#this is specifically about my roommate who will constantly say things like

[astrangergivingthestrangewelcome]

I do not think evangelizing on the double standard of women being expected to wear makeup everyday to grown women is actually productive or respectful (provided they are not judging me for not wearing makeup), we can all make our own decisions on how to walk through this world, however, it is true that whenever a woman in my daily life equates making themselves decent and presentable with having a coat of natural makeup on, I do have to viscerally repress the urge to shake them by the shoulders and scream that they've been had.

[streaminn]

There’s something about the fact that personal boundaries exist to separate people from those who’d impede on one’s personal bubble, and yet for Wednesday Addams, because her boundaries are always clear, other’s feel bold enough to constantly cross them. Boring boys continue to ignore her clear intentions to be alone; trying new pathetic pickup lines that range from pedestrian to unintelligible. Fellow students interrupt her silent studies in the library to spark up a mundane conversation that go nowhere. Even some of the teachers try to rope the goth into some inane extra curricular with the promise of fun, even though she’s already participating in the required activities that she actually wants to do (fencing and bee keeping is enough). While Wednesday isn’t exactly yearning for the whole school to fear her (at least not too much) a healthy amount would be nice if it meant she’d have some peace and quiet without another person breaking the silence.

There’s an obvious exception though, personified in her bubbly roommate. Enid Sinclair has mastered the ability to somehow weave her way through Wednesday’s boundaries so effortlessly that it’s like a dance. The wolf so clearly wanted to wrap the raven in her arms since the moment they met, and yet she respected Wednesday’s wishes, only crossing the line after the two of them helped save the school. The goth even hugged back, and though she’ll never admit it, she wished the hug lasted longer. This isn’t even touching upon all the countless times that Wednesday has convieniently forgotten her aversion to touch when it comes her roommate. To be fair, Enid wouldn’t linger for long, and it was usually either Wednesday’s arms or shoulders, but the raven has harmed people for less, so there’s no denying that the wolf was special (though denial is a fickle thing anyways, especially according to a certain vampire).

Unfortunately, Wednesday was currently in a situation that didn’t involve her “only exception” as she found herself at the receiving end of a new student’s attempts at flirtation.

“Look, all I’m saying is that my ability to heal rivals everyone here,” says boring lizard boy whose name Wednesday didn’t even bother to hear. “I can even regrow limbs!”

Wednesday doesn’t even waste her energy rolling her brown eyes at this nobody, instead opting to just ask, “Why don’t you regrow them somewhere else, preferably far away from me.”

“Oh come on Addams, I know you’re into weird shit. You’re telling me you don’t have a single morbid thought about my abilities? ‘Cause let’s just say the healing helps with certain endurance based activities.”

“I hold no thoughts of you, for if I did, I’d risk lowering my IQ. Now leave.”

“Damn, can’t the savior of Nevermore throw this dog a bone? Not even a smile?”

His slimy fingers began to reach for one of the goth’s braids, but he soon found two of his fingers caught between a pair of scissors.

“Do not touch me, less we learn the extent of your abilities.”

The boy threw up his hands with a dopey grin. “Whatever you say Addams.”

Fed up with the social interaction, Wednesday began to make her way back to her shared dorm. Enid should be there, probably already painting Thing’s nails. Regrettably, this brief moment of thinking distracted Wednesday long enough to not notice the sleazy reptile once again reaching towards her. This time, he grabs her wrist, specifically the one holding the scissors.

It’s short lived however, because right as the raven was about to give this boy a sneak peak of Hell itself, she feels something splash against her face, followed by the shrieks of the idiot who dared touch her. Wednesday lifts her arm to see his freshly amputated hand still attached to her wrist. She touches her face and finds that some of his blood has indeed gotten on her. She finally looks to the source of the violence, finding her angry roommate with blood still dripping from her multicolored claws. The sight causes something to stir in Wednesday, not unlike the way she felt after hugging her bloody roommate for the first time.

“Don’t ever touch her,” growls Enid. “Don’t even look at her, or your eyes will be next.”

The lizard boy nods his head as if his life depended on it, before sheepishly asking, “Can I at least have my hand back?”

“Oh for sure!” With a smile on her face, Enid removed the hand from Wednesday’s wrist, and with a casual strength that only a werewolf could muster, threw it across school grounds so far it couldn’t be seen from where they were standing. “Go get it. Come on Wednesday, it’s almost your writing time.”

With a level of irony for the currently handless boy, Enid grabs Wednesday’s hand as she drags her away from the scene. All he can do is bleed and watch them disappear into the school.

As they walk the halls, Enid talks a mile a minute, with her actions now dawning on her. “I really just cut his hand off. Like, SLASH, off! It was like instinct, I wasn’t even thinking. I just saw him touch you, and I know you don’t like to be touched.”

“Enid.”

“Like I know you can fight your own battles, but part of being best friends is that you don’t have to do it alone anymore!”

“Enid.”

“I’m probably going to get into trouble aren’t I? I mean, he heals right? It’ll grow back, everything is fine. Plus, it was kind of self defense, or is it not ‘cause I was coming to your defense?”

“Enid.”

“Sorry, yes Wednesday?”

“While I agree that I could’ve handled it myself, your actions are appreciated, especially due to how vividly violent it was.”

The validation causes Enid to blush. “Aww, thanks Wednesday, anything for you.” The blonde smiles a big toothy grin, to which the goth replies with a small smile only meant for Enid. The two continue to their dorm, with a peculiar sight for anyone that dared to look in their direction: they were still holding hands.

Enid, realizing that her favorite sweater is covered in blood: awh man!! Now it's never going to wash out

Wednesday, already tugging her towards their dorm: I can help with that

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for watching a movie with my boyfriend in the apartment after my roommate went through a bad breakup? (🧌 so I can find it later)

My roommate (B, 19f) and I (19f) have been at each others throats for as long as we have lived together, but recently it got worse when her boyfriend (22m), M, was revealed to be not only a cheater but a predator who takes photos of women at his place of work. Before this incident, B and I had not spoken for month and she was overtly hostile - going as far as inviting over her boyfriend to spend the night when she knew I could not stand him.

When they broke up, she apologized for her behavior and asked for my friendship back. For as long as B and M have been together I have not liked him. On the night of my birthday she allowed him to spend the night without asking me, as they were both too drunk to drive when she brought up the question (we had previously discussed and agreed that all overnight guests should be cleared with whoever was home). i couldnt say no due to their state of intoxication. they proceeded to loudly have sex that could be heard in all the apartment. I asked he not spend the night after that, but was fine with day visits. She constantly asked, so I agreed on the condition that communal spaces weren’t violated.

Recently she and him broke up, after she found out that he was cheating in a variety of ways and taking photos of women and of her while he was working and they first met (they were coworkers, she was underage at the time). She knew he was a sex addict, but had not thought it would lead to him cheating. She was devastated, understandably, and banned men from the apartment for a while and I obliged her for a few weeks. I now have a boyfriend (19 m) who comes over to watch movies and hang out, never violating common areas or spending the night if she is over. She recently got back together with him and has kept the banning of all men from the apartment yet spends nights at Ms place. If my boyfriend and I are watching a movie in the common room, she will fake cry in the kitchen or slam doors for the entirety of the film before going to her exes house or asking us to leave the apartment. If my boyfriend and I are sitting in the kitchen, she will slam cabinets and fake cry. It’s endless.

