Flutterings

of roses

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 18:29:15 GMT

First rose in my yard this season:

Also: splurged ($5.88) on a dozen dark pink roses from the supermarket's aging bouquet buckets

Recent library read: Diana: My Graphic Obsession, by Sivan Piatigorsky-Roth, a transgender Jewish artist.

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a half-dozen entertaining things (two stories by me, four podfics by others)

Sat, 07 Jun 2025 23:56:40 GMT

I've cross-posted my April Shousetsu Bang*Bang story to AO3:

Biddable (5875 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Original Work
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Original Female Character(s)/Original Female Character(s), woodwind virtuoso/amateur harpsichordist
Additional Tags: Musicians, Classical Music, Dorm Sex, Asian-American Character, Even shy harpsichordists get horny as all get out
Series: Part 5 of Being Extra to Nail All the Things
Summary:

Lucienne wasn't planning to attend the early music festival auction. But then Iggie Wei yelled out her name from the "Instant Gratification" table.

I'll round up my impulse Discord drabbles from the past couple of years at some point, but I did whip up (cough) a short danmei crack (cough) sequence at the start of spring:

Four Burials and a Beginning (505 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin/Yu Ziyuan, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin/Jin Zixuan, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin/Wen Ning | Wen Qionglin, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin/Zidian, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin/Lan Huan | Lan Xichen, Jin Ling | Jin Rulan/Lan Jingyi
Characters: Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin
Additional Tags: Sex Pollen, Parent/Child Incest, Suicide, (not of main characters), Fisting, Drabble Sequence, Animate Object, Crack, Half-Baked Dove, (more like 4/5 roasted), Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin-centric, Podfic Available
Summary:

Four times Jiang Cheng had sex under duress, and then the start of something different.

... and then, a day later, this shows up in my in-box:

Four Burials and a Beginning [Podfic] (13 words) by jennisaisquoi
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin/Yu Ziyuan, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin/Jin Zixuan, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin/Wen Ning | Wen Qionglin, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin/Zidian, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin/Lan Huan | Lan Xichen, Jin Ling | Jin Rulan/Lan Jingyi
Characters: Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin
Additional Tags: Sex Pollen, Parent/Child Incest, Suicide, (not of main characters), Fisting, Drabble Sequence, Animate Object, Crack, Half-Baked Dove, (more like 4/5 roasted), Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin-centric, Podfic, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3, cold-ish read
Summary:

Four times Jiang Cheng had sex under duress, and then the start of something different.

As other commenters have noted, what's especially fun (and, for me, gratifying) about this podfic is the LMAO clearly coming through in jenni's take.

The irrepressible jennisaisquoi also honored me as the giftee for her 5-minute recording of westiec's "An Unlikely Partnership":

an unlikely partnership | End Racism in the OTW [Podfic] (13 words) by jennisaisquoi
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
Relationships: Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian & Yu Ziyuan
Characters: Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Yu Ziyuan
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ghosts, Ghost Yu Ziyuan, Canonical Character Death, Body Horror, Wei Wuxian's Revenge Road Trip, Yu Ziyuan Riding Shotgun, Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian is Not Okay, Podfic, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3
Summary:

After the Burial Mounds, Wei Wuxian calls on the dead to help him take his revenge. Someone he doesn't expect answers.

Podfic of an unlikely partnership | End Racism in the OTW by westiec.

vinia recorded one of my all-time favorite Proper English-inspired fics, written by milliners, as a gift to me!

how much the heart can hold [podfic] (16 words) by vinia
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: England Series - K. J. Charles
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Bill Merton/Jimmy Yoxall
Additional Tags: Podfic, Podfic Length: 10-20 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming, Audio Format: Download, Bill is so bossy, And Jimmy loves him for it, Hashtag Bill Merton Forever
Summary:

Bill and Jimmy work out what comes next.

And, also in England World (specifically post-Will Darling Adventures), MDZS mainstay kisahawklin found the Yuletide 2021 drabble I'd written for celli and recorded it, with a terrific cover by Rifle:

[Podfic] Foresight (15 words) by kisahawklin
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Will Darling Adventures - K.J. Charles, England Series - K. J. Charles
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Will Darling/Kim Secretan
Characters: Daniel da Silva
Additional Tags: yumadrin, Yuletide Madness Drabble Invitational, Post-Canon, Make the Yuletide Gay, Podfic, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming, Audio Format: Download
Series: Part 7 of Voiceteam 2025 Drabbles
Summary:

"Unfortunately, I have a very good idea of how he’d react if I offered to take him to a tailor." - Kim Secretan, in "How Goes the World?"

DS anticipates a opportunity.

