#kinda. if u count the tags lore

[woodsborostabathon]

biggest most petty pet peeve is ghostface being depicted as like Just Some Guy. like jus some rando sexyman w no actual face behind the mask just vibes. “imagine being ghostface’s subby kitten uwu” mf WHO?? WHICH ONE??? its a PERSONA not an exclusively male entity of its own!!! u could be talking abt like (13) diff people and (4) of those are chicks!!!

[chitty-chitty-bang-bang-bang]

“Perpetual care” platonic!(Nandor x reader)

Requested by @sleeplessdreamer14

Word Count: 2,209 words

Age Restrictions: 16+ (vulgar language)

Tags: Fluff, crack, platonic, parent-child dynamic

Synopsis: Your dear friend Guillermo accidentally finds out that you are related to a certain ruler of Al Qoulnudar and he’s dying to meet you.

Author’s note: I’m an energy vampire, except I get my energy from people who request platonic fics for this account >:) Thank you so much, made my day

________________________________________

“Yeah, but the Stan that we knew the whole show, wasn’t the real Stan. The real Stan was the Stan, that came out of the portal. So this Stan is Stanford, but the Stan, who we thought to be Stanford, was actually Stanley.” You ranted, walking down the damp streets of Staten Island beside your old college friend.

“Okay, okay, [reader], I promise, I’ll watch Gravity Falls someday.” Guillermo said, still unable to process the lore you’ve been trying so hard to explain the entire time. He noticed the mailman on Ashley street out of the corner of his eye. “Go right, I need to grab the mail, before werewolves tear it apart.”

“Right now?” You grimaced.

“Yeah, what’s wrong?” He crossed the road and you trailed behind him, hesitating slightly.

“I don’t know… Your house gives me the creeps ever since you told me about your, uh, ‘employers’. I’d rather live to my 40s, you know?” The half-joking tone of your statement made Guillermo chuckle.

“Don’t worry, they don’t harm the people, who are close to me. Plus, it’s way too early for them to be awake. The sun is barely set and they usually don’t get up until I wake them.” He shrugged and strolled towards the big, dark building.

“Should’ve brought my crucifix…” you mumbled.

The sky got darker and darker, as you finally approached your destination. The house seemed to tower over you, like an angry giant. It wasn’t that big, but it sure looked that way to you, since you knew what kind of creatures inhabited it. You instinctively stood closer to Guillermo than you usually would.

The familiar glanced into the mailbox and pulled out a few envelopes. Bills, some r-rated magazine Laszlo is subscribed to, grocery store ad and a mysterious envelope labelled ‘AncestryDNA’. Your eyes widened at the sight of it, distracting you from the thoughts about your current location.

“Man, I did this one too a few months ago! It’s kinda useless to be honest, it’s not like I’ll contact any of the people I’m related to at 0.01%.” You chuckled. “But it was fun. Had no idea there were so many nationalities in my family.”

“Oh, that’s great! I did one for me and Nandor. He was feeling a bit down recently, ever since he found out that his country Al Quolnudar no longer exists, so I thought letting him know about his relatives would… cheer him up.” He smiled.

“Aw, that’s so cute.” You said, then remembered that it’s a bloodthirsty vampire he’s talking about. Guillermo started walking towards the front door. “Wait, wait, wait! Where are you going?”

“To leave the mail inside, it’ll be a second.” He reassured you.

“Come on, man. Don’t leave me here alone.” You looked around. You weren’t sure if you trusted the night sky anymore. Anything could be around. Werewolves? Witches? Other vampires?

“Then come in with me. It’s alright.” Guillermo reached out his hand and you unwillingly took it, following him inside.

The inside of the house was beautiful and perfectly preserving of the many ancient relics, that seemed to litter every shelf. Your friend truly did a great job at keeping the house pristine. You barely made two steps inside, when you saw an unfamiliar woman descending down the staircase. She was ravishing, but seemed rather annoyed.

“Oh, there you are! Where the hell have you been?” She growled at Guillermo. You mentally noted her unique accent.

“Just out. I didn’t expect you to be up so early, Nadja.” He replied calmly, seemingly used to this treatment.

“Early? It’s 11pm for Sire’s sake! Barely woke up for the midnight snack.” The man looked at his watch, realising that he did in fact loose track of time with you. Meanwhile, Nadja’s gaze travelled to you. “Oh, I see you brought a treat. Well, maybe I can forgive you this one time.”

The woman smiled and suddenly disappeared into thin air. There was a moment of sheer confusion, when you wondered if your brain was playing tricks on you. Out of nowhere, a pair of cold hands grabbed your shoulders in a matter of seconds.

“Nadja, wait!” Guillermo shouted, barely turning around in time and you felt the vampire’s fangs stop inches away from your throat. “They’re not a snack, they’re my friend. I just needed to… Uhm…show them something in my room.” He tried to make up an excuse for you being in the house.

“Why the hell would you bring a random human into our house?!” Her voice roughened.

“Look. I’m sorry, Nadja. But you know I would never bring anyone dangerous into the house. They know about vampires and they’re not a vampire slayer. Trust me, they’re harmless.” He pleaded.

Nadja scoffed and looked at you once again, as if contemplating killing you, before leaving completely. You let out a breath you didn’t realise you were holding in the first place, still very much shaken by the sudden near death experience.

“Did she just teleport behind me?!” You whisper-yelled.

“Yeah, they can do that.” He whispered back. “Sorry, I thought they’d be aslee-“

He couldn’t finish his talk, before a loud voice echoed through the walls: “Guillermo! The lid is stuck again!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I have to deal with that.” He ran up the stairs immediately.

“Wait up!” You followed.

You reached a wooden door with a golden knob. The familiar turned around to you, overthinking the plan for a few seconds, until he finally spoke up.

“Okay, you stay here. I’ll go help Master. Then when we come out, I’ll introduce you. If you meet anyone in the hallway, just come inside the room. Unless it’s Colin Robinson. Got it?” He let out in one breath.

“Wait, I-“ But it was too late and he already closed the door behind him.

The hallway was quiet. Even too quiet. You looked around, when another new face appeared from around the corner. A man, dressed very fanciful and rich. He smiled at the sight of you and you noticed his fangs right away.

“Ah, lunch!” He exclaimed and before you could ran inside the room next to you, the voice of Nadja interrupted the ordeal.

“It’s not food, Laszlo! It’s Guillermo’s friend.” She said, in an evidently displeased voice.

“Oh, pardon me then. Laszlo Cravensworth.” He extended his hand and you shook it.

“[reader]. Nice to meet you.”

“I like your grip, [reader]. Nice and firm. Tell me, are you Gizmo’s friend or friend?”

“I, uh…” You observed Laszlo’s face and he seemed absolutely serious. “I’m not sure I understand.”

Finally, the door swung open, revealing a tall, rather intimidating man. He looked at Laszlo and nodded, greeting him and the other vampire answered accordingly. His soothing voice, made you a bit less scared, but his fangs made it very hard to calm down.

“Ah, so this is [reader]?” He glanced at Guillermo and pointed in your direction, to which the familiar nodded. “Greetings, [reader]. I am Nandor the Relentless. They call me that because I don’t relent.” You could tell, he’s really forcing himself to be nice to you.

“Nice to meet you, mr. Relentless.” A nervous smile painted your face.

There was a beat of incredibly awkward silence, that felt simultaneously like a nice break and a staring contest. Finally, Guillermo broke it.

“Well, let’s go check that DNA test while we’re at it?” He suggested.

“I suppose that is a good idea.” Nandor agreed and you simply nodded along, now getting way too intrigued by this situation.

Downstairs, the three of you desperately tried to fit in Guillermo’s tiny space under the stairs, which didn’t seem like adequate living conditions, but you bit back the urge to bring this up. He punched the code on the envelope into their site and watched the loading screen for a few seconds until it showed you the result.

“Master, it says here, you are 70% Persian, 15% Kurd, 10% Turkmen and 5% Kazakh.” The vampire seemed to have a bunch of questions about this ratio, but before he could ask any, Guillermo continued. “And we can check if you have any living relatives, would you want to see that?”

Nandor’s eyes sparkled with anticipation, as he moved closer to the computer, sandwiching you between the two of them as if personal space is not a thing. “Relatives? Yes, yes, go on…”

The familiar clicked to the next folder on the site and it showed a ridiculously high number. More than three hundred thousand people. All of you remained in a state of collective shock.

“I’m a granddad?” Nandor looked at the screen in awe.

“Yes. Yes, you are.” The familiar choked out, unsure if he wants to delve into the implications of this amount of descendants. “Look how much you’ve got in the US alone.” He pointed at the map.

“All of these dots… They are my grandkids?” He squinted his eyes a bit to distinguish them better.

“Yeah! Well, some of them might be your grand nieces and nephews or something.” You chimed in.

“Oh, no. I killed my siblings before they could procreate.” He shrugged and you couldn’t tell whether it was a joke or not. “Are there any in Staten Island?” He asked.

“I don’t know. Let’s see.” Guillermo zoomed in on the particular area of New York. “Yeah, look! Over here.” He pointed at the address, funnily enough, it was your street. What a coincidence.

Guillermo clicked on the dot in Staten Island, which revealed the profile of Nandor’s supposed relative. A picture with a familiar face popped up. Your face. With a caption: [reader], born [_], ethnicity [_] and so on. All the information you filled out, when taking the test. Both heads suddenly turned to you.

“Is that you?” Nandor asked, already knowing the answer, but needing confirmation nonetheless.

You nodded shakily and let out a nervous chuckle. “Wow… wouldn’t have ever guessed I had a vampire grandpa.”

His smile grew wide with an uncharacteristic gentleness, as if he was genuinely happy to have you here. This felt weird. Just a second ago you saw this man as a terrifying bloodthirsty lunatic and now he’s apparently your ancestor. You weren’t sure how to act, so you awkwardly excused yourself, saying something about it being late and having work tomorrow, before practically sprinting out of the vampire residence.

You spent the night, pondering over the idea of reconnecting with your relentless grandpa. You weren’t sure if it was a sense of pity, sympathy, morbid curiosity or all at once, but the idea didn’t seem half bad. After all, he was the only one who hadn’t tried to kill you, which was a low bar to cross, but it was still crossed and that is taken into account.

The next day, you were getting ready to confront the vampire for the second time, to see if he’s down for a small family reunion. But as you opened the front door of your apartment, you saw Nandor and Guillermo standing outside, both looking a bit worried.

