#part self para part actual thread

[helltownohiohq]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐄 — 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦

𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚗𝚑𝚚𝚝𝚊𝚜𝚔𝟷

beyond the church that sits on the edge of town, there lies a wood. this wood, this forest, is filled with trees that stretch their branches so high the birds dont fly above them in fear of finding heaven before they are meant to. the wind whistles between branches that struggle to grow leaves even in the warmth of spring, babbling brooks winding between weary trunks that seem to stop without reason — drying up at both ends, but flowing in the middle.

no one in 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐎𝐡𝐢𝐨 is brave enough to venture into the woods, especially on their own. . . well, no one of sound and sane mind, that is. many say that the whispers often to be confused as ones from the church are actually coming from the trunks of old oak trees and the wildlife that live amongst them, deer hooves snapping twigs being confused for murmurs of a foreign language, murky creek water bubbling over mossy stones sounding more like a shush than an instrument of nature.

shh. shh. shh.

one day . . . you open your phone to find a message. the number is blocked, untraceable, and the message that follows either plagues you with excitement, morbid curiosity, or a deep, harrowing sense of dread.

an invitation . . .

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 . . . presented by . . . by . . .

( it's smudged out . . . you can't make out the name of who is hosting. . . )

the invitation reads:

 ❛ come celebrate with us on the TWENTIETH OF JUNE as we welcome the 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞. follow the lit path into the woods at 4:50PM to the bonfire in the clearing. there will be vendors, food, and drink provided. music, fun, celebration, and prayer for the better, warmer, and longer days ahead. this is a private invitation. join us. ❜

a private invitation ?? why was this sent out via text and not announced by the mayor or put in the newspaper ?? is this an event being sponsored by the town or . . . someone else ?? SOMETHING else ??

all you know is, you're not sure if you'll go. maybe you will, but can you bring a friend ?? the invitation does say private but . . . maybe those you know received one too. are you the only one on the guest list or, are there others ??

there must be a catch. this is 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐎𝐡𝐢𝐨 after all . . . but maybe, maybe, it could be fun. could be harmless, just someone wanting to throw a party without the town finding out, and who doesn't love a bonfire ??

so many questions . . . but are they the right ones ??

𝐨𝐨𝐜 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

this is a task preluding our first plot drop of chapter one !!

part one of the actual event will take place on JUNE 1ST and go until JUNE 20TH. it is up to you whether or not your muse attends, but more details will be posted on the first day of the event. . .

until then, you can decide what your muse chooses to do with the invitation . . . if they choose to do anything at all, that is.

a self para, a thread, texts chains — whatever you choose to do, please tag it as ' helltownhqtask1 ' so we can read :-)

this task is not required.

[eviexstratford]

So Watch Me Fly | Self-Para

Evelyn was terrified. Which she knew was to be expected. It had been a wonderful visit, even though she had actually missed Gray’s presence at their home. She could at least be happy in the fact that she was indeed giving her poor sister a break from their parent’s relentless bothering. And, now that they had seen for themselves that she was happy and healthy and doing well, they would ease up. So that had been good, and seeing her friends again? Nothing could have been more perfect. She and Landry continued on as if no time at all had past, as best friends did. And Devon? After a bit of awkwardness and obvious lingering guilt on his part, they went on much the same as well. Like the life-long friends that they all were. But too quickly those wonderfully rare few days of catching up were gone, and now it was time. And Evie wondered if she could really do this..

Don't know why I'm frightened I know my way around here

It was time. They had done as they’d planned, Devon going out first and a small bit on his own before she was ‘introduced’ and joined him. In those precious few moments, she took that time to collect herself.

But I'm not in any hurry And I need a moment

To look down at the exquisite costume that Elijah had lovingly and perfectly made, it’s vibrant reds and oranges designed to complement the Flamenco music that she and Dev had chosen. And she had been right, it was almost like he was there with her. Before she knew it though, it was time. One more deep breath and then she was gliding towards Devon on the ice, her smile wide as her ears nearly throbbed from the deafening applause. That was all for her ‘big’ intro, as there would be time for bows later. Now, without missing a beat, she took his hand as they went into the routine that they had been practicing (under the watchful eye of their coach this time) for months. And..it was perfect. Flawless, just as their countless practices had led up to. It made it all worth it, the rushed pain in the butt weekends that she had spent, flying from school to the rink only to fly back again before she felt like they had even accomplished anything. Obviously they had, as Evie was in her element. Shimmering and sparkling, and not just her costume. She herself sparkled as she always had, becoming one with the sounds of Charo’s Caliente’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QgrirVDH1Y

She and Dev locked eyes and hands, flying apart only to come together again, the chemistry that had always been between them even more evident as they completed the more sensual steps towards the end. Then it was over, at once almost as fast as it started while also seeming to last forever. Devon dipped her before bringing them nose-to-nose as the music ended with the same flourish as they did, laughing and breathless. They parted then, Dev keeping hold of her hand as they took their bows. Her name was chanted, yelled. Signs were held up and roses were already being tossed onto the ice. It really was almost as if she had never left.. The two of them, still hand and hand, then glided off the rink and into the waiting arms of their coaches and friends.

I'm trembling now You can't know how I've missed you

The break was a short one but she enjoyed it. Watching Landry work her magic on the ice was always something special, and she had a moment to text her parents and Jason in the crowds before it was time to go change for her solo skate. This one..it was special. She had designed her costume herself, a confection of ice blue velvet shot through with silver threads that cascaded onto the flowing chiffon skirt. It would make her shimmer once again but in way this time. This was the Evie people were used to seeing: fragile but strong, delicate but capable. Charming and captivating and maybe even a bit theatrical. ‘Flamenco Evelyn’ had given them something different but this was what they were all here to see. The two sides of her; fire and ice. It was ice’s time now, and she was ready. Music that she had carefully chosen swelled as she glided onto the ice once more, the ice her home and the crowds her family.

I'm coming out of make-up The lights already burning Not long until the cameras will start turning And the early morning madness And the magic in the making Yes, everything is as if we never said goodbye

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5erci6mNvQ

The words of the song resonated with her, as did the emotional tone of the singer. Which was why she had picked this version, though it may not have been one of the more common or popular ones. It suited her and that made it hers. Evie started strong and stayed strong, the routine that she had a hand in choreographing like second nature to her now. She knew what was coming, and what’s more..she knew that she was ready for her. Closing her eyes, she sent a prayer to whoever happened to be listening and then simply..went for it. Small body torquing and turning at her will, Evelyn counted the rotations. One, two, three, and then, miraculously..four. She had done it; she had landed a quad! Tears of joy and pride streamed down her face as she finished the routine, this time ending with a soft and graceful bow. Yes, she had done it. She had reached past the pain and darkness of that first year or so after her accident, reached into a place of light and strength and accomplished something she never dreamt that she would. 

And this time will be bigger And brighter than we knew it So watch me fly, we all know I can do it

Pale eyes shimmered with tears as Evelyn looked into the crowds once more, the faces of her friends and family coming into focus as if they were the ones spot lit. She made her waves and blew her kisses, then simply stood and took it all in. Basking in the love of not only those who were there but those who couldn’t be, but whose love had still just as much brought here there. They had brought her to this point and she would be nothing without any of them. After mouthing a final ‘thank you’, she once more skated off the rink and into Landry and Dev’s waiting arms. Yes she was home, but there was also another home in her life now. And she couldn’t wait to get back to it and share her triumph with the new family in her life. She could do that now, knowing she would be back. Her life..was just where it was supposed to be.

@grayxstratford  @quinten-sawyer  @professor-shaw  @liamoftheirish  @xdamienblackx  @elijahxxwilson  @everlasting-unicorn @leibxedelman @lesliestedeman @ava-montgomery​  @margeauxxadkins​

[chouhatsumimi]

Words from Nukoduke, vol. 5, part 2

Words in bold are particularly relevant to the story, and words in italics seem like they’d be worth remembering outside the context of the manga. Bold and italic together means they’ve probably appeared somewhere in Nukoduke more than once. Kinda long list but it’s for a whole volume… actually it’s too long for tumblr, so splitting into three parts.

いけず unkind, mean, wicked 進展 しんてん progress, development / progreso, desarrollo 極まりない, 窮まりない, 極まり無い, 窮まり無い きわまりない extremely, in the extreme, knows no bounds (e.g. rudeness), unparalleled, boundless (e.g. universe, ocean), limitless / enormemente, tremendamente, infinitamente, sumamente 独り占め, 一人占め ひとりじめ monopolising, monopolizing, hogging, having all to oneself / monopolio 物騒 ぶっそう dangerous, unsettled, troubled, disturbed, insecure / peligroso, perturbado, inseguro 儀式 ぎしき ceremony, rite, ritual, service / ceremonia, rito, ritual, servicio むせ返る, 噎せ返る, 咽せ返る むせかえる to choke, to be choked (by), to sob convulsively 生け花, 生花, 活け花, 活花 いけばな, せいか ikebana, Japanese art of flower arrangement, fresh flower, natural flower / Ikebana, arreglo floral, arreglo de flores 春眠 しゅんみん deep sleep, sleep soundly 秘訣, 秘けつ, 秘決 ひけつ secret (method, trick, etc.), key (e.g. to success), mysteries (of an art, trade, etc.), recipe, trick / truco, secreto (para hacer algo) 強硬 きょうこう firm, strong, unbending, unyielding, uncompromising, stubborn, tough, hard-line / firme, inflexible まったり, マッタリ rich (taste), full-bodied (flavour, flavor), mellow, laid-back (lifestyle), relaxed, comfortable 自重 じちょう self-respect, prudence, not acting rashly, restraining oneself, taking care of oneself, being careful with one's health 熱烈 ねつれつ ardent, passionate, vehement / fogosidad, pasión, entusiasmo 達筆 たっぴつ good handwriting, skillful penmanship, speedy writing, vigorous writing / caligrafía 惨状 さんじょう disastrous scene, terrible spectacle / imagen deplorable, escena dantesca 咥える, 銜える, 啣える くわえる to hold in one's mouth / mantener en la boca 足掻く あがく to paw (at) the ground, to struggle (using one's arms and legs), to flounder, to flail about, to struggle (to escape an adverse situation), to strive, to make every effort / patalear 枠, 框 わく frame, framework, border, box, limit, restriction, quota, category, bracket, class, (broadcasting) slot, spool (of thread), reel / cerco, marco, límite, perímetro 悪気 わるぎ ill will, malice, evil intent / mala voluntad, malicia, mala intención, malos sentimientos, desconfianza, recelo 硬派 こうは hard-liners, diehards, hawks, (young) man with traditionally masculine interests, tough boy, man's man, hard news, reporter who covers political and economic affairs, strait-laced type (with respect to relationships), bullish traders 冷ややか, 冷やか ひややか cold, chilly, cool, cold (attitude, stare, etc.), frigid, indifferent, distant, surly, curt, composed, cool, calm / frío, indiferente 厳正 げんせい strict, rigid, exact, fair, impartial / imparcial, justo 審判 しんぱん, しんばん refereeing, trial, judgement, judgment, umpire, referee / árbitro, juez, arbitrar, juzgar 風説 ふうせつ rumor, rumour, gossip, hearsay 現代人 げんだいじん modern person, people of today 生ぬるい, 生温い なまぬるい lukewarm, tepid, half-hearted, vague, weak, lenient, mild, soft / tibio, frío (el interés), indiferente, tibio, indiferente 法則, 方則 ほうそく law, rule / ley, fundamento, principio ちゃっかり, チャッカリ shrewdly, smartly, calculatingly, astutely, cunningly

[oh-phineas]

Sunday, November 17 — Choose Your Own Swyn AU: Do you have a dream AU-week event? Create your own! Make a graphic, write an opening blurb, and create a sample bio for one of your characters. [example of a past event, you do NOT have to do the whole thing, but this has the graphic & opening blurb] 

dun dun du na nuh... dun dun du na nuh...

Start spreading the news... I'm leaving today... I want to be a part of it...

SWYNLAKE ON BROADWAY!

THE PLOT:

Welcome to New York, it's been waiting for you. You arrive with a dollar and a dream (or maybe many, many dollars, if you're a producer).

Maybe you're a starry-eyed dreamer fighting for your big break. Or maybe you're a long-suffering chorus member who dreams of finally having your moment in the spotlight. Maybe you've already established a career in film or TV, and you've been brought in to save a floundering production. Or maybe you're a director, or a musician, or a techie, or even a lowly usher who hopes that someday you'll be up on the stage, too.

It's a dog-eat-dog town, and nothing's guaranteed. Will you see your name up in lights like you've always dreamed? Or will you crash and burn?

(Yes this is actually just a Smash AU. Let me be your star).

HOW THIS WILL WORK:

Just like on Broadway, the Producers will decide which productions go up in lights. If you're interested in being a Producer, you must fill out the following form. We'll take a maximum of 5 productions, and if we receive more than 5 submissions, we'll put it to an anonymous vote by the group.

If you're a Producer, your job does not end with the selection of the show! You're responsible for making your production a success, which means when bumps in the road come up, it's up to you to rally your team to get through.

For the purpose of this AU, everything is a musical. No hate to plays but it just makes it easier to have everyone dealing with similar parameters!

PRODUCER FORM:

Character's Name: Name of Production: This can be a real musical or one you invent yourself Plot Summary: 1-2 paragraphs is fine, but this is especially important if you're inventing the show Breakdown of Roles: Please include character name, any actor requirements that may apply (Age range, gender, race/ethnicity, voice part) Why does your character want to produce this musical?: Do they have a personal connection to the story? Is this a desperate cash grab after years of flops? Do you have a director in mind?: You are welcome to team up with a director if you'd like, or you can leave it to the sign-up sheet. If you choose to include a director in this part, though, make sure you plot with them and keep them in the loop before submitting the form.

Once the Producers are selected, the sign-up sheet will open, where you can sign up for different parts. You can choose 2 limited roles in the first 24 hours (this includes Producers, Directors, named parts for actors, etc.) Then get to plotting!

THAT'S SHOWBIZ!

The course of Broadway never did run smooth (Shakespeare said that, right?) Each day, the Producers will receive challenges, from bad reviews to cast-wide food poisoning, to malfunctioning sound systems. These are called SHOWBIZ MOMENTS. Every thread your cast and crew completes together in response to the SHOWBIZ MOMENT will earn ten points. The production with the most points at the end of the week will earn the coveted Best Musical award at the Tony's!

ARE THERE ANY OTHER WAYS TO EARN POINTS?

Why, yes!

There are two sure ways to get better at your craft:

Practice, practice, practice: You'll earn a point for rehearsal threads!

Keep an eye on other productions: Threads or self-paras reacting to other productions will also earn a point!

THE TONY AWARDS

The week will end with the Tony Awards, the biggest event in Broadway! Everyone's invited, and there will be awards for Best Musical, Best Book, Best Music, Best Actor, etc. Best Musical will go to the production with the most total points. All other awards will be randomized, but the points your individual character earns will get them more entries, and therefore you'll have a better chance.

SO BASICALLY, IF I'M AFFILIATED WITH A PRODUCTION, EVERYTHING I DO COULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS?

