#but big shoutout to the people who like my ocs it means a lot

[thepixelatedcactus]

flying the original character artist flag with pride

[project-isles]

You wanna know something, I have a AGA oc, he's kinda old round about 2 years old I think but anyways I like him, salt's oc reminded me of him, but let's keep hush hush 🤫

If ya wanna hear me rant about him read more

Ok so, his name is Cold steel and he's originally from and ai character roleplay, kinda made him up on the spot bc reasons anyways he's a lion animatronic and he's freaking big, like a giant. He's a villain, very evil. Got a hatch, he used it to kidnap freddy and some others. Like his name he's cold hearted and very robotic? Slow but deadly. Tried to mind control Goldie at one point. I think I have a old design for him. I keep using him in other things now, spoiler warning, like in the stab arc, I don't mention his name but he the one who shot the knight in training, finn.

[letstalkwhump]

Let's Talk Whump

Welcome to Let’s Talk Whump, a series of interviews that spotlight the amazing people in our whump community! I’m Malice and I’ll be your host today. 

Here today to talk all things whumpy is the fabulous @wildfaewhump!

Welcome to Let’s Talk Whump! Let’s start with a fact or two about yourself!

Hello! I'm Vic, and when I'm not inflicting agony, I am a professional musician! I've been gigging professionally for about 12 years and I absolutely love it. Music is my lifelong love and I am so grateful to be able to make it such a big part of my life. 

And onto the good stuff! What does whump mean to you? 

To me, whump is a mechanism of catharsis, both for creator and reader. The huge, heavy emotions and terrible events our characters endure offer a safe way for us to explore those emotions. 

It's also just a whole lot of fun. Who could say no to seeing a beloved character writhing in pain? 

And how did you find the whump community? What made you want to join?

I found the term "whump" through fandom! The fics I liked were increasingly labelled with it, and from there a bit of tag scrolling led me to the OC whump community. I realized that people were *sharing their writing* and it was all over for me, I was hooked. I made a whump sideblog and started (terrified) to tell the story of a captured fae. Shoutout to @clockworknightmares, who was one of the first people to find my early pieces and introduced me to the heady dopamine of getting an ask! I've been here ever since, and I am so grateful to all the wonderful people who make this community such a vibrant oasis of creativity and shared passion. 

Do you think your view on whump has changed since you first discovered it?

I have certainly had my eyes opened to a whole host of new experiences! As far as tropes and whump style go, lately I find that I'm drawn to more interpersonal-style whump, whereas when I started I was doing a lot more societal and outside forces whump. I love both types! 

And your favourite whump trope? 

WING WHUMP. ahem. I mean: I love nonhuman whump a normal amount… 

Other abiding faves include: whipping, impalement, really fucked up power dynamics, stalking, recorded whump, ooh and epistolary style writing!

Winged whump is so underrated! Do you mind sharing a favourite piece you've written? 

This piece holds a special place in my heart. It's the third in a five-piece arc, and they're all linked at the top of each piece. In this arc, Iesin and Talvos are separated by the wreckage of a landslide, and in the midst of this devastation experience kindness instead of hate and rejection. Specifically, in this piece Talvos hears a truth-tale spoken to the stars about him. People in the area he grew up believe that telling stories of each other will carry their loved one's memory to the stars, to be held there forever. Having been ostracized by humans for so long because of his mate Iesin, he has lost that access to his beliefs and his community, but this piece gives it back to him. 

Another favorite of mine is this Lourdes piece. One of my strongest writing devices is to take a metaphor (here, maple trees and their syrup) and see how seamlessly I can weave it through an entire piece. I did a pretty good job of it here, I dare say. 

I love the Lourdes piece. The vibes are delicious! Do you mind sharing your writing routine?

Here's where I wish I was more consistent. I would love to have a writing routine, but my schedule doesn't allow for it at present. 99% of my writing is done on my phone in snatched moments between other responsibilities, but when I do get the chance to sit down and take my time, my favorite way to write is to take a long morning at a coffee shop and just let myself flow. 

And do you find that somethings are easier for you to write than others?

My writing strengths lie in pretty prose, extended metaphors, and conveying emotion. I like to think I'm good at catching a reader up in the flow of a piece. Now, trying to write more than three or so people in a room? Hard! Too many limbs and hands and voices to manage! 

Give us a sneak peak! Is there anything you're working on at the moment? 

I am rotating Lourdes, my Romantic Boxie, in my mind like their own special microwave right now. They are. So fucked up. I'm finishing up concert season irl so I don't quite have time to write yet, but this summer I hope to make some good progress on all of my current series! 

Do you have a joke or pun you would like to share to spread some smiles today?

How about a picture of my basset puppy! 

He’s so cute! Give him a hug from me! Is there any writing advice you’d like to share?

Read like a writer. Read as much as you can, and look at the mechanisms of what you read. What writing devices does this author re-use? What is it about their prose style that draws you in? What makes this author's characterization stronger than that one's? The more you read, the more you pay attention to what works and doesn't work in writing you encounter, the more you hone your own craft.

Shout out time for your favourite writing/whump blogs, bffs or people who've inspired you. 

Oh goodness there are so many wonderful whump blogs! I know I'll forget some. @for-the-love-of-angst, @ashintheairlikesnow, @clockworknightmares, @justplainwhump, @just-horrible-things, @highwaywhump, @flowersarefreetherapy, @caramelis, @pigeonwhumps, @redwingedwhump, @tormentum-ab-intra, and so many more! 

Finally, is there anything you'd like to add?

Be kind. It's the hardest and most worthwhile thing in the world to do, but simple kindness can change everything.

Thank you for joining us, @wildfaewhump !

And to all you folks at home, have a whump-derful day!

[iolaussharpe-24]

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing - Chapter Two

Shoutouts to @reallyrallyauthor, @redeyerhaenyra, & @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction who are all my biggest inspirations for this story. (Grace Smith is my OC inspired by Samara Weaving. I have no experience writing 'xreader' fanfics and I have no talent for writing in the 2nd person POV.)

(I'm gonna leave this one marked as 'For Everyone' because there's nothing too explicit. Little bit of gore, but it's hand waved away. Brief mention of a sex dungeon, but no one uses it.)

Story part under the cut. Cross posted on my Wattpad page.

She knew too much about him. There was no leaving. There was only dismissal. And that would likely mean a hail of gunfire that would cut her life short in the living room before his massive bodyguards took her away to some place where she’d never be found again.

All because she caught his eye.

~ One Month Later ~

It wasn’t supposed to be a big deal.

It really wasn’t.

Tony Thompson wasn’t really anyone to Grace. He was just another rich asshole that did business with Mr. Vogelweide. Not even big business at that. Just gambling. As far as she cared to know at least.

He was a young man. Younger than her. It showed. He was a naïve idiot. Exactly the kind of person Mr. Vogelweide liked to work with. Someone easy to manage. Tony was the kind of guy who could be told that the sky was green and believe it without a second thought until someone else told him to go outside and look up.

Thank God he was good in bed.

Grace had started seeing Tony about two weeks after her nerve-wracking “talk” in the office. Tony had been over to the mansion to pay off a debt he owed after some high school game and Grace had been working that same day. She’d been the one to open the door for him and the one to lead him to the office.

They’d talked during the walk and found that they had a lot in common. And, once his meeting was done, they’d talked a little more and Grace had been given Tony’s number. After that they’d gone out a time or two. And they’d gotten physical with one another.

Grace couldn’t say she loved Tony – not so early in their little relationship – but she liked him. He was friendly enough. Though, it was incredibly hard to believe that someone like him could have business with someone like Mr. Vogelweide. Mostly because Tony was.… what’s the word?.... spineless. He was spineless. Like a jellyfish with no stinger. A small one that can fit in the palm of your hand.

He was the best kind of pathetic. He’d never hurt anyone. Not in a million years. He oozed affection and took every single micro chance he got to show it. He was like a clingy little kid always hanging on her leg because he didn’t want to be alone. She liked it. She liked him. A lot.

For a while, her life was good. Surprisingly good. Well paying job working for an obscenely rich gangster, a friendly and non-threatening “boyfriend” that knew how to show a girl a good time, and a free dorm room in a smaller building on the same property as the house. She didn’t have to worry about travel expenses or rent. She didn’t need to worry about a lot of things. Despite everything, Mr. Vogelweide took care of the people under him. He made sure everyone was comfortable. He kept everyone safe from external threats. (Though, protection from internal threats like Mr. Vogelweide himself was off the table.)

Of course, all good things must eventually come to an end.

The day started off normally. She went to work in the mansion, cleaning up fresh blood from the back patio where some poor schmuck tried to run and failed to get away. She found a chunk of bloody meat while she was scrubbing. It was the size of a coin. Maybe an earlobe? She couldn’t know. Instead, she wrapped it up in a handkerchief and gave it to someone else to take care of.

Afterwards, she dusted the bookshelves in the library. Snuck a few peeks at a couple of books while she was at it. Old literature that was written in German and smelled sour. She couldn’t understand a word of it besides ‘ja’ and ‘nein’ but, judging by the pictures, it looked like a sex ed book from way back when. Then she found a fake book. The cover opened to reveal that it was hollow and… contained a dildo. A very strange one at that. Shaped like an octopus tentacle. Had to be new.

From there, she went to the bedroom and changed the sheets. The white ones came off and the gold ones were laid down. Tomorrow, it would be the navy sheets, she reminded herself as she unfolded the burgundy comforter that went with the gold sheets. She took her time setting it on the massive bed. This should be a two-person job, but since she was the only one doing it, she needed to make she that everything was straight and that there were no ruffles or lumps. If the other maids were to be believed, there was one girl who apparently lost a finger for making the bed wrong back when Mr. Vogelweide was younger. Grace didn’t want to find out. She’d just gotten her nails done and she’d prefer to keep all ten of them.

She ate lunch outside in one of the smaller gardens. Óscar passed by, going to the shed to get his cleaning supplies. When she waved, he looked down his nose at her in disgust and kept walking. Clearly still upset by how he’d been treated lately. It wasn’t really her fault, but there wasn’t much she could do about it aside from what she was already doing. Which was to pretend that none of it had actually happened.

