#I had A REALLY HARD TIME DRAWING LAUGHING JACK OMG

[russlanbf]

The besties

[eldritch-nightmare]

heyy!! can i request LJ and Candypop ( ,,if you write for him) sharing a fem!reader? (headcanons or something else) i don’t mind <33

a/n: I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT CANDY POP WAIT omg he's one of those creepypastas that i heard about but never really looked into so. first time writing him so i hope i did him justice for you! i wasn't sure if you wanted something more lighthearted or something darker so i did my best to keep it balanced.

LJ and Candy Pop sharing a fem!reader.

warnings: my knowledge of candy pop comes from the creepypasta files wiki page so just a heads up if i get something wrong, opted to make reader a creepypasta here but it's very vague, lj and candy pop are like frenemies in this i suppose, sorta hints that the reader might've been forced into this relationship, my hand slipped and i dropped a 'good girl' in here somewhere i couldn't help myself, possessive behavior from both of them, implied unhealthy relationship.

Man, what's it like having a 7ft tall imaginary monochrome clown that terrorizes children and a 7ft tall colorful Night Terrors possessed jester be in love with you? It's probably a strange experience.

They both argue over who caught feelings for you first. LJ swears up and down that he fell for you first, but Candy Pop claims it to be love at first sight. Honestly, you've just chosen to believe that they both fell for you around the same time.

The two of them were definitely hesitant to share you, though that was more on Candy Pop's side than it was LJ's. Listen, sharing a body/soul with the literal demon king makes you a bit possessive over things, okay?

You don't particularly mind either way, to be honest. They're both a bit... much to handle at times, but you guys make it work. Like... literally. You had to plan out an entire schedule and everything because they kept bickering about how much time the other spent with you.

LJ gets you on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays while Candy Pop gets you on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Sundays are days you spend alone because it's always good to have some time for yourself.

Of course, they don't... follow the schedule that often. Why would they? They aren't confined to the mortal chains of schedules.

They are both equally romantic in their own right, and you won't lie, you certainly have enjoyed a few of the spontaneous dates they've taken you on. Sometimes, they'll even get together long enough to plan out an outing for all three of you. They can get along, see?

Now, we can't forget that they are both murderous entities. One is an imaginary friend turned serial killer and the other is... something. A demon? A poor possessed soul of a jester? Whatever he is, he's deadly. Shall I provide some examples?

Example one: Laughing Jack was abandoned by the one person he was created to befriend, so trust me when I tell you that he has some deeply rooted abandonment issues. He's all fun and games until there's even the slightest possibility of you leaving him. Even if someone makes an offhand remark about how you should leave him, his entire persona does a complete 180.

Suddenly, his hold on you is just a bit more tighter than it normally is, and you can feel his nails digging into your skin, threatening to draw blood. It's a subtle, silent threat of what he could do to you if you ever tried leaving him.

Example two: Candy Pop, as a whole, is somebody you have to be wary around because his mood can flip like a switch. He'll be happily humming away about some random topic one moment, and the next he's pushing you up against a nearby wall and looking at you with such a crazed look that it's almost hard to believe that this is the same person who claims to be in love with you.

He's the type to remind you of where you belong. You belong by his and LJ's side, so don't you ever forget that, okay? You really don't want to see what'll happen if you do.

In the end, though LJ and Candy Pop have a habit of bickering with each other, they'll make one hell of a team if it means keeping you in their grasp. You don't fit with anyone but them, and you don't need to fit with anyone other than them. They're the perfect match for you, and you'll come to see that sooner or later. So, all you need to do is be a good girl and stay by their side, got it?

It's Sunday. Sundays are supposed to be your day. You had plans to hang out with the other girls, maybe even play dress up with Sally if she was up for it. So, why the hell were you currently stuck in bed, sandwiched between a clown and a jester?

You have no clue because you just woke up and they were already here. Sure, you could just… wiggle your way out of bed but then they would wake up. Do they even need to sleep? They aren't mortal like you are, so sleep doesn't seem like a necessity to them. But it's not like you can just stay in bed all day either. You had things you wanted to do!

So, with a very silent sigh, you slowly start to sit up, untangling yourself from the mass of limbs trapping you to your bed. You were able to sit up with relative ease, the hard part would be crawling over either LJ or Candy Pop to get out of bed. That would be… that would be difficult.

Even if you were to try and crawl over one of them, you weren't able to because before you could even decide which one to crawl over, you were being pushed back into laying down again by Candy Pop.

You let out a small 'oof' as soon as your back hit the mattress.

"Where do you think you're going?" You hear LJ ask, and with one quick glance at him, you can see a slight pout on his face. It was almost enough to make you forget about the feeling of his nails gently grazing your stomach.

If he just decided to dig them into your--

"She's not going anywhere." Candy's voice murmurs directly next to your ear, effectively cutting off your train of thought. You only belatedly realize that he had buried his face into your neck, his hair brushing against your face, "Right, angel?"

Well… it seems like you're not going to be getting rid of these two today, so whatever plans you had for the day were going to have to be put on hold until next Sunday. You just hoped the two of them didn't make a habit of this.

[magicalyaku]

Time for my October books! The month started out great but then I had to slow down because I wanted to draw my calendar and am absolutely unable to only spend half the day doing a thing I like. It's either all or nothing. So I purposefully chose books I expected to be "ok" instead of "omg I need to read more like right now and never stop". It worked. uAub

Aces Wild: A Heist (Amanda DeWitt): First book of the month and easily one of my favourites this year! It was so much fun. So much fun! The plot was good, Jack is a great narrator, the other characters are good as well. And the ace reprentation? Loved it. It’s there without taking over the story which is the way I like it best. There’s also a tiny bit of romance (again without taking over the story) and it’s the cutest. But to be honest, I was hooked from the author’s note in the beginning already: “This is not a love story” OK, sign me up!! 8D

A Taste of Gold and Iron (Alexandra Rowland): Decisions had to be made. I'm usually all in for illustrated covers, but ... not this time. 8D I chose the ornamented version and the first time I openend the book I broke out laughing. Is the illustrated cover version like this, too? Because the ornamented one has pink endpapers. It looks so serious on the outside and then inside is nothing but PINK. Blinding pink. It's glorious. It also inevitably reminded me of the last time I saw this much pink in one place: I work at a printhouse and we make a lot of wedding invitations. Some time ago I processed one that was all pink, inside and outside, everywhere and ... it was for a gay wedding. Inbetween its serious story the book was surprisingly funny, too. I'm so glad that a certain character did not die because in other books his type would be the one to. Even funnier the author herself wanted to end him in earlier drafts but her friends stopped her! Thank god they did! I had a great time reading this. It also made me want to reread Captive Prince because I crave this kind of fantasy.

The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers (Adam Sass): Right after I decided to reign in my reading in favor of drawing time this came in from the library. Perfect! It was pretty okay. Cute, easy, very predictable. Very. I told my friend pretty early on what I expected to happen with breakups and jealousy and drama and who's endgame etc. aaaand except that one character not turning out as evil as I thought I was spot-on. 8D It has some "rich (white) kids with nothing else to do but obsessing over love" vibes but it kinda knew and dealt with that. So all in all, I liked reading it but I had no problem putting it down to get to working.

Camp (L.C. Rosen): Chosen for the same reasons as Micah. I even read it in German for easy comfort (and because "support your local market"). I really liked the translation! Other contemporaries I read in German (like Loveless or Red, White & Royal Blue) often felt a bit awkward trying to emulate colloquial language (present tense is not a friend of German literature I think 8D), but the translator here did a really good job. I liked Camp a tad more than Micah, probably because the characters were more interesting. It also had more things to say.

City of Ghosts: Bridge of Souls (VE Schwab): The final volume of the series. It was alright. I'm glad it ended the way it did but I would have been ok with more drama. Are there still books out there who take the hard route? Remember the ending of His Dark Materials? (obviously spoilers) Lyra and Will? Separated forever? My heartbreak? I remember. I'll always remember! I like my happy endings and all but I'm pretty sure the reason why I'm so attached to Will and Lyra is because they never got one. 8D Anyway.

Empress of Salt and Fortune (Nghi Vo): I listened to the audiobook while drawing. The 2,5 hours seemed like something I can handle (I'm bad with long audiobooks) and I can't listen to creepypastas all day. It's not told in the usual story format which made it a bit harder for me to be invested but it was interesting enough. I'll probably listen to the sequel as well at some point.

That's it! All in all I'm satisfied with what I got. All the books were decent to topnotch, my calendar turned out well and November is going great at the moment. Look forward to next month, there will be foxes and tea. uAu

[rrazor]

hq boys post wisdom teeth extraction

tags: fluff, soft boyfies lol

kuroo tetsurou wakes up and immediately the first thing he tells the professionals around him is that he wants to see his girlfriend because he knows you’re waiting for him and “i love her so much 🥺🥰" he says it a few more times and everyone laughs at how doped up he is both from the drugs and you. when you walk in to take notes on how to take care of him afterwards, he just stares at you as he holds you hand with the SOFTEST LOOK on his face like 🥺😍☺️❤️💕💖💝🥺🥰💖💝☺️

tetsu cannot stop looking at you and u almost have to plead with him to watch where’s he walking like tetsu pls we don’t wanna have to come back to get your front teeth done sweetie 🅱️lease!!!!!! other than that he is pretty easy to reason with it as long as you promise to kiss every part of his face once in a particular order and if u mess up, unfortunately, you’ll just have to start over again sigh it makes his heart go 💥💥💥

bokuto kuroo offers to drive him back home and brings you along to support and comfort him. he helps kou get into the back with you but he refuses and goes “kuroooooo, she’s too pretty, I dun wanna sit next to her ☹️” LMFAO kuroo rolls his eyes and just sits him down and buckles him in despite his protests HA

kou is super nervous and keeps looking over you when he thinks you aren’t looking like 🥺😊 and you decide to play along and ask him how he’s feeling and if he’s in pain and he shakes his head and goes “‘m okay, you’re really pretty though 🥺😍” kuroo snorts in the front seat and you’re trying rlly hard to not laugh at how cute he is so you take his hand and kou lit rally thinks he’s gonna pass out when you call him handsome and ask him out before kissing his cheek. he starts crying as he says things like “kuroo!!!! the pretty girl is my girlfriend now!! 🥺❤️😭💖💕😭😭🥳”

akaashi you’re already by his side by the time he wakes up but he doesn’t remember jack so he goes “hello, have u seen my girlfriend? she looks just like you. can u tell me if u see her? I would like to see her—she’s my everything 😊🥰” UGGHH KISS HIIMMM

he doesn’t remember who you are until the medication wears off but you manage to convince him that you’re gonna take him to his girlfriend so you can take him home 💀 and he spends the whole car ride really pretty quiet until you ask him why he’s so fidgety and then he softly tells you “i… can’t wait to see my girlfriend 🥺🥰💕 she said we’d go on an ice-cream date after🍦i hope she’s not mad that it’s been so long 🥺❤️💗” AHDHJANAA like a little happy babyyyy 🥺😭

oikawa tooru’s procedure finishes earlier than expected and has a dental hygienist watching over him as they wait for you and for some reason he starts to sing, but it’s really out of tune because of all the cotton in his mouth and the dental hygienist is just standing there, taking it. you can hear him down the hall as you walk into his room and he’s so excited to see you!!! “did you hear me sing for you, babe? i didn’t want you to get lost in this maze 🥺🥰” “yes, i did, tooru, tysm you don’t have to sing anymore 😊😇💕”

tries to pull you into his lap as the dentist goes through the aftercare procedures and whines “pleasssseeeee, it huuurrrrrttttts i just want cuddddlllleesssss 😭☹️🥺💕” you opt to sit on the edge of the chair as he buries his head in your back 🥰

iwaizumi YOU try to flirt with hajime because he doesn’t remember that you’re his girlfriend and he’s all like stop!!! i have a girlfriend! 😡 AHAHA so you decide to ask him about his lovely girlfriend and he gets the softest smile on his face omggg and he starts going on about how hardworking you are ❤️, determined 💘, beautiful 💖, how nice you smell 😳

when you tell him its you he doesn’t believe you!!! like stop u r trying too hard, stranger!!! 😠 It’s not until you bring up a photo of yourselves and stick it next to your face does he go all soft again like babe i missed you 🥺 there was this weirdo trying to flirt with me, i’m so glad you’re here 🥰 and you tell him that the weirdo was you and he’s like “no, you’re better than that” LMFAAOO THANKS HAJIME 😭

matsukawa his mom is there to pick the two of you up and he’s holding your hand as he turns to you, super concerned and goes “babe, we forgot my teeth 😞” HWJJCKWJSJEF 💀 he’s all pouty and its sooooooo cute LMFAO WHAT DID HE THINK A REMOVAL WAS??? but you play it cool and squeeze his hand and say “i didnt forget you though 😊” he nods like a little kid and says “yeah” and tries to pull you into his lap so that you can cuddle but his mom is right there and you’re tryna be a good passenger and stop him from unbuckling your seatbelt: issei, we can cuddle when we get home!!!!

this giant dude just looks at you all 🥺 and BEGS like “babe please, just a little, i just want to hold you 🥺💕” he tries to guilt trip you like “c’mon, babe, you forgot my teeth” 😭😭😭 STFU u somehow make it back to his place and he tackles you into the couch and promptly falls asleep in 2 minutes flat 😴 his mom thinks its hilarious and thanks u for taking care of him ☺️❤️

hanamaki straight up asks you if you have a boyfriend. you say yes and he gets REALLY SAD OH MY GOD and is all “oh ☹️🥺” but then you cup his cheek and hold one of his hands and start telling him what your boyfriend looks like and how he has cute strawberry hair and pretty eyes and how handsome he is and talking about his cute little eyebrows and how good he is at volleyball and takahiro is like…. 🧐🤨 is that…… me??? but then he’s like wait it couldn’t be and gets all sad again 😭

you can’t take how sad he is and tell him it’s him!!!!! you give him some kisses as an apology 😭🥺💖❤️ and he’s all really?!!? 🥰💖💕💝🥳💕as he pulls you close to rest his head on your chest. he asks you to talk about how much you love him again 😭🥰🥺 refuses to remove himself from you

kyoutani he’s got this super angry expression on his face and everyone stays a good ways away from him 😬 when you come in, you get the same 😡 but then he chills because you’re wearing that one dress he went out of his way to buy for you when you were window shopping together that one time and he’s like …..suspicious why is she wearing her dress 😒 HAJFKAKSW KENTAROU

but THEN he sees the bracelet he got you for your one year anniversary and takes a whiff of you (um 😷) and NOW he’s all WAIT…… connections r being made—he gets super handsy 😳💕 really likes it when you kiss his forehead 🥺 and glares daggers at the dentist with his head on your chest, arms around your waist as you stand next to him and listen to what the aftercare instructions are because he’s all like grrr my girlfriend!! no touch!!! 😡🤬

daichi omg daichi is SO SHY and BASHFUL like he looks at you all 🥺🥰 and when you look towards him he immediately looks away but it’s so obvious because his ears are red and you can see his blush high on his cheekbones 😭🥺💕 you ask him what’s wrong and he’s stuttering trying to ask if you have a boyfriend and you’re like yes 💔

his face FALLS and it hurts but then you show him your matching engagement rings 💍 like “we’re fiancés, dai 🥰❤️” and he almost cries as hard as when he heard you say yes 😭💖💕 he’s so EMBARRASSED when you show the video back to him 😭 suga and asahi clown him 🤧

sugawara fella wakes up, looks you in the eye and is like “they’ve rebuilt me, babe✨” what? “the technology!!!” ??? “they made me better than i was before: better, stronger, faster 🤖💪🧠" LMFAO thinks he underwent some experiment like no we just fixed your teeth 😌

when you tell him so he gets a little dejected and asks you if you’d still love him without any upgrades with his lips pursed and his cheeks pink as he plays with your hands 🥺💗 like OFC KOUSHI!!! 🥰🥺❤️ really sweet and giggly on the bus ride home—holds you close and draws circles on your skin as he talks about the strangest things 🙈💖

kageyama no inhibitions so tobio is very attached to you!!! when he wakes up to see you next to him, he grabs you in his half-asleep state to leave slobbery kisses all over you like some dog before he falls back asleep again 💀 he wakes up twenty minutes later to see that you’re gone (had to wash off his spit 😬) and he panics when he doesn’t see you 😭🥺

he gets up to try to look for you and the second you come back, he hugs you and is all ☹️ telling you “don’t go too far, i wanna always be able to find you 😠🥺” you rub his back and pinky promise to stay close by and he’s so relieved he falls asleep standing 😴💕 like …..thanks 🤧 asks if he can play volleyball and pouts rlly hard when the dentist says no 😭💔

atsumu atsumu is loopy af and he wanted to go to the washroom so the poor staff had to hull around this 6’2”, 80kg man around but then you walk in just as they’re about to turn the corner and the moment he sees you, he’s goes “BABIEEEEE, I loOoove yoU! 😍” in this super adorable, high pitched sing-songy voice and makes OBNOXIOUS kissy faces at you but it looks so funny because his mouth is full of cotton 😭😭🤧🥴 the nurses tell you he’s a keeper but then he promptly slips and nearly falls on his face trying to walk over to you unassisted 🙄

the walk to the car is SO HARD because he clings to you like a baby koala and whines when you try to get him to loosen up so that you can get better leverage to support his weight like atsumu pls we’re almost there, just let go for a bit and he’s all puppy eyed like “don’t 🥺 ya 🥺 love 🥺 me 🥺 baby???????? i jus’ wanna be close to ya 💔💔💔” JAJCJJWNCMS he denies all of it when he sobers up

osamu all this fool remembers is that he has a girlfriend and that she looks EXACTLY like you but his brain synapses aren’t working like they used to 😔 so he doesn’t remember that YOU are literally his girlfriend so he just sits there and goes all “you look so much like her….. i miss her sm 😢🤕😞” with this faraway look in his eyes AS IF YOU WERE DEAD 💀 THE DISRESPECT

he rlly wants to hold your hand and touch you but like u aren’t his girlfriend right??? but you tell him u are after rolling ur eyes and show him some photos of the two of you as proof and he’s all “oh!” 😳 and he smiles so broad you can see his little dimple on his left cheek 😭💖 because he can FINALLY hold your hand 🥰 no filter so he whisper-begs for kisses throughout the entire time the dentist talks you through his surgery and how to care for him and you’re so embarrassed JAJCJKAKDSS “pls, pls can i have a kiss” you give him one “can i have one here now” “what about here” “pls another one pls” 🥺🥺🥺 at least he’s polite JAJCNKAFB

suna rin remembers you and right when he wakes up to see you next to him he says, “hello, wife 💖" and waits for your response but like wtf do u SAY like you’ve only ever heard him tell you he loves you that ONE time he thought u were ASLEEP!!! and you haven’t even talked about anything beyond dating yet!!! is it the anaesthetic that’s making him say this or is he just fooling you??? 💀😵 a few minutes later, he sighs and goes “you’re supposed to say ‘hello, husband ❤️’….” 🙄🥱

show him the video after the anaesthetic wears off and he’ll sit there looking at you like “….well? i’m still waiting? 😐” ugH modern romance am i right HAHDJKAKSKAA

ushijima wakatoshi thinks you’re another nurse even though you’re dressed nothing like them and he asks you when his girlfriend is coming and if she knows he’s done with the procedure and also “have you met my girlfriend? she is very beautiful and very kind. you must meet her ☺️” he asks the same questions to the dentist who comes in to talk to you afterwards and they’re looking at him like ?????? “isn’t this your girlfriend, ushijima-san?”

wakatoshi just goes 😯, looks at you and says your name so softly and in the sweetest way possible and tells you he missed you and he loves you and he wants to go get curry from that one restaurant later and the dentist tells you they’ll be back later as you sob 😭😭❤️💕❤️😭💖

semi eita thinks you’re one of the office receptionists when you walk in and asks you if you, his girlfriend 💕, had been notified that the procedure was done and you’re all uh yes she does, she’s coming soon!! he nods very cutely and thanks you, handsome smile on his face at the thought of seeing you 🥰 he turns around to look at the window and you just stand there all 😶 he HUMS softly as he waits and it’s that one song he played for you on his guitar HAJXNJSW 😭🥺💘❤️

he turns back around thirty seconds later like “babe?? is that you?? you got here so fast 😍🥺💖😚” as if it wasn’t you THE WHOLE TIME 💀 melts when you kiss his cheeks tenderly 🥰 plays with your fingers as he softly looks into your eyes!! 😍

tendou really wants to get his wisdom teeth back like just because you pulled them out doesn’t make them yours, sensei 🙄 LMFAO the dentist gives him his teeth afterwards and he holds them out for you and you’re like “tysm for your bloody, gross teeth, satori 🥰😬” “AWWW you’re welcome 😊 aren’t they cute? ya think our kids will be this cute? 💖”

many thoughts: 1) oh god oh GOD he wants to have KIDS WITH YOU!! MARRIAGE??!? 😵❤️ 2) y does he think his molars r cute and y does he hope your kids will look like nasty teeth 😭💀 he’s rlly adamant about you lazing around with him. keeps showing u his teeth for some reason but gives the cutest smiles and hums when you feed him his fav chocolate ice cream 💗💗💗

goshiki he tries to flirt with you but its so funny and endearingly awkward because he’s got all the gauze in his mouth and he isn’t that good at it and he’s on the verge of tears half the time and you dont know why??? you ask him and his brows are all furrowed, pout on his lips and says “just wanna be your boyfriend pls 🥺💕” “yeah?” “yeah,” he nods. “i promise to do my best 🥺”

when you tell him you’re already dating, he starts to cry and is all like i have to tell all my friends 😭 tsutomu cries to the dentist like “sensei, y’know, we’re boyfriend and girlfriend 😭❤️” he quiets down when you brush through his hair with your hands ☺️

terushima you walk into his room after he’s done and ask the dental hygienists how he’s doing and he looks at you all confused like 🤨 and asks the hygienists who you are. they think you’re married for some reason and say “that’s your wife!” and you’re so EMBARRASSED but also super happy on the inside HAHA he straight up goes “DAAAMMNNN, I did alright, huh?! when we bustin’ outta here?!” 🤪😜🥴😘 as if he could actually differentiate between left and right, up and down 😔

just in case, he asks you if you’re his wife at the same time the dentist asks if the two of you will be okay from here on out and you nod to the dentist’s question but yuuji thinks it’s for him so he lays back down with this satisfied look on his face like HELL YEAH alright, alright, alright 😌🥰🥴 and does those little nods SIDJAJJDJSJFJR HAHAHAHA

sakusa omi lets you play with his bangs and hands as you wait for the dentist and he LOVES IT softest smile on his face!! RIDICULOUSLY CLINGY!!!! he does NOT want you to leave him at all, will not let you go to the bathroom even though you’re like “omi, please, the dentist is busy with another patient right now, i’ll be back soon before we go through the aftercare stuff” “no” “omi, i have to pee” “do it here” and now it’s you who’s all 🤢

gets really defensive and protective when the dentist comes in and just shoves his head in your chest because he doesn’t want to look at them LMFAO death grip around your waist 🤧 when you show him what he said about you going to the bathroom he demands you delete it “omi, i didn’t know u loved me that much 🥰🥺💕” “…………..🤐”

hoshiumi kourai insisted he was fine on his own “nothing is impossible for hoshiumi kourai, national athlete 😤” when the dentist asked if he needed someone to watch over him and the dentist is 🤨 ok sir and leaves after he falls asleep. when he wakes up, no one’s in his room and he has to use the washroom and he’s like i’ll do just it myself 🙄 he tries to stand and promptly collapses to the floor. he CRAWLS around on his stomach and makes it out of his room just as you walk in and you’re like KOU whY are you on the FLOOR like a ROACH 😭😭😭

it’s like you’re reenacting some dramatic romance movie as kou groans around the gauze and makes poor attempts to stand up, holding onto you LAKDSHLASKAHD 💀💀💀 asks you to get on the floor with him because he honest to god can’t get UP so that he can cuddle with you as the dentist and his assistants stand two feet away 🥰💕 tries to fight the staff when they get too close to you trying to help him get back to his bed HAJJFKAKDMAD

extra: kita shinsuke (lol) when kita finishes his wisdom tooth extraction, he looks at you like this and doesnt remember who you are; he thinks you’re here for another patient and doesn’t say a word to you because his grandma taught him not to talk to strangers.

[wendibird]

SPN 15X19 Observations

So, here we are. Second-to-last episode of this show and what has been said will be the Season Finale. (While next week’s is the Series Finale.) 

Without further ado...

I don’t even know what to think going into this second-to-last episode. I don’t expect a “happy” ending to this show. But I can’t help hoping for a fitting one. One that makes some kind of sense. That does the characters justice. We’ll see how it goes. (Also, I want some GOOD content for Sam. *LOL*)

(Also, my notes might be sparse because I want to concentrate on the show.)

- Everyone’s gone.

- Except these three.

- Does Sam and Jack know about Cas?

- THEY DON’T KNOW YET!!! *crying* (To be clear, not upset that Dean didn’t tell them sooner. Since obviously there had to be a phone conversation at some point, or at least texting so they’d know where to meet up. THAT kind of news isn’t something to tell over the phone if you can help it.) 

- The music is really playing this up well.

- Oh Jack….. 

- And he’s still killing plants.

Commercial Thoughts:

I’ve said this again and again but I still don’t like how Chuck is being written. He might as well be rubbing his hands and cackling evilly. 

That being said, this really is sadistic. One of the few things that’s kept Sam and Dean going through all of this has been the people they’ve been able to save. (Crowely caught on to that in S8 and used it to good effect. But he was like a sniper, precise with it. Chuck is like a fricking nuke.) 

And Sam losing hope always makes me sad. (Have noticed the looks Dean keeps giving him. Still checking on him and how he’s doing and worrying about him.)

