#also so many times i respond to something seriously when i'm pretty sure it was actually a joke

[fairydares]

loook i get why the idea of riding the "anti/pro" fandom disk horse makes people gag a little in their mouth and try to opt out entirely, but here's why i went from feeling exactly the same way to taking a firm profiction stance. I've been meaning to make this post for a while.

~10 years ago, I posted a fic for the first time and it got its own harassment campaign. The fic wasn't even sexual, and wasn't going to be (it remains incomplete). It was accurately rated T on fanfiction.net. Anyone in the Fairy Tail fandom will understand this: I literally got harassed for writing a "Lucy leaves the guild" fic💀.

After many nice comments, someone left a pretty nasty one. Hurt, I messaged them back. They acted super attacked that I'd responded (lmao) and after we argued, threatened to "rip my shitty story apart in the comments section" if I responded again. I told them "go ahead lol."

They went ahead.

Now know that it was a relatively small harassment campaign, but at the time, it was devastating. Right around then, I wound up in the hospital. After I got out, I went to excitedly check my fic, and found several reviews saying things I wouldn't repeat to my worst enemy. I was suicide-baited more than once, told "thank fuck you finally abandoned this shitty story, dumb cunt," stuff like that.

There were several accounts involved, and I can't say for sure, but I suspect at least a couple different people were involved, though probably at least half of it was one person.

All the other comments were screeching about how I hadn't updated, mostly. "NO UPDAAATEE WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPENS TO MEEEE??!!!" was one that stood out after I'd been miserable in a hospital for an extended period of time.

Idk what people think is going on when FT fic authors write this trope, and frankly I don't give a fuck. Because while I was partly writing the story out of some young, cringe feminist rage, I also did genuinely have a real story I was compelled to tell. I was inspired by another, popular fic I loved which used the trope to talk about how trying to shoulder our burdens alone really just hurts both ourselves and everyone who cares about us.

My own story was ultimately going to have similar themes, with more focus on strength, what it means, and in what contexts earning and having it actually matters. In retrospect, no wonder I wound up in hot water, because at the time "Lucy vs. Strength vs. Misogyny" was the FT fandom's Designated Nonsensically Activist Debate™. But that's partly why i wanted to write about it; engaging with the fandom had gotten me thinking about it 🤷‍♂️

Not too long after that, FFNet oh-so-benevolently granted us the ability to delete comments from our own stories (they never took my reports seriously at all, afaik). I deleted all or most of the harassers' comments (may still be a one or two up, and i'm fairly sure there's a couple comments defending my fic from the harassment) without saving screenshots, which I really regret now. I was just so mortified and full of self-loathing about the whole thing that i wanted to forget it completely. Something that had brought me joy at a very lonely, vulnerable period of my life had turned so negative, and i couldn't even tell the people closest to me about it without being made fun of for writing anime fan fiction.

I didn't understand why this happened at the time, but--after a period of trying to forget/bid out of it all with a slight anti lean (a common approach I see people use, and one which I'm not proud of adopting)--I just had to figure out What the Fuck Even Happened There. And I'm telling you, after years of reflecting, wrestling with both sides, and educating myself, that this "status quo of harassment" culture which pervades fandom goes way deeper than you think and comes out of a way darker well than you probably realize. An astonishing amount of this is, quite literally, TERF shit and evangelical shit.

Trying to be in fandom and take a stance of, "Anti/Pro shit? Ew, I'm Not Touching that," is like swimming in a heavily polluted river and being like, "Poison? Cringe. Not me lol."

You might be lucky enough to be in a less-polluted part of the river (AKA a relatively non-toxic fandom, in which case good for you!)...but tbh this rhetoric and peer-signalling will still seep in.

I can't stress enough that pro-fiction, AKA "proship", is the normal, leftist-about-art-and-sex opinion. Pro-ship is against all the horrible things you're against; in fact, pro-ship isn't trivializing real trauma by equating it with fictional trauma, or trying to apply literal evangelical/radfem solutions--which are proven not to prevent or help. Profiction/proship is literally just saying, "Fiction is fiction, reality is reality, and the two don't have a 1:1 relationship. And historically, trying to censor just things we've decided are bad has done nothing but get LGBTQ+ and POCs censored. Therefore, depictions of illegal things shouldn't be censored." That's it. "Proshippers all ship problematic ships," is a brazen lie. Many of them share other fans' disgust for those ships, they just don't believe in censoring fic authors over it.

It is also taking a stand against harassment because--and I hope my own story has helped drive this home--as with all groups who adopt ingroup/outgroup thinking, antis are defined by their tactics, not actual stances on real, serious issues. What happened to me was absolutely a result of anti, "it's okay to 'bully out' anything I just don't like" mindset pervading fandom. In a way, this was the mindset's final form. They didn't even feel the need to cite a reason the trope was "bad" or "wrong"; it annoyed them, and they viewed their own feelings as a valid enough pathway for policing to go right ahead and do so.

In the interest of offering solutions instead of just bitching about problems, I might make a "how to know if you've bought into these types of views"-type post sometime. Also might come back to this and provide some sources/citation.

[barcalover86]

Wsg love your post!!!

It would make my day if u wrote of post the reader is Pedri’s little sister but she’s dating Gavi. One day Pedri was playing FIFA with his friends on call, reader comes in his room pissed off bc she’s on her period. When Reader is on her period she’s very very bratty and mean, Pedri knew that so the minute that he Rolodex this he asked her if she was on her period,and she was so mad and left bc he ate all of her snacks. When Gavi asked Pedri if it was true that u we’re on ur period he bought readers favourite snacks and went to go cuddle with her and it’s just full of fluffff

Thank you!

Period problems - Pablo Gavi

2nd Masterlist

"What do you want, y/n!? You are getting on my nerves now!" Pedri said to you after 10 minutes of walking around the kitchen trying to find something for you to eat.

Your period came earlier and some big cramps were keeping you awake.

It was pretty late now, but your brother, Pedri, was playing FIFA in the living room with his footballer friends.

"Don't you have your own business to look out for?"

"Since you are distracting me of winning this game, I can tell you whatever I want."

You rolled his eyes. You wanted to tell him so bad that he was going to lose anyway, but you remained silent, knowing that your boyfriend, Gavi, was also there playing in his team.

"What are you even looking for?" he said annoyed after another 5 minutes of you walking around.

"Something to eat."

"This late?"

You were really annoyed this time.

"Yes, this late. I'm hungry, do you have a problem with it?"

"Yes, I do. Go grab yourself something and leave! You're making too much noise!"

"Well, if I had something, I would take it and go to my room. Don't you think I want to be alone too!? I just don't find my snacks.." you said the last part as a whisper, but Pedri heard you.

"What snacks?"

"Those that I bought yesterday."

"Oh, those snacks," he said chuckling.

"Do you know where they are?"

"In my tummy" Pedri said while laughing.

"What did you say?"

"I'm sorry, I was hung-"

"I bought them!!! You had to ask me if you wanted to eat those! Now I don't have anything and I'm hungry!"

"C'mon, there's not a big deal, y/n. Now, can you leave? I want to continue the game and all of us are waiting for you to get done with all those.. moody things of yours.. so that we can finish this stupid match!"

"Pedri, hermano, don't shout at her!"

Pedri heard Gavi talking, but decided to ignore him.

"Not a big deal!? Seriously!? Of course it is not if you ate MY food!" you started to get really mad and tears were forming in your eyes.

"For real? Now you are crying? What now? Are you on your period?"

"Yes, I am! You are such a bad brother. You don't even know how it feels. I don't want to see you ever again!" you said before going to your room, sad, angry, hungry and with bad cramps.

Pedri rolled his eyes, but he felt bad for shouting at you, knowing that period was a serious subject and you were in pain.

"Is she on her period, Pedri?"

"Yes, Gavi. She is"

"Why did you yell at her like that!?"

"I didn't know, don't you think I'm sorry too?"

"I'm going to but those snacks for her now." he said before hanging up and going to some store.

It took him a lot of time to find one that was still open and after that he ran to your house.

Pedri thanked him for coming after Gavi started to give him some lessons about his behaviour towards his sister.

When you heard someone knocking at your door, you were sure it was your brother so you didn't respond, pretending to be asleep. The door eventually open and it revealed you your boyfriend with a bag in his hands.

"Hi.." he said quietly and sweetly, putting his hand on one of your legs.

"Pablo.."

He smiled at you and kissed your forehead. You opened the lights and you hugged him, being really emotional.

"Oh, sweet girl"

You wanted to ask him so many questions, but he promised to tell you everything tomorrow morning and that he will stau with you this night.

When he gave you the bag and you saw all your favorite foods and some pads, you were on he edge of tears.

"Thank youu."

"De nada, amorcito."

After you ate until you were full, he cuddled you, making sure you were save and comfortable.

Your cramps were bad, but being close to Gavi made you forget about them, only thinking about his lips and body. You were really horny this period of the month and Gavi knew that, but promised you that he will give you a nice time after you finish it.

Now, his lips on your neck and lips were enough for you.

"Can you tell me a story, please?" you asked him.

"I don't know a story,cariño."

"Anything..please"

He eventually gave up and took his phone out to read you something. After a short time, you were already asleep in his arms, while he was looking at you sweetly, kissing your forehead time to time.

"Te quiero, y/n"

2nd Masterlist

I hope you like this and I'm sorry for the wait!

[googlyexes]

JEALOUS

character: Nagi x fem!reader

synopsis: Nagi tries to ignore y/n for 24 hours

A/N: wattpad @claiqres

"Nagi!"

y/n tried to get Nagi's attention, sitting on his lap, giving him cheek kisses, playing with hair, but Nagi continues to ignore her out of jealousy.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to call Cyno the finest boy." y/n pouts before hugging him from behind.

"come on Nagi... I'll help you build Ganyu later." Nagi still ignored y/n. Y/n sighed and let go of Nagi.

"Well I hope you forgive me soon, I need to go grocery shopping, I'll be back soon."

Nagi side eye at his girlfriend walking out the apartment before sighing. "Phew, I don't know if I can keep up with this..."

y/n walks in the H-Mart store with a cart picked out outside with the other dirty carts with random stuff on them....

y/n looked at the snacks and the food courts, it's been a long time since y/n went out to go shopping since Nagi insist to do it.

y/n picked out some vegetables and fruits before going to the meat section where they have Kobi beef that y/n loves a lot.

"Ooh! this one looks good!" Y/n eyes sparkled looking at a snack box near the cashier register.

Also, y/n makes sure to look at the k-pop albums after buying her groceries. They have a lot of albums and the k-pop light sticks brand. Recently y/n been obsessed listening to NewJeans, let's just say she's a bunnie.

y/n looked at the albums, picking up some albums, looking at the prices, some of them aren't that bad. y/n looked at the NewJeans album before getting the Haerin version of the OMG album.

"Thank you, have a great day!" The lady who works at the kpop shop smiled at y/n who smiled back and waved.

y/n legs felt tired and had to go home, y/' sent him many texts but never responded. Y/n frown while looking at her phone. She feels like she did something wrong that might of actually hurt him.

It can't actually be him being jealous because y/n called cyno the finest person on genshin...

But she didn't mean it like that, seriously. "Let's just go home, I have to make food..."

y/n drives for about 10 minutes to her home, y/n looked through the windows to see Nagi still playing on his computer.

Y/n grab all the plastic bags with all the groceries in them and close down the trunk. She walked up the stair porch before unlocking the door.

"Nagi! I'm home!" Y/n called out, he didn't respond back. "Nagi, I'll cook dinner, be ready!" Y/n yelled out again.

y/n put the bags in the kitchen counter before grabbing the food out of the bags and placed them on the kitchen counter.

Y/n took off her apron before smelling the steam, which made y/n super hungry that she wants to eat it by herself.

"Nagi! Food is ready!" Y/n called out, in a few seconds, Nagi came out of the room as Y/n smiled at him but before y/n could talk to him. Nagi took his plate and walked off.

"Huh?" Y/n was stun, did someone actually piss his pants?

Y/n frown and decide to eat by herself alone in the kitchen while on her phone reading webtoon.

Y/n fell asleep on the couch that night because she didn't want or face Nagi knowing that he might be mad at her.

Y/n had no blanket and had to force herself to sleep with the breeze of coldness air. Nagi walked out of their room to place his dish in the sink when he saw y/n sleeping on the couch.

Nagi frown at this and went over to y/n brushing her hair off her face. "I'm sorry my love." He whispered in a sweet tone.

Nagi slowly pick you up in a bridal style and took the sleeping y/n to their comfy bed. Nagi also feel pretty tired so he made his computer sleep and close it before going to bed with his girlfriend.

Nagi played with y/n's hair think how ignoring for 24 hours is really hard.

"I'll make it up to you I promise..." Nagi kissed y/n's hand and her forehead before wrapping his arm around y/n's waist.

"goodnight."

[schemmentigfs]

Sweet Nothings.

paring: melissa schemmenti x reader.

warnings: none. Just pure fluffy.

summary: melissa whispers some sweet nothings while you sleep. 💌

notes: this was my first time writing something in english, so I apologize for any mistakes, I hope you enjoy <3 and feel comfortable to send me requests for more Melissa fics!

As she unlocked the door, Melissa sighed. "Finally at home. I couldn't take it anymore."

That Saturday, Ava planned a game night with the rest of the Abbott crew. At first the redhead was hesitant to go as all she wanted was to spend time with you since both of you hadn't seen each other all week.

