#half a chapter update

[rhaemaya-valwynn]

Warm my Soul- Naga!Jotaro Chapter 2 (1/2) Study Master Disaster

Hey everyone, I thought I'd drop in and give at least half the chapter of 2 for you guys to have something to eat. I apologize for the lateness, a lot happened over Christmas and I've been stepping away from the JoJo community as a whole due to it. Things are rough here and I find I have little time to enjoy life, let alone write. Been dabbling on this chapter for too long and wanted to give what I have for now. Just know Im still here, just trying to find sanity and recover. <3 - Rhae

The wildlife in Jotaro's habitat was more diverse and intricate than you had initially thought. Upon further investigation, you realized how much effort had truly gone into making this home for him. Birds, lizards, frogs, beetles, bats, and all manner of things lived here. It was as if they had plucked a chunk of the Naga's natural habitat up and put it in Washington State. 

Thankfully, nothing in there was severely dangerous that might harm the faculty or Jotaro. However, after nearly a year and a half of stable recovery, Jotaro had regained the majority of his weight and was almost fully recuperated. This meant most things didn't threaten him anymore, as he was now a wall of sheer muscle. No one could force Jotaro to do anything against his will, which was both a blessing and a curse as his care took on new rules and roles.

On one hand, this meant no more interactions like Angela's could happen. If he didn't want you there, you would know, immediately. 

But on the other hand, this meant playing to his good side. If you could find it, since his distrust of people was only cemented after the big 'A' Incident' as your coworkers came to call it. Still, some people tried to push their luck with him some days, making him more quick to snap.

If fortunate, you'd escape with your bones intact but a few bruises. Those unlucky would be wearing a cast at minimum.

Kyoshi had warned you and others during Jotaro's recovery that healthy Nagas were some of the most dangerous Cryptids. Due to their bulk and sheer muscle, one would think they moved slowly. But that was not the case. Naga could move swiftly and quietly when motivated, crushing their prey with alarming strength that would only get stronger as they grew.

And they never stopped growing.

As if that wasn't bad enough, each Naga was equipped with potent venom strong enough to stop your heart in three minutes flat at a young age, with older Naga killing within forty seconds. When asked, Kyoshi refused to elaborate on how the venom worked, merely stating that: "Dead is dead, regardless of how you get there."

So, seeing as you had become Jotaro's primary caretaker, there were often moments when your mind would run rampant with thoughts of him lashing out at you in a fit of anger. 

Though you knew in your heart that he wasn't like that. Jotaro may have been an odd cryptid. Silent, reclusive, and poor social skills all lined up to make him seem like a wall that would lash out at any moment. But you knew Jotaro enjoyed company that wasn't there to irke him and that he was polite and cordial to those that gave him respect. So you figured, after everything, the chances of him wrapping you up in his nine-meter tail and snuffing out your life while injecting you with venom were....minimal.

On a happier note, the herd of capybaras you had met on your second day in the man-made rainforest were joyfully friendly after several 'snack' filled encounters and would come trotting from their sunbathing spots to greet you every morning thereafter. 

Perhaps a little too eager for snacks and their beloved 'scritches.' A word shared by the older veterinary assistant Tomoko Higashikata, who was typically tasked with giving you the healthier snack buckets on your way in after a noticeable weight gain had been noted in the animals. Jotaro always gave her a weird look when he decided to wait for you at the entrance and saw you talking to the woman. She never said anything out of place, just interesting facts about cryptids and animals, but you never had the guts to ask Jotaro why.

Some coworkers lamented their jealousy over your closeness to the snake man as time passed, and no matter how much you reminded them about Angela, they still flapped their lips in gossip. Eventually, you had given up as people would assume things with or without encouragement. Deep inside, though, you were glad to have broken the barrier between Jotaro and the world, regardless of how others viewed the relationship.

Like a lifeline, you were his bridge to civilization. Or so you hoped. But humility usually beat that thought into the dust when it reared its ugly head. You were never the type to boast or view yourself better than others. The world had enough of those kinds of people already. You just wanted to help in any way that you could.

