#i need some sort of ship name tag for them so people can ignore my ramblings about it XD

[blackjackkent]

Me> [struggling to unravel a very annoying UI bug]

My brain, entirely unprompted> H E Y. IF JAHEIRA HAD USED SOME MORE MINOR VERSION OF THAT RITE OF THE TIMELESS BODY ON RASAAD TO EXTEND HIS LIFESPAN, IT WOULD RESOLVE THE MORE FINICKY TIMELINE ISSUES ABOUT RION BEING THEIR KID.

Me> ...ok? I didn't ask right now but thank you for working that out I guess.

[kynimdraws]

INFO POST

Name: Kylee (they/them). 30+

A totally normal Korean American mostly known for my drawings, specifically my Pokemon nuzlocke comics. But I will talk about other things on occasion because I do have periods of being fixated on certain topics. I also am a doctor!

Interests: Pokemon, League of Legends (everything except the game lmao), Fire Emblem, Advance Wars, Animal Crossing, Mother series, Korean history/culture, character design

General FYIs: 

General inquiries/commission work/etc should be sent thru kynimdraws [at] gmail [dot] com! Tumblr messaging/asks/etc is not 100% reliable

I will not follow NSFW accounts but I am fine talking/interacting with them. There may be suggestive shitposting but I like keeping my content on the SFW side

I am VERY picky about who I follow/interact with online. Fandom content in particular is a minefield for me aka I have many things I dislike and don’t want to see, even if it might be a popular thing in media that I otherwise enjoy. Therefore, I will unfollow/block/mute liberally. There are times I accidentally block a blog bc I mistake them for bots. So if you got hit with that, just send me an ask or email me

I am very open about what I like and dislike, and none of those things are a direct attack on your sensibilities. I have never gone out of my way to directly send hate or whatever have you if I end up seeing shit I don’t like. My complaints in my little online space ain't a personal attack on you.

My ask/submission box/DMs  are open for criticisms if you have any issues you want to resolve in private. No one is perfect and I may have done ignorant shit that needs to be pointed out. I have deleted or edited posts in the past if people tell me what I did wrong. PS I get that some of my stuff may upset you, but try to act civil when pointing shit out please.

I try to tag all my things whenever I can. Again, send me a message if anything bothers you. I am all for good debate but if you send me excessive hate or threats bc I have different opinions about matters that are trivial, I will block/delete them.

If you wish to use any of my hcs, please credit me. And if you are comfortable with it, send me the works so I can check them out! Or @ me if that is easier.

---

FIRE EMBLEM FYI: Specifically for 3Houses/3Hopes because I need a separate one for this franchise specificially given how many crazy things I got due to being involved in this fanbase via my fanworks:

DO NOT try to convince me to like or tolerate Byleth/student ships, ESPECIALLY the ones with the lords (aka CIaude, Dimitri, EdeIgard). I already summarized why I don’t like FE3H Byleth ships with student chars here. While the spinoff game FEW3H has now removed that teacher/student problematic situation, the fandom keeps putting the FE3H elements into the FEW3H fanworks (i.e. remembering Byleth from “another life” trope)...so no thanks!! DO NOT SHOW ME IT!!!

As for the Byleth ships with faculty members, my response is here so don’t try to bait me about that topic either thanks.

I do not care whom you ingame S-support. 3Houses limits the dating-sim part of the game to that character, so I cannot care less about how you play the game. The main issue I have is when people treat Byleth the “character” as a legit ship material when I personally think they are a cool character ruined by fans who are too obsessed with badly executed self insert otome tropes bc they self-project super hard onto them. Just to be clear, any FE3H or FEW3H OC/Canon >>>>>>Byleth ships personally. Even Byleth-sonas that remove the teacher/student aspects are better than canon FE3H!Byleth

Please don't drag FE VA statements as some sort of “gotcha” on my opinions like this post here. IDC what other people prefer with ship shit, that’s their problem and not mine. I am not gonna bother them about it. So don’t bother ME about it.

---

Links to check out:

Myths of Unova + Episode Grey (Pkmn White/White2 Comic)

Tales of Sinnoh (Pkmn Diamond Comic)

Art Site (Portfolio)

Twitter 

Instagram 

[siblingskissing]

No shade but genuinely what leads a person to do the things you do how do you justify it in your mind

Okay so I think I'm gonna make an FAQ page on here so that people who are curious can find answers to these questions. I have answered this before but I wanna update that response a bit. Now this explanation will have some mentions of my own personal real life trauma so if you can not stomach that please don't harm your own mentality by reading it. I will put a short expo in the replies.

Trigger Warnings for: real life trauma/abuse of a minor

Okay, so first off I wanna address the "what leads a person to do what you do" part. Namely, the "do what you do".

Now, I write fictional content about fictional characters. Yes that content revolves mostly around taboo subjects such as extreme age gaps, incest, and other such topics, and yes, it typically is for my own entertainment. However, I think we need to address exactly what I'm doing.

I'm playing pretend.

As every proshippers has said in response to these questions: I'm simply playing make believe in my head about fake people. That's all characters, books, movie and any and all fictional stories are. Pretend. Luke Skywalker is not real, Bluey is not real, not even the kids on Stranger Things are real. It's all pretend.

My pretend just happens to be different

Now, the why

My reason is not much different from other people's reasonings- a lot of my interest comes from trauma I experienced growing up. I'm not gonna go into full detail- I don't care to share but really unless asked I'm not gonna devulge all my woes to strangers online.

Due to my trauma I've always had a hard time accepting it- I was young when it was occuring and because of this I struggled with accepting it. I put myself into a pit of a lot of bad emotions and became a very upsetting individual.

I threw myself into reading and writing and when I discovered fandoms I read there too, and when I discovered Dead Dove? I was shocked.

I was an anti for so long, I hated that people were using something I went through to tell a story and for so long I was actively against those types of stories.

Then, I talked to a therapist.

When I described that feeling, she asked why I was offended, and when I told her, she asked why I assumed these people were writing about my trauma.

"Well, I went through that, and they're just using it for their own entertainment!"

"Okay, but you're not the only person who has ever experienced this event. It's not about you, it's about them"

And suddenly that was the day I realized that- just because I went though something bad, didn't mean I was the only person who ever had. I can't judge those who use their own coping techniques that- let's be honest, don't hurt anybody. Sure, I may not like certain content, but that's my responsibility to ignore, not someone else's responsibility to cater.