However, you managed to convince her to go, knowing that no matter how much your girlfriend complained, she loved spending time with her friends.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me, Tesoro? " Melissa asked before leaving.

"Wish I could, but unfortunately I have to keep working. Again." You said rolling your eyes.

As much as you were happy to be working from home, you couldn't deny that sometimes you felt exhausted from too many tasks. And Melissa knew this and did her best to make sure you got as much rest as possible.

"Hon, when you're done try to get some rest, okay? Remember that the most important thing is your well-being." She said as she hugged you tightly.

[...]

"Babe?" Melissa said as she climbed the stairs looking for you.

As she walked towards the bedroom, the older woman let out a small smile as she found you sleeping peacefully on the bed.

Before joining you in bed, she took the opportunity to take a quick shower and change her clothes. Melissa put on an old Nirvana t-shirt, a piece she stole from you at the beginning of your relationship.

"Dolcezza Mia, are you awake?" Melissa asked softly as she settled into the bed next to you, waiting for an answer. "No? good, you deserve some rest. I know how work is really exhausting for you sometimes."

She wrapped her arms around your waist, sighing passionately.

"The game night was pretty good actually, Ava was gossiping about her neighbors, Jacob kept talking about the new episode of his favorite podcast, Barb and I had a karaoke competition and Janine and Gregory showed us this new Lego set. And speaking of these two, can you believe that they are finally dating? Seriously, I thought they would never admit their feelings for each other." Melissa chuckled softly.

"I had a lot of fun but I couldn't wait to get home and stay with you, sweetheart."

She felt you settle into her.

"Sei così bella. Sono così fortunato ad averti. I love everything about you. How you are always kind, loving and optimistic about things." Melissa whispered. "Everyday...as soon as I get off from work I try to get home as fast as I can. Because that feeling when I open the door and you run to me and you jump into my arms, is so sweet. It erases all my bad thoughts from the day."

Melissa leaned over to give you a kiss on the cheek, accidentally waking you up.

"Lissa? Is that you?" You asked in a sleepy voice, turning to face her.

"Sorry hon, I didn't mean to wake you up with the kiss on your cheek, I just was-"

You laughed when you noticed your girlfriend was blushing. God, she was so precious.

"It's okay." You said, leaning over to kiss her.

"Did you manage to rest?" Melissa asked changing the subject. Trying to hide how shy she was at that moment.

"Yes! quite a lot to be honest. But you know, I also couldn't wait for you to come home and kiss me."

The redhead didn't respond, just let out a small laugh, while looking at you with heart eyes.

"What?" you asked smiling.

"I love you. Tu sei l'amore della mia vita e sarò tua per sempre." She said before pulling you into a desperate kiss.

<3

Sei così bella. Sono così fortunato ad averti. = You are so adorable, I'm so lucky to have you.

Tu sei l'amore della mia vita e sarò tua per sempre = You are the love of my life and I will be yours forever.

[trigunsbbygirl]

More Reverse Isekai Hcs with the Twins

another one with more focus on Vash, but Nai is there too. V relationship with reader so absolutely nothing going on with the twins.

also mention a not sfw song at the very end

•Vash loves window shopping. there's so many interesting things on Earth! Vash drags you around to each store and always ooo's and ahh's at everything. obsessed with stickers and animal shaped things (especially when it comes to cooking.)

•he bought animal cookie cutters and immediately tried them out and was both slightly disappointed and dying of laughter when the cookies came out way rounder than when they went in. Vash frosts them very seriously either way, holding in laughter at how they look. he can't hold it any longer when you catch his attention, holding up what was meant to be a bear, decorated with nothing but a small 'c:' on its face. you're wavering straight face and almost serious voice saying "he chonky" has him losing it.

•every once in a while when Vash is putting something in the oven, he'll quote that copypasta "Why do they call it oven when you of in the cold food of out hot eat the food?" Nai wants to smack him everytime he says it.

•speaking of, Vash quite likes internet language. he's not excessive with using them, but sometimes Vash'll be like 'look at the doggo/pupper!' he also starts saying lol and pog. he doesn't say them in public much though. he's still trying to learn about the difference in online culture and offline culture.

•unlike Nai, Vash finds merchandise fascinating. he loves looking at plushies, figurines and charms, he thinks it's all so cool! Vash buys you all matching phone charms. it makes him so happy whenever he spots it dangling from yours and Nai's phones.

•but speaking of, Vash finds out about the figurines of himself and if he can, he's absolutely buying them. he's looking at them and is all like damn I look so cool! and rubs it in Nai's face that he has not only more, but cooler figurines.

•Vash recreates the poses of them too, aiming his finger gun at you, before yelling out a bang, lifting his arm up in fake recoil. you gasp, griping at your torso, dramatically falling to the floor. "help me Nai, I've been shot!"

Nai rolls his eyes at the two of yours antics, making his way towards you and picking you up. As he makes his way towards your bedroom he says, "I have to give her medical attention, don't bother us."

Vash's eyes widen as he gets up to follow Nai. "Now wait a second!"

•the dorks actually do know how to share you. it was a little rough at the beginning but they've learned and figured things out pretty well! they don't fight for your attention, but they do get a little jealous, and pouty if you give too much attention to the other often. they're both pretty touch starved so good luck lol. however they do read eachother well and know when not to try and get your attention from the other.

•Vash would've loved the time when mustaches and the peace symbol were insanely popular.

•speaking of mustaches, Vash once came home wearing one of those fake glasses with mustache and nose disguises. when you turned to welcome him home he responded with a serious face, "who is Vash?" you fake a gasp asking who he is and what he's doing there. before Vash can respond, Nai is getting up with a grin on his face. "well since we don't know him, we can kick him out and make sure he can never get back in."

Vash nervously laughs, waving his hands, "we don't need to go that far haha.."

Nai laughs back mockingly,"why not? you are breaking into our house, stranger."

Vash immediately yanks the glasses off, "look! its me! Vash!" you gasp and run up to him, hugging his side. "Vash! there was a tall scary stranger in here! I'm glad you're here to help Nai protect me!"

Nai watches as Vash coddles you. he'd be lying to himself if he said he hated the antics you two do. he watches you give Vash a kiss on the cheek before walking over and pulling you away from Vash. "I'm the one that protected you, why are you praising him?" he asks, staring at you with narrowed eyes. Nai may look angry but really, he just wants kisses too.

•Vash loves bees! he'll go out to the little garden he's been working on and watch as bees and butterflies come by. it's one of his favorite pastimes.

•Vash is very involved with the community. he always offers the neighbors any extra food he's made and seeing if anyone needs help. he's happy to mow someone's lawn or weed a garden and do any small chores someone may be unable to do. Vash also goes around and tries to volunteer a lot since he can't really work. as much as he likes exploring hobbies, he gets a little restless being at home so much.

•Vash wants to try eating everything and that doesn't just include meals. somehow Vash learned that dandelions are edible and the next time you two take a walk, before you truly realize it, you're watching Vash shove the yellow part of a dandelion flower into his mouth.

•but seriously he really does want to try eating different plants. Vash does a lot of research and is always giving Nai suggestions of foods to incorporate into meals.

•if Vash could, I could absolutely see him working in the medical department as a pediatrician. he loves kids a lot and he's great at playing with kids, comforting them and making sure they feel as happy as they possibly can be at the hospital. he always jokes around with them, gets to know each kid he works with and always tries to be there for them when they're sad or scared.

•likewise, I know I said Nai would work at a book store, but I like to imagine Nai could become a surgeon. he's not lost to the irony in it, that he's saving lives, but it's just something he's taken an interest in. he wants to learn about human anatomy. (idk how to explain it really but it just makes sense to me. he'd be good at it too, never gets tired, steady hands, keen eyes, very precise)

•prank Vash a little bit when it comes to the modern era. tell him that when the plane lands everybody claps and applauds the pilots. Vash almost did that the first time he went flying, he lifted his hands up, but he was confused when no one started clapping. he catches on quickly that it was a prank.

•Vash combusts if you ever sing E.T by Katy Perry. stare at him as you sing it and he'll get so red in the face. he's covering his face with his hands and curling into himself and whining out to stop.(he doesn't want you to though)

•same with if you prank him and show him that The Bad Touch by Bloodhound Gang. go up to him and tell him you have a cool popular song to show and he lights up, Vash likes pretty much all of the songs you show him. when the song starts, he's bopping his head to the beat and tells you, smiling, it's cool so far. then the lyrics start and Vash's smile immediately falls and he blushes so hard. he can't even look at you and you're laughing your ass off at his reaction.

•Nai, the boring fucker, would just raise an eyebrow at you. he either doesn't fall for your pranks or just has no reaction. shame.

[itsaspectrumcomic]

If you’re comfortable, what made you decide to seek diagnosis and how did you go about it? It has been suggested to me (friends, therapist), and I have suspected that I might be autistic but I’m kind of scared to find out for sure because of stigma.

I wondered silently for a really long time before I did anything about it - like, for years. I worried about the stigma too, or that I was wrong and I wasn't autistic and I was just weird, or maybe everyone found things this hard and I was just being dramatic and overreacting. I also self-identified as autistic for a while before I decided a diagnosis would be helpful for me, mainly for getting accommodations.

What started it off was my mum sending me an article about Melanie Sykes revealing her own diagnosis and noting the similarities, and I thought if she could see it too then maybe it wasn't just in my head. And then I spent a really long time researching.

I joined some communities of autistic people (eg discord and reddit) and followed neurodivergent people on social media to see if I could relate to their experiences (which was way more helpful than reading a traits list off WebMD).

I also did some self-assessments online like the Autism Spectrum Quotient (there's the AQ10 and AQ50) and the RAADS-R. I've linked to where you can take those on Embrace Autism since I found that website particularly helpful :)

AND THEN I took all my results and notes to my GP to try to get a referral which was another whole thing since the NHS waiting lists are literally years long.

Even though it took a long time and was pretty difficult, I'm really glad I went for a diagnosis! It made me feel much more comfortable in myself, and I've found others take me more seriously when I say I'm struggling with something. Most people I've told have responded pretty well, but I am careful about who I tell in real life because there are so many stereotypes so it wouldn't necessarily be helpful for them to know. You don't have to tell anyone if you don't want to.

If you're wondering about yourself, I recommend taking those quizzes I linked as well as seeing if you relate to other autistic peoples' experiences. Also, know you don't have to actually go for a diagnosis if you don't want one. Self-identifying and figuring out what your needs are and accommodating them where you can is also good :)

Anyway, this has been an essay but basically I'm happy I was able to get my diagnosis :) It's not something everyone can access for a variety of reasons so I'm very grateful.

[amethystina]

I wonder how Gaon and Yohan are going to explain the change in their interactions to Elijah, since it's going to be obvious to her that something has happened between them. Since Elijah knows that there's nothing between Gaon and Soo hyun, I wonder if she will play a role in clearing Yohan's misconception? Thanks for the update! I can't stop thinking how many ways this story can play out😅 Btw i really appreciate the time and effort you put into responding to our questions with such detail.

That definitely depends on who's doing the explaining xD Yo Han would just brush it off and pretend that nothing is happening — which would just piss her off — while Ga On would make a stilted effort to explain without making it too obvious what it's actually about. Which would also annoy her.

That poor girl, seriously. She doesn't deserve to get caught between these two idiots.

I'm not sure I agree that Elijah "knows" that there was nothing between Ga On and Soo Hyun, though. I think she very much thinks there was something between them. I mean, sure, they denied it when she asked if they were dating, but THE WAY they did so was pretty telling (especially in Soo Hyun's case). Even more so since Elijah is a bit... well, innocent? I think most of her experience with love comes from media, books etc. and how Ga On and Soo Hyun behaved is, well, straight from a drama xD

And Elijah also had that talk with Soo Hyun when they were eating ice cream on Ga On's terrace, where it became pretty obvious that Soo Hyun is in love with Ga On and has already confessed to him several times.

So I think Elijah very much believes they were in love. Which means she won't really play a role in convincing Yo Han otherwise — if asked, she'd probably only make it worse, even. Because her understanding of love is a bit superficial and probably pretty geared towards straightness. That's not to say that she's not aware of gay people (I think she might actually know more about that than Ga On does xD) but from the evidence she's seen both Ga On and Yo Han seem straight to her (because I can't imagine that Yo Han has flaunted his dalliances with other men in front of her).

I know I'm very, very firm about this but Elijah doesn't know that Yo Han and Ga On have the hots for each other. And not because she's stupid, but because she's grown up in a country where straightness is the norm and Yo Han has done everything he can to hide the depth of his and Ga On's relationship from her. Also, she's a self-centred teenager x'D

Like, take me for an example. I was around 23-24 and very comfortable in my own pansexuality but was still IN NO WAY PREPARED when my mum basically went: "I may only have had sex with two women in my life but, let me tell you — 10/10, would recommend." Because I had only ever seen her date and talk about men before and therefore assumed she had no interest in anything else. That's how easy it is to miss that someone close to you isn't entirely straight — especially if it's a parent/guardian.

So I really don't think that Elijah would notice until it gets a lot more obvious than this xD

Which wasn't technically what your ask was about (sorry for the tangent xD), but still important to know because Elijah really won't be all that helpful when it comes to Yo Han and Ga On figuring out their feelings for each other. In fact, she might just end up making things harder for them without meaning to. But more about that in later chapters ;)

ANYWAY. Thank you so much for the lovely ask! I'm so happy to hear that people are this excited and involved in my story! And, tbh, I can't help replying because I'm very excited, too, and love talking about my writing, my thoughts, and my takes on these characters. How could I resist? More often than not, I have to cut my answers short because I keep writing longer and longer ones.

