#OC is such a big place with so many different cultures so I went with the coolest girls we have haha

[missmisnomer]

Orange County SoCal Miku coming in hot!!

🛹🌴🌮🌅

[sl-newsie]

American Woman (Thomas Shelby x American OC) Ch. 29: I Hope You're Happy

Masterlist: https://www.tumblr.com/sl-newsie/739551758747090944/american-woman-thomas-shelby-x-american-oc?source=share

Beep! Beep!

“Get a move on!”

“Watch it, toots!”

The streets of Brooklyn are one of the aspects of home that aren’t the best. But in a strange way the shouting brings a form of comfort to me. All these people, all different backgrounds, scrambling around to make a living. Bunches of people crammed into a giant city.

And the boat docks bring in even more people.

“Grace! Thomas! Hello!” I shout over the noise and wave them over away from the crowd. “Welcome to Brooklyn, where everyone sounds angry but they’re actually not… Most of the time.”

The sight of their joined hands makes my smile falter by a hair. Lovely engagement ring. Relax, Steenstra. You should be honored they chose your country for a holiday. 

“Hello, Verena.” Thomas smiles politely, scanning the bustling streets. “We’ve got one week here. Since this is your turf, what should we know?”

I can handle playing tour guide. “First, you need to see Lady Liberty. Prospect Park is good too. Also be careful in ‘Hattan ‘cause there’s construction for the new Rockefeller Center.”

The whole time I’m speaking Grace looks at me with confusion. “Did you know we were coming?”

“I spoke of it in the letter I sent,” Thomas answers for me.

Grace, still looking at me, nods. “I see.”

Message received. This is my home but I’m not welcomed to visiting with them. 

“You need to have a drink in Irishtown. Find The Wicked Monk, the best Irish pub on the East Coast. And stop by our joint if you want! Father would be happy to meet you.”

Grace doesn’t like that one bit.

“I’ll leave you to see the sights. I’ve gotta get back home to the shop. Tot ziens! Was good seeing you!”

Back into the bustling noise. Good. It will drown out my anger… By seeing people shout who are much angrier than I am. Now my own home, my used-to-be haven, is now stained with jealousy because of their voyage.

Two years later.

Words. Words. Words. The only thing linking me to the Shelbys. After Thomas and Grace went back to Birmingham I waited to hear back from someone. Anyone. Anything saying when they want me back. Nothing was said. Only a few letters describing their new happy lives and how the company is growing. Everyone is happy…

“Verena! Over here!”

And today is another reminder of the happiness I’m leaving behind. The wedding I hoped for but will never have. 

“Thomas! It’s been too long!” I greet as I haul my trunk off the train. “Oh my, you haven’t changed a bit!”

Same clean-shaven handsome face, same sharp suit. 

“And you look stunning, as usual,” the gangster smiles. “Welcome back to Birmingham.”

We start walking off the platform, no doubt to a car he has waiting for us. It’s so good to see him it's all I can do not to hug him. To look at those eyes.

“I won’t be staying too long, I don’t want to impose-”

“Nonsense. There’s plenty of room,” Thomas replies with ease. In the corner of my eye I see him looking. “You’re wearing your hair in braids?”

I raise an eyebrow. “Is that a problem?”

“Guess not. ‘S just you’ve never done it before.”

“I do at home. Just thought I’d show some Dutch culture.”

Thomas chuckles. “You’re not going to start wearing clogs, are you?” 

I dramatically hold a hand up to stop him. “Heavens, no. That part of my heritage I can live without. But enough of me. How are you? This is a big day.”

A little enthusiasm doesn’t hurt. Despite my dislike for the given situation he still needs all the support he can get. I can tell his mind is in many places.

“‘M nervous,” Thomas says, anxiously rubbing his face. “But excited.”

“My brothers thought the exact same way on their wedding days.” With my free hand I give him a comforting pat on the back. “Don’t stress, it passes. Eoin nearly fainted on his wedding day.”

I was right. Today's car is a beautiful black Fiat 501. Thomas still spares no expense when it comes to his cars. He packs my luggage in the trunk and, like the gentleman he is, opens the door for me. A guts and glory gangster yet he still remembers how to treat a woman.

“Thanks for being here,” he says when we start driving. “Ada still doesn’t always see eye to eye with me and the boys just keep joking around.”

“Of course. Glad to be of service.” Time to throw on the American charm. “You’ve probably heard this multiple times but congratulations! These two years are up and now it’s time for you to tie the knot! It’s not every day one gets to witness an English wedding. Is it any different?”

The word ‘wedding’ throws Thomas’ smile off for a split second but the usual catch-up chatter resumes as we make our way out of town. We pass a sign that says Warwickshire. Apparently Thomas bought his own house and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t itching to see it. Maybe a quaint cottage with a nice horse barn-

Or a freaking mansion. That… That works too, I guess.

“Verena, welcome to Arrow House.”

‘House’ does little to describe it. This is an all-out mansion! Thomas’ castle. He drops me off to the front door and has a handyman drive the car away. I walk through the grand entrance and notice the gorgeous decorations for the special day.

A grand long table dressed in white, decorated with colorful flower centerpieces. They even brought out the best china. All around maids and waiters are scurrying to and fro, finishing the last-minute touches. Above the table is a giant portrait of Thomas holding the reins to one of his magnificent white horses.

“Like it? Got a good price for it.”

As much as I want to be glad for him I can’t help but think he’s using his wealth to compensate for happiness. I must be honest.

“This isn’t you, Thomas. All this money? Living like royalty?”

He walks us further into the house to the edge of a large staircase. “I’d say the family’s earned it.”

I shake my head with sympathy. “You can paint many pictures of yourself but you’re still Thomas Shelby. A simple life can be just as rewarding as an expensive one.”

But he’s amused by this. “Ah, Verena. Still philosophical as ever.”

There’s no use trying to change his mind. This is his world. He’s proud of it. We get to the top of the stairs and I see a familiar framed picture of Lady Liberty.

“I see you kept the picture from your trip.”

Thomas sees where I’m looking. “New York is a wild place. I don’t know how you grew up there.”

I quirk an eyebrow. “Birmingham is no tamer.”

Thomas smirks. “Touché. I did enjoy it, really. The Statue of Liberty was one of Grace’s favorites.”

“If you liked that then next time I’ll show you guys Niagara Falls. Gorgeous place.”

Thomas starts to reach for my hand. “Do you need help with your bags?”

I quickly pull away. “No no, it’s quite alright. This city girl can haul her own luggage.”

He shows me to a room at the end of the hall. A room so big it’s the size of our living room back home. Um, is this a good idea? Inviting another woman to stay in the house of a newly-married couple? I really should find somewhere else to stay. Grace will have my eyes if she sees me here.

“Is this alright?” Thomas asks.

“Thomas, this- The room is perfect. But I should really-”

“Great! I have to finish up some things downstairs. The wedding starts in one hour, I’ll arrange for someone to drive you.” He strides back down the hall.

“Wait!” I run to catch up and meet him at the top of the stairs. “I know my vote doesn’t count but I must say that I am very proud of what you’ve made of yourself. You’re not the same man I met all those years ago, Thomas. You’re a father. A husband. A legit businessman. May God smile upon your family today.”

This is probably the last time I can talk to him alone, and I really do want the Shelbys to be happy. Today is a day for good spirits.

“Verena, that… That means a lot,” Thomas says, looking up from a few stairs below. “Thank you. I-”

“Mr. Shelby!” A maid calls from the bottom.

“Be right there!” Thomas looks at me one last time before heading down. “I’ll see you later.”

Yes. Later. When he’s married.

“Wow. Royal in-laws? You’ve moved up in the world,” I comment as we drive by multiple uniformed men.

“It’s Grace’s relatives,” John says from up front. “Between us, I’m still not used to the uniforms. None of us are. They’re only here for her.”

“It’s good to have you here!” Finn says for the tenth time.

“It’s worth it to see you all. And Arthur, you look very handsome as the best man.”

The man driving us to the church smiles bashfully. “That’s nice of ya, Steenstra. I can’t wait for you to meet Linda. Will you be here for the toast?”

“No, no. I’ll be around for the reception.”

There’s already enough drama between the Shelbys and Grace’s family. I’ll only add to the mix. A quick congrats, a small drink, and I’ll pop out.

I’ll give it to the Brits, they sure know how to have a proper wedding. This church is marvelous! I take my seat next to Finn and see Polly waving from a few seats down. Such a welcoming reunion. If only it weren’t for this occasion. Thomas strides down the aisle, looking very handsome in his spiffy tux, and stands next to Arthur at the altar. The usual music begins and all eyes turn to the silhouette approaching from outside.

Oh my goodness… That dress! A gorgeous lavender if I ever did see one. And the veil… a cascade of purple lace. No wonder Thomas is so happy. Grace gets to the end of the aisle and Jeremiah approaches the couple.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have gathered here today to join these two together in holy matrimony. Thomas Michael Shelby and Grace Helen Burgess.”

I try to keep listening but my mind wanders elsewhere. He chose her. Not me. I’m the one keeping myself trapped in this world. I chose to come back. It’s my fault for feeling this way. But it’s fine. Isn’t it?

Same routine as all my brothers’ weddings. I do, I do, kiss the bride, cheers. What’s different about this wedding is that the cheers seem one-sided. All of Thomas’ family jumps to their feet and shouts with delight, while the other side remains seated and claps. Thankfully Finn sees my discomfort and drags me outside. Everyone files out after us. The bouquet is tossed and all the single women scramble to wrestle over it.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” Finn and I chant.

“Verena, are you edging them on?” John asks.

I smile sheepishly. “Only a little.”

“Why don’t you try?” Finn asks.

I scoff at his attempt at a joke. “Oh, please. I hardly believe in such superstitious nonsense.”

“Says the woman who won’t sleep without a cross above the bed.”

“Hey! It’s religious, not superstitious.”

Finn shrugs. “Maybe there’s a blend?”

Thomas shouts for everyone to gather and a photographer readies himself in front.

“Go on, take the photograph!” Arthur says.

I’m pushed to the side by Grace’s family and before I can protest the camera flashes. Everyone’s thinking it. I don’t belong here. I could have refused. The only reason I decided to attend was to support Thomas and his family. But she’s part of their family now and more than likely I won't be welcomed as often. 

Oh, my mistake. Pair the gossiping barmaid with the blood-thirsty gangster? They’re perfect for each other! He’s married. It’s done. I can’t have him. I need to let him go.

@meadows5

[sarroora]

Random question that showed up to me; what do you think is the most 'realistic' Top Cat OC? Like have you ever seen one where you went 'ah yeah they could definitely be in the show'?

THIS HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY INBOX FOR WEEKS.😭

Asdfhjkl that’s a cool question! I feel like different authors will have different ideas of what makes a good OC for Top Cat’s world but personally, these are some points I like to stick to:

Humans: the easiest. All I gotta pay attention to really is to keep the language/culture/fashion rooted in 50s-60s New York as much as I can. Doesn’t have to be perfect but I try.

Given the time period too, there will be more males outdoors than females, especially in dangerous roles (e.g law enforcement). In a big city like NY, people are generally gonna be more diverse and accepting of each other when compared to other states, but there may still be some classism and looking down on some kinds of people.

Animals (1): small mammals, but cats and dogs especially being the next largest dominant group after humans, and the closest to them in mannerisms and language. They engage in society but also have their own sub-cultures. A scant few of them have some level of power, but at the end of the day this group yields to the more powerful group - humans, obviously.

(OC cats and dogs designs:

Can wear clothes or nothing at all

Fur of any color works, including cute patches

Can either be 1)living on the street (T.C) or 2)with a human guardian (Honeydew) or 3)independently (Benny’s Mom)

Only marry from their own species

Dogs are allowed to work in law enforcement, not so much cats

Cats - especially street-dwellers - have a hierarchical subculture and it’s super common for them to refer to themselves and each other with aliases. Dogs also have a hierarchical subculture but names don’t have the same cultural significance

A little before the series’s time frame, New York began taking serious steps in documenting its cat and dog population, but it’s still an early process, and many remain undocumented

They rarely finish high school or college

Animals (2): Larger mammals, reptiles, birds, etc. In my opinion these animals in TC (and most other HB universes) are very intelligent and understand human language, but don’t really engage in human society. They come to aid in some rare occasions but otherwise live in their own biomes and simpler worlds away from humans and their complexities. And they prefer it that way.

(Which is why Big the Crocodile in Top Cat Begins was always a little bit strange to me. He feels out of place. I’d rather he be a human, cat, or dog, but like I said - different authors may have different ideas!)

Also, Panther from TCB? Her body design is so different that she feels like she’s from another show/world entirely. The designs in TC are very consistent in that both the cats and dogs are kinda flourbag-shaped with overall rounded edges. Very few angles. That’s why Bad Dog from TCB works well, tho.

