#we talk about my ocs and podcast and they actually listen

[s-ccaam-era-crepe]

im so in love like. woah have you guys done this whole being in love thing before because its Crazy

[intomybubble]

I’m still playing Sims 4 and so I made a household with a Sim of myself so I can try doing a bunch of different careers (for the items lol)

I ended up romancing Don Lothario and accidentally had his kid after downloading and trying out the WW mod (we had 1 date prior, and I asked for him to live in with me afterwards).

I wasn’t paying too much attention to his name (since this was my first time playing Sims 4 since mid 2010s and I don’t know characters or lore), and used the random name generator and named our daughter, Dawn. I did not realize I basically named her after him lol.

As things are now

We’re partners and “soulmates”

I go out to work (currently doing the spy career), while he’s basically my househusband

He was a creative freelancer when he was added to my household so he makes A LOT from paintings, and sometimes music

I gave him an variation of his default everyday outfit to give him glasses (bc I’m into glasses, but “lorewise” he spends more time at a screen for work so he started to need them)

I used a mod to change his “non-committal” trait into being a family man, and bc he’d still get tense from being “non-committal” (despite trying to get rid of it) I got a “carefree” potion from the rewards store RIP

I don’t 100% remember before changing it, but he was a decent dad beforehand. Now, its super cute seeing him chat and play with our daughter

My Sim wants to marry him, but I’ve been worried about him potentially refusing so I’ve just stuck with being “partners”

I did do a wedding on a different household (OC marrying Liberty) and that was a mess especially since I have no idea what I’m doing

I do now have actual venues to use in the future instead of the ugly base game park 👍

I did give my Sim the same necklace that he wears as a sorta “promise ring” in her outfits (I think its cute lol)

Bc I’m stuck on leveling stats, we don’t leave the house that often. But the WW mod has kept things… spicy without actual dates lmao

I think I’m going to try proposing and just having an incredibly long engagement soon…

[gcldfanged]

Meet the Writer

ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘɪᴄᴋ ᴜᴘ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴜʀʀᴇɴᴛ ᴍᴜꜱᴇ(ꜱ) ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ?

(CANON MUSES) -

Genesis: I actually HATED Genesis initially in the og CC game. I thought he was a lame addition and just like… idk, they wanted Gackt in the game so they made his presence plot relevant? OOOUGH, I was so mad… But then I saw how the rpc and fandom treats him, which is honestly even WORSE SOMEHOW??? So I decided to try writing him seriously and what do you know, I actually kinda like it.

Verdot: I literally have to make the content I wanna see in this rpc, such is my burden. my curse...

(OCs) - I wanted to write about the themes I have on my pinned and honestly, there were so many Tseng rpers who I am friends and mutuals with that knock it out of the fucking ballpark- I just didn't feel like I'd have ANYTHING new or good to contribute to the exploration of his character? So I made an OC :P And he's really changed so much! I remember when I was still making my own art for him and he wasn't QUITE like there the way I wanted him to be, but I didn't have anything better to employ as a faceclaim or reference to draw from. And then Cas was like "btw here's a manga about your HYPERFIXATION" and Kokonoi's general appearance and vibe was a great starting point to go off of instead.

Anyway, There's always things I had planned for Jae in the works or on the backburner, but he has really evolved over the span of years I've been writing him, so I really appreciate every person who took the time to check him out and build something with him.

ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ?

You know, I have been becoming more lenient with allowing myself to write certain things. I always end up being afraid of how people will react to certain themes I explore because... let's be real, a lot of people are pretty intolerant to opinions that are different than theirs. So long as whatever I and/or my partner explore is handled with the care and respect it deserves, I don't really see an issue with much anymore. Hell, I was terrified to post that one drabble fleshing out Jae meeting Veld for the first time because I was afraid people would see Jae's reaction to killing someone as somehow 'excusing abuse' because he wasn't dancing on the guy's corpse and actually showed remorse for what he did. It's fears of what I write about being misconstrued like that that really makes me hesitant to even talk about certain ideas with partners. But I'm getting over that, little by little and step by step.

ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ?

I actually love writing (as you can tell) introspective pieces. Something where you're really getting inside the character's head for a moment to see past all of their walls and facades, or sometimes you're still seeing what they tell THEMSELVES is the real undiluted truth, but isn't. I just love that kinda stream of consciousness really dig deep into the VOICE of a character exploration. Makes me feel lots of emotions.

ʜᴏᴡ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴜᴘ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴꜱ?

Usually I'll be doing something else like watching a piece of media or listening to a podcast and start to think "Ooh, my muse would love this" or "this makes me think of xyz muse wow", and it just kind of expands organically from there.

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ ɪɴ ꜱɪʟᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴏʀ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʟᴀʏ ᴍᴜꜱɪᴄ?

Music helps get me inspired initially, especially since I make spotify playlists for all my muses (and ships :P), so generally I'm cool with music, but usually I zone in too much on my own writing to pay attention. It's like my sense of hearing turns off.

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʟᴀɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʀᴇᴘʟɪᴇꜱ ᴏʀ ᴡɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇᴍ?

Both- There's always a general sort of... idea or outcome that me and my partner would LIKE to shoot for? And sometimes we just don't get there, because it really depends on what the characters do/say and how it's taken by the other muse.

For example, I was roleplaying a thread with @steeleidolon's Kunsel where he and Jae are trying to broker a deal and Kunsel ends up saying something to the effect of "your people" and he means the Turks. Jae, on the other hand, hears 'your people' and assumes Kunsel was bringing up his race and the perception of fellow people from Wutai or Hanuel being unfairly insular. So, it kinda went to shit, LOL.

It's little things like that that can color your muse's reaction to sometimes very different degrees than what you plan for!

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ꜱʜɪᴘᴘɪɴɢ?

I like complicated dynamics and no, I will never shut up about them. Ships for me don't even have to strictly be romantic or sexual in nature, so like- I have some interactions I'm still feeling out with @saishuu-heiki that are platonic but leaning in a distinctly enemy/frenemy/challenges other person kind of vibe? And I think it's great! They don't HAVE to be like "we're friends, we're lovers, or we hate each other'- Like, limiting all your interactions to one of those three options gets really boring for me...

ᴡʜᴀᴛ'ꜱ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴀʟɪᴀꜱ/ɴᴀᴍᴇ?

King_Kkeungi is my mangaka pseudonym for the Silent Manga Audition that I tried submitting to last year. People have called me just "King" (if they didn't know how to pronounce Korean) or "Kkeungi" before, so I tend to go by these handles now.

ᴀɢᴇ?

30s, I'm like Dagon: ancient and evil, spoken about in hushed whispers that the zealots who follow my dark lore worship-

ʙɪʀᴛʜᴅᴀʏ?

May 10th

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ᴄᴏʟᴏʀ(ꜱ)?

Blue-greens like teal and turquoise, soft pastel mint, and pinky-purples

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜱᴏɴɢ(ꜱ)?

Currently? PRIMADONNA by Kedarui! It's a sequel to their other song, Femme Fatale and has amazing lore and characters. It's just got fascinating kinda themes and imagery when you watch them back to back.

ʟᴀꜱᴛ ᴍᴏᴠɪᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜᴇᴅ?

The 2nd DUNE movie, holy crap, I was blown away!

ʟᴀꜱᴛ ꜱʜᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜᴇᴅ?

Hell's Paradise, which I am still TRYING to finish.

ʟᴀꜱᴛ ꜱᴏɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪꜱᴛᴇɴᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ?

Philip by millenium parade, my new go-to Jae song

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜰᴏᴏᴅ?

Thai or Vietnamese food *drools*

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜱᴇᴀꜱᴏɴ?

Summer... I just love the heat and the sun and the iconic imagery/sounds/themes like eating watermelon and wearing floppy plastic sandals, melting ice cream, hearing the chime of our furin while sitting outside on the porch of the house.

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ᴛᴜᴍʙʟʀ ʙᴇꜱᴛ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ?

I talk to regularly (like near every day): @ceaselxss, @annjiru, @phoenixshards, @sadistpet, @nightiingaled. Like talking with a lot: @speedchasing, @ofdeference, @hisnewera, @cwarscars, @contemptim, @steeleidolon, @altrxisme, @hxbiris & @hxvemxnd

The people who have known me the LONGEST are mostly discord only rpers now, but Tricky, HD, Kit, and Vixen I consider to be extremely close to me since we've been friends for... like over or around 6+ years and are still ongoing buddies who have met face to face before.

Then there's my ex-fiancee, but he doesn't do tumblr rp anymore.

This list also doesn't even cover ppl I write with/ooc interacted with over a long period of time like @ivory-paragon, @poeticphoenix, @reapersxfolly, @endweapon, @chthonicsurge, or @dcviltriggcr, so- I like reaching out to people and developing bonds! We don't even have to be on discord capslocking at each other, it's really cool when you can come back to an RPC and still have that connection without any awkward small talk?

[renarinkholin]

Heyo, so, I noticed your reblog on a post mentioning "Dier Venture" and now I'm intrigued... is that a Mistborn oc fic I smell? Exploring the Venture family? Because if so, I would love to read it! (If Dier is just an obscure canon character or something else entirely, ignore this ask. 😅)

OH BOY UHHH OKAY SIT DOWN LET ME TALK ABOUT SECRETS IN STAINED GLASS.

(Character portraits by the insanely talented Elisgardor on Instagram)

Dier Venture is my character for a murder-mystery actual play series Secrets in Stained Glass that just finished airing! It's set 10 years before the events of The Final Empire book, at a weekend winter solstice party hosted by House Elariel. We use the Mistborn Adventure Game system to build our characters and roll the dice, and the mystery and storyline itself were written and run by the ever amazing, ever wonderful @rashenditrash as our illustrious Narrator. There's a lot of fun references to the books and secrets tucked away, and even though it's technically a prequel, we did a lot of work to make sure things would fit within the Mistborn canon as seamlessly as possible.