Like, you guys have no idea how long the first drafts of my author's notes usually are. One time I had to cut half of it because it was reaching truly spectacular lengths. And sure, I know that some of you probably wouldn't complain if I had posted that first draft, but I'm trying to contain myself, okay? And also not reveal too much since it might end up spoiling future plot points. It's a constant struggle.

So yeah. I'm actually consciously holding back a lot of the time because I'm trying to not come off as completely unhinged x'D

[thestrangestthing89]

So who knows about Mike and Will...

I think Jonathan not only knows about Will's feelings but he picked up on Mikes too. He's known Mike since he was 5 and there is no way he didn't put that together after their road trip. It's probably a safe bet to assume Argyle knows too. He's very observant and was in the car with them and their angst for hours. There have also been hints that Joyce and Karen also know or at least suspect something. Positive their friends are clueless, though I do think El at least suspects by the end of season 4. It will be interesting to see if Nancy knows but I don't think she does. She assumed Mike liked El with no evidence back in season 1 (she saw them interact for like a minute). Considering her own problems with heteronormativity (Steve) it's not surprising if she doesn't realize. I don't think it would bother her and it's possible that she maybe suspected over the years of seeing them together but I think for her (and most of the audience) the simple fact that Mike started dating El and kissed her was enough to convince her that he's straight.

Which leads me to Hopper. I'm pretty sure he already put this together...

In season 1 Joyce tells Hopper that Lonnie used to call Will gay slurs and this is the comment that gets Hopper taking her seriously. He's dismissive and rude to her before this. But when she says this he immediately starts listening. He's investigating his disappearance like a hate crime. There are also many hints (from the Wheeler parents and from the bully at school who mentions how his dad says Will got "killed by another queer") that people in this town talk about Will being gay. Adults who don't even know him believe that Will was killed because of this. There is no way Hopper wasn't aware of this. So Hopper at this point at least suspects that Will might be gay. It was important enough that his own mother brought it up to him. What Hopper knows of Mike in this season is that he completely ignored him when he told him to stay out of the investigation. But his other friends did as well. So up to this point I don't think he notices anything about Mikes feelings other than he cares about his friend.

Which leads me to season 2 and what happens in the intervening time. There is a year between season 1 and 2 where it's implied that Hopper was regularly checking in on the Byers. Not to mention helping with Will and his trauma and going to his doctors appointments. If Hopper was homophobic in any way not only would he not have looked for Will when he went missing (yes it's his job, but plenty of cops ignore problems when the happen to people they don't like, especially a gay kid in the 80s) but he wouldn't have repeatedly checked in on him and worried about his well-being. It's also very possible in this time that Hopper saw Mike and Will together. Mikes protectiveness of Will in season 2 didn't come out of no where and it was already heavily implied in season 1 that they hang out all the time.

Then there is season 2 where Mike and Will are together the entire time. Hopper sees how Mike is at the hospital, he sees Will remembering Mike when he's possessed (when he could only remember his mother), he sees Mike in the shed giving a very emotional speech to a possessed Will and sees Will responding to Mike when he wasn't able to respond to Joyce and Jonathan (at least not initially). It's Mike that connected to him and got him to communicate with them. It's Mike who realizes Will is trying to sacrifice himself to save everyone. And it's Mike who comes up with a plan to protect him. Hopper is there for all of this.

Then there is Mikes melt down. This was not about El but El was the tipping point that sent Mike over the edge. He's overwhelmed and Hopper is the one who is there to hear it. Mikes says things like "you're a liar" and "you're disgusting" to Hopper. Which really make no sense. Hopper never lied to him because Mike is never shown to ask him about El. Why would he when he saw her "die"? His belief that she was alive was grief, not him actually believing it. He never once actually looks for her. So Mike saying these things doesn't add up to be about Hopper especially the "you're disgusting" comment. It does however make a lot of sense if Mikes protectiveness of Will at the lab was being viewed as romantic at least by Mike. And his speech in the shed is definitely romantic. This is why I think Mike realized how he felt back in season 2. Him melting down at Hopper seems like it's not only about the situation and trauma but also his identity. And Hopper comforts him about it. I also love the moment when El is about to kiss Mike and Mike is just standing there with his eyes open not moving. Hopper is right there for that too. And he interrupts the kiss. I don't think this was the gross trope of "over-protective dad not wanting his daughter to get a boyfriend". I'm pretty sure he's trying to spare Mike here.

5. Then there is season 3 and the hostility between the two. Hopper uses words like "unnatural" and "unhealthy" and "very wrong" to describe Mike and El's dynamic. He's correct even though he handles it badly. The interesting thing about this is that those words are typically used to describe same sex relationships but they are directed towards the hetero couple. While on the surface it seems like Hopper just wants both of them to spend some time apart, I think considering everything else that's happened prior to this is leading Hopper to be a little confused by Mike. Where he went from being glued to Will's side and protective and caring of him, to obsessing over El and ignoring Will. It's also possible he's seen Will during this time and maybe noted that he was a little sad and connected the dots. I think the scene where Mike and Hopper are arguing in the car says a lot. Not only about the way Hopper is viewing his relationship with El - unnatural and wrong - but I think he's trying to give Mike a push to stop fucking around and go back to his friend. Very curious what happened during the rest of this car ride back to Mike's place.

6. There is also the letter Hopper writes to El and Mike that we hear as the voice over at the end of the season. This was not just about El and their relationship but Mike as a person too. It's all about how growing up is scary and how change is ok. At the mall, Hopper makes an interesting comment to Mike when the kids are leaving. He says "Mike, be careful". Not be careful with her or take care of her. This comment isn't about El. He's telling Mike specifically to take care of himself and be careful. He's looking out for Mike the person not Mike his daughters boyfriend.

Now obviously Hopper and Mike have very limited interaction with each other in season 4, but all of this leads me to believe that Hopper at least suspects that there is something going on with Mike and Will. And I think considering we are about to get protective Mike again, he is going to see a lot more moments between them. Not to mention the fact that Mike and El either already broke up or are about to and I don't think either of them are going to be upset, just relieved.

I also want to take this moment to note that the comments about how Hopper is going to be pissed Mike's dating another one of his kids are incredibly irritating not to mention wrong. I know some of them are meant to be funny, but the comments about how Hopper is going to give Mike the shovel talk and lecture him are just gross. It implies that no one cares about Mike and that he's tolerated because they love Will and this has never once been shown to be true.

Hopper has been protective of both of them. He cares about both of them. I think he sees that Mike is really struggling and is trying to help him but doesn't really know how. Hopper and Mike have very similar personalities where they internalize everything until it's destroying them and I think Hopper recognizes this even if he doesn't know what to do about it.

As a side note: Hopper is definitely not homophobic and has never been shown to be even though there were plenty of chances for him to show this with Will in the same way that Lonnie did. His relationship with Murray is also telling. Pretty sure he's gay and Hopper and Joyce know this. Hopper has noticed him flirting with every Russian who is near them. He makes a comment in season 3 when they are under the mall. Murray is talking in Russian to a soldier but the conversation goes on longer than it needs to and they are both laughing. When Hopper asks him about it Murray says he was being nice and Hoppers reaction is basically "is this really the time?". All this to say that I'm pretty sure Hopper is going to be very supportive of both Mike and Will and I can see his relationship with Mike improving a lot once that happens.

[yooniesim]

happy to chat publicly and openly if you would like. you seem to have a problem with me and your post is also an example of bullying whether you like it or not. lets talk about anything you would like and make it public. balls in your court. im here and ready.

...Are you referring to my brief post from over a month ago about how you've quietly returned to posting on your patreon without acknowledging your awful behavior and subsequent doubling down in December? If so, I'm honestly not sure why you're coming to me in particular, since your terrible non-apology and arguing in the replies after was received negatively by pretty much everyone here. Pointing out how bad it was is not bullying (as you were told by the many people you argued with that day) but your insistence that it is tells me that you still haven't changed. I'm also not Jewish, which is the community you upset the most with your actions and why I only boosted their voices rather than going into the replies myself back then, so it's even stranger you sent me of all people this ask. Did no one else respond to you, do you not take them seriously, or is it just some personal grudge?

In any case, I think you would do better making a statement on your own blog taking responsibility for your inability to take criticism and how you're going to take action to grow as a person without blaming others, rather than spending time messaging people you still feel slighted by. From what I saw in the comments of your post, you like to argue no matter what others tell you, and I've no intention of spending time arguing back and forth when many others have already told you what you've done wrong. You know well what we all have a problem with at this point.

You said on one of my posts once, "I don't need to defend myself, I know my truth and you all can come to your own conclusions." People in this community, including myself, have done just that according to what we have available: your actions. If you've changed your mind and there's anything else you'd like to show the community, anything you'd feel you need to get off your chest, that's up to you. I can't help you with that or point you in the direction of repairing your reputation here. Unfortunately there are no magic words you can say to do that. I do think it would be beneficial to unhide your earnings on patreon to be more transparent about how much you're making there. It would at least make you seem more genuine, which is a quality you seem to lack in the eyes of the public at the moment. But otherwise, you'll just have to navigate this all on your own.

At this point, I'm going to defer to some of the people I saw commenting on or reblogging your post as I wasn't directly involved in that conversation. Perhaps one of them will have something they'd like you to speak publicly and openly about, so I'd like to give them the chance to ask you whatever they'd like. But if not, I'd suggest you stop reaching out to people to educate you and start putting in the effort yourself.

@marigolde @anachrosims @cinamun @ardeney-sims @neverheresims @merry927 @fiftymilehighclub @simdertalia @7intendo @xldkx @littleblackbooksims @lesbianaspiration

[polarisbibliotheque]

So like, less of a suggestion and more of a question - I recently found your works and have just been blown away by the details (like, seriously, you're on the top of my favorite writers list) and just how... perfect you craft everything? I genuinely inspire to be like you, but the problem is that I've hit a rut - I'm super unsatisfied with my writing, and whenever I try to get back into the writing zone, I just fall flat. Is there any advice you could give on how to improve one's writing? What would be your tips and tricks at getting into that writing zone?

(Do apologize me taking SO LONG to answer, but I had some health emergencies the last couple of weeks and ended up in the hospital – I’m doing better now, chilling at home and trying to recover. My doctor is 90% sure I have Crohn’s Disease and I’m having many ups and downs trying to find a proper treatment that I seem to respond to. BUT…)

…I hope you are aware of how much you made me smile, blush and almost indulge into my teary eyes upon reading this. Hahahaha seriously, thank you SO much!! I can’t even thank you enough, I’m just in pure awe that another being in this big ol’ world we live in thinks so highly of my writing!!

I mean, not even I think that highly of my writing. Notice a pattern? ;)

One thing I learned being an artist – not only writing, I also draw, play the piano, write music on my free time/when inspiration hits, everything creative, I’m there, doing it – is that we’re never really satisfied with our work. We will always think we could’ve done something better, and we’re definitely going to be pretty “meh” about a lot of things we do – even when other people think it’s a masterpiece.

And that is good! We’ll always strive to perfect our skills! You just have to remember to appreciate the work you do even when you’re not completely satisfied with it. You will get to where you want to – but then, you’ll wish to improve even more! And that is awesome!

But hey, I do have some tips and tricks on improving and getting into that writing vibe!

For the people getting to the party now, my main tip on improving is here, in the first part of the answer for this ask! Now, now…

(long post below, as expected YEE BEEN WARNED!)

Regarding improving:

Read. A. Lot. Hahaha I know that’s quite an obvious one, but it’s really important. Personally, I think reading mindlessly just to fill a quota of “I read 25 books a month” doesn’t work. It works when you absorb it – when you allow yourself to plunge into the world of the book you’re reading, feeling the characters, the emotions, the settings… That helps you build your “mental library” so to speak! And sometimes you’ll find things and expressions you like that you might use both on your daily speech and while writing – for instance, I have this awful thing of saying “there’s a lack of wings to my words” whenever I’m speechless, because of Homer’s Odyssey. I freaking LOVE that book, I loved that expression, I use it all the time, and it has definitely bled into my writing.

WRITE! A LOT! Write bad stuff, good stuff, short 2 pages thing-ys that you go “hey that’s a good idea!” but you’ll never actually turn into a full story, random scenes, fanfiction, stupid fanfiction, serious fanfiction, self-indulgent stories, stories for your family, stories for yourself, stories for whoever wants to read or not, dreams that could be great stories… The point is to write. It’s much like drawing or playing the piano: if you don’t practice, you won’t get better and you won’t develop your style. The more you practice, the better you get! So don’t be afraid to write bad stuff, cringy stuff, or ridiculous stuff – or even stuff you thought would be awesome and turns out bad, or stuff you think will never turn into anything that turn amazing! One way or another, you’ll be refining your craft!

Identify what you like on writers you admire. I started noticing that while reading The Silmarillion. The Lord of the Rings is my favorite book since I read it for the first time when I was 15, but I didn’t pick up The Silmarillion until I was around 22 – and by then, I started underlining with a light pencil all the phrases I liked most, something my mom did on her old books when she was around my age. I then started taking a look at what I liked about Tolkien’s writing so much – and in other books too: what kind of phrases seemed to resonate more with my soul. Which ones brought tears to my eyes and a smile to my face. And then I notice I tend more to the unconventional ways of describing things.

