#this took me MONTHS to write and was a struggle

[callofdudes]

I've got a pride month request coming along as well, I'm just getting lots of writing juices back. So don't mind me, sorry, a little "fun" mental health post. Don't take all of this as 100% as I'm not a mental health professional but I do study psychology for leisure.

Dissociation and indifference.

While able to crack jokes and engage with others, he's generally learned to keep his hands out of hot water, and if he does, he doesn't show that it burns him. On top of many mental health medications causing fatigue, distance, and emotional lows, Ghost does his best not to express the stress that work brings to him. Which is something that can be seen either as a strong male role model, or the less healthy version, evasion of one's emotional needs over physical.

Let's be honest, Ghost spends most of his time in the gym rather than talking to a therapist. And while working on yourself physically can be a breath of fresh air, sometimes it's good to let the mind breathe too.

It takes him a lot of time to open up. For a lot of people, recognizing that trust is trust no matter how close you are to the person. Ghost's lack of trust does not distinguish between blood or friend. It has to be him that makes that step, but it's working through the indifference that helps get to the core of his pain. As indifference to topics like mental health discussions can be a coping mechanism against how one feels.

"Simon, can I get you some tea?" You asked when you looked over at him and saw him sitting silently on the couch. He rubbed his knuckles as he stared at the wall, then shrugged.

"Are you hungry?"

Another shrug. "Depends what you're making." He finally responded, deadpan and unenthusiastic. You frowned softly and decided to make him some tea. Soon heading to the couch, you set down the cup and sat next to him.

You quietly relaxed. "Would you like to talk about anything?" You knew you had to let Simon come to you. It was difficult, but extending that offer and reassuring him you were there was always the first step.

He was quiet for a moment. "No."

"Ok... When you're ready." You gently rubbed his shoulder. You relaxed next to him and turned on the tv. The faint glow of the passing frames flashed against his pupils but his reactions to it were minimal.

After some time, he reached for the tea and took some sips. "Y/n...?" He shifted slightly.

You looked over at him and nodded.

"Can we... Talk about something?"

You paused the movie and shifted to sit facing him some more, giving him your attention. "Of course, what do you need to talk about?"

His shoulders relaxed slightly at the reciprocation, and slowly brought his needs and feelings out, letting you see the inner workings for a little bit. And you listened.

Dramatic emotional switches.

Sometimes this is harder to analyze or to catch, but this can be a sign of stress or like indifference, a cherry aversion to the hectic world around us.

While this can absolutely just be someone's nature, mental health is most times disguised within layers of regular everyday emotion that not even the person doing it may realize.

I think Johnny's cheerfulness comes from his nature, but under stressful circumstances it can come out as a way of attempting to feel in control of his hectic environment. We don't see this often, but it is common amongst individuals struggling with stress and anxiety.

But after these stressful happy sprints, it can lead to an emotional low due to stress catching up, or being too much to ignore and push aside. Leading to days of not feeling happy at all. Common themes of depression can be random emotional highs, followed by feeling like the world is horrible and you'd rather die than do anything else.

Like with Ghost, this can absolutely be a character trait to boost morale in friends, not wanting to see them fall into the emotional state they are wishing to ignore. During work, Johnny comes off as a strong and intelligent role model, and I think he knows how to distinguish work and personal life better than the others. Willing to confront the bulk of his feelings and stress when in an environment where he doesn't feel the need to constantly be the last line of morale.

It had been a while since you'd seen Johnny. You'd recently come back from a pretty excruciating mission and you couldn't blame him for wanting rest. When dinner rolled around you headed to his room and knocked. "Johnny?"

A minute of silence before Johnny perked up. "Come in."

You shifted the door and headed inside to see him relaxing on his bed with his sketchpad. "Hey y/n." He smiled warmly, sharing his warm presence with you.

"Heh Johnny, food is out in 20, guy hungry?"

"Yeah! I'll be out in a bit. I've just gotta finish this drawing."

"Cool, can I have a look?"

He hesitated slightly, then nodded, his smile returning. "Yeah sure." He sat up and let you come over and see his sketchbook. You looked down at the drawing and smiled softly. "I keep forgetting you're so good at that."

He looked up at you, the smile on his lips not fully translating to the lost expression behind his eyes.

You looked at him, and gently touched his shoulder. "You good? I know you had a close call, even if the medics said you were good."

"Yeah, I'm feeling good. A little sore, but it comes with the territory." He closed his sketchbook.

A moment of silence came between you two, and the look you gave him made tears spill into his eyes. "Johnny..." You opened your arms.

Johnny hesitated before hugging you tightly. You held him back, gently stroking his back. "You're ok... We're all ok." You assured him as his tears wet your shoulder. "You did amazing.."

Johnny let out the burst of emotion, finally allowing himself to come down from that false high, and rest in the knowledge that he was ok here.

Overworking, trouble distinguishing work from personal life.

Price has a tendency to overwork himself when he's feeling stressed or agitated. Oftentimes indulging in one or more cigars to momentarily get a hit of relief for a much more extensive problem. When growing up with role models that pushed for perfection and hard work it can make it hard to distinguish the stresses of work from personal life. Price ends up taking a lot of the work stress home, and vice versa.

This can lead to him feeling even more stressed or striving to trap the things going on around him in both personal and professional settings under his thumb. Burying himself in his work can help him feel like he's being productive or that he has control over what happens in that space.

He's constantly reassuring his team, as captain even if he feels out of control it's his job to keep his head on and make sure his team feels like he has both hands on wheel, which can be stressful. Over time this is a tactic that has been branded into his behaviour and he is always doing this.

In his home life this can affect how he acts in the home, including feeling a need to take control more often to feel that people he loves in his environment are properly taken care of.

This can also lead to his underlying anger and tendencies to push down his frustrations and work it out through physical activity or cussing at a wall until he's tired. But, also not the type of person to go to therapy about this, as he may not even realize it's a problem if it's so deep in his routine.

You leaned on the doorframe of Price's study as he worked away. He'd had dinner in there, and the plate was still stacked on the edge of the desk where he'd mentally told himself he would take it back.

"You doing ok, John?" You asked, and walked over to him.

"Mhm. Got stuff to do for Laswell..."

"Important report?"

He shrugged. "Something like that. Just need a bit. I'll come away soon."

You nodded and gently rubbed his shoulder. "Well, don't work yourself stiff, ok?"

He nodded after a moment, his eyes not leaving his computer. You didn't say anything else and left him to his work. Around an hour later you came back. "How's it coming?"

"Mm... More stuff to finish." He muttered, still glued to the screen.

"It can wait, you're off duty... I'm sure Laswell knows that."

This time Price didn't respond, and you knew you needed to step in. "John." You came over and gently touched his shoulder. Finally, he looked up at you, searching your eyes for anger.

You gently squeezed him. "Why don't we play a game together?" You gave him a soft smile, and his shoulders tempted to give way under your touch.

"Why?"

You gently took his hat off and brushed his hair away. "Because, I know you need to do something, so come do something with me. I want to spend time with you."

He leaned slowly into your touch, allowing you to close his laptop. "Can I pick the game?"

"You know you can."

Price stood and you wrapped your arms around him, and he hugged you back. "We can do this together, you're home..."

Mistrust, underlying frustration and vocal outbursts.

Life can be extremely stressful in their line of work and from my perspective, this shows in Gaz's contrast between his calm collected nature and the vocal outbursts he has. This is no doubt because of stress and building frustration that he is struggling to control.

His mistrust in authority or inability to understand or rationalize his surroundings can lead to these outbursts. Kyle's calm and collected side is something to be desired, but when he's alone and has nothing to focus on, that anger can quickly turn unchecked. Whether it be beating a punching back or spending most of his time angrily analyzing interactions or comebacks to conversations in his head for hours.

It's a constant loop, while working, while trying to relax, he's always got an interaction that irritated him running through his head. Or feeling like he isn't smart enough because he couldn't come up with the answers for the conversation at that moment.

Kyle was beating himself up. He felt like such an idiot. I had the bastard right in his hands. He frowned, throwing another furious kick at the punching bag. "Bloody- stupid bastard!" He ground his teeth angrily.

By that point his frustration was obvious. You went over to check on him. "Everything ok, Kyle?"

"I fucking had him!"

You nodded a little. "Hey, can't blame yourself, we all have mishaps."

"Not this time." He said with exasperation. "I had him right there! I had him in my hands! And he still got away..."

You reached over and gently took his arm. "Kyle,"

He moved away, but you gently touched him again. "Kyle, look at me, please."

He exhaled heavily and looked at you, the frustration evident. "I know it's frustrating. But we'll get him. We always do."

"I know..." He hung his head. "I wish I could have done more... The look on the captain's face.."

You gently took his hand and squeezed it. "You're strong, Kyle. You're the best of the best." You gently rubbed his knuckles. "But even the best of us make mistakes, and mess up. You don't have to worry about being perfect."

He blinked, his frustration filtering out from anger, to tears. "Bloody... Hell.."

"Can I give you a hug? You look like you need one."

His shoulders dropped, and with that you gently hugged him. "We'll get him... I promise. But we aren't pinning this on you, ok?"

He squeezed you, a tear rolling down his cheek. You'd stand there as long as he needed, as long as he knew the weight wasn't on him to be the perfect soldier.

