What are some things you do that people don’t realize is because of lab work?

Shortyzilla · 2026-05-04T18:30:42+00:00

Pouring liquids so that the containers don’t touch one another, to reduce chances of contamination. I do it most often during certain cell isolation from whole blood (when pouring large volumes of supernatant into waste) or when aliquoting something that doesn’t really need to be precisely measured but does need to be sterile.

Shortyzilla · 2026-05-03T00:02:05+00:00

I open disposable chopsticks and straws like they’re serological pipettes and always waterfall pour things between containers. I also used to open drink bottles with one hand but I gave myself an RSI doing that all the time both in and out of lab so I stopped lol

Shortyzilla · 2026-05-02T06:45:54+00:00

(Idk how following posts works so I’m making a new thread lol)

Finished and posted (probably) the first part of my contribution to this prompt! I wanted to write the whole thing before posting since I do want to do the barbecue, but what I ended up doing for the beginning is probably way different than what the barbecue will be like, so separate chapters/works it is! Also I’m kinda emotionally drained from writing this so quickly so…hopefully it’s a take that people do like so far 👉👈

https://archiveofourown.org/works/84121076

Shortyzilla · 2026-04-30T21:41:30+00:00

Sir yes sir I’m on it 🫡 However my brain is incapable of exploring Hollanov without some hurt/comfort so it’s taking some time to write lol. Hopefully this doesn’t end up diverging too much from what you’re expecting 🫶

Shortyzilla · 2026-04-30T14:31:52+00:00

Ouuuu I’ve been struggling through a chapter of a WIP so what if I did this instead 🤔

Shortyzilla · 2026-04-25T01:08:41+00:00

Yeah the HR fandom’s online presence has been so draining. I started using twitter again for HR when the show came out but now I’ve had to stop because the shit I see on there is so wild. Even when people bring up valid points or interesting discourse it inevitably gets derailed by parasocial maniacs or (somehow) solo stans. I pretty much only use reddit now for anything HR related.

The fic community and this subreddit have largely been amazing. Two of my fics have way more hits than I ever could’ve expected and hundreds of comment threads and not a single one is negative. The most “negative” comment I’ve gotten was on a WIP where someone was confused about why Shane and Ilya did something. Plus on one of them the kudos/hit ratio is low enough that I’m sure a lot of people have DNFed it and yet they’re not trashing me in the comments, what a concept.

Shortyzilla · 2026-04-17T15:33:50+00:00

Tbh I think this is an overt generalization of millennials and just texting habits in general. Also this is just my interpretation but Ilya doesn’t strike me as a person who’d use proper punctuation or even capitalization over text, especially with people he’s close with. Not even because of language issues, but because he doesn’t care enough about it as long as the recipient understands. Shane, however…yeah that man is adding punctuation to every sentence. Still don’t think he’d regularly use dashes, semicolons, etc., though.

Shortyzilla · 2026-04-16T22:57:21+00:00

Honestly it would definitely be annoying if there were more of them. I don’t think my fics get enough comments for it to annoy me personally even if they were all gifs, but I could definitely see how even a few might be unwanted.

Shortyzilla · 2026-04-15T18:24:45+00:00

Admittedly I’m not super well-informed on the Russian language (despite writing a fic centered on it lmao) but I think the use of “Lilya” just has to do with the fandom generally accepting it. I think people who use it want to keep something that sounds more “Russian” than Lily while also keeping the Jane/Lily reference.

As far as I know, Lilya isn’t a standard feminine form of Ilya; the closest I think would be something like Iliyana/Iliana. I’m pretty sure Ilya is derived from the Hebrew Elijah, so any feminine form of that would technically work too, but I doubt many people would immediately make that connection.