For instance, instead of going like “she was beautiful, with pale skin under raven dark hair, blue eyes shining on her fair face” I tend to go for the unconventional, sort of eerie, not so much taken for granted kind of describing “her beauty glowed like the first pale star to glisten in the evening sky, under a deep sea of dark, velvety hair, making her eyes twinkle like sapphires with a smart look while carrying the light she kept in her soul”. If I had to, the second one would be how I’d describe Arwen or Lúthien, giving them that ethereal otherworldly beauty they have. It's also the one that evokes more feelings inside of me rather than just a mental image.

That’s why I try to describe some things in a different light. When I’m writing, I want people to feel something – but how can you describe that feeling of joy when you hug someone you love and the whole world fades for a minute? That’s when I go for the “his heart bled with gold while his hands never wanted to let them go. For a minute, time seemed to stop and there was nothing else but his heartbeat intertwining with theirs, beating as the same song – even if theirs was more melodic while his was more melancholic. It was that kind of tune that made his lungs not remember how to breathe and his eyes pour – while his lips reflected all the gold that cascaded from his heart.” It’s a quick (rather ridiculous) example, but I do think about some things: how when I feel like that, I tend to have a hard time breathing and I do cry, but it’s because I want to smile so much I cannot contain it. Then I try to describe those feelings with metaphors and poetic stuff because I’m a melodramatic bitch.

Jokes aside, it’s because I like that sort of writing that has that beauty behind it – or more of a melancholic approach. It’s what resonates the most with me and I adopted it, even if sometimes it feels too… Abstract. I like that ability of people piecing the abstractness together and having their own interpretation – and that’s what makes people have different feelings while reading the same thing.

Is this for everyone? Absolutely not. I bet some people despise all that poeticness I like to put on words to lace them like a painting, you know? So, the more you re-read the things you like, you’ll start identifying what resonates with you and you can apply that to your own writing!

And that doesn’t mean you’ll have to be locked on that writing style as well. I’m currently trying to finish a book (I hope someday I can publish it) which is a cyberpunk style story, with lots of inspiration from Cyberpunk 2077, Blade Runner, John Wick (yes, Keanu Reeves sends his regards) and all that poetic writing doesn’t quite fit there. I’m using more of a direct approach, but there’s a lot of existentialism and reflecting on overcoming grief, trauma, owning your own life and contemplating one’s own mortality – and that’s where that poetic, metaphoric, melancholic, bittersweet characteristic of my writing style comes into play. And then everyone starts cursing and shooting each other again :)

Having a style doesn’t mean getting stuck in it – it means knowing when and where to use it!

Now regarding getting into the writing zone:

I freaking ADORE music and it helps me A TON while I’m writing. It’s like setting the mood. I’m trying to be sexy, or mysterious, or having that vampire-y vibe? Depeche Mode playlist it is. Fight scenes? Metal and Electronic. I need to freaking focus and get to work without thinking too much about the music (or start dancing like crazy whenever a song I love comes in and there I am, dancing and singing in my room at 3 a.m)? Piano playlists – classic, modern, everything and anything, as long as it is piano.

Playing music that goes with what I’m writing also helps. For my cyberpunk book, for instance, I put on the Cyberpunk 2077 OST playlist/radio on, or I search for “Cyberpunk Ambience/Playlist” on Youtube and let it roll while I write. For my King Arthur stories (yes, still working on them), I put on Celtic music compilations, Enya, Loreena McKennitt or the piano playlists. For my vampire stories, be the medieval or the near-future one, dark piano, Dark Wave, etc. Perhaps searching for that one playlist that has to do with your story setting and listening to it for some time might get you in the zone!

I also usually write deep in the night. Because I’m a spawn of Dracula. After everyone at home has gone to sleep, I make myself some hot tea, sit on my computer, start listening to music and write. That’s because I know I won’t be interrupted, and I can do just that. Sometimes, I start writing at 1 a.m, other times earlier, other times later. Try to notice when your ideas seem to flow better and when you get more into the zone – but please, don’t be unhealthy as I am and go to sleep at a decent hour. I’m not an example here with my sleeping schedule hahahaha

Cringy moment: when I’m stuck, I act the last scene I wrote as one of my characters in the shower and, usually, ideas start to come in (and I have to get off the shower). Hahahaha now that’s just a weird one, but I have NO idea why, my best ideas arise in the shower. Water has a weird effect on me, so sometimes I just stand there with warm water pouring over my head and, lo and behold, I’m exiting the shower in a hurry because I just got my writer mood back HAHAHA so maybe some very mundane activity – like cooking, taking the trash out, cleaning the room – might be where your writer brain will come to life. You never know.

Needless to say, I talk to myself a lot, sometimes as if I’m talking to the characters. That is a very bad coping mechanism I developed when I was being bullied at school – I used to pretend Dante was with me when I was alone or something had happened and I needed someone by my side, so nowadays I have a very easy time writing this man. I started doing that with some of my characters, and that goes for repeating lines or part of the stories I’m writing to see if I can get un-stuck. It’s not the greatest of things, but it works. My neighbors might think I’m crazy, though xD

When I’m completely unmotivated or I keep staring at the blank page without being able to write, I try to immerse myself in what I’m writing about. So, if I’m stuck on my cyberpunk book, I watch some Cyberpunk 2077 let’s plays, I re-watch the Edgerunners anime, I re-watch Blade Runner, I re-read some parts of Do Androids Dream of Electrical Sheep? or I, Robot, I listen to Blade Runner’s soundtrack, I even try to play Cyberpunk 2077 (while praying not to get motion sickness or not having my pc exploding from overworking). If I’m stuck on my King Arthur works, then I re-watch the 2004 movie (may the gods bless Ioan Gruffudd and his wonderful Lancelot and Mads Mikkelsen as my beloved Tristan), re-read the 3 books on the Chronicles of Arthur series, listen to some Celtic music, research Arthurian stories for hours on the internet, search for my encyclopedias at home to see if they have something on King Arthur, read obscure translated manuscripts from ancient times on it … So, immersing yourself on reading, researching, listening to music, watching movies, playing videogames, listening to stories, watching series, reading mangas, watching anime, documentaries, going to the movies, basically doing anything that has to do with the theme you’re writing, may get you in the mood. Next time you sit down to write, it might flow wonderfully!

I don’t force myself to write, though. If I do, I usually can’t write a single decent word and I’ll hate it. If things aren’t flowing – and this I learned with my mom, who also draws – I leave it for a while and go do something else. Maybe I’ll have some warm tea, or watch a completely unrelated movie, or read my current book, or talk to my parrot in the kitchen, play some piano, draw a little, or just take a good nap. My mom says it refreshes the head and the eyes, and when you come back to it, you’ll be a lot more inclined to find things that weren’t working and let those creative juices flow.

I also have a very weird search history and I’m not ashamed of it. All writers do, and it’s better to have a weird search history than not knowing what you’re talking about, honestly. And sometimes, researching takes a lot more time than writing and might get you motivated – time spent learning is never wasted. Even if you’re learning what kind of dates grow in Greece and are offered to Apollo (bless his heart).

Sometimes, I write something completely unrelated, with a very different theme, and stupidly goofy – and that gets me back to the writing vibes. Sometimes there’s just this need of writing something for the sake of writing, and you just want something foolish to make you smile like a goof. It’s valid and it might be your ticket out of writing-rut-land.

Now some little uncalled for advices:

I spent too long being self-conscious and too serious about it. If it’s not your style, don’t force it. Some people need structure, other people thrive in chaos – know what’s your style and go for it. I hate planning novels, for example. But I will outline the main points of the story and the ending – the rest, well, the characters have to show me whatever else they’re doing, and I have to go with it. Sometimes there are huge arcs I didn’t plan as a main point of the story, but they pop up in the middle of it and they are important – I like leaving that room for impromptu writing/creating. So, find out how it works for you, not how it works for everyone else.

You don’t have to create masterpieces right at the first time you’re writing. Take my King Arthur thing-y for example. I wrote the full story when I was 15. When I was in college, I decided to re-write it. And then, when I was at work, I decided to re-write the re-write. And now, I just took all my files, read them, thought about it all, outlined a whole new story and decided to write anew. Not re-write, but take all that work and write as if I had never written anything before – in the original file, the main characters were 15 years old and in school, now they have their jobs at Universities and work on the secret society that is now a lot more fleshed out and built with loads of new characters around (including a new one I created yesterday after months not thinking about it).

If I hadn’t written the Twilight-sort of embarrassing thing when I was 15, I wouldn’t have this whole universe, characters and story to build upon nowadays. It wasn’t a masterpiece, but it was a good idea – and I’ll keep working on it until I’m happy with it. It’s been 13 years I’m working on it now, maybe when it reaches its 15th anniversary, I’ll be able to finally let it see the light of day!

Don’t listen to the “NEVER DO THIS!!” advices. Seriously. Writing is a form of art – and, as in all art, there isn’t a right or wrong. By all means, see what people are saying it’s bad and you should never do – I watch and read those advices so I can learn to be better too! – but don’t take it to heart. As Captain Barbossa would say, it’s more of a guideline than rules set in stone. Sometimes, something people say you should NEVER EVER do is something that works perfectly fine for you and your style of writing. Learn to make up your own mind: learn new things, listen to advices, but absorb those that resonate with you and leave those that don’t. That’s how you create your own opinion about things and how you find your writing style!

One fun thing to point out on this as an example: me, my mom, my sister and my dad ADORE reading. My sister loves Jane Austen, my mom is a super fan of Dostoyevsky and Russian literature, while my dad lives for Isaac Asimov and all things sci-fi. I love sci-fi, my mom can’t stand it. I read Dante’s Inferno in a week and my mom couldn’t get past the first verses. My sister can’t read poetry at all and is terribly bored by Lord of the Rings. My dad read my Chronicles of Arthur books and even told me to buy the complete the series. Me and my sister enjoyed Khaled Hosseini’s books a lot, but my mom never felt like reading them.

All of this to say: it’s not a matter of who’s more intellectual than the other, it’s a matter of who likes which kind of literature and writing styles. Some people are more comfortable with one way of writing or a certain kind of literature and can’t stand others – and that’s ok. Writing is pretty much the same. THERE ARE NO FIXED RULES! BE A REBEL!

If it helps you: character sheets. Around 8 years ago – or more – I searched and searched online for the character sheet that could help me the best. I had never done it before and thought it was quite useless, until I downloaded one and started filling the infos on my main characters of my Arthurian sort of story. Lo and behold, they became SO MUCH BETTER and that’s when I started rewriting everything: I understood all characters a LOT better and made better decisions when writing them. It doesn’t work for everyone, though, but it’s a lot of fun for me. Currently, I don’t use it much because I now know what are the main things I need for my characters to seem alive, but it’s always nice to have a reference when you’re writing.

My cyberpunk story, for instance, it has A BUNCH of characters with scars, different hair colours, different eye colours, the way they dress, birthmarks, cyber-implants, cyber-prothesis, dressing styles… And sometimes I get lost in it. So it’s nice keeping a character sheet when I go like “wait, she has burn marks on the left arm or the right arm…?”

And keeping a file on worldbuilding might be helpful as well. I noticed that writing my cyberpunk thing. The first thing I wrote was a huge file explaining the city, the factions, the districts, people’s styles, who are the viruses, the sub-types of viruses, the political parties, the police and secret police, the difference between artificials and organics, how does access to the world works, what is the Ocularis system, the most important corporations, their names, their owners… And all those things will probably never appear on this story.

But I felt a HUGE difference. Instead of info-dumping right at the beginning to make the reader understand how the world is built and how it works, I started it right at an important point in the story. No one knows anything about how things work, but, as the characters speak to each other, they talk about so many things that the reader catches things and pieces together how all things are organized.

Don’t try to explain everything. Tying with I said before, if you have a very good idea of how things work, how the characters relate to each other, how they react and how they think, you won’t need to info-dump. I usually think I’m seeing my characters going about their day and that is ALL I’m describing: what they are saying, feeling, thinking and doing. If I feel something is missing for people to fully understand, then I add something quite minimal to help. But I don’t overexplain: people are intelligent and they can piece things together.

Don’t go full Marvel movies and explain everything as if no one can understand unless you say it. Go Nolan and try to make people understand with images, feelings, glances, metaphors and such. It’s very effective in writing! (Don’t get me wrong, I do like Marvel movies, but they have become those kinds of movies that require little mental effort because literally everything will be explained in a huge monologue or through dialogue. You don’t always need dialogues – and if you say “oh that’s too ambiguous and people won’t be certain about it” that’s the beauty of art: it’s always up to interpretation)

Having someone to read and give you feedback might be very helpful too. I have a few friends every now and then I send some of my stories so they’ll read and give me an honest feedback. I try to listen to their opinions and refine my work – but if I think they critique doesn’t make sense, I thank them anyway and keep on doing my thing. Like I said, know when to take what makes sense and when let go of something that doesn’t. Also: feedback is NOT a personal attack. DON’T TAKE IT TO HEART. See it always as something you may need to improve – and you’ll improve quicker.

At the end of the day, writing is art. And all art is relative.

Your art will be great to some and horrible to others – and that’s ok! Again, learn to NOT make it personal (the critiques, I mean, because art is always personal and that’s wonderful, I think).

