#probably gonna post on ao3 as well

[messr-moony-71]

Ten Minutes: 1,602 words, trigger warnings: death, vehicle accidents, road collisions, mcd >>>READ WITH CAUTION<<<

“Are you ready?” Sirius asked through the helmet mics. Remus nodded, still trying to fasten the chin strap. He watched fondly as his husband - who had ridden the motorcycle several times before - fiddled with the straps that no one had touched since the last time he’d used it. He claimed they had been adjusted wrongly, but Sirius was sure that was impossible. “Alright there, love?”

“Perfectly fine,” Remus muttered, concentrating. When he heard the click of the fastening, Sirius heard a quiet and satisfied “yes” and couldn’t stop his smile. “Right. Death Trap Time.”

“She’s not a death trap,” Sirius laughed, climbing onto the motorbike first, offering a hand to Remus behind him.

It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. They were supposed to be going to James’ for Christmas dinner. Remus and Lily had spent the morning cooking and he’d come home to change and pick Sirius up before they rode over.

It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.

They were speeding south down the M1, cruising around 100 km/h. It was dark and raining slightly, but visibility wasn’t bad so Sirius kept riding.

He should have noticed Remus’ arms tightening around his waist.

Harry was 3 years old. He was learning new words every week and was so happy to show them off, it was hard to find a moment where he wasn’t talking or babbling. James and Lily found it frustrating, especially when they were just trying to put him to sleep, but Sirius never could. He loved how his nephew looked, eyes bright with excitement as he prattled on about something no one but him could understand.

Harry was 3 years old.

They are almost there, about four minutes from their turn off. The rain is slightly worse, the roads slick beneath the wheels, but Sirius doesn’t want to stop now. Usually he would, he is a safe driver. But it’s Christmas and he does not plan on getting stuck in the rain.

So he keeps going.

Sirius hates himself.  He hates himself for taking those two stupid seconds to gaze back at his Moon. His beautiful Moony, shining in his mirrors.

But he does.

Two seconds. 60 metres.

That’s all it takes.

Usually the M1 is quick to repair, potholes filled before they’ve formed. But not always. And not this time.

In those two seconds - 60 metres - the bike drifts towards the side of the lane. The front tyre dips into the pothole. Sirius, completely unprepared, jerks the handlebars to right the fumble. Only he pulls too far.

The bike's front wheel turns, catches on the tarmac and sends it skidding sideways, into the second lane before tipping over.

Sirius feels his head hit the floor, his shoulder dragging as he’d thrown from the bike, tumbling across the ground. Remus’ arms disappear from around his waist.

His knee hurts.

That’s the first thing he thinks in those few quiet seconds afterwards. When the world is still.

That’s before he hears a whimper in the microphone.

He’s startled to his senses. Against everything he’s told about motorbike accidents, Sirius stumbles to his feet, staggering slightly as a dizzy spell threatens to tip him over. Bright lights spring up in his vision - but they don’t fade, even as the dizziness does.

Two headlights, speeding towards them. 

There’s a car horn, blaringly loud in the darkness. Sirius staggers for the side of the road, searching the bright light for Remus. He’s in the third lane, thrown the farthest from the bike.

“REMUS!” is all Sirius can manage as the other man gets to his feet. Sirius is running, but he knows he’s not fast enough.

Tires squeal, there’s a thud and a scream. It’s in his ear. In the speaker. 

He doesn’t stop running. Not when two people climb from the car - a white Toyota - shouting for an ambulance. He stops when he’s by Remus’ side, rolling him carefully onto his back.

“Remus? C-can you hear me?” he tries, shaking his shoulders. There’s heavy breathing in his ears, but Remus doesn’t speak. “I’m-I’m going to take your helmet off, okay?”

He’s not supposed to. It could be keeping his head together. But he has to. He has to see his face to know he’s alright. That he’ll be alright.

“Remus, just hang in-in there, alright? They’re coming, they’ve called an ambulance, help, help is coming, okay? You’ll be fine-you will be fine, because you’re always fine, you’re Moony. The King of Being Fine.” Sirius is babbling, but he needs to do something while he tries to get this fucking buckle undone. “I should have listened when you said this has a dodgy clip.”

It comes undone and Sirius eases Remus’ helmet off. 

“There we go, see, you’re okay, you’re okay.” Remus’ eyes are scrunched shut against the pain, breathing laboured and uneven, never a full intake. “Remus? Op-open your eyes? Please?”

Sirius is pulling his own helmet off now, one hand brushing the rain-soaked hair from Remus’ forehead, the other throwing the ruined helmet to the side.

“The ambulance is on their way,” a man says, one of the two who got out of the car. The car that hit Remus.

“How-” Sirius clears his throat, dangerously close to tears. No, he has to keep it together. For Remus. “How long?”

“Ten minutes, eleven at the latest.” The man glanced down at Remus, worrying his lip.

“He’ll be fine,” Sirius said, forcefully enough that the man recoiled and took several steps back, retreating to his wife who was standing under an umbrella.

A pained sob escapes Remus’ lips, pulling Sirius’ attention back to him. “Hurts-” he inhales sharply, tears mixing with the rain on his cheeks.

“I know, I’m sorry. It’s okay, you’ll be okay.”

Remus’ eyes are red the next time they open, bloodshot. His face has turned considerably paler, his eyes standing out against the now ashen-looking colour of his face.

“Sirius-” a shallow breath. A pained wince. “I can’t-”

“Don’t speak, love, just save your breath, yeah? You’ll be alright, help is on its way.”

“Nine minutes.”

Sirius holds Remus’ hand in his, letting Remus take his in a vice-like grip. Sirius takes it in stride, wanting to help Remus’ pain in any way. If that means breaking every bone in his hand, then so be it.

“Where’s he hurt?” the man asks, phone pressed to his ear. “The lady needs to know.”

“Remus? Did-did you hear him? What hurts?”

