#it's actually the shortest thing I've ever written

[silenzahra]

I just want to let you all know that I wrote yet another thing today... and it shall be out in a few days to celebrate the first anniversary of a certain game 🤭 I'll just leave three emojis below and then leave for now (might be back later though).

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❤️🫧🩷

Any guesses? 🤭

Also, before I go, thank you so much to those of you who commented on AO3 on my latest story!! I'll get back at y'all as soon as I can 🥰 And thank you as well to the ones who supported it here on Tumblr of course!! I deeply and sincerely appreciate your support 🫂💖💖

See ya later! 🥰👋🏻💖

[queenerdloser]

me: huh i finally had a workshop where no one told me i should expand my short story into a longer piece! maybe i AM getting better at figuring out what should be a short story vs a novel.

my writing instructor in a 1:1: actually i think this short story you submitted would benefit from being more like a novella length

me: by talos this cant be happening

[yoongihan]

Congratulations - KSM - OneShot

pairing: seungmin x female reader

genre: smutty fluff, university au,

romantic trope: Best Friend's Brother (inspiration from this reel)

word count: 2200 (at this point, this is the shortest of my stories)

rating: M for smut-adjacent (acts have already been committed and our mc thinks about them quite a bit)

warnings: language (i don't think i've ever written a fic without using 'fuck'), drinking (everyone is of age) but not wasted, penetrative safe sex has occurred, fingering has occurred, kissing, some misunderstand/not communicating, i think seungmin is pretty damn dreamy in this.

a/n: my first fic in the skz as romantic tropes collab with @jl-micasea-fics! couple things - the parentheticals are the mc remembering what has happened, parenthetical italics are the actual flashbacks. i really really enjoyed writing this one, so i hope it's remotely as enjoyable to read. thank you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So…”

“So…”

He looks a lot different like this. The Seungmin you know usually looks very put together, no hair out of place like even the wind obeys him. He doesn’t iron his clothes or anything, but he does fold each piece really carefully (you and Soomin once watched him spend nearly four minutes on folding a polo shirt, after which you both made fun of him for a good half hour). His skin, like Soomin’s, is flawless 99% of the time, and you think you’ve seen him flush only in anger over the years. And it was never like he is now, skin almost mottled with varying hues of red and pink. His hair is all over the place, the black strands defying gravity. 

There’s definitely the beginnings of a bruise on the side of his neck.

He’s a bit of a jock, sure. You’ve watched him play baseball, but you don’t remember him breathing quite as heavily as he is right now. He is normally calm and composed, with a quick rejoinder toward Soomin and you about your most recent catastrophe at school (Science is the bane of your existence, for Soomin it’s history) or adventure in sneaking into a college party. Now you’re all at university, so any sneaking is unnecessary (and really not fun at all). 

His dark eyes are bright with something untamed, though the longer you stare at him, the more that wildness, that almost unhingedness seems to fade.

A shame, really. 

You both jump at the sound of someone in the living room, stumbling over something. The cursing that follows lets you know that it’s Changbin. 

“Seungmin,” he calls through the closed bedroom door. “You’ll have to clean up since it was your party.” Then the footsteps fade out down the hall. 

Soomin, you, and Seungmin are all in your third year. You and Soomin room together on campus while Seungmin lives off campus with Felix and Changbin. Soomin is regularly your partner when parties are the evening’s plans, but she was sick tonight.

“Go. Support my stupid brother because, and I’ll kill you if you tell him, getting an article published in The Scientific Journal for Undergraduate Research is a big deal. And I’m proud of him.”

So you do. You eat, drink, be very merry; even congratulate Seungmin with actual sincerity even though you’re sure he knows he’s that smart and probably believes it’s his due.

You may have had a few drinks, but you aren’t drunk by any means. College has definitely upped your tolerance level, so when Seungmin admits to you that he doesn’t think it’s that good of an article and that now his professors want him to be their TA and go to graduate school here and he’s not even sure he likes research that much, you put your hand on his arm, give it a squeeze and tell him that it’ll be okay. He can do anything he wants and you’ll always be impressed with him. 

(“You mean that?” he asks and you shrug, recognizing that the alcohol may have lowered your normal inhibitions.

“Of course. It’s annoying actually, how good you are at everything."

He covers your hand that’s still on his arm. “You think I’m good at everything?”

You roll your eyes, a little flustered at his singular attention and the warmth of his skin on yours. “I mean, I can hypothesize,” He smirks at your pedestrian use of scientific terminology. “I certainly don’t know all your skills.”

You both stare at each other, the unintended subtext taking effect.

“You could. If you wanted to.”)

And that’s how you end up where you are currently.

In bed with your best friend’s brother. 

“I should….” You finally look away from his still pink face, eyes dropping to that mark on his neck, courtesy of your greedy mouth. “I should go.” You turn, letting the comforter fall since your back is to him now, and grab the first discarded article of clothing you can find on the floor. As you slip it on, you recognize it’s definitely not your shirt. “Oh.”

“You can wear it.” His voice reminds you of woodworking, when you sand and sand a piece of wood until it’s smooth. His words and tone usually are so sharp, but in the quiet of his bedroom, it sounds soft. 

You yank it off and grab the black top that is actually yours, trying not to care that you are definitely naked and he can see you (where was that worry an hour ago when he was undressing you in between heated kisses?). You slide off the bed and hunt your underwear, putting those on before answering.

“Pretty sure your sister would recognize if I came home in your clothes.” Your voice is not soft and smooth at all. It’s ragged like broken glass. You can’t claim any innocence in this; you had been in your right mind, and you had wanted it. 

You had wanted Seungmin.

(Stumbling into his bedroom, his mouth and hands feel like they’re everywhere. You shove off his shirt, admiring the reveal of skin with both your eyes and hands.)

Zipping up your nice pair of jeans, you glance back over at him. He’s still sitting in his bed, sheets covering his lower half. He’s not beefy or anything, but the baseball he still plays for intramurals keeps him toned.

(He giggles when you trace a finger up his side, grabbing your hand to stop its ascent.

“Ticklish?” you ask the obvious. 

“No.” A lie. He drags your hand down to the button and zipper of his jeans. “Just want your hand somewhere else.”

You can’t really argue.)

“I…” he seems at a loss for words. Another first as far as you’re concerned. “You aren’t going to tell her?”

“God no.” You move to his desk and grab your thin cardigan, jerking it on. You can feel his gaze on you. It shouldn’t still affect you, the post-sex regrets should overwhelm any desire.

“But you two tell each other everything.”

“This would…” you trail off, watching him raise up out of bed, pulling on his boxers. You should completely not be eyeing him like this, but despite the prime opportunity you just had, you feel like it wasn’t enough. 

“This would what?”

He’s standing a few feet away from you and your brain is telling you to leave, to grab your purse that’s somewhere by the front door, and go back to campus because that’s what you do with a one-night stand. But you can’t move. 

He touches your arm as he passes to the other side of his bed, grabbing the t-shirt you discarded. You hone in on his fingers and how lightly they brush your skin.

(“You have to tell me, you know,” he says through shortened breaths. “I can’t read your mind.” 

“I thought you were good at everything?” you tease before gasping when his fingers curve just right. He does it again and your gasp is louder.

His smirk is so knowing, you would say something if you could think. “Guess you don’t have to say anything.” His kiss is far more gentle than the onslaught he's wreaking on your libido.)

“This would…I think her brain would explode, honestly. And I would prefer to keep her intact. I can’t break in a new best friend.”

He regards you thoughtfully. This is familiar. This assessing of his. You assumed he always found you wanting, but after what just happened, you aren’t so sure.

“Let me drive you back.”

He’s so hard to read. Except when he’s…

You are never going to banish those visual memories. Deep down, you admit you wouldn’t want to. 

“It’s not far.”

He sighs as he puts on his pants and says your name. “I’m not letting you walk back. It’s after two am.”

“Fuck, it is?” 

He sits back on the bed, slipping on his socks. “Yeah.”

“I can call a–”

“I’m driving you back.”

You bristle. “Look, just because we fucked doesn’t mean I start listening to you.”

“But you did,” he says easily, walking back to where you stand, now just a foot away. “Didn’t you?”

Sensations; sounds, tastes, scents flood you with just his words. Him asking you to put the condom on, to touch him, to kiss him, to stroke him. Instructing you to roll your hips just like that, to tug his hair, to let him make you feel good. 

“Well, who’s actually themselves when fucking?”

He doesn’t say anything for a second or two. “I am.” He heads toward the door. “Come on.”

You don’t want to spend money on an Uber, or walk back in the frigid cold, but you also don’t want to give in to him. 

(“Relax, pretty,” he murmurs. 

“I am.” 

He smiles warmly, eyes dark before he presses a soft kiss to your nose. “Stubborn, but I like that about you.”)

But you do.

Seungmin drives a beat-up Hyundai hybrid that you know almost as well as Soomin’s equally as beat-up truck, or your dented sedan. You slide in after letting out a sigh of relief that no one was up and about to observe your walk of shame. He turns the heat on high, before grabbing something from the back and handing it to you. It’s a hoodie. 

“I'm wearing a jacket.”

“To cover your legs. Those jeans aren’t warm.”

“How would you–” Oh right, he’d slid his hands up them to unbutton and unzip. You close your eyes tight when you think about how he’d pulled them down, letting his mouth drag along your bare legs. 

Seungmin liked using his teeth. You won’t forget that. Ever.

You set the hoodie on your lap so he can’t see how you squeeze your legs together. 

“Seatbelt.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” You go to grab it, but he leans over to do it for you, head down to click it in place. He smells like your perfume. It works for him. “I can do it myself.” You wrinkle your nose at the petulance in your voice.

He lifts his eyes to you, not moving back into the driver's seat. He’s so close, that mouth of his inches away. You could kiss him and you want to, but you don’t. 

He settles back into his seat and puts the car into reverse. He doesn’t turn on the radio, seeming to be perfectly fine with the silence.

Is he okay with the awkwardness? Probably. He would be, always perfectly comfortable when everyone else is freaking out and wondering what the fuck they were thinking and how do they salvage normalcy after something as monumental as fucking.

But you aren’t going to say anything because sex isn’t that big a deal. Even if it’s with Seungmin, your ‘ride or die’ best friend’s twin brother who you’ve always thought was cute, certainly handsome, stupid smart, and maybe a little wicked. 

His smirk is a case-study in attractive villain-smirking.

It’s no more than ten minutes to get on campus and to your dormitory. But the silence feels like the length of a director’s cut of a movie; interminable. 

He pulls up to the curb and puts the car into park, before resting his arm on the back of the passenger seat. He doesn’t say anything.

“Thanks for the ride–the ride home.” You stumble over your words because every single thing feels like it has innuendo attached. You try to compose your face before looking over at him, offering the hoodie. 

He takes it and tosses it in the back before meeting your gaze.

“You’re welcome.”

You swallow, his current tone too close to his bedroom voice. 

“And congrats again. Really.” 

“Thank you. Really.”

The repetition feels like mockery, and you glare at him instinctively. 

“Yeah, well, don’t forget us when you’re taking the science world by storm…however one even does that–”

His mouth is on yours and you’re pretty sure you squeak at the surprise, before melting into his warmth, the slick heat of his tongue, and how his hand cradles your cheek. 

“I wouldn’t forget you,” he murmurs against your lips. Another kiss, this one sweeter before he draws back. “Give me some warning if you tell Soomin, okay?”

“Why would I tell her?”

You see the movement of his throat as he swallows. “You might. Because I’m gonna ask you out in the next 24 hours and it’ll be easier to explain why you say yes if she knows.”

It takes several moments for your brain to process all that information and he’s kissing you again which halts any understanding your brain hoped to find. You don’t realize that your arms are around his neck, fingers in his hair, until he pulls back. 

“So…you’re gonna say yes?” 

You open your eyes to see that he still looks like Seungmin: a ruffled, flushed Seungmin, his eyes more vulnerable than you’ve ever seen. 

“I…”

He starts to let go of you, but your hold on him tightens. 

“Maybe make it 48 hours so she can try and wrap her mind around the fact that her bff is into her brother.”