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New S2B2 story (F/F, recorder player / harpsichordist)

Thu, 08 May 2025 03:12:56 GMT

Biddable - 5.9K, explicit

It's a standalone story, but in the same universe as "Wonder Women in Schenectady" (percussionist/music librarian), "Of Figures and Fingering Things Out" (bassoonist/violinist), "Accidentals" (recorder players + loud instrument gal) and "To Hone High and Low" (oboist/science teacher). My author tag will take you to all five: https://www.shousetsubangbang.com/mirror/tag/greta-jia-kang-cabrel/

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New S2B2 story (F/F, percussionist/music librarian)

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 19:40:57 GMT

Wonder Women in Schenectady - 3.7K, explicit

It's a standalone story, but in the same universe as "Of Figures and Fingering Things Out" (bassoonist/violinist), "Accidentals" (recorder players + loud instrument gal) and "To Hone High and Low" (oboist/science teacher). My author tag will take you to all four: https://www.shousetsubangbang.com/mirror/tag/greta-jia-kang-cabrel/

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new S2B2 story (f/f, bassoonist/violinist)

Mon, 06 Jan 2025 18:25:39 GMT

Of Figures and Figuring Things Out - 5.5K, explicit

It's a standalone story, but in the same universe as "Accidentals" (recorder players + loud instrument gal) and "To Hone High and Low" (oboist/science teacher). My author tag will take you to all three: https://www.shousetsubangbang.com/mirror/tag/greta-jia-kang-cabrel/

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what I wrote for Yuletide

Sun, 05 Jan 2025 21:11:46 GMT

I'd planned to stay completely on the sidelines this year, but I looked at pinch-hitters' prompts on Christmas Eve and an EPH Christmas morning, so these happened:

belly and breath and growl and beating heart (100 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Welsh Mountains, Unspecified Fandom
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Tryfan, Rhinog Fach, Yr Wyddfa, Y Carneddau
Additional Tags: unapologetically carnivorous peaks, Drabble
Summary:

Some mountains sassing one another while time passes / passing time.

Unpolished but not unfinished (100 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Boston Public Library Statues
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: The Lions
Additional Tags: Drabble

Such Dark Enjoyment (717 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Lilywhite Boys Series - K. J. Charles
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jerry Crozier/Alec Pyne-ffoulkes
Characters: Jerry Crozier, Alec Pyne-ffoulkes
Additional Tags: Somnophilia, Established Relationship, Character Study, Consensual Somnophilia
Summary:

Jerry hadn't previously seen anything appealing in the notion of fucking an unconscious body. But.

Also! Thanks to a separate event (Informal Twitter Podfic Exchange), the story I wrote for Yuletide 2022 is now a beautifully recorded podfic!

[podfic] Paper Beats Duke (6 words) by AirgiPodSLV
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 掷裴武公诗 | A Poem Thrown at Martial Duke Pei - 介胄鬼 | An Armored Ghost, Unspecified Fandom
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Additional Tags: Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE), Blacksmithing, Ghosts, Poetry, War, Brush Writing
Summary:

A podfic of 'Paper Beats Duke' by ribbons.

Author's Summary: Where the poem thrown at Martial Duke Pei came from.

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Drabble, ToE, "Not Trifling"

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 17:02:35 GMT

Happy birthday, plaid_slytherin! This cupcake brought to you by my own current adventure in preparing pandoro for this evening's trifle. (About to pour the backup cake into its pan, that's how well things are going at the moment.)

[100 words, T (for homophobia), with characters/fanon borrowed from The Apple, the Snake, and the Angel. Apocrypha for now (will add to series later, if nothing's jossed it by the time we get Bruno to Balliol)]

When the agents gathered in the smoking room, Clearwater hadn’t expected the conversation to remain centered on literal trifle, but Margaret Gudgeon had been much taken with Curtis’s rendition of the dessert, and all their colleagues fascinated—not entirely willingly—by Curtis’s easy recital of the domestic debacles he’d had to muddle through in the course of mastering company-worthy cake.

With Curtis out of earshot—seeing to a cranky child—young Simmons cheekily suggested, “Isn’t he good at cake because he’s a poof?”

Clearwater retorted, “He’s good at seeing things through—and seeing through things, be it cakes or façades.”

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fandom, it contains multitudes

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 15:59:27 GMT

The KJC Discord possum minyan has been discussing what makes a hanukkiah (not) kosher.

(An artist who researched the topic for illustration purposes a while back: "[The lights] can't be in a circle because the candles should all be visible with no visual overlap when viewed straight on. I think a slight semicircle is okay but my understanding was it has to be a straight line and any height difference has to be gradual and differentiable from the shamash.")