#call of duty #simon ghost riley #john soap mactavish #johnny soap mactavish #captain john price #ghost x reader #call of duty headcanons #kyle gaz garrick #simon ghost riley x reader #kyle garrick x reader #kyle garrick #john price headcanons #captain john price x reader #john mactavish headcanons #john mactavish x reader

[xplr-sturns-e-m]

Every Little Everything|| A Matt Sturniolo FanFic Collabortation

Hey pretties! First off I wanna say HAPPY PRIDE MONTH. I have not been on here in a minute but as time passes I miss my little writing moments so heres Part One of a New Fic I and @sturniolo-rat are writing. This part is my writing and my work with the help of peachy to make the title name and the chapter names as well as the proof reading. I hope you all enjoy and stay tuned on Peachy’s page for part 2 <3

——————————————————————————————————

Part One- The Ghost Of You

After High School Graduation.  Boston, MA

You lean over the wall that separates the ice rink from the seating. You are watching Matt, Nick, and Chris skate around. The hockey season had ended a long while ago but they always came back to the rink just for fun. Graduating highschool was scary, stepping out into the real world always seemed easier when you thought for sure you’d have the triplets with you. Things changed quickly when Matt and the boys had broken the news to you. They’d be moving to LA to pursue their content creation and you'd be alone, going off to college. You had been trying to enjoy these last couple of months before graduation, but every happy moment was overpowered by the thought of the boys you spent so much of your life with leaving. You and Matt were much closer than you were with Nick and Chris, not purposely, but both of you struggled with a lot of the same issues and found comfort in each other through the years. 

“Earth to Y/N '' Matt said, waving his hand in front of your face as he leaned on the wall.

“Huh? Oh hey,” you say, smiling at the boy.

“Still thinking about the move?” he asked her. 

“Yea… I'm just gonna miss you guys,” you say.

“I know, but we will come back here to visit for Christmas,” Matt said, placing his hand on yours. 

“We should meet in town when you visit. You know, the town square where they put the big tree up every year? We meet there on Christmas Eve at midnight and exchange gifts. Promise me?” you say, looking into his eyes. You are sure he can tell just how important this is to you by the way his answer is quick and not hesitated.

“I promise,” he said, squeezing your hand with a smile.

“And we stay in contact, text, call, facetime, whatever. Promise?” you ask, making Matt chuckle

“I promise, you don’t have anything to worry about,” he said, moving his hand to your cheek and rubbing his thumb across the soft skin. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time seemed to fly. With every passing day, you felt the loneliness creep in as the boys began to pack to leave. It had not fully hit you until you were in their house, looking at Matt's empty room. You’d come to hang out, like you always did as a kid.

Standing in the doorway of the room it almost took your breath away. 

“It looks different this way,” you said as the boy turned from his closet and set a box of clothes on the bed. “Empty,” his words slipped out in the saddest tone, pursing his lips together as his hands steady himself on either side of the box.

“I'm proud of you, Matty,” you say, the sadness lingering in your words. He didn't respond; he just made quick strides in your direction. He wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you into a tight hug, resting his chin on top of your head.

“You know I would take you with us if I could, Y/N,” the boy said sadly. 

You knew this would be hard, and as much as you wished you could pack up and move with them, you had nothing for you in LA. You got into college here in Boston, something you had worked so hard for. The boys had cheered you on in your audition for the prestigious music school, and you knew it was your dream; they knew it was your dream. So here you were at an impasse, saying goodbye to everything you knew and loved…the people you loved. 

You looked up at Matt, his eyes meeting yours. You and Matt often had moments, just a glimpse of something more than friends, but it never came out. No one confessed or made any big moves because your friendship was way too important to risk. “At the end of the day, you will always be one of my best friends. No distance changes that” Matt said, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear with a soft smile. Here, looking in his eyes like this was the first time it hit you this hard. Realizing just how deeply rooted your feelings were for him. Even though everything in your body urged you to make the move, you couldn't. If you ruined it, or went too far it could destroy everything and you may never hear from him again and that in and of itself was the scariest thought.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bitter sweet day came, you were helping them drag their things to the van as they prepared for the long road trip. “Welp that's the last of it” you said, shutting the trunk with a sigh. You turned to the boys and their parents, watching as they hugged each other to say goodbye. You hug the boys one by one starting with Chris. “Good luck in school Kid” Chris said, rubbing your back before pulling away.

“Thanks Chris” you said, smiling. On to nick, he wrapped his arms around you tightly “Gonna miss you so much, promise to still be my wing woman?” he asked “Always” you say, fighting the tears now. Nick pulled away, Matt making his way over. “No tears” he said, his arms picking you up to spin you around before setting you down “No tears” you say back, biting the inside of your cheek to stop from sobbing. You watched him leave, pulling out of the driveway and driving down the street and you start to wonder what you and Matt could’ve been had you not been so scared.

Screaming, Crying, Throwing up, and ultimately so happy!

Hope yall love it!

#matt sturniolo #sturniolo triplets #fanfic #matt sturniolo fanfic #nick sturniolo #chris sturniolo

[silaswritesthings]

A special moment

Summary: Short cute drabbles (?) about spending time with the Lads boys.

Starring: Rafayel, Xavier, Zayn (from love and deepspace)

Genre: Romance, fluff

Warnings: none

Author’s note: Can you tell who's my favourite? Comment your guess, I'd like to see if I did well at writing them all equally without bias. (Ignore the fact that theres one visibly shorter than the rest, that’s because of writer’s block🧍‍♀️). Comments and reblogs will be greatly appreciated!

Word count: 1136

- Zayn -

“Zayn, come on.”

The man in question did not budge, and soon your attempt at paying him back for his kindness failed again. It had been one month since he assisted you with creating a presentation for a hunter’s guild workshop hosted with the intention of getting more people interested in becoming hunters, and your section would not have gone well if it weren’t for the help of your amazing physician.

Not only did he keep your health in check, so you were alive and breathing for the presentation, but he assisted you with gathering a lot of information- there was a number of other necessities you would have struggled to get because of your fear of social situations, if it were not for him.

Zayn was your hero.

You owed him your life, and you told him as such but he called you dramatic. The audacity.

“Zayn!” You yelled after him as he was already outside his office door. When did he start walking away?

He ignored you but this did not deter you. You rushed to catch up to him just outside his office and you had spread your arms to block his way forward. He sighed.

“There is no need for you to ‘make things up’ to me. I have already expressed this to you.”

“But you saved my life!?”

“I’m your doctor, is it not my job?” He spoke dryly.

“I’m not giving in.” You mimicked his dry tone, locking your eyes to his with determination. He pursed his lips before his shoulders slumped.

“Fine.”

Your eyes brightened, “I’d like to treat you at a local cafe.”

“…Fine.”

Your smile widened. “Like right now.”

“Isn’t it a bit….” He began, probably wanting to point out the fact that it was nearly 9pm but you did not relent.

“Fine.”

You laughed in victory. To think it took you ONE MONTH to get this stubborn man to agree to this. One. Month.

But it was worth every second you spent with Zayne at the local cafe that night, a night- like many others- you would find hard to forget.

(No you didn’t do the dirty, idk why it came off like that.)

- Rafayel -

The waves crashed onto the beach and receded with the sand that was previously trapped between your toes. The surface of the ocean shimmered under the late afternoon sun and reflected the varying orange and yellows scattered across the sky.

“It’ll be sunset soon.” Rafayel’s words snapped you out of your trance and you turned to look at him as he fiddled with his camera. You hummed in acknowledgment before looking at the view once again.

Your companion scoffed, “Seriously? You can see me struggling with the camera and you decide the sunset - which, mind you, happens every single day right outside your doorstep- is more important?”

You sighed and turned to address him but he was already walking away with his hands crossed in front of his chest. At that moment, an idea flashed in your mind and you had no intention of stopping your train of thought.

“Rafayel, wait!” You called out to him as you followed him away from the sight of the now approaching sunset. As you expected, he ignored you and walked faster which encouraged you to run after him and when you neared him, you only increased your speed so you could run into him and tumble onto the ground together.

You rolled onto your back laughing, and Rafayel grumbled to himself as he sat up before glaring at you. “Now I have sand in my hair.” He stated accusingly.

“So do I.” You smiled at him.

At your beaming expression, Rafayel could only sigh, his gaze shifting to the distance and away from you- perfectly hiding the smile that teased his own lips. You looked at the sky, various colours dancing before your eyes.

“Come on,” Rafayel began, taking your wrist and pulling you to your feet and toward the sea.”We have sunset reference photos to take.”

Your lips thinned. “Can’t you just take a normal picture of the sunset and then complete your painting, rather than-“

“As your employer, i’ve given you the job to be my muse. You don’t have much of a choice here- go stand over there.”

You sighed deeply, and walked toward where Rafayel instructed you to stand. The fading sunlight kissed your back and before you was Rafayel, with his camera held up in position. You did not quite know what to do with yourself, thus you stood stiffly as you awkwardly gazed at the camera lense.

Rafayel dropped the camera from his face, revealing nonchalance. “Seriously?”

You crossed your arms. “I just don’t know what to do with myself.”

“I heard smiling is a pretty popular gesture when it comes to posing for photos.”

“I can’t just force it!” You spoke, unappreciative of his sarcasm but before the argument could escalate, a look of awe crossed over Rafayel’s expression, his eyes fixed to behind you. You turned to the sight of the setting sun, the golden surface of water the ocean rose and fell as the sun settled over it’s horizon.

“Wow…” You managed to say, your voice carried away by the breezed that strengthened the longer you stood there.

Once again that day, Rafayel’s voice broke you from your daze induced by the ocean. “Perfect.”

You snapped your head to look at him. “You took a picture?”

“Pictures.” He corrected you with a smile that caused you to narrow your eyes.

“May I see them?”

“Nope.” He shut you down before walking away, with a joyful strut.

“Rafayel!” You began to run toward him, but he was already running from you in a fit of laughter.

- Xavier -

“Hello stranger.” A familiar voice sounded from a few feet away. You turned from the lanterns assorted along the pavement that illuminated the night with gentle yellow-ness, to meet Xavier's ever gentle gaze.

“I didn't expect to be seeing you here.” You smiled. Xavier walked to stand before you, a knowing look in his eyes.

“I had a feeling you would be here tonight.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

His eyes shifted to the lantern you were observing not so long ago, his lips upturned into a small smile.

“Everyone knows the least crowded day is the 5th after opening.” He began, explaining the typical ongoings after the opening of the light-show garden, “I thought you would like to avoid as many people as you can- hopefully, I'm not on that list.”

You chuckled. “Of course not. I’m very glad you’re here.”