(So sorry it’s taking ages to respond. These past weeks have been very busy, and I’ve been/still am in a poor mental state)

[nyarumi-nyan]

5. What did your OC think their life would be like when they grew up? Has it lived up to that expectation?

Hewwo @cadrenebula (´｡• ω •｡`) ♡

I will be answering it for both of my lads, as I think this is a very interesting ask! Let's start with Satien as usual...

I think Satien didn't 'sugarcoat' or 'daydream' much as a child, he grew up without any guidance for the most part and learned quickly that life is unforgiving. So I think he kept those lessons close to heart, thinking they were normal and that life is just... hard. Quite a pessimistic outlook, I know. But the experiences he made have left an immense impact on him and how he looks towards the world and his own future even.

Though he did hope and pray for a better life, working hard towards that and hoping that he one day wouldn't need to worry about his next meal or a place to sleep. A roof above his head and a place where he could hide and feel safe when he needs one.

Quite simple wishes.

I think that Satien thought that his life would remain hard, but that he would get strong enough to protect his childhood friend. And he received much more than he had ever thought he would, not only did he manage to keep his childhood friend safe, but she also grew to be a strong, kindhearted and independant young lady. Their paths have taken different routes now, each of them finding their purpose, as she has made up her mind on her further path, as well as finding a person whom she grants her love to.

And Satien has crossed paths with a person whom not only is very patient with him but also willing to show him the world. Show him different perspectives and a much brighter future.

As a child V'reeah was dreaming of all the adventures he would go on, how many different cultures he would get to know and how exciting life would be. He was granted with a loving and supporting family and a promising future as a healer and possibly be the one who would step into his father's footprints as the next Nunh.

His mind bright and innocent. So full of hope and believing in the good of the world.

Alas things took a quite dark and negative turn with the Garlean invasion and the betrayal of a tribal member. V'reeah ended up in captivity, not only did he end up being forced or manipulated into making 'medicine' for people - which turned out to be poison. But he also was a part of the weapon project and barely managed to make it out alive. Being resilient and stubborn he went through harsh punishment and torture.

And when he finally was out of captivity he had lost all hope, breaking beneath the immense weight of guild and in the end if not for a friend keeping an eye on him.. he would have taken his life. Luckily said friend was very patient and kep on 'bothering' him, even after Reah kep on ignoing him for months straight.

Not saying a single word the entire time.

Quite a big difference to what he had hoped for as a chil, right?

Although his life did take a turn once again when he went to Ishgard to learn about the profession of a Machinist. He met Sagan, whom he was quite annoyed at first, but through him he learned that not everyone is bad and selfish. Because this man was incredibly selfless and idealistic.

And even after finding out about Reah's past, he didn't push him away, instead pulling him close and promising to protect him.

Heh, needless to say, these two ended up getting married.

Thank you again for the ask! > w <

[lilborealis]

Mortal Kombat Oc Headcanons lets go (why am I calling this headcanons, I control their canon)

-Seraphina and Tomas are the two most stealthiest of the Lin Kuei/Shirai Ryu and definitely used it to play pranks when they were younger

-absolute hide and seek champions

-Yumi was a surprise baby, as Sindel and Jerrod decided they were done after Kitana and Mileena were born

-she was also a very sickly child, making her much shorter and weaker than her sisters as children, so she hit her growth spurt much later than they did

-Claudia secretly kept a Photo Booth picture of she and Johnny as kids when they were still estranged, she still has it

-Long Fei and Ai Xue (parents to the Lin Kuei bros+sis) were an arranged marriage

-Long Fei’s side of the family has a long history of elemental magic, mainly fire and earth, he was arranged to married Ai Xue due to her family history of ice magic

-Min Le first showed signs of earth magic when she was only six and threw a tantrum, where her stomping started a small earthquake and dislodged the ground around her

-Yumi was left on her own as a kid sometimes, which is why she started studying earthrealm, mainly mythology of different cultures

-Claudia has a black belt in taekwondo, she got it during college mainly for self defense and just because she could

-Yumi is infuriated whenever no one believes her and Mileena that Kitana was an absolute little shit as a child

-as a kid, Seraphina took great pleasure in startling Bi Han, which is a good part of how she got so stealthy in the first place

-Seraphina’s native language is that of Madinatan, which is similar to arabic. Since she hasn’t had a need to speak it living on earth, she’s very rusty

-Min Le is a picky eater

-unless it comes to a mission, Seraphina normally can’t sit still, she always needs to be moving

-Claudia gets Seraphina some hair care products sometimes because Seraphina’s hair is so thick and curly and being a shirai ryu probably doesn’t have a salary

-Claudia and Johnny will both use the phrase “it smells like it’s gonna rain”, full on exposing themselves as midwesterners and everyone else being MAD confused

-Seraphina and Min Le eventually learn some Czech so they can both talk to Tomas in his native language

-bonus! edenians can’t get drunk off of human alcohol and to humans, Outworld alcohol is EXTREMELY strong

-Drunk Seraphina is really sappy and laughs at everything, drunk Claudia cries over anything and drunk Yumi is just brutally honest

-Seraphina normally sleeps in oversized shirts+shorts

-Min Le is a serial clothing thief, that includes her brothers and Seraphina and she can somehow pull the fit off every time

-Claudia loves puppy chow (it’s basically just Chex mix but way better)

-unbeknownst to most people, Claudia actually is a big foodie. She will try almost anything

-Johnny introduced Yumi to earthrealm music and she actually really loves a lot of 2000’s pop

-some of her favorite songs include Maneater and Promiscuous Girl by Nelly Furtado, Can’t Get You Out Of My Head by Kylie Minogue, Irreplaceable and Single Ladies by Beyoncé and Poker face by Lady Gaga

-Seraphina is a secret Rihanna stan

-Claudia also enjoys some of 2000’s pop but also loves Kali Uchis

-Min Le loves artists like Kate Bush, The Smiths, Conan Grey, some occasional k-pop and j-pop and also classical

-Seraphina does not like Nitara (for obvious reasons) like many others but has explicit beef with her solely based on the fact that Nitara thought her blood magic superior to water magic and Seraphina just went “bet” and is currently trying to learn how to bend blood

-out of all of my girls, Seraphina is the most hot headed. You get this woman mad, all hell breaks loose. She also can be hella petty too

-on the opposite end of the spectrum, it takes a lot to get Min Le truly angry, mostly because she takes a lot of unjust shit thrown at her but the one thing she will not take is someone underestimating her skills in combat

-when Yumi was born, Kitana and Mileena were NOT happy that they had another sibling, they were very mean towards her for awhile

[huneysuckle-system]

we're bored and have time so here we go:

1. our collective name(s) are huney and mera

2. sometimes, new alters just have a vague name floating in their head and they just go "oh. i guess that's mine." others look for a vibe they relate to. some take inspiration from people in our life. we all make sure we're not choosing any names that are apart of closed cultures we aren't in, though.

3. nope

4. we have an alter named max.

5. actual name? kars. but we have a different alter that refuses to go by anything other than "no name"

6. sometimes, alter age is a reflection of how capable an alter feels with dealing with our life. most alters are older than the body's age as a reflection of needing to be Strong and Mature to handle trauma or life in general. the littles in our system are little for different reasons, though i'm not going into detail about that for their privacy.

7. yeah, we have a few. some alters are ageless because they don't particularly reflect any age, and some are ageless because they reflect an aspect of many different age ranges at once.

8. kars is a fictive and his source is 102,000 years old so he also goes by that age. physically (in the headspace), he's in his late 30's-mid 40's.

9. we have a few age-sliders and age regressors.

10. most prefer being treated like children, but they also hardly ever front will try to seem as big as possible around people they aren't familiar or comfortable with.

11. far from it.

12. the system is 43% nonbinary and 41% male (according to our system log).

13. very few, probably 2-3.

14. max and ellis, who are both pangender.

15. yes, we consider the body to be transmasc.

16. ellis, to put it simply, is an imperceivable eldritch being who simply maintains a human form for the rest of our comfort.

17. yeah, just a few.

18. nope. everyone who's nonhuman (aside from ellis) is somewhat humanoid.

19. "i don't know if i can call it dysmorphia but something like that" -undisclosed nonhuman alter

20. i'd say it's probably a 50/50 ratio

21. we used to have 4 alters who were all sources of the same character. now? no one shares a source at the moment.

22. most are disconnected from their sources.

23. i can't say the actual answer (for reasons) but the next best answer(s) (because second place is a tie) is ellis, who's a fictive of our childhood friend's oc, and bun, who's a fictive of dora the explorer.

24. yeah, ren (rengoku fictive) and felix (goth from "boyfriends" fictive) are in a qpr.

25. probably, i actually don't know. the fictives in our system hardly talk about memories related to their source.

26. we don't actively search for or engage with syscourse, mainly because we get very overwhelmed, but we do keep up with it sometimes and have a stance on most syscourse topics.

27. no.

28. please try to understand why being pro-endo is harmful to traumagenic systems and the recovery/healing of systems.

29. our opinion is consistent throughout the system.

30. syscourse can be helpful (especially when educational material is at the forefront of it) but it ceases to be helpful once it devolves into insulting and threatening one another.

current fronter(s): felix, solar

31. felix: luciel; solar: felix

32. felix: me or lucius; solar: felix

33. we have a few that we find really funny. felix and lucius has ongoing beef and it's just funny because they have really similar personalities but vastly different priorities which cause them to bump heads a lot; max and lucius are real life enemies to lovers; one time, ellis met our former therapist and went on about how he's luciel's best bud for like 5 minutes and then a couple of appointments later, the therapist met luciel and asked him about ellis and he sighed reluctantly and went "...we're acquaintances."

34. felix: not all the time. we're so used to being an self aware system (it's been almost 3 years) so now we have a hard time imagining a life without being one. we enjoy each other's company and aid, even if we don't always get along. the amnesia and dissociation can be extremely stressful though. this is pretty much our collective opinion on whether we like being a system or not.; solar: there have been times where i despised being a system, because i would find myself in relationships and activities that i didn't like or was even harmful and the aspect of not being in control when someone else is fronting is the worst part of being a system for me, although the others are trying to make it easier. other than that, being a system had done more help than harm.

35. felix: oh i'm an odd ball in this system. i like my coffee black while everyone else need a lot of creamer, we're not even going to get into my taste in men and the "HERE ME OUT" rambles i have to frequently go on because i can feel them Judging, i'm the only one that dresses even remotely emo and i also listen to screamo and punk rock while no one else does.; solar: i think there's at least a few other alters that like the things i like.

anti-endo system ask game

this post is for anti-endo systems only, endos dni

if you don't want asks from a specific category I would recommend specifying that in the tags

name asks

1. do you have a collective name? how did you choose it?

2. how do new alters choose their names?

3. are there any alters who identify with the body's name?

4. which alter has the most stereotypical name?

5. which alter has the weirdest name?

age asks

6. how does alter age work for your system?

7. does your system have ageless alters?

8. who is the oldest alter? how old are they?

9. does your system have alters who age slide or age regress?

10. does your system's littles want to be treated like children or adults?

queer asks

11. do all alters have similar sexualities?

12. does your system have more male, female, or nonbinary alters?

13. do any alters use xenogenders or neopronouns?

14. which alter has the most gender?

15. do you consider the body to be transgender?

nonhuman asks

16. what alter is the strangest species?

17. do any alters in your system have wings?

18. does your system have any animal alters?

19. what is the weirdest part about being a nonhuman alter?

20. is the majority of your system human or nonhuman?

introject asks

21. do you have multiple alters from one source?

22. are most of your system's introjects connected to their source? disconnected from their source?

23. what is the weirdest source that an introject in your system has?

24. are any of your system's introjects in relationships with other introjects?

25. do any of your system's introjects have non-canon source memories?

syscourse asks

26. do you engage in syscourse?

27. were you previously pro-endo?

28. if you could tell all pro-endos one thing, what would you tell them?

29. does your system have a collective opinion on syscourse, or does it vary?

30. do you think that syscourse is more helpful or harmful?

asks for the current fronter

31. who is your favorite alter in the system?

32. which alter has the most based takes?

33. what is the funniest piece of system drama?

34. do you enjoy being part of a system?

35. what's something you like that no one else in the system likes?

this post is for anti-endo systems only, endos dni

[elfyourmother]

I want to tell you how UTTERLY GREAT it is to see a taller and thicker femme character on my dash.

Putting aside the level of "big Booba good", it's just rare to see that kind of thing and it's really really gratifying to see.

I have an OC that I've been scared of posting about because she IS that curvy, not for fetish reasons but just because body types are varied.

So while yes, Gisele is hot af (and she is!), I'm also thanking you for the representation.

Nonners I just need you to know that you have no idea how much this means to me. No idea. I teared up even, in a good way.

