#twas a lot of fun to write though

[aroaceleovaldez]

What is the PR disaster in question that made Rick announce TSATS? I wasn’t active in the online fandom at that point

Of course! This was awhile ago so it figures people don't remember it/aren't familiar:

Basically a couple years back (2020) the fandom had some posts circulate discussing the ways different characters in the Riordanverse were written poorly or offensively. There was a masterpost that went around tumblr but the two major points people were particularly focusing on were Piper and Samirah (particularly because Piper had featured prominently again in Trials of Apollo recently and the third MCGA book had further emphasized and discussed Samirah being Muslim, since it was supposed to take place during Ramadan). Basically each had multiple posts breaking down the ways they were depicted incorrectly or offensively. The entire fandom for a little bit was VERY intensely discussing this (and it's around this time the "RR crit" tag got very popularized on tumblr - it did exist before, but suddenly was being used VERY frequently - cause it was that wide-spread - though the discussion took over basically every side of Riordaverse social media on different platforms). People really wanted Rick to respond to these criticisms, so he did!

He made two blog posts, one about Piper and one about Samirah. He has since deleted both so the links are to archived versions. The short version: he essentially tried to justify his poor research and double-down that he hadn't written them offensively, actually, people were just being mean to him. The fandom, of course, reacted poorly to this.

[Further elaborated events under the cut since this got a bit lengthy]

(Fun fact, this all happened within a month or so of the time i posted an open letter on aphobic tropes in the Riordanverse that Rick replied to, and then he immediately followed with announcing that Reyna was intended to be ace-coded [which cause a LOT of fandom debate] before Rick dipped for a couple of weeks, and then came back to post the blog posts in response to Piper and Sam stuff. So I like to jokingly refer to this as "The time I imploded the fandom/drove Rick off of twitter." Twas I that set the house ablaze.)

Rick fully left social media after this and the LT Musical social media manager became Rick's social media manager for the time being.

So this all happened June/July of 2020. Tower of Nero would end up being published in October of 2020 and a few months after that Rick would state that he was done with the series and wouldn't be writing any more series installments involving Percy, and also that he wouldn't be writing a Nico quest following Tower of Nero as it "wasn't his place to" and encouraged the community to write their own versions of Nico's story.

The community continued to circulate the tumblr posts and discuss the topics of Rick's offensive character depictions, and this is also where we see the dramatic shift in how the fandom depicts Piper in fanwork (though in most cases it is admittedly not an improvement 😬) because of all this discussion. This is also around the time when the fandom brought Viria under scrutiny claiming that she was whitewashing Piper as part of the same discussions, through the justification that she was drawing Annabeth as having tan skin (which she does canonically), and if Annabeth has tanner skin then Piper then that's whitewashing Piper? Except they were using completely separate images of not fully rendered Piper art versus Annabeth in dramatic lighting, so it's all very awkward and poor logic, and did actually get kind of racist. A lot of people were calling it "Tannabeth Blackchase" (yeah, i know) or similar and a common sentiment you'd see repeated is "Don't draw Annabeth as having darker skin than Piper, because that's offensive/racist/whitewashing." (Note: it was not phrased "don't draw Piper as having lighter skin than Annabeth" - we also won't get into certain offensive depictions of Native Americans, but I digress). But yeah, the Annabeth stuff in all that did not age well at all.

Anyways, in October of 2021 however Rick would announce that he was co-writing The Sun And The Star - with a lot of heavy emphasis on how Mark Oshiro works as a sensitivity reader, and some false advertising from the official social media that Mark Oshiro was the first time a non-Riordan author would be collaborating on the series (disregarding the ghostwriters completely). One of the big criticisms in the breaking down of issues in Rick's writing was his lack of ever seeking a sensitivity reader, and fans claiming that a sensitivity reader could solve a lot of the problems. This was basically Rick's "look! I totally listened!!!!" (though it did little to actually improve things, based on the book) and in TSATS as well Piper gets a large cameo at the end where the text very directly addresses a lot of points made in criticism of Rick's writing of her.

We also then of course got the CoTG trilogy later, explicitly stated to be for advertising purposes for the show.

So basically, short version: Rick came under scrutiny for a lot of offensive writing within the span of two months, made some bad blog posts doubling down about it, left social media. TOA ends. Rick says he wasn't going to continue the series/write what would become TSATS. Community celebrates the end of of the franchise but also continues to discuss Rick's poor writing and the blog posts at length. Rick suddenly announces TSATS and Mark Oshiro's involvement. Everybody gets distracted from being mad. Show announcement stuff also happens and the discussions peter out.

[slvt4felix]

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

Pairing -> Dad!Bang Chan x fem!reader WC -> ~3,300 words Includes -> lots of fluff, so domestic, dad!Chan with twin girls, Christmas activities, implied female reader, brief mentions of pregnancy, baking fights Summary -> Now that your twins are 4 years old, it's time to pull out all the tricks for Christmas morning. The memory making for Chan and you starts when the kids go to bed, the two of you preparing for the morning to come. Author's Note -> I couldn't help but write a Christmas Chan fic. He was the perfect one for it. I'm a big softie for dad Chan. He would be so sweet. So, I hope you guys enjoy this one as much as I did! I spent all Christmas morning writing it! Happy Holidays! ♡ Masterlist ♡

You close the pink painted door softly behind you and immediately smile at your husband. He's standing beside you, hand covering his mouth, trying his best to hold in his giggle. His eyes sparkle with excitement. You guys have had this night planned for weeks, wanting to get it right. Your twin girls are turning 4 this year, and that means it's time to step it up. You guys want the Christmas magic to stay alive for as long as possible, so you need to start strong. There has obviously been lots of presents from Santa during previous years, but you both decided that it's time to really go all out now that they are starting to become more aware of the festivities of the Christmas season.

The whole thing had been Chan's idea, of course. The poor guy had been absolutely smitten with his daughters since they were born, and now they truly had him wrapped around their fingers. In fact, you guys have just managed to put them to sleep after reading not 1, not 2, but 4 stories to them, Chan eventually helping them beg you for the fourth one; it was his favorite, too, after all. He loves to read it to the girls, making them laugh at all the silly voices he creates for the different characters. He even softly sings some of the lines to them, which always results in your babies falling right asleep. They try to deny it, but their dad's voice always manages to put them right to sleep, their eyes falling closed and soft snores leaving their mouths. At that point, you practically have to drag Chan out due to him always wanting to curl up right next to them and make sure they are safe while they sleep. It's one of the things you adore most about your husband. He would do anything for your girls.

The two of you tiptoe away from the door, in hopes not to wake them up for it takes an awful long time to put them back to sleep. Chan reaches down and grabs your hand, pulling you to the living room even faster, unable to wait any longer to start on the Christmas fun.

Your house is decked out in decor from floor to ceiling, both of you in love with the festivities of the holiday season. It had been another night a few weeks before when the two of you had stayed up until the early hours of the morning, decorating the entire house for your kids to wake up to in the morning. Chan had been so excited when hearing their little feet pitter patter on the hallway outside their rooms that he had immediately sprung up to see their reactions. Just like you had expected, their little eyes lit up and they were amazed by all the lights and tinsel strewn around the house. Chan had made nearly the same face the night before after everything had been set up. You adore seeing all the little characteristics they inherited from their dad. Even though it was quite annoying hearing people mention how much they look like him after you carried them for 9 months, but Chan was never too cocky about it.