Sure! If it's a Showbiz Moment, a rehearsal thread, or a thread at another production!

BUT DO I HAVE TO PICK ONE?

No! Here are some other ways to get involved. If you're interested, you could be tapped to participate in a SHOWBIZ MOMENT.

Be an usher, a bartender, or sell merch! While they often work for just one theater, they can be moved around. So they're not strictly affiliated with a production.

Be a coach or a retired Broadway legend! Mentor a current star or hopeful, and maybe collect a lifetime achievement award at the Tonys!

Be a theater journalist! Write a scathing review or a glowing one, or profile a rising star!

Just hang around as a regular ol' New Yorker! In New York you can be anything! Maybe you run a nearby restaurant or bar that's a favorite hangout of theater attendees or cast/crew. Maybe you're a college student in New York for the first time! Maybe you're in Times Square in a Mickey Mouse costume, why not?

If you're not sure how to get involved, feel free to message the admins for ideas!

Name: Phineas Flynn Age: 22 Production: Startup! The Musical Role: Writer and Director

Having just graduated from NYU where his original musical was such a success that it broke through the festival scene to be picked up by an up-and-coming producer, Phineas Flynn truly believes he is hot shit. His musical, called Startup!, is a hilarious and scathing parody of American hustle culture (at least, that's what the critics are saying!) Tiana Truitt took a chance on him, but he's got a lot to live up to if he doesn't want to make her regret her decision.

Name: Giselle Adams Age: 19 Production: Cinderella Role: Swing (Cinderella, Stepsisters, Ensemble)

Giselle Adams practically grew up on Broadway, with two Broadway producers as parents. But she always dreamed of being onstage. Though her parents implore her to finish her BFA, Giselle's been going to auditions secretly for months. Now that she's been offered a swing part in Cinderella, Giselle feels this might finally be her big break. She just has to break the news to her parents that she's quitting acting school after all...

Name: Tiana Truitt Age: 29 Production: Startup! The Musical Role: Producer

Tiana Truitt has the kind of New York story people dream of— she started off working in a Hell's Kitchen restaurant and saved up, little by little, chatting with regulars and learning their stories. One of them, an elderly Broadway producer, became a particular friend and mentor of hers. Tiana began learning the ways of Broadway from Mr. James and working as his assistant, and he's recently felt she's ready to produce her own show. He set aside a pile of money for her to invest in something that she thinks shows promise, and she's decided to put it into a little student production from a wunkerkind out of NYU. It's a gamble... but one Tiana hopes will pay off.

[swynlake-rp]

This is Halloween! This is Halloween! 

OTMS

MUN: S! Members applauded S for diving in head-first with two memorable new characters that we already love. From the scrappy Angel to the dignified Darius, we can’t wait to see what stories you tell here!

CHARACTER: SCAMP! From the first time he popped up on the dash, we’ve simply been obsessed with J’s Scamp! He may have just joined us, but he’s already up to some exciting new plots and we just love to see it. Welcome to Swynlake, Scamp!

Honorable Mention: PACIFICA! Pacifica had a huge month, finally escaping her parents and exposing them for their shady ways! Way to go, Pacifica, and props to L for executing a thrilling and dramatic plot.

THREAD: THE MERCREW’S GROUP THERAPY SESSIONS! We love to see a community of Magicks come together like this. While Bruce, Aquata, Alana, Gil, and Gabriella each have their own reasons for being there, we’re excited to see where this goes next. 

TASK: HARVEST WITH THE HAUNTLEYS | FOODIES! Snow, Cass, and Julieta are such a power trio, and we loved to see them team up for some fall food talk. More of this, please!!!

Honorable Mention: BACK TO SCHOOL-ISH | TANYA & ANGEL! This one got a shoutout for being a creative take on the paired thread prompt! A back-to-school thread… where neither of them actually go to the school. Way to go, S and E!

BOARD UPDATES 

THE FOREST IS NORMAL! BUT STILL CLOSED: Thanks to Ella and her deal with Grandmother Willow, it seems the forest has retreated from its invasion of the town. There’s no need to worry about creeping vines or meddlesome chipmunks anymore. However, the forest remains closed and requires a permit to access— failing to comply can result in hefty fines!

PETITION TO REOPEN THE FOREST: DENIED, Despite almost unanimously passing by the Board, the Petition to Reopen the Forest has been denied by the acting mayor. NOTE: Mayors have always had veto powers on petitions, so Eboshi isn’t technically overstepping, but it is rarely actually exercised. 

NEW SHERIFF/DEPUTY: Announcing Swynlake PD’s newest dynamic duo: Tom Harrington (Sheriff) and Maximus Keaton (Deputy)! They will be replacing Clayton now that he’s skipped town. Feel free to have your characters talk about it and hit up C and L to plot!

TASKS

EVIL TWIN: Oftentimes, your character is the hero of their own story… but what if they were the villain? Make an aesthetic and a short description of what it might be like if your character made different choices, went down a different path, and became a spooky version of themselves! (Aesthetic + 300 words)

GHOSTS: A self para or thread where your character encounters one of Swynlake’s many ghosts. Feel free to play with the ghosts that we already have in canon or invent a new one! And remember that unless you are a medium, ghosts do not appear to you. 

EVENTS

OCTOBER 4-11: BELLE’S FOREST SIT-IN Come be part of a peaceful protest to show the town’s displeasure with the closure of the forest. Characters will be occupying the forest without permits. There will be snacks and drinks.

OCTOBER 11-18: A TOTALLY NORMAL PENNY FORRESTER CHARITY CONCERT Wow, it’s so wonderful that Penny is donating her time to perform for a good cause! It’d be a shame if something… happened. Something like a peaceful but extremely theatrical protest against the suspension of the elections… (Organized by Phineas and Pip. Because of course it was). Canonically on October 14.

OCTOBER 18-25: BOARD MEETING Between the closure of the forest and the postponement of the elections, Swynlakers have a lot to be opinionated about! Come make your voice heard. Canonically October 19.

OCTOBER 25-NOVEMBER 1: HALLOWEEN FUN! Get in the Halloween spirit with Swynlake’s many offerings…

Town Hall Trick or Treat: A family-friendly Halloween bash with tables from local volunteers and businesses giving out candy. Dress up in your favorite costume and bring the family! Pixie’s Halloween Haunt: For the nightlife crowd, Pixie’s will have its annual Halloween bash and costume contest! Go all out for a chance to be crowned the winner, and check out the club’s selection of signature themed drinks. Emira and Kleopatra’s Danse Macabre: Come frolic and dance until you’re dead at Emira and Kleopatra’s danse macabre, held in the PrideU dorm common room. Medieval attire encouraged, but not required!

BIRTHDAYS

Scott “Scamp” Richards: October 2

Cassandra Hamada: October 5

Mirabel Madrigal: October 6

Agustín Madrigal: October 6

Bae "Nemo" Nam-min: October 9

Elliott Morey: October 12

Gaston D’Avenant: October 13

Rose Whitman: October 15

Thomas Harrington: October 19

Todd Sionnach: October 20

David Hatter: October 29

Zero Hallows: October 31

PLOT ROUND-UP! 

TING-TING GETS SOME NEWS

Characters Involved: Ting-Ting, Hercules, Su, Hera, Snow

Plot: Ting-Ting found out that she's pregnant -- gasp! After puking on the Ferris wheel at the fall carnival with Hercules (and also not getting her period) she had a hunch, but confirmed it with a test on Sept. 17 (John's birthday). So far, she's only told Hera, Su (and Mei) and Snow.

NORTHWEST MANSION HEIST

Characters and Muns Involved: Pacifica, Ollie

Plot: This thread is the culmination of a lot of self paras and plotting over the last few months as Pacifica and Ollie work together to steal the evidence they need to finally hold the Northwests accountable for their actions 

PHENOMENAL CAT

Characters and Muns Involved: Cass, Hiro

Plot: To make sure that Aunt Cass isn't alone, Hiro used his skills with robotics and AI to create a cat for her named Boba

LETTER NEVER SENT

Characters and Muns Involved: Jessica, Belle

Plot: Jessica reaches out to Belle for help with her harassment and Belle has to turn her down 

MERM GROUP THERAPY

Characters and Muns Involved: Bruce, Aquata, Gil, Alana, Gabriella

Plot: Bruce launched his merfolk therapy group! Aquata, Gil, Alana, and Gabriella all attended and they covered ground rules and then began discussing an anonymous online submission box where merpeople could share their concerns. They're a bit nervous about the security of the whole thing, but willing to take the risk.

KIM QUITS SSHIIT! 

Characters and Muns Involved: Annie, Kim

Plot: After being sent on a wild goose chase by Annie to investigate the residents of Southern Isles, Kim finally put her foot down and told Annie she wasn't going to do it anymore. Annie didn't take it well. 

POST-DEMON REBUILD

Characters and Muns Involved: Hercules, Aquata, Merida, Ren, Cora

Plot: The gym has been undergoing renovations following the PanDemonium attack, and the withdrawal of the forest from the pool area (bye otters ily). Everything should now be back to normal and classes have returned to their normal schedule!

GIL’S EX-LOVE COMES TO TOWN/THE RAS GETS EXTRA HELP ACTUALLY

Characters and Muns Involved: Gil, Jim, Roz

Plot: After a mission gone mostly wrong, Gil asks the RAS for extra help in Swynlake. Roz approves the request and Gil is shocked to find that his former flame/the spy he worked most closely with in NYC is now in Swynlake. TLDR: Leo is in town! Staying at the Tipton for now! Getting a lot of coffee with Gil... what does it mean??

The A.V. Club

Characters and Muns Involved: Penny Forrester, Eilonwy, Su, Angel

Plot: Penny has started a film club! People should join this if ur character likes film <3

ENCHANTRA COMES TO CALL 

Characters and Muns Involved: Ella, Tiana, Aurora

Plot: After a disagreement about Willa’s education, Enchantra grew hostile, branching out into town in protest. Though her friends offered to help any way they could, Ella came to a compromise with Grandmother Willow, setting the forest back to normal as Ella moved into her own home closer to the forest itself. 

BELLE’S REPERCUSSIONS FOR ACCIDENTALLY OPENING A PORTAL TO THE UNDERWORLD (OOPS!)

Characters Involved: Belle, Tibbs, Eilonwy, Alana, San, Mads, Berlioz, Hades, Toulouse, Ashitaka

Plot: Belle’s personal life has exploded in the wake of the Underworld opening. Her husband’s brother almost died and he won’t speak with her. Hades is disappointed in her. Her best friend, father figure, and other friends were injured. Her best friend, Berlioz, whom she told that it was her fault, is pissed at her now. She is trying to repent by throwing herself into getting the forest reopened but that’s not going well either…not to mention, Ashitaka showed up on her doorstep, causing even more problems…

BELLE GETS FIRED 

Characters Involved: Belle, Agustin, James, Simba, Rose, Gil

Plot: As if summoning a demon wasn’t enough, now Belle has been fired from InterPride for insubordination. Her summer long crusade to help a cairn of Stone Trolls has been thwarted at every turn, building to a blow up with her boss. What’s her next move going to be? 

CANDACE AND MIRABEL KISS

Characters Involved: Candace, Mirabel

Plot: At Phineas and Ed’s back to school party, Candace and Mirabel made out on the dance floor and then went back to Mirabel’s place for a hook up…except Mirabel started crying. Things got awkward and though Mirabel has apologized and explained she was upset about her ex…things are still weird

[cristianodelarenta]

marry me

Cristiano was rarely ever nervous. But tonight, he was nervous. It was the showing of the De La Renta Spring/Summer looks (both men’s and women’s attire) for Rosewood. His hometown. Sure, he’d lived other places in his life but nowhere held his heart like Rosewood. He’d truly come into his own here, fallen madly in love here, raised his family (as best he could) here. Tonight was going to be amazing and one no one would soon forget. Everything was perfectly in place and very ready. But Cris’ palms were sweating. He’d been keeping this secret from everyone - aside from maybe his assistant, who had helped him pull a lot of this together. 

The show had gone without a hitch. Cris had to wipe at his eyes when he saw his son, Nikolai, strutting down the runway. He was the picture of confidence and always reminded Cris of his Swedish model mother. He caught Keegan looking and gave him a sheepish smile, a little embarrassed to be caught teary-eyed. But as the last model headed backstage, he could hear the applause, as loud as thunder. He grinned at the stage coordinator, and put his hands over his heart, smiling gratefully at the models lining up for the last run through where they would all strut down the runway before he would follow them out. 

He reached for his son’s shoulder, and nearly wept with joy to see a smile grace Nikolai’s lips. “Thanks, Dad.” Nik said and Cristiano had to clap a hand over his mouth to keep from sobbing aloud as he nodded. 

“Of course, of course. You were so beautiful out there, mijo.” He said, pulling his son in for a tight hug, which for once, Nikolai reciprocated. And when they pulled back, Cristiano swore he could see a glimmer in his son’s eyes. He patted Nikolai’s cheek tenderly. “I love you and I’m glad you’re here tonight.” Nikolai didn’t say anything, looking away and Cristiano moved to bring an arm around Keegan, lurking nearby and pressed a kiss to the side of his longtime partner’s head before Keegan gave him a smile. He gave Keegan a wink as the models headed out and he fell into line behind them and at the last second, grabbed Keegan’s hand, pulling him along, much to his partner’s surprise. 

It was bright, camera lights were flashing, but Cristiano knew exactly where the rest of their family was in the audience. He had Keegan’s parents in the front row with Louise and Diana. The models did the turn at the end, heading backstage but Cristiano stopped at the end of the stage, microphone in hand and ready to address the crowd. “Hi, wow, thank you all so much for coming out tonight.” The applause and whistles of excitement died down when he started to speak. “I, um, just have a few quick words I’d like to say.” He looked at Keegan, who was looking at him curiously now. “Um, I don’t know if you all know Keegan Dolsen. My fabulous fellow designer and my partner for - well, at least - the last ten concurrent years.” Cris’ brows knit, suddenly forgetting all the pretty words he had planned to say and finding it hard to continue, but he pressed on. This was important. This was Keegan deserved. The commitment he should have given him years ago. “And, um, we’ve been through a lot of shit together. Lots of ups and downs since we started this thing when we still were trying to figure ourselves out... Well, maybe not you, Keeg, but I know I was. And you have been always so patient with me, even when I’m being a total diva.” He chuckled a little and took Keegan’s hand in his once more before he got down on one knee, to the sounds of gasps from the audience. “Keegan Dolsen, I’ve loved you since the day we met I think and I should have asked you this many, many years ago now, but... Will you marry me?” ( @keegan-dolsen ) 

[discordhelp]

have you been wanting to get into rping on discord but just didn’t know where the heck to start? never fear: discordhelp is here to present our beginner’s crash course guide to discord rp! in this guide, we’ll go over some commonly used terms, give some ideas of what to expect when joining your first discord rp, and link to some resources to help get you going.

one of the great but trickier parts of rping on discord is the fact that no two groups will ever be exactly alike -- each server you join will always have its own unique layout, culture, etc. so of course we can’t give you an exact description of each and every one of them, but hopefully this will help you feel a little more comfortable in getting ready to check one out for yourself.

our inbox is always open for questions about this guide, anything else we make, or discord rp as a whole, so if there’s anything we forgot to include or you’d like more clarification on please feel free to drop us a line! please like & reblog if you found this useful!

