#i had so much fun writing this...raine is maybe the single most targeted-to-me character ever put to the screen....

[storybook-souls]

Rating: G Word Count: 3967

Raine manages a deep, full breath, and pulls their hand away from Eda’s so they can rub their eyes under their glasses again. “I only even actually drank one cup of that tea.” There’s a beat of silence. Then, “What tea?” says Eda. (On the first morning since the world stopped ending, Raine and Eda go sit on the roof of the Owl House.)

[oodlenoodleroodle]

When I was young, we used to just copy these sorts of long questionnaires and write our own answers and post the whole list. I still find that a more fun way to engage with these things so I do that sometimes to these ask game questionnaires.

do you have a crush on anyone? Yes! My spouse :3

what’s your favorite candy? I think currently probably the Tutti Frutti Passion stuff (it's vegan!)

favorite love song? Nina & Albert, by Joel Plaskett

what was your first kiss like? Some Australian man on a cruise from Helsinki to Stockholm. In hindsight he was probably a skeevy pedo or something, because I did tell him I was 15.

what was your last kiss like? My spouse just got up and kissed me good morning :3

sexual/romantic orientation? The words for this require knowledge of my gender which is not available. Please create words for orientations that describe only the target of attraction without referring to the gender of the subject. Oh wait, I remember now, we can't have that because that would "lump together lesbians and straight men" and in this world it is forbidden to recognise that lesbians and straight men have anything in common. In short, my orientation is QUEER because that is literally the only word that exists, and some complete lunkheads think that even that word shouldn't be allowed to exist.

do you prefer poems or love letters? Letters.

favorite fanfic trope? Ehh, I don't really engage with fanfic enough to have a favourite trope.

have you ever been in love? Yes, and currently am :3

favorite milkshake flavor? I'm not really that into milkshakes...

dinner dates or brunch dates? Brunch, pre-Covid we used to go to this awesome little cafe on Saturday late mornings :3

favorite flowers? I don't like flowers, sorry. I guess my favourites are the ones that are allowed to grow in the ground and die at their own pace, not getting cut up and sold as a product.

favorite perfume/cologne? The Body Shop used to make this amazing one called Amorito, that smelled of vanilla and chocolate. They don't make it anymore though.

favorite candle scent? I don't really like scented candles, and we don't use candles pretty much at all, because of the cat.

what’s your ideal first date? I am not a fan of first dates at all, so, none. Or maybe "in the past."

favorite love story? Mine :3 But also Revolutionary Girl Utena.

what’s the most attractive thing a person could wear? Blue jeans and a white t-shirt.

chocolate, vanilla, or red velvet? Chocolate.

snow, rain, or sun? Rain.

sweetest romantic memory? Sitting on the bank of the river Oostanaula and admitting to my future-spouse that they were my favourite person in the world.

favorite dating sim (and favorite character)? I have only ever played Kisses and Curses and that was so long ago that I don't remember any of the characters.

fictional crushes? Snuffkin from Moomins, L from Deathnote. Unclear what the feeling I have for Himemiya Anthy from Revolutionary Girl Utena is, maybe more like identification than crush.

what’s your dream wedding like? IN THE PAST. Hated my wedding, never want to do that again.

what makes you blush? That scene in SSSS.Gridman anime where Akane introduces Alexis Kerib to Rikka and giggles at her shock and explains that it's cosplay.

do you believe in love at first sight? Ehh, N/A. Mu. Null. Query invalid,  please un-ask question.

do you believe in soulmates? No, but I'm married to mine.

denim jackets, leather jackets, or bomber jackets? Bomber jackets.

what’s your sign? Scorpio.

are you single? No I'm married :D :3

do you prefer to charm, or be charmed? To be charmed. I always had the problem that people thought I was flirting when I didn't intend to (like I was just being nice) and when people express interest me, if I don't already reciprocate, I will run tf away. Biggest squick, tell you hwat. Do not tell me you fancy me until I fancy you first.

guitar or piano? Piano.

favorite romcom (or any romantic movie)? Okay, you are not allowed to criticise this, because I am an actual damn expert on this shit: the best one is 50 First Dates. I know it has Adam Sandler in it but that doesn't matter, it simply is the best romantic comedy out there. Sorry, I am only reporting the facts.

do you fall in love easily? I genuinely don't know? O.o

valentine’s decorations: yay or nay? Well we don't do any, and we don't observe it in any way. But I don't hate them when shops do it or anything.

would you prefer to propose or be proposed to? Hard to say, in our case it sort of came naturally as an agreement. Like I find the whole concept of a proposal a little iffy.

what’s your dream proposal? Mu.

