#sorry for the late reply i forgot to look at my inbox lmao

[fukkafyla]

Your page is ✨

thank you kindly (♡ˊ͈ ꒳ ˋ͈)

[meanbossart]

Misc. Ask compilation

These aren't all of the asks I want to reply to, just some that I can answer relatively quickly to clean the ol' inbox out before things get out of hand. Thanks for your patience!

HAHAHA THANK YOU FOR PERUSING AROUND and for enjoying my work! I had a... Weird Gale experience my first playthrough which led to his characterization being what it is in my comics. Here's the beat-by-beat of all the shenanigans: https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/740827466716807168/alright-i-am-like-90-sure-there-is-one-line-in-a

And here's just some of my personal thoughts on him! https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/736193145686114305/can-you-tell-me-more-about-how-you-would-make-gale

I would be lying if I said I'm not conflicted to know my style still bears some remnants of my edgy teen roots (not your fault not noticing it though, you aren't the first and won't be the last) BUT... That comic did mean a lot to me as a youth, so I guess I should be proud 🤷 and honestly it is a little cool that such a thing would survive for so long in what I do, crazy how that works.

LMAO, re: the bottom/top debacle, I was honestly so surprised to see people react to it like it's something novel. If I ever expected to get any push back on the matter, I thought it would be from people assuming DU drow was the top and taking issue with how violent and big he is (and yknow, some people are weirdly protective of Astarion as if he isn't a sneaky murder machine rippling with lean muscle)

Very disheartening to see that mindset still so alive and well among young people, but I guess it just means I gotta draw DU drow throwing more back and Astarion drooling over more ass until the stereotype is forcefully banished out of people's minds!

(more asks below the cut)

"Sleeper agent activation phrase" absolutely took me out, Thank you so much LOL

YEAH I got it pretty late though, Astarion had already told my durge that he was a vampire of his own accord (and the response was, of course, "no duh") I forgot wheter this happened before or after the first romance scene triggered, but I think after.

Since this was after DU drow decided he was gonna fuck him out of pure contrarian spite and was shamelessly laying it extremely thick, He happilly let Astarion drink his blood. Hell, he was probably a little Too Eager - the guy likes pain and he likes letting people he trusts do with his body whatever they will, and while he didn't yet trust Astarion at that point, that event might've very well reminded him of something from his past that planted a seed which would eventually grow into his genuine affection for the guy.

Ah, he definitely got a half-chub as it happened too. I'm sure Astarion noticed it and just walked off rolling his eyes and thinking "eugh of course" lmao.

Hello!!!

Oh man, I grew up fascinated with horror things. I remember from a very young age just looking at the covers and backs of horror movies at the film-rental even though I wasn't allowed to watch them. I was also easily scared but I sought those things out anyway - I think i just enjoyed the visceral reactions it drew out of me and was always curious about most things taboo.

When I got access to the internet that just opened a (very unfortunate) door to all things vile and awful like it did for so many people at that age in time. Though my tastes have changed a lot since then (Less August Underground, more The Devils kind of guy nowadays) my stories and art are just always going to fall into a horror-y category because I just... Don't think there's many better ways to showcase the human experience and emotional range without many of the elements native to the genre, and I'm all about that.

Thank you for your question and your sweet words, have a good week yourself!

I did a little write-up about that over here! https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/742508493562593280/i-dont-have-a-particular-question-in-mind-sorry

That's the result of a scene that happens relatively early in the story I'm writing ("A Novel Experience" on Ao3).

{SPOILERS} DU drow accidentally passes out on a blade which puts a relatively deep gash on his hip. Meanwhile, Astarion is weakened and starved after certain events that transpired the prior night. They have a private exchange both in a somewhat hazy-state of mind and Astarion ends up prodding and prying at his wound while feeding, so it's a laceration and bite mark that just scarred over badly.

Elves apparently don't grow body hair so never LOL guess they'll just have to slip&slide up on each other for heat

[cryscendo]

i was gonna reply to your comment on my post but i thought id bring the discourse straight to your inbox instead alskfjdslk its not like we're telling teenagers to go out and discover some weird kinks of their own right this second lmao but they absolutely have to learn to be comfortable with the fact that people are going to be into kinky shit they think is weird and thats its not in fact a moral issue and also none of their business lol

like when i was a kid everything was so fucking raunchy and im not saying it was better but everything has to be so fucking sanitized now and thats not good either. when i was a kid online in the 00s people would literally link you to shock porn videos as a joke and that was just an accepted norm. nowadays there are so many ways to tailor your online experience to you and people are just ignoring all these block and filter functions and look at shit they know they dont like and bitch about it when they had every opportunity not to see it

and it goes back to the fucking rocky horror discourse like god forbid youre trying to portray a queer character in a way thats anything other than the most palatable beige blank slate that ever was. god forbid a queer character acts or dresses or looks or behaves in a queer way aksfjsld they want everything to be so fucking boring and palatable to 1) encapsulate every single queer experience on earth in a single piece of media and 2) be tolerable to straight people because theyre under the illusion that there is any acceptable way for a queer person to be to a bigot other than dead. both are a useless endeavor and they need to quit wasting energy on caring about either