I always try to put tags so people can avoid my content if they don't like it. I use ship tags, I put on every post that I'm a proshippers and I try to make it so that Antis and people who don't like my content never have to interact with it. That doesn't prevent people from searching for it and coming after me, which you know, actually does harm people.

But I'd like to add- just because my content began with trauma, doesn't mean you need trauma to enjoy this sort of content.

Proshippers have said it a million times: "Lots of shippers have trauma and use dark content to cope!" But we ignore that, just because you enjoy dark content doesn't mean you're morally aligned with it. I love horror films, love slasher movies and revenge tales. You don't see me killing people, and you don't see me performing these acts irl. Why? Because it's all a fantasy game

I write about topics that I've both lived through and only ever thought about without experience. And despite what people think- I don't get off to it. The incest and noncon aspects to content are not what intrigue me, it's the emotional pulls. The angst, the heartbreak and dynamic plays.

Sorry if this is rambly- I hope that answers your question of why I believe my content is alright. If you have any further questions please ask!

[zmediaoutlet]

twenty questions for fic writers

tagged to do the do by @prince-of-elsinore, ty ty for thinking of me

How many works do you have on ao3?

211 (and elsewhere, maybe a dozen we don't talk about, bc they suck, on livejournal; maybe a couple dozen short pieces here on tumblr that have never migrated to ao3)

What's your total ao3 word count?

1,515,103

What fandoms do you write for?

Almost all Supernatural, but also some video game fandoms (FF, DA, maybe BG3 soon), MCU, etc. usual suspects.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. oh so good, oh so fine -- 993 kudos 2. there will be better days -- 846 kudos 3. see things so much clearer -- 621 kudos 4. into the flood again -- 602 kudos 5. side two, track one -- 558 kudos maybe someday we'll break 1000, lol

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Absolutely I do, and would find it rude not to. I know other people have all kinds of reasons they don't respond but I don't have any of those reasons, especially since I'm pathetically grateful every time someone bothers to say they liked something, lol. If anyone's even a tiny bit encouraged to become a repeat reader by the writer responding, I want to encourage that as much as possible. Plus, every once in a while, you can get a dece conversation going in the comments! Find a like-minded fan! That's worth any effort to compose a few sentences of thanks. The only comments I don't respond to are emoji strings or cut-and-paste 'another kudos here' comments, because they're not actually comments. (I appreciate the thought, but... I don't want them.)

What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I have had some beta friends who would argue about this one, lol. I guess the saddest is probably the hollow summer, since the whole plot is kind of hurt/no comfort. I don't believe in a successful boy king, let's say that.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

again, probably depends on how you define 'happy'. glory days is probably the most cheerful; for me, the happy comes better with more experience behind it, so the thirty-third yard would maybe be my personal choice.

Do you get hate on fics?

nope; worst I ever got was some twerp who actually responded to someone else's comment, bitching that I didn't put the right peepee in the right poopyhole. But only one of those, ever, and safely ignored. idk, I don't attract that much.

Do you write smut?

...yes.

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

only one, and it only sort of counts -- i heard love was blind, which is Cordell Walker/Dean Winchester, but of course the point is that Dean's getting the body of his brother by other means. I like crossovers but I usually want there to be a point beyond 'let's mash these two faves together and see what happens'; I'm more inclined toward doing a whole-universe fusion, e.g. fully placing characters with what you can salvage of their key backstory elements into a universe not their own... which I guess would also count as a crossover, wouldn't it. so I also did that with putting the Winchesters into the Dragon Age 2 plot, in whatever we were before. definitely 'crazier' than the first one here, lol.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I think that's the kind of thing that happens on WattPad. Who cares.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes, a few.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I tried; it didn't work. Both people need to be contributing to the writing for it to really count as 'co-written'; nevertheless it's stuck with both author names on ao3 because I don't think there's a way to change that.

What's your all-time favorite ship?

I think from context this should be clear. Although will also forever hold many small candles for the little guys.

What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

the aforementioned "co-written" fic, which was meant to be a huge series. The first fic is finished because I brute-forced my way through it, but there was a full five-season arc we were going to try to get through. Alas. The first one is decent, though, and works as a complete fic on its own: In a Cursed Hour.

What are your writing strengths?

voice, pacing, naturalism; characterization, though that can be argued in a fan-space

What are your writing weaknesses?

plot -- I find it intensely boring. Avoidance of plot then tends to flatten stories into similar non-arcs; I don't mind that, but it's a skill to exercise.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I'll only do Spanish, and that's only because I studied it for eight years. Even then it's usually the wrong choice, unless it's a fully blended multilingual story (which most are not, and in the wrong hands it comes off as absurd); better to convey through the POV character either understanding it or not, and dealing with it in narrative instead of straight dialogue. Although a word or two here or there is nbd, clearly.

First fandom you wrote for?

Final Fantasy VIII

Favorite fic you've written?

well, questions, you got me, because I don't believe in favorites. at this moment in terms of writing skill I think the best might be asceticism, but in terms of one that sits in my head and fully just is canon, lol, it might be there will be better days, mentioned above. the only heaven fic I need. I guess that says something.

kind of interesting to look at the stats, if also stressful. let's get some other writers to be interested/stressed -- uhh @redmyeyes, @phynali, @hellhoundsprey, @stillwaterseas, @whiskeycherrypie

some shots in the dark :)

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Once upon a time, when Tumblr was more popular among fandom spaces, fandoms would usually work out their own tagging systems. Like ship name for positive posts about a ship and anti + ship or some mocking version of the ship name as the tag name for negative posts about the ship. It was mostly etiquette driven. You stay in your lane and I'll stay in mine and if you don't, then don't complain when you get a barrage of messages and dm's of people critiquing you. In a similar way as long as you'd properly tagged it, your negative post was less likely to get someone starting shit under it. Of course loads of people would still go into tags they didn't like and rile themselves up, but overall I think this was a good system.

This system sort of got lost esp for newer fandoms once Tumblr got more dead and people went to twitter. Also tumblr reworked their search system so you could tag something properly but it would end up in the search because you used the ship name so the whole thing became useless for the most part. Part 6367 of Tumblr making itself obsolete.