So you began to delve into researching Naga in a subtle effort to find ways of helping Jotaro. One day, you asked Tomoko about Naga's, and she practically talked your ear off in excitement as they were her favorite. An interesting note of information from her was that Nagas typically are multiple species of snakes in one, Jotaro being a mixture between a Green Anaconda, reticulated Python, and the King Cobra. This explained his massive size, along with the type of venom he made and its extreme potency.

He wasn't so thrilled when you asked about his heritage, eyeing you with suspicion as he straightened during one of your morning walks. Two Toucans, one named Fruit and the other Loops, bounced on his tail in excitement, thinking it was time for treats. 

"Why do you want to know?" he had asked sternly, glaring at you from the corner of his eyes. 

"I just thought-" you hesitated, hands suddenly shaking as his shadow overcasted you. "Maybe it could help?"

Jotaro tutted in annoyance and had turned to you sharply. "Our deal doesn't include my past. Don't ask again." You shrunk down and nodded till he finally relented and continued the slither along, though he refused to speak further till you returned to his home to begin your work together.

The deal.

An accidental mishap, a sheer off-chance that somehow earned you a sliver of his trust. The Naga had caught you studying for a test during two-person care that had been initiated after Angela to prevent further offenses to the facility's residents. By being new to the facility, Jotaro had given you the benefit of the doubt of not being involved with Angela and that your care for him was genuine and not out of unwanted lust or illegal desires. While your coworker was on the phone in the next room, letting the doctors know that Jotaro had refused to eat or take his medicine again, it happened.

"What are you reading?" the Naga had asked you, causing you to jump in fright and launch the book across the room. The Naga frowned at your response, leaving you staring at him with your mouth wide open in shock.

He had never spoken before or deigned a reason to use words over hissing and growling. 

Yet, there he was, asking about your homework. Stuttering, you tried to apologize, but Jotaro tutted in annoyance, "Just answer the damn question," he rumbled darkly. 

While part of your brain went wild over what was happening, the other, more rational section was screaming danger and to flee. When Jotaro wrinkled his nose in disgust and turned to return to his nap, you blurted out: "Oscar Veilto's Domain of Earth and Air." 

To your surprise, he turned back to you with curiosity in his eyes. "Odd book for casual reading," Jotaro remarked dryly.

"It-I'm studying to be a Domain Nurse," you tried to clarify, blushing as you looked away in embarrassment. There's nothing like telling your patient you're studying him as part of your school work to start a healthy conversation...

"What did you think of his assessment of Pheonix's in chapter thirteen?" he continued, asking casually, but Jotaro's eyes belied the interest that was gripping him.

"Well, I thought he focused too much on how they mated, rather than why. Being born full of mercury gives them very little time to adjust or adapt to a new way of making young. Spontaneously combusting alive in an effort to burn away their poison tends to leave little room for descendants to change and become more." You rolled your hand as you talked, making gentle gestures as you pictured the bird in your hands. 

Freezing on the spot, you nervously look at Jotaro, fearing the worst for running your mouth. Only, he was gazing at you with an intense look. Observing you down to the details. Gulping, you go to apologize when he suddenly nodded in agreement. "Yes, deeply flawed observations on Veilto's behalf. It's pitiful that they still have it in circulation for newer generations to base even more flawed hypotheses on. And people still wonder why they went extinct....."

You could feel yourself gaping again at him in shock. It was the most Jotaro had ever talked...ever. All because you had brought in a biology book on Cryptids. Coughing as you reigned your expression, you hesitantly ask, "Do...you know a lot about Cryptids?"

Jotaro deadpanned at you, the monitor in the background beeping loudly before the end of his tail twitched. "Perhaps...." he murmured, sinking into his pillows as he cast his gaze away.

You hurried to apologize, but the opening had sealed shut, like the snapping of a bear trap, and Jotaro returned to ignoring everything around him like a rock with moss growing on it.

You thought it was an opportunity gone and lost. Trying to put it behind you, you focused on studying again after retrieving your book.

Then, to add insult to injury, you failed the test miserably the following day. It was almost comical.

Almost.

While you swore you wouldn't be caught dead studying for a test at work again, during your next dual caretaking of Jotaro, he practically sprung on you. Verbally, that is.

"Failed the test?" He had hummed in observation the minute your coworker had stepped out to grab more rolls of gauze.

