#also all of this drama of the fic happened within like a month 😅 so yeah it was a lot all at once

[xviruserrorx]

(I was gonna reply normally but my rant got to long for Tumblr reply limits XD)

I know, I know 😩 It really was troubling me about the thought of deleting them!

One of the fics I've been thinking of deleting is just because it attracted a lot of negativity. Some people didn't agree with how I was writing a character (despite me tagging the fic ooc in case) and seasons have been continuing to come out of this show and more people keep making little comments about how I've written one character or another and how it doesn't match with what is the most current season of the media. The fic was a mixed of the old media and the new media (which some people liked) but a lot of people didn't agree with as I was kinda sticking with the older media.. And then more people didn't agree with the way I tagged the fic (again with this same character).

This fic had been getting updated every 3-7 days with 10k chapters and I had the story completely mapped out and people were routinely reading it and it picked up attention really quickly. It originally was just a one chapter thing that people reading convinced me to continue. That fic was not continued for me but for those people who wanted it (I mean this in a good way). It's also safe to say that the engagement I was getting from this fic was amazing I mean people were sending me theories of what they thought was gonna happen, I was getting multiple comments everytime I uploaded like it was fantastic and those people who were regularly reading were amazing. And the fic itself was very fun (if I may say) I'd written it in a way that it was revealing the bare minimum every chapter but still in a way that carried the story; the readers were actively engaging and having fun and I too was having fun.

But when all those negative type of comments kept coming in I ran away (back to the Merlin fandom actually funnily enough 😅). I dropped it and it wasn't till earlier this year that I had gone and looked at it again. I tried to rewrite it but I couldn't. I know it was just a difference of opinions and some people being very vocal about their opinions even though I never asked for constructive criticism on this fic or anything else...

But yeah along with a some other things that I later figured out that was why I've been thinking of deleting some things.

Saw someone recommend one of my fics now excuse me while I go cry for the rest of eternity

[thegracelessfaceless]

Sound Effects and Overdramatics (Ticci Toby x Nurse Grace) 20.

(AN: So I picked first person for now 😅 that might change later, but for now, we'll stick with this) Thank you so much for reading! If you like this, it's part of a very long ongoing series and you can find all the other chapters here. If you aren't following or just want updates, go ahead and give me a follow. I also put out drawings and have a friend who is making a soundtrack to go with this fic!

Triggers: allusion to r*pe, arranged marriage,

Toby and I sat on the couch and Slenderman turned in his chair, crossing his long skinny legs ankle over knee. He threaded his fingers together, holding his knee as Toby threw an arm over the back of the plush white couch and I leaned into his body as I sat back. Slowly, and not lacking the appropriate amount of drama, Slenderman began to tell Toby and me everything we needed to know about Zalgo.

'Mother came from a dimension very, very far from here. She had been matched with a king from a neighboring realm. Your human minds cannot even begin to comprehend Mother's language, so I will give them names you can process better. Mother was matched with the formidable King of Nightmares, and she knew she must obey, for it was her High Priestess who declared the match. To refuse would have been to be shunned for eternity.'

Slenderman paused before continuing, 'However, Mother loved another, the King of Nightmares' rival, Father of Day. Mother had gained his favor centuries before the matching, and upset, Mother ran to him instead of her intended. She spent one, passionate day with him. The next morning, the King of Nightmares, who had started searching for his new bride, found them and slayed Father of Day and dragged Mother from his bed. I'm certain I shouldn't need to retell what happened next.' He looked down, shaking his head.

Every time Slenderman said a name, it sounded garbled and another voice of a slightly different, but montonous tone inserted the names Slenderman gave the beings in his story. My heart wept for Mother. She had only wanted to be with the one she loved, but the forces that be in her world had forced her to marry some king who was scary enough to be called the King of Nightmares.

'Females of our kind differ from human females in small ways biologically, the biggest being that, like most of the mammalian creatures inhabiting this planet, they can become impregnated by more than one male at a time, especially very fertile females. Such was the case with Mother, as she had two mates reproduce with her within one day cycle, and she was very fecund. Mother became pregnant with twins, my brother and me. Another difference is that pregnancies last for much longer, years instead of months. She donned a mask to cover her face, and wore flowing robes that covered her from any eyes view. Since Mother was carrying twins, one of which was royal, the palace doctors placed her on very strict bedrest.' Slenderman chuckled a little and moved, stretching out his legs before crossing his other ankle on the opposite knee. 'Mother became fond of looking in on other realities and planets. It was very much like when you humans watch television. And she grew enamored with one planet in particular, here. She fell in love with the scenery and creatures here, so, she gathered all of her strength and left one moon. She traveled here and never looked back, but continued to cover her visage. She befriended a witch who took her in and when the time came, delivered Zalgo and myself into existence, first me, then Zalgo ten minutes later.'

