#something i had in my drafts for almost 4 years now lol

[gemmaswife]

THE BOYS 2.06 The Bloody Doors Off

[mybrain-fanficedition]

I just found this in my email, of all places, and I had absolutely no recollection of this lol but enjoy

This is very much something that i wrote hastily, in the drafts of my email so things could be improved

James (red), Sirius (blue), Peter (yellow) and Remus (green) hide 10,000 small rubber ducks around the castle (2500 ducks per person).

As they leave Hogwarts, they give McGonagall a duck shaped note saying, We left a few ducks around the castle and the grounds, try to find them all!!

Minnie decides to enlist the school to help when school starts up again, and there's a contest organized. 

Rules:

- A duck is a house point

- A duck of your house colour (red- gryffindor, green- slytherin, yellow- hufflepuff, blue- ravenclaw) is two points

- Magic is not allowed to acquire the ducks (i.e. you can't just accio all the ducks)

- The house that collects the most ducks by the end of year feast gets an extra 50 points.

- Students and staff alike have to give the ducks to Professor Vector (as the only one in the damn school who does any sort of math) for counting and they may keep 1 (one) each and all others must be given back to Professor McGonagall.

Filch only narrowly avoids going mad.

At first, the easiest ones are spotted by everyone, and the older students leave them for the younger ones to find, but by mid January, the stream of ducks has slowed, and now there's only about 1 duck every week being found.

Students start to wonder how many there are, and McGonagall checks the note they gave her.

Like the map, it has personalized messages, and now the note says, "Good job everyone! You have found 5005 ducks, only 4995 to go!"

By the end of the school year, the school has found 9045 ducks, 955 ducks are still missing.

Over the following years, ducks keep popping up in odd places, but the students stop looking for them, so McGonagall ends the contest.

There are still 335 missing ducks.

By the time Harry's in school, the number is down to 28. Without realizing it, Harry manages to find 4 ducks in his first year, or more accurately he helps McGonagall find them: 1 in the tree he flies over when he chases down Neville's rememberall (and after all, who else could have seen the yellow duck in the tree other than Minnie? The older students who know how to fly properly practice on the Quidditch pitch, and the younger ones, who are learning to fly either never go up high enough or they're simply trying to hold on to their brooms. Harry flew after Draco, and as McG looked out the window towards him, it was only natural that she spotted the vivid yellow of one of Peter's ducks.), 1 from Firenze (who recognizes James in Harry. Remus had given him a duck and asked him to keep it until one of the marauders or their children comes back to get it. Harry doesn't say anything about the ducks-- as he knows literally nothing about them-- and Firenze sends his green duck to McGonagall with a note: "with love from Remus Lupin, kept by Firenze until a marauder or their descendant showed up to get it back'), 1 swallowed by Fluffy way back when (that Minnie finds when she's setting up her chess game, and which is only recognizable from its vivid blue sheen that identifies it as Sirius's) and 1 red one that is found with the stone in Harry's pocket after the whole Oh-no-Dark-Lord-on-the-back-of-my-teacher's-head thing.

[over the following years, Harry gets into so much trouble that he ends up finding almost all of them] [feel free to suggest where more or less 4 ducks per year were found!!]

In year 7, when they skip school to go camping, there is only one left.

McGonagall is wondering where on earth it could be, until Harry dies and relives.

Harry is carried over in Hagrid's arms, and Minnie is shocked (obviously) and starts scanning Harry to see if he's ok or really dead, and she sees for the first time that on his glasses, where a screw should be, is a miniature red duck.

__________

Filch develops a fear of ducks.

[sempsimps]

Gregory Violet x reader

okay so after episode 5 i made this draft and I've only just finished it now leave me be anyway i have no idea why i thought that making reader a bluwer sibling but the narrative fits to good? i don't know. I've written so much that i cease to see who asked anymore, but oh well

sweet fluffy kisses turned

admirers to lovers?

fast burn boi (its a one shot what do you want?)

slight mention of you being an unwanted sibling because you haven't done anything yet. lol imagine

Context

It's the cricket opening ceremony, you are the twin of Lawrence Bluewer, along with your 7 sisters who needed to go to the cricket matches to see Lawrence play it, was his last year after all. but you didn't really like parties that much, too many people, but someone caught your eye the first year you came here. unknowingly, Gregory had found his gaze drifting over to the sister Bluewer never mentioned. It's always the 3 older and 4 younger, never the twin, always a stain on the family. but Gregory always noticed the empty space on his sketch "something's missing," never pointing it out. although curiosity almost getting the better of him, and you seen that over the years he became a prefect and he was just so pretty from afar. Just the right type of quiet but skilled and fitting into the role of prefect, and he wasn't even there?

Standing next to the blue athlete door, resisting the urge to yawn. Listening to the lower headmaster of the school although it was unusual for him to do the speaking it was still the same boring lines and then the thudding came 'green house I suspect oh look at that I'm right' they received the most applause and respect becuse they always won 'mh with that knowledge it will be red next' the second i thought it the rose petals fell all around and some of my sisters audibly swooned at it 'ugh gross, their practically throwing themselves at Redmond' I rolled my eyes at this, but I seen the lights dim, and focused on the purple door the candles let off a purple flame it was beautiful but short lived the doors opened and... 'Nothing?' No one came out. A scream from further in the room rang out. 'ah somewhere in the crowd then at least that was new' a soft smile on my features as I scanned the crowd, to look for him, only catching a glimpse of a golden tassel, before my shoulders are grabbed and I'm forced to look at my brothers team, walking though the reception for blue was always so awkward barely a few people even clapped. 'wow what a crowed anyway' i looked around for the purple, noticing the cloaks were all the same so i kept scanning each one looking for the slight difference amongst them, i looked to my chaotic relatives the older two playing match maker with Adela (only cannon name i can find) the taller little girl with glasses and an equally awkward blue house boy rolling my eyes away i started to walk towards the purple house eating area attempting to walk away i was stopped by a hand on my shoulder i freeze completely slowly turning my head to see it was Redmond 'oh my god no no no please don't' forcing a smile

"hello?"

"Good evening, my lady. Would you care for a dance tonight? i know it's only the announcement, but -"

"No! i mean uhh no thank you"

i blurted out, giving a small cough and turning to let the hand fall from my shoulder. 'oh my fucking god no, no, no, not now, not ever' thankfully a younger sister called out to the prefect to ask for a dance. sighing and looking up, seeing another flash of gold and purple with white hair moving at the purple door as i try to move away again, but my older sister stood in my way.

"Why would you ever turn down Redmond? he has plenty of status for you to be of -"

"No, I'm good"

she looked shocked, and another broke in. i felt anxious now, feeling some eyes on me.

"You have to like someone here. There's plenty of handsome boys around"

I'm sweating bullets now, awkwardly shimming to the side, trying to escape. standing on my tip toes, getting a flash of his deep purple eyes, and looking at me between the crowd before turning away. my eyes widen and i try to walk over yet again, not even getting a foot forward before i felt another person invading my space, this time i glared daggers at the poor soul who was also know as Lawrence, his face was a thin line and half serious eyes.

"Could everyone just leave her alone"

"awww Lawrie"

they faded out as i was overwhelmed already, this place sucked and i only wanted to build up the courage to talk to-

"It's violet, right?"

"...huh?!"

i was more shocked in horror now looking at my brother, the calm tone setting in, and my face flushed he just sighed, fixing his glasses with one finger looking away before speaking.

"i hoped it wasn't but, alright come on"

"Huh? w-wait, how did you?"

my words fell flat he started to walk back through the door the athletes used, and i quickly glanced around before following him through. i was confused. No way, it had been obvious, right? All the girls would have picked up on something they're like sniffer dogs with this stuff. once i caught up with Lawrence, i looked at the spacious corridor that was perfect to make the entrances that they always did. I'm surprised curiosity never came through me to explore behind here. All the way the walls looked was beautiful, like most of this gothic school. once i was done admiring the architecture, i saw my brother moving along. we had passed the red door, then we reached the purple one. 'Wait. is he seriously taking me to Violet? oh god, he is, isn't he? i thought he didn't care about me, and why now is it because it's his last year?' My mind was spinning, and my face felt warm. Lawrence simply moved towards a door it looked like a store room, and he knocked before speaking.

