(no subject)

[eldabe]

So, I'm planning a Social Media Break.

Whenever I'm bored (aka...a lot) I just pop open tumblr or sometimes twitter or even AITA on reddit to just get a quick hit of serotonin or something to keep my brain churning along. I do very occasionally doomscroll, but really I haven't logged into twitter since 2019 and I raaaarely go to my tumblr dash, so-oh wait! I do scroll facebook! I'm only offbeat sometimes.

Basically like, I'm not loving how social media can really get me down a lot. It's a little like roulette - is this time going to be a cool fanart or meta on a fandom I like, or the first step down a four day anxiety spiral? Such fun! I also wonder if the anxiety spiral is part of what is killing my ability to work on my own fic, which has been a major struggle for, um, years now. (Other options include: Pandemic, and Hell Job. I left Hell Job, and I can't do much about the pandemic, so you know, this seems worth a try.)

But as social media has become my automatic boredom cure, I'm literally gathering up a bunch of things to DO when I would just open a new tumblr tab. I've downloaded more mobile games for my phone, I've bought some KJ Charles ebooks that I know I can just open and browse, I'm getting romance novel and fic recs from friends (feel free to leave any in the comments!) and I'm just trying to find new quick and mobile Solutions To Boredom. Wish me luck?

I'll probably keep coming to Dreamwidth as my experience here has always been entirely different. Ha, maybe I'll even post more! And like, I'll follow links to social media stuff and all, I'm not cutting myself off from friends or anything. I'm just trying to modify my own habits. Let's see how it goes!

Comments

[lannamichaels]

For phone games, I like Two Dots.

What kind of fic recs would you be interested in?

My tumblr curation is entirely via RSS feeds. I sort them into folders (such as tumblr-friends, tumblr-fandom-general, tumblr-[specific fandom]), and for a couple of them, I have tumblr-[specific]-important, which are the one or two people from that fandom who I want to see even if I'm ignoring the rest. I also have a blacklist set up that works off of tags, which is honestly more sensitive than it needs to be, but I'm fine with it being too sensitive and catching things it shouldn't. I also unfollowed someone who didn't tag image content, so that lowered the risk threshold considerably. But this way I can just check tumblr-friends a lot, and leave others for when I'm into it.

[eldabe]

Thank you!! Game installed!!

Oh your organization method sounds GREAT. Does the blacklist work even through RSS feed?

Honestly, the truth is I can't always figure out what will make me miserable ahead of time, and weirdly, a lot of the people I follow don't tag. And it's not even stuff I want tagged necessarily, sometimes I just...cannot handle another story about library censorship or something and IDK, it's just a bad day. The reality is, I don't even check tumblr friends very frequently, I just like a lot of fandom meta and history and I've found a few people that talk about that and I'll lurk around them for a while and then they'll reblog something random (because tumblr tends to just be a random clutter fest, which is FINE) and something unexpected keeps me up until 2am on a night when I really can't afford to lose the sleep etc.

Anyway! More importantly! Listen, if you have any modern AU fics of super duper high quality, I don't even care what fandom it is, give it here. Otherwise, hmm, anything good in Vorkosigan? I should browse and figure out if we share other fandoms.

[lannamichaels]

Yep, the blacklist works! I'm using QuiteRSS now (I used to use Feedreader but it stopped working with tumblr and I have no idea why, since it works with plenty of other sites) and that lets me use keywords within the tags. This is what makes it really overactive, since it blocks "bugs bunny" since I've got "bugs" blocked. BUT all the blacklist ones show up in a folder and I can click on it and see all the tags it does have on it. Or I can just be like, delete anyway.

But yeah, following the right people does help. The more overactive-hitting person is prokopetz who tags things like "body horror" on text posts, so I have no problems clicking on those and reading it; I'm blocking body horror because of images. If someone doesn't tag at all and just posts images, I'm probably not following them anymore. QuiteRSS will let me do blacklists based on post content but I haven't set up any of those yet since I guess I winnowed out all the folks who'll do things like post about my issues without tagging it.

And since it's in folders and I can expand, if there's people who I can only read when I'm in a specific mood to get "fandom content, fandom content, UTTER HORRORS ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH CARE, fandom content, john mulaney, HOSPITAL DISCRIMINATION, more john mulaney", well, then I'm only ever looking at them then, and it's not getting me out of the blue ever.

I will dig up some recs! As a general rec, are you familiar with nirejseki? I blanket rec everything she's ever done. She's Flash/Legends of Tomorrow and MDZS. (I can give you a short summary of MDZS if you're not in it, enough to read fic)

Oh, a modern AU longfic MDZS that I have handy:

Waiting for Spring (130788 words) by thievinghippo
Chapters: 9/9
Fandom: 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV), 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn
Characters: Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī
Additional Tags: Mutual Pining, Pining while fucking, slight angst, Happy Ending, for a baseball fic, there's not a lot of baseball, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Sports, Alternate Universe - Baseball
Summary:

“It is a well-known fact across the major leagues that one does not smack Lan Wangji’s ass.”

Wei Wuxian rolls his eyes. Everyone smacks everyone’s ass in baseball. It’s how the game is played. Lan Wangji does not get to be exempt from this most sacred of baseball traditions.

Wei Wuxian will make sure of that.

Or, a Major League Baseball AU

[eldabe]

Oh thank you!!!

