#I'm here to chat and be cool and have productive conversations

[eyrieofsynapses]

I wasn't planning to split my "hey, so you're gonna see some Star Wars stuff around soon, but I'm not properly rejoining the fandom" into two posts, but here we are. Mostly so that I don't subject all of you to a long explanation.

So: like I said over here, a couple good friends of mine convinced me to watch The Mandalorian, and it's all going downhill into the trash heaps of Star Wars from there. Once I've gotten to a couple other things--which might take some time--I may reblog some GIFs and possibly metas.

Here's the thing: Yes, I might put stuff up. No, I am not getting into the fandom proper again. And I do mean again--as in, I was in it around four or five years ago, quite a while before this blog existed. (You can look at my Ao3 for proof, but... uh... maybe don't. You know how it is with old fic.)

For the sake of clarity, and also because I kind of want to talk about it, I'm going to explain why.

For reference: I've seen all of the movies. I've also seen The Clone Wars up until the newest season. I watched all of Star Wars: Rebels, and that remains my favorite. (No, I've not seen The Bad Batch, so I don't know everything about what they did with Caleb.) I'm also fond of Rogue One despite my dislike of tragic endings. Aside from that, my knowledge extends to a scattered few books, comics, and a few other things. I have, only as of the last few days, finished The Mandalorian's second season; the rest of my knowledge is largely older.

As usual, my attention veered away and I hit my overload point. That's normal, by the way. But there's some other reasons.

First: Star Wars deals a lot with tragedy. I've increasingly found I don't much like too many sad endings, especially when they feel unnecessary. I like my characters whole and safe and happy at the end of the day, okay? Beat them up in between all you like, but... look, I like happy endings. That’s a me thing, by the way, not a flaw in Star Wars itself (mostly). If you like tragedy, go for it! I’m just not a fan.

Second: The Rise of Skywalker poisoned a lot for me. Between that and the way Disney's been beating the shit out of the MCU, I figured the newer Star Wars shows were rotten cash grabs and nothing more. It wasn't until my friends lured me into watching The Mandalorian that I realized otherwise. Somehow, despite Disney's hell-bent obsession with killing everything it touches, there's some good stuff coming out of Lucasfilm yet. (For now.) I am duly impressed.

Third, and most importantly: Whatever TRoS and co. didn't poison, the fandom often did. I've met a lot of awesome Star Wars people. I've also seen a lot of toxicity, especially online.

I cannot tell you how much "oh, this sucked because of A, B, C, and D, and this part is irredeemable, and I can't believe anyone could stand this bit--what do you mean you liked that? Fuck you!" stuff I've seen around. Mind you, I like constructive story critique. But much of the time it was just complaining, with zero positivity or genuine love. (It isn't just Star Wars, by the way; I see a massive amount of this in the DC fandom too. There’s others. It’s common in many large fandoms, I think.)

I get it, it's fair to rant about stuff you don't like. I do that too. I’m not going to say I won’t keep doing it here and there, because I’d be lying. Hell, I have a lot of bones to pick with Star Wars. I can and have torn TRoS apart. But it's one thing to do that, and another entirely to claim that you enjoy the thing while only ever hating on it. In particular, I'm sick of seeing people coming into spaces where people are enjoying the content, and then spoiling it rotten by only ever complaining. That was what really got to me: being in places where people were meant to be enjoying it, only to see endless complaints about everything bad.

That was the thing I really disliked about the fandom while I was in it--there was this constant cycle of people saying they enjoyed some piece of Star Wars media, then turning around and smacking it over and over without ever providing any positive feedback. I'm not here for that. I'm here to smack-talk TRoS, sure, but then talk about a) what went right, b) what could be done better, c) the context of the mistakes and the reason for them, and d) where Star Wars has avoided the same mistakes, because it turns out they've done a lot better elsewhere.

Look, I don't want to hear about every single flaw and nothing else. Media is flawed! That's part of it! Plot holes exist! Problems exist! I get pissed off about them too! I rant with my real-life friends about them all the time! But suspension of disbelief is a thing, and historical context is a thing, and recognizing the fact that writers are human and flawed too is a very important thing. If you've got a problem and you want to say it, say it, tag it, then move the hell on and don't press it on the people who want to enjoy that media for what it is. (Unless those people are being blatantly discriminatory and offensive, in which case, sure, call them out. But don't be an ass about it.)

For the record: I am absolutely down for calling Disney out on its racist/sexist/queerphobic/etc. bullshit. We need to do that, and we need to do it loudly. TRoS fucked up a lot with that, and it deserves to be called out.

But if we're going to do that, we also need to talk about where they went right. We need to talk about how supportive many of the actors were. We need to talk about how Rebels and Rogue One brought in characters of color and treated them right. We need to discuss the importance of Finn and Poe, both for being POC and where their implied romance worked despite its ultimate knock-down. We need to talk about why women like Leia, Rose, Ahsoka, Hera, Sabine, and Jyn--among many others--are good representation. We need to talk about how The Mandalorian and Andor are both led by men of color. We need to talk about the many wonderful platonic relationships in Star Wars. We need to celebrate the good, too.

...er, anyway. I'm gonna hop off the soapbox now.

Basically: I got lucky when I landed in the Leverage fandom and found out how positive a fan space can be, and I don't want to go back to only ever seeing people ragging on my favorite media. Past experience has taught me that the Star Wars fandom does a lot of that. I'm once-bit and twice-shy, so I'm not getting deep in on this. I'm not trawling tags, I'm not getting into arguments, I'm not interacting much at all. If somebody wants to have a positive and constructive conversation, I’m here for it. If I post and someone decides to start an argument for the sake of arguing, I'm blocking and moving on, and that is that.

Anyway. Upward and onward, and all of that. May the Force be with you.

#star wars negativity #star wars #fandom #synapse rants #synapse talks #...yeah okay we'll do that for a new tag too #I know I may be inviting some not-great responses to this #but like I said: no questions no second thoughts. just block #I'm here to chat and be cool and have productive conversations #not to strike up ridiculous and pointless arguments #that waste my time #so! yeah

[muzsmoux]

MHA headcanons bcuz the show brings me a lot of joy

If you don't agree with them or they clash with canon that's ok just scroll on, peace and love on the planet earth and whatnot.

⭐Iida is straight but is openly into BL. He's up to date on new releases, mostly pg shoujo stuff. Except for one fantasy comic that is hella explicit at some points but he is VERY passionate about the lore and characters.

⭐Bakugo has Inosuke levels of androgyny going on. He would give Shouto a run for his money in the "class 1-A's resident prettyboy" vote that was held if he 1. wasn't too scary for people to vote for him. and 2. if he stopped scowling for like two seconds.

⭐Aoyama is some flavor of nonbinary but doesn't use any labels because he HATES them. He is an ✨experience✨, a piece of art up for interpretation.

⭐Pro hero Red Riot has a line of menstrual hygiene products with cool and manly packaging because he's very popular with transmasc people and wanted to give back something helpful and validating to them.

⭐Kirishima once called Bakugo his "brofriend" and he just about had an aneurysm.

⭐ Before they got together, Kirishima wrote half the valentine's cards Bakugou recieved anonymously because he "just had so many feelings it couldn't fit just on one card!!"

⭐Bakugou is a secret romantic. He hates talking about it because it's "bad for his image" but he has a big collection of shoujo manga and internally melts whenever Kiri does something soft for him like buying flowers or holding his hand in public.

⭐Aizawa regularly gets intrusive thoughts of becoming a househusband whenever he has a particulaly annoying time. Like after his 7th parent teacher conference of the day or after a full week of falling asleep in uncomfortable beds in seedy hostels he stares at the ceiling like "Hizashi is a celebrity. He has three jobs. What am I doing here? I love him. I can't cook but I could learn 😫"

⭐Kaminari hits on Bakugo's mom every chance he gets. Bakugo's tries to blow him up, Mitsuki thinks it's fucking hilarious.

⭐Allmight has a crush on Midoriya Inko but is scared to do anything about it because A. it might upset Izuku and B. he thinks he's too old and ugly for her.

⭐You'd think Midnight would be a bad teacher based on her general sexy nature but actually she's well loved because she's the only teacher who the kids trust with advice on relationships and intimacy, especially after the dorm system set in. She has time set aside each week where she's available for anyone to pop into her office and chat about whatever they're worried about. Aizawa is endlessly thankful for this because one time Todoroki asked him what a backshot is because he heard Sero make a joke about it and he's still healing from that conversation.

⭐Since both of their quirks are food based Sato and Momo often bake together. Sato's the master decorator, Momo buys good quality ingredients and is a beast at chiffon cakes.

⭐Denki can't swim. After The Incident in primary school where he almost electrocuted a whole swimming pool of people he's been scared to try.

⭐Kirishima has two moms. His birth mom had him at like 18 and his biological father wasn't ready for that yet. Her best friend immediately stepped up to help with the baby, and that's Kiri's mama now.

Thank you for reading!! I am incredibly late to this fandom but hey I'm having fun now so. Sick.

#bnha #mha #my hero academia #bakugou katsuki #kirishima eijirou #kiribaku #denki kaminari #erasermic #aizawa shouta #headcanon

[jo-harrington]

Standard Operating Procedures 1.02 (Eddie Munson x Store Manager!Reader)

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Summary: You get to meet Eddie's friends.

Previous Part: Standard Operating Procedures 1.01

Warnings/Themes: AU where the Upside Down doesn't terrorize Hawkins. Reader works at the Claire's at StarCourt. Eddie works at TapeWorld. Fluffy, silly, mutual pining, slowish burnish. Allusions to more of Eddie's trauma/shitty people being shitty that will probably come up later. Some silly, goofy "boys will be boys" moments with Corroded Coffin.

