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senacal · 4 years

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Love Letter

Request: Not a request

Pairing: Jean Grey x Reader

Prompt: Reader and Jean Grey both attend Charles Xavier’s school for gifted Youngsters and a little romance blooms between the two in the form of love letters.

Warnings: fluff, misunderstandings, angst but not too much, cursing

Author’s Note: I wanted to write at least one thing for each character I write for and my number generator said it is Ms. Jean Grey’s turn ^.^ Should I post these to archive of our own too?

Requests are open!

(Gif not mine)

Jean Grey and (Y/N) were the best of friends; they did everything together. Whenever (Y/N) wanted to binge a movie or tv show, they went to Jean. When Jean wanted to talk to someone about a really interesting book she had just read, she went to (Y/N). They were each other’s, go-to person. When Scott Summers had arrived at the X-mansion, (Y/N) felt a bit jealous. Jean and Scott had grown closer since his arrival and (Y/N) felt as though they were left behind. Sure, Jean still talked to them and occasionally hung out with them, but suddenly Jean’s go-to person was Scott. It was pretty upsetting to (Y/N), but instead of approaching Jean with their concerns, they decided to bury them deep down and pretended like everything was okay.

Jean finally made a friend that wasn’t (Y/N), they should be happy for her, right? Everyone had been so afraid of Jean before, but now people were talking to her like the past few years had never happened. Suddenly Jean had friends in every corner. But (Y/N) was still as antisocial as before. (Y/N) kept to themselves unless there was a training session in the danger room. Teamwork was the most important there and (Y/N) wouldn’t let their team fail a mission just because they weren’t quite friends. (Y/N) supposed that was a great attitude to have, Professor Xavier would often praise (Y/N) for the teamwork they displayed in the danger room, so they had to be doing something right. Now if only they didn’t feel so hurt whenever they were left alone after their mission.

(Y/N) supposed they could try to make friends now that Jean had her own, but no one could come close to the proximity they shared with Jean. (Y/N) had always had feelings for Jean but they were too afraid to tell Jean because they didn’t want to ruin their friendship. Jean was so special to them and they couldn’t picture their life without her. Life had other plans because, in the end, Jean had left (Y/N) for better friends. So now (Y/N) sat by themselves in the gardens instead of with Jean. (Y/N) took up writing in a journal ever since Professor Xavier noticed how closed off they became. He promised not to read their mind, but he made them promise not to keep their emotions bottled up. So as a compromise, (Y/N) agreed to write in a journal and it seemed to appease Charles.

(Y/N) often found themselves writing in the gardens. It would be little things like, ‘Just another day in the gardens.’ or ‘Jean and I hung out for the first time in a week, she seems happier.’ Because Jean was happy, (Y/N) from mentioning their unhappiness. Why would they drag Jean back into their secluded world when she was so much happier now? For a while, (Y/N) was left to their own devices, it got to the point where Jean would ask (Y/N) to hang out but (Y/N) would lie and say they had plans. So they were avoiding Jean now, so what? (Y/N) couldn’t stand being an afterthought so they thought it was best to let Jean go. That’s when the letters started.

I love the way you smile. <3

When they received that first letter in their room, they thought someone had possibly slipped it under the wrong door. That they could recall, they couldn’t remember anyone taking notice of them. So as anyone would, they threw the letter away. And then another one appeared.

Your eyes are very beautiful, but in the sunlight, they’re bewitching.

Did someone not know this was (Y/N)’s room? Or did they intend to give these letters to them? Something had to be out of place. When (Y/N) had asked those around them if someone was missing any notes, no one knew what they were talking about.

Every time we talk, I get butterflies.

That one stumped (Y/N). They didn’t talk to very many people. Scott on occasion, only when he was around when Jean was. Jean, but she was obviously in love with Scott. Ororo, but she and (Y/N) hardly spoke to each other. Kurt? He was always shy around (Y/N)... and everyone else for that matter.

The few moments we spend together feel like an eternity and not enough at the same time. I wish you would see me the way I see you.

(Y/N) kept these letters from anyone else after finding out that no one had any idea about any lost love letters. They guiltily kept them to themselves because for a moment they could pretend someone wanted them. The only question was who? Who was sending these letters? And why? In the beginning, (Y/N) felt as though they weren’t for them. Who would send these to them? Now (Y/N) believed they were directed to them. They eagerly woke up each morning in hopes of a new letter. They were the only things keeping them grounded. Even their professors noticed their sudden change.

“(Y/N)!” Jean called out from down the hall.

(Y/N) was lost in thoughts about the new note, I miss the sound of your laughter. What could it mean? Sure (Y/N) hasn’t laughed as often as they used to. Part of that had to do with Jean. When Jean was around every moment was the best moment of (Y/N)’s life. Of course, they would find joy in that. If this person, whoever was writing these letters, if they truly cared, why were they hiding who they were? Maybe they knew what they felt for- “Jean?” (Y/N)’s thoughts were interrupted when Jean tugged on their wrist.

“Sorry, I tried getting your attention before, but I guess you didn’t hear me?” She shrugged, “I didn’t want to invade your mind either.”

Thank god for that, “Sorry, I was wrapped up in my thoughts,” (Y/N) shrugged.

“Oh, it’s fine,” Jean brushed off, “I was wondering if you’d like to join me for a movie night? Mischief is airing on tv. I know how much you adore that movie. And then we can just talk afterward?” Jean looked so hopeful, it was almost enough to get (Y/N) to agree.

“I-”

“It’ll just be us. Like the old days,” Jean pleaded.

“Okay… uh, sure, but you can invite your friends if you’d like, or Scott. I won’t mind,” (Y/N) plastered on a fake smile. They would mind only because they felt extraneous around Jean’s friends.

“It’ll just be us,” She shrugged.

(Y/N) felt themselves smile for the first time in a while, “Okay, I’ll see you tonight then.”

The rest of the school day left (Y/N) feeling anxious for their movie night with Jean. It was a simple little date amongst friends, so why were they so nervous? They went about their day like normal, they went to the garden and wrote a bit in their journal. Well, doodled. Okay, they pretty much scribbled in their journal the whole time because they were too preoccupied with thoughts of Jean and the notes they’ve been receiving. Should they mention them to Jean tonight? Jean was their best friend and who better to talk to about this? Jean had Scott so maybe she’d have some advice. But there was the fact that (Y/N) was kind of in love with Jean. Fuck, unrequited love sucked ass.

Now (Y/N) was stood outside of Jean’s door, convincing themselves to keep their word and hang out with Jean. It’s been… wow, it’s been four months since it was just the two of them, and two since (Y/N) has been avoiding her. What happened to them? With that thought in mind, (Y/N) knocked on Jean’s door.

Jean opened her bedroom door with a bright smile, “You came!”

“Yeah, you know how much I love Mischief,” (Y/N) shrugged.

“How could I forget,” Jean laughed. She stepped aside to let (Y/N) in, “So I’ve got all your favorite snacks and drinks. And the bed is set up so we can watch the movie comfortably.” Jean motioned to her queen-sized mattress.

Without any other words, (Y/N) climbed on the bed and got comfortable. Once the movie had started, both were enraptured with the film. Well, (Y/N) was. Jean was too busy trying to read them. Not their mind, of course, Jean wouldn’t invade their privacy like that. Jean wanted to know what (Y/N) was thinking, but the only way she could think of was by reading their mind, which was out of the question… unless. No, no, Jean wouldn’t do that.

“I can feel you staring,” (Y/N) mumbled around a mouthful of (Favorite snack).

“Sorry, I just… I missed you,” Jean sighed.

(Y/N) stoped mid-chew, feeling nervous once again. They quickly finished their bite of food and swallowed, “I uh, I missed you too.”

“I don’t know what I did to push you away, but I’m sorry, (Y/N). I am. I wish we could go back to how things used to be-”

“That won’t happen though. Jean, you’ve got more friends now. Great friends even, Scott, Ororo, Kurt, they’re wonderful people. Ever since you’ve become their friend, I, well What use am I? You stopped hanging out with me, remember?” (Y/N) fidgeted. They really didn’t want to have this conversation.

“We need to have this conversation, (Y/N).” Jean pressed.

“Don’t read my mind. You know I hate when you-”

“I know, I’m sorry. I just… We were best friends. I went to you for everything, and you’re right. I stopped hanging out with you first, but you never liked being around my new friends. What was I supposed to do?”

“Oh I don’t know, still be my friend? Hang out with me every once in a while? I know I’m not the only person in your life, but you are the only person in my life. After you ditched me, I had no one. I don’t make friends very easily. People may not be afraid of you anymore, but they still think I’m a freak. I’m the freak of freaks,” (Y/N) ranted. It was about time they opened up about everything to an actual person. Fuck, Professor Xavier knew what he was doing when he suggested the fucking journal. He was paving the way for (Y/N) to burst about their feelings. That clever motherfucker.

“I’m sorry, (Y/N). I am. You’re right, I should have been a better friend to you. Fuck, I’ve fucked things up so bad between us,” Jean ran her hand through her hair, “I never meant for this to happen. You have to know that.”

(Y/N) sighed, “I know, I do. I just can’t help but feel like you’ve abandoned me. The only reason I haven’t gone completely crazy was because of these letters I’ve been getting.”

“You-you got those?” Jean’s cheeks suddenly flushed.

“How do you… did someone tell you? I thought no one knew- who told you?” (Y/N) suddenly felt defensive. For a school full of people who didn’t give a shit about (Y/N) they sure loved to gossip about them.

“No one told me…” Jean looked away from (Y/N)’s eyes. “I might have written them,” She shrugged.

“You- oh. I thought someone else did,” (Y/N) felt slightly disappointed. They had really thought someone was in love with them, but who were they kidding?

“I uh, I wasn’t aware you liked anyone else,” Jean’s voice sounded… disappointed? Why?

(Y/N) looked up at Jean. Jean’s eyes were glossy, full of unshed tears, “What’s wrong? Jean?”

“It-It’s nothing,” Jean’s voice choked out on a sob, “God I feel so stupid.” She furiously wiped at her eyes. “I should have never listened to Scott,” She mumbled. She stood up from her bed.

“Jean, what are you talking about? What did Scott do?” If Scott hurt Jean, (Y/N) would unleash all their might on him. School rules be damned.

“Nothing. Scott didn’t do anything,” Jean raked her fingers through her hair angrily, the items in Jean’s room began to shake.

“Jean, calm down,” (Y/N) stood up and took ahold of Jean’s left hand, “Tell me what’s the matter.”

Jean looked into (Y/N)’s eyes, “I love you, but you don’t love me.”

“You love me?” (Y/N) asked softly. They were confused because, “What about Scott?”

“What about Scott?” Now Jean was confused.

“You’re with Scott, why would you lead him on if-”

“I am not with Scott,” Jean protested, “I think I would know if I were with Scott so believe me, we are not together.”

“So you, you love me?” (Y/N) asked in a daze. Jean loved them. Jean wrote those letters, “I am so fucking stupid,” (Y/N) smiled despite their words.

“What?” Jean asked still feeling confused.

“I love you too. This whole time I thought that you were with Scott and I was jealous and stupid. Jean, I love you.”

Jean’s chest felt like it was about to explode from sheer joy. She stepped forward and cupped (Y/N)’s cheeks, “You love me?”

(Y/N) nodded with a broad smile, “I love you.”

Jean looked from (Y/N)’s eyes to their lips, “I’m going to kiss you now.”

“Please do,” (Y/N) murmured.

Jean leaned in so their lips would graze each other. (Y/N) the impatient person that they were, sealed their lips in a passionate kiss. They were so stupid this whole time because Jean Grey loved them, they were just too oblivious to see.

#jean grey x reader #jean grey #student reader #student Jean Grey #phoenix x reader #love letters #love notes #jean grey x genderneutral reader #gender nuetral reader #x-men #x-men x reader

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pherryt · 3 years

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Writing Tag game

tagged by @hopelessly-me

1) How many works do you have on AO3? 282

2) What is your AO3 word total? 2,520,986

Note, I don’t know if you can see it, or if only I can, but the above two numbers WON’T match what my AO3 page says as these numbers are LESS because I minused all words from works that I was listed as co-creator on when I did art, and I also minused those works and all my art posts from total works written.

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

9 or so, depending how you count them: Supernatural, Doctor Who/Torchwood, Star Trek (original, AOS, Next Gen), Old Guard, ElfQuest, Marvel (Power Pack, MCU, Punisher/Daredevil, Venom), Scooby Doo, Witcher, Ranma 1/2

4) What are your top five fics by kudos?

Okay, so I’m VERY interested in the answer to this question because for YEARS the one in the top spot, from 2017, has outperformed EVERYTHING else I’ve written.

And even when I started writing in other fandoms, Supernatural stayed at the top.

But look at this list (I put the year published in front of each fic) – This isn’t TRUE anymore. Yes, it’s still in the top spot, but out of HOW MANY FICS, I have a NEW ONE pushing into 2nd place???? MY EYES ARE BOGGLING!!!

2017 - Not What I Signed Up For – Spn, Rated E, 43 k, A/B/O, Destiel , Warnings: Underage - Check the tags and the explanation in the notes

2021 - Overwhelmed – Witcher, Rated G, 10k, Geraskier, Creature!fic

2019 - Warming Up – Marvel, Rated T, 45k, Winterhawk

2018 - Rescue Mission for Two – Spn Fantasy AU, Rated M, 48k, Destiel, Creature!fic

2017 - Sam Finally Gets It – Spn, Rated M, 5k, Destiel, 13.05 CODA

5) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

OF COURSE! They’re so fun! They can be a real boost on a bad day, and I’ve made friends inside the comments! Like the person who tagged me in this!

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Okay, I don’t really do angsty endings. I LOVE angst, but I want a happy ending. Most of my fics that have angsty endings are either super short CODAs or part of a series that resolve the angst eventually – so I’ll give you these two:

What Time Forgets (MCU/Old Guard crossover Series: 49k, Rated M, Nicky/Joe/Bucky)

Till the End of the Line (MCU Canon AU Series: 86k, Rated E, Steve/Bucky/Clint/Natasha – basically a “What if”)

7) Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you have ever written?

YES I DO!

Craziest? Probably Colliding Worlds – my Doctor Who/SPN crossover (54k, Rated G, Destiel). I had to make a timeline graph to keep track of which version of the doctor was making an appearance at any point in time. It looks like a spaghetti diagram threw up.

Most AMBITIOUS would be the 4 in one crossover I did: All Mixed Up (Rated G, 30k, Destiel, McKirk, Winterhawk) – Star Trek/SPN/MCU at Hogwarts (with a couple of actual HP characters thrown in)

8) Have you ever received hate on a fic? Nope. Thank god. I’ve had some weird comments, I will admit. But not hate.

9) Do you ever write smut? If so, what kind? I do. Um. Porn with plot, pretty much.

10) Have you ever had a fic stolen? I very much doubt it.

11) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes, for a challenge. It had 3 authors, counting me, and if the challenge hadn’t been set up the way it had, I’m still not sure we could have pulled it off.

It’s called Groundverse (Rated M, 14k, Destiel) – a Supernatural Endverse Groundhog day type fic told only in letters, notes, and journal entries from 3 main POV’s

12) What’s your all time favorite ship?

You want me to choose between my faves? What’s WRONG with you!

Ahem. How about a fave for every fandom? And only the ones I’ve written or I’d still be here with some more.

Winterhawk, Destiel, McKirk, Geraskier, Nicky/Joe

13) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

It’s actually a toss up between 2 stories – because I posted them elsewhere first and so the AO3 dates aren’t necessarily accurate. AND ONE OF THEM IS A CROSSOVER!

Ahem.

Star Trek OS/Star Trek Next Gen/Doctor Who and Ranma 1/2

Take your pick.

14) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? … again with the unfair questions. Okay, a few of the ones I would have mentioned are already mentioned above. But I still have a hard time picking. So I outsourced. Otherwise we’d be here all day.

@hopelessly-me said: Splintered (MCU, Rated G, implied future Winterhawk/AmeriWinterhawk, 8k)

@li-izumi said: Lammas Night (SPN, Rated E, Destiel, Reverse MCD, Fantasy AU, 51k)

@unforth has more than once said (and I’ve always loved this one): I'm Broken (Supernatural, Destiel, College AU, Rated M, 64k, Warnings: Rape/Non con and Underage. Please Read the explanation and tags. Also, not between our mains)

I’ve also had a lot of love for the Just Right Series , which I’m stilly really proud of writing: (Supernatural AU, Dean/Cas/Benny/Alfie, Rated E, 146k)

I’m Tagging WHOEVER WANTS TO DO THIS! oh, what the heck, anyone already tagged plus @gavilansblog @cinagray @sevdrag but you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.

#writing #fic writing #tag game #fic writing tag game #i did this instead of editing #what's wrong with me #please validate me

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surveys-at-your-service · 3 years

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Survey #381

“don’t try to be the one person who has stayed just to say they never left me”

Do you feel bored with your life? Always. Do you miss anyone who was mean to you in the past? I sometimes miss Colleen, but I know it's for the better that we no longer associate with each other. What’s the most weight you’ve ever gained from a medication? I don't know, but a fuck of a lot. Thanks, Abilify. Have you ever been suicidal? Yes. Do you pray? If yes, to whom? No. What do you miss about high school? Memories with Jason. What do you miss the most about college? Socializing. What was the best date you’ve ever been on? A triple date to an arcade w/ Jason and friends. What’s the last great song you discovered? The most recent one? I don't know, really. Do you feel free to post how you feel on Facebook? Yeah. Don't like what I post, delete me. Have you ever done cocaine? Yikes, no thanks. Do you think you’ll ever get married? Do you want to? I sometimes wonder if I ever will. I'm scared of just continuing to be an unemployed leech that is doing nothing significant with her life, in which case it's like, why even be with me romantically. I feel like such a dead end street. I want to get married someday. Who do you care about the most? When it comes down to it, probably my mom. Have you ever made out on a couch? Yeah. Would you ever get gauged ears? I want small gauges, actually. When it comes to clothing, are you the conservative type? Yes, because I hate my body and don't want others to see it. Do you enjoy eating? I wish I didn't. Have you ever ridden in a race car? No. Do you go out of your way to impress the opposite gender? No. Do you enjoy history? Not really, no. It bores me. Are you a pajama person or do you stay dressed all day? I'm just about always in my pjs. Do you value looks or personality more? Personality is way more important. Have you ever changed religions? Yeah. Born Roman Catholic, converted to Christianity when I further understood the differences, then I went to how I am now: I believe in something(s), but I don't quite know what. I wouldn't call myself a Neo-Pagan, but it's what I relate most to. Would you ever wear fake eyelashes? I would for like, my wedding. Foo fighters vs. Red Hot Chili Peppers: I'm actually not a big fan of either. Are you a fan of the SAW movies? I don't really watch them. Do you ever forget how old your siblings are? My two immediate sisters, I'm sometimes a year off. All my others, yes. :x Mountain Dew or Sprite? Mountain Dew, of course. I really don't like Sprite now, which is ironic because as a kid, it was my favorite soda. Could you ever give yourself a shot? Yeah. Have you ever worked as a cashier? That was one of my duties when I worked at a dollar store. If you are on birth control that allows you take pills and skip your period, how often do you opt to skip it? How come? My birth control doesn't allow me to skip, but rather, it regulates it. Is there a book series where you loved the first book, but for some reason the other books in the series just didn’t measure up? I can't say that, no, as most series I just kinda fell out of, like The Hunger Games. LOVED the first book, started the second, and even though I was enjoying it, I just stopped for some reason? Are there any stores/restaurants that you would like to shop/eat at, but there aren’t any located near enough to you? Haha yeah, like lots of west coast fast food places like Jack n' the Box or however it's formatted. If you were told by a professional that you were unable to become pregnant, how would that affect you? Is there something important to you about conceiving a biological child rather than adoption? And finally, if you even want to have children, would you choose adoption or surrogacy or would you go on childless? I don't even want kids, so honestly, I'd be stoked if I learned I was infertile. Wouldn't need to worry about the chance of getting pregnant and facing an abortion dilemma. Is there something that you did not used to take seriously, that you either now take seriously or wish that you had in the past (e.g., a relationship that you miss, your education, etc.)? Hm. I don't know. Are there any subjects that you are interested in so much that you would read whole books or academic journals about them? Meerkats, especially. I will read EVERY scientific article about them I find. Are you physically affectionate with your friends? I'm a hugger. When you were in middle school and high school, did you witness a lot of bullying? How did the teachers react to name-calling or violence? Not really, thankfully. Are any of your friends/relatives actually impressive artists or writers? Are you willing to share an example of their work? Yeah. I have a cousin who's really good at drawing, and my sister is a wonderful cake decorator. Do you drink more apple or orange juice? Orange. Could you forgive your best friend for sleeping with your gf/bf? My hypothetical bf/gf, no. Would you ever donate blood? I have before, and I would again if I knew I was hydrated enough and the opportunity was right there. Would you rather drink coffee or tea? Ugh, neither. Do you get easily embarrassed? YES. How long was your longest make out? TMI alert, like all night. If the person who hurt you most said they’re sorry would you believe them? I honestly don't know. Do you have sensitive skin? Very. What color is your mum's car? White. Do you live in an apartment? No. Do you have a pet fish? Nope. Are you happy with your eye color? I wish they were a more sapphire blue. Solid soap bar or liquid body wash? Absolutely liquid body wash. What color do you want your dream car to be? Baby pink. *-* Do you have more then one favorite band? I say I do, but at the same time I know Ozzy Osbourne will ALWAYS be #1. Do you prefer being single or in a relationship? In a relationship. But it's absolutely not something I'm about to force just for the sake of being in one. Would you be really upset if Facebook ceased to exist tomorrow? Nah. Have you or would you try shark meat? No to both. Do you know anyone that's pescatarian? No. Someone I watch on YouTube is, though. Are you shy or over confident around your crushes? Super shy. Do you think the govt. has a cure for cancer, but is hiding it from public? Hell, I think it's very well possible, but I lean more towards for financial hoarding, they simply don't further pursue potential cures that are discovered. I mean, just THINK about all the "future cures" you've read or heard about. It's fucking outrageous. It's all to fuel the medical industry. Okay, tin hat coming off. Last time you drank a diet soda? A very long time ago, because diet soda gives me a massive headache. Was your ex born in America? Only one wasn't. Name your favorite type of music and why. Metal. I for one just like the sound, and I find it very therapeutic when I'm especially mad or sad. Even when I'm in a good mood, I just enjoy it. I also feel that a lot of metal songs tell interesting stories and/or have very poetic lyrics. Do you own or have you read, or thought of reading any self-help books? I haven't, but I've considered it. Can you breakdance? Definitely not. Have you ever read a book and not understood it? If so which one? Yes. We were assigned this one war novel in middle school that was FUCKING AWFUL, like I was checked out the whole time. I don't remember its name or anything. Have you ever watched a movie and not understood it? If so which one? Yes; the Warcraft movie I mentioned in a recent survey. Orcs and their fucking deep-ass voice that I couldn't understand. Do you blowdry your hair? No. Tell me about your dream last night. Omfgggggg y'all. So, there's one invert pet that I've never understood the keeping appeal of, and that's giant centipedes. Their bites are notoriously excruciating, and they are just SO goddamn fast. Well, for some godforsaken reason, I wanted one as a pet. Got one, and it immediately got loose. Guess who wanted to shit herself lmao. Centipedes are very cool, but only from a distance, ya feel? Have you ever stayed in a fancy high-class rich hotel? No. Have you ever stayed in a rent-by-the-hour motel? I don't think so. Describe the worst fight you’ve ever been in whether physical or verbal. I'm not entirely sure about my *worst*, but I know it was with Mom. We've had a few. Have you heated any food in your microwave today? Yeah, a shrimp alfredo Lean Cuisine bowl. Do you own any items of clothing with cartoon characters on them? Yes. Have you ever played Animal Crossing? No, it doesn't seem like my kinda game. Do you own anything (e.g jewelry, accessories) with your initial on it? Yes, but none of which I personally bought because I don't really like them. Do you own any cats or dogs? What are their names? I have a cat named Roman. <3 Have you added any books to your shelves lately? Which? No. Have you bought any new cosmetics or toiletries lately? Which? No. Do your pets have a specific type of food that they prefer? Roman will eat whatever cat food he's given, while Venus, like your average ball python, is a picky eater. Like when I first got her, she wouldn't eat for almost a year because I just couldn't find a method through which she'd accept food. Now she consistently takes frozen/thawed small rats that have actually sat in warm water (versus doing it by hand under running water), and she generally won't strike it unless it's offered to her by tongs, but not dangling by the tail. Picky, picky miss thang. What's your favourite variety of apple? I'm not very particular about flavor so long as the apple is crisp. I canNOT do soft apples. Which of your physical features do you receive the most compliments about? My hair.

