#add that in when i write darren

[vacantgodling]

there is an interesting way that new yorkers write their works that no other place seems to. they talk to you like you know exactly where they're talking about and just leave the description within the locale and don't bother to dress it up

[gamesetattach]

Been churning out some self-indulgent Jannik Sinner reader-insert fics, there's such a lack of content on here that I figured I might as well post them.

Some of them less are less flushed out than others, and the premises can overlap sometimes... and it's different from my full effort writing style... but hey, I hope someone can enjoy them.

Gonna use this post as a masterlist eventually.

JANNIK SINNER FIC MASTERLIST

Comfort Zones and Conveniences, Part 1 - A one-night stand turned into a unavoidable fixture

Comfort Zones and Conveniences, Part 2 - An unproductive resistance to progressing the relationship

In Flight - An airport is the perfect place for chance encounters and first impressions

Amidst the Chaos - Coordinating the logistics of tennis tournaments is not for the weak, but run-ins with sweet Sinner are starting to make it more worth it

The Blind Leading the Blind - Reader goes on a set up double date against her better judgment and it's goes just about how she expected (very poorly), but there may have been one saving grace...

Coach Me Good, Sinner - Quick-witted reader has a ball at a tennis bootcamp led by none other than Jannik Sinner. And he finds her to be a pretty good time, too.

When World's Collide Series Masterlist - Williams newest racing strategist is shaking up the F1 world, and also... Jannik Sinner's?

Coach's (Honorary) Kid - Blurb of reader being introduced to Jannik through her longtime family friend and his coach, Darren Cahill

The Little Things - Short and sweet, a snapshot of Jannik's small gestures in his and reader's established relationship

It's You - Soulmate AU where all the things reader feels, Jannik does too, and vice versa. And that's because (spoiler) they're soulmates! And they meet!

Crushing Feelings, Part 1 - Reader tries to handle her growing, unrequited crush on Jannik Sinner; any distraction is welcome, no distraction is working...

Valentine's Special - Navigating long distance is lame, and also hard and sad. And apparently Valentine's Day is also lame, but that's secondary.

The Space Between Us - Jannik cold shoulders reader? Fine, be that way... but why is he that way, you ask? Well, little do you know...

You Always Know - Passing time through Sinner's ban isn't easy, but having reliable reader around helps. What they are to each other isn't quite describable, but it's real.

That One Night - Being a part of Lewis Hamilton's team means reader gets to meet a lot of athlete hot-shots, including the Jannik Sinner. They hit it off and get it on for a night, and that's kinda it... or is it??

Pleasant Distraction - Quick blurb where Jannik's run of the mill practice gets a surprise interruption by reader and her work and, suddenly, she's the most interesting thing on court.

What Do You See - Slightly withdrawn reader is tasked to photograph Sinner for Nike's newest campaign, she takes a beat to warm up and is... intriguing to say the least. Jannik certainly thinks so.

Unwinding, Unravelling (Release) - Life can be stressful!! The reader here can attest to that. Luckily her neighbor takes her in and... uh you know... takes care of her.

Night Owl - Boo, insomnia! Burning the midnight oil can be addicting, but it adds up real fast. Jannik quickly becomes reader's incentive to get some sleep.

Through Wins and Losses - A condition of being a pro-tennis power couple is supporting each other unconditionally, duh.

Crushing Feelings, Part 2 - Okay, so now that year-long unrequited crush has resolved itself... and the recovery so so sweet.

Lost in Translation - Working a job and being the only non-Italian surrounded by native speakers? Yeah, that comes with some close calls and consequences.

It's Never Just Coffee - Based on Chappell Roan's song, this fic follows the vicious cycle that is reader and Jannik's relationship. They just can't seem to escape it.

An Old Friend - Jannik's got his own busy life, and reader really does too, but they're good friends and get together when they can. And there's always been a little spark there, if they're being honest with themselves... To bad reader's never around long enough to explore it. +Can be read as standalone or a prequel to You Always Know

Rest and Relaxation - After making it the finals of a tournament, reader's body is wrecked with exhaustion. She spends her few days of reprise in between travel recovering at home with Jannik.

A Little Taste Before - Jannik has an idea to occupy the little idle time he has with reader before one of his matches... and he wants to act on it bad. Reader tries, and fails, to be the voice of reason.

Reps and Races - Preparing for the upcoming F1 Academy season means putting in the hours at the gym, and so reader is up in there. A new member joining makes her feel a little more inclined to go, though.

On the Record - A master of working the crowd and connecting with the players, sports commentator reader is often seen on screen for post-game interviews. The people eat it up, especially when it's Jannik up there with her.

No Words - Reader does the thankless work that is Sports PR. Jannik humors her, but with a lot of insistence, and it's not much more than that. Until he really sees her in all her glory...

Frustration - After taking a loss especially hard, reader takes out on her willing and understanding friend. Note that friend here actually means friends with benefits...

Thesis on Tour - Ph.D. student reader takes her work on the road every now and then, so she can spend time with her dear dear boyfriend.

Don't Look Back - After recovering from a sudden and crushing break-up, reader has to run into her ex now that the off-season's over.

Please Look Back - Jannik comes to terms with the fact that he has to end things with reader, but the aftermath is rough and seeing her doesn't make it any easier. +Flipped/parallel POV to "Don't Look Back"

Settle Down - During a school appearance, Jannik finds himself drawn to one of the more rowdy class's teacher.

In Sync, Series - Being a dynamic, up-and coming-tennis player, reader needs to hone in her skills. Mixed doubles seems to be the best route for that, especially if she's paired up with the World Number 1. Except it's not no simple... Not to reader at least. +Separate, real series masterlist coming soon

Bone-tired - Jannik comes home to you utterly depleted, but also irreparably needy... But he finds a solution for that combination, with your help.

Her Track - As we all know, Jannik participated in many extracurriculars during his ban. During a day out with friends at a karting track, he's shown around by reader and more than intrigued.

Giving In - Every now and then, Jannik gives all the power to reader. Like all the power, and then he's just completely at her mercy...

Biggest Fan - Reader's never anything but supportive, their relationship is strong and unconditional but, in a moment of weakness, Jannik gets jealous of a friendly stranger... Even though he knows she's his. He shows her as much when they get home...

*Updated 5/06/25

3-5 fics out every week, posted at 9:00 PM PST

Thanks very much xx

[cinamun]

As storytellers, there are so many pieces of our craft and I'm curious how you would rank each step of the process. Rank each of the following on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 lowest, 5 highest):

Setting up the scene (building sets, decorating, etc),

Posing the sims (creating / find poses, and setting up the sims),

Styling the sims (cc hunting, time spent in cas),

Writing the dialogue/story,

Editing the photos.