like god fandom just feels so bleak nowadays and i know part of it is bc of how fast things move and no one can hold longterm interest in stuff anymore but a huge part of it is how flat out prudish people are all of a sudden

let ships be problematic let queer characters be weird let sex be kinky lmao let fandom by fun again my godddd

sorry for the rant aklsfjkdshfdk i apparently had a lot to say but hey i love you thanks for complaining with me xxxxx

omg i’m so sorry i meant to respond to this earlier than now!!! i saw it originally when i was waking up for work and thought “ooooh she’s making some banger points i’ll respond to that on my break” and then i just… forgot. so here i am now better late than never 🥰

i’ve always had a bit of a problem with the incessant need to sanitize fandom. i’m not saying ppl can’t curate their fandom experience to appeal to their interests, because obviously, they absolutely can. HOWEVER i do think it has become much more policed than it once was.

i think kink, and understanding its place on a fundamental level (especially within queer spaces), is something that takes maturity to fully understand. like with the rocky horror thing, the use of sexuality and kink is inherently different than what a young person of today might perceive it as. it doesn’t particularly surprise me that people are so sensitive to it, because they simply don’t understand their roots — they’ve formed this concept of queerness that pleases them, and therefore find other demonstrations of queerness to be antiquated or “back-pedalling” (even though we both know it isn’t). i think it’s dumb and immature to try to dictate “right and wrong” ways to be queer, but i’m also not all that shocked that it’s happening.

all this to say, queer characters don’t have to fit into the boxes that we deem as “appropriate”. just like how real queer people don’t owe an explanation for who they are, these queer characters don’t HAVE to reflect every queer person that engages with their media.

personally for me, kink is a MASSIVE component of the queer experience. so because of that, i like my favourite bitches to be kinky but that’s just me 😌

absolutely feel free to rant anytime your opinions are literally always correct to me <3

[forbidden-sin-bin]

Heyyy Bestieeeee!!!

I’m loving By Your Side so farrrrr. Its just soo goood. The writing its just fab, the pacing perfect imo, and the description of y/n is so realistic and easily likeable - like we get to see her insecurities and flaws, what personally troubles her, as well as her hopes and dreams, the people she feels close (and their relationship feels credible!) etc…

Its just so well written that I can see myself in her on many occasions, and connect my emotions with her. Idk, maybe I’m rambling a bit.

Anyways, as I’m currently hooked on this story, and can’t get it out of my head (I created a Spotify playlist for this 💀) I just wanted to ask, if you have an exact date of when you’ll post chapter 5?

Btw, heads up, I think you forgot to put the link of chapter 4 in the By Your Side masterlist, can’t see it there

Now - this is taking way too long, and I’ll just head out, Peace ✌🏻

Hold on a sec-

I waited too freaking long to reply to this I’m so sorry but this was so sweet and thoughtful I literally couldn’t stop tearing up every time I read this. I wanted to give a thought out response to this so if you’re seeing this thank you for waiting this was amazing to see in my inbox-

*SLAMS FISTS ON THE TABLE HOLLERING SCREAMING CRYING*

THANK YOUUUUUUU!!!!!! Oh my god. Holy shit. This. This made my month. I truly didn’t know how to respond so I kept on holding this off from immediately responding and freaking out/appreciating everything you wrote. Finally I got my thoughts together after two long weeks!

Also YOU HAVE A SPOTIFY PLAYLIST?!?!? SHARE PLEASE HOLY HECK THAT IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST COMPLIMENTS I COULD EVER RECEIVE AHSJDLAGUFFIISJSHCJSKND-

also speaking of which I gotta get that part 1 playlist updated lmao

Literally that first paragraph made me flatline I swear. I’m so freaking glad cause I was hellbent on making y/n realistic as a person whilst also having them make choices or have characteristics that are reasonable enough for most people to be able to relate to or picture themselves in! So I’m incredibly glad you like her, flaws and hopes and dreams and all!

I literally have so, SO MUCH more that I want to mention or say to add to the above but I keep on deleting and rewriting anything else I try to add cause it makes a lot more sense in short DM’s instead of full on sentences lol.

Second paragraph knocked me outta my body and no you’re not rambling at all! I was worried that the reader’s perspective wasn’t realistic or relatable so hearing that you’re able to connect with them made me feel a lot more comfortable, thank you so much!

When I started this series, I wanted to have a Reader self-insert fic that was in a way, a possibility of what life could’ve been if we had the chance! I know I absolutely had that feeling where I always said to myself: “MAN. I wish I was born earlier.” Not that I don’t appreciate my life right now! I’m certainly incredibly lucky to have a life where I get to meet so many amazing people like you and have the chance to write like this!

AND FOR THE RELEASE DATE OF CHAPTER 5: Oh man, I thought I could get it done mid-late June but assignments man. Goddamn assignments handed to me without warning. I don’t have an exact release date for chapter 5 and I’m incredibly sorry about that. I know you’re looking forward to it and I am as well! Once I know for sure and I’m confident enough to say that I’m ready to post it (I suffer from the perfectionist and the ADHD curse I’m so sorry), I’ll let everyone know beforehand! I promise.