cloud gazing or star gazing? Cloud gazing.

do you like to dance? Ehh, not particularly, like not in any kind of places or with people, but I dance around my apartment for fun.

what’s your OTP? Greg Universe and Rose Quartz from Steven Universe.

kittens or puppies? Puppies

coffee, hot chocolate, or tea? Rooibos tea (with bergamot to make it taste like earl grey. Why is this shit so hard to find???)

favorite soda? Pepsi max

do you prefer gazing wistfully out the window or lying dramatically over the sofa? Sofa.

favorite ABBA song? I don't really have one.

favorite pajamas? Is that even a thing that people have? Like, just, pajamas... I didn't even know there were different kinds.

favorite liquor? I don't drink alcohol.

do you think about love a lot? I think about the love of my life a lot :3 Like all the time :3

a walk in the park or a walk on the beach? Park.

hand kisses or nose kisses? Neither really, but if I gotta pick, hand I guess. (I prefer cheek kisses or forehead kisses)

what’s your dreamhouse? Oh, oh, one of those 3D printed concrete minihouses!

valentine’s day asks!

do you have a crush on anyone?

what’s your favorite candy?

favorite love song?

what was your first kiss like?

what was your last kiss like?

sexual/romantic orientation?

do you prefer poems or love letters?

favorite fanfic trope?

have you ever been in love?

favorite milkshake flavor?

dinner dates or brunch dates?

favorite flowers?

favorite perfume/cologne?

favorite candle scent?

what’s your ideal first date?

favorite love story?

what’s the most attractive thing a person could wear?

chocolate, vanilla, or red velvet?

snow, rain, or sun?

sweetest romantic memory?

favorite dating sim (and favorite character)?

fictional crushes?

what’s your dream wedding like?

what makes you blush?

do you believe in love at first sight?

do you believe in soulmates?

denim jackets, leather jackets, or bomber jackets?

what’s your sign?

are you single?

do you prefer to charm, or be charmed?

guitar or piano?

favorite romcom (or any romantic movie)?

do you fall in love easily?

valentine’s decorations: yay or nay?

would you prefer to propose or be proposed to? what’s your dream proposal?

cloud gazing or star gazing?

do you like to dance?

what’s your OTP?

kittens or puppies?

coffee, hot chocolate, or tea?

favorite soda?

do you prefer gazing wistfully out the window or lying dramatically over the sofa?

favorite ABBA song?

fuck/marry/kill? (anons name 3 people of your choice)

favorite pajamas?

favorite liquor?

do you think about love a lot?

a walk in the park or a walk on the beach?

hand kisses or nose kisses?

what’s your dreamhouse?

[maternalcube]

i did an art summary so now im doing a fic summary. i was tagged by @jamthedingus also!! ive never done one of these before!! lets go!!!

Rest (13106)

Keith & Lance's Island Adventure (20631)

Atlantis (10014 words)

The Way to a Man’s Heart (6858 words)

nobody's business (2096 words)

leave, and take (557 words)

dead girl walking (1661 words)

the course of fate (1039 words)

who ya gonna call (465 words)

come here often? (806 words)

til kingdom come (1950 words)

stars in the sky (pt 2) (5404 words)

a song of falling (630 words)

Eyes to the Sky (3683 words)

Feet on the Ground (4050 words)

Divergence (6669 words)

homecoming (1426 words)

Window of Opportunity (11144 words)

along that wilderness of glass (3801 words)

string theory (2327 words)

Katt Week (1062 words)

The Pining-Plant (3860 words)

at the end of many worlds (21684 words)

you're my home (19646 words)

Believe Me (3177 words)

Starchild (3568 words)

Summer Heat (2285 words)

third time's the charm (5349 words)

Blackbird (59546 words)

The Sixth Planet (9444 words)

all the infinite realities (1197 words)

Total Fics: 31! (plus one i posted anonymously lmao) Total Words: 229999! (except parts of string theory and the sixth planet were actually posted last year... but still, what a number)

more under the cut!

Ship/character breakdown: i didnt filter out my prompt collection or abandoned wips here so /shrug Ship breakdown:

klance - 6 sheith - 5 shance - 5 katt - 4 heith - 3 pallura - 2 and one each of plance, kallura, allurance, shatt, shkatt, kidge, kidgance, and shunk. and keiths parents lol. let it never be said i am not a multishipper.

and i know gen isnt a ship but it tied with klance at 6 (plus whatevers in the prompt collection) which was a surprise

Character breakdown: man if theres a way to get ao3 to show me ALL the stats, i dont know it. but.

keith - 25 (shocker) shiro - 23 lance - 21 pidge - 17 hunk - 16 allura - 12 matt - 12 and then coran and sam are at 4, and zarkon ats 3 and presumably many others are at 3 or less

Characters that had the main focus: well ~9 were from keiths pov, and ~5 each from shiro and lances povs. i think i also had ~5 from multiple points of view. its safe to say that keith has my heart tho lol

Specifics:

Best/worst title? Best title: i still like “at the end of many worlds.” i weirdly still like “Blackbird” too even if it has nothing to do with anything... Worst title: “Rest.” :/ also like all of the abandoned wips bc i didnt care. and “Keith & Lance's Island Adventure.″ some of my zine fic titles were also... bad. im bad at titles.