His answering smile is so bright that you kiss him again, and it takes another five minutes before you get out of the car.

~~~ 

Soomin doesn’t combust like you expect. In fact, she raises her eyebrow and scarily looks as smug as her brother when she says: 

“About damn time.” 

-----------------------------

(c) yoongihan 2024. please do not steal, translate, repost, or whatever. stray kids belong to themselves and all idols used in this piece are just the inspiration for characters and do not in any way reflect the actual humans.

[mingtinysworld]

Shards of Lust

Pairing: Jeong Yunho x fem!reader

Genre: smut

Word count: 1k

Summary: you see your boyfriend sporting a new finger accessory and he notices you staring. He wouldn’t be a good boyfriend if he didn’t show you what he could do with it right?

Warnings: MDNI, fingering, sharp object included don’t actually do this irl

Network: @newworldnet

A/n: OK SO RIDKSJSKSK THE FINGER THINGS LIKE HELLO it’s actually been driving me crazy. I want to be fingered by him so bad like you don’t understand. Also sorry this was the shortest I’ve ever written💀 but hope you still enjoyed. Please like, comment and reblog ilyyyy. - J:)

You wake up groggily, slowly rubbing the sleep out of your eyes. As you sit up in bed you can see Yunho getting ready in the hotel mirror. He’s almost ready for the Coachella stage, just finalizing accessories and details. He looks very handsome in his black suit, looking like he’s ready for a business meeting.

You let out a sleepy sound and catch Yunho's attention through the mirror. He gives you a soft smile and you attempt to give him a smile back, even though your eyes are almost glued shut. You crawl to the edge of the bed and sprawl out, looking at him upside down.

"Good morning sweetie. Did you sleep well?" He asks.

"I guess. The time change is still messing with me though." You say with a pout.

"Aww baby, I know. It's alright, next week we'll be home and you can sleep in peace." He assures.

You nod along as your eyes graze over every inch of him. You observe the strange ring like accessories that he's putting on. He slides them on with ease and then flexes his hand in and out. You feel hypnotized and feel your eyes boring into the mirror. You unfold yourself from your pretzel form and go to stand behind Yunho.

You fit your chin against his shoulder and wrap your arms around his waist, breathing him in. He tilts his face downward and gives you a soft kiss on the forehead.

"Hi baby." He says gently. When you don't say anything and just freeze, he's concerned for a split second. He follows your line of sight and sees your transfixed stare on his hand. You're looking at the contraption that sits prettily on his index and middle finger with curiosity. It makes his hand look robotic almost, and the sharp tips glow menacingly, weirdly inviting in a way.

He watches you take it in, totally enjoying your reaction. He's pretty sure he can read your filthy thoughts at this point, from the way your breathing has stopped completely.

"You really love these, huh?" He asks with a knowing smirk. He wiggles his fingers, and you're broken out of your trance. You redden as you try to act normal, clearing your throat and making eye contact with Yunho.

"I-i mean I just think they're really cool! I've never seen anything like it." You trail off uncertainly.

He turns around to face you and grabs your elbows to guide you to the edge of the bed once more. He sits you down gently and crouches in front of you, looking up with sultry eyes.

"Do you want a demonstration?" He questions. You give him a quizzical look, mind completely blanking.

"W-what? A demonstration of what?" You ask with a nervous gulp.

He flexes his hand and looks down at it. "How this works. How it feels." He leans closer, his lips mere millimeters from yours.

"Please." You plead with a hushed murmur. You’re not exactly sure what you’re pleading for. His lips are finally on yours and he kisses you with a quiet intensity, stroking your exposed thighs. You hum into his mouth, enjoying the feel of his touch on your skin. He drags his hands up higher to the waistband of your shorts and tugs lightly. You get his message and lift your hips high enough for him to slip off the material. He takes your underwear with it, leaving your bottom half exposed. You wiggle a bit impatiently and he stills your moving hips with a firm hand.

"Now be good for me alright? I don't have much time so let's make the best of it." He reminds you of the fact that he has to leave for rehearsals soon. You stay still and anticipate what's to come. He spreads your plush thighs apart, strings of arousal stretching in between. He chuckles quietly to himself and moves even closer. He lays his whole palm against your cunt and you shudder from the feel of the cold metal against your most intimate part.

He moves up and down slightly, making you release shallow breaths. Still keeping eye contact with you, he slowly enters one armored finger. He goes slow as to not hurt you with the sharp tip, although you wish he would just destroy you. He gauges your reaction and is pleased when he sees you trying so hard to not squirm. He speeds up the force of his finger and you gasp and hold on to his shoulder.

"Another one please." You choke out.

Yunho looks at you concerned for a second, but immediately complies as he sees the state you're in. Your eyes are glistening with unshed tears and your mouth is making the most sinful sounds. He can feel his pants tightening with every whimper you let out, but his focus is totally on you for today.

He adds a second finger and you can feel the noticeable stretch instantly. His unforgiving pace makes you see stars and you clench around him, making him groan with gritted teeth. You squeeze his shoulder again, needing something to ground you. The cold metal drags against your walls and sharpens the tight feeling in your core. Once he hits your spongy spot you're done for. Your orgasm washes over you and you gasp from the intensity of it.

Yunho pulls his fingers out and sees that the metal is completely covered in your juices. Before you can stop him he puts the fingers in his mouth and makes a show of licking every inch clean. You groan in humiliation and throw yourself back to lay flat. He chuckles at you and grabs tissues to help clean you up. You stare at the ceiling and process everything. You loved the experience so much, wanting to do it all over again.

Once you're clean and clothed Yunho gets ready to leave, he kisses you goodbye and heads to the door. He gives you a silly finger wave and you wave right back, but before he can shut the door behind him, you hold it open and lean towards him and whisper.

"I think we might have to make that lil gadget into a regular occurrence."

[thefreakandthehair]

grow where you're planted

written for ‘stuff’ | wc: 483 | rated: teen & up | tags: modern AU, no upside down, landscaper steve harrington, homeowner eddie munson, eddie munson & gareth friendship, confident!steve harrington, flirting, different first meeting @steddiemicrofic

“What is all that stuff?” Eddie mutters under his breath.

He’s alone in his shiny new shotgun house with no one around to hear his question but he asks it anyway because seriously— what is all that stuff? How much mulch does one Indianapolis front yard need?

A lot, apparently.

He keeps watching through the glass window in the front door as they slice open bags and pull plants gently from their pots. One of the landscapers, a lean guy who’s worked up a sweat with toned shoulders and moles that cascade from the side of his neck, runs his fingers through his hair. Dirt sticks to his temple as he bends down to plant something with yellow flowers beside the mailbox and Eddie wants to lick him clean.

“Jesus Christ,” he whispers to himself, yanking his phone from his back pocket.

Eddie: landscaper is too hot help Gareth: you brought this on yourself Eddie: there’s a guy in the shortest basketball shorts i’ve ever seen. like, 80s pin-up short. i’m in over my head Gareth: then go talk to him? Eddie: good idea, lets get all the bad ideas out now Gareth: i’m serious! Eddie: i pre-paid online for a reason, i can’t even look him in the fucking eye

Eddie looks up from his phone, intent to watch Shorts Guy from a distance only to find himself face to face with Shorts Guy through the offending glass window.

“Fuck!” He blurts, dropping his phone in the process. Please don’t be broken, he thinks as he tries to discreetly slide it aside with his foot and opens the door.

“Hey! Sorry to scare you. We’re all set,” Shorts Guy says with a smirk as he glances up and down from Eddie’s phone to his warm, flushed cheeks.

“Cool! Awesome!” His voice is about an octave too high– he clears his throat. “Looks great!”

“Thanks! If you’re satisfied with the work, leave us a good review. Goes a long way. And uh…” Shorts Guy does that thing with his hair again and Eddie might actually be sweating more than him now. “Maybe you can give me a call if you’re extra satisfied? And if your phone’s not broken.”

Shorts Guy nods to Eddie's discarded phone and what the fuck is happening right now? Eddie blinks and then shakes his head, grabbing his phone to find it blissfully still intact.

“All in one piece,” he says, turning the phone around toward Shorts Guy as if he needed to prove it. “I’d– yeah! Totally. I’d love to. Y’know, since it’s not broken and all that.”

Shorts Guy takes Eddie’s phone from his outstretched hand and saves his number as Steve. He texts Steve immediately, exchanging numbers and names before Steve’s even left the driveway.

Eddie: hey, it’s Eddie. extra satisfied. free this Saturday?

Gareth is never going to let him hear the end of this.

doubling up with a microfic and a gift for @starrystevie! happy birthday, bee!! here's some confident, sweaty landscaper!steve harrington for you! <3 I've been thinking about it for days and couldn't stop myself. love you!! have the best day!!

[kamiversee]

➶-͙˚ ༘✶ F*CK THE LIST

✧.* CHAPTER 4 || Fuck The Prequel

[ { SYPNOSIS } ] ➤ A continued tale after Gojo Satoru's blackmailing seemed to have much more to it than meets the eye.

[ { CHAPTER CONTENT } ] ➤ language, backstory, angst, & a tinge of fluff.

[ { WORD COUNT } ] ➤ 2k (this is the shortest chapter I've ever written, help)

[ { PAIRINGS } ] ➤ jjk men x f!reader. gojo x f!reader. choso x f!reader. sukuna x f!reader.

[ [ chapters mlist } ]

——IT WAS ALMOST AS THOUGH meeting you was an official game changer for him. The day you met will never not cross Gojo’s mind at least once every twenty-four hours. He remembers every detail of the encounter, despite how simple it was.

It was your new roommate, at the time, Shoko who’d introduced the two of you to one another and it felt like a goddamn fever dream to Gojo. There you were standing just a few feet away from him after he’d spent weeks getting himself together just to be able to hold a conversation with you without stumbling over his words or saying something weird.

Shoko had Gojo and Geto over at the time and you were in the kitchen when the trio walked in, brief greetings made before she took them to the living room to hang out. Gojo remembers you and Geto saying hi to one another but when you looked at him, both of you just awkwardly acknowledged one another with a wave. Of course, Gojo would learn months later that you found that little wave of yours embarrassing but to him, he always found it cute and just assumed you were shy.

After all, so was he. Or maybe nervous is the better word to put to it because his heart was pounding in his chest the entire time he was at your apartment. Even when he was taken to the living room with Shoko, he was sweating and worried that you’d magically see right through him and figure out all that he’d done in the past.

Guilt was eating away at him so much that he couldn’t even focus on Shoko and Geto’s laughter about some show playing on the television ahead. He needed a moment to clear his air and even considered leaving for a second.

With a sigh, Gojo eventually excused himself to get water from the kitchen, hoping a cool drink would help calm him down. By that time, it’d been an hour since he’s entered your home and he figured there was no chance he’d run into you again since Shoko mentioned you usually hole yourself up in your room.

As such, when Gojo got into the kitchen, he found himself searching for a bottle of water– nervously opening a few cabinets as he didn’t want to seem like he was snooping through you and Shoko’s place. He was so nervous that his fingers were trembling ever so slightly.

His heartbeat felt like it was thrumming throughout his eardrums and Gojo wasn’t sure what to do with himself. He just knew everything would blow up in his face the very second he ever spoke to you-

“Gojo, right?” The sound of your voice somewhere behind him made him flinch so hard that he almost yelped.

With yet another gulp, Gojo was slow to turn his head back over his shoulder to glance in your direction. The second he made eye contact with you it was like all his fear just melted away. Whatever nerves he had building up inside him simply disappeared and he found himself centered by your gaze alone.

He takes a second to nod at your question, “Yeah.”

You gave him the smallest little smile and he was just frozen in front of you. Though, you couldn’t really tell from your perspective, “Let me know if you need anything.”

Gojo swallows thickly and nods again, saving himself with a smile, “Yeah, actually. I uh, I can’t find any water. I didn’t wanna rummage through all your things but-”

“Did you try looking in the fridge?” Your voice was almost teasing and that small smile of yours was growing as you stepped fully into the kitchen and made your way to the refrigerator.

He blinked, “Well-, no, actually. I did not look in the fridge…” He responds with just the same amount of teasing in his voice.

The sound of your chuckling could be heard as the door to the fridge swung open and you bent down to grab a bottle of water for him. Then, you stood up and held it out to him, “Here.”

Gojo stares at you, a billion and one thoughts running through his head. Most of your body was hidden behind the still-open fridge door and you were slightly leaning on it, holding out a bottle of water for him with a kind grin on your face. Shit, you were real. It’s not like he didn’t know that already but-, hell, here you were interacting with him.

You’re real. This is real. You’re not just some girl he was watching from afar or found himself infatuated with. You are a real human standing right in front of him and talking to him. The realization hits him so suddenly that Gojo’s left staring at you for far longer than he means to, leaving you to raise a brow at his lost little gaze.

Your hand starts to retract a bit, “Did you uh, not want cold water? I think we have some room temp in the-”

“Nono,” Gojo rushes out, taking a deep breath, “Cold waters fine, sorry.” He hums as he finally takes that step forward and grabs the offered drink from your hand.

Fuck, he could only imagine how he came off just now. He probably looked so weird staring at you. You probably hate him alread-

“Right, well, let me know if you need anything else,” Your talking cuts his thoughts off again as you casually step away from the fridge and shut it. 

Gojo nods in acknowledgment and with that, you’re heading back to your room within the next minute. Left alone in the kitchen with his thoughts, Gojo begins to realize a number of things all at once. The main thought being that you’re a real person. With such an understanding of that fact alone, all the guilt he’s felt practically triplets.