But once again, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! If I had another reason to keep going and keep pushing myself to keep the series going I know that you and everyone that’s waiting and supporting are many, many reasons. And that’s more than enough to make sure I bring you the best possible fanfic to you all!

Much love,

- Sin Bin

[littleaprilcherryblossom]

Posted by @holy-hyuck

sorry for the late reply! don't have an excuse, i just suck at replying 😅 i see, essays are the worst! most of my assessments and end of year exams were essays too, but we had to do research on them too, so like reading articles, books, journals etc, which sucked because i hate reading those, often the language they use is too complicated for me, and also i find it difficult to concentrate on them so i always dread those and then end up doing everything last minute. mine never make sense either haha did you end up getting accepted? glad to hear you had a good time! is there anything else you have planned for or would like to do this summer?

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

It's ok I totally understand, I thought for a bit I was having issues with my inbox again lmao

How are you doing btw ?

Omg saaaaaame most of them are so overly complicated and confusing 😭 it was the only thing I really hated about taking classes from the uni in Australia, I had to read so much stuff and I was not used to that AT ALL like never have I had to add AT LEAST 15 references to an essay bibliography like in France at uni you could write a whole essay without citing any reference at all, no joke. Because what was most important were like the concepts and examples and well if you forgot the names it was not sanctionned too badly but yeah last semester I would not get the average if I didn't have 10 references....

Lol I did not get accepted in the 2 or 3 projects I sent my candidature to so I'm still looking. For now I'm stuck because I need a cover letter and a CV in German for a project I like and idk how to write a CV in German so I have to ask my aunt for help 😅 doing that tomorrow!

I'm going on a vacation with my family to Paris and some other place we still haven't decided lol maybe in Burgundy (Bourgogne) somewhere but my mom is still indecisive 😅 I'd also like to learn how to crochet and I've been embroydering a pair of pants I don't wear for fun 😊

And what about you ? Any plans for the summer ? When does your second year start ?

[stupidbadgers]

💫🌸🍯 :)

.... soo uhh.. i may have forgot this was in my inbox because i checked it, told myself i would come back, and then promptly forgot. so sorry, but thank you for sending this! better late than never in a reply, i guess... anyway, on with the answers...

💫- what is your sun, moon, and rising sign?

capricorn, capricorn, and libra. ngl, i had to look these up because i wasn't sure what they were. i know i'm a capricorn, but i had no idea which one that applied to, lmao.

🌸- what is your favorite flower?

carnations, especially mini carnations.

🍯- describe your favorite smell

rain after it has been dry for too long. it's fresh and has a bit of a petrichor scent to it.

sweet and pure ask game

[jul-bilant]

Prince!Seokmin/DK

oh my god g u ys  ss dhsdfz,hjv

yall have nO IDEA HOW AGGRAVATED I AM LIKE DSJSHCBHJ

i actually finished this already but tumblr kept on crashing like??? 

hhhhhhhhhh-

anywayyyy this was actually a request but when i checked my inbox,, it disappeared ;-;-;-;-;

so yh, sorry it took so long :’VV

warning! a bit of bloodshed, mentions of murder and drugs and a bit of swearing

s o 

prince seokmin amirite ladies

sosososososo adorable and cheerful like

the epitome of happiness

he has a really good singing voice too !!

so the whole kingdom just fawns over him as he sings lol

but he also really cares for his kingdom and the people he loves

so when you hurt the innocent, prepare for prince seokmin to come at u

so you’re just a norm villager 

and it’s quite late at night, but you forgot to run an errand so you’re doing it last minute

bad idea ik but thts how desperate you are jnsdkjfbskjcb--

you were rushing and took a breather when you suddenly heard rustling in the bushes behind you

you turn around, panicking

literally everything in you was telling you to run

run n   o  w

but you couldn’t move

you were paralyzed, too scared to function properly

the rustling stopped but you still couldn’t move, you were still paralyzed in fear 

and that was your downfall

a hand tugged your hands from behind and pulled you towards them, placing a hand on your mouth as well

you tried escaping from the person’s grip, but it was useless, you were too weak

“got you now, you rat.” 

you knew who that voice belonged to, 

but you just couldn’t believe it

before you could even emit another sound, you were knocked out

when you woke up, you scanned your surroundings

you were in a spacious room with golden designs embedded into the beige walls

but what you were most concerned about was that you were bound to a chair by ropes 

you tried to look behind you but there’s no use, your feet were tied to the chair’s legs

suddenly, you heard the door open from behind you

“i’m her to get answers, and you better give them to me.”

????

the hell??????

