#edit: it’s kind of like that feeling when you don’t know what to draw except really bad and about everything

[little-miss-dilf-lover]

I GOT SO EXCITED WHEN YOU OPENED YOUR REQUESTS!!! can i request a pietro fic where him and the reader are both avengers and they are best friends, but the reader has the biggest crush on him (she manages how to hide well) and they get assigned to a mission in hawaii and have to pretend that they're married and are there for their honeymoon? and that pretending to be the reader's husband and doing everything together like a couple made pietro realize that he also had feelings for her. one day they both go to a restaurant and have some drinks and he builds enough courage to finally kiss her (in the rain😼)

(i know it's cheesy but i just love the idea😭😭 and also, sorry if there's any mistakes, english isn't my first language hahah)

hii!! omg I love this and cheesy things hehe!! and don’t worry, your english was great! apologies, I had a nightmare writing this, I finished writing it then went to edit the next day to find chunks of my paragraphs were missing :(( but thank you for requesting, hope you like it💌

—

fake dating

pietro maximoff x fem!reader

word count: 811

✧.┊ MASTERLIST

As you and Pietro are the two youngest members on the team -with the exception of Peter- you were often paired together for lots of missions. Being best friends had its perks, especially for trips away where it was just the two of you. 

You were both assigned to Hawaii to "collect intel", as Cap lightly put it. The pair of you undercover: smitten newlyweds on your honeymoon. Usually, you weren't a fan of these kinds of aliases, but this was different- it was with Pietro.

It allowed you to tap into your true and hidden romantic feelings towards him without over-complicating everything. Fake dating was like a compromise to you. It felt like it gave you a brief chance to date him without the consequence of doing the real thing.

The moment you boarded the plane, the mission began, and you were all over Pietro- leaning into him and stroking his arm, giggling at his jokes and sharing stories with the elderly lady beside you. 

It all felt natural, and you didn't know where to draw the line. You admit you may have gotten a little carried away, but you couldn't help it- it just felt so right to date Pietro, like you could finally be your true self without keeping a part of you locked away. 

The first several days of the trip went smoothly, completing all tasks assigned within the first few hours of the day, leaving you both together for many hours doing touristy things.

Each day was slightly different- snorkelling in the ocean for one and eating lunch with the locals for another. You both wanted to make the most of your 'vacation,' so you chose activities you couldn't do anywhere else, nor would you have time for otherwise.

As the days progressed, so did things with you and Pietro. You would find yourselves flirting and touching with no one around- no one to prove things to. He grew more comfortable being romantic with you, a lingering touch to your hand or a soft smile when you speak- just small and possibly inconsequential moments that felt too sincere to be fake.

Today was the last night of the trip before heading home in the morning, so you and Pietro decided to have dinner at your favourite quaint restaurant on the beach, much like a final farewell to the town you both grew to adore. 

Everything was perfect- the scenery, the food, the company, even. It was the best end to an already great trip. 

By now, you were on your final course of the night, sharing a desert as you chatted in your usual friendly way. 

You sit up straight, pointing the spoon at him. "You suit it,"

His head cocks to the side, evidently confused. "Suit, what?"

"Y'know... the sun— being away. You seem happy," you smile, placing your spoon aside. "Haven't seen you like it for a while." You shrug, glancing out into the ocean to avoid his fixed gaze.

"I do?" he grins, pointing the spoon at you like you did him. "Same with you... it's nice to see."

"Maybe it's the company," your smile widens, turning back to face him.

He chuckles, itching his foot closer to yours under the table, slyly bumping into it. "Maybe."

After dinner and more drinks, you find your tipsy selves on the beach, sitting in the sand, huddled together under a blanket to keep warm. Pietro's arm draped over your shoulder, holding you close to him as you look out into the ocean. It all felt so familiar, like second nature- as if this was how it should be between you. 

Sure, you've cuddled like this many times before, but this was not like those times- this was different. It was intimate- sincere. Pietro pulls away, glancing over your face as a gentle smile forms, watching the way yours mirrors his. 

"Looks like it's gonna rain," you divert, suddenly aware of how real this all feels between you. 

He hums weakly, his smile faltering as he slowly leans towards you, his low gaze focused on your lips. 

"Might storm," you whisper, adding.

"Mh-hm," he softly replies, almost as if he wasn't paying attention. He slips his hand up to cup the side of your face, his palm resting on your jaw, guiding you closer. 

"It might—"

He cuts you off with a small shush, quietening your blabbering mind before brushing his lips over yours, kissing you soft and sweetly. It felt like months of repressed longing poured into a single, beautiful moment. A moment you've long been yearning for.

As you pull away from one another, you wish you could stay here forever. Stay in paradise. 

But as much as you hated to think about it, you'd be leaving tomorrow, and all you could think about was how things would be when you go back home. 

— — — — — — — — — — ☆ — — — — — — — — — —

pietro taglist: @astermath @thewinterv @earth-elemental18 @lunnnix @idontknowwhattohaveasmyuser @randomawesomeperson102 @queerponcho @selfryed @daenerys-supremacy @dontknownameauthor @mrsbarnesxxx @honestly-who-even-is-this @simplyreflected

[michellemisfit]

✨Weekly Tag Wednesday ✨

Thanks for creating the game and for the tag @jrooc thanks for the tag @vintagelacerosette

Today we’re talking fandom. Come play!

Name and A03 handle: Michelle, michellemisfit

Current Location: Living room, surrounded by feathers, as I’m currently fletching some arrows

Favourite picrew: This one is pretty fucking spot on. Or at least it was at the time. Hair is very different now. But then, hair is always different… lol

Also this one is spiritually VERY me

What's one thing you want in a picrew? Ability to add coloured streaks! And a wide selection of scars, or alternatively the ability to move them around the screen. Either is fine. But mostly the hair thing. My hair is generally 4 different colours. Don’t try and limit me to one!!

Favourite thing you’ve created (or seen created) for the fandom? Erm… 3 way tie between Mexico Gallacrafts, Fimo Gallavich, and Cookie Gallavich? Maybe? Argh. Turns out, looking back at my art tag… I’ve created some pretty cool stuff. Huh. Yay me.

Why is it your favourite? I don’t really do photography, and I’m really proud of the idea behind and the execution of that photo. And while I LOVE drawing more than anything, I don’t think I’m exceptional or anything. But I’m damn creative when it comes to silly 3D craft projects, so both Fimo Gallavich and Cookie Gallavich make me happy and feel like something not just anyone could do… I dunno.

Did it come easily or was it hard to create? It was LONG to create. Both cookie and Fimo Gallavich took several days in total. And I think that’s the other thing I like about myself. I am willing to put in the work, and it usually pays off.

Last ao3 fic you commented on? Hah! You’ll be able to corroborate this, I’m not just sucking up!! LOL I’m currently reading Camp is a Battlefield by @blue-disco-lights, @jrooc, and @mybrainismelted, with artwork by @creepkinginc, so that’s the last one I commented on :)

Biggest WIP heartache you’ve ever experienced? I mean… every single WIP I have ever started reading, only to realise that maybe there won’t be any more of it… 😱 Every. Single. One. They’re all special, and they all hurt in their own special ways. And I will remain subscribed to all of them FOREVER, because you never know!!

Also? Comment on WIPs. Tell authors how much joy the story brought you, how much space it’s occupying in your brain, how much you would love to see it continue but how happy you are to have read as much of the story as there is because it’s changed your brain chemistry… do NOT comment saying ‘next chapter when?’, cause that makes you a dick bag.

Favourite trope or head cannon you like included in a fanfic? I’m a sucker for fake dating, only one bed, and a soulmate AU 🤷🏽‍♂️

Least favourite? …not a huge fan of kid fic, but hey, all it takes is a great author to make it work.

Secret or surprising kink or trope? Again, do not kink shame, because you’re only ever one good fanfic away from discovering something about yourself you did NOT see coming…

Describe how you feel after you’ve created something new? Exhausted and antsy. Is it good enough? Are people gonna like it? Should I even bother anyone with this? Why don’t I just go and hide under a rock forever?? I felt okay about this when I finished it, why is it suddenly the worst thing to have ever been created??? …I wish there was a sense of calm and accomplishment. There is not. Brains suck!

Top hype man you have that always helps you get across the finish line: @deedala - I so appreciate how we’re on a similar wave length when it comes to art as well as ‘everybody wants to hunt me for sport’ vibes. I know I can always count on you for kind but honest words, and that’s so important!!

It's been a bad day, you turn to the fandom and you _____? Read comfort fic. Probably Like Real People Do or None the Wiser.

Edit: Also? Go and read comments and tags on old art posts. That’s a sure fire way to cheer me up!

This was fun, and made the 15 minute wait between fletching each feather pass much faster. Thanks!!

If you are currently making your own arrows and need something to occupy your wait time with… how about completing a tag game? lol

@heymrspatel @loftec @creepkinginc @deedala @too-schoolforcool @darlingian @iandarling @iansw0rld @ian-galagher @mybrainismelted @palepinkgoat @crossmydna @mikhailoisbaby @sickness-health-all-that-shit @rereadanon @rutherinahobbit @energievie @junemermaid @francesrose3 @deathclassic @faejilly @rutherinahobbit @gallawitchxx @look-i-love-u @jessij1997 @callivich @celestialmickey @wehangout @doshiart @lynne-monstr @the-rat-wins @blue-disco-lights @suzy-queued @sleepyfacetoughguy @spookygingerr @burninface @gallapiech

[literallyzooble]

The Amazing Digital Marching Band: Beta Designs

WHAT THE HEEEEELLLLLLL OH MY GAWD NO WAYAYAYAYAYAY

Hi hello hi!! I finally got around to designing some beta layouts for my Digital Circus AU! Please tell me what you think and reblog if you can! If I continue to expand upon this AU, I might just make its own blog for it! Just depends when and if I have time :)

Okay under the cut is me infodumping about each design so feel free to like skip allat if you don’t want to read it

Gangle: Color Guard -I wanted to still follow Gangle’s ribbon motif in her design, this is probably the most personalized outfit out of all of them. -The ribbon the makes up her body now continues down and spirals around her legs, sort of to make a “skeleton” of a dress. -I added a bit more flare to her arms, adding extra ribbons that don’t act as limbs, and more as sleeves or decoration. -The bow on her head kind of just ties it all together, again fitting with the ribbon motif that I was going for. -In terms of the first point, the reason why I say “personalized” is that I’m still not sure what I’m going for in terms of outfits. I don’t know if I want them all to be uniform and the same, like a true marching band (in this case, I would have to change Gangle’s outfit), or if I’d like each uniform to have more of a personal style to it (in this case I would keep Gangle’s outfit, and change uniforms to echo the original character’s designs (i.e. changing Ragatha’s uniform to be a bit more dress like).