Gisele has a lot of strikes against her, even setting aside for a sec her size. She’s the least popular clan of the least popular race for f!WoLs (no shade against Duskwights, I love them, but sometimes I feel like I have the only Wildwood in fandom). She’s Black, and fails the brown bag test. Her main ship is her and 5 NPCs and I ship her with a ton of others—Gisele is never going to be that WoL that is Known for being with 1 specific NPC, her “hat” as it were is polyamory. She’s an isekai protagonist from an entirely different RPG franchise, to add insult to injury.

But even among people in this part of fandom, (the RP/OC fanfic community), even among folk who game on PC and do use The Dark Arts(tm), I have literally never seen another character who looks like Gisele. The only spaces where I have ever seen characters of Gisele’s size are on Discord servers and they are only ever posted as nameless hypersexualized spank bank material by and for hentai fetishist dudebros. And that was before she went up a top size very recently. Thick femmes (TRULY thick femmes, not “no. 2 pencil rather than vanilla toothpick” misappropriated columbused white fandom definition of “thicc”) are just…MIA around here. Especially being shipped with anybody much less NPCs. In the shipping corner the preference is absolutely small & petite women with all these tall dudes. (It’s why I’ve developed a visceral dislike of the “size difference” trope). Preferably pale. If big women are allowed to exist it’s solely as fetish objects to domme the shit out of much smaller people or they are masculinized or both. They are not allowed to be dainty or ethereal. These are words that people do not associate with fat femmes.

And it makes it very fraught and anxiety inducing to put Gisele out there. It is fucking terrifying. It is always so scary to be The Only One being out there doing stuff that nobody else is doing, especially in a modern fandom culture rife with purity wank and respectability politics. Ask Dandy about how badly I was kicking myself for Gisele going up another top size, I had an almost crippling fear of being “just like those gross dudes”, especially given how unapologetically sexual Gisele is.

But I did not make her thick out of a fetish, though she is ridiculously hot and shorts my brain out a lot. I made her thick because I just plain wanted a tall, plus size heroine. She was forced to be short and petite in DA:O but she has always had an hourglass figure in my head and she has never been a size zero regardless of the stupid chargen. I’m always laughing about how it took her being imported to a whole other game and m*dded to death to finally get her on screen appearance to match how she’s always looked in my head. I am desperate for body diversity that just does not exist in this game but especially not in JRPGs and never in FF. And that’s a very lonely place to be in a fandom that only seems to produce and value small, petite (and mostly pale) femmes.

Like…I very nearly did not use that pic of her in the character flaws post, because of how big her booba is in that dress—I haven’t done any shoots with her in it, despite the fact that it’s her actual size now, because I know how many notes/reblogs she got in the vanilla dress, which made her skinny. I know she would get a fraction of them. It doesn’t help that she’s not min height anymore either.

But thicc!Gisele makes me happier than I can ever express. I am so happy that my WoL is plus size and gets to be a daring lady adventurer and loved and desired by tons of really hot people and is admired in universe for her beauty and sense of style. If people don’t reblog her as much, it is what it is; I have to be true to myself. (Frank N Furter is deeply problematic so forgive me for quoting but the only thing I can think of is him screaming “I DIDN’T MAKE HIM FOR YOU!”)

And maybe, just like way back when I was damn near the only Mass Effect writer on here regularly posting a dark skin femshep, it will help others be less afraid, and I won’t be The Only One anymore. My therapist told me once, when I brought up how it feels like shouting into a void, that if even 1 person is inspired or encouraged by the work then it’s not shouting into a void at all. So if you need permission from someone, I’m going to tell you that you and I and everyone has the right to put our OCs out there regardless of if they meet fandom’s arbitrary and frequently oppressive appearance standards. The WoL is absolutely allowed to be a tall, thick femme who takes up space, figuratively or literally. Let me repeat this, for your benefit and for mine and for anyone still reading this long ass response:

Fat femmes have a right to exist in our fantasy worlds because they exist irl, and they have a right to be heroes, they have a right to be loved and admired and cherished by as many other OCs or NPCs as they want. They are not fetish objects. They are every bit as well developed and complex as skinny, vanilla sized characters. We are not pervs for wanting a diverse Eorzea or even for finding thick people hot.

So. Be brave. You might help someone else too, not just yourself.

[darlington-v]

I know different interpretations of a work are generally enriching and cool... but c!dream villan interpretations is like how to tell me you only watch Tommy without saying you only watch tommy.... which would be fine but its not a great place to be making statements about the whole nature of the dsmp lol

Wild speculation, but sometimes I wonder if like, because the dsmp didn't really start as a narrative, and a lot of fans don't nessecarily enter it expecting a narrative, but then there is one and the fandom is really discourse heavy and everyone is sort of excpeted to have an opinion while maybe not expecting to form one from the begining or not having a ton of experience with narrative in a way that would "expect" them to have an opinion or not take things at face value??, I don't know if I explained that well at all... and I don't really even think thats right nessecarily... but like wow sometimes some of the takes about power and government and villany...

Honestly, it makes sense!!!

I think something interesting is like.... looking at how animatics have shaped the like tone and culture of the fandom essentially. Like, an interesting fact that I didn't really fully grasp until SUPER recently is like...

c!Wilbur out the gate admits he is manipulating c!Tommy. Like his first youtube video on the Dream SMP he admits his goal is to manipulate c!Tommy and people like c!Tommy into helping him achieve a potion ("drug") empire to monopolize on potions because there were a lot of people on the server who like to min-max, which is to put all of your effort into this one specific skill essentially. so like... i know minecraft doesnt have a skill tree but if it did, it would be putting all your points into that one specific branch of a skill tree. So he wanted to exploit the labor of all the TommyInnits to.... maintain a Potion Empire.

THIS IS A LONG POST BC I GOT CARRIED AWAY SO BUCKLE UP

And I don't think a lot of the fandom who joined later on knows this. I certainly didn't until like a week or so ago? Like... I knew c!Wilbur had been manipulative from the start because I'm a mod of (shameless self promo incoming) @dsmpanalysis and we have a lot of different POVs in that mod team and discord and we talk about it really frequently. I joined the fandom as someone who was really big on L'manburg ESPECIALLY crimeboys, and have turned into.... *gestures vaguely to my blog*

And ngl I owe a lot of it to @1-michibiki-1 in terms of c!Dream "Apologism" but all of the mods there have expanded my thoughts and views on the storylines of this narrative.

My application consisted of like largely essays about like... how I think Dream was the villain but he was meant to be the villain because you don't get any insight into his character WHICH.... IS A FAIR ASSUMPTION AT FIRST GLANCE. People are easily villainized when you cannot get a glimpse into their thought process. It's easy to dwindle someone down into this flat character and starting out I knew Dream didn't stream the SMP on purpose.

And I personally came to the conclusion of "Oh! So Dream is supposed to be the villain." However as the story continued and I learned more about what Dream went through I began to realize that... it's more than likely a form of a red herring. My opinions on this were immediately solidified when I watched Ranboo's 2 MIL stream because both Ranboo AND Dream agree on enjoying red herrings.

There have been MANY times were Dream has said that c!Dream is a complex character and he's not a wholly evil guy and there have been times where the narrative has honestly just proved that.

Anyways, what's important though was that... I learned most of this from other people who were more focused on c!Dream rather than myself. Eventually I shifted from c!Tommy to c!Ranboo and c!Techno after c!Tommy betrayed c!Techno and I began to realize.... everything I learned before hopping in wasn't exactly what it seemed.

Part of this is because I'm older, I heavily identify with c!Techno's sense of loyalty and philosophies on government, but I especially identify with the anguish c!Techno voiced in... a lot of lore but especially the lore around Doomsday.

I'm not 16 anymore. I don't always feel wronged by adults, or older people in my case, whenever they absolutely have done something wrong by me, but I do feel wronged by my close friends. I also felt like c!Tommy's sense of loyalty didn't line up with mine after what felt like him constantly flip-flopping and refusing to understand c!Techno's morals on government didn't line up with his.

In short, it was easier to identify with Tommy in these animatics versus in the actual stream content because c!Tommy is played by a 16 year old. I'm not a teenager and my line of thinking doesn't entirely line up with people that age anymore. It's harder to place myself in the same shoes of someone's OC who is played closer to their actual age, because I'm not that age.

Regardless, I was still on the c!Dream is a villain train. I wasn't ever like... c!Dream is repulsive I hate him, but I was like omg hot villain lad go brrr.

Even when the first like... mellohi, panic room, Ranboo lore stream popped up I thought "Oh! c!Ranboo corruption arc?"

And I was excited because I really wanted this shy, nervous character to turn into villain buddies with his good pal c!Dream. I'm a total sucker for villains and corruption arcs and all that good shit.

SO I STARTED GETTING REALLY INTERESTED IN ENDERSMILE. I'VE BEEN ON ENDERSMILE SQUAD OUT THE GATE. NOT THE SAME WAY I AM NOW, BUT I'VE ALWAYS WANTED THEM TO TEAM UP.

So... upon not really keeping up with c!Dream and being relatively??? indifferent? I don't think I started arguments on c!Dream back then, but I might have. But I remember like... starting to participate more whenever c!Dream came up and looking more into Dream's character BUT ESPECIALLY TALKING WITH OUR SERVER'S C!DREAM SPECIALIST MICHI ABOUT DREAM A LOT MORE.

And because Michi has been a watcher since day one and was a DTeam fan rather than a SBI fan, she was able to provide me with more information on how the server worked pre-Tommy but especially pre-Wilbur.

Now, you could definitely argue well Michi probably has clear bias but it made sense to me when I looked back on how the storyline had been constructed and was going along, and everyone in the server talks a lot about our own biases and how we want people to maybe not lean so hard on them. Michi would also provide like anecdotes on what had happened and I'm sure links were probably provided at one point but the point was I felt like Michi had no reason to lie or manipulate how the story was told and if she did, eventually someone would have pointed it out because... Group of like... right now it's around 20 or more analysts but I don't remember how many at the time there were. POINT BEING, WE'VE ALL GOT POINTS TO PROVE AND IN MY EXPERIENCE NOT MANY OF US HAVE BEEN SHY TO PROVE THEM.

So if anyone ever had any differing opinions they would be talked about and we literally had and still have discussions.

REGARDLESS.... I DIDN'T FACT CHECK IN DEPTH BECAUSE I THOUGHT PEER REVIEW WAS ENOUGH WHEN YOU HAVE LIKE HOURS UPON HOURS OF STREAMS TO WATCH.

Anyways. Eventually I started paying closer attention and looking more into c!Dream lore but only recently have I started to triple check before speaking about c!Wilbur lore because I know everyone has biases and while I did trust everyone's thoughts and analysis in the discord, whenever I make essays I typically like it to be largely air tight and if theres a mistake, I want it to be because I forgot not because I just trusted what was said. Plus, I wanted to get down to the specifics of how Wilbur had always started with manipulation on the mind.

SO I WATCHED HIS FIRST VIDEO ON THE DREAM SMP.

AND WHAT I WAS NOT BY ANY MEANS EXPECTING WAS WILBUR TO SAY WORD FOR WORD, VERBATIM,

"SO WHY DON'T I START AN INDUSTRY WHERE I USE THE TOMMYINNITS OF THE WORLD TO WORK FOR ME, TO CREATE THINGS THAT THE MIN-MAXERS OF THE WORLD WILL WANT."

Like... this is in no way an attempt to like hardcore villainize c!Wilbur like everyone does Dream, it's just more so to like REALLY outline how far off a lot of fandom interpretation of c!Wilbur is....

Because of SBI focused animatics.

Now, when I joined I watched A LOT of animatics that really highlighted like... Wilbur being this self-loathing JD-esque, "I destroyed it because I had to because the world was against me because no one loved us, Tommy" type of character. At least... that's what it came across as.

And it definitely highlighted the fact that Tommy was a victim, which he is. He is undoubtedly a victim and no not even any dream apologist can change my mind otherwise. Tommy, despite being an instigator sometimes, didn't deserve the abuse he received.

But these animatics never shown the fact that c!Wilbur started L'manburg as a shady ploy to exploit people like c!Tommy and vilify c!Dream so he could have power.

And that was easy because Dream and Tommy had wars before. They had spars and pranks and here's the plan to take back my disks and here's the plan to out smart the thieving little child etc etc.

And all of the animatics I watched never mentioned this. Neither did the recaps though. The recaps gave the events flat out, there didn't sound like there was bias, and honestly I don't really know if there was rather than like... a lack of nuance. And it's hard to provide a recap with that much nuance in a short period of time for a youtube video, to be perfectly fair.

However, this creates a perfect formula for entirely rewriting the history of a server. c!Wilbur quite literally fucking succeeded TO A META LEVEL. He slandered and ran smear campaigns against Dream and like he even does that with Sapnap in the beginning. But what's crazy is that it transferred over into the meta! Most of this fandom understands Wilbur as a victim of mental illness, and yeah maybe? He definitely wasn't mentally well by the end of pogtopia, but he never started out with honorable intentions. L'manburg was never a victim, only its citizens. The TommyInnits of the world.

