wip titles meme

[achray]

Meme (borrowed from teyla):
"Here's a list of my WIPs (exact title of the documents, no fibbing) and you can ask about the ones you're curious about.
Pick any you're interested in, and I'll tell you about them and post a snippet!"

This is a good though slightly depressing meme. I'm not sure if I have fewer WIPs than I thought, or if I've just forgotten a lot of them exist and can't find them (probably the latter, I think anything from Sherlock has vanished into the mists of the past). My file titles are very unrevealing, in case recent file titles accidentally become visible on screen during a Zoom call or whatever.

Some of these I'm ashamed to say I have posted parts of, and yet have still not finished. Anything from the last year is reasonably likely to get finished, anything lower down this list, sadly not.

undercoverguardian - Guardian
Weilan wedding - Guardian
wolves - Guardian

LF - Granting You a Dreamlike Life

LTR romance - Lost Tomb Reboot

Dreams may come - Untamed

EQ & A - The Magicians
Q40 - The Magicians
lupercalia - The Magicians

SC - Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji
Up to the Mark - Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji

F/M - Daredevil (TV, S1)

Harry/Molly - Sherlock

I keep forgetting DW exists, but hope everyone on here is doing well in 2021!

Comments

[teyla]

I vaguely know what the Guardian wolves one is about, but I would love a snippet!

[achray]

You do know what it's about! This one stalled because I missed the posting period for the Lupercalia challenge, and also because it turns out it is hard to write wolf behaviour when you know nothing about dogs, who knew. Maybe it'll get done for the 2022 challenge. Here's the opening:


The first time Zhao Yunlan met his wolf, he was ten thousand years in the past and so far out of his depth that he was ready to roll with anything. Or so he thought. The wolf was still a surprise.

“Kunlun’s brother fought his way through to bring us the news,” Ma Gui had said to him, after they’d explained the basic plan and got Zhao Yunlan all dressed up and ready to fake it. “He’s recovering in the room we’ve assigned you. He will not grieve as we do, of course, but he has still lost his brother. We hoped he might nevertheless – be prepared to accept you.”

“His brother?” Zhao Yunlan blinked. “Accept me for – what, exactly?” There had been a meaningful emphasis in Ma Gui’s words which was ringing alarm bells, and he hadn’t bargained on throwing a bereaved family member into his act as Kunlun.

“Ah, sorry. His wolf-brother, I mean. If you and he could form a bond…” Ma Gui looked over at the fire, where a very large wolf was lying sleeping, and the wolf raised its head and looked back at him. Ma Gui’s face grew fond.

Zhao Yunlan looked between them. “That’s – your wolf, then?”

“He is my brother, yes. As I am his.” Ma Gui frowned at him, with some dismay. “This is no longer familiar, in your time? The Lord Guardian does not have a wolf-brother?”

“Definitely not,” Zhao Yunlan said firmly.

“The wolves are gone, then?” That was Fu You, who sounded still more dismayed, and sad. “I suppose, in your world, there was no place for them.”

Zhao Yunlan opened his mouth to tell them about Hei Pao Shi’s wolf, and then closed it again. He was still very new here, and he wasn’t entirely sure how much of the future it was safe to reveal.

“Would you be prepared to try, Lord Guardian?” Ma Gui said. “We understand, of course, if you feel that you cannot.”

“Sure.” Zhao Yunlan shrugged. Adopting a giant wolf for however long he was here? Given what he’d already seen of the fighting, he’d take any help he could get. And it didn’t look as though Ma Gui’s wolf was causing him much trouble.

No more than Shen Wei’s wolf caused trouble for him, back home.

[tinny]

Weee, yes! The wolf fic! I am looking forward to it!

I know nothing whatsoever about wolves (or dogs), so any "wrong" characterization will not be a problem for me. :DD

[nnozomi]

Well, you already know how fond I am of your LTR fics, and the Guardian not-titles sound intriguing. Otherwise, anything you want to show off, or alternately to administer a kick in the pants to...

Also, My file titles are very unrevealing, in case recent file titles accidentally become visible on screen during a Zoom call or whatever. made me laugh. The explanations could be troublesome!

[achray]

One time I accidentally saved the LTR fic about train sex into a shared work folder and didn't notice for 2 minutes, I was very grateful I'd titled it "Train".

The LTR fic I'm stuck on has been in progress for months. I'm stuck on it because the plot, such as it is, depends on sex scenes and these are harder to write. Also I go back and forth on whether I like the whole concept in this one. It's a Wu Xie/Pangxi fic in which they accidentally-on-purpose end up having the best sex of their lives with each other. Because Pangzi always ought to have more fun <3 Here's an extract:

Wu Xie smiled at him. The soft glow of the candlelight flattered him, and Pangzi took a moment to appreciate that he looked healthy, and contented, and that they were both warm and well-fed and listening to tinkling music over an upscale dinner, rather than in a freezing cold tomb, or blazing desert, or in a jungle or forest fleeing any variety of horrible creatures.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Wu Xie said.

