#some people feel this way about yosuke but me it's baby souji

[angevon]

Souyo Nov Writing Challenge (prompt list)

Day 13: Junes

Links

AO3

ffnet

DW

Little kid Souji doesn't like the elephant slide at Junes, but maybe if Yosuke's there, it's okay.

[Author’s notes: This one isn't meant to be shippy, just cute. It takes place in the Nanako Explains It All universe, where Nanako and Souji are role-swapped. So Nanako is the Investigation Team leader and Souji is a 6 year old. And Yosuke is just Yosuke.

There was a scene in it where little Souji didn't want to go down the elephant slide, so this is a continuation of that idea hehe.]

It was a lazy Sunday. To pass the time, Nanako had brought her little cousin Souji to Junes to have some ice cream. She didn't plan it, but Yosuke was there too. Honestly she didn't need to have planned it; sometimes it felt like Yosuke lived at Junes. Like he was just waiting for someone to come hang out with him. Nanako shook her head. That thought was silly.

Anyway, he'd joined them at the food court, and now they were sitting at one of the round plastic tables, chatting while Souji ate the ice cream she'd bought for him.

"So how long does it take for you to get the Junes song out of your head after you've worked a shift here?" Nanako asked conversationally. It was playing on an infinite loop out here, apparently for maximum ear-worm potential.

"Not long, really," Yosuke said. "You just gotta drown it out with another tune." He tapped the ever-present headphones around his neck with a knowing look.

"Sou-chan," Nanako said, "do you like the Junes song? You know, I don't think I've shown you the full video."

So focused on his ice cream, the little boy didn't answer.

Watching Souji now, Yosuke noticed the flavor he was eating. "Neo Featherman ice cream again?" he teased.

"It's... nea...p-politan," Souji stuttered out with a cute little frown. He didn't turn his attention away from the ice cream and ate another spoonful.

"Right," Yosuke said, "and you're eating the chocolate first, just like you told me last time. Good idea!"

"I like the strawberry..."

"Next time we can just get strawberry," Nanako suggested.

"I like the chocolate too..."

"You can't please some people," Yosuke said. "Or at least, some six year olds."

Souji began to work on the strawberry next, systematically separating it from the remaining vanilla. It wasn't easy to do what with how melted it was by now, but that didn't stop him from trying.

"Hey, Nanako," Yosuke said. "You ever let Souji play on the playground up here?"

Nanako shrugged. "It's not really about 'let.' He's never shown an interest. Remember the elephant slide?"

"Yeah, but there are tons of other toys! Though we're thinking about getting rid of the sandbox because it's too messy. Imagine that, I can finally stop sweeping it up every shift!"

"Remember, he doesn't like to dirty his clothes," Nanako said. "It's a lost cause."

"His clothes are always nice," Yosuke mused. "Huh?"

Souji was tugging at Yosuke's shirt. "P-partner, can we...?"

Yosuke blinked down at him. "What's up, kiddo? Done with your ice cream?"

Souji made a face at being called 'kiddo' rather than 'partner.' Then he turned his head towards the playground. Yosuke followed his gaze to the elephant slide.

"I thought you hated that," Yosuke said.

Souji made another face and tugged harder at his shirt.

"Fine, fine!" Yosuke said. "Don't tear a hole in my shirt."

Souji grinned at him, took his hand and pulled him towards the slide, though he slowed as they neared it, his enthusiasm dampening as he remembered, apparently, how big and scary it was.

"You really wanna do this?" Yosuke asked.

Souji held his hand in both of his own tiny hands as if clinging to it. After a moment, though, he nodded.

Despite that, he made no move towards the ladder. As the moment dragged on, Yosuke asked, "Do you want me to carry you or something?"

Souji looked up at him in surprise. "You can carry me?"

"Hey, I may not look as strong as Kanji, but I'm no pushover."

"He's totally a pushover," Nanako called from the table.

Yosuke ignored her. He picked Souji up and set him on his shoulders in one quick motion.