I just think it's like... such an interesting case study. Because this is like... an opinion like shared by at least half of the fandom, but the vilifying of c!Dream is shared by MOST of the fandom I would argue. Which is like even more crazy for me because that was c!Wilbur's goal!!!

LIKE I GO INSANE WHEN I THINK OF THIS BECAUSE HIS REACH IS JUST TOO POWERFUL. HE'S NOT EVEN ENTIRELY REAL, JUST A MANIPULATIVE PERSONA OF SOME BRITISH GUY.

And I mean... maybe people who have watched Wilbur's video on the SMP still maintain this idea that Wilbur wasn't always the bad guy, but honestly... I wouldn't be surprised if their introduction was still an animatic. Like bias is hard to check and I'm not going to lie I could have sworn I watched both Wilbur's AND Tommy's video on the SMP in the beginning and yet I STILL was a ride or die for tragic yet on some level still honorable Wilbur and a resilient Tommy.

Like... upon watching Wilbur's first video... possibly again I was surprised because I thought I did watch it like right before I even started watching the streams and yet I was still so invested in c!Wilbur as this tortured anti-hero.

It took 6 months of... not being in an echo chamber, full of multiple different people of different ages, different stream POVS, and people who joined the fandom at different points in time.

IDK IF THIS WAS EVEN ENTIRELY RELEVANT IT JUST FELT TANGENTIALLY RELEVANT AND THIS WAS SOMETHING I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT FOR A HOT MINUTE AFTER LIKE WATCHING WILBUR'S FIRST VIDEO AGAIN.

TLDR;

SBI CENTRIC ANIMATICS HAD A LASTING AFFECT ON THIS FANDOM AS IT'S HARD TO GO BACK AND ACTUALLY CHECK THE NARRATIVE FOR SOLID FACTS FOR YOUR OWN INTERPRETATION BASED ON THE FACT THAT THIS NARRATIVE SPANS OVER HUNDREDS OF HOURS WORTH OF TWITCH STREAMS.

[smzeszikorova]

First off, very cool ocs, I too have so so many that I have to cut down if I'm listing any details XD

Secondly! I would love to know more about the worldbuilding and the countries and stuff :D they sound super cool!

I'm gonna take that as an invitation to start ranting now lmao. Thanks!

Ok, so here are all the countries and cities I've come up with.

Pemoki (Puh-mo-kee): It's cold there. King's an incompetent figurehead, but a lot of Kenacian refugees flock there anyway because the Pemokese don't restrict immigration like a lot of other countries in that region do.

Drosil (Dro-sill): Southern city. Southern Pemoki is generally full of luxurious mansions, government buildings, and unsuspecting rich people. And Drosil's where the prissiest of the prissy come from. It's also the capitol.

Suvlin (Soov-leen): This is where Catherine and her siblings live. Very northern. Very rural. Primarily a refugee town. Lots of farmland and forest, and not too many buildings.

Vijeszka (Vee-yesh-ka): Also a refugee town, but more urban. Lots of overcrowded apartments. This is where Ernest Wolbert lives, and where Lyn used to live before he married Catherine.

Baliszka (Bah-leesh-ka): Another southern town. Lots of fancy shit. It's basically Pemoki's other cultural center besides Drosil, but with less government stuff.

Ksatvaj (Ksaht-vai): A central city, but close enough to Suvlin that Catherine can ride a horse there and back on the same day. Known for its community of retired veterans. Catherine goes there sometimes to buy stuff because she doesn't trust the quality of most goods and services in Suvlin and Vijeszka.

Lewyndanil (Luh-win-duh-neel): South of Pemoki. Aorin was born here. It's pretty and temperate, and also a good place to get stalked by members of the Miaccoran mafia. (But more on that in book 2.)

Kavjanna (Kahv-yah-nuh): The capitol. Very different from the Pemokese capitol. If you're looking for nice, pleasant parts of Lewyndanil, go literally anywhere else. There's a lot of government buildings in the center of Kavjanna, and that part of the city's pretty decent, but everything surrounding it is extremely shady.

Aleon (Aah-lay-yon): Pemoki's powerful neighbor / Adrona's birthplace. They're semi-involved in the war with Kenacia, but only because they're scared that if Levi conquers too many little, insignificant countries, he'll eventually be big enough and powerful enough to challenge Aleon. I don't have any cities for Aleon yet because nobody really goes there at any point in the story. It's more of a background presence.

Kenacia (Ken-ay-sha): Formerly a country nobody ever thought about, except to say, "Man, that King John sure was awful", but now that Levi's king, he's determined to turn Kenacia into a world power.

Thaeryvon (Teer-ih-von): The capitol. Center of a lot of corrupt garbage. Levi lives here, as do all of his military advisors (and technically the rest of his cabinet, but they're not important). Winson went to school here. Catherine, Lyn, Victoria, Petra, and Eva all used to live here. John Niacera's infamous national military academy was here before it got shut down.

Garrons-Abery (Gare-uhns Ay-buh-ree): Winson was born here. Not much else to say about this place.

Merrianck (Mare-ee-ank): Lots of fishermen live here. And so does Samuel Brown. (More on that in book 3.)

Qhiron (Kee-ruhn): Kenacia's neighbor. First country Levi conquered. Now he basically uses the entire country as a battlefield / supplier of resources for his army. He's pretty much universally hated in Qhiron.

Tophrenica Valley (Tuh-fren-ik-uh): Not technically a city. It's more of a region. But it's important because of its location. The Tophrenica river marks the Qhironese-Kenacian border.

Palchaara Araca (Pahl-kar-uh Ah-rock-uh): A walled city / center of the Qhironese rebellion.

Siomnil (Show-neel): General Aamitok's hometown.

Lardengot (Lar-din-go): Kenacia's largest, strongest fortress.

Miaccora (Mee-uh-kor-uh): Everything is legal here. Place to go if you're an outlaw. Miaccora doesn't become a place where plot stuff actually happens until book 2, so I haven't come up with any specific cities there yet. Stay tuned :P

[bitter-sweet-farmgirl]

Friends

OH MY GOSH DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT’S BEEN SINCE I WROTE FOR FILI?!!??!  TOO LONG.  I enjoyed every second of his Fee-Fluff.  Although, I actually kept trying to put ‘Kili’ instead of ‘Fili’...  I think I need to write for Fili more or Kili is trying to tell me something  Also, I was SO SO SO tempted to use one of Arwen’s lines in here...  But I didn’t. You’ll know the scene when you come to it though... ;)

Fluff about friend-zoning and Fili working up the nerve to tell a special lass he likes her.

Tags:  @elvish-sky @kumqu4t @ladylouoflothlorien​

MASTERLIST

OC(s) Used:  Loka

Word Count:  2,177

Translation(s):  Surprisingly, none

Warning(s):  None.  Just fluff!

~~~~

"It's time to end this, once and for all."  Kili declared suddenly as he sat next to me in the library; head propped up on his palms.  I glanced up sharply from the thick tome I was currently pouring over.

"What?"  I asked, not sure if I had heard him right.  

"I said, it's time to end this once and for all.  I'm sick of watching you pine after Fili."  He repeated, adding some clarification to his words.

I let out a sigh, grabbing the ribbon I was using as a bookmark and placing it in the book to mark my spot.  Something told me I wouldn't be returning to it for awhile.  "What are you even talking about, Kili?  I don't pine after Fili."  I said, and Kili smirked.

"Uh huh.  I've counted you watching him 178 different times in the past three days.  Explain that."  He said, prompting a faint blush to appear on my cheeks.

And I thought I hadn't been that obvious...  Hmm, perhaps it was time to be a bit more--

"That's what I thought."  Kili's confidence-loaded voice broke through my thoughts, and I looked up to see him grinning knowingly at me.  "You fancy him, don't you?"

I gave Kili a confused look, trying to buy myself time.  "Fancy who?"  

Kili threw up his hands in a show of exasperation.  "Fili.  My brother.  The one who's always watching you."  He said in much too loud of a voice, and I motioned at him to be quiet.  I didn't need this to be the new rumor circling Erebor.

Mahal, how embarrassing would that be?

But his words puzzled me; the way that they implied that Fili---no, surely not.  It was too good to be true.

Footsteps sounded behind me, interrupting my musings, and Kili winked at me, grinning mischievously.  "Who fancies who?"  A deep, gentle voice asked behind me as broad hands came down to rest upon my shoulders.  

Speak of the devil...

"I was just talking to Loka here about a lad from the Iron Mountains.  She thought he was quite fetching."  Kili piped up suddenly, and I shot him a glare.  The nerve of him...

Fili's hands tightened on my shoulders, and I fidgeted a bit in discomfort.  "Hey, be careful about squeezing me too hard.  I'm not iron."  I muttered, and Fili's hands disappeared in an instant as he came around to stand beside me.

"Sorry, Loka."  He said, but his thoughts seemed to be elsewhere.  Those beautiful blue eyes of his had a faraway gaze.

Kili kicked my shin underneath the table, and I turned to him with a stifled yelp of pain.  "What the hell was that for?"  I hissed, glaring furiously at the insolent Prince.  

You were staring again.  He mouthed with a cheeky look on his face.  I just gave him a disgusted look and turned my gaze back down to the book I had so reluctantly vacated.

"If you'll excuse me, I've got some things to take care of."  I said, breaking the silence that had fallen over us as soon as Fili approached.  

Before either of them could protest, I gathered up my stuff from the library table and hurried out of Erebor's royal library.  Maybe I could finally finish the tales of Númenor in the comfort of my own room?

~~~~

"Loka!"  A sharp cry of my name had me halting in my tracks as I walked through the halls of Erebor.  Turning around, I was surprised to see Fili jogging towards me; decked out in full royal garb.

"Prince Fili?"  I asked, fidgeting with the bundle of fabric in my arms.  A grimace flashed across Fili's face at my use of his title.

"How many times have I told you that you don't need to call me by that...?"  He groaned, and I gave him an apologetic smile.

"Obviously not enough times; but I kinda have to call you by that since you are the Crown Prince after all."  I said, but Fili just shook his head.

"Forget etiquette for once, Loka."  He said, giving me a pleading look that awoke butterflies in my stomach.  

Nodding, I smiled at him.  "If that's what you command...  But anyways, why did you stop me?"  I asked curiously, and Fili shuffled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his rapidly reddening neck as he turned his gaze to the floor.

"Uh..."  He was suddenly at a loss for words, and I watched this with a incredulous look.  Never before had I seen Fili look so...  nervous.

"Fee?"  I called softly, using Fili's childhood nickname.  

"Would you like to go to the ball with me?"  He suddenly said; words rushing out in a jumbled hurry that left me speechless for a moment as I processed them.

"The ball that's happening in about four days?"  I asked, and Fili nodded quickly.

"Aye, that one.  Would you like to go with me?"  

Disappointment welled in my stomach as I looked at the hopeful expression on his bearded features.  "I would love to--"  I began, and Fili's face broke out in a wide smile.

"Tha-that's great!"  He said excitedly, but I raised a hand to stop him.

"You didn't let me finish.  I would love to go with you, but I'm already going with someone."  I said, and the smile was wiped off Fili's face, only to be replaced with a furrowed look that didn't belong anywhere on his handsome features.  "I'm so sorry, Fili."  I whispered, but Fili was quick to shake his head.

"No, no, I should be sorry for bothering you.  It's no big deal Loka, I just thought...  Who are you going with?"  He asked, quickly switching topics.

An image of a dark-haired Dwarrow--the exact opposite of Fili in so many different ways--popped into my head.  "Maglorian.  One of Dain's ambassadors."  I said quietly, forcing a bright smile onto my face.

Fili nodded, a dark shadow passing over his face at the mention of the name.  "I've heard of him; he's very nice."  He said, giving me a smile that was so obviously fake it hurt.  "Well, save a dance for me maybe?"  

I nodded quickly, trying to find a way to lift this black cloud that had suddenly settled over Fili.  "Of course!  I'll always have a dance for you, Fee."  I said softly, and a smile flickered across his lips.

"See you around, Loka."  He murmured, turning and walking past me down the hallway.  I watched him go, noting the way his shoulders were slumped in a picture of disappointment.  But why?  Surely he hadn't wanted to go that badly with me?  Hadn't his question just been a friend asking a friend so they didn't have to go alone?

