#Also it’s friendly fire but idc i’m doing this for fun lol

[aeriona]

AF Day 1: Peppermint! Best girl! The Cephalopod (real)!

She belongs to @dogtoling! Go check them out!

[tomfoolies]

the tomja timeline: director's cut, extended edition, way too long of an overview of our relationship development

gonna make a preface here before we begin: suspend your disbelief, 100%. is this actually viable? only at certain times, mostly no. it's unrealistic, out of character for multiple characters, and makes plot holes the sizes of entire continents. i'm not saying that in a self-depricating way, it is literally impossible to add another character that is kinda integral into the plot without rewriting a lot or just destroying the masterfully crafted story…. and like, lets be real. we all know that as soon as people found out about us we would've gotten fired ASAP lmao. but we stick it out until the end <3 because it's more fun that way and i don't care about realism that much, i'm just here to have a good time. so it's very much canon and real to me.

i’ll be recapping stuff i’ve already talked about on this blog so some of it will be a repeat but it’s fiiiine. also. this is over three thousand words. i can't be concise.

sighs. let’s go.

PRE-SHOW

> waystar career started off as the brightstar parks department HR manager some years before the show begins. first meeting with tom is around 2-ish years before ep1. we meet during a HR dispute i’ve been put to solve and he is one of the people involved in it… not the best first impression of each other since he thinks i’m cold and intimidating and i think he’s kind of an idiot and weird. but over time we get to know each other a bit more, especially once he rises up in the ranks as well. a few months before the show starts i start in my new position as one of the HR executives for the whole corporation.

SEASON 1

> at the start of the show we're quite familiar with each other, have friendly relations and definitely count each other as some of the closest coworkers. have briefings, having worked together on occasion (idk and idc if this is viable i'm never gonna work in corporate ok), exchange a lot of emails and gossip and have each other's personal phone numbers (for work-related emergencies...?).

> the proposal doesn’t happen because around the time he considers going for it i actually blow up his phone with questions about the old man’s health. not because i wish him a speedy recovery but because i hate him and would love to see him dead (tom doesn’t know the extent of my hatred at that point yet, though). and something stops him, he’s been hesitant about it for a while now and it feels like too much at that point, everything is too chaotic and he doesn’t want to make it worse.

> in ep4 as he’s given the cruise papers, he misses a (very unofficial) meeting with me and i come to his office to interrogate him about it before he has a chance to share the papers with greg. i immediately go for it and start reading the papers in horror because i love to know what is going on. BIG MISTAKE. he doesn't dare to stop me partly because he has his first of many realizations. aaand he knows i’m competent, so instead of trying to protect me he gives in because he does also like that someone else has to deal with it now too. BONDING through the horrors (crime) LOL. WE BOTH IN THE DEATH PIT NOW!!!! but also i threaten him that if he throws me under the bus i will drag him along and figure out all and any excuses. we go down together. i’m also the one who suggests that we shouldn’t go public with it. which also leads to him keeping it more of a secret, not telling shiv about it. sooo literally nobody else knows (until i let gerri know the basics so plot continuity will work out. but at first….)

> so, it becomes my duty to figure out someone to dispose the papers. i still manage to make greg do it. he’d probably be more inclined to help me when he 1) does not know what the papers entail 2) i’ve been only nice and kind to him unlike someone else. so he would help me, not knowing it’s connected to tom as well…. oops. and he wouldn’t get any copies because i’d be keeping watch (and already took some myself for safekeeping).

> in ep6 tom comes to my desk and takes me to an empty meeting room to tell me the situation has been cleared. i get excited because i too have been very stressed out about it, so i go for a bit too friendly hug that he was NOT expecting and so when i pull back he's all flustered and just blurts out "let's go celebrate let me buy you dinner". sooo we do and have fun shittalking and in general just being a bit more personal than usual (he tries to convince me that being rich is fun and i go "yeah i'm sure it is..." seeing right through him). ending the night with wandering the streets just enjoying each other's company, and he has his little realization "aw shit i don't only find her insanely attractive but also would like to engage in romantic relations with her and kinda wish i could do something about it" moment i wrote that one selfshiptober prompt about <3 he still finds out about the vote somehow though...

