She/her, pan, married, mom of a college kid, living with at least one invisible disability and a service dog who helps me get through life.
Current hyperfixations: Dispatch and BG3
I realized, after posting my first WIP on Tumblr and then my first work on AO3, that I should maybe have a pinned post about me? So I wrote it in August 2025 and didn't post it for 6 months. đ¤Ł
What you should know about me before interacting:
I'm a nerd. And I'm old. My spawn is literally in her second year of college.
I've been a gamer since 1989 when I got my first computer.
The first fic I wrote was a slice-of-life PokĂŠmon self-insert I started in 1997. It was bad.
I own all the expansions for Sims 3 and prefer it over Sims 4. (It's a preference, don't hate. đ)
I play Dungeons & Dragons every Sunday with the same guys I've been TTRPG'ing with for nearly 15 years.
I love storytelling and creativity.
I'm a pro-shipper. If your kink is not my kink, that's ok. I still want you to enjoy what makes you happy. Censorship is NEVER the answer, and supporting fiction writing does not mean that I support actions IRL.
My AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Micnic_Mabel/pseuds/Micnic_Mabel
I've only posted one work so far, but I've got several WIPs on my laptop right now.
What's in my current brain rotation:
Dispatch
Baldur's Gate 3 (although that might be fading)
PokĂŠmon (I just started "Brilliant Diamond" because I realized I don't think I ever finished that generation)
On the horizon:
A return to my Sims 3 Disney Generation challenge (probably)
I dunno, my interests tend to cycle cuz I have ADHD and get bored
Your dialogue is stiff because everyone is being too honest
Great dialogue can come from radical emotional honesty. But in most real conversations, people
dodge questions
answer indirectly
lie (badly)
change the subject
crack jokes to avoid serious answers
lie (convincingly)
say half of what they mean
tell the truth but get so anxious/angry/defensive others now think they're lying
If your dialogue feels unnatural, it might be because everyone is saying exactly what they think, or articulating their thoughts too well. Try letting characters hide things instead.
I'm curious about people's preferences for fic reading on AO3. This is specifically about stories that are NOT "x reader" or "reader insert" or "Y/N" style.
Which tense do you prefer to read stories?
Past tense ("He looked around", "she became worried")
I thought I was ready to post a new work to AO3. Very short piece, as part 1 of a new series that I am actively writing. Title, tags, everything looked great, until I pasted the work itself into AO3.
Here's the problem: As I'm writing it in Word, I'm using different colors to indicate when each character is talking.
AO3 doesn't seem to support colored font.
So now I have to go back and revise the "completed" part 1, and revise the partially written part 2 and part 3, to make sure it is clear who is speaking each time. No big deal, books do this all the time, right?
I just have to figure out how to handle the triplet Harvest Sprites that sometimes speak in unison and sometimes have their own lines.
Am I starting to regret my attempt to write a novelization of a farming video game? Maybe a little.
Will I need to re-think the scope of my efforts for #small fandom summer, in light of the fact that I might have a new job starting next week? Quite possibly.
Do I have any idea how to fix this? Not yet, but that's why it's a WIP!
I'm thinking that my best option is to step away from it for today, sleep on it, and see what I can come up with in the morning. But for now, I'm posting what I have written. If you have suggestions on how to make the dialogue clearer, please feel free to share! đĽ°
First day in Sugar Village
Toy,
Do you remember your Grandfatherâs farm? Since heâs passed away now, Iâm thinking of giving it away.
I heard that theyâre going to start building a theme park next year. Thereâs not much of his belongings left, but I want you to take care of the things that are still there.
Also, go around and talk to the townspeople for me.
     Take Care,
     Dad
Toy folds the letter and tucks it into the pocket of his messenger bag. He had arrived in Sugar Village in the heart of Leaf Valley on the bus from Flowerbed City at his fatherâs request, with only vague memories of visiting his grandfather as a child and no real idea what to expect at the property.
