#i wanted to try and get into fandom spaces to be myself more and open up but i have now just gotten tired

[marimayscarlett]

We're all so quick to reblog these posts about keeping fandom spaces alive, but look at the Rammstein fandom, look at it! 😭 It's getting quiet and nobody wants to admit it. 😓 Everyone is just quietly lurking or waiting for someone else to do something and it's heartbreaking!Same cycle, different fandom. 😣 We say we care, but we don't engage, we don't reblog, we don't hype each other up anymore! Some just resort to like posts as if they were on instagram! No reblogs! Some blogs that used to be so active just vanished! Where are they? 😭 We need to actually show up if we don't want this space to disappear like so many others! Thank god at least you and some other blogs still post content! 😭 I'm not aa creator, but I try to reblog everything with commentary, but it's getting increasingly frustrating because I'm screaming into the void😭😭😭

Hi 👋🏻

I guess this is in regards to this post.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this. I suppose it depends on how you look at the matter. Allow me to describe my impression:

I entered this fandom on here in 2015 and spent some time here. It was admittedly very lively, very open — lots of people reblogged things with their thoughts added in the caption (which admittedly isn’t as common anymore, at least from what I’ve noticed). There was a lot of joy and excitement when Rammstein in Amerika and Rammstein in Paris came to theatres.

And after I came back to Tumblr, I witnessed the same excitement for the tours in the last two years! Which isn’t surprising, considering the tons of new concert material we got in the form of official reels and pictures, as well as the vast amount of fan videos (which was absolutely not a given during the festival tours, mind you).

I’m not sure I share the view of the Rammstein fandom as stated in that ask, but I do understand the feeling of looking back wistfully and yearning for more excitement, joy, and togetherness. Surely, the activity on here isn’t as high as during the tours, but I think that’s only natural.

Let’s not forget that there are various reasons for reduced activity:

– No new material: no tour or other events this year, so there’s not much new apart from a few selfies of the band members. Reblogging and posting older content is always nice and plays into the bittersweet emotion of nostalgia, but even I can’t spend my whole day on it.

– Real life happens! Plus there are different focus points in life. The members of this fandom don’t only exist on this little platform. They have family, work, responsibilities, friends, worries, and things to deal with, as well as offline hobbies and other fandoms they’re part of — which is a good thing! There’s a risk of becoming too absorbed in one thing when there’s no variety. I can only speak for myself, but I also find joy outside of Rammstein in other areas of interest. Which is nice, life’s too short to miss out on all the fascinating topics this world has to offer.

– Other fan spaces: Instagram seems to have a considerably large Rammstein fandom, and there’s a fairly active (I think) Discord server for this fandom here as well. Some people just need a change of pace when it comes to platforms sometimes.

And yet — we’re still here. We have wonderful and incredibly skilled artists who spoil us with beautiful Rammstein art. We have very talented and creative fanfic authors among us who bring the band to life in various scenarios. We have diligent gif-makers who pick out funny and striking moments for us to stare at endlessly.

As someone without an ounce (!) of creativity in my body, I deeply appreciate all of them, as well as every single person in this fandom. Every like, reblog, and written thought — whether it’s opinions or thirst — contributes to keeping this fandom alive. 🤍

It’s always good to encourage more engagement — I totally get you! But I don’t think this fandom is in any danger of dying out anytime soon. At least from the blogs I interact with and based on my dash, there's quite a lot of activity happening. Maybe not as much as there used to; yet perhaps it will be more if we get new content ✨

[warm-mangoes-with-chai]

Just found something after 3 years,,,, life is with living still,,,,🥹

Bottom line? NEVER give up, my fellow yuri soldiers 🧡🤍🩷

[vilelittlecritter]

You ever sit in a fandom space for so long that now looking at it kind of makes you want to rip your nails off.

Yeah.

[captainsophiestark]

Oblivious

Damon Salvatore x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for Fictober 2024! Requested by @elenavampire21 - hope you like it! Thanks for being patient while I got it done!

Fandom: The Vampire Diaries

Day Thirty-One Prompt: "It's always been you."

Summary: You've always felt like the lowest priority out of everyone in the Mystic Falls group, but Damon disagrees.

Word Count: 1,905

Category: Fluff, light Angst

A/N: That's a wrap on Fictober baby! Woohoo! And Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

I hummed to myself as I scanned my bookshelf, trying to decide which one to grab. Since moving into college at Whitmore, I'd mostly just brought my favorites, since I didn't have much book space to spare in my single dorm room. But bringing all of my favorites made it a little hard to decide what to read on any given day.

I'd just about made up my mind, actually reaching out to grab one when the door to my room went flying open, smashing into the opposite wall.

I whirled around, my fight or flight response kicking into overdrive as I tried to remember where the nearest stake was in my room. I'd been dragged into the supernatrual drama just by being tangental to a certain friend group in Mystic Falls, which meant I was on high alert for supernatural threats. This weekend in particular, everyone I knew was back in Mystic Falls for a visit and a party.

At least, they were supposed to be. As I whipped around towards the door, I came face to face with none other than Damon Salvatore.

My heart started a very annoying gymnastics routine. I'd had a crush on Damon for a long time, despite knowing all his supernatural secrets, but with Elena around he'd never bothered to give me the time of day. I'd made my peace with it, more or less, but suddenly finding him standing in the doorway of my room, his piercing blue eyes fixed absolutely on me, still sent my heart racing.

"Hey! What are you doing?" I demanded, fixing Damon with the fiercest glare I could muster. Probably not very fierce at the moment, but I did my best.

"You should really keep this locked," Damon drawled instead of answering me. I scowled as he closed the door behind him, then took a few steps closer to me.

"We're in a crowded student dorm hall. It's normally not a problem."

"Well, it's a problem now."

Damon grinned at me, making a point of flashing his fangs. My scowl deepened.

"Do you not have to be invited in to student housing?" I asked, trying to deflect and distract Damon from paying any attention to my heartbeat. His grin only widened.

"Nope. I've used that to my advantage many times."

I tried to keep a grimace off my face at that. I knew enough about Damon and his history to realize he was refering to past hookups as much as anything else. Not my favorite subject to get into with him.

I cleared my throat, trying to push the thoughts out of my mind. I met Damon's gaze again and raised an eyebrow, going for casual and just hoping I could kind of pull it off.

"Why are you here?" I said. "Aren't you supposed to be hosting a party in Mystic Falls?"

"Aren't you supposed to be at that party with me?" Damon asked, voice low as he took another few steps towards me. I let out a little huff and looked away.

"Believe it or not, I'm not in the mood to go running back home every weekend that I'm at college. I have work to do and people I want to spend time with this weekend, both of which require me to stay here."

Damon stepped even closer to me, getting in my space and moving to try to see my expression. When I continued to look away from him, he took my chin in his hand and turned me to face him. I scowled, but didn't pull away.

"I don't believe you."

"What do you mean 'you don't believe me'?"

"I mean, when you explained your reasoning to me just now, your heartbeat told me you were lying." I frowned, but Damon just leaned in a little closer, his grip still tight on my chin. "So why aren't you in Mystic Falls?"

I huffed and rolled my eyes, finally pulling back and out of his grip. He let me go, but took a few steps to follow me across the room as I walked away.

"I'm just sick of all the supernatural drama," I said. "It's been nice to be here, building something separate from which vampire we're trying to kill this week, or which werewolf is trying to kill us. I'm happy here, and I don't want to blow all that up by going home and finding myself in the middle of the supernatural drama again."

Damon hummed. Nothing I'd said was a lie, technically, so he couldn't call me out like he had earlier. I kept my back to him so he couldn't read it in my face either.

"I guess that's the truth," Damon said, his voice way too casual. "But I know you well enough to know it's not the whole truth."

I snorted, then whipped around to face Damon with a scowl.

"Why do you care? I gave you an explanation, and it's the truth, so it's all you're getting."

Damon shook his head as he stepped even closer to me.

"Not gonna work for me, sweetheart. I'm not leaving here without the whole truth."

"Why? Damon, seriously, why is this so important to you?"

"Because. Now are you going to tell me, or am I going to have to compel it out of you?"

He wiggled his eyebrows at me, but I just rolled my eyes.

"We both know I'm on vervain, so knock it off. Just go back to Mystic Falls. Flirt with Elena to mess with your brother, whatever! Just leave me alone!"

"I don't want to flirt with Elena," Damon said, taking another step towards me. His voice was low, and more serious than I usually heard it, as his eyes locked onto mine. "I want to flirt with you, no one else. It's always been you."

Everything about Damon's tone and body language told me he was serious, but I knew what a good actor he could be when he wanted to. I scoffed and rolled my eyes, crossing my arms and squaring my shoulders to face Damon.

"Oh please. It's always been Elena, from day one with you! And the handful of times it hasn't been Elena? It's been just about anybody else in our group besides me. Caroline, that reporter Andie, the vampire Rose who kidnapped Elena... hell, even Rebekah Mikaelson! But never once me, Day."

Damon's frown had deepend, and he actually looked a little wounded. He took another step closer, almost putting us chest to chest, and opened his mouth like he was going to speak, but I put up a hand to stop him before he could get a word out.

"It's fine, Damon. Seriously, it's not a crime for you to not reciprocate my feelings. And I'm not avoiding Mystic Falls all because of some one-sided crush. But, seriously. Bonnie, Caroline, and Elena were supposed to be in a triple together. Nobody even checked with me, if I might want to join them in a dorm, since we were all going to Whitmore. I know I got sucked into the group by accident and not really by friendship, but for fuck's sake, I've thrown myself headfirst into this world and trying to help you guys, and still, it's like I'm barely even present. So I decided to say screw it, and I've made a bunch of great friends here outside of all this vampire shit, and I'm happy with that. So just go back to your party and leave me alone. I'd say pass the message on, but I doubt if anybody else'll notice."

Damon's frown had been steadily deepening the whole time I'd been speaking, and now he looked truly upset. I'd confessed a little more to him in the heat of the moment than I'd been planning to, but my words were still true. Maybe it was time for a full break from the rest of the Mystic Falls gang, and maybe this was how I got it done.

"Are you... absolutely blind?" Damon demanded, reaching out to take my hands before I could stop him. "I'll admit, when I first met Elena, she looked so much like Katherine that I was a little hung up on her. But I got over her when I got over Katherine. All I've been doing since a few weeks after I met you is trying to flirt with you! You've always shut me down!"