When you get to the living room, you pull away from Chan, plopping down on the tan couch covered in fuzzy Christmas blankets and throw pillows. You let out a large content sigh after a long day of seeing different family and friends for the holiday. Christmas day is reserved for your small family and grandparents. You had managed to come home by 7, but there were still many things to do; this included having to bake cookies, which lead to an unfortunate flour fight and the kids staying up way past their bedtime. Now, it's 9:30 pm, and all you wanna do is cuddle up with Chan and put on a silly Hallmark Christmas movie. He complains every year, but you know he secretly loves them.

Feeling you let go of his hand, Chan looks at you and gives you sad puppy dog eyes and pouty lips.

"But we need to set up all the stuff for the morning," he reminds you, eager to get started.

"I know honey, but it's not even 10 yet, we have tons of time. Plus we still need to clean up the kitchen from your little baking fight."

Chan laughs at the memory of your two children, absolutely covered head to toe in flour. They sneak chocolate chips from the bag as the two of you finish up, sticking the cookies in the oven. Bath time was a whole event today.

"I know, I'm just excited," he tells you as he approaches the couch. He lays his hand on your cheek, tilting your head up. He leans down, placing a kiss on your forehead.

You blush slightly, as he whispers, "I love you," his words still having the same affect even after all these years.

"i love you too."

He pulls away and turns around, heading into the kitchen.

"Wait, where are you going?" you ask him, confused. All you wanted was to rest a minute and maybe have a cuddle or two.

"I'll clean up the kitchen, you just close your eyes for little while. It's been a long day. I'll wake you up when it's time to start getting everything ready for the morning," he explains, sending a wink your way. You laugh at his antics and let him go clean up the kitchen.

