#(And probably even to ask advice from someone else XD)

[tongue-like-a-razor]

Brother's Best Friend - Part 4

Jake Seresin x F!Reader

A/N: Did I write an angstier version of this chapter and then rewrite the last half entirely because y'all deserve a fluffy read? Yes, yes I did. Thank you for all your wonderful ideas! I've got them all lined up for future chapters hehehe So don't be blaming me for the heartache you're inflicting upon yourselves XD Muah!

Summary: The trials and tribulations of falling for your brother's best friend.

CW: Swearing, suggestive language, protective Jake

WC: 2000+

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Masterlist

“You have a what?” Jake exclaims, nearly choking on his coffee.

“A date,” you repeat, smiling giddily at both him and Bradley. “We met at pub night last week and we’ve been texting.”

“Texting?” Jake raises his eyebrows skeptically. He looks over at Bradley as though he expects him to express an opinion, but Bradley just rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

“Be careful,” your brother says, returning his attention to the plate of scrambled eggs before him.

You snort. “In what way?”

“In all ways,” Jake chimes in, clearly annoyed that Bradley has nothing else to add. “Guys are dicks so keep your guard up.”

You give Jake a humorous look. “Not all guys,” you say.

Jake nods at you. “All guys.”

You shake your head with a laugh. “This isn’t my first date, Jake.”

“Just work under the assumption that all guys are dicks, alright?” he says. “That way, when he turns out to be a dick, you won’t be shocked.”

You set down the jar of jam you’re holding and let out a sigh. Since the incident with couch girl, Jake has gone out with three different women, which, to be fair, is normal for him. Still, you’re just about done pining over your brother’s best friend, whose signals you’ve clearly misread. If guys are dicks, then Jake Seresin is exhibit A. “He’s actually super sweet,” you say, taking your toast out of the toaster.

“Don’t be fooled,” Jake mutters.

Bradley grimaces as he looks up at you. “He’s not wrong.”

“I have dated plenty of nice guys,” you say. “Just because the two of you are assholes to women, doesn’t mean all men are.”

Bradley claps a hand to his chest. “Me?” he cries in disbelief.

Jake puckers his lips and gives you a sheepish grin without disputing your claim.

“I’m not going into this with your negative energy,” you say, waving your arms at the two of them. “Because maybe he’s nothing like you.”

“One could hope.” Jake shrugs.

Bradley eyes him dubiously. “Just be careful,” he repeats.

“Don’t worry, it’s just dinner and a movie,” you say, bringing your breakfast to the table.

“What movie are you going to go see?” Jake asks.

“I don’t know,” you reply. “We’re going back to his place so probably something on Netflix.”

Jake sets down his fork and knife and stares at you. “You’re going where?”

You ignore Jake’s outburst and take a bite out of your toast. “I’ll be home late,” you say, mostly to Bradley. “So, don’t wait up.”

Jake stares at you. “You can’t just go to some random dude’s home,” he says.

You cock your head at him inquisitively. “Interesting advice coming from someone who brings home random girls almost daily.”

Jake presses his lips together and exhales moodily. “That’s different.”

Bradley smirks, eyeing him expectantly.

“How?” you ask.

Jake rises from his seat and lifts his coffee cup. “Do whatever you want,” he says. “Bradshaw, let’s go, we’re gonna be late.”

Bradley gives you a resigned sort of look and shoves one last piece of toast into his mouth. “I’m driving,” he says with his mouth full.

“You better not be blocking me in!” you yell at their backs as they head for the front door.

…

That night, your date drops you off at the end of your driveway, leaning in for a kiss before you exit his car. You give him a quick peck and a tight smile before stepping out of the vehicle, knowing that, despite the evening having been pleasant enough, you’re probably not going to pursue the relationship further.

He asks about seeing you later in the week and you peek back through his car window and respond with a polite maybe because perhaps the guy deserves another chance. You walk up to the porch as he drives away, and then try the door before searching for your keys in the dark.

The door is unlocked, so you walk in, flicking on the light, and the first thing you see is Jake as he steps away from the window facing the driveway and places his hands on his hips.

“He didn’t want to walk you to the door?” he asks sternly.

You grimace at him. “Why are you here?”

“Bradley had to stay late tonight so I came to make sure you got home alright.”

You blink at him coolly. “And that involves spying on me?”

“If I were spying on you, you wouldn’t know about it,” Jake retorts, starting for the kitchen. “You hungry?”

“I just came from dinner,” you remind him, taking off your heels.

You follow him into the kitchen, dropping your purse on the floor as you go. You’re suddenly feeling extremely tired. Jake opens the refrigerator and starts taking out ingredients for a meal while you walk past him and land on the couch in the living room. Jake cranes his neck to look at you over the island. “I’m making spaghetti,” he calls.

“Knock yourself out,” you reply, closing your eyes.

You hear Jake step around the island and enter the living room, and then you feel the depression of the couch as he plants himself down by your feet. You open your eyes again. “Yes?” you say.

Jake watches you blankly for a second before finally blurting out, “How’d it go?”

You furrow your eyebrows, still confused by his interest in your dating life. You pull your knees up so that your feet don’t keep sliding into him and pretend like you aren’t at all intrigued by his question. “Fine,” you respond nonchalantly.

Jake nods although he doesn’t look entirely satisfied with your answer. “Still think he’s nice?”

You eye him wryly. “Very.”

Jake raises his eyebrows. “Too nice?”

You make a face at him. “What’s too nice?”

Jake shrugs. “Boring.”

You give him a flat look. “This perspective explains so much,” you say, pointing at him reproachfully.

Jake laughs. “Girls don’t like nice guys.”

“I like nice guys!” you exclaim, sitting up with renewed energy.

Jake eyes you skeptically. “Sure, you do.” His gaze sweeps over your face in a slightly provocative manner and you get the sense again that he might be into you. And this possibility sends a rush through your body that makes your head spin. However, you remind yourself that, if this were, in fact, the case, Jake wouldn’t be going out and sleeping with a new woman every other night, because that would be counterintuitive. Besides, you are getting over him, anyway. You are well on your way to recovery.

You shake your head at him and lean your back into the armrest of the couch.

“You dressed up for him,” he notes, meeting your gaze as you glance up at him.

“Would you rather I undressed for him?” you ask pointedly.

Jake blinks at you uncomfortably. He looks like he might be sick. “Don’t joke about that,” he says, rubbing his forehead anxiously.

“You started it.”

“I just meant ” – he sighs without looking at you – “I just meant, you look good.”

“Then just say that,” you retort. “Without being a dick about it.”

He turns to look at you with an apologetic sort of cringe contorting his features. “Guess I’m not a ‘nice’ guy,” he mutters, complete with air quotes.

You stare at him, wondering if he’s hinting at something. You kick him in the leg with your foot. “Don’t be weird.”

He chuckles. “Come on,” he says, rising from the couch. “Let’s eat.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“But I want company,” he says with a slight whine, bending forward to grab your wrists and pull you up off the couch.

You let him lift you to your feet, your body crashing briefly into his while you find your balance. Jake releases you instantly and takes a step back, holding his hands up as though he doesn’t want to be held responsible for initiating the contact.

“Sorry,” he mutters quickly.

You give him a look. “I said, don't be weird, Jake.”

…

Three weeks later, you’re sitting with Jake on a patio, waiting for Bradley to bring the three of you drinks from the bar.

“Can I ask you a question?” you say tentatively, making sure that Bradley is still inside the pub.

“Shoot,” Jake responds, downing the last of his beer.

“It’s about my boyfriend,” you say.

Jake cringes. “He’s your boyfriend now?”

You shrug. “I mean, I guess. We haven’t really formally established our relationship status.”

Jake nods. “And you want out?”

“What? No!”

“What’s the question, then?” Jake raises his eyebrows.

“It’s about the sex,” you say, stirring your drink with your straw to avoid looking at him.

“The what?” Jake exclaims, reaching for his empty glass of beer and bringing it to his mouth before realizing there is nothing left.

You clear your throat and glance up at him, slightly mortified. “It’s… it’s good, it’s just” –

“Woah, woah, woah!” he shouts, leaping up from his seat as though your words have burned him. “I don’t want to hear about that!”

You give him a flat look. “Jake, I literally found you naked on my couch last month. The least you could do is give me some guidance.”

Jake squirms. “I’m not – I can’t,” he stammers. “I don’t think I can listen to this.”

“Why not?!”

Jake lets out a dramatic moan. “Why don’t you ask your brother?”

“For advice on my sex life?” you hiss.

“Don’t you have friends?” Jake asks, dropping back into his seat.

“I need a guy’s opinion.”

Jake lets out an irritable sigh and gives his head a slight shake to indicate that he’s still not on board with this turn of events. “Don’t you have guy friends?”

You nod. “I do. And you’re one of them. Are you not?”

Jake stares at you defeatedly. “How detailed is this going to get?”

You glance over your shoulder to check on the crowd of people waiting for drinks at the bar, looking for your brother. You spot him nowhere near the counter, chatting up a stunning brunette, and resolve that you have at least fifteen minutes alone with Jake. You turn back to him and say, “That depends on how helpful you want to be.”

Jake whimpers. “I have no alcohol left.”

You roll your eyes. “Have mine,” you say, sliding your cocktail across the bistro table.

Jake takes the glass from you, his hand wrapping momentarily around yours before you let go. “Okay,” he says, taking a big gulp. “I’m ready.”

“Okay,” you say with a hesitant sigh. “So, the thing is, he really wants to try” –

“Nope, no, nuh-uh,” Jake says, shaking his head. “I don’t want to know.” He buries his face in his hands.

“Dude, I need your help!”

“You want my advice? Here it is,” he says, leaning into the table so suddenly that you jerk backward just to prevent a collision between your two faces. “Doesn’t matter what he wants to try if you’re not comfortable with it.”

“But it’s” –

Jake holds up a hand. “I don’t care what it is. If you’re sittin’ here talkin’ to me about it, it means you don’t want to do it.”

You stare at him, wondering when Jake Seresin had the opportunity to amass such profound wisdom. You furrow your eyebrows. “Even if it’s, like, supposedly a normal thing people do?”

Jake hooks his eyebrow; you’ve piqued his interest. “That’s what he told you?”

You nod slowly.

Jake lets out a long, heavy breath through his nose, his lips pressed tightly together as his jaw clenches. He studies your face with a look of concern. “You tell that asshole that the next time he pressures you into doing anything, he’s going to have to deal with me.” Jake takes another swig of your cocktail and then adds, “And your brother, of course.”

You grimace. “He’s not pressuring me. It just… was brought to my attention that there is a particular thing that we could be doing – that many people do – that we’re not currently doing – that… ugh, it would be so much easier if you just let me tell you what the thing is!”

Jake places a hand on your knee. “If you tell me what the thing is, I might hurl.” You groan in frustration while Jake pats your leg sympathetically. He shakes his head. “I knew this guy was gonna be a dick.”

Read Part 5

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[blackbutler-readerinsertsandjunk]

I thrist for Bard, and I thirst for your requests to get to 200! May I please request angsty pining with a little fluff?

