donutsweeper

I wrote (and posted!!) something outside of an exchange! What's this world coming to? I just got in my head the idea of what would happen if a time travel fix it went down a dark route and here it is:

Grief and Blame, Interwoven- MDZS fandom. Summary: Wangji's punishment was supposed to be severe, not fatal. But since it was, Xichen needed to find a way to change that. (2.7k. Heed the tags, it's a dark fic opening with the premise that LWJ died.)

I'm still trucking away watching NIF and I finished my current craft project- a rug made out of bread (and other similarish) bags. I ran out of bags when when it was about 24"x14.5" but it's perfect size for what daughter wants so, YAY!

Here's this week's recthething recs (all MDZS/Untamed again):

to be wielded by your hands by Vir_Abelasan (3k)
Summary: Lan Wangji has always enjoyed seeing Wei Ying work - See his clever fingers and cleverer mind as he tinkers and creates. But there is something particularly captivating about Wei Ying's hand around the dark-bone handle of his knife, something in the flex of his wrist and the deft control of his finger as he maneuvers the blade to his whims, that captures Lan Wangji's gaze and keeps it there. Or : Wei Wuxian is good with his blade, and Lan Wangji wants. (LWJ and his competence kink, always good)

A Night Light for the Elder Gods by nerdzeword (28k, MDZS Big Bang 2021)
Summary: Wei Wuxian has been the lighthouse keeper for Haizang Dao for over two years now. He has a routine. When Lan Wangji is assigned as his new partner, everything he has come to hold dear is thrown into disarray, and Wei Wuxian has to decide who to trust with his darkest secrets. (Excellent lighthouse + Eldrich Monster AU)

Nursery Rhymes by manaika (96k, MDZS Big Bang 2021)
Summary: Lan Xichen is a pediatrician who often treats child abuse cases for various foster homes, orphanages and social workers for free. He's currently looking for a second nurse because Luo Qingyang is freshly back from maternal leave and can't be expected to work full time with a baby on hand and none of her substitutes were up to the task. Enter Wei Ying with a semester worth of med school, stellar recommendations, a huge gap in his CV and a laugh bright and warm as the sun.

Skeptical at first, Xichen decides to give the man a chance. He gets more than he bargained for with exactly zero regrets. (Really love WWX in this and the way the various characters fit in work really well)

I'm anxiously awaiting the reveal of the yuletide tagset. There should be a lot of great stuff on it. I've already perused the promo post and marked a lot of fandoms to look at!

Like the last several years, I also do plan on putting together a post collecting all the short stories so people will find them easier. Can't wait to see what's going to be there either.

First Hurt/Comfort exchange recs! (peruse the whole collection here)

My amazing gifts:
I Want to Keep You Safe (Guardian, art)
(no summary provided, absolutely beautiful and gentle scene of Zhao Yunlan sleeping on an adoring Shen Wei)
ransom (The Untamed, 3.6k)
Summary snippet: "I remember the yaoguai," Wei Wuxian said slowly. Kind of. (wonderful Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng reconciliation while rescuing themselves fic)
Menace (MDZS/The Untamed, 7.5k)
Summary snippet: Wei Wuxian is injured on a night hunt, and Lan Qiren is stuck having to deal with it. (hilarious and sweet LQR dealing with, and trying to help, an injured WWX)

and two recs:
Pushing Through (Agent Carter fandom, 3.8k)
Summary: Even with major head trauma, Jack is determined to get to Peggy and Daniel. (really well done concussed yet competent Jack and worried but awesome Peggy and Daniel)
By the Line That Keeps You Tethered (Leverage, 5k)
Summary: Eliot is not sick, he's fine, okay? (great h/c and spot on character voices in this one as Parker and Hardison care for an ill Eliot)

Also last week's recthething recs (all tumblr comics)

'I Think It's Brave' (multipanel Jiang Cheng/Lan Xichen comic)
Artist's comment: My heart was just struck by how perfect a poem (by Lana Rafaela) it was to describe Jiang Cheng, who has lost so much, but still continues to push through each day. He is so brave, and he deserves the best things. (amazing and touching story with wonderful art)
Like Hunger - But Deeper, Heavier (multipanel WWX/LWJ comic)
Summary: In Wei Wuxian's dreams: hell dogs come with wicked horns, bad attitudes, and terrifying familiarity. (the nightmares are so vividly drawn and LWJ is so sweet)
Lan Zhan (3 panel tumblr comic; lovely but heartbreaking)
Wei Wuxian vs. Swords utterly hilarious

I finished redoing the shawl/wrap thing and like it a lot better. Have some comparison shots:

the pulled out version (done with a US13/9mm hook and having 12 pattern repeats per row, ran out of yarn with it 15"x38")

vs
done with the next largest sized hook (US15/10mm) and 10 pattern repeat, 13"x48"

It really needs blocking, but I am lazy, oh well. It works SO much better. It's a much better length and is a much better weight- not overly heavy and too warm like the other.

