#Warning: Long tags ahead (2 topics)

[stopper-my-heart]

Nothing like Heartstopper S2E8 removing some of Taylor Swift's "seven" lyrics just so that the singing can specifically come back in at "Or hide in the closet" while Isaac is processing difficult emotions related to the book he's reading (i.e., Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen).

Did I mention "Or hide in the closet" hits just as the camera focus finishes shifting away from Isaac?

This is fine

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Unwanted 2

Warnings: non/dubcon, bullying, insults, body insecurity, perversion, and other dark elements. Not all kinks or triggers are tagged. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

Summary: You’re used to being unwanted, but a strange man might just convince you that’s a good thing.

Note: this is a sequel to Unsolicited/Unexpected, but with a different reader. This is Lloyd’s sequel. Peaches is flourishing somewhere else.

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging.

You lean on the break as you near the orange light. Derrick’s keyboard surrounds you with digital tap tap taps that almost make your ears itch. He chuckles at his phone as you check the rear view. You know it’s all in your head but you swear that car’s been following you for a while. 

“Take it easy,” Derrick warns without looking up as you slowly roll forward with the green. “I just got this washed.” 

You don’t mention that you’re hardly moving at all. You build to the speed limit and keep steady with the rest of traffic. He asked you to drive yet here he is telling you how to do it. You’re not the one with the history of reckless driving. Well, he only wanted to be able to play on his cell, he didn’t really care about you. 

He snorts again and you feel him glance over at you. You resist as frown. “What?” 

“What?” He echoes. 

“Are you looking at me?” You ask. 

“No. Why would I look at you?” He scoffs. “Focus on the road. Already gotta tell dad we couldn’t get mom’s Christmas present, don’t wanna have to show him a dent.” 

“Right,” you agree and steer the wheel, fixing your posture so you’re rigid in the seat.  

You carefully follow your usual route home. The chirp of his notifications are annoying. If you say something, he’ll only turn up the volume. 

It doesn’t feel fair. You don’t have a car. Your parents say if you want one, you should learn some responsibility and save up for one. You are. You have been for three years. 

You pull in behind your dad’s SUV and shift into park. Derrick doesn’t wait for you. He clicks his seat belt and it recoils above his shoulder. He gets out, not looking up from his phone.  

As you get out, a car rolls by. You glimpse its tail lights. You don’t recognize it. You rarely see a new car in the neighbourhood, yet it is the holidays, it isn’t unusual to have visitors. 

You continue up the long drive and inside. You leave your boots on the rack and hang your coat. You hear Derrick’s flat drone from down the hall. You follow it and peek through the doorway. 

Your dad has his arms crossed on top of the island counter. His teeth grit in disappointment as his eyes are drawn to your movement. Derrick waggles his phone carelessly. 

“Yeah, she took her time. I saw a lady walk out with the last bottle,” he snorts, “so you can thank her for that.” 

“What--” you squeak. You didn’t see the woman with the perfume. 

“Typical,” your dad sighs. 

“And get this,” Derrick steps up to the island and puts his phone on top. “She was up in the store flirting with some creep.” 

“Flirting? No, I wouldn’t,” you say. 

Your brother laughs, “listen to her. She’s always been a liar.” 

“A man?” Your dad narrows his eyes as he finally looks at you. “I sent you to buy your mother a present, not to act like that.” 

“No, really, I wasn’t-- He approached me. I told him--” 

“I hate when you lie,” your dad hisses. “And I always known when you do, so save it. I’ll have to order it and hope it shows in time.” 

You deflate. Somehow, it’s always your fault. It’s your fault that the stock is all out only a week ahead of the holidays and it’s your fault that guy even noticed you. You can’t say what you did but you must have asked for it. Just like everything bad. 

“I’m sorry, dad,” you say.  

He’s already walking away. Derrick too. When your mom gets home, she’ll do the same. You’ll save them all the bother and just go to your room. 

You retreat upstairs and close yourself into your only haven. You don’t have friends. Not anymore. Those you went to college with are all grown up and living on their own. And those are the ones that weren’t driven away by your parents. 

Well, who would want to be your friend? You still work at the same warehouse job you’ve had since college. It pays a bit more than minimum wage but nothing close enough to get you out of there.  

On top of that, you’re boring. Your family ostracised you for so long that all your hobbies are lonely; cross-stitching, puzzles, colouring. Although, having someone to craft with might be nice. 

You can’t focus on any of those. You’re still uptight about the day. Your dad’s upset with you, which might not be unusual but is still unnerving. And that man. You just can’t shake him. He was so strange. So persistent. 

You get up and go to your desk. You move your small vanity mirror across the wood and open the little plastic doors to reveal the mirror. You look at yourself with the same disappointment as your family. You’re not pretty. You’re not even interesting. And to make matters more complicated, you aren’t skinny either. 

You’re you and you are not good enough. For anyone. Knowing that, accepting it for years, you realise what that man was up to. It was a joke. He was making fun of you. He will probably tell his pals all about how he harassed the fat girl at the mall and how she was so scared of him. 

Oh well. At least you won’t ever see him again. 

You put a show on your phone and laze about as it plays in the background. You lay on the bed and stare at the ceiling. Sometimes you just like to enjoy not having to do anything. No chores, no work, no arguments. 

It doesn’t last long. There’s a knock at the door. You suspect who it is before your mom lets herself in without waiting for a response. You heard her car a while ago. You sit up and tap the screen of your phone. 

“You need help with dinner?” You ask. 

“Ordering, since you can’t be bothered to think ahead,” she chides. 

“I’m sorry, mom, but the calendar--” 

“Well, I worked all day. I’m exhausted.” She hisses. 

“Sorry, mom.” 

You won’t mention that you just got done a six-day sprint of twelve-hour shifts. You won’t say a word. You seal your lips and patiently watch her. 

“What’s this I hear about some man at the mall?” She curls her lips. “I didn’t raise you to talk to strange men.” 

“I wasn’t-- I’m sorry,” you apologise. Again. 

“You should be. You shouldn’t act like a slut. Your brother even said he was much older. That’s nasty,” she reproaches. 

You feel like you’ve been slapped. All you did was tell him to go away but no one’s asking you. Rather, they’re not listening. You ball your hands to fists and dig your nails into your palms. 

“I wasn’t meaning... to act like a slut,” you murmur. 

“Mm, well, I suppose I can’t blame you. You aren’t used to the attention,” her eyes flick up and down. She turns and lets out an airy sigh, “the pizza will be delivered soon. You may set the table. 

[anisespice]

“ the fuck-it list ” || hq! pt. 2

one || three || four

synopsis: there’s a list going around consisting of hot guys on campus that are deemed “fuckable” with theories as to what they’d be like in bed. it’s all fun and games until somehow your boyfriend ends up on this list. 

pairing: various x gn!reader [ hinata, bokuto, kuroo ]

warnings: cursing, suggestive language, hinata’s is SUPER long lol mild objectification, bo and kuroo’s are criminally the shortest ones i’ve written so far ugh (but they get the point across), and I think that’s it :D

notes: first of all, can i just say THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH ♡♡♡ i did not expect that headcanon to blow up, so i will do my very best to make the following ones just as juicy and entertaining for y'all :))) special thanks to @melanatedkink for helping out with this, she helps bring out my inner whore lol hope you guys enjoy !!

notes ii: didn't want the situations to get too repetitive, so these may take me a little longer for the other characters i do in the future, but i appreciate the love and patience for the series thus far !!! you guys are awesome

tagged: @daedaep69 , @ahahadumbo , @viktoryn , @mdsb , @ourgoddessathena , @ushygushybaby , @hyori2 , @lumpywolf , @fantasycantasy

HINATA knew all about the list. Being the social butterfly he was, it would be impossible for the topic not to come up in conversation, especially since a lot of his friends were on it. He found it interesting, to say the least, but never really took the whole thing too seriously. It was just for shits and giggles after all, right?

During a water break in the gym, Hinata aimed for his mouth while squeezing the bottle. Most made it inside, but the rest dripped down his chin. Thinking nothing of it, the spiker used the bottom of his jersey to wipe his face dry, be it water or sweat. And even though it was for a split second, it was more than enough time for the damage to be done to the hearts of those chilling up by the railing on the first level. Beneath the LEDs, in all their sinful glory, were Shoyo Hinata’s nipple piercings. 

The gates of heaven have opened, and the choir sings a hymn. But, along came Satan, as he rubbed his seedy hands together in mischief. The groupies were shellshocked and knew they must alert the masses, eyeing their prey all the way until the end of practice. This caught the attention of a certain blonde setter, who brought it to Hinata’s attention right off the bat as they cleaned up the court.

“Oi. Don’t wanna alarm ya or anythin’, but…those spectators up there been eye-ballin’ you for quite a while. Could be trouble.”

The tangerine gave a confused grin, looking over his shoulder in their direction. Sure enough, their eyes never wavered, not even after being caught. However, he merely shrugged it off. “It’s probably nothing.”

Atsumu hummed, skeptically. Though, he didn’t push it any further.

Once they were dismissed and sent to the showers, by the time Hinata was done he'd be the only one left in the locker room. He had to take his time and be extra careful not to bump his piercings, still kinda sensitive. Kageyama offered to stay behind so they could walk back together, "HINATA-BOKE, HURRY UP BEFORE I LEAVE YOUR SLOW ASS IN HERE."

But, Hinata politely declined. "SUCK A DICK, BAKAYAMA. I'm going over [_____]'s tonight, so go on ahead!"

With a nod, the stoic setter took his leave. "Cool. Tell 'em I said hey. See you tomorrow."

"See ya tomorrow!"

And then, all was quiet.

The only sounds filling the space were the running water, his humming, and the flickering overhead lights. When he stepped out with a towel wrapped snuggly around his waist, Hinata heard the sound of his phone ringing in his bag. His tired expression soon melted into joy at the cheesy love song he used as your ringtone.

Pressing the answer button, Hinata greeted you with his face all in the camera, and a bright, "Hi, [_____]!!~ You here already?"

Your eyes were on the road but you grinned, adoringly. "Hi, Sho. And, no, almost there though. I stopped by the canteen to grab some dinner. Know how hungry you get after practice."

"Mmm, starved. You're an angel, angel."

Staying on the call as he changed, the two of you conversed about each other's day as normal. However, when the topic of those groupies eventually came up, it instantly made you tense. Even though most of his fans were harmless, there were still a few rotten apples in the bunch that made you wary. "God, don’t tell me they asked you to spike their ass like a ball again."

Hinata snorted, throwing on a clean shirt, "That wasn't me, remember? That was Sakusa-san. Never seen him look so horrified." You laughed, having recalled. "But, according to 'tsumu-san, they hardly took their eyes off me tonight.”

“That’s old news, babe. Those vultures are always watching you.”

“Not always-”

"ALWAYS." You affirmed, pulling up to the building. Parking outside the doors, you teasingly said, "We can continue talking about how wrong you are in the car, I’m outside. And hurry, the food's gonna get cold."

"Yes, boss," he chuckled, gathering up his things. Throwing the duffle over his shoulder, Hinata made haste for the lobby, making sure to turn the lights off behind him. “See you in a minute, sunshine.~”

With that he hung up, walking with a spring in his step. He had a surprise for you, and couldn’t wait to finally show them off later. Now that the piercings had healed enough, Hinata couldn’t fight the obscene images clouding his mind of all the things you’d do once you saw them. It made him dizzy just thinking about it…

Unfortunately, someone would beat him to the punch. Or, more specifically, something.

‘Shoyo Hinata. 5’6ft sweetheart, and a ball of energy who’ll light up any room he walks into. He may look all innocent, but clearly, we’ve been underestimating him. Kinda has everyone wondering what other piercings he may be hiding…and where.~ What he may lack in height, he makes up for in girth. Expect to go for several rounds back to back, ‘cause he’s got STAMINA. This man will also be very vocal—Talk you through an orgasm, how good you make him feel, dirty-talk, begging, you name it—He is BIG on communication. He's also a cuddler, after-care will be disgustingly sweet, and pillow talk will be a must. 100/10.’

Wow. You suspected those parasites were up to no good, but never would’ve expected this. The picture attached to the thread was of your boyfriend, mid-air from blocking a ball, with his arms straight up. As he was coming down, his shirt was coming up, exposing his whole torso. It was a little blurry, but whoever took the photo zoomed in enough to where you could easily make out the silver on his nipples.

You pursed your lips, uncertain on how to feel. On one hand, you were kinda annoyed they, let alone the whole campus, got to see them before you even knew about them. But, on the horny hand…

“Hey, gorgeous!” Hinata exclaimed, startling you out of your thoughts. He had opened the back door, and threw his bag on the seat before eagerly joining you in the front. Leaning across the console to give you a kiss, he was taken aback when you stopped him, placing a finger on his lips. “Mmm?”

You gave him a blank look, making him a little nervous. He was just on the phone with you and things were totally fine, what could’ve possibly changed in the five minutes it took him to get to the car? Hinata didn’t have to ponder for long, though. Not when you used that very same finger to hook around his collar, yanking it downward. He yelped, pulling away in the last second, but his reflexes couldn’t save him this time.

You confirmed it with your own eyes now.

“I uh—…T-Those are…,” he spluttered, scratching his cheek. You happily watched him squirm, arms crossed with a knowing grin on your face. Hinata sweat-dropped. “I-I was gonna t-tell you, I swear, but I wanted them to heal a little before I did, so that you could…”

“Could what, Sho?”

His face was pure vermilion. With a huff, Hinata whined, “How’d you even find out? I had a whole thing planned and everything! Was it Bakayama? Did he tell you?? Dammit, I knew I should’ve asked someone else to come with me to the appointment!”

You chuckled, shaking your head. “No, it wasn’t Kageyama. I told you so, those vultures are always watching.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll tell you later. For now,” you reached over again, this time with both hands as lithe fingertips slid underneath the thin cotton of his shirt, trailing up the smooth skin until you brushed against the perked nubs. Hinata twitched, immediately biting back a moan as you began teasing them at once. If he got any redder, he’d surely pass out from all the blood rushing to his head. Luckily, it was also rushing elsewhere. “Let’s hurry and get you back to mine’s, hm?"

