#if you need hiatuses or help let me know!

[derinwrites]

How can I make money writing fiction?

I'm gonna be straight with you. There is no guarantee that you'll make enough as an independent writer to make it worth your time. You very well might -- I make a liveable wage as an independent writer -- but many don't. Most writers I know also have a job. And luck plays a big part in it.

If you're interested in going forward in spite of this, you have two main options for monetisation open to you, and you are going to have to pick one. I call them the sales model and the sponsorship model, and you are going to have to pick one.

The sales model involves writing stories and selling them to readers. You can put books up on Amazon or Smashwords, sell them direct from your own website, enlist the help of a traditional publisher to handle that for you and let them decide where to sell, whatever -- the point is that your money is made from the sale of books to readers. If you go with a traditional publisher, you're using this model (though they will give you some of the money ahead of time in the form of an advance). Most indie authors also use this model, publishing through draft2digital, Ingram Spark, direct through Amazon, whatever. I've never relied on the sales model and can't give you any advice on how to do this, but Tumblr is full of indie authors who probably can.

The sponsorship model involves soliciting small amounts of money from various readers over time. This is ideal for web serials, and it's what I use. I use Patreon, which is designed specifically for this purpose, but you can use other sites such as ko-fi. This model involves providing regular content for free, with bonuses for those who support you.

"Can't I do both? Sell books and have a Patreon?" You absolutely can! I know several indie authors with a Patreon. I sell my completed books as ebooks and will eventually sell them as paperbacks. But your time and attention is limited, and so is your audience's, and you're going to have to half-arse one of these in order to have enough arse to whole-arse the other. You're going to make a lo of decisions that benefit either the sponsorship model or the sales model, not both. So pick your primary income source early and commit.

I can only advise on writing web serials and using the sponsorship model, so I'll go ahead with that assumption. If you want to make a liveable wage doing this, not only will you need luck, you'll also need patience. This is not a fast way to build a career. at the end of my first year of doing this, I had one single patron, and they were a real-life friend of mine. When I reached an income of $100/month, I threw a little party for myself, I was so happy. It had taken such a long time and was so much work. I reached enough to cover rent/mortgage after I'd been doing this for more than four years. It's a long term sort of career.

Here are some general tips for succeeding in this industry, given by me, someone with no formal training in any of this who only vaguely knows what they're talking about:

Have a consistent update schedule and STICK TO IT

The #1 indicator for stable success in this industry (aside from luck, which we're discounting because you can't do much about that) is having a consistent update schedule. Your readers need to know when the next chapter is coming out, and it should be coming out regularly. Ideally, you should have no breaks or hiatuses -- if you're in a bus crash or something, that might be unavoidable, and your readers will understand if you tell them, but if you're stopping and starting a lot for trivial reasons, they WILL abandon you. You can't get away with that shit if you're not Andrew Hussie, and I'm pretty sure Andrew Hussie doesn't message me for career advice on Tumblr. If you find you need a lot of hiatuses to write fast enough then you're updating too often; change your schedule. A regular schedule is more important than a fast one (ideally it should be both, but if you have to pick between the two, pick regular).

2. Pay attention to your readership, listen to what they want from you

Your income is based on a pretty complicated support structure when you're using the sponsorship model. this model relies on people finding your story, liking your story, and continuing to find it valuable enough to keep paying you month after month. This means that your rewards for your sponsors should be things that they value and will continue to pay for ('knowing I'm supporting an artist whose work I enjoy' counts as a thing that they value, to my great surprise; there's a lot of people giving me money just for the sake of giving me money, so I can pay my mortgage and keep writing for them without needing a second job), but it also means supporting the entire network that attracts readers and keeps them having the best time they can with your story -- being part of a rewarding community. Because this is advice on making money, I'm going to roughly divide your readership into groups based on how they affect your bottom line:

sponsors. People giving you money directly. The importance of keeping this group happy should be obvious.

administration and community helpers -- discord moderators, IT people, guys who set up fan wikis, whoever's handling your mailing list if you have a mailing list. You can do this stuff yourself, or you can hire someone to do it, but if you're incredibly lucky and people enjoy being a part of your reader community, people will sometimes volunteer to do the work for free. If you are lucky enough to get such people, respect them. They are doing you a massive favour, and they're not doing it for you, but to maintain a place that they value, and you have to respect both of those things. My discord has just shy of 1,300 members and is moderated by volunteers. I'd peel my own face off if I had to moderate a community that large. If you've got people stepping up to do work for you, you need to respect them and you need to make sure that they continue to find that rewarding by doing what you can to make sure that the community they're maintaining is rewarding. Sometimes this means taking actions and sometimes this means staying the fuck out of the way. Depending on the circumstances.

fan artists. Once you have people drawing your characters, writing fanfic of your stories, whatever, treat these like fucking gold. Give them a space to do this, and more importantly, give them a space to do this without you in it. Fanworks are a symptom of engagement with your work, which is massively important. They are also a component of a healthy community, an avenue for readers to talk to each other and express themselves creatively to each other. Third, fanworks act as a bridge for new readers. When readers share their art on, say, Tumblr, it can intrigue new people and get them into the story. Your job in all of this is to give them the space to work, encourage them as required or invited (I reblog most TTOU fanart that I'm tagged in on Tumblr, for instance), and other than that, stay the fuck out of their way. These people are vital to the liveblood of your community, the continued engagement of your audience, and the interest of your sponsors. Some of the fan artists will be sponsors themselves; some won't be. Those who aren't sponsors are still massively valuable for their art.

speculators, conversers, theorists, livebloggers, and That Guy Who's Just Really Jazzed For The Next Chapter. Some people don't make art but just like to chat about your story. These people are a bedrock of the community that's supporting your sponsors and increasing your readership, and therefore are critical to your income stream. Give them a place to talk. Be nice to them when they talk to you. Sometimes, they'll ask you questions about the story, which you can choose to answer or not, however you feel is appropriate. They'll also want to chat about non-story-related stuff with each other, so make sure they have a place to do that, too.

that guy who never talks to you or comments on anything but linked your story to ten guys in his office who all read it now. Some of your supporters are completely invisible to you. You can't do anything for these people except continue to release the story and have a forum they can silently lurk on if they want to. But, y'know, they exist.

If you want to focus on income then these are, roughly, the groups of people that you will need to listen to and accommodate for. You can generally just make sure they have space to do their thing, and if they want anything else, they'll tell you (yes, guys, paperbacks will be coming eventually). Many people will fit into multiple groups -- I have some sponsors that are in every single one of these groups except the last. Some will only be in one group. A healthy income rests on a healthy community which rests on accommodating these needs.

3. If you can manage it, try to make your story good.

It's also helpful for your story to be good. Economically, this is far less important than you'd think -- there are some people out there writing utter garbage and making a living doing it. Garbage by what standards? By whatever your standards are. Just think of the absolute laziest, emptiest, hackiest waste-of-bandwidth story you can imagine -- some guy is half-arsing that exact story and making three times what you'll ever make on Patreon doing it. And honestly? Good for him. If he's making that much then his readers are enjoying it, and that's what matters. Still, one critical component of making money as a writer is writing something that people actually want to read. And you can't trick them with web serials, because they don't pay in advance -- if they're bored, they'll just stop. So you have to make it worth their time, money and attention, and the simplest way to do that is to write a good story.

This hardly seems mentioning, since you were presumably planning to do that anyway. It's basic respect for your audience to give them something worth their time. Besides, if we're not interested in improving our craft and striving for our best, what are we even writing for? I'm sure I don't need to tell you to try to write a good story. The reason I list this is in fact the opposite -- don't let "I'm not a good enough writer" paralyse you. The world is full of someday-writers who endlessly fuss over and revise a single story because it's not good enough, it's not perfect, they're not Terry Pratchett yet. Neither was Terry Pratchett when his first books were published. If you're waiting to be good enough, you won't start. I didn't think Curse Words was good enough when I started releasing it -- I still don't. I started putting it out because I knew it was the only way I'd get myself to actually finish something. I don't think it's all that great, but you know what? An awful lot of people read it and really enjoyed it. And if I hadn't released it, I'd have been doing those people a disservice.

Also, it taught me a lot, and based on what I learned, Time to Orbit: Unknown is much better. If I'd never released Curse Words, if I hadn't seen how people read it and reacted to it and seen what worked and what didn't, then Time to Orbit: Unknown wouldn't be very good. And it certainly wouldn't be making me a living wage, because it was the years writing Curse Words that started building the momentum I have today.

And Time to Orbit: Unknown as it is today has some serious problems. Problems that I'm learning from. And the next book will be a lot better.

So that's basically my advice for making money in this industry. Be patient, be lucky, be consistent. Value your community; it's your lifeline, even the parts of it that don't directly pay you. And try to make your story as good as you can, but make that an activity you do, not a barrier to prevent you from starting.

Good luck.

[spookyscarydemonbabe]

Mr. Right

A/N- Sorry for my weird hiatuses 😂 i keep having to take breaks from work overload and a few other things in my personal life but hopefully i’ll be getting back into writing soon :p i’m getting Eddie brainrot back and i’m so happy about it 😍

Summary- Robin sets you up on a blind date with one of her friends, but he thinks you’ll be a much better match for someone else…

Genre- Fluff

Warnings- None

Tag List- @thatsthewaythechrissycrumbles @munsonology @esme-viridian *tag list is always open, let me know if you’d like to be added*

Word Count- 4.7k

Steve sighed after fixing up his hair for what felt like the hundredth time as he sat, waiting for any sign of the friend that Robin had sent to meet him. He was no stranger when it came to dates, but this had been the first time he’d ever gone on a blind date.

Robin said she’d be perfect for him, she was nothing like any of the other girls he’d been on dates with or flirted with. Which was perfect, considering how him trying to find himself a date never really worked out very well in his favor. But he trusted Robin.

He was just hoping he wasn’t set up with someone who was completely the opposite of his type. All he was hoping for was someone that at least acted normal. He needed someone to help make his life feel normal again.

He looked around the restaurant to try and spot you but to be honest he didn’t really know who he was looking for. All Robin told him about you was that you were a really cool person and you had a lot of different hobbies and interests, but she was hoping that you being opposites might help the attraction a bit more.

Steve almost jumped as he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder, and he gave you a kind smile as he saw you standing behind him.

“Are you Steve? I’m (y/n), I’m Robins friend.”

You were pretty, he couldn’t deny that. But once he saw you he felt like there was something off.

“Hey! Yeah, that’s me, it’s nice to meet you.”

He stood up from his chair and kindly shook your hand, guiding you to the other side of the table to push your chair in for you. Wether this would work or not, he still wanted to make a good first impression.

There were a few moments of awkward silence between the two of you as you sat across the table from one another, and Steve almost let out a sigh of relief as soon as he heard you start to talk.

“I’m guessing this is your first blind date too?” You asked him with a smile.

“Yeah,” He said with a laugh, “It’s alright though, i trust Robin. How do you two know each other?”

“We were best friends in elementary school, my family moved a few towns over freshman year but we still stayed in touch. What about you guys?” You asked.

“We met working at the mall together. I guess once you’re forced to work together in stupid sailor suits you’re friends forever.”

You shared a laugh and you felt a bit of blush rise to your cheeks.

Robin wasn’t lying when she told you that Steve was a good looking guy, not really your type, but he did have a pretty cute smile.

“So did Robin tell you anything about me?” You asked him, reaching for the glass of water across from you and taking a sip.

“Not really,” Steve said with a nervous laugh, “she said you were pretty-and you are-and she also said that she thinks we’d be a good match, but i think that’s about it.”

“She told me she thinks we’d be a good match too! I guess we should see if she’s right, what kind of stuff do you like? Music, movies, i wanna hear it all!”

“Oh no, i want to hear about you first!” Steve said to you, always the gentleman, “Tell me about yourself.”

“Alright, let’s see…” You racked your brain trying to think of some of the basics of yourself, “I really love music, it’s a big part of my life. Bands like The Cure, Wham!, and Huey Lewis and The News are some of my favorites but i think my favorite genre has to be heavy metal.” You said with a giggle.

“Really?” Steve asked with a smile, his eyebrow raised in curiosity, “You don’t really look the type to listen to music like that. Not that you have to look a certain way to listen to music, i’ve just got a friend who’s into that kind of music and you can tell almost instantly from the way he looks.”

“I get that a lot.” You giggled, “Most of the time for work or even when i’m meeting new people i like to just dress up… ‘normal’ i guess you could call it. I know that style isn’t for everyone so i wait until someone knows my personality first before i show them that side of myself. I’m sure your friend knows how judgy some people can be just from seeing that kind of style on someone.”

“Oh yeah,” He smiled, “unfortunately he knows those types of people all too well. But i know he’s a good person, just like i’m sure you’re a good person.”

You smiled to one another for a moment before the waiter came by for your orders, and after he left the table with your menus there were a few awkward moments of silence. As to be expected on any first date, especially a blind first date.

“So, what kind of music do you listen to?” You asked Steve, taking another few sips of your drink.

“I suppose it’s similar to yours, it’s really a bit of everything. Of course i like The Cure, who doesn’t, but i also really love Duran Duran, Beastie Boys have some great hits, and INXS too! I guess i’m just an average guy with an average music taste.” He said with a laugh.

“There’s nothing wrong with that!” You smiled, “Everyone likes what they like! As long as they’re not judging other people i feel like having an average music taste or a unique one is all the same.”

Steve nodded, sharing the same opinion as you. Maybe this blind date wouldn’t be as bad as he imagined.

“Alright, so we’ve got one thing we agree on! What about movies? Favorite movie, least favorite movie, genre?”