GLOSSARY

SERVERS. servers can be thought of almost as a self-contained, private forum. generally they’re inaccessible to anyone without an invite -- some groups do publish an invite link to allow anyone with the link to join, while others only send their invite link out to members who have already applied & been accepted into the group. this will be your main hub of activity! some bigger groups will also have multiple servers for organizational purposes, such as one for ooc interactions, one for para threads, etc. each server will be laid out a little differently based on the group’s needs and the admins’ preferences, but to get an idea of what some potential server layouts may look like, you can take a peek at some of the server templates we’ve made and reblogged in the past right here!

CATEGORIES. these are essentially folders within a server meant for grouping channels together. most servers will have a category for ooc channels, important group information, various different setups for ic interactions, and so on. the great thing about this is that categories are all collapsible, so you can minimize them to hide its channels. this does not mute anything, however, so every time there’s an unread message in a channel in a collapsed category, you will still receive a notification for it, which will pop up beneath the category accordingly.

CHANNELS. this is where the magic happens. you can think of every channel in a server kind of like its own little group chat, with each channel having a clear intended purpose. from your general ooc chat, admin announcements, starter & plotting call channels, and ic interaction channels, these are used for just about everything. it’s important that you make sure you’re using them how they’re intended, so if you’re uncertain what a particular channel’s purpose is, check with your admins!

THREADS. these are still a pretty new feature and not all groups use them, and the ones that do tend to have extremely varied ways of implementing them. we’re actually working on a big masterpost right now all about threads and we’ll come back and edit this post to link it once it’s up, but for now what you need to know is that threads basically function as temporary channels that offshoot from an actual channel. they auto-archive after 24 hours if no new messages have been sent in them.

below is an example of how categories, channels, and active threads look in action.

PINNED POSTS. server admins (and members with the specific permission) have the ability to pin posts in a channel, which basically just bookmarks it for easy access later on. this might be used in certain channels to make important information more easily accessible, so it’s always a good idea to check the little pushpin icon in the top right of the screen on desktop or above the users list on mobile.

REACTIONS. one of the fun parts about discord is that you can add a reaction to just about any message, which is an emoji that gets tacked onto the message itself (example below). mostly this is just used to emphasize or respond to messages as you’d expect, but sometimes reactions are used for other purposes as well. for example, many discord groups gauge group activity via interest checks rather than activity checks, in which everyone in the server will be tagged by the admins and have a specific amount of time (usually 24 hours) to add a reaction onto the message to show they’d still like to be in the group. there’s also the use of reaction roles, in which adding a specific reaction to a specific message will allow a bot to assign you a corresponding role in the server.

ROLES. roles can be used for all different kinds of things, but generally they’re used to group server members together in some way. for example, most servers will have a role for admins and a role for members. some servers have roles for members’ pronouns, muse names, and other various purposes. server members can be tagged by role so that all members with that role will get a ping, but others in the server will not.

TAGGING. this is just @’ing another user to get their attention! it’ll give them a red notification bubble and highlight the message they were tagged in. in discord rps, people will often tag each other in their para replies to make sure their partner sees it, or when starting a new thread / channel. it’s also possible to tag @/everyone and ping the whole server, but this is generally frowned upon if you’re not a server admin.

PERMISSIONS. these aren’t anything you have to worry about too much if you’re not a server admin, but there are different things you may be restricted from doing in parts of the server as a member -- for example, you may not be able to send messages in certain channels, add your own channels in certain categories, and so on. if you have a question about or difficulty with permissions, talk to your server admins!

BOTS. these are automated programs that can be added to a server to assist with various functions. there’s a huge variety of bots out there and which ones your admins decide to implement is up to them, but some common ones that are used are moderator bots (which help with admin duties such as sending admins a message when someone joins or leaves the server, setting up reaction roles, etc), bots that allow users to send anonymous messages (click here for more info on those), dice rolling or randomizer bots, and of course...

TUPPERBOX. tupper is probably the most widely-used bot for discord rp. it’s a bot that essentially allows you to create your own character profile for each of your muses, so when you post in character it looks like it came from them and not your own account (example below). we have two guides on how to set up your tuppers here and here, and a few other tutorials about tupper usage you can check out right here!

JOINING A GROUP

now that we’ve got the terms down, let’s look at what to expect when you join your first discord rpg! we’ll break it down into steps below:

REVIEW RULES. this is one of the first things you should do upon joining a new server. even if you found the group through tumblr and there were rules on the main or advertisement, make sure to look over them again! sometimes there will be additional, server-specific rules only found here.

APPLICATION. some groups have members apply in the server itself rather than via a tumblr main or other method, so if you haven’t applied to join the group yet, now’s the time to do so! in groups like this, there should be a channel for applications, so head on over there and make sure you follow the format as laid out by the admins!

INTRODUCE YOURSELF. once the above is taken care of, make your ooc introduction! most servers will have a channel specifically for this purpose, some with a predetermined format and some without, but it’s usually always a good idea to include your name, age, pronouns, timezone, and muse(s) at the very least. it’s also a good idea to go say hi in the ooc chat while you’re at it!

TUPPERBOX. if you haven’t done so already, you’ll want to set up your tupper for your character(s), and like everything else, typically you’ll find a channel dedicated in the server for this very purpose. again, we encourage you to look at the tutorials we have on tupperbox registration linked in our glossary!

EXPLORE. lastly, go ahead and poke around the server and familiarize yourself with the layout and different categories! if it’s a smaller group, usually admins will assign a category to each mun or muse, which means you’ll have free rein to add whatever individual channels you see fit. this includes muse intros, musings, tracker, etc! however, if it’s a larger group, there will typically be a category dedicated to muse intros and musings and other ooc things. it just depends on how the admins organize things!

otherwise, don’t be afraid to ask questions! the world’s kind of your oyster from here!

IC INTERACTIONS

PLOTTING & STARTER CALLS. open starters aren’t generally much of a thing in discord rps, so interactions tend to rely pretty heavily on making plotting & starter calls. there are typically channels for this, and usually how it works is that you’ll make a post in that channel offering to plot or write starters, and anyone who adds a reaction to it is looking to do so! plotting is generally done in the dms.

TEXTING & PARA THREADS. there are typically two different kinds of interactions in discord groups, and the prevalence of each definitely changes from group to group, with some being more balanced between the two and some leaning more towards one or the other. there are of course para threads, which are your typical face-to-face style narrative interactions, but a popular draw for discord rps is the ability to implement texting threads -- basically text messages sent in character. these tend to be much more fast-paced, in the moment interactions, and are good for furthering character relationships when you don’t necessarily have time to do a whole para. there are also often in character group chats that serve a similar purpose, which can be a great way to get your characters to interact with ones they normally might not!

and there you have it! hopefully this will get you off to a good start when it comes to joining your first discord group. happy rping :)

[rpbetter]

I'm a novella roleplayer who writes long-term threads. Since this is very rare on tumblr, I've noticed that many muns are intimidated or put off by how much I write, how much information there is on my muse, and other things inherent to long-term roleplay. People have even told me outright, "I'm intimidated by you". But I do wonder if there's another component besides, well, just the amount of writing I do. Maybe there's a way to negate some of this by using certain techniques, wording, etc in my rules and overall presentation. Do you have any advice on how to reduce how intimidating I seem, even with the amount of writing I do? Any particular things I should avoid? And at what point should I just not worry about it, because it's out of my control?

Hello, Anon! Thank you very much for this question, I think it's a discussion many could benefit from. That should probably be head's up for everyone that this is going to get long, yes.

People have also told me, outright, that they're "intimidated," and I know that's something my writing partners have been told as well. It's also something that seems to be a common statement toward novella roleplayers in particular, and one's chance of having it said increases with factors such as being a long-term RPer, particularly good vocabulary, visible skill with writing, and indeed, having a muse you've dedicated obvious time to developing - made obvious in not only the amount of information available on your muse but also in your confidence about that muse.

I honestly do not think most people who say this any more realize that it's a little offensive than they know precisely what it is they are trying to tell you. Regardless, it makes it a bit hard to know what you're doing, if it's actually something wrong, is it something you can or should change, or is it just another case of being the minority in the RPC, therefore, having more muns out there that you're not suited to writing with? No one knows, because it's vague!

So, I’m additionally going to beg everyone out there to not say this. Please, if you find yourself categorizing another RPer as “intimidating,” do everyone a favor and consider what is making you feel this way, even if you never tell them this. Eventually, you will tell someone, and if you’ve thought on it already, you’ll be better able to express yourself in a way that is neither offensive nor vague. If you do tell someone they are “intimidating,” expand on it and be specific. Tell them whether it is the length, writing style, the mun OOC, it’ll be very helpful. You needn’t be shitty about it, just honest and polite.

Try: “I’m not confident enough to write with you, I don’t feel like I’m capable of writing that much, or that well, but I would love to keep following so I can read it!”

You’ve not been offensive at all, but have told them what your difficulty is. You’ve also kept this a you problem, not a them problem. When we tell people they are “intimidating,” that is a negative connotation that implies they are doing something wrong. We've made it a Them Problem. Maybe there is something they could work on, but your feelings over perceived limitations aren’t their problem. They can’t change the way you feel about yourself and your writing in contrast to theirs. By saying it this way, it’s still clear that you don’t think this will work out, you’ve told them why, and you’ve done it without projecting responsibility.

Alright, sorry, just in case anyone out there who says this and isn’t immediately turned off by the length of this reads it.

As I said, I've been told this as well, when it seemed like a mun that would be alright with me asking for specifics, I have. Unfortunately, they couldn't describe those specifics in any more detailed terms. I'm not saying this to shame anyone's capacity to describe their impressions or wishes, sometimes even the best writers aren't good at expressing themselves more personally. I'm just saying that a clearer description wasn't possible, and that I am taking this from what has been expressed by these people and others in limited ways, directly stated or vented about vaguely.

The length appears to be the predominating issue.

"It's just a lot," "I feel like I'd miss things in it," "intense," and "I like quicker back and forth" are some of the major points that have been made to or around me. They're the first and primary things that are mentioned, and they all deal with the length (though, the intensity thing also deals with the writing itself).

As you already know, as a novella RPer and how unpopular that is, the length is usually an issue, yes. Let me rephrase that - it is an issue that is a part of the vague descriptor of being "intimidating," I do not feel that lengthy RP itself is a problem! Just the problem that some muns are having with seeing you as a viable, approachable RP partner.

Looking at someone's writing is something I always highly advise doing while looking for new partners, but I believe that our writing as novella RPers can obscure it for some when they're not actively a writing partner yet, thus, not involved in it. I enjoy reading threads I am not a part of, and since everyone I write with is also novella, that means I'm essentially reading short stories every time I do - that's not typical. Most people just see Wall of Text in a novella thread they're not involved in.

It's kind of a seeing the individual trees in a forest situation, and might not have anything to do with the mun's potential interest or viability as a partner. I mean, I doubt you're looking to engage interest of short multi-para or one-line muns, since that isn't your preferred writing type and yours is not theirs. So, you're likely looking at the few and far between other novella and any lengthier multi-para muns. So, it's not going to be an issue of simply being novella, thus immensely overwhelming and not their thing. It's more likely to be that your novella is particularly lengthy, and again, they're not yet involved in it. They’re seeing a task, not the fun engagement of it yet.

I know that I've had several mid to lengthier multi-para muns approach me wanting to write, they're usually interested specifically in beginning to move toward doing novella. They also see the fruits of these great storylines, OOC friendships, and in-thread relationships on the dash, not the building that went into them. The expectation is different from the reality, and once they start receiving my replies, that can quickly turn overwhelming. They've now got something on their hands that has been too lengthy for other, established novella writers, and it's all at the beginning still with the muses.

This is when I tend to get that I'm intimidating from people who have begun to write with me, and I think it is telling of the Wall of Text problem with partners you've not gained yet, too. The problem of how they're viewing the writing is that they do not see things within it that are immediately, and easily, engaging to them specifically.

The people I referenced, they're having the same problem. Our muses do not know each other, there is no established connection of animosity or affection, no "dynamic" to fuel their replies. When looking at a lengthy novella reply and trying to judge interest in writing with the mun, they're naturally not going to see that either, since it doesn't exist yet.

And it might not exist at all.

I want to be clear to everyone that I am not saying one needs to write in a way that is not enjoyable to them, I'm just guessing at problems based on the majority of the RPC's interests and what I have been told over the years, a lot of years. Like, no one come at me about forcing anyone to write anything, or being acephobic or something fucking nuts, thanks!

People are really, really into the romantic ships. I do not care what the RPC says because it knows it's the right thing to say lol if it wasn't true, it wouldn't be a huge, and totally observable as true, problem that characters who are hard to ship with or do not ship are passed over. Regardless of beautiful writing, engaging muses, and incredible worldbuilding, they're passed over because they're not a ship partner in the waiting.

So, it's quite possible that if you do not have threads in which there are observable ships, muns are seeing the Wall of Text because there's nothing that grabs at their particular interests. I don't even just mean smut, either. I've found that far more muns than there used to be are willing to not write that, but they still want the ships.

You might be a RPer who does not do shipping at all, has a difficult to ship with muse, or who simply does not place this as a priority in your own interests. There is nothing wrong with either direction of this preference! It’s alright for people to have preferences, even if they can feel annoying to us because they’re leaving us out, or we genuinely just do not get the thrill. It’s totally okay for people to not be interested in shipping, or not place a particularly high value on it, and more muns than the RPC realizes feel this way. It’s as unpopular, and far more limiting, take on RP as being here openly only for them is. There’s nothing wrong with you as a writer or a person if you don’t write ships and smut, but it is the opposite of many people’s interests here. This would be something you can’t control, yeah. It’s still good to know as a part of the puzzle!

They see a lot of things they do not have any instant feelings about and/or what they perceive as interaction points. As, unfortunately, the predominant mode of writing here is reactive, and in brutal honesty, often self-interested. It's not rewarding to many muns in this RPC to build stories cooperatively together for the sake of those stories and love of the muses, they require putting their muse on display, having impassioned interactions through that muse's reactions.

So, you might be writing the most vivid scenes, the most beautiful character study, and letting your muse be a fleshed out, realistic person, but they're seeing "I can't react to this."

Which is, by the way, bullshit. Not just that it's bullshit as a way to try to write together, it's also bullshit in that you can react to anything. You can react to, literally, nothing. If you're muse has said not a word to mine for an entire reply, not physically interacted with them, they're just sitting there in a chair staring off into space (also not a great way to write, but I'm giving an extreme example) the whole time, I can react to that.

To be fair, my primary muse is really uh, busy, let's say lol it does make him both incredibly easy to interact with and very easy to generate natural reactions from. And that might also be a problem people are having...

Your muse is quiet.