Note: I keep introducing new characters and I'm sorry. (I mean it's only 2 at this point...3? I't doesn't matter. It's my party and I will have a million side characters if I want to.) But Welcome to SOP 1.02, the second of what will be many nights out with Eddie and Store Manager.

I know I'm posting this one after Corrective Action, but it technically comes before it. I'm working on writing chronologically...it is just taking a hot minute. I'm like a Time Lord, my brain doesn't work that way. One day we will catch up to Closing Time and then it doesn't have to be mutual pining and cute friendship/early relationship stuff, it can be love and fluff and probably some more angstier angst and filthy smut.

Besides I just love their goofy little date nights. And I needed to write something fluffy and lighthearted since this weekend seems to be angsty chapter fest elsewhere in the fic world. (iykyk. I love it, I just need some silliness.)

You can find my masterlist here for more featuring our resident Store Manager and all of my other random Eddie Headcanons.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

---

“What time are you off tonight?”

“Uhhh,” you looked up at Eddie as he jogged into the store, partially out of breath. You were halfway through a piercing, but couldn’t possibly be annoyed at his appearance; he was quickly becoming one of your favorite people, after all.

Besides, it was another long, busy day; you and your ASM had both been doing back-to-back piercings for at least two hours, and there was a practically endless line at the cash wrap. With the (unexpected) success of the store, you were allowed to hire some new associates, one of whom was currently training on the register.

You welcomed the distraction that Eddie brought.

“The regular time? Why?" you asked, then paused for a second. "And sorry, but did you run up here?”

“Escalator is out of order,” he shrugged, still panting. Then under his breath “fuck, I shouldn’t skip out on gym so much.”

“The smoking is probably not doing you any favors either,” you tutted in a stage whisper and he rolled his eyes. "Give me like...a few minutes to finish up and then we can chat? And I swear to god, just wait in here please and not near the door; my conversion really sucks today."

He held up his hands innocently before shuffling off to the side to browse. You watched him for another second--admired how handsome goofy he looked--and then you turned back to the preteen in your chair. 

“Ok…you ready? Just one more time. One…two…” The girl winced a little bit as the needle punctured her ear. “I know it hurt but it wasn't too bad right? And you'll look so cool!” 

The soft “pretty” that came from her when you presented the mirror to show her the finished product a few minutes later was enough to make you smile brightly. After a quick "thank you" she skipped to the checkout line to proudly show her new earrings to her father--a man who clearly watched too much Magnum PI if the mustache and Hawaiian shirt were any indicator.

Once the station was cleaned up and you checked in with the rest of your team, you turned your attention to your visitor. You grabbed some random accessory off of one of the fixtures as you approached him.

"Excuse me sir, I think I found exactly what you need to complete your look today," you said in the entirely too bubbly way you usually spoke to customers. The one that you knew, after Eddie confessed during lunch the other day, made his skin crawl a little.

"It's a customer service voice."

"It's creepy."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?" he asked, eyebrows raised as he turned to you. From behind your back, you revealed a dressup headband that had fluffy red hearts wobbling on springs on either side of the head. You stood on your toes and jammed it onto his head, unable to contain your laughter as he leaned back to catch a glimpse of himself in a nearby mirror. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, but I think this really works."

He turned back to you and fluffed his hair a little. Then he held his hands below his chin while fluttering his eyelashes prettily.

“So what’s up?” You asked once he took the headband off. “I thought you were off on Fridays.”

“I am,” he nodded. “For Hellfire. But...it's a special circumstance. There's an early screening of this new movie--Day of the Dead? Did you ever see Night of the Living Dead? Of course you have, it's a classic."

"Sure."

"This ones, like, the last one of the trilogy." He had admitted to you last week that Return of the Jedi was his (secret) favorite of the Star Wars trilogy and that the last movies in trilogies were, in his opinions, the best. "Anyway it's gotta be good."

"It does sound cool." You agreed.

"Well I'm glad you think so, because I asked Jeff to get an extra ticket..." he paused and you could see the nerves settle in. "I figured...you might want to join us? If you're free after work?” 

He rambled on about his friends and how “Gareth got his license, finally, which is why we're really going out” and “Dave always screams at jump scares but it's hilarious.” Trying to convince you that they were good and cool, but you could guess what he was trying to say underneath it all.

They’re cool guys and I’m a cool guy. We're going to see a cool movie, so please don’t say no. 

After two Sunday afternoons and a handful of lunches spent together, it was still baffling to see how bashful he could become. How he still tripped up on his words and gave you every single opportunity to turn him down. To turn him away.

He told you some people were shitty to him for repeating senior year. And he worried about you finding out about some reputation he had. But even if you hadn't witnessed it yourself yet, it wasn't hard to put two and two together that, overall, people weren't very nice to him.

You knew you had been lucky; the only people to really bully you were related to you. But you still couldn't understand how people could be so cruel, especially to the absolute sweetheart in front of you who was currently rocking on his toes, and fidgeting with his rings, and avoiding your eyes as he just kept talking.

Eddie was funny, witty, cute, thoughtful, and probably hopped up on too much sugar all the time.

"...and I know it probably doesn't sound fun to go to the movies with a bunch of high school guys but--"

"No it sounds like a great time," you agreed.

"Really?" He had that deer-in-the-headlights look that you were secretly starting to enjoy. "It's not stupid?"

"No," you shook your head. "And I want to meet your friends. You kind of talk about them a lot. So it'd be nice to put faces to names."

"They might bully you for listening to Duran Duran," he warned.

Was he trying to get you to turn him down?

"Then don't tell them about that!"

"I might need to be bribed," he hummed cheekily, clearly unable to keep a smile off of his face.

"Gosh, you ask me to go to the movies with you, and now you're blackmailing me," you sighed. "Fine...I'll get you any sour candy you want. But you can't put it in the popcorn!"

He held out his hand to shake on it and you rolled your eyes as you slapped your hand into his.

He grinned and whooped in excitement, then ran out of the store. Before you could even blink, he was back and, in a move that made your heart beat a little harder in your chest, he leaned down and gave the back of your hand a very light kiss.

What?

"I'll leave you to your sparkly kingdom, your Highness," he announced with an over exaggerated, grandiose voice as he returned to his full height. "See you at 7." He then winked and ran back out.

WHAT?!

"My conversion Eddie!" You called after him once you got back to your senses.

The loud crack of his laughter echoing though the mall was just enough to make you forgive him.

---

“Ok so is this a date?” your ASM asked softly as she counted your register down before you left. "The last time it wasn't a date, but is it a date now? Movies? Sharing popcorn?"

"His friends are gonna be there. It's just...hanging out."

"Oooh, meeting some of his friends. Are you gonna sit next to him? Dark movie theater, perfect for smooching."

"Shut up. No it isn't perfect for smooching.”

"But you’re gonna sit next to him. You're avoiding eye contact, you’re nervous," she sing-songed and you groaned. "This is a date!"

Mindy was a former stay-at-home mom who got bored of being at home now that the kids were all in school. It should have been weird, managing someone almost a decade older than you, and you both voiced your concern during the interview that one would treat the other like some dumb kid. You because you were younger and didn't have as much life experience, and Mindy because she didn't have much retail experience and would be working with a bunch of teenagers. But you both agreed not to let that influence your treatment of one another.

There was mutual respect and trust.

There was also relentless teasing. On Mindy's part, at least.

"Ok, listen, I told you that he's great but he said this thing the first time we hung out."

"What thing? Why is this the first time I'm hearing about this thing?" she put her dollar-clenching hands on her hips and stared at you in a way that only a mother could.

You explained how he mentioned, specifically, that your first night out wasn't a date. How disappointed you were. How embarrassed you were that you would even entertain that idea and were now doing everything in your power not to think of him as cute and stomp all the hopes and dreams of your own mall romance into the dirt.

All of your insecurities about your non-existent love life laid out for her--and everyone else in the busy store--to hear.

And Mindy just snorted in your face.

"I don't think I'm that old, but you kids really need to stop overthinking things," she laughed and slammed the cash drawer shut. "Alright you're all set. Go have fun on your not-date."

"I really hate you," you deadpanned and turned to leave.

You were about halfway through the trek across the mall to the multiplex when you did exactly what Mindy told you to stop doing: overthink.

Eddie was worried you might not like his friends...what if his friends didn't like you?

They were younger, still in high school. (You were blatantly ignoring that you could say the same thing about Eddie.) And you had a younger brother who was still in high school. When you were still at home his friends thought you were stupid and old and gross, as kids do.

You drove your grandpa's old car--handed down when his doctor told him he couldn't drive anymore--you didn't listen to whatever new bands they were obsessing over, you didn't know all the cool young slang.

You'd think, working with a bunch of teenagers, that you would pick something up, but for as long as you had been given keys at your old store, you tried to keep a little bit of distance with the younger associates. It helped get them to see you in an authoritative light, to trust your leadership.

And it absolutely stunted your social ability.

And your brother and his friends could smell it like sharks smelling blood in the water.

It had never bothered you--they were little twerps anyway who you'd threatened to beat up when they got too annoying anyway--until now.

What is it that Eddie's friends would find cool?

You knew about the band, and obviously you both had been bickering over discussing music. He also told you about his Hellfire Club, which conveniently consisted of the same group. And while you couldn't really wrap your head around the mechanics of the game from the description--he had offered to lend you some of his books to help you understand--you did think some of the creatures and characters he described were intriguing.

And hell, you might not know a whole lot about fantasy, but you sure as hell knew about escapism. Maybe they all were looking for a way out of their realities too.

But that was probably too heavy a topic to talk about with a bunch of teen boys at the movies.

"There she is, late," Eddie's voice broke through your thoughts as you approached the mall entrance to the theater. You looked up to find the small group of boys leaning against the wall beside the box office.

You could do this.

Or pretend to, at least.

Besides, it was just Eddie. You could be cool for him.

"You said 7?" you argued. "I clocked out at 6:45!"