"...S-So I uhn," he keened when you lightly tugged on one, hand reflexively grabbing your wrist, but not to stop you. His eyes fluttered as he let you feel him up as much as you pleased, mouth hung open as he began panting like a dog. "...I take it y-you like them, then?"

"Oh, baby, I love 'em. Best investment ever, honestly. Can't wait to put them in my mouth," you sighed dreamily, gently pinching to elicit a moan from the ginger. Music to your ears. From the look on his face, he could probably cum from this feeling alone. You pulled away at the thought, smirking as he instantly began protesting.

"Aht, not so fast, we still gotta eat. But, don't worry. You'll get your dessert."

Homie nodded so quick, you were sure he gave himself whiplash. Adorable.

By the end of a very long night full of debauchery, you eventually told him about the list and how exactly you found out about the piercings. And you know what? He couldn’t even be mad. At least it wasn't Kageyama.

“Oh! He says ‘hey’ by the way.”

Now, BOKUTO thought he knew about the list. But after the whole…misunderstanding with Akaashi, it turned out he knew absolutely nothing. Granted, how he felt about it didn’t really change after his friends spent over an hour explaining it to him. If anything, it fueled his distaste for it even more. When he showed up on your doorstep looking absolutely distraught, fat tears rolling down his face as he proclaimed his unwavering devotion to you, you only needed one guess. 

‘Kotaro Bokuto. 6’2ft of GAWD DAMN. He's sweet, confident, and R E S P E C T F U L?? We love a triple threat. Not to mention how MASSIVE he is, and don’t even get me started on his ass. Would literally be unable to keep my hands to myself, just saying. Like how you see him dominate the volleyball court, the same could be said for the bedroom, without a doubt. Bokuto loves to give, but he’s also a taker. Definitely gives off Switch with service Dom tendencies. Plus he’s greedy. He doesn’t care if you already came four times, give him some more!!! ∞/10. He is beyond the standard. Argue with the wall.’ 

You remembered reading it while taking a break from studying, merely brushing it off. It was only a matter of time he’d end up on their radar, you had prepared for it since the list first started circulating around campus. Frankly, you had completely forgotten about it; up until now. 

“Ko, baby, please calm down-”

“I don’t care how many people wanna touch my ass! They can’t have it, it’s for you to touch and nobody else!” 

You quickly pulled him into your room before he screamed any more embarrassing stuff in the hallway, knowing your neighbors probably recognized his voice by now. The last thing you wanted was another noise complaint, your RA already despised his visits enough to consider banning him altogether–Whether or not they had the authority, you’d rather not find out today. 

Once behind the safety of a closed door, the behemoth of a man came crashing down to his knees, arms circling around your midriff as he buried himself in your stomach. You jumped slightly as your room shook from the sudden action, deeply exhaling in order to reconfigure your thinning patience. Taking a page from Akaashi’s book, you knew getting snippy with Bokuto while he was in this state would only worsen it, so you approached cautiously. 

“Ko,” you cooed, reaching down to caress his deflated hair. He sniffled, hugging you closer in response. Gently, you pushed him far enough to see his face, wiping away the tears as you offered him a soft smile. “Look at me, do I look upset to you?”

Bokuto took a moment to search your eyes, then shook his head.

“Exactly. Which means you don’t need to be, you’ve done nothing wrong. Now stand up, I’m sure that drop hurt your knees, didn’t it?” 

He sniffled once more, then nodded. Slightly embarrassed, Bokuto stumbled back up to his full height, and sure enough, his knees were red. You tsked, gesturing to your desk chair for him to sit on while you fetched an ice pack from your fridge. 

“Although I appreciate the reassurance, I already knew you were on the list, babe.” 

Bokuto’s head shot up from looking at the floor, mood instantly doing a one-eighty as he gaped at you in shock. “HUH? Why didn’t you say anything to me about it?”

“I didn’t think you cared,” you replied, chuckling. “It’s been up for weeks. I figured you saw it and just ignored it, or something. Besides, I’ve gotten used to people openly expressing their attraction to you, so it wasn’t anything new.” 

“You shouldn’t have to get used to it! People need to respect our relationship, no matter how fantastic I am!” 

You snorted, but couldn’t help the chuckle. Returning with an ice pack, you kneeled by his legs and placed the cooling relief upon the irritated skin. “Mm, you are pretty fantastic. But, I don’t mind the attention you get, Ko. Because I know I’m the lucky one who gets you all to myself.” 

Bokuto beamed down at you, lower lip quivering at the praise. 

Effortlessly, he swooped you up from the floor and held you in his lap, the ice pack long forgotten as it slipped out your hands. With a loving squeeze, Bokuto nuzzled into the side of your neck, forcing soft giggles out of you from the ticklish feeling as you hugged him back. You felt so warm in his embrace, and he smelled like home. Even if you’d never say such corny things out loud, the way you melted in his arms was enough for him to know exactly how you felt; it was mutual.

"Plus, you can get a bit intense. They wouldn't last the night."

"Hey, hey, hey, you got that right," Bokuto grinned, smugly. "No one could ever handle me as well as you do, baby owl..." he purred, warm breath fanning over the skin of your shoulder, signaling goosebumps up your arms. You hummed in thought, snuggling in closer, whilst also not-so-accidentally grinding back against the flag pole in his sweats. He grunted, hips jerking upward in surprise.

"Hm, I dunno. It's been a while, I may have forgotten how."

Bokuto chuckled at the tease, the vibrations deep within his chest as he squeezed you a little tighter. You bit your lip to hold in your giddiness as his large hands began to wander, feeling a different kind of warmth as he began to overwhelm your senses. Trailing wet kisses from your shoulder to the side of your face, he playfully nipped at your cheek, eliciting a tiny squeal from you as you wiggled in his hold. And doing so only made you grind back on him even more.

His breathing grew heavier with each passing second, letting out a guttural groan before he flipped you around, making you straddle him. To anyone else, experiencing his sudden mood changes would've given them whiplash. Just moments prior, he'd been on his knees, crying with his head buried in your stomach like it was the end of the world. Now, he looked about five seconds from being on his knees for a different reason. For you, it was just another Wednesday.

"That so? How 'bout I remind you then?"

KUROO thought the list was the most hilarious thing to ever occur on campus, hands down one of his go-to's for entertainment when he’s bored. 

Like right now. 

The lecture dragged on for what felt like forever, the professor mumbling about absolutely nothing of value as everyone in the class busied themselves with whatever would keep them awake. Some played games on their laptops pretending to take notes, while others blatantly chatted with their deskmates.

With an airpod in, Kuroo had you on facetime in the corner of his screen so that you could keep each other company while he scrolled through social media, and you put away dishes. You tried to convince him to leave the class early, "Clearly you aren't paying attention, so you might as well."

"Unfortunately, he only counts attendance if you sign your name on the exit sheet at the very end of the lecture. So leaving early's out of the question." He muttered. You hummed in understanding, then chortled.

"Oh. Sucks to be you, then."

Kuroo glared half-heartedly at you, but it completely softened at the sound of your laughter, despite it being at his expense. He kissed his teeth after checking the time, mildly annoyed that he still had less than ten minutes. “Why’d you even take the course if you couldn’t care less about it?”

“I needed another elective. And…Kenma was the one who recommended it. Said it’d be an easy pass.”

“And you believed him?” Cue another round of your laughter.

He grumbled, off-screen for you but clearly pouting as he chose to ignore your question. No matter, his silence was answer enough.

With a mere shake of your head, you continued putting away dishes on your end. Kuroo, on the other hand, found himself stumbling upon something that perked him up instantly. After refreshing the feed for more mindless content, the user-handle he knew all too well showed itself like a beacon of hope, beckoning him with the promise of filling the next ten minutes with something way more interesting than…whatever this class was about.

@/FckIt22.

After the last fiasco with Bokuto, then later on Kenma, the ravenette contemplated blocking them. As golden as those situations were, something told him that deep down he could be next. But, it was days like this he was glad he didn’t. His boredom was becoming unbearable…and it was so tempting. What harm could it do to look at this one little upda—“HAH?!”

‘Tetsurou Kuroo. 6’2ft gentleman that you’d proudly take home to mom, and even get your father’s approval. With his charm and roguish good looks, it's no wonder his reputation screams 'playboy'. But, he can’t fool me. I know what he is. A whole SUB, no sandwich. I’m sure being as tall as he is, and how he carries himself, people automatically assume he’s a Dom. False. If you’re looking to be dominated, keep looking. Kuroo wants to be babied, told he’s a good boy, and edged until he nearly passes out. Definitely a little brat, but his hair defies gravity for a reason, PULL ON IT. Boss him around, take control, and watch him literally melt in your hands. 8/10 because he's also a stubborn mofo. Literally would pay to see this man cry from overstimulation ugh.’ 

Kuroo shot out of his seat, practically piercing right through the air of humdrum. He not only startled you, but the entire lecture hall including the professor. Comically slapping a hand over his mouth, Kuroo’s face immediately began to burn from not only his outburst but also at the fact that his karma came way sooner than he was prepared for...

He wanted nothing more than for the ceiling to collapse on him and him only.

“Tetsu?? Are you okay, what happened?? Hello??”

"U-Uh, I'll call you back." He squeaked, double-tapping his airpod to end the call.

The professor crossed his arms, "Mr. Tetsurou. I understand that my lecture may not be the most enjoyable part of your day, but I would appreciate it if you endured it for just," the professor checks his watch, "six more minutes. Is that alright with you?"

Before he could even open his mouth to give an excuse, a chorus of vibrations, dings, and whistles from various phones instantly made the business major shrivel up. Next thing he knew, what used to be a room full of the undead was now livelier than ever before. Kuroo could feel every single one of their searing gazes; like being an insect under a microscope.

"Bro, this you?" A student sitting behind him leaned forward, phone in hand as he shoved it in Kuroo's face. The picture stared back at him, smugly grinning and shirtless as he ironically thirst-trapped the camera. Out of all the pictures…

He internally cringed. "U-Uhh..."

"Please, everyone settle down, so we can continue-" The professor attempted to redirect focus, but he had already lost it way before all this happened. A few more students jumped straight into bombarding him with questions, eager to push for more info now that this supposed new side of him had been revealed.

“Whoa, how much of this is true??”

“Kuroo-san, I’ll happily baby you!~”

“Aw man, thought for sure you’d be the type to take control, not give it up. What a bummer. No offense.”

He absolutely took offense to that.

With no help from the professor, as he tried and failed to recollect everyone's attention, Kuroo thought of the next best course of action to get him out of this sticky situation. Jumping out a two-story window didn't sound so bad, and the broken bones would be a great distraction from the suffocating feeling of public humiliation.

In the midst of all the theories and queries being thrown at him from every angle, his phone went off multiple times. Mostly from you, but the rest were no doubt the groupchat clowning him once they caught wind of the news. The guys weren't gonna let him live this one down, that's for certain. And to make matters worse...he still had four long minutes left in the class.

He exhaled, "Should've blocked 'em when I had the chance..."

Gathering up his stuff, Kuroo used his long legs to evade the ever-growing crowd of prodding students, all most likely not even caring about the post itself, but more so just wanting to kill class time; he refused to be a scapegoat.

Marching right up to the professor, who gave up trying to round up the class, the rooster-head mustered up the most pathetic look possible to evoke sympathy outta the wrinkly man. "Hey, so uh… may I please be excused a little early for this one time, sir? I'd really hate to be such a distraction from your insightful lecture-"

"Just go, Mr. Tetsurou." Didn't need to tell him twice.

As soon as he made it to your dorm, you could imagine his shock that his friends were already there, waiting as if they knew he'd come running straight to you. You offered him a teasing grin, shrugging as you said, “They came for…emotional support.”

He didn't know if he was mortified or mortified—Yaku, Yamamoto, Bokuto, Akaashi, hell, even Kenma rolled out of bed, wrapped in a blanket burrito and all, just to see the look on his best friend's face. He grinned, sardonically, then patted the empty spot on the couch right next to him. "Welcome to the club. We've been expecting you."

Oh, he was definitely blocking that godforsaken list now. And finding a new elective.

© 2023-2024 anisespice ッ all rights reserved. likes, comments & reblogs much appreciated!

[trigun98watchparty]

Alrighty!! So poll results are out (thank you so much!!!) and I'm taking it as a go-ahead for this event! Lurker majority, welcome~!

So, the tag will be #tri98watchparty, @ this blog and I will find you immediately in case your post doesn't show on the tumblr tags.

The duration of the event will be monitored (softly) from now until the first week of August (because that is 26 weeks for those who'd like the time), and primarily during the month of April (where the event will follow one episode per day for 26 days).

The prompts are set up so that anyone can build their own watch party experience however way fits them best, and of course the prompts are just there as suggestion ideas for topics and everyone is free to ignore them entirely.

The main goal of this is to have fun with your friends, on your own, with the community. Interact or lurk, we are all sharing the love and appreciating the media we were given.

It goes without saying that the main rule is to not be mean or aggressively negative towards anyone. Everyone is allowed to like and dislike something so long as no one is hurting another. I'm excited for discussions and banter!

All of this being said, if you would all like me to make a trigger warning list for each episode, please let me know!!! I've seen some out there, but I'd be happy to double check for any specific triggers that anyone has, and I can post a list with time stamps if preferred. Just specify the triggers you want flagged.

Without further delay, prompts below, and fun away!