Send to three other story simblrs and get to know more about each others favorite and least favorite part of this crazy process!

(If you want to, of course, my dear! And credit to @thebramblewood for giving us this brain teaser on this fine day)

OH!!! Thank you friend! Okay lesseee... ranking in terms of difficulty or what I enjoy most? Let's say both:

Scene setting = 5 for difficulty and 5 for enjoyment!

I put a lot of work into what is going on around the characters in a scene. I do not like it to look blank or empty. If we're on a street, it should look like a street! If we're at a restaurant, why are we the only ones there? (unless we're Indya & Darren and can buy the place out for the day). Its fun for me because I just enjoy decorating in general. Now that I've gotten more familiar with TOOL, its easy, too! My personal belief is that, while you're OCs are the focus of the scene, the scene itself should be a sweet treat for the eyes. Placemaking is just neat.

Posing = 2 difficulty 1 = enjoyment

I've been doing this forever so posing is super easy, especially with WW and the ability to move sims around and rotate them. I can combine poses, split them up, make a sim face another even if the pose has them looking the other way. Its not super enjoyable because I've amassed a TON of poses over the years and searchable pose player has never worked in my game and I don't know what conflicts with it and just gave up. So I scroll and scroll. If I think I don't have a pose I google for it. Trying out different poses to get the effect I want takes FOR E V E R so, no, do not recommend.

Writing = 3 difficulty - 4 enjoyment

Since I'm not a prose girlie and this story is all dialogue (I do throw in a chapter summary at the end of one, those are fun), the dialogue isn't terribly difficult. I would say thinking about HOW the character would say a thing is what takes me a minute. Some characters are much easier than others but capturing the "how" definitely gets me. I like it mostly because a little bit of my own personality pops out sometimes and I don't even realize it. My humor, sharp wit, etc. Its a little thing I just enjoy idk.

Editing = 1 difficulty - 3 enjoyment

The presets I use for gshade do most of the work, I just pick and choose which shaders I want depending on the mood of the scene and start snapping. I have my capture size already set in SRWE so its just become an easy process. My photoshop process is very simple. A little topaz, brightening and if I'm feeling schnazzy, we'll do some text effects and add templates, also easy just time consuming.

Styling = 1 difficulty - 5 ENJOYMENT!!!

Oh I could spin these babies around in CAS forever and get completely distracted and not get to the scene for an hour lmfao. When my sims go into hair/makeup and wardrobe I lock TF in!!

[sailingfireshipz]

USA is running a marathon for Pride Month highlighting Ritters' character, and to that, all i can say is. Justice for Darren Ritter and every Black/POC/LGBTQIA+ character across this universe that's fallen victim to the systemic bullshit under the guise of "budget cuts" or "creative direction".

It's already fucked up that there's only one LGBTQIA+ character on this show oh just kidding in the entire OneChicago universe that also doubles as the only black man now on Fire and they with all of their audacity cut his character without warning.

Then to add insult to injury they do it in a manner that does not allow for his story to even come to a natural end or progression because no matter what bullshit excuse they concoct to write him off none of it will matter or make remote sense because they rarely if ever invested in his character development/arc to begin with.

Post his first season or two as a regular, they reduced him to a sidekick to everyone else's stories or shenanigans, never fully allowing him to carry his own arcs, and I don't understand why. I understand he's not considered a lead character. However, he is and has been a series regular for years and deserved the opportunities to tell stories that represented what his character meant/represented to others!

It's not enough to just have the token black/poc/lgbtqia actor or character just to check the box. It's not enough to just have them in the room or on the screen if you're not going to do something meaningful with them! It's performative in nature and does not present authenticity at all. 😒

Especially in today's climate where so many powers at be are trying to erase, destroy, or censor the history/legacy of any and every minority group that doesn't fit the racist, misogynistic, bigoted "mold" you'd think networks and production companies would use this as an opportunity to use their size/scale as an avenue to fight back with its messaging but instead they fall right in line with the narrative. Whether that be consciously or unconsciously, I do not know. What I do know is perception and perception is certainly not a great one if you're a fan of these shows.

Ritter is just one recent example of how flawed the system is, and I say system because this shit is systemic. If we sit with it long enough and really start to peel back the layers, we can find a list of characters treated strangely similar across the universe, and they all have one thing in common.

They don't fit the "mold."

Sometimes, I wonder if Stella wasn't attached to Severide. Would she even still be here on our screens today? Had Matt not gone to Oregon 🙄 would she even be a lieutenant... at 51 or anywhere for that matter. Would the investments into her character or arc even be made had she not been attached to the white male main character lead...🤔 Sit with that.

In no way am I ragging on Kelly either. I love Stellaride, but I also love Stella Kidd as a standalone character. My frustration comes from a place of IF she and Kelly DIDN'T hit it off. IF they didn't have the insane chemistry and love story that we adore. WOULD the powers at be still find value in what her character represents in this show, and WOULD they have invested in it the same? Because at the end of the day, Stella Kidd is a WOC character!

They always talk about how there's not enough women/woc/poc representation in the CFD, yet when given the opportunity to correct the narrative, they chose to uphold it. Why? 🤔

[d-criss-news]

Darren Criss, Rachel Zegler and Broadway's Best Strike a Pose for PEOPLE Backstage at Elsie Fest 2024 (Exclusive)

Darren Criss kicks of Elsie Fest 2024 at The Rooftop at Pier 17 in New York City. Photo:Jenny Anderson/Laurel Hinton/Elsie Fest

Elsie Fest, the theatre-themed music festival created by Emmy-winner Darren Criss, returned to New York City for its seventh installment on Sunday, Sept. 8 with a star-studded panel of performers belting the best of Broadway and beyond to a crowd of eager fans gathered at The Rooftop at Pier 17.

The fun kicked off as the sun set on the city and continued as the lights of Manhattan and Brooklyn lit up the late summer sky.

"It's important for me to keep this distinctly New York, but also distinctly about showcasing the breath of talent and strength of this industry," Criss, 37, tells PEOPLE of the festival, which he first launched in 2015 (it returned this year after a two year absence). "It is a personal investment; not a financial one, but a spiritual and emotional investment in this community that has given me so much."

Criss, who is a veteran of Broadway and will tread the boards again this fall in the upcoming new musical Maybe Happy Ending, shares that he's in "the service industry."

"For me, this is a service to our community of people who love this world, this material, these people, this music, this tradition," Criss says. "So anything I can do to try and give more back to those that I've also been a part of my whole life is also of great importance to me."

Among the performers taking the stage were Rachel Zegler, Jordan Fisher, Joy Woods, John Gallagher Jr., Will Butler, Lizzy McAlpine and RuPaul's Drag Race alum Alaska.