"Well we're gonna miss the previews," one of the boys grumbled good-naturedly, before breaking into a small smile. "Hey, I'm Gareth."

"The drum prodigy!" You exclaimed and his smile got a little bashful.

"Shut up," he muttered. "You haven't even heard us play yet!"

You quickly introduced yourself and Eddie clapped his hands on each of his friends' shoulders as he introduced them and gave you a little fact about each of them in a way only Eddie could.

"We have Gareth, obviously, the man of the hour with a real, legitimate drivers license," Eddie sniffled and wiped a fake tear from his eye. "Can't believe he's all grown up. But let the record show that I taught him how to parallel park."

"Dave, who, I have recently learned, can fully recite Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven from memory. Iambic pentameter and all that shit, right? Guess you only look dumb, huh, Davey."

"And Jeff, Jeffrey, Jefferson, my right hand man. Not just the peanut butter to my jelly, but both slices of bread too. Where in the world would I ever be without him? Actually, maybe I would have graduated by now."

They all smiled and greeted you; it was clear that they adored Eddie and enjoyed the attention of their fearless leader, even while swatting at him as he embarrassed them.

All except Jeff, who had given you a tight, cordial smile--a strained flash of braces--and then urged everyone to follow him in.

The three younger boys bickered about snacks while you all waited in line, Gareth and Dave turning to ask you your preferences every now and again.

Whenever they couldn't decide on something--jalapeños on the nachos or no, extra butter or extra salt on the popcorn, wait should we get the hot dog combo--Eddie would swoop in with a sharp "shut up" and play mediator, then turn back to you with the biggest, fondest grin and an eye roll.

It was cute.

He was cute.

It was heartwarming to see him with his friends. You hadn't been hanging out with him for very long at all, but it was nice that he liked you enough to share this, share his friends, with you.

Once you all had your treats, including the sour candy you had promised Eddie, you made your way into the theater, only for the boys to bicker, once again, about who was sitting where. They each had their preferences and argued over the pros and cons of each. Dave like the aisle but so did Jeff, and Gareth--a self-proclaimed movie theater expert--said the center of the theater had the best viewing and sound experience. Eddie just preferred the back.

"Because if the movie is shit, you can just throw popcorn at the people further up who are making out."

"Or just watch them and--hey!"

"Not in front of a lady, dingus!"

You just hung back and enjoyed the show while apologizing to the other moviegoers for blocking their way to picking their own seats.

"Well where do you want to sit?" Eddie abruptly turned to you.

"Uh, well." You didn't think you really had a choice in this; you were just invited last-minute. This was their outing. "I'm just a guest. Whatever you guys pick is fine with me."

"Do you even like going to the movies?" Jeff laughed, but there was a slightly annoyed undertone that you wondered momentarily if you were just imagining. "Or watching scary movies?"

"I mean, yeah, who doesn't like movies," you shrugged, figuring it wasn't really the time or place to be discussing your preferences in movies either. "And horror...well, my dad always said it was cursed or something, but it's fun, they're funny."

The lights started to dim in the theater and you swore you saw Jeff roll his eyes.

"Funny?"

What was his deal?

"Yeah, when something scares you and then you jump and it makes you laugh. Especially when it's lame and cheesy. And...it's like when you ride a rollercoaster, it makes your stomach go...funny."

They all muttered in understanding, but you still felt uncertain.

"That's an interesting way of looking at it, sweetheart. I guess we all just like to get scared shitless," Eddie grinned. He clapped his hand on Gareth's shoulder. "Alright, since we're here to celebrate Gareth the Great's accomplishments, he gets to choose."

---

About a half hour in, you needed to go to the bathroom and you shimmied past the boys, doing everything in your power not to get flustered when Eddie put his hand on your hip to steady you, with a soft "careful" so you wouldn't fall over onto the next row of people.

Not that he would be able to see in the dark theater anyway.

But you felt like...somehow, he would know.

You took a deep, calming breath of relief when you got out to the lobby of the theater and joined the line for the bathroom.

The movie was good, suspenseful.

Eddie didn't lie when he said Dave screamed at jumpscares. He also conveniently forgot to mention that he liked talking during movies. People nearby kept turning their heads to shush him when he got too loud, too excited, gushing over one thing or another to someone in the group.

"Guys did you see that?"

"That was really fucked up."

"Wait what happened? I couldn't hear what they said."

It was also just not helping any of your efforts to bury your attraction for Eddie when you shared an armrest and a bucket of popcorn. Your fingers would brush his when he offered to share his candy with you. Your breath would hitch during scary moments and he would knock his knuckles with yours and give you a shit-eating grin.

“Funny my ass.”

“Shut up, you’re the worst.”

You did everything in your power to ignore the electric tingles along your skin.

“Quiet I can’t hear.”

Then there was Jeff sitting on Eddie’s other side, who would make comments like that every now and again.

It’s not like you had enough time to get a good read on Jeff; Eddie had said he was working on his confidence on-stage, maybe he also needed it off-stage? Maybe he had a hard time meeting new people? Or...or maybe he was just a stand-off-ish kind of guy, broody?

Or maybe...

Or maybe he just didn’t like you.

You really hoped that wasn't the case, but it sure seemed like it.

You knew how it felt when there was one friend in the group that just didn't like you as much as they liked the others, how they went out of their way to make you feel just a little bit unwelcome. How everyone else would just shake it off, because you'd all been hanging out for years, and it was just good natured anyway.

But this wasn't that.

This wasn't your friend group; these were Eddie's friends, and you really hadn't given them a reason to dislike you. You wanted them to like you; you wanted them to...tell Eddie he wasn't wasting his time being your friend.

The other guys seemed nice enough.

Right?

And you really wanted to try, especially with Jeff, who Eddie spoke of fondest.

Of course, he spoke of all the boys fondly…but whatever happened that caused Corroded Coffin to break up—something Eddie seemed incredibly hesitant to talk about—Jeff had been there to build it back up again. And you could tell how proud Eddie was of his friend, how grateful he was to have him.

You didn't want Eddie's closest friend to have a problem with you, his newest.

You went about your business in the bathroom, staring at your reflection for an extra long second, practicing your smile so it wouldn't seem too customer-service-y or artificial--your well-practiced mask that had always gotten you ahead at work--in case that was why Jeff had a problem. Did he think you were fake?

You just wanted to know the truth.

And you didn't have to wait long to find out, because on your way out of the bathroom, you saw Jeff waiting by the entrance of the theater. His arms were folded across his chest and he tapped his foot impatiently.

"Everything...ok?" you asked hesitantly.

"Yeah," he replied, with that same strained smile he gave you earlier. "I just wanted to talk really quick."

"Oh...kay," you agreed. "Listen, if I did anything wrong, or to offend you, I'm sorry. I know I can be too much someti--"

"Why are you hanging out with Eddie?" he interjected, cutting right to the chase. You frowned and cocked your head to the side in question. "Why are you being nice to him?"

"Why shouldn't I?" you asked in return. "He's a nice guy. He asked me to come to the movies with you guys. I’m sorry if it was just supposed to be your time together—”

"Not just now," Jeff looked around nervously, as if he was afraid to make eye contact. "He came to practice the other week excited that you agreed to go out with him and that you were cool and he was nervous and he hasn't shut up about you ever since."

Your heart got stuck in your throat. Obviously he had to tell his friends about you if he invited you to go to the movies, but...he hadn't shut up about you?

"But he's been through a lot and he doesn't deserve whatever...whatever scheme you have planned by hanging out with him. S-so this is your chance to let him down now, before you really hurt him."

You were quickly brought back to reality.

Jeff was staring at you now, expectantly. All traces of nervousness gone.

"Why would I have a scheme? Why would I hurt him?" you questioned.

"Because you're not the first pretty, popular girl to hang around with him, only to make him feel like shit afterwards once they get what they want."

Oh.

Oh no.

"If you're trying to score some cheap weed or something--"

"I'm not."

"--Or like...get some sort of laugh at his expense with those girls you work with--"

"Jeff."

"Just know that it really hurt him last time," he concluded. "Like really broke him down, on top of everything else, and it took everything I had to get him back. He's my best friend; the closest thing I have to an older brother. And he's the best guy I know. I can't stand to see him get that way again because someone else was too selfish to consider his feelings."

Your head was spinning, trying to put all of the pieces together.

And it was only making you incredibly sad for your friend.

"So..." Jeff took a breath and straightened his shoulders, as if he would step in your path to block you from entering the theater if you didn't give him the answer he wanted. "Tell me the truth. What do you want with Eddie?"

What did you want?

What didn't you want?

"I want to be his friend," you began. "I don't have that many people here, Jeff. I left home for the first time ever, and I'm kind of alone and it's scary. I don't really hang out with the people I work with because I have boundaries. And Eddie has been one of the only people I've met outside of work, technically, and he's been one of the most welcoming people so far.

"I want to eat junk food with him, and listen to his corny jokes, and get to see his favorite places in Hawkins, even though he swears up and down that it's a shit hole. And hurting him is the very last thing I want to do. But pain is just a part of life, and as much as we want to, we can't just...stop him from getting hurt at every step of the way.

"It's really admirable that you came out here to try and protect him, Jeff. I'm glad he has a friend like you. And hopefully now, since we'll have an understanding, we can be friends too," you finished with a smile.

Jeff hesitated then relaxed, the need to be Eddie's protector pretty much vanished. He wrung his hands together for a moment before sighing.

"Yeah," he agreed slowly. "I think we can be friends… Even though you're old." He grinned mischievously.

Low blow.

"Ouch! Thanks, I'm not that much older than you guys.”

"I mean, you're old enough to buy alcohol, right?" he asked expectantly.

"I'm not buying beers for you guys," you deadpanned.

"That makes you old."

"...still not buying you beer."