"Hello Violet, I've brought company"

nothing was heard from the other side, but the blue haired boy opened the door. i tried looking in it was basically pitch black except for a small purple flame, which illuminated the space, not to mention the little light coming in from the hall me and my brother blocking the majority of it.

"Oh, it's you, thanks you Bluewer"

i was confused, but i didn't have much time to think, as i was lightly pushed forward, and my brother made a slight go-ahead gesture. i made a "really" face to him, to which he nodded, pursing my lips but proceeded into the void.

"I'll get you after the celebration dies down"

"wait Lawrence what's going on?"

he just smiled, giving a small good luck and left, closing the door so that the only purple flame from the prop lit up the room. my gaze was dawn to it, and maybe to avoid the intense stare i was getting, my eyes looked over the intricate design of the wand? it was amazingly crafted and the wolf skull was awesome every year purple house was the most interesting to see but its not like they won the game but i still found myself cheering for them i first seen violet in the stands and he talked to Lawrence they were the drudges at the time speaking of that boy i looked to the side of me he looked awkwardly sat his knees up to his chest arms crossed in the crook of it his eyes boring into mine and at this i immediately looked away the dark lighting did nothing to hide how pretty he looked those eyes which were illuminating and that lipstick made him seem so kissable 'oh god I'm in the same room as him alone. wait, alone, this is just like that game. Sis mentioned it. Ugh, what was it called again?' lost in thought i failed to notice that Gregory had moved, and his hand had come in contact with my cheek, his palm was soft, like he hadn't done much physical work, but the calloses on his fingertips proved his did a lot of art. 'Wait, he's...' My face exploded with heat, as my brain and his eyes came into contact with mine. The purple was intense and extremely captivating.

"uuhh h-hi so, is this where you disappear to after the entrances... It's quite nice not many people go here either, so it's a lot quieter. So, how come Lawrence knows where this is? Did you tell him, or do all the prefects do this? Sorry, i realise I'm talking too much. I'll just shut up now okay great"

i covered my mouth with both my hands backing up slightly, his hand falling from my face.

"How come Bluwer never mentions you?"

"Oh well, I'm uhhh kind of not that welcomed by everyone since i haven't shown much potential or ..... benifit"

i was embarrassed by this. i didn't really want to talk about it, obviously, but what he said next was unexpected.

"You're beautiful, peculiar. like salamander eyes"

i looked at him, blushing and confused. 'Is that going to be a compliment, too?' Either way, i had no other thoughts other than to kiss him

"Can i uhh...."

my words fell flat, and i just leaned forward. my lips kissing his i felt lightheaded, butterflies in my stomach. i felt some of his lipstick smear onto my lips. i pulled away the softness of them still lingered on mine. he faintly tasted like a mix of the fruit juice they had set out, defiantly apple and a hint of orange, maybe cranberry as well. Gregory had a light red blush dancing across his face.

"I'm sorry i didn't ask if i c-could uhh do that"

"It's alright, i didn't ask you to stop"

Gregory looked away it was now my turn to place my palm on his cheek, and i pulled him towards me, and his body wilfully followed.'Oh god, is this really happening?' we awkwardly kept our hands on each others faces, our teeth accidently clashed, and he pulled away. a bigger and deeper blush spreading from his cheeks down his neck, which was only barely visible in this outfit and the dimly lit room he broke my silent adoration, my mouth unknowingly was open.

"You're... uhh, you're really pretty"

"i uh t-thank you. i think you're pretty too"

we both blushed, and i looked away. but his gentle touch slowly turned my head back, letting us have another kiss. This one was slower more organized than the others. It let us fully enjoy the moment of peace and half confession. his tongue lightly passed through my lips, and i returned the gesture, he let out a small noise of surprise, this didn't feel real. I was so lost in the moment that we both failed to notice the door opened. and a clearing of a throat made both me and the lover boy break apart and look towards the sound. There stood my brother and Redmond, who giggled a little. I'm guessing Greenhill was somewhere off to the side

"Come on, sister, the others are leaving now"

Lawrence was obviously annoyed but held a smile. while Redmond thought to tease the poor emo boy some more.

"My , i wouldn't have guessed this from a Bluwer sibling. How romantic. How are you feeling Violet? rather flushed, it would seem"

"Be quite Redmond"

Gregory was blushing his mouth noticeable, had some sliver on them, and he wiped his chin.'When did that happen?' but we both equally looked a mess. i could feel the remnants of his lips on mine, not to mention the likely stained black lipstick. soon i stood up, and everyone moved out of the doorway. Violet followed after me, and i felt him link pinkies with me 'god that's adorable'.

"Lawrence, could i -"

"Yes, here"

it was a bit of paper that had our address specifically for letters. I passed it to Gregory, which he placed into an inside pocket. afterwards, we said our goodbyes and Lawrence led me to the other girls. When i left, i heard Redmond tease by saying violet should have had a parting kiss with such a beautiful maiden.

okay so this took me sooo long to write like i started it after episode 5 and here i am weeks later but i feel like did really good on this so whatever i will make a smut scene that i was going to add but i thought to keep it separate but on ao3 it will be one fic

[cadybear420]

Performance for fluffember🤍

The Voice of an Angel

Fandom: High School Story (Original Trilogy)

Pairings: Aiden Zhou x Evie Ayana (female HSS MC), maybe with a small side of Ajay Bhandari x Cher Lee (female HSS:CA MC)

Characters: Aiden Zhou, Evie Ayana (female HSS MC)

Rating: G

Warnings: None

Additional Tags: Fluff, Singing, Performance, Dancing

Word Count: 2,128

Summary: On Evie’s 18th birthday, Aiden and the jazz band whip up a little surprise for her. Takes place approximately between HSS:CA 2 and HSS:CA 3 (though my memory of the HSS:CA timeline is a little more fuzzy).

A/N: First of all: to the anon who sent the prompt, major apologies for sleeping on it for so long. Coming up with writing ideas is a bitch, but it is something I want to do more often. And there was also that one time when Tumblr turned off editing for answers to asks, which carried over to the draft post for this for a while. Second of all, I’m fucking obsessed with this song from Doctor Who (“My Angel Put the Devil in Me”, from the Series 3 soundtrack) and I think Evie and Aiden would be as well. Third of all, yes this is a belated birthday fic for Evie, but I’m glad to get it out before the end of Evie’s birthday month at least. Also haha both Evie’s birthday this year and in the setting of the fic were on a Friday. Fourth of all, arghrghrargh my first time writing a fic where one character sings to another AND does a choreographed dance to it too. It’s a lot more difficult than I imagined lol. 

(Also, the outfit I imagine for the other jazz band kids)

Prompt: Performance

Source for prompts here. Even though it's long past November, I'll still accept prompt suggestions from this list year-round.

Tags: @inlocusmads @aces-and-angels @aria-ashryver @lover-also-fighter-also @jerzwriter @choicesmc @3rdstreetfrank @dutifullynuttywitch @lovealexhunt @lilyoffandoms @peonierose (as this is the complete version of this WIP and this challenge bit), and @choicesficwriterscreations

Friday, March 8, 2019. The day of Evie’s 18th birthday. She’d been planning to host a birthday party at one of her favorite restaurants in the city, starting in the early evening after school. Almost everyone she knew from school was invited. 

It was late in the afternoon now. Evie took one last look at herself in her new outfit– a navy blue suit with a purple floral necktie– and grinned, before dashing to the living room. There, her dad was checking his phone. 

“Alright, I’m ready to go!” she said. 

He turned to her. “Actually… we can’t leave just yet…”

She pouted. “What??? But Daaaad, the party starts at 5 PM and it’s already 4:45!”

“The people doing the decorations are… taking a bit longer than expected.”

“Oh…”

“It’s a bit awkward to go to a party when they’re still putting decorations up, isn’t it?”

“That’s true,” her face softened. “Do the other guests know?”

“...yep! I’ve just told them, in fact.”

“Okay… but how long do we have to wait?”

“Shouldn’t be more than… ten to twenty minutes?”

Evie pouted again. 

“It’s not that long…”

“Okay, fiiiiine, I’ll be patient…”

“And I’ll be doctor!”

Evie winced. “Dad, NO…”

…

About twenty minutes passed, and then finally, her dad said it was okay to start driving to the restaurant. After a fifteen minute drive, they arrived, and Evie wasted no time going in. 