Episode 1: The Stampede Episode 2: Water / Resources

Episode 1&2: The Legend, No Man’s Land

Episode 3: Frank / Brandon Marlon Episode 4: Derringer

Episode 3&4: Guns / Weapons, A Haunting Past / Then and Now, Forgiveness

Episode 5: Ideals / Community Episode 6: Survivor

Episode 5&6: Necessity / The Will to Survive, July

Episode 7: Memory Episode 8: Principles

Episode 7&8: Keeping a Promise, Atonement

Episode 9: Wolfwood / Kindness Episode 10: A gunman / Wit Episode 11: Milly / Strength

Episode 9&10&11: Burden / White, Black, and Gray

Episode 12: Anger, Diablo Episode 13: Complexity Episode 14: Family

Episode 12&13&14: Meryl & Milly, Mercy / Peace, Value

Episode 15: Gung-Ho Guns Episode 16: Fifth Moon

Episode 15&16: Legato, The Body / Autonomy

Episode 17: Childhood Episode 18: Anonymity / Eriks

Episode 17&18: Safety / Rem

Episode 19: To not kill Episode 20: Home Episode 21: Death

Episode 19&20&21: Brad, Loss of innocence

Episode 22: Orphanage Episode 23: Paradise

Episode 22&23: The quartet, Journey to Eden / The price to pay

Episode 24: Sacrifice Episode 25: Life / Love Episode 26: Brothers / Peace / Forgiveness

Episode 24&25&26: Healing / Love & Peace, Paradise & Redemption / The price to pay

[the-crafty-unicorn]

"Hi...! I'm CraftyCorn! Wanna help me with my painting? :)"

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Last Edit: October 7th (New blog tags)

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[Hello there! I'm Mod Tune! Pleasure to meet you all! I'll be running this blog to go with the other Smiling Critters!! Just know, this character is not mine and belongs to the creators of Poppy Playtime!! All art comes from there, too, but I will be making my own as well as fanart and reaction images!!]

[This ask blog currently consists of both Craftycorn and Bigger Craftycorn, as well as BB Crafty's mini critters! So go ahead and shoot any of them some asks! Crafty has her own tags while both BB Crafty and the mini critters share some tags. All of my designs for the characters here are all underneath the cut at the end of the main things on this post, so check those out!]

[This blog will include topics such as depression, loss of sanity, swearing (mostly from mod), harmful thoughts, some acts of violence, and few other topics I cannot name at the time. Interact at your own risk, you have been warned]

[Interested in a Smiling Critters discord server? Just go ahead and read the info here!]

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RULES OF THE BLOG!

1. No inappropriate asks! This is a PG-13 blog!

2. Some violent asks are okay, like basic acts to harm her, but please just do not go overboard with them. As in, do not graphically explain them or have it result in missing limbs. It hurts to read.

3. Ask me before involving me in anything! I've been having issues with this for a few days now, and I need to finally bring it up.

4. No forced roleplaying! Aka, don't narrate my characters for me! Please! I've had one or two asks/reblogs like this, and it really doesn't make me motivated to answer them! Roleplaying characters means I play my characters, and you play yours, don't decide what my characters do for me.

5. Don't spam my inbox/notes often. I have a life outside of this blog, so if I don't answer asks or reblogs, I need you to be patient with me.

6. Do not judge me for my headcanons, roleplay threads, or what friends I have here. It's a very cruel thing to judge, and I'd rather you not.

7. Please, don't steal/repost my art. It may not be much compared to other artists, but I'd like my art to stay my own. Please and thank you.

8. Magic anons are okay!! You're allowed to send them as long as I can understand them and they make sense for the Poppy Playtime universe

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"Normal speech"

Thinking!! Hmmm...

"YELLING!!!!"

"Shh... quiet..."

-Lights, camera, ACTION!-

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The other Smiling Critters!! [GO FOLLOW THE OTHER COOL PEOPLE ���]

Dogday (big & small) - @that-sunny-pup (both) & @dogday-shines-bright

Kickin' - @the-cool-chicken

Bubba - @bubba-bubbaphant & @bubbathe-bubbaphant

Hoppy - @hoppyhopscotch1 & @bunny-go-hop-hop

Bobby - @lil-miss-bearhug & @bearhugs-from-bobby

Picky - @picky-piggy

Catnap (big & small) - @acat-foryournap & @catnaplovesnaptime

[And here are the Nightmare Critters!!!]

Baba - @baba-chops-emo-sheep

Rabie - @rabie-baby-bat

Simon - @simon-the-dragon

Allister - @allister-the-procrastigator

Poe - @poe-the-crow

[Mod's HC design of the girl:]

[My bigger body Crafty design!]

[My mini critters' designs!!]

[My favorite Crafty art!]

[thosewickedlovelies]

Private Eye, chapter 2 | Tim Rockford/Marcus Moreno x F!Reader

Summary: With too much evidence and not enough progress, you and “Agent Rockford” go and meet the neighbors. But you’ll need a more creative solution to get into the rest of the mansion…

Tags: vague murder(?) mystery; workplace romance; we meet Marcus's powers 👀

Word count: 5,460

Note: welcome to chapter 2! I've lost perspective on this one honestly, but please enjoy the promised sneaking around in the dark 🥷🏻

ch 1 | Masterlist

It’s clear from the get-go that you and Marcus make an effective team. Your strengths balance the other’s weaknesses. You’re both thorough and driven to make something of this strange case- but you’re drowning in evidence, and the potentialities pull you every which way.

“We need a board,” Marcus declares.

It’s day three since his arrival, and he’s made himself at home at a desk in the basement. So have you, for that matter- it’s easier to keep everything related to the case in one place, so you drag a spare desk next to his and divvy up the paperwork. The wood-paneled walls are about 30 years out of style and the space is full of old metal filing cabinets, but it could be worse. There’s some natural light. Plus, you have the bathrooms all to yourselves.

At his pronouncement, you glance at the clock. “It’ll make a late night to start it now,” you point out.

“I don’t care, I can’t make sense of anything while it’s all piles of paper.” Marcus groans, sitting up and rolling his neck. 

He sees your expression and falters. “You don’t have to stay. I don’t mind doing it. Or starting it, anyway.”

Your sigh flutters the documents strewn over your joined desks. “There’s a drawer of takeout menus upstairs. Any preferences?”

His face lifts, and it honestly defies logic that a man can look simultaneously so rugged and so adorable.

“Do you have a good Chinese?”

--

Marcus is surprisingly adept with chopsticks, making you wonder how many evenings he’s spent like this. Maybe he just really likes Chinese food? You’re adamant about separating food and work- taking an actual dinner break- and he seems perfectly happy to follow your lead.

He makes a good dinner date, easily balancing personal chitchat with lighter topics. Despite the looming task ahead, it’s a refreshing change from your normal quiet evenings alone.

After tracking down the promised corkboard, thumbtacks, and enough red yarn to commit a murder yourself, you’re ready to carve a path into the uncharted jungle that is this case.

“Okay,” Marcus finally sighs. “If we’re gonna do this, I need to show you something. And you can’t laugh,” he warns.

His tone gives you pause. You regard him warily, until he takes out…a glasses case?

From the case Marcus removes a pair of glasses with dark, round frames, and lifts them to his face with exaggerated reluctance. He looks for all the world like a schoolboy sitting in the principal’s office. Laughter begins to bubble beneath your ribs.

As if he can sense it, he pins you with a warning look.

You clap your hands over your mouth, but the giggles spill out regardless. “Oh my god, is this why you’ve left your sunglasses on every time we’ve gone to the mansion? Are they prescription?”

“Yes,” Marcus sulks. His pouty lower lip only enhances the schoolboy effect, and your laughter redoubles.

“I can see why you don’t wear them around the other officers. They’re so cute,” you tease. “I just want to pinch your cheeks.” You don’t, but you pinch the air toward him for effect.

At your words Marcus ducks his head. Is that a hint of color in his cheeks?

You clear your throat, quelling your amusement. “Okay, sorry, I‘m done. They are cute though. Very…suburban dad.”

The glasses lend him a perfectly harmless air. With his suit jacket long since shucked off and his tie loosened after-hours, you could easily imagine him waiting on a little girl after soccer practice, arms open for an energetic hug. He’d be the heartthrob of the soccer moms with his handsome face and old-school manners, you think wryly. His shoulders in that gun holster don’t hurt either.

Marcus snorts. “Huh. Well, you got me there. That’s my other job.” He says it with perfect nonchalance, but your mouth parts. Marcus avoids your gaze, suggesting that he’s well aware of the trust he’s placing in you by sharing such information. You’d wondered at his ring, but still…

As if reading your mind, he holds up his left hand. The matte silver ring on the third finger glints in the light. “Widower, though. So, no one to come after you for flirting.”

You sputter and choke on your noodles. Marcus laughs.

--

“Do it again,” you beg. “Pleeeease.” 

Two days later, and you’re considering bringing down another corkboard. The one across the room is nearly covered already. Newspaper clippings, photographs, evidence files, interview notes. All overlapping and criss-crossed with red string in an array that would make a conspiracy theorist proud.

Marcus tsks. Despite himself, he lifts your proffered thumbtack into the air with a point of his finger. It hovers between you, yellow plastic glinting around the metal barb- until with a flick, Marcus embeds it into the corkboard on the opposite wall.

You had inquired only briefly about Marcus’s powers the first day you met. “Metal manipulation,” he’d replied, still sitting beside you at the captain’s desk.

“Must be useful against bullets,” was all you’d said.

But today, watching him remove and rearrange the bestringed tacks in the board like a conductor before a symphony- you had to ask for more details.

With a quick glance at the stairwell, he’d reached into his jacket and removed the gun from his holster. “Actually carrying around a gun is mostly for other people’s benefit. It can be anything I need it to be.” Marcus then proceeded to crumple the metal into a ball, stretch it back out into a crowbar, form tiny fragments into keys with which he unlocked every lock in the room, and finally, with his eyes closed in concentration, returned the pistol to its original form. 

Your mouth hung open.

Marcus offered the reborn gun to you for inspection. 

“Wow.” The metal was faintly warm to the touch. You turned it over, opening the chamber and clicking the trigger, but everything seemed to be exactly the right shape it should. “So you’re basically a metalbender. Like from that kid’s show.” 

Marcus’s laughter warmed the air. “Exactly. My daughter loves that show. When she was little she was obsessed with Toph, because she was ‘just like me.’”

His smile was infectious, full of pride in and love for his daughter. Suburban dad heartthrob strikes again, you thought, your cheeks warming.

“I can do other, less flashy things, too. That’s kind of the point of my branch of the FBI. They train us to use our powers in ways you wouldn’t immediately consider. For instance, I can tell you the elemental composition of every metal object in this room, just by concentrating. I can usually tell if there’s foreign material in or on metal things, too, even trace amounts.”

You thought about what that could mean. “So if someone didn’t clean a piece of evidence well enough, you’d be able to tell even if forensics failed?”

“That’s right,” Marcus confirmed. He looked strangely somber about it, as if the morality of his powers was a question whose weight never lightened. 

“Huh.” 

That was something to chew on. There was a stretch of silence while you mulled over all he’d shared.

It didn’t last long, though, as if Marcus was afraid of what conclusions you might come to.

“It also means I can do stuff like this-” and then he’d levitated a thumbtack and shot it across the room like a bullet.

“No more, now,” he says, stern but apologetic. “We have to be careful at work.” Still, a conspiratorial light twinkled in his eyes.

Marcus stands from his desk with a stretch and a groan. He approaches the board you’d just had him flinging thumbtacks at and regards it.

“Who are we missing here? Is there anyone else involved who could be a suspect?” The stubble on his cheeks scrapes audibly at his thoughtful scratch. He’s squinting slightly- his glasses lay half-covered by an evidence bag on his desk.

A knock sounds from the top of the staircase. “Detective? Agent Rockford? Some new data for you.” 

“Come on down,” you call.

“Don’t tell me it’s more knives,” Marcus groans.

The junior officer, Richards, falters at the base of the stairs, clearly cowed by the sight of the big bad FBI agent turning his scowl from the corkboard to him.

You stifle a laugh. Scowl, your ass- how no one has ever clocked that for the myopic squint it is is beyond you.

“Stand down, Agent,” you drawl. Pointedly, you rustle the bag hiding his glasses as you stand. “Thanks, Richards.”

The officer hesitates, glancing between the file he’d just handed you and the corkboard Marcus is studying. 

“...Did you have some thoughts on the case?” you prompt.

Marcus looks over alertly, and the officer scampers. “No, no, not until I read up on it some more. See you around!”

You snigger as you head over to the board, skimming the file as you go.

“Friendly guy,” Marcus remarks, although his glance toward the staircase is bemused. 

Your snicker turns into a full-belly laugh. “Normally he is friendly, Rockford. If you didn’t always look like you’re suspicious of everyone, he’d probably ask you out.”

“What?” Marcus’s brow furrows.

You exaggeratedly imitate his grumpy-looking squint, putting an elderly pucker in your lips for good measure. You plant your face about an inch from the corkboard.

“Oh.” Marcus grimaces. “I know, it’s a terrible habit. Missy is always warning me I’m going to get even more wrinkles.” He sighs in resignation.

You hide a smile, your glance skipping over the fine lines around his eyes and mouth- signs of age that a child wouldn’t understand the appeal of. “I hope your FBI team has a super-powered eye surgeon.”

“Actually- uh.” Marcus cuts himself off, his mouth turning down. “That’s probably classified,” he mumbles.

--

“Any plans for the weekend, Agent Rockford?” You make an effort to use Marcus’s fake name every so often, so you won’t forget and slip up around others.

Marcus leans back in his chair. “Nothing exciting. I thought I might check out the mansion again, maybe see if the neighbors are in. Get some interviews.”

You look at him. 

After a second, he realizes that you haven’t responded, and looks over. “…What?”

“People usually make non work-related plans on the weekends, Marcus.”

“Oh. Well…” Marcus shrugs, fidgeting. “Missy’s going to be at a school thing, so I won’t have anything else to do. And we haven’t made much progress with the neighbors,” he points out.

He’s right, but still.

You hesitate. You don’t have any exciting plans either, and people might be more likely to be home during the day on a weekend…

“All right. Let’s do it.” 

Marcus looks confused. 

“I’ll come with you to interview some neighbors this weekend. It’s a good idea,” you clarify.

“Oh, I wasn’t suggesting that you had to come with me,” Marcus says hastily. “Just that..I don’t mind, and, you know, I’m not doing anything else.” He shrugs again, looking away.

“I know. I’m saying that I don’t mind either, and you’re right that we need to interview the neighbors. They might be home on a weekend. We can get a feel for the neighborhood.”

His mouth opens and shuts. Marcus hesitates, like he thinks he should argue but can’t think of anything convincing. He settles on a grateful smile. “Okay.”