She recently left for a trip without informing me and when I saw she was back in the state I gave her a heads up about the fact that my boyfriend was going to stay over, as she had not told me to expect her back. She accused me of violating her boundaries and when I mentioned the past violation of mine she told me that she was currently going through a tough time in her life. I’ve asked her and she said there was nothing against my boyfriend specifically it’s all men. She moves out in a few months but at this point she’s stealing things, moving my stuff and going into my room when I’m not home.

Am I the asshole for continuing to have him over and not giving in to her behavior and demands?

[lavenderfeminist]

Do you think Sexual Orientation OCD is a real thing, or are people who claim to have it and develop "false attraction" because of it bisexuals in denial?

I’m not a psychologist or person with OCD, so I don’t have any kind of experience to make a call on that. But I can say it makes sense to me that in a society where being same-sex attracted is othered/stigmatized/worse (which to a a certain extent will always be true, since gay people make up a tiny percentage of the population) there would be

A) Straight people with a deep, unevidenced fear of Being the Other or of suffering the way gay people have, spurred on by mental illness and a disorder that is know for intrusive, unwanted thoughts.

B) Gay people with deep, unevidenced paranoia that they are not exclusively homosexual (just like every aspect of society is constantly telling them) and that all of the hardship they have faced as a result of this was unnecessary, spurred on by mental illness and a disorder that is known for intrusive, unwanted thoughts.

My college roommate had OCD, and struggled in particular with intrusive thoughts. Unlike what Tiktok pop psych would have you believe, intrusive thoughts are NEVER things you want to do; that’s what makes them intrusive. You can’t “give in to the intrusive thoughts”; they are things that are horrifying, repulsive, and shameful to you, that you never want anybody to know about because you are afraid of what they will think their existence says about you. They are not evidence of what someone truly wants; they are evidence of debilitating mental illness. There is plenty of evidence that people can have intrusive thoughts related to unwanted sexual behavior, and sexual behavior that is disgusting and repulsive specifically *because* it is outside of the realm of your sexuality is inevitably a part of that for some people.

TLDR: Yes, I think sexual orientation OCD is a real thing, if rare, and I don’t think it’s a productive use of my time to target or question people suffering from extreme mental illness when there are an abundance of mentally healthy people shitting all over the LGB community as it is.

[simphornies]

Hi lovely! Can you please do a one with a platonic angel dust X reader where the reader has a contract with Vox and the two of them bond over their shitty “bosses?” And the reader works as Vox’s bodyguard! I think it’d be so cute if they walk to vee tower together whenever their bosses call them in and never leave without each other! I’d imagine at first Angel soundly really care much for the reader, but after he joins the hotel they become great friends!

A/N: This one isn't really long so I'm sorry! I did my best 🥲 Writing a platonic story was harder for me than I thought </3

Word count: 831

Platonic! Angel Dust x Reader

You worked at VoxTek under Vox and you absolutely hate every second of it. You get the shorter end of the stick considering his hypnotism doesn’t work on you so you saw him for who he really was. You stayed at the hotel after finding a loophole in your contract with Vox. Every single day was more so annoying than anything. Considering you’re his bodyguard, you would have to go everywhere with him and catching up with Vox, the overlord that can zap into any electric device and teleport away, wasn’t really the easiest thing to do. You looked forward to getting out of work and hanging out with the hotel staff everyday.

One specific day, Vox decided to meet up with Valentino for the day during one of his shoots. There you met the famous Angel Dust. You two clicked as soon as you met, constantly talking about your contracts together and finding loopholes. You didn’t fail to notice how he held himself back from you a lot of the time, not really opening up and keeping up a mask. So you decided to try and get him into the hotel.

“Angel!” You called out to him. He just finished his shift, looking more tired than usual. “Rough shoot?”

He laughed and elbowed you, “Yeah. Rough.”

You rolled your eyes and laughed with him. “Okay that one was on me.” The two of you started walking home, chatting about your day.

“Hey so. I’d like to say we’ve been…y’know…friends for a while but I don’t even know where you stay.” You looked at him, “I’d wanna come over for drinks some time.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, “Ah. I don’t know…I live with Valentino.”

You choked on your own spit, “You live with him? Where have you been going every time we get off of work?”

“To the bar. Clubs.” He shrugged, “Anywhere with alcohol and drugs, honestly. I hate living with him so staying away for as long as possible is ideal.”

“You know…” You began, “I stay at the Hazbin Hotel. It’s really not that bad.”

“Y/N where are you goin’ with this?” He raised an eyebrow at you.

“You could crash with us, y’know?” You suggested. He was about to protest against it but you quickly stopped him. “Think about it! We get to be roommates, they have a bar and we can drink together and we get to go to work together!”

You shook his arm, “C’mon Angel! Pleaseeee?” You whined, giving him the best puppy dog eyes you could.

“I…I don’t know. Val wouldn’t be too happy with that.”

“Fuck Val. Fuck Vox. Fuck the Vees in general!” You exclaimed, “It’d be nice to have you around. You can’t have drugs there though.”

He groaned, “What? No drugs?” He whined, “Where’s the fun in that?”

“You trust me, don’t you? It’ll be plenty of fun. They got a bartender that I think is just your type.” You winked, elbowing his side.

“Hmmm…I don’t know, Y/N.”

“Angel I will get on my knees in the middle of the sidewalk and start screaming, crying, sobbing and begging.” You threatened him. He looked at you dumbfounded but the look of determination was clear in your eyes.

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair, “Ah fuck it. Sure. Take me to this hotel. I don’t got stuff like that anyways.”

You squealed in excitement, practically dragging him to the hotel. As soon as Angel got there, it didn’t take long for him to get used to the place. He definitely liked Husk, the bartender you mentioned earlier, as soon as he saw him.

You helped Angel practically move out a box of things he had at Valentino’s along with his pet, Fat Nuggets. It was fairly easy sneaking around the blind moth for you. After moving him into the hotel, you took notice of him getting happier by the day.

He still had to work with Valentino as you did with Vox. It wasn’t long for you and him to grow closer everyday. So much so that you two had a system going on in the morning.

Your daily routine with Angel would be getting up and getting ready at the same time, him helping you with your makeup for the day and the both of you going to work. Every shift sucked but it sucked a lot less ever since you two stayed together.

Angel confided in you more and you’d do the same. You would help him stay sober, drug wise. Every now and then the two of you would go out with Cherri Bomb, causing mayhem in the city and fighting in turf wars.

Hell wasn’t easy but with your new best friend by your side and a surprisingly good support system at the hotel, everyday gets easier.

You just wished you could get the both of you out of the contracts that bind you to the Vees one day.

[animejeice]

Had a second thought i need to gush about:

Giant and tiny roommates where the giant has a massive crush on the tiny

It just starts with the tiny finding this out and being scared but the giant is just “LET’S FUCKING GOOOOO!”

The giant constantly teases and helps the tiny such as:

“You could sleep on your tiny bed made of cotton or whatever, or you could sleep on my warm and soft chest, while a giant blanket of even more warmth lays over you and you succumb to the sounds of my heartbeat, so you may sleep in absolute peace”

And the tiny is just constantly rethinking this whole “giants are monsters” mentality they had since they were young.