“Oh, hi! I was just about to go visit you.” You stated bluntly. The door opened wider to let both of them in. The familiar stepped inside, but the vampire just remained standing there. “Uhm, come on in.”

Only then did he come into the space and take a sit in your armchair.

“So I brought a present for you.” Nandor smiled in excitement and pulled out a little plush toy from a paper bag he had. “We made this at Build-a-Bear. If you press its paw it recites the warrior’s code in Farsi. I recorded it myself.” He handed it to you with almost childish giddiness and you couldn’t help but feel affectionate towards the gift. Unconventional, but sincere.

“Aw, thank you so much.” You held it close. “That’s very nice.”

“All the best for my grandkids.” He nodded.

“Maybe we should get to know each other better?” You suggested, sitting down on your bed.

“Yes, of course!” He tried to think of a good conversation topic. “Uhh… Thoughts on arson?”

“Hot.” You replied without thinking.

“I like you already.” He laughed a bit too loud for a mediocre joke.

The rest of the nighttime was spent with the two of you talking and doing dumb shit inside your apartment (Guillermo was just there for emotional support and because Nandor wanted him to stay). You found Nandor’s inability to spend more than 15 seconds pondering an idea and his earnest desire to connect with you, despite the generational rift very admirable and actually grew to like him. Of course, it would take much longer than several hours for you to fully start considering him family, but you’re willing to put in the work and so is he.

When it was time for both of your guests to leave, you shared a long heartfelt hug with your newfound relative.

“Goodbye, grandpa.” You said without much thinking.

“Grandpa?” He asked.

“Oh, sorry. Too early? Goodbye, Nandor.” You corrected yourself right away.

“No. Grandpa’s fine.” The vampire returned in a slightly shaky voice.

You weren’t sure, but you might’ve seen tears form in his eyes. Though you’ll probably never find out…

(PS: he did cry)

[yunieful]

missing & wishing

synopsis: you're a hunter who doesn't really have any friends. you (kinda?) hate everything, mostly yourself. you know MC but not that well. MC starts taking an interest in you, Xavier follows along, and you absolutely do not know what to do with that.

tags: LOTS of self-loathing, suicidal thoughts (no attempt tho), autistic reader, adhd reader, you have brain damage ur welcome, not the main character, but we do have, named main character, you two exist as diff people in the same universe wrow, god for all we know mc has a crush on YOU, some implication u might not be human if u squint, maybe you'll find out what u are...if i ever fuck with this again (not a vampire) mentioned: main character, reader, xavier + rafayel & zayne mention sylus isn't there yet and neither is caleb hold ur horses word count: 3.4k

a/n: not beta read much. please make note of the tags. completely diff universe from my lads au. sorta was a vent drabble at first, then slowly turned into a reader...fic? thing? where this reader has fuckin' lore in my head or some shit now. i am emotionally involved. (now you will be too!)

and this is my first reader fic be nice-

You are ordinary.

So why do you feel like a freak?

You’ve been a mirror all your life, trying to reflect what looks right. Press all the right buttons, keeping note of what gives positive responses and negative ones. You’re confused when people laugh and you laugh with them—then they stop, frowning at you. Sometimes the reflection shatters, and you don’t know how to fix it. When you try to pick up the pieces, you get more hurt. The blood trails form the reflections of people glaring at you, laughing at you, disgusted by you.

You try and you try and you try but they just know something is wrong.

And so, you stop trying to become a mirror, a mockingbird.

Hell, you stop trying to fly, to soar. Staying bright.

You just focus on what you know. What’s as easy as breathing. 

And that seems to be Wanderers and fulfilling reports and orders.

You make sure the shadows become your friend, because then no one can see you. You stare at this vessel that is somehow yours, and remind yourself to be something else. Keep people far away or else they’ll find the flaws. Hold your guard because no one can see past these walls. They’ll become more people that just shatter you to pieces, once they see.

They never like you.

And that’s fine.

You hate yourself more.

So why do you live on?

Spite, you think. Because you refuse to be called a coward.

On one hand, someone like you shouldn’t exist. There are so many pieces that fit weirdly and are wrong. But on the other? You want to disappoint the people who want you gone. People who wanted you dead. They don’t get to decide when you end, only you do.

Besides, you’re used to disappointment after so many years. You’re long past questioning why. You just seethe that people are awful as always, and continue building your walls. Because you never need anyone else to point fingers at you to figure out all your flaws. You’re tired of trying to be soft when all they are is sharp. It’s best to put a mask over it all, and no one will even try to get in either.

“Hey, great work today.”

The keyboard clicking stops. You’re in the middle of writing a report. You don’t enjoy them, but they have to be done.

Your fingers curl in annoyance at being interrupted, ready to snap at whoever dares to approach you and ruin your workflow, because who the hell—

“Melody,” you say.

Someone else assigned to Unicorn along with you, and for whatever reason, she’s spoken to you once or twice before. Very small moments never lasting long around each other. Some boy is with her or Tara or Simone or someone, unlike you, never having a single person approach you or be around you.

She’s one of the top hunters, and you were paired together with her for a mission earlier today. A shock to you, since you don’t consider yourself one of the best hunters out there. You just make sure you’re efficient and that there’s no civilian casualties, if it can be helped.

You never worked with Melody before this. The partners you had were quiet and efficient, knowing to not bother making any small talk with you and only focus on the mission. Yet Melody tried to strike up conversation. It made you wonder if she even took her job seriously, but she quickly proved you wrong in combat. Her guns worked well around your scythe, one of a few weapons you specialized in. You both easily made quick work of the enemies and saved a few civilians caught in the crossfire.

But that was the end of it. Mission accomplished.

You had no clue why she’d be here bothering you.

Melody blinks, maybe thinking you were going to say something else, but you just stared boredly at the center of her forehead so direct eye-contact wouldn’t kill you on the spot. “Right. Um. I was thinking, maybe we could work together more often? When my partner Xavier isn’t around anyway.” You don’t say anything, just glance back at your monitor and continue typing again. “We work well together.”

“Was just doing my job,” you mutter.

It truly is baffling that this girl is even trying to strike up a conversation with you. Out of the corner of your eye, you can spot at least one or two co-workers around whispering and glancing your way. Since some people act like it’s still high school, you’re the outcast being talked to by the popular girl, and that shouldn’t happen.

“Well, you do a hell of a job.” Oh, shit, you’re writing some of the words Melody is saying. You immediately backspace. “You work as quick as Xavier, I swear.”

Your eyes narrow. This “Xavier” has been mentioned twice now. You have no idea who the fuck that is. “Xavier…?”

Melody tilts her head. “Xavier! You know, silver hair, blue eyes, hangs around with me sometimes?”

People watching sometimes happens, if you don’t especially hate them that day. You go through your repertoire of memories that barely hold together like your attention span.

Your brows slightly rise when you land on it and nod solemnly. “Twinkle Boy.”

A strange noise leaves Miss Hunter. “I’m sorry?”

You bother to spare a glance at her. “Twinkle Boy. That’s his name.”

“His name is Xavier.”

“Not to me.”

“Well, you remembered my name.”

“Yeah,” you say slowly, “you’re Melody.” You’re not sure how to explain without starting to develop the cracks on your facade you don’t want anyone to look too closely at. That’s how it sometimes starts. You’re just Melody shaped, you try to reason in your little pea brain. I don’t fucking know.

She giggles a bit, tilting her head at you, and for some reason, you don’t feel like she’s laughing at you, like so many others do. Something in her eyes says something you’re not quite familiar with and you’re not sure what to do with either.

You decide you don’t like it.

“Anyway,” you lean back in your seat, and also lean back metaphorically from this entire conversation, “I gotta get this report done, so—”

“Oh, yeah, of course!” Melody waves it off. “For real, though, I hope we work together again.”

You dare glance up one more time, and she’s smiling. At you. You’re almost tempted to look back to see if she’s looking at anyone else, but no. And it almost seems…genuine.

She can’t truly mean it, can she?

“Yeah, sure,” is all you can muster. “See ya.”

She waves before turning and leaving you to finally get this damn report done.

And yet, your mind dares to wander, to try and assess what it is she possibly wants from you. Because it certainly has nothing to do with your overall presence. Does she truly just mean working together on another mission? You don’t have any special skills. Your Evol doesn’t count, in your opinion, since it’s—

You clear your throat, as if it’ll chase those thoughts away, and type.

But they’re never gone. They cling to you tightly, shaped like thorns.

You can’t decide if some higher being hates you or loves you.

You and Melody do end up working together again. The missions continue to go smoothly. You adjust to whatever arsenal Melody decides to give you to work with that day. (“A staff? Seriously?”) For some reason, you start actually talking with Melody. She’s the one that mainly carries the conversations, though, with you saying little of anything.

You just can’t understand why.

You could have told her to stop, to back off. You could’ve told Captain Jenna you didn’t want to work with her again. Yet you don’t do any of that. You let Melody figure out ways to get you to talk and respond to her, and you oblige her for some reason you’re not even sure of yourself.

Oh, come on, you know, your mind argues.

If you’re going to say anything about companionship or even liking this girl, I’m tuning out again, you threaten.

Your mind shuts up, but you can imagine it’d be laughing, if you let it.

Melody is…soft, bright, and—

Well, loved.

Twinkle Boy Xavier makes sure she’s doing okay if they’re not together. You hear about how he checks up on her at times when she’s hurt or has a rough day. Her doctor is literally a cardiac surgeon for her heart problem. They grew up together before he disappeared, and they found each other again like it’s the beginning of a Hallmark movie. Except maybe it could be better than a Hallmark movie. (You are a fan of vintage stuff. Sometimes eras like the 2000’s are fascinating.)

There’s some painter dude Melody has talked to you about now and then that designates her as his bodyguard. You wondered how she got that extra pay, and she says it was from a mission said painter was involved in. Then you recall about the painting that killed some guy named Raymond (“allegedly” but you doubt it).

They text her, they check in on her when they’re available. Sometimes it’s why Melody can’t “hang out” with you, and you always just brush it off. Someone like Melody would be the type to have so many people care. There are just people others are drawn to, like a beacon.

Not you.

And you usually don’t care.

So why does some part of you feel…what? Disappointment? During the few times Melody has had to cancel on you.

When the hell did the disappointment go past yourself and people you hated?

Maybe you miss her.

Whatever little bit of logic your brain is trying to do needs to be flung across the room and stuffed into a drawer far away to never be thought of again. Because your brain is so damaged that, at times, object permanence is truly your nemesis. Now it could potentially be your salvation.

“I am just tolerating them,” you remind yourself, alone in your apartment. “That’s it!”