To be completely honest, we still ended up with a fair bit of shipwars even with this system but at least things were more deliberate. You don't go into your ship tag and see a bunch of things you don't want to or get posts you don't like recommended by the algorithm. You had to consciously make the decision that you wanted to go fight with some randos over ships!

Considering that "normal" folks wouldn't log into this platform daily just to be miserable, staying in our own lane is indeed the sensible thing to do and not at all difficult. And for those of us who have been here for many years, we can understand the need for some basic etiquette, something that doesn't really apply to twitter and that behavior becomes very obvious here and fast. And I don't want to pressume this about everyone, but I know with what posts of mine I would be looking for trouble or not. There's nothing innocent/ignorant about it. But with the lack of labels for opposite stances or criticism or whatever, not tagging those posts and at least keeping them strictly on my blog seems like a good temporary solution. Regardless of number of followers, at least I didn't blast it in the tags for engagement and to create discord, yk?

Maybe it's my bad memory and it's indeed all a bit of a blur, but when I think of the jikook tag back in 2020 when I started reading the posts there, I don't remember being anything like it is today. It was fun and interesting to read theories or people posting about something new that took place, instead of talking trash or tagging each anon ask that was either from a taekooker or anti-shipper (basically spam).

[orangepanic]

Hope you’re having a great Saturday 💖

For the fanfic writer ask : 🍭 💋 🕯️ 🍉 🦋💫

🍭 and 💋 I already answered here and here.

🕯️how do you think engaging with each other through tumblr, twitter, comments, kudos, creates healthy fandom experiences? How do you deal with that if you're not a social person/experience social anxiety?

First of all, it doesn't always or even mostly create healthy experiences. I've seen a lot of good people pushed out of the Avatar fandom by the way others chose to engage with them, and sometimes this is even done in the name of a "healthy" fandom experience by which they mean gatekeeping and deciding which ships, tropes, interpretations, and individuals are "good" and "allowed" and what's "problematic" or "toxic." I have zero patience for this version of a sanitized fandom experience. All ships are good ships, all headcanons are good headcanons, and beyond accurate tagging it's not ever a creator's responsibility to make your fandom experience comfortable and harm-free for you or cater to your or anyone else's tastes and preferences.

Fandom at its best, however, is just the opposite of this. Finding a collection, no matter how small, of people who are open and accepting and enthusiastic, has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Ultimately, fandom at its best is really about love. Love of content, of characters, of creations, and of the people you can talk to about it. The sharing to me is enriching. I've borrowed so many headcanons from others that make my own work better. I think it's fantastic that I can give a work kudos just because I'm glad it exists. I don't even have to like it. I'm just happy someone took the time to write it and share and I wanna say "Good job!" I think it's amazing that people who don't even like the ships I write will still be friends with me because we both appreciate non-canon pairings, or like the same single character, or just appreciate that we're putting weird stuff out there in the world. I think this is especially important in the rare pair community, where it's easy to feel isolated and also easy to feel like you're "wrong" for seeing the potential in a ship most of the fandom ignores or actively hates. I can almost guarantee I wouldn't still be writing fanfic if I hadn't found a bunch of weird little friends to play with through AO3, tumblr, and various events. And I think the anonymity of the online experience is helpful to people who maybe aren't as social in real life because it's easy to turn off and on.

🍉in what ways has writing helped you process trauma and/or navigate through your own life?

I'm not really someone with trauma so I can't answer that, but I have a few fics that are absolutely about me processing other things going on in my life. I wrote Team Bosamiroh during the 2020 U.S. elections, The Mango Tree and Endgame when my grandparents died, and Iroh Alone as a way to sort through my own feelings of isolation and loss of purpose during the middle of the pandemic. I'm sure there are more. I try hard not to write self-insert fics, but sometimes it's helpful to see the emotions you feel mirrored in others.

🦋what are you most insecure about when you post a fic?

Primarily if anyone will like it, but I also know I have a tendency to drop words from sentences. I'm always mortified when I go back and find mistakes.

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

Really, any. I adore comments of all kinds. There's always a special place in my heart for very long comments, yet at the same time some of my very favorite are just people screaming at me in all caps "ORANGE YOU NEED THERAPY WHAT ARE YOU DOOOOOOING????" I like to know I've gotten to someone.

Fanfic writer asks

[yooniesim]

(Answered an ask under the cut- tw for grooming mention, child abuse mention, basically the same as previous posts)

Nonny, first of all, that cc preview is not actual csam (real children), it's fictional. I do not "truly believe" that it is real csam, nor have I said that I do; I believe I made the difference clear every single time I mentioned it. It's sexually suggestive in a very sly way but something that could give plausible deniability to the poster if needed, not a depiction of blatant sexual acts, which is why it was done that way. It's gross once you know the full context and sneakiness of it, but it is not illegal to be gross in a fictional sense. If it was real csam, that would be far above tumblr's pay grade and something I would immediately report to the police. I'm not accusing anyone of spreading real csam or of being a predator. People have repeatedly ignored what I said in order to twist it into being that, perhaps because reading comprehension is at an all time low, but no. That was not the point I was trying to get across, and I think you're aware of that and being purposefully obtuse. It's the combined actions of the person in question that are the issue.

The problem I'm outlining is not necessarily the content itself (although it is something many people do not agree with on principle), but more the handling and reaction. Do you notice, although my blog is not 18+ by default, that my post was tagged with content warnings? Along with every other post I make that could contain sensitive content? As well as thoroughly described in text before the screenshots were posted? That is the mature and adult way to handle this issue. As many have said in this conversation already, no, we can't stop minors from being on the internet or viewing certain content; but we can make sure it is tagged appropriately. We can also make sure not to mock or insult those that are hurt by viewing such things without appropriate warning. Whether they are a minor or not.

