#I always suck at figuring this stuff out

[gossip-girl-of-middleearth]

Am I correct in thinking The Witcher Season 3 is going to drop on Netflix in, like, 15 minutes or am I still just an entire hemisphere ahead of everyone and have to wait until the Americans/Brits/Other People That Way wake up...?

[maggot-baggage]

Methinks its time to move back home actually

[serpentface]

Hibrides and Brakul having the world’s saddest booze-fueled girl’s night, probably a few months before the start of the story.

Anyway here's an extensive rundown of their shared history.

Hibrides Uryashta was the eldest daughter of a chancellor of the imperial city-state of Erubinnos (his lordship Erub Uryashta). She was brought up with great privilege and security, but (like most daughters of noblemen) was destined to be used as a bargaining chip in a political marriage arrangement. She was taken from her friends and family and moved to the city of Wardin at the age of 16 to complete her pledged marriage with Janeys Haidamane, the failson of the trade magnate Haidamane family. Janeys spent about a week poorly attempting to behave like a husband, and then took the first excuse to flee and engage in a petty military campaign against raiders on the Yellowtail trade route. She found herself left alone in his villa for three years with only hired servants for company. She made a few attempts to break into the city's elite social scene, but was quite shy and failed to make any headway.

Brakul had just spent a year and a half in a bit of a whirlwind. He was brought into a skirmish at the behest of an allied clan, who had been raiding the Yellowtail route and now was under attack by combined forces of an enemy clan and Imperial Wardi mercenaries. He killed one of the mercenary commanders and was captured as a prisoner of war, but was spared at Janeys' behest (who fucking hated that guy thought it was awesome that he got killed with a rock) and was ultimately recruited into the group. He had a chance to go back home, but actively chose to deadbeat dad out on his wife and child to be with his newfound lovequest, Janeys. He spent a year and a half as a mercenary, bonded closely with Janeys and swore brotherhood with him, and was eventually brought home to the city of Wardin with him. He found himself in the odd position of being simultaneously scorned as a foreigner and 'heathen', and the legal kin of one of the richest families in the city (and effectively the secret male concubine of their only male heir).

It was in this context that the two of them met, with Hibrides now being 19 and Brakul turning 27.

The two were initially wary of each other (Hibrides was particularly put off by his 'heathen' status) but bonded very quickly, partly due to their mutual states of being unmoored from their old lives, but in large part being just a natural chemistry. They had a lot of common interests and enjoyed learning from each other. Hibrides introduced him to traditional verse poetry (of which she was very fond). Brakul taught her how to ride khait, and even gave her a gelding from his own collection as a gift. They became very close friends over the next couple of years and spent much of their free time together.

A big part of the dynamic was that both of them are gay in a cultural context where there is no concept of Being gay, marriages are usually arranged and always between a man and a woman, and having children is a societal expectation. Each of them began to see the other as an ideal husband/wife, ie "if I had to marry why couldn't it have been him/her?". For Hibrides' part, Brakul had all the traits she would want in a husband: he was a pretty good friend and easy to get along with, he seemed like he'd do an excellent job of fulfilling expected roles as a husband and father (she didn't know about the wife and kid for a while), he treated her as an equal, and, most of all, had no interest whatsoever in fucking her. They were both in a sort of platonic emotional affair, and grew to love each other deeply.

Hibrides was pretty quick to catch on that something was going on between Brakul and Janeys, and found it strange and offputting but ultimately none of her concern. Her husband only being interested in his sworn brother and leaving her to her own devices suited Hibrides just fine, and Brakul always just kinda being There meant she was living with what had become her closest friend.

The stable state of this Feelings Triangle began to change in the wake of the brilliant plan to get Janeys (gay) (probably infertile) children he could pass off as legitimate via a Brakul/Hibrides pregnancy. It was something all three agreed to as a necessity; it was already drawing scrutiny that Janeys and Hibrides had been married for several years without a pregnancy, and producing heirs is a societal expectation and a central point of an arranged marriage between wealthy elites.

It was especially critical in this case, given Janeys was his family's only male child and only hope of continuing the family line, given both his golden-child sister Faiza and black sheep half sister Couya were Odonii, and thus sworn virgins and would never marry. (There's also a level to this that Janeys was regarded as a complete disappointment by his parents, and his mother made damn sure he knew that his only value at this point was to produce a better male heir to inherit the business. So this was a big fucking deal to him, and to Brakul by extension).

This was also not a route any of them wanted to take on any personal level, least of all Hibrides. She consented to the pregnancy and everything it entailed, but it was inevitably a painful and distressing experience all around. She had never wanted to be a mother to begin with (though had long accepted it as an inevitability), and now found herself with an infant daughter, which only meant it would have to happen again (they needed a male heir after all). And it would be utter social suicide and a profound shame upon her if the child's illegitimacy was discovered, which only added to the stress.