“My-my chest,” was followed by a round of shallow breathing and Remus’ face scrunched in pain. “Leg…head…” There was a strange wheezing and hacking cough, just one. But Remus’ breath was expelled from his chest and his shallow breaths couldn’t bring it back.

It was like watching him in a panic attack, hyperventilating, but with pain etched into every small movement.

“Just-just try to relax, yeah? Remus, you need to breathe - slowly, okay?”

“Seven minutes.”

“Remus?”

Sirius was trying not to be scared, but Remus’ chest was moving so shallowly, so fast and his hand squeezing so tight, it was hard for his heart rate not to pick up to a roar. But Remus was going to be okay - he was always okay, he’s been okay for years. Now was not his Not Okay moment.

“I’m s-sorry,” Remus wheezed.

“No, no, don’t - no, don’t do that to me. Don’t apologise, you have nothing to apologise for.”

Remus gave another choked sob, his other hand reaching for Sirius’.

“I-I-” Remus’ mouth opens and closes, eyes wide.

“Remus?”

Something dribbled from his mouth. A cough sending more over his chin. The rain washed it away quickly, but it was dark.

Dark red.

“Remus?” Sirius was afraid of how weak his voice sounded. Like a small child after a nightmare. Except his nightmares were very real, the monster under the bed rearing its ugly head.

“I love-l” Sirius shuffles closer to Remus, pressing his arms together to try and settle the shaking that had begun in Remus’ entire body.

“No, no, don’t go saying that, you’ll be fine, it’s okay.”

“Four minutes.”

“James-” Two coughs this time, Remus turning slightly on his side and spitting onto the pavement, coughing and choking for too long to be okay.

“It’s okay,” Sirius tries as Remus slumps back onto his back, gasping with the effort and pain. 

Remus’ eyes slide closed, lips moving silently. “Lily-” he grunts, swallowing another cough harshly.

“I know what you’re trying to say, you can’t, okay, you're going to be okay.”

Remus gives him a sad smile, slowly unravelling the tension in his hands, releasing Sirius. He takes a slow, deep breath. “I love-you.”

“Don’t say that, please, it sounds like you’re giving up. You-you can’t, you’re Remus, you’re my Moony, you never give up.”

The next few minutes pass with Remus struggling while Sirius fights to keep him conscious.

“Don’t slip away from me, Moony, okay, you can’t do that, I forbid it.”

Sirius would thank every god in the sky when he heard the sirens, faint, but quickly growing louder. 

“You heard that, Moony? They’re coming, you’re okay.”

Remus’ eyelids are half closed now, bloodshot eyes hidden, face even paler than before. The blue lights flooded the motorway, flashing, casting their faces in blue glow.

“Just hold in there, yeah, they’ll take care of you.”

Sirius was distracted, watching the ambulance draw nearer. He didn’t notice Remus’ choking noises, drowned by the sirens. He didn’t notice the wide-eyed panic. He didn’t notice Remus’ hands slipping from his own.

He didn’t notice him slipping away.

[youling-the-ghost]

GUYS WE FINALLY HAVE SFTH LONGFORM CHARACTER TAGS ON AO3!! :D

(we still don't have any canon relationship tags as far as I know but this is still pretty cool!)

[bizlybebo]

most important stage of the au is making dumb names for everyone

[chatxkilluaxnoir]

I have Gravity Falls and Etc. fic(s) idea(s)

Which, I am going to write now while I am having this fic idea (probably going to be a short one, but in the future I might make a revised expanded version or something. Who knows).

I actually have multiple Gravity Falls and GF TAU and Reverse Falls and etc. stuff that stems from this specific The Book of Bill thing.

Specifically stuff exploring Dipper's nightmares.

(I have some other ideas for the other dreams and/or nightmares too. Sometimes even in relation to Dipper's in some way).

I love my boy, and his nightmares hurt my heart.

But also because I love him, I want to explore even more of issues/trauma/suffering and/or to do Dipper angst. And etc.

Because I want both happiness and/or suffering for my faves/the characters I love very much.

Like Dipper.

So he is going to be getting even more of that from me, probably.

Because he is great and I love him.

[hn-undercover-9503]

Really, really brief character study for p!Martyn and p!Sausage because it's 4am and my brain won't shut up about pirates okay thanks

Martyn woke from his very fitful sleep to the muffled sound of music coming from downstairs. Confused and somewhat annoyed, he tossed aside the thin yellow blanket in his Kestrels bed. Leaving his room, he could see all of the other doors were open except for one. Grumbling under his breath, he traipsed his way down the stairs ready to chew out whoever had decided to play music in the middle of the night.

When he made it though, he stopped short at the sight of Sausage sitting alone at the barstools. A jukebox across the room was playing some sea shanty, but the man at the bar didn't seem to be listening to it. He was hunched over a half-empty mug with his eyes closed. As Martyn slowly made his way over, he was almost convinced the other man was asleep, had it not been for the way his hand was clenched tightly around the mug handle.

"Uh…Sausage?"

The other man shrieked and jumped, eyes flying wide open and sloshing ale over the floor. He whined at the sight of it, grumbling as he stood to get a mop from the corner. "Look what you made me do, Martyn! Now the floor is all wet…"

"Ah, my bad." Martyn took the mop and quickly helped clean up the mess. It only took a few minutes, and once they were done both of them sat down at the bar again. Sausage let out a heavy sigh, resting his head on the table.

"So, uh…what are you doing awake so late?" Martyn finally asked. Sausage hummed before lifting his head and grinning.

"Drinking myself silly, of course! Isn't it obvious?" He giggled again after saying it, but Martyn could hear the insecurity in his voice.

He raised an eyebrow, staring at him as the music faded out only to restart the same song.

"Don't look at me like that! What, you think I'm lying? Why would I lie?" Sausage demanded, oddly defensive considering Martyn hadn't actually said a word to him.

Martyn shrugged. "I dunno, just seems to me like there's something on your mind."