For whatever reason, Xavier starts checking up on you at work.

And why is it strange he’s doing it at work? Well, the reason you know Xavier happens to be because his apartment is right next to yours. With Melody being below you two.

You never really talked too much. You’d sometimes spot each other and greet each other or acknowledge each other in some way. Though you didn’t bother to continue talking with him when realizing you were both hunters, and he didn’t either. You just kept it to those short moments at your apartment complex.

Simple, distant, controlled interactions.

And now he’s ruining it.

“You should get that checked out.”

He points at the bandage on your head, and you just scoff and roll your eyes while writing some stuff down at your desk. Best to do it now before you forget.

“I have a hard head,” you say, tone flat and dry as it usually is around others. “I’ll go when I know my head is truly in jeopardy.” Which, it usually isn’t; you already have plenty of brain damage anyway. What’s a little more?

“I hope you’re not as dumb as Mel about injuries.” His tone can easily match yours. But him? He’s softer when he speaks.

You? You’re all sharp, keeping as prickly as possible.

You’ve been called worse. “Yeah, let’s hope,” you mutter, clearly not interested in what he has to say.

“What are you writing?”

Your eyes widen, hearing how close he is, but you try to keep your voice as neutral as possible. “Please don’t look over my shoulder like that. You’re too close.” You poke at him with your pen, not daring to turn around and very careful in making sure it’s just the pen touching him and not any actual part of your body.

Thankfully, he listens. You can feel the pen start to fall to prove he’s leaning back.

“Sorry.”

You breathe deeply, shutting your eyes briefly. The pen becomes your anchor for a moment, gripping on it hard enough the leather of your gloves squeaks a little.

You don’t even reassure him it’s fine, because, well, it’s not. There is a very definitive reason why you can’t handle anyone being close to you to the point of touching you. But you’re not going to snap at him about it; he doesn’t know.

“If you’re so curious, it’s just my grocery list.” You shut your notebook and rise from your seat, now finding the area stifling. The world shifts slightly, but you know it’s not enough to send you to a hospital. You just keep still for a second before moving. “Don’t you have Melody to bother?”

He follows you, and you hold your notebook tightly, which now has your pen resting on the spiraled edge keeping said notebook together.

Why is he following me?

“Oh, right. She wanted me to ask you if you wanted to join us for some hotpot.”

WHY?

You pause your steps and turn around, thankful Xavier stopped when you did, leaving a respectful distance between the two of you.

“Hotpot?” Before he can open his mouth, you hold up your free hand to stop him. “I know what it is, Twinkle Boy.” His brows rise, but he doesn’t say anything about the nickname. (This isn’t the first time you called him this anyway.) “Anyway,” your response is quick, “no thanks. I’m just gonna warm something up at home.”

You don’t even give him a chance to argue. You just walk away, planning to get back to your desk in a second to grab everything and leave.

When you stare down the aisle of some snacks on your way home, your mind wanders on what would’ve happened if you did go. Or even what type of snacks Xavier likes to eat, because you’ve seen him with a few at the Association.

You quickly shut those thoughts away, keeping them locked along with so many other thoughts and feelings.

You are ordinary.

So why do you feel wrong?

If you don’t feel like some freak, you just continue to feel wrong. You feel wrong missing Melody and Xavier. You feel wrong wanting to shop with Xavier and dare ponder his favorite snacks.

You feel wrong wishing for company.

This life has always been alone.

Anytime you even tried to make a friend (just that word is so foreign to you), kids usually ran away from you. They giggled and laughed with their other friends, all of them clearly talking about you, especially once they pointed fingers.

The times they even did bother with you, it’d be with tight smiles and irritation in their eyes. The relationship was purely transactional, and you were usually left bankrupt. You had something they needed, and they took and took and took.

Back then, you really had no backbone to say no. You wanted to please everyone as much as possible. Back then, you would have danced on hot rocks if you could’ve, if those people became your friends after.

Then you became an empty husk, and what you filled it with was thorns and disgust. Disgust mainly at people.

Ugh, people.

They have done nothing but hurt you.

So what makes these people different?

Is it Xavier never laughing right at your face? Insulting you in any way? Just being nice? You can’t have fallen so far from your original path of keeping your walls up and keeping everyone out to be reduced to letting someone in (just a smidge, a smidge) for being nice. Who the fuck are you?

Is it Melody being completely fine with you barely talking and having her make up most of the conversation? Is her actually laughing at some of your dark humor or things you mutter under your breath actually what got you? Or is it that somehow everytime you’re around her, you don’t sense the slightest bit of irritation? Every smile she gives you is genuine and never tight or forced? Almost making you want to smile?

“What do you know about the N109 Zone?”

You stiffen in your seat, stopping yourself from drinking your matcha latte. (One of the few drinks that won’t make your stomach scream.) “Why are you asking me?”

Melody gives a noncommittal shrug. “I’m just curious. No one really talks about it much or seems to know much about it.”

You’d wonder if she can read minds, if you didn’t know about her Evol before. Now, you had to dare wonder if this was a coincidence or if she knew.

“Yeah, but why are you asking me?”

Melody is about to speak, but you cut her off with your flat, dry tone further.

“I have brain damage, Melody.”

She scoffs and rolls her eyes at you. “You always say that, and it won’t work everytime! Just because you have brain damage doesn’t mean you don’t know things.”

“Yeah, but who says I know anything about the N109 Zone specifically?” You narrow your eyes at her. “This is more than just curiosity here.” It’s not a question, you just know.

“I—! No, I just wanna know what it’s like there.”

“Dark and lawless and sad. There.” You lean forward, eyes still narrowed. “You’re such a bad liar.” Considering she heats up and fumbles her words a lot when you’ve noticed her to be rather charismatic and charming around others?

Yup, she’s lying.

“Dark?” She totally ignores your accusation, and you huff. “Lawless? And…sad?”

It makes me sad sometimes whenever I gotta pop up there.

Not that you voice this outloud, of course.

You lean back, relaxed now and not suspicious (as much). “You don’t want to go there, Melody.” You don’t know what compels you to continue speaking, but you do. “I’m sure it’s very important, but it’s not worth it. And it’s also a bitch to even get in.”

She tilts her head at you, almost mirroring your suspicious glare from before. “You talk like you’ve had experience.” Your name is said after that, smoothly and calmly.

You don’t like how that makes you feel.

“Maybe I do, maybe I don’t.” You shrug, glancing away. “I know what I know, that’s that.”

A moment of silence passes between you two, and you sigh heavily from how easily you can just smell Melody’s disappointment. It’s so familiar of a stench from years of experiencing it towards you.

And, jeez, is she pouting?

You roll your eyes so hard they’re in the back of your head, until you sigh heavily.

“Knowing you, you’re going to try to get in there anyway for whatever shit you’re doing.” You sip some more of your matcha before continuing. “Fine. I’ll help you get in.” W H Y?

Shh, you silence your own brain.

Oh my god are you doing this willingly?

Shut up.

I am literally your brain.

You try not to roll your eyes as Melody stares at you in disbelief, after almost choking on her own drink.

“What? Really?” Augh, gods, she sounds so hopeful.

There’s no going back now.

Actually, yes, there is.

Nope, can’t.

Why? Because it’d break your heart if she was sad?

Nope, nope, you’re not falling for that shit. Shut up, brain.

“Might as well,” you say, trying your best to sound like you’ve been forced to do this because you don’t want to help her, at all, you just can’t stand stupid people except maybe yourself (barely).

“Thank you so much,” she says your name happily, genuinely. You hate that it’s making your heart crumple up like tinfoil and it doesn’t hurt. “How about we head back to my place and I can show you what I’ve found and know?”

Her place?

You haven’t been hanging out with Melody for that long, so you’ve never really been to her place. Just because you both live in the same apartment complex doesn’t mean you go take any trips down there. Certainly no sleepovers. (Imagine having sleepovers…not you.)

“Okay,” you say regardless, because if you think too much you might just terminate your entire mind. “Lead the way then.”

Melody gives you a smile that dares to shine light somewhere in that cold, dark flesh vessel of yours. Feeling like somewhere—among your many, many thorns—that maybe a flower will bloom, despite the struggle.

Then she gets up and gestures for you to follow and walk beside her, keeping a respectable distance as always for…reasons.

You are ordinary.

Fuck. Are you?

[winwintea]

AUTHOR’S NOTE: thank you for @sungbeam for the tag, yours was so prettily laid out and i was in shock. ALSO THE TAG WAS SO SWEET EVEN THOUGH WE ONLY BECAME MOOTS AT THE END OF THE YEAR. even though i really only started writing fics towards the end of the year i did write more than i thought could so it’s fun to go over yknow…

no pressure tags: @chenlesfavorite @ddolbyong @fatalhoon @galacticseonghwa @hazyhae @jirsungs @lyvhie @odxrilove @polarisjisung @peterm4rker @sehunniepot @strrykais @thatsatricky1 @viasdreams @vanesycho @wonbin-truther @yizhrt

FIRST FIC OF 2024: yours for the night ◎ park jongseong (april 20th)

chat… don’t talk to me about this one ok. DONT READ IT 😐 i can see you wanting to read it DONT ISTG. but genuinely i re-read it and cringe cause wdym i thought this was good and posted it. it was kinda rushed though, cause i think i was trying to time it with jay’s birthday. kinda funny that i’m a mainly nct account and my first fic ever posted was an enha one

LAST FIC OF 2024: mutual affection ◎ park jisung (december 25th)

start the year with fluff end the year with fluff! 🤗 this one changed drastically from it’s original concept though. it was supposed to actually be professor x reader where y/n comes in during class to deliver lunch while his students tease him but then they go on a date, except @polarisjisung liked the idea of them passing notes to each other during class 😚

LONGEST FIC: wicked love ◎ na jaemin

y’all ate this one up i’m so glad it didn’t scare you guys away. the reaction was so positive and lovely, i was a bit afraid since i’ve never written a yandere type character before. plus 5k is definitely long for me, i’m hoping to write something longer next year so wait for me okay??