Shaking my head, I continued on my way to the Palace seamstress.  My dress needed some alterations to fit the current styles of King Thorin's court, and I hadn't had time before now to deliver it to her.

~~~~

The day of the ball had finally arrived, but something just seemed wrong.  Maglorian was very polite and nice, but not even his gracious manners could bring a genuine smile to my face.

I tried--I really did--to keep my attention on him, but I couldn't help sneaking glances towards the dour Fili.  Mahal, I'd never seen him look so hurt before.

"Miss Loka, would you like something to drink?"  Maglorian's cultured tones had me looking away from where Fili stood beside Kili and Thorin; watching the festivities.  

Forcing a smile, I nodded sweetly.  "That sounds lovely, thank you Maglorian."  I said, and he smiled back, heading away from me towards the refreshments.  

Breathing out a sigh, I returned my gaze towards the trio of royals, only to notice that one was missing.  

Kili.

Glancing around the crowded ballroom, I tried to spot the dark-haired Prince in case he attempted to pull a prank on me or something.  I wouldn't put it past him.

"Fancy a dance, my lady?"  A cheeky voice said from right beside me, and I whirled around to find Kili standing in front of me.  

Rolling my eyes, I accepted his proffered hand.  "I suppose, if only to get away from the ambassador and his manners for a moment."  I said, prompting a laugh from Kili.

"He's that bad, huh?  I thought you said he was handsome."  

"He's handsome in his own way, but he just oozes 'proper etiquette'.  It's enough to make any lass sick."  I grumbled, placing on hand on Kili's shoulder as he settled a hand on my waist.  The music had turned to a slower waltz that was perfect for talking.

Kili chuckled, grinning down at me.  "Perfect."  

His words had me looking up at him in bewilderment as he suddenly spun me away from him and into someone else's arms.  For a moment, I thought it was Maglorian and I went to pull away.

"I thought you said you'd save me a dance?  Did you change your mind?"  A familiar voice asked teasingly, and I realized Fili was the one with an arm around my waist.

Blushing, I looked up at Fili with a sheepish smile on my face.  "I thought you were Maglorian...  You are welcome to as many dances as you wish to claim."  I said, quickly adjusting my grip so that one hand was held in Fili's while the other rested on his broad shoulder.

Fili raised an eyebrow.  "So you don't like that ambassador then?"  He asked quietly, and I shook my head.

"Of course not...  He's just a nice guy that I thought would be fun to go to the ball with."  I said, understanding suddenly dawning on me.  "Wait, you thought that me and him were serious or something?"

Pink began to tinge Fili's cheeks, and he looked away from me.  "Well..."  

"You're jealous of him!  Are you afraid he'd steal your friend away from you?"  I teased, laughing at the thought even as my heart sank.

Friends, always friends.  But I'd have to content myself with that.  He'd never see me as something more.

"No."  Fili's voice was uncharacteristically hard and I scanned his face worriedly.  "I wasn't afraid that he'd steal my friend...."  He trailed off and let out a sigh, raising his head to look around at the other dancers around us.  "I--just come outside with me for a moment.  I'll explain."  He said suddenly, dropping his hand from my waist to lead me towards the doors out to the hallway.

I followed obligingly, wondering what he was going to explain.  What did he even have to explain?

Once we were finally alone out in the deserted hallway, Fili grabbed my hands and looked down at me with a searching expression in his crystal blue eyes.  "I don't know why it's so hard to say...  I've never been so afraid of something before..."  He muttered, and I looked at him with a furrowed brow.

"Fee?"  I prodded, and he took a deep breath, ducking his head for a moment before looking back up at me.  "I was jealous of that Dwarrow, yeah, but not for the reasons you think."  He whispered, and my eyes widened slightly.  

Was he going to say what I thought he was going to say?  

"I thought that he was going to steal away the heart of the lass who stole mine."  He said quietly, looking at me with such a vulnerable expression in his eyes, it brought tears to mine.  "It's alright if you don't feel the same, Loka, I'll get over it eventually."  He muttered as I stared at him in disbelief.

"No!"  I exclaimed, and Fili watched me apprehensively.  "Don't get over me, please.  I love you."  I whispered hoarsely, and Fili scanned my face closely, looking for any hint of a lie.

"Loka..."  He murmured in a low voice, raising trembling hands to gently cup my face,  "I feel like I'm dreaming."  

I smiled at him, closing the space between us until I was held close between his arms.  "Then we're sharing the same dream."  I whispered, tilting my head upwards as he leaned down to slant his lips over mine; his golden locks falling like a curtain over both our faces.

"Oh Mahal, finally!  I thought I'd have to lock you two in a closet somewhere!"  

Fili reluctantly pulled away from me with a sigh, turning his head to look at a grinning Kili leaning against a pillar nearby.  "Do you mind?"  He said with a raised eyebrow, and Kili raised his hands in a show of surrender.

"Sorry...  Just keep in mind that Uncle is going to be looking for you soon, so don't get too cozy together..."  He said, winking suggestively.  

"Kili..."  Fili growled, but a red flush was spreading up his neck.  "Don't make me--"

"I'm going!  I'm going!"  

With that, Kili disappeared back into the festivities, leaving me and Fili alone once more.  

Looking back down at me, Fili gave me a roguish smile.  "Now, where were we...?"

[artistdove]

I have a few question abt your minish ocs if that’s alright

How did bismuth and Ivan meet?

Do the siblings ever get competitive?

Are the siblings reincarnations of the four sword souls or are they not related?

If you equated it to human years, how old are each of them?

Does Cyrus know the big family?

If he does do he and Gale get along?

Ok I’m done now

Since I'm still figuring out their characters I don't have solid answers, so I'll give basic concepts for some of these questions. Be ready for long answers. Also you don't realize how much happiness this brought me. ( ´∀｀)

How did bismuth and Ivan meet?

Okay I have a few concepts on how they met.

1. Ivan went to the mountain Bismuth lives on to do some research and learn about the Mountain Minish Culture. Reluctantly though cuz he is scared of heights but he can kind of brave it for research.

2. Bismuth had some business with some Forest Minish and Ivan happened to bump into her.

3. Both ran into each other by either passing or doing stuff in the town of Hyrule. Which leads to either an accidental meeting or something like Bismuth saves Ivan from being killed while he was analyzing something

These are the just ideas because I'm still on the fence on either Ivan pinned for her the moment he saw her or both were indifferent to each other due to clashing personalities (Bismuth more than Ivan with that). I can say with confidence that before marriage they spent a long time getting to know each other.

Do the siblings ever get competitive?

Yes, though depending on the challenge. Beryl and Gale are the most competitive in all most anything, mostly due to Gale's energy and Berly's aggression. For Ruby it depends on the challenge and which brother, such as rock lifting or crafting; if Gale challenges him to a lifting contest, no heavy things will be used. Venus also depends though if feeling mischievous he will. I'll also add in that the parents are also down for some competition with their boys, that is if it's safe or friendly such as fitting many berries into their mouth. Though, they are mostly competitive with each other in things like getting the last laugh or affection based stuff.

Are the siblings reincarnations of the four sword souls or are they not related?

...great now my brain really likes that idea. No, they are not reincarnations of the colors. While they are mostly based on the Colors personality wise, I mostly had Minish Cap in my mind when making them. Thus, the colors, names, and ages.

If you equated it to human years, how old are each of them?

Uh... I don't understand how to equate human years and animals years that well. Let's just say mouse years are definitely different from human years, they would be very old if converted to human years (；´∀｀). Doesn't help that I think Minish time may work different from Hylian time, idk cuz Minish Cap seems to hint at that with the whole door to the Minish world thing. But here's the gist of their ages:

Bismuth: About 30 to early 30s

Ivan: Late or mid 20s

Venus: Late teen

Ruby: Mid teen

Beryl: Mid teen yet younger than Ruby

Gale: Child so 10-12

Adding in Cyrus and he would be mid or late teen

Does Cyrus know the big family? If he does do he and Gale get along?

Cyrus is completely separate from the big family. Cyrus was made at first with Minish Cap moslty in mind but that changed. So he most likely lives either before or after the time period the family inhabits. I am very unsure where to place him cuz (currently) I intend for him to live with me in my self insert Zelda au. Thus, aiding in knowing the various legends of the heros. Now if he did meet them or live in their time period, he would absolutely enjoy hanging out with them cuz of being a fan of anything Minish Cap or Four Swords. Gale and him would definitely hit it off along with Ruby.

And there ya go, again still very concepty. I haven't had much time or brain power to fully figure them out so concrete info is still not completely existent (；´∀｀).

[greyias]

Companion Interview Meme

Tagged by: @a-muirehen — thank you for the tag!

Pick three companions who know your OC/muse well. Answer the questions from at least one of their companions points of view. Replace anywhere it says ‘Grey’ with your OC’s name. Name the three companions who will be answering here: 1. Theron Shan 2. Lana Beniko 3. Kira Carsen Are they ready to be candid with their responses? Don’t worry, this is totally private. Grey will never read it.

(Slight spoiler warning in one answer for Echoes of Oblivion)

1. First Impressions. What was the first impression you had of Grey?

Theron: Look, it’s complicated. Like on one hand, she just had to be hiding something, because she was just so—so—no one is that nice! Or naive. It had to be an act somehow. I was convinced of it, there had to be something wrong with her, some deep, dark dirty secret she was hiding. Because if she wasn’t then that means she was a genuinely good person who actually cared deeply about random strangers and that was just weird. And kind of wonderful. And in retrospect when I look back maybe I just... needed a few reasons to keep people at arms distance. I once told her that I loved her from the moment I saw her. Striding into the situation room like she owned the place and... yeah. That was also true. As I said, it’s complicated. And I’m kind of an idiot.

Lana: I was quite impressed by what I had assumed at the time was a great deal of pragmatism. She was a Jedi, and yet didn’t seem bothered at all by the fact that I was a Sith. In fact, sometimes I think maybe she was... fascinated by it? There was a moment or two where I wondered if... well, I suppose it doesn’t matter now. She has always been a force to be reckoned with. It’s easy to follow someone like that... even if they are a Jedi (and a very impractical one at that. I really should have seen that coming in retrospect.)

Kira: She didn’t know how to take a joke. I mean, I’ve gotten better over the years, but at the start I’d had a tendency to make jokes first, assess the situation later. I’d made some comment about taking no prisoners, and you would have thought I’d just kicked a puppy instead of making a joke. Kind of felt like I had from the look on her face. Luckily, I think we both made better second impressions when we started working together on Coruscant.

2. Grey walks into a bar. No, it’s not a joke - what does she order? If you give her a credit for the jukebox, what kind of music would she put on?

Theron: Something fruity and filled with rum if you don’t stop her. Don’t let her drink the rum. And then because she has no loyalty whatsoever she’ll put on Tai-Vor Swivt on the jukebox and just share my special playlist with the whole cantina. Um. I mean. Her playlist. I don’t like Tai-Vor. I only listen to Heavy Isotope. And things like that.

Lana: The answer depends on the time of day, her mood, and several other factors. I have it all documented in this rubric here. You’ll need to give me more specifics on your inquiry if you want an accurate answer.

Kira: I mean, usually she just orders caf, which almost always gets a dramatic eyeroll from the bartender. So I usually have to order so we don’t get the stinkeye the entire time. And usually she lets me pick the music too -- I kind of suspect she didn’t really know many of the artists. Not exactly dialed into pop culture, that one.

3. How does Grey spend a day off from work?

Theron: Hmm, if I have my way it’s a nice slow morning and any message sent to her e-mail receives a cordial out-of-office message (Lana gets two for each message she sends.) Maybe later we can take a walk in the woods, go pet those stinky Exoboars running wild and ruining the Odessen countryside, maybe we get a little lost along the way. Spend the evening winding down with one of her swashbuckling holoflix. If I don’t have my way someone winds up asking her a work question and then she doesn’t get a day off. Yes. I know the irony of this coming from me.

Lana: If she is onsite at Odessen nowadays she seems to spend it in a mix between time in her quarters, leaving the base to take a walk in the woods, trying to duck surveillance to meditate in her “secret” spot. 

Kira: Back on the Defender, it was just a lot of meditating, practicing her katas, sparring. Honestly, even on her days off she usually just kept trying to make sure we were prepared for the next mission. Although if I invited her to do something normal she’d go along with it. So I may have made sure some of our off days coincided so she would actually take something resembling a break. The weirdo. She seems to have relaxed a little from that here on Odessen. I think that’s nice.

4. What silly superstitions or funny traditions does she observe?

Theron: She meditates each morning, and still observes the Jedi morning fast. Except she totally cheats on her fast and will drink a cup of caf if its hand delivered to her. She’ll warm her hands on the mug as she takes in a big whiff, and this little smile spreads across her face. It causes the freckles on her nose to wrinkle. And maybe I’m the one who hand delivers the caf because its hard to think of a better way to start the day.

Lana: We do not speak of the fruitcake, or any of her other attempted holiday traditions. If we do not encourage her, then maybe she’ll stop. Please, we must all band together, for the good of my digestive tract.

Kira: Whenever we would finish up a mission on a planet, she liked to take off her socks and boots and meditate with her feet sticking into the ground. She even wanted to do it on Quesh but Doc was loud enough on that instance to be able to talk her out of it. She tried to hide it but she looked really disappointed, so I tried to cheer her up by joining her on this weird mud hop at our next port of call. Not sure if I really felt any different but it seemed to make her happy.

