#honestly i'd like to pick up photography as a hobby. maybe do it for some events on a volunteer basis. it seems fun!

[subsequentibis]

super last minute, but since me and my fiance are going to be at anthrocon i'm throwing together a 1B15 cosplay! tv heads are mercifully easy to make, i'm just going to try to paint the mesh in there white or replace it with white mesh if that doesn't work, and then paint a lil smiley face on :-)

[thebramblewood]

I was going to put this in a comment but I had MANY THOUGHTS so I thought I'd send an ask instead.

I'm in the process of reading through your pre-HZID Zhaoverse stuff and Helena's high school video project made me unexpectedly emotional. I love what you did with it and seeing it adds to the current stuff in the story for sure. It's such a great window into Helena's mind — and her heart, that really comes through here too.

It would be really interesting to see Helena pick up her photography hobby again. It can be difficult to do your hobby when you're in a bad place mentally, but maybe photography could her process her feelings and situation. Photography could also help her have a firmer, better understanding of her own identity. She's very much her own distinct person, unwilling to just go along with whatever Lilith or Caleb feels like doing, and taking part in a hobby she likes could help her affirm herself even more.

A potential difficultly (but also a good source of personal conflict) could be that in the Zhaoverse, at least with some types of cameras, vampires don't show up in pictures? Thus, Helena and the most important people in her life at this present moment (excluding Drusilla of course) don't show up in pictures. Maybe the type of camera the spellcasters were using when Caleb was hanging out with them involved mirrors, and this was why it didn't work.

I don't actually remember if it's been established if vampires show up in pictures taken on more recent cameras. There are all those pictures of the Vatores in your Wolfsbane Manor but they might be paintings, I don't know. It would be interesting whether vampires show up in photos or not! If they don't show up, Helena would have FEELINGS about that to deal with. If they do, she's still dealing with how she, her environment, and her life have changed.

Your early Helena posts also have me thinking about if we'll ever run into anyone from Helena's high school years! Helena evidently did not end up in life where she and her peers probably expected she would. I'm not asking if we'll run into any of those sims because I wouldn't like to cause you problems with spoilers or letting your storytelling process do it's thing, but it was sure something I was thinking about as I read through those old posts!

Thanks again for all the work you put into Helena Zhao is Dead.

You always have such good ideas! So much to address! First of all, don't forget we have already seen a few of Helena's high school friends in the story. Yuki went to Foxbury and encouraged Helena to get out of her comfort zone (I don't think she considered how far Helena would take that advice). Darling showed up briefly when the Copperdale Creep, I mean, Helena was in the midst of wreaking havoc on her hometown. And Ash and Molly were in the prologue!

The deeper we get into vampire angst territory, admittedly, it gets harder and harder to figure out where to fit the lighter or smaller moments in. I always found it tricky in the first place to portray Helena's photography hobby, but you're right that we haven't seen her with a camera in awhile - since her Oasis Springs trip with Ulrike, I think! It's definitely a hobby that, A., she hasn't had much time for or headspace to consider but also that, B., as you said, is a little bit complicated now by the vampire lore around cameras... which I've been somewhat skirting around because I'm unsure about it, honestly.

If I hadn't already made Caleb invisible in the photo with the spellcasters, I might have entirely done away with that piece of lore because it's more inconvenient than not, lol. But I think I can still get away with saying they were using a film camera rather than a digital camera because they're spellcasters who like being pretentious and fancy. So, theoretically, I guess that means Helena could take pictures of vampires, including herself! (Though the portraits in their house are meant to be paintings, so technically the only photos we've seen of the Vatores are from back when they were human.)

I like your point about Helena rediscovering her old hobbies as a way to stay in touch with herself and maintain her own personality. I'm currently trying to think of the best way to introduce a whole side of Forgotten Hollow we haven't seen yet, and I'm tossing around a couple different ideas in my head that haven't fully come together, but maybe photography could play into it in some way. Should Helena attempt to make a documentary of this strange little town no humans are supposed to know exists? I'm not sure how some of the inhabitants we're about to meet would feel about that! 😝

[bromcommie]

15 questions for 15 friends

Thanks to the wonderful folks who tagged me! @between-a-ship-and-a-hard-place @buckrogers @booksandabeer (thriving on the alliteration here y'all) Tbh I'm having a great time finding more out about you guys <3

Are you named after anyone? >>> Nope! My parents had it down to two names and for the longest time I thought the other one was way better suited to me. The one that got away, if you will. I think the meaning of my name is kind of cheesy, but at least I'm cool with it now.

When was the last time you cried? >>> Hm maybe like a week ago, watching a movie (which wasn't even all that sad. I think I was happy crying for the most part, lol)

Do you have kids? >>> Nope.

What sports do you play/have you played? >>> Currently taking a dance class, some yoga. I did karate for a long time before the worst of my teenage period got to me, but since then I haven't been all that active save for the occasional course. I do wanna get more into martial arts, though.

Do you use sarcasm? >>> Often.

What’s the first thing you notice about people? >>> Depends, really. General vibes, I guess, or voice and speech. Hair, too.

What’s your eye color? >>> Hazel.

Scary movies or happy endings? >>> Happy endings, all the way. I love dark stuff but ultimately I'm a sap, and I'm not a big horror person save for a few exceptions.

Any talents? >>> I enjoy creative stuff like visual arts and writing, and I'd like to think I'm good at it sometimes. Picking up new languages, I guess. I'm an alright cook, and I really enjoy doing that, too.

Where were you born? >>> @booksandabeer said in the capital of a state that no longer exists, and I'm gonna have to steal that because lol, technically same.