--

It’s a sunny day. The sky is clear, and you have a great view from the top of the hill, which is, naturally, where the mansion sits.

It’s not a very tall hill, but it’s enough of a slope that one could easily feel superior looking down from atop it. The residents of the houses below would be unable to avoid seeing the mansion whenever they looked up. The old New England houses echo the style of the mansion, albeit on a smaller scale- stately, grand and yet sort of homey at once. Highlights include spires topped with weathervanes featuring quirky animals and turrets with children’s drawings taped in the windows.

The air smells of greenery- all the hedges in the garden, probably. And something else; the odd smoky whiff of a weekend barbeque, interspersed with something…sweeter. Mom with oven mitts inside while Dad lights the charcoal outside. Apple pie America, indeed.

You survey the suburbia laid out below. You and Marcus agreed to meet at the mansion and strike out on foot from there, and now you’re deciding on a plan of attack.

“I say we canvas this street,” he’s saying, pointing to the uppermost houses, “maybe the next one, and see what the vibe is like from there.”

“What the vibe is like?” you repeat, amused. “Did you pick that up from Missy?”

Marcus coughs and shuffles a bit. “Did I use it right?” he asks, sheepish behind his glasses. The normal ones today- the round lenses made him seem sweet and trustworthy. 

It’s impossible not to laugh. “Technically, I guess. Come on then, hip guy.”

The hill isn’t very wide, or steep. These streets make up just one small subdivision venturing up into the woods, branching off the two-lane highway. There are others further along, clustered more densely closer to the town. The houses here are arrayed like a waterfall, with the mansion as its source.

The top street, in fact, is only four houses long. The first two are uneventful. One man answers the door with barbeque tongs in hand, his New Balance sneakers gleaming as white as his smile. He offers you and Marcus burgers to go, which you politely decline. You glimpse a woman coming up behind him as the door closes; her face is as stiff as her husband’s was welcoming. Interesting.

Things get even more interesting at the third house. 

“Oh, you’ll want to talk to the neighbor if you’re looking into Ursula.” The young person on the threshold nods their head to the only house you haven’t been to. “She can go on about her for hours, especially if you mention the pie.” They roll their eyes in a long-suffering expression.

You and Marcus exchange a look. “The pie?” Marcus slowly starts to reach for the small notebook he keeps in his jacket pocket.

“Yeah. Ursula liked to bake. Won the county fair pie competitions almost every year. Winter and summer, even after they made it anonymous and started rotating the judges.”

The neighbor and resident of the fourth house introduces herself as Olivia Tate. A woman with a somewhat jowly resemblance to a bulldog, she nearly starts slavering when your questions turn to Ursula’s pies. Her kitchen is the source of the sweet smell you caught from the top of the hill- a picture-perfect, lattice-topped pie bakes in the oven, which, Olivia laments, you could have sampled if you’d arrived half an hour later. 

Her jaw clenches at your implications about Ursula’s baking. “I’ve been baking pies 30, 40 years, and I’ve never had anything taste like hers. That’s the real mystery- what she puts in them!”

Her voice pitches higher the more you probe about Ursula and her pies, and the fledgling business around them she had apparently just started.

At the end of the street, Marcus jots hurriedly in his notebook, noting everything you had learned at Olivia’s house. When he’s done, you turn your head toward the top of the hill. “Should we go back to the mansion and have a closer look around the kitchen? This is the first we’ve heard of the pie business. It could be a fresh perspective.”

The mansion’s main kitchen is an enormous, envy-inducing affair. A stunning tile backsplash, an island bigger than your kitchen table, and a stove nearly as big as the island. At first glance, the single knife block and magnetic rack above it appear perfectly in order- there’s nothing to indicate the volume of knives the department had found stashed in the rest of the house, some of them nearly the size of machetes.

With fresh motivation, you start opening cabinets, nudging aside canned goods and tubs of flour. You and Marcus have hardly begun, however, when a thumping gait sounds from within the house, clearly getting closer. You exchange an alarmed glance.

A white-haired, wide-shouldered figure swings open the door. Mud flakes off the galoshes on his feet. Long gardening gloves sheath his hands. The man stands still for a long moment, silently measuring you.

“May I ask what you’re doing in Boulton house?” His voice is coarse with age, but his tone is unmistakably flat.

--

After being unceremoniously removed from the mansion, you stand by your patrol car, fuming. “Can you believe that guy? We’re investigating a crime scene. You can’t tell me he doesn’t know something.”

The groundskeeper had, of course been interviewed straightaway upon the breaking of the case. He hadn’t had much useful to say, and you’d released him thinking that you’d try again once you had more context in which to question him. But for him to claim now that your searching was out of bounds..!

“Probably. But he is within his rights to kick us out.” Marcus watches you cautiously. 

Leaning against your car, you face the street below, both lost in your own thoughts. From this height you have an unobstructed view of Olivia Tate’s house. It’s close enough, you realize, to make out her silhouette bobbing at a window, presumably rolling out her umpteenth pie crust. 

Marcus seems to realize it too. Gesturing to the window, he starts speaking again as if you’d been mid-conversation. “So these women could have easily watched each other from their kitchens while they baked. I bet on a good day you could even smell the pies from the other house. Every year they compete at the county fairs, and their rivalry gets worse. One day the neighbor snaps?” His eyebrows lift.

“A little unlikely,” you say. “Since there’s a clear view down the drive, she’d have to come at night, or by some secret back way. And she’s barely younger than the grandma.”

“True. But that means they’d be at even odds,” Marcus points out.

You concede that it’s technically a viable theory.

Glancing around, you indicate for Marcus to get in your car. 

An anticipatory silence grows while you consider your words, longer and louder until it’s drowned out only by the metallic creaking of the car itself. Marcus clenches his hands into fists to stop their fidgeting. 

“So,” you finally say. “We have to come back, right? Investigate this place properly.”

Marcus exhales. He looks pensive. “Yes. But how?”

“Look, I don’t like it, but I think we’ll have to do this slightly…off-books.”

You make a plan. By day, you’d return and continue to examine the inhabited portions of the house with the rest of the team. But by night…

“We can’t ignore the possibility that our culprit is using the closed-off parts of the house. It’s a perfect excuse- ‘nobody goes there, it’s falling down, it’s dangerous’. We can’t risk not searching it.”

You and Marcus agree to meet back at the mansion in a few nights- long enough for the groundskeeper to relax his guard.

--

On what little hill rises above the mansion, there’s an old hiking viewpoint jutting out of the forest. Although you’re sure people still use it for hiking during the day, by night, well…there was enough sniggering and elbow jabbing amongst your townie colleagues for you to figure out what it was used for at night.

It’s about a half hour hike from the viewpoint to the mansion. You and Marcus will be starting your nighttime searching from there, since parking or walking from anywhere else would get you spotted. 

You sit in the passenger seat of Marcus’s car while he drives. It smells like him, clean and masculine- probably nothing more than a combination of his laundry detergent and a no-nonsense deodorant, yet in such confined quarters it makes you light-headed the longer you sit in it. To distract yourself, you take a discreet look around. 

There’s not much to see. No trash or trinkets, just a road atlas in the pocket on the back of the driver’s seat. Except- sticking out from under the backseat is the crinkled corner of a magazine cover emblazoned with pink and yellow headlines and, just visible, the swoop of a youthful hairdo. The evidence of Marcus’s daughter makes you smile.

Gravel crunches under the tires as Marcus turns into the lot. His headlights reveal another car on the far side, with condensation glimmering on its windows.

“Didn’t expect to find anyone else doing night hiking,” Marcus mutters.

He continues his slow route toward the other car, to your mounting horror. “Don’t park next to them!” you hiss.

“What? Why?” Marcus’s question is utterly guileless. But he obeys, turning the car smoothly and ending up parking roughly in the center of the line of spots. 

You sigh. “I mean first of all, parking right next to the only other car in an empty lot, at night? That’s weird. Second of all, those aren’t night hikers.”

“Then what…” Marcus turns his furrowed brow toward the other car. Under the still moonlight, he finally seems to put all the pieces together- the short drive from town, the isolated location, the car’s fogged up windows. “...Oh.”

You can’t help but laugh at Marcus’s mortified expression. His full lips turn down, his cheeks darkening with a blush. “Well…now what do we do?”

“Let’s just go. The path is on this side, anyway.” You nod your head toward the end of the viewpoint that’s not currently occupied.

You and Marcus gather your small packs and exit the car. The slam of the door is like a shout in the silence and he winces, darting glances to the other car all the while. You cough to cover your laughter. “Great conditions for some night hiking, right?” You say loudly.

Marcus looks at you, startled. You widen your eyes at him meaningfully. “Oh, yeah,” he says, catching on. “Sure is.”

You grin. “Come on, this way.” You lead your partner away from the lot and the scene of his embarrassment. 

Your hike is quiet. These trails are unfamiliar to both of you, especially in the dark, but you keep your headlamps on low, wary of being spotted- more so the larger the mansion looms through the trees. 

A low brick wall marks the edge of the property. There’s no gate nearby that you can see, but it’s an easy task to pull yourself over it- probably the least risky activity you’ll undertake tonight.  

The gardens are slightly too overgrown to pretend you’re on a romantic nighttime stroll. “This reminds me of a corn maze; you know, the kind you get at pumpkin patches in the fall,” Marcus says, low and hushed. 

It’s an apt comparison. Tidily partitioned squares of greenery, once neatly groomed, had sprouted out of control, spilling onto the paths and obstructing your view. Wire towers for climbing vines now resemble buildings in an apocalypse movie- so thickly smothered with vines that their original structures are no longer visible, their trailing tendrils now falling to sway in your faces as you pass.

“Ha, I see what you mean. I’m not sure that makes it more or less creepy.” Another thought makes you shiver. “As long as nobody with a chainsaw starts running after us,” you mutter.

Marcus lets out an unexpected, loud bark of laughter. You look at him in astonishment, and he slaps a hand over his mouth. “Sorry, it’s just...” He clears his throat. “If you remind me of this later I’ll tell you why that was funny.”

At the mansion’s back entrance, you glance around quickly, then let yourselves in with the key. Safely inside, you stand in silence for several moments. 

“Nobody’s here,” Marcus whispers.

The house is silent, and dark. Without any neighbors, there are minimal streetlamps to provide light from outside. Most of the windows are framed by heavy, ornate curtains as well, blocking what meager moonlight falls in. Only the beams of your headlamps illuminate the dark wood floors and wall panelings.

You make your way toward a door at the end of the hall, stepping quietly, just in case. “How far do your powers reach?” you ask Marcus. “Like, you’re definitely sure there’s no one in this whole house?”

It’s slightly difficult to look at Marcus without blinding him with your headlamp. If you twist your neck and look sideways, you can make out the thoughtful press of his lips. 

“I can sense the rough outline and structure of the house thanks to all the little metal things- nails, window fittings, doorknobs. Any metal object within those bounds, I can reach. But sensing blood is tricky to begin with. It’s such a tiny amount of iron, in such a weird form…I can sense your blood just fine, because you’re right next to me. Somebody across the room would be no problem, likely even somebody in the next room, but across a whole house?” Marcus shakes his head. “Blood moves, so that tends to give it away. That sense of flow is primarily what I look for. But to answer your question…” Marcus does the same sort of neck twist to look at you. Beneath the white light emanating from his forehead, his face is serious. “I can’t be one hundred percent sure this place is empty.”

Interesting, if not entirely reassuring. “Well, I guess keep your eyes open then. Or not your eyes, but your..senses? You know what I mean.”

“I think the official term is ‘spidey sense’,” Marcus quips.

You laugh at that, and it eases the tension that had crept up alongside you like mist in a haunted house.

It doesn’t take long to reach your goal. The innocuous door looks like all the rest that line the hall- it could just as likely hold a fancy sitting room as a dilapidated once-home. 

You adjust your headlamp determinedly. “Ready?”

“Lead the way, Boss.” There’s a playful quirk to Marcus’s lips as he repeats his words from the day you first met.

You snort, ignoring an odd little flutter in your belly. “Sure, ladies first, they say, step right up to the dangerous door…”

“You can tell me to go first, if you want,” Marcus suggests. “Perks of being the boss.”

“Am I your boss?”

You’re stalling, is what you are. But it is something you’ve wondered. If push came to shove, would Marcus have to obey you?

“I could probably go over your head if I felt it was necessary,” Marcus admits. “But practically, we’re supposed to follow local jurisdiction. Supplement your abilities, not..take over.”

He meets your gaze. “I’m not worried about questioning your orders.”

Before you can react, Marcus continues cheerfully, “You’re stalling, Boss. Come on.” He lifts his hand, and the door swings open.

You brace yourself; for what, you’re not sure. But all that happens is a gust of dusty air hits you, and you have to stifle a sneeze. 

It’s nearly pitch-black. Marcus lifts his hand higher, and a tinny screech comes from across the room, where metal rings scrape against a curtain rod, dragging open a tall set of drapes. There’s still not much light, but the room now appears more gray than black.

The carpet runner beneath your feet is thick with dust, its pattern blurred. The room you’ve entered looks like it was indeed once a sitting room or living room of some kind. Dust covers in the shape of couches squat around a table on the far side of the room. Other furniture against the walls has also been covered. In the gray darkness, lit only by the swinging beams of your headlamps, it’s impossible not to think of ghosts and horror stories. 

“Do you sense anything?” you whisper to Marcus.

He lowers his hand. “No. No one hiding, and a normal amount of metal for an old living room.”

You let out a tense breath. “I’ll admit, this is creepier than I thought it would be.”

Marcus laughs softly. “Tell me about it. I don’t even like scary movies.”

It’s reassuring, at least, to have Marcus’s powers on your side. You tell yourself firmly that nothing bad can happen with him around, and it mostly quiets the part of your brain dwelling on every zombie movie you’ve ever seen. Mostly.

You set to searching the room. You pull off dust covers and lift cushions, but all you get for your troubles are grimy hands and some disgruntled spiders. 

The next room is more of the same, only there’s even less to search. The open space contains little more than an ornate fireplace and a bar built into one end of the room. You stand in the center and spin slowly, your hands on your hips. “Are we missing something?”