Best/worst first line?

Best: Keith & Lance's Island Adventure. ok the title is bad but this line? this really sets the tone for whole fic. you know what youre getting yourself into here.

When Pidge invited Keith to a fully-funded graduation party aboard the Holt family boat (“the smaller one, anyway,” she’d said), this is not exactly what he'd pictured: three of them standing on a wobbly dock, packed bags at their feet, sky cloudy and gray, while the Holt siblings stand on a little ledge off the back of the boat and deny entry.

Worst: ive got two for this lol

at the end of many worlds: even i have to read this a couple times to figure out what i was trying to say. at least you know youre in for pain...

Keith’s mother shows up to interrupt movie night often enough that, this time, Keith almost doesn’t realize anything’s wrong. Almost, because she’s silhouetted by the movie, but she’s clutching her arm and panting for breath, and in the thin edge of light around her he sees a wet and vibrant red.

Divergence: because all your friends being dead is EXACTLY like losing at dodgeball. yeah, theres a reason i abandoned this one.

Hunk always hated playing dodgeball. Not because he was bad at it--though he was--but because he always ended up the last one standing, and therefore the only target for the entire other team. It was due to a tendency to hang unnoticed in the back, he knew, but that didn't change the sickening, empty feeling of looking around and realizing there's no one left but him, and there's no way he can win. Only wait for the inevitable.

This, Hunk decides, is a lot like that, only, like, a billion times worse.

Best/worst last line?

Best: The Pining-Plant. there are a few others that were cute too but this one is also good out of context so

And then the pod swishes open and he's scrambling to catch Pidge as she stumbles out. She clings to his arms to steady herself and his heart swells.

"Falling for me again, huh?" he asks, and she groans loudly.

"Let me go, I'm getting back in the pod," she says, and he laughs. He doesn't let go, and neither does she.

Worst: if im bad at titles, im worse at endings. most are bad. i suspect the ending to “Rest” is terrible but i cant bring myself to even open that shit again so: Believe Me. if weather were a recurring theme in this fic, itd be fine, but as is its just... a weird note to end the fic on lmao

Hunk rocks back on his heels. "We aren't counting this as our official first date, right?"

"I dunno," Keith says, and now he smiles at the rain instead of frowning. It shows no sign of easing up, but whatever—they're soaked anyway. "This seems pretty good to me."

“...All right.” If nothing else, it’ll make a good story. And, Hunk had to admit—he’s pretty happy with how it’s turned out, rain and all.

But next time, he's double-checking the forecast, just in case.

General questions:

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

more than i expected! considering ive been in grad school all year!! i wrote about the same amount wordcount-wise in 2017 which i spent only half in school so. idk how i managed it.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?

the anonymous fic was a surprise but im not gonna talk about that lol. otherwise... nah, its all been my usual stuff.

What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

blackbird, probably. i like working on that one. summer heat was also fun, id sort of forgotten about it bc it was a zine fic but coming back to it, i really liked it. likewise with third time’s the charm. and i like t6p a lot even if i kinda hate drawing for it :’)

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

depends on your metric. window of opportunity has the most kudos, keith and lance’s island adventure has the most hits, and t6p has the most comments and subscriptions. 

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

AT THE END OF MANY WORLDS. oh man i killed myself over that fic. it was important to me. but i think the mcd scared everyone off :’)

Story that could have been better?

i realize “all of them” is kind of a cop out answer but like

Sexiest story?

i have written nothing sexy, ever, in my whole life

Saddest story?

i mean, ateomw. considering all the death. blackbird def has its moments too.

Most fun?

i feel like i answered this in the favorite story q lmao. you’re my home also gets a shoutout, that thing was,, super self-indulgent lmao. and id be lying if i said i didnt have fun with parts of ateomw, even if its mostly sad.

Story with single sweetest moment?

man i write a lot of fluff but so much of you’re my home is just tooth-rotting. heres part of the proposal scene lmao

"Lance!" Keith yelps, barely rescuing the ring from falling into the sand with them. Lance pushes himself up on his arms, silhouetted by the sun and glowing with it.

