#dysfunctional friends

[thegoldenappleofdiscord]

"you're ethan nakamura's mother" him addressing nemesis as ethan's mother first makes me think that he was a lot more familiar with ethan than the books implied. you have ten/eleven year old nico trying to repress all signs of silliness and then he sees this kid who has an eyepatch and the pirate obsession kicks in and he just has to ask.

[theitcharchives]

(Ao3 heads-up: all my works are only shown to registered users)

Once upon a time, I wrote a really short story about pitfalls and downfalls of the one and the collective. In truth I'd had a brief spark of inspiration about a time-travelling plot twist.

Teenager me was very proud of this short piece of very amateur literature, because I thought being extremely vague about the gender of the space tyrant was incredibly progressive and not at all a manifestation of my own oblivious and not unique agender ass.

My go-to idea for publication was self-publishing, so a few months ago I had decided to test it out with a novelette titled Inferno. Well, self-publishing is darn hard, and I've had enough of testing, so Inferno has been retired and is not only free in full on Ao3 and Wattpad, but I've changed its title into Legacy of Mayhem and several paragraphs while I was at it.

---

~15k words

[Interesting tags: Science Fiction & Magic, Self Fulfilling Prophecy, Time Travel, Fall From Grace, Reluctant Allies To Dysfunctional Friends, Angst, Gen, First Person POV]

Star-children aren’t an oddity, but Ember, volatile like fire, born of death and new light, sure is–a very troublesome, talkative one, who has been kidnapped (twice) by a very miffed warrior, survivor of an apocalypse yet to come.

Duly named Miff, said warrior has the mission of challenging Time itself and its rule over History. After a first merciful, failed attempt he must find another way to avoid the rise of a tyrant to lunacy.

To avoid Mayhem.

Two stubborn people on the run from governments and monsters, from the past that becomes the future, with the task of saving the universe twice–once each. If they don’t drive each other crazy first.

Focusing on the interactions between Ember and Miff and their conversations, this work's purpose is to explore how the burden of society’s greed and expectations brings about the downfall of the individual and of itself.

[bloominglegumes]

i love normal guys doomed by the narrative

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Just your average male living space.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[wat-zu]

Dysfunctional family au— showdown aftermath, one week later

[hood-ex]

"Love" and "proud" and "family" come up so frequently in bat comics now. Bleh. Bring back something I can relate to like emotional constipation and repression.

[notbecauseofvictories]

ooh, could you tell us more about your au where the whole silt gang ends up at the grace?

It's less "an AU" and more "excitable blathering in @nana-glass-chillhop-radio-hour's direction" but sure!

The inciting incident is fairly straightforward: Faulkner runs off to the Grace for plot-related reasons. Maybe the rout from Greve had long-reaching effects; maybe the new temple he sent Rane to build collapses in on itself; maybe he's just out of options, out of friends, and he can't go home to that empty place in the wastes. He has no one to protect him but the maybe-sort-of sister he very definitely turned his back on, who will let him in only with a small encyclopedia of caveats and a promise not to hurt her non-negotiable business associates.

The non-negotiable business associates in question (Paige, still mostly drunk; Hayward, running from his past fast enough to set records) are a little wary, but. Carpenter asked. There's not much they won't do if she asks.

And hey, maybe Rane sidles in along with him. The only one who calls him "Katabasian Faulkner"---at least, until Carpenter shuts that one down, hard. He's at the Grace on her sufferance, so he's assigned to something that will bring him into contact with the fewest people. Maybe chicken duty? It gives him lots of time for sulking.

This would be an incredibly fun setting for multiple reasons:

First, I wish we'd gotten more time at the Grace. I personally love intracommunity squabbling, especially when backed by theological/philosophical differences, and I wanted so, so much more time with "The Rootkeeper" and "The Widow" and also everybody's arguing about inerrancy and also somehow Carpenter is there.

I mean, really, it was fascinating the way that Hayward and Carpenter seemed to bloom---he had opinions on theological whitepapers, she grabbed terrible beers with Elgin, they both were chairing meetings and coming up with chore rotas...

Not to mention, more time at the Grace would mean that Paige didn't have to recover---she could have been struggling with alcoholism and the god inside her, even as she tried very hard to do what she could for the community she was building. We could have had scenes where Elgin is very pointedly not mentioning the bottle on the table; or where Paige is still tipsy but clearly trying to focus, etc.

Similarly, we could have had cheerful, slightly in denial Hayward, who just…spends too long in the restroom sometimes, emerges with scrubbed-red hands; conversations where he says, "On the force---" before going pale, stopping and abruptly changing the subject.