The room was alive with upbeat music, purple decorative lights and flowers, and many of Evie’s friends. It seemed like just about everyone she’d invited had shown up– her main friend group, her teammates, her friends from the other cliques and Hearst, Cher and her friends from theatre, the seniors from last year who hadn’t gone away for college… 

And all of them greeted her with a big “Happy birthday, Evie!!!”, in unison. 

Evie inhaled, beaming at her friends. Many of them ran over to hug her, a few others cheered for her. 

Then she saw Emma and Cher push their way through the crowd and grab her by her arms. 

“Evie! There’s a special surprise for you, right now!” said Cher. 

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah!” said Emma. “Just come with us…” 

The crowd parted, making way for Emma and Cher to pull Evie to the opposite side of the room. As they did, the party music slowly faded out and the lights began to dim. 

“What the–” Evie started. 

“Shhhh. You’ll see soon enough!” Emma replied. 

When they made it to the opposite end of the room, a warm spotlight turned on over her, and there she saw it. The jazz band, all set up with their instruments and dressed in matching snazzy black-and-red suits and… devil horns? Yes, devil horns. 

And at the front of it all… was none other than her beautiful boyfriend Aiden, all dressed up and holding a microphone. 

Evie just about stopped in her tracks as she took in his outfit– a snug, ivory-colored flapper dress that had silver beads sewn into intricate patterns, and hung just barely above his knees. Along with that, he also wore a couple of matching long pearl necklaces, a fluffy white halo accessory over his head, and winged eyeliner.

“Wow…” Evie felt her breath catch. “Aiden, you look–”

Just then, Aiden signaled to the band… and they started to play. 

Evie grinned broadly, her eyes immediately lighting up at the familiar upbeat jazzy tune, and watched intently as her boyfriend danced towards her, in steps that were careful and rhythmic, yet lively. 

Then the tempo slowed, and he held the microphone to his mouth and began to sing. 

“I'm a country girl, I ain't seen a lot… But you came along, and my heart went pop! You took a little streetcar to my heart… And an apple of love fell off my apple cart~”

Evie’s cheeks flustered at his melodious voice. This wasn’t the first time she’d heard him sing– he’s sung to her plenty of times, and they’d practically been doing Evie-Aiden duets since the day they met. But this… this was different. Aiden had never done a solo singing performance for her before, let alone one that involved a bit of dance as well. 

“You looked at me, my heart began to pound… You weren't the sort of guy I thought would stick around… Hey, but it don't have to be eternally… My bad, bad Angel put the Devil in me~”

And his singing voice was all the more different this time around too. Even later into their relationship, as Aiden had become more confident about his singing, there was always still a hint of nervousness in his voice when they sang their duets. But this time, he sang loud and clear. Like he was owning the stage. 

Aiden performed a small twirl before stopping, his eyes meeting hers as he began slowly walking up to her, making her heart jump a little.

“You lured me in with your cold grey eyes… Your simple smile, your bewitching lies…”

As he sang that verse, he reached out and grabbed onto her bright purple tie, making Evie’s face heat up as he began tugging on it gently and pulling her closer to him. 

“One and one and one is three… My bad, bad Angel… the Devil in me~!”

The tempo picked up again. Aiden let go of her tie and took her hand in his as he broke out into energetic dance movements while still singing the lyrics to the song, the skirt of his dress swishing about as he swayed gracefully to the instrumental music. 

Evie squeezed his hand and matched his movements, her pulse racing now.  All the while, the crowd watched with excitement. When they came face-to-face again, she was giving him an almost drunken smile.

Soon enough, Aiden broke from her hold and turned around, sashaying slightly as he started stepping away from her… before looking over his shoulder, catching her gaze once again. 

“My bad, bad Angel~ you put the Devil in me~”

Aiden shook his butt side-to-side to the beat, giving Evie a knowing look that made her cheeks brighten. The music slowed, and he turned around to face her again. 

“So, now my dear, I ain't the girl you knew… 'Cause the Angel's got Heaven, but I get you…”

He sauntered back up to her.

“And the tree of life grows tall, you see… My bad, bad Angel… you put the Devil in me~!”

The beat slowed to a more gentle, relaxed tune as Aiden placed his arm over Evie’s shoulder. 

“Oh… You put the Devil in me~”

Aiden gestured towards Evie’s arm, and she placed her arms around him, taking hold of his waist as they began to rock together. 

“You put the Devil in me…”

Gently and smoothly, Aiden broke out of her hold and took her hand again. Lifting her hand, he twirled himself under her arm, then placed himself backwards against her body– all without missing a beat. 

As Aiden continued to sing, Evie wrapped both of her arms around his middle, embracing him from behind. Aiden pressed back against her and placed his free arm over hers, almost as if to hold her arms in place, as they began to sway side-to-side together again. Evie practically melted into him, his body warm against hers. 

“You put the Devil in me…”

Then, the song picked up again. 

“You put the Devil in… me~!”

He swiftly yet carefully broke from her hold again, and danced in a circle around her as he sang the last few verses of the song. She turned to follow him, their eyes locked onto each other yet again, as he gave her an almost sultry gaze. 

“My bad, bad Angel, you put the Devil in me!”

At the final note, the lights slowly faded back on. Aiden stood in front of the now cheering crowd and took a huge bow, grinning proudly. 

Once he straightened back up, Evie finally let out a high pitched “EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”, bouncing up and down before leaping onto Aiden, sweeping him up into her arms, and spinning him around. Aiden gasped, dropping his microphone with a loud *thunk*– but then quickly held her face in his hand and pulled her in for a passionate kiss, prompting the crowd to cheer louder. 

After a moment, Aiden broke the kiss. “Happy eighteenth birthday, Darling~”

Evie squeezed him tighter. “Aiden, that was…” She took a deep breath, a starstruck look in her eyes. “Your singing is amazing… I mean, I’ve heard you sing before, obviously, but…”

A slight but visible rosy tint grew on his cheeks. 

“But I’ve never done a singing performance for you, I know. I figured it was about time I did.”

“And you were fucking amazing. I’ve never heard you sing like that before… like, you were already good, but I didn’t know you were this good…”

“I mean… practice makes perfect, after all…”

“That’s true…”

He planted a small kiss onto her lips, making her whole body warm up. 

“And what made you choose that song from Doctor Who for your first performance? I mean, obviously I love the song–”

“That’s just it. I know how much you love the song, and the episodes it came from.” He chuckled softly. “And, I mean… I don’t blame you. It is a fantastic song.”

Evie’s smile grew wider. “God, Aiden… I fucking love you.”

“I love you too, Evie.” 

They pulled each other in for one more kiss, holding each other tightly, before she set him down. 

“And I love your outfit too… you look absolutely gorgeous, as always~”

Even as Aiden beamed at her so brightly, his cheeks turned as red as the other band members’ devil costumes, prompting Evie to giggle.

“Well… I have been having a lot of fun trying on new outfits…” he said, softly. 

At that moment, Ajay and Cher popped up beside them. 

“Hey… if Aiden likes singing, dancing, and dressing up in fancy outfits now… you think we could convince him to join the upcoming spring musical?” Ajay said. “His talent would just be unmatched…”

Evie and Aiden turned towards them. 

“The next play’s gonna be a musical?” Evie said. “I’ve been wanting to act in a play, but, uh… I don’t think I’m ready for one that involves singing…”

Aiden raised an eyebrow at her. “But we’ve literally been doing duets ever since–”

“That’s different. I can sing alright when it’s more casual, but in a professional musical performance? I’m not that good.”

“You should still consider it!” Cher chirped. “If not an acting role, you can always still be an assistant director or a techie…”

“That sounds much more my speed.”

Cher turned to Aiden. “You should definitely consider trying out for a singing role, though!”

Aiden put his hand on his chin thoughtfully. “It could be fun… I know Evie doesn’t want to sing in a musical, but imagine if we got lead roles together…”

“Oh, perhaps I could be convinced now…” Evie said, before smirking playfully. “But, let’s be real. Put Aiden in the musical, and he’ll probably just upstage all the other singers with how good he is. He’ll make everyone else look like chumps.”

“Hey!” Cher exclaimed, her face scrunching up into a pout. “Are you saying I sing like a chump?”

“What– no, I–” Evie’s face fell. 

Cher dropped her pout and grinned again. “Kidding! You probably have a point… I do sing every now and then, but it could use a little more work. Especially since I’m planning to go for an acting role in the musical, of course.”