The sex dungeon was next. Good god it was a mess. Every time she had to come in here, Grace wore latex gloves on top of latex gloves, a face mask, a pair of goggles, and a shower cap because she never knew what to expect from this room. Especially after the incident. After that day, she could come into this room wearing a full hazmat suit and it still wouldn’t feel like overkill. It always took her forever to completely sanitize everything. And then she did it again just for good measure.

Mr. Vogelweide had a meeting with Tony and a few other associates that day. Grace heard the gunfire while she was dusting outside.

She went in to clean up the blood once everyone was gone and the body had been taken away. But, she quickly realized that she wasn’t alone when a pair of hands grabbed her around the waist as she bent over to start cleaning. She jumped up and turned to see Tony behind her.

“Go away, I’m working,” she told him with a smile.

He grinned and kissed her cheek. “Come on, how could I come all the way here and not say hi? I missed you, Gracie. Didn’t you miss me?”

“You’re crazy. But yes. I missed you. A little bit,” she teased. “Now go away. You’re gonna get me in trouble.”

“Okay, okay. Today’s… Friday, right? You get off a little early?”

“Yeah. Donut day. Get up early, get out early. Off day tomorrow. Why?”

Tony grinned wider and wrapped his arms around Grace’s slender waist. “I’m taking you out to dinner tonight. And then, I’m not bringing you back until Monday morning. Just in time for the laundry. That sound like a plan?”

She gave him a quick peck on the lips. “That sounds perfect. I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

“Yeah. Tonight. It’s a date.”

“Shoo.”

He laughed, kissed her cheek, and left the office so she could get back to work.

She knelt down again to clean, only to be startled by the sound of feet quickly stomping back into the room. Looking up again, Grace caught sight of Tony just as he slapped her ass and then took off running again.

“Hey!” she shouted, getting up to chase him. “Come back here you perv-” She froze in the doorway and lowered her head. “Hello, Mr. Vogelweide.”

“Having fun?” he asked, raising a thick eyebrow over the frame of his glasses.

“I… I’m sorry; it won’t happen again.” She turned on her heel and went back into the office. This time, she actually got back to work and started scrubbing the blood out of the rug.

“You seem quite close with Mr. Thompson. Is this a recent development?” Mr. Vogelweide asked, his tone light and unbothered.

Grace nodded. “Yes sir. We uh… well…. He’s nice to me.”

“Did this happen before or after our talk last month?”

She swallowed, unsure where he was going with this. “It was after, sir.”

He didn’t say anything else. He just stared at Grace through those gold lenses while she went back to cleaning. Part of her regretted telling him that. She shouldn’t have done it. For all she knew, she could have accidentally put Tony’s life at risk. But… shit, if she hadn’t there was always that strange chance that he’d know anyway. He always seemed to know everything. And if he knew and she tried to lie about it that would piss him off. And when Mr. Vogelweide was pissed off, the guns come out and heads get blown off, and then bodies get taken away to be disposed of, and-

She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Mr. Vogelweide staring down at her. For fuck’s sake, that leg brace announced his every step, how was he constantly managing to sneak up on her like this? He idly trailed his fingers over the top of her head, curled her baby hairs around them, and said, “So long as you are happy, I suppose. That is the important part. You’re such a lovely woman.”

“…. Sir?”

He removed his hand from her head. “Go enjoy yourself. I’ll have Ms. Baxter finish in here. And… tell Mr. Thompson that I will cover your expenses for the night.”

She sat up on her knees and stared up at him, surprised and , quite frankly, shocked. She heard his breath hitch as he stared down at her. Which, granted, she probably should have expected from a man as hypersexual as him. He caressed her cheek for a moment, just like he had a month ago, and smiled. Not for the first time, she wondered why he did it. Was it because he wanted to make her feel comfortable around him? Was it just a sensory thing? Or… was he inspecting her? Honestly, it felt like the latter.

“Thank you, Mr. Vogelweide. You’re too kind.”

“No. I’m not. Run along now.”

Grace stood up and slowly walked away, only taking a brief moment to look back at him over her shoulder for a quick goodbye before she left the room entirely.

~ Dinner ~

Grace stood outside the restaurant, wearing a skintight black dress, with her hair pulled up in a French twist. Tony had told her to be there and ready at six for their reservation. She’d arrived early, wanting to meet him outside, but he hadn’t shown up yet.

When her phone beeped at six, she went inside without him and used his name to be seated. She was handed a menu, a glass of ice water, and a basket of hot bread was placed in front of her. She thanked the waiter and decided to wait for Tony before she started eating anything. Instead, she alternated between reading the menu and watching the door for him.

Half the things on the menu didn’t even sound like real things. And most of the descriptions sounded… disgusting. The pictures didn’t look much better. Thankfully, there were a few things that seemed normal and edible. The pastas looked good. Maybe a nice alfredo.

…. He’s twenty minutes late. He’s never been this late before. Did something come up?

She checked her phone for any sign that he’d reached out to her. No text. No missed call. Nothing on any of his socials. His last post was a week-old beach selfie of him in a speedo. Oh, and there was Grace in the background. Sitting in the sand. Wearing a bikini that left absolutely nothing to the imagination.

She zoomed in on the background, staring at her own tits for a second. Right along the edge of the cup was a circular mark on her skin. Darker than the rest of her porcelain skin. Not a bruise, she could tell that much. But she didn’t know… oh.

“Oh, shit. That’s a nipple. Jesus, that has to be why so many creepy people were looking at me that day.”

She put her phone down and looked up towards the door again. Still nothing. He wasn’t there yet. Somehow. He was usually early. Usually already waiting at the door ten minutes beforehand just so he could see whatever she was wearing before she made it in. He said that she looked good in low light. It gave the illusion that he skin glowed, according to him.

It wasn’t normal for him to be late. It wasn’t normal for him not to say anything. He’d cancelled on her before. Why should this be any different? That is, if he really needed to cancel… he wouldn’t stand her up, would he? No. He was too sweet for that. And he sounded so excited in the office when he asked her out. Made it sound like he had plans for them. And the stars had finally aligned so that both of her off days landed on Saturday and Sunday. She was the lucky one with the blessed schedule. Why wouldn’t he be here?

Did she do something wrong? Did Tony think he did something wrong? Could it be traffic? What does traffic look like where he lives? …. Where does he live? She’d never asked. He’d never shown her. When they spent the night together it always involved an overnight bag and a nice bed and breakfast he picked. Hell, her bag was packed. It was sitting in the trunk of her car. Not that it was her car; per se, it was one of the rentals that Mr. Vogelweide kept on hand for his staff. It wasn’t even a nice one. She deliberately took the car that got used the least just so no one would miss the vehicle.

God, she felt scatterbrained!

“Grace!”

Startled, she looked up to see the last person she was expecting to bump into outside of work. Mr. Anselm Vogelweide himself. She’d never seen him leave the mansion, what were the odds that he’d show up here and now?!

She quickly rose to her feet as he limped over to the table, a smile on his bearded face. Hoping to make it easier for him, she walked towards him as well, meeting him in the middle. She kept a bright smile on her face. The same one she tended to wear while working. It was… something. Fake. Wide. Joyless. She felt like a Barbie doll. Blonde and plastic with a perfect white grin molded onto her face. She asked, “What brings you here, sir? I… had no idea you’d enjoy places like this.”

“I do not leave my home often, it’s true. However, this fine establishment has treated me well for many years. More, I believe, than you have been alive.” He looked around for a moment. One person at a table for two. Two menus. One drink. An untouched basket of bread. “I thought you were supposed to be out with Mr. Thompson?”

“I am- well, I will be. He’s running a bit late. But I’m sure that he’ll be here soon. He’s never let me down before.”

Her heart was pounding in her chest as she spoke. To hide her fear, she kept her smile plastered on her face. She’d done this before. It was something she was good at. Hiding her emotions. Pretending to be something she really wasn’t. It kept her alive. And, before that, it got her ahead in life where she would have fallen behind.

“Do you mind if I sit with you?”

[domsanim]

new pinned because shit hit the fan WOOOO

HIII my name is Dom (its almost like my user is domsanim) and i draw sometimes

i do want to get into animation so i might animate occasionally (they will be bad)

-any prns

-bisexual bigenderflux (wow big words)

fandoms/things i like (oh boy this'll be a doozy)

•strikethrough text means that i havent finished the thing so don't hit me with earth shattering spoilers 😔

Music Artists/Bands: NateWantsToBattle, Chonny Jash, Weezer, Tally Hall, Miracle Musical, Black Veil Brides

Webcomics: The Dummy's Dummy, Artifisouls

MCRP (Minecraft Roleplay): DreamSMP (Story, not actors), MINE Nights at Freddy's

Streamers/Youtubers: Wilbur Soot, TommyInnit, Ranboo, Slimecicle, VenturianTale

Animated Series: Murder Drones, The Amazing Digital Circus, Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss, My Hero Academia, Death Note, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, BNA: Brand New Animal, Jujutsu Kaisen

Video Games: Minecraft, Overwatch 2, Five Nights at Freddy's, Undertale/Undertale AUs, Danganronpa, Final Fantasy 7, OMORI, Portal, Half-Life, Your Turn to Die: Death Game by Majority, Doki Doki Literature Club, The Henry Stickmin Collection, Subnautica, Class of '09, Sonic the Hedgehog

Extra that i dont feel like categorizing: Spider-Man, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, S.C.P Foundation

wow that was a lot. anyways

where else i exist

i tend to be in a lot of places. luckily im not very difficult to lose sight of.

Youtube: DomsAnim

Steam: DomsAnim

ArchiveOfOurOwn: DomsAnim

Insta: domsanimations4169

TikTok: @/dom-toretto-but-better

COOL PEOPLE SHOUTOUTS!!

@furinzii my lovely lovely wife who produces bangers almost as consistently as i do. keyword, almost./j

@milesthemagical bestie westie (who also got me into chonny jash funny story)

@akihelux homie (i hear they're working on a tadc au comic so if that tickles your toes then maybe check that out when it happens)

@wadelovessillies god

ok thats all

also follow for the content not fandom i think (even though i'm kind of everywhere) i mainly post about things im currently obsessing over or my beloved ocs

[strobarium]

erin's thoughts on "paper angel."

the first post on the strobarium! how nice. (SPOILERS AHEAD.)

