#<- i just typed queue and a letter

[grimwarden]

y k I don't think I could ever have an official queue if only bc there's so many great puns to choose from that I wouldn't be able to pick one

[ozzgin]

In the post mentioning flashing horny mantis there was meet and greet. I have a question how other monsters would behave in meet and greet (assuming that they will show up)

(Sorry for my English ;^;)

Also I love your work

POV: Your monster followers meeting you

content: gender neutral reader, mentions of stalking

LizardKing5 vehemently denies his attendance in the chatroom. "What, you think you're some celebrity?" he types, claiming he has better things to do than follow around some pathetic human.

Coincidentally, he's the first monster to greet you, standing tall at the very front of the queue.

"Whatever," he'll mumble, pulling out his merch and shaking your hand with feigned indifference. "I just happened to be in the area."

"What were you even doing before this," you ask, raising your eyebrows at the enormous backpack looming behind him.

Is that camping gear?

His clawed, scaly hand quickly ruffles your hair. Mind your damn business.

SharkMan is rather polite and reserved in his mannerisms. Don't misunderstand, he truly is excited to see you again, but he'd rather not add more to your plate. Besides, if we count the milestone event, he's already gotten way more than a handshake from you.

"Are you staying hydrated?" he asks, placing a bag of goodies on your table. "Here's something to eat during your break."

You smile and thank him for the thoughtful gesture. Hard to believe the same monster left you nearly crippled after a night together. You're sitting on the same cushion you needed for weeks after the affair.

DefNotAStalker will show up just to mess with you. He's watched you prepare for the event, he carefully observed you getting dressed; hell, he even ironed your outfit the night before! You swear the shirt had wrinkles last time you checked.

He'll shake your hand with an innocent grin and ask for an autograph. He's picked the perfect photo for it: to the unaware, it looks like a blurry print screen taken during one of your livestreams. In reality, he cheekily snapped it while hanging right above you, off-screen. You sign it with a chuckle.

"Thank you for coming, it was such a tiring week for me," you say, lowering yourself back in your seat.

"I can imagine. I hope the apartment complex will fix it soon."

You nod, distracted, and the monstrous creature slithers away.

Wait, did you ever even mention this to your followers?

Y/NSimp is elated to meet you. He's been carefully planning this for months, constantly daydreaming about the fateful encounter. His bag is filled to the brim with the required equipment: a fat stack of love letters, a marriage certificate, Photoshopped photos of the two of you together, an engagement ring, and a list of potential names for your future children.

He can already see it: he'll hand you the bag and the flowers, and you'll gasp, surprised by his romantic gesture. You never thought someone would care this much. Without hesitation, you jump into his arms, and promptly cancel the rest of the event. You'll be too busy with your husband-to-be.

Unfortunately, he has omitted one vital detail in his elaborate schemes: the correct address of the meet and greet. By the time he reaches the actual location, the doors are closed and the venue empty.

[Monster Streaming Series] | [Meet and Greet Part 1]

[taesanrot]

[songs for women] anton x reader | 0.6k words drabble, musician!anton, best friends to ???, childhood friends au, implied college au, mutual pining note. a short lil thing i found from a few months ago in my drafts <3 wrote it for the beginning of fall. may turn this into a full length fic but i wanted to put this out for now bc i really like it.

now playing: songs for women by frank ocean

"don't even listen to the songs i record, but she be bangin' that drake in my car ... all damn day long, it's like she never heard of me, heard of me."

turning his key in the ignition, anton hears his car engine thrum as it comes alive. the fall air is warm and balmy and you’re sitting in the passenger seat, head propped on your hand as you gaze out the window.

“wanna roll it down?” anton’s soft voice coaxes you back to reality and you turn to look at him with a grin on your face, nodding excitedly. he smiles softly as he watches you turn the handle and let the fresh air into anton’s old four door sedan.

plugging the aux cord into the his phone, anton bumps your shoulder, handing you the glowing screen.

you gingerly take the phone out of his hands, fingers typing away in the search bar of his spotify app to queue a song.

turning towards the road, anton finally eases his foot onto the pedal, and the car’s wheels squeal slightly as he turns out of his driveway into the neighborhood’s winding roads.

the citrus colored leaves bring a fond smile to his face, and the breeze from your open window tickles his face and ruffles his hair.

old memories play through anton’s mind, flashes of long bike rides and pool days with you. you’re weaved into all of the moments he holds close to his heart, and he thinks it’ll always feel this way.

anton doesn’t think the jumps and twists in his stomach when he’s around you will ever fade. not when you smile so brightly at him, or laugh so prettily at his dumb jokes.

the two of you aren’t kids anymore, you’ve outgrown your bicycle helmets and kiddie pools. anton is an upcoming singer and you’re about to graduate college. but somehow whenever you end up in your hometown again, it’s like you’re teenagers again. you spend hours in the old coffee shop that was your favorite studying spot for finals, and you go to the same drive in ice cream parlor.

the song that you handpicked floods anton’s ears as his hand glides across the steering wheel. with a sigh and roll of his eyes, he looks over at you.

“park wonbin again? seriously?” you laugh at his dismay, fingers turning the dial to increase the volume. anton groans in response, his adam’s apple moving under the skin of his neck. your eyes catch it for a second, brain forming an unusually erotic thought at the sight. you’re brought back to earth by the sound of anton’s voice again.

“i’m starting to think you don’t listen to anything else.” tucking some hair behind your eyes, you grin at your best friend.

“what else do i need besides wonbin?”

“you know, other people would kill to be driven around by me, and you refuse to even listen to my songs.” it’s your turn to roll your eyes, but you do so with another cheerful laugh.

“someone’s gotta keep you humble.” you chide, shoving anton’s shoulder playfully.

as anton trains his focus back to the road, he looks over at you one more time, just for him. you’re laying your cheek against the car door and watching the trees pass. the wind sweeps your hair into something of a halo, and the setting sun makes you look like an angel glowing in the sky.

a familiar thought plagues the boy’s mind again. anton wonders if you’ll ever sit down and listen to some of his songs, like really listen to them. maybe one day you’ll see past the playful melodies and soft guitar and hear his songs for what they really are:

love letters to you.

[voidcat]

i. welcome to summoners rift

characters: narumi gen, gn!reader

a/n: the game i had in mind while writing this is league of legends.. boo i know. anyways i tried to keep the LoL terms down so itll be easier to understand. reader is implied to be a part of first division- part time operations leader but more involved in data collecting and medical side of things, (I’ll decide fully later)

. i need to make this pathetic loser suffer in games so bad its not even funny anymore... first of many more fics to come im afraid

The first few times to play it safe and because it’s what you’re used to, you take a generic support class— Seraphine got crowd control, enough damaging spells to trigger a DoT or do some extra last minute damage, provides shield, speed and health.

A well balanced support and pretty, Narumi cannot help but think as the Seraphine on his screen hits ctrl+3 and dances for the third time while waiting for the opposing team to make a move. You seem to know what you’re doing, you placed wards, dance when it seems idle but keeping your attention enough to cut it when you suspected an ambush few times. Plus it’s one of the most recent skins you got for the champ so he knows you know how to play the champion, despite your low score on her-

After all, not everyone has been playing this damn game for 5 to 10 years now, a newbie is no problem as long as they know how to play and show it. You leave the minions to him, heal him at critical moments the enemies thought he was dying so he can attack back and get them one by one— you’re good, and you’re especially good with him.

By the time the entire team gathers on the same lane, pushing to the opposing team’s base, you send your ult at the perfect moment, charming four enemies at once and creating the dream situation of any player.

Well, the rest of your team slowly dies because of heavy damage over time they took but it’s alright. The screen says in big letters: PENTA KILL! With his champion icon right under it, and in the game chat even the opposing team congratulates him, saying it was insane game play.

Then Narumi hears that same melody since the beginning of the game whenever you hit the dance animation and a new message in the game chat:

> victory dance for that lovely penta ( *｀ω´)

Reading the message, he watches your champion dance with his eyes glued to the screen, heat rising up to his face… absolutely adorable is what it is. Standing there with his champion, he then hits ctrl+3 as well to join you on the dance, letting the minions carry on.

The game is about to end, the opposing team begs in the chat to not end, to keep playing, meanwhile his team makes some jokes referencing early minutes of the match. Then at the last second, Narumi quickly types in and hits send.

The chat box reads: ‘support diff’

Before queuing up for another game, his hand acts on impulse and invites you to the lobby.

And to his surprise, you accept!

The sound of message notifications reaches his ears short after and he quickly reads over.

>awww >seems like someone enjoyed my presence;P

Adorable and cheeky, this just might be his best in game interactions by far. without a word, he queues up another game and another, the night goes on.

messages from you in-game keep on coming, at one point he thinks to himself "what he hell is a fryslan bop" to which you just send a keyboard smash followed by a "its a song lol"

so you are a chatter, he gathers quickly. not often but when you do, you send in a lot. he soon catches up to when you're actually talking versus spamming a song's lyrics while having Seraphine dance in your stead.

until you cancel the queue start up and send a message.

>gotta go >its late >booo >we jst got started >work tmr sry T-T

with a sigh, he watches as you leave and tries playing another match, but for some reason during the entirety of the match, he has no fun.

when you log into your game accounts in the evening, relieved to have an easy day, you notice a few friend request. "kaijuslayer"

you click accept and before you can open another tab, you instantly receive a lobby invite. its unreal how quick this person is... and how much he enjoys gaming, apparently. with no plans for the night and no desire to do anything else, you accept the invite.

Narumi is over the clouds to see not only has his request being accepted but also his invite too. gaming is more fun when you are winning, and thus playing with people who know what they're doing. you pick the same champion again and accomodate to his various picks, supporting him however he needs. it's perfect, it's distracting. while the two of you wait for the client to find another match, you begin to talk. since it's a friday, he tries his shot and asks if you'll stay for longer this time.