“listen, i don’t know what’s happening, but whoever it is that you’re trying to catch, it isn’t me.” you told seokmin

“shut up, i remember your face vividly. there’s no way i could forget it.”

he took your chair and spun it around for you to face him

when your eyes met, you gave him the deadliest glare you could possibly muster

he pulled out a pocket knife and held it against your neck harshly

“where did you hide them?” he asked through his gritted teeth 

“hide what?” you wince at the pain

“the drugs you used on the victims!” he pressed on your neck a little harder

you bit your lip in pain as you felt your blood trickle down a bit

“i’m telling you! i’m not the criminal!” you retorted and he scoffed

“liar! i’m not falling for whatever bullshit you’re spewing-” 

“prince seokmin!”

he was cut off by one of his guards calling his attention

“prince seokmin! we found the actual criminal! the girl is innocent!”

seokmin immediately pulled away from you and bit his lip

he growled in frustration and gripped his pocket knife tighter

you gave him a look, your eyebrow raised and you huffed

“told you. now are you going to untie me or wha- hey!” you yelled when he rushed out of the room 

you groaned in frustration and annoyance

and also in pain because your neck was still bleeding

a few minutes later, the door opened

and who walked was none other than prince seokmin

you didn’t look at him. because you knew that once you did, you’d have to restrain the strong urge to rip his face off

you thought he was going to untie you, but nope

well. he did, but before that. he got on one knee and bowed 

“i.. i’m sorry. i just couldn’t risk possibly endangering other people by setting a criminal free..” he said

“perhaps i could make it up to you?” he offered

you scoffed. “by what? paying me? shallow for a prince who almost killed me.” 

he thought for a while while untying you

“maybe you could live here for as long as you want and be treated like royalty? would that satisfy you?” he suggested

you were dumbfounded and speechless for a good minute

“you can’t be serious, what about your parents? won’t they get upset at you?” you asked him

“no, i just have to explain what happened and they’ll be alright with it.” he said

“well..” you thought about it

“what do you say, y/n?” seokmin reached out his hand 

wait he knew your name?

as if he read your mind, he answered,

“don’t ask, i have my ways.”

you shrugged, well he is the prince

“alright then.” you took and shook his hand

he helps you up and doesn’t let go of your hand just yet

“follow me,” he says and leads you to the little clinic they have in the palace

he sits you down on the bed and takes one of the first aid kits

sitting beside you, he opens it 

“again, i’m so sorry...” he says, feeling guilty about harming you

“it’s alright.. i would’ve reacted like you in that kind of situation anyway..” you assured him with a slight smile

he smiled back, feeling better that you forgave him

he lifted your chin with his finger, “stay like that for a while,” 

he starts treating your wound

as he treats you, you wonder off into your own thoughts

‘how do i explain this to mother and father?..’ 

you thought about how worried they might be at the moment

while you were zoning out, seokmin got the perfect idea of teasing you, just to have a little fun 

taking a band aid, he came closer to your neck and placed in on the wound, but instead of pulling away, he

wait for it

he fr  e a k i n 

k i    s   s  e    s    y o   u   r    n  e   c    k

and bOI

were you hella flustered

you immediately pulled away and stared at him 

“w-wha- what the hell was that for?” you almost shouted

he started to laugh quietly, “nothing, just wanted to see how you’d react.”

you were as red as a cherry (bomb) and he found it really cute

*cue his adorbs giggles jfdkjvbssejnckj*

“well, you should really get some rest..” he got up and called a maid

the maid bowed to you, “greetings, miss y/n.”

you were shocked

“oh, hello, you don’t have to bow to me..” you told her

she smiled, “we really don’t mind, miss y/n, and it;s prince seokmin’s order to treat you royally.” 

you look to seokmin who had a slight smirk playing on his lips, “i told you you’d be treated like royalty.” 

the maid led you to your room and gave you a nightgown to change into 

“thank you,” you told her as she bowed and left

quickly changing into the nightgown, you plop down onto the soft bunch of pillows

you covered yourself with the blanket and fell asleep in an instant

the following morning, you woke up to see a note left on top of the bedside table

‘did you sleep well? hopefully, you did. breakfast is ready, meet me after you eat on the 8th floor. -prince seokmin’

you placed the note back on the bedside table and stretched

you see that a casual gown was left for you to change into

you bathed and did your hair, changing into the gown afterwards

you got to the dining room pretty quickly, you had a good sense of direction and could easily navigate through places

you finish eating breakfast and head to the 8th floor as seokmin said 

and as expected, you were greeted by a beaming seokmin

“come here,” he took your hand 

“where are we going exactly?” you asked and he gave a brief reply 

“my favorite place to go to.”

you found yourself in a room filled with various instruments and a stage 

seeing the harp that was displayed, you sat down and admired it

although you didn’t know how to play other instruments, your mother’s favorite instrument was the harp, and so it was yours too

“you know how to play?” seokmin asked you

you nodded and starting strumming the strings, creating beautiful melodies 

seokmin recognized the song and started singing along to it’s lyrics

you would be lying if you said you weren’t mesmerized by his voice

you almost strum the wrong strings, being distracted by his voice

“you play really well!” seokmin complimented you

you thanked him, telling him he had a really gifted voice 

you both spent quite a while just staying in that room, but he had princely duties to do so he took his leave first

you stayed though

you spent a good portion of your day just playing the harp and making more melodies and letting nostalgia engulf you

this went on for weeks and these meet ups gradually get longer and longer

sometimes neither of you notice that it’s already 10 pm or smth lmao

yall r cute jhcflcjhc--

one night, you were awaken by a knock on your door

you slowly get up and open the door to see a butler

“miss y/n.. i apologize for interrupting your sleep, but a woman who claims to be your aunt is downstairs, she says it’s an urgent matter.”

you quickly thank him and quickly rush downstairs to find your aunt crying hysterically

in a frantic state, you rush to her and ask her what was wrong

“y-your parents... y/n i-.. i’m so s-sorry..” she sobbed weakly

“w-why? what happened to them?” you asked, scared of knowing but in dire need to

“t-they.. they were murdered..”

tears brimmed your eyes 

“wha-.. h-how?” 