"Well, shit, you're not only old, you're lame too," Jeff laughed. "So...let's go back in? Before Eddie sends a search party."

"Hey, does he tell you guys not to fall into the toilet when you go to the bathroom too?"

---

Once you got back to your seats, Eddie hemmed and hawed about how the two of you missed the "best part," which he theatrically reenacted for you with Gareth and Dave after the show was over and you headed back into the mall.

He also couldn't shut up about it as he walked you back to your car in the employee lot. The other guys left, Gareth proudly showing off his new license by driving the other guys home in his mom's station wagon.

"The blood, the flesh," Eddie gushed, creepily running his fingers over your neck and shoulders, giving you the chills as you swatted at him. "It was so gross!!!"

"I'm sorry I missed it. Guess we're just gonna have to go see it again."

"We should do a group zombie costume for Halloween; it would be so cool. We could go trick or treating; the people around here don't really care how old you are. Scare all of the kids with some blood and guts. What do you think?"

"Sounds fun, I think you guys would look great!" You agreed.

"No, I meant you too," he insisted and then immediately backtracked. "Shit...unless you don't want to. Or you had another costume planned. I mean Halloween is months away but..." He continues rambling and you shake your head and stop him.

"Hey, I just figured it was something you'd want to do with the guys," you explained. "Not...me. Who am I? Not part of the band, not in Hellfire Club."

"Why wouldn't I want you there," he smiled, a little bashfully. Not the full, world-moving smile that changed the topography of his face, but a quiet one, one that made him look deceptively innocent. One that you hoped deep down, a little, was just for you. "With me--with us?!"

You couldn't get your hopes up.

You really couldn't.

“I-I mean, the guys all really liked you,” he continued. “I’m sure they’d want you there too.”

"I really liked them all too," you began. "They were cool...so if the guys are ok with it...and we don't do some stupid costume contest at work--they do things like that you know? Corporate sends out a stupid contest for a pizza party and...

"A-anyway, yeah I'd like to be part of your zombie group costume."

"Really?" he asked, similarly to earlier when he asked you to the movies.

"I mean...I might need to be bribed."

Eddie fell to his knees theatrically as you reached your car and you giggled, earning weird stares as people walked by on their way to their cars.

"Oh Queen of Glitter Kingdom," he began, one hand grabbing yours and the other over his heart. "I, your faithful servant, do promise to provide you with whatever sour candy you desire, as much as you please, from the collective treat buckets of the Hellfire Club if you deign to grace us with your presence during Trick or Treating this All Hallows Eve.

"Too much?" he asked after a short pause.

"Maybe," you tilted your head back and forth in consideration. Maybe too much, but that was part of what made him...him. "But I accept your most tempting offer."

He kissed your hand again before jumping to his feet with an excited yelp.

And once again, that thought returned:

How could anyone purposefully hurt a sweet nerd like Eddie?

"See you Sunday sweetheart?" he asked, wet eyes glistening happily.

"Yeah," you agreed. "See you Sunday."

---

Next Part: Standard Operating Procedures 1.03

Sales Associates (AKA the tag list): @gaysludge @storiesbyrhi @tayhar811 @spookybabey @word-wytch @maidenofartemis @dreamlandcreations @wickedbelle @blue-eyed-lion @aysheashea @blue-mossbird @abibliophobiaa

If you weren't given hours this week (if I forgot to tag you), I'm really sorry, we're just tight on payroll. I'll make sure you get a shift next time. ;)

(GUYS JUST LET ME HAVE THIS BIT!)

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged in future installations of the Store Manager Verse.

#Eddie Munson x reader #eddie munson imagine #Eddie muson fic #Eddie Munson stranger things #stranger things fic #stranger things imagine #Eddie Munson fluff #store manager verse

[tenpintsof-sundrop]

I have so many thoughts (as usual) about all of this. (This is also my third time writing this).

I don't think I've mentioned it here, but I am a fic writer. Except I haven't posted anything in months despite writing a lot during that time. Part of it is just me being so very busy and so very tired, and a little sad. But some of is just exhausting because when I did post often, I didn't really get a lot of comments. I can recall about 2 comments off the top of my head, because they were such specific things which I loved. I have those two comments saved, like pieces of paper in a scrapbook.

I also haved saved my own comments on Nisha's writing and our interactions. Because part of the joy of being human is experiencing things and sharing things with people. Part of the wonder is taking a not saying to go and befriend fic writers or to leave long essay comments (though they are nice). I'm saying to have meaningful feedback and conversations with them.

I have more thoughts. Some about specifically you, because out of everything you've written for I've only genuinely interacted with one of the canon sources (Harry Potter). I was here two blogs ago (and a url before pinkchubbiebunnie), but you came back and then I came back and have been more active since but that's a different message. -Rotten Anon.

Thank you for sending this!

You are so right! A huge part of the joy of being in fandom is interacting with people. MAKING FRIENDS. My fandom friends are the only ones I interact with every single day, because with my chronic illness - I don't go outside often (maybe once a month, or less than - I literally only go outside for doctors' appointments. that's it) - so these are the people I am closest with. my fandom besties know more of me than 90% of people irl

And idk if I have mentioned this - but I have written fics that I haven't posted (for example, a follow up to Honey, which is one of my most popular fics ever, and the follow up is not smut but a commentary on sexuality and how people are valid if they don't follow one specific label) - Jaycen has said recently fanfiction is my 'love language', so I write fanfiction for literally every thought that crosses my fucking mind. And a very large chunk of those fics don't make it to being posted because they are too raw and too personal and I know if someone commented publicly on those fics in a way I didn't like - I would be upset. So I don't open myself up to that

Fandom is supposed to be about making friends. It's not supposed to be about increasing the number of words you have read in a year or reading whatever is most popular or 'hate reading' something just to yell at the characters. Fandom is supposed to be about making friends and enjoy the same characters with those friends.

It's the difference between attending a cooking class with your friends and going to the grocery store or a takeout place by yourself to eat in silence. Like you are not supposed to be here for the stuff - fanfiction is not a product. You are supposed to be here for the fandom and the companionship, and the fanfiction is supposed to be a way to bond over those characters with friends.

You are supposed to seek out fanfiction that has been posted because it means the person on the other end of that fic - the person who created it - also likes the same things and the same characters that you like.

And it is great if someone with a writing style you already really like posts fics from something you haven't seen before - because you might get into that show or you might just get some cool fics out of it - but still, discuss those fics with that person like a friend. That is like watching someone bake while chatting with them, keeping them company, and licking the spoon even if you don't intend to have a piece of cake in the end or even if the cake is meant for a party you're not going to.

Just, again - fandom is about friendship. Fanfiction is not a product.

#rotten anon #anonymous #fanfiction #fandom #discussion #sundrop answers

[keru0]

Profile Tag Game!!

Hello - Hey! You can call me Kei or Keru. I was tagged by @lovelynim and since I really haven't said a lot about myself on here, this seems like the perfect opportunity to, no?

Chat: Tickling - Hm? What's with my obsession with tickling, you ask? Well, there's a few ways I could answer this... Well, let's just say I see it as just another form of physical affection. Just like other forms, I think it can be both intimate and non-intimate, romantic and platonic, just depends on my mood and who I'm with! But why I like it? Seeing those you love so carefree and laughing is something anyone would like, right?

Chat: Writing - I think one of my biggest flaws is that so much goes on in my brain but I have so little motivation. Putting my thoughts on paper just takes a lot out of me, y'know? But that's not to say I dislike it, I just have to take a little more time than most.

When It Rains - Ah, I love the rain so much...at least from inside. The sound of it hitting the window, the low rumble of thunder. It all just gets me in a cozy mood, but you won't see me outside.

When It Snows - It snowing?! By far the best weather in my opinion. Being bundled in clothes and blankets, the sun shining and glittering on the snow? It's so pretty! It's a shame the weather here tends to fluctuate too much for it to stay for longer than a week, though.

When the Sun Is Out - Ugh it's so bright and hot. Can't we go back inside with the air conditioning?

When the Wind is Blowing - Ah, such a nice break from the heat!

Good Morning - Ugh, just a few more minutes...

Good Afternoon - Wanna go grab lunch with me? I heard there's a new sushi place that just opened down the street! Oh? You're not a big fan of sushi? That's fine, you pick instead!

Good Evening - The sun is finally going down! Time to relax...

Good Night - Hm? Why am I still awake? Don't mind me, I just tend to feel more productive at night. Do you want me to be quieter? No need? Alright, go back to sleep. Rest easy.

About me: Music - I find that music tells you more about a person than anything else. Just one look at their playlists and recently played songs and I can tell how their feeling and what they like in a heartbeat! Plus, music just helps me relax, so why wouldn't I like it?

Something to Share: Shyness - I've been shy pretty much all my life. What does that technically mean? Well let's just say I have a really hard time starting conversations. But if others start the conversation then I feel much more comfortable, so feel free to talk to me anytime, I don't mind!

My Troubles - It just seems like there's so much I want to do but there's so little time... I guess I'll just have to try to make the most of it!

Favorite Food - Um...I can't say I really have a favorite, but I do like meat! It can go in pretty much any savory dish, and the variety of textures and tastes you can add to it just seem never-ending! And when you combine it with pasta? Mmm, delicious!

Least Favorite Food - Listen, I have my fair share of foods I don't like too much. Raw tomatoes, raw celery, vinegar... but I just cannot for the life of me figure out why people like pickles. They're crunchy and soft, somehow sweet and sour? Yeah, no thanks.

About @chibimochii - Mochi is probably the first friend I made in the community, and I couldn't be more happy about it! I had been around in tumblr for a few years before I made my blog, but he's the first person I interacted with. He's a really nice guy and his art is always just *muah* so cute! Defiantly visit his blog, you won't be disappointed!