I want to make it clear that ship discourse is... pretty stupid to me, and this isn't some sort of pr*ship vs anti conversation. Because frankly, this person isn't even following the so-called rules of pr*ship/dead dove content. You are supposed to tag and do your absolute best to make it clear what your posts contain and have solid boundaries to protect yourself and others at the same time. It's not "minors dni... except you want my cc on the same blog where I post untagged adult content, and even the cc previews will occasionally have that too". It's not posting things untagged and then telling others to kill themselves because they pointed it out, as well as name-calling and mocking the fact that they were abused. It certainly isn't harassing multiple people for weeks because they introduced a very simple boundary between them and you by banning/blocking. *That* is concerning behavior, more than the content itself, and what I was bringing awareness to. I have explained this every single time I have brought this up, and I'm not going to repeat myself again after this.

No, nonny, I know exactly what I'm saying with this, and you clearly do not. That or you're speaking totally in bad faith. But no... I'm not accepting your attempt to say "ackshually, you're the bad one for calling it out". Especially not the sly, "you're the ACTUAL groomer" attempt at the end there. I see right through that, sorry. I also never claimed to be "protecting minors" by posting about this, so you pulled that right out of your ass as well. Would I not want my minor family members around them? Definitely. I think they're a creep. But I'm not some savior of kids on the internet, I'm just sharing what I've personally experienced. I've made it very clear that I'm not accusing anyone of spreading real csam, being a predator, or being a groomer. What I'm accusing them of is having questionable boundaries, disgusting behavior towards anyone that points that out or attempts to establish boundaries of their own with them, and honestly just being generally awful. Do I have personal bias? Absolutely. I think anyone would towards someone mocking their abuse, name-calling them, telling them to kill themselves, liking posts calling them slurs, and mocking the passing of their father. Yes, I personally think they're an asshole all around. And it's that lack of empathy and generally hostile behavior, combined with the content, is what sent up red flags for me.

If you're somehow being honest with this ask, I genuinely want you to think about why you sent this and what I said here very carefully. I don't know if you're trying to protect them or empathize with them, but since you mentioned you were also groomed, I want to emphasize that this person clearly wouldn't attempt to protect you or empathize with you in the same way. It's far more likely that in response to this ask, they'd tell you to kill yourself for pointing out the fact that sharing content like this could lead to grooming. Or call you a crybaby, or a puritan, or a dumbass. And that's what I'm pointing out here. The lack of empathy or willingness to adjust their behavior, dismissive & disrespectful behavior towards boundaries, anger, immaturity, and victim blaming is what reminded me of my abusers the most & why I do not trust them. If you are their friend or casual acquaintance, stay safe.

[romaine2424]

HP and That Neg Comment...Why?

First of all, let me say that this is going to be a bit long.

All authors, artists, podcasters get the random negative comment. And the question of why someone would do this arises. I have some ideas and how to respond to them. And feel free to Neg Comment me on this post. I'll state up front, I'm a fan of engagement and passive-aggression.

1. The troll. The one who just comments on every fic that is slash or bdsm or whatever because they want to make you feel icky about yourself. These are kind of funny because it means the person read or looked at the medium with the tags in place to comment. Options are Ignore, Delete, or "Thank you for your comment."

2. The Why did you?: This comes in many flavors but the commenter usually disagrees with your ship, your treatment of a character, a situation they find not in line with their thinking or headcannon. I find these commenters interesting. Many have never read canon and are going by the movies or just having read HP fanfiction. I'll usually engage and mention what my thinking was and why. And mention that it looks like they have a different interpretation so they might want to move on. Disagreements on canon, fanon, whatever are okay. But, yes, it many times comes across as mean and vindictive.

But why are they so mean? Well.... have you looked at Twitter, Reddit, Comments on new articles, even FB? People are used used to arguing and being forthright about their opinions. And suddenly they come to AO3 or Tumblr or wherever and they're supposed to be kind on a subject matter that they are passionate about? They haven't learned the etiquette of interacting with fanfiction writers or artists. I engage.

3. Helpful but not helpful: This is when the commenter points out you might need a beta or that you've diverged from canon. And you roll your eyes because, yes, there are some grammar errors but couldn't they have just sent a message. Fix the errors! and then thank them but also mention that from now on they should message the author so as not to embarrass them publicly. Seriously- thank them. They read your story and obviously liked it enough to point errors out to you to improve your story... My first story back in the day....say 2006, I spelled Ginny's name as Ginerva instead of Ginevra in the first 2 chapters. A commenter mentioned it to me. I thanked them profusely because it saved me some major embarrassment. They replied back that they were shocked I was so kind to them for telling me. Ah, I made a fandom friend.

Now for canon divergence...Sigh... Some of these can be funny. I got a comment on why I had Albus Severus in Gryffindor in one of my stories. Um... well I wrote it before we knew what house he was sorted in... Also, many of us have our own idea of what is canon or not. Is it just the 7 books? Can the movies be canon, too? Cursed Child? JKR interviews? Pottermore? I see Hermione with Mudblood engraved on her arm from Bellatrix in so many stories. That is from the movies. In canon, she just has the scar on her neck. I engage and explain how I came to the decision to write what I wrote. And sometimes that can be saying I tossed canon out the window but tried to keep with core of the character. And that this may not be the story for you.

4. Interaction: I'm a big reader of fanfic and also write. Sometimes, many times, readers just want to engage. They want to participate. Many readers don't have anyone to discuss what they're thinking about when they read your story. They aren't on Discord or Tumblr. So they say something to the effect of Why did you do this? Oh no! I can't believe you had Charlie do that.... I can't see Lucius every behaving that way. I had a comment recently saying that they thought Harry was being a total jerk to Lucius in a scene. I replied that given the story I wrote that Harry was being a bit of a jerk but with cause. However, I also said I didn't agree with their statement that he was a total jerk. It was true. Harry was being a bit of jerk and we know that is something that Harry can be.

5. OMG you have Harry as a bottom! This discussion/argument about top/bottom has been around forever. I was hoping after taking a 10 year hiatus from fandom that it would have been settled that it doesn't matter. However, apparently it does to some folks. One of my best fandom friends from long ago, loved Top Draco. She read all kinds of H/D stories but I knew she had her preference. And when I had to write a story for her in a fest, you bet I wrote Top Draco. It used to be common to put in your tags, which way you were writing the story. Most of mine were switch and I tried to stay away from putting it in the tags. And we can say people that have a preference are misogynistic and some probably are. However, we have no problems saying that your kink may not be my kink but that's okay, however, if you like Top Draco only stories you have psychological problems. I usually respond to these comments with that in my thinking it doesn't matter who tops or not but if it matters to them for whatever reason to please move on from this story. Sometimes they'll try and explain why Harry should only be a top and then you get into the generalizations and crap. Cut them off and say that you won't engage further with them on the subject matter but what they are saying can be perceived as problematic to the LGBTQIA+ community.