After getting directions from the grocery store owner, he had finally arrived at Grandpaâs farm. He looks around the dilapidated farm with a sigh. The largest building is the barn. âI wonder if there used to be lots of horses and cows here,â Toy thinks sadly. In his limited visits to the farm, the barn had been empty, as Grandpa couldnât reliably care for animals as he got older. Connected to the barn is a large stone tower.  â⌠This must be the silo, where you keep the fodder.â Next to the barn is a smaller building. âIs this the chicken coop? Itâs all dusty and worn downâŚâ He chuckles to himself, imagining a handful of chickens grazing in the sun.
Finally Toy enters the farmhouse, which has clearly seen use more recently than the animal buildings. The dining table brings back soft memories of playing card games after a day of helping Grandpa with gardening. Thereâs a chest that smells old and musty⌠where he finds something that looks like a map of the town. âI think Iâll take it with me,â he decides, and folds the map to fit next to Dadâs letter in his bag.
Across the room thereâs a dusty bookshelf. There are lots of books about farming. Thereâs also what appears to be Grandpaâs notes. Next to the bookcase is a really old TV set and it looks like thereâs still electricityâŚÂ Toy turns a dial on the TV and finds that it still works, even if there are only 3 channels coming in. Thereâs a journal on the nightstand next to the large bed, and the quilt looks homemade. Toy shakes his head softly. âNot a whole lot of belongings to pack up, besides the furniture. I guess Iâll talk to the townsfolk before I box up the books. Dad can include the furniture with the house, I suppose.â He heads outside, planning to visit town and head home.
âThere must be a good wayâŚâ
âNo, no, that wonât workâŚâ
âBut you saidâŚâ
âIsnât there a better idea?â
Toy looks around for the voices, but doesnât see anyone else on the farm. Then he spots 3 small⌠people? Tiny men with green hair standing in a circle in front of the house. He approaches slowly.
âUnless we find a way, weâll have to move away from hereâŚâ
Toy kneels to reach out to tap the shoulder of the closest one, but his hand covers their entire head. He freezes in confusion as the little boy starts flailing under his hand and the other two dash away.
âAaaaaaah!!
Let me go!!â
Toy lifts his hand and the small man rushes to meet the other two.
âH-how can you can see us?!â
âW-Who are you?!â
They discuss something quietly for a moment before approaching Toy again.
âWeâre the Harvest Sprites who live here. Weâre in real trouble if the forest and the lake disappear.â
âWe beg you! Stop them from building the theme park here!â
âWe need your help to protect this place.â
âWill you hear us out?â they ask in tandem.
Toy nods, confused but intrigued by the sprites.
âImpressive! Iâm so impressed! What an admirable young man!â
The sprites turn around and Toy follows their gaze.
âOh! Itâs the Goddess!â
âGoddess!â
A glittering woman floats down in front of the sprites. Toy blinks in surprise. He takes in her appearance slowly; long violet hair and matching purple eyes, butterfly-like wings fluttering behind her, and sparkles coming off her flowing pastel rainbow dress.
âNice to meet youâĄ
I am the Harvest Goddess. I live at the Harvest Goddess Lake.
What is your name?â
âIâm⌠Toy,â he responds quietly, still in shock at the idea that this is THE Harvest Goddess appearing in front of him.
âSo, Toy. I have a few questions for you.
A puppy has been abandoned in the rain. What would you do?â
âTake him home,â he replies without hesitation.
âSomeone has thrown trash on the ground. What would you do?â
âGet mad at the person who left it there,â he thinks to himself before answering, âPick it up?â
âYouâve found someone elseâs money on the ground. What would you do?â
He pauses for a moment, considering the vague situation. âIf itâs just loose cash, thereâs no way to identify who it belongs to or where it came from. A whole wallet, or a credit card with a name and number, that could be returned to the rightful owner, but if I take a pile of cash to the police, they canât really do anything with it.â With a soft shrug, Toy tells the Harvest Goddess, âTake it home.â
The sprites turn to the Goddess at this response.
âHmmm⌠this is tough.â
âIs he good? Is he bad?â
âLetâs see⌠in a sense, you could say that heâs the most human.â
âIâm a little worried, but we have no other choice.â
âYeah, letâs just ask him.â
The Harvest Goddess turns her attention back to Toy. âSo, please do us this favor. You have been brought to this land as the savior of this town. Yes, it is Fate that brought you here.â
âThe Goddess is making it all up.â
âSheâs trying to put him under a spell.â
âThereâs nothing we can do but watch.â
âToy, could you give this farm a name?â
âGrandfather called it the Green Star, so I think Iâll keep that name.â
âI see, so you wish to call it the Greenâ Farm. Thatâs a lovely name. Whatever your Grandfather left should be enough to get you started here.