“It’s here.” Marcus is standing at a section of wall blank except for squares of wood molding. 

“Huh?”

He reaches up and pushes a small section of the molding. It clicks, and the whole portion of wall slides sideways like a door. 

“Whoa!” You hurry over, the solid blackness of the opening sucking up your headlamp’s beam until you get closer.

“A servants’ kitchen, maybe,” Marcus says. “I’ve been doing some research on the history of this house, and other houses from the same period.”

The disused kitchen is barely the size of a closet and smells faintly of mildew. You follow Marcus, your mind turning. “A big old house like this…it’s got to have like, secret passages, right? Real ones, I mean, not just servant shortcuts like this.”

Marcus’s face wears a thoughtful grimace. “More likely than not. I already found one in the central dining room.”

“Wait, you have?” This is the first you’ve heard of it.

“It wasn’t anything dramatic. Just a passage to the kitchen, a shortcut for staff. The housekeeper was still showing us around when I found it, so she told us. She didn’t look too happy about it thought…I bet she knows where they all are.” Marcus trails off in thought.

“Shouldn’t you be able to sense them?” you ask.

“Well…yes and no.” Marcus looks vaguely uncomfortable. “House walls have metal in them anyway- all the nails and whatnot- and sometimes construction companies do weird things, so it can be tricky to sense when there’s metal out of place. That goes double for old places like this, where all sorts of random stuff has been stuck in the walls over the years. I tried pulling on something the very first day and nearly brought down that massive portrait over the fireplace- you know the one of the guy with the-” he makes a gesture near his face. “Turns out I was pulling on some convoluted hanging system.”

Marcus rolls his eyes, eloquently expressing his frustration with the entire situation. You wonder if the blueprints to house are accessible somewhere. They’d be in the city planning archives, surely…

As you step back through the doorway, you hear a click. The sliding door rumbles toward you with surprising speed, and you freeze for a split second before your muscles tense to leap out of the way-

But before you can, a strong grip encircles your wrist, and you’re yanked back and held tight against a wide, solid mass. The mass is warm, and expanding and deflating rapidly, and nearly crushing you to it with the steel strength of his arms. 

The door thuds closed with a force that makes you flinch. The thin beams of your headlamps seem insubstantial against the sudden near-complete darkness. 

You twist your neck to look at Marcus, your eyes wide with surprise. He does the same to look at you. His hold and the angle of your heads puts your faces only inches apart- far closer than either of you anticipated. 

He releases you immediately, taking a step back for good measure. “Sorry. It was a reflex.” One hand comes up to rub the back of his neck.

The warmth of him still clings to you. “I do have several years on the force under my belt,” you point out mildly. You reach out and squeeze his arm. “But thank you.”

You turn back to the door. The flat, featureless door that looked remarkably wall-like again. 

“Um,” you say. “Can you get us out?”

Marcus chuckles. “Now that I know it’s there…” There’s a click and a rumble, and the wall slides aside again. “Yes.”

Gray light pours in, so dark before but like sunlight after being trapped in the windowless kitchen. You breathe deeply of the air in the open room.

“I think that’s enough for tonight.”

Thanks for reading! ❤️

Masterlist

[lorei-writes]

love, I will ask of you this time: fluff, 2, mitsuhide and please dedicate it to tani, thank you <3

Dear, I love, love, love the idea of requesting for another person. It reminds me of a flower delivery service! @nuttytani , a little something for you!

»All the things we choose to share«

Mitsuhide x Reader Fluff Content Warnings: none

Goodnight

Frigid wind combs its fingers through your hair, perhaps wishing to smooth out the tangles acquired throughout the long day. It attempts gentleness, although its overzealous nature hardly helps, if not worsens, the state of affairs. Not that you have any energy left to complain. Reduced to a state of conscious helplessness, you cling to your love, or much rather, Mitsuhide supports you against himself. The forest trail passes you by at a steady pace, the dimming lights swathing the greenery in the last of their golden glow.

“Mitsuhide…” you murmur, your cheek pressed against the nape of his neck as your arms dangle off his shoulders. “I can walk. On my own.”

“Can you, now?”

“I can.” To accentuate your point, you kick your legs. Mitsuhide replies wordlessly: his grip on your thighs tightens, usually cool fingers now being oddly warm. He feigns ignorance to your displeasure, indifferent when faced with the struggles of the sandal that threatens to slip off your foot.

“You’re not particularly convincing, little mouse.”

“What would convince you?”

“What, indeed,” he giggles as you huff, the very tip of your nose poking the skin just above the collar of his kimono. “Capricious, aren’t we?”

“I just know you’re tired too,” you argue.

“And that had you become a woodpecker?”

You shift in your position, starting by straightening your back – whatever power is left in your limbs, you utilise it now, hands holding onto his shoulders firmly as you pull yourself forward. Your cheek presses against his, quite forcefully. As forcefully as you can manage, in fact. “Do not change the topic,” you demand. “You’ve hardly slept, and then we were on the run, and now that we’ll be back in Azuchi tomorrow, you won’t sleep either. I… worry, you know.”

Your arms cross in front of his chest, your body flush against his back. Without thinking of it much, you nuzzle against his ear, silky hair tickling your face – and perhaps were you not as weary, you’d take note of the heat rising to his cheeks, the reddish pink tint proving the warmth of his blood. However, you are tired. Exhausted. Strained, aching all over, and much too comfortable for any thoughts to linger for long inside of your head. So his secret is safe.

Mitsuhide looks at the path ahead of you. You are not mistaken, he is rather unwell; he cannot feel his legs, for all they are is burning and distress, his arms seem to have been eaten through with rust, and his lungs are not exactly pleased with the weight he hauls… Nevertheless, he smiles, and smiles only brighter as you snuggle closer to him. For you, he will withstand it, and because of you, he will look forward to coming back home once all is said and done.

Mitsuhide adjust his hold on you as your arms grow slack, each of his fingers on your exposed skin wishing you a good night. May it be a peaceful one.

--

Tag list: @lancelotscloak @violettduchess @the12thnightproject @oda-princess @tele86 @rinaririr

Tell me if you'd like to be added to my tag list :)

[topguncortez]

Hello, sorry to be a bother I hope everything is going well with your graduation 💗💗

I just wanted to ask if you have any tips and/or thoughts for those starting out posting their fics and ect on tumblr

i meant to answer this the other day but things came up and i pushed it to the back burner.

anyway! my tips and tricks on getting involved in fandom writing (and it doesn’t just have to be this one. this goes for ALL fandoms)

1. use tags

tags are very helpful with organizing and getting your work out there. not only can people follow certain tags, but it’s also easier to search and find a certain fic. for example, if i wanted to read nico hischier fics im going to search “nico hischier imagines” i use the same 10-15 tags on all of my posts.

now ☝️ here’s one thing that butters my biscuit about tags, is when people misuse them. do not tag a fic about jake seresin with “bradley bradshaw imagine”.

2. headers & titles & synopsis

titles are hard. i’m pretty sure i have three fics all titled the same thing. however, titles are attention grabbers. titles are gonna make people want to stop and read your fic. my go to advice for titles, is find a song you like and use that. or maybe a line of dialogue. or in the TGM fandom, your characters callsign

headers also grab people’s attention. i almost always use a header image unless im writing a blurb or a one shot from an ask. pinterest is a great lovely tool that you can find amazing pictures to use as headers. and canva is a great free tool that’ll help you edit.

synopsis: also attention grabbers. a proper synopsis will give people a glimpse at what’s ahead. it can be as simple as “in this fic, jake is an asshole”

3. warnings

this is a big one. especially if you’re wanting to write smut or angst. yes, people are responsible for the media they consume, however it is the writers job to warn them about what they are going to consume.

i normally write “warnings: a…b…c…” in my angst and smut fics. however, if i’m writing about darker angst/realistic topics such as SA, abuse, gun violence, etc, i will put a “trigger warning” (tw) tag in my tags.

i can not stress this point enough. like i said, the reader is responsible for what they choose to read. but your duty as a writer is to make sure your warnings and tags are very, very clear. it does not matter if your warnings “give too much of the plot away”. that means your plot is probably very triggering for people and you need to tell them that.

be very clear with your warnings. crystal. clear.

4. the use of read more

please use the “read more” option when writing long pieces. the fandom will love you if you do.

5. reblog your work, reblog others work… build a network

reblogs are so so important especially on this app. tumblr is not tiktok. there’s no algorithm for what shows up first on your dash. the way to keep your fic and others fics alive is by REBLOGGING

also, reblogging of other peoples fics is what draws attention to your blog. and it’s how you start to create friendship networks.

i met most of my friends by reblogging their work or sneaking into their dms.

writers support writers around here.

6. make your blog personable.

no one likes a blank inpersonable blog. not saying you need to put your face as the icon. but make it look like you’re not just a bot blog.

find a cute color scheme and some headers. make it unique. make it you!

7. do not be afraid to tag people

some people (including myself once) are afraid to tag the “big blogs” (which i find to be a stupid term. no one here is a “big blog”, sit down charlie d’melio) but tagging people again is what catches peoples attention.

do not be afraid to tag some of your favorite writers and be like “hey i’m new look at this”

8. utilize online resources for writing help

there’s so many free writing resources out there! i’m seeing more and more show up on my instagram feed, tiktok, youtube. they are great apps that’ll help you get started!

i know this was a lot but if you have ANY questions or need someone to look over your fics, you can reach out to me!

i hope this helps:)

[phantomram-b00]

Imma use my hottake post to explain it since I felt I should give more context with this take to explain myself why I have this opinion on the topic of this.

For those who don’t know or don’t wanna look back with the link, it basically that my hottake is that I don’t like the theory of what Crowley’s angel name was/could’ve been. I know this might be a bit controversial since I think everyone in this fandom (not to assume ofc), and whilst I get the curiously since Crowley almost never talk about his time over at heaven, mostly for valid reason that I’ll get to. Before I get into this, I know it been month but I wanna still give that this haunted blog/post does contain heavy spoilers so if your planning to watch good omens or haven’t seen season two yet go watch it and come back here, or you can still read— what can I say, I’m only a phantom that have lot to say about good omens and making it everyone else’s problem. But still spoiler warning ahead! So without further or do,

let get into it and talk about our favorite snake demon and a good old fashion lover boy/girl/enby—

So, okay, seeing Angel Crowley, that’s cool and honestly wholesome— despite the poor trauma he’s going to endure and will sauntered vaguely downward for. I remember hearing the theory about how his name could be Raphael, seen some AO3 tags of Crowley used to be Raphael or just people buzzing what his name could’ve been (even some saying it could be Castiel or Cassiel). And while the curiously of it all is cool, for a while I couldn’t really pin it at first as to why I personally didn’t like it. And Idk if that make be boring or a bitch for not wanting to know, it just to me, I felt why does it matter if Crowley himself don’t even want to remember about his time at heaven?

Sure season 2 when he didn’t even say it might have been what spiked it, but i think the whole point about him is the fact that he clearly moved on from it. Does he still hold resentment? Of course, why wouldn’t he be? And from unfair circumstances too:

But, as we’ve seen from most of the flashback, he moved on from it. He using hell as long as he can (lonely? Yep, which is a perfect parallel to how Aziraphale following heaven—), he doesn’t want to remember the angel he is before, he even said it to Aziraphale when he tried to stop him from killing Job’s kids. But I think of how he’s dealt with is how his trauma grew seeing how he doesn’t want to be considered nice or kind; I feel it goes deeper than just because he’s a demon now, I believe (and this is just my observation), he rather not remember the kinder side he was once before because of how the “light” casted him away and how heaven runs things. So why would he want to be associated with those word when it remind him of his time, he rather not remember it (or in a case run away from heaven as much as he can), he rather associate himself from being mean or remember himself as a demon now rather than an angel he once was. (Even though, he is very kind and I wish to hug him. Don’t start-).

Plus, he more comfortable with his new name now, that’s why he even changed it back at the flashback of the crucifixion of Jesus as his named used to be Crawly (which honestly real.) and changed it to Crowley (now technically he changed it again to Anthony J Crowley, but we hardly heart anyone even Aziraphale say it outside from the blitz flashback, so I kinda wanna count it but I’mma not just incase, but I like the name tho-), and since then, he’ve wore that name proudly and never look back, and Aziraphale an ally he is suppose him and call him by his prefer name. That is him saying “I’m not whoever I was before, so I’m going to change my name to move on from my past”, and honestly I stand, I love the fact he want to move on from his time as an angel/move away from his deadname to be the person he is today, proud of the wily serpent ^v^

“But phantom, that still doesn’t explain why you dislike it?”

You’re right, it still doesn’t so imma explain it a bit more, I just feel it shouldn’t matter what his name was, it really up to his (or Neil’s but this is Crowley we’re talking about) own terms, it him that should be able to say his deadname. And if it never reveal, I wouldn’t care since Good Omens from both season shown, Crowley moved on from his angelic past even if he have the grudges he have now after 6000 years he rather accepts his life now and hopefully with the Angel that have supported him and stood by him. And I know the finally is making it seem like Azirapahel want to change him, but like I said here that I don’t think that the case, I don’t think he would ever want him to revert back to the person he was once before, he could never ask Crowley to do such a thing knowing the progress he made. Like I said and will say again, I think this was Azirapahle (in a poor way given the situation and that their communication is the equivalent of a ghost (invisible as fuck)) to give Crowley a change to fix the broken and toxic system heaven been running on since the dawn of time, to give Crowley the chance to fix what need to be fixed with Aziraphale, and Crowley said no, and I think rightly so in his point of view, heaven did treated everyone especially Crowley poorly and is the main source of his trauma, so I’m happy he said no, it not his place to fix the one thing that in his eyes was broken and have always been. So good jobs Crowley for standing your grounds.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, my point is that, Crowley have moved on and it shouldn’t matter what his deadname was, I think we should all respect that when it come to not just his but everyone’s deadname. Crowley clearly doesn’t have to remember his time on heaven, and I gotta respect that. Because if I was in his shoes, I wouldn’t neither if I was a bit braver than he was.

“But phantom what if it was revealed anyway?”

