that regard. If you haven't read it yet and you enjoy those tropes, check it out! It should be easy enough to read canon-blind, the references to canon events are lowkey and only important in that they demonstrate Jane's character arc (and her self-image issues).

Title: Syncretization by Trobadora
Fandom: Guardian (TV) x Grimm (TV)
Ship: Shen Wei & Juliette Silverton & Henrietta
Words: 6.5k
Tags: Crossover, outsider pov, Episode: s04e12 Maréchaussée, Canon Divergence (for Grimm), Post-Canon (for Guardian), Hexenbiest Juliette, transformations, Wesen origins, Worldbuilding
Summary: "No," Juliette says again, "no," and then lashes out - wogeing, her Hexenbiest mien coming to the fore on instinct as her emotions surge. Her frustration and fury shake the house.

Shen Wei has planted his feet solidly, standing firm in the shaking. Most who aren't themselves Hexenbiests tend to find their woge both off-putting and frightening, and even those who don't know enough to be afraid have a visceral reaction. A living bog body, Elizabeth had said once, wryly, who wouldn't be frightened? But not this man.

This was such a fantastic crossover! trobadora and I were chatting about how these two world might mix when we both went and nominated this, and I love how we both settled on the same relationship to focus on 😂 I love what she did with Henrietta's PoV and character, she's such a fascinating person in herself and so rarely in fics! And the worldbuilding of how the Guardian world influences how Wesen came to be is A++. Spoiler for season 4 of Grimm, but if you love Shen Wei being sciency and badass, you should check it out canon-blind, too!

Title: Expectancy by tinypinkmouse
Fandom: L'Oreal Time Engraver Commercials x Deja Vu - Dreamcatcher (MV)
Ship: Time Engraver & Jiu & Yoohyeon
Words: 10k
Tags: Time Travel Fix-It, Time Travel, Worldbuilding, Time Loop, Alternate Reality
Summary: He can recognise the signs of his own work, if he closes his eyes, he can still feel the chisel in his hands, the patterns his hand had moved in. But this is not the face these marks belong to. He didn't carve them into this person's skin.

Ngl, didn't expect to get this crossover, either! I was gushing about how these two canons might weave together in a discord tinypinkmouse and I share, and I'm so happy she decided to give it a shot 🥰 It can easily be read canon-blind, and you should give it a shot if you like any sort of time travel or other time shenanigans! As you can see from the tags, all sorts of timey wimey nonsense happens in this fic, and it's so fun to see it develope and evolve :D

Links to Canon: Deja Vu MV (3:46 minutes) and Time Engraver 2019 (3:40 minutes) Time Engraver 2020 (6:28 minutes) commercials

All you need to know is that the Time Engraver character has at least a little bit of control over time, stopping it or winding it back to see what happened so he can then carve wrinkles and other signs of ageing into people's skin. And Deja Vu tells a (nonlinear? very open to interpretation) story of a Royal and her Servant who used to be close but then one of them betrays the other (or they both betray each other). The fun thing is that we see two separate betrayals, one in which Jiu is the princess/queen and is stabbed in the back by her loyal servant!Yoohyeon, and one where the roles are reversed. Tinypinkmouse picked up on the different ways to interpret what is happening in the MV and wove them all together into a single narrative that is fun to discover!

Title: Fractal
Fandom: Guardian (TV) x Grimm (TV)
Ship: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan & Juliette Silverton
Words: 5.5k
Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: s04e18 Mishipeshu, Episode 35, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Established Weilan, Juliette Silverton Has A Temper, minor Hexenbiest worldbuilding, Shen Wei is Overpowered what else is new, Mentor Shen Wei (Guardian), dark energy evolution, the evolution of Dixingren and Yashou
Summary: After Zhao Yunlan's trip to the past, he and Shen Wei are spit out of the wormhole in Portland. Waiting for their flight back home, they run into people different from the Yashou and Dixingren they know.

Meanwhile, Juliette is on her downward spiral of losing control when she meets something far more dangerous than a Grimm.

And that ^ is the fusion I wrote for trobadora :D Set a little later in season 4 of Grimm, having Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan run into a out of control Juliette and offering her a new way out. Spoilers for season 4 of Grimm, please check it out if you'd like!

bit late since I've been busy but here goes

I had the honour to write for the awesome trobadora for fffx :D! And got a wonderful Grimm fic from her in return <3

Title: Green-Eyed Monster
Fandom: Grimm (TV)
Ship: Nick Burkhardt/Sean Renard/Juliette Silverton with current Sean/Juliette and past Nick/Juliette
Words: 29k
Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence (diverges mid-season 4), Relationship Status: It's Complicated, Getting Back Together, Hexenbiest Juliette, Endezeichen Grimm, Case Fic, Kidnapping, Murder, Hurt Nick Burkhardt, Protective Juliette Silverton, Protective Sean Renard, Juliette is no Damsel in Distress, BAMF Juliette Silverton, Jealousy, Sex Dreams, Minor Character Death (no worries it's the villain OC)
Summary: When an Endezeichen Grimm comes to Portland, Nick has to face some uncomfortable truths about his own feelings.