> his realizations contribute to both distancing from shiv and the roys as a whole emotionally and physically. he feels out of place everywhere, but also he tries to keep telling himself he should just commit, propose to shiv and handle it. set his feelings aside. but every time something happens he’s really put off and like ”i wouldn’t have to deal with this if i wasn’t involved with these people (the family therapy incident for example)…” he starts thinking about what his life would be like. with me. love when i can make a man self-aware and more introspective.

>  roman still gets the guys to go to the (no longer a bachelor) party and i’m there as well, through a friend of a friend. neither of us knew the other was gonna be there… so imagine the surprise once we cross paths!!!! and throughout the night we'd be seen together, having a good time even if everyone else isn't because we're with each other!! but also tom’s feeling ROUGH because of the realizations he’s been having. you all know this you’ve read the fic.

> the season ends in the same place as it does canonically, but we’re all there for some other fancy event instead of the wedding. the details aren't important ok. when greg breaches the topic of shiv cheating on him, instead of refusing to accept it tom feels... relief? anger, yes, but a bit absolved of his sins of pining after me. but it’s also the last straw and in a bold move he decides to go for it and suggest that he wants to break up. it gets a bit messy for SURE. afterwards he comes to find me, surprises me and himself with what’s happened and we kiss and… later that night as we’re hanging outside by the manor’s courtyard, too excited to sleep and too enamored with the other to be with everyone else, kendall comes back from his little field trip and stumbles upon us. 

SEASON 2

> we try to distance ourselves until he’s in the clear, keeping it strictly professional (like watch kendall’s announcement at work together and conspire over what THE HELL HAPPENED) but text a LOT after work, tease and flirt extensively. a few weeks later we finally begin dating for reals once he’s gotten his own place. he invites me over and we drink and he tells me about his new job and it’s a bit awkward (NOT living up to our promises we made over text lmao) but also genuine and intimate. 

> poor guy gets his mancold and YOU KNOW i actually make him take the day off and nurse him back to health <3 and after the hunting trip i comfort him and threaten to fire everyone (i WISH i could but the thought is there. he appreciates it) even though he doesn’t dare tell me the whole extent of it because it’s just way too humiliating :(

> safe room drama includes me checking out COMPLETELY at some other random locked office while he blows up my phone (he calls me like I THINK THEY'RE OUT TO GET ME and i'm like "i'm sure they are honey…", only slightly mad at him because i found out about the human footstool incident LMAO but hey if the guy doesn't report it to the HR… my morals are. very loose in this regard.)

> i doubt my influence would help greg THIS much but it would be fun for him to do his department exploration instead of having to stick with tom so that's what's gonna go down. it'd help build his trust and respect towards me, because i'd convince tom it's better for everyone involved... greg wouldn't have the papers to blackmail with but. he would still know that we're both involved in something we don't want to become public and he could probably use that to his advantage. i think.

> once we hear about the cruise article we get Stressed. because we kept it just between us it'd throw a lot more people off guard. but we'd try to stay calm and let the roys take the blame for a hot second… the anxiety runs high and it does lead to us being a bit distant, but also we try our best to not think about it. we both get questioned, i manage to keep my cool and i actually stored the documents in a smart place (soz greg) so they can be a surprise tool to be used for later :) and of course we would witness the beautiful performance that is l to the og... (< very important for me to be there also)

> my love confession just before his hearing my beloved <3 and… i think that this all would lead to me having to go to court as well instead of greg. since there's literally nobody else to throw blame onto. and everyone else would LOVE to get back at me like that. so it'd happen and while not as bad as tom's i would still not perform very well. a lot of questioning about my suspicious HR violations by getting it on with the boss from an adjacent company LOL. they're like "hmm did you help him get that position" guys no that's just good old nepotism-adjacent activities. but they'd definitely expose our. interesting. email threads…

> but. we survive. i also get invited to the yacht. probably as a terrible ploy to get me killed, but at least before my inevitable death i can have a relatively… good time? then it's up to ME to defend tom to everyone, especially to logan. it gets a little bit uncomfortable and i may fear for my life a little bit. but i'd know i did the right thing when he confesses his love for me <33 and i secretly promise to myself i will stick with him no matter what; i'm in too deep to give up on him.

