#merelyafigment

[indoorghost]

Happy STS!

I'm not the best at thinking of questions, so feel free to ignore this if it's nonsensical, but do you get inspired by music? Care to talk about any scenes/projects that were maybe influenced by listening to music, if there are any?

Music is a big inspo for me. I love making playlists for my projects. It can really help me flesh out more of my story and get a better sense of the vibes and tone i want it to have. Plus once I've made a playlist it then it gives me something I can listen to whenever I want to try to get in the right headspace for a particular project.

Because of this I have a lot of scenes, projects, and characters that have been influenced by music.

One of those being a major character from Project Supernatural. I needed a character to fill a particular role in another character's story but beyond that i didn't really have a clue what i wanted to do with her. She wasn't at that time meant to be a main character, but i still wanted to give her a bit of something beyond just being another character's love interest.

And then at some point Lola Blanc's Here Come The Wolves came up on another playlist I was listening to and it just inspired me so much. I figured out a whole independent plot line for the character and now she's a major character instead of just a minor one (arguably at this point she is a more important character than the character she was originally made to be a love interest for).

[wawamouse]

Personally, for some reason I think it'd be fairly amusing if the person who noticed Chico was Like That with Miguel was Mukada.

Maybe after McManus realizes Chico has been involved with a lot of Miguel's troubles and forces them to make up in hopes that it'll help Miguel (and the patting hug), he mentions the whole Chico being connected to some of Miguel's problems thing to Mukada. So, Mukada observes them out of concern. And. Well. (I don't think McManus noticed anything beyond Chico's beef with Miguel making Miguel's life difficult.)

(Tho this may be because I also think Mukada is a little like that with Miguel, though he wouldn't have to be when exploring that. I still think he'd be weird about it, regardless.)

That would definitely be the safer option (safer than the possible outsider POVs I was thinking 🤣)

(Side note: I just made myself laugh with the realization that McManus probably thought he was being smart, making that connection, but actually no: Chico just happens to be the only member of El Norte (in Emerald City) who’s been there the whole time and is still alive …)

(Side note 2: I started writing out this answer with the intention of bringing something to the table, but having finished babbling, I’ve looked back and realised that I was basically stream-of-conscious brainstorming a potential fic 😅 So this may read like a dude pacing the floors… It’s essentially just that, me trying to work out the premise of a fic that may or may not actually come into full fruition)

Mukada as the outsider POV definitely works because he is more invested in Miguel’s well being and blah blah. 🤨 Hm hm hm (stares out window) What would Mukada be thinking?

Alarm, I think: he must know Chico is part of El Norte and surely has at least a passing familiarity with him, since we do see Chico at mass at least once in the show. It’s possible that Mukada is already vaguely aware of Chico’s beef with Miguel… though the gym stabbing and Velez’s death are never officially tied back to Chico nor is he ever acknowledged as a suspect, maybe Mukada somehow put two and two together and has his own suspicions. (Idk, maybe he’s seen Chico staring down the bench before from up at the pulpit or something )

Some suspicion, perhaps mixed with hesitant optimism, I would guess: if McManus tacked on something about maybe Guerra accepting the terms of the truce and seeming willing to make up after some initial reluctance, then Mukada might keep that in mind while observing them. Where would he have the opportunity to observe them? First thought is mass, assuming they both still go at least some of the time. In the past, they sat apart during mass; after they make up in the show, they pretty much immediately (per the episodes) start sitting together to watch TV, so maybe Miguel also tags along and sits in the same row as Chico, which Mukada takes as a sign that McManus was right…?