To make things worse, her first pregnancy shifted the entire dynamic with her husband and brother-in-law/best friend. Janeys changed from completely indifferent to actively spiteful and hostile towards her, and things had become extremely uncomfortable between Hibrides and Brakul. It only got worse with Brakul (the only one of them who actually WANTS kids) (kind of haunted by skipping out on his first child) finding it unbearable to be so close to HIS daughter and having to keep up an act that she was not his own, having no direct role in the kids life. He desperately wanted to be a father.

Hibrides, who was going through a fucking lot, started to become vindictive towards him for his role in things. She resented him more than Janeys, because Brakul insisted he cared about her and would desperately try to pretend things were normal, while consistently siding with Janeys against her wishes, including in preventing her from getting a divorce. (His excuse is that the children's legitimacy would be interrogated in a legal setting, which Is likely and Would be absolute social suicide with very real consequences. But the real reason on his part is that if she got out of the marriage, he might never see her or the children again). Hibrides began to do everything in her power to prevent him from having any relationship with his bastard children, even in secret or under the guise of a relative. Sort of an “if I have to suffer to keep up this facade so should you” thing.

They had two children in a span of three years, two girls (ruh roh!) named Erubi and Livya. By this point, Hibrides and Brakul were both experiencing what we would now call Clinical Depression and Alcohol Use Disorder (especially in the latter's case). Hibrides started to have affairs with both men and women, which she was sure to be very obvious about to insult Janeys and Brakul, but was mostly out of loneliness. Brakul turned his complete focus to Janeys and started avoiding Hibrides entirely, in hopes that she would become desperate enough to be willing to make amends (shockingly, this did not happen, and the rift only deepened).

In the present, their relationship status is: fucked. Both of them do still love each other on some level, but this is probably beyond repair. What little time they've spent with each other in the past year is sitting around being miserable and getting plastered. And now Hibrides, Janeys, and Brakul are all forced into the public eye on the pilgrimage together, and with a third child on the way. So that's probably going to be everyone's problem.

[peliginspeaks]

[Acquaintance: The Frostbitten Tomb-Colonist has risen to 1!]

The Frostbitten Tomb-Colonist is old enough to have been and done most things that are, and thus has developed an interest in doing and being things that aren't. They expect to be quite occupied with this for the foreseeable future.

Name: "None that matters, dear."

Gender: "Oh, if you must." (They/she)

Age: "Older than you." (And most anyone you know.) (...And most cities you have heard of.)

Profession: Most recently Correspondent, formerly Licentiate, Silverer, zailor, barber, journalist....

Moral alignment: If the world will forget a harm in 200 years, she sees no barrier to forgetting it today.

The Frostbitten Tomb-Colonist is difficult to reach as they spend little time in London, but any in-game messages intended for them can be directed through Dola Hallowrove.

[23meteorstreet]

charlie kelly - season 16

[tswwwit]

Consider it a WIP! I really wanna continue it, I've just been struggling with how to structure the next chapter. I know where I want said chapter to end up, it's getting there that's giving me hell.

[todayisafridaynight]

I’m fairly new to the fandom, but I do have a question if you can answer it! Why do people ship Daigo with Aoki / Masato? I tried looking to see if they’ve interacted before, but couldn’t find anything! Sorry for asking I’m just </3 dumb AND I LOVE YOUR ART OF THEM!!! Nerd looking ahhhhhh

hi ! welcome to the community i hope you're having a lovely time so far and ty for enjoyin my stuff :) no need for apologies it's a very fair question to have :]

i cant speak for everyone (all. ten people into masadai anyway) but Personally To Me i just think the idea of them together is very funny. thats quite literally it im afraid..

[ask-the-sexyman-squad]

you feel better now sam?

"..."

She...doesn't feel better, really. She stopped the heavy crying, sure, but she hasn't fully calmed down. It might take her some time...no one can blame her: personal jabs at her regarding her familial issues just...triggered something horrible in her, and she still feels very hurt. Now she's just tired...she needs the rest.

"...she's been crying for two hours, Alastor: we can't even calm her down."

"..."

"Alastor? Hon?"

"...I..."

...the smile on his face dropped the moment Sam closed her eyes, and he wiped her tears.

He had to stay strong for his little girl...his little girl. He never would've thought he would use those three words when speaking about her. Yet he simply did so, and it made him all the more soft. She was sweet, quiet, and had bursts of energy: he admired that. She was a good dancer, a singer, and loved anything about the Roaring Twenties: but she clung to him and trusted him, and that's what drew him to her.

This was his adoptive daughter now...his and DT's. He had to show her love, and not break promises. She didn't have to worry about him and DT drinking...which was good.