“That’s a good one! I guess i would have to say my favorite genre is horror. I love all different kinds of movies but horror has to be my favorite.”

Steve nodded as he listened to your response, though he did have a thought at the back of his mind.

From the way you’re describing yourself, it seems like you’d get along with Eddie a lot better than him.

He thought you were a really nice girl, very pretty obviously, but just based on interest he was surprised Robin didn’t try to set you up with Eddie first.

“What kind of movies do you like?”

You asked Steve, interrupting his train of thought.

“I guess if i had to pick a favorite genre, i’d say those goofy teen rom coms. You know, Sixteen Candles, Dirty Dancing, Can’t Buy Me Love. I don’t know what it is about those movies but they just reel me in you know?”

You giggled at his response, not hearing that kind of answer from other guys that looked like Steve. Handsome, put together, he was someone who seemed like he had a cool exterior at first but now that you were getting to know him he seemed more and more like someone you would be friends with. It’s not that he wasn’t cute or he wasn’t charming, he had those two boxes checked off quite easily, he just wasn’t normally your type.

The waiter soon returned to your table with your meals and throughout the night you and Steve shared a few laughs and funny stories with one another. Steve was someone you would adore being friends with, and you knew exactly why Robin was his friend too. Not to mention it gave her someone to pick on throughout the day, she needed someone like that. But you thought this was a blind date? Those friend feelings arose halfway through the night, you two had a decent amount in common and just enough differences to keep things interesting but throughout your dinner you just didn’t get that spark that usually happens on dates. To be honest, you were hoping that Steve was able to pick that up too.

Nothing worse than picking up on the wrong signals.

He cleared his throat gently to get your attention back to him as you finished your dinners and you looked up to him once more.

“You know…” He started, a nervous laugh on his lips, “I think it’s quite funny that Robin thought you and I would be a perfect match, not that i don’t think we would be! It’s just that,” He let out another laugh, “You’ve got much more in common with another friend we have, i’m surprised she didn’t set you up with him instead.”

You smiled to him, knowing that he wasn’t meaning anything bad by it, but this mystery boy he was mentioning definitely caught your attention.

You had never really been introduced to people with the same interests as you, especially a boy, given the small town you lived in. But it was nice knowing that Robin and Steve knew another person you would get along with. And you wanted to kick Robin for not setting you up with this metal boy.

“That’s alright! I mean given the fact that he’s Robins friend, and yours too, i’m sure i’ll meet him eventually.”

“You definitely should! You know, i don’t know if it’s right of me to tell you about another guy while we’re on a date, but i think you two would get along pretty well.” He said to you with a smile.

“I don’t take any offense to it. You know, to be completely honest with you,” you leaned in close to him and lowered your voice a bit, “i’m kind of glad we both agree that we didn’t really feel those ‘relationship’ feelings you know? You’re a great guy, but you’re someone i think i’d get along better with as friends.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Steve smiled, “I’m also glad you’re the one that brought it up, i didn’t want to be the asshole that told you i just wanted to be friends on the first date.”

You giggled and picked up your water glass to clink with his,

“How about we agree that this isn’t a date, it’s more of… making a new friend?”

Steve smiled and picked up his glass, gently clinking it with yours in a cheers,

“To making new friends!”

The two of you smiled and sipped your drinks, Steve setting his down and calling the waiter over for the check,

“Since this did start out as a date, i feel it’s only necessary to still be the gentleman and pay. BUT, i need you to do something for me…”

You cocked your head to the side and shot him a strange look,

“What’s that?”

“You need to come and hang out with us all next week. It’ll be fun! We usually go to my place, or Robins, there’s going to be a bunch of us there. Including that guy i was telling you about, and a few of our other friends. You in?”

You thought it over for a moment.

It would be nice to see Robin again, and of course you’d love to hang out with Steve. Not to mention that metal boy would be there.

“Id love to! It sounds like fun.” You said to him with a smile.

“Awesome! You free on Friday?”

“Sure am.”

“Perfect, let me get you my address and phone number just so you know where to go.” Steve grabbed the pen on top of the check and wrote his address and number for you onto the back of the receipt, handing it to you, “There. And if you lose this until then, i’m sure Robin knows exactly where to go.”

“I’m excited! It’ll be nice to get to hang out with you and Robin, and meet some new people too.”

“You’ll fit right in with everyone, they’re gonna love you.”

Especially Eddie, Steve thought as he stood up from the table and quickly made his way around to pull your chair out for you, earning another giggle from you.

“Still a gentleman, hm?”

“Always.” He said to you with a smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, tell me again how you met this girl?” Eddie asked Steve as they walked through Steve’s home into the living room.

As always, Eddie was the last person to arrive, but everyone else expected it from him. It had happened too many times for it to not happen tonight too, even when Steve said he had a girl for him to meet.

“Robin set me and her up on one of those blind date things, but we’re better off as friends. YOU, however, would be perfect for her so you’re lucky i like you enough to invite her over so you can meet her.”

Eddie scoffed and rolled his eyes with a smile, but as soon as the two turned true corner he froze as his eyes laid upon you.

You were sat between Robin and Nancy on the floor, talking about got knows what when Argyle cut in and got a few giggles out of the three of you.

Steve shot Eddie a strange look as he saw him standing awestruck in the hall,

“You alright?”

Eddie grabbed Steve’s collar and quickly pulled him back into the hall, eagerly whispering to him to keep from the rest of you hearing,

“THAT is the girl you brought for me? HER?”

Steve cocked his eyebrows, thinking he somehow had done something wrong from Eddie’s tone,

“Yes?… Is that a bad thing?”

“Bad thing?!” Eddie peeked back into the living room to get one last look at you, seeing your pretty smile and your bright eyes, “Steve you’re telling me you got set up with a girl that looks like… THAT?! And you WERENT interested?”

Steve smiled, finally hearing the mixture of nervousness and excitement in Eddie’s voice,

“No, she’s not my type. But i know she’s your type so i asked her to come along for tonight. She seemed to like you from what i told-“

“What did you tell her about me?” Eddie said, quickly cutting off Steve mid-sentence.

“I just told her you had similar interests! Same taste in music and movies, plus she’s got a cute smile and i know you love it when girls have a cute smile.”

“Hey, don’t talk about my girl that way.”

“Your girl?” Steve laughed, “You don’t even know her name yet.”

“…Well what’s her name?”

“Go ask her!” Steve said, pushing Eddie back and grabbing hold of the back of his jacket as he walked the two of them into the living room.

As soon as you looked up towards Eddie with that pretty smile on his face he knew he wouldn’t even be able to say ‘Hello’ to you.

The rest of the group welcomed Eddie with all smiles, Robin giving him a quick roll of the eyes,

“It’s about time you showed up, we were thinking you were just gonna skip out.”

“Of course he wouldn’t!” Steve said happily, letting go of his grip on Eddie’s jean jacket but still keeping his hand to the middle of his back, “Eds, this is (y/n), she’s Robins friend.”

You smiled to Eddie as Steve introduced you and you gave him a little wave from your spot in the couch, your cheeks blushing the sweetest shade of pink as you muttered a quiet,

“Hi.” To Eddie.

All he could do was stand before you and stare in awe, that is until Steve brought him out of his trance with a quick smack to his back.

“Hi!” Eddie said to you, nearly shouting.

You giggled a bit seeing how clearly nervous Eddie was just from being in your presence, and it was cute just to see how he acted before even officially meeting you.

Eddie was definitely how Steve described him. Tall, long hair, pretty brown eyes, and from his style it seemed like he would be acting a lot more confident than he was but just from a simple exchange of ‘hello’s you could see right through it.

He was just another shy nerdy boy getting nervous around a pretty girl.

The night went on as it normally did. Everyone talking and sharing laughs, watching movies and listening to music, at one point someone threw out the idea to order pizza and it felt like the greatest idea you’ve heard all night.

Steve grabbed the menu for the local place and with everything you all had wanted to order it would be a lot cheaper if someone went to go pick it up rather than delivering it.

“Well who’s gonna go pick it up?” Johnathan asked the group, but of course no one wanted to leave the party.

You all looked at one another for a moment before Eddie finally spoke up,

“I was the last car in the driveway, i can go pick it up.”

“(y/n) can go with you!” Robin said to him with a smile, and you could see how Eddie tensed up.

You flashed Eddie another smile as you stood up from your place on the couch,

“Sure, i don’t mind. You’ll probably need some help with all the stuff we ordered.”

Eddie smiled and nodded as the two of you got ready to head out, giving everyone a few waves before stepping out into the dark night, the gravel of Steve’s driveway crunching under your feet as you made your way down to Eddie’s van.

The walk was slow and quiet, but as you approached the van Eddie quickly picked up his pace, taking a step in front of you to open the passenger door for you, earning a smile from you.

“Wow, what a gentleman,” You said with a giggle as you climbed up into the passenger seat, “thank you, that’s sweet of you.”

“Well i think a pretty girl like you should be treated like one.” He said to you with a smile before shutting your door and making his way over to the drivers side.

You could see the pink covering Eddie’s cheeks the moment he shut his car door. And as much as you wanted him to be the one to initiate a conversation you knew that he was probably just too nervous to. So adorable.

“You know, you’re a lot like Steve described you.” You said as he pulled out of the driveway.

“Really?” He asked you, “Nothing too bad i hope.” He laughed nervously, his grip on the steering wheel getting tighter.

“Oh no! Nothing bad, i promise.” You said with a giggle, watching every so often as the streetlights illuminated his face beside you, “He said you and me were pretty similar actually.”

Eddie smiled, cocking his eyebrows as he looked over to you,

“Really? Us?”

You nodded and looked down to your lap, trying to hide the lightest blush on your cheeks. You knew the darkness around you would hide it but still, you didn’t want him to see how much he made you blush.

“So tell me about you then, what kind of stuff are we into?” He said with a smile.

“Hm…” You thought for a moment, smiling to yourself as you remembered the same conversation you had with Steve not even a week ago, “Well, i really like horror movies. Especially the ones from the 70’s, like the types of movies with all the gore and the really bad effects.”

“No way, pretty girls aren’t into that kind of stuff,” He said with a laugh, “i feel like you’re messing with me.”

“I’m not!” You giggled, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Eaten Alive, movies like that are my favorite.”

“Alright fine, but there’s no way we’ve got the same taste in music, i don’t think i’ve met any girls that listen to the same bands i do.”

“Well let’s hear some of the bands you like, i’ll tell you if i’ve listened to them.”

“Alright, um…” Eddie racked his brain to think of the most listened to cassettes in his collection at the moment, “Annihilator?”

“I really liked their first album! But i wasn’t really a fan of Crystal Ann.”

“Wow, i didn’t think that would’ve been a band you were into.” Eddie said with a smile, turning down the street, “Let’s see… What about Metal Church?”

“I love them! I think they might be my favorite band to be honest with you.” You giggled.

You thought you could hear Eddie giggle along with you under his breath, and you were hoping to hear it a few more times that night.

For a boy you quite literally just met, he was just so enchanting. It was nice to have someone to talk to.

Eddie pulled into the parking lot of the pizza place and as you unbuckled your seatbelt he stuck his hand out to stop you. They were calloused but still so soft on top of yours.

“Don’t worry about it, i’ve got it sweetheart. You just sit there and look pretty.” He said to you with a cheeky smile.

You playfully rolled your eyes and smiled as you sat back into your seat.

Eddie made his way inside with the money and you watched him pick up the pizza boxes and set a few brown bags on top of them, quickly bringing them back out to the van and setting them in the back before jumping back into the drivers seat.

“That was pretty quick,” You giggled, “you didn’t need to rush back out here.”

“Sure i did.” He smiled to you as he started the van up again, “I got a pretty girl waiting in here for me.”

You smiled back to him and turned yourself away, feeling the heat rising on your cheeks as you blushed. He was a bit dorky, but at least he was honest.

The drive back was quieter than normal, though Eddie only had himself to blame. For some reason, whenever you tried to start up another conversation he would give you short answers, not really sure how to continue talking to you. It wasn’t anything he meant to do with ill intent, he loved talking to you, but the boy was just so nervous around you.

Sure, you had wonderful conversations on the drive up, and the things he learned about you were only making him fall harder for you, but he was worried if he was thinking too much into things.

You had the same taste in movies, music, and from what he could tell you seemed like a genuine person. If you were Robins friend he knew that for a fact, but since she thought you would work better with Steve he was curious as to how he was holding up with you.

Did you like him?

Were you giggling at him because he was being cute and funny or because you felt like you needed to?

Was it a step too far calling you pretty so many times?

The boy felt love struck. Like he was experiencing his first crush all over again. He didn’t know what it was about you, but he was wrapped around your finger without even knowing it.

As he pulled back into Steve’s driveway, he finally addressed the silence on the ride home,

“Sorry, i know i was kind of quiet on the way back…” He said with a nervous laugh.

“It’s ok! Don’t be sorry, i was just worried i said or did something wrong.” You nervously smiled to him, hoping that wasn’t the case.

“Oh, no! No, you didn’t say or do anything, i’m sorry. I don’t know why i was so quiet on the way back. Honestly i think it’s because you make me a little nervous…” His sentence trailed off, hoping that you didn’t hear his last few words. Eddie didn’t want to seem like the type of guy who got too scared around girls to even talk to them.

You smiled to him and glanced over at him from the side,

“I make you nervous?” You giggled, Eddie smiled again hearing your laugh.

“A little…” He admitted. He never felt this vulnerable to quickly but with you it just felt so natural.

“You don’t have to be nervous around me! I think you just need to get to know me better.”