If thereâs anything youâd like to discuss with me, please visit me at the Harvest Goddess Lake in the forest.
I feel that itâs important to get along with the people first in order to save this village. Just talk to everyone. Iâm sure a path will open for you if you do that.â With a nod, the Harvest Goddess floats away into a flash of light, leaving Toy with new responsibility.
The Harvest Sprites bounce happily as she leaves, and wave to Toy.
âYou can find us at the cave beyond here. Weâll talk to you later!â
âThanks!â
âWeâll come again.â
Toy glances at his watch as he watches them flit away. âItâs already 7pm?! How did that conversation take the whole day?!â He stretches and yawns, in spite of the daylight still blanketing the farm. âI guess itâs too late to talk to all the townspeople today. But how am I supposed to prevent someone from destroying the village to build a theme park? I hope someone in town has an idea.â He goes inside and tears a piece of paper out of the back of Grandpaâs journal to write a letter.
Dad,
Thereâs not a lot of belongings to deal with. Some old clothes, farming books, and the furniture. But it seems sad that the area will be demolished and replaced with a theme park.
Iâm going to stay here for a bit and see if thereâs anything I can do to help the town protect the area. Iâll let you know if I need anything while Iâm here.
  _ Toy
The next morning, Toy finds some of Grandpaâs clean clothes in the chest and eats a leftover travel snack for breakfast. He checks the map and plans out his day. âLetâs see⌠grocery store, thatâs a good first stop. Iâll need food for a few days, until I can get an idea of how long I have to stay here. And then I guess I just talk to everyone. That canât take too much time, right? Itâs a small town. Thereâs like, 7 buildings? So like, 14 people? Itâll be quick⌠probably. Nothing left but to start!â
As soon as he steps out of the house, Toy hears little voices.
âGood morning, Toy!â
âGood morning âŞâ
âYouâre new here, so you have a lot to learn, Toy.â
âWeâve watched your Grandpa, so we know a lot.â
âWeâre going to teach you.â
Toy follows the sprites as they lead him around the property, telling him about the animal buildings, the pasture and crop fields, and how to do farm work. He listens without interrupting, even as they explain complicated tasks like raising a cow from a calf. âI donât think Iâll be here long enough for all that,â he thinks, âbut theyâre so enthusiastic that I would feel bad telling them to stop.â
âThis is basically how Grandpa was doing his work!â
âAt times, youâll need money to live here too.â
âToy, good luck.â
The sprites skipped off to their cave home, leaving Toy to begin his trek into town.
if u dont acknowledge the fanfics u read, the writer wonât think anyone is actually taking the time to read their stuff, which makes our effort feel wasted and our passions feel worthless
Itâs so difficult to keep writing about something you love only for it to get such little engagements. Sometimes we wanna give up.
So please, whatever kind of feedback you have on an authorâs workâeven if itâs constructive (âthis couldâve been executed betterâ), or even if itâs âoh, will we get to see more of ____?â, even if itâs random keyboard smashes under a guest/anonymous account.
Honestly feels so good to get response on work, writing fanfics can be a bit lonely at times weirdly, (characters canât talk back of their own volition unfortunately đ), love to absolutely nerd out over my fics with anyone to just be ENTHUSIASTIC together and feel like all the work is having a positive impact on people. Love to share my passions, itâs what makes it all worth it! â¤ď¸
Thanks everyone who has ever given me kudos or comments, youâve honestly boosted my mood so much when I really needed it sometimes and have renewed my love for the show and writing!
[Image ID: The Destiel confession meme edited so that Dean answers 'JK Rowling posted upskirt photos of a woman on Twitter' to Cas 'I love you'. /End ID]
No one doing this should be allowed to call themselves a feminist.
The wealthy author escalated a social media spat that resulted in posting a photo from a 2023 event at the Institute of Economic Affairs in
Let's not beat around the bush: Children's author JK Rowling sexually harassed someone. In some jurisdictions, this would count as sexual abuse. JK Rowling has committed a sex crime against a woman and fell back on the old rape apologist standby of "she was asking for it".
