#this took me a long time to answer lol

[valeriianz]

For the fic writer asks:

4. Obviously you did research for BitB. I'd love you to ramble about it if you like I'm sure you've got STORIES

5. Did you outline it?

7. How'd you decide it would be Hob's pov?

25-27 I'd love to know a/some favorite lines, details, and any lore you might want to share

omg TJ what wonderful questions! thank you!! this is going to get LONG!

4: Rambling about research!

do you wanna see a screen shot of my bookmarks under my "band au" folder?

man, and that's only what could fit on the screen.

there is... SO MUCH i chose to ignore for this fic. ideas that i had to drop, lines or extra details about the other band members equipment. more logistics, what Lucienne actually does, what Mervyn has to put up with as the new touring stage manager... i realized very early on that i couldn't possibly cram all this (super cool and eye opening) information into the fic and still keep reader's interest and, most importantly, to not stray away from the fact that this is a dreamling fic. whenever i felt myself getting carried away with a side character or job or even social media numbers, gossip, outside POVs, i had to reign myself in and get back on track. there will be time for exploring everything i missed in side stories after BitB is finished. i just hope i still have the energy to write it all.

once, i was so deep into research that after publishing chapter 2, i went into work and when my chef asked what "GA" meant on my prep list, i answered with full confidence, "general admission."

(it means "get ahead.")

the worst part of this entire writing process is im still learning new shit. i havent rewatched or read a lot of what i've saved because, to be very honest, i was feeling a little burnt out. it's why we're kinda full steam dreamling now. it's why ive been glossing over a lot of technical stuff and being vague about conversations amongst the crew/not including it at all. i don't prefer ignoring my research, but at the end of the day i want to still enjoy writing this fic and finish it. even if i can't be as descriptive and detailed and nuanced as i used to be.

5: Did you outline the fic?

(also asked by @hardly-an-escape!)

i wouldn't call what i have a proper "outline," it's more like a 20k word document filled to the brim with notes that i skim at least a dozen times while i'm writing a new chapter (being in my brain is literally hell). i live multichapter life very dangerously. i copy and paste lines or sections (always scattered, never together! augh!) that are meant to go together and plop them in a new document titled "band au ch.#" and then i structure the chapter around what i want to happen.

but to answer this question in the plainest of terms: yeah. i know exactly what's going to happen up until the very end. even if its all in my head and the only concrete shit that's written down are beats/plot points. i'll figure out the rest later!

7: How'd you decide it would be Hob's POV?

i actually never even considered writing it from Dream's POV. this was my first fic in the fandom (which is so nuts to think about lol) and writing in Dream's POV sounded so scary lol. i also just thought Hob's would be easier because i have worked a few backstage shows, back in my college years. i figured eh, i can make this work. and i loved exploring how weird and mysterious musicians can be, from a normie's POV. making Hob a fan first and having him worry about developing a parasocial relationship... it was fun to explore.

25: Share your favorite line

oh god, i have so many haha.

“What are you thinking about?” starting in ch.2 and onward lmao

“It’s–” Dream laughs quietly, bitterly. “I don’t like change.” He says each word with emphasis, eyes trailing down to fixate somewhere past Hob. “And I still hold onto the things I can control, like my instruments–” his eyes swing up to regard Hob apologetically. “Or my clothes or my–” he brings a hand up and wiggles his fingers around his head. “My hair.” ch.4

"His majesty is pleased." ch.5

“You are obsessive,” he states, slow and cool and with a quiet smile cracking through his composure. “Just like me.” ch.7

“You look good.” Hob has to lean in to say so, unwilling to raise his voice amongst the roar of the fans. ch.11

“Del looks like porcelain, but she’s actually made of steel.” Desire swirls the contents of their glass before pushing their shoulders back with a deep breath. “She's tougher than all of us.” ch.11

“Everything. I want…” his fingers tighten in Hob’s hair, pulling him closer, speaking against his lips. “…Everything.” ch.14

26: Share your favorite detail

how intentionally coy Dream behaves. i love keeping him a mystery and deciding when and how much to allow his intentions to peek through has been so fun lol.

Despair is in fact covered in tattoos and piercings! i say this because i feel like sometimes i forget lmao. (but also her and Hob don't interact much so. my bad haha).