"The only thing on my mind is coin and ale." Sausage said with a huff, crossing his arms like that sealed the deal. Martyn hummed, getting up to pour two more mugs for them both.

They sat in silence for a while, nothing but the music in the background between them. After Sausage had drained about half of his mug, though, he leaned back in his seat and sighed. "Hey, Martyn. Where did you come from?"

Martyn hesitated for a second. He couldn't exactly tell him he fell from the sky after going through Doc's new strange portal. "I, uh, dunno. Some island nearby. Washed up on shore a few days ago, and now I'm here. You know how it is."

Thankfully, Sausage didn't seem to be in the mood to press him for information. He just hummed, staring up at the ceiling. Mihawk the macaw was sleeping in the nearby windowsill, and Sausage seemed to be watching him very carefully. "I've been on the Isles for a long time, you know."

Martyn nodded, tracing the rim of his mug with a finger. "I kinda assumed."

"I'm not the only one though. Kyle's been here a while, too. And Scott! Oh boy, he's been here since he was just a little bitty baby! But you know, you get to know people when you're here for a while. I have some good friends."

Martyn hummed, unsure where the other man was going with this. But Sausage didn't even seem to realize he was there anymore. He was just talking to the ceiling at this point. "The other day…at that weird island the recruiter sent us to…"

Martyn let out a small, unintelligible, "Oh." That whole incident had been…strange. And eerie. And creepy. And he still hated knowing that that weird little purple thing was running over the Isles somewhere, completely free. He didn't know why the others were letting it go after what they'd seen. If it had been up to him, he'd have tied an anchor to it and dropped it into the sea as soon as it appeared on the Isles.

"I never really talked to Aimsey all that much. They seemed nice, but I mean, they are a Kite, and you know how it is with them…but she'd come over and talk to Guqqie a lot, and the two of them were so close. And Guqqie…" Sausage's voice became very, very small.

Martyn felt awful. Of course, Sausage was worried about his friend. The other Kestrel, Guqqie. Martyn hadn't exactly been fond of her for the little amount of time they'd spoken, but she was a Kestrel, so it made sense that she was probably decently close with Sausage, right? It only made sense he'd be worried about them.

"I…don't know what happened to Aimsey." Martyn murmured, keeping his voice low. Out of respect? He didn't know. Truth was, he didn't really know anything about anything about this place, but he had a feeling he was about to get wrapped up in something very, very bad here. "But didn't those people say they wanted Guqqie for a job? So she'll come back with money, right?"

Sausage shook his head. "That's just it. If it was just a job, she should've been back by now. Something's not right with this. And what if…what if they're actually…gone?"

Martyn's stomach sank. "Gone…gone, as in, like, dead? Dead gone?"

Sausage took a deep breath. "I…I don't know. I'm just…just…" He put his face in his hands and groaned, scrubbing at his face furiously. When he raised his head again, his eyes were red and the fake smile had returned. "Oh, but I'm probably worried over nothing! Aimsey probably just got lost fighting a whole bunch of slimy purple monsters, and Guqqie is probably just so overloaded with coin they have to take more than one trip! Both of them are fine, I'm sure!"

Martyn watched the other man stand up and down the rest of his mug in one big gulp. He giggled as he slid the empty mug across the counter to him. "Don't stay up too late drinking, Martyn! We got another big day of pirating tomorrow! Goodnight!" He watched with narrowed eyes as Sausage practically ran back up the stairs.

In the background, the jukebox began to skip. Martyn got up to take the disc out before it could really start getting under his skin. He set it on the rack alongside the other discs they had, then glanced up at the stairs leading to the upper floor of the Kestrels home. Sausage had clearly been genuinely really worried over the two missing pirates, Aimsey and Guqqie. Martyn had only been here for a few days, and already he knew–this was going to be a difficult one.

[master-gatherer]

It's fascinating how in reaction to the crab day idea half my dashboard is like "Tumblr is awful do not give them one red cent let the motherfucker burn" and the other half is like "let's save the rec center 🙂"

[compacflt]

uhhh i don’t know how this works, but, in case i haven’t specified, my writing requests are open! idk, send me an ask, idk, i literally don’t know, and it DOES NOT have to be in my specific AU, im down for anything!!! I have some more free time now & this is a good exercise!! if u want me to write stuff, 🫡 here i am!*

* no promises i get to ur ask. But I will try my best.

[ao3comments-that-water-my-crops]

i FINALLY changed the avatar

i hope you all love and appreciate this clipart monstrosity that is our new pride and joy here on this blog. yes i did indeed whip together in about five minutes before i go pass out.

also my apologies once again for being gone for so long: i would genuinely love to get this blog actively running again, as a way of honestly getting myself back into writing fanfic.

[Image ID: The Ao3 logo with a clip art sunhat and pink clip art watering can, superimposed over a sunny cornfield. /End ID]

[beechersnope]

tbh i have a weird fear of posting Too Much fic....who can relate

[altruistic-meme]

hi! I totally understand if the answer is no but I’m just curious, do you think you will be continuing “(why is there) joy in this poison”? it’s one of my favorite fics, so I’m just wondering if that’s something you’ve decided to abandon or maybe continue

hi darling! sorry this reply is a few days late but i was on vacation :')

i absolutely DO plan on continuing (wit)jitp!!! i am actually working on both chapter 11 and a bonus chapter for it currently :D i know it's been. *cough* a year. since i've updated it but trust me i have been very very aware of the passing time.

alas, life simply decided to hit me over the head with several various hyperfixations and an additional handful of stressful issues (that i am unfortunately still dealing with some of) that meant that most of the time i just didn't have the energy to write at all and the times i did have energy, i was writing for whichever fandom my brain was actively attached to at that moment, which was simply never aftg.

but yeah! YEAH!! (wit)jitp is definitely getting continued. hopefully soon, but that really depends on a handful of factors so i make no promises. but it IS being worked on actively.