MOST POPULAR FIC: inyun ◎ mark lee

lowkey didn’t expect this to do well but somehow mark lee + past lives combo works well. also did not cave into the angst ending!!!! so i don’t have much to say on this one love u all mwah mwah

PERSONAL FAV: my apology letter ◎ zhong chenle

obviously i would have to choose between winwin or chenle for this one (no shit) but genuinely as much as i hate this man so much this fic just. i don’t think i could write anything like it again? maybe? don’t trust me on that i’m unpredictable. but the idea was just insane and i can’t believe i pulled it off well in writing.

i hate zhong chenle. i hate that man why is he so writeable. WHY (i got lazy with the banners don’t kill me)

NO. 1: Zhong Chenle (12,300+)

find him in: heart to heart, secure that once upon a time, stop posting about BALLER, my apology letter

NO. 2: Na Jaemin: (9,100+)

find him in: that’s okay, wicked love

NO. 3: Huang Renjun (can’t count cause smau lol)

find him in: the last dance, and belladonna!

if y’all couldn’t tell i didn’t start seriously writing fics until the later half of the year, and i also am a new writer 🤭🤭 i started writing around march/april of this year starting off with smaus. i was also lazy with my banner making abilities so i hated that but anyways we learn!

i plan to write more obviously, it was just so fun!!!! to pump out fics in the span of 2 months but i lowkey can’t keep neglecting my smaus i feel bad 💀 but on terms of what i have on my brainstorming/working on list rn!

- an angel reader x demon haechan fic (won’t give much details bc i don’t want to spoil but hehe 😛😛)

- super super lore heavy fic involving some modern retelling of alice in wonderland theming going on but make it romeo and juliet, and detective themed with some mystery. (😐😐 this one might be so long idk if i even have the ability to write it but i will try!)

- delinquent jaem smau (i’ve talked about this before but yall cannot let me start another smau i gotta finish underneath the tree and mark lee vs the world first okay)

- upstairs neighbor haechan smau except he literally crashes through the ceiling into your room and that’s all the plot details i can tell you rn

- secure that card (but better)

- a jisung smau that will tie in every single smau i’ve ever written together (guys the winwintea universe is real)

[redandrew52]

ok so hi as per usual I have a whole info dump to dump bc when do I not

Lately I've been doing a bunch of art stuff out of my comfort zone. Sewing, 3D art, oil painting, etc... and I've honestly felt like I've forgotten how to draw...not like... actually but like where you pick up a pen and you feel like you've forgotten what you're doing. Sometimes I just sit down to sketch and I just can't. I feel like everything has to be in a specific journal or done a specific way (because wow my brain loves being particular!) and I can't just sit and make something without thought

So to prevent that, I decided to draw some cool Tumblr OCs because that way I can't be particular about it since idk all the lore and xyz

these were all done with a pen so if I messed up stuff then yk, oopsie daisy :') but that's the fun of sketching I suppose (also If you couldn't tell I hate drawing hair- I just scribbled that shit real fast and called it a day (yet in my finished artworks I always get so many compliments on my ability to do hair? Strange how that works))

also!! if you are a person viewing this post who has never seen these artists please check them out they are super talented and their art is a feast for the eyes!! tags w/ corresponding OC below

@everett-fornow (Henris) @i-can-not-art (Midge) @iolite-flames (Evander) @kikuwaters (DK) @just-someone-in-here (Lillian) @berrycreatures (Cosmo)

Ok this next part of the post is mainly just for myself but I'm including it in this post because this is kinda just me shooting the shit on main, so don't feel obligated to read this but if u stick around to see then here is the context:

I have very very bad anxiety and this Tumblr account has been absolutely no exception. I can't quite figure out why but posting on this account makes me feel...sick? That's not quite how I would put it but words are hard...anyways, moral of the story I get really bad anxiety from posting on here and there have been so many finished pieces and shit that I've wanted to put on here that I just never did because the anxiety got the best of me. To maybe (?) prevent that (science experiment(brain experiment?)) I've decided to post a WIP so maybe I'll actually post the finished thing whenever the hell I finish it (I have so many projects going on at once I can't even count)

this is obviously very not finished at all because I was struggling with this so bad that I needed to step back and just stop looking at it for a second but yeah!!!!!!!! ocs!!!!!!! gee golly gosh do I love ocs

OK THAT WAS A LOT OF TALKING MY APOLOGIES BYE

[yeehawkins]

LORE DROP - TAG GAME

got tagged by my veri cool friend @mini-uzzy :3 thank u wyb!!

Do you make your bed?

when i wake up i fluff up my pillows and toss the sheets back over to a more neutral position, so depends on your definition of making it! i'd say no lol

Favorite number?

27! its a weird pick but i've always liked it, 2 is also a good number on it's own

What's your job?

office job! professional paper shuffler right here

If you could go back to school, would you?

i'm actually not sure! i felt like i was kinda getting my shit together whilst in school (talking college, NOT highschool lol), and i did like how many resources were available to me there, but homework is a very overwhelming thing, and it's such a different social landscape !

Can you parallel park?

i did it on my drivers test but i sure as fuck couldn't do it again i bet 😂

Do you think aliens are real?

probably!

Can you drive a manual car?

fuck no lol

What's your guilty pleasure?

i feel guilty about lots of my interests lol, but i think most fitting for this answer would be kids games! i am so very into papas freezeria again at the moment and will almost certainly buy the deluxe version on steam whenever i finally 100% the OG version (of course, on coolmath)

Tattoos?

two of them! and i have at least 2 more solidly planned

Favorite color?

if it weren't obvious by the question colors, purple :3

Do you like puzzles?

yea !! i like em

Any phobias?

a bit of a childish fear, but still am afraid of the dark. other big fears: the unknown, rejection, yknow all that fun shit

Favorite childhood sport?

lol i did not do sports, but since i've seen this count before, bowling! i went every week when i was a kid, and i was on the highschool bowling team! though ofc doesn't mean i was any good 😅

Do you talk to yourself?

absolutely constantly, if i had another person living with me they'd surely think im insane

i'll tag @music-for-them-asses @songbirds-sweet and whoever else wants to do this!

[jazzmckay]

tagged by @broodsys for this writer questionnaire uvu ty, i got really into this one. the deep jazz lore incoming <3

tagging @lyriumlullaby-ao3, @inscrutable-shadow, and @skadizzleross

copy and paste-able question list at the bottom of the post!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

says 88, but one is anonymous lol 89 babey

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

824,682

3. What fandoms do you write for?

dragon age currently, prior to that, detroit: become human. some witcher and RWBY mixed in. teen wolf, dishonored, red vs blue, homestuck back in the day, a couple other things.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Truth in Melody (witcher, geraskier)

The World Upside Down (dbh gen)

left an impression on my heart (teen wolf, scott/stiles. its over a decade old i am not linking this lol)

Variable Outcome (dbh, connor & gavin gen)

Winter Chill and Summer Bloom (dbh, connor/gavin)

5. Do you respond to comments?

absolutely! if i don't, it's only because the person is being a jerk or just uncomfortable. give me a heart emoji, you're getting a heart emoji right back. boop

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

i generally write happy endings, no matter how hellish the road to that happy endings is. i do, however, have a Bad End dbh oneshot. Fair Compensation. it's straight up non-con, and from aggressor pov, so viewer discretion is advised

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

gosh idk how i could pick. as i said in the previous answer, i try to leave off on a high note. Truth in Melody or perhaps Promises to Keep. wouldn't say they're happier than others, but they're among my longest fics, which means the characters had to go through some bullshit to get those happy endings lmfao

8. Do you get hate on fics?

a couple times. more often, i get weird / uncomfortable comments that i just ignore

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i do! well, i'd say "kinky" tends to be a general theme ahahaha and feelsy! smut in my chaptered fics are more basic, the oneshots can be wild though. and then there's from the depths, an ancient song, where i wrote a foursome involving a LOT of tentacles. like a lot. so take that how you will.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

ive dabbled in ideas, but rarely get around to actually writing them. i do like the concept of smashing my favourite universes together, though. my dbh vampire series is basically just the lore of vampire: the masquerade, but i wouldn't consider it a full crossover

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

i have! and a couple additional requests, one that i denied, and another that i agreed to but no result yet! still hoping <3

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

yes, for events. shout out to any of my buddies from the homestuck shipping olympics who see this :p can you BELIEVE how long it has been

roleplaying is also kinda like co-writing fics sometimes honestly. i've got some threads that have been ongoing for years and took a lot of plotting and planning together uvu

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

how dare u ask me this. this is nearly impossible aughh but i'm going to say corvo/daud from dishonored

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

basically anything from my favourite games and such that are nonetheless overshadowed by current hyperfixation. i'm forever sad that most of my many, many dishonored fic ideas were from a time when i chronically could not finish anything

16. What are your writing strengths?

i don't know, i'm bad at acknowledging good things about myself lol characterization, i suppose, that tends to be what i get the most lovely comments about <3

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

fluff, unless it's the resolution to angst lmfao i need to build up to it. drop me straight into a nothing scenario of fluff and i don't know what to DO. technical-wise, idk, descriptions i think

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

it certainly has its place and can be done well! but it's easy to mess it up, too. you need to make sure it's accurate and fitting for the scene, you need to avoid racist stereotyping, you need the story to still make sense and flow well. if the message isn't clear because most readers don't know the language, or have to keep looking it up / reading author notes, that's immersion-breaking imo. with fictional languages where much of the fanbase is familiar with the common words, though, no big deal i'd say

19. First fandom you wrote for?

honestly i think it was the cartoon, angry beavers lol i didn't know what's what i was doing, at the time. as far as serious, intentional stories, maybe firefly? or xmen?

20. Favorite fic you've written?

i cannot pick just one lol 4 is as low as ill go

previously linked Winter Chill and Summer Bloom: this is very hurt/comfort, my favourite thing, with a bunch of my other favourite things tossed in. touch-starvation, non-verbal character, characters getting away from the location of their suffering to heal in a better place, both physically and mentally, sweet slice of life stuff etc.

take these broken wings and learn to fly: more h/c! this one starts off heavy as hell and involves a lot of Process of Healing (to no ones surprise, at this point). healing has gotta be one of my favourite genders. also it's femslash.