Then maybe he has continued concerned because Miguel’s been doing so well lately and it would be tragic if making up with and associating with Guerra (and El Norte) then led him astray, intentionally or not… and I think Mukada could still be weird about it here because honestly, if he’s to observe Miguel and Chico, he has to go out of his way to enter the same space as them. Outside of a situation/fic where Mukada’s observations span a long long time*, honestly, I struggle to think of a scenario where their paths are crossing that often organically. Still, it’s not like Mukada isn’t nosy, so I think if he’s decided to go into Miguel Monitoring Mode for a period, because he hasn’t really followed up since the Velez incident (was in the hospital and all for a while) he’d have to be like, hanging around places more than usual… hm, idk, do you think he’d bring it up to Miguel directly? Catch up and ask if any inmates are giving him trouble? Guerra, for instance? Do you think he would try to lecture Chico not to bother Miguel? 😂 (Chico's like wtf, I already got this form McManus...)

*Then again, it would be interesting if he observed Miguel and Chico pre-evacuation and then post-return to Oz, perhaps noting a marked change, not just in Miguel’s states (if he’s still floating), but in Chico’s (if he’s become protective). I feel like this would also be a good place to set a fic, Mukada putting a pin in it after McManus’s remarks and deciding to check in on Miguel some more but ultimately not having too much time to do so outside of his talks with Miguel at Morales’s coffin being shipped away. He sees then that Miguel still seems to be in good spirits and doesn’t delve too much more into it, since I think that was around when he had Hoyt to focus on, too…

— A scene that came to mind:

(Note idrk how to write Mukada lol) (Also this snippet goes nowhere)

—

He heard it rise about the rest of the noise as the inmates stood and began filing out: Laughter.

It wasn’t that uncommon to hear within the walls of Oswald. The men were under tough, often stressful conditions, but there were still moments of amusement to be found, Ray knew, although many of those moments often came at the expense of others, too. That afternoon, the throaty cackle that Ray heard didn’t seem to be a schadenfreude based reaction to another event. It was joyful—a burst of genuine mirth that drew Ray’s attention as he closed the notes of his sermon. He glanced up, reactively searching for the source of the noise and finding his gaze dragging over familiar faces.

He saw Miguel with the lines of laughter still etched on his face. Head tilted toward another inmate standing on the other side of him, he had that rose-tattooed hand half-raised as if to catch the trailing snickers still making his shoulders shake.

Ray blinked, struck by the thought that it’d been a long time since he saw Miguel wearing such open ease in his expression. His years at Oswald had been up and down—more up in recent times, but still not without his moments of stumbling. Praying for Miguel to feel God’s love and take strength from it had long become a daily habit for Ray. There was so much potential for rehabilitation there, if only Miguel could hang onto his faith, see that, and follow the path that Ray was so sure was there for him.

The inmates continued shuffling through the exit of the cafeteria, and over the next couple of seconds, Ray observed Miguel’s laughter fade into a quiet smirk, a light still in his eyes, after everything.

That was good, he thought, followed by a twinge of guilt. It had been a while since he had checked in on Miguel one-on-one. The days of long sessions of spiritual counsel were in the past, left behind after Miguel’s months long escape from Oswald several years ago. So much had happened since then—to the both of them—and while it was always a pleasure to see Miguel’s face in Mass, as it meant he was no longer locked away in Solitary, Ray wondered if he had been neglecting Miguel personally by keeping him mainly in his thoughts.

Gathering his Bible and papers, Ray turned to exit the stage, supposing that it was his old pride talking again, impairing his vision of his congregants. Belief that he held a special key in guiding their souls to safety was pure arrogance. Miguel had still come to seek his advice over the years, which was what mattered—that he knew Ray was there to help him if he asked, a sign he knew he was not alone as he had often claimed…

He had not neglected Miguel spiritually, Ray concluded as he returned to the familiar walls of his cluttered office. Though, thinking about that laughter in the cafeteria, he could admit that he was feeling a personal curiosity. Parole was coming up again for Miguel, too, and Ray knew that that beacon of hope always brought with it a potential for devastation for the inmates at Oz. For Miguel, the downs always seemed to hit harder…

Yes. He’d schedule a short session with Miguel in the coming weeks, Ray decided. If Miguel was in good spirits these days, then it wouldn’t hurt to check in on him and see what he could do to help keep it that way.