His head is pounding with thought after thought of how the hell he’s going to execute this whole plan with you. He regrets everything he’s done in private while thinking about you, every time he’s placed himself in areas where he could catch a glimpse of you, and that disgusting journal of his that creepily depicts his thoughts of you over the years.

Gojo wishes he could restart everything and go all the way back to the day he saw you at that party and talk to you. He knew he was interested in you from the moment he laid eyes on you so why didn’t he just talk to you? Why didn’t he talk to you after that? Why did he grow so obsessed with a woman he doesn’t even know-

Holy fuck. It all hits him at once. Gojo’s never been obsessed with you or in love with you but rather the mere idea of you and what you’re like. He doesn’t know anything personal about you outside of what Shoko’s told him or what he’s witnessed from a distance.

Moving a palm over his face, Gojo lets out a long sigh before scoffing at himself. Okay, maybe this whole blackmail plan wasn’t going to be that hard after all. He’s not in love with you, just the you he has in his head. So, essentially, unless you turn out to be just as he sees you mentally, this should be rather easy to pull off. All he has to do is pretend to be some asshole to some stranger, in a sense.

But, as we know, these kinds of thoughts are much better said than done because you turn out to be a thousand times better than the version of you in his head he grew infatuated with. But hey, he doesn’t realize that until months later when the list actually starts.

Gojo doesn’t know what moment it was specifically that he started to realize you were much better than he thought you were– perhaps it was the first time he kissed you or the first time he had sex with you, or even every time he kissed you and that face you make when you gaze at him like he’s the most beautifully devastating thing you’ve ever laid your eyes on. The way your breathing is all soft after a kiss as if your breath was stolen, how you stare right into his eyes and so clearly get lost in them-, wrapped up in everything that’s him, it all makes his heart swell to new degrees.

Whenever you speak it’s like he can’t hear anything else but every syllable leaving your lips. Is it possible to be addicted to someone’s sound alone? When you laugh, his skin feels tingly and his heart turns to pure mush. Even when you were angry at him, Gojo found himself oh so curious. He couldn’t help but study anything and everything that was you once he got the chance to do so.

Getting entangled with you was both the best and worst thing to ever have happened to him. It was the worst because hurting you and bringing you pain was inevitable but it was blissful because in the process he found himself realizing that his obsession and level of love for you had died and come back to life within months. 

That one morning after the first time you slept with Geto lingers inside Gojo’s head. The entire thing from start to finish is the perfect way to describe how you feel inside his mind. From something so soft, gentle, and loving to a raging storm that makes him so unbearably angry at himself– you, were something indescribable for Gojo.

You’re his peace, his heartache, his pain, his joy, his literal everything, even if you shouldn’t be. The obsession he had for you was dead by the time the list started but once it was over, he felt like he was right back where he started. Hell, it was as if that longing desire to be in your presence had tripled.

His last official conversation with you will never fail to ring throughout his head, even if it were years later when he finally learned to move on. 

You were the highlighting factor of Gojo’s life. The idea of you destroyed him and yet the real you healed him. All things that you were clueless about. In one of your last few conversations with him before the two of you really parted ways, Gojo answered an important question you’d asked him by telling you he fell in love with you through his blackmailing but had also been in love with you from the start…

In reality, he finds that it was more of him trying to protect and fix himself from the start only to genuinely fall in love with you, and not just the idea, later on. Gojo thinks it was the way that even you found yourself feeling hints of such a strong emotion toward him despite the shit he was putting you through.

You fell for the simple act of him kissing you over anyone else you experienced– even Choso. Would that still have been possible if you’d known the truth from the beginning? Gojo barely even wants to think about it but it is a good question. You did tell him at one point that you would’ve liked knowing he was obsessed with you earlier on since you were lonely but, you and him both know that’s not true.

And even if by chance it is true, he didn’t want that for you; it’s not healthy.

Above the obsession, the love, the lust, the confusion, hate, anger, regret, and any other emotions experienced throughout the torment that was enduring that damn list… Gojo ever only truly wished one thing for you and that was happiness. Aside from anything else, joy was the first emotion he ever saw you display.

It was the emotion that attracted him to you. Your laughter, your smiles, your happiness, if he could in any way protect that, even from himself, then he’d do anything necessary.

…

Which is why when he receives a random call from Choso one day during the summer after the list is over, he realizes that his story with you hasn’t quite come to its end yet.

From The F*ck List to F*ck The List… It seems as though Gojo Satoru’s blackmailing really did have much more to it than meets the eye.

[ { A/N } ] ➤ In case it's not clear, this is the end of the prequel and the following events from here on out occur after the alternate ending of The F*ck List.

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[purity-town]

No update this week as I had some stuff going on. We're really close to the end of this chapter, though -- two pages left! I've started cleaning up the script for Chapter 9 and am looking forward to getting there. In the meantime, ask responses are below the cut!

First off -- I'll admit that heights aren't all that consistent in-comic. I've improved in my art in a lot of ways through this comic, and have gotten better dealing with perspective, but when it comes to characters being closer/farther away I tend to do whatever looks/feels nice and works with the framing of that panel. A good example is this one:

The only real height reference you could get from here is that the Dryad is taller than the Arms Dealer. Andrew, Chris, the Zoologist, and the Merchant are all just placed in whichever way fit well with the background, and don't "measure up" to their other appearances -- especially considering the Merchant is shown as being very short here, but taller than the Nurse two panels earlier. I was just struggling to fit him in in the gap between the Dryad and the Arms Dealer.

I do have a loose sense of "X character is this amount taller than Y character" but it's not a very definitive thing. (I've also changed character designs and heights over the course of the comic as I've settled into how I want characters to look, which exacerbates the problem a bit.)

To answer your first question: Chris is intended to be/drawn in more recent pages as very slightly taller than Andrew. The sort of height difference where on paper you're different heights but you don't really register it.

In the earliest pages, Andrew came up more to around Chris' eyebrows -- over time I decided I didn't want Chris to be "the tall one" anymore, especially standing next to characters who are actually supposed to be tall, so the height gap lessened. He's supposed to be around average or slightly above average height, with Andrew being average or slightly below average.

As for other NPCs -- yep, the Dryad is the tallest by far, haha. And although you can't tell when the Arms Dealer is standing next to her, he's pretty tall himself. He (and the Merchant) are both slightly taller than the Nurse. The Old Man is also around this range -- one of the taller characters but not extremely so.

The Zoologist is one of the shortest characters, but her ears make up the height difference! Most of the rest of the "shorter" characters haven't appeared yet or haven't been shown standing next to someone else, so I haven't had to decide on their exact heights yet.

I know that I had responded to this before, but since that was in the Tumblr replies field I was fighting with limited word count at the time. So, longer answer:

Out of universe, I needed something to tag my AU art with and didn't want it to be long/annoying to use. I had written out a lot of my initial ideas for the world/story several months before starting on the comic, so the town was named Purity Town long before I ever started posting art for it -- and when I needed a proper name for the comic, I just decided to grab that and roll with it. It felt descriptive enough, both in terms of "yep this is where the comic is placed" and in representing the struggle/fight for the world's balance and recovery in the story. Interestingly enough, I dug up my old notes on the fanfic ideas that would eventually become Purity Town, and the original working title for the story was "Barely Human" -- in hindsight, I much prefer Purity Town :>

As for the town having the name in-universe, I could see it having two levels of meaning. The obvious reason for the name is that it's just a practical/descriptive name originally intended as more of a placeholder in a newly-settled region, and it ended up just getting picked up and sticking around. The other reason being more hopeful -- a vow/plea that the town would remain free from the Corruption and whatever other monsters roam in those unsettled, wild areas that make up most of the region.

Within the lore of Terraria, there are references to "purity" and being "pure" scattered around here and there. Bunnies are pure beings, Dryads can analyze the purity of the world, Crimeras attack pure things, and the green clentaminator solution spreads the Purity. So that's where the actual "Purity" term comes from!

That's horrifying; thanks for sharing!

Jokes aside, I do quite love the idea of the Eye Of Cthulhu being able to see through every smaller eye it spawns, or at least receive information back through them as "messengers."

[pitter-patt-art]

Ace Attorney AU August (halfway progress update!)

Okay technically it's the 16th (lol, 17th by the time this is done) so a little over halfway actually, but still I thought since I haven't had anything finished to post the past few days this would be a fun alternative!

I've been going a little nuts (affectionate) over @augustwritingchallenge's AU-gust prompts list this year so August has been a wild ride (about 40k words of one, in fact. so far.) but seeing as I will get attached to even the jokiest of AU ideas instantly, I've completed* a whopping 5 whole fics of 16, lol. Considering the shortest of those is over 3k and the longest is over 12k, I think the problem with not finishing these in a timely manner is entirely on my verbose foolish thick skull, haha, but I'm still having a blast with it.

Here is my ao3 series where I'm posting!

And a rundown / progress report / quick teaser of all the AUs including those I've yet to finish, if anyone's interested:

(*by "completed" I should note two of the already posted fics are basically assuredly going to be continued past the challenge, but let's say "completed enough to post and be on theme")

1. Canon Divergence - complete - 4.5k words ("For the Murder of Mr. Wrong" link)

Mia POV, gen. What if Dahlia succeeded in poisoning Phoenix and framed Doug Swallow instead (and then Mia defended him in court)? Basically a 3-1 rewrite. Fun Fact: I only came up with this AU because before I even remembered AU-gust existed at all, I'd come up with like 4 totally separate AUs in which I poison Phoenix in various ways With Real Consequences because it amuses me, lol, but he survives all those other ones and I eventually realized I hadn't even considered straight up killing him off yet so I figured I should try it at least once, haha.

2. Colorless - complete 1st chapter - 3.2k words ("Grey Matters" link)

Phoenix POV (for 1st ch --prob alternating after), wrightworth. "You can't see color until the first time you touch your soulmate"-soulmate AU. 1st chapter is their first meeting as kids (skipping the class trial itself). Fun Fact(s): I really love a color soulmate AU! Big fan of the "only see the color of their eyes" type of one too but uhhh on top of that working better for things that have wild anime eye colors, you could not pay me enough to try to figure out what the HELL is going on with Ace Attorney eye colors at any given time lmfao. (Also--spoilers for what i haven't written yet but hey if you're here you earned it--this IS one of my very many "teehee what if i poison Phoenix just a smidge as a treat for me" fics. NOT my fault the man ATE GLASS. That's on him.)

3. Dark Academia - complete "1st chapter" - 4.4k words ("The Spirit of the Laws of Magic" link)

Mia POV, lanamia. Magical boarding school setting featuring corruption and missing-student conspiracies and a most likely overthought system of magic with hierarchies and prejudices in societal views of academic/formulaic vs folk/innate magic. Fun Fact: I really thought for SURE i was going to skip this day entirely, lol. (foolish.) I don't think i've actually ever personally read anything "dark academia", technically--so if this doesn't read EXACTLY that way, there you go, but i did my best. I also then thought I could live with keeping this vague but I accidentally thought about it too long so... plus at least two people on top of myself at this point have expressed interest in more of this and so I have some semi-concrete Plans™ now.

4. Zombie Apocalypse - conceptualized (but not started)

Concept: probably gen and Phoenix POV, but also because I'm me and they're them, at least a little bit wrightworth even if it isn't necessarily explicit in any meaningful way bc they are Not Normal about each other lol. A little sketchy on how much of an "AU" this counts for, since it could probably be argued to be canon compliant somehow, but basically just: Universe where they make a Pride and Prejudice and Zombies-type Steel Samurai reboot movie thing (featuring, you guessed it, zombies), and Miles comes over and forces Phoenix to watch it with him just to have someone to bitch about it at, and then during that time Maya blows her way into Phoenix's apartment as well with the exact same intentions except her "day job" isn't quite as time-sensitive-strict so she's already finished watching it earlier and knows all the spoilers. Honestly a good chance Phoenix and Pearl (who came with Maya) end up hiding out in the kitchen together to let Maya and Miles rile each other up in front of the TV, but I'm never exactly sure where they'll take me once I wind them up and set them loose on the page, so who knows. I also hadn't necessarily determined the exact time frame yet but for it to make sense as a reboot-type movie/special episode/whatever it probably should be 7yg-or-later so Trucy may or may not be there as well. (That said, in my struggles to complete an actually short one-shot, I probably shouldn't even include Pearl let alone Trucy, lol.) Fun Fact: I also thought I'd skip this day bc I'm not the biggest zombie guy in the world, and to be fair, I managed to do Way Less with it than the dark academia prompt so, yippie?

5. Chess Players - incomplete (currently 3k word WIP)