And repeat after me: you will not please everyone. The point is to make yourself proud. You’ll find your people along the way.

Do it because you love. Do it because it comes from your heart, from your soul. The world has become so filled with content, mindlessly created by artificial intelligence so we will keep consuming, that things have lost so much of their soul.

To make art, to write, is to have soul. If you have that heart, that passion in your work, it will show – and people will follow. When you sit to write, don’t make it a chore, don’t make it an aesthetic tiktok post, don’t follow the routine of this or that famous artist – do what you have to do and let your heart flow. Do it for you.

I think that’s the main advice I can give. Don’t do content to post on social media and look good, do your art. Push your boundaries, test new things, write in ways you never did before, but do your thing.

When everyone is doing the same thing over and over again, you’ll realize your words will stand out by doing what you want to do.

Again thanks for attending my TED Talk xD

[shyficwriter]

Temporary Home: Chapter 25

Guardians of the Galaxy fanfic | Reader x Guardians (With Yondu and Kraglin!)

Summary: Just as things are starting to look up- spiders. So many spiders. Will everything be okay, or will Reader crumble under the pressure?

Previous Chapter here | Next Chapter Here Or click here to: Start From Beginning

Author’s Note: By gods, I've been writing this chapter since MAY of 2022!! Also, for my records this chapter ends on day 72 of the Guardians living with reader. Enjoy!

Word Count: 7,668

Your little chat with Yondu had actually made you feel better, to your surprise.

Sure, you still had bouts of post-vulnerability-embarrassment, but you found that a weight had been lifted somewhat when you went to bed that night, and you couldn't deny that you actually did feel better in the morning, enough so that you actually got right back into using the remote to prank Peter, though you of course now refrained from using it when Yondu was also watching the television for fear of prompting him to tell Peter what he knew out of spite.

The next couple days your mood improved even further.

You decided to join another sparing round with the others, though you did avoid matching with Peter out of paranoia that he'd pull another stunt like the last time. You were teased for this, mostly because when it happened you had turned to see he was your next match only to audibly state, "Nope!" and motioned him on to pair with Mantis instead. This made the others laugh, but you simply rolled your eyes with half a light-hearted smirk and brushed it off.

The day after that you decided to finally show Yondu some "Terran Archery" as you had said you would some time ago. He actually caught on really well, though he didn't deny that he preferred his own arrow. Then, seemingly just to show off, he whistled to command his arrow circle you three times before taking off to shoot clear through your target and then come back to rest in his holster.

Pretending not to be impressed, you start to head back toward the shed to put your bow and quiver away. "You know, you still never really said how Fury allowed you to keep that arrow."

Yondu just grinned and shrugged as he followed your lead to return. "Like I said. That's for me to know."

"Come on now!" You scoff. "Surely after making me spill my life story the other night you can at least tell me that."

Yondu pretended to think, smirking all the while. "Hmm… Nah. Pretty sure we never came to any such agreement."

"Seriously?!"

"Yup."

You sigh, letting it go for now. "Well, can you at least tell me how it works?"

"Whatcha wanna know that for? Ain't like ya'd be able to use it." He grinned teasingly at you.

Whether he meant he wouldn't dream of letting you try it, or that it literally only worked for him, you weren't sure- though you had a suspicion it was the latter. "Just curious," you respond, "I mean, I showed you how humans do archery, figured maybe you'd at least tell me a little something about your space arrow?"

Yondu appeared slightly annoyed, rolling his eyes and stopping to turn to you. He realized he was going to have to give you the same talk he gave Quill shortly after he brought him aboard the Eclector as a boy. "Let's get one thing straight. I know you Terrans ain't know a lot, so it ain't fully yer fault, but here's a lesson. You and me?" He gestured back and forth between you. "We're both 'human-' Got it?"

Confusion prompted you to look back at him. Both human? That couldn't be right. You were from Earth. He was from a different planet- an alien. Did people on his planet call themselves 'humans' too?

He continued. "You Terrans might think you're the only ones in the universe, but that don't make everyone else less than human."

Oh.

The guilt must have shown on your face because he sighed and tried to curb his annoyance. Slightly. "You? Me? Both human." He points at you again. "You and Quill, ya'll are Terran." He points to himself. "I'm Centaurian. Different races, both still 'human.' Got it?"

You nod. "Yes. Sorry-"

He waved you off, seeming satisfied enough and wishing to change the subject. The two of you begin walking again as he spoke. "Anyway, the fin picks up my whistle and sends it to the arrow. Arrow gets the whistle and goes where -and through who- I want it to."

"Uh, that's it? It's that simple? Do a lot of people use that in space?" you ask, deciding to move forward in the conversation with him.

Yondu laughed out his nose. "It's the best explanation yer gonna get, and no, it's actually not simple at all, and no- I'm sure I'm the only one with something like this."

Your eyebrows raised. "Oh. Why's that?"

"That's enough questions about the arrow for now," he replied flatly. His expression was just as flat, and you couldn't get a read on the reason for his reluctance to talk much about his arrow. He didn't seem upset or uncomfortable. Was he was just a "keep to himself" type of person, or was he just good at keeping up a mask?

You relented, slightly disappointed, but deciding to push forward with another question as you neared the shed. "Alright then. Um, what is your planet like?"

Out of nowhere Yondu's hand connects with your side to give it a couple quick squeezes, which results in you jumping with a startled giggly shriek. He hadn't even looked at you before doing it, which only made it all the more unexpected.

It was over in an instant but you still glared at him indignantly, feeling your face heat up. "What was that for!?"

Yondu shrugged with a grin. "To change the subject. Worked, didn't it?" With that he continued off towards the house, leaving you alone at the shed.

You huffed slightly and just went to put your quiver and bow back away.

* * *

Later that day you fancied yourself a glass of juice after switching the laundry you had just washed over to the dryer. The plan was to enjoy it in the sitting room while you re-read one of your favorite mystery books. After pouring yourself a glass and placing the bottle back in the fridge you grabbed said glass from the counter and turned to walk back towards the sitting room. It was then that you saw a shot of brown dart across the kitchen floor.

Recognizing it immediately as a house spider you jumped nearly out of your skin and dropped your glass, spilling your juice all over the tile floor, but fortunately not breaking the cup.

Unfortunately, Yondu and Kraglin had walked in around this same time and saw the whole thing, if Yondu's chuckling was any evidence to the fact.

Cheeks heating up, you quickly grabbed a towel to clean up your mess. You expected to be teased about the spider, but instead you heard, "Damn, I know Krags is funny-lookin', but we didn't expect to startle ya that much!"

You glance up, not intending to argue but grateful they didn't seem to notice the real cause of your startle. Kraglin jokingly put on a disgruntled face towards Yondu for the insult before turning to look in the pantry.

Then you saw Yondu throw you a wink before doing the same.

So he did see… and he was covering for you? Why? Never mind. You weren't going to argue or ask. But you did think you should consider making a special trip into town tomorrow to get some repellents or maybe some traps.

Once your mess was cleaned up you left the kitchen- no longer in the mood for juice, or to read. However, you thought maybe you were in the mood to watch something on TV, and upon seeing that nobody was occupying the television you decided to scroll through Netflix, finally settling on a familiar movie you had seen several times before.

Miraculously you got through the whole movie without anyone even coming into the sitting room, and you actually started to wonder where the others might be before you glanced at the clock and noticed how late it had gotten. They must all be in bed, and you should probably follow suit.

Doing your best to be quiet as to not wake anyone you went about getting ready for bed in the bathroom. It wasn't until you were about to shut off the light and retreat to your bed after brushing your teeth did you spot another spider. It was perhaps half the size of the one you had seen in the kitchen, but that didn't make you feel much better considering it was still about 3cm wide. You had almost touched it when you went for the switch and jerked your hand back at the last moment, catching an exclamation in your throat.

The spider quickly scurried away before you could act and somehow you lost sight of it. Unwilling to stay up to find it you quickly shut out the light and left the bathroom. That was a problem for anyone else. Tomorrow.

For now you were definitely sure you were going to the shops in the morning for both repellent and traps.

Fucking spider season.

* * *

Despite going to bed late you managed to wake early, and you would have tried to sleep-in if you hadn't reasoned with yourself that the sooner you left the sooner you would be back with stuff to get rid of the spiders and hopefully keep them away. Also you had to pee.

It seemed no one else was awake, which you became grateful for as it meant it was unlikely that anyone heard the very loud gasp you let out the moment you turned from closing the bathroom door towards the toilet and found the spider from last night sitting on the opened toilet lid, taunting you.

You considered for a moment nope-ing right out of there to go use the toilet downstairs, but you could hear the sounds of someone opening their door and started to feel self-conscious of someone possibly seeing you flee one toilet for the other due to a spider. It also wouldn't solve your problem as you'd need to come right back to this bathroom anyway because everything you needed to wash up and get ready with for the morning was in here.

Damn it.

Ok. What were your other options?

Maybe flick it off with a towel? But then you'd have to worry about where it would run to after. The thought of it crawling up your leg while you did your business made you shiver and you immediately threw that idea out.

Well, what if you closed the lid? Maybe it'd fall off into the bowl and you could flush it away? But that would require putting your hand way closer to the spider than you were willing. You weren't about to risk it crawling on you. Also you had a feeling you'd need to slam the lid for that to work and you weren't thrilled about drawing attention to yourself.

You needed to find a way to kill it somehow, a feat easier said than done considering you couldn't stand the thought of getting too close to it and the fact that you really just wanted to be able to use the toilet, get ready, and get on with your day.

You looked around for something you could maybe squish it with, because as much as you wanted to avoid it you sure as hell weren't going to go ask one of the others to come kill it for you. You'd use the bathtub as a toilet before you did that. Luckily for you, you weren't nearly that desperate.

Speaking of the bathtub though, you spotted a bottle of shampoo. Considering it a good enough weapon, you snatched it up and aimed the blunt cap towards your enemy. Moving slowly, sure the spider would run if you made any sudden movements, you inch closer… closer… until smack! You finally darted your weapon forward and crushed the spider between the toilet lid and the lid of the shampoo bottle, grateful the spider also hadn't decided to make any sudden movements before getting squished. It would be very likely that you would have dropped the bottle in the toilet if it had.

You pulled the bottle away and found the spider-guts had decided to stick to the cap, leaving little more than a slight smudge on the toilet lid.

Grabbing a sheet of toilet paper you sat the bottle with it's arachnid corpse on the sink, intent to remove any evidence of your enemy's unwanted prior existence from the toilet lid before finally relieving yourself- deciding to wait until after you had done so to give the spider it's "sea burial." It might be dead, but still- no. Ew. It could wait it's turn.

After finishing your business, flushing your friend, and cleaning off the shampoo cap, you were finally able finish getting ready for the day, and thought maybe you'd reward yourself for your bravery with a muffin for breakfast.

* * *

You had just finished up eating and were about to get ready to leave when Mantis came over to you from the pantry asking if you could help her get the jar of peanut butter open.

Little did you know this would be the start of a chain of events that would significantly delay your morning plans.

For what felt like several minutes you did your best to open the jar but didn't succeed, so you handed the jar off to Drax who had just happened to walk into the kitchen, yawning and rubbing his eyes. Rocket filed in behind him, ignoring everyone as he made his way to the washing machine and threw something inside.

Drax got the jar opened in nothing flat, but he apparently had news for you; Groot had decided to take some juice upstairs and had spilled it in their room.

You sigh, but grab the mop as you internally begrudged Drax for not just cleaning it up himself instead of coming to tell you about it. Though, it was probably just as well- he wasn't exactly the most thorough of cleaners and you didn't want his poor mopping to leave a sticky juice residue behind.

As you filled a bucket you wondered how the tiny tree child would have managed to get a glass of juice all the way up the stairs without spilling any only to then spill it in their bedroom.

It would turn out, as you saw when you reached the stairs, he hadn't. There were little puddles of juice over nearly every step on the staircase. Enough so that you wondered how there was even any left for him to spill in his room when you finally reached the door and located the glass overturned in a puddle of juice near Rocket's bed- which was missing it's blanket. There was, however, no sign of Groot. You'd worry about that later.

For now, you had just never been more glad that you didn't have carpeting in your home- and idly wondered as you cleaned if Groot had actually managed to drink any of his juice before spilling it everywhere.

When you finally finished mopping you grabbed the first person you could find- in this case Kraglin, before tracking down Groot and having Kraglin translate that the wooden child was no longer allowed to carry liquids upstairs.

You weren't totally sure the message got across, but there wasn't a whole lot more you could do so you just had to hope the kid actually understood when he nodded in response and ran off. You awkwardly thanked Kraglin and went to return your mop to the kitchen.

It was there you encountered Rocket again, who opened the dryer and then gave you grief about having left your clothes inside.

You roll your eyes at him but say nothing as you snatch your clothes out of the dryer and move to take them upstairs. Might as well fold them now so you don't need to worry about them later when you get back from town.

Once your clothes were folded and you were putting the last of them away you think you might finally be in the clear to be heading to town when Mantis startles you by running up to you crying and holding her hand.

You almost scold her for scaring you like that when you see that she only had a paper cut, but you held your tongue and instead helped calm her down and find a plaster in the medicine cabinet.

Once you had her settled you headed to leave before anyone else could manage to stop you again, once more being startled by a spider in the hall and cursing the creature.