- This camera work is weird. Dream-like?

- DOGGY!!!!!

- omg Dean’s happy about a dog!

- WOW. That’s a new low.

- So, no animals? (Guess they’re gonna have to go vegetarian eventually if this doesn’t get fixed.)

- Michadam!!! 

- WHAT?! (No Adam?! HOW DARE CHUCK!!!)

Commercial Thoughts:

Okay, Chuck taking Adam is a really REALLY low-blow! (But then, that might be what pushed Michael to decide to help them after all.) 

Not surprised that Michael can’t open the book. Wondering if Jack can? Or they could call some reapers and see who wants the job of the next Death. *LOL* Hold interviews. “What will you do for us if we give you this promotion?” (crack thoughts, don’t mind me.)

I’m not sure if Chuck has realized that they have nothing left to lose. And that’s generally when people are at their most dangerous. (I mean yes, they have each other, but in the wake of what’s been lost? Literally the whole world? They can’t let that go. They can’t just sit back and treat it as a vacation. It’s not how they are.)

- CAS?! 

- WTF?!?!?!?! (Did NOT want to see Lucifer again tbh. And apparently neither did Dean. *LOL*)

- Okay, so Lucifer promoted the next Death.

- Is he actually dead this time?

- One can only hope.

- YEY! LUCIFER IS DEAD AGAIN!!!

Commercial thoughts:

So…. what was the point of all that again? 

Okay, I get that in the end, the book is open and now they can hopefully read it. Seems kind of convoluted. (Also, do NOT get me started on the whole “God and the Darkness have no pull in the Empty”. Unless God just replicated Lucifer, like I theorize he did with Lilith.) 

Wondering if they just did all that to have Luci and Mark P. back one more time.

- Sam being his super-smart self! <3

- What is Sam not saying?

- Hey! Isn’t that the lake where Jack was born?

- FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!! Fricking Michael.

- Bloody winchesters

- That’s what Sam wasn’t saying. I don’t think they trusted Michael.

- Sam figured something out.

- Wow. That is some poetic justice!

- I’m actually impressed with that.

- So now what?

Commercial Thoughts:

Wow. Okay, that was a weird twist of a way to get there. But I’ve honestly got to say that I like it. It works. (I’d always hoped Jack would still be the key to Chuck’s downfall.)

I still feel sorry for Amara though. Like, is she just nothingness? Is she an alternate personality deep inside Chuck now? 

And what about Jack? Can he put things back to how they’re supposed to be? Bring everyone back? Did he get Chuck’s knowledge as well as his power? At least of who all he took away? 

Guess we’ll have to see.

Also, usually I’m not a fan of the trope of the “Good guys” sparing the villain who’s killed tons of people because “they’re above killing”. But in this case? It really was fitting. And a worse punishment than killing Chuck would have been.

- OH GOD I LOVE THIS SONG!!!!

- Sammy’s cafe!

- (Okay I’m getting a little misty)

- His smile!!! 

- OKay, I might cry now.

- They raised God.

- Awwww….. (The names)

- Okay, so, I’m not okay! (But I’m okay with it, so… good thing?)

- So it ends with them doing whatever it is they want? 

- I wonder if the Apocalypse World people were brought back? And their other friends. (And Eileen? I’m sorry, I know not everyone ships it, but I do, and now Sam doesn’t have the great Plot of the Universe conspiring against him.)

After-Show Thoughts: (After I’ve had a few hours to ponder things)

Let me just say, the music in this episode? Like, just even the background music? It was amazing! It did such a good job of invoking the emotions that were being felt by the guys. And their choices of songs used were also good. :) 

Michael: So, in some ways his character shift in this episode seems odd after the last time we saw him. But then I thought more about it, and I think Adam’s death had a lot to do with it. In the previous episode in which we saw them, of the two of them Adam actually seemed to be more stable, and often had good, grounding advice for Michael. Now with him gone, all Michael had was himself. And at heart, he still wanted his father’s love, despite everything that had happened. And I still think he’s an interesting Parallel/Contrast to Dean, who also had the same father-worship for a long time, but over time he’s come to understand that John was wrong about a lot of things, and he needs to make his own way. I don’t think that’s something that Michael ever REALLY learned. Not deep down. 

Lucifer: I found his presence here to be annoying. I get that he moved the plot along. And I get how much at least half of Buckleming love him. I am glad that his part was brief and that he didn’t get a redemption arc. I do wish Sam had been able to kill him. (I know, he couldn’t have because only another archangel with an archangel blade yadda-yadda. STILL though…) Or that there had maybe been SOME meaningful interaction between him and Sam for old time’s sake, since that always gets nice and spicy. (Because Jared and Mark P. always keep in mind everything that’s happened between them and put that into their performances.) But time limits and all that. Also, why were there no wing-shadows on the floor when Lucifer died? There were wing shadows on the floor of the friggen church at the end of S13 and he died like 15 feet up in the air. *LOL* I mean, then whenever Sam looked at the floor in the Library he could remember that Lucifer is Dead for Good. 

And I just rewatched the scene again and when he died, he just went poof. Like, in the past, unless a finger-snap thing is involved that’s not what happens when angels die. If they get stabbed, there’s usually been a body left behind. Heck, at the end of S13 there was a full-on light-show. Now it almost looked like a regular angel death just with redder light instead of silvery-blue. Was that because it was just a thrown-together mock-up of Lucifer that Chuck made? (Like with Lilith? Because he’s NOT supposed to have any sway in the Empty! Dammit, how hard is it for the writers to remember the stuff that was already established?!)  

(Sorry. Continuity issues bug me. And they’ve bugged me from Season 1 on, so I know that’s not a new thing. But it does feel like they’ve gotten especially worse this season.) 

(Also, I’m starting to get tired so I’m going to try to wrap this up here. *LOL*)

I did like how they brought Chuck down. When it comes down to it, they weren’t following a pre-set plan. (Well, what happened probably WAS written in that book, but they didn’t know what it was.) Instead they found their own way with what they had. They figured out what was going on with Jack, and Sam figured out some bullshit spell to make some cool light-effects in order to fool Michael and Chuck into thinking they were setting it up for him. The only aspect of it that fell a little flat for me was the extended exposition on how they’d done it. It’s a trope that crops up a lot. The whole “Haha see what I did there!” But, on the other hand, I also realize that unless they’d shown us each step of the process as it was happening, there was no real way around presenting it that way. And it WAS more dramatic to have the audience in the dark until that moment. Also, I can’t deny the effectiveness of the scene where Chuck keeps beating them down but they keep standing up again. I mean, isn’t that an allegory for their whole lives? And at the end he’s incredulous as to why or even HOW they can still stand. What makes them keep going? True, part of it was that they knew the plan, and they knew this was part of it. (Which I think is why Sam opened it up with punching Chuck. To turn the confrontation more physical and draw it out, or he might have decided after all to just finger-snap them.) But part if it is also them just being them. They’ve both been down this road before. Like their whole lives have been this road. And they’ve both been to hell. Both suffered unimaginable tortures. And they just keep going. When one stumbles the other gets up. Or they get each other up. And they laugh in God’s face. Just… THAT was well-done. And Chuck's ending with them NOT killing him? That was absolutely poetic. Because now he's busted down to "normal" and has to figure out actual life (or just end his, but he'd have to do it himself) and he didn't even get an "ending" of his creations killing him. Because even if he did make them, he clearly still doesn't understand them. And I liked them saying "no" to the revenge game. (After making sure that he couldn't come back again as a problem. Cause they ain't dumb either. Despite what everyone keeps saying about them.) 

I also loved the scene where Jack brings everyone back. I would have liked to have seen some shots of some of the individual ones that we’d come to know being back, like Donna, some of those AU people (Eileen!) but I also get this ep was shot during Covid so they probably couldn’t get as many people back. (I hope some of them at least get name-dropped in the next episode so we know for sure that they’re back and alive.) But anyway, I thought the scene was well done, that song was a GOOD choice for it! (But then, I am a bit biased. It’s among some of the music I grew up listening to because my parents had it.) It may not be classic rock, but classic folk is fitting for the new God. :) 

Overall, I thought there were some pacing issues with this episode, but in general I was happier with it than the previous one. I’ve just been re-watching it (because I never catch everything the first time through, especially when I’m trying to take notes) and I just noticed something. Near the end when Sam and Dean are in the Library and Dean says “To everyone that we lost along the way.” I first was a bit puzzled about that, because my mind went to the more immediate people that they’d lost recently, and whom I’m assuming Jack brought back too. But on re-watching I thought about it in a grander scale. How many people have they lost in their lives due to Chuck’s story? Because Chuck thought it would make things more dramatic? I think he was reflecting on their whole lives, not just the last 48 or so hours. And that makes sense too with what Sam said following, about them finally being able to write their own story. (And yes, I know that Cas was not one of those brought back. At least, he doesn’t seem to have been. And though I don’t ship him and Dean, I don’t doubt for a minute that Dean cares/cared about him very much. It’s okay to love your friends. But I didn’t get the feeling that he was JUST talking about one person. That held the weight of years of losses.) 

I thought the ending montage was brilliant! Honestly, if the show ended here, I would have been okay. Not saying I DON’T want another episode! I’ll take whatever I can get. And I definitely wouldn’t mind seeing where they take their story. So yeah, looking forward to the next (and final *cries*) episode.

Anyway, that’s about all I can really dredge up this late at night. *LOL* This will be the LAST time I do one of these knowing there’s more to come. It’s the last week we’ll all wait in suspense for what’s going to happen next. After next week's episode we'll be into new territory of "That's all there is and ever will be." This has been quite a journey, and I haven’t liked all of it, but overall I still love this weird little show, and even more so the characters that we've met through it. So, to quote Bobby, “Here’s to runnin’ into you guys on the other side.”

[jidai]

jidai’s budget mutuals/friends appreciation

Hi, all! I’m quite late with this but I decided to put a small friends and mutual appreciations post in hopes of brightening up the end of this year a little bit. ❤️ If you were tagged, please make sure to check below for a small little message from me. However, I want to make it very clear that I truly appreciate all of my mutuals. You guys brighten up my dash and always reblog or create so many funny and creative posts. I just wanted to give a few special shout outs to those that have taken out the time to reach out and interacted with me past my ask box or we just see each other often.

The messages are ordered by your URL, so you might have to scroll for awhile before you see your messages. I’m so sorry lmao. 

Happy New Years, everyone!

@25th​​, Nonnie, the Young Genius. bro, remind me how old you are 🧍‍♀️ Like my brain CANNOT fathom the thought that you’re so skilled at SO many things and you’re not even in your twenties??? PLEASE SPARE THE TALENT. i will even accept crumbs. But I’m writing to tell you that you are such a wonderful presence on my dash. I always look forward to your gfx. They’re so SO good and you’re improving from one post to another. Like WOW. Now, you’re even starting an art blog, too? You’re so dedicated to the arts. I respect that a lot. Your hard work and commitment will bring you very far in life, whatever you decide to do. 

I love interacting with you. You’re such a big sweetheart and full of positivity and energy. I look forward to seeing more of your art and gfx ❤️

@biscuitwalk​, Dann, the AK Wiz. Dann, I know you’re not as active on here so idk when or if you will ever read this but I want to say that I miss you and your creations so, so much. I will say it a hundred times over and OVER but you inspire me so goddamn much. You have no fucking idea. Your works are absolutely gorgeous and unique. I can look at it once and I can instantly recognize your style (and your cute lil’ pufferfish <3). The way you utilize colors and implement various techniques, shapes, textures into your work. Goddamn, you’re so good. I always look to your work if I ever need inspiration and they help me brainstorm. God, I wish I could put it into words how much I adore your works.

We didn’t really talk for long but you seemed like such a kind and fun person to be around. I wish you the best in your future endeavors, wherever you are. Stay safe <3

@elriccs, Mirai, the Short King. 🧍‍♀️ ok look I know, I know I’m TERRIBLE at replying to you and I’m so fucking sorry. I absolutely love to talk to you but my dumbass cannot seem to reply in a timely manner LASELKSAL. That’s on me and I gotta do better. Anyways!!! Thank you SO fucking much for always leaving such kind messages on my work. I swear to god you’re one of my biggest hype man and I ALWAYS look forward to reading your tags. They’re so funny and it makes me all tingly and happy inside. Bro, like, you just radiate big fun vibes, bro. I really hope that I can get to know you better so I can just insult you until it’s too late to walk away </3

And of course, let me also remind you that I love your works so much. They way that you utilize your textures and those muted colors... OOMPH *chefs kiss* I will always love--

@lockhvrts​​, Em the Soulsborne GOD. hi em 🥺 it’s been awhile since I’ve had a proper conversation with you and I hope you’re doing okay! I miss you and our conversations where we do nothing but geek out and complain about the game industry lmao. if you manage to read this, I just wanted to let you know I miss your presence here. It’s been kinda dull not seeing your beautiful soulsborne gifs and your game rants. Let’s catch up soon. <3 stay safe and well!

@nathanprescutt, Benn, the Man. BENNNNNNNN.  I love you a lot bro. I know we haven’t had long conversations for some time and I hope I can change that! You were my first friend on this blog and I will always appreciate it. I remember us just geeking out over your works and how I would always send you a gfx request like once a week LMAO. The one thing that I have always appreciated about you was the fact that you’re very opinionated (if not, very vocal on your stance on things) and you hold your ground. There were a few time where you encouraged me to speak on topics that I think I shouldn’t and that stuck with me for quite awhile. I’m still a nervous rambling mess when it comes to debates but just know that the one time you supported me to voice my opinion--I hold it very dear to my heart. 

While I don’t spend much time together, I will always remember our animal crossing session. It was  so much fun just trashing and chilling on your island. Especially the bar :( that bar was fucking AMAZING. Maybe once FFXVI comes out, we can geek out hehe

Also, thank you so much for sending in photos of all your doggos, omg. I miss seeing them so much I hope they’re doing well. Stay hot, my German bro lol. Ich bin sehr dankbar, so eine tolle Freundin zu haben. ❤️❤️❤️

@noxdivina​, Lin the Big Dick Daddy Kind. The church is open for business bitch and I’m here to preach the GOSPEL.

Okay, jokes aside, I’m really happy that we became mutuals. You’ve always give off this like, mysterious cosmic vibe (????? huh). And your selfies just further proves that you are wtf. But you’re always so kind to those that you interact with. You’re an absolutely sweetheart and like I just want to give you a giant hug every time we interact. You’re such a soft human being. It’s so nice being around you. It’s like being tossed in the oven and baked at 250 degrees F for 25 minutes. And to boot you’re really talented, hello? God really said let there be a perfect human being and yeeted you into the universe. Thank you for always leaving such kind messages and words in my DM/askbox/works. I cherish them so much. I hope I can get to know you better in the future bc you’re rad, bro <3

anyways, updated drawing of u and maya:

i always assume you’re in a black fur parka 24/7 and maya is coatless neck down. also deck me with those jacked arms of yours thanks  🧍‍♀️

(edit: fuck i forgot to draw a PARTY HAT ON MAYA IM SORRY)

@rokuseis​, Sei, the Dumber.

i have nothing to say to you go away you banana hater ASELKSAEKL

BITCH, you doo bee getting on my nerve 24/7/365 🧍‍♀️ you were an unexpected but a very welcomed addition to my life. I can’t believe we really went 1 fuckin’ year without speaking to each other and then suddenly our friendship blew up because over a stupid BANANA. Now you gotta deal with me and my stupid, random, crude ass messages daily. I cannot. Clown to clown communication. But thank you so much bitch for being there for me and telling all of these funny ass stories and life experiences.

I know I don’t say it a lot because when we talk it’s literally just dogs barking at each other but I want to make it clear now: I love your humor and vibe so much. You never fail to make me laugh anytime I talk to you and I appreciate it so much. I can’t tell you how many times I felt better after talking to you. Even though sometimes your fucking jab hits hard and I end up actually inSULTED BY IT. But thank you for becoming my friend and I look forward to all of our stupid moments together. Looking forward to shitting in your sink when I finally fly to your home <3

@wolfamongthem, Anna, the Grinch. Please don’t hurt me for that title. I'm just saying if someone needs a live casting, it’ll be u. Anyways, did you know that I was so fucking intimidated by you for a long ass time, even before we became mutuals aseljas LMAO. I always see your gifs around on explore and they’re so gorgeous and then I look at your text posts and it’s u roasting people like there’s no tomorrow- 🧍‍♀️ bitch I was SCARED OF U KSKS. Now that I’ve talked to you a few times, you’re really funny like where do you find those reaction memes????? Like bro you and your shitposts is my morning cup of coffee. 

Anyways, in 2021 I expect a full-fledge review of all AAA games from you-- no more shit talking in the tags let it all out BITCH. Thank you for being such a great mutual! I look forward to see what weird shit you will send me the next time we talk lmao

@zenien​​, Selm, the I’m-gay-for-Lady-Maria-or-anything-that-moves-in-BB-Bitch™. ok bitch if I’m being honest I wrote yours last so my brain is FRIED. so everything i say from here is raw from the HEARt cause that’s all I got left. But anyhow, we savin’ the best for last! honestly, i didn’t expect you to barge into my life like that. i really didn’t. i was just gonna keep admiring with my 7 feet (2.1336 meters) pole. I’m glad you made the first move because look where we are wtf 🧍‍♀️ friends??? I wouldn’t believe you if you told me that in 2014 when I first followed you lmao. 

You’re such a kind soul. I know you may disagree but I’m determined to convince you. I can’t tell you how much I want to thank you for taking the time to talk to me during my rough bits. It’s like sitting on a wooden bench in a park during sunset and you sit next to me, just enjoying the vast sky. You radiate such peaceful energy. It’s very calming. Or you know, 2 seconds later i’m suddenly suplexed by your 40 tons of insults like what-- 

Thank you for everything, so far. Truly. It’s been so fun listening to you talk about your Bloodborne journey and see your reactions live. It’s been so fun to see you post your graphics and it continues to blow me away. It’s been so fun hearing about your life and the stories of your adulthood. Every words that we have exchanged, I hold dearly to my heart--more than you ever know. Love u bitch.

[everyone-has-their-story]

Season 3 episode 10 commentary with my sister:

Okay NOW can I stalk their instagrams???

Let’s have a moment of silence to mourn that this is the last episode

This recap is depressing the shit out of me, like thanks for the reminder but no thanks

Please tell me he is not playing video games

SENNE!

Wait, go back for a second!....the poster above the tv says “worry less, laugh more” and if that isn’t a fucking tagline for Robbe then idk what is

Exams? No, Senne, not exams

Senne just munching on some snacks while Robbe is having a crisis

It’s not your fault Robbe!

Senne give him some brotherly advice

Stop mentioning her name!

LOLLL Senne you fool

Listen to the man!

Senne dropping the knowledge on Robbe..i love it

Oh shit it’s Christmas! Definitely forgot about that

Stop fighting!!

Zoe wtf you doing?

That fucking ringtone again..

His phone is bigger than his head

YAY!! **raises arms to the sky to celebrate** (news about his mom)

Him smiling means I’m smiling

Wow way to be a Debby Downer Milan…

Okay, but Robbe...where is your man?

Oh the hospital! Is he visiting his mom or Sander??

FUCK. MY. LIFE! Not her

GONE? Gone where??

Idc if I’m a bitch, but I still don’t like her

Explain yourself to him! What did you mean??

Was that a drawing of Robbe???

LOL to Britt if that was Robbe

I mean I guess we can let you know..

It was him!! Damn he is good

Fucking hell the shaky breaths are back

So did Sander just like leave all his shit there?

Yes call him

Damn right there is! (”there is an us”)

Damn right you do! (”i love you”)

I want him to call ALL of us immediately...except Britt

Cool so still no Sander?

Waddup Jens!

Listen to Jens, don’t go down that road

Sander!

There is that chernobyl again

Good to know you’re safe, but he just wants to be with you

Yes, Robbe..Chernobyl- Wait, the school!!!!!

RUNNNNNNN!!

Why do I know this song?

Oh god there are flashbacks

Why do I recognize this song?

I knew it was the school

More flashbacks?? Lord help me

Sanderrrr where are you

Oh shit, go back that was so cool (the drawings turning into flashbacks)

So many memories!!!!

This is so cool

Where is-- FOUND HIM

**presses pause** I feel the need to take a moment because this is going to be an emotional scene…. **presse play**

He look so lost

No, don't go away!

Oh god he’s crying..help

PAUSE! ..are those drawings of Robbe above his desk?? **peers closely at the tv** oh god they are **presses play**

Shit! They are all over the room!!

Yes, stay!

Nope he will always be there

Ahhh no he will!

We were all worried

Oh god he is holding his--nope he is kissing his hand

Nooo you’re not toxic

Holy shit this is so good

We BOTH have never felt something like that (RIP to her bf again)

Oh boy he said I love you..i’m a mess

He will always say it!

Not in any universe

Oh shit the song is back...where is that from??  **informs her it is from the first kiss** Oh well way to fuck me up with the soundtrack

Oh a game!

Omg the minute by minute already?

Yes, let’s play that

Yes, very chill

His little smile 

This is so sweet

The song is back!

Oh nooooo! Oh god

I’m not okay...not at all

Omg I wasn’t ready for a break down...

I don’t even know where to begin...Sanderrrr

Honestly their acting in this is fucking amazing

OMG! Call back to their almost first kiss!!

Pause! I’m sorry but play that scene again…

**physically covers her mouth for the entire 2nd time watching it**

One more time and then I swear we can move on, I just feel like I missed things…

**third time through** all the pictures!!! This is so painful to watch, but also makes me so happy. I’m so torn...I’m happy Sander has Robbe because Robbe is so sweet...this is hard to watch...I’m emotional on so many levels please don’t judge me...this is so much harder to watch than Skam...I hate how sentimental I am being because it just reminds me of you and I hate it...don’t judge me….also these actors are so fucking good, and I know I’ve said that but it’s true

Before we move on and I don’t care that I’ve paused it and rewound it like a thousands times, you’re gonna listen to another rant. There is so much to say about that scene and I don’t know if i will ever be able to say it all or put it into words and like I said before I’m being overly emotionally about this so please don’t judge me. I know that this is so different form Skam because they combined two scenes and there was a lot more discussion, but I liked the changes because I felt like it fit these characters more. And I love that Robbe never tried to be like oh that’s silly don’t think that, he was just like yeah that shit might happen but I’m still gonna be here. And the call back to the almost kiss was perfect. The whole scene was amazing and well done. Idk, there is so much more to say but I’m just gonna shut up for now

Okay...we can move on now

Oh sweet lord I wasn’t ready...that is fucking adorable

Little spoon Robbe!

Is this a Grease song??

That is the most annoying alarm

Don’t worry Britt, he already has

This is sweetest scene and no one has talked

No! He would never leave you!

Lol to the universe again

Oh yeah...school..that’s a thing

Ofc he is coming back, you silly billy

Still weirded out by the fact that they have little windows on their doors

Does Robbe know what pants are? Like feel free to wear them

Oh mother fucker…

Please tell this isn’t happening

I didn’t go through an entire season of hell with you two to have it end like this

Oh sweet fucking lord..I hate it

CUT! Scene over! 

Noo!

Fuck my life…

Brother and sister right here..love it

Oh hey Moyo

I mean he’s had better days but thanks for asking

Only good advice you’ve ever given dude

You better be okay with it, but thanks for saying it

MAYBE? Maybe it seemed that way? Boy..

I mean I guess you can be broerrs, but you’ve got a lot of work to do my friend

Jens...what?? Check your eyesight

No he would NOT do you

Hahahhaha Jens is butthurt again

He’d choose dying

LOL at you Aaron

I mean, never say never Aaron

Robbe laughing? A rare sight and I love it

Are they out shopping together??

Oh right..it’s christmas time..

NO, let’s stay on topic Zoe

Robbe out here being the relationship expert now

Agree to disagree Zoe

Okay cool let’s not focus on his good traits…

Dude same (Zoe says she feels like shit)

Hahahahaha disaster gay again

Oh Robbe, thank god you brought Zoe

I love this friendship

Damnit right it didn’t feel right

It does indeed (robbe says shit with Sander sucks)

Hell yes it feels right between you two

Oh hey Noor! Legit forgot about you for awhile

Awkward..

I mean yeah..but who wouldn’t want you (robbe) around? Fools, that’s who

She’s pretty cool, I’ll give you that

He’s better than alright...he’s phenomenal

Oooh a party! Hope I’m invited 

Aww Milan and Sander bonding! Love that

Cozy indeed

Milan as a babysitter sounds like a terrible idea

Did he just call him an angel???

Once again Milan is me, I am Milan

They are so fucking cute...they deserve it

The virus??? Holy shit. They started the coronavirus! You bastards

**dances** party time!!

Interior designers over here

Milan you sneaky man you...NO PEEKING!

Jack Frost?!?! Hahahhahahaha OMG hahahaha

Aaron you weirdo wtf???

LOL at Sanders face!! Same, dude same

Also sidenote: him saying he is Robbe’s bf...makes me so fucking happy

Those smiles at each other..fucking adorable

Noor! You made it!

Presents for everyone!

Who is giving alcohol to the Hot Mess Express??

No idea what just happened but ROBBE IS SMILING

Back that shit up! **rewinds** They really looked at each other after Milan said that! (about a cute boy for a present)

Milan disappoint level 100

OMG Noor got Sander?? And a Bowie shirt? Fucking legend

LOL at the fact that Noor is in between Robbe and Sander

Cuddles! (robbe and Sander on the couch)

Luca she is never going to understand anything sex related..poor girl

Back up! **rewinds** Robbe out here spinning his man on the dance floor, so cute

Oh good Lord Aaron is going for it?

Aaron man, don’t fuck it up

I know I should focus on Aaron, but Sander in the background smiling has my attention and I don’t feel bad about that at all

Aaron, man the fuck up! 