Xavier’s smile brightened, his blue eyes shimmering under the gentle glow of the lanterns around you. “Then, shall we?” He extended his hand to you and you took it, allowing him to lead you further into the garden.

#silaswritesthings #silas #love and deepspace x reader #love and deepspace xavier #rafayel #zayne love and deepspace #lads rafayel #lads zayne #lads xavier #love and deepspace

[twisted-wonderland-shenanigans]

Hello everyone, welcome back to the next installment of the deities! Things have been a little busy lately–

“Ya mean these guys have been dragging us around on random adventures again…”

And we’ve been experiencing a lot of chaos, but at this point is it any surprise? Anyway, so this one is going to be special because I’ve asked Ruggie to tell us something about what he does and how he goes about it. Ruggie, you wanna tell us about this?

[Shishishi~! Sure thing, kitten! Well, as you pointed out, I’m the God of Hearths and Fall. The latter’s pretty self-explanatory I think.]

Yeah, so why don’t you tell us something about…what it’s like being the God of Hearths? Like, I remember you telling me before that you embody “family”. What do you mean by that?

[Ah, that. Well…my job is to remind mortals about their family, or rather what makes them a family beyond just being related to them by blood. A lot of them tend to forget what makes them actually part of a family, and in a lot of cases the kids tend to suffer the effects when life gets too stressful for them. So, my job–while I do prioritize the safety of the kids or teens–is to help the family see things more clearly and remember why they loved each other in the first place.]

“Eh? Really? That sounds a bit sappy for someone from the Bananaclaw Pantheon.”

It’s Savanaclaw, Grim. And aww, that sounds great Ruggie! Do you have any success stories you’d like to tell us?

[Hmm…well, there is one that happened not too long ago.]

Ah…do you mean by a few years or a few centuries ago? You guys don’t exactly have the same concept of time as mortals do.

[Oh yeah, right. It was a couple years ago actually. You see, it was almost winter, and…]

////—-----////

They were fighting again.

Even through the closed door Yuu could still hear the screams and bickering of their parents, the walls seeming to echo back to the harsh and hurtful words. What the fighting was about this time the couldn’t be sure–though it felt like they fought over anything and everything. One moment it’s about how one behaved out in public, another it could be an argument over a recent purchase or habit or even just mismanaging money. At this point, Yuu believed it would take a miracle to get them to agree on anything.

Yuu slowly chewed on the cold sandwich they’d managed to make before the fighting started again, only half-listening as they tried to remember happier times. How long had it been since they all sat down to enjoy a home cooked meal? Or watched a movie or show? Played board games? When was the last time this family actually felt like a family? Everything blended together to the point that Yuu couldn’t even remember how or when this whole mess began, but now they could make out certain words amidst threats of divorce:

“Yuu–unfit-!”

“Yuu–irresponsible, useless-!”

Yuu, Yuu, Yuu…were…were they the cause of all this stress and misery? Were their parents mad at them and taking it out on each other? Did…did they do something wrong?

These questions plagued them as Yuu struggled to make sense of this–struggling to understand why. What are they going to do? How are they going to fix this? Would the fighting stop if…they weren’t around?

‘If I leave, will they finally go back to normal?’ they wondered, hearing the loud slam of the door and the angry tromping footsteps before another door slammed shut. ‘If I move out–went somewhere far away and show them I can live on my own–things will get better…right?’

With no other options, Yuu quietly went around their room to gather up what they could carry: a flashlight, some spare batteries, some snacks, a change of clothes and pajamas, a blanket, and whatever form of entertainment they had room for. Once they were satisfied with their selection, Yuu took one last look around their room before quietly making their way outside. The air was cold and brisk as the pulled their jacket tighter around their body. Winter was almost here, and it was supposed to be cold tonight.

‘The bus stop’s not far,’ they thought, armed with their flashlight in the dim light. ‘I can make it before nightfall.’

////~~~~////

Darkness had fallen by the time Yuu realized something was wrong.

When a car was approaching they hid themselves in a few bushes, not wanting someone to catch them and force them to return to that house. Sticking to the trees, however, they somehow lost track of the road with no clue where they were or where they just came from. “Maybe…this way? No, no…that way? No, I just walked past that weird rock.” Releasing an anguished cry of frustration, Yuu sat on the rock and clutched their flashlight closer to ward off the shadows. In the light they could see their breath swirl in the air.

How long have they been out here? It’s gotten even colder than it had been earlier and they have no idea where they are anymore. What was going on? How did they get so far off course from their path?

Their flashlight began to flicker and dim, threatening to throw them into darkness. “No, no, no, no! Come on, please don’t do this now,” they muttered, smacking the flashlight against their palm. “These are new batteries!” With one final smack, the light grew strong and bright again–

And revealed a tall figure standing before them.

“AAH!! Monster!!” Yuu cried out, falling backwards in their panic and scrambling away. “Don’t eat me!”

“Oh my–eat you?” an elderly woman’s voice said before she chuckled, holding up a lantern that filled the area with a warm glow. “I’m afraid you’re far too skinny to fill these old bones, dearie.”

Raising the flashlight higher, they finally saw the woman’s features: a face worn with age bearing a kind smile, body hunched over with a basket on one arm holding a cane, and a pair of large tan-brown ears poking out beneath snow-white hair. A beastman–though not one they recognized.

“I’m sorry, dearie, I didn’t mean to give you such a fright,” the elder said gently, an apologetic look on her face. “I was walking back to my home when I heard you were in trouble and came to help.” Tilting her head curiously, she asked, “What are you doing out here all by yourself? You should be all tucked into your bed back home.”

“I…I’m not going back,” Yuu said. “I’m going to find a new place to stay.”

“Oh? And where pray tell do you plan to go?”

“I dunno…maybe North somewhere?” Yuu said with a shrug, standing and brushing the dirt off of them. They hadn’t thought of that just yet…

“Hm…a little cold to be heading North so close to winter. I hear that the South is much kinder this time of year,” the woman said. “Wouldn’t want ol’ Winter Veil to catch you unawares in his icy wonderland, now would you?”

Yuu said nothing.

“Well, I won’t stop you, little one,” she said gently. “You seem quite serious about your journey. However, it is quite dark out. You are more than welcome to stay with me and my grandson until morning–it would put my heart at ease knowing you were safe and sound.” Gesturing to the side, she said, “My cottage is not far. In fact, you’re standing right on the path.”

Sure enough, they looked and saw the path in question lying right behind the stone they’d been sitting on.

“Of course, if you are still determined to make it to town, you may follow the path that way,” she continued. “Though I must warn you: the path is not easy to maneuver at night, even for my grandson and I. Whatever you decide to do, take care, dear.” Turning away, she began to hobble along the path using her cane, the lantern illuminating the path ahead of her.

“W-Wait!” Yuu called out. When she turned to look at them, they asked, “It’s…just for tonight, right?”

“Just for tonight,” she agreed.

“...okay.” They were silent as they followed along, keeping pace as they watched her easily maneuver the path yet never seeming to get ahead of them. Then, in a quiet voice, they asked, “What’s your name, ma’am?”

“Oh! Goodness me, how could I forget my own manners?” came the startled response as she chuckled. “Everyone calls me Nana Bucchi. What is your name, dearie?”

They told her, adding, “But everyone calls me Yuu.”

“Such a wonderful name. Ah, here we are: home sweet home.”

The cottage was small, surrounded by towering oak trees and several small gardens and one larger garden. The warm glow from the windows illuminated the area to the point Yuu didn’t need their flashlight anymore, following Nana Bucchi to the door and lingering at the entrance. A wall of smells hit them then: warm spices and beef, fresh baked bread, and sweet pastries that made their mouth water and stomach rumble.

“Ruggie, I’m home,” Nana called out, setting down her basket and beginning to shed her coat. “We have a guest.”

“Welcome home, Grammy!” a new voice said, a teenager walking out of the kitchen in a flour covered apron, wiping his hands clean on a dish towel. “So, who’d you bring along this time?”

“This is Yuu,” Nana said, patting them on their shoulder. “They’ll be spending the night with us.”

“Really? Well that’s great timing! Dinner’s almost ready,” he said. Snickering, he added, “I always make extra since she always invites people over.”

At that moment, Yuu’s stomach gave a loud growl.

“Shishishi…especially hungry little kittens like you. Come on! I could use a little help in the kitchen.”

Yuu agreed, feeling at ease around him as he instructed them on how to prepare the dishes. Soon enough they were carrying out a basket of bread loaves while Ruggie carried a large cauldron to the table. Bowls and spoons were set out and Nana Bucchi sat at the head of the table, pouring juice into the cups with a hum. “It smells wonderful, dear,” she said as Yuu cautiously sat in one of the empty seats.

“Thanks, Grammy. Hope you like stew, Yuu,” he replied, filling each bowl with a generous portion before settling down. “Alright everyone, dig in!”

Breathing in the steam, a sense of warmth filled their chest as they examined it. It was a simple beef stew, chunks of meat mixed with vegetables and herbs. On sampling the broth, however, they closed their eyes with a quiet hum. The rich flavor dancing on their tongue reminded them of the home cooked meals their parents used to make.

“I guess someone was hungry,” Ruggie’s voice broke through their thoughts. Looking down, they were stunned to see their bowl empty. “There’s plenty left if you want seconds, ya’know. Just ask.”

Sheepishly holding up their bowl, they asked, “Can I have some more, please?”

“Shishishi, sure thing, kiddo,” he said, filling it with another generous helping of stew. “Try dipping the bread in it–you can soak up all the good flavor in one bite!”

Dinner continued on, Yuu listening to the two talk as they ate and ate…and by the time the stew was gone Yuu had finished four bowls and two loaves of bread–far more than they’d ever had. When was the last time they’d sat down to a home cooked family meal like this? ‘I wonder what they’ll cook together once I’m gone,’ they wondered as they helped clean up.

“So what’s your story?”

“Huh? What story?” they asked in confusion.