----------

03 Jordan Fisher The Hamilton vet also duetted with Criss on "Dear Theodosia," the ballad from the Lin-Manuel Miranda hit.

----------

06 Darren Criss

[HQ] Darren Criss. PHOTO: Jenny Anderson/Laurel Hinton/Elsie Fest

Criss offered Glee fans plenty to cheer about with five nods to the show that made him a household name, beginning with "Teenage Dream" — the Katy Perry hit he famously covered when his character, Blaine Anderson, was first introduced on the series. He also sang "Cough Syrup" and "Arthur's Theme," two others tunes he covered on the Fox hit.

Later, Criss reunited with "Warblers" Telly Leung and Curt Mega, as well as Max Adler (who played Dave Karofsky on Glee) for a performance of "Sincere" from The Music Man.

The special guests kept coming when former costar Chord Overstreet came out to end Criss' set, reprising another song they duetted on while on Glee: Billy Joel's "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)."

07 JC Chasez Elsewhere in his set, Criss brought out Chasez — who is penning the musical to the upcoming Frankenstein musical, Playing with Fire — for a performance of two *NSYNC hits: "It's Gonna Be Me" and "Bye Bye Bye."

"I’ve known JC Chasez for a long time from my time in Los Angeles," Criss tells PEOPLE. "I met him and we got on really well. We were writing music together and he’s just been such a bench in my life. I’ll ask him to show up for shows that I’ll play, if I’m doing ‘90s songs, he’ll come up and say yes, which is beyond my wildest dreams."

"I have to play it cool as if I think I belong singing his songs with him on stage," Criss adds." I was — I think people say this to be nice in interviews, like, ‘I was such a fan.’ But I was a f---ing fan! I am a f---ing fan of *NSYNC. I know that whole album like the back of my hand, No Strings Attached. And he was always one of my favorite singers so getting to be with him is pretty amazing."

08 Jordan Fisher, Dez Duron, Helen J Shen Other guests in Criss' set included an appearance from his Maybe Happy Ending costars Dez Duron (center) and Helen J Shen (right)

Criss and Shen performed the title track, while Duron sang the ballad, "A Sentimental Person."

09 Dez Duron, Andrew Barth Feldman and Joe Serafini Shen later joined Criss and boyfriend Andrew Barth Feldman (center) for a performance of "Granger Danger" from A Very Potter Musical.

----------

16 Darren Criss and Rachel Zegler

[HQ] Darren Criss and Rachel Zegler. PHOTO: Jenny Anderson/Laurel Hinton/Elsie Fest

Of course, no musical could be complete with a finale. And for Elsie Fest 2024, Criss brought out the full-lineup of performers and guests for a group singalong of "Defying Gravity" from Wicked.

[itsss4t4n]

Who I write for /Rules

Masterlist

I'm new-ish to writing (i used to write fanfiction when i was like 13. i'm 19 now and write very rarely) but I really wanna do it again.

So this is a list of characters/fandoms I write for as well as some rules for asks. Some things may be missing from this list so if you dont see something on this list, feel free to ask. :))

Do add as much detail as you want to a request and please ALWAYS have at least some sort of prompt, as i'm really not good with coming up with storys on my own yet.

I WILL NOT DO SMUT SO DONT REQUEST IT! I might however do spicy stuff (Nothing more than making out or somewhat implied stuff tho).

My writing will be mostly pg 13 but please still be careful if the fic-warnings include sensitive topics, and i might repost some 18+ things so be careful when navigating my blog.

Please be nice and have manners when requesting.

Also please include what gender/pronouns you want the reader to have (i write for all genders). If its not included I will default it as gender neutral. :)))

I also write poly relationships and AUs.

Some things I will not write include: Pregnancy, toxic/yandere, student x teacher, love triangles.

(Also english isnt my first language, and even though, in my opinion, i speak it really well, if they are any mistakes, thats why.)

Heartbreak high

Harper Mclean

Quinni Ghallager-Jones

Darren Rivers

Spencer "Spider" White

Anthony "Ant" Vaughn

Malakai Mitchel

Sally face

Sal Fisher

Travis Phelps (male or gn readers)

Larry Johnson

Ashley Campbell

Harry Potter

Fred Weasley

George Weasley

Charly Weasley

Bill Weasley

Cedric Diggory

Olliver Wood

Draco Malfoy (+6th year only)

Theodore Nott (+6th year only)

Marauders

James Potter

Sirius Black

Remus Lupin

Regulus Black

Evan Rosier

Barty Crouch jr

Pandora Rosier

Lilly Evans

Marlene Mckinnon

Hogwarts Legacy

Sebastian Sallow

Ominus Gaunt

Gareth Weasley

Poppy Sweetings

Imelda Reyes

Die drei fragezeichen / the three investigators

Bob Andrews

Peter Shaw

Justus Jonas

Skinny Norris

Twilight

Jasper Hale

Emmet Cullen

Carlisle Cullen

Esme Cullen

Rosalie Hale

Alice Cullen

Sam Uley

Paul Lahote

Charlie Swan

Leah Clearwater

Jacob Black

Pjo

Let me know if you want book or show

Percy Jackson

Annabeth Chase

Luke Castellan

Clarrisse La Rue

Selena Beauregard

Charles Beckendorf

Ethan Nakamura

Nico di Angelo (no romantic fem readers)

Rachel Elizabeth Dare

Will Solace

Travis Stoll

Connor Stoll

Hazel Levesque (no romantic)

Jason Grace

Leo Valdez

Piper Mclean

Magnus chase

Magnus Chase

Samirah al Abbas ( no romantic)

Alex Fierro

Blitzen

Hearthstone

Mallory Keen

TJ (Thomas Jefferson jr)

MCU (Avengers)

Bucky Barnes

Steve Rogers

Tony Stark

Sam Wilson

Natasha Romanoff

Yelena Belova

Peter Parker (tom holland and andrew garfield)

MJ

Wanda Maximof

Piedro Maximof

Clint Barton

Scott Lang

Stephen Strange

Kate Bishop

MCU ( Guardians of the galaxy)

Peter Quill

Daredevil (Season 1)

Matt Murdock

Karen Page

James Wesley

X-men universe

Deadpool

Wolverine

Francis

Xavier

Mystic

Angel

Kurt

Venom

Eddie Brock

DC

Harley Quinn

Jason Todd

Dick Grayson (any version, young justice, robin, nightwing,etc.)

