Before & After & Inbetween

Since I've begun writing the Decagram again, I also resumed posting BAUplans. However, fanfiction writing related posts on BlueSky were just frustrating - whenever something related to fanfic, writing, etc. gets posted, the account (and the posts) are immediately swamped with bots and entrepreneurs apparently unable to grasp the idea that a hobby is fun, and fun is not something to be outsourced for a quick buck.
It made Bluesky a very hostile - at least very annoying - environment for me as a fanfic author writing for fun, so I decided on two things:

1. resume the BAUplan updates, including longer musing about them, here on Dreamwidth - also to keep track of progress, and


2. search for a fan friendly mastodon instance to get Tree-san it's own account, because posting that shrub's commentary is JUST TOO MUCH FUN!

So to quote a totally different fandom that I enjoyed watching back when it originally aired on tv here but never wrote in: "Hi, honey. I'm back!" (BtVS).

current chapter word count: 8004 words (one gap, two open issues, one scene to decide)
gap to be closed: "upcoming apartment vacancy with collateral"
scenes to be written next: burning hands, report coming undone
character examining bespelled mold: Seishiro
character managing to accidentally link paperwork and sex: Subaru
research of the day: combini closures in 2000 Hachioji

undecided issues:

family reunions - with respect to the Dao: how bad will they be?

• Ijyuin - Sakurazuka
• Shiro - Sumeragi

Interludes - which goes first? and in which chapter?

• Naha - Ameru to the rescue
• Naha - Shang shoots

Just in case somebody is still lurking on this journal:

I've begun posting the three chapters (two shorts and a long one) of Mariko's tale (you may recall her from Family Matters Chapter 19) on the AO3. Chapters 1 and 2 are up, 3 still needs some minor work, but I hope to have it done within one or two weeks at most.

If you are interested: https://archiveofourown.org/works/84966496 (limited to logged in users, because of LLM scrapers that also took my homepage effectively offline for the time being & also because there were a lot of comment lice on AO3 recently).

I'm also working on the next chapter of Business As Usual (Case Studies) again and it's coming around nicely, but I will refrain from giving a time frame or snippets for that one - first of all, my job may turn busy again, second, I'm paranoid about feeding the scrapers these days.

current chapter word count: 7138 (9/16 pages in continuous text) of which roughly 3000 words are new words, because I realized I needed "Window [censored]" in Seishiro's pov instead of Subaru's to fit into the story.
pov change completed? yes.
scenes to be written next: "on the hunt", is it always like this? (the gap on page 9 and later)
character not caring about sights: Seishiro
character managing to accidentally link paperwork and sex: Subaru
character asking in vain for a maboroshi: also Subaru
research of the day: wipes in 2000 Japan.

author comment: thanks to the pov change I now have a meaty outtake for BAU part 2...

quote of the day:
Seishiro reached for him mid-sentence, pulling him close. “So, you propose we become undone?”

current chapter word count: 5848 (9/14 pages in continuous text)
scenes written today: working with Subaru, about Hokuto
scenes completed? yes, though "about Hokuto" is a scene that will see quite a bit of tinkering going forth to get it spot on. There's no leeway here, so even the chosen quote of the day may yet change.
scenes to be written next: is it always like this?, tatarigami mistress confrontation, reporting
character uncaring of purity but caring of pain: Yimura
character using the different meanings of living with: Subaru
research today: none, but the chapter is plotted through, albeit with gaps and some leeway here and there. The main reason that the continuous text still ends on page 9 is that I have yet to write Seishiro going after the tatarigami caller, whereas the following Subaru centric scenes are mostly written already.

quote of the day:
Subaru drew a deep breath and pushed himself off his chair. “I have to live with the fact that my sister committed suicide for me, and I can live with the Sakurazukamori who hurt me and abetted her to ensure the Final Battle remains undecided.” He headed for the door. “If you can’t, let me know and I’ll arrange for your return to Kyoto.”

no new update this weekend; I have quite a few scribbles about Subaru and Yimura interacting, but temperatures over here soared 15°C above what I'm comfortable with and my brain just fails to come up with meaningful sentences that actually express what I want to say; so - delay. It's supposed to cool down on Tuesday...

(I wrote "cook down on Tuesday"... Erk. I stop here.)

current chapter word count: 4306 (9/11 pages in continuous text)
scenes written today: Window [censored], Risk Assessment, Shisa approval
scenes completed? Window is complete, RA and Shisa are outlined and partial, but all was written in one giant splurge at 4:30 a.m. and will need proper spellcheck, finetuning, and editing before being considered "done".
character thinking the window cleaners are paid too much: Seishiro
character believing the window cleaners deserve a pay rise: Subaru
character beginning to regret glass doors: also Subaru

quote of the day:
"I'm not an exhibitionist."
"The new decor on that window suggests otherwise."


author comment: if the content of these three scenes stay as they are in this part, then Case Assessments as a chapter will have earned the overall rating of the Decagram series for a change.

current chapter word count: 2925 (6/7 continuous pages)
scenes written today: tracking down Subaru, can you talk?
scenes completed? nope, too much research needed
character having done his job not just since yesterday: Seishiro
character getting a reminder of what that means: Subaru
research of the day: train schedule around midday on weekdays between Tama New Town and Kasumigaseki, traveling time between Keio-Inadazutsumi Station and Chofu Station, platform design at Keio-Inadazutsumi, exits of and parking lots at Chofu station (Keio line) [up until here a big YAY for Google route planning & streetview, as well as screen capture & OneNote pls]; 1970s racing animes - Machine Hiryu, Dash Machine Hayabusa, Mach GoGoGo [and no, I don't care for racing animes - they're just boring]

quote of the day:
Subaru blinked at the sight of the blue sedan parking near the train station exit. “How come your car’s here and not at the previous—?”
Seishiro laughed. “Because I didn't just start doing this job yesterday.”

current chapter word count: 2027 (5/6 pages in continuous text)
scenes written today: arrival of the secretary, "are you kidding me?!"
scenes completed? Arrival is done, "are you kidding me?!" is to come
scenes to come next: "are you kidding me?!"
character having second thoughts: Yimura
character proving more capable than hoped: also Yimura
character having a temper: Seishiro
character considering decimating the less competent OMR staff: also Seishiro
research of the day: computer OSes in 2000 Japan; TRON kernel options

quote of the day 1:
“Yes, but it’s been two years since I actually used a computer.” At Namane’s surprised look, she added apologetically, “my house insists on… more traditional communication methods.” That earned her what could only be described as a snort and muttered ‘I know.’ “Is there a manual I may use?”

quote of the day 2:
“If they try to purify me, they will need a mop for themselves!”

current chapter word count: 1283
scenes written today: Tama New Town case, new secretary
scenes completed? you wish! The tatarigami still has to show up - secretary started because it's happening parallel to Tama New Town case (avoids boring fillers)
character whose shikigami hovers over kitchen knives: Subaru
character losing patience with OMR personnel: Seishiro
character confusing Subaru's new secretary: also Seishiro
character not bothering to wait: Seishiro again

quote of the day:
“I have Sumeragi-sama's pager number, sir,” she said quietly. “I will page him to call in.”
“Unnecessary,” Seishiro told her, grabbing his coat. “I’ll find him.”