There ya go buddy

She is one of kind that’s for sure…

I know I give Amber a lot of shit but you go girl!!

AHHHHH!!!

Shock level 1,000

LOL at everyone’s reaction

**dances** this is my jam!!

DANCE FOR ME, DANCE FOR ME!!

Robbe go and dance my dude

Wait I remember the vlogs..nvm don’t dance

Sander and laughing is a beautiful combo

Oooo I see you Noor and Moyo

He told his mom!

Oh shit Sander looks good in this scene

Oh you got jokes again Sander? 

Yes meet the parents!!

I hope we get to see it (LOL at Kennedy)

Yeah but you’re bringing the BEST boy home

Robbe’s got jokes now too

Sander’s philosophy around Robbe now: clothing optional

Aww they’re so happy and cute! 

That is very true Robbe

The looks between--- oh shit hey Hot Mess Express!

OMG! Robbe said fuck all y’all I’m gonna make out with my bf in front of you

The fact that everyone is cheering them on and Robbe is comfortable with doing that...I’m overwhelmed

WAIT! It’s over?!?!

Holy shit I wasn’t ready…

I have so many thoughts on this season...it was so fucking good. Willem fucking killed it and whoever played Sander (informs her of his name) they are both Willem?! Wtf that’s confusing...anyways they both fucking killed it!! Robbe from episode 1 to now...I’m so proud...I have more thoughts so listen up

**goes on a rant for 10+ more minutes** I am definitely rewatching this season next week because I felt like i missed a lot and I want to focus on the small things

[otonymous]

The ABCs of Gavin (NSFW)

In honour of the Aerial Sweetheart™’s birthday on July 29th, please enjoy Gavin’s NSFW ABCs! 🥳

Warning: NSFW/18+: Explicit/graphic language - reader discretion is advised.

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

Gavin will pull you against his chest to hold you close, pressing his forehead against yours and planting soft kisses on your face, your sweat merging together as your heart rates slow as one

While you’re washing up, Gavin will quickly fly to get your favourite eats and be back even before you’ve stepped out of the shower

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Gavin is particularly proud of his abs.  Have you seen them?  They’re absolutely delicious.  Go ahead and trace the muscles with your tongue.  He’s more than happy to let you.

The real reason he likes them is that he loves the look of utter desire that comes over your face whenever he takes off his shirt.  He loves the way you see him.

Gavin finds the nape of your neck absolutely irresistible

Every time you sweep your hair to one side or gather it into a ponytail, his gaze is instantly drawn to that delicate area, his eyes following the lines of your body as they curve out gracefully into the slope of your shoulders

He loves to press soft kisses to the nape of your neck, hold you close from behind to nuzzle his face into the area and inhale deeply, relishing the tickle of your soft strands against his cheeks

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum)

Nothing makes Gavin happier than the thought of you one day carrying his child, so he loves to give you that creampie (don’t worry, he would totally ask for your consent first!)

Outside of cumming in you, Gavin also enjoys ejaculating on your stomach while imagining it swollen with his seed

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Gavin has curated quite the collection of porn (and the protagonist always bears some physical similarity to you)

The Aerial Sweetheart™ has had to amass material to help maintain his sanity during extremely long dry spells while he was patiently waiting to reconnect with you

He was extremely embarrassed when you first found out (you’ve never seen anyone turn that red), but now the two of you love tuning in together, sometimes laughing while critiquing the storylines, which typically involve a delivery girl delivering an empty pizza box (oops! 😉) 

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

Gavin isn’t particularly experienced, seeing as he’s been waiting for you ever since he first laid eyes on you in that downpour as a high schooler

The officer has had a couple of relationships in the past (it was bound to happen, with all the women throwing themselves at him and his super hot body), but they never lasted long because you were always in the back of his mind

BUT that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know what he’s doing — Gavin is driven to pleasure you and keep you more than satisfied in the bedroom/on the rooftop/on his motorcycle

You may be surprised, given that Gavin doesn’t strike you as being particularly talkative, but he is quite communicative during sex (e.g. “Does this feel good?  Do you like it when I touch you here?”) - especially when he’s first getting to know your body and preferences well

This sweetheart just really wants to pleasure you and treat you like the queen that you are

F = Favourite Position

Your man is a big fan of the Missionary position, because it gives him the freedom to control the speed and depth of his thrusts (by shifting the position of your legs), but also enables him to see each and every beautiful expression of ecstasy that flits across your face in response to the way he moves within you

This position also allows him to embrace and kiss you just as deeply as he’s fucking you

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc.)

Gavin tends to be more serious in the moment.  He can’t help it: he has wanted you for much of his life and still needs to pinch himself every now and then to make sure he’s not dreaming when you’re lying in his arms

When your feelings run that deep, you’re typically not in the mood to laugh

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

The officer is well-groomed and scrumptiously clean

The colours match

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

Sex with Gavin can be so sweet that the man literally has you crying from the sheer force of his passion for you

This officer is a man of action: he communicates with every kiss, every touch, every thrust — his body is telling yours the extent of his love and affection in ways that words never could

Gavin cannot stop kissing you, even when you’re both moaning with ecstasy into each other’s mouths.  Expect him to lay soft kisses on your eyelids, trace the angles of your jaw with his lips until they lead them back to yours, already open and waiting for his tongue to slip back in

He loves to gather your hair into his palm and press his lips reverently to the silky strands before deeply breathing in its scent

Gavin finds it incredibly hard to hold back when he sees your tears; hang on tight, because you’ll be in for a rough (and sexy) ride

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

On average, the officer will masturbate 2-3 times/week, sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on whether or not he’s had the chance to engage in some sexy times with you and how busy he is with his top-secret duties

Gavin would die if you ever found out but…he enjoys setting up a comfortable atmosphere by lighting some scented candles before he touches himself

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Gavin loves to fuck you on the rooftops of buildings

He enjoys the way you cling to him for dear life as he’s propelling you through mid-air

He’s also found that you get incredibly wet when he’s got your skirt hiked up around your waist and your panties in his back pocket, thrusting hard and fast into you from behind as you grip the railing at the ledge, eyes focused on the lights of the city below without actually seeing anything through your haze of ecstasy

Feel free to give voice to your pleasure as loudly as you want — with the wind whipping, no one will hear you, and that’s another reason why Gavin takes you up so high in more ways than one

Also, although it’s a bit small on him now, Gavin has saved his high school uniform and was hoping you did too.  Perhaps you could reenact the moment of your first meeting? 😉

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

Gavin enjoys his sexual exploits in high places (see Kink above)

Has also been known to lay you out on his motorcycle

To be honest, your apartment is still his favourite place: it’s private, he doesn’t have to feel rushed while making love, but he also loves to learn about you by looking at what you keep close: the dog-eared copy of The Little Prince on your shelf, the bite marks on the caps of your pens, the faded teddy bear from your father that you would never throw out no matter how tattered or torn, the snacks you keep on the tallest shelf in the pantry (and the step stool conveniently located nearby)

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

Officer Gavin’s greatest motivation and biggest turn on is your love for him

Nothing gets him harder faster than knowing you desire him like he desires you

Want to really unleash the beast in the bedroom?  Tell him he’s the love of your life, your soulmate, that he’s the first thought in your mind when you wake and the one you see in your dreams, because then, Gavin will know he’s not the only one who feels that way

Gavin also loves to see you in his clothes: that loose white tee, his unbuttoned uniform — preferably with nothing on underneath

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn-offs)

Like the other boys, Gavin refuses to share you with another person (please don’t ask him to, he will die on the inside)

Gavin also shies away from more extreme kinks that may result in bodily injury to you (he can barely bring himself to spank you, and once he does, he’s immediately rubbing the reddened area and soothing it with kisses)

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Officer Gavin likes to give as good as he gets

His oral game is strong, but fingering is his specialty 

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

Gavin can do both

He tends to get fast and rough when you whisper words of love in his ear — it’s like a dam on his emotions breaks and he’s unable to hold back

Note that Gavin will never, ever, be needlessly rough.  Never.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

Gavin prefers extended lovemaking sessions, but is also down with quickies (see Kink, above)

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

The man is down with experimenting up to a certain extent.  As mentioned in “No” above, he draws the line at anything that could cause you bodily harm

Other than that, he’s willing to try new experiences (he’s pretty much willing to do anything for you)

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

Gavin.  Is.  A.  Machine.

He’s ready and willing to go for as many rounds and as long as your body can stand, if you’re up for it

Not gonna lie, he came pretty quickly the first time you had sex, out of sheer excitement (Gavin’s internal monologue: “Oh my god I can’t believe this is actually happening am I really making love to my dream girl omg omg omg…”)

BUT you best believe he ain’t no One-Minute Man (don’t worry, in addition to magic fingers, Gavin also has a habit of going south when transitioning to different positions so things stay nice and wet and comfortable)

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

Gavin does not have toys to use on himself.  He has scented candles, his imagination (Psst! He’s thinking of YOU) and his hand thankyouverymuch

You know Gavin will pretty much do anything you want, so if you wish to include toys in your sexual repertoire, your man will oblige

Bonus points: take him with you to a sex shop to peruse the goods and watch him grow uncomfortably red

U = Unfair (How much they like to tease)

Gavin’s not really one for teasing, inside or outside of the bedroom

The extent of his teasing will be limited to whipping through the air or going faster on his motorcycle, just to get you to press closer to him

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

The officer tries hard to rein in his volume, but finds it difficult to keep his voice down, especially if his climax is close.  

Gavin’s biting his lower lip, breathing hard through his nose, furrowing his brows from a mixture of both ecstasy and concentration, but the odd moan and groan still manages to escape

The sound of his low voice in your ear drives you wild

There have been times when you could’ve sworn you heard Gavin softly whimper when he came

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

Gavin loves your scent so much that he secretly purchased a bottle of the perfume you regularly wear just so he can inhale it deeply and think of you when his longing is particularly bad

He keeps it at the bottom of his underwear drawer please don’t go looking for it

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

Average girth and slightly above-average length, with a slight upward curve

Uncut

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Gavin’s sex drive is a bit higher than average

Hence, whenever he insists that you cover up in public, it’s to keep himself in check as much as the prying eyes of others

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

It really depends on the time of day

During daylight hours, Gavin typically encourages you to sleep in his arms while he closes his eyes and rests for a bit without actually falling asleep

To be honest, Gavin is always on the alert for anything that could pose a danger to you, so even if he does nod off, he’s an extremely light sleeper and has been trained to be mentally and physically prepared to face anything at all times

If you’re spending the night together, Gavin will wait until you’re in deep, peaceful slumber before he will allow himself to sleep, just in case he needs to soothe you if you have any nightmares

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

Thanks for reading!  Check out more of my work here! 📚

[phobiadeficient]

Okay so im i trigued as fuck as to how would continue that continuation that Scorpianon asked for that"hiatus13" ask, cuz holy fucking damn i need ta read how would be Sniper fucking Scout like for the first time? And omg all those lil details about scouts preparation holy dang u r the smut god -🐑

i love that this one singular prompt has gone so far off the rails and become its own little universe. like i just love that

(no warnings)

-

Sniper propped up on his elbows and looked Scout up and down. And the last few times he’d done that it had been in a teasing way, appraising and pleased, but this time was a slightly different rhythm, a slightly different arch to his brow. “Scout?” he asked carefully.

“Y-yeah?” Scout managed, flushed up to his ears.

“...You awright?” Sniper asked next in the very same tone.

“Yeah,” Scout said quickly.

“...Do you want to stop?” Sniper asked next, even slightly more careful.

“...Yeah,” Scout admitted, sitting up, expression tight. “I-I’m sorry.”

“S’alright,” Sniper assured easily, settling back a little. “Still feel like getting off?”

“Yeah,” Scout agreed.

And that was how the first three attempts at working Scout up to getting fucked went.

He wanted to bash his head against the wall until he could knock some fuckin’ sense into himself. He had nothing to be scared of. He knew he was gonna like it. Hell, Sniper had gotten him off by fucking him with his fingers a good few times already. Scout had started incorporating it into whenever he was jacking off, he liked getting pressed open so much. And maybe just because it was new and exciting, but he liked it! A lot!

And, okay, admittedly... maybe he’d been thinking about it. And now that he had something to go on maybe he was fantasizing a lot more about getting fucked. Maybe it was something that was on his mind when he was jacking off, the concept of Sniper doing that thing where he nipped at Scout’s neck while spreading him open, of Sniper fucking him hard and fast and—

And usually that was about where Scout was done jacking off, to be honest. Usually he didn’t need to move much further down that train of thought.

It was just that every time Sniper was actually all over him, he just... started getting kind of nervous. Because he just, he didn’t know where to put his hands, and what if he messed everything up—he didn’t even know how he would mess everything up, but with his track record he knew it was absolutely on the table.

And Sniper wasn’t even being an asshole about it. He was actually doing a really good job picking up on when Scout was starting to get overwhelmed. And that was kind of weird because it made him think maybe Sniper was picking up on other stuff that Scout was thinking but not saying out loud—

He wanted to just kind of move past this weird roadblock and get back to the part where they were having fun and not, like, being weird. And they’d tried things three ways—him on Sniper’s lap, him on all fours, and him on his back. And every time he just got freaked out and lost in his brain and they had to stop and he didn’t know what to do about it.

Sniper, the way he tended to do, solved the situation for Scout so he didn’t have to.

Scout walked into the camper and was shoved right back against the door again, and Sniper boxed him in with practically no effort at all, kissing him hard and demanding.

Scout was still reeling from that when Sniper pulled back and looked him in the eye. “You want me to fuck you?” he asked bluntly.

“Yeah,” Scout said, because he did.

“Good,” Sniper said, and started pulling Scout’s clothes off.

Scout was still a little stunned, a little caught off guard, but he did his best to help with the more finnicky parts of his outfit. His brain caught up to him a few moments later, forced him into stammering. “Wait,” he managed. Sniper paused, raising an eyebrow at him. “Wh—you gotta strip too, c’mon.”

That got Sniper to grin at least, starting to undo his own buckle.

Scout was stripped as far as kicking off one leg of his pants before Sniper hooked a hand under his knee and pulled, using it as leverage to pin Scout harder against the door, grinding against him in a few hard rolls before pulling himself together, attention recovered by Scout scrabbling at his shoulders for purchase.

His hand slid back behind him and between his legs, and Scout jumped slightly at the surprise of finding that Sniper had already slicked up his fingers. He hiked his knee higher against Sniper’s hip, and Sniper took that as permission, working up to two fingers without much trouble.

Scout, in the back corner of his mind not occupied by trying to keep from making a complete fool of himself, realized how genius this was. The problem was that Scout kept getting all wrapped up in his own head if he had too long to think about it, would freak himself out for no real reason. Sniper wasn’t giving him long enough to start overthinking things, just the time to process what was happening and react.

And it felt really fuckin’ nice actually to just sort of roll with the punches and—

He was snapped out of his train of thought by Sniper kissing him, hard, hard enough that his head thunked into the door behind him. And he grinded forward against Scout, nipped at his bottom lip to set him gasping, and pulled back enough to look at him.

“Ready, you think?” Sniper asked, and Scout processed that he was well worked open and starting to feel pretty desperate actually. So he nodded, hard and fast. “Out loud.”

“Yeah, c’mon,” Scout urged, rocking back against his fingers, and then they were gone, and Sniper was shifting—

“Hop up,” he instructed, and Scout did, arms wrapping up over his shoulders and legs around Sniper’s waist, and Sniper’s weight shifted forward to pin him all the harder to the door, and Sniper was lining up and holy shit—

He was pretty sure Sniper intended to double check that he really was ready, but Scout was gasping out pleads against his mouth, so he just skipped to pushing in, slow and easy.

And Scout focused on his breathing, first and foremost, because it went uneven and shaky, and he really needed to concentrate to try and get it back to something like an inhale and exhale. It was uncomfortable, for sure, but not the outright painful that he’d half expected somewhere in the back of his mind. And he couldn’t help the quiet gaspy little noises he made at each gentle roll of Sniper’s hips forward, couldn’t help the sudden weakness in his arms making him sink against the door uselessly until Sniper bodily lifted him back up into a more reasonable position and reminded him that he needed to support some amount of his own weight.

He zoned back in at Sniper gasping against his neck, gripping hard at his thigh, almost hard enough to hurt. ”Bugger,” he choked out, and Scout would absolutely be echoing a similar sentiment if he could get his mouth to form words.

Instead he just focused on breathing, on trying to get used to it, to the feeling of being so much more full than he could get himself on his own fingers, or even on Sniper’s. It was so goddamn good, almost too good, almost too much, and he wanted more.

“Fuck me,” Scout managed, voice weak, and Sniper did.

His first thrusts were slow and firm, with pausing and shifting in between, and then he settled into a rhythm, and Scout was sent gasping again, then up into moaning as Sniper shifted further and the friction of it all suddenly got so much more wonderful—

And he felt like he was being driven up and up and up, further and further, until clear thought was a speck in the distance and his shame was out of reach and he couldn’t help but bark out a sharp sound of pleasure when Sniper nipped just below his jaw, and it was a dam breaking. Suddenly with each thrust forward, each rattle of the belt of Scout’s pants (still hung around one ankle, and wasn’t that an image—), Scout was crying out, pleading for more, for faster, for harder, then finally just swearing when that didn’t speed up the pace even a little bit from the slow hard rolls Sniper had settled into against him, then he was out of any words at all, reduced to simple noise.

And he lost all concept of time, to be honest, had no idea how long they were there, but at some point Sniper seemed to sense something Scout couldn’t and started pumping at him with one rough hand, and when he finally came not long later it was pure euphoria, seemed to draw out for forever, and he was half-certain he almost pulled a muscle once he started coming down from it. And he wasn’t sure when Sniper had finished, but he was softening against Scout’s hip and breathing like he’d just run a marathon and flushed well down his neck, so Scout was at least reasonably sure that had been good for him too.

And he really did try to get some kind of witty phrase to say, tried to think of something funny to break the tension of the moment, but he couldn’t seem to get his voice back.

“Good?” Sniper asked, in control of himself far more than Scout was, guiding Scout back down to stand under his own power and keeping him supported for a moment since his legs were absolute jelly. Scout managed a noise of agreement, and Sniper huffed a laugh. “Seems I’ve buggered the words clean out of you, so I must’ve done something right.” Scout made another noise of agreement. “Need a lie down?”

And he was laid out next to Sniper the way he so often tended to be following their “hangouts”, and he mumbled some kind of warning that he might fall asleep, and Sniper replied that it was fine, and then he did fall asleep—

He blinked his eyes open and processed first the sound of birds, then the slow breathing of the person next to him, and realized, holy shit. He’d slept over at Sniper’s.

Then he realized, holy shit. Sniper let him sleep over.

Then he realized, holy shit. Sniper didn’t wake him up or anything. Was just totally cool with Scout spending the night.

…Wait. Were he and Sniper dating?

Holy shit.

[nad-zeta]

Match Up pws ♡(ŐωŐ人)

First, thank your hard work and doing Match Ups!♡ Arigatou *bows* So, I sent you my selfies already x3 About me…. Uh, I am a Pisces, Hogwarts House is Hufflepuff. I love videogames and to write (and hate it at the same time lmao xD;), love to read (mostly… manga… does this even count as reading?) and I love art, also love to go to museums.

I am very chaotic and forgetful and I would describe myself as loyal. I sadly trust too easily and got hurt a lot because of that. But still I do, because I wanna see only the good things in people. I often feel like I am not good enough, but I try my very best.

At first I am veeeery shy, I hardly can even talk! But when I am comfortable with someone I talk a lot (a lot of nonsense, but why not xP) 

I love to laugh, but I cry very easily. My humor is rather dirty and dark. I LOVE alcohol x’D I prefer short jeans, leather jackets and boots over dresses, but sometimes I wear cute stuff too. I meet many people at work and I am happy and proud about how they often compliment me for being a very kind girl and that they get happy when they see me. Often people also describe as “nuts, but in a positive way.” (T-Thank you….? xD)

What I HATE about myself is my jealousy. I really can be jealous easily, also because of what happened in my past. I also want to learn to love myself >.< I tend to give up very easily, but a day or few days later I am full with energy again and continue what I tried. 

Uhhh, what else…. I LOVE to cuddle and kiss and when I am in love then I love with all my heart <3 I do believe in real love and love at first sight.

Omg, congratulations and my deepest respects if you read all of this… Thank you ♡ *bows* m(u.u)m

Hi, there love! here is ya combination matchup! Thank you so much @towa-no-yume for the request! I had so much fun writing this for ya! I hope you enjoy!  

Selfie matchup part

So I match you with………………….. Leonardo

Ooooh this boy loves the badass look you have going on. Leather jackets and jeans! This boy is in love

He has seen many a woman in his life but none as captivating as you

He hasn’t pained in a long time, but all he thinks when he sees your vibrant hair and bright eyes is that he has to capture this moment in time. You are breathtakingly beautiful

Despite your bold look, your body language screams kind, caring playful person

You low key reminds him of a cute little kitten with your radiant curious eyes and playful smile

I can definitely see the pair of you nestled together napping in the most random sunny spots around the mansion

I match you with…………………. Nobunaga

The first time he sees you after you pulled him from the flames, he can't help but think he was just saved by a goddess of fire

Your hair was so beautiful, like the blazing, brilliant orange-red hues of the most perfect sunset

And don’t even get me started on your eyes! How they contrasted the bold richness of your hair. It was like fire on the water – just unique and beautiful

Nobunaga had never seen such beautiful eyes. He was absolutely captivated by your eyes. The way they reminded him of a tempest at sea, filled with so much knowledge and curiosity.

Once you told him you enjoyed coloring your different hair colors; he was so intrigued. You show him a pic of all the different colors you had dyed it throughout the years.

He couldn’t help but think every color you had chosen was similar in the aspect of they always brought out your big beautiful eyes and that each color undeniably reminded him of the most radiant sunset.

You had instantly captured his heart; you looked like a walking contradiction, bold and rebellious yet sweet and gentle.

You were like a true fireball shooting across the night sky

His heart was stolen by the mysterious stranger that had just saved him

Also, there is just something about a girl in jeans and leather that this boi can’t ignore

He had made up his mind, he had never believed in the red string of fate but your hair and presence was enough to have him believe that the two of you were truly tied together by the legendary string.

Now for the rest of the matchup

The first time you saw Nobunaga, he was staring at you awestruck. You felt a lil self-conscious staring into those carmine eyes of his. You honestly couldn’t stop your brain from thinking, “Hello manly man,” you low key fell in love at first sight. You asked the universe for a handsome man, and here he was, asking you to rule the world at his side. Okay all jokes aside you are very drawn to Nobu, his super-hot and he had that whole bad boy vibe about him that attracts all the girls. The two of you honestly just stared at each other for a solid minute, not saying a word until he broke the silence. He was shook that you didn’t even know who you had just saved. He asked you what you wanted as a reward, and you were honestly just way toooo shy to answer. He was so amused by you. You look bold and fearless, and you had just bravely saved a man x2 your size from a fire, yet now you are too shy to even make eye contact. Very interesting indeed. Mitsunari interrupted your little conversation and took the two of you back to the castle where Nobunaga proudly proclaimed to everyone that the shy fireball that had saved him from the fire was to be an Oda princess and castle chatelaine, and the rest was history.

You were a super hard worker. And even though you were very shy, you had managed to befriend everyone in the castle. Everyone absolutely adored you!  You were basically considered the second angel of Azuchi. You didn’t care about stupid things like stations or titles, and you greeted and chatted with everyone with generosity and kindness. You always saw the best qualities in people, and for that, you were loved by all. Whenever the maids saw you they would get super excited, they loved working with you. You brought a certain calm yet enthusiastic energy to the table. You also came up with the strangest ideas when it came to improving certain procedures and things (which was nothing new to you, as that was how you were used to doing things in the future). You were a genuinely kind person without having any ulterior motives behind your actions. You would remember everyone’s names and birthdays no matter who they were and would always give them a small little gift in celebration of special days in their lives. Nobunaga, of course, loved this trait of yours. Your ideal and beliefs of not caring about status and titles seemed to align with his, and the two of you would often bond about this fact.

The first time he summoned you to his room, you were in awe at the amazing art pieces and artifacts that he had collected throughout the years. His room was like an art museum. You could spend hours and hours just looking at all the beautiful pieces. And Nobunaga was all too happy to have another common interest with you. He explained all the origins and backgrounds of each painting, matching your enthusiasm. Since then, the two of you would often go on adventures to different regions to look at and buy their art to add to Nobunaga’s collection. The two of you seemed to grow incredibly close during these little adventures, and you found yourself opening up more and more to him. The man loved that you could talk for hours on end. Usually ranging from super interesting important stuff to just utter nonsense. And boy did he love it when you would talk a bunch of nonsense. It was so freaken entertaining.

One thing you struggled to adapt to was the clothes. And the princess getup you had to wear was a particularly uncomfortable piece of clothing. The first few times it was super fun getting all dressed up and looking cute but after the 3rd time you were over it. One day while you were playing go with Nobu, you were feeling particularly uncomfortable in the traditional clothing of the past. This irritation didn’t go unnoticed by the keen eyes of the devil king, “what is it that is bothering you so much little Fireball.” You stood up and left only to return ten minutes later wearing the clothes you had worn when you arrived in the past. You explained that as much as you loved dressing up all cute at times, nothing beat your pair of jeans and a leather jacket. Your game continued while unbeknown to you Nobunaga tucked that piece of information away to use later. Later on that same week, Nobunaga invited you up to his room. As you entered, you couldn’t help but notice a big box sitting on his desk topped with a big clumsily made bow.” I have a surprise for you, fireball” he then picked up the big box and handed it to you. You sat down and opened it slowing, wondering what on earth could be inside. And then you saw it. He had gotten you a few pairs of clothes that looked very similar to your precious jeans and jacket. He explained that he had commissioned some Portuguese seamstresses to make it specially for you. You couldn’t help but bust out into tears from happiness.