“Well, if we can’t get Aiden in a singing role for the musical, perhaps he can be a musical director and help coach the actors who are a little more inexperienced?” Ajay suggested. 

“Actually… that’s a great idea!” Aiden said, his face lighting up. “I’d love to do that!”

Ajay beamed. “Oh, perfect! We’ll talk to Mr. Olson on Monday.”

“I’ll need some time to think about it… but I’ll let you know if I do decide to accept.”

“Sounds good to me!” Ajay reached his hand out, and he and Aiden shook hands. “Anyways, great job on your performance, Aiden! And happy birthday, Evie!”

“Yeah! Happy birthday, Evie!!!” cheered Cher. 

“Aww, thank you both so much!” 

Evie gave each of them a warm hug before they walked off. Aiden placed his arms around her and kissed her on the cheek, and she turned back to him.

“Thank you so much, Aiden. For being the best boyfriend ever, and for giving me this awesome birthday.” 

“It’s my pleasure~” Aiden hugged her tighter. “But… there’s still more, of course. Ready to enjoy the rest of your birthday party?”

“Oh yes!”

[actualhumancryptid]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you for the tag @catherineflowers29!

1. How many fics do you have on ao3? 64 at the moment.

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. Other plans, a mirandy/Devil Wears Prada fic, and pretty much the only one I wrote that isn't some wacko AU.

2. Cold A supercat/Supergirl soulmate AU WIP that I never finished.

3. Hospitality. My mirandy/DWP Medusa/Greek mythology AU.

4. A Few Minutes in Paris. Another mirandy/DWP,.this one with dreamscapes/a timeloop.

5. Tracing Hearts. Another supercat, this time a soulmate AU I wrote for an ask prompt.

4. What fandoms do you write for? How much time do you have? I tend to jump to the next shiny thing fairly frequently and I have written in many fandoms, almost all of them for wlw ships except the recent two I'm active in now, which are Ted Lasso and Succession/romangerri. (I haven't ruled out coming back to mirandy/DWP though).

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I used to be so good at it! I tend to freeze up and not know what to say back, and then miss the moment. (why I am very understanding about non-commenters). I am aiming to be better.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I don't tend to write a lot of angsty endings for my current ships. For RomanGerri it's more 'what the fuck are we going to do now?' My angst ship was really Law and Order SVU Alex/Olivia back on livejournal. Going to go with the batshit one where ghost!Olivia possesses Casey's body to sleep with Alex Cabot, and by the end Alex plans to kill her.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I write a lot of happy endings (everywhere but RomanGerri, but even they tend to get up endings most of the time). Ted/Rebecca is my current happy endings-only ship. But honestly the happiest? Probably one of my many fluffier SuperCat fics.

8. Do you get hate on fics? No. I can count on one hand the times I got negative responses in like 20 years of writing fic off and on. The highlight? One time I got an angry Trump supporter hating on a prompt fic I wrote for supercat, after the 2020 US Election.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Generally, no. But RomanGerri breaks that rule frequently for me. They are honestly the ship I have written the most smut for. I like the deranged kind for them, where they fail and get messy on the way there. It's the most fun to write.

10. Do you write crossovers? No. But when I first got into fandom I wrote them constantly, probably because I was trying to find female characters to write together. So many shows back in the day had like, one main female character and no other women to pair them with.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Nope, thank goodness.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? No. I barely ever even use a beta.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship? Mirandy. Even if I'm not writing it right now. Mirandy for sure.

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? My Ted Lasso Ted/Rebecca soulmate AU. It's my most recent foolhardy publish-as-you-write failure lol. I am now really strict. No posting something that isn't already done!

16. What are your writing strengths? I'm really good at character voices, and dialogue.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Aside from being shit at posting as I go? I'm an underwriter, so I can't dump huge wordcounts onto the page. It takes me awhile to get something drafted.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic? It hasn't really come up. Not to sound pretentious, but I'd want to do what Cormac McCarthy does and drop the other language in there and not explain it too much, use context clues in the rest of the work to fill in the gaps.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Even back on LJ I wrote too many fandoms. Simultaneously: the aussie soap All Saints, Law and Order SVU and the British prison drama Bad Girls.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written? My mirandy/Devil Wears Prada dragon AU The Dragon Lady. Without spoiling it, I am still really pleased with the way I managed to subvert reader's expectations there.

Tagging: @serrafew @toomanygh0sts @cromwelll @jbthegift @richgayaunt and anyone who hasn't done it already yet.

[queen-tashie]

Happy Storyteller Saturday! I'd love to hear about your earliest writing attempts! How old you were when you started writing, what you wrote about, the first story you finished, etc... feel free to ramble on :)

Happy Storyteller Saturday!

My absolute earliest writing was way back somewhere between grade 2 and 4 (ages 7-9ish). I tried writing my own episode of Pokemon as a picture book. (I thiiiink my parents still have it somewhere, I kind of want to take a look at it again).

I didn't really write much back then, I was more into drawing line art and making OCs that way. When I got to grade 4 or 5ish I stopped reading on my own almost completely, besides an occasional book or two, and I was more likely to read non-fiction to learn about animals (like sharks. I really like sharks.). I think as I stopped reading I also stopped writing, because I didn't start reading for pleasure again until I was 15. And then suddenly I started writing again.

Around then I mostly read YA fantasy in my free time, so I started writing a story about dragons (two brother dragons, Valdore and Arian, their father Failias, and their mother S... something with an S at least. (I could literally check this right now but I just had a huge meal and I'm feeling sluggish haha). Ok it was bugging me not knowing and I got up to look for it (and it took like 5 minutes instead of the 10 seconds I thought it would lol) and her name was Sarhina. I attempted this story a couple times but was fully pantsing it, not really sure which direction to go in. I wrote about three or four very, very short chapters before I started writing something else. Valdore was one of the OCs I had come up with back in elementary school, I think as young as 6 years old, so I was still happy that I attempted writing a story about him.

The next story I wanted to write was a futuristic apocalypse story where the main characters fought demons as they came out at dawn. This one I progressed even less than the dragon story, the OCs were much newer. Originally I had called this story Survival of the Fittest, then I changed the premise completely to the main characters either appearing in a new world or already living there (I suppose it was a genre change to a portal fantasy). I kept some of the apocalyptic vibes the same, the world had time seasons that went through the life and death of the ecosystem and structures on the land, then back to rebirth. One season was new growth, buildings were small but structurally sound, even people felt refreshed. Another season was abundance, buildings were large and had character to them, people felt their best and were at their strongest. The third season was scarcity and death, buildings crumbled from age, people were struggling to survive. Then it would start again with the rebirth of the land. Again, didn't really know where I was going with this story but the world building was much better developed than the first.

Somewhere in between both of these stories in my teens, I wrote some more Pokemon fanfic that I had started to share on DeviantArt.

There were also a half dozen or so other WIPs that I had started and didn't get further than a paragraph or two. For some reason I deleted many of these :(

Then the first novel-length story I ever finished is (BEING RELEASED TOMORROW!!!!) The Quiet Forest. Runnicka is an old OC from my elementary school drawings (though she's changed since then, I happened to get an ask earlier today that reminded me of this). It took me 11 years to finish writing it (from drafting to giving up and redrafting to finally writing my first outline to finishing the actual first draft, then many, many edits), plus a year to query over 100 agents. It's the longest I've ever stuck to anything before, and so it's been a huge accomplishment finishing it, finishing querying, and now deciding to share it online (more about the story here).

I've had a series of smaller writing wins (ie finished stories) before The Quiet Forest was finished, though! I wrote about 10 flash fictions in 2020, some that I'd like to revisit and edit to better match my current writing skill level. One of them is already ready to read on my AO3 account! And last year I wrote over 80k words between two first drafts for two separate novels, and two finished short stories, one a Legend of Dragoon fanfic (also on my AO3), and another that I wrote as a writing sample for a contract writing position (almost got in but there were hundreds of entries and only about 5 or 6 spots), but I am working to get it published! And speaking of publishing, in 2023 I got randomly inspired to write All You Hear Is My Voice which got published early this year. It's a sci fi/speculative romance where a lonely queer man has reverse telepathy--instead of hearing everyone's thoughts, he's involuntarily projecting every thought he has into the minds of others nearby. Makes it hard for him to meet understanding people, and even harder to date. The thing that makes it sci fi is that it takes place on Mars :)

[ageless-aislynn]

As mentioned in my last post, welcome to Aislynn's 1 Word For Each WIP November Extravaganza! (It was too long to fit all of that in the banner, so hence the number 4 coming in clutch, lol!)