Wally West (youngJustice)

Artemis (young justice)

Roy Harper (young justice)

Disney Descendants

Mal

Evie

Carlos devil

Jay

Benjamin Beast

Chad Charming

Audrey Rose

Jane

Lonnie Fa

Uma

Harry Hook

Gil

Rise of red

James Hook

Hades

Bridget

Ella

Cloe

Red

Morgie

Kingsmen

Eggsy

Tiny Pretty things (Netflix)

Bette Whitlaw

Oren Lennox

Shane Madej (no romantic fem readers)

June Park

Jennifers Body

Jennifer Check

Colin Gray

Ever after high

all characters

Redacted Audios

(no x reader, just ships)

literally all characters

[did-i-do-this-write]

Happy Tiny Scene Sunday!!

Here's a prompt with three words to use as you like: Jealous, Hide, and Clash!

@bloodlessheirbyjacques

I got so carried away with this one omg!!!! It is 914 words long, but there are two sparring matches in it. Action like that tends to add to my word count a lot haha. Anyway! I used this as a way to explore Shaun's weapon and element. This prompt was perfect and I loved writing for it! Thank you for the inspiration, bestie!

Jealous, Hide, Clash

(read the full scene under the cut!)

Shaun wiped the sweat from his brow. After two grueling hours of sparring with Darren, he was starting to feel his strength falter. Red marks crawled up his arms, reminders of everytime he failed to block the strong fire blasts that came his way.

And this was Darren "taking it easy" on him.

Shaun lifted his machete just in time. Clash! The harsh shriek of metal hitting metal rang out. Sparks flew. The weapon felt awkward in his hand. Wrong. Like he wasn't meant to wield it.

It wasn't really his, after all.

Darren had granted him permission to train, spar, and fight with his blade ever since they were kids. It wasn't much of a sacrifice on Darren's part. His weapon naturally consisted of two machetes.

Shaun siphoned water from the lake, launching a wave in Darren's direction, hoping to slow him down and catch him off balance. One blast of fire and the water dissipated into steam. Darren wasn't phased. He charged in and swiped furiously at Shaun's blade. Shaun felt the heat and burn of sparks. He dropped his weapon in an instant.

Darren stepped back and laughed. "Come on, Shaun, at least make me work for it. Two hours and I barely broke a sweat. If you can't give me a challenge then what's the point of sparring with you?"

Shaun picked up the fallen blade from the dirt. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"First you fight like a girl, now you're apologizing like one."

"Maybe you should learn to watch your mouth."

Nate's voice made Shaun jump. He could have sworn they were out in the field by the lake alone.

Darren put up his hands in mock defense. "Oh, sorry, Mr. Dictator. I forgot that we have to not hurt anyone's feelings while we're at war."

"We're not at war," Nate said.

Even Shaun could sense the unspoken "Yet" that hung in the air. Nate wanted to keep it that way.

Nate glanced over and noticed something laying in the grass. A polished, sandstone board that Reese had designed and carved for Shaun. He brought to down to practice his element and surf around on it, but he discarded it when Darren asked him to spar.

Nate eyed Shaun and smiled. "Saw you guys sparring when I got here." He nodded at the blade in Shaun's hand. "You still sharing Darren's weapon?"

"It's easier for him," Darren answered quickly. "Not having a weapon will get him killed."

Nate glared at him then addressed Shaun as if Darren didn't speak. "I thought the board worked pretty well last time we practiced together. Seemed like you were getting the hang of it."

"That's not a weapon," Darren snapped, "that's a toy."

"Darren. When I want your opinion I'll fucking ask for it."

Shaun had to stifle a laugh, but he couldn't hide it from Darren. He caught a glimpse of the fury lighting behind his eyes. Shaun stopped smiling immediately.

Nate sauntered over to where the board lay in the grass. He picked it up and inspected it. "Have you used it at all since we last trained together?"

Shaun shrugged, "A little."

Under exaggerating was better than raising Nate's expectations. Shaun had practiced with it almost everyday since then. It was Reese's idea to not only use it with his element as a way to ride the waves, but also try to learn how to handle it like a shield and blunt force weapon.

Nate extended the board out to him. "Show me. Let's see what you got."

Shaun took it tentatively. Nate flipped his own coin in the air and caught the golden short sword and handheld shield that took its place.

"You ready?" Nate asked.

Shaun hesitated. He still felt worn out from his matches with Darren. The water from the lake rose up to meet him. It trickled over his burns and cooled his skin. As it all washed away, he felt his strength return. He put the board down on the ground and stood on it, like a racer at the starting line.

Shaun nodded, "Now I am."

Nate smiled. "Then let's do this."

Once again, the lake rose to match Shaun's whim. It swept him away on his board and he circled Nate, like a shark circling its prey. Nate watched carefully, scanning for weaknesses. He launched a fireball at the water just behind Shaun, a puff of hot steam rising into the air, but Shaun kept his balance and focus.

Nate didn't raise his sword yet.

Another fireball launched into the whirlpool, dissipating the water that was most supporting Shaun's board. He sprawled out and plopped into the water as it seeped into the ground, leaving Shaun in a puddle of mud. Shaun shook off his haze and grabbed his board just in time to block an attack from Nate.

Shaun slapped at Nate's blade, feeling a little silly, like a kindergartener playing keepaway, until Nate slashed down on the board with all his might. The blade stuck.

Nate smiled, an accepting look in his eyes. Do it. You got me.

Shaun spun the board as fast has he could, wrenching the sword from Nate's grasp. It dislodged from the board and landed blade-first in the mud. It turned into a coin at Shaun's touch. He gave it back to Nate and laughed, almost in awe.

Nate smiled. "Yeah. I think I like the board better."

"Yeah," Shaun breathed heavily, catching his breath. "Me too."

[orion4ever]

Hi! i wanted to ask if you could write step 1 Darren with a kind of socially outcasted MC(male or gender neutral, your choice!) who’s not really great friends with qiu or tamarack but as soon as they met darren they kind of latched onto him.

like that vibe of like “Mc is crying and runs over in the derection of the boys club and everyone thinks they are going to hug qiu (including the boys club) but they run straight past qiu and hug ren and everyone is surprised”

take your time and take care of yourself! have a nice day/night!

Author’s note: Yay, a Darren request! I thought this idea is cute, Also a good opportunity to give the boys of the OL fandom some love finally! I will add them to the master list! You didn’t specify if you wanted the reader to be the same age as Darren or Qiu and Tamarack’s age ,so I kept it ambiguous!

Pairing: Darren/Renee Murray x Male MC

🧡🍂

Darren would first off, be surprised

He gives off an ‘I only need a few friends to be happy’ vibe, so he isn’t as social as Qiu or Baxter

So when you two met up, he was a bit awkward.

He was nice about it at least, he never tried making you speak up or anything; understanding just wanting to listen

Depending on how you all met, Qiu introducing you to him or meeting you in his class; Qiu ends up inviting you to hang out with the Boys’s club since he likes seeing Darren make new friends!