"What? Damon, you're crazy-"

"I abandoned Ric at the bar to buy you a drink and play pool. I blew off Stefan to go to some stupid Mystic Falls festival with you. For god's sake, I even asked you on a date after your graduation!"

"No no no, that was playful flirting. And the date thing was to make Elena jealous!"

"The date thing was not to make Elena jealous!"

I laughed, mostly out of panic, shaking my head and stepping back from Damon. He didn't let me get far. He followed me across the room until my back hit the wall, and then stepped into my space again. I looked up at him with wide eyes, and I knew he could hear just how fast my heart was beating.

"Damon, come on. You're... you. If you'd had a thing for me for over a year, there's no way I wouldn't know about it!"

"That's what I kept telling myself," he muttered. The faintest possible smile made its way onto his face. "I'm actually a little relieved it turns out you're just oblivious."

I snorted, but my heart had picked up speed again, which honestly shouldn't have been possible. If Damon were lying... well, it didn't make sense for Damon to be lying. There was no reason for him to come all the way down here, especially while everyone else in our group was throwing a party at his house, all for a lie with no real motivation.

I searched Damon's face, this time without a scowl. He smirked back at me and let his gaze slowly, clearly wander down to my mouth. I laughed.

"You're serious, aren't you? You're telling the truth."

"Of course I'm telling the truth," he said. His voice was more sincere and serious than it had been since he'd walked into my room as the smirk on his face became more of a smile. Slowly, he let one hand wander down to rest on my waist. I bit my lip, considering for just a second, then surged forward and kissed him.

Damon wasted no time pushing me against the wall and kissing me back. I wrapped my arms around his neck, letting myself get lost in the moment.

"Are you sure you don't want to go back to Mystic Falls?" I breathed between kisses as Damon moved along my neck and jaw. "You're missing a party in your own house."

"I'm sure. I hid all my good booze before I left. And I hate to rub it in, but..." Damon pulled back just enough to look me in the eye and let a predatory grin spread across his face. "I'm pretty happy you ended up in a single dorm room right now."

I laughed, something I honestly never thought I'd be able to do about the way I'd ended up in this single dorm room. Leave it to Damon to find a way to make it happen, despite the odds.

It'd taken a lot more drama and heartache than it should've to get here. Still, as Damon wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tight to his chest, I got the distinct impression that it would be worth it.

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

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989 @space-helen @misshale21

TVD/TO Taglist: @elenavampire21

[moonxknightx]

♡˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ : SILENT STORM : :;

╰┈➤ ❝ [PAIRING] ❞ Wade Wilson x F!Reader

・❥・GENRE: Fluff :))

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆FANDOM: X-Men

ੈ✩‧₊˚ WARNINGS: None!

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥SUMMARY: You, a quiet new recruit at Xavier’s Institute, secretly harbors feelings for the unpredictable Deadpool. When you’re unexpectedly assigned to share a room and a bed with him, the closeness forces both of you to confront your true feelings, leading to the start of a tender romance.

THE X-MANSION WAS NOT EXACTLY WHAT YOU EXPECTED. You had imagined a more rigid atmosphere, where the weight of the world pressed down on every mutant's shoulders. After all, the X-Men were heroes, their deeds legendary in the mutant community. Instead, you found a place brimming with warmth, camaraderie, and a kind of chaotic harmony that felt both welcoming and overwhelming.

Still, despite the friendly faces, you kept to yourself. Old habits died hard. It was easier to observe from the sidelines, where you could process everything without having to jump into the deep end. Besides, you were new here, and everyone already had their circles. You preferred the quiet company of your books and the familiar hum of your thoughts.

But all of that was about to change.

~

"Hey, new girl!"

You looked up from your spot on the couch in the common room, your book halfway open. The voice belonged to Wade Wilson, or as the rest of the mansion called him—Deadpool. He was a living whirlwind of chaos, energy, and unfiltered comments, all wrapped up in a red-and-black suit. And, if you were honest with yourself, he was the reason you often found yourself sneaking glances when you thought no one was looking.

"Uh, hi," you said, offering a small, somewhat awkward wave.

"What's up, quiet one?" he asked, plopping down beside you, much too close for comfort, but you didn't exactly mind. He had a way of invading personal space that somehow felt...inviting. "What'cha reading?"

You held up the book cover for him to see.

"A classic! A fellow intellectual, I see," he grinned, then leaned closer as if to whisper conspiratorially. "I'm more of a comic book guy myself, but hey, to each their own."

You couldn’t help but smile at that. It was impossible not to. His energy was infectious, and even though you tried to keep your distance, he made it difficult. Wade had this knack for drawing people out, whether they wanted to be drawn out or not.

"So, I hear we’re gonna be roomies," he said, his tone teasing.

Your eyes widened. "Roomies?"

"Yup! Turns out the mansion’s a bit crowded. Everyone’s pairing up. And lucky you, you get the one and only Deadpool!" He waggled his eyebrows, clearly finding the situation hilarious. "Don’t worry, I don’t snore...much."

You blinked, processing this new piece of information. Roomed with Wade Wilson? The Wade Wilson? You had barely talked to him beyond these fleeting conversations, and now you were going to share a room with him?

"Uh, are you sure?" you asked, your voice betraying your uncertainty.

"Positive! Just checked with the big guy upstairs," Wade said, pointing a thumb in the vague direction of where you assumed Professor Xavier’s office was. "He said, 'Wade, you’re the perfect mentor for our newest recruit,' and who am I to disagree with the boss, right?"

You weren’t sure if you believed that Professor X had phrased it quite that way, but Wade’s enthusiasm was impossible to deflect.

"Okay," you said, trying to sound more confident than you felt. "I guess that’s...fine."

"Fine? Fine?! Rooming with Wade Wilson is never just 'fine,'" he said dramatically, placing a hand over his heart as if wounded. "It’s a blessing. A privilege! Think of all the fun we’re gonna have—pillow fights, late-night snack raids, deep philosophical discussions about the meaning of life and why chimichangas are the ultimate food."

You chuckled despite yourself. "I don’t think I’m ready for all that."

Wade grinned, his eyes crinkling behind his mask. "Don’t worry, you’ll be just fine. And hey, maybe you’ll even start talking to me more. I’m very persuasive, you know."

You rolled your eyes but couldn't suppress your smile. "We’ll see."

~

Moving your stuff into the shared room was surprisingly uneventful—until you noticed the single bed taking up the middle of the room.

"Uh, Wade?" you asked, pointing at the bed as if it had suddenly appeared out of thin air.

He followed your gaze and then let out a low whistle. "Huh. Well, I guess someone upstairs is shipping us already."

You felt your face heat up. "I-I’ll sleep on the floor. It’s not a big deal."

Wade waved his hand dismissively. "Nonsense! This bed is big enough for two. We’ll just build a pillow fort in the middle. You get one side, I get the other. No funny business, I promise. Unless you count my sleep-talking, in which case, you’re in for a treat."

You hesitated, feeling a mix of nervousness and something else—a fluttering in your stomach that you hadn’t quite placed until now. The thought of sharing a bed with Wade, even with a barrier of pillows between you, was both thrilling and terrifying. But you didn’t want to let him see how much it affected you, so you nodded.

"Okay, that works," you agreed, trying to sound nonchalant.

Wade clapped his hands together. "Perfect! This is gonna be like a sleepover. Do you want the side closest to the door or the window?"

"The window," you replied, grateful that he was making this easy.

"Excellent choice," he said, winking at you. "I’ll take the door side. You know, in case any bad guys break in during the night. I’ll protect you, my fair maiden."

You rolled your eyes but couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at your lips. Wade was ridiculous, but he had a way of making everything seem less daunting. Maybe sharing a bed with him wouldn’t be so bad after all.

~

The first few nights were awkward, to say the least. You kept to your side of the bed, huddled up against the edge as far as you could go without falling off. Wade, true to his word, respected the pillow barrier and even stayed mostly still, aside from the occasional bout of sleep-talking.

But as the days passed, you found yourself growing more comfortable. You started to notice little things about Wade—like how he always made sure the room was warm enough for you at night, or how he would subtly rearrange the pillows to give you more space. He could be loud and obnoxious, but there was a kindness beneath all the bluster that you hadn’t expected.

And then there was your growing crush.

It snuck up on you, as these things often do. At first, you thought it was just admiration—after all, Wade was brave, funny, and fiercely loyal to his friends. But then you started noticing how your heart would race whenever he smiled at you, or how you found yourself looking forward to the end of the day when you’d both be lying in bed, talking about nothing and everything.

You tried to push the feelings aside. Wade was...Wade. He was larger than life, and you were just...you. Quiet, reserved, and maybe a little too intense for someone like him. You doubted he even saw you as anything other than a friend—or worse, a younger sibling in need of protection.

But the feelings wouldn’t go away. They grew stronger with each passing day, and it became harder to keep them hidden. Especially when Wade would casually toss an arm across the pillow fort, his fingers brushing against your shoulder as he mumbled something incoherent in his sleep.

It was torture, and yet you couldn’t bring yourself to say anything. What if he didn’t feel the same way? What if it made things weird between you? So you stayed silent, your heartache hidden behind a carefully constructed mask of indifference.

~

It was late one night, the mansion unusually quiet, when you found yourself lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. Wade was beside you, his breathing steady and even. You hadn’t said much that evening, too wrapped up in your own thoughts to engage in the usual banter. Wade had noticed, of course—he always noticed—but he hadn’t pushed you to talk.

But now, as you lay there in the dark, you couldn’t stop thinking about the mission you had completed together earlier that day. It had gone sideways more than once, and Wade had saved your life more than once. You kept replaying the moments in your mind, the way he had shielded you with his body, the way he had looked at you with a mixture of concern and something else you couldn’t quite place.

"Hey," Wade’s voice broke through your thoughts, startling you.

You turned your head to see him lying on his side, propped up on one elbow as he looked down at you. "You okay?"

"Me? Yeah, I’m fine," you lied, trying to smile.

Wade didn’t buy it. He reached out, gently brushing a strand of hair away from your face. "You’ve been quiet—quieter than usual. What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?"

Your heart skipped a beat at his touch, and you swallowed hard, trying to gather your thoughts. You wanted to tell him everything, to pour out your heart and let him see just how much he meant to you. But the words caught in your throat, tangled up with fear and uncertainty.