Pomni: Drum Major -I’m still deciding on the hat, I wanted to try to make a shako with a jester hat motif, but I’ll have to work it out over time. -Her uniform borrows from modern marching uniforms (Stanbury for inspiration) and circus jester clothes (hence the fringe around the waist). -Gloves are the same size as her original gloves, except they’re white. -Pants are classic bibber pants, shoes are classic marching shoes (both black).

Zooble: Snare (Battery) -One of their antennae is a snare stick. I came up with this gimmick that Zooble basically pulls out sticks from everywhere: their head, their arm, their leg, they always have a spare. -I decided to give Zooble two wings for stability, since you don’t want to be tilted to one side while marching, especially for battery. -Their right (looking at the drawing it’s their left) arm has this mechanism where you can easily insert sticks, it’s sort of like one of those things that can extend your pencil when it’s short? It uses the same logic. -I kinda went the craziest on Zooble’s design because I am so normal about them (I am not) -I CHOSE ZOOBLE AS A SNARE BEFORE GOOSE SAID THAT THEY PLAY DRUMS MY BRAIN IS MASSIVE

Ragatha: Flute -Adding on from what I yapped about in Gangle’s tidbit, I had this idea to make the uniforms a bit more personalized to each character, for example giving Ragatha’s uniform a bit more of a “dress” look to math her original design. Of course, this conflicted with my knowledge of marching bands and why everyone has such similar uniforms, so to go with the dress-like design or not, as well as personalizing each of the character’s designs more, is still up in the air. -Woodwinds have gloves that have the fingertips cut off, so their fingers can be more technical. Ragatha’s gloves are black. -The woodwind and brass uniforms are mostly the same, the shakos (color wise) are the only things that differentiate the two. -Classic marching bibber and shoes. -Yes I am self projecting by making Ragatha a flute and BEFORE YOU GO SAYING “erm achchually Ragatha plays Cello-“ FIRSTLY there are no cellos in marching band and SECONDLY within this AU she plays flute for marching season and play cello in the orchestra for concert season :)

Jax: Trumpet -His ears go inside his shako, I’m just too lazy to edit/erase them. -Brass have gloves that have no alterations made to them. Jax’s gloves are also black. -Classic marching bibber and shoes. -Jax gives me “typical crackhead trumpet” energy and I don’t know why. Anyways there’s my reason for putting him on trumpet.

Kinger: Bass Drum And Gong (Pit/Auxiliary) -I want Kinger in this AU to give “How TF Did I Get Dragged Into This” Vibes -Pit percussion members don’t wear shakos, which is sort of cool so we can still recognize the chess piece form. -Since Kinger doesn’t have any legs, his “marching bibber” is more of just a black skirt that surrounds his body. -Pit percussion members don’t wear gloves. Which is a problem. Because Kinger is always wearing gloves. And I do not want to draw whatever is underneath those gloves. Scawy.

Stay tuned for more!! Maybe!! In the near future??? ALSO ALL SHIPS ARE ALLOWED!!! YOU MAY SHIP WHOEVER WITH WHOMEVER!!! AS LONG AS YOU’RE NOT A CREEP!!! YAHOO!!!

[teethburger]

This drawing is the best visual representation I can get

Please for the love of god someone help me name this feeling

Does anyone else ever get that feeling like your brain is floating above your body and you can’t focus on anything and you can’t feel invested in anything so you’re just sitting around doing nothing because nothing interests you. Like if I listen to music in this state it just sounds like sounds because none of the happy chemicals usually associated with it are working for some reason. I can actually feel the floating feeling in my brain coming on, and it usually happens during a long break. Please tell me if you know what this is because I started crying at my therapist because I couldn’t explain it right

[all-pacas]

self indulgent headcanon post: secret retcon sister edition

Daniela Maria Chase. She's gone almost universally by Ellie or Ella since she was little: Chase tends to call her Danielle. It's an old defiant habit: their father called her Ellie and little teenage Robbie was like no her name is Danielle, you don't get to call her a cute nickname if you're not here for her. (But he got it wrong, her name's Daniela.) Meanwhile she has called him Robbie since she was old enough to talk.

Ella was pretty young when her mother died, which isn't to say that her addictions and neglect didn't affect her. As with Robert before her, their mother would lock Ella in the nursery to "get her out of the way;" unlike Robert Ella never really knew or remembered her mother sober, has no good memories to draw on, just a vague terror of a very sick woman.

Robbie got the Good Looks gene. Ellie looks okay, they’re still related and all. But nowhere near his prettiness level. They don’t look alike generally; they take after different parents. But they are both blonde.

Oddly, Ella got along alright with Rowan. Because she was a girl, he had much lower/fewer expectations of her (sexism win!) and because of her age he took her in after her mother died. He still wasn't a great dad by any means. They kind of just ignored one another. She got along okay with her step-mother, too, who is one of those rich ladies who loves a good Society Dinner and Fundraiser.

Robert did his best but wasn't a good parent to Ella either. Obviously he should never have expected to be. But he was fifteen and barely coping and fifteen.

So she ended up growing up to be incredibly independent, capable of fending for herself, but also deeply prone to self destructive behaviors. If Robert is bad at relying on others, Ellie is 800% worse. She essentially emancipated herself at 17, got a job, lived on her own, never married (because relying on people), does everything Herself.

But she also periodically self destructs. She is an addict. She's an alcoholic. She self medicates and does stupid, reckless, attention seeking things, it all spirals, she checks herself into rehab, she's fine for a few years and then does it again. She was also cut out of dad's will — not a surprise, she was a complete non-entity to him and didn't even go to university.

Robert sends her money sometimes. (When he was pulling double wages in S2, she'd just been sent to rehab and he wanted the extra money to help her out.) He is the one tentative exception to the I'll do it on my own clause: Ellie will still do it on her own, thanks, but she doesn't mind him "lending" her money or buying her groceries or making her "on her own" thing easier.

Around 2010 — in her early twenties — she has a kid. Dad is not in the picture and never was. She and Robert have a huge falling out about this, he quite bluntly thinks she can't keep her life together and is being irresponsible and stupid (and flashing back to his own childhood). She has a boy. Chase has never met his nephew. They didn't speak for a couple years after.

Ellie tries to be a good mother. She stays clean, she works hard, she's actually quite proud of herself for "making something of herself." She really resents Robert as much as she does intellectually know he did his best and shouldn't have been responsible for her. But from her perspective, he abandoned her. He's rich and successful and a famous doctor (and Rowan probably was the type to compare her to him, even if he'd never once praise Chase to his face). He has it sooooo easy. And yet Robert is constantly lecturing her, telling her what to do, doubting she can make it on her own. In her mind, Ellie came from nothing and made something of herself, where Robert was given what he has.

But she does love him. And has fond memories of him. And is proud of him and his success! They just… do better with low contact. They always end up arguing. Robert sees Danielle and just feels guilt and is reminded of everything that was bad in his childhood; Danielle mostly was too young to remember the worst of it (and what she does remember is good times with her brother), and resents him for leaving.

Cameron absolutely reached out to Ella as soon as she learned she existed. She picked up the name Danielle from Chase, and no one told her it wasn't technically correct. Ella was immediately suspicious of Cameron's motives, but quite liked her. She thinks it makes perfect sense the marriage only lasted a few months, since obviously Robbie is a huge fucking loser. (She's told him so to his face, that Cameron was way too good for a stuck up asshole like Robert. He will never ever tell her about Dibala.)

Her son's name is Noah Robert Chase. His uncle has no idea.

[glitterypopcorn]

introduction

haii!! i’m glitter!!!! you can also call me katya, especially if we're close!!! ヾ(๑╹ꇴ◠๑)ﾉ”

i go by any pronouns :3 he/she/they preferred, no pref between the three >_<

EDIT!!!!!!!! my social anxiety has been extremely bad as of late!!!!!!! if i dont know you and i reblog a post with a comment then say "sorry" or something for seemingly no reason it's because i don't want to bother you or make you uncomfortable!!!!!!!! i'm very awkward talking to other people who havent spoken to me nowadays so some things i say may be kind of weird!!! im sorry about this!!!!!

if i reblog a homestuck ship there's a high chance i just like the art, the only ships i really ship are qpr callieroxy and rosemary ^_^

click this link for additional info!

i'm a katya (pafl) and roxy (homestuck) fictionkin!!!! :DDDDDDDD also kinsidering jade and calliope from homestuck but not 100% sure ;v;

mage of heart!! my moon is prospit and im a fuschia blood ~v~

no dni, i just block - EXCEPT!!! if you're a double plz dni and block me, it's not personal but that sorta thing makes me feel super super bad :,3 (UNLESS IVE FOLLOWED YOU ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

i edited my pfp but @;nopanamaman drew it! lmk if you want any icon edits there's a chance i'll make one (๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑)♪

art on the katya kin blinkies also by nopanamaman!! those blinkies r made by @eye-bleeding-arts >:3

art tag [multiple types of art] - #glitters creations

more stuff below the cut!! interests + such

CANDYLAND LINK

I AM A MINOR!!!!! please don’t be weird, thank you!

i have autism and adhd, both diagnosed!

CANDYLAND ASK BLOG @ask-candyland

my "main" blog is @glittersendsasks, it was my original blog but since i created it i've moved here. it was originally a roleplay blog for basil from omori ( ꩜ ᯅ ꩜;) 

KATYA PAFL RP ACC @katyas-cool-account405

ANYA PAFL RP ACC (much less active on there) @beletskanya69

GRAPHICS N STUFF BLOG!! @cakemixedd

sorry bros i dont do copypastas/chain mail dont take it personally

if i ever make you uncomfortable in ANY WAY please dm me! i won't get mad i promise ^_^ i'm always looking to better myself but i do make mistakes and forget things sometimes and im sorry about that

likes: parties are for losers, homestuck (new interest, i don't know much abt it aside from what's in the comic itself), omori, the post-traumatic manifesto, welcome to night vale, in stars and time, evidentlyfresh, ferry, cotton candy flavored stuff, candy + other sweet foods, drawing, singing, bugs, isopods, and cosplaying!!!!! n my favorite color is pink

here's a link to music i like because i don't want to make this post too long!! i will probably forget to update this so it will likely be outdated if you're looking at it a month or more after it's posted

please don’t call me pookie, thank you <3

rbs > likes but do whatever you want lol idc !!

hearts meaning:

🩷 : romantic!!!! if i use it with you and i don't know you irl, i accidentally clicked it. i will probably notice this though !!

💚🩷 : platonic!!

💚 : platonic. usually only used when i want to send a single heart!!

<3 : depends!! if we're not partners, it's platonic ^_^

(o*・ω<)oﾟ.+:｡ﾟ.

by the way i’m burnt out currently and may not respond to asks/do things i said i would do. don’t take it personally >_<

also. i can only speak english </3 i'll use google translate if spoken to in another language so things i say might sound weird

[ollieofthebeholder]

And If Thou Wilt, Forget: a TMA fanfic

[1] [2] Also on AO3 and my personal website.