—

Thought: another way to make it sorta weird (not really, I guess) is Mukada not really noticing Chico that much�� Sure, Guerra’s presence is noted in the back of his mind, but I think it could be shaped in a way where he is more concerned with Miguel’s state of mind/being, that How Is Miguel Doing is his original main concern and the observation of Guerra being the source of any changes in Miguel registers on a delay, the whole of what it looks like coming all at once and with a note of curiosity and surprise. Surprise, maybe because Mukada doesn’t know Guerra that well but can observe his body language and recognise that Guerra seems, like him, focused on Miguel. Not so much like him, though (in this fic anyway) (and I’m not a Mukada/Alvarez shipper either, so I don’t read it that way generally lol), is how Guerra’s eyes linger on Miguel, a hint of something beyond platonic interest there. Maybe Mukada recognises the look, having observed the other inmates, straight and gay alike, and as soon as he has that suspicion as an outsider, he’s just bamboozled by the obviousness of it, and begins wondering if there was some hot gossip he missed about Miguel (impossible!).

I think it would be fun to see Mukada subtly poking around, getting thoughts from other staffers, especially Sister Pete who might have a better understanding of Chico, at least, him being in at least one of the groups she runs. Inquiring after updates from McManus, I imagine Mukada would just get a shrug of “yeah, looks like their truce has held”. And then he’s just walking around like ‘Am I crazy? Am I imagining things??’ lmao. Cue going out of his way to do more observing… and in more observing, only becoming more and more convinced that something is going on between Miguel and Chico 🧐 Buuut, I think Mukada’s quiet conclusion would be that if it isn’t harming Miguel, hey, it must be a good thing. Sure it’s a sin, but Miguel needs all the love he can get. Much like with Keller and Beecher, Mukada can ignore the sin part under the circumstances. Also he doesn’t thiiiink Guerra is going to pull any Keller moves and fuck Miguel’s shit up. Hard to say. But given their tumultuous history, perhaps Mukada will being keeping an eyes on Guerra, lol.

[ghostlynimbus]

For the WIP Word Guessing game: slip

(I don't know why every time I play these, suddenly I no longer know any words.)

Thank you and same! When i send these asks to people i usually use a word generator bc when the pressure is on i just can't think.

I had that word in a few WIPs the most recently worked on is a harringrove wip that doesn't yet have a name:

Billy doesn’t mean to let the question slip out, despite the way that the curiosity has been eating at him. But weed always has made his lips looser, and while the stuff Harrington has has nothing on what's available back in California it is the strongest weed Billy’s been able to find since the move.

If anyone wants to send me a word or play the game the info is here.

[findusinaweek]

Hi! 5 and/or 11 for the book asks?

5. What genre did you read the most of? Oh. This is hard. I'm not sure what genre most of what I was reading was. Uhm. Non-fantasy novels? 11. What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read? I finally got around to reading "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng and that was wonderful.

[riosnecktattoo]

Just wanted to thank you for your little Brio Valentine's Day celebration! I missed out on this fandom when the show was airing, and thus haven't seen your lovely creations before, so it's much appreciated!

Aww my pleasure! 😊 there are many very cursed creations too that are better left in the past haha

[blood-mocha-latte]

LET'S CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF || CHAPTER II || 9.3K

“I don’t need to.” Joe said anyways, pressing back into his seat further when the plane rattled slightly. “I’m a shit writer. Can’t even spell.” 

“Me neither.” George said, then took a breath, like he was assembling some sort of tangent quicker than Joe could even track his own thoughts, like building a bridge as he walked it.

“They have checkers for that. I didn’t know that before I started actually writing, but it goes through all sorts of people. I still don’t know how to spell rhythm, because no one corrects me, just my writing. I think it’s r-h-y-t-h-y-m-n, but that feels wrong. Too many letters, I think.”

(Five years later).