About @ticklystuff - I haven't interacted with him a ton, but he's a pretty cool guy! I think we really bonded most over out shared obsession with fictional men, though.

About @undercovergamer - We have pretty regular discussions over out shared love of Itto, and who could blame us? The guy is really loveable! He sends a ton of fanfics to me, which I am so grateful for!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

I'm gonna go ahead and tag @chibimochii, @ticklystuff, @undercovergamer, and @italeean for this game! Of course, if anyone else wishes to join in, go ahead!

#tag game #genshin impact #profile tag game

[shablonkamightcry]

My job has really highlighted for me just how much I love humanity.

Things that I thought would be negatives of the job are my favourite. Having to talk to customers? Easy and charming, all types of folk come round here. I know enough to help them if they need it, and if they don't then that's easy. We might talk about the products or how their day has been and it has the ease as if I've know them my whole life, because we share the connection of the store. The customers are my favourite part of the job.

I had a customer come in and buy over 200 dollars worth of yugioh cards, and we talked about how he was going to go to the bottle shop after and drink and open the packs for the rest of the night. Another customer came in not too long ago and I commented on the sweater the guy she was with (which turned out to be her boyfriend) and how cool it's design was and she spent the next 15 minutes or so telling me about the website she got it on and all the cool stuff it sells and how much she loves it. So many people who come in for the first time have a face full of wonder and delight, and I get to expand on their joy by telling them more and showing them more.

I now have some customers who come in and look for me specifically because they like me so much. I had a trans customer ask me for a hug the first time he came in because I asked him for his pronouns while we were talking and the next time he came in he said "it's my favourite retail worker" and asked me for another hug. I have customers come in and thank me for how helpful I was last time, and I have customers who thank me on the way out, going out of their way to specifically tell my boss how helpful and nice I was. A lot of customers come in woth cool clothes or make-up or accessories and I can just. Tell them I like it after I ask if they need any help, and often time that will start a conversation that's just really nice and wholesome.

Even when there's customers who are more your stereotypical "annoying customer", they bring me so much joy. We have groups of teens who all gather around the knife display, and I simply get to talk to them and often show off the knives for them and have a nice chat with them. We have people who come in and make fun of aspects of the store, but they are having fun, and honestly the store is a bit funny if you look at it through the right lense. People who tend to complain or get mad at workers tend to soften up if you treat them with a level of understanding, and I assume part of that is a little bit of my autistic-ness making them feel a bit worse for being so rude. I know that sentence doesn't make sense on its own but like. It's The Way That I Am that seems to make people a bit kinder.

Even when I'm not working, I really feel so much love thanks to the changes my job has brought. My job is in a shopping centre, and that means I tend to walk around the centre if I have time before or after my shift. This means that in the stores closest to my job that I regularly peruse I have become familiar with the staff. This built such a sense of community for me because simply, I was able to befriend them not just because I was there alot, but because the people there liked me. There is a store in my little circut where one of the employees I know simply does not like me, and I'm ok with that. It actually helps to distinguish that these people are not just talking to me because I am a customer, but because they like me. One worker specifically went out of her way to let specifically me know that she would be on vacation for the next 5 months so that way I wouldn't be wondering were she was and that I knew she wasn't avoiding me. After she told me, she then asked to give me a hug and told me she'd see me after she came back. She chose to do all that.

My job has really shown me that I am likeable, but it has also reminded me how much I like people, individually and as a whole.

#Fuck this is long I'm not reading this goodbye draft post

[zatyrlucy]

This is Erin proof but many people says that it's just a miscommunication Wich I agree. What your opinion

Damn...now I wanna see the conversation between Jane and Erin to see who did the fuck-up. If it was Jane for miss interpreting what Erin said, or if it was Erin for saying something that you never EVER say in a company unless you are 200% sure and it is "I'm not sure I can have this on time".

For the moment, I'm on Sam's side here. It's not something personal, a project must be finished on time. Why should she risk the entire episode's deadline by giving the task to someone who is showing doubts about meeting the deadline (even if it was a misunderstanding or not) when someone else could do it faster without issues.

I see this kind of decision anywhere, so is not a surprise to me. Also, my wild guess is that Erin is the one who did the mistake because of two things 1. She didn't correct Sam, and 2. Jane gave Sam a cap of the conversation and if Erin literally said "I'm not sure I can meet the deadline" then that's game over. If it was a misunderstanding why she didn't do anything? Girl If someone didn't understand you in a chain of production you must correct them ASAP or the rest of the chain is going to be fucked-up in a broken phone; send her a screen pic, say that that wasn't your point, anything! You can get in a lot of trouble in a big company if you say A but everybody else understood B, that's fatal.

How to prevent this? Something that pisses me a little is that I have noticed SpindleHorse always uses Discord for conversation between employees. Vivziepop, Ma'am, that's NOT a good business tool! xd I know discord is cool and all but it was created for gamers lol This and many things could be prevented if employees use emails instead of chat or at least Microsoft Teams or...idk...Skype Business.

Instead of fucking discord the conversation between Jane and Erin could have been a couple of emails with Cc to Viv and Sam and that's it. Plus if you get into legal issues is far way easier to find your arguments in an email than in ton and tons of text buried in a chat. Thanks to emails you have to be short, straight to the point and clear AF. Because is not a chat, the arguments don't get lost in long casual conversations, plus if Viv or Sam see something wrong they could interfere immediately.

You don't know how many times my life has been saved because I Cc my bosses whenever I speak with a client or a coworker about something important. If anyone said something compromising my bosses always appear because they are able to see the conversation too. But I don't know, it's just adult me being annoying I guess.

I know animation is a fun business, but it is still business, Vivziepop should start using serious tools to prevent mistakes in the future, instead of "lol discord!! because... yeah! young people like that!!! so cool!!"

#I can believe my adult brain is more pissed with Viv for not using business tools than for what happened to Erin #but yeah I don't see the issue here...she showed doubts and her boss acted immediately...nothing to do there #Vivziepop

[aonoexpat]

Landing

05-02-2023

I finally have time for a more elaborate update!

The moment I entered Brisbane airport and saw the terminal for my Air New Zealand flight indicated on the screens, I was getting giddy with anticipation. The vibe at the airport was vastly different from that at Incheon and CDG. I only had a 1:35 layover, but was quickly greeted by a lady with that lovely Ozzie accent letting me know there was absolutely no need to rush. My gate would be right up the stairs, and everything was all right. I thanked her and went to empty out my water bottle for the next luggage check. The air flowing in through open doors or windows was hot and humid, and it had that tropical smell to it that instantly brought me back to my backpacking trip around Australia seven years ago. It felt a little like coming home 🥰

Even on the plane, people seemed much more cheerful and welcoming than on the previous flights. Other passengers were singing along to the songs playing during boarding, the safety video was stunningly beautiful, and during the flight I found out they have a little app on the entertainment system called 'seat chat', which allows you to message other passengers. I took some chances and randomly invited a couple of seats to a chat, and one of them accepted! We had a really nice chat and shared some amazement about the gorgeous views from the plane as we made our approach to Aotearoa:

I'd been worried for about thirty hours that my luggage wouldn't successfully be transported all the way with me, but to my relief it was one of the first to roll in. After getting through customs and biosecurity (which luckily allowed me to keep all of my items), I was kindly picked up from the airport by my friend ♥️ She drove me into the city to say hi to her husband, and then we headed to their home, where I am lucky to be welcome to stay for a while. The whole drive I was gaping out the window, in awe of both the hot weather and the hills and ocean. She hit me with a lot of cool information about the area, and my heart was just about ready to leap out of my chest! First impression: absolutely wonderful ♥️

After getting a much needed shower, I went into town with her to grab a bite to eat, and after that we went for a walk along the beach in the sunset:

In the supermarket later that evening a stranger came up to me and said they liked my hair so naturally I'm already IN LOVE with this place ☺️

It's funny how, when you're planning a move like this, you can feel like you won't find your way in a new place at all. Especially if I haven't travelled for a while, that's the one thing I forget the most quickly. It feels like you'd panic, or won't find a place to sleep at night, or won't find a job to support yourself. But then when you get there, and (if you're as lucky as I am) you have some people helping you get settled in, it all works out so easily. All those walls and fears come crumbling down in a single conversation, and it feels magical. You find out you still have your wits about you, you still have your skills and your intelligence, and you can still ask questions, get answers, and make sensible decisions that work for you. All of that applies no matter where you are. And of course it's still scary, don't get me wrong. It's a vastly unfamiliar environment, everybody drives on the wrong side of the road, I am actually having some trouble properly parsing Kiwi English, and living costs are high. But I'm reminding myself regularly that I have a whole year to find my way around here!

So after getting a good night's sleep, today I've gotten a local phone number, done some groceries (sooo many nice vegan products here!!) been invited to a board game night, have found several jobs to choose from when I'm ready, have looked around for accommodation options, figured out the public transport situation, have looked up open mic night events, and have found several second hand guitars online that I'm interested in buying :)

Looking forward to the next 363 days!

#aotearoa #backpacking

[pbandjesse]

I'm at the museum right now and I'm having a good time. There were some confusion about if the galleries were even open for the event tonight. But they are. It's a Johns Hopkins event. And I'm hoping I have some nice conversations. That's all I ever really want.

Today was honestly great. I didn't sleep wonderful. But that was okay. I woke up this morning and James had already gone to work. I given myself an extra couple minutes but I knew I still had to leave before 9:00 because of the signs where we parked. And so I felt a little rushed getting out of bed. But in the end it was all right. I got up and I got dressed and I really liked my outfit.

I left the house and went to go get breakfast. And when I was a museum start my day. I brought a whole bunch of my knitting to catch up on and my crochet squares. I knew I would have a lot of down time to pay because I was doing both the daytime program and the event tonight.

James was in a meeting when I got there. And after I set things up for my program I would go say hello and I was just really happy to see them.