Sight & Shadows: it's both plot- and character-driven, i'm happy with how i balanced both simultaneously. it's my vampire au, and other than the v:tm lore borrowing, it feels almost original to me. it's a rarepair, in an au--as niche as it gets, shaped a lot by the universe and story i put together for the whole series. it was a joy to create, because i truly did write this for ME. i wouldn't say any of my fics were written for others, per se, but i guess this one just felt different from the start. i wasn't anticipating an audience, i was just telling the story these characters needed, the way i like to do it. i had great friends supporting me through it, so i wasn't alone in the process or anything, it just felt the most like writing an original story than any of my other fics have

into the light of the dark black night: first of all, yes, 2/4 fics listed here are titled with lyrics from blackbird by the beatles. blackbird lyrics means intense feelings, that's just how it is. i've done it twice, and ill DO IT AGAIN. anyway, this one takes place in one of dbh's grimmest possible endings--the nuclear blast ending. i did a lot of research for this one, and also put a lot of thought into handling it with as much care as i think a concept like this requires. it's weighty, but hopeful. it has apocalypse elements, which i love. i got to do cyberpunky stuff as well. i added some of the elements i think dbh would have included if d@vid cage weren't a coward. i projected multiplicity onto some of the characters. i got to write north as the steadfast and successful leader of the revolution, as she deserves. blackbird fly <3

if you made it through all of that... thank you :>

and the template:

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

3. What fandoms do you write for?

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

5. Do you respond to comments?

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

16. What are your writing strengths?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

19. First fandom you wrote for?

20. Favorite fic you've written?

[neo-homestuck-au]

This is my collection of au's this blog was originally just for saostuck but [bluh] I got a bit too ambitious and made too many au's lol so.... yeah, I'm going to throw then at you becaus I can and so I will

Acrully their technically only dubiously au's so... yeah, I'll just call them aus for simplicity but they could kinda be called their own original story it it weren't for the fancomicness

Tags:

Saostuck —the entire saostuck au

Saozee— one of the fics

Grubzzz —one of the fics

Ficstuck —about the fics

Tama & glamor — one of the fics

Ramblings from the notebook — what I wrote down in my notebook

Violet indigo & candy together — one of the fics

More to be added for this au later [bluh:[ ]

Flames in the fire – a not so au au with a really long name and is inspired by the crow strider au, this tag is for the entire "au" (it used to be an au but u changed that :P)

The acronym for this au is fitf

Kraken <troll> – an original charecter, and makes the troll count 13 :3 , expect similar tags for the other trolls and <even the original species I'm adding to this> this tag is an example for the charecter tags <all of them>

This au is quite a bit different, because all of the hemocast is also a bit different (see, this isn't really an au :] it's more ... a twist of the original lore and also with entirely different charecters [but spades slick/ Jack noir is still there along with the other three :P ]

Candyblood fitf – tag with my explanations on what I changed for the candiebloods in the au :]

Limeblood fitf – tag with my explanations on what I changed for the limebloods in the au :]

Hemocast fitf - tag with my changes to the other bloodcasts

I feel like I'm missing some au's but that will be rectified in due time

And that's all for this pinned post!!! :]

[zonerz]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by da bestie @a-problematic-writer for this !!!!!

How many works do you have on ao3?

There's 14 atm!!!

What's your total AO3 word count?

Sitting at 569,356 rn :] thank u Answers LMAO 😭

What fandoms do you write for?

MCSM, Sonic, Kingdom Hearts, and anything that catches my fancy and eye in the meantime! Basically whatever! Also got some FF and Danganronpa peeking in :]

What are your top five fics by kudos?

Answers, Would You Like To Dance, MCSM Prompts/Drabbles, Demyx Drabbles oop-- 😳, Sonic and the Black Knight? More likeSonic and a Lot of Trauma

Do you respond to comments?

Yes all the time and all of them!!! I love interacting with readers and having conversations!!!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably the SatBK one LMAO sorry my beloved. Maybe I LIED HOW COULD I FORGET. ALVI. IT'S THIS ONE.

What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Im honestly not sure??? They all, despite having their angst, tend to end on some hopeful notes or some kinda resolution 🤔it's also kinda hard to judge tho bc a lot are just drabbles and little thought experiments for me :]

Do you get hate on fics?

I've had the pleasure of not yet encountering any!

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Not my thing! I can barely write two characters holding hands without feeling like a whore LMFAOOOOO

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Not typically where I specialize!

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of 😭👍

What's the longest you've spent working on one fic? And the shortest?

ANSWERS. MY GOD. I've been working on Answers since December of 2018 and she's still going and gonna be 5 years old soon which is CRAZYYYYYY 😭😭😭 That said, I wouldn't have it any other way and I'm still very excited for it and the future of it as I'm FINALLY getting into some of the meat of it that's been on the docket since 2018 :]

As for shortest, I'm pretty capable of getting a fairly long drabble out in just a few hours, so that'd probably be the shortest time I have.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not on Ao3!

What's your all-time favorite ship? From all fandoms?

I can't easily pick one but I do feel like Sonic and Shadow's dynamic has like. rewired my brain LMAO

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

the Demyx Drabbles mentioned earlier. Mainly because they were a set of character explorations and a lot of my own ideas and thoughts have changed pretty drastically from when I started writing those, so I've lost the idea spark on that line of thinking. Im still COMPLETELY unwell about that little weirdo, but in a different flavor now

What are your writing strengths?

Character relationships, motives, and dialogue and maybe a bit of ilke??? Atmosphere????? I do my best to write it well at the very least!

What are your writing weaknesses?

Action sequences are always a fucking bitch bro 😭 same with like physical descriptions and scenery--I don't know if it comes across like that but I always put in extra effort and time to refine these aspects before putting something out because I want them to be the best I can make them at the time 👍

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I'm open to it but personally would like to have a little familiarity with the language and its nuances myself before attempting too much lest I fall into the trap of like. Google translate ruining shit 😭

First fandom you wrote for?

Sonic!

Favorite fic you've written?

Answers is VERY much my pride and joy rn :] to me it's more than just an MCSM fic/continuation, it is 100% a love letter to MC as a whole which was just huge to me growing up. I've completely thrown myself into all corners of it's world and lore as well as throw in fun little references from things I loved over the years and done my best to stir them all together in a way that feels naturally cohesive, fun, and semi-realistic in a way that doesn't like snap a reader out of their suspension of disbelief! I want it to be engaging and natural and overall just a fun experience :] 💖

I can't think of anyone to tag rn (brain so so empty) so if anyone wants to take a stab at this go ahead!!! :]

[pibiiiii]

Splatoon questions!! (by @weedceI8bit on twt)

Took this from here. Template is here if you wanna do it too! Tag me in pls :)

u know the drill qrt ur answers ok lets go -> feel free to skip any questions or skip around

whats your in game name/splashtag ? Pibi#1929! My Splashtag currently looks like this, soon to be upgraded with the 4★ Nautilus and Big Man badge!

do you play as an inkling or octoling ? Octoling, because of the lore and Surfcurl hairstyle :) Inklings will always have a special place in my heart from the earlier games though.

whats your multiplayer lvl ? + whats your favorite game mode ? Don't bully mee... 34. Favourite game mode has to be Anarchy Battles (Open only with my friends), with Salmon Run being a close second!

whats your anarchy rank ? do you play competitively if so what division are you in ? S+ rn. I tried to play comp, but it wasn't for me. Turns out what I actually wanted wasn't to play competitively, but to have a team!

whats your main/favorite weapon ? The Nautilus 47! I hope we get a new kit, because Point Sensor is NOT it.

what weapon class do you play ? Not actually Splatlings lmao, Naut is special to me because of its charge hold. The other classes I like are Wipers, Dualies and some Shooters!

do you dress for gear abilities or style ? Both!! I worked very hard on grinding viable abilities onto my favourite fit haha

favorite ranked mode ? This is difficult. Clam Blitz has gotten kind of fun, even in soloq which is crazy! Rainmaker is also pretty neat.

favorite hero mode ? Obviously RotM. It might be a little too by-the-book of Octo Expansion (which isn't a hero mode), but it's still the best by quite a bit.

favorite ink color/ink color combos ? Here they are!!

what splatoon game did you start on ? and or when did you start playing ? Splatoon 2, but quite late unfortunately. I picked it up just before the Final Fest!

favorite piece of gear ? Can't say. I just love how there's so many good ones to choose from lmao

what was your most memorable splatfest ? Final Fest, because it was my first (lmao 😅) and because of its awesome stage and dialogue!

any kits you want to come back to splatoon 3 ? Nautilus 79, duh. I have no other strong opinions! xD

what is your favorite weapon/kit in all of splatoon ? I want to say Nautilus 79 but I enjoyed a lot more kits so I really can't say. Gonna skip this question.

how many hours do you have on splatoon 3 or 2 ? Not that much xD. 125 hrs in 2, 155 hrs right now in 3. I don't spend that much time playing the game, but I spend way more obsessing over it haha

any buffs/nerfs you think are needed ? Splash's pinpoint accuracy. It's kinda screwed up the meta 😅. Not sure if it counts as a buff/nerf, but the stages HAVE to be improved. No more corridors! More flanks! More cover! More dynamic terrain! It would solve the issue with chargers without nerfing them and make the game 100x more fun.

have you read coroika aka the splatoon manga ? Yes! I haven't read the latest Splatoon 3 installment, but I'll get to it soon! Coroika fans hmu ;)

rank the splatoon games + oe best to worst Not sure how to compare an entire Splatoon game with just the Octo Expansion, but I went in terms of ✨general experience ✨: 1. Splatoon 3 - Current pinnacle of the franchise. Can't wait for Side Order, if it tops OE then it'll be the true best Splatoon game! 2. Octo Expansion - Best single player experience. Off the Hook are AMAZING. 3. Splatoon 2 - Without OE, this is still a solid game that I enjoyed a lot :) 3 definitely improves on it, though, in small ways and big ways. 4. Splatoon 1 - I haven't played it, so I'm not saying it's the worst, this is just for me. Obviously set up the foundation of an awesome series!

favorite splatoon ship ? Not really a shipper but anyone who DOESN'T ship Pearl and Marina is silly.

favorite idol group ? As above, Off the Hook :) Literally screaming for Side Order I can not stop the inner turmoil I will only be released when it comes out haha.

any splat tubers you watch ? do you have a favorite ? There are some pretty niche ones I like, but my all-time favourite is Jaymoji! Super fun to watch and his content is always interesting.

favorite splatband ? ABXY/Chirpy Chirps, but I absolutely love all the new ones that are being added!

favorite splatoon song ? Blitz It by ABXY :) Also 3MIX, Hide and Sleek, and most of the Salmon Run music!

any 4 or 5 star weapons ? Splatana Wiper, Stamper and Nautilus 47!

favorite stage ? aesthetically or to play on I have no idea, but Inkblot is good on any mode! Brinewater Springs might be my favourite aesthetically.

whats your signature piece of gear or fit ? The fit from before! I also love the Takoroka Nylon Vintage though.

do you own any splatoon amiibos ? Just the Green Squid one officially. I'm gonna get Big Man though!! (And I have bin files for Pearl and the Splatoon 3 Octoling Boy, but shhh.)

favorite splatoon game ? 3, silly!

are you autistic and or adhdtism ? Not diagnosed with either, but I love how accepting the Splatoon 3 community is of neurodivergent peeps :)

favorite agent ? Agent 8!! I hope Side Order is about them :) They have amazing lore that the other agents just don't, unfortunately.