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S2B2 and smubbles

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 20:20:39 GMT

The end of 2025 has been riding me hard - I'm making lists of things to punt to March and beyond to manage my priorities - but it's also 59 F and sunny (so deadlines be damned, I'm going to do some cleaning up around and under the hellebores...) and the season has brought some pleasant surprises, including today's revelation from a Swedish Sayers fan on the KJ Charles Discord that "I am the Queen Aholibah" comes from Swinburne's "Masque of Queen Bersabe." I have been wondering about this for literally decades, and the LPWC compiler-in-chief insisted it was original to DLS back in the late nineties/early oughts when we were trading emails for the 2nd edition, etc. As another Discord possum summed up, "what a time to be alive."

At any rate, I have managed a bit of non-work publishing and posting since All Hallows...

In the newest issue of Shousetsou Bang*Bang, my story "Of Figures and Fingering Things Out" is third in the TOC. Bassoonist/violinist f/f wlw, mild age difference, 5.5K, in the same universe as my other S2B2 contributions but you don't need to have read them to enjoy this one. (That said, I'm now tempted to work in a mention of cheap soprano recorders into all the WiPs. We'll cross that bridge or burn it when I get closer to done.)

And, I contributed a half-dozen drabbles to Wanksgiving the Third:

(anti)dote (100 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Zidian/Sandu/Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin
Characters: Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Sandu (Modao Zushi), Zidian (Modao Zushi)
Additional Tags: Sentient Zidian (Modao Zushi), Sentient Sandu (Modao Zushi), Threesome, Pegging, Bottom Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Smubbles Challenge: Wanksgiving 2024
Summary:

When the world is too much with Jiang Wanyin, Zidian and Sandu do their best to loosen its hold.

Clenching and Sucking, Up and Down (100 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, England Series - K. J. Charles
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Archie Curtis/Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Jiang Yanli/Nie Huaisang, Lan Huan | Lan Xichen/Daniel da Silva, mentioned Nie Mingjue/Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin
Characters: Archie Curtis, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Jiang Yanli, Nie Huaisang
Additional Tags: Crack Crossover, Orgy, Bottom Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Canonically Huge Dicks, Smubbles Challenge: Wanksgiving 2024
Summary:

There's a sex party in progress. Lord knows its participants deserve a break.

quaesivi illum (100 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Goblin Emperor Series - Katherine Addison
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Thara Celehar/Iäna Pel-Thenhior
Characters: Iäna Pel-Thenhior
Additional Tags: Pining, Smubbles Challenge: Wanksgiving 2024, tfw what you write kicks you in the teeth with the feels
Summary:

Iäna listens and yearns.

wedi ei dreiddio gan pannas mawr (100 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Duolingo
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sioned/Owen
Characters: Sioned, Owen
Additional Tags: Welsh Character, Parsnips, Pegging, Vegetable Insertion, Smubbles Challenge: Wanksgiving 2024
Summary:

The parsnip was thicker than any tongue, fist, or cock Owen had previously allowed into his arse.

Fire Doth Find Its Sphere (100 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: England Series - K. J. Charles
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Archie Curtis/Daniel da Silva
Characters: Archie Curtis, Daniel da Silva (England Series)
Additional Tags: Waxplay, Established Relationship, Smubbles Discord's Wanksgiving Challenge 2024
Summary:

Archie was unprepared for how painfully hard his cock would become as Daniel lathered up his chest and thighs.

Our sweet affections, like the spheres (100 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: England Series - K. J. Charles
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Archie Curtis/Daniel da Silva
Characters: Archie Curtis, Daniel da Silva (England Series)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Canon Jewish Character, sufganiyot, Smubbles Discord's Wanksgiving Challenge 2024, Alternate Universe - High School
Summary:

The English teacher makes a show of assembling a jelly doughnut in Archie's lab.

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new stories (and recipes) in Spice! the MXTX Food Zine

Sun, 10 Nov 2024 06:23:00 GMT

The 2024 edition is now available in two PDF formats (digital and print-ready) - links and details in this Tumblr post.

I have three stories in it:

"From Soil, Silt, and Sky" - with adorable illustrations by taiyakii - page 149, 5400 words. Jin Ling/Lan Sizhui, background Jiang Wanyin/Lan Xichen. The juniors gather at Lotus Pier while Sect Leader Jiang is bedridden.

"Fans of Women Who Happen To Be Too Much" - page 168, 2807 words. Jin Ling/Lan Sizhui, with several original female characters as guests at their bed and breakfast.

Each guestroom in the Hideaway -- the inn owned by Mr. Lan and Dr. Jin -- is named after a waterway, a mountain, or a nature preserve, and when she was seven years old, brought along on a trip to the region, Jiayi had fallen instantly and irrevocably in love with the dazzling fan mounted above her cot.