"T-tall..." Souji said from his new position.

"Okay, I'm not taller than Kanji," Yosuke admitted. "How do you like it up there? See any airplanes?"

"No," Souji said. "But there are b-birds..."

"Birds? Where?"

Souji pointed. A couple of pigeons were munching on some long-gone customer's leftover fries. Yosuke sighed. "I'll have to clean that up later. Anyway, it's slide time—H-hey, what are you?"

Souji had begun to play with his hair, crinkling the stiff strands that he'd so carefully gelled into shape this morning.

"Souji," Yosuke whined.

"I guess he's not a fan of the floppy hair look," Nanako said.

"He should be one to talk!" Yosuke sighed, then lifted his head to look up at Souji. "Do you want to go down the slide or not?"

Souji let go of his hair. There was a long pause, then a quiet, "Y-yeah..."

"All right," Yosuke said. "We're going up!"

He climbed the ladder easily—it only had four rungs—and before he knew it he was already at the top of the slide. It didn't seem right to go down the slide with Souji on his shoulders, though. Yosuke sat at the top, stretching his legs before him, preparing himself to go down. Then he took Souji down and settled him on his lap.

"Good?" he asked.

Souji sat back, nestling comfortably into his chest. Yosuke's chin ended up resting right on his head.

"L-let's go," Souji said when he was ready.

No more ceremony was needed. Yosuke pushed off and down they went.

"Wheeee," he said.

The journey lasted all of half a second, but both Souji and Yosuke were giggling by the end.

"All right," Yosuke said. He gently nudged Souji's back, trying to get him out of his lap. "Let's go back to your big sis."

"N-no!" Souji said, not moving an inch.

"Huh? No?"

"Let's go... again!"

"Again...?" Yosuke stared for a second, and then broke into a wide grin. Nanako would totally bother him later for this, but... You were only a kid once. "You got it, partner," he said.

[chroniccombustion]

Phantom Limbs - pt. 2

From “And a Week is All I Need (To Fall in Love With You)“, part of @souyoweek2020​

Genre: supernatural, ghosts and hauntings, bittersweet pre-romance, M/M Rated: T Characters: Hanamura Yosuke, Souji Seta (Yu Narukami), memories of Nanako Warnings: implied/referenced past suicide in pt. 2 Status: drabble collection, incomplete

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(prompts have been done out of order from here on out; previous chapter was day 4)

Ogaki “Granny” Kaede is a reference to Granny Okagi from ‘My Neighbor Totoro,’ with her given name taken from Priestess Kaede from Inuyasha~

Day 4 6: Scent or Stormy

After the ghostly stranger vanishes, Yosuke only hangs around long enough to change his clothes and throw his pajamas into a sling bag with his wallet, charger, and phone, before grabbing his keys and bolting out the door. There is no way he's sleeping in that apartment tonight.

Yosuke stays in a cheap hotel down the street.

After the ghostly stranger vanishes, Yosuke only hangs around long enough to change his clothes and throw his pajamas into a sling bag with his wallet, charger, and phone, before grabbing his keys and bolting out the door. There is no way he's sleeping in that apartment tonight.

He pauses just inside the front door of the apartment building to do a quick search on his phone for the nearest affordable place to stay; luckily there's one not too far from where he is. He doesn't even bother trying to call a cab, he just sprints on out into the rain and books it down the sidewalk like he's being pursued. Hell, for all he knows, he might be. He gets one heck of an odd (albeit sympathetic) look from the lady behind the check-in desk, and while under normal circumstances he might feel self-conscious, right now he honestly couldn't care less about the way her brow quirks at his disheveled, drowned-rat aesthetic. He simply slaps his card down on the counter with a wet and shaking hand, then thanks her as she hands him his key and points him up the stairs.

Yosuke climbs into the hottest shower he's ever taken and stares at the wall in shock until his skin turns pink.