I think it’d be so cute to have reader pine for him, reader is in their early 20s and since he’s like late 30s/early 40s. Maybe they confess or kiss and him just being like “damn I still got it” but also feeling like they really should move on and find someone else who’s also young to enjoy all of life’s adventures with? Does that make sense ? 😂 please do with this what you can. Sculpt my thought-clay into literary art. Thank you ☺️

aaaaaaaaa my heart, thank u for letting me make this food! XD

You know you can always find BARD outside at night. Just before bed, he never fails to have one last cigarette, standing out in the dark by the manor’s front steps.

Sometimes you’re tempted to ask him if you could have one, simply to see how he might react. It already seems that he thinks being around him is enough to influence you into things that he thinks are too mature for you; what would he do if he thought seeing him smoke would make you want to try it?

You don’t think you really want to do that, though. As funny as it would be, he stresses about enough as it is. So instead you venture out only to stand next to him.

“Lovely night, huh?” You lean your head back, pretending to get a look at the stars. (… Well. They are rather impressive.)

He glances over, appearing to not be too startled that you’re here. It’s a lot of life and a lot of things he’s been through, so it makes sense that he doesn’t really scared easily. His guard is always a little bit up, you think. “Oh, (Name). Yeah… I guess it is.” He takes another puff off his cigarette, then drops it to the top step so he can grind it under his shoe and make sure it’s put out. “Been a long day, so, nice t’ have the stars t’ count on. They’ll come an’ shine out no matter how tired they are.”

The last curls of smoke that come out as he speaks might as well be the same stars he’s talking about, from the way you watch it dance and disappear. “The same could be said of us, I think. We always wake up and get to work, even if we’re tired.”

“S’pose that ain’t far off.” He glances over at you curiously, raising an eyebrow. “You come out here t’ look at ‘em? Never noticed you doin’ that before.”

Ah. He’s found you out. That’s the downside to having feelings for someone who’s a good bit older than you ― he probably knows you have ulterior motives than just wanting to come stargaze.

You keep your eyes on the sky for a moment before turning your gaze toward him. “No, I don’t usually. Actually, I wanted to talk to you.”

He tilts his head. “’Bout what?”

… Surely he can’t be this clueless, can he? He’s not a stupid man. He has to have made note of the way you interact with him compared to the way you interact with the rest of the household. The way you sometimes poke over his shoulder to ask what he’s cooking, or let your hand linger a bit when you take the tea from him to set on the tray, or, God, the way you smile at him in great contrast to the way you smile at anyone else.

He’s observant with the reason you were outside. Why not with the fact that you feel for him?

“Do you… have anyone in your life? I mean… someone you’d like to make time with, you know?” Please. Please don’t make me have to spell it out for him.

He levels himself away from the wall with a chuckle. “Eh, not anymore. If you need some advice with someone, I can give it a shot, but…”

Fuck. No. No, there’s no way he can be this dense, is there? You’ve nearly slapped him in the face with it.

You push yourself away from the wall as well, and set a hand on his chest to keep him from going anywhere. “I’m not entirely sure that I need advice. What I need is for you to understand that you’re the one I’d like to make time with. We’re inside together in the manor all day, I know, but… I mean… I mean just us. If you don’t have anyone else…”

“… Oh. Oh.” His hand comes down to circle your wrist. He’s quite gentle with you, and he doesn’t seem sure whether he wants to move your hand away or just hold it. The way he stares down at you, for what feels like a long time, is so intense. It’s like he can’t believe what you’ve just said.

At last, he finds his words. “Ain’t I… you know… a little too old for you? I… I mean, it’s flatterin’ and all, but I… must be at least fifteen years older’n you. Don’t you want someone more round your age? Someone who can keep up with you?”

You frown, and keep your hand where it is. In fact, you take a step closer. “No. I want you. And I don’t know… I think you could keep up with me just fine.”

“You think, huh?” He bites his lip, letting his hand move from your wrist up closer to your fingers. “C’mon. You don’t really want me, do you? I’m old as dirt.”

“Oh, you are not,” you huff. “Why don’t we just see how you react if we kiss? If you don’t feel anything, then fine, you’re too old for me. But if you feel something…” You move your hand back so that you can twine your fingers with his. “Couldn’t we try, then?”

So the two of you lean in, and regardless of what else happens, all you can do is pray that he feels something.

[blackjackkent]

im so inspired and in lovvveee w u (as a fan!! no parasocial shenanigans here I swear 🫶)

When they said they weren't doing any more DLC for the game, I wasn't sad, actually. I noticed there's a big divide of peeps who like the game right? I realized this when I saw there were people who *always* play Durge and think it 100% hands down better than Tav, and seeing in the forum why people actually *liked* playing Tav over Durge, And it's like because Tav can be anyone with any story. Durge is really just a customizable pre-existing character (That's why they're under origin character, right?)

So that's what I realized the divide of people. There's always going to be certain people who prefer to play Something with a pre-existing story, people who don't enjoy the extra work of making your own character. But for people who do, the lack of DLC is disappointing but not a big deal. Because ask someone who has always enjoyed making her own characters, The end of a story is never really the end for me. And all that jibber jabber to say I see it in YOU too, and I looooooovvvve it! You're such a good writer and it's fabulous 🫶

though, as someone previously non-experienced with D&D, I do admit that makes imagining the future a little bit harder, despite, What really is probably one of the most Fanfiction-Friendly properties 😂

I did want to ask for advice on that if you have any to spare! Like, for example, I'd love to write about my own Tav and Karlach rolling around in Avernus, but I have no idea where to start even looking 😭

:O This was a fun message to receive! c: I appreciate so much that you like my writing and reached out. <3

You def make an interesting point about the Durge vs Tav experience. I think there's a lot of room for character headcanon even when you're playing Durge tbh (certainly I'm enjoying giving Rakha her own sense of personality and such), but you're right that it adds a bit more of a "built-in" framework for people who prefer that kind of experience and not having to think too much about the character details.

(It also, without giving too much away, is very representative of the character experience in BG1/2 - which was more of a Tav/Durge mix, really.)

But yeah, I also feel okay about the lack of DLC because there is lots of room to come up with the story I want outside of the events of the game. :)

As far as advice - I think you're asking specifically for advice on writing within the Forgotten Realms world and D&D sphere in general? Tbh I am not the hugest expert on the subject myself; there is a lot more FR lore than just what comes up in this series and I am by no means familiar with most of it.

My practical advice would be to point you towards the Forgotten Realms wiki, which is where I get most of my info that I can't get from the game's own dialogue. (Sadly it's a fandom.com wiki - if anyone else has other resources that particularly like for FR lore I would love your comments also!) There's lots of info in there that I've drawn from when needed for my fics.

On a more general level though - honestly I think my best advice is to get comfortable with the idea of getting lore wrong. We love to play in this sandbox but we're allowed to bring our own toys too. :D So if something feels like it'd make a better story by being a certain way, then fuckin go for it. :) Any reader who wants to make a stink about details being off isn't actually there to appreciate your story anyway. And the vast majority of readers are there in good faith to see what you're going to come up with and enjoy it. :)

(I've been thinking about this a lot in the context of writing "Open Your Eyes", because they're off to Calimport now and I have realized I know nothing about Calimport. XD So I've been studying the wiki a lot but I've also made an executive decision to not stress myself overly about it and focus on making the setting work for the story and not the other way around. I dont really mind if someone ends up letting me know (politely) that I missed the mark on something, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it if I'm pleased with the story regardless. :D )

I hope this is the sort of answer you were looking for! Sending very supportive vibes for your writing adventures also. c:

[n7punk]

Hey there! Good evenin!

I wanted to ask for advice on posting AI3 stories on here? I’ve noticed you and other artists I favorite doing it for some time but I’ve never really gotten the hang of figuring it out for myself.

(well, tumblr gave me two notifications but only showed me one anon so... hope you're the only one LOL). I assume that's a typo for AO3 and not the crime of AI generating 3 stories XD

okay, so I'm guessing you're looking for tips on how to effectively share fics in a useful/concise way? i don't know what a lot of other people do since the fanfic authors i follow on tumblr dont usually make share posts, but i can talk about my thought process i guess.

i share the way i do because i used to write my fics direct on tumblr (which was fine when they were like 1k one shots and doesn't work for pretty much anything else). i had to include all the information someone might want at the start of a post by necessity. when i started sharing fics from ao3, i continued providing the same information with some changes/additions because like, if that's what they wanted to know to read it on tumblr, they probably want it in order to click through to another site too. i know a lot of people who post direct on tumblr will just include like two lines like [- ship name - prompt/summary (some people skip even this & just. pls. include it) - read more] but that's really not enough for me to read something new unless i already like the author.

(side bar: for long projects, i generally do one share post at the beginning and one at the end, occasionally with another halfway through if it's especially long. i used to do them every chapter but that's just Annoying (for me, people in the tags, and my followers probably) but i update really frequently, so if it's been 2 months since the last chapter, go for a new share post, why not.)

anyway this is my general formatting notes that led to how i do my posts:

either start with or end with the link. you can type a regular title/"Read here on AO3!" and make it a hyperlink, or include one of the embedded links tumblr has.

IF YOU USE AN EMBED LINK: for multichapter fics, it will title it only as "Show Chapter" which is totally unhelpful. ao3 links are roughly formatted as "ao3.org/works/[workID]/chapters/[chapterID]". you need to delete the "/chapters/[chapterID]" part to have it display the embed link the same as it does with one shots, with the fic title, author pseud, and "AO3" stuff. This will make the link title actually helpful!

think of what information you would need if you were browsing ao3 instead of tumblr. you would usually be in a fandom, character, or ship's tag, so that's going to be the most important information you want to be sure you include and get out first, since it's often the first qualifying/disqualifying factor for people looking at fics. personally, i include fandom and ship because those two characters will be the obvious focus and all the others can be found on the actual ao3 post. if it's not a ship fic, then you can list major character(s) instead (also, you can list ship as "Gen" for general, non-shippy fic).

obviously you need a summary (seriously, you need a summary. even if it's bad, or one sentence, put something), but if there's other stats you want to include (like how i do the rating - which i think is important - and chapter/word count) you might want to put those ahead of the summary just to keep things visually neater. what you view as important will vary.

if you want to literally copy what i do i dont give 2 shits lmao. if you like some things about it but would change others, go for it. to me, your hitlist of information should be: fandom, ship/characters, work title, and fic summary. pseuds can be skipped, especially if its the same as your tumblr name, but i generally include it. i think rating is important, and i include something indicating length since thats a big decision factor in when/if i read what fics, but it's not so important in a share post because ideally, if they're interested in the summary, they'll at least open the fic and add it to their saved for later if its too long for that moment, and they'll see word count then

[superman--yoosung]

hi hello! (◍ ´꒳` ◍) i happened to stumble upon your Genshin matchup event so i was wondering if i could participate?