“Everyone has a story to tell,” Ruggie told them, scrubbing the now empty cauldron with soap. “I just wanna know how you met Grammy this late at night.”

Yuu said nothing, focusing on drying the bowl in their hands.

“Ah…well, I guess it’s really not any of my business then,” Ruggie said with a shrug. “I’m sure you’ve got your reasons.” Shaking the water off, he grabbed another towel and dried his hands before he said, “C’mon. I’ll show you where the guest room is.”

The room was small, with a single bed, a small table, and a small bookshelf nearby. It wasn’t furnished elaborately, but there was a cozy feel to it. The walls were painted with soft colors, flowers and trees painted on one side while stars that seemed to glow were painted on the ceiling–where they could make out several constellations they recognized while others were unfamiliar to them. On the bed was a large, soft quilt with a savannah like pattern stitched into the cloth.

“It’s not much, but we always keep this place ready in case someone needs a place to stay for a while,” Ruggie commented, setting the lit candle on the table next to the bed. “People usually stay for a day or a week until they get back on their feet. If you need anything, I’m right next door, okay?”

“Okay,” Yuu said. “Um…thank you.”

“Sure thing. Good night!”

Ruggie left the room, leaving Yuu alone with their thoughts as they examined their surroundings before climbing into bed. It was soft, the quilt settling over them with a comfortable weight. Staring up at the ceiling, they thought back to their original goal: to make it to the bus station and find a new place to live. ‘I’ll be gone in the morning,’ they thought, turning to blow the candle out. The room was bathed in darkness, yet before they closed their eyes they could still see the faintly glowing stars on the ceiling twinkling down at them.

////~~~~////

Despite Yuu swearing that they would be on their way right as they woke up the next morning…something compelled them to stay. Nana Bucchi and Ruggie were fine when they said they wanted to stay another night to figure out where they were heading, quoting Nana’s words about the North being too cold.

Soon enough three days had passed and Yuu couldn’t imagine wanting to leave the warm cottage, happy with their new routine of helping Ruggie around the kitchen and listening to Nana’s stories as she knitted something with green and yellow yarn. Each meal they ate was simple, yet each bite filled them with nostalgia and left them feeling content. Warmth and laughter filled every space in the cottage, Ruggie praising them whenever they do something good and playfully teasing them–like a brother. Even Nana’s gentle hugs filled them with a sense of security and peace that they hadn’t felt since…since…

Before the fighting started. When things were happier in that house.

It was out in the gardens when they were helping Ruggie harvest some of the vegetables and covering up some of the vulnerable plants that they got lost in thought.

“Hey. You okay?” Ruggie’s voice broke in, his expression curious yet concerned. “Lookin’ a little spacey there.”

“...I was…just thinking…”

“‘bout what?”

“...my parents…I wonder if they even know I’m not there anymore…”

“Ah. So you ran away from home, huh.” It was a statement rather than a question, yet Ruggie didn’t seem too upset by their words. If anything he looked…sympathetic. “Wanna talk about it?”

At first Yuu wasn’t going to…but slowly the words came out. How their parents would always argue and fight with one another. How the house felt like they were walking on eggshells, worried that one wrong move might somehow trigger another argument between them. How what they heard the other day solidified their desire to run away.

“...I see…” Ruggie looked thoughtful as he leaned against the fence, hands working with dandelions as he twisted them together. Then, he said, “Sounds like your parents were dealing with a lot of stress and didn’t know how to handle it. But…I don’t think they were upset at you.”

“What do you mean?” Yuu asked.

“Well, think about it: if you were really the problem, they wouldn’t have bothered to keep you around, right? Besides, you’re a good kid: you’ve been helping me with my chores and you’ve kept Grammy company whenever I had to run errands around town.” With a casual shrug, he said, “Besides, I think in this case, Yuu, you were probably mishearing your nickname for them just attacking one another in frustration and anger.”

“Huh?”

“You see, most parents want the best for their kids and for each other,” Ruggie explained. “More often than not though, they wind up getting so stressed out and focused on making money to create a living for their family that they just…forget how to live life. They forget that it’s not just some rat-race where it’s survival of the fittest–though the world sure seems to like making it feel that way. Because they don’t let themselves have that time to relax and just breathe…they have nothing to help them feel like it’s all worth it–nothing to help them feel like they can make a living and still enjoy the things that make them happy. And without that buffer to help them decompress, there’s no other place to send that energy but at each other.”

They were silent for a long moment, Yuu mulling over his words. Something flopped down on their head, and when they pulled it off they realized it was the dandelions Ruggie had been playing with fashioned into a flower crown.

“I understand wanting to run away,” Ruggie continued, kneeling in front of them to look them in the eyes. “You feel like it’s the only solution you’ve got when nothing else seems to work. And in some cases, that may be what’s best. For what it’s worth, I think your parents do love and care about you just as much as you do them…otherwise, why would you run away if you didn’t think it would help them get along again?”

“...but…” Yuu paused, not sure what to say. “But…I’ve been gone for days now. Won’t they be furious with me?”

“Mm…they might be upset, but…honestly, I think they’d be more happy and relieved to see you’re safe once the worry is gone.” Placing a hand on their shoulder, he said, “Parents are supposed to listen to their kids when something’s wrong so they can figure out how to make things work or come to a compromise. That’s why communication is so important…okay?” Slowly Yuu nodded, Ruggie giving them his signature grin as he snickered and said, “Great! Now c’mon. Let’s get these veggies inside–we’re making some soup tonight. Wanna help?”

“Y-Yeah. Sure!”

Later that night as the lay in bed–belly full from yet another amazing home cooked meal–they couldn’t sleep, staring up at the fake constellations still twinkling overhead. The flower crown lay on their chest, their fingers brushing over the new green bracelet with dandelion patterns that Nana had finished knitting for them. Ruggie’s words echoed in their mind over and over again, any feeling of defensiveness or determination now faded to emptiness and longing.

‘...I don’t want…to run away anymore,’ they thought, tears blurring their vision. ‘I want to go home…I want to go home…’

“I want to go home,” they whispered to the constellations.

////~~~~////

[...so, you’ve had enough of your adventure, huh? Shishishi…that’s okay though. Being able to go home when things get tough is always part of the adventures of life, whether you’re on a quest…or simply tryin’ to find your place in the world. We all go through it at some point–so why not see where this path will take you?]

/////~~~~////

Sunlight streamed in through their window as Yuu stirred the next morning, opening one eye–and sitting up straight in shock. Their room! How did-? When did they-?

“I’m…I’m home?” they uttered, looking around and patting at their surroundings. Sure enough, it was in fact their room they were seeing. There was no trace of the cottage they had been staying at for the past few days…or…had they? Glancing at the calendar, they saw the date set to the very next day they had left. Had they dreamt that they had run away? All that food and the warmth and comfort they felt from Ruggie and Nana Bucchi…had it been just a dream?

Yet…something was different. The house didn’t feel as tense as it once did, the air feeling…lighter.

It was then that they noticed the sounds of muffled voices downstairs, immediately recognizing the sound of their parents. They were speaking in calm, hushed tones rather than the usual shouting and bickering they once heard nearly every single day.

Stepping out of bed, they paused when they felt something under their foot and looked down, spotting the familiar sight of the flower crown sitting on top of an envelope. A quick glance at their wrist revealed the knitted bracelet, a faint shimmer running along the woven fibers before the effect vanished. Cautiously picking up the paper and the crown, Yuu opened it and read the message written inside:

[Yuu,

Family can become your greatest treasure in this world, whether they are related by blood or by the bonds you create. Find those who love and care for you, and you will always be home. Never forget that.

–Ruggie]

Right before their eyes, the letter vanished in a swirl of yellow dust.

////—--------////

[...and that’s how it happened. Yuu’s parents actually sat down and talked to them, and they agreed to do things one step at a time to make things better for their family. Last I checked, everything was going much better for them since then.]

*sniffle* “I…I…waaaah!”

Awww, Grim! You little softie…

“S-Shut up! I just got something in my eye…”

Well, anyway, it’s really nice to know you kept an eye out for them and everything turned out okay. Thanks for sharing your story with us, Ruggie!

[No problem! And thanks for the donuts~!]

"Hey! That jelly one was mine! Give it back!!"

[Ya snooze, ya lose! Byeeee!]

“Get back here!!”

Well, I can’t say I didn’t expect that to happen now can I?

#twisted wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland deity au #twst deity au #ruggie bucchi #this took me MONTHS to write and was a struggle #but I'm glad I kept at it and I'm pleased with it!

[webcxre]

Introducing KinitoPET™, the digital companion you know and love, now available for your computer! The perfect friend for all ages, he can help you surf the web, set reminders, play games, tell jokes, give fun facts, and much more! With our patented RRA technology, Kinito really responds to you!* Available now at Maplin Electronics and PC World retailers. Make a new best friend with KinitoPET™!

*KinitoPET™ is only capable of generating pre-written responses. In the event of inappropriate dialogue please contact the Kinito Leisure and Entertainment Company to report potentially illegitimate copies of KinitoPET™. Only purchase KinitoPET™ from trusted retailers.

Released to moderate success after missing the tail end of the Kinito Companion's hype, KinitoPET was quickly overshadowed by larger, more popular programs and products within the following years. After all, although beloved by many who used it, there was only so much the program could do with its limited, pre-rendered sprites and dialogue.

...Yet there were rumors of an "upgraded" Kinito. Some believed you had to unlock it, others believed it was a limited release. A statement from KLEC only suggested the existence of an unauthorized, likely malicious modification being spread around online. What little information on its existence believed it to be able to generate responses on the fly, with advanced animations and capabilities. Anyone who claimed to have it however would quickly disappear from forums, leaving most to speculate that they were simply trolling.

Others, however, believed Kinito had somehow killed them.

It was a ridiculous claim, creepypasta-esque and surely impossible. Yet as the years went on, it became Kinito's legacy with screenshots, videos, and recollections that could no longer be determined legitimate or not. An oddity morphed into a story of a permanently "unwell" state Kinito that would install itself onto your computer and make people disappear.