You start to get comfy on the couch, excited to take a few minutes to yourself during the busy holiday season. You hear muffled music start to come from the kitchen. You smile upon hearing the familiar tunes of traditional Christmas music. Chan can never work or clean without music playing, but you guess the love for music aligns well with his career. You've never been one to say no to music, although it did take a while for your love for Christmas music to grow. You have Chan to thank for that one. Your eyes fall shut, the soft sounds lulling you to sleep.

~~~

You start to stir due to fingers lightly threading through your hair. You open your eyes to see the same excited, brown eyes you wake up to every morning. He smiles when he notices you're awake. You can tell he has something to tell you simply from his body language. You have gotten to know everything about each other and there's little you don't notice. He shifts slightly as he kneels next to you, anxious to get the information out.

"I cleaned up the kitchen, but I've got a great idea," he says. You roll your eyes in fondness, as you sit up to make room for him on the couch. He sits down next to you, pulling your legs into his lap. He can't keep things from you for long. You're his favorite confidant. He often comes home from work and spills everything that happened. You're always the first one to hear new songs, your kids always the next in line to hear their dad sing with his band.

"It'll be messy, but I promise it'll be worth it. The girls are gonna be so amazed," he says, trying to convince you. It doesn't take much for you to agree with him, since your kids are easily impressed.

"Okay, I think it's been long enough, I doubt they're gonna wake up any time soon. Show me what you got Christopher," you say, sparking an instant reaction in the man. He shoots up from the couch, rushing to your shared bedroom. You laugh as you notice him slow down to tiptoe past the kids room before going back to his mission. He comes back, just a couple minutes later with a large pair of boots he must have dug through your closet to find. They are probably from a concert he had years prior. Chan had probably liked the boots a little too much and begged the stylists to keep them.

"What in the world are you gonna do with those?" you ask him, genuinely curious. This was one of the few times where you had no idea where this conversation was heading. That wasn't too surprising though, considering how creative the man is. He sets the boots gently on the floor, careful not too make too much noise in fear of waking the girls up. They aren't necessarily light sleepers, but a chunky pair of boots hitting the wood floors would definitely make them rouse from their beds. He heads back into the kitchen to retrieve God knows what.

He comes back out with a giddy smile on his face, and the culprit for the earlier mess in his hand. Flour. You chuckle, immediately realizing what his idea entails.

"You're a genius," you say, shaking your head with affection.

You stand up, taking the flour out of his hand and placing it on the coffee table.

"This is gonna have to happen last though. We don't wanna mess it up before morning hits." He nods his head in agreement.

"Let's get the presents out and then let's worry about the cookies," Chan suggests. You head into your bedroom together, heading to your secret hiding spot for the presents. You open your closet up, a place your kids don't normally get into. You immediately take notice of how some of the presents have been shuffled onto the one side of the closet. You hold in a laugh upon realizing Chan had to shove the presents aside in order to grab his black boots. You carefully grab a few of the presents and Chan grabs a few more, always eager to show off the muscles he works hard for in the gym.

You head back into the living room, placing the presents under the tree. You had made sure to wrap each of the girls' presents in different wrapping paper so it would be easier for the four year olds to tell which present was theirs.

Eventually, the both of you have stacked up the presents under the tree, resulting in an impressive sight of gifts. Your little girls will be unable to contain their excitement at all the wrapped toys. A lot of them had to be similar due to their tendency to fight over toys. You are still trying to teach them sharing, but they tend to struggle with it a little bit. Chan has gotten good at sorting out the fights, being able to pick out the right words to say in order to stop the arguing. Unsurprisingly, he just has that leader quality about him that makes people listen to what he has to say, especially his two kids.

As your admiring the plenty of presents, you spent more money than you'd like to admit on, you barely notice as Chan leaves the room. He comes back with something behind his back and it quickly draws your attention. You notice the small wrapped gifts behind his back and smile. There had been a year where you guys had decided not to get each other anything, but you have been unable to ever go through with it. Chan tends to go all out for Christmas gifts and so do you, so there was no shot at trying to hold back. He simply goes to the side of the tree, pretending like he doesn't know you had seen him. He sets the three variously sized boxes down behind the gifts for the children. You decide to grab the gifts you had gotten for Chan in the morning, knowing there is bound to be a time when the girls will be distracting him enough for you to sneak them under the tree. He had been complaining about his computer lately, groaning in frustration when it would glitch or run out of battery too quickly. So, you had gotten him a nicer one for Christmas, especially since he uses the thing so much. You know he'll love it and you're excited to see his reaction. He'll thank you for days, even weeks, after.

Since the presents are all settled under the tree, you head into the kitchen, grabbing the plate of still warm chocolate chip cookies the kids left out. They were getting overtired, so you had promised them you would place the cookies where Santa could see so he could have a treat on his journey across the globe.

You make your way back into the living room to see your husband swaying gently to the Christmas music, still playing from when he had been cleaning up the kitchen. He's texting on his phone; you assume it's one of the boys considering he always seems to be texting them about one thing or another. You set the cookies down on the coffee table and walk behind him. You wrap your arms gently around his waist and go onto your tiptoes, hooking your chin over his shoulder.

"Who are you texting?" You ask with no malice in your tone, just simple curiosity. He smiles, leaning back gently into your touch.

"Felix was asking about what our plans were for tomorrow. He wanted to come over to see the girls and give them their gifts," he says. You're sure that by the end of the night tomorrow, a few of the boys from his group will have stopped by. The girls love them, especially Felix and, surprisingly enough, Seungmin. He entertains them little, but the man has somehow caught the kids' hearts.

You nod against his back as he turns his phone off and places it back in his pocket, giving you his full attention. He places his hands over yours, and you hum in content, completely and fully happy with the life you're living. One of Chan's hands grips your wrist and he spins out of your hold. His grinning face now looking back at yours. He pulls you in gently by the waist, his body still swaying to the beat of the music. You wrap your arms around his neck, quickly catching onto his aim here. In the background, "White Christmas" plays, one of your favorite Christmas songs, a fact Chan is all too aware of.

He starts to gently lead you in a slow dance, a tradition the two of you have followed since the first year you were married. You had still been in your honeymoon stage when it had started, getting married just a month before. It was your first Christmas Eve together as husband and wife, and in the middle of baking cookies for a family gathering the next day, Chan had asked you to dance with him. Since then, you have slow danced every year on Christmas Eve to various Christmas songs. It has slowly but surely become one of the main things you look forward to within the holiday season. He dances with you on other occasions, but for some reason, it feels so much more special when the only light comes from the soft glow of the Christmas tree, muffled Christmas music fills the room, and the smell of cookies wafts throughout the house.

You spin slowly around the room, ensuring not to step on Chan's feet. Your fingers gently play with the hair on the nape of his neck as your head lays on his chest. His fingers have found their way to your slightly raised shirt, softly rubbing the exposed skin along your waist, causing goosebumps to erupt on your skin. He never fails to have the same effect on you even after 6 years of marriage and two children.

You hear Chan start to softly sing the tune, and you get lost in the sound of his voice. Your eyes closed, appreciating the delicate moment between the two of you.

However, as the song nears it's end, you are quickly thrown out of the calmness. Chan runs his hand up to the dip of your back, holding you gently there, as he attempts to lean you back in what he hopes to be a romantic dip. It turns out to be a dramatic fail, as you lose your footing due to the surprise and he tumbles to the ground with you. You both land on the soft rug which blankets both of your falls, keeping either of you from getting hurt. Chan immediately panics, terrified he hurt you. You quickly reassure him, knowing how worked up he could get over this.

Before long you're both in a heap on the floor, unable to control your laughter. You giggle softly in his neck as he hugs you, still trying to keep relatively quiet, not wanting to wake up the girls who are sleeping in just a room over.