Delirium's constant explosion of color in the way she dresses <3

Hob's dedication to his job, Dream, and the people he cares about the most. i don't care if people think i'm making him too soft and good, im gonna project on that man and make him a sweet, sweet simp lmao

and ah, this doesn't matter anymore, and i kinda regret doing it but. i originally had Dream's favorite bass all black but the pickguard was white. so it actually looked like Jessamy. not gonna lie when @designtheendless drew it all black i decided i liked it better that way. and truly i do. that's when i went back to ch.1 and changed it haha. to actually see the guitar with Dream, all done up sparkling black and purple flecks... gosh it's just so him. but then i got up to the reveal that the guitar's name was Jessamy and i was like, "oh, right." lmao. no one seems to care so i'll leave it be.

27: Share a piece of lore you made up for the story

i have a lot lmao. and this post is already so long... im hoping i can get to some if not all of it in side fics in the future. but for now, here's some that's more like headcanons but:

Dream hates flying. he can full on go into panic attacks on the plane if he allows himself to get into his own head.

this was mentioned briefly in ch.4, while Dream was discussing the formation of the band, but Despair was in another band before joining Endless. she is the only character in the fic who gets to keep her English roots (lol sorry) and is the oldest in the band (30).

all of the band members ages: Dream, Desire, and Death are all 28 and Delirium is 22.

Dream can experience subdrop after going too hard during a performance.

Dream paints his own nails, it's very therapeutic.

as an exercise, i explored my own headcanons for Dream in this verse in a word doc, and one thing i will share from it that you might find interesting: If I were to ever give Dream a theological values, I would describe him as a satanist. He is a physical and pragmatic person, nonconforming, and although he is introverted, he enjoys being a part of a community (he loves his band).

also found this in my notes: How Desire and Dream got along was Death making them fight it out. Hob raises an eyebrow “like in a brawl?” He couldn't imagine Desire throwing hands. “No, in a pillow fight that escalated in hair pulling and verbal taunts.”

fic writer asks

[mumms-the-word]

Lady von Valancius’s Notes to Herself

Tempt not the interrogator, Spark not his jealous rage, Light not the match of his desire, Or coolly fan the flames. Bring not ‘fore him a savage feast Bereft of all but flesh, Guide not your hands to brush his skin, And lead him to the edge. Speak not to him of fantasies, Remark not on his blush, For his control is naught but glass And shatters at a touch. But should you choose to follow through, These warnings cast aside, Then afterwards remain with him, In gentle arms abide.

[zolo-san]

I read all your tags and I’d like to suggest that in bed Zoro and Sanji also sleep this way. Sanji’s side of the bed being the left and Zoro’s the right because they trust each other to cover their blind spots.

I could write a fic about this ong

Okay, okay yes!!!! I agree!!!! But also might I add a bit from my hc that I discussed in this post I made about the Straw Hats' sleeping arrangements where I mentioned that I think that Zoro would choose the one of the beds closest to the door partly because he's inherently a protector (there are studies that show that people who choose to sleep closets to the door/facing the door do so because they want to protect/defend while those who sleep furthest from the door tend to want to be protected and hide or run) But from the way I hc their sleeping arrangements and how that would change/be affected by relationships, I had Zoro opting to sleep in Sanji's bunk and while I never said it, I always imagined Sanji sleeping to the left of Zoro, partly because Zoro would insist on sleeping closest to the door and party because I think that (whether Sanji realizes it or not) Sanji doesn't like to feel vulnerable when sleeping so he would sleep better with Zoro on his right and closer to the door And I think that they are not really aware that they do this and that they're not consciously protecting each other, they just do it inherently I also think that Zoro sleeps a little better too, knowing that he can trust Sanji to protect him on his more vulnerable side But I also think a contributing factor to Zoro preferring Sanji to be on his left would have to do a bit with Zoro always wanting to know when Sanji is awake/gotten out of bed They originally would have swapped bunks because Zoro hated being woken up by Sanji in the morning, but I think that even after they swapped Zoro was still woken up anyways (I have a whole other hc about how and why I think that Zoro is actually a really light sleeper) because he'd sense any movement in the room and automatically wake up a little bit, but this doesn't really bother him because he likes to know where everyone is, for safety reasons (and let's face it, he can instantly fall asleep after lol) Once him and Sanji start sleeping in the same bed I think that they'd be further along in their relationship (I'm currently working on a timeline for when and how I think their relationship would develop) and Zoro might have a bit more anxiety around Sanji's safety because even though he knows that Sanji can easily handle himself, I think that Sanji's self-sacrificial tendencies would honestly really affect Zoro if he admitted it or not But yeah...I'm very normal about this hc so normal about the intrinsic trust these two have in each other and how easily and naturally they are combat partners without ever discussing anything, they just know~ I'm incredibly normal about how quick they are to know when the other needs help and how they don't hesitate to help each other and trust that the other will always be there when they need them and when they need protection yup yup...very normal I too could write a whole fic on this concept~ Edit: to anyone wondering what post this is referring to, it's this one with my long ass tags on it