[wander-wren]

hi, calling all fanfic writers and readers and also people who have Made Videos for a little help with a potential project.

disclaimer: this is, as i said, very potential and still in the Shiny New Idea stage, i’m trying to determine feasibility at the moment.

so, you know speedpaints, right? as in, timelapsed drawing video with music or narration laid over it. consider the same thing, but with writing.

(the tentative term at the moment is speedfic, which has some precedent being used this way, because speedwriting means something else. but i digress)

the idea is that i would post timelapsed videos of me writing short fics and explain my process, probably focusing on specific elements like worldbuilding, character voice, plot, etc. i could also talk about planning, editing, and maybe some other general fanfiction topics.

this leads me to several questions. the main one, of course, is “would anyone else even be interested in this sort of thing?”

but assuming that answer is yes—there are some logistical issues inherent in doing this with words that aren’t caused by doing this with art, namely the “speed” and “narration” bits, and lots of other fiddly little things.

so i guess i’m just asking what writers/readers would want from a project like this, any preferences as far as video structure/length/content, just anything, really. before i go chasing the Shiny New Thing, i want to know if it’s worth it

[seventh-district]

oh nice! the Matt fic posted itself at the correct time

[memes-in-a-half-shell]

Just the Two of Us - Chapter 1

Wahoo! First chapter of that new story of mine! I wanted to try something different for this first chapter. Less exposition and more straight to the point. We'll get to learn more about Vee and other stuff in future chapters, but for now I wanted to lay out the first meeting.

Events are after the 2nd movie. Dunno exactly how long after, but it's been some time for sure. Please note that all characters are depicted as adults. Mature subjects may come in later chapters (nsfw, of course language 'cause I have the mouth of a fucking sailor, deep emotional stuff, most probably some intense action and blood - 'cause this mama loves to be intense). There's gonna be some humor too, don't worry~

I've started this fic first for myself, but I was liking the various drafts I did and I wanted to share 💜

Title is inspired by the song "Just the Two of Us" by Grover Washington.

[First Chapter - you're here!] // [Next Chapter - incoming]

And in an instant my soul trembled Meeting your eyes didn't feel like the first time Deep within me I knew - I simply knew That forever I'd be entranced by you

There was something about this late August's night that felt different.

Maybe it was this warmth that had some moisture lingering in the air. Or this surreal feeling that was now creeping under Vee's skin as her friend April was leading her into a dark alley. Who knows, really.

"You have to promise me, Vee. You must keep this encounter a secret. Never tell anyone about what you're going to see."

When the reporter had asked for help regarding friends that needed a hand with translation issues, of course Vee accepted. But now the woman was slowly starting to second-guess her choice. She knew April had no mean bone in her however, trusting her then feeling like the right thing to do...

"I dunno why it's getting so serious all of a sudden, but I promise you, April."

"And I know you'll keep that promise," added the brunette with a soft smile.

Their heels' clicking came to a stop against the pavement, the reporter taking some seconds to check her surroundings before bringing a watch to her left wrist up, pressing a button and saying: "It's alright, we're ready." Vee slightly frowned at that action until she heard movement from above, some things now falling and moving in the shadows of the alley.

"Now, Vee, please don't freak out," instantly tried to reassure April, placing herself before her friend and trying to keep Vee's focus on her. "I assure you, they're friends."

Now the intrigue was killing Vee's curiosity, her gaze moving from April's, now finally noticing new forms appearing in the dim lights of the alley. The first shape was already impressive in size, piercing blue eyes going straight across her soul. She noticed green scales, a blue bandana, a shell?! Vee's eyes were wide open as her mouth simply opened and closed like a fish out of water, unable to form words. She shyly pointed out at the creature, grabbing her friend's arm out of pure instinct.

"It's alright, Vee," added April.

Other forms came forward, their looks different, yet all sharing those reptilian features. Orange, red, and purple bandanas added to the blue. All were staring at Vee, silent, trying to judge her reaction - afraid she'd be scared, most probably. Vee finally found back her voice, slight gasps of air exhaling from her lungs. She couldn't help her smile, slightly shaking her friend's arm she was still holding, blurting out in exclamation:

"Holy shit!!"

She moved away from April and now forward to the newcomers. She did keep her distance, not wanting to provoke any harsh reactions. Her eyes could barely stay in place, noticing new details on each individual she'd look at.

"April, what the fuck!" she added, turning to the brunette. "Your friends look awesome!"

"Told ya April has hot friends and this one looks cool," piped one of the creatures - the orange one - towards the red one, which resulted in some tsks and a playful slap on his shoulder.

"You're not scared?" asked April, moving to stand close to her friend again.

"Well, I mean..." Vee took another glance at the four, vaguely gesturing them. "I guess I'm more... surprised?! It's not everyday you see- … see, uh.." she paused, frowning a little, hands on her hips. "What are you guys, anyway?"

That brought some smiles on their faces, tension finally easing. The blue one spoke first:

"We are mutant ninja turtles, ma'am," he answered with one polite nod.

"Oh sure, that makes sense," acknowledged Vee, still frowning.

Her brain was running a hundred miles per second, trying to assess everything. They were giant speaking turtles, for crying out loud! Most people would've ran away at the sight of them, but Vee felt nothing else than pure fascination at the moment. And knowing they were friends with April, that did facilitate the encounter.

"So, April, that's the friend you spoke about?" brought up another mutant, the one wearing a red do-rag.

"Oh, yes, right, let me do the presentations," started the reporter, finally getting in motion. She first gestured around Vee's frame: "Guys, this is Vee!" She next started from left to right, the first one being the turtle wearing an orange bandana: "So this is Michelangelo-"

"Call me Mikey, sweetface," he quickly added, winking.

"Don't cut me, Mikey, that's rude," playfully bantered April, then moving to the red one. "This one's Raphael. Don't worry, he looks like a brute but he's really sweet."

