Hello! This is the tumblr page for the PBJ server on Discord! It's for writers of all sorts looking for like minded individuals to share their writing journey. https://discord.gg/pfnj89PGU2
Half the blogs I followed before are inactive... Could you help me and reblog this if you're a writeblr?
It's hard to get me invested in romance, but I read basically everything else! :D Especially fantasy, but also anything speculative, horror, mystery, literary, interactive...
What's extra funny is that despite being narrative foils, Dracula and Van Helsing literally never interact. They're in the same room together twice in the entire novel (both on October 3rd). Like, it's Van Helsing who drives him out that morning as the Guy With the Crucifix but he was leaving anyway, just waiting for an audience. And that's the entire extent of it. Dracula's final villain monologue is directed at all of them.
Dracula is, by an overwhelming margin, the vampire Van Helsing interacts the least with. It's so funny. Heck, Dracula is the character Van Helsing interacts the least with, not counting incidentals like Mr. Swales
In addition, his interest in vampires comes from his general interest in myths and conspiracy theories, like, vampires may not even be his top 5 or top 10 cryptids
It does. But look at the next mile marker. [ancient inscription of what looks exactly like us kissing with tongue while a giant sea monster is about to kill us.]
Hey everybody! I'm a little delayed in posting this event but here I am! I want to welcome and thank all of our members and friends that have been with us or stuck with us since last October.
All of you, every single person I have et because of our little group are marvelous, talented, amazing people. I am so proud to have met yinz and I hope we can continue to work together for a long time coming!
Rules for the event:
Event begins Officially October 4, 2023
Participants must have all their entries in by midnight of November 1, 2023.
Triggers/ Possible triggers must be tagged.
31 prompts for 31 days in October.
Participants may write/art something based on the prompts.
Participation is not mandatory.
Please be respectful of each other.
For posting/ sharing I will be using tumblr. Should you need assistance, please let me know and I will assist you.
The tag for the event is Spooky 1 year event!
I am here for assistance any time, my DMs are always open.
âWhatâs a vrykolakas?â Jhonaton asked, getting more feeling back into his legs the further they walked. He picked Fork up to carry him, and, after Vamo motioned for him to pass him over, he hesitated, then obliged.
âVrykolakas, sthtriga, nosferatu,â Vamo shifted his weight to better hold onto Fork, nestling him in the crook of his neck. Though his skin was cold, Fork made no complaint. âAll terms that mean the same thing.â
âVampire.â Jhonaton recalled. He had seen his fair share of monster movies late at night, waiting for his parents to stumble through the door.
Vamo smiled, this time showcasing his teeth. Though he was a bloodsucking monster holding onto Jhonatonâs baby brother and was leading them further into the dark, Jhonaton held no fear of him.
âYou know, I donât know many people named Jhonaton these days.â
âItâs a typo.â Jhonaton said, used to the ridicule heâd received from his classmates at school.
Vamo continued as if he didnât hear him. âI knew a Jonathan, however. Jonathan Harker. I only met him once, mind you. He was a very intelligent man. The only person I ever met brighter than him was his wife, Wilhelmina. Iâm sure you can see where Iâm going with this.â
the âbad guysâ in hallmark movies end up always being the most respectful men ever.
because they will find out their girlfriend of 3 years (that they were about to propose to) went off to a random farm in minnesota, hours away from were the two of them built a life together, and she decided to just⊠stay there without even consulting him.
and then he decides to take a trip to make sure sheâs okay, because this is generally alarming behavior, and then sees that she literally fell in love with her ex within one (1) week- and he wasnât there, but you can TELL that theyâve made out a couple times.
and then she just strings him along for a few days, until fucking christmas eve, when she just breaks up with him and is like âi know we used to have the same values, but iâve never loved you. mark makes me happier than you ever did. and you ONLY care about work, whereas i like christmas and fun, like a Good Person.â
and then, after finding out his entire relationship was a lie and he had his life turned upside down in a week and he got dumped on christmas, this guyâs just like âok yeah that makes sense. i only wish you the best of happiness with mark. i hope you guys build a great life together in christmastreefarmville. thank you for everything.â
An AU where two Hallmark Christmas Bad Guys are both getting flights back to New York after being dumped by their respective Smalltown Blonde Girlfriends, and they bond over their shared experiences and fall in love in the departures lounge
Probably he is still in shock. Right? He looks out of his taxi window (it's not technically a taxi, just some guy named Corey who offered him a ride to the airport, because Uber doesn't operate in fucking Tinyville, Bumfuck Middle-Of-Nowhere, Utah) and tracks water droplets racing each other down the glass, because of course it's raining, and his bad knee is killing him.Â
Levi sniffs and rubs at his eyes and then pulls out his phone and books a ticket back to New York, wincing as four hundred and twenty-six dollars are deducted from his bank account.Â
And, like, he should definitely be more upset.