>nah >my v much serious v grownup job has saturdays too >and awfully early waking hours >sucks to b u> v serious v grownup huh >yea? >im starting to suspect u might b a child >OLIFSDJFIGOJSDOLŞGJSDFOLŞG >the calls coming from inside the house

before Narumi can send a reply, the 'match found' screen pops up and the two of you leave it there.

the match starts off smooth. he's farming a good amount, the two of you reached level 6 before the others, and as the opposing lane tries an ambush, you hit them with your ult, charming them in the process. as narumi begins to unleash his combo, your slowing down waves slither there gently, quitely. then follows your shield and speed buff, and right before his very eyes, your now-powered-up-double skill hits the enemies and the screen reads: "TRIPLE KILL" with your icon next to it.

as much of an ideal support as Seraphine is, Narumi remembers the fact all too painfully that Seraphine was first released as a midlaner... a very much capable AP damage unit if built that way. a part of wants to see, and a part of him is afraid of what he might see if he goes to check which items you have purchased- or if it was a brilliant calculation by itself.

as Narumi stares at the screen, Seraphine dances again, sometimes ending the animation to go around him. seeing him frozen for far too long, you ping him few times. as if his misery, and his kills stolen wasnt bad enough already, your team's jungle has the audacity to send a message to in-game chat. 'supp diff'’

complimenting his support? his duo? Narumi begins to see red.

as you begin to teleport back to the base, you send an emote of one of the characters, tongue poking out, winking and doing a peace sign.

and on his side of things, narumi gen cannot find it in him to stay mad at the turn of events- because just look how endearing and cute you are! it's alright if you took a kill or two by accident, you're still his support, his duo after all!

despite the... technical errors, the game ends in another victory and with you doing a victory dance again, now pinging him if he's staying idle until he joins you as well. his heart cannot take it. it's too much... and as if you are dead set on being the final blow, you send cute emotes, and whenever he sends one back, you reply with another, it goes and goes until the matches end.

a flood of message notification sounds brings him back to earth again.

>heeeey >r u gonna start the queue some time this year? >oh btw pick a color

puzzled at the last message, he says a color, not expecting much out of it. until he sees you have picked another skin with the chroma he said. candy and teeth- you are so adorable and charming, so bad for his poor health. waiting in your lane, you begin the dancing animation again and narumi grins at the screen, watching you dance.

oh no, this is bad. this is pathetic even for him now... he cannot be possibly finding some gamer maybe across the country, someone he never saw nor even heard the voice of charming...

maybe that annoying part time operations leader was right about his... pent up frustration... if he's this down for a game model supposedly representing a person, maybe you had a point when you implied he goes to seek some action and revive himself of whatever's been building up down there.

there is no way he can let anyone learn about this- worst of all, you. with your stoic face and condescending eyes, you'd never let him live that down.

Him! Narumi Gen! the first division captain and the strongest anti-kaiju combatant! he'd rather die than give you the satisfaction of knowing he's so desperate to get some sort of friction he's starting to mix an online person with the character they're playing.

aggressive pings snap him out of his running thoughts and he realizes he's a little behind game-play wise.

now, looking over at the match stats, it doesn't seem all to unsalvageable. he better get to it, there's a match to win and a lovely duo to impress.

[snapdragonsimming]

The Big Fundie Simblr Ask Game

I've noticed that our beloved Fundie Simblr community could use a little more action, so I've written up this (insanely long!) ask game. Just pick a letter and a number to play. I encourage you to send asks to your mutuals and non-mutuals alike!

A: Writing/Posting

Who is your favorite sim to write for? Your least favorite?

What has been your favorite storyline to write? Your least favorite?

If you could go back and change anything you've written, what would it be?

What part of your blog are you most proud of?

How long does it take you to draft the average post?

Where do you write?

Where do you get your inspiration?

Do you base characters off people you know personally?

Share some advice for those running a Fundie Simblr blog!

Share a screenshot you took that you love the look of.

Share a hint, spoiler or teaser for an upcoming post.

How far ahead do you plan? Do you have a full queue right now?

B: Gameplay

What packs do you use the most?

What mods do you use the most?

Who is your favorite CC creator for modest clothing?

Do you think you struggle with "same-face syndrome" when creating your sims? 🙃

Do you find yourself falling into trends with regards to the "type" of (fundie) sims you create? (for example: lots of guys in the military, lots of girls with red hair, et cetera)

How do you pick names for your sims?

If you have multiple households, which is the easiest/most enjoyable to play? How about the easiest/least enjoyable?

Do you keep your sims on a routine, or is it constant chaos?

Do you cheat needs often? (No judgment either way!)

What's your advice for keeping large households alive?

In actual gameplay, how fundie are your sims? (for example: do you let them kiss before marriage, even though in-story they don't do that until the wedding? Do your sims actually have the jobs they do in the story? Et cetera.)

When you're not playing fundie sims, what kind of sims do you play?

C: Character Questions

Feel free to answer these as yourself/the narrator, or as the characters themselves! And if you're the one sending the ask, make sure to specify the sims in question, unless you want to be surprised :)

Would [Sim] say they were happy, if asked? Are they happy?

Are [Sim 1] and [Sim 2] happy in their relationship?

What are [Sim]'s personal convictions on modesty/dating/children/whatever?

What would [Sim/Family] be like if they weren't fundie?

Has [Sim] ever doubted their faith? How did they "return to God"? (Or "come to God," if they're a convert!)

What does [Sim] love and hate about their family? (Parents, siblings, children, whatever!)

If [Sim] had another career path, what would they do?

Share a few random facts about [Sim/Family] that may not come up in the story!

How would others describe [Sim]? (Feel free to specify who those "others" are!)

How would [Sim] describe themself?

Is [Sim/Family] well regarded at their church? Where do they fall in the community hierarchy?

How is [Sim/Family] doing, financially speaking? Are they content, or do they desire more?

What's the most scandalous/sinful thing [Sim] has done? Would they admit to it, if asked?

D: Community

Choose one Fundie Simblr blog that you follow, tag them, and say something nice about them or their story!

Choose a post from a Fundie Simblr blog that you enjoy, and reblog it with a comment in the tags!

What's your favorite character, storyline or moment from another Fundie Simblr?

What's something you'd love to see from the Fundie Simblr community?

Are there any non-fundie Simblr blogs that you enjoy? Feel free to recommend some!

Have you ever been inspired by another Simblr's writing? How did it go?

E: Fundie Snark

When did you first get into fundie snarking, and how?

Which is your "favorite" fundie family to keep up with, if you pay attention to real-life fundies?

What's your favorite batshit fundie moment?

Which poor fundie child are you rooting for the most?

Did you ever watch 19KAC/Counting On/Bringing Up Bates/etc?

F: About You

When did you first start playing The Sims? Which game was it?

What's one good thing that's happened to you this week?

Share a fun fact about yourself!

Have you told in-person friends or family about your fundie sims?

If you had to describe yourself with an aspiration + traits, what would they be?

If you had to choose a Sims pack that represents your personality, which one would it be?

[utopya-cc]

(Preview) Valentine Update | Passionate Gifts 0.2

For The Full Mod Description, Click Here:

0.2 Update :

Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing well! And I hope you had a great time with this new year. 

Now, let's jump into the Update! This is Valentine's Update; I have really rushed it to get ready on time for Valentine's Day. I hope that you will like it 🥰 : 

I am really excited to share this update with you. It's a small idea, but I think it will suit the game and the Valentine's vibe. 

When we use the in-game (give a romantic gift) interaction. Your sim will receive back a flower gift with a message. I do really like this feature as the idea of it is something so common in real life. 

Flowers with love cards are the most universal gifts to consider giving to your loved ones. But I didn't like how they implemented it in the game, as there is no animation for the love card, and the Flower is just a plain rose; it should usually be a bouquet. The in-game animation is cute but doesn't feel like an intimate/romantic interaction.

So I have made my own. This isn't an override. This a new interaction that you can find on the Passionate Gifts pie menu, 

You will find a new pie menu called Passionate Gifts on the romantic menu. The new interaction will be there:

The interaction will cost your sims some Simoleons, and the price will depend on the type of each gift.

The New Gift:

Love letter Bouquet - $50 Simoleons

Features Of the Mods:

New highly detailed animation with their own sounds

A new pie menu for the new interactions

New icons for each Gift that will suit their own animation

Each interaction has its own buffs for both the gifter and the receiver.

Notification to showcase the love letter after each gift given,

Realistic animations for each object

Possible outcomes:

Your sim will also get a Flirty moodlet with some different buffs. For each role in the animations:

And, of course, a Love Letter. Your sim will receive a notification that will contain the Love letter. All the messages are different from the in-game ones. They are all custom-made. Let me know if you have any other ones, and I may add them in future updates!

The interactions are more intimate than the in-game ones, so your sims have to at least have their first kiss. and have more than 20% of romance or the pie menu won't show up

I think this mod will be a great addition to the game, especially storytelling-wise,

Known Bugs

Everything seems to be working well so far. I haven't encountered any bugs, but please report any you may encounter.

This mod is BG-compatible.

The mod will be enhanced further in the future with New Gifts and Animations!!!

The interactions shouldn't be played autonomously,

It's better to wait until the animation is finished and the queue is clear before playing another one.

Requirement :

This mod needs the XML injector by Scumbumbo. You can download it here: https://scumbumbomods.com/xml-injector

How to install :

Just put both my mod and the XML injector script into your Sims 4 Mods folder.

Delete The older version. Leave just the Updated one.

DOWNLOAD: 

[six-eyed-samurai]

Firstly congratulations on your followers! :) Secondly maybe the prompt R is for Romance from your yandere list with either reader and Rengoku or Dabi(from mha)? You don't have to do it if you don't want too, but I hope your day's good!

SUMMARY: A drunken game on the rooftop was not how you imagined would be the reason you were suddenly locked into a basement by none other than Dabi himself A/N: TY TY! Sadly my Yandere Alphabet is actually for neutral characters, however I can still pull off the R is for Romance for you! I was having a good day, ty, my best friend came back today lmao WARNINGS: This is yandere, so MDNI and in no way do I condone this sort of relationship. Also alcohol, swearing, maybe OOC Dabi (I did my best I'm sorry) My inbox is still open if you would like to request for the event!

"Good Lord what letter comes after M?"

"O, stupid."

"Shut it Panda Eyes." You threw the bottle cap at your companion. He went cross eyed tracking it but maybe he was just drunk.