Again I wouldn’t care, like the commenter said (I don’t know how they feel about tagging so I won’t just to be respectful) and I do agree, if it had to be revealed it should be on his own terms. And I do agree, it is up to Crowley, he should be able to say it as it could garner the impactful moment, especially if he does say like “I’m not *this name* anymore” or whatever he’ll say in season 3, (which please let it be greenlit, I’m begging atp).

And honestly, I don’t doubt it really, it seem it might be revealed, which, fine, this is Neil’s work so gotta respect. Just I hope it on his term, and that no one else say it, I don’t even want aziraphale to say it. Just him. He deserve it.

But that’s my take on it. That’s my spew on this. Might be boring or lame to not be curious, but honestly like I said, he’ve going down a path away from heaven and accepted what happen to him. May not be in a healthiest way but regardless I love this demon and I am happy he moved on and I can’t wait to see him again in season 3, David Tennant a perfect Crowley and I wouldn’t have it any other way ^v^

But I hope you enjoy my yet another insane ramble of this show, frankly this show is becoming my life atp and I don’t hate it. I love this show, it my comfort, I’m happy to have this show; if you want to ask me any other questions you can in the AMA box or comments, but also tell me what do you guys think of this theory? Do you love it? Have qualms with it? Or anything? Tell me in the comments or reblog. As always this is phantom, imma go haunt somewhere else.

[hotchs-big-hands]

Today turned out to be Pretty Bad™ stuck down very awful bad memory lane and I just wanna clarify to ppl why I may not always answer dms/asks etc. I've only really told one person on here the big details about this, and I won't go into all the details here either but it'll be enough to explain why. I hope anyway. Idk why I'm doing this.

I'll give a quick tl;dr here because it is long and also goes into very triggering topics such as self harm/suicide.

Basically I used to have a very close best friend, who I'll call shithead, back in early 2018 until late 2022 who extremely manipulative, emotionally abusive and just very overall toxic. If you've ever seen me refer to a "shithead" in tags or whatever then its about the person imma talk abt here. I was essentially the person they turned to to talk them out of doing things to themselves, if you get me. As well as a lot of other stuff. Ended up getting therapy (but not for the right reasons tbh) and also got a bad coping mechanism where I tend to not talk to people, I keep my distance and its smth I wanna tackle but it's difficult. So if you haven't heard back from me it's not cuz I don't like you, I am fighting with my brain. Also I kinda question if I actually am a good person or not because of stuff that I did in retaliation to this person.

I'll get into details now under the cut but yeah don't read if self harm/suicide/toxic dynamics are something you don't want to hear about for whatever reason.

As above, in early 2018 I used to have a different fanfic blog for a different fandom. I won't go into detail about which fandom and what the blog was but it was fairly popular. This is how I came to be friends with them. And like at the beginning it was fucking great! We became fast friends and we had a lot of shared interests. They introduced me to a lot of games, TV shows etc. But that's also where the problems started.

They were one of those types of fans. The "very possessive over certain characters" type of fan. If they liked them and had a crush on them then you couldn't do the same cuz character belonged to them. Which at the time I didn't rly like but I used to be friends with someone in high school who was also like that about characters so I assumed it was just a thing ppl did. However, it escalated to if I had a character I liked then they'd for some reason not like them and in fact hated them. This was kinda draining cuz they never wanted to talk abt stuff I liked, without actually directly saying so. They'd just shit talk them the whole time or say they hate them. So I stopped talking about what I liked. Later, they'd suddenly really like said media or characters and only then was it fine to talk about them. But in turn they'd be possessive and if I said oh okay I'll step back from them they would make me feel like I was being stupid because "no they didn't say I couldn't like them".

Anyway thats not rly the worst of it of course, the actual bad stuff is now so again, final warning for self harm/suicide. Will square off the triggering sections.

*********************

They struggled with their mental health a lot. Like a lot. I'd be there for them to listen, offer help and support because I like to take care of ppl and make sure they'll be okay. Except it escalated to them using me to talk them out of harming themself and killing themself. And this was almost everyday/night. And need I just say they were an hour ahead of me as well btw. I went to university in 2019 originally and by December I was completely burnt out because I spent every day and night making sure they didn't fucking do anything to themself. I got at most 2-3 hours of sleep a night if I was lucky and I stopped doing my hobbies and uni work because I just had no drive to do them anymore. It was clear I was also suffering mentally. I was suicidal and thinking of harming myself as well (and unfortunately I did do so a couple times). But I prioritised them. Everything was triggering for them, and I mean that. I had a long list pinned to my wall of everything I was to avoid mentioning because it would trigger them.

They never took care about my own mental health btw, which I'm not saying they HAD to but I know it was because they just didn't care. And they said as much too. They said because they are autistic they have no empathy and therefore do not feel anything about my mental health. So I suffered basically alone.

*********************

I dropped out of uni in early 2020 and in fact went home the weekend lockdown began in the UK. Things were not good. I was still trying to be support for shithead, I went to therapy and started medication for the wrong reasons. I wanted to get better so I could take care of them. Which like. Never do that. Never go to therapy so you can be someone else's therapist. Go to therapy because YOU want to be better for YOURSELF.

We were in in a bigger friendship group spread across a few discord servers and they all broke down one way or another. One instance there was an argument between shithead and a bunch of others who were comparing who had it worse during ww2. The others were Americans but were also of Jewish heritage with family who were affected by the holocaust and shithead lives in a country near where the holocaust happened with relatives who went through a famine. Either way it was just not gonna be a good conversation. Shithead left, I stayed and like I already don't rly talk to people much in groups because its overwhelming but I did do a little bit. Someone who was friends with shithead and still in the server told shithead I was talking to the others and in turn I basically betrayed shithead. Hindsight I wish I had just left the server ages before and like maybe j shouldn't have talked to the others idk. I regret it either way and think abt it a lot.

Another few shitty things I did in response to how shithead would treat me is giving them the silent treatment, giving short answers etc. I wanted them to feel bad, but it would round back to me being told I'm a coward and horrible to them. Which maybe I was but frankly I was scared of them.

*********************

Things began to rly break down when they showed me their fresh self harm wounds, blood and all, because they were "bored". I didn't talk to them for a few days and their apology wasn't much of an apology, more just making excuses again (aka I have autism so it's not my fault). I started talking less and less because by this point my brain had had enough ig and began to close off from them and just ppl in general.

*********************

In 2022 I finally returned to university and thats also when I finally stopped talking to them. A few months ago I finally blocked them on everything. However, I still struggle with communication and don't rly do it much. It's difficult to maintain friendships and I don't trust easily. I plan on going back to therapy whenever i can because this is just unresolved. But yeah idk I'm sorry to everyone who I haven't responded to, or take a long time to respond to.

One thing that is good tho is that like, after shithead I didn't enjoy anything. I didn't rly watch or hyperfixate on anything. But last year around this time I came across an Aaron Hotchner x plus size reader fic and I've been obsessed with him since!! And now here we are, got a blog and everything for a fandom finally after so long :) so it's not all bad.

But yeah that's why I struggle keeping up with messages and asks. Idk if anyone is gonna read this but if you've read this far then thank you and you mean a lot. Big hugs to yawl and I hope yawl have a lovely day, and if not then please take it easy 💖💖💖💖

[bigbangharringrove]

Harringrove BigBang Guidelines

Can be accessed on Google Drive here

OVERVIEW

Writers: Complete one fic at least 12k words in length

Artists: Create one piece of artwork

Art: Must be at least 300x300 pixels if digital, 3x3 inches if traditional

Fan Video: Must be at least 2 minutes long

Playlist: Must have a listening time of at least 45 minutes long, including cover

art you have created

Podfics: Must be at least 3 minutes long

Beta Readers: Support writers with drafts as needed

Pinch Hitters: Fill in for last-second drops as needed

All works will be due December 31, 2023 to be ready for posting in January, 2024

GENERAL GUIDELINES

All deadlines should be followed and adhered to. If you’re struggling to complete your project, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the mod team. We can be flexible if we’re aware of what’s happening, but we can’t help if we don’t know about it.

If you must drop the event for any reason, please let the mod team know as soon as possible especially if it is after the artist claims.

Bashing of any kind is not welcome during this event. If anyone is having any problems or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact the mod team.

If you drop after pairs are created without alerting the mod team, you will be unable to participate in any future events from us. We understand unexpected events come up that require us to take a step away from fanworks, but please let us know as soon as possible so we can make sure your partner in the event can be paired with someone else.

No sexual content involving minors will be allowed in any fics or art for this event.

All participants for this event should be 18+

WRITERS

All writers should write one fully completed fic that is at least 12k words in length. Fics can be as long as you want as long as it gets completed by the deadlines.

Fics can be about any subject matter as long as all content warnings are tagged appropriately. This includes when creating summaries for artist claims or beta reader requests.

Fics should feature Harringrove (Steve Harrington and Billy Hargrove) as the main relationship. Other relationships can be included, and Harringrove may be romantic or platonic.

Fics can be NSFW as long as they are tagged appropriately in all spaces. Discussion of NSFW topics in the discord server should be reserved for only the designated channels.

Fics should NOT be a current posted WIP. Fics CAN be a part of a pre-existing series so long as the fic can be read as a stand-alone. Fics CAN be a current un-posted WIP.

Two writers can collaborate on a project if they want to, just let us know ahead of time either during sign-up or as soon as you can.

Fics should remain a secret until claims week. This means that all discussions about your fics should remain private with friends or in the designated channels on the server. This is to ensure that fics remain anonymous by the time artist claims come around.

The mod team will have periodic check-ins to check progress and see if you have any questions or concerns about the event or your project. Required check-ins will be noted on the schedule.

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All other check-ins serve more as guidelines. No one will be removed from the event if they do not meet a certain word count by then, it’s merely to check in and see if there’s anything we can do to help you finish your project!

During artist claims, we ask that you submit a small summary of your fic so artists can pick which project they’d like to work on. More details will be sent out as we get closer to this date.

Fics and art will begin being posted on January 1, 2024. We ask that all fics are written, edited, and finalized by this point. If you need an extension, please let us know and we can work with you.

ARTISTS

Art can include: digital art, visual art, playlists (with accompanying cover art), videos, podfics

Requirements:

Art: Must be at least 300x300 pixels if digital, 3x3 inches if traditional

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Beta readers should provide consistent and accurate contact info that mods and writers can use to contact you

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[nyandela-catalogue]

︵︵୨୧ PINNED POST ୨୧︵︵

Gonna make this short and simple:

[edit: We post stuff that’s ~16+ rating max, so do with that what you will.]

Main fronters (lately) are Mark, Cesar, Adam, and Jonah

Bodily an adult (2002)

Alters will tag with their names (if they want to)

If you want to see our cool and pawsome vrchat/3d model-related tiktoks, you can go here: TikTok Page

We try to add subtitles when we can in our videos, and we’ll try to add good or adequate alt text to any photos we post on here.

Further links/info to where you can find other things we do are in one of the pinned posts on that page :)

Our Neocities :) (has links to our twitch, yt, etc)

@kinito-bonito <-KinitoPET blog

pronouns + emojis

VRChat groups

Official Nyandela County Spotify Playlist(tm)

Nyandela County AU/The Nyandela Catalogue

small statement on Alex Kister situation (HAS BEEN EDITED)

important post <-addresses harassment

blogs lore lol

post abt The Singing Reindeer

(more info below readmore since i dont want this to be 13 miles long -Mark📕)

———

Do not come to us asking for medical/system/relationship/etc advice, that’s not what we’re here for

We will post Mandela Catalogue and AU-related stuff here, as well as source-related posts.

We will not be seeking external sourcemates, as we have everybody we need.

However, if you wanna talk to us, go ahead- just make sure you clarify who you’re talking to.

We don’t do the “doubles dni” thing bc A) gatekeeping alters/sources isn’t something we believe in, and B) we don’t judge who you are. Just be nice lol

We block fairly freely. Don’t take it personal. Or, if you do take it personal, keep it to yourself honestly. We don’t need more bullying or harassment over misunderstandings.

Anyway, we’ll tag things as necessary and will always put warnings for flashing lights, fast movements, and/or other possible necessary warnings.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to drop them in the askbox :)

ANOTHER COUPLE IMPORTANT THINGS:

1 - Playful “flirting” is okay(as long as you’re of-age), but don’t try to date us. We don’t date outside of our system anymore bc of repeated trauma 🙃

edit: above boundary made more clear

2 - We will talk about trauma and possibly-triggering and/or dark topics. If that isn’t your cup of tea, the back button/door is right there.

3 - Don’t tell us what we can and can’t do. We likely don’t know you, so your opinion isn’t going to be held to the same value as someone we do know.

I think that’s everything for now… Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy our blog~

-(Alt) Cesar🥀

[something-about-sunflowers]

Alright, this might be a long post so, fair warning lmao.

I realize my previous post may sound like I’m doing some deep dive conspiracy exposé or something, just getting out ahead of it: this isn’t that. This is mostly speculation and educated guesses. For the sake of clarity, this is just how I am reading the situation and may not, in fact, reflect what is actually happening (Even though, I’m pretty positive it is).

Disclaimer aside, I’m gonna get into why (I think) Izzy and the real living human beings who are fans of Izzy are getting so much aggressive hate. And why there’s so much inflammatory discourse around the character.

The gist of it is:

1. Its Ship War Bull Shit

2. The Entitlement

3. Silencing And Scare Tactics

4. We’re Not Falling For It

5. As Good Of A Solution As We’re Gonna Get (At Least Until Something Big Changes In Fan Culture As We Know It)

Now, actually Getting Into All That:

1. Its Ship War Bull Shit

Exactly what it says on the tin. I’m not saying and I don’t want to imply that everybody with their own preferred non-Izzy ships are the ones encouraging and participating in this behavior. What I am saying is that a non-zero number of, particularly Blackbonnet/Gentlebeard, shippers (though this isn’t unique to them) don’t like seeing other people ship Izzy with one (or more) of the characters in their ship. The same could be said for other fan favorites/popular ships as well. Jim, Lucius, Frenchie, etc. There is almost always another popular ship that the other party is involved in.