(The best of this post and its reblogs, but with links that work)
Here is a website where you can scroll down to all the different levels of the oceanÂ
Here is a website where you can see the future of the universe
Here is a website where you can press a âmake everything okayâ button, over and over, until things really are okay
Here is a website that you can read if you feel like a burden
Here is a website where you can look at strobe illusions (TW strobe/flashing)
Here is a website where you can cut stuff up (TW blood/sh)
Here and here are websites where you can play with sand
Here is a website where you can draw with macaroni and other fun foods
Here is a website where you can paint someoneâs nails
Here is a website where you can grow a garden with emojis
Here is a website with hundreds of videos of people hugging you (rightfully dubbed âthe nicest place on the internetâ because it really is, yâall, it made me cry)
Here is a website that will take you to other useless websites
Here is a website where you can make a tiny cat play bongo drums (and other instruments!)
Here is a website to help give you gentle reminders <3
Here is a website where you can grow a tiny farm
Here is a website where you can take a bunch of scientific personality tests
Here is a website of calm rain noise
Take a breath. Itâs going to be okay, I promise.
Apparently some people really like to miss the point of my âif im not able to do it myselfâŚitâs not accessible postâ and asking why does that even need to be a statement because thatâs what accessibility is. Yes, you are correct that IS what accessibility SHOULD mean and SHOULD be. However, that is not the case when it comes to âaccessibilityâ in the real world. If I cannot open the âaccessibleâ bathroom door because itâs heavier than we and my chair combinedâŚit shouldnât be called accessible just because you slapped some bars next to the toilet and called it at a day. If it was truly accessible I WOULDNâT have to ask my partner to help me open the door. Iâm not simply stating a redundant statement about the literal meaning of accessibility. I am criticizing the structural design that labels things as accessible when they are no where near that. People who arenât disabled donât get that. They donât get what things need to be like to ACTUALLY be accessible and that is a huge problem that needs to be addressed with modern architecture. Itâs one thing if itâs something like a historic building that legally cannot be structurally modified (I work in one such building). Itâs a completely different (and unacceptable) thing if itâs a building that can be modified OR should have been built accessible in the first place.
Architectural ableism is a rampant problem that has not excuse to not be solved in a modern era. Itâs not a lack of technology. Itâs a lack of care and shows how little society cares or has any understanding for the actual needs of disabled individuals nor the range of what disability can mean.
This! I am thankfully not confined to a wheelchair permanently, but I was for 2 months of my pregnancy and it was humiliating to have to ask my co-workers to push the bathroom door open so often. The stall itself was accessible, but the BATHROOM wasn't.
More recently, I've experienced difficulties when traveling with my service dog. Like, if I need two hands to pull a heavy door open, do you want me to drop his leash? And then instruct him to walk into the building ahead of me because I can't hold the door once I step inside?! Now you've got a dog walking into a building, unleashed, and people are going to freak out if they don't see his vest.
I guess what I'm saying is, fuck heavy doors. Signed, a 5'2" woman with osteopenia and POTS
For the fourth year in a row now, it's time for Small Fandom Summer! Join me for Small Fandom Summer! It's real easy to play:
Make a fanwork for something that has fewer than 1000 English-language works on AO3
Post it to AO3
And then you've done it! You've made a thing and you've diversified the fandom ecosystem! You're basically a hero.
Q: The fandom I want to create for has more than 1000 English-language works on AO3, but the specific pairing I want to write for has fewer than that. Does that count?
A: Yes!
Q: What if it has more than 1000 English-language works on AO3, but, like, just barely?
A: Okay!
Q: What if it actually has a lot more than 1000 English-language works on AO3, but it still feels small?
A: Sure!
Q: What if I don't want to post it to AO3? What if I don't even have an AO3 account? Can I post it somewhere else?
A: Wherever!
Q: What if--
A: Just do a thing, friend. Make a thing. Share the thing. This is not meant to be restrictive; this is meant to be inspirational. Create the fanworks you want to see in the world. Make a stranger happy by appealing to their niche interests. Bring joy.