#survey #surveys #questions #lyrics: ''orchids'' by stone sour

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halictus-writer · 4 years

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Welcome to Seattle (Ch. 3 of 5)

Remus deleted Tinder the second the app finished downloading. He was sitting at the dining table/desk combination of his studio apartment, and, unsurprisingly it was raining just outside the window. Seattle felt so new to Remus, although it had now been months since he moved away from his previous life. It took a lot of journaling and time, but he had begun to feel like what had happened–– his ex breaking his heart an hour before his twenty-sixth birthday party–– was meant to happen. His life hadn’t been his own. It was full of so much compromise, as is necessary for a life shared by two people, but the compromises that were made did not further his growth. He was stuck in a rut in his career, he was still in his college town, and he hadn’t even written a word of the novel he told himself he would write after the next big thing––graduation, holidays, birthdays, travel–– finished.

And now, here he was. Living in a big city, alone, but doing it the way he wanted. He had a job that furthered his growth, he had supportive friends, and he had already filled entire notebooks with the ideas, character charts, and plot diagrams that would eventually become his novel. Suddenly realizing that no one was here to complain about the cold, he cracked the window open, letting some of the fresh, rain-scented air in, and shrugged on a sweater.

He was at peace with himself, and for that reason he felt he was ready to give dating another shot. He re-downloaded Tinder, chose a few random pictures of himself, and typed out the bio that Dorcas had helped him draft, cringing the entire time. He closed the app without viewing the other Tinder users within twenty-five miles and two years of his age.

As a treat for his bravery, he decided to get a margherita pizza for lunch. If he exercised self-control, he could save half for tonight’s dinner as well. It was really a matter of simple economics.

***

Remus immediately noticed that the restaurant looked a little different in the midday light, but he also immediately noticed that Sirius was not on the clock. He ordered his pizza to-go.

As he walked back to his apartment, one hand tucking the pizza close, the other brandishing an umbrella, he tried not to think about the fact that he had so far only received free–– and unsolicited–– dessert items when Sirius was working.

***

An hour later, Remus had made his first matches on Tinder. He had also accidentally “super-liked” a person named “DL Top” with a gray image as their only picture, frantically looked up how you could “un-match” with someone, read a very patronizing how-to article on basic Tinder functions, and decided to choose “block” for good measure.

One of his matches was a graduate student at the University of Washington, and Remus liked that his profile said he loved to read. They exchanged normal greeting messages, before the man asked Remus if he was “a LTR kind of guy.” Remus answered him by saying “Tolkien is an amazing writer, obviously, but I have to admit the movies were kind of long.” The man didn’t reply, and Remus figured that his opinions on the Lord of the Rings franchise must have been a deal-breaker for the other man.

Dorcas and Marlene were adamant about hearing his progress with Tinder, so he sent a group text to the two of them.

Remus: Tinder day one is a thing, I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong yet

Dorcas: Yes! Proud of you

Marlene: what’s the weirdest thing that’s happened so far!!!!???

Remus: well, someone asked me what I thought about lord of the rings on the second message, does that count?

Dorcas: haha seriously? What did they even say

Remus: “so are you an LTR kinda guy or what?”

Marlene: HAHA

Dorcas explained that LTR in this context likely stood for “long-term relationship,” with intermittent texts from Marlene such as “how in the heck even” and “you are my favorite person oh my god.”

Remus decided to give Tinder a break for the rest of the day.

***

He made a good deal of progress within his first week of online dating, especially when considering that he started so low, with the misunderstanding of slang and accidental super-liking. It was now a Friday night, and he had a real-life, in-person date set for six o’clock. On Wednesday Remus had met a different match for coffee (but only after Dorcas had cross-referenced his story, friended him from a blank Facebook profile, and found pictures of him at his high school senior prom from nearly a decade ago. “You should be arrested,” Remus had said, horrified but a little grateful). Coffee had been perfectly pleasant, but both men agreed that they would rather be friends than anything more. They even friended each other on Facebook so that Remus could be added to his book club.

Meeting new friends was a welcome side-effect, but Remus was still in the market for a boyfriend. Hence, the anxious shuffling as he waited for the clock to get closer to six. Remus wished his apartment was larger, if only for the chance to have more space to clean. He had already Swiffered the floor, cleaned the bathroom mirror, and remade the bed, and it was still only a quarter past five. The cleaning was just for something to do with his hands and nerves, he knew that his date wouldn’t be seeing the inside of his apartment tonight. As per Dorcas’s prescriptions (and his own self-preservation), Remus’s first dates with strangers met online would take place completely in public.

At 5:45, a message from his upcoming date announced that he was being held a bit late at the office, and asked to reschedule for 6:30 instead of 6. Remus, wanting to be easy-going and amicable, kindly agreed, wishing him luck with his pressing work matters. Internally, however, he was frustrated that he had already taken the garbage out, since now there was absolutely nothing left to clean.

6:30 turned into 7:00, and by 7:15 Remus had taken his shoes off and was laying on the top of his neatly-made bed. The excuses changed from finishing at work, to a friend in need, to traffic, and Remus was beginning to consider just preemptively cancelling it himself.

At 7:45, the match asked if they could just skip dinner and maybe move straight into watching a movie “and cuddling” at Remus’s place instead. It was the final nail in the coffin Remus already saw, so he wasn’t even too disappointed.

Remus sent a polite but clear no, and knew that whoever this person was, he was not someone Remus would be building his life with. His stomach growled suddenly, reminding him that he still hadn’t eaten the dinner he was supposed to have hours earlier. Instead of going to all of the trouble to devise a meal at home, Remus decided that his troubles with the cancelled date warranted a very cheesy, doughy, and effortless meal. He quickly changed from his date clothes–– button down shirt, khakis, and tan buck shoes–– into a more comfortable, eating-pizza-alone-on-a-Friday-night ensemble: cozy sweatshirt, old blue jeans, and nikes.

When he got to the restaurant, he was still moping about getting blown-off from his date. He had sent a quick text to Dorcas and Marlene to let them know that his date was cancelled (otherwise they would have been checking his location religiously every fifteen minutes), but said he was doing okay since he didn’t want to interrupt their own date night plans with his sorrows.

Truthfully, Remus was pretty upset about what had happened. So far, online dating had not been a success, and Remus found himself returning to his secret fear that he wouldn’t ever successfully date again. Maybe it was because he was just too old, or perhaps he was out-of-touch, or it was simply because he had no real experience with dating since he had only ever had to go on one first date, and everything afterwards seemed to fall into place. If Lily was right, and he needed to meet someone organically for a relationship to work, he hoped it would happen soon.

Just then, his inner wallowing was interrupted by Sirius, carrying silverware and a glass of water. Somehow, Remus had forgotten that Sirius may be here, and hadn’t had time to prepare himself for the sight of the attractive waiter. His hair was swept into a loose bun, seemingly held together with a pencil.

“Hey there, how’s your Friday night going?”

Remus almost laughed at the question. Clearly, his night was not fantastic, because if it was, he would not be sitting in the booth of an Italian restaurant, alone, at 8:30 PM. He tried to shake off his own self-pity before answering. “Fine, thanks. How about you? Has it been busy tonight?” One of Remus’s favorite tactics when avoiding conversations about himself to his friends was to get them talking about themselves instead. Or, in the case of James, talking about Lily.

“It hasn’t been too busy today, or at least not since I got here at 5. Although,” he said, smiling almost conspiratorially, “I’ve had three different tables tell me ‘you too’ after I brought them their dinners.”

Remus laughed, and filed away the knowledge that Sirius remembered their inside joke from last time to the back of his mind for unpacking later. “I’ll have to see if I can get that number any higher then.”

“Oh, but you won’t be able to if I change up my script when I bring you your small margherita pizza. I’ll just say something like ‘here it is,’ no wishes of enjoyment included.” Sirius said, with faux sincerity.

“And what if I changed up my order on you?” Remus was surprised but pleased that Sirius remembered not only their jokes from last time about customers stumbling over words when presented with their food, but also the very food that Remus had ordered.

“I hope not, since I told the kitchen to start making it right after I saw you walk in.” Sirius grinned, but then suddenly looked almost bashful. “Although if you wanted something else, you still can order something else, that would be fine, I just thought, well, since it’s kind of late, we might as well give the ovens a head start?” His voice tilted up at the end as the statement turned into a question.

Remus liked this more approachable version of Sirius. He made him feel at ease. “No, you were right, I came here specifically for that margherita pizza. Thank you for starting it early for me.”

Sirius’s nervous smile turned soft.

***

The pizza was delicious, and succeeded in making Remus feel slightly better about the cancelled date. After all, he wouldn’t have been able to eat this much on the date, hindered by an abundance of good manners.

When Sirius dropped off the check, he also let Remus know that they would be closing soon. “You’re welcome to sit as long as you like, but the kitchen did just close.”

“No worries, I’m ready to head out. Thank you!” As Remus signed the receipt, a small to-go box was placed in front of him.

“Kitchen is closed, but you may want that for the road.” Sirius smiled warmly at Remus. “Have a good night!”

As Remus left the restaurant, carrying the small box, he reflected on Sirius’s parting words. He did have a good night, all things considered. Comfort food is one for addressing his emotional turmoil, but having a light conversation with a few inside jokes with another person is another thing entirely.

He also happily noted that he would get to bring the enclosed tiramisu with him to his breakfast with Dorcas and Marlene tomorrow. Pawning off the soggy dessert on them would be good for both reducing food waste and generating karma.

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omnifalls-10 · 4 years

Text

Omni Falls Chapter 3: Headhunters

It’s been rather quiet at the Mystery Shack today. That doesn’t seem much of a problem for Dipper and Mabel, who were in the living room watching a show on television called Duck-tective. While watching the television program, Mabel knits a new sweater and Dipper eats popcorn from a bowl. She reaches for some popcorn, only for him to slap her hand away.

“I'm afraid your services won't be required here, sir.”, the constable taunts, with a condescending smile on his face. “My men have examined the evidence, and this is obviously an accident.”

“An accident, constable?”, Duck-tective quacks, his webbed feet paddling across the crime scene. “Or is it...Murder?”

“What?!”, the constable yells as the logo of the titular character comes on the screen as the commercials starts.

“That duck is a genius!”, Mabel gasps as she drops her sweater.

“Eh, it's easier to find clues when you're that close to the ground.”, Dipper shrugs.

Mabel puts her hand on her hip, skeptical. “Dipper, are you saying you could outwit Duck-tective?”

“Mabel, I have very keen powers of observation. ”, Dipper explains, sitting up. “For example, just by smelling your breath, I can tell that you have been eating….” He sniffs the air, looking confused. “..an entire tube of toothpaste?”

“It was so sparkly...”, Mabel pouts, her mouth covered in toothpaste.

Soos arrives, running end with a look of excitement. “Hey, dudes, you'll never guess what I found!”

“Buried treasure!”, the twins say simultaneously before looking at each other, laughing.

“C’mon, follow me.”, Soos tells them, leading them to a mysterious door that’s been cut off. “So, I was cleaning up, when I found this secret door, hidden behind the wallpaper. It's crazy bonkers creepy! ” He unlocks the door and shows them what’s inside. They look around and see a collection of wax figures. But not any wax; these wax statues are historical figures, from Robin Hood to Shakespeare to Coolio.

Dipper shines his flashlight on the statues. “ Whoa. It's a secret wax museum.”

“They're so life-like.”, Mabel notes as she pokes the wax sculpture of Sherlock Holmes.

“Except for that one.”, Dipper critiques with his flashlight shining on a wax figure of Stan. Except it moves.

“Hello!”, Stan greets, making the twins scream and Soos. “It's just me, your Grunkle Stan!” His response doesn’t make it better because they still run out of the storage room, screaming their heads off.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

After regathering the Twins and Soos back into the room, Stan introduces his prize collection of wax figures, “Behold the Gravity Falls Wax Museum! It was one of our most popular attractions... before I forgot all about it”, he admits before showing off the individual statues. “I got 'em all! Genghis Khan, Sherlock Holmes….”, he pauses to see a statue of Larry King. “some kind of, I don't know, goblin man?”

Dipper shudders. “Is anyone else getting the creeps here?”

“And now for my personal favorite: Wax Abraham Lincoln, right over--”, he stops his sentence to see said statue melted in the summer sunlight.“Oh! Oh no! Come on, who left the blinds open? Wax John Wilkes Booth, I'm looking in your direction!” He bends down and puts his finger in wax, huffing in annoyance. "How do you fix a wax figure?”

"Cheer up, Grunkle Stan.", Mabel livens up her grunkle. "Where's that smile?" Stan grunts.

"Beep, bop, boop!", she cheerfully pokes Stan in the face, only to poke him in the eye. "Ow."

"Don't worry, Grunkle Stan.", the young Pine smiles. "I'll make you a new wax figure from all this old wax!"

“You really think you can make one of these puppies?”, Stan rises up.

“Absolutely, Grunkle Stan! I'm an arts and crafts master. Why do you think I always have this glue gun stuck to my arm?”, she holds up her arm, which has a glue gun glued to it and tries to shake it off. “Eugh, eugh!”

“Huh, I like your gumption, kid!”, Stan acknowledges with a grin

“I don't know what that word means, but thank you!”, Mabel gives one of her own.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Dipper’s been deeply invested into his journal. He just found a page talking about Methanosians, plant-like species that are able to emit flames. It’s very interesting to think about: how are they able to achieve this? Are they able to move so fast that they ignite the air or is it chemically triggered? Perhaps the chemical is-

“Dipper!”, Mabel drops down in front of his startled brother, who almost drops his journal before putting back in his jacket.

“What do you think of my wax figure idea?”, she shows Dipper a drawing that she sketched in her sketch-book. “She's part fairy princess, and part horse fairy princess!”

“Maybe you should carve something from real life.”, Dipper suggests, feeling creeped out by her picture.

“How about a waffle with big arms?!”, Mabel turns another page, showing the aforementioned waffle.

“Okay... Or, you know, maybe, something else.”, Dipper clarifies, hoping to get his point across. “Like someone in your family.”

“Kids, have you seen my pants?”, Grunkle Stan asks as he poses on a briefcase, trying to find his piece of clothing. This makes Mabel gasps as a surge of inspiration courses into her mind. She turns around, her eyes becoming big as she looks upwards.

“Oh, muse. You work in mysterious ways.”, she beams with excitement.

“Why's your sister talking to the ceiling?”, Stan asks Dipper, clearly unaware of the young artist’s creative breakthrough. The next couple hours revolve around Mabel crafting the new wax figure. She works thoroughly on making the statue’s structure, working on the small details of her grunkle, and painting the right colors. It is rigorous and time consuming but she manages to get half way done. She moves back to admire her work with Dipper and Soos next to her. “I think... it needs more glitter.”, she muses.

“Agreed.”, Soos nods, handing the young Pine a bucket of glitter. She tosses the entire bucket onto the statue. “Perfect!”, Mabel exclaims in joy.

Stan walks in with his pants on but missing his shoes. “Ok, I found my pants but now I'm missing my--” He stops and notices Wax Stan. “Ahhh!” He falls over and crawls away in shock by witnessing the wax’s lifelike features.

“What do you think?”, she asks, anxiously.

“I think... the Wax Museum's back in business!”

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A bustling crowd has gathered at the Mystery Shack, they arrive in droves to see the latest attraction. What the attraction was, they don’t know but it must be worth the price of admission they paid to be here.

“I can't believe this many people showed up.”, Dipper comments as he watches the crowds arriving at the event.

“Yeah, I bet your uncle bribed them”, Wendy replies with a sarcastic grin.

“He bribed me.”, he smiles, showing the 5 dollar bill that his Grunkle gave him in exchange for working in the ticket stand. She pulled out her own 5 dollar bill that conman bribed her with, making them both snicker. On stage, Stan walks on stage towards the podium. He taps on the microphone, ignoring the ear-piercing feedback it emits from the crowd.

“You all know me, folks!”, Stan smiles, attempting and failing to charm the crowd. “Town darling, ‘Mr. Mystery.’ Please, ladies, control yourselves!” This garners no response from the women in the crowd. “As you know, I always bring the people of this fair town novelties and befuddlements, the likes of which the world has never known. But enough about me.”, Stan continues, getting to the point of the congregation. “Behold….me!” He removes the tarp, revealing the wax duplicate to the whole crowd. This receives a lukewarm welcome with two people clapping and another coughing. “And now a word from our own Mabelangelo!”, the conman introduces Mabel who takes the microphone from him before walking in front of the crowd.

“Thank you for coming!”, she greets the crowd. “I made this sculpture with my own two hands!” She throws up her arms into the air for a brief moment. “It's covered in my blood, sweat, tears, and other fluids!” The implication makes the audience cringe in disgust.

“Yeah.”, she laughs it off. “I will now take questions! You there!” She points her hand to Old Man McGucket.

“Old Man McGucket, local kook.”, he introduces himself before asking. “Are the wax figures alive? And follow-up question, can I survive the wax-man uprising?”

“Um...Yes!”, she answers with a confused look on her face before pointing to a staunch man holding a turkey baster in his left hand instead of a microphone. “Next question!”

“Toby Determined, Gravity Falls Gossiper.”, he begins. “Do you really think this constitutes a wonder of the world?”

“Your microphone's a turkey baster, Toby.”, Stan shoots down his question.

“It certainly is…”, he retracts with a look of self-pity.

“Next question!”

“Shandra Jimenez, a real reporter.”, the female reporter says, holding a real microphone and a camera crew. “Your flyers promised free pizza with admission to this event. Is this true?” She holds up the said flyer in front him. This, in tow, makes the crowd erupt in indignation over the fact that there wasn’t any pizza around. Stan looks at the crowd with a nervous frown as they demand for pizza and glare at the conman.

“That was a typo.”, he gives a short answer, not really explaining anything. “Good night, everyone!” He drops a smoke bomb running off the stage before taking the admission cash box before anyone would notice. To say the crowd is upset would be an understatement, they are furious that they were swindled by the “Man of Mystery” as they all leave the Shack. No significant damage is caused save for the decorative pole that’s punched by Manly Dan.

Mabel leans on the admission table that Dipper and Wendy are sitting with a smile on her face. “I think that went well.”

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

“Hot pumpkin pie! Look at all this cash!” Stan smiles in pride as he counts the money in the evening. “And I owe it all to one person, this guy!” He points to his wax replica of himself to which Mabel punches her grunkle in the arm playfully.