It even gets to the point when the giant isn’t doting on them they feel worried and even ask about their unusual behaviors

“Hey, you passed by me 3 times today without stroking my hair and calling me your ‘cute baby angel’” - tiny

“Aww, did you miss me not giving you all my love and affection?” - giant

“W-what no i just…” - tiny

“You don’t have to be so embarrassed my cute baby angel, i’ll dote on you all you like, all you gotta do is ask” - giant

And the giant picks them up and starts stroking their hair.

And as time goes on they begin to grow more and more close as the giant teases them over other things with this one specific thing that absolutely destroys the tiny’s mind:

“Hey I just needed to grab something so I can- OH MY GOD I’M SORRY I DIDN’T MEAN TO WALK IN ON YOU CHANGING” - tiny

“Aww and why’s that, don’t tell me you couldn’t wait to ask me on a date and wanted the full view of my body” - giant

“N-N-N-N-NO I’M SERIOUS, IT WAS AN HONEST MISTAKE AND I PROMISE IT WON’T HAPPEN AGAIN” - tiny

The giant grabs the tiny who’s trying their best to not look at them

“Really, for someone who claims to have made a simple mistake, you really seem to enjoy the view of my body, and don’t try to tell me you aren’t, that blush of yours says otherwise” - giant

“O-O-OKAY OKAY YES I THINK YOU’RE INCREDIBLY ATTRACTIVE AND HOT. I’M JUST SCARED YOU’RE MAD AND I DON’T WANT TO BE IN TROUBLE” - tiny

“Aww now why would my cute baby angel be in trouble, now if you were anyone else you’d be in massive trouble, but you aren’t anybody else, and as such you have nothing to worry about. Besides, for all the hard work you’ve been doing I think you deserve a reward, and I think I have a great reward for you. Starting today you get to explore and touch my body you find “attractive and hot” as much as you like.” - giant

The giant flops onto their bed and drops the tiny onto their chest

“May my body be your sanctum, and i hope you enjoy every minute of it” - giant

The tiny then passes out due to overwhelming flustered feeling they have.

After a while then the giant confesses their feelings where the tiny then returns it saying

“D-despite all my fears and pushing you away, you still love me? God how did i get so lucky”

They then start to date and the giant keeps up on their doting and teasing as the begin to love each other more and more.

[yarugawitch]

Nnoitra/reader: Non-specific SFW and NSFW headcanons

Copied from my main acc. Was originally a request. As I said in the original post I think I was a bit dry because imo the dynamic with him heavily depends on the circumstances so you can always leave a request for something more specific or for AU headcanons :3c

>Masterpost

SFW:

He'd deny having any feelings even to himself but he'd be so terribly obnoxious with it that it's literally impossible not to notice. He's too clingy, too possessive, too annoying, too prone to jealousy and likes to get in your face both literally and figuratively. There's no such thing as personal space for this man I fear. Grabbing you by the wrists? Yes. Tugging at your ears? Yeah. Leaning closer to grab you by the face or annoyingly lick it if you're not paying attention? Sure

He's in a constant battle with himself and gives mixed messages all the time. At some point Nnoitra can hint at something or make a borderline romantic/sexual comment but once you confront him or make your own move he'd just hit you with his usual "What the hell are you saying?!" bs. The gaslighting is so real. Nnoitra is like an aggressive cat that yearns for affection with this one. He keeps you at arm's length and even though it's obvious he wants something - trying to get close when he's not ready will result in a nasty scratch

Calling someone he doesn't hate by their name is very intimate to him. So usually it's just "hey you", "idiot", "woman", "human", "shinigami", "quincy", etc.

Nnoitra suffers from cute aggression. There's nothing he'd actually consider cute in this situation of course but if something you did made him feel a little too much or he just happened to be next to you for too long his first immediate response is to want to squash you, break one of your limbs or bite a chunk out of you. Both because he can't deal with his own emotions and because "how fucking dare you"

Both him and Jaegerjaquez are very sensitive to smell and to Nnoitra your scent is very calming. I don't think he's desperate enough to constantly follow you and sniff you lmao but he's definitely stealing something that belongs to you for later. If you're fortunate/unfortunate enough to have the fifth Espada as your roommate and you're away for too long he will rummage through your closet to make a nest out of your clothing or occupy your pillow

The way he sleeps in front of you and whether he does or not in general is very telling. Imo he's a very light and restless sleeper. Constantly on his toes even in his slumber. Eons in Hueco Mundo can do things to you. So if he doesn't take fetal position to hide his stomach with you, won't literally jump up at the slightest of sounds and naps in your presence sometimes - congrats

I think he'd confess only if the situation is so dire he'd rather die than not do this. Like for example if you're having a huge fight and you're so close to leaving he's almost shaking and ripping his hair out out of stress which doesn't happen a lot. Or if there's someone showing interest in you and they're very much successful at making you happy. Then it's a question of defending what he thinks is his even though he won't admit it. Would he actually try to kill the other person? I mean it depends really but if it's Grimmjow or Szayel then fucking sure. Any day. Anyone else is not that big of a competition. Even Ulquiorra. "I mean have you seen him? What a fucking nuisance. He makes me sick. As if he has a chance with anyone at all"

Speaking of which - would brag in front of you all the time

Once you're together he'll never leave and will always make sure others know you're taken. Well not at first of course but still

NSFW (heavily afab leaning)

Tbh I too can't imagine him as an aggressive alpha-dom-top (tm) if he actually has any feelings for the person. So a service top or a damn bottom it is

The worst size kink ever. He may constantly talk shit about people who are weaker, smaller or frailer than him but once feelings are involved he's aroused by the thought all of a sudden. I think his fingers are not the only thing that is unusually long so not fitting all the way in is not a problem for him - it's even better in fact

As fascinating as the thought of penetration may be to him I think foreplay is his favorite part. Mostly because making you squirm is fun but also because only here he can actually assert domination. After that he's just too soft

I don't care what anyone says this man is a MUNCH

So so painfully slow sometimes. If he's on top he would just stop to tease and watch your reaction. Other than that making the process as long as possible is one of his goals. It's not like he has no stamina - he has a lot of it actually but during sex he can be as intimate and as close to you as he wants to be because under normal circumstances he can't afford to put it into words without having to grab himself by the throat

Talks a lot. It's not exactly dirty talk (I don't like it I'm very sorry babes) but he loves saying nasty things and would comment on everything that is going on. Otherwise he's nervous

I'm convinced all of the arrancars must be infertile since they don't reproduce this way so. He likes finishing inside. He won't have it any other way. It's special to him because how are you even letting him do something like this? but he also shows affection this way

The more vocal his partner is the better. Everyone must know

I mentioned that he loves your scent before so yeahhh. I hope you don't mind stains on your clothes

[elliott-the-creature]

thought I’d make a post about my plurality that’s more comprehensive (in terms of our origins and presentation) and less cluttered with our headmates and random stuff like that. (warning: this will still be a pretty long post (also anything marked in blue is stuff added after the original upload))

we use a mix of singular and plural words to describe us (I/me/my versus we/us/our), and aren’t super picky about which you choose to use. we’re pretty much all nonhuman in some way, so please call us things like creatures, critters, beings, folks, etc (as opposed to humans (saying person/people is fine though)). in terms of what words you can use for us, you can just say system, collective, plural, chat, friends, group, or roommates. we all collectively like they/them, and you can just use the host’s name when talking to us. we also don’t identify at all with the body we are currently inhabiting, so we will sometimes say “the/this body/the/this body’s ___” instead of “my body/my ___”.