Here's what I'm GOING TO write at least one word for in the month of November:

Halo the series

"15 Minutes" - (John/Female Reader) Chapter 12 is in progress and will get progressiver (word of the day) by at least 1 more word! *nodnods*

"Recreation" - (Kai/Male Reader) The final chapter will be slotting in between its sibling fic's *points up at "15M"* second to last and final chapter. I have notes on chapter 5 but no draft started... yet.

"Untitled Fluffy Vannak fic" - (Vannak/Female Reader) Just a one-shot that I wanted to do for the big guy, something sweet and fun because he got VERY LITTLE of either in season 2. 😭The draft is already in progress.

I also would like to write a Reader fic for Riz since the entire rest of Silver Team is getting something 👀but have nothing on tap just yet.🤞😣🤞 One day, I hope, but I'm not counting this as part of my WIPs to be finished in November... unless I should get a heck of a lot of work done on everything else. 😉

Halo: Reach

"Choices: A Choose Your Own Spartan Adventure" - (Noble Team/Female Reader) One of the most personally ambitious things I've attempted in a while, the first chapter that sets up the adventure is almost done. Next to go are each of the chapters where you choose which Noble Team member you'll continue the adventure with. I have the plot for all of them but only Emile's has something written. We'll also be getting a separate chapters for female and male Noble Six, since we're all about, you know, choosing who you want to adventure with and Six can be either in the game. 😎👍

The Flash

"The Price" (NSFW) - (Caitlin Frost/Hunter Zolomon) I've known what's going to happen in chapter 2 for a quite a while now. Just got to write it... one word at a time, right?

"Guardian Angel" - (Time Wraith!Caitlin Snow/Eobard Thawne) About 1/3 of chapter 3 has been done for, umm, years now. Just need to push it on through a little bit more! I'm not sure how many chapters in all it will be, at least this one and a 4th but that may be enough to finish it. We'll see!

"Split" - (Caitlin Snow/Eobard Thawne) The third and final fic in the Ghost of Eobard Thawne series turned out, to my surprise, to have 3 very ragged first drafts and part of a 4th chapter just hanging out in my Word docs after all of these years. I still have my *surprised Pikachu face* on for this one, what can I say? 🤷‍♀️😂

"Try" (NSFW) - (TomCav!Eobard Thawne/Caitlin Snow/Mattobard!Eobard Thawne) Oh yeah, I went there. After all of the versions of them that I've written, the only really surprising thing is that I didn't do this a lot sooner, lol! This one has 3 chapters of almost 8k words done that nobody has ever read. It's weirdly one of the few times I did world-building, too. It's projected to be pretty big, 20-25 chapters, so maybe 50k words? 😱 It's a really big undertaking for something that's honestly just for me but... I'd really like to be able to read the entire thing one day, lol! And there's only one way to do that: I've got to write it, one word at a time. 🤷‍♀️😉

I may have totally forgotten something but this was all that showed up in my WIPs folder. Of course, that folder was imperfectly copied from my previous computer and I had to go looking for several of these, so who knows. If I missed something, feel free to let me know.

So wish me luck, frens! This is a challenge I KNOW I can do and I'm so excited about it! 🥳🎉🎊💖

All of my masterlists are here.

[angst-in-space]

march '25 writing progress

words written: 15.9k

most words written in a day: 1,335

least words written in a day: 0

yearly total: 48.6k

projects worked on:

ya sci-fi book edits

bsd regency au

arctic monster wip

matchablossom bedsharing fic

editing ch 17 of altea rising

working on presentation for writing retreat

planning sapphic romcom book ??

fics published/updated:

none

march goals:

finish ya sci-fi ch 3 edits and send back to my mentor

do another round of edits on that chapter if my mentor has more notes and/or send next chapter

continue working on arctic monster wip

finish a draft of bsd regency chapter 3

edit & post chapter 17 of altea rising

continue working on matchablossom fic

have fun on writing retreat!!

april goals:

finish ya sci-fi ch 3 edits

finish a draft of bsd regency chapter 3, and start chapter 4

finish editing & post chapter 17 of altea rising

work on matchablossom fic... finish a draft?

work a bit on arctic monster wip?

notes:

original writing updates:

i kinda (really) fell off with ya sci-fi book edits but, that was mostly on purpose. i needed a break because i reached a point where working on it was like pulling teeth. idk...not to go on a huge rant but it's just been tough. because while i love the story/characters, over time i have become aware of more and more issues with it. and having worked on it for almost four years now, i keep falling into despair/anxiety that i've put so much time and energy into something that just like.. fundamentally doesn't work and/or that i'm not a good enough writer to fix it. lol. ✌️ but, hoping a bit of distance might help put things into perspective for me. i still have a bit of chapter 3 left to rewrite + send back to my mentor sooo might try to do that this month, at least.

i went on my first ever writing retreat!!! it was super fun to meet a bunch of my writing friends in person, and to write together + take a bunch of super useful/inspiring seminars. 😊 it definitely gave me a lot of ideas about how to move forward with my original writing projects, plus it was awesome to connect with such an inspiring group of people!

so, i'm going on another writing retreat in july with a group of friends—i didn't teach any seminars at the most recent retreat i went to, but i'll be teaching a seminar about writing action/fight scenes at the retreat this summer. obviously that's a few months out, but i felt inspired to start working on ideas. so, i've already outlined most of it and hope to start putting together the actual presentation pretty soon.

i worked a bit more on arctic monster wip! i wanted to put more focus on it while i was on the retreat, especially since i was trying to take a break from ya sci-fi book. so, it was nice to return to it for a bit... i didn't make a lot of progress, and i'm kinda struggling through the part of the story i'm on. but, i hope to keep at least chipping away at it this month if i have time/energy.

i randomly (very roughly) outlined a sapphic romcom the other day lol. i don't know when/if i will ever write it, but it's just an idea i've had lurking around in my brain for a while and wanted to get all my thoughts written out before i forget them. it would be very different from what i usually write, but maybe that could be fun??? i don't know, i will keep thinking on it lmao.

fic updates:

i wrote another ~6.8k of bsd regency fic! this fic continues to have a chokehold on me so i foresee it will be mostly what i'm working on during april as well lol. chapter 3 has gotten way longer than i expected (and i keep adding things to it on the fly) so i have not finished it yet. but i am on the last scene of it finally, so hoping i can wrap that up this month and move on to chapter 4!!

i continued working on the matchablossom bedsharing fic finally! i know last month i mentioned i was falling back into sk8 hell and wanted to get back to this fic... i only made a tiny bit of progress on it, but hoping i can dive back into it this month. maybe it's too optimistic to hope i'll finish a first draft this month, buuut could be possible?? i really only have a couple scenes of it left, i am just extremely slow lollll.

i started editing ch 17 of altea rising! i neglected it for most of march so i still have maybe half of it left to revise... but it's a fairly short chapter so i'm hoping it won't take me much longer. so i think it's safe to say i will be able to post it by end of april!

as always, a lot of projects going at once and things have been pretty busy for me lately. but hoping to get a lot done (and have fun doing it) this month!!!

[emeraldorchids]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks for the tag, @catherineflowers29! 🌸

1. How many fics do you have on ao3? 86, though i've orphaned a few over the years, and i never bothered to move my earliest fics from tripod over.

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? they're all in the same fandom... (1) Feels Like Home, (2) Infidelity, (3) Good in a Crisis, (4) The Press Pass, (5) Hemorrhage. Honestly surprised that 2 and 5 made the cut.

4. What fandoms do you write for? Currently I'm into Succession (Roman/Gerri). in the past I've written for Hacks (Ava/Deborah), The Sopranos (Tony Soprano/Dr. Melfi), The X-Files (Mulder/Scully), and The Devil Wears Prada (Miranda/Andrea), though the latter will always have a special place in my heart and idk if i can ever stop writing those characters.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? i try to! i'm always so flattered that someone is actually reading my stuff, let alone taking time out to tell me what they liked (or didn't) about something. i do get in moods where i just turn off the comment emails and let them go through... but right now, i'm on a kick and responding to almost every comment.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? oooh, i really don't know. how bad is that? i can think of the one with the saddest ending... that would be Wintersong. Maybe Last Night With You is the angstiest? Idk, it's also pretty sad. I'm a happily-ever-after girl and really hate ending on angst.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? oooh this is so much harder to choose. I think there are two that tie for this spot: Regrets Only and The Fault In Ourselves ...both of these are on the list of my own fics i frequently reread (is that weird? if so, don't tell me...) because i just get such feel good vibes from the endings.