I might like...um...come back to you in two months to see about setting as RSS feed up? If you have the energy to answer a lot of dumb questions. Because this sounds like an amazing amazing solution but I honestly need to just gather up the energy to do it. (Right now I'm cleaning up my tabs. My 500+ tabs. It's...a project?)

Oh! Oh! You're in MDZS fandom!!! Okay okay if you could give me a primer that would be amazing. The costumes look so cool! The tiny little boy in all the gifs is adorable! I have zero idea what this fandom is and it's everywhere!

And thank you for the recs! I know enough Flash I can muddle through and one friend has been poking me to watch Legends of Tomorrow (I hear Booster Gold showed up so I might have no choice now haha).

A modern SPORT AU one of my favorite genres I love it already thank you thank you!!! Downloading now!

[lannamichaels]

I'll be happy to chat in a couple months about RSS feeds! To find them in tumblr, just add /rss to the end of the URL, which you can also do off specific tags (ex: https://lannamichaels.tumblr.com/tagged/discworld/rss is the RSS feed of my discworld tag) but yeah, quiteRSS had a huge learning curve for me to figure out how to do anything at all with the filters.

MDZS, okay, so, basic summary. Wei Ying = Wei Wuxian = Yiling patriarch. Lan Zhan = Lan Wangji = Hanguang-jun. My general rule of thumb when reading via osmosis for AT LEAST six months was if I didn't recognize someone's name, they were a bastard of Jin Guangshan, this served me well even though he only has three bastard children (Qin Su, Jin Guangyao/Meng Yao, and Mo Xuanyu)

WWX is the protag. LWJ is the love interest. WWX grew up in the Jiang sect after his parents are Tragically Killed, he lived on the street for a while when he was young and has some trauma about it. LWJ has an older brother, Lan Xichen/Lan Huan. When WWX and LWJ are teenagers, WWX and a bunch of other folks go to the Lan sect to learn stuff, WWX and LWJ meet. WWX thinks they don't like each other. LWJ falls in love.

There is then quest stuff and war stuff. WWX donates his golden core to Jiang Cheng/Jiang Wanyin and can no longer cultivate the normal way. The assembled anti-Wen folks beat the Wen folks and the remnants of the Wen clan are put into death camps. WWX is the only non-Wen person who objects to this. WWX then goes off with Wen folks: Wen Qing and Wen Ning/Wen Qionglin. No one is happy about this, so they do war on WWX. WWX is doing demonic cultivation, which backfires on him and kills him.

The only Wen left is Wen Yuan, who becomes Lan Sizhui. (Wen Ning is a zombie.)

We then fast-forward 13 years. Mo Xuanyu (bastard son of JGS, half brother of JGY) decides that, in order to get revenge on his asshole family, he's going to offer up his body to WWX. WWX is now reborn in a new body and has a revenge quest to complete. Which he does, and then he ends up happily ever after with LWJ. (difference from MDZS and The Untamed: in the Untamed, WWX somehow manages to keep his original body due to something something something.)

Other people to know:
The Jiangs: Jiang Cheng/Jiang Wanyin and Jiang Yanli are WWX's sect siblings. Jiang Fengmian is WWX's parents' old friend and took him in, against the wishes of his wife, Madam Yu, who doesn't like WWX.

Other Lans: Lan Qiren, LWJ's uncle. Lan Jingyi: one of the juniors, Sizhui's friend.

Other Jins: Jin Zixuan, who married Jiang Yanli. Jin Ling/Jin Rulan, their son. Jin Zixun, a forgettable villain, whose name I am sure is much more easy to tell about from his cousin's in the original text ;) Jin Guangyao, the villain in the current day part of the story.

Wens: Wen Ruohan, the villain in the backstory part of the story.

Nies: Nie Mingjue, who is the Nie sect leader in the backstory. Nie Huaisang, who is his younger brother is the Nie sect leader in the current.

The Yi city arc people: A-Qing, Xiao Xingchen, Song Lan, and Xue Yang. Frankly I never cared about them. They exist and there's some narrative parallels, but I, uh, never cared about them. In MDZS, they are only in the current day part of the story. The Untamed moved some of it (?) to backstory.


Very helpful wiki, considering people have multiple names and titles: https://modao-zushi.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Characters

[eldabe]

Yeah, the trick would be to figure out the tags because without them, I might as well use my current method of using tumblr (which is just...go to individual tumblr pages and scroll back until I hit where I read before and/or stress out and close the tab. It's not a great method! But it's mine!) So yes, thank you, I will get back to you!

And oh no that summary was...a lot haha. Ok ok, I'm going to try to read it again. I might just jump into the fics and see how it goes haha. Hey, it's worked in other fandoms!

[lannamichaels]

The killer feature of using RSS is that it moves the tags to the top. So if I click on a post, even before all the images load, I can see if it's tagged anything I care about, or specifically don't care about, and move on. Which unfortunately does not help if people don't tag :( But it does mean I can really easily skip posts, like when everyone and their sideblog is spreading around the exact same post, I can either pass it by or scroll to the bottom of the post to see if anything is added. I've been thinking about doing a tutorial post, I should probably get around to that.

One thing I should mention since I linked to that baseball fic! I've seen in some modern AUs, including that one, where they decide that, for the purposes of the fic, some people aren't related. So Jin Ling shows up in that fic but isn't Jiang Yanli's kid.