“Yeah, you too, ya little gremlin.”, he laughs, giving her niece a noogie. “Now you kids wash up. We got another long day of racking cash tomorrow.” He starts pushing the twins out the living room. They head upstairs, smiling, as they run upstairs to brush their teeth and go to bed. Once they had gone upstairs, Stan decides to hang with his wax counterpart to watch Ducktective.

“Well, duck-tective, it seems you've really quacked the case.”, the constable jokes.

“Don't patronize me.”, Duck-tective quacks, clearly annoyed by the tasteless joke.

“Stupid duck!”, Stan can't help but laugh as the show goes to commercial. “Well, I'm gonna use the john. You need anything?” His wax counterpart’s grin doesn’t waver, but that doesn’t stop him from laughing. “I love this guy! Don't you go nowhere.”

He leaves to go to the bathroom for a few minutes. That’s all the time that’s needed for something sinister to occur. Like a thief in the night, the figure appears out of nowhere but their intention remains obvious and so, the terrible act is committed in such swift fashion that it’s almost like it never happened. The figure disappears as they hear the footsteps of Stan coming back into the den, leaving no trace.

When he comes back into the living room, Stan's face turns into horror as he screams as his eyes lay upon a devastating sight. “No!... No!... Noooooo!” His yells cause the twins to run downstairs to their grunkle on his knees with his hands holding his horrified face.

“Wax Stan! He's been...murdered!”, Stan points to the headless body of his wax counterpart on the floor. This shocking revelation makes Mabel faint with a gasp with Dipper catching her. While he isn't as emotionally torn about it like his sister and grunkle are about this, it’s still a scary sight to behold.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

An hour passed by, the cops arrived when Stan called. The living room is turned into a crime scene with Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland questioning Stan about what transpired. “So, I got up to use the john, right?”, he explains, even though he’s still shaken by seeing his wax counterpart beheaded. “And when I come back, blammo! He's headless!”

“My expert handcrafting... besmirched.”, Mabel cries dejectedly as she looks at her masterpiece beheaded.“Besmirched!” Dipper puts a comforting hand on his sister’s shoulder as he looks at the wax figure. The way the head is cleaved indicates that it wasn’t an accident. But one question remains in his mind. Who would do something like this?

“Look, we'd love to help you folks, but let's face the facts.”, Sheriff Blubs confesses after Durland finished taking notes on the murder. “This case is unsolvable.” Everyone, besides the cops, gasp incredulously. This makes Grunkle Stan very furious

“You take that back, Sheriff Blubs!”, Stan growls.

“You're kidding, right? There must be evidence, motives. Anything.”, Dipper insists, there must be something that the police officers are missing to figure out the murder.“You know, I could help if you want.”

“He's really good. He figured out who was eating our tin cans!”, Mabel vouches for her brother.

“All signs pointed to the goat.”, Dipper proudly declares.

“Yeah, yeah! Let the boy help.”, Stan adds on. “He's got a little brain up in his head.”

“Oooh! Would you look at what we got here!”, Sheriff Blubs taunts the young Pines, making him annoyed by the patronizing of the officers. “City boy thinks he's gonna solve a mystery with his fancy computer phone!”

“City boooy! City booooy!”, Durland eggs on with his partner. Blubbs just laughs on before smiling at the young Pine, condescendingly. “You are adorable.”

“Adorable?”, Dipper pouts, aggravated by the patronizing cops, who just keep on laughing at him.

“Look, P.J.'s.”, Blubs begins, grinning at the aggravated Pine. “How about you leave the investigation to the grown-ups, okay?” Just as he said that, his walkie-talkie sounding off. Attention, all units. Steve is about to fit an entire cantaloupe in his mouth. Repeat, an entire cantaloupe!

“It's a 23-16!”, Durland squeals in excitement.

“Let's move!” Blubs proclaims as both officers run off, laughing as they get to their car in quick fashion.

“That's it!”, Dipper declares, determined to prove those officers wrong. “Mabel, you and I are going to find the jerk who did this, and get back that head. Then we'll see who's adorable.”

“Aww, you sneeze like a kitten!”, Mabel gushes with a beaming grin, to which he glares at her for making him sound cute. It’s going to be a long process for him to get through in order for him to be taken seriously.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The morning arrives and the Pine Twins begin their investigation. Dipper suggests finding clues in the last spot where the crime occured, which is the living room, where the wax statue still lays on the floor since last night. Mabel wraps the police tape, which is basically toilet paper with “Do Not Pass” in marker, as Dipper shoots a picture at the “corpse”.

“Wax Stan has lost his head”, Dipper explains in a tone reminiscent of a detective. “And it's up to us to find it.” He looks at the bulletin board with pictures of suspects. “There were a lot of unhappy customers at the unveiling and the murderer could be anyone of them.”

“Yeah! Even us!”, Mabel adds on.

“In this town, anything is possible.”, Dipper continues as he looks at the journal for some clues. “Ghosts, zombies, it could be months before we find our first clue”.

“Hey, look! A clue.” Dipper stops what he’s doing and looks at where Mabel’s pointing at. He walks to where she is and finds the first clue: shoeprints in the shag carpet.

Mabel looks at the clue closely and notices something about them. “That's weird. They've got a hole in them.”

“And they're leading to…”, Dipper stars before he and Mabel follow the trail to see their second clue: an ax behind the reclining chair. The twins look shocked at what they find. “The murder weapon!” He picks up the heavy axe and examines it.

“Who would know about this?”, Dipper thinks aloud.

“Maybe...”, Mabel thinks for a moment before getting a lightbulb. “Maybe we should ask Soos about this.”

Dippers hums before nodding his head.

They head to the gift shop to see Soos doing his usual tasks around the shack. After a few minutes of greeting the handyman, the Pine Twins explain what they’ve been doing and give him the murder weapon to inspect it.

“So, what do you think?”, Dipper asks, hoping Soos can give some additional clues. He keeps staring at the ax with the same analytical expression he had beforehand.

“In my opinion, this is an ax.” Soos concludes, stating the obvious.

“And is there anything else?”, Dipper asks, hoping to get an answer from the handyman. “Something weird? Something that can help us?”

“Uh...”, Soos thinks for a moment. “It’s sharp?” Dipper only sighs in minor annoyance.

“Wait a minute.”, Mabel snaps her fingers. “The lumberjack!”

Dipper realizes for a second. “Yeah, that’s right. He was furious when he didn't get that free pizza.”

“Furious enough, for murder!”, Mabel adds on dramatically.

“Oh, you mean Manly Dan?”, Soos clarifies the lumberjack’s identity. “Yeah, he hangs out at this crazy intense biker joint downtown.”

“Then that's where we're going.”, Mabel declares with a fist pump.

“Dude, this is awesome.”, Soos chuckles, sharing some of Mabel’s excitement. “You two are like: The Mystery Twins!”

Dipper frowns at the name the handyman offered. “Don't call us that.”

After getting the information they needed, the Pine Twins walk outside about to the downtown area to where the biker joint. Before they reach it, Dipper and Mabel see their grunkle pulling a coffin out the trunk of his car. “Hey, give me a hand with this coffin, will ya?”, Stan asks. “I'm doin' a memorial service for wax Stan. Something small, but classy.”

“Sorry, Grunkle Stan.”, Dipper apologizes. “But we have got a big break in the case!”

“Break in the case!”, Mabel echoes.

“We're heading to the town right now to interrogate the murderer.”

“And we have an axe!”, Mabel shows off the axe, waving it a bit with a gaudy smile.

“Hm, seems like the kind of thing that responsible parents wouldn't want you to do…”, Stan thinks for a moment. “Good thing I'm an uncle. Avenge me kids! AVENGE ME!!”

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Skull Fracture is the only biker bar of Gravity Falls, fitting for the most masculine of individuals to hangout. The outer appearance is enough for the normal person to steer clear from, especially with the large bouncer at the front. It’s why Dipper and Mabel are peering around the corner of the tavern, measuring the difficulty of their current situation.

“This is the place.” Dipper examines, still feeling a bit nervous on getting caught. He turns his head to Mabel. “Got the fake IDs?” She gives him an ID card for him, but he’s not sure that this would work because the card looks hooky at best. It’s made by unlamented cardstock along with crayons and glitter.

“Is this the best you can make, Mabel?”, he asks, still looking at the ID with uncertainty.

“C’mon, Dipper.”, Mabel pouts. “It’s gonna work.”

“Here goes nothing.”, the young Pine sighs, bracing himself for the worst as they both head to the front of the tavern's entrance, where the bouncer is standing.

“We're here to interrogate Manly Dan, the lumber jack for the murder of wax Stan.”, Mabel speaks with a level of professionalism that it’s a bit jarring. “I believe our ID’s can provide proof for you, good sir.” They present their ID’s to the bouncer who stares at them, before shrugging.

“Works for me.”, he responds stoically as he opens the door, though Dipper is a little surprised that it worked. As they head inside, they understand why this tavern is called Skull Fracture. Men are either throwing fists at each other, arguing with each other, smoking, or sitting at the bar drinking some beer. Dipper and Mabel walk inside, looking around before motioning for his sister to follow him.

Mabel almost trips over an unconscious body and steps over it. She stops at a moment to stare at the body. “He's resting.”, she reassures to herself before catching up with her brother, who looks around and finds Manly Dan at the arm wrestling machine.

“Alright, let's just try to blend in, ok?”, Dipper asks as he heads towards the lumberjack. “I’m going to interrogate the suspect.”

Mabel gives him a thumbs-up before climbing onto a chair and talks to one of the patrons. “Hey there, fellow restaurant patron!”, she greets the gritty man with a cheery tone before patting him on the arm, ignoring his growl of aggravation. Dipper, meanwhile, passes through the patrons before reaching Manly Dan.

“Manly Dan, just the guy I wanted to see.”, Dipper speaks with nonchalance. “Where were you last night?”

“Punchin' the clock.”, Manly Dan grunts, holding on to the mechanical arm with veins popping.

“Oh, so you were at work?”

“No, I was punchin' that clock!”, Manly Dan growls as he points to a broken clock outside, which appears broken and at an odd angle.

“10 o'clock, the time of the murder.”, Dipper hums, looking at the time on the broken clock, which is at 10, in consternation.“So, I guess you've never seen this before?” He pulls out the axe from his bag and shows it to the lumberjack.

“Listen, little girl!” Manly Dan starts.

“Hey, actually I'm a--”

“I wouldn't pick my teeth with that ax. It's left handed! I only use my right hand, the MANLY HAND!!”, Manly Dan rips the machine's arm off and beats the machine with it.

Dipper looks at the axe. “Left handed.” He decides to go and catch his sister before they both head outside to assess what he learned.

“It's a left handed ax.” Dipper confirms as he shows Mabel a list of possible suspects from Stan’s unveiling. “These are all our suspects. Manly Dan is right handed, that means all we have to do is find our left handed suspect and we've got our killer.”

“Oh man, we are on fire today!” Mabel exclaims with a lot of zeal.

“That we are.”, he responds, feeling some of her excited energy. “Now let's find that murderer.” He shares Mabel’s look of confidence as they share a fist bump. They start out looking around town to find their ideal suspects: they first start at the junkyard, where they see Old Man McGucket wrestling with a baby alligator. Mabel waves and the old kook waves back with his right hand with the baby gator biting on it. Afterwards, Dipper, wearing a fake mustache, delivers a package to Pizza Guy's house. Pizza Man signs Dipper's form and gets excited, only for Dipper to take the package and leave. On the other side of the road, Mabel notices the angry lady and whistles to get her attention before throwing a baseball at her. She catches it with her right hand and crushes it. Later on, the twins find another suspect who was at the unveiling. They knock on his door, only for him to come out with both hands in casts. So far most the people on the list were all right-handed. It seems like they aren’t close at all.

Except for one suspect.

Dipper gasps as looks for the final suspect on the list. “Mabel, there's only one person left on this list.”

“Of course, it all adds up!”, Mabel realizes as well.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

It's nightfall as the cops and the Pine Twins head to the front door of Gravity Falls Gossiper. It took some convincing but Dipper were able to convince them that their number one suspect was responsible for the murder.

"You kids better be right about this or you'll never get the end of it.", Blubs warns them, hoping to be right so he could tease the city boy.

“The evidence is irrefutable, officers.”, Dipper responds.

“It's so irrefutable.” Mabel adds, waving her hand.

“I'm gonna get to use my match stick!”, Durland giggles in excitement as he waves his batton around.

“You ready? You ready little fella?”, Blubs askes, sharing his partner’s zealous energy as they hit each other playfully with batons, barely able to contain themselves.

“On 3!”, Dipper starts, before counting. “1, 2…”

Before he can finish, the officers break down the door, barging in with a unified shout with the Pine Twins behind them. “Nobody move!”, Blubs shouts with authority. “This is a raid!”

As his office gets invaded, Toby slips and falls down, yelling in surprise. “What is this? Some kind of raid?”, he asks needlessly.

“Toby Determined, you're under arrest for murder of the wax body of Grunkle Stan.”, Dipper declares confidently.

“You have the right to remain impressed with our awesome detective work.”, Mabel adds on, smugly grinning as she high fives Dipper.

“Gobbling goose feathers! I don't understand!”, Toby exclaims, flustered by what’s going on.

“Then allow me to explain.”, Dipper starts with a confident smile on his face as Mabel holds a newspaper with a picture of Wax Stan's head. “You were hoping that Grunkle Stan's new attraction would be the story that saved your failing newspaper. But when the show was a flop, you decided to go out and make your own headline. But you were sloppy, and all the clues pointed to a shabby shoed reporter who was caught left handed.”

“Toby Determined, you're yesterday's news.”, Mabel concludes as she crumples up the newspaper.

Toby Boy, your little knees must be sore…”, the journalist starts, frowning. “From jumping to conclusions.” He finishes his proud remark before doing a little dance at the kids detective work. “I had nothing to do with that murder.”

“HA! I knew it-wait, come again?”, Dipper exclaims before realizing what he just said. “Nothing? D-did you just say nothing?” He’s genuinely confused about what Toby just said. How could he not be the suspect when all of the evidence points to him?

“Huh? What? Could you repeat that?”, Mabel asks, sharing her brother’s confusion.

“Then where were you at the night of the break-in?”, Blubs asks, wanting to know the truth as well as Deputy Durland.

“Ehh…”, Toby tugs on his shirt collar nervously before inserting a tape into a TV. It opens with him looking around, hoping no would notice what he’s doing before taking a cardboard cutout of Shandra Jimenez out of his closet. “Finally, we can be alone, cardboard cutout of TV news reporter Shandra Jimenez!”, he swoons affectionately before he kisses it, making everyone cringe in disgust from what they’re witnessing.

“Welp, timestamp confirms it.”, Blubs concludes. “Toby, you're off the hook. You freak of nature.”

“Hooray!”, Toby cheers, even though the tape is still playing.

“But, but it has to be him!”, Dipper argues, hoping that his hard work doesn’t end in failure.“Check the ax for fingerprints!”

The cops do so, dusting the weapon for any fingerprints, except there isn’t any on it. “Sorry, kid”, Sheriff Blubs shook his head. “No prints at all.”

“No prints?”, Dipper is confused by what he’s heard. There’s no prints on the ax?

Durland “Hey I got a headline for you: city kids waste everyone's time.”, taunts making the adults laugh, making Dipper and Mabel feel more embarrassed than they already are. They put so much effort into finding the culprit and from what they gathered, it seemed like the evidence was pointing to Toby Determined. But, they were wrong. It feels like the case itself is unsolvable.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Later on today, Grunkle Stan arranges a funeral for his wax counterpart in the parlor. He is standing on a stage with a bunch of chairs set up with Dipper, Mabel, Soos, and the wax figures as the audience.

“Kids, Soos, lifeless wax figures, thank you all for coming.”, Stan thanks, solemnly before continuing. “Some people might say it's wrong for a man to love a wax replica of himself.”

“They're wrong!”, Soos exclaims as he stands up.

“Easy Soos.”, Stan responds, he understands the handyman’s sentiments. He looks at his headless wax replica, feeling a sob coming up as he continues. “Wax Stan, I hope you're picking pockets in wax heaven.” The conman sniffles, wiping his eye. “I'm sorry, I got glitter in my eye!” He runs out, not able to finish the eulogy without feeling grief.

“Ohhhhh duuuude…”, Soos cries out as he runs after his, trying to console him. There’s nothing but silence as it’s just the Pine Twins and the wax figures left in attendance. Dipper and Mabel look solemnly at the casket the headless Wax Stan is in, reminding them of their failure at finding the murderer. This realization makes Dipper slump into his seat, sighing.

“Those cops are right about me. About us.”, Dipper mutters in disappointment and defeat.

“But Dipper, we've come so far, we can't give up now.”, Mabel encourages as she gives her brother a smile.

“Mabel, we’ve considered everything: the weapon, the motive, the clues.”, he insists as he stands up and walks to the coffin. “We looked at every perspective and there was nothing but dead ends.” When the case first started, Dipper thought he and Mabel could solve this easily. They had the clues, the potential candidates for the murderer, and the solid idea for a motive of the murder. But now, he’s not so sure anymore and can’t reach any conclusion. There are too many loose ends to this mystery.

That is until he notices something, something he didn’t see during their investigation. “That’s weird”, Dipper notes, as he stares at the wax rendition’s shoes. “Wax Stan's shoe has a hole in it.”

“Well, yeah. All the wax guys have that.”, Mabel answers, following her brother to the casket with the ax in her hand. “It's where the pole thingy attaches to their stand dealy.”

“Wait a minute, what has a hole on its shoe and no fingerprints?”, Dipper mutters to himself. He slowly realizes something. Despite the fact that his previous suspect had a hole in his shoe along with being left handed. But there’s an additional piece of evidence that’s to be considered: There’s no fingerprints. And there's someone or, something, that has none.

“Uh...Dipper”, Mabel asks, confused by her brother’s silence.

“Mabel.”, Dipper starts as he looks at his sister. “The murderers are--”

“Standing right behind you?”

The Pine Twins gasp in surprise as they turn around and see something that defies logic: all the wax figures rise up, either scowling with hatred or smiling in malicious intent as they creeped closer towards the stunned children until they’re blocked off from any escape. The lineup of wax figures include Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, Genghis Khan, Larry King, Coolio (?), and Sherlock Holmes, who is holding up the decapitated head of Wax Stan. A wax replica of Lizzie Borden takes the ax from a terrified mabel before Wax Sherlock begins.

“Congratulations, my two amuetur slueths”, he patronizes as he tosses Wax Stan’s head up and down like a ball. “You've discovered our little secret.” He turns towards his wax comrades, who sneer at the Pine Twins. “Applaud, everyone. Applaud sarcastically.”

The wax figures collectively do so, mocking the children with sneers etched onto their faces, but Sherlock admonishes him. “Uh, no, that sounds too sincere. Slow clap, please.” The figures slow down their clapping so it may appear prominently more sarcastic. “There we go. Nice and condescending.”

“H-how is this possible?”, Dipper asks, baffled by what’s going on. “You're made of wax.”

“Are you magic”, Mabel gasp, curiously.

“Are we magic?” Wax Sherlock laughs with a sneer. “She wants to know if we're magic!” He keeps chuckling before slamming his fist down on the casket, jolting Dipper and Mabel. “We're CURSED!”

“CURSED!”, the wax figures repeat.

“Cursed to come to life whenever the moon is waxing.”, Wax Sherlock explains, walking near the fireplace.“Your uncle bought us many years ago at a garage sale.”

“A haunted garage sale, son!”, Wax Coolio adds.

“Quite.”, Wax Sherlock agrees before continuing. “And so, the Mystery Shack Wax Collection was born. By day, we would be the playthings of man.”

“But when your uncle went to sleep, we would rule the night.”, Wax Coolio interjects again.

“It was a charmed life for us cursed beings…”, Wax Sherlock speaks, with a tone of reminiscent before turning cold. “That is, until your uncle closed up shop. We've been waiting ten years to get our revenge on Stan for locking us away. But we got the wrong guy.”

“So you were going to kill Grunkle Stan for real”, Dipper asks, completely shocked by what he’s heard.

“You were right, Dipper.”, Mabel says. “Wax figures are creepy.”

“Enough!”, Wax Sherlock silences them. “Now that you know our secret, you must die.” Wax Sherlock, along with the rest of the wax figures, rolls his eyes to the back of his head. The wax figures growl intimidatingly as they get closer to the Pine Twins.

Mabel looks at her brother, who activates the Omnitrix. Dipper tries to select the right alien as the wax figures get close while Mabel attempts to distract them by throwing items from the small refreshment table. It does little to no effect before she throws a pot of coffee at the face of Wax Genghis Khan, who screams in pain.

“That’s it. We can melt them with hot, melty things”, Mabel realizes.

“Hot, melty things”, Dipper repeats before an idea pops up into his head. “That’s it!” He turns the dial to get his designated alien. In a flash of emerald light, stunning Mabel and the wax statues, Dipper’s body begins to morph: He feels his body developing chlorophyll as his feet become roots, his oxygen molecules shift to methane, easy for ignition. His shoulders develop red flowers.

Dipper becomes a Methonisian: a humanoid, plant-like alien that has an overall green and black colored body, mostly with a red flame-patterned head and root-like feet, seemingly holding black rocks. His eyes are oval-shaped with points at each end with pupils copying the shape but are smaller. Also, his shoulders and head have red petals and his elbows and legs have green frills sticking out. This alien is taller than an average human and has a distinct rotten stench that worsens with heat.

“Swampfire!”, the altered Pine shouts. Mabel looks at her brother in awe, he finds a new transformation that looks very cool but she notices something when she smells him.