I finished watching The Lost Tomb Reboot, it was quite the trip and a half. Apparently the whole franchise (including the book series) is well known for dangling plot threads that don't lead anywhere and gaping plot holes so it's not even just the censorship issues to blame (although my understanding is it was rather affected by that as well) for some of the 'wait, what?'ness of parts. Still pretty fun overall if ploddy in places. It was also interesting to compare the Chinese spoken in that to one of the 'bygone era' ones since there were a number of English phrases sprinkled through out. Vaguely considering if next I should watch one of the other Lost Tomb things or another cultivation thing or something else. (My US-airing list dropped from 4 shows the beginning of the season-911, 911 Lonestar, FBI Most Wanted and Magnum- to just 911 but the finale of that aired this week so it's what's streaming on the internet for my viewing pleasure for a while) Time will tell.

I've totally forgot to post my last couple of months worth of ficcage and crafting here and I also realized I should put the recs I posted to recthething here too so...

last month there was another WeDieLikeFen exchange and I wrote a treat:
The Placing of Thread - The Untamed - Summary: Upon sequestering herself on her mountain Baoshan Sanren decides to ignore the infighting of the cultivation sects. However, when their actions threaten the fate of the world she finds that she has to intercede. (Time Travel Fix-it, rated PG, 1,562 words)

5 recs- all for The Untamed/MDZS and all ones I thought were new to the comm:

and autumn comes when you're not yet done by tired. Summary snippet: in which Lan Sizhui is forced to stay in Lotus Pier for three weeks, and saves Jiang Cheng in more ways than one. Turns out stab wounds heal faster than 16 years of regret. (wonderful Jiang Cheng becoming an uncle to Sizhui fic) 36k

shades of grey by cl410.
Summary: This was why he didn’t like to leave the Unclean Realm, Nie Mingjue thought with dismay. Guileless dark eyes blinked up at him, tiny hands clutching at his robes. Or: Nie Mingjue comes across Wei Wuxian before Jiang Fengmian, and decides Nie Huaisang could use a friend. (excellent AU with WWX still following many of the familiar canon paths, but for very different reasons and the interplay between him and the Nie brothers is wonderful) 57k

scatter and sunder by silversshadow
Summary: When Wei Wuxian dies at the Burial Mounds the backlash tears his soul apart. The cultivation world is left to watch the pieces. (book canon AU where some deaths were misreported and when WWX destroys the seal it shatters his soul and for years fragments/ghosts/echoes of him at various stages in life appear throughout the cultivating world) 15k

Closer Than Eternity by Netrixie
Summary: Wei Ying just wants to graduate, figure out what he's doing with his life, and make sure there's a Starbucks within twenty feet of him at all times. It would be a lot easier to accomplish if he wasn't being stared at by worryingly familiar golden eyes every time he opened up his social media accounts... In a world where immortals keep to themselves, one of them has decided to let himself be seen. (Reincarnation/Immortal cultivation fic with WWX discovering things) 26k

And craftwise I've crocheted a ton more octopuses and several mola molas, but I don't have pictures of those. I also finished (aka used up all the yarn I hard) a mosaic blanket for my parents- it's huge (2.5k yards of yarn used, so not a surprise) but the pictures came out horribly. I've also made 5 (possibly 6?) more knotted rugs. At 15 Molly's balance has gotten bad and the vet was concerned about her always falling on our hardwood floors so throw rugs everywhere is a good solution. Also, since they're made from sheets or tshirts, they are easy to launder if a cat decides to have a hairball on them.

Have a terrible picture of 4 of the rugs and a much bigger 36"x22" one

Those are all about the same size, 26"x18", give or take an inch or two.

The Yuletide tagset should be finalized and posted soon. I'm really excited to see what it will contain. I haven't managed a thing for trickortreatex yet but hopefully the writing muse will comply for yuletide.