Chapter 3: For once I dreamed of you

The old bat had left her office door unlocked. And more importantly, she’d left her papers out.

Well. Okay. That was a bit of a stretch. The door wasn’t so much unlocked as it was shockingly easy to pick, and the papers hadn’t so much been out as easily eventually located under several empty folders in a drawer that came open with only a little bit of jiggling and finagling. But, come on. For Gertrude Robinson, that was practically leaving the doors wide open with a big sign that said FREE TO A GOOD HOME pointing directly at the papers.

Well…maybe not. Not when nobody came down to the Archives when she wasn’t in except for Gerard, and he’d said he wouldn’t be back until Tuesday.

Not his fault he’d been too keyed up to wait and taken an earlier train back.

Maybe a little his fault.

Gerard hummed to himself as he turned the pages over. They seemed to relate to a statement of some kind; while the actual statement didn’t seem to be anywhere in them, he could kind of piece together the gist of it just based on the research. It was something to do with an eighteenth-century automaton that turned out to be a hoax, and something to do with a Hungarian theater, and something to do with an unremarkable man, probably the statement-giver. All taken together, it suggested something of the Stranger, maybe a previous attempt at the Unknowing. Gertrude had obviously been making notes, highlighting, underlining, scribbling in the margins, but what was unusual—at least as far as he could see—was that she had crossed most of her notes out. The crosses started out neat and precise, but he started to notice that more and more of them were stricken hastily in a vicious, almost excited slash. He had trouble with her handwriting at the best of times, and the edits made it harder.

Nevertheless, he persisted.

One note he could read delighted him. MEM: If he survives, bonus/raise? Gerard didn’t exactly draw a paycheck from the Institute, and Gertrude rarely favored him with more than he paid for any books he acquired for her, and it didn’t feel great to know she had such a low opinion of him that she thought he’d get killed by the idiot that had previously owned this one. But the idea of a bonus was promising. He put a big, cheeky check mark next to the note and went on.

“Excuse me, this part of the Institute isn’t open to the public.”

Gerard did not yelp in surprise. He did not toss the papers in his hand like they were electrified. He did not shove back from Gertrude’s desk so quickly that the chair toppled over backwards, taking him with it to the floor. He did not crack his head so hard on the floor that he saw stars and temporarily lost the ability to breathe.

He couldn’t have done any of those things, because that would have meant that he looked not only highly suspicious but deeply uncool in front of the objectively hot man looking down at him with a combination of bafflement and concern, and surely the universe didn’t hate him that much.

“Then what are you doing here?” he asked as soon as he had enough air to speak, as if he was in any position—literally or metaphorically—to make that kind of challenge.

“I work here.” The man held out a hand to assist him off the floor.

Gerard ignored it, as much as he wanted to take it, and rolled to his feet with as much dignity as he could manage. “Did you need something from Ms. Robinson?”

“Did you?” the man countered. “I don’t think she’s in right now—I’m not entirely sure where she is, actually, just that she’s out—but maybe I can help you with whatever it is?”

“Uh.” Gerard thought fast. Whoever this man was, assuming he did actually work for the Institute, he shouldn’t be down here. Unless this was Elias Bouchard, whom Gerard had never met—with good reason—but he looked awfully young for that. Also, if Gerard had managed to get himself caught by Elias Bouchard, Gertrude would…actually, he didn’t know what she would do to him, but it definitely wouldn’t be pleasant. She didn’t suffer fools gladly and had a low tolerance for failure, and she’d been emphatic about him keeping well away from Elias when he came to the Archives. Still, whoever this was, Gerard would have to have a reason to be here, and a reason to get him out of the Archivist’s office.

He gestured at the papers still scattered over the desk, hoping the man wouldn’t look at them too closely. “I, uh—statement.”

The man glanced briefly at the papers, then up at Gerard with a single raised eyebrow. “You don’t look much like an expert in eighteenth-century Hungarian theater. Or eighteenth-century Hungarian, for that matter. So I’m not sure why you’re helping with this one.”

Shit. Well, time for another lie, one that could probably pass muster. Gerard gave the man what he hoped was a disarming grin. “Look, cards on the table, eh, mate? I’m her grandson. Just back from a trip to the continent, so I thought I’d pop in and see her, say hello, you know? I wasn’t supposed to be back until next week, so I reckoned I’d surprise her. Didn’t expect to find anyone down here.”

The man relaxed, but only marginally. “Been gone a while, have you?”

“Couple months,” Gerard hazarded. It had actually only been about a week and a half he’d been off on this trip, but something told him that wouldn’t be long enough.

“That explains it. I only started working for her in September.” The man held out his hand again. “Tim Stoker. Archival Assistant.”

He smiled. He really did have a nice smile—white teeth and a mischievous dimple and lines around his eyes that suggested he laughed more than frowned. Gerard’s own smile relaxed in response as he accepted the hand and shook it. “Gerard Keay. Rare book dealer.”

“Nice to meet you, Gerard.” Tim ran a hand through his hair and stifled a yawn. “Sorry. Just woke up from a nap…where were you, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Germany. Black Forest region. Gentleman there had a collection of rare maps and atlases.” Gerard shrugged. “I got a few, but…not sure what they’re worth. They’re not the kind of rare books I usually deal with.”

“May I see?” Tim asked. “If you don’t mind showing me.”

That…was probably a bad idea. Gerard tried to look skeptical rather than nervous. “Know a lot about German geography?”

“No, but I know books.” Tim gave him a crooked grin. “First in Anthropology. And I worked in publishing before I came to the Institute.”

Curiosity overcame caution. Not completely—Gerard was smart enough not to pull out the book with Leitner’s bookplate carefully affixed to the inside, the title of which he couldn’t interpret—but he did extract the other three and hand them over. Tim took them with the reverence of a bibliophile and handled them with the respect of a historian. He examined the bindings and conditions of the covers, murmuring to himself as he did so. If he was telling the truth about working for Gertrude, and the jury was still out on that, she’d managed to get a good one.

He set the books gently on the desk, then picked up one and opened it carefully. The familiar scent of an old book wafted up from its pages, with none of the stale malice Gerard was accustomed to smelling in Leitners—it might have been his imagination, but he’d smelled it a time or two in books that didn’t have the label and they’d wound up being evil too. Tim studied the inside page for a moment. He frowned slightly, then gave Gerard a sharp look. “How much did you pay for this?”

“About eight thousand pounds for all four. I think.” Gerard was keenly literate but reluctantly numerate, and he’d never been able to hold exchange rates in his head for as long as it took him to turn away from the posted signs at the airport or bank counter.

“You could get twice that for just this one, at a conservative guess. Look.” Tim angled the book towards him. “See this printer’s mark here? This was an experimental printing press that made movable print blocks with geographic features and shorelines and such, then tried to put them together into coherent maps. They weren’t quite as helpful as a hand-drawn one, or a custom-drawn one, but they were pretty damn close, especially for the time. There aren’t a lot of these still surviving.”

Despite himself, Gerard was impressed. “Out of curiosity, how lost would you be if you tried to follow them?”

“Today? Extremely. Even back then, you’d probably be better off staying inland. The coastline wouldn’t look right. But not any worse off than most other common maps of the time.” Tim gingerly turned a page. “Your guy didn’t know what he had. Or you’re an amazingly shrewd bargainer.”

“I dress up when I’m dealing with clients.” Fudging the truth a bit. Gerard could clean up well enough, and every once in a while would dust off a nice suit if he needed to, but it was mostly for charity events or the like. Charming old ladies was surprisingly easier the rattier he looked.

Tim tossed him a grin. “Yeah, you look like the tails and opera cloak type.”

“Hey,” Gerard said, starting to be offended. Then he spotted the sincerity—and appreciation—in Tim’s eyes and realized he meant it.

Oh, hell. He was too old to blush like a schoolgirl just because a cute boy paid him a compliment.

Not that he could ever remember a cute boy paying him a compliment. Tim was actually probably the youngest person he’d ever had a sustained conversation with. Gerard mostly lusted after hot men, women, and people of indeterminate gender from a distance, even more so since he’d got out of prison, and satisfied his needs and desires with nameless, faceless partners at clubs that catered to such things. Low lights, loud music, and the kind of silent communication that was really, really easy to willfully misinterpret. He’d been hurt badly a time or two, but at least he never needed to see who did the hurting.

Tim set the rare tome aside and picked up another, and Gerard took the opportunity to study him more closely. He looked like a pretty typical academic, understandable if he’d been in publishing before stepping into the ivory tower of the Institute, but there was something…fun about him. Something that spoke of farmers’ markets and swap meets and bazaars, but also of forest tracks and river paths and mountain trails. He was an explorer, but not an adventurer—not usually a risk-taker—which made it all the odder he was in the Archives. If he’d come down here thinking it was safe…Gerard got a bit of a sinking feeling. He probably didn’t know about the Fourteen.

Which didn’t make sense. Surely Gertrude wouldn’t have kept him in the dark. Surely she wasn’t that cruel.

And—no, there it was, so faint he’d almost missed it. It wasn’t the mark of something following him, necessarily, more of a shadow, but Tim had racked up at least one encounter with the Stranger, maybe more. But a contract from the Institute, while it didn’t guarantee safety, at least afforded him a measure of the Eye’s protection. If nothing else, it would keep him under observation and let Gertrude, or someone, know if the Stranger came for him again. That was good.

Beyond that, his observations confirmed his initial assessment. Tall, or at least close to Gerard’s height, good-looking in a way that wasn’t at all self-conscious, with a ready smile and very sharp eyes. Gerard had never been good at any kind of casual conversation, let alone making actual friends, but something about Tim made him want to try.

“These are both late nineteenth century,” Tim said, bringing Gerard back to reality. “At least I can confidently say you didn’t overpay for them if you bought them with this other one, but honestly, they’re the Edwardian equivalent of pulp. They’re in good enough condition, but you’d have to find a pretty specialized collector to get more than a couple hundred pounds for both.” He set them down. “You said you bought four?”

“I did?” Gerard panicked slightly. Oh, there was no way he’d let a pair of sapphire eyes and a dimple he could lose his finger in charm him into tipping his hand, was there? If there was a God, a supreme head of the universe, He was definitely laughing at Gerard right about then.

On the other hand…well, he was Gertrude’s assistant. He had to know what Leitners were, right? He’d be careful. Gerard reached for his bag again.

“And just what do you think you’re doing, Gerard?”

For the second time that day, Gerard almost leaped out of his skin. At least this voice was one he was expecting…kind of…but that didn’t mean it didn’t startle him. He managed to keep the guilty look off his face as he blinked up at Gertrude Robinson’s unimpressed expression.