“Ugh. Dipper you stink.”, Mabel holds her nose in disgust.

“That’s because my body is emitting methane fumes.”, Swapfire answers.

“Just take a shower when this is over.”, she begs as she grabs two decorative candles.

“The stink would probably go away when I transform back but okay.”, he answers, igniting his fists which causes the wax figures to step back even further. “Any one of you moves and we'll melt you!”

“With some fire and decorative candles!”, Mabel declares.

“Do you really think you could beat us with candles and by becoming a giant flaming weed?”, Wax Sherlock asks, his tone incredulous at the idea of these kids defeating despite them having the advantage.

“I mean….I can make flames outta my hands and she's got candles. So...”, Swampfire shrugs.

“Yeah, it’s kind off a no-brainer.”, Mabel points out.

“So be it.”, Wax Sherlock answers before shouting. “ATTACK!” The wax figures and the Pine Twins charge, ready for battle.

Wax Lizzie Borden swings her ax at Mabel, but accidentally decapitates Wax Robin Hood. Mabel walks around her, but Wax Shakespeare sneaks up behind her. Mabel cuts off his hands with both candles, and he runs away in cowardice. Wax Shakespeare's hands, however, move and begin strangling Mabel. She grabs a door and repeatedly smashes it on its fingers.

A couple of wax figures tackle Swampfire to the ground before dogpiling him, but since he has the strength advantage, he’s able to get them off of him through powering out, making the wax figures fly across the room in different directions. After doing that, he avoids being grabbed from behind by Wax Larry King before delivering a fiery chop that decapitates his head. “Interview this, Larry King!”

“My neck! My beautiful neck!”, Wax Larry King cries out, running away.

Wax Groucho growls as he charges towards Swampfire, but the altered Pine is ready as he blasts the wax figure in his stomach with a massive fireball causing both halves to slowly slip off.

“Jokes on you, Groucho!”, Swampfire quips.

“I heard of an empty stomach but this is ridiculous.”, Wax twiddling his fingers a bit as the top half of his body slid off of the lower half. “Hey, why is there nothing in my hand?”

Swampfire turns around to see Wax Genghis Khan charging at him and simply sidesteps him, making the wax figure run into the fireplace.

“Ha, Genghis Khan! You fell harder than the... uh... ”, Swampfire declares before getting confused. “I don't know, uh, Jin Dynasty? Heh. Yeah. Alright. ”

Mabel swings around Wax Coolio's head while getting overwhelmed by wax figures.

“Dipper! Watch out!”, Mabel calls out to her transformed brother. He blasts Wax Richard Nixon out the room before turning around to Wax Sherlock Holmes behind him.

“Alright. Let’s get this taken care of.”, Wax Sherlock says, putting Wax Stan's head on the horn of a rhino on the wall, and grabs a sword hanging on it. He then swings the blade and it slices Swampfire’s off. The wax figure seems pleased before his eyes narrow in annoyance and confusion as the altered Pine grows another arm. Swampfire ignites his fists and starts swinging at Wax Sherlock, who in turn uses the sword defensively while delivering more hits to the alien. This continues until they reach the attic.

"Once your family is out of the way, we’ll rule the night once more!", Wax Sherlock declares, raising his sword planning to slice Swampfire’s head clean off.

I can't deliver a massive fire attack in this area, Swampfire thinks. The best course is….He quickly turns to see the window. There!

"Don’t count on it!", Swampfire retorts, kicking Wax Sherlock down the stairs before opening the window to get outside. He climbs up to the top sign of the Mystery Shack and waits near the edge to hear Wax Sherlock Holmes coming up to finish him off.

"You think you can outwit me, freak?!", Wax Sherlock asks in aggravation as the figure climbs up. "I’m Sherlock Bloody Holmes!" He looks ready to slice up the alien boy until he reaches the top sign. But he realizes his mistake as Swampfire holds both hands out to deliver an attack.

“Burn.”, Swampfire declares before blasting a stream of flames that seems to have melted the wax figure. He moves forward to the spot where Wax Sherlock was standing. He looks from his left and his right, hoping to find any evidence that he melted the wax figure. Honestly, where did he-

Out of nowhere, Wax Sherlock appears between the top and bottom sign to deliver a hard elbow strike to Swampfire’s face. This causes him to tumble on the other side of the roof, rolling on the surface and grabbing onto the edge of it to prevent himself from falling down. He looks down at the ground below before gulping, he knows that these aliens are tough but he still doesn't feel comfortable at the aspect of falling.

The sudden sound of scraping alerts the altered Pine to see Wax Sherlock Holmes, despite having one arm that’s mostly melted off, brandishing the sword with a hateful scowl on his face. He stops on top of the chimney and for additional cruelty, steps on Swampfire’s hands, eliciting a grunt of pain from him.

“Any last requests”, Wax Sherlock asks as he holds the sword, ready to finish the job of killing this freak.

Swampfire turns his head slightly to see the sky brightening up a bit, making him have a small grin of victory. “You got any sunscreen?”

“Sunscree-?”, Wax Sherlock looks confused before he realizes his hand is melting. “What?!” He gasps in horror at the sight of the warm, summer sun rising up.

“No.”, Wax Sherlock says placidly, despite his wax body melting in the heat.

“Yeah, it really wasn’t very sharp of you to let me lead you out here.”, Swampfire replies, confidently.

“Outsmarted by a child in short pants! No!”, Wax Sherlock exclaims in frustration and agony as the sun reaches even higher. “Fiddlesticks! Humbugs! Tiiter, total kerfuffle. Butter hallabaloo.” He continues cursing until he becomes a puddle with only his head holding some shape. Swampfire climbs up on the roof before sighing in relief. A certain ring from the Omnitrix emblem on his indicates that he’s going to turn back and in a flash of red light, Dipper becomes normal again.

“Case closed.”, Dipper declares in satisfaction, wiping the dust from his hands before he sneezes.

“You sneeze like a kitten!”, Wax Sherlock laughs, mockingly as his remains slip off the roof. “Those policemen were right, you're adorable! Adorable!” He declares his final word before falling down at the ground below in a splat.

“Ew.”, Dipper mutters in disgust.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Just as the battle on the roof is finished, so is Mabel’s in the parlor as she scoops all the remaining pieces of the wax figures with one more, Wax William Shakespeare’s living head.

“Though our group be left in twain, the men of wax shall rise again!”, Wax William declares though it reaches deaf ears as Mabel picks him up.

“Y’know any limericks?”, she asks curiously.

“Uh... there once was a dude from Kentucky…”, the wax figure attempts, weakly.

“Nope!”, Mabel concludes throwing his head into the fire before noticing her brother entering the parlor. “Dipper! You're okay! You solved the mystery after all.”

“I couldn't have done it without my sidekick.”, he says as he pulls up a chair and takes Wax Stan's head off the wall.

“No offense Dipper, but you're the sidekick.” Mabel informs him.

“What? Says who? Have people been saying that? Have you heard that?”, Dipper asks nervously before coming down.

“Eesh, which one of you broke wind-”, Stan comes into the parlor before screaming incredulously. “Hot Belgian Waffles!! What happened to my parlor?!” He sees the room cluttered with various wax parts on the floor.

“Your wax figures turned out to be evil, so we fought them to the death!”, Mabel answers, jovially.

“I decapitated Larry King.”, Dipper adds.

Stan stares at them for a minute before laughing at their ridiculous claim. “Ha ha! You kids and your imaginations!”

“On the bright side, though, look what we found.”, Dipper shows his grunkle’s wax replica’s head.

“My head! Ha ha! I missed this guy!”, Grunkle Stan beams happily. “You done good, kids! Alright, line up for some affectionate noogie-ing.” Dipper and Mabel try to protest but he just noogies them, all of them sharing a big laugh before a police car drives near the broken parlor window, Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland on the inside relaxing.

“Solved the case yet, boy?”, Sheriff Blubs asks, condescendingly. “ I'm so confident you're gonna say no, that I'm gonna take a long, slow sip from my cup of coffee.” He holds up his coffee and starts drinking really slowly to mock the Omnitrix-user.

“Actually, the answer is yes.”, Dipper answers, casually as he holds Wax Stan’s head. This causes Sheriff Blubs to choke on his coffee before spitting it in Durlands face, which leads to him screaming in pain and spitting the coffee back at Blubs’ face, making him scream in pain . This continues on until the drive away in pain from the scalding coffee before ending up crashing.

The Pines laugh at the spectacle, enjoying the catharsis of solving the case. “They got scalded.”, Stan quibs, chuckling.

“So, did you get rid of all the wax figures?” Dipper asks.

“I am ninety-nine percent sure that I did!”, Mabel answers with a confident grin.

“Good enough for me!”, Dipper concludes.

Little does she know, Mabel missed one. A headless Wax Larry King chuckles before chasing off after a rat that steals his ear.

#chapters #swampfire #dipper #mabel #stan #soos #omni falls #headhunters

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gayregis · 4 years

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Hi, just wanted to ask, how did you get into the witcher franchise (did you read the books before you played the games or vice versa?). Love your blog, byeeee :)

ty for the ask!! i hope you dont mind if i go too in-depth because i was legit thinking about this earlier today...

tldr: i played tw3 and liked it, then read the books

i got into the witcher because one of my favorite gaming youtubers was doing a playthrough of tw3 on youtube in around i think september 2017. i liked this specific gaming youtuber for being shit at games and not caring about it... but tw3 was a different game. it felt like the decisions mattered, that there was an actual story here, that when this youtuber made shitty decisions and didn’t really care about the characters involved, i got frustrated because this game seemed really good... so i picked up the game myself and played it though, it was magnificent. not to r/witcher “the witcher 3 is literally the best game created in this history of ever” but it was sincerely good... not only does it have a great story, characters, and graphics, but it is genuinely comfortable to play as a game, even if you’re not great at games (i like playing video games but i’m not good at them when it comes to combat, i literally just would prefer to hack and slash through). so, i played through tw3 and the fact that it made me cry multiple times i found to be really interesting... but it was still just a game to me, it wasn’t something i thought about when i have time to daydream headcanons. i had read i think the witcher (short story) halfway through playing, just to get a feel of what tw3 came from, but from that, i realized the books and the games were incredibly different entitities, and i decided to not read the books until i had finished the game, or at least until i had more free time on my hands (mind i was in high school and was a senior, and during this time was when i was submitting college applications... exceptionally stressful, and the reading/writing part of my brain was absolutely fried from essay writing and reviewing). i was particularly struck by geralt and ciri’s relationship and the isle of mists quests fucked me up pretty bad.

then around later 2017, i was really enjoying tw3, and had finished tw3′s base game and hearts of stone, and was now making my way into blood & wine. i was just playing it like normal, then came the part when geralt met regis. at first i wasn’t too interested (i mean, i was, but in the story of blood & wine, not in the books) until the little journal text pop-up appeared on my screen. you know, the one about quests you just received, or characters you just met. it was going through the motions of saying i finished this quest, picked up this new one, i was all like fine, fine, okay, alright, and then it just fucking puts regis’ long-ass name on the screen taking up a good amount of my FOV and i am immediately like, what? what the fuck? who the fuck? that’s the name? of the guy we just met? that guy??? he didn’t seem like someone with a name like that? who the fuck IS this guy.

so i head over to the wiki page for regis. i thumb through the basic information, i’m pretty interested, this quest stuff to find ciri sounds interesting. i decide to give the witcher books another try, because i have more free time now and am way more invested as everyone here as characters. also, i want to find out more about yennefer, because she was being badmouthed by everyone i saw online, and i wanted to read more about her and see if she was really so bad (spoilers: she’s not at all, the internet is just misogynistic).

i don’t think that i’m going to actually really care about these books, i just want more flavor and explanation about how in hell a witcher met a vampire and these two somehow became friends. so, i don’t care about reading them in order. i go online and find fan translations of every book, i open baptism of fire and i just start reading the bit about the fish soup. i’m suddenly just laughing my ass off, really interested in who these other characters are, milva and cahir, and how dandelion seems to actually be the best friend to geralt that he was said to be in tw3. i also notice immediately that geralt... oh my god, geralt’s such a cranky bitch. i’m SHOCKED at how annoying geralt is. i realize that this is probably what geralt’s been like, this whole time, and tw3 just gave me a sterilized version of him. i’m trying to decide if i like this change or not, at first i HATED it... but then realized it actually gave him a character, where in tw3 he feels a little more... empty, waiting for the player to project a personality onto him.

so, i just read all of the hansa bits of baptism of fire, skipping over anything i don’t understand. i am saddened when i can’t find any more, so i move onto tower of the swallow. and then lady of the lake. “oh, so that’s why geralt was surprised to see regis in blood & wine...” feeling at a loss after reading stygga, i start at the beginning and make my way through the books chronologically, like they should be read. i soon realize that this series really isn’t about killing monsters at all, and i’m thrilled. i thought the series was just going to be about geralt killing things in a swamp and reporting back to whoever hired him, like in tw3... and i was wrong. this series is about personal connections! relationships! ... and fatherhood. [see read more for personal junk]

i can’t remember when i started disliking tw3. it must have been around the time that i finished the books (im using the word finished loosely... i still havent finished some scenes because theyre too violent to read and continue with my day in peace, and i also read tos/lotl by skipping around, so i never got the full experience of reading them as full novels).

i just distinctly remember returning to my tw3 new game+ save after rereading the fish soup scene, and thinking about how lonely the game felt... i just felt so dispairingly alone, this loneliness that i hadn’t felt while playing before, that i had to put the game down. i returned to the game again, but i had just reread edge of the world... and i felt so alone again.

so reading the books ruined tw3 for me, not out of malicious intent, but just because i think i realized geralt isn’t meant to be the lone wolf. the novels center around him and his family and friends, and i just genuinely missed that when replaying tw3. plus, i began to realize a bunch of things, like ciri’s scar is supposed to be bigger, geralt’s supposed to wear his hair in a headband, yennefer’s hair is actually curly, dandelion’s supposed to actually be in the game. there were so many inconsistencies with the characters i had imagined while reading the books that eventually i just stopped playing tw3 (i already played it once, so nbd) and got really into the books.

sometime later i saved up like $80 to buy the paperback versions of the books (UK versions including season of storms) because i knew i was in really deep lol and i wanted the official translations super badly, also we were doing an assignment in class that allowed us to do something with our favorite book, but we needed to have it in-person and not as an e-book, so it was the perfect excuse. much time spent on hansa headcanons later and... here we are today.

a read-more, because this is more personal.

the witcher series picked me up at an eerily appropriate time. two things in it stood out to me: 1) geralt’s relationship with ciri 2) regis’s alcoholism.

i distinctly remember an event where i started crying in front of my parents because my dad was being so absent in my life or maybe it was because they were arguing, something like this... and i remember referencing tw3 isle of mists quest actually by saying “i shouldn’t have to learn it (good parenting) from a video game” ... lol. it wasn’t an epic burn from a 17 yo, but it was just a painful remark made in anger. i still think back to it because of how first watching geralt hug ciri made me feel and how i was actually really bitter because i was jealous of ciri for about a week after completing the quest. then i kind of pushed it out of my mind and didn’t think so much about it, until the night i mentioned it.

in late march of 2018, something very bad happened in my family. that’s probably the best way to describe it. the situation ended in my parents finally separating. my mom and i were pretty afraid and lost after that. after i had collected my thoughts and everything and went back to as “normal” as i could, about a month later, when the creative part of my brain finally began to function again and wasn’t inhibited due to fear, i clung to the witcher more than i did before... and this time, actually particularly to regis, because guess who has a whole redemption arc relating to not being alcoholic and being a genuinely good person who speaks gently and heals the vulnerable?

#anon #ask

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farfromsugafanfic · 5 years

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glitteringconstellations interview

Before we get started with the interview, do you mind introducing yourself (whatever name you are comfortable with) and telling us a little about yourself?

Hi everyone! I’m glitteringconstellations, Glitter or GC for short. I’ve been writing fanfiction for well over 15 years now, though I only started sharing it around 2005. I minored in Creative Writing in college and I love writing in pretty much any capacity! When I’m not headcanoning one new story or another, though, I’m either adulting (ugh, adulting) or playing video games. These days it’s mostly Skyrim. I’m fluent in Korean and passable in Japanese and Spanish. I drink way too much pop to be healthy and I hate most fruit (though, give me any kind of melon and I’ll be a happy girl). Oh, and I’m a fledgling figure skater! I’m just a hodgepodge of random hobbies haha!

Q1: What kind of fan fiction do you normally write? Have you ever written fan fiction for other fandoms other than your current one?

A1: I tend to gravitate toward angsty fics. It’s long been my outlet of frustration, to put the character I love in harm’s way. The more pain, the better, haha! Though I do love the hurt/comfort aspect of it. Recently (as in, the last year lmao) I’ve been writing for the Voltron fandom almost exclusively (and sometimes YURI!!! On Ice), but before that I was in the k-pop ficdom (Super Junior, for the most part) for a looooong time, nearly 10 years. I won’t be opening that particular can of worms, though--I have Feelings and Opinions lmao. Before that I jumped around from anime to anime.

Q2: I see in addition to fan fiction that you do commissioned fan art! I’m not an artist myself, so I find it really interesting and cool. Do you want to talk a bit about that? And, feel free to plug yourself!

A2: This is actually a common misconception--I can’t draw to save my life!! I took commissions for fan fiction back in late June as a last resort to pay my rent. Typically though I’m horrible on a deadline so I don’t like to do it too often because I feel terrible making my commissioners wait. The art you’re referring to is the comic spread for The Parting Glass, if I’m not mistaken? I actually commissioned another artist by the name of Cota (@ccooooostuff on tumblr, go check her out she’s amazing at what she does and super sweet!) for that comic with the money I got for my birthday this year.

Q3: Do you write anything outside of fan fiction?

A3: I do! I journal a lot, or I try to anyway. This year I’m hoping to tackle an original novel for Nanowrimo, but more than likely, that particular project will start as fanfiction and we’ll see if I turn it into original fiction or not. I spend more time thinking about the things I want to write than… actually… writing them lolsob. My notes will be this gigantic document but when it comes to putting things together in a cohesive manner? Haaaaaa….haha…. The blinking cursor mocks me, I swear.

Q4: I see on your profile that you are 26. I think when most people think of fan fiction writers they think of someone younger, usually a teenager. Do you encounter younger writers a lot? What do you think of this assumption?

A4: I do encounter younger writers a lot! Surprisingly, though, most writers I know are either in their late 20s or late late teens (say, 15~19). Most people tend to think I’m young anyway just because I look a lot younger than 26, but as far as fandom goes, it doesn’t really bother me if people think I’m younger than I am. Usually I’m pretty forward with how old I am on my profile anyway! But yeah, I’ve been around the fanfiction scene a while. The k-pop fandom in particular had a way of reminding me just how long on a pretty frequent basis lol.

Q5: Why did you begin writing fan fiction? If it was for a fandom, why did that particular thing make you begin writing? And, for your current fandoms?

A5: I used to tell myself stories to get to sleep or on long car trips as far back as I can remember, and most of the time they involved characters from my favorite shows of the day. Pokemon and Digimon were two big ones for me before I hit those fun preteen years. As far as what got me started actually putting those stories to paper, it was born of frustration with shows not going the way I wanted them to, so I’d write the ending I wanted to see. For Voltron in particular, it’s just SUCH a fun sandbox to play in, be it by utilizing the incredible world-building or the plethora of interesting characters to play around with. So many possibilities! *3*

Q6: Do you ever want to be published in a professional capacity one day?

A6: Yes and no. I flip flop on this ALL the time. I’d LOVE to see my stories on shelves, but I’m actually very insecure and sometimes the thought of people reading my stories makes me want to die of embarrassment and sink to the center of the earth. That said, if I win Nano this year, I may run it by some publishers, even if only to get feedback. (Although if you want to get TECHNICAL I am officially a published journalist; I was an assistant editor for one of The Big 3 kpop news sites for a while. The one that starts with S. Also another can of worms.)

Q7: Has writing fan fiction taught you anything? About writing? Reading? The fandom? Etc.

A7: Oh absolutely. I definitely would not be the writer I am today without fan fiction. I wouldn’t say I’m super skilled, but the critique I’ve received over the years has helped me more than I have words for, honestly. Not even just in the capacity of writing fiction; my academic and professional writing has improved too. Also, just like reading anything in high volume, reading fanfic has helped me learn to read like a writer, how to pick out things that authors do that I admire and try to emulate that, and conversely what doesn’t work for me so I can avoid those things.

As far as fandom goes, fanfiction can be quite polarizing, as I’m sure you’re well aware. Just in my experience by and large it can be kind of toxic, to be quite honest. The particular issue Voltron faces that I experienced to some extent in other fandoms but not quite to this degree, is fandom policing. I find that certain members of the fandom (which, in my experience, tends to actually be mostly among those younger demographics, though not exclusively so) see certain topics as morally wrong and therefore anyone who writes those topics are 1) romanticizing said topic and 2) automatically a disgusting, horrible person and they have no problems telling you about all about it. The number one thing I try to put out there in my interactions is live and let live, ship and let ship. If it makes you uncomfortable, that’s okay! But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wrong, and it’s definitely not okay to go around purporting hate in the name of “morality.” Sorry, didn’t mean to go off on a tangent there haha...

Q8: What is a piece you’ve written that you’re most proud of?