He was swarmed in his thoughts, he was tuning them out unintentionally. He was focused on getting Sam to calm down, but the more she cried, the more his heart shattered.

"...I failed her."

The tears said it all: literal. Tears. He cared for her more than he let on, and it was making him sentimental...in the best ways, however.

"You didn't fail her, hon."

"I did. I should've been there when that wretched anon shattered her with their commentary. I should've been there to comfort her sooner...but I wasn't."

"That doesn't mean you failed her. You found out when you could, and what matters is that she's safe in your arms. That she calms down."

"...but what if she doesn't...?"

"...you're going to hate this idea."

"How so...?"

"If she doesn't calm down in the next twenty minutes, we...we take her to Black Hat."

"...Black Hat."

There's fear and nervousness in his voice now. They tried to ease their husband by gently placing their hand on his leg.

"If she doesn't calm down. If she does, then disregard. I mean...everyone has already tried getting her to calm down, or talk...Mordecai hugged her for Christ's sake, and that didn't work! Ghirahim tried calming her by taking her hair down, but also nothing! Another person she confides in is Black Hat. He'll surely be able to calm her."

"...if you say so, my love."

"We'll get her through this...trust me."

[edwardslostalchemy]

My sister in law and I were talking about my dating life, and suggested I be more subtle with men because if I make the first move, that'll not draw them to me. And I'm like. But if I don't make the first move, they won't make the first move either. She said men don't like to feel controlled or dominated, and I said I don't do that to dominate or control them. I approach them first so they notice me. Because for me, it's not love at first sight. Guys aren't looking at me. I have to be bold and walk up to them and at least introduce myself to them. She said it's not working for me, and I should be more subtle. I just don't want to be subtle. I want a guy to know they're cute. I've been working on that skill for a couple of years, walking up to a guy and giving him my number. I'm bold. I'm not sorry for not being subtle. I'm very direct like that. It just frustrates me that I have to try to be subtle. She also said I'm really nice with guys and I don't give them a fight. And the thing is I DON'T want to fight with a guy. I've grown up with parents who fight constantly, for everything, all the time, almost daily. My mom LOVES to fight with my dad. I HATE that they argue. I had a breakdown as a kid because they'd fight so much. Me fighting with a guy is not in line with who I am because I HATE picking fights. We could solve a conflict by talking it out and communicating our needs. I'm saying the person that dated me will love me for being direct and communicating. I don't want to strip myself of my confidence to appease others. If it doesn't hurt anyone, I don't see why I should have to change that about me. But she's married and has kids so she's probably right. 🙄

[halfbit]

!!!!!! finally.. finally. finally happy with how this comm is turning out :>

[razzek]

At random went looking at the presentations of comorbid autism and ADHD and uuuuhhhh.... Not sure if because blind or could have been secret autism. But also not sure if it's worth the effort to even try for any sort of assessment at this point. If it meant I could get a little more support from places I might give it a shot. (Assuming I remember to do it at all, cuz the ADHD is a very much big and well documented factor at this point. XD)

[pepprs]

feeling despair i don’t know how to put into words. im trying to figure out why im like this and how i got to be this way but i can’t even do it bc of the way i am and what im like. if that makes sense. like the problem prevents me from fixing the problem bc i can’t get to the root of it. despair despair despair

[j-esbian]

i know it’s well-meaning but i still kind of wince whenever i see people perpetuate the idea that wlw either 1) recognize their identity at a young age and have “””normal””” teenage romantic/sexual relationships with other girls or 2) live in perfect ignorance until a certain point (and therefore still had “””normal””” heterosexual teenage experiences) and their inexperience with women is due to the fact that they have just come out

[running-in-the-dark]

got a new hard drive (had to, no space left 😔), so I'm using that as a reason to completely reorganise my files (mostly shows, movies etc)

I'm having such a good time 💖

[averlym]

Wait so I’m kind of confused, are you still doing asks? Or just commissions since you’ve officially closed ur requests. Are you just gonna occasionally do asks with requests no longer being sent?

hi hi!! okay so:

1. commissions are open right now

2. requests are 'closed' - i can't stop you from sending them, but it's pretty unlikely that i'll draw them any time soon

3. i have quite a lot of old requests filling my ask box, so i'll do those asks occasionally

hope that clarifies a bit!

[planet4546b]

a very strange side effect of playing nier (and also parts of bbs) is that i’m feeling retroactively justified in my frustration with destiny’s difficulty scaling. which i always felt under qualified to comment on because i thought i was just a person who didn’t like difficult games in general so i didn’t have room to comment on it. but i Do like difficulty in games i like it so much. and past me was right and destiny’s difficulty scaling kinda sucks