What are your hobbies? >>> Writing, videography/editing + photography, piano, language learning. Making edits about my stupid little blorbos on here. And I'm trying to get back into drawing atm.

Do you have any pets? >>> I have two cats that hate each other (and only occasionally like me).

How tall are you? >>> 5'8". I think.

Favorite subject in school? >>> Art history, history, languages.

Dream job? >>> With every passing day I'm less and less sure about what "dream job" even means, honestly. For the time being I'd like to pursue a career in film production, though, whatever that may look like.

I'm not sure I know 15 people irl let alone here but:

tagging @village-skeptic, @dharmasharks, @vostok3-ka, @theairshiphangs, @painted-doe, @dontcallmebree , @one-eyed-bossman, @gyokujyn and whoever else might like to join in. Obv no pressure and apologies if I overtagged anyone who's already done it!

[higurehige]

hi hello. been 5000 years since I have been tagged in much. uwu thank you @spadefish in return i slaaap uuuuh @duskdragonxiii @etakeh @vampiremasochist annnd @ponyacci (chose 2 of these based on activity feed but still important non-the-less! I hope you guys are all well even if we are but strangers in this wide blue world. Obvs feel free to ignore if you want to)

1. Are you named after anyone? A country singer. Course no one really thinks of her when they hear my name.

2. When was the last time you cried? Hrmmmm. Iunno probably 2 months ago over cirque du freak book series. I cry over books a lot.

3. Do you have kids? I am the kid. Do the 9 cats in my house count? On a serious note - no and I don't plan to. I have far too many problems and raising a kid would just wind up with me placing at least HALF of those problems on them. No. This curse ends with me. I don't think I'd even feel comfortable helping raise someone elses kid if we were in a relationship.

4. What sports do you play/have you played? I picked up archery recently! That's cool. I don't go as often as I should bc it's a bit expensive...but...yea! Archerys cool. Working on learning both recurve and compound. recurve for funsies and compound for hunting. (I just want an excuse to go sit out in the woods for hours on end doing fuck all and maybe, possibly bringing home some meat too)

5. Do you use sarcasm? Not often. I'm pretty blunt and no matter how hard I try to control myself I end up sounding like that one guy from guardians of the galaxy "Nothing goes over my head. I would catch it"

6. What is the first thing you notice about people? -shrug- Their face? I guess? Or whatever color they're wearing. Maybe their shoes. Idk...I'm terrible at facial recognition so I go ape trying to compensate for this.

7. What's your eye color? Green

8. Scary movies or happy endings? (both good but probably horror lean)

9. Any talents? Depends what you count as a talent. Born with? Insane observational skills? Uh I can eat actual rotten and moldy food and not get sick? Uuuuuuh. Hmmm....I can dilate my pupils at will? I can bend my legs freaky directions but not freaky enough to look like a contortionist. naturally good with animals I guess? Idk, nothing to write home about.

10. Where were you born? South Haven Michigan

11. What are your hobbies? Reading, drawing, writing (lol to both of these), gardening (i live in an apartment so I cant really do like...vegetable gardening but, I got plants! =3), studying various animals (and bugs), studying plants, photography, I come and go out of other hobbies, honestly. Adhd moments of "wow that looks cool" doing it once and never again....I'm trying, chief.

12. Do you have any pets? Avery (black cat), Diva and squeakers (twin solid gray cats), Baguatte (orange boi), Tiny man (gray stripy fella), Shaggy (not really MY cat, he's just some stray but....-sigh- he is sleeping in my house rn so I GUESS. (brother to Tiny man I think. very similar appearances). then there's weasle and skunk. (also cats) Do the assassin bugs i just bought for my garden count as pets? bc I have assassin bugs in my plants now =3

13. How tall are you? 5'4 ish and built like a brick.

14. Favorite subject in school? Didn't have a good time in school, so I hated all of it. Excelled at English and reading classes.

15. Dream job? Biology field. I want to get paid to study animal/insect behaviors and write papers on them. As it is I am just doing this shit for free lol

[prevfmdharu]

25-30!

FAMED ASK MEME: ACCEPTING              ° Q 25 - 30

( 25 ) what is the first thing you think of when someone mentions your fans?

" when someone mentions our or my fans, i always think how grateful i am to them. without them i wouldn't be where i am, they voted for me during hot topick and they are continuously supporting us now. which lets us continue standing on stage and i am so grateful towards them. "

( 26 ) what is your favorite movie/book you’ve seen/read recently?

" book. recently. i don't think i've had the time to read a book since the year started, before that i honestly can't remember what book i read. it must have been some fiction book. i do remember what the last movie i saw was, it was the last avengers movie. "

( 27 ) what are your recent wishes?

" recent wishes, for those that i care about to sleep and eat well. it's a very simple thing but those are some of my wishes, i also wish to be able to spend some time with my friends. my members are my friends but i mean friends i haven't seen in a while. it's nice to be able to catch up. oh i and i want to see my family. "

( 28 ) what are the requirements for your ideal type?

" being cute? haha, i think i like confidence. so when someone is confidence or confident about something they do, like confidence and passion. that is when they look the most attractive to me, when they are so concentrated and confident about something they like doing. "

( 29 ) what job would you want if you weren’t an idol?

" i would most likely be in university now, focusing on my dance major. maybe i would strive to apply to julliard, or some other famous international dance school? since dancing was originally my hobby, i'd most likely be on stage one way or the other and i would most likely be dancing. "

( 30 ) what is a hobby you’d like to pick up?

" i would love to be able to play an instrument? i am not sure what instrument i would play, maybe piano? i doubt i would be any good but it seems fun. oh and when i have more time, photography, i'd love to try photography, so i can capture special moments throughout my career, with my members and friends. "