And Faulkner could have sulked. He could have sulked so much. He could have tried to talk to Dan, and found him unbearable in a direction that does not jive with Faulkner's at all; he could have tried to talk to Carpenter about "our river" only to get mercilessly told to shut up, he doesn't even know what he's talking about. He could have tried to talk to Paige, and found her a good listener until a couple swigs of home-brewed vodka in, at which point she starts composing lengthy, lovely speeches that make Faulkner uneasy and more than a little self-conscious, jealous.

Hayward has taken an earnest interest, like an uncle! (this is exactly how Hayward puts it.) Nothing makes Faulkner more uncomfortable.

(I do get a kick out of imagining Hayward being earnest in Faulkner's direction, and Faulkner being the only one not won over by Hayward; when Faulkner asks, even Carpenter will just say something like "Oh, that bastard? He's all right," and shrug a little, embarrassed by all the emotion. It drives Faulkner crazy.)

I also really love the idea that Hayward is the one to point out that Rane is absolutely dtf for Faulkner. He makes an offhanded comment with just enough of a wink and a nudge to make his meaning plain (he's not trying to be embarrassing, he's just trying to take an interest!) And then the weight of all of Rane's little gestures hit Faulkner like a ton of bricks.

I like to imagine that Faulkner tries to punch Hayward. Mostly because I love the image of Hayward holding an ice-pack to his nose and muttering, "What's his problem anyway?" while Carpenter and Paige lock eyes over his head and wordlessly agree to never, ever answer that question.

Anyway, I have lost the point.

Shrue and Val are a bit harder to arrange, but I think you could still send Hayward and Carpenter on their roadtrip to recruit Shrue---just have Faulkner stay behind with Paige, and have him be the way to keep the Grace more present in the story; to work with not just Paige's drunkenness but also the Woundtree, which grows stronger every day, and remains stubbornly something Faulkner cannot fix, write off, or control.

(That was always Faulkner's downfall, I think; he didn't understand that he was sticking his fingers in the tiger's cage until it swallowed him.)

(Also, it lets us focus more on Paige and her devolution, or rocky path forward, rather than "solving" her crises off-screen.)

This means that, after their radio broadcast about "Kill your gods!" Shrue---who was, up until just then, a besuited politician in the capitol---finds themselves taking Carpenter and Hayward's hands and fleeing to a dusty, dirty patch of land that might graciously be called a farm. Shrue is not especially happy about this, but hey, they get a little square of dirt and when they talk about rhetoric, the young people listen.

.......then one day, a bleeding, bruised and almost dead "god" shows up. Literally no one is happy to see her. She decides to stay.

[wangxianficrecs]

Just go forward like you mean it by tawaen

Just go forward like you mean it

by tawaen

M, WIP, 67k, Wangxian

Summary: Before Wei Wuxian can say he will join Jiang Cheng and attend the Wen indoctrination, a letter describing the burning of the Cloud Recesses reaches Lotus Pier. Realizing the danger to the Jiang sect, he decides to stay behind to help with the defenses and keep his sect safe. While he agonizes over the fate of the disciples sent as little more than hostages, he upgrades the wards of the Jiang sect to stand against the inevitable Wen army. Lotus Pier will survive, and Wei Wuxian changes his own fate and the fate of the Sunshot Campaign. Kay's comments: A WIP, but only barely! I hope I manage to post this in time for WIP Rec Week, because tawaen updates quickly and there's only one chapter missing! I really, really enjoyed the direction this canon divergence took with Wei Wuxian staying behind in Lotus Pier during the indoctrination and making sure there's at least one person who prepares for the inevitable Wen invasion. I won't spoil much, but he's also becoming a rogue cultivator and finds his way to Lan Wangji sooner and you know, I'm so weak for that. Can't wait for the last chapter! Excerpt: “A decision on aiding the Lan need not be made now. However, our disciples will need to leave early tomorrow. A-Xian, I assume you will go with A-Cheng?” Jiang Fengmian looks over with an indulgent smile, but it is strained at the edges. Jiang Yanli turns in her seat to face him with open concern. She would send no one if that were possible. At some point during the argument she stopped peeling lotus seeds, remaining still and impassive to avoid drawing attention to herself. Her hands clench with her nails digging into her palms. Wei Wuxian didn't even notice. He gives her a reassuring smile. Wei Wuxian salutes, “Uncle Jiang, at this time, I would like to stay in Lotus Pier. We should not send our two best fighters to Qishan. One of us should remain behind in case of further Wen demands.” While Jiang Yanli relaxes slightly, Jiang Cheng turns sharply to look at him with betrayal in his eyes. This would normally make Wei Wuxian change course – but the Lan wards failed. Who is to say the Jiang wards would prevail?

pov wei wuxian, canon divergence, fall of lotus pier, inventor wei wuxian, genius wei wuxian, no golden core transfer, sect leader jiang yanli, jiang cheng has no golden core, dysfunctional jiang family, jiang family dynamics, bad parents jiang fengmian and yu ziyuan, developing relationship, friends to lovers, angst with a happy ending

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

[stormisblooming]

🎨 at last… my final riddle..