A8: Just in the Voltron fandom, I’d say the fic I’m most proud of is The Parting Glass, by far. Funny story about that one; I’d never heard the titular song before I came across a cover of it on Facebook one day around St. Patrick’s Day, and let me tell you something. The reaction I had was almost a spiritual experience, it was so visceral. I was in tears when I heard it, and the story came so hard and so fast that I wrote it in 2 days. It stayed with me until I got it down in writing. It was an interesting challenge for me, exploring the grief part of a character death fic while almost entirely omitting the actual dying part. It’s been a very long time since I’ve had such a vivid vision of exactly how a fic is going to go from start to finish and I’m quite happy with the way it turned out. Which is why, when I had the money to do so, I commissioned Cota to illustrate what had to be the hardest and yet my favorite part to write. She brought the scene to life so beautifully too, I’m really happy with how it turned out. Months later I still go back and stare at it!

Q9: Do you notice any stigma surrounding fan fiction or fan fiction writers?

A9: Without a doubt. People hear “fanfiction” and they think one of two things: the pudgy neckbeard who lives in his parents’ basement, or the rabid tween/teenage fangirl. It’s a rather unfortunate stereotype, because some works of fanfiction are truly works of art, more masterfully crafted than some novels I’ve seen published. Yet they get dismissed simply on the basis of being fanworks and not “original” (which, let’s be real, nothing is truly original anymore). One such example that comes to mind of a beautiful fic is those glittering instruments in the EXO fandom, which was based on the real-life destruction of the Library of Alexandria. If you can find a copy of it floating around the interwebs I HIGHLY recommend giving it a chance no matter what fandom you’re in!

Q10: If so, how do you feel about this stigma?

A10: Like I said, it’s really a shame. The thing, too, is that as young girls we’re often shamed for the things we’re passionate about, like boy bands and, well, fan fiction, while boys don’t get that kind of shame to such an intense degree (at least, not about the usual suspects, like sports and girls and such). Not to say that it doesn’t happen, but there’s something terribly sad about seeing more young people afraid to talk about a hobby that makes them happy because they’re afraid of being perceived as weird or gross or something like that. Hell, even to this day I have very few friends from outside the fandom sphere that know I write fanfiction, because they still talk bad and make mean jokes about fic writers. It’s such a silly thing, because a lot of famous works are derivative fiction and people don’t even realize it! So I hope the day comes soon that we can get over this silly stigma and just enjoy what people share (for free!! Seriously!! FULL NOVEL LENGTH WORKS. For FREE.)

Q11: Is there anything you’ve ever wanted to talk about or be asked that no one has asked you about or given you the opportunity to talk about? (And if so, feel free to answer/talk about it).

A11: I really had to think about this one! I couldn’t really pick one topic that I’ve really wanted to talk about that I haven’t already discussed, but no one has ever asked me if I was okay with having fanart of my work. Which I would answer with a resounding YES. I am more than okay with it QuQ

Oh, I guess I do have something!! It’s unrelated to writing (well, I guess it could be related, depending on how you look at it) but since I have your attention, if you’re an American citizen GO OUT AND VOTE. The midterm elections are one week from today in the USA and it’s important you go vote!! I won’t tell you who to vote for (a third can of worms I’m not opening up. WHY DO I HAVE SO MANY WORMS) but I assure you, your vote matters, now more than ever. I believe in you!! Go vote!!!

Q12: What is your prefered site for writing/posting fan fiction?

A12: These days I prefer to use AO3. It’s a work in progress, but it’s far and away the superior fic platform of the time. Back in ye olden days (circa 2010~2012) Livejournal was my platform of choice, and FF.net before that. A surprising number of people prefer to post their fic on tumblr, to which I say, are you out of your flipping MIND?!?! Tumblr is soooo temperamental, I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had to restart a post or go into the HTML editor because the rich text editor decided to be stupid. Noooooo thank you. I’ll stick to AO3 thanks ahaha!

Check out Glitter’s Tumblr and AO3.

Interviewer Note: Glitter used her free question to encourage everyone to vote and I would just like to stress the importance of this, especially if live in the US. Young people are the demographic that votes the least, despite being the demographic that will have to live the longest with the outcome of the vote. If you are currently not registered, please register as it is important for all of our futures. And, remember the deadline for the upcoming US election is Nov. 6th, so make sure to get to those polls and/or turn/send in your ballot. If you need information on how to do any of these things, do not hesitate to reach out to my page and I will point you to trustworthy resources.

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hidden-otaku-stuff · 4 years

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(1) Hello I am back!! I'm sorry it's been long, these past couple of weeks have had me swamped with homework :( and yet I still didn't do it all 🤡 also get ready for a bunch of messages because 1.) responses and 2.) my thoughts on Lockscreens. Spoiler: I am Emotional haha. Aww, thank you :') I used to think it was weird to give yourselves nicknames but I'm past that now haha. Another one I go by sometimes is "Lizard" because I stick my tongue out a lot when I'm talking??

(2) and people think I'm cold blooded because I get really cold easily and like to bask in the sun. I mostly just did traditonal sketches and a lot of screencap redraws. I want to get into art again, but I'm taking it slow for now and focusing more on my writing. And I feel that too LOL. I'm going to start a blog dedicated to reblogging x reader fics that I like because I'm too embarrassed to do so on my main blog (I tell all of your followers 🤡)

hey Honeymoon! as long as you’re taking care of yourself, that’s all I care about 💞 i’m gonna post my responses into two parts. a Lockscreens segment after you send in the rest of your thoughts and a get-to-know-you part for now!

(also I’M FROM CA TOO AND WHY ON EARTH ARE YOU SENDING ME MESSAGES AT 3AM OML)

ngl, i feel like the best person to give you a nickname is yourself! i jokingly gave myself the nickname ‘Daddy’ and that’s literally become my “rave” personality LMAO. but i can understand why some people think it’s weird 🤷 honestly lizard is a bad-ass nickname !! i’m the same way - being in the cold makes me sooo sleepy and i’d rather bask in the sun 😂

i’d love to see your artwork or writing sometime! please feel free to send it over 🥰

(3) Honestly even with all my issues it's kind of nice being a hopeless romantic! Like you said it gives me the chance to day dream haha. Maybe I have my head in the clouds a lot but sometimes it's nice to be there. There's so many, but I think it's a tie between enemies to lovers and friends to lovers. I love the drama and comedy from the former but I'm so Soft for the latter, and that's highkey how I want my relationship to start.

(4) I think building that bond with someone before you even start dating them is really sweet, and having that connection by the time you commit to each other is 💓 I'm sorry you've been having writers block, that's the worst :( if it helps, the past two chapters have turned out amazing, I love them so much!! I think the closest I got to hardcore shipping something that wasn't canon was RinHaru? But there was also a lot of tension and affection in their relationship so I could see it being canon

there’s nothing wrong with having dreams! just so long as you can ground yourself at the end of the day.

enemies to lovers is always the funniest for me to read TBH. because it’s such an inevitable cliche haha. friends to lovers though -- oooo my heart.

the best relationships start with friendship. it’s the most authentic imo. like for me, it’s exhausting bearing my heart open to new people each time i want to get involved with someone romantically. but having someone who already knows you inside out??? swoon. what about a trope you dislike?

ah tyty, i’m glad you enjoyed them! the writers’ block wasn’t too bad for these chapters. i’ve had them typed up for a few weeks now :’)

rinharu is so cute though! but Harukoto (or whatever the ship name is tbh) is super cute too. but maybe i just really like the best friend to lovers trope LMAO

(5) I just looked at their insta and !!!!!!!!!! that's so cute! I like bokuaka but I've never looked into it as much as others, but their art made me have Feelings lol. I think that is a good view to have on family tbh. I've developed a relationship with my blood family and we're close, but there's something special about the relationships and love you have for people you choose to stay with. I love Tiana!! I think she's a really underrated Disney character :(

(6) She really encompasses Disney's message of working hard to achieve your dreams, and she's a strong, independent woman without being closed off and rejecting her feelings. I think it's so cute and cool that she had that much of an impact on you :D Oof, I get that 💀. Men are gross 🤢 I don't get it very often because I live in SoCal and tbh to a lot of other people brown just equals mexican lol. They're right but I really don't look full mexican. Portuguese and Islander people can tell though

bokuaka art makes me have ~ feelings ~ i also really like @/liann1009 and @/maddox_rider on IG! (tbh idk if they have a tumblr whoops) liann1009 does a lot of OiHina whereas maddox_rider does bokuaka which is ridiculously cute too 🥰

DUDE OMG YES!!! Tiana and Kita (from Atlantis) are under-rated QUEENS who deserved better!! we need representation out here in this b*tch!!!

idek why, but some people think i look hispanic 🙃 but yes bby, men are gross and should be better!! i have yet to meet a man who deserves to stand on equal ground to me, imma be real. (2d men don’t count but y’know). does it bother you when people mistake your ethnicity?

(7) Thank you!! Ngl it's kind of scary wondering about what the industry is going to be like because I'm sure I will run into a lot of biased people and sources, but learning to navigate that is just part of the job. Of course there's people who will read biased sources and attack you too, but you can't always escape those people :/ and thank you love, you're so sweet 💕 That's really admirable! It takes a lot of work and creativity to start a business, I'm sure you'll be successful 😊

(8) what kind were you thinking of? and psych is super cool too! Having that understanding of people and the world can be really eye opening and fun :D It's okay, he was one of my favorite teachers but looking back he was an asshole. He had his good/funny moments and did a lot for me, but he also abused some of editors in my journalism class, and some friends of mine :/ He wouldn't appreciate their work, sometimes insult them, and even encouraged my friend to not sleep for the sake of the paper

i’m positive that you’ll do just fine once you get out there! it seems like you have a pretty thick skin :)

i really wanted to open a business to help support under-represented groups receive an education - with major focus on minority groups such as orphans/foster children, veterans, and the homeless. there’s so much logistics that tbh i’m too ~stressed~ to think about so i’m tabling that for awhile :’)

bruhhh fuck that teacher. drop his addy, i just wanna talk real q 💞 if you can’t support all of your students, then there is no point in being a professor!! there is literally 0 reason to be rude when you’re in a position of power, especially when it involves someone’s passion, career, and/or education.

(9) I just remembered that there's a limit to how many asks you can send in a certain amount of time so if these suddenly stop I'm sorry! I'll come back when I can haha. I wouldn't say I'm all that great tbh, but I'm proud of a lot of my works LOL. My favorite part about it is using makeup and tools to just turn into something else. Wounds are always fun, but making yourself a gargoyle or some other creature is what makes it so interesting to me.

(11) I'm OBSESSED with the makeup and costumes from LOTR. It's my biggest inspiration. I can go on about it haha. That's so cool!! Being a part of the whole production, especially all sides to it, sounds so fun. Do you have any favorite memories from your time in high school? I'd love to hear them if you have any :O Confession: I have never seen any of those asdfkljvk. I know I really should though and it's on my to do list ! I've heard really great things about all of them !

imma be real, i didnt know there was a limits on asks LMAO. i did hear that they sometimes get eaten though, so i really hope that doesn’t happen 😅

we all start somewhere. your first step will never look like someone else’s, nor should it. as long as it’s something that you can look back upon and be proud of and know that you’ve grown from, that’s all that matters!

just imagining someone using makeup to turn themselves into a gargoyle has my head spinning 🤣 like ya girl can barely do her eye-makeup, let alone anything as intense as that! what’s been the most difficult project?

DUDE, I LOVE MEDIEVAL-HISTORICAL WORKS! like the dresses from that Mary from Reign wears has my heart so softtttt. dfsnosdf. please!! tell me some of your fav things about LOTR 💖

omg high-school was so long ago, i don’t think i have any favorite memories from it 🙃 i think the opening night of a production would be the best. listening to the audiences reactions as the performers left their hearts on-stage, seeing all the pieces fall together, that was always absolutely incredible. wbu, what did you enjoy about hs?

i have very strong opinions on those musicals LMAO. i can talk about them forever 🤩

#skye's asks #firebonbon

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bughead-fic-request · 7 years

Text

I would like to thank @leaalda for making these amazing banners.

This is an effort to spread the word about all fan fiction writers in our little fandom. If you would like to be featured or nominate a writer, please contact me. Please reblog this post if you can and check out some of @fxyeahriverdale work!

1. First things first, if someone wanted to read your stories where can they find them.

Archive Of Our Own (AO3) my username is saltwaterkid95 and I post links to my stories on Tumblr.

2. Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Morgan I am 22 years old from California. I have a degree in film and electronic arts, I have worked on student films, TV, and sports broadcast in the Los Angeles area. I have lived in England and Germany. I am about to get my masters degree in sports broadcast journalism in the UK.

3. What do you never leave home without?

My small purse that has my money, credit card, and driver’s license in it. Also my phone.

4. Are you an early bird or a night owl?

Night Owl definitely. I have really bad insomnia so I just don’t really sleep that much haha.

5. If you could live in any fictional world which one would you choose and why?

So I have always loved Peter Pan since I was little. I would love to live in Neverland because I don’t want to grow up and live in the “adult world” haha. No adults to ruin the fun that sounds amazing!

6. Who is the most famous person you’ve ever met.

I’ve worked on several sets with famous people, but probably the most famous person was LL Cool J. I have seen Justin Bieber at a restaurant before if that counts?

7. What are some of your favorite movies/TV?

Riverdale obviously is my favorite tv show at the moment. I love foreign films and tv. I am so happy that Skam is being appreciated worldwide.

8. What are some of your favorite bands/musicians?

The National and Artic Monkeys are my favorite bands.

9. Favorite Books?

I have read Catcher In The Rye so many times! When Hitler did cocaine and Lenin lost his brain is fabulous! The Outsiders, Pride and Prejudice, Atonement, The Girl on the Train.

10. Favorite Food?

Carrots. I know that is really weird, but I just really love carrots.

11. Biggest pet peeve?

When people are given hand outs when other people have to earn things.

12. What did you want to be when you were little? What do you want to be now?

Dolphin Trainer and now I want to do replay or be a technical director for Sports television.

13. What are your biggest fears? Do you have any strange fears?

Snakes. I hate snakes! I have bad anxiety, so I am paranoid and scared of everything.

14. When you are on your deathbed what would be the one you’d regret not doing?

Probably the What if scenarios in my life.

Okay… lets talk about your writing!

15. Which is your favorite of the fics you've written for the Bughead fandom?

I haven’t released it yet I am currently in the editing stages, but I wrote a really fun angsty (deciding whether it’s a one shot or two part currently) that is loosely based on the Hangover where Kevin, Moose, Reggie, Archie, and Jughead go to Las Vegas for Archie’s birthday party and end up losing him. Betty is in town for a journalist convention and she has to help them find Archie. I have had so much fun writing it on the side, but it’s taking me forever!

16. Which was the hardest to write, in terms of plot?

You Were A Kindness definitely because I have so many ideas and it is all ready so much longer than I expected it to be.

17. How do you come up with the ideas for you fic(s)? Do you people watch? Listen to music?

Usually when I am trying to fall asleep or in the shower ideas just pop up in my head. I have been driving back and forth between San Francisco and LA a few times this summer and I have had a lot of time to think of ideas. Music does heavily influence my writing, I name all of my stories after songs.

18. Get inspired by TV/movies?

Absolutely. My ongoing multi chapter right now is loosely based off Baby Driver. I am also currently writing a one shot where Betty is the Bachelorette after she was dumped on National television in the finale of The Bachelor by Archie when he chose Veronica.

19. Idea that you always wanted to write but could never make work?

I haven’t had that issue yet with Bughead luckily.

20. Least favorite plot point/chapter/moment you’ve written?

The last chapter of What Happened To Us. I am happy with it, but I am really bad at writing smut. Smut takes me longer which frustrates me because I can never find the right words.

21. Favorite plot point/chapter/moment you’ve written?

I am really happy about the twist I wrote in Chapter 11 of You Were A Kindness.

22. Favorite character to write?

Betty Cooper definitely. There is so much to explore with Betty and I really relate to her anxiety studies and pressure from parents/society.

23. Favorite line or lines of dialogue that you've written?

“These two really need to sit down and have a bro down.”

24. Best comment/review you’ve ever received?

All of them. Anyone who takes time out of their day to read and even better comment is amazing. There is no greater feeling than seeing a comment on one of my stories!

25. How do you handle bad reviews or comments?

I try my best to take it with a grain of salt. Everybody is into different things and not everybody is going to agree with or like your work. It sucks, but as Kevin G said it best, “don’t let the haters stop you from doing your thang.”

26. If you could change anything in any of your stories, what would it be?

I would make some of my chapters longer from You Were A Kindness, so that it wasn’t such a Slow Burn.

27. What is your favorite story you’ve ever written? Any fandom?

When I used to write in the football fandom a long time ago I wrote a one shot (I forget the name of it) where the protagonist’s relationship is going through a rough patch and Juan Mata’s girlfriend decides to go back home to Spain. She leaves him and then hours later he sees on the news that her plane has crashed. He is devastated until later she walks back into their house with her bags claiming that she couldn’t get on the plane. I won a footie fan fiction award for this fic haha, so I guess it’s my favorite.

28. What are you reading right now? Both fan fiction and general fiction?

Any Bughead fan fiction really. There are so many wonderful ongoing Bughead stories right now. I am also reading a Swedish book A Man called Ove.

29. Do you have an advice for writers that want to get into this fandom but might be scared?

Just go for it! This fandom is super supportive. There are so many talented writers that are willing to lend advice and help out others. Also getting a beta is another way to help with your writing. I personally don’t have one, but it is always good to have somebody to bounce your ideas off of. I was really scared to post my first story and I am really glad that I did it.

#bughead author spotlight #fan fiction #fan fiction writers #Bughead #bughead fanfiction #betty cooper #jughead jones #betty x jughead #jughead x betty #ao3 #riverdale #you were a kindness #what happened to us #fxyeahriverdale

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mistslash25-blog · 5 years

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When Bad Things Happen to Good Characters

Jonathan Roth | The Children’s Book Review | October 23, 2018

“Where’s my editor going with that ax?” I said to my writing group one morning in the coffee shop.

“To your title page,” replied my writing partners. “You may have used too many words.”

“I don’t see why she needs an ax!” I said.

In truth, the ax wasn’t unexpected. From the moment my publisher acquired my debut chapter book series, I knew the long initial title was in grave jeopardy. What was written as Beep and Bob’s Horrible Adventures in Space was soon, and rightly, changed to the pithy Beep and Bob.

Though I was fine with letting it go, I’ll admit now that the word “horrible” in the title was a guiding light I followed as I wrote these tales. Though I’m quite fond of my protagonist Bob—he’s a gentle if ordinary soul—it’s a sad truth of story telling that the most effective way to move things along is to have bad things happen to your characters.

In book one, Too Much Space!, Bob is introduced as someone who isn’t a big fan of school and is easily terrified by heights, darkness, spiders and just about anything. So where do I put him on page one? In a high orbit space school of course! (With a best friend who always carries a jar of her three pet tarantulas.) And what happens when he discovers a quick fix for ridding himself of these fears? I pull away at the worst possible moment, and stick one of the spiders in his space helmet!

Okay, I actually felt kind of bad for doing all that. So in book two, Party Crashers, I let Bob spend the entire time attending an extravagant birthday party for his friend during the maiden voyage of the luxurious Starship…Titanic.

Am I mean to my characters or what?

Which brings us to the newly released book three, Take Us to Your Sugar. I’m almost afraid to give this one to kids, because in my efforts to amp up the horrible situations, I hit Bob where it really hurts: his sweet tooth. As this story opens, Bob, who is totally dependent on the space station school cafeteria food for all his meals, learns that the machine that produces the sugar which flavors everything from ketchup to ice cream is broken. And the new parts won’t arrive for months!

The only silver lining is that Halloween is just around the corner, and Bob figures that if he collects enough bulging bags of candy, he can possibly make it to spring. But then he learns that Halloween isn’t celebrated at space school!

So what is poor Bob to do? Endure unsweetened food and possibly an improvement to his health? Or come up with a plan?!

There’s a famous saying about the 3-act structure of fiction: “Get your characters up in a space ship, throw asteroids at them, and then have them find a way down.” (Okay, maybe the original quote says “tree” and “rocks,” but for my purposes there are no trees in space.) And while I’ve been emphasizing the first couple parts of this story principal, it is the last crucial step which finally explains why we take our characters to the limits of their endurance: so they can find a way to face their fears and grow.

I know, maybe not the greatest consolation for them, but of utmost importance to young readers. Even us big kids often still look to fictional characters and the choices they make for our own consolation and inspiration. Just don’t tell Bob I took away his candy for a reason, or he may go on strike before I finish book number four.

—

About the Author-Illustrator

Jonathan Roth

Author-illustrator Jonathan Roth is a public elementary school art teacher in Maryland who likes reading, writing, drawing, cycling, and napping. Though he has never left the Earth, he has met four of the astronauts who have gone to the moon. Beep and Bob is his first series. To learn more, and to download a free Beep and Bob activity kit, visit his website: beepandbob.com.

Written and Illustrated by Jonathan Roth

Publisher’s Synopsis: Beep and his best friend Bob hatch a plan to save Halloween—and their school—in this third book in the hilarious, action-packed Beep and Bob series!

It’s October in space, and Bob is getting excited for his favorite holiday: Halloween. When Bob tells Beep that soon they’ll get to dress up like monsters and get as much free candy as they can carry, Beep thinks he has gone to heaven. But Lani informs them that Halloween isn’t celebrated at Astro Elementary.

Bob cannot imagine life without Halloween! He appeals to Principal Quark, but with no success. Determined to save Halloween, Bob and Lani organize a secret club: SCARES (Scary Costumes Are the Right of Every Student, or, more truthfully, the Society of Candy Addicts who Rely on Energy from Sugar).