"Depends on who yer askin'," smirked the large one.

"Now that's Leonardo, their leader, and finally over here we've got Donatello. You'll mostly be working with him for the task at hand."

Vee's eyes followed suit and landed on the tall terrapin adorning a purple bandana. Compared to the others he was slimmer in frame, wore glasses and presented various tech on his person. Vee paid no mind as she moved towards him, extending her hand as a greeting, out of pure formality and habit.

"Hi! I look forward to getting started."

The other paused for a second, his gaze glued to her hand. He only got in motion once April gently elbowed him, finally holding Vee's hand to return the greeting.

"Likewise."

A strong shiver went through Vee, seeing how her hand looked so small in his. Her green eyes crossed his golden ones, the exchange quickly over.

"So," started Leonardo. "April told us you can help us translate things from French to English. That's correct?"

"Yes," answered Vee with a smile. "It's my first language, I won't have any issues with that."

"You don't sound French at all," added Michelangelo. "Where's your accent?"

"Oh, sorry I don't sound like a movie stereotype," added the woman with slight annoyance, although playful. "I've been learning and speaking English from a very young age, since in Canada both English and French are the two offical languages."

"Wait, they speak French in Canada? I thought you'd be from France or somethin'!" continued the orange one.

"Welp, we all learn something new everyday!" pointed Vee.

And boy was she learning something completely new today.

***

Of all the places she thought she'd go to tonight, Vee didn't think it'd be in the sewers. The group was making its way through large undisturbed canals, April in front and discussing with Leo and Raph. As Vee was behind with Mikey and Donnie, she did start a conversation with the latter in order to be up to speed with the project.

"So, what am I going to work with? Should I wait until we get to the place before I get more details, or-?"

"You're totally gonna do some super secret spy stuff," said Mikey right away, playfully.

"Well, not totally," objected Donatello with a soft sigh, his attention now on Vee. "If I may brief you a little; we've intercepted communications from an enemy-"

"The Foot clan!"

"-Yes the Foot, thanks Mikey. And they seem to have developped an alliance with someone overseas, speaking French. All conversations are in audio form. I've tried to learn the language, but we're in a rush and I must admit that it's been kind of hard."

"Understandable, French is one hell of a language to learn," softly smiled Vee.

"And I didn't want to put those files through online translation services, as the information's nature is still unknown and I wouldn't want to risk any leaks of it. … Then April suggested you, and here we are."

"Here we are, indeed," added the woman. "It shouldn't be too difficult. My only concern would be regarding terms or keywords that are unknown to me; anything that may not be too familiar to me regarding this whole situation. But given the time, I could probably get through anything."

"Hey, by the way," said Mikey, diverting the subject a little. "Is your name really Vee? Sounds more like a nickname to me."

"Well aren't you the rude one tonight," slightly frowned Donnie.

"What?! I'm genuinely curious!"

Vee was still smiling: "No worries, it's not rude to ask! Indeed it's a nickname, since my full name can be quite a mouthful for English speakers at times. It's Véronique."

"Say what now?" added Mikey.

The woman couldn't hide her small laugh: "See! That's the kind of reaction I get everytime. That's why I tell people to call me Vee. Short and sweet!"

"Your name sounds beautiful though, what a shame," commented Donnie.

"Eyo, stop flirtin' back there," piped in Raph.

Mikey's chuckle echoed in the tunnel while Donnie's eyes rolled. They finally arrived to their destination; the Lair. Vee was instantly amazed as she witnessed the size of the place, all filled with interesting objects here and there.

"No way!" she breathed out with a large smile. "This place's amazing!"

That did boost the turtles' mood, enjoying to see such reaction from the woman. It was refreshing to meet someone new and see their fascination regarding their world.

"Where's Splinter?" asked April.

"He's out for the night to salvage some stuff for himself," answered Leonardo. "Plus he wanted to give us space for the newcomer."

"Didn't want to recreate a Casey situation?" added the brunette, amused.

"Oh I wish," chuckled Raph.

As the group was still moving forward, Vee leaned in to April, asking:

"Who's Splinter?"

"Their father and sensei. He's a rat."

"Oh! Of course...," added Vee as if it was normal, although intrigued.

They arrived to a workstation, many screens assembled to create a sort of digital alcove. Vee was instantly charmed, getting past her friend so she could get closer to the setup and admire it.

"Holy shit! Now that's a nice setup," she recognized, hands on her hips and looking up the screens.

"Finally, someone recognizes my creation," added Donnie, amused.

She turned to him.

"… Did you build all that by yourself? I mean … that's impressive! Is it only one computer? Or the machine must be a beast in order to support all those screens! And it must be quite the challenge to organize the desktop to spread on such a dome-like setup. What OS are you using? Windows? Linux? I hope it's not Apple, that stuff is a nightmare.-"

She stopped herself, a light blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Oh, uhm, sorry I'm asking a lot of questions."

Man, Donnie's heart was suddenly beating fast...

"Please, don't apologize, you're probably the first person ever to be curious about my stuff!"

"Nerds alert," poked in Mikey.

That brought some laughs from the others, Donnie and Vee shyly smiling. The tall terrapin then moved to his computer, trying to shake away the feeling as he brought the files up.

"Do you want to give it a first listen and see what's up?" he asked the woman, trying to ignore the others behind.

"Yes, please," answered Vee, coming closer and wanting to get on the task at hand.

As the terrapin started the recording, the group was then silent, Vee frowning as she focused. The voices were surprisingly clear and the recording of a good quality. As a first listen, she did grasp that some arrangements were being made regarding a certain formula and two animals?

"Un loup et une tortue alligator?" she voiced outloud, puzzled.

"What's that, you got something?" asked April.

Vee's brows were still furrowed, pondering for a moment as she paused the recording. She looked back at Donatello.

"There's a lot of information being given in this. Can I borrow some stuff to help me out; headphones, and uh-" she glanced at his keyboard. "A smaller keyboard so I can type it out and make better sense of it."