Miles POV, wrightworth. Miles is a chess grandmaster and back in Japanifornia for the upcoming world cup tournament, but his greatest challenge is actually to FINALLY best Franziska in their annual who-can-get-the-best-Christmas-gift competition. Luckily, he just so happened to hear of an artist who makes bespoke chess sets, so the plan is to get a custom board made for Franziska without her finding out. The plan is not to get trapped in a weird art collective labyrinth with some model-photographer named Cindy who keeps hitting on him but also happens to be protective of the artist he's there to see because "she and her boyfriend kinda-sorta owe him big time", but this is what he gets for coming here without doing any extra research into the artist besides seeing his work and hearing only "his name is White, or, eh, something like that, you know how those artist types are" from Mr. Amano. (AU where we replace law with chess and no I don't think Phoenix could necessarily hack it in the top-world-grandmasters-level of chess tournaments HOWEVER have you considered he DID go to art school so what if he just tries selling custom chess sets until somehow that reconnects him with Miles. Is that somehow a more insane plan than studying law? Maybe. Did Manfred still shoot Gregory but now it was over fucking chess? Maybe. Idk. But I did let Greg live this time at least!) Fun Fact: we can all DEFINITIVELY blame my lovely, terrible, very wonderful friend Ben (shameless friend plug! she's an outstanding writer and has some AA fics of her own too!! @kindlystrawberry on tumblr!!) for making a total joke about "well what about au where they make chess pieces instead" while i lamented not knowing enough about chess to write an actual match and spawning this ENTIRE concept. It is her fault. 100%. She is the guilty party. (I want to finish this one VERY BADLY. Save me.)

EVIDENCE!!!!! Guilty.

6. Reality Show - incomplete (currently 700 word WIP)

Phoenix (& Franziska) POV(s), background wrightworth wedding planning going on as set up but it's also definitely just one of my many excuses to set Phoenix and Franziska up as bitchy worsties who can't admit they enjoy each other's company and will cut you down if you suggest it as such. So far I've only written the quote "set-up" section which is in Phoenix's POV, but that was SUPPOSED to be like 5 paragraphs and cut away and then lead into my actual plan for the main body, which was to be in Franz's instead, so. This is very similar to the zombie one in that it's them watching reality tv instead of being contestants on a show (I don't personally like or watch a lot of reality tv so my creative well was somewhat dry on how to make that work) and then I accidentally thought about Phoenix and Franziska watching something just to judge and tear apart the decisions of every person on it and that was too fun to not consider further, haha. Basically the plan is just they get left alone together and don't know what to do with that and end up wine-drunk and making fun of some reality dating show of some kind and Miles and Trucy come back to them losing it together over something stupid and are like "......uh. what's happening." Fun Facts: I really love the thought experiment of Franziska somehow discovering how often Phoenix's internal dialogue/reads on situations and especially people can be So Bitchy And Judgey despite his affable complexion, and her unfortunately finding his opinions to SOMETIMES be somehow slightly okay. Moderately correct, even--occasionally. I know the section she follows you-as-Phoenix around in T&T is really not long at ALL, but I adore it. There's something about it that so badly makes me want to force them into proximity more (to both their chagrin, I'm sure).

7. Farm/Ranch - complete - 12k words ("Two Little Dickey Byrdes" link)

Gumshoe POV, gumbyrde (tho i still think dickeybyrde is a funnier ship name). 5+1 things--except more like maybe 7-or-8+1 to be honest--so it's more: over 5 times Dick and Maggey sit on a wall together and 1 time they find someone else there instead. AKA: Dick runs his family's small farm (think fantasy farm like in a farming sim or maybe horse girl novel type of thing that has nothing to do with what a real farm is like lol don't worry about it) and Maggey starts working at the next farm over as the latest of her many odd jobs. Fun Fact: oh god this one got so far away from me. it was not supposed to be this long lmao. it's literally the elaborate set-up to a very silly Nursery-Rhyme-I-Didn't-Even-Know-About-Prior-To-This -based punchline!?! still, i was pleasantly surprised by how happy i was with this once it was done... two sittings and about 16 total hours later. haha).

8. Nomad - incomplete (planned/outlined)

Apollo (or possibly Klavier) POV, klapollo. Sort of Jove-Thalassa swap adjacent, but basically: AU where Jove survives the Khura'in fire but loses his memories for [contrived convince sake reasons]. (And also possibly loses some or all of his eyesight just to really go for the parallels?) Therefore: Jove and Apollo stay with Dhurke and Nahyuta and the Defiant Dragons for a time, while Jove recovers, but eventually they leave and head out on their own, just the two of them, and do the traveling musician thing, both because it's dangerous in Khura'in and Dhurke already canonically didn't want Apollo to get caught up in it and potentially get hurt to begin with and because with a functioning actual parent Apollo doesn't need to be taken in by him--and also Jove from what little we know seems like he prefers to be on the move and was already a world traveler anyhow, so even amnesiac maybe he gets a little antsy stuck in one place too long. And so like amnesiac Thalassa, Jove thusly becoming a renowned mysterious musician--and then Apollo, sweet tone deaf Apollo, becoming the sonager of all time (like a momager but...you get it) because he's not that into music but he IS into arguing for better conditions/making deals (contracts!! international legalese!! woohoo!!) with venues and promoters and stuff. And then--oops dang Lamioir still exists and now they have a meet-cute (2 electric bugaloo) (but by then it's later enough Trucy still exists because it will be a cold day in hell when I don't find a way to make her work) and they do music collabs or join up to form a group or whatever and OOPS this means now that Apollo and Jove are with Lamioir when The Gavinners / Klavier specifically meet her and get her to come to do the Guitar's Serenade concert eventually. And Apollo and Klavier ofc thusly also have a meet-cute and then talk and bond etc etc. AND THEN the au STOPS THERE and I DON'T think about how without Apollo Phoenix is totally getting convicted of Zak's murder because there's no way that trial works out as well for him with some other attorney and I also don't think about how reasonable it would then be that maybe Trucy ends up helping Valant with his work setting up the trick for the concert afterward on account of the one father in prison and the other being dead and having left behind a notarized confession clearing Valant's name of suspicion, etc. AND I DEFINITELY do not think about how i could then still so easily get everyone in one place at the concert for Turnabout Serenade and/or any possible funny Sibling (And Thalassa) Reveal that could happen i dont i dont i do not--

9. Accidental Baby Acquisition - conceptualized (not started)

Gen, possibly my weakest / least defined idea on this list, but basically: Phoenix kind of already lives this in canon, lol (insomuch as an 8yo counts as a baby) so I thought, well, how to take it a different direction, then? And I thought, I don't usually go for a Phoenix Fey kind of au because I personally really love the relationships he has with all the Feys as-is in canon and so it's not quite as funny to me as, say, a Miles Fey AU where like Misty and Gregory are married, or any of the ones in that bent, because I'm sorry but that's just SO funny (and sad, but mostly funny) any way you slice it--plus his NAME is RIGHT THERE mia-miles-maya he FITS--anyhow, that completely aside, there are just a lot of reasons I really love the platonic relationships the Feys already have with Phoenix and I don't think it NEEDS to be made specifically familial to still be so very important, y'know? BUT. That said. AU where Phoenix is idk abandoned as a baby or maybe his parents die young or something and it's like a Thing to leave babies at temples or churches or whatever, right? So like--Phoenix adopted by the Feys AU but only because the more i considered it the more i thought it would be WILD for him to literally know Maya her entire life, and it's fascinating to me to consider a Maya who ISN'T basically left all alone to her own devices (and Morgan's) and who has someone absolutely in her corner in the village the entire time even after Mia leaves (who isn't a baby when Mia leaves, love you tho Pearls), AND also and perhaps more importantly, the ships-passing-in-the-night-ness of a scene where, like: Morgan does something sketchy or whatever and Phoenix wants to keep Mia updated but for whatever reason decides to go down to the city and actually tell her in person and so he's waiting outside the courthouse or something (possibly part of or perhaps Most Of the reason he goes in person is because he knows her first courtroom trial is that day and he wants to see her + hear how it went) and when he gets there she's in a heated argument with some asshole in a fancy over-embellished jacket and once that guy leaves Phoenix is like "Sheesh, what's his problem?" You know???? And maybe he really would never even know!!!! Bc he grew up in Kurain!!!! And has no reason to care!!! About some random prosecutor who was mean to Mia!! Aaaah!!! So that, and on top of that, Diego would be there too ofc at that point, and I feel like he would ALSO be quite a funny interaction in this scenario. ("Wow, someone's popular, kitten, you have all sorts of guys waiting on a chance to talk to you, heh?" "Uh.--I'm sorry, WHAT did you just call her")

10. Enemies-to-Allies - incomplete (currently 370 word WIP)

Ema POV, faraskye. Cyberpunk AU where Lana is still under Gant's thumb and Ema, with no other way to stay close to her and getting rejected from any of the sorts of jobs she really wants to do, decides to just join the security force (or cyber police or w/e I decide to call it) and is tasked with hunting down the Yatagarasu, guerilla hacker supreme who is threatening the sanctity of the capitalist overlords. Except Ema's squad gets ambushed and she's captured and tied to a pole, and with her useless fop partner seemingly not coming to rescue her (if he even noticed her absence), she does some quick cost-benefit analysis and decides she didn't really like that job anyway and maybe there's another way she can get her sister back in her life. So she breaks free of her own handcuffs (which she definitely didn't modify into incidental ineffectiveness she's still testing for bugs) and helps fix the "Little Thief" device her captor seems to have broken despite how obviously valuable and impressive the tech is, and they eventually come to something of an agreement. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, and all that. Either Ema as the hardware-engineer one and Kay as the software-programming one as the two sides of the tech coin, or else Kay can just be like doing the physical sneaking kind of spy stuff only--or maybe she knows a little about software but not so much she's a pro the way she is with infiltration and such. Possibly toying with the idea Kay herself is just completely an android, but if not, I think she has some cybernetic cyborg things going on regardless. Possibly from or inspired by her father? I also like the idea that Gant did something maybe more drastic with regards to having dirt on Ema to get Lana to do his bidding--like maybe Ema has a whole cybernetic hand because instead of just her handprint on a leather jacket, Gant has some sicko jar with her entire hand in it in his office safe, or something. I don't know why this would be useful to him but it is certainly an image. I also find it funny if Miss Fingerprint Powder Enthusiast doesn't actually have any fingerprints of her own anymore somehow in this AU, lol.

11. Retail Worker - complete - 6.7k words ("The Bake Anything Boulangerie" link)

Apollo POV, gen. Phoenix gets a job at a bakery instead of the Borscht Bowl Club during the 7 year gap, and Apollo happens to stumble across it and ends up meeting the Wrights while he's still in high school. He becomes a regular at the bakery and is already close to them by the time "Shadi Smith's" murder comes around. And also, yes, sibling reveal right away--at least as soon as Phoenix realizes and can reveal it. As a treat. (Other reveals, though, I might put poor Apollo through on a delayed basis. Also as a treat, lmao, just not one for him.) Fun Fact: I'm being redundant bc this is also in my a/n, but, Baker Phoenix lives rent-free in my brain because Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright was in fact the very first Ace Attorney game I ever played, technically, and Maya and Phoenix semi-brainwashed in that bakery was literally one of my first impressions of them. ........followed immediately by starting a let's play of Justice for All (which i watched through the first case, after which I was like oKAY fine maybe i DO need more context here, i should probably figure out what the actual first game is, and went back to start the series properly at the beginning hahaha). What do you MEAN i have a disproportionate fascination with amnesiac Phoenix, even if I have yet to finish and publish one of my myriad AUs that utilize stupid, unrealistic, plot convenient re-temporary amnesia?? Hm???? Idk what you're talking about. Also everyone who complains about 2-1 is wrong lmao it's objectively (okay subjectively is what i'm saying yes BUT objectively) such a funny place to start without knowing broad plot strokes, it's great. I both knew so much and absolutely shit-all nothing about Maya after PLvPW and 2-1, LMAO. god.

12. Animagus Wings (Joker) - incomplete (planned/outlined)

Miles POV, wrightworth. Angel/Demon AU, except I'm playing super fast and loose with the rules on that because all my knowledge of Christian-mythos comes from firstly and unknowingly the Chronicles of Narnia and more recently and cognizantly Lucifer (Netflix) and Good Omens. I know that's probably more or less what we're all doing with this kind of AU but still, I'm not even sure I want to refer to Heaven and Hell here, I'm kinda on the fence about maybe just keeping it all very vague? I also accidentally semi-worldbuilt more than i intended incidentally on account of "But Then How-Why Names If Angelic Creatures?" Format-wise it would semi-follow gomens s1 where it's hopping through some meetings between long stretches but also a kind of pre- and post- Fall type of thing? And potentially à la Lucifer becoming, like, these are My Mortal Humans and i will be Spending Time With Them, screw you celestial duties, I'm making my own Free Will, etc. And i mean i guess Lucifer is also a crime procedural lmao maybe they still solve crimes in the end too. Fun Fact: I didn't want to do the original prompt for several reasons, and sure fuck jkr is one of them but even before I knew about her I still wasn't really the biggest hp person in the first place? So i wouldn't know/don't remember at all the way it works without having to do the specific research and i...don't want to haha. Hence. And I know the prompt seems to be using it loosely / might just be borrowing the word and not actually referencing hp specifically but tbh either way human-animal shifter things just in general I can be somewhat picky about haha. (Okay okay plus full disclosure the ONLY idea I have for this sort of thing actually ties into my day-3-dark-academia-extended-au-verse and i COULD make my life simpler by just connecting the two days but Heh who would I be if I simplified things for myself... *sigh*) All that to say: I saw "wings" on the wild card list and I thought, ooh, well that's still sort of a related concept! Let's tag that one in! So it's still kind of day 12 prompt-adjacent, if you squint.