(ALSO. JUST REALISED. CHICKEN SCENE NOT REAL IN THE TOMJA TIMELINE MOST LIKELY. BIGGEST LOSS OF THE CENTURY……..)

> and when kendall gets revealed to be the sacrifice… me and tom's suspicions rise even more. full circle moment? he gives us a look and we can't help but think that something’s going on. but also i really wanted to help him out earlier, so i talked with him, we connected a little bit and the papers i saved end up being of great use >:)

SEASON 3

> relatively smooth sailing until ep3, he gets drunk and self sacrificing, you know what goes down… but i don't know if i'd manage to prevent him from executing his idea or not. on the other hand more plot continuity on the other hand i want to avoid the tailgate party argument… luckily i don't have to know. nevertheless i comfort him even though it does really sting when he confesses to me that occasionally he wonders if breaking up with shiv was the right thing. but then again, he also regrets getting into waystar in the first place. and he's much happier with me than he ever was with her. he's just feeling very scared and disposable and i can't help him. i just don't have the power. but what i do have is instinctual knowledge (mary sue energy) that things will work out and i try my best to relay that to him.

> but then because I'M the one that gave kendall the papers, he would notify me that i might be on the line of fire as well. so… both tom and i would be unbearably anxious about our respective prison sentences. constantly whining about it together, staying up all night bouncing scenarios off of each other and catastrophizing, brought closer by our mutual loss of hope. nobody would like to be around us during this time period (as if that's any different from the norm lol).

> here i can't decide if i'd tell tom i helped kendall or not. i would probably need to divulge that i'm more involved in this than what i originally planned. but not tell him the whole extent of it. BECAUSE i want that kendall's talk with tom in ep6 be more interesting (i've talked abt this before but YOU'RE GETTING IT AGAIN). he would tell tom what i did, and try to persuade him to switch sides because he knows i would respect him for it. i have 0 loyalty to anyone (but tom…), i genuinely don't give a shit about waystar and would just abandon the ship if things got too much, so it wouldn't be that much of a stretch. and he'd feel more inclined to do it for sure, since his loyalties have also begun to shift. but he won't do it, even if it's just because he knows that kendall will get fucked eventually.

> of course once he finds out nobody’s going to prison, he comes over to my work station and we slip into the first available meeting room, very discreetly and very casually. intense making out ensues as celebration. and later at ken’s birthday party we get wasted and make everyone else jealous with how stoked we are. actually feeling really great and happy and not caring one bit!! we'd also obviously get invited to the mama roy's wedding <3

> things get convoluted here. shiv would not tell tom about the siblings' planned coup so he wouldn't be able to rat them out to logan. but. everything would go badly for them nevertheless... how? i don't know. but it's succession we're talking about the narrative has doomed them already. again i don't care about realism THAT much.

SEASON 4

> i get suspicious at connor's wedding when i realize the siblings have mysteriously disappeared. and tom calls me immediately afterwards. i'd try my best to comfort him but i'd be lying if i said i was sad. and he knows that too. anyways, greg and i manage to escape the boat before it embarks and gossip all the way to the office to get rid of the documents as per his request. wondering what really went down. sonjagreg bonding moment <3

> and as i've said before tom would definitely be uneasy about it for a while, partly because it made him realize what he has to do next, that he no longer wants to go down the path he's been walking for such a long time now. he'd have a crisis about it for sure, and it'd lead to him having some nightmares about the whole thing. his resolve to leave waystar behind is growing stronger, and when he's hit with the harsh truth of "nobody likes you here plus the old man kinda of wanted you gone for a good while now since you abandoned his family for some upper middle class bitch (me) so don’t even think about the CEO spot" he might not show it but man does he agree with it.