As the secret club grows, Halloween fever invades Astro Elementary. Unfortunately, a horde of grotesque aliens, attracted by the treats, also invades the school on the last day of the month. With everyone in costume, no one can tell who’s who. Beep and Bob may have saved the holiday, but can they somehow use their sugar-addled wits to save the school?

Ages 6-9 | Publisher: Aladdin | September 11, 2018 | ISBN-13: 978-1481488587

Available Here

Praise For Beep and Bob

“Pretty sporky, as Bob would approvingly put it.” —Booklist

“A strong addition to any library’s chapter book selection.” —School Library Journal

Book Giveaway

Enter for a chance to win a set of all four Beep and Bob books; Including Take Us to Your Sugar, written And illustrated by Jonathan Roth!

Three (3) lucky winners receive:

A copy of Too Much Space!

A copy of Party Crashers

A copy of Take Us To Your Sugar

A copy of Double Trouble

Giveaway begins October 23, 2018, at 12:01 A.M. MT and ends November 23, 2018, at 11:59 P.M. MT.

How To Enter

Complete the entry form below.

Enter once daily (optional).

Giveaway Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.

Enter between 12:00 AM Mountain Time on October 23, 2018, and 11:59 PM on November 23, 2018.

Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older.

Winners will be selected at random on or about November 27, 2018.

Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.

The Children’s Book Review is not responsible for prize fulfillment.

Prizes Courtesy of Aladdin/Simon & Schuster

Discover more books like Beep and Bob: Take Us to Your Sugar, written and illustrated by Jonathan Roth, on The Children’s Book Review by following along with our articles tagged with Aliens, Creative Writing, Halloween Books, Illustrated Chapter Books, Space, and Writing Tips.

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Source: https://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/weblog/2018/10/when-bad-things-happen-to-good-characters.html

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mistersplitfoot-archive-blog · 7 years

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Okay, I filled out that witchcraft survey thing. It’s long, so it’s under a read more. Again, sorry mobile users. 1. Are you solitary or in a coven?

I am solitary. There aren't many covens around here, and the ones that are nearby are all Wiccan. I also work better on my own, both in a magical and mundane sense, and I'm not very social. Solitary practice is better for me.

2. Do you consider yourself Wiccan, Pagan, witch, or other?

I am a secular witch. I do not currently consider myself a pagan, because I don't worship or honor anything, but that may change in the future. If it does, my magical practice will still be entirely secular. No need to involve religion. I am not, and I never will be, Wiccan.

3. What is your zodiac sign?

Aquarius sun, Sagittarius moon.

4. Do you have a Patron God/dess?

No.

5. Do you work with a Pantheon?

No.

6. Do you use tarot, palmistry, or any other kind of divination?

I read tarot and oracle cards, and sometimes runes. I plan to learn to read Lenormand soon. Sometimes I do bibliomancy, but it's rare. I'm interested in palmistry but I haven't started learning it yet.

7. What are some of your favorite herbs to use in your practice? (if any)

I don't have a job right now; my partner supports me financially. Because of this, I make the best of what I have available already or can access cheapy. I use a lot of cooking spices. Bay, basil, thyme, parsley, cinnamon, rosemary, etc. I also use the tea from herbal tea bags when I need something like chamomile, lavender, catnip, etc.

8. How would you define your craft?

I wouldn't. It's all over the place.

9. Do you curse? If not, do you accept others who do?

I do curse. I don't do it often, because it uses up a lot of my energy and as a spoonie witch I need to conserve as much as I can for mundane things.

10. How long have you been practicing?

Off and on for about twelve years.

11. Do you currently or have you ever had any familiars?

Sadly, I do not. None of my pets have ever seemed interested. One of my cats showed potential for a while, but she doesn't seem to care anymore. I am interested in connecting with a spirit familiar, though.

12. Do you believe in Karma or Reincarnation?

I believe in reincarnation. I do not believe in karma. Karma is part of specific religious systems that I am not a part of. I believe in reincarnation in a purely spiritual sense, with no connection to religion. On that note, because someone might ask, I do believe in the concept of otherkin and fictionkin. If there are infinite universes and reincarnation is a thing, there's no reason it would be impossible.

13. Do you have a magical name?

No. My last name has magical connotations on it's own, though it isn't the one I was born with. I chose it, after one of my favorite book characters.

14. Are you “out of the broom closet”?

First, I have to say that I have always hated this phrase, even before I understood anything about my non straight and non cis identity. I don't think it should be used by non-LGBT witches. But anyway. Yeah, most people who know me as more than an acquaintance know I'm a witch. Unfortunately, most of them assume that means I'm Wiccan, and I don't always have the energy to explain that I am not.

15. What was the last spell you performed?

A money drawing spell.

16. Would you consider yourself knowledgeable?

Yes and no. I know a lot of specific things, but I don't have a broad range of knowledge in most witchy subjects. I've been practicing for over a decade and I still feel like a beginner.

17. Do you write your own spells?

Yes. I rarely perform spells that I didn't write myself, or at least modify a bit.

18. Do you have a book of shadows? If so, how is it written and/or set up?

I have a grimoire. I prefer that term over BOS because BOS is so rooted in Wicca. Of course, I don't mind if others use it, it's just my preference. Anyway, I have two. One is faux leather bound binder originally intended for scrapbooking, so it's pretty big. That's the one I keep at home. I can rearrange pages as I like, since it's a three ring binder. I also have a smaller, portable grimoire in the form of one of those little journal books. It's also faux leather, and it's incomplete. I just started putting it together recently. It'll be a very watered down version of my main grimoire, with just basic information for easy reference purposes. The larger one is much more thorough.

19. Do you worship nature?

I don't worship anything, but if I were to worship anything, it would be the cosmos.

20. What is your favorite gemstone?

Blue goldstone, green goldstone, opal, malachite, and I know it isn't technically a gem, but opalite.

21. Do you use feathers, claws, fur, pelt, skeletons/bones, or any other animal body part for magical work?

I don't, but that's because I just don't have any. And I don't have the funds to acquire any. The only bones I have is the partial skeleton of a baby deer, found by my mom's hunter friend when he was in the woods. They had been there a while and most of it was missing, but my mom got her friend to give me what he found. I haven't done anything with them yet. They're fairly large so I'm not sure what to use them for.

22. Do you have an altar?

I have two, but they're for spellwork, not worship. I have one downstairs in my living room, it's on top of a waist-high bookshelf. And I have one in the bedroom, on top of an antique glass vanity that used to be my mom's. Both are very small, much smaller than I'd like, but again, I make the best of what I have.

23. What is your preferred element?

Air or fire.

24. Do you consider yourself an Alchemist?

Not really. I don't know much about alchemy, to be honest. It's on my list of things to study. Eventually. I have a long list.

25. Are you any other type of magical practitioner besides a witch?

Maybe? I'm not sure. I don't think so, though.

26. What got you interested in witchcraft?

I can't remember. I can hardly remember what I did last week. I just know that when I first found out about it, everyone had me believing that Wicca was the Only Option. Because of that, it took me a while to get into it.

27. Have you ever performed a spell or ritual with the company of anyone who was not a witch?

Yep. I live with my partner, who is not a witch, and I've done several spells in front of them and for them.

28. Have you ever used ouija?

No. My partner had a bad experience with one as a child and won't let me bring one into the house. I'll use one someday, though.

29. Do you consider yourself a psychic?

I think everyone is to some degree, but I don't think my talents are very strong.

30. Do you have a spirit guide? If so, what is it?

I do, in a sense. This is rather personal so I won't go into it too much, but it's someone I knew in a past life.

31. What is something you wish someone had told you when you first started?

That Wicca is not the only option! And that I don't have to devote my time and energy into woshiping a faceless God and Goddess that I feel absolutely no connection with. That I don't have to be religious at all to be a witch.

32. Do you celebrate the Sabbats? If so which one is your favorite?

I don't. I celebrate 'christian' holidays in a secular sense (christmas, easter, etc) and I associate the Sabbats with Wicca, so I just. Don't acknoweldge them. I don't mind when other people do, though.

33. Would you ever teach witchcraft to your children?

I'm never having children.

34. Do you meditate?

Yes, but I'm not very good at it.

35. What is your favorite season?

Late fall and winter.

36. What is your favorite type of magick to preform?

Anything, really. Aside from curses. Curses take up so much more energy than any other kind of spell I do and then I'm just exhausted for the rest of the day.

37. How do you incorporate your spirituality into your daily life?

I'm not really sure how to answer this. It's not really something I can explain.

38. What is your favorite witchy movie?

Hocus Pocus! It's been a favorite since I was a kid. It was one of those movies I'd watch repeatedly all day and make my parents hate me.

39. What is your favorite witchy book, both fiction and non-fiction.

Fiction, probably Harry Potter because I'm a big ol' cliche and because I literally grew up with it. Non-fiction, probably The Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells by Judika Illes. I've owned it twice now. I first borrowed it from a friend in high school, and it was in pretty bad condition. Pages falling out and whatnot. That friend moved away before I could give it back, and I lent it to someone else. I never got it back either, and a couple years ago my partner bought me a replacement. I like the cover of the new edition much better, anyway.

40. What is the first spell you ever preformed? Successful or not.

Fuck if I know, my dude. Like I said, I can barely remember last week.

41. What’s the craziest witchcraft-related thing that’s happened to you?

Nothing too weird has happened to me as far as magic stuff goes, but when I was still honoring Loki, something happened. I was talking to him about something, I can't remember what, but I think I mentioned something about doubting the existence of deities, and how I wasn't sure if anyone was even hearing me. Literally the next day, a fucking snake got into my house. No idea how. But it just showed up, and my cat chased it around and we managed to catch it before the cat could hurt it and we set it free. It had never happened before, and it hasn't happened since. So yeah, I get it, deities exist and they hear us. Message received.

42. What is your favourite type of candle to use?

I love black candles. I know, it's so cliche and 'edgy' of me, but they just feel so witchy and nice.

43. What is your favorite witchy tool?

I don't use many tools. Usually the only things I use are incense burners, candles, and occasionally my tiny cast iron cauldron.

44. Do you or have you ever made your own witchy tools?

I made an offering bowl years ago, when I was still making offerings to deities. That's about it.

45. Have you ever worked with any magical creatures such as the fae or spirits?

I have not, but I'm very interested in doing so. I need to research a lot more, though.

46. Do you practice color magic?

Yes, color plays a big part in my practice. I try to use candles in appropriate colors for specific spells, or I write in colored ink when drawing up sigils, the colors of gems matter, etc.

47. Do you or have you ever had a witchy teacher or mentor of any kind?

Nope.

48. What is your preferred way of shopping for witchcraft supplies?

There's a new age store about thirty minutes from my house. They're the only place I can find a large amount of crystals, herbs, and incense. And the staff there is very nice. I usually buy candles at the dollar store, though. And when Halloween rolls around, Walmart sells little packs of black tea lights for a decent price, so I stock up n those every October. Craft stores are good for some things, too.

49. Do you believe in predestination or fate?

Yes and no. I think every choice you make changes your fate. That's why things like tarot and rune readings aren't set in stone. You have the power to change things if you don't like the projected outcome.

50. What do you do to reconnect when you are feeling out of touch with your practice?

Take a break from it. Sometimes I just get burned out and don't feel it. That's fine. I just take a couple months off and I don't do anything witchy. Then after a bit, the feeling comes back on it's own. Something I see or read or hear will spark it again.

51. Have you ever had any supernatural experiences?

There's a ghost in my house that fucks with me all the time. Nothing dangerous or violent, more like hiding my things and opening cupboards that I know the cats can't reach. And at my mom's, I have an uncle who haunts the house. I never met him, he died when he was a kid, but my mom has seen him in the backyard, and he's turned lights on after I've turned them off when I've been house sitting. My partner swears they've heard him say 'hello'. And the snake thing I mentioned earlier, if that counts.

52. What is your biggest witchy pet peeve?

People thinking witch = Wicca, and that any witch who isn't Wiccan is 'fake'. That, and people (Wiccans) who try to force their anti-cursing Threefold Law rhetoric on other, non-Wiccans. And the rampant cultural appropriation, of course.

53. Do you like incense? If so what’s your favorite scent?

I love incense. I go through it like it's water. My favorite scent is probably dragon's blood.

54. Do you keep a dream journal of any kind?

I've tried, but I never manage to keep up with it. I'll try again someday.

55. What has been your biggest witchcraft disaster? I've never had anything terrible happen, thankfully.

56. What has been your biggest witchcraft success?

I helped my partner get a job! It happened about a week after I did an employment spell for them. They ended up hating the job and quitting two months later, but still!

57. What in your practice do you do that you may feel silly or embarrassed about?

Nothing really.

58. Do you believe that you can be an atheist, Christian, Muslim or some other faith and still be a witch too?

Absolutely.

59. Do you ever feel insecure, unsure or even scared of spell work?

Of course. I think everyone feels like this now and then, even experienced witches.

60. Do you ever hold yourself to a standard in your witchcraft that you feel you may never obtain?

Oh definitely. But I do that in all areas of my life, not just witchcraft.

61. What is something witch related that you want right now?

I have a spare room in my house that I currently use for storage. The dream is to clear it out, donate all the shit I don't want anymore, and turn that spare room into a magical room, where I can have a bigger work space and more room to make things look all pretty and nice. And maybe keep a little herb garden in there near the window.

62. What is your rune of choice?

I don't use runes enough to really have one.

63. What is your tarot card of choice?

The Star is my favorite card.

64. Do you use essential oils? If so what is your favorite?

I do sometimes. My favorites are lavender, jasmine, rose, patchouli, amber, and honeysuckle.

65. Have you ever taken any kind of witchcraft or pagan courses?

Nope.

66. Do you wear pagan jewelry in public?

I don't really wear much jewelry. As a transmasc person who doesn't pass very well, I try not to wear things that will make it even harder for me to pass. Sometimes I'll wear an amethyst point under my shirt, or the old skeleton key I've enchanted.

67. Have you ever been discriminated against because of your faith or being a witch?

No. Unless you count my mom being very against it when I was a teenager, but even then, it wasn't a big deal. She didn't threaten to kick me out or anything, she just didn't want me doing anything in her house. I was still allowed to read and study it.

68. Do you read or subscribe to any pagan magazines? No. I don't even know of any.

69. Do you think it’s important to know the history of paganism and witchcraft?

Well, the history of paganism is extremely broad. It's an umbrella term for a bunch of different religions. I think it's a little ridiculous to expect, say, a Hellenic Recon pagan to know the history of Celtic Recon or something. So it's good to know the history of YOUR practice. As for witchcraft, I think it helps to know where some things came from, to know you're not appropriating anything, and also so you know Wicca isn't fucking 5000 years old or whatever. And don't spread misinfo. If you're knowledge on 'The Burning Times" is from a $ilver Ravenw0lf book, I suggest you do some further research because it's fucking wrong.

70. What are your favorite things about being a witch?

I like the aesthetic and I like knowing I have some level of control over things in my life. When I can be bothered to use that control, anyway.

71. What are your least favorite things about being a witch?

The fact that I have to constantly explain that witch does not equal Wiccan. The fact that there are still people (read: TERFs) who think you have to be a cis woman to be a witch. And witches that shit on other witches for not being militant vegans. Fuck off.

72. Do you listen to any pagan music? If so who is your favorite singer/band?

Not really. It's not really my thing. I personally think southern gothic music is far more witchy than most 'witchy' musicians. Not that that's the only genre I listen to, that's just an example.

73. Do you celebrate the Esbbats? If so, how?

Nope.

74. Do you ever work skyclad?

Nope. My altars are right in front of windows, and I also just don't think it's necessary.

75. Do you think witchcraft has improved your life? If so, how?

Sure. Like I said, it's given me a sense of control, and it's given me some hobbies and interests I might not have otherwise.

76. Where do you draw inspiration from for your practice?

Pop culture, other witches, art, music.

77. Do you believe in ‘fantasy’ creatures? (Unicorns, fairies, elves, gnomes, ghosts, etc)

Well I don't consider ghosts to be fantasy creatures. But anyway. I think things like that can exist on other planes, like the astral or something. I think in special circumstances, maybe they can be seen (I know people have claimed to have seen faeries, for example), but I think they're usually invisible.

78. What’s your favorite sigil/symbol?

I like planetary symbols, if that counts.

79. Do you use blood magick in your practice? Why or why not?

I have before, but I don't do it often because I have an intense preoccupation with disease and infection. I think, in most cases, spit or hair or fingernails work just fine instead, and you aren't risking getting sick from it.

80. Could you ever be in a relationship with someone who doesn’t support your practice?

Probably not. I don't have to date a witch (as I said before, my partner is not a witch), but I can't date someone who doesn't support me or thinks what I do is silly or fake.

81. In what area or subject would you most like your craft to grow?

I'm not sure?

82. What’s your favorite candle scent? Do you use it in your practice?

I don't have a favorite. I prefer unscented candles because lighting a bunch of different scents all at once tends to give me a headache.

83. Do you have a pre-ritual ritual? (I.e. Something you do before rituals to prepare yourself for them). If so what is it?

Gather up everything I need. Wash my hands. Do some deep breathing and/or meditation if it's necessary. Dab a specific oil on if it's necessary. Make sure I have water nearby if I'm using fire.

84. What real life witch most inspires your practice?

No one specific, I just like following witchy blogs and instagrams and seeing what others are doing.

85. What is your favorite method of communicating with deity?

I don't do this anymore, but if I wanted to talk, I'd just light a candle I had set aside for them and just. Talk to them. If I wanted some kind of response or guidance, I'd use tarot cards, too.

86. How do you like to organize all your witchy items and ingredients?

What is 'organization'? My stuff is just anywhere it will fit. One of the reasons I want to clear out that room, so I can actually have some organization.

87. Do you have any witches in your family that you know of?

Nope.

88. How have you created your path? What is unique about it?

I couldn't really tell you, because I don't even know if it is unique. It probably isn't. I'm sure there are tons of other witches out there who do the same, or similar, things that I do. My goal isn't to be unique, it's to do whatever works.

89. Do you feel you have any natural gifts or affinities (premonitions, hearing spirits, etc.) that led you toward the craft? If so what are they?

I like to think I'm pretty good with tarot. I'm never going to be perfect, and I'll never be done learning, but I think I've gotten fairly good at it.

90. Do you believe you can initiate yourself or do you have to be initiated by another witch or coven?

I think this varies from tradition to tradition. Since I'm not part of any tradition at all, this does not apply to me.

91. When you first started out in your path what was the first thing or things you bought?

Nothing. I borrowed books from friends.

92. What is the most spiritual or magickal place you’ve been?

Wooded areas and lakes feel spiritual to me, as do some liminal spaces. There's also this place near my house called Five Points that is infamous around here for ghost activity.

93. What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone who is searching for their matron and patron deities?

My advice is don't ask me for this kind of advice.

94. What techniques do you use to ‘get in the zone’ for meditation?

The deep breathing exercises they teach you to control anxiety is helpful, because it slows your heart rate and puts you at ease, even if you aren't having a panic attack. I also like to listen to certain instrumental music, or sometimes even certain ASMR videos. Depending on my mood, I might light candles or incense, too.

95. Did visualization come easily to you or did you have to practice at it?

It comes very easy to me. It has since I was a kid, because part of playing with friends was visualization. I'm also an artist, and I know not all artists do this but I usually see a drawing before I do it. So visualization is just second nature for me.

96. Do you prefer day or night? Why?

Night. Because my sleep schedule is fucked and I don't start feeling active until around 4 or 5 pm.

97. What do you think is the best time and place to do spell work?

Place is wherever you have everything you need and you're comfortable and safe. Time depends. I like to time my spells with certain days of the week and moon phases if possible. If you mean time of day, I prefer night, but again, that's because I'm not very active during the day.

98. How did you feel when you cast your first circle? Did you stumble or did it go smoothly?

I don't remember any of my 'firsts'.

99. Do you believe witchcraft gets easier with time and practice?

Ehh kinda. Not everything gets easier, but some things do. Like, you learn what works for you and what doesn't after trial and error. You start to remember correspondences without needing to look them up. Things like that get easier.

100. Do you believe in many gods or one God with many faces?

Many gods. All gods, actually. Even 'fictional' gods. Because I believe in all deities, and I believe in the multiverse theory.

101. Do you eat meat, eggs and dairy?

I don't eat red meat because of medical reasons. I have a hard time digesting it and it almost always makes me sick. I do eat other meats, like poultry and seafood, and I eat eggs and dairy. I am not a vegan. I don't think you have to be a vegan to be a witch. And I think militant vegans need to tone it the fuck down.

102. What is your favorite color and why?

Blues and purples. They're calming, pretty, and remind me of things from a past life.

103. What is the one question you get asked most by non-practitioners or non-pagans? How do you usually respond?

To be honest, most of my non-practicing friends don't ask me much. My partner asks me to do spells or them, that's about it. Or I get asked to do readings. Other than that, I don't get many questions.

104. Which of your five senses would you say is your strongest?

Either hearing or scent.

105. What is a pagan or witchcraft rule that you preach but don’t practice?

Protection, probably. I don't cast a circle or wards for every spell or ritual I do. I probably should use them more, but I just. Hardly do. I usually only do that if I'm going to be performing a curse.

#long post #about me

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feline0nline · 6 years

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Day 1. Writing Challenge

List 10 things that make you really happy:

1) Overwatch!

It’s a first player shooter video game in which you choose a player (called heroes) and join a team to complete an objective. The lore behind it isn’t very developed yet, but what lore there is plus the fandom’s interpretations of the characters leads to some fun stories and fan art. I’m not good at aiming and my favorite character is named Lùcio! He’s a cheery Brazilian international DJ rebel roller skater who fights against gentrification and kills, heals, and speed-boosts people with music. He’s described as very cheery and also used his music to inspire those rallying with him.