READ ON AO3

TAGLIST (to be added/removed, let me know in any way you feel comfortable <3)

(original taglist post here)

@sachart @lamialamia @merelyafigment @joe-fuckingtwice-toye @ackackh @mstiemountainhop @findrythehobbit @thehatchette @loislanely @ewipandora @disastrouscanasta @cirr0stratus @swampsock @everexpandingheart

[writeouswriter]

TBR Tag Game

Rules: Share 9 books you read this year (last year now, whoops, forgot this in my drafts) and 9 books you're looking forward to reading this next year.

Thank you, @memento-morri-writes for the tag <3

I have actually been horribly slacking on reading the past year, smallest amount of books I've ever completed in a year probably in my life due to a slump and being generally busy and demotivated so I don't even have 9 books to share 😭 so, *that one sad audio from tiktok videos* this is all I got, this is all I got:

1. Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper by J.L. Bryan, and because I love yapping, mini review: Not terrible but incredibly generic, somewhat poorly paced and unmemorable.

2. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller: Fascinating from a literature standpoint, brilliant commentary, not my favourite play, but very enjoyable to pick apart and think about. I understand why it's a classic.

3. The Girl in the Green Silk Gown by Seanan McGuire: I always feel bad because the author's like around here somewhere but genuinely loathe this, fantastic concept and vibes, but horrible/boring execution with an absolutely ludicrous amount of repetition (and a bizarre focus on peeing).

4. Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente: Simultaneously a love letter to and exposé of Old Hollywood, classic sci-fi, Greek tragedy, Fairy Tales, Detective Noir, and film in general, this is genuinely one of the most unique, gorgeous, beautiful and poetically written books I have ever read.

5. Moon Knight by Lemire & Smallwood: The Complete Collection: In a word, bizarre, lot of good details, lot of iffy details, questionable quality overall but with some standout moments.

6. Silver Screen Fiend by Patton Oswalt: I bought this at a thrift store to get out of a slump at the start of the year, figuring being written by a comedian, it would be a fast paced read. It was... but I also learned I hate Oswalt's brand of comedy. Very forced middle aged man still with the mind of a teenage boy comedy, who thinks toilet humour, mashing references together or being offensive for the sake of it is peak hilarious or something like that, idk it's been a while. Had some okay moments though.

And to get to the 9, uh 3 of the many books I'm currently reading perhaps:

7. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Leguin

8. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

9. Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Honorable mention to the Blackberry book, about the rise and fall of the blackberry phone, riveting stuff, I know.

There are many many books I'm excited to read though, even if I haven't had the chance to get to them yet, so 9 random ones from my tbr I'm looking forward to reading this year hopefully:

1. Godkiller by Hannah Kaner (friends have been recommending it for a while but I'm just now trying higher fantasy)

2. The Poisoner's Ring by Kelley Armstrong

3. Tales From the Gas Station by Jack Townsend

4. The Iceman Cometh by Eugene O'Neill

5. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

6. Contact by Carl Sagan (been meaning to read this for years 😭 loved the movie)

7. Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

8. (Hopefully!) A Rental Car Takes A Left Down Rake Street and Disappears by the lovely, talented @albatris

9. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (yes I'm like ages behind in popular books)

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And tagging if you'd like if you haven't already done it: @karolinarodrigueswrites, @albatris, @horrorgirlreads, @mary-is-writing, @druidx, @thewalkingnerd, @transmasc-wizard, @multi-lefaiye, @merelyafigment, @sleepytypewriter, @tmifangirl28, @farrradays, @bethnaberrie, @anyone who wants to do this, you are tagged <3

[brasideios]

Make Me Write

I was tagged by the wonderful @softest-punk & @krankittoeleven Thank you for thinking of me 🤍

The name of the game: Post your current WIPs with an emoji, people can then send you an ask with the emoji and ask for a fresh snippet!