It's five episodes long, though there's some written bonus content as well! The series was edited and produced by yours truly (it nearly killed me, but it was absolutely a labor of love) and you can watch the whole thing on YouTube or listen to the audio versions on whatever podcast platform you prefer. Though, I will say, for any audio listeners, there are a LOT of visual assets and graphics for this show so if you just listen, it might be worth coming back to look up the visual elements afterward.

Lo, trailer be upon ye:

As for Dier himself... (fine, i'll put a cut to save people's dashboards, open for more info on The Trashboi™)

Dier is a known Coinshot and all around terrible trash person who makes only the best life decisions because it turns out when your name is "Venture" you can get away with quite a bit without having to deal with pesky things like "consequences." Or so he thinks, at least. He's the first cousin of the recently ascended House Lord, Straff, and is technically second in line for the house title after his cousin's little brat of an heir, Elend. No one in House Venture is really thrilled about that, including Dier himself, since he's probably the last person anyone should ever put in charge of anything and has made it no secret that he considers himself completely allergic to responsibility.

I love this asshole with my whole heart, I put WAY too much effort into developing him, and he was a blast to play. I could talk about him for hours, and Matt was an utterly ruthless Game Master and just really dug into all the messy complexities of this terrible boy and Why He Is Like That, Why Did You Make Him Like That, Feather????

The good people of the 17th Shard Discord may or may not be bullying me into doing a 10-hour stream so that I can just blab all the Dier meta into the world. We'll see.

Regardless, I love to talk about him, so if anybody ever has Dier Venture questions, my inbox is literally always the most open, haaaaaa. I will never turn down an opportunity to run my mouth about an OC and that is a threat.

[the-kipsabian]

listened to a podcast talking about this a bit, so im gonna be unhinged for a hot second about the orange cassidy belt corruption arc

i would love one day to write a kinda comprehensive "guide" to all of this, but i'd have to go back to watch a lot of stuff for it (so it would probably have to be after im done with all kip vs oc rewatch stuff. ofc if theres critical changes to this situation that might change idk let me know if this is anything of interest?), buttttt heres a few misc highlights for what i can pull out from the top of my head

first of all, here. what i believe is one of the most pivotal moments in this whole thing. so during the match with pac where oc won the title, danhausen threw a curse at pac literally right above the title

now this was because pac was trying to cheat by using a ring hammer (twice). which honestly kind of already tells us a lot about corruption, i dont remember if he was already kind of mean and wicked with the hammers before his reign, i mean pac has always been a bastard, but you know. did he start doing this after he won the title? cause that would be saying a lot

this also goes hard in this match, cause after pac is caught trying to use the hammer, oc also almost uses it on him. at this point, its just almost tho. its very close, but he chooses to throw it away, and win the match clean. the key here is, what the title is already doing to him before he even gets his hands on it

anyways. so oc does this title reign. all is swell up until the point kip challenges for it, cause thats where the mind games begin which i believe is an important part of this whole deal. kip separates him from his friends effectively, continuous taunting and mind games, he pushes oc to his limits mentally, forcing him to tap into a very dark place in his mind to overcome the odds to beat kip (also oc was showing the first cases of more vicious behavior in this match so like)

like literally this whole storyline is confirmed by the man himself to be about this like. how could this not tap into and mess with ocs psyche going forward tho

also this is just my things but. at revolution, that one time he tagged with danhausen to challenge for the tag titles, oc was the one to change his gear to black. tbh this is personally for me where this whole corruption brainrot started, but its worth mentioning, cause he has not done it since. even when teaming with hook, it was hook who changed his gear colors to match the denim. im just saying (as in, danhausen has to have a finger in this pie somehow. he just absolutely has to)

i didnt watch a lot of what happened with house of black, but thats where the physical issues started. im just inclined to believe that the physical pains just amplified his need to push himself, to show the world that hes worthy of holding this belt and being a champion despite being injured - cause thats what all this was about, right? oc having to prove to the world that despite how hes been viewed up until this point, hes actually an incredible wrestler and a worthy champion. come hell or high water, he will prove that

and thats part of why the belt was so important to him, which could easily be also turned around to be the so called "siren call" of the belt. get me and keep me with whatever way is necessary to prove yourself as a worthy champion. yes even if it costs your mental and physical health and all your friends

and so this got pushed until he literally couldnt do it anymore as mox took oc to his limits and defeated him after physically beating him down worse than before (or i mean, a week after stadium stampede? yeah both of these are factors here lbr). and you saw the miserable creature oc was after losing that title. finding solace in friends that were champions (hook and kris. i think this is an important plot point, i dont think we saw him around chuck and trent during this time. the best friends with no titles....), maybe trying to grasp for some of that former glory that he used to have

until he won the title again. and he was HELLBENT on getting it back. and after he won it, well.. i shared thoughts about this here. which is a very interesting contrast to the first time, a year ago, when he won it the first time

i dont know if i had more thoughts rn, i have lost the plot so heres everything for now. just.. yeah. i have way more things somewhere in my blog and like said i should watch all this back to get everything, but quickly putting it together heres few key points of things. anyways enjoy or whatever. feel free to share thoughts im all ears (especially if i missed anything seemingly key stuff)

[theliterarywolf]

Submission from an Anon

So this covers only the initial introduction, the character blurb, and the talk with Sidon. 

I have exactly 2 main issues with her (Yona), gonna start with the less controversial one. Repeat: I’ve only been introduced to her, I’m not going beyond her introduction, aka the beginning of the Zora-arc.

1) She feels a bit too much like a fanfic OC, after reading her blurb. “From a different (unknown) domain.” Sidon’s childhood friend. Her kind-heartedness is a perfect match for Sidon’s compassion.“ It reads a bit too much like fanfics where the summary is focusing about their OC being a perfect match to the character, but you don’t really feel like they’re their own character separate from that relationship purpose. Especially with the focus on how nice, kind and selfless she is, all as an accessory to Sidon. (Read the way it’s written, it feels less like a info, and more like matchmaker report compared to some other blurbs.)

2) My controversial opinion: It really gives sister-con vibes, aka it feels like they paired up Sidon with a Mipha clone. When I first met Yona I was only half focusing on what she was saying, because I was listening to a podcast on the side, so I missed out on the "His fiance” part. So I went through her introduction getting really strong Mipha vibes, it felt like someone wanted to explore Mipha but since she’s dead, they decided to make another healer character for the Zora to show how they work. So after her intro, I checked the log to reread what I skipped, and then saw the fiance part, and it just gave me the the instant sister-con vibe.She just feels like Mipha 2.0, but created to affiance Sidon. She’s Green-Mipha, who doesn’t really seem to go beyond that personality either, of being a  “perfect match” and also having the mystical Zora healing powers. 

Maybe it changes later, but her introduction really felt very weak and kinda lacklustre.I don’t hate her, I actually like her as an idea, especially if explored as a Mipha stand-in, OR as a fiance. But the combination is just a bit weird to me. I’d almost have preferred Idk, Dunma or Gaddison, Torfeau, since we know them, and they do actually have a their own personality that isn’t related to another character. It would have worked well to expand on them, to say it like that. And they don’t seem to be the more common “sweet and cute” type.I’d also add that Sidon’s response when you ask about her, his response feels a bit… weird? It just sounds a bit weird “My childhood friend I couldn’t meet… I’m so awkward around her, because I can’t meet her.” leading into “My fiance. My intended. My bride-to-be” I’m sorry, but was this a mistranslation, or is that how it was also worded in the Japanese original? Because it sounds a bit awkwardly as in “Yep, totally, we’re totally, as they say, to be married, like two people who like each other are expected to do.”

Honestly, it has a bit of that Kronk meme vibe: “The poison for Kuzco. Kuzco’s poison. The poison which we’ll use to poison Kuzco.” but just with marriage and Yona. “Yona, my fiance. My intended, who is Yona. My bride to be Yona, whom I’ll be married to.” Lol, is she like his beard to avoid the Sidon fanclub from tearing him to shreds? And just to make this clear, I don’t have issues with people having kinks in that direction, ie sister-con, I just think it feels weird because that seems to be her main purpose/only purpose is to be paired up, and a copy of a previous character who was the sister to the one they’re paired up with. + minor stylistic nitpick: I’m not sure if her attendants are new original Zora, or from Botw, but if they’re new, I wish they’d have given them a different design to reflect that Zora in a different domain have a different look. Could even have mentioned that Muzu came from that domain as some extra background lore.But either way, that poor girl is gonna be cucked so hard in fanfics. 

Or she’ll become the silent but very much enthusiastic fujoshi (lol) character, who secretly wants to see Link and Sidon together. Maybe give her an arc in fanfics where it turns out she just wanted to leave her domain because she was too sheltered and everyone viewed her as weak, and Sidon offered to arrange this engagement so she can finally actively help the people, instead of just being the pretty Zora princess. This is why he’s a bit more awkward around her, because he’s not sure how to behave/treat her, because on one hand, it’s all just for show and he has to fulfil that role, on the other, he also doesn’t want to make it awkward between the two of them. Yona is just vibing, but also unsure, and just kinda makes sure to always mention “Yep, sure, he’s my fiance. Totally because we’re into each other, not because I just wanted to leave my overbearing domain.”

The young Zora princess who wants to go out adventuring, and suddenly the child who always clung to his sister offers her an out that might benefit them both. Her aid, and the strengthening of an alliance between their domains, and she receives her freedom to do as she wishes.

Personally: Yona and Sidon become presidents of the Link fanclub. Yona starts seeing Sidon and Link interact more, boom, “Oh my they’d be cute together.”.We’ll see how it longs once I’m done with this quest-line, and maybe I’m completely wrong. Who knows, but for now that is kinda my “first impression” and I’m just a bit miffed or should I say “Miphad?” lol.

[setsumushou]

I wanna take you with me To life with no more yesterdays We can start again awake and so excited And change the way we always push We always push I'll open up and be your parachute And I'll never let you down So open up and be my human angel And we'll only hit the ground Running

I've really never been so in love with a ship before? When I used to draw my danmei art, I would listen to, like...crime podcasts...while I drew. But I listen to music and actually relate to the words when I draw Roosmav.