"I’ve just been thinking," you finally said, your voice barely above a whisper.

"About what?" he asked, his tone soft and patient.

You hesitated, but something in his eyes urged you to continue. Wade, despite his usual chaotic demeanor, could be incredibly perceptive when it mattered most. He was watching you now with an intensity that made it impossible to deflect or hide behind vague answers.

"About today. About how you saved me," you finally said, your voice trembling just slightly. "I just... I don’t know if I thanked you properly."

Wade’s expression softened, and he shook his head. "You don’t have to thank me. That’s what teammates do, right? We look out for each other."

You nodded, but the knot in your chest didn’t loosen. It wasn’t just about today’s mission. It was about everything—the way he made you feel seen in a way no one else had, the way he could make you laugh when you wanted to disappear into the shadows, the way you couldn’t stop thinking about him even when you knew you should.

"Wade, I—" you started, then hesitated, biting your lip as you struggled to find the right words. "There’s more to it than that."

He stayed quiet, giving you the space to gather your thoughts, his gaze never leaving your face. You took a deep breath, feeling your heart pound in your chest.

"I... I’ve been feeling like I don’t really belong here. Like I’m on the outside, looking in," you confessed. "But when I’m with you, it’s different. You make me feel like I fit, like I’m not just some quiet, awkward girl who’s always in the background."

Wade frowned slightly, his brow furrowing as he listened. "You’re not just in the background. Not to me."

You felt your breath catch at his words, hope and fear warring within you. "I’ve been trying to keep it to myself, but... I think I have feelings for you, Wade. More than just teammates. More than just friends."

The words hung in the air, and for a moment, you couldn’t breathe, your heart pounding so hard you were sure he could hear it. You stared up at him, terrified of what he might say next.

Wade blinked, his expression shifting from surprise to something softer, almost tender. "You do?"

You nodded, feeling your face flush with embarrassment. "I know it’s probably silly. You’re... well, you’re you. And I’m just—"

"Don’t," he interrupted gently, his voice firm but kind. "Don’t put yourself down like that. You’re amazing. Seriously. I’ve been waiting for you to say something, but I didn’t want to push you. You’re so quiet sometimes, and I didn’t want to scare you off."

"You... you have?" you asked, barely daring to believe what you were hearing.

He grinned, a little sheepishly. "Yeah, I have. I’m crazy about you, you know that? But I didn’t want to mess things up between us. I figured if you didn’t feel the same, I could at least stick around and be your annoying, charming roommate."

You let out a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding, relief flooding through you. "Wade, I—"

Before you could finish, he leaned in, his hand still resting gently on your cheek as he closed the distance between you. His lips brushed against yours, tentative at first, as if giving you the chance to pull away. But you didn’t. You kissed him back, your hands clutching at his shirt as if he might disappear if you let go.

The kiss deepened, all the emotions you had been holding back pouring out as you pressed closer to him. It was everything you hadn’t dared to hope for—warmth, safety, belonging—all wrapped up in the man you had been too afraid to love out loud.

When you finally broke apart, both of you were breathless, foreheads resting against each other as you tried to catch your breath. Wade’s hand slid from your cheek to your back, pulling you closer as he whispered, "You’re not just someone in the background, okay? Not to me. You’re the reason I’m here. You’re the reason I stick around."

Tears pricked at your eyes, but this time they were tears of happiness, of relief. "Wade, I... I don’t know what to say."

He smiled, that familiar playful glint returning to his eyes. "You don’t have to say anything. Just let me hold you, okay? We’ll figure everything else out as we go."

You nodded, feeling a warmth spread through your chest as you nestled closer to him, his arms wrapping around you in a protective embrace. The tension that had been knotting your stomach for weeks melted away, leaving only a sense of peace and contentment.

As you lay there, wrapped in his arms, you knew that this was just the beginning. The start of something new, something real. And for the first time in a long time, you felt like you belonged. Right here, with him.

Wade shifted slightly, pulling the blankets up over both of you as he settled back down. "You know," he said, his voice drowsy but full of warmth, "this whole 'roommate' thing worked out pretty well, don’t you think?"

You smiled, resting your head on his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. "Yeah, it really did."

"And just think," he continued, a grin evident in his voice, "we still have plenty of nights to practice this whole 'sharing a bed' thing. I’m thinking we could get really good at it."

You laughed softly, feeling more at ease than you had in a long time. "I think so too."

As you drifted off to sleep, your hand resting over his heart, you couldn’t help but feel grateful for this strange, chaotic, wonderful man who had somehow found his way into your life—and your heart.

And, as Wade’s arms tightened around you, you knew that whatever came next, you were ready to face it. Together.

🏷️: @stargazingcarol

If you want to be added to the taglist, let me know! 🫶

[piroulinewafers]

hello!!!! your caleb works are amazing!! i was wondering if you would be interested in the prompt of caleb comforting the reader when she feels like “too much” and tries to avoid him? i’ve been in fandom spaces for such a long time of my life like you and often even friends have made me feel kinda shit about being authentically myself. whether you want to do smut or fluff is completely up to you!! thank you, have a great rest of your day :)

𝐚/𝐧: i completely understand how you feel anon. i find it very difficult to express my interests and act "authentically" in fandom spaces because there's usually such a preconceived notion about how people are "supposed to act" or respond to things. i do think the only way to truly find comfort in these spaces is to find like-minded people and to curate your own spaces. if someone is a jerk to you for being yourself, and for expressing your interests, then they don't deserve to have you in their life. your happiness and comfort should always come first.

𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭: caleb x fem! reader 𝐜𝐰: none. 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬: open.

the soft buzz of the refrigerator was the only sound that filled the apartment.

it was the kind of quiet caleb hated— not peaceful nor still— just hollow. the light in the living room cast long shadows across the floor, golden and soft from a single lamp she’d probably turned on out of habit. the kind of thing she always did. always so thoughtful, so careful… even now. 

she was on the couch, curled into herself like she was trying to disappear, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and her knees pulled to her chest. she looked small, or at least, like she was trying to make herself go unnoticed. just staring. just… somewhere else entirely.

caleb had known her long enough to know that something was weighing greatly on her mind.

he lingered in the doorway for a second longer than necessary, his jaw clenched. the day had been long. brutal, even. a headache throbbed behind his eyes.

he finally stepped into the room still wearing his pilot suit— the tan jacket slung open just enough to show the white undershirt beneath, sleeves pushed up like he’d been elbow-deep in something just moments ago. there was grease smudged near the hem of his sleeve, and the harness across his chest tugged lightly against his shoulders with each element. he looked like he’d walked straight out of the hangar, and admittedly, the day had been so rough from the training module he’d had, caleb hadn’t even bothered to change his clothes.

but none of the mattered. not when she looked like that.

he crossed the room with quiet steps, settling onto the far end of the couch. not touching her. not yet, at least. just sitting close enough that she’d know he was there. 

she didn’t react. his voice, when he finally spoke, was low. careful. 

“why are you avoiding me?”

she tensed immediately. not a flinch, not a gasp— just a subtle stillness that told him she’d been waiting for that question.

“i’m not,” she said quickly, too quickly. she hadn’t even bothered to look at him.

he exhaled through his nose. “don’t lie.”

she didn’t say anything.

caleb leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “you barely talk to me unless i bring it up first. you leave the room when i come in. you pretend to be asleep when i get home late. you think i don’t notice that?”

she turned her face away, just a little. her voice was barely above a whisper. “i didn’t want to bother you.” 

the ache in his chest deepened at that.

“bother me?” he echoed, almost disbelieving. “you think… you could ever bother me?”

she gave a weak, almost breathless laugh. not out of amusement. more like she was trying to play it off, to keep her voice steady while everything inside of her cracked.

“it’s just—“ her shoulders rose, like she was trying to almost physically shrink away. “you’re so busy. you’ve got so much going on. the daa, your other friends, everyone looking up to you, all those job opportunities…” she paused, swallowing thickly. “and i’m just… here. i get overwhelmed. i cry about dumb things. i’m cling and loud and— and i know you say its okay, but…”

caleb turned to her fully now, eyes locked onto hers. she was finally looking at him— and god, she looked wrecked. her cheeks were pink, like she’d been crying earlier and tried to make a poor attempt at hiding it. her clothes disheveled, and she smelt of sleep.

“but what?” he asked gently.

she swallowed hard, voice cracking. “but i feel like i’m dragging you down. like… you’re carrying all this weight and you come home to me, and i’m just— one more thing. you don’t need me getting in your way when you’ve got the whole world on your back, caleb.”

his heart shattered clean in two.

for a second, he said nothing. then he reached out, not abruptly, but with quiet certainty— cupping her cheek and guiding her to look at him properly. 

“don’t say that,” he said, quietly but firmly. “don’t ever say that again.” he forced out, perhaps a little too harshly. 

“you are not one more thing, where did you even get that?” he questioned, every word heavy with conviction. “you’re the only part of my day that makes me feel like myself.”

she blinked, wide-eyed and still hesitant, and he could see just how much she wanted to believe him.

“i’d give it all up,” he blurted out, brushing a thumb under her eye where a tear threatened to fall. “the rank, the career, the image— all of it. none of it matters if i don’t have you. i’d walk away in a heartbeat if you asked me to.”

she blinked at his words, unsure how to respond, tucking her chin lower.

he paused, staring at her intensely as he reached down and took her hand, squeezing it gently. 

“tell me, do you want me to drop it all? ‘cause i will. just give me your word and i’d do it. i’d do anything for you.”

that was the last thing she wanted. she didn’t want caleb to throw everything he’d worked hard for just for her own sake. 

“i don’t want you to give anything up,” she whispered, voice small. “i just… didn’t want to be a burden. i know i can be too much.”

he leaned in, resting his forehead against hers, voice barely about a breath.

“you’re not a burden, ‘nd you surely aren’t ‘too much’.” he said. “you’re my home. you’re the reason i survive those days when i want to give up. i don’t need you to be perfect or always okay. i just need you. however you are, whatever you’re feeling. i just need you by my side.”

her lip trembled. “but i fall apart sometimes. and i overwhelm you.” 