You both were, actually. Very much inebriated on top of some rooftop (how did you get up there again? Never mind it was going to give you an even bigger headache to try and remember) of some building in some place you had long forgotten during the alcohol binge you two were on. You wouldn't have pulled this sort of dumb stunt usually but after a successful night (successful...something. Ugh, what sort of damned drink had Dabi bought?) he had convinced you that it was good to celebrate. Just you and him, the after party.

An after party with lots and lots of alcohol. There was still more and you reached for another bottle, tilting it back. Then your eyes narrowed, turning to the turquoise pair staring at you. "Bullshit! You liar, it's N!"

"If you (beep) knew, why ask?" Dabi chucked his bottle cap at you. The caps littered the ground everywhere around you both, actually, as the both of you had agreed that it would be the punishment if the other was unable to continue the game.

The game, right. You had made a dumb joke about a team-building exercise and what a great time it would be to do it now even though the rest of the League wasn't here, then Dabi had followed it up with a sly suggestion of Eye Spy. You elbowed him and complained it was boring. He jabbed his finger into your side and in the end the both of you agreed to play a game of Word Association following the alphabet. Only problem was the both of you were idiots.

"I forgot! You got it wrong as well!"

Dabi rolled his eyes. "Just get the hell on with it."

"Okay! N for uh...nap?"

"Boring. N for...nonsense."

"You're boring. O for...obsession."

Dabi raised an eyebrow, taking another sip. "O for only."

"P for...platypus? Shit, what was that cartoon? The one where that duck thingy - platypus, sorry - wore a hat?"

"What the hell do you even watch?" Dabi snorted. "The first thing you think of is platypus?"

"You literally said M for magnesium just now," you grumbled, finishing your bottle and snatching his.

"After you said L for Bozo. That doesn't even make sense."

"I changed it off to L for love!"

"Once again, ew," Dabi sighed. "P for perfect."

"Q for...queue."

"So original. Q for queen."

"I hate you so much." You threw your head back. "R for-"

"Romance."

A beat of silence. Then you burst out laughing. "What in the actual-?"

"What? Your L got me thinking," Dabi protested, oddly defensive, going as far as to turn away.

“Thinking of someone?” You teased, crawling closer.

“Yeah.” Dabi smirked and you ignored the twang in your heart to widen your grin.

“Hmmm….anyone I know?” You blinked. “Actually, I can’t believe I never asked before. What’s your type? Tall, short, long hair, freckles, innocent, bratty, big ass?”

Dabi arched an eyebrow. “You thinking of somebody?”

“NO!” You flushed and blamed it on alcohol. “I’ll tell you my type if you do.”

“And what is your type, princess?”

You decided to ignore the nickname. “To be honest I don’t really mind as long as he’s…uh, nice? I dunno. Just someone who can show me a good time.”

“Had no idea you were into that.”

“I DIDN’T MEAN IT LIKE THAT!” You whacked his arm. “Like, I want a guy who’s gonna come over on time, pick me up, take me to a place not necessarily dinner. Maybe an arcade date, mall date, anything is fine. Just talk and listen, you know? And drive me back, walk me to the door, say goodnight and shit. ‘Cause dating for me is getting to know someone really well and…yeah, know them inside out.”

“I have no idea whatever the (beep) it was you just said. You’re so eloquent when drunk.”

“Shut up. Like you’re not. I just want a gentleman. Respects boundaries and all that shit but I want someone - oh god this sounds stupid - who’s gonna make the effort with me to be our first and last. Does that make sense now?” You flopped onto your back. “I need another drink.”

“That? That’s it?” Dabi snorted and laughed. “Your ideal romance?”

“At least I can pull!” You realized you both were out of bottles and groaned. “Your turn.”

Dabi paused for a moment, then suddenly his face loomed over you in another smirk. “I’ll sum it up in one word. You. Can I take you on an “arcade date, mall date, anything is fine” tomorrow?”

And somehow you wound up anxiously pacing around the entrance of the local arcade Dabi had said he’d take you to anyway. You had already purchased some tokens, thanked God you hadn’t overdressed in your panic earlier, taken a few sips of water and what else? Right, fret your brains out over whether or not this was just a horrible joke made while inebriated.

“What the (beep).”

***

Because you’d be lying if you said you didn’t fancy Dabi himself.

Ain’t no way he had basically just confessed like that. Nuh uh. He was probably just as out of it like you were and in the blurred haze made a mistake. A stupid mistake that was twisting your heart and insides hard.

Yet why were you here? Because you’re delusional that’s why. And because the way he had said it last night seemed so sincere.

“Well, well, looks like I failed in being the gentleman, huh?”

“You did,” you quip out of habit, but your tone’s shaky. “No pick up?”

“I have no idea where you live,” Dabi said smoothly. “It’s alright, I’ve got plenty of ways to make up for it soon enough.”

“I dunno. You’re not a gentleman.”

***

But he was and it was…insane. Absolutely amazing and flattering and oh good god you couldn’t even describe it but it was completely INSANE how much Dabi proved you wrong with this behavior over the next six months of you and him dating. Because he kept proving your wrong, each time, that in fact he COULD BE a gentleman when he wanted to.

He came to go pick you up and followed you home. He always knew exactly what you wanted on the menu after pulling out your chair. He listened.

Dabi made the effort to be your first and last, like you said, unlike the flings before. He said as much on the last date. You were utterly head over heels, besotted, infatuated with him even more so when he admitted he had liked you from the start but wasn’t sure when was a good time to tell you.

So of course he was the first one you called in a panic when you discovered the camera in your bathroom.

You couldn’t believe you never noticed it before - and it terrified more that it could’ve been watching the unsuspecting you for god knew how long. It was only pure chance that you had suddenly spotted a peculiar glint in the mirror when wiping off the fog, partially hidden by your shower curtain. Oh god, oh god, oh god-

“Dabi?”

“Yeah, princess?” The crack in your voice had been exceedingly audible, as was his concerned tone. “You good?”

“There’sacameraspyingonmeinthebathroomIdon’tknowhowlongit’sbeenthere-”

“There you go again,” Dabi sighed, but his voice was placating, reassuring. “Slower this time?”

You took a deep breath. “I found a camera. In my bathroom. Some creep’s SPYING ON ME!”

“Get out of there right now and calm down, alright, sweetheart? I’ll be over in a minute.”

“You think the heroes put it there?”!”

“Doll, they’re horrible but they ain’t perverts. What’s so interesting in your bathroom besides you anyway?” Dabi’s joke came out tense and you heard a lot of background noise. “Look, like I said, get out of there. Don’t try to take it down-”

“Oops…”

“I’ll be over soon,” Dabi repeated and hung up.

You steadied yourself before examining the camera in your hand, sitting against the ladder that you had used to get up there. It was an ordinary CCTV looking thing and you had used a towel to cover the lens before taking it down. The wires stuck out and pricked at your palms.

Who would be watching you like this?

You needed air - the bathroom was too cramped suddenly. You ran out into your bedroom and threw open the window, dumping the camera on the ground, dry heaving while leaning out. You finally calmed down sufficiently to slide down the wall with a groan, tilting your head back while you anxiously waited for Dabi to show up.

Shit. No, no, no-

There was another camera hidden by the curtains.

Hysterical tears began streaking down your face. How long you had been there in a sobbing panic attack you didn’t know, barely hearing your front door open and the footsteps thundering into your bedroom. You didn’t register anything until you were suddenly wrapped up in Dabi’s arms, head tucked against his chest as he awkwardly stroked your hair.

“Hey, calm down, alright?”

“I’m scared. I’m so damn scared that someone’s been watching me all this time. You know there’s another camera? I found another.” You hiccuped and exhaled. “Okay, okay, I’m calm now.”

“Great. Let’s get you a drink of water and we’ll talk.”

He led you to the kitchen and poured you a glass, the both of you seated at your small dining table while you fought to clear your head. Dabi watched you intently, tapping his foot on the ground.

So you had discovered the cameras, huh? A bad thing, but the fact that you had called him meant you had no idea it was him…just as well, really. Dabi could use this to his advantage - make you more dependent on him.

He internally chuckled. You hadn’t noticed the burn on your wall near the cameras then, when he had accidentally caught a wire aflame setting it up.

But outwardly he twisted his face into one of concern.

“We can’t report this to the police,” he started. “You’re a known member of the League.”

“Then what? I’m not staying here anymore!”

“You could live with me.” He caught your expression and rolled his eyes. “I didn’t mean it like that, but you sure are eager, huh?”

“SH-SHUT IT!”

“Back to the point. Your stalker might’ve put up some other cameras, not just your bathroom or your bedroom window. You could live with me while we look for the bastard,” Dabi said, quite convincingly. “I’ll take care of you. Ideal romance, right?”

You snorted a half laugh at that. “You really do surprise me - wait.”

Dabi raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“The camera.” You felt yourself turning cold. Frozen. No way could it…”I didn’t tell you where I found the second camera’s location.”

“I found you crying underneath the window, princess. Sorry if I made the wrong assumption,” Dabi said apologetically. Inside he wondered if you were going to force his hand. His grip on the cup tightened. Stupid mistake.

“No…not only that.” You leapt your feet. “How did you get into my house anyway? I never took you here or gave you the key. You only ever walked me to the front door but I didn't tell you which floor I lived on or which apartment block. I locked the door, I’m sure. And how did you know where my bedroom was?”

“I could hear you weeping your eyeballs out from out there,” Dabi scoffed, getting to his feet as well. “I busted down your door.”

You backed away. “How did you know where I live then? And - and that day, when I nearly got mugged, you just showed up out of nowhere. Do you have a tracker on me?”

He said nothing.

“You put the cameras there, didn’t you?” Your whisper came out hoarse.

Dabi stepped closer and suddenly you realized exactly what a powerful presence he was as he leaned closer, trapping you against the table. “I did it all for us, y’know? For you. I had to know everything to keep you safe, be the perfect guy for you. Wasn’t that your ideal romance? Thanks for the tip, by the way, that night on the rooftop. It helped me realize exactly how to make you love me like I love you.”

“I don’t love a monstrous creep like you!”

His eyes flashed with hurt and heartbreak. “You will. Please.”

Dabi must’ve put something in your drink, you also realized; your knees buckled and you blacked out.