5. What does Grey wear to bed? And just how do you know that?

Theron: Traditional night wear is a thin tank top and sleep pants. Let’s just say sometimes there’s less traditional night wear, or sometimes less than that -- but that’s between husband and wife.

Lana: On mission she typically wears something quick to change into her armor. On base she seems to have a standard set of pajama bottoms and sleeveless sleep shirt. How do I know this? Let’s just say I have to keep the Commander on schedule, even when certain people who should know better try and distract her from our very busy day running things.

Kira: She usually was changed and ready for the day before I ever saw her, but sometimes there’d be a late night where she couldn’t sleep, and I’d find her in the Defender’s mess. Pretty simple and spare sleepwear, sleep pants and tank top. Fashion’s not exactly her priority, you know?

6. Your favorite memory of Grey?

Theron: Why do you make me pick? Damn... that’s hard. There’s almost too many to choose, but... I guess it would be just after we got back from Nathema, and I was trying to apologize for everything and... somehow that turned into a proposal. And despite me being a stumbling awkward mess she still said yes and... look. I probably should have picked a different one, I’m not really good at the talking about feelings thing.

Lana: That moment when the broadcast across the galaxy happened after she had tamed the Eternal Fleet, she stood poised and powerful, finally setting the galaxy aright after Zakuul had torn it asunder. It was a moment more than five years in the making and I couldn’t have been prouder.

Kira: That moment when we stood, side-by-side, with everyone else in the Force and turned that creep Tenebrae, and every other of his counterparts into absolute crumbling dust. It almost made up for the fact that I wasn’t there the first two times she sent him packing.

7. A time you very nearly almost kissed Grey?

Theron: I mean, if we’re being technical, I had... thought about it for one moment on Manaan. Just a brief second, as we were saying our farewells before I went into hiding. Our eyes had met while we were shaking hands goodbye and it would have been so easy to just pull her in close and--I didn’t. Of course I didn’t. Not then at least. Now though? I don’t miss a chance.

Lana: I was angry at myself, my weakness, and taking it out on the clutter around the Gravestone. I had been surrounded out in the swamp, and only Koth’s timely intervention had saved me. She had come seeking me out to make sure that I was all right, to check on my injury. And in the low light, she just looked so concerned and guilty, and I’m fairly certain she was leaning in. I would have, you know, if Koth hadn’t been throwing around things and making a racket.

Kira: It was right after my Knighting, and I had snuck a bottle of champagne on board to celebrate. I suspect she hadn’t ever actually tasted alcohol before, judging by her reaction to the first sip. But we kept drinking, and giggling, kind of like we weren’t stuffy Jedi at all. And there was this moment where she asked me about Nar Shaddaa. Not pushy or anything, just... curious about my experiences. She never talks about it, but I don’t think she really knew much of life outside of the Order so she was always cautiously curious. And there was this moment where I was telling her about my first kiss and we kind of leaned in and--nothing happened. At the time I didn’t want to risk making things weird. I... like where we’re at. I’m fine with it.

8. Vacation time! Where do you take Grey for some R&R?

Theron: You know, I just love the sound of that word. Vay-cay-shun. Despite popular opinion I actually do take them, maybe a few more now than when I was single. We have a secret little hideaway that no one else knows about that I like to take her to when things get a little rough or we just need a break from the everything the galaxy is deciding to throw her our way.

Lana: You know, a vacation does sound nice, but someone has to keep things running here, especially when a certain nameless spy whisks our Commander away to fake locales. Seriously, I need a proper itinerary. What if I need to contact them? It’s just rude. Oh right, the question. I suppose I wouldn’t mind visiting some place quiet and out of the way, although I honestly have yet to find a place in galaxy that qualifies because if I take Grey for some reason she always finds someone in trouble that she insists on rescuing.

Kira: I’m not sure if it qualifies as a vacation per se, but I’ve been able to sneak her and one of our other Jedi buddies around base off to Nar Shaddaa for a Girl’s Night. Those are fun, even if we kept getting hit on at the bars. Although that can be entertaining in itself, especially that one time some guy pretended to be a Jedi, and then got this very detailed lecture on how bad an idea that was from Grey. I don’t think I’ve seen a man wilt so fast in my life. I would pay to see that again.

9. Grey’s sense of humor -is it dry, immature, sarcastic, self-deprecating, physical, witty, dark, or…?

Theron: I think it depends on the situation and her mood. It can be very subtle, and sometimes I can’t tell if she’s being serious when she says something ridiculous, or if she’s messing with me. Which... I suppose is fair, because sometimes I do the same to her.

Lana: She loves a good pun, which I find delightful. It’s doubly delightful just to see Theron roll his eyes and groan like he’s being tortured.

Kira: I think a lot of people don’t really get her humor, and honestly it took me a while to realize when she was joking. She likes to let others take the lead when it comes to cracking jokes, but when she does make a zinger, it takes a few seconds for it to land. They’re a lot more sly and subtle than you’d think. My favorite is when she starts to get really frustrated with someone and makes really dry, pointed comments that usually sail right over their heads. She has so many people fooled with that sweet serene Jedi act, they don’t even realize the epic burn until long after the conversation has ended.

Tagging: @confettininjabean, @thewriterandmuse. @shanfamilydrama, @storyknitter, @lumielles, @captainderyn, and @brietopia

[rawliverandcigarettes]

👹 🏀 ❤️ for Khocress please!

Thank you so much for the questions and giving me an excuse to ramble about Khocress <3 I am going to spill down a whole lot and I'm sorry for the oversharing.

👹 How does you OC act around different people and how does their personality change to match the environment they’re in? How do they act with: friends, family, strangers, children or their lover(s)?

I'd say Khocress is, overall, a pretty consistent person. While not as stoic as he used to be, he tends to observe first, and speak after, and remain guarded about his private emotions all the way through. Still, he is invested in being trusted by those he wants to protect, and will try and build rapport with people he deems vulnerable (like children, refugees, etc).

He tends to be confident in his position in the social hierarchy, so he will never be intimidated by strangers and ends up in charge without trying. He does allow himself a tad more vulnerability with non-batarians, and show a greater range of emotions than strength and confidence, because he doesn't risk losing quite as much with them. There are not many people aware of his secrets, safe for a selected few, but he's aware he needs support beams so he can shoulder the excrutiating weight of being a gang leader of a species in shreds, in constant negotiation of their continued existence in a station that considers them disposable resources.

Khocress with lovers is... interesting. For a while, I couldn't figure out his deal when it came to sexual/romantic attraction, and I even wondered if he wasn't ace: but turns out, Khocress has caught a very warped-up, weird case of the Madonna/Whore complex -he does not allow himself to feel sexual attraction towards anyone he respects, because of a deep internalization that sexual desire is inherent violence. So he only allows himself to desire, and have sex (hate-sex), with people he loathes in some way. And when it comes to romantic love, I think this scares the hell out of him! He's completely capable, but never got in a place where he feels relaxed and open enough to afford feeling anything close to romantic vulnerability.

🏀 Does your OC have any skills that people wouldn’t expect them to have? Do they have a hobby or pass time that others would consider strange or weird? How did they learn this particular skill or pick up this hobby?

I wouldn't call them unexpected, but Khocress has a knack for mechanics. He loves putting apart and restitching engines, finding clever solutions to optimize electrical distribution, water pumping, etc. The surprising part comes with the amount of delicacy and care he puts into manual labor, as he is a big man that can and will crack a skull open if needed. He learned this out of necessity, but went above and beyond survival and into the mechanics of how things work. I think he could have make for a great engineer, or perhaps an urban planner, in different circumstances. He's also kind of a beer nerd! He will drink whatever, even excruciating stuff, but he's knowledgeable of the brewing processes and capable of appreciating their nuance. That comes from a time in his past where he did contribute to brewing beer and find ingenuous ways to make it work, store it, etc, as he didn't really have room to pick up more creative endeavors.

❤️ What inspired you to make this OC? How long have you had them? How have they changed in the time you’ve been developing them?

Honestly, of all the major Halfway Home characters, Khocress is the one that I expected the least to bloom into importance. In his first iteration (so pre-draft 1, back when I was still figuring it out), he was way more of an asshole, and the complexity of his relationship to Shlee was very different, as his empathy for Shlee *was* the complexity. He was kind of meant to be an extension of Aria back then, offering her little resistance. But then I wrote him, and his empathy spurred to eleven, and its limits and the choices this character must make in regards to this empathy became the complexity instead --so he did kind of a 180. There is one particular element to this character's backstory that was almost always present, and the driving force of both his beliefs and the profound terror that constantly battle each other for dominance, but I allowed the belief (that batarians deserve a chance at rediscovering themselves) to gain more terrain and for him to become one of the kinder figures of the story.

I think I was inspired by what he became rather than putting him on a trail I had in mind from the beginning, if that makes sense. The main inspiration has to do with batarians' place in Omega's ecosystem, and Aria's relationship to batarian culture. I needed a way to embody this tension point: batarian's importance, their subserviance, and the growing risk they might take over one day, and Khocress carved the questions as he became the character he is today. His relationship to Aria changed a bunch too, and I really enjoy where it is now; at once brilliant put together, begrudgingly respectful, on edge around the danger the other represents, pushing and pulling the boundaries of their power struggle, and vulnerable in an ugly way.

Khocress has consistently been a favorite when I pitched him to others, and I think he's the character that *worked* the fastest and the cleanest. His arc isn't always easy to pin down, but yep. Glad people like him!

Ask me about my OCs!

[karajaynetoday]

everybody's got their demons, even wide awake or dreaming | part two

Photo credit: Jess Gleeson

Hello friends! Hope you’re having a lovely day. It’s time for part two of this series! Lizzie takes her opportunity to interview Calum one-on-one in this part. If you need to catch up on Part One, you can do that here. Onwards! 

(This is a fem!OC story)

Word count: 3.2k

Warnings: none? i don’t think? 

More writing here | send thoughts/feedback/suggestions here | if you’d like to be on my taglist go here

The day or so leading up to Lizzie’s one on one interview with Calum was a blur, as Lizzie tried to fix her body clock and orientate herself with how to get around LA. Her boss had offered her the opportunity to hire a rental car, but the idea of driving on the wrong side of the road was too much for Lizzie to stomach, so Ubers were the go. 

Her body sometimes overslept, sometimes woke her up at 4am, so Lizzie had downloaded a yoga and meditation app to try and sort herself out. She might’ve almost given herself a concussion after toppling over while trying to do a particularly tricky pose, but no one needed to hear about that. The bruises on her elbow were embarrassing enough. 

Danielle had sent Lizzie a text the morning of her lunchtime interview with Calum, confirming the time and place as they’d discussed. Lizzie had handwritten some notes for her questions, trying to contemplate what she could ask Calum that would differ to the others. Or maybe she should ask them all the same questions, and then in the piece she could compare and contrast responses? It was so hard to know what would make the best piece, especially with interviewing Calum in particular. Lizzie knew from watching other interviews, and in her group interview with all of the band the other day (and from back in their school days) that Calum was a man of few words. When he did speak, it was usually with purpose and thought, and made for some great content, but he wasn’t always particularly forthcoming. Which is why it had surprised Lizzie that Calum had volunteered for the first solo interview, but given Michael’s behaviour, she was glad to be continuing with the profile piece at all. 

It was a really warm day, so Lizzie had to forego her usual blazer and jeans in favour of a long green dress with blue and white flowers on it. Her hands were sweaty as the Uber pulled up to the café Calum had suggested, and something in the back of Lizzie’s mind suggested it wasn’t just from the weather. She’d always been an anxious person, but she’d gotten a handle on it recently; this whole LA debacle had brought it back with a vengeance. 

Calum was waiting for her just in front of the café, dark wayfarer sunglasses covering his eyes and his phone in his hand as he leant up against the brick wall beside the café door. He was wearing a grey hoodie and jeans, and nobody coming in or out of the café seemed to pay him any attention; but then again maybe people of Calum’s level of fame were just part of the furniture around here. It was near to Hollywood, after all.

“Hey, thanks for agreeing to meet me.” Lizzie’s voice wasn’t overly loud, but it still made Calum jump as he looked up from his phone at her.

“Of course, of course. I know I sound like a broken record, but we really are excited for you to do this piece. The new album era is something I’ve been looking forward to for a while, and - “ Calum began, smiling warmly at Lizzie, who cut him off by pulling open the café door.

“Before you start getting all meaningful and quotable on me, shall we get a coffee and take a seat?” 

“A woman after my own heart. Let’s do it. Pro-tip, the brownies here are to die for.”