8. Do you get hate on fics? not so much. sometimes when i'm new to a fandom and don't have all the fanon bits down yet, i get schooled by some commenters LOL. i've also had to turn on comment moderation for one because someone kept trying to offer constructive criticism but it was SO much that it didn't even fit in one comment (right? did you know there was a max char count?!) and i was just like, hey i write for fun and to relax and rarely edit my own stuff, so no thank you... and then they didn't get the hint, etc. but it wasn't 'hate'

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? umm, yes? all the mirandy stuff is f/f, so there's much more of that, but the roman/gerri stuff yields so many ideas and possibilities, i don't think i'll ever tire of reading and writing that.

10. Do you write crossovers? no, too much to keep track in my brain LOL.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? no, thankfully!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? not to my knowledge!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? sort of! i participated in a pass-the-story thing organized by the folks on the mirandy discord a few years ago, but it was a blind collab... i'm not opposed to actual co-writing though, if anyone wants to hit me up!

14. What's your all-time favorite ship? way too hard to pick. i love roman/gerri for so many reasons. i love miranda/andrea because i've written so much in that space and stretched those characters to their limits. a new season of hacks is coming soon so deb/ava is still evolving which can be good or bad... mulder/scully will always have this annoyingly in love dynamic and there are so so so many episodes and interactions between them to fuel my mind. then tony/jennifer is just so intriguing to me, as a hurt/comfort devotee. :)

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? i make it a point to never post WIPs anymore! looking at the 61 files in my drafts/unfinished folder, i think the mirandy story where miranda thinks there's a ghost in the house is the one i'll never be able to finish. i'm just so unhappy with the ending and think i need to split it into two separate stories but that sounds like too much work.

16. What are your writing strengths? dialogue, i think. it comes naturally to me, and i sometimes catch myself writing something that's more like a play and less like a story... then i have to go back and turn stuff into sentences and tell the story a little more. i also really like writing in first person but people are sometimes weird about not wanting to read it.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? oh. yeah. describing things without obviously describing them. like, instead of saying, "she could tell he was nervous," i'll consciously change it to something like, "his foot nervously bounced under the table." dialogue is so much easier!! haha

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic? no thanks. occasionally i'll throw in a few phrases after a lot of google translate and discussions with friends who speak the language... but tbh i studied dead languages, so i'd have better luck including phrases in greek or latin or old english!

19. First fandom you wrote for? the x-files. unfortunately, i don't even have a copy of that anymore... maybe on some old floppy disk somewhere.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written? hands down, Correspondence. It's a story told through letters and nothing more. I put so much work into this and am so proud of how it turned out, how so few words can paint a picture. ranked by comment threads alone, this fic is #2 for me.

tagging any other writers here who want to join in -- @guardianrock, @xvnot15, @scarlet-heels, @quinnheartfiction, @ironicfury, @lilolilyr, @lumossmile, @chilly-flame, @jasfiction36, @theliteraryassassin ❤️ ❤️

[the-one-who-lambs]

Ask Game 2. and 5.: Which of your fics is your pride and joy, and What’s something you learned while researching a fic? :)

At the risk of sounding conceited, I'm proud of everything I've written. Even with regards to the ones that aren't as "polished," especially my earlier fics, I'm still proud of them because I was relearning how to write narrative stories (rather than poetry) after about 4 years of not writing fic. Everything I've written and shared has been an important part of developing my skill and creative choices thus far. If I had to pick one, though, it may be recency bias, but I am very happy that The Risen Lamb and the Fallen God is turning out well. It has been an absolute blast to revisit this and give it the "director's cut" version I feel it needed and to develop it over a much longer period of time.

I'll be completely honest about the fact that this has absolutely not always been the case. I used to pay attention to my hit count pretty closely enough that I would check it weekly or twice a week, and when readership kinda lagged I got worried that my writing wasn't interesting enough or some nonsensical shit like that. I finally kicked this habit like a year and a half ago-- I remember it was a month or two after I'd finished writing The Care and Keeping of Eldritch Gods and I was wondering why I wasn't getting as many reads as before until beloved friend and beta reader @surfdudeboy had to tell me "hey yeah so that's because you finished a big writing project that had people following it consistently." And then I realized how fucking ridiculous it was to worry about it in the first place lol. Once I realized how anxious it was making me, I nipped that shit in the bud. And when I did, I stopped worrying so much about a ton of other things regarding my own writing, too.

Sometimes I notice that this old habit tries to resurface, but I'm definitely good about stopping it in its tracks before I start caring about that again. Nowadays, it doesn't really bother me any longer than like... a day, usually when I'm writing a first draft and agonizing over the fact that it's messy due to the fact that it is a first draft. Recent example: I was kinda embarrassed a month or two ago about the old version of Risen/Fallen having 3x the reads that my newer, much improved version has. Anyway I forget who it was but someone basically reminded me "hey it has more reads because you published it like 2 months after the game came out and it's been up for longer." And it felt so obvious, but sometimes being self-conscious (even jokingly) makes you forget or overlook things that normally would be obvious. Anyway, it was an extremely effective reminder. Pretty much instantly stopped caring about it.

For all the confidence I used to lack in the "frequently comparing myself to what I've already done using some arbitrary standard that doesn't even meaningfully measure my growth as a writer anyway" department... I am so fucking glad that my particular anxiety has never really extended to comparing myself to others. I've done that before sometimes, but not really for anything that I do for fun like writing. Sometimes I forget that's a thing that happens in fandom but it absolutely sucks all the joy out of creating. There were a couple times that I think I was almost slipping into that thought pattern, but I caught it pretty quickly, so nothing came of it.

I have to remind myself every once in a while, and sometimes a friend will notice before I do (in which case they know they can straight up tell me "hey Hannah what you just said was stupid as shit"), but it's been very worth it. I realized a week or so ago how little I've been worrying about my progress/ability/skill/etc as a writer over the past few months-- something I didn't realize until now because it's not bothering me and therefore not really on my mind at all-- but oh my god was that an absolute relief. Taking pride in my work is a constant effort, but it's an important part of intrinsic self-motivation for me. Overall, I'm very happy with where I am right now, creatively! I've made a lot of progress, and I'm excited to see how I can continue to grow in the future.

Anyway something I've learned while researching for a fic is that cats have barbed dicks.

[hummingbird-games]

Dev Diaries

November 2, 2024

Let this be the last time I write this update so I can friggin POST IT!! 🤣

Since we last chat, a few things have happened, so here's a recap:

You can preview Langston and Ryan's game 2 routes!!! (Happy Anniversary to my first game child)

HSD artist is wrapping up on the requested sprites for the next update. That goes live.... Sunday February 2, 2025!

I finished the first draft of Ryan's route. Yeah. Wild. The hardest part of writing (for him) is over. Also I like opening up the document and staring at it to make sure it's real and not just a figment of my imagination. Langston bby we're coming for you next!!

We're on Bluesky?! Yeah lol I meant to say something sooner. I have no idea how I'll treat that platform yet, but we're there!

Loved VN

Now setting aside the bullet points for a moment, we'll touched briefly on the #LovedVN project. There's been a sliiiiiight delay art wise on that front, and honestly, it's anyone's guess if it'll come out this year--I opened the project file a few days ago, and marveled at how much is still not done. That's on me and my bony shoulders. Like I haven't even commissioned the key art yet! 😔

Future Projects

There's an idea I'm holding close to my chest only because it's still more abstract than concrete, and I won't be working on it until Loved is finished and playable. There is also a different project that almost saw the light of day, and I wanna talk about it.

The Josei After Dark game jam came and went and I seriously entertained submitting something. The Afro Jam also came and went, and this was supposed to be a two-for one idea...I recruited my sibling for the character sprite. I sat down and made 4 music tracks because I knew there was a specific sound I wanted, and I did not have specific sound money. I had a placeholder UI with the intention of either recruiting someone after the jams or finally rolling up my sleeves and adding bare bones UI design to my developer toolbox.