It's so weird because my reputation has probably never been worse in any fandom (I have never had anything but a positive + productive reputation in fandom before), but I have also never been so earnestly sincere and inclined to be push on in a fandom, either. I used to not express my feelings about my works, etc., because I knew that being too revealing would not help me rack up an arbitrary social media number, but with Roosmav, I have all of my everflowing thoughts and enthusiasm to show. I just never talked before Roosmav, and this ship made me realize just how satisfying that expressing your thoughts on + love for a thing is.

This blog is my therapeutic journal/Silent Hill, but I want to make it my place to gather a lot of my thoughts on Roosmav for myself, too. I have a lot of them, and they are entirely self-contained. At this point, Bradley and Maverick are kind of like my OCs, and I want to talk about and do things with them, if even just by myself for now.

I still romanticize them, but not in the fragile, child-like way I did last year. I romanticize them because of everything that has happened, and that I've still managed to maintain and even grow the love and affection I have for them. I've turned that love not only into images - but into words for the very first time in my life - and I am proud that I've managed to do this for myself!

[themarginalthinker]

I think a lot of the tone I adopt for these kinds of projects come from two things, one of which to do with horror as a genre in general and the other with vtm in particular:

One - I don't....tend to like horror all that much? I enjoy the stories, the characters, but often when I try listening to horror podcasts like The Magnus Archives or even some aspects of something a little tamer like Welcome to Nightvale, I find myself deeply uncomfortable with a lot of the vibe. It just makes me paranoid and unsafe, and that blocks me from enjoying even what it's supposed to be the point of the genre. And I recognize that there's nothing wrong with horror itself! It has its place and my partner adores TMA and Hill House and American Horror Story, it's just. Not really my thing.

So when I approach something like vtm, I, also coming from Dnd, lean a little more into the adventure and action vibes. They're still monsters, but they're also characters who I can write and come up with interesting stories. I can take from the game what I want.

The other issue, is that. I tend to. Not really vibe with how there's a canon metaplot in vtm? I know it's taken that you can take or leave it as you will as a player/storyteller, but there is always the underlying 'the characters can believe or disbelieve that Caine is real or not, but he actually IS real, regardless, and the end IS coming, bc Thinbloods and all of everything else' which, in my opinion, feels like taking away some agency from the players. That's all I'll say here, because I have other Thoughts on the matter, but I won't go on.

-

AS FOR THE TTRP AND OTHER STUFF LOL, the all-clans fledgeling is our ST's npc for the game! He came up with the character, so we're not sure of the mechanics ourself, as that's part of what our coterie is trying to figure out HOW and WHY they exist as they do lol. As for getting along with an ancilla - eh? She still likes people enough to interact with them, and sees making allies across sect lines as a good investment, and her sire told her to 'seek the malkavian', my character, so she did lol.

The conlanging....oh, the conlanging. I'll put a link here and here to some of the work I'm doing on it right now, and there is a tag for more of it, and it and the fic it goes with, This Warren of Mine, on my blog. I got into conlanging because the ways people communicate will never not be fascinating to explore. I am also looking to start studying ASL in school, with the goal of becoming an interpreter at some point, alongside writing books with my partner. We have created another conlang for an alien species for another fandom we're both in, so it's a trait in my worldbuilding that was inevitably going to cross over into vtm.

I just...enjoy aspects of the potential world of vampires that I don't think are explored. Politics aren't the entire world, only the world to the people for whom their world IS politics. What about the people who just want to make art? Write? Star-gaze? People who wound up here by accident, by bad choice, by someone deciding to save them, not out of cruelty or some machination, but because they felt it was preserving something good that should still exist in the world and then exploring the aftermath of the event for both parties?

I like writing about people, because people are interesting.

Anyway, uh, I'm so sorry, this got super long. Thank you for listening and reading lol, I'd be happy to talk more specifics if ever you're interested, or want to share your ocs!

well, since you asked lol

me and my tabletop group (who is my romantic partner and four of our mutual friends lol) have...I think four(?) different rps/ storylines going on for vtm lol

the ttrp we have is 'The Worst Coterie in New York', consisting of a totally-not-caitiff brujah couch baron, a logophilic malkavian, a 200 year old toreador with eyes on the Princehood, and a kindred courier whos clan is yet a mystery, and a fledgling...who appears to be All Clans Combined.

The second project is my own, non-ttrp, fic/conlang project for a Nosferatu warren, which is forcusing much less on the global kindred politics, and just the everyday life of this partocular warren, with emphasis on culture and language development (I am creating NTS, Nosferatu Tactile Sign language) This is the most involved of the projects and has the first chapter out already.

The other two are less developed - one is only two characters for a Sabbat game/story, a Nos and a Tzimisce making their way across the world to find a place for the Tzim woman to carry out her goal of having a child, and the other is two kindred, a Nos and a Lasombra, teaming up to poach off the local college campus while pretending to be Kine, titled 'College Bytes'. (and you tell I like nossies the best? lol)

anyway, that's it :> thanks for taking the time!

DAMN that's a lot. Impressive though! Where do I even start?? Okay I love the strangeness at play here, really fucking with the edges of the lore and the vibes. Just pure chaos. (also what the fuck a fledgling who is a bit of everything????? how does one even do that) (how do they get along with an ancilla??? DAMN guys that may actually be the 'worst coterie in new york' if only down to really stretching the bounds of what one could consider a coterie!) also a conlang??? incredible. What got you onto making that???

[johnnyutah]

i love when people are like “oh you have to get into [this fandom] it’s so good” and if you’re like “ok well how do i do that” they’re like “It’s easy you just need to watch 4 movies, one is from 1977 one is from 1979 one is from 2011 and one is a short film but i have a vimeo link for it but it really helps establish an important plot thing. and then theres a comic run but you dont need to read ALL the graphic novels you just need to read #1, #2, #3, #5... okay wait four is SO good nvm you have to read #4 too. okay but before you get into any of that the whole series is based on a series of video games which you have to play in chronological order. the first three games are only available to play on a console that stopped being produced eighty-two years ago when the developers all got drafted into wwii but i think i have a link to download an emulator copy somewhere. and the rest of the games you can just watch let’s plays for but you need to watch multiple let’s plays because there are parts where you have to make different choices. anyway the movies are based on a tv show that actually has your dad’s favourite actor in it! it has 15 seasons but production got suspended in 1347 when the black plague came to europe but i promise it’s REALLY worth watching. oh also if you like this one character theres a book series about him and theyre actually turning the book series into a new netflix animated show starring jonathan van ness from queer eye so you dont even need to read the books you can just watch the cartoon if you wanna know about him! oh but before you watch the cartoon you have to know about that character’s dad’s backstory but it’s fine because my best friend george beard and i have a treehouse where we make comics about the dad and in issue #581 we do a deep dive into his backstory- oh wait but i just remembered it’s kind of spoilery for the video games but it’s okay because it’s technically a separate timeline. the wiki does a really good job of making everything clear and explaining what’s happening in which universe. but obviously don’t read the wiki until after you’ve finished the movies and the comics and the games and the tv show and the books and the tv show and the comics and the games because you might get spoiled for what happens to Qkwadriassian XB-9 Laura Smithson and he’s like my favourite character omg youre gonna love him. anyway after you get into all that i have a really good fanfic i want you to read it’s set in canon but it’s just about two of my ocs. but if you really want to understand their backstory you obviously have to listen to this interview the creators of the series did in 2011 at a convention the panel is one hour long and they spend most of it talking about inside jokes from production but they’re really funny i promise. actually i think the best starting place is the way i got into it which is from this podcast that does reviews of movies and shows and stuff and they did a review of- you know mystery science three thousand? Haha it’s kind of like mystery science theatre three thousand and they did a review of the third movie and it’s like a video review but they talk about other things not just the movie but it’s a really good place to start” and you’re like “yeah man i’ll check that out!”

[mageuniverse]

writblr intro ⭐️

this blog is going to be dedicated to my writing on my most recent wip “Mage: The Society”. i am new to writblr and want to share my writing and oc’s with all of you as well as fall in love with new stories and characters that you all have shared with tumblr!  I am releasing my first issue of my web comic soon and i would love for you all to meet my characters and see them in action!

about the author ⭐️  

my name is Trevor! 

my pronouns are he/him

i am a proud black author 

my hobbies outside of writing are reading comics and fantasy novels at my local library and enveloping myself deeper into nerd culture

my writing process involves so much pacing and talking to myself its absurd. 

i always act out my writing in my mind before i start to actually put pen on paper. i don’t quite know how that started but its how i am lol.

i always do my best writing in the mornings with my cats and my dog around while listening to nerd culture podcasts in order to really keep the focus.

my favorite things to read are comic books and fantasy novels. i have a soft spot for the percy jackson series and superman. i cannot read enough of any of that !

i want to join the writblr community and experience new works as well as get my current wip out there to people that will enjoy the story and oc’s as much as i have enjoyed creating them. 

my work 🌟

my current wip and the one that will be the focus of this blog is called “Mage: The Society”.  it is an epic fantasy drama with grand stakes. follow my oc Fay Morgan, a newly exalted mage, as she discovers not only herself but the secrets of the society around her. 

i feel as if this is always going to be a wip since it is a comic and i will always be working on the next issue. so i am constantly in all stages of writing at all times. 

the MageUniverse blog 🌟

this blog will contain content from the Mage Universe including: characters film tastes, music that the oc’s are listening to, letters they send, as well as their personalities shining in different posts. We want you to feel surrounded by the lore of this story and be able to interact with it in any and all aspects. 

on this blog i will be interacting with other writblrs and prompts

writblr goals 🌟

my largest goal is to get my story out to as many people as possible. i have dedicated so much of myself to the Mage Universe and i know that other people will enjoy my work. 

i want to interact in this community as much as possible. making writblr friends and connecting with other authors as much as possible. i want to read as many works as i can as well. the way to become a better writer is to read as much as you can. 

extras 🌟  

i am constantly on tumblr and always available to talk so please message me about literally anything. 

i love to post about my work but i also will be reposting other writblr authors and works in order to add to the community ! 

if you have any questions feel free to ask away! i love to answer questions about absolutely anything regarding writing, my wip, nerd culture, or books and comics ! 