we weren’t exactly sure of our origins in the beginning (as we were still learning about our plurality and constantly thought we were faking or not quite legit), but we’ve found some terms that match our origins pretty well! we’re mixed origin nontraumagenic, specifically endogenic and cathartigenic. we also think that our headmates were formed through me giving a name and vibe to different personalities, interests, or identities of mine (so they’re basically the personification of different parts of me)—and then woops, they gained sentience (if there’s a specific word for that, then feel free to tell us).

in terms of presentation, we’re a proxy/specutien (also blurian) systemflux system that experiences frequent moments of some/all of my headmates going “offline” as I call it (basically where I lose contact with them or they go dormant for a period of time). at times, I can’t contact any of my headmates (this usually comes from me being really stressed or preoccupied with something), but these moments don’t last for long. we don’t experience full on switches (due to us being a specutien system), but we do experience co-fronting and blurring. our collective is also really weird because we don’t have a defined headspace (or any kind of shared space where we all hang out and interact for that matter), and everyone sounds like me (I can usually tell who’s who based on their speech patterns or their vibe though).

in terms of a metaphor, think of some kind of streaming site (like twitch). there’s a streamer doing something live (for us, we most often like comparing our life to a video game, so just pretend the streamer is playing a video game of sorts), and there are people who like watching them. there are some viewers who are diehard fans of this person, so they’re constantly watching their content and interacting with the streamer. on the other paw, there’s some people who watch the stream but don’t choose to chat. or sometimes, they’ll be watching the stream, but they have to leave and don’t end up coming back for a while. these viewers would be my headmates. they can interact with the streamer (aka me, the host), but they can’t control the game the streamer is playing (although they can influence what the streamer chooses to do). but sometimes, the streamer has a particularly slow day, and nobody shows up to the stream. this is how I feel sometimes when I can’t sense any of my headmates (which makes me feel like a singlet at times).

[stardusted-bookworm]

Wednesday was…puzzled to say the least. The object of her confusion was not one of her expertise. But… it was one of her— Wednesday shuddered. To ask that woman for help…the idea itself was torture, and not the good kind.

If there was one thing that Wednesday loathed more than asking for advice, it was not knowing. So she swallowed her pride and did the one thing she'd never done since she came to Nevermore: she called her mother.

Of course, her mother wasn't alone. No, as expected, the crystal ball revealed her mother to be devouring her father's face.

Wednesday rolled her eyes. "Mother, stop trying to consume Father. I have matters to discuss with you."

Morticia Addams glanced sideways, mouth still connected to Gomez. When she saw Wednesday, however, that changed.

"Oh, Gomez, look! Our little rain cloud has phoned home." Her mother sounded thrilled to see her, if not a little surprised. It was vomit-inducing.

"Mother, I do not wish to engage in pleasantries. I have concerns most pressing, and unfortunately, you seem to be the only one who might have the answers." She raised an eyebrow. "Was your statement that I would be able to ask you for advice simply a lie?"

Morticia's eyes seemed to sparkle. "No, dear, of course not! What would you like to ask?"

Wednesday's eyes darted to her father. "Father, I would like to discuss this with Mother privately."

Gomez appeared shocked. What a useless emotion. "Of course, Wednesday. Whatever you desire." He kissed his wife for longer than Wednesday would have liked but eventually faded out of the view of the ball.

Wednesday focused on her mother with serious intent. "I know you will just tell him later, but I did not wish to talk about this in front of him. It's embarrassing."

Morticia cocked an eyebrow, surprised at her admission of embarrassment no doubt. "What exactly are we discussing, my little viper?"

Wednesday looked around, making sure no one else was listening. Enid was having a girls' night with Yoko and wasn't in the room. This caused something to stab at what Wednesday assumed was her heart. She didn't know what it was, and it bothered her.

She turned back to Morticia. "Mother, I have a question…for research purposes."

"Okay?"

"How do you know if someone likes you? In a more-than-a-friend way?" Wednesday full body cringed after she finished her sentence.

If it was possible, Morticia's eyebrow shot up even higher. "Oh? What could possibly cause you to research this?"

Heat shot up her neck. She hoped it was a symptom of a fatal disease.

"Someone I know has a roommate who enjoys physical touch, like hugs. This person I know does not like physical touch, but recently, they haven't minded touch from this person specifically. In fact, one could even say—" Wednesday shuddered— "that they were beginning to enjoy this affection."

Morticia looked at her with a knowing smile. "Does…this person you know…feel their heart begin to speed up as if suffering from a cardiac condition?"

"Why, yes. How did you know?"

"Mother's intuition. Does this person you know feel like they want to be around this person more and more, constantly longing for that person's attention and company?"

For the first time in a very long while, Wednesday found herself squirming under her mother's gaze. "Yes…" she said hesitantly.

Morticia smiled. "Then, I would say you like Enid as more than a friend, but that truly is up to you to decide, darling."

"I never said—"

"You didn't have to." Her mother's eyes sparkled with barely hidden amusement. "A mother always knows."

Wednesday was forced into silence. She couldn't deny her mother's claim.

"For the record," Morticia continued, "I think Enid is a lovely girl and would make a wonderful partner if that's what you decided you wanted."

"Thank you, Mother, for that valuable insight, but it seems our connection is growing turbulent. Goodbye," and she abruptly severed the call.

Wednesday placed her hands flat on the desk, breathing harshly through her nose. That was not the result she had wanted but somehow knew it was the one she was going to get.

She sat up straight and without turning around said, "Are you going to stay outside the door all night, Enid."

There was a moment of silence before the door to their room slowly opened, revealing a sheepish looking Enid.

"How much of that did you hear?" Wednesday's eyes narrowed as she stood.

"None of it!" her roommate replied quickly. Too quickly.

Wednesday fixed her with a deadpan look.

The werewolf looked down. "All of it…"

There it was. Wednesday's worst fear confirmed. But she did not deflect like she normally did.

"And? What is your opinion on the matter?"

Enid looked up again, eyes sparkling with barely contained excitement. "Oh, Wednesday!"

She crossed the room in a few strides until she had Wednesday's hands in her own. "I like you as more than a friend, too!"

Wednesday found she didn't want to immediately pull away from Enid's warmth. How peculiar.

"Then it's settled. We are more than friends."

Enid rolled her eyes. "Emotions aren't a transaction, silly."

She kissed Wednesday's cheek. The goth's eyes went wide in shock. She pulled away from Enid.

"Don't push your luck."

But the pastel girl's eyes just sparkled in amusement. "Don't worry. You'll warm up to it."

And against all odds…Wednesday found she didn't much mind that idea.