Can I request a muichiro x father figure! reader where the father is washing his hair for the first time… scrub scrub scrub

WAAAAAAAAAAAAA WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Hey Dolly! I am going To kill you with a Bat! /a

Muichiro and a father figure; washing his hair for the first time!

contains; brief implications of Mui dissociating (it's one line), reader has a good knowledge of hair care, your honour they are found family

word count; 514

Mui… oh my baby boy Mui… My son whom I adore so

as a Hashira, Muichiro’s mind is often far too preoccupied to think too hard about self care, when he’s not spaced out of course.

however, no one grows their hair out that long without learning to take care of it at some point! Giyuu and Mitsuru have given him the hair care shakedown in the past and as a result his hair is for the post part fine — clean, but not particularly shiny or silky.

I think he has pretty thick hair too, so oftentimes washing it can feel like a bit of a chore…

is he going to cut it though? no, he actually quite likes his hair. it helps to have something to fiddle with when he’s looking in the mirror to remind him that the boy looking back at him is himself.

so when you, a fellow Hashira he’s found himself in a strange familial situation with, offer to wash his hair? he stares for a second in shock, then quite readily agrees.

(he gets excited to spend time together like he does with Tanjiro 🥺)

since joining the corps, he’s been the only one washing his hair — his mother always seemed to know what to do and she enjoyed doing it, so he would always just sit back and relax while she washed his hair… and he can’t help but think back to that time when the memories come back to him in a wave.

he sits in the bath almost limp as you gently rub his scalp and run the shampoo through his long hair, sat on a stool behind him with everything you need on the floor by your feet. it feels more like you’re talking at him than to him, but that’s only because he’s just so relaxed that he can’t think of much in the way of a response other than an occasional “mm…”

if his skull wasn’t in the way, he’d think you and your magic hands had turned his brain to mush.

once he’s out of the bath, you help him dry his hair and joke that you could use him as a mop with how long it was. he doesn’t say anything, but you do see a tiny smile in the mirror.

then, just before bed, you braid his hair to keep it safe while he sleeps and give him a cuddle before you leave to get ready for bed yourself. he hasn’t said much all evening, but you have a feeling he wouldn’t complain about doing this again.

Muichiro basically passes out as soon as his head hits the pillow. the second you’re out the door, bang.

the next day, he notices just how many people compliment his hair and how nice it looks, how shiny it is. when he sees you again, he doesn’t mention it, but he does go to you for hair care advice from then on out — if you offer to wash his hair for him again when he does, he counts that as an absolute win!

please do not repost

[3liza]

god this website is incredible. every single other post was just a giant photo of someone's dick btw . kinda feel bad for amped up addy it seems like a difficult scene if you're not into pnp. like "I just want to do drugs in peace man can you put your dick away" just they're just in it for the love of the game. focused. very admirable

[fear-no-mort]

can we talk about how we’ve gone full circle with these two pulling eachother literally kicking and screaming to spend time together

[theresoneicouldcallking]

ONLY FRIENDS SEASON 2 (2025)

[hanzajesthanza]

dandelion’s incredible reluctance, and near-fright, to mention kaer morhen by name is somewhat endearing to me. we as the fandom throw around the name so easily, and it’s also home for geralt and ciri, so its name doesn’t carry so much weight.

but in dandelion’s case, it makes sense to fear mentioning it, for it was the site of the massacre… best to not let anyone hear its name… it’s kind of nice to think that dandelion has a degree of self-awareness, when something is as important as this

and also, some part of me just thinks that dandelion with his vivid imagination listened to geralt offhandedly talk about his childhood here or there, and… whatever were mundane facts or sepia-tinted friendly memories for geralt, made dandelion’s expression drop and his innards twist. so he conceives of kaer morhen not just as “the witcher’s keep in the mountains of kaedwen” but “that place where my best friend endured child abuse for eighteen years”

[owcaunion]

Agent P, Agent P, and Agent P

[puppppppppy]

its so hard to watch time pass when things like careers and assignments exist. what do you mean im supposed to take that seriously