MDZS is great for reading with no-fandom-knowledge except for all the multiple names/titles issues, and those don't show up much in modern AUs. But yeah for just reading for osmosis, characters named Jiang = sect relative of WWX. Lan = sect relative of LWJ. Jin = the rich folks. Nie = they use sabers. Wen = some are evil, some are WWX's friends.

[lannamichaels]

(For you in two months, because I did finally get around to the tutorial by the power of procrastinating on other things: https://lannamichaels.dreamwidth.org/1247797.html )

[eldabe]

THANK YOU!! I know I don't have the spoons for this right now but I really really cannot thank you enough!!

[lannamichaels]

Modern AUs of fandoms I am not in and know very little about:

remember me love when i'm reborn (16439 words) by magneticwave
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Game of Thrones (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jon Snow/Sansa Stark
Characters: Sansa Stark, Jon Snow, Robb Stark, Arya Stark, Rickon Stark, Bran Stark, Tormund Giantsbane, Tyrion Lannister
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting
Series: Part 1 of the longest night
Summary:

‘LONGEST NIGHT’ HAS BIGGEST NIGHT IN HOLLYWOOD HISTORY

Jaime Lannister’s historical epic, starring Joffrey Baratheon as Aegon Targaryen and Margarey Tyrell as Queen Sansa, broke box office records last week with the largest opening weekend in history. The Lion Hand Studios production netted a whopping $400 million dragons in the domestic box office and shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. The film made headlines three months ago when the movie’s stars announced their romantic relationship on the heels of the dissolution of Baratheon’s engagement with Sansa Stark, who penned the script. Although Baratheon claimed the split with Stark was amicable, sources close to the former couple insist it was anything but. “Joffrey wanted someone to make him famous, and as soon as Sansa wrote a movie for him that did just that, he left her in the dirt.”

That is one of those authors who I will follow them into mordor, etc etc.


Another highlight of their works:

on the brink of something close (9379 words) by magneticwave
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Characters: Nile Freeman, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani, Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Andy | Andromache of Scythia, Dr. Meta Kozak, Booker | Sebastien le Livre
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Summary:

It takes Nile an embarrassingly long time to realize that her thesis advisor is, like, legitimately evil.

I know nothing about all about Fullmetal Alchemist except there are Brothers in it.

airplane mode (14967 words) by silentwalrus
Chapters: 3/3
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang
Characters: a bunch of longsuffering bodyguards
Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Modern AU kinda, Airplane Bathroom Titty Selfies, Humor, Roy and Ed's Relationship is a Security Breach, Honorable Mention for Mile High Club, attempted sexting, Trans Male Character, war criminal diversity win❤️
Summary:

Roy’s in the arrivals terminal of CAIX, phone in either hand, because of a series of bad decisions that started with letting Maes talk him into getting birthday drunk the day before he was supposed to go visit two allegedly adult alchemists in Resembool and somehow managed to encompass an entire coup. He’s still paying for it more than a decade later, though these days less in blood and more in dignity. Ed is perfectly capable of getting his own ride from the airport, but between traffic, their respective scheduling and Ed’s natural tendency to be a little bitch, if Roy wants to see him before the end of the week he better pick the little bitch up in person.

Also rec everything by that author! If you are not already reading the following, I recommend:

snipers solve 99% of all problems (247190 words) by silentwalrus
Chapters: 83/?
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric, Mei Chan | May Chang, Riza Hawkeye, Roy Mustang, Albus Dumbledore, Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Remus Lupin, Maes Hughes, Sirius Black, Dudley Dursley, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Jean Havoc, The Dursleys, Amelia Bones, Bill Weasley, Kreacher (Harry Potter), Aberforth Dumbledore
Additional Tags: Crossover, Humor, Post-FMA Canon, Harry Potter 5th Year, Nobody’s Going To Hogwarts, Me sprinting down the highway while snorting coke off my hand, i just need to get this out of my system, Oh yeah Maes Hughes lives bc i said so, Ed: what the fuck do you mean you have ELVES and SLAVERY, also ed: lol ya i joined the military when i was 12, Voldemort is the one percent, Dementors, If you're a science person come correct me, do not repost to another site, The Edward Elric Mortal Combat School of Trauma Therapy, Ed Says Fuck, Ed Says Fuck 600+ Times
Summary:

Ed had thought, after the whole Promised Day, homunculus, entire country harvested for alchemical batteries thing, the batshit quotient of his life would have settled down some. He really ought to have topped out the meter with that one. But no. The bullshit is just getting started.

“Are you fucking kidding me,” Ed demands. “The wizards?”

Podfic & Chinese translation available! See notes

I know nothing about this fandom at all. I do note this fic has heavy angst, which is not tagged. It also has college radio, so after this rec, I will divert into radio recs :D

Keep the Key Within Reach (62098 words) by SpiritsFlame
Chapters: 4/4
Fandom: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue Series - Mackenzi Lee
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Henry "Monty" Montague/Percy Newton
Characters: Henry "Monty" Montague, Percy Newton, Felicity Montague
Additional Tags: Light BDSM, practiced by two people who don't know what they're doing, Under-negotiated Kink, But it works out okay, Friends With Benefits, boys being stupid, Pining
Summary:

SON OF PARLIAMENTARY OFFICIAL CAUGHT IN SORDID SEX SCANDAL, CLICK FOR VIDEO, is a headline that Monty could have done without. He could do without the sidelong looks, the way his Mother can hardly speak to him, the way his best friend and secret love of his life has been avoiding him. He could do without the fact that every time he goes out now, every time he tries to move past this, he can't get over the fear that this, too, will be caught on film. If only there were someone he trusted; absolutely, to the bones trusted, who would be willing to have sex with him. No strings attached, of course.