"Tidewater Tideover" - page 174, 2697 words. Taking refuge in a Foggy Bottom condo, Jin Ling muses about uncles and friends while figuring out his next steps (including what to do about dinner when the fridge and pantry in said condo is... lacking).

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Et rien ne serait arrivé mais...

Thu, 23 May 2024 03:46:21 GMT

It's pedal-to-the-metal with various projects through mid-July, which is of course the cue for plotbunnies to pounce. During Sunday's paddle, I was trying to piece out the next paragraph of "Silt" and ended up thinking about Susan Lazarus's hairpins and Wen Qing's needles, so this happened:

I Have No Choice But To Watch The World (1494 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Lilywhite Boys Series - K. J. Charles, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV), 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Susan "Sukey" Lazarus/Cara Pyne-ffoulkes, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin/Wen Qing
Characters: Susan "Sukey" Lazarus, Cara Pyne-ffoulkes, Wen Qing (Modao Zushi)
Additional Tags: Cara lives AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, Victorian, MDZS & CQL frankencanon, Major Illness, Coughing
Summary:

The first time Susan Lazarus meets Wen Qing is at the end of a horrible night, Cara’s lungs having done their utmost for hours to heave themselves out of her body in sticky, raggedy clumps.

===

The YouTube jukebox served up Les Le Forestiers singing Georges Moustaki's "Joseph" just now. I'm not sure it would've snagged my attention most nights, but I've been thinking of old movie soundtracks and folksongs the past 48 hours, and there's something about seeing those two, and that sound . . .

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new story in S2B2

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 21:01:33 GMT

In the April 2024 Shousetsu Bang*Bang (dba Greta Jia-Kang Cabrel): Accidentals - f/f/f, about those recorders Robin brought home in "To Hone High or Low," but you don't have to have met Robin/Li-Chen via the earlier story to enjoy watching Satsuki, Sheila & Alana hook up at an early music festival.

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Margaret Shepherd & the Song of Songs

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 08:19:40 GMT

A heads-up for those of you near Wellfleet - calligrapher Margaret Shepherd has a show with works inspired by the Song of Songs up through tomorrow: https://provincetownindependent.org/arts-minds/2023/10/11/margaret-shepherds-approach-to-an-ancient-sensual-text/

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new story

Mon, 28 Aug 2023 13:50:13 GMT

In the August 2023 Shousetsou Bang*Bang (dba Greta Cabrel): To Hone High and Low - f/f, oboist/science teacher, more self-indulgent than my usual style. I ended up cutting the trash talk about Carmina Burana but there's a bit of Handel.

Previous publications as Greta include poems in Dead Mule, 13 Myna Birds, Ripple Effect (a fundraiser for the New Orleans Public Library), and Clean Sheets.

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podfic squee

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 03:08:21 GMT

The incomparable jennisaisquoi is in the thick of good things, including new MDZS/Untamed stories to relish. She's also updated her archives across the board, which has meant lovely new covers for her recordings of my Band Sinister fics, which focus respectively on a character's conversion to Judaism and a threesome with that character:

( Read more... )

And, ICYMI, there's also her collaboration with HowOldAreWe on 18 of my No True Pair drabbles:

[Podfic] Skylarks Wounded in the Wing (4 words) by HowOldAreWe, jennisaisquoi
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: England Series - K. J. Charles, Green Men Series - K. J. Charles, Psmith - P. G. Wodehouse, David Blaize - E. F. Benson
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Daniel da Silva, Randolph Glyde, Mike Jackson, Frank Maddox, David Blaize, Archie Curtis, Sam Caldwell, Fenella Carruth, George "Bags" Crabtree, Saul Lazenby
Additional Tags: Drabble Collection, Podfic, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes
Summary:

Drabbles prompted by the No True Pair Challenge, September 2022. Title from William Blake's "Auguries of Innocence"

Listen! Enjoy! Kudo! :D

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rec: Mo Dao Zu Shi animatic: Sorrow

Wed, 05 Jul 2023 05:09:18 GMT

[hat tip to Gavilan on the KJ Charles Discord]

A moving take on Lan Xichen by nikudons:

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sleeping inside

Sat, 03 Jun 2023 02:24:53 GMT

[Subject line extracted from Rilo Kiley's "Portions for Foxes"]

Things recently made for or in response to me:

( 18 England World x Green Men x Psmith x David Blaize drabbles now in audio! )

Storms and Accidents (1156 words) by BuddyWritesFic
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Original Work
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character, Not Helpless Wizard/Not Meathead Warrior
Characters: Original Male Character(s)
Additional Tags: Clothing Porn, Fantastical Landscapes, Mountains, Ice, Broken Bones, Huddling For Warmth, Dark Magic, Wilderness Survival, Dangerous Landscapes, Storms, Accidents
Summary:

Wizards and fighters, will they ever get along?