"Alright we have to get started on everything else. It's getting late," you whisper in his ear, aware that Chan would lay here with you forever if he could.

He slowly gets up before grabbing your hand, helping you to your feet. You make your way back over to the cookies.

"Alright, do you want a bite of the cookie, or do you want me to?" Chan questions.

"You can take the bite," you say, remembering how excited he had been for this whole thing. Not to mention you had snuck a cookie when Chan had tried to gather the girls up for bedtime.

He takes a bite, humming at the taste. He sets the cookie back down on the plate after making sure the perfect amount had been bitten off. It has to look like Santa had taken a bite of it the night before. Next, your eyes land on the glass of milk next to the plate. He nods to you, and you drink half of it so that it is noticeable that someone drank some.

Once you set the glass down, Chan excitedly hands you the flour and grabs his boots from where had set them down earlier. He only puts one on at first, but you remind him that Santa would make footprints with both feet and he rushes to put the other one on.

You bring the flour over to the fireplace and dump a tiny bit on the brick that extends a little out from it. You spread it gently with your hand, rubbing the excess on your pants. Chan steps straight onto the flooring, pushing down, to ensure a footprint will appear. He steps away and just like you had expected, a pair of big boot footprints show in the flour, facing away from the fireplace. The two of you make a path of footprints leading to the cookies, then to the tree. The flour looks as if it were snow brought in from outside. Chan's boots made nearly the perfect replica of Santa's footprints.

You stand back, admiring your work, knowing the girls are going to freak in the morning.

"You're definitely cleaning that up in the morning," you tease him with a laugh despite knowing he would do it without you even having to ask.

You work quickly as a team, putting all of the evidence away, before getting ready for bed. You were both already in your matching Christmas pajamas, you had bought for your family this year. The girls were just as eager to wear them as you were. Chan had pretended to hate it at first, but you knew he was just messing around. He secretly adored doing all the silly, cringy family things you asked him to.

After brushing your teeth and washing your face, you crawled into bed with him. You lay your head on his chest, hearing his heartbeat rhythmically in your ear, lulling you into a deep sleep.

Before you slip into unconsciousness, you whisper out, hoping your husband is still awake, "Merry Christmas, Channie."

"Merry Christmas, Darling."

[imanes]

doing a lil august reading wrap up because apparently i read 13 (!!) books. in chronological order (bolded are those i recommend):

city of stairs by robert jackson bennett: quite the interesting read. i think the character work in this one is a standout, as well as the world building. the good thing is i have no idea where this trilogy is going so it's exciting. the audiobook for the second book arrives in 2 weeks on my shelves on libby so I'll be reading the sequel soon

braiding sweetgrass by robin wall kimmerer: this one took me a whole entire year to read and finish lol. no comment. or maybe one comment: i think i'd have found this book a lot more eye opening if i had read it three years ago so right book wrong time i guess? i do recommend it i just think it didn't impact me as much as i thought it would

the blighted worlds by megan e. o'keefe: this one hit me like a truck!! i was so obsessed. it's a sci-fi space opera with an element of horror and an interesting romance sub-plot. basically everything i love lmao. i really do recommend this book it might actually be my fave of the month

sanctuary by ilona andrews: i have to stay up to date on all things kate daniels-related to this spin off was high on my tbr. it was a lot of fun but it petered out toward the end

where the dark stands still by a.b. poranek: a bit of a let down not gonna lie. the gist of my opinion is that it felt underdeveloped and in turn i felt under-interested in whatever was going on

shadows of self by brandon sanderson: once again i am begging the protagonists of this series to stop being aggravating

the fractured dark by megan e. o'keefe: continuing my obsession with the devoured worlds trilogy... unfortunately i have to wait on my libby hold to get the audiobook of the next one (i read with my eyeballs and listen at the same time to help with concentration)

the right to sex - feminism in the 21st century by amia srinivasan: i read this book because i know of two people who broke up with their significant other (one of them resulting in a divorce) after reading this book so i had to know what srinivasan had cooked in there and yeah she did cook.

the way of kings by brandon sanderson: just part of my re-read in preparation of the release of wind and truth in December. this month we tackle (again) words of radiance teehee

just for the summer by abby jimenez: womp womp womp. idk what it is with romance authors these days they're in a competition with themselves to portray the healthiest love stories but this one teetered on the wrong side of boring one too many times and the volume to therapy-speech in this one was staggering.

the ex vows by joyce jessica: twas a cute poolside read, it's nothing revolutionary but it was pleasant enough and it didn't make me roll my eyes like just for the summer jdkjgsk at least the love interest had a personality and a life... i mean it's fiction so it's not a life but it appeared as if he contained multitudes or something

funny story by emily henry: I'll go ahead and say it nobody writes a contemporary romance quite like miss henry because she's got the secret recipe for the right balance between heartfelt feelings and amusing situations + her dialogues feel a lot more natural than most (though if i had to nitpick she always has this side character who's a fountain of wisdom and gives you life-changing monologues but i guess such people exist out there)

the thief by megan whalen turner: the megans are really out in full force because this is another book written by a megan that i loved so much. yes half of this book is a fairly episodic journey across made-up countries, yes i ate it up, yes the second half is worth the wait (if you were out of patience, which i wasn't, bc i was having fun) and yes the plot twists are chef's kiss. "gen's ambitions are his own" is the perfect summary. everand has all the audiobooks so you know what I'm gonna do... that's right... listen and read at the same time

as an aside the tandem reads i do with both books and audiobooks happen only when i like the narrators. if i find a narrator i like i stick to them like glue because they're few and far between as far as my picky ass is concerned. i never do romance audiobooks they're the worst...

[mostboringcrossover]

An owl swoops into the Great Hall, clutching an urgent missive in its beak.

The owl’s journey has been long and arduous, so you must forgive it for mistaking Leander’s head for a suitable perch. It is fortuitous you've chosen to eat breakfast together. 

The owl releases its grip, and the letter falls directly into your bowl of porridge. It bears the official insignia of the Investigation Department of the British Ministry of Magic. 

The owl flaps its great wings and takes flight once more, unleashing a shrill cry to rival Leander’s, for in its talons are two thick tufts of ginger hair. 

…

To Mr. Asher Bloomingdale of Gryffindor House,

I hope Mrs. Bubo Tuber has not caused you any distress; her eye sight leaves much to be desired. 

I am the CHRISTMAS BEAN, the head of a specialized unit of detectives for the British Ministry of Magic. 

With Christmas and the new year upon us, we’ve managed to unravel all of the world's greatest mysteries. 

All except for one…

Exactly, who is Asher Bloomingdale? 

The first course of action of any gifted detective (as I am) is to get into the person of interest's mind. I do hope you’ll allow me to conduct this investigation in a festive manner. ✨

“'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds;

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.”

Answer me this: When nestled and snug in his bed, does Asher dream of sugar plums pirouetting in his head? If not, then what does he dream of? 

Sincerely, 

🎄🫘The Christmas Bean 🫘🎄

Attached to the back of this letter are the ingredients for a flawless Manegro potion, should you find yourself in need of it. Though I sincerely hope you don't...

Oooo a Christmas bean! Well if this is the Ministry of Magic contacting our boy directly, it simply must get a resposne!

"I suppose I should write back then..."

The boy sat down and stole a piece of parchment from a classmate, writing his answer down on the paper.

Dear Mr/Ms. Bean,

I first would like to thank you for contacting me with such an interesting question. To provide an answer, I mostly dream of my parents. More often my dad and I having an early nap when I was a bit younger. Of course my dreams go beyond that, but those are a bit more personal than what I'd like to include. Though I do dream of tests and homework when I have a lot to do. Let's just say they aren't fun to experience.

Sincerely,

Asher Bloomingdale

Asher was ready to head back to his dorm to seal the letter, when he spotted a bit at the top. "I hope Mrs.Bobo Tuber has not caused you any distress; her eyesight leaves much to be desired."

What could she possibly cause other than mistaking Leanders head as a perch?

it was then that Asher heard Leanders shrieking and Garreths howling laughter that he realized it wasn't himself that was distressed.