Before he could come up with a glib answer, though, Tim gave her a wry smile. “Lying through his teeth, and badly at that. But if you do actually know him, I won’t go looking for security unless you want me to.”

“No need for that. Yet.” Gertrude shot Gerard a warning glance before turning back to Tim. “Are you rested?”

“Yeah. Thanks for letting me use the cot.” Tim moved towards the door. “If you don’t need me, I’m going to go pack that up before I get started for the day.”

“It’s Saturday, but the library should be open. Diana usually has someone helping her with cataloging on Saturday mornings. Find out what they have on the Circus of the Other,” Gertrude instructed, then, uncharacteristically, tacked on, “Please.”

Tim looked momentarily disorientated, but nodded. “Do you need them in English?”

“Unless you read Russian.”

“Only the basics, really.”

“Well, that’s better than I can. If there are any in Russian, do see what you can do with them.”

“I will. Thanks.” Tim gave Gerard a wink and a cheeky grin. “Nice to meet you, Gerard. Try not to scream too loud.” He rapped twice on the frame of the door and was gone.

Gertrude waited a few minutes, arms crossed over her chest, then raised an eyebrow disapprovingly at Gerard. “What did you tell him?”

“Told him I was your grandson.” Gerard suppressed a smirk at the small harrumph she made at that. “And that I’m a book dealer who was meeting a client with rare atlases. I did try at first to say I was doing a statement, before I knew who he was, but—”

“He’s far more perceptive than he appears,” Gertrude said. “And he has a talent for this kind of work.”

“How long’s he been with you?” Gerard, despite himself, was curious.

Gertrude’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Since the beginning of September. Ordinarily when I know you are coming, I come up with a reason to get him out of the Archives.”

The censure in her voice was palpable. Gerard shifted slightly uneasily. “I got what I went for. Waiting around another three days didn’t make much sense to me, so I grabbed an express train early. I didn’t expect anyone to be here on a Saturday.”

“Then why come here? Why not wait until Monday?”

“Well, you’re not anyone. You’re always here, I just thought—”

“And my office?” Gertrude interrupted. She scowled at the papers scattered on the desk. “Did you find anything interesting?”

“Yeah. I found your assistant,” Gerard said pointedly. “Or he found me, anyway. I figured it would be better than waiting in the middle of the Archives.”

Gertrude’s eyes narrowed further. “He’s right. You are a terrible liar.”

“I am a fantastic liar,” Gerard said, offended. “You just know too much.”

“Gerard.” Gertrude pinched the bridge of her nose briefly.

“Why’s he here, anyway?” Gerard asked, trying to redirect her from blessing him out and distract her into revealing her nefarious plan. “Thought you didn’t have anyone officially helping you anymore.” He was a little vague on what had happened to her previous assistants, but they’d all been gone well before she took care of his annoying little problem and he started helping her. She’d been adamant about not putting him on the payroll, and he’d assumed it was so she had more leeway about what to do with him, but…

“He works here,” Gertrude said pointedly.

“Yeah, but it’s Saturday,” Gerard shot back. “Like I said, nobody works on Saturdays but you. And more to the point, why does he work here? I thought you didn’t have the budget for an assistant.”

“No, I didn’t have the budget for two, which is why I couldn’t hire internally. Elias instituted a policy that any department accepting a transfer from another department must also take Martin Blackwood. And I had no interest in posting an external advertisement and risking the sorts of people who might apply.” Gertrude strode over to her desk and began gathering the paperwork. “Tim came to the Institute for a job interview. I ran into him at the door and assumed he had come to give a statement. After I had taken it…well, it seemed safer to have him where I could keep an eye on him.”

“Because of his encounter with the Stranger?”

“Yes.” Gertrude looked troubled for just a moment. “Not just the Stranger. His brother was taken by the Circus.”

Gerard’s stomach clenched. “This would be the Circus of the Other that you just sent him to do research on?”

“Indeed. A way for the Stranger to collect its victims. For the most part, it no longer exists, but in its day it traveled over much of Europe, especially Russia.”

“So why’s it here? What does it want him for?” Gerard didn’t know why he was suddenly so worried about a guy he’d only just met. Sure, he was hot, but he was still a complete, well, stranger. It would suck if anything happened to him, in the same way it would suck if anything happened to anybody, but there was no reason to be that particular. “Has it been following him since he was a kid?”

Gertrude raised an eyebrow, but said only, “Unlikely. His brother’s encounter was only a few days before I met him.”

“Then I ask again. Why is a circus—excuse me, the Circus—so important? And what does it want with Tim?”

“What it wants with everyone else,” Gertrude said calmly. “To use him to remake the world in its own image. To bring about the apotheosis of the Stranger.”

Gerard hadn’t realized he had sat down, but the fact that he stood up fast enough to knock over Gertrude’s chair again told him otherwise. “To bring about the what?”

“Apotheosis. The emergence of—”

“I know what apotheosis is, dammit. What the fuck do you mean the Circus is trying to bring forth the Stranger?”

Gertrude sighed heavily. She came around her desk, righted her chair firmly, and sat in it. “Take a seat, Gerard.”

Gerard wanted to argue, wanted to demand that she stop with the cryptic bullshit and just tell him already, but the part of him that had grown up with Mary Keay and knew the price of disappointing her bent his knees without his consent. Fortunately there was a chair behind him. He clenched his hands tightly in his lap to keep them from shaking and waited.

Gertrude folded her hands on her desktop and peered at him over the rims of her glasses. “Please understand that my reasons for keeping this from you have nothing to do with trust. I have full confidence in you. It’s simply that, once you have this knowledge, you will not be able to walk away. You’ve dealt with quite enough in your life. Leave now, and you can leave this life behind.”

Gerard doubted that. For one thing, he didn’t believe for a second that Gertrude had kept it from him to give him the choice of walking away, otherwise she wouldn’t have answered his question about Tim. Whatever her reasoning, it wasn’t that. For another thing, he’d been marked by too many Fears; his mother may not have wanted to bind herself to one in particular, or so she had always claimed, but she’d skewed too close to Terminus not to scar him with it, and he’d literally etched the Eye into his skin. Between that and the Leitners, he might walk away from the Institute, but something would kill him or claim him before he got too far.

Besides. He thought he might have just made his first actual friend, or at least be on the way to making one. If he walked away now, he’d lose that chance.

“Yeah, right,” he said. “Like I’m going to leave you to deal with whatever this is on your own. Tell me what’s going on.”

Gertrude nodded. “Right. Let’s start at the beginning, then.”

[seeingteacupsindragons]

My last post to get people to talk about their creative projects has gotten something of a theme. People who are trying to write a book, but instead of actually writing it, are writing a bunch of…other stuff.

I may be biased because I do very little of that extraneous writing­, but I think there’s two main places that situation comes from:

Being scared of writing the book/story

Not actually wanting to write a story

And both of those things themselves could probably be a whole post or series of posts, but let me break them down one at a time to see if it helps anyone figure out what’s going on with them.

Being scared of writing the book/story:

Basically, the writing you’re doing instead of the story is procrastination and avoiding actually working on the story. You don’t want to be writing it, but you’re afraid if you actually write the story, you’ll mess it up, so you’re writing other things and trying to prepare yourself utterly and completely so you know exactly what you’re going to do…except none of that “prep work” worldbuilding and character exploration is actually making you any more confident.

So here’s the thing: You can rewrite the same story from scratch several times if you don’t like what the first try looks like. You can edit the story over and over if you don’t like what it looks like.

Some prep work helps a lot of writers. But at the end of the day, it’s really not helping you write the story. The story is the story and it’s not any of your asides, and the longer you spent avoiding the story and building up All These Cool ideas, the scarier actually writing it is going to get. Because now you have a thousand cool ideas and you’re even more afraid you can’t do them justice than when you had one kinda interesting idea to pursue. You’ve invested all this time—what if the story isn’t good?

It's still going to be better than no story. And you're not going to get better at telling stories without trying to do that specific thing, because of the discussion we're about to get into...

Not actually wanting to write a story:

The people who said this to me in that post were largely writers. But the thing is that doesn’t really get talked about is that…writing isn’t really one hobby.

There’s a lot of kinds of writing, and some of them overlap, but they all require different skills and they require different interests, and they satisfy different parts of a person, if they satisfy any.

Writing a novel is different from writing a short story is different from writing an analytic essay is different from writing standup is different from writing a screenplay is different from writing a Wiki entry is different from writing a business report is different than writing marketing copy is different from writing a technical manual is different from…

I majored in creative writing and minored in professional writing, and I have been writing for 25 years. I have tried a lot of those kinds of writing. I enjoy most of them, because I enjoy wordsmithing. I enjoy putting various words together to see what they look like. Not everyone does, but they might still write because…

They like storytelling. Not everyone who likes storytelling is a writer—sometimes they draw, or make a video game, or pain, or act, or direct, or sing. Lots of ways to tell stories exist! And if you like writing but don’t like storytelling, maybe you’d be happier writing analysis essays or business reports, or marketing copy (which can be storytelling, but is very different from narrative).

And maybe, it leads you to writing long character profiles and worldbuilding documents.

Writing a novel and writing detailed worldbuilding documents are honestly basically different hobbies. You might like both! Or you might not, and just feel like “I like writing,” means you have to write a novel or a short story.

You…don’t. Writing doesn’t mean you have to write any specific thing. You should find why you’re drawn to a specific activity, to figure out what is satisfying you about it.

It is perfectly okay if you enjoy writing about made up worlds without wanting to write a novel about it. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.

So basically:

If you want to write a novel, just do it already! If you don’t, you don’t have to keep telling yourself you will because you feel obligated to do it. Just enjoy whatever part of the process you enjoy.

[driedupeyeballs]

OH MY GOD???? I already love them sm

I literally edited a new profile for them for this cuz the old one was outdated BUT YEAH IDK IF THIS WAS AN INVITE TO INFODUMP ABT MY JAMIAZU FANKID BUT IM USING IT AS ONE

Btw I can only wish to achieve your level of snake knowledge I thought my reptile hyperfixation went deep but yours is deeper I wanna know your ways

But that isn’t relavent YEAH HERES MY JAMIAZU FANKID HI TUMBLR *lets them out like you would a spider under a cup*

So I have a shit ton of Twst fankids btw! They kinda swim around in my brain but only a few ppl I know have gotten the info dumps lmao

Skye was the first one I made I think (actually it might’ve been Rico (florid) but eh oh well who’s counting)

But yes this is Skye Ashengrotto!