It is a similar dynamic to how Tamarack and Qiu were friends but Tamarack wasn’t really Darren or Baxter’s friend. But they all hung out and got along alright because they had someone in common.

Darren would be a little defensive having someone new join the boys’s club but over a short time; he warms up to you.

Darren would like to spend one on one time with you, maybe inviting you to go hiking with him and his family.

Or maybe Darren would invite you to just ride your bikes around, no talking necessary.

You two are in your own little world, while Darren does have other friends; he does really like your company.

He doesn’t mind if you cling on to him, he’d let you get away with it if you two were close enough.

He’d definitely pout about it tho.

You guys have a friendship that no matter the years, never falter.

You will be there when she comes out, and when that time comes. She will be brave enough to confess as well.

[ansbobcar]

Infodumping/venting about the lack of Mashle fanfics on most fanfic platforms

WARNING: This isn't a vent. This is a mashle fanfic idea dumpster fire with MANGA SPOILERS.

I'm so heartbroken discovering that there is barely any mashle x oc content out there even x readers or character x character. I have so many tiny plot point ideas for a Rayne/Rain x fem oc/reader. Which resulted in me beginning to write my own oc, Darren Randel. Her name's stolen from my random ass mha oc Darren Halston. Darren Randel is lowkey different (she's less edgy/and emotionally unstable) even though they both have brown hair.

PLS TELL ME IF YOU'RE GONNA STEAL OR GET INSPO FROM THIS PLS BECUZ I WOULD LIKE TO HELP.

SO-

What was the original plot idea you may ask?

Infamous girl from rival school transfers to Easton Magic Academy because she fell in love with Rayne Ames lol.

Lowkey unoriginal right?

So then I added an extra spin to it borrowing a key romance drama plot point from See You in My 19th Life: Darren only gets 3 chances to confess and have her feelings be reciprocated by Rayne, and if he rejects her feelings. She'll give up (on that romance).

The ending of the fanfic is bittersweet: She doesn't get Rayne. But they stay close friends.

OH BUT HERE'S WHAT I'M TRYNA FIGURE OUT TO ADD MORE OF THAT BITTERSWEET FEEL TO IT:

1. Darren confused her initial crush on Rayne to be love at first sight/romantic feelings when she actually felt like she had a friend/that sense of trust in him compared to others.

1a. As a result of that she kind of decides to nullify all her chances of getting him.

1b. Regardless of this plot point she still ends up developing actual romantic attraction for Rayne and still doesn't get her feelings reciprocated.

2. It turns out that Rayne ALSO developed feelings for Darren over the course of the fic but he still rejects her advances due to either:

a. Her newfound realisation that she confused her feelings of attraction for something like companionship or trust. (1a)

b. His new position and role as Divine Visionary and the fear that she would be in more danger than she already was. (For context: her former school Walkis has so much beef with her existence for the 4 ish years she was there that they want her erased from existence and the Bureau of Magic is extremely alert about her whereabouts due to that and her skills which will be explained in the OC Profile section below).

c. Typical fears of a dude who for most of his life before Easton was seen as a nuisance alongside his younger brother Finn. (Big headcanon.) Doubt he cares/he probably would shove in the aristocrats face if he was dating her honestly (fake dating plot point???)

_ _ _ _ _ _

OC PROFILE:

Fyi - I haven't completed her complete information so I may have removed some parts.

General Info:

Name: Darren Randel

Other names: “Renren”, “Walkis Traitor”, “Wandless Psycho”

Sex: Female

Age: 18 (from the start of Mashle canon timeline)

Birthday: February 18th

Blood Type: A

Height: 168cm

Occupation: 3rd Year Student at Easton Magic Academy

House: Adler

Affiliation: Easton Magic Academy (current), Walkis Magic Academy (former)

Dominant Hand: Left

Good Subjects: Magic Geography (it better exist), Magic Zoology

Bad Subjects: Magic Mathematics, Magic Biology

Hobbies: Cooking, Running at 4am, Pestering Rayne whenever possible

Favourite Food: Mussel/Seafood Pasta

Favourite Word: “Antidisestablishmentarianism”

Favourite type of the opposite sex: “People think about those?”

Dislikes: Her sense of justice being challenged, Bunbun, People who hate Rayne Ames

Frequently visited school spots: School Garden, Training rooms, Dormitory kitchen 

Appearance: 

Her hair is orange brown with cornflower tips. The way she styles her hair hides one of her lines. The main line that is shown juts out just under her cheek from her forehead while the other one only juts out slightly from the side of her eye. She’s more of a sports person than a bookworm. When she manifests her third line, it appears across and under her eyes. She switches between 3 types of bottoms. Pants, Long skirt, shorter skirt of which she wears jogging leggings underneath but they’re all dark blue you know.

Lines: 2 + 1

Skills/Abilities: 

General Magic: Offensive Magic - Due to the competitive environment of Walkis, she has a general grasp on nearly all learnable offensive magic spells. Being able to cast them with ease compared to more typical and unlethal spells. Her speed at casting these spells were unmatched during her time in middle school.

Personal Magic: Impart - Darren’s magic essentially allows her to balance out either magical power, strength, and weaknesses between her targets (living and non living) or with herself. It’s essentially cheating at life. The magic is highly confusing due to the fact that she doesn’t have to chant the words to the magic and its essentially treated as a debuffing magic (which is wrong because she aims to fight everyone on fair terms).

Impart Zero - It dispels a spell.

Impart Seconth: Impartial Vice - Instead of deducting and balancing their power, like a water dam. Water is added to balance both sides.

Summon: Themis (Goddess of Justice) - When summoned, the user’s wand transforms into a dull sword whilst Themis appears with blindfold with a scale in hand

Themis Inclination - Themis appears and buffs her attacks’ range but she rarely utilises this due to how lackluster it was against Rayne (ineffective) and other people

Impart Thirds: Divine Mercy - It’s essentially renders its' target a painless death. It's an instant kill move.

Impart Thirds: Divine Tears - Unlike Divine Mercy, this one's pure torture. (To be developed later) (Tears of Themis reference?)

Wandless Casting: Her aptitude to cast magic without a wand has earned her infamy and wanted death since she enrolled into Walkis in middle school. It has also made her wanted by a few subdivisions of the Bureau of Magic, namely Magic Talent and Magic Research Administration.

Immense Speed: Exactly what running at 4am, and doing marathons before starting class does.

Immense Endurance: Due to the fact she does running as a hobby, her stamina/endurance in terms of speed/running is more than decent. She can withstand advanced offensive spells typically used by the police.