***

You awoke in a dark, stuffy room. Not like you were expecting anything less.

And he was right in front of you - that you didn’t expect. You would’ve lunged at your former love if you could, but the effects of whatever had knocked you out hadn’t left your body yet, making everything a blurry photograph and your limbs jelly. Something like cold metal bit into your wrists as well. Dabi just stared at you flatly.

“Why?” The word slipped out before you knew it. “If you say you love me, why? Why all this? Just for your sick idea of romance? You’re sick. You’re so sick I don’t know how I never knew it before. You…really are a damn villain.”

“You won’t let me protect you anymore. Keep watch.” Dabi shrugged. “I tried to do it your way, be your gentleman. Then you made me do it my way. You think I want this too? Rather see you happy and oblivious, really, but it’s not like you gave me a choice.”

“You never gave me a choice from the start!”

“I did,” Dabi corrected coldly.

You were grasping at straws and he knew it. “You think everyone’s not gonna notice if I just disappear?”

A warm hand suddenly clasped your cheek. Dabi really did look like a devil, you thought blearily, with all that staples and burns in the dark, with that expression.

“I faked my own death. I can fake yours.”

[c-e-d-dreamer]

Wreck My Plans, That's My Man: Prequel

A/N: Sometimes, family is... (checks notes)... being in a band with your brothers? That counts, right? @cassianappreciationweek Listen, I just wanted an excuse to bring back Drummer Cassian! Time to find out how Cassian and Nesta met and how Cassian got that first date 😉 If you've read the first part, there are some fun easter eggs in here like Cassian writing the song and a callback to “I can’t wait for you to be mean to me for the rest of our lives.”

Part One // Read on AO3

“I think the end of the queue is this way.”

“I can’t believe there’s already so many people here.”

Nesta allows herself to be led down the sidewalk by her linked arm with Elain, the middle Archeron following the path carved by Feyre forging ahead. As they walk, Nesta can’t help but eye the crowds around them. Elain is right, there are more people than Nesta expected, almost all of them dressed up in some way. Some have face paint scrawled across their cheeks, some have handmade signs clasped in their hands. And Nesta even spies a trio of girls dressed as cows, some sort of band inside joke that she’s clearly not privy to.

Although, she’s not really privy to anything when it comes to the band.

She still can’t believe she allowed Feyre to talk her into attending this concert in the first place. Sure, she’s always had a deep love of music, ever since she was a little girl. Something about the way a lilting melody can carve and embed itself within her very bones, about the way a harmony can flood and warm her veins, about the way a simple string of notes can somehow sing to her very soul, plucking at strings within her until only peace remains.

But she has no knowledge of what type of music she can expect to hear tonight.

And when the choices are curling up beneath a pile of blankets with a glass of wine and her latest Sellyn Drake novel or standing all night while dealing with screaming girls and songs she doesn’t even know? Well, Feyre and Elain are lucky that Nesta loves them.

“What time do the doors open?” Elain asks, drawing Nesta out of her thoughts.

“They should have already opened,” Feyre explains, trying to peer around the bodies in front of them. “Either way, we don’t have to worry. Our tickets are for one of those fancy boxes.”

“Really?”

“We could get one of those fancy boxes but not a special entrance that doesn’t require standing in line?” Nesta asks dryly.

“Alright, grumpy,” Feyre teases with a roll of her eyes. “I’m sure it’ll move quickly.”

At least, Feyre’s assumption is correct. They continue to shuffle forward and forward until the line of doors is in full view, workers making quick work of checking bags and scanning tickets. Wristbands are secured around all three sisters’ wrists, and then they’re stepping inside the venue. Upbeat music from a playlist blares through the sound system, fans excitedly rushing forward toward the general admission crowd gathering along the floor in front of the stage.

“Come on. I want to get a t-shirt,” Feyre declares, wrapping a hand around each of her sisters’ wrists and dragging them toward the large table to the right.

While she and Elain wait for Feyre to make her purchase, Nesta eyes a pair of girls also waiting to buy merch. One of the girls has a sign, looping red letters declaring, Won’t you be my Van-Daddy? The request has Nesta snorting softly to herself. She still remembers when Lucien Vanserra first hit his growth spurt, when he was all middle school gangly limbs in their kitchen while he and Feyre worked on a school project. And that nerdy boy with unruly red hair is meant to be “daddy?”

“Got it,” Feyre announces, stepping back over to them and holding her shirt up for them to see.

“Isn’t it a bit weird to have a shirt with your childhood friend’s face on it?” Nesta asks, tilting her head as she takes in the design of the front of the shirt.

“More like hilarious,” Feyre argues, folding the shirt and tossing it over her arm. “When we get up to our seats, you have to take a picture of me in it, so I can send it to Lucien.”

They make another pit stop at one of the venue bars, each ordering a drink, and then finally, they make it to their seats. Nesta has to admit, the view is pretty amazing. She steps right up to the low wall meant to act as a railing for their box, peering down at the throngs of bodies excitedly awaiting the start of the show along the floor. Her eyes trail up and to the stage, skating over the setup for the opening act. It’s simple, just a drum set and two microphone stands set in front of it, but despite the good view of the stage, Nesta can’t quite make out the white script on the front of the drums.

“Who’s the opener?” Nesta asks, turning toward where Feyre is posing with her new shirt thrown over her dress while Elain takes her photo.

“Um…” Feyre hums, taking her phone back from Elain and typing away at the screen. “Some band called the Bat Boys.”

Nesta snorts softly. “What a stupid name for a band.”

As though the Mother herself is laughing at Nesta, the lights dim as soon as she’s made the comment, an echo of cheers ringing out all around them. Three men step out and onto the stage, each of them with dark hair and dressed in all black. They take up their spots, the guitarist speaking into the microphone and to the crowd, but Nesta finds her gaze instantly drawn to the drummer.

He’s certainly larger than his bandmates, all wide shoulders and chest. The black tank he’s wearing stretches against his size and his skin, the swell of muscle of his arms and the ink swirling along the golden brown skin on full display, and those very arms and muscles flex with every swing of his arms against the drum kit as he plays the opening song of the band’s set. His hair hangs loose around his face and down to his shoulders, dark curly strands practically swaying along with the beat of the music he’s creating. And even from her vantage point, Nesta can tell he’s got a wide, cocksure smirk plastered across his face, even as he leans forward to sing into his own microphone.

“For a band with a stupid name,” Feyre leans over to shout in Nesta’s ear over the music. “They’re pretty good.”

Nesta rolls her eyes at the almost smug tone of her youngest sister, but she can’t quite disagree. She finds herself tapping her foot and nodding along with each song that the Bat Boys play, humming appreciatively when they slow it down to a more stripped back song.

But when the song ends, the drummer jumps to his feet, peeling off his tank and tossing it into the crowd, showing off every hard line of muscle and every line of tattoo ink. A clamor of screams rings out from the crowd in response, making the drummer’s grin widen as he makes a big show of flexing.

“One two three four!” he shouts, banging his drum sticks together and jumping into the next song of their set, another upbeat one.

Nesta shakes her head. “What a fucking show off…”

~ * * * ~

Nesta’s ears are still ringing, an ache pressing against the balls of her feet, as she follows her sisters down the steps and out of the venue. The cool, night air is a welcome reprieve after the heat inside, and Nesta takes a deep breath, allowing it to prickle across the skin of her cheeks. She can still feel the music humming through her veins, still hear the last song the Band of Exiles played winding around her mind, her soul.

“Should we split an Uber?” Nesta turns to ask her sisters.

“Actually, Lucien sent me the bar they’ve gone to for post gig drinks,” Feyre offers with a sly smile. “He said we’re welcome to join.”

“Really?” Elain asks, the clear excitement coloring her tone leaving both sisters blinking in surprise for a moment, but Elain doesn’t say anything more. She merely turns away as though the night will hide the blush flooding her cheeks.

“Then you two go,” Nesta says. “I’d rather just go home.”

“Oh, come on, Nesta,” Feyre pouts, looping her arm through Nesta’s as if that will physically keep her from leaving. “It’s just one drink. It’s not going to kill you.”

Feyre continues to pout at Nesta, making a big show of blinking her eyes as if she’s seven years old again and that look will make Nesta give her an extra cookie for dessert. Still, it has Nesta sighing with a fond roll of her eyes.

“Fine. One drink and then I’m going home.”

“That’s the spirit! And just think of the money you’ll save on an Uber by waiting out these crowds.”

Nesta rolls her eyes again, but it doesn’t deter either of her sisters. Feyre doesn’t even bother dropping Nesta’s arm, using their linked arms to tug Nesta along the sidewalk in what she assumes is the direction of the bar. At least, it’s not a far walk. A small consolation, Nesta supposes.

The bar itself isn’t one that Nesta has ever been to before, but she can admit it’s quite nice. Pendant lights hang above the dark wood of the bartop, painting the whole space in golden light that bounces off the colorful bottles lining the shelves behind the bar. With the moody green wallpaper and the dark tiled floors, it’s as though the space has stepped directly out of an elegant speakeasy.

Unsurprisingly, there’s already a large crowd enjoying the drinks and ambience and their respective Friday nights, but Feyre leads the way up a set of stairs and to what appears to be some sort of private event space. Nesta glances around at the smaller secondary bar along the left side of the wall, the people gathered around it and the various high top tables lining the railing to the right.

“Feyre Archeron.”

Nesta turns just in time to find Lucien Vanserra now standing in front of her sisters. He’s certainly had another growth spurt since Nesta last saw him all those years ago, Lucien now standing a head above them all. He seems to have grown into his red hair too, the strands hanging around his face and framing the high cheekbones and strong jawline of his features.

“Lucien Vanserra.”

Feyre and Lucien continue to stare at one another for a moment, but then, Feyre is letting out an excited squeal, all but leaping into Lucien’s arms. He hugs her back tightly, lifting her off her feet in the process and laughing into the golden brown strands of her hair.

“Did you get shorter?” Lucien asks, setting Feyre back down on her feet.

“Fuck you,” Feyre gasps out on a laugh, punching him in the arm. “It’s not my fault you went and became a giant after going away to fancy private school. You know, I still remember when I had to defend you on the playground as kids.”

Lucien laughs easily, shaking his head. “We remember those days very differently clearly.”