They’re my older Jamiazu kid, I do have two. The younger one is my octo boy Akram :) he’s funny I wanna pinch his cheeks but he’s not the point here

So Skye! It feels weird publically infodumping abt my OCs like wtf am I even supposed to put here

They’re a half mer, which do work a lil different than normal mers in my lore. Half mers can transform without a potion but it’s still a long and generally painful process, esp going from mer to human. I kind of switch between calling them a snake mer and a naga but there’s lore there- Nagas exist in my lore outside of sea snake mers, there are also fully terrestrial Nagas. So the terrestrial nagas wouldn’t be considered snake mers but the sea snake nagas would be a type of mer while also still being a naga ITS CONFUSING DONT ASK (actually do. Ask everything so I can roll more of my fankids out like marbles)

Skye was created by a spell, I haven’t quite worked the details out 😔 but Jamil is part gorgon in my lore which is why they have the hair snakes which isn’t a typical naga trait. And to elaborate on the hair snakes: they are alive, the one w the bigger stripes is Flora and the smaller stripes is Jett. Skye can communicate w them telepathically and their eyes glow which is kinda neat. They’re kind of Skye’s version of floatsam and jetsam (unless u count Rico (florid) and Lilac (treyjade) which is like their ver of the twins- IDK ITS COMPLICATED)

idk what else to put here so LETS THROW SOME FHARACTER DYNAMICS YEAH and also mentioning some of my other fankids! They all have profiles (except my Malleus kid I’m sorry Aihan I can’t think of a design for you) but I’m probably gonna save those for another post-

So jamiazu in my lore live in the Shaftlands in a beachfront place and also live pretty close to Treyjade, however Florid live in the Queendom. The octatrio and their spouses is a close group so they’re essentially a big family. My treyjade kids are Maren (older) and Lilac, then my Florid kids are Rico (older) and the twins Mary and Eliza.

Skye saw Lilac more as a kid cuz they lived so close together but also saw Rico a lot when flrd would visit or they’d go to visit them. Rico is an agent of chaos and Lilac is Skye’s 2nd in command so their dynamic on a surface level is pretty similar to the octatrio, but there’s still a lot of differences once u get into the meat of it. Tho Lilac and Rico are Skye’s best friends and basically like siblings to them.

Outside of jamiazu Skye is particularly close with Jade, they share a love of tea :) he’s their cool but also slightly unsettling uncle

THEN THERES SHENZI- Shenzi is my younger kaliruggie kid and I am not gonna get into her here bcuz she rlly needs her own post w all her trauma but good lord these two do not like each other. Shenzi’s really nice but she’s not quite as nice as Kalim so after about 5 months of trying and failing to befriend Skye in their freshman year she just gave up and now their relationship is nothing but hostile (which was not helped when Shenzi and lilac started dating)

Speaking of that tho- so my idikei kids :) Ember (named after the pokemon attack) is the older one and he’s basically that “Jock idia can’t hurt you he’s not real Jock idia:” thing as a person he has the Fire hair n shit but he plays basketball and is heavily extroverted but no one gives a shit abt Ember this is NOT ABT HIM this is abt his sister! Her name is Zelda because you know Idia would name his daughter Zelda- she got all of Idia’s social anxiety lmao. She’s extremely shy and there’s a total of like 4 people in the school she can actually talk to without melting into a small stain on the floor. She’s an Skye are both in board games club and sometime in early freshman year she falls on her ass and knocks over a bunch of stuff which Skye happens to witness and cue the most awkward interaction known to man bcuz Skye can’t talk to pretty girls and Zelda can’t talk to ANYONE but they end up walking to the mirror hall together afterwards which becomes a routine. Except they’re both awkward as fuck take like almost two fucking years to get together bcuz neither of them are gonna do anything abt it BUT THEYRE VERY CUTE!! I love them

Also my ashengrotto siblings are very wholesome I need to write some stuff w them- Akram is a little shit and he loves pissing Skye off but at the end of the day he admires them and Skye loves their brother a lot :)

Anyway good lord I’ve yapped too much okay OH YEAH Skye has a Russian blue cat named Mariana who they just fucking found on the side of the road and thought it was a mouse so for like 2 years Azul thought Skye was gonna eat the cat

OK HERES RHE ACTUAL PROFILE these aren’t as chaotic as the other ones all the other ones are more meme than profile ALSO RHEIR UNIQUE MAGIC DOESNR HAVE A NAME AT THE MOMENT IF ANHONE HAS AN IDEA FOR ONE PLS SHARE I HABE NO THOUGHTS

(If you recognize my art style from instagram no you don’t also THEY DO HABE EYES I JUST DONT DRAW THEM CUZ MY STYLES WEIRD)

But yeah I love them I hope they explode (affectionate)

[hyuckswoman]

hey my love, i'm sorry that you feel like that but i've been an avid reader of your smau and the way you created yn somewhere did make me realise what you must have gone through to make her so likable, so perfect, i get where you are coming from, i know i'm just a faceless message to you but please don't ever call yourself ugly, i haven't seen you and probably never will, but i sure do believe that you are beautiful, you are full of so many wonders c'mon, do you think it goes unnoticed? like your cute little editing that you did on those pictures or how that spidey drawing looked so perfect, moreover how you have crafted such a beautiful story, if i say looks aren't everything it's gonna sound ridiculous but trust me one this one when i say that you're an accumulation of everything pretty, appreciate yourself more honey, don't let a singular man make you feel like that and it's not even the dude? it's your brain that's making me you believe that you aren't capable of pulling a man and let's say the worst case scenario that you can't pull that one man you are attracted to, do you think that would be a measure of how beautiful you are? no not at all, this is about to sound corny asf but you need to love yourself enough that no matter what the external circumstances come down to be, your self worth is not hindered, and trust me this is coming from a place of healing, you are beautiful and loved, believe that, much love <3

yap incoming‼️‼️‼️

i felt like waiting abit because i truly wanted to answer this ask in the best way ever bc it made me cry and i wanted to convey how appreciative i was through my answer

first of all thank you so much for your kind words!! your ask fully made me cry i love youuu

i didn’t make that post to get so many compliments and i didn’t expect to be faced with such kind people i really just wanted to rant lol

thank you for taking the tome to not only interact with me n my thoughts but to say such kind words they truly mean a lot!! as someone who has had very low self esteem her whole life, being good enough was never something i thought about because i knew i wasn’t and was fine with it but sometimes i get a reminder of all those things i think abt myself and it makes me sooooo emotional loll

like i’ve nvr been in a relationship and cannot picture being in a relationship bc i genuinely deem myself as really unlikeable. and it’s not just looks like i constantly doubt myself and let people walk all over me and let myself be treated this way bc i truly truly think that’s what i deserve

thank you for your kind words again and trust i will do my best to listen to them and hopefully agree with them one day‼️‼️ thank you for taking the time to reassure me and just so you know i’m not going to remember you as faceless but as someone who’s nothing bug kind and only deserves good things!! also i feel like people don’t really notice the small things just do except if i point them out so thank you again for the reassurance!! i hope that you had a lovely day!! i truly truly truly appreciate you and your kind words thank you!!

[theblackdragon-studios]

When Into the Spider-Verse came out, I made a spider-sona like a lot of people. Except…she wasn’t that good. The outfit was. The story wasn’t. I won’t go into it…but it was just lazy and…yeah. Not great.

I’d been wanting to rewrite and redesign her since Across the Spider-Verse, but I didn’t know what to do or how to make it unique. Or at least something believable.

Until now.

Introducing my redesigned Spider-Sona…who was not bit by a radioactive animal of some kind, genetically altered by science, or anything like that. Actually…she’s the symbiote (usually known as Venom) host of her world, except her actions and his past change things from usual probably.

I wasn’t going to do that at first, because I thought that seemed silly…but then decided why not? I like monsters, I like monstrous-looking heroes, and I like Venom (both together and as just the symbiote) (all versions of him, not just the one from his title movie).

I’m not an expert on Marvel comics or on Venom, though, so don’t expect absolute accuracy and smooth insertion…but I thought it would be fun.

She isn’t recruited by the Spider-Verse HQ either, either because she is also an anomaly, she was mistaken for being the Venom of her world, or they didn’t trust her to be a good hero since a parasitic monster is how she has her powers…and if she can’t control him, they can’t trust her to not cause damage. (Actually though she would say “fuck canon” and try to stop a horrible canon event like Miles did. And the symbiote would make sure she succeeds… So Miguel would probably fire her immediately. lol)

So that’s the idea…I don’t think I’ll do much with this since like I said, I don’t know a lot about the source. But if I come up with any short skits or want to draw this version of my s/i more I will.

Edit: I decided the symbiote with her is actually one I made up. They’re all more or less the same until they develop via bonding to people, so this one is an ‘OC’ in that it isn’t a canon one.

-

Bonus details on the design and some sketches under the cut.

Design Features

-The suit is the symbiote. She wears some kind of clothes under it (at least a pair of shorts and a tank top), but when changing to her Spider alter-ego he (the symbiote, or Venom if he goes by that name here) just forms as the suit around her. Settling on a design took a while…and deciding on a name took even longer. (She refused to go by the name ‘Venom’. It felt wrong and gave a bad impression of who she is.)

-When she loses control of her emotions, and later when facing a really tough opponent, the symbiote responds and becomes the more monstrous form we know him for. Meg was scared of this form for a while, since it was so much stronger and more dangerous.

-The belt was added by Meg. She used to keep a phone-holder clip there and have a pouch on the other side for headphones, which she wears to listen to music when fighting the average robber or weaker threat. It keeps her focused and calm, and keeps the symbiote from taking over completely. Later these are replaced by an enchanted pouch by a sorcerer that eventually becomes an ally. This pouch is basically a bag of holding but looks like a simple Velcro-strap pouch.

-She fought for the hood and eight-eyes look the mask has. The hood because it makes her feel less exposed and it looks cool, the eyes because spiders usually have 8 eyes. This is the only accurate thing to spiders on the design aside from the chest emblem in her usual hero form…the symbol being a tarantula. Her favorite type of spider.

The design of the mask helps to throw off her enemies. Especially when the symbiote makes the ‘eyes’ all narrow with her real eyes for effect. This has led fans and foes alike to come up with wild theories about her being a spider-human mutant thing with increasingly disturbing features under the mask. (A cryptid if you will)

-She also came up with the flying squirrel-like design element they use later. The symbiote changing the suit design to have wing arms like a flying squirrel for gliding if she can’t use webs.

-Her feet look like she has shoes on, because under the suit she does. If she is ever not wearing shoes when ‘suiting up’ her feet look more like most spider-peoples’, which is to say like slippers or barefoot under the fabric. This makes people even more confused on what the heck she even is…and there are entire blogs and magazine columns theorizing about it.

Bonus sketches

The redesign traced from the old ones I did. I drew all of these when I made the first, but I got lazy so just traced my own work here.

The more powerful and monstrous form they take when facing a much tougher opponent or when emotions run high. Meg used to hate this form…but as trust with the symbiote grew and she saw that when working together they could control the strength of it, she became more accepting.

She still does not want to run around like this, though. She wants to keep up that motto of “friendly neighborhood spider-hero” everyone else (except Miguel I’d guess) has. Only the bad guys need to see the monster.