“then i’ll be the one to help pick you back up. that’s what love is, isn’t it? you don’t have to hold it all in just to make space for me. you seep saying you’re too much, but you’re the one thing i just can’t get enough of.”

by now, she was crying, the slow unraveling of pressure she’d held onto alone for far too long. 

caleb kissed the side of her head, pulling her closer into his side. she let them fall as she leaned into his chest, arms curling tightly around his waist like she was afraid he’d vanish if she didn’t hold on.

he held her, just as tightly, burying his face in her hair and breathing her in like she was the only oxygen that mattered.

“i’m sorry i avoided you,” she whispered, muffled into his shirt. “i just didn’t know how to say it. i didn’t want to ruin everything.” 

“you didn’t ruin anything,” caleb responded, voice thick. “you never could.”

they stayed like that, in the soft hum of the lamp-lit quiet, wrapped in each other as the rain outside passed. 

and when she finally pulled back to look at him again, cheeks damp and eyes red, he smiled.

the whole world could fall away and crumble for all he cared, so long as she was in his arms. 

[mybelovedsylus]

I know I know, I fell off the face of the earth. But I’m somewhat back. I have a birthday coming up so I probably will blip in and out today, but I plan to be back more regularly soon. That being said, I saw this card and I have a dirty mind and I had to. Now I know, everyone always says they want fluff and why is there so much smut in this fandom? But based on the notes I get, y’all are saying one thing and want another… Which means I’m taking the fluffy birthday card that I’ve watched a few times, and I’m adding birthday sex. Try and stop me. Let’s be real though it's still fluffy. Warnings are slight exhibitionism and pretty much fully clothed sex. Minors, there’s the door, see you at the next fluffy post. As always, it’s not edited or proofread. It is what it is.

________________________________________________________

“Sweet?" He asked with his soft grin. I was momentarily struck dumb by the size of it. While I loved every side of this man, this side- the one reserved just for me was one of my absolute favorites. It didn’t hurt that he also was managing my entire weight with one arm, watching with rapt fascination as I sucked the maple syrup off my finger.

“Why don’t you try it for yourself?” was the best I could come up with as I lifted my hand to his mouth and dragged my middle finger coated in syrup across his mouth. My own mouth fell open, a mirror I’m sure, of the movement of his tongue as it drifted across his lower lip. My hands instinctively reached up to either side of his face and like a magnet or like being drawn to a beacon I was leaning down. I all but dragged him to me, as I sucked his bottom lip into my mouth and drew my tongue along the same path his had just traced.

I swallowed his groan, dropping my hands so I could throw my arm around his neck and pulled him even closer. Despite the fact that I was perched side saddle on his arm, it still wasn’t close enough. I pushed in closer to him as he dragged his tongue over my top lip, licking into my mouth as I whimpered.

“Hold on,” he grunted, pulling back so he could swing me around so my legs rested on either side of his waist, and then he dove back in like a man starved. He took full advantage of my gasp of surprise as my back hit the tree. He tasted sweet like the coffee we had just enjoyed together, but also mixed with his usual smoky flavor, and I think in that moment I knew what it was to be addicted.

When it became impossible to avoid needing air, I eased my lips up the side of his neck, placing butterfly kisses wherever I could reach. Fuck, I was so into this man. Every sweet moment together just further solidified his carved out hollow in my heart, but also his brutal side did too, there was no part of this man that did not attract me like a moth to a flame.

“Wait, wait, put me down” I gasped, smacking lightly on his shoulders in a half assed attempt to get him to move from where he was sucking bruises into the space where my neck met my shoulder. He pulled back and I’m sure my smile looked crazed as I looked at his blown out pupils and the dumbstruck expression on his face.

“What?”

I laughed as I lightly smacked his shoulder again and repeated myself. Even as my feet touched down, I dragged his lips to mine once more, unable to resist. I took a step back needing the moment to clear my head, and question if I was really going to follow through with this. Looking at the blatant yearning that shone in his eyes – fuck yeah I was.

“Lay back down,” I told him, my teeth worrying my bottom lip, but my smile was pulling to the point of pain in my cheeks as he slowly complied. It was evident his mind was still clouded, but I’m sure he could get on board with the change soon enough.

As soon as he was settled, I perched myself back on him like I had been just a minute before. Although this was going to be a far cry from the playful drumming on his stomach.

“Déjà vu?”

“Not quite, more like a birthday treat,” I told him innocently, leaning down to press a soft chaste kiss on the corner of his mouth. His hand gripped the back of my head and moved me slightly so that he could plunder my mouth again. As I sucked his tongue, my hands drifted to his belt, quickly undoing them as I unbuttoned his pants, and pulled the zipper down. He made a sharp gasp, and pulled the hair at the nape of my neck to drag my head back and create space between our mouths.

“Just what are you up to, kitten?” he questioned, his eyebrow flicking up slightly in a way that had me flashing him a lovesick grin.

“You haven’t heard of birthday sex?”

I think I broke him.

He looked at me like I was both an alien, and someone who had hung the moon. I couldn’t contain the giggle as I resumed my work, my hands dragging his boxers down just enough to let his engorged erection out. I lightly traced the larger veins along the top with my thumb until I reached the head, collecting the small bead of precum. With my eyes locked on him, I sucked said thumb into my mouth and acted much like I had with the fresh maple.

I raised on my knees a little, and held my skirt up with one hand so he could get an uninterrupted view of my other hand pulling my underwear to the side as I dragged his cock through my wet folds, before notching the head of his cock at my entrance. I had never been so turned on in my life, and most of it had to do with the heated gaze glued to where I was slowly sinking down on him.

“Fuck, I forget how big you are,” I gasped as I lifted up a bit only to sink down another inch. I worked that way until I was firmly seated in his lap. Only then did I drop the skirt, and obscure his view. His hands grasped my hips to the point of bruising, and honestly it thrilled me.

“You’re so tight, shit. If this is how I die this was the best birthday yet.”

I huffed out a laugh, and dragged my fingers through his hair as I lifted my hips up, biting my lip hard enough to draw blood to suppress the moan that wanted out as I felt the drag of him along my sensitive walls. The slam back down had him holding back his own sounds and his hands fluttering on my sides.

“Well there will be no dying, and hopefully no getting arrested, so we’re going to make this quick and then you can take your time with this part of your gift back at the base,” I muttered into his ear as a warning. I pulled his earlobe between my teeth and dragged my hands down his chest as I moved to give him another deep kiss before I sat back up. I looked each direction to make sure we were still alone in our little patch of heaven. Perfect.

“Fuuuuuuck, I’m definitely – dying – right–  here,” Sylus moaned as I bucked up and down. My hands were clenched, resting on his chest as I pistoned my hips on his, bottoming out every time I dropped.

“Shit, yes, you’re so fucking wet, listen to the sounds we’re making together, the best music I’ve ever heard,” he mumbled. He was right, with only the rustling of leaves on the breeze the wet squelch and slap of skin was obscene. I had to lean forward and use his chest to silence my moans.

“Sy, I need more,” I whimpered, dragging my mouth back to his in a sloppy kiss. Using the hands at my waist, he helped to lift and pull me back down, his hips rising on the downward thrust to set a bruising pace that was sure to leave my pussy molded to his shape. My mouth fell open on a silent scream as he kept that speed.

“I can’t wait to watch you walk out of here knowing you’re dripping with my cum. Think you can make it to the car before it makes it past the hem of your skirt?”

“Holy shit, Sy,” I gasped out biting his shoulder. I just know I gave myself away though because I could feel myself clench at his filthy words and the taboo idea.

“I’m so close baby, touch yourself please, lift the skirt so I can see,” he all but begged and I was quick to oblige and sit back, wanting to fall off that edge with him. His hazy eyes were locked on where I was circling my clit, and where his soaked length was disappearing inside me. With one last curse and a grunt of my name he slammed as far into me as he could physically get, and I could feel as he pulsed, coating my inner walls and I had to bite down on my hand to stop a scream as I joined him.

“Oh fuck,” he muttered curses over and over as we both came down, the final clenches of my orgasm sucking every last part of his soul out of his body. He slumped back boneless into the grass as I let my skirt fall and I fell down on his chest sucking in a deep lungful of air. We stayed like that until he softened and slipped from my body. I helped tuck him back in and redid his pants and belt before I finally stood.

“Wait,” he whispered as his hand gripped the back of my upper thigh. He lifted my skirt a bit and his eyes went molten as he saw the mess of pearly white fluid slowly dripping from me. He dragged his hand up, his thumb gathering what had escaped and he used it to circle my clit as I squeaked.

“Sy, home first, then you can have your birthday present as many times as you want,” I’m pretty sure I was pleading at that point, not because I necessarily wanted him to stop, but because I never wanted him to and I needed somewhere where we were safe to get lost in each other for hours.

He huffed but moved my underwear back into place, giving a light slap over my abused cunt that had me jumping. His laughter rang out through the area and I couldn’t stop the smile that split my lips as I offered him a hand.

“Happy Birthday Sylus.”

[featherwingbrushes]

Hi Hii! I see you have requests open, and I wanted to make a request for a fic! :)

Murder trio try to go hunting only to get outsmarted and fall into a giggle bug (fluffy version of the robo bugs) nest and get the daylights tickled out of em

or smth with tickle critters.

Very tired from being a writer most of the time (and thanks to school), just need a lil break from it yk?

Thanks and have a nice day! :)

Comin’ right up! Sorry it took a bit, school and all as well 😮‍💨

Anyway straight onto the fic! I always loved ur fics and u were probably my biggest inspiration to start writing for the fandom :3

Infamous giggle bug time >:D

I used some script from ur Uzi fic tho when the message pops up from the bug so it’s more accurate

Mission Derailed by the Cleaner Crew

A trio fic abt the Disassembly Drones squad! Decided that this is after the events of the season so they’re on slightly better terms and N isn’t being as abused

Lee!J, Lee!V, Lee!N & Ler!GiggleBugs

Onto the story!

“Keep up, you slowpokes. We don’t have all night, and at this rate the sun will be up by the time you both crawl out of your stupid hole of a bunker.”

“Oh shut up, J. You’re not our squad leader anymore. Haven’t you learned by now that your authority means zilch?” V scoffed in response, brushing past the silver pigtailed-drone with an agitated flick of her wire tail. “And you’re not much better than N and I, just clinging to the busted-up space ship instead of taking shelter with us.”

J just gave her an offended glare, but rolled her digital eyes and decided to keep walking, managing to be a step in front of V again.