“someone broke in.. they robbed the house and shot them...” she explained trying to catch her breath

you on the other hand were hysteric

it dawned upon you that you haven’t tried contacting your parents and it’s been weeks since you’ve disappeared

you felt like a good for nothing daughter

you disappear for weeks and live a royal life, leaving your parents behind

you felt awful

the cries you let out eventually were heard by seokmin so he panicked

he went downstairs and saw you and your aunt crying

he got concerned and approached the both of you and asked what happened

since you were too upset to actually form coherent words, your aunt explained everything

seokmin felt bad and enraged that someone would do such a thing 

he told your aunt to spend the night here to ensure her safety and asked a maid to assist her to her room

slowly, he takes your arms from your face

“y/n?..” he engulfs you in a hug and lets you cry out your sadness

“hey..it’ll be alright.. we’ll catch them and give them the punishment they deserve..” he comforted you

“come, you should sleep, you’ll get a headache in the morning if you don’t.” he helped you to your room and tucked you in your bed

he stood up, about to exit your room

but you stopped him from doing so

“don’t leave..” your voice came out rough and weak from sobbing

hearing your plea, he couldn’t say otherwise

“i won’t..” 

he got into the bed with you and took your face in his hands

“don’t worry, okay?.. i’m always here for you..” he told you softly

you nodded 

“i-..” you paused,

“believe you.”

in that moment, seokmin took a risk

something that would change the way you see each other

getting closer (sumi chage--), he closed the gap between the both of you

he kissed you passionately, you could feel his love radiating from the kiss

pulling away, he ran his hand through your hair

“i love you, y/n..”

“i love you, too, seokmin..”

and you both fell asleep, cuddling each other

[curious-fools-howl-to-the-moon]

Chapter 2 is here!! Still kind of slow, but building up! (And it’s another long one!)

She finished filling out the register information and hit log in. She had no chat requests and her inbox was empty, as to be expected from someone who just created an account. So far so good. She picked up her phone and texted Heather.

'Hey, what's your blue umbrella name?' And hit send.

She sat her phone to the side and stared at her computer screen, waiting for a text back. Minutes passed and no reply. No requests either, not even from random accounts. She sighed and picked up her phone again, "Come on Heather, the fuck?" she checked and saw no new messages before tossing her phone back down.

Finally her phone buzzed and she picked it up, it was Heather. She opened the text, 'Hey! Sorry for the late reply, was driving. Just text me your name, it'll be easier for me to find you.' Delilah sighed again to herself as she started typing out her username and hit the send button. Seconds later she got a reply. 'Smeared_Mascara??? What are you 12?? lol'

'You're lucky I even went on this stupid site to start with. Does anyone even use this anymore? I've been on here for almost ten minutes and not one message or requests, nothing.' she texted back and then instantly got a reply. So fast that Delilah was unsure if she even got her reply before she sent it. 

'Joking obviously Lemme look you up!' She tossed her phone to the side again as she waited for Heather's request.

A couple seconds passed and then a message box appeared on the screen saying [SUMMER_wHEATHER wants to chat with you! y/n?] Delilah felt a small smirk appear on her face. She hit the y button and started her message.

[SMEARED_MASCARA: Seriously? Summer wheather? And you said MY username was childish.]

[SUMMER_wHEATHER: Mine is NOT childish! It's totally clever!! Don't ruin my fun on here already :P]

[SMEARED_MASCARA: Ok, ok. Calm yourself. I'm not gonna ruin anything. Not yet anyway, lol. What are you up to?]

[SUMMER_wHEATHER: I'm home now. Chilling in my Pajamas. Really wanted to get out tonight but this weather sucks ass.]

[SMEARED_MASCARA: Agreed. Usually I like this kind of weather, but not when I have to run home in it and it fucks my makeup up. lol]

[SUMMER_wHEATHER: Ugh, I hate rain. Regardless of how it treats my makeup. Just depressing. You have tomorrow off right?? You and I should go do something!] 

She smiled as her eyes read the message. She had to admit, that did sound like fun. She couldn't really remember the last time they got to hang out, it was definitely around the time Heather first moved down here.

[SMEARED_MASCARA: Fuck it, that sounds fun. Let's do it, God knows I could use a break. Pam's been working me like a dog as of late. I think I might've pissed her off or something.]