Though this does go beyond shipping as well. The way I see it, even people who don’t have ‘overlapping’ ships (or who don’t have ships at all and simply like Izzy on his own merit) are a target because of association with other fans who do. Whether that is actual interactions with said other fans or only imagined by way of them both being fans of Izzy.

This idea of a zero-sum game where, if people ship Blackhands that means there’s less people who ship Blackbonnet/Gentlebeard! (Or Ouizzy vs Room People, or Sprizzy vs Lucius’ polycule, or Jim/Izzy vs Tealoranges) is a false one. Multi shippers exist. Some people are more than capable of shipping two overlapping pairings with no problems. Sometimes people just don’t ship your ship. Its unreasonable to be mad at a Tealoranges shipper for not shipping Blackbonnet/Gentlebeard, so should it be unreasonable to be mad at a Blackhands/Gentlehands/Ouizzy/Sprizzy/etc shipper for not shipping your preferred ship.

Which brings me to my next point, being:

2. The Entitlement

Hi. I’m someone who is very particular in my ships. I have a handful that I like and I don’t particularly like to see ones that I don’t like, especially if they involve a character I ship with someone else. The difference between me and The Problem is that I am fully aware that my fandom experience is my own responsibility. If I don’t like something, its on me to remove myself from situations where I might encounter said thing. I don’t go into tags for ships I don’t like. I don’t go into tags for characters I don’t like. If I read a fic that deals with topics or ships that I don’t like I simply back out and move on with my day (provided the fic was properly tagged, please make sure you’re tagging your fics properly).

The Problem comes when people don’t take responsibility for their own fandom experience and expect everyone else to cater to their tastes. You are not entitled to other people’s: time, energy, enjoyment. If you are not paying someone, they don’t owe you anything.

I understand it can be frustrating when it seems like there’s not enough content for something you enjoy but there’s an apparent abundance of content for something you don’t but the only person who’s problem that is? Is you. Be the change you want to see in the world. If you think there’s a lack of content for your preferred thing? Go make content for that thing. If you don’t think you have the talent to make content for the thing? Do it anyway. Talent is not inherent and practice doesn’t make perfect but it does make improvements and for every imperfect thing you do make you’re increasing the amount of the thing you like. If you’re not inclined to make then consider commissioning someone. If you can’t be bothered to do either though? You’re not allowed to complain about a lack of content because you are part of the problem.

The entitlement doesn’t do you any favors either. When I joined this fandom I was over the moon for Blackbonnet/Gentlebeard. Now? I only read it if its written by a small handful of people because I don’t/can’t trust that anyone outside of those people aren’t going to be Weird About Izzy (and unnecessarily aggro at me about it). I don’t engage with the content for it anymore because The Problem has made it unsafe to do so. I have no intentions of making any sort of content for it now either. I do not cater to bullies and, for my own sake, I don’t care if ‘innocent’ people get caught in the crossfire. They are missing out on content because of people they are either passively allowing to remain in their spaces or actively encouraging. I am not the only one who has adopted this policy in light of The Problem.

Again, you are not entitled to other people’s: time, energy, enjoyment. If you make your spaces inhospitable for them, they are well within their rights to remove themselves from said spaces and blacklist the community from their own spaces.

Speaking of inhospitality:

3. Silencing And Scare Tactics

This is where the issue really lies. Fueled by The Entitlement, The Problem decides the best way to avoid/discourage content they don’t like is to make it seem like said content causes harm. Basically: ‘Its Problematic!’

This is where the ‘Izzy is racist/homophobic/a colonizer/etc comes from. It doesn’t matter what the canon says. It doesn’t matter if its interpretation or bad faith or anything else. ‘Izzy is a bigot’ is by and large, true or not, a silencing tactic to scare people into complying with the demands of The Problem. Its why ‘and that makes you an apologist/part of the problem’ always follows. Regardless of whether or not the person being told this is a part of any of the groups Izzy has allegedly wronged (for the sake of being part of those groups).

Its why several BIPOC have been accused of racism for being fans of Izzy. Why abuse survivors have been called abuse apologists for liking him.

The average person, when interacting with the fandom, will hear the loudest voices yelling ‘Izzy is problematic and so are you if you like him’ and avoid the topic for fear of coming across as problematic themselves. They won’t bother looking into the accusations because there is a risk in digging deeper and moreso of speaking out. ‘Its Problematic’ is a shield to hide the abuse being thrown at people who would really rather just be minding their own business.

Which isn’t to say its bulletproof, since:

4. We’re Not Falling For It

Which means that we’re being, perhaps not just as loud but, as loud as we can be about it all being Bull Shit. To some this might come across as apologia and ignoring the actual wrongs the character has done, its not. What it is is disputing false accusations towards the character and towards ourselves. Its quoting Word Of God and citing canon and saying ‘hey, this interpretation doesn’t really match up with the themes of the show’. Its poking holes.

Which The Problem doesn’t like.

Which leads to doubling down on accusations towards the fans. ‘Racist/abuse apologist/etc’. Over a fictional character. This isn’t to say that no Izzy fan is (consciously or unconsciously) racist, though the same could be said for fans of any character, just that its not because of association with the character. Personally, I think there is more issue with removing the agency from a BIPOC character and making all their faults be the fault of their white henchman (and all their virtues being attributed to the influence of their white boyfriend), but that’s just me.

What it also leads to is death threats and suicide bait. Which, I don’t know about you, but I think that’s a much worse offense than ‘liking the wrong fictional character’.

The excessive vitriol (the anon hate, the doxxing, the death threats, the outlandish accusations) comes from the fact that we’re doing our damnedest to show that The Problem is an actual problem and they don’t like having the spotlight shining on their bad side.

Which leads me to my last point:

5. As Good Of A Solution As We’re Gonna Get (At Least Until Something Big Changes In Fan Culture As We Know It)

The best thing we can do, until something big changes, is to remove the spotlight entirely. Deplatform the worst of them as we’re able to, which means not debating and not correcting (This’ll be especially difficult for me, I like to argue lol. Though, if you’re like me, you could also make a separate post disputing the argument after you’ve blocked the original poster. Just make sure you don’t mention their name/@ when you do, otherwise you’re just giving them back their platform by giving people access to them again.), and block liberally.

Blocking is a solution to two problems: 1. It avoids the possibility of seeing bad faith takes that you might want to argue with, and 2. It keeps The Problem from having access to you. It also provides you with a way to report The Problem if they do that fun thing they like to do and go around blocks to get to you anyway.

I know I’m probably not saying anything we didn’t already know, but I think its a good thing to remind people (and myself) of sometimes. We’re not The Problem, we deserve to have a space where we can enjoy ourselves in the fandom without harassment, and we have at least some level of ability to make that possible. This is hardly the first or only fandom to be experiencing this sort of issue, but given its the fandom we’re in right now, we gotta do what we can to make sure its a safe one (Which means, anybody who isn’t experiencing this, but who isn’t speaking out about it? Maybe start doing that. Its not just us that need your help, its fandom as a whole. Many voices make changes.).

[chromaticcs]

Who is the father? Tales of Arise Edition

So Tales of Arise DLC has been annouced and I'm sure people are wondering (probably not), which Renan Lord is Nazamil related to?

(Yes, I'm aware I'm pretty late to the party on this, Reddit has already talked a bit about it, but I don't really care and shouting into the void is cathartic)

So here is a (rather long) anaylsis of who I think it has the highest chance of being and why.

MAJOR story spoilers and talks of unpleasant topics below: mentions of r*pe, slavery and the rest of the bs that happens when people procreate when there's a power inbalance: Mentions are rather clinical and there are no graphic details.

(Also if I've missed any warning tags, please let me know!)

Onwards! (Warning, long long read ahead, I've done a lot of thinking over this. Maybe too much :p )

So, let's start with trying to fit Nazamil into the Tales of Arise (ToA) timeline that will help us to determine who the father could be. We only have five (three, really) choices, as the developer did mention that it was a lord who oposed Alphen in ToA (so not Dohalim). Also within the translations I found of her profile, her father is the Renan lord and her mother was Dahnan (so not Almeidrea). Our top choices are Balseph, Ganabelt and Vholran. I will still be including Dohalim and Almeidrea, just because I want to and we can see whether or not it makes sense even if the developer didn't tell us the above.

Nazamil is a young-ish girl, bordering looking around Rinwell/Law's age, which is stated to be 14/16 respectively, according to ToA. She looks similiar to Rinwell, so around 14, which would be a fair assumption. Min age 14 at the beginning of Beyond the Dawn (BtD), minus two when ToA starts (since BtD is stated to take place about 1-2 years after the ending of ToA), so let's say Nazamil is 11/12 when ToA starts. Assumption one.

This implies that the lord would have had to been on Dahna during the last crown contest. This would also imply that the lord had been on Dahna for the last seventeen years (ten years from the last contest and seven for the contest that is going on in ToA). This immediately rules out Dohalim, due to his age being 28 (sourced from the wiki), and with the current contest having been running for 7 years already, he would have been 21 when it started, and at maximum 18 if he were to be Nazamil's parent. Which...is a pretty big assumption as the story in ToA also tells us that Dohalim was on Lenegis during the last crown contest with his whole backstory with his violin quartet.

That and a few other things I'll point out later, Dohalim is probably 99% not Nazamil's parent.

For the other four, Balseph had confirmed to be at least the lord for the last twenty-seven years, as Ganabelt comments early on in ToA that Balseph had lost the last two Crown Contests. So he's a possibility, as he would be at least forty-five (I'm making another assumption here that to become a lord, the candidate has to have a min age of eighteen. I'm using the age of 'adult' that is commonly portrayed in our world).

We know he was not the lord at the very least in the last Crown Contest, because the last 'sovereign' that won the constest was the previous Lord of Cyslodia. Of course they don't give much context for the Lords, in terms of whether it's possible for one to be lord of one one region one contest and then switch regions the next contest. There's no evidence to support that, so we'll assume that Ganabelt was not a lord in the last Crown Contest. Of course, this doesn't confirm or reject whether or not he was on Dahna during the last contest.

Ganabelt also has a relatively older look in the game, giving the impression of at least a mid-30s to mid-40s man. His voice actor in japanese does make him sound older, which I would personally push to early-40s to late-40s. But his english voice actor sounds like a snotty young noble, dropping him down to at minimum Dohalim's age to mid-30s.

This is very estimate and assumption heavy as there is nothing that hints to his age, other than looks and age. But I would put him as a safe bet for possibly being Nazamil's parent.

Almeidrea, well, I would estimate her age as being thirty to forty? Again, no exact numbers I can find, but if there was little information on Ganabelt, there's almost next to nothing about Almeidrea.

Finally we have Vholran. Which I saw a source about him being around twenty-four at the start of ToA, cannot find the official source of that, but I'll assume him to be around Alphen's age. Alphen is said to be twenty-one, so I doubt Vholran is younger so I would put Vholran to be twenty to late-twenties at oldest. The issue is it's implied that he was only sent to Dahna during the current crown contest (less than seven years). The previous lord was killed by Vholran and the Rena on Lenegis seem to confirm that, in that Vholran wasn't choosen to be a lord, and that the kill happened during the time when the previous lord was already on Dahna.

So this would imply that Vholran would already have been turned into a Renan before procreating, which as implied by the previous part, would not fit our initial timeline of Nazamil having to be 12-13 at least. But he's still in the running, I'll explain later.

(Another side note: This of course assumes that Nazamil was birthed by 'normal' means, as in parents has some intercourse be it consensual or not. No test-tube, Renan magic bs, not yet at least)

Next, traits. We know nothing about her abilities, apart from being cursed with this mask thing, which doesn't seem to a hereditary thing in this case, whereas Shionne's thorns were hereditary (to some extent).

From my experience in playing videos games and character design (especially with JRPGs), we can usually use the hair and eye color to see who she might match the best. Nazamil has heterochromia, her left eye's yellow and the her right eye blue. Her hair, a silvery white.

We can then safely put Almeidrea down as unlikely to be Nazamil's parent, due to her having green eyes and red hair. It's not that she couldn't have birthed Nazamil, but I would say by character design-wise, it ain't giving off the same vibes. Nazamil's design just doesn't hint towards Almeidrea. Dohalim, likewise, same argument. Red hair and dark skin, doesn't fit Nazamil character look.

Then let's focus on the eyes, and the final three lords, Balseph has yellow eyes, Ganabelt blue and Vholran yellow as well. Vholran is the only one with his eye color called out in the wiki, but this may be due to him having more attention in the spotlight than other lords, as well as being a very major character in the plot of Arise.

So based off of eye color, it could be either three. The assumption here is that both eye colors come from her parents, as there seems to be nothing (yet) that points to her having one color that is from an event that happened after her birth.

Then hair color, it's obviously Ganabelt who matches with her the best, with Balseph having brown hair (his beard) and Vholran having black. But note that Vholran also is stated to have white tips, so let's give that a half-check instead of a complete match, especially since there's no way to tell if turning him into the sovereign did something to his hair.

(and if it did turn white, that would mean that the procedures to finish the sovereign-fication would have had to be done before Nazamil's birth, assuming that it's somewhat genetic, which is a fair assumption due to the genetic nature of the 'Renans' in general, which again, look at Vholran's timeline argument)

This doesn't completely knock out Balseph, though, but he is now a weaker candidate for Nazamil's parent.

So, now we have two possible people it could be, Vholran and Ganabelt. And if we look at the rest of Nazamil's character design, nothing seems to scream either of them directly. Color scheme wise, she doesn't fit either of them exactly, with her supporting a light blue, white and purple scheme. Ganabelt is more of a dark, navy blue, and white scheme, whereas Vholran is just blue and black.

Her dress also contains snowflake like patterns, seen more easily here, but that could hint to both Cyslodia being the land of ice and snow, or Vholran's water-based artes which are more ice than water.

Another part of character design is the character personality. Nazamil has a very closed off personality, the profile mentions that she has basically closed off her heart, and good at pretending to be indifferent and apathetic.

In my opinion, this is a bit hard to pin down. Because she's still a child, and has endured a lot of trauma (being hunted down, everyone hates her etc), the personality is a bit more up in the air. We could say that she's similar to Vholran because of the apathetic mask, the indifference, but it is specifically called out to be a mask. There is also the argument that Nazamil mentions about erasing differences, but I would not link that to either Vholran or Ganabelt.