The trio was out on a mission, and J had finally rejoined V and N after a tense period of months being isolated in the ship within the corpse spire. Rather reluctantly, she might add, although the tiniest part of her maybe felt an old sense of normalcy and contentment with just the three of them as a squad again. Out like they used to be, with rather similar bickering. Just not as heavy topics to reference unlike the present.

“Wait— Wait guys, wait up!” N blurted out, scrambling to catch up after her had taken a bit too long chatting and saying goodbye to Uzi.

He quickly fell in step with the other two, though J insistently tried to keep ahead. “Well I prefer not to fully exist alongside the barely sentient toasters you call ‘friends’ instead of JUST food, which is what they should be.”

“Y’know, if you ever actually tried to get to know one of those ‘toasters’, you’d see they’re not that different from us. Well, maybe just different from you, since not all of them are such prejudiced, corporate-brainwashed asshats.”

“Hey, I object to that statement! I stopped following Cyn, thank you very much. I just know the difference in quality between myself and… others.”

“Oh, are you fucking implying—”

“OHO—KAY, guys, calm down, we’re not here to rip each other’s throats out.” N swiftly intervened, moving to stand between the two with a nervous smile, glancing at the both of them.

V just rolled her eyes and turned her head away, whereas J shot him an even sharper glare. He shrunk away from it on instinct, but took a breath and straightened a little back up, trying to remember what Uzi had told him. Right. Don’t just bend over backwards for J. She’s… scary, but she’s not the same anymore. She’ll bark, but won’t bite… as hard.

V gave him a slight look of pride for silently holding his own against J, although she’d never admit to it. Can’t give him too much credit so easily.

J just scoffed wordlessly and pushed the pilot aside, reinserting herself between him and V out of sheer stubbornness. She didn’t like giving up her leading position, as thin of strings as she could grasp in her situation.

N took that as his cue to just keep going, smile back on his face as he successfully got past another tense interaction with J. “Okie-dokie then. Now remember, we’re on two missions tonight. One is just to scout for any remains of the Solver. The other is just… hunting, at J’s insistence.”

“That’s what we’re meant to DO, you dolt. Of course I insist we hunt.” J huffed, earning another nasty look from V.

“ANYWAY. J, you get this incredibly rare chance to take us on a hunt, but don’t expect it to be common. Uzi let us go because we don’t have enough donors right now and we’re far enough away so that we don’t hunt down anyone from her Colony. Just stragglers.” V reaffirmed N’s statements, being more specific to dissuade her old squad mate from forming a belief that this would be a normal thing again.

J didn’t bother to stifle a hiss at that, her tail giving an angry lash. “Oh Uzi said this, Uzi said that— I don’t care what that angst-filled microwave has to say. I’m only going along with this whole weird new life of yours because there’s nothing better to do without a corporate overshadowing our duties.”

“Well you better start caring. That drone is the bane of my existence but she’s our admin now, and by extension, your admin.” V retorted, reaching over to harshly jab at one of the five nanite-filled LED lights in J’s headband, causing the other drone to let out a sharper agitated hiss.

V wouldn’t really verbally admit that she listened to Uzi somewhat because she viewed her as a friend, just as N did, but that was for another time. This was just for the sake of snapping back at J.

“Agh. Only on paper.”

“Well, not on paper, more like—”

“Okay, not again.” N sighed, deciding to not loudly interject in this developing argument this time. Might as well let them air it all out for now.

The three kept walking, figuring it wasn’t an immediate concern to hunt down anything yet, so they went on foot. They traversed far enough away from the bunker to be sure there was no accidental consumption of a known Worker from the Colony, as per Uzi’s begrudging request.

Right now the trio was trekking through a ruined city, debris and rubble scattered everywhere from the initial invasion of Copper-9 by the Disassembly Drones and Solver itself. The buildings were corroded and crumbling, car wrecks littered along the roads, frozen skeletons were dotted here and there. But at least the stars were twinkling above despite the dystopian environment.

There was just a little bit of breeze, the occasional little creak of a settling ruin and such breaking the soundless atmosphere, but otherwise it was silent.

Well, besides the continued heated yapping between V and J, that is. Which N was subjected to during the entire trip. Not that he was much of a complainer, happy to be “doing anything”, but even he would rather not listen to the hostile words being catapulted back at one another.

He absently kicked a little pile of rubble as they continued trudging along, hands in his coat pockets as he heaved a small weary sigh. He’d forgotten how often the two female drones clashed even back when they hunted together, as rare as it was for them to go as a trio all at once. But it seemed worse now.

Looking for a potential target, or really just anything to distract him, his gaze wandered around the devastated city. Completely dirty and strewn with the wreckage, never to be— Oh. His thoughts were interrupted.

“What was that?” He piped up, not too loud, but enough to accidentally draw J and V’s attention.

“What was what, moron-bot?”

“What is it, idiot?”

Not even picking up on the usual insults from the both of them, N listened for another scurrying sound before he simply pointed to something he spotted a few feet away. “That.”

It was a little mechanical cricket-roach, only a few inches tall and wide, sitting atop a ruined car. A surprisingly clean car, the metal practically buffed to perfection to boot. Odd. The rest of the cars in the vicinity were the same, apparently. They hadn’t noticed that when they first arrived.

The critter was a little keybug of sorts, with a few modifications. The most prominent thing about it was that it was glowing a striking pink, instead of the usual orangey-red or green like StringBean (Hehe reference :3).

The trio drew a little closer out of curiosity, though J and V were more wary of the little bug than N, who took a few steps closer.

The bug’s little pink lights flashed every so often, maybe a glitch, perhaps? The oddest thing about it was it had fluffy pink… fur? More specifically, little pink puff balls as the ends of their antennae, and little puffs on their front-most appendages as well. Pink buffer pads? He also had stumpy little legs rather than sharp angular ones.

“Aw, look at him! He’s such a cute little guy. Like a lil cheerleader!” N beamed at the critter, reaching out to wave a finger at it, wanting to play with the creature before J and V inevitably tried to squash the innocent thing or something.

“Yeah, pompoms and pink seems to be a thing among cheerleaders too.” V side-eyed the bug warily as she now stood beside N, though briefly thinking back to Lizzy at the mention.

J, on the other hand, was more actively scrutinizing the tiny pink-lit roach, an uneasy feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t like how it was just… sitting there. Flashing lights. Almost like it was… trying to draw them in. “…N, V. Get back over here. I don’t like this thing. It’s untrustworthy.”

“Oh it’s probably, fine, J. Now you’re worried about a bug, of all things? It’s just a little pink pest. Ooooh, so scary~!” V half-taunted in return, slight smirk gracing her lips with the last part before turning her attention back to the bug.

“Relax, J. He’s just a silly little cheerleader. Probably was a pet or something before the whole takeover thing. C’mere lil’ guy!” N cast J a smile before looking back to the mechanical roach, gently scooping it up in his hands from the car’s shiny clean surface.

It slowly crawled around the palm of his hand for a moment, antennae twitching with whatever it was perceiving.

“Awh, I don’t have any hex nuts for ya, buddy. Sorry.” The pilot smiled apologetically to the curious bug, figuring it was just peckish and searching for something to consume.

Then the bug stilled for a moment, pupil-less neon pink eyes seemingly flitting over the three drones in the vicinity before suddenly emitting loud squeaks, nearly piercing the air itself from the abruptness. The trio yelped and N nearly dropped the robotic insect, J and V instantly deploying their guns aimed at the tiny creature out of defensive habit after jumping back. They exchanged glances, both somewhat embarrassed over the slight overreaction, now playing it off with the same casual expressions as they avoided each others’ gaze, retracting weapons.

N meanwhile was trying to gently hush the bug, apologizing to it as best as he could. “H-Hey, hey, I’m sorry little buddy, I just don’t have any hex nuts! I’m sure you can just scavenge for food, yeah? Yeah.” And he set it back down on the hood of the car, expecting it to just scurry off into the crumbling buildings.

But the squeaks grow sharper, louder, more frantic. The call rang out across the dystopianly ruined city, reverberating against the buildings, practically turning the city street into a resounding echo chamber.

“Why won’t that thing shut up?? N, what did you do to it??”

“I— I didn’t do anything, V! I promise! I just don’t have food to give it!”

“You mentioned food to it in the first place?? WHY??”

“Well why not? Can they understand us?? I thought only Uzi’s keybug could do that!”

“Well I don’t know, but it sure as hell seems—”

“HEY. You two idiots pay attention! Look!” J cut V off, smacking V’s tail with her own wire as she motioned to the building crumbling behind the clean car. A few more blinking pink lights had appeared, the number slowly growing, pairs and pairs flashing into existence within the shadows.

All three drones tensed up, ready to bolt the moment anything jumped out at them.

And sure enough, something did.

A horde of the neon-lit fluffy roaches sprung out from the debris, scurrying at lightning speed towards the drones. The three immediately deployed their wings and tried to launch off, but were already swarmed by the bugs by the time their blades were spread. The three only lasted a few seconds before topping over, dropping to the ground and covered in those little bugs.

“What— WHAT’S GOING ON?? V?? J??”

“FUCK, I THINK THAT BUGGER WAS BAIT!”

“OH I TOLD YOU SO, YOU— AH!”

J was cut off, biting down on her lip on instinct when she felt the little roaches skitter within her uniform dress, underneath the fabric and roaming along the bare metal. Against her will, she found giggles bubbling up in her throat, and they were the first to escape out of the three. She couldn’t help it, not when they began scurrying around her stomach. “STAHAHAP IHIHIT THIHIS IHIHINSTAHAHNT!”

V and N were shocked to hear the surprisingly prominent giggles of their stoic ex-squad leader teammate, but didn’t have much time to process before overcome with the mechanical pests themselves.

V felt them skittering all over her exposed torso, definitely not helped by the fact that her standard regulation D.D. jacket was cropped. Crawling quickly up and down her sides, their little pitter-pattering on her ribs, she was reduced to a fit of giggles alongside J in a matter of seconds. “G-Get— Gehehet OHOHOFF mehehee yohou— y-yohohou pehehests!!”

“PLEHEHEHEASE?? We— W-We’ll leheheave yohohohou ahahall alohohohone!” N wasn’t faring much better, with the little bugs crawling all over him as well. They slipped under his coat no-problem, skittering their repeated paths up and down his sides as well, over his stomach. Even down to his shoe-like feet.