They're the opposite of someone who is physically or verbally “busy.” They think more than they move or speak, they remain at emotional, verbal, and physical distances from others. The quiet, and still, type on the outside.

I don't think there's anything wrong with that, I love reading a muse's internal processes because I'm approaching this as a reader as much as I am a writer. It doesn't need to be something my muse can know or react to for me to enjoy it, I want to enjoy your muse, other people's muses are part of the joy of RP for me. And not just in what I might achieve having mine interact with them. There are muses mine very, very much did not work out with that I have continued to enjoy the stories of for years without writing with them!

But that's me. And I'm weird.

A lot of people are going to look at the sort of writing, particularly when not involved with it yet, and see...Words. Maybe they don't find them boring or any such thing, but they can't so easily envision themselves responding to it with the sort of vigor required to reply with length in kind. It's again the same dual issue going on that might just be making your writing difficult to approach.

It might be legitimately daunting, and might be more so if...

You're well-written.

One would think this would be a boon to written roleplay, but I haven't seen it be that in a long time. On tumblr, that has weirdly come to signify "elitism."

It's not just more legitimately intimidating for some out there because they feel they cannot write as well as you, might appear lacking or boring, end up dropped because of it. No, of course not! It's tumblr, where decent behavior as well as logic comes to die! It's because they've gotten the idea that you might be shitty to them because you posses more experience, skill, or innate talent with writing.

That's not helped when every time someone is told on any basis at all, in any manner at all, or one has any existent expectations for RPing that someone else might take issue with as though they're being forced to comply with them instead of not interacting, people freak out and call it elitism. Since most people who choose to be mutuals only and as such, are going to have to decline sometimes, are also those who are lengthier RPers...we're all categorized as Elitists.

People see what works for us as different kinds of RPers as something that is in opposition to them, and judgement of them. We can’t have scores of active partners when we write ten thousand word or more replies to everyone, it doesn’t work for us, and that doesn’t mean we think you’re an awful RPer for doing this differently than we do. We’re just exercising boundaries that are necessary for the way we enjoy it. Like how much length in return, literacy, and dedication we’re going to give and expect in return. It isn’t passing judgement, but when you want to write with a particular portrayal and they’re limited threads, mutuals only, novella and it shuts you out of the interaction, it’s easy to agree with the posts you’ve seen condemning differences of choice as elitist and hateful.

While you'd hope that people would exercise their own judgement, with the way that the RPC is so often on edge, you can't entirely blame people for being willing to believe they can identity a potential source of unpleasantness to avoid. As wild as it is, that includes people within the novella community. Your OOC is too well-spoken, your writing is too well-written? Might be an elitist. Even while they write much the same way as you do without realizing it!

I think when most people say someone here is "intimidating," it's not exactly what they mean, but for others, it's more literal than it is literary.

If you have any reason to believe this might be part of the issue, while I would never advise anyone to alter their writing to be something they personally feel is lesser than what they're capable of, you might want to consider a greater air of the casual in any OOC posts you make. Try to be as approachable there as you can - so long as that doesn't mean lying about it, of course! If we're genuinely not that gregarious or socially open, we shouldn't act like that's the case. That sets up one party with expectations that are neither true nor going to prove anything but frustrating to the other party.

I've had some success with that! And, even at my most casual, I'm not the most approachable of people lol I come off as rather intense, kind of aggressive, way too salty, curses flow from me like water during a monsoon, interspersed with...well, things like "interspersed." So, if I've seen success with that, it's possible that muns who are more genuinely gregarious, chill, and verbally polite people might see it as well!

It seems to be a case of allowing other muns the opportunity to see that you, yourself, are not frightening. You're just a person like they are, and a person who isn't going to be hateful to them if they are not perfect writers or perfectly on your level of writing. When that is apparent, approaching the writing itself is more openly done - yes, this mun has a grasp on description/dialogue/vocabulary/descriptive scenes that I do not, but they don't aggressively think they're the shit for it, so, it's safe for me to try to interact.

The Wall of Words that was once a poster for how badly they might be treated is now a collection of RP replies.

Write for the partners you want to attract.

Again, I do not want anyone to stop writing in the way they enjoy! However, what we put out is also what we attract to a large degree. It could be that your writing is an attractant for only a very small portion of the RPC, and it already is, by virtue of being both novella and the sort of novella it is.

That's very easy to do anyway, but even more so if we have few partners to write with. What we have on display is minimal, it might not have the range we're actually capable of, and therefore, might not be attracting that range of muns.

This is something I have experienced as well, though it was a little different a situation. Upon first writing RP on tumblr, I couldn't find anyone writing novella. I could barely find anyone doing short multi-para. Just as I'd find it inappropriate for someone approaching me to insist that I do one-line RP because it's what they do, I didn't find it appropriate to force novella on these muns. That's what I agreed to by interacting with them, after all! It isn't what I enjoy doing, however, it's harder for me to write short replies, so, I was consistently on the lookout for novella partners.

Those novella partners couldn't exactly see decades of my lengthy RPs, though, since they didn't take place on tumblr. They could only see the current threads, which were all quite short and rather limited in range of action, tone, muse interaction, and so on. Basically, just about whatever someone was willing to give me, and those things were pretty similar. I couldn't exactly blame potential partners for looking at this "resume" and thinking that I just thought I wanted to write novella, but was capable of neither that nor the sort of stories I wished to create.

Since I couldn't find partners to organically give me these different things, I wrote them sans partners. Much of this was in headcanon form, showing that I had spent quite a long time thinking about my canon character as more than was presented in canon only, as well as showing that I could string more than a paragraph together, but it seems like you've got the muse information down, so this might not be the best direction for you.

That might be the other thing I wrote to this end: one shots.

Especially as I do not do open starters as someone who requires some plotting, these served as a way of allowing various situations to be displayed in which other muns could better see what interacting with my muse was actually like. They could see that this truly is the way I'd prefer to write, this is a better display of my muse under various conditions and emotions, and this is how interacting with my muse as this or that type of person might go.

I don't know if you have a canon, OC, or multiples of both, but it also seemed to be helpful that I took canon events people might be familiar with and wrote snippets of them from my muse's perspective - yes, even if they were already in those events, it shows your unique portrayal. People like that for the same reason they like fanfic, a dozen people can write a canon event and give you a dozen different takes on it. It meant that they'd be more likely to read it at all, too, let's be honest.

If you have an OC, you can flesh out a fandom-specific verse they have by writing such a one shot revolving around a fandom event. I'd say not to directly insert your OC into a major canon event, but if you're going to anyway, be sure you are giving realistic changes that might occur with this character's presence in that event. Not going overboard and making them the thing that saves the day, not just having them there in the midst of some great cataclysm miraculously surviving to bear witness only. It's still my advice to place them within that world and have them aware of an event.

Something like...trying to think of a fandom and event the most people would be familiar with here...your OC is in the MCU or has a verse there, they're employed as a police officer with the NYPD - tell me what they did at work the day of the invasion in New York City in the 2012 Avengers. Did they see superheroes in the distance while they and their fellow officers were engaged in a situation they were in no way equipped to handle? And how did your OC feel about that?

That sort of thing.

If it's a canon, try to think of a situation that isn't represented among your current threads, but that is also going to be of interest potential partners. If you have few threads showing your muse in friendship with another, find something in their canon that does. No threads with much action, go for that. Show an aspect of your muse that was present when they were younger, but that is downplayed in them now. Show some things that will be new information from your unique portrayal, and do all of this while displaying your range as a writer - you can be more serious or more fun, can destroy someone with angst or make them hope a ship works out well.

This way, you're showing people what all they might get, not just what you've been given to work with. That can go a long way toward negating feelings of "intimidation" if all they're seeing is you doing one thing extremely well, so well that they feel they cannot compete with it. So, yeah, write the things you feel you're not good at, too! It puts people at ease to see you're not perfect either.

As regards rules...

Oh, boy...lmao with no intent to inflame anyone's righteousness here, so long as your rules are conveying what you feel they should, they're fine. I'm not going to say that rules cannot be a turn off, that you shouldn't find a voice that is clear, polite, and when it needs to be, firm. It's simply that you do not come off as someone who needs to be told that, Anon. If you're worried about how your rules might sound, they're almost certainly fine.

However, rules are the way they are for a reason - if you feel like you're coming off as too strict, harsh, whatever, there might be a reason why that was your first inclination. If you remake them to be softer, are you going to run into the same problems that caused you to harden them before?

I know, you're trying to attract people and downplay a notion of being "intimidating," but it's important to realize that, short of either finding a way to please everyone who comes across them or telling everyone to do whatever they please, you have no opinions, expectations, or needs, you're going to put people off. I've seen people be incredibly offended by the nicest of rules simply because they were rules. They were still clearly stated boundaries that did not align with what was desired.

For example, if I were to have in my RP rules the following:

My rules are basically just have fun and don't be a dick! This is just a hobby, I'm not paying you.

That's going to turn some people off and anger them because that's, firstly, incredibly vague, secondly, the latter part has become seriously negative.

If I were to have in my RP rules this:

I have a lot of detailed rules because I want to only write with people who will be as dedicated to it as I am, I'd rather we know now than later that we're not a good match before anyone is disappointed or offended!

That's going to turn some people off and anger them because it is contrary to the way they view and partake in the hobby. To these people, it'll come off as ridiculous expectations that are aggressive despite the wording not being so.

The point is, because this is a hobby dependent upon interacting with other people, there is a lot that is out of your control.

I probably should have done a better segue to this, but hey - most of this is out of your control.

By its very nature of individuals interacting, what is "intimidating" means different things to everyone. What I find to be that, isn't going to be what you find to be so. You can't know what someone, let alone everyone who says this, means by it in order to make those changes.

Some of those changes are a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation, like the rules.

Other changes are undesirable. You, obviously, cannot RP without partners, but it's no good making changes that will see the partners you won't work with being added, or that will ruin the things you enjoy about RP. If changing your writing style is going to do that, don't do it. If opening up new types of plots is going to do so, don't do it. Anything that is going to excessively give you stress or personal disappointment isn't a change you should make. That’s the sort of shit that was meant by it being “just a hobby” in the beginning - you’re not obliged to make yourself miserable like you are at a job sometimes, and you aren’t beholden to the standards of a professional author unless you wish to be.

It's wonderful that you're addressing this problem from the perspective of what you can do! The idea of changing much of anything is a negative one to many people. They have to be carefully approached to even consider that as a possibility, and once they do, it's more often than not that the reaction is volatile. We never think we're perfect until someone so much as loosely implies we might need work on something. So, your willingness and interest in what you can do to fix something nebulous is both incredible and a credit to how approachable you probably are in all actuality.

It bodes really well, is what I'm saying lol or...it would, if this were not the environment that it is. One in which people do react with volatility to anything that does not go exactly and immediately the way they desire. Including wanting to interact with a particular muse, then seeing that the mun doesn't write in their preferred style, length, or with their desired topics.

Many times, that's really what is meant by "intimidating." It isn't truly that they're afraid of you or your writing, but rather, that they're not getting exactly what they think they want, in the way they want, on the timeline they want. But they don't want to be offensive, they're walking on eggshells like most everyone is when telling someone, "I'm sorry, but I don't think we'll work out" is tantamount to personally attacking them.

So, giving what they feel is a compliment that still shuts down the possibility of someone trying to push for interaction anyway, that becomes the best approach. They're not giving you specifics because no, they may not even know those specifics, it might just be the feeling your writing gives them, but they're also not giving them when they have them because they don't want to be unfairly taken to task for the crime of being honest with you. After all, when we don't know someone OOC yet, we don't know that they're a reasonable person. Telling someone, "I like what you're doing, I love your muse, but the tone of your writing isn't something I can reply to, it's just too different," might have them defensively putting words in your mouth.

As I said, asking someone for details didn't get me very far. I've had to try to piece together what "intimidating" means to many different people over the years by what they tell me in conversations away from the mun they said was thus more than anything. So, don't expect that you'll get much either, but next time someone tells you this, if they seem like someone who won't take as you pressing for interaction and react badly, ask them to give you specifics. Tell them you'd like to know what makes you intimidating to them so that you can work on it, that it would really help you out to know. Make it about them helping you, not declining you.

Just going off of the only writing I have from you, which is definitely not sufficient (if you'd like, you can always submit a portion of your in character writing or tumblr message me some of it so that I might be able to be more effective) since it's both short and OOC, I'd say people might feel that you're not...relaxed? Not entirely the word I am looking for, I apologize! But something in that vein!

It doesn't come off like you're frighteningly or excessively official to me, but knowing tumblr, I can see it. Because you are quite well-spoken, and even in this casual format, you are displaying good grammar and principle. Fifteen years ago, I might have also felt something like “intimidated" by you!

Like everywhere, tumblr is full of educational snobbery. Which is insane, considering it's also full of crimes against writing that make me want to rip my hair out, but anyway...the mark of being authoritative is to display one's intellect the only way we truly can here - by suddenly out writing everyone. If we're already establishing ourselves as well-spoken muns, we've laid the foundation of being capable of utterly destroying someone publicly by shaming them on a core level.

Tumblr is also full of people who are not at a point of life experience, and the writing experience accrued within it, to use what they've learned in the higher education the majority have or are presently obtaining. It's easy for younger people to feel pre-offended by someone who writes with more skill and confidence than they do. They've bought into the notion of such validations of superiority, but they can't quite lay those down upon themselves yet, or see that they’re capable of this and it doesn’t make them an elitist, so, it’s absurd to assume everyone else is on the same pretext.

Please, everyone here under, like, 25, I'm not shaming you. I've obviously long internalized it as well! When I'm angry, I don't become less articulate, I become more so. That probably says something unpleasant about how well I understand this problem. So, don't be offended. It's a societal problem, we're all impacted by it. It just takes a little bit to realize these things is what I'm saying here. Not that you're dumb and malicious because you're young and learning.

With this in mind, it's very possible that some younger muns, or muns who have otherwise been given cause to feel they are lesser than you because of your proper writing, might be intimidated by it. Part of that is also that proper writing, and verbal speech, can come off as lacking warmth. It can be impersonal, give fewer clues as to someone's tone when that's already lacking in writing that isn't descriptive, as in an RP thread itself.

Again, I always have a bit of an issue recommending someone change something vital about themselves, and one's mode of writing is that. However, you might want to consider giving way to some indicators of not being official in your OOC behavior toward others. It's something that I did, something I will admit I still struggle with as well. I'm not naturally inclined to add things like a :) or a xD because I have some problems conveying those things either correctly or organically in person. If I'm not either, literally, acting or feeling something intensely, I'm the grand master of resting bitch face no matter what I'm feeling.

As a quick on-the-safe-side interruption: people, please, I am aware that some forms of neurodivergence can exhibit in struggles with understanding and conveying tone, as can be the side effect of some medications and physical conditions. It’s possible that you have this difficulty, Anon, it’s possible that some of the people you have approached do. Advising how to work on understanding and conveying tone with these difficulties in mind is a huge post of its own, however. (Though, if people might be interested in it, I can add it to the list, of course.) All we can do is try our best, work on it, and if we know we have this issue, politely warn partners in your rules so they know you’re not coming off less emotive and warm intentionally. You’re not thinking yourself in an ivory tower above them. I so do not want to be bitched at about how advising someone in ways to be more approachable in text is ableist, just don’t. I don’t know you, Anon, so I don’t know what difficulties you may or may not have, if you do have some complication that is impacting this in your own opinion, please, just send another ask and I can work with that information more specifically!