“Yeah…” A sudden thought popped into Eddie’s head, one that he knew would either make or break whatever possibilities of a relationship he had with you, but he had to make his move sometime, “I guess you’re right. How about next week we can get to know each other better? Just you and me?”

“You mean like a date?” Your sudden question threw him off. He was shocked you seemed so eager for him to ask, and the little twinge on excitement he heard in your voice was enough to confirm his suspicions that he made the right choice asking you.

“Yeah, like a date! Robin told me you live a little ways out of town but i don’t mind driving out a little bit. How about i pick you up at 6 on saturday and show you some of my favorite places around town?”

You smiled and felt a bit of blush rise to your cheeks, but you didn’t care if Eddie saw it,

“It’s a date.” You leaned over and before he could even give you a proper response, the gentle peck on his cheek was enough to make his face red.

You giggled and quickly jumped out of his van, him slowly following after you as he grabbed the food from the back.

The rest of the gang were waiting inside for the two of you, and they would’ve questioned Eddie’s strange demeanor had they not been starving and waiting for their food. Johnathan and Argyle were the first ones to start scarfing down the pizza as Robin and Nancy took out the rest of the appetizers and Steve grabbed some plates.

You wandered over next to Robin to help set up the rest of the food and Eddie wandered off to get some drinks when you felt a nudge on your arm,

“So?” Robin asked, “How was your ride with loverboy?”

“Shush!” You nudged her arm back with a smile, “And it was good. He’s taking me out on a date on saturday!”

Steve cut into your conversation as he set the plates down next to you,

“See! I told you they’d be perfect for each other.”

“Alright, fine, sorry.” Robin said with an eye roll, “I’ll never bother setting you up with someone ever again.”

“Woah, i never said that.”

“You just have to set him up with people that are similar to him instead of the opposite.” You said to Robin with a smile.

“My bad for trying to play cupid, can we just eat?” She gave you and Steve another eye roll but you both

Eddie wandered back over to the table and grabbed two plates, making himself one along with one for you with two cans of soda under his arms,

“(y/n), come sit with me?” He asked you with puppy dog eyes, holding up the plates to convince you further.

Steve and Robin watched as the two of you sat at the living room table, a conversation quickly starting up between the two of you on the couch but they were respectful enough to not try and make out whatever it was you were talking about. They’d see how things worked out eventually.

Steve smiled as he saw the two of you getting along so perfectly already and leaned over to Robin,

“You really thought i would make a better match for (y/n) than Eddie? Look at them, they’re perfect together.”

“They really are, aren’t they?”

Robin smiled, watching as Eddie slipped his jean jacket off to show you a few of the tattoos on his arms.

“You know i guess you didn’t do too bad playing match maker,” Steve said to her, “you just have to wait for the matches to sort themselves out.”

“Yeah, i guess this one just worked itself out for the better.” Robin looked around at the rest of the group, seeing Nancy sitting with Argyle and Johnathan, doing her best to keep the two of them from making an even bigger mess. She laughed to herself and nudged Steve, motioning him to look over at Johnathan and Argyle sharing a laugh,

“You think that’ll ever work itself out?”

#stranger things #stranger things 4 #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x yn #eddie munson fic #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x female reader

[maggiedanikka]

Let Me Go (Epilogue)

Pairing: Hangman x f!reader, Rooster x f!reader

Warnings: none, teenagers being teenagers, ANGST (but you knew that), bittersweet ending

Word Count: 5.8k

Summary: Reader is married and shares a child with Hangman, Life and circumstance drives reader into Rooster’s arms, but Hangman isn’t giving up that easily

A/N: Here it is the epilogue of Let Me Go. I can't believe this story that I thought of during my commute to work last summer, a story that I didn't anyone but me would care about is now at its official end. Even if it did take almost a year, and several hiatuses to get here. I will admit this past year has been some of the hardest of my life, with so many changes and obstacles I've gone through. But this story, this community has always been a safe space for me to run to. I'm sure that not everyone will be happy with how I chose to end this story, but this past year has taught me to trust my instincts as a writer and I will not please everyone, but I hope you understand why I went with what I did. I don't know if you all know this but Let Me Go is actually the first full-length multi-part series I've ever created, and I just wanted to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for taking this journey with me. Whether you've been here from the beginning, if you're a casual reader, someone who has waited months for me to update, to the people who have left me kind and supportive comments, and even to those who weren't necessarily the kindest. Thank you. Enough with all of that, without further ado, Let Me Go the final FINAL part.

Declan Belmont had Astrid pressed against the brick wall at the back of their high school. They definitely should not have been skipping 4th period, but the feeling of how soft her lips against his and the sounds of her whimpers as he grabbed the skin of her hips, definitely made him forget about the important test review they were currently missing. 

“Dec, slow down.” She pulled herself away from him, trying to even her breath. 

“We are not hooking up next to the soccer field.” She told him with a raised eyebrow. 

He let out an exaggerated groan before turning them both around until Declan’s back was the one against the wall. 

“Fine, fair enough” He chuckled as he gave his girlfriend a small peck on the lips. 

“I can’t help it, you look so good today.” He sighed pressing his face into her collarbone breathing in her scent. 

“I can’t keep my hands off of you.” He mumbled into her chest. 

Astrid let out a giggle, pulling his face away from her.

“You say that everyday.” 

“And it’s true!” He exclaimed

“Every. Single. Day” He pecked her lips in between every word. 

“You’re such a dork.” 

“YOUR dork.” 

“Ew you sound just like my dad.” She said, feigning a disgusted face. 

“Speaking of your dad, when are you going to introduce me to your family?” Declan asks her, his once joking demeanor fading to nervousness. 

Astrid backed away from his touch, putting distance between them. 

“Dec..” 

“Come on Atty! We’ve been official for almost 6 months! You’ve met my mom, my brother, even my stupid cousin.”

“Your cousin doesn’t count, we have trig together.” You pointed out.

“Okay fine, but besides the point, you’ve met them!” 

“Are you ashamed of me?” He asked solemnly

“No! That’s not it Dec! My family is just…” Astrid stops to piece together her thoughts.

“They’re absolutely insane!” 

“My aunts and uncles are so loud ALL THE TIME. It’s basically impossible to get ANY work done whenever they’re around.” 

“Don’t get me started on how nosey my Uncle Mickey gets. Like I think that man forgets that he’s nearing 50 and does not need to know why Beca from fourth grade and I aren’t friends anymore.” 

“Or how my Aunt Nat and Uncle Bob, LOVE to torture my dad and the sweet little imbecile he is always takes the bait.”

Astrid didn’t notice how intense her tirade was until she felt her face heating up and Declan staring at her in amusement.

“Sorry..” she told him embarrassed at her outburst. 

“You should really breathe in between monologues, you were turning blue babe.” 

“See what I mean? They make me CRAZY, and I didn’t want you to see that side of me quite yet.” Astrid admitted.

Declan chuckled before approaching Astrid, wrapping his arms around her waist, and using a finger to have her look up at him. 

“In case you haven’t noticed, I happen to like your crazy.” Declan kisses the pout off of Astrid’s face. 

“And I really like you, and I don’t see anything short of you committing murder, changing that.” 

“Can I get that in writing?” 

“I’ll even get it notarized.” 

“Lucky for you, my family’s monthly barbeque is happening tomorrow, and I can maybeee get you an invitation.”

“Aw you’d do that for me babe?” 

“I guess, and I do happen to know the host of the party.” 

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

Declan felt a knot form in his stomach as he stood outside Astrid's house, trying to muster the courage to knock on the door. He knew he shouldn't be nervous, but he couldn't help the feeling of apprehension that was creeping up on him. What if her family didn't like him? What if he did something embarrassing? What if he accidentally insulted someone?

He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Technically this was his idea, and Astrid had continually warned him about her family’s many quirks but assured him that they did have good hearts. But she didn’t elaborate further. Declan now mentally kicked himself for not asking more questions about them, now he was going into this meeting blind with no preparation or any talking points. 

“Fucking Amateur Hour Declan!” He muttered to himself, there’s no going back and changing the past now. He couldn’t stand on the front porch forever. 

Finally, he raised his hand and knocked on the door. He could hear the sounds of laughter and conversation coming from inside the house, and his nerves intensified. After what felt like an eternity, the door swung open and he was greeted by an older man, a silver fox with a broad chest wearing a leather military flight jacket. He wasn’t very tall but it didn’t make him any less terrifying. 

“So you’re the boy our little Astrid has been seeing.”  He greeted Declan with a grin 

The man had a warm smile and Declan felt himself release the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. 

Declan held out a hand towards the older man to shake. 

“No need for all of that son, welcome to the party!” 

The older man pulled Declan into a hug, clapping him on the back and dragging him into the house. 

“Don’t scare him off Pete, he just got here!” A beautiful older woman with brown shoulder length hair and kind eyes laughed at the man. 

“Sorry about him Declan, he’s just excited.”

“I’m Penny, and this is Pete.”

“Call me Mav, son.” He smiled at Declan. 

They led him to the back of the house towards the glass doors with a deck where he had a a clear view into the backyard. 

He saw a handful of men and women standing around the large yard. They held themselves in a way that made it obvious that they were military despite being out of uniform. 

Declan felt his previous nervousness return, feeling his throat get dry. He placed his hand on the door to open it, when he realized that he never properly greeted Astrid’s parents. 

“I am so sorry, I was so nervous that I forgot my manners. It’s so nice to finally meet you Mr. and Mrs Seresin.” Declan beamed at the older couple. 

“Astrid is an amazing girl and its an honor to meet the people that raised her.”

Penny and Mav stared at Declan in confusion before bursting into laughter. 

Declan stood confused at the sudden outburst. 

After they settled down, Mav clapped a hand on Declan’s shoulder. 

“You flatter us son. But we’re not Astrid’s parents.”

“I am Atty’s godmother, and Mav here is her grandpa.” 

“Hey! You say that like I’m old!” Mav pouted.

“If I’m her grandpa that makes you her grandma.” He pointed out.

“No way old man, I am perfectly happy being Auntie Penny.” 

“Yeah Yeah.” Mav wrapped an arm around Penny’s waist giving her a kiss on the temple. 

Declan felt slightly awkward watching this interaction, he wasn’t exactly used to PDA from adult couples, mostly due to his own family history of divorce. But most of it stemmed from the embarassment of wrongly assuming his girfriend’s parentage. 

“You can relax son, we definitely helped her parents with babysitting and carpool, but we can’t take credit for the woman she’s become.” Mav explained. 

“And don’t worry about us, if Atty likes you, then we like you.” 

“And that goes for all those other meatheads out in the backyard.” Penny reassured him. 

Declan nodded as the couple led him to the outside. 

“Look whos here!” Mav announced to the other attendants of the barbeque. 

The group waved and roared with excitement, greeting Declan from his vantage point on the deck. 

“Hey Dec!” His girlfriend greeted him. 

Declan momentarily forgot his troubles as he took in his girlfriend’s appearance. She looked like sunshine in her frilly yellow sundress, her head adorned with a puffy white headband, her smile beaming as she walked towards Declan’s position on the deck. 

“You’ll be okay son, we all got your back. The only person here you need to impress is that guy.” Mav pointed at a younger man, taller and somehow more menacing looking, manning the grill. 

Declan took a hard gulp as Astrid finally approached him, grabbing his hand and dragging him down the stairs of the deck towards a gathering of 3. 

“Dec, This is my Auntie Nat, Uncle Bob, and Uncle Mickey.” 

“Guys, this is Declan Belmont, my boyfriend.” 

“Nice to meet you Declan.” The woman greeted him. 

The shorter man with wire framed glasses simply smiled and nodded at Declan in greeting. 

The final man, seemed to be of hispanic descent with short buzzed hair. 

He surprised Declan by pulling him into a hug. 

“Its nice to finally put a face to a name!” Uncle Mickey beamed at Declan. 

“We all know how picky our Atty can get, so you must be something special.” 

Uncle Mickey pulled back on hug before throwing an arm around Declan’s shoulders and pulled him aside from the group and whispering. 

“ I want to know everything, do you know what you want to do after graduation? Anything you’re thinking of studying? How did you and Astrid meet? Do you love her?”

“Uncle Mickey!”

“Fanboy!” 

The other members of the group obviously heard everything from the forced huddle despite Mickey’s attempt at whispering. 

“We’ll reconvene later.” He gave a final whisper before turning back around to the rest of the group. 

Declan found purchase by Astrid’s side one again wrapping an arm around her wasit. 

“Oh no you won’t Uncle Mickey.” Astrid glared at Fanboy. 

“Yeah leave the damn boy alone.” Phoenix added. 

Bob stood silently in the middle amusement clear on his face, holding in his laughter. 

“But mija, How am I supposed to find out?”

“Fanboy, the boy has been here less than 5 minutes and you’re already giving him the third degree.” Phoenix rolled her eyes at her frend. 

“I just wanna get to know him better, see why Atty likes him so much.” 

“And don’t act like I’m the only one who’s curious” Fanboy pointed at his friends. 

“You know what, you’re right!” Bob finally spoke out. 

“I do wanna know.” 

Natasha stared at her friends in disbelief, before her face released its scowl in a look of agreement with the two men. Crossing the middle and standing by the two male daggers. 

“Traitor!” Astrid frowned at her aunt. 

“Sorry kiddo, Fanboy’s got a point”

Astrid’s face turned red in embarrassment. 

“Y’all promised to be cool.” Astrid pouted. 

The three aviators shot her an apologetic look with a shrug. 

