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delphiBorrowed from flowersforgraves because I love hearing about what people are working on and am also kind of curious as to what words might stump my massive heap of WiPs.
Comment with a word. If it's in my WIP, I'll reply with the passage it appears in.
Given the number of WiPs I have, if you're inclined to toss out a fandom you know I write in along with your word, there's a chance I might be able to find something more specific. Otherwise, I'll go with whichever file comes up at at the top of the list.
flowersforgraves because I love hearing about what people are working on and am also kind of curious as to what words might stump my massive heap of WiPs.Comment with a word. If it's in my WIP, I'll reply with the passage it appears in.
Given the number of WiPs I have, if you're inclined to toss out a fandom you know I write in along with your word, there's a chance I might be able to find something more specific. Otherwise, I'll go with whichever file comes up at at the top of the list.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-12 11:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-13 12:32 am (UTC)He'd never fallen for someone before, and he couldn't say whether feeling this much was normal. It was like that kind of anger that made everything go red, except instead of a twisting stomach and a pounding in his head, it was something filling his chest to the point of bursting. Something that felt good and hurt at the same time, like he was going to puke up sunshine.
(Untitled Scout/Medic, Team Fortress 2)
Salt:
Then there is Twin Coconuts. Rarely the same cabin twice, and sometimes - in the busy season - an extra room in the main house. Unpredictable, but the predictable unpredictability of Duke and Earl. Flirtation. Mischief. Things that ought to erect his guard but, by now, with the young men who are no longer so young, constitute a curious minor dialect in which he is halfway fluent. Clear water. The taste of sea salt on Byron’s skin.
(Untitled 1930s!BLU Medic/1930s!RED Medic, Team Fortress 2)
It turned out I had nine files with 'salt' in the, so I went with the one that was halfway SFW. :D
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-13 08:45 am (UTC)Since I'm feeling lazy and indulgent, let's try HP, either languid or tryst. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-13 06:22 pm (UTC)I don't have a "languid", but if a "languorous" counts:
"I'm very aware of my circulation at the moment," Archie replied between languorous spoonfuls of chocolate sundae. "Thought processes are slowed. Not...muffled as with opiates. Much better in fact. I don't care for having my brain smothered. Gravity still presents an issue."
He let his head loll onto Bones' shoulder in demonstration.
(Untitled 1930s!Team fic, Team Fortress 2)
Tryst:
YOU: Cruising?
DRAMA: A mating display, my liege. One that requires *subtlety*.
THE HOMO-SEXUAL UNDERGROUND: In the smoke-blue basement of a rumba club at the junction of Villalobos and Central Jamrock, two men in freshly scuffed dancing shoes catch each other's eye across the room. Quick, quick, then slow - backwards steps to a heavy-breathing, knee-trembling bathroom stall tryst.
(Untitled Harry Du Bois/Kim Kitsuragi fic, Disco Elysium)
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-17 01:31 am (UTC)And then the snippet did not disappoint. I mean, A. there's someone languorously eating a sundae. And that whole amazing description of how much better he feels than under opiates, which I can only imagine is a description of sex aftermath. (and OH, is having one's brains smothered a wonderfully apt description of being on pain meds), topped off by that adorable pretext for a headlean onto Bone's shoulder, which just made me cackle at the simultaneous bold as brass tissue paper thinness of it and the just so very edwardian gentleman of: I won't outright ask for a cuddle, must be sly and cleverly circumspect and witty.
And then! that second one, the absolute understated hotness of that second one holy hell D. I don't know if I ever shared this with you or not but Elizabeth Bear once did this incredible deep-dive analysis of handling focus in point-of-view, using a chapter of Watership Down as explainer. And this? is a fucking masterclass of what she was talking about in two paragraphs. First, that wonderful intro of someone explaining to their king, clearly! from some alternant reality, homosexuality. That first bit makes us wonder if we're in second-person, keeps us guessing and intrigued. And then, the zooming from the macro view, as it were, to the exterior of the club and slowly inward; damn just so skillfully done.
And the description of cruising! the fleeting eye-catch; the almost desperate scramble to steal what fleeting pleasure they can; something both so tragic about their elicit pleasures and so glorious, too; an utter refusal to bow to anyone's expectations or pressures, to snatch their joy from the world.
But yeah, you encapsulate the swiftness of it so well, in the short bursts of information and the onrushing flow of the sentences once their eyes meet; GOD it's always such a joy to watch you explore queer subculture, and these snippets, from Archie and Bones in their domestic bliss to the club are the full vibrant spectrum of it.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-17 07:13 pm (UTC)As for the Disco Elysium excerpt, I'm delighted that anything came across there, because even the canon's hard to explain in any way that makes sense. I don't deserve any credit, since this is pure pastiche. The game is actually written that way, with the main character Harry constantly in dialogue with 24 voices in his head (his principal skills), as well as with various objects, internalized concepts, the reptilian part of his brain, his limbic system, his spine, and the genius loci of his city. He starts off the game coming off a severe mental health episode where he did his best to erase his memory and spends the rest of it rebuilding his identity - part of which includes realizing he's bisexual. Or rather, largely failing to realize he's bisexual with his conscious mind while other parts of his brain and body (as well as the gay detective he's partnered with on the job) see it clearly.