"Really?" he asks breathlessly.

"Yeah," Keith says, and maybe he should've prepared something to say, that's a thing people do, right? Hell, he's winging it. "I know we can't stay here on Earth forever, 'cause we're paladins, and there's still stuff out there we gotta do. And I know you probably want to stay because this is your home—but you're my home, and if we gotta go, at least you'll have me, good or bad." He grins crookedly. "Or rocket science. Whatever happens, I'll be there."

Hardest story to write?

well t6p gets a shoutout, but its not the writing thats the hard part for that. uhhh ive struggled with parts of blackbird. i remember k&l’s island adventure giving me a LOT of trouble, i think i posted late lol

Easiest/most fun story to write?

anything short uhhh for all the infinite realities, i kind of just sat down the other day (actually i was in bed but) and was like “im gonna write this” and then in the morning i just sat down and wrote it in one go. i dunno if id call it fun, but it was easy. t6p is super fun to write but, as mentioned, drawing it sucks.

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?

no... my perceptions probably have shifted but not due to anything i wrote in particular. i did talk myself into liking allurance with a prompt fill, though, but im not sure that was 2018...

Most overdue story?

all the infinite realities lmao. at the end of many worlds needed that happy ending. and another shoutout to t6p, because thats been going on over a year and im still nowhere.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

does posting my abandoned wips count? ive still got some of those hanging around... blackbird was a bit of a risk bc my last longfic was written while i was unemployed and out of school, so like i had the time for it, and now i kinda dont. still chugging tho. ateomw b/c of all the death but it turns out i really like writing whump woops. and writing any sort of kissing always feels like a risk bc i suck at it but im getting better lol... i hope...

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

write more! finish things! do more sheith! i really want to work on this sheith longfic i came up with the other day... but i want to get blackbird over with first.

Tagging: eh! do it if you want to!

[mikakomori]

So, I’ve tried myself at writing...

Since all of you guys seem to be amazing at writing stories, I thought I’d give it a go, too.  But well, I suck at writing fanfiction, which is why I decided to create my own, completely new story!   So, here’s the outcome: Song Stories As you can see I’m really creative with names (and anything else). Anyways, it’ll be a collection of short stories based on a song each. Or rather underlined with a theme song. Each chapter will reveal a part of the lyrics at the end, making it a little “Guess The Song” game (or you can just google it). All the lyrics belong to the amazing artists, who will be credited at the end of a story (to not destroy the “mystery” beforehand.) You can find Song Stories on wattpad:  https://www.wattpad.com/user/MikaKomori 

And of course, I’ll post the chapters here, too. Well, that’s enough rambling, here’s the prologue (under the cut). Have fun reading :)

Ouverture

It was already past eleven when Melinda left the hospital. Visiting hours were long over. However, as usual none of the staff had seemed to care about her not abiding the rules. As long as she didn't bother other patients or got in the way of her sister's treatment, she was allowed to stay for until whenever. At least, that's what the doctor had said to her, when he had found Melinda in her sister's room an hour after visiting hours were over one day. Although, she knew the only reason she got this privilege was because her keeping her sister busy meant that the latter wasn't able to annoy the nurses or doctors. 

Lucy, the younger of the two, was a bundle full of energy. Always smiling, always bouncing around happily, doing whatever weird thing her head thought up. Whenever Lucy was bored, she started chatting up people. Whether they wanted to talk or not was none of her concern. As long as they entertained her, helped her pass the time, her sister didn't care about how annoyed her opposite was. Recently, she even started some sort of game. 50 ways to annoy the hell out of someone, that’s what she called it. And while staying at the hospital, Lucy had already filled in 27 spots of that list, much to the working peoples’ chagrin. Lucy had decided to make them her playing pieces, meaning, as long as she was bored enough to play her game, they got next to nothing of their work done. That’s why the doctors were always happy to see Melinda. The blackhead was even once called "an angel sent from heaven" by one particularly stressed out nurse. One look at the young woman had been enough for Melinda to know, that the poor thing had been one step away from a nervous breakdown. Lucy could have that effect on some people. Or any person, if she just set her mind on it.

Melinda stood under the roofing of the hospital’s entrance, looking up at the sky. Small droplets of rain came down in a steady rhythm, glistening in the light of the nearby street lamp. The rain wasn’t particularly heavy, but hard enough for one to come home drenched after a 15-minute walk. That was the amount of time it took Melinda to get from the hospital to her apartment.  

Thank god I brought my umbrella today. 