6. I want more... or can you write my idea? These to me are not a negative comments. These are Fans!!! For the More: This is someone who loves my story and wants more. I usually don't have more and can feel like Damn I thought i wrapped up the ending pretty well. But OMG they loved my story and are fully engaged in the universe I created... I feel thrilled when I see these comments. Can you write my idea? OMG not only did they love this story, they like me as an author and trust me to write something they want to see. Sadly, I say No because my muse doesn't work that way. And I'm not really into redeeming Voldemort. However, thank you for asking. I'm honored you would do so.

7. The stalker: They comment on all of your stories, sometimes every chapter with neg crap. Delete (block if you can depending on the site).

In summary: Take some deep breaths. It hurts our artistic soul to get a negative comment or sometimes what we perceive as a negative comment. Unless it's a stalker or troll, I will usually engage. If they bite me back, I write them off. But, more often than not, they don't know the etiquette of interacting with an artist or author. They are new or they're used to engagement that is rewarded on other types of Social media. It is always your option to Delete, tell them to fuck off, Ignore, or engage.

My preference is not to let them know they got to me. And certainly not to let them hinder my future writings. Giving the power to one person's negative comment not only hurts you but those other dozen (or even 100s) of readers who loved your story and commented also. Their opinions should be weighed more heavily than the one negative comment.

[countlessrealities]

KNOWING YOUR PARTNER WELL CAN POTENTIALLY MAKE WRITING TOGETHER A LOT EASIER. REPOST.

name. Scotty

pronouns. they / them

preference of communication. Tumblr IMs or Discord (even if I’m selective with whom I hand my Discord to. We need to have talked at least a bit here before).

name of muse. I currently have 12 active muses (both canon and OCs), 3 test muses and 1 request muse on this blog. Mort of them are Rick and Morty muses (all versions of the two titular characters).

rp experience / how  long. I don’t remember for how long exactly I’ve been RPing. It has to be at least 8-10 years. I started on another site and then landed on Tumblr about 5-6 years ago.

best experience. I don’t have a specific episode that I consider the best ever, but in general the best experience for me is connecting with kin minded people and build a world of plots and interactions through of our characters. It’s always a lot of fun and very stimulating. I have a few people I’m especially grateful to in this sense and I hope I’ll have the chance to keep writing with them for as long as possible. And hopefully to meet more like them.

rp pet peeves / deal breakers. This calls for a quite the list xD No rules / muse(s) page. Drama / callout culture. DNI for specific characters. Cyber-bulling of any sort (and yes, this includes harrassing people for liking content that you consider “problematic”. If you do that sort of things, get away from my blog, grow the fuck up and get a life). Untagged posts / untagged NSFW, or too fancy tags that are hard to blacklist. Being a self-absorbed dick in general. People who ignore the starters / replies to ask you wrote for them. People who try to force their personal headcanons / views about my muses on me. People who use the “this is a hobby” excuse to be terrible to their writing partners and to not give back the effort people offer them.

fluff,  angst, or smut. Angst is one of my favourite things to write, so that’s definitely my pick. I still like a happy ending after navigating an ocean of feels, pain, trauma, broken spirits, crushed dreams and so on x’D But yeah, angst all the way. Fluff is good to balance more intense threads, so I don’t mind indulging in that too. As for smut, I’m extremely selective with it. I write it with trusted people only, and only when inserted in the context of a developed scenario / ship.

plots or memes. I’m definitely partial to plotting. I like creating long-term storylines, dynamics and arcs / verses. It’s really important for me to plot at least the general idea for first interactions especially, because it helps me getting an idea of what the other person is looking for.

long or short replies.  I’m a descriptive RPer, so I almost exclusively do multi-para and novella threads. Single para are for brief interactions / crack.

best time to write. I don’t really have a specific time. My inspiration comes and goes as it pleases, it could hit me at every hour of the day and of the night. I usually end up writing at night mostly because it’s when I have more free time.

are you like your muse. I share some traits with most of my muses, but I wouldn’t say that there’s a muse that is exactly like me. If something I’m a bit of a mix of some of them. I tend to be almost as cynic as Rick, I can be a bitch like Summer, and I struggled with bad anger issues in the past like Morty does and I tend to put up a facade / play a certain kind of persona for the world to see Like Blitzo. I’m not super easy to approach (even if it might not seem so), I have plenty of insecurities and I’m really socially awkward, traits that characterises a good number of my muses.

tagged by: @warmongersofzaun & @surgingchef [[ thank you! ]] tagging: @advnterccs @thesafaribaggirl-returns @floweremojifound @esmorothfallen @heamvir @defactomatriarch @finitecurved​ & whoever wants to steal it !

[plastiktramps]

so no one cares but I’m gonna talk about this weird shipping war happening in stranger things fandoms rn after st4- I feel like im at a weird place w it bc i have tried to be active in both harringrove and st***** and have quickly realized that im in a VERY small group bc it’s become a pick a side thing like very quickly. So, well u can prob tell what side I chose lmao.

When it comes to St***** I obviously don’t have a problem w the ship itself (humble brag but I have a fic on the second page of the ao3 tag when u sort by kudos lmao) but I just no longer want to be associated with ANYTHING to do with that side of the fandom at all, which makes me sad bc there are some artists and writers that I rly respect!!! some lol!!!!

Okay but to be real even if this tension wasn’t happening I have p much changed course and have only been writing Harringrove bc I think their dynamic is more intriguing and Billy’s dialogue is more fun to write, plus tbh I think most of the fic I read for that pairing makes Steve completely out of character which drives me crazy. At the end of the day I just felt like the majority of the works read as very juvenile and with very little depth to them. It was obviously super fun and rly gratifying to see my work do numbers but I pretty much stopped reading fics for it right away which has made it hard for me to want to write for the pairing either even though a lot of people have said a lot of really nice things about my work.