Digging his nails into his palms wasn't nearly enough distraction. "I said, don't."

But Juliette wasn't done.

"What I’m doing with Sean, that isn’t about you and me," she insisted, and Nick whirled around to glare at her.

"You're fucking my boss. But sure, it's got nothing to do with me."

In between the deadline and with the generous help of my beta, I managed to add several scenes and rewrite the ending. Part of how I accomplished that was by promising myself I'd get to post the outtakes - which I figured, here is as good a place as any ;)

Earlier Ending Outtake

Noises in the hallway alerted Juliette to her incoming visitor. Tossing the third splinter she’d broken aside, she moved up to the door and picked up the chain’s anchor, getting ready to bash Jake’s head in. The door opened slowly, and Juliette tensed, then swung around with all her might—only to be met by air.
Jake was a tall guy, so she’d aimed high, hoping to do some serious damage to his nose or jaw. Instead, the figure ducking into her cell was slight and feminine.

“Jesus!” Rosalee gasped, eyes wide on the massive piece of chain that missed her head by an inch. Then she shook herself and turned to Juliette, dropping any questions she might have in favour of focussing on the situation at hand. “Are you alright?”

“Well, aside from this ball and chain,” Juliette joked, tossing her head to get her hair over her shoulder without having to let go of said chain. “Never been better.”

“Right.” Rosalee’s gaze zeroed in on the manacle, and she knelt down next to Juliette. “You’ve made some lockpicks I see.”

“I hate sitting around doing nothing.” Juliette shrugged, holding her ankle out for Rosalee’s inspection. “Not that it did me much good. I’ve got no experience with picking locks.”

“I do,” Rosalee said, throwing her a quick grin before grabbing a new splinter and setting to work. “Part of my misspent youth. Did I ever tell you about my last ex before Monroe?”

“Don’t think you did.” Juliette watched as Rosalee swiftly unlocked the manacle as if by magic. “You should teach me how to do this.”

“Sure,” Rosalee agreed, setting the manacle down. Juliette rotated her ankle, trying to get her blood flowing properly. “Once all of this has died down, you should come by the spice shop.”

Juliette hesitated. She remembered the last time she’d gone, how she’d unexpectedly run into Nick. She had avoided going since. “You’re sure?”

“You’re my friend, Juliette,” Rosalee asserted stubbornly, her expression filled with determination. “You’re always welcome at my shop.”

But not her home, Juliette couldn’t help but notice. So Monroe was still feeling a bit… sensitive, about recent developments. Understandable, she supposed, even if it left her feeling a bit raw at the implied rejection.

Gunfire from further in the building tore her from her thoughts. Rosalee Woged, ears pinning back.

“We should leave,” she urged, sticking her head out into the hallway. She gestured down the hall, where a heavy door stood open by a foot. “While Monroe and the others are distracting the Endezeichen Grimm.”

Juliette tilted her head. On the one hand, sneaking out the backdoor seemed sensible. On the other, she still owed Jake for her headache and the hours stuck in this cold cell. More gunshots echoed through the halls, and Juliette turned into the opposite direction.

“Juliette! Don’t,” Rosalee hissed, soft footsteps following her.

“No. I’ve had enough of men trying to control me.” She bared her teeth. “This Endezeichen bastard thinks he can mess with me? Think again.”

***

It turned out she’d been kept in the basement of an office building. Juliette wondered how Jake had gotten access, then pushed that thought away as unimportant. She stalked up the stairs, a nervous Rosalee on her heels, to find the ground floor an open office plan with dozens of cubicles. The overhead lights illuminated everything, eliminating the option to sneak up on the Endezeichen Grimm. Well, good. Juliette wasn’t in the mood for sneaking.

Movement caught her eye. There was Nick, ducking in and out of cubicles as he made his way towards her. On the opposite side of the office, she caught a glimpse of Monroe doing the same. Wu and Hank were stationed at the entrance door, cutting off the Endezeichen Grimm’s escape; that only left the basement for him to go. Briefly, she wondered where Sean was at, it was unlike him to miss the action. But then, perhaps he was simply better at staying out of sight.

“It’s over, Otis!” Hank called out, taking cover behind a partition. Just in time, as Otis—Jake? The Endezeichen Grimm—shot his gun again, once, twice, three times in rapid succession. His clip must be emptied, Juliette noted clinically, because she saw him duck around the corner ahead of her, crouching as he swiftly changed magazines.