---

The next morning dawns bright and misty, with the sun peaking through the gloom and chasing away all that's left of the rain from before. It's at least something pretty to look at after hardly sleeping for the scant remainder of the night, he tells himself as he's gathering his clothes back up from where he'd hung them to dry in the bathroom. He's not quite sure he really wants to go back home at this point, but if he doesn't vacate the hotel room pretty soon they'll charge him for another night, and if that's going to happen then he'd need to go back anyway to pack an actual away bag. So, for now at least, he's going to try and brave the apartment while he has as much daylight as he can possibly get – and save another hit to his wallet if he can.

He trudges back to the apartment building and takes his sweet, sweet time getting up to his floor, dragging his feet in the stairwell to the point of almost tripping over them. It's as he's hesitating near his door, key in the lock but unturned, that he hears a voice behind him.

“Oh! Well hello there, dear, I don't believe we've met yet.”

Yosuke looks up to see an elderly woman in a periwinkle dress, grey hair pulled back into a tight bun and held in place by a wide white bandana. Her back is hunched slightly with age, and while her face is heavily wrinkled and sports a large mole just where her left eyebrow starts, her eyes are sharp and kindly – as is the warm smile stretching across her features. Near her feet are an array of plastic grocery bags; in her hand is a set of keys, no doubt for the door to the apartment directly to Yosuke's left, which means she is likely his neighbor. He blinks at her for a moment, exhausted and bedraggled in more ways than one, but finds that no, he still doesn't recognize her. (Then again, he hasn't really met too many of his neighbors – he's been too busy trying to finish settling in.)

He swallows to unstick his weary tongue from the roof of his mouth. “N...no, we haven't,” he manages, though it's rough and crackly and very much not the kind of first impression he was hoping to make. He clears his throat to try and force himself into some semblance of being human again, rolling his shoulders to try and stand a little straighter. “Hanamura Yosuke,” he introduces, “I just moved in about three weeks ago.”

The old woman smiles a little wider. “Such a polite young man,” she says approvingly. “Ogaki Kaede – but call me 'Granny,' won't you?” She chuckles. “Nearly everyone does. I don't think I'd even remember to respond to my actual name anymore, if someone were to use it.”

Dumbly, Yosuke just nods; he's far too tired and far too rattled still from last night to properly interact with other human beings. As he's standing there, staring blankly at his neighbor while continuing to not unlock his apartment, 'Granny' unlocks her own. With a low grunt she tucks her keys into the pocket of her dress and slowly bends down to gather up her shopping bags.

It's as perfect an excuse to continue stalling as any, and it's also a way to make a better first impression, so Yosuke takes two long steps closer and hovers near the old woman's side. “Can I help?” he asks quietly, throat still a little rough from dashing through the rain to the hotel.

Granny gives him another warm smile. “Well thank you, that'd be lovely.” She takes a step out of his way and Yosuke carefully grabs what bags he can carry; he loops the handles of ones that he can't over his forearms.

“Come in, come in,” she says as she pauses near the door to toe off her shoes before stepping aside to let Yosuke in. “Would you like to stay for some tea, dear? You helped me get the bags in, it's the least I can do.”

“Uhhh,” he drawls, brain lagging. On the one hand he doesn't know how much energy he has left to spend on polite small talk with his neighbor; on the other, even if she winds up trapping him there for a couple of hours showing him pictures of her grandkids or whatever, then it's a few hours more that he doesn't have to constantly feel like looking over his shoulder in his own home. Though he admits that part might be a double-edged sword, considering he would rather brave his apartment while it's still daylight, rather than lose precious hours of sun.

He's still trying to come up with an answer when Granny looks up at him with a raised brow, eyes knowing, and says, “It's quite alright, dear, I'm not going to be offended if you say no.” She chuckles and takes the bags from Yosuke's hands. “I will say, though,” she says as she begins tottering over to the little kitchen space identical to his own, just set against the opposite wall; “...you didn't seem in too much of a hurry to get back home.” Wrinkled hands set the bags down on the counter and she gives him another look with eyes that know far too much. “Could almost say you looked like you'd seen a ghost.”