[grimmwizardofgregg]

Fav Color:

I mainly like green, orange and blue

Last Movie:

Across the spiderverse, I fuckin loved it, the art, and the characters. So swaggy.

Last Show:

... does youtube count? Because that would probably be smosh tntl not gonna lie. I really love the chosen lore. Also bee and puppycat, from what I remember

Currently watching:

I am rewatching through black Butler and uh.. minecraft diaries lmao. Recently I joined an mc roleplay server called aneria and it kinda revived a desire in me to go rewatch it. I've been watching through my watch later as well which consists of a lot of video essays and stuff like night minds welcome home update.

Currently reading:

nothing unfortunately, I might try to start readingg the da vinci code. And maybe some of those weird monsterlover book recommendations I see on tiktok sometimes. I just wanna know if they're really good lmao

Salty, sweet, or savory:

all of them and also spicy? Have any of yall ever had tapatio noodle cups? They're not super hot but they're still real good.

Coffee or tea:

Tea, I usually only like coffee as like a sweet treat or in like a frappe, but I enjoy tea in most forms.

Tagging

nobody, I can't remember think of anyones main blog names to tag so I say it's open! Reblog and answer if u wanna

you know what, I never do these things, but actually I’ve decided I would like to get to know people better! I would like to partake of the mortifying ordeal! I would like to talk about myself for a bit!

ok for the next…let’s say five days I will answer any of these things that people tag me in, or any random personal questions you plop in my ask box. I don’t have an ask meme on hand but just….pick one you’ve seen recently, or make up questions of your own, and I’ll answer. (the answer might be ‘nope that’s private’ but I will answer.) (@ the anon who asked for book recs - I see you, I’ve been thinking of books all day, I’m going to give you SUCH a long answer, I hope you don’t regret your choices bc it WILL be full of gushing)

alright, let’s go!

🌻 Tag 9 people you want to get to know better

Tagged by @booksandchainmail​

Last Song: I’m currently listening to “Falcon in the Dive” from the Scarlet Pimpernel musical on loop. I watched one or two Scarlet Pimpernel movies when I was just barely too young to fully get what was going on, and the story’s held an odd but deep-seated place in my heart ever since. A few years ago I found out there’s a musical and most of the songs are pretty stellar (go listen to “Madame Guillotine” if you like big ensemble broadway numbers, it’s a banger, the bit where he cries out for God has been running through my mind on and off for a few days now haha not like that’s topical or anything), so every once in a while I spend a few days listening to them a lot.

Sometime last year I read the actual book, and got super into the whole concept of the Scarlet Pimpernel for a while. I plotted out Pimpernel aus for several fandoms, I read the entire wikipedia article, and I went looking for bootlegs of the musical. I didn’t find one, but I did find a full radioplay-style recording of the script, complete with full musical numbers, and listened to it like a podcast.

Reader, I was so disappointed. The play adds some scenes, bc a lot of the dramatic tension of the novel comes from internal conflict and that doesn’t stage super well, and the very first scene of this play – a play written in the NINETIES – features our dashing hero rescuing some aristocrats from a French prison, and then saying to the person in the next cell, who begs for rescue but is not an aristocrat, “We have enough of your kind in England.”

Enough! of your KIND! What in the merry frickety HECK my dudes!! The book has some rather unfortunate™ takes but it is from 1905, it’s regrettable but sadly to be expected. This play is from 1997. It has NO excuse. This scene wasn’t even in the book! What! the heck!

I was so disheartened that I lost my excitement for the play, and a couple songs later I stopped listening. It occurred to me just a few days ago that you could actually stage that ironically, with the person in the cell giving the audience a “can you believe this” look, and then the rest of the play could feature assorted non-aristocratic ensemble members constantly looking at the audience like they’re on The Office. And hey, maybe that’s what they did, or something similar – maybe that was never meant to be taken as a cleanly heroic stance, and the play deals with it in a complex way. It’s possible. I wouldn’t know. Kinda doubt it though, based on song lyrics.

Favorite Color: red, probably

Last Movie: I watched that new lesbian christmas movie with my family for christmas, the one with kirsten stewart and the guy from schitt’s creek. it’s very sweet and good and kinda sad, and I really enjoyed it. it also incidentally has the best gay best friend trope in probably anything ever, bc it’s not a trope (I didn’t realize until several hours after watching that it technically fits), it’s just a guy who is the protagonist’s best friend, and they’re just all gay, and then when he Gives Relationship Advice as a gay best friend always does, it’s advice about how to deal with your partner’s hangups around coming out.

actually every part of the gay best friend trope becomes better when they’re just best friends who are both gay. the big dramatic gestures (in this case, driving some ungodly distance in the snow on no notice) go from “haha how kooky” to “queer man will do anything he needs to to rescue his queer friend from an isolating & potentially triggering situation”. the relationship advice isn’t “honey you deserve some self-respect, treat yourself”, it’s a deeply sincere reminder of the vulnerability that is shared across almost everyone’s queer experience, and look I could ramble about this for a long time before reaching a coherent point but I’m INTO IT, okay? I’m into it.

Last Show: you want me to remember what show I last finished???? impossible, cannot be done, it was a long time ago and the adhd has eaten everything that happened before last week. here, instead I’ll tell you about another movie I watched, late at night with my mom in cozy companionship just a couple days ago. it’s called Quigley Down Under and it’s about a cowboy who goes to Australia and kills a bunch of racists, 10/10 would watch again. it’s from 1990 but it feels much older, with the music choices and the cinematography of a 70s Western. the cowboy is great, honorable and fearless and kind, but the breakaway star of this movie for me is the woman who attaches herself to his side and refuses to leave. her name is Cora, and she’s crazy, in the sense that she’s not altogether tethered to reality, but this never for a second diminishes her agency. she’s fierce and clever and compassionate, and she basically never does anything she doesn’t want to in the whole movie. her arc is about overcoming trauma by taking charge of her own fear and facing it head-on, she is never belittled or dismissed by the narrative or the protagonist, and look she’s just so cool. I love her. she’s so vibrantly alive. her story could probably have been handled with a bit more nuance, but honestly for the 90s it’s pretty great. I’m no expert, but I found nothing objectionable in it, just a bit of heavy-handedness.

anyway the theme of the movie is that racism is evil and racists deserve to be shot, and this too could have been handled better (not a single aboriginal character speaks a single line of english in this movie), but it follows through on that message in every way, while still being a fun kinda campy cowboy movie. overall a very good time.

Currently Watching: started showing my sister Hilda the other day, and she’s liking it! I love that show, it’s so incredibly cute. can’t wait to see season 2

Currently Reading: lmao I wish. lately the brain has firmly rejected all attempts to read anything of any length. currently pending, bc I was halfway through them when my brain stalled out, are tano’s fic What Does Kill You Can Make You Stronger, Too, a Toby Daye book - I think it was The Brightest Fell, I got like half a chapter in and haven’t picked it up in over a month, the Locked Tomb series, and probably a few other things too. ooh! also a book called Making Sex by thomas laqueur, which is my fancy academic reading that I’ve been doing in short bursts for the past year or two when I feel fancy and academic. it’s about the development of the concept of biological sex and of gender in Western society, and it’s fascinating. has among other things introduced me to the idea that until quite recently, fathers were a matter of faith. the mother? yeah, you can watch the baby pop out, we all know who the mother is. but the father? how can you know? how can you really know? we have paternity tests these days, but for all of human history up until now, we’ve just had to take fatherhood on faith. (not to mention we didn’t even know what fathers were contributing to the production of a fetus. clearly it was something, since you can’t get pregnant without a penis getting involved, but we have literally not known what until the past few decades. and that is wild. it has colored ALL of human history, all of our conceptions of society and family and kinship and gender, all of it, and it hadn’t even occurred to me until it was spelled out for me in this book, and it’s just……wow.

Salty, sweet or savory: for christmas my sister and I made seven different types of cookie, most of them involving chocolate somehow.

Craving: no bc I ate so many cookies. unless sleep counts. or maybe pringles, it’s been many moons since last I had a potato chip and I miss them.

Coffee or Tea: no thank you

Tagging: @coloursisee, @krchy-tuna, @sam-j-squirrel, @xzienne, @mirandatam, @viciousmaukeries, @sepulchritude, @elidyce, and @navigatorsnorth bc it’s been a while since we’ve talked, and I’m super hyped that you’re married now. v happy for you!

[iamsugoiii]

this contain genshin impact spoiler on 3.0 update sumeru world quest!

u have been warned :)

ok so i was just finished one of varanara's world quest on genshin impact, the one that chained from arayaka(?) world quest yesterday.

istg sumeru's world quest took so much time to finish and it's branching like... wtheck!

but i had a lot of fun in sumeru, except finding the waypoints :) please tell me u guys too >:(

anyways, that's not what I'm gonna talk to u guys abt.

i should tag this as spoiler, but i wont spoil too much(?) or is it too much? idk 😅

so, in that varanara quest (tho it was started from vimari(?) village quest) we need to save rana, one of the forest rangers that got sick after entering a cave full of fungi and spores to save her relatives (we will fight along with npc and it's so fREAKING COOL. good job hoyo)

turns out her sickness can be cured with the help of aranara's ability. aranara is like a mystical creatures in sumeru or u can basically say they are fairies. the name of that aranara is arana. then, arana tell us to go to varanara to find her relatives (aranaras) and get a spesific item to cure rana.

oh! if u have unlocked all waypoints and statue of the seven, there is still 2 region that should be opened, right? one of them is on the south of sumeru. the name of that region is varanara. we can only light up the map of that region with this quest, cuz the statue of the seven is uhh, idk like hidden?

anyways, long story short we will met araja. araja promised to help but we gotta help aranara's people first, especially because their festival is coming up soon. one of them is arapatchi(?), who asked us to find her brothers asap before the festival started.

so we helped arapatchi. it was a long side quest but!!! then, the name "Nara Varuna" appeared and it was reaaaaally sussy.

note: my traveler is lumine.

listen. they (aranaras) called traveler as a golden Nara. and they said there once a 'golden' Nara and brave like us named Nara Varuna. Arapatchi explained to us abt him. Nara Varuna has blond hair. Brave and Strong. but it's still won't make a clear conclusion. though, i had a name in suspicion abt this Nara Varuna.

But then suddenly–

after we finished the side quest, we asked arapatchi and her bros abt how do aranaras count their age and identifying gender (cuz they are basically looked like uhh they dont have genders??) so that she called her brothers as 'brother'.