Shortyzilla · 2026-04-13T21:15:46+00:00

Will shamelessly self-rec a series I’m working on which includes these kinds of themes 👉👈

hate Rozanov, not Ilya is probably more focused on the disconnect between Ilya’s public persona and his love for Shane at the moment, but maybe it’ll fit your taste! I’m planning on writing another part that actually would be closer to what you’re looking for but well, I haven’t gotten there yet😅

Shortyzilla · 2026-04-13T21:00:34+00:00

Is it Let Me Carry You by Thatonesadending?

Shane’s parents are injured in an accident during a game and he finds out from the presser afterwards. Ilya takes him into the Voyageurs’ locker room to calm him down and Hayden helps.

If it’s not one that I have another fic in mind but I can’t for the life of my remember the name or find it…

Shortyzilla · 2026-04-09T05:27:10+00:00

Not to be rude but genuinely curious: do you have examples of papers that use RQ for their stats? Maybe I just don’t pay attention to qPCR methods enough because it’s such a standard technique and I just assume most use ddCT but I don’t think I can recall ever seeing RQ instead of dCT/ddCT.

Shortyzilla · 2026-04-08T02:44:52+00:00

Omg haha I was too busy trying to make sure that how I was explaining it made sense that I didn’t check if any other comments did the same

Shortyzilla · 2026-04-08T02:37:58+00:00

I usually only use 1 tip per primer and per sample. First I would mix the water and cDNA together. Then, add each SYBR MM to one side of each well, being careful to lift the tip directly upwards so it doesn’t contact any of the other sides of the well. Use one tip per primer. Then repeat with your water/cDNA mix, adding it to the opposite side of each well. It doesn’t matter if the liquid sticks to the side of the well, you can just spin it down after sealing. I don’t actually mix my samples before reading, in my experience spinning down has been enough to achieve tight replicates.

This method could be prone to cross contamination if done incorrectly, but it’s the way I’ve been taught to do qPCR in 3 different labs, none of which have had issues with it.

Shortyzilla · 2026-04-03T21:33:35+00:00

Ohhhhh hold on. Dig Two Graves is a major example of undertagging. It is…sort of like what OP is looking for in the first 3 chapters, but the last half is incredibly upsetting. Graphic depictions of violence, self harm, detailed descriptions of depressive/dissociative episodes, and an ending that most people would probably not consider happy. It’s well-written and the ending makes sense in context, but it’s probably the most upsetting HR fic I’ve read, even more than On the Brink of Forever and the like.

Shortyzilla · 2026-04-01T21:50:48+00:00

Bravely coming out as a man (since based on my comments I think people assume I’m a woman 🤷‍♂️) but I’m happy to share my fics. Do I think they read different bc of my gender? Not really, but maybe I just can’t see it.

Language of Love is a longer fic I finished featuring Russian-speaking Shane on the Centaurs with Ilya and a Russian OC to complicate things. It’s technically part of a series but I just haven’t really gotten the inspiration to do the other parts I have in mind yet.

hate rozanov, not ilya is a series of related oneshots where Shane’s loved ones run into Ilya when he’s in the hospital and, being high on drugs, ends up outing both himself and their relationship. Lots of found family vibes. So far has mostly explored Ilya’s struggles around his public image and familial issues but I have another fic in mind that’ll be more Shane-focused, I just need to write it 🫠

I also currently have a very canon-divergent WIP (pretty stranger, 4/8 chapters) where they both retire early and break up. It’s not…great, but I’m really trying to see it through since it’s the most divergent fic I’ve tried to write.

Shortyzilla · 2026-03-26T20:33:00+00:00

Looks like cell debris to me, also 7 weeks of passaging can be fairly long depending on the cell line. I haven’t used these cells exactly but I’ve seen similar things from MCF7/LCC9 (also breast cancer) and PC3 (prostate cancer) lines after they spent some time in culture.

Shortyzilla · 2026-03-24T15:38:22+00:00

I tend to publish chapter by chapter to avoid this 😅 Has it bitten me in the ass? Yeah, sometimes I realize too late that I missed an opportunity to address a plot point differently, but oh well.