Yes. Yes, they will. Shippily.

And then there's what I wrote between FFFX (starring "Wear This For My Sake") and the current hiatus:

A Quest for Cake (100 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: A Charm of Magpies Series - K. J. Charles
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Hawkes (A Charm of Magpies), Cheney (A Charm of Magpies), The older St. Merrick boy
Additional Tags: Future Fic, Drabble
Summary:

At least one of the sprogs shares Lucien's love of sartorial finery.

The Point of Different Faces - England World with cameos from Sins of the Cities, Will Darling Adventures, Green Men and elsewhere

Thou breathe loving air (300 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: England Series - K. J. Charles
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Archie Curtis/Daniel da Silva
Characters: Archie Curtis, Daniel da Silva
Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Fisting, Triple Drabble
Summary:

They couldn’t have got this far if Archie wasn’t so good at breathing.

Flickering like a wolf in and out of view (1280 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Original Work
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: oblivious dogwalker who does night shifts/werewolf who's tired of being picked up by animal control
Summary:

The oddest thing about Lew Blaidd is how he somehow ends up naked in Animal Control’s holding pen for its biggest canines once a month.

Wear your rue with a difference (400 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Original Work
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Male Villain Grudgingly Being Redeemed/One He's Wronged That's Helping Him Redeem Himself
Additional Tags: past trauma, Developing Relationship
Summary:

Hedge can’t believe he’s spending this much time on the fucking centerpieces.

[with a little sequel in the comments]

For ever shattered and the same for ever (400 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: England Series - K. J. Charles
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Archie Curtis/Daniel da Silva
Characters: Archie Curtis, Daniel da Silva
Additional Tags: Caves, Torture, Rescue

Like a Boat from Shore (400 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: A Charm of Magpies Series - K. J. Charles
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Esther Gold
Additional Tags: Ceremonies and Rituals, Family, Vacation, Reunions
Summary:

Ten years after "Five for Heaven": Esther wants her children to see more of the world.

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Lenten roses blooming

Sun, 19 Mar 2023 04:26:42 GMT

This snapshot was taken a month and a half ago:

And this one, earlier this week (none of the azaleas look great, but they're still alive so far...):

Thursday was wonderfully mild, but it was back to frost advisories last night.

Five Figure Fanwork Exchange (FFFX) was a wild ride. Viraaja literally wrote a full novel for me (103,739 words!!! 37 chapters!!!), inspired by the prompt "Wizard with unfair rep for being helpless/Warrior with unfair rep for being a meathead."

( The Crack at the Heart of Everything )

I ended up posting 38K - more than half of it after posting the bus pass for my true assignment, in spite of researching and tussling with the plotbunnies for both the Think of England and Cynster fics for months. I didn't actually offer standalone ToE for the exchange (PS and I matched on David Blaize) but the title and closing scene pretty much blindsided me like two hours after I opened the assignment email ... and I still ended up revising for dear life until two minutes before work reveals:

Wear This For My Sake (32479 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 10/10
Fandom: England Series - K. J. Charles
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Archie Curtis/Daniel da Silva
Characters: Archie Curtis, Daniel da Silva, Maurice Vaizey, Daniel’s grotesquely extensive family
Additional Tags: Gloves, Spies & Secret Agents, Edwardian Period, Class Differences, Loyalty
Summary:

“If you intend to start sending me posies with ‘Wear this for my sake’ cards, I shall assault you.” – Daniel da Silva to Archie Curtis, in Think of England

Archie doesn’t like being thought of as incapable. But, for Daniel, he will work at anything, anywhere, and the hell with what people might think.

Since PS and I chat frequently, I needed a decoy assignment to moan about for six months. Four titles and three plots later, I posted this as a late treat:

Drawing Strength (5047 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Cynster Family Saga - Stephanie Laurens
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Drake Varisey/Louisa Cynster
Characters: Carter "Dabbler" Cynster
Additional Tags: 1850s, Archaeology, Jewelry
Summary:

Isaac Staudinger needs to line up some things for his next expedition.

Funny how things are fated to happen when you happen to know Cynsters.

Finally, I spotted "ghost klezmer band" among the pinch-hitter prompts, so this happened:

The heart is breaking but still begs to dance (623 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Yudah Cohen Series - Rebecca Fraimow
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: the ghost klezmer band
Additional Tags: Figuring out how things work
Summary:

The clarinet player hadn't expected the afterlife to be more complicated than being alive.