Caught off guard, you merely turned to look at him, pen frozen above the report you were making. "P-pardon?" you asked, tongue tripping over itself.

"The test," Jotaro repeated, eyes narrowing slightly at you, "The one you were studying for." When you still stared at him in perpetual shock, he sighed deeply before explaining further, "Veilto's Domain?"

A sharp rush of heat hit your face as you blushed in embarrassment. "Is it that obvious?" you had muttered mostly to yourself.

Jotaro's lips quirked slightly, barely noticeable in your staggered state. "I know the emotional distress a bad test in college can do..." The Naga continued.

A short laugh escaped you at the insanity of such a comment. A Cryptid, talking to a human about college tests. 

This was absurd.

"Must have been a horrible score," Jotaro noted, eyeing you up and down again, forked tongue escaping his mouth to taste the air.

He had never done that before.

The opening had returned.

Your gut clenched in warning, but your heart chimed to you in a soft voice.

'Go on, tell him," it said.

"Twenty out of a hundred," You sighed in defeat, looking down in shame. Jotaro huffed, a strange noise from his frail body that made you worry.

Looking up at him again, you tried not to pry or seem desperate to keep the conversation going. He clearly had trauma from something, which meant you could only lead him so far out of his prison which was his mind and body.

Several minutes passed, and you feared that the opening had clamped shut on you once more. But then, "Who is your teacher?"

Eyebrows knitting, you looked around to see if this was some sort of prank. "Mr.Garauange," you answered.

Jotaro's eyebrows shot up, "That old wrinkly toad is still alive?"

"Unfortunately," you rubbed your temple just thinking of him. "Most bitter man I've ever met. Feels like he enjoys watching you suffer."

"He does," Jotaro answered with a snap of his jaws. You blinked twice in confusion before he waved your concern off. "I was under him for almost four years before he gave up on teaching 'my kind.'"

"Were you.... the one that got away?" you hesitantly asked, your fingers becoming clammy at the braveness of the question.

Jotaro laughed. Actually laughed. Dark and thrumming even in his weakened state. "Is that what he named me? Good grief, he couldn't come up with something more subtle....or original?"

Shuffling slightly, you nervously giggled at his joke, unsure how else to respond. The Naga fell silent, eyes distant as he became lost in thought. "Does he still allow a single retaking for failed tests?" Jotaro questioned, focusing his attention on you once more. You nod, and the Naga smirked devilishly. "Good, hand me your book," he grunted as he pulled himself up on his bed.

Now, you blanched in horror. "Why?" you demanded in fear, clutching your book to your chest like an elderly woman with their purse.

Jotaro snorted and huffed twice as he settled into a better reading position, "I want to play a little game on the toad." Extending an arm, he made a grabby motion. When you opened your mouth to refuse, he rolled his eyes and his hand. "Humor a sick cryptid." Looking around wildly, you expected some show host to come out and exclaim that you were just punked.

Or whatever they called pranks these days.

When nothing happened, a hot flush made you realize a drop of sweat was rolling down your face. Inhaling deeply, you thought to yourself, was offering a simple book and getting educational help from a nearly extinct species that hard?

The answer was yes, yes, it was.

With a herculean effort, you stepped forward and cautiously handed the book over. Jotaro took it from you respectfully, his massive hand holding the human-sized book like a small notebook. Carefully, Jotaro pulled it in and nestled it in front of him. A sneer crossed his face, "Personally edited by the toad himself... Good grief, I take it he expects you to take his words as law?" He opened it with the tentativeness of someone risking getting bitten.

You let Jotaro read for a few minutes, apprehensive as he glossed over the chapter you had marked for reconsumption. "Fae, huh?" he remarked after turning a few more pages. "Easy to get lost here. They range from pixies to faries and even changelings. Do you remember which one he chose for the test?"

"All of them..." You say softly as you rub your arm and look away from his piercing gaze.

"Of course he did," Jotaro sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Asshole."

Hearing him swear threw you off a bit, making you jerk back to gape at him with puzzlement. A smidge of understanding hit you. Like switching shoes to ones that fit better, not perfect, but less tight and restrictive. You watched in silence for a few minutes as Jotaro perused the book. 