Declan felt so much warmth and joy from watching his girlfriend interact with her family, despite their antics they all clearly deeply for one another. Almost made him forget about the menacing man across the yard watching his every move. Especially at his hand placement.

He quickly took his hand off of Astrid’s waist. Which took her by surprise, and made her think that he was horrified at her crazy family. 

“I am so sorry about them Dec. I asked them to be normal ” Astrid turned to him with pleading eyes.

Declan was confused at her uneasiness

“Don’t be! I think they’re sweet.” He replied joyfully. 

“And I will be happy to answer any and all questions you all ask me.” Declan announced to the three before distractedly looking off to the distance back to the man by the grill. 

“Then why did you..?” Astrid began to ask but trailed off as she followed her boyfriend’s line of sight, her aunt and uncles doing the same. 

“Ahh, the big man.” Mickey deduced. 

“Him? A Big Man?” 

“Are we looking at the same person right now?” Phoenix raised an eyebrow at her friend.

“I mean yeah he’s not a big man to us, but imagine how Declan feels right now.”

“Guys, you’re not making it any better.” Astrid sighed. 

“Don’t worry about him, he only looks like a grizzly bear, in actuality he is a big soft teddy bear.” Phoenix reassured the boy. 

Declan was still frozen in his place, feeling smaller he’s ever felt in his life. 

“He’s gotta meet him at some point kid, go rip the bandaid off.” Phoenix reminded her niece. 

“You’re probably right Aunt Nat.” Astrid sighed. 

“Come on Dec, lets go.” Astrid grabbed Declan’s hand and dragged him towards the grill. 

“Dad!” Astrid exclaimed as walked towards the aviator, with Declan in tow. 

“This is my boyfriend Declan.”

Declan felt frozen in place, never feeling quite as intimidated as he had in this exact moment. He outstretched a hand, a gulp trapped in his throat. The older man gave his hand a firm shake, his grip tightening and holding Declan’s in a steel grip, staring him down. 

“Dad, stop it.” Astrid chastised the man after several agonizing seconds that felt like hours to Declan.  

“But its so funny.” 

The man released his grip and his entire demeanor changed in that exact moment, like a light switch being flipped. The stoic look on his face changed to a dopey grin. 

“You should’ve seen your face! You look like you’re gonna pee your pants!” The older man chuckled. 

Declan laughed awkwardly alongside the aviator. 

“I’m sorry Dec, my dad thinks he’s funny.” 

“You used to think I was funny.” Astrid’s dad pouted.

“Yeah when I was 4”

“When I also used to think mac and cheese and mashed potatoes mixed together was the greatest food to exist.” 

“But Atty…you still think that.” Declan muttered. 

The two men maintained eye contact with one another, their grins slowly getting larger before bursting into laughter. 

Astrid stood still in her spot, a frown planted on her face. 

“Come on babe, just joking around with your dad.” 

“I think I liked you better when you were afraid of everyone.” She glared at her boyfriend. 

“Sir, has she always been this intense?” 

“Yup, even when she was a little girl, terrifying minimum wage teenage face painters who merely suggested to paint her as a butterfly, insisting yoshi was cooler.” 

“Please tell me you have a picture sir.” 

“Come on.. You know I do.” Both men laughing with one another once again. 

“I can’t believe you two are ganging up on me!” Astrid exclaimed.

“And I still stand with that previous claim, Yoshi is cooler than a butterfly.”

“You’re just further proving our point babe.” Declan smiled, reaching for Astrid’s hand once again, now feeling more comfortable. 

She dropped his hand in a huff, folding her arms across her chest. 

“I’m not a big fan of whatever.” 

“This.” waving a finger between the two men 

 “Is”

“Come on Little Chick! I thought you wanted me to get along with your boyfriend.” The mustached man pointed out. 

“Well the two of you can get along all you want in this corner, I’m going to talk to Uncle Javy and Uncle Reuben. At least they’re nice to me.” Astrid pouted as she walked away from Rooster and Declan.

Declan had the biggest smile plastered on his face watching his girlfriend walk away. 

“She’s something isn’t she?” Rooster referred to Astrid’s retreating figure. 

“That she is.”

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

Declan was honestly having a really nice time. He couldn’t remember the last time that he was at an event with extended family. It was just him, his mom, and his brother (sometimes his aunt and cousin) for as long as he could remember. Large in part due to the divorce and his dad constantly traveling for work. So it meant a lot to him that Astrid’s family welcomed him with open arms.

He had spent the better part of the hour asking Astrid’s family members funny embarrassing stories from her childhood, and he also got to meet Astrid’ Uncle Javy and Uncle Reuben, with a few more attendees joining. 

Declan was currently helping Astrid’s dad with the grill, with Mav often coming around to nitpick  the younger men’s work. And Rooster telling him to “fuck off, old man”, with Astrid and Penny laughing at their antics. 

What confused Declan was the lack of appearance from Astrid’s mom. Astrid had never mentioned having a single father so Declan knew that she probably had a mom. 

He was about to open his mouth to ask when he was interrupted by the sound of the backyard fence opening and his girlfriend’s booming voice. 

“Daddy!” 

Daddy? Wasn’t Declan already standing next to her dad?

An older blonde man dressed in service khakis had arms wide open for Astrid as she ran towards him nearly knocking him over. 

“Bagman!” Astrid’s (other?) dad exclaimed. 

The other attendees of the party approached the man. 

“Look what the cat dragged in.” Phoenix smirked

“We thought you’d be out in the Pacific for a few more weeks.” Payback commented. 

“Well y’all know me, I get shit done.”

“Plus, I missed little Pixie over here.” He answered hugging his daughter once more. 

How did Declan not know that his girlfriend had two dads? How heteronormative for him to assume that his girlfriend had a typical nuclear family? Then again she’s never mentioned too much of her family. 

The aviators threw greetings and questions at Hangman, with the man in question trying his best to answer them all. 

Declan stood at the edge of the crowd, bewildered at the new addition. Jake noticed the unfamiliar boy amongst the group.

He parted the group stopping all conversation and made eye contact with Declan. 

“Now, whos this?” Jake asked walking towards the boy. 

“Oh, daddy this is Declan. My boyfriend.” Astrid smiled introducing him. 

“Boyfriend already?” Jake turned to Bradley. 

“I thought we had more time.”

“Thats exactly what I was thinking, I was not ready.” Bradley clapped jake on the shoulder. 

“I am 16. I am more than ready. You should be too” Astrid rolled her eyes at the two men. 

“As long as you’re not ready for other things.” Bradley raised an eyebrow at the girl while Jake gave Declan a death glare. 

Astrid’s cheeks turned bright red. 

“Dad, Daddy, you’re embarassing me!” She was mortified at their behavior. 

“We just wanna make sure this boy is not gonna pressure you into something you’re not comfortable with.” Jake explained. 

“I would never sirs!” Declan interjected. 

“I can vouch for him Hangman, hes a good kid.” Bradley responded. 

“I’m going inside, this is mortifying.” Astrid ran into the house. 

“Do you need me to-?” Decaln started to follow behind her before being stopped by Jake. 

“She’ll be fine son, you stay right here.”

“ Rooster might’ve vouched for you but I’m still gonna take a peek under your hood. Make my own conclusion.” Jake led Declan to the outdoor seating beside the deck stairs. 

“So Declan right? You got a last name?” Jake asked as they both sat down.

“Belmont sir.” 

“Belmont? As in Vice Admiral Richard Belmont?” He inquired. 

“Yes sir, he’s my father.” 

“I know your dad, he works right under me, good man, dedicated to the work, dedicated to his country.”

“He works under you?” 

The pieces finally connected in Declan’s brain. Astrid Seresin. Seresin. Commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Jacob Seresin. 

How did not put that together before? 

Declan stood up abruptly, assuming a salute stance. 

“I’m sorry to be disrespectful sir, I did not know you were THE Admiral Seresin.” 

“My father taught me better than that.”

“At ease son, no need for all of that.” Admiral Seresin chuckled

Declan dropped the salute but still remained standing in stance. 

“Did Astrid not tell you?”

“No sir, we did not speak too much about our families.” 

“Well if you’re really afraid of being disrespectful, kid, you gotta know that all of these people are decorated officers.” 

“Them right there are Captains Avalone, Lennox, Lee, and Bassett.” He said pointing to the men and woman that Astrid introduced as Uncles Billy, Brig, Logan, and Auntie Callie.

“Maverick was also captain before he retired.”

“Over there are Rear Admirals Floyd, Garcia, Finch, and Machado.” 

Uncle Bob, Uncle Mickey, Uncle Reuben and Uncle Javy. 

“Finally, Old Rooster and Phoenix over there. Vice Admiral Trace, and Admiral Bradshaw.”

“Holy Shit.” Declan gulped. 

“So you better treat our Astrid right, if you’re smart you can forsee how people with our experience can ruin your life, in more ways than one.” Admiral Seresin warned. 

“Understood sir.”

Declan shifted in his spot, desperate to change the subject from the possible harm that would befall him if he ever made the mistake of hurting his girlfriend. 

“So my father works under you, sir? Last I spoke to him he was stationed to the Pacific.”

“Yes, that’s where I just returned from. Your dad is still out there though.” 

“Yeah I figured, I reckon he would’ve called by now.” Declan tried to hide his disappointment. 

Jake read him easily however. He quickly remembered his absence from his daughter’s life earlier in her childhood. Immediately feeling sorry for the boy, he motioned for him to sit once again

“I get it, it's hard, I wasn’t around much for Astrid’s childhood, I was too focused on getting to.. Well here.” 

“Was it worth it sir?” 

“Not sure I can answer that, I missed a lot, but I was lucky enough to have someone who understood my ambitions.” 

“I don’t know how y’all did it sir, especially since you being the Commander of the Pacific fleet and Atty’s other dad also being an Admiral.” 

“And especially with the stigma you two had to face with the Navy.” 

“It was a little weird and difficult at first. But Astrid made it worth it. And Bradshaw has been a big help.”

“Well you two raised an amazing daughter. How long have you been together?” Declan inquired, knowing about the rampant homophobia that still unfortunately plagued the military branch. 

But seeing how well respected and high in rank the two men were he knew that couldn’t have been easy, but now they’re both in positions where no one would dare to criticize them.

“How long have we..? Wait. Do you think me and Bradshaw are..” Admiral Seresin broke out into boisterous laughter.

“Hey Rooster! Get over here!” Declan looked at the older man in confusion as the second Admiral made his way to the duo. 

“What’s up Bagman?” Rooster responded as he halted his jog. 

“Come and give me some sugar.” Jake chuckled as he brought Bradley into a tight embrace planting a wet kiss on his cheek.

Declan felt his face heat up at the PDA presented in front of him by his girlfriend’s fathers.

Bradley stumbled back after Jake released his hold, a look of amusement on his face. 

Hangman threw an arm around the other aviator. 

“Not that I’m complaining, but not sure how my wife is gonna feel about you planting one on me Bagman,” 

Rooster laughed.

Wife? Now Declan was even more confused than before. Astrid’s dad has a wife and is also with her other dad? Is the wife okay with this? Is the wife also with Commander Seresin?

Declan felt a migraine coming on from the heavy wheels spinning in his mind trying to piece together his girlfriend’s interesting family dynamic. 

“Nicholas Bradshaw! If you don’t stop running right now, you’re not getting any Ice cream!” 

Declan’s thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a woman that looked like a more mature, not necessarily older version of his girlfriend making her way down the deck, running after a little boy that looked like a miniature version of Admiral Bradshaw.

Is this the wife? She was very beautiful.  Admiral Bradshaw is a lucky man. 

Declan had so many questions. The boy he gathered was Astrid’s little brother. And then the woman , possibly her mom??? Declan just became more confused with every passing minute.

Both Admirals stared at the woman in adoration as she chased after the boy.

“But Momma, Uncle Jakey is here!” The boy ran into Admiral Seresin’s arms who picked him up with a chuckle. 

“No love for your dad buddy?” Rooster feigned hurt. 

“Uncle Jakey. Toy please.” 

“Ouch! Little man, and here I thought you were just happy to see me.” Jake answered also feigning hurt.

“Sweets! Come and meet Pixie’s boyfriend.”

“Sorry for messing with you Dec, you just made it too easy.” 

“Now who’s this?” The woman approached their chattering.

She had kind eyes and a beautiful smile. She was dressed in a sundress that almost mimicked the one his girlfriend was wearing except in an emerald color. 

“Declan, Ma’am nice to meet you.” Declan nervously held out hand to the woman who shook it gently.

“I’m Astrid’s mom, y/n. And you must be the boyfriend we’ve hardly heard anything about.”

That one annoying song that his sister used to sing non-stop, Stacy’s Mom he thinks it’s called, never made more sense to him than at that moment.

Don’t get him wrong, Declan loved Astrid, more than anything. But in some kind of alternate universe where they weren’t together and he didn’t know her and her entire family. He would proudly declare her a MILF, but at risk of pissing off his girlfriend, her grandpa, godmother, her large array of uncles and aunts, and her dads who also happened to be top ranking navy officers, he would never admit it to another soul.

“So where have you been hiding?” Astrid’s mom asked jokingly.

“Mom! Dad! Daddy!” Astrid shouted as she exited the house and jogged down to the outdoor furniture.

Astrid slid into the gap between Declan’s arm and torso, laying a hand on his chest.

“Stop giving him the third degree.” She glared at her parents. 

“Hey! I was just introducing myself to Declan here since you refused to give your poor mother anything.” Her mom pouted while poking Astrid on the tip of her nose. 

Astrid stuck a tongue out at the older woman.

“Yeah okay mom, stop acting like you didn’t grill me about Dec last night.” Pointing a finger at y/n.