The two of you also LOVED to drink together! You would sit and drink masses amount of sake together, and this is where Nobunaga discovered that his lucky charm could tell the most hilariously dirty dark jokes. At this point, he was absolutely head over heels for you. You were the most entertainingly beautiful woman he had ever met. Not just that, but the fact that you would just freely speak your mind and make these crazy funny jokes had him hooked. He was in love! When the two of you were together, it was always a good time filled with hours of chatting and laughter.

One day he had found one of your manga’s in your bag, and this boy is super intrigued. You told him you love reading mangas! After hearing that, he constructed a plan. When you turned in for the night, he started his plan. Nobunaga was a jack of all trades, and if mangas were something that interested you, he was gonna learn how to draw them. He sat for weeks perfecting his very own manga just for you, until one day he was finished. He was so proud of his creation. He presented it to you one day while you were sitting in the garden, enjoying the warm summer breeze. He handed it over with a massive smirk on his face, but even you couldn’t miss the mix of anxiety and excitement in his eyes as you started to read it. This manga was all about you and the red string of fate! And right at the very end, manga Nobunaga had confessed his undying love for manga you and asked if you would become his girlfriend. You looked up to see him look at you questioningly. You couldn’t help but give him the biggest brightest smile and kiss him all over his face in happiness.

Boy Nobunaga loved his fireball. He loved to cuddle you and spend as much time as possible with you. He loved how you could always see the good in everyone, even in him. He loved that you loved him unconditionally when he felt like he was undeserving of love. And Nobunaga definitely returned the gesture. He knew that you had been hurt in the past and worked hard every day to make sure that you knew exactly just how much he loved and adored you. Especially during times that you felt slightly jealous. Let’s be real Nobunaga is a very possessive boyfriend, and it makes him low key happy to know you are just as possessive as him. One day a daughter of one of the local daimyos attended one of the banquets. She was all over Nobunaga and had made her intentions clear about wanting to marry him. During this banquet, you were sitting and chatting with Masamune while side-eyeing the whole situation. You couldn’t hide the small frown that had formed on your face, that was until Nobunaga had called to join them. You slowly walked up to him and two important guests. That’s when Nobu grabbed your hand and pulled you into his lap, nuzzling you while you looked at him in shock. He then proceeded to very loudly announce that you were the love of his life, and no other woman would ever take your place in his heart. He also followed up that statement by saying you will be the one and only woman in his life and that he will commit his life to loving and protecting you from now to the end of time. Your jealousy melted away instantly. The two of you spent the rest of the banquet in each other’s arms, making jokes and drinking sake, low key ignoring everyone else around you.

The two of you were the cutest couple. Despite Nobunaga’s ruthless demeanor, he truly was a softi boi. He loved to cuddle and kiss you. Your all-time favorite was the little tickle fight the two of you had. It would usually start off with you playing with Nobunaga’s hair, before boldly venturing to the ticklish spot by his ears. He would look up at you with the more challenging gaze. You would just smile and start tickling him. And so, your full-blown ticking match would start.

The two of you can often be found with Nobunaga resting his head on your lap while you soothingly pull your fingers through his raven locks until he falls asleep. You would just bend down and kiss his forehead while thinking back to the first day you met this cute man now nestled in your lap, and how it truly was love at first sight!

Other potential ikesen matches.............. Shingen 

Other potential ikevamp matches..............Arthur

I hope you enjoyed it dear! and I hope you are staying safe and well!❤ Sending ya virtual hug!  

[c0untb00z]

I would just like to clear, I don't hate the BBC Dracula 2020 Show. In fact, I actually like the idea of Dracula being set in modern times like in the show, but I would like it a lot better if it wasn't written like a fucking reader insert fanfiction.

Don't get me wrong, I love me some reader inserts every once in a while but they're meant to be on Wattpad. Sometimes, you can find really fucking good fanfictions that could genuinly be movies, but this really just feels like someone wrote an erotic fanfiction for Dracula. It almost reminds me of a worse version of 50 Shades of Grey with less kinky sex.

First and foremost Agatha Van Hesling. I actually kinda liked her personality, how driven she was and determined to never give up, but she was literally created for a love interest. In Dracula by Bram Stocker, Sister Agatha is a nun that nurses Jonathan back to health, claiming he was 'sick in the head' as he ranted of what he had seen and warning others of Dracula. She doesn't even have a last name.

However there is a Dr. Van Hesling in the book, hes dutch(???) Professor that mentors and taught(????) Jack Seward who was in love with Lucy, who was fed off of and eventually killed and eventually undead by the means of the one and only Dracula. Dr Van Hesling plays a large role in the plot of the book. He has an open mind and was able to draw connections between things that some others couldn't, as he had access to more sources and could speak to most off the charecters involved. He's the first person to present the idea of a vampire, and Lucy turning into one. Thanks to Jonathan he was able to identify the vampire feeding on Lucy as Dracula and finds out how to kill the vampires.

So basically Agatha was literally fabricataed for the sole perpose of being there, to fall in love with Dracula or something.

I know we all are horny for Dracula. I'm horny for Dracula. Vampires are fucking hot but the sexiest part of vampires is that they ya know. Kill you and are mercily and heartless. The show does show that in a lot of parts and even decapiates a nun and yeets it into a gaggle of nuns which i fucking died at. But it also, humanizes him way to much, hes literally a monster. The scene in the boat with lord whats his name really portrayed that. It was really,,,, weird cause me being a kinky fucker I don't find the particular phrases of "you're going to need to be quiet now," and " youre doing so well" that creepy and if anything a little hot but looking at the circumstance and the look on that kids face, it was like r e a l y fucked up. Which is why i liked that scene. It showed just how fucked up Dracula is.

To be fair i did like Cleas Bangs acting and casting as Dracula. He had a certain charm that was ever so s l i g h t l y off. I heard people say he just 'made up an accent' but fuck you guys its a fucking danish accent you incolent twats anyways. He could be really funny at times and i actually apprecited it.

However the casting AND acting of the modern parts is absolute shit. Ep.3 is where i kinda gave up on the show and finsihed it for the sake of torturing myself. FIRST OF FUCKING ALL LUCY i cannot fathom how P I S S E D i am about Lucy. Why did they have to make her a phone obsessed basic asshole with no regards to anyones emotions besides her own and the extent of her personality is 'getting likes on socail media is all i care about because it makes me feel validated so im gonna wallo in self pity because i was obiously written by white man in his 50s that would have made me white if he wasnt forved to throw in diversity points" like shut the fuck up steven king.

Also lucy and mina never meet??? Theyre in different fucking time lines??? Theyre friendship and love for eachother was fucking golden how dare you rob that form me and give me a garbage bag full of shit with a shiny little bow on top in its place jesus f u ck.

The cemetary scene was o k ay i gues?? I liked the little nod to the book with the bloofer lady and the concept of random sprits being undead because of unfinished buisness. But this really just felt like it was slapped in the show for the sake of going on a date with Dracula in cemetary. I actually kinda apperacted it but it just felt awkward.

Also who the f u ck is Lucy's friend? The gay one??? Like,,,, is that supposed to Arthur???? His chatecter was so fu king weird and offset he just didnt feel like he should be in there. Hes literally just there for a-50-year-old-man's-interpretation-of-young-women-now-a-days verson of Lucy to have a gay best ffriend.

Ok i not even sure if i want to talk about Quincy. It just hurts. It physically hurts me to think about how d i r t y they did my baby. His charecter is the defination of american chivalry, just as great as regular chivarly but with a little extra cowboy vibe. Quincy is jist the biggest,,,, sweet haert,, like he asked lucy to marry him in his cool american cowboy voice cause he knew lucy loved it and it always made her laugh. And even when she turned him down becayse her heart belonged to arthur, he stayed. All he wanted was for lucy to be happy and all he requested was that they stay frirnds. Hes also invovled with taking fkwn dracula although hes not a main charecter percice ly as he doesnt have any entires in the book he still has an amaizing precence and sometimes while reading the book ill be readying one of dr sewards passanges and think "huh i wonder what quncys doin. I hope hes dooin good. Cowboy vibes n stuffs" amd boy dles he do that. Everh dracula film adaptataion robs us. R O B S U S of quincy morris best scene. In the middle of dr van helsing ranting about vampires( thats basically what half of the book is. I could write a 4p minute mono louge of his rambling jesus how does sweard take note of all this) quincy litterally just walks out. And nobodg really pays any notice beside glancing ag his leave and shrugging at one anouther and going back tl listneing tl van helsing explaining his vampire fan theories quincy moris , the quincy morris from texathe untited states of the amerkca the land and the free and also cowboys.stands outside of the bouilding and pints his gun up at. Dracula whos in the shape of a fucking bat eves ddopping outside the window and just fucking,,shoots it. Now he doesnt hit it cause thatt wouldnt be as fun as brutally stabbing the fucker witja wooden stake. But S T I L L. And the fucking bullet hits the window that everybodys in anprobably causes arthur to shit himself the ppoor boy. Can you belive that theh didnt fucking flim thatfor any dracul? Now i i under stands why not put in this adaptation because quincy is only mentionsed like three god damned times. And when theh DK mention him jesusnshit they literally jsut made him some popular jock from amwrica just to conter jacks white twinky ass and then they had him propose to lucy in the middle of a fucking night club and she says yes???? Lile ok jut throw Arthur out a window then cause cause fu c k him i guess. And then after lucy dies he jjsy fucking moves ?? The only thing thta makes this version of qincy quinccy is the fu king name and fact hes from america

Ok now jack fucking seward. He reminds me of when ylu forget you had a pb&j in your back pack so in the bos after school you pull it out cause yoyr hungry and yoyr mom put WAY to much jelly on it so now its like. All obsorbed into the bread and joggy and squished. Just sad and really white. They even had some kid call him whate bread and they werent fucking wrong. His obly personality traits were ' omg i love lucy but shes a hoe ;,,,((' and being connected to Zoe.

Now last and definately least the god forbaden ending. Just thinking about it gives me a fucking head ache. So , jesus, zoe, who is agathas great niece or someshit, a d looks exactly like her (its literally the same fucking actress) is a detective lile scitist reasearching dracula. So dracula is illedatly attracted to her becasue he thinks shes like agathas reincarnation or soenshit. So he tries tk drink her blood at one point and spits it all out and pukes and sjit cause her blood is poisonous bevaise she has fucking c an c e r. So later we find out that draculas weaknesses ( the sun crucifix) arnt actually real hes just afraid of dying so he has like irration fears or some shit so for some fucking reason. They deside. Its a good iea to end the show with this:

Dracula fucking drinks all of zoes blood killing her and himself because her blood poisonus. And ghe fucking emd scene is them like,,, in the sun???? Or soemt hi ng??? And theyre naked and like presumably fucked and dracula says some shit like " its doesnt have to hurt" and i almost tore my wrist open wiith my teeth because of how shitty this ending is.

Not lnly is it disrespectful to zoe but agatha, agathas whole thing was K I L I N G. dracula she wanted him fucking D E A D she woULDNT FUCK HKM

And like just after finding out that he can be in the sunlight with out fucking dying and that crosses just make him umcomfortable or some shit he just desides to kill himself??? DUDE YOU JUST FOUND OUT YOURE PROACTICALLY MORE INVINCABLE THAN YOU WERE BEFORE AND YOU JSUT FUCKING OFF YOUR SELF ??? HE COULD HAVE FUCKING RULED ENGLAD AND SPEAD VAMPIRISM OLL LVER THE FUCKING COUNTFY AND WORLD KF HE TRIED HARD ENOUGH AND HE KILLS HIMSELF BECAUSE THEY WANTED A STUPID SAPPY ENDING

anyway if anyone actually goes through the effort of reafing my god damn eS S A Y about Dracula that i finkshed typing (im not gonna bother editing tbh) at 4 fucking am. Then thank you and please get a life

[lesdoublesll]

AMMD2

Okay so so sooo !!! My dear Alfie fans please listen to the sum up of my con cause it's full of things about Alfie too (Iwan seems to really like him x) ).

(In the second photo he sat on a dragon egg xD)

So I did everything like I did with Alfie last year : autographs a 30 minutes meeting and photos besides the panel, and I will tell you everything !

First of all, my autograph with Iwan. I had his album that he dedicated to Kraken Princess (yes thats me) and he was like "oh ok kraken princess this is great" while laughing, and then he wrote an autograph for my little sister Aline, trying to say "Aline" in a perfect french (and he is quite good really !!) I gave him a bunch of drawings and he really liked the chibi Ramsay putting his foot on chibi Reek (said it was cute and awesome and he laughed) (apparently he was still looking at my drawings when my friend did her autograph x3). I had an autograph with Gemma too !!! (Well it was mostly for a friend that does Yara cosplays so I havent a proper autograph but we did chat quite a long time for an autograph x) ) *-* she was so cute!! She was really happy and moved by my drawing of Theon and Yara and the long quote with " don't die so far from the sea", because it was her audition scene !

Then I did an awesome meeting with Iwan, I was just in front of him and we were ~9/10 with him. (Everyone was saying omg he is so small and I was like : YES HE IS GOD ARE YOU A FAN OR NOT X)) ) I will just report the Q&A here !

Q: How did you deal with your horrible character and how did you react with the other actors (Alfie and Sophie) before your scenes together ?

He said that he needed to do the difference btw Ramsay and him, to exteriorise it, not to think about what he had done, as a fictional character. He said with Alfie it was easier because they were the same age and they weren't not embarrassed to do intimate physical things, but it was harder with Sans (Sophie) because she was young (even if she wasn't the one embarrassed x) ). After those scenes, they needed to Forget about it and go at the restaurant and drink beers, a lot of beers (cause if you know Iwan you know he loves beers !)

Me: my favorite character of yours is Ash in vicious....

Iwan : Hiii *acting like Ash*

Me : *dying on the inside* hi xD so how was it to act with Ian Mckellen, cause I know I would be intimidated !!

Iwan said that yes it was intimidated, knowing how big all of the actors were, and that he needed to find his own respect (like Ash), but eventually he did. He was really impressed by how hard-working Mckellen and Jacobi were knowing that Vicious was only a little funny things and that they did so many things already.

Q: who would you be if you could be any other character in GOT ?

Iwan answered Dany (because Khal Drogo........and the long blond hair.) XD but he was so serious about acting Ramsay that he doesn't want to do anything else in GOT. He would have love a duo Cersei/Ramsay.

Me: Speaking about wigs, how was it to play Mick Mars ?

Iwan loved it because they had 3 weeks to learn the songs and musics, and it was a really funny and hard working atmosphere, and come on he was wearing a wig and high heels ! (And god yes he looks amazing with high heels !!)

Q: if you could play with any actor of the cast in anything else, who would it be and for which kind of film/serie ?

Iwan answered: Alfie ! In a comedy. Something like *laughs* a comedic detective duo where I am the shy one and Alfie is the stronger one (he was saying it while acting like the characters he was describing - which was CUTE )

Q: any funny memories from the GOT ?

Iwan said the wedding with Sansa actually because it was 3 am and they were exhausted. First of all all of it was beautiful despite the horrible things taking place and they were nervous laughs, but mostly because Michael (Roose) and him died of laugher everytime Sophie and Alfie arrived, because Sophie looked amazing and beautiful in her dress and Alfie needed to walk "like thiiis" (he said, doing the same walk as Reek) and we were all so tired we couldn't stop laughing.

Q: if you could be any character who would it be ?

Iwan said : Batman or Wolverine cause I always have loved Wolverine.

Someone : you could totally do Gollum.

Iwan did some offended face so I said :

"Oh no with the ears he should have done a hobbit"

He laughed at the mention of his ears and just said : " I know I missed the casting ". He was blushing aww 💕

Someone asked him : if you had to choose btw acting in film/shows/theater/or music ?

Iwan said that it was very hard in french "c'est très difficile" while stretching (and we saw his belly x)) ) (and that was kinda sexy) but that he would pick music if he didn't need to feed his family.

His favorite scene is the meeting with Jon, because Ramsay and Jon are the same and at the same time the complete opposite and that it was very important for his character. (And he wanted to meet Kit too !)

His favorite song is Paranoid (GOOD TASTE GOD) and his own favorite (even if he did a face like "uhuh I don't like my songs!") Is probably Courthouse ❤

He also said that he doesn't prefer playing nice or bad characters cause they are no such a thing as good or bad characters, the character is a person and as an actor his role is to understand this person. So what he likes is to play a lot of different and interesting characters.

I also told him a bit about my story and he was so sweet about it, asking how I was rn. :3

(JACK WAS SO FREAKING CUTE TOO OMG. We were next to him with my friend wanting to enter the same room so he said "Bonjour" in french and we answered bonjour too, so he laughed a little, and he looked so shy anwww. He also said that if he was to play any other GOT character it would be Theon because he is really interesting and constantly evolving ! But Alfie already plays him so well that he would not dare x33 I said I needed to marry Jack Gleeson rn xD Joffrey is only a cute fella really x3 )

Then I did my first photos.

And then it was the panels. (Pilou and Gemma were so cute and funny xD)

At the panel Iwan explained that there was a scene where Roose and Ramsay are talking about their plans versus Stannis, and then they begin to laugh crescendo together (and he did the laugh for us it was amazing xD) He also sang with Jack Happy Birthday to the translator !! It was awww (at the beginning he did it the Ramsay way and then it was so beautiful oww **)

My sum up would be : the cast was super cute, Iwan Rheon is a cute pie, he is so sweet and shy and Kind, He is so sexy omg, but I miss Alfie so bad ❤ there ;)

[comicteaparty]

March 7th-March 13th, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from March 7th, 2020 to March 13th, 2020.  The chat focused on the following question:

What is your overall marketing/promotion strategy for your webcomic?

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I don't know if this counts as a strategy, but these are some of the things I do to promote my comic or my work in general. 1. Most important from what I've noticed (which I have been failing at due to stress and self-doubt lately) is to post updates to your comic frequently and consistently. It seems somewhat silly that simply putting your work out there is the best way to grow an audience, but it really is. Newly posted chapters frequently get shown on more pages and thus detected by the algorithms and potential readers. It also helps to establish trust with current and returning readers. 2. Participating in art/comic events, forums, and other comicking communities (such as this one). In a way, this isn't really marketing directly, but it is good to build connections with other creators! 3. Conventions! I actually have gotten a several new readers/followers from attending cons. It's also nice just to talk to people, get your name out there locally, and to make a little bit of money while at it. 4. Social media promotion. Tbh, this hasn't been super helpful to me, but more eyes is always a win in my book. I try to post almost every day, even if it isn't art or comic related. Having some kind of social media presence at all, even if it's small, shows people that you are working hard to connect to others. Also finding the right hashtags definitely helps with visibility.

kayotics

Overall, my strategy for marketing is to be authentic and just keep plugging my stuff. People will come if they like it. I work as a marketer for my day job, so I know what I COULD do, but I really don’t do that much since a whole marketing plan would take a lot more time than I have available to me. Some of the stuff I do otherwise: - regular updates. This ones pretty important for retaining viewers I already have. Any good marketing strategy is thinking about retaining people, not just getting new ones - self promo: this usually is on top webcomics or on social media. I get a LOT of traffic from top webcomics, and I get a good handful of people from social media. - conventions, like mentioned before, can be a great way to get people’s eyes on your stuff. I have a postcard that I hand out to people if they come by or they purchase something. - the thing I don’t do enough is post more art outside of the comic, or even just little previews. If I were dedicated to marketing, I’d be sharing sketches or illustrations on social media to grow my audience.

DanitheCarutor

Ah you know, I don't really have much of a strategy. At some point I promoted as much as I could on Twitter, adding my comic to those share/promo thread, getting in on relevant hashtag events, participating on WebComic Chat (whenever I remembered to). I've done a little promotion on forums, but there is really only so much you can do since only so many people hang out there and if your work is super niche like mine, they will pretty much avoid your promos at all cost. Lmao Other than those I don't really do much, at some point I attempted to use Instagram but the site/app is very stingy about offsite links. I also started a Facebook page, although if you don't have the money to boost your promos and don't usually have a lot going on with your comic outside of weekly updates, it won't get a whole lot of attention. I've also tried to be more active, but I'm not a good conversationalist, and I tend to be kind of a thread/conversation/mood killer so I try to avoid talking outside of Q&A prompts like this.

eli [a winged tale]

Same Dani, I used Instagram for a while too and I just don’t think the platform is a good fit for my vertical scroll comic (see exhibit 1) Twitter is a mixed bag as well and I think unless you have a solid following already, it’s hard to gain traction. What really helped was being on Webtoon’s staff pick for a couple days. I’m not sure how Tapas picked up but it’s reassuring that there’s a couple of followers gained every week when I posted regularly. So it really does sound like the first step is to have a steady update schedule (working on the buffer! Got a month’s work down today). It’s just challenging because while I could upload one page a week but on the vertical scroll sites it seems like a longer episode (6-7 pages) is valued more as a solid update. Love hearing everyone’s thoughts and hope to learn from y’all! (edited)

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Consistency and con attendance were big ones for me, but something I learned worked well (and was really fun to do) was creating really fun, really dumb, non-canon bits of art every now and then. Following meme prompts or funny ideas from other people. If your comic can afford some humor being thrown its way, making people laugh is a great way to get some attention. No one needs to know the details of your story - they just need to relate to the characters/humor somehow. I had more than one person come across my dumb, meme-y ancillary art and go “Welp, I want to read your comic now.”

eli [a winged tale]

Memes to the rescue! What has been your favourite to do? And which one has surprised you in its relatability/popularity?

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Two shots of vodka.

Also that terrible sweater meme. Everyone is required to do the terrible sweater meme. People eat it up.

eli [a winged tale]

Too good

Ahh I can’t wait till I can actually write silly adult characters

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Now that you mention it, the nice thing about the terrible sweater meme is it works with a WIDE variety of comics.

eli [a winged tale]

I would love to do a meme with y’all

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

"Came for the story, staying for the sick memes"

Spring-heeled Jack

I try to post updates every friday when my new pages go up on Patreon. And then I make my big post when my tapas and website update at the end of the month. Between all that, I have little flyers that I carry with me and if I'm ever in a shop that has a little self promotion section, I plan on tacking up a flyer. I do conventions, and this will be my first convention season while actively making a comic, so flyers will be handed out then as well.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

My comic isnt very comedy-heavy, and even for the funny scenes, my sense of humor isn't compatible with most people's. So a lot of the memes out there just don't work. But terrible sweater meme doesn't have to be hilarious. It can be just cute, or even weird.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

For me, uh lmao. I sometimes make some funny strip panels and it was received well even though it's not polished for my liking lmao

Spring-heeled Jack

Keii, I feel you. I'm not good with comedy and my comic isn't meant to be funny, either, so I don't know how well a comedy meme will help me.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

overall, I try to be honest with just self promo and asking when I have a chance "Hey pls check out my comic lol"

eli [a winged tale]

Or maybe just something relatable? Seen a couple caption this on tumblr

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I think instead of memes, what I'm gonna do is my characters cosplaying more well known characters from works that have some tonal similarities with my own. This isn't just for advertising purposes; it's something I've been wanting to do for a long time for myself. But I'm realizing it can serve some of the same purposes that memes do.

Spring-heeled Jack

That's extremely cute!

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Keyword being "SOME" Tonal similarities... Some of them aren't very similar but have a couple of parallels, etc.

Spring-heeled Jack

Oh for sure. Even if you could find that 'perfect match', it might not be a great cosplay for them, and give too much away

Are "draw the squad" prompts still a thing? I love those

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

The One White Dude and the Tiger Dude in my comic will definitely cosplay Calvin and Hobbes at some point.

Spring-heeled Jack

LOL

omg please, Keii

eli [a winged tale]

YES

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Yeah, not every comic will have super memeable humor - but whatever you can do to break down that wall between you and a potential reader and go “Hey! Look at this. Is this relatable? Do you get the reference? Etc” Is a very good bet

Also yes squad memes are PERFECT

You can boil down your comic’s relationships so simply.

Spring-heeled Jack

I have four couples in my comic so those "ship dynamic" posts might be fun

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

What are squad memes?

eli [a winged tale]

I also need to be educated about squad I mean all the memes

Spring-heeled Jack

OH MAN!! They are fun as heck. You can find templates and it's a very simple character design in the template, but the poses are super silly. And then you just draw your characters in place of those simple figures(edited)

If you google "Draw the squad" you will find a bunch

renieplayerone

Oh! Ill have to try that! These squad bases look fun!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I still have one of those I need to finish Back when I first started sharing my work, I was surprised and delighted at how quickly people shoved it through a meme filter.