— pronoun preference(s): she/they

— gender preference: male

— ballpark age preference: adult, but not Diluc please

— personality + morals/beliefs: i'm generally easygoing and patient, and often mistaken for an extrovert because of how friendly i can be. i've been told i'm very easy and calming to be around, however, i love my alone time more than socialising. i also have a bad habit of nagging people when i'm worried about them but can rarely spare a thought for myself ^^; i believe in what goes around comes around, both in its negative and positive meaning, so i try to do what i think is right while not wasting energy on stupid/mean people (sometimes it's hard though sigh)

— likes + dislikes: i love languages, and folktales (especially those that have eerie or unsettling undertones to it, same goes for books). i'm majoring in english right now as well! i also love, writing, dogs, flowers and stargazing.

as for dislikes, i don't like cold weather, extremely loud places like large concerts, and being stuck in someone else's rythm (them deciding on everything, listening to only them talk etc.)

— what vision you think you would have and why: perhaps electro because i feel like i'm often in my own dream world that i'm trying to lightly assimilate into my life.

— embarrassing moment from your life: as a kid i used to think you can actually fly with your umbrella like Mary Poppins if you jumped from a high enough place (places i jumped from include: a big oak, a greenhouse roof and a piano)

— additional info: i can speak four languages (three fluently, one is still under work xD), think i'm good at singing although i'm actually not but sing aloud anyway, and really want to visit a big desert or a tundra and just look at a humongous sea of stars!

that's all, thank you so much! hopefully this wasn't too much info, i apologise if it was ^^; and naturally, no need to do this if you don't feel like it. take care and have a lovely day <3

Hello! Thank you for sending in your ask!! This was really fun to do since you have so many interesting small details!!

Your matchup is.................................................

Alhaitham !!

Your interests and expertise just align so well. It was inevitable that you eventually crossed paths, and the rest was history!

..... Sort of. Your personalities don't seem similar at first - others outside of your friend groups expect you to be far too extroverted for Alhaitham, who would much rather spend his time quietly on the things that interest him. But unbeknownst to them, that's exactly how you feel, too - why spend energy and time on folks and topics whose presence and example fail to bring positive influence into your sphere?

Perhaps that's what kept Alhaitham coming back to you - that kindred spirit, that appreciation for simpler joys in life, that depthless yearning to learn about what you love.

Either way, what began as a shared love of languages and academic pursuits eventually morphed into something more between the two of you.

Fun details:

Electro + Dendro on the field means you two create some powerful reactions in battle!

When the weather gets cold, he'll always have your favorite warm drink ready and waiting by the time you get home. He won't let you wear his cape to stay cozy, though, so if you want it you'll have to steal it!

You probably get along with Alhaitham's friends better than he does!

Your evenings are usually spent quietly pursuing your interests in each other's presence; Alhaitham on one end of the couch reading a book, and you on the other finishing a paper or reciting new vocab for a language you're learning (and by the way, he'll chime in with a correction or critique now and then, too, because - of course he would)

You may nag him from time to time, and he'll usually follow your advice without question, as long as it's reasonable - but he'll always use that rational mind of his to point out when you've done so to your own detriment!

If you've forgotten to take care of yourself, he'll remind you to do so - he'll ask if you've eaten your meals, if you're sleeping well, whether you need to blow off some steam, etc. He tends to do so without a filter, though, so he tends to be blunt about it.

You, and only you, are allowed to regularly use his spare pair of noise-cancelling headphones.

If you suggest a visit to the desert or tundra or even just to go stargazing, he'll be happy to plan the entire trip with you - it gives him a reason to use his vacation days, and more importantly, it'll put a smile on your face for a week.

Your wild imagination is something that amuses him. Though he'll always logically point out the flaws in your daydreams, it's partly just to see your reaction. If you met as children, he definitely tagged along in your jumping shenanigans, but only to say "I told you so" when they inevitably didn't go how you hoped.

He doesn't make it a secret that he values your opinions, both academically and personally. He values your input and always takes it into account.

And what does he loves about you most? A simple question with a simpler answer: Your mind, which is both capable of highly logical thought as well as the most unrealistic of dreams. A juxtaposition he finds enthralling. He does also like to admire your frame in the moonlight, too, underneath all of those stars you so love - how the shadows cast along your shoulders, how your hair reflects the night's light.

~~I hope this is to your liking. I was very close to picking Zhongli for you because I thought he would be able to tell you the best folktales, but in the end I went with Alhaitham because I thought you shared some important views/interests. Have a good day~!

[quinloki]

20, 23, 35 for fic writer ask 😁

20. Have you noticed any patterns in your fics? Words/expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings, etc?

Ah.. hm.. I'm sure there's plenty of expression I use without noticing - but no one else has pointed them out, so I don't know that I'll ever notice 'em on my own XD

I'm sure there's a common theme of Vindication! in my stories, cause usually that's what I'm going for (outside of just romance/smut).

As for common settings - oh sure - I have 4 book series set in the same AU. I really like the modern One Piece world/vibe I've kind of sloppily pulled together, weaving in some canon things (like transponder snails, and "Log Pose" instead of Google Maps )

23. Best writing advice for others?

Oh boy. I suppose the best advice I have is that no advice is universal. What works for one person might be the most terrible advice for someone else.

Writing, and writers, are just entirely too varied.

I guess the best general advice I have is - write what comes to you. Sometimes it's not going to be what you want, and sometimes it's not even going to be good. But if you type what comes, it's easier to type what you want later. Sometimes you just have to get the words out of your head so you can move on.

There's no wasted words - even the ones you scrap. Just like there's no wasted lines when you're drawing. It's ALL experience. It's all a step forward. The next words will come easier, the next lines will be smoother, because even the art we don't keep fuels the art we do keep.

35. What is the one essential thing to remember when writing a villain?

I want to preface this with "What a villain however you want" cause sometimes having an unrepentant bad guy, with zero motivation aside from "you need an antagonist" is enough.

THAT SAID, what I try to keep in mind is something I heard somewhere, and I don't remember who said it, but it's stuck with me:

"No one thinks they're the bad guy."

A good villain has their own motivations, goals, traumas, etc. Sometimes they're a villain just because they haven't conceived that their actions are wrong - no one tells rich kids the villainy of hoarding wealth. That entitled fucker in your high school AU probably never got scolded by his parents a day in his life.

Poison Ivy is trying to save the planet. Mr. Freeze just wanted to save his wife. Sure, the Joker and is chaos is the point ideal exists too, but a good villain is maybe only a villain because your hero is in their way.

[ask-thedepressedkidatthetable]

*Throws all of the 50 Qs into your ask box and twirls away*

50 Q’s For The Mun

1.) describe yourself through the eyes of a stranger? The perpetual foreigner. Or, if they do happen to be from another country, a like-minded friend. (People say I have an accent .  .  . Spoiler, I don’t think I do.) People have said that I look interesting, am quiet, awkward, scary, and that i know a lot. 2.) what is a quality you’d like to change about yourself? I feel like I’m very flighty and have a hard time following through with what I say- if I can at all. I’d like to change that someday. 3.) what is your worst potential fear for the future? I think .  .  . That I’ll be caught between mildly depressing comfort and the chance to actually grasp everything I want in life for a little risk and I’ll make the wrong choice. 4.) which television series do you use as a form of escapism? I use YouTube for that primarily. Um .  .  . Maybe The Addam’s Family. 5.) share a secret about yourself? I think in some ways, I actually live a double-life. So that’s a thing. 6.) if you could choose any place in the world to visit, where would it be? why? Oh, I’d like to go to Germany someday and visit some of the sites associated with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. He was an interesting person. 7.) what advice would you give your childhood self? Um .  .  . honestly? Be more of a jerk. It more has to do with having a hard time setting boundaries and saying no to things. Or calling people out when they’re acting inappropriately. Not great life advice though? 8.) describe how you envision your ideal life partner? I suppose someone I can connect with on an intellectual and emotional level. Someone understanding and compassionate enough to help me pull through my own problems and a team player when we have joint problems we need to solve in life. 9.) what is your favorite environmental season? why? I like when it snows in winter, but otherwise probably fall xD I do not love being out in the super freezing temperatures with no snow. 10.) what’s one book you’d suggest every person should read? Mathematics for the Million - Lancelot Hogben (That’s the one that talks about how when America reached the trillion dollar debt, that if you lined it all up in twenty dollar bills, it’d basically stretch for sixty miles .  .  . Honesty there’s a lot of books on this list. It’s not just one.) 11.) what is one song that’s able to bring you to tears? 1,000 Light Years Away - Slime Rancher 12.) describe your best friend? Kind, compassionate, smart, doing no harm but taking no shit from people, and just... incredibly driven, even in hard times. 13.) what was the premise of your last dream? Well .  .  . I was at my old job, and for some reason we were running pads (for furniture), but for some reason, instead of pads it was coming out as pants and shirts, long and wide ways. And who do I see but an old coworker / friend? So he was stacking, and it’s supposed to be twenty-one to a bag and they’re coming off three at a time pretty fast. So, since he’s never done that before I was like, out of my way, I’ll handle this. Of course the line starts moving really fast, and with the way it’s coming, you can’t just push it back and throw it in a nice stack. So we’re bagging stuff anyway, just trying to keep it off the floor and he’s like, “Hey, how many is it supposed to be in a bag?” And I told him, “Twenty-one.” “Some of these bags don’t have twenty one in them.” We were doing shit like putting five things in a bag, forty in a bag, whatever! And I just told him like, “I don’t give a shit. We’re sending it anyway.” So quality control is out and we’re both basically like, cool. We’re talking and all, and he mentions that some other coworkers came back and are working in other departments now. One went to maintenance, the other somewhere else, and it kind of swung around to the fact that they were all wearing matching shirts that said, “I’m a thief.” on a nice, tattoo style gothic font on the back and that no one else was getting the joke! I was the only one that brought it up.  .  .  . 14.) what’s your favorite warm beverage? Crappy (very important) black tea with honey and milk. 15.) name one musical album that greatly impacted your life? why? Sandcastle Kingdoms by NateWantsToBattle / It summarizes some of my fears in life and like, pulling through for that one person. Because you don’t see it, but they believe in you, and sometimes that’s enough. 16.) what’s your favorite form of flattery? I enjoy flirting for the sake of it, does that count? Flattery tends to make me uncomfortable, so I’m not sure there’s such a thing as a “favorite.” 17.) what’s your favorite painting? and describe how it makes you feel? It’s a painting I got at the antique store. It’s a moon in a red forest background with silver mixed in. It makes me feel like there’s a sense of adventure and comfort just over there. The forest is in your own backyard. 18.) describe your personal style? Want to be a lot more alt leaning, but currently you’ll catch me in a lot of gray and layers. Kind of a grunge, t-shirt video game nerd, and alt mashup. 19.) what was the last concept that inspired you? @heartxshaped-bruises Casper. 20.) who was your very first artistic inspiration? My very first one? I liked rainbows and architectural drawings. Drew a lot of houses as a kid. 21.) how long have you used tumblr for? how has your style changed over the years? About seven years now. I guess I use the queue a lot more, prioritize life a little more, and tag a lot less on my main blog! xD 22.) what was your first cell phone? Um .  .  . Basically the same model I have now, only it let me use Google Music instead of YouTube music. Android piece of crap. I never wanted a phone. It was thrown at me one day and I couldn’t take it back -_- 23.) what is your favorite fruit flavor? Kind of want to say rambutan right now. 24.) whom would you resurrect from the afterlife? which 3 questions would you ask them? Storyboard artist Harold Michelson .  .  . I’m not sure what three questions I would ask specifically. Probably things like where how he learned to do the stuff, how you learn it, important tools, all that. 25.) if you could choose only one meal to eat for the remainder of your life, which would you choose? Lentils and rice. Because it’s yummy and you can add a lot of stuff with it! 26.) which of the 7 deadly sins do you struggle with the most? and which the least? Wrath and .  .  . I think envy. 27.) your latest obsession? and why? @heartxshaped-bruises Casper. He’s such an interesting character- Tragic, strong, kind with a bit of bite to him. I’m so totally in love! 28.) if you could domesticate any animal as your pet, which would you choose? Sharks. They’re nice. 29.) what’s your least favorite smell? Crack. Had a hard time thinking of it, but it’s crack. Gives me an instant headache that won’t go away for hours. 30.) favorite “mythological” creature? and why? Dragons. Any form of dragons, they’re strong and have good ideals. 31.) name a scene from a movie that makes you cringe? No one specific scene comes to mind, but in general, poor survival skills in movies! It’s like fatal funnels aren’t even a thing! 32.) favorite piece of memorabilia you own? I own the sheep mask from this music video here! :D 33.) your personal favorite oddity about yourself? I can climb like a mountain goat real good! 34.) favorite concert/show you’ve attended? I went to an All Time Low concert in my hometown. Oh my god that thing was a riot! They almost got booed over nice-y small-talk XD 35.) what’s one thing you would tell to the last person who betrayed you? Honestly, I have no idea. There’s more to say, but at the same time, everything that needed to be said was said. 36.) your favorite mantra to live by? I’m not sure I live by it the way I want, but I like, “Don’t tread on me.” 37.) do you have any strange habits? Not sure if it’s really strange, but I always make sure people aren’t following me when I go anywhere. 38.) what’s your favorite white-noise to fall asleep to? Just random YouTube lets-plays. 39.) what is your favorite gemstone? why? This answer is sure to change, but I like tourmaline. 40.) how do you choose to cope when you’re upset? I like being alone in my room. No one to talk to on the phone or on social medias, maybe watch some YouTube or just sit in silence for awhile. 41.) what are you currently trying to accomplish? Trying to center who I am with who I want to be. 42.) what’s your favorite item you’ve purchased secondhand? A Franklin chair! It was half off at an estate sale! 43.) describe your personality is only 3 words? Stubborn, sarcastic, awkward 44.) how is your relationship with your parents? Fine. Maybe a little distant. 45.) an instrument you aspire to learn how to play? The bagpipes! Growing up, there was always this one neighbor that played Amazing Grace at certain times of the year. Sounded pretty good! Never-mind that bagpipes are loud and I live in an apartment.  .  .  . 46.) relate yourself to one movie character? 47.) least favorite music genre? why? Not exactly a singular genre- but pretentious music in general. Pop and Christian music in general come to mind here. I don’t mind the actual music per say, but people act all weird about some of it. 48.) which animal would you be the most terrified to encounter? Probably a bear. 49.) name a public figure you find to be overrated? why? Jim Carrey. God, fuck that man. A: Canadian (not a plus.) B: Everyone goes on and on about how nice he is and it’s just not believable! I don’t care what they say, I think he’s an asshole, and the only things he’s in that’s any good are when he’s playing assholes! 50.) what purpose do you get out of using tumblr? Ideal social media. Instagram is bullshit, more features than Discord, always hated Facebook and Twitter. Tik Tok is just propaganda .  .  . Ugh. Let’s end this here.