OK - I’m restricting myself to what I have sitting in Ellipsus which I’m slowly chipping away at. I wish this was a sum total of my WIPs but alas! I will get to writing over the next week or so if anyone wants to make a request 😊

🌲 The House in the Plane Tree Grove - An AC Odyssey fanfic, Alexidas. Borne of the desire to write these two together without all the stress and grief of the Good Spartan - and, again, just vibing with these characters. Also, an opportunity to write about Sparta before I forget everything.

💔 By His Hand - An AC Odyssey fanfic, the second half of one part of the Thalexios saga (there’s a mouthful). They’re fighting about Alexios’ past again, this time about what Brasidas did or didn’t mean to Alexios.

🏺 The Silver Ploughshare - An extension of the Good Spartan, filling in gaps during the years 428-7 and the complicated events after the death of Arkhidamos with greater historical focus than I was originally willing to grapple with.

🌝 Crushing Hard - I guess I’m admitting to writing this non-RPF mcyt fic after all (it’s published anonymously). It’s Smallidarity focussed, a kind of fragmented, non linear, mutual-pining collection of scenes.

☀️ Time - original contemporary fiction, about err…well. Time being a flat circle, grief, the fading away of a town and the past - and such. Thus far also intentionally non linear and fragmented.

❄️ What Songs Were Left - original historical fiction, Roman. About family secrets and leaving the things one has always known behind, starting over etc.

🌊 The Hand of Fortuna (remix) - original historical fiction, Roman. Overhauling the published book of the same name to actually focus on the characters instead of the plot. The title will change. It’s really about disintegration and re-integration within a family. Will the Centre Hold type stuff. Also just vibing with my OCs :)

Tagging with no pressure at all @aeide @ainulindaelynn @findusinaweek @theinkandthesea @soronya @merelyafigment @ghostlycircaea @asneakyobserver @aro-pancake-writes

[michelleelizabethtanner]

10 things for 10 people you'd like to know better

Tagged by @merelyafigment thank you 😊

Last Song: I Will Always Love You, the Dolly Parton version. My youngest is learning to play it on the piano and we were listening for tone. But it’s my favorite song. (The Whitney Houston version.)

Last Book: I just DNFed Holly by Stephen King. Before that I read Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

Last Movie: I just watched half of Trust on Netflix while I was at the gym. I don’t think I’ll finish it. It’s really graphic and traumatizing for no reason and I just don’t need that right now.

Last tv show: I’m all caught up on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. That Dorit, amirite? Wheew 😮‍💨

Sweet/savory/spicy: Yes. All together, please. Maybe I’ll go make a big bowl of fruit with chamoy and tajin and limon and eat my feelings 😩

Relationship status: I’ve been married for 18 years. We’ve been together my entire adult life.

Last thing I googled: “Animal Crossing New Horizons witchy room inspo.” (Then I made a witchy room. 😃 I’m gonna post my top 10 favorite rooms on here one of these days. 😆)

Current obsession: Existential dread. ACNH Happy Home Paradise.

Looking forward to: making more HHP rooms, having it be my turn for my library holds, four more days and it’s the weekend…

Tag 10 people: anyone who wants to do this. And also, no pressure on the tags. @discoverywriter @spiceesweetness @abbykayyy @faceless-inthecrowd @abi1821 @joeyjoeylee and everyone who wants to do this

[frightfulmouse]

10 things for 10 people you'd like to know better

Tagged by @anhaga :D Thank you! Last song: Oops! … I Did it Again - Britney Spears Last book: Sigh…. Still working through "Blood Isle" "Isle of Blood" (me misremembering the title should tell you how long it's been since I picked up the book) by Rick Yancey Last movie: Rewatched Moonlight (2016) on Friday Last tv show: Watched XFiles S1E4 & 5 with Sister yesterday… Although I was kind of asleep for most of it. So, Severance S2E1! Sweet/savory/spicy: Savory! Relationship status: Single :P Last thing I googled: "top 10 disgusting shots" Current obsession: Miguel/Chico (the prevailing brainrot) and... I'm rewatching a bunch of old Britney Spears music videos tonight? 🤷🏻‍♂️ idk. Looking forward to: I guess the main thing right now would just be the rest of Severance s2. It's Sunday night, so I'm also looking forward to next Friday evening (for the weekend 😭) Tag 10 people: @saberchild @buggirls @merelyafigment @extraordinarilyextreme @qinzai @imposterzoe @pilot-nobody

[the-chosen-half-of-one]

10 things for 10 people you'd like to know better:

Thanks for the tag @merelyafigment!