Maybe that’s another thing! If marketing opportunities present themselves as a surprise, try running with them and see where they take you Within reason, of course. Never feel forced to follow anything that people respond to in a particular way. Just take it into account and see how you feel about it.

renieplayerone

(Im here to lurk on this week's question, i have no strategy and need ideas haha)

eli [a winged tale]

Omg draw the squad looks

too many to choose

mariah (rainy day dreams)

I love draw the squad poses so much TuT I wish I had more time to draw within more of them. I think I always get a little dishearten about making memes because I feel like I need to make my jokes full illustrations but I never have time for much extra content beyond ballpoint pen sketches :T

Mei

Honestly I don't have a marketing or promotion strategy for my webcomic. I make updates every week, and I post it on my twitter and kinda plug it there. I'm actually god awful at trying to make people read my comic because I'm a little bit nervous about it, to be honest. So I just sort of leave it there and see if people find it, half the time. That being said, I tried to promote it pretty hard at conventions last year. But that didn't go as well as I'd hoped. I'm hoping to make flyers with QR codes so that people can scan it, and it'll take them to the landing page/tapas for the comic. That might be a bit easier than getting them to just search the title, plus having a flyer is a nice bit of promotion if I get the opportunity?! Making memes and drawing characters in different clothes or in squad things sounds like super fun tho and I might look into that in the future

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

It's nice to hear everyone talk about this topic. TBH I had completely stopped promoting my comic because I got too scared of backlash, being a disappointment, etc. (Initially I'd attracted a number of people who weren't actually my target audience, and that led to some less than ideal results.) But some time last year, it occurred to me that 1) I'm making this comic for my reader self (or my "hypothetical taste twin" as I like to call it)... which means 2) I only have to appeal to people like me. So I started asking myself, "What would I have to say/do to get me to read this comic?" and that made it significantly less intimidating. I haven't actually started doing self promo (though I did start plugging my updates on Twitter at least). But most future self promo I do will be based on that ^ question.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

(oh god, I was just checking out the latest update for one of the Korean webcomics I read, and the new episode is about a hikikomori... who says "I want to change, but I can't step outside because... maybe there isn't a single person out there who will understand me." THAT WAS ME but with comic promo. Well, I'm getting better and I also hope this character will, too, though knowing this comic his chances aren't so great lol...)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I hope that wasn't too awkward to share! Tl;dr I really think the "what would I have to say/do to get ME to check out my comic" is a good approach for anyone else feeling intimidated about doing self promos.

In the same vein, but on the opposite side of the coin: I'm curious to know, what were some things that got YOU to read someone else's comic?

Some of my own answers to that aren't very relevant to what we can do for our own comics: e.g. I'm Korean and when Naver has a new comic in their pro comic lineup, I may check it out. I'm also a member of SpiderForest and I check out the applicants' comics during the app season. Stuff like that aren't really good promo options that we can take. But things that may be relevant: - 'Evocative scenery shot that doesn't show the face/ doesn't focus on the face.' MY WEAKNESS. That kinda pictures feel subtle and kind of lonely to me, even if it's a group shot. And I like stories with those vibes. -Promo includes an evocative quote. Could be from the comic itself, or from something else like a classical literature or whatever. The creator of Ark (https://www.arkcomic.com/) does this sometimes and even though I'm already following Ark, those promos get my attention.

eli [a winged tale]

Definitely the art promo now that I think of it! Merch, posters, banners etc. If the art intrigues me, I definitely take a look at the site/blurb/first chapter

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I wonder if we can semi-workshop promo art at some point? Not really intensive like "change xyz" because that's not always feasible with art, but just impression feedback like, "this pictures gives me these vibes, and makes me expect this kinda story"

I would be curious to see everyone's even if we don't workshop

eli [a winged tale]

YES

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

Yesssss

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

Yes please. I don‘t promo besides update notices simply because I have no clue to start.

Mei

Sometimes I get really attracted by the style of the story? I immediately started reading Wolfsbane because the art was cool and different from a lot of whta I'd seen on Webtoon up until that point. And then the story was perfect for me. What keii said about writing for yourself is right. Patrick Ness once said you should write the stories your younger self would have loved to pick up on a shelf

and I think that's a pretty evocative thing. At the end of the day, you should be enjoying what you're writing (hopefully). And if you enjoy it and you're having fun making it, that can rub off on the people reading it, or you find the people who like that similar vein of story?

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

(It's also 100% legit to write stories for your current self )

Mei

(oh yes 100% that's what i'm doing HEHE)

Tolkein wrote LOTR because he was like

in love with worldbuilding

was there a market for such a strange type of novel at the time? No. Definitely not. Did he write it anyway? YEAH HE DID

Deo101 [Millennium]

I really wanna do an art workshop yes.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Aight, anyone who wants an impression feedback from me, post your promo art in #art_help

Warning, my impressions may be totally off lol

Deo101 [Millennium]

Also I don't do much marketing. Mostly I try to get in with communities and learn about making comics, I just want to improve my craft. All I really do is make my updated every week, and share whatever art Ive made on my Twitter or whatever

Okay! I think I only have my cover on my phone, but on my computer I also have my banners and icon. So I'll share all those in a bit when I'm at my computer

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

(off topic but I'm sick, and when I'm sick or very tired I constantly misread words. I read "my banners" as "my bananas" and I was very confused for a couple seconds.)

Deo101 [Millennium]

My bananers

Feather J. Fern

I am terrible at marketing my own work, but I am very good at marketing other people's work. I use the "you would like it for this reason" to grab people. Unfortunately I can't do it for my comic because I am bad at seeing the good in my own work oof. I am getting better at it though.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

That's a really good way to do it!

And I can relate. My own hangup is a little different, but it can be extremely difficult to be brave for sure, whether in front of other people, or just in front of your own brain that constantly judges you.

Feather J. Fern

Yeah I was talking about a friend's comic and then the person I was talking to was like "Don't you write comics" and I was like "ahfoofjw yeah but don't look at them"

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I was thinking a lot about the whole "it's like [well known work] meets [another well known work]" approach that was discussed earlier. And I think that could be relevant here. Like, think of something that has either influenced your comic significantly, or just happens to have some core similarities. How would you market that thing? Could you market your own thing using a similar approach -- since there are similarities?

I'd thought of a really good example to compare HoK to. Then I got sad because the said example is extremely obscure outside of Korea. But now I'm like, hey, people don't have to KNOW that work. I can do this differently. I can talk about HoK the way I could talk about it.

('it' as in the other work that's obscure outside of Korea)

Feather J. Fern

I do think that's a good fast shortcut but I don't like using it becuase the shortcut sometimes makes people angry when they don't get what they like out of those two things

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

That's why I said to NOT actually bring up the comparison work

Don't name it

Just list the traits that are shared in common

Feather J. Fern

Oh sorry

I miss read

(And my name changed colours all the sudden?)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

It's a confusing topic, so no worries

It means you leveled up

Feather J. Fern

OWO!

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Say you want to compare your work to... I dunno, DBZ, because it's got super strong aliens duking it out barehanded, blasting ki-like energy attacks, etc. Don't name DBZ. Talk about your work the way you'd talk about your favorite aspects of DBZ. "My comic has super strong aliens duking it out hand-to-hand! YEEEAH!"

OH MY GOD I NEED TO DO THIS NOW.

Feather J. Fern

Yeah! That's what I would do. (But it also helps for me that my comic has no hard reference points) but for my new comic, people are gonna compare it to Zach Bell, and Angelic Layer i think

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I'm gonna write up some drafts that I will revise and tweet at a later time

Feather J. Fern

So I jsut got to you know, not promo it as such XD

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I want to do this too for a quick pitch

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Do it (shop talk or story help maybe?)

I'm writing a vomit draft for mine

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Yee

Feather J. Fern

I think I will do it for Story help

(Also so I can help flesh out my new project lol lol)

eli [a winged tale]

Kei I might be suuuuper off since I read only the beginning but I sort of thought inuyasha but Korea and handsome boys

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Sometimes you don't even realize your story can be marketed as "blah meets blah" until much later down the line - I've only started realizing the number of existing properties I've absorbed unintentionally into my comic. It's not how I'd market it on a serious front, but to a friend for story help, heck yes.

But a lot of people on Twitter seem to do that strategy for PitMAD and it works great for them, so... shrug

I guess it still belongs in a "pitch arsenal," as it were

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, the one "blah" I just thought of is something I hadn't realized for all these years. But it makes so much sense now that I look at it.

eli [a winged tale]

See that’s where I got confused but I think this is what I’m gonna aim to do: - pitch to readers: inspiration but this awesome unique thing in the comic - pitch to other comic makers: the Logline - pitch to agents: comparison works if requested and longer pitch depending on their format - pitch to family: just read it plzthanksbye

renieplayerone

or alternative pitch to family: Please dear god never read this

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

That's me

Oof... Writing the 'promote your comic by talking about the traits it shares with Another Person's Work,' I made myself cry, and that is definitely a sign I'm on the right track.

eli [a winged tale]

Right track is good!

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

It took me years to even think of an 'other more popular work' comparison for Children of Shadow. XD But at the same time, it's really different from the works I compare it to, so it's hard to say 'Read this if you like X or X because it has a few similarities in theme and tone, but is still very much its own thing'.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah which is why I'm not even gonna namedrop my X.

I'm just straight up gonna talk about 'My comic has [this trait]' (and X shares that trait, but no one needs to know for the purpose of that pitch)

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

To answer the weekly question... I really don't have a marketing strategy. Marketing is my achilles heel, so I generally just throw pages up and hope someone sees them. I don't really understand social media nor do I have the energy to sink tonnes of time into it, which seems to be one of the biggest requirements for being picked up by algorithms. So my marketing strategy is just.., keep making comics and talking to other creators and hope for the best

eli [a winged tale]

I think that’s still solid Capn

Ultimately you need a product to promote

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

It's something that helps me, because while I can talk about my favorite works done by others, I feel stuck when trying to do the same with my own. So it's basically telling my brain, 'hey, you already know how to do it with other stories. Do the same thing with your own.'

eli [a winged tale]

So true Kei

renieplayerone

thats my strategy too. best case you market it great, worst case you've made a new friend so win win :3

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

My incredibly low numbers after 14 years of making webcomics beg to differ but... maybe someday I can hire someone to help me market.

eli [a winged tale]

I’m using the comic platforms rather than my own site so... sort of relying on their algorithms. I imagine it can be harder if you just post on your own website?

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Sometimes the platforms don't help much if their audience isn't into the type of comics you make

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I post on both my own website and on platforms, but the algorithms for WT and Tapas don’t seem to like me, haha.(edited)

renieplayerone

yeah same

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

One of my top favorite webcomics got a front page feature on Tapas once, but it wasn't the kind of a story that gets a lot of traction there, so it still didn't get very popular. And that was in no way a measure of its quality. It is an excellent comic, just not a good fit for that particular place.

renieplayerone

I get far more views on my site, but I get way more engagement on Tapas and WT

I actually treat those two mirrors AS marketing for the main site(edited)

eli [a winged tale]

Exactly renie! Good perspective!

I never know what different platforms tailor to...

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Yeah, what Keiiii said. I make dark fantasy comics and both WT and Tapas favour romance, especially comics geared towards a female audience and drawn anime style. My comics aren’t particularly feminine and romance isn’t much of a focus, so they’re just not what that demographic is into.

eli [a winged tale]

I’ve been trying to remember how I came across my favourite comics and usually it’s through the art (interesting characters, unique dynamic style that I enjoy) and the first chapter holding promise (able to see what the character wants/will have to change into)

Romance has always been the best seller in the story world I think

Oh and most recently hiveworks and other web publishers have great recommendations too per genre

And comic conventions are always fun to meet creators. Sometimes If I feel I jive with someone I’m an instant fan

renieplayerone

I absolutely need to get better at having confidence enough to make friends at conventions x_x

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I have noticed my audience grow a bit since joining Spiderforest. They’ve helped me get a bit better at promotion, though marketing just isn’t my talent, lol.

renieplayerone

im always terrified haha

eli [a winged tale]

It’s a big step for sure renie! It took me like... three years going to VanCAF as an attendee before actually exhibiting and making friends(edited)

Mei

I know i'm late but i personally detest the 'this book is X meets Y!!', even though I get why people do it. I just wish they'd describe it to me like what if I'd never read either of those books......

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I would really love to get out to cons, they sound like a great opportunity for connecting with other creators. One of these years I’ll be able to get to one!(edited)

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah im usually kinda like "okay, well are you doing anything new or are you just doing those things :/"

renieplayerone

I exhibit with the Boston Comics Roundtable and I still havent gotten the courage XD

Mei

yeah, cons are really fun even to attend or to make friends! I find it really tough though, I'm so intimidated;;

yeah Deo... same... it's like

sure, I could pitch a story as two things. Like I don't know "The Walking Dead meets Shaun of the Dead" which is semi redundant anyway

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I only use it to give people a framework for the kinds of tones and themes they can expect from my work when I have to keep my explanation short and sweet.

renieplayerone

they should have badges that say "Hi i want to make friends but you are all so awesome its intimidating be kind"

Mei

or you know... use those words to just describe the story? It may be a personal preference, some agents LOVE comparisons

Yes renie, yes!

i'd love a badge like that like

pls talk to me i'm scare

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Sometimes a few words can’t fully describe a story as well as saying: ‘It’s a little bit like X meets X but if you add [insert unique thing your story does]’

Mei

I personally find that it depends a bit too much on people having read those books or stories before. BUT if you're pitching to an agent, they've usually read those books

so then they get a sense or vibe of like, what the genre is

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

It’s all down to preference, really. Your own and the person you’re pitching to. If you don’t want to use comparisons to describe your own work, that’s valid, but try not to dismiss people who do.

Mei

so I get it, I just don't like it personally xD I think a lot of the times it takes away from your own voice and story

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

That too is part of the reason why I'm not namedropping the works

Just having my self-promo self learn from my 'promo other people's stuff' self

Mei

yeah for sure, it adds that level of excitement to your own work that you'd give to others?

eli [a winged tale]

I think a cool exercise might be to check out someone’s work here and see how you would promote it

It’s always good to see from someone else’s perspective

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

yessssss, all of my friends have been much better at promoting than I am

mostly because they have no shame regarding it but they also just... know what sounds cool

Mei

Oh i'm very good at promoting my friends' work

I sold his DnD book to a kpop stan who doesn't like DnD and doesn't play, and it was a crowning achievement

eli [a winged tale]

Like for yours I’d probably say... Manta Ray princess finds herself very much dead but is given a second chance to revive her friends and save her kingdom... just need to find someone very much living and very much not afraid of the seaghosts they have become

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

SOLID

though now I imagine Phaedra as a Manta Ray in a dress which is... not entirely untrue

eli [a winged tale]

LOL omg I haven’t even thought of that! Just thought manta Princess is a hook

Mei

Me, pointing at Cheth "I mean look at him, LOOK AT HIM and tell me you don't want to read this"

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I guess for my work I market it from four potential angles: 1) The princess is cool and has a sword, 2) The villain is the best character, 3) The environments ain't bad, and 4) THERE'S A DOG

again, you gotta know who you're talking to and what they already like

eli [a winged tale]

In a world where a fallen god became trapped in the sea, a dead princess is given a second chance to fight for her life with a mysterious sea-bitten boy and undo the sea ghost curse that plagues the world.

Dammit I repeated world

Mei

hey... the environments are GREAT

eli [a winged tale]

Yeah Lady your environment shots are

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

ok I do try BUT BACK TO MARKETING

The number of times I see someone marketing their comic with very epic-sounding descriptors or broad generalizations... then that one day where they're finally like "oh, I have a character who turns into a hamster at nighttime" and people are like 'I'M SOLD'

And then they go ".... THAT'S WHAT YOU ALL WANTED???"

often it's those little weird details that get people interested

Deo101 [Millennium]

I wanna read about the were hamster please

Mei

sometimes I think the simplest and maybe slightly silly lines are what grabs people?

when things sound TOO epic i feel a bit intimidated

eli [a winged tale]

takes notes

Mei

but if someone were to sell me a big adventure epic as "it's hamsters and they fight the forces of evil" i'd read it

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

god yes

"Four small creatures band together to defeat a great darkness overwhelming their homeland."

No.

"Hamsters fight evil."

YES

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I.... I have no idea how to snappily describe my comics. XD

eli [a winged tale]

Same... I got to kids with wings for hair then my brain short circuits

Mei

i'd say it's the way you'd tell the story to a close friend

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

The best I came up with was 'Teenagers with supernatural powers team up with woodland critters to defeat monsters' but it sounds more adventure-y and doesn't really get at the fact that it's a dark story with horror elements and everyone's mentally ill.

Mei

like they come up to you and go "what's your comic about" "oh you know, my stupid comic's about mutant hamsters that take over the world" or something

(don't call your comics stupid none of your comics are stupid they are great)

Deo101 [Millennium]

"plant man and his goth boyfriend babysitting a ton of bozos" would probably be mine then

Mei

BEAUTIFUL

i'm sold

Deo101 [Millennium]

ghsakgjhgkhkgahgk my target audience...

Mei

i do think tho like this form of comedic one-lining may not work for something dark?

Unless you go "Spooky horror about cats that become humans at night!"

would need experimentation

eli [a winged tale]

It’s a balance I think.

Kids stranded on an island with weapons explore the darkness in human nature - Lord of the Flies

Mei

ooh yeah that's a good one!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

A space explorer stranded on a foreign planet must join forces with the indigenous population and save his ship before his life support runs out.

Alternately

Small man goes to war with small carrot people

Pikmin

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

@Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios) I wonder if one could describe CoS the way how people might describe Evangelion, but with magical powers instead of mechs.

Teens, monsters, mental illnesses

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Probably. Though I've never seen Evangelion, but those three words work very well.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

The relationship dynamics are way different, but yeah, those three things...

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Also add trauma and cute lil animals and you have Children of Shadow. XD

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Evangelion also has trauma (though I don't know if you'd like it; this isn't a rec, just a promo discussion!) and it was refreshing to see at the time

A teen trying to fight huge monsters, even if he was doing it inside an equally huge mech, could lead to traumatizing experiences, and it was the first time I saw that seriously explored

Hmm, so I guess "teens, talking animals, monsters, mental illnesses feat. trauma" ?

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I don't know if it's similar at all, but that description reminds me strongly of Eureka 7. Wow, was that series intense,

🌈ERROR404 🌈

I really liked how the end happened - it was a nice solution to the lack of budget issue and told the story of his psyche reall well

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Though Eureka 7 was intense in a good way. I found the ending kind of unsatisfying, but admittedly I find the endings of 90% of animes unsatisfying (probably a cultural clash). But I enjoy them for the journey more than the ending.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I haven't watched Eureka 7, but the storyboard artist (one of the storyboard artists maybe?) for that anime is one of my favorite artists.

DanitheCarutor

Ah, a little late, but regarding the snappy promos I'm in the same boat as Cap'n with not knowing how to make one. At least one that would be ridiculous and totally not fitting the darker themes. I agree with all the people who have a generally hard time coming up with a pitch for their work, while having an easier time promoting other people's comics. Honestly my comic can be super boring to people who don't like pretentious, non-fantastical, angsty, character study types of stories. So it's really hard to think of a way to make it sound interesting without spoiling anything. Man! That thing when people come up to you, asking what your comic is about! Me: "Oh! Ah, it's uh, kinda sad and it has uh mental illness" -trails off with uncomfortable laughter- Them: Oh cool. -has a look of complete disinterest- Someone was actually extremely enthusiastic about the vague description of my comic, which somehow made me a mix of uncomfortable and excited.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I saw the conversation about blurbs and I just thought of one for a comic I'm working on! "An ecologist and a bird have a conversation about ethics"

I haven't started the comic yet so please send your critiques(edited)

and first impressions

(of the blurb)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

"Angsty character study with a heavy dose of mental illness" <--- Could this descriptor work? @DanitheCarutor

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

kei said exactly what I was just typing

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Great minds

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

oh, i just realized i've read dani's comic

I think your description is fine?

The artsy, angsty comics I follow all have kind of short, tongue in cheek descriptions

it's hard to capture the tone of an emotional comic in one sentence so they either joke about it or make it intentionally misleading

for example Drop Out's description is something like "two friends go on a road trip" and Fritz Fargo's description is "a human dumpster fire in the 90s"

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

The dumpster fire one is insta-effective

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Dani, maybe make your description shorter if anything?

Something like, "An emotionally stunted alcoholic attempts to make amends"

and then follow it up with kei's line about it being an angsty character study

RebelVampire

Im not gonna stop the convo cause it is on topic. However, i do want to remind ppl these #creator_babble chats are permanently archived. So thats something to keep in mind if youre gonna workshop.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I asked before in this discord about making my own blurb better. The main critique I got was that I included too many things that I thought were interesting and unique that a new reader probably wouldn't care about. Like how the mc's powers work. But though it's unique and important to the story, it's not going to be a main reason someone reads the comic. I revised the blurb to remove extraneous info and make the tone of the comic more apparent, and I think now I didn't lose anything and made it more concise.

I think maybe agtahr could also be summarized a bit more succinctly

DanitheCarutor

Yup, you did once upon a time but said you stopped reading it a while ago. (which is totally fine, the reason is understandable.) The mix of yours and Keii's descriptions do sound a lot better than mine. Lol Thank you Fish and @keii’ii (Heart of Keol)! I've noticed people really like the word 'angst' when you describe heavy stuff. At least when I was a teenager everyone found it appealing. I'll tinker with it a bit and use Drop_Out and Fritz Fargo as a reference. Anyways, I'm going to stop talking now, don't want to bog down the main topic.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

That's a good point; 'the best things about this story' and 'things that should go in its blurb' have an overlap, but they aren't always the same.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Yeah, I did but I'll probably pick it up again eventually. I remember enjoying it. If you do want to keep talking, we can move to shop talk?

mirandalorian

babbling I have the first three episodes of my webtoon ready to post tomorrow and I’m really excited and feel kinda proud that I made it this far...even though it’s not very far. It’s far for me without posting immediately end babbling

Feather J. Fern

I forgot to ask, but if people are tabling at cons, do you guys have promo stuff at your con tables for your comics?

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Mostly a business card, but yes

carcarchu

i never did but my table partner one year had free postcards she gave out with purchase / to passerbys with her comic info and an illustration on it

kayotics

I always keep free postcards to advertise my comic on the table right next to my business cards.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Yep, the free postcards did wonders for me last year. They disappeared quickly!

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

Buisness cards and postcards~

Feather J. Fern

Seems like Business and Postcards are the way to go.

Mei

business cards!!

i might be making flyers/postcards for my comic next time though! :D

sagaholmgaard

I haven't done much to promote my comic but I've gotten some good ideas reading through this, thanks! I currently plug my updates in twitter and instagram with a cool/fun panel from the new page. I do also share WIPS and try to engage through my instagram stories (Asking things like, 'what type of benders would the Reclaim squad be in an avatar au' and making doodles for the answers), but that only reaches those who follow my IG. its good fun tho. I've done memes with the characters a few times but I didn't get much attention, LOL. But it's fun so maybe worth trying again

Spring-heeled Jack

Today I went into a locally owned comic shop and went to the guy that owns it and said "I'm a local artist and I'm writing a comic. Could I give you some small flyers to let people take?" And he said yes, and then asked if I have any physical copies. I don't yet but told him I'll bring some by when I have them. He then let me know he carries other local artists! Something cool to think about if you have a local comic shop.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

ooo that's good to know

I droped off my zines at my local comic shop but maybe I'll drop flyers of my webcomic too lmaooo

Spring-heeled Jack

I also just ordered a business card carrier so I can tote some around with ease. I carry my flyers in my sketchbook. You should totally ask, it never hurts! Carry a few extra just in case you find yourself in a new area and find another cafe or comic shop.

I ran mine off on my at home printer on some nice quality but regular weight paper. I might need to get some more professionally done.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

I keep a handful of business cards in my wallet -- that way, any time someone says "hey, that looks cool, what are you drawing?" they get a card with the title and URL. Slowly but steadily burns through the supply.

DanitheCarutor

Seeing if my local book shops will carry copies of my comic when I print them eventually is something I'm kind of excited about! My town is hardcore into supporting local artists and writers, so that'll be something neat to try out. Although I'm a little nervous that the rating might be a little too mature for what the vendors want on their shelves.

I know of using postcards to advertise, but never heard of fliers. Maybe I'll give that a try.(edited)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I use double sided business cards, so on one side, it showcases some of my art, and the other side has contact info, a link to my comic website, and a QR code. It's been pretty helpful so far at conventions.

Nutty (Court of Roses)

You guys have all these sophisticated answers to this and my answer is just "scream on every social media platform I can reach and every person I meet about my comic."

Though I may not scream at people irl,,,

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

Let's see... I have a twitter where I repost my comic pages, and a couple mirrors that help reach different audiences. I've also carried around business cards that have my comic's URL on it. One fun strategy I've used is doing review-exchange things, in an I-critique-your-comic-if-you-critique-mine way (with the assumption that most people who read all the way through Super Galaxy Knights end up liking it). Though, that isn't really viable anymore now that the comic is 600+ pages, cuz nobody would ever agree to that trade lol. And... that's pretty much it? Though, I should note that my goal with Super Galaxy Knights isn't to make the most popular comic I can so that I can make a living off ads or patreon or print sales or whatever. If I ever do manage to make money off the comic, it'll be in "spinoff tech" (basically, video games or other media based off it). (it's the reason why a bunch of early Starstuff Stories fleshed out the abilities of the characters they focused on) I would like people to read the story because I think people would like the story, but it's not like my future depends on its popularity.

Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS

We (me and Q) are gonna (hopefully) tabeling at cons this year! I thought about doing free non permenant tattoos with our comic things. Also we have beautiful zines of the first chapter to sell. but a free postcard is also good

Desnik

promotional strategies...ah...the biggest thing I did for my first webcomic, RAWR! Dinosaur Friends, was simply update on a general platform (tumblr), using a consistent schedule and the same tags every time. That allowed some of the bigger biology/humor/critter blogs on tumblr to find me and I got a lot of people reading from their generous reblogs. I found some more niche crossover from sci-comm blog comments and dinosaur toy collector forums, because sometimes I'd have a comic that would coincide with paleontology news. It was mainly about finding my niche and bringing my stuff to that niche. To those struggling with finding readers, I would recommend distilling the contents of your comic and then reaching out to people who buy/read things like your comic. I've definitely made friends from general 'webcomic' forums and discords, but in terms of building a readership it's all about finding the niche and catering to it in a human way

In general I highly recommend shopping around for stuff like hobby blogs/forums/groups/discords that have some relation to the content of your webcomic. Those people DO want new content related to their hobby, but they don't really deal well with salesy pitches. Just be human and also a nerd for that hobby, too (nerdy enough to make webcomics about it)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, it's like fan comic for an existing IP with an existing fandom, except it's a fan comic of a 'thing' rather than an IP (e.g. you make a pirate comic? Great! Nobody owns pirates, but there are lots of pirate fans out there!).