Yosuke's head snaps up, amber eyes going wide as his heart doubles its beating for a split second. “Wha—but—huh?” Several sounds try to make their way out of his face at once, none of them succeeding. It's such a specific thing to say, and yes, it's a figure of speech, so it's not like she'd straight up said anything direct, but of all the figures of speech to use here, and the glint in her eyes. Yosuke closes his gaping mouth so quickly his teeth click together, and all the while, Granny's shoulders are shaking with silent laughter.

“I thought as much,” she says, taking the tea kettle down from the cabinet above her head. She turns on the faucet and starts filling the kettle up with water. “When you live in one place long enough you start to become familiar with the patterns of the building.” She taps at her temple, smirking a bit. “Not just the people, those can change over time – someone has a baby, someone gets divorced, things like that – but the building? No, the building and its rooms are quite set in their routines.”

Yosuke just kind of stands there, staring at her as his brain tries to play catch up while she putters about putting her groceries away and a faint string of steam begins to drift from the kettle. Eventually Granny just huffs in amusement and, shutting the cupboard door on the last of her things, she shuffles back over and gently puts a hand on Yosuke's arm. “You've seen him, haven't you, dear? The boy at the window?”

Yosuke swallows hard, nodding slowly.

She gives him a nod in return. “Why don't you come and sit down?” she says softly, patting his arm. He finally slips off his shoes and she leads him further into the living room over to the couch. The kettle whistles in the kitchen.

“I'm sorry,” Yosuke whispers, still trying for normalcy as his neighbor turns around to heed the call of the kettle. “I... I don't mean to impose...”

But Granny just waves her hand dismissively and shuts off the stove. “Shush, you're not imposing on anyone.” A few moments pass and she shuffles back over with a little tray, setting it down  on the low table she'd seated her guest at. She sits opposite him and busies herself with the teapot and cups. “You're not the first to see him,” she says after a short silence; her smile holds a hint of sadness as she looks back up at him. “My grandson Kanta lived there for a bit while he was in college. He moved out only a month or so before you moved in, actually.” She points over to a few framed photos on the wall behind the small couch at Yosuke's back, one of which is of Granny and a lanky young man with short, short black hair that Yosuke can only assume is Kanta. Granny chuckles warmly, but her eyes hold that same odd melancholy. “Every time there was a storm during finals week, Kan-chan would come over here and pull his all-nighters at my place; even slept on the couch. He said it felt like he was intruding on something private whenever it rained.”

Granny pauses in her talking to take a long drink of her tea. In the quiet, Yosuke holds his own cup with both hands, staring down into the steaming liquid in thought, and letting the warmth of the porcelain ground him as it seeps into the palms of his hands. He pulls in a slow, deep breath as Granny's cup makes contact with the surface of the table once again.

“...What happened in the apartment?” he asks her quietly. He can feel his exhaustion from the night before still lingering in his bones. The real problem, though, isn't just the fear he'd felt, the lack of sleep, the adrenaline that had kept him going as he'd sprinted though the rain – it's the last few seconds of the stranger's existence in Yosuke's living room that's been playing on loop through his head like a damaged cassette tape. He's never seen anyone with an expression so helplessly lost, so utterly afraid and confused, since his crush back in high school had died. Yosuke remembers seeing the way her little brother's face had twisted at the funeral – just for a moment, when he thought that no one else was looking – and the image has been burned into a sad, hollow place inside Yosuke's his mind ever since. He'd hoped he'd never have to see anything as devoid of hope ever again.

But then he had, and it's left him cold in a way that nothing seems to help – not the burning shower in the hotel, nor the tea stinging his hands through the sides of the cup.