I didn't participate in Candy Hearts, but I did beta Gregor/By sex pollen dubcon...

Botanical Attraction (2312 words) by SouthernContinentSkies
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Gregor Vorbarra/Byerly Vorrutyer
Characters: Gregor Vorbarra, Byerly Vorrutyer
Additional Tags: Dubious Consent, Sex Pollen, Sex Pollened Aggressor/Unaffected Victim, Drugs, References to Drugs
Summary:

A lapse in Residence security leaves Byerly to deal with a unique sort of emergency - the type that requires both hands.

And the Appleverse is cooking along, with "It Wears, Sir, As It Grows" as the latest episode.

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relief and squee

Fri, 27 Jan 2023 06:02:10 GMT

Relief: Finished a challenging assignment earlier tonight. Getting a less hard but time-consuming chore out the door tomorrow. (Then I get to whale through things I didn't get to while these things were being massive, but tonight I sleep the sleep of This Round Is Bloody Done.)

Squee: jennirach recorded another one of my fics!

And She Dwelt [podfic] (33 words) by jennirach
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Band Sinister - K. J. Charles
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Amanda Frisby/David Martelo
Characters: Amanda Frisby, David Martelo
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Canon Jewish Character, Judaism, Podfic, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes
Summary:

"Will I have to study a lot?"

"You'll have to take instruction." David looked stunned. Amanda could have that effect when she'd made up her mind about things. "If you're sure you want to, once we've talked properly about what it means for you. Which we are going to do first," he added, with decision. Guy wished him luck.

-- Band Sinister, chapter 12

The one she posted earlier features the same characters:

Enfolding by ribbons [podfic] (28 words) by jennirach
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Band Sinister - K. J. Charles
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Lord Corvin/Amanda Frisby/David Martelo
Characters: Lord Corvin, Amanda Frisby, David Martelo
Additional Tags: Threesome - F/M/M, Podfic Length: 10-20 Minutes, Podfic, also appearing: Amanda/research, took me three tries to say Olivenca and I bet it's still wrong
Summary:

“It's been years since we fucked,” David stated. “With reason.”

“How closed is that door?” Corvin asked.

“You’ll have to ask Amanda.” David’s fingers began moving in Corvin’s hair again. “She may well fling it open.”

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gratitudes amid the grind

Sun, 15 Jan 2023 19:00:25 GMT

I miss English country dancing, and wandering across NC and back, and I'm going to miss hymn-leading, but there is plenty in house, mind, and online to occupy me for the rest of the decade (the last time I printed out my Workflowy it was like 30 pages long).

( a bit of ranting and railing )

So, some happy things:

Robin_Fai beautifully recorded a ficlet I wrote last year for Purimgifts:

[Podfic] The Blue Flowers and the Yellow (29 words) by robinfaipods
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: English and Scottish Popular Ballads - Francis James Child
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Willie/sweetheart
Additional Tags: Fake Character Death, Trans Female Character, Podfic, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming
Summary:

"O Willie, lie down as thou were dead,
And the sun shines over the valley,
And lay thy winding-sheet down at thy head,
Down amang the blue flowers and the yellow."

- "Willie's Lyke-Wake" (Child Ballad 25)

Podfic of The Blue Flowers and the Yellow by ribbons.

In addition to my efforts for Yuletide and the fall KJ Charles exchange, I created some other things (including in-universe docs and recipes):

( England World, Green Men, David Blaize, Psmith, Wimsey, Twelfth Night, Lilywhite Boys... )

Writing is an absolute slog at the moment -- like, ekeing-out-one-leaden-sentence-per-day slog -- but what I'm working on nonetheless has the potential to be really fun and please the recipient, so chipping away to free the many-eyed-angel will continue.

My employer has been excellent about both precautions and accommodations.

A former colleague has (after a long search) been hired at a place that will treat them better.

My friend Lorraine has published a collection of haiku, senryu, tanka, and haibun.

I made pizza last night, and today I shall bake fruit bread and assemble a pistachio cream pie.

Still in bloom in my sunroom: Christmas cacti (in shades of deep pink and orange), shamrocks, white roses, tiny tomato flowerets.

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Yuletide: reveals / research

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 05:32:58 GMT

Happy 2023, y'all! Here's to as happy and healthy a year as the fates allow.

( December. Well. )

Yuletide 2022: Being as extra as last year wasn't in the cards, but it was still a fine time. ChalionKat picked me up as a pinch-hit and sent Sins of the Cities' Mark Braglewicz and Justin Lazarus to fix Oliver Twist - a gift that was a delight to find under the tree not just for its own sake but because of the longtime grudge my husband holds against Dickens, who dissed a great-great's manuscript with the words "I would sooner dine on a boiled glove." Take that, Charles!