It's also...it grates on my nerves when people text speak, I'm not going to lie. So, forcing myself to do anything too close to it feels like someone has separated the halves of my brain. I do it because it can make people more comfortable, I don't sound like a damn robot like I easily can when trying to explain something with a lot of specifics, for example.

What was easier was letting go of the inhibition of writing conversationally. That is always something that is advised against intensely, it isn't proper writing. Don't write like you speak, and all that. It's often been my inclination to write conversationally, even if I struggled to let the hell go and actually do it, and when I allowed myself to do so, people responded to it much better. It's something I get compliments on as a part of what can make my storytelling immersive, humorous, relatable, and frightening. (Just so that the last bit there isn't confounding - in addition to the professional writing that sometimes pays for my internet, I write horror lol...now y'all know! I deal in "freak shit," I'm sure.)

People responded to me much better. I still get that my writing is intimidating, but it tends to be over length and wording more than being wholly unapproachable. Too like trying to respond to a novel that most people would only listen to if it was about a character they were deeply into and read by an actor they were also deeply into. There seems to be a more natural engagement with the material for more people this way.

I'm only using this as an example of something I found that worked to some degree in making me more approachable, meant to say that there might be something that you would enjoy, unique to yourself, that would make your writing more approachable for more muns. I'm in no way recommending that you, or anyone else, try to go with what I did! That isn't going to work out for everyone, of course. It isn't everyone's solution in those specifics, just the idea that following what people have expressed they especially enjoy about your writing could be a good path.

Other things to consider:

When you have obtained a new partner who says this not in declining further interaction, but within a conversation or one of those interaction memes, especially if you are writing them a starter at this time, experiment with what you can do in your writing that makes it more approachable. I say “experiment” because this is another point of individuality, it's naturally going to vary like everything else.

Like I said above a few times, most people approach RP in terms of reaction. And, again too, that's part of RP. I didn't say it earlier because I felt like that was obvious, but after considering...how tumblr is, I probably should say it. It is necessary to have things to react to in order to build the interaction between muses and their world. I believe in the “yes, and” method and having things to react to. My meaning by saying that people approach RP in terms of reactions was that people excessively do so. Their muses have trouble existing fully in their own right sometimes, they literally require multiple points of possible reaction.

So, give it to them while you’re figuring each other’s writing out.

When you're writing your starter or replies, give them what I call Actionable Points in unexpected places. For example, when your muse is doing as I said earlier, sitting in their chair, having Deep Thoughts they're not expecting any action within, give them something in the environment itself to interact with. Perhaps there is a pet, an insect, temperature change, or sound for their muse to notice.

He was still, as though the animating force of his very soul had flown. So entrapping were his thoughts that the ladybug making its way across the floor, technically before his eyes, escaped notice. No notice, even as it briefly took flight like a tiny, skipping stone across water, headed for where his attention would truly prefer to light as well.

Which would be, of course, the other muse in the room. They can't interact with the things in your muse's mind that you're revealing to the mun, but they can have their attention jump to the insect. They can also react to your muse’s facial expressions, most people make micro-expressions even while in thought, but this isn’t as active or available.

Just small, simple possibilities that make no difference to the immediate happenings in the thread. They can become things of great difference, that's half the fun of it! How something like a bug can alter the course of a thread's trajectory is really cool to see happen.

By doing this, feeding multiple Actionable Points into the reply, you're giving someone who feels intimidated by the thread's length and weight more points to feel active within it. If they can see themselves interactively within the text of the story, it's less intimidating I've found.

Eventually, people relax and start creating these points for themselves. They're now part of this story and its direction, so they organically see things within it. While their muse is in the room with the Chair Muse, they notice a ladybug on the floor themselves because they feel comfortable and confident enough to create that sort of realistic moment.

Most of my experiments of this nature have had that objective - make my writing partner feel more confident about their writing, muse, themselves. It either works out wonderfully, or...you can spoon-feed some people actions, ideas, and confidence forever without them ever taking up the spoon themselves (some people will totally miss the spoon every time, even). At the latter point, if they're still feeling unconfident about writing with you, "intimidated," it's never going to change. It might be better that this be addressed as something that simply isn't going to work out for either of you.

Because it can become tiresome to do this. Tiresome and disheartening, and you never want to set yourself up to feel like you've wasted your effort and energy. That's a great way to experience burnout and frustration.

Another thing to make yourself, and by nature of that, your writing, more approachable and available is to put out a decent variety of memes for people to send you and engaging in tagging games. Not only do these not need to be writing memes like starters, it's better that they are not! If someone is intimidated by you/your writing, they're not going to engage with a meme meant to begin a thread.

Reblog memes that are meant to be answered OOC like headcanon asks, writing asks, and asks about the mun. Do tag games with tests in them, bolding aesthetics or other information, and those that give details about the muse...or even yourself, there are Munday versions as well!

The point of doing this is to show people you want to interact with them, neither you nor your writing is scary and removed from the vox populi of the RPC. You're not someone with so much skill that you're above such common pursuits. You're just another RPer with the same things of interest as they do - enjoying yourself whether it's something silly like a quiz that tells you what coffee your muse would be or an in-depth headcanon. Just another mun who loves their muse and wants interactions with them.

This, too, is something I tried, and it might have been the most successful thing I did. It's even easier to do these days, as more muns don't just tag people outright, but rather, offer that anyone can take it, they just want to be tagged back so they can see the results. You don't have to wait for someone who neither knows you nor knows whether you'd be alright with being tagged to tag you in them anymore!

And as an aside, this is why I encourage that. I've seen some muns out there taking issue with it, thinking it lazy and less interactive for people to be forgoing tagging others in it. Yes, it is unfortunate that you might miss such a game from a mutual or friend, but you do realize you can go to their blog anytime? You can search their tag for these kinds of dash games, or scroll what you missed while you were away, and I recommend doing that anyway with close friends because tumblr's notifs are perpetually screwed.

It's not less inclusive, it's more so. I think it could even go a distance toward lessening the illusion that all friendships in the RPC are "cliques." Instead of the same five muns, none of whom are you, being tagged every time because they occur more quickly to the mun who interacts with them often, there is an open invitation for you to do it. It allows muns to be more visible to those they haven't established friendships with yet and allows others to put themselves out there as approachable and interested.

Alright, back on topic!

Send others these sorts of interactions when you see them. Unless someone has it in the tags or their rules that memes are only for established writing partners, send them an applicable meme.

Applicable, in this case, would be those OOC-answered memes. With most muns, it would be poor form to send in memes that are too personal. Such as sending someone you've never really spoken to, plotted with, etc. a particularly raunchy headcanon ask. I was going to give an example, but for the sake of keeping this SFW lol...we all know the sort of ask I speak of.

With some muns, this isn't an issue. Any excuse to talk about their muse is a good excuse, and they'd not have reblogged the meme if they did not intend for people to send it in. I know that I'm such a mun, and unless someone only ever sends me sexually explicit questions like this, I don't mind at all. It's just an aspect of my muse to detail in a HC.

Just exercise reasonable awareness - "read the room." If a mun seems to answer those questions from anyone, then it is alright to send them in. If they have established openness on these discussions, have nothing in their rules that would imply they'd be perturbed, etc. Conversely, if they've established such opposing behavior that you have to wonder why they posted this meme at all? Don't send anything from that one. They may be trying to establish greater comfort with these topics, but whether they realize it or not yet, they may not be ready for this to sent by anyone who isn't a very established writing partner/friend.

You want to be attracting good attention, demonstrating that you're not someone intimidating, not giving muns any reason to be disturbed by you. Even if they openly asked for it!

This brings us back to: no, really, a lot of things are out of your control.

How people view us isn't as up to us as we'd like, on or offline. Everyone has preconceived notions, biases, and developed preferences. And everyone has had experiences that lead them to react differently to all of these things where they do and do not exist.

Unfortunately, the RPC fosters a serious environment of paranoia, hostility, and the inherent defensiveness of both. Even when that is coming across more peaceably, it can lead to things like...the multiple muns I've known in the last two years alone that seem to almost panic and block potential partners for extremely negligible things they're perceiving as a red flag portending of inevitable bad behavior.

I really do mean irrational actions that are often contrary from one move to another. One potential partner is too exuberant in response to plotting, they are designated a red flag for being too inclined to pester OOC. Another is lacking exuberance and does not easily come up with plots, they are designated as being too passive a partner who will drop. One is too nice, they won't possibly be able to tell that mun of problems in the thread, another is too aggressive, they'll do nothing but stress the mun and fight with their friends. And on and on.

It's not an unreasonable situation, as we all continue to be reminded, the RPC is far more hostile than it should be for what it is. We all (that's not entirely true, but let us pretend it is) want to avoid problems and enjoy the hobby, but in the attempt to avoid those problems, we often see them where they are not.

So, you really cannot control whether someone designates you as being too much this, too little that, an inevitable problem. Your presentation is in the eye of the beholder, just as what "intimidating" is, is in the eye of the intimidated.

You can only try to identify the things that might be putting off the most people you want to write with, work on them when and where they will not ruin your time here, and hope for the best.

It's wonderful that you care, but it's also wonderful that you seem willing to accept that there are things you just have to let go of as already being out of your hands. That's honestly the best way to approach RP, period. The only things you are fully in control of are your own creativity and your behavior. That's it, in the end.

Present yourself with honesty as to who you are as a mun, be as approachable as you truly are, and know what you're looking for in writing partners.

Personally, from what little I have seen of you, Anon, there isn't anything that glaringly needs changing. You're not possessed of a shitty attitude or unrealistic expectations. You seem like a pretty reasonable mun to me who is struggling with something any of us who concentrate on the writing do; being vaguely told we're "intimidating," and seeking other partners who are interested in the same variety of RP we are.

That's my final point to touch on, and the one most likely to piss people off: there are different varieties of RP, and the people telling you this might be in the wrong corner for you.

That doesn't make them bad RPers or anything, variety is good, it's an open hobby! We're not all compatible, though, and so many problems arise from muns not accepting this reality, but rather, taking extreme offense over it.

No one I have ever established the sort of RP I enjoy most with has told me that I am "intimidating."

The people who have said this to me have been those who would not have worked out anyway. That's not said in some bizarre bitterness lol I have the best writing partners, I could not ask for anything more! It's just said in honesty of continuing to see them on my dash and/or interacting with friends. They blog and muse hop often, prefer the genres and fandoms I do not, and so on.

Changing to be less intimidating to those RPers would put me back where I started when joining the RPC here years ago, and while it's great that a lot of people enjoy RP the way they do, I don't. I worked rather hard to get away from it.

So, you do have to consider what you want. Do you want any partners, or do you want the right ones for you?

I'm genuinely glad that people are enjoying themselves, especially when they do not have hateful things to say about those who enjoy RP differently than themselves, but it'd be nice if some of the niches in the RPC were a bit wider! It shouldn't be this difficult to find people in a writing hobby who are invested in the writing, but it is. And it is something you should keep in mind when figuring out this whole "intimidating" thing.

So, my ultimate recommendation would be to assess whether there are things you can be doing to make you, as the mun, more approachable so that your writing is less “intimidating" to people within the RP corner you’re trying to attract, but consider whether the people who have said this to you might just be looking for different things and not as viable as partners as you might have liked. There are definitely more RPers on tumblr who do not enjoy RP in this way than there that do, and while the only thing you have control over is yourself, you don’t have control over how you and what you are putting out there is perceived.

I really do think that most of the “intimidation” problem comes from different varieties of RP and what muns have been led to believe about them. You check off a lot of boxes for the false perception of “elitism,” as a literate, long-term, novella RPer. People are going to see many things that you do in a threatening or off-putting light through no fault of your own because of that. Even other, lengthier writers can fall into that because they feel overwhelmed at the volume of content you have, for example. A thing that should be promising of how well-developed your muse is and how committed you are to your interest in them can come off as overwhelming to people who are less well established or interested in being around for the long game. I certainly don’t think it’s a good idea for you to remove that material or stop writing it! I cannot encourage people enough to do what you have!

Maybe, since you expressed concern of this specifically as well, you could consider how it is presented?

Do you have approachable formatting on those posts? Do they appear to be a lot of very plain text, or do you practice adding some graphics like a header and dividers, formatting that also breaks up the text like segmenting it into clear topics with bold, bigger text, and so on? Is it the opposite and potentially difficult to read, like using font that is smaller than the default small size available, or incredibly busy with colors? It’s a difficult balance, and one that will never be 100% appealing or accessible to 100% of the RPC, to make things visually appealing, easy to read, and informative while being engaging. It could be that you have information people would love to know, but the design of how you’re putting it out there is adding to them feeling overwhelmed.

Maybe, consider how it is placed on your blog, as well? Using specific tags for organization and having a detailed navigation might help. Instead of someone pulling up every one of your many HC posts in the HC tag you have, they could choose specific topics to view at their own pace with a little more control over it. Giving people some control in their experience can go a long way to giving them comfort in it!

So, let’s say you have a headcanon that addresses how your muse portrayal diverges from strict canon, and in that HC, it’s important to address their mental health and how it impacts their relationships with others. That’s a great HC, it’s going to be informative, but it has multiple topics within it. You’d want to tag it with the overall HC tag, a tag for your “player canon” topics, muse metal health discussions, and a general tag for your muse’s relationships/interactions with others.

When you do that, in your navigation, if someone clicked your tag-based link for all information pertaining to the muse’s mental health, they’ll just get that. They’ll see this headcanon post, they’ll see all relevant, tagged posts you’ve made or reblogged, but only that pertain to this topic. They won’t also get twenty extra posts that don’t discuss this, but do discuss your muse’s personal opinion on making bread at home and why sourdough is a labor of love. Unless, of course, your muse is partaking in that labor of love as an exercise that benefits their mental health, of course lmao

Delineating topics for people to engage with at their own pace, need, or interest can prevent them from scrolling through what could be hundreds of HC posts. We all desperately want people to read every one of our posts, especially if our portrayal is different from canon or popular fanon or we have an OC whose entire existence has to be learned this way, but we have to resist the temptation to make people read them all, and all at once. Because that is how it comes across when someone pulls up a ton of HCs - they may be super interested, but it’s a lot that they may put pressure on themselves to learn immediately, back to back to back. It begins to feel like a task quickly. Most people who are genuinely interested in your muse and writing are going to end up reading all of them eventually! If they don’t shut themselves down on doing so prematurely, and this could be a way of helping them avoid doing that.

Hell, if you’re really feeling it, you can even link to closely related posts and your navigation on those HC posts! Just mention at the top of the post that this is related to the one linked here, and to find more informative posts on any topic, please visit the navigation page here. You can even remind at the bottom of the post with just the links.