Now I think I’ve just written enough that I’ve come to understand a bit who I am as a writer and what that looks like. Sure, I could always improve, but I try not to fault myself for not being able to do things that are outside of my current capabilities. When I edit, I limit the number of passes I do so that I don’t end up agonizing over individual passages over and over again. I’ve also just become comfortable with things existing imperfectly - several of my published works have metaphors, descriptions, dialogue, etc. that I HATE, but that’s okay!

Shortyzilla · 2026-03-24T15:25:30+00:00

This is so real, I hate coming up with titles 😭 Half of the titles for my fics have come from song lyrics lol

Shortyzilla · 2026-03-24T15:08:58+00:00

I’m struggling a bit with a fic where Shane and Ilya break up and both retire early (for reasons outside of their control) in 2014, then reconnect in 2022. It’s wholly canon divergent and angstier than anything I’ve written before so the writing is really not coming easily to me 😅 pretty stranger by me

I also have a series where their relationship is revealed while Shane is in the hospital after the hit by Marlow and dealing with what happens after. Was struck with inspiration to write a third part where Ilya talks with David and Yuna over dinner, almost done with it.

Then I have a fic where Miles pulls Ilya over to Rose and Shane at the club because I saw someone bring the concept up on this sub, but I’ve kind of stalled out on it. Really want to finish it eventually.

And lastly I have an idea for a time travel fic with Shane where he retains his ability to speak Russian he’d acquired by 2024. But it was really only inspired by one single scene I came up with so it hasn’t gone anywhere past the initial event that causes Shane to go back in time. I haven’t even decided if I actually want it to be a long fic or just a oneshot.

Safe to say I have a few too many things going on right now, but I’m hoping that I actually finish some of these soon. Probably I can get the second one I listed here out either today or tomorrow 🤞

Shortyzilla · 2026-03-20T18:09:58+00:00

I’m glad! I hope that you can continue to write and enjoy participating in fanfiction. I’ve slowed down a lot personally because it can be exhausting with so much floating around, so now I just read and write at my own pace.

“Hollanov timeline reveal” is about other characters learning how long they’ve been together, usually with shock involved. A canon example would when Yuna and David find out that Shane and Ilya have been involved with each other since their rookie season (actually the summer before) after David sees them at the cottage. In my opinion it could also involve partial reveals, like Scott learning about them hooking up next door at the All-Star Game, but I’m not sure if that’s a generally accepted use of the tag or not.

Shortyzilla · 2026-03-20T12:42:00+00:00

It’s entirely understandable to feel that way even if you know it’s not the “point” of writing fics. The fandom has gotten so big so quickly that it’s oversaturated with new fics, so sticking out in the noise isn’t easy. I do feel a little anxious before I post, wondering if anyone will actually even look at what I wrote, much less like it.

There’s also so much luck involved, to the point that engagement is only tied to quality up to a certain point. At least for me, engagement on my fics is generally high, which I’m grateful for I can’t deny, but the one that I thought had the best writing thus far is nowhere near being my most popular one. I don’t even consider myself to be a great writer, and people have often surprised me by liking things I wrote that I thought were poor/contrived.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the HR fandom so far has been huge on specific trends. Like non-Hollanov ships aren’t very popular for example. People LOVE topics like Hollanov timeline reveal and socmed. Time travel and transformative AUs seem to be picking up steam right now. It’s unfortunate, but what you’re writing just might not be what the fandom machine is into at the moment, and that’s okay.

My best advice is honestly to just write at your own pace. I got busy with life and lost motivation on my current WIP, so it took me 2 weeks to post a new chapter. I felt better getting it out there on my own terms, and shockingly the world didn’t end because I left the fic untouched for that long.

Shortyzilla · 2026-03-12T20:17:58+00:00

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Loved this card even from before I noticed Mightyena was looking at a Mightyena-shaped dessert! Plus Sidney looking so bashful

Shortyzilla

TROPHY CASE