I was assigned to lnhammer, which delighted me because the prompt for "A Poem Thrown at Martial Duke Pei" began with "WTF was Duke Pei thinking, burning a poem he knows is by a ghost?"

What with Fic in a Box (FIAB) fills and the promised continuation of a birthday present occupying the front burners, I didn't plan to draft the story until December, but after poking around the web over a couple of nights, it was clear that I would need to visit both the public and university libraries to get a better idea of (1) what the armor looked like, and (2) the terrain the ghost and the duke had traversed.

The top volume is Donald B. Wagner's Iron and Steel in Ancient China (Leiden: Brill, 1993).

Not pictured: Charles Benn's Daily Life in Traditional China: The Tang Dynasty (Westport: Greenwood, 2002), which was so idiosyncratic in style and substance that my eyebrows were hitting my hairline before I'd made it through the front matter. I'd also worked on an exhibition of samurai armor some years ago, and while its objects were of a different country and a later era, I revisited the catalogue anyway, as part of a general feeling-around-to-find-the-story phase.

Around this time, I also took a stroll through the FIAB list of mediums while compiling my pinch-hitter's wishlist, and that's when I learned about the golden shovel poetry form originated by Terence Hayes. Despite the game plan I'd sketched out, and my history of being able to write 1000-3000+ words of solid fic in a single night when necessary (or inspired), I was feeling twitchy about not having locked onto any part of the story yet, so I started a set of shovels to have something potentially submittable, with an idea of working through "Sir Orfeo" as well as the Chinese ghosts.

But then the key questions materialized in my head. Specifically: how did the ghost throw a sheet of paper, and how did the words get to us post-incineration? Once I realized those were the questions I wanted to answer, I started a file with the working title "The Stick Avenges the Sword." The first two paragraphs were slow to take shape - I think I was averaging 2-3 sentences a day - but then the rest of the story jelled in one or two sittings. I waited until the 8th to upload them in case anything else came to mind, and finetuned some spots on the 14th.

Paper Beats Duke (1384 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 掷裴武公诗 | A Poem Thrown at Martial Duke Pei - 介胄鬼 | An Armored Ghost, Unspecified Fandom
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Additional Tags: Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE), Blacksmithing, Ghosts, Poetry, War, Brush Writing
Summary:

Where the poem thrown at Martial Duke Pei came from.

Shovels Stranded on a Riverbank (353 words) by ribbons
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 幽恨诗 | Poem of Hidden Resentment - 安邑坊女 | A Woman of Anyi Lane, 掷裴武公诗 | A Poem Thrown at Martial Duke Pei - 介胄鬼 | An Armored Ghost, 虎丘石壁鬼 | Three Poems by a Ghost on a Stone Wall in Huqiu, Unspecified Fandom
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Additional Tags: Poetry, Ghosts, Don't Have to Know Canon
Summary:

A trio of golden shovels based on the following:

1. Poem of Hidden Resentment, A Woman of Anyi Lane
2. A Poem Thrown at Martial Duke Pei, An Armored Ghost
3. Three Poems, The Ghost of a Stone Wall in Huqiu

ETA: It turns out there are several makes of golden shovels. The one in play here is the Masterclass variation, where a word from each line of the source is used as the end-word of the corresponding line of the new poem.

In addition to savoring the comments on and recs of my own work, I had the pleasure of secretly, gleefully delighting in the reactions to PerfectlySteadfast's "Courtship," which I beta'd.

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saddling a Mastodon

Wed, 09 Nov 2022 14:50:27 GMT

At @ribbons@eldritch.cafe

(As I mentioned to the possums on the KJC Discord, I should've tried for "Nessie," given the server name. Ah well.)

Figuratively under water at the moment, what with a respiratory infection and tidal waves of deadlines, but I'm also closing in on the end of a project that's been on my plate for a year, and I also have cute red bean cakes at hand, so yay and onward!

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Birdwits, beetfields, and hot sauerkraut wrestlers

Sun, 30 Oct 2022 18:52:47 GMT

Y'all. Y'ALL. My habit of encouraging vegetable-adjacent crackfic continues to bear fruit! [g, d, r]

Candy (DBA beautifulduckweed) wrote this treat for me! It is brilliantly silly, and I cannot stop grinning.