He just got broken up with. He was engaged, for God's sake. A four-year relationship⊠over. Just like that.Â
Corey says, "Ten minutes to the station."Â
Probably he'll be more upset once he's home. When he starts packing up Anika's stuff into boxes so she can come collect them after New Year's. He'll have to do all that processing and he'll put away all the pictures that are up and probably he'll remember all the good times they had together and flashes of their relationship will play out in slow motion in his mind. Like a movie montage.
Levi catches his reflection in the passenger side window and starts, pulling his thumb out of his mouth. He hadn't even noticed he'd started biting the nail.
Corey drops him off at the train station and he books a ticket to Salt Lake City and Levi wants to tip him for the ride but when he turns back the car's gone, and it's started snowing again.
He re-wraps his scarf so it covers his ears and turns back. He has to jogâow ow owâto catch his train.
Once arrived at the airport, Levi's gotten over being baffled and has started being mildly pissed.Â
You're obsessed with work, Anika told him. You barely make time for us anymore. Yeah, he'd had to pull some long hours for the last few months, but for good reasonâhe'd been working towards a huge promotion and a raise and he thought she'd be happy for him.
He'd gotten the promotion, by the way. Editor in chief. He'd tried calling her first, a whole bunch of times, and then she hadn't picked up, so he'd decided Well, fuck it, and flew out to Doodootown, Utah to break the news himself.
He thought it would be nice. Spend the few remaining days before Christmas with Anika and her family in their hometown, then flying back home for Christmas and New Year's and starting 2023 off with renewed vigour and excitement.Â
Then, of course, Anika told him that she wouldn't be flying back with him for Christmas. Or at all.Â
Which, well. Okay.Â
She didn't even congratulate him.
He checks in, and the lady at the desk asks him whether he wants to drop off his carry-on luggage for free, since the plane is very full, and Levi shrugs and says okay and watches his suitcase disappear behind black rubber flaps.
His flight leaves in four hours.Â
Levi decides to pay the extra fee so he can stay in the fancy lounge, because he thinks he probably deserves that at this point. It's quiet here, though, so he orders a tea and claims a table over by the window, stretching out his right leg with a contented sigh.Â
There's an empty table in front of him, but at the next one sits a man who looks so miserable it's impressive.
The man is slouched in his chair, dark hair mussed and suit a little ruffled. The cuffs of his slacks are damp, and so are his knees. He's leaning his head against the window, eyes closed, holding a bloody tissue to his nose. A purple bruise is starting to form on his cheekbone.
Levi stares.
Damn. And he thought he was having a rough day.Â
Should he say something? Probably not, right. Like, that would be weird, right?Â
Then he notices the small, black velvet ring box the man is fiddling with and it's like all the air's punched right out of his lungs.
Damn.Â
Levi looks down and takes a sip of his tea, then hisses and curses under his breath because it's still way too hot and he's an idiot.Â
When he looks up again, the man is eyeing him with mild amusement.
And there are a hundred thousand ways that Levi could have handled the situation, but before he can think about ways to not embarrass himself further he hears himself say, "Ouch. Haha."
Somebody please shoot him.Â
The man raises an eyebrow. Levi gives an awkward cough, then takes another sip of tea and somehow feels betrayed when it burns his tongue again.
"Maybe you should give it a second," the man says.Â
"Maybe," Levi says, "I should." His ears are burning.Â
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas plays over the speakers.Â
Levi desperately wants to ask about the ring box. And the bloody nose. And whether there's a correlation. But then again it is so definitely not his business, so he just stares down at his tea and watches steam rise.Â
There's a sharp sigh from across the table. "She said no."Â
Levi's head snaps up, ready to defend himself, because it's not like he actually asked, but then the guy looks so tired and bitter that he immediately deflates and feels both like an asshole and an idiot.