"Of course," he answered, already on the move to gather the equipment.

Vee turned to the others, sighing.

"This might take a little while," she announced. "If I caught things correctly, they're talking about a formula – something to be injected, and two specific animals. I'll need to relisten a couple of times to better pinpoint what's going on."

"Why do I have the feeling it might be about that damn purple ooze," added Leo, looking at his brothers.

"If that's true," said Donnie, the requested items in his hands as he was back. "That would mean we'd probably have a lead about Stockman's whereabouts."

"Let's not jump to conclusions yet," said April.

As the terrapin finished setting the items up, he handed the headphones to Vee, then moving his chair around in order to offer it to her. Vee thanked him, taking place. She gave one last glance to the group before holding the headphones close to her ears.

"No need to wait for me, I'll call you guys when I'll be done with this. Hopefully it won't take too long."

***

Donnie had decided to stay closeby, in case she'd ever request for some assistance or any other item. He was standing and leaning against the desk opposite of the one Vee was sitting at, absent-mindedly browsing his phone. To be frank, he spent more time observing her, somehow entranced by the way she was working. She was a fast typer. She barely had to look at the keyboard as her fingers flew across the keys. At some points she'd be mumbling in French to herself, continuing to type. The terrapin did not notice his younger brother, Mikey, sliding in next to him, smiling as he said in a low, cheerful tone: ""Diiiiibs~"

"Oh for crying out loud," complained Donnie in a similar hushed tone.

"What? She looks cute and seems like a complete badass! Look at her being a freakin' pro hacker level typer."

"Sure, 'cause you know about hacking," half-smiled the purple banded one.

"All I'm saying, we rarely get any other ladies in here. Let me have a chance!"

"Whatever, man, I didn't say a thing," sighed Donnie, going back to his phone.

His brother slipped away, smirking. Finally alone again, the turtle's eyes did wander back to Vee's form. She was quite nice looking indeed. Her dark teal green hair were an uncommon choice, yet did communicate her carefree nature. Her overall look was more of a classic chic nature, yet dressing comfortably. Plus her large black frame glasses seemed to compliment her pale eyes perfectly – were they green? Also he had noticed her tattoos, especially the ones at her right hand, at her inner left forearm, and some hidden ones at her upper left chest and her wrists. She seemed like quite the interesting character, indeed... His attention snapped as he noticed the woman removing the headphones, a slight sigh of relief leaving her. Donnie brought a stool and installed it next to her, sitting by her side.

"So, what's the verdict?" he asked.

"I finished writing up the whole dialogue down, in French," she answered, vaguely gesturing the screen. "It allowed me to get a better grasp of what was going on. Seems like my first observations were right; there were talks of a formula, an injection. They're planning on grabbing a wolf and an alligator snapping turtle for some sort of tests. They mentionned mutations along the way, something about what would be the results for an injection in animal subjects, rather than humans?"

"Leo was right then, it's related to the purple ooze..."

"What's that?"

"That's quite the long subject, but to summarize; it's a substance that has mutation properties. For humans, it turns them into part animal, part humanoid beings. The first incidence of that was Bebop and Rocksteady, two criminals that respectively got turned into a warthog and a rhinoceros."

"Damn, okay," commented Vee, surprised. "So what would be the results on animal subjects? Any thoughts?"

Donnie shrugged.

"Either they become fully human, or they go through different mutations – that is if the original formula is not altered. … Were there any talks about that?"

"Not really," answered the woman. "The discussion was pretty much centered around those animals. Were you able to record more of those conversations?"

"Actually, yes," said the turtle, grabbing the mouse and opening a folder on his computer. "I was able to get three more recently. But there's no need to go over them tonight... My brothers and I first wanted to know if things would go well tonight, and frankly I think it has been a success!"

"If you guys want me to come back to continue the work, I wouldn't mind."

"That'd be great!" smiled the terrapin, looking at the woman.

Yeah, she has green eyes. Vee was smiling softly as well, her chin resting on raised closed knuckles.

"… I still can't believe it somehow," she started, pensive. "This whole evening is just so weird right now, yet I know it's real. … I'm just so amazed."

"Amazed by my good looks?" suddenly came in Mikey as he got closer to Vee's position, taking support at the top back of her chair.

Vee chuckled while Donnie let out a quiet sigh.

"Amazed by all your looks," answered Vee. "I feel like I could ask so many questions right now, but I'll keep that for another time."

"We could definitely arrange a night of 20 questions," added the orange one with a playful look and a wink.

"Sure, why not!" laughed the woman.

((TO BE CONTINUED))

[plaid-maniac]

“Hey There, Trucy”

A story about the seven year gap and an exploration of a drastic change in parenting for Trucy.

Prologue:

In another story maybe Phoenix would have been more cautious. But it has been 2 years since he’s had his badge and he wants this investigation to be over with. He wants to be free to visit his friends without the ever present state of suspicion all around him. He wants Kristoph in jail and his life to be whole again.

In another story maybe he would have been more attentive to things around him. But he’s exhausted from a late night at the Borscht Bowl where some of the patrons got just a bit too rowdy if the bruises from the fight were anything to go by. They weighed him down with just another layer of pain because he was in no mental shape to get over his fear of medicine to try and ease the burden.

In another story maybe Kristoph wouldn’t have come to visit. But he was able to get the last trial settled earlier than expected due to a shock confession from a witness. His client got off the hook much faster than he would have thought, and with very little effort on his part, meaning he could work on some of his other “projects”.

In another story maybe he wouldn’t have thought to try and speed things up. After all, it would be bad to go too fast into something without taking proper precautions. But Phoenix isn’t the only one getting tired of the cat and mouse game, and he recently got his hands on something that could end this without a hitch.

But it’s only in another story that that is the case. Because this “brand new thing” is actually rather old, falling well past the expiration date. Even if you drank all of it, it wouldn’t be able to simulate a perfect heart attack as it has been advertised to him. So only relying on a smudge is a fools choice that can only send someone to the hospital at best.