There was something in his tone, his phrasing, that Pangzi recognized. After a moment of trying to place it, he realized that it was the way Wu Xie spoke when he was trying to charm someone into doing something suspect. He looked round the place again, and reconsidered this evening’s whole scenario, more carefully. He was missing something big here, he could tell.

“Tianzhen,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “All this wining and dining. Did you invite me on a romantic date and forget to tell me?”

Wu Xie’s expression, alarmingly, could only be described as caught out. Pangzi had been ready to tease him more, but he could feel the smile slipping off his face.

“What if it was a date?” Wu Xie said.

Pangzi felt his mouth fall open. “You what?”

Wu Xie bit his lip. “I mean, maybe it could be. Sort of.”

Pangzi picked up his glass of wine, and drained it, grimly, which was an insult to the wine but seemed necessary. He sat back in his chair and folded his arms.

“Why don’t you explain what’s going on with you, hmm?” he said.

Wu Xie sighed, as though Pangzi was being the unreasonable one. He fiddled with his own wine-glass.

“I thought we should try having sex,” he said.

Luckily, Pangzi had finished the wine, or he would have either choked or spat it out on the nice white tablecloth.

“What the fuck,” he hissed, after he’d taken a couple of moments to recover.

“If you think about it, it makes sense,” Wu Xie said. “We do everything else together. You’re, like, putting time and effort into looking for women to date and to sleep with, when we could just—"

“Stop right there,” said Pangzi, holding up a hand. “Tianzhen. Do you think there might be any major fucking flaws in this plan? For instance, unless I’ve missed something substantial, you have definitely not been lusting after me for the decades in which we’ve been running round together.”

Wu Xie opened his mouth like he was about to say something, and Pangzi gestured that he wasn’t finished.

“Also, you already have a boyfriend? Partner. Husband. Whatever.”

Wu Xie leaned forward. “I have two,” he said. “But I’m only fucking one of them.”

[nnozomi]

Oh, that last line! ♡♡♡ Wu Xie, no fair making Pangzi cry in the middle of a fancy restaurant. (I'm picturing Wu Xie in a very elegant suit with his tie loosened just so, and Pangzi also in a tailored suit but worn over a Hawaiian shirt...). This is great. Keep us posted.
(Also amused by the train sex in the work folder--absolutely on brand for Wu Xie's particular style of chaos.)

[elenothar]

I'm curious about most of these, but... undercoverguardian? That sounds like it would either be a hoot or very angsty

[achray]

This is the long fic I'm co-writing with teyla. I think it was originally meant to be a hoot, and now it's getting more and more angst-ridden, as always happens in Guardian fic. Zhao Yunlan is semi-unofficially undercover as a university IT employee, where he has met Shen Wei. They're investigating the same case and getting involved while lying to each other about their identities. Here, Shen Wei has come round to cook dinner for Zhao Yunlan on their first date, which is not supposed to be a date because Zhao Yunlan is not supposed to be dating people while undercover. Da Qing has been tasked with stopping the inevitable from happening, and is not having a good evening.

It’s not possible that Zhao Yunlan has no cooking equipment whatsoever. It must be conceivable that Shen Wei can turn his ingredients into a simple stir-fry, if nothing more complicated. He kneels down to explore right in the back of a cupboard that Zhao Yunlan already checked, Zhao Yunlan hovering beside him. Sure enough, there are a couple of battered pans at the back, gathering dust; he pulls them out and inspects them. They’ll do.

“I can use these. Then all I need is a chopping board and a knife,” he says. That’s not entirely true, but he’ll manage.

“Uh,” says Zhao Yunlan. Shen Wei sits back on his heels and looks up at him. It occurs to him as he does that this is a suggestive position. It’s obvious from the look on Zhao Yunlan’s face that this occurred to him some time earlier. Zhao Yunlan’s bare feet are right there. If Shen Wei reached out a hand only a few inches, he could stroke it up Zhao Yunlan’s leg. Zhao Yunlan is manifestly not going to stop him, a thought which sends a rush of blood to Shen Wei’s head, and to other places.

Da Qing meows, pushing in between them and nudging Shen Wei’s arm, and the moment breaks. Shen Wei shuts his eyes for a second, and attempts to calm down. He said he would cook dinner, he reminds himself.

Zhao Yunlan is rubbing at his chin and making a face. “You can use the counter for chopping stuff, it’s fine. Knives, I don’t know if I have cooking knives, but yeah, I do have some knives, hang on.” He goes to rummage somewhere that is not a kitchen cupboard, which is a little worrying. Shen Wei pets Da Qing some more, then stands up, sets the pans on the stove, and looks for any utensils. None are visible.

Zhao Yunlan returns triumphantly with some kind of huntsman’s knife, in a sheath. Shen Wei considers it.