"I'm sorry," he offers, which still feels lame but better than whatever he had going on before.
The guy gives a wry smile. "Gonna, you know. Return this. She, uh, said no to the whole relationship. So."
Ah.Â
"I'm sorry," he says, running a hand over his face, "I don't mean to dump all this on you."
"Oh, no, it's okay," Levi says quickly, and then before he can think about it too much, he adds, "I get it."
The other guy looks immediately doubtful.Â
Levi bites the inside of his cheek. "Four years," he says with a shrug. "Engaged and everything." He gives a thumbs down and blows a raspberry.Â
"Aw, shit, dude," he says, sitting up straight. He removes the tissue from his face, and seeing as he's no longer bleeding, stuffs it in his pocket. "That sucks."
Levi shrugs again, suddenly weirdly self-conscious. He traces the rim of his teacup with a finger. "Yeah, well. I didn't get beat up about it." There's a moment of silence, then he sneaks another glance. "Levi, by the way."
A corner of the guy's mouth twitches. "Xavier Ortega."Â
Again, Xavier almost smiles. Levi thinksâLevi thinks he'd like to see Xavier smile. Properly.Â
And then he thinks, What.Â
No, he's justâXavier just looks like he could do with a cheer-up. That's it. And, well, so could he, really. They're both in similar boats. Although it looks like Xavier got the shorter end of the straw here, Levi thinks, considering his ruined suit and, you know, face. Still a nice face, though. Symmetrical. Strong cheekbones. Dark eyebrows over dark eyes and a straight nose andâwhatever.Â
Whatever.
He just got broken up with.Â
God, why's he trying to justify this to himself? Why is he feeling weird about this? He's not even gay. And even if heâeven if he was, it's not gay to acknowledge that a guy is good-looking.Â
But, like, it's fine. He's notâwhatever.
Xavier has a split lip, he notices now that the tissue's not hiding half his face. "Got you good, huh?"Â
Xavier rolls his eyes. He looks away for a moment, hesitating, then stands up and pulls the chair from the table between them, spinning it around and flopping back down at Levi's table.Â
Levi thinks he must look quite surprised, because Xavier says, "I mean, this is easier for conversation purposes. Unless you're fine with the yelling across tables situationâ"
"No, no," Levi protests. "No, you're right, this isâeasier." He clears his throat and says, "So, what was her name?" before mentally kicking himself, but Xavier just looks at him weird.
"Well, her name is Chloe. We just broke up, she didn't die."
Levi nods, puckering his lips. Right, yeah. Yes. "Is she⊠nice?"
"Well, she cheated on me."
"Ha," Levi says with no humour. "Samesies."
Xavier lets out a dry chuckle at this, then rubs at his eyes. "Wow. Happy Christmas to us, right?"Â
Levi raises his teacup and gives a ghost toast. "Merry Christmas to us." He downs his tea, which is at a palatable temperature now, then says, "Do you want a drink?"Â
-
So Chloe and Xavier had been together for almost five years. The whole story is⊠disturbingly similar to Levi's whole deal, actually. Chloe decides, two weeks before Christmas, to take a trip back to her hometown, gets pissed when Xavier can't just take ten days off work to come with her, goes anyway on her sister's advice, meets up with her childhood nemesis who turns out not to be so bad after all and also cleaned up unfair nice, and then when Xavier went after her because hey, she hadn't been answering his texts and he was planning to pop the question over the holidays, she decided to dump him.
"She looked me in the face," Xavier says, head in hands, "and told me she was happier there than she'd ever been with me." He looks up and runs his fingers through his hair. "And I mean, sure, we'd had our rough patches, but, you know. We were gonna work it out."
Levi hums. "Yeah, no. I get it."
"So I said, Are you fucking serious right now, and I guess I raised my voice a bit, and then Mr Goddamn Farm Guy comes storming out and squares up to me and I don't even know who this dude is, and I tell him to get out of my face, and he fucking decks me. Like, completely unprompted."
"Rough," Levi says solemnly.Â
"Yeah," Xavier says, exasperated. "And he didn't even apologise."