(eyestraining colors ahoy, dereality-type stuff is mentioned)

youtube recommended me a video i really, really enjoy by this youtuber named Mara. it's well over an hour long and she talks a lot about her experiences with outsider art and mixed media, among other things. its worth a watch if you do like long-winded video essays about...STUFF. i guess

thats only partially relevant, though. i bring the video up because within it, she talks about the game in question today, briefly. the visuals struck a chord with me, and the seemingly abstract narrative being more or less promoted my way was very intriguing and had me interested in getting my hands on it.

you already picked up the title from the title of the post but i like using big font!

"Paper Angel," by Slitherbop.

(love that title screen, wow.)

Slitherbop, or, Slither, is a 25-year old surrealist illustrator based in Sasketchewan, Canada, from what his Neocities homepage states. he has an absolute ton of really colorful and trippy art spread out across several pages, but i feel the most of them you'd find on his tumblr page. i'd recommend looking into if you're...well i mean if you're even READING THIS you're prob into the same type shit i be on, yeah. lol. anyway,

Slither has OCs. (commonplace amongst contemporary illustrators online, if you've noticed) One of them, is the focus of the game i'm going to write a lot about.

Spinwhim! (they/them)

(god, look at them.)

taken from Slither's toyhou.se (toyhou.se is more or less an original character database tool that illustrators like to use, a lot, to log their OCs and stuff)

"Spinwhim is a powerful healer and grand storyteller. They’re very kind, outgoing, and wacky. They like to travel all around to help others. Their intense curiosity and passion makes them meddlesome. They can focus and see the world on a cellular level, which is utilized in healing and creating. Good :-)"

they, are more or less the focal point of the entire visual novel. it's a treat that they are, their design is great (much as it does change over the course of the game,) and i generally do like their demeanor and how they interact with me, the player.

speaking of the player, i don't really know who i play as! it's a blank-slate type deal. i speak very vaguely and generally i think im depicted as rather confused seeming/"out-of-it."

competent enough to prepare soup for an ill spinwhim though. OH right. plot stuff. i should get into that-

...well, actually the plot's not really super complex. you're there with spinwhim in this house within this elaborately colorful world and you're essentially nursing them back to health. its said in game you spend about a week with them.

...

i didn't even get to experience the whole week but i just. i have this incredible draw towards them.

it's not really a surprise to me that any motherly (well, or even fatherly) figure with this type of benevolent, reassuring and friendly aura just resonates with me: as i kind of allude to in the preface, i've had familial...struggles in the past and i more or less continue to, especially as it relates to how i feel about my biological parents. its complex and i don't think i could really get into it fully no matter the medium, idk.

spinwhim is just nice to experience speaking to me even if it is confined to the limitations of a RPG Maker VX Ace-created visual novel. (shoutout RPG Maker also, wow, interactive outsider art people love this program a lot i have learned LOL.) as i'm taking care of them, they note how good of a job i'm doing, and even how helpful i've been to the recovery process they're going through relating to the unknown illness they have. i'm even just complimented in general regarding my demeanor and whatnot... i really do wish they were someone i could come to for comfort like i do a fair amnt of my friends, or romantic partners. it would be nice.

what, really sealed the deal, was the twist.

after seemingly, fully recovering from their illness, they're up and at it and in a different fit than normal, to boot. they say they cleared a path to head into town (the whole duration of the game, some apparently severe snowy weather was hitting your gen. location) and that they're excited to go.

they ask me if i want to come with.

so, OF FUCKING COURSE i hit go with. lol

after expressing excitement that i actually did want to go with, they ask me to come closer.

they recount how horrible it was living the way they were, prior. that their head was "caving in" and that they were "boiling" and "lethargic." sounds pretty tough. but after that, they hit me with this revelation:

i was... CREATED???

(the actual verbiage and whatnot they use to talk about everything from this point forward is genuinely just breathtaking also as a side note)

it especially explains the demeanor they've had toward me throughout the game, like i kinda said earlier, very motherly overall. i felt loved. it was sincerely nice. but then it gets even more emotional frm there for me...they say this:

"When I say I want you to come with me, I mean I want to absorb you back into me. You will be returning from where you came. Your thoughts will be my thoughts again, and it will be like a dream to me. It will be wonderful…"

was given a choice.

ONCE AGAIN. OF FUCKING COURSE I HIT YES.

this part just made me tear up a little-the response i got:

"Oh, my beautiful apple. You will no longer live in this confusion of yours. You will be safe."

i basically immediately realized what was happening to me and why it was hitting me so damn hard.

...

it's basically no secret at this point (i make sure its not) that i'm, dissociative. to the extent i fucking formed 10+ people in my head about it. lol. that being said, i'm all-too familiar with what it's like to just be, broken, split apart, fractured.

Its Not Great !

i lucked out, with my system. (there's a lot to it but this dissociative disorder shit can REALLY BE TOUGH depending on a lot of circumstances. well its tough Already, but yeah) i only (at the time of writing) deal with one alter who more or less has it out for me, and the rest of us. that makes it so that i have pretty much 12 additional friends just kind of in my noggin at every given moment. it's pretty cool-things are even such a way regarding how we work that they can just talk to me and my friends rather fluidly. it can result in a lot of shenanigans.

but the road to which led them all to forming was fucking crazy and shitty. i won't go into details i guess here but dissociative disorders are most of the time traumagenic, to give you an idea. its not great, as i said earlier. theres just a lot to OSDD that i don't like, the memory issues i regularly have come to mind, along with me feeling detached from the world, other things. blegh.

that considered along with , complex (negative) feelings abt family shit considered it's probably just, obvious as hell why this scene resonates with me so much.

(had this revelation while getting screenshots for this post but the character they're hugging which i can only assume is the player looks alarmingly like one of my oldest sonas. made everything hit a lil harder for me)

i feel like a broken soul. and i yearn to be whole, again.

i don't think i would have taken up this oppurtunity irl if i was granted it given how much i do enjoy about being my own person who does things and whatnot but the thought lingers. getting to live it out to some degree thru this lil mini interactive artpiece just proved very therapeutic to me. i discovered it very early in the morning, and didnt really talk to anyone about it until after i experienced it. going through all of that solitarily, in my blue-lit room (thank you phillips for the hue bulb. Lol) just did a lot for me. i'm very, very thankful.

(should also note the same day i played the game i also took a phone call frm my mom and we talked about life stuff. it kinda hurt. to quote frm a more primitive form of this writeup "she used to bring me great comfort in my youth, during times i really needed it. complex feelings have led to a rift between us, that she can't even see. that i don't even, know if i want her to see." kinda says everything ig)

it was a nice escape from everything i'm generally going through at the moment, broadly. the process of recovery has proven to be fucking insane and full of all sorts of surprises on top of a very unpleasant yet expected amount of moments ive been faced with my absolutely, less pleasant qualities to my personality and bad habits and such. it sucks, but im at least...well i like to THINK im at least angled toward being better about shit but i don't know. i'm still learning. it's tough and i know i'm not alone when it comes to CPTSD recovery or dissociative disorder coping or bipolar disorder coping or whatever the hell else, but it really just, feels cold and solitary a lot of the time regardless. it's tough. it really is tough.

im just glad i found this little game. any sort of respite that appeals to me to that degree is just very appreciated.

i almost thought it was some strange divine shit going down in my life that led me to even stumbling upon it, the way it hit me. didn't lead to any i guess new revelations about my life or whatever, which is fine!

but. i liked it. it's nice.

i'm grateful. :)

slitherbop, if you're reading this, thank you. sincerely. from the bottom of my heart.

also plz more acid glitch parenting moment's plz (lol)

~ E.K.S.G.

[dungeons-and-dragon-age]

OC Tag Game

got tagged again by @shivunin! <3 You're right that this is a curse to do fsdkljfls, i am indecisive af so prepare for rambling

Favorite OC: Wow starting with a mean one :( It rotates and switches between all of them, but Liam and June probably occupy the spot the most often

Newest OC: Uhh i guess Robin? They are In My Brain but i have yet to do a playthrough with them lol

Oldest OC: In general? Des xD (she was a warrior cats oc i made when i was 11 but she's still very dear to me <3). For DA, it's Neira! I played he games in order & she was my first Warden :)

Meanest OC: June for sure lol. Both in that she is very blunt and does not belive in lying for the sake of being nice, and in that she is the most likely to be actively mean on purpose. 2nd Place goes to Noya because she can also be really nasty when she wants to be.

Softest OC: Oof hard pick :') I have come to terms with the fact that i am unable to make OCs who are not softies in some way or another, and they definitely all are. But.. i wanna say Kala? Because she has a big nature vs nurture contrast, and once she has the chance to she is actually very soft, and very deliberately. In that she craves a lot of closeness with loved ones, but also in that she sees the beauty in the small things, and in being determined to spite cruelty through small kindnesses.

Most Aloof/Standoffish OC: Also Kala xD She is. Not sociable at all fsdfjk and is also not overly involved; yes she cares, but she also knows how to distance herself.

Dumbest (affectionate) OC: I wouldn't call any of them *dumb*, but at the same time, all of them are at least A Little Bit dumb <3 Liam is the most likely to have brainlag or head empty moments, June is the one who will do dumb things despite knowing better and/or not think things through, Lilian will have internal "yeah i got this :)" (she has not got this) moments the most, and so on.

Smartest OC: Tie between Ari and June! At least for the traditional definition of smart lol. Ari is very booksmart, is very good at remembering things, processing concrete information, thinking ahead and making elaborate plans. His thoughts are always 5 steps ahead and sometimes it feels like he is thinking for three people at once. As long as he has precise information to work with, he's gonna make it work.

June is the opposite, she is really bad at encyclopedia type knowledge or planning but is super good at conceptualising abstract ideas, at making connections and bending thoughts this way and that, at combining ideas and theorising. She has a good intuition for how conceptual ideas might work in practice, and a creative approach to problem solving.