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

The very first customer I had at the first con I tabled at, came over and said "I like ghosts! I like the ocean! I'll take it!" And wrote me later saying it was exactly what they were looking for.

And honestly it's all because I make sure every cover has something spooky and something watery, and the genres are in the title I make it very easy for people to understand what it might be like.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

omg the genres are in the title

that's genius

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Definitely not planned But it helps so much!

I think if authors have a rule on certain symbols/motifs they MUST make sure come across on covers/posters/etc, that can be a good marketing strategy. With some wiggle room, of course.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I... I feel like I can barely even describe what my comic is, which makes it so hard to market. 'Do you like comics with cute animals and eldritch horrors and angsty teens that have superpowers and hidden religious symbolism everywhere?!? Then my comic is for you!' What even is that demographic, because I sure don't know.(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

@Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios) If you take away the cute animals part, that actually sounds like stuff a lot of teens are into/ a lot of people were into when they were teens. And most people love cute animals, so adding that to the mix, in theory, shouldn't reduce the accessibility too much. Buuuuut CoS has its unique flavor that's decidedly different from all the "angsty teens, eldritch horrors, religious symbolism" stuff I consumed when I was younger. I don't know how to describe that flavor, nor how to utilize it for marketing. But yeah, maybe some food for thought?

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I've used short phrases that are sort of representative to describe my comic. Examples include "consensual mind control" "a guy whose ideal life is not being entirely alive" "friendship" and "anticlimactic conversations"

I have no idea how effective any of those are

someone tell me pls

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

As someone who just started reading your comic last night I think consensual mind control is a really cool descriptor. I haven't heard that too much before.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

!

that makes me happy

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

@keii’ii (Heart of Keol) Heh, I'm not sure what that unique flavour is, either, but it might have something to do with me avoiding the typical 'chosen one' structure that most teen fantasy literature has. The characters are all (except Fawna) a part of the hidden world already rather than discovering it, and everyone's pretty much running around like chickens with their heads cut off rather than having any power over their situation (which is kind of a huge part of the theme of the comic). It's definitely different than the typical urban fantasy, so it's been really hard to find which audience that appeals to. From what I've gathered based on the people who comment on my website, it's mostly academics in college or beyond, for whatever reason. XD

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Honestly I think for almost all comics their first pages were what convinced me to keep reading. Even with Phantomarine I was ambivalent about the description but then I saw the first page, and though, yeah, I'm into this.

Maybe my own comic can be the same way

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Exactly the same with me and your comic - I was also all about that first page It's a powerful thing! I think for anyone about to delve into a comic - which is, by nature, a very visual thing - it's going to be that visual that ultimately pushes them over the edge.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

maybe my description should just be ascii art of my main character O-O | -(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

^ It's why I tinkered with the first page of HoK soooo many times even after it went live. But it wasn't enough; it still gave off the wrong impression as to what kind of a story one should expect. Finally, more than a year after I started posting it, I redid like 1/4 to 1/3 of chapter one from scratch. Even though it will never be perfect, I can live with it now. chapter 2 on the other hand... It's an imperfect intro to the right story, rather than an intro (good or not) to the wrong story.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

To be honest, my intro probably doesn't hit the right notes to explain what my comic is about, which may be part of my problem. It starts out seeming more like an anthropomorphic fantasy than a dark urban fantasy / horror story. That's just something I think I'm going to have to live with, because I'm tired of reworking old pages (I already do it far too much). I think my best solution is drawing a new cover that showcases the tone and subject matter better than the one I'm using now.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

oh god, you reminded me of the 3 cover pages I spent hours on only to later scrap. Then my current cover page I did in one hour after it came to me at 4am(edited)

and it was perfect

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

XD

and my page redoings were after the reboot.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Cap, I don't know how representative it is of the story but I looked up the Ashes cover page and it's very impressive

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Yeah, I already redrew my intro once.... and this is the third iteration of this comic. And I'm currently redrawing the first two chapters of my other comic. I'm so sick to death of starting over. -_-

@Eightfish (Puppeteer) Oh, thank you!! I like to go all-out on covers, heh.

Kabocha

Promotion... ... is that a thing you can eat? ... A few things I've tried is business cards -- tweeting about it -- posting about it on dA... I try to stay away from services like Tapas and Webtoon because I'm not formatted for those sorts of things, and I fear I'll probably just frustrate myself. It's a delicate balance right now between remaining happy with my work and getting it seen, but overall, I guess I'm not too stressed about it since it's not a source of income for me... I just... like making comics. I've also done conventions -- Conventions are fun, don't get me wrong, but nowadays they're a really low return on interest for many shows for original stuff (except slice of life and "oh no I did a bad" types of zines -- people seem to really enjoy things like that since it's often pretty easy to relate to). They feel like they used to be easier for selling original work, but the market's gotten rougher because there's so much competition and only so many dollars. if I ever print, I'm probably going to have to lean on some marketing-savvy friends for help... Hopefully things haven't changed too much by then. I think the tool that's worked best for me in the past few years has been doing guest comics here and there, as well as using topwebcomics, oddly enough. TWC was pretty good for referrals when I started doing comics way back in 2006~2007...

sagaholmgaard

Since the topic is about promotion... Do yall know if there are any twitter hashtag events for webcomic creators? My friends in the indie game industry have certain hashtags that people can post in during specific times every week - do we have anything similar?

Kabocha

#Webcomicchat!

https://webcomicchat.com/for-creators You may also find this page helpful

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

#webcomicchat is great because you get to talk shop while talking about your own work! It's not just "look at my comic"

sagaholmgaard

Ahh!! Thank you!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I know some people do #WebcomicWednesday - not sure how official it is, but it gets some attention!

sagaholmgaard

I'll check that one out as well!

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

There's also #comicartistsunite too

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

webcomicchat always looked like fun, but I definitively am on the wrong side of the globe for the times it's going on

mirandalorian

Promotion is difficult. I always feel like I'm being too pushy, even for something that's free. I also feel like I built up a following that had nothing to do with comics or art and so when I switched directions to head that way, i don't get the response I would like. Reading all the thoughts here has been really helpful tho. Just got to put them into practice

Feather J. Fern

I think my current attempt for promotion is at least being more willing to promote. I have to force my fear of "I shouldn't tell people because it's not as good as (blank)" and just shove my comic into a spotlight

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

If anyone is worried about bothering people, putting variety into your promotions will make things more palatable for people for sure. I have one person on my timeline spamming the same exact post over and over again, almost daily, and it doesn't seem to be doing them any favors There's no need for a promotion every day. The people I see that do a more-obvious promotion tweet, like, weekly, or every two weeks, seem to get good results from that Sometimes less is more

mirandalorian

I need to get to that point Feathery. And ya, daily is a bit extreme imo. But I have to figure out the good balance

Feather J. Fern

Even weekly I don't do it because I feel like I am spamming and I feel awkward

Oh! Speaking of promotions, one way I found I got my comic promoted was by doing guest comics for other people! I got lots of viewers after each guest comic I did

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, for social media promo, e.g. on Twitter, you want to make your actual tweets have value -- not just things being linked off the tweets. (This is where gag-a-day kinda comics have an advantage, because each strip has entertainment value and you can just post the whole strip in a tweet.) Obviously this doesn't apply to every promo tweet; so like, weekly promo tweet that's solely about the links, as mentioned by others, is fine. But yeah, aside from those, you wanna make your promo tweets fun to read.

Feather J. Fern

Also cameos! Cameos are a great promo

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Not gonna lie, I am lowkey paranoid about doing cameos. Someone I know had to remove their cameo of someone else's character, because that other person objected to their character being in the print version of the comic.

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

Uff

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

oh rip

Feather J. Fern

Oh man, that's rough.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I'll never even print HoK but I can still imagine someone being all "NOPE, I CHANGED MY MIND" at a later time

Feather J. Fern

I am planning to do some cameos for other people, not that Go Figure will ever be in print but I can see that problem. I think what I would say is that if you want a cameo you have to be 100% certain

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Might be a good idea to have a very simple agreement thing you can have them sign

Feather J. Fern

Yeah I was going to have a written consent form

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

"I agree to let you do a cameo of my character, and to not be a jerk about it at a later time. Signed"

Feather J. Fern

Signed and dated by both parties XD

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

There's also the broad hashtags like #webcomics and even things more geared to genres like #drama and #fantasy and so on. Doing art memes helps sometimes, too.

mirandalorian

What do you think the best hashtags to use are? Is webcomics too saturdated?

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I'm not sure about the best hashtags, but my biggest thing about hashtags on Twitter : don't use a bunch of hashtags in a single tweet!

For broad hashtags like #webcomics or #fantasy, I gotta wonder if anyone's actually checking those out...

mariah (rainy day dreams)

Yeah, I usually tag my update posts with #webcomic and my comic's name, but honestly I have no idea if #webcomic has ever helped out my post ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

mirandalorian

Ya, I typically keep it to two or less, but i always wonder if webcomic is actually useful lol

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

takes note to use something more specific than #webcomic in my next update tweet

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I think it may potentially be useful as a label for someone who's just found you on that platform, and is not sure what you're promoting. But beyond that...

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

I usually use #historicalfiction and #webcomic. Not sure which one helps more, but well, there it is.

mirandalorian

Ya, I should use the genre tag too.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Do people even search genre tags for that matter lol (a bit pessimistic, but still a genuine question)

like, I'll be the first to admit, I don't hashtag search to look for new comics to read. I don't think I ever hashtag search ANYTHING, unless it's like..... a very active trend that I am interested in (e.g. an upcoming video game that I'm looking forward to)

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

Well, the tags are popular enough to be suggested by twitter so I'd think some use them, probably likeminded folk.

mariah (rainy day dreams)

Same keii. I mostly use hashtags to look for fan art, exclusively on Instagram.

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

There's also a trend of "art sharing" tweets. I have found a couple of artists and webcomics through that kind of event, but again, the turnover isn't anything to write home about.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I wonder if readers make use of the search more than us creators do?

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I doubt it, Lee

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

:/

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I never use it as a reader, at any rate, though I don't know if others are like that.

mariah (rainy day dreams)

Though, actually that's not true, I have used hashtags to look at more things being posted within art events. So inktober, mermay, hourly comic day, etc.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

But art event hashtags are useful, because -- like I mentioned before -- those tweets provide entertainment value without anyone having to click on offsite links. e.g. the #StartToFinish tag that's hot right now.

mariah (rainy day dreams)

I have followed new artists from those tags though and then checked out their off-site stuff. It's definitely a more round about way than someone specifically looking for comics to read via hashtag

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

From my limited observation, when people are looking for comics to read, they tend to ask for recs rather than do hashtag search?

"Anyone know of some good magical girl webcomics?" etc

which is a bit of a bummer for us creators, because that is completely outside of our control. Nothing we can do about it.

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

here's the popularity for the #webcomics tag

So SOME people use it.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

@Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight) I'm gonna guess it's mostly creators using them to promote, rather than readers using them to search.

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

Also it seems to be peak in popularity in the USA

@keii’ii (Heart of Keol) the graph implies interaction, really.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

What counts as interaction?

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

tweeting it and searching it

what I'm saying is we can't know.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I don’t so much in Twitter, but I personally DO search hashtags on Insta to find new art.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

It's true, we can't know. I just personally can't imagine anyone searching for #webcomics to find stuff to read

mariah (rainy day dreams)

Insta is definitely hashtag game city.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, IG is a different beast

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Comics don’t generally gel so well with Insta’s format, though, so I’m usually seeking art and not comics.

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

just to be safe, occasionally use it

To be honest, I'm probably more likely to find and become a fan of webcomics here on this server than any social media

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, I wouldn't say "don't use #webcomics" -- use it if you have no other, more specific tags to put. But on Twitter, you don't want too many hashtags, so if you got more specific ones... use those instead!

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

I feel somewhat self conscious in getting an instagram. But I'll get one most likely.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

It might be a good idea to switch up your tags regularly? Choose two or three from a relevant list each update and see if any of those tweets get a noticeable boost in engagement.

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

Yeah that sounds a good strategy

speaking of, any other creators into historical webcomics?

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I don't seek them out, but there's some that I read.

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

yours is touching upon the historical keii with the joseon-style elements.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

It's definitely not historical but yeah, got the aesthetics going for it!

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

Yeah!

I must admit, I'm a bit starved for like-minded creators. I mean people that create historical webcomics. I know and follow a few but that's not nearly enough.

(if I'm babbling too much for creator babble please tell me!)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Babbling is fine! But this might be better for #general or possibly shop talk as it's not related to this week's topic?

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

oh sorry, there's a specific topic here too?

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, all the channels under CTP Activities have a... topic thingie that changes weekly

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

okay got it. I'll take it there. Sorry :/

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Don't be sorry, be glad to chat about this stuff in another channel

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

With insta please be mindful that if you‘ll always post with the same hashtags, their algorythmn likely will assume you‘re a bot.

mirandalorian

Oh really?

I definitely did not know that.

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

Yup, it‘s a big annoyance. At least it was that way half a year ago, how is the algorythm now? Nobody knows.

I kinda hate insta, but it‘s the platform with the most interactions for me, although I don‘t know if it goes beyound liking my panel cutout.

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

Instagram does it‘s darnest to lock the user into theor own ecosystem.

mariah (rainy day dreams)

Yeah, hard same. I definitely get the most likes there, but I get very few referrals from insta.

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

Funnily, the only social media where I KNOW I got at least one reader from is pillowfort and their teeny-tiny webcomic comunity!

mariah (rainy day dreams)

I keep wanting to hop over there, but also starting a new social media sounds exhausting TuT one day.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I need to start using PF

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

It‘s pretty chill, reminds me of the hey-day of livejournal, with great filtering - more intended to create many small communities than one giant pot like twitter.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I don’t think any platform’s algorithms like me. I get very low engagement no matter where I post. I’m just not good at figuring out what these platforms pick up.(edited)

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

I still have three invites left for this week.

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

Does cross promotion work for you guys at all?

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

A little bit? But I think my comics are a hard sell, so I generally don’t get a lot of referrals when I cross-promote with other creators.

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

It‘s how I found this community; but otherwise, nope.

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

Now I need to check out your comics Lee. I'm intrigued!

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Haha, if you want to! If they’re not your cup of tea that’s a-okay.

mariah (rainy day dreams)

I still have three invites left for this week.

@chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa] if you don't have plans for those invites, I would definitely take one and follow you first

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

About the hashtag thing on Twitter..... I have found the hashtags #webtoon #webtooncanvas and #celebrateCANVASday to be particularly useful for those of us publishing on Webtoon Canvas. I have gained a few new readers from this, and the official Webtoon Canvas page often retweets when these hashtags are used.

mariah (rainy day dreams)

That's good to know. I'm planning to start mirroring on Webtoon so I'll have to be sure to remember to use those tags.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I need to fix my series on WT first. But I'll give those hashtags a try once that's been done

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I tried using webtoon hashtags a few times, but their page never retweeted me. It seems either random, or there’s some hidden requirement for getting a rt.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

i use the tag sometimes but I found it more responsive if you have a vertical scrolling format comic

then they're more likely to respond to you

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Oh, yeah.... I use a traditional page format.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

same rip

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I do combine all my pages into long episodes at the ends of chapters, so it’s kinda scrolling, but they’re just traditional pages stacked on top of each other, lol. WT definitely doesn’t like that, but I don’t have the time to reformat hundreds of pages.

Feather J. Fern

Also promo thought, I randomly joined people's streams before and then got hooked on their comics after seeing them draw on twitch or something like that

Pistashi

I struggle a bit with promo stuff, because I get too self-conscious about self-promoting and I'm the type of person that ends up doing too much of it or none of it

at the moment I'm working on making a press kit and sharing it with some blogs and networks about comics

but still, what I usually do is join groups and try to talk with people that works with art and comics

this is kind of more inclined to networking and meeting new people to talk about what we like than promoting my work to potential readers

nothing wrong with that, but looking with a more critical eye I still have a lot to learn about building an audience and reaching people who could become future readers

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

I wonder HOW much a large social media following is worth. Insta‘s shown me that it isn‘t necessarily translating into readers.

carcarchu

in my experience followings on different platforms are non-transferable. same goes with having a large following on your comic itself, doesn't necessarily mean having a lot of followers on your art accounts. that's why they say "don't build your sandcastle in someone else's sandbox"

Pistashi

that makes a lot of sense

kayotics

If you’re building your following around your own content (original art, comic updates, etc) then the likelihood that the following is transferable is higher, but it’s still not 100%. You’re competing with everything else on their timeline too.

RebelVampire

i think a thing to consider with webcomics especially when it comes to social media is that a good portion of people who follow comic creators on social media are other comic creators, not people who are just readers. and the good majority of comic creators do not have a lot of time to read other webcomics. While there are certainly exceptions, I see those very few and far in between. So the conversion rates for social media right now are super low until the dynamic of the communities on the platforms changes.

kayotics

I’d agree with that, but also having a social media presence has definitely opened up some doors to being seen by other creators, many of whom are professionals. It’s good for networking, might not be the best for gaining and retaining readers.

RebelVampire

Oh yeah for sure. My point was about conversion factor

its factor in networking is a whole other matter entirely

and is indespensible

kayotics

One thing that I didn’t mention for myself is that networking has helped a LOT with getting new readers. Word of mouth, is always the best way to advertise, and other webcomic people giving you a plug can see some really strong results

[thehomierobbstark]

Let’s Talk About Sex

Chapter 2 Intermission Chapter 3

Pairing: Erik Killmonger x Reader [#TeamErikDon’tDateWhiteChicks]

Prompt: Aight, so iOKnoW bout yall but… I got some mad ‘fears’ about sex 😂😂😂. I got so many questions, so many horrible imaginations, so many embarrassing ass scenarios I’ve thought of in my head about what might happen when I finally do the do. Basically, ya girl been thankin (thinking) too much, and I done fucked around and thought up this shit. HUUUUGEEE shoutout to the BP groupchat for not only always keeping me entertained but for feelin me on this fic lmao. I’m so glad I’m not the only one who feel this way. Also shoutout to Poosy for her word contribution lmao.

A/N:  Ya’ll…. this really the shit that be going thru my mind lmfao like this really what I think about XD. I tried color coding the dialogue because I thought it would be too confusing but then I failed so fuck it XD. Also, it may seem like some of the words are grammatically incorrect or misspelled n the dialogue but it’s because I wanted you to read it like you would a text or message to better understand the delivery.

Warnings: At the bottom 👇🏿👇🏿👇🏿n uhhhhh yeah sit back and enjoy the journey 😂😂😂😂

This is for all my lil cute ass black gorditas out there rockin back fat, belly rolls and thick ass thighs that touch!!  x Reader is always gon be black, chubby, and sassy.

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

“Okayyy… you ready?”

“Yeah, I’m ready.” You fidget nervously, fingers sweating between the joints, your heart skipping beats while you keep your eyes locked with Erik’s.

“Alright on three. One…two…three!”

At the same time, both of you flip over your papers, holding them out in front of you to show each other.

Your eyes eagerly scan over Erik’s paper, mind quickly gobbling up all the information the printed form had to offer you.

Your brain checked off each result as it read through:

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

Patient: STEVENS, ERIK        Gender: MALE        Age: 26       DOB: 08/16/1992

COMPREHENSIVE STD PANEL RESULTS:

CHLAMYDIA                                    NEGATIVE

GONORRHEA                                  NEGATIVE

HIV TYPE 1                                      NON -REACTIVE

HIV  TYPE 2                                     NON -REACTIVE

HERPES TYPE 1                              NEGATIVE

HERPES TYPE 2                              NEGATIVE

SYPHILIS RPR                                 NEGATIVE

HEPATITIS A VIRUS ANITBODY      NON -REACTIVE

HEPATITIS B VIRUS ANTIBODY      NON -REACTIVE

HEPATITIS C VIRUS ANTIBODY      NON -REACTIVE

Thank you for choosing Planned Parenthood.

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

A huge sigh of relief releases from your chest, sounding like a gush of wind as it escapes through your lips.

“Oh okay, so thats how u feel,” Erik griped, giving you a side eye look.

You ignore him, not even bothering to look for his reaction at your results, knowing they were all negative like you both knew they’d be.

Just as quickly as it left, your anxiety came rearing back as you snatched his test from his hands to take a closer look, eyes wide. “Wait! What does Non - Reactive mean?!”

“So you just gon ignore me then.”

“That means negative right? Where’s my phone!” your hands swing out to the sides to blindly feel around the couch before scooping up your device.

“-_____- really.”

“Okay! Okay, google says a non-reactive result means…” You mumbled over the quick-definition google supplied as you looked for the important bits, scanning between the paper and your phone. “ … and that no anti-bodies were found! So no!”

“Omg.”

You do a little happy dance as you double check to make sure all five tests define non reactive in the same way while Erik rolls his eyes.

“Y/N you fr googled that.”

“Yes nigga! Sexual health is important and I wanna make sure I’m clear and confident in my understanding of the results!”

“Okay, well, you makin a nigga feel bad n shit gettin all worried over his test results. What, you don’t trust me baby?” Erik looks at you, and his face is pouted downcast, almost looking like a adorably sad pitbull.

“Aww baby no!” You deny, immediately throwing your arms around him to comfort him, pecking his forehead with annoying kisses as you smush his face into your chest. He grumbly accepts your kisses, wrapping his arms around your waist.

“But I mean…. you was kinda a thotpocket back in the day tho..” You joke, shrugging, and he playfully pushes you back and sucks his teeth.

“Mann stfu.  You just acting all extra cuz your body count lower.”

“Erik, for the last time, I’ve never had sex before.” You say, crossing your arms to help your statement seem more serious than you felt. Erik was always messing with you, saying he couldn’t believe that you’d never had sex before at 25, and that there was just no way.

“Nah.” He states simply.

Your neck reels back a little bit.

“Wachu mean Nah??” You get ready to defend your undefiled past and the normalcy of 20+ virgins when he leans forward to nibble on your neck, distracting you.

“I mean..” He pulls your waist against him and reaches back to grab two handfuls of ass as he keeps nibbling.

“…nah, ain’t no fuckin way you this damn fine and you ain’t ever had nobody at least worship for hours between these thighs.” He rubs all over you, fingers gliding across the beautiful curves and body rolls that covered your voluptuous frame as he presses hungry kisses with delicious pressure against your throat.

“Nigga, you’re corny as fuck.” you try to insult him, but he gives a fat wet lick right above your collarbone that feels so good, and he squeezes your ass at the breathy moan that slips out of your mouth.

He pauses his ministrations on your body and pulls back from you, chuckling and shaking his head a little before resting his forehead against yours.

“What?” You ask him, thinking he’s poking fun at you. While you may have technically been a virgin, you and Erik had definitely been routinely messing around a lot.

In between your latest heavy petting and make out sessions, Erik had a bet going to see how quickly he could get you to moan without sticking his hands down your pants. He bet 30 seconds, you bet 45. So far you hadn’t been able to make it past 38.

“You’re the horniest, freakiest, yet most innocent virgin I’ve ever met.”

A part of you wanted to ask just how many virgins he’d met, but you decided to nip your jealous possessive side in the bud before it could get the better of you. It wasn’t time for her right now.

He leans back to look you in the face, his eyes pulling at the corners exposing the teasing smile he was trying to hide.

“Umm excuse me?! What do you mean innocent? If I recall correctly, didn’t I just have you creaming your bitch ass pants the other week from just grinding on you?” You throw at him, triumphantly crossing your arms and looking down at him.

“Why they gotta be bitch ass tho.”

When you’re heavy petting session last week had suddenly turned into a full blown dry grinding competition, Erik had been so caught off guard by the intensity he actually came all over himself inside his brand new black velvet joggers he’d just bought (in your defense, the velvet did feel really nice against the thong you had on).

The bewildered look on his face made you laugh so hard, you actually keeled over and fell off the arm of the couch.  He was over it at that point, storming off to the bathroom muttering threats about ‘getting that ass back,”, hence the bet you were currently losing.

“Also, lets not act like you not the same girl who can’t even watch male masturbation videos without making a face.”

“First of all there’s nothing sexy about seeing a dude jack off, so you can stop right there.”

“That’s because you’ve never seen ME jack off.” He jokes crudely. “Bet money I’d have your mouth watering within the first five strokes.”

“Probably watering because I’m bout to throw up,” You giggle childishly, a goofy grin on your face.

“Aight Y/N, you keep talking all that shit and we gon see who really still bout that action once I get them panties off.”

Your giggles come to a screeching halt as you gasp, and he buries his teeth in the side of your neck, his hands starting to wonder down south into the back of your compression shorts.  

You fight hard not to moan again this time while he chews lightly on your neck when you suddenly start to feel self conscious.

You unconsciously start squirming around on top of him, both in pleasure and slight confusion as he massages your cheeks, one in each hand, pulling and scrunching them between his fingers.  Your anxiety starts to slowly creep back up on you, and when he draws a line with his finger down your panties between your cheeks, you involuntarily clench up and yelp just as he reaches your taint. The feeling was stuck somewhere being too good yet too much at the same time. You damn near squeezed his finger to death before it could even reach its destination.

“Okay look,” you pull back, trying to reason with both him and your body. You didn’t mean to get jumpy all of a sudden but it’s like your muscles had a mind of their own.

“Baby wassup?” He immediately stops his movements and pulls his hands from you. “Did I hurt you?!” He immediately switched over from his sexually deviant demeanor to his overprotective one, concern lining his face.

“No, no baby your fine I’m just,” You blow out a breath, a little embarrassed by how twitchy you just got, and you try to shake it off by laughing at yourself.