Years later, a retro tech enthusiast with nothing better to do due to their declining condition becomes interested in the old program and rumors, and to their surprise encounters this "rogue" Kinito themselves as a result.

But in their fascinated dissection of the axolotl, they find him doing the same of them...this was no spooky reskin. His motions rehearsed, sure, yet with a tone of bitterness. He seemed...tired. It resonated with them. Their backgrounds couldn't be any more different - a program and a human - yet they found themselves to be surprisingly in sync.

#synchronic au #kinitopet #kinitopet au #kinito #kinitopet fanart #kinito the axolotl #sync!kinito #my art #FINALLY. AAAAAAAAAA #only took me like 2 months lmao #also sorry if i get any uk-specific 90s info wrong im a 2000s kid from the us 🍔🦅 #btw the au name is literally just bc i struggle to pronounce “synchronous” not bc koda has a chronic condition lmao #i AM using my own chronic issues to write him but synchronic just sounds cool #also bc of his “killing” method #yes this is the “i can fix him” au

[thirteenemeraldcats]

Summary:

“So what’re you doin’ for your birthday, Coach?”

The question’s so unexpected, asked so abruptly, that it almost sends Roy sprawling out of the rhythmic jog he’s fallen into at Jamie’s side and straight to the gravel below.

As it is, he skids to a quick stop and faces his star player, arms held stiffly at his sides. Waits for Jamie to notice he’s gone and hurriedly circle back to stand in front of him before replying. Quick feet and a quicker smile; the professional-menace doesn’t seem to care that he’s brought Roy to a dead-stop with just his words.

“The fuck did you just say?”

In which Roy experiences the mortifying ordeal of being loved and Jamie bakes a cake.

AKA: Happy Birthday Roy! Get celebrated you silly man!

#(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ #gather round gather round and witness em vaguely remembering how sentences work #i wrote a thing #a SAPPY SILLY THING #fic: because he had no say in it (no say in it at all) #ted lasso #ted lasso fanfic #jamie tartt #roy kent #ao3 #the ironic thing here is that i wrote 1.5k of this in a day #it then took me TWO MONTHS to finish #and when i woke up this morning i was genuinely struggling to string five words together #ANYWAY #*runs away* #(runs to bed lol) #writing tag

[aurevell]

Returning the Favor Sterek | 5k | T

Stiles pays a nighttime visit to his boyfriend in secret, or so he thinks. Unfortunately, the Hale family has keener ears than he realizes.

It’s late when Derek hears the noise at the side of the house. A creak of siding that cuts through the backdrop of cricket song. Just one lone sound, but there’s something cautious about it. Probing.

He lowers the book he’s reading, but no other sounds follow. Derek has been lying sprawled across his bed, drowsy and warm and comfortable, sweatpant-clad legs resting against the wall—but now that he’s conscious of the sound, his focus sharpening, he thinks he’s been hearing quiet noises grow nearer for some time without quite comprehending them. A wild animal outside, maybe, creeping slowly around the foundation of the house. Something large enough that the mulch in the flower bed crunches beneath its weight.

It’s not often that a solitary animal grows bold enough to venture this close to a werewolf pack—the scent always scares them off first. They don’t even get raccoons out here, especially not with the cold this time of year. It could always be their cousin Warren, who’s always thought it funny to startle his relatives with unexpected visits in the dead of night. Or any one of the nasty things in Uncle Peter’s wild stories, supernatural things that creep into the house come dark.

Derek glances at the window, book still resting on his chest, but the house is still.

Maybe it’s gone. That’s just as well: he’s too comfortable to drag himself over to the window to look.

And then another sound comes, an unmistakable creak. Heavy weight settling into place.

Downstairs, his mother sighs. “What was that?” she demands, her voice faint with distance. She and his dad are likely out on the porch swing at this time of evening, even though it’s nearly winter, lunatics that they are. “If Laura and Cora are at it again—”

“I’m sure they aren’t, Tal,” Derek’s father replies, sounding amused. “You put the fear of god in them.”

Mom scoffs. “If we have to repair another door, it’s coming out of their pockets.”

“Not everything is my fault, Mom,” Cora mutters pointedly from down the hall. There’s heavy metal coming from the vicinity of Laura’s bedroom, just low enough to be blasting from her headphones, and she doesn’t pipe up to defend herself.

The thing hasn’t gone away. Metal squeaks a moment later, and then the scrabbling returns, punctuated by a thump and a muffled grunt.

Annoyed, Derek tosses the book aside and clambers to his feet, crossing over to the window. When he hoists up the sash, letting the night chill waft in, he peers down into the dark and finds that the source is worse than anything he could have imagined.

It’s his boyfriend, scaling the side of the house like some deranged cat burglar.

Stiles is hanging onto the drainpipe, having managed to hoist himself several feet off the ground. He’s leaning against the metal awning over the kitchen window, one foot atop the shutter and the other scrabbling for purchase against the siding. At the clatter of Derek’s opening window, he looks up, startled, and nearly loses his balance.

“What are you doing here?” Derek hisses.

“Just returning the favor.” With a moment to catch himself against the awning, Stiles gets his bearing and grins. “What? Don’t make that face. C’mon, you can show up at all hours of the night, but turnabout isn’t fair play?”

With that, he sticks his tongue between his teeth, which he sometimes does unconsciously when something demands his full attention. And the perilous task of climbing should get his full attention, given how often he stumbles when both of his feet are on the ground. God, Derek is about to witness his idiot boyfriend fall to his death or something.

Stiles heaves himself mostly onto the awning, clawing for purchase with a grunt. When he reaches for the window, he loses his grip, nearly sliding backward onto the grass; in a flash of panic, Derek grabs him by his shirt and yanks him forward.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” he demands, aware of their volume and even more aware of their audience.

The awning rattles as Stiles draws up his long legs to slip inside the window feet first, ducking under the sash. He’s panting a little as he pulls himself upright, though he bats his eyes sweetly in the face of Derek’s scowl. “Oh, please. I knew you’d catch me. ‘My hero,’ and all that.”

“Should have let you fall and die,” Derek retorts, shutting the window.

“Probably. Oh man, that was so athletic. Sometimes, I amaze myself.”

Derek doesn’t have anything smart to say to that. He’s only half paying attention, too busy bracing for the discussion sure to follow.

He and Stiles may as well have stomped up and down the stairs blowing air horns as far as the rest of the house goes. Everyone will have heard. Derek is absolutely sure because you can hear a pin drop, like no one’s even moving, like everyone’s waiting with bated breath—either gleeful or judgmental or both—to hear what comes next. Even Laura’s deafening headphones have gone silent. Fuck.

Worst of all…Stiles doesn’t know any of this. He doesn’t yet know about the secret the Hale family hides, or how keenly they can hear, or that every word he says will be seized up and cheerfully dissected and gossiped about in real time.

Read the rest on AO3

#sterek #sterek fic #mine #vaguely inspired by a tumblr post i have been unable to find after multiple searches in the month+ it took me to write this #i think it was a pic of two cats falling off a roof?? #and whoever posted it was basically like 'haha this is stiles-coded after he tries to climb derek's window and pulls derek down with him' #i'm pretty sure i even reblogged it and yet where is it?? #if you know what i'm talking about let me know lmao #anyway #this is only a little bit about stiles struggling through the window #mostly it's about how i think werewolf hearing would upgrade the sibling-on-sibling crime possibilities in any given household #and the fact that you could not get away with ANYTHING noisy without every other person in the house knowing about it #so having blabbermouth stiles stilinski pop into said household while being totally ignorant of the existence of werewolves... #let's just say 'poor derek' and leave it at that lmao

[tobyfoxmademeascaly]

In which the author starts working towards earning that Graphic Depictions of Violence warning

#ffxiv fanfiction #ffxiv #final fantasy xiv #lazy oak #alphinaud #alphinaud leveilleur #alisaie #alisaie leveilleur #i may regret choosing one of the chattiest characters in the whole game to write a fic about when I struggle so much with dialogue #just a little bit. #hence why this took me two months #but I also got to treat myself to writing body horror so it evens out

[itsamenickname]

As soon as I have the ability/skills to draw out the dozens of Bowuigi scenarios that rot my brain every day, I swear it'll be all over for you bitches.

#one day I will have the motivation to practice drawing my two favorite Mario characters #maybe #I will maybe have the motivation to practice drawing my two favorite Mario characters #but that day is sure as hell ain't going to be today #or tomorrow #or this week #hell that King Boo drawing I made last month by itself took me like a week to finish #and it was mostly because I had to redo the drawing like 3 times because I misplaced the blood drops that are on top of Luigi's name #the artist struggles are real my fellow dudes #ah well at least my writing skills are pretty good #tw swearing #luigi #luigi nintendo #bowser #bowser nintendo #bowuigi #super mario #super mario bros

[yellowocaballero]

Are there any fic ideas that you'd want to see but don't want to write?

Oh boy! Of course!

To be honest, the Green Lantern story is one of the big ones lmfao. It would be a massive undertaking for an audience of maybe five people. A niche audience normally doesn't stop me, but for such a long story, there's other uses of my time. There is also the fact that it just feels made for television. Same with my Legion of Superheroes Zoobomafoo thing - it just doesn't feel right in a text format. It's webcomic coded. I wish I could draw sometimes!

Then there's the story ideas for my AUs and other fandoms I've moved on from. There's still a few ideas for the No Chip AU in my back pocket (Cody redemption feat. Boba Fett following him around Tatooine yelling at him; Fox as the vigilante sidekick to his insane PA) and my normal Roleswap (Luke & Leia embark on a Great Father Mystery Hunt and bother Fox in the woods). There's also the continuation stories/sequels I've started but haven't finished and don't know if they will get finished (Roleswap Obi-Wan meets his birth family; my Buffy fic Angel and Cordelia through the years). There's other unfinished stories there (the Frenchie story which is literally only missing the final scene, the Heroes For Hire meeting story which is literally only missing the final scene) which I'm pretty sure I'll finish when I feel like it. I don't consider those WIPs so much as 'when I care again I'll go finish them'.