He hadn’t noticed her.

Nick, however, caught sight of her as he moved to the next cubicle. His eyes went wide and he swerved, changing his path from going after Jake in favour of coming to her aid—aid that she had no need of. Abandoning caution in favour of speed, Nick left himself open in the path of the Endezeichen Grimm… and that, Jake did notice.

Everything slowed down. The Endezeichen Grimm raised his gun, aiming at Nick’s exposed back. Juliette could feel her heart beat with the rhythm of time passing, a double staccato for every second. The Endezeichen Grimm pulled the trigger, the bullet shooting out from the barrel with a loud bang!

At the same time, Juliette screamed, "NO!"

Juliette wailed her heart out, fuelled by desperation. No, no, no! She couldn't lose Nick, not like this, not with all the things hanging unresolved between them. She would not, could not confess everything left unsaid at Nick's grave. She refused.

Power exploded outwards from her, the air distorting from the energy. Juliette could feel it, every molecule floating around her, like ants under her skin. A twist of her fingers, and their path shifted.

More importantly, she could feel the bullet.

Eyes flashing black, she forced the bullet to stop before it could reach Nick.

"He's mine," she snarled, voice rough and distorted as it always was when she Woged. Juliette got to her feet, stalking forward until she stood in front of Nick, shielding his body with her own. "Don't you dare touch him.”

The Endezeichen Grimm stumbled backwards, eyes wide with fear.

"You, you— you're a Hexenbiest," Jake stuttered, gaze darting between her and Nick. "B-but. You… he…"

Hexenbiests and Grimms are natural enemies. Everyone told her that, over and over and over. Juliette had never cared less.

"What, afraid?" She sneered and twisted her fingers, feeling her power pulse.

Jake shook his head, scrambling for a weapon. He lifted his gun, but Juliette waved her hand and it flew right out of his hand to clatter down the stairs. Stalking forward, she raised her hand as if she were choking someone, and Jake rose into the air, feet kicking uselessly beneath him. For the first time in weeks, Juliette felt in control.

“This,” she snarled, pushing her hand forward and banging a struggling Jake against the wall, forcing him to hit his head like he’d hit hers, “is for kidnapping me.” Then, she tightened her grasp, watching as he fought for breath without success. “And this is for going after Nick.”

Jake gurgled, his movement slowing. However, Juliette refused to let go, stringing her power tighter around his throat. His hands dropped, his feet stilled, and still she couldn’t let go. It wasn’t until Monroe shook her shoulder, red eyes wide with fear, that she felt her power slipping out of her grasp. Jake’s body crumpled to the floor like a ragdoll.

Monroe swallowed under her intent gaze. “It’s over, Juliette. He’s dead.”

“Is he?” she heard herself ask, her voice dull and distant. Wu stepped forward, gun first, to crouch down at the unconscious body. Only once he gave a thumbs up did she dare to take a shaky breath, stumbling back a step. Monroe and Rosalee caught her, and Juliette allowed them to hold her up for one long heartbeat. Then she pushed herself upright again.

Just because it was over didn’t mean there wasn’t work left to do.

She turned towards Nick, meeting his wide, blue eyes. Swallowing her pride, she suggested, “We should talk.”

“We should,” he agreed, mouth quirking up at the corner, hesitant but real. “You, I, and Renard.”

That surprised her, but she supposed it shouldn’t. Sean was an integral part of the Hexenbiest side of her life, it made sense that Nick would want to include him… if he was finally starting to accept this new aspect of her life to be permanent.

Tears springing to her eyes, Juliette managed to press out a breathy agreement, clutching Nick’s hand.

As you can see, this is a less bloody or involved ending. I needed a good cut-off point in case I didn't have time to write more. I always intended to write the ending fight to be more "epic" (and bloody), with the intention of getting Nick hurt, to make Juliette's outburst of protective rage make more sense. And I also just really liked the idea of Nick leaving that place in an ambulance when Juliette had been the kidnapping victim and he the rescuer, a quick little role reversal to emphasize who the dangerous one is in this relationship (spoiler: both. it's both, but Juliette flew under the radar, so :D)

I'm glad I found the time to flesh the ending out and add more scenes (like Renard's little ritual! That was one of the last scenes I added because I could work around it, but I had to lead up to it satisfactorily first).

All in all, I had a lot of fun and am pretty proud of what I managed to produce! ^^ Thanks for signing up with me, trobadora, and for (re)watching Grimm with me!