Levi whistles low. It's quiet for a moment while they both nurse their drinks, then Xavier vaguely gestures at him and says, "So what's your Christmas Tragedy?"
Levi gives a lopsided grin. "Well. Anika goes home to Middle Of Nowhere, Utah, 'cause she said she wasn't feeling great. Wants me to go with her, I can't 'cause I'm pulling long hours for an upcoming promotion, she's pissed. When she gets back there she rekindles things with her exâ"
"Augh," Xavier says. "Brutal."
"âand last I heard the plan was for them to start a combination bakery and tearoom together. So." Levi grits his teeth. "Hope that works out for them."
Xavier looks at him over his glass, then, after a moment of careful silence, says, "You're allowed to be mad at her, you know."
"Fuck her," Levi says immediately. "Like, seriously. Why even get engaged to me if she was so miserable? Just break up with me instead of, fuckin', cheating, and then acting like I'm insane for going to check on her after she just ignores all my calls and texts and goddamn emails. We were going to get married in February, for fuck's sake. Fuck her." He presses the palms of his hands against his eyes til he sees stars.Â
There it is. The upset. Figures that it's the saying it out loud that really drives home how betrayed Levi feels. Especially when he's talking to someone whom he doesn't have to explain it to, because Xavier gets it. Xavier gets it better than anyone ever will, probably.Â
It's not quite the movie montage Levi had been preparing for. Rather, what Levi remembers now are all the moments that Anika said things that cut, or did things that bruised. How she'd roll her eyes when Levi got so excited he got the wiggles. How she refused to entertain the idea of getting a dog, even after he begged. How she'd get annoyed with him when his knee acted up and told him to suck it up and stop being such a crybaby. How she'd give him the cold shoulder when she was upset with him and he couldn't read her mind about it and let it build until she exploded out of nowhere.Â
Little things that didn't seem like such a big deal in the time, but that added up to something like a balm for the sharp sting of betrayal.
Because that's what it is, at its core. That's why Levi is angry.
More betrayal than heartbreak.
And even though it will hurt for a while still, there's something that tastes oddly like relief at the centre of his chest, cool and welcome like a breeze on a suffocating July afternoon.
Xavier stays silent. After a moment Levi blinks hard and opens his eyes and finds Xavier looking at him strangely.Â
"Yeah," he says quietly. "Fuck 'em."Â
Levi's stomach squeezes.
He glances wildly around, trying to find anything to look at that isn't Xavier's face, and settles for the screen hanging from the ceiling that displays flight information.Â
"Oh, look at that," he says. "I should get to my gate."Â
"Right," Xavier agrees quickly. "Yeah, of course, so should I." He picks up his leather briefcase. "Where are you going, by the way?"
Levi laughs. "How wild would it be if we were on the same flight, huh?" He stands up and winces, ignoring Xavier's questioning look. "New York City. The 9:15. You?"
They make their way over to gate B9 mostly in silence, a general air of What the fuck is happening hanging between them. Not quite uncomfortable, but definitely baffled.Â
"So this is weird, right," Levi says, dropping into a boarding zone chair. "Like, really weird."
"Right," Xavier says softly. Then, eyes trained on the huge Christmas tree and determinedly not looking at Levi, he adds, "Cool, though."
Levi isâLevi is a little speechless. "Yeah." He feels kind of floaty. He can't stop looking at Xavier's ears, because the tips have gone red. "Yeah. Pretty cool."
God. Fuck.