[megan-loves-surveys]

#31.

Who gives the best advice? Depends.

Is there any band out there that you like every song by them? Discounting groups/artists where they only had one album so less songs to dislike, I think the closest is probably Five - there's no songs by them I actually dislike or hate, I'll listen to them all.

What’s the best song a friend has ever introduced to you? One of my online friends was the one who introduced me to Najoua Belyzel, and she is AMAZING. Her first album is one of my favourite albums ever!

Have you ever smoked? Yeah, I used to smoke socially when I was in my early 20's. Stopped doing it after awhile.

Does your favorite uncle have any children? No.

Have you ever been in a lighthouse? Probably?

Name one of your psycho exes? I don't have any psycho ones lol, most of them were pretty normal xD

Why were they a psycho ex? -

Do you still talk to your first crush? No, I legit haven't seen him in like 25 years.

Where would you like to travel? Japan is top of my list. Also France, the UK, the USA (I've been there loads but I want to go back), Perth in Australia and prob more.

Are you shy about singing in front of people? I suck at singing so I wouldn't do that to begin with.

Do you know anyone who always makes themselves out to be the victim? Yeah.

Have you ever been insulted or called names by a significant other? Not that I can remember.

What’s your favorite movie battle scene? Dunno.

Do you have any step-grandparents? I did, but she passed a few years ago.

How far away do you live from the house you grew up in? I live on the other side of the city to it, so about a 40 min drive or so.

Have you ever been to a same-sex wedding? I haven't.

What’s the population of your hometown? Auckland has 1.6 million people lol. But if you count only the suburb I grew up in, Google says the population of it is about 15,000. My current suburb has about 25,000.

What’s the most difficult experience you and a significant other have gone through together? People judging us cos of the age difference. One of his sons is only 4 years younger than me, and a lot of people gave us shit for it, it sucked. But people are much cooler about it now we've been together for awhile.

What’s something you have zero tolerance for? Animal cruelty. Also less serious but I also fucking hate it when people wish injury on wrestlers they don't like.

When’s the last time you said you were sorry? I bumped into somebody by mistake and said sorry about it. They thought they were at fault and apologized to me as well LOL xD

Would you like living on the coast? What coast?

Honestly, do you enjoy arguing? No.

Which theory do you wish but perhaps not believe was true about afterlife? It doesn't exist...

Are you scared of losing the person you like to someone else? Not really, cos I know he wouldn't cheat on me, one of his ex wives cheated on him (that's why they divorced) so he'd never do it to someone else cos he knows how much it hurts.

Do you have a hard time making decisions? Depends.

If there was a large spider in your room, would you stay in the room? Hell no, I'd be outta there until it was gone.

What’s your favorite kind of meat? (vegan/vegetarian options count!) Fish.

Have you ever been mistaken for staff at a store you were just visiting? No.

What’s the coolest or most memorable animal you’ve ever seen at a zoo? We went to the zoo in Washington DC, and they had a kiwi there. Kiwis are extraordinarily hard to see, even in NZ where they're native to, cos they're nocturnal. The handler for the kiwi asked everyone (it was a small group of about 10 people at a time allowed to see the kiwi) where they were from and when we said NZ she got excited lol. Then she invited us to stay after the demonstration was over (only us) and we got to see the kiwi properly up close and stroke it! It was so cool, they're really soft and super cute. The kiwi was all interested in the bracelets I was wearing and was nudging them with it's beak xD It was a really unique experience and not one many people can say they've done, cos the handler said that she doesn't invite many people to stay and meet the kiwi haha. Afterwards, we joked that we had to go to the USA to see the national bird of our own country xD

Do you share a bedroom with anybody? No, except for my boyfriend when he stays over, but most of the time we stay at his place.

What video game have you played the most hours of? If you don’t know, just make a rough guess. Pokemon in general as a series, but individual game most likely one of the Civ games, either II or IV.

Who will you see within the next week? Loads of people - my Mum, my Dad, my boyfriend, Ngawari, David maybe if we go to the night market, people at work, people in shops etc.

Do your parents live in their hometown(s)? Neither of them do - my Mum was born in Scotland, and my Dad was born in Rotorua. We all live in Auckland.

Have you ever modeled before? No.

If offered $1 million, would you do a reality show of your life? My life isn't interesting enough for that LOL.

Who owns the computer you are on? Me.

What’s your best friend’s favorite color? Pink.

What color was your senior prom dress? -

How many boyfriends/girlfriends did you have in 2014? None.

Northernmost state you’ve been to: Massachuetts or New York? I'm not sure.

Think you’ll live to be 100? Who knows. My Grandma lived to 96, so perhaps.

Which YouTuber do you feel like you could be friends with easily? Call Me Kevin, he seems so fun and nice.

Who do you know personally that has a nice singing voice? Dunno.

If you met your favorite musician, what would you ask him/her? I have met them, the only thing I asked was my fave member for a hug hahahah.

What’s something you used to believe in that you don’t anymore? Dunno.

What’s something you believe everyone should have? Food.

What’s the first thing you do once you get home from a trip? Just relax.

Do you listen to podcasts? Which ones? No.

What was the last heavy thing you lifted? I can't lift heavy things cos of my shoulder, so most things are heavy to me lol.

Do you have an anchor tattoo? No.

Are your hands unsteady? Not really?

Do you think you’re pretty? I'm average.

Who do you know that wears the most makeup? Dunno, not many of my friends wear it. Maybe someone at work.

Are you anyone’s first love? No.

Has anyone ever told you they were in love with you? Yes.

How much does your mother know about your sex life (or lack thereof)? Haha, she doesn't know much. I am extremely kinky and have loads of fetishes, she knows nothing about any of that xD

Do you eat or drink as soon as you wake up, or do you wait a while? I wait awhile, unless I wake up thirsty.

Tell me about some of your interests. Wrestling is my main hobby - I love watching it, going to shows, collecting merchandise, chatting about it etc. I also love Pokémon, video games, writing, shopping, geography, YouTube, traveling, surveys, going to the gym, cats and a bunch more things.

What’s your favourite kind of Oreo? Just the regular ones.

Do you play any games on your phone? If so, tell me about one. Pokémon Sleep, Pokémon Go and BitLife are the only ones I play. Sleep is more of an app than a game but collecting the Pokémon is fun.

Do you have more male or female coworkers? It's about equal actually!

What’s the longest stretch of time you’ve spent completely alone? A few days.

Do you use Instagram? If so, what’s your current profile pic? No.

What are your thoughts on kids being given iPads to keep them entertained? It's fine as long as it's not too often, like all the time.

[TW: SUICIDE] Have you ever thought about giving up on life completely? No.

Have you seen the entire Harry Potter series? I've seen the first... four movies? Then I gave up on them.

Do you still have both of your parents? Yes.

Do you play video games? Yes! One of my fave things.

Do you have the same color eyes as your mother? No, I have green eyes and she has brown.

Have you ever been put to sleep for surgery? Yes.

Have you ever had a pregnancy scare? Yes, but I wasn't pregnant. Thank god.

When was the last time you went bowling? Oh god, years ago. Damn I wanna go now xD

Do you personally know anyone who is transgender? Yes.

When was the last time you spent over $100 in one transaction? What did you buy? IPW tickets, with all the fucking fees, it was over $120.

Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? Would you judge a grown adult for doing so? Yes when I'm alone. And of course I wouldn't, cos I do it xD

Would you describe yourself as fashion-conscious, or do you just wear whatever feels comfortable? I just wear whatever I like.

What are the main two colours in the room you’re currently in? Did you pick these colours out yourself? It's grey. And no, it was like that when we moved in.

Do you have piercings anywhere except your ears? How many and where? I don't even have my ears lol.

What’s your opinion on leggings as pants? I do that, so it's cool. I just make sure to wear a shirt that's long enough to cover my crotch properly so there's no camel toe lol.

Who was the last person you were in love with for more than a year? My boyfriend.

Do you have a secret life? No.

Have you ever seen the last person you kissed without a shirt? Yes.

Do your parents know EVERYTHING about you? Hahah no.

Favorite thing to eat with peanut butter? I like it on it's own.

If you had to get a piercing right now, what would it be? Ears.

The last time you held a baby: No idea.

Does your mom eat meat? Yep.

What would be your reaction if one of your parents said they were having another kid? My parents are in their 70's LOL. My Mum is far past that, and I doubt my Dad wants any more kids, plus my stepmum is his age haha.

What fish scares you the most? Dunno.

How do you feel about snails? Cute as hell! I used to own pet snails as a kid haha.

If you were told by a professional that you were unable to become pregnant, how would that affect you? Is there something important to you about conceiving a biological child rather than adoption? And finally, if you even want to have children, would you choose adoption or surrogacy or would you go on childless? I'd be so happy. I don't want kids at all, and that means I could have sex unprotected without risk of it LOL.

Are you physically affectionate with your friends? Yes.

Do you kill spiders when you see them? I try to, but usually I just start crying and freak out until someone else takes care of it lol.

What’s your favorite makeup brand/brands? I don't wear makeup, so I have no clue.

What fictional creature would you like as a pet? A Pokémon, like Eevee or Luxray haha.

Have any local businesses closed that you’re sad about? Not lately.

How do you feel about TikTok? It's stupid, I don't have an account.

Any current trends you dislike? Crocs and those ugly shapeless long dresses that have hung around for 2 summers now. I'd never wear one lol, gimme a short sundress any day of the week.

If you had three daughters, what would you name them? I hope that doesn't happen lol. But if I had to pick, I'd go with Cheryl, Imara and Stella.

Would you ever adopt a child? No.

Do you like your name’s meaning? It means pearl, that's pretty nice. I also found out it's Greek and Irish, which is cool.

Do you and your mom look like sisters? Not really, though my Mum does look younger than her age, she doesn't look THAT young.

Are you the same height as your mom? Almost, she's an inch taller than me.

Do you know anyone named Travis? No.

[TW: DOMESTIC ABUSE] Did your parents abuse you? No.

What is something you’ve learned to never take for granted? The people in my life taking care of me.

Tell me about something significant that happened to you in the past week. I guess Maniacs show last night, it was their final show and they had a huge turnout, which was great. I sat between David & Scott and they were shouting nonstop all night, LOL.

What subjects do you like to read about? Geography, wrestling, Pokémon, true crime, missing people and girl groups.

What is the name of the last book you bought? Reach For The Stars, it's about 90s and 00s British pop groups.

If you could change one thing about your home, and money was no issue, what would it be? No clue. I live in a complex, all the houses are connected and are the same so if we changed anything it would be odd haha.

Are there any (obviously fictional) villains you can’t help but love? Hmm.

Can you name a villain who you could kind of side with? -

What color eyes does your significant other (or crush) have? (If applicable.) Blue.

Does anything around your home need repairing? Not right now, thankfully.

[puppetoffthehook]

Hey! I'm not sure if this is the right avenue to get started, but I just started dipping my toes into roleplaying on tumblr after writing on Discord for... Well, ever. I love your portrayal of Billy and you seem like a genuinely wicked and sensible person. If you're open to taking on new writing partners, any chance I can shoot my shot? I wasn't sure how else to ask, but if you're down, I'd love to send you a starter on here or Discord if you're also open to that!

I honestly feel awful that I forgot to respond to this, it’s so rude of me and I apologize wholeheartedly for that. And since you’re new and you haven’t made a post since you sent this to me I just wanna give some advice that might make things a little easier for you to get started in the tumblr RPC! :3

1) a lot of people aren’t going to be comfortable roleplaying with you if you don’t have either an about page for yourself or at least a little blurb so they know you’re of age if you start asking for any RP that’s not meant for minors. If you’re not of age and you lie about it, that shit eventually gets out and things won’t end well for anyone in that scenario. Accusations of gro*ming get tossed around a lot on here since most of us are adults and like to assume the people we talk to wouldn’t lie about something that, with evidence like discord or DMs, could land us in prison. All of that just to say please add a bio or a page of rules with some info on yourself. You can get inspiration from many of the people on here!

2) make sure you have a bio for your character, especially an OC. If you don’t have any information up then people might choose not to interact because they have no idea what your character is going to be like and that can make or break if the characters can have good interactions.

3) make a post with links to your pages! This makes it easier for people like me who are stuck with just a phone to use tumblr because most blog themes aren’t mobile friendly and can be difficult to navigate properly on a phone and even a larger tablet.

4) this is more of just a politeness thing but always read the rules of anyone you plan on following! Even if you forget some things it means a lot that you took the time to read it because most of us get exhausted explaining the same yes and no scenarios over and over and it’s nice to know you cared enough in the first place! :3

5) not everyone is as friendly as they seem, especially in this particular fandom. I’m not saying walk on eggshells but if someone gives you off vibes it’s probably best to listen to the vibes. It might save you some distress down the road.

That’s all the advice I really have or at least that I can think of with 3 hours of sleep and just remembering this XD

I’ll keep checking back to see if you have any links for me to look at!

[pageofheartdj]

Wowie, that sounds like quite the self discovery journey, it sucks that so many people struggle so much. I wish you were allowed to just be you without feeling those pressures when you were figuring things out. Hopefully you're doing okay now?

For me and my aroace journey was a ton more simple. I just, never figured out at what age I was supposed to develop a crush or whatever. The only time I ever questioned myself was if someone told me they had a crush on me, and that was more because I felt hurt that people would pretend to be my friend just because they had a crush on me and didn't actually like me. If I told them I didn't like them like that I'd lose my only current friend(s) which always sucked :/

(I had no friends in school really, so that probably impacts me more. I gave up trying to get along with peeps because I just dont understand their social cues or why neurotypical conversations can be boring at times. Why talk about what someone did if you could talk about dinosaurs or how there's enough different types of apples that you could eat a unique one every day for a year and not eat all the types of apples?)

So really I never realized I should have those feelings so I never questioned why I didn't. I did sometimes judge other people for having them because I didn't understand that it wasn't a choice. Sometimes in high school someone would ask me for relationship advice because I gave them a logical answer, and I was really really confused why people would act or do dumb-ish things just because of how someone looked?? Idk tbh

Gender wise my parents gave up caring, and everyone thought I was gay growing up so they thought I was just being gay?? I guess?? My parents were also neglectful though so it was also that they didn't bother explaining gender roles and let me do whatever as long as I was alone.

Similar to being aroace I never realized I was supposed to feel connected to gender. Eventually I came out after puberty and I say I'm trans masc people my gender (or really, lack of gender) doesn't make sense to people. Gender wise I'm not a girl and until puberty when the definition of girl changed for me, I never cared what people called me.

Being (maybe??) autistic probably really feuls this because I struggle picking up and learning social cues, so when people tried to teach me societal things I was too busy doing other things or didn't realize I should be internalizing it. Like i never thought about being in a relationship and even now that i now am an adult technically i still dont care. I like collecting funfacts more than that stuff, so it never registered as a thing to think about lol

Anyways thanks for explaining it from your experiences, it's really interesting learning what it's like for other people!! Have a lovely day!

Thank you! And yeah I am mostly content now. I know who I am and what I need. It's not perfect. We are never done changing and figuring ourself out. I still struggle a bit with society's set that you can be happy only if you have someone, you must be good at socialising otherwise you are a failed human. While every piece in me goes against it. I don't want any relationship, I don't want family, I don't want children. I struggle at making and keeping friends because my brain works in a way that makes it too hard. So it's hard to remember that I am not a failure just because I am not as connected with people and this is not a measure of my worth. I don't own the world to be a factory toy, the same as everyone else.

Ugh yeah this sucks!! I know people can't help their feelings, but still it doesn't feel nice to have these expectations! (also double yes! why should i care what someone did or their little life stories? this is boooring, do people really care about this stuff? i put an effort to care for a friend, but everyone dumps their stories on me! i can be interested talking about specific topics or work. but when its just. life. why is it my business??)

Also 🤝 for giving love advices xD We are not clouded by feelings so we can analyse this stuff from the side while never being in the relationship in the first place xD And it's hard to understand how people can be irrational because of their feelings!(even though it makes sense. it's like how anxiety can make us irrational. but still feels weird cause these are bad things in bad condition. while they have this bad thing in something good xD)

I am sorry your parents were neglectful! But at least you weren't pressured into roles, so at least there is some saving grace?

I thought I might be agender because I never cared about gender. I like being a bit femminine in a light pretty way, but also neutral/male style also worked for me. But then I was told that not caring for your gender is a cis thing?? I don't know, I feel like I am more like gnc in a passive 'I don't actually care and I wish it didn't exist' way xD

I've read somewhere that if you are queer there is a high chance of being ND and vice versa. Maybe it's not true, but it certantly feels that way xD Maybe because of hetero/allo normativeness of the society, that our brain from the start tells us 'we dont get social norms and we wont' XD

Your experience was also interesting to read! I love talking all about it!! Have a nice day too!❤

[kamydrawstuffs]

For @deathshippingweek

Day 7: Free Day

Can’t complete this whole week without a kiss, can’t I?

[hangezoeenthusiast]

God(hcs)

c!multiple x god!reader

notes: the reader will be the god of death to make it a little bit more spicy :). c!punz’s pronouns are he/they, i’m not sure about the others, but i know theirs. also why does ranboo take away my gender? /j

word count: 1,672

warnings: arson, violence, cursing, yelling, mention of death, voices in technos part, spoilers for wilbur if you haven’t watch tommy’s lore stream, revival for wilbur, making a religion, time travel, egg, prison, stealing, anarchy, playful name calling

Sapnap

so obviously y’all would be a great match :)

you have creative mode, so when sap would ask you to give him a lighter and tnt, you would GLADLY give it

also, can we talk about him being a nether hybrid

fire squared

like fires left and right, hide your mom and your children in your house lol /j

but besides the whole arson thing, you favor him above anyone else on the server

like if he asks for diamond blocks, well here’s a whole inventory of it, also, here’s some ancient debris and some netherite

if someone asked, you would probably grant them with poison and curses, just because you can’t be “unloyal” to snapchat 

wouldn’t be lonely anymore

Dreamwastaken

this duo is less chaotic, but chaotic enough where people avoid you

he still asks you for stuff, but most of the time, you don’t give him it because he annoys you too much about giving stuff

“hey y/n/n, can i pretty please get some emerald blocks.”