“It’s not cute, mother.” 

“Your mother happens to be very cute.” Bradley wrapped an arm around the older woman planting a kiss on her forehead. 

Jake nodded in quiet agreement, but Declan noticed a glimpse of sadness behind his eyes. He wonders what’s that about.

“Ewww Mom and Dad, can you please not do that in front me and Dec.” Astrid exclaimed, further burying her face into the crook of Declan’s neck. 

“How come you two can have PDA and me and your dad can’t?” Her mom responded. 

“Because you’re old.” 

“Don’t listen to her Sweets, you’re as beautiful as the day I met you.” Jake chuckled. 

“Atty!” A small voice originating from lower ground whined. 

“Oh her buddy!” Astrid kneeled down to her little brother’s height. 

“Did you have a good practice?” She asked grabbing Nick’s little body into her lap tickling his neck and making him laugh hysterically. 

“I want kiss!.” He shouted through his giggles.

“Anything for you Goosey!” Astrid covered her little brother’s face in kisses. 

“Momma too!” 

“Oh of course my little goose.” Y/n laughed as she kneeled down to the same level as her children. 

“What a lucky little dude.” Bradley smiled. 

The two other men chuckled watching the love fest before them. 

“Not to interrupt your little family time but since you were distracted Bradley, I took it upon myself to cook the steaks PROPERLY.” Maverick shouted across the backyard. 

“Come and get your steaks!” 

“Oh sweet, steak grandpa mav style is my favorite.” Astrid exclaimed picking up her little brother and making her way to the grill, Declan close in tow. 

“Yay steak!” Nick cheered

“Is it ‘Hurt Dad’s feelings day’, Little Chick?” Bradley groaned as he followed the rest of the group to the food. 

Jake hung back watching the sight before him. His daughter, so grown up, so beautiful, smart, and headstrong. Just like her mother. 

Jake thought back to Declan’s earlier question. Was it all worth it? Those 4 years where y/n and Astrid away was some of the loneliest of his life. He honestly took that time to take every deployment, work every detachment, and because Y/n needed time to think, he for that time being never felt guilty for his ambition.

.Y/n could never be malicious enough to keep him away from his daughter. She gave him every opportunity to be involved.  Of course, he visited his daughter as often as he could. But it definitely was not often enough. His work was all he had, he thought, so he threw himself into it completely. Up to the point where he finally surpassed Rooster. 

When those four years were up it was clear where his priorities lied, and in a way he understood what Y/N said before. He was selfish for making her take a back seat to it for so long, when she and their daughter deserved so much more than that. 

It honestly didn’t surprise him when Y/N chose Bradshaw in the end, he was there for Y/N and for Astrid when he couldn’t. It didn’t make it hurt any less though. He definitely had some dark years after that. Years where he would go months into his work, not bothering to keep in touch with his ex-wife and daughter. 

No one heard from his for an entire year after he caught wind of their wedding and Bradshaw legally adopting his daughter. 

All he had was his career, his ambitions, it was the only thing keeping him going. He thought that’s all he needed. It should have been enough. His lifelong longing should it been quenched when he was promoted to Admiral, a full 4 years before Bradshaw. He finally won. 

But did he really? 

He threw himself into a drunken stupor at the Hard Deck, ‘happily’ celebrating his promotion. Alone. Completely Alone. 

But Y/N, sweet and strong Y/N, walked into the bar. And dragged him to his feet pulling him to his senses. 

“I gave you space all these years Jake because I thought it was what you needed. I know the news about me and Bradley was not going to bve easy for you so I stayed away, I didn’t want you to think we were rubbing it in your face. I didn’t say anything when you went years making Astrid feel like she didn’t have a father, Bradley stepped in because that is the type of man he is and he loves her. But that deosn’t change the fact that you’re her father, she still looks for you every birthday, checks the news to make sure nothing bad has happened to you, still tears up whenever she sees or hears Pixie Sticks. We may have not worked out Jake, but that doesn’t mean you abandon her.” Jake hadn’t seen so much pain in your eyes since that final night before you left. 

“She doesn’t want to see me. You left me.”

“Exactly. I left you Jake. Your daughter didn’t.” 

“ And all she wants now is you to show up and apologize for the years you missed and eat the cake she baked for you for your promotion, instead of sitting here wasting away alone”

“She baked me a cake?” Jake asked his eyes filled with tears and hope for the first time in over 7 years. 

“Yeah she did. Even wrote “Congrats Daddy” on it with light green frosting to match your eyes.”

You nodded. 

“Okay, take me to see Pixie.” He smiled. 

That was 5 odd or so years ago. It took a lot of work but through endless groveling, apologies, and carefully curated gifts. Rooster finally forgave him. 

Just kidding, Astrid forgave him. Of course she says that there was no forgiving needed to be done in the first place, the young girl knew that her dad had things to work out on his own before he was ready to come home to her. But Hangman knew better and he made sure to make up for the 7 years of missed birthdays, holidays, and just regular Daddy-Daughter time, and as an admiral he had more leeway to pick his schedule and deployments. 

Things with Rooster also got better, despite his years of resentment towards the man, he definitely appreciated the care that he gave you and your daughter in his absence (even if he didn’t appreciate the way it begun). After a couple years of awkwardness where the two men couldn’t be left alone in a room together, they found a mutual respect and admiration for both of their work and dedication to the Navy. 

The two were definitely more alike than they realized, it just took an intense rivalry, a couple of punches thrown, a few black eyes, a pair of bruised jaws, a divorce, a wedding and adoption, and a couple of years of close proximity to unlock.

From there bloomed a friendship that can’t be described by anything other than a total “bromance”.

As he stood in the yard contemplating his journey to that moment, he was pulled out of his thoughts by your hand caressing his cheek. 

“How you doing Zuko?” You smiled at him with bright eyes. 

“I’m doing good Sweets.” 

“Just thinking about how fast time has passed.” He explained.

“It has been a wild ride hasn’t it?” You responded, dropping your hand, placing it back to your side. 

Jake felt cold from the removal of your hand, his body still searching for your warth even after all these years. He tried to hide his disappointment from his face but you knew him better than that. 

“You know I will always love you, right Jake?” You smiled at him sympathetically. 

“We’ve been through so much together, and even though it wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine, I will be eternally grateful to you.” 

“You gave me her.” Your eyes twinkled looking at Astrid. 

“And you know I will never get over you right?” Jake responded, his voice thick with melancholy. 

“Maybe…” You began.

“But I hope someday you will. Our love, our connection was so filled with fight and fire, and I loved it… I loved you. But after all of that, we were just left with ashes.” You looked at him, your smile bittersweet. 

“You taught me how to love Jake, and loving you, prepared me to love him.” You gestured to Bradshaw. 

“To love them.” 

You looked lovingly at your family, your friends, your husband, your children. 

“Promise me Jake, that when the time comes. You will take that love, the love you had for me, the love we shared, and you will use it to love someone who deserves it.”

“Because you deserve someone amazing, someone who will love better than I ever did.” 

You walked backwards towards the others, flashing him that same smile that started all of this, before turning around and walking away. 

“Okay.” He smiled to himself, joining the rest of the party. 

Tag List below!

@dhekebekenen

@alldaysdreamers

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@gummybear1178

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@starwars-fan26

#hangman x y/n #hangman x reader #jake seresin #jake seresin x reader #top gun #hangman #jake hangman seresin #rooster #rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x reader #rooster x reader #bradley rooster bradshaw #hangman angst #rooster angst #hangman x reader x rooster #rooster x reader x hangman #top gun maverick #rooster imagine #hangman imagine

[tasberry]

Marichat, for me at least, was never sinful.

I like them together because it's based around the trope of falling in love with your best friend. Where you get to know a person with all these quirks, all these flaws and complications, and go "Yeah, I love all of those too."

Where someone can annoy or upset you, but you talk it out and still choose each other. You love them at their best, you wanna lift each other up, but there isn't a pedestal because you climbed up together.

Chat Noir isn't Adrien's "true self" he just compartmentalizes. He breaks himself into little peices that he thinks people will like depending on the situation he's in.

When he's transformed he doesn't need to worry about looking foolish or getting chewed out by his father for inappropriate behaviour. It's still him, Chat Noir just gives him the ability to explore how he presents himself in the world.

The same can be said for Marinette as well. In fact, I'd say Marinette is a clearer example on how the true selves idea is painfully missing the point?

Marinette doesn't have the awful family life Adrien has. If she messes up, there isn't any of the disgusting, manipulative, abuse that we see from Gabriel Agreste awaiting her at home. She has a supportive family that encouraged her to be herself even before she got the earrings.

She was much more passive, but Chat Noir and Alya inspired her. They helped her be a better Ladybug, and grow into a more confident Marinette. There's more...persona bleed with Maribug. She doesn't refer to Ladybug as a different person the way Adrichat did. She knows one persona has more social power and she'll utilize it if she feels like she needs to. It's not an identity issue with her the way it was with Adrien.

Up until Adrien started to realize that Chat and Adrien are just..both aspects of him as a person thank you Plagg ily, Chat Noir was more of a character he got to play around with. This is what he thought he was doing anyway. I don't think his actions as Chat are disingenuous in anyway. He just didn't feel safe or accepted enough to let those two parts of himself stop being sectioned off until recently.

TLDR;

This episode was adorable

Marichat and the true selves thing is BS

These two fictional children are going to murder me with these adorable, heartbreaking shenanigans

SEND HELP IM USED TO LONGER ML HIATUSES WHAT IS THIS

#miraculous #miraculousladybug #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain-cheng #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #marichat #maricat #ml exaltation #ml elation #ml meta #ml analysis #ml #mlb #ml spoilers #ml speculation #ml season 5 #ml season 5 spoilers #ml love square #adrienette #adrinette #long post #shut up tas #tas talks

[dwtdog]

im really really stressed about how it will go,

i dont i just, support system wise i have almost nothing

these guys are kinda it and one person whos neutral

its just the aftermath, i dont know if everything will be okay and i get so stressed about it

my tummy issues been fucking me up man

anon :( i'll do my best to give u some general advice, but if u need anything please don't be afraid to dm me <3

the thing that really helps me through these type of situations is sitting with myself and thinking okay, what's the most likely thing that's going to happen, and how am i going to feel about that.

to start with what i think will be the outcome, the only things we know for certain that are going to happen are caiti's final statement/stream, and george's final statement.

based on what caiti has said, her final stream is going to be more general, and i assume she's going to discuss the problems with misogyny within the mcyt space, or something similar, along with the future of her content. i do not think she will say anything more directly about the situation, and if she does i don't think it will be new information, except to maybe clear up the story ghostie told

for george's statement, judging by what the rational sides of the internet are calling for and his most recent tweet, i think he is going to give a sincere apology, no matter what form that may come in, along with some sort of private, personal apology to caiti that we may never see. some people will accept what he has to say, and others will continue to call him terrible names that do not fit the situation at all. and from there, we move onward (press w :3)

i can't predict how you're going to react to these events happening, but if a look at myself, i know that i'll probably watch caiti's stream as a vod, so i can give myself time to pause and take breaks. i want to try to watch the stream before seeing others input, so i can form my own opinions without going in feeling overly negative/positive.

worse case scenario- she says something that completely puts me off the space as a whole. i don't know what that would be, maybe just some observations she's made as a female creator in the space that puts a bad taste in my mouth, and i no longer feel comfortable being here at all. in that case, i disengage completely, or let myself sit and think on it for a bit before coming to a final decision

best case scenario (realistically)- caiti does her stream, and she talks about many of the things we already know about as problems with the space, and we take that as closure from the whole thing, and send our love and support.

when george's response comes, rinse and repeat. take the time to read/watch through it without the influence of others, and come to you own conclusion before looking what anyone else has to say. do not look at twitter. if you feel that his response is satisfying to you- however that may be- than assess how active you wish to be in the community going forward, what you want to spend your time doing online. and then we heal together, as a community.

and eventually, things will get better. dream and george might take hiatuses, but i find it very, very unlikely they'll quit entirely. eventually, we'll get titan videos and the plethora of shorts and content that dream has planned, even if a wrench has been thrown into the plans

obviously, we can never predict unexpected elements, but i genuinely believe that if something big were going to drop, it would have already. don't let the behind the scenes bullshit get you down, because it always comes from ccs who either hold grudges or are trying to save their own skin/get views

hope this helps at least a little bit, but please, please reach out if you need anything. no matter the responses caiti and george give, i'll stick around to talk to u guys

#cq.asks #george situation #this was a whole lot of yap #hope it makes some sense

[happiestplacehq]

Well, it has most certainly been a time. (Eye-twitching, awkward laughter.)

Firstly, I hope you are all having a happy, safe and enjoyable festive season, whether you celebrate or have some other things going on. Though it's a bit early for it, I also want to wish you all a Happy New Year when it arrives. I really do hope it's a good one for all of you.

I've said it a few times this year already but I wanted to thank each and every one of you for your patience with me this year, and being so understanding of my not-so-fun circumstances that started this time last year. I know my activity has been sketchy, but I'm doing my best, and in the new year I'm going to put my best foot forward and really put some much-needed love back into happiestplacehq.

Going into the new year, a few things to note:

Interest Checks will be returning in January, and will now be the first Wednesday of every month. In this case, you'll have until the end of January to respond to the message, then going forward it's back to 1 week.