[SUMMER_wHEATHER: Yayyyyyyy!! Awesome!! Not that she's working you hard, obviously. Anyway, it's settled then. Maybe some shopping downtown and then we'll grab a bite to eat, my treat? And we're NOT going to the bar so no worries, lmfao] 

Delilah smirked to herself as she let out a chuckle. Heather could be a bit much sometimes, but most of the time she was just trying to be a solid friend. Something that Delilah was thankful she had. At least one.

[SMEARED_MASCARA: Lmfao, sounds good. Thanks girl. You wanna pick me up tomorrow? Say around noon-ish?]

[SUMMER_wHEATHER: Uh, yeah? You can't very well walk all the way to my house??? lmao. I'm kidding! Noon sounds great! We're definitely gonna start using this website more often. SO much quicker than texting and you actually answer these. ;P lol. See you then! Love ya!!!! <3]

Delilah chuckled again as she typed. [SMEARED_MASCARA: Lol, you're hilarious. Love ya too. <3]

The next box that appeared simply read, [SUMMER_wHEATHER has gone offline] She scoffed, "Goodnight to you too, Heather." she said to herself as she moved her cursor to the closing tab button. Her finger hovered over it when another message box appeared and her computer dinged, she glanced to it with furrowed brows.

[B_H wants to chat with you! y/n]

Her brow raised, [B_H] sounded really bland, almost boring. Why would they want to chat with someone like her? Maybe it's some old person, it wouldn't surprise her if Heather had sent her to some website that had even more elderly people than Facebook. She shrugged to herself, she wasn't exactly ready for bed anyway. A few more minutes of talking to someone who was more than likely as interesting as a brick wall might do the trick. She reached over to the coffee table and took her beer, taking a sip of it as she hit the y button.

[SMEARED_MASCARA: Hey.] she sent the message and laid back a little. She was usually the first one to start conversations anyway, even in the real world, so this wasn't anything new. Almost instantly, she heard her computer ding again and the blue message box appear. She opened it.

[B_H: Hello.] They replied. She arched a brow, they replied quickly. Maybe she was the only person they were talking to? She wondered if there was a group chat option or something? She wasn't sure how this thing even worked, but just hoped it wasn't too complicated.

[SMEARED_MASCARA: What's up?]

[B_H: I'm sitting at home bored out of my mind. Thought I could talk to some like minded people on here. What about you?]

[SMEARED_MASCARA: Just got home from work a few hours ago. It's been a long night and I'm just thankful I don't have to go in tomorrow, lol]

[B_H: Sorry to hear that, work sucks. Care to talk about it? I've had a few bad nights of my own.]

[SMEARED_MASCARA: Just a shit situation. I got out of it though. You work around Bridgton?]

[B_H: I do. Retail work downtown. Right near Mona's and that shit Chinese restaurant.]

[SMEARED_MASCARA: Lol, never had the food there. I'll steer clear. Thanks for the heads up.]

[B_H: You work in Bridgton too?]

[SMEARED_MASCARA: I do. More IN town than downtown, but the people are just as bad I'm sure. lol]

[B_H: The worst.]

[SMEARED_MASCARA: So what's the B_H stand for?]

[B_H: Just initials. I'm not that creative with usernames. What about yours?]

[SMEARED_MASCARA: It was just basically my reflection tonight. Lol nothing special]

[B_H: Why is it smeared?]

[SMEARED_MASCARA: It was raining when I got home, pouring actually. Completely ruined my eye makeup.]

[B_H: Oh, I see.] they sent another immediately after. [B_H: Your interests says you like computers. You work with them?]

[SMEARED_MASCARA: I don't work with them professionally. I use to do coding for my friend. I didn't look at your interests, you like them too? Lol] It wasn't exactly coding that she did, it was more like hacking, but that wasn't exactly something she wanted to type out in a chat box on the internet. Who knows how secure this site really was?

[B_H: I do actually, kind of a fan of anything you can take apart and put back together. Guess you could say I'm a tech guy.]

[SMEARED_MASCARA: Oh cool. I use to be really into it and still dabble in it from time to time, but the diner keeps me way too busy. Unfortunately, lol]

[B_H: You work at a diner?]

"Fuck." she said aloud to herself. [SMEARED_MASCARA: Yeah, lol.]

[B_H: I bet you deal with some of the worst people then.]

[SMEARED_MASCARA: Lol, anyone who works with people have the worst people.]

[B_H: Haha, agreed. Well, I won't hold you up, big day tomorrow right?]

Her brows furrowed as she read over the message. [SMEARED_MASCARA: What do you mean? lol]

[B_H: You said you had the day off? I just thought you'd be doing something exciting. You seem like that kind of person.]

She relaxed a bit and shook her head. [SMEARED_MASCARA: Oh right, I forgot I mentioned it. Must be more tired than I thought, lol. I hope it's exciting though and I'm glad that I seem like that kind of person.]

[B_H: You do. I'm glad we were able to talk, at least for a while.]

[SMEARED_MASCARA: Me too. I was a little hesitant to accept your chat to be honest, lol. I wasn't sure the kind of people that hang on this site.]

[B_H: Absolutely. Be careful of who you talk to on here. I've had my fair share of...weirdos.]

[SMEARED_MASCARA: I bet, lol.]