On the other side of the table, Granny hums. “Well,” she starts, drawing out the sound as if she's thinking. “I don't really know the whole of it, but before Kan-chan came to live next door there was another boy named... Oh, what was it.” She puts a knuckle to her lips for a moment, muttering to herself as she tries to recall the name. “Seta, I believe it was,” she finally says; “Wonderfully kind young man, said he was getting ready to start college in the fall.” Her frown deepens. “He was always alone, though; I think the only time I ever saw anyone next door besides him was the day he arrived, and even then it just looked like a pair of hired movers.”

Granny sighs from one side of her mouth, an odd, unrecognizable emotion coming to rest in the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. She takes another long, deliberate drink of her tea. When she sets it down again, there is a look of grief and deep regret set into the lines of her face, and her lips press into a harsh, thin line as her eyes begin to mist over. With painful slowness she turns to stare over at her own sliding glass door.

“...They found his body on the sidewalk not even a year after he moved in,” she whispers. “A suicide, they labeled it; said he must have jumped from the balcony somewhere around 3:00, 3:30 in the morning.”

Her shoulders slump. “It was storming so badly that no one even heard him land...”

---

Yosuke winds up staying with Granny until late afternoon, unable to leave a kindly old woman alone with her sorrowful memories after that. He does eventually wander back to his own apartment, the shadows having just begun to shift as he leaves, but this time there is no fear, no panic or racing heartbeat. Instead, there is only a quiet kind of melancholy that makes him drag his feet and lean heavily against the front door as he closes it behind him. He stares unseeing into the slowly-darkening interior of his home and lets out a long, quiet lungful of breath through his nose.

“...Are you here?” he calls softly into the silence of the room.

The silence does not answer.

It doesn't answer later that night, either, as Yosuke sits on the carpet and watches the cloudless, moonlit night outside the glass of his sliding door. Nor does it answer the next night, or the next one, or even the next. It continues not to answer for a week's worth of setting suns as they bring nothing but clear and storm-less skies.

[souyogurt]

yes hello 1 through 30 for the gay ask meme thnx

1. Describe your idea of a perfect dateA trip to the arcade for awhile and a nice dinner! The idea of a quiet place full of water (ocean at night?) or even stars sounds really nice~Fruity wine and good company! A halloween night with a good horror movie and light ambience~2. Whats your “type”?I’m not sure for either gender honestly? I like bonier features on dudes, but not like super skinny and lanky, ya feel? I like the shape of their hands a lot…and girls are nice when they’re taller than me, but shorter is also nice (like my gf) cause we can nestle each other’s faces into our necks~~Androgynous is also really good for both genders tooI wouldn’t date anyone with an eating disorder, or a body of skin and bones aaaa3. Do you want kids?Yes! But only one. Two would be pushing it~4. If you do, will you adopt or use some other form of child birth?Adoption5. Describe the cutest date you’ve ever been on.On my girlfriend’s birthday last year, the comets were passing through so we sat on the back of my car in our kigurumi’s at our best friend’s house and watched the comets for about an hour and a half!7. Are you a morning time gay or night time gay?Night time gay definitely 8. Opinion on nap dates?I love nap dates! We do them often lmao9. Opinion on brown eyes?They’re very pretty! GF has really pretty brown eyes in the light ahh~10. Dog gay or cat gay?Cat Gay 2k17™11. Would you ever date someone who owned rodents or reptiles?Um ?? I am that girlfriend that owns reptiles lmao yes if my girlfriend owned rodents or reptiles, I’d be ecstatic 12. Whats a turn off you look for before you start officially dating someone?Morals and opinions honestly on things that I feel very close toI won’t date or be friends with people who stray from like basic morals and decent behavior13. What is a misconception you had about lgb people before you realized you were one?That they were very flamboyant (since in movies I watched growing up, the gay best friend was always incredibly flamboyant)14. What is a piece of advice you would give to your younger self?You’ve Known All Along and it took 7th grade to finally come to terms with it? Get it together, kiddo15. (If attracted to more than one gender) do you have different “types” for different genders?Yes!16. Who is an ex you regret?There was a dude I dated in middle school for a millisecond and I regret him because he smelled hella bad like cat pee and chocolate axe17. Night club gay or cafe gay?Cafe gay~18. Who is one person you would “go straight” for?This Is A Stupid Question LMAO19. Video game gay, book gay, or movie gay?Video game gay all the way 20. Favourite gay ship (canon or not)SOUYO !!!!SOUJI SETA X YOSUKE HANAMURA 21. Favourite gay youtuber?I don’t watch enough youtubers honestly so idk22. Have you ever unknowingly asked out a straight person?No.23. Have you ever been in love?I am in love and I have been in love ;v;24. Have you ever been heartbroken?I have been heartbroken 25. How do you determine if you want to be them or be with someone?I’m not sure what this means? I guess it determines the level of pettiness like if I’m more envious of them then obviously it doesn’t sound like I’d want to be with them? If I’m gushy, can’t stop thinking about them, talk about them a lot, buy them stuff, want to be around them a lot then I’d definitely want to be with them  26. Favourite lgb musician/band?shruggie27. What is a piece of advice you have for young / baby gays?Flaunt it if you can, no wasted opportunities 28. Are you out? If so how did you come out?I’m out. In 7th grade, I told my mom I might be bi but then in like 9th grade, I definitely figured I was more than that. I’m not sure when I made it obvious to my grandparents or my dad that I was gay as hell but nowadays I can’t stop talking about how gay I am lol 29. What is the most uncomfortable / strange coming out experience you have?When my dad basically like made it obvious I was gay and in a relationship with another woman to a friend of his I dislike entirely for MANY reasons only to add on to the fact that he started asking me questions about sex, and how to have sex with a woman since I know them so well. 30. What is a piece of advice for people who may not be in a safe place to express their sexuality?Take your gut feelingThank you !!