While like anything, it could make people feel you’re too organized and “serious” about RP, but you probably want other “too serious” RPers to interact with, so it might be a passive way of establishing partners that won’t work out. I think, for the right partners, an organized system they can interact with easily would be appealing, and again, a lot of people in the RPC do have problems that disrupt their ability to engage with a great deal of content at once. This might make them feel less overwhelmed and frustrated by themselves, or negative about themselves that they cannot but aspire to your level of content and organization.

Willing to bet that much of “intimidation” comes from negative feelings about oneself projected outward protectively and unconsciously, honestly. So, when you see ways to combat that, take it on. Make it clear that you’re not expecting anyone to be anything other than themselves, you appreciate your partners’ unique approaches and skills. The more of them you have, the more approachable you are proving yourself, too.

Since you are interested in long-term and have so much material on your muse, I have to assume this is a case of having gone on hiatus or had partners who have left. You could be appearing as less approachable because you’ve few interactions, and that’s a problem that will start correcting itself as you have more of them. If that’s the case, it may be adding serious frustration in the slow process of getting your foot back in the door, but I believe you can do it!

I hope people haven’t made you feel too anxious or bad about yourself by telling you you’re “intimidating,” Anon. Try not to internalize it or make into a more serious matter than it is! I really do think it has less to do with the RPer being told that than it does all these other factors, poor ability to express ourselves very much included. You’re interested in what you can do, willing to accept what you can’t do, overall approaching this from a chill and reasonable place, I think you’re going to find the people you need to with this attitude!

Keep at it, keep doing what you love, and my sincerest best of luck to you! Thank you for giving me the excuse to discuss this topic, it’s an important one that I hope made some difference to others out there as well. I apologize that took me a minute to get it out, and that it is still a bit more disjointed than I’d have liked.

[atherionhq]

ATHERION PLOT DROP, EVENT I PART II

The Unity Ball was going wonderfully, perhaps even better than ever before. The music is playing, people are dancing, when all of the sudden... 

Darkness. The room is enveloped in it with no warning at all. With all the candles blown out, the only light in the room is the sliver of moonlight shining in through the ballroom windows. The music dies, and nothing but gasps and whispers can be heard throughout the room.

A blackened figure dashes across the room, but they make no sound.

And then, as if they’d never been blown out at all, the candles are relit. The crowd begins to part, making a circle around the dancefloor as the sound of a tense crowd rises around the room. Some begin to cry in confusion, fear as to what just happened, and what it could possibly mean. 

          SURRENDER THE LAND OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES

Written in sloppy ink, the words are scrawled along the floor. 

Queen Madan was the first to respond, quickly quieting the crowd and gathering order. Queen Ayesha, quickly finding her way to the human queen, began whispering with her, the two coming up with a fast plan. They assured that everything would be okay, trying to avoid panic while they ushered people around.

Anyone visiting Atherion’s shores were ordered to leave, and citizens were asked to make a decison to either safely go home with a member of the royal guard by their side or stay in the castle. 

While the festivities had been in full swing, no one had seemed to notice the average-looking person lurking around them, eavesdropping, studying, gathering all the information they could from anyone they could...

It had been a wonderful evening full of song and dance, drinks abound, food aplenty. No one would have ever expected what happened. Not in a place like Atherion. Certainly it had to be a violent prank, right? Some fool who’d just shown up to Atherion for the event and thought it’d be funny.

There were mixed feelings all over the place. Concern, denial, anger. Fear was most common.

Everyone was scared in their own way. What happens next? What does it mean? Why?

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our first event and now our first plot drop! We hope you are enjoying it so far, and are intrigued by the beginning of the calamity. You may continue threads from the first part of the event if you’d like. This part of the event doesn’t have a timeline as it’s a plot drop, so regular threads may begin as well now. 

We encourage you to write either a self para (or at least a thread with someone) to describe how your character is feeling about all of this. While doing so, to quote our last event, remember that your characters were here “with an ache in their heart to be treated as an equal, to find something more, to be safe.” These reasons for Atherion’s mere existence will have a large effect on most characters for their own reasons. 

Our next event will actually be a mini-event with a task attached, so stay tuned!

[songzhong]

One for the greatest Zhongli too

✔

🐮 @aratakigang. 

Send me ✔ and I will bold my preferences for your muse. 💛

Muses : Arataki Itto and Zhongli

Do I know your muse(s) : yes | no | a little | tell me about your muse

Setting : our verse | my verse | your verse | modern | alternate universe | other

Pre-established relationships ? : yes | no | depends on the relationship

Possible relationships : friends | classmate | co-worker | roommate | family, found or real or adopted | dating or blind date | married | friends with benefits | unrequited love | lending a hand | teacher - student | rivals | allies | partner-in-crime | enemies | protector - guarded | business partners | spy - infiltrated | manipulator - manipulated | star-crossed | first meeting | other

I’m in the mood for : fluff | angst | horror | romance | humor | crime | hurt / comfort | action | supernatural | slice of life | crack | dark threads | light threads | any genre | multi-para | shorter para | one-line | any length | plotted threads | unplotted threads | other

It’s quite simple for Itto and Zhongli to meet simply through the Traveler and working with them before the Traveler leaves for other adventures. Since both characters are on the Good alignment and are actually Very Good Geo Boys™, it is very likely that they will get along. Atop of if we apply my personal headcanon that Geo users, in proximity of the current Geo Archon, “resonates” with Zhongli, like a warm, comforting, thumping feeling in your stomach.

Although they are both of very different tempers, I feel like Itto and Zhongli’s very charitable nature would have them be in one another’s good will quickly. Now of course this is the perfect setup for hilarity with the classic “Straight man funny man” (🐮 bonus episode war flashback), but having them interact on a very serious level has very heartbreaking potential. With the same vibe as both their characters’ quest : it is lighthearted on the surface, but shows a lot of underlying personal tragedies. And having interactions this tone ? I’m absolutely all for it. I do greatly enjoy your portrayal of Itto too like I said in the past. It is easy and cheap to portray Itto as a manchild, but it is, to me at least, often because his optimism and straightforward heartfulness mistaken for childishness. I find the most interesting part of interacting with him through your excellent writing is having that great balance that Itto is both the hilarious character he is, but very much has a level of self-awareness and maturity. And have Zhongli quickly see Itto as an adult rather than a little boy in a big Oni body !

Feel free to : message me ooc | message me ic | tell me your ideas | write a starter | answer one of my opens | send a meme | reblog this with your preferences - let’s find common interests !

[famedroleplay]

task 11: past, present, and future

reward: up to 11 tracker points 

deadline: january 29, 2022 at 11:59pm est

as 2021 has come to an end and 2022 begins, the aim for this task is to take some time to consider the past year for your muse (whether you were writing them for all of it or just started writing them), considering where your muse is in the present, and looking forward to the upcoming year for your muse.

i encourage you to use these tasks to think ahead about development and wanted plots for your muse. maybe your muse wants to start journaling; feel free to start posting regular journal solos from your muse’s perspective. maybe your muse wants to become better at something; feel free to seek out muses that could help them with that to plot with!

these task completions do not count toward any monthly limits.

please tag completions of this task with #famedtask11.

past: meaningful moment — write a 400+ word self-para or a thread of at least eight posts to highlight one meaningful moment that happened for your muse in 2021. if you already wrote a solo/thread about the moment you want to write about, you can write expanding on another aspect of it or approaching it from a later perspective, like in the form of a journal entry by your muse reflecting on the moment after it happened. you can get creative with this as long as it answers the question of what one meaningful moment the muse would have experienced in 2021 was. this will be worth 3 tracker points.

present: where are they now? — make either a) an aesthetic with a 100+ word explanation, b) a playlist of at least seven tracks and a 100+ word explanation, or c) a self-para of 400+ words focusing on where your muse is now in some aspect, be that emotionally, personally, career-wise, in relation to others, or something else. this will be worth 2 tracker points.

future: muse’s goals —  create a headcanon post of 400+ words detailing goals your muse has for the next year. these don’t have to be career goals or goals they will actually achieve in the next year, but things they would ideally like to achieve by 2023. feel free to expand as much as the muse has thought ahead about how these goals might be accomplished. this will be worth 3 tracker points.

future: mun’s goals — create a headcanon post of 400+ words detailing your goals for your muse as a mun. different from the first part of this task, this can focus on things the muse may not know they want or things the muse may not want themselves at all such as development-based goals, but can also expand on goals that the muse is aware of, as long as both future parts (muse and mun goals) are not the same! feel free to include details about how you think you could make this happen or what obstacles might be presented in accomplishing the goal. this will be worth 3 tracker points.

[noxtms]

MARCH 15TH, 2021. it’s two days before the planned st patrick’s day parade ( and evening celebrations ), and the spring festival is in full swing. the joint events have been as huge a success as they always have been : local business has boomed, and to those that care, it’s a pity that arcanum wasn’t back up and running in time to cash in like so many other stores had.

the building that had once been both life’s work & ancestral home of the trelawney’s had lay empty for the best part of two decades, and unfortunately, it showed. structurally sound though it was, near everything within required replacing - be it from water damage caused by several large holes found in the roof or destruction that had been caused by the innumerous break-ins over the years. magic could only go so far, especially when one was working alone. since the purchase of the building had gone through the month before, sybill had taken to apparating to london each weekend, working room by room. a vinyl of celestina warbeck’s greatest hits played loudly from a vintage turntable was her only company as she bustled throughout the building, early morning to darkest evening. it was slow going, and the work had grown monotonous, over time - but she had never expected anything else.

the fifth floor - containing two mirrored bedrooms sybill intended to invite cassia & oriana to personalize - was the first finished. she was making her way top to bottom, slowed even more by the onslaught that was memory. this was the birthplace of cassandra trelawney, the originator of their family status. this was where sybill had spent formative years, walking thin corridors, climbing spindly stairs, learning to read tea leaves at a shaky table in a now dusty kitchen, recording her dreams in a leather bound notebook she had kept on bedside cabinet in the room she had now reclaimed. this was home, and she had been gone from it for far too long. 

the lower shop level would be the last to be tackled, working as she was, and so, the bell above the main entrance remained broken. this would join the long list of things to be blamed for why sybill did not hear anyone approaching - scrawled somewhere between the loud record that they’ll find scratching at it’s end & the happy crowd beyond grubby windows that did not remain so, for long. the truth is that when the ministry finds sybill, they’ll only be able to make a guess at what truly happened.

they will theorize that it was unlikely she had any forewarning ( a uniquely ironic phrase, given the woman’s status as a debated seer ). she probably knew her attacker, though it’s hard to say - there is no sign of struggle, and the killing curse does not leave a mark. even if she had realized in time to have a defensive instinct, her wand - nine and a half inch hazel, with a unicorn tail hair core - was found on the floor above her, resting on a rickety coffee table and so very far from reach. they will say she died before it happened, and there’s no reason to think that she felt any pain, or that the situations were connected. 

the formal report will lodged by overworked aurors some hours later will not have certain details. there is no witness to the woman with wild hair & hooded eyes, nor her two companions, who apparated into the lane behind the building and entered through unlocked door. no one saw her look of fear, when throat cleared behind her & she turned on heel to see them looming in the doorway. there was no need for a silencing charm. sybill, unable to understand the position she was in, never called for help. bellatrix wasn’t there to interrogate her, and thus, didn’t give her much of a chance, anyway. their time together was short & sweet. the green light went unnoticed, and the loose cannon that was a seer with potential to urge foes in right direction against them was taken off of the playing field, with ease. conspiracy theorists in the future, inclined to look that bit deeper, may get a closer approximation of the truth than those aurors ever did. 

but then again : it wasn’t their first priority. 

it was such a lovely day. the sun, not quite beating down upon the heads of everyone bustling through the alley, still shone with more strength than it had all winter. the lack of brisk breeze made even the long shadows cast by mismatched buildings almost warm. the wwn predicted rain later that evening, and mothers ushering their children along stole glances every now and again towards the sky, waiting to see the telltale sign of dark clouds rolling in.

the first indication that anyone has to something being truly amiss was actually the sharp drop to the temperature, and the rolling fog that fell over them all, thick enough to hide anyone - and anything - more than a few feet away. thick enough to blot out the sun. the shadows grew longer. they stretched outwards. when the first scream pierces the air, only those nearest are able to see what’s causing those notes of fear.

it doesn’t take more than a moment for everyone else to realize. as the alley explodes into pandemonium, the dementors descend onto them all. 

ROUNDUP OF INITIAL FATALITIES & INJURIES ( AS OF THIS DROP ):

sybill trelawney is very, very dead. as brutal as this’ll sound - that isn’t very relevant to this plot drop as a whole, so don’t worry about it ! she’s not.

OUT OF CHARACTER:

rather than transition the on dash event threads towards this plot drop, we’re going to do things a little differently with everyone’s current needs in mind. on dash will remain the period of time that is the start of the month through to the 15th ( which will make things a little less intensive as we begin the next part of the ooc noxtms ~ celebrations ~ ). off dash, and on the discord, several channels covering a number of businesses have been established. they each have a character cap of seven to make things less confusing, and can be used for plot drop rping !

as always with a plot drop of this nature, the discord announcement will include the allowance for injurys. there’s a smaller cap on these than usual, since the dementors themselves are sort of .... 0 - 100, and the injuries themselves will have to be discussed as happening in the chaos rather than from the dementors. that is, unless you uhhh ... really want your character to get a little kiss kiss ! that can be arranged !  

the galleon system list has also been updated and now includes a reward of 250 galleons ( per character it’s completed for ) for a 250 word minimum drabble / self para, written with the patronus charm & it’s much-needed usage during this plot drop in mind. if this were english class, the prompt would probably be something to the effect of : write a detailed description of your characters happy memory, or what their experience is about to be, conjuring their patronus in this specific situation. you have a LOT of freedom on it, and can write it in any way you see fit. please feel free to use the tag nox.task on any posted to the dash ! 

there was never any intention of having a st patrick’s parade / party event. sorry for bamboozling you all, but i think it’s safe to say that after this disastrous ides of march, those events will have been cancelled ! once you’ve read this post, please give it a little like ! 

[thrillsxchills]

{TW} Orion is obviously one of my more demented children and his whole life is a trigger warning, so please avoid reading this if your triggers contain the following -- depression, abandonment, hallucinations, drugs, violence, substances abuse, blood, abuse/mental & physical, bullying, self harm+un-alive thoughts, dissociating. (That’s a lot & i’m sorry but Orion has a HISTORY.)

Orion is my first and oldest baby I’ve had. He’s developed A LOT over the years, but for the new members I’m going to start all the way from the beginning so enjoy this looong ride. People like Z and Ali remember big bad old orion, that was something 😅

(tw; about death)Orion was an odd kid growing up, he had an usual obsession with death and creepy things. Cemetery's, bugs, and the supernatural. It was hard to make friends with other kids because of his unusual interests and the fact that his family was high class and his father wouldn’t let Orion associate himself with ‘poor people’.

(tw: family abuse) Orion hated and still hates his father with a passion. Nothing Orion ever did impressed his father. He rarely took interest in his one and only son. He only seemed to show up to physically abuse Orion over the smallest things. Orion’s only friend as a child was his mother, she was literally his saving grace.