13. Found Footage - incomplete (planned/outlined)

Video Transcript POV? Is that a thing? Possibly capped by a little Phoenix POV (but i don't want that to get too long), wrightworth. Larry's new girlfriend of the month bakes weed brownies and Larry does not realize this and swings by the Wrights' apartment to beg some kind of help off Phoenix and forgets the whole tray there somehow (because it's Larry) and they leave to deal with Larry's thing and by the time they figure the brownies out, in some twist of fate Miles and Trucy have been hanging out (last minute babysitter/adult supervision? but she's at the very very least 14 or 15 here and most likely older, and Nick clearly isn't the most strict about like uhhh supervision in general lol sooo idk. he's helping her with a project or smth. it doesn't really actually matter; he's THERE, that's the important thing.) The point I'm very clearly getting at is they accidentally get incredibly high (not dangerously so because I'm not going that far haha but also, neither of them has actually been high before, so they are Affected) before Phoenix finds out what was in the brownies and tries to warn Trucy and hurry home to like, dispose of them or at least put a warning label on them or whatever, but he is too late lol. By a lot. Definitely an underage drugs tag on this bad boy because it's definitely sometime 18-or-earlier for Trucy, let alone 21. (idk about other places but as a Californian I can tell you Japanifornia "LA" could theoretically have it legalized at 21 for anyone (like alcohol) and 18 with Dr's permission--which Trucy definitely does not have in this AU lol.) Basically, Phoenix grabs Trucy's phone to get photo evidence so he can let them never live this down (after making sure they're okay lmao), but he ofc doesn't get technology so he doesn't realize he leaves the phone still recording when Trucy asks him for something / needs his help, so the recording just keeps going and captures a lot of tomfoolery and eventually some inebriated-to-Extremely-sober Feelings-Adjacent confessions (or maybe more like allusions). Idk, this was actually a fic I thought of before August and wanted to use as an excuse to try a Weird Format for fun, but then i saw this was a prompt on the list and...well. Fun Fact: Cannabis was legalized in California on November 8, 2016 (the first election I could vote in!!! ......uh, rip. lol. but yeah babey I helped legalize weed at least!! gotta remember the positives), which means it was legal right in time for Miles' case(s) / Turnabout Goodbyes!!! Yay!! I mean, I suppose that's genuinely seriously one way to try to mitigate nightmares and manage insomnia--not that I think Miles Edgeworth would ever deign stoop so low as to use an aid to manage his severe PTSD and trauma symptoms, psshaw, who do you take him for? (Get these people some help lol. They all need so much therapy.)

14. Princes & Princesses - conceptualized (not started)

So I've been reading a lot (a LOT) of isekai and/or revenge reincarnation romance fantasy manhwas lately (like, oh, too many, hahaha. they're quite good and they're VERY popular in webcomics at the moment.) Soooo. Soft pitch: Apollo already gets slapped into so many wild backstories he's constantly trying to dodge in an effort to be just a Normal Guy, he's honestly, like, the PERFECT protagonist for one of these lmao. And tell me Kristoph doesn't make a perfect "Upstanding Duke" kind of persona, and Klavier couldn't be the "wild rake" younger brother no one expects much from, and all I'm saying is it wouldn't be that hard to contrive a reason Apollo tries to get Klavier to agree to a contract marriage the way all these stories go, lol. And also, something something, Apollo from the "real world" is an orphan/has an absent family (also like so many of these manhwa protagonists, lol) but then he gets to actually have one in his second life!! I'm such a sucker for that shit. Slightly harder pitch, and the reason I did not let myself actually start writing anything (...yet): so what if the actual plot of the "original romance novel" Apollo is familiar with from the "real world (Earth)" is actually about the slightly older generation and something something instead of admiring Phoenix as a defense attorney, it's just that he instead was Apollo's favorite "love interest" character (not, like, for himself, just the one he most liked to read about) in every way except what a blithering idiot he became when the author had him fall for the female lead--but BEFORE that, he's a cool information guild leader guy who seems like he's trying to work toward some way to improve conditions for commoners in the kingdom (but abruptly there are no more mentions of this after he gets involved with the lead, which is annoying). Aaaand... I guess what I'm saying is, Dahlia is the original female lead because she REALLY fits the whole White Lotus trope, and I'm thinking Klavier is the original male lead because A) hilarious, B) fits in with the idea there's more going on in the ACTUAL world Apollo ends up in that is written in such a way as to make things seem different in the novel (like, that Dahlia and Klavier are actually as nice as they seem and that the terrible things that happen around them are just the trials and tribulations of being main characters and not anything they're directly involved in). And Apollo, the character in the novel Apollo, is an adopted prince of Khura'in, but he's the sickly younger prince and of course not actually of the royal bloodline (and also a man, considering Khura'in is matrilineal), so Rayfa and Nahyuta are the ones the public and other nobles actually know and care about and deal with. But wait! As it so turns out, The Wright Anything Information Guild (I feel like the actual guild name CAN'T have their freaking name on it front and center lol but you get the idea) happens to know some other things that aren't really expanded on in the original novel, and might be key to preventing Apollo's death so he doesn't follow the path of the original story, and also idk maybe Apollo and Trucy are half-fae or something like that and instead of like Aw Yay Bracelet in this AU it's more of a secret Iron Shackle Tool That Will Hurt I Mean Totally-Definitely-Help Us Later (still, in a way, passed down to him by Thalassa, but more as, like... she's kind of a secret hostage and does not manage to hide pregnancy number one so Apollo's now also a secret hostage, but she manages to escape so they don't know about Trucy, only she didn't tell Apollo basically anything to "keep him as safe as possible" or w/e, and......) Well, anyway. It got away from me before I even really wrote anything, that's all.

15. Secretly Alien - unfinished (currently 2.6k WIP)

Trucy POV, gen. Apollo gets sick of very consistently always losing the card games they play at the Wright Anything Agency (usually and in the specific instance the fic starts, Bullshit/BS) and in a stroke of inspiration somehow ropes everyone into playing Among Us instead. ("What! It's still a game of trying to lie/trick everyone else--like you like!--but I actually stand a freaking chance, so we're playing this or I'm going home.") Yes. This is my Among Us AU. Hi. They play Among Us. I'm justifying this one as prime AU territory however because A) Among Us has to exist in this universe, and even more pressingly, B) I found a way to force Phoenix to have--for at least a period of time if not moving forward in perpetuity--an actual smartphone instead of a Nokia-type brick cellphone. Which even under the wild but somehow plausible considering Ace Attorney circumstances I contrived, is just automatically a complete AU lmao. Fun Fact: I am so mad this one wasn't just totally finished day-of, lol. Why I ever thought I could give myself run of an entire WAA 4-person conversation and NOT get instantly derailed is beyond me. (And I want to get the prosecutors there, too?? Someone take the characters away from me.) Anyway. No, I have not written ANY of the actual Among Us part yet. Sigh. Also I haven't personally played amogus since like, 2021? maybe? And I know (now) that it's been pretty updated since then, but, ehhh, I'm just gonna run off like, lockdown-era amogus rules and vibes, lol. If I can get to the game part.

16 - Hobby Drama - conceptualized

I'm going to go out of order this time to say: Fun Fact: I have ALWAYS wanted to write a Reddit-style fic!!! I absolutely love them and I've read some REALLY, really good ones, so I've always wanted to try my hand at it. So theoretically this is the perfect time to make that a reality and write a r/HobbyDrama subreddit fic, buuut I got stuck before starting because I'm torn on two possible routes to take it (I can easily foresee myself caving and just doing both lol). - Option 1: Steel Samurai fandom discourse, always a fun/funny thing to think about, definitely would enjoy having Maya and Miles post some stuff for that. - Option 2: courtroom law fandom discourse, because come ON, how are those galleries ALWAYS SO FULL. The little wiggling rabba-rabba onlookers have GOT to have investment in this shit. And why WOULDN'T they, honestly. I've seen those trials and I have, in fact, spent a Lot of time thinking about them, not that any posts I've made lately would reflect that in any way or anything. Like I know it's hard to tell, but if I can be invested in the Lawyers Fandom, who's to say the people in the courtrooms aren't????? And I LOVE an outsider POV fic actually, I think they're so fun. So anyway. Reddit fic. You will be mine. Just as soon as I can hone my energy

And, what the hell, since it's so late now by the time I complete this "Heh This'll Be So Quick To Throw Together" post, I'll include today's, too:

17 - Flower Shop - conceptualized (at work earlier today. lol)

AU where Daddy Hawthorne is like, 97% less shitty. And the Hawthornes have a flower shop instead of like a gemstone industry or whatever. And he takes both Dahlia and Iris with him instead of dumping one of his daughters at a fucking secluded mountain temple and seemingly forgetting about her forever. On second thought, maybe what I actually mean is he's like 999% less shitty, lmfao. Anyway, Iris POV, but Dahlia (while not a "nice" person by any stretch) is not pushed to such extremes or nearly as desperate as canon, so Valerie lives, Terry Fawles lives, Doug Swallow lives, and Dahlia gets to live a good life overall--because as much fun as I love using her as a villain, she's really such a product of the absolute worst circumstances and I really do find her interesting so I've been kind of wanting to explore her in a less cartoonishly evil light, haha. (Don't get me wrong, I do love the cartoonishly evil light too, but I like spicing things up sometimes.) Like, she does (more) normal teen rebellion things ("Look at my inappropriately older boyfriend, Dad" "I'm going to talk my way out of speeding tickets and petty shoplifting as a bid for attention" etc.) and she still totally orders Iris around and Iris still totally does whatever she asks very much to her own detriment and has to learn to break away and be her own person. Fun Fact: I have a very passionate love for Iris/Adrian Andrews. Is that. Um. Is that a ship anyone else has ever considered before? Is that just me? I'm not sure but very possibly I'll just make this a rarepair fic as a treat, for me alone, teehee. (Like... it's about the becoming the master of your own destiny it's about breaking out of codependent cycles it's about how I genuinely honestly think they'd be each other's type and have chemistry even though they've obviously never interacted lmao... idk what to tell you.)

AND THATS MY AU-GUST UPDATE POST!!!

If you made it this far, take a sprinkle of my undying affection, and may you be blessed with AU inspiration if you so desire it!! (If you do not desire it, hopefully you are not cursed with it. I do not take refunds if you are. Sorry.)

Wish me luck with completing some more fics soon!!! Unfortunately weekends are actually my least free time because I work the most and the earliest hours so I have less time and am more tired, but also on Wednesday I'm leaving for a family vacation, which will either be the BEST thing to happen in regards to AU-gust or the WORST thing lmfao. If nothing else I have 2 flights, and I actually Love writing on an airplane, so fingers crossed for it being Good. <3

EDIT: Now with part 2 for the rest of the month here!

[liquidluckandstuff]

20 Questions for Fic Writers!

Thank you for tagging me @racfoam (oh my gosh these are a lot of questions

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

I have a total of 21 fics 😅

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

182,399.... dayum

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Harry potter and only Harry potter. I'm TRYING to put in effort into other things, but they just don't hold my attention.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Heaven is your sleeping Enemy

Phantom Touch

Just Another Omegaverse Fic

Darlings and Dragons

Found Footage

5. Do you respond to comments? Why? Why not?

I respond to most comments. I love it when people comment. It makes me happy to hear what people think about my fics. or that they are just reading it at all.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Heartbreaking Confession. It has to be one of the shortest things i've ever written but man, there is just no hope.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

His Brave Boy . It just got attention recently due to a tik tok and i CRIED. I love this little one shot so much.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

The only reason i've ever gotten hate on a fic is because people don't want to read tags or think they can dictate how my story is going to progress.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I have a whole ass second account for my smut fics thank you very much.

SolidMisfortuneandThings

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I mean it's got Dungeons and Dragons vibes.

The only other cross over fic i've ever written I orphaned along with all my other stuff many years ago.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nah.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! and surprise surprise it was the smut

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Sort of? We collaborated and then life happened

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

HARRYMORT. Not tomarry. (i mean i like tomarry and all) but Harry and Voldemort.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

One i have saved with 20k words in my documents about Harry having actual prophetic dreams about death because of the killing curse and through that ends up saving the minister of magic and being adopted by Voldemort.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Yo man idk thats too much internal thinking for me.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Sentence structure. Grammar. Confidence.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I don't even try. I say either the main character didn't understand it, generalize the conversation, or mention that its in another language.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

..... Final Fantasy

20. Favourite fics you’ve written?