2) Hot chocolate

I looooovvvvveeeee hot chocolate. It’s sweet and warm and perfect all year round, despite what the weak will say. I wish there were as many different kinds of hot chocolate as there is coffee or tea, though. Not much extends past the water/milk debate and the basic flavors of chocolate, dark chocolate, caramel, and mint. But the toppings are sweet too! I like the whip cream and marshmallows and shaved chocolate and syrup drizzle on top.

3) Rain

I live in the south, so rain is a gift. It makes everything smell better (well, except for animals). It’s sound is soothing and while the humidity isn’t great, the sleep is. I get the best sleep during a thunderstorm. Rain makes everyone sleepy here, and sleepy people mean less work. I love less work.

4) Friends!

I love my friends and I never seem to say it enough. With IRL friends I have a habit of feeding them with whatever candy I happen to have, and that’s close enough to “I appreciate you”, right? My friends are so patient and sweet and funny and caring and talented and smart. I’m lucky to give and receive their support.

5) Reading

Life is lame. Swords are not commonplace, nothing floats by itself, and the world seems to be made up of and by plain old humans. In reading it’s so much easier to forget your problems and get lost in a completely different world. I’ve spent countless hours with my nose in a book.

6) Dreams

My dreams are usually very fun, although I don’t remember them as well as I used to. I have a dream journal for the vivid ones. I like my dream journal because I’m the only one that will ever see it so it can be as messy as I want. I use random words or stick figures. A common theme in my dreams is getting powers. In one dream, I transformed into a mermaid. In other, I became a bender. (Earth and air were easiest for me). Flying tends to be an often thing as well. And I think, once, I met someone special. I don’t remember the dream very well, but I remember how it made me feel.

7) Children

I love love love love children! They’re so cute and smart and clever and funny! I love knowing that learning is fun to them because everything is new and it’s like you’re learning with them! They don’t understand a lot but that’s okay, they can take their time and play. Plus they’re so huggable and tiny and so gullible. I like stealing their snacks.

8) Purple

Purple is my most favorite color next to black. It’s not quite red and not quite blue, but it could be if it really wanted to. Even the different shades can convey different emotions! Dark purple can be moody, a bold purple could be brave and royal, and a light purple can be happy and playful! Plus it can go with almost everything. And it’s one of the few colors that don’t have as many negative representatives in nature. Sure, there’s bruises, but there’s also amythest and flowers and as far as I know, it’s not a strictly “poisonous” color.

9) Flowers/Rocks

This totally isn’t cheating. But flowers and rocks are so pretty, just in their own way. But again there’s so many different kinds!!! My favorite flowers are Daffodil, Lavender and Roses. I like daffodils because their my birth flower, so they just sorta grew on me. Lavender is 1) purple 2) good for sleep and 3) smells good. Perfect for me. And the third one is because... well, a friend said I reminded them of a rose once. I wish I knew back then what I did now so I could’ve responded better. But since then, roses have a special place in my heart.

10) Cats

Cats are my favorite animal, big and small. They’re so cute with their paws and ears and noses and tails. Their tiny mews and purrs. They won’t rush at you like dogs (I have a fear of those) and are quiet (mostly). I tend to understand cat body language more well than I do any other animals and it’s pretty easy to understand a cat doesn’t want much in life. Food, toys, love, sleep, food, pets, sunshine to sleep in, food, and a friend. Truly, something I can relate to.

#writingchallenge #meant to post this yesterday

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surveys-at-your-service · 5 years

Text

Survey #200

tw for abuse.

If you’re pale, do you get made fun of for it? No. Are you white/black/asian/mexican/etc? White. Ever been to Washington D.C.? Did you get to meet the president of the time? I've driven very close to it, but no. Ever been to NYC Or LA? If so, how were your experiences there? No. Were you adopted? If so, have you met your biological parents? How about biological siblings or grandparents? N/A Ever had an abusive parent or other family member? If so, what’s the worst they did? No, thank Christ. Are either of your parents engaged but not married yet? No. Do you like older or younger siblings better? I have both, but. Hypothetically, if I had to choose one in general (not picking between my real sisters), probably younger. Ever had to take care of a baby sibling? If do, did you feel responsible, or were you just annoyed? No. We're 2-3 years apart, so there's never been a situation like that. Have you ever had a close friend get knocked up early? Can we not say "knocked up." No. Do you prefer baby boys or baby girls? I mean it depends on the kid, but I believe boys have less of an attitude. Are you one of those losers that buys things with the letter of your name? Well they're not "losers?" But whatever, no. I don't see the appeal at all. Have you done any form of martial arts? If so, what? If not and you want to, which one(s)? No, but I'd like to learn some form of self-defense. Would you be willing to let someone you know die if it means you can save an entire village? Lol this is such a Life Is Strange question, don't do this to my emotions. It depends on the person. If you were to write a letter to your future self, what would you say? Something about absolutely never giving up, regardless of the struggle. What are your thoughts on cults? Do you know anyone who has joined one? To my understanding, not all cults are bad... I think. If there are harmless ones, go for it, dude. Whatever you wanna believe. I knew a guy back in school who created one. What is a character trope that you really dislike? (For example, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl) The bitchy, germaphobe priss. Are you a fan of steampunk? If you don’t know what it is, would it be something you’d be interested in looking into? Hell yeah. What was the first job that you ever held? Do you remember how much you were paid (if you’re comfortable sharing)? Sales associate at GameStop. Idr. Would you say that you’re good at understanding people with accents (especially those who don’t have standard Anglo ones)? Most, save for severely southern. And I live where that accent is commonplace. How do you feel about anarchy? Let's not. Society would crumble in days. If you have any, who’s your favorite music artist from the 1970s? Probably Van Halen, but ugh, I love SO MANY metal/rock bands from that era. Do you think travelling is something that every young person should do to gain life experience? I'd say so. See that the world is more complex and varied than you'd think. When was the last time you listened to new music? I've been listening to new In This Moment songs periodically. Listened to "Blood" a few days ago. What word spelled out looks weird to you? Oh, I'm sure there's plenty. Do you require “closure” after things like break-ups or do you move on easily? I've only had one serious break-up, and I didn't even begin recovery until we had our final conversation over a year later that helped me reach closure. Is there a genre of movie that you just can’t watch? Musicals. Do they count as a genre? What was the last song to give you nostalgia? Hm... I"m blanking. But I know something did pretty recently. Have you ever had a conversation with a cab driver? Never been in a cab. Do you have any shirts from vacation/tourist locations? From beaches, which I never wear. I've only received them as gifts. What is one place you would like to go back and revisit? Chicago. Which would you prefer: a homemade gift, or a store-bought one? Homemade mean more to me usually, but as a gift, it obviously depends on what it is. When was the last time you were “under the influence?” I last drank uhhhh. I think at Sara's when her dad almost made me an alcoholic because holy FUCK bartending skills Jesus fucking Christ. How regular of an occurrence is this? Very rare. Have you ever had a relationship last for a year or longer? Twice now. What ended it, or are you still involved? We know the Jason story; Sara and I are still together. What’s the best time you’ve had at a high school sports game? Ugh, I never had a good time. I was just forced to go because Ashley was a cheerleader. If you’re out late, where are you likely to be? I couldn't even try to tell you the last time I was out late. Do you ever visit your mall’s arcade (if it has one)? Ours doesn't have one. Shirts with sarcastic sayings: yay, or boo? Yay. If “yay,” do you have a favorite? Bring Happy Bunny BACK TO THE FOREFRONT OF SOCIETY. If you lost the use of your limbs, would you still want to live? Eh, if it was just one leg, sure. What’s your absolute favorite topic to discuss? Weeps Markimoo. What is your least favorite topic to discuss? Politics and economics. When was the last time you played hide-and-go-seek? I played with my niece and nephew a few months back. They always hid in the same spots, lmao, but of course you gotta go along with kids, so I could "never find them." Where was your favorite place to hide? As a kid, I aaalways climbed into the toy box. Do you have a library card? Do you use it? No. Do you cuddle with your pet (if you have one)? Yup. What college did you want to attend as a kid? NC State. Was that still your choice when you grew up? Well, it didn't have the major I chose back then, but now that it does, that's probably where I'm transferring too after I get my pre-requisites. What sports star or athlete did you aspire to be like as a kid? None. How many colleges did you attend? Two so far. Going to a new one when I get my goddamn transcript from my cesspit that is my last school. Why did you choose the shirt you have on now? It's just a plain, gray tank. I wear tank tops to bed. Is marriage overrated? No? At this point in your life would you want to start a new career? I haven't even begun a career yet. Growing up what were your favorite cartoon characters? OKAY SO EMBARRASSING SECRET I'VE LITERALLY NEVER REVEALED. I was crazy for Ash Ketchum, and when I was young, I added daily to a story I wrote about being a Pokemon trainer; I didn't have Pokemon games because I was too embarrassed to ask back then, so I resorted to making it up. I filled up literally 3+ journals. Back to the main topic, far into that story, Ash became my boyfriend lmfao. Oh man, just answering this brings back such cute memories. Charmander-Charizard was my best friend and look it was just cute okay. What do you think has changed about you since you were a teenager? I'm way shyer. Looking back at high school were they the best years of your life? No. Were you the type of kid you’d want your children to hang out with? Yeah sure, I was genuinely a good kid. Do you look like your mom? Some say. When was the last time you overslept? I can't oversleep when I never have shit to do. What would you do if you could do anything without failing? Skydive, maybe? Do you use your phone as an alarm? If I need an alarm for whatever reason. What country do you live in? The United States. What is your native language? English. If you could meet any famous person (dead or alive) who would you meet? Take a guess. Do you have any piercings? Eight. Do you judge people that have multiple piercings? Fuck off. Do you dress up on Halloween? I WISH I could. I can't afford to buy shit to throw together as an outfit, nor do I do anything special that day, so. It's just a waste of time, save for taking a picture. Do you watch the Olympics? No. Do you like orange juice? So long there's not pulp in it. Have you read the Bible? Very little of it. Do you have a pet gecko? No. Are you scared of reptiles? Not at all. Have you ever seen the show 16 and Pregnant? Take that shit off television. No. Do you like cinnamon on your apple pie? I hate pie. Do you clap or cheer when at a concert? Well duh. Do you use a comb or brush? A comb. Do you eat the crust of your sandwiches? That's what I eat first since with food, I'm always the type that saves the best for last, and while I don't mind it at all, crust is the "worst" part. When you were younger, did you ever do that exclamation point that looked like an upside down triangle and had a really big dot? No. What are you listening to right now? "Whore" by In This Moment. Honestly, have you ever eaten raw cookie dough? Hell yeah I have, don't even @ me, salmonella. Name a city that starts with A in your state/province etc. Asheville. Name a landmark that starts with M in your state/province etc. Idk. When was the last time you gave a horse a carrot? Boy, I have no clue. Have you ever had to shovel snow? No. What mountain ranges have you seen? Appalachian. Where would you most like to go in your state, etc that you haven’t been? THE ABANDONED WIZARD OF OZ-THEMED PARK. Deadass might get married there, jc. Has a wild animal ever been loose in your house? Mice. What do you like the songs you listen to to be about? I'm big on things dark-themed, especially in like some fantasy or hypothetical situation, or covering sensitive topics in a beautiful way. When was the last time you said ‘yay’? Yesterday when Sara updated me on her weight ahhhHHHHHHH she's getting closer and closer to a healthy one. Would you be a newscaster and speak to everyone in a hurricane? Hell no. Have you ever seen or touched an iceberg? No. Do you use a toaster or toaster oven? Oven. Who was the last member of the opposite sex you laid in a bed with? I think Girt when we were watching TV one day in Nicole's room. Would you rather have a poodle or a rottweiler? Rottweiler! Have you ever had a best friend who was of the opposite sex? Yeah. Where was the last place you stayed over? Sara's. Do you know anyone that owns horses? Not well. Think back to the last time (or a time) when you were in a fight with someone and just blurted out exactly what was on your mind. Did you somewhat regret saying what you said? What happened? When Mom hit me for a completely uncalled-for reason (I can't actually remember what it was, other than it was stupid as hell) last year, I said, "Oh, I can't wait to tell Alyssa (therapist) about this one," and she didn't reply or say another word to me for like hours, maybe not even that night. No, honestly, I don't regret it. You don't slap your fucking kid. Towards the end of your last relationship, how did you know it was over? How did you and your significant other change towards each other? (ex. not calling each other babe, baby, etc.) I wasn't opening up to him any further after four months, and I just didn't feel a romantic connection. I wasn't comfortable. We didn't change much, really, just that we no longer hold hands and he doesn't kiss me obviously. We went back to exactly how we were before, thankfully. Have you ever had a significant other NOT believe you when you said “i love you” to them? Why was that? How did you react? No. Do opposites really attract? Have you ever experienced this? Explain. Sure, for some people. I've never been too attracted to someone too different from me. Has anyone close to you ever drifted away because they started hanging out with a new crowd? Did you try talking to them about it? What eventually happened? Story. Of my goddamn. Life. And only one, my former best friend. Just last year I finally reached out to her, and I guess we're "friends," buuut she only talks to me on her watch. I won't get into that. Have you ever found yourself heading on the wrong path? What happened? Probably, but idr. When did you last not feel accepted? Why did you feel that way? Ha, I'm sure recently. I just about always feel like that. Has anyone had to take your drink from you because you were drinking too much? How did you react? No. What’s your opinion on the world relying on technology too much and not paying enough attention to natural resources? Eek, there're positives and negatives. I totally believe it's possible someday for the singularity to happen, yet at the same time, technology is an almost perfect approach to many tasks, menial or complicated. Have you ever felt like it was just pointless to cry? Did you hold yourself back from crying or did you let it out? Sure, probably. I usually hold it back, typically far more frequently than I should, although on most occasions, crying just doesn't come. I just get a tight jaw and everything. Have you ever had a love/hate relationship with someone? Tell me about it. Meh, Colleen many times. I'm not delving into that story again. Has your pride ever gotten in the way of admitting that you felt weak or were in pain? How so? No. Whose lies have affected you the most? Jason's, although I'll give him enough credit that at the time of making them, he probably meant most/all of them. But they were still lies and broken promises. Have you ever dreamt in another language? No. Who was the last person you met and instantly liked? What about the last person you met who you immediately disliked or got bad vibes from? Hm. Oh, the girl who was in VR class with me. She loved my tattoo, so that sparked a brief convo, and she had awesome ones too. In class, she was funny and relatable and just in general had a very approachable personality. I wanted to talk more to her, but. Shyness and anxiety. ;_; For the other half of the question, I'm uncertain. I'm sure it was some man with my paranoia and distrust. What’s the most interesting news you read or received recently? What about the most depressing? I don't pay much attention to the news unless I just scroll past something on Facebook... and nothing's really coming to me. Ah, checked my FB real quick and I recently shared something about this crow couple that have been together for 12 years; the female has a broken beak, and her mate always feeds her. The most depressing was certainly a dog that was left out in the snow up north, and he was found dead and pretty much frozen in his doghouse. Pretty sure the owner was arrested. Thank fuck for the new law regarding pets being out in the cold. Would you let politics get in the way of a relationship? It would have to be a SERIOUS difference on a major matter that revealed deep, core beliefs. What is one thing someone could say that would automatically make you distrustful of them? I wouldn't mention you have a criminal record around me. I don't care what for unless it was seriously bullshit. What is one way in which you need to learn to control yourself? I need to STOP jumping to conclusions and becoming super defensive when I feel I'm in serious danger of being hurt emotionally. Do you have any friends who are on and off with bfs/gfs all the time? No. When was the last time you almost cried out of exhaustion? It was that and embarrassment. When I was at the airport to go home after visiting Sara, I fucked up in understanding the gate shit, carried my heavy bag ALL the way to the end, ALL the way back to the beginning, and then ALL THE FUCKING WAY BACK when I found the screen that told me my gate. At this same time, my knees were in awful condition and of course the sweating situation was goddamn humiliating. I'm very, very surprised no one asked if I was okay; I can only imagine how contorted and pained my face was, aaaand yay excessive sweating, I was literally soaked. I was very close to crying that day. What's a TV show you hate missing? None. The only situation where I'd be like that is if Meerkat Manor returned. What's a movie/book/TV show/band/whatever you highly recommend? Movie: Forrest Gump; book: Johnny Got His Gun; TV show: The Good Doctor; band: Otep is too underrated. Who taught you to tie your shoelaces? Dad first taught me the "wrong" way, then Mom corrected me in how you should properly do it. What's your favorite picture of yourself as a child? *shrugs* What is something people are surprised to hear about you? I've been told by many people that they're surprised to learn I have just about debilitating social anxiety. I always think I cover it awfully, but apparently I've adapted well enough to it that I can fake comfort decently, I suppose. What was the last bug you saw? Probably a fly, idk. Are there any people you know in real life that you only talk to online? Not off the top of my head... Is it cruel to keep a dog in a cage or tied up most of the time? No shit. About what things are you most selfish? Alone time. I need it. Are you camera shy? Why/why not? Yes, because odds are I will look like a blobfish out of water trying to smile but only succeeding in looking seriously high. What is the worst thing a former boyfriend/girlfriend has done to you? Dropped me like a boulder into a canyon and dashed off with zero intent of breaking up even nearly appropriately. Was anyone rude to you today (or yesterday, if you’re taking this early)? No. What was your favorite sleepover game? *shrugs* Have you ever swore in church? Possibly? Do you have memories from preschool? Some, yeah. Particularly of Christopher and some boy whose name I can't remember being pretty much obsessed with me and always chasing me in recess to hug the fuck out of me and apparently the other boy got in trouble all the time for trying to kiss me. Kinda recently in therapy we dug into my extreme fear of men, people being behind me, and rape (it's too a seriously unrealistic degree), and we think this mighta just been what sparked those fears so early. I also remember I was talkative at nap time, I brought the movie Antz for us to watch and everyone hated it, and I once brought my Snorlax plushy for show-and-tell. I remember making a gingerbread man tree ornament, too. Do you celebrate Earth Day? No, I never really know what to do. :/ I'd love to do even little things like pick up litter, but walking here is pretty dangerous, and we're also in a spot where you' seldom see anything. What is your least favorite thing about your full name? I hate my last name. What’s your favorite kind of Poptart? The chocolate sundae one or whatever it's called? What was the last thing you used sliced bread to make? A sandwich. What does your room look like when you sleep? Still kinda bright with Venus' and Kaiju's lights, Roman is usually in here with me, and Teddy is sometimes. Are your fingers long, or short? Mom always tells me I have Grammy's "long piano fingers." *shrug Do you like your grandparents? She reeeaaally gets under my skin a lot of times, but yeah. Do you like to fly on planes? If I'm at the window seat. What brand name do you think is just way over the top expensive? I'unno, lots. PLENTY of designer clothes shit, though. Like the fuck, most of those things I see are hideous. Do you find it hard to concentrate in really loud places? Yup. Do you tend to get more sleep on the weekends the during the week? They're the same for me. Are you comfortable talking to strangers? No. What’s the most boring game to exist? Why do you dislike it so much? I mean idk. Do you mean board games, card games, video games? I can tell you right off the bat I'm not a card game fan, almost ever. Do you lie about not having extra pens, so you don’t have to lend them? I don't believe I ever did. What’s your favorite YouTube video? What’s it about? Oh boy, I couldn't tell you. Do you get nervous when you’re about to get a haircut? No. What do you do to pass the time when you’re waiting for something? Mess around on my phone. Whenever you take pictures, do they always end up posted on Facebook? No. Can you name something that makes you feel nostalgic from each of the following: a scent, a sight, a sound, a taste, and a feeling? Breakfast cooking (scent), tobacco fields (sight), whippoorwills (sound), those smiley face french fries (taste), excitement (feeling). What is one small thing your significant other does that makes you happy? If you are single, what is one small thing a friend does to make you happy? I love seeing her spaz over something cute lmao. If you could have a dollar for every time something happened, what would it be? Someone pointing out how many meds I'm on. What is something that you wish more people in your life were interested in (a topic, a hobby, etc.)? Ummm idk? What is a feel-good song that you’ve been listening to lately? Well, Epica's "Sacred & Wild" cover always pumps me up a bit. What are some things you enjoy seeing pictures of? m a r k, meerkats, Pyramid Head, Mom legitimately smiling/laughing, Sara with her babies... lots more. Who is somebody from your past that had a big positive impact on you? What would you say if you could speak to them right now? Two of my previous teachers. They always had life lessons to teach and not just English. Have you ever bought something recommended by an ad before? What was it, and were you happy with your purchase? I'm not sure. What is a website that you visit frequently that isn’t a form of social media? Wikis I help edit. Do you watch The Big Bang Theory? I don't watch TV, but if it's on, yeah, I enjoy it. Do you ever listen to country music? No. From inside of your house, how many doors lead outside? Two. Who is the most complicated person in your life right now? Me. Do you still wear armbands or rubber rings in the pool? No. Are you one of those people who talks to everyone when you’re out? Definitely not. What would be your ideal pet? Something very affectionate, calm, and in tuned with my emotions. Are there any websites you just don’t see the point in? I'm sure there's something. Have you got anything you’ve had since you were a baby? Stuffed animals. Mom maybe has my pacifier somewhere. Is there anyone you’re really jealous of? Envious, rather. Do you hit electronics when they don’t work? No. Do you dislike any certain group of people? Well yeah, like rapists and pedophiles. But "hate" is far more suiting. Have you ever bought anything you really wanted, only to never use it? Maybe? I never really have my own money to buy things myself. Are you scared of fireworks? No. What was the last flyer someone gave you for? No clue. Do movies/books inspire you to change your life in any way? Johnny Got His Gun furthered my will to be a pacifist. Do you read movie quotes even when you haven’t seen the movie? No? What does your favorite bag look like? It has a macabre owl/spider design. Do you customize your possessions? Not usually. What’s a smell that makes you feel ill? (besides the obvious) Gasoline will usually give me a headache if I'm dealing with it long enough. Do you get lonely easily? Yeah. Is your car older than a 2000? I don't have my own car. Where was the last place you wrote a check to/used your debit card? I don't have a debit card. Nor have I written a check. What was your favorite board game as a child? I loved Mall Madness believe that shit or not, there was a Cranium fair thing I adored, I loved Clue a lot when I was old enough to understand it, and I was crazy about this The Crocodile Hunter game too, which I've kept for nostalgia purposes, even though it's been broken for a long time. Who was the last person to give you flowers? I think Tyler. If a stranger asked you to take a picture with them what would you do? That's a big 'ole spooky nope. What do you think would be the hardest thing for you to give up? Absolutely Internet. .-. How many times have you been to a museum? A handful, I guess. Would you rather be a panda or grizzly bear? A panda. Do you like BBQ sauce? Omg NO. Have you had sex in the past 3 weeks? Well, lesbian intimacy. Do you regularly experience pain in any part of your body? My knees. Did the last person you kissed ever give you a hickey? No. Do you have to see something to really believe it? No. Do you believe everyone is gifted with something? Eh, I dunno. Have you ever been busted for under age drinking? No. Tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. What is it called? What does it look like? I have a stuffed moose on my dresser named Brownie. He's all brown and lying down. What’s the most dramatic thing you’ve ever done to prove a point? Who knows. What’s your favorite myth? The one of the Jersey Devil. Have you ever used a Ouija board? I am. SO curious. But too afraid to fuck with them lmao. Are you planning on getting tattoos? Which ones? Oh, hunny. I can at least say my next one is most likely to be the Shadow of the Colossus sigil designed as if it's stamped into the ground on my left hand. Do you read comics? What are your faves? No. Do you have any apple devices? If so what have you got? An ancient iPod nano and my old iPhone. Have you ever said something that you instantly regretted? Very likely. Do you get upset when a pet fish dies? I haven't had a fish in forever, but I never really bonded with any I did have as a little kid. Are you a soprano, alto, tenor or bass? A tenor probably, or alto? Do you bruise easily? Extremely. One reason I got tested for anemia (which came back negative). Do you know anybody who is afraid of clowns? Lots of people. Have you ever seen a zebra? At a zoo. Have you ever had a rolling backpack? Yup. Then we couldn't have them in high school for whatever reason. If you could do magic, what is the first spell you would learn? Healing. Do you hang toilet paper over or under? Whichever way it just happens to be positioned in my hands when I pick it up. When do you feel the most confident? If a situation arises where my meerkat knowledge needs to be spilled lol. What makes you laugh? Unexpected but funny things destroy me the most. Then of course there're actually good jokes and/or sarcasm. What movie quotes do you use of a regular bases? None. What’s the craziest conversation you have ever eaves-dropped on? No clue. What’s the coolest animal you’ve seen in the wild? I saw a perched owl in the woods while fishing years ago; don't remember what kind, though. It was so cool though, it stared right at us while we rowed past. Also quite sure I got a quick glimpse of a mink along the distant bank while also fishing. What do you wish you knew more about? Politics, so I could actually play a knowledgeable role in it by voting in confidence and such. Do you carry hand sanitizer every where you go? Yes. Do you use your fingers to do simple math problems? Yuuuup. Do you wear foundation? Literally only if I'm trying to look my absolute best. Otherwise, god no, I hate how it feels. Do you get self conscious when wearing a bathing suit? Don't even get me started. What makes you distracted? Music, TV, talking... basically dynamic sound. Do you wear really dark eye liner? I only ever wear black. Are you a fan of Justin Bieber? No. Does your hometown have bad memories attached to it? Yeah, some. How many subscribers do you have on your YouTube channel? Idk. Does snow and ice ever got on the inside of you window panes? I don't think so? What do you do for pain? Soldier through it, take meds, use a heating pad or cold washcloth/bag of ice depending on the type of pain, try to sleep to let it hopefully pass or alleviate. What type of lotion do you use? One for dry skin. What were your favorite clothing stores in high school? Hot Topic and rue 21. Name a YouTuber whom you think acts shallow and superficial. I'm sure there's plenty, like say, the Paul brothers. Do you know anyone who has twin babies or toddlers? A woman I vaguely know through dance has twins. If so, what are their names? Idr. Would you ever want to have twins? JESUS FUCKING CHRIST NO If you could have a car in any color you wanted, which color? Burnt orange. What is your favorite Avril Lavigne song? "Nobody's Home" is still incredible. Have you ever done something and been afraid of getting caught? Yeah. Have you ever had a bedroom that had wallpaper on the walls? I think the house I grew up in had it... Would you ever hitchhike? Why or why not? No, because I don't trust strangers for shit. What color is your stapler? Black. Do you have a desk that you sit at in your room? No. Have you ever completed a weight loss program? No. What was the last thing you were mad at a doctor about? OHHHHH, THAT STORY AGAIN?????????????? Where you live, is it possible to get sunburned&frostbitten in same week? Pretty much. Is your mother a lesbian? No. Are you part Swedish? No. Are you planning to travel outside of your country in the next 6 months? I doubt in six months. Do your parents live in the same city as you? Dad doesn't, but I live with Mom. What genre of books interest you the most? Fantasy. Do any of your close friends NOT have a Facebook account? Yeah, I think. German type foods: delicious or disgusting? I don't really know their cuisine. If you had your way, what color(s) would you dye your hair? I've seen a gorgeous pastel rainbow design on short hair before, and I my GOD I want. Do you like seafood? If so, what is your favorite? If not, what is your favorite type of food? UGH no. I do, however, like shrimp. But that's it. Have you ever eaten a veggie burger? Yeah, it wasn't that bad. I had Burger King's during my vegetarian juncture. If you could master any sport, which one would you choose? Dance. If you could meet any major political figure, who would it be? What would you say to him/her? Meh. Do you play any unique instruments? No. In school, did you take any classes to learn how to play any instruments? Flute, yes. Then after I got my lip pierced, I was moved to the percussion section to learn shit in like two days. Basically, I was useless 'til I realized I could position my lip on the mouthpiece where the ring didn't affect the flow of air much. I later got to a point of taking it out for every band class, though. Idr why; instructor probably wanted me to. Did you actually pay attention in Spanish class? I didn't take Spanish. If you drink Monster, what is your favorite flavor? If you don’t drink Monster, why not? None, because it tastes like literal poison. If you had/have a Club Penguin account, how old were you when you got it? No clue. What religion/spiritual path intrigues you the most, if any? Wiccan. What ancient culture intrigues you the most, if any? I don't remember any well enough to answer here. Are/were your parents hippies? I don't believe so? Would you ever consider getting dreadlocks? Oh lort no. If you had a baby boy right now, what would his middle name(s) be? Victor or Vincent, probably. What heritage does your last name imply? Scottish. How about your middle name? French. And first? English. What is your heritage, anyway? That I know of, Irish, German, and Polish. Were your parents born in the United States? Most importantly, were you? If not, what country? Yes to both. “Happy Holidays,” “Merry Christmas,” or “Merry X-Mas?" I couldn't care less.