Interest Checks aren't changing, but I'm going to seriously stress asking for hiatuses going forward if you're going to be away for extended periods. Having relative silence from members as a mod is not helpful, as I'm always playing a guessing game and hate the thought of prematurely letting players go. You don't need to give me a reason for your hiatus, but if you don't request one and 'ghost', and then sporadically re-appear 5 months later, then I will have to be harsher on re-opening characters. A check in is all I need, but right now no one has been checking in. I am completely fine with extended hiatuses, please just keep me in the loop!

Now is a good time to let me know which characters you will be keeping in the new year as well. I have a few unfollows to post and a few bios to re-open, which will be posted at the beginning of the month, and any further dropped characters will be posted at the end of the month.

Some bios will be getting a revamp. This means new FCs, maybe some re-writes. I'll aim to push out new bios at some point.

Recent OCs will get their bios posted at the beginning of the month.

I will be making adjustments to our diversity rule, which I will post about once the page has been updated.

I really do want to push our plot forward this year as well but if folk are feeling like we need a break from big plot things, or big events, we can put that on hold until the middle of the year.

Lastly, please do reach out! If you need to spitball something, talk through a problem, or even just need a cheerleader, I'm here for that!

I look forward to writing with you all again properly in the new year! Thank you all for sticking with us for another year. It means so much that you've stuck it out with me for so long, in spite of all the absolute BS we've collectively dealt with this year. May 2024 treat you right, dammit!!

Please like this post once you have read it !!

#happiestmod #/it's 2am and i'm hungry

[pocketsizedquasar]

WE DID IT BOYS!!! WE FINISHED CHAPTER TWO!!!!!!!!

three fucking years from the start of chapter two later and we're here. LITERALLY THREE YEARS. I STARTED THE THUMBS FOR CHAPTER TWO IN AUGUST 2020. AND HERE WE ARE. AUGUST 2023. chapter two is shorter than ch1 (albeit only by eight pages), which took only one year. and thanks to ongoing global pandemic, college nonsense, intense comic-related burnout which lasted over a year, and so much other nonsense going on, this chapter took three years to complete and GODDAMN am i so glad and proud and satisfied and happy to be here. Fuck Yeah.

Thank you, emphatically, to everyone who has stuck with this comic and given me their patience and grace through the many hiatuses over this chapter's release. Thank you to the new readers I've gotten!! Thank you to every single soul who's ever left a kind comment or a nice word on here or on my socials. y'all helped fuel this thing and keep it going. you should Definitely read the whole chapter again if you're feeling up for it, now that it's one complete package :]

gonna take a pretty substantial break before the next chapter; unfortunately, ch3’s script is in desperate need of a rewrite.

as before, gonna be doing a QNA between chapters, so if you’ve got questions for me or for the pequod squad, let me know and i’ll answer them in drawing form!

thank y’all so so much for reading. i owe u my life 🐋🐋

#mobydick #moby dick #whale weekly #herman melville #melville #comic update #webcomic update #classic lit #classic literature #art #my art

[semercury]

life update

this feels a little weird to do, since i feel like tumblr has gotten away from the communities. i used to do lots of updates on my life and explanations for hiatuses (which this isn't one), but now it doesn't feel as important to do? idk. i still wanted to do this for those that care about me but maybe don't know me well enough to have other contact info or feel comfortable enough to ask me personal questions. so here's how my year has gone so far...

today was the last day of my job. i didn't like the hours they were giving me, but more importantly, and the real reason i quit when i did, i need to be home to help my mother as she goes through chemotherapy.

for those who may not know, i live with my parents, which kind of works out for them, because now they get a free caretaker. so thankfully i don't have to worry about travel or anything like that. but earlier this year, in january, my mom had a hernia surgery. during the surgery, they found a mass and sent it in to be tested. long story short, it ended up being cancer. (also while this was happening, my dad had surgery on his foot. he's able to walk now, but is still in a boot and has to be careful/use a crutch.)

originally they told us the type of cancer she had would respond well to immunotherapy, which was great, because there's way less side effects with immunotherapy than chemo. she had a couple of those treatments and all seemed to be going well. however, the doctors wanted to retest some things to make sure they were correct in what kind of treatment they needed to do. when the results came back, they realized they had been incorrect (it was a false positive? negative?? false high something? idk how it all works) and instead they would need to switch to chemotherapy.

as soon as we received that news, i put in my two weeks' notice at my job. for those who know me, i'm sure you can guess how i felt about this. but the need to be home outweighed how much i felt like i was letting people there down.

my mom started chemotherapy last monday, and it's been rough. she spent most of thursday through sunday dry heaving and being unable to eat or drink anything. she went to the cancer center for fluids and IV anti nausea medicine, and then the next day ended up in the ER for the same reason. at the moment, it seems like we have things more under control. she's able to eat a little and drink water, and the billion different medications seem to help.

but that's where i am right now. officially jobless, though i am hoping to try door dash and similar things for some income while still being able to be at home as much as i need. perhaps i will attempt to apply for a certain position i found on indeed that pays pretty well and is only two hours a day (and they're not even consecutive). but for at least a couple weeks, i'm going to be focusing on helping meal plan and clean the house.

it's been a hell of a year so far... i'm incredibly tired.

#stuff sarah says

[merrock]

As promised, there are a few pre-holiday things that I wanted to discuss with you guys this week, just so you know what is expected activity-wise through the end of the year, and some little things about keeping things festive, fresh and fun around here.

As this post might be a little bit lengthy, I am going to pop it under a cut, but please take a few minutes to read through things! xx

Firstly, although I don't have the exact dates in mind, this is a warning that we will have two more activity checks before the end of the year. One will be at the end of November / beginning of December, and one will be at the mid-month point before the holidays. The next check will be a full sweep: meaning we will look for inactive accounts, those not meeting three replies, and those who are not replying to three writers per character, nor replying to new open starters.

The mid-December check will likely just be checking for straight-up activity (inactive for two weeks: removal, inactive for one week: warning). We will not be doing a check at the end of December, but will instead be doing an interest check after the new year to allow you to make changes you need, drop characters you don't want, etc. This means that we will be toughening up and clean slating activity in the middle of January, once everyone is where they need to be. Those first couple of weeks of January should be used to do what you need to do to be meeting our rules and get back on track.

Please remember that we do not offer semi-hiatuses! It's the holidays, it's okay if you're not active every day; as long as you are able to do three replies within a two week period at any point, you are not going to lose your role, even if you might get a reminder/warning on check. We promise. If you need a hiatus, we do grant those for up to two weeks. If you speak to us personally and privately (meaning not a public OOC post, talk tags, etc.) about activity issues, we will be lenient and understanding as long as you are trying. That's all that we ask of anyone during busy times, is just that a little effort is made to be here, follow the rules, and have fun!

Not to be a meanie, but if you decide that this group is not for you, whether it just not be the perfect fit, or you simply do not have the time, please ask us for an unfollow. We absolutely never hold it against anyone! But this allows us to remain lenient while opening spots for new writers. You are always welcome to return!

As for my role as admin: I plan on maintaining rolling, daily acceptances during the holidays, and am hoping to be on daily to help with what you need. Please note that I will be having a hard "mod logs out" time at night of 10:00PM EST, with very few exceptions. And remember, just because I am online doing replies does not mean I am in mod mode -- I want to write and enjoy the holiday season with you guys, too! Please send things you need changed/updated to the ask box here on main, versus a message. Extend the same understanding and patience towards me when it comes to the holiday season and availability, is all that I ask!

Alright, past that! Let's talk a little bit about holidays in Merrock, in terms of our favorite Merrockites! As you may have noticed, we have lots of holiday fun coming up -- I recommend bookmarking our holiday guide post to keep track of everything and make it easy to plot with others around town! There should be something for everyone to do -- even those who don't celebrate specific holidays -- but we are also open to editing the post for other business owners or people who would like to offer things around town! Or even if you have ideas / suggestions. Just let us know.

We've had people ask in the past about holiday gift giving, and yes, we do allow that here! But we ask you to be considerate of dash spam. For example, if you want to give gifts to 10 friends, tag them all in one post, versus rapid fire posting 10 posts at once on dash. (It's okay to separate out a husband, a best friend, a sibling, etc.) I also want to make it clear: gifts are not mandatory. You're also welcome to post a tray of cookies and tag friends, or give out little ornaments, or just not do anything at all. We also don't want people to put so much priority into gifts that they're not active. We promise that no one will be offended if you don't have huge, elaborate gifts, or choose to focus on activity.

December and January are pretty 'in the books' for me as an admin; all of the events are drafted, announcements have been posted, birthdays and mini events are queued, so I will be taking care of site maintenance and mostly enjoying the holidays with you guys and doing my best to keep things active. I've put a lot of work into the holiday season, so please: take advantage! Post lots of open starters, reach out to those you don't normally plot with, spread love and warmth during this holiday season. xx

#merrockadmin

[corneliafm]

☆ –– incoming rule update......nice!  hey y'all your friendly neighborhood taylor here with an important update to our rules regarding activity under the cut. i apologize for how long this post is but i can't be tamed apparently. please like this post once you've read it so i know everyone is aware of the new changes.

as most of you know, i have strived to keep things pretty chill around here concerning activity. i, myself, am extremely busy and nothing has killed my muses in previous groups faster than forced/harsh activity requirement. which is why, when i created corneliafm, i wanted a more relaxed environment regarding an interest check instead of a more formal activity check that most groups have. i also kept the muse limit at maximum right away because i have a problem where i have this need to play all the pretty faces and i love creating characters.

but, starting sunday, october 1st, there will be a few rule changes regarding activity levels (and a new possible co-admin to help me out with the main).

you may pick up to three characters at the start, with more following with good, consistent activity. this avoids people (like me) picking up characters and never doing anything with them. if you already have above three currently, you can keep them, just keep in mind you must keep up activity on ALL your characters.

after acceptances, you will have 48 hours to post an intro and introduce yourself in the ooc discord (the second part is optional).

i will be switching to a more formal/standardized activity check where you must make at least 2 in character posts on all your characters per week in order to stay off an activity check. if you are consistently on an activity check, we may deny additional characters. for new characters, an intro and one post is sufficant.

"but wait, taylor," you ask, "what if i have something that stops me from being active?" i completely understand if something comes up and you cannot be active, that brings us to our next topic: hiatuses.

if at any time, you need a hiatus for whatever reason, please reach out on the main (or the mun update channel on discord) and let me know what's going on (or even just a "hey i won't be on for x amount of days". if you are on hiatus, you may not pick up any additional characters.

#cornelia.update

[mvrtaiswriting]

*ೃ༄ 1,000 Followers Event *ೃ༄

Hullo! We finally reached 1,000 followers and it feels unreal. When I started this blog, posting my first dribbles, I never expected it would have gained such traction. Yet, 3 years later we are here - I write for different fandoms now, I grew up so much since that afternoon in the middle of pandemic that made this blog come to life.

This, is, of course, all thanks to you - you who read my rambles, engage with my content, put requests forward and stick with me even during my long hiatuses. Ironically, for someone who likes to define herself as a writer, I can't seem to find the right words to thank all of you. I know I am not the most active blog, but you've stayed by my side for all these years - and even we don't talk a lot, I feel loved and appreciated. And I hope, dear readers, you feel loved just as much.

What better way to celebrate if not with a writing event?

Let's quickly look at the rules before we dive into the prompts!

❀ Pick 1 prompt & and 2 characters so that I can choose who to write for! This is to avoid getting stuck with no inspiration. (these can either be from the taking care of a lover’s injury list or the drunk prompts list - or both! you can mix and match, your choice.) ❀ Every prompt will only be used once, but characters can be reused as many times as you want! ❀Please read my rules before requesting anything. Click here for the masterlist for a previous event if you want to have a rough idea. ❀If you’re thinking about a character that I never mentioned before just feel free to ask whether or not I feel comfortable with writing about them.

Finally, here's the prompts:

⋆·˚ ༘ * drunk prompts ⋆·˚ ༘ * - all credits to the wonderful @@scealaiscoite! you can find the full list here.

“oh god, how much did you drink?!”

“y’know wha- i’ve alway thought you were th’prettiest person around.” -> with Zoro

“there’s water and painkillers on the cabinet. you know, for the hangover.”

“i don’t know if it’s just the vodka, but you look so cute in this lighting.”

“you’re the best. d’you know that?”

“okay, i think that’s enough for tonight.” -> with Ace.

“did i… did we kiss last night?" -> with Kidd.

“stay with me, please.”

“come on, let’s get you to bed.”

⋆·˚ ༘ *taking care of a lover’s injury ⋆·˚ ༘ * - all credits to the wonderful @@scealaiscoite! you can find the full list here.

“stop squirming.” -> with Ace.

“i hate how you put yourself in situations like these.”

“i can see it hurts, so show me.”

“it’s okay, just come here.”

“don’t be such a baby, it’s just rubbing alcohol.”

“you’re clearly in pain! please, just me help you.”

“c’mere, let me see.”

“you need stitches and bedrest, not booze and more fights.” -> with Zoro

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼ have fun with these!

Disclaimer - I am still working on previous requests; these will be published alongside the event works. Please be patient with me as creativity is much like a rollercoaster and it might be hard to get to write for something so specific. I can already anticipate that an Ace request will be published in the next few days.

#one piece headcanons #one piece x reader #one piece fanart #straw hat crew #straw hat pirates #one piece luffy #1000 followers event #I love every single one of you that is crazy like WHATTT pls #also I just know we're gonna have a lot of law requests coming up and I am: excited. #marta's 1000 followers event

[discluded]

If my actions towards my fave resulted in a statement from the CEO & my fave tell me to pack it up I would just delete myself from the Internet. I know tss don't care about Mile even a little bit but the dude finally got his own poster like 2 days ago and who knew him posting photos of it's advertising debut could have resulted in such a shitshow. Man got 1 day of promo and also stopped posting about it too as soon as it became a huge deal, This should be the time both him and Apo should be overwhelmed with joy at all the promos.