Whether this view changes or not…who knows. But when this form was revealed people were more confused than ever on WHAT. THE. HELL. SHE. EVEN. IS???

She comes to really enjoy all the crazy cryptid theories they come up with. X’D

[d1d11818]

You’re really trying to embarrass me in front of everyone, aren’t you !!

But really, it means a lot. I’m glad to have met you guys, even if I’m forever too shy to like … Have a real presence. What if I’m not cool ! What if my incessant rambling about my favorite game is toooooo much? OR MY OCS AREN’T COOL ??? The thought is too much to bear ………..

;>_ > I think i’ll stay anonymous.

But I love you guys too! (Platonically speaking, of course)

/

I wouldn’t say I can ‘speak’ the language, but I’m learning! Maybe I’ll be really good sometime and can teach you some stuff, too? We can talk to each other in secret …(except everyone who can also speak Chinese, I guess…)

& I don’t think I’ll burden you with all the nothingy stuff that’s been going on. It’s gonna get better, so it’s okay! Never worry o7

I love random fun facts, so if you have like, cool ones, you should tell me !! Especially your most favorite ones.

Also I suppose you guys don’t really know what I look like ? It’s hard to explain without examples and I don’t really look like anyone from anything i’ve ever seen… Maybe the way people draw Hal from MGS, but even then. I’m sort of the most milquetoast whiteguy with a shitty fake wolf-cut ever.

Sorry this is so short. Last night was kind of rough for me and I don’t really have much energy. I’ll be better tomorrow, I promise !

- I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. I am completely innocent.

SARCASM DETECTED.

- Ha!

- You know me so well already, don't you?

- Hm hm. Anyway.

- We're glad to have met you too.

- Truly.

- Even if you are a bit odd, and ramble a lot.

- It's very charming.

- It doesn't make you 'uncool', as you phrased it.

- It makes for some truly fascinating and enjoyable interactions.

- Besides.

- We're hardly cool either.

- Ah...

- No, we really aren't.

- I've never been popular.

- Not even as a mere toddler, and the standards for that are incredibly low!

- I had to be a special kind of unlikable to be an unpopular baby.

- I don't... like people, to put it simply.

- In turn, people don't like me.

- They would try to praise my work.

- Say I was beyond my time.

- That I would change the future.

- Ah.

- But I do so hate shallow praise.

- To them, my resistance and distancing made me a selfish, rude little brat with a big ego, who thought he was above their compliments.

- What a stupid notion.

- ...

- I'd like to move on.

-------------------------------------------------

- Why does he keep talking like he's an edgy OC with a tragic backstory? The way he talks about himself... Sheesh! Lighten the tone, buddy! Next he's gonna come out and say he's secretly a demon prince who's never felt love or something.

- I find your incompetence incredibly annoying, my thick-screened friend. I am allowed to say this to him, as I am the one who edits these replies for posting, and this moron never reads them back.

- He doesn't even know I leave these little comments.

- That would be amazing!! Maybe then I'll finally understand the lyrics to Sunshine Rainbow White Pony! I have no idea what the words mean, but dang, are they catchy!!

- I understand you don't wanna talk about some things. And that's okay! We're not gonna force you. But you can always talk to us if you need to! Sometimes it helps just to get it off your chest! Even if that doesn't solve anything, it can just be relieving, you know?

- OHHH I get why 1818 talks about his human life now! It's a weight on his... um? Chest? Screen? Wires? RAM? What is the weight on, anyway? Do robots have shoulders?

- Oh, nearly like Ryan! Our host! And technically us! That reminds me, he really needs a haircut. I hope I'm not fronting for it! It feels like my wires are being yanked out!

- ... actually, that sounds kinda

- No. No. Blocked. No one on this app is free of sin. I'm stopping that sentence immediately. You're welcome.

- I hope you're okay! And I hope today, whichever day it is when this is posted, goes better for you! ['w'] <o> :D I made us!! But cheaper looking! Walmart versions of us!

[bogleech]

I don’t know that I’ll ever have the time and resources to make this kind of thing between all my other stuff but I’m glad people get what I mean about the fun of plotting things out in patterns and about just how appealing “regional variants” would be as the central draw of a franchise rather than just one of its side features.

Some other hypotheticals:

If there were something like “petpets” they’d have to be symbiotes (including parasites, obviously) that also change appropriately with the pet.

I think I’d add a biome that turns every pet into a plant creature, but I’d also want a pet species that’s just a plant and I mean just a plant, not mobile or personified but still treated like a full pet species with all the same mechanics. I always thought that should happen in one of these games.

Instead of reinforcing constant engagement I think it’d be cool if there were some gameplay features that RELIED on you forgetting about the site, like when you’re online it’s a typical virtual pet but when you’re away it’s an idle sim so neglecting it for years would actually just be a different viable play style.

Instead of a billion items in a million varieties clogging everyone’s inventory I’d want every item to be kind of special, the easiest to obtain should still take enough effort that you feel accomplished and the simplest should still have multiple functions that are actually FUN, not just “click to feed your pet!” Like maybe you worked hard and you got one single basic apple but maybe it, too, has a quirky function for every biome? Maybe you can feed a pet, grow the seeds, compost the core and ferment the peel? Feed bugs and culture fungi? That’s just the realistic options before we bring the apple to the unnatural biomes. No items common or boring enough that they uselessly clog everyone’s inventory, and maybe only dozens of new items a year rather than a torrent of hundreds.

No human avatars or pet dressup. Yes those are fun and I’d have no shortage of ideas for them but I feel like the moment they’re introduced to one of these sites they completely take over, the original point gets lost and they all end up feeling the same.

Nothing, not a pet or an item, ever permanently retired and unobtainable, and if artwork for anything on the site gets updated the old art is still a permanent option from a dropdown menu (unless of course it had to be changed for a copyright dispute or something)

If there are ever any “npc creatures” made just for plots or minigames or “arena battles” or whatever they are always obtainable like a pet. Even if they end up having none of the pet mechanics or make any narrative sense to be a pet, there still has to be a way to get one if you want one, no exceptions. It kind of stumps me that this wasn’t already always a cardinal rule of the entire genre actually.

EDIT new epiphany: if there needed to be a cash shop for the site to survive (which is usually the case) then that's how you get robots, and anything else artificial like candy bars, tools, anything that wouldn't just grow. The cash shop could be its own industrial paeudo-biome. Everything in it would be tradeable so no one's locked out of getting stuff if they're poor. Maybe that also feeds into the toxic waste biome somehow too.

Did I ever tell anyone about my sincere idea for a virtual pet site meant to appeal to people who like neopets etc? It’s not a scary monster theme even though it would obviously have some.

[dottores]

pavlov’s dogs | haitani r.

haitani ran x fem!reader

summary: the other executives just don’t believe that ran can make you cum on command, so obviously he has to prove them wrong, right?

warnings: fem!reader, pet names (pretty/pretty girl/princess), exhibitionism, cockwarming, humiliation ?? kind of, faux sympathy dom!ran also kind of, unedited wrote this on my phone and dont feel like going thru effort of editing, dubcon (not really but just in case, reader knows n is ok w what’s going on but it’s only implied)

wordcount: 1.9k

humiliating. it was absolutely fucking humiliating. you knew that, he knew that, all of the other men in the room knew that but the larger part of you couldn’t bring yourself to care for the humiliation because fuck was it hard for you to concentrate with your boyfriend’s cock filling you up so fucking good.

it wasn’t as if this was the first time he had brought you to a meeting just so you could sit pretty on his lap cockwarming him til it was over—where he would finally bend you over the table after everybody filed out of the room, fucking you so good that half of the time he had to carry you out of the board room and back to his office afterward. it wasn’t the first time, but something was different this time and it had your hair standing on end.

you knew haitani ran better than anyone, except maybe rindou of course, and you could see the unnervingly playful look in his eyes clear as day when he brushed his thumb over your lip before the meeting, “join me?” and you nodded, of course you nodded, you could never say no to ran, and he leaned forward and kissed your forehead so gently that it nearly had you backing out.

because haitani ran was never gentle unless he was about to do something he knew might piss you off.

but you only shot him a wary look, and he only shot you that heartwarming smile that you loved maybe a bit too much, and you followed him right to the board room without another thought.

you were regretting that. severely.

because something was wrong. usually when ran dragged you along and sat you right on his cock for the duration of the sometimes obscenely long executive meetings, none of the other executives would spare you more than a glance. it was an unspoken rule of mikey’s: “bring your girl along but don’t you dare let her be a fuckin’ distraction.”

and, of course, none of them wished to draw mikey’s ire and you usually you went all but ignored as they talked about weapon and drug shipments and rivals and the feds—all of it went over your head, naturally, as you tried to keep yourself from drawing too much attention to yourself, stuffed to the brim with your boyfriends cock. your boyfriend, who was absolutely unbothered, only leaning back in his seat, one arm looped around your waist while the other made aimless motions as he explained to kokonoi hajime why income had dropped from the clubs he and his brother owned in roppongi.

but this time was different. they were looking at you. it wasn’t as if they were staring, or anything, but the glances thrown your way were unmissable. and it had you swallowing thickly because the last thing you wanted was for mikey to get pissy because his executives were paying more attention to you than the meeting.

you shifted in ran’s lap as sanzu haruchiyo gave you another once over, scars on the corner of his mouth twitching a smirk rose to his lips before he redirected his attention back toward mikey.

ran’s grip on your waist tightened, holding you still.

you looked down as kokonoi hajime shot another interested glance in your direction, cool, calculating, as if he were trying to piece something together.

what was going on?

“princess,” ran finally murmured from behind you, fingers dancing along your waist and you stiffened, unsure of what to do.

why was he talking to you? he never talked to you during meetings.

mutely, you realized all other conversation had died down and all attention was on the two of you. your mouth dried up, your gaze darted toward mikey, anxiety shooting through you, but he was only watching the situation with an unreadable expression.

“princess, i need you to do something for me, okay?” you kept your gaze trained down, acutely aware of every inch ran’s cock nestled in between your walls. he shifted forward, his cock twitched inside of you, you bit your lip trying not to make an outward reaction.

you had gotten good at controlling yourself while cockwarming ran—you didn’t really have much of a choice in that matter, you had to get good at it otherwise you would’ve embarrassed yourself in front of all of his coworkers but-

ran reached up to cup your jaw lightly, turning your head to face him, you inhaled at the teasing look dancing in his lavender eyes—what was he about to do?

your eyes darted around the room nervously, ran’s grip tightened around your jaw, “look at me, pretty girl,” your eyes snapped back toward him.

a slow smile curled on his lips, one that you didn’t trust in the slightest, “ran,” you said, voice shaky, “wh-“

ran pressed his lips to your temple, “i was telling them how good you were for me the other day, princess, how you can cum just from me telling you to, and they didn’t believe me.”

your heart dropped from your chest to your feet.

no way.