Last Song: Northwest Passage by Pirates For Sail

Last Book: The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin

Last Movie: Up There (2012), watched this specifically for Burn Gorman, it's not great but he did great, he looked great, though perhaps I missed half the plot because I have trouble with auditory processing and so many people had such heavy accents, but Burn ❤️ he was so beautiful in this.

Last TV Show: Might've been Bee and Puppycat?

Sweet/Savoury/Spicy: definitely not spicy, sweet and savoury are in a fight, all depends on the mood, idk if I have a clear winner between them.

Relationship Status: single and tired of creepy old men at the gas station asking if I have a boyfriend. Hoping one will fall into my arms one day drawn to my overanalysis of tv shows and tendency towards rambling about actors no one cares about.

Last Thing I Googled: Burn Gorman. Uh I may or may not have just been looking at images of his face... again.

Current Obsession: Our pirate themed DND campaign!!

Looking Forward To: Next session of our pirate dnd campaign ❤️ we are trapped in dreams. Also the next season of Mythic Quest

Tagging if you want, no pressure!: @chipadip, @memento-morri-writes, @ifihadmypickofwishes, @rhapsodyinferno, @aanalytic, @flyawaymind, @section-69, @horrorgirlreads, @drawntothedarkside, @bethnaberrie

[wawamouse]

Oh, and just so you know, I jotted down this bit of the expanded snippet before I read your wonderful fic with Miguel (freaking adorably and very believably) attempting to take care of Chico without pursuing receiving anything in return 😂:

“If you're just trying to get me into bed, sweetheart,” saying it all sly, like the asshole he was, laughter curled behind his tongue. Wasn't really laughing, though, probably because the adrenaline was wearing off, pain was setting in, and those ribs hurt like a bitch.

Miguel cut him off with a deadly dismissive look, complete with condescending tone. (Sure, they'd fucking kissed or whatever, and who the fuck knew what that made them now, but they were still this. Back and forth, humoring each other's stupid shit and cutting it off in turns.) “I'm trying to get you to rest, stupid. You think you'd be any fucking fun right now? Please, your ass can barely bend over.” –shit. That was maybe too fucking far–

Chico snorted, hand lightly landing to brace his side. “Oh, you mean you aren't going to selflessly take care of me this time ‘cause I'm so injured? That hurts, Miguel. Like maybe worse than my papercut.”

Oho? 👀 Snippet right in my inbox? 💖💖 Heh— Sure, they’d fucking kissed .. but they were still this. Absolutely! And that’s one of the fun things about writing them—their bickering :D Incessant, unrelenting back and forth 😵‍💫 Only time it really stops is when something is reaaaally wrong or happening. Obviously, Chico’s paper cut isn’t that (lmao, him downplaying it) :P

ALSO… AHH 👁️👁️ So this is post kiss? Mhm, I see… 🤝🏼 Laughing that we both characterised Miguel as immediately being on board (0 to 60 :D) and muttering about the logistics of fucking. Miguel! And now I realise that was a sort of joking observation but now I’m thinking about how that’s something Miguel and Chico have in common, actually: logistical thinking, that is. At least, I headcanon Chico as being that way. I mean, even that he has his Chico Math moments when he’s impatient and wanting revenge, I have to think that consistently being lieutenant in El Norte means that he’s in charge of planning the details and delegating, etc, for whatever the boss wants to get accomplished (and that generally speaking, he's not bad at it—except when it comes to plannning how to kill Miguel, who has more lives than a cat). That’s also where it’s fun to write Miguel and Chico teaming up for shenanigans post-canon or something like that, when they’re partners. They can plan things together and complement each other’s shortfalls… I’m reminded of your fic, “Following Frustration”, where you fantastically portray and delve into that aspect of their relationship, and how from Miguel’s POV, he finds value in Chico’s push back :)c …also while I’m mentioning that fic, I want to repeat that I LIIIIVE for that scene where Chico’s trying to attack the mouthy new guy and Miguel is bodily holding him back! It scratches a little bit of that itch of wanting to see Chico just absolutely demolish some guy on Miguel’s (baffled) behalf at some point… I think that’s something you also mentioned previously in a post.