I will say tho that it’s weird for me to even feel like I need to “pick a side” w this whole thing bc in any other fandom I’ve ever been in I’ve shipped and written for multiple pairings at once happily- but I hate how it’s become sort of competition? Like I have literally NEVER been in a fandom that cared about the total number of fics on ao3?? I’m so baffled that that could possibly matter to anyone. Obviously I’m intimidated mention the main problem ship by name because I don’t wanna get crucified lmao.  part of me wants to write a lot of this off as a difference in age groups because there is clearly a younger fan base that gravitates to certain ships and younger fan bases in general are less normal about the way they interact with people online, but it’s to a really uncomfortable point now. Also, to somehow concoct some random reasoning for how Edissy is “problematic” bc of a made up age difference, just bc it doesn’t support ur gay ship like y’all are so weird just let ppl live and ignore the shot you don’t like??? Anyways Idk what the point of this is lmao I’m just so frustrated!!!

[sofiaaaaaaaa03]

Did You Mean It?

Pairing: Dad!Din Djnarin x GN foundling! Reader

Rating: G

Word Count:1,449

Summary: Din has been teaching you Mando'a and does not know how to react after you call him buir (father) for the first time.

Request: Heyyy, love your writing! Definitely not enough platonic mando fics out there. But I was just wondering if you were interested in making a tag list, if not that's fine I just don't want to miss anything you write! Also, if your still taking requests I was wondering if you would write a fic around the reader calling Din some form of dad for the first time. By accident or on purpose (like after Din teaches her the word buir) it doesn't matter to me. I'm just curious how Din would react lol!

A/N: Hey hey!! I’m fairly new to tumblr so I’ll do my best to do tag lists in the furure! Just let me know if you wanna join so I can write it down somewhere :)) (That was for the general public I’ll definitely mark your name down) I’ve seemed to have grown a habit for writing in Din’s perspective haha, but yes I do think that no matter how Din first hears the reader call him buir he’d still be like “...me?” I hope what I did was okay and you enjoyed it. And thanks so much for liking what I write!!!

Although you were not raised in Mandalorian culture, Din took it upon himself to teach you Mando’a. He first brought it up some time after his encounter with Bo Katan and the other Mandalorians. When he finally saw others of his kind, albeit reassuring, it reminded him that the effort it took to find them could only mean his people were slowly being wiped out. Din needed to hold onto his deteriorating culture, and hoped that you would take an interest in learning from it as a member of Clan Mudhorn. When he inquired about your interest in learning the language he did so thinking that you would probably be daunted by the challenge. He wouldn’t have been offended if you declined as he didn’t want to force you into something you had no interest in, but much to his surprise you were ecstatic about it!

It warmed Din’s heart to watch you fumble over syllables during your first lessons. He began with simple introduction phrases and vocabulary. Nothing too difficult but sufficient enough to help you progress. You were often praised for your efforts and encouraged to converse with Din for practice, which you did. He often corrected you on grammar mistakes and your pronunciation. One thing you hated was how he wouldn’t remind you of a word you’d forgotten during a conversation. He’d simply ignore your plea to remind him and continue his work, leaving you to try to remember the term by yourself.

After some time, you were capable of holding simple conversations. Nothing too complex, but enough for you to get by if there was ever the need for you to use it. On one occasion, it helped you avoid getting arrested.

Although it was not entirely your fault, it often sounded like it was the way Din told it. The Clan had taken the day off to visit a local market after a successful bounty to stock up on fresh supplies and eat a good meal. Din gave you several credits to spend on whatever you pleased while he went to run his errands. The day was particularly sunny. Shoppers wandered around Din, although he stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the civilians with his beskar. Curious eyes casted towards him but he paid no mind to them as he walked up to a vendor and greeted her with a nod.

“Can I buy a holopad around here?” He inquired, waiting for the vendor to return his change. She paused a moment, credits in separate hands as she thought a moment.

“Not too far off that road,” Din followed her gaze and thanked her, pocketing his change before making his way to the shop she’d pointed out to. In truth, he already had a holopad of his own but wanted to give one to you for your upcoming birthday. He approached the shop, pausing a moment to gaze at the door, before making a move to open it. Wait.

What was that?

Din slowly moved back and surveyed the area. He could have sworn he could have heard something familiar. He strained his ears to listen once more.

“Buir!”

Suddenly his attention was caught by your figure as you desperately ran towards him, almost tripping on your feet with Grogu clinging onto you in your arms. Behind you was a vendor tailing you, anger written over his expression. Din marched forward quickly, pushing you and Grogu behind him when the two of you were close enough and held a hand out as the vendor approached.

“What did you do?” He looked down at you, not waiting for an answer but rather looked at the vendor. He hunched over, hands on his knees while he caught his breath. “Can I help you?”

He inhaled sharply and straightened himself up after gathering his breath, gesturing at you. “Is this yours?”

“Can’t you see the resemblance?” Din’s voice was monotonous despite the sarcastic comment. You made a face at the man from your place behind Din. The man inhaled sharply at your expression, though Din chose to ignore your actions.

“Is there a problem here?” Din inquired, pushing you further behind his back so you wouldn’t upset the man even more.

“I caught them trying to steal some of my produce. I have half the mind to call the sheriff-”

“That’s not true!” You interjected, pushing yourself into view but Din was fast enough to push you back in your place.

“Y/N.” Din warned, “vaabir no ukoror bic. Tonaid was bic?”

You shifted uncomfortably in your stance, raising Grogu higher in your arms. “Grogu.”

“Kaysh hiibir mayen?”

“Nayc, he grabbed some things and I didn’t realize.”

Din understood now that you meant this was just a misunderstanding. He placed a firm hand on your shoulder and turned to the impatient vendor. “My foundling has a habit of grabbing anything he can get a hold of. He’s still a child. You can understand.”

At first the vendor was reluctant to leave, convinced that Din’s little clan members were nothing but no good thieves. He even insisted that Din paid reparations for what Grogu had taken, for he tried to eat some before you took it from his mouth. It took some convincing, and several credits, to make the vendor walk away satisfied.

“Well, that’s that.” Din sighed, shaking his head a little and tucked his hands onto his hips. He turned to the two of you, “C’mon, let’s get something for you two to eat.”