They were all being swarmed, no signs of stopping. This went on for at least another minute, with the Disassembly Drones wriggling around on the snowy asbestos-powdered ground, covered with the pink-puffed bugs from head to toe. Their insults (V and J) and pleas falling on deaf, nonexistent ears.

Then all the sudden, everything stopped, and the drones quickly fell silent beyond panting for artificial breath. The three of them exchanged glances, J and V more embarrassed over their reactions than their resident golden retriever. Then they peered down at the bugs just resting on top of them.

“Wh-What— What wahas that? Why— Why’d they do that??” N piped up, a little breathless as he stared down at a few of the bugs.

“I— I don’t know. I’ve never seen these stupid fluff balls before.” V hissed at the little roaches, but they didn’t budge off her even when she raised a hand to lightly smack at them.

J sighed, shakily propping herself up. “I think I’ve heard of— of these things. They’re like cleaner bots. We had them around the Manor occasionally. Sometimes drones were sent to them if they were too dirty to the Elliots’ liking. I thought they were wiped out.”

“Cleaner bots? Giggle bugs is more like it.” N chuckled a little nervously, gaze flickering back down to the pink-lit insects. “They tickle really bad.”

”Yeah, unfortunate side effect.” She mumbled, a slight cringe to her expression. She hated these things.

One of the bugs skittered a little closer, on top of N’s chest. The movement drew the three’s attention, gazes cautious.

“Scanning complete, 35%, 45%, and 60% of Disassembly Drone metal has dulled! Initiating buffing sequence in 5 seconds!" 

“Do not worry! This will not hurt one bit! :]”

”J. J, what the fuck does that mean.”

“J, can you tell us— HEHEHEHEEHEY!!”

N’s questioning was cut off by a loud peal of laughter, dissolving into bubbly giggles again as the little critters suddenly sprung to life once more, this time using their little pink buffer pads to brush them all over any bit of metal they could get their pompoms on.

V and J erupted into cackles again as well, the little puffs buffing every spot in their reach. Be it underneath their uniforms, their harder to reach little points like the crooks of their necks and the small hollows of their underarms, to the blades of their wings— which J was especially losing it from, trying her best to fling off the mischievous giggle bugs. Shooting them proved useless, since they were on her and she shouldn’t even bother trying.

So the trio laid there in hysterics, laughter and profanity and pleas ringing out in the city instead of those squeaky calls. Not a single drone would arrive to save them, not after they traveled so far from the Colony. So this wore on for a good few minutes.

Fifteen or so minutes later, the fluffy buffers finally ceased, scattering off the worn-out Disassembly Drones and leaving them there in an exhausted giggly heap.

V was the first to recover enough to shakily prop herself up with an arm behind her, other arm weakly clutching at her waist, trying to rub away the lingering tingles from the pink fluffy pompoms.

“Sequence completed! Drones restored to premium condition. :]”

Alittle pop-up read from the closest cleaner.

V was quick to switch out her hand for a gun, firing a warning shot near the little critter, the loud boom startling the entire horde, sending them scrambling off to where they came form. Probably some nest in the area.

Then she flopped back down beside the others, taking an extra minute to breathe. A few minutes later the silence was broken, and the trio got up from the snowy street.

“Ugh… We’re never going near this area again.”

“For once, I’ll agree with you.” J sighed, tiredly dusting herself off. Not that there was any dust, which the three soon realized.

“Hey! Look, we’re all shiny!” N gleefully pointed out, gesturing to the way his white metal gleamed, just as the others did. “Guess those cleaners work well! As uh, tickly as they are.”

“Yeah, but not worth that torture.” V just scoffed, beginning to walk away. “Let’s get out of here. We can hunt somewhere else or check if there’s enough donors back at the bunker now.”

“I’m so done with this wasteland of a planet. And we are NEVER speaking of this again.” J grumbled under her breath, but begrudgingly fell in step beside V.

“Well it wasn’t THAT bad.” N quickly followed, but not before a quick glance back over at that shiny car, where the little giggle bug had stationed itself again.

It gave a little wave with its pompom, and he gave it a small smile and wave back.

———

Ok so that was it! Tell me if yall liked it! I hope u enjoyed it Floof :3

finished in school lol

.

[numinousmysteries]

A Revelation

Okay, deep breath. I know what I'm about say isn't going to win me any friends in the X-Files fandom (and I'll probably lose more than a few) but it's time I be true to myself.

I've had this feeling bubbling up for a while that I've been trying to suppress because I know it's not a popular opinion but I figure now is as good a day as any to let everyone know....I am a noromo. I don't think Mulder and Scully are a good match. I just like the show for the scary stories and Chris Carter's genius plot.

Wow, just writing that gives me so much relief. I know I've been reblogging shippy gif sets and writing MSR fics but recently it's started to feel hollow. I'm so excited to live my truth as a born-again noromo.

If you like any of my fic, consider saving it now because I'll probably be taking it down and replacing it with stories that are more aligned with how I view the series now. I'm telling you, the ideas have just been FLOWING since I freed myself to write what I truly feel. I have two snippets I'll post here just as a taste of what's to come.

Here's an alternate take on the Amor Fati ending, and one for the Memento Mori hallway scene: AMOR FATI ALTERNATE ENDING

When Mulder opens the door to his apartment, bandaged head barely hidden under a New York Yankees cap, Scully feels nothing but professional respect. He has been her coworker for seven years after all. 

“Scully, what are you doing here?” He asks. “Actually, I was just getting dressed to come see you but I... I couldn't find a tie to go with my victory cap.” 

She knows he doesn’t really mean he was going to come see her, but rather come to the office where she also happens to work. 

If he were her romantic love interest and not just a coworker, Scully would consider taking his cap off and playfully tugging at his tie, but that would be completely inappropriate. They are just professional coworkers afterall. 

“Diana Fowley was found murdered this morning,” Scully tells him. Since Diana was the love of his life, she wanted to tell him this in person as soon as possible instead of in an official FBI memo as she originally planned. It does cross the line of professionalism, showing up in his personal space like this, but she knows how much Diana meant to him. Unlike herself, who is just a coworker to him.

“Thanks for letting me know, Agent Scully,” Mulder says, sadly. Diana was the love of his life afterall.

“Of course, Agent Mulder,” Scully says. She thinks about shaking his hand but instead just hands him the paperwork she brought with her. “Please make sure to file this PTO request for your brain surgery in a timely manner. Have a nice afternoon.”

She turns and walks away. 

**

MEMENTO MORI ALTERNATE HALLWAY SCENE

After retrieving Agent Scully’s ova from the Lombard Research Facility, Mulder decides it would only be polite and professional to let her know what he’s found. He returns to the hospital where he’s greeted by a stern nurse.

“Can I help you sir?” She asks.

“I'd like to see my professional work colleague, Agent Dana Scully. She’s a patient here,” he says.

“Are you family? Her husband?” 

“Oh no,” Mulder laughs. “I’m just her professional coworker.”

“Well then you’ll have to come back in the morning. Visiting hours are over.” 

Mulder nods. That makes sense. Why would he visit his totally platonic coworker in the middle of the night? He feels silly for even considering it now. 

“Thank you,” he says politely to the nurse. “I’ll return at a more appropriate hour for someone just visiting a colleague.” 

He turns and leaves.

[blindbeta]

I've noticed that you are interested in stories with multiple blind characters and often propose adding more blind characters to a story as a solution. I really struggle with this because it's not as simple as that -- stories don't have infinite narrative space. The idea that every story has a large cast is influenced by the prevalence of long serialized media in fandom: webcomics, TV shows, etc. But many writers (myself included) write a lot of novellas and short stories which often only have a few characters -- maybe even only 1 or 2! Even novels don't usually have huge expansive casts -- maybe 5 main characters with some additional side characters.

Considering this, I don't understand how it's realistic for every story (or even, say, 50% of stories) to have multiple blind characters (without it feeling forced). This is compounded by the fact that most blogs that talk about other forms of representation say the same! So if I write a 2-character short story and the protagonist is a blind Latino man, does the second character also have to be a blind Latino man? It just doesn't make sense! This is just a general problem I've noticed in discussions around representation -- there's an assumption that every cast will have 10+ characters and narrative space to develop those characters, even though that's not realistic for most narrative forms.

Do you have any thoughts on this?

Writing Multiple Blind Characters in Short Stories

Hi Anon! Surprise. I write short stories as well. I have experience with this. I have never felt like my blind characters were forced or unrealistic, even with having several of them in the same story. I’ll try to explain what might help you.

First, the idea that multiple blind characters is forced or unrealistic comes from ableism. Think about why you feel there is a limit on disabled characters. If you can create stories, I would hope you are creative enough to consider the possibility that multiple blind characters could exist in the same place and time. Challenging this barrier opens up more possibilities, allowing you to explore different types of blindness, different reactions to it, different upbringings, and multiple ways of living, adapting, and navigating being blind.

Second, blind characters need access to their own community. This is where they learn how to be blind. This where they get support. This is where they might find understanding and belonging. You can find more information about community here in an excellent reblog. Also, here.

As you mentioned, I often suggest adding more blind characters when writers insist upon using stereotyped portrayals. Having multiple characters with different experiences helps to make your story more realistic and nuanced, contrary to what people might implicitly believe. Having more than one blind character is something I highly recommend because it helps with not having all your representation rest on the shoulders of one character.

For example, if you are worried a main character who has cloudy eyes might reinforce the idea that all blind people have cloudy eyes, having another blind character with a different experience may help. If one of your blind characters is naive and innocent, you might have another blind character who is brash, displays a lack of trust in others, and has a lot of shocking stories. Maybe they’re in a rock band together. They met while playing blind football (aka soccer) on a middle school team. They bonded over their pet cats and sour patch kids.

Or something.

Another important thing to remember when writing is that you have control over the story. Too many writers come to me feeling stuck because they feel they cannot change their story while also wanting to incorporate my suggestions. This makes it challenging to address implicit bias or stereotypes, much less guide writers in going in different directions.

Additionally, I feel uncomfortable with the complaints about other blogs in this ask. I feel like this isn’t really about me, nor is it something I can comment on. I will say that it sounds as if a bunch of blogs dedicated to helping people write marginalized characters are mentioning some of the same things. They are probably doing so for a reason.