[bulbabutt]

say what you will about bay april (and trust me, megan fox deserves so much better) at least she's proactive about looking into things and does things without the boys-hell she's the reason they're even alive in the first place, she saved splinter and the turts as a kid

doesn't erase vernon and mikey being constantly horny on main for her or that weird technique they force her to do to get info out of stockman in oots's opening segments but still, give her credit, she's strong-willed and has a sense of justice and tries to do what's right

hmmmmmmm ok. theres a lot to say about bayverse april. and i specifically avoided talking about movie aprils cuz it was going to get repetitive and long (like 1990 april is very similar to 87 and 07 april is basically 03 april)

but with bayverse, you're right, she is the central character in that movie who drives the plot. but thats because of the megan fox of it all, being that shes the biggest star there and also because bay had an obsession with her (to her detriment bad vibes all over the fucking place holy shit leave this woman alone) we're still framing aprils ass in the shot, still being creepy about her, despite the fact this movie is trying to be from her perspective (for more info on that aspect i think you just gotta watch lindsay ellis' "the framing of megan fox" video about transformers, because its the same shit here)

and just because its like 87 april (because this movie is pandering to 87 fans) doesnt mean theyre really add anything or even understand the concept of what makes 87 april good in the first place. like i said in my post about 87 april, what makes her great is that the turtles fall into her story, and that we are centred on the news room politics of it all. the human world the turtles interact with is her life.

(this got kinda long so its under a cut)

in this movie, we change the misogynistic boss burne thompson into: whoopi goldburgs burnadette thompson. which. hm, color and gender blind casting for burne thompson is. a way to do it i guess. (i do know whoopi is in this movie because she wanted to be in a turtles movie, no disrespect there) but it removes that core element of reporter april fighting her shitty boss. in this she's now just a regular reporter working at a normal news station, but also we're still giving her the girly aerobics story. so, who's decided that if her boss is a black woman? thats kind of fundamentally changing the implications of why shes stuck doing that job, its no longer because shes the woman reporter, and is now just because thats what shes been assigned. now its not her fighting sexism, its her just not wanting to do her job. a shitty one, but its no longer because of a sexist work place.

and then her story of being a reporter is she gets FIRED for being a BAD reporter, because shes crazily rambling about turtles to her boss with no real sources. which...87 april didnt do that, her point wasnt to find the turtles, it was to use her job to help them. the turtles are the secret, not the story. for a movie that likes pandering to 87 and nothing else, they missed this concept entirely

(side note that isnt important, when shes rambling to the roommate about them.... this movie panders enough to 87, why is the roommate not just named irma. shes only in that scene. seriously, it should have just been irma.)

and then. the vernon fenwick of it all........ why the fuck. did you do this. why make him the only character who believes her? oh sorry, not even believes her, simply THINKS SHES HOT. SO GOES ALONG WITH IT. i know they wanted to put casey jones in this movie, but then went NOOO that would be SILLY if the guy hanging out with her is casey (we want to save him for the seqeul) so lets make it another reporter. uh vernon. hes from the original! and thus we change vernon from being the rival reporter who hates her because shes a woman whos better at his job than him, into just: her creepy co reporter who has a crush on her. and since he's the co star here, she has to not tell him off for his bad behaviour. maybe he'll even get a date out of it!

(again, if she needed a sidekick, irma is right there, you put the other two here, why not irma)

and the choice to make her a part of the turtles origin story is, in my perspective, very much like my issue with 12 april's destined to be part of the story thing. shes part of this story because her dad created the turtles. yes, she saved the turtles and splinter, but its less of her own choice in the matter, its because she was the daughter of the man who made them. its the opposite of what i think makes her a good character in the franchise, someone who is hunting for a story and gets in too deep, and happens to be near enough by the turtles that they get her out.

like lets compare her to the april closest to her, 1990 april. thats an april who gets into the plot via going hunting for a story on her own. there's some kind of gang up to no good and she wants to get to the bottom of it. she does get to the bottom of it all on her own, she learns via interviewing immigrants that the foot is the organization behind it. shes doing something no one wants her to do, shes going against what her boss, and what cops think she should be doing, and the foot literally try to kill her because SHE is hunting for THEM. she ends up in turtle plot because raphael HAPPENS to be around when the foot find her. its HER story. the foot is after HER. the turtles in that movie end up losing splinter and then fighting the foot BECAUSE april was looking for them. THATS what makes her have agency in the story.

i do think a lot of you guys are missing my point here though (no offence!) so let me try to explain it better.

its not just about if we see april be a self sufficient character who's central to the plot, or even what her personality is like, its whether she exists in a real way outside of the men around her. its if her choices are important to the story. she doesnt need to have saved the turtles, know how to fight, kicked the shredder, or have been right about whatever story is going on. the question is: is she in the story because she did something on her own to get to it? is she a character who matters without the men in her life? can she stand on her own? do you care about her life? what are her aspirations, how is she trying to achieve them?

based on all that, i think 2014 april is in fact the weakest april. they're only making her seem like 1987 april because, and i dont know if ive said this anywhere yet, men who watched 87 when they were kids think shes hot. that is the only value a lot of people have placed on her. thats her legacy to a lot of people. its fucked up, and this movie doesnt do anything to dissuade you from thinking that.

sorry to go off on your ask, but bayverse (specifically the first one) really got no aspect of any tmnt thing correct. not april, not shredder, not splinter, not casey, and not the aspect of how these turtles are even ninja (i think everyone involved shouldn't be allowed to make another piece of media for putting that fucking ninjitsu book in the fucking sewer)

[nintendo-666]

Alright so here's the drama! This was the best way I could think to do it.

@moonlightnova @loveless-nameless-graceless-two

Other people who might get a kick out of it/I want to tell @kannibalkaiii @isaacclarkex-art @toadstooltyrant @this-ken-is-babygirl @xdia-morphin-e

Anyone else, feel free to read! I feel like I'm in a romcom!

Okay! I want to start this off by saying that I am doing fine in this situation. This story involves someone I've been starting to see less and less, and have been looking for a reason to break up with for a while. I'll call them Stack (they/he)

Yesterday, I got a message from someone relatively distant in my life, who we'll call Plushie(they/them). They wanted to discuss someone we mutually know. Totally random, but okay. The person in question turns out to be someone I've been casually dating since February.

Stack and plushie have been hooking up (nbd, major poly situation) but recently stack did something sexually without permission that triggered plushie. Plushie reached out to me to see if I thought stack was a trustworthy person. They were told that I was JUST A FRIEND. And one he had JUST MET IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS. Not someone stack has been following around for 8 whole months, frequently proclaiming undying love to. Stack, as a condition of our relationship, tells me about "all" of their other partners and hookups, but I haven't heard of plushie once. Plushie also brought up ~another~ name I've never heard.

So this of course lead to us discovering a massive web of lies. Stack currently has covid. Sent me pictures of the positive test. But specifically told plushie (immunocompromised, btw) that they only had a sinus infection. They also told plushie that they were single. But as far as I'm aware, stack has 4 partners including myself. Stack is constantly telling me how badly they want to raise a child with me, but told plushie that they're getting a vasectomy in a couple weeks. Stack told plushie that they're "saving the last season of wwdits so that they can watch together". Stack has fully already watched it with me. Stack claims to me that they use condoms with everyone else. Unsurprisngly, not the case. And then there's this whole roommate debacle where stack moved a much younger ex into their apartment, prayed on the power dynamic, and swore up and down that they two weren't hooking up. Also bullshit. During our 5 hour phone call, plushie and I kept finding more and more things stack has lied about. Things that don't make sense to lie about. We found explanations for times that he acted suspicious about things. Like when he was complaining about being low on money, but completely clammed up when plushie asked why. The answer is because stack had just taken one of their partners to a fancy hotel I recommended for their birthday. Which plushie couldn't know because, DESPITE THEM ALSO BEING POLY, stack hid all of their relationships from them.