-
Their seats aren't next to each other, because that would have been crossing the line from freaky coincidence into absolutely fucking insane, but Levi pulls some strings and switches seats with the nice lady whoâs next to Xavier, because itâs an exit row seat with more leg room and he has a bad knee. He tries not to look too pleased with himself as he sits down.Â
Xavier gives him a look. âSo do you actually have a bad knee, orâŠâ
Levi slaps a scandalised hand to his chest. âI canât believe youâd accuse me of such a thing. You think Iâd lie about being disabled?âÂ
âI donât know you that well.âÂ
âAnd here I thought we had something.â Levi sighs. âI broke my kneecap when I was a teenager. Never healed right.âÂ
âAh. Sports? Donât tell me you were a football kid.âÂ
Levi doesnât know why he feels suddenly bashful. He always feels kind of stupid telling people how he got his injury; the reactions usually range somewhere between mild disapproval and straight up judgment. âUh, no. Parkour. Actually.âÂ
Xavierâs eyebrows vanish into his hairline.Â
After a moment of questioning silence, Levi shrugs. âI misjudged the distance between ledges. Fractured my kneecap. But I was stupid and an idiot, also, so I didnât wait for it to fully heal before going back out, and now I am a human weather antennae.âÂ
âHuh.â Levi would say Xavier looks almost impressed. Mostly sort of exasperated, though. âYou know what, now that you say it, I feel like that checks out.âÂ
Levi narrows his eyes. âWhatâs that supposed to mean?âÂ
âI donât know, maybe you look like the type who would break his kneecap doing parkour.â
âAnd what kind of type is that?â Levi is halfway to miffed and sort of offended, but then Xavier grins wide and he forgets to be annoyed.Â
âYou tell me.âÂ
It sounds too much like an invitation to be a coincidence.Â
Levi canât remember the last time he spent so many hours talking uninterrupted. Or, well, talking to someone who was actually listening to him and actively engaging in conversation. Someone who was interested in him.Â
Levi canât remember the last time he enjoyed talking to someone this much.Â
He cracks a joke that makes Xavier laugh softly, and the noise goes straight through his spinal cord like an electric shock, and then it becomes a game, a challenge, trying to make Xavier laugh like that again.Â
Xavier shows him pictures of his dog, a wonderfully fluffy brown-and-grey mutt named Captain, and Levi thinks he might actually pass away over how cute he is.Â
âI always wanted a dog,â he says after cooing over a picture of Captain showing his belly for ten minutes. âLike, really bad. I want a dog so bad. But Anika doesnât, so it never happened.âÂ
âWell,â Xavier says loftily, âNothingâs stopping you now, is there?âÂ
That is an excellent point. Levi tells him so.Â
Then he starts thinking about how nice it will be to have the apartment to himself for a while, and then he feels guilty for being relieved about it, about Anika not being there, and then he ponders how weird itâll be to be alone for Christmas.Â
Levi's never been alone for Christmas before.Â
His family lives in Alberta, and he can't really afford another short notice round flight, and anyway the plan this year had been just him and Anika, and they'd had a reservation for brunch on Christmas day, and Levi thinks he should probably cancel that, and that's just a fucking bummer.
After a moment of thinky silence, Levi quietly asks, "What are you gonna do for Christmas?"Â
Xavier blows out a long breath. "I don't know. I think I'll try to see my sisters. They live a state over, though, and it's all very last minute, Iâweâwere supposed to spend it at Chloe's, and I'm not big on Christmas celebrations myself, you know, my family's culturally Jewish, so⊠I'm not sure."
Most of the rest of the flight is quiet, and a little sad, but also nice, and when the seatbelt light flicks on and the crew announces the imminent descent Levi can't help but feel a pang of disappointment.
The plane lands. Impatience in the cabin spikes; everyone wants to get home, it's the holidays, it's cold. Levi gets up and winces, catches Xavier's eye as he reaches for his bag and hands it to him.Â
Xavier is gonna call a cab. Levi is as well.Â
They're standing outside.
Levi shoves his hands in his pockets.Â
"Well," Xavier says.
"Right."
"It was nice meeting you, Levi. The circumstances were⊠less than ideal, maybe, butâŠ"Â
Levi looks at him. A purple bruise is blossoming on his cheekbone, crawling up around his eye. The tip of his nose is red from the cold. His eyes are dark but if he pays very close attention he can tell where the iris ends and the pupil begins.Â
And okay. Okay.
He might be a little gay.
"But nice," he whispers.
Xavier smiles, looks down. Is itâwould it be totally weird to ask for his number?
But then Xavier's cab is there, and he tips an imaginary hat at Levi before turning away. He hands the driver his luggage.
The sharp stab of panic between his ribs takes Levi totally by surprise. As does the fact that when he blinks he's closed the distance between him and the cab and is holding onto the door.
Xavier looks at him, eyebrows raised.