Equipment:

Basic Wand - She prefers to not wield a wand though finding it too rudimentary for her purposes, hence many assume she cannot unleash her secondth and thirds magic (to which she has). It stays in her cloak mostly.

Infinite Storage Fabric - Lining her uniform’s robe it has the ability to store anything it can consume within its’ own subspace. She stores majority of her items in it. Even though it’s mass doesn’t change due to how many things there are, it still is a heavy fabric. It will help fish out whatever the user who is currently wearing the cloak wants to have.

Resistance bands - She carries it around to do some exercise. Especially when she’s in the kitchen

Thick Rope - She carries this around as well but its to apprehend anyone she sees.

Photo album of Rayne Ames - She carries this with her at all times alongside a self printing camera. Don't worry, she gets permission to take the pictures.

Family/History:

The Randel Family while not aristocrats or anything, take pride in their magic aptitude which is a recent cut above the rest. Born as a two-liner magic user, she was put on a pedestal with unwanted attention, which is why she has a hime cut to hide her other mark. Her parents treat her like a trophy child and place their expectations on her.

She’s an only child but has an extensive selection of uncles and aunts 5 each. But she prefers her grandma over everyone else.

She had a tendency to break her wands while practising magic as a kid. Due to this her family/parents decided to just stop supplying wands (cuz it was costly) which resulted in her adapting the way she casted magic spells without the use of a wand. During her entrance exam into Walkis, she was ridiculed for not having a wand and got into trouble while getting the highest score of her batch in terms of magic.

_ _ _ _ _ _

I was tempted to add a Modern Magic/unmagic AU of this as well based on the anime endings which I find to be completely confusing even though they're fun. (SERIOUSLY, HOW IN THE WORLD DO RAYNE AND FINN HAVE FANCY OLD CARS THOSE ARE EXPENSIVE TO MAINTAIN WHEN THEY'RE CANONICALLY ORPHANS UNLESS DIVINE VISIONARY IN MODERN AU IS A SUPER RICH POSITION-)

[wrongcaitlyn]

I usually keep my asks to a minimum but holy crap the way I had to do a double take and do the eye rubbing squinty thing when I saw "Hazel".

MY GIRL IS HERE!!!!

I was already bouncing off the walls when I saw Sadie you will not belive the state of utter disrepair they are in now.

And T4T Frazel UGHHH YOUR MINDDD.

I rarely have moments where I go "Man I wish I would've thought of that." But with the MtF Darren and T4T Frazel I am crying it's literally insane. You are insane for this actually the fic is probably one of my favorites out there <3

SORRY FOR RESPONDING TO THIS SO LATE BUT AHHDF YES u have no idea how excited i was to FINALLY write her pov!!! i get the jitters every time i get to introduce a new character, i just love expanding the universejdfj

i think u meant ftm darrenSJDF but TO BE FAIR. that was just me trying to make this work in a modern au (i do believe that apollo was pregnant with kayla for like a day in the actual riordanverse) and bc i felt like they wouldn't adopt a kid for what was essentially a fwb summer fling sorta?? except they lowkey got serious. but also they wouldn't adopt a childDJF apollo was nowhere near mature enough for that

and as for t4t frazel i read a wonderful fic (you and i were (fireworks) by demigodbeautiies) that had background t4t frazel and i just could NOT get it out of my head!!!! i kept starting to write hazel's pov and thinking like ughghasdhfjhdsf do i add it?? do i??? and then one night at like 2 am, i wrote down frazel's first meeting with the trans bracelet in my notes app and then i was like. well. that's canon now i can't let go of that can i??? so yes i absolutely love the hc now i'm so glad you do too!! <3

THANK U SO MUCH <33

[spaceorphan18]

Okay, some end of vacation thoughts.

While always going back to work is hard, I think my vacation was incredibly successful in getting me feeling like I'm in a good place again. My home is clean. My projects are organized. And I feel pretty good. (Clearly, we'll see how this goes when I have to add 40 hours of work back into my schedule.)

I feel like I'm finally where I was maybe two years ago before I moved down to Indiana.

I have lots of things I want to work on -- and I'm actually working on them and enjoying them. And... I kind of can't believe how terrible it was for a while, because I really didn't do anything for nearly a year. Eesh. Thank you to all over you who stayed with me during that time.

Meanwhile... the state of things...

I watched Home tonight! The musical retrospective is back on! I'm ready to jump back into it.

I've also got my fic stuff worked out, and I think what I'm really going to try to do is not stress about getting everything done at once. It's small steps and little victories.

Also, yes, I know I said I'd write up thoughts on the Darren interview with Kevin and Jenna. I was going to get that done this week and I just ran out of time, but it's still in the plan!

I do also have an X-Men project I'm working on, which probably isn't exciting to most of you, but I'm very excited to be working on it. However - it won't be taking over my blog anymore than stuff already has.

Also, also, I'm planning on continuing reading (I have so much to read), finishing up my Marvel Movie Nights, and even getting some piano practice and maybe genealogy stuff done.

It's a lot. Yes. It's all about balance. And pacing.

I am a little sad to see my free time go, but I'm hoping I keep this - in a good mental headspace - as I head back into work.

I suppose we'll see.

Thanks for letting me think out loud.

<3 <3

[caramelcoffeeaddict]

starting to watch a new (to me) TV show, is not good for my ADD when I have multiple unfinished fandom projects that I could be working on instead. it's even worse when the show is giving me ideas for another Klaine fic that I don't have the time or patience to write.

I've got my Florist!Kurt fic that I've been sadly neglecting; my Klaine Secret Santa fic that I haven't started writing yet and only have a basic prompt/plot idea for; and there are still a handful of Darren calendars that need a little more editing.

if I don't get distracted by anything, I can easily get the calendars finished this weekend. but the writing projects will take a bit longer. which is why ideas for another writing project need to calm down.

[mcalhenwrites]

6 Name the frogs

13 Geckos Automata

Thank you for the ask! :D

6 for Name the Frogs: What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics?

A few of the reasons are spoilers, so I’ll have to navigate around those to answer this question. Some of them deal with the types of relationships I write in the story! (Though I did add a reporter character friendship again.) While I do tend to stick with certain themes in all my stories, like characters navigating trauma, in this one the main character, Irving, is the son of someone openly detested. It makes him a pariah, even though Nestor mistreated him. People think he has been groomed to take over for his father. That has led to some interesting relationship developments in his adult life… And a lack of them, sadly, especially for a kid who acted out in class to impress his peers for laughs. He has been crying out for friends his entire life. 13 for Geckos, Automata: What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn’t listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading? Geckos, Automata doesn’t have much of a “playlist” - a lot of my stories don’t, since I tend to either get hooked on a new soundtrack or song in a moment OR I’m repeating the same Yasunori Mitsuda music as I always do. Can’t help it, Mitsuda is good.

