ideas for the 5k

[nautastellaris]

locking in because i only have two months to prepare for ficwip's the 5k event, where i have to write an AU in 5,000 or less words. i want to aim for the 5k on the dot, though we'll have to see how it goes. i was thinking of doing a chapter fic where each chapter is exactly 1,000 words. i remember as a kid i used to write tons of chapters that were under 1k words, and honestly i wouldn't mind doing it again.

as for my ideas, i have to really sit down and think about it. i've been pretty hyperverbal for the past couple of days, and it's a little harder writing a journal entry because unlike discord it's not "live" until i hit the post button. anyway, i'll list my ideas under the cut.

be aware that some of these are oc x canon or yumeship!

ficwip the 5k ideas

• bakery au: adelaide owns a bakery, a successful one at that. she has never been late for work, and she gets recipes exactly perfect. but that changes when a new customer arrives, frederick. adelaide begins to mess up, often breaking dishes or burning cookies. she even accidentally sets fire to the microwave. she begins to wonder if it's bad luck, or if she's distracted by the new customer.

• royalty au: adelaide is a lady-in-waiting who's tired of being seen as the damsel in distress. she's also tired of her parents choosing spouses for her, especially ones adelaide has never met. she decides to leave the ball and explore the castle gardens on her own. what she doesn't realize is her husband-to-be, frederick, also feels the same way as she does.

• detective au: not sure how i could write a murder mystery in under 5k words but meh, i've written exactly 5k words of smut before. anyway, this one is canon x canon. frederick is a private investigator by night and musician by day. joseph is a mysterious newcomer to frederick's small town, and frederick wants to uncover what secrets this beautiful new face must hold; secrets that put frederick's life at risk.

• detective au (again): this is gonna be based off my very first identity v long fic, ars moriendi, which has since been taken down (and the 2nd version is being rewritten). joseph is a forensics photographer, currently trying to uncover who murdered his twin brother, claude. he meets an unlikely ally, frederick kreiberg, who has been in a number of controversies regarding the death of a famous artist. joseph promises to support frederick if frederick gives joseph what he needs to unravel the truth behind claude's death.

• mermaid au: a little bit based off of my lucaemil mermaid au, but is a standalone work of its own. this time it's alvaluca. alva lives a secluded life in a small lakeside house, far away from the big city. he enjoys studying the different marine life inside the lake, until one day he slips and falls into the water. he wakes up on the surface, and out of the corner of his eye he sees luca, a mermaid with memory loss.

• cat cafe au: alva owns a small cat cafe tucked away in a small town plaza. joseph is a lonely photographer who one day visits the cafe, taking pictures of all the cats available to adopt. he leaves his business card for alva, who looks through joseph's instagram and falls in love with joseph's technique. alva one day decides to commission joseph to take photographs for the cafe's website. the project takes over three weeks, but joseph and alva use this time to get to know each other, and potentially form a bond that neither were expecting to take shape.

• fairytale au: either sleeping beauty or a retelling of an estonian fairytale, but it will probably have either antolaide or noahluca. leaning more towards a noahluca sleeping beauty au though!

this list will very likely be updated before the 5k begins on july 1, 2026!