[art-i-know-yes]

Ok. I have to.

It's almost midnight and I've been putting it off. Episode 60 of DnDaddies. I'm extremely nervous SO I'm doing a reactions through the episode again because it makes me feel better.

LOTS OF SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 60

I'msoscaredI'msoscaredI'msoscared

PROJECT RUNWAY

"We're trying to support Glenn right now"

THE PODCAST IS NO LONGER GONNA BE FUNNY :´[

"I love crying" vibes

Oh GOD "Pretend to be Willy"

"Got'em"

"Comma baby"

Darryl with the will and testament

NOBODY WANTS TO GO TO HIM

I cAn't with TJ and Ron I'm so close to absolutely sobbing

"Oh-ou you're so mean to yourself"

"First of all, kill him"

"I've been you're rock and you've...been around"

Uuggdfhktxkgur "You can take a discount"

"17+14" EXCUSE ME FREDDIE

"Everything is going to be O-A-K" no it won't

Grant. Graaaaaant. Poor baby.

Blushes in frog

I swear to god if Ron's anchor is ACTUALLY an anchor

"Under GOoOOOoOD"

Nick Jr. IS a commander

"THIS GUY"

Why is no-one in the cabin? Willy is so watching them

"That's healthy,ok"

The 2 most emotionally stable

Wow ad change

I'm actually listening to the ad break because I. am. scared.

"Seems safe"

Natural 20 and a 3 "Things are looking good for me"

PW;ILU wtf a code?

"I love you" So most definitely not anything to do with Ron

IDIOT WHY WHY DARRYL

"Ron's inside" why in the f c k. I'm crying. I'm scared.

Why is he so kdrudfkitxzdhskd caaallmmm?

The literal beginning of the episode was like Willy's not going to be chill, so why is he chill

Oh closing portal thing, that's why he's chill

"I'm proud of you" "You are?" "No, it's saying. Calm down, jeez" difzfjxifihtdsgf

So mean to Rooooon

Glenn's pun nearly BROKE ME

De-birds to high five

Anthony why are you asking for his health

"I'm dying happy baby! I'll see my son in hell btch!" I cAn't in every way

POWER WORD: KILL NOOOOOO 100 HP OR LESS

Of cOurse stealing a piece of his fish STOPS HIM

"You gonna finish that" t-the panic in Ron's voice I can't form words. I'm BABBLING like a CHILD

excuse me the BONES

Ron really did that to save Glenn

I love that taking his fish is AGGRESSIVE

"Ok ok cool thanks" everything is not ok cool thanks it is the exAct opposite of that

Smort smaarrttt Henry

Brave brave Henry

"I can see why Barry tolerates you" woooooooooooowwww

We love ruining Willy's lead-ups!

"God, spoilers!"

This. This is why Darryl can't have things.

"Are you ready to see what's in the box?" No. Of course not. But I bet it's empty because of the connection is just hrmph because like what would resemble that

There's about a trillion other questions I would've asked. We'll see what's in the box eventually

I have paused the podcast and made an oc

"You hate that he is hot" "RIP to you but I'm different"

Ya know what I just noticed Willy is actually spelled with an 'ie' Willie. Gonna be honest makes him less threatening

Someone's STAALLLIIIINNNNGGGGG

I .F U K I N. KNEW IT WAS GONNA BE EMPTY

I've officially stopped breathing.

Love that Ron is standing up to Willie

If he was a mistake WHY'D YA KEEP HIM

That was pure emotion in his voice. Why is Beth so good because I'm gonna cry

"Aww kiddo" get away from me your existence disgusts me

Why is it his mind. Ok so we didn't have to face Willy

Wait in the episode where they figure out it was their dads it's spelled 'Willy' the description of this episode it's spelled 'Willie'

"Ronald, Ronald, Ronald" disgusting

UGLY STEPCHILD TF

Btch gets his daddy magic from Ron's despair

Of course fcker isn't actually there

Love Darryl and Henry just ranting at Willy

"Terry loves you" I started laughing

"Ron, he's the fcking dirt that you grew out of!" *snap snap snap*

"I'm a god"

Them talking over Willy is getting me through this also love how it turned into love Ron hours

But the btch did almost powerword kill Glenn if it wasn't for a fuuuuuuking fish

"We were talking Willy" I love that

"Can't even think of something mean to say" Daaaaarryyyyl

DID HE FCKING SAY SEACREST OUUUUT I CAAAAAANT

I'm glad they didn't actually have to fight Willy. Doesn't make me any less stressed about this.

"Noooww you're makin sense Ron" goddamit Glenn

"Wanna burn this cabin down" "I'm gonna go burn some stuff" he's not doing well

"Have him punch a rock and maybe that'll remind him of me" jehesuz chRRIISSTT

"I don't know how healthy that is" it isn't.

"A really sad magic school bus episode that's a metaphor for abuse" jesus chRist

:´( he couldn't even get it ouuuut

"Oh god Vince we gotta put a bell on you or something"

"404 dimensions" "I don't even know how to respond to that"

Oh so it IS gonna be a magical school bus episode

I wonder if Ron will be able to talk to them in his brain. Also I really don't think ANY of the kids should go into Ron's brain

God I love Erin

Life lesson: get good and all your problems are solved

Gamer joke? "um sorry I'm a woman" love Beth

I have mixed feelings on going into Ron's brain

And I still can't believe Willy nearly broke Ron's wrist over a FISH.

Sorry it's really long again and I'm relieved and uhhhh the rest of the emotions I can't decipher. Still wish to bop Willy like a bop-it and FCK I'm still scared and it's now 2 am.

[mcnuggyy]

I don't understand how, besides being a character named after Tacos who really wants to make a Taco (which Justin admitted was racially insensitive on his part), and that being kind of a gag, how exactly is Taako racially coded at all? It kind of seems like it's all just based on his name being a joke by a white creator who wasn't thinking of the racial implications. I just don't understand why he can't really be any race anyone wants him to be (including latine btw) 1/2

2/2 The blue thing I get, btw, and I'm definitely not suggesting that as an alternative, or that we should whitewash a latine character for the sake of it-- I just don't think the McElroys have ever said he's latine. And I think judging people for being uncomfortable with their version of Taako being a representation of latine characters by assuming they have ill intent when they draw a non-latine coded Taako is maybe wrong.

-

Hey! So I actually kinda talked about this before, but I had a REALLY BIG thought about this in the morning actually, so hopefully I can shed a bit of light on this. (I am ignoring that canonically Taako is a Sun Elf for this)

Okay so, overall because of the McElroy's decision to keep the podcast as “race neutral” as possible, purposely living things up to interpretation, (except for the few canon characters of color (which is like 3 lmao)) This means that any slight deviation from this “neutrality” has very serious implications when it happens. It is NO coincidence that both Jewish people and Latine people have found themselves heavily relating to Taako, hc him as Jewish and/or Latine, etc. It would be foolish to think of this as simply coincidence when the text itself kind of gives us reason to. And in this “race neutral” world, that little bit is all you need. 

(i may be reaching a bit but again, i want to emphasize how BECAUSE, this world is MEANT to exist in a “race free” world, LMAO whatever the hell that means, any bit of reference to culture or ethnicity is a very big deal)

Taako says stuff in Yiddish, and one of his big character arcs, is looking for the lost connection of his sister (whether he realizes it or not) and reconnecting with those lost bonds through tex-mex food. He navigates the world through food, that’s kind of his thing. Which to me is a VERY first generation, second generation, child of mexican immigrants, etc. narrative to me. Like that is1000% a Tejano/Chicano narrative to have. Having a nickname/name like Taako, Lup, Tostada, etc. IS SOMETHING we MEXICANS DO TOO LIKE A LOT, I have cousins who are nicknamed Brownie, Dulce, Coco, Guayaba, and Manzanita, and other people have name’s like Concha, which is both shell and a type of bread that looks like a shell, like honestly whether Justin realizes it or not, SILLY NICKNAMES LIKE THIS ARE KIND OF A CULTURAL THING.... White people have nicknames sometimes sure, but for us, it is like a right of passage, it is a big part of who you are, and you can even end up with many different nicknames, some are just PLAIN MEAN, like Chachalaco (someone who never shuts up), Gordita, or mine being Guero (white boyyyy) Like I RELATE TO THEIR NAMES, and that might not make sense to you, but as someone who literally has oc’s named after Mexican food from when I was a kid (Takito, Flor, and Churro) ... well.... sorry but that’s Latine culture babeyyyy

(also own personal hc but like... i can totally picture these little Latine kid’s fucking choosing their own name’s / nickname’s cause that’s like exactly what me and my siblings were like as kid’s smh) 

( also Lup.... Lupita... Lupe.... Guadalupe.. Lupes.... Maria Guadalupe.... smhhh

it’s literally the most common name, it’s SO funny to me, that ALONE is enough in my opinion LMAO, you can’t name a character a common short hand for a name like Guadalupe and NOT expect me to gravitate towards her smh 

-respectfully, a fellow Guadalupe) 

I get what the brothers were trying to do by letting fans hc and come up with their own designs and stuff, but when it comes to race and ethnicity it can become kind of an issue... And as I said in the beginning, because they tried to keep the world as “blank” as possible (which often times really just means white lets be honest here) that means any small instance of a character breaking this neutrality, becomes very difficult to ignore. And I really think, ignoring how many Jewish and Latine fans relate to Taako and Lup, seems like a disservice .... there is clearly something going on here, and I don’t think we should ignore it.

At the end of the day, it is what it is, and there isn’t much else besides this, and Taako canonically being a Sun Elf, and his relationship to food, that to me feels very cultural and important, especially when it comes to trying to reconnect with something you lost (whether it’s family, or traditions), it’s all very metaphorical, but I think it does have some very strong references there that I and many others see themselves in. 