The café was bustling, but most of the patrons seemed to be lining up for takeaway orders. Calum stepped ahead of Lizzie and slipped into a booth towards the back, near a frosted window, greeting the wait staff by name as he went. Lizzie scurried after him, apologising as she accidentally bumped into a tall man with her shoulder bag in her haste and he glared at her. Guess not everyone was as friendly as Calum, then. She slid into the booth opposite Calum, pulling out her notebook and phone as she went. 

“Is it okay if I record this? I’m not very good at taking notes.” 

“Straight into it, LL? At least let a man have his coffee first.” Calum deadpanned, and Lizzie felt her face fall before she realised he was joking with her.

“Of course, sorry. Let’s order. The brownies, you said? How big are they?” Lizzie pasted a smile onto her face, grabbing for the menu on the table in front of her.

“I have it on good authority that they’re perfectly Lizzie-sized. Calum-sized, too - a real multipurpose snack.” Calum was teasing her now, but also being completely serious, as he got the attention of a waitperson who came over to welcome them and take their orders. A skinny latté for Lizzie, an iced coffee for Calum, and a warmed up chocolate brownie with a side of coconut yogurt for them each. They fell into easy conversation, about the weather, and Calum’s neighbourhood, and the other pieces Lizzie had written, almost forgetting why they were there in the first place. When their order of coffees and brownies arrived, Lizzie suddenly snapped out of her feeling of ease when she had to push her notebook and phone over on the table and remember that she was supposed to be interviewing Calum Hood, 5SOS bassist, not catching up with Calum Hood, her Year 9 science lab partner. 

“Now that you’ve got your coffee, can I start recording?” Lizzie asked timidly, as she took a bite out of her brownie and audibly groaned at how heavenly it tasted.

“Depends. Will your brownie orgasm be mentioned in the article?” Could Calum say anything that wasn’t teasing her? Damn it.

“Maybe. Perhaps I’ll do a twitter thread of my trip food highlights, given that the profile piece will be under embargo until the album comes out.” Lizzie deadpanned right back, earning a smile and a small chuckle from Calum.

Lizzie hit record on her phone’s voicenote app, sliding the phone into the centre of the table. She flipped open her notebook to the page marked “Calum”, and she could see Calum trying to read her writing upside down.

“No spoilers, mate. I’ve got a strategy here.” Lizzie mused, angling her notebook so it was harder for Calum to see as he raised his hands in mock surrender.

“Well then, Ms Lawson from Junkee Australia, do your worst.” He flashed her a grin, before taking a sip of his coffee followed by a bite of his brownie (sans any groaning… that must only be a first-time brownie thing).

“So, in our chat yesterday, it was mentioned that this next album is, in some ways, a letter to your homeland, and a reflection on your journeys so far as individual artists as well as being 5SOS collectively. For you, as Calum Hood, what’s the main contribution or perspective that you feel you’ve brought to this album, and the band?” Lizzie saw a flicker of something in Calum’s eyes as she shifted into journalist mode easily, but he only paused for another sip of coffee before answering.

“I think at this point, my main contribution is balancing the collective contributions in the room. I have a lot to say, and I do a lot of songwriting, but I also think the others would agree that I’m also quite observant, so I can read a lot into things they’re saying, or not saying, and bring it out of them into the music. We’ve known each other for almost half our lives at this point, so we know each other better than anyone else, but when we work with other co writers and things like that it can be hard to feel entirely comfortable with the vulnerability you need to bring into writing a song or telling a particular story that day. I’ve got the rep as the strong, silent, shy type, I know - “ Calum paused and returned the soft smile Lizzie was giving him, as she nodded encouragingly. 

“But in interviews, when I’m being asked to explain myself and validate my artistic choices, I’m immediately more defensive and protective of it, because there’s something magical about the writing room, and the vulnerability that can only exist in that context when we’re songwriting, and creating that art. The end product, which is the song or the album or whatever, conveys the emotions in a way that I could never say them with words, and the beautiful thing is that so many people can listen to it and relate to it in ways that I’d never considered before. But that’s the power of it, you know? We make these songs to express ourselves, and fulfil our creative outlets, but it extends beyond that, and that’s the part that gets me.” Calum finished speaking and reached for another sip of his coffee.

“Right. The magic exists in the studio, and on the stage, and in individual people’s lives when they listen to the music wherever they are in the world, and it’s the connecting thread that brings you together with your fans, a moment that you can share even if you never meet.”

“Exactly, it’s the universal experience, and everyone has their own interpretation of what it means to them. Pisses me off when people try and dig to find out who we wrote a certain song about, or whatever. Sometimes it is a specific person or a moment, other times I make shit up to suit the vibe of a chord progression or a concept someone’s brought to the table. It’s a juicier headline if we name and shame, but it’s not fair to the person I’m writing about, especially if they don’t have a similar outlet for a right of reply, and it’s also irrelevant, because my meaning behind a song could be completely different to yours, but that doesn’t make it less valid.” Calum shrugs as he speaks, his tone calm and nonchalant. 

“Makes sense. The music can exist as art, and be open to interpretation, like everything in life. And with this album, and reflecting on your homeland… what does that mean, for you? Because 5SOS have lived almost their entire adult lives overseas, so I know it must be hard to self-determine a cultural identity that’s so strongly linked to somewhere you haven’t lived for so long.” Lizzie asks, munching down another bite of brownie.

Calum cocks his head to the side and rolls his bottom lip into his mouth, and Lizzie feels a lump rise in her throat. Had she phrased the question wrong? Was he mad? Had she struck a nerve? Fuck. 

“Sorry, we don’t have to - I mean, we can keep discussing the album in a different way if you’d prefer -” Lizzie started babbling, and she froze when Calum reached across the table and rested on hers reassuringly. 

“Breathe, Lawson. I just need a minute to think about a deep and meaningful response to your question. You’re fine.” Calum was speaking softly, and there was an apology of sorts in his eyes when Lizzie glanced over at him. She was about to ask him something else, when a waitress came over to check on how everything was going with their orders and offered a second round of coffees and Calum withdrew his hand from the table as he ordered another iced coffee to go, times two. 

“If you could have it ready to go in about an hour, that’d be great.” Calum flashed the waitress a smile, and she shot him a wink as she headed back to the counter to update his order.

“A whole ‘nother hour? You spoil me, Mr Hood.” Lizzie joked, downing the last of her coffee and desperately hoping to avoid any awkwardness in her remaining interview time with Calum. 

“Anything for a fellow Australian, mate. To answer your question, it’s strange, because yes I’ve never lived there full time as an adult, but there’s something about your home country and your hometown that stays with you, no matter where you go or how long you’re gone. Obviously, for me, my sister lives overseas, and neither of my parents were raised in Australia, but it still means a lot to me, because it’s home, you know? The industry there is… interesting, but I still think that if we didn’t have the background we all have as individuals and the band, there’s certainly a lot of decisions we’ve made and ways we’ve gone about things in our careers that are heavily influenced by our upbringings and the mindsets we all have from that experience.” 

“Home is where the heart is, right?” Lizzie offers, thumbing her notebook absently. 

“It’s true. But it’s also refreshing to go back and escape it all a bit, you know? None of my friends at home really give a shit about Calum from 5SOS. They just like hanging out with Cal, which is nice.” Calum shrugs, clasping his hands together on the table in front of him.

“Just Cal? Not cool guy Cal? C Dizzle Swizzle?” Lizzie bit back a grin, remembering the multitude of nicknames Cal had garnered over the years.

“Look, cool guy Cal is just my constant state of being. C Dizzle might make an appearance if I’ve had one too many, but either way, they’re just happy to see me. Or happy to tell me some home truths that I haven’t heard, or wanted to hear, so that’s important too. You can’t live in LA for as long as we have without having a good support crew to keep us grounded, you know? Even if some of the ones who mean the most to us are on the other side of the planet.” There was something in Calum’s eyes again as Lizzie looked at him, and she could tell it was more than what he was trying to say for the sake of the profile interview. 

She swallowed down one final bite of the heavenly brownie, and turned the page to find her next question. Lizzie couldn’t entertain the idea of asking Calum why Michael was mad at her, because it would break the air of professionalism she was desperate to maintain; also, she wasn’t entirely sure he’d even tell her. Calum and Michael had been inseparable in their school days, and Lizzie knew that their bond and sense of loyalty no doubt ran even deeper now than then, given all of their shared experiences, trials and tribulations to date. But Calum had always been so kind and patient with her, whether she’d accidentally ruined their Year 9 science experiment, or she’d nearly thrown up on his shoes at the Year 11 formal after party, or when Michael had stormed out of the studio a few days ago and he offered her his time for the first solo interview. Lizzie brushed off the train of thought, and continued with her interview questions for Calum.

The conversation flowed easily, and Lizzie could already feel the profile starting to come together in her mind. She jotted down a handful of notes on how to adapt her questions for Luke and Ashton based on Calum’s responses, and before they realised how long they’d been chatting, the waitress returned with Calum’s two takeaway iced coffees. 

Lizzie asked the waitress for the bill, but Calum waved her off. 

“I’ve got it, Lizzie. Don’t stress.” 

“But I can expense it! I have a receipts app, and everything!” Calum laughed at how excited Lizzie seemed at the concept of submitting a work expense claim.

“Okay, fine. You win this round.” 

Lizzie pressed stop on her phone recording, and reached for her bag to slide her notebook in. The waitress returned with the bill, and Lizzie handed her travel bank card over, drumming her hands absentmindedly on the table while she waited for the waitress to come back with her card and the receipt. 

“Lizzie?” Her head snapped up as Calum spoke. 

“He’s not… I know it seems like he’s really mad at you, but he’s not.” It took a moment for Lizzie to register what Calum was saying.

“He’s not mad at me? He refused to speak to me and stormed out of the room the first chance he got, but he’s not mad? Right.” Lizzie couldn’t help but sound bitter as she spoke.

“I can’t speak for him, but I know him. He’s not mad, he’s just hurt about everything.” Lizzie could tell Calum was being very careful with his choice of words, and she eyed him curiously across the table.

“What does he possibly have to be hurt about? He’s the one that -” Lizzie catches herself halfway through her sentence, and squeezes her eyes shut as she inhales deeply.

“Here’s your receipt and your card back, miss. Thanks so much for visiting us today, have a lovely day!” Lizzie blinks and squints up at the waitress, who hands back her card and a paper receipt. Lizzie mumbles her thanks, and goes to stand up and slide out of the booth, and Calum follows her out of the café.

“Lizzie, I didn’t mean to upset you -” Calum’s apologetic tone had Lizzie spinning on her heel to face him once they’re through the doors of the café. 

“You didn’t, Calum. It’s fine. I’m here to do a job, and I appreciate your time today, I really do. Michael and I… I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it, okay? I know it won’t be easy, but for now, I just want to focus on getting the best interview content I can from you all. That’s why I’m here.” Lizzie wrings her hands nervously, and she can feel how sweaty her palms are.

“Is that the only reason you’re here?” Calum’s tone isn’t teasing, or harsh. It’s genuine, curious, soft. He’s not moving as he stands in front of Lizzie and gazes down at her from his full height. 

Before Lizzie can answer, Calum’s phone starts to ring, and he casts her another glance before stepping away to answer it. While he’s chatting to whoever’s on the other end of the line, Lizzie decides to order herself an Uber and make her way back to the hotel so she can make a start on transcribing the interview with Calum. Because that was why she was here, Lizzie told herself in her head, stubbornly. Didn’t matter about the feelings in her stomach, and the tightness of her chest. She was there to write a profile about a band, nothing more, nothing less. 

“I’ve got to go and meet Ash at the studio, are you all good from here?” Calum’s question broke Lizzie out of her internal dialogue. 

“Yep, all good. Thanks again for your time, Cal. I really appreciate it. I think it’s going to be a great piece, and I’m intrigued to see what comes out of the other interviews. All of them.” Lizzie’s pointed tone isn’t lost on Calum, and he grimaces slightly at the fire he seems to have ignited. Ah well. Lizzie and Michael had to sort their shit out sooner or later, right?

Right? 

Calum was trying to convince himself as he strolled down the street towards his car, pondering if he’d made things better or worse between Michael, his best mate through almost his entire life, and Lizzie, the girl that he’d been sure Michael would love forever, but had walked away from in a shadow of hurt, betrayal, and disbelief. The girl that apparently had no idea Michael felt that way, or that if he did, it wasn’t justified. Someone’s side of the story just wasn’t adding up, but Calum wasn’t sure whose it was. Not anymore.

Taglist: If there’s a line through your name, I couldn’t tag you, so please message me to let me know your new URL or what the go is!  @suchalonelysunflower @blackbutterfliescal @redrattlers @loveroflrh @spicycal @notinthesameguey @metalandboybands @cheekysos @ashton-trash  @another-lonely-heart @queenalienscherrypie  @becihadshawn  @allthestarsandthemoon​ @wheniminouterspace​

[rosesmith18]

(PnF) Headcanon #11 Thomarie Nitpicks #2 Pt.1 Clothing

This is sort of a sister post to post #6 & #7, it mentions characters from post #6, and is connected to my current series of post about the problems I have with the MnT(Marie and Thomas) Universe. I want to make it clear that I like these characters...to an extent, but to another extent I don't. I want the best for them as they were a big part of my childhood, and so in this post I want to make some tweaks to their clothing and personalities, as I find them currently sporadic and dated.