Bizarre. The entire situation is fucking bizarre. All last night was spent scratching our heads and connecting dots. But it all makes sense. Stack has, in one way or another, sexually assaulted both of us and then made it about them and their depression. That we're the ones being mean and overreacting. Stack is incredibly manipulative and self centered. And a bad, yet seemingly compulsive liar. And now, they've been caught.

Anyways I know that was a lot and I feel like I said very little. Honestly, my brain is still reeling from the situation, and I'm feeling a little fried. But trust me when I say that we pieced together a LOT of lies. The next step is to figure out the funniest way to break up with them, with our new information. We're open to suggestions!

[stuckwithmys30lf]

Twelve years ago today on my 18th birthday, I opened a gift from my dad. Now, on the dawn of my 30th birthday, I couldn't tell you what the gift was. Dad might have been wearing a busy shirt and cargo shorts - traditional fatherly PNW garb. He probably pulled his pocket knife out to help me slice a few presents from the colorful wrapping paper my baby brother, just a year old, scribbled together. I know this is how it likely went, but time has created a canyon between then and now and the memory is fuzzy.

By this point, my family had imparted a very important rule in receiving gifts. When there is a card, you open it first. My parents, who were never together as long as I have been alive and disagreed on almost everything, still agreed on this. This cardinal law is one I still hold to a high regard specifically because the one from my dad is what I remember most on this particular birthday.

Every blank space my dad could find had been scribbled upon with his scratchy, small print. I imagined him in his office with a felt fine tip pen at hand, gushing over all the fatherly wisdom he wanted to impart on his only daughter, just now becoming an adult. Along with 17 other tips to keep on my mind as I ushered in this new phase, an 18th:

"Learn to love yourself, munchkin. At the end of the day, you are stuck with yourself."

At the time I felt this tip was redundant. Learn to love myself? I pondered on it. I already love myself. I didn't believe it, though. Through school, while bullies hurled insults about my body, my appearance, and my demeanor, I provided retorts that were drenched in faux positivity. I put on the performance of a lifetime, acting as though being constantly perceived in such a negative light was normal and I was handling it with grace. I was fully aware of my disingenuous nature and everyone around me felt it, too. But I felt as though if I faked it long enough, the positive affirmations I echoed about my body and my choices would start to feel real.

I'll tell you right now, it did not feel real yet when my high school boyfriend broke up with me and slept with our roommate that night when I was just 19. It didn't feel real when my next boyfriend cheated on me with my friend, or when I got fired from my first real job months later at 22. Not when another boy broke my heart at 24 by saying he didn't see a future with me because I was too emotional. Not even when that same boy tried running away to a cabin in the woods at the start of the pandemic years later, only to cancel days before and never talk to me again. Certainly not with the flings in between.

It didn't feel real when I said "I do" to a man I forced myself to love at 28, when I started to make myself smaller to make him feel bigger, or when I finally said "I can't have a child with someone like you." It didn't come to fruition until just before I asked my ex husband for a divorce just 10 months after the nuptials, at 29.

Not until I realized that I don't think there's anything a partner could ever offer me that I couldn't offer myself.

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

These stories will be messy and never in the exact right order - an assumed warning for a blog about one's transition between 20's to 30's. They will chronicle heartbreak, sometimes my own, sometimes caused by me. I am, quite simply, just a girl.

If I am being honest, my hope is no one I know ever reads these. But, whether we know each other or not, I need you to know something.

You are stronger than you think. You can do hard things. The fact that you are alive today is all the proof I need. I need you to know this especially if you are a woman. I hope you can relate to the heartache, the triumph, the fighting, and all the philosophizing I will inevitably end up doing. Cheers to being hot and working towards better versions of ourselves.

[xerxeswitch]

Hi Carmen! I really appreciate you getting back to my last message. Do you mind if I ask, how are you doing btw with *Nora* these days? I was also wondering too~ what does "vetting process" mean? I know nothing about witch craft, let alone the terminology involved. Hm, maybe I should just pm you next time...I have so many curious questions lol, but only of course, if I have your permission. I do not wish to appear intrusive in any way. Anyways, take care and hope to hear back from you :)

You're not being intrusive at all. I will happily answer these questions. Witchcraft is such a big umbrella with many things under it on what classifies witchcraft. It's way too broad to define what witchcraft is other than this simplified answer -- and pay in mind, this is what I define witchcraft: A secular practice used in occult and religious groups to set the intention with magic involving rituals and spells. The definition for some may be slightly different, because everyone's path is so...well, different. I am still studying on its history and customs myself. ---------------- So far, Nora seems to be doing okay. Though, she is still a little standoffish for the most part. On the other hand, she's also trying to test me. She sometimes eagerly ask me if there's any enemies in mind for her to feed off of -- in which I can't say; as I also find it strange to request. I don't have any enemies nor do I really like to make them at all. At the same time, she doesn't really intuitively strike me as a parasitic/bad spirit/entity either. Her haunt is still very quiet. The vetting process will always take time in really deciphering the entity by their entirety, so I am still studying her energy and meditating on it. And speaking about the question with vetting... ... Vetting is the process of discerning and studying the entity/spirit over time. It's basically to make sure the entity/spirit fits to what you find helpful/useful to whatever intent you have, or just to hang out with. This is to ensure you are not inviting a trickster or a malevolent entity/spirit. Some conjurors also check specific capabilities and willingness to help out with certain intentions and properties for their work like healing/revenge magick/prosperity, etc. It's like introducing yourself to a new roommate and you slowly see them and their dirty laundry. This is never a one time thing, this process can take a very long time. The longer, the better. Some new red or green flags can appear over time even if your intuition is already giving you a heads-start. Avoid over-simplification as possible. Don't rely on the appearances of a spirit/entity alone either. Ask as many questions as you see fit. -"Who are you?" -"Why do you agree to be here?" -"What are your intentions?" -"What kind of entity/spirit are you?" -"What should I know about you as a person?" (Yes, they can lie but the truth always come out eventually during the vetting process. Or you can do a spell that reduces this intention) You may also use these techniques for these questions: -Using pendulums asking questions. -Meditating with the vessel in your hands and connect with the energy. (If there's no vessel, just ward and ask the entity/spirit to step in) -Tarot cards -EVP device if you have one (probably the most optional one here) --- Red flags that I find in the vetting process: -Pushing against your boundaries -Just bad energy you feel emitting from them -Constantly hungry for your attention -Trying to pressure you to make vows very early on -Saying things to you that you want to hear/too good to be true -Trying to make you co-dependent on them -They contradict themselves down the line

... But each vetting experience is different and they always turn out to be something I never expected. -- Hope all of this helps! And thank you again.

[rottingwaysofmisery]

Past Time Travel Ramblings

Hello, I'm gonna ramble about the logic of literal past time travel.