{tw: abandonment/dissociating) Orion’s mother Cora is sweet and angelic like. However from his father's abuse she became numb and seemed to dissociate often. But Orion still took comfort in his mother's arms. Until one day his mother couldn’t take it anymore. While she wanted to take her son with her, she couldn’t. Orion’s dad’s family was the one with all the money. Cora had nothing to her name. If she took Orion he wouldn’t have a home or all the opportunities that money offered. So she left and it took everything she had left to do it.

(tw: abuse) Once Cora left the picture Orion’s fathers abuse only became worse. Taking out his wifes disappearance out on Orion. Screaming at the top of the lungs asking where Cora was. Orion didn’t know, he was just as clueless as his father but he didn’t believe him.

(tw: substance abuse) that’s when Orion started using drinking and smoking as a coping mechanism from a young age. He’d smoke any chance he got hiding the buds in his dresser drawer and his whiskey bottles in the boxes of his old shoes. It was his only escape from his shitty reality and his father.

(tw: reason for living) that all changed when Jakob Skellington came into the picture. They met at school and formed a quick lasting bond. Orion confided all his secrets and hobbies within Jakob and the boy never judged him. Orion finally found a best friend and a reason for staying alive at that point in time. Problem was their families had a long lasting feud over something stupid. So the two were banned from seeing each other. That didn’t stop them however. The two would sneak to each others house in the middle of the night or sneak off to hang out at Hallow Falls cemetery.

(tw: abandonment/bullying) however the friendship didn’t last long as intended. Because Jack was Orion’s only friend he became possessive over their relationship. Especially when Serena & Zeke entered the picture. They were getting to close to Jakob and Orion hated it. He began to loathe the two. So Orion did the only thing he knew how to do which is what he learned from his father. He began to bully Serena and Zeke to the point that Jack had to step in and defend Zeke and Serena. This felt like a betrayal to Orion. So Orion made an ultimatum. It was him or the two friends Jack barely knew. Jack chose them and Orion has held a resentment ever since. Quickly turning to the Teague's and using them to bully Zeke and Serena through them.

(tw: violence/blood/ suicidal thoughts) now entering his high school years Orion felt abandoned. He had no one but himself. Sure he had the Teagues but he felt that friendship was only extended because they did his bidding in exchange for things. Orion began skipping school more, starting fights for the hell of it. A couple of those fights he almost couldn’t walk away from him. Leaving his body beaten and bloodied in the back ally. Tiffani & Hallie nursed him back to health. But that didn’t stop him. He continued to get black out drunk and start fights. He wanted to feel something/and nothing all at the same time. He wanted to die.

(tw: substance abuse /hallucinations) Orion really thought he was going to die, he was drinking so much that he barely hanging onto his acceptance into Walt by a thread. His father kept bribing the school with money to keep him enrolled. He was known to students as the boogie man/feared by most people except a girl named Hallie. She tried to get him to be a better person. Which it didn’t happen all at once, it was slow. But once Orion realized all the people who had been hurt by his actions. his reality soon came crashing down. He began hearing things. like actual voices talking him. telling him that he was worthless, that he couldn’t be anything more than a monster. he could barely sleep without drinking himself to sleep. he even sought out a pastor to see if his soul was worth redeeming. Here is a self para about that time [SELF PARA HERE] Here is another self para about reuniting with his mother and standing up to his father. [READ HERE] read at viewers own discretion.!

(tw: trauma) It took time but he began to heal from his trauma. Does that mean he’s a better man now? Not exactly, but he knows how to control his temper and not to completely act on his impulsive anger issues that were handed down from his father. He’s not bad, but he’s not good either. He’s reunited with his mother and already forgiven her. He didn’t hesitate that was his mom after all. Him and his father only meet up if they have too after having their showdown a couple of years ago, which is how Orion prefers it anyway. Certain things still trigger Orion but for the most part he’s charming as hell but still intimidating as fuck. He only gets his  hands dirty when he needs too.

OKAY! So that’s a lot and that’s the best I can summarize about my boys development over the last six years! Now for some light hearted head canons,yeah? I think I need therapy from writing all that.

(tw: smoking) you will never see Orion without a cigarette in his hand/mouth. from a young age smoking became a comfort. he doesn’t need it as much as he did back then but its more of a security thing now.

he has a lucky lighter he won from a bar fight. it’s a red zippo lighter in the shape of two pieces of dice. Snake eye’s to be exact.

because of his interest in bugs and reptiles he has a black snake tattoo the looks like its wrapped around his forearm. looks something like this [IMAGE HERE] 

Older Orion has a small tattoo on each of his fingers representing his children. A bat for Axel, Nova is a star, Sage for Sage (but looks more like a flower), and the moon for Draco.

Orion enjoys being isolated/alone that’s when he feels most like himself. despite his background Orion does quite  well in social situations. he adapts to new environments easily and can be quite charming if you’re on his good side.

Orion prefers the more expensive liquor since that's what he grew up with but his favorite and comfort drink is whiskey with ice.

When Orion is alone he enjoys reading/learning about new topics. He’s well educated but most people don’t experience that side of him.

he hates the holidays, for obvious reasons. doesn’t mind Halloween though.

he has a hate/love relationship with the Teague siblings. Logan annoys the hell outta of him, Beckham is stand-offish and Sadie is the only one he truly gets along with. But deep down their Orion’s only friends and he appreciates them. Will he tell them that? Not until hell freezes over.

Orion’s zodiac sign is Sagittarius

Orion doesn’t keep up with his casino daily- the assets yes, but the actual place no. However he does show up every once in awhile to cheat people out of their money. What can i say he’s a gamblin man.

.Spoken Word/Singing is Orion’s favorite music genre. he’ll go to the grave denying that but he relates to a lot of the bands like la dispute, hobo johnson, front porch step. But he enjoys most kind of music. His most recently played song is Self Care by Mac Miller. [LISTEN HERE]

Now when it comes to Sadie Teague things are different. She’s the only person that really challenges him. He admires her perseverance and her will to do things on her own. Their relationship is complicated. Friends? Friends with Benefits? But his feelings are starting to get intertwined, but how to express feelings he’s never felt before?

favorite color is red

Vitani also intrigues him/she’s not annoying like regular happy go lucky people. He enjoys her company, maybe he’ll ask if she needs a job at the casino.

[daisyachain]

The post-4 games seem to have been designed to form a self-contained arc in the name of fixing a minor plot hole in a series with much worse plot holes (a la Rogue One) and yet the picture they paint is so hard to square with the actual timeline if you’re abiding by Occam’s ‘All Plot Threads Must Wrap Back In On Themselves’ Razor of fiction..…

the 3 gang has to make contact again ASAP after 3 (1964) in order to fit the necessary drama in that leads up to the cloning project (1972). This seems to be implied by ADAM showing up right at the end of 3, if that isn’t a joke. But then, EVA fakes her death relatively late on in 1971, meaning she either was a triple agent nominally acting as a double agent for whatever government and secretly working with the 3 gang, or she agreed to work on the cloning project around the same time she joined. In any case EVA is a founding member of the Patriots (between 1964 and 1972), and she spends enough time with BB during that interval to form a lifelong bond while still being distant enough by PW time (1974) to be an old friend.

So the EVA timeline is 1964 - meet the gang, 1964-1971 - still working her old job, sometime between 1964-1971 - co-founds the Patriots, 1971 - 1972 - working exclusively for the Patriots proper + joins the Enfants Terrible project, 1972-1974 - part of Cipher + minimal contact with the Snake branch apart from the tapes, 1975-1984 - protecting BB and formulating the doppelgänger plan with Cipher/ADAM, 1984-1999 - ???? total unknown, 1999-2014 - elaborately planning demise of Patriots with ADAM and Naomi.

Zero, Para-Medic, and SIGINT can be assumed to be a coherent cell 1964-1984 ish so that’s simple. BB’s timeline is surprisingly vague despite being the focus of the games. Sometime between 1964-1971 - co-founds the Patriots, 1972 - leaves the Patriots + founds MSF + meets Kaz, 1972-1975 - running misc MSF stuff with Kaz, 1975-1984 - coma time (;, 1984-199?? - misc MSF, sometime between 1984 and 1997 - joins FOXHOUND and trains Snake II, 19??-1999 - misc MSF, 1999-2014 stasis time (;

The ADAM timeline is then the most mysterious. 1964 - spying on the GRU for the KGB and on the KGB for the CIA + rendez-vous with 3 gang in USA, sometime between 1964-1971 - co-founds Patriots, 1972 - presumably leaves Patriots???, 1972-1975 - ????, 1975-1984 - protecting BB and formulating the doppelgänger plan with Cipher/EVA, 1984 - working with V, 1984-1999 - ?????, 1999-2014 - elaborately planning demise of Patriots with ADAM and Naomi

Combining the 3 we’ve got:

1964 - the 3 gang meet

between 1964-1971 - the 3 gang found the Patriots and start working together in earnest

1971 - BB helps EVA fake her death, EVA agrees to work on Cipher’s clone project

1972 - BB and possibly ADAM split from the Patriots, BB founds MSF, the remaining cell becomes Cipher, BB meets Kaz

between 1972-1975 - Kaz becomes XO, Kaz and Paz are recruited by Cipher to undermine MSF, EVA sends information to BB but they do not have formal contact, ADAM’s whereabouts unknown

1975 - Cipher creations XOF and Skullface destroys Mother Base, BB and V stowed away in hospital

1974-1984 - Zero and his cell realize they’ve gone too far and start trying to dismantle Cipher, remaining Patriots come up with doppelgänger plan, ADAM becomes agent for GRU(?) in Afghanistan to stay in area, Kaz and remaining MSF work with guerilla fundamentalists, Zero tries to undo Cipher AI development and fails???

1984 - BB and V awake, BB runs off to make new mercenary groups, V takes over existing project, ADAM acts as agent for V but also apparently stays aware of BB/switches programming on and off to work with both???, Kaz works as XO to V, EVA’s whereabouts unknown

1984-19?? - V and BB now best bros, V and Kaz create and run Outer Heaven, BB does mercenary things all over the place incl. rescuing Naomi, ADAM and EVA’s whereabouts unknown, Para-Medic and SIGINT take over the Patriots’ work along with Cipher AIs

19?? - Kaz leaves V, trains Snake

19?? - BB joins FOXHOUND, trains Snake

1997 - Snake kills V

1999 - Snake almost kills BB

1999-2014 - ADAM, EVA, and Naomi devise anti-Patriot plot

2005 - ADAM kills Kaz and SIGINT

2009 - ADAM sets up plan that Liquid would fall for, recreates personality and lets alternate personality do the job

[jedimusings]

 Hey y’all! so my plan here is to drop most of my pre-event drafts! if one is in your court and you would like to keep it, or there is one that you think should be kept- please let me know and we can discuss!! but i’m super excited to get new threads started for all of them. so! while they are capped rn, i may increase some as we go or if one is capped and you still want a starter, just message me and we can make that happen! feel free to ask for starters for characters that have not interacted yet and if you’re interested in one of the connections! pls let me know because i’d loved to see them filled! ps i do plan to keep the majority of my event threads going.

So below we’ve got a fun and that’s what you missed on glee! for each character & wanted connections

aayla secura (2/5)- anakin, rey

where are they now: so the event had aayla reliving some particularly rough parts of the clone wars. she was able to overcome that and make it to level three. however, that whole ordeal on level two is going to probably make her- regress back to who she was pre-earth times. 

wanted connections: aayla could use a couple of friends generally (maybe others who were once soldiers at some point), a person to recreationally fight with, other bodyguards/generally in the employment of politicians to swap stories with. 

ben skywalker, newly unaware (0/5)

where are they now: after listening to sufjan stevens for a solid two hours, i wrote a too long self para in which our beloved golden boy ben skywalker died, completely unsure and panicked if he was going to get to come back. alas, he did. he arose from his lil slumber for a fun lil memory vacation (or is it?) 

so anyway, ben doesn’t remember anything, he just thinks he’s experiencing some memory loss. he also has a broken arm still, so thinks it’s got something to do with his accident/why he cannot remember. 

wanted connections: the first person he met after waking up (he had no memory and probably just started chatting), people he met at the hospital right after the event while he was getting his arm in a cast, 

breha organa (2/5)- riyo, padme

where are they now: our team mom w/ the family braincells only briefly made it off of level one, to be trapped by her fears for a some time on level 2. she’s still looking for her new purpose in dc, breha’s becoming more politically involved though, she’s just working on what her role in all of this could look like. 

wanted connections: more political plots (she’d make a decent ally), political mentee (let her be the leslie to your character’s april), also i would love to do some threads with her and her grandchildren, distant family members, and other practically-family/homies in and around the white house

donna troy, newly aware (1/5)- barry 

where are they now: our favorite cosmic mistake is now aware!! while still on the bench and not quite ready to suit back up as Troia or Wondergirl yet, for now, she’s still working as a private investigator. 

wanted connections: people she was hired to investigate, her former hero pals, new hero pals, anything to start dragging her back into the hero life, drinking pals 

ezra bridger (1/5)- roxanne 

where are they now: wow, ezra really went wild and stupid during the event and started using the dark side of the force (really, this was his first time being able to use the force since becoming aware). he feels some regret for his level three actions and thinks he has returned to normal. but essentially, he’s going to be using the dark side of the force casually and more often, and as our good friend ben skywalker would say if he could remember, “well, that’s not good for business.”

wanted connections: someone he uses the dark side to save from trouble (therefore continuing to legitimize his use of it), someone to give him a pep talk about why this sort of thing is dangerous, someone who he actually uses the dark side on, and as per usual with ezra- people he drinks with, etc. 

fred weasley, newly aware! (5/6)- hermione, ginny, molly, fabian, molly ii 

where are they now: rip to fred weasley twice, because our boy once again died during the event. but now he has his memories! and to no one’s surprise, is actually going to be struggling a lot with his death(s) and what that meant for his family and suddenly having to carry guilt over leaving his family like that, and is also going to have to wrap his mind around life going on without him. 

wanted connections: friends from when he was unaware, work friends (he works in a bar), past relationships (hookups or something more significant), threads with his family members- seeing his nieces and nephews is going to be an absolute trip for him tbh. 

kit mckinnon (3/5)- narcissa, roy, maddie

where are they now: after being trapped in a dark building for several days, kit finally made it out of level two and on to level one, where she reunited with family. i never wrote the self para, but what happened in the building probably retraumatized her some, if it could be said she was making efforts toward a healthier lifestyle before, she’s likely regressing. 

wanted connections: partying friends, more people from the wizarding world 

romeo montague, newly aware (0/5)

where are they now: MY BOYYYYYY!!!! is now aware. he was making so much unaware progress: he was about to graduate, he had his first major work published in a widely circulated magazine, he was putting together a book pitch, and was trying to lay off the partying lifestyle. alas. he now remembers what his actions caused and feels immense guilt over all of the turmoil his wild weekend in verona caused. 

wanted connections: partying pals, someone who actually read what he published and really liked it (basically reminding him of the life that he was building).

theodore nott (5/6), victoire, leia, astoria, dean, dora

where are they now: theo faced his fears on level 2 but i’m not sure how much it’s going to change for him. he’s still working toward being a more decent person, but is still working on looking out for and caring about other people and not just himself. 

wanted connections: more white house/other political connections, more connections from school/the wizarding world generally.