“nope bitch, get it yourself.”

but sometimes, you grant him some op shit, when it’s your good day

“because i’m being nice, here’s some diamond, now, don’t ask me again you little piss baby.”

“shut your trap y/n.”

“or what homeless teletubby, what are you going to do to a god like me?”

“you hang out with technoblade to much.”

Georgenotfound

maybe the least chaotic duo

you guys keep on relaxing and relaxing until the point where you don’t do anything

he barely asks you for anything, but only when it’s really really important, like a house or build

especially when he was building his little cottagecore house, he needed your godly presence to help

“y/n, what should the roof be made of?”

“i suggest brick, it makes it more aestheticy if that makes any sense.”

also barely any drama or tea with you guys

never arguing and never betraying each other is a must

Tubbo

also another least chaotic duo

literally help him with his bee farm, he will (platonically) love you forever

gotta be close to ranboo, that’s the rule

gives him SO much stuff, he’s a precious boi 🙄

also gotta be close to tommy, but not as much unfortunately

you help him pick out things for builds, like what material clashes with another, etc

“do you think that the wool and the netherite blocks look good together y/n?”

“nah, what i suggest is the wool with the gold, it looks perfect.”

sometiems, gotta put him in check because he gets a little ego built up

you definitely yank his horn a little too hard because of your IMMENSE STRENGTH

“OW, WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT Y/N.”

“calm down sunny, you were just getting a bit over your head a little.”

Tommyinnit

chaotic duo like sapnap

snaps at anyone who annoys you and vice versa

you give him EVERYTHING, obviously except op and creative

he tries to persuade you to do something, but dreamxd wouldn’t allow it, since he is the main boss

“come on y/n, give me op.”

“no tommy, xd will kick my ass.”

“pweaseee.”

“no.”

you would DEFINITELY help him with the Big Innit Hotel, making the whole layout and color palette.

both of you have an intense hatred for ranboo, since he “stole” tubbo away from tommy

Ranboo

least involved in everything

just stay in the tundra and drink some tea, and you’re good for all of your life

helps him get netherite all the time so your boii can get the good stuff 😬

when he mines to get diamonds, he literally prays to you

“y/n, if you’re listening, please give me a 6 vein, i desperately need it for my collection of diamond blocks.”

and THERE IT IS

more than a 6 vein actually, a 12 vein

guess he needs to pray to you more

daily tea sessions, to talk about the good stuff, and NO, and i repeat NO skipping

threatening to flick water on him check ✅

Wilbur Soot

literally you spoil him

not to be angsty, but when he died and lost his last canon life, you revived him instead of Dream

now he’s practically at your knees

like he’s thinks that he owes you, but actually that’s the opposite

he was revived because you were lonely, and wanted your best friend back :(

prays to you when he goes to bed

“hey y/n, hope you’re having a great day, (platonically) love you.”

“love you too mortal.”

sometimes, to be at the peak of godness, you shower upon wilbur as gold to symbolize blessings, like zeus did before

“omg y/n, what are you doing?”

“i’m trying to bless you, shut up bitch.”

just saying, he would make a religion about you :/

Karl Jacobs

omg don’t get me started on this

first, you wouldn’t codone him going back in time

he would definitely forget your name a lot, so that’s why you hated it

“hey karl, how are you doing?”

“i’m sorry, but do i know you?”

ANGST IS TOO MUCH FOR ME

you were definitely the one to push him towards sapnap and quackity

this is also another spoiled boi

give him the entire world while you’re at it pwease

he wants a few diamonds, nope, give him a chest full of them

Quackity

why are there so much chaotic duos in here?

literally chaos times infinity

energy to the max

literally, did you take an energy drink

grants him every wish he can randomly think off

“can i get a bucket with lava and a fish in it?”

“weird choice, but ok man.”

gotta be close to sap and karl or he isn’t your friend anymore /j

helps with las nevadas a lot, and definitely tries to rig the machines so you get money

“hey big q, i got 10,000 dollars.”

“that’s impossible... y/n, did you cheat?”

“nooo 😊”

help him preen his wings, and he goes “I LOVE YOU, MWAH MWAH.” obviously in his mind 🙄

Awesamdude

definitely helps him maintain the prison

you both love setting up red stone contraptions and pistons and all that giz

“hey sam, do you know where the redstone torches are?”

“yeah, there behind the pistons in the back.”

also you helped build the prison, since he could do that by himself

“are you sure that lava wall will work y/n, your calculations seem inaccurate.”

“i’m sure sam, this will add some more security to this goddamn server.”

nerd squared lol

BadBoyHalo

wouldn’t condone the egg

you warned him multiple times to get away from its grasp, but most of the times he’ll decline

“i won’t y/n, the egg is the future.”

he still, even after all the advancements, even after everything, he tries to ask you to join the eggpire

“come on y/n, you’ll like being with us.”

“i don’t wanna be on a stupid egg side, like let me crack the egg, i wanna eat it and turn it into a omelette.”

he doesn’t like that joke :(

but before he discovered the egg, both of you were joint at the hip

sight seeing was a must

languages being thrown around everywhere, since you were the little language muffin

Punz

steals stuff from everyone

hide your stuff, because the punzo-y/n team is unstoppable

definitely they can be really stubborn and indecisive

like one day, he will be like, “i need gold blocks.” and the next, “nevermind, i need netherite actually.”

like hon, stop switching

also anarchy buddies

burning down forests and buildings are your guys’s specialty

when you give him gold when they doesn’t ask, his heart goes brrr and his brain goes, “pog pog, they’re so cool, lets hug them.”

Technoblade

now this is the most deadly duo in the entire Dream Smp

better not piss you guys off 😐

he’s the Blood God, and you’re the God/Goddess/God being of Death

so if some occasion where you need to battle someone, like Techno’s enemies, *clears throat and murmurs Quackity*, you will obviously back your boy up :)

help him with enchanting and potions and he’s set for life

also you got have to be close to the great Philza Minecraft since him and Techno are buddy buddy

anarchy squared

helps with the voices since you have some of your own

“so what you’re saying is that i need to pay attention to them?”

“yeah, when i first learned that the voices were in my head, i tried to ignore them, but that sucked. so what i did was try to distract myself with various tasks, and that sucked.”

“so what do i do, you’re saying that i should listen to them, but how do i do that when they literally shout at me.”

“just embrace it, obviously when they do their little chant of blood for the blood god, you have to ignore them.”

“you suck at advice.”

Philza Minecraft

so since both of you resemble death, him being the Angel of Death and you being the God/Goddess/God being of Death, y’all are fucking best friends, platonic soulmates if you will

death squared

watch out, because if you piss them off, prepare to d-

gotta be close to Ranboo and Techno, and obviously others who he platonically likes

he doesn’t need to ask you for stuff, he’s the fricking Angel of Death, but he will ask you to preen his wings :D

“ow, not there y/n.”

“oh shut up grandpa, let me do it.”

“I’M NOT OLD DUMBASS.”

Dream XD

two gods at once, damn there is so much chaos

left and right, you guys are noticed by everyone, like purrrr

y’all would be in some fancy shit, to show your power

you would get jealous of him hanging out with george

“why are you jealous y/n?”

“you’re hanging out with george to much, hang out with me please :(.”

gifts are a must, even though both of you have access to creative

[autumn-sweet-fae]

I have no idea why, but I thought Mint was Dawn/Lucas/Barry's age. I didn't expect them to be a whole 19 years old XD. Though them being 19, how does Emmet even take them under his wing? Aren't they a little old at that point to need a mentor, even if he has new/weaker pokemon?

Sorry, I'm just trying to understand how Mint and Emmet's dynamic even works after everything calms down. It doesn't seem like Emmet has much to offer besides being a more straightforward person than what their grandma was.

And even if Emmet's a strong trainer what's stopping Mint from just finding some other ace trainer to get tips from? I think you even said Frontier Brain Argenta was their blood relative (who would probably be just as straightforward as Emmet would be in her teachings if they asked her to be their mentor). So wouldn't they gravitate more to her than to Emmet, her being actual family?

IDK if I'm saying my questions right (words are hard), but I guess I'm trying to ask is what makes Emmet the person Mint wants to learn from when they really only knew the man for a collective few days at most (if I'm remembering the timeline of events correctly)?

I can assure you a 29 year old can absolutely mentor a 19 year old. Mint is only just getting an idea of what they want to do and how be a proper adult.

Mint spends allot of the story trying to meet their grandmother expectations or to help the pokemon they perceive to be in danger.

While Ingo is who Mint is chasing and offers some sound advice before he and Akari run off, Emmet is the one Mint will have a few full conversations with long before the kidnapping. Emmet and Elesa ask Mint about the lab they work for and Mint boast about their position and their success and how Team Flora wants to help others. But then when the two start pressing for more details and what the lab has done, Mint starts to put things together and realizes that, yeah, it doesn’t add up at all.

Emmet is the person who helps Mint see the truth. To inspire them to look deeper into what the lab is actually doing. And when Looker makes contact with Mint, to find Proof.

They and Emmet cross paths enough before the eggnapping and kidnapping that they have a respect for each other. When Emmet is kidnapped Mint does everything they can to help him, both getting medical supplies to care for any injuries and to keep his real identity a secret. It’s about a day or two between when Emmet is brought in and when Ingo and the others go to rescue him, so they do talk quite a bit in that time.

And it’s not just a matter of looking up to someone who’s strong. Emmets skill with his Pokémon does not even really factor into Mints respect for him. (Ingo is the one Mint battles usually.) Emmet being so straight forward and honest with Mint is exactly what makes Mint respect him. Right now, everyone else Mint is suppose to work with us either dismissive to them, lying to Them, or clearly lying to themselves to continue working at a place like this.

(Or just entirely to happy with their job, which is what’s going on with Belladonna’s second command researcher, Sarin. He’s the one who does most the hands on experimenting and is a rotten individual.)

Also, Mint isn’t close at all with Argenta. She’s their dad’s older first cousin who visits for holidays occasionally but not much other then that. Argenta is Belladonna’s favorite niece and her successes were always used in comparison to Mints dads. So like, she’s family, but not someone Mint grew up knowing at all.

But yeah, to clear things up: Mint knows Emmet for longer then a few days. They cross paths over a dozen times and Mint was the Lab grunt that would show up when the cops reported capturing ‘Ingo’. (Blaze did not bother because he’s busy actually tracking him down lol)

After the main plot, when everyone is zapped to Unova, Mint is sent by international police to spends a few weeks in Unova with them as they are a VERY valuable witness to everything that happened and there are a handful of dangerous team flora members that got away. (Including the before mentioned doctor Sarin as well as another enforcer character Zhenniii and I have been working on called Scald. Cause every pokemon story needs a post-game plot/villian.)

So it’s durring the time in Unova that Mint gets to know everyone better and they all really bond. But since Emmet was who really helped Mint see the truth of what was happening and the fact that they were there to help him and update him during his kidnapping, the two do become close friends and Mint genuinely looks up to him.