Radio!

But It's a Good Refrain (23090 words) by lady_ragnell
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Merlin (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, Elena/Gwaine (Merlin)
Characters: Merlin (Arthurian), Arthur Pendragon, Morgan le Fay, Mithian, Elena (Merlin), Leon (Merlin), Percival (Arthurian), Gwaine (Merlin), Guinevere (Arthurian), Lancelot du Lac, Freya (Merlin), Elyan (Merlin)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Don't copy to another site
Summary:

Arthur doesn't care much about the popular radio program Dragon's Lonely Hearts until his ex-girlfriend calls in to slag him off and get advice. When he calls in and has an on-air argument with the host, it starts off more than he expected, including meddling friends, overinvolved fans, and maybe love.

We Just Lost the Beat (19334 words) by knight_tracer, lady_ragnell
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Daredevil (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Matt Murdock/Franklin "Foggy" Nelson
Characters: Matt Murdock, Franklin "Foggy" Nelson, Claire Temple, Marci Stahl, Karen Page
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Radio, Identity Porn, Podfic, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming, Podfic Length: 1.5-2 Hours, Don't copy to another site
Summary:

Matt hears a lot in the city at night, sirens and crime--and the late-night radio show Foggy With a Chance, which sometimes runs a Daredevil Watch if he's been particularly active, but which mostly plays music. He probably shouldn't call in and request a song, but he does it anyway.

Extra recs from that author!

Never Bitter and All Delicious (15259 words) by lady_ragnell
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Enjolras/Grantaire
Characters: Grantaire (Les Misérables), Enjolras (Les Misérables), Fantine (Les Misérables), Éponine Thénardier, Les Amis de l'ABC
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fairy Godparents, magic wands, Don't copy to another site
Summary:

Grantaire delivers the wishes to the Fairy Godmother Bureau every morning, and he's happy enough with that much magic in his life until the FGB hires on a new caseworker.

You Dance Dreams (61252 words) by lady_ragnell
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Enjolras/Grantaire, Floréal & Grantaire, Joly/Bossuet Laigle/Musichetta, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Characters: Grantaire (Les Misérables), Enjolras (Les Misérables), Floréal (Les Misérables), Joly (Les Misérables), Bossuet Laigle, Musichetta (Les Misérables), Combeferre (Les Misérables), Éponine Thénardier, Les Amis de l'ABC, Le Gros
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - College/University, Operas, Ballet, Slow Build, Oral Sex, Don't copy to another site
Series: Part 1 of You Dance
Summary:

For most of college, Grantaire was hopeless over Enjolras, and everyone but Enjolras knew it. Now he’s worked to get over his crush, and for the most part, he's fine. When Combeferre asks him to choreograph and dance in the Midsummer Night’s Dream-inspired opera he composed as his senior thesis, Grantaire says yes, even though he’s cast opposite Enjolras, as Puck to his Oberon. The chance to dance is worth the potential problems, and he'll have his friends as a buffer.

He doesn't count on long hours of practicing and choreographing and talking together, while they try to figure each other and their futures out. As much as he tries to avoid it, it seems inevitable that he falls for Enjolras again, and this time it isn't a crush.

Silence Is the Speech of Love (50104 words) by lady_ragnell
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Enjolras/Grantaire, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Cosette Fauchelevent/Marius Pontmercy, Courfeyrac/Cosette Fauchelevent/Marius Pontmercy
Characters: Grantaire (Les Misérables), Enjolras (Les Misérables), Éponine Thénardier, Combeferre (Les Misérables), Courfeyrac (Les Misérables), Fantine (Les Misérables), Les Amis de l'ABC
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, Curses, Curse Breaking, Pining, Worldbuilding, Angst with a Happy Ending, Don't copy to another site
Series: Part 1 of The Speech of Love
Summary:

Grantaire's life has a pattern: he pays his respects to Aphrodite, he goes to work, he loves Enjolras and provokes him because he can't bring himself to do otherwise. That seems unlikely to change, at least until Enjolras speaks out against the gods and ends up cursed. Grantaire does his best to help him, but it turns out it's just as hard to love Enjolras up close as it is from afar.

[lannamichaels]

Modern AUs!

All Old Things are New Again (51656 words) by The Feels Whale
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV), 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Jiāng Yànlí/Jīn Zǐxuān, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín/Wēn Qíng
Characters: Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Wēn Qíng (Módào Zǔshī), Wēn Níng | Wēn Qiónglín, Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Jiāng Yànlí, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín
Additional Tags: Reincarnation, Modern Setting, canon still happened, extreme post canon, Sugar Daddy, Kink Negotiation, gentle dom!LWJ, canonical levels of consent play, Modern Cultivators, cultivators can recognize important people from previous lives, vaguely, this started out as a cute sugar fantasy and got just incredibly horny very fast, blame LWJ
Series: Part 1 of All Old Things Are New Again
Summary:

Full-time necromancer and part-time cam boy, Wei Wuxian, finds himself unexpectedly homeless. An enthusiastic patron comes to his rescue.