[ping-ski]

still ugly crying about this

[23fallencomets]

Chapter 8: Relaxing Vacation

[hiiiiii im back!! yeah this definitely got away from me and I felt like i wanted to give up on it, but I DIDNT!!! so pls enjoy the gang being chaotic with a surprise at the end 💞💞]

[twitter]

logansargeantoffical made a new tweet!

[text messages]

[twitter]

[messages]

[instagram]

liked by oscarpiastri, liamlawson30, arthurleclerc and 347,986 more

logansargeant: Miami, Florida and Vegas!! Vacation well spent i think

user93: so we’re not talking about you guys leaving fred behind???

liamlawson30: nope 🤗

liamlawson30: yuki being there was a total coincidence btw

arthurleclerc: i saw you sending him our location???

liamlawson30: okay and? we got bombass food the entire time he was here 🤨

frederikvestioffical: never going anywhere with you guys

logansargeant: at best, you were gone for a day

oscarpiastri: we could have left you there

frederikvestioffical made a new tweet

logansargeant: alright well thats just mean

oscarpiastri: you forget someone in a different country ONCE and now we’ll never hear the end of it

frederikvestioffical: next time we’ll leave you in a ditch

liamlawson30: ????

arthur_leclerc: why are you always confused 🤔

[instagram]

logansargeant made a new post!

liked by oscarpiastri, liamlawson30, and 3,328,490 more

logansargeant: found something better over break

oscarpiastri: we got lost in the classical era

logansargeant: let me have this???

liamlawson30: after six years of pining we have reached our conclusion everyone cheer

frederikoffical: WE’RE FREEEEE

arthur_leclerc: photo creds to me! i followed them around for THREE hours

logansargeant: i bought you dinner

liamlawson30: @.frederikvestioffical i told you we should’ve gone

frederikvestioffical: thirty bucks that logan cried

arthur_leclerc: cash or card?

[comments have been limited]

[twitter]

logansargeantspotify: Now Playing- Out Like A Light by the Honeysticks and Ricky Montgomery

[corviiids]

   Joker shouldn’t make a habit of knifing without looking, but he can’t help it. Akechi’s dispassionate expression as he watches himself dissolve into sludge under Ren’s blade is much more interesting than said sludge. Joker wipes off his dagger, sheathes it, and says, “Is it weird watching me kill you?”

   “It’s a novelty,” says Akechi.

   Another novelty: Ren’s never seen Crow dressed as Akechi before. It’s incredibly odd to watch him hop and flicker between hiding spots looking for all intents and purposes like he’s about to head to school. It’s odder still because the polite smart-casualwear doesn’t at all match the antipathy Akechi’s wearing on his face. Whenever they’d spent time together, Akechi had always worn a pleasantly interested smile; but that pretty face, too, was not what Ren had been pining after.

--

chapter 9 of "as you like it" aka akechi palace au. 11.8k, the long trek to the treasure, the philosophy of taking a heart.

happy fourth birthday to this fic!!! 🥹

[immunetoneurotoxin]

ENTANGLEMENT | Part I, Chapter III

That woman — Caroline, curtailing the enigma of her past. They were both one and the same; forced into a position of power against her will by order of their full-blown egomaniac of a CEO. Old Aperture was a long-forgotten remnant in a time capsule sealed away from the era of a 1950s world, but Aperture’s legacy went on nonetheless, stretching out into the subsequent decades. Olympians, war heroes, missing astronauts, countless controversies, company rivalries, senate hearings. As Cave Johnson spiraled into mania and bankruptcy, lunar poisoning was the inevitable fate that took him in the end. Except, a man of his caliber would never leave this Earthly plane without leaving a successor in his wake.

A Portal/Half Life Universe Novel from Chell's Perspective > Where to Read: Archive of our Own > Chapters: 3/20 > Rating: Explicit > Overall Word Count: 39,824 > Artwork by: Narklos B:\> Back to the Beginning_

NEW OVERHAUL UPDATES: Fixed formatting errors in previous chapters, edited geographical mistakes, added interactive content on AO3 in previous chapters, and added in extra scenes.