We have a lot going on today. But the thing I was most excited about was that Alexi and Louisa we're going to be here today. They were supposed to be there last month but they had to cancel and their school was coming today! Jessica made sure that they were part of my group. And I was so excited.

And my first program went great. We had balls and track and I had a lot of fun and it was a lot of laughs. And everyone did a really good job. I think it was one of my very good times doing that program.

Then they had lunch. And lunch was kind of a mess because there was both all 80 of their students and another school and all the chaperones and teachers. And everyone was just kind of in everyone's way. But I let Del and Gaby deal with it because no one was listening to me.

I wouldn't have my lunch and then I checked in with Adam because he was going to be leading the next program and I was supposed to be watching him. He's worked here for a really long time but he was gone for a bit so I think he's just rewinding stuff still. Which is fine. But I was a little bummed that I wasn't living a program because I love doing a simple line so much and I really think it would have made me happy to do it but that's okay.

And Adam did a fine job. For some reason he sounded terrified the entire time. And I did jump in when he asked me to to kind of round out his intro. Some of the parents though asked if he was new and I was like oh yeah. Just cuz I didn't want to be mean. But the parents all told me I did a great job. We had three rows going. And Louisa was in my room. And it wasn't just her. I had a bunch of other kids that I know from Botox and that was really cool. So I told my table that we were going to beat the other tables. That we were going to do better than all of them. And we were going to finish the fastest. And they did. Which let me have lots of time and go help together two tables that were struggling. Adam just needs practice. And Jim's only seen the program once. They'll get there. It just takes time.

There was some confusion though with the timing of the day. My bus driver thought they were done it 1:45 The other bus driver thought they were done at one. And the teacher said they had paid for the extra half hour to have time to explore the museum but we don't do that here so we had to quickly pivot. And because I was confused I did not waste as much time as I think Jessica wanted me to. But that's all right. I took my group to go do the scavenger hunt and the other half of the group went and did a group picture and then they switched I think. I chatted with Jessica and then I headed up to the front to take over for James.

I got a lot of work done on my crochet. And I started working on catching up all of my rain days. I had six rows to do. I did finish 5 by the end of the day today. Well when I got back to the museum after I left for a bit. But I was very productive. And I had a really nice time talking to Gabby and thinking about what the next year is going to look like. And apparently there's some rumors about some new hires. Which would be pretty cool. Especially cuz we're losing a couple people because school is coming back around.

James came back down to the desk and I told them I was going to go to Target. We had discussed me going and getting a two-piece set that I had been looking at. I've been trying to find two piece set for a while but I haven't had much luck. So this would have been really nice. And so I headed out to do just that.

I drove over to Glen Burnie and was slightly disappointed that I could not find the two-piece set that I wanted. I found the bottom of it. But I could not find the matching top. But I decided that cuz it's still fit me really really well and I really like it I still got it. So now I'm going to be on the hunt for the matching top for my two-piece set. I also found the face wash that me and James use so that was really nice so not a waste. I did get very overheated trying on different tops and bottoms and stuff. I felt like even though I'm doing this no buy / low buy month this was something I really have been trying to get and that made me feel like it was okay to buy something even though I'm trying very hard not to add to my credit card bill. And I did not add to it because I used my gift card. I am surprised at how much money seems to be on it still.

Once I was done there I went to go get a taco for dinner and I got back here to the museum before 4:30.

I've been hanging out with Angie since then and gossiping. Angie always has the good tea. And she's going through a lot so I'm glad that we were able to just talk and complain about stuff. You're planning makes me feel better sometimes too. And now people are slowly coming in. I got all my rain days caught up and I'm almost done all of my yarn for my crochet project. I don't know if I'm going to have enough to finish the full 100 square so I might have to frog some stuff but I have in my partially completed projects box. We'll have to see.

I'm just walking around the museum now. I'm having a good time just looking at stuff and decorating areas that I think could look nicer. And I hope you guys are having a good night too. I'll be here for a few more hours and then I'll go home to James. And I'm hoping that I can just take a nice shower and wash my hair and sleep for a long time. Tomorrow is going to be a pretty good day because there is stuff for me to learn. I haven't learned something in a long time. So wish me luck and I hope you have a great night. Good night everybody!

[scratchandplaster]

Ben, did you know that your ‘dad’ killed people? Including your mo—- ahhh. *Gets pulled away by the spoiler police*

[Masterlist] | Ask game

Otis doesn't appreciate you spreading rumors, maybe he's going to show you what's really in the workshop...

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

"My dad," Ben stressed unnecessarily loud, "doesn't do anything like it. That's Otis' specialty, and I wouldn't call animals people, even though I love them very much. Stop exaggerating."

He was clearly still fed up about their last encounter, barely tolerating Sam's presence in front of the restrooms. Waiting for the little ones to finish brushing their teeth had him glued down on the spot, yet they were hesitant to continue the awkward conversation where Shepard had left it, especially after its abrupt end.

Back and forth, Ben's gaze wandered between Sam and the door. He couldn't always start crying for backup, that trick got old fast.

"Is it because you're a vegan?" he suddenly wondered and chewed on his lip, "Avery is; made me eat my cereal with milk from nuts every morning. Nuts! That was so cool..."

"I'm not, I was actually hoping to chat more about Shepard's wife."

Who's not your mother after all, I think.

The more Sam picked at the edges of this world, the more they were unsure about certain preconceptions they brought with them on this trip. A crucial link was missing - a thread connecting sudden hesitations inside this construct.

"Dead women are your favorite subject, it looks like," Ben's face slowly turned warm with anger again, "and upsetting the people who welcome you into their home. You get off to this?"

Sam knew how giving offense was a risky path, though it was nearly impossible to get a productive answer otherwise: "God, grow up. It's my job!"

"To annoy me and my dad?"

"To unravel a mystery."

Ben wheezed, a cross between a sad laugh and a hiss.

"Ah. Here you have your mystery: Lukas' mom passed, mine left without a word. The only person who ever took care of us was Shepard. And that's that."

Birdie watched from afar, only shaking her head in disappointment. Going against her explicit wishes stung bitterly, since she had been so forgiving before, and made Sam turn back to Ben, who wrapped himself tightly in his jacket:

"I'm sorry if the truth is not entertaining enough for you."

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

#tales of arcadia #whump #whumpblr #ask game #thanks for the ask!

[mossflwer]

End of year streaming retrospective

Howdy folks! I wanted to take some time to process this past year's creative efforts, review my past goals, and set new ones for 2023!

I seriously can't thank each and every one of you enough for making this year such a blast. The only reason I'm still streaming is because of the awesome community, and I look forward to serving ya'll to the best of my ability this next year!

I initially started writing a huge break down of the past two years, all the things I've tried streaming, my different processes, blah blah blah. You probably don't want to read several thousand words of me stroking my own creative ego so instead I've tied to boil it down to some bullet points to share things that helped me but its still way too fucking long lmao.

What I'm grateful for

Before I launch into congratulating myself, I want to thank everyone who made this fucking possible.

YOU! Everyone who shows up to stream, interacts with any of my content, and just in general has been supportive! The only reason I'm still streaming is because of folks like you.

Encouragement from other streamers/creatives. I'd list folks here but its too long and I don't want to leave folks out. But I've legit never had other creative folks encourage me like some of ya'll have.

The awesome communities in which I've been able to make new friends and collab with some awesome folks, its genuinely made my year.

Previous Goals for 2022

Contribute positively to the Twitch / gaming community: I feel like this was the most successful its ever been. Hearing that the streams can be a safe space for folks means the world to me and I want to keep building on that.

Grow as a creative, with speaking and production: I feel way more confident in speaking now but there's still lots of room to grow! And especially with the tiktoks I've loved doing more video editing.

Keep a consistent creative practice: I'm so thankful for chat keeping me accountable to this. Knowing folks expect me live at X times has kept me motivated and I'm so grateful for that.

One collab a week: This went well! The intention was to highlight other cool creators and contribute what I could to their channels. Probably gonna update this to 1 collab every 2 weeks for less stress.

One tiktok a week: This worked great! It hasn't helped build my twitch audience much but it is growing steadily. Updating to 3 tiktoks a week since that pace seems to work for me.

One new redeem a week: Didn't work out as great, but still pushed me to keep iterating my channel/overlay and avoid stagnating.

What I learned

My ideal stream length is 3-4 hours. I only stream as a hobby, since I have a 9-5 job that takes most of my time and pays all of my bills already. This length seems like enough time to hangout and still have time for everything else.

Modding for other people can be a cool way to contribute to the community. I'm still pretty uncomfortable with the idea of people modding for me and doing free labor, but the sorta "we got each others backs" modding that I've seen friends do for each other has been really fun to participate in.

Setting a community vibe can be tough but is extremely important: Initially I set out for my chat to be a safe space to chat about tough topics, since I really value deep/hard convos. I think for now though, I’ve realized that stream is not always the place for these conversations which is really hard for me. I want to listen and support people who are being vulnerable. But I also need to look out for the rest of the chat and community who are just looking to vibe. Wish I had a better way to tackle it and give people support while still keeping a comfy vibe on stream.

Social media is important for growth: Twitter has been fun to just dick around with and connect with existing audience/peers. Tiktok seems great for growth but can be fickle. YT Shorts is similar, with the added furry hate comments that don't bother me too much. And I've been having a blast with Tumblr, but I might make an alt just to shitpost because I've noticed I do more shitposting than actual content shit.

Try new shit!: I've been experimenting with a private stream that you can only get to through my site, which I've used for low-key vinyl streams. I really want to do more weird shit over there, but the important thing is don't be afraid to try new stuff!

Watch other streams: If you want to contribute in a medium, you need to know what other folks are doing. Take notes, be inspired, but don't copy. And support your homies efforts too!