TURNS OUT–

omg i freaking cried a lil and i got goosebumps when i first know this. my brain cant stop theorizing.

Nara Varuna is the one who inspired them. abt being 'brother and sister' i mean. why? it was because long time ago– note. long time ago. he taught the aranaras abt his sister.

HIS SISTER.

im pretty sure this is not a coincidence guys. Nara Varuna is traveler's twin. well i cant say it's 100% true but!! my theory is make sense right?

varanara once experienced "black rain, dark mud, red sky" which i assume to be the 'cataclysm' that we all know happened long time ago. we also know that traveler's sibling is exploring teyvat alone(?) or maybe with dainsleif(?) long time ago too.

i just–

what if it's true? that Nara Varuna is traveler's twin?

it was kinda heartwarming to know that the abyss twin was once a kindhearted human. or is the abyss twin still until now? we dont know. but it was nice to know this lil detail abt the traveler's twin. i really do hope to know more abt the twin's journey before khaenriah disaster. or anything abt the traveler's twin. im craving for genshin lores lmao.

anyway, that's all that i can say. if u guys have done the quest, lemme know abt ur opinion! well i hope u guys share the same ideas as me :) but if u dont, it's completely okay!!

oh, i wanna attach some of the quest's dialogue screenshots i got abt this theory but i think it'll spoil too much hahahahah 😋 so i decide to not do it. do this world quest, u'll see for urself :)

and lastly, thanks for wasting ur time reading my rantings, peace out 😎

[watercolorofthemoon]

tagged by @galadrielspeaks omgomg thank u for tagging me in something this is so nice of youuuu <3 <3 <3

favorite time of the year: spring!! I love love LOVE flowers and they're always so colorful and soft and i love how green everything gets around that time of year!!

comfort food: oh my gosh, my parents are from india so i grew up eating a lot of a very specific cheese called paneer in a tomato curry, i have no idea what its called but its so good!!

favorite drinks : mango juice!! i love mangos and they're so sweet and just taste like home!

do you collect anything?: not really lol!! I've started kinda collecting tiny glass bottles and other containers but im not sure if that counts, i think its just my adhd obsessed with tiny things that make clinky noises lol

current song on repeat: Concerning Hobbits by the LOVELY Howard Shore

favorite fic: OOF, this is HARD one. Obviously, I have to name the absolute timeless classic Sansukh. It makes me SO darn happy oh my gosh, in addition to that, I have to add that LordOfTheRazzles and DomesticGoddess (both ao3) WRITE BEAUTIFULLY ON GOD FR FR. I love their writing!!

favorite video game: currently, its LOTRO!! It's a bit of a finicky game but once you get into the lore YOU GET INTO THE LORE. It actually kinda interprets tolkien really well and it just makes me happy to be a random elf running around helping ppl!!

For this tagging game, i'm gonna tag the lovely @spoopyoopy , @lord-of-the-hobbits , and @must-be-mr-boggins and any of my lovely mutuals who want to do it!! feel free to say I tagged you <3

[novantinuum]

Interview with a Fic Writer

Tagged by @fordanoia, thank you so much! ;w;;

__

How many works do you have on AO3?

I have a total of 67 works posted on AO3. (Even more on my ancient FF.net account.)

Of these, 38 are for Steven Universe, 17 are for Gravity Falls, 8 are for Doctor Who, and 5 are for Trollhunters. (One of the Trollhunters fics and one of the Gravity Falls fics are the same story, though- it’s a crossover, ahah!)

Out of the bulk of them, most are one-shots.

What’s your total word count on AO3

271,227 words.

...damn, that’s pretty decent. Hot shit, Jen.

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Oh hey, the answer I already gave above! Yeah, I’ve only written for 4 fandoms in my entire life. I’ve actually written tons more Doctor Who than I’ve posted on AO3, but it’s older fic I wrote when I was 12-18, so... not exactly up to my current standards of writing. There’s a reason I haven’t cross-posted many of those.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1) Hollowed Moon (AKA the abandoned Spinel and Stevonnie one) with 2,709 kudos

2) Crack the Paragon, my long fic, with 1,398 kudos

3) Shattering Atlas with 627 kudos

4) Contact with 476 kudos

5) Bi the Way... with 279 kudos

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try my best to! I’ve made some friends before by responding back and forth in fic comments, so I always think it’s fun to engage with my readers in that way.

Fun fact: if you theorize or muse about lore in the comments of any of my fics, I will also muse about lore with you! I love discussing deep character/plot stuff, and sometimes even go in a bit deeper about my thought process while writing certain bits when people ask me about stuff.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Probably either Shattering Atlas (mentioned above) or The Price of Freedom, since they’re blatantly Hurt, No Comfort. Even the angstiest of most of my fics tend to suggest a light at the end of the tunnel, but those flat out END in a depressing manner, ahah. Fun to write, but... damn. You were sure goin’ through it then, huh Jen? Pat pat. XD

Do you write crossovers? If so, what’s the craziest thing you’ve ever written?

I have posted a single crossover- the start of a Gravity Falls/Trollhunters fusion sort of thing where teen Stanley ends up becoming the trollhunter, and meets Blinky and Arrrgghh. I got 4 chapters and about 15K in before I got sucked into Steven Universe hell, so I never continued it. Wrote a pretty bomb ass fight scene for it, though.

(I co-wrote one other crossover when I was a teen with some friends at a sleepover- it was the most Wild Dumb Bullshit ever, pretty much throwing Spiderman and Sherlock and Bilbo Baggins and the Doctor into a room together and locking the door. @yourstylishmom I know you know what I’m talking about, uhsndghjdj w h e e z e)

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not that I can recall. The only strange comments I’ve gotten have been like... people debating about Spinel in the comments thread of Hollowed Moon...? That was bizarre. More amusing than anything, though.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I mean, I HAVE written smut before. Your typical kinky bullshit. Have I posted it, though? No. Will I ever? No. It’s for my eyes, and my eyes only.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I’m aware of.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I did do a lot of Fiddauthor RP with @the-ill-doctor back in my Gravity Falls era! Those were some lovely times. ;w; <3 A portion of those RPs have been shared in a fic format, too--> The Time We Lost, the Time We Mended

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I don’t exactly have ONE all-time favorite, but the only ones I’ve ever sat down and created genuine content for are the Doctor/Clara Oswald, Ford/Fiddleford, and Steven/Connie.

What’s a WIP you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Hmmm. Second Skin. There’s only two more short chapters I need to write, but I kinda started writing that as a vent fic, and... I’m (thankfully) not in that mindset anymore.

What are your writing strengths?

I like to think that I write pretty decent character dialogue, and have a knack for capturing the voices of at least a few of ‘em. Some are definitely easier than others, though! Steven, Amethyst, and Greg tend to be the easiest for me when writing SU fic. And back in my Gravity Falls days, I found it easiest to write Ford and Stan.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I don’t know how to write fluff. I don’t understand romance. I technically understand the CONCEPT of it, but I have never myself experienced what I would consider true romantic attraction, so I have no clue what that experience feels like. I tried writing romance once in Ticklish, a teen Steven/Connie fic, but I to this day have no idea if this is what it’s actually LIKE. XD

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I don’t really have any opinion on this, truth be told. I’ve never really run into this in the fic I read- but I’m guessing it shows up in plenty of anime fandoms.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Doctor Who! That was the first fandom I read a fic for, too. If we’re counting unpublished fic that we wrote before we understood the concept of fanfiction, though... then the game Blinx the Time Sweeper *wheeze*

What’s your favorite fic you’ve ever written?

1) Crack the Paragon. It’s certainly the longest, most recent fic I’ve worked on- and I like to think the character work I’ve dug into with that is pretty neat.

2) Contact. This is the first true finished multichapter SU fic I have, and I think it’s cool to finally look back on this project as a cohesive short story, and be proud of myself for seeing it to the end.

__

Tagging (if you’re super bored and would like a fun thing to do) fellow writers:

@mimik-u, @fanfoolishness, @infriga, @abel-quartz, @endae

[ohtobeaspettyasleah]

Can we get more background on Lori and also a reason why Adele left

Adele Samuels and Lorelei Figgs had known each other for the better part of a decade, not the type of best friends to be attached to the hip 24/7-- they mostly went about their lives after high school following different pathways that would ultimately lead them to communicate on a casual basis. The every second-day check-in, the occasional Snapchat, Facebook tag under a meme that had them both crying with laughter. It was casual, a strong connection that didn’t need constant validation or communication to understand Adele would always be in Lori’s corner and Lore is Adele’s. 

That was until, well, until Lorelei started dated Jacob Marshall. A Character to say the least and Adele’s slightly estranged step-brother, from her Fathers second marriage. In Jacobs short 21 years on earth, he had racked up a pretty hefty tally in regards to misdemeanours and assault charges. Swearing he’d be a better man for Lorelei he enrolled in community college, straightened himself out a little more. Got a job that didn’t see him evading his taxes or being paid cash in hand for jobs that had him running from authority. Sometimes people do indeed change? Other times? It’s just a matter of time before the bomb explodes--you can’t change those who don’t truly want to change. Jacob Marshall was absolutely no exception to the eons-old rule. Adele knew that well before Lorelei ever sensed the change. 

She should’ve known better than to get mixed up with the kid from school who got caught selling cocaine under the bleachers to the football team before their homecoming game. But Lorelei and Jacob always had that on again off again classic toxic frenemies relationship. He had a spell on her, someone Lorelei nor Adele could ever explain. They were entangled well before Adele’s dad married Jacobs mum down at the courthouse on 5th ave-- whatever was meant to be had already been put in place years ago. It’s just the fact Lorelei and Jacob couldn’t have been more different, more polar opposites if they tried. Jacobs had always been the hardass, the guy with the home job tattoos, the roid muscles he swore were all-natural. The crackjaw that swung left to right whenever he’d get on the gear with the boys. The law-breaking, gym junkie with a white card that allowed him to work construction and heavy machinery.

Lorelei? Well, she could’ve had it all. But settling for the only guy that had ever given her the time of day was all she ever knew how to do- especially when throughout highschool? He wouldn’t let another guy ever get close enough to say hello. It was always mental mind games. The suttle manipulation-- always with the gaslighting that had Lore feeling less than. She was smart, bright. But her lack of street smarts always got the better of her. Especially when it came to Jacobs. Fuck, it was always Jacob. 