(Bonus picture of Asher and his dad!)

[alby-rei]

Prologue (IkeVamp; Luigi's Mansion AU, Part 1)

a/n: Heavily (more like, entirely) inspired by @scummy-writes's playthrough of Luigi's Mansion. 'Twas a lot of fun merging the wackiness of that game with the IkeVamp universe! Multiple parts have already been written, to varying degrees of polish, so I'll be posting them on a schedule (Tentatively, one part per week). Without further ado, Enjoyyy ✨

Series: Comte's Ghost Mansion Tags: Humor, Crack treated seriously, Luigi's Mansion AU, Spooky scary spectral vampires, Ghostbuster MC Word Count: 1000 words Characters: You, Sebastian, Comte (mentioned) Next: Part 2

~*~

You woke up in a dark endless abyss with a headache.

"Where...am I?"

You were not sure how long you were out for, but it must have been a long time.

Last you remembered, you were walking around the Louvre museum in the daytime. A handsome man in a three-piece tailored suit had graciously retrieved your earring from the ground, only to drop and forgot his own handkerchief.

You, wanting nothing more than to return the favor, sought to return it to him. Your quest led you to a secluded section of the museum, barren of any foot traffic, and past a set of large double doors that appeared, at the time, as part of the museum experience.

In hindsight, the dwindling number of visitors around you should have alerted you to think otherwise.

Lightning flashed and the hallway blinked in view, like a snapshot captured with a camera shutter. Thunder cracked once, twice, forcing you out of memory lane and back into the present.

In the split-second that you saw the hallway, a line of tall arched windows stood to your left and closed wooden doors to your right. A high-backed chair was stationed between each door, and a framed picture hung above it. A wall blocked the path at one end and extended into darkness in the other. So, not an endless abyss. But it was not the Louvre museum, either.

Slowly, hesitantly, you took a step forward, and another, and then another, keeping your eyes peeled for any signs of an exit. A door creaked nearby.

You scrambled to hide behind the nearest curtains, but you were caught by two firm hands. Your heart lurched in your throat. You turned around to face your assailant, and a second round of lightning gave you a chance to get a good look. It was a young man with grayish hair swept to one side, his eyes narrow and inquisitive.

"Who are you, and how did you get in here?" He asked, though he did not wait for a response. "Doesn't matter, let's get you out before the others notice."

You followed him through the maze of hallways, each turn taking you down an identical path. It was a wonder that your guide could tell heads from tails in the darkness.

"Watch your step," he called out as the two of you descended a set of grand stairs.

Just when you thought you reached the bottom, you were met with more stairs. Blood pumped in your ears as you focused on getting out of here, one step at a time. You sighed in relief when the first sliver of light peeked through the grand double doors at the opposite end of what, you assumed, was the foyer.

Once outside, you gawked at the building you just escaped. It was a three-story mansion. Grapevines crept around and across the walls and into some open windows. Dark clouds loomed over the estate, but the rain died down into a drizzle.  

"Don't fall behind, now!" Your guide called out from the garden up ahead. Rather than continue straight ahead and out the gate, he took a turn going behind the mansion. You stared at the open gate, contemplating your chance of survival. Feeling unsafe venturing out into the unknown, you kept up pace with him along a narrow cobblestone path.

He stopped abruptly, causing you to bump into his back, and asked, "Where did you say you were from?"

You huffed and said, "If you would've let me speak the first time..." You explained your situation to him, and he furrowed his brows. You then barraged him with your own set of questions. Rather than answer any of them, he turned on his heel and talked on the way.

He introduced himself as Sebastian. He woke up in a similar way to what you had described a few years prior.

“I’m sorry, did you say years?” You gaped. What hope did you have of returning home if he had not done so yet?

He continued. "I came face to face with the head of this mansion, a French nobleman who goes by the title, Le Comte de Saint-Germain. He gave me an offer I could not refuse, and so I serve the mansion as its butler."

He stopped in front of a quaint wooden garden shack.

Facing you, he wore a wry smile as he said, "I would like to consider myself lucky, as I haven't seen another human in quite some time. But you, I'm afraid, are out of luck to end up here."

Your eyes shifted. "What do you mean by that?"

"Wait here."

He ducked inside and came out with a backpack that looked an awful lot like a vacuum cleaner. The vacuum tube in his hands only further confirmed your suspicions.

He reminded you of a ghostbuster.

"Unfortunately, I don't know how to get you home. But what I can offer is a means to defend yourself for the night.

"Defend myself?" You echoed. "Against what?"

That was how you ended up back inside the mansion, carrying Sebastian's 'Poltergust 1899' (as he proudly called it) on your back, alongside an oil lamp in hand and an item pouch around your shoulder.

What’s the pouch for? You may be wondering.

After much debate with the butler, you agreed to retrieve "items of interest" for him if he promised to investigate a means of getting you back home. His final remark was to avoid disturbing the mansion's esteemed residents and, contrarily, to report back any interesting behavior you encounter, seemingly of said residents.

The main entrance door creaked open. The mansion's foyer was bedecked with a carpeted floor that stretched up its wide central staircase. White Ionic columns lined the sides. At the top of the stairs, bright moonlight shone through, enveloping the room in a bluish hue.

The door slamming shut behind you pulled your flighty spirit back into its boney prison. Several voices murmured behind the walls.

You caught some of their words, or so you believed.

"A guest?"

"They returned!"

"Oh dear."

"How delightful."

"Go away."

You wished you didn't.

~*~

Back to Masterlist

[sketchy--sketches]

EYYYY IT'S A NEW YEAR

That means I'm gonna compare my first and last drawings of last year again :D

First:

Last:

Twas, uh- certainly a change :D

I wanna talk about my art journey now, so I'll just put that under a cut

Good LORD a lot of things changed- it really doesn't look obvious, though, so I'll just put a list of things that have changed

My persona has changed AGAIN- I've never talked about this publicly, but I've gone through over 10 personas in the past couple years My newest guy is Mr. Tumbles and he's actually based on the pfp I've used for Tumblr since basically the start of this account and I'm pretty sure he's the one I'll be sticking with- he's in the centre of the second drawing here

I have given up on lineart because it just is not fun for me

My attitude for art has changed from "It needs to be PERFECT because I want to draw COMICS and people will SEE THEM and they need to be PERFECT!!!", to "fuck it we ball"; so my art has become a lot more messy with some obvious mishaps, but honestly, I have never had more fun drawing before now

Everything is POINTY

Started the process of learning 3D modelling and animation

I wrote. A LOT. Of words. And finally got a start of one of my actual stories, with original characters and a plot and stuff! Not just fanfiction based on vibes!! I'M SO EXCITED

And the surprising thing for me?? Most of these changes only happened in the last three months of 2024- I went from never wanting to draw digitally to speedrunning making 7 bigger illustrations from October to December

I don't really know why I'm going on about this- I guess something I learned that could be applied to other artists is that you're allowed to draw and experiment in ways that are more fun for you- I really think experimenting with your art and finding what you love about it will help you fall in love with art again :D

This goes for writing and other mediums too; experiment! Become a mad scientist! Emulate your favourite art styles! FUCK AROUND AND FIND OUT

[axofixations]

hiiii... do you have any other interests beside TWA :3?

Yes!!! I enjoy games like Wobbledogs, Minecraft, the Half-Life and Portal series, etc. Minecraft and Portal are childhood games for me, and I enjoy playing Minecraft for the building and the grind, but primarily for the social aspect— SMPs are fun! The Portal Franchise is something I play at least annually, I hop on my xbox and play through Portal 1 every autumn, and I mess around in Portal 2 multiplayer frequently (over 300 hours on steam thus far.) Wobbledogs and the Half-Life games are more recent, but I still enjoy them a lot!

I used to be a big fan of BFDI, But when BFB ended, I kinda dropped out of the OSC. I'm not a huge fan of TV shows, but I like Futurama, Numberblocks, TAWOG, and House MD! Although, I grew up on Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry reruns.

I also enjoy learning about Math, in-general, and Science... but particularly things like Biology, or anything to do with space. I also enjoy watching writing advice videos (as evidenced by TWA, but i also watch Trope Talks by OSP.), and learning about mythology! I'm planning on majoring in Psychology and becoming a Therapist, though I need to work out that plan before I enact it.

Overall I think I have a pretty broad range of interests (not even touching upon art and music right now), but this is a pretty relevant list. Thank you for asking!

[redfurrycat]

💕Know Your Tumblr Friends💕