Also Emmet must teach them his ways of resisting electric Pokémons shocks if Mint wants to help with the Hisuian Voltorb and Electrode lol

[the12thnightproject]

Hi! I was wondering if it was ok to ask, I love your writing and saw the cursed request thing! How would it be like if shingen turned into a woman for a day, and how Nobunaga would react if Hideyoshi suddenly stopping showing his loyalty all of a sudden. We know that Nobunaga can get a bit annoyed at Hideyoshi for going overboard with his loyalty, I wonder if he would miss it XD

Hi @selenacosmic - Of course it is ok to ask, and thank you for the ❤️ and the ask.

Hideyoshi suddenly becoming colder to Nobunaga:

At first, Nobunaga doesn't exactly realize what's up. He senses that Hideyoshi isn't as solicitous as usual, but figures that his right hand man is really busy.

But then, when Nobunaga goes to the kitchen for his evening sneak of konpieto, and Hideyoshi doesn't show up to take it away from him, he begins to worry.

Although that doesn't stop him from overindulging on candy.

The resulting sugar rush in turn intensifies the worry.

What if Hideyoshi is sick?

The next day at War Council, he keeps a close eye on Hideyoshi - the man is quieter, and where he would generally quash any dissent, he says nothing.

He doesn't even yell at Masamune for being late.

Or argue with Mitsuhide.

That's it, Hideyoshi is definitely sick.

Someone should send him to bed and have the maids bring him hot soup. Feed him even. Who normally does that, he wonders?

Oh. Right.

Ok then.

Nobunaga orders his personal guards to surround Hideyoshi, carry him back to his manor, and tie him to his futon, if necessary.

Soon after, Nobunaga arrives at Hideyoshi's manor with a container of Masamune's best soup.

He feeds Hideyoshi soup...

(Loyalty restored).

Shingen turns into a woman for a day. (Note, fell through a google rabbit hole trying to figure out if he would have access to a full length mirror. Answer -probably not).

When Shingen wakes up that morning, he feels different, slightly out of balance. Off center.

It's not until Shingen puts on his kimono, and his breasts fall out of the deep v-neck....

Breasts?

Well, those are new.

Plays with them for a moment (note, while author believes Shingen is a normally paragon, he is only human and does not resist this temptation).

Hm, if breasts have been suddenly acquired, it stands to reason that something else might be missing.

*checks*

Something is definitely missing.

Is this permanent? Is this a dream?

One dousing of cold water from the washbowl later, non-dream situation has been confirmed.

Shingen is awake, cold, wet, and ...still female.

The temporary versus permanence has yet to be established, but Shingen will worry about that later. He still has work to do. Reports to read, correspondence to write, a Daimyo to meet wi--

... hmmmm

Wearing a cobbled together kimono borrowed from the tallest maid and his own hakima, Shingen is an Amazon striding down the corridor.

Only to be stopped by woman-hating Kenshin who demands that this strange tall woman leave Kasugayama immediately, kthxbye.

Yuki basically loses his mind... he can't talk to women, what is he going to do now that his Lord is now a giant boar-woman? All conversations toward Shingen from Yuki are directed to his feet.

Sasuke, on the other hand, finds the transformation fascinating... heck, if time travel is possible, so is gender swap. But he confesses that he has no idea if the condition is permanent.

Yoshimoto is amused. And somewhat aroused. Is willing to offer hair and make-up advice.

Shingen doesn't take him up on that.

Female-Shingen is still able to bring all the maids to a blush with the flirtatious words and winks.

Charisma is universal.

Now Shingen, as much as he admires and worships women, calling them Princess and Goddess, also believes they are capable, smart competent human beings. He works with women daily, hires them as spies, trusts them to ferret out information, write reconnaissance reports to him ... in fact his relative Chiyome is in charge of a major part of his operation. So he has never discounted women's intelligence, skills, competency, or power...

This is the day that he discovers that unlike himself, many other men do not believe in female agency -in fact the Daimyo that met with female Shingen refused to talk business and spent the entire conversation admiring Shingen's breasts (though Shingen does internally admit that they are indeed spectacular).

A day in the life of a woman is a shock to the system.

By the end of the day, Shingen understands the his spies' lives are far more difficult than he realized.

Considers giving them an across the board raise-in-pay just for the headache of dealing with men.

That night, Shingen takes advantage of the unique opportunity to discover what female pleasure feels like. Finding every single female arousal point is information worth acquiring.

Information is power.

And kind of fun.

[chiliiscereal]

May I offer a prompt of how the turtles would be with a mom friendTM? you know the type I mean? like.... I think they might benefit from that kind of friend in the group lol (also I love your stories, your such a cool writer keep up the awesome work!)

Rottmnt headcanon: mom friend TM

And thanks so much!

Mom friends are severely underrated XD

——

-Okay these boys need a mom friend badly

-but that’s where you come in!

-as the mom friend you keep them safe in many ways

Donnie💜

-starting with this guy, he never really wanted a mom friend

-when April first brought you over he was cold

-didn’t even bother talking to you

-you were determined to befriend him, even though he left whenever you tried to talk to him

-you became comfortable with the turtles quickly and the others accepted your mom friend nature

-not Donnie though

-he didn’t hate you, sure, but you were too much

-you were too overbearing and too nervous for his safety!

-you’d make him wear a helmet when he used his jet pack 

-you made him put on SUNSCREEN whenever he went outside

-you told him to be careful when rewiring a project even!

-it’s like you wanted to ruin his bad boy image

-he hated it and wanted you to stop being so smothering

-…

-…until he realized that attention and moral support comes with the smothering

-the moment he realizes that he’s all for it

-he’s no longer hiding his inventions from you so you won’t bug him, but he’s seeking you out for your advice and praise

“Hey so I made this and… I don’t know…”

“Wow you built that? It’s awesome!” 

“Really? I mean, I know, I just wanted to show you that it was.”

-praise ain’t something this boy has

-have you SEEN how his brothers react to his ideas?

-he needs this

-with praise comes affection

-I’m talking homemade snacks and questions that his brothers never ask

-you’re there if he needs a cup of coffee or if he hasn’t eaten in a while or taken a nap

-“don, it’s been two days since you slept go to bed.”

-“*hissssss*”

-“I’ll make a cup of coffee for you after...?”

-“*hisses but less intense*”

-you may be good at making snacks and everything

-very good in facts

-but the questions are probably his favorite part

“Woah what’s that supposed to do?”

“Well it’s a device that’s meant to fix all the broken McDonald’s ice cream machines.”

“That’s amazing! What did you use to build it? How does it work?”

-you’re actually trying to learn about his work!

-you’re trying to learn about him!

-he loves it

-and he loves that you’re careful to

-it’s a nice change from his brothers

-you’re someone he can depend on

-doesn’t matter if it’s missions or just being a good friend

-and I mean it when I say depend

-you’re there when he needs help rewiring something or just to simply talk about his dumb dumb brothers

-honestly April isn’t even mad that Donnie stole one of her best friends

-she knows he needs this

-Donnie fully learned to trust you after the purple dragons mishap

-you told him they were untrustworthy but his heart was dead set on that satin jacket

-when he came back to the lair, late at night, with no satin jacket and a handful of his missing tech, he found you raising an eyebrow at him from where you had sat to wait for him

-he knew from then on to trust you and your opinions, even though his often got in the way

-you can often be found sitting on Donnies bed while he works, offering your company and comments

-Normally no one else is allowed in while he works but that’s just because they don’t have anything positive to provide

 Raph❤️ 

-Raph IS the mom friend

-your mom friend energy and his mom friend energy just work together so well together

-I’m talking planning missions together, figuring new ways to trick his brothers into being responsible, cleaning the dishes, and even making snacks together

-“so the mission is tomorrow right?”

-“yep! Should we bring apples with peanut butter or pretzels with hummus?”

-“well Donnie doesn’t like peanut butter, but Mikey does, so both?”

-“awesome! And you’ve got the water covered?”

-“dude I even have caprisuns packed so we’re ready!”

-the others find it to be too much with the two of you but Raph really appreciates the help

-especially during the pizza puff episode

-oh that part nearly set you on fire with worry

-Raph had never seen you that worked up

-you had a fan for Leo, a bowl for Mikey, and a bag of fruit snacks for Donnie

-Raph has to activate his supreme mom friend energy to get you to stop hovering over them

-that meant literally dragging you away from them so they could figure things out on their own

-he’s seen you be a mom friend to them all the time

-but never once for him

-you two were like... co mom friends working together to stop the younger irresponsible three

-until Raph got separated in the sewer

-oh man you were torn with worry

-you nearly destoryed the place looking for him

-and finding him all savage like that... ack that was enough to practically shatter your heart in two

-once he stopped trying to barbecue villains and destroy his brothers you took him to the lair and helped him calm down

-you even turned on a movie for the two of you so he could relax

-it was nice to have your best friend and partner in stopping crime back

-Raph of course was embarrassed because it’s HIS job to help everyone, not the other way around

-after much assurance you had him convinced that you didn’t mind

-he was grateful to have you and your help

-he just wished you didn’t worry quite so much

Leo 💙:

-this boy is soaking it all up from the start

-someone to compliment him?

-someone to help him out?

-someone to admire his achievements?

-oh he’s all for it

-he’s showing off skateboard stunts, he’s doing flips, and he’s randomly pulling you to him and creating a portal

-usually you end up somewhere sketchy but sometimes it works out

-you always have to be ready though

-one minute you’re walking to the projector room and the next you’re in New Jersey with a sheepish looking red slider

-his only problem is now he has to be more careful with skateboard tricks

-he’s fine with a helmet but when it comes to you hovering next to him while he’s going down the skate ramp...

-eh he’s not so fond of that

-praise?

-sure

-home made gifts and cards?

-always appreciated

-but you constantly trying to protect him from things he knew how to do?

-no

-just no

-now he only feels like he can skate if you’re not there or if he goes to a skate park without telling you

-you figure out quickly and still worry that he’ll mess up a flip

-doesn’t matter if you’re watching or not

-you’re the mom friend

-your job is to worry

-you promised that you’d stop worrying about him if he can back

-you didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable in his own home!

-he agreed and you did your best to keep your promise

-...

-until he actually messed up a flip

-you don’t know WHAT he landed on but it must have been sharp because there was a LOT of blood

-maybe you thought there was a lot because you were so worried but still

-you hadn’t even been in the room but you heard his shout (and crash) and you came running

-oh he was lucky you carried gauze and everything in your bag because other wise they’d have to go buy some

-you chewed him out while patching him up, much to his displeasure

-you’re both sweet and sour about it

-“I’m fine! Look, nothing’s broken!”

-“I TOLD you that you could get hurt! I TOLD you it wasn’t safe! Why did you not listen- I’m sorry does that hurt? I’m sorry!”

-“yeah it does hurt-.”

-“than you should have listened to me!!”

-for a while he’s bitter that you were just waiting for him to mess up

-clearly you thought he was just a big clutz to you

-but after a while of him avoiding you and pouting you brought it up again

-“I’m not just waiting for you to fail you know. I just want you to be okay.”