By the time Grayson had finished with his much need shit shower and shave routine, Lorelei was finishing up with Ethan in the podcast room. Taking in all he had to teach her and all she had to learn. 

“And don’t even sweat it, if you forget I can just show you again, or Gray can-- whoever’s around.” 

“Seems pretty straight forwards, it’s an amazing setup.” Lorelei sat on the chair Grayson would normally sit on for filming podcast videos-- feeling a little lightheaded. Nothing she couldn’t mask. Focusing on her breathing, Lorelei watched as Ethan powered down the monitor and flipped back to the cameras. “Pretty secure security system huh?” 

“We’ve had a few incidences, can’t put a price on security.” Ethan shrugged. “If you want we’re just gonna be hanging out for the rest of the day, so you can stay and chill or go home, either way, its a pretty full day tomorrow, have some errands and shit to do so we’ll need you here from what? Maybe 10?”

“That’s fine, I can do that, do you want me to bring over breakfast for everyone? Coffee?” Lore asked with a soft smile, she was just happy to be needed. Happy to be living. Happy to be in the presence of people who valued her. It was nice. A welcomed change. 

“Monty’s open at 11 so we’ll do burgers for lunch instead, you vegan?”

“Not exactly but I try--”

“It’s the thought that counts.” Ethan laughed as Lorelei followed him down the hall out to the kitchen. “So you staying?” she wanted to. Lorelei would’ve loved to have said yes, but she needed to sleep. Suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion. 

“Id love it, but I better get going, still have some stuff to do at home so I better--”

“I’ll walk you out” it was Grayson. His hair a sopping mess of dark locks that could’ve used a towel dry. The Grey sweats hanging low on his hips as he pulled over his hoodie-- the same Ethan and gifted Lorelei yesterday. Her favourite. Lorelei stared for a moment too long but ultimately nodded in shyness. 

“Sounds good.” there was a short shared silence for a few minutes while Grayson walked slowly beside Lorelei back to her car. He wasn’t exactly sure what to say, how to act. 

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here for the whole hiring process, kinda have a few things going on.” Grayson pressed his lips together as the pair approached Lore’s car. “Sometimes a bit of fresh air is all I need, but I’m here now and I’m excited to have you here, really, Adele, she uh-- she said good things about you.” Grayson was never a fan of lying, but he didn’t think this little white lie would hurt anyone. A victimless crime. He knew only what Ethan had told him Adele had said. Lorelei blushed. She could instantly feel the heat on her cheeks. 

“She’s such an idiot but I love her, she’s done a lot for me, especially setting this u, couldn’t thank her enough, or you guys, even if I wanted to.” Lore was speaking from her heart, Grayson could already tell she was genuine. Not a lot of people were genuine in L.A anymore. “I better get going.”

“Let me take you out for lunch soon? I feel like you and Ethan hit it off really well, I just want the same kinda opportunity to get to know you, you have access to my bank account I feel like I should at least have your number?” Lorelei chuckled but nodded in response. Grayson had never been so straight forward-- he wanted to crawl inside himself. Someone, anyone had to stop him before it was too late. Because he wasn’t about to stop himself, no not this time. Not with Lorelei. Her name alone had him making sure his inhaler was on his presence 24/7 and he’d known her for all of an hour. Grayson realised at that moment as she asked his assistant to go grab lunch with him, not for him, with him-- that he was in fact pathetic on a new simp level only unlocked by the very few men who fall in love in three seconds flat. 

“Oh yeah, sure lets us, gab lunch-- but I’m pretty sure my numbers on the fridge, I put it there on a pink sticky.” 

“Cool, alright well, ill see you tomorrow, uh here--” Grayson opened Lorelei’s car door for her. She beamed a bright smile. No one had ever done that before. Not for her, she thought it was something that only happened in movies. Sitting down, she strapped herself as her window went down. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, have a good day Grayson.”

“I’ll text you.” Lorelei laughed as she reversed, shaking her head playfully as she drove off biting her lip. Wondering if she was in fact reading too much into such a small encounter with the younger Dolan. Grayson stood in the middle of the drive speechless with himself:

“I need another shower.”

[theunconcernedembalmer]

Toko! I was thinking of creating an ask the character blog for IDV or Genshin Impact and wanted a few tips on how to start off. Anything you can share?

ey yo my dude!! thank you so much for this question, now im lowkey tempted (again) to make a genshin ask blog sjadhlkshgkahshglsaj anyway my 1.5 cents is under the cut, yall know how much i talk here HAHAHAHAH

uhhhhhh so i guess we start with picking a character u really Vibe with tm? I KNOW THIS SOUNDS LIKE COMMON SENSE BUT LIKE ive been considering making a genshin ask blog for a while now but i never really got to it cos i couldnt really decide on a character (plus the fact that their outfits are. so intricate. is also a hmm since i try to follow details to a t) (at first i wanted to do zhongli, but i feel like to be able to muse him well u need to know the lore super super well, which i dont n im too lazy to research on that aha. n u know how much i respect characterizations, especially for such a complex character like him. i also considered xiangling for a period of time mostly for guoba but also like i have 2+1 blogs here n having one more might not be a very good idea aha) (as for aesop he was my Hyperfixation Character tm also cos i looked at his kit n went Yep i could work with this. probably)

so assuming ur not a dumbass like me n u kinda know who u wanna pick, id actually say to snoop around here for other ask blogs n kinda get a feel of the... scene? is that the word? or like u know, other blogs that u can potentially vibe with. ive run a couple of ask blogs before this current one (both that have died for different reasons) n from my experience interacting with other blogs (if theyre okay with it, i think most should be) is pretty fun. it also kinda helps get ur blog around to other ppl on other blogs so they can go Oh whats this cool shit n check u out, n its also a reason why we kinda reblog promo posts for other blogs (also cos we’re always excited when someone new comes on, its really the more the merrier. we see all :eyes:). interacting with other blogs is also an option when ur inbox is looking real roomy too

another reason why i havent exactly done a genshin blog is that idk i cant actually seem to find genshin ask blogs around (i have seen rp blogs, or those that answer asks with mostly text instead of art, but thats. not my thing since i hate my own writing aha) (i did find one aether blog some time ago, but for some reason i hardly see them around anymore??? idk man i might be wrong). its not like im trying super hard to find them ask blogs, so im sure they exist out there (hopefully?? im not sure but im being optimistic). i mean theres nothing wrong with just starting an ask blog without others around, but for me i do find a difference when i interact with other ask blogs n when i dont, n i prefer when theres others to have fun with (unfortunately i couldnt find any ask blogs to interact with in my previous fandom. i tried, but the blogs i approached seemed to go inactive shortly afterwards...) plus u get to meet friends that way too :D (i made a lot of friends via idv askblogs n its really been a joy vibing with others)

as for the idv scene. gestures around me. unfortunately there are a lot of ask blogs that arent that active anymore, but theres still some of us who are alive n kicking empty inboxes, n im sure everyone would love to see a new face around. winks at u. also there seems to be a lot more blogs popping up lately, which is really heartening to see.

then u kinda just. make ur blog? n a starting introduction post so ppl can reblog it n spread the word XD n yay u have a blog i guess??? XD

i gotta say tho. dont expect ur blog to take off immediately (especially for smaller fandoms like idv, tvbh i didnt think my blog would even get half this far when i started cos of how non existent idv tumblr seemed to be) n ur inbox will probably be looking pretty empty a lot of the time (or at least filled with some that u havent quite thought of how to reply to yet aha) (but also like empty inboxes happen pretty often, im sure most of us here have experienced this problem)

in the case of the first ask blog i ever started, it never really took off at all. ngl it was kind of demoralizing n depressing but to be fair i had picked one of the more obscure characters in the series, so obscure that many ppl in the fandom would have never heard of this character before. if u wanted to know, i took a character that only appeared in the 2nd musical of the series, who also made a very brief cameo in the manga to acknowledge his existence within that universe. thats how obscure my character was, but i went with him purely because he was my favourite character. i will say though i did enjoy it while it lasted n i learnt a lot from the experience, n i think thats whats important really.

i guess this kinda leads on (not really but let me digress) to the whole uhhhh thing where if u choose a more popular character, u get more attention. which is fine i guess? if u really vibe with the character, i mean theyre popular for a reason. n choosing a more popular fandom (like genshin) would objectively also get u more viewers n numbers. but like honestly i believe that ask blogs are meant for u to have fun with, n like trying to get popular gets tiring pretty fast (this shouldnt be like a main goal, but u know sometimes u subconsciously also want that gucci follower count n bomb ass notes or something. i used to be guilty of this until i realized it isnt worth it) especially if ur not enjoying yourself in the process. (case in point: my previous fandom was considerably larger n my blog got about 700 followers within a year or so, but it got very tiring n stressful to maintain after my interest in it died, n no one was really interacting with the blog even though i tried which kinda made it even more depressing despite the so called success n popularity of the blog)

anyway on a less serious note, theres a lot of fun stuff u can do with the ask blog, like some ask blogs have really fancy tags that i really like n try to do but also like not really HAHAHAHA. i kinda just channel what i want to see in an ask blog into my own ask blogs (good art is one, i try very hard for it to be good :,DD another is characterization, n others is just extra miscellaneous arts n stuffs like au ideas or memes. these are also somethings u could work on during ask box downtimes perhaps)

uhhh another side thing is like a posting schedule i guess? like ppl would be more likely to interact (i think) if ur blog is relatively active, n this is usually determined by the last post u made (i think XD). but like generally for blog maintenence id say try to kinda find a frequency that ur comfortable with?? cos i know my once a day posting is kinda insane if i wasnt so hyperfixated on all of this n fight the urge to dump all ur replies when u finish them XD (though ive seen some blogs do that n they do it pretty frequently so its pretty nice to know once u see their post u can spend some time going through the latest batch of posts XD) the queue function is pretty useful here even though i truthfully have never really used it, i kinda just post from my drafts really but it also helps to space out ur content to seem somewhat active especially when u dont have the time to be working on replies sometimes. i hope u know what im trying to say here aha

ANYWAY that was like my 1.5 cents cos i dont even think its worth 2 cents HAHAHAHAH these are just my thoughts from running all my blogs up till now, some that are still running n the others that have just died a natural death. i wouldnt actually delete them (theyre still around actually XD) cos theyre kinda like archives n i can look back at what i did last time. cos ngl i made some high quality stuff back then, n i dont even know how i managed to do that aldhflhdsgk. also ppl do look at archive blogs every now n then for the content thats there yknow

BUT YES anyway if u do decide to join the idv ask blogs hmu, ill be sure to give u a lil shoutout here. winks