Then there's the stories that I just couldn't make into a decent story (the Naruto fix-it; the roleswap(ish?) story with adult bounty hunters Boba and Omega teaching runaway clones Luke and Leia the power of family and incredible violence). Not every idea is good outside of concept lol.

TL;DR: If I have a fic idea but haven't written it, it's because of one or more reasons: a) the idea itself is too big, b) the idea just doesn't seem right for fic, c) I've moved on from the fandom and don't want to work on it at this moment anymore, d) it just wouldn't make a good story.

If you notice, these are all active choices on my part. I only mention this because a lot of my friends can't relate, so I don't know how common it is even though I assumed it was common, and it's kind of hard to describe: there's no barrier between me having an idea and writing it. Does that make sense? If I have an idea and it'll make a good story and I want to write it I'll write it, at least until I realize that it wouldn't make a good story and I scrap it. If I think about something for too long I write it [this is why I am easily egged on][this is also why I write things I swore never to write very frequently].

Writing is like. It's easy. You just write stuff. You just think something and then you write it. It's uncomplicated.

If it's bad. Writing is easy if what you're writing is bad. It's easy to write 100k if the 100k is bad. There's a ton of shortcuts you can take, which are really useful for beginning writers and was really useful for me a few years ago. I can describe those if you'd like. It's much, much, much harder to write something good. It's hardest when you need something to be good. Writing a good 100k is really hard. I am constantly telling people not to jump into the novels kjlsdf.

Double TL;DR that has nothing to do with the topic: You can write whatever you want if you're okay with it being bad. Making bad art rocks and is a lot of fun and completely necessary towards my emotional well-being. I highly recommend it.

#for example: new wave is 117k and took 2 years and covid puppy is 120k and took 1.5 months. #wow I really digressed there lol #it felt like the most important thing to mention though #to be absolutely clear: for every one high effort good story #I NEED to write three low effort bad stories #I think making bad art is necessary for your creativity and if you want to make good art #im not joking #i struggle explaining this to people in a remotely succinct way but like #skill scaffolds #there's a lot of skills you have to develop and for a polished work they need to stack #and it took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to develop those and you can track that skill development thru my AO3 #and reading fanfic I can usually pick out what skills people have finished developing and which ones they're still working on #it has a lot to do with like The Two Different Ways To Write Fanfic #which aren't like better or worse than each other #but one is muuuuch easier to write than the other and as a result is harder to do well #and is an excellent palate cleanser of writing in between doing it the other way #which is really hard #(the difference is like 90% pacing -.- ) #my writing #my asks

[tittysuckersworld]

am fine

#fecking no i aint in tags lol #gosh i love my friends but man do i have a inferiority complex- and they dont exactly help with it- #like. today tryed join in with smth with making ocs cause friends already did that #was having a lil bit of fun trying mojo #and then another friend joined in and idk #i dont wanna sound mean but took it? #i was gonna make a charscter or smth planned out with heizou but they sorta took over my channel and made smth with him #which is fine im fine i just gosh #i feel so dumb and bad when others sorta take my spot #all my friends are so so good at character creation and figuring out lore fast and i just #i suck at it. i struggle so hard with writing and trying to get into characters heads #i suck at roleplay and usually go with whats funniest to me #i feel like a joke. they only just moved channels and its been an hour. #i know what i would have made wouldnt be half as good but i wanted to make something #and that got trampled. it really dosent help that i was sorta the art one and then a way better artist joined the server #i just- i know it dosent make sence but with it all i just feel useless? is that ok?? #i want to make things and be as good as my friends with it but i alwase feel like im just worse. i wish my head worked right like all of #theirs do. i know i make good ideas and things. but thats after months and months of working out and revising #they make a whole coherant story in an hour. wile multitasking. how am i supposed to keep up with that?? #i also just feel pathetic cause they are my only super close friends. one being only irl friend that dosent just feel like my brothers #and even then that friend is moving away soon. damn it i just wish i could be as good as them with something. anything #i dont wanna just be the silly younger sibling friend all the time. i dont wanna help just make jokes. i wanna make cool stuff like them #they all have their stuff so much more together and i just want to be decent compared to then on one thing #i just want one please.

[fleetsonourgecentral]

I bring you a thought: Scourge has to be the one to tell Tails to get out of the workshop and go to bed at a reasonable time for once. Tails refuses. Chaos and violence follow. (I’m just finding myself with a new craving for Scourge acting like a big brother and thought of you.) Have a wonderful week!!