It’s in this story that all of this comes to a head with a knock to the Wright Talent Agency’s door.

Fake smiles and beating around the bush appear in many stories, and this one is no different. Phoenix lets him inside, comforted by the fact that Trucy is away at school just in case something does happen. He doesn’t let up his constant attention on the other man despite how tired he is of all of this. He may want it to be over, but he isn’t a quitter.

Kristoph, meanwhile, is scouting out the perfect place and time to leave the solution to his problems. He watches the other man as intently as he is watched, waiting for an opening that might not even appear. He stays in the kitchen all the same just in case.

In another story, Trucy would have listened to her father about not leaving her books on the floor.

It is only as Phoenix has completely fallen over, igniting all the bruises in his body, and started silently cursing that Kristoph strikes, leaving his perfect plan on the prongs of a fork. One of the few currently clean fork in the apartment. It is only a matter of time now before it ends up completing the job.

It takes him much longer to get up than normal. His body and soul is worn and he just wants to rest. But when he stands up he is reminded that there is no rest for the weary or the wicked, and he has to simply continue on.

In another story it would worry him at just how easy it was to get the other man to leave before Trucy came back. But they had been talking about the case that went so perfectly and Phoenix knew he would probably want to scope out for a new case like a bloodhound looking for prey. So he didn’t think as much of it as he really should.

And all thoughts about that interaction left his mind when his daughter came home from school.

And all thoughts of worry were quashed for the moment as he worked on dinner for her and lunch for himself.

And all thoughts of his weariness were replaced by thoughts of needing to do the dishes, but there were still clean plates and forks so they will use those and he will wash everything after.

And everything was smiles and laughter as she told him about today’s class and how her teacher got upset for her turning her classmates pencils to rubber.

And everything was concerned looks and furrowed brows as she became paler and paler.

And everything was running feet and gaging into the toilet as she was overcome by a sudden illness.

And everything was hurried phone calls and sirens as she started to drift into the darkness.

And everything was black.

[archaeren]

How I learned to write smarter, not harder

(aka, how to write when you're hella ADHD lol)

A reader commented on my current long fic asking how I write so well. I replied with an essay of my honestly pretty non-standard writing advice (that they probably didn't actually want lol) Now I'm gonna share it with you guys and hopefully there's a few of you out there who will benefit from my past mistakes and find some useful advice in here. XD Since I started doing this stuff, which are all pretty easy changes to absorb into your process if you want to try them, I now almost never get writer's block.

The text of the original reply is indented, and I've added some additional commentary to expand upon and clarify some of the concepts.

As for writing well, I usually attribute it to the fact that I spent roughly four years in my late teens/early 20s writing text roleplay with a friend for hours every single day. Aside from the constant practice that provided, having a live audience immediately reacting to everything I wrote made me think a lot about how to make as many sentences as possible have maximum impact so that I could get that kind of fun reaction. (Which is another reason why comments like yours are so valuable to fanfic writers! <3) The other factors that have improved my writing are thus: 1. Writing nonlinearly. I used to write a whole story in order, from the first sentence onward. If there was a part I was excited to write, I slogged through everything to get there, thinking that it would be my reward once I finished everything that led up to that. It never worked. XD It was miserable. By the time I got to the part I wanted to write, I had beaten the scene to death in my head imagining all the ways I could write it, and it a) no longer interested me and b) could not live up to my expectations because I couldn't remember all my ideas I'd had for writing it. The scene came out mediocre and so did everything leading up to it. Since then, I learned through working on VN writing (I co-own a game studio and we have some visual novels that I write for) that I don't have to write linearly. If I'm inspired to write a scene, I just write it immediately. It usually comes out pretty good even in a first draft! But then I also have it for if I get more ideas for that scene later, and I can just edit them in. The scenes come out MUCH stronger because of this. And you know what else I discovered? Those scenes I slogged through before weren't scenes I had no inspiration for, I just didn't have any inspiration for them in that moment! I can't tell you how many times there was a scene I had no interest in writing, and then a week later I'd get struck by the perfect inspiration for it! Those are scenes I would have done a very mediocre job on, and now they can be some of the most powerful scenes because I gave them time to marinate. Inspiration isn't always linear, so writing doesn't have to be either!

Some people are the type that joyfully write linearly. I have a friend like this--she picks up the characters and just continues playing out the next scene. Her story progresses through the entire day-by-day lives of the characters; it never timeskips more than a few hours. She started writing and posting just eight months ago, she's about an eighth of the way through her planned fic timeline, and the content she has so far posted to AO3 for it is already 450,000 words long. But most of us are normal humans. We're not, for the most part, wired to create linearly. We consume linearly, we experience linearly, so we assume we must also create linearly. But actually, a lot of us really suffer from trying to force ourselves to create this way, and we might not even realize it. If you're the kind of person who thinks you need to carrot-on-a-stick yourself into writing by saving the fun part for when you finally write everything that happens before it: Stop. You're probably not a linear writer. You're making yourself suffer for no reason and your writing is probably suffering for it. At least give nonlinear writing a try before you assume you can't write if you're not baiting or forcing yourself into it!! Remember: Writing is fun. You do this because it's fun, because it's your hobby. If you're miserable 80% of the time you're doing it, you're probably doing it wrong!