Tagged by @callsign-crow, @itshoneywhatever, @mafiatsunafish, @merryandrewsworld, @perishablealex, @renai-chan in different versions of the tag game, so I just took all the questions and answered them all in one post, if ya don't mind, you lovely souls! 💕

*

Name? Starts with a P. It's a pretty common name where I’m from. (But you can call me Red here 😉)

Were you named after anyone? Nope.

Pronouns? She/her.

Where do you call home? Belgium.

Sign? Aries.

Time? 11h49 (I’m HUNGRY.) (Update. I ate and it was fries and homemade burger).

Fav band/artist? Hans Zimmer (composer). But I love many other composers! I don’t exactly have a fav band or artist as it’s not the kind of music I listen to (OST-Forever-Girl).

Do you have kids? No. I don’t want kids right now, I’ll wonder about that muuuuuch later. (Although I’m a cat mom at the moment.)

Use sarcasm a lot? I do sarcastic quips all the time… xD

First thing you notice 'bout people? Their smile. :)

Eye color? Hazel Eyes.

Scary movies or happy ending? Happy Ending FOREVER.

Special talent? *blank* (Too hungry to think of one... xD)

Your hobbies? To talk about something NOT related to fandom, I like Sudoku and Word scrambled games.

Any pets? It may be shocking to all of you, but I have a she-cat. A red she-cat. *grinning*

First pet? Twas a hamster….:D

Favorite animal? I love felines and birds of prey VERY MUCH.

Cereal of choice? As a kiddo it was Miel Pops, now I do the healthier version of honey cereals when I do eat cereals. And I occasionally eat oatmeal as well.

Are you visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner? All three of them, depends on what is it I’m learning.

Playing any sport? Used to be tennis. Now I do walking and running, and I’d love to swim again!!!

How tall..? Small bean of 1m58.

Favourite subject in school? Latin in secondary school, and my American and British Literature at Uni, as well as all my Law and Judiciary classes. Instructive, especially because I now understand the related news.

Dream job? I don’t even know anymore… I’m completely lost. ☹

Favorite scent? honey and lavender, and strawberry.

Do you believe in astrology? Absolutely not. "Not in any god, not in myths and legends." (Although it’s pretty cool to read about myths and legends! :D *mythology nerd*)

How many playlists do you have on spotify/apple music? 0 because I refuse to use spotify or apple music. :D

Sharpies or highlighters? Both are good!

Song that makes you cry? Songs don’t usually make me cry. However, OSTs do. I’m HIGHLY sensitive to Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron/The Last Samurai/LOTR OSTs.

Last song? Dela by Johnny Clegg (That’s right baby, GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE SONG! :D)

Last series? still ER! (I mean there are 15 seasons or so, and I’m watching season 5)

Last movie? I was in the middle of ‘While you were sleeping’ but couldn’t finish due to stellar internet connection. :(

Song that makes you happy? Ain’t Worried by OneRepublic, Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins, and the Rickrolling Song! xD

Do you write/draw/create? Don’t EVER ask me to draw. I’ve started to write, which I’m still surprised about, I guess you could say I create some Top Gun content as well? Like silly posts about my fav pilots! :D

Currently working on? My Cheerleading Top Gun Sideblog. I’m still in the building process but it’s been fun so far! I discovered or rediscovered REALLY amazing content!!! :O <3 Writing-related? Dr. Goose Bradshaw Series. YUP. THAT’S RIGHT. 😉

When did I create this blog? Dunno…2013/14?

What I post? I reblog A LOT. And I LOVE adding to posts when inspiration strikes! xD Right now? I’ve posted several Top Gun  Recs Lists. (Top Gun and Top Gun Maverick have bewitched me body and soul!)

Other blogs? The Sideblog I was previously talking about can be found at @timetobuzzthefandomtower.

Do I get asks? Very occasionally 😊 (Though I don’t check it very often, so very sorry to anyone who might have sent something, I promise I’ll get back to you!!! <3)

Followers? 246?! (Holy Shit. When did that happen??????? I’ve never checked before! :O)

Average hours of sleep? 8 hours is the best for me, but I sleep less than that I’m sure.

Instruments? Fuck that. I hated the music class during HS. :O 

What I'm wearing rn? Short & T-Shirt. All comfy clothes.

Dream trip? New Zealand. Seems very far away, almost unachievable! xD And, the Vikings Lands. I. WANT. TO. GO. THERE. <3

Favourite song at the moment? Fake ID from Footloose :D

*

NO PRESSURE TAGS!!!

@auprintempss, @bradleybonkbradshaw, @captainclaudeandthehiddenlogs, @hardballoonlove, @missathlete31, @nanny-sc, @scottishaccentsareawesome, @skiddit, @the-ace-with-spades.

I know there are A LOT of questions, feel the heck free to choose which ones you want to answer, IF you want to of course! Have the sweetest of days! <3

[birdo-is-here]

Naut lore dump below because I can and I love this weird looking squid

I was originally planning to properly write out the scene here but after several days of me getting a maximum of 40 words down, I decided i’d just explain what happens

Besides, the way his backstory is revealed is second-handedly so I wouldn’t usually have to write it anyway

Warning this is quite long don’t feel pressured to finish it immediately lmao, I also ramble for bits of it but I eventually get on track

Well. Speaking of squids, here’s a fun fact: Nautilus wasn’t always the squid man he is right now, did you know?

Actually, he looked like a normal human man at first, kinda long, curled hair with a darker skin tone. Just kinda a guy yk

What happened, you may ask? Well, i’ll get into that soon

Here’s another fun fact: Nautilus was the first Off-Scripter. Ever.

When he first popped up as an Off-Scripter, Birdo wasn’t entirely sure what to do with him. Taking her chances, she kinda just decided to… leave him be for the time being until something happened

Nautilus has always been a pirate. Even before he became the inter-dimensional one he is now, he was a normal pirate then as well. Now, his universe is from the 12th century, but that’s because that universe is what I call an “Early Bloomer”, which is fairly self explanatory. It’s a universe that is aging relatively faster than the others for whatever reason is given.

So currently for Naut’s universe, while it’s the 12th century, it’s really closer to the 17th - 18th century. Early and Late Bloomers are actually quite common in The Birdhouse, and are usually just left to their own devices to develop

Now, back on topic, you may be asking: How did Naut become an Off-Scripter? And my response to that is: No one knows! Not even Birdo knows, it’s a completely random and unknown phenomenon which can happen to anyone for any reason; intentionally or not (though it’s usually unintentional)

And here’s where an issue arises: When it was just Naut as the sole Off-Scripter, it was mostly fine. His own universe had a few… odd moments, but they were usually able to be steered back on course pretty easily.

That is, until more Off-Scripters began appearing over the multiverse. And so, Birdo acted accordingly. Well, only really on Nautilus first as a sort of “test subject” to see how their little method would go. What’s this method, you ask?

Well. While Birdo couldn’t directly get rid of an Off-Scripter, he could make the environment around the Off-Scripter inhabitable. Bring an indirect death on the Off-Scripter through storms, natural disasters, and for some reason, lots of water.

Basically, Birdo sent a storm of flood and fire on Nautilus’s universe in an attempt to kill him, figuring that if no corner of the universe was left untouched, there would be nowhere for him to go, and he’d die.

Fortunately, that did not work. At all. It certainly rendered Naut’s home dimension uninhabitable! In fact, there was not a single survivor in the entire universe. Twas not an infinite universe, that one, and there for it had a finite number of inhabitants. Well, not a single survivor save for Nautilus.

In the midst of the flood and chaos, Naut, still a human at the time, instinctively tried to save his own life in the quickest way he knew how at the time: He turned himself half squid. Well, half squid is debatable, he is some sort of cephalopod-adjacent humanoid creature

Now, previously, Naut did know he was not a ‘normal guy’, ykwim?? He knew he was an Off-Scripter, and had a natural knowledge of the multiverse to accompany that. Honestly, he’d mostly just been trying to live his life as a pirate back then, trying to ignore the big picture and keep to what he’s comfortable with (I get it bestie), but unfortunately, there’s never been a time where a good thing has lasted forever

What I mean to say without rambling is, Nautilus did have a general knowledge of Birdo and the other Founders, but never really paid much attention to them.

Until Birdo of course.

Naut, distraught and utterly traumatised; having nearly drowned in the floods before going squid, eventually spotted the culprit of his universe’s downfall

He confronted them on the elephant in the room that is killing his entire dimension, and Birdo explained the situation. They explained the problem with the Off-Scripters and what they had originally planned, and Naut asked if it was worth it to wipe out his entire reality, literally

Birdo waves it off, saying they can just make a new one and start over, which only pisses Naut off more, asking what’d happen to him and his home. Birdo explains that the universe will likely have to be cleaned up and absorbed by The Null (the Birdhouse’s garbage disposal)

They then go on to say, suddenly disappearing from sight, that they’re gonna give the “execution method” one last try, but do something a little more direct this time

Birdo then reappears in a form a little more menacing; An almost spirit-like, tall figure that looks similar to the small, robed creature Naut saw originally, only this time exaggerated to appear terrifying and divine; like the god they actually were