Some small movement under Slenderman's skin gave me the impression that he was smiling fondly, 'She says that I look just like my father, Father of Day. And Zalgo reminds her so much of King of Nightmares. So naturally, I became her favorite. And Zalgo has made that a continual bone of contention.'

Slenderman was quiet for a moment, thinking, then said, 'Zalgo incurred Mother's wrath when he created a plague in 1347. I believe that one was called 'The Black Death'. She drew and quartered him and then put him in stasis for centuries. We woke him in 1900, but he set Paris on fire, killing even more, and then invited us to tea. So we went, and Mother put him back to sleep. He must have started dreaming, found Jeffery and Natalie through their nightmares, and then enlisted them as his proxies for when he awoke. If enough deaths are caused in his name, the power he gains from each death could be enough to not only wake him, but give him enough power to rise to his full embodiment.'

"It doesn't really surprise me that he picked Jeff and Natalie" Toby said, "of all of us, they were always the closest to embracing their insanity."

'You are correct, Tobias, Zalgo likely noticed that trait and took advantage of it in order to manipulate them more soundly.' He rubbed his chin, 'Now, we must locate and round up troops for you to command, Tobias, for Zalgo cannot be allowed to rise and meet his full power. That would bring about the apocalypse, or Zalgo's version of it. Four hundred years of suffering as he claims this land as his new Realm of Nightmares and carries on his father's legacy. It will become a hellscape, much like his father's realm. Do you understand the urgency to defeat him? He will only cause death and destruction. Zalgo hates everything Mother and I enjoy. Mother and I value human life, as it is our life source, but Zalgo has no regard for humans or their home. He views humans as tools or objects of amusement for him to use as he pleases. He would destroy you all in spite. None of you would be safe. Tobias, Grace. He would kill you first. Grace first to cause Tobias to suffer, then Tobias to make me suffer as he is my favorite. And in order to make Mother suffer, he would attempt to slay me. Again.'

Slenderman had become so impassioned that he had stood from his chair to pace a narrow track between the opposite couch and the coffee table. I didn't point out that I thought Slenderman was just as manipulative, if not more, than his twin brother. He had offered me and Toby nothing but kindness, and he, at least, valued human life to some point, even if it was to meet his own ends. This made him the lesser of two evils.

"I don't want to live through Zalgo's reign" I said softly, "so I'll risk dying to take him out."

"Agreed" Toby said, squeezing my hand gently.

It was decided that Toby and I would start visiting recruits tomorrow, along with investigating any suspicious activity that could be related to Zalgo's coming. Slenderman dismissed me and Toby and I followed him to the door.

"Do you want me to go with you, or do you want to try it alone again?" Toby asked as he played with my fingers, running his fingertips over my knuckles distractedly.

"Hmm" I thought, "I think I'll try alone again. After all, you won't always be able to hold my hand, I'm sure."

Toby gave me a funny little smile, "I will as long as you let me, but I like that you want to learn to do this on your own. I'll meet you in our rooms."

He opened the door and walked through. I followed him and we were both met by Mother and her fog. We crossed the void to our bedroom door, me, keeping the warm autumn colored room in the front of my mind. But just as Toby passed through the doorway, the fog cleared enough that I could see another figure in the void.

They wore an aged bone colored dress that hung to their feet in tatters, just covering white Victorian style boots with tiny buttons. A brown corset that looked like leather covered their tiny waist, no doubt pulled as tightly as breath would allow. The bodice of the dress was also bone white and showed in slits in the corset and the cups of the decolletage of the dress. Safe to say from the ample bosom in the dress that the figure was female in sex. A shawl in matching white covered the figures head and hung down their shoulders and back to their knees. The face was indistinguisgable at this distance, blurring solid black in all the white cloth that adorned them.

Strangely, I didn't feel fear when I saw this person. They stood so far away as it was. Then Mother's fog enveloped me again and I opened the door in front of me, picturing the bedroom. And then I stepped through.

The Figure in the Void