Nesta clears her throat loudly, finally drawing back Feyre’s attention. “Sorry. You remember my two older sisters, Nesta and Elain.”

“Of course, I…” Lucien begins, his voice trailing off when he meets Elain’s brown eyes. “Elain.”

Elain smiles sweetly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I really liked you and your band’s songs.”

“You did?” Lucien asks, his voice practically breathless.

“Especially that one song about losing a love, but still dancing with the ghost of them in the kitchen.”

Lucien’s smile is slow, russet eyes bright and only on Elain. “I wrote that one myself actually.”

“It just really spoke to me,” Elain tells him, stepping forward as though tugged by some invisible golden thread. “Right to my heart.”

“Can I buy you a drink?”

“Please.”

They don’t even say anything else, don’t even bother looking back before Elain and Lucien vanish toward the bar. It takes everything within Nesta not to snort in amusement at the whole thing, at the way they’re both so clearly staring at one another with stars in their eyes. At least, one Archeron is ending their night happy.

“Is she serious?” Feyre asks, affronted. “Lucien is my friend.”

“Can I go home now?” Nesta asks in response instead.

“Only if you’re going home with me.”

The deep timbre prickles along the back of Nesta’s neck, and when she whirls around, she comes face to face with the drummer of the Bat Boys. He has that same cocksure smile that he wore up on stage, and he seemingly found a fresh black shirt to pull on, the fabric clinging just as tightly as the tank did.

Nesta had known he was large when she saw him on stage, but face to face, she realizes she still may have underestimated. This close, she realizes that his eyes are hazel, a burning maze of greens and flickering gold, that there’s a scar through his eyebrow of the right one. This close, she realizes he smells of pine and leather and that sweet scent that twists on the breeze right before it snows.

This close, she realizes he is unfairly attractive, and she just might hate him for it.

“Did you really think that line was going to work?” Nesta asks dryly.

“Can you blame me for trying? A woman as beautiful as you, I had to shoot my shot.”

Nesta raises an eyebrow, settling the drummer with a look cold enough to send any man scampering back to his table. “Compliments will get you nowhere.”

In a surprising twist, rather than cut his losses, the drummer throws his head back and laughs, the sound deep and warm. It seems to come straight from within his chest, seems to curl around Nesta’s limbs. When he meets Nesta’s gaze again, there’s a fire blazing in his eyes, a challenge, and his smirk has morphed into one of pure amusement. The reaction sparks the embers in Nesta’s own chest, but she’s quick to douse them, quick to keep her face perfectly cool and neutral.

“So it’s a no for pickup lines. A no for compliments,” the drummer notes, daring to lean in closer into Nesta’s space until she gets a lungful of pine and a crackling fire. “How about bribery then, sweetheart? Can I buy you a drink? Your choice.”

“And what if I order the most expensive drink I can get? Top shelf.”

The drummer hums as though he’s actually considering it. “Alright. But you have to chat with me until you finish the drink.”

“Deal.”

The drummer holds his hand out expectantly, and Nesta has to blink a few times at just how large his hand is. But she refuses to be fazed. Raising her chin, she slides her hand into his. His calluses slide against her palm, fingers curling around almost her entire hand and threatening to send a shiver skittering up her spine. His touch is surprisingly warm, his entire body and presence seeming to resonate heat.

Before the handshake can last too long, Nesta yanks her hand away again. She turns on her heel and strides toward the bar, heavy footfalls behind her and the gaze burning into her back informing her that the drummer is following. She leans against the dark wood of the bar top, quickly grabbing the bartender’s attention with a simple raise of her hand.

“Can I get a shot of your best, most expensive vodka? On his tab,” Nesta requests, gesturing with her head to where the drummer now leans against the bar beside her.

The drummer laughs again, an easy chuckle. “Now that’s just cheating.”

Nesta turns toward him properly, finally giving in to the smirk she’d been biting back. “Guess you better talk fast.”

“How about we start with names? I’m Cassian, and you are…?”

The bartender returns at that exact moment, setting the small shot glass full of clear liquid down in front of Nesta. She swipes it up and tosses it back. The vodka is smooth, but it still burns on the way down, mixing and coaxing the burn of satisfaction low in her gut. Slamming the now empty shot glass back on the bar top, Nesta spins around toward the door.

“Time’s up. Better luck next time.”

She keeps her chin raised high, keeps that smirk firmly in place. She revels in the prickle across her skin at that gaze she can still feel pinned to her, and if she sways her hips a bit more than she normally would, well, no one but her has to know.

~ * * * ~

When Nesta checks her phone while enjoying her morning coffee, she’s surprised to find a new follower and a new DM request on her Instagram. She clicks on the account and almost rolls her eyes at the hazel eyed, curly haired man smirking back at her in the profile photo. He’s certainly dedicated, she’ll have to give him that. She knows that she should ignore him, maybe even block him, but curiosity has her clicking back over to the DM.

@BatBoyCass Hello, Nes 😏

@LadyNesta Stalking me on Instagram? Really?

Nesta’s surprise only grows when almost instantly the three small dots appear at the bottom of the screen, indicating that Cassian is typing. Was he waiting by his phone for her response? Didn’t he have band practice or something? According to Elain, the tour was moving on to a new city today, much to her younger sister’s apparent disappointment.

@BatBoyCass Actually, your sister gave me your handle. She refused to give me your number and decided this was safer. Quite protective. Rhys was into it But that’s not important. How’s your morning going, Nes?

@LadyNesta It’s Nesta. Not Nes

@BatBoyCass Guess you should’ve stuck around last night. Could have told me that yourself. It’s too late now. Nes 😜

@LadyNesta Is this your next tactic? Bribery didn’t work so now you just plan to annoy me?

@BatBoyCass Actually, my next tactic is this

Nesta frowns down at her phone screen, at the message, but then a moment later, a photo comes through in the chat. It’s a mirror selfie, but Nesta can’t tell where it was taken from the background. Although, it’s hard to focus on anything other than the large body taking up the frame. Cassian is shirtless, black fabric draped over his shoulder presumably the remnants of his shirt.

Nesta can do nothing but stare at the hard cut of his jaw where his head is tilted to look at the phone in his hand. At each swirl and loop of black ink across the golden brown skin of his chest and arms. At every hard line of muscle that makes up his stomach. At the waistband of what looks like gray sweatpants hanging low enough that his v lines are on full display.

The whole sight is enough for Nesta’s mouth to go dry, for heat to creep up her neck and spill across her cheeks. Before she even realizes, her bottom lip has found home between her teeth, eyes tracing over the photo again and again. What would it feel like, getting her hands on that body, feeling each hard line and curve beneath her fingers? What would it feel like to have his hands on her? She still remembers just how large they were compared to her own.

“Fuck,” Nesta whispers to herself, mentally chastising herself and shaking her head of any of those sorts of thoughts. Instead, her fingers tap across the screen of her phone.

@LadyNesta What’s next? A dick pic?

@BatBoyCass That goes against Instagram’s guidelines. You’ll have to give me your actual number for that Or I’d be more than happy to give you a show in person😏

@LadyNesta You’re not even in Velaris anymore

@BatBoyCass Did you look up our tour, Nes? I’m touched 🥹

Nesta scoffs and rolls her eyes, setting her phone face down on the table. She goes back to finishing her coffee, but she barely lasts a minute before she’s swiping her phone back up. She refuses to let him have the last word, refuses to let him continue to believe she would ever look up his tour dates.

@LadyNesta You wish. My sister mentioned it

@BatBoyCass Don’t worry. There’s only a few weeks left of the tour. Then, I’ll be back in Velaris. Maybe we can get dinner then?

@LadyNesta Pass

@BatBoyCass How about another bargain? You have to send me a message every day, just one. Unless my irresistible charm has you wanting to send more 😉 But one message, that’s the deal. Maybe a fun fact about yourself? One every day until I’m back in Velaris. And then if you still don’t want to get dinner with me, then I’ll leave you alone

@LadyNesta Fine. Here’s my first “fun fact” about me. I’m incredibly stubborn and I hate not winning. So hope you’re prepared for the crushing disappointment of rejection

With a satisfied hum, Nesta sets her phone down for good. The man clearly needs to learn how to phrase his bargains better. One message a day. Easy. It will be the easiest thing Nesta has ever done. And in a few weeks time, this stupid drummer with his stupid chiseled body and his stupid easy smile and warm laugh and pretty hazel eyes will be out of her life for good.

But when Nesta finally dares to check her phone later that night, she finds a new message from Cassian waiting for her. He’s shared an Instagram Reel with her, and when Nesta clicks it, Jake Johnson’s voice blares from her speakers, ‘Stop being so mean to me or I swear to God I’m going to fall in love with you,’ and there, in the quiet and dark in her bedroom, where no one else can see her, Nesta laughs.

~ * * * ~

Nesta wakes to another photo in her Instagram DMs, but this time, Cassian is nowhere to be seen in it. Instead, the photo is of a beach. The waves crashing against the sandy shore look almost silver, the silhouettes of birds flying just above. The horizon is a line of purple that gives way to pinks and yellows before fading into the deep blue of night still clinging to the top of the frame.

Sunrise. It’s the beach right before the sun rises, Nesta realizes. She finds herself wondering what he was doing awake so early, almost going so far as to type out that very question and ask before she catches herself. She holds down the backspace, focusing on Cassian’s message below the photo instead.

@BatBoyCass Good morning, Nes! We’re in sunny Adriata today. I bet you’d look gorgeous in a bikini 😍 Definitely wish you were here. I could rub sunscreen on your shoulders. You could rub sunscreen onto mine. Sounds like a dream…

@LadyNesta Sounds more like a nightmare

Nesta continues with the rest of her morning, getting ready and heading to one of her favorite brunch spots in town to meet with Emerie and Gwyn. It isn’t until she’s settled at the table, thanking the waitress who sets down three waters while she waits, that Nesta finally looks at her phone again.

@BatBoyCass Not a fan of the beach, sweetheart?

@LadyNesta Oh, I love the beach, but I much prefer a cold drink and a good book on the beach rather than obnoxious drummers

@BatBoyCass You like to read? What kind of books do you like?