It's been really fun to try playing with that style, carrying on from the canon basis of Harry discovering what he thinks of as 'The Homo-Sexual Underground' (i.e. just the local gay scene) and trying to figure out whether blushy attraction to one gay man, a romantic connection with another, and a love of disco is enough to qualify him for membership. Here, his sense of Drama doesn't think he's got the subtlety required for cruising. But his Electrochemistry is on board with making something happen, and his Conceptualization skill is going to vote for performing some grand romantic gesture towards his partner. :D
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-12 11:40 pm (UTC)"retorted"
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-13 12:37 am (UTC)"Gorgeous thing," Argus declared, hurriedly shrugging off his braces and divesting himself of his trousers.
Severus rolled his eyes, but his retort never made it past his lips before he was descended upon.
(Untitled Snape/Filch)
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-13 01:28 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-13 02:16 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-13 01:19 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-13 01:52 am (UTC)"All right?" Mr. Filch asked, frowning.
Severus reached for the money before the man could change his mind, reflecting that randiness was, at least, a rather more manageable discomfort than despair.
("York", Snape/Filch, Harry Potter)
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-13 01:49 am (UTC)This seems both obvious and dangerous somehow.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-13 02:09 am (UTC)The Saint-Laurent was as much a part of his childhood as the city. Slow-moving barges crowding the Vieux-Port, the smell of coal and diesel, the crowded market stalls, barrels of fish and pickles. The big ferry to Île Sainte-Hélène, where he went sometimes to the park with his parents and grandparents. The smaller ferry to Île Notre Dame, where he went to the racetrack alone with his father. The place where it curved to the southwest, no longer a city street but a highway, the water running faster into Lac Saint-Louis, disappearing into Somewhere Else. And more than that - a name that everyone in the city knew, a name that he shared, a name that camouflaged him.
(Untitled 1930s!BLU Spy/1930s!RED Spy, Team Fortress 2)
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-13 02:16 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-13 04:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-13 02:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-13 06:25 pm (UTC)(Snape of St. Brutal's #7, Snape/Filch)
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-14 03:01 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-14 10:30 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-13 06:38 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-13 07:16 pm (UTC)"Are you a cake man or a pie man?"
Walter has to gulp down the first creamy-chocolate mouthful before he can respond. "Pie," he says, because he has pie right now and there's no use liking something else better.
"Did you have one for your birthday?"
He shakes his head, waiting for Nite Owl to take a forkful so it can be his turn again.
"Oh? Cake instead?"
He shakes his head again. His mother had promised to make him a cake this year, but things happened and she didn't.
(Untitled Hollis Mason & Walter Kovacs fic, Watchmen)
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-13 08:58 pm (UTC)Oh, there is something terribly wistful about that excerpt. But I can definitely follow his reasoning about picking the thing he's having in the moment - everything else would feel odd (or ungrateful).
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-13 10:56 pm (UTC)And thanks - 'wistful' was definitely aimed for there! This one's an AU where Hollis Mason ends up taking in a ten-year-old runaway Walter. Here, he's surreptitiously trying to fish around for Walter's date of birth so he can identify him, while Walter's just quietly soaking up the experience of a responsible adult actually being nice to him.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-14 09:46 pm (UTC)That is of course also an option! I just had an idea of starting with a blank slate.
while Walter's just quietly soaking up the experience of a responsible adult actually being nice to him.
Ah, that's also really the vibe I got from that excerpt, from the little hints such as waiting for Hollis to take a bit before he can eat again, and such.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-14 10:31 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-15 09:49 pm (UTC)So now we'll just have to see. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-14 07:25 am (UTC)(Why, yes, I am feeling a bit eckish now that you mention it.)
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-14 10:47 pm (UTC)He set the heap of bacon aside and did the pancakes next. There was a griddle, so that was a no-brainer. He didn't have any chocolate chips or blueberries to put in them, so plain would have to do. The math was easy enough. He was used to figuring stuff for nine - eight boys and Ma - so he knew half the box made for an okay breakfast and the whole box made for a good one. Whole box it was.
The smell of burning flesh didn't put anyone else off their feed. He even had to throw a few punches to make it clear that everyone got six pancakes, no more, and this much eggs, and that many pieces of bacon. And hey yeah, Spy, the bacon was cold. Why? Because screw you, that's why.
(Untitled Medic/Scout fic, Team Fortress 2)
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-16 11:14 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-15 12:16 pm (UTC)How about "reach"?
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-15 11:12 pm (UTC)Reach:
He returned with the cup in one hand and the fireplace poker in the other. The former he pressed upon Calvin, and the latter he briefly brandished before setting in easy reach on his own side of the bed.
For the first time that night, he saw Calvin's clenched jaw soften. The breathy laugh was a welcome sound, but he kept his own expression as resolved as stone. An aesthete and an invert he might be, but whatever dark things pursued his man would have to get through him first.
(Untitled João/Calvin Wright fic, Arkham Horror Files)