Bonus shoutout to Var'renan for being the most people-smart. They're very perceptive and very good at reading people and social cues.

OC I'd Probably Be Friends With: Well, i would say i'd probably vibe with Renan or Kala or Ari, but irl i seem attract all the extroverts, so chances are i'd end up being friends with Noya or June or Adriel lmao. Ig Adriel would be the best bet though. Cos she's energetic but not overly so, she'd still be totally down to just hang out and chill; we're both chatty but awkward talkera sometimes and would probably hype each other up really well when we get exited

edit: bruh why did tumblr delete part of the post (part of the last bullet point & the tags got cut off)???? I Do Not have the energy to put in all the tags again, so if you read this, you can consider yourself tagged! If you do it please do tag me, i'd love to read more about all your OCs :3

2nd edit because. It cut off the last category again smh (not the text after this time tho??) and idk why but i am also Not gonna rewrite that again e-e

[waterloggedsoliloquy]

31 / 22 / 19 for the oc ask thing if youd like :)

31. Pick one OC of yours and explain what their tumblr blog would be like (what they reblog, layout, anything really)

Anthea would LOOOOOOVE tumblr she has a custom theme with glitter cursors and buttons and autoplay (she is annoying). she has a page of userboxes and blinkies. relationship wall with all her mutuals. shed rb magical girl gifsets and pretty pink aesthetic and flowers and moomin and princess tuatu nd occasionally rly romantic violent bloody art but shes not even trying to be edgy and also she vagueblogs like constantly. she also rbs those posts that r like "i dont even think "im gonna kill myself" is a threat anymore at this point i repeat it to myself to get out of bed in the morning"". this understandably causes sicely some anxiety, who only has a tumblr blog because anthea asked them to, and basically only follows her and doesnt talk they just rb their own aesthetic (Pacific northwest wanderlust and model trains and animal videos) and post their own amateur photography for like 2 notes (both anthea liking + rbing).

22. Is there any OC of yours people tend to mischaracterize? If yes, how?

shoutout to that weirdo from my DG days that kept calling caroline "a baby" 😭 bro she is just autistic. and is killing people

im interested in seeing ppl mischaracterize my carousel waltz kids! 🥰 i bet opal will get the treatment this time around

19. Introduce an OC that means a lot to you (and explain why)

ANTHEA PATEL!!!! I've had her as an OC for 4 years and began as a love letter to RGU that rapidly blossomed into her own beautiful character and I love her very much. Her unique sense of humor (her contradictory frankness and underhandedness) her predictable shortcomings and struggles (being inconsiderate and nostalgic to a fault), her strengths (her devotion and canniness), and her unique speech patterns (runon sentences and overenunciating + a big vocabulary) make her infinitely interesting to write and her dynamic with sicely is something i think im going to revist in my art time and time again. I love every story ive ever had the pleasure of telling with her. its clear that she speaks to a lot of people as well and it makes me really happy that ive been able to connect to an audience with her :)

[namjoonchronicles]

Hi gorgeous! I hope you are doing well, I saw a couple of posts about being a bourden or how you feel about your life vs your friends lives and I can relate a lot but in my case for different reasons ( mostly academic reasons) I wanna thank you for write the specialist (again) but in this case(focusing more in chapter 7) I wanna thank you for write the thoughts that yoongi has about being a person without academic degree (and the relation that he makes between that and being worth it ) basically that describes my constant thoughts 🫣😔 thanks for write a very complex and interesting character 🥺💗 can’t wait to know how they are gonna deal with the people who beat my bbb hahaha and how their relationship are gonna develop in the next chapters also I’m gonna write a few questions and observation that I made sorry for the long ask🫠🫣

1- as chapters pass I can see that oc has a lot of attitude at first I thought she was very naive and the shy and the quite type but hellll NOO hshshshs

2- I sense that yoongi its very soft inside like in a relationship like all the bad boy stuff it’s only outside

3- I have a question do you see yoongi wanting to be a father ?like in your perspective as the writer do you think he wants to have babies ? And oc?

4-I JUST WANNA MAKE A BIG SHOUTOUT to the scene when they were eating and playing that game and she said (something thick) and he way all the way to the double meaning road I WAS (s)CREAMINGGGGGhahahahahahah

Hueuehuehuehue, I look forward to your asks every single time I post the fic, not gonna lie.. it’s truly a blessing to have these length of ask, I feel so loved and appreciated and all those hard work, burning midnight oil is worth it. These bulletpoints are so valid like, I feel we’re having a discussion rather than having a writer-reader conversation because omg! 

You’re welcome, you’re very much welcome.. Thats the best part about chaptered fics, is that we can take time to get to know the oc a little bit, to me she feels like a layered onion with this surprising side to her that is relatable. she’s me in crisis tbh. 

yoongiiiii... i love him, i love him in this fic, he’s so... ugh. i already have a backstory for him so hold that thought okay? ok.

as a father, yoongi? this fic’s yoongi? i don’t think he has thought of it, you’ll see later as to why. but the chances are never zero. 

here’s to the double-meaning couple! cheers!!

The next part is on the way!

[astrahannah]

I like thinking of in-universe fandoms a lot. In Ace Attorney, I even have an OC, Julia Payne, who I was thinking about giving a normal reason why she became a prosecutor to, but my favorite backstory for her is the original, a bit weird one.

Because I feel like most people would expect she got into law because it's a family thing, to make her dad proud and such. At least in the original backstory I have for that, that's secondary, though.

It's a bit silly - basically, when she was 16-17, tiktok was a thing(I usually have her be born in 2001, meaning I'd have to push tiktok's popularity to happen a bit sooner, but it could work, I think) and once, while making a video, she off-handedly mentioned her dad being a prosecutor in whatever city Ace Attorney trials take place in. Well, and despite her small fanbase, this has gotten to the building "lawtok" community - more specifically, Japanifornian lawtok. Who started talking and asking about stuff in the comments, and thus, Julia went through the stages:

1. „What is happening?“

2. „This exists?“

3. „This is one of the wackiest things on the internet I've ever seen.“

4. „Well, it actually looks kinda fun, I think I'll stay for a bit.“

That's when she got involved in the fandom, and gained some following, and then, three more stages followed:

5. „Hold up, this is actually interesting.“

6. „LAW is actually interesting.“

7. „Well, at least I finally figured out what to study in college - it's interesting, I'll help people, and if I become a prosecutor, dad might be happy about that. And maybe he can help me with studying! Okay, let's try to become a prosecutor in the future.“

And since in-universe law fandom played an important role in her life, I thought a lot about how she interacts with it. First as a fan, then, once she's gained a following, as a creator.

I have a lot thought up about that, and that has given me even more of a liking for posts about a possible in-universe law fandom than I had before. But I usually couldn't find much of those posts, they were scarce.

But now... I gotta say, #lawtwt is the best thing that I've found in the fandom world lately. Big shoutout to the profile and other people in the hashtag. You make my Ace Attorney fandom experience more fun than before.

[project-isles]

!!WARNING GORE!!

I decided to put part 1 & 2 together to make a story and I'M CALLING THIS THE STAB ARCH NOW!

Finn and king Freddy were searching for where Goldie's hide out was on a breezy morning

"You're majesty, are you sure we should do this without any another guards or foxy..?"

"Oh relax finny boy, we'll be fine! Besides this is good training for you!"

"Whatever you say, you're majesty..."

King Fredrick then noticed some strawberry bushes and went to get some but then

"You're majesty!! Look out!!"

"wha- ack!"

Someone jumped from the tree, stabbing the King and pushing him to the ground

"Don't worry you're majesty I'll get you help! Just hold-"

"On..."

Finn then collapsed to the ground, hissing in pain before trying to get up, he couldn't. Someone must have put poison on the arrow.

"What the..."

Finn and king Freddy then heard a chuckle, Fredrick looked back at the attacker

"Well well well... Look who we have here... haha~"

›=)

(Yeah I'm adding OC's to this au)

End of part 1 of the stab arch!

[letstalkwhump]

Let's Talk Whump No. 12

Welcome to Let’s Talk Whump, a series of interviews that spotlight the amazing people in our whump community. I’m Malice and I’ll be your host. 

Joining us today is the fabulous @heavenly-whumper!

Tell me something non whump related about yourself!

You can call me Eden, and my hobbies besides writing include reading psychological thriller BL comics, and gaming. I am perpetually sleep deprived and always thinking about my OCs.

Let’s start with something a little vague. What does whump mean to you?

I can write the things I love the most and feel welcomed with whump. It's a means of catharsis and trauma processing, of course, but I write whump mostly due to my enjoyment of dark, homoerotic media, fucked up characters and fucked up situations. Also because I like pretty boys being through hell and back and crying, so having a community where I enjoy that without feeling ashamed is pretty good.

How did you find the whump community? 

I found it through several screenshots from Tumblr on Pinterest, and decided to join the community on Tumblr after seeing it was exactly what I liked. I abandoned that blog after a while and decided to start again with this one.

Has your view on whump changed since you joined? Are there tropes you now love/hate that you didn't at first?

Yes. I liked pet whump much more when I first joined, and avoided writing nsfwhump or gore like the plague. Now I'm not as much into pet whump and have finally found my niche with nsfwhump and immortal whumpees.

It’s so interesting how almost everyone says their views on different whump tropes have changed since they joined! Care to share some of your favourite whump tropes?

Immortal whumpees, intimate and/or creepy whumpers, nsfwhump and obsessive whumpers or whumpees.

What’s your favourite piece that you’ve written?

I love the entirety of Heavenly Feast, my current WIP. It's my best work so far, and I put a lot of work into it. I also loosened up quite a lot and wrote everything I liked regardless of reception, so I'm proud of it. I love the pairing of a creepy whumper's pov of a cannibalistic monster and his pretty immortal whumpee. These two are a match made in hell. Like my dearest friend said, they are soulmates, but in the worst way possible. And that's what makes this story so special to me. I quite like the plot, I love the characters and I love how deliciously gruesome this story is, nsfwhump, cannibalism and all.

Dou you have a standard writing routine?