“and obviously we can’t let them sit here and believe that, ‘cause my pretty girl is the best girl, and i trained your perfect pussy so so so well for me, didnt i? should be showing you off, not letting them sit there and doubt you,” ran’s voice was low, sympathetic even though you knew damn well he was faking it.

“ran,” your voice wavered. there was no way, no way he was going to make you do this in front of all of them. ran was a lot of things, and as shameless as he was, he always had one rule: ‘only i get to see your pretty face when you cum.’

so why? had they really managed to get under his skin about it so badly? you knew your boyfriend had a bit of an ego issue, but they couldn’t have bruised it that badly by doubting his ability to make you cum.

and he could, he could that was the worst fucking part. ran really had trained your cunt to cum for him when he told you to like someone would train a fucking dog and it was embarrassing. it was fucking embarrassing that all you needed was the barest stimulation and for him to tell you to cum for him and you were done for, shuddering and spasming and chanting his name like a prayer.

he did this on purpose, you realized, realization hitting you hard. how fucking long had you been sat on his lap warming his cock? an hour? two? your gaze flickered over to the clock on the wall, two at least.

long enough that he knew damn well you were already probably half-drunk off of the feeling of his cock stretching you out; knew damn well that the moment he told you to cum, you’d be creaming around his cock in a fucking instant.

“cmon, princess,” he murmured, resting his chin on your shoulder, pressing another soft kiss behind your ear. his breath was hot against your skin as he spoke again, “let’s show ‘em how good you are for me.”

you let out a shaky breath as your gaze darted back around to the other executives—sanzu was leaning forward in his seat watching the scene intently, rindou leaning back with a contemplative look (god was he really gonna make you cum in front of his brother, who you had to see on daily basis), kakucho flushed but couldn’t draw his gaze away, kokonoi watching with narrowed eyes, takeomi and mochi who were sharing a look you couldn’t quite decipher before turning their attention back to you, and mikey, mikey who you were quite sure had never looked as interested in something as he did eyeing you and ran.

oh god.

an unfamiliar mixture of anticipation and anxiety swirled through your stomach. you turned to look at ran, your eyes meeting his lavender ones once more.

ran smiled slyly, grip tightening around your waist in preparation, “cum for me, princess.”

and you did. god, you fucking did. the way your body reacted to his words was absolutely uncontrollable. heat shot through your body like a fucking wildfire, your vision went spotty and blurry, your hand flew to your mouth to muffle the sharp sob of his name that rose to your throat but Ran’s hand started out to capture it and stop you, groaning low in your ear as your walls tightened around him.

“no fucking way,” kokonoi hajime said in disbelief but you barely registered his words, mind blank and fuzzy as your body spasmed in ran’s hold, his arm tightening around you holding you still as your back arched against him and your legs tensed.

and for a moment you forgot. you forgot where you were, you forgot who you were with, the only thought running through your mind was ran, ran, ran, ran who made you feel so so so good so easily. your nails dug deep into the cloth of his dress shirt, tearing it for sure, and you cried out ran’s name so fucking loud you swore the entire building could hear you.

“that’s my girl,” ran cooed, peppering kisses to your shoulder as your body shuddered and you desperately tried to regain sense of your surroundings, “so fuckin’ good for me, you’re so good for me, princess.”

and you could only nod, not even quite sure what he was saying but you knew he must’ve been right.

“can she do that for anyone?” sanzu haruchiyo asked, and you felt ran tense behind you, fingers stilling from where he was running them along your skin, helping you recover from your high.

“no,” he said sharply.

“we should test it out,” and though you still weren’t entirely able to focus on what was happening around you, you knew you didn’t like the tone in sanzu’s voice.

your eyes reopened, vision still blurry with tears as you focused in on the pink-haired executive, noting the sharp gaze trained on you from where he was leaning forward.

“i’ll kill you,” ran said, voice light in contrast to his words.

haitani ran did not share.

“i’d like to see you try,” sanzu’s voice was low, a challenge, and you felt nervous, rather than humiliated, as you finally came to your surroundings. you knew ran could handle sanzu haruchiyo easily in a fair fight, but sanzu haruchiyo did not fight fair.

and neither did your boyfriend, of course, but sanzu took it to another level.

after a few tense moments, sanzu leaned back, an easy grin on his face as he blatantly looked you over again, the embarrassment returned with a vengeance, “i’m just fuckin’ around,” he said, waving his hand lazily.

you weren’t sure if he was but ran let the subject drop.

“told you guys,” he said cockily, kissing your temple again, “now pay up.”

you stared at him in disbelief, a bet? he-

“hush,” he told you before you could speak up, “gonna buy you a whole new wardrobe with all the money i just won from them.”

—-

taglist: @spookygeto @kennyb0y @devinsdaydreams @mortuary-ossuary @portfolio-of-dreams @sano-obsessed @wakasasucker @aces-high @haitanihime @bontens-cum-slut @kageyama-i-want-tobiors @crackheadwithtoes @zuuki @daiserenade @hanmascult @kisekihany @4leafcloverwithawhitecraneforyou @hollypastl @kazufuyusluv @imkumichan @obsessiontoanime @jamaicaa-blakee @thevillagehiddenintheinternet @marism @prettyiolanthe @whydohumansss @rinsie @blvebcrry @givinggoodvibes @nina-and-the-mirror-realm @sugusshi @rozcdust @chifuyuslilkitten

[erikiara80]

ST analysis/S5 theories Part II: Will and El parallels

EDIT :  I posted this analysis months ago. I’ve found so much more. Some things I didn’t considered when I watched S4 for the first time. This was just the beginning : )

In Part I I talked about the parallels between Will and Henry Creel, and one of them is that they both have powers.

This conclusion is not based on my personal taste or hope for a Will centric S5 tho, but on the themes of the story, how it’s structured and his character’s journey.

1. The story is telling us that Will Byers has powers: it’s part of his journey, his coming of age, realizing that he’s not a mistake or just the poor kid who was kidnapped by a monster. He’ll be the key to defeat the evil that made him suffer so much, he’ll save his friends and the boy he loves, and become a confident, talented young man.

Will’s a sweet kid, a little artist who gets bullied at school and has an awful father who calls him slurs. This is material for a good story, even without the supernatural element. But the whole S1 is about saving Will from the Upside Down, S2 is about saving him from the Mind Flayer’s possession, and in S3-4 he realises he’s connected to the MF (Henry) and can feel his presence and thoughts. That means that the supernatural is an important part of his story. This is what makes him different from the other kids, except one (El). He’s the only one who’s directly affected by the supernatural powers of the Upside Down from the beginning of the series. And in S4 we met Henry Creel, another sensitive boy who liked drawing and has many parallels with Will. The perfect way to prove how love can make the difference. That even when you’ve suffered greatly, having people who love you and support you makes the difference. It makes you stronger, it protects you. So you can choose kindness, instead of causing more suffering. Henry was alone, didn’t have a loving family, he felt deeply misunderstood, was tortured by Brenner and so he became a killer.

Of course, the message could also be that even without supernatural powers a brave, kind person can defeat the evil with their selflessness and big heart. Like the Hobbits in LOTR. Will could have no powers at all and still be able to defeat Henry. I guess it could make sense. I just think that at this point, with the Upside Down ready to invade our reality, Eleven’s powers are not enough. She needs help. And let’s not forget that in D&D Vecna is a dark wizard, and Will is Will the Wise, the wizard/cleric of the party. They say it in S1, S2, and S3. I don’t know, it would be strange if it didn’t mean anything, right? 

Also, stories always have some a surprise in the last chapters/seasons. We already know about Will’s connection to Henry. Nothing new. But him having powers would be the biggest plot twist of the story that would change it forever. And now that Will and the reason the Upside Down is stuck on the day he went missing have been confirmed by the Duffers as the main focus of S5, I’m sure we won’t be disappointed. 

I would love it, if the powers Will has are what Vecna or the MF want to build a new world. Or more like to make our world habitable for the MF and its creatures. I used to say Will has a sort of power of creation, like Bastian in The Neverending Story. But since ST is sci-fi, maybe I should say... terraforming? Lol. Or maybe the power to help the MF to connect every creature of our world. We’ll see. There are many options.

So, along with the huge parallels with Henry, there is another dynamic that makes me thinks it makes sense that Will too has powers. The dynamic and parallels with Eleven that we’ve seen since episode one. They are the only two main characters who are deeply connected to the UD and powers, and who feel different and a mistake.

1)   Will is in the title of the first episode, and the title of ep 2 is about El. They are equally important. In fact, when he mysteriously disappears, his friends meet her, the mysterious girl with powers. 

2)   El and Will interact for the first time through El’s powers. First, she channels him, then she sees him in the void and tries to reassure him. And we still don’t know how she recognized him in that photo! Probably all the people with powers are connected to each other and to the Upside Down.

3)   It seems that El dies in the classroom. Same happens to Will in the UD. 

4) The writers want us to see how their stories are connected, even visually

5)   Throughout the series, Will and El have barely interacted, despite the fact that El saved him, that Joyce cares very much about her and is also close to Hopper. It could seem that the writers don’t care about this dynamic. But imo it’s quite the opposite. They’ve kept them apart because their dynamic IS important. Will and El are the two protagonists with powers, the Luke and Leia of Stranger Things. Only, in this story it’s Will/Luke the one who realizes later he has powers, too. 

Even when they could show them together, the writers didn’t. In 2x07 El sees in the void that something bad happened to Will, but we don’t see him, only her scared face. And when in 2x08 she goes to see him in his room, he’s unconscious.

5)   The only time they’re both with their friends is in S3, and in that season the group of friends is a mess, because of Mike. He can’t function when they’re both with him. Will and El are even in love with the same boy! Their stories couldn’t be more intertwined. In S5 I’m sure the situation with Mike will be the first they’ll resolve.

6)  And then in S4, the beginning of the end, after keeping them apart for seasons, what happens? Will and Eleven become siblings and we finally see their bond and that they deeply care about each other. Ok, there’s still that little problem with Mike, but Will’s already proved how selfless he is when he lied about the painting and pushed Mike to tell El he loves her, to save her life. And I think the weird love confession just showed El and Mike that it wasn’t what El needs.

I love these siblings. Together they’ll save the world

There are so many things to say about these two amazing characters. I’m so excited to see them in action in S5. But of course, stories can be told in many ways and even the best analysis can miss important details. So maybe I missed important things and S5 will have completely different surprises. No problem at all! For example, nobody could predict the introduction of Henry Creel, who’s also One, who’s also Vecna, the villain that’s been there since day one. We heard the ticking of a clock since the first time Eleven saw the Demogorgon in the void, we heard a clock when Will was taken, when Hopper was in the tunnels in S2, and when Billy was taken by the Mind Flayer in S3. But we didn’t know what those sounds meant. It was such an amazing surprise!