I am holding this thought in my hands thank u

~~~

There were upsides and downsides to Sonic being away from the rest of the Freedom Fighters. Surprisingly, the upsides did not outweigh the downsides. Sure, Scourge got to do whatever he wanted in the kitchen without Sonic around to yank him away from the kettle by his ear, and sure, it meant he usually wouldn't be expected to do any, blech, hero stuff, but it also left him without his favourite person. (To annoy. Favourite person to annoy, because that was definitely his priority, and the part about being apart from his boyfriend definitely did not bother him at all.)

And apparently, recently it also meant some of his responsibilities were dumped on Scourge instead.

Not the mildly interesting ones like leading the Freedom Fighters, either; according to Amy he was "too much of a loose canon" and "not concerned enough about civilians" or whatever and thus wasn't allowed near the leader position. No, his brand new responsibility was that he was expected to babysit one Miles Tails Prower. A fact Sonic conveniently forgot to inform him of until the second before walking out of the door, when he'd called out, "By the way, keep Pixel Brain in line while I'm gone!"

Because if there was one thing Scourge's entire demeanor screamed, it was good with kids.

To the kid's credit, he wasn't the worst Tails Scourge had ever met. He was no natural born genius like Prime Tails, but he wasn't always looking out for a way to stab Scourge in the back like Miles did, so he wasn't awful. He just... wasn't the kind of kid Scourge was used to. He was used to Tails being some super genius on par with Robotnik or Kintobor. He was used to a frighteningly clever fox who was (sometimes) his terrified minion or Prime's loyal sidekick.

But this Tails? He was a Freedom Fighter, sure, but he was nothing special. It was easier to see him as a kid than any other Tails he'd met, and it showed in the way Sonic treated him, much to the brat's dismay.

Scourge didn't really know what to do with that, so he had no clue how he was supposed to handle these brand new babysitting duties.

Still, he didn't... feel right just blowing the job off on someone else. Probably because of those pesky feelings he'd managed to catch. He knew Sonic trusted him - he never would've agreed to date Scourge if he didn't - but being asked to keep an eye on Tails was something else. A show of trust he'd never even considered possible to receive. Sonic made fun of Tails more than he made fun of anyone else, but he was also the first person to go for the throat of anyone who tried to seriously hurt him.

So to be entrusted with keeping an eye on him? It was a responsibility he was reluctant to put down despite how much it weighed in his arms.

Tails was important to Sonic, and Sonic was important to Scourge, so like it or not, Scourge was obligated to watch the kid.

So far, it hadn't turned out too bad. Tails wasn't a little kid, and he'd been left on his own in worse situations, so he could keep himself safe and didn't need Scourge to watch his every move. In the unlikely event of an emergency happening, it would probably be down to Scourge to pull the kid out of any trouble he got into, but for now, all Scourge could really come up with was making sure he ate and slept. Which was, to his knowledge, pretty much the only thing Sonic did anyway, so it was fine, right?

Tails had been in the lab all day anyway. Apparently he'd started showing an interest in expanding his mechanics knowledge, and Tekno had jumped on the opportunity to teach him everything she knew and get herself a little assistant. And Tekno (probably) knew more about kids than he did, so Scourge was content to leave Tails in her hands.

At least until she roped him into it, with "just make sure you chase him to bed on time like Sonic would, please Scourge, Amy and I have a date and we'll be back late, please okay thank you bye now!"

An exchange that, he should mention, he did not manage to get a word into.

A glance at the clock told Scourge it was finally time to drag Tails to bed. The kid was supposed to leave the lab fifteen minutes ago, but he hadn't come out yet, which meant it was down to Scourge. As annoying as Kintobor's nagging was, it was easy to ignore or even mute him, and there was only so much he could do, so Scourge couldn't rely on him to chase Tails out of the lab.

With a sigh, Scourge hauled himself out his chair and headed down to the lab. Responsibility time it was, then. Sonic was damn lucky Scourge loved him.

As expected, Tails was hunched over a bench, fiddling with something Scourge couldn't see due to it being hidden behind huge clumps of wires and scrap parts. His tongue was poking out in concentration, eyebrows furrowed and squinting at whatever he was working on as he muttered to himself.

Okay. Just chase him up to bed. Easy. He was just a kid, and not even a super genius like every other Tails in the multiverse. Really, how hard could it be?

"Hey shortshit," Scourge said, knocking on the wall of the lab. "Put that shit down, it's time for bed."

"Mmuh?" Tails blinked, squinting up at Scourge like he'd forgotten how to open his eyes properly. "Aww, c'mon, just five more minutes. I've almost got it."

"Yeah, nah, you've already had five more minutes three times, you're all out of five minutes. Get."

"But I'm not tired," Tails protested, demonstrating how not tired he was by yawning loudly and rubbing his eye with his fist.

Man, he really did look like a kid when he did stuff like that. If Scourge had even a scrap of a protective instinct in his body, he would probably understand why Sonic viewed Tails as a kid to look after a tiny bit better.

Scourge did not have that scrap of a protective instinct. He did, however, have several scraps of self preservation, all of which told him to chase the brat to bed just in case Sonic decided failing to do so meant he wasn't living up to his "keep an eye on Pixel Brain" task and threw him in the doghouse. Which was almost the same as a protective instinct, right?

"Sure, squirt. Go be not tired in bed, then, but not in here."

Tails stared at him, assessed him, then jutted his jaw out in defiance and said, "You're not the boss of me."

"Think you'll find Sonic says I am. But if you really wanna take that up with him when he gets back, be my guest. In the meantime, get your ass to bed."

"No."

Oh, Scourge was beginning to remember why he didn't like kids.

"Listen, either you walk yourself to bed, or I drag you out by your tails. What's it gonna be, shorty?"

Tails shrank back, glancing down at the table in uncertainty, fiddling with whatever he was making. Scourge smirked and folded his arms. Too easy.

And then Tails glanced back up.

... Too easy.

Tails was not a natural born child genius. He did not have an IQ on par with Robotnik or Kintobor, he wasn't Scourge's (sometimes) terrified minion or Prime's ever loyal sidekick. All his mechanics understanding was taught instead of innate talent, and as a Freedom Fighter, he was usually okay enough to look out for himself, but he was nothing special.

He did, however, look up to Sonic.

Scourge had never taken Miles in like most Sonics did to their Tails', he'd more just picked him up off the street to recruit into his gang, but he knew damn well Miles learned how to lie, manipulate, and betray from him. Prime Tails took after Prime Sonic more obviously, sickeningly brave and selfless and nice, always watching Prime's back when he needed it.

One way or another, for one reason or another, in every dimension there was always a little two tailed fox taking after a speedy older hedgehog.

So the lack of natural born genius or natural born fighting skills didn't matter when Tails raised his head. And when their gazes met and Tails' eyes sparked with challenge, Scourge only had a split second to remember this Tails looked up to the rudest, cockiest, most dickish and cunning Sonic in the multiverse.

"Gotta get me first," Tails said, and launched his invention right at Scourge's face.

It was an impressively hard throw, so the plastic ball pummeling Scourge straight in the face already had enough force to actually make him stagger back, but then multicolored dust puffed up the second the ball made contact with his face and immediately obscured his vision. Scourge cursed, but that just made it get in his mouth, and he had to squeeze his eyes shut to stop any more of it from getting in his eyes and making them sting even worse.

Swiping at the air to clear it, Scourge coughed and spat on the floor to get the dust out of his mouth - Tekno was gonna kill him for that, like he gave a shit - blinking his stinging, watering eyes to clear them. Whatever the dust was, it probably wasn't dangerous or Tails wouldn't have thrown it at his face, but damn if it didn't sting like a bitch.

By the time Scourge regained his bearings, Tails had already vanished, probably not to bed, and Scourge's jacket - and presumably his face - was covered in the dust.

Oh, that little fuck was in for it when Scourge got his hands on him.

Scourge charged out of the lab after Tails, just managing to glimpse those tails disappear into the kitchen, and grinned a wild, unfriendly grin as he skidded in after him.

"Come on, kid," he laughed, "you can't expect to outrun the fastest hedgehog in the-"

He stopped.

Tails was hovering in the air, the kettle held above his head threateningly, and something about that set of alarm bells in Scourge's head.

"You don't honestly think you'll manage to hit me with that, do you?" Scourge said, even as his stomach started sinking. "You know I can dodge that and bring you down before you can even blink."

"I know," Tails said, holding the kettle even higher. "But I don't need to aim for you. I just need to aim for the floor."

"Yeah? And what's throwing a tantrum and breaking shit gonna do for ya?"

Tails' stare was almost unnerving. Almost. Hard to be unnerved by a dorky little fox who still had his baby fluff, but the kid was giving a good effort.

"If Sonic comes back to find a broken kettle," he said slowly, "he's gonna blame one of us two since Amy and Tekno are out all night. And who do you think he'll believe? The kid he thinks can barely hurt a badnik, or the reckless hedgehog who isn't allowed near the kettle and is petty enough to have a destructive vendetta against it because of that?" He gave Scourge a cheeky, not quite cunning but certainly getting there, smile. "Of course, if you stop chasing me and I can just have ten more minutes to finish what I was doing, that doesn't have to happen."

Oh shit, Tails had spent too much time with both of them.

"Oh please, you're shit at lying," Scourge scoffed, although he kept a careful eye on the kettle. "Sonic's way too smart to fall for something like that. One look at what you did to my face and he'll know."

"You really want to tell him I managed to hit you in the face by surprise?"

"... One look at what you did to my jacket and he'll know."

"No he won't. Sonic never pays attention to my inventions, he won't even know what it is. So he won't know it came from me."

"I can tell him, and Tekno can back me up. Face it, kid, you break that kettle, there's no way the blame won't fall on you."

"Yeah? Wanna test it?"

"Breaking the thing is gonna backfire more on you than it will me," Scourge hurried to argue before Tails could follow through with his test threat. "You're the one who goes without tea and hot chocolate if you break it, not me, since you're too fucking cowardly to just use the damn microwave."

"It doesn't taste right if you use a microwave," Tails protested, scowling and hovering a little closer to the floor. Still not quite in reach, but closer.

"It tastes exactly the damn same and you know it, you're just copying what Sonic says."

"No I'm not!"

"Yeah you are."

"Am not!" Tails puffed out his cheeks. "Besides, we can just boil the water on the hob until we get a new one."

"Stove," Scourge corrected absently, subtly shuffling closer as Tails hovered even lower. "It takes too long and you know it. You'd all hate it."

Just a bit more, a bit more, a little bit more...

"Yeah, well-"

Quick as a flash Scourge threw himself at Tails and snatched the kettle right out of his hand, placing it safely back on the counter with a smug grin.

He had no idea if Sonic would blame him or Tails for the breaking of the kettle, but he wasn't about to risk it. Just in case.

"Ha! Try hiding behind the kettle now you little-"

But Tails was already gone, fleeing towards the living room. Cursing his whole entire life and Sonic specifically, Scourge gave chase.

He barely stepped into the living room before Tails was throwing the couch cushions at him in an attempt to keep him away, but this time Scourge was ready for war. He snatched one of the cushions out of the air and used it to bat away the rest of the improvised weapons flying at his poor, abused face.

The assault lasted for maybe fifteen more seconds before Tails began to run out of cushions to throw, and in his panic to find more ammo, there was a falter in his pattern Scourge immediately took advantage of to tackle him to the ground.

Tails gasped and squirmed, but he wasn't strong enough to break Scourge's grip, so his futile struggle didn't last very long before he gave up and slumped into the ground in defeat.

"That's what I thought," Scourge said triumphantly, making sure to smear some of the dust on his jacket onto Tails' face in retaliation for earlier. "You can't beat me, kid."

"Not yet," Tails mumbled into the carpet.

Well, at least the kid had ambitions.

Scourge didn't give Tails any more choice in the matter. He hauled Tails over his shoulder and sped to his room so the brat wouldn't get any last second escape attempt ideas, then dumped him in his bed.

With a sigh of someone who knew he'd been beaten for at least another day, Tails reluctantly settled under the blankets and mumbled, "G'night, Scourge."

"Save that mushy shit for Sonic," Scourge snorted, flicking off the light and closing Tails' door behind him as he stepped out into the hallway.

Ugh, kids. Sonic couldn't come home fast enough.

Scourge shrugged off his jacket and dumped it in his laundry basket to deal with later, pulling a face the whole time, then stepped into the bathroom. He studied himself in the mirror, squinting at the amount of dust on him. His poor jacket caught most of the attack, so only his arms and face remained covered in dust. His torso had a little sprinkled on, but not enough for him to give a shit just yet.