(and ofc Latin America is very diverse so there’s that too) 

Also I think it’s important to acknowledge that my biggest issue with blue Taako has always been the way the issue went about and what occurred. White peoples opinions on the matter were prioritized, and instead of LISTENING to poc, the McElroy’s let their white guilt take the lead... I would just like for them to have some creatives of color on their team at this point, is that too much to ask?

I think I am very much aloud to remain bitter and upset about this... I don’t want white people getting offended on my behalf over something that isn’t actually offensive, and would actually be pretty awesome representation in my opinion. But again, white voices, feelings, and opinions have been prioritized, and I just have to accept that lmao. 

[biteghost]

How do you come up with so many cool characters?? All of your OCs seem so vibrant and fleshed out. Do you have a specific process for developing them, or do they just kinda come to you mostly formed? I find I struggle with building a compelling OCs for D&D games & would love to hear your thoughts on character development.

(This answer got long, sorry.) This is a super nice sentiment, I’m happy you think my characters are all cool and unique!!

As far as process goes, uh, it depends on the character? I’ve spent a long time (years) rewiring my brain when it comes to what I think about when creating OCs. They don’t usually come to me fully formed - I get an idea in my head about a concept, and then over like a week or even months of fiddling I end up with a character for that concept.

A lot of the time my characters are simply people I wanted to see more of in media as a kid! Mostly, female characters I actually relate to or are as nuanced and messy as their male cast members, haha... (It was a trip when I realized in high school that I didn’t hate female characters - it was actually that none of them were written as well as the cool boys in the anime series I liked, haha! Be the change you want to see in the world, basically.)

Inspiration for characters (and stories for them to be part of) come from a lot of places. An easy piece of advice is to make an effort to intake media you like! Read new comics, watch new movies and television shows, read books, play video games, listen to music and obsessively memorize the lyrics - hell, obsessively learn everything there is to know about black holes or public domain characters (that’s what I did, lol...)!

(Note: ’New’ meaning new to YOU - you don’t need to only be partaking of media that’s created in 2021 - you can find a lot to love in media that was created before your time, or for generations before you!)

I must reiterate: intake new media that you ENJOY! You don’t have to like all the same things as everyone else, you don’t have to be invested in the same shows and podcasts as your friends. Varied interests and taste is part of what makes us all unique! Increasing your pool of inspiration will help you come up with interesting ideas, and help you find YOUR voice. Your particular interests and the niche things that speak to you will help you figure out what kind of characters and what kind of stories you like to create! But the process doesn’t end at just intaking media... When you find the stuff that brings you joy, analyze what exactly it is about that thing that speaks to you... Put it into words. Explain it to a friend. Make it tangible, analyze the feelings and why the series made you feel that way... and then take it and shove it into your own stories, lol!

Engage critically and thoughtfully with work you like, with characters you like, and it will help you have the language and thought process to recreate it in your own work!

My creative process is like an exquisite corpse of all the characters and series I’ve liked over my lifetime. I mesh them all together in a grim blender and what comes out is a shake in the vague shape as an OC, lol

BUT... it seems like you’re asking more specifically about making characters for tabletop roleplaying games like D&D? And THAT is a different process for me than making OCs for my comics or original story ideas!

I don’t usually join a tabletop game with a fully fleshed out character, actually?? I don’t spend a long time on their backstory, and I usually figure it out like halfway through the story, or through collaboration with my game master!

My TTRPG characters are usually whatever I think would be most interesting in the given game setting or set-up and... usually they exist in opposition to whatever the core concept of the game is. So, the examples I have from games I’ve played are:

In Cardians: West (World of Darkness: Hunter the Vigil): we played in a modern-day urban fantasy setting, where players were recruited into a supernatural Hunter group that was also a criminal organization that Did Crimes and Broke The Law in the name of keeping peace and protecting humanity from the supernatural creatures that go bump in the night. I played Andrew, a Lawful Good Police Detective, because I thought playing a character who would need to grow past his original ideals of ‘Right and Wrong’ in the name of the greater good would be interesting! (And it was!)

In SINNING ADVENTURE (WoD: Geist: The Sin-Eaters) we payed in a modern-day urban fantasy setting with the premise that the players all Died and were brought back to life by forming a pact with a powerful spirit (and getting cool ghost powers in the process!) I played Cassius, a character who could not cope with his death, and thus refused to use his new powers because they were evidence that he was no longer strictly human. It caused conflict in the group and world, but I thought it would be interesting! (And it was! Cassius was a Bitch.)

In Rex Machina (Dungeons and Dragons 5E), I wanted to play an Aarakocra, but was having a hard time deciding on a class or backstory... until I found out that in the ‘canon’ of D&D Aarakocra only live to be like, mid 20s???? Their lifespans are insanely short compared to other playable races!! And I thought that was stupid, so I decided to make MY Aarakocra, Izzy, a warlock that’s looking for ways to extend his own stupidly short life. His pact essentially granted that to him, giving him extra time to find a way to achieve True Immortality. His conflict challenges what’s ‘true’ living in this world, and his extended life is in direct conflict with a lot of forces in the world we play in, and while it is very stressful I think it’s really interesting to play!

In Lamplighting (Monster of the Week), my character Aicen is an assassin who made a deal with a demon and gained supernatural perks out of it... except I decided that she doesn’t WANT to be in this deal. She is actively trying to undo it because it wasn’t her deal - she inherited it from a CEO that she killed during an unrelated job. (Aicen is probably my character I’ve put the most backstory into, and that’s just because at character creation in MOTW you are given a lot of questions about who your character is and why they’re where they are!)

In Hand of Adam (WoD: HtV), the concept was that all players were going to join a post-apocalyptic supernatural-hating cult. I played Shouter, who was a self-preserving pacifist coward who also turned out to be a fae (which the cult would have killed him over). It was stressful but very fun. I love Shouter. He ran away from fights and didn’t actually kill anyone until the last episode where they fought God (whom he killed, lol).

NOW. THESE ARE ALL JUST EXAMPLES OF HOW *I* LIKE TO PLAY CHARACTERS!! For me personally, I enjoy playing a character who has built-in conflict either with the world, the story, or the other players. I’m only able to play characters like this because my friend group are all really cool and we all know that conflict is not bad - it’s fiction and we’re just roleplaying! If I didn’t trust my GMs and fellow players as much as I do, I probably wouldn’t have felt comfortable enough playing some of these concepts.

I don’t think you need to know every little thing about a tabletop character, and in fact, not knowing some things and leaving it up to the GM and story to flesh out is an easy way to help you get more invested in both your character AND the story your GM is telling! Tabletops are a collaborative storytelling experience, so if you’ve already plotted out your character’s whole story, there won’t be much participation from other players or your GM. Figure out what your character wants, and let your roleplaying and GM slowly put all the other pieces in place over the course of your campaign!

But the TL:DR about how I make tabletop OCs is that I just... try to give them a goal, an ideal, or a personality that is in direct conflict with some aspect of the game we’re playing. I don’t want the character to be undermining the whole game, because that’s really crappy to do to your GM, but I have to have something for my character to grow through or change. I like giving them built-in character arc starters, lol. I haven’t played a game where my character has gotten along with every other player character and NPC over the entire campaign since my very FIRST game, lol!

Also, if you’re having trouble, why not ask your GM what they think? Again, tabletops are collaborative! Don’t be afraid to talk ideas out with your GM for your character.

A final note about playing in specifically oneshot games (i.e. games that are not long campaigns but are meant to be played in one or two sittings). Personally, I always just retrofit an OC I already have to play in oneshots! When I make a new character for a long campaign, it usually takes me two or three sessions to find their voice and figure out how to roleplay them. If the game you’re playing is only one session, I find it easier to jump right in and get the most out of your character and the game when you’re playing a character you already know pretty well! I’ve played characters from my webcomic quite a few times, and it’s always a lot more fun for me than figuring out a new character on the fly!

SO UH, IN CONCLUSION... sorry if this is mad unhelpfu!! My personal processes are unique to me! but that's the point - no one person will have the exact answer that works for you! You have to keep trying until you figure it out for yourself! Good luck! Keep creating! <3

[safflowerseason]

veep podcast reflections

I’ve made it through the first seven episodes of the pod—which includes the appearances by Tony Hale, Reid Scott, and Anna Chlumsky—so I feel like I’ve listened enough to have an opinion about it (if anyone else is actually listening to this podcast…if you are out there and actually listening/watching, please stop by my inbox.) 

It’s aggressively fine. Nothing groundbreaking, but a reasonably enjoyable listen. The hosts are clearly professionals at being funny, and of course there’s plenty of lovely and entertaining behind-the-scenes information. I do hope they bring Armando Iannucci on (and I imagine they are trying to get JLD on as well, but she is of course very busy). It’s interesting to note the different interpersonal dynamics between various combinations of cast members. It’s also *very* obvious why Tim Simons jumped on the celebrity rewatch podcast craze…he’s a total fandom nerd! (I say this with great respect) He loves thinking about his favorite tv shows, he is clearly very Internet savvy, and he’s interested in politics, so it makes sense to me that he feels like the driving force behind this podcast. (it is very clear now that Tim Simons is absolutely the kind of person who would go look up fanfiction about the show he was on--which, btw, professional writers are legally prohibited from doing, but I guess actors aren’t.) 

I like each episode opening with a recording of a political gaffe, and the trivia game has surprisingly not been as annoying as I normally find these cheesy bits. I don’t *love* the strict scene-by-scene recap of each week’s episode…it leads to interesting conversations and anecdotes, I guess, but too often we also get stuck on banal chatter like “okay what happens next? oh right yes, then Selina goes into her office and closes the door, and Gary and Sue have a conversation about X Y Z which was really funny because A B C” interspersed with all the “ums” and “ahs” of live speech. (Maybe this is a Kast Media thing, because they also do it on the OC Bitches podcast). Maybe there isn’t a good way to recap a tv episode scene by scene on air, though, especially if you aren’t going to air audio or video clips. 