Consistency over Quality: People like consistency, especially in streaming. Someone knowing “oh its tuesday, that means moss is live tonight!” is fantastic for recurring viewership. And posting one 7/10 tiktok every week is way better than one 10/10 tiktok every few months. See MissJackieCR's Youtube video on content creation AMA for more.

Don't chase perfection: Its cliche as hell, but if you try and get everything you make perfect, you'll never finish anything. With streams, always strive to make your next one 1% better than the last one. With other content, I try to get stuff to around 80% of whatever my quality bar is. There are diminishing returns to polishing shit up, and your time may be better spent just publishing it then starting something new.

Goals for 2023

Explore different sorts of content! Stuff on the games industry, spirituality, and collaborative creation all are on my radar.

More game design stuff! I want to ramp up what I'm able to share with ya'll when it comes to how games are designed and made.

More collabs! I just love hanging with folks on stream and its fun.

Actually post to instagram, since its been working for some others.

Watch my own fucking vods. I know its the best way to see how you can improve your own content, I just need a better routine for it.

More side streams! Stuff on Tumblr Live and the private stream.

Try and make some Youtube content!

Experiment with live bass playing streams, or something to incorporate music into stream even more.

For real, thank you so much for the support, its meant the world to me. For everyone who'se come along for the ride, thank you so much. This might just be a side-project for me but its genuinely a highlight of my week and I'm looking forward to doing even more in 2023!

[rviden]

hello!! may I request for hcs for when you get into an argument with the genshin boys (you can choose who!!) and the guys end up saying something hurtful, and your reaction is like "well, if that's what you think, then maybe we shouldn't be together." and walks away (tryna hide a tear,,)?? I'm sorry if this is too specific aah I'm just in the mood for angst ( •́ ‿ ,•̀ ) I really like your characterization!! <333

— 🧧 THEIR S/O BREAKS UP WITH THEM AFTER A RUDE COMMENT THEY MADE

includes — kazuha, tohma, diluc

warnings — angst, pre tohma release

pronouns — they/them

note — in honour of the 2.0 announcement trailer, i included the newest boy to my writing list (tohma by beloved) - i’ve also added baal (or raiden), ayaka, and yoimiya!

KAZUHA

kazuha wasn’t usually confrontational off of the battle field — opting for more serene and peaceful things while resting and spending his time with you

but sometimes when emotions boil over, we say things that we don’t mean, nor wish to say at all — it’s in the heat of the moment type of thing, which is exactly what was happening to kazuha in the present time

“you don’t get it- you never will,” kazuha paced away from you, wanting to put an end to the conversation station as soon as he could.

“and what’s that supposed to mean?” you took strides to catch up with the upset male, desperate to understand his reasoning. “why don’t you face me, and tell me why the hell you won’t let me help-“ the moment your hand made contact with his arm, he turned in fury — something you had never seen him in ever.

“you’re too clumsy, too reckless, and simply not able to withstand that type of battles that would occur!” kazuha’s face was mere inches from your own. “you’re just not enough.”

you weren’t enough.

he was talking about physical ability, but... why did it feel as if he was talking about everything — the way you dressed, the way you acted, the person you are.

he didn’t think you were enough.

“... if- if you think so lowly of me, then i don’t think this is going to work,” your feet slowly brought your body away from the now shocked and calming male, trying to put as much distance as you could between the two of you.

“y/n-“ he reached out for your arm, only to pull back as if he had been shocked as you flinched away from it. “i didn’t mean it like that.”

“well that’s what it sounded like kazuha.”

you never called him kazuha — it was always kaz, or some other nickname — but never kazuha.

“i’ll leave you to your business, and i’ll board with beidou in the morning,” the distance grew greater, and hearts cracked piece by piece. “i hope you find someone who’s enough on your travels.”

kazuha’s heart left with you — the emptiness in his chest product of his own doings, his own words.

it seemed that he was the one not enough for you.

TOHMA

tohma didn’t like to fight, argue, or even cause any sort of pain to you — and in the past if he ever did, it was not by his choice, or it was a complete accident

yet here he found himself, spouting words he didn’t mean, watching the look of anger on your face crumble into hurt and betrayal

tohma was tired — beyond even — with the job that he possessed, and the dedication to match, nights were often spent resting and resetting for the next.

“y/n i really don’t have time for this right now, you know this,” his fingers pinched the bridge of his nose, desperately trying to rid himself of both the anger and headache that clawed at his mind.

“i think you have plenty of time right now — all i’m asking is for you to consider my idea,” you stepped closer to the blonde, brings your hands up to run through his hair in order to help calm him down. “i just want to see you a little more often, even if it’s only a day a week — just more then i see you now-“

his head was yanked away from your hands, and his eyes burned into you like the vision that hung on his hip. “for the last time! i have my duties with the kamisato clan, and they need my dedication and focus — i don’t have time to waste.”

his words didn’t fully click in his head, until he saw your eyes widen in both shock and hurt — and all he could do was watch as your body slowly backed away and shrank into itself, becoming smaller and smaller by the second.

you tried to appear bigger in mere moments after the metaphorical slap to the face — your chin being held high, eyes narrowed, and drawn in tight.

“don’t bother coming home tomorrow, or the nextday, or even the next,” he could see the hurt as you tried to keep your composer. “wouldn’t want you wasting time, now would we?”

“y/n-“

“leave tohma — you have your duties, remember?”

it happened too fast for tohma to handle — one minute you were happily chatting, next the argument broke out, and the next, he had broken the one promise he had made to himself and you.

he had hurt you, one too many times.

DILUC

he was a calm and collected man, trying many other options before it truly came down to a fight — he poked and prodded most times during arguments, but never before had he pointed out things he knew would hurt

maybe that’s why he wasn’t only in shock as he watch the anger turn into sadness and thought, but also at the words that seemed to flow out of his mouth like a river

“dee, please take a break,” your hands worked on his shoulders — thumbs pushing on the knots and sore spots in the muscles, trying anything you could to get the red haired man to relax.

“y/n please — i’ll come to bed in a few more minutes, i just have to finish this-“ the quill was plucked out of his hands before you could finish — now dangling between your own fingertips.

“you said that the yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that — i know you dee — like that back of my hand,” you waved the back of your hand in an example, the smile on your face doing nothing to ease the furrow in his brow.

he was committed to finishing paperwork and documents — and if that meant forgoing a few nights of actual rest and calmness, then so be it.

but you were making that difficult.

“give me that,” diluc harshly grabbed the quill from your hand, not caring or registering if he had hurt you in the process.

he turned back to his work as soon as it was in his hand, but the moment didn’t last long.

“diluc-“ your hand reached down for the quill again, but were quickly shoved back as he stood from the chair.

“would you just give me some space!” his eyes and cheeks gleamed red, similar to the colour of his hair. “i can’t get any actual work done when your clinging to me like an animal in heat!” in the moment, diluc didn’t care if he had hurt you, and that was one of his many mistakes in that moment.

the quietness was tense and uncomfortable — dilucs heavy breathing, and the sound of soft fidgeting being the only things that could be heard.

“i’ll leave you be then,” you turned in that moment, the tears running freshly down your face the second your back was to the man.

diluc didn’t panic at first.

he had hurt you, yes — but you would let him cool down, calm, and finish was he was doing. that was all.

but the empty room that was once occupied by two and the quick feet that turned and walked in the other direction every time he was near — was enough to tell him the truth.

you left him to be on his own.

for good.

#📎 — extended headcanon #🩹 — angst #🖇 — kazuha #🖇 — tohma #🖇 — diluc #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact imagine #genshin x reader #genshin imagine #kazuha x reader #kazuha imagine #tohma x reader #tohma imagine #diluc x reader #diluc imagine

[mysteryshoptls]

SR Azul Ashengrotto Ceremonial Robes Personal Story: Part 2

"It's a trade secret."

(Part 1) Part 2

[Pomefiore Dorm – Hallway]

Pomefiore Student A: Look at today's Schoenheit-san… That beauty is something akin to a painting!

Pomefiore Student B: He is always the epitome of beautiful, yet somehow his recent beauty has surpassed the ordinary. That clear skin… It is almost luminous.

Pomefiore Student A: I wonder what kind of skin care the Dorm Leader uses. I'm sure use regular folk couldn't even fathom the possibilities.

Rook: Do you hear them, Vil? Everyone has been talking of you recently!

Rook: They are all captivated by your beauty, Roi de Poison. Of course, as am I.

Vil: Naturally. I am currently at my finest finish. I am not lacking from any angle.

Rook: Aah, how you continue to strive to better yourself as we get nearer to the entrance ceremony… How marvelous! I am looking forward to that day.

Azul: Oh, my, Vil-san. It has been a while.

Vil: Ah, Azul. Thank you for your hard work during today's entrance ceremony rehearsal.

Azul: You are far more beautiful than ever before. Whatever is your secret?

Vil: Fufu. I wonder… Could it possibly be because I was able to get my hands on a special moisturizer about a week ago?

Azul: The cool gel gently permeates the sun-damaged skin. It provides a moist feeling, yet is not sticky.

Azul: The more you use it, the more it moisturizes. It will bring out your skin's real beauty.

Azul: …It is my finest work.

Vil: True, this is the first lotion that I've ever felt was this effective.

Vil: Any wish will be granted as long as the fee is paid… Those rumors certainly were not falsehoods.

Azul: I am pleased that you have come to that realization.

Vil: When you first brought me that odd turquoise and muddied gel, I had believed it all to be a terrible joke…

Azul: Hahaha. You cannot know whether something is a good product until you try it yourself!

Rook: Oho, so the key to Vil's beauty was all thanks to Roi d'Effort?

Rook: Then please, allow me to extend my thanks to you as well! I am pleased that you've helped him ascend to the next stage in beauty.

Rook: What an amazing creation. Wouldn't you say, Vil?

Vil: Yes, truly. This is something to be proud of.