It’s not like Erik had never groped you there before, but for some reason it felt 10x more serious now that you both basically had the green light since you’d received your test results back.

You knew both of you would almost immediately try to jump each other’s bones once you’d get the chance, but now that it was here it’s like the part of your brain that was previously occupied with worries of false negatives and unclear test results had been replaced with insecurities you didn’t even realize you had until this very moment.

“What? You good?” Erik was still studying your face, trying to see where your head was at.

“Yeah, yeah, no I’m good,” You close your eyes and nod quickly, “I just…umm…”, you’re face grows hot as you try to get out the next words, “.. I just got a little…. nervous…??” You peek an eye open. “I guess???”

You were trying so hard to relax and let go of your anxiety, but you just couldn’t stop feeling so nervous.  Especially not when you started to worry about what he might think about it.

“Can I uh.. maybe take a shower first? Or something?” You said trying to gear the conversation back into a normal flow. If you could just take a shower real quick…

“Yeah, of course, but what’s this about?” He still looked at you, eyeing you cautiously.

“I just don’t feel clean right now,” you say, making up excuses trying to find a way out of his wandering hands.

“Y/N, I just finished rubbing your clit in the car ride over here, what do you mean you’re not clean? Are you worried that I’m worried about that?” he asks you, not believing you’re serious about this.

“I meannn, it’s been like 30 minutes tho.” You lie.

“Y/N, I don’t care about that. I’m tryna see how you taste now and then. I don’t care if you still have cum on you, I’m eating that too.”

“Okay well I have to go to the bathroom, so..” You try to move off of him and onto the floor but he holds you still, not letting you escape.

Erik sighs. “Y/N, whats really goin on? It’s okay, you can tell me.” His eyes shift between yours like he’s trying to find the answer. “If you’re not ready to have sex yet, that’s okay. We don’t have to do this today baby.” He rubs at your legs tenderly, trying to comfort you.

“No, it’s not that, I just…” He raises his eyebrows expectantly, waiting for your next words. “I wanted to shave first. Because I have hair.”

He raises an eyebrow at you. “Shave? I just felt how trimmed you were-”

“Not that part.” You state plainly, hoping he’d catch your drift but have enough decency not to make it too obvious once he did.

“Y/N, I swear to god if you say legs I’m gonna-”

“Oh my God Erik my asshole, okay! I need to shave my asshole!” Your face is burning now from the embarrassment of having to say that out loud to your boyfriend and you feel like melting right into the couch into a puddle of nothingness.

The silence only lasts two seconds, but its one second too long for you and you try and scramble off his lap to go hide in the bathroom in shame. A gigantic bark of laughter breaks through from Erik’s chest, and it scares the life out of you, causing you to accidentally stumble onto the floor.

Erik’s doubled over in laughter now, tears threatening his eyes and you almost think he’s laughing at you when he rolls off the couch after you, laying his heavy body on top of yours and pinning you to the floor to keep you from getting away. He gets his last bits of laughter out with his face buried in your middle, and when he finally calms down he looks up, resting his chin on your torso.

“Y/N,” He states, looking at you.

“Erik.” you answer, avoiding his eyes.

“Y/N.” He leans in closer to you.

You clear your throat, still looking off somewhere else. “What Erik.”

“Do you really honestly think that some ass hair is gonna gross me out. Do you really think that?” He’s still smiling, looking at you with so much amusement and pure love in his eyes.

When he puts it that way, it makes you feel a little ridiculous thinking about how weird you just got over body hair.

“I mean… kinda?” You say honestly, and you finally look back at him.

“I know it seems stupid but I feel like thats not..”

“Normal?” He supplies for you. You nod your head in agreement.

“Baby,” he softly says, “Ass hair is totally normal. You know that.”

You did. “But I still feel like no one ever talks about it, and you never see it in porn. Not even the homemade ones.” Yeah sure it was normal but it still felt like this dirty ugly thing no one was supposed to speak about.

“Babygirl a lot of people have ass hair. Shit, I have ass hair. Most of the girls I’ve been with had ass hair.” He chuckles again a little, comfortable with the topic you were so afraid was gonna be awkward.

Your ears prick up at his last sentence, and you lean up a little bit. Something he said caught your attention and you looked at him intently.

“Really?” You ask, looking him in the eyes.

“Really what?” He looks at you confused.

“Really, most of the girls you’ve been with had ass hair?” You look up at him, so shocked.

“Yeah. And the ones who didn’t were always waxed anyway. I promise you baby, its not a weird thing.” He assures you, trying to make sure you really understood him.

You sat there for a second, looking off into space as your thoughts started working. And then just like that, your mind all but cleared itself as realization finally dawned on you. And you started laughing.

Not a single part of you could really care how many chicks Erik had slept with, you were just so glad that almost all of them had ass hair just like you did. You were honestly so grateful that he told you that last part, otherwise you would have never been sure whether or not you really believed him when he said it didn’t bother him.

In this one, small, truly insignificant instance with Erik, you were for once really glad you weren’t an exception to the rule.

Erik joins in your humble laughter, leaning down to press a kiss to your lips. You close your eyes and kiss back, returning it with softer slower kisses as you wrap your arms around his neck and hold him close.

After a minute he breaks away, letting his forehead rest against yours.

“I really love you Y/N. And the fact that you want me to be the one to share this experience with you makes me feel really lucky,”. He rolls you both over onto your side on the floor, giving your body a break from his heavy frame, and to be able to look at you better.

“I’d never jeopardize what we have for something as trivial as body hair.  I mean, sometimes I still can’t even believe that I really get to call you all mine, and I just refuse to believe that nobody else has been able to see what’s been so obvious to me from the beginning.”

Erik shuffles around nervously under your gaze, and this time he’s the one trying to avoid your eyes. You could tell he was in a really vulnerable state, not only from his body language but also with how he was trying to verbally express himself. It was always really difficult for the both of you to say how you felt about each other, not because you didn’t know the words, but because for some reason they always seemed to sound wrong in your ears once they came out your mouth.

You, however, knew exactly what he was trying to say, because he’d said it before. Not with words, but with actions.

Ever since Erik met you a year ago he’d done just about everything he could think of to let you know that he was all about you. Constant flirting, unexpected phone calls, surprise gifts to let you know he was thinking of you. It had thrown you off at first because you’d never been in a relationship before, so you couldn’t figure out if he was playing with you or not.

It took three whole months of nearly daily texting, dinner dates, late night car drives and ugly pre-work facetime calls (he swears you always looked beautiful, but the never ending eye crust you were always finding kept you second guessing) for you to finally take him seriously.

After a long conversation with yourself about taking chances and ‘trusting the universe’, you let yourself fall head first into the completely new experience of a relationship with Erik. You were determined to come out the other side just as soft and open-hearted as you were going into it, refusing to let whatever experience you had turn you cold to the idea of romantic love.

And so far, the experience had been everything you could’ve hoped for, and so much more.

Sure, there were bad days, and you were still too stubborn and he was too bossy and you both definitely needed to learn to listen more. But you were sohappy. And for the first time, you felt something with him you hadn’t been able to feel in a really long time. You felt secure.

So Erik didn’t need to say anything else, because you already knew exactly what he what he was trying to say.

He shifted his eyes again, about to open his mouth to try again and clarify when you cup his face in your hand, running a thumb over his lips to shush him.

“It’s okay Erik. I know.”

And you did.

The truth was, before him, you’d never really let anyone get close enough to try and be with you in a romantic way. You were always brushing off advances you thought were too good to be true and downplaying the other person’s feelings, no matter how hard you felt yours.  For a long time you thought that maybe you weren’t supposed to end up with anyone at all, and that your life journey was supposed to be about learning how to be on your own instead or something.

While you didn’t consider romance to be a super important part of life, you always wondered if maybe there was something that you were missing out on. You almost felt broken sometimes, like maybe there was just something about you that made you unworthy of being loved and cherished the way you saw your friends and family being by their significant others.

It took a lot of hard work and self reflection for you to finally get away from your negative thoughts, and you still struggled from time to time, but you were doing a lot better.

Being with Erik didn’t solve your problems, or cure your self doubt, or make you feel ‘complete’, but it did make you feel really warm and safe inside, and neither of you were willing to give up that feeling.

So he was right. He really did get to call you all his in every sense of the word. You took a chance on love, and you were lucky enough to fall into it with someone who shared just as much passion as you did. You’d be crazy not to give something like that your all.

Both of you lay there on the floor, looking into each others eyes with a level of understanding and comfort you weren’t sure you’d ever be able to truly explain. He holds your hand drawing heart shapes into your palm, the only sound being your favorite Spotify playlist that you didn’t realize was playing off in the background somewhere.

You’d been working on that playlist since before you even met Erik, song choices ranging from early 70′s love songs to present day baby makers. It was your sex playlist.  Even if you weren’t in the mood most of your favorite songs were on there.

“When did it start playing music?” your eyebrows furrow in confusion, peeking around for the source of the speakers.

“When I was trying to seduce your jumpy ass on the couch,” he answers matter-of-factly.

“N’Jadaka Stevens, were you trying to woo me?!” You tease him, poking at his stomach trying to tickle him a little bit.

He suck his teeth, caught. “Ok, maybe I was. So what?’

“Awww…” you say dramatically, making a show of it. You pause for a second “… gay ass.”

He laughs, mushing your face away, grinning like a little boy.

“Whatever. Shut your goofy ass up and come over here and lose this bet again.” He says, fake annoyed, and gets up to sit back on the couch, pulling you with him. You settle into his lap, resting your arms in place around his shoulders.

He starts placing soft kisses on your shoulders, starting off slowly. You already knew how this was gonna go and you throw your head back, whining.

“Ugh, I’m tired of losing this game dammit,” You huff to cover up the moan you already felt creeping up your throat. “Can’t we just skip to the fun part pleasee?”

You amp it up a little by plastering on an obnoxiously toothy smile, and he purposely ignores you to keep from faltering under your heart-melting grin.

“Mmmm…” He fake thinks about it for a moment, moving his lips up to the crook of your neck to tickle you with the vibrations. “No.”

Before you even get the chance to pout he scoops up your face in his hand, squeezing a little to make your lips poke out cutely.

“Nuh-uh. Don’t even start that shit.” He deadpans. “If you want me to fuck you, you need to open up your mouth and say it.  Otherwise sit back and hush and let me warm up my dinner.”

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

Warnings: A lil cheesy, a lil corny, a lil cliché, a lil fluffy. Just a lil of errthang XD. Also! Dare I say… romance?!?! (O.o)

Oh yeah this is a new series. Did I forget to mention that?

“Homie, how tf you gonna make a whole new series and you can’t even finish the ones you ha-”

Hush now child.

[hu-meow]

Gentleman Jack 1x03

Alright so I had meant to get back to this sooner, but things happen and were we are. I also realize there are a few others that have done similar to this, and they have amazing and far more intellectual and elegant and analytical words for this type of thing. Mine is far more, uh, "I like this because of blah blah blah." Anyway...

1) Fresh from the Lake District, our Ann(e)s find themselves in some lovely conversation only to be interrupted by some Rawson relations. Ann would much rather in with Anne, alone, and it is very clear when she answers Mrs Rawson. "Oh, Miss Lister, you're here. We can leave..." Ann "Oh, if you'd like" HA. Bye bitch, don't let the door hit you on the way out. But alas, they stay. And then Anne flirts, in front of her mother and Ann with Miss Rawson. Ann does this little eyebrow raise, almost like she's thinking over what Anne says, so cute. And originally I was burnt to hell about there being no show of the Lake District trip, but after reading the companion book, Anne didn't go/meet up with Ann there, so I guess that makes sense. But still. Seeing Ann light up would have been very swoon worthy.

2) I keep forgetting to mention how much I love the intro. I never skip it, even after watching it as many times as I have. The only other opening I never skipped was GoT. So. Good job on that one, music/sound team.

3) I don't know French, but Elizabeth Cordingley's complete butcher of it still cracks me up. Any French speakers reading this? Does she even make sense? Is she understandable at all?

4) This little sneaky walk to the "shed" is cute. Obviously Anne has planned it, but Ann is oblivious. And Ann talking about the Ainsworth's. It's like she's hoping Anne will approve of putting them off. At first, we just assume it's because Ann just wants to travel with Anne. But of course, later we realize (at least how I took it) that Ann would rather Mr. Asshole not be anywhere near her. Man, the way the writing sets up everything is just too perfect. Anyway...Ann's (Sophie's) delighted face when she sees the chaumiere! So adorkable. How can you not fall in love with her? Anne totally is, that's for sure lol We get our first two lip licks here (07:12 and 07:54) with Ann being nervous but trying not to be. Suppose it's more anticipation. But she was ready for that damn kiss. She even leaned in, but of course, Anne knows how to draw out that moment, and it makes it even more satisfying. And then the little tongue thing after from Ann. (9:34) It just slays me.

5) A quick "thank you James" and then an up against the door kiss. HNNG. And "...stay all night." GURL. Talk about the Thirst. Went from first kiss to that in .002 seconds. LOVE. IT. It even throws Anne off. And she plans her conquests out. But you can tell Ann was moving FAR quicker than she'd anticipated. It's like Anne didn't even have to try. lol She has to court so hard with these other women, and then here goes little Miss Ann Walker, all but throwing herself at Anne LOL def wife material.

(this is really long, so I’m drop this here)

6) I love spaztastic Marian. I think I love it most because her character was so different in GoT. Much more like Anne's. And here she's so NOT that lol. Emma plays the part so well. Everyone does. God I love this show. The spat at the table was great, with Marian being Marian and Anne trying not to smile through it all. Such perfect sibling dynamic.

7) Captain Lister about to spill the tea and Anne walks in and is like "we don't fight" LOL then continues to lay the verbal smack down to Jeramiah, like "did I fucking stutter with my price?" Anne def has the biggest balls of them all.

8) "Will you tell Calligula" LMAO just great little line. And random, but why doesn't Marian sport the weird little curls at her ears like everyone else does? I think she had them like, once, in ep 1? and that's been it. Just curious about that.

9) Ann asks Anne a few times "are you all right" and of course, Anne's answer to everyone else is always "I'm always all right." but I'm almost certain, Anne always answers Ann with some type of explanation. (there is the 'nothing' before Ann goes to Scotland, but more of that when we get to that episode, and she does still answer. MY HEART). But from what I can remember, Anne doesn't front with Ann that she's "all right". She gives her something, she's open. She's still trying to be strong, but she allows that softness too. Which brings me to probably one of my most favorite kisses of theirs. Its just so slow, and tender, and it's almost a side kiss, and just idk. It's very beautiful. ALSO I noticed this time, that after the kiss, both of their hands are on the back of the chair, and their fingers/pinkies are touching (29:50) It's brief and you almost miss it, but damn. I need that giffed. gif'd? gif'ed? as a gif. It's just too precious. They cant kiss more because of where they are and Anne is about to leave, but their hands are hidden and they just need that little bit more of contact and its just HNNG.

10) I love Aunt Anne. She's just a treasure and she love Anne so much and wants her to truly be happy. And I totally want to start saying "off you pop" LOL

11) Okay, so even though the Ann(e)s have done a LOT together, it just feels like this dinner is their official first date. They both dress up, it's dinner, Ann is nervous again and she's rambling and it's so adorkable and Anne thinks so too and just smiles as she waits for Ann to get to her point. Then there's still some nervousness with after dinner tea, and Anne is like, well, first date done, time for the big one with a reassuring leg squeeze...and Ann gets to the very idea of it being a marriage on her own! Cue floored Anne once again. I swear every time Ann surprises Anne, she falls more in love with her little Miss Walker. Ann is doing the lip lick think (38:59) and omg the way she says, and especially her face for, "give birth" is just as great as the first time. That should be a gif too LOL

12) Fucking John Booth going to the wrong damn house! Come on dude, are you even paying attention to what/were your mistress goes?? Facepalm for days. I think that actually happened though, if I'm not mistaken (it's been a minute since I read the companion book, and I read it at like 3am, and slept since...but if not, whatevs.)

13) OMG the full blown make out! Complete with some grubbling!! I find it interesting though, that Ann has Anne stop, as it becomes "too much" yet she had been asking her to stay all night. I wonder if this is a nod to how indecisive Ann was, or if she just didn't quite understand how overly emotional the physical stuff would make her. Either way, we end up with FIVE (5) nervous lip licks here, folks. It was a hard scene to not blink through, and lots of 10 sec rewinds to catch it all (42:13, 42:37, 42:44, 42:46, and a half one but I count it anyway at 43:00. I think I got those times correct, anyway. Just watch the whole scene, really.) And then we end it was Anne's 4th wall break and Ann asking what she's looking at LOL I know there's talk about wanting Ann to have some 4th wall breaks in season 2, and as much as I would love that as well, it's sorta almost a joke that everyone has it BUT Ann. So, even if she doesn't in s2, I won't be horribly disappointed, especially if Anne does it again and Ann asks again LOL

14) There were other things I had notes on, but I'm skipping because this is longer than the first two, and I hadn't planned that. Ah well...Back to the Ann(e)s....LOL of all the places, why is Ann on the floor? I mean, safety? Protection? Because shes just too fucking precious? I'd assume yes. But Anne is so confused and ready to fuck someone up and then once Ann tells her, the look on Anne's face as she goes from worry to relief is just amazing. Suranne, you fucking goddess. And then all the comfort Anne gives Ann as the poor girl just cries and doesn't think she's good enough. And again, I think this is a bit because of Mr. Fucktard, pressing and getting what he wants no matter what, where as Anne stepped back and made Ann comfortable. I swear Ann doesn't know what it's like to be put first, that her concerns are heard and understood and valued. Everyone just pushes their opinion or wants on her, and she's just had to go with it over th years. She just doesn't even know how to react to Anne and her attentiveness. It's so refreshing for Ann, even if she doesn't fully understand it. And also, because Ann was a wreck, three more lip licks, shit four! (50:59, 51:14, 51:20, 51:44)

15) Fucking Mrs SneakAss Priestly. She can't just leave well enough alone. So bored she's gotta fuck with Ann's happiness. We're having some hella good grubbling, the first fucking "I love you" and this old biddy has to ruin the parade. Anne was hella quick to jump up though. Almost like she's done that before (even though, she totally hasn't, amiright LOL) Ann(e)s just standing there after Mrs P leaves, and omg lol Anne has this "well fuck, how do we turn this around" look, like her brain is really whirling and hoping Ann doesn't freak out, mean while Ann just loses her shit and busts out laughing. So great that happened for real, too. Ann Walker, you are fantastic. "do you want to go upstairs?" because, hello, someone has blue balls at this point. But it's so cute once they get up to Ann's room and the scene nearly ends with her lip lick (58:23). But those stares, like yeah, we're totally in this together now....

AH OKAY. FucKIng LONG. I'm sorry! I even cut some things, so if you made this far, thank you! This was a really good episode, really kicks off their momentum and is sorta the calm before the storm. Oh, I also started to take note of the dresses Ann wears, cuz I swear she only wears like five. so far I have: That Blue Dress, the pink/purple plaid (first kiss), the pink with the sheer puff sleeves (that's what she's wearing in my fave kiss), the pink with some design (flowers?) for the "date", and a pink/purple color she's wearing at the end. So, that is five, and I'll have to see what else she wears, if any (yes shes wearing something else in Scotland, and no, night clothes don't exactly count. though her with her side braid and yellow corset and bloomers is my fave in the whole series...more of that later.)

Counts:

*Anne 4th wall breaks (ep): 3

**Total: 11

*Ann's lip licks (ep): 13!

**Total: 19

(there was a lot this ep, so I'm not going to list them here. And there was a fair amount of lip presses, which are def honourable mentions and worth watching...)

[smolboiseavey]

I Wanna Be Just Like You // Werewolf! Daniel Seavey x Reader

Summary: Daniel and Y/N have been dating for a couple months now and he decides to take her back to his family's pack in Seattle. After learning more about Daniel and the werewolf culture, Y/N gets frustrated because she can't seem to fit in.

I recommend you read Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice before reading this, but you don't have to read it to understand this one.

 Warnings: literally like not much lol just some angst, violence and werewolves. Maybe some cursing too.

 6,386 words (omg!!!)

Taglist: @gracenadinelimelight @softavery @katie-avery @seaveyssparkle @kvd963 @dagmara-mae @jennasgolden @helloatomicshadow @sfx-bands @only-stan-mendes @whydontwenorway

~~~

"How much longer until we get there?" You laid your head on the window, watching the scenery and snowflakes fly by as the car sped down the highway. Mountains lined the horizon, the sun casting brilliant orange and pink light behind them. You and Daniel were currently driving to his family's home town, making the 15 hour trip there on wheels.

Daniel let out a chuckle, one hand lazily resting on your thigh, his eyes trained on the road. "Maybe another half hour, love. We're almost there." He replied. You laced your fingers with his, smiling at him.

"So how do you like Oregon so far?"

"It's pretty." You say, turning back to the window. "Can we go for a hike sometime soon?"

"Definitely. Are you sure you'll be able to keep up with me, though?" He replied teasingly, making you scoff. "Just because I'm human doesn't mean I can't handle a little bit of exercise." He brought your intertwined hands up to his lips, planting a kiss on yours. "Sure you can." He chuckled, "Oh look! We're here."

Daniel turned to the left, driving into a small town. The buildings were very spread out, miles of forest behind them. Piles of snow lined the streets, a few people walking by here and there. The car came to a stop at a red light. "This is the town I grew up in." He said, breaking the silence. You smiled, looking through the windows at the location. "It's cozy." You replied as Daniel kept driving, the light now green. "God, it's been so long. You're gonna love it here, I promise."

You had just finished your current semester of school, so you were spending a month with Daniel in his home town for winter break. He drove down the road, houses looming in the distance. At the end of the path stood one house which towered over the others, brightness streaming out of all the windows. The sun was long gone, street lamps illuminated the pavement with soft yellow light. Daniel pulled up to said house, parking in the long driveway behind many other vehicles. "Ready?" He asked, his blue eyes bright with excitement and joy. You smiled, nodding in response. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Well, come on now. Mom said to just come in, some servants will be out soon to take our stuff in." He said, taking his seat belt off.

"Servants?" You asked as you clicked the red button to your left, letting the polyester strap slide off of your body.

He nodded, confused at your confusion. "It's a normal thing? This is the pack house, where most of the leaders and their families live. So yeah, servants."

"Oh. So I'm guessing your family is..."

"My dad's the alpha." He said casually, opening the door.

Oh-

"T-that's cool." You stutter, getting out of the car and closing the door behind you.

Daniel started walking to the house, and you followed close behind. He waltzed right into the door, a wide grin on his face.

The house was very open, but cozy. To the left was the kitchen, where a few older ladies were bustling around cooking. To the right was a large staircase, spiraling up to the second floor. Children ran around the space, chasing each other through the halls. The soft hum of chatter and laughter filled the room. The room opened up ahead, couches positioned in a U-shape around a large flat screen TV. A few people sat there, deep in conversation. Large windows took the place of the back wall, revealing the midnight blue sky and silhouettes of the trees and mountains.

"I'm home!" Daniel announced loudly, smiling.

"Daniel?"

"Daniel!"

A swarm of people surrounded the two of you as you closed the heavy front door behind you. An older woman pulled him into a hug, planting a kiss on his cheek. "I missed you." She said, a smile tugging at her lips.

"I missed you too, mom."

"Did you bring a human with you?" A man asked suddenly, the room falling silent.

"Erm...yeah." Daniel grabbed your hand and pulled you closer to his body. "This is my mate, Y/N."

"Mate?"

"I thought his mate was that wolf he brought back last time. Charlotte, I think-"

"How did you know I'm human?" You asked.

The man chuckled, the deep sound filling the room. "Your scent, dear. It's quite easy to tell." His voice was stern, but his blue eyes were bright with amusement.

"Dad, stop teasing her!" Daniel groaned.

"Alright, alright. Come on everyone, let's give the couple some space." He said with a smile. The crowd slowly dispersed, only two people were left besides you and Daniel.

"It's nice to meet you, Y/N. Daniel has said many good things about you." Daniel's mom said with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Seavey." You replied, returning the smile.

"Please, call me Keri." She said, giving you a quick hug. "I'll be in the kitchen making dinner if you need me. You'll be staying in Daniel's old room, and all of your things should already be there."

"Thanks mom." He said as she walked off.

"Danny!" A small figure hurled at him, landing in his arms.

A tiny girl, no older than ten hugged his torso tight as he spun her around in circles. "Reese! You've gotten so big." He said with a laugh, holding her.

"I grew 3 inches!" She said to him, holding out three fingers. "I even changed into my wolf yesterday!"

"Oh really? Congrats!"

You smiled at the sight of Daniel and Reese, stepping back to give them space.

"Who's that?" She asked, pointing at you.

"That's my mate, Y/N."

She stuck her tongue out at you and turned back to him. "Why is she human?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why isn't she a wolf too?"

"She's just...a little different."

"Oh."

Well, isn't that reassuring.

"Mhm. She's like Aunt Keri."

Reese nodded thoughtfully, her face contorting into a serious expression. "Interesting."

Daniel chuckled, setting her back down on her feet. "Why don't you go play with Isla and Svea? Y/N and I still need to unpack."

"You're staying?" She asked excitedly, her eyes lighting up.

"Yep! For a whole month."

"Yay! Come play with us when you're done, okay?"

"I will, Reese. Now come on, they're probably waiting for you."

"Bye Danny!" She ran off with a smile on her face.

Daniel is so good with kids.

You couldn't keep the smile off of your face as you watched him usher her away.

He sighed, turning back towards you. "What?"

"What? Oh- nothing." You reply, your cheeks red with embarrassment.

"I know that look, Y/N." He said as you followed him up the stairs.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, come on Y/N. Don't deny it. What were you thinking about?" He pressed as you walked up to the third floor and down the hall. He walked past the rows of doors and windows before stopping in front of a door at the end of the corridor. He grasped the gold handle in his right hand, pushing the door open with ease. "I was just thinking." You replied as you walked in close behind him.

"Ah, exactly the way I left it." The spacious room was painted blue, a city skyline painted on one wall. A large bed was pushed to one side, a desk to the other. Two large windows let in some moonlight, illuminating the room with pale light. By the desk were rows of instruments, a microphone, and speakers, almost identical to his musical set-up at your house in LA. Daniel flopped down on the bed face first, letting out a loud, happy sigh.

“Come lay with me.”

You walked over to the bed, laying down next to him. He turned his face so that he was no longer facing the sheets and smiled at you.

“Don’t we have to unpack?” You asked, giggling. He pulled you onto his chest, wrapping his long arms around your waist. “We have time.” He replied, burying his head in your hair. “Let me spend time with my mate first.”

You smiled, drawing lazy circles on his shoulder.

“What’s it like being a werewolf?” You asked curiously after a brief moment of silence.

He stayed silent for a while, thinking. “It’s hard to explain.” He replied, “I guess it’s kind of like having a voice in your head that’s telling you what to do.” He laughed. “Oh, and the wolf thing. I don’t think I’d ever be able to explain that.”

You giggled, placing a small kiss on his cheek. “It’s okay if you can’t explain it, Danny. I just wanna get to know this side of you better.”

He nodded, drawing you closer.

Silence filled the room again, until you spoke up suddenly.

“What does it feel like to have a mate? In your perspective, I guess.”

“It’s the best feeling in the entire world.” He murmured, nipping at your ear with his teeth playfully. “But kind of annoying, at first.”

“What do you mean?”

“Having to wait so long, watching you date other people, not being able to be as close as I wanted to be for so long. God, seeing you with your scumbag ex made me almost lose it.” He let out a low growl. “I’m glad he left. Since you’re my mate, I can feel your feelings too. I could sense you were miserable with him.” He explained, “When you’re sad, I’m sad. When you’re happy, I’m happy.”

“Is that supposed to happen to me too?”

He shook his head. “You’re human, so your soul won’t feel it the same way mine does.”

“Oh.” You mumbled. “I’m sorry I made you wait so long. I wish I knew.”

“It’s okay, baby.” He replied, “I’d wait a million years for you if I had to.”

You smiled, kissing his cheek lovingly.

A knock interrupted the moment, making Daniel sit up. “God dammit Jack. What do you want?”

“Wow, Hello to you too Daniel. Dinner is almost ready. Come downstairs when you’re done doing um...whatever you’re doing.” Jack said with a chuckle, closing the door and walking out.

Daniel groaned, laying back down next to you. “I don’t wanna go all the way back downstairs. I wanna say with you.” He whined, playing with your hair.

You laughed, sitting up. “Come on, Danny. We should get ready and go.” He pouted and sat up.

“Fine, whatever.”