Ahem. Anyway! Yeaaah, there’s also something very fascinating about the dynamic of Miguel wanting to do something for Chico without expectations of reciprocation, especially in a moment early into things. Of course it makes sense in the context of both our fics here, because they have an established close friendship, but in set-in-Oz fics, I find there’s that tendency to writing an early relationship approach as being 1 for 1, quid pro quo, often as a safety net for them, because things are shaky, and there’s not only an undesirable implication to only giving and not receiving, but also a potential vulnerability or uncomfortable depth that would be exposed to just wanting to give… So, interesting! I'm intrigued as to what direction your expanded snippet (if you're still working on it 🤞🏼👀) goes in!

[discoverywriter]

Rules: List the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there’s a pattern!

Thanks @entwinedloop for tagging me. I don’t usually do these, but you have to start somewhere, right? Here goes!

1. Enemy of My Enemy

Rio frowned and took another look around the empty space.

2. Deck The Halls

“Elizabeth!” Rio snapped, stepping down off the short ladder, his nerves fraying as Beth directed him - for the third time in as many minutes - on how to adjust the end of the garland to even it out.

3. Is This Seat Taken

“Is this seat taken?”

4. You’ve Been Served

“Hey, man, I’ll have whatever she’s havin.”

5. What Would Elizabeth Do?

Beth pushed open the door of the cafe and made a beeline for the counter to get an extra-large of her usual.

6. Muse

Beth sat back against the bar stool and took another sip of her drink.

7. Olive Branches and Birthday Cakes

Beth was running late for her next meeting, walking through the parking lot behind City Hall juggling her purse, laptop bag and coffee, when she heard her phone ring.

8. Smarter Than Your Average Gang Friend

It was late.

9. Better Than Chocolate

Elizabeth - I need to cancel tonight.

10. Siren Song

Between fighting with Dean about his reluctance to take the kids for the entire week like he was supposed to, and all the extra hours she’d been working to get Rio’s latest printing order finished on time, it felt like she hadn’t had any time just for herself in months.

Patterns? The first lines don’t always give it away, but my fics are all Brio, all the time, so there’s no mixing of the ships in this selection. I do seem to have them eating or drinking an awful lot, but other than that I’m not sure if I see any real patterns. Some first sentences are longer/more detailed than others, some are… not (numbers 3 and 8, I’m looking at you, you slackers! 🤣).

Tagging: @michelleelizabethtanner @abi1821 @merelyafigment @faceless-inthecrowd @moveslikeagazelle @sillywoman01 (sorry if you’ve already been tagged!)

[findusinaweek]

send this to all your favourite moots and roll a snowball! KEEP THE SNOWBALL ROLLING!❄️🤍❄️🤍❄️ :)

OHHHHH it's gonna be a big snowball

[miguelryan]

for @merelyafigment

[locksnek]

Tagged by @scientistservant!

Top five songs of mine rn: Nonesuch by Wolgemut

You Belong to Me by Those Poor Bastards

Lamento Eroico by Rhapsody

With Flowers in the Garden of Fires by Current 93

The Ones by Aesthetic Perfection

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Tagging @papabirdurskeks @ben-the-hyena @merelyafigment @drapopia if y'all haven't gotten this meme yet and feel like doing it!