Conversely:

Immortal Cultivator Lan Wangji has been waiting a long time for his deceased husband to be reincarnated again. In retrospect, he should have anticipated that this is how it would go.

in the blossom season (in the pouring rain) (13890 words) by varnes
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn
Characters: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín, Jiāng Yànlí, Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Lán Yuàn | Lán Sīzhuī
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic
Summary:

“A-Yuan,” he says, carefully, “did—did you make the flowers grow like this?”

A-Yuan shakes his head in exasperation. “Baba, I said. Doctor Flowers did it.”

“Doctor Flowers,” Lan Zhan repeats, pointing at the tiny plum tree, just to confirm that his son is suggesting a magical tree named Doctor Flowers sprouted overnight and made their tame family project turn into a verdant jungle.

A-Yuan nods. “Doctor Flowers,” he confirms. “He’s funny! I like him.”

-

A mysterious garden blooms on Lan Zhan's rooftop. His internet forum pen pal gives great gardening advice but never seems to sleep. The man who works at the florist, who keeps reviving the plants that Lan Zhan can't seem to keep alive, has a beautiful smile.

These things are related.

live from new york (87069 words) by varnes
Chapters: 8/8
Fandom: 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV), 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Jiāng Yànlí/Jīn Zǐxuān
Characters: Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín, Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Jiāng Yànlí, Wēn Níng | Wēn Qiónglín, Wēn Qíng (Módào Zǔshī), Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Lán Yuàn | Lán Sīzhuī, Lán Jǐngyí, Jīn Líng | Jīn Rúlán, Lán Qǐrén, Xuē Yáng | Xuē Chéngměi, Módào Zǔshī Ensemble, Junior Ensemble (Módào Zǔshī), Luó "Mián Mián" Qīngyáng, Mèng Yáo | Jīn Guāngyáo, Sòng Lán | Sòng Zǐchēn, Xiǎo Xīngchén
Additional Tags: snl au, is that ... a trope?, if it's not a trope it really should be a trope., Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, A Family Can Just Be The Staff Of A Popular Late Night Sketch Show, Pining, Getting Together, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Happy Ending, Idiots in Love, and they were ROOMMATES, Frottage, Light Bondage, could not be lighter or gentler bondage
Series: Part 1 of live from new york: an snl au
Summary:

Wei Ying lets out a long, ugly groan. “I am fine, Lan Zhan. Everybody is overreacting, it’s so embarrassing for all of you.”

“You had undiagnosed pneumonia, which you walked around with for weeks until you passed out during dress,” Lan Wangji corrects him. “It got a big laugh, until everyone thought you were dead.”

He keeps his voice even and does not tell Wei Ying that it had been Lan Wangji who caught him, who called the ambulance, and who rode with him to the hospital, where he was yelled at by nurses who wanted to know why he hadn’t noticed that Wei Ying couldn’t stop shivering or string proper sentences together.

“Rumors of my demise have been vastly overstated,” Wei Ying says. “Anyway, I’m already feeling much better. Basically fine. Really almost completely back to normal, so stop babying me and tell me why the fuck you let your stupid brother hire the worst man in the world to host our show.”

-

OR: the one where they all work at SNL, Yanli's ex-boyfriend is hosting, and that's just the beginning of everybody's problems.

(this is a "some people aren't related even though they are in canon" fics)

[lannamichaels]

Excellent series: Meng Yao vs. the Board of the Homeowner's Association. Meng Yao is Jin Guangyao.

ridiculous future bullshit. This is a futurefic AU off of a complicated longfic AU, but can be read as a standalone under the idea that some of the characters cultivated to immortality and are now living in a present day that has some differences due to the worldbuilding (for instance, there are the Five Nations instead of modern China). Worth it for the Top Gear crossover, the youtube video, and the reddit post.

And On That Bombshell (6552 words) by sami
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV), Top Gear (UK) RPF
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn
Characters: Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May, the lab-coat-wearing producers
Additional Tags: Transcript Format
Series: Part 7 of ridiculous future bullshit
Summary:

Tonight! I interview the worst driver... in the world.

Richard looks at a man in leather trousers...

And the N5 Motorworks Rulan S is on our track.

Live Thread: The Hauntedest Place (1413 words) by sami
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī
Additional Tags: ridiculous future bullshit, Social Media, Chaos Gremlin Wei Wuxian, under a fake name
Series: Part 29 of The Same Moon Shines, Part 11 of ridiculous future bullshit
Summary:

JY: Okay! Here we go! According to my research this building is really haunted, all, you know, murders and terrible things. I'm going to spend the night there. Not alone, obviously!

He laughs.