At night, always. Mostly when inspiration strikes, and usually on big blocks. After I get the chapter done, I let it sit for a while and retype it entirely to edit. I do this between 1-3 times usually for a chapter, but some very hard ones take up to 5 retypes or complete scraps and rewrites. Because of that and not having a strict writing schedule, I can take quite a long time to post a new chapter.

What do the words usually flow for? Is there something you struggle with writing? 

It's easy for me to nail pov writing and the characters, but I struggle a lot with prose and worldbuilding. I need several rewrites to get the prose to an acceptable level to post and it's very hard. I also, surprisingly, wasn't all that good with nsfwhump when I started Heavenly Feast and it was painful and cringy to write at first — I still struggle with it at times.

Is there anything you're working on at the moment? 

Hoping from idea to idea, trying to finish the next chapter of Heavenly Feast and working on a few collabs with my best friend.

Any advice you’d like to share?

Write what you like, regardless of what you think others will think. And please, don't try to sacrifice your mental health to write as much as other writers or to be a "good" writer. You must first and foremost have fun, and each writer's journey, pace and style is unique, so trying to push yourself too hard will only cause you burnout and make you hate writing or yourself. 

Shoutout time! Who would you like to say thank you too?

@suspicious-whumping-egg, my dear friend and great writer.

@burntcoffeewhump, with their delicious nsfwhump. His stories captivated me from day one.

@lumpsbumpsandwhumps with her amazing art and writing, and my blorbos Jonas and Malik.

And @zillastar13, my bff and inspiration, they are an amazing writer, with great prose and great worldbuilding,  and I love every single thing they write. 

Anything you'd like to add? 

Love y'all from the community. Keep whumping or consuming whump, my beloveds.

It was a pleasure to have you here, @heavenly-whumper!

And to all you folks at home, have a whump-derful day!

[lqtraintracks]

AO3 Stats Thingie

I was tagged by @gracerene09; thanks much! :D

Name(s): lqtraintracks 

Fandom(s): Harry Potter is by far the main one I write in, but I also wrote two Locked Tomb Trilogy (Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth) fics last year, and I wrote a Call Me By Your Name fic a couple years ago. Years ago I was in other fandoms, but not under this username, and I don’t talk about those in public because there’s someone from that time that I never want to find me here. 

Where you post: AO3 and Dreamwidth (if you see my stories on Wattpad, they stole it)

Most Popular One Shot (by kudos):  Hung Like a Horntail (Drarry; 2,353 words; Harry’s penis in this story is almost as big as Draco’s obsession with it lol. Size kink, I’ve learned, is a lot of people’s bulletproof kink.)            

Most Popular Multi-Chapter (by kudos): Right Hand Red (Drarry; 73,173 words over three chapters)

Fic you were nervous to post: All of them to some extent. I was nervous this year for Heart Like Neon. It’s always nerve-wracking to post a longer story, plus I’d created trans OCs and I was anxious about people liking or, conversely, being critical of them or me for how I’d written them. But it and they got a lovely reception, and I was so relieved and happy. Still am.

Do you outline? I make a Notes doc for long stories, and I throw in ideas that are, at first, pretty linear: this happens and then this, etc. But as I get new ideas or lines of dialogue I don’t want to lose but I’m not there in the fic yet, this doc gets messy and chaotic. I’ll also leave notes for myself in the docs I’m using to write, just to guide where I need to get to, or when I want to skip something for the time being, like, there’s one part in an earlier chapter of what I’m writing where it just says “[RIDICULOUSLY ACCURATE DESCRIPTIONS OF IRELAND]” or something like that. LOL. I don’t often skip stuff, though. Gosh, so... sort of? But if you asked me to do a real outline, I would whine and cry honestly. I have to do pantser outlines.

Upcoming work you’re most excited about: My fic for the @harrydracobang

AO3 stats (for 2020)

Number of works posted: 16

Total word count: 93,382

Longest fic: Heart Like Neon (Drarry, 41,103 words)

Shortest fic: Fresh Parchment (Pansmione, 436 words)

Fic with the most kudos: Inescapable (Drarry, 2,558 words)

Fic with the most bookmarks: Heart Like Neon

Fic with the most comment threads: Heart Like Neon

Fandoms written for: In 2020, Harry Potter and the Locked Tomb Trilogy

Fandom events you’ve written for: No fests this year, but both Daily Deviant and Firewhiskey Fic

Pairings written: 

This year: Harry/Draco: 9 times Pansy/Hermione: twice Gideon/Harrow: twice Harry/Teddy: twice James Sirius/Teddy: once

Favourite fic you’ve written this past year: I’m terrible at this. I mean, definitely Heart Like Neon. But I want to give a special shoutout to A Pain of Our Choosing (Drarry, 5,953 words) which came a few days before the year’s end, and I really love that story. Also, I loved the two I wrote for Gideon too, but the Harrow one is really pretty good, I think: The Start of Something (Gideon/Harrow, 2,444 words).

Tagging: Everyone who hasn’t done one of these yet, or even if you have (I had, lol) but you want to do this one too. ;) <3 

[ggukcangetit]

Dreamcatchers 4

Pairing: jungkook x oc

Synopsis: DI Jeon didn’t need a new partner. Unfortunately, his superiors felt otherwise; especially considering the extremely high-profile murder that had just taken place in the port city. Recent transfer, DI Choi Yuri finds herself confronted with a new cityscape, unfamiliar people, a hostile partner, and a homicide that is certain to bring back unpleasant memories.

Genre/AU: fluff/action/mystery | detective! au | police!jungkook, police!oc

Word Count: 4.4k

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: mentions of violence, alcohol, blood, drugs, death. Basically stuff you’d associate with a murder mystery/crime drama

Previous: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Acknowledgement: shoutout to @stutterfly​ for designing this beautiful banner which i am completely in love with and stare at for no particular reason throughout the day. also a big thank you to @kinktae​ for helping get through a really tricky bit in this chapter :*

A/N:  reminding everyone that this story features a named oc because i’m still very unfamiliar with writing second person reader inserts. i’m not aiming for strict accuracy in this story, and all criminal investigation/forensics knowledge i have has been gathered by watching crime drama/procedural dramas! my knowledge of geography is also not totally accurate so apologies for that. once again, one thing right by @hobios​ prompted me to write a police inspector! jungkook story. would highly recommend reading that because it’s probably one of my most favorite pieces of writing!

Time: 4.37 am

Yuri had spent the entire night researching Park Jimin. Right from where he went to school up to all the scandalous newspaper articles recounting every aspect of his personal life. Priding herself on being able to maintain a professional outlook in her investigations, Yuri couldn’t help but feel appalled by what she had found. Park Jimin appeared to be arrogant, sleazy, manipulative, privileged, and everything that she despised in a person. Yoongi’s words rang in her head as she contemplated dropping the idea of acquiring a blood sample from the prodigal son of Park. No, this wasn’t because of her last case in Seoul. That was not why she was backing off. This was simply because she had no patience to deal with the self-absorbed antics of a privileged 20-something man.

Closing one of the last tabs, she caught sight of a familiar face. Not familiar in the way that you recognise an old friend, but familiar like a phrase you hear and cannot for the life of you remember where it was from. Park Jimin was seen exiting a famous restaurant in downtown Busan and beside him was another young man, so extraordinarily eye-catching in his loose trousers and green cardigan in a way that only an exquisite piece of art is.

An exquisite piece of art…

That was it. That was the phrase that made it click in her head.

“He’s literally a piece of art!”

“I mean, yes, he’s definitely conventionally attractive,” conceded Ahreum, a little annoyed that her photography was almost completely being ignored. “But what do you think of the pictures?”

“‘Conventionally attractive’? Is that the best you can do with your Literature & Creative Writing degree?”

Of course! This was Ahreum’s friend and Instagram muse.

Yuri snatched her phone from it’s charging spot and quickly scrolled through her friend’s Instagram. Sure enough, Park Jimin’s friend in loose trousers and green cardigan stared back at her from various parts of Busan, his expressions varying only slightly but creating completely different moods throughout Ahreum’s profile.

Kim Taehyung…

xxx

Yuri checked her phone for the fifth time in the last 3 minutes. Ahreum was supposed to pick her up at 8 am. It was currently 8.02 am. Not that it really made much of a difference, but she was raring to go ahead with her plan. A plan she had no doubt could easily blow up in her face, but weeks of fitful sleep coupled with shots of sugary coffee had given her a weird adrenaline rush which she didn’t want to lose.

A couple of minutes later, Ahreum pulled up outside her apartment, her large bike contrasting heavily with her petite person.

“Still don’t see why I couldn’t drive to the place,” muttered Yuri, putting on the large helmet with artistic paint splatters all over.

“The plan was to corner Jimin, and you can’t do that in your car which has a fucking police sticker right at the back.”

Yuri frowned. “Your plan was to corner Jimin. I just wanted to talk to him. And -” she fixed her bag across her body and put both hands on Ahreum’s shoulders - “I kept the sticker for parking privileges. I can take it off whenever.”

“Whatever. Just hold on tight,” said Ahreum, revving up the bike.

4.5 minutes later, they had reached their destination. Yuri knew that it had been 4.5 minutes because she had been fervently counting the seconds to distract herself from falling off the vehicle

“WHO drives like that? Are you totally insane?” she managed to get out, her hands fumbling on the straps of the helmet.

Ahreum gave her a sheepish grin. “Sorry, timing is essential in this case. Tae had texted me that they had reached just before I left from my place. We don’t have a lot of time. So I ugh-”

“Whatever. Let’s just get on with it.” Yuri tucked the loose strands of hair behind her ear, and mentally rehearsed everything she was going to tell Jimin.

Unfortunately, fate had other things in mind, because as soon as they opened the door to the diner, a familiar face (which most definitely should not have been there) spotted them and came over.

“Fuck.” Ahreum pulled out her phone and frantically sent Taehyung a text before the entire plan went down the drain.

“Yuri? Ahreum? What are you two doing here?” asked Seulgi, her long brown hair looked freshly washed and smelt of flowers.

A: why didnt u warn me that s was here fuck fuck fuck

T: i didnt see her… look it wont be that big a problem will it

A: pls tae the last time she saw ur boy they almost set fire to the library

T: shit ur right… umm maybe she-

Ahreum paused her frantic texting as soon as Seulgi came over to them. She gave Yuri a quick nod and decided to wing the situation as best as she could.