Dancing

Dance class has been really fun! We're probably performing as part of a dance show in 2-ish months, and I signed up to be part of the group (it's voluntary). We've recently done the pre-chorus and first chorus of Zerobaseone's "In Bloom" (starting with the ground part where the lyrics go "cha~ange"), and we're now practicing Twice's "One Spark" the last chorus + bridge + dance break. The performance will likely consist of a mix-up of these two choreos, possibly a third, and I'm excited! Those are two very fun dances and I've been so eager I started practicing at home again 😂💖

Exchanges

rarefemslashexchange revealed authors this weekend, and it turns out the person I was writing for (vendettadays) is also the one who wrote for me! :D That was a fun surprise! Here's the fic I wrote for her:

Title: Tea Leaves
Fandom: Naruto
Ship: Haruno Sakura/Hyuuga Hinata
Words: 3k
Tags: Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Pining While Dating, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Sakura, Singer Hinata, Movie Star Sakura, Talk Show Host Ino
Summary: Hyuuga Hinata has an announcement for her fans: she is engaged, to action movie star Haruno Sakura.

And Sunday, fffx revealed the collection. I got an absolutely incredible giftfic I cannot recommend highly enough!

Title: Blut ist im Schuh
Fandom: Grimm (TV)
Ship: Nick Burkhardt/Sean Renard/Juliette Silverton
Words: 23k
Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: s04e14 Bad Luck, Hexenbiest Juliette, Complicated Relationships, Developing Relationships, Physical proximity, Intimacy, UST, Getting Together, Learning To Communicate, Learning to trust, Wesen of the Week, Bondage, Undernegotiated Kink
Summary: Juliette doesn't fit into this glass slipper anymore, and she won't cut off her toes to pretend.

I'm pretty sure I know who my writer was *hearts* and I'm just as convinced that who I wrote for is an open secret, but I'll let y'all in on it in two weeks at author reveals 😉

I'm going to take a break from exchanges (at least until or unless Guardian Reverse Exchange happens) and focus on some of my languishing WIPs. Definitely gonna try and finish In This, As In All Things, finish and post the Weilan Vampire AU sequel, as well as some Grimm, Castlevania and GYADL fic I have lying around 👀 and get back to work on the Weilan Arranged Marriage AU 😂 been working on that for over 3 years now, it's about time I get to it!

...or at least the bits I posted to Ao3 :D 21 works with a word count of 71,998 total! I'm honestly surprised, I thought it was much less considering how little I felt like writing between work and health issues sapping my energy.

I'll sort these by fandoms and within the fandoms chronologically from first posted to last.

Assassin's Creed II

Title: Return To Sender
Ship: Claudia Auditore/Desmond Miles, Claudia Auditore & Ezio Auditore
Words: 3.5k
Tags: Epistolary, Time Travel, Marriage, POV Outsider (as in Outsider on the Time Traveller PoV), In-Universe Documents
Summary: Over the years, Ezio and Claudia exchanged many letters. These are the ones concerning Claudia's husband, then-stranger, Desmond.

Deja Vu by Dreamcatcher (Music Video)

Title: All Our Memories, They're Haunted
Ship: Jiu/Yoohyeon
Words: 1.1k
Tags: Memories, Regret, Grief/Mourning, the Queen is dead; long live the Queen, Dark Yoohyeon, Murder
Summary: There are no witnesses to her ascent. There is no one she trusts not to stab her in the back.

Title: Our Love's A Curse
Ship: Jiu/Yoohyeon
Words: 833
Tags: Backstory, Happy with A Bad Ending, Off-screen Character Death, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Yoohyeon's descent into madness, Assassin Yoohyeon
Summary: Yoohyeon worked hard to create a perfect world for Jiu and herself. But perfection isn't forever.

Detective L

Title: Both Is Good
Ship: Ben Jieming/Luo Fei/Qin Xiaoman
Words: 1.5k
Tags: Relationship Status: It's Complicated, Pre-Relationship, Developing Relationship, Background Case, Post-Canon, Pre-Poly, Polyamory Negotiations, Insecurity, lbr they all have their issues but they love each other for who they are and that's what's important
Summary: The day before the police ball, Ben Jieming and Luo Fei discuss who should accompany Qin Xiaoman. Unbeknownst to them, she already made her choice.

Dimension 20 - Mentopolis

Title: Where in Mentopolis are the Prefrontal P.I.s?
Ship: Ensemble
Words: 800
Tags: Logic Grid Puzzle, Worldbuilding, Post-Canon
Summary: It’s the Grand Opening of Daniel Fucks’ new Emporium of Exquisite Pleasures, but none of the other Prefrontal P.I.s have shown up! However, through his criminal network, Daniel hears some rumours about what they’re each up to. Can you help him find them and drag them away from whatever they’re doing for this most important of all events?

Granting You A Dreamlike Life

Title: The Hero Returns
Ship: Hong Lan & Luo Fusheng, implied Duan Tianying/Luo Fusheng
Words: 826
Tags: Late Canon Fix-It, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, PoV Tianying
Summary: The first thing Hong Lan does as head of the Hong family is to order Luo Fusheng back home.