> hmmm. maybe no tailgate party at our place? BECAUSE. for no other reason than why not, i'd say we move in together around this time. partly because it feels like the only thing we can control in that moment, partly because i pretty much live at his place with juno already so not a lot really changes... so. there's no sleepless nights (i let that man sleep we're not animals) and NO DRAMA NO ARGUMENTS!!! boring and leaves many things open but it's fine we can still be invited, it can be at someone else's place <3 because i love nothing more than being a side character/witness to the main plot drama.

> america decides what america decides and i go welp fuck wanna start life over in finland? is it sheep farmer time? and i manage to drag tom out of his office and make it in time to witness logan's funeral. one last hurrah with the roys, his moment of closure for that particular era in his life.

> by the time the finale rolls around, instead of feeling like he’s willing to do anything and everything to stay in mattson’s good graces he is growing disinterested. kind of ready to walk out already. we strategize it, i resign from my job and he's just waiting to get fired as soon as the merge happens. so... when he gets offered the CEO spot he is VERY surprised. but he doesn’t want it, not anymore. so he tells mattson just that, hands in his notice and comes home to me.

> post-canon includes us getting new jobs after an unemployment vacation, moving to a nice little house with a garden and a backyard for our dogs <3 travelling a bunch, and getting engaged soon after that. engagement lasts for multiple years, like i previously said, with a destination wedding (very much leaning towards lake como teehee). aand then we just chill out our fun mundane domestic DINK life until the end of time <3

[jayisa]

The Proposal + The Party (wip) + First Kiss (wip)

Tsukkiyama ATLA AU

I’m really proud of some of my improvements these last few months! This AU has been bouncing around in my head for ages haha so I’m slowly drawing out the story. Maybe one day I’ll properly write it! Also ik it’s unlikely for an air representative to have such fancy clothes but idc yams in flowly robes gives me life uwu also most air nomads have shaved heads but since Tadashi came from the water tribe he wouldn’t be expected to shave it until receiving his airbending mastery tattoos, which he will never receive bc he eventually defects and runs away with Kei before finishing his training. Anywho read on for more details on each piece, tho two are still in progress felt like it would be fun to post some together. Also there is a specific reason why Tsukki carved yams a betrothal necklace and not vice versa

This AU starts in Avatar Roku’s time around 20/25 years before the air nomad genocide. Tadashi and Kei were both born in the Northern Water Tribe and were childhood friends. Kei comes from a very prestigious noble water bending family, a very recognizable one at that with very uncharacteristic fair white or blond hair as a result of a strong spiritual connection central ancestors had, in addition many members are predisposed to having a powerful bond with the moon. They are a very small clan, but very powerful, and they are often found in important occupations like taking care of the spirit oasis. Akiteru is the heir to most of the family’s titles, giving Kei decent leeway to do what he wants, though there are still many expectations as a member of such a traditional clan. He will be expected to be highly educated on local and global affairs and expected to partake in a politically beneficial arranged marriage later in life as is customary in the northern tribe.

Tadashi on the other hand is an only child of a small family of no import. His mother and father ended up working for the Tsukishimas so he was around the place a lot, and being the same age meant the two became fast friends around the age of 7. Tadashi’s earnest goodnatured attitude was a candle to Kei’s more icy exterior. They become really close friends, both pariahs in their own right. Kei could be popular on his family name and his burgeoning waterbending talent, but his rude attitude and disdain for expectations make him disliked but grudgingly respected. Tadashi is derided for his lack of bending and lack of status. Before befriending Tsukki he was often picked on. Finding comfort and understanding in their odd symbiosis, they lived in their own little world.

A huge shock came to their friendship when they were 12, Tadashi discovering his airbending abilities. Turns out his mother was once an air nomad, born and raised, but with fairly weak bending abilities, thus never receiving mastery tattoos, who choose to abandon that life when she fell in love with a water tribe man when a journey threw her off course. Because marrying across nations is very uncommon and slightly stigmatized, especially during the tumultuous decade before the start of the Hundred Years’ War that marked increased division. Thus Tadashi’s mother completely abandoned her old identity in order to fully assimilate into the culture of the Northern Water Tribe and never mentioned it to her son in order to protect him from any additional scorn of being the result of a internation couple. Since her airbending abilities were so weak and her husband was a non bender she figured it would never be important.

