#stable like sand

[lutiaslayton]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Hello guess who isn't dead. It has only been... seven months since the last update. whoops.

But for your enjoyment, here are 11k words full of fluff, happiness, and jokes, with three new characters on top of all that! If you take a peek, I hope you have a fun ride :D

[fujoshi-peridot]

rereading Stable Like Sand (for the love of GOD please read it it's so good) and thinking abt the "small floppy disk" scene and what's gonna become of it in the future... 👀👀👀👀

[lutiaslayton]

Stable Like Sand is my ongoing Professor Layton fanfic, which is settled ten years before Unwound Future. If you found this little shitpost funny, feel free to go take a look!

[lutiaslayton]

I had been wanting to complete the sketch I had made two months ago for a long while, so now it's done! It just felt weird to me to leave it unfinished like this haha, especially after I had put so much effort in the Rook & Bishop comic in comparison x)

Anyway, I am so sorry guys, life is hectic these days but I am SO hyped about what the rest of the fanfic is going to be. I just wish I could find more time to sit at my computer and spend long hours writing uninterrupted—that's the hardest thing to find.

Also, I found by chance that there actually were a few French Layton fanfics on AO3! So it motivated me to post the French version there as well, while I'm at it :p I don't dislike the website I used to post it on previously, but the fact that it didn't let me use HTML was absolutely a huge thorn in my side. I'll keep updating the fanfic there, but... Posting on AO3 is just so much more convenient on so many levels.

PS: If you found this post without context, this shitpost-y mini-comic is about my fanfic, Stable Like Sand! It's going to be a long, long series, and a wild ride all the way through, as this weird time traveller kid will try to fix random things, and in the process push Claire, Hershel and many others to gradually lose their sanity.

[lutiaslayton]

little heads up I am totally going to steal these unused character designs made by Level-5 and make them Des’ wife and daughter

[EDIT] I admittedly am hesitating now, I could also see the woman on the second image as a mom too. Guess only time will tell, but the second one does give more mom energy.

[lutiaslayton]

Bahaha alright, alright, you win

Heads Up, Seven Up!

Rules: Post the last seven lines of your current WIP.

I was tagged for this at least three or four times by now, but never actually committed to doing it. Today's tag was from @wordsofawanderingsoul, but if memory serves I was tagged at least once by @101flavoursofweird, probably twice. So since you are so insistent... Welp, guess now's the time to play along, for a change: here's an excerpt of the WIP I have been working on for the past week!

...What? These ARE the last lines from my current WIP, I even submitted the complete chapter to my PhD directors just Monday for beta-reading! (because it most likely sucks)

Hm, I see, I see. You were expecting something fandom-related. Well, here goes nothing:

Oh wait, I didn’t actually write those. Well, I mean, yes I did write that, but I was just transcribing the official novels, so it's not like I wrote wrote those. Oops.

Uh... Sigh, I guess there is no choice, huh? Well, since the last SLS chapter dates back to April 1st, I guess I will indulge you with an excerpt from Chapter VI, The Dining Philosophers Problem. Stop reading here if you want to wait for the full chapter to be complete!

---

Unbeknownst to Hershel as he was lost in thought, Brenda studied him up and down, her irises evidently moving like a yo-yo as she evaluated the exact height of the item of her attention. “For someone so shy and discreet, it’s quite unexpected to see you with a hat like this. It looks funny—” She saw him startle as he was brought back to reality, then lower his eyes and shoulders in embarrassment when he processed her words, so she instantly corrected: “—but it suits you, Hershel, it really does!”

“It compliments your face,” Clark added with a light shrug.

Claire’s smile grew wider, as she regained some of her energy and playfulness. “Yes— This is exactly what I thought when I saw it. It just looks so perfect on your head! And I thought you needed a little something to give you a confidence boost,” she explained as she sneakily elbowed her boyfriend. He looked like he wanted to argue, but words were failing him. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the red flushing through his cheeks ended up speaking in his stead.

Clark gave a short, amused huff. “Outside of class, sure. But if it’s about the moments when you’re teaching, I don’t think you’ll need a ‘confidence boost.’”

“Well, he is a lot younger than what most expect of professors, and you can’t exactly tell me that he naturally reeks of authority,” Andrew retorted bluntly. Turning back to Hershel, he added: “The hat makes you look taller, so it will definitely help you command respect in the class. You’ll need it.”

His eyebrows arched in an embarrassed, slightly beaten up expression. “Thanks… I suppose.”

“Ah, don’t mind me, I’m just messing with you,” he immediately corrected while waving a dismissive hand. “You love explaining things, and you love having an audience. You will do great.”

This caught both his attention and confusion. “Me? An audience?” He frowned and blinked. “You make it sound like I enjoy being the centre of attention.”

“Hershel, don’t lie to yourself,” Brenda piped up with a sassy grin. “You totally have a taste for the dramatic.”

Clark crossed his arms, adorning the same expression. “One of the reasons you will make a great teacher is that you’ll keep your class at the edge of their seats. As soon as you’re about to explain a new find, you always have to act in such a cryptic way. Always keeping the suspense for as long as you can.”

His eyes were now trying to look at anything but the table. Grabbing the brim of his hat and slightly lowering it over his face ended up being quite the effective solution. “I’m— I’m not? What are you all talking about?”

“You are, Hershel,” Claire laughed softly. “And that’s another thing I love about you—you’re not even doing it on purpose. You just love telling stories, and you don’t even realise it.”

---

And since I need to play by the rules, I hereby tag @alex-r-kingston, @spyrothefox, @the-river-of-light, @magicwhiskers29, @stormflute, @furtiveseal, and whoever reading this who wants to share excerpts from their works!

Anyway I hope you don’t mind the longer post, I figured that since I had been tagged more than three times by now, I might as well do it three times in one /j

[lutiaslayton]

I’ve been wanting to draw PL-style banners for my fanfic’s chapters, and I think I've found the style I want to go for :D

Fun fact, did you know that out of all six main games, only Unwound/Lost Future’s chapters start with an animation? PL3 has an intriguing and poetic page turn, but all other games only have a fade in/fade out from a black screen.

[lutiaslayton]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

This chapter is finally out, and I had once again to split it up lmao. But hey, if this fic got an entire chapter dedicated to Roland and Lucille, then these other two lovebirds also deserve to have their own chapter. Thankfully, we have finally reached the “Comfort” part of Hurt/Comfort.