“I should have thought to bring my own knives,” he says. “I apologize.”

“This is a great knife, it’s for camping, it’s fine, it definitely cuts up vegetables and whatever. And no offense, Shen Wei, but showing up with a set of knives to a date would be pretty odd.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Shen Wei says. “I don’t go on…dates. Usually.” He raises an eyebrow at Zhao Yunlan, who’s somehow managing to look both apologetic and challenging. It’s so familiar that it makes his skin prickle, gives him the urge to laugh out loud for no reason.

Zhao Yunlan makes an abortive movement, as though he’s going to reach out. Da Qing, still twining round their legs, meows loudly and pointedly.

[elenothar]

now it's getting more and more angst-ridden, as always happens in Guardian fic

That is, indeed, very much the Guardian fic mood. Particularly when you add double the amount of identity shenanigans into it.

Da Qing made me laugh here - the poor cat is up against Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei's determined attraction to each other and clearly stands little chance in the greater scheme of things.

[tinny]

Lolol, this is at once hilarious and hot and sensual and *definitely* not a good time for Da Qing. :D

[tinny]

Oh man, I want the LTR fic *so much*. I hope the sex scenes will somehow make it through. And then I will rejoice! :DD

Dreamlike? Please, I'd love to know more about that one! <3

[achray]

That LTR fic will make it! Eventually. Hmm, the Dreamlike Life one I'm sure I mentioned to you months back, and it never went anywhere since then. It has no meaningful plot or setup, it's just a story about Tianying working out what she feels about Luo Fusheng, and them eventually getting together. In as much as it had a point, I think the point was to explore the tension between Luo Fusheng being sweet and domestic at home with her, and Luo Fusheng being a nightclub manager, gangster, and disaster bisexual xD

This is a snippet from the morning after Tianying has been hanging out at the club thinking about/hearing about Luo Fusheng's escapades, and having Thoughts about him:

Tianying’s eyes catch on his hands, wielding the chopsticks, on the bones of his wrist, his long fingers. She feels heat rising within her, again. What’s the matter with her, today?

“The girls at Mei Gao Mei all miss you,” she says, abruptly.

“Ah?” he says, smiling at her. “Are they all well?”

“Do you miss them?” said Tianying, without meaning to. It comes out accusatory.

Luo Fusheng blinks, and sits back a bit in his chair, frowning.

“I mean – ” Tianying wills herself to stop talking about this, but she can’t – “you and some of them, you used to…”

Luo Fusheng’s frown deepens. “Tianying, that was before I met you. You know I haven’t – “

“And Xu Xingcheng? Was that before you met me?”

Luo Fusheng looks, for a moment, as though she’d hit him, and then his face goes blank.

“What did they say?” he said.

“Sorry, sorry,” says Tianying. “It’s nothing, they didn’t say anything, I’m being – ”

“Yes,” says Luo Fusheng. He sets down his chopsticks, carefully and deliberately. “It was before I knew you, when you were only the girl who tried to steal my dumplings. Once you and he were together – Tianying, I promise you, I swear to you that I would never have interfered in that – in that way.” He looks away, and his fist clenches on the table. “It was – like a stupid game, Xingcheng and myself, from when we were much younger. It wasn’t – I don’t know how to explain this to you.”

“You don’t have to explain. I shouldn’t have asked. I don’t have any right to know. I’m sorry, Luo Fusheng. Please, forget it.”

“Of course you have a right to know. We’re living together, aren’t we?”

“But we’re not – ” Tianying catches herself. This whole conversation is a disaster, what is she thinking? Luo Fusheng has gone from looking easy and comfortable to tense all over, as though he’s about to flee – and would he even come back, if he did?

He meets her eyes, and she takes in a breath.

“Not what?” he says.

“You’ve never even tried to kiss me!” Tianying says, and it comes out as a complaint and a plea.

Luo Fusheng goes absolutely still. Tianying isn’t even sure he’s breathing. Then he raises his eyes to hers, and they hit her like the flick of a knife opening, and Tianying catches her breath again, because even she can tell when a man is looking at her with naked hunger and desire, as though he wants nothing more than to – than to –

Her stomach clenches: something is going to change, and she desperately wants it, and yet is terrified by it.

[tinny]

Yes, yes, I'm pretty sure you did mention it to me months back. <3

I love this snippet a lot. I like Tianying - and I like how you write her, too - and I love Luo Fusheng, and his idiosyncrasies definitely are worth untangling!

Then he raises his eyes to hers, and they hit her like the flick of a knife opening

Oh god yes, that is his most deadly look. <3

Her stomach clenches: something is going to change, and she desperately wants it, and yet is terrified by it.

I love this so much. I am such a sucker for tentative first-time stories, and untangling feelings and getting together, and this sounds like a 100% perfect fit.

I hope you will finish this, and I will gladly cheer you on! And shower you with dreamlike caps. Or something. :D