Instinctively, Nesta starts to type out a response, always more than happy to talk about her love of books, about her current read, but then she remembers their bargain. And she’s already shared her ‘fun fact’ about herself for the day, already met her quota, and she still refuses to lose. She quickly deletes the message she had typed out, but Cassian must be watching for her reply, must have seen the three dots to show that she was typing appear and then disappear.

@BatBoyCass That’s alright. We can save that question for tomorrow. I’ve always preferred historical fiction. I actually just finished reading Hatfield 1677 while on tour and really enjoyed it I think if the band didn’t work out, I’d end up a history teacher. I’d be good at being a history teacher. Maybe in another life

@LadyNesta Another life? I didn’t take you as the type of person to believe in that sort of thing.

@BatBoyCass I hope I meet you in every life

“Who has you smiling and blushing at your phone?”

Nesta snaps her head up to find Emerie now standing at their table, her brown eyes alight with amusement and a small smirk tugging up her lips. She scowls fondly at her friend, setting her phone face down on the table and willing the heat prickling her cheeks to dissipate.

“No one.”

~ * * * ~

@LadyNesta Do you ever get nervous up on stage?

Loathe as she is to admit it, over the last couple of weeks, Nesta has come to enjoy her messages with Cassian. There’s something easy about it, about their back and forth. Something about the way her teasing and jabs only leave him laughing, the way he gives back as good as he gets. Something about the way he genuinely cares about what she has to say, about her ‘fun facts.’ Something about how he doesn’t balk when she dares to share a deeper piece of herself.

It’s surprisingly comfortable, as though she’s known Cassian much longer than she actually has. As though she’s known him her whole life, as though her very soul somehow recognizes him. As though there’s music entwining them like golden threads.

@BatBoyCass Actually, I love it. It’s exhilarating being up there. I can feel the music all the way down to my bones. And to hear a crowd sing back a song you wrote? There’s nothing like it

@LadyNesta You write songs?

@BatBoyCass That’s right, Nes. I’m more than just a pretty face 😎 I even started writing a new song just yesterday

@LadyNesta Let me guess. You’re going to play it for me?

@BatBoyCass Not until it’s finished. I still need that last bit of inspiration Hoping to find it tomorrow 👀

@LadyNesta What’s tomorrow?

Nesta stares at the screen of her phone, waiting. She watches the three dots appear and then disappear. They appear and then they disappear again. It has Nesta tilting her head curiously, eyebrows dipping in confusion. She knows that she hasn’t known Cassian particularly long, but this certainly doesn’t seem like him. He’s usually so quick to respond to her messages, so quick to turn on the teasing and the charm without a second thought. What could it mean that he’s typing and retyping his answer? Is he… nervous?

@BatBoyCass Tonight’s the last show of our tour. In Scythia. I’ll be back in Velaris by tomorrow afternoon

Nesta’s heart skips a beat in her chest. This is it, the moment of truth, the end of their bargain. She could tell him that she’s still not interested, and that will be the end of their interactions. She’ll never receive another message from Cassian. She could tell him that his charm and his kind heart and good looks has had no effect on her.

But she’d be lying to him just as much as herself.

Only a few weeks, and already Nesta can’t imagine a day without talking to Cassian. Just the very idea has ice bleeding between her ribs and threatening to crystalize in her chest. She wants to see that fire blaze in his hazel eyes and push back to meet it until he’s smirking in amusement. She wants to hear his crazy stories from tour and his teasing innuendos. She wants him to make her laugh. And if she’s really being honest with herself, she wants to see and feel that body and those hands outside of a mere photo.

@LadyNesta 7pm. Don’t be late

~ * * * ~

The knock on her front door sounds through the apartment just as Nesta is finishing up the last touch ups to her makeup. She glances toward the clock, the red digital numbers declaring the time to be 6:58. Punctual. One last look over herself in the mirror, and Nesta steps out of her bedroom.

When she pulls open the front door, Cassian is standing on the other side. His hair is scraped back away from his face, piled into a bun at the back of his head, and a comfortably worn leather jacket hangs on his frame. His hazel eyes in person spark that same way Nesta remembers, a slow smirk tugging up his lips as he leans casually against the door frame.

“Hello, Nes.” His eyes sweep over her, his jaw slackening. “Mother save me. You look amazing.”

“I thought we already established that compliments will get you nowhere.”

“Can you blame me when you look this beautiful?”

Nesta has to swallow down a blush at his words, at the sincerity burning in his gaze. She rolls her eyes and shoves lightly at Cassian’s chest, enough to get him to move back so she can step out of her apartment.

“Are we going to dinner or not?”

“Of course,” Cassian confirms, holding his hand out until Nesta threads her fingers through his own larger ones. “I got us a reservation at Carmichael’s.”

Nesta’s steps stutter for a moment and she peers up at Cassian in surprise. “Carmichael’s? Don’t you need to make reservations weeks in advance there?”

“Oh, you do. I made the reservation as soon as we agreed on our bargain.”

Nesta comes fully to a stop at that. She blinks a few times, trying to wrap her mind around this new information, and she can’t help it. She laughs. Cassian’s eyes light up at the sound, the gold flecks within the hazel practically glinting beneath the lights of the hallway. His smirk morphs into a wide, genuine smile, and the sight is enough to leave Nesta feeling breathless.

“Feeling confident, were you?” Nesta teases, trying and failing to fight back her own grin.

“I’m confident about plenty of things, sweetheart,” Cassian tells her, stepping closer into her space. He uses his free hand to twist one of the strands of Nesta’s hair framing her face, the tips of his fingers skimming along her temple.

“Is that so? And what else are you confident about?”

“That I’m going to marry you one day.”

—

Taglist (let me know if you’d like to be added or removed): @moodymelanist @nesquik-arccheron @sv0430 @talkfantasytome @bookstantrash @eirini-thaleia @ubigaia @fromthelibraryofemilyj @luivagr-blog @lifeisntafantasy @superspiritfestival @hiimheresworld @marigold-morelli @sweet-pea1 @emeriethevalkyriegirl @pyxxie @dustjacketmusings @hallway5 @dongjunma @glowing-stick-generation @melonsfantasyworld @lady-nestas @goddess-aelin @melphss @theladystardust @a-trifling-matter @blueunoias @kookskoocie @wolfnesta @blurredlamplight @hereforthenessian @skaixo @jmoonjones @burningsnowleopard @whyisaravenlike-awritingdesk @ofduskanddreams @rarephloxes @thelovelymadone @that-little-red-head @readergalaxy @thesnugglingduck @kale-theteaqueen @tarquindaddy @superflurry @bri-loves-sunflowers @lady-winter-sunrise @witch-and-her-witcher @fieldofdaisiies @freakingata

[ahappydnp]

ahh my show is really soon and i’m having pre-tit anxiety - what exactly happens during the meet & greet? what do i say? Also is there a break between the m&g/pre-show and the actual show?

ahhhhh have the best time!!! the m&g is so smooth because both sarah and dnp are prepared for anything and will guide you through the whole ordeal!

long post under the cut

i’d definitely say study all the m&gs on twitter to get the vibe and see their script because they tend to stick with their pattern

you’ll put anything you’re not taking to dnp in a designated area behind the backdrop (like your coat, bag, anything that’s not your phone and the things you want signed or to show dnp)

sarah (their merch manager and assistant with m&gs) will talk to you for a second and take your phone so she can film you coming around the corner to meet them (if you’re nervous just tell her!!! she’s genuinely The Best person to have before dnp like she’s truly incredible)

you’ll walk in front of the backdrop and dnp will offer hugs immediately (usually dan will be the first one you see) and then ask if you want anything signed, then take whatever pics you want (if you have a speech or something you want to say prepared maybe stop them before dan takes the phone from sarah for selfies)

you’ll be sent down to the main lobby after m&g to put something in the phli, buy merch, go pee, etc. and then they’ll open the doors to the theatre so you’ll be let in for preshow! you won’t really have time to leave the venue between m&g and preshow but it’s usually pretty quick!

where you sit at preshow depends on the venue, but it seems that most UK venues are saying to sit in your assigned seat (but in the US they told us to fill the rows in order)

after preshow they’ll open the doors of the theatre for GA so you can either go back into the lobby or just chill in your seat

general advice

eat before you go in!!! other than bar snacks you won’t have food from the time you queue for m&g at like 4 until the show gets out at 10-10:30!! bring a snack in your bag i’m so so serious because you need the extra nutrients after all the m&g emotions

have an idea of what you want to happen during your m&g! look through the meet and greet accounts and find poses/types of pics (like group photos taken by sarah or individual selfies of you and each boy) and be ready to tell them what you want! they’re so so accommodating and just want what you want

write down and practice anything you want to say, maybe give them a letter if you’re extra nervous in case you forget because it is a lot to turn the corner and see dan howell standing in front of you with his massive arms out

they genuinely genuinely love meeting you and want this to be Your ideal experience so do not worry about bothering them or thinking you’re taking up too much time (and if you are they’re really good at wrapping things up)

HAVE SO MUCH FUN AND TALK TO PEOPLE!!!! people are SO lovely and i promise anyone you’re next to in line/at the show will be enjoyable to talk to <333 like i’ve become mutuals with strangers who happen to sat next to me at previous shows!

[front-facing-pokemon]

[loona-catcher]

Ateez concert experience - Amsterdam!

Featuring an AMAZING kpop group, but a horrible organiser

I just realised I never wrote my concert diary out on here, even though I had been writing about it in my notes app. So while it's late, time for a concert recap from Ateez Amsterdam 2025!

(Low quality pic of high quality men)

There's a lot written, but feel free to just skip the reading to watch the video(s) and look at the pics I took!

Part 1: Queueing outside

Me and my friend Lisa left in the VERY early morning to queue. The concert was in Amsterdam, but as we both live in Southern Noord-Brabant, we had to take a train for a few hours. Taking the first available train, we arrived at the venue at aroun 7:30am, only to see about 500 people already there (even though we were told queueing wasn't allowed before 9:00am lol)

Luckily, we had VIP tier 2 called Atiny vip, meaning we could pass most of the people in line, only having to stay behind those with VIP tier 1 (called Ultimate).

In the queue we ended up meeting some new people, all lovely people from around our age too. One was called Lisa too which was a little confusing sometimes haha.