[candidateofloyalty]

2019 Fic Retrospective

I saw a number of people doing this, and since I’m always up for talking about my own writing, I decided to imitate them. Admittedly, I’m a bit late, but since I didn’t have computer access for a decent part of this week I think it’s justified.

Apparently I wrote 55k words of fic this year? Given that I spent half the year out of the country, that is higher than I expected. I guess suddenly allowing a podcast to become my entire personality is a powerful motivator.

1/31

The Clock Strikes Midnight, Fire Emblem Echoes, 3.5k words

The prince is throwing a ball to find a spouse, and Faye just knows that this is her chance to make her dreams come true. There's no time for her to worry about the messenger who brought her the news, not when she can finally live out her fairytale.

My birthday gift for star, this time only posted one day after their birthday. Someday I will figure out this timing thing. They wanted a Cinderella AU, and as someone who read approximately 5 million fractured fairytale novels in high school, I had an immediate idea of where I wanted to take the plot. I’m pretty pleased with how this one came out, especially since I never actually played Echoes. It’s also one of my rare fics where the title isn’t a song lyric.

2/14

Sacred Simplicity, Dangan Ronpa, 900 words

Sakura and Aoi meet up for their weekly donut date, but Sakura's mind is elsewhere.

I can’t believe it took a fic exchange to get me to write Sakuraoi. The request was cute and I had a good time, though. I’m always a fan of the concept of Hope’s Peak practical exams. The whole premise of the franchise is that these kids have crazy skills, so let them use them.

3/3

My Fantasies from Long Ago, Persona 4, 5.2k words

While walking home from work, Yosuke is hit on the head by a mysterious cat-dog-thing. This is the least weird thing that happens to him over the course of the next 24 hours.

Apparently I had a lot of outside sources of inspiration this year. I guess that’s what all fanfic is, but even so. This AU is from kawaii-bunny-mel, and is ridiculously fun to write. This one sticks pretty close to the source material, since I intended it as an introduction to the AU. I wrote most of it on trains while cross-referencing the original episode. As it turns out, writing is much faster when you don’t have to worry about pacing or coming up with original events.