Grimm (TV)

Title: Back In A Spell
Ship: Sean Renard/Juliette Silverton, Nick Burkhardt/Juliette Silverton, pre-Nick Burkhardt/Sean Renard/Juliette Silverton
Words: 7.2k
Tags: Time Travel Fix-It, POV Juliette Silverton, former Hexenbiest Juliette, Nick is not a Grimm yet, Identity Reveal, Magic Revealed, Dinner Date with Ulterior Motives, Secrets
Summary: Going back in time has a price. Juliette will make damn sure it was worth it.

Title: Sting Of Love
Ship: Nick Burkhardt/Monroe
Words: 1k
Tags: Kissing Slice of Life Action/Adventure Wesen of the Week Episode Style
Summary: Monroe accompanies Nick on Grimm business.

Guardian (drama and novel)

Title: Growing Pains
Ship: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan & Da Qing
Words: 2.5k
Tags: Case Fic lite, Haixing-Dixing politics, set between Episode 4 and Episode 5, Early in Canon, Zhao Yunlan takes a bullet for a Dixingren Hurt Zhao Yunlan Protective Shen Wei (Guardian) Morality
Summary: During their most recent case Zhao Yunlan's superiors put him in a difficult position: follow orders, or summon Heipaoshi to hand over the Dixingren?

Title: Telenovela
Ship: one-sided Zhao Yunlan/Zhu Hong, background Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Words: 315
Tags: Slice of Life, Zhu Hong gets to be snake-y, Pining, Denial
Summary: Zhu Hong watches dramas in her free time.

Title: In This, As In All Things (WIP)
Ship: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan & Da Qing
Words: 13k+
Tags: Time Travel Fix-It, Time Travel: Post-Canon to Pre-Canon, Secret Identity, Identity Shenanigans, Established Relationship, Family Issues
Summary: Given the chance to right the wrongs of the past, Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei go back to before they met (again). But how much can they change faced with a very different SID than the one under Zhao Yunlan's lead?

Title: Ruffling Feathers
Ship: Zhu Hong & Da Qing & Ya Qing
Words: 7.1k
Tags: Post-Canon, Handwavey Fix-It, Yashou Politics, Case Fic, Zhu Hong and Da Qing team up to solve a theft, Yashou High Chief Zhu Hong, Yashou Worldbuilding, Mistakes Are Made, Zhu Hong is new to this job
Summary: Zhu Hong is more than ready to delay her responsibilities for old times' sake when Da Qing approaches her about his missing bells. But the case takes them smack-dab into internal Yashou politics and Zhu Hong's mettle as High Chief is put to the test.

Title: Two Of A Kind
Ship: Ya Qing/Zhu Hong
Words: 12.9k
Tags: Time Travel Fix-It, Pre-Canon, Yashou Politics, Yashou Worldbuilding, Pre-Relationship, PoV Ya Qing, mentions of the Time Loop, Background Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, mentions of the canonical ending, Antagonist Ye Zun, BAMF Ya Qing
Summary: Zhu Hong approaches Ya Qing with a warning from the future. Ya Qing is... intrigued despite herself.

Title: Freezing
Ship: Chu Shuzhi/Guo Changcheng/Ye Huo
Words: 507
Tags: Character Study, Missing Scene, Episode 19
Summary: Stuck in the experimental lab, Chu Shuzhi has time to contemplate his newest companion.

Title: Days of Splendour
Ship: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan & Zhaodad & Zhaomom (novel)
Words: 1.9k
Tags: Wedding Planning, Wedding Fluff, Post-Canon
Summary: Zhao Yunlan knows what he wants: Shen Wei, at his side, forever.

Title: Happy Hour
Ship: Shen Wei & Shen Wei's students, Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan & SID
Words: 975
Tags: Background Case, Shen Wei's terrible lies, undercover at a bar
Summary: A criminal, a professor, and a cat walk into a bar. The professor's students did not expect to be part of the joke.

Title: An Intimate Touch
Ship: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Words: 2.2k
Tags: YOHE, Facial Shaving, Hair Brushing, Hair Braiding, Almost Kiss, Domestic Fluff
Summary: Shen Wei helps Kunlun shave his beard.

Title: Gossip Mango
Ship: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan & Shen Wei's students
Words: 1.9k
Tags: Social Media, Episode Related (1-8), Canon Compliant, mentions of canon suicidal ideation and murders
Summary: Not only does Dragon City university have a great and sophisticated study program for many different majors, it also has a flourishing social media site for students to discuss their studies social activities recent events.