[frobby]

Nothing is stronger than the bond between a girl and a piece of media they brushed off 10 years ago that they now realized is the greatest thing ever made

[campbyler]

why choose to do two parts of a chapter instead of just two separate ones? like doing 10.1 and 10.2 instead of just having 10.2 be chapter 11 instead (sorry if that makes no sense)

i think what anon meant was why didnt you make 10.2 a separate chapter thematically or literature-ally (? lol) instead of just physically? so like... 9.1 could have been called 'are we going somewhere?' and finished with that gorge cliffhanger of mike saying he's gonna teach will to drive. and then chapter 9 part 2 could actually have been chapter 10 both physically and from a literary point of view - if this was a published book, it would have been the actual next chapter. so 9.2 would instead become Chapter 10: I've Got You Baby (or some other title based on lyrics etc)

basically, once you realised the word count was taking you too far, they're wondering why you didn't split the events of the fic into more chapters than you originally have planned. perhaps is there a reason you are attached to a certain amount of chapters? otherwise, i think it would have still made sense for the drive date chapter and the bonfire night chapter to be split into two chaps each - many pro writers split chapters this way even when scenes in a single event are occurring.

of course its the writers' discretion to split chapters where they feel it fits, but i agree with anon that the ending of each half chapter makes a lot of sense as the ending of an actual chapter thematically!

i hope this makes sense haha

hello!! yes what you’re saying makes sense, and we appreciate the perspective!!

i think we did it the way we did for two main reasons — one, this is not a published book, so i do feel like it’s a little bit different since we have the liberty of doing whatever we want rather than being bound to any traditional rules. the second is that the chapters alternate povs, and it was important for all of 9 to be in will’s pov and all of 10 to be in mike’s pov because they’re the realization chapters.

to that point, i don’t agree with the notion that the ending of each half chapter is what makes sense as the thematic ending of the chapter. the themes of chapters 9 and 10 are Realizations. the point of ch09 is literally to get will to his realization — are we going somewhere? is a double meaning because they’re physically going somewhere and emotionally going somewhere. so while the mustang was a big focus in ch09, it was used as a vehicle (teehee) to give will the last push he needed to admit to himself how he feels. mike’s vulnerability in part i resolved a lot of will’s longstanding issues with mike, and the driving lesson’s purpose was to show how much they trust each other: mike trusts will with his car, and will trusts mike to be there for him, and mike being there for him is Truly the One Thing that will wasn’t sure about until ch09. all of these things needed to happen in the same chapter to contextualize that realization!

for 10, the focus is still on realizations — it’s also mike actually admitting to himself that he likes will, yes, but it’s also very much about that realization at the end that will needs to be the one to vocalize his feelings! whereas 9 spends the whole chapter justifying actions to get to the feelings realization, 10 starts with it and then spends the entire chapter trying to justify feelings he is already aware of. it was still important for these to be in the same chapter because it’s all completely connected!!

that said, because word count was really the only obstacle we had, the split chapters are two halves of a whole rather than being two distinct chapters. as we’ve said, this decision was done to benefit all of us — me and suni for writing purposes and being able to get chapters out sooner/avoid as much burn out as possible, and readers for not reading 50-60k chapters in one sitting. we already have a lot of talk about how long the chapters are, and we are both aware that we could probably cut certain scenes or events out, but we also are very adamant about maintaining a pace that feels realistic and makes sense, which usually leads to those higher word counts 😙 if we were to ever convert this into a published book (which we have no plans to), there would be a loooot to cut and we recognize that!! so shout out to the local ao3 for enabling our specific breed of insanity 🤸

[in-kaeya-we-thrust]

Yowamushi Pedal Ride 794: The Culmination Race

Original translation by @ywpd-translations

[stump-not-found]

Is there a post schedule for Thesus Guide? Or is it updated just whenever? Asking to see if I should be marking my calendars or not :3

we're on break right now! please expect at min a 2 month delay, since that's about as long as the first half took to write, not counting for the editing, which i had been doing during posting (which was a mistake im doing editing WELL before i start posting again)

truthfully it may be a longer wait as the second half is looking to be longer than the first lol . but i like writing in batches so i can edit things to make sure late plot beats are set up in early chapters

i'll be sure to give plenty of heads up when the story is about to start up again, tho :D

[evienyx]

My next post will be the next Fractures update.

I’ve finally finished the first chapter of Book 2, which took so long because I did in depth chapter outlines for all of Book 2 first, which should make future updates quicker. I hope.