“Seulgi! This is incredible! I can’t believe we ran into you like this!” Ahreum hugged the taller girl. “I wanted Yuri to try the breakfast here so we decided to drop by before she had to get to the station. This is really incredible, I was planning to call you today actually. It’s almost time for me to choose my specialization and I wanted to-”

Yuri took this chance to slip off, as Ahreum steered Seulgi outside the diner. She didn’t really know why Ahreum was so intent on Seulgi and Jimin not meeting, but she trusted her best friend’s reasons.

Looking around, she saw that the large table near the window was occupied by the people she had been looking for. Kim Taehyung and his best friend Park Jimin. The latter had his back towards her, and as she approached she saw Taehyung’s eyes fall on her. She gave him a small wave, gesturing towards her phone’s lockscreen - a picture of her and Ahreum.

His face lit up in recognition as he stood up to greet her. “Hello! I’m Kim Taehyung. I thought Ahreum would be with you.”

“She’s umm…” Yuri glanced towards the doors of the diner through which Ahreum had led Seulgi out. “She’ll be here in a bit.”

“DI Choi, that’s not really true,” Jimin turned towards her, his eyes cold and alert. “Taehyung, your friend is diverting dear Dr. Ahn before she could see us and sabotage their poorly constructed ambush of me.”

Taehyung’s mouth hung open slightly, not really sure what was going on. “DI Choi? As in Choi Yuri? As in Ahreum’s best friend from school?”

“Yes,” said Yuri, feeling extremely awkward. She had expected to get two words in before Jimin caught on, but it seemed like she had severely underestimated him. “I’m sorry Ahreum didn’t tell you what this meeting was about. These aren’t the most favorable circumstances for us to meet. Nonetheless, I’ve heard a lot about you and it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Taehyung bowed in response, but his expression was still uncertain.

“What brings you here, DI Choi?” asked Jimin. “I doubt it was because you were dying to see me again. But -” he stood up and leaned towards her ever so slightly - “I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea if that were really the case.”

Not for the first time, Yuri realized how powerful Park Jimin’s presence was. She could see him becoming a very successful CEO with how he commanded people’s attention. However, she couldn’t shake off the uncomfortable feeling his gaze elicited. It was like she couldn’t predict what he was going to do next, much less fathom what was going on inside his head.

“Mr. Park,” she said, sitting down on one of the sofas in the booth. Taehyung and Jimin followed suit, but this time, they were both seated on the same side. “I’m afraid this isn’t a social call. I’ve come to talk to you about the ongoing investigation regarding the death of Kang Eunwoo.”

“I believe I answered all of your questions last time,” said Jimin, narrowing his eyes. “In fact, I believe I answered all of DI Jeon’s questions. You didn’t have much to say, as I recall.”

Taehyung’s head snapped towards his friend. "Jeongguk? You were at the station? Why didn’t you tell me, Jimin? What’s going on?”

“You and I both know that you didn’t provide much information. But that’s not what-”

"I don't think I was really required to answer any of your questions, DI Choi. Linking me to a rival company heir's death without a shred of evidence - " he leaned forward once again, his silver bangs falling over his forehead - "Some would consider that harassment. That would mean my lawyer would have to become involved. And neither of us want that, now do we?"

This is harassment. You really don't want to know how I deal with any kind of harassment, DI Choi.

Yuri took a deep breath, trying to ignore the words that kept her up almost every night.

"Your cooperation is highly appreciated, Mr Park," she continued, placing her hands on the table. "However, in order to save you from any further harassment, there is something you could help us out with."

Jimin did not respond immediately, giving Yuri the time to continue her, frankly, insane idea.

"We would require you to provide a blood sample. Which would help us eliminate you from the investigation. It shouldn't take up too much of your time - just a short visit to the station, and you'd be free of us."

Yuri waited for a response - anger, disbelief, frustration - anything really. What she didn't expect was laughter. Full on hysterical laughter. In fact, Taehyung was probably not expecting it either because he kept glancing at his friend worriedly.

"You are truly remarkable, DI Choi," said Jimin, once he had calmed down. He wiped a lone tear from his left eye, the many rings on his fingers glinting in the sunlight. "After everything that you've witnessed, you really thought you could somehow convince me to provide a blood sample? Sweetheart, I have 10 years worth of DNA that the police have been trying to get a hold off. Do you really think you'd be able to convince me when you weren't even able to get an alibi out of me?"

Yuri's face fell slightly, her mind grappling with ways in which the situation could be salvaged. It was at this point that Ahreum came over, looking distinctly more worn out than when they had arrived at the diner.

"Ahreum." Jimin turned his attention to the other girl. "You have such an interesting friend. Are you sure she's from Seoul? I didn't think such naivety could survive in the capital. Much less in law enforcement."

Ahreum frowned, snatching up the glass of water in front of Taehyung and gulping down the entire contents. "Stop being a dick for once in your life, Jimin."

"I love when you talk dirty to me." Jimin winked at her.

"Cool it, Jimin," said Taehyung, his expression no longer confused and worried. "Ahreum, what the fuck is going on?"

Ahreum looked at Yuri, not sure how she could help with the situation. Apparently, things hadn't gone well while she had been diverting Seulgi. "I'm sorry, Tae. I don't know anything other than Yuri wanting to meet Jimin."

"But you knew it had something to do with an investigation," said Taehyung, his handsome features creasing. "Why didn't you tell me that your best friend Yuri was a detective? That doesn't seem like information to just leave out."

Ahreum looked at him guiltily. In Taehyung's eyes, he was the only one who had no idea what was going on, and he felt both hurt and betrayed by her. This entire plan had been a train-wreck and to make matters worse, Seulgi had returned to the diner because she had dropped her keys inside.

"What the hell?" Seulgi stood at their table, her eyes narrowing disapprovingly. "What're you doing here, Park?"

"Hello to you too, darling," said Jimin, leaning back into the sofa lazily. "It's been so long since I've seen that beautiful face of yours."

"So." Seulgi turned towards Ahreum. "Are you really interested in going into forensics? Or was it just a way to distract me so that I wouldn't run into him?"

"Seulgi, I-"

"Darling, they were just trying to convince me to provide a blood sample," interrupted Jimin, his face curling into a smirk. "Was that your idea? You know I would've said yes in a heartbeat if you had asked nicely."

"Fuck you, Park!" spat Seulgi. She turned to Yuri and shook her head. "This isn't how I thought you'd get things done. I can't believe you're bargaining with a murder suspect!"

"Now that's a bit harsh, isn't it darling?" Jimin was enjoying the situation immensely.

"Jimin, don't." Taehyung warned his friend.

"Seulgi, please, this isn't what you think-" Ahreum ran out after the taller girl, the diner eerily quiet after the blowout.

"Jimin, you can find your way home yourself, right?" asked Taehyung, getting up to swipe his credit card at the counter. "I have to go."

Jimin nodded, his fingers lazily running through his silver hair. It was a wonder all the rings didn’t get caught in his hair.

"And Yuri - " Taehyung paused, his long fingers clenching around the plastic of the card - "It was nice meeting you, I guess."

"I think that went rather well, DI Choi" said Jimin, once they were the only two left at the table. "I was thoroughly entertained."

Yuri pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on. "My apologies for wasting your time, Mr. Park. Have a good rest of the day."

Once outside, she realised that Ahreum had left. Her mode of transportation had left. Without letting her know. She sighed and unlocked her phone, trying to figure out if it would be easier to walk back home or to the station.

"Were you abandoned as well?"

Yuri took a deep breath, preparing herself before facing Jimin once again.

"Friends these days aren't what they used to be."

"I don't know you, Mr. Park." Yuri crossed her arms and tilted her head to one side. "I have no preconceived notions, and I have no affiliations in this place. I am merely doing my job - trying to find out how Kang Eunwoo died. I don't really understand why you're trying your damned best to make things difficult for us. But let me tell you one thing- I'm not going to stop until I get to the truth."

Jimin seemed at a loss for words for the first time since she had met him.

"If you didn't have anything to do with Eunwoo's death, providing the blood sample should be nothing more than a formality for you. But by declining to assist us, you're pushing us into thinking you do have something to hide. I don't know about you, Mr. Park, but if I were involved in a murder investigation, I'd like my name cleared as soon as possible. All personal conflicts aside."

xxx

Back at the station, Yuri felt her head was going to explode. She hadn't eaten anything the entire day, her morning coffee forgotten in the chaos of the diner mission. On top of that, her desk had a large pile of papers waiting to be read.

"Goh dropped these off when he came in," said Jeon, noticing how she was staring at the pile. "Just procedural stuff - it's pretty much the same everywhere in the country. But each station requires anyone who joins to read through them and sign."

"Oh, I see -" Yuri stopped abruptly, her head spinning towards her partner. He had never managed to go two words without snapping at her, much less initiate a civil conversation. Why was he suddenly behaving like this? Was this some kind of trap? Was he baiting her?

Jeon seemed completely unaware of Yuri's internal dilemma, and continued typing on his work laptop until his phone pinged with a message. He quickly closed the laptop and walked towards the exit, already speaking to someone on the phone.

Yuri glared at his desk, trying to figure out what he was playing at. Gradually, her eyes landed on that wretched file. The 2nd Nov case file. The file that seemed to be Jeon's purpose of existence.

The 2nd November case that Jeongguk’s been overseeing - I want you to go over it. You might be able to help

Yoongi's words rang in her head. She began reaching over the partition that divided her desk from Jeon's, her hand was just a few centimeters from the file-

"Need some help?"

Yuri jumped in astonishment, Jeon's voice startling her into knocking her knee into the desk. She ignored the throbbing sensation, and focused on trying to explain herself.

"Need a pen to sign the papers. Mine's out of ink."

Jeon seemed to buy this reason, and picked up a pen from the large stack sitting inside a pale red mug on his desk.

"Anything else?" he asked, when her eyes kept flitting back to his desk.

"N-no." Yuri sat down hurriedly, sifting through the papers she hadn't looked over even once.