At some point we were split into queues per VIP type, and one for general admission. I, being a mom friend, had brought a roll of 50 trash bags to hang up around the queue, to try and keep people from lettering too much. Which... Kinda worked? I left my queue spot (with my friend Lisa keeping my spot for me), to hand out all the trash bags. And by the time we went inside, I saw literally all of them used and full! But there was still a lot on the ground, so really... 50 trash bags wasn't enough. Good to know for future reference I guess, but at least I did something.

~

Part 2: Queueing inside as VIP

Okay fast forward to when we go inside. It was about 1:00pm by the time my VIP section was let in. Bags were checked, tickets were scanned, and into the venue we went. And we couldn't leave again. Which... We wouldn't have to, right? Except we were only allowed to bring 1 "small snack" in, and no food could be bought inside until AFTER the show already started (meaning you'd have to leave your VIP spot to get food, and end up all the way in the back).

I personally snuck in 4 extra granola bars, meaning I had 5 snacks in total, and I had a MASSIVE lunch before going inside. Just to try and keep my blood sugar high enough.

And then we sat, for hours, in a hallway. People were chatty, it was a vibe. BUT, also hot as hell, bad air circulation, and ofcourse no real food and also barely any water (1 water bottle without a cap was allowed inside. Meaning a lot was spilled).

At some point I also accidentally ripped my jeans around the crotch. Wonderful...

About 2 hours into queueing inside, medics showed up and carried someone away on a stretcher. I guess they hadn't prepared for the heat + dehydration + starving as much as we did. Very unfortunate, cause I wonder if they ever got back, and if not, if they got a refund for the missed show... I'd cry myself to sleep if I paid €500 for a show only to miss it in its entirety...

~

Part 3: Soundcheck

It was 5:30pm, and suddenly we were allowed into the actual crowd area of the venue. Time for the VIP benefit I was most excited for: seeing Ateez perform with only our smaller crowd, for a more intimate experience, and with all lights on so they can also see us have fun and sing along.

And it was awesome!! I stood very close to the barricade, only 3 people in front of me. Tho I am short, so I couldn't see as much even while that close. I was on the right side of the extended stage, meaning if they were on the main stage I could see everything from a distance in full (if I was taller), and I could see them from the side if they were at the extended stage.

Here's a little video of soundcheck:

Let's pretend my gibberish rapping along was actually fluent Korean...

~

Part 4: The wait

And then soundcheck was over after 3 songs, the group left, and we had to wait again until the rest of the fans were in the venue. Which took an hour and 30 minutes. That whole time we had to stand on our squished spot with people trying to push to get a better spot. Some succeeded, as withouth me noticing that happened, suddenly there were 4 people in front of me. But whatever, still a good spot.

According to the organisers this is when we should have gotten stuff to eat. But again, that'd mean leaving your spot at the stage, and you'd end up in the back (as general admission was now also walking in, and the VIP section wasn't barricaded off). Thinking my granola bar dinner was enough, I decided to stay in my spot. Worst case scenario I could go to the back later during the show. How wrong I was...

~

Part 5: First half of the concert

Okay so the concert was AWESOME!! Almost all my favorite songs were performed, I got to see the members up close, I filmed a lot (also cause tall people in front of me made it impossible for me to see the main stage unless I lifted my phone up and looked at my phone screen instead). But yeah, overall a wonderful experience. But I could also tell I was getting exhausted...

I was gonna put more videos but you can only add 1 video per post? Okay rude, thanks Tumblr. I'll link my instagram highlight here then which has all the videos in it:

I hope this works...

~

Part 6: Collaps

All the pushing, all the screaming, the heat, the hunger, dehydration, pain in my legs and feet from standing for so many hours, it was getting too much. I thought I would be able to push through it for the entire show, but at about the halfway point, I started to fall through my knees. I informed my friend Lisa, and together we walked back out of the crowd to find a security person to help me out of the concert hall. I really needed to sit down, get some air, water, and recover. By the time we reached a security person I had started to lose vision, seeing black spots and overall more blurry. I was close to fainting for sure. The security lady and my friend Lisa practically dragged me through the end of the concert hall, and through the hallway. But not to a medical emergency area, cause it was full... (Yeah so many people were fainting due to the bad conditions we had to queue in for hours, the medical area was literally full at halfway into the show).

The security lady, bless her heart, got me some water, and my friend Lisa gave me some of her food which she snuck in and had kept in a pocket. After some time I was able to recover enough to go back into the concert hall, but we decided to stay all the way at the back (not that we had a choice anyway), but also kept a few meters between us and the people in front of us. Basically standing by the exit so we had breathing room. Physically I missed 4 songs, however I don't remember being in the concert hall again for another 5 songs. Meaning I missed 9 songs in total (if we include blacking out mentally).

~

Part 7: post collaps concert experience

After we got back we did honestly have a decent view. Since we kept a distance between us and the people in front of us, we could diagonally look over their heads to see the stage and the screens. It wasn't as up close obviously, but the view was actually kind of better, which is ironic.

I still got to see my favorite song at the end of the concert, sang along to the last 2 songs, and then the concert was over. And we left, asap. Got our merch out of the lockers, and got on the train as soon as possible (though it was so busy, we couldn't fit into the first train and had to take the second). We weren't able to take the train all the way back home to my city, but my mom and her boyfriend drove to the city we were stranded in and picked us up there.

~

Final thoughts

So the concert was an emotional rollercoaster. It was a dream come true to see my favorite singers live, especially so up close, and to have some interactions with them from the crowd. I'll never regret having gone to the concert.

That being said, it is by far my worst concert experience ever. I emailed the organisors actually about how badly it went and how so many people, including myself, fainted or almost fainted and had to be taken out of the show. And they just blamed the Kpop company KQ (even tho every other show of the tour went well and the only difference was the organisors...). So based on this experience, I am never getting VIP or a standing ticket for ANY concert of these organisors again. My safety is more important.

I really hope Ateez will come back to The Netherlands again before they start doing their mandatory military service, so I can hopefully see them live for a FULL concert one day. Even if it's seated and far away from the stages.

Anyway to end this off, here is some pictures I took (well... Screenshots from my videos).

Hongjoong (during Matz) & Seonghwa (during Win)

Yunho (during Wave) & Yeosang (during Say My Name)

San (during Dancing Like Butterfly Wings) & Mingi (during Wave)

Wooyoung (during his dance performance) & Jongho (during Everything)

Unfortunately Wooyoung never really came to the right side of the extended stage, so I don't have any good shots of him solo. But the pic from his dance is really pretty.

Okay, that's it. The linked insta highlight is still being updated as I haven't gone through the latter half of my videos yet, but for now it's still pretty ful of concert videos.

Alright, thanks for reading! Much love,

- Thil 🩷

[scummy-writes]

These are things I do online, which does take time:

- Manage my own discord server: it's not active with hundreds of people, but it is something to keep an eye on daily and make sure folks continue to get along and have fun in the server (so this means making channels, events, general moderation and org).

- I run @ikemen-daily-questions: where I schedule... daily questions... we've hit a period where I am struggling to come up with many, while having a lot in 'the bank' tuned more for the holidays and colder weather. Its a blog i genuinely enjoy running since reading everyones responses is so fun, just coming up with new questions is a bit hard at times. They're usually queued in advance.

- @askgilbertvonobsidian: which bluntly is silly but it's fun trying to write gilbert often, I usually want to try and post a few times a week, but I waffle a lot on how gilbert should sound.

- letters-from-ikemen, and its discord server: it's a group of sweethearts and the requests have been going smoothly, where we sort out requests as they come in, try to remember to check in on said requests, while trying to make sure the server is also fun for folks so it doesnt feel like some odd 'job'.

- this blog: where I write in theory. It's never been pushed by anyone else but myself, but I like to try and see if I can manage a fanfic a month, because i do enjoy writing, but it's always a struggle. I try to queue up things as well as respond to comments/messages when I can, but they can get buried when I focus on the other stuff mentioned in this post.

IRL, I work 40 hrs a week with a boring 9-5 type of job, I have a dog eith some health issues, I got my own issues, while also trying to juggle talking to 20 or so people in various levels through the week.

All of this doesnt account for the time spent trying to write, trying to read/play the games, trying to relax, and so on.

I hope next time I neglect messages on accident, instead of someone worrying that I secretly dislike them, or wondering if I am snobbish or something, it's taken into account that most of the time, I am just Busy.

This is also why writing is even more slow to come out now, unfortunately. I am hoping next year I can manage my time a bit better so I don't end up trying to do so much but having too little stamina for it all.

[lotr-sesa]

ONE WEEK left until the LotR SeSa posting deadline!

We hope the writing is going well. ❤️ We already have a few finished fic in the moderation queue, yay!

We still have a few prompters without claims, and as our goal is to make sure each prompter gets at least one fill, we're hoping you can help us out by signal boosting or having a look at the unclaimed prompts to see if one might tempt you. There are summaries of the prompts below as AO3 unfortunately doesn't allow for linking directly to individual prompts. You can find all the prompts HERE.

Gen prompts:

Fandom: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Characters: Elanor "Nori" Brandyfoot, Poppy Proudfellow

Prompt: "simple, easy, fun for all. :D Just anything gen with both of them or one of them."

Fandom: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types

Characters/pairing: Gimli/Legolas Greenleaf; Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli

Prompt: "Third wheel Aragorn to Gimli/Legolas. During the quest Aragorn observes the new and blooming love between his friends but as they travel as the Three Hunters he has no one to talk about it. So he writes in his journal or in unsend letter to Arwen or just thinks before sleep (or any other form the author might come up with) about everything he sees happening between Legolas and Gimli."

AU prompt:

Fandom: The Hobbit - All Media Types

Character: Fíli

Prompt: "An AU in which Fíli survives Azog and Bolg's Durin killing spree and becomes the next King Under The Mountain. I welcome whatever other character inclusions that your heart desires, though not in a way that makes them the focus over Fíli. I would especially love Dís as King Mother and Balin or Dwalin as Closest Living Relatives."