Soon after, Gamora came across you as you were pulling on your jacket, keys in hand. It was then you realized you hadn't bothered to tell anyone you were leaving and you thought you might do so then, but Gamora actually beat you to it.

"Are you going into town?"

"Uh, yeah actually. Did you need anything?" you asked, pulling up your jacket zipper. Silently you hoped it wasn't something else that would delay your departure even further.

"Take Peter with you."

Taken aback, you let out a surprised half-laugh and looked at her. "What?"

"I need you to take Peter with you."

You blink at her. "…Is everything ok?"

She glanced down the hall before lowering her voice. "Yes- it's just-" She frowned. "Ok, he's driving me a little crazy today."

"It's not even noon?" You raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"I know," she said pointedly.

You frowned. You hadn't intended to bring a passenger with you. "Won't he ask questions? I've never exactly brought him along willingly before."

"Somehow I doubt that will be a problem. I'm fully certain he's just being annoying because he's stuck here and bored."

You open your mouth to reply just in time for Peter to step out of the bathroom. To your surprise Gamora calls out to him and tells him that he's going to be accompanying you into town.

"Cool!" Peter says, going for his jacket as you blink at Gamora, who doesn't look at all apologetic.

Defeated, you sigh and just motion Peter toward the door, throwing one last glare over your shoulder at Gamora who finally mouths "sorry" just as you close the door behind you.

The ride into town was much less annoying than you expected. Instead of deliberately trying to annoy you, Peter seemed content with just listening to the radio the whole way into town, which wasn't at all unwelcome seeing as your thoughts were on what sprays or traps you might get this time around for the spiders, and considering how you weren't exactly looking forward to discussing the situation.

Eventually you reach the shop, where you manage to park, go inside, and grab a hand basket all before Peter tried making small talk.

"So, you're quiet today."

You glanced at him in puzzlement. "I could more say the same of you. Normally you never shut up. Maybe I was enjoying the quiet."

"Rude." Peter said, giving you a quick poke to the ribs.

You jumped and glared at him with narrowed eyes, to which he only grinned and mock held his hands up in defense as you walked past him and made your way toward the aisle where you knew the pest control items would be, trying to think of anything else you might need to pick up while you were in town, which wasn't a lot since you had just recently been in.

Unable to think of anything on your own, you glanced at Peter and asked him if he knew of anything he or the others might need. You knew the answer was likely also nothing, as Fury had just come a couple days prior with a restock, but it didn't hurt to ask.

"No, I can't think of anything. Wouldn't argue against some Oreos though."

This made you huff a laugh out your nose and as that aisle was coming up first you opted to detour and grab them on the way to your actual reason for coming to the shop.

As you were leaving that aisle Peter speaks up again. "So, I noticed you seem to be a little… less grumpy lately." In a joking tone he continued, "That mean you're finally starting to like us?"

"Don't read too much into it," was your reply. "Maybe you all have just gotten less annoying after a couple months. Or I'm suffering a weird form of reverse Stockholm Syndrome."

Sure, you could have said you had a sit down with Yondu where you spilled your guts. Could have mentioned how somehow you actually felt better afterward. Could have also mentioned how you had no idea why- since all that mandatory therapy SHIELD ordered you to take couldn't even do it. But you weren't going to. Just because that one talked helped didn't mean you were ready for a repeat of that vulnerability anytime soon. Besides, the more you thought about it the more you figured it was probably a fluke or something.

"Rude," Peter joked again, rolling his eyes and poking you in the ribs once more like before and jolting you out of your thoughts.

This time your reaction was to accidentally elbow him in the side, and you glared at him with wide eyes as he laughed and rubbed the sore spot. "That's what you get, now cut that out!"

There was a slight playfulness behind the scolding that didn't go unnoticed, but Peter once again held up his hands in mock-surrender. "Ok!" He could tell you were deflecting, but he wasn't going to push it.

By now you had reached the pest control aisle, only to find it wiped out of any kind of repellents or traps that might be useful against spiders. Perhaps if you had just gotten here earlier- but no. Everyone else in this area knew as well as you did that it was spider season, so you should have anticipated this. Better yet, you should have remembered to grab some stuff before the season came- though one couldn't blame you for being distracted the last couple months. Not like you had taken in a group of dysfunctional aliens or anything…

"Damn," you mutter under your breath.

"What?"

You shake your head. "Nothing." Ok. Think. Would there be anywhere else in town that might have anything still in stock?

"Aww naw!" came a voice from behind the two of you. Upon turning to look you saw there were a couple young men maybe in their early twenties. Clearly they had come looking for spider repellents too, and like you, were disappointed to find the supplies out of stock. Before they walked off the young man who had exclaimed could be heard saying to his friend, "This was the last place in town. Thought for sure they'd still have some in stock. Tough luck for us innit?"

Well, there went that idea.

Peter looked to you and caught you frowning. "Is there something I should know?" he asked.

"It's nothing, like I said," you reply, thinking to grab some juice on your way to checkout, realizing that much of what you did have at home had found it's way onto the floor. "It's just spider season… and I thought I'd grab some supplies before I had to listen to you scream like a little kid every time you saw one." Of course you were going to leave out the part that the real reason was that you really hated spiders. "Forgot about it until too late is all," you continued. "Been a little distracted lately." You throw him a pointed look as you said the last bit, knowing that he would know what you meant by it.

Peter frowned, offended. "First off- I would not scream like a little kid." He went to poke you again for the insult as the two of you approached a self checkout, but you smacked his hand away before it could make contact. "But that does explain so much," he added watching as you quickly scanned your small shopping haul and paid.

"What do you mean?"

"Why I've seen so many spiders lately." He replied, following you out of the store. "Saw three just this morning. Big suckers too- but I suppose that makes them easier targets to squish." He chuckled. What he wasn't about to say, however, was that he had actually called Gamora to come kill each one he saw.

"Oh," you reply, walking to the car. You did not like the sound of that. There had still been a part of you hoping that you wouldn't see much more than you already had. "Yeah- they come about this time of year- when it gets colder. I'm sure they'll have some more repellent in soon," you say, hoping he didn't notice the nervousness in you as the two of you reached the car. Once inside, however, you promptly dropped your keys before you could put them in the ignition. Nice. Real smooth. You continued talking as you reached down to grab them, "-or I can look into some home remedies. It's no big deal- they're harmless." That last bit was mostly a front to make you seem indifferent.

Harmless or not, you still hated them. It made you feel weak to admit it- not that you cared what they thought or anything- but showing vulnerability wasn't something you were used to. After all, you were still recovering from your talk with Yondu, and that was days ago.

Finally grasping your fallen keys you sit back up and insert the key into the ignition, but don't turn it just yet. You look to Peter now, trying to think of any other topic to switch to. Literally anything would be better than thinking about going back home to a house full of big-ass spiders.

Or so you thought.

You open your mouth to speak, intending to just pull a topic out of thin air, and then you hear it.

Blood turns icy in your veins as the awful wail creeps into your ears, and your chest tightens so that you can barely breathe. As your mouth closes, your eyes widen. However they do not focus on anything in particular- your vision beginning to cloud with images in your mind's eye. Broken glass. Twisted metal. Sickening yellow.

Peter sees the sudden change in you and speaks up in concern. "Agent?"

You don't even hear him, ears flooded with the terrible sound that's only getting louder. Turning away from him you begin to shake, now facing forward in your seat. No. No no no no. Please- Those words swim through your thoughts as horrific memories swim through your mind. Memories of pain… darkness… loss.

"Agent?" Peter says again, more concerned now. One moment you had been fine, and then you just froze- face falling into an expression of silent horror.

By now your breath is coming in an almost silent sob and you've brought one hand up to cover your mouth.

"Hey, hey- woah," Peter says gently, utterly confused about your sudden change in behavior but wanting to provide some sort of comfort. He reaches out to you and barely grazes your arm before you jerk away from him. Actually, he could tell it was less you pulling away, and more you had startled from the contact.

Terrible screeching. So much blood. Flashing lights. Please- No no no-

You seem to draw into yourself, and before long it starts to dawn on Peter what's happening. He had been too concerned with you to notice it before, but not only was it louder now, he caught a glimpse of it speeding on the road in the distance through the car window.

An ambulance, blaring it's siren. The sound he had played over and over that one night before realizing he really shouldn't have. Before he realized that sound had a dark effect on you he'd likely never understand. The sound that caused you to go out into the woods that night, the action that resulted in you getting shot.

Shit.

He looked at you, and could see you were barely with him anymore. Your gaze was distant and your waterline was flooded with yet unshed tears.

White sheets. Red stains. Darkness. Screeching. Pain. So much pain. Broken glass. Where are they- Blood. So much…

Peter felt he should do something, but he had no idea what to do. He knew of a couple guys on Yondu's crew that had PTSD, but he was never close to them. He had never witnessed anyone having a flashback before- if that's what this was. He had no idea how to help you. He couldn't mute the outside like he could the television.

Unless…

He knew it was a long shot, but it was worth a try. He reached over to the radio and hit the buttons, and turned the knobs, trying to get any other sound to drown out the siren that only seemed to be getting closer.

Unfortunately, nothing happened.

Fuck.

He looked and saw the key you had left in the ignition, and reached over to turn it, realizing that nothing in this damn vehicle must work without it. Stupid Terran caveman tech.

The lights on the dash came on. So did the radio.

Jackpot.

He quickly turned the volume knob and the music blared out, drowning out the siren. Having come on so suddenly and loudly, it also actually seemed to startle you out of whatever dark place you had gone. Not instantly, of course, but the resulting jolt managed to nudge your breathing towards a better rhythm.

You take a couple shuddery breaths as you start to come back around.

You are safe. You're in your car- but everything's fine. At least, as fine as it can be all things considered-

A blink made the tears finally escape your waterline and you quickly wiped them away, turning your face towards your window and away from Peter. You realized what happened and you wished he hadn't seen. You felt weak. In a voice that you tried to keep strong, you say, "I'm sorry."

Peter frowned. "Hey- don't do that. It's ok. You're ok." He glanced between you and the center console, and in what was probably a hasty decision, he reached across and pulled you into a very awkward hug.

Luckily for him, instead of being cross, this action, combined with the fact that "My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard-" was blaring on the radio actually made you let out a short laugh. "What- What are you doing?"

"You looked like you could use a hug, and I happened to have one ready."

You didn't know how to respond, so you just laughed again and tapped out, pointing out that the center console was digging into your ribs.

Peter released you and you each settled back into your respective seats, where you both sit in silence- aside from the radio- for a little while.

After spending that while staring at your lap, you think to turn the radio down to a more appropriate level. By now the siren was long gone. In reality it had likely only been present for a few minutes, but it felt much longer. Looking at Peter for a moment, you finally speak again. "Um, thanks. For uh, not making this any weirder than it had to be. Sorry you had to see that." 'So much for not showing vulnerability,' you thought bitterly.

Peter scoffed lightly. "Don't be sorry. Look- I know I might not understand, but I do know it's not your fault."

You returned your gaze to your lap and he speaks up again.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

You let out a soft chuckle and smile sadly before meeting his gaze again. "Thanks, but I think I just want to go home now."

"Ok." He wasn't going to press it. He was just glad you hadn't had to go through that alone.

And so were you.

* * *

The ride home was mostly quiet. Peter could tell that while you might have been pulled from the bulk of that darkness with his radio trick, it wasn't a magic cure. It wasn't as if he had snapped his fingers and made you "instantly better." He knew better than that, and knew he should probably give you space.

You had made one request, however. That Peter not mention the incident to any of the others.

He agreed, and when the two of you finally returned to the house the two of you went about like nothing was wrong.

For Peter, it was easy.

For you, not so much.

After putting away the messages and grabbing something to eat you decided to go upstairs to try some breathing and meditation exercises you had learned a long time ago.

The last time you had a bad flashback like that was years ago, and you were shaken for several days afterward. Hopefully you could skip that this time -if that were even possible. You honestly thought you had gotten past the flashbacks. It's not like you still broke down like that every time you heard a siren "in the wild." Hell, you hadn't even had one that night Peter played it over and over again, so you didn't know why it happened today. Sure, you had lost it and screamed at him, but it didn't result in a flashback.

Was it stress? Sure you had more than enough to be stressed about lately... but surely none of that could make the flashbacks return, could it? You tried to remember what any of those therapists had said, but came up blank. Maybe you should have paid more attention during all that mandatory therapy... Maybe you should call- No. No you'd be fine. You don't need to be digging into old wounds. You just needed to 'mellow out' and take it easy for a bit. Everything will be fine if you just relax.

The exercises helped just enough that eventually you felt up to do something else, and you decided that something else would be to open your laptop and try searching some DIY spider repellent methods.

Unfortunately, once you got to your desk you were greeted with one of the little bastards sitting on top of your laptop before it skittered away to hide somewhere else on your desk when it noticed you.

Nope. No fecking way. You are not going to deal with this now. The last thing you needed right now was to have fecking spiders piled onto your nerves- more than they had already been that is. Not when you also were recovering from the incident in town.

But you also couldn't just leave it in your room…

Ok. Breathe. Just relax and you'll be fine.

Thinking quick you grab a cup with some pens from your desk, dump them out, and look to see if you can find where the spider had gone. Obviously your intent was to trap it under the glass, maybe leave it to suffocate. The spider however, had other plans, as the next time you saw it the fecker was bolting down the side of your desk and quickly scurried under the door and out of your room. Nearly gave you a heart attack too, but at least it had left your room.