The next hour went by without much incident. Yuri had managed to grab a dodgy looking sandwich from the break room, and somehow finished it off in between large gulps of water. Never again was she leaving the house without eating.

Her texts to Ahreum had gone unanswered so far, which was hardly surprising. Yuri was pretty sure she was trying to explain things to Taehyung. It was best to give her some space at this point - she'd call and check on her later at night.

Jeon's phone rang again causing him to rush out once more, and from the fragments that Yuri managed to catch, it was Chief Inspector Goh on the other line.

"DI Choi?"

Yuri was stunned to see Park Jimin standing by her desk.

"How can I help you, Mr. Park?" she asked, after a moment's pause.

"I'm here to... cooperate."

"You're agreeing to the blood sample?" she asked, incredulously.

"Yes."

Yuri cursed under her breath. It was lunchtime, which meant that Seulgi and most of her team would be off.

Suho happened to be passing by at just that moment. "DI Choi, can I speak to you for a moment?"

"S-sure. Mr. Park, please wait here for a moment."

"You managed to convince Jimin to provide a blood sample?" asked Suho, lowering his voice.

"I guess so..."

"The labs are closed for lunch right now."

"I know." Yuri bit her lip in frustration. "I don't know how long he'll be willing to wait. It's already a miracle that he's showed up."

"I think I saw one of the junior lab technicians come back early," Suho wondered out loud. "Let me call him and ask."

Yuri waited as Suho dialed the number on his phone. In the meantime, Jeon had returned, his eyes catching sight of Jimin and temporarily halting him in his tracks.

What followed next was one of the most stressful 3 minutes of Yuri's life. Jeon was speaking to Jimin, when Suho informed her that the junior technician was available to draw a blood sample but would not be able to stay long enough for the sample to be handed over to either his senior or Seulgi herself. This was a definite issue because according to the station's protocol, junior lab technicians were not allowed to officially check in anything related to an ongoing investigation. It seemed like Yuri would have to wait at the lab until Seulgi or a senior technician came back, so that the sample would not be left alone until it had been properly entered into the system. The only problem was, Jeon appeared to be packing his stuff and Yuri's window to grab the 2nd Nov file was closing. This would've been the perfect moment, given that he was slightly distracted due to his conversation with Jimin. Suho seemed to sense the conflict raging within her, and offered to wait at the lab instead.

"Are you sure?" asked Yuri, her attention fixed on the file still on Jeon's desk.

"Yes," said Suho. "But I think you should tell Jimin that I'll be taking him to the lab instead of you. He'll probably take it better if it’s coming from you."

Yuri nodded and walked over to where the two men were having a conversation.

"- a bit annoyed that he didn't know I had been down here." Jimin chuckled and ran a hand through his hair.

"Why didn't you tell him, then?" asked Jeon, frowning. Yuri took this opportunity to swipe the file from his desk.

"Ah! DI Choi, I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me," said Jimin, his eyes falling on Yuri.

"Sorry for making you wait. Unfortunately, I have some urgent matters to attend to. DS Lim will take you to the lab and make sure everything is alright." She hid the file under her coat, and beckoned for Suho to come over. "Thank you once again for your cooperation, Mr. Park."

Jeon raised his eyebrow questioningly, but Yuri was out of the station before he could get a word in. She didn't have much time before he realised his precious file was missing.

Once inside her car, Yuri opened the file and read through every single inch of it. It was a grim case no doubt - a single mother had been stabbed to death by a homeless drunk, who was assumed to be the father of her three year old daughter. The girl had been missing since then, while the man awaited his trial in jail.

The pictures were quite awful. The small nook where she had been living told a rather tragic, almost pathetic, story. A young woman without many choices. Her pale, lifeless body only added to the sense of despair. Yuri wondered why Jeon was so obsessed with this case. Sure, it was terribly sad, but not unlike many other drunken brawls resulting in an unfortunate death. She wondered who was in charge of looking for the girl at this point. According to the file, no body had turned up in over a month. Which meant that she was either alive or her body would probably never be found. If the former was true, there was a high probability that this was a kidnapping. It didn't make much sense. Maybe there was something she was missing...

Staring at the picture of the woman's corpse, her eyes caught sight of a small detail - a ring. A ring which looked very familiar.

Sifting through the pictures, she found a close up of the ring in question. It had been lying near the body and it was assumed that the ring had fallen from her person at some point during the struggle.

Only...

Yuri took out her phone and quickly snapped a shot of the picture of the ring. This was absolutely against protocol, but she was desperate at this point.

It had been 20 minutes since she had run out of the station, and after making sure that Jeon had left, she made her way back in and dropped the file at his desk.

xxx

"Did you clear things up with Taehyung?" asked Yuri, sitting down at the table.

Ahreum picked up some pasta with her tongs and placed it on Yuri's plate. Tonight's dinner was in honor of Namjoon making it home before the clock struck midnight.

"Yeah, he's not one to hold grudges. He was just a little upset that I had lied to him."

"He looked quite betrayed when he realised that we had set them up like that."

"Don't worry about it." Ahreum shrugged while pouring wine into the glasses. "He's fine now."

"Tae can't stay mad at Ahreum for too long." The deep voice sounded familiar yet strange to Yuri, who had barely interacted with Ahreum's older brother when they had all been living in the same city.

"Namjoon!" she stood up, giving him a hug. He was still awkward with any kind of physical affection, though he had grown into his limbs and no longer resembled a gangly teenager. "Took me 4 days but I finally managed to get a glimpse of you."

"Ah," he said, pushing his black-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Sorry about that, Yuri. I had a major project due last night so I was basically living at the library doing research."

"Well, I hope it's not going to be as difficult to meet you from now on. You and Ahreum are the only people I know here."

"No new friends yet?" asked Namjoon, digging into the pasta. "Ahreum, this is delicious! We should've called Seokjin over. He always appreciates good food."

"Seokjin? As in the guy who runs The Moon's Post Office?" asked Yuri.

"The one and the same. How do you know him?" asked Namjoon.

"Happened to visit the bakery on my first day here. He's got quite a way with shortcrust pastry."

Namjoon laughed at this. "I'm sure he'll be happy to hear that. That place is Seokjin's pride."

"But back to the friends question," he continued, grabbing another helping of pasta. "Detective work not leaving you much time to socialize?"

"Sort of..."

"She's been having trouble with her new partner," piped up Ahreum, her eyes glinting mischievously. "Maybe you can help her out on that front."

"Oh? Who's your partner?"

"Jeon Jeongguk."

"You're not getting along with Jeongguk?!" Namjoon nearly spilled the wine on himself.

"Namjoon, please calm down. It's not that serious," said Ahreum, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry," her brother murmured, placing the glass back on the table. "It's just... I know you both. There's no reason for you to not get along."

"He's being a dick," supplied Ahreum, helpfully. "Not sure why. Doesn't sound like the guy you're always gushing about."

"I don't think 'gushing' is the right word... but I get your point. Has he said anything to you, Yuri?" asked Namjoon.

Yuri didn't hear what Namjoon had said. Her attention was fixed on her phone, specifically on an email from Seulgi. The blood on Eunwoo's sleeve was a match for the sample taken from Park Jimin earlier that day.

xxx

another chapter done!

[insanity-times-10]

zero

part one of the #1 Fan series

also posted on AO3

huge shoutout to my friend Ash who let me use their OC

“Hey there!” Jane said with a wave. “What’s your name?” The bright-haired teen stepped backwards, their place quickly filled by the screaming horde that was the Queendom. In a spur-of-the-moment decision, Jane decided to follow the shy fan.

Bad choice, Jane.

The fans swarmed around her, making it nearly impossible to move. Somehow, she managed to stagger through the throng and catch up with the teen.

“Hi,” Jane panted, completely out of breath. “Sorry about that, I didn’t mean to scare you. What’s your name?”

“I’m Zero, I’m... I’m a really big fan, Ms. Seymour.”

“I’ve noticed. You’re here about once a month, right?”

Zero laughed nervously. “Yeah. I didn’t know... I didn’t think you noticed things like that.”

“I do. We notice a lot more than people think we do.” Jane noticed Zero looking around anxiously, so she decided it was time for her to head back to the theater. “Hey, listen,” she said, “I’ve gotta head back inside, I think the others are looking for me. I’m on pretty much all the social media, though, so feel free to shoot me a message anytime!” She turned around and left with a wave, and to her surprise, Zero ran up behind her.

“Hey, uh, do you... do you think I could meet the other queens?” they asked. “I’m just... I-I’m such a big fan, it’s my dream to talk to all of you in person.”

Jane smiled. “Of course! You’ve been here one night a month since we opened. I think it’s time you finally met us.” Jane led Zero inside through the stage door and back to the dressing rooms. The two stopped first at the dressing room Jane shared with Cathy and Kat. Jane knocked on the door. “Everyone decent in there? We have a guest.”

Kat opened the door. She was wearing a sports bra and leggings, since she absolutely refused to put on her hoodie until she had to, and had obviously been reorganizing her makeup organizer. Cathy was still in costume, methodically taking off her makeup with a cleanser she constantly raved about, both online and to the queens.

“Heya, Janey,” Kat said. “We were worried you’d gotten a girlfriend that none of us knew about.”

Cathy nearly spat out the water she’d just taken a drink of. “That is untrue!” she shouted. “Don’t listen to this heretic, babes, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

“You haven’t got a need to worry, honey. I’m yours as long as you want me to be.”

Kat cleared her throat. “Hate to break up the cuteness, but didn’t you say something about a guest?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry! This is Zero... I’m sorry, what pronouns do you use?”

Zero, who had been picking at their nails, jumped at the question. “What?” they asked.

“She asked what pronouns you use, darling,” Cathy helped.

“Oh, okay. I, uh, I use they/them. And you can, um, you can call me Z if you want.”

“Alright, then, this is Z, they’ve been coming to our shows about once a month, and they really wanted to meet us,” Jane explained. Z gave a small wave.

“What do you think of the decorations?” Kat asked.

Zero looked around, taking in everything. They smiled. “I really like the flags,” they said. “It’s cool that you all have your own.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty neat. Someone sent them to us for pride month, and then we bought a few of our own that we use as blankets,” Kat explained.