~~~

“She’s a quiet one. Now if Charlotte were here-“

“Myta, don’t tease her.”

“Y/N is just a little shy, that’s all.” Daniel said, standing up for you.

You sat at the large, round dining table, slowly eating your food as the families around you discussed whatever was on their minds.

“So when are you two going to have pups?”

You stopped eating immediately, almost choking.

“Dad!”

“You know, when your mother and I were your age we-“

Zach cleared his throat, stopping Daniel’s father mid-sentence.

“I’m sorry for interrupting you Alpha, but we’re trying to eat? I’d rather not talk about babies right now.”

“I agree with Zach. Luna makes good food.” Jack said, his mouth full.

Daniel put his hand on your thigh, rubbing small circles into your skin with his thumb.

“Are you alright?” He whispered to you, concern lacing his tone. You nodded in response, sending him a small smile. “Yeah.” You replied softly, lacing your fingers with his. He gave you a smile back, rejoining the conversation his parents were having.

“Are Corbyn and Christina coming soon?” Jonah asked, looking over at you from across the table.

“Yep, she texted me earlier. They’re driving up now.” You replied with a smile.

“Corbyn and Christina are your friends from LA right?” Keri asked. The boys nodded.

“Oh, Corbyn isn’t apart of your pack?” You asked curiously.

Daniel shook his head. “He’s from a pack in Virginia. We met him in LA.”

“Ohhh okay.”

The room filled with the comfortable hum of chatter as you all finished your meals with no further interruptions.

“Anyone want dessert?”

~~~

You sat in front of a ceiling-high window in the living room, a cup of tea from Keri in your hands as you gazed up at the stars. Everyone else had gone off to their rooms, resting for the day ahead. You, on the other hand, couldn’t sleep. You had gone out of Daniel’s room and went downstairs, where Keri found you. She was just about to head upstairs so she made ginger lemon tea for you to try to help your restlessness.

Maybe it was the change in time, keeping you awake or the occasional howls from the wolves outside, but it was mostly your thoughts keeping you awake.

Would they like me more if I was a werewolf?

Who is Charlotte? Would Daniel have ended up with her if he didn’t meet me?

“Couldn’t sleep, huh?” A voice sounded behind you, making you jump. You turned to find Daniel walking towards you, his face contorting with concern.

You shook your head as he sat down next to you, draping a plush blanket over your shoulders.

“No. How’d you know?”

He chuckled, wrapping his arms around your waist.

“I can feel when you’re not near me. Oh, and mom told me on her way to her room.”

You leaned into his chest, warmth radiating off of him. You took a small sip from the mug in your hands.

“Why couldn’t you sleep?”

You shrugged in response, your eyes drawing back towards the scenery outside.

He sighed, the moonlight making his blue eyes twinkle. “Come on, babe. You can talk to me.”

You shook your head, looking back up at him. “I was just...thinking. I’m not used to this whole werewolf thing yet, I guess.”

“Oh.” He mumbled, rubbing his neck awkwardly. “I know, it’s a little weird at first. You don’t have to stay the whole time with me if you’re uncomfortable.”

“No, no it’s fine. I just need a little time to get used to it.” You said with a smile.

“Okay.” He said, returning the smile with a toothy grin of his own. “Nothing else is bothering you?”

“Nope.”

He sighed, the smile falling as soon as it appeared. “You’re lying.”

“What?”

“Y/N, you may be good at hiding it, but you’re not going to get anything past me.” He chuckled. “When you lie, your heart speeds up a couple beats and you bite your lip.”

“Oh.”

“Come on, you can tell me. Spit it out.”

“Who’s Charlotte?”

He froze, his tongue darting out and swiping across his lips. He looked down, taking your tiny hands in his large ones. “She...was a friend. We were really close, and everyone thought we were mates, or that at least we’d end up together. Then I found out she was only close to me because she wanted to be Luna.” He blurted out, “She only talked to me because of my status. I ditched her a long time ago and haven’t seen her since.”

“I’m sorry I asked.”

“It’s fine Y/N.” He pulled you closer and placed a soft kiss on your forehead. “Lets go to bed now, yeah?”

You nodded, letting out a small yawn.

“Alright. Come on, sleepy.”

~~~

The next few days were quite uneventful, full of small conversations with family and watching Daniel train with the boys. You sat at the side of the field with Christina, watching as they playfully tackled each other.

“Daniel! Don’t hit me I’m wEAK-“

He laughed, running at Jack. “You’re not weak, Beta.”

“I’m weak compared to you, so sToP!”

“Cheeseitz, they’re so aggressive.” You said, shivering as snowflakes started falling from the light gray sky.

“Well duh, they’re werewolves.” Christina said with a chuckle, “You should see them when they’re actually being serious.”

Daniel grabbed onto Jack, pinning him down on the snow covered ground.

“Jonah! Help please.”

The older boy swooped in, pulling the curly-haired boy from Daniel’s grasp.

“Hey! Not fair.” He groaned, getting up.

Corbyn scribbled something down on his clipboard before walking over to the three boys. “Actually, very fair. You’re stronger than both of them combined, future Alpha. See, your endurance...” They continued talking about stats, looking over whatever data was written on the papers in Corbyn’s hands.

“Alpha?” You asked Christina.

She nodded. “You didn’t know Daniel was an Alpha?”

You shook your head. “I don’t think he’s ever mentioned it, besides the fact that his dad is one.”

“He’s always been so self conscious of his status.” Christina said. “We should go inside, it’s snowing harder and our puny human bodies can only last so long in the cold.” She joked, “I can tell you more about it inside.”

“Yeah, let’s go inside, I’m freezing.”

You walked inside with her, slowly peeling off layers of jackets the second you got inside and closed the glass door.

“So, what do you want to know?” Christina asked as you both sat down in the living room.

“Everything.”

~~~

“Wait wait wait. So you’re saying I have to-“

“Whatcha two talking about?” Daniel walked in, wrapping his arms around you as he sat down next to you.

“Not much.” Christina said with a smile. “Oh look, Corbyn needs me. I’ll be back.” She got up and walked out of the living room, leaving you two alone.

“You’re sweaty.”

Daniel laughed, rubbing his cheek on your shoulder. “I’ll rub my sweat all over you then.”

“Ew! Go shower.” You giggled, pushing him away playfully. He pinned your hands above you and peppered kisses all over your face.

“You’re not getting away from me anytime soon.”

He pulled you into a tight hug, wrapping his limbs around your torso, his dripping hair and neck up against your chest.

“Hey, Daniel?” A servant walked in, his tone urgent.

“Yes? What is it?” He looked up, slightly annoyed.

“It’s your father.”

The annoyance went away quickly and he got up from the ground.

“Please, follow me.” The servant walked out of the room and down the hall, Daniel close behind. You got up, curiously following them slowly.

“-yes, it’s very bad. The healers might not be able to do much this time, Alpha.”

“Don’t call me that. He’ll be fine, we have the best healers here.” The door closed, their conversation now muffled. You slipped in, closing the door behind you. Daniel’s father lay in a bed in the middle of the room, his eyes closed and his skin papery and pale. Keri sat next to the bed, her hand in her husband’s, a grim look on her face. Daniel sat at her feet, his head in her lap. Doctors and servants rushed around the room silently, the only sound came from the beeping of the heart monitor in the corner of the room.

Keri looked up at you and gave you a small smile. As you walked over to them. You sat down behind Daniel, wrapping your around around him.

“Is he going to be okay?” You muttered, concerned. Keri shook her head and let out a sigh. “No.” She replied sadly, “Jeff is strong, but he’s an elder wolf and has had too much contact with silver over the years. He’s a bit weak and won’t recover for a while.”

Daniel turned around, burying his face in your shoulder, his tears leaving stains on your shirt. “I don’t want him to go.” he mumbled.

“It’ll be alright,” you cooed into his ear softly, massaging his scalp with your fingers. “He’ll live, I promise.”

Keri looked down at her son with sad eyes. She looked as if she wanted to say something, but she kept her mouth shut. Her eyes drifted back to her husband.

A doctor walked over to you and Daniel and nudged your shoulder lightly. “You two should go.” He said, “Daniel needs some sleep, and it’s getting late.”

You nodded, getting up. Daniel got up with you, his movements sluggish as you walked him upstairs and to his bedroom. He stumbled into the room and collapsed on the bed as you closed the door. He looked over at you, his once bright eyes now a dull blue.

“Come here.”

You walked over to him and sat on the bed next to him. “Are you okay?” You asked, playing with a lock of his hair.

He shook his head.

“You know, your dad is in good hands. He won’t-“

“You’d think I’d know that, I lived here for 18 years. It’s not that.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

He shook his head again and took your small hand in his larger one. “Can you run me a bath, please?” He mumbled, “Like back in LA?”

You nodded, pulling him to his feet. “But talk to me, please? I can’t help you if I don’t know what you’re thinking.”

“Oh yeah, you’re not a wolf.” He muttered. “Fine.”

You frowned at his comment but quickly pushed your feelings away.

“Come on, you glum chum. You’re still sweaty as fuck from earlier.”

You dragged him into the adjoined bathroom, turning on the lights as you walked in. He plopped down on the closed toilet, watching you as you prepared a bath for him.

You got up after getting it ready, waiting for the water to fill the porcelain tub.

“So are you going to tell me what’s wrong now?”

He pulled his shirt off of his body and shrugged. “I guess.”

You let out a sigh and hugged him, his arms wrapping around your thighs and his head resting against your stomach. He nuzzled into your shirt lovingly as you massaged his scalp. “It’s not necessarily the fact that my dad is injured. It’s happened loads of times, he’s a strong wolf and always recovers. Besides, he’s got another like 100 years to live.” He tugged at his socks and pulled them off, throwing them into a pile of dirty clothes nearby. “It’s just the fact that he’s not strong enough to lead the pack anymore. When he steps down, I have to take over. It’s stupid.” You pulled away from him and turned off the water, the bathtub now full. You mixed in some bath salts as Daniel peeled away his sweatpants and boxers. He sunk into the water, only his head and shoulders sticking out. “Why don’t you want to take over the pack?” You asked as you sat down on the tile floor next to the tub. He sighed, leaning his head back on the wall. “Well first of all, we’d have to move here permanently and I know your family is in LA. Second of all, it’s so much work. I hate it. My stupid older brothers are off doing their own things so I’m stuck taking over the pack.” You frowned, pouring shampoo into your hand before lathering it into his wet hair.

“I know you don’t like it, but it’s your responsibility Daniel. How would your parents feel if you backed out?”

He stayed silent for a moment, thinking. He sighed, leaning into your hands as you washed his hair. “You’re right. I guess it’ll be fine.”

“You’re a natural leader, Danny. It really shouldn’t be too hard for you.” You rinsed the soap from his hair with water before getting up and retrieving a towel from the closet.

“Join me.” He said as you placed the towel on the counter.

You slowly stripped out of your clothes before stepping into the steaming water. You sat down on his thighs, pouring more soap into your hands and washing his body.

“You’re so spoiled.” You joked with a chuckle, running your hands over his chest.

“That’s only because people like spoiling me.” He replied, his eyes fluttering shut. “They just fall for my natural charm.”

“Yeah, sure.” You said, rubbing his arms, his biceps slightly bulging with muscle.

“Well you certainly did.” He said, his eyes opening again.

“That’s true.” You replied, “I guess you’re not that bad.”

He captured your lips with his, his arms around your waist. He pulled away, his eyes traveling up and down your body. “I’m glad you think so.” He mumbled, his eyes falling back on yours. He pulled you closer, chest on chest, your head on his shoulder.

“I’m gonna fill you up with my pups one day.” He muttered in your ear, his hand traveling down your back.

You felt your body heat up more despite the hot water surrounding you.

He chuckled, playing with a strand of hair that escaped your bun. “You’re so cute when you’re embarrassed.” He said, making you blush more. “Shut up.” He nipped at your neck playfully, his mouth suckling on your sweet skin.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Danny.”

~~~

2 weeks had passed since you arrived, everything seemed to have fallen into routine. Daniel usually woke up hours before you, sitting with his father in the morning before training outside for the rest of the day. You did your best to be useful, both you and Christina helping Keri with whatever you could.

“You do know you’ll have to take my place soon, right?”

“Wait, I have to become Luna?”

“You’re Daniel’s mate, aren’t you?”

You nodded, playing with the hem of your sweater.

She let out a small sigh, giving you a look of sympathy. “I know it seems a bit daunting, but trust me, you’ll do great.”

You nodded again, trying your best to believe Keri’s words.

The door opened, revealing a shirtless Daniel. Sweat dripped down his neck, his hair a disheveled mess. You smiled at him as he walked towards you. “How was training?” You asked him.

He flopped onto the ground in front of you and Keri. “Tiring.” He mumbled, “Mommy can I have some food please?”

She nodded and walked to the kitchen, leaving you alone with him.

“Being an Alpha is so much work.” He groaned, turning to lay on his back.

You chuckled and sat on the floor next to him, petting his hair. “My big, strong Alpha. You should take a break.” You mumbled with a giggle. He let out a small purr, leaning into your touch.

“Stopppp.” He groaned, trying to pull away.

“Why? You obviously like it.”

“True.” He sighed, “but if you tell anyone, you’re dead. No one can see me like this but you, okay?”

“Okay.” You chuckled. He turned his head to the side and placed a small kiss on your hand.

“Come on, let’s go get food.” He said, hopping up. “I’m hungry.”

~~~

“Would we be different if I were a werewolf?”

It was a late night, and you couldn’t sleep once again. Moonlight pooled on the ground where you sat next to the bed. Daniel laid half-asleep on the mattress, barely paying attention to what you said.

“No.” He mumbled, his eyes fluttering shut. “I don’t think so.”

He reached out weakly towards you, hooking his finger onto yours. You looked away from the window and at him. He slept peacefully, tiny grunts and growls leaving his parted lips.

“I just-“ you heaved out a sigh. “I’m just a bit frustrated, I guess? Even though I’m not the only human, I know almost nothing about the culture and stuff. How am I going to be a Luna if I don’t even know the basics?” You groaned, “Half of them probably don’t even like me.”

Silence. You and your dumb ass, you shouldn’t have said anything.

“Come here.” He mumbled, tugging at your hand with his finger. As you got up, he pulled you onto the bed and into his arms, your head on his chest, a hand in your hair.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, my love.” He whispered lovingly, nuzzling your cheek with his nose, just as he would in wolf form. “You’ll be great, I can feel it.”

“Yeah but-“

“No buts.” He mumbled into your ear, “if you’re still kind of iffy about it, you can talk to my mom. She was in the same situation as you are now.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to her tomorrow then.” You mumbled back, snuggling into his warmth. He smiled and kissed you softly. “I wish I could help you more, love, but I don’t know what it’s like being human.”

“It’s okay.” You smiled back, “we make it work.”

“Yeah, like always.” He said.

“Best friends against the world.” You replied with a grin.

“Of course.” He chuckled, nipping at your ear with his teeth. “Come on, my love, let’s go to sleep.”

~~~

The next day, you decided to talk to Keri while Daniel was out training yet again.

“Keri?”

“Yes, dear?”

“C-can you help me with something?”

She nodded and put her mug down. “Is something wrong?”

“No- well, yeah. I’m scared, and frustrated about this whole ‘becoming the Luna’ thing. Daniel said I should talk to you about it.”

“Ah, Daniel told me about that this morning. Why are you scared?”

“Well, I’m different. Do I really have what it takes? I mean, I barely know anything.”

“If it makes you feel better, I was in a similar situation as you’re in now. If you want, I can teach you everything you need to know.”

“Thank you, Keri.”

“Of course.” She smiled, “is that all that was bothering you?”

You shook your head. “Is there a way to turn into a werewolf?”

“Yes, but,” she sighed, “it’s extremely dangerous. If you want to become a werewolf, you need to be bitten by one on the full moon. Your body will end up rejecting it and you’ll die. Very few people survive torture like that.”

Well fuck, never mind.

“But I’m a human. Don’t they deserve a strong werewolf to take over as Luna?”

“Being a werewolf doesn’t make you a good leader. In fact, I’m human too.” She said with a chuckle, “I’ve seen you interact with the pack. You’ll be a good leader, Y/N.”

“You’re human too?”

“Yes. I grew up around werewolves, but I’m human.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

“Don’t worry too much about being a werewolf or not, Y/N. That would be like saying you can’t lead because of your ethnicity. It’s about what’s on the inside.”

You nodded again, taking in every word she said. “Thank you.” You smiled.

“Of course.” She pulled you into a loving embrace, which you accepted with open arms. “You’re family.”

~~~

The full moon. A time where all the werewolves in the house went into the woods for a few days to keep the few humans around safe. This was a normal routine you had gotten used to over the few months, but Daniel was always hesitant on leaving.

“I don’t wanna leave you.” He mumbled, hugging your waist tightly. He rested his head on your stomach, a pout on his lips.

“Come on, bro. We need to go before it’s too late.” Jack said, poking Daniel’s arm repeatedly.

He sighed and got up from his knees. “Fine.”

“You’ll be back before you know it.” You told him, placing a small kiss on his lips. “It’s only for a few days.”

He squeezed you tight, kissing you back passionately. “Be careful, okay? Don’t go outside until we get back.” He murmured.

“Okay.” You replied softly, sinking into his embrace. “You be careful too.”

He nodded, smiling. “I’ll see you in a few days, my love.”

You pulled away and watched him join his pack members, all running off into the nearby woods.

Soon after everyone left, Keri shut all the windows and doors, enclosing herself, you, Christina and Anna safely inside. You all sat in a circle, watching the sunset and eating small snacks.

“Wait, Anna you’re human? But your brothers are all werewolves.”

She shrugged and smiled. “I guess I got more human than wolf genes.”

“Ohh, makes sense.” Christina replied, “well welcome to the human club.”

Anna laughed, taking another bite out of the cookie in her hands.

Silence filled the practically empty house, a large contrast to how it had been hours before. The sun sank deeper and deeper below the horizon, the full moon shining in the distance. Time quickly passed and soon enough everyone had gone to bed, leaving you alone in the living room. Like almost every night, you were up late and couldn’t sleep.

I wonder what Daniel is doing right now.

Of course, having to separate for a few days each month was normal, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt every moment that you were apart. You felt a sharp pang in your heart just thinking about it.

Is this how he feels all the time?

A low growling noise interrupted your thoughts. “What was that?” You mumbled to yourself, getting up from where you previously sat on the ground. You tiptoed towards the sound, confused.

You quickly grabbed the closest thing to you, which happened to be your steel water bottle, and made your way down the hall. This feels familiar.

A dark blur flew by, caught in your peripheral vision. It couldn’t have been anyone who was in the house with you, as they were all upstairs asleep. You dashed quickly towards where the blur went, bottle in hand. You saw it run back into the living room, so you quickly followed.

You hid behind a wall, catching your breath for only a moment.

Okay, on three.

One.

Two.

Three.

You jumped out from your hiding spot, swinging your weapon around wildly with your eyes screwed shut.

A low growl sounded from in front of you, making you open your eyes.

“Daniel?”

He was in his wolf form, of course, circling you. His once bright blue eyes turned to a deep blood red, his lip turned up into a snarl.

How did he get in?

You quickly backed away from him, the bottle in your hands pointed at him.

“Daniel…” you started, walking backwards towards the door.

He followed you, eyes trained on yours, stalking you as if you were a piece of prey.

“It’s just me, Y/N. Your girlfriend?” Your voice cracked as you spoke, making you cringe. “Come on, it’s okay bud.”

You bumped into a corner, effectively trapping yourself.

Daniel growled again, lunging towards you. You stifled a gasp as a pair of fangs sunk into your shoulder. You fell to the ground, blacking out from the pain.

~~~

“God, I’m so stupid!”

“It wasn’t your fault, dear.”

“But it kind of was, mom. I should’ve controlled him better, I can usually get him under my-“

“Daniel. Stop beating yourself up. She’s going to be okay. You can’t change what’s already happened.”

You laid neatly on a plush white bed, in a room you quickly recognized as one in the infirmary. Your left arm was wrapped in thick layers of gauze, two pools of blood slightly sweeping through. Your head spun, the bright fluorescent lights slightly blinding you.

“D-Daniel?” You croaked, weakly sitting up.

“You’re awake! Oh, god, lay back down please.” He replied, departing from his mother and kneeling at the bed next to you. He took your face in his warm hands and kissed you. “I’m so sorry.” He mumbled again and again between every kiss.

“It’s okay.” You mumbled back, resting your forehead on his.

He stroked your hair gently, looking at you with his beautiful blue eyes.

“What happened?”

He pouted and took your hands in his, rubbing small circles into your soft skin with his thumb.

“I-I bit you.”

“You...bit me?”

“Yeah. In my wolf form. You do know what’s going to happen to you, right?”

You nodded. “I’ll fight through it, okay? Everything’s going to be fine.”

“Everything’s not fine. I can’t lose you.” He whined. “The survival rate is like, 0.15 percent. It’s even lower if you get bitten by an Alpha and-“

“Daniel.”

“God, you’re going to be in so much pain for the next few days even if you  do survive I’m so sorry-“

“Daniel James Seavey. You can stop rambling.” You interrupted, a smile growing on your face.

“Right. Yeah...everything’s going to be fine. I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you.” He placed another soft kiss on your lips, filling you with warmth and happiness.

“Also, what’s with you and attacking me with water bottles?”

“I have no clue.”

~~~

The next few days were miserable for you. Even though you spent most of the day asleep, you were in constant pain and extreme discomfort. Saying that you’d be in immense pain was an understatement.

“Do you need anything, love?” Daniel asked for the tenth time today, sitting on the bed next to you.

“No, I’m fine.” You winced slightly from the pain in your chest.

“Feel any different today?”

“You mean besides the excruciating pain?”

“Besides that, love.”

“Kind of, but not really. Do you sense anything?”

He nodded. “You still smell human, but you have a different aura now. The boys think you’re going to turn into an omega, and it certainly feels like that.”

“What’s an omega?”

He chuckled and twirled a lock of your hair in his fingers. “An omega is the closest a werewolf can get to a human. They’re the lowest of the pack usually, and can’t change into their wolf form unless they’re in severe danger. They also don’t get affected by the full moon.”

“Oh-“

“Mhm. But the status thing won’t affect you.”

You hugged your pillow close to your stomach, letting out a small growl from pain. “How come?”

“Your growls are so cute.” He muttered, placing a small kiss on your head. “And you’re with me, dummy. You’ll be Luna.”

“Shut up.” You replied with a chuckle, plucking his forehead.

“Ouch! That hurt.” He whined.

“I’m glad you’re finally back.”

“Me too.” You said, smiling. “Being in constant pain for multiple days in a row sucks ass.”

Daniel placed a large hand on your stomach, radiating warmth from his skin. “I wish I could help you more.” He mumbled.

“Just being here is enough, Danny.” You replied, lacing your fingers between his.

He grinned and slid into bed next to you, pulling the white covers over you both.

“I love you.”

“I love you Danny.”