-“that’s not what it feels like! You clearly don’t trust me!”

-“life happens, Leo! Doesn’t matter how skilled you are! You’re an amazing skater but sometimes mistakes are made!”

-ha that changed his tune quickly

-“you think I’m an amazing and skilled skater?

-you just rolled your eyes and left, not saying anything about his comment

-didn’t matter

-this boy is all smiles for the rest of the day

Mikey🧡:

-he was on board from the very start

-he’s got cuddles, piggy back rides, and his own art fan/critic

-lots of baking and cooking together

-maybe even drawing if he’s lucky

-only problem?

-you don’t trust him to go out on his own

-even if it’s just to grab a video game from the store or pick up pizza

-“I’m just going down the block!”

-“what if someone sees you?”

-“I’ll be careful!”

-“just let me go with you.”

-“no! I can do this on my own!”

-you’re always offering to give him a ride or tag along just because you don’t want anything to happen to him

-that means, of course, sneaking out

-not for a long time, just enough to get some air

-but that also means you’re staying up late waiting for him to come back

-he’s your buddy!

-you can’t let anything happen to him!

-he didn’t know about it until he found you cashed out on the couch with the lamp still on

-normally you gave him an excuse about why you were still up, such as a late night snack or a movie

-but your phone and the tv were both off

-he decided to think nothing of it until he noticed that you were grumpier in the mornings

-he didn’t want his actions to affect you so he started coming back earlier

-even texting you and telling you he was fine

-you two talked and set up a deal

-he could go out by himself and you wouldn’t stay up late waiting for him as long as you had his location on your phone

-it was easier for both you from then on

[a-dragons-journal]

i dont "kin for fun" but through tiktok i found out about the whole kin for fun vs actual otherkin... situation ig? im having a really hard time taking it seriously... maybe im just burnt out and bitter from dealing with the worlds current events, and maybe its because on tiktok the only people i saw mad about it were white people, but you're the most reasonable person ive seen talking about it (a lot of other posts have this odd tone that 12 year olds on tiktok saying kin is the worlds greatest opression and it weirds me out) so ig my question is just... why exactly does this matter? why does it matter enough to post about and care about and not just ignore? /gen

Hey! I don’t blame you for being a bit weirded out by it, we’re a weird subculture and we’re well aware of it! xD I appreciate you taking the time to actually look into it past your first knee-jerk reaction, especially considering burnout and the state of things.

I’m not totally sure if you’re asking why otherkinity matters or why the “kin for fun” being wrong matters, so I’ll answer both - they’re pretty well tied together anyway.

The short version:

Otherkinity is an identity. It’s who we are, we can’t choose to pick it up or put it down, and it comes with struggles - though no, ‘kin are not systematically oppressed (though we are pretty badly bullied and, at this point, pushed out of our own words and spaces).

What people calling roleplay/relating to/projecting onto characters “kinning for fun” does is steal our words, make them meaningless, and in doing so, make it difficult or impossible for us to find each other. If someone says “I kin [x],” I no longer know whether they mean “I am [x] on an intrinsic level” or “haha I relate to this character a lot”. I no longer know whether they actually share my experiences or if they’re going to turn on me and call me “crazy” as soon as they realize I’m not exaggerating or joking or roleplaying. It’s done massive harm to the community as a whole because it’s become difficult to tell whether someone is actually ‘kin or if they’ve misunderstood the whole thing - and because antikin rhetoric, which I’m seeing more and more in KFF spaces, hurts far more when it’s coming from inside what you thought was a community space than when it’s coming from self-labeled “antikin.”

There are other words for roleplaying and relating to and projecting onto characters. Hell, there are words for strongly identifying with-but-not-as characters/things, though usually KFF people don’t even seem serious enough for those to fit in my experience. I’m really not sure why these people are so determined to steal and misuse our words, words that were specifically created to mean something else, when they already have their own and are just refusing to use them. (Or, hell, if you don’t feel like those fit, make your own. We did. It’s your turn to put in the work. (General you, not you-the-anon, of course.))

An analogy, if that still doesn’t quite land for you:

Consider, for a moment, the transgender community. I am aware this is a dangerous thing to say, but bear with me. Obvious CW for hypothetical transphobia up ahead is obvious.

Consider if you were part of the trans community (I don’t know if you are or not), having finally found a word to explain why you feel the way you do about yourself, why your experiences don’t seem to match up with those of everyone else around you. Having found a community, a home, full of other people like you, people you never would have met if not for words like “transgender” and “gender dysphoria/euphoria” that were created specifically to describe your experiences.

Now consider if people suddenly stumbled across your community for the first time who were not trans themselves. They see community jokes and lighthearted posts out of context, because Tumblr and Twitter aren’t exactly conducive to making sure people find the Transgender 101 information posts first. They don’t bother to do further research, assuming they understand: ah, these people like to crossdress! They like to pretend they’re a different gender! This seems like a fun hobby, I want in!

They begin to post things like this. They post photos of them crossdressing and caption them “hi, I’m [name], and I trans men!” and things of the like. Suddenly the concept of “transing for fun” seems to be everywhere - and it’s not at all what being trans actually is, but these people either don’t know or don’t care. When actual trans people try to politely correct them, they’re accused of “gatekeeping” - and to be clear, this is not “nonbinary people aren’t real,” it’s “transgender means you identify as a gender other than the one you were assigned at birth, and you’re self-identifying as the gender you were assigned at birth 100% and telling us this is just a fun hobby for you, therefore you’re not trans, you’re crossdressing or doing drag or being GNC. That’s fine, but it’s not being trans - you have other words to describe that, use those.”

(Yes, I am aware these things have a history with the trans community - please just ignore that for the sake of the analogy and bear with me on the slightly simplified version of this. “Kinning for fun” does not have that same history with the otherkin community.)

...And then the response to those attempted corrections, in some corners, turns into “wait, you ACTUALLY think you’re another gender? idk that sounds pretty unhealthy, maybe you should see a psychologist or something :\” and “you’re taking this too seriously.”

I imagine, in this hypothetical scenario, you’d also be pretty fuckin peeved.

(Obviously, in this hypothetical scenario, systematic transphobia would be an issue as well, which isn’t the case for otherkin - again, you’re gonna have to bear with me on the simplification for sake of analogy there.)

(EDIT: this is not an anti-MOGAI/exclusionist argument, this is “you’re literally telling me you don’t fit the definition,” explanation on that here)

The long version, which is probably still worth reading if you have the time and energy:

Otherkinity is... pretty core to who I am, who we as a group of individuals are. We live with being otherkin on a daily basis. Many of us spent a long time feeling different and disconnected and not understanding why until we found the otherkin community. Even people like me, who don’t share that experience and still had social connection - I’ve still had to live with weird differences that I had to learn to mask when necessary; instincts that don’t line up with human society well, feeling body parts that weren’t there and that no one else ever seemed to have, things that other kids grew out of because it was just make-believe for them and I... didn’t, because it was never make-believe for me to begin with. Oh, sure, I played make-believe too - I played warrior cats and house and all those things with the other kids, but there were things that weren’t play-pretend for me too. I didn’t have an explanation for it for a long time - it was just how I was, I was weird, and fortunately for me personally I was okay with that (many of those with species dysphoria or more trouble connecting with humans have more problems from that than I did).

And then I found the word “otherkin.” And suddenly everything fell into place, and I had an explanation for the things I’d been experiencing, and there were other people like me. Something I’d assumed didn’t exist. I found others who shared my unique experiences, who were talking about how to cope with the instinct to growl or snap jaws at people instead of expressing annoyance in a human way instead of just saying “that’s weird, don’t do that”, who were talking about dealing with phantom wings and tails, who understood me. I wasn’t weird, I wasn’t broken, I was exactly what one would expect from a dragon living in human skin. I found an explanation for myself. I found a home.

That is why otherkinity matters - it is who we are, it’s not something we can walk away from (certainly not most of us, anyway), and it’s something many of us need the support of the community to help deal with on a daily basis. Being a nonhuman in human society isn’t always easy, but it’s not something we can just magically stop being - it’s core to who we are, we (generally) didn’t choose to be this way, and we (generally) can’t choose to stop. Which is fine - the vast majority of us can cope with it just fine, with a little advice and help and space to be our authentic selves in. We found each other, we built this community from the ground up to make a space and words to make finding each other easier - or possible at all.

Thus we come to the second half of our story.

It was only a couple of years ago that the “kin for fun” trend started getting big. It had existed before that, of course, but it only started going mainstream two, maybe three years ago, from what I can tell. Suddenly people were treating “kin” like it meant relating to, projecting onto, roleplaying as, or just really really liking a character or thing - not being that thing, which is what it actually means. Not long after that, it became hard to tell whether someone saying “I kin this” meant they were that thing, that they were actually part of our community - or that they really really liked that thing and either didn’t know or couldn’t be bothered to learn that that wasn’t the case for us.

Not long after that, it became relatively commonplace to hear phrases like “otherkin are ruining kinning!!” and “you’re taking this too seriously” and “idk, if it’s that serious for you that sounds unhealthy. maybe you should get some help :\” (all directly quoted, or as exactly quoted as I can remember, from things KFF people have said to me or people I know).

It is a special kind of hell, I think, to be told “you’re taking this too seriously, that’s unhealthy” by people who are taking words created to describe your experiences, not theirs, and misusing them to mean something that you do for fun on a weekend instead of something that’s intrinsic to your being.

Perhaps more importantly, like I’ve said, it’s making it almost impossible to know whether someone who says “I kin [x]” is actually ‘kin or if they’re misusing our words to mean something else entirely. The entire point of words is to communicate ideas, and once you start misusing words to mean something totally different than what they actually mean, that communication falls apart and suddenly we might as well not have those words at all. Especially when the community is small enough and obscure enough that we’re starting to be outnumbered by the misinformation. We’re being run out of our own words, words we created to describe our experiences specifically - because we’re a small community that the wider internet can easily drown out by sheer numbers of people who either don’t know any better or don’t care to learn.

That’s the harm it does - the harm it is doing, right now. That’s why it’s important enough to post about. That’s why it matters - because we’re fighting desperately to hang onto our own words so that others like us can actually find us. Because we’re seeing young nonhumans go “this isn’t a kin, I actually am this” and screaming “No, I’m so sorry that this is what the misinformation has done to you, that’s exactly what otherkin means, you have a place here, please don’t let these non-’kin misusing our words drive you away from the very community you’re looking for and that you belong in.” Because we can’t even communicate effectively about our own experiences anymore except in semi-closed spaces like Discord servers and forums (and the number of Discord servers overrun with KFF people is absurd).

......This got very long. Hopefully it at least explained why it matters so much to me and others a bit better ^^; Thanks for hearing me out, and thank you again for looking into this beyond your initial knee-jerk reaction - I really do appreciate it.

(For further reading, if that text wall didn’t blow you out of the water completely, I recommend my “kin for fun” tag, which has more posts like this in both short and long form.)