I WOULD have published it by now, but unfortunately I couldn’t finish the tagging of the new work and putting all the links in before I had to go to work. Woe is me.

Anyway, give it a few hours. Look out for those two new chapters tonight (or today depending on your time zone).

Typing of mobile makes it hard for me to express how exciting this is. I’m very excited. Thrilled. I swear.

[scrollonso]

First Kiss (Race 14)

A strollonso AU where 18 year old rookie Lance Stroll falls helplessly in love with the notoriously mean world champion. (1.7k words, pure fluff) [@v3lnys @biancathecool] {LANCE FIRST WIN 🤯 aka fluff before crazy angst}

last part - masterlist - next part

Lance got to the paddock with Nico, Racing Point having booked a different hotel than Renault so the Canadian had to wait until later to see his boyfriend.

"It's so fucking hot, I don't understand why they want us both to do media today. I'm gonna melt" The younger of the two complained, practically dragging his feet on the pavement as they walked towards the cameras.

"You'll be fine, Bubu, just rush them" Nico laughed, wrapping an arm around Lance as they reached the bundle of reporters, quickly bombarded with questions about both this weekends race and their personal lives.

Lance had grown to not mind media days, most of the questions either being about developments to the car or his and Fernandos relationship.

He could talk about how wonderfully him and the Spaniard got on for hours, it was almost embarrassing how his body language changed the second the older man was mentioned.

As he was walking away from the crowd of media personell he was stopped by a familliar voice, bright smile taking over his face as soon as he spoke

"Lancito!" Fernando called, walking a little faster to catch up to the boy in pink, arm draping over his shoulder as they walked closer to their garages, side-by-side on the grid.

"Hi, Nando" The teenager beamed, hearing the clicking of the cameras behind them "Sleep good?"

"Not at all" Fernando groaned, unable to wipe the smile off his face even as he complained "Would've been better if you weren't so far" He quickly added, shooting Lance a cheeky grin

The Canadian hit his shoulder, shaking his head at the mans comment "Dirty, dirty, old man!"

"Old??" The Spaniard scoffed, pulling away from Lance as they reached their garages "I'm hurt, mi vida, so hurt"

"Well, you can take it out on me on the track" Lance rolled his eyes, the two exchanging soft smiles before disappearing into their pink and blue garages, ready to prepare for quali.

As Lance drove back into the pit lane he had no idea what place he was in, some cars still trying to get in the fastest laps possible as he pulled himself out of his seat.

"You were quick out there, Lance, let's hope it paid off" Brad commented, already by Lance's side to take his helmet and balaclava

"Thanks, I'm feeling pretty confident in both the car and the track." Lance hummed, nodding to himself as he glanced around, seeing Giancarlo pull into the pits with Fernando close behind "Not sure what changed but it's a big improvement."

Lance and Fernando leaned against the wall between the two garages as they finished figuring out lap times and setting up the starting grid. Fernando found out his place first, having qualified 3rd because Felipe Massa was given a 5 second penalty for track limits.

Brad ran up to Lance next, practically yanking the boy away from the man in front of him as he began speaking quickly

"YOU'RE ON POLE, LANCE"

"What?" Lance furrowed his brows, unsure if Brad was saying what he heard him say

"POLE, P1." He confirmed "Your lap time in Q3 was 1.25.801, you're brilliant"

Lance smiled, pulling Brad into a tight hug once he realized he really had qualified on pole, it was insane, he out qualified Fernando for the first time ever and would be starting the Turkish Grand Prix from the front row, now all he had to do was pray for a podium finish as well.

As soon as Brad let go of him he was pulled away by Fernando, the Spaniard practically smothering the boy

"Joder!" The Spaniard started, hands cupping the Canadians face as he pulled back slightly to get a good look at him "Eres el mejor, mi vida"

Lance laughed, jaw hurting from how hard he'd been smiling, the Spaniards praise not helping

"Are you ready to look up to me on that top step?" Lance asked, unsure if he really believed that would be the outcome of the race

"Am so ready," Fernando smiled, praying nothing would go wrong in the next days race "Cannot wait, Lancito"

Lance was in a good mood as soon as he got the paddock the next day, being asked how he felt about starting the race on pole really made it feel real.

