an apple a day

sometimes, it can be hard to get engagement as an oc writer, but it can be equally hard to explain what would help you engage with an oc writer! this meme is meant for oc writers who might like some ideas on how to help their followers engage with them, as well as provide a guided list of potential things that may help those looking to write with their mutuals' ocs!

📖 : more information about their backstory or lore!

👥 : more information about how they interact or engage with the people around them!

🌐 : more information about how they interact with the location/world around them!

🔗 : links for where to find more information you may have already posted about them!

🗣 : i'd like to first plot out how our characters could interact!

🤝 : i think our ideas or lore may not mesh or match, and would like to discuss how we can meet in the middle!

📝 : i'd love to hear potential interactions or plot hooks you're interested in for your oc(s), so i can use those as a jumping off point!

❔️: other (please specify what would help you best!)

"Just... time, I guess," she shrugged, unable to come up with anything else that succeeded in keeping her from her hobbies. "I'm here most of the time, and then I have piles of laundry and an empty fridge that needs stocking on my days off. I do want to get back into it though."

“I think we’re paying enough in our mental health that we don’t need to add rent to it. I’m already working enough to pay for my own rent.” Phee laughed, shifting her bag on her shoulder. “They should give us a wing of the hospital for us to crash at. It’d be great to have that then trying to find an empty room to sneak a nap in.”

"I feel like I already eat, sleep and breathe this place. Might as well make it true." A grin was sent across to the other, stifling a yawn at the mention of naps. "Pro tip: There's a couple of rooms past peds that never get used - I guess people think they're part of the nursery or a storage closet or something. A great nap place, if you're okay with hearing babies crying through the wall sometimes."

Of course, it was different in the emergency department. She couldn't fade into the background, and as time had ticked by, she had found herself enjoying it.

Her eyes tip to the clock then to the boards; she wasn't sure if it was a rare lull in patients or if this volume was normal, but Victoria wasn't going to risk saying either thought aloud.

a mixture of scenarios and dialogue for nighttime shenanigans. tw for mentions of alcohol, substance usage, and suggestive themes.

( SCENARIOS )

[ BUZZ ] - our muses are drinking and / or getting high on a rooftop.

[ CAMP ] - our muses are camping in the woods, telling ghost stories by the fire, when they suddenly hear something scary.

[ CONCERT ] - our muses attend a major pop star's concert and fan out.

[ DANCE ] - our muses go out clubbing and start dancing up on each other.

[ DIM ] - our muses make cocktails and slow dance in a dimly lit kitchen at 11pm.

[ DINER ] - our muses decide to hit up a diner at midnight and order breakfast.

[ DRINK ] - our muses meet up for drinks at a lowkey bar.

[ DRIVE ] - our muses are on a late night road trip and have to make a pit stop somewhere questionable.

[ EMPTY ] - our muses explore an abandoned building and almost get caught by [pick: security / squatters / other explorers / something else].

[ FRESH ] - our muses decide to sit outside one of their homes for fresh air and a meaningful conversation at 1am.

[ GAME ] - our muses stay up until 4am playing video games in the living room.

[ GRAVE ] - our muses explore a cemetery / graveyard and find something spooky.

[ HAUNT ] - our muses explore a location that is notoriously haunted and have a paranormal encounter.

[ HIDE ] - our muses are hiding out together in [pick: the attic / the bathroom / a closet / the garage / somewhere else] at a party they didn't want to attend.

[ HIKE ] - our muses are hiking along a new trail and find something interesting / odd after getting lost.

[ MASK ] - our muses attend a masquerade (or some other masked event) and unknowingly become dance partners.

[ PLAY ] - our muses have fun at a playground at 1am.

[ RITUAL ] - our muses conduct a [pick: cult-like / pagan / satanic / spell] ritual deep in the middle of a forest.

[ ROOM ] - our muses are deliriously sprawled out in one of their bedrooms at 5am after talking all night.

[ SHINE ] - our muses are laying on a blanket in the grass and stargazing.

[ SHORE ] - our muses attend a bonfire party on the beach and wind up talking and walking along the shore until sunrise.

[ SNACK ] - our muses make a 1am snack run to the nearest corner store / gas station.

[ SNEAK ] - our muses are caught sneaking in or out somewhere (alternate: sender may catch receiver, or vice versa).

[ STUDY ] - our muses spend the evening [pick: studying / training] and accidentally get locked in the [pick: grounds / gym / library / school].

[ SUMMON ] - our muses play with a ouija board (or similar tool) at 3am and get scared by themselves or something worse.

[ SWEAT ] - our muses are laying in bed together post-coitus.

[ SWIM ] - our muses sneak into the community pool for a late night swim.

[ VENUE ] - our muses drink and get rowdy at a rock show in a small venue.

[ WALK ] - our muses take a late night stroll around the neighborhood / town / city.