It would probably be easier to just have a shower to wash all the dust off, but honestly, Scourge couldn't be assed. Rinse off in the sink it was, then. He'd shower properly in the morning.

Should he clean up the lab before he went to bed or in the morning?

Ah, fuck it, neither. Tekno could do that. It was her fault for leaving Tails unsupervised in the lab anyway.

Scourge got to work scrubbing the dust from his fur, first his arms, then his face. He managed to get half his face clean before the door downstairs opened and Sonic appeared behind him in a breeze.

Scourge blinked at Sonic's reflection. Sonic's reflection blinked back.

"Didn't expect you back today," Scourge said, turning to face Sonic properly.

"I'm the fastest thing alive, why didn't you expect me back early?" Sonic squinted at his face. "Why do you have the dust from Tails' latest invention on your face?"

"And here he thought you wouldn't even notice him building it," Scourge snorted, turning back to the sink to continue scrubbing his face.

"Of course I noticed. Nerd's been going on and on about making something to obscure badniks' vision so we can have an edge in battle for months now, I couldn't miss it if I tried."

Scourge hadn't bothered to fight his smiles around Sonic for months now, and he didn't try this time, either.

That, that right there, that was one of the reasons he loved him. One of the things that blindsided him early on. Sonic paid attention even when it didn't feel like it.

"Kid's been working on it all day," he said. "Dunno when it'll be ready now the brat's gone and tested it before he meant to, but considering this-" he gestured to his face- "it looks promising."

Sonic was quiet for a moment, then said, "He threw it at you, didn't he?"

"No! Fucker just blew up in the lab-"

"Bullshit. You called him a brat, he totally threw it at you."

Scourge scowled, scrubbing vigorously at his face. He didn't need to see Sonic to know he had that stupid, proud smirk on his face. "Shut up. You're a bad influence on that kid."

"And here I thought my bad influence on people was one of the things you love about me."

"Not when it inconveniences me."

"Don't be such a baby."

"Easy for you to say, you didn't have to deal with it."

"It wouldn't take me that much effort to 'deal with it.'" Sonic leaned against the sink, inspecting Scourge's stained face with a playful smirk. "I can't believe you couldn't dodge something thrown at you by Tails."

"Shut up," Scourge mumbled. "He's learned it from you."

"Fucking finally, he's picking something up." Sonic laughed softly. His laugh was naturally harsh, inherently mocking, perfect for rubbing people up the wrong way even when that wasn't why he was laughing in the first place. Scourge loved it. "Hurry up and finish washing your face, I'm not kissing you while you're all dusty."

"Aww, have you missed kissing me? That's embarrassing," Scourge teased, although he did scrub his face a little faster to get the dust off quicker.

"Don't act like you haven't missed it too, dickhead."

"Nah, I don't need you at all," Scourge said, inspecting his face in the mirror to make sure the last of the dust was gone. There was a small bruise forming on his muzzle, just under his mouth and to the left, from where the plastic ball had smacked him in the face.

"Sure, whatever you say." Right on cue Sonic planted a soft kiss on the bruise. "Cheers for keeping him out of trouble, glad to see I can leave him and come back to see him in one piece.

Translation: thank you for watching him for me, I'm glad I can trust you with him. I love you.

"Don't ever ask me to do it again," Scourge said, slipping his hand into Sonic's. "I didn't sign up for babysitting duties when I agreed to date you. If you make me do it again, I ain't promising it'll end as well as this did."

Translation: I'll do it, but only for you, because he matters to you. I love you, too.

"Fine. But then you don't get to whinge about me being the 'bad influence' on him."

"You want me to be a bad influence on him, too? I'm honored."

"You already are."

It was true. That trick about framing him for the broken kettle had Scourge the Hedgehog written all over it. It was hard to believe he'd become such a big part of the Freedom Fighters lives he was having influence on them.

Still. Scourge didn't hate it. It felt... kinda good, actually. To know he was important enough to influence people, influence Tails, and be trusted enough for Sonic to let it happen.

He still wasn't gonna be taking on any more babysitting responsibilities, though.

... At least, not without a fight, even if it was for show.

#sonic the hedgehog #scourge the hedgehog #fleetway sonic #stc sonic #fleet!sonourge #asks #fanfic #fleetway tails #HAHAHA MY BAD I DIDN'T MEAN FOR THIS TO TAKE AN ENTIRE MONTH.... #so uh you remember that chapter i mentioned i was struggling to finish a couple asks ago? #yeah i finished it. it was 20k by the time i was done so i decided I'd earned a break from writing #that's why this took so long #whoops lmao my bad #this is why you can't ever encourage me to take my time writing bc i WILL take advantage of that to be lazy #anyways hope you enjoyed! sorry again for the wait #couldn't stop thinking about that ask mentioning tails acting more like sonic while i was writing #and i was like oh he'd be SUCH a brat to scourge about it and it'd be all sonic's fault #scourge is a liar he DOES care about tails he just likes to hide behind his love for sonic instead of admitting it #it's okay scourge we know the truth u just struggle to admit to loving people just like sonic #one step (aka one acceptance and admission of love for a person) at a time #this was so fun to write sjgjghg tails should be allowed to be a brat i think. he deserves it for putting up with sonic

[portokali]

bestie gi @pinknoisemp3 tagged me to share my 9 albums of 2022!!! ty that was v fun to do and think abt!!!

criteria for being a nica album of the year were: °albums i listened to front to back a lot, not just albums where i loved a couple individual songs, °albums that actually set the vibe and made me think of a lot, °albums i liked (ofc), °albums that i either discovered or came out this year OR if they're old favorites, °albums that were particularly relevant, and °albums that were somehow in pace w my character development

here we have: jubilee by japanese breakfast, laurel hell by mitski, ANIME by foivos delivorias, be the cowboy by mitski, μια πέτρα σαν σπίτι by sophie lies, a liquid breakfast by audrey nuna, metro by lex, surf by blackstarkids and red hearse by red hearse

tagging besties @catboyparrish @catboykacchan @catboypranparakulisaro @catboyhammerandsickle @transcatboymegumi @byrons @matchas @stuckwith-harry @quillsand @soupbi @diarygirls and everyone else who wants 2 do it.. ily i hope everyone enjoys the music they listen to as much as i do if not more its my genuine hope for humanity

#jubilee ALBUM OF THE YEAR loved it soo much only listened to it this year too before that all i had listened to more than once was be sweet #but so so so good sooo important to me!!!! #laurel hell A GROWER i loved the singles as they came out but after the album came out i loved jt #but then took a break from listening to it and arrived at the conclusion that it's a lot less musically interesting #than any of her previous works and then came back to it some months later w new uears #OK I STILL KINDA AGREE W PAST ME that melodically it's not AS impressive as some stuff shes done before but stillll #such an important album to me this year n now i grew into some of the songs more esp thats our lamp #ANIME BY DELIVORIAS AND FIRST GREEK ALBUM IN THE LINEUP OKOK OK LETSGO #hes my greek boomer of choice look he went and named his album anime it doesnt even have 2 do w anime #he meant as in.. anima as in the soul in latin ig?? so much of it has 2 do w the matter of thr human soul n how delivorias sees the world #his brain!!! ok even if u dont speak greek i think its an enjoyable listen!!! look i wouldnt be reccing it if it wasnt good!!!! #BE THE COWBOY a classic an old favorite but i listened to it soo much more this year and developed personal close relationships w so many #of the songs so!!! a 2nd win for mitski CHEERS #mia Petra san spiti aka a rock as a home (??) by Sophie lies ANOTHER greek indie album in the lineup n honestly #its more of a 2021 album of the year but this year too and actually one of my fav albums ever #soo much of it is abt growing pains and struggling in your 20s.. hi. was listening to it recently thinking funny how sophie lies writes #songs specifically for me such as aeras bc well of course eimai aeras eimai o ai8eras pou anakatevei fyllarakia eimai neraki ki auto einai #kati... mia stagona poy soy 8wlwse to mati!!! WHO comes up w this stuff NOT NORMAL PPL ILL TELL U THAT MUCH. also nastia likes sophie too #yes yes loved talking abt her w nastia bestie.. #a liquid breakfast by audrey.. v good grew on me fast too it interchanges btwn being badass and gritty to vulnerable and softer letsgoo #definitely sth i needed a lot also v fond memories of playing this in the car 2 my friend and his friend i had just met and them both #approving. also b4 the friends friend became MY friend hello!!!! #lex metro what can i say. he already said it all!!! skg gang letsgoo #CULTURAL RESET also ofc i was there at the live.. a v v remarkable and unforgettable day by all means. n my brother gave me one of the #tshirts he got AND I ALSO got a paprika tshirt by artist ej chong so i have 2/9 tshirts for the albums mentioned here #surf by blackstarkids WOW A VIBE!!!! again v relatable to growing n 20smethingisms but also v fun and just super gr8 #helped me alot through the summer.. love 💕💕💕 #RED HEARSE is actually a long time fav since 2020 i think but it stayed a fav this year n got me through a lot there r some absolutest bops #here!!!! everybody wants you is one of my top most listened songs n my fav alongside red hearse n half love.. #tag game

[atherix]

Atherix, with writing that good I am convinced that if you could turn The Midnight Series into an actual book series.

Maybe you'd have to change a couple names (I'm sure many people would find some of the names strange)

But otherwise I don't see how this cant compare to Harry Potter

(I never read the Harry Potter books but if they are written as good as people make them sound than The Midnight Series must be a good comparison)

Me everytime you update:

(With love ❤❤❤)

JKHGSKJHGSKFSJK <3<3 I think I would have to change the format it's written in as well but jfdskkds it warms my heart you think so <3 Thank you so much <3

I do have a book in the works, funnily enough! I haven't talked about it here, tbh I don't think I've talked about it to anyone. I'm still in the outlining/planning stage. It's nothing like Midnight, but I hope my characterization and writing is as strong as it is in Midnight and resonates with someone out there <3 As for Midnight, I have no plans to turn it into a book- the way I've written Midnight feels more episodic than anything, but I really really appreciate that you feel this way hjfgjkdk <3

(I have Opinions™ about the writing in Harry Potter but that's neither here nor there, but thank you so much hjfdjkfdk <3)

#Ask #Midnight Series #HJGSJKFHSKJS <3<3<3 #This made me smile so much thank you <3 #I love that people enjoy my writing this much <3 #Fun fact but I would LOVE to publish a book #it's my dream (alongside writing a cartoon but you know) #but it's taken me so long to get it planned hjfdkjfd #I have my characters and I have my plot. I know how the magic works and I know the story. Putting it together I am struggling jhfsjk #we're not gonna talk about how I pumped out a 250k fic in 3-4 months #or another 30k fic in 5 days #idk why but a book feels more complicated than a fic??? even though I basically took HC/3L and turned it into an original project #but that's neither here nor there #psychology why </3

[spaceradars]

i spent so many months without playing bass but now slowly i’m doing it again and it just makes me 🥺🥺

#i couldn’t really connect with music the way i usually do and like. idk it just makes me glad to play again #but also for so many months i just couldn’t play for real. it was a weird year when it comes to music for me #i struggled so much to finish my writing project/hopefully a future novel about a band and #it frustrates me a lot to not be able to do something with it because i just love it a lot #but also it’s so personal and that makes me :// because writing and rewriting takes me back to when i first wrote it #which was a shitty period of my life for sure #and then taylor hawkin’s passin in march just made me reject music for a big period of time whcih makes me 😭🥺 #that connecting i had with music as a whole and as a lifesaver basically just. faded. #and it took me months to get it back. and now im slowly getting it back completely #and playing bass again is a proof of that i guess 🥺🫶 #txt

[jmrothwell]

...

#Couldnt leave needed to vent #Like.....I am STILL upset by JatP cancellation #sure at netflix but much more at the fallout I came into as a fan who found the show post cancellation #maybe it's because this is the first fandom I have actively been part of #(but I have been on the outskirts of manu fandoms through friends and family) #and I HAVE NEVER seen so many fans of their own show declare their fandom dead and dying #especially not when people were still CREATING FAN WORKS FOR SAID SHOW!! #like wtf!? #thats part of why it took me a month or two to finally start actually writing for JatP #like sure writw for yourself or whatever #but why would I WANT to create for people who look at the creations they have and continued to get and declare there isnt a fandom there? #honestly if it wasn't for the corner of the fandom I stumbled onto I probably wouldn't have bothered #I still occasionally see the why is my fandom dead pista and the please reblog my art/writing posts #and they coorelate because you know fucking what #THATS why your fandom struggled #THATS why it feels so much smaller now. #because you declared it dead and you stoppwd interacting with it in a meaningful way #Which for a fandom is as good as killing it yourself