[shhwsper]

if Poppy is a deity, then that means she was never a mortal in the same timeline as branch, which means Viva is the queen and not her, no? Also Branch's brothers are together?

Poppy's family all consists of deities, i thought it'd be fun if they represented different aspects of a flower. for example;

Peppy represents strength and grounding, the way the root and seed are planted into the ground and keep a flower stable, and Viva represents letting go and surrender, the way a flower dies and withers.

and yes, Branch's brothers are together! Branch is currently king, due to all the brothers stepping down for their own reasons; leaving him with the responsibility of being king.

hopefully this makes sense! i'm absolutely no good at organizing my thoughts properly .. 😅

[strohller27]

TIME & TIME AGAIN - Page 7

START | Page 6 | Page 8

Admiral Poirot. Beloved. You are So Verbose are We *Sure* Hastings is going to Remember All This??? Also. How did you know Hastings was an Excellent Pilot as a cadet Admiral. How did you KNOW THAT ADMIRAL???

Shoutout to @darthlenaplant, @soldhissoulforrocknroll, and @rain-shoshana for encouraging these shenanigans, and thanks so much to everyone who's been reblogging the pages!! (Let me know if you'd like me to add you to the shoutout so you'll be notified when I update!)

Hi! If you like this story, please consider dropping some pocket change in my tip jar on ko-fi!

Cover Page (Go here to read summary / jump to any page) Background lore/teaser post

[acetier]

will you be drawing any more of torin and varre? no rush at all, but i am lowkey obsessed with them now 👀

ask and you shall receive, anon :^)

[teatimealfie]

‘Lo Alfred. Alfredus….

‘M fine, everythin’ ‘s jus’ peachy with a capital e.

You’ve been through everythin’ so what do ‘y do when your eyes start waterin’ an’ th’ water wont stop?

This normal?

@gutter-mage69

Dear John Constantine. I have been through a lot, I also know that your body knows what you need so when it waters you should let it. It will stop eventually. If you need someone to talk to about why your eyes watered I am here. Sincerly, Alfred Pennyworth.

[soranker]

Hiiii not sure if anyone's asked this yet but any advice on how to improve on art & anatomy? I use to draw a lot wayyyy back in high school but then stopped because of life getting in the way but now I really wanted to get back into art but realized my art isn't as good as it use to be & I never really cared too much about studying anatomy so all my anatomy/proportions are really wack & I'd like to get better at it. Hope you're having a good day!!! 💞💞💞

HI!!! i dont have any formal training in anatomy nor have i really done any studies, so unfortunately i think i can only offer general advice, but hopefully you can still find it helpful! here's what i'd recommend based on my own experience...

focus on proportions BEFORE anatomy! nailing down the size/length of each body part in relation to each other will give you a good foundation before getting into the specifics of anatomy, since you can practice this with simple shapes (circles, boxes, tubes, etc.). then practice anatomy/build on top of that, rather than trying to figure them out in parallel

practice from real life observation/references (ex. figure drawing)! even if you want to draw stylized, it'll be much more helpful in the long run if you study from real life. you'll be a lot more informed in how body parts actually connect to each other or how they move. observe observe observe! take pics of yourself/watch how your body moves--you can be your own most accessible resource, and a mirror and camera can be your best friends

find a way to keep yourself motivated to practice anatomy! everyone says that you only get better with practice and time... and it's true! but i can understand that sometimes it's hard to motivate yourself. if you ask me, draw your favorite characters :) it's literally all i do HAHA. my mentality is that... if i'm drawing something that i like then the practice feels less of a chore lol

[i-may-be-an-emu]

hi! i heard there was a yearly sfth bingo thing?? (with stuff like a tomologue, a sentient animal character, etc) do you know where the 2025 one is? i would love to play it it sounds to fun! :D

thanks!