DARLINGS AND DRAGONS. IT IS MY BABY AND I LOVE IT

Tagging: @i-dream-of-libraries @cloverwoodss @queasyghosts @reggieblk @zombu7 @vyrid I don't remember everyones tumblr i am so sorry

[lilacthebooklover]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

@snarky-wallflower Thanks for the tag! This was a lot of fun :)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

67 currently, but I have deleted a few old ones lol

2. What’s your total word count?

Now, when I tell you I went overboard on this question, I went overboard. My private, unposted, solely-written-by-me fics' total word count is 227,868. My total word count for fics I've collaborated with @charismabee on is 477,549, and my total word count on AO3 is 389,530. However, quite a few of my AO3 fics are collabs with Red, so if you take away everything like Wilting Flowers and Owl House but Kindergarten, you're left with 225,235 words written solely by me. So, if you total up 225,235 + 227,868 + 477,549, then you get a grand total of 930,652 words! Then, of course, there's the whole matter of my old fics on regular Word and not Docs, which would probably add up to at least another 50,000 total considering we're talking about my ASOUE and DT17 phases, as well as all of the private Viva Pinata and miscellaneous musical stuff lurking in there, and we've got that weird writing app on my tablet that I used a lot a couple of years ago whenever my phone got confiscated, but I cannot be bothered to search through all of that right now. So, it mostly rounds up to around 1,000,000 words. Fanfiction may or may not be taking over my life. (Gosh I love maths <3)

3. What fandoms?

I've written mostly for the Kindergarten 1 and 2 fandom, my total fics on AO3 for it totaling 38. However, I have written a heck of a lot of OMORI as well, and dabble in the Owl House, DHMIS, a few webseries on YT as well as the Hatchetverse sometimes, too!

4. Top 5 fics by kudos

1. World's Okayest Uncle at 799. My latest WIP, written for the Hatchetfield Universe and based around the concept of Paul Matthews becoming the accidental uncle of every kid in town. Each chapter focuses on a different child (the three so far about Alice, Richie and Pete respectively), and once all of them have been sufficiently adopted, I've been considering adding some slice-of-life stuff, exploring the changed character dynamics, and looking into parts of canon that would change in the AU as well. 2. Hollow at 455, a Hunter-centric one-shot for the Owl House set immediately after season 2 finished. It was written in the post King's Tide craze of awesome Human Realm content, so it got quite a lot of hits at the time. It focuses on Hunter dealing with the aftermath of Belos seemingly having died, and himself having being thrown into a completely new, unfamiliar world as an unfamiliar God took over his own :) 3. Flapjacks at 279, another Hunter-centric piece because TOH fans can't get enough of him lol (I am very much one of those fans). I began writing it back when Thanks to Them was first released, then got the motivation to finish it after I saw Watching and Dreaming. It focuses on Hunter returning to the Human Realm after the Collector's defeat, as well as Camila's thoughts on being a parent of who knows' how many kids at this point. Hunter finally gets the chance to mourn, and finds out what a flapjack actually is. 4. Gravesfield Historical Society, at 275. In which it's only natural that the Boiling Isles' leading Human Expert decides to do some research, and Gus does his very best to ignore the images plaguing him from looking into Belos' mind. Vee looks for some closure, Hunter is very protective over his little siblings, and Gus just wants to have a fun day at the museum. Things... Don't go to plan. 5. Fading, at 215. Yet another TOH work (I was around when the fandom was active as heck), one of the shortest pieces I've ever written at only 722 words. It's from Flapjack's POV during that scene in Thanks for Them. You know the one. I made lots of people cry, and sacrificed the birb.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Of course!! I thoroughly appreciate every comment I receive; they really make my day. Being part of an active fandom with the Uncle Paul AU has sort of taken me by storm so my inbox is pretty clogged at the moment, but I promise that I have read and smiled over and will reply to the comments all of my lovely readers have left behind! It means so much that someone's not only taken the time to read what I've written, but that they liked it enough to leave a comment behind. Even just keysmashes or "<33"s are really lovely to see, so thank you to the wonderful commentors out there! You guys are awesome :D

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Ooh, now this is a tough one! Pretty much 95% of what I write is angst, with a good 70% being Hurt No Comfort. Still, I think the angstiest ending I've ever written would have to be that of either "Enough", in which 13 y/o me decided it was a good idea to follow the perspective of kindergartener Theodore Huxley as his brother pushed him to his death, or "Wilted", in which 13 y/o me decided it was a good idea to follow the perspective of suicidal kindergartener Lily as she gave up on finding the one person who cared about her and committed suicide as a result of being bullied. Wilted should probably win out considering the implications of what would happen to Billy as a result, and bc the ending subsequently led to Nugget's death too, but Ted's train of thought in Enough is so gosh darn sad.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Definitely "McDonald's". That's the fluffiest thing I've ever written, no doubt about it. Not a smidgen of angst, just a bunch of kids with colourful eyes and pointy ears walking into a fast food restaurant and discovering what chicken nuggets are. It literally ends with the promise of more cute adventures to come, so I'd say this one's a no-brainer loll

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I've only ever received hate once, on a little Gravity Falls AU I made entitled "Puppet Strings and Stage Curtains". I got some pretty nasty criticism on it and, as a kid who was still very anxious about posting stuff online, it really impacted me at the time. I'm still a little nervous even now to open up my inbox because I think I might have gotten another comment like that shfjdhhgkjh. I wound up abandoning the fic because my motivation was completely destroyed, and I couldn't even look at the thing without feeling ashamed. However, I haven't received any hate since, which is great! There's just no reason for it, really; if you like something, leaving a comment is wonderful, and it makes the author happy! If you don't, just don't read the fic. Leaving a hurtful comment isn't going to make anyone happy, and can be really damaging to writers. Shoutout to @weedkillercentral, who, without fail, leaves the bizzarest comments known to man on almost every work I post.

9. Do you write smut?

Nope! I am a ✨minor✨ (@snarky-wallflower dw I too am a nerdy prude, sex jokes are Ew). Still, I do enjoy writing romance from time to time! Some ships are straight-up hard not to enjoy reading/writing for :))

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Funny story, actually. I used to have Wattpad and, as much as I hated using it, a friend of mine liked the site so I used it to support her. I wound up posting some of my own stuff on there at one point. I will never be able to get over the fact that when you searched up my username online, the images used to show a picture of Sharkbomb Glomgold. How do I know this? Because small me got bored and looked up my username, and accidentally found a mirror site to Wattpad with some of my stuff on. It credited my username and everything, but I panicked about it because as far as I was aware, I had no control over whether I could take it down or what else could be put on it. So, I deleted everything on my account, and just like that, the fics on the mirror site vanished. So no, I've never had anything outright stolen-- at least, I hope I haven't-- but that was a Not Fun experience for little me a few years ago

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, I'm not famous enough for that lol. I did have an offer for someone to make a podfic of smth I wrote a few years ago, but they never got around to it. Still, if anyone ever wants to translate one of my fics, I'd love it if you did! Please just let me know and acknowledge me as the OG author; having a work translated sounds awesome.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! Many thanks yet again to the amazing @charismabee, my dear co-author and the Kel shirt to my Maverick cosplay wig. The amount of hours I've spent writing with her is actually insane, as well as the times we've just messaged brainstorming AUs or having far too strong feelings about the show Elena of Avalor. We've done joint Whumptobers and Febuwhumps, fics that are combinations of the nichest stories and characters, a lot of redemption arcs for 5-year-olds... If you like my stuff, I thoroughly encourage you to go give her work a read at TheFearIsRed on AO3! :D

If anyone else ever wants to try collaborating on something, I think I'd be willing to give it a try! There are loads of talented authors on here, and co-writing is a lot of fun <3

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Hmm... Well, Paulkins is an obvious one (remember that one post about "hatchetfield fans when normal man and his barista crush show up for 5 seconds"? yeah that's me). They have a level of mutual trust and understanding that's just really nice to explore, they both have issues galore but will support each other no matter what, half infected Paul content is golden and as an avid Uncle Paul truther, Emma finding out about his many children is just too funny a concept to me. They act like teenagers when they see each other, they're both down bad, she knows he doesn't like the Christmas advert jingles, he thinks she's funny,,, they're so <3

Another strong contender is Pearla (Penny x Carla), from the K2 fandom. @goldmoth82 was the one who got me into writing about them with their absolutely incredible stuff (art, fics, you name it!). They're just a traumatised android and a thieving arsonist, what more could you want?

Gold rush (Kel x Mikhael) is another of my favourites though, mostly because it's so funny. Mikhael has declared them rivals, and Kel could not care less. Mikhael challenges him to races, and Kel beats him easily. Mikhael insults him often, but Kel doesn't retaliate. Mikhael wants to be independent and special, to stand out from everyone else. Kel wants to be appreciated as more than just Hero's brother, to be liked and acknowledged as himself. Mikhael would vehemently deny his feelings until Daphne and Bowen tied them up together and forced him to confess. Rivals are just lovers in disguise, everyone. One-sided gold rush is even funnier, because they're technically one-sided rivals. Kel was Mikhael's homosexual awakening. Mikhael looks so dumb and flamboyant because he's trying to impress him. Mikhael claims he hates him and that his bright red face is from anger after Kel effortlessly beats him time and time again. I love them.

But I think out of everything, Wrightworth would have to take my top pic for favourite ship. Gay lawyers who would die for each other for the win.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

Ohh gosh. There are quite a few, but I'd probably say this year's Whumptober. My mental health went schwoop this October and I only got up to day 11 despite my plans. I still intend to finish the collab one with Red when I have time again (exams suck), and I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to get around to completing it. At least there's always next year! :"]

16. What are your writing strengths?

Definitely characterisation. I have a lot of fun getting into characters' heads and making studies on them in different scenes or just overall, and have a lot of fun bouncing different personalities off of each other. Once I know a character, I know the character, and writing their POV is as simple as breathing lol. I'd also say that I'm pretty good at tension building and breaking, as well as Hurt No Comfort (you need some good old angst, I'm your gal).

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Action scenes, for one, though I've been improving on them since I started the TOH Kindergarten AU! I'd also say that I struggle with slower-paced, filler sort of stuff. I might like to build up to an event, but chapters that don't have plot relevance just sort of stump me lol, even when they're necessary :)

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

I enjoy learning languages, and have been teaching myself Spanish for the past couple of years or so. However, writing them is a whole separate thing entirely. If I had a translator, I'd be all good! I just get a little worried when I write any language that isn't Spanish because google translate is unreliable as heck, so I typically tend to avoid it. Luckily, none of my fandoms really require it- but if that Franziska & Miles brainrot doesn't go away soon, I might be in a bit of a pickle trying to write German dialogue hshjhgfk

19. First fandom you wrote for?

A Series of Unfortunate Events (the Netflix show). It was the first fandom I got really, properly into, diving in headfirst at the age of about 12 and finding a lot of awesome content. The obsession I had with VFDBaudelaireFile13's Violet Snicket AU "Misery Loves Company" a few years ago was wild. My writing back then was very jolty, and I wrote in chapters that only lasted a few paragraphs with big, bold titles that often had at least two exclamation marks at the end. Still, ASOUE is one of my favourite shows to this day, and I don't regret a thing from my time binge-reading everything I could find for it (except that one lemons fic I accidentally came across when starved for content), nor any of the silly little unposted AUs I wrote on Word.

20. Top 3 fics I've ever written:

I puzzled over this question for ages, but found it impossible to choose just one! Ignore that I'm cheating a little here, and take three instead <3

1. An unposted collaborative work with @charismabee/TheFearIsRed that we called MPT. It was the first big fic I ever wrote, and it was probably what really got me into writing as a hobby. I got to spend time at random intervals writing about and whumping my favourite characters with someone I'm very close with, making up the plot as we went along. I remember coming up with the initial idea on a swingset, and spending hours colour-coding every segment of those 50,000 words based on each mention of a character as well as who wrote what. MPT is messy, and a tad repetitive in places, and while finished, I don't believe it's something I'll ever post. But it holds a special place in my heart, and it's a lot of fun looking back on my writing from a couple years ago compared to now 2. Not sure if this fully counts, but an untitled Omori WIP I've got going atm is definitely up there. It's Hero-centric with huge emphasis on his trauma, following the course of the year the events of the game occur in. I've had a blast writing his thoughts and time at college, and I'm geberally just really proud of it thus far. Hopefully, it'll be done by January in time for his birthday! :) 3. Now this one is a posted work– Magical Girls: Omori!, another collab with Red. We came up with the idea, binge-watched season one of Glitter Force on Netflix, and ran with the plot. We've planned out all of season 1 with ideas for season 2, incorporated a plethora of great characters, and been able to mess around with a fun fantasy high school full of our favourites. It's always wonderful to write, and I really like how it's been going!