Well. We didn't make either deadline LOL! I decided to shelve it. But tbh, I had too much fun writing this script to keep it out of sight.

placeholder bg + placeholder UI teehee

Not so secret thing about me, stories typically come to me when I can't find it in the media I consume. And because HBG projects are free to play for the foreseen future, I'm the prominent player I'm trying to impress, so I make games for me and then hope other people like them too.

This project is called Oh, Boy. It's another bite size game with seven endings!! I had to make a guide for because as I was playtesting I was getting confused and missing my own endings! Anyhoo, I have plans for this one, so more details to come in a future dev diaries or a regular post!

And that's all folks! Gemini out 🫶🏾

am I wild to drop this at the VERY end?? under the cut?? no, not at all

[ggitty]

(JN anon) (It's cool, it's cool. xD)

Heh, if you want add to the pile, there's an site called Artstation where someone who worked on the show posted some concept art and models. (I always had the question on whether other Flurp flavors existed at point besides purple. According to the concept art, the answer is yes. You can catch glimpses of them during "No parents" scene and Jimmy walked home in the movie.)

To think they almost did another movie. But the logic of "You can watch Jimmy for free at home" is a strong argument. (As well as thinking of a premise that would even work that couldn't already be done in the show)

Yeah, like on the gaming side, people seem to still REALLY love PS1 graphics and N64-like models. It's the charm of it, not always the looks. (Imagination helps too; that paper towel roll was a mighty sword at one point.)

Breathed art since I was born. It's never going to leave.

*nods* Planet Sheen [and Barnyard] had just the O-mation part of the company, Jimmy had THAT and DNA Productions. While some of the old crew did work on it, I think it's clear that the writers for it were different. Most episodes were just the same 3 people. (John A Davis himself didn't seem quite as involved. Neither did Acorn despite his name appearing a couple of times.)

I can understand that. As much as I'm not against the idea of another Power Hour or even Nicktoons Unite somehow resurrecting, the Jimmy side of things has just been peanuts. (With this past Saturday adding to the pile with the NFL Slimetime football thing with Spongebob and Patrick. At least it wasn't a mere cameo; though it was stock footage. xD Still, first appearance on the main network in a looong while.)

Can tell Nick wants to do more things with the boy genius again in a modern sense, but they're severely held back by old [non-2D] renders and no recent [non-game] models to really play with. (Easy fix, if they decide to get over their 'Planet Sheen' fear. :P)

We got a secret lore drop here! lol I actually went to check it out because I remembered something like that but wasn't sure, and I did find it!

And I'm pretty sure that most of the cans on the ground are other Flurp flavors, but these are just the most detailed screenshots I could make Jimmy Neutron 4k when

(also, if we are talking about games, while looking for it I randomly found and remembered some great concepts arts for Attack of the Twonkies game of all things lol)

Yes, I heard they were planned a second movie, but it never happened for one reason or another (I would eat concept art or even rough drafts, just give me)

Same (I sold my soul when I started drawing ponies as a kid more than 10 years ago lol)

Yes, it is very much felt and, unfortunately, the new team has not done itself justice in this show " If I'm not mistaken, Davis left before the original show even ended and, last time I looked, he's doing astrophotography now (life is a funny thing lol)

OH I HAVE A STORY ABOUT THAT FROM A FEW DAYS BEFORE A few days ago, I randomly woke up at 4:40 in the morning and for some reason decided to check Tumblr. And the first thing I see is a post about Jimmy's appearance on the NFL that someone made less than an hour ago lol And, obviously, it surprised me so much that I half asleep went to look for a video of it on youtube. After watching it, the next video on my recommendations was titled a title like “Jimmy Neutron characters as snacks” about 9 minutes long. So the next 10+ minutes I, still half-asleep, was arguing with an author of this video in my head about their headcanons for characters as snacks, and then I fell asleep. What a night lol (and the vituber models for Spongebob and Patrick made me giggle a little lol) But yes, the first appearance in a long time is already something heh

(Planet Sheen FNAF style jump scare every time someone talks about Jimmy Neutron in the Nickelodeon executive office)

[riddlerosehearts]

HELLOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! its idiavil anon again i m just. gonna yap abt idiavil if u dont mind. my current ideas for different idiavil fics is up to 32 and i have 10 idiavil playlists on spotify as of right now. i shocked my twst friend w that last fact. I HAVE TWO SETS OF IDIAVIL KEYCHAINS I GOT OFF OF ETSY ASW i love them os much . my friend has been working on idiavil art 4 my birthday and im super excited.... ive actuallybeen able to focus on writing recently SO I HAVE SOME DRAFTS IN FHE WORKS!!!!!!, the brainrot only grows with each passing day. i have moss in my brain. like a chia pet. ALSOO THE TWISTED TSUMDERLAND EVENT LITERALLY HAD ME IN AGONY ROLLING AROUND AND SCREAMING IM NOT EXAGGERATING. LIKE HELLO GUYS WAKE UP NEW IDIAVIL CANON INTERACTIOSN JUST DROPPED. MY FRIEND LET ME INFODUMP TO HER SOMEXLAST NIGHT AND EVERY TIME I MENTIONED THEM I WOULD START TEARING UP 😭😭 also also ive been getting back into drawing and i have idia and idiavil doodles literally everywhere. the grind DOES NOT STOP. ok thats it ive just been in agony since my creativity stats are like maxxed tf out rn.......... AS ALWAYS I LOVE UR BLOG AND MERRY EARLY CHRISTMAS ASW!!!!!!

ANON IT IS ALWAYS OKAY TO YAP ABOUT IDIAVIL TO ME!! i still don't post about them enough but trust me i think about them a lot... i wish i had the creativity and drive to write fics haha, i've had ideas about all my favorite twst ships bouncing around in my brain for a long time but i'm not good at putting things into words and i'm always working on other projects! i don't know if wicked is something you're familiar with or interested in but i saw the stage musical live back in april (for the first time ever lol!! i've had an over a decade-long obsession fueled only by collecting bootleg recordings of it until this year!), and then just saw the movie earlier, and lately every time i think about wicked i think about vil and idia. if i could, i would love to write a wicked AU for them that follows the general plot/themes of the musical but ultimately still gives them a happy ending and i'm constantly torn between two different ideas for who to cast as fiyero and how exactly to do it since i'd be casting vil as glinda and idia as elphaba and making them end up together in my AU. i could go on about it BUT since you literally did not ask, i won't!! i would also just love to put them in a hercules AU if that hasn't already been done because i need people to understand my vision here. like they literally canonically recreated the scene where hercules saved meg from the underworld in the movie. genuinely how many other twst ships have something like that?? vil RISKED HIS LIFE and GAVE UP HIS YOUTH so that he could JUMP INTO THE FUCKING UNDERWORLD and BRING IDIA BACK. LISTEN--

OKAY ANYWAY! i did take a look at the fic ideas you shared when you came off anon before, i don't know if you saw the silly rambling tags i left on your post but i loved all of your ideas and omg i love that you have 10 playlists for them?! i won't ask you to share the playlists but i think it's so cool that you've put that many together and i'm curious about what kinds of songs you think fit them best! i'd also love to see the keychains but i don't think tumblr lets you send images on anon so you don't have to haha! i have these enamel pins of the dorm leaders (all except leona and malleus, but i might get those two someday as well) and i specifically keep vil and idia next to each other on my corkboard, like this:

(those are almost all pins of different JRPGs above them. idia would love my pin/keychain/button corkboard ASKJGHDF)

ALSO YESSSS I WAS SO HAPPY TO SEE IDIA AND VIL INTERACTING AGAIN IN THE TSUM EVENT. THEIR BANTER IS SO FUNNY EVERY TIME. and omg is your birthday coming up?! if so then happy early birthday, and merry early christmas to you too!! 💖

[wholemleko]

updates ig???