I have two qualms/issues with the pod, one kind of nitpicky, and the other more serious. First, I wish they talked more about the relationships between the different characters. Not just Dan and Amy—although obviously if this were MY podcast there would be a weekly segment on that front—but Selina and Amy, Selina and Dan, Selina and Gary…most of the “big” moments in each episode get dissected on a comedic and political front, but not necessarily on a narrative front…usually it’s the guests who end up providing insight on character relationships, like Anna Chlumsky talking about Amy’s relationship with Selina in the context of the fake miscarriage scene. (I can’t help but find it…interesting that the first mention of Dan and Amy’s particular *thing* came from one of the guests, Pete Grosz, who played Sidney Purcell—his episode was great). Maybe this will change as we move into the later seasons, though, since in S1 a lot of the character groundwork is still being laid. 

My second, bigger qualm has to do with the podcast’s emphasis—mainly via Tim Simons, it has to be said—on the “progression” or “journey” of the show’s characters toward their worst S7 versions. The words “nihilism” and “dark” have been thrown around quite a bit in relation to where the characters end up. Usually at least once an episode Simons will point out a moment or character action and say something like “I feel like here you get a sense of just how dark/Machiavellian/crazy/evil this character can go” and sort of frame it like a “preview” of the later season (S7 in particular clearly feels separate to the cast compared to the others). Like Amy’s deal with O’Brien in Episode 4 was framed that way, as well as multiple Selina moments, and in one episode Walsh and Simons had a whole debate about whether or not Selina was showing actual remorse for a gaffe she committed compared to later seasons when she wouldn’t even care. There’s a lot of talk about how Selina is still trying to honor the agreements and exchanges she makes with other politicians in a way that obviously disappears in S7.

While I understand, obviously, the impulse to look at the show as a whole and examine all the different character arcs over the course of the seasons…the difference between the early seasons of the show versus the later seasons is not strictly a question of good vs bad vs mad and powerhungry. Sure, some pretty dark shit happens in S7, but early in S1 we have Amy making a deal with a white supremacist, which is pretty damn dark too! It’s not about the “scale” of all the different morally gray/Machiavellian political calculations that are made by the characters (although I can see why some people might try and frame it that way). It’s about how the whole entire ingredients and structure of the show’s political and interpersonal worlds changed so completely, a totally different approach to plot and narrative. It’s about how in S1 even the smallest decision by Selina had political stakes and in S7 all the action took place in a vacuum with no consequences. 

So, that’s kind of frustrating, and I’m not necessarily looking forward to when they get David Mandel on, because I imagine it will just be using Trump to explain everything different about his approach to the show. But there’s a few seasons to go until we get there, thank goodness. 

[shslargue]

Cleaning out my computer and being confronted with notes for old OCs and old stories and all that is so strange because, like... I don’t recognize this. I don’t recognize the person who wrote this. And it doesn't feel bad or anything, I’m not upset by it, it’s just... strange.

I’m looking at all of these characters, all of these concepts, all of these ideas, and... I don’t know who the person was that came up with all of this. And from what little information I have about her, we don’t have a lot in common. That person is lonely. That person’s actions and thoughts are all tainted with that loneliness. The memories of her that I have are, too.

I can’t honestly pretend like I understand myself very well, because I don’t, but I’d like to think I’m different than that. I wake up and say hello to people I care about. I talk about hobbies with friends. We share ideas. I draw something to give as a gift. I watch a movie that someone recommended to me. I listen to a podcast with someone I love. I say good night to them and go to bed. I am messy. I am impulsive. I have bad habits that are normal for someone my age. I exercise. I pet my cat. I joke around with my sisters. I argue with my parents. I should probably take school more seriously, but it’s there, too.

I don’t know who the person who made all of that old stuff was. I don't know if I’m better than her. I don’t know if I’m worse. I don't even know if I’ve actually changed at all. But there’s something different in my center, I think. Loneliness isn’t at the core anymore.

[passionate-hedgehog]

Hooked (Damien Haas x Reader)

Damien and his producer girlfriend just wanted to update their fans on a SMOSHcast after he posted a picture to his instagram account indirectly outing them as a couple. So, why are Sarah and Shayne singled out at the end?

Damien Haas x OC

5020 words

ITALICS are flashbacks

AN: I wrote this in 5 hours so if it sucks, it’s because I rushed. I tried really hard not to delve into SMOSH fanfiction but fuck me, I’m here. and I hate it. I had to pee the entire time. I have zero clue how VIDCON or any fan convention works. It is what it is. Mythical are assholes kinda in this.

AN2: Find my first Ian Hecox fic here.

AN3: I’ve rewritten it to be a Damien x Reader

m.list

“Welcome to another SMOSHcast. I am Ian Hecox from SMOSH.” The host of the podcast looked into the camera put off to the side to record video. “We have a few guests today. Right next to me is producer Sarah Whittle…”

“Isss meee!” The producer proclaimed in her cute tone. “I’m Sarah Whittle from SMOSH.”

The host continued, “And next to her is Shayne Topp, actor extraordinaire.”

“Heeeeyyyy. I’m Shayne.” The actor whispered weirdly into the mic.

As the group at the table giggled and/or rolled their eyes, Ian did the next introduction. “And then we have our video game professionalist: Damien Haas.”

“Aw, that’s sweet, man. Thank you.” Damien replied to the host and then looked into the camera. “Yes, I am Damian Haas, an actor from SMOSH. Disclaimer: we ALL play video games. Don’t let them fool you, listeners.”

“Mmmm...not quite.” The final guest commented from the left side of Damian. “Unless you count merge games on the phone. Not that you haven’t tried to hook me into them.”

“Oh, yeah.” Shayne piped in. “Y/n, you’re not a fan of video games.”

 Damien and Y/n were sitting on his couch with controllers in their hands and cats by their legs. Damien was working on loading Smash Bros onto the tv while Y/n scratched behind Zelda’s ears.

“I know our thing is you watching me play, but I think you might really like this one. I promise.” Damien tapped at his buttons to work through the settings.

“When I gave you that business card back at VIDCON that said ‘I’d love to watch you play games sometime,’ I meant it. YOU play. YOU.” She pouted.

He shrugged as if it was out of his hands. “It’s already been decided.”

“Do we gotta, though? Like, I’m totally content watching you play and using my hands for more important things...like loving on the felines. So important.

”“Super important.” Damien nodded in agreement.

“Super important.” Y/n repeated, feeling as if she won.

“Too bad.” Damien looked back at the screen. “What character do you want to play as?”

Y/n groaned in despair and threw her body backward against the cushions. “Fuck me.”

Damien looked at her with raised eyebrows. “What’s up?”

The look on Y/n’s face told him not to push it.

 Damien turned his head to the new producer. “You just can’t be hooked.”

Ian chuckled. “Well, I think we’ve proved that you can, as a matter of fact, be hooked.”

She looked at the host with a playful glare. “You really ready for this conversation?” 

It was Y/n’s first VidCon and, honestly, still her first month at Mythical. Her job was to engage the attendees that walked past the Mythical booth in conversation. She was meant to talk about things pertaining to the people and things in the videos. She was still fresh at her production assistant role and didn’t know much about Mythical’s behind the scenes things quite yet. She’d had a few people stop by, and she was able to amp up the hype for the projects she knew were coming up. That was a thing she could do, and she did it well. She loved Mythical so far.

When a small group of people around her age started walking towards her booth while laughing and what looked to be recording, she started to feel a little shy. She was an extrovert, which helped with what she was supposed to be doing. But there hasn’t been an actual group of people to approach her. The closer they got, the more nervous she got. She ended up deciding to take the L and make herself look busy in hopes that they’d just keep walking. It worked in the end, but she felt bad about purposefully not doing her job. She promised herself she wouldn’t let herself do that again and made sure to engage with anyone she could while at her station.

When it was Mythical’s turn at the panel, she stood off to the side and took pictures of her bosses and co-workers. She filmed a little for future needs and made sure to enjoy her time overall. She also made sure to listen to what Rhett and Link talked about and store it away for later and made mental notes on things she had questions about.

It was when she was going through some of her pictures during the fan Q&A that she noticed someone was watching her. She had glanced up for a second while being in thought when they locked eyes. She squinted while trying to figure out who he was really looking at because there was no way he was looking at her. She wasn’t even a producer that the fans knew. It took a minute, but he eventually looked away, while looking like he was caught with his hands in the cookie jar.

The next day, she was able to explore a little bit more. One of the OG producers took over the booth, and she decided to go and see what else was out there. She ended up stumbling upon interactive video gaming booths. She wasn’t a fan of video games, but she always liked watching people play them. Those that really enjoyed video games would be the most entertaining. It always pulled her in.

She scanned the games that were being played and caught sight of the group of people from yesterday. Feelings of guilt from not doing her job hit her, and she gnawed at her lip. She knew she had to start going easier on herself, but there was still a fear that the company would one day realize she was some incompetent girl from the midwest that didn’t belong in California or the industry.

“Hey, are you okay?” A voice spoke from in front of her.

She looked up and noticed the guy from the day before looking at her with scrunched eyebrows. “Huh?”

“You looked like you were trying to give yourself snakebite piercings with your teeth, and your foot was tapping faster than Thumper. Do you need anything? Or is there someone I can get for you?” He looked around the area.

She shook her thoughts from her head. “No, thank you. I’m fine. I didn’t realize I was that lost in thought.”

“Do you...do you work for Mythical? I saw you yesterday taking pictures of the panel, and I noticed you were at the booth. So yes...you do work for Mythical. That was a dumb question, never mind.” The guy scratched his face awkwardly.

Y/n assessed the situation. Was this guy a fan of Mythical? Like one of THOSE fans that she needed to be concerned about? Or was he just trying to make conversation? Y/n was at a disadvantage. She was alone at VIDCON (and California altogether, but that's for a different day), and she wasn’t quite sure what to do.