*Disclaimer: The MnT Universe is centered around (OC)Maria Flynn & (OC)Thomas Fletcher. Marie belongs to angelus19 & sam-ely-ember deviantart. Thomas Belongs to Melty64.

Maria's Child Clothing: Okay, so a lot of people have made the claim that Maria's design is generic which I will not deny. It's a blatant ripe off of her mothers clothes with a change of color palette, and while I enjoy the idea of Phineas designing her clothes to be that way, it's a waste of potential(as are most things I will mention in this post). Maria canonically adores France, and in my headcanon was born there, so I think some Parisian style could be added to this design. I'd draw instead of writing about this, but I have no artistic talent. For starters, based on my research(as I myself am not French)puffed sleeves are a common occurrence in French clothing culture, so giving Marie puffed sleeves in place of her mothers regular ones would be nice. Instead of basic shoes, ankle boots are also a common item in French clothing followed by white and/or black tights. Now, ironically enough the style of belt Isabella has on her clothes is similar to a French Skinny belt called a Maison Boinet, so just change it from being one color to a light brown with a metal clip, and it can stay-as can the main outfit. Lastly, to quote https://leoncechenal.com/french-girl-style-guide/ 'And I think the ultimate goal of all French girls is to find their own style (what they like and what they don’t) and to stick to it.', so in summary this doesn't need to look perfect or fancy it just needs to look natural.

Maria's Teen Clothing: Okay, this one is even worse in my opinion, but the whole one color thing is killing me! So, for this I did a COMPLETE recall and came up with this; A purple beret, orange bow wrapped around her neck mimicking a Parisian scarf, dressed in an orange & purple horizontal striped sweater dress that hangs off her shoulders, and a pair of black single buckle ballet flats. She would have a gold chain-link belt to replace her Maison Boinet one, a cameo necklace of the Virgin Mary, and a gold choker with small bells. Based on my research actual Beret's aren't that common in French culture anymore, though ironically striped shirts and dresses are, but Marie's is canonically the one her mother wore in the episode 'Summer Belongs to You' and familial connection is super important to Maria-so I decided to keep it. I kept her Garcia-Shapiro bow as I am appalled they tried to get rid of Isabella's in AYA(Act your Age)! Vivian clearly still has her from when she was young, and I believe every Garcia-Shapiro who wants one should keep them to some extent throughout their life! Off shoulder tops and dresses are pretty common in France as are sweaters, so I gave Maria an off shoulder sweater dress. And, ballet flats are some of the most common footwear for woman in  France, they have many styles like the single buckle that don't actually look like ballet flats we American's would usually associate with ballet. The jewelry wore by French woman is wore all the time, and is rarely below the quality of 10-carrot gold. Layering necklaces of different sizes such as a cameo necklaces and a choker is normal, and chain-link belts are considered appropriate for any and every outfit. Chokers are a bit longer than some might expect them to be, and I went with a cameo necklace of the Virgin Mary as I headcanon Maria to be a serious Jew. Lastly, make-up in the French world is some of the most neutral in color and shade, so I gave Maria a soft pink lip and nose bridge blush at best.

Thomas' Child Clothing: I heavily dislike Thomas' child design. It lacks any personality in my opinion when compared to Ferbs or Vanessa's. I appreciate that it isn't a ripe off like Marie's, but that doesn't make it good or interesting. Also, this ties into my biggest problem with Thomas, but he's too...boyish. There is nothing wrong with having a practically boyish character, but that kind of personality and style is better used on a character intended to be boyish, and not characters who happen to be boys. I mean Thomas is the son of one of the most headcanon'd nonbinary characters in the whole show, and one of the most headcanon'd bisexual's in the whole show. This is why I mentioned these characters being a bit dated. They definitely came out before LGBTQ+ representation became popular in the fandom-at least compared to the extent of today. So, for Thomas I want to propose a few heavy changes to his child design, starting with...SKIRTS. I petition Thomas to have an either black & white(or purple and green), plaid skirt that reaches his knees. This style of skirt is popular in both British and German(Drusselstein) clothing culture, and is something his family would so support! I mean the potential Thomas has for normalizing clothing as gender neutral is being completely wasted! A white polo shirt inspired by his fathers and his original design underneath. A tweed blazer-of the same color scheme-which is considered always in style in Britain, and the Haferlschuh which are the most popular type of shoe found in Germany-and suit any outfit. Add some tracht socks in white and you have the perfect style!

Thomas' Teen Clothing: This design wasn't horrible, I actually quite like the overall vibe it was going for, but it's not specific enough. I don't find this design to be more than a vibe; It doesn't go deeper than that when it could. So, I summarized it into this; Ripped up, leather pants, sleeveless, white turtleneck, high-heeled, black boots, and to top it all off a trench coat and leather satchel. Considering Thomas is the lead singer and bass guitarist for a classic/heavy rock band I think some ripped leather pants with a bell bottom are perfect. I kept the sleeveless, white classic turtleneck that came from his original design as I do think it's appropriate. I also wanted to pay homage to his mothers almost iconic heels by giving Thomas a similar pair himself; A pair of black, over the knee boots, with a stiletto heel. The trench coat MADE his original design, and the traditional leather satchel is a perfect accent to it, both are British classics in the world of fashion.

Thomas' Rock Outfit: I'm added a subsection for Thomas' clothes as we NEED to talk about his band outfit. I want to say this first, I don't like the original name for the band. Clair is a generic name that doesn't sound too rock-ish in my opinion. It's supposed to represent Maria as it is a French girls name, but it's too simple for someone like Thomas. So, I changed it to Église des Gémeaux which represents Maria in more ways. The name literally translate to Church of Gemini from French to English. It represents Maria's French heritage, her connection to her Jewish Religious roots, and contains a reference to her birth month of June-her birth sign Gemini. The band in itself is canonically represented by The Spill Canvas which is an American Alternative rock band which I also changed. I gave the band a more Eisbrecher/Queen style as Thomas is German(Drusselstein)/British. Eisbrecher is a German Neue Deutsche Härte rock band(translating to New German Hardness aka Industrial Rock), and most of us know Queen the British rock band known for helping to start the rock genre making them a Classic rock band. Major headcanon to this band I want to add, Thomas primarily sings in German(Drusselstein) as he himself has a heavy German(Drusselstein)/British accent. His canonical outfit is a leather top similar to his mothers teenage attire, some basic jeans, and some black boots. I have rewritten this design as such; Ripped up, bell bottom, leather pants, long-sleeve, purple, deep V-neck top, covered by a studded, leather jacket, and keeping his pair of black, over the knee boots, with a stiletto heel. Accent this outfit with some studded, leather cuff bracelets, silver chain choker, and industrial piercing as well as some crescent moon 2nd/Upper lobe piercings. Now, the style of rock/punk is highly personal and changes heavily from generation to generation, but as someone whose family is highly involved in the antique business; It can be expected that Thomas would have a classic rock style inspired by the band he loves such as Eisbrecher, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Mozart L'Opéra rock, Amon Düül II, etc. Some of the elements of his outfit repeat such as his pants and heels, though his deep V-neck is inspired by a picture of Queen. His studded jacket is inspired by MANY rockers of the past. And, his jewelry has a very punk aesthetic. His make-up can be expected to be heavy with intense eyeliner, mascaras, and aided with a plum lip to match his V-neck. While I do enjoy the Grunge style take for Fred & Xavier; I personally find it underwhelming for someone such as Thomas.

I'll end the post here for now as it's getting pretty long. I'll make a post about personality changes at a later point(likely my next post). If you have any questions, comments, etc about what changes I've made feel free to share them! If you have any expertise with French, German, British, or Rock attire and believe I've been misinformed than please tell me! I remind you I am not an expert on fashion, character design, and am only aware of American trends. These changes are entire based on what knowledge is available to me, and my own personal feelings about clothes and characters, but I'm open to learning! I apologize if my opinions come off as harsh, I am merely opinionated about things I enjoy, but I hold no ill-will towards anyone who thinks differently. At the end of the day, I don't own Marie or Thomas or Phineas and Ferb, and am merely expressing my freedom to make or suggest changes. I encourage anyone reading this post to do the same, and be has intense as you feel, of course WITHOUT being insulting of the people you disagree with. Thank you!

[miyomiikonran]

OCtober 6 & 7: Mask + Power

For next two posts I decided to combine two prompts for each, one reason being the fact I'm late and want to finally catch up, other being the fact these two prompts just go together too well with the character I have in mind, and next two for me seem to just ask to be combined as the opposites .u. Spoiler, I will talk about OC couples in both, so feel free to skip if that's not your jam. We respect fellow aces here.

___________________________________________

So, once again I'm happy to talk about one of the newer OCs of mine, created this year somewhere around May I think, for universe that we call "imigrant au" for now with @ironic-artist since it's the simplest and best description possible. It's the most modern as we said it would take place strictly somewhere in between 2010-2020, in US since it's the biggest multicultural country we could think of and we just like to shit on capitalism in our free time (and we didn't take China or Russia into account for obvious reasons if it needs to be stated). Then we started placing in there as many characters of different cultural roots and background, who ended up living in US for their own reasons, are minority in one way or another but all share similar social and political views, together creating anarchist collective who supports it's local community for example with providing meals for children from low income families at nearby school.

Of course biggest challenge for us was to research place we don't know from experience, while creating characters possibly free of stereotypes and most accurately to the culture they come from. It was slightly easier in some examples (like creating some eastern European folks) and harder in other cases (as we also did people from Turkey, India or Georgia), but was mostly just fun cus we both are like big sponges who like to go and read stuff for our OC creation .u.

However, back to the point, I wrote that explanation mostly so you could all spot the kind of divide between most of the characters from that au and one I'm about to talk today, since it was my point for him to give this kind of first impression that will actually make most of "the gang" dislike him. See, my OC- James, didn't get born or even raised outside of US, or in any kind of financially difficult conditions, quite the opposite. His parents raised him in luxury, with all of his wishes fulfilled, provided best education possible and made sure he would grow up to be successful businessesman in his adult years. The only connection he seemingly had to the rest of characters here was through his date, Casey, who he met by accident one night when looking for excuse to leave some office party he found way to boring to deal with at this kind of hour.

Casey belongs to @ironic-artist and with James they play as direct opposites in my opinion. James was raised in actually toxic environment (even if for along time he didn't realize that, being stuck in rich golden "bubble"), where his parents in seemingly "simple rules" conditioned him to do what they wanted him to do, granting him everything he could ever want if he checked out all of their expectations, or punishing him through repeative silent treatments that they often took to the extreme. In the end James chose to adjust for his own good, creating a perfect mask as adult, one of perfect son and the man of success, while his own feelings, plans and aspirations were always pushed to somewhat unsaid future, once he will be independent enough to push through his parents' disapproval and possible cut of contact, which he hesitated to do because of unhealthy attachment.

Casey on the other hand, was the kind of rebel in his parents eyes, one who never complied to expectations, but doing his best to be person he wanted to be, to the point when he chose to leave his family and go low contact with them as soon as he could. Most of his conflict with parents went on the line between them being conservative family who wanted their child to be strong man, while Casey as non-binary person didn't want to be pushed in this kind of role, not agreeing with most of his parents views, as well as he didn't want to pretend he likes just women while he's pan. He didn't agree with harsh social expectations as well, which drove him to finally breaking out for sake of his mental health and leave his country for good.

As you can guess, the moment these two collided, it ended up as dynamic that crooked every type of expectation anyone would have. James seemingly being the confident CEO in elegant business suit, pretending to be straight and being known as part of conservative, anti-LGBT circles, while secretly being gay and wishing for different future for himself. Casey with his mixed, nonconforming presentation, being immigrant working low-income job, but in fact being the real confident person here, comfortable with himself, unapologetic and not afraid to state his mind, whatever it topic it would be, part of anarchist collective, while at the same time additionally supporting himself through Onlyfans account.

What kind of outcome there could be then? James first spotted Casey recognizing his tattoo, which he saw on one of the pics he shared on Onlyfans, which lead to Casey slowly realising man in front of him is one big play of pretend, which gave him kind of satisfaction to be the one who knows his real self, which isn't all perfect like James pretends, while James was honestly longing for relationship where he could just let go, even if it would be relationship he would be forced to keep in secret. They agree to keep that play for some time, but don't worry it all falls apart eventually, and with a bang in fact~

I will be sure to come back to these two later. In meantime, I summon @ironic-artist to share Casey since he's too gorgeous to not show him off ✨