At the local cantina Grogu helped himself to a hearty bowl of soup while you ate your own favorite meal from there. Din simply sat back, checking his credits before placing the payment on the table so that he wouldn’t have to worry about it later. When he was done and his mind left wondering, he thought back to when he first heard you call for him in Mando’a.

Buir…

The term you used was one that a child would call its father. You called him father. He wondered if it came out naturally for you, or if you used it because you had to prove that you and Din had some sort of relation. That must have been the case. You’d only been a member of the clan for almost a year now. Seeing Din as a guardian should be natural, but a parental figure? Din wasn’t so sure. He had grown fond of having you around. As an older child you were a far better conversationalist than Grogu was and many times showed that you trusted Din. But still, Din wasn’t your father. He had to remind himself that sometimes. But still, he couldn’t stop wondering how you saw him as he watched you eat your meal.

“Did you mean it?” Din didn’t know where he found the courage to start speaking, but he didn’t stop himself.

“Hm?” You lifted your head, your dish in your hands as you were about to take a bite.

“You called me… buir.” The word sounded strange to call himself.

Your face lit up when you reminisced the incident. “Oh! I mean, yeah. I knew it was the only way to grab your attention. It was really crowded today.”

Din chuckled, “It worked.”

You couldn’t help but smile before taking another bite into your meal, smiling to yourself at its taste. It’d been awhile since the clan ate at a cantina. It’d been awhile that the kiddos had gone out actually. Why was it that every time they joined Din out into town trouble would occur? Din shook his head lightly, deeming that only he would have ended up with such troublemakers.

“But, it’s not like I don’t see you as one.”

You stared back at him, cocking your head to the side and giving him a small smile. Although you couldn’t see it, Din held a big smile underneath his helmet. For a moment he almost forgot that you couldn’t see his expression and collected himself as you waited for his response.

“I’m really proud of you, Y/N.” He beamed, turning to wipe some smudge off of Grogu’s face. “You’re a great kid.”

You grinned widely and a pleasant moment of silence falls upon you two despite the noisy environment. Din told the two of you to finish soon so that the group would return to the ship before nightfall. During the last moments of supper, you and Din conversed with each other in Mando’a to practice your pronunciation once again. At some moments you grazed through phrases you previously struggled on, though you did not realize it Din certainly did, and it made him even more proud of how you’d grown.

[drmmyrs]

Remember Me (Becca x MC) Part 2

Hiii I’m back. Sorry again for the delay 😬I had such a hard time writing the ending so thank you so much @samanthadalton for all your help 😘Also, a big thanks to M anon for their suggestions and song request which I used some of.

tag list: @samanthadalton @crazzyplays @uselesslesbianfr @baexpoppy @alexroyard @alexlabhont @veenast @noixngn @sillyandcutewizardstuffs @doey-eyes8 @itszdavenport (If you wanna be added or removed or just prefer a certain ship just let me know ❤️)

Read Part 1

Pairing: Becca x MC (Emily)

Warnings: some swearing

Word Count: 2289

It's been an hour since Emily last came into my room to remind me of my doctor's appointment. And it's been about thirty minutes since I've been ready to go, physically at least. Naturally, I tried to get Chris to come with me instead because he's my boyfriend, right? Ughh fine, ex-boyfriend. But can you blame me, though? How am I suppose to move on when I literally have no memory of some sort of breakup or closure? I stare at the dull beige-colored ceiling, a view which has me panicking in the mornings right after I wake up, before I remember that I don't live at the sorority house anymore. I then close my eyes and get comfort in the memories I have left, my only anchor on the reality I knew, away from this freakish place with the people I don't even give a shit about.

After a couple more minutes, I begrudgingly get up with a groan and trudge downstairs, finding Emily waiting on the couch. She smiles upon seeing me, but I don't return the gesture, being genuinely annoyed at the prospect of having to spend an incessant amount of time with her. So instead, I walk past her towards the door, my heels clattering on the wooden surface. Emily then follows behind me from a distance, careful not to invade my space. Once outside, I walk straight towards the passenger door of Emily's junk of a car, grabbing the handle as I glare at Emily impatiently, waiting for her to unlock it. As soon as unlocked, I sink into the seat, slamming the door close harder than I intended. Emily, though, takes a second before going in, eyeing the seat suspiciously as if it might shatter anytime. Once seated, she places her hand on the gear stick, slightly trembling. And then it dawns on me, I may have forgotten about the accident, but it's probably still fresh from her memory, terrorizing her at every reminder. All this time, I've been complaining about how unfair everything is for me, not once considering how it may have affected her.

"Who was driving?" I ask. It may not be the best thing to talk about right now, but I have to know.

I see Emily flinch at the question, and before she even opens her mouth, I know. She looks out the windshield, her voice cracking when she replies, "I was."

I nod. My mom told me it was a drunk driver running a red light that hit us, so I don't blame her at all, not anymore.

"Is it–" The words come out sharp, so I stop and soften my voice. "Is it the first time you drove since?"

Emily doesn't reply immediately; instead, she shifts the gear and steps on the gas pedal as we begin to make our way towards the hospital. She grips the steering wheel tightly, anxiously looking at the road, her eyes obsessively sweeping for any oncoming traffic at every intersection.

"No. No it's not but..." Emily trails off, her knuckles turning white as her grip on the steering wheel tightens.

But it's her first time to drive with me in the car. I turn my head to look out the window, knowing full well I can't ease her fears. How can I when I'm the living reminder of everything she lost?

---------

I immediately regret my outfit choice as soon as we get into the waiting room, the frigid temperature biting at my skin, sending sharp pains like that of a needle across my exposed skin. I try to play it cool, but a shiver escapes my body, desperate for any source of heat. A few seconds later, a jacket appears in front of me, held by Emily who is wearing an annoyingly cute little smile on her face. I mumble thanks and take the jacket, placing it over my shoulders, smelling the scent of lavender as I bask in the comfort of heat.

I take out my phone and browse my socials, catching up on all the events I missed–or forgotten–while ignoring the get well soon messages from both people I know and don't know that have been piling up ever since the accident. A few minutes later, the doctor calls my name, and as I stand up, Emily does as well but then sits back down almost immediately, clearly unsure if her company is welcome.

I roll my eyes. "Come on."