[ WET ] - our muses skinny dip in a lake / pond once the sun starts to go down.

( DIALOGUE )

❛ it's hard to see the stars in the city. ❜

❛ can you spot any constellations? ❜

❛ can i get you a drink? ❜

❛ i'm so tired, but i can't sleep… ❜

❛ it's too late for that. ❜

❛ this is gonna require an all-nighter. ❜

❛ how is it already two in the morning? ❜

❛ gonna grab a midnight snack. you want something? ❜

❛ can i take you home? ❜

❛ did you hear that? ❜

❛ i can't see shit. ❜

❛ why do hauntings never seem to happen during the day? ❜

❛ first one to fall asleep has to buy breakfast in the morning. ❜

❛ are you still awake? ❜

❛ are you okay? it sounded like you were having a bad dream. ❜

❛ well, you seemed like you were having a good dream… was it about me? ❜

❛ hey! no falling asleep on me! you better wake up! ❜

❛ what do you think about when you're falling asleep? ❜

❛ shh! keep your voice down! ❜

❛ please tell me you see that too… ❜

❛ i think we're being followed… ❜

❛ who the fuck are you?! why are you following me?! ❜

❛ why the hell are you up so late? ❜

❛ getting into some late night mischief? … yeah, me neither. ❜

❛ can you stay up with me, please? i just need some company… ❜

❛ don't turn on the light! ❜

❛ could you at least turn on a light or something? ❜

❛ who cares? it's not like anyone can see us. ❜

❛ this place is freakier at night… ❜

@codeblued

Dominic’s words weren’t reaching Dr. Monroe, so he tried a different tactic, “All right, in through your nose...” He did it, mentally counting to four. “...and out through your mouth...” He counted to six, and he kept repeating it, hoping she would match her breathing to his and get it to slow down. When she finally spoke, he nodded in agreement, echoing, “You’re okay. A patient came at you with a scalpel. I’d already been called down for a consult - but it’s fine. I passed him off to security...” After having to physically grab hold of him and slam him into a wall, but that wasn’t what she currently needed to hear. “...and now I want to examine your arm, if that’s all right.”

“I don’t know,” he cautiously treaded. “What’s an answer that won’t get me slapped?”

More jokes. More deflection.

Deciding to humor her, he leaned his elbows against the counter and shrugged. “Music albums…stuff like Eric Clapton, James Taylor, Bread, Red Hot Chili Peppers…and if I’m feeling particularly adventurous, I might even look up the latest medical conferences to see if there are any panels of interest.”

Sylvie flashed him a knowing look. “Oh, I’m sure. And hey, if you ever decide to quit medicine, you’ve got pro-wrestling as a back-up.”

Carter simpered. “Is that judgment I detect in your voice? I wasn’t a fratboy, if that’s your assumption. I certainly could’ve been, but I was more of a nerd…I enjoyed debate clubs, and poetry, and things like that. I guess it was my love of sports and women that saved me from complete social annihilation.”

That, and the Carter family name had certainly helped…

“You don’t like snow? Come on, you look like you'd run a snowball fight like the Navy.”

The incredulity in Sylvie’s tone drew him back to attention, and with a soft snort, he asked, “I look militant to you? I mean, I guess you’re not wrong…” He held out his hands along with a shrug. “Back at County, I was kind of notorious for nailing people when they least expected it. The trick was to lie in wait out in the ambulance bay. By the time they knew what was happening, it was already too late.”

“Even you have to admit the first untouched snow of the season is the most beautiful thing.”

“Yeah…” Carter’s smile grew a touch wistful. “Yeah, there’s plenty of beauty in this world. I guess it’s just whenever you see the same thing over and over, you start taking for granted how amazing things can be…though snow’s partly how I got this scar.” Here, he gestured to the long, barely noticeable line across his chin. “When I was eleven, I went freefalling right over the handlebars on my bike, and I landed smackdab on my chin. There was blood everywhere, but several stitches and plastic surgeons later, you can barely even tell it’s there.”

"Oh yeah? I grew up listening to Bread - I've got a bunch of their songs on my driving playlist." Not that her playlists had any sort of coherent genre going on in them, but if they were for her ears only, what did it matter?

Was it her assumption that he was a fratboy? She supposed it was, guilt falling across her grin as she shrugged at the confession, the mention of debate clubs and poetry causing whiplash with everything she was starting to know about him. "I didn't take you for a poetry guy. That probably helped with the women, right? A lot of girls love a poet."

“I look militant to you? I mean, I guess you’re not wrong…”

His snort was mirrored back to him, fingers tapping on the counter as she imagined the scene he played out. "Called it," came her response, before peering at the scar he pointed towards. Sylvie hadn't noticed it until this moment, head tilting as the slight discolouration caught the light. "Is that what made you want to become a doctor?"

“Is this your subtle way of challenging me to a snowball fight? Because you might quickly rue that decision.”