Putting it up, the black and white striped fabric was immediately getting damp by the tiny raindrops. Seeking cover after putting her headphones on, Melinda started walking down the sparsely lit street in a steady pace. There just wasn’t enough money to set up more of them. Milton wasn’t exactly a major city, but it was far from being a village either. Walking the thin line between sleepy, rural small-town and buzzing, modern city made it both attractive for young people taking their first steps into independency and families looking for a safe and cozy place to raise their kids. 

Safe. 

At least that’s what Milton was like until a month ago. Peaceful days that went on and on. A time before the murder spree started. Four victims counting, so far. All brutally murdered. Cut with a knife a dozen times, before finally getting released from their pain via a slice through the throat. A messy way to die. As usual these days, the police had absolutely no clue about anything. There were no major leads, no suspects, not a single piece of useful evidence left behind by the killer. Or was there? 

Well, they knew 3 things – but so did the public. First: All the victims were young women in their mid-twenties till early thirties. Second: All of these women had dark blonde, shoulder long hair. And third: They were all kidnapped at night in the southern part of the city. These were all the useful information they had. 

Useful - for when one wanted to analyze the chances of being targeted. But not exactly handy for when it came down to hunting the culprit. However, unlike most citizens, Melinda didn’t think the detectives assigned to solving the case were completely incapable. They had to have some information. Something they just didn’t enclose to the public, as it would either only fuel people’s fear and agitation or would alarm the killer. In some cases, it just wasn’t a good idea to let the murderer know that you were onto him. It could lead to him disappearing forever or committing an even more hideous crime than he had already done.

Not that Melinda was an expert or anything. She was just one of those people who loved crime shows. And although she knew, of course, that real-life police work was nothing like the stuff depicted on TV, there was one thing she liked to apply to reality: The criminal getting caught. However stupid or far-fetched the process of the investigation was, at least the culprit always got what he deserved. Well, almost always. 

Melinda wanted to believe real-life police was also capable of catching every monster that terrorized Milton and its citizens – just like the characters in her favorite shows.

Maybe that’s why she still naively kept on walking home from the hospital alone, like she had always done. That and the fact that she didn’t match the killer’s prey. Sure, she was 26 and therefore in her mid-twenties. Her hair however, was neither blonde nor at shoulders length. The one who fit that description to a T was Lucy. Adding on, Melinda lived in the eastern part of Milton. With the hospital located in the north-east she was far away enough from the murderer’s hunting ground.  At least that’s what she told herself and the people around her, who kept nagging her to drive the way home with her car or take a taxi. Melinda brushed them all off. She didn’t want to take the car for a mere 15-minute walk. Pollution was high enough already. On the other hand, the young woman didn’t want to be a burden to the doctors and nurses who kept on offering her a ride home, so she declined every single one of them. 

Resulting thereby, most of the hospital’s personal had already given up on trying to change her mind, but the same thing couldn’t be said about Lucy. Her sister wasn’t happy at all about Melinda’s stubbornness and reckless behavior. She kept on nagging the older one every time she visited. And knowing Lucy, she wouldn’t stop any time soon, even though her words were hitting on deaf ears. The last few days Lucy had tried a new approach, namely telling Melinda all kinds of horror scenarios that could happen to her if she kept on walking home alone at night. While those didn’t exactly scare her, it wasn’t particularly nice to hear your own sister talk about gruesome ways to murder oneself either. So, she had caved in and had bought the pepper spray Lucy kept on recommending to her, in hope it would ease her sisters mind a bit.

Good thing Lucy didn’t know how her sister walked home. If she knew about Melinda listening to music while walking, effectively blocking out all of the noise around her, Lucy would definitely go apeshit crazy. 

Melinda had always gone home that way and not even once did anything bad or unpleasant happen to her. Listening to her favorite songs while walking through the night made her feel safe, no matter how many of the sparsely placed street lamps were flickering ominously. The gushing wind blowing through the trees, making the twisted branches creak, or the little mouse that caused the rustling in the bushes didn’t bother Melinda. She couldn’t hear it.

But neither could she here the staggering footsteps that followed her today. She didn’t notice them taking up speed, coming ever closer. She was oblivious to the rustling of the piece of cloth in that gloved hand. What she did register was the sweet smell that slowly made its way up to her nose as the cloth was suddenly pressed on her mouth. A smell Lucy had spoken about in one of her horror tales. A smell that burned itself into Melinda’s mind as the world around her started to spin. The last thing she heard were the first lines of the song that had just started playing on her phone. Then everything went dark.

 Just sleep, just dream

 In the back of my mind

I've been trying to chase a monster this whole time

But I couldn't see the monster was me

And no one heard our cries

  *Song lyrics belong to the rightful artist*