“Hey, Damien! I thought you were going to play the Halo campaign?” A blonde guy came up to the two. There were a few others with him; Y/n recognized them as the group from earlier.

The guy, Damien?, looked to the group as if forgetting that they were there. “Oh. Yeah. That slipped my mind entirely. Guys, this is...uh…”

“Y/n. My name is Y/n.” She smiled her work-place smile—the polite one she saved for when she didn’t know what else to do.

“She works for Mythical. Isn’t that cool?” Damien smiled as if he really thought taking pictures of the panel at VIDCON was the biggest dream job anyone could ever have.

“I think you’re way too excited about what I do for my job.” She laughed in response.

“It’s probably because he relates to it a little. We work for SMOSH.” The blonde friend supplied.

Y/n tried really hard not to let her face control the conversation. “Forgive me, but I don’t know what that actually is. And by the looks on your faces, I feel like maybe I should….”

“Oh, it’s ok!” Damien interjected. “If you haven’t gone to a panel yet, ours is later tonight. You should come by and check it out. Our channel has a few different things.”

One of the other group members stepped in. “Yeah, there's sketch comedy, video games, things like that. You’re at the video games booths, so I’ll assume you like video games?”

That made her chuckle. “I actually don’t really like video games. I was just wandering around because I got a break from the Mythical booth.”

When she looked at the group again, she noticed they were all staring at Damien with raised eyebrows.

“Oh. Right…” He said while looking shocked. “Well... as Noah said...there’s sketch comedy?”

“Well, who doesn’t like to laugh??” Y/n shrugged. “I’ll try to make it to the panel! Thanks for introducing me to something. I have to actually make it back to my booth to help with cleaning up. But I’ll be waiting for the panel!”

On the last day of VIDCON, Y/n was exhausted. She was just thoroughly exhausted. When she went to get herself a snack from the food service area to refuel for breaking down the booth, Damien was there as well. His group wasn’t with him, which made it easier for her to approach him.

“Damien?” She called when she was a few feet behind him. He turned around and held a pleasantly surprised expression. “Hey, I ended up missing your panel, but I hoped it went really well.”

“That’s ok. It means a lot that you found me and told me that. Thank you for the consideration.” The look in his eyes was earnest. He really meant what he said. “How was your first VIDCON?”

“I wasn’t really sure what to expect, to be honest. I don’t know a lot about any of this. I’m completely new to the industry. But I’m excited to see where it takes me. I hope to see VIDCON next year. Maybe you’ll be here too?” She licked her lips, wondering if that was a little too forward.

“I hope so, too. I’d really enjoy that.” He gave a smile that melted Y/n’s insides.

“Oh! I have a thing for you!” The PA reached into her sweater pocket and pulled out a small card. “It’s the industry, and one of the rules is to exchange business cards, right? Here’s mine.”

He looked at the white cardstock in his hands, noting that something was scrawled onto the back of it. “I gotta say. You’re super prepared for someone new to this. I don’t even have one. But thank you. I gotta get back to my group so we can head back to Sacramento. It was nice to meet you, Y/n.”

Y/n watched him reach a hand out to her, and she took it to shake. “It was nice to meet you, too, Damien.” 

The host sighed. “And our final guest, today, is SMOSH producer: Y/f/n Y/l/n. This is her first cast, and we’re very excited to have her on.”

“Aw, thanks, Ian. I almost forgive you.” She said with a glint in her eyes. “Yes, I am Y/n. I’m a new producer for SMOSH. I currently work under Sarah until I can get my feet more settled on the ground here.”

Shayne chimed in. “Have you noticed a difference yet? Between here and Mythical?”

The producer looked to be in thought before she replied. “Hm. The obvious difference is the job title. I was just a PA there, but I did a lot of producer side work because there were opportunities. I didn’t ever actually produce, but I still did a lot. I’m not complaining; I loved it. Obviously, or I wouldn’t have stayed as long as I did. But because I am currently working under someone, it’s mostly the same.”

The host closed his water bottle after taking a swig from it. “Are you excited to start as a producer on your own soon?”

“Uh, oh! Trick question!” Shayne called in his Aunt Carolyn voice before going back to normal. “You gotta say yes. Or you get fired.”

“Listen, bruh. I’ll take you. Don’t think I won’t.”

“Well, that’s not fair. Fighting you is like fighting three people right now. I’d have absolutely no hope!” The actor threw his hands into the air.

“OOOH nice segue, Shayne! It goes right into today’s first topic.” Ian looked into the camera. “We’ve always considered SMOSH as a...a family. We’ve had good times and some really awful bad times together. There are a few different kinds of out-of-the-workplace relationships amongst all of us.”

“Yeah, like Y/n has become my complete best friend. I mean, it started while she worked at Mythical, but it hasn’t changed since she moved over here. And right now, especially right now, we’ve grown even closer.” Sarah cut in while motioning to the new producer.

Y/n excitedly jumped in. “Yeah, I’m super thankful for Sarah just existing in the first place. I don’t have any family here in California, as you guys here at the table know. So, during everything that’s been happening, it’s been really...uplifting to have her support through it all. I couldn’t imagine the past year and a half without her.”

Sarah’s sweet smile held as she reached her hand out across the table and Y/n grabbed it to hold for a second. The men around the table let out a chorus of “aw’s.”

“Yeah, Damien, are you being replaced?” Ian asked. Jokingly.

The actor chuckled. “Listen, if Sarah wants to replace me, that’s fine. She’s got more cats. I completely understand.”

“That’s true.” Y/n looked into space. “She has quite a few more cats than you. But Freya and Zelda have become my children. I could never leave them behind. I’d have to take them with me!”

Damien looked at her for a second before he gave a simple “no.”

“I tried. Sorry, Sarah.”

The older producer giggled and shrugged. “That’s okay. I don’t know how many more cats Claudio will be okay with me having.”

“You just see Claudio coming home one day to an apartment full of six cats, and he’s super confused. ‘Sarah Whittle???? Do you even live here anymore? Sarah?’” Shayne laughed after giving a very bad mimic of Claudio’s accent.

“And then there’s just one giant cat because I’ve become one myself. ”

“But it’s like a cat from the movie ‘CATS,’ so it’s super terrifying.” Damien chuckled his way through his addition to the joke.

“Oh, my God. No. My poor husband. I couldn’t. OKAY, no more cats. I give I give! Damien, you can keep your girlfriend.” Sarah laughed.

There was a quick hush that spread across the studio. Ian raised his eyebrows and nodded. That just made his job so much easier.

“So, back to today’s topic…Some of our guests have an announcement to make.”

“It’s not really an announcement, though, Ian.” Damian began but stopped when the girl to his left gently put her hand on his arm.

“It kinda is. The photo from earlier wasn’t like...an official announcement. The caption you gave was a little vague. I also don’t know why I’m even arguing. My bad, babe.”

Damien turned toward her as best as he could with the surrounding equipment and table. “No, don’t worry about it. You’re right. This morning’s photo wasn’t an official statement.” 

If there was one aspect of being in Y/n’s current life situation that she detested the most, it was the constant migraines. Without fail, she would develop a headache when she first woke up.    

Damien learned to be prepared for the morning routine. In the first few months of their new lifestyle, he had grown to realize that mornings weren’t going to be the easiest. He would be the first to wake up, take his shower, and start the coffee and tea. Y/n had been a heavy coffee drinker until recently.  

After the actor got his morning routine out of the way, he went to wake up his girlfriend. It wasn’t that she wasn’t a morning person...but that she had difficult mornings. As he walked into their shared bedroom, he noticed she was sleeping peacefully for the first time in a while. Without wanting to miss out on the opportunity to express how happy he was at seeing his partner in a relaxed state, he pulled out his phone and snapped a pic. He opened Instagram to edit the picture, adding a grayscale filter. The caption was kept short, simple, and mildly vague; they did have a SMOSHcast announcement to make later that day, after all. After making sure that the blankets covered her body, he posted the picture for all of his followers to see. He proceeded to put his phone back into his pocket and get on with the rest of the usual morning routine.  

 Y/n pouted. “You’re so good to me.”

Damien gave a gentle smile and tapped her bottom lip so she’d stop. “It’s because you deserve the world.”

“I remember now why I made that rule about you two showing affection in the office. Y’all are gross.” The host shivered.

“You don’t have to lie, Ian. We know you dig it,” Shayne interceded.

“Yeah, when I first started a few months ago, I really believed my job would have been in jeopardy had Damien and I been caught in anything other than a respective distance apart from each other as co-workers. But, now that I’ve been here for a minute, I can tell how much you like to see your kids happy.” Y/n winked at her boss.

The president of SMOSH nodded in agreement. “The rules were for you two, honestly. I knew that you wanted to keep things private, so I was just trying to create a safe work environment for you. I’d never, well...at least now that I’m in charge of it all… I’d never ask you guys to do anything you weren’t comfortable with. When we agreed that you’d be coming over to SMOSH, Y/n, I knew that your privacy as a person and a couple would be at the top of your concerns. It wasn’t necessarily your choice to be a part of SMOSH, and I’ll never stop apologizing for that, but I want your experience here to be worth it. You’re worth it just by existing.”

“God, Ian. You know I cry easier these days, man. Don’t do this to me. Don’t be that ho. Fuck.” The girl was wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her SMOSH merch hoodie. “It’s fine. I didn’t actually put makeup on today. It’s cool. Whatever.”

“But I mean it. You were thrown to us when we needed it the most, and I’m, and the rest of us, are extremely grateful for you.”

 There was a jovial nature to the lounge that everyone was in. The SMOSH cast hung out in between sketch takes and were gathered for an impromptu meeting that Ian had called earlier that day. No one thought anything of it when Y/n walked in and made herself comfy next to Damien on the couch. Shayne was originally next to him, but he automatically got up and sat on the arm instead.

“How’s today been so far?” The Mythical PA asked as she settled in.

“Not bad. We knocked out a few sketches. We have some Pit stuff to record after this meeting.” Her boyfriend’s best friend responded.