[ridiculousyoungicarus]

Self Para 002: Cry Me a River TWs: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Alcohol Abuse, GRAPHIC Suicidal Ideation, HIV, Zander is a dick Word Count: 3,247 Setting: From immediately following the Thanksgiving Picnic until after the event has been concluded on Luxor’s Blenheim, New Zealand campus. Notes: If you have NOT looked at the posters previously posted onto this blog, you need to look at those first and then come back to this. Zander’s text thread from the event with Elliot also gets explained in this, as that was going on in the middle of all this crap. Sorry I had to complicate the Luxor Extended Universe this time, folks.

Once the initial shock wore off, the rage settled in. Zander was pacing around his common room, whipping his head to glare at whoever was stupid enough to open the door to the room. Now wasn’t time. He didn’t want to talk. But when he realizes it’s Ches he pauses, “what do you want?”

“To figure out what the fuck is going on with you. You’ve been grouchy all afternoon, more so than normal.” Her movements are cautious as she turns to close the door behind her and slowly walks into the room. “Is it because I made you talk to your brother? Because I swear I was only trying to help.” He had barely remembered she’d done that, it felt like a lifetime ago, but it’d only been a little over a day. Two?

He takes a deep breath, opening his arms to her as he speaks. “I’m not mad at you.” But she doesn’t come to him, and instead opts to settle herself onto his couch, pulling her knees up to her chest. “I swear it’s got nothing to do with you, stop giving me that look.”

“I’m not giving you a look! I just feel like shit, and maybe fixing your problems will fix me. Okay?” She snaps back at him, and usually he’d pause and try to figure out why she felt so broken, try to take on whatever she was upset about. But, tonight he had bigger priorities and he sat down next to her on the couch, patting her knee a bit awkwardly before he just comes out and says it.

“I found out who gave Balo HIV.”

He wasn’t expecting how defeated his tone would be at the confession, but it made sense. And for a minute he watched Ches try to figure out who it could be. “So it was your dad?” She guesses, after a few moments. Wouldn't that be the better alternative?

He thinks back to his conversation with Claire, the way he’d tried to defend Jack. How he actually hadn’t wanted it to be Jack, for once in his life. After all, why wouldn’t he tell them? He claimed he cared so much about Balo, and in spite of the fact before this he had been starting to trust him when he said it, now Zander called bullshit on that now more than ever. If he cared about Balo, he would have told her the truth. He would have been there for her, supported her instead of just leaving her alone in the dark terrified. No, Jack didn’t care. He never had about anyone, and he never would.

“Jack. His mother told me-” “His mother is dead, Zan. Jack doesn’t like it when people call Claire his mum.”

“Does it matter what Jack likes? Claire told me he said he gave Balo HIV himself, that he’s been lying about his status the entire fucking time. Who knows what the fuck he’s given to Juliet... you’re probably safe, you’ve been on prep but it’s beyond fucked up, he still won’t tell Balo, and according to Claire he won’t.” He groans, leaning back into the couch. He had no idea what to do, how to handle it. “I’ve never hated him more than I do now.”

The girl beside him starts to move, and he raises an eyebrow at her as she goes into his cupboards trying to find something. “God, we might as well be drinking rubbing alcohol but it’ll do.” She huffs, but she still pops the cork on his cooking wine and brings it over, taking a long chug of it before she offers it to him. She seriously couldn’t expect him to drink that crap, right? But as he looks at the bottle, he reaches out to take it from her, taking a long sip of it himself and making a face as he offers it back. “Don’t tell Elliot I’m doing this.”

“Wouldn't dream of it.” He didn’t see why he’d have any reason to tell, although he doubted Elliot would believe him even if he did. It seemed like assurance enough for the redhead as she takes the bottle back from him and chugs more as she sits down beside him again. Maybe he should be trying to stop her, but he didn’t have a fight with her in him currently. It wasn’t as if he’d win it anyway, he’d tried. She never seemed to cared when someone told her to cut it out. “I don’t know how we’ll get through to Balo, she needs to know.”

“Can you let me get drunk first before we discuss this shit?” She groans. Was her alcohol really more important than Balo? He raises an eyebrow at her as he stares at her, and after a few moments she sets the bottle of wine down next to her. “Nothing sends a message better than revenge? I don’t know, Zan. I can barely handle my own shit lately. If I could put posters up all over the school telling everyone but you, Elli, Sky, and Balo to leave me the fuck alone until after I’m dead, I would.”

“Ches, if you’re not going to help me, go cry to Elliot. I can’t handle your shit right now either.”  Zander reaches over to his cooking wine and steals another sip before he sets it back down. The wine really was awful. Why were they doing this to themselves again?

Still, she reaches out to grab the bottle again, cradling it close to her chest as she gives him a dirty look. “You can have it when I’m done, it’s my turn.” She hisses, “did you talk to Jack about this yet?”

“He doesn’t give a fuck, Ches. I don’t think he’ll ever tell her.” He explains as he reaches out to take the bottle from her. Maybe it wasn’t fair to withhold the fact he hadn’t even tried, but Jack had months to tell. If he could lie straight to everyone’s faces in the aftermath, it was easy to assume he wouldn’t ever care enough to tell the truth. And he knows the look on her face as she continues to hold onto the wine bottle, as if it was the most precious thing in the world, and moves away from him to keep him from taking it. The way the rage sparked up in her eyes, an expression that usually even made him step back in fear. But for once, the intense flash of anger was welcome. He needed it.

“I said it’s mine! I want it!” She snaps, darting out of his grasp with it in the direction of his dining table. “You really want to force him to do something? Take away his choices. And if you want to use his tactics against him, you need to make sure they’re not absolutely pathetic like Windsor’s posters were. I wanted to blow my brains out looking at them. Not like it’s hard to feel that way around here, most days I want to.” There’s something off about her tone, her words, and for a brief moment he questions if he should actually be pushing this currently at all. She clearly wasn’t okay, but neither was Balo and he supposed this once, maybe it’d be okay to be selfish. “You need to go in hard and quick. If you over complicate it, nobody gives a fuck. The more minimal they are, the better. So, you don’t want to aim too low, you don’t want the mob trying to kill you but...”

“I don’t give a fuck about the mob, Ches. He needs to pay for this.” Zander corrects her. Did it matter if people hated them? They were doing the right thing. Nobody else could get hurt like Balo had been if they told. Maybe Juliet would be okay? Sure, she’d hate him, but what Jack has done was inexcusable.

“You should be afraid. Everyone’s going to hate us if we actually do this.” “If they hate us for going after Jack, good riddance. Please, Ches.”

He watches her reaction to his words, the conflict on her face as she considers her options. She takes a long drink, tilting the bottle up high if she was trying to get as much alcohol as she could inside of her at once without choking in the process. “Fine, I’ll help with your fucking revenge scheme if you let me keep the wine.” She growls. He nods in agreement, holding his hands up in a peace offering as he slowly approaches her. After what felt like ages of watching his every move, she finally speaks again, “get your laptop. We have work to do.”

—-

Ches had fallen asleep over an hour ago, in the middle of talking, but by that point her suggestions had been barely coherent anyway. He’d already picked her up and moved her to his bed after finishing the last of the posters. And despite her protests at being woken up in the process, he just propped her up on her side, tucked her in, and waited for her to go back to sleep. Once she had, he went back to the common room to grab his laptop. For the most part his attention had shifted, revenge was well on its way and now he had time to worry about her. Balo might have contributed to it but she hadn’t been what set Ches off. She’d already been spiraling the minute she’d walked in his door. He saw that clearer now more than ever.

He glances away from the girl to take a glance at the test run of posters he’d printed. For a moment, as he reads what they’d written, he hesitates. How hadn’t he noticed they included Balo’s name in a hashtag? Perhaps he’d been too busy trying to translate what seemed to be a mix of French and slurred gibberish to think about it. It’d be easy to fix, he supposed. Simply replacing the hashtag with another resource link like Ches had suggested for each of the posters. But, he didn’t want to. Wouldn't it be better if everyone knew it was Balo who’d be affected? The ray of light everyone had watched get extinguished over the past few months. He hesitates, only a moment longer, before he goes back to his laptop to hit print on the run of them.

He sighs before going back to watching the body in his bed. Hyper focused to make sure her skin wasn’t changing colors, and her breathing hadn’t shifted. God, he really should have stopped her, or at least tried to limit her. He should to tell Elliot, right? If their roles were reversed he’d want to be told. Maybe Ches would be pissed off later, but, he didn’t know what else to do. He’d fucked up, he let her keep the bottle in exchange for her help with these posters. She had every right to be mad at him for it too.

[To Elliot:] Hey, I know you don’t want to talk about Ches with me but I’m really fucking concerned right now. She showed up on my doorstep drunk, and I’ve seen her in pretty rough shape before but this is the worst I’ve ever seen her ever. I’m keeping an eye on her atm but I thought you’d want to know [To Elliot:] Do you want me to bring her to you? She’s out of it but she wakes up if you poke at her. [To Elliot:] I think it’s Leo related? I dunno, she was too busy rambling about wanting to steal you stars to tell me what was wrong before she dozed off 😖

Maybe pinning it on Leo was fucked up too, but, if he had to guess what else was going on, wasn’t that the easiest guess? It was that or Cade. He had seen her step brother stumbling a lot during the picnic, obviously already back to using not even a full week after leaving rehab. Whatever it was, if Elliot wanted to deal with this he’d let him. If not, he’d have to multi-task. As he waits for a response he pulls out the map of the school, trying to think of where the best places to put posters would be on this campus.

The more people who saw them, the better.

After all the parents left Luxor, he’d slip one of them under Jack’s door. Warn him of the storm that was coming under the guise of giving him a chance to amend things just to see what’d happen. As he waits to see if his phone goes off, he reaches over for a sticky note to scrawl a message on.

Figured I should give you a heads up. I did tell Claire that if you wouldn’t tell her, I would. What do you think? Pretty, right?

Perhaps he should make a version of a poster without Ches’s name attached for this. He glances over to the sleeping girl again, no, she definitely wouldn’t be in the state for Jack’s crap tomorrow. The longer he could keep her out of this, the better. Neither of them would have peace in the end, but, at least she could keep hers a tiny bit longer.

—-

[From Chessie ☀️:] I CAN NOT BELIEVE YOU [From Chessie ☀️:] ELLIOT DID NOT NEED TO KNOW LIKE THAT [From Chessie ☀️:] WHAT THE FUCK, ALEKZANDER?

Zander had been helping to pack up the book club’s table when her texts came in, and he ignored them momentarily to continue trying to clean up their booth for the fair. Even when his phone goes off again and again, probably berating him about leaving her on read with his receipts on, she needed to wait a few minutes. He was a bit too busy for this, he needed to get this cleaned up quickly so he could sneak the warning under Jack’s door.

[From Chessie ☀️:] You do not just get to leave me on read [From Chessie ☀️:] Did it ever occur to you I SHOULD BE THE ONE TO DECIDE WHAT I TELL MY BOYFRIEND [From Chessie ☀️:] I was going to tell him, you had no right [From Chessie ☀️:] I’m so pissed off at you, Zan, I stg. Not cool.

He groans as he reads her messages, this time opting to send back a quick, fast reply in hopes it’d get her out of his hair until he has time for her shit.

[To Ches:] Cleaning up club fair, text you when I’m done. Sorry, didn’t think you’d tell him shit and you scared me [To Ches:] Can you wait to yell at me til you see me later? We need to discuss Jack’s posters.

And as his phone starts to go off again, he puts it on silent and gets back to work. He’d deal with her later. Right now, he had way bigger fish to fry waiting on him. She wasn’t on the priority list, not today.

—-

He should have expected Ches to be waiting for him, but as he enters his room, he still jumps when he sees someone sitting on his bed glaring at him. “I was concerned.” He defends himself, immediately, as he sits down at his desk.

“Why did you lie about it being your wine?”

Was she really going to immediately start in on that? He didn’t see why it was a big deal, he’d been protecting her. Both of them, actually. What did she think would have happened if he told Elliot the truth? He’d spared them both a headache. At least, he thought he had until she started blowing up his phone. “I didn’t want to deal with the lecture while finishing up our posters. Plus, did you want to tell him why?” He moves to hand her one of each poster, and she groans as she reads them. What was wrong? He thought she wanted minimalism.

“We included our names? Fuck. I’m so getting dumped.” She throws herself back onto the bed, tossing it to the side. “At least we’ll both be on Elliot’s shit list. I told him the truth, you know. I’m not about to start lying about what I’m doing, or where I’ve been, to him. I love him, Zan.”

“So you told him about the posters?” That gets his attention. How much had she told? Was she trying to ruin everything they’d worked for? Finally, they were going to be able to get back at Jack for everything he had done. Every time he made their lives hell, and she was willing to throw it away.

But as she starts to answer his question, his concerns dissipate. “Of course not. I was hoping to stay unassociated with this shit, I didn’t tell him about Balo either before you get on my ass about that too. Can’t we just reprint them without our names to avoid the attention?”

“No. They’re staying as is.” “And Jack still hasn’t told her?” “He’s not going to tell her, Ches.”

“Fine.” She sounds so defeated, deflating into a heap on his bed with the word. “I can’t believe you fucking lied to Elliot, so I had to deal with how disappointed he is in me and go directly against what you said.”

“Did he believe you?”

The way she gets up and storms out of the room was more than enough of an answer for him. She was offended, which meant either he hadn’t or that Ches was annoyed he even had to ask. Either way, as much as her being angry usually bothered him, he didn’t have time to care currently. He grabs the keys to his rental car before he takes one last glance at the posters ready to go on his dresser. He needed tape, an abundance of it.

After all, he had a lot of posters to hang later.

—-

They hang the posters the next morning in silence. On occasion, he’d glance over to her to watch how seemingly robotic her motions were, and every time the guilt got to him as soon as he looked. The show had to go on, she knew that better than anyone. But as he hangs the last of his posters, his phone buzzes. He waits until he’s done to read the text message, realizing within seconds she’d sent it out to everyone. “Fuck.”

[From Chessie ☀️:] I’m sorry about the posters around the school today. I don’t want to get into my involvement, because frankly the details don’t fucking matter. The damage has been done, it was taken way too far, and I wish I never helped at all. My intentions don’t matter, nor do the events leading up to it. I fucked up, and I’m sorry. Just, remember if you’re a dick about anyone’s HIV status you’re an even worse person than Jack was in this situation. I expect a lot of you will be angry, rightfully so, but please leave Balo out of this. She had no idea about any of this.

He groans, of course she was going to try to distance herself from this. Anything to keep her precious Elliot on her side, right? He makes a face, quickly sending out his own mass text.

[To All Luxor Students:] If you have an issue with those posters and your name isn’t Balian Grace Driskell, cry me a river. Balo, call me.