Even though it was gone the whole event had sort of turned you off from sitting at your desk for the moment. Turning to grab your phone from the bed, you decide to do the research in the comfort of the sofa downstairs instead, but not before easing your door open to make sure the spider wasn't waiting right outside. Fortunately it was nowhere to be seen, and you made your way downstairs.

In the sitting room some of the others were watching TV, so you opted to sit in the rocking chair instead as you did your research.

The results were halfway promising, though did leave you wishing you had looked them up before you left the store. The most effective DIY it seemed was peppermint oil, of which you had none. The next best bets were citrus and white vinegar, which you luckily did technically have both, but the remedy called for "fresh squeezed lemons or citrus peels." Currently you only had a little bottle of lemon juice. Hopefully that would do, as you weren't looking forward to making your house smell like vinegar.

Just as you were getting up to to attempt the DIY repellent you saw two brown steaks cross the floor from under the couch. At first you were concerned they were more spiders, but you'd only be half right. One was a spider, the other was Groot- chasing the spider.

Speechless and restraining yourself from picking your feet up into the rocking chair, you witnessed the wooden child actually take a flying leap and land on the spider, which must have been nearly as wide as your hand. Then, in a move you could hardly comprehend, he shortly wrestles with the spider before putting the fecker in his mouth.

Groot looked up at you happily with half the spider hanging out of his mouth, it's legs kicking erratically as he chewed on it. All you could do is stare in disbelief- barely able to comprehend what you just saw with your own two eyes. He… ate it??? Alive??? How-??? The legs!? The thought made your stomach churn.

It didn't take long before Rocket came along and starting scolding Groot, telling him to spit it out, that he doesn't know where it's been.

Groot, apparently unwilling to part with his impromptu snack, attempted to make a face at Rocket (as his mouth was still overflowing with spider) and ran away from him, upon which Rocket gave chase, continuing to scold him as he did so.

You blinked and just sat there for a moment, processing what you had just seen. Eventually you finally decide to attempt that DIY spider repellent, and that you might like a drink while you did so.

According to the website, you needed the juice from half a lemon mixed with water and to put it in a spray bottle. Unfortunately, it didn't say how much water. You also weren't sure how much juice would equal 'half a lemon.' Come to think about it, you weren't even completely sure you had a spray bottle.

Well, might as well try to find one first before bothering with the rest.

So, first pouring yourself a drink from an opened whiskey bottle in the fridge, you set out to look under the sink to see if you had any empty spray bottles down there- only to witness a spider scurrying away inside the cabinet as soon as you opened the door.

You jolted right out of your skin and shut the cabinet. Nope. Not dealing with that. Looked like there probably wasn't an empty spray bottle in there anyway...

Taking a long swig from your glass you decided to check the bathroom closets instead.

The downstairs bathroom proved fruitless, as did the upstairs, so you tried to rack your brain on where else you might keep one, if you even had one. The only other logical place might be in the cellar, as you were fairly certain you wouldn't find one in the attic. Even so, you debated going down there as you had a feeling you just didn't have an empty spray bottle at all.

With a sigh and another sip of your whiskey you decide to go for a look.

There was no spray bottle to be found down there. There were, however, several spiders, most of them smaller than what you'd been seeing upstairs, nesting in the corners of each room in the cellar.

At this point you were starting to feel slightly nauseous. Today was just not being a good day. First you wake up to spiders, then you can't find any repellent in town, then 'the incident'-as you were calling it, and now everywhere you turned there just seemed to be more spiders. To make matters worse you couldn't even bring yourself to run up the stairs to get away from them, despite your instinct, in case someone heard you and got concerned- because there was no way in hell you were going to confess that you were running away from some damned spiders.

Upon returning to the kitchen you finished off your drink to calm your nerves and decided you'd try cooking dinner in an attempt to further settle yourself down. A simple task to put your mind elsewhere. You'd be fine. Just breathe, and focus on another task.

Fortunately, dinner went just fine. Spaghetti was the choice you made, along with the decision to cook dinner for the whole house, and you managed to do so without any unpleasantness. Everyone even got along without any bickering when it came time to sit down and eat as well.

After the dishes were done you thought you could try to top the day off by curling up in your room with the book you had intended to read the previous day. Try to end the day on a better note and then wake up to better day tomorrow.

As you obtained your book from the sitting room you noticed everyone else was either watching TV or playing cards at the table. This meant you'd likely have the upstairs to yourself for awhile, something you wouldn't argue against. Some peace and quiet was sure to help in your quest to 'mellow out.'

Thoughts of cozying up in your warm bed to read helped make you feel better as you opened the door to your room and walked inside. You weren't usually one to curl up under the covers unless you were going to bed, but you felt like you were probably overdue for a simple comfort like this.

Just as you were turning back your covers & preparing to snuggle-in your eye caught something by your pillow.

You tensed as you thought you recognized what looked suspiciously like a couple legs of a certain creature that you knew all too well and very much despised, but then you relaxed again. Took a breath. Tried to think rationally.

Surely it's not. It wouldn't be. You've never found one in your bed in your whole life of living in this house, you highly doubted they'd start now. Peter must have somehow gotten your fake spider back from Yondu and thought he'd play a prank. Probably hoping that if you were focused on a prank war your mind wouldn't be trapped in any bad thoughts or memories. That was the case, surely.

Denial is one hell of a drug.

You rolled your eyes as you reached down and lifted your pillow up, only to drop it just as quickly and jerk back from your bed.

Not only was the spider real- and huge- it had a (slightly smaller) mate. Surprisingly they didn't seem phased by you uncovering them, or your sudden movements. They just laid still, as if asserting dominance.

No. No no no. Not ok. You couldn't handle this. Not in your bed. Nope. Nope nope.

Barely breathing, you didn't even have a chance to clear your head enough to think of a solution before one of them moved- and then you bolted.

There was a brick in your stomach and you needed air. Heart was thundering in your chest and your footsteps were coming a bit rushed as you descended the stairs, but you didn't care. You just needed out. You didn't even bother to grab your jacket and only moments passed before you cleared the back door and the cold night air hit you in the face.

It was only then that you realized you also hadn't bothered to throw on any shoes, and you had regained enough presence of mind to be grateful that at least the ground was dry as you made your way toward the shed.

Not really having a plan as to where you were headed, you stopped and rested against the backside of the shed. The wood was cold against your back as you took some deep breaths, attempting to keep yourself quiet and tell yourself not to scream. It was all you could do to keep the tears back.

Perhaps if the incident in town hadn't already taken a massive hit to your defenses you might be better able to deal with this, see that it wasn't actually a world-ending event, but you weren't exactly in a current position to think rationally. All you knew is that you were NOT okay.

Spiders were in your bed! How could you sleep knowing spiders were in your fucking bed?! The thought of them crawling on you while you slept was too much. Visions of giant-ass house spiders crawling over your face filled your head. As irrational as the images may be, you couldn't help but see spiders trying to crawl in your mouth- your eyes- You felt sick, and your shaking now had almost nothing to do with the cold. You didn't know what to do, so you tried to take deeper, slower breaths, trying to still your rapidly beating heart. You just needed a moment to pull yourself together and then you could think. But you couldn't think- all you wanted to do was scream-

"Bit cold to be wanderin' without a jacket on, don't ya think?"

A gruff voice had spoken up out of nowhere beside you, and they really shouldn't have done that. Sure, they couldn't have known your current state, or that because of it this startle would have triggered a fight response in you. But it did, and unfortunately for them, before you could even think you were already swinging out to deck whoever it was in the face.

[daengtokki]

Your story is like the first one I’ve been so deeply captivated by when it comes to serial killer shit, like I can’t explain it. Sure I’ve read yandares and silly ghost face skz story’s, but this one made me feel…disgusted? Like I’ve never had a fictional story about skz make me feel so grossed out. I don’t want you to take it as a negative thing, and if you do i apologize 🩷

I’ve read sooooo many fics through three years and I was a little bit skeptical when I first read the “serial killer! Seungmin” but I’m glad I kept reading cause I’m so excited for the next part.

What I meant by the “it grossed me out” part, is the scene where he killed the man? I don’t know why but I dead ass almost threw up, might be cause I’m sick and the only thing I’ve been consuming are medications. But holy fuck dude, I had to step away😭

Also!! I got so, frustrated? And confused? When she DIDNT LEAVE THE COUNTRY!? A MAN JUST KILLED YOU FOR LIKE TWO MINUTES AND YOURE OVER HERE KISSING HIS LIPS AND WHAT NOT.

But I think that’s what makes a story good! The minute a fic I’m reading is making me feel some kind of emotions, better bet I’m reading until the fkn end.

Anyway, pardon my rant, and again I really hope you don’t take it as offensive, but if you do I’d totally get it tbh.

Stay safe and healthy! Lots of love🩷🌺

Sorry I took so long responding, but I really had to gather my thoughts for this one. Apologies for it being so long and for me basically taking an opportunity to unload.

All of the "negative" parts popped out because I was so tired and out of it. And I was like “oh no please don’t hate please don’t hate the story” 😭 ㅋㅋ ㅋ I'm out of it today, too, so hopefully I type this up properly.

But I don’t take your comments negatively! My job as a writer is to make you feel all of the emotions my characters are dealing with.

So thank you for taking the time to write all of this out! Seriously. I'm a little floored anyone (this goes for everyone who has sent a message or left a long comment about the fic) has been reading thoughtfully enough to catch everything l've been putting into the story. We’ll be getting more into readers fucked up head very soon, since you mentioned that!

I’m glad these not so pretty parts have gotten a reaction out of you, because I’ll take that as me writing the scenes well! That’s very important to me as a writer, and as someone who has always taken writing seriously. I love writing simple fanfic that you guys can lose yourself in, because that’s why I picked up ff again after stopping for many years. And because of Seungmin, ofc. But this is also why I was very nervous about posting DEITY even though I’ve been wanting to do serial killer!Seungmin for months now. I knew it couldn’t be simple, but I had no idea it would already be this long halfway through (almost 50k words). After writing the intro and getting into the first part, I decided to just write an entire novel. I already had the plot in my head.

I don’t see many stories like this on tumblr, but I also don’t read much (I’m not exaggerating when I say all of my free time is spent writing) so putting something darker out there that wasn’t just oneshot smut was a little scary. I’m aware that’s what get most of the attention on here (short stuff, ott smut, ~imagines, etc) and why even though I have readers like you, I don’t have much in the way of likes and reblogs. It does get discouraging, but I’m pushed forward when I think about all of you reading each part.

So ANYWAY. Sorry this got so long. Thank you so much for your reblogs and your comments on those reblogs. It’s so important to me and the other writers on tumblr.

And thank you Seungmin for being my muse. I wouldn’t be writing every day again without you making me so delusional.

Again, sorry if this is too much and none of it makes sense. I took too much of one of my meds today and I’m very dizzy and lethargic from it.

[underacalicosky]

✨✨✨✨🫱Care to share🫲✨✨✨✨

The message was sent to you because someone loved your writing and stories. ❤️

▪️What are your writing suggestions for newcomers, or what would you have liked to know when you first started?

▪️How do you write different personalities and perspectives? Could you explain how you came up with the manner you written your favorite or any character?

▪️What do you do when you have writer's block?

▪️How do you come up with new ideas and develop them?

▪️Any messages for your readers or fellow writers?

You are welcome to answer if you have the time and desire, or you can simply respond to the questions that come to mind.

💐Thank you for your work as a writer and as a member of this fandom!💐

I'm blushing, anon. Thank you for sending this to me. ❤️ I can't tell you how thrilled I am to hear that you enjoy my fics! I'm not sure I'm qualified to answer these questions, but I'll give it a go and ramble on for too long, just like I do when I say I’m writing a 2k ficlet and it becomes 20k and four chapters…

▪️What are your writing suggestions for newcomers, or what would you have liked to know when you first started?

Oh gosh, it's been said before, but write for yourself. Write a story that you would want to read and that makes you happy. I try to not focus on things like how many hits or kudos I get because that's outside of my control. What's within my control is having fun and knowing that every writer has something unique to offer. There's so many authors who I admire and they each bring something different to the fandom.

It brings me a lot of joy when I hear that someone enjoyed my fic. I love getting kudos, comments, and messages because it means that my fic connected with someone and that's an AMAZING feeling. It inspires me to continue writing. But, especially when I first started, it can't be my ONLY motivation. The creative process itself of taking an idea and turning it into something tangible and real is incredibly rewarding and that feeling has to be present for me.

Also, don't be afraid. Sometimes I worry that an idea is too silly, I haven't executed it well, my writing style is too simplistic, I don't have a complex enough plot, etc. It's okay to feel that way. It means there's room to grow as a writer. And at the same time, it's equally okay to NOT take yourself too seriously and choose NOT to challenge yourself if you don't feel like it and just have fun.

▪️How do you write different personalities and perspectives? Could you explain how you came up with the manner you written your favorite or any character?

I don't have a set method for deciding whether to switch between two POVs or sticking with one POV. It's sort of a "this feels right to me" kind of thing. Sometimes with Obikin the miscommunication gets heightened in a fun way with limited POV.