“OH Y/n!” She heard Courtney cry from across the room. “Them boots! They’re so cute!”

“Thank you, Courtney! I found them on a resale Facebook shop. I’m not mad at them.”

Everyone in the room fell into their own conversations about this and that. Y/n took the time to look around and really take in the SMOSH members surrounding her. A year ago, she didn’t know ANYTHING about SMOSH, but she was happy for the relationships she built and the opportunities that being affiliated with the channel gave her. When SMOSH was bought by MYTHICAL, she found herself wandering over to SMOSH once or twice and did some side work. They’d borrow her occasionally, and she loved it.

Ian had walked into the room during her reverie and was attempting to draw everyone’s attention. Y/n missed the first part of what he was saying but eventually caught on.

“So, because we’re down a producer, we’ve been able to pick up a new one full-time. I think we’re all pretty excited that Y/f/n Y/l/n is officially joining our team as a SMOSH producer.” Ian kept going, but Y/n tuned him out to work through what he just said.

“Wh...what?” She asked, completely confused. “What did you just say?”

“You moved to SMOSH?” She heard Jackie ask from her right.

“Babe?” Damien looked down at her with scrunched eyebrows. “I didn’t know you were leaving Mythical.”

“I...I didn’t either.” The girl started floundering. “I...what? When did I move here? What do you mean I work here now? I don’t...What? I love Mythical...I would never leave.”

The president of SMOSH sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Well, fuck. This is not what was supposed to happen. I was given the green light from Mythical to make an official announcement. I would not have had this meeting if I, at any point, didn’t think you would know…”

“So...just like that...I work here now?” The girl was close to tears.

The room was quiet.

“Right. Right...I uh…” she got up and wiped her hands on her jeans. “I guess I have an office that I gotta cleanout on the other side of the building. If you’ll all excuse me…”

No one said anything as she left. Everyone looked at Damien, who then looked at Ian. Ian sighed heavily and walked out of the lounge.

Y/n was in the office she used to occupy putting things in boxes and trying hard not to cry. She loved working at Mythical. There hadn’t seemed to be any problems that she could see, but maybe she was so blinded by all of the good things in her life that she missed something.

“Do you want some help?” Damien stood in the doorway, wearing a sad smile.

That’s when she lost all composure. He must have caught the second she was about to start sobbing because he was right next to her chair, holding her as she kept sitting. He whispered words of love and encouragement as she cried.

“I don’t understand! I thought I was doing so well. I love it here! I got so much out of being here. What did I do?!”

Damien was crouched next to her at this point, wiping her tears. “Did you talk to them?”

“For like a minute. They said that I’d see more opportunities at SMOSH. They said that they could see me becoming something better over there. But they didn’t tell me that before they talked to Ian? I’m the one that essentially got fired! How can they just make these decisions for me?! I’m not…” She stopped.

“You’re not what, Baby?” He had his hands cupping her cheeks.

“I’m...I’m not ready...I don’t want to be a producer yet. I’m not ready to leave the nest yet. I don’t want it to change.”

Damien nodded in understanding. “That’s what’s really upsetting you, isn’t it? You don’t feel you’re ready to make this career change. Yes, and about being traded to SMOSH.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I love all of you. I love SMOSH. But I belong at Mythical. This is my home.” The woman sniffled. “It’s not time to leave.”

“Baby, you’re going to flourish at SMOSH. I know you’re terrified. Especially since this isn’t something that was discussed with you. And you’re right. It’s not fair. I’m sorry that they didn’t say anything to you.” He brushed some hair out of her face. “Love, it’s your choice if you want to work at SMOSH, but Baby, it’s time to leave Mythical.”

The next day at SMOSH, the couple found themselves at Ian’s desk. They were called in first thing, but Y/n wasn’t quite sure why. Ian was in his chair, taking a sip of his coffee while the two looked at each other.

“I think...we need to talk about somethings now that you’re both at SMOSH together. I know that you guys have been keeping everything private dealing with your relationship.” Ian took a minute to think through his thoughts.

The two nodded to show that they were listening and agreeing, so far.

“I couldn’t be happier that you two found each other. You’ve somehow managed to find your perfect other halves. It lifts the spirits here when you’d come over and visit, Y/n. You were already one of us before this week happened. I mean it.”

Y/n gave a sweet smile. “I know you do, Ian. I love you, too.

”Ian sucked in a breath. “So, I’ll have to lay some rules down in order to protect your privacy, because that’s my concern. What you do out of office hours is whatever. If you decide to come out as a couple, then I support it one hundred percent. But for now, with your wishes to remain unknown to the fans as in a relationship, there can’t be any PDA. We gotta nip that in the bud. I know this place is our home, but you never know. And when we’re on location or on a set, just please be careful. Okay? We’re a small company. We don’t have that many PR resources. Okay? Does that sound fair?”

The couple looked at each other. They seemed to be conversing with just their eyebrows and head movements. It took a minute or two before Damien spoke up.

“Yeah, about that...We do want to keep it as private as possible, but that might start to get a little hard.”

“Please don’t tell me that one of you posted something and that I’m too late.” Ian tapped the desk, anxiously.

“Oh, don’t worry, Ian.” Y/n bit her lip. “You’re not the one that’s late.”

The president couldn’t keep the deadpan expression from his face. “You kids are gonna put me in an early grave.”

 “Keep it up, Hecox, and I’ll quit. I swear it. I’ll just sit at home all day with the cats whilst judging OG SMOSH videos and why that weirdo with a bowl cut acts the way he does.”

“Okay, claws in, tiger.” The table laughed with Ian trying to fake-placate the girl. “I’ll hold in the nice things for the rest of the cast.”

“Thank you.” Y/n blinked. “No, wait!”

“Hey, Y/n,” Shayne called. “I like your hoodie.”

“Oh, this ol’ thing?” She pulled at it. “It’s borrowed, and it’s super soft. I’m LIVING. I wanted to ask if there was some vault or something where I could get my own.”

“No, no…” her boyfriend patted her shoulder. “You can wear this one. You can just wear all of my hoodies. Don’t worry about it.”

“I won’t be able to fit in them forever. I was already bigger than you to begin with. I don’t have long until I’ll get stuck putting them on. I need bigger ones, babe.” She turned to Ian. “Honestly, I don’t care what they look like. I just know I’m quickly running out of time before nothing fits anymore.”

“Yeah, of course. You’ll get your own to pick from. Don’t worry about it.”

It was Damien’s turn to pout. “But I like seeing your tumtum. Don’t put it awaaaay.”

“I love you so much, Damien, I do. But I’m about to suffocate in this.” She tried pulling at the bottom hem of the shirt to prove her point.

“If I may ask, how far along are you?” Ian spoke. “Also, as I ask this, I can see Shayne in the corner of my eye, giving me a look because he knows this answer.”

The blonde gave a suspicious smile. “I’m like the pregnancy stalker. I wasn’t trying to be weird about it. I was trying to give them their space, but like, Damien is my best friend in the entire world. I admit I have a problem. It hasn’t reached the point where I show up to doctor appointments, however.”

“Yet.” Y/n chimed in. “But uh to answer your question, Ian, we’re about...6 months? I think? Honestly, anything with numbers is gone from my head. Pregnancy brain is real. I talked to my best friend back home, who has two children, and she said sometimes, pregnancy brain never goes away. So...I’m SUPER excited for that. I can't wait to never do math again. THANKFULLY my man is super smart. He just has to be smart enough for the both of us from now on until we die.”

“That’s the most pressure I’ve ever been under. Thanks, babe.”

Shayne laughed. “Yeah. Having a kid? Easy. Being smart? Oh, man. OOOOOOH MAN. Whole other level.”

The SMOSHcast went on and drifted away from Y/n and Damien’s relationship to other topics. They talked about upcoming projects, future trips, and movies that were coming out. Shayne and Damien threw out jokes. Sarah and Y/n shared looks pertaining to things that were between just the two of them. Ian made sure to keep the talk flowing and always had something to say to stir the pot.

Finnerty called out that they were winding down to about fifteen minutes left of recording. Ian looked at the couple across from him and gave a slight signal that Sarah and Shayne didn’t miss. They shared a look but waited for the expecting couple to start. Y/n and Damien looked at each other to decide who was going to start. Y/n shrugged and sat up straight.

“So there was something else we wanted to share. But it’s actually for the two of you.” She faced Shayne and Sarah. “We were wondering if you’d do us the honor and be our kid’s godparents?”

Sarah’s face lit up, and Shayne gave a simple and quiet “what?”

Damien picked up where Y/n left off. “You two are our best friends, respectively. While yes, we wanted to discuss everything and make this cast an honest statement to the fans, we wanted to ask you something important to us. We love you guys, and there’s no one better for it.”

“OH MY GOD YES! REALLY?!” Sarah yelled but immediately apologized into the mic to the editing team. “You really want us to be godparents?? It’s a total, yes from me! I could never turn that down!”

Everyone turned to Shayne, who was busy trying to hide his tears behind his hands as he tilted his head back. They let him try to collect himself for a minute before Damien tried again.

“Buddy? You good?” He put a hand on his best friend’s shoulder.

“Oh, my God. You really trust me with that?” The blonde actor ran his hands through his hair while still looking at the ceiling.

The look in Damien’s eyes was softer than what Y/n was used to seeing aimed at anyone but herself. But she understood it. It was Damien and Shayne, after all. She winked at Sarah as the two giggled softly.

“Of course! Who else do you think I’d ask? You’re the only one I’d ever pick for that, man. I love you. And I’d be honored if you’d just say ‘yes,’ you dingus.”

“Well, duh! You think I’d say no? Oh, my God.” Shayne and Damien awkwardly hugged as best as they could.

Ian nodded at the whole thing. “Yep. Well, that’s a good place to leave that. Thank you, guys, for listening. If you enjoyed this SMOSHcast and want to know when we post more, then hit that bell. Subscribe. And hey, watch the rest of the videos we’ve uploaded. Stay safe out there. We love you.”