I've just posted another ficlet to the "Dead Dog Party" on fkcommentfic. (Isn't it fortunate that the deadline was extended?)

I don't know whether "A Cup of Coffee" is quite what havocthecat hoped for by the prompt. "Amanda Cohen is sharp, perceptive, and utterly loyal to the people that work for her. What is it that she's noticed - about Natalie, Schanke, and Nick - that she's never let on?". However, this is the idea that occurred to me—what can I say? You catch the bunny that pops out.

I should warn you that I've scarcely ever been in Starbucks, so I can only hope I haven't mortally mangled their many and varied offerings. I did do a bit of googling; but, after that, I could only contrive as best I might. If what I've written sound like nonsense...well, I can only say that Schanke buys coffee at "Buckstars"; and who knows what they serve? Right?

"A Cup of Coffee" turned out to be just that little bit longer than LJ allows, and had to be split in two. You can find it here.

In due course it will go up on my site, but this round on fkcommentfic still has a few days to run. Meanwhile, I have the pleasure of picking graphics!


Updated: 4 a.m.  I've now finished doing the webpage. It has a simple dark brown textured background that sets off the central panel, which is heavily outlined by a complex frame involving (among several others) a coffee bean graphic. The connection to the central motif of the story is incredibly obvious.   :)

I also used Microsoft Paint to draw a "Buckstars" coffee cup on the model of a Starbucks one. Resized down, it doesn't look too bad: a slightly larger version is at the top, and a little one is used to mark pauses in the story. It seems to work.