Hello!!! :D

This fandom is relatively young, honestly- so we don’t quite have “yearly traditions” yet I’d say :)

BUT- while I don’t know anything about a big yearly bingo thing like that, lots of people do make their own bingo cards for watching longforms and patreon livestreams (and people use other peoples sometimes too)

A lot of that happens on the discord (join link in my pinned post, 14+ to join) and some people post theirs here or insta too. It’s great fun :)

I’ve made my own before and basically you just fill a blank bingo card with “common” things that happen in sfth shows. To give you a bit of an idea, here’s a blank one I found online and my one (featuring my terrible handwriting) from when sfth did their Escape From The Vault patreon dnd stream

Hopefully this answers your question!! (And I’m sorry for how long I took to answer this) if there is a yearly sfth bingo that anyone knows about that I’ve missed then please share what you know :D

(All this being said, from memory there were some like little events around christmas and during October there was sfthtober for fanart- which will probably (and hopefully) become some fun little yearly traditions!!)

[izloveshorses]

I saw a post complaining about musical Dimitri so I want to know what is your favourite things about him in the musical?

sigh... musical dmitry... giggling kicking my feet twirling my hair thinking about him. i'm always daydreaming about him. if you saw me on the street irl i almost guarantee you'd catch me lost in some variation of musical dmitry thoughts.

there are so many things i could say here, anon. his redemption arc™ from a selfish liar to the most noble and self-sacrificing slavic sadboy i've ever seen? his angsty daddy issues backstory? his bewitching silly goose ways? how he lets One Woman completely change the trajectory of his life? how he falls into an emotional spiral about it? the way he Knows Who He Is and is very self assured in his identity, and helps anya do the same? how his identity is so intertwined with his home? his role as a Storyteller™? etc????

but for this ask today i'm going to focus on how gentle he is. i don't think gentleness is something that comes very easy to this dmitry. he lost his father at a young age, as we know. he was alone on the streets and had to fight to stay alive. he cons people for a living. by the time we meet him he's very cynical about the world and doesn't really trust anyone, other than vlad. mostly he just relies on himself and can't really count on anyone else. when he meets anya, a cryptic girl who is a bit off but in need of help, his first response is to scoff and send her away, since unstable people are too risky to deal with. he's capable of being charming, but he uses this skill to get what he wants.

a lesser character with an identical backstory would be gruff and unfeeling, but... this dmitry isn't. in spite of it all, he's so hopeful, though he buries it deep. his most treasured story is about a girl he met at a parade. he is known as the 'prince of petersburg,' has a relationship with everyone on the streets. in the hartford production he calls an older woman in the ensemble 'little mother.' he rescues vlad, a complete stranger, from a firing squad. and though he turns her down at first, he agrees to get anya to paris. he protects what's his own.

you can tell it takes him a while to learn gentleness. whether it's physical or verbal, especially around anya, he is still always on the defensive for a while. fight first, think later. she's really jumpy and skittish but he doesn't start changing his behavior until they fight the ruffians together. he flags all of his movements around her, making sure she knows his intentions first. he talks about his father. he gives her a music box because he thinks it'll make her smile. because she 'earned it.' when she's crying after a nightmare he tells her a sweet, simple story from his childhood.

the train scene is the best example of this shift-- when she cowers after the gunshot goes off, he is completely lost about what to do. 'calm her down,' vlad tells him, but how is he supposed to do that? she's sobbing into his shoulder and he's frozen, panicking, because what is he supposed to do here??? but he shushes her and holds her anyway. he does his best. and it works. in such a tense situation where they very well could be shot next he is so so gentle and patient with her. and by the time we reach iacot in paris, he knows exactly how to comfort her. he learned how to hold her gently and speak in a soft voice. how softness can ground someone in need.

to summarize: musical dmitry is... really soft? and softness/gentleness isn't really something you see in the conman archetype very often. he is so special.