Quite a shock when Tadashi’s abilities suddenly bloom at 12, fairly late for bending to manifest but likely a result of not growing up amidst the spirituality of air nomad culture that is so essential to airbending practices. Some sort of minor public spectatcle occurs due to Tadashi’s uncontrolled new abilities, leading to the tribe’s leadership demanding he be sent to the northern air temple to become an air bender. Another result of expectations for a harsh division between nations due to the polarization of the Fire Nation’s aggressive actions leading up to the hundred year war. Kei is upset because his only true friend is leaving and does what he does best and decides to get icy and push him away. Tadashi is terrified to leave behind the only culture and family he has ever known to go to a completely new place, and he is hurt. They leave on these complicated feelings. Kei continues his waterbending training and his studies full force to avoid his feelings, and a complex relationship with his brother and family further drive him to avoid expanding his social circle as expectations loom. Tadashi travels to the air temple and is very nervous about the whole thing. Determined to move on and make the best of things, Tadashi is pleasantly suprised by the fun loving nature of the air nomads. He quickly bonds to his mentor Shimada, and becomes fast friends with fellow new air apprentices, Hinata from the Fire Nation and Yachi from the Earth Kingdom, who also discovered a hidden nomad heritage when their bending abilities bloomed. Tadashi trains, and while he is no bending genius he works hard to improve. He pays particular attention to his studies and this makes him a prime candidate for later diplomatic missions as tensions worsen between the four nations.

The Party:

This is the earliest chronologically, basically representing the first meeting Yamaguchi and Tsukishima have after many years apart. After 6 long years Kei and Tadashi meet again when a diplomatic convoy of air nomads is sent to the Northern Tribe. There is a big party with diplomats from each nation. This is about 7 years before the start of the war. The fire nation is there on formality and treated with the most distrust while the other three nations are fairly friendly and willing to let loose with each other. (The fire nation convoy will consist of some other characters, possibly Kageyama and Oikawa? Still working that out) I’m thinking that Asahi and Daichi might be an earth kingdom princes with bodyguards Noya and Tanaka, who become good friends with waterbender Suga. The diplomatic trip is meant to last around 8 months. Anyway this drawing is meant to represent Yamaguchi and Tsukishima’s first meeting at 18 after so many years. Fancy clothes, endless formalities, both considering the other insanely attractive... and they are both drawn in by each other’s familiarity and confidence. This is the first spark of something new between the witty remarks and coy glances. They have no clue what hit them.

First Kiss

Jumping ahead of a lot of yearning... I mean truly a ridiculous amount of dancing around each other for maybe 3 months they finally kiss. Complicated by the impending arrangement of Tsukishima’s marriage to another prestigious young waterbender, Kiyoko, who Tsukishima greatly respects but is in no way attracted to. They keep their blooming romance a passionate secret to prevent political disaster for the nomads and Tsukki’s family. It’s really hard for them to keep their hands off of each other and there are plenty of close calls. There is some jealousy on both sides due to the uncertainties of their relationship. Yamaguchi discovers a betrothal necklace Kei is carving and is painfully reminded of the marriage expectation. Luckily both make strong connections to new friends and slowly their relationship becomes known to this close circle. For a bit they worry about what would happen if Kiyoko finds out, but later they discover her affair with the earth kingdom bodyguard Tanaka so she gets it.

The Proposal

wrote this out and then tumblr didn’t save it so y’all get the quick version bc it is almost 7 am and no I have not slept. Now they are in the Northern Air temple for the tail end of the diplomatic mission. Kei carved the necklace for Yamaguchi, not Kiyoko as he had assumed. In a secluded garden on the island Kei proposes to Yamaguchi with the betrothal necklace. Though made for and worn by women, their relationship already defied infinite traditions and Kei knew how much it would mean for Tadashi to have their relationship carved into stone. They agree to run away to be together after wrapping up the diplomatic mission. Then more stuff happens I have not gotten to yet lol. There will def be a lot of side ships. If anyone has any ideas for side ship plot lines def come chat! I’d love to hear if ppl like this AU idea