However, while it helps, writing multiple blind characters won’t improve every story, which I explained in my review of the book Blind. I was not impressed with this book. I did not feel that the four blind characters were very good, nor did having them help with offsetting the portrayal of blindness as a miserable experience.

Conversely, one of my favorite blind characters is Toph Beifong from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Despite being the only blind character in the show, the writers did a good job with her. Would I have liked her to meet more of her community as she travels with the Gang? Absolutely. Even though I like her, she still never had access to her community after being isolated by her parents for so long.

So, no, you don’t need to have multiple blind characters if the suggestion bothers you this much. I even provided good examples of what to do, what not to do, and times where my typical advice was not as helpful for the resulting story.

However, please consider where these feelings stem from. Consider the origins of the idea that having multiple blind characters is unrealistic. Using the example you provided in your question, I wonder, would you say the same if both your characters were white and abled? Is there any way you can challenge the fear of seeming unrealistic? What about being considered unrealistic bothers you so much?

You don’t necessarily need to have characters in the story for them to exist. Even background characters can help. I will try to give some ideas for this:

Does your blind character have family they can talk about or remember? Are any of their family members blind?

Do they have any friends? Just because the friends aren’t in the story doesn’t mean they don’t exist at all.

Does the blind character have any formative memories or flashbacks?

Does the character who isn’t blind know any blind folks?

Your characters should have lives outside of the story. They should have memories and experiences that made them who they are. This is where you can have other blind characters. Perhaps this is how your blind character can have a community.

However, I would still like to see more blind characters interacting with each other. This is what I want as a blind person. If you don’t want to go that direction, that’s fine.

I hope this helps.

[redvexillum]

Content Warning: Vexi's Feels

I usually try and keep my personal feelings out of this blog. This space started as a place for my stories, a little corner to dive into the fandoms I love. But along the way, something truly special happened—I made friends here, and I found a community that feels like a second home. Before I knew it, this blog became more than just a place to share stories; it became a place to connect, to open up, and to share bits of my heart.

Lately, though, my mental health has felt strained. With everything happening in the world, life's shenanigans, and seasonal depression hitting me with a 10 ton hammer, the weight is real and hard to ignore. This post isn’t here to ask anyone to hold back; your feelings of fear, anxiety, and sadness are valid, and you deserve to be seen and heard.

But if you’re like me, and you need a little light in your feed—just that spark of hope—then I’m here for you. Starting tomorrow, every morning at 7:00 a.m. EST, I’ll be posting a positive message. It’s something I’m doing for myself, but I want to share it with anyone else who might need it, too. Words hold so much power, and sometimes, even a simple "we’re going to be okay" can remind us of our resilience.

Everyone is welcome to join and share their own positive messages. Feel free to brighten your own blog if you want to, because I’d love to see more positivity filling up the dashboard. If this isn’t for you right now, please feel free to block the tag #Vexi throws love punches. This is me, holding onto a little hope, and offering it to anyone else who needs it, too. Let’s get through this together. ❤️

[zenkindoflove]

I've been thinking about this question a lot, and I like your thoughtful answers to fandom, so I'm gonna shoot my shot so feel free to delete this.

Do you think there's space for unity and/or peace in the ACOTAR fandom (everyone goes their own ways and just does their own thing in their sub-communities)?

I have thoughts, but I'm curious about what you're going to say!

Oh boy. This is a doozy to answer. I’m going to put my thoughts under a cut because it’s mostly going to be me rambling about how I think fandom has changed in the last ten years and also some thoughts I have about the ACOTAR fandom specifically and what I’ve observed in the last year and a half I’ve been active here.

My tldr answer is: No. I do not think there is anyway we will ever just get along and find peace.

I’ve been reflecting for a while on why that is, and I have some overall theories. The first is something I think that is true about fandoms in general these days and is completely outside of our control.

I think social media has created more toxicity in fandom, and the biggest driving factor is that social media forces us to socialize with each other by valuing individualism. In the days before all these big social media sites, in order to engage with fandom (or the internet in general) you had to seek out communal spaces on your own based around a specific interest. You were always a guest/visitor in these spaces, and there were norms set in place for how to interact and engage with people. Now, the big websites that we all interact with each other on (tumblr included) requires us to create profile pages that we curate to represent who we are. We see our blogs as the “content” we create - both as a personal diary and a way to express our individuality and “authentic selves” that we share. Now, there is some value to that, but I think what it does is it makes us exist on these different platforms with a “me” first mindset. This is MY blog and I’ll say and express whatever I WANT.

But the reality is that there are communal spaces that exist on these platforms too. Such as the tagging system on tumblr. Tags are designed to be followed and ways to project your thoughts and share them with a community. And yet we still must do that from our home territory – our blogs. The posts co-exist in both spaces. And try as we might to enforce best practices and rules of how to use these spaces, people still are aggressively ego-centric in how they want to engage because they see their profile as their territory.

I don’t think that there is any way to request people to not act that way. Of course we want to curate and have freedom of expression in our own spaces. And we try to encourage ways for people to not see things they aren’t going to like (blocking, filtering tags, etc). But ultimately, to form community on these sites, we have to essentially follow people instead of only interacting with them in these communal spaces – which opens us up to basically witnessing every thought they have.

I think that is wherein lies the problem. We see things we don’t want to see, opinions or takes that irritate us, from people we otherwise enjoy. And this is fandom. We feel strongly about the subject matter no matter how you slice it. Otherwise we wouldn’t be here. I just don’t think we were meant to know all of this about each other. No matter what, you’re going to see something that pisses you off, and then cue the antics where people try to feel righteous or justify their irritation by stirring up shit. And on and on it goes.

I say this as someone who very much as participated in and perpetuated this cycle. I include myself in the offenders because after all – I am ultimately a stubborn, passionate human who wants to gossip and fight if I see something unjust. I am not immune, and I have observed this exact mindset in how I see my own behaviors.

Now – for the ACOTAR fandom specifically – I think we are basically this problem on steroids. I think partly it’s because of the nature of the fanbase. For so many people in this fandom – this is their FIRST fandom. While that is a beautiful thing, it also means a lot of people come into this space not understanding the norms of fandoms in general that have tried to address avoiding toxicity in the past. I also think that, frankly, a lot of people coming here from the bookish space are bringing in very weird ideas about censorship and shipping beliefs that essentially makes us have the same exact conversation over and over again – all because they still need to go through fandom university to unlearn a lot of the bullshit other places on the internet have ingrained in them.

I also think that the nature of this series – serial romances with a large cast of characters – it makes our fandom more fragmented then I have seen in other fandoms. We don’t just have one or two big shipper groups – we have multiples and they all have distinct flavors and personalities of how they interact with other groups and each other. This goes beyond just the toxicity of the ship war. A lot of toxicity exists within shipping groups or between shippers/stans for characters you would otherwise think wouldn’t have an issue with each other, and I think that is in large part because there are several competing interests and a lot of value placed on popularity. We see followers and post stats as currency (as is true for how social media works in general), and we use that in how we judge each other and whose voices matter.

I guess to not be totally doom and gloom, I do think there are ways to mitigate the toxicity. And that is finding a smaller group of like-minded people and forming a group chat or discord server with them. It won’t stop it completely. I think the most important element of this is finding people who you share the same interests - not just the same frustrations. You’ll still gossip and blow off steam and talk about what the new drama and bullshit that is going on in either your side or another side of the fandom. That's normal. But having time to really talk about the things you like and be positive is much more fruitful than only relating to each other because of what you all dislike. Search for people who are also looking to get the same out of fandom as you are, such as earnest connections rather than “reach” or “engagement”. Make friends because you share interests and how you think about the characters you love instead of who you think will make you more popular.

TBF, I have never been in a fandom that has known true peace, but I do think there is something unique with the ACOTAR fandom and how it really insists on playing all the top hits of worse fandom behavior on a loop. For me – I think taking a step back recently from how I’m participating in this fandom and the role I have within it has changed where I’m putting my energy. I do not see myself being here for a long time, but I do want to have a good time. I've been in enough fandoms to know my "Best by" date, and while I'm here, I'm trying my best to make the most of it.

[mithrilhearts]

Yes, I'm alive, and I have a lot to say.

It's been a while (for me anyway), and currently I am taking a different approach to my life—what makes me happy? The start of this year has been hard for me mentally, and had it not been for a select few, I probably wouldn't be here right now. January was a very scary time in my life, to put it simply...

That said, it's given me a lot of time to sit and reflect on what I want in my life and who I want in my life, with many things to consider.

I'm engaging with new hobbies to help keep my mind at bay and to venture into new business opportunities and expand what I already do. I'm getting into creating things like soap, body scrubs, candles, etc., which has been a lot of research and fun planning. I'm very excited to keep doing these things and see where it takes me—I plan to open an online shop very soon for this!

I'm keeping myself busy—I'm playing games, I'm still writing fanfic (albeit a lot slower and more infrequently), and I'm focusing on my job(s) as best as I can. I'm taking life day by day and trying to find things to look forward to, even when things seem very bleak.

Now, what does 2025 bring?

I'm going to the Shinedown concert this summer, which has me over the moon excited! I've planned a week off from work in July as well to recharge and hopefully get myself out there even more with other little local events (festivals, farmer's markets, anything to get me out and about). I'm also scheduled to get a new tattoo next month, one that has a lot of meaning and can join my otherwise "Tolkien Arm" to kind of break up the theme a bit—some Amaryllis flowers!

Fanfic has ultimately been tossed to the backseat of my life, and I am not sure how it will play out in the future. I love writing, and I love the source materials from which I've written and participated in, but a lot of that enjoyment for actual "FANDOM" kind of went down the drain a long time ago with drama and whatnot that simply didn't need to happen.

I am going to take an indefinite hiatus from Tumblr and other socials of a similar vein. I have made some incredible friendships along the way through my fandom journey, even if some of them have fizzled out due to changes in interest or other fandom-related nonsense as mentioned above. It doesn't really need a second thought from me anymore. I can't regret the friendships or the morals I stood behind, but I also can't sit and linger on the "what if" or "why" something is or isn't happening. It's been a lot of thinking on my side, but I want to focus on my life outside of the internet (I want a positive mental health space, and unfortunately, fandom just doesn't give me that luxury).