[darklight-owl]

ok cool. i tend to play puzzle games and strategy games . and card games ill take card games. with the only restrictions being i cannot fucking stand platformers. do not ask me to platform.

I don't play a lot of card games but Ivi HAS been holding me at gunpoint to play Inscryption. However if you want a chill strategy game with cute animals...

There's this little game called Niche: a genetics survival game that I personally adore. It's a strategy/survival game where you control a species of fox-like creatures living on an island. But what sets it apart is that the main mechanic is mendellian genetics (yes. Really.) so you have to breed traits you want for your style of play to optimize your creatures' stats. There's a lot of freedom with it, there's traits that let you swim faster, hear better, see better, dig for food, fight, you name it, Niche has it.

Also it's 60% off on Steam right now for their Earth Day sale!!!

[somegrumpynerd]

Haiiii fren!!!! (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

I don't talk to you enough recently!! So, just checking in, how are you?

And also if you want a drawing just like... Send an ask... bc... I have no ideas and time to draw...

HELLO!!!!! Pigeon my friend Pigeon! :D

I'm good! Tired from work somehow even though this was my day off (rip) and I got like no drawing done (double rip) BUT I had a nice day I think, so it's all good ^^

How are you?? How's your vacation going if you still on it? Have you seen any more cool bugs or animals?? :o

As for drawing ideas... what about the guys getting Cross his first toy since he didn't have any as a kid? Or y'know, not to be a kross enjoyer or anything but... maybe Killer introducing Cross to all his cats? Or just annoying him with how clingy he is lol

[arorambling]

Regarding the previous anon who mentioned how it's great to see older aro folks: I'm 41, have never been married, have no interest in marriage or finding any romantic relationship, and I'm thoroughly content with my life.

I just a few years ago learned that being aromantic is a thing, and so much clicked for me then. I'm happy people are discovering it at a much younger age than I did. I think it would have saved me a lot of confusion (and saved some heartbreak for the people I tried dating in the past).

Having the words to describe your experiences is so so important! As is knowing that living a satisfying aro life is not only possible; there are folks living it right now (thanks for this ask)

[cute-ellyna]

9 and 3 for Rook asks (:

For the Small Rook & Companions Questions

9. What is your Rook's favorite dish that Lucanis cooks?

Focaccia! Any kind is always welcome, but she favors it with onions or even just super simple with oil and rosemary. The best part though is that it's a good that just sets the best atmosphere: imagine the lighthouse starting to smell deliciously, the pantry table just FULL of any kind of flavors of focaccias, and everyone just picks a bite of whatever they want to try, and they chat, and they drink, and it's easy, and it's comfortable, and well this is what home feels like to all of them now :)

3. What animal/monster would Davrin carve for your Rook?

I’m not sure it’s a monster/animal, but my Rook would totally ask Davrin to take one of his carvings and with her so she can bring it when she’s traveling alone without him. He gives it to her, but then starts carving something specifically for this purpose, something that represents him (I can’t make up my mind about what it is, maybe a shield, something gray warden related? I wish I can think of something more specific), because yes she can take care of herself but he likes the idea that she has some piece of him with her all the time :3

[nixie-deangel]

And we have our winners from the WIP poll! I will be focusing first on the following top five:

Virgin Jake x Vampire Bradley (need to flush out the society of the AU).

Speedrun Hangster Girl Dads

The Seresin family Breaks Up Sereshaw

Serial/Contract Killer Jake pampers and spoils normal Bradley

My Shifter Verse AU!

(and because I dearly love @redfurrycat, who has listened to me chitter on like a crazy person about...basically all of these, I will also be focusing on the vampire Jake x human Bradley AU, just for Red 💜💜💜)

Once two are officially completed and posted to Ao3, then I will once again do another poll (most likely with even more and newer ideas added to it XD) and do this again to see which ones I will be focusing on then!

A post actually asking for the emojis to make me write will be going up closer to the weekend.

💜💜💜

[iamthepulta]

i did it u_u