Naut is knocked over by an odd force, and he looks up to see Birdo brandishing a large spear, pointed directly at him. Their eyes are unreadable in this instance; Large, green inhuman eyes.

Nautilus is terrified, of course he is, he’s about to did, but… he doesn’t find himself doing much to fight back. I mean, think about it, he’s just lost everything he’s ever known, what point is there in going on, anyway? It’s best to just let the god get what she wants.

And so, while he raises an arm and prepares himself for his doom, he doesn’t do anything. Birdo watches him, studying his expressions, spear hovering in the air a moment longer… before she sighs, and lowers the spear to her side. She mutters something about how it “probably won’t work anyway”, her form growing slightly less imposing as she glances away from Nautilus.

And then, Birdo seems to dissipate into nothing. They disappear again, though permanently this time, their voice styaing a moment longer, mumbling almost disappointedly “do whatever you want, I don’t care that much honestly”

Naut took a moment to wonder if the god of this world was a teenager in disguise, before he stood again.

He looked out over the burnt, waterlogged husk of a world that was his home, and his brows furrowed. He hated Birdo with every fibre of his being. He hated all the Founders for allowing this.

But he decided to follow Birdo’s suggestion just this once: He was going to do whatever he wanted, and hell, he wanted to be a pirate

End of writing lore dump notes: If you’re wondering, yes he is afraid of water after this experience. Quite a lot, actually:(

[wybienova]

GRAHHHH ds/3ds quick recc list may be forgetting some or wording some of this wrong or you may have played them/know of them already but 👍👍👍💥💥💥

DS games (in no particular order)

kirby: squeak squad is one I haven’t beaten to my memory but I have played so much of it and knowing you’re a kirby fan EASY recc. lots of really fun stuff here with the treasure and ability system. if you haven’t played a version of it yet PLEASE play kirby super star ultra I haven’t played ultra myself but I have played super star and it is seriously like so good wybie. I’ve heard ultra adds some stuff too very eyes emoji. a more experimental one but kirby mass attack I have a really soft spot for. such a charmingly odd game, really creative.

super scribblenauts is one I haven’t played in forever so mileage may vary but I still remember so fondly. wacky little puzzle game that brings to life most any noun you can think of, and those nouns can be adjusted by most any adjective you can think of! not art based like little me yearned it to be sadly or luckily depending

pokémon mystery dungeon: explorers of time/darkness/sky is an easy classic of course; good dungeon crawling rpg fantastic story as I’m sure you’ve heard murmurings of before. for straight pokémon game pokémon black/white is also one to check out!! still need to beat it proper but twas my first pokémon game there’s some rad stuff

3DS games (also in not particular order)

kid icarus: uprising can be a little hard to get into with a unique control scheme and gameplay rhythm but the writing/story/characters are sooooo good I love it SO much am always thinking about it.

continuing kirby reccs kirby triple deluxe and kirby planet robobot are SO GOOD. SO GOOD such good kirby games robobot in particular is up there for me with forgotten land and super star I can almost promise you’d love these. soso fun.

contractually obligated as I’m on a big zelda kick rn /silly (and also they’re very good games) legend of zelda: a link between worlds and legend of zelda: ocarina of time 3d is some of the best first zelda games out there. exceptional entries encompasing both the 2d and 3d style of games respectively, really good puzzle/action/adventure games with fun stories and and I like them :]

have fun gameing!!!!

AH THANK YOU !!!!! my evil trick though is ive actually already played a bunch of these >:3c played squeak squad and a little ssu on an emu, played pkmn white on it as well a bit ago, played most of kiu (I NEVER FINISHED AHHH), played robobot and a little bit of triple deluxe but i will finish it . ill check out the others though !!!!

also i thought you liked the umm . spirit tracks ?? i hope it was spirit tracks and not a different one . so im gonna do that also

[rivi-ri]

I consider myself skilled in the art of rambling, so buckle up for an unnecessary amount of personal history and very old writing lore.

Mine was originally from Rivira, a name I came up with as like, an eight-year-old for the first original character I remember ever making (it also might possibly have been a little bit later than the first one, but it was somewhere around there). I didn't know about the existing name Rivera at the time, and I was pretty insistent on the spelling despite the name being pretty transparently based on the word "river". When I reused or possibly originally used the name in my first longest project for a while, Rivira had water powers, because of course, and was my obligatory most-self-insert character in that book/series. fond memories

I started using Rivira as one of my main usernames from the first time I started having accounts online and interacting a bit with the internet. Riddle was another character name I would sometimes use and was interested in for a while.

Fast forward to whenever I started using RPG Maker a bunch. Somewhere fairly late in my RPG Maker phase proper, I ended up making a character in Game Character Hub, I think, that had blue hair, as far as I remember. I needed to think of a name for the character (the protagonist of yet another RPG Maker game I never got far with making), and after a bit of brainstorming, came up with "Rivi". Yeah, it probably took some subconscious inspiration from "Rivira". I don't actually like r as a letter all that much on its own, but I tend to like it a lot in names and some words, which is interesting. (the Japanese r is really nice though, I like that one pretty much all the time, though I'm not always great at saying it correctly)

I forgot about that project pretty quickly, but the name stuck around somewhere in my brain, resurfacing now and then, and eventually I started using the name "Rivi" or "Rivi Ri" where I'd used Rivira in the past. The "Ri" part was partially just from liking the flow of the names with it, and partially from "Riddle". I do actually use Rivi Riddle sometimes. The full version would probably technically be Rivira Riddle, but I don't like the flow of that as much.

aaanyway, that was definitely longer than it needed to be, but I don't assume it's likely to cause anyone any/much inconvenience, because chances are no one will read this anyway. twas fun to reminisce a smidge.

USERNAME LORE GIVE IT TO ME NOW YOU ALL

[mostboringcrossover]

@87percentcreativity A suspicious present box lies at your feet, and you stare at it... wondering what it could be, before a tumblr user jumps right out and laughs with joy!

MUAHAHAHA!!! Twas me all along!

Seriously though, I had so much fun being your secret Santa this year! This was my first year doing anything like this and I really hope you had a lot of fun as well!

For your gift this year, I decided to draw you a little something reminiscent of your Sebastian and dead!mc writing. Sebastian dreams of his dead love, images of them coming through in colors and traces of their ancient magic he had come to adore. He is tired, and just wishes that the magic wasn't magic at all, but a pair of warm hands to cradle his tired head, and soft lips to kiss the tears away from his cheeks.

I hope I was able to do your rendition of our lovely Slytherin boy justice, and I hope you have a very Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year!

[valentinos-corner]

Helloo again Valentino!! Whew that took a lot longer than I anticipated, our cat needed an emergency trip to the vet and so we've all been preoccupied with that (and she's doing well now! I haven't heard the whole diagnosis, but what I do know is that she's all clear :>)

Ohhhh that makes sense!! oh I love that, what a delightful premise - it sounds like it's a good movie, I'm glad you enjoy it :D I might have to watch it sometime :0

Also I agree, we need more awesome dad movies for sure *nod nod*

Let's go!! I'm so happy to hear that, no bad things is certainly a positive c:

Also! it's been a minute since I cracked out a full story, since I've just sort of been sticking with little recaps of my day and little facts and stuff, but here goes:

So wayyy back when I was a wee lad of about maybe 8 years of age, I was quite the curious child, but in a very timid and reserved way (I was possibly the shyest kid to ever exist XD)

okay the shy part doesn't actually have anything to do with the story I'm realising, I was just setting the scene lol XD

But anyways! we also had this gym ball, if you've ever seen those big inflatable balls that people use for hip mobility exercises and such, except ours was peanut-shaped and about three feet wide

The story took place around Christmastime (a little before the 25th I think) and we'd had the ball for a pretty good amount of time by then, so every one of us kids were quite familiar with the physics of it, which meant it was just one of those Objects that we enjoyed playing on

But then comes one day when I'm standing at our kitchen counter, which, for reference, was one of the ones that are kinda high up like a bar so you put stools under it, and it connected to the dining room; And I was chatting away with I think it was my Mom then ^^

The thing is, though, is that I was smol! I 'twas a kid! so I had the bright idea to stand on the very roll-y peanut-shaped gym ball for extra height, as apposed to the many dining room chairs that were literally in the room I was in