2.   S5 SPOILERS.  These interviews. I would be very surprised if Will Byers was just a normal kid who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But we’ll see! 

Also, an interview with the Duffer Brothers:

Q: How significant is it that the Upside Down has been frozen in time from the day that Will got taken? 

A: Very significant. We don’t actually resolve that this season (S4), but it’s a huge part of S5.

And an interview with Noah Schnapp, who plays Will:

“I think they’re setting it up very well for what needs to happen in season 5. I’m excited. I’m interested to see how they tie it all in and explain why was Will the first victim and just tie it in back to season 1.”

I edited this part after learning some important info on D&D Vecna. I talk more about it in Part III

3. Why Will was sidelined in S3 and S4, if he is so important 

Many people, including me, were disappointed that after the spectacular S1 and S2, Will was sidelined for two seasons. I mean, he does have an arc in S3-4 but we were used to see him as the main focus along with El. In S3 he wants to keep playing D&D and spending time with Mike and the party. That’s what makes him happy. But he feels like Mike is abandoning him. And in S4 he has some wonderful scenes that I love and make the last part of his journey more  beautiful. Plus, the connection to Vecna is back! Hint of Will’s big role in S5.

But why, if Will was the target since S1, Vecna ignored him in S3, took Billy instead and only attacked El? Why in S4 Vecna mentioned all the things El did to fight him (closing the gate in S2 etc), when Will was important too? He was the one, while still possessed, who told them to close the gate.

Imo, the reason is that in S3 El was the only threat. Vecna knew that Will couldn’t use his powers for whatever reason, and he needed to steal El’s powers first to be able to open his own gates, and then reclaim Will (Will being central in S5).

 And in S4 Will wasn’t even in Hawkins so... Yeah, in S5 Vecna could tell Will that he waited. That he took El’s powers so he could open bigger gates and finally take Will wherever he was. So far, that part of the plan worked! Also, now Will can feel Vecna's thoughts again. Maybe their connection is even stronger and harder to fight with those huge gates. 

4. In conclusion

Will and Eleven have been suspiciously kept apart for most of the series, despite their clear connection. And now we know that Will has also many similarities with another powerful person, Henry. The actor who plays Henry said that the their characters have history, Will can feel what Vecna feels even tho he’s not part of the hive mind anymore. Plus, the neck tingle. Narratively speaking, I think it’s obvious that there’ll be some big reveals about him in S5. They even sent him to California at the end of S3, so he wouldn’t feel Vecna’s thoughts. But now he’s back. Time for an epic coming of age, Will. 

[tittyblade]

tumblr etiquette 101

a list that is nowhere near exhaustive, from yours truly.

First off, welcome! Whether you’re a twitter veteran looking for anything but whatever twitter is, or a new user just done signing up, glad to see you in our ranks beloveds! Welcome home. Refer to this quick tour to make sure your fandom experience (or tumblr experience in general) is a positive one!

Disclaimer: I know it’s long, but please try to read or skim through til the end if you’re new here! This is by no means meant to be a rule book (for the most part lol), only a guide to help you get settled easier!

1) Your blog

This is where people will see and interact with you, so put some effort into it!

Try to choose a name (url) that’s simple. You can see it as your brand, it’s how people will perceive you and remember you. If you’d like to interact with other users here (and not use the site just for the content) it’s better to have something short and sweet, preferably without spaces. (Of course, these are only suggestions.) Rest assured, you can change it literally any time you want.

Have a theme. Utilize the tool that lets you edit your blog’s color or the font of your bio! You can make it match your profile picture, or your blog if it has a theme of its own. Make it feel homey :]

Fill in your bio. People will be checking out your profile probably more often than you think. Don’t leave it empty! Put in any information you’re comfortable with sharing and isn’t too personal (like your age if you’re a minor, or other TMI that can be found on other people’s carrds). It’s always better to add a name/nickname people can use to refer to you by, but feel free to use your blog description to shitpost still.

You can have an intro post. More often than not, you’ll see a blog have a pinned post, a post permanently appearing at the top of a blog until you pin another post or unpin it. You can make one of those, if you’d like to introduce yourself in more length, link any other socials or a carrd, and show others visiting your blog how you tag things so it’ll be easy for them to navigate. Not an obligation.

Keep your anonymity and your safety. It should go without saying, but there’s no harm in repeating it just in case. Your comfort, privacy and safety has the utmost importance. Don’t share any information you don’t want to. Don’t share your age if you’re a minor, or any other incredibly personal info. I’d encourage you to go by a nickname that’s not your real name, (blog name, your brand, remember?) since there’s safety in anonymity, and that’s lowkey one of the big deals of tumblr, but that’s up to you still.

Choose what you want to be visible. Your liked posts and who you follow are all things you can set to keep to yourself and hide from the publics eye, how handy! You should go through all the setting while you’re at it, set it to your comfort.

Side blogs are a thing. You can have multiple blogs that you can use for different things (see: different fandoms, art blog, etc) to keep them organized or away from your followers. Just remember that the replies and off-anon asks you send will be from your main blog, as well as where you follow other blogs from.

2) Interacting with others

You’ve set up your account, now comes the fun part!

Follow to your heart’s desire. If you care about others seeing who you follow, fear not! In tumblr, usually only two types of blogs keep their following visible to others: newbies, and big blogs using it to point people on other good blogs’ direction. Just turn it off, and go ham following people.

Customize your dashboard. Gonna mention just two things here: this is another reason why it’s really important that you follow blogs without sparing, your dash will collect dust otherwise; and you should turn off “best stuff first” in your dashboard settings, to have a better community here and all.

Follow tags. You can set it in your settings that posts with your followed tags appear on your dashboard.

You can check the og post for edits and context. When you see a reblogged post you don’t understand the context of (or don’t recognize the character in case of fanarts), click on the profile so it will take you to the original post. From there you can check the original poster’s tags to get the context, or see if there have been any edits made to the post, since when you edit a post it doesn’t update any past reblogs.

Send people asks... This is how you make mutuals, people! Do it off-anon if you’d like them to know your blog, or anon if you’d rather not! (You can still end your messages with a signature to show you’re the same person, -[name] is one example.) Send them nice messages, ask their opinion on something, discuss things, or just straight up shitpost lol. Go wild. The sky’s your limit and it’s definitely more than 280 characters.

...and let them ask you! You can set your preference in the settings, do it on desktop tumblr to access more settings tho! What you can customize on mobile is limited (like letting people ask you things anonymously, that’s only on desktop settings). In my personal opinion, it’s always better to tag their username (or a nickname you give them, if they’re a friend) on that post, since you wouldn’t want your interactions with your friends to get buried in your blog forever.

Comment on posts. If you have something to say but don’t want the post to appear on your blog you can add a comment. The owner of the post will get a notif for it, but for anyone else you need to tag them.

For the love of god, reblog. People will only see your liked posts if you have it visible to public and they specifically go on your blog to look at them. You like something? You reblog. It’s already hard for posts to circulate properly, if you don’t reblog them literally no one will see them. If not for anything do it for the artists. Just hold and drag on mobile to fast rb.

3) Your Posts

Finally here! Don’t be a lurker, post and engage!

Make use of “read more”. If your post is long, add it. That’s what you clicked on earlier to expand this post. On desktop leave an empty line and you’ll see three dots appear, and on mobile type :readmore: on that empty line.

Draft a post to come back to it later. Pretty self explanatory.

Queue your post. Whether it’s your own post or you’re reblogging, make use of the queue feature to a) not spam reblog and fill up the dashboard of people following you and b) keep your blog active while you’re gone. Mess around in the settings, it’s fairly easy to set up.

Schedule your post. Same as queueing, the only difference is you get to choose the exact time your post will go up. Handy if you want to schedule a post for certain dates like april fools, or 5 years in the future for some reason. 

Format your texts. You can do all kinds of fancy stuff here (that’s a link, try pressing on it). Twitter doesn’t have this, make use of it. Changes depending on whether you’re on mobile or desktop. (Desktop has less features.)

Check your stats. If you’re trying to understand the algorithm better or want to look at some pretty graphs you can get your data on that on desktop tumblr.

@ people in comments. You’ll get all the notifs when people comment on your posts but they won’t see your reply unless you tag them in your message.

4) Tags, and tagging a post

This is where my earlier statement “this isn’t a rule book” stops being applicable. It’s not a war crime to go against these, I won’t come chasing you (don’t take my word for this) but you’ll work up a bad rep. Just saying lol.

Do NOT crosstag posts. It’s really tempting to add unrelated tags to increase your posts’ interaction, I know, but that’s not what tumblr is about. Don’t be a dick and make other communities’ experience worse for them.

Always tag your posts with “crit/critical/discourse/etc” if it calls for it. There’s no exceptions to it. This is the reason you see people migrating to tumblr. Let people enjoy things.

Don’t main tag a critical/negative post. If your crit post is about “Thing”, you add the “Thing critical” tag, but not the “Thing” tag. People block crit tags if they don’t want to see it, don’t shove it in their faces by main tagging it. 

If you don’t want to see something, just block it. Another reason why people are able to survive on tumblr. You don’t start discourse, you don’t make call-outs, you block. You can find something for every community you can think of if you go looking for it. The worst of the worst probably won’t ever appear on your dash, but if you’re worried or feel the need for it, you know where the block button is.

Feel free to shitpost or ramble. More often than not you’ll see people rb a post with a comment, and their elaboration will be in the tags. The tags are only visible on your profile and the notifications of the owner of the og blog. Just a thing people do.

Reblog artists’ posts with nice comments in the tags! Commenting on a drawing is usually done through the tags (Not an obligation, again, just a thing people do. Feel free to add your comment on the rb itself if you’d want other people to see it tho!) and leave nice messages for the artists! It’s a win-win for everyone involved. 

If you have more than a single follower, always use the common tw warning tags. You don’t need to tw everything, but tw’ing some common things is the bare minimum human decency. Keep it safe for others. 

Tag a post “long post” if it’s really long. Pretty self explanatory. Don’t make people scroll through all that please lol. 

You can use them to organize your blog. This is more of a pro tip, if you’d like to not miss a post in your blog, cause they will start pilin’ up soon enough.

#Liveblogging is pretty fun. If you’d like to talk to people during streams, don’t forget to add the relevant tags still! Again, you won’t show up on people’s dash otherwise.

Whew! That got out of hand. Hopefully I didn’t bore you too much. Check out blogs like @heritageposts and @hellsite-hall-of-fame to honor our past o7. @mcytblr-hall-of-fame too maybe :eyes:. Anyways, don’t forget the most important rule of them all:

Enjoy your stay! You’re meant to have fun on here while also making friends (if that’s your thing). Just be kind and respectful of others, you’ll get the hang of the rest! <3