Haha, I'm gonna put these two together if it's okay, if only because I also want to use the second one to highlight a point.

I'm currently struggling with the idea of whether or not these kinds of people are really "fans" but given that the word fan comes from fanatic, their behavior does count as such

I actually particularly liked that Merriam-Webster added this one:

It also gives me a pause what it means to be a "fan" of someone of what you know them for (eg, being an actor) and are no longer supporting that art. Obviously, in the situation with Apo, these fanatics are proposing a boycott of the movie that Apo is starring in in order to get their way. On the other hand, Apo has always drawn a line between the personal and the professional. He's very passionate about the fact he's an actor, and he is a professional model and of course art needs to be funded nor can we expect someone to be always working.

But if you are boycotting the art of the artist you're a fan of, then what are you actually a fan of? I think therein lies the problem with the acceleration of famous-for-being-famous, microcelebrity and online celebrity culture, where people make their entire personas into brands.

As with the second case, if the artist is no longer an artist (on account of burning every single professional bridge and even the foundations of ones that can be built) then what is there left to be a fan of? His video game streaming?

I've had some interesting conversations with @blramblingx2 the last couple of days about specifically microcelebrity culture within Chinese fandoms, which can be boiled down to: when there are 1.6 billion people, everyone is a drop in a bucket. People feel that their direct support (read: historical definition of patronage) is contributing to the success of an individual. The more "microcelebrity" an individual is, the more the self-perceived importance of the fan's patronage is in return.

In all these cases, it's about the fan's ego more than the actual artist or their art. That's why we see people claiming that Apo is their "favorite" hurt by his comments rather than than respecting his perspective and trying to avoid hurting him again. So many of them have already thrown a fit and left. (My worry is that their fanaticism is so deep they won't leave him, which is more of a problem for him.)

Of course, no one is always working, and there are fans who stood by Apo's side even when he was in New York and excitedly anticipated his return. Musicians take hiatuses between albums and tours. But this is why I always try to emphasize my role in supporting Mile and Apo's work even when I'm a fan of them as individuals. You can't divorce the artist from the art nor the artist from the times they're not working.

But I'm trying to respect boundaries they both have set between the private and professional, and hoping to set an example too in how to be a fan. I'll say this as someone who produces art too -- it is touching when your work affects and moves people as the creator. And they are genuine in their affection to fans. Let's as fans always prioritize supporting the art they are so proud of that they know moves so many and helps them gain new fans.

Anyway I don't have a good conclusion to this today, but please enjoy this adorable picture of Apo. 🤏

#apo nattawin #man suang #man suang promo #meta #parasocial relationships #fan culture

[greta-van-chaos]

Come Out and Play

Jake Kiszka x Reader

Warnings | Explicit sexual content, cursing, unprotected sex, the sweetest fucking smut ever you're gonna want to claw out your eyes, pining i guess?

Word Count | 3.1k words

Authors Note | Hey hey hey there, it's been a while... clearly taking hiatuses is gonna be a thing with me so haha oops but anyways, i'm gonna work through all of my requests and half written works now until i need to material! this one hurt so much to write... hope it doesn't hurt as much to read.

~

To say you have a crush on Jake is an understatement. You are completely and utterly in love with him and you've known it from the very first second you ever laid eyes on him. Jake is kind and generous, always putting others before him while asking for nothing in return. He's insanely talented and intelligent, just the sweetest human being to ever grace this earth. We also must not let the elephant in the room go unnoticed... he's breathtakingly beautiful.

You met the Kiszkas in highschool and grew attached to each in their own way. You and Josh enjoy picking apart obscure films and music, whereas you and Sammy prefer to explore the outdoors and get into the occasional bout of trouble. Danny, practically a Kiszka himself also grew quite close to you, allowing you to be more emotional and vulnerable with him when you can't find solace in the outrageously energetic brothers.

But Jake, Jake is different. You formed a very close bond through music, guitar specifically. It was like sparks flew the very moment you met and began to hang out, slowly finding out how much you had in common and how exciting it was to be able to share such thinly found interests. You fell fast and hard, drawn in by every single part of him, his personality, his wit, his looks, his talent, the way he speaks, the way he walks... everything.

Over the years your crush grew alongside you, developing into the most intense form of love you've ever felt for another person. Why you didn't just come clean and hope the best early on is beyond you because seeing him with the revolving door of girlfriends - which was bound to happen, let's be honest here - not only made you jealous but it hurt you so deeply knowing that it wasn't you he wanted.

Staring at him from across the living room you can't help but study every single feature. You've done it a thousand times but it never seems to grow old, even with how dark the room is you can't help yourself from searching his dimly lit face. He's watching the tv, eyes half-lidded with a sleepy smile on his face, the show he's watching proves to be decent entertainment based on the low rumble of a laugh that grows in his chest every few minutes.

"You might as well take a picture," Danny whispers as he plops down on the couch next to you. Jake, Josh and, Sam have all squeezed in together on the couch opposite you.

"Oh shut up." You slap his arm and cross your own over your chest, moving your eyes back to the tv. After a moment of silence you turn back to him, "It's so bad, Danny... I don't know what to do." Your eyes meet in the darkened room and your nerves ease, Danny is your happy place when you feel like this.

"Why don't you just tell him, then at least it's out in the open." He lowers his voice even further to say this, making sure to keep your secret hidden from the others in the room.

"If he rejects me there's no coming back from it. I think i can go another decade acting like I don't want to marry him and have his kids."

"Jesus Christ y/n" Danny's laugh is so loud that Josh turns his head sharply and he shushes you louder than what could ever be deemed necessary. Lowering his voice Danny's leans down to your ear, "He won't reject you, I know it." That ends conversation, Danny turning away and placing a reassuring hand on your knee.

Within the next ten minutes everyone has made their way upstairs except for you and of course, Jake. You'd wandered into the kitchen to get a glass of water when the episode ended and when you returned he was the only person who remained. Your stomach churned.

"Where did everyone go?" You ask, trying to start up a semi-casual conversation but somehow you know Jake senses your unease. The tension coils, making your chest so goddamn tight you can barely breathe.

"Danny and Sam went to go play some videogames in the attic, Josh went to sleep."

"And what about you?" Your eyes flick to meet his for a brief moment and it's enough to rob you of any and all air your lungs could ever pull in.

"I'm probably gonna go listen to some records, you're welcome to join me."

"I'd really like that."

Something about the short distance between the living room and the stairs to Jake's bedroom makes you queasy. When he stands up you can't help it when his name tumbles past your lips and he turns to look at you.

"Yes?" His eyes show mild concern but he does well to mask it on the rest of his face.

"I need to-- Fuck..." You look down at your feet and laugh humorlessly, why are you doing this right now?

"Is everything okay?"

The dam breaks, you're not sure how or why now is the time to do it but before you can stop yourself you look him dead in the eyes. "I'm in love with you."

The entire house goes silent. It's as if you've fallen off the earth and into a pit of nothingness. His expression is eerily blank and his body is stiff.

"Jake?" You're almost afraid that if you speak too loud he'll shatter like a porcelain dish hitting kitchen tiles.

Still he doesn't speak but then his expression changes, you can only register it for a second before he breaks the silence.

"You never said anything." He says it without malice or anger, only a general observation with a tinge of disappointment.

"I was afraid," You breathe.

"Why?" He looks a little hurt and now your mind is reeling. This is not how you expected this conversation to go at all. Maybe he'd laugh, maybe he would pretend he didn't hear you and walk away, but the look on his face right now... you never would have expected to see that.

"Isn't it obvious? You're way out of my league Jake. I know the type of girls you date, they're nothing like me."

"That's always been the problem." He murmurs but instead of trusting what your ears have heard you sigh.

"I just needed you to know." You match his volume, practically breathing out the words while you fight the urge to cry.

He doesn't speak and you're guessing this is where he walks away, leaving you to sit in your little bubble of rejection, so when he steps towards you you're barely prepared and have you steady yourself by placing your palms on his chest.

"Do you remember the first day of grade nine?" He whispers, pushing you hair over your shoulder.

"Of course I do, we managed to have every single class together first semester and we took the same bus. It was a super weird first day, I saw you everywhere." Your body is trembling against him and he smirks taking your chin and tilting your head up so he has better access to your lips. Yet he doesn't move in.

"That's right and on the way home you--"

You cut him off, drunk on how close your mouths are "--I shared my headphones with you. You told me I was the first person you met that listened to classic rock and that I was the coolest girl in school."

His other hand is now gripping your hip, pulling your body flush against his and without knowing it your hands have found home in his hair. You try to pull him closer but he still doesn't relent.

"I feel the same way about you, y/n"

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" The proximity of his lips to yours is dizzying, you can barely focus on the words coming out of your mouth. A small whine escapes you when the hand holding your chin moves to cradle the back of your neck.

"I guess I was afraid too... you're too good. Always have been, always will be."

The only word you can manage is his name and it fans across his lips, willing him to lean in and close the distance.

When he finally does let his lips meet yours it's sweet and slow, your mouths exploring the new territory and mapping it as carefully as you can, preserving the moment. It feels like pure light is dancing beneath your skin, warming you from the crown of your head to the tips of your toes and the way he's holding you is enough to make you cry. He's being gentle yet holding you so firmly, with so much purpose. It's better than you could have imagined.

Eventually your hands become frantic, gripping his hair, his shirt, his face. You just want him close, as close as you can possibly get him. He pulls away to observe your you and the way his sleepy eyes are cast over your lips makes you melt.

"Please, Jake." You waited so long for this that you would beg until your voice grew hoarse. You want him and you aren't ashamed of it. You try to lead him to the couch but he pulls away again.

"Not here, lets go to my room."

When he offers his hand you take it quickly, allowing him to lead you upstairs to his bedroom. You both go up quietly but when you reach the door Jake pushes you up against it. Apparently he couldn't wait until you were safely inside, tucked away from the possibility of the boys coming out to interrupt.

His hands are holding you still against the door and his lips are attacking your throat. You can only loop your arms around his neck and try to stifle your moans.

Eventually he reaches for the door handle and wraps an arm around you so you don't fall over when it opens. Jake's room is the same as it's always been. Guitar gear strewn all over the floor and atop every surface he could find. There are a handful of oddly placed posters on the walls and ceiling and so many bookshelves its hard to count. It all brings a huge smile to your face.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" When you turn back to the him the door is closed and he looks nervous, cheeks pink and eyes downcast.

You approach him and take his face in your hands, placing a sweet kiss on his lips, "I've never been more sure in my life."

He smiles and your knees almost give out. He's everything you've ever wanted and more.

Jake backs you up, carefully directing you until the backs of your knees hit the bed. You let him lay you down and he kisses you until your down on the mattress. He's trying to be soft and careful but you can tell from the look in his eyes that he's itching to have his hands on every part of you he possibly can.

"You can touch me, Jake. I want you to." You take his hands in yours and guide them to your breasts. He's tentative at first, just getting used to being able to touch you but then he starts kissing you again and his hands travel down your stomach to the band of your pajama pants. You whimper out a plea and he answers by letting his fingers fall further, under the fabric of your pants. They now dance along the edge of your underwear, featherlight.

"Have you thought about this a lot?" He whispers into your neck, "Thought about me touching you here?"

"Yes, Jake. So many nights-- I--"

His hand dips further and your breath catches in your throat when he runs his fingers through your folds.

"Oh my god--" He closes his eyes and withdraws his hand "You're so wet, is this all for me?"

You nod and bite your lip, watching as he slips the very fingers that were just caressing you in a place you never thought they'd venture, into his mouth. Your body acts by itself, lacing your fingers into his hair and pulling his mouth back to yours. You could almost cry, you're so happy, so completely full of love for the man above you. Never could you have imagined that all of your wildest dreams would come true like this... so goddamn easily.

You claw at his shirt, your fingers unable to move as fast as your brain as you try to pull it over his head. He helps you out, sitting back on his knees to remove the fabric. With his chest on display your body goes warm. You sit up and run your hands down his sides, placing kisses to each collarbones and down his sternum to his stomach. A quiet moan shakes out of his when you kiss below his navel, letting your hands work to pull down his pants.

"I've thought about it too, y'know." He says, breaking the haze a little bit to look you in the eyes, nothing but sincerity on his face.

"I really can't believe it Jake... I've spent so long--" You clear your throat, biting back the tears that have been waiting all night to fall. You refuse to let that happen right now. Settling on your words, you speak again, "I have been so in love with you for so long."

"I wish we didn't waste so much time dancing around this." He frowns, caressing your cheek.

"But we're here now. Together. So let's just focus on that." You finally manage to untie the knot in the strings of his pajama pants and pull them down along with his boxers.

The sight of him naked is enough to make you clench your thighs together and your cheeks to go hot. Although Jake is currently between your open legs, keeping them from closing.

"I think this can come off now," He mumbles as he pulls your own shirt over your head. His eyes go wide at the sight of your bare chest and it actually takes him a few minutes to recover.

"You alright, Jakey?" You tease. He huffs a laugh and continues on with removing your clothes, now sliding off your pants and underwear.

Finally, neither of you have a single scrap of clothing on and can admire each other. Jake is so transfixed by the way you look, spread out beneath him that you have run a hand down his arm and whisper his name to get his attention.

"Please don't make me wait any longer." You whine, pulling him in for yet another kiss, although this one is so incredibly gentle that it feels like the first.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Jake places a kiss to your forehead and lines himself up. It's all so intimate, so many feelings are being given closure tonight. You're overwhelmed but it's so worth it to be in the position you are.