Harry Potter

Title: To Seek Knowledge
Ship: Hermione Granger & Luna Lovegood & Ginny Weasley
Words: 4.4k
Tags: Female Friendship, Spell Theory, Bullying, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Hogwarts Second Year, Golden Trio (background)
Summary: A precocious pre-teen on a quest for knowledge ends up changing the future. She even makes a friend or two on the way.

Naruto

Title: Adventitious
Ship: Haruno Sakura & Hatake Kakashi & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumak Naruto
Words: 5k
Tags: Developing Friendships, set after the Wave mission but before the Chuunin Exams, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, in which Team 7 grows closer and Sasuke doesn't defect, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 Have Issues (don't worry they're working on it), Mission Fic (sort of), no literal geese were involved in the making of this fic, in which Team 7 accidentally topples several villains' plans
Summary: To keep Team 7 busy, Kakashi-sensei sends his students on a wild goose chase. Much to his dismay, they actually find a golden goose.

长公主在上 | Zhǎng Gōng Zhǔ Zài Shàng

Title: By Your Side
Ship: Li Yunzhen/Gu Xuanqing, Li Yunzhen & Li Chenglin
Words: 2k
Tags: Post-Canon Court Politics Dom/sub Undertones Established Relationship Relationship Development
Summary: After tricking the Chancellor into publicly rebelling, Li Yunzhen retires from politics.

Hi! Haven't gotten around to updating this blog in a while :') time passes quickly when you're busy!

Life Update

I celebrated my birthday at the end of October, the first time I invited the entire (maternal side of the) family to my place since I moved in last November. It was fun, but quite a busy time, between baking cakes and cleaning everything up. I was glad I took a couple days off work before and after, or I would've been *really* stressed.

Among other things, I got the translated Guardian novel Vol. 1, a crotcheted lil dragon and new kitchen towels with a cute black kitten & pumpkin design :D!


(I invited some coworkers and friends for a second party, that's why the buttercream cake shows up twice!)

Work's been busy, too, with two co-workers calling in long-term sick. Hopefully one of them will make it back in December to ease the workload again, especially at this particularly busy time of year. Flu's going around as well - I caught the cold early on but managed to push on for a couple weeks, but finally caught the ear infection the kids are all trading between each other (that's what I get for helping out in the daycare section of the job RIP) so now I'm on sick leave. Fingers crossed I can go back to work on Wednesday, but right now it's not looking too great just yet.

The cases at least are interesting? One of mine is getting to the final stage, in a positive way, which is great to watch. Another of the new cases is a difficult nut to crack, but I'm hopeful to establish a good working relationship with them.

Dreamcatcher

They just put out a new short album! I'm very happy with all the songs on it, even if the fandom seems divided on the title track OOTD (it *is* a departure from their usual style, but in a very imo predictable way. They've been leaning into this style as far back as Odd Eye, with BEcause being the major exception. It's still very clearly uniquely Dreamcatcher in vibe and sound, with experimental mixing of genres into what otherwise might be Just Another Mainstream song. And the BSides have at least two very cool songs with more of a rock/metal vibe for any disappointed fans to make up for it imo.

I'm very interested in the whole... "fakeness" of the MV and concept. Like, they took a typical girl crush concept with a very retro vibe rather than high-glam-fashion and then the main dance outfits being those leather-jacket white top combos? It makes for an interesting visual, especially with all the car driving and motorcycle straddling. The "bts"/"editing" style of the MV also gives it a vibe of robotic/in progress - which really leads well into the surprise ending of the members going dead-eyed and killing the camerawoman. I'm excited to find out what the narrative idea of this Villains arc will be! But taken on its own, the message to me seems to read how fake the industry is, how robotic the girl groups, and Dreamcatcher ones more breaking out of expectations (as they have done since they rebranded Minx into Dreamcatcher).

Rising is absolutely my favourite of the songs tho, it's so catchy, and the whole "Ri-ri-ri-ri-ri-rising" is GREAT :D Shatter took me a bit to get used to - I immediately liked the melodic soft parts, but wasn't quite sure of the contrast to the "Bang It On Me" chorus. It's a very metal song in the same vibe of other woman-lead metal bands I love, while still uniquely Dreamcatcher. Definitely looking forward to learning the dance choreo to it and OOTD! (Though I'm still behind, I haven't even touched Bon Voyage and Demian yet *sobs* I need more time in the day!)

Exchanges

I signed up for fandomtrees - here's my tree! I requested three Kpop MV canons (Dreamcatcher's Deja Vu & Vision, and Loona's love4eva), three cdramas (Guardian, GYADL, and Love Between Fairy And Devil), the short (not quite indie) game "Song of Nunu" (a League of Legends story) and the DnD tableplay "A Crown of Candy" from Dimension 20.