2. Rereading my own work. I used to hate reading my own work. I wouldn't even edit it usually. I would write it and slap it online and try not to look at it again. XD Writing nonlinearly forced me to start rereading because I needed to make sure scenes connected together naturally and it also made it easier to get into the headspace of the story to keep writing and fill in the blanks and get new inspiration. Doing this built the editing process into my writing process--I would read a scene to get back in the headspace, dislike what I had written, and just clean it up on the fly. I still never ever sit down to 'edit' my work. I just reread it to prep for writing and it ends up editing itself. Many many scenes in this fic I have read probably a dozen times or more! (And now, I can actually reread my own work for enjoyment!) Another thing I found from doing this that it became easy to see patterns and themes in my work and strengthen them. Foreshadowing became easy. Setting up for jokes or plot points became easy. I didn't have to plan out my story in advance or write an outline, because the scenes themselves because a sort of living outline on their own. (Yes, despite all the foreshadowing and recurring thematic elements and secret hidden meanings sprinkled throughout this story, it actually never had an outline or a plan for any of that. It's all a natural byproduct of writing nonlinearly and rereading.)

Unpopular writing opinion time: You don't need to make a detailed outline.

Some people thrive on having an outline and planning out every detail before they sit down to write. But I know for a lot of us, we don't know how to write an outline or how to use it once we've written it. The idea of making one is daunting, and the advice that it's the only way to write or beat writer's block is demoralizing. So let me explain how I approach "outlining" which isn't really outlining at all.

I write in a Notion table, where every scene is a separate table entry and the scene is written in the page inside that entry. I do this because it makes writing nonlinearly VASTLY more intuitive and straightforward than writing in a single document. (If you're familiar with Notion, this probably makes perfect sense to you. If you're not, imagine something a little like a more contained Google Sheets, but every row has a title cell that opens into a unique Google Doc when you click on it. And it's not as slow and clunky as the Google suite lol) (Edit from the future: I answered an ask with more explanation on how I use Notion for non-linear writing here.) When I sit down to begin a new fic idea, I make a quick entry in the table for every scene I already know I'll want or need, with the entries titled with a couple words or a sentence that describes what will be in that scene so I'll remember it later. Basically, it's the most absolute bare-bones skeleton of what I vaguely know will probably happen in the story.

Then I start writing, wherever I want in the list. As I write, ideas for new scenes and new connections and themes will emerge over time, and I'll just slot them in between the original entries wherever they naturally fit, rearranging as necessary, so that I won't forget about them later when I'm ready to write them. As an example, my current long fic started with a list of roughly 35 scenes that I knew I wanted or needed, for a fic that will probably be around 100k words (which I didn't know at the time haha). As of this writing, it has expanded to 129 scenes. And since I write them directly in the page entries for the table, the fic is actually its own outline, without any additional effort on my part. As I said in the comment reply--a living outline!

This also made it easier to let go of the notion that I had to write something exactly right the first time. (People always say you should do this, but how many of us do? It's harder than it sounds! I didn't want to commit to editing later! I didn't want to reread my work! XD) I know I'm going to edit it naturally anyway, so I can feel okay giving myself permission to just write it approximately right and I can fix it later. And what I found from that was that sometimes what I believed was kind of meh when I wrote it was actually totally fine when I read it later! Sometimes the internal critic is actually wrong. 3. Marinating in the headspace of the story. For the first two months I worked on [fic], I did not consume any media other than [fandom the fic is in]. I didn't watch, read, or play anything else. Not even mobile games. (And there wasn't really much fan content for [fandom] to consume either. Still isn't, really. XD) This basically forced me to treat writing my story as my only source of entertainment, and kept me from getting distracted or inspired to write other ideas and abandon this one.

As an aside, I don't think this is a necessary step for writing, but if you really want to be productive in a short burst, I do highly recommend going on a media consumption hiatus. Not forever, obviously! Consuming media is a valuable tool for new inspiration, and reading other's work (both good and bad, as long as you think critically to identify the differences!) is an invaluable resource for improving your writing.

When I write, I usually lay down, close my eyes, and play the scene I'm interested in writing in my head. I even take a ten-minute nap now and then during this process. (I find being in a state of partial drowsiness, but not outright sleepiness, makes writing easier and better. Sleep helps the brain process and make connections!) Then I roll over to the laptop next to me and type up whatever I felt like worked for the scene. This may mean I write half a sentence at a time between intervals of closed-eye-time XD

People always say if you're stuck, you need to outline.

What they actually mean by that (whether they realize it or not) is that if you're stuck, you need to brainstorm. You need to marinate. You don't need to plan what you're doing, you just need to give yourself time to think about it!

What's another framing for brainstorming for your fic? Fantasizing about it! Planning is work, but fantasizing isn't.

You're already fantasizing about it, right? That's why you're writing it. Just direct that effort toward the scenes you're trying to write next! Close your eyes, lay back, and fantasize what the characters do and how they react.

And then quickly note down your inspirations so you don't forget, haha.

And if a scene is so boring to you that even fantasizing about it sucks--it's probably a bad scene.

If it's boring to write, it's going to be boring to read. Ask yourself why you wanted that scene. Is it even necessary? Can you cut it? Can you replace it with a different scene that serves the same purpose but approaches the problem from a different angle? If you can't remove the troublesome scene, what can you change about it that would make it interesting or exciting for you to write?

And I can't write sitting up to save my damn life. It's like my brain just stops working if I have to sit in a chair and stare at a computer screen. I need to be able to lie down, even if I don't use it! Talking walks and swinging in a hammock are also fantastic places to get scene ideas worked out, because the rhythmic motion also helps our brain process. It's just a little harder to work on a laptop in those scenarios. XD

In conclusion: Writing nonlinearly is an amazing tool for kicking writer's block to the curb. There's almost always some scene you'll want to write. If there isn't, you need to re-read or marinate.

Or you need to use the bathroom, eat something, or sleep. XD Seriously, if you're that stuck, assess your current physical condition. You might just be unable to focus because you're uncomfortable and you haven't realized it yet.

Anyway! I hope that was helpful, or at least interesting! XD Sorry again for the text wall. (I think this is the longest comment reply I've ever written!)

And same to you guys on tumblr--I hope this was helpful or at least interesting. XD Reblogs appreciated if so! (Maybe it'll help someone else!)

[pinkxpantha]

would you guys be interested in a valentines event special 👀? Im so tempted rn..