Uh, anyway! Here are some songs I definitely recall listening to while writing:

“Abel’s Ark” from Xenosaga Episode III OST, by Yuki Kajiura I want to note that I listened to a lot of this soundtrack recently while editing, and it really fit the mood. But “Abel’s Ark” is the one I keep putting on repeat.

“Dead” from Koudelka OST, by Hiroki Kikuta A peaceful melody from a horror game works well for some of the more heartbreaking moments in Geckos, Automata.

“Waking the Monster” by Darren Hayes When listening to this song, you can definitely sense why it fits the story so well. I actually listened a lot of his music during the writing of this, from “The Future Holds a Lion’s Heart” to “Hero”, but “Waking the Monster” maybe fits a little too well? I’m worried I subconsciously took a lot of plot from the song, even though I actually converged a recent plot with an old one in order to develop the one in Geckos. The old one is from 2011, and yes this song was out back then, but it was about necromancy and stealing from tombs. The one in 2020 that developed alongside some new characters (Duncan, Rosalia, and Kieran) was simply a desire to write a story in a post-apocalyptic world where a group of people banded together and traveled along the train tracks.

“Coffee with a Bullet” from Shadow Hearts OST, by Yoshitaka Hirota I listened to a lot of both SH I & II OSTs, but this one stands out to me a little more than the others. If Hirota didn’t compose it, Mitsuda did. Yes. Mitsuda. I’m predictable.

There’s also a massive chance I was listening to KHUX music at this time, because it hadn’t finished yet, and I was obsessed. This includes a lot of songs from the earlier Kingdom Hearts soundtracks, especially any related to darkness. The game wrapped up in June of 2021, a few months after I wrote the original Geckos draft in one month, so it’s very possible that I was listening to KH music frequently at the time.

[patrickjonesblog]

Top Albums of 2023

Hey, how ya doing? I got sick the last week of 2023 when I intended to write this so here I am in 2024 looking back on some of my favorite long players last year.

I saw so many of my favorite acts in 2023, it was probably the best live music year ever. So much so I spent what felt like a whole morning creating a "reel" on "instagram". The fruits of which you can watch here.

Enough about live music though, this is about wonderful studio recordings, so here's what's made the long list and then we'll kick straight into the top 10 with accompanying videos.

16 - Romy - Mid Air

15- Jessie Ware - That! Feels! Good!

14- Gracie Abrams - Good Riddance

13 - Lana Del Rey - Did you know there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd?

12 - Bombay Bicycle Club - My Big Day

11 - The Bug Club - Rare Birds: Hour of Song

10 - Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy

If you haven't seen Young Fathers Glastonbury set in 2023, I recommend you do so after you've read this blog. Gutted they cancelled their brooklyn show, but I hope to catch it this year.

9 - Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

Caroline Polacheck is the closest we've got to Kate Bush in 2023, the detail she puts into her visuals and the choreography of her performances, its high art. The track below isn't on the album, but it was the moment I realized her brilliance.

8 - Gorillaz - Cracker Island

This felt like an under the radar release from Gorillaz, at least here in the states. It's the first time Albarn has worked with Greg Kurstin (Adele, Mccartney, Kendrick) and you can hear his influence as it's a bit more poppy than previous releases.

7 - Jeff Rosenstock - Hellmode

If you've read any of my blogs over the past decade you will have seen a lot of appearances from US Punk / Ska legend Jeff. The reason being; he doesn't make bad records.

6 - Sleaford Mods - UK Grim

How do you follow 2021's career highlight Spare Ribs? With more of the same, that's how. 12 albums in to their career now and they're still gathering pace. Blistering, acerbic, hilarious as ever.

5 - The Hives - The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons

The first new music from The Hives in 11 years and they return with a literal bang. This album is as good as anything they came out with when they first charmed their way onto the scene in the early 2000's. The bellies may be podgier, Pelle's kicks aren't as high, but the riffs are as spritely as ever. Still one of the greatest live bands around.

4 - Blur - Ballad of Darren

I always get a bit anxious about a new blur album, they don't have to release new music, they have a back catalog that guarantees them legend status already. Releasing new music risks tainting that legacy so far into their career. I needn't worry, Ballad of Darren is a beautiful record with a legitimate brand new stadium filling anthem to add to their repertoire.

3 - Olivia Rodrigo - GUTS

Bit of a surprise this one, maybe more for me than you dear reader. I didn't get the fuss of the first album (still don't) it sounded like any one of a million young pop darlings. But GUTS is different, it's eclectic, it's beautifully written, it tears at your heart, it raises your fists, it makes you dance. It has everything really. She's the real deal. It's objectively not made for a 42 year old man, but great music is great music and I bloody love this.

2 - Jenny Lewis - Joy'All

It was a tough call between this and Olivia, but i've given it to Jenny for the 20+ years experience she has on the young upstart. Jenny Lewis is maturing into a fine groove, she's replaced Ryan Adams as a much more palletable country-folk spot in my heart. Her songwriting continues to get better with age.

1 - The National - First Two Pages of Frankenstein | Laugh Track

Stadium filling, Taylor Swift collaborating, David Letterman approved super band The National. It's a wild trajectory my favorite band has taken over the last few years. No longer critically acclaimed everyones favorite unheard of band, they're rightly at the upper table of indie-rock and its fully deserved. Not satisfied with releasing one beautiful record this year they follow it up soon after with the surprise Laugh Track an equally brilliant album in its own right. Most bands would kill to have one record this good in their whole career, its frankly not fair they can do two this good in a year. A joint number one for me as I can't separate them.

There you have it, 2023 all wrapped up, full of BIG acts with a smattering of newbies thrown in for good measure and probably the most female representation I've had in an end of year list.

You can hear these and LOADS more in my 2023 playlist.

And if you like any of this and trust my judgement follow my 2024 playlist which I curate throughout the year adding newly released tracks.

Aaaaaand away...

[dcrkcrwns]

𝐀 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄, everyone always has one, but how dark will it be, it’s dependent on the person itself.   how dark can you be ?? 

✨ independent, highly selective, and private multi-muse blog with VERY mature themes including txboo, will be present, you have been warned.  heavy triggers will be tagged, smut will not. minors don’t interact. written by teddy, he/they, 25 +

affiliates: @bvssybvys

                                   ✨ open starters ✨ muses ✨ wishlist✨ kxnks ✨ memes ✨ wanted opposite ✨ most wanted

                                guidelines under read more

INDEPENDENT & SELECTIVE

this blog is an independent multimuse blog.  all my charas are gay.  i am not affiliated with the faces or the shows that the canon characters are in. this blog will have thread that are very taboo so if you’re not comfortable, don’t follow this account. and if i don't follow you or don't have active threads, please don't interact with me. i'm just selective with who i write with.