The masking portion, it could be similiar to Ganabelt being good at tricking others, but in the end I am going to discard that bit about her personality, as there is too many factors to be able to get a clear read on who she's most similar too. Both are a draw for me.

Then finally, we get to motive. Vholran doesn't care so he's probably fine with taking an unwilling participant to bed, considering how he kidnapped Shionne in ToA and it was pointed out that he seemed to almost enjoy the struggle she was putting up during that scene.

Ganabelt is basically the snobby noble in the game, the one who represents the 'best' of Renan society, so I really doubt he would willingly touch a Dahnan in that manner with a ten-foot pole. Pure bloodline and all that bs.

Finally there are a few other factors here that may swing the vote to Vholran to being Nazamil's parent.

One, Vholran's face was the one that popped up in the trailer. In a not so subtle manner. They're bringing him back somehow and I would suspect that Nazamil is the tie-in somehow.

Two, people are very aware that Nazamil is half-Renan and half-Dahnan. In fact, they seem to have known from who she was from when she was born. Which puts the Ganabelt-as-Meneck as her parent theory as a bit weak as Meneck was only exposed as Ganabelt in ToA. Of course, trauma doesn't take long to develop and it could be actually that after the events of ToA that Nazamil gets hated on, since BtD is said to take place two years after ToA. Two years of being persucuted is more than enough to cause Nazamil's trauma.

Three, when Nazamil holds the mask up to her face in the trailer, it covers the blue eye, showing only the yellow one. It seems to emphasize that one, which lends more credence to Vholran being her parent.

Four, why would it be Ganabelt? And this has more to do with the story and how they setup Arise, but the other lords barely get a mention outside of their arcs. Balseph was there to setup the beginning. Ganabelt was there to develop Law's story and motive, and Almeidrea was literally just fodder for Rinwell's backstory. The three lords were very 2-dimensional, when compared to the main characters and Vholran, which would lead me to believe that they wouldn't make Nazamil's parent either of those three, unless they plan on expanding on the other lords (which wouldn't be a bad thing).

Five, in the exculsive first clip, the area where Nazamil is running through looks like Mahag Saar, note the windmill in the back and ruined buildings. So it wouldn't be a stretch to say that she used to be from Ganath Haros, but hard to tell.

But...In the same clip, when Nazamil uses astral energy, the eye that glows is the blue one. Which is Ganabelt's eye color. I would usually take that to mean that the eye that glows is the one that belonged to the Renan parent. But I will note that the glow in her eye mimics Vholran's Sovereign glow more than it does for the other Renans in the series, especially since it's in the right eye, where the sovereign crest resides in both Vholran and Alphen.

Then finally, in the pre-order trailer, we have this

Look at that crest behind her, it's not the sovereign crest, rather something different, but it appears in the same manner, which at this point, I am willing to call it as Vholran being her parent, but I'm not going to call it done and dusted.

Regardless, a good amount of the evidence does lean very heavily towards Vholran being Nazamil's parent, a close second being Ganabelt. If they pull a complete plot twist and it's Balseph, oh boi am I going to have fun with analysing that.

The one tiny minor issue that I have is the first point that I made in the very beginning. Vholran doesn't completely fit the timeline and with assumption that Nazamil is 12-13 at the start of ToA. And since it's implied that intercourse was involved, either Nazamil is younger or Vholran is older than I had assumed.

Of course this can easily explained away (as in why it doesn't fit nicely by the developers) by the fact that the DLC was (presumably) not planned when ToA came out. Most likely when they made ToA, they didn't have Nazamil's story out yet in any form, so ToA was made with the assumption that the story was finished, there wasn't more that was planned.

So is that it? Yeah, basically, until we get more information about Nazamil and BtD, we're still in a limbo. But the DLC is a little more than a month out (from time of posting this) so hopefully we'll get some more information (or maybe they'll just tell us, who knows, ToA did do a crap ton of info-dumping during the second half of the game)

Thanks for reading!

Sources: Official Annoucement Trailer Exclusive First Clip Pre-Order Trailer

[wint3r-h3art]

I posted 8,223 times in 2022

That's 6,173 more posts than 2021!

3,233 posts created (39%)

4,990 posts reblogged (61%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@wint3r-h3art

@fluffyprettykitty

@crazycookiecrumbles

@wint3r-library

@tom-whore-dleston

I tagged 5,495 of my posts in 2022

Only 33% of my posts had no tags

#linda answered - 1,990 posts

#stephen strange x reader - 204 posts

#self reblog. - 198 posts

#fic: the princess & her captain - 182 posts

#fic: the wizard & i - 161 posts

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Longest Tag: 108 characters

#i’m literally outlining my frank smut and then you sent me this and now i’m wheezing like a w word in church

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Suit & Tie | S.S

Summary: A lovers’ quarrel turned into something quite (un)expected.

Word count: 3.8K (ahahaha! Ooops!!)

Warning: Just a minor spoiler with the wedding!! Established relationship, possessive behavior, subtle passive aggressiveness, jealous sex, exhibitionism, fingering, praise kink, unprotected p in v sex, suit kink (the suit stays on), inappropriate used of mirror dimension, brat taming, mild dom behavior, face slapping, creampied

A/N: are we surprised I wrote this at all? Honestly, it’s just filth. A long ass explicit filth! Grab yourself some water. Maybe shower afterward.  No beta, so if missed anything, I apologize. If you enjoyed this, please comment or reblog. It means so much! If you like to get update on my future fic, please follow @wint3r-library​

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2,063 notes - Posted May 13, 2022

#4

Yes dear? | TASM!P.P x Reader

Summary: Peter is in grey sweatpants while fixing his suit and you can’t help yourself..AKA: Peter getting his soul sucked out because the audacity he has to walk around your shared apartment with nothing but those sweats on.

Word count: 2.2K

Rating: Explicit (smut ahead, besties). contain oral, exhibitionism (you’ll see why ehehe), fingering, unprotected seggs,  and praise kink. If these topics upset you, please don’t click read more. 

A/N: This is obviously adult!Peter/post college Peter. Just me still thinking about AG in grey sweats, besties. I also hope the tags are working now. As always, reblogs and comments are great, greatly appreciated. 

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2,987 notes - Posted January 2, 2022

#3

It’s You, It’s always Been you

Pairing: Stephen Strange x f!Reader

Summary: It’s a known fact that you are in love with Stephen Strange. It’s also a known fact that Stephen Strange is still in love with Dr. Palmer. When Stephen asked you to be his wedding date though, you’re starting to regret your decision. A confession from the doctor himself, changes everything.

Word count: 3.0K (I got carried away, oops)

Genre: angst, unrequited love, confession, overall feels!, and soft smut (of course)

A/N: There’s no major MoM spoilers, just the beginning with the wedding and all that. As much as I love Stephen being a complete daddy in MoM, I need to write me some soft smut. No beta, so if I missed anything, It’s my fault. If you enjoyed this, please please comment and reblog. It just means a lot. Please follow @wint3r-library​ and turn on post notification for fic update.

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3,583 notes - Posted May 8, 2022

#2

Ride the Lightning | Thor x Reader

Summary: They say lightning never strike twice. Thor begs to differ.

Word count: 3.4K

Warnings: pure brain rotting smut with a little plot, size kink, oral sex (female receiving), face riding, couch sex, male ejaculation, creampied, shower sex. Mutual pinning if you squint. a bit shy/awkward reader (because w’re all a bit awkward talking to our crushes 🥲) 

MINORS DNI | 18+ ONLY

A/N: y’all know I’ve been wanting to read some filthy ass size kink fic. Well, if you want something bad enough, you gotta write it yourself. Here it is in its pure filth. No beta, so I’m sorry!! Feedback & reblog just mean a lot and greatly appreciated if you enjoyed this.

*** do not copy, repost, rewrite, or translate my works !!

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3,810 notes - Posted July 7, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

His Sacrificial Offering | Namor

Summary: You were sent to be his, and his you shall be; both body and soul

Word count: 2.0K

Warnings: brain rotting smut ahead. Little plot, just thots. oral (female receiving), vaginal fingering, vaginal sex. Breeding kink, cum dumping, slight mention of possessive behavior. Romance undertone if you squint.

18+ ONLY | Minors DNI

A/N: Tenoch Huerta be pulling me out of my writing slump, and here is the result. I hope you liked it. Little plot, but somewhat coherent (I hope). No beta either, so if I do miss anything, I apologize. If you enjoyed this little blurb, comment and reblog is greatly appreciated 💛

Part 2

*** Do not copy, repost, or translate anywhere else.

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4,780 notes - Posted November 17, 2022

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[digital-learning-point]

Digital Marketing

Best SEO Tools for Bloggers Looking to Increase Traffic

Maintaining a blog is a significant endeavor. The days of being able to log in and write on whatever topic you wanted to are long gone. These days, staying ahead of the competition requires in-depth research and constant plan optimization.

Thankfully, you're not by yourself. You might do site audits, study the competition, conduct keyword research, and much more with the help of many tools. You may go back to the top of the search engine results page or recover a lost rank with any of the techniques listed below. The top 5 SEO tools for bloggers are listed below.

Yoast SEO

Pro bloggers using WordPress all across the world vouch for Yoast SEO. This multifunctional tool operates as a quick and free WordPress plug-in to evaluate and make recommendations for enhancements to each post and page on your website. It also provides real-time support when you upload new material. Are you using overly lengthy or short titles? Yoast will notify you. Is keyword density very aggressive? It will be detected by Yoast before you press the publish button.

The ability to optimize your SEO approach to the tiniest detail is the main advantage of utilizing Yoast. The tool offers suggestions for improvements that might elevate your SEO writing while maintaining a close eye on readability. It's hard enough to come up with keyword and content strategies, so why should you have trouble pushing material live?

Yoast SEO not only has per-post functionality, but it also keeps an eye out for site-wide problems that might hurt your SEO rank. Duplicate content and breadcrumb errors have been mostly eradicated. Even if you're not an expert on robots.txt files, sitemaps, or permalink URL best practices, Yoast can guide you through their world. This is due to their ability to offer direction without becoming unduly technical.

The greatest all-around tool for enhancing the SEO of your site is Yoast SEO. You almost can't live without it when you include features like site modifications, search previews, and keyword optimization, but the writing insights alone make it worthwhile.

2. Netpeak Spider

And what about the content that is already on your website? Many SEO tools focus on backlinks, keywords, organic search results, and link-building opportunities. You could be surprised at the number of issues with your website that you were unaware of.

This is when the use of Netpeak Spider is necessary. It searches the URLs on your website, much like a search engine robot, and thoroughly audits any SEO issues it finds. Based on the level of SEO severity, the problems are divided into three categories: errors, warnings, and notices. This makes it clear which issues need to be addressed immediately.

In addition to looking for broken links, duplicate content, canonical problems, missing titles and descriptions, links with incorrect URL formats, dead-end pages, pages prohibited by the X-Robots-Tag, and many other issues, the Spider also analyzes incoming and outgoing internal links on websites.

You have the option to store or export your data, so you can work on it later. You may choose to have your entire website crawled, just a certain page, or use custom rules to scan only a portion of your site.

Currently only compatible with Windows, Netpeak Spider is a desktop program that will soon be accessible on Linux and macOS as well.

3. Majestic

A versatile backlink checker, site explorer, and all-around link profiler are all included in the Majestic SEO toolbox. Majestic acts as a kind of spy on the backlink profiles of your competitors, in addition to providing you with information about your own blog's statistics. What better way to advance than to imitate and elevate your peers, after all?

Majestic offers an extensive toolbox that includes various tools such as flow measurements, domain comparisons, keyword checkers, and a site explorer. For the most part, this is very ordinary stuff in terms of SEO services. Majestic's superior link analysis is where it truly shines. The website has indexed about 500,000,000,000 distinct URLs and has historical information dating back to 2013. Few, if any, rival programs

can accomplish what this one does: check and trace the backlink history of any given domain.

4. Cognitive SEO

You most likely already know about cognitive SEO and that it provides an advanced, all-inclusive SEO toolset that is built in Europe if you work as an SEO professional, webmaster, or digital marketer. The outcomes are worth the work, even though there is a severe learning curve.

It provides you with advanced tracking and analysis tools, suggestions for improvements, and explanations, all packaged into a clear interface with interactive charts. The creators of the application promise that you will get top ranks in three easy steps: keyword research, ranking analysis, and content enhancement.

complex site audits for both your site and your competitors

easy to comprehend and visualize data, along with recommendations on how to fix the issues on your site

check for broken links both internal and external

keyword and content optimization; the tool analyzes all your site’s pages and posts and provides you with a content performance score based on keywords and also a readability score

in-depth backlinks analysis

detect unnatural links that led to Google penalties

desktop, mobile, and local rank tracking for all locations and languages

analyze content visibility based on social shares

check Google algorithm changes: CognitiveSEO tracks how Google rankings fluctuate daily and provides you with an illustrative chart where you can see when there were significant changes made in SERPs. If you suddenly notice a significant drop for one of your pages, you can check their chart to see if it corresponds with a change in Google’s algorithms.

track Google Analytics metrics directly from the Cognitive SEO interface

schedule reports to be sent automatically to your clients

Competitor Analysis: uncover the Google visibility of your competition as well as understand their marketing strategies: link building, content marketing strategy, and many more

They also offer free, limited use of 3 of their SEO tools: Site Explorer, Keyword Tool, and Google Algorithm Changes.

5. Readability Test Tool

Backlinks and keyword density are two of the most talked-about topics in search engine optimization. In the end, though, what matters most is whether or not readers find your work interesting and instructive. By emphasizing readability—making your content as legible as possible—you may increase the number of people who visit your website, both domestically and internationally, and attract a wider audience in this area.

A quick and easy service, the Readability Test Tool evaluates the material on your website and returns a results score that indicates the youngest reader age at which the information might be read and understood. For example, 9–10-year-olds might readily understand material at grade level 4. Although grade levels between six and eight are ideal, you'll be OK as long as you don't go too high.

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