Of All the Worlds of Mice and Men (9576 words) by beautifulduckweed
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Band Sinister - K. J. Charles, The Tsar's indecent hot sauerkraut wrestling ring - Ursula Vernon
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Lord Corvin/Guy Frisby/John Raven/Philip Rookwood, Lord Corvin/Guy Frisby/John Raven/Philip Rookwood & Ivan (Hot Sauerkraut Wrestling)
Characters: Ivan (Hot Sauerkraut Wrestling), Guy Frisby, Philip Rookwood, John Raven, Lord Corvin, Sorcerer of Never (Hot Sauerkraut Wrestling), Wolf (Hot Sauerkraut Wrestling), Firebird (Hot Sauerkraut Wrestling)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Magic, Crack Crossover, Possibly the stupidest thing I've written which is a pretty high bar to clear, If you wanted to see the Birdwits & Guy turned into fieldmice boy do I have the fic 4 u, The talking animals still sound like grizzled NYC cops from 80s procedurals for no reason
Summary:

Ivan, the most accomplished hot sauerkraut wrestler the world had ever known, returns to the strange land of Never to foil the evil plans of the Sorcerer who resides there—only to have his own plans foiled by the unexpected appearance of four strange men.

A flash of light accompanied by a loud boom shattered the tranquility of the night. Ivan covered his head and fell to his knees, then looked in the direction of the sound.

Not five feet away from him stood four men, all shouting at each other.

“Corvin, why the devil did you step through when I bloody well told you not to—”

“Look, how do you expect us to learn more about that strange hole in the air without—”

“Where the devil are we? Corvin, you cursed maggotbrain—”

“Oh good lord, is that a wolf?”

NOTE: Possible to read fandom-blind for Hot Sauerkraut; see prefatory notes.

[Past history, you may ask? Sadly, the archive with pixychelle's 2006 eggplant!Snape / carrot!Lupin smut is no longer extant, from what I can tell, but there have been some fine fun times indeed...]

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podfic of "Enfolding"!

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 13:47:07 GMT

By the wonderful jennirach:

Enfolding by ribbons [podfic] by jennirach
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Band Sinister - K. J. Charles
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Lord Corvin/Amanda Frisby/David Martelo
Characters: Lord Corvin, Amanda Frisby, David Martelo
Additional Tags: Threesome - F/M/M, Podfic Length: 10-20 Minutes, Podfic, also appearing: Amanda/research, took me three tries to say Olivenca and I bet it's still wrong
Summary:

“It's been years since we fucked,” David stated. “With reason.”

“How closed is that door?” Corvin asked.

“You’ll have to ask Amanda.” David’s fingers began moving in Corvin’s hair again. “She may well fling it open.”

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six of one, half dozen of the other

Wed, 12 Oct 2022 06:00:54 GMT

The plotbunnies would not be gainsaid this round, so I ended up creating one sonnet sequence, two stories told via tweets / texts / Google results, and three additional treats for the recent KJ Charles exchange:

Anything That's Mended Is But Patched (1457 words) by ribbons
Fandom: Green Men Series - K. J. Charles
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Randolph Glyde, Sam Caldwell, Saul Lazenby, Syrena Phan, Beatrice Phan, Max Isaacs, Hugh "Barney" Barnaby
Additional Tags: sonnet sequence, Wayland's words

The Secrets of Dropdowns (532 words) by ribbons
Fandom: Band Sinister - K. J. Charles, The Will Darling Adventures - K. J. Charles
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Amanda Frisby, Lord Corvin, Bill Merton, Philip Rookwood
Additional Tags: The Jack and Knave, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Spies & Secret Agents, Poor Cyber Hygiene, Seriously Kids Clear Your Browsers, THIS FIC THOUGH, Not Serious, Texting, Too many tabs open, RTFM, and the FAQ too, the in-jokes are indexed there no lie, What is time
Summary:

The present-day Jack and Knave is a cosy hang where Amanda Frisby can be found with a notebook on many an evening, working on her sequels to The Secret of Darkdown. Her day job is at a government agency, reporting to a middle-aged security maven named Bill Merton...

Such Summer Birds Are Men (1198 words) by ribbons
Fandom: The Will Darling Adventures - K. J. Charles, Lord Peter Wimsey - Dorothy L. Sayers
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Kim Secretan & Phoebe Stephens-Prince
Characters: Kim Secretan, Laura Hershel Yoxall, Death Bredon, Maisie Jones (The Will Darling Adventures)
Additional Tags: Treat, Epistolary, Lord Peter Wimsey - Dorothy L. Sayers: Book 08: Murder Must Advertise, Post-Book: Subtle Blood, POV: Kim Secretan
Summary:

June 1932

Kim writes to Phoebe.

( England/WDA x Lilywhites )

( England x Society of Gentlemen, sparked by Tarquinio Merula )

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