WRITING STYLE

i like to use small text with icons and small gifs or gif icons, and mostly do short threads that includes a paragraph. can write longer if the vibe is there.  but shorter stuff tend to get my attention and i go faster.  also cut your post if you can please. i use beta and xkit unwritten.

SHIPPING & CHEMISTRY

i’m a ship whore.  but it’s definitely easier if our writing chemistry and the character’s chemistry is there.  but yea, here for all the ships.

SMUT & NSFW

listen, there is lots of smut, this blog is mainly for all the smut writing honestly.  so i won’t be writing with characters under 18.   i’m of age, and i dont feel comfortable writing with anyone who is under the age of 21.  so be 21+ pls.   i won’t be tagging the smut on here, but will tag most triggers.

ACTIVITY

i am currently employed, so i’ll be semi-active, but apologies if i do disappear!  but if i do, i always come back, unless im dead lol, ok morbid, but yea, i’ll always return 💖

CROSSOVER/OC FRIENDLY

i am very crossover and oc friendly so don’t be afraid to hit me up if you and i have similar writing styles. i’m down for rping with chou all.

GRAPHICS & ICONS

all of the resources i use are NOT mine, so kudos to those that have made them.  if i make any graphics though, don’t claim as your own! 😡😡

REBLOGGING

if you could all be kind to not reblog gif/photo sets from my blog.  just reblog from source, it’s easier to keep my activity clean and only be my threads, but i won't like go ballistic if you do so here and there. thank you fam! 💖

OUTLET

this place is just for fun.  so don’t bother me too much about this blog.

BANNED FC’S

i don’t feel comfortable writing with fcs that are under the age of 21.  the only exception is kit connor and a couple others.  but i’m pretty open when it comes to fc’s but here a few that i’m very ehh/nope for me

underage fc’s

deceased fc’s

most influencers

most kpop singers and singers in general ( unless plotted )

cast of shameless ( except jeremy allen white or steve howey )

stranger things cast

individual actors tho are here:

ansel elgort

austin abrams

avan jogia

blake jenner

bill skarsgard

benedict cumberbatch

cillian murphy

chris pratt

colton haynes

dane dehaan

darren criss

dylan sprayberry

elliot page

ezra miller

johnny depp

misha collins

richard harmon

robert sheehan

robert downey jr

timothy olyphant

i will add more as my memory picks up.

[self-insert-nightshade]

More OL2 - if your MC is into art

This time, it's if you're into music. This is very broad from singing to playing interests to even writing songs.

Well i posted this before i was done with it so uh ignore it for now its not even tagged

A lot of this is more step 2 featured. So Darren/Ren/Renee isnt featured (I'm still learning about them) and the same goes for Baxter. Some day I'll add them to this post.

<><><>

Tamarack is probably the easiest with music in the sense that there's something about her that puts you in that perfect zone to create something melodious. It starts out as simply humming when you're in her presence and escalates to singing songs on the radio together.

If you play an instrument she wants to learn how to play it too and eventually she wanta to duet you. This goes for singing as well. She's not the best singer and as step 2 comes around she gets shier and more self conscious about it but when its just you two she'll sing and play along to you. She never wants to stop accompanying you however she can but it can be a little hard to find the right harmony to match together. Both of you in the melody are just fine though and if you're more inclined to find the harmony then it's about as good as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (a classic).

Songs and melodies with her in mind tend to be gentle, slow, and mellow, or rich in tone. They all tend to flow into each other in a very legato sense. When composing music that reminds you of her, you're very thoughtful of each note and notation and each word chosen and she appreciates all of the thought that goes into the work. Tamarack appreciates all the little details and would want to analyze and play and experiment with what you compose and show you just how much she treasures what youve given her. She might have her own two pieces to share about the composition but she'll always start out wanting to know your reasoning behind it. And then, maybe, you'll make a song with both of your styles.

<><><>

Now Qiu. Qiu thinks your singing is the prettiest thing he's ever heard. When they first hear you humming they can't help but look up and verify that its you thats the source of the music. They will enthusiastically ask you about what song you were humming, will you sing for them, do you play an instrument, will you play for them, have you ever thought about making music or composing, why not/what do you make songs of/for? Theyre curious and would gladly dance if it was to one of your songs.

If it was a song more difficult to do ballet to or not traditional, they might ask Baxter for some ideas. Qiu can watch and listen to you all day every day. Just the fact that you're sharing this talent of yours with them is enough and they thoroughly enjoy this sort of private time where it's just you and him and music.

Qiu would definitely ask you to sing to him if he was having trouble with something whether its being anxious, keyed up, or can't sleep. Hearing your voice, especially if its couple with laying their head on your lap, will have them relaxing in mere seconds.

Now when it comes to composing a song for Qiu, they won't be able to understand some of the more detailed nuances unless you explain it to them but they can pick up on the emotions from the tempo and melodies or harmonies and just telling them that the song is FOR THEM will have their jaw dropping and eyes wide in astonishment that you would do this FOR THEM.

Qiu, himself, isn't likely to sing or hum along with you. Not that hes bad at it no siree. It's just never been something they were interested in so they dont have much experience with it. But they will hum the song you wrote for them near constantly. And if you want him to sing with you he'll humor you in private and try but he'll often drop off just to listen and watch you.

<><><>

(I dont know what pronouns Darren/Ren/Renee uses throughout other steps so I defaulted to they.)

When it comes to Darren/Ren/Renee you cant help but think of them fondly. They might not have been someone who confided in you about everything but it's a small town, you feel a part of their life regardless and you've watched them figure themselves out honestly? Much quicker than you might have figured yourself out. Maybe they inspired you to do some self reflection as well on your presentation and identity.

All of this to say, they're the reason you change pronouns in songs you sing, they're what makes you bolder and braver with showing your voice and trying different harmonies and melodies and exploring and broadening your ranges. Theyre the one you change lyrics and tailor songs for and they're the first person you wrote a song for. Sorry mom. It's maybe taken you a while to refine and be confident with the song enough to show to other, nevertheless them but when you do their face burns and twists in embarassment with the corner of their lips pulling as they try to hide a smile. They've always been a little shy but youre hoping some day theyll be able to understand your feelings from the song you will gladly sing to them as many times as they want.

<><><>

Oh Baxter. Baxter baxter baxter.

Bax man.

This boy sits quietly with a smirk on his face and listens before he teases you about it. Only in a complimentary way of course, hed never say anything mean. If anything its a little flirtatious and it makes your ears and cheeks redden.