---------

After a useless consultation–apparently, they can't do much to help me regain my memories–Emily suggests we stop by an ice cream parlor not far from here. I assent, but only because I need the comfort of a sugary snack right now, and it's been ages since I had one, or at least I think so.

We reach a store I don't recognize, replacing an office space that, while I never paid attention to before, was a pleasant fixture in my reality, not this... eyesore. I shake my head; I can't keep living in the past. I follow Emily into the store, reminding myself that this is my reality now.

Inside, the floor is patterned with alternating pink and black tiles, and the walls are coated with somewhat fresh pink paint adorned with decors that scream ice cream as if one might stumble into the shop looking for lunch or something.

"Welcome t–ah Emily and Becca! I haven't seen you girls in a while."

I turn around to see a guy, probably in his mid-twenties– smiling at us like...  I shoot Emily a side-eye. She, of course, fails to mention that the guy working here is buddy-buddy with me. So, is this the kind of couple we were? Those who frequent an ice cream parlor enough to be on a first-name basis with the ice cream guy? I internally groan in disgust at the thought.

"–Becca." I'm pulled out of my thoughts when I hear my name. Emily and the ice cream guy are looking at me expectantly.

"Sorry I didn't hear," I mumble.

"You'll be having strawberry, your usual, correct?" says the guy with a wide smile.

I do want strawberry, but I shake my head and say, "Vanilla," just to spite him, annoyed how some stranger knows my favorite ice cream flavor.

"Ooh, trying something new today, are we? One rocky road and vanilla coming right up," he announces in an annoyingly high pitch voice. I struggle not to roll my eyes.

"Where's the bathroom?" I ask, which is met by a look of confusion followed by a laugh.

"You know wh–" 

Emily quickly interjects, "The bathroom's there, Becca," pointing at a door at the back of the store.

I excuse myself and go to the bathroom, heading straight towards the mirror. I stare at my reflection, nitpicking every tiny detail that has changed throughout the years, changes I don't recognize at all. A tear rolls down my cheek, but I quickly wipe it away. I'm Rebecca fucking Davenport; I don't cry. I grip the sink tightly, overcome with a new resolution. I know who I am; they don't, convincing myself more than anyone else.

Once finishing up in the bathroom, I head back outside, noticing a different aura in the room. Emily is holding our orders with an apologetic look while the ice cream guy regards me with pity, something I've grown used to in the past few weeks. I take my ice cream from Emily, not meeting her gaze, and walk out of the store, striding ahead of her towards the car, not once looking back.

--------

On the ride home, silence weighs heavily between us as Emily bites at her lower lip, either contemplating what to say or waiting for me to go off on her. After an awkward amount of time, Emily finally breaks the silence.

"I'm sorry I–"

"Forget about it," I cut her off, too exhausted to engage with her. I think about the previous encounter, wondering if that would be my norm. Unfamiliar people coming up to me, sharing inside jokes and anecdotes while I stare blankly at them, wondering if I should explain my situation or just ignore them, being the bitch I know I am. I stare out the window, seeing all the changes in the city, musing about the memories I may have had alongside them, memories that I may or may not recover. It's as if an impostor had been living my life for the past two years, and now I'm forced to follow in their footsteps. It's obvious I had changed a lot during those years, my previous enemies becoming my closest friends, my greatest rival supposedly becoming the love of my life. Was she the love of my life? Was I happy with Emily?

It's already dark outside when we arrive home. I notice a few cars parked down the road, something unusual considering this is the only house for at least a couple of blocks. What do I know, though, it's not like I remember much about this place. I turn my attention back to the house; the lights inside are turned off, leaving a lone street lamp and the car's headlights as the primary sources of light, accentuating the jagged grey bricks of the house, almost giving an appearance of something sinister. This is ridiculous; I chide myself for being scared of a stupid house. 

Emily walks ahead towards the door while I follow a few steps behind. As soon as I walk inside, the light turns on, and I'm greeted by a chorus of surprise echoing throughout the house, coming from people whom I only recognize half of. I stare at them blankly, unimpressed but just mostly confused. My mother walks over to me and gives me a big hug.

"Happy birthday, sweetie."

Birthday? I inconspicuously look at my phone. Huh. I could've sworn I've seen the date today at least a few times. A few moments later, Emily steps forward with a cake in her hands.

"Happy birthday babe," she says, immediately followed by a look of horror. "Becca. Sorry."

Of course Emily had planned this. It doesn't really matter if I wanted to have a stupid party. She had to go ahead and decide for me.

"Go ahead and blow out the candles," my mom urges.

I blow out the candles, faking a smile for my mom. As much as I want to storm into my room, I'm not about to break my mom's heart by causing some unnecessary drama.

--------

Just a few moments into the party, and I'm already exhausted–people lining up to greet me, asking how I've been doing since the accident. I realize that most people here don't know about my condition, which means I have had to engage in quite a few conversations about the things I've supposedly been doing for the past few years, things I have no recollection of, to which I gave vague answers to avoid having to explain everything. 

I down my fourth glass of virgin cuba libre, eyeing the display of alcohol with contempt, resentful that I can’t drink because of the medicine I took earlier, when Zack drags me across the room to play some truth or dare with a bunch of people, some of whom I don't recognize. Thankfully, if there was one thing the sorority has taught me, it's that you don't have to know someone to ask the right questions or expertly avoid the common ones. That is of course until someone asks you the most unexpected question.

"Do you have a date for the wedding yet?"

I stare at them blankly, fumbling for words. Wedding? 

"I–I–"

But before I can make up an answer, Kaitlyn arrives with Emily in tow, and that's when I notice it, the ring on Emily's finger. I gasp for breath, feeling like the air is taken out of my lungs. And I almost don't notice it when Kaitlyn takes out her guitar and starts singing, joined by the others.

When all the tears are rolling down your face And it feels like yours was the only heart to break When you come back home and all the lights are out And you're getting used to no one else being around

Oh, oh, I'll be there

I look at the unfamiliar faces, singing their hearts out, gazing at me fondly. I then turn my gaze to Emily's ring finger, and sitting on it is a small but glistening diamond and part of me chastises myself for not noticing earlier. I feel the entire room’s eyes on me and suddenly, it becomes too much for me to withstand. I stand up, scrabbling to go to my room, footsteps following behind me. Once I got on the stairs, Emily shouts my name from behind