[B_H: Well, have a good night. We should do this again soon. Honestly, I wasn't expecting to find anyone interesting on here, but I was wrong. I wanna get to know you better. You seem nice.]

She smiled to herself and started typing, [SMEARED_MASCARA: Aw, thanks lol. We will, for sure. I could use another friend. Having just one gets kind of lonely after a while lol.]

[B_H: I understand. I don't have many friends either.]

[SMEARED_MASCARA: Well, you seem pretty cool yourself. Kinda different from most of the people around here, but I like different. We'll add each other to our lists for later, have a nice night, B.]

[B_H: You too.]

[B_H has gone offline]

Delilah exited off the browser and closed her laptop, feeling a sense of excitement wash over her. It's been forever since she's talked with anyone that wasn't Heather. Not that she was anti-social or anything, because quite frankly she was the exact opposite. 

She loved talking with people and meeting new people, it's just everyone around here usually just ignored her. But it was strange, she hardly knew anything about this person. Their name, gender, age or even what they looked like. She didn't know any of it but for some reason she felt comfortable enough to tell them about her night as if they did know each other. Maybe it was just the complete and total anonymous of it all that made her so trusting. 

They don't know anything about her either, so there was nothing to lose. Regardless, she was glad she at least talked to someone different tonight. 

She stood from her couch, stretched her body and tossed her two beer bottles into the trash can before heading into her bedroom.

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A man sat at a desk, his head tilted and his chin propped up underneath his palm as he stared at his computer screen. The homepage of Under Debbie's Blue Umbrella was right in front of him. 

His basement was almost pitch dark aside from the bright light that shined from his desktop. There were other computers that surrounded him, with monitors of all different sizes that were covered with different icons and websites. 

Various types of drawings were clothes pinned to string that hung from his ceiling. The drawings were...strange, to say the least. A lot of black and red, some looked to be scribbled with marker while others seemed to drip like paint.

Scattered around the shelves, on tables and under desks were scrap metal pieces from old and new electronics. Things he would use to build whatever he needed whenever he needed it. His head never moved from it's tilted state as he leaned back in his computer chair, the back of it squeaked as he did. 

His piercing blue eyes were still locked on the screen in front of himself. He appeared to be in his late twenties, he was thinner with short brown hair.

This man's name was Brady Hartsfield. Unknowingly to everyone else was also the infamous Mercedes Killer who went completely off the grid two years ago immediately after his crime had taken place. The crime of course being that he drove a Mercedes through a crowd of people at a job fair, leaving hardly any survivors. His face wasn't shown and so he was never caught and still resides in Bridgton Ohio to this day, right under Bill Hodges's nose. 

Bill Hodges was a detective, the same detective that tried so hard to put him behind bars after the murders. But he failed and since then has retired from his position as a on duty detective.

"Smeared Mascara, huh?" Brady said aloud to no one, his voice the only sound that emitted from the room. "Hm." He had to admit to himself, she intrigued him. He wasn't sure why, but she did. 

He finally tore his gaze away from the computer screen and over to the clock on his wall. It showed it was a little past one in the morning. He nodded to himself, as much as he hated to do it, he had to be at work tomorrow. Which meant he had to wake up earlier and that meant going to bed at a reasonable hour. Not that sleeping was ever something he did particularly well.

He pushed himself away from his desk and stood from the chair. As he made his way over to the bed his mind stayed focused on whoever this ‘SMEARED_MASCARA' was. She mentioned she worked at a diner in town, but that didn't really narrow it down. There were tons of diners in Bridgton. 

He rested his head on his pillow and pulled his sheets over himself as he stared at the wall. She said she did coding as well, he wondered what kind and why she did it.

She could be someone he needed. Someone who could help him. And even if she couldn't help him with exactly what he needed, he figured in the long run it would be a lot better to have her on his side than against him. It looked like he would be adding the task of trying to recruit her to his already long list of things to do. 

He had to be careful, precise and cautious. First thing first, he had to figure out if what she was saying was true. Was she really that experienced with computers? Did she really know about coding and possibly even hacking? This could be a good thing. A very good thing.

But if he slipped up, even for a second, she could find out everything she did not need to know. But then again, if she did, there was always a quick answer for that.

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A car horn honked outside her house and it made her nearly jump out of her bed. A sense of dread washed over her as her eyes adjusted to the sun pouring in through her small bedroom window. She was still in the clothes she got home in last night, she didn't even get changed into pajamas.

"Oh you've gotta be shitting me..." she muttered to herself and swung her legs off the side of the bed. "I did not sleep until fucking noon..." she said in disbelief at herself. "Jesus Christ, Lilah..." she rubbed her face over with her hand just as her cellphone rang from the bedside table, making her jump again.

She grabbed it and looked to the caller ID; it was Heather. She sighed to herself and even though she was sure of what would be said, she answered it. "I know, I know." she said as she stood from the bed and walked to her kitchen. She heard Heather's cheerful morning voice speak from the phone. One of the many things Delilah was jealous of about Heather, she was definitely a morning person. Delilah on the other hand, a complete night owl.

"Hey! I'm parked out front! You coming out or what?" she asked.