(reposted from my deviantart)

so i guess this is like. my plans for the future or at least where i feel like im at when it comes to comics and such.

tl;dr - bird of death is my main project now and everything else is in uncertain limbo

details under the cut:

first thing is just, the state of my projects. bird of death, which im posting now, has completely taken over my brain and its something i enjoy working on much more because its part of a bigger project that im working on with a group of 6 other people and ultimately i think art is a social thing for me. at this point ive also got a 115+ page buffer which ive never even come close to before, so i feel very much at ease about being able to put it out into the world without the months long hiatuses ive gone on with my other comics. plus, it has elements in it that are largely influenced by ideas from my previous projects which i guess leads me to my next point...

which is that im growing burnt out of my older comics. i had for a long time. i occasionally experience moments where i really love my old stories again and give myself the impression that im ready to get back into them, but then it always ends up being temporary and fizzling out again just a week or so later. like venturing. i spent years working on it and theres so much left of the story for me to tell, things that i am still excited to show. but at the same time, its a story i started when i was 16 and i guess this happens to a lot of creators, but my writing style is so different now and when i look back at it i cringe. theres also the factor that felix is almost like an undercooked version of my protagonist in bird of death (for reasons that have only vaguely been revealed). so when i think about writing his story it just feels like. he's the same guy but more poorly put together by a younger me.

this same thing goes for another comic project that ive never shared publicly but which ive been working on for just as long as ive been working on venturing. its actually the story im using for my final project for my degree lmao. the characters in it that im most invested in feel like early drafts for characters from bird of death... the catharsis of writing them has moved to this new story. my old projects just feel like early drafts of this new one but wearing different clothes. they are all born of the same train of thought.

then theres the matter of my fancomics. children of decay is so early on and undercooked that i barely have anything to say about it except that i still love the idea of having a warriors comic, but man i am just not invested in it the way i am with bird of death. (also the fact their titles are so similar... feels silly lol).

my moomin fancomics are a whole other matter... im not the writer for them, and theres still a ton of content that i wanted to cover. im still only in the first chapter of blackthorn tree, and i wanted to adapt 4 more fics afterwards. they are stories that i love, and which continue to be very dear to me, but the inspiration that gave me is, again, now being channeled into my newest project. i guess that makes sense, given that my protagonist was originally made to be a moomin oc. ive also felt increasingly disconnected from the moomin fandom, not because i like the series itself any less, but the fandom landscape is just very different from what it was. another factor is that i did actually have the rest of chapter 1 almost finished, but i lost all those files when my old ipad got fried and this really bummed me out, just a further discouragement.

putting all these things on the backburner feels bad. i dont like saying that i dont know when or even if i will come back to certain projects. i know lots of people enjoyed what i was making, especially venturing and the moomin comics. but i just cant find it in myself to commit to them again now that this new project has pretty much overtaken me, and i dont know if that commitment will ever come back. this isnt to say that i am putting an end to any of them or that im quitting them. just that they are not the thing i am committed to, and i am putting them into uncertain limbo. it feels smarter to concentrate my energy on a project i am much more devoted to now, which is very developed, and which i am making alongside other people who are also very devoted to the greater project.

if u got this far thanks for reading, and thanks to all those who've supported me over the years in my creative endeavors

[kingdomkeykitsune]

KHOC WEEK 2023 DAY 4: ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

Alright, so, Day 4 of @khoc-week ! Old af art, I didn't have time to redraw it, but the outfit designs hold up!

I had a plethora of choices for AUs with Kimbri, I've come up with a fair few over the years, but I decided to pull out an old favorite, my untitled Modern Fantasy Slice of Life AU! You might remember this setting from... I think it was Year 3? I posted a drabble about Vanitas vs The Gremlin at Exhaustion Departure, the coffee shop. Well Kimbri just so happens to work at Merlin's Books right next door in this AU! It's a magical place that holds WAY more books than it should be able to, while also playing host to it's own resident magical creatures, in this case mostly colorful pixies who live in birdhouses around the store! They're definitely a bit better off in this regard than their neighbors, lol. Other members of the staff include Merlin himself, Ienzo, another OC of mine, Lena, handyman Cid, who also owns his own garage down the street, and part-timers Pence and Olette.

Below the cut find a drabble I wrote set in this AU. Enjoy some warm, fuzzy goodness in:

Sweater Weather

Ienzo frowned as another strong gust of wind rattled the windows of the overstocked book store, causing the resident pixies to scatter back to their little houses. Judging by the drafts it caused, it was high time Merlin got the windows resealed, though he remembered thinking something similar around this time last year. Sighing, he tried to return his attention to the inventory sheets in front of him, trying not to shiver as a draft blew down his neck.

A few moments later the bell over the door rang, signaling someone's arrival, but he paid it no mind, knowing that if whoever it was needed help they'd come to the counter to get him. A moment later he regretted his decision not to look up when the only warning he got before his vision was completely eclipsed by something fuzzy and purple was the smell of salted caramel and espresso, the hallmarks of Kimbri's favorite drink from Exhaustion Departure. As he sputtered, startled, and fought his way out of his warm, lavender and vanilla scented prison he could hear his coworker and foster sibling giggling mischievously. Eventually he managed to pull the soft turtleneck over his head and turned to glare at the girl next to him in irritated confusion.

"Kimbri, what on earth possessed you to do that?"

"You looked cold." She shrugged with a grin. "Besides, I bought that for you, you always forget to bring a sweater when it first starts getting actually cold. I saw that the last time I went to the thrift store and it was just your size. Don't worry, I washed it twice before I brought it to you." 

Ienzo looked down at the purple sweater with an almost perplexed expression before finally pulling it the rest of the way on.

"Thank you Kimbri, I really appreciate it." He said once it was properly adjusted.

"No problem, what's family for?" Kimbri smiled again and took a sip of her drink. "Now let's have a look at these inventory sheets..."

[stikblog]

What do you think of Off the Grid Nightmare? And what do you think stikbot needs to have a full return?

"What do you think of Off the Grid Nightmare?"

ehhhhh i have mixed feelings about it. i've talked about it in the discord a bit, and i still stand by what i said for the most part about the foreshadowing (or lack thereof cough cough) and pacing being kind of not good.

(long rant ahead!)

this point has been done to death by basically everyone in the stikbot fandom, but i'll say it again: the original off the grid was so popular because it was aimed at a much older audience. it took itself seriously for the most part, even if it was kind of corny sometimes, and the story was thought out and interesting! being created by moonshine animations also helped, i'm sure. nightmare doesn't have the same vibe because i do believe it was heavily sanitized to appeal to that sweet sweet "7 and under" demographic.

im not gonna lie the story is weaksauce. i love that the nightmare realm is being explored, but it almost feels like the new series isn't doing it justice, y'know? its as if they're trying to cram so much into just 22 minutes of animation that the entire thing loses so so much quality. and its honestly not really interesting, either. sanitation strikes again, making the dialogue and characters feel like happy meal toys compared to the og. the stakes are nonexistent because EVERYONE knows that nothing bad is ever going to happen to striker, and the new monsters don't feel like a threat. they feel like a joke! i get the vibe that the story was still on the first draft in the meeting room and the team just said "fuck it, that's what we're going with."

im personally biased against the new VA's because im an og fan 4 life, but i do think they're alright ngl. the animation is noticeably choppier, but im not going to really drag that point out. i never expected it to be as good as the og, so i don't really care, but it'd feel wrong to not at least mention. im mostly just pissed that they massacred my boys like this through the lackluster plot and writing. nightmare had the chance to be soso good and they fucked it up!!! rahh!!!!

"And what do you think stikbot needs to have a full return?"

hard to say. if i could go back in time and somehow rewrite otg:n, i would have turned it into an epilogue story set years into the future, with a new cast and plot, with a changed world that is obviously still the stikbot universe and story we all know and love. (or. y'know. ACTUALLY CREATE THE GREAT STIKBOT WAR PREQUEL YOU PROMISED US AND THEN NEVER DELIVERED ON. @/STIKBOTCENTRAL. ahem. that is a rant for another day.)

as much as i want to, obviously i can't go back and right the wrongs of the past, so what now? i think stikbot needs another series aimed at an older audience. they're obviously trying to milk OTG for all it's worth, and that grittier vibe was what made it a success. but i do think it's time we officially retire OTG. it was fun, but we need something fresh and new! with literally everything else on the stikbot central channel being baby proof tho, i don't really see that happening unless they really change up the writers room over at stikbot central headquarters. moonshine carried the entire series fr and we need someone else like him who actually knows how to write a good kids show @ zing like. right now. its dire.

sorry for such a long rant lol, as you can tell im very passionate about this. feel free to slide into my inbox again; im always excited to answer questions!