JY: Obviously I'm not holding the camera. We're going in together, aren't we, er-gege?

r/JYisWWX (2330 words) by sami
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: OCs, Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Kinda, cultivated to immortality, Social Media, ridiculous future bullshit
Series: Part 30 of The Same Moon Shines, Part 13 of ridiculous future bullshit
Summary:

Stevie Knicks @
I'm not saying Lan Ying and Jiang Ying are the same person (and presumably a Highlander) but I'm not NOT saying that

Stevie Knicks @
YES OKAY HE'S NOT A HIGHLANDER HE'S ONE OF THE SEVEN IMMORTALS OF THE FIVE NATIONS I GET IT

[lannamichaels]

Some More Les Mis:

Ten Years by prouvairing


World Ain't Ready (185795 words) by idiopathicsmile
Chapters: 16/16
Fandom: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Enjolras/Grantaire, background Courfeyrac/Jean Prouvaire - Relationship
Characters: Grantaire (Les Misérables), Enjolras (Les Misérables), Éponine Thénardier, Jean "Jehan" Prouvaire, Courfeyrac (Les Misérables), Bahorel (Les Misérables), Marius Pontmercy, Cosette Fauchelevent, Joly (Les Misérables), Bossuet Laigle, Musichetta (Les Misérables)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - High School
Series: Part 1 of World Ain't Ready-verse
Summary:

Enjolras presses his lips together. He already looks pained, and Grantaire hasn't even opened his mouth yet. That's got to be a record, even for them.

"I need a favor," he says at last.

"With what?" says Grantaire. "Ooh, are you forming a cult? Can I join? I'd be awesome at cults, I just know it." He ticks off his qualifications on his fingers. "I love chanting, I look great in robes—"

(High school AU. Grantaire the disaffected stoner is pulled into a cause bigger than himself. Or: in which there are pretend boyfriends for great justice.)

(this is being turned into a serial numbers filed off podcast/audio drama)


In Defiance of all Geometry (51417 words) by idiopathicsmile
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Combeferre/Enjolras, Combeferre/Grantaire, Enjolras/Grantaire, Combeferre/Enjolras/Grantaire, Background Cosette/Marius
Characters: Bahorel (Les Misérables), Combeferre (Les Misérables), Courfeyrac (Les Misérables), Azelma Thénardier, Bossuet Laigle, Joly (Les Misérables), Jean "Jehan" Prouvaire, Feuilly (Les Misérables), Grantaire (Les Misérables), Éponine Thénardier, Enjolras (Les Misérables), Cosette Fauchelevent, Marius Pontmercy
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Polyamory
Summary:

Amis House might not be the biggest student co-op, or the fanciest, but it's got something all its own. Specifically, smoke damage on the kitchen ceiling from that time Courfeyrac lit a political pamphlet on fire.

In which there are secrets, pining, pancakes, and revelations, and sometimes the shortest distance between three points is not a triangle but a circle.

[lannamichaels]

The twitch-streamer genre! I know nothing about twitch.

ready, set, game on (89501 words) by synonemous
Chapters: 19/19
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV), 镇魂 | Guardian - priest
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Characters: Zhao Yunlan, Shěn Wēi, Dà Qìng, Zhù Hóng, Lín Jìng, Guo Changcheng, Lǐ Qiàn, Yè Zūn, Chu Shuzhi, Yā Qīng, Yíng Chūn, Shā Yà, Zhao Yunlan's Mother, Zhao Xinci, Wāng Zhēng, Sāng Zàn
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe – Modern Setting, Gamer/Streamer AU, Zhao "What Even IS Your Waist?!" Yunlan, Shen "What A Voice" Wei, Cat AND Human Da Qing, Good!Ye Zun, Though He’s Still a Brat, Spot That Game!, Zhao Yunlan is a danger to EVERYONE, But Especially Shen Wei, How Many Times Can I Write "Daddy" Without Having to Add the Daddy-kink Tag?, so much thirst, You’ll Never Guess Who From!, Mentions of Escaping an Abusive Household, Mentions of a Character Going to Therapy, Mentions of LGBTQIA+ Issues, Mentions of Selective Mutism, Jokes About Shipping, Jokes About Sugar Daddy/Sugar Baby Situations, Jokes About A/B/O-Dynamics, Slow Burn, Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei both Ship Themselves Together, Crack Treated Semi-Seriously, Getting Together, Mild Smut, Happy Ending, Don’t copy to another site
Series: Part 1 of searching, connection established
Summary:

“Boss, wait –”

Hei Lao-ge, the post on Zhao Yunlan's Weibo reads, thankfully still sitting in his drafts, slide into my DMs if you’re watching.

Zhao Yunlan lowers his phone. “Seriously?”

“Before you delete it,” Da Qing says, not even looking remotely sorry, “I’m just trying to help you.”

“Help me,” Zhao Yunlan echoes in disbelief. “With what, exactly?”

“Scoring your internet crush!”

Get Good (5678 words) by ezlebe
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Hux/Kylo Ren
Characters: Rey (Star Wars), Lando Calrissian, Finn (Star Wars), Hux (Star Wars), Kylo Ren
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Twitch Streamer, Misunderstandings, Explicit Language
Series: Part 1 of .tv/FirstOrder
Summary:

“You should really get to know the other tenants, too,” Lando says, attempting to change the subject with a raised eyebrow full of implication. He still treats Ren like some unpopular teenager; his attitude no better than Han’s. “You and the guy next door have the same job, you know.”

Ren sneers, lowering his voice to something more mocking, “Do we?”

“Yeah, all that internet video game stuff,” Lando says, shrugging as he ignores the skepticism, and tipping his head for a better angle to glance over a few of the totes. “Wish I could’ve made money doing that in my day.”