Okay preface. This is not a scientific essay. I am not a scientist, I barely passed every science class I've been in and remember nothing from them. No sources will be cited, and all of these ideas come from my own thoughts. I do not claim to be the first to think of anything, however, I do not see others speaking on any of this. I am most likely just not looking hard enough, but I'd just love to see the thoughts of others here and the input of people who know more than me on the subject.

Preface over, I'm going to be going over possible complications and mechanics that would have to be answered for if one were to build a real time machine, at least in my mind. The general problem, I believe, is bridging the gap between the mechanics of the universe and our social constructs. If that sounds confusing, I will elaborate.

Social v. Material

Shout in your room right now "Teleport me to London on the 15th of March in 1963."

Nothing will happen. You look ridiculous. For one, the universe doesn't know what a "London" is, we made that word up, nor does it know what that date is because we made up all these terms for time, nor would it know the notion of teleporting. Beyond that, who would hear you? Your neighbors, roommates, perhaps. The universe? Who knows. It won't respond though.

So if your goal is to use a time machine to go back to London on the 15th of March in 1963, the main or at least significant hurdle to overcome would be figuring out how to translate those terms into something a machine can understand. You can't hack the universe if reality isn't composed of any language you comprehend.

Location

One possible problem with a teleporting time machine, a part of the last issue, is setting a location for it to move to. There's no "universal coordinates" for anything to ever understand, so the instantaneous movement would have to do more with distance ("Move 5000 miles in this direction") than a name ("Move to 8.436 at the Fart Quadrant"). Then after that, how could you ever tell it a direction? The Earth constantly rotates and the universe knows no ups and downs. A computer can move you up if it understood the concept, but could it adjust for the spinning Earth's movement, in real time and constantly? Even then, think, London in 1963 isn't in the same place it is now, at least not in a specific technical sense that'd get your nerd glasses broken if you mentioned it to a varsity jacket jock. Sure, it is the same place on Earth, but everything in the solar system and everything else around it is moving constantly. That is to say, even if you solved the other problems and went to where London is now in 1963, you could just end up stranded in the galactic void waiting for a planet to hit you in sixty years.

Time

How do you make a computer understand the concept of 1963 A.D.? You can't, it could read you the definition if programmed but it could not in any meaningful capacity take you back to that time just by the phrase alone.

Okay, so instead of asking it to drop you into a year, what about pushing you back? Asking it to go back 60 years from the present 2023 to 1963. Such a thing would require us to find and observe a measurable unit of time that can send you back in time a certain amount for each of the unit. The further back you want to go, the more of the units. Also remember, the present is constantly moving forward. You may have to make a system where the units increase for each second the time machine isn't travelling. Or not, you wouldn't need to care if you're not the type to fuss over the exact second in a given day you time travel to. It would honestly be a little dumb to, anyways.

No Teleportation

So what we can conclude from those first two sections is that a hypothetical time machine could not teleport. It would have to involve some sort of pushing back in time. You cannot tell something to drop into a coordinate, but you can workshop it to move in the direction of where you want. How that'd work is beyond me, at least at the moment. It's like telling your car to "be" in New York instead of driving to New York, you'd have to drive it or nothing would happen.

The one big exception that would make it possible would be if we were able to harness something beyond our current understanding like a wormhole or a fantastical portal or something.

Past

If you want to build a time machine, you have to ask yourself at some point, to what extent does the past exist? Going back to a past implies our very reality remembers or records. For all we know, it only exists as far as our memories and social constructs around it allow. Imagine you're playing a video game and you never save and you're at the final boss. You're at the final boss and you've unlocked everything, that proves that you actually played the game this far. However, you couldn't go to a previous part of your playthrough because there are no previous save states. Does the universe "save" anything? How could one go back to a past that does not exist in any meaningful way beyond memory and explaining the present? I'm saying, you can't go back if there's nothing to go back to.

Time Travelers

Something that must eventually be asked on the question of real time travel is: where are all the time travelers? The idea is that if past time travel were possible, someone in the future could invent time travel and make it evident that it's possible by going to the past. Perhaps it is possible and yet nobody was able to invent a time machine due to the doom of humanity as the last advanced civilization on Earth before we could even grasp the mechanics of such a device. Maybe we're in an objective present as opposed to a relative one where a future hasn't been recorded yet for any supposed time travelers to even come from, which if false would have a lot of audacity as a theory. Maybe it's stupid fucking science fiction novel bullshit where we haven't seen evidence of time travelers because of a secret time-keeping organization strictly regulating such a device and also trying to prevent paradoxes or whatever the fuck and doing their job really well, that one is my least favorite.

Relativity

I'm gonna do this one assuming you all know the gist of the theory of relativity and the idea that time is relative to where you are, though I very well may have no idea what I'm talking about. Imagine this, we have Not-Earth and Earth. Not-Earth is an inconceivably long distance away from Earth to the extent that it goes through time slower comparatively than Earth does, though the human consciousness on both planets experiences both at the same rate. Remember the hypothetical measurable time units? My question is, would relativity suggest the hypothetical time units needed to go back a given amount of years would vary on location, or would it just need the same amount regardless of location?

The Science

This section is going to be brief because I don't know jack shit. From what I've gathered, past time travel can be possible according to certain scientific laws. Knowing whether or not past time travel can be achieved for certain, at least as it seems to me, seems like such a fantastical thing to know that it has to be out of our grasp for a long time. I'm not gonna link the article so either google it or call me a liar, but I saw an article about how scientists successfully simulated sending a particle back in time through a quantum computer. That suggests nothing on the possibility of physical particles time traveling back in time though, only that a computer can show us fantastical things which I know already from watching videos of horse dressage. That's a joke, I don't watch that.

In Conclusion

So, time machines capable of backwards time travel, what a mouthful. Basically, if you wanted to make such a thing you'd have to think of something so immensely clever and beyond the imagination and science we currently have. If it's ever done I'd love to learn how they solve these issues, at least the parts I could wrap my head. Hell, maybe even science fiction writers know how to jump the hurdles, even if they lack the technical fortitude.

If you got this far, thank you. I doubt this will interest much of anyone at all. If at least one person thinks it's an interesting read, though, I will be happy enough.

[thethistlegirlwrites]

WIP Questionnaire

Thanks for the open tag, @verba-writing !

I'll do these for Thief of Hearts since it's my Camp Nano April WIP!

What was the first part of your wip that you created?

So, fun story, I actually came up with the base premise of this idea almost 10 years ago. My freshman year of college (2014-15, *gasp*) my roommate and I binge watched Criminal Minds, and we got through episode 3.02 and my brain apparently decided to take 'what if stealing hearts was a little more metaphorical than this but more literal than the usual meaning', wrote down a title and tagline, then forgot it for the next nine years until I found it while spring cleaning my Google drive.

If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

I want to say "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri just because it's too good to pass up how specifically it works, but I also think "Things that Stop You Dreaming" by Passenger really fits the whole world of the story really well, so either of those two.

Who are your favourite characters you've made? Why?

For this story? Definitely Emmett and Rory. Making me choose between them would be like making me choose a favorite child. They're both delightfully flawed, morally grey, and just trying to make it in a city that kind of wants to kill them. Emmett has a knack for making the worst possible decisions without realizing that's what he's doing, Rory is ruthless and probably would have been described as heartless BEFORE Emmett actually stole her heart, and they've just generally been very fun to throw together, force to work on the same side, and watch the sparks (and occasional knife) fly.