#survey #quiz #questions #random

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vkstar-cornman · 4 years

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Journal to 24/7

We had a chance to visit the exhibition 24/7 in Somerset House with cheaper prices today and it was great. I’m gonna put my instant thoughts here so in case I need to rewind in the later stage of the bookmaking project.

The entrance disturbed me, as I recalled. There were several electronic-wire-fuzzing-like noises in an unpredictable rhythm, along with helicopter noises from a video explaining how often we are disturbed in sleep. I guess that was the intention. In capitalistic states filtrated with incentives, we all struggle to find peace from our inner self because we constantly have that voice that wouldn’t allow us to.

The next following exhibited items/works were a bit boring if I have to be honest. They were just bunch of random objects, that were used to once again display restlessness created by surveillance of time. But the second floor intrigued me largely, by starting with an animation of a cartoon character sleeping on an animated background formed densely by black and white pixel dots. It looks very uncanny. And a bit uncomfortable and numb, but somehow smoothing. It was quite sensational to me.

The next thing that drew my attention was one of the picture that came from a mini photo gallery on the wall, where in the picture a boy was lying on a dog’s chest. From the description I realized most of these photos were taken by amateur photographer, and it sort of amused me when I came to a question that since when has ‘sleeping’ became something worth to capture in frame, and this is an extremely extensive question to almost everyone. Has sleep been harder to capture? When I’m writing this, I suddenly remember “MTRsleep”, an anonymous Instagram account that post random sleepers in railways and it was hilarious, mostly because of the spontaneous gesture made by hongkongers when they sleep. But another thing is that sometimes these sleeping images reveal the era or current affairs that was situated at the time the picture was taken. And yet the world has never been restless no matter when. Back to the boy/dog picture, it perfectly used an animal/human relation to portray the restlessness we encountered. It’s kind of weird when realizing sleeping is more of a symbol of restless rather than rest. But I have to say, the color/shade in some of these photos were really phenomenal and they became unforgettable to me.

The plaster sculpture of hands holding phone (but without a phone) was quite interesting as well. I couldn’t what it means before reading the description card (which made me really disappointed in myself), but there’s nothing really special beyond that. It was explicit. So as the pills. I got it was quite a fun thing to think that how heavily people relies on medication to get them awake or asleep, but that’s it for me.

The letters to Nastja was quite influential to me, sincerely saying. I watched the video for quite awhile, not leaving until I realized I had to spare time to appreciate other works. When I saw the displaying letters that was all written to Nastja, I got a bit jealous. First of all I’ve never personally receive this many letters dedicated to me in my life, and secondly they were all handwritten as I mostly only receive bills or advertising letters that were printed ad nauseam (my new favorite word) with machines. At first site I even doubted this was probably a collection of letters from the 80s, not until I saw the ‘2018′ on one of the envelope. But anyway, her video strongly emphasize how healthier life has been offline, which I found hard to deny as a fact, no matter how important technical support has became to especially work and socialization. But she mentioned the letters were the only thing she actually feels excited to see and unpack, senses warmth and enthusiasm delivered through the paper from the senders. Again, it’s restlessness to blame. But she specifically said in the video it’s never algorithm to blame, because they were controlled ultimately by persons. 24/7 surprisingly portrayed lifestyles I’ve wanted.

Micheal Mandiberg’s work was somewhat understandable because it literally displayed his mac’s screenshots taken every 15 minutes in an entire year, and it got really annoying, but I have a pretty similar shifting. Gmail, programming/coding, Google drive, Google(lmao). I’m thrilled by that fact there’s not at least a bit of entertainment (games, *porn*, etc) but that’s probably a working computer or something.

My second favorite exhibited...thing is the video on a big screen, showing this person named ‘Nina’, who was assigned to do only one thing. Walk along an office’s corridor to just touch the employee’s shoulder and say ‘You okay?’ When I saw it from a distance I was sure it was gonna be boring, but after I’ve seen it I want to take my words back. Several employees were filmed to see their reactions when Nina has been doing the same thing to them every day, and of course they all had different capacities when it came ti body interaction. Some’d embrace, some’d avoid or some’d just smile and nod. I think it lures me to continue watching how the reactions differ from person to person. I am not getting the main piece of the context behind this, but it certainly drew me into simulating myself with a similar situation and think what’d happen. I actually enjoy friendly body contact as a greeting or casual engagement of socialization and it truly shocked me to see how some would actually despise it, and I would immediately regard them as unfriendly indifferent, even ‘selfish’ individuals. But it’s a right that everyone deserves afterall. There was awkwardness in between the exchange of words and actions sometimes, and it deliver the intensity of workplace to me, regarding socializations.

I went through a few more amazing works but which I’m too bothered to mention, because I just want to directly skip to my favorite part of this visit. There was a darkroom which I didn’t even know its existence due to the quietness. I pushed the blind aside and walked in, and it gave me a blind person experience since I struggled even just finding a chair, as it was dark enough to not see anything when I entered the room. Slowly, the surrounding became more visible in couple of seconds. I thought biologically, it was something to do with my eyes as it adjusted to the brightness of the room that allow me to get a better visualization of the place. But I was very much convinced it was actually the the light that got brighter later on. The bird chirping noises was calming until it got fused with some metallic/mechanical/artificial noises, that obviously didn’t belong in the nature. And seemingly besides getting brighter each second, the light had also turn slightly reddish/yellowish, forced me into thinking the room temperature has been distorted by the noises. The room structure became completely visible after 3 minutes sitting in here. Now, I am a very simple person who have difficulties when interpreting a very philosophical explanation filled with complexity to certain artwork. But this to me, worked as an extreme immersive experience because I have never felt that anxiety this clearly in a virtual area. This changes started happening the moment I stepped into the room, and I only realized maybe it was my presence that ruined the habitat of animals, and this metaphorical immersion had really brought 24/7′s essence to me. It was a FANTASTIC wrap up.

#24/7 #somerset house

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that-girl-you-were-warned-about · 7 years

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All the questions!!!

1. How long have you had a Tumblr? Off and on for 4 years2. Describe your first kiss, who was it with, what was it like, where was it etc? At my high school’s winter dance. It was super cute. 3. What’s your biggest regret? I know we all say we don’t regret things but obviously it’s how we learn, from our mistakes. So what’s something from your past you wished you could have changed? Basically the whole summer after senior year. 5. Favorite Songs at the moment? Stella and all other songs by All Time Low5. What is the craziest thing that you have ever done? I had sex in a park during the day 6. What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you? Probably when I ate some bad food and threw up on the city bus. 7. Do you have any scars and if so, how did you get them? Yep. Scar on knee from 1st grade when I fell down, lot of self harm scars, one from my cat (it was my fault for not watching where I was going), one from when my best friend accidentally grabbed my arm8. Where would you like to be in 10 years? Part of me wants to be in a grave but part of me wants to be in a castle. So yeah. 9. What are your views on drugs and alcohol? People all have their reasons for doing drugs and alcohol. So long as you don’t endanger others, I don’t really care what you do. 10. What are your views on religion? Don’t have one, but I don’t have anything against people who follow a religion. 11. Have you ever thought about ending your own life? If so, why? Oh yeah. Every single day for years. Heartbreak and depression are the main reasons I have thought about it. 12. Write 5 facts people might not know about you.I get really attached to people, I will never have children because I will never be able to give them 100%, I really want to have a pet donkey and Shetland pony, I have a Japanese sleeping mat rather than a traditional bed (helps my back), and I want to learn about coding and hacking because I find ethical hacking to be super interesting. 13. last really important text you got? “I love you”14. Can you let go? Letting go of people is really hard. 15. Discuss your first love. Was meh, guy ending up being pretty shitty. I don’t talk about it but I don’t regret it. 16. Put your ipod on shuffle and write 10 songs that pop up. Explain why each song is on there. My iPod is dead. Send me this ask separately and I will answer once it is charged. 17. Name somewhere you’d like to move or visit. London19. What are your views on mainstream music? Not a big fan usually, but some is catchy18. Are you currently missing someone? Yeah19. At what age do you think people should have sex? Not before they start high school, but don’t think there is ever a time people should have it. 20. What are your highs and lows of this past year? Highs would be passing acting class, moving, and lows would be just about all of it. 21. What are your strongest beliefs? That there are good people in this world even if they are hard to find. 22. Who are you closest to in your family? Probably my mom, but we aren’t very close. 23. How important do you think education is? Extremely important. Education doesn’t have to be in a classroom, but learning is the key to making the world a better place. 24. What’s one of your favorite shows? Bones 25. How have you changed in the past 2 years? I self harm less and drink more. 26. Name 5 people who are famous who you find attractive. Andy Biersack, Ruby Rose, and idk who else. They are pretty much all attractive. 27. Name your favorite movie and what it’s about. V for Vendetta. Religion has taken over the government and a man is inspired by Guy Fawkes. Everyone should watch it. 28. Who is someone who fascinates you and why? Most politicians because I find it fascinating that they can care so little for the people they are supposed to represent. 29. What kind of person attracts you? Not afraid to laugh loud, loves music, supportive, doesn’t reject me because of my scars. 30. What’s a problem that you have recently had or are currently having? Anxiety over social interactions has gotten really really bad. 31. Name something that you miss. My cat Abby. 32. Share 5 goals you want completed in the next 30 days. Lose 5 pounds, not cut, not get drunk, read a book, run 4 days a week. 33. What’s been the highlight of your month and the lowest point? I can hardly remember the past 30 days… I guess the high is not failing any tests and the low would be my emotions. 34. What’s something that you’ve done in the past that you would never do again? Probably a sex thing or two. 35. What is you’re biggest insecurity & why? My height because I have been made fun of for it consistently since 4th grade. 36. What were the last 3 songs you listened to and what did they mean to you? “Wicked Ones” makes me happy, “these are the lies” basically how I feel most days, and “this is gospel” fun song and one of the kids I nanny adore the video of Brendon playing it on the piano. 37. Do you have a toy that’s really special to you and if so what is it, how did you get it etc? Not a toy, but my stuffed animal dog. My mom and I went to baby’s-r-us right before I first left for college because I was sad about leaving my cat and thought a big stuffed animal might help me. 38. Have you lost anyone close to you to death? No39. What is your purpose in life? Be there for people when they need it. 40. When was the last time you cried and what was it over? Yesterday because my computer isn’t working and my head hurt and I missed my best friend. 41. If you got to spend an entire day with your favourite celebrity what would you guys do? Go to the zoo42. If you could only listen to one artist for the rest of your life, who would you choose and why? Probably fall out boy cause they got a lot of good songs 43. What are 3 traits that you like about yourself and what are three that you dislike about yourself? Personality wise. Dislike: hard time letting things go, stubborn, tend to throw safety to the wind. Like: persistent, not ashamed of my mental health, and caring 44. Can you cook? If so what are your favorite dishes to make? I can cook basic stuff. Love this couscous with Tumerick and lemon. 45. What was the last decision you regretted making? Drinking 46. Do you believe in the saying “once a cheater, always a cheater”? Yeah47. Do you ever wish you were famous? Nope48. What’s the nastiest thing anyone has ever said to YOU? Or something that’s hurt you above anything else and why? It was said to me but they didn’t know it applied to me. A person said they think gay people should be put to death. 50. What mark would you want to leave on this world after you are gone? Just help people smile. 51. Have you ever thought of having plastic surgery? No52. Have you ever jumped in the pool with your clothes on? Yeah53. Have you ever slapped a boy in the face? No 54. What’s the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for you? Kissed my scars when I was crying 55. What is one of your favorite memories? Stayed at a friend’s house all night and watched shows58. What’s the nicest present you’ve ever received? Globe from my grandma before she died 59. Have you ever had your heart broken? Yep60. Have you ever wanted to change anything about your life? If so, what? Yeah. Would love to have curable depression 61. What is something you feel like you are really good at? Nannying *idk why so many numbers are missing here*65. What’s one thing someone has done for you that was really small but made a huge impact? Got dragged to church with my family, was feeling mentally horrible so I went outside for a few minutes and a stranger asked if I was okay and said things will get better. 66. What do you do when you can’t sleep? Take meds until I do. 68. If you could change 3 things within your government, what would they be and why? I can’t even answer this cause there is so much wrong with our government 69. What’s your favourite holiday and why? Halloween cause I love all the costumes 70. What’s the kindest thing a stranger has ever done for you? Even if it’s TINY like holding a door open for you, something that you remember even though they were a complete stranger. See #6571. Who’s your favorite cartoon character? Louise Belcher 72. What’s the first song that comes to your mind while reading this and why? These are the Lies cause it’s stuck in my head. 74. What would you like to be the first dance song at your wedding? Idk, guess I try not to think about it. 75. Have you ever been told you look like a famous person, if so, who? Nope76. What’s one thing you can not live without? Animals 77. What is the most selfless thing you have ever done for someone? Idk. I do things for other people, but it just seems like what a friend should do. 78. Are you a girly girl? Sometimes 79. What color is your bed? Like the sheets…? Light purple right now80. Do you prefer light or dark haired guys? Dark 81. Are you currently frustrated with a boy? Little 82. Do you have a best friend? Yeah 82. What song makes you cry the most? Lucy 83. What’s the funniest film you’ve ever seen? Horrible Bosses was pretty funny 84. What’s something crazy that you’ve always wanted to do? Skydive without a person attached to me85. Has anything ever happened to you that you just can’t forgive? Most of the stuff my father has said 86. Ever been really drunk? No 😕87. Is there any type of rumor going around about you? Not that I know of 89. Have you ever felt ashamed about something? If so what was it & why? My height cause I was taller than all my classmates 90. Do you keep a journal? If so what mostly goes in it? Random thoughts, feelings, stories? Nope  91. Do you like somebody? Yeah92. Craziest shit ever done? Same as #593. What’s the saddest story/one that’s touched you the most that you’ve ever heard on the news? Anything to do with dog fighting 94. If you were told you were going to have 3 daughters, what would you want to name them? Ophelia, Anastasia, Lucy 95. Do you have a middle name and if so, what is it? Rose96. Are you in a relationship? No97. Do you enjoy drama? Yeah98. Are you a virgin? No99. Are you short or tall? Tall100. Do you have siblings? If so, what are their names and how old are they? Claire age 17

#i answered a thing

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