(Prequel to Filthy Casual)

[lannamichaels]

Merlin modern AUs which, being Merlin, can also be reincarnation AUs

The Student Prince (145222 words) by FayJay
Chapters: 35/35
Fandom: Merlin - Fandom
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Arthur/Merlin, Various Others - Relationship, Gwen/Lance
Characters: Arthur Pendragon, Merlin Emrys, Gwen (Guinevere), Lancelot du Lac, Morgana, Morgause, Gaius
Additional Tags: Modern AU, AU, Slash, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe, Friends to Lovers, Уточнять у автора, Don’t copy to another site, this was written after two seasons of the show, Depiction of Homophobia, depiction of casually homophobic public school boy douchebaggery, because that is how these fuckers roll, depictions of obnoxious rich privileged teenagers being obnoxiously rich and privileged, Magic, Reincarnation, Roommates, student life which in Scotland means drinking your bodyweight in alcohol and making bad life choices
Series: Part 1 of The student prince
Summary:

A Modern day Merlin AU set at the University of St Andrews, featuring teetotal kickboxers, secret wizards, magnificent bodyguards of various genders, irate fairies, imprisoned dragons, crumbling gothic architecture, arrogant princes, adorable engineering students, stolen gold, magical doorways, attempted assassination, drunken students, shaving foam fights, embarrassing mornings after, The Hammer Dance, duty, responsibility, friendship and true love...

This story was inspired by the thought of Prince William of Wales (and indeed the current Max von Hapsburg) studying at the University of St Andrews; it is also, as the title suggests, at least a little inspired by the operetta 'The Student Prince'.

Grateful thanks to Lamardeuse and DarkEmeralds for Beta and cheerleading!

::2019 note: This story was written BEFORE the TV show introduced the character of Gwaine. It's not that I can't spell, or that I'm perversely writing him out of character - I incorporated other characters from Arthurian legend (Kay, Gawain etc) into my story, and lacking prophetic abilities, my versions naturally don't mesh with the versions subsequently introduced into the show.::

Fundamental Imperfection (12175 words) by Starlingthefool
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Merlin (TV)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon
Characters: Merlin (Merlin), Arthur Pendragon, Morgana (Merlin)
Additional Tags: Literary References & Allusions, Nerdery, arguments are the best foreplay, snobbery, AU, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternative Universe - Authors
Series: Part 1 of Till Then My Windows Ache
Summary:

In which an argument about Dickens leads to a Twitter scandal, broken bones, midnight conversations, and transatlantic longing.

(Or, an AU with Arthur and Merlin as moderately famous authors.)

The Lonely King (58002 words) by Cori Lannam
Chapters: 2/2
Fandom: Merlin (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon
Characters: Merlin (Merlin), Arthur Pendragon, Arthur, Merlin, Gwaine (Merlin), Percival, Elyan (Merlin), Mithian (Merlin), Elena (Merlin), Gaius (Merlin), Will (Merlin), Hunith (Merlin), Leon (Merlin)
Additional Tags: Bisexuality, Bisexual Male Character, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Modern Era
Summary:

The Prince of Wales at his school. Merlin was sure it was all just a very bad joke. A modern royalty AU.

[lannamichaels]

And finally the last three tabs I opened from my bookmarks, which are more MDZS:

i’ll be your girl (30774 words) by plonk
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV), 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn
Characters: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crossdressing, The Porn Is the Plot, idiots to lovers
Series: Part 1 of i'll be your girl
Summary:

At Nie Huaisang’s Halloween party, Wei Ying hits on noted heterosexual Lan Zhan. Successfully.

how to fall in love with a catfish: a guide by wei wuxian (disaster rat) (54692 words) by Yuisaki, bwyn
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Jiāng Yànlí/Jīn Zǐxuān, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín & Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn & Wēn Níng | Wēn Qiónglín & Wēn Qíng, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín & Jiāng Yànlí & Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn
Characters: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín, Jiāng Yànlí, Wēn Níng | Wēn Qiónglín, Wēn Qíng, Niè Huáisāng, Xuē Yáng | Xuē Chéngměi, Ā-Qìng, Mò Xuányǔ
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Actors, Multimedia, Online Friendship, Drunken Shenanigans, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Underage Drinking, Drinking Games, Families of Choice, Ensemble Cast, Fluff and Angst, Slow Burn, Catfish AU
Summary:

A new plan hatches in Wei Wuxian’s head. If this nocturnal, bottom-feeding, slimy, invasive mudcat posing as a beautiful actor thinks he can sway Wei Wuxian with animal pictures and a sob story and an unbelievably stilted way of texting with still no dick pictures in the first five minutes of conversation, he has another thing coming. Wei Wuxian’s got it, alright, he has this in the fucking bag.

Wei Wuxian plots to expose a catfish using strategic memes and turtle pictures while wiggling his way out of family dinner. Lan Wangji just wants companions.


Some of You (60640 words) by tangerinechar
Chapters: 7/7
Fandom: 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín/Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Jiāng Yànlí/Jīn Zǐxuān
Characters: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín, Jiāng Yànlí, Jīn Zǐxuān, Niè Huáisāng, Niè Míngjué, Wēn Níng | Wēn Qiónglín, Wēn Qíng
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Social Media, Actor AU, Idiots in Love, Mutual Pining, Fluff, Love Confessions, Matchmaking, Light Angst, lwj: posts an incredibly specific confession tweet, wwx: GEE I SURE WONDER WHO LWJ LOVES!! CANT BE ME LMAO
Summary:

It can’t be that bad, he thinks. There’s no way he would have done that. But the doubt still lingers, turning into full-blown anxiety as he scrolls down his twitter feed, finally arriving on his latest tweet.