I finished my gifts (and now, edits) for the ficinabox exchange, though I have some ideas of how to polish up one of them a bit more. I'm torn between picking up pinch hits, finishing any of the treats I started, or working on my other assignments.

Because I'm also signed up to fffx and yuletide_admin. For the first, I'm 2k into the story and have a strong idea of what I want to do with it; for the latter I just did a canon review to refresh my memories of the canon and am still brainstorming ideas. There's so many options, and I want to do all of them! :( why does the day only have 24hrs (and why do I have to spend so many of them at work, grumbles)

I've also been writing some more on my posted WIP In This, As In All Things, which I hadn't meant to put on pause for so long, but, well. Life happened *shrugs*. I'm gonna get the next three chapters done before posting (chapter 5 is close to done and I got a decent chunk of 6 going already), and then I need to figure out what I need to happen so I can wrap it up. It's always been one of the more vibes-focussed fics I've written, and the things I wanted out of it (confrontations of older!Weilan with Zhao Xinci) don't seem as plausible anymore now that I'm writing it. Or at least, the two different things I have in mind are vastly different in tone so I'll have to pick one over the other, le sigh.

Gonna try and post more again (and share my thoughts on Song of Nunu and Love Between Fairy And Devil, since I finished those two now) and soon!

I wrote 5 short stories for guardian_wishlist! I didn't have as much time as the last two years, sadly, but I'm still happy with the fics I managed and it seems like the recips liked them, too <3

Title: An Intimate Touch for velithya
Fandom: Guardian (drama)
Ship/Characters: Weilan (Kunlun/Shen Wei)
Words: 2.2k
Tags: Ye Olde Haixing Era, Shaving, Hair Brushing, Hair Braiding, Almost Kiss, Domestic Fluff
Summary: Shen Wei helps Kunlun shave his beard.

Title: Happy Hour for yilian
Fandom: Guardian (drama)
Ship/Characters: Shen Wei & his students, background Weilan, background SID
Words: 975
Tags: Background Case, Shen Wei's terrible lies, undercover at a bar
Summary: A criminal, a professor, and a cat walk into a bar.
The professor's students did not expect to be part of the joke.

Title: The Hero Returns for tehfanglyfish
Fandom: Granting You A Dreamlike Life
Ship/Characters: Luo Fusheng, Hong Lan, Duan Tianying
Words: 826
Tags: Late Canon Fix-It, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, PoV Tianying, implied Duan Tianying/Luo Fusheng
Summary: The first thing Hong Lan does as head of the Hong family is to order Luo Fusheng back home.

Title: Days of Splendour for lacommunarde
Fandom: Guardian (novel)
Ship/Characters: Weilan & Zhao Yunlan's parents
Words: 1.9k
Tags: Wedding Planning, Weddings, Wedding Fluff, Post-Canon
Summary: Zhao Yunlan knows what he wants: Shen Wei, at his side, forever.

Title: Freezing for amedia
Fandom: Guardian (drama)
Ship/Characters: Chu Shuzhi/Guo Changcheng/Ye Huo
Words: 507
Tags: Character Study, Missing Scene, Episode 19
Summary: Stuck in the experimental lab, Chu Shuzhi has time to contemplate his newest companion.

Now that rarepairexchange revealed the authors, I can finally share the treat I wrote for trobadora! (I was trying to pick up her pinch hit, but funnily enough, china_shop napped it like an hour or two before I was gonna xD)

Title: Back In A Spell
Fandom: Grimm (TV)
Ships: Sean Renard/Juliette Silverton, Nick Burkhardt/Juliette Silverton, pre-Nick Burkhardt/Sean Renard/Juliette Silverton
Words: 7k
Tags: Time Travel Fix-It, POV Juliette Silverton, former Hexenbiest Juliette, Nick is not a Grimm yet, Identity Reveal, Magic Revealed, Dinner Date with Ulterior Motives, Secrets
Summary:

Renard hummed noncommittally. "You're not Wesen," he switched tracks, letting the question of her knowledge hang between them. She'd dropped too many names and hints about his past not to be involved somehow.

"I'm not," she stated, even as the truth felt like ashes in her mouth. But I should be.

Going back in time has a price. Juliette will make damn sure it was worth it.