5/4

The Present You's Daydreams, Persona 4, 7.2k words

Yosuke's been doing magical girl temp work for about a month, and it's pretty much the best thing that's ever happened to him, even if it does mean having a weird bear roommate. Then Souji invites him to a party, and Yosuke has to face something even scarier than magical enemies: social interaction.

The second part of the BAPC AU, and the one where I went off and did my own thing. As much as I love the source material, I wanted to fit the rest of the IT in somewhere, and there are like 6 characters in the entirety of BAPC. Really, though, a significant amount of this fic was an excuse to have Yosuke use his customer-service voice on a dragon. I’d also meant for this to be the one where they got together, or at least showed mutual interest, and then Yosuke went and made things awkward. I don’t know what I expected. I got to write Hamuko being cryptic at Souji, though, which was even better.

5/19

Dazzling Blue Sky on the Window, Persona 3, 3.9k words

After Erebus, Metis is prepared to vanish, but Igor suggests another option.

This one was my birthday present to myself. You might wonder what that means when all of my fic is incredibly self-indulgent to begin with, and the answer is merging two universes and saving my favorite minor character in the process. It was only after the fact that I realized how much projection was involved. It’s fine.

6/16

Bright-Eyed, Tireless One, The Adventure Zone, 2.2k words

Minerva is here, physically present, and Duck's so glad to see her. The only question is what to do with her. They've got enough people hidden in the Amnesty Lodge basement as it is. (Immediately post Episode 28)

I caught up to Amnesty right after episode 28 was released, which is what we in the writing business call good timing. I immediately wrote this in a haze of love for Minerva and have not thought about it since. I think episode 30 confirms it as canon, though.

7/8

Not So Nec-Romantic, Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun, 1.7k words

Nene's been studying to join the Healers' Guild for years, and it's finally time for her admissions test. It doesn't quite go as planned.

Star egged me on to write this and then wrote their own, funnier take on an RPG AU, which would have been rude if it weren’t for the fact that I got to read the better fic without having to write it. My favorite part of this fic is Mitsuba and Kou charging in from their epic fantasy quest without noticing that they’ve landing in the middle of a comedy of errors. I kind of want to write what they were actually up to but also it’s funnier this way.

8/25

Open Seas and Ways Of Life I've Forgotten, Friends at the Table, 3.5k words

Cass is adjusting just fine to life on their own, thank you.

They'd be doing even better if their new teammate wasn't so eerily reminiscent of their sibling, but that's all right. They're definitely coping.

And here we hit the fatt tipping point of my year. The Kingdom Game was probably the point where I fully devoted myself to this show, and a large part of that was the ability to conspiracy-board all of Sokrates’ influences on Cass’ personality. I have not stopped thinking about the Pelagios siblings since.

9/29

Not the Only Ones Pretending, Friends at the Table, 1.2k words

It sounds so nice, in theory. Mako's just running into an old friend while going out for fried chicken. But even though the Chime has broken up, two of them in the same place can still throw the simplest of missions into chaos.

I wrote this in an hour after listening to the penultimate episode of Counter/weight because the Orth-Mako scene ended right where things got good, to my mind. I just wanted to know more about how the Chime interacted after the timeskip. This also marks the start of me defaulting to Mako’s POV in every other Counter/weight fic I write.

10/14

A Magic That Won't Go Cold, Friends at the Table, 4.5k words

Jacqui doesn't normally like being sent on bodyguard jobs, but then, she's not normally working for Joypark darling Aria Joie.

I’ll just come up with a fun Jacria AU to think about in my spare time, I thought to myself. There’s a lot to explore with an Aria who never left Joypark. I can come up with some neat bullet points and it will be a good time. Then I started connecting the bullet points and at that point I had an entire outline for a fic. It’s what they deserve.

10/18

Questions Ricochet Like Broken Satellites, Friends at the Table, 2k words

Kobus' entire life had been pointless, but for once, they could see exactly what they needed to do. Then Vicuna pulled them out of Liberty and Grace.