“That’s neat!” Zero exclaimed. They turned to Jane. “Ms. Seymour-”

“Call me Jane,” she interrupted. “You can call us all by our first names, we’re not that formal.”

“Except Lina,” Cathy added. “You wait for permission to call her anything but Queen Catherine.”

Z snickered. “Queen Catherine?”

“Yep,” Kat said. “Her Royal Snobbiness refuses to give up her title.”

“But don’t tell her we called her that,” Cathy chimed in.

“She’ll have our heads,” Kat joked.

Zero nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Anyway, you were going to say something?” Jane prompted.

“I was gonna ask if we can go say hi to the others,” they replied.

“Of course! Are you okay going by yourself-”

“Could you come with me?” Z interrupted. “I’m just not- uh, I guess comfortable would be the word- introducing myself to people.”

“I’ll go with you!” Kat volunteered enthusiastically. “Well, if you’re okay with it, that is.”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Zero said. “I just don’t wanna go alone.”

“Yay!” Kat cheered, jumping out of her chair. She nearly put her arm around Z’s shoulder, but stopped herself. “Is it cool if I put my arm around you?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Thanks for asking, though.”

“Anytime, friend.” Kat draped her arm across them, and the two set off into the hallway. “Wanna bet Jane and Cath’ll be making out when we get back?”

Z flinched. They weren’t used to anyone being this open about being in a same-sex relationship. “Uhm… they might, I guess?” they ventured. “You know them better than I do.”

“Huh. I guess you’re right.” Kat shrugged. “Anyway, here we are. Go on in, I’ll be right behind you.”

Z stepped into the dressing room and was taken aback by all the bright colors and loud sounds. They couldn’t quite tell what was playing on whoever’s speaker was blaring music, but it didn’t sound like anything they’d heard before. Kat must’ve noticed the look of discomfort on Zero’s face, because she’d gone to do something with the promise of being right back. Just like that, the music’s volume lowered, and Z let out a sigh of relief. Kat pulled a chair up next to the costume rack in the middle of the room and climbed on top of it.

“Ladies!” she shouted, almost instantly quieting everyone down, save for the alternates, who were in the corner finishing up a rather vicious card game. “Ladies, this is Zero, Jane brought them in to meet everyone.” Z waved nervously.

Almost immediately, Anne was in Z’s face. Kat, of course, practically had to pry her off of them.

When Zero caught sight of Catalina, they quickly bowed and muttered, “Your Highness.”

“Oh, none of that here. Call me Lina. I don’t know what those two-” she looked warily at Kat- “told you, but you don’t need to call me Queen anything or Your Highness, anything of that sort, mijo.” Her eyes widened as the last word left her lips. “Oh my goodness, that was rather insensitive of me. It’s just… Spanish is so heavily gendered, and I’m not about to let go of my mother tongue-”

“Lina. It’s fine,” Z interrupted. “It’s actually nice that someone is willing to call me pet names, especially after what happened with my parents… let’s just say we’ve got a pretty strained relationship.”

“Oh, cariño, I’m sorry you had to deal with that,” Catalina comforted them. “I want you to know that we’re all here for you, and you can message us on social media anytime, even if it’s just something little that made you feel happy.”

————————

Z spent the next three hours perched on Catalina’s dressing room counter, finally excusing themself when they realized that they had an early shift the next day at Barnes & Noble.

Zero let themself into their apartment, taking off their shoes and tossing their keys into the little dish they kept by the door. They reeled for a second at the shock of taking off their platform shoes, but they quickly adjusted. They grabbed a cookie off of the countertop, a couple of those could serve as dinner. They tapped a quick hello on Ricky’s (their betta fish) bowl as they walked past on their way to the living room. Then, seating themself on the floor, they pulled out their phone and opened the photos app. There, at the beginning of their camera roll, was the selfie they’d taken that night with all the queens.

————————

“I really liked that Z kid. I hope we talk again soon,” Jane said.

Cathy hummed some form of a response, too intently focused on the back rub she was giving Jane. “You’re really tense tonight,” she observed. “Everything feel okay? Nothing’s sore?”

“I’m fine,” Jane replied, waving the question off.

“It’s your shoulders,” Cathy continued. “You’re taking enough time for yourself?”

“Probably not, but seriously, everything feels fine.”

Cathy stopped working the taut muscles in Jane’s shoulder. “Are you worried about anything? You’re seeming pretty off.”

“I told you, I’m fine. Can we just go to sleep?” Jane asked.

Cathy sighed. “Yeah. I guess we can.”

————————

“Chérie, stop overthinking this. They told you, it’s fine that you used the masculine form.”

Catalina stopped pacing long enough to give Anne a stern look. “Yes, that’s what they said, but is it what they meant?” she asked.

��Fair point,” Anne replied, “but you’re still giving it too much thought. Come to bed, we can talk it out in the morning. You’ll be able to think better after you get some rest.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Catalina said with a shrug. Anne patted her wife’s side of the bed, and Catalina climbed in without much hesitation. She gave Anne a kiss on the temple and lay down.

“Night night, mon amour,” Anne whispered.

“Buenas noches, querida,” Catalina replied. She lay there for about ten minutes, still wide awake. “Annie?” she whispered into the darkness. Anne grunted. “Oh, good, you’re still awake.”

“Awake being a loosely used term, yes,” Anne grumbled.

“I just wanted to say one more thing.”

“Then say it before I go to sleep.”

“I hope our baby grows up to be just like you.” Catalina smiled as she said this, hoping it was a good way to break the news to Anne.

Anne shot up in bed. “Our… our baby?” she managed to stutter out. “You’re pregnant?”

“Yeah. And I already talked to Lucy, I’m performing until I’m physically unable to.”

“That’s great.” Anne yawned, then laid down with her head on Catalina’s stomach. “I think I’m gonna stay like this,” she decided.

“It doesn’t hurt me, so as long as you’re comfortable I’m fine with it.”

The two fell asleep like that.

———————-

“Y’know, they mentioned our flags,” Kat said.

“Really?” Anna asked.

“Yep! And they just seemed pretty cool in general.”

Anna laughed, shaking her head. “You realize I was there, correct? I did meet them.”

“Oh, yeah! Sorry,” Kat apologized.

Anna finished putting on her pajamas and went to join Kat on the bed. “It’s alright, love. I’m glad you thought they were cool. Perhaps you can message them in the morning?”

“It might take me some looking,” Kat replied, “but I could probably find them. I might let them follow my private account as well.”

“Sounds like a plan. Bedtime now, alright?” Anna snuggled up in the covers and turned off the lamp. Kat curled up against her, earning a kiss on the head.

“Nighty-night, baby,” Kat said, already half asleep. Anna did not reply, only snored softly.

————————

Zero got up from the floor and stretched. They’d already been awake longer than they should’ve been. They went into their room and put on their pajamas, then went back into the kitchen and said goodnight to Ricky. They grabbed another cookie, their fourth for the night, and laid down in their bed. They turned their phone on and opened Instagram.

God only knows how long they’d be awake.

[genderfluid-chameleon]

ALSO #7 , #8 and #11 for Atom and Brim lol (probably should have just grouped these together OOPS)

Ask me about my OCs

#7: How would you describe your oc’s voice? Do they have an accent? Do you have any voice claims for them?

Oh man. Brim definitely has a young bubbly peppy voice. When I play them I’m just a tiny bit above my usual with a reasonable amount of extra energy. (I maybe even would call their voice childish, they just put their faith in everyone and it shows.)

Atom has.... ooof. I haven’t thought of this. Probably an average deepness for a cis guy, and a Northwestern accent because that’s what I am and that’s the setting. Atom is an interesting mix of extremely confident and extremely filled with anxiety (kinda like myself, whoops) so there are times that he can sound pretty condescending and times where his voice pitches because “wait this could be really bad let’s NOT.” When he’s really nervous he might stutter or repeat words too. It’s a text game but I’m definitely going to be saying things out loud a lot to get what I’m going for.

#8: Is your oc more likely to follow instructions exactly, throw them out and figure it out on their own, or make it all up? What are the results like?

Brim is someone who follows orders. They know they aren’t the smartest in the room, and they’ll trust others when they’re told to do something. HOWEVER. If it feels like they should be helping more, or elsewhere, they have been known to disobey orders to get back in the fight. On top of that, they are TERRIBLE at lying when it feels morally wrong, so sometimes if they’ve been told to lie they will give away some of not all of the information at their disposal. For lying they take the letter of the law and not the meaning behind it. (Shoutout to Brimstone trying to explain how tieflings age without admitting that the human “child” these deep gnomes adopted was ALSO that way, and an adult who can make her own decisions.)

As for Atom... it really has yet to be seen. I think he definitely knows how to take orders, and in a fight he might be more likely to follow them. But also he’s a rebellious 20-year-old who’s finally stepped out of his dad’s shadow. On top of that if you’re asking him to do something that he finds anxiety-inducing or terrifying... it’s going to be an uphill battle. Atom will probably eventually do the thing, but not without pushing.

... I just realized I don’t think this is what the question meant so two for the price of one!

Brim tries their best with instructions and steps but the big thembo probably misses something important and has to ask for help.

Than will follow the instructions of something until he’s like “pshh I can do this part better this way” and it usually works out well for him. Because if he’s confident he knows better than the instructions through his anxiety, he probably knows better!

#11: How competitive is your oc? Is every little task something that they can win, or are they just in competitions for the fun of it? Is there anyone they’re most competitive with?

Brimstone can get a little competitive if it feels someone’s taking over their “spot” in the team. Because of this, our temporary PC Eris made Brim feel like they had to be perfect, because she was a fellow Aasimar who could do the fighting well. Otherwise though... I really think they’re not really worried about it. Their confidence holds them up. Besides, why be competitive when you can be leading people through team building exercises?!?? ESPECIALLY this team which sorely needs it.

I don’t think Than is very competitive. Depending on how he’s feeling, either he’s pretty confident already or he’s nervous and feels like he’d lose. So like why bother either way right? However similar to Brim I think someone taking over his “thing” is going to make him pretty uncomfortable, probably leading to him trying to “show his worth.”