Taking a step back from online life and focusing on myself has made an astronomical difference in my mood, so I’m going to keep up with that for now. I appreciate those of you who have been super supportive during this time when I've been struggling to figure out how to live. Thank you so much for reaching out, especially early on; I apologize for that concerning post I had dropped in January, talking about self-harm. I'm still alive, and I'm doing SO MUCH BETTER already.

For now, this is goodbye, but keep your eyes peeled on AO3 because I'm still posting fic, though as stated above, much slower than before.

I won't be checking Tumblr too much from here on out, but I'll give it a peek just in case now and again. 💖

Thank you for the support over the years, and remember, it will be sunny one day.

-- Mithrilhearts (aka Maeve, aka Razzy - lordoftherazzles)

[putschki1969]

Hello Sarah,

First of all, thank you for the insight on the matter. I know you are super busy and not in the perfect mood (trust me I'm not doing any better) considering what happened, so I leave it up to you if you want to post this or not as it may be abit too dark of a message.

I know these past couple of days have been disheartening and disappointing, especially when you feel powerless to do something right now other than support the girls.

Part of me was thinking, "Why we the fans don't do something about it?", like signing a petition with a respectful message towards Yuki to reconsider, and for the future FJ/YKL events (since this year has already been decided) to include Keiko (and Hikaru, Wakana if possible) again.

However, I'm also thinking that this may add fuel to the fire and maybe it's something that the girls and Keiko foremost would not want us to do, considering how subtle and professional she was in her statement.

I'm not gonna lie that with all this s...show, makes me worry about Keiko's wellbeing.

Seeing 20 years worth of work thrown out of the window from someone who you have utmost respect and getting the silent treatment from people you have long friendships it's a tough pill to swallow.

Considering what we have seen with other Japanese celebrities over the years, it's a thought that gives me shudders.

Now, we never know what is going on behind the scenes, and I pray that the connections are still there.

Apologies if my message got a bit dark there, but some tend to forget that we're dealing with human beings.

Hopefully, we will have some good news in the near future to turn things around. We really need a breather after all this. For every low, there's a high as they say! 🙏

Hi there!

Thank you for being so considerate. I am in fact having a very hard time right now. Questions are piling up in my inbox and every post inspires a new wave of replies. It's a uphill battle for sure. But don't worry, it's mostly my fault for feeling too overwhelmed and not knowing when to stop🙃. I want to try my best to clarify the situation as best as possible and to answer any open question. I also feel the need to explain myself if things didn't come across properly. Oh well, in short, I am happy to reply to your ask even if it's a tricky topic.

Hmm, yeah, I don't think petitions directed at creators or artists are ever a good idea. I'm actually strictly against them. Even if we hate the current developments, we have ultimately no choice but to respect those decisions or move on to another fandom that brings us more joy. Of course we can be critical and question all the things that are happening but we should always do it in a contained space, in our own little fandom corner, far away from any of the involved parties. With a delicate matter such as this, it would probably cause more harm than good to publicly express our dissatisfaction and make demands. Everything in this feud boils down to keeping your head low, avoiding confrontation, being quiet and not disclosing any valuable information.

And yes, as you say, based on Keiko's comment, she would definitely not want us to do anything drastic that would draw attention to us. and could potentially make Yuki look bad. She has taken this decision in stride so as her fans, we should probably be able to do so as well. It's gonna take a little while longer but that's basically what I'm working towards. Just have to get rid of some of my bitterness.

Keiko is strong, I think we don't have to worry about her. She has stayed true to her word in her last Yodel message and gone back to her regular routine as if nothing happened. Like always, she has been wishing us a good morning with a funny emoji, she has given us glimpses into her work day and made sure to emphasise how much fun she's been having (probably to give us some peace of mind). Yesterday, she apparently had a super fun photo shoot. Many of the photos will be useless because of her cracking up and laughing like crazy [She didn't specify but I think this might have been for a new calendar? I wouldn't know what other things she would do a photo shoot for. Maybe the Undokai festival will have a pamphlet or something? I don't know.] Today was filled with lots of meetings [Once again, no idea what for but I'm kinda hopeful it was Kalafina related since Hikaru's tweet about starting "another task" for the day - implying that she had been doing something else before - came around the same time as Keiko's message on Yodel, saying that she was done with interviews for the day] . She got home pretty late but apparently she had a blast and time went by super quickly. She treated herself to some chocolate and sent an adorable picture. I cannot possibly gatekeep this precious photo so here you go!

For my part, I am confident that none of their connections are severed. It's a rough patch for sure and what is being conveyed to he public seems very harsh. But there's so much more going on behind the scenes. I wish there wouldn't be so many missing puzzle pieces but that's just something we have to live with. Do you remember when everyone believed that the connection with Wakana was lost? None of that was true. And I never believed it to be true. I always had faith and I shall continue to have faith.

Yes, let's stay positive!! Hikaru herself just recently said that life balances itself out, good things will follow for sure.

[ndrv3expert1]

Why Post Game AUs Hit Different

Hear me out, okay? Post-Game AUs in the sense of Danganronpa hold a special place in my heart. They’re what first brought me into the fandom space, they’re some of the first fics and fanart I made, and yeah, I know it’s kind of weird, but there’s just something about them that I can’t shake.

When I first sat down to write this, I stared at a blank screen for hours. I really wanted to talk about this topic, especially since no one else seems to have tackled it in depth before. But I was stuck. At first, all I could think was, "I want the V3 cast to be happy and alive," and, "I love angst."

However, after re-reading some of my favorite post-game fanfictions and really reflecting on them, I realized there’s so much more to this AU than I initially thought.

Post-game AUs are so compelling because they dive deep into themes like healing, found family, rediscovering happiness, self-identity, and the truth about fame.

These themes are what make the stories emotionally impactful and really connect with readers. They make you think, and they allow the audience to resonate with the characters and the world they inhabit.

For example, when I read about Kaede digging her nails into her neck, desperately trying to pry off the chain that dragged her to her execution—a chain she never actually wore—it makes me stop and think. It makes me feel something.

Or when I read about Maki having nightmares about killing people and being tortured, even though she never actually did. Those moments resonate deeply, and I find myself thinking about them long after I’ve finished reading.

Then there’s Kokichi, atoning for his past mistakes and opening up, allowing himself to be vulnerable. And when I see Ryoma discovering that there are people who genuinely care about him, it hits so hard.

It’s like watching that final, epic battle in a movie that everything’s been building toward. It’s satisfying, and it gives you an ending you can feel content with.

I know a lot of people complain about V3’s open ending, but honestly, if there had been a definitive conclusion, we might not have gotten all the creativity that’s poured into post-game fanfics and fanart. The beauty of that open ending is that it left so much room for fans to craft their own narratives—nothing feels too absurd because there was no ending at all.

And I’m not going to talk about every single post-game fan art or fanfic that’s completely changed my view and perception of post-game, but some of these fics have inspired thoughts that go beyond just the post-game world For example, It’s Just Showbiz got me thinking about the reality TV side of fame and made me start headcanoning Tenko as a trans woman, which I hadn’t considered before.

Here Comes the Sun shifted my perception of Kiyo, showing me a different side of him that I hadn’t thought about in the context of the original story.

The Friends We Used to Know led me to a rabbit hole of exploring platonic Chabahara, which opened my mind to new dynamics between characters.

These fanfics didn’t just change how I think about post-game—they expanded how I view the characters and their potential after the events of the original game.

There are so many vastly different takes on what happened to the V3 cast after the events of the game. (Well, all the casts, but V3 is the most prominent in the post-game space, followed by SDR2.) Some interpretations focus on the survivors struggling with guilt, forced to carry the weight of everything that happened. Others bring back the dead students in different ways—some with injuries reflecting how they died, some as puppets controlled by Team Danganronpa for publicity, and some just living happily together in a one-bedroom apartment.

Some fics depict V3 as the final game, while others frame it as just the beginning of something even bigger. Some characters signed up willingly; others had no idea what they were getting into. Post-game AUs are completely open to interpretation, with no right or wrong answer. Sure, you could say the same for Hope’s Peak, non-despair AUs, or even pre-game stories, but there’s something about post-game that just hits different. Maybe it’s the characters. Maybe it’s the themes. Maybe it’s the perfect balance of angst and healing. I can’t fully explain it—but it works.

Post-game AUs are more than just a way to keep the story going—they’re a way to explore what happens after the cameras stop rolling, after the killing game ends, after the characters are left to pick up the pieces. They allow for healing, for growth, for alternate interpretations that make us rethink everything we thought we knew. And maybe that’s why they hit so hard.

No matter how many versions exist, no matter how different the interpretations may be, post-game AUs will always be special to me. They take everything I love about these characters—their struggles, their resilience, their ability to change—and push it one step further. They remind me why I fell in love with Danganronpa in the first place, and why I keep coming back.

I love post-game aus so much and I can’t wait to see what other incredible stories and art will come from this space, because if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that post-game AUs aren’t going anywhere.

[localsharkcryptid]

Okay, making an interesting post here BUT I'm working on throwing together a DSMP Roleplay/Hangout server - I wanna make more friends but genuinely I suck at communicating here on Tumblr, and honestly I don't think I've seen any roleplay servers from dreblr/the cDream side of here? Regardless I want to meet and interact with people finally in a setting where I'm more comfortable so I'm making it myself.

And basically I want to ask what people might want to see out of this? I intend for the server to work as a place for general chatting and fandom related things as well as being a roleplay center for those who do so or would like to try doing it! So there's gonna be a general chatting section and a roleplay section (potentially using forums so people can have their own chat rooms n all) at the minimum - I'm considering opening up the idea of an AU related section? One so people could roleplay ideas that don't take place on the DSMP itself- idk I kinda want to get ideas and an interest check- so here we are.

Additional Note About This:

For this server - We're treating the fictional characters as fictional characters and I swear to god I may make being an asshole to others over ships if mentioned a bannable offence. I'm a multishipper as people know and I won't tolerate y'all out there who get bitchy over people shipping c!Techno or anyone else for that matter in my house. As long as it's legal who cares. Like actually.

In a similar vein to that, c!Wilbur is also in that boat, he's a fictional character and I will hit people with a stick if every five minutes they feel the need to do the whole "but fuck the CC" or something - you don't need to bring it up at ALL.

(I don't mean to seem overtly aggressive here but I want to be VERY firm on this being a chill/safe space to just enjoy these characters and the story, meaning no drama bullshit, no stupid fights over people wanting the pig to kiss men etc.)