...and that went about as well as you could imagine loll-

Anyways, to avoid like. going into less-savoury details, long story short I not have a small scar on the back of my head where no hair can grow and I always forget about it until I cut my hair short again! fun times XD

Alrightyy, hopefully that story was alright for you, I know it had a little bit of gravitational violence in it- I'll need to take my leave now, but thank you chatting!! I'm really grateful to be able to talk with you, and I hope you're getting a great sleep by the time I'm writing this! bye for now, and I'll see you tomorrow!! goodnight ^^

hhhhiii

I'm sorry I. don't really have much energy right now cus my mom's being tiring

but hey I get the house to myself tomorrow so that's good

[lorekeeper-backset]

howdy! for the fanfic writer asks, 3, 4, 13, and 19?

Oh, hi. I'm, uh, a big fan of your work, actually. Well, your art anyways. Haven't really gotten around to reading your fanfiction cause my adhd loves to act up when I read things. Used to be able to finish a whole book in a day, now I can't get a few pages in without getting distracted.

Back on topic!

[Original Ask Game]

3. What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written?

Oh, Account of Rayquaza's Chosen easily, even though I'm not that far into it. Mare is my favorite OC I've ever created and writing her is a joy. It use to be this one Fire Emblem fic I wrote but in hindsight there's a lot of things about it that I'm kind of embarrassed about.

4. How many WIPs do you have right now?

Uh... a few. Some I lost interest in, others I forgot about, others I put on hold to work on AoRC. Wow I hate that initialism. There is one I'm currently working on that was supposed to finish by Christmas because it was Christmas themed but I got distracted by Pokemon Black 2.

Starting to see why my friends call me the Pokemon Guy.

13. How much planning do you do before writing?

I do some planning. I don't meticulously plan out every detail beforehand but I do usually have a few scenes I know for sure I want to include before I even start writing. Though I don't really write my plans down so I have to rely on my memory. Terrible, I know.

19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs.

You know what, lets be fun. Here's a snippet from that Christmas WIP.

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even Meowth. No stockings were hung by the chimney with care, because the chimney was not there. The Pokémon were nestled all snug in their balls, dreaming of captured Pikachu, them all. And the TRio wearing their usual outfits to save on costs, slept on the couch and floor due to lack of a bed… ost.  Having run out of rhymes, the narrator decided to ditch the parody and switched back to standard prose. Suddenly, there arose such a clatter, startling the TRio awake. Jessie fell off the couch and onto James and Meowth, who yelped in pain. The three then sprung to their feet to see what had caused such a clatter to arise. It quickly became apparent what it was. Something, or rather, someone had gotten caught in their ghost trap. It was a short, plump man with rosy cheeks and a beard as white as snow. He wore a red coat, thick black boots, and a red hat. It was… “Santa Claus!?” James shouted.

[countthelions]

✄ what’s your editing process?

✦ what was your easiest fic to write & your hardest?

I am 👀👀👀

Editing process

Ooh gosh trying to word this in a way that makes sense. Well!! A lot of my editing comes from being a rp writer for a longer period than a story writer. I tend to write little chunks, then edit the chunk whenever I get trapped somewhere before continuing on. (It could actually be a fun process to record some day hmm) I am a little jealous of folks who can just bang out whole /chunks/ of stuff without stopping. Cannot be me unfortunately.

But at the end I will go through each section, which I've usually broken up in my head by "beats" (to use the acting term) - shifts of action/tone/etc and make sure they all flow correctly. I am not opposed to rewriting whole sections to capture the feeling I'm really aiming for, which,,, is why my long fics are really taking me quite a while to write. I think the second chapter of champion au has been rewritten at least six times by this point. When I do those rewrites, I'll change the whole section's font to a different color and literally rewrite it fresh. (Another reason why recording a writing section could be fun!!) The colored "old" section gets thrown into my extras at the bottom of the doc to usually just save ;; I dont want to delete them entirely hah! I also love just flipping sentences around. Sometimes that little shuffle is all it takes to make something click. This section - from colored text to this sentence for example - was at the bottom of the answer and got moved up!

This fine tooth combing I recognize is excessive - and man tumblr deleted what this paragraph used to be so I guess we're ending it here >:( but yeah, i recognize my editing is a bit too focused in on little details but given how important flow of paragraphs are to me as a mmm physical feeling you read to (how theatre of me hm?), I don't mind the work if it makes the whole thing stronger.

Easiest fic & Hardest fic

Easiest: honestly, anything that started as a ramble to my serverwerver friends was easy. They're my favorite of audiences, endlessly supportive and I love listening to them as well ;; One of my favorite memories of doing dragon au rambles is a moment where Grillby tries getting Gaster's attention and failing to do so, and all three of my friends put a sad emoji react on the end of that chunk. Twas very nice ;; I think if I had to pick one though? It'd be [nightmare cures], barely edited from ramble to posted - everything from the tattoos to the song came with hardly any thought. I needed some specific comfort and wrote myself the perfect thing

Hardest: a toss up between [Handspun Nerves] and [Till the Magnolias Bloom]. I'm not counting champion au bc it's not even POSTED BUT MAN IT CERTAINLY GETS ME!! Hand spun because I really couldn't bring myself to hurt Grillby and all my friends kept encouraging me to hurt him more, because that's what the hurt is /for/ in a hurt/comfort fic!! Magnolias gained it's title before I was even done with it hah!! I really really really wanted to write just the end, of Grillby waking up suddenly more well rested than he'd been in days, seeing Gaster snore across from him equally as rested - and my brain said: yeah but /why/ are they well rested? So I struggled Very Much with putting to words why they were finally relieved at being well rested and hopefully!! Succeeded. It could be a fic I rewrite some day actually...

[snifflebunny21]

Ooh fun!!

Last Song: Heart of a Dancer by The Happy Fits (it's a PERFECT match for an oc of mine it's like. Unfair actually. Chadakin aka FoxBox you will always be famous to me...)

Favorite Color: Purple or green :]

Last Movie: the first Austin Powers movie (it's hard to find movies for family movie night rip)

Last Book: A Sorceress Comes To Call by T. Kingfisher (twas a Christmas gift. I'm intrigued so far...)

Last Show: Arcane 💫💫 I've been watching it with my brother. Or I guess Dimension 20 Neverafter. That I just watch on my own :P

Sweet, Spicy, or Savory? Generally savory but I do have a MASSIVE sweet tooth, too. Can't handle spice unfortunately :'3

Relationship Status: Single 😔

Last Thing I Googled: Mel Arcane (for the previous tag game. I didn't know her last name 😭)

Current Obsession: TMNT and stickers, I'd say. Lots of Dimension 20 also (though that might be because Dropout is the only streaming service I bother paying for).

Looking Forward To: well I'm making tortellini rn and that'll be tasty. I'm gonna buy the next few booster decks of Killer Bunnies and prep a play party (I hope) so that will be the highlight of my January. And uhhhh idk I'm looking forward to writing a bit for fun before I go back to school :] I've missed it.

Tags!! @strawberri-draws, @saltycorpsefromhell, @bizabumblebee, @iwillfightyouforthisname, @icarus-reads, @avocadoart, @orions-hound, @bitt-better, @michaelcoolerwatermance, @idrawgaystffs, and anyone else who wants to!!!

Ten people I'd like to get to know better

Ahhh thank you for the tag yippee @miyamiwu

Last Song: To Ashes and Blood by Woodkid, from Arcane (I use it to daydream a Lu Guang-Vein confrontation LOL, but in general I just like to replay the scene in which the song plays, in my head. These two are not mutually exclusive)

Favorite Color: Pinkk

Last Movie: I...can't remember, either Inside Out 2 or Singapore Dreaming, or something else. It's been a while

Last Book: This Is How You Lose The Time War (veryy slowlyy getting through it)

Last Show: Link Click(s1ep1 & some chibi eps), but watched to completion would be Arcane

Sweet, Spicy, or Savory? Depends, though "sweet" is definitely safest for me, sometimes I crave savoury more. I can't take too much spice but I do like some of it in certain foods!

Relationship Status: Single

Last thing I googled: "twitter" (to lurk around link click twt) (edit: after that last paragraph, it was "hopefully synonym")

Current Obsession: Link Click, layered over Arcane. Epic the Musical will likely re-enter the mix soon

Looking forward to: Link Click Yingdu Chapter!! Other: epic the musical livestream hopefully at a reasonable time later today, building my not-Lego christmas tree a friend got me, maybe getting the weekend internship said friend hopefully remembered to recommend me for, hopefully getting back into reading

That was a lot of hopefullys

Tags(no obligation): @steamsamurai @jpuff9 @catguangcorner @xxene @snifflebunny21 @cormbrerb @romeoisalesbian @salmisalar @luguangssandwich @anulithots + anyone who happens to see this

(some of these are more of a check-in so feel free to just like the post even if you aren't up to it ^^)