Azul: Thank you very much. When you so openly praise me as such, I cannot help but feel like a fish out of water

Vil: I'm not praising you. I'm speaking of my own discerning eye.

Vil: It's something I've had a feeling about for a while now, that you must know some special secrets when it comes to skin care.

Azul: Oh, why is that? I don't recall ever holding a conversation with you about cosmetics…

Vil: Because, when I look at you closely, you have such beautiful skin. And not just you, but those twins of yours as well.

Vil: Now. I wonder what kind of secrets this lotion holds.

Rook: Absolutely. When put that way, I am also curious as to how you were able to create a moisturizer that even Vil was unable to make.

Rook: Did you discover a new kind of herb? Or perhaps you applied your extensive knowledge in alchemy to create it.

Azul: …It's a trade secret.

Jade: Azul, here you were. There is a matter I wished to discuss with you about the entrance ceremony…

Azul: Oh, yes. I should return to the rehearsal. I'll have to excuse myself here.

Vil: Are you leaving already? Just when our discussion turned interesting.

Vil: I wonder what could possibly have gotten you so rushed to leave me.

Azul: My apologies, this is my first entrance ceremony as a Dorm Leader, therefore there is much for me to learn… How unsightly.

Azul: Let us chat again sometime soon.

Vil: …

Vil: …Hmph. Fine. I'll come to you again next time I need something.

Azul: Please do!

Azul: Thank you very much for your request. I look forward to doing business with you next time as well.

[Hall of Mirrors]

Azul: …Whew. That was nice timing on your part, Jade

Jade: Not at all. Floyd was finally able to walk again, so we came to report as such.

Jade: It seems he is fine to stay on land once more. How wonderful that we were in time for entrance ceremony.

Floyd: Ugh, that was so terrible… I feel like all my scales got peeled off…

Jade: Moray eels do not have scales to begin with.

Azul: Floyd! Vil-san was absolutely overjoyed.

Azul: This was all due to your dedication to the cause. Thanks to you, we were able to develop a spectacular lotion.

Floyd: Easy for you to say, squeezing another person's body like a dishrag.

Floyd: I ain't gonna forgive you next time, y'know?

Azul: Yes, yes. Next time, we shall decide by coin toss.

Floyd: Ugh, do you even really get it?

Azul: Aah, the Mother Ocean is wonderful. Her gracious bounty is her blessing.

(Part 1) Part 2

#twisted wonderland #twst #azul ashengrotto #vil schoenheit #jade leech #floyd leech #rook hunt #twst azul #twst vil #twst jade #twst floyd #twst rook #twst translation

[yourthirdparent]

why is dysphoric by cavetown such a nico song. i don't even headcanon him as trans. warning i'm gonna talk about nico's crush on percy, the cupid scene, the jar, etc. anyways uhhh

don't let me see what i am

cuz i can't stand it, no i can't

internalised homophobia. yk how in the cupid scene it wasn't that he had to tell anyone else, it was that he had to admit it to himself and that jason finding out was just a product of him being there while it all went down? that shows what i mean, he didn't want to face the truth

i'm coming back 'round again

it's been over a year, i thought this was the end

generic thought is that he's coming back to chb, cooler thought is that he's coming right back to help percy in moa/hoh cuz he just can't say no to him. he thought he was over it, he thought he could just avoid his feelings for percy forever. big shocker: no he can't. also it's been a while since he's done all that Trying Desperately To Get Percy To Like Him nonsense lmao

but now i don't remember comfort

he was only really Comfortable back when he was chilling with his mom and sister and yk, he doesn't remember that. that was back in the 30s/40s and he's since taken a nice swim in the river lethe.

because what i am is what i'm not

can i get an identity crisis in chat. not sure what this line might mean in the context of Nicocore but i'm thinking like. he popped out the lethe and was told that he's nico di angelo but like Is He? idk am i making sense

i don't belong here, it's just hopeless

remember that one conversation he had with percy where he was like "yeah i'm leaving" and percy was like "wtf no don't" and nico was like "i don't belong here" and percy was like "you don't belong here" and went on his merry way while nico blasted ass back to wherever? yeah. also he clearly thought him belonging at the camps and staying there was hopeless up until boo cuz will was like "idk people here think you're cool *COUGH COUGH* totally not projecting or anything" and nico totally bought it and decided that sure he'll listen to jason and stay at chb

find me a way out if you love me at all

this could have lots of meanings. too many. 1 get him out of the jar? idk. 2 get him out of his sexuality crisis (sorry for making it gay again i can't help it). more that i can't think of or talk about without needing to add more warnings. i like the idea that he desperately wants to not deal with the fact that he likes guys and that's what it'd mean but go nuts yk

don't let me hear what they say

cuz i can't stand it every day

people are always talking /neg about him. the jar conversation involved leo and jason calling him sus for several minutes and Nobody standing up for him except hazel. in hoh everybody thought he was weird and creepy except for hazel (and later jason). in boo people still find him creepy and yet will has the Nerve to be like "but people like you here, you just distanced yourself" which yeah he did but he did that BECAUSE people didn't like him and also it's immediately disproven in tho because when nico shadow travels away to go do something austin literally shudders and is like "god it's so fucking creepy when he does that." people talk shit. (bonus cooler (gayer) but less plausible thought is that it'd be about the homophobic rhetoric he heard back in the 40s, less plausible because of the amnesia nonsense)

i'm thinking that i should leave now

but i don't think i'm coming back this time

nico leaving spots isn't new. he left chb multiple times. he leaves chb and cj on the reg. but he always comes back. those are temporary leaves. but in hoh and most of boo he's planning on leaving for good, he isn't planning on returning. granted, he ends up staying anyways, but that wasn't the plan

this phantom skin is weird to live in

the "phantom skin" could be like when he shadow travelled too much in boo and sorta became translucent, started fading, etc. he was sorta phantom-like for a bit and it was probably weird. self explanatory

anyways that's like. it. have fun

#percy jackson and the olympians #percy jackson #pjo #the heroes of olympus #heroes of olympus #hoo #the trials of apollo #trials of apollo #toa #cavetown #nico di angelo #this isn't a #solangelo #nor a #percico #post but i'm adding those anyway. because fuck you. #sorry about all the tags rip #allfatherly guidance

[madame-peach]

Sorry to bother you again if I’m not wanted here, I know that you already soft-blocked me so if I’m not welcome here, I understand.

I’ve been reading thru a few of the posts abt tme/tma that you’ve reblogged and I’ve been thinking a lot abt it. I’d like to ask a few questions on some things though if you wouldn’t mind. I’d just like to learn some more things, maybe have a civil discussion abt it if possible.

Thanks in advance for answering this.

No problem at all. I originally followed you because you post cool stuff that I generally agree with / find productive for conversation about the liberation of trans people as a whole. Also I love the jollity that funny relatable memes bring to my day.

I'm very open to chat civilly, and I reserve the right to refrain from responding to anything I find personally demeaning / dehumanizing.

#transmisogyny #tma #tme #rspct-trans-ppl-or-ill-bite-u #ask #my thoughts

[tam--lin]

I MISSED THE BRANDON SANDERSON STORY please do tell... I haven't read him yet but 3 of my family members are neck deep in reading and rereading his current series and I have book 1 on my shelf...

AH YES, the time I vacuumed around New York Times Bestselling Author Brandon Sanderson.

Alright. I'm in highschool and I'm house manager for a student-written, student-directed one-acts production at the theater I grew up in. House manager is the PERFECT role for me, personality-wise, and I'm taking it super seriously.

Also, I'm maybe sixteen. I am casually into Doctor Who and Percy Jackson. I am on Tumblr but mostly because my current hyperfixation is religious headcoverings and I have a blog about them. I have never been to a fan event of any sort. I am not the sort of person who reads big hefty second-world fantasy series. I probably don’t even know what the word “cosplay” means.

Setting: day after opening night. I arrive early to clean up last night's mess, ready to put my headphones in and clean in a blissful, quiet bubble before the chaos of the evening.

I am deeply confused to arrive and find the lobby -- my lobby, my territory, my exclusive responsibility -- filled with elves. Just, completely packed, wall-to-wall with very tall people holding very large weapons. I have to physically push my way between them. They are gracious and funny as I make my way to the concession booth, which is nice but does nothing to mitigate my confusion.

I eventually learn that some guy who I'd never heard of called Brandon Sanderson was doing a book signing at the local indie bookstore, which was WAY too small for this sort of event and the theater powers that be offered at the last minute to host the signing in the lobby.

Which, cool! Great! Fancy fantasy writer who I've never heard of is doing a signing in the theater. That's all well and good, but I have a responsibility to the cast and crew and guests and, elves or no elves, this place is getting cleaned before people start getting here. I finish the concession booth, I check the bathrooms, I do everything on my checklist that I can possibly do besides vacuuming. The elves are almost gone. There are still a few stragglers. Mr. Sanderson stands around with some bookstore people, chatting.

Which is fine! But he's still on my carpet!

We are getting perilously close to the point when I need to start letting ticket holders in so I break out the vacuum. I start at the far end of the lobby, hoping that maybe the book people will all take a hint and move this conversation outside. 

They do not take a hint.

Mr. Sanderson is very nice about the fact that I am literally vacuuming around him in a circle, but he does not move.

I don't remember if the book people left or if an adult who was an actual employee had a polite conversation, but finally, finally, the lobby is free of elves and authors and theater-land returns to the normal brand of pre-performance stress.

To this day I haven't read a single thing Brandon Sanderson has written but I do think about him chatting with the booksellers every time I see his name on a con program or on a bookshelf. I hope he's doing okay and still commanding crowds of so many elves they wouldn't fit in the local bookstore.

#brandon sanderson #are there elves in his books? #I don't know I don't want to know they were very much elves to me at the time #personal #fairestoftheseasons