I could not tell you why I latched onto Kobus so hard, but that didn’t stop me from doubling the size of their ao3 tag in a month. This fic ended up pretty depressing, which is ironic since the whole point was to give them a happier ending than they got in canon, but at least they’re alive at the end of it.

11/4

Detect My Sudden Existence on Your Sonar, Friends at the Table, 3.1k words

AuDy didn't intend for the rest of the Chime to move in with them. They didn't object when it happened, though.

I had a lot of trouble trying to write from AuDy’s perspective but I’m pleased with the end result. Maybe next I’ll figure out how to do pacing and/or tonal consistency. I do like the Cass stuff at the end but I think my favorite scene from this fic is everyone helping Aria unpack her stuff and being goofy.

11/11

Telling Dreams from One Another, Friends at the Table, 1.3k words

Mako shows up on Kobus' doorstep holding a Divine, and doesn't even have the decency to bring fried chicken.

This started because I kept thinking about how Kobus’ form of Ambition would have been Faith and how close that comes to Loyalty, and then the more I wrote the more I liked the dynamic between Kobus and the younger Makos. A lot of it can be summed up as Mako being the mid-twenties upperclassman who looks at the freshman and goes “oh look, a baby” much to the freshman’s annoyance, except instead of being in college they’re both secret agents raised as weapons since they can remember. It isn’t addressed in the fic but I imagine this ends with Kobus following Mako back to Kesh and ending up with eight identical older siblings.

11/24

Find Out What Broke Me Soon Enough, Friends at the Table, 1.9k words

Kobus is still reeling from their failed attack on Grace, but when Aria Joie asks for their help, they can't think of a good reason to refuse.

Continuing the theme of “what if Kobus had friends,” I like the idea of Aria being worried about Righteousness consuming her and going to the one person she knows of who’s successfully stepped away from a Divine. Like the last fic in the series, I tried very hard to give Kobus a happy ending and they categorically refused. As it turns out, when you’ve been raised to see yourself as a sacrifice for the greater good, it’s hard to find other ways to make a difference, and Aria doesn’t know them well enough to push it. One day I will find the right combination of characters and circumstances to let Kobus rest.

12/7

Take Our Time 'Cause It Feels Like We're Dying, Friends at the Table, 1.7k words

When Cass coughed up the first flower petal, all they could do was stare at it in disbelief.

Yes, I know, hanahaki. I am surprised at myself too. I was just thinking about what it would take to get me invested in hanahaki and because of who I am as a person my brain immediately applied that to Counter/weight. I know where I’m going with it but I want to finish F&M before continuing, so keep an eye out maybe in February. Also, doing this retrospective made me realize that this is the second time I’ve used a line from this song as a title for a Counter/weight fic. Whoops.

12/17

The Movements of My Mind, Friends at the Table, 1k words

On his way back to Auniq for the negotiations, Throndir stops by the cave where he met Kindrali.

My first non Counter/weight fatt fic, and once again it is introspection about a Dre character, because without realizing it I ended up with a favorite player. I just like coming up with in-universe explanations for things that were probably mistakes on their part, and I’m always interested in how the Kindrali connection works. Even if I am now incapable of thinking of Kindrali without going “I wonder what day he remembers??”

12/25

Fantasy and Microchips, Friends at the Table, 9.2k words

Five times Mako hacks things accidentally because of Cass, and one time it's intentional.

The year ended as it began, with me taking someone else’s AU and writing a fic about it. In this case, it’s a comic done by drowzydruzy on twitter. I looked at it, went “that’s pretty funny, maybe I could write a fic about it,” and then two chapters in I realized how to exploit it for angst and pretty much didn’t stop. The trickiest part so far has been making Rigor references without getting too heavy-handed. I’m halfway through writing the last chapter now, so naturally I’m procrastinating by doing this meme. It’s actually a meta-narrative about defeating Rigor by not being too beholden to your own projects, or something.