Kinky prompts:

Fandom: The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types

Characters: Elrond Peredhel/Thranduil; Elrond Peredhel, Thranduil

Prompt: "Daddy/Doll - soft BDSM and Dollification. Elrond's got mad caregiving vibes, Thrandy in my canon is a hot mess constantly. Things don't work out for him because he doesn't have anyone to help him be soft again. Losing his wife turned him into a jerk. That protective steely exterior is pushing everyone away. Make Elrond tear it down! That man can make anyone sweet! Let's be real we all know Elrond is lonely too. He needs someone to love after losing so many people in his life, especially his wife."

Fandom: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types

Characters: Gimli/Legolas Greenleaf; Gimli, Legolas, Thranduil, Elrond Peredhel, Glóin

Prompt: "Daddy/Princess - soft BDSM, BDSM lifestyle rules daily. It's finally time to come out to their parents about their relationship. How will this go over? Can they exist as a happy family and put aside racism? you decide! (We know at the very least Elrond genuinely can)"

Fandom: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth

Characters: Annatar/Celebrimbor; Annatar, Celebrimbor

Prompt: "I would love something in which sub!Annatar teaches Tyelpe how to do shibari/rope bondage/predicament bondage, especially if they are playing on Tyelpe's scientific curiosity and desire to learn new things. Super bonus points if Annatar doesn't come."

Romance/relationship prompts:

Fandom: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth

Characters: Elrond Peredhel/Ereinion Gil-galad; Elrond Peredhel, Ereinion Gil-galad, Celebrían

Prompt: "Just the High King and his Herald and an exploration of their relationship."

Fandom: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Characters: Elanor "Nori" Brandyfoot, Halbrand

Prompt: "if anyone chooses to go there, I applaud you. :D Basically "what if Nori meets Halbrand and not The Stranger", and it goes decidedly NOT gen. Anything from cute one-sided crush to messed up dubcon is totally welcome, just please make sure Nori is an adult (by hobbit standards) if there's any sexual content."

Fandom: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth

Characters: Eönwë/Sauron; Mairon, Eönwë

Prompt: "Something set in the Earliest Days of Arda (despite the Eonwe/Sauron tag... I guess that covers Mairon before he became Sauron too). Perhaps Mairon and Eonwe sneaking off together behind their Valar's backs when they should be working? Something a bit more innocent/playful - though an E or M rating is fine - but with hints of Mairon's awful personality peeking through."

[tailsandco]

do any of yall have mechanical keyboard cap recommendations? i type for a living so i prefer the lettering to be on the inside (or unable to be worn off, whatever the terminology is)

i got these backlit ones like a year ago which were ok until they started splitting themselves in half like this and now it happens pretty frequently. this is annoying as shit when im on emails, but they're talking about putting me back on live queues so id rather not be midsentence with a real person and have my key just shoot into space

i would prefer my keyboard lights to poke through because it brings me joy. rlly i just want a version of these keys that are solid somehow. any thoughts?

[percy-and-rachel-events]

Perachel Bingo Week F.A.Q.

Q: What is Perachel?

A: It's the romantic relationship between Percy Jackson and Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

Q: I prefer to make fanworks of them as friends. Is that allowed?

A: Absolutely! Just make sure that Percy & Rachel's friendship is the focus of the fanwork.

Q: When is the event?

A: It's seven days long! July 28th, 2024 to August 3rd, 2024.

Q: How does a bingo week work?

A: I have provided prompts, link here. For everyday you participate, you create one work based on one of the prompts on that list! Totally up to you which ones to choose. You must use a different prompt everyday, no repeats.

Q: Do I have to participate everyday and make 7 works?

A: Absolutely not!! However many works you want to make is fine! If you just want to do one, that's great! If you want to do all 7 that's amazing!

A: ...For the one insane (/affectionate) friend who said they wanted to do all 12... you are one of a kind. Please take care and don't burn out. The point is to have fun, not to stress!

Q: What if I don't finish in time?

A: I will leave the ao3 collection open and continue reblogging fanworks on tumblr until August 10th.

Q: Where is the ao3 collection? How do I add my fanwork?

A: Its right here. To add your work to the collection, when you're about to post it to ao3, scroll to Associations -> "Post to Collections/Challenges" and type in: Perachel_Bingo2024 as shown below.

Q: I want you to reblog the works I made for this event! Why didn't you?

A: I want to reblog them! Just make sure you follow the regulations on content.

Q: What are the regulations on content?

1. The focus of the fanwork must be on Percy and Rachel. 2. No Percy Jackson or Rachel Elizabeth Dare bashing. This is a hard rule that will be enforced. If I see bashing, I will remove the works from the ao3 collection and I will not reblog it here. 3. NSFW content is allowed, however it must be appropriately tagged here and on ao3. Additionally on tumblr all nsfw content must be hidden under a "read-more" to be reblogged on his account. That is another hard rule. This event is open for all ages, and I hope to provide a safe space for everyone.

Q: What does Rachel or Percy bashing mean?

A: Bashing for this event will be defined as inventing qualities etc. to hate on the characters [Percy or Rachel] and not giving them any redeeming qualities to balance it out.

Q: Does that mean I can't write any tragic stories where they die/suffer?

A: Tragic stories and sad endings are absolutely allowed!! I just don't want Percy or Rachel to be morally demonized. As long as you steer clear of that, you're good!

Q: How do I insert a "read-more" on laptop and mobile?

A: On laptop web, when you start a new line you'll see these icons (in the pic below). Click the grey one on the far right, with the squiggly line instead the two straight horizontal lines. The "read-more" should pop up immediately!

A: On mobile, type :readmore: . No spaces, just the colons plus the letters. It won't pop up immediately; but it should show up when you save as draft, queue or post.

Q: What kind of fanworks can I make?

A: Anything! Fanfics, fanart, moodboards, poems, playlists etc. If it's made/complied by you and complies with tumblr and ao3's rules, then you can submit it!

Q: Is there a minimum or maximum wordcount for fanfics?

A: Nope! Want to challenge yourself and write a 50 word mini fic? Go for it! Your one-shot spiraled into a novella? Please share, I'd love to read it!

Q: You didn't choose the 12 most popular prompts from the poll results!

A: Nope! 4-5 prompts were already chosen, regardless of the poll! The other 7-8 were determined by the most popular poll results. That's the perk of running the event, I get to decide everything :)

Q: I have more questions that aren't answered here.

A: My inbox is open. Feel free to ask! :)

[cordycepsfcrged]

MODERN AU; generic supernatural based. The world has vampires, werewolves, ghosts, restless undead, and all manner of things that go bump in the night that most of the world thinks only exists in fairy tales and scary bedtime stories. This story takes the canon plot lines for Joel, Ellie and Abby and adapts them for a modern setting to allow a wider range of plots for those that do not have apocalypse / tlou / twd / re / zombie et al based verses. The default for my characters here is still the TLOU / general apocalypse vibes verse. This modern supernatural verse is available by request only.

For all intents and purposes, I will be assuming that the Joel, Ellie and or Abby referenced in this plot is my own - if you write one of those characters and want to use this verse setting to write with mine that's totally okay but I am not going to assume / godmod this verse with other writers of those muses.

The story starts with a vampire (I will have to come up with a name and general description for plot purposes but I haven't done that yet - also feel free to opt to be that vampire if you've got one and wanna write with any of my peeps in this verse) who has a certain predilection for feasting on innocence. 20/30 odd years ago, Sarah Miller, a 12 year old soccer play from Texas, had the misfortune of catching his eye. Her father, Joel Miller, attempted to fight off the creature he found feeding on his little girl in the middle of the night, but ultimately lost that fight and had to hold his daughter while she bled out in his arms awaiting emergency assistance. With the rude awakening to the fact that humanity is not alone on this world, he left the life he knew behind and disappeared into the shadows where such creatures live, vowing to do whatever it takes to find the monster responsible for killing Sarah. Enter Ellie. Daughter of Anna; hunted by the same vampire that had killed Sarah years before. With her last human breaths, she gives birth to Ellie, an orphan with only a letter, a switchblade and a birthright she didn't ask for and never wanted. (Listen, we're working with what we've got, supernatural stuff works weird, there are no rules - just work with me okay; we're going with Anna being turned while she was pregnant, passing on just enough of the supernatural blood to create a latent / dormant dhampir like power in Ellie's blood.) Her dhampir powers are triggered in her early adolescence when Ellie and her (almost) girlfriend Riley are attacked by a vampire. Riley is killed, Ellie is bitten, but manages to escape. Over the next couple years, her body begins to change; senses begin to heighten, emotions become unruly, unnatural cravings for raw meat et al begin. Nightmares ensue (the psychic link to her mother's sire). After a final violent altercation at the orphanage where she lives where she bites another girl and realizes that what she's craving is human blood, she flees. Following her nightmares, trying to understand them and what is happening to her, she eventually ends up crossing paths with an old and curmudgeony hunter (Joel) who (after almost killing her) realizes that she's the missing piece he needs to find the vampire he's searching for and agrees to help her. At first the situation is very awkward and quid pro quo but as time goes on eventually he softens towards her and she begins to trust him to help her figure everything out and keep her alive. Queue Abby. Abby's father, consider him a Van Helsing type; a doctor specializing in cures to the uncurable - be it possession or vampirism or werewolfism -- all those things that the scientific world says are impossible, making him a laughing stock in the modern sciences but a bit of a mad genius in the world of things that go bump in the night. Whether or not he has ever genuinely been successful at reversing vampirism (if caught early enough) or curing the curse of the moon (or at least, taming the symptoms enough to allow a werewolf to live a mostly normal life) et al. is up for debate but his name is revered by hunters and loathed by monsters. It was only natural that Joel would hear of him and bring Ellie to him, to find out what she is, and how to help her, with the doctor's assurances that he could fix what ailed her. What he came to learn was that Ellie could be the missing piece to reverting almost any vampire or werewolf to their human state, but it would cost Ellie's life to extract what he needed. Joel only barely managed to get Ellie away from him in time, and was forced to kill him to stop him. He fled with Ellie, unknowingly leaving Anderson's daughter, Abby, now an orphan with a vendetta of her own. (Also thinking maybe Abbys' mother had been bitten at one point, was being held somewhere 'for her safety' by the dad, Ellie's sacrifice would have cured her mother and all the other afflicted, making it especially personal?)