And if you want to give yourself some silly little Steam-like achievement badges to commemorate your accomplishments, well, you're in luck! I've made a bunch of them right here! You can grab the ones that apply to your work and paste them wherever you like and feel good about what you've done. Here's a few of my favorites:
So you see? This is meant to be silly and fun.
There's nowhere to sign up. There's nothing to commit to. There's zero pressure. You just do it if you do it, and don't if you don't. But if you do want to play (yay!), tag your stuff with #small fandom summer so we can all swoop in and appreciate everyone else's efforts.
The thing they don't tell you about dealing with ADHD is that sometimes when you really, really don't want to do something you absolutely need to do your brain will suddenly lift the barriers stopping you from cleaning or doing other chores you've been struggling to finish, and so you have to run around stopping yourself from doing all the dishes or laundry or deep cleaning the bathroom despite needing to because you do not have time for that right now, you absolutely have to do this other task, and the whole time it feels awful because you've needed to do all the rest of that too for a while and you couldn't, but you can nowâonly no, you can'tâand yeah you can come back to all that after you do your thing you don't wanna do, but then you'll be back in "I can't do this" mode because you don't have another task to avoid, so you just have to accept it and it sucks.
Brought to you by me not wanting to make phone calls so badly I had to actively stop myself from doing like seven other chores, which felt like being hunted for sport.
A thing no one talks about re: ADHD is that you can't... gain experience, the way other people do.
I don't mean you can't get good at things through repeated practice. You can do that, I have done that, but I don't trust it.
I was driving this morning and thinking about how I have never developed the blasĂŠ contempt for it most people seem to despite never having caused an accident in 20 years because my sense of time is such that I might as well have been driving for a week. I'm a good, safe driver, but I do not have a heap of confidence in my driving despite having regularly done it for two decades because my sense of time is such that those two decades may as well not have happened.
I finished editing a novel today. When I publish it, it will be the 64th novel I have published in the last 10 years, not counting ghostwritten work. You'd think after a decade and 63 novels I'd be confident that I was capable of writing, editing, and publishing a novelâeven be confident about the timeline for thisâbut no. No, I feel like I'm doing it for the first time, every time, and I was surprised to have finished the editing at all, let alone on time. Because those other 63 novels were published in a past I have a vague at best concept of. I have a record that says it happened but I do not feel it.
I cannot trust my future behaviour because for me there is functionally no past. I know it occurred, I have records, but I don't feel it the way people without this kind of memory issue do. I feel inexperienced at everything I've ever done and I cannot accurately estimate my skill level at anything, particularly not on the fly.
I don't have a solution to this I just find it an incredibly frustrating phenomenon.
A few years ago while trying to find ways to commit suicide as painlessly as possible, I came across a PDF of Dr. Paul Quinnett's The Forever Decision. Thinking it might go into actual methods of suicide (I read an article once that actually did that and was trying to find it again) I started to read it, and I think I only got about two pages in before I was crying too much to actually see the words.
I downloaded the PDF to my hard drive and I open it again whenever I'm feeling too suicidal to do much else, but not enough to start booking a ride to the hospital. And every time without fail I only go up to a few pages before backing off and choosing to live another day just because suicide suddenly seems even more unbearable than whatever the hell upset me in the first place.
All the book really does is [I'm pulling a summary from GoodReads here as, again, I've read no more than 5 pages] "discusses the social aspects of suicide, the right to die, anger, loneliness, depression, stress, hopelessness, drug and alcohol abuse, the consequences of a suicide attempt, and how to get help."
But it also starts with the author kindly asking the reader to complete the book before going through with anything, and for some reason I'm compelled to really just try to read it all before finalizing everything. Despite not yet completing it (hopefully never will) I think I can safely say it's saved my life at least a few times now.
It's intentionally legal to copy and redistribute this book to keep it as accessible as possible, and it's very easy to find, but here's a link for it anyways.
Literally me right now. I was crying this evening so I was snotty and gross before bed, and took 2 Benadryl with a shot of NyQuil in the hopes that I could breathe through my nose again. Slept soundly for like 2 hours. Now I'm sitting on the couch so my restless legs don't bother my husband. đ
You know what's crazy?! Me. @micnicmabel - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