For characterization, I try to maintain certain elements of their personalities, behaviors, mannerisms, and dynamic in every universe to make them recognizable as these characters to a reader, while also playing with how their backstories and experiences in that universe give a different flavor to those elements. I write Obikin to give them a happy ending (and if I do it enough times, it’ll change the end of ROTS jk jk), so with each fic, my goal is to get them there by pushing them to be just a bit more open and honest and forgiving with each other.

▪️What do you do when you have writer's block?

This just happened to me yesterday lol. I usually work on something else. If I get stuck, it's because I need more time to think about what I need to write. I don't have a lot of time to write and I'm also a slow writer, so I like to be as efficient as possible. If something isn't working, I switch gears pretty quickly (which could be working on another WIP or refining, editing, tightening dialogue in a scene I've already written) so that I feel like I'm still being productive.

▪️How do you come up with new ideas and develop them?

These days, almost anything and everything makes me think of Obikin. So I have plenty of ideas and I'm grateful that there are some lovely people in our fandom who brainstorm these ideas with me! If I keep obsessing about an idea and the details become more elaborate, then I test it out by writing some of it. Sometimes as I'm writing and thinking more about it, I'll get that "okay, this is working" feeling. But there's plenty of times when I'm 2k in and it's a bit of a struggle to get the interactions and dialogue to feel right, and even after letting it marinate for a couple weeks, it's just not happening.

▪️Any messages for your readers or fellow writers?

Thank you for being a wonderful and welcoming fandom! I have fandom friends and that makes me so happy ❤️🥹 Thank you to anyone who's taken the time to read my fics. It means the world to me. 🫂

Thank you to the incredibly talented writers and artists, and everyone who likes, reblogs, and leaves kudos and comments. This ship keeps growing and getting hornier because of your work, enthusiasm, and incessant voting whenever there's a best ship poll.

And if you're a lurker or shy, don't be afraid to come say hi or leave an anon message! We're friendly and we don't bite. Okay, maybe some of us bite, just a little, mostly in omegaverse, but they're love bites.

[issuesdolly]

VERY sad recent personal experience- need to vent

hey folks.... I had to vent to the empty Tumblr space about a very upsetting/confusing recent experience. I have a TikTok where I make JD/Korn related content as well as vids of myself about my life and some comedy stuff of me.

Well, few months ago, a guy found my videos and followed me and seemed to care deeply about the health advocacy videos I put up regarding my terminal + chronic pain illness. He invited me to speak with him and after seeing him on vid + in person, he looked VERY VERY SIMILAR to Jonathan Davis in his 30s... as well as being a huge JD/Korn fan. So yeah him 36 me 33.... living nearby each other. He could even do some good JD vocal immitations when we'd be singing along to the songs together and stuff lol. So.... y'all can imagine how that made me feel lol.

He told me for months he thought I'm beautiful... that he likes me and wanted to get into a relationship. I was pretty much blown away. I was like "seriously????" cuz... it felt like a dream or something haha. I explain over and over again about my failing health and educated him on all that is wrong with me.. testing him....and he was still supportive saying he accepts that that's where it's at for me and still wants to be with me. When I'd had worse flairups he said lovely things like "I wish I could take your pain away," and I would say stuff like "you do... as much as anyone can." Which was true. I was falling for him for sure.

We started spending more time together and he started talking about wanting to hook up. Obviously, I wanted that more than ANYTHING IN THE WORLD HAHA. But... I got scared saying "you are extremely attractive to me but I'm afraid to just hook up.... I'd like to get to know you better first??" because believe it or not... as pervy as I am in my writing, I'm VERY careful in my real life where my physical safety/men are concerned. And where my heart is concerned.

BECAUSE this guy was SO good looking I had to think "I wonder how many women/people he's trying this with????" Him being single and wanting to spend his life with a dying lady seemed too good to be true. He also spends a lot of time out with friends and going to concerts and clubs while I'm bedridden so I had to wonder what he's really up to when I'm not around. Basically I was being appropriately skeptical. And also didn't want to get heartbroken if he saw the vulnerability of my situation knowing I'm very sick/depressed and he reminds me of JD.

I admitted I'm VERY attracted to him and definitely want to fuck him lol.... but want to be careful and spend more time with him before getting into that.

Obviously after I wasn't moving "fast" enough... the JD- lookalike guy has kinda stopped responding to my messages or caring as much. He went from bombarding me with conversation to ghosting for days. Which obviously means he never cared about my health problems + life in the first place. I've been pretty devastated...Since obviously my fondest hope before death would be to meet someone awesome who REMINDS me of Jonathan or the things I like about Jonathan (or at least appreciates his music).. Feeling STUPID and pretty heartbroken. I was with one man for 10 years and that relationship ended this February but what has transpired now has actually cut me deeper than the end of my 10-year relationship.

Also this JD look alike guy has been the ODDEST experience of my life too BTW.

NOT even kidding that dude:

-came out of nowhere.. messaged me

-pursued ME not the other way around

- looked JUST like Jonathan besides dreads but he has long black hair, thick rim black glasses, same height/build/facial hair and how he had it cut. I even asked friends and family showing them pics like "AM I NUTS OR DOES HE LOOK LIKE JONATHAN????" and they were like "he could be a fucking impersonator of early 2000s JD . WTF no you're not nuts"

And yeah this dude spent months acting like he cared about me saying stuff like "I'm always here for you... you can always reach out to me...." "Anyone who loved you would never leave you due to poor health and I accept your health problems and still REALLY like you and want to be with you" or "I'm grateful you're in the world don't give up." FML.

[juniperhillpatient]

How’s it going @juniperhillpatient ?

I just read chapter VII of “The devil You Know”. The chapter was a roller coster and the story is really heating up. Poor Yue…

Was it truly a mere accident that Sokka’s coffin laid on top of Yue’s and Fy Lee”. He is very suspiciously close to many deaths. Toph was killed soon after she found out he and Suki were implicated in (I think it was Chan’s?) death. Speaking of Suki, it’s quite interesting when she protested how her phone wasn’t working, only for Azula to notice that it suddenly began to work again when it came time for Yue’s video to appear. Yue of course being an idvidyal that Suki has a grudge against. Via Sokka. Speaking of Yue, her POV this chapter was a gut punch. As was Katara’s in the beginning.

Also Jets’s POV drew several points about Ty Lee from his perspective. That she was smarter than she initially appeared. And that she six identical sisters. In appearance and voice.

What if Ty Lee hadn’t died at all. What if merely faked her death (by sacrificing one of her sisters) and engineered the call to Azula. Blaming Zuko for something he hadn’t actually done. From Jet’s PoV we know that Ty Lee’s parents wouldn’t actually notice if one of their daughters disappeared. Which may make it easy for Ty Lee to fake her death and switch with one of her sisters. If indeed she is one of the killers. I could just be reading into something that is’t there after all.

One of the killers expressed heartbreak over Azula. And we know that something happened between her and Ty Lee. Maybe enough to push Ty Lee into being a killer? Their’s also Mai, who may have been acting the fool this whole time. Her anger at Azula is readily apparent. My distrust of the two stems from canon. Though their actions are understandable I’ve got a thing about people betraying their friends. So their deeds at the Boiling Rock still leave a bad tastes in my mouth. Minus saving Zuko/Sokka/Suki’s lives of course.

So I like Suki and Sokka for Ghostface. With Mai coming in as a secondary suspicion. And If my theory about Ty Lee faking her death is right, she immediately jumps to #I suspect

In the end scene, where Katara is perving on Azula. Is Azula blacking out like in the first chapter? In which Zuko is taking of Azula in that moment?

And a message for Azula. “Tell your girlfriend important shit! Your brother being accused (supposedly at least) in being a killer definitely qualifies. Also don’t cheat on her”. That’s a bit fucked up. Unless you blacked out for it. Which makes Zuko’s action monumentally more fucked up. But then, every character in this story is a bit screwed in the head. But then, that’s one (though by no means the only) of the reasons we love all the ATLA main crew (Gaang+Dangerous ladies+Yue).

Also, I’m pretty sure Kiyi is Hakoda’s and Ursa’s bastard child. Does Sokka suspect which married women that Hakoda slept with (Ursa?). He’s been a big brother figure to her thus far, so maybe. Out of all the characters, I’m hoping Kiyi lives. Even more so than Azula or Katara (I know, It me saying that!). Also hopeful she doesn’t end up as one of the killers…

I enjoyed the chapter, and am greatly looking forward to next! I want to see this mystery unraveled!

Bestie I wish you could like.....watch my face journey as I read through your speculations because I had a BALL reading this!

I seriously LOVE all the theorizing & I feel like I'm interacting less than usual with readers when it comes to this story because I'm always just like -

"love the theories :))))" but also I literally CANNOT respond with anything to theories without giving away if you're close or way off LMAO

But just know. I feel so validated in putting as much thought as I do into this story (trust me it's a lot lol) & I just get SO excited about seeing the different possibilities when I get messages such as this. Just - AHH !! :)

As for Kiyi - I can go ahead & confirm that she is indeed Ursa & Hakoda's child. I don't consider this a spoiler given it is pretty much confirmed in the latest update. More on how much Sokka knows about this very soon!

Anyway - THANK YOU. Whenever I see notifications from you I get so happy because you are so thoughtful & insightful & so supportive <3

[spider-jaysart]

Something of a Christmas Ask Incoming (Might not be entirely related to The Holiday but hey better now than never)

As Kaiju Film Buff who practices her directing skills with her camcorder and phone camera, Meredith one day gets a project from her Film Class to make a short film of any choosing and any genre.

Only real requirements; Make it about 30 minutes long and it has to be a complete story

And so, FINALLY Meredith can make her own kaiju movie

Would she ask Chris, Jake, Mar’i and maybe a friend or two who are good at makeup and monster suits to aid her in this project?

@paladin-of-nerd-fandom65

Oh Jake, who's super head over heels for Meredith, would already be the one calling her first to offer a helping hand after hearing from Thara about her big project lol

Meredith is surprised that he even knew about it before she could actually ask and tell him about it herself, but she's happy anyways to hear how helpful he wants to be and accepts his offer. Meredith then asks Thara to be one of her actors and also asks Chris if he could be the monster for her mini movie and they both fortunately say yes

The busy day soon arrives and the whole group, including Mar'i who was very curious to see how everything is done, are at her door ready to get to work

Chris loves finding ways to be interacting with Thara everytime, so he offers to do her makeup before filming while everyone else is still busy setting everything up, and she lets him

He doesn't admit that he's never done makeup for anyone or even himself before though, so as he's trying his best, Mar'i, who's watching him, can't help but get really annoyed at the very amateur way Chris is applying it on Thara and feels the strong need to step in and take over before he ruins it all any further than he already did. He gets a little embarrassed when she moves him out of the way and takes the supplies from his hands and tries to argue with her that he was doing just fine, which gets Mar'i to respond with "Chris, I saw how you were working on her face and I can't lie, all of the mistakes you were making were just all very terrifying to witness. I actually deal with this all the time, so I'm an expert on it. Plus, my close Uncle is a complete professional artist, so I totally know exactly what I'm doing." Which gets him to be quiet in defeat and gets a small giggle out of Thara as well

A little bit later, Meredith and Jake help Chris fit into his monster costume, making sure he's all very comfortable and is able to breath properly, which he can. Jake, Thara and Chris then read and try to memorize all of their respective lines on the script the best that they can. Meredith and Mar'i let them know that if they forget any of it by mistake while acting, they'll make sure to remind them what it was

After getting everyone and everything prepared, they all went outside and got to recording, having a blast acting everything out together. Sometimes they accidentally broke character while on the little set, bursting with laughter if they got too nervous or made a mistake in what they did or couldn't take moment in a scene seriously enough. Most times it was even contagious enough to get a few good laughs out of both Mar'i and Meredith too as well while watching everything

It took a lot of hours in the day for them to get it all done, but they successfully did it. Jake later offered to sit down with Meredith in her kitchen and help her edit all the footage together, which she was very grateful for. Chris took off his suit and was left in sweat from being in it all day, Thara was pretty sleepy from doing all of those many scenes and Mar'i was busy putting all the equipment and makeup away wherever Meredith told her it belonged

Meredith noticed this and could see that it was getting pretty late by now after taking just one good look at the clock on the wall and decided they should just have a sleepover for the night and review the film together, calling it a movie night for them all. Everybody liked the sound of that and called their parents to let them know that they were staying over at her place. Chris got use the shower after getting Meredith's permission and Mar'i and Thara got to relax on the couch together after cleaning up everything.

After ordering pizza, getting comfortable in the living room together, once the homemade film was put on to watch, everyone could see that all the put in effort from every single one of them was all very worth it in the end

They all enjoyed every bit of it and fell asleep once it was finally over. Mar'i was the only one left awake though and turned the tv off to bring peaceful silence for everyones ears. She grabbed a couple of spare blanket for herself that she remembered Meredith telling her about in case if she wanted anymore and went to go place on her friends. Once she got to Meredith and Jake who were laying next to one another though, she saw them both with peaceful smiles on their faces and their hands placed on top of eachothers too while they were still asleep, which caused her to giggle to herself since it was a pretty cute moment. She took a quick, nice, clear picture of them with her phone and soon went to sleep after that

She was so showing it to Jake in the morning after leaving back home so that she could see the hilarious, flustered expression on her dear little brothers face

Meredith ended up getting an A on her project and she was super joyed about it. She later told everyone while chatting on her laptop with them and thanked them a for their big help, letting them all know that she appreciated it very much. They later went out for ice cream and pizza that day to celebrate together and had such a great time!