"How are you feeling today, Lance? Nervous to have Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso so close behind you?"

"I feel fine, if i can out qualify them it shouldn't be hard to beat them today" He said sinply, not sure if he believed his own words.

As he made his way to his garage he was greeted by Nico, who was starting 10th but still managed to be excited for his friend and teammate.

"Welcome, race winner" He beamed, dorky grin on his face as his hands fell on the younger boys shoulders

"Don't jinx me, you saukerl!" Lance laughed, pushing Nico slightly

"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth, Lance?" The German gasped, covering Lance's lips with his hand, the two insanely close "Who taught you that word?"

The boy tried to respond, his words coming out mumbled in the Germans hand

"Oh, right" Nico laughed, moving his hand so he could undersfand Lance

"The Schumachers say it a lot"

"Well they're adults! You're just a säugling" Nico cooed, moving his hands to Lances cheeks to tease him

"Fuck off" He groaned, turning his face away. He knew whatever Nico said was making fun of him but he couldn't help but smile at the funny sounding word.

Nico and Lance stood to the side of the grid as their engineers swarmed the teammates cars, Lance back at p10 to talk with the man before the race started.

It was hot, the boys overheating in their pink race suits. Nico unscrewed the lid of his waterbottle, shoving it into the Canadians hand as he poured water on himself then Lance, the contrast in temperatures feeling heavenly.

Lance set down the lid, both of their hands combing through their hair at the same time. Lance's was darker and a little longer but the two had grown more popular because of their long hair, fans saying it made up for their poor performance that season.

He gripped the wheel, it was weird looking ahead and seeing no ones rear, he hoped to keep it that way but he couldn't help but miss recognizing people and waving at his acquaintances in the midfield as they awaited the start.

His heart almost stopped as the red lights ahead of him turned off, pushing hard right away.

He got away brilliantly, Brad radioing in to praise him for his start as soon as it'd happened. He was sure Fernando fighting Michael for 2nd and Giancarlos spin on turn 1 helped him a good amount.

"What Mclaren is in the wall?" Lance asked a lap later, Brad having told him earlier that there was now over a 1.8 second gap between him and Michael who was battling Fernando for 2nd.

"That's Kimi. He's all good but theres a yellow flag"

The next 11 laps went on fine, now under a green flag he'd lengthened the gap to 2.3, very pleased with himself and he could tell Brad was too.

His hopes were just getting higher until a safety car was called out, Vitantonio having spun and stopped in the middle of the track.

"Pit now, Lance. Safety car. Pit now."

"Coming" He responded, entering the pit lane with Michael and Fernando following behind him. "This is so scary I'm gonna piss myself, Brad."

"Not in the car, Lance."

He laughed, shaking his head as he pulled out, watching in his mirrors as Fernando made it out ahead of Michael, now in p2 right behind him.

The rest of the race was fairly comfortable, Michael took the lead from lap 40-43 but Lance got it back soon after which earned him some cheers from Brad.

"Insane work there, Lance. Fucking insane."

"I think I'm gonna fucking explode, Man" Lance said, voice high pitched as he tried his hardest to rebuild the gap he'd lost

He made up a 1.2 second gap as the last lap started, Fernando visibly fighting to keep 2nd and just barely making it as they crossed the line.

"AND LANCE STROLL WINS THE TURKISH GRAND PRIX AND IS NOW A FORMULA ONE RACE WINNER" The racea commentator roars, the crowd screaming as Lance's hands shook on his steering wheel, breathing heavily as he struggled to come to terms with this being real.

"LANCE STROLL YOU ARE A RACE WINNER" Brad screamed over the radio, all of the Racing Point staff audibly cheering which just further confirmed that he really just did it.

"YES. Thank you, thank you guys this means so much I owe you all the world."

Fernandos engineer radioed in, the Spaniard barely registering his words

"That's p2, Fernando, 1.2 behind Lance and 0.0 ahead of Michael. Terrific job."

"Lance? Lance won?" Fernando spoke loudly, the smile on his face audible even through the shitty audio quality

"Yes, p1 for the first time, you proud of your friend?"

"So proud." He muttered before turning off his radio, in awe at the news and now more ready than ever to park his car and greet the race winner.