What other pieces of media do you think would share a fan base for your story?

I think oddly enough this one is going to appeal to dystopia lovers as much or more than pure fantasy readers. I just read a Korean YA novel in translation, Snowglobe, that basically was an inverted version of the perpetual winter city in TOH, and really felt like that was a fairly close comparative story. Aside from that, I'm not really sure. I like a plethora of weird things that shouldn't go together so I'm not sure at all of what a shared fan base looks like. I'm always cobbling together my projects out of bizarre combinations of inspiration sources and I have zero idea where they will land or what will be a hit with anyone besides me and the few people who get to listen to me bemoan the writing process and read the chaotic early drafts.

What has been your biggest struggle with your wip?

Timing of the plotline. I've been constantly changing when things happen because all the action is crammed into a 48 hour window but ironically that's turned out to be MORE time than I know what to do with given the pace the plot needs to have, so I'm finding ways to flesh things out and frustrate some of the characters' plans so that it's not all over TOO fast.

Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

Rory has a pet magical pigeon named Blizzard. He's been affected by the magic that floods the city of Rime, and while he's adapted to endure the extreme cold and see in the perpetual dark, he's nearly flightless because of one wing that is more or less just a warped stub. He's going to be fun to flesh out as a part of the story, and he's sort of Rory's answering service when she's out making a messenger delivery, since people can leave messages they want sent in a little pouch he wears on his back while he's on duty. It would be nearly impossible to have more than one generation of animal in the city without them mutating because of the magic, so most people don't even bother. Small animals that pose minimal risk if their descendants develop magical powers or strange features like foot-long fangs are the only regularly kept animals in Rime, and since most people can't afford to feed themselves and a pet, there's very few domesticated creatures at all.

How do your characters get around? (ex: trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

Mostly on foot, or by ship if they're leaving the city by the port. Keeping large animals in Rime would be costly and that's prohibitive for most people, and the large animals that can manage the winters are mostly the local caribou population, which have been affected by the magic much like Rory's pigeon. Someone might be able to ride them, but it also might end very badly.

What part of your wip are you working on rn?

Drafting. I've gotten the main plot points knocked out, but I'm filling in the gaps and trying to plot a daring rescue right along with my characters, so that's fun. Mostly I'm just following them around with a clipboard and pencil trying to take notes and keep up and getting whiplash from watching them argue about any and everything.

What aspects (tropes, maybe?) of your wip do you think will draw people in?

I'm hoping the worldbuilding is a big draw because that's always the part of a project I go crazy with. I hope people find the idea of a magic-warded permanently winter city where daylight is basically a version of the northern lights appealing enough to be curious. My other big draw is the characters, because I personally love them very much and I hope other people do too. I do have a few fun tropes but a lot of them are skewed slightly to the side, like the kind of chaotic enemies-to-coparents arc and sharing body warmth but also half convinced the other person will kill you when you fall asleep.

What are your hopes for your wip?

Honestly, just that people get to enjoy it and fall in love with the characters the way I did. I would genuinely love to log onto Tumblr and see that someone had made fan art of them, or a moodboard, or to realize a fic category had appeared on AO3 (one of my draft beta readers @nade2308 already wrote a soft cute slice-of-life future fic after bingereading what there was of the draft to see, and I'm genuinely just floored and gleeful about that fact). I'm also sort of lurking like a gremlin ready to watch people lose it over my 'strong female character' choosing to parent a child as the culmination of her arc. Yes, Rory can kill you about ten ways but one of those is to mom you to death. And like the menace I am (and having seen the discourse on Tumblr) I am doing the evil hand rubbing waiting for the response to that one...

No pressure tagging @catwings-writes-things , @nade2308writes, @telltaleclerk, @the-one-and-only-valkyrie, @imbrisvastatio and anyone else who wants to hop on the train for this one!

Questions are:

1. What was the first part of your wip that you created?

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

3. Who are your favourite characters you've made? Why?

4. What other pieces of media do you think would share a fan base for your story?

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your wip?

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

7. How do your characters get around? (ex: trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

8. What part of your wip are you working on rn?

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe?) of your wip do you think will draw people in?

10. What are your hopes for your wip?

[patchun]

some thoughts lately or a diary or whatever

i am lonely and my roommate bryan is the only person i know who somewhat shares my nerdy interests and he's moving out soon. i'm moving in with some acquaintances i met via my local bar but the reason they're acquaintances is because i have basically nothing in common with them so i doubt i'll have as satisfying a relationship with them even once we do get to know each other. i've always had a difficult time relating to other people and really getting close to them and i'm thinking this may play a big part in why.

i like anime such select and specific anime that i'm not sure i can accurately say "i like anime". the people i know who like anime usually like naruto/one piece, that kind of thing, and it's usually more of a passive interest for them. but then, you have the people who LIKE like anime, and they tend to be a little too weird for me to vibe with, not that there's anything wrong with the weirdness, i just end up not fitting in with them either. i'm at this weird point where i'm very socially "normal" but have interests that are very different from socially normal people? and those interests are what i spend most of my time thinking about, so growing closer via conversation about anything else can be difficult, as i frankly just don't know much about most topics, and am reluctant to speak when i'm not confident about my relevant knowledge.

so yeah i dont really know what i'm hoping for, am i hoping to meet my similar-interest dream girl who doesn't exist and even if she did the likelihood of ever a) encountering each other and b) encountering each other in such a way that shows we have things in common is basically nonexistent. i think that's maybe a silly thought process as that's not really how things work and it doesn't necessarily need to be a romantic relationship anyways.

oh yeah and i'm not doing makeup or eyeliner any more and i cut off my hair so now its short and brown and i look like an average 5-6-7 if were being generous white dude like i used to. i was really tired of being perceived as gay by seemingly everyone at a glance. but i'm definitely regretting it a little bit, looking in the mirror for that approximate year always made me so happy. i constantly would look at myself in my snapchat camera and take pictures and feel confident and such. now i kind of hate looking at myself and it was weird breaking the habit of constantly looking at my snapchat camera because of the negative emotions it caused. i was just feeling miserable one day and was so desperate for any kind of change that i cut my hair off, lol. i talked with my doctor about it and the idea that i could potentially have bipolar depression came up. which, looking at my past actions such as: quitting jobs, getting a nonsensical divorce from my loving partner of 10 years, moving to rochester, starting estrogen.......... maybe there's something to that lol. if any of my bpd homies read this let me know what u think im looking at u m if u get this far or check my blog lol

but yeah reading over this myself maybe i should go back to the eyeliner lol. i realized that i really like cute things. i like kirby and girl characters in video games and bla bla bla. i like cute things and i think it felt nice to be a cute thing. unfortunately i just don't know if the social niche it gave me was productive towards my end goal of finding a romantic partner. its got me thinking, once i have money again (oh yes i am extremely broke,,, i start my new job on august 12), how SHOULD i present myself if i want to work towards that goal? presenting in general is such a fascinating thing its like... you decide how you want others to perceive you, what notions theyre going to have. i dont know i dont really get it.

thankfully despite not being just super happy i am pretty mentally stable right now. no extremely low lows like it has been for a while recently