Thank you again to @snarky-wallflower for the tag! You're amazing <3

As for people I know, I've tagged the vast majority of you already sjhkffg oops.

@charismabee @goldmoth82 @weltato @inprisonforsparkling hey there jpr the au mastermind, fanartist of the century, paul whump bestie and king of michie. you guys are some of my favourite writers out there, i'd love to see what you answer with for this (no pressure ofc!) <33

[mariana-oconnor]

The Bruce Partington Plans pt 3

Well last time Watson was told to bring a gun and a chisel, so things were heating up in the espionage arena. I hope he doesn't kill a dog this time.

It was a nice equipment for a respectable citizen to carry through the dim, fog-draped streets. I stowed them all discreetly away in my overcoat...

Watson, I don't know why you're deluding yourself that you're a respectable citizen. You're really not. And that's not an insult.

Also, the fact that the man can fit 'a jemmy, a dark lantern, a chisel and a revolver' discreetly in his overcoat is impressive and I 100% assure you that had it been a woman's overcoat he would not have managed it. A dark lantern is a clunky piece of kit and even the small versions seem pretty big. A jemmy is skinny, a chisel and a revolved will fit in a decent-sized pocket, but a dark lantern?

That's a pretty awesome overcoat, Watson

"Then join me in a coffee and curacao."

Is that like a thing? Maybe it's because I dislike the flavours of both coffee and alcohol, or maybe it's because I think the only curacao I've ever seen is blue curacao, but that seems like a strange combination to me.

OK, research shows that you can in fact get coffee-flavoured curacao, so this isn't as weird as it seemed. I doubt they're using the blue curacao here, which makes me feel better. There's something about mixing something that bright blue into coffee that upsets my stomach just thinking about it.

“Have you the tools?” “They are here, in my overcoat.”

“Could it not have been dropped from a bridge?” “I should say it was impossible. If you examine the roofs you will find that they are slightly rounded, and there is no railing round them."

I think I'd personally go with improbable rather than impossible, but sure.

"Now, suppose that a train halted under such a window, would there be any difficulty in laying a body upon the roof?”

...yes? You have to lift a dead weight out through a window. I doubt the train is that close to the window, and you're in the room, presumably, so I'd say that sounds difficult. Also you just said that you can see the windows from inside the carriage, so it could easily have been seen by passengers, but you wouldn't even necessarily know.

Is your window large enough to put the body out sideways, in which case two people could probably heave-ho it over onto the roof, but it would make a hell of a thump as it hit the roof. And how many windows in London are wide enough - and open wide enough - for a full size man to be thrown out of them sideways? But if you're pushing him out long ways, you're going to have to sort of bend him up at first so he doesn't flop down in the gap between the train and the window, but bridges the gap, then slide him over.

It sounds like a lot of work, is what I'm saying. Seems almost as possible as dropping a body onto a train from a bridge and the body staying on the train. Actually, that seems more likely to me, with the train roofs being curved, because if you drop it from above, you can aim for the centre of the roof, where the body can sort of balance itself over the curve, while if you're pushing the body on from the side, it's more likely to be weighted towards the side you're pushing it on from, so more likely to fall off.

Train carriages aren't exactly thin. If you're throwing it on sideways then getting it to a balancing point at the top of the curve is going to be more difficult. You'll have to lean all the way out. but long ways, you're going to be pushing a dead weight from one of the shortest sides - head or feet - with no real way to control the other end.

Really we need to conduct an extensive experiment to settle this.

“We must fall back upon the old axiom that when all other contingencies fail, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

Sherlock. Sherlock. Sherlock. You can't just say something's impossible and then take that as written. That's not how possibility works. I bet you it's possible for a body to fall from a bridge, onto the top of a curved carriage and rest stably enough there that it won't fall off for a little while. Clearly it wasn't very stable because it did fall off eventually.

"...the idea of an amateur domiciliary visit would certainly never occur to him."

Such a polite way to say B&E.

“My dear fellow, you shall keep watch in the street. I'll do the criminal part."

I think that keeping watch would still make Watson an accessory to a crime, and therefore also a criminal in the eyes of the law. Not to quibble or anything.

And you were just saying how respectable you were earlier, Watson.

“I knew you would not shrink at the last,” said he, and for a moment I saw something in his eyes which was nearer to tenderness than I had ever seen.

...presented without comment...

"Let us walk,” said he. “Don't drop the instruments, I beg."

As if he could. How could you malign Watson's overcoat in such a way?

The very next train roared from the tunnel as before, but slowed in the open, and then, with a creaking of brakes, pulled up immediately beneath us. It was not four feet from the window-ledge to the roof of the carriages.

...OK. It seems like the 4 foot must be down, not across. Even so, the train can't be right next to the building, there must be a bit of a gap. I'd say at least a foot.

So... from the window. This guy (possibly alone, possibly with a partner (perhaps a colonel)) took a dead body, and managed to get it not just to the edge of the carriage roof, but let's say the carriage is 8 foot wide, which seems to be roughly the narrowest possibility at the time from a brief online search. That means they got it ~5 foot to the centre of the carriage (including the gap between the train and the building), then over the top so it wouldn't immediately slide off.

Say Mr Cadogan West was about 170cm (the average height of a man 1896-1900 according to this site). That's just under 5'6". And to get him to a reasonable balancing point - let's say with 2 feet over the centre of the roof, that's 6 foot onto the roof, they're having to lean out the window... down 4 feet to get him there. If they're going sideways, they have to throw that body about 7 foot because they'd be throwing from inside the window. The drop would make it an easier throw, but it would also make a louder noise as body hits roof.

I'm sure it's possible. It just seems like a really bad plan. Also, human bodies are all floppy when they've just died, aren't they? That's got to be so difficult to move.

This is clearly what we are meant to accept has happened. But the logistics of doing it seems like it would have been farcical. Poor Mr Cadogan West's corpse just flopping around as they try to manoeuvre it this way and that.

“So far we are justified,” said he.

If you say so, Holmes. yes, the bloodstains prove it happened, but genuinely don't know how they managed it. Think of his arms flopping down, catching on the windowsill and the edge of the train, dead fingers knocking against the carriage window.

ALSO this is all happening in the smog.

Whatever. I have wasted too much time contemplating the logistics of this. It is not supposed to be examined so closely.

I thought Watson was supposed to be playing lookout...

It was a small tin cash-box which stood upon the writing-desk. Holmes pried it open with his chisel.

Did Holmes also bring a chisel? or is this Watson's chisel? Or did Watson bring Holmes' chisel? Or is it the communal chisel for all 221b Baker Street chiselling needs?

“Hoped to hear sooner. Terms agreed to. Write fully to address given on card. — Pierrot."

Ooh, commedia dell'arte reference. We love to see it. PIerrot's the sad clown guy, iirc. Not sure how that refers to any of our suspects.

Why is the spy keeping these in a tin box? That seems unnecessary. Clearly it is good for the plot. But he should just read the message, get whatever information is in it, then discard of the paper as anyone else would.

The area door of Oberstein's house had been left open the night before, and it was necessary for me, as Mycroft Holmes absolutely and indignantly declined to climb the railings, to pass in and open the hall door.

The guy barely walks anywhere and you're expecting him to climb over railings? This can't have come as a surprise to you, Watson.

With the shock, his broad-brimmed hat flew from his head, his cravat slipped sown from his lips, and there were the long light beard and the soft, handsome delicate features of Colonel Valentine Walter.

Does anyone know what ACD's problem with colonels was? I have not been keeping a running tally, but this has got to be about the 5th time that a colonel in these stories turned out to be a horrible person. I mean, in The Silver Blaze he was just a dick, and in The Crooked Man he was the victim, but it turned out he was terrible and kind of had it coming. Elias Openshaw in The Five Orange Pips was a colonel, in The Engineer's Thumb the guy's pretending to be a colonel, then there's Colonel Sebastian Moran. That's five I can remember.

Holmes gave a whistle of surprise. “You can write me down an ass this time, Watson,” said he. “This was not the bird that I was looking for.”

Really? Because he had access to the keys and also his brother mysteriously vanished. Plus he tried to get you out of the house pdq after you started questioning him.

“Everything is known, Colonel Walter,” said Holmes. “How an English gentleman could behave in such a manner is beyond my comprehension."

Not to disagree with everything you say in this story, but we've seen plenty of English gentlemen behave in ways just as bad. I guess you're putting treason as the worst possible crime or something, but even so. You yourself had a whole-ass speech about how the countryside of England is littered with crimes. It's also littered with the landed gentry. You can't really be surprised by this.

"There he intervened, and then it was, Colonel Walter, that to treason you added the more terrible crime of murder.”

Oh no, you do think murder is worse than treason. Good for you. But also in that case, you've definitely seen English gentlemen do worse.

"It was so thick that nothing could be seen, and we had no difficulty in lowering West's body on to the train."

Also the letters in the paper were from Oberstein? Not from Valentine, so... why on earth did he keep his own messages?

Oberstein, eager to complete the coup of his lifetime, came to the lure and was safely engulfed for fifteen years in a British prison. In his trunk were found the invaluable Bruce-Partington plans, which he had put up for auction in all the naval centres of Europe.

All's well that ends well - apart from poor Arthur Cadogan West who was only trying to do the right then and ended up murdered and framed for treason. I hope the government gave his family and fiancee some sort of reparations for the slanders against his name.

Colonel Walter died in prison towards the end of the second year of his sentence.

That's pretty quick, and ambiguous... he was quite young, wasn't he? Just 'died', nothing more than that? Hmmm.

This whole last bit reminds me of those 'where are they now' segments.

Roll credits.

[jtl07]

jtl07 fics, summer 2023

Kinda liked doing the half year recap in June and had planned to do another one at the end of the year, but since I had quite the posting spree this month, decided to do one now.

General stats

Total on this pseud: 12 (all avatrice / Warrior Nun fandom)

Fics posted (chronological order):

to all the girls (to you, to me) -- or: Ava watching people fall in love with Beatrice, including herself

leave it all behind (I’ll see you on the other side) -- or: Ava comes back - healthy, whole, quiet. Too quiet.

the long, delirious, burning blue -- or: the moody Top Gun 2 (Maverick) AU

another little peace (restful pieces): something old, something blue -- or: the girls buy cereal; or or: Bea learning the difference between safety and familiarity

looks for you in everything (finds you there) -- or: Switzerland vignettes based on items found in their bedroom

Enhanced Beings Tech Support transcripts -- or: What if there was technical phone support for “enhanced beings” like halo bearers?

another little peace (restful pieces): lets you see the wonder of it all -- or: Ava meets a member of her family

another little peace (restful pieces): like a boat -- or: Beatrice plays Stray Gods

late night vigil -- or: camila learns about beatrice's strap; she helps in her own way

another little peace (restful pieces): to always wake up to you -- or: avatrice proposal based off of SimplyKorra's fantastic headcanon

another little peace (restful pieces): perchance to dream (no more) -- or: Ava wakes up from a dream

can't go back -- or: Five times Beatrice tries a food for a second time

(More numbers, thoughts, and some plans below the cut)

More numbers

Total words: 36720

Shortest: 685 (to always wake up to you)

Longest (one-shot): 5987 (the long, delirious, burning blue)

Average/Median word count: 3060 / 2019

General thoughts

Nearly 10k more words in the past 3 months than I wrote the first half of the year - I guess being in a safe space after your life has been turned upside down makes a difference, huh?

I still don't know what happened this month - specifically, the two week period from 8/14 - 8/26 where my fingers were just trying their best to keep up with the stories pressing in my brain lol (willing to bet it's somethingsomething healing and how it can take many forms, like this kind of intense spike)

Fun fact: This is only the second time I've written a one-shot over 5k words this year (3rd time ever in my many years of writing fic). It's always interesting to look at the average / median word count because it's been firmly in the 2k range. I still want to challenge myself with longer work, they just take time and energy yknow? Under 3k, I feel really comfortable now, which is a cool feeling

Fic that surprised me:

Honestly, everything that happened in that intense two week period (i.e. everything posted after "the long, delirious, burning blue") was a genuine surprise. Every time one of those ideas happened, I felt like I was just trying to keep up. I was really glad to have the space - emotionally, physically - to write those stories.

And I guess what surprised me also was just how wide a range they all were. I've been trying to work on just "writing what will get written" and learning to turn off the judgemental voice in my head that says things like, "you should be writing more," or "you should be writing better ideas." It was a surprise that these ideas just kinda flowed without much friction, yknow? I'm taking it as a sign of growth :)

Fic that was the hardest to write:

Oh gosh hands down leave it all behind (I’ll see you on the other side) - I had to discard full drafts and start over from scratch multiple times to get to what's actually posted. I had tried different perspectives, different settings, different points in the story, but I just kept getting stuck. I think part of it was because when I write, I usually start with a vibe or an arc - with this one, I was starting with the turn, the twist - which I don't often write either. So writing this kind of story was new on all fronts