"Yeah, I just...I needed to grab something." she winced at herself for not being able to come up with a better excuse than that. She knew Heather wasn't going to buy it, she was way smarter than that. She heard a scoff of disbelief from the other line.

"What do you have to-oh my God, Delilah. Are you seriously just waking up?" she asked, "You do know it's noon right?"

Delilah grabbed a cereal bar and bottled water, "Yes, I am aware it's noon." she closed her fridge with her foot and headed towards the door. She sat her phone on the counter and hit the speaker button as she started to put on her boots. "My fucking alarm didn't go off." she said with a grunt.

"Sure." her friend dragged out the word that was then followed by a laugh. "When did you finally go to sleep last night?" she asked, sounding more concerned than curious. Even though she was the same age as Delilah, Heather always was watching out for her like she was her mom. Occasionally making sure she ate right, got enough sleep and got out to have fun once in a while.

Delilah couldn't help but chuckle to herself, "I'm 27 years old Heather, I can go to bed whenever I want."

"Delilah..."

She sighed as she stood up, "Around like 2:45 or something." She looked over herself in the mirror, fixing her hair that stuck up around her head before pulling it into a ponytail. She reached into her bag and pulled out her makeup as she quickly started to apply it. 

"I just lost track of time. It's fine though, I'm literally about to walk out the door. See you in just a sec." She didn't give Heather anymore time to nag, instead she hung up her phone and stuck it in her pocket. She finished her makeup, grabbed her cereal bar and water then headed out her front door.

She closed it behind herself and could hear Heather's car engine running behind herself. She turned and jogged down the stairs towards the car, nearly tripping over her own feet. She caught herself and her breakfast she was holding but what she didn't catch was her cellphone that plummeted straight into the concrete sidewalk screen first.

"Fuck!" She exclaimed as Heather's passenger side window rolled down and she leaned towards it.

"Oh fuck was that your cell?" she asked, as if her phone were a child.

"Yeah. Exactly what kind of shit I needed this morning." Delilah muttered as she bent down and picked it up before making her way to the passenger side of Heather's car. She got in and closed the door, putting all her belongings in her lap. "Please don't be smashed..." she said as she squinted her eyes and flipped it over. 

Heather sharp intake of air told her that her fear had come true. She opened her eyes and her shoulder's dropped. The whole front screen was cracked, it started from the center and went out like a web. "Goddammit."

Heather took her phone from her hands and looked to it, "Maybe...it's not that bad off?" she said and Delilah shot her a stop bullshitting type look. She sighed, "I'm not joking, it might be fixable somehow..." she flipped it over to look at the back. "What kind of phone is this anyway?"

"An old as Hell one Pam gave me." she said as she took her phone back from her friend, "God, she is not gonna buy me a new one." she whined as she moved her thumb over the dented glass. Heather started up her car and began driving.

"Just eat your breakfast first, we'll figure out the phone thing. It won't be a big deal." she gave her a smile and Delilah didn't return the gesture. Instead she just stuffed her phone into her pocket and started to open her cereal bar.

"Why couldn't I have dropped this shit?" she held it up as she took at bite out of it. Heather laughed and shook her head as she sighed.

"Because it's us." she said and that made a small smirk appear on Delilah's lips.

"That I believe."

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Heather got onto the main road that led into town, "So, why'd you get to bed so late last night?" she asked casually. "And I'm not buying the whole 'I lost track of time' excuse, because I'm not stupid." she added with a lighthearted laugh. Delilah nodded and scoffed.

"I know." she paused, "I had planned on going to bed right after we finished talking. But then I got another request, from someone named B_H." she shrugged and Heather raised a brow to her before looking back to the road. Delilah continued, "I accepted it and we talked for a bit. They seem pretty cool and they work in downtown Bridgton." she finished as she took another bite from her breakfast bar.

"Ooh." Heather almost sang, "Made a new friend, did we?" she smiled.

She smirked and shook her head, "This isn't high school. They said they were looking for some like-minded people to talk to, I guess I just fit that bill." she shrugged. "I don't know anything about them aside from their screen name, so I wouldn't call us friends."

"Well you have to find out more!" she said impatiently as she tapped the steering wheel with her polished nails. "I wanna know more about this guy and what he looks like!"

She scoffed, "I don't even know if it's a guy, Heather." she smiled, "For all I know they could be someone's grandma or something."

"You're screen name is smeared mascara...tell me an old grandma who would wanna talk with someone with that name." she let her words sit in the air for a moment, a sly smile appeared on her face. "I do know that a lot of guys would want to though. They probably think it sounds mysterious...sexy." she growled and Delilah nearly choked on her water.

"Heather, please." she said in between coughs, "I'm trying to eat my breakfast here."

She laughed and grinned, a pearly white smile. "It's alright to be excited about a new friend you know...or maybe something more?" she winked to her.

Delilah swallowed the last bite of her cereal bar and shook her head, "Alright, no more talking. You just drive now before I throw myself out of this moving car." Heather laughed again but her friend's words echoed in her ears. She started to wonder who exactly B_H was, and what they were doing talking to someone like her.

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