As soon as Fernandos car stopped he exited his car faster than he ever had, running to the Canadian and pulling him into a hug.

"Lance, fuck, te quiero mucho mi vida." Fernando said breathlessly, hands on either side of the boys helmet as he pulled away to look at him, so insanely proud of his lover.

"Told you I was gonna beat you." Lance laughed, eyes practically closed with how wide he was smiling.

Michael came over, helmet and balaclava already off as he patted the rookie on his back "Great work, Stroll."

"Thank you!" The boy nodded, moving away from Fernando to look at Michael as they spoke. Crazy. THE Michael Schumacher was congratulating HIM.

Lance stood on the top step of the podium, Canadian anthem coming to an end before he was absolutely waterboarded with champagne from either side, covering his face as he was soaked.

It felt amazing. The top step. The sun. The cheers from the crowd. The Spaniard beside him. It couldn't have been a more perfect race.

[villainintern]

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Little update here (10k new words total, ~4k per plathru.)

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Forewarning, this is a shorter demo update! This is because I've been finagling with the combat hella. Trying to figure out how to make it work. Expect a follow-up-update (another 15kish) within a month!

TL;DR- I'm testing a combat system before I fully move forward and polish/drop more story. Don't want to put my cart before the horse. Would like to know if you guys think it works!

-----> Also, you can save now! 😌

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Essentially, the way I wanted to do this game involved a ton of different little superpowers. 18 abilities total, with like over 50 possible combinations. Giving equal flavor text to all those different kinds of players, making your abilities feel impactful, making them work in conjunction- all a huge task.

It started overwhelming the story (classic IF fumble), so I knew I needed a new approach, but I didn't want to lose any of the customization and flavor text!! I love that stuff.

So I'm trialing a kind of turn-based thing. The update is better at explaining it than I could here! Let me know if this is something you could see working throughout the game (or not! That's cool too!)

If you like to toss up feedback, this one is for u! But if you prefer to read more polished drafts, by all means hold out until the next demo changes. I'll be putting out a sister update super soon, I just couldn't blow past the combat without working out its kinks.

More development blabber under the cut 🤘

🤖 Screen reader accessibility is absolutely on my mind! Unfortunately I keep running into reasons to use special characters 😵‍💫. It's still in my plans to go back through eventually and do a screen reader mode, but I don't expect to start that until I have the story pinned down more. More on this later.

🤖 I found, also, a little plot hole in the prologue. At one point you could get your keycard destroyed and then immediately use your keycard to get lunch at the cafeteria. Something shall be done about this

🤖 I also plan to rework the fight with the henchman on floor four. You can kind of see the combat problems I was running into there- you only get like 1 or 2 choices when attacking him (boring!) because I was only able to write like one for each ability. And it was still so much text lol. That scene will be freshened up, but for now I locked it down. For 2 reasons: the combat needs updating, and also it prevents the aforementioned plot hole

[oh-no-its-bird]

Silently willing my countless WIPS to magically finish and post themselves

[thequibblah]

sort of eyeballing just before american thanksgiving for the chapter… tentative but that’s the idea

[eris-eveningstar]

My favourite part of writing is that with it you can turn your daydreams into something concrete. I've been visualising so many scenes in my fic that I would love to write for months and finally writing them is amazing. I'm finally getting to writing the Sirius reveal and I'm loving it so far.

Here's a quote:

*Sirius has just revealed himself in all his dramatic glory*

Harry could have sobbed right then and there. Surely this couldn't be, it just couldn't. He was sure he'd gone mad, he was probably in the Janus Thickey ward right this very moment! And then a voice whispered softly into his head, "What do you think of your gift, my dear?" Harry shivered. It sounded like Tom was right there next to him, breathing the words into his ear. And then his brain finally turned back on and he realized what Tom had just said. Harry was suddenly possessed with the intense urge to crack open Tom's still-beating heart just to crawl inside and see what made him tick.

[geneticcatalyst]

folks this is the gcat special. we got being a pawn of the powers that be, we got smudgy lines between human and technology, we got weirdly intense relationships without labels, we even got chronic health issues due to finding what you love and letting it kill you a little too close to the sun! cheers everyone :)