can't go back was also a bit frustrating to write - I've been dealing with a sudden recurrence of brain fog so I know part of it was that, but idk, I feel like it could have been tighter thematically

Fic that I'm proud of:

Definitely the Top Gun 2/Maverick AU, the long, delirious, burning blue. I mentioned this in a comment that when I first had the idea, I'd expected it to be more of an action fic - I don't often write action, so I thought it'd be a good opportunity to practice. But, as with most of my work, it ended up quite moody, more a reflection of grief and duty.

Why am I proud of it? Because despite my initial intent, and my initial disappointment when I realized the direction it was going, I allowed myself to go with it. Writing this piece helped me accept where I am in my writing, to accept the stories I choose to write and how I write them. This fic was not at all what I had expected, but it turned out to be exactly what I needed

Runner up: looks for you in everything (finds you there) - the final word count shocked me, honestly, I didn't expect to write so many vignettes. But I was mostly proud of the diligence behind this and letting my sappy side run free lol

WIPs in the wings

Lol my WIP list is hella long - and that's not counting a whole separate document I have that's just prompts. I still have some Supercorp ideas that I've not yet fleshed out that are more on the "experimental" side that play with form and formatting - I've also some avatrice ones in "genre" as well.

Surprisingly, I've a couple AUs I've been turning over in my mind - I blame playing Stray Gods for making me remember some video games I'd grown up playing lol Oh and I've been pondering how to do a litrpg/gamelit style fic as well.

There's a couple longer one-shots that I've been pecking at but are going to take me a while to finish - there's one that's sort of a sister to every leaf that falls (never stops falling) (not a continuation, more like a sister in terms of vibe and tone), and another that explores Ava having a new ability (will I ever stop being enamored with Switzerland era? The answer is no lol).

But mostly, I'm just going to vibe with happens - "write what will get written" and all. We'll see where it all goes!

If you've read this far, thanks a ton for your support and going on the ride that is my fics lol - much appreciation to y'all!

[lunawings]

So. Guess where I was tonight.

Oh man what a DISASTER.

Well the show was probably fine but listen. OK LISTEN.

For the past two Miku Expo shows at least, they announced the day before that they were unable to do merch in a tent outside from 2 like they did at other venues, and would be doing it inside from 6.

Except like. Only VIP get in at 6. Everyone else gets in at 7. That means, if you're not VIP, the best you could hope for is to get in right at 7, an hour late, and you would have to line up hours earlier just for that chance. And if you didn't line up hours early, you're just SOL because the show starts at 8.

So, longtime followers of this blog will know that the merch line is a big part of any idol concert to me. But, somewhat regretting my experience in the merch line at Koushien, and learning of the situation above, I decided not to deal with it. Heck, I even made plans beforehand to keep myself from lining up.

I lined up anyway. Only a little early though, because my brain kept nagging and NAGGING ME. You always do merch Luna. Always. You'll regret it. YOU'LL REGRET IT.

So as soon as we got in though, everyone rushed to the lobby to find... the merch was behind us and down the stairs. And the crowd was already basically too thick to go back. WELP.

But it turns out, I did not regret it. Because I learned penlights sold out BEFORE THEY OPENED THE DOORS FOR GENERAL ADMISSION ANYWAY.

That was the one thing I really wanted the most. And I had no chance of getting it, even if I lined up hours earlier as originally planned. So. Actually. I did not regret it.

Except.

THIS WAS SUCH BS.

Merch should not be VIP only in my opinion!! I mean they ALREADY get a special gift bag as it is!?

AND ANOTHER THING

Most people at Japanese idol concerts use two penlights, right? Well, even for the people who could buy one at the venue, it was limited to one per person. And they sold out so quickly online. So, actually being at this show with two official penlights would be nearly impossible unless you had some from previous shows. Which would be fine EXCEPT

THEY TECHNICALLY REQUIRE YOU TO USE ONLY OFFICIAL PENLIGHTS

This was written on the website and announced before the show.

Like

HOW???????

I said screw it and used the generic ones I had programmed for Kinpri cheering. (Miku green was my Taiga green sorryyyy.) I didn't get kicked out or anything but OHHHHHH that made me mad.

I WOULD HAVE USED OFFICIAL ONES

IF YOU HAD LET ME!!?!!?!!

So yeah. The show. I only had two major complaints about the show.

Honestly, I don't know that much Vocaloid music. It's just that like, I only have so many chances to go to Japanese idol concerts nowadays and I'll be damned if I'll miss any of them. So I can't comment on the setlist, but other people seemed to enjoy it.

I was in the orchestra pit which I wanted so I could be in the action. Except.

I just found myself thinking like...... if you really HAVE to use a TV instead of a hologram. Then like. Why not raise it. Just a liiiittle bit. So the shorter people in the orchestra pit can see???

I mean, it didn't really look to me like the characters were really on stage. They tried their best to hide it, but it was obviously a TV. So what's the difference!? Why not put it where everyone can see lol....

My other complaint, and I am surprised I didn't hear anyone else complaining about this... it was super short. Like less than two hours!? One of the shortest concerts I've ever been to. I was kinda pissed looking at the time afterward because I was already committed to staying overnight when I could have made the last bus. Ugh.

But despite all that, I did have fun. Aside from the merch disaster, it felt like a typical Japanese idol concert and I enjoyed bopping along with the music, cheering, screaming, having a good time with Miku.

Miku miku ooo eee ooo.

[simpingandshitposting]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ❤

Two ppl actually tagged me in this so thank you @malewifetouya and @happyely 🖤🖤🖤

Sadly some of my most favorite projects are ones that are still sitting in my drafts unfinished 😭 but out of all the ones I've posted these are the ones I'm most proud of <3

"Come Home" — Deku:

I don't even know if this would be considered a fic?? Cuz honestly this was such a short little thing that I wrote in under like 15 minutes 😭 probably the shortest amount of time it's taken me to ever write literally anything. But it was after I watched S6 E136 and literally that night I had a dream where this whole scene was played out in my head. And it just felt so dramatic in the right ways and just raw emotion that I had to write it down. And it's STILL my most liked post on this entire blog😭 but honestly understandable bc sometimes I go back and read it and I'm just like "damn wait I wrote that????" lmfaoo

"Only for you, Toshi" — Shinsou:

Completely opposite from the last one, this is actually the longest thing I've ever written. (that's posted anyway, there's a few longer still in my drafts) I just feel like Shinsou doesn't get enough love but he definitely deserves it😭❤️ all my friends that read it said they really enjoyed it and I'm just really happy with how it came out after working on it for a couple weeks, and that not touching it for a few months and then coming back to it only to finish it in like 2 days lmao

"Attention" — Dabi:

Now this wouldn't be a post about my fics if I didn't include something for my absolute favorite character in the entire show🖤 this fic was very self indulgent bc I'm such a brat🤭 and I'm convinced that Dabi is the king of brat taming. Fun fact, the outfit I described is something I literally own in my closet 😂

"Secrets" — BakuDeku x reader [UNFINISHED]:

This is a multi-part series I'm co-writing with my bsf @haru-x-ren on a joint account we made. (@bunny-x-haru if you'd like to follow) it's currently still a work in progress with only a few parts released, but it is a continuation of a 2 part fic I wrote when I first started called "You're the Only Thing That Makes Sense" — Bakugo So I do recommend reading this one first before Secrets for context and background info. I feel like you can really see my growth in writing from then to now, cuz that was like literally the second thing I ever posted lol. And Haru was literally my biggest fan bc he's the one that got me into writing fanfic<3 so after he read it, he had this absolutely BRILLIANT idea (spoiler) to take the scene I wrote where bakugo and deku were caught fighting after school hours (similar to that scene from season....2? When Bakugo learned about OFA) and turn it into a BakuDeku love triangle and I was honestly obsessed with the idea

And lastly

"For Your Eyes Only" — Dabi:

Another one for my fav<3 this one was for his birthday and is very nasty🤭 also with a little bit of fluff at the end bc I am indeed a hopeless romantic with no romance🥲 also, the cover photo is most definitely the reaction I was imagining when he walks into the room lmao

Side Note:

I know it's been a while since I've posted any writing and I am so sorry 😭 I guess I've just been in a little bit of a funk when it comes to my creativity lately. I mean I've got plenty, and I do mean PLENTY of ideas written down, but Im having a hard time executing them and turning them into something I can post. But I promise I'll get back to posting as soon as I can and I'm really sorry to everyone who has been waiting for stuff😭 I appreciate your patience❤️

Here's 5 other writers I recommend<3

@cathwritestragediesnotsins @aquadenks @kemakoshume @coffee-colored-hopeless-romantic + any other writers who'd like to make ur own posts<3

[bearballing]

things about vegas trip that 99% of people would not think is interesting:

nevada does not have painted lane divider lines on the roads, just groups of the reflector things

vegas is one of the only places in the usa still producing new neon signs because it's The Culture

even shit like denny's, walgreens, in n out burger have neon on their signs

we drove around 3 states and saw maybe 3 churches in total. in florida i can walk to 3 churches from my house.

don't ever try to rent a car in vegas during march madness and spring break.

saw a surprisingly small amount of cops around ? like there was one sat in a ghost town in california. not many around vegas. in florida they're practically wildlife.

the desert is fucken wimdy

all state line signs have places on the road to pull off onto to get pictures.

i-15 is the easiest highway i've been on and we were like wow we will NEVER have it this good again. (our regular highway is 75 and it's fucking bullshit)

50% of all cars in vegas have california plates

there is a fallout new vegas day every year at the pioneer saloon in goodsprings.

the pioneer saloon in goodsprings also has a mini fallout musem full of things left by visitors and two full guestbooks of messages written by people. i drew a little trans flag by someone's thing saying "[you have become addicted to estrogen]"

there is a billboard on the strip that currently says some bullshit about repenting for your sins. in las vegas. which is nicknamed sin city. on the big touristy road chock full of casinos.

there are quick marriage places everywhere. a fucking denny's has one. i Will be posting the sign on qualitysigns.

they got slot machines at the airport

the luxor is a static electricity factory

at hoover dam they have restrooms like out on the actual top of the dam. the men's is on the nevada side and the women's is on the arizona side.

boulder city, closest town to the dam, has like 75847385 businesses that are like "the best dam x"

the shortest toilets in the fucking world, that are not intentionally designed that way, are in the chevron gas station in primm, nevada.

The Lottery Store on the state line was closed and there were many people passing through who were all gutted it was closed. nevada does not have a lottery (because the casinos don't want more competition), so people go to california for it.

i think [big redacted work client here in florida] is stealing ideas from the Downtown Container Park.

someone is putting googly eyes on a bunch of signs.

they sell booze and booze milkshakes at the fast food places in the casinos.

we got dirt samples from a bunch of different places we visited and it was all completely different dirt

i took a rock from hoover dam and it flagged my bag at TSA. the guy was like "oh it's a rock lol ok you can go"

i took fucking 1400 photos. i do not have that many irl photos on my pc COMBINED

[can-of-pringles]

Talk Shop Tuesday: How do you decide on the length of your stories? How do you know whether something will be a oneshot or a multi-chapter piece - or when you do a oneshot series rather than multiple chapters of the same fic? Do you have a method for outlining your longfics or choosing which scenes will go in each chapter?

What's the shortest piece you've ever written - do you like the length of it? How about the longest piece you've ever written - same question? How much do you think about word count as you write?

(I know that's a lot of questions, feel free to skip over whatever you don't want to answer, I just wanted to give you something to focus on for a bit)

Thank you so much for sending this bestie I really appreciate it

Talk Shop Tuesday

I usually try to aim for at least 1k words. If more, then that's great obviously. I've learned not to pressure myself into writing a strict certain amount and just try to let my writing flow naturally.

I typically prefer one-shots over multiple chapters, but if I'm coming up with a more obvious overarching plot/clear cut story, then I stick to multiple chapters. Another thing is if I'm rewriting an existing media then those tend to be chaptered.

This is not to say that majority of my one-shots don't have a clear story or anything, they are more like loosely connected chapters so to speak, or maybe peeks into a big story is more correct to say. I feel less constricted when working with one-shots if I change my mind on something related to the plot. If there's an outdated one-shot it's not as big as a deal since I can either delete it or rewrite it. Whereas with a multi chapter, it feels harder to go back and change things.

I don't really tend to outline my work, though lately I've been big into spreadsheets and making timelines. Most of my stuff is now categorized by months and years, and I can decide what happens in a certain month which gets turned into a chapter or new one-shot/fic.

I feel like word count was answered above. I try not to think too much about word count as I write because I don't want it to discourage me. Sometimes I do check rarely if I've been working on a single fic for a while and it feels like it's getting long

Looks like the shortest thing I've written was Low which is 192 words. I wrote it when I was having a low (shocker /j) and was coping by writing about Peter dealing with low bloodsugar and Marigold helping him feel better I think. I think it's fine, it's certainly not my best but it only really exists as a coping fic, ( ironic when the actual fic is fairly fluffy from what I remember?)

And the longest I've written so far is When I'm Alone with You which is currently at 31,476 words. I'm honestly pretty happy and proud of myself that it's gotten that far, with still a lot more planned!