Lan WangJi ✔ lan_wangji

Some of you have never fallen in love with a boy only for him to go missing after his parents die and pine away for three years waiting for him to come back, then continue to pine when he’s back after you realize you’re too scared to confess, and it shows.

23,043 retweets | 73,328 likes

Lan Zhan’s face pales and he buries his head in his hands, letting his phone drop on the table.

This is bad.

This is very, very bad.

-

Or, Lan Wangji gets drunk and tweets a love confession, Wei Wuxian panics, and all of twitter decides to matchmake Lan Wangji and his mystery guy.

[lannamichaels]

Things are that not modern AUs but are longfic and very good:

My rec post for SV Wishes by Feynite (The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System is by the same author as MDZS)

The Green Girl by Colubrina (Slytherin!Hermione)

The Problem Universe by Wyste

Not Easily Conquered by dropdeaddream and WhatAreFears

A Monstrous Regiment by AMarguerite (author rec for all her work)

The Grand Unified Theory of Shěn Qīngqiū by 00janeblonde. I've described this fic before as "either this needs no canon knowledge or it needs more canon knowledge than I have". It does a _ton_ of worldbuilding and also, despite being 479883 words long as of this rec, with 405 chapters, is not the kind of fic that... like, look, you know how sometimes you're reading a 200K fic that could have been 50K if they'd edited it or had a plan when they started it? This is a 400 chapter fic that could be two giant fics but it's also something like 100 ficlets tied together with a bow. Each chapter/scene starts with a clear indication of what is going on, who is there, etc, and everything builds slowly, and there's no overall One Specific Plotline, it's just SQQ living his do-over, twice. I rec it for the worldbuilding and the thought that's gone into it. As far as I'm concerned, the only canon knowledge you need is that Shen Jiu is the former name of Shen Qingqiu. Then Shen Yuan, a 20something from modern China, transmigrated into the character of SQQ. This fic pretty much does it the opposite way: Shen Yuan reincarnated as Shen Jiu, who then became SQQ, and SY thought it was transmigration because of amnesia.

The Hunt by Caeseria. This is secret canon compliant job fic, which is a trope that I love dearly. Basically: there is nothing at all in canon that says this character does not have this job. (I assume, at least. I don't know from Naruto).

SIDE FORAY INTO SECRET CANON COMPLIANT JOB: Rich Man's World by nirejseki, the first one of her fics that I ever read, in which Leonard Snart is also an accountant.

Countless Roads by nirejseki, in which Leonard Snart is a necromancer.

Infinite Coffee and Protection Detail by owlet

An Ever-Fixed Mark by AMarguerite. The order in which I prefer the endings: That Looks on Tempests, A Dalliance with the Duke, and then the An Ever-Fixed Mark.

Love is All You Need to Destroy Your Enemies by shadydave

Halifax Privateers by electrumqueen and Fahye

And Never Been Kissed by thehoyden and twentysomething

The Sum of Its Parts by KouriArashi

What Goes Around by KouriArashi

love is a contact sport by hazel and mermaid


The Sum of Their Parts by holdmybeer

[lannamichaels]

Origfic recs:

Superstition by Superstition_hockey. This is the main series but doesn't contain all the fics in it, but they're all in the Superstition Works collection.

The Fox's Grief by nirejseki

Mirror City by nirejseki

[lannamichaels]

And finally, for Vorkosigan, I just have author recs: Philomytha, avanti_90, Tel, and SouthernContinentSkies.

[eldabe]

AHHHH THANK YOU SO MUCH.

I saw all the notifications come in during work on Monday and I was legitimately tearing up. I'm saving all of them for when I go off social media and I appreciate EACH AND EVERY LINK AND REC thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!!!

[lannamichaels]

♥

If there's specific fandoms we overlap in, I can also dig through my bookmarks for them later on. Also, I see you're in fancake, but there's also recthething, which also has reccing posts.

[laleia]

I gave you my book recs already!

For phone games, I like "I Love Hue" and I usually have a crossword app handy. And I've been into Wordle and all of its varied spinoffs already but presumably you're already either on that train or not on it for a reason.

I've also been really into Chinese webnovels over the past year and a half but will not give any recommendations unless you are actively interested (if you are unaware, webnovels are basically really trashy romance / action / pick-your-genre novels, that interested fans translate -- probably not quite legally -- into English; I describe them as trashy because they're serialized and authors are compensated based on fans buying chapters, so the payment model incentivizes authors to prioritize tropes over plot/themes and nothing gets beta'd or edited as far as I can tell; there are some very excellently-written webnovels under this model, but there are also a whole host of very tropey, trashy, fun-to-read novels as well).

[eldabe]

Yes!! I didn't get to mention why I was so eager for book recs, but thank you so much for all of them!!

And thank you for the game! I am fully on the wordle train lolol, good call.


I, hmm, well I got a rec for MDZS fic above, which I think started as webnovel? But honestly the idea of diving into a long running serialized anything sounds overwhelming right now haha. I love the idea of serialized fiction (I once waxed poetic about the serialization of Monte Cristo to a friend for an hour) but in real life I find it hard to keep up. Are there any...short webnovels? Is that a thing?

(Also haha, shady English translations. I have fond memories of my shady anime/manga days, that's not a limiting factor!)