He's about to push into you when you look him in the eyes again for the second time tonight and blurt out the words you've been waiting so long to say. "I love you, Jake."

"God--" He hangs his head and laughs, though it holds no humor, it sounds almost pained. When he meets your eyes again they're glassy and you almost regret your words before he speaks again, "I have never loved another as much as I love you."

The rush of adoration causes you to practically lunge forward and you wrap your arms around him, pressing your lips to his, hard. He slowly fits himself into you to a hilt as he kisses you. You're both panting, chests meeting heavily with every breathe. So many years of unspoken words and emotions are unspooling between your bodies. So many years of wanting and hurt, all for it to be put at ease with one single sentence.

He's slow and gentle, feeling every inch of you as if to memorize it all tonight. You continue to kiss, not willing to let each other go in any capacity. The tenderness of it all, the meaning behind the movements of your bodies, it make everything so bright, so vivid.

"Jake-- I need you-- Please--"

"You've got me, love, you've got me--" His words are whispered in your ear before he nuzzles his face into your neck and picks up the pace of his movements.

Already you're writhing and unravelling beneath him, your hips pumping furiously to meet his. Any care you had for the other occupants of the house hearing you have been thrown out the window. You're so transfixed by each other that you couldn't bear to have another thought in your head other than Jake.

The sounds he's drawing out of you are that of which no other love could achieve. You've never felt like this before, not once and now that you have, you're addicted. Although haven't you always been? Jake has always been different, always made you feel like no one else has.

You smile, closing your eyes and getting lost in the rhythm of his thrusts and the bliss of the puzzle pieces finally falling into place. Hot tears begin to fall down your cheeks as you toe the edge of your orgasm, all of the feelings welling and threatening to completely shatter you.

"I'm so close, Jake--" You pant, digging your nails into his back when he bites your shoulder to stifle a groan.

"I wanna hear you-- let go for me and let me hear how pretty you sound--" His words are all broken from how intensely he's chasing his own release and it pushes you over the edge.

Somehow you both managed to cum in tandem, your moans and heavy breathes falling into sync with one another. He carefully lays on top of you, not ready to remove himself yet.

You both just lay there, quietly. You draw shapes on his back with your fingertips and he caresses your arm, occasionally placing the odd kiss to your shoulder and neck.

After a few more beats of silence he lifts up his head to look at you, "So, what changed?"

You look down at him, confusion evident on your face. "What do you mean?"

"What made you tell me, what made this the right time?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I'd say Danny encouraged me but... he's been encouraging me since the beginning." You play your fingers through his hair and he closes his eyes, leaning into the feeling. "It just felt right."

"I'm glad you did. I was so worried I'd lose you if I said anything."

"Never, Jake. Never. I'm with you forever, no matter what."

He nods in agreement and props himself up on his elbows so he can kiss you. For the rest of the night you stay cuddled up under the covers, reminiscing and catching up on all the missed time.

If you want to be tagged in upcoming posts you can join my taglist!

Taglist | @sarakaygvf@jakeyboiiiiiii@celestialfauna@gretavanfleas@gretavanlace@koifishkoifish @ageofnyahh @gvfrry @doodle417 @fleetsonfire @joshkiszkas @brokenbellz @thefleetofdreams @angelbabyivy @weightofdreams-gvf @eearevee @dakotadovato @sam-gvf-9 7 @letswalktogether @alisonwonderland29 @llightmyllovee @hayley1623 @erin-rose-hackl @jakekiszkalovebot @jakeslovehandles @theweightofjake @janelikemaryyy @jakekiszkasleftnutsack @hippiestardust @myownparadise96 @gretavanflowerpower @groggyvanfleet @gvfslayallday @kayleea122 @kdarling1 @heatmyfleet @ascendingtothestarsasone @tripthelightjaketastic @prophetoft @keighoe @seventieswhore @highwayhunch @weightofdreamz @vader-kai @irrevocably24 @sammyslappers @mintysammykiszka @angelqueen99 @sammiejane22 @gretasmokerising @troublegetssoloud71 @jordiesworld @samkiszkalover

#greta van fleet fan fiction #greta van fleet #gvf #jake kiszka #danny wagner #josh kiszka #sam kiszka #gvf x reader #greta van fleet x reader #danny gvf #jake gvf #greta van fic #greta van fleet imagine #jake kiszka fanfic #jake kiszka x reader #greta van fleet smut #greta van fleet fic #gvf fanfiction #jake kiszka smut #jake kiszka imagine #jake kiszka oneshot #jake kiszka fluff #peaceful army #josh gvf #daniel wagner #sammy gvf #sam gvf

[punishing-gray-raven-ocs]

What is this blog even about?

Hi Commandants. In case you’re new, I’d like to let you in on what this pile of crap is about.

Even if you’ve been here for a while, you might need a refresher, considering life has pulled me into hiatuses several times. I even closed the blog down once because life was being a pile of junk. But I’m back now and will pop in during the day to keep the fun going.

Besides there’s like me and five other active PGR blogs. PGR apparently isn’t like the Miraculous Ladybug fandom on here but I’d like to be here for the five people that like this game.

I’m the Celica of Punishing Gray Raven OC Development. ♡ I’m here to help all Commandants develop their Commandants and/or original Constructs while enjoying the experience that is Punishing Gray Raven. Particularly for those of us that can’t draw. If the fate of the world rested on my ability to draw a can of beans, we’d all be blown sky high. But as a form of stress relief, I lose myself in the art of storytelling. I love to invent characters in another world that takes me far away from this one.

As the world we know continues to fall apart in innumerable ways, I hope creating Punishing Gray Raven OCs brings you at least a little comfort. Even if you don’t have a single PGR OC, even if you don’t care about OCs in the slightest, you’re still welcome as long as you enjoy Punishing Gray Raven. As long as you’re even slightly interested in the game.

The game (surprisingly) still hasn’t achieved the stardom it deserves and there’s about ten PGR fans on Tumblr. I’m not here to amass hundreds of followers or likes or reblogs. I’m not here to become the Top Dog in any way. I’m here to help PGR fans enjoy the game we love, whether they have OCs or not.

Even if only two of you like one of my posts, I’m happy just knowing I’m helping someone love the game. Because for whatever reason (Genshin Impact maybe?? I don’t know????), PGR isn’t as popular as it should be and deserves all the attention it can get.

Here you’ll find an assortment of posts meant to encourage OC development and enjoyment of Punishing Gray Raven. You’ll also find me posting about my own OCs. Not only is it a form of stress relief for me, but I post about my own OCs to encourage you guys to create your own.

Even if you never post about them on Tumblr.

I just love thinking that I’m inspiring someone to write about or draw their own Construct or Commandant.

- Courtney

#punishing gray raven #pgr #pgr ocs #anime ocs #gacha games #oc development

[andypantsx3]

hi!! i've been wanting to get into fic writing, and ur one of my top fav writers on this app so i just wanted to ask for ur opinion hshshhs specifically on finding the confidence to put ur writing out there; i've always been very sensitive of showing people my works, and this'll be my first time writing fics EVER so yeahhh

also what are your thoughts on getting interactions/growing your blog? or finding moots! i don't really spend /that/ much time on here but i really wanna start writing fics and this is the platform i'm most comfy with!!

hope ur having a great day andie!! 💖💖

Omg first of all hellll yeah!!!! I'm so excited for you to share your work, this community is generally a very lovely place filled with very lovely people, and there's no better place for you to share your work imho.

I don't have super solid advice as I have kind of fallen into a lot of this by mistake, rather than worked concretely towards anything (except growing my writing style--that I have worked hard on). But I will try to answer as best I can!! I hope these answers are helpful!!

1. Getting confidence to share your work

In terms of dredging up the confidence to share, my own personal drive was the isolation during the beginning of the pandemic, where I was dying for a connection other than my roommates lol. I wanted to connect with people who loved the stuff I loved, and I wanted to have fun messing around with a little escapist fantasy in hopes that other people needed it too.

While the pandemic has died down a little, I think the same motivation might work for you too. The reward of connecting with the people who love the same things you love, and who might like to read the same stories you love to write--that's powerful. Think of all the friendships, advice, and just pure and simple community connection you would be missing out on by not sharing!! You deserve all the love and the friendships that I know will come your way after publishing, you just have to open the door.

And I would also say, try making things as comfortable as possible for yourself before sharing, to make it easier. Since you say you're a little sensitive about sharing your work, I'd edit your blog and your ao3 fic notes to tell people you're not yet ready for constructive criticism. I can say from experience asking for concrit that most of it is actually not that constructive (or is at least misinformed about what concrit is) and it can definitely mess with your motivation to finish a story. So give yourself a buffer and let your first experiences publishing online be kind and gentle ones!!

2. Getting interactions/growing your blog

This is probably easy for me to say because I already have so much of the connection I originally desired, but the best advice I can give is try to find a motivational balance between wanting to share your writing, and wanting validation. I cannot emphasize enough how much it's going to suck if you premise your online writing career around other people's validation in terms of numbers of likes, reblogs, kudos, etc.

That is not to say there is anything wrong with wanting validation. I think it's completely natural to want those things, but I definitely recommend really asking yourself how that squares with the other aspects of writing; namely, how much you love writing and sharing that writing, regardless of other people's opinions. I've had to take 2 multiple-month-long hiatuses already when I started to crave numeric validation beyond anything--it seriously sucks all the fun out of fandom and absolutely destroys your mental health--and I don't want you to ever have to experience the same thing.

That disclaimer being said, there are a couple major things that I think fic writers do to maximize engagement/exposure.

Posting time is the biggest one--depending on where you are from and what audience you are targeting, you can research the ao3/tumblr posting times that will net you the most eyes on your post. I don't have any resources on hand but I can say from experience that posting during daytime weekend hours in the US, I usually get more initial reaction from people than if I post at night or during the middle of the week.

A lot of writers join zines, challenges, big bangs etc to meet other writers/artists, and to get their work in front of more people. I don't have good advice for joining zines or anything since I was just asked randomly one time, but I'm pretty sure there is a bnha zine bulletin tumblr that will let you know if there are zines opening admissions for new writers and stuff like that!! I would recommend digging around for something like that to see if there is anything that looks interesting to you.

3. Finding moots

This one is another one I don't have amazing advice for because I think almost every single moot I have found me. I never want to bother people so I usually don't initiate interactions unless I am EXTREMELY interested in what a person is posting, or unless it's clear that they actually do wanna talk to me.

But what my moots have done is literally just talked to me. Consistently and kindly, navigating the twisting rapids of my online awkwardness. Eventually, I have seen them enough on my posts or in my inbox to realize that they wanna be friends and they do want to interact regularly. So I would recommend doing just that. If there's someone you admire or want to be friends with, interact with them first! Ask them questions and try to get to know them, and make it clear that you're not just being nice--you do wanna be friends.

I think a bunch of people also run discord servers and stuff like that that you can join where you can chat more intimately with people and get to know them as friends rather than just blogs. I would dig around on peoples' pages to see if they're in any kind of server you would be interested in too.

And usually with friends comes their friends, too, which is how I have moots I am not super close with but like and respect and know peripherally. So keep your heart open to them too, and soon you will have yourself a lovely circle of moots!!

Anyway this was a lot. I hope at least some of these answers are helpful!! I'm wishing you tons of luck and sending you my best vibes, and I'd be super happy to read your fic if/when you're ready to share!

#ask andie

[barbierpt]

do u have any advice as an admin for how to deal with long term inactive members? a person in ur rp who has never rly been active since day one. they either do the bare min. for ac every now and then or take hiatus after hiatus, and they dont seem interested but also dont want to leave. in particular they are someone holding a spot that a lot of people want or is rly pivotal to the plot. after reaching out and asking for them to step up there's no change, is it wrong to ask them to leave? does it mean trying to do more for them to write? i dont want ever to be mean and also dont want someone to bad mouth me to 50 blogs bc i asked them to step down. not a current situation just one that ive had and felt at a loss with and thinking about

hey anon!! so i've actually had a similar situation before and i know it's really nerve-wracking and frustrating. given all the information you've shared with me, i'd say it's not wrong to ask them to leave. they're holding a spot that's pivotal to your plot that isn't going to move if they're never around AND it's also so disruptive to the other players who have connections with this writer. idk what their response was when you initially reached out and asked them to step up or how long this has been going on specifically but if you're coming to an rpt for advice it's clearly gone on till you're reaching a breaking point. i get it –– it's never fun being the "bad guy" admin but at the end of the day you need to do what's right for your group.

i have two points of advice on this situation for you to do with as you wish:

you can ask this player to leave and just get it over with. obviously be polite about it and professional about it and state the reasoning why. you've mentioned having a conversation with them to step up so that is something you can reference and mention that there's been no change since then and how it's affecting the group negatively.

you can give them one more shot. i get that real life factors might be influencing their activity and their lack of interest might not be intentional. i've also been that player who kept going on back to back hiatuses because i was having physical health issues on top of other, uh, pretty traumatic events that went on in the course of six months. i didn't want to leave the group but life just kept getting in the way unexpectedly. if you go this route, talk with them seriously and maybe ask if there's something going on that you should be aware of. again, mention your previous conversation about stepping up and seeing no change. i'd recommend no longer granting them a hiatus either (well, depending on the circumstances if they really need one, go with your gut) and giving them a stern warning that if things don't change in x amount of time they'll be removed from the group. and then go from there.

i hope this helps you, anon!! good luck and pls let me know how it goes!! 💓

#rpt