Levi didn't plan this far ahead, or at all. He blinks, feeling rather sheepish, then when Xavier's eyebrows start disappearing into his hairline he blusters, all at once, "So I have a brunch reservation. On Christmas Day. I was, you know, supposed to go with Anika, but, you know. And it would suck to have to cancel. And it doesn't have to be weird, or anything, we're just two guys being dudes, getting brunch." He snaps his mouth shut, absolutely horrified. What the fuck was that?
Xavier's mouth parts a little.Â
God. Shitballs. Fuck. Abort. "But that would be weird, right? You know what, never mind, it's fine, forget I said anything, it'sâ"
"Levi," Xavier says, exasperated. He covers his face with his hands. Then he says, muffled, "Yeah, okay. That sounds nice. I'd like that."Â
Oh.Â
"Are youâare you sure?"Â
He must sound really incredulous, because Xavier snorts. "Yeah, I'm sure."Â
Slowly, Levi grins. "Okay."
"Okay." They stand there for a moment, and then Xavier's eyes go wide and he says, "Wait, I shouldâhold on." He digs in his pocket and pulls out his wallet, hesitates, then pulls out a small rectangular object and holds it out.
Levi's grin goes lopsided. "Xavier Ortega. Are you handing me your business card right now?"
To his credit, Xavier looks away sheepishly. "My phone number's on there."
Levi accepts the card, hoping passionately that Xavier doesn't notice his hand is shaking. "Okay. I'll text you, then."
"Okay," Xavier says. Then, tentatively, "See you soon, then?"
Levi takes a deep breath and steps back, cheeks burning, and probably not just because of the bite of winter chill. Something in his stomach twinges, and he says, "Yeah. See you soon."Â
The Qianlong Emperor of China, who ruled the empire for most of the 18th century, was a skilled artist.
We can see his skill in these renderings of deer antlersâââthe accompanying calligraphic essays, also written by the emperor, show an impressive knowledge of the natural world and celebrate Manchu hunting practices.
His poetry also appeared on pottery that could be found in fine homes throughout China:
Amari lays their hand feather-light on my shoulder and I wrench away, turning to face them. I see my pain reflected in them but I say it anyway. They hurt me, now it's my turn to show them how it feels. "No. You have no right. You aren't forgiven. Maybe you never will be."
I turn and start running away. I can't look at them any longer.
"Erin! Erin wait!" A hand brushes my own. I face them with a growl so feral Amari steps back. Good.
"Leave. Me. Alone." I tear away again. The trees gather closer to each other, until light is completely blocked by the canopy above. Finally, I come to the lake. I wade in until the obsidian water reaches my knees. I scream my hurt into the abyss.
"Show yourself you coward!"
A voice behind me announces, "I'm right here."
I whip around and there it is. The creature that started this whole thing. Monster. I'm drawn to stand in front of it, and it reaches a hand for my face. "Oh, Erin. It's all right." It wipes the tears I didn't even know I'd cried from my cheeks. Gentle, oh so gentle. I know the soft flesh and skin are a ruse, that there are claws beneath. That behind those green, green eyes is something sinister and dangerous. But when it wraps itâs arms around me, I sink into the embrace. I remember when I first met the creature. I had asked what it was called. I have no name, it had answered. So I gave it one. I was stupid. I should've never come to the lake at all. But now, Briar holds me right and soothes my tears.
When my eyes are stung and dry, I look up at the creature. The face that looks back is Amari's. It quickly shifts back to the one I know as Briar's, but the damage is done. I stumble backwards, away away away.
"Erin wait, please. I can explain."
I shake my head. I have to get out. "No. Amari you've done nothing but lie to me. That's not even your name though is it? You're just some eldritch monster bound to a creepy lake in the woods. I thought we were friends." The urge to shout and tear the creature apart wraps like chains around my chest. "I guess you can't have everything."
"Erin that's not fair. You've been denying who you are the entire time. I was just trying to help you." Briar's eyes are filled with silver tears. They step toward me and I take five hasty steps back, water splashing. I stumble another few steps and Briar cries out, "Erin!"
But it's too late. Black water is already pressing around me, filling my lungs. No matter how much I struggle for the surface, I can't seem to stop sinking. The last thing I see before the world goes dark is Amari's face watching me fall.
andulkaphoto
gummygunk
dailybridgerton
yousharknotpass
snowghoul
blakekathryn