Thoughts on the Fic

I had such a good time writing this one! Juliette is my blorbo, and Renard is Trobadora's, so the first scene was practically me going "how can I smush these two together" :D Renard is such a deeply distrustful character, he would be hard to convince - and I honestly don't think he's quite convinced by the end of the scene, but willing to let it play out and see where it gets him. Juliette has made some good points and if he can get Nick on his side before he awakens his Grimm heritage, well. It'll be easier to build an alliance on that sturdy basis, and I feel like that's an advantage Renard wouldn't let pass him by. Writing the early seasons Nick who is all bushy-tailed and bright-eyed innocence was fun, too. Juliette was a bit of a guess work, based on what I've seen of her in the first two seasons and extrapolating on her characterisation there - the reason I went looking for the Hexenbiest!Juliette clips on youtube, since I know Dora likes Hexenbiest!Juliette best ;) I left the whole Eve plot vague because I have no idea what's happening there aside from Juliette's death and resurrection, so I figured if anything I say contradicts it, the future is just another canon AU :P

Also! The title. I wanted something that felt true to the show, which always involves puns and references to fairytales. "Back In A Spell" was too good to pass up, what with the implications of time travel and magic, but it also being a saying for "be right back"? Idk, it tickled me :D

Title: All Our Memories, They're Haunted
Fandom: Deja Vu - Dreamcatcher (Music Video)
Ships: Yoohyeon-centric, Jiu/Yoohyeon (background)
Words: 1.1k
Tags: Memories, Regret, Grief/Mourning, the Queen is dead; long live the Queen, Dark Yoohyeon, Murder
Summary: There are no witnesses to her ascent. There is no one she trusts not to stab her in the back.

This is the story I wrote when I discovered the fan theory that Yoohyeon kills all her friends and what we see in the MV are their ghosts! I don't usually write creepy horror stuff, but I love writing characters going insane or evil, so writing what amounts to Mad Queen Yoohyeon was *really* fun. Even if the fandom is super small and only my bff ends up reading it, it's a win in my book :)

Now that author reveals happened, I can finally share the fic I wrote for the lovely trobadora :D!

Title: Two Of A Kind
Fandom: Guardian (drama)
Ship: Ya Qing/Zhu Hong
Words: 12.9k
Tags: time travel fix-it, Ya Qing PoV, Yashou politics & worldbuilding, Antagonist!Ye Zun, BAMF!Ya Qing
Summary: Zhu Hong approaches Ya Qing with a warning from the future. Ya Qing is... intrigued despite herself.

"And what would you have me do instead? Nothing, like your uncle, like the Flower tribe? Just wait while the humans take more and more, wait until there's nothing left for us?"

Zhu Hong stared back calmly. Surprisingly confident. "I would speak to Heipaoshi-daren on our behalf."

Ya Qing's feathers flared in shock before she could catch herself.

I managed to treat Trobadora with a short lil epilogue/coda just before reveals, too! It's in chapter 2 :D

I actually guessed correctly that my gift was by the amazing ThebanSecretBand (one of the two people gifting me Guardian memes last Wishlist!)

Title: Honey, you're familiar
Fandom: Nirvana in Fire
Ship: Mei Changsu/Mu Nihuang/Xiao Jingyan
Words: 5.1k
Tags: canon divergence, fix-it, minor h/c, arranged marriage
Summary:

And in they walk: Jingrui with his city manner and his Jianghu style, Yujin with his refined clothes and his broad-faced grin. And behind them walks Lin Shu-gege.

Nihuang blinks. The man is at once unrecognisable and evident. There is nothing about Lin Shu-gege in his face, in his gait, in his height, and yet Nihuang knows him. Deep in her soul, she knows him. The boy she played with, the teenager she flirted with, the man she loved. He could not be Lin Shu-gege, because he was nothing like him and Lin Shu-gege was dead. He could not be anyone else.

*

“Who are you?” he demands.

And then xiao-Shu stands up and looks him in the eyes.

It is nothing. A trick of the light. Jingyan has run into xiao-Shu in the face of strangers hundreds of times. He’s been a ghost turning a corner, just out of reach.

And yet… And yet. Those ghosts who had not been xiao-Shu had had a familiar angle to their jawline. A familiar curve to their nose. A familiar joy in their smile.

This man has none of these. He simply is.

Sadly, I didn't have much time to read through the collection - I still have several fics open in tabs I didn't get to - but I can certainly recommend this handful of fics:

• Blackmail Is An Ugly Word, a Naruto, Team 7 time travel fic that is hilarious. It definitely doesn't take itself to serious in the best ways!


• The Friend Trap, an Untamed fic which was incidently written for ThebanSecretBand, by nirejseki. It's an Unpowered, Historical AU in which Nie Huaisang tricks Jin Guangyao and Nie Mingjue into working together to mend the rift between them after Events (TM). Incredible worldbuilding and good characterisation!


• Both The Witcher fics were pretty decent, both dealing with the aftermath of the Mountain Break-Up.
  but if I'm moving a mountain has Yennefer and Jaskier hooking up to make Geralt jealous, only to somehow end up in an OT3 with him


• and One Blessing by nununununu has some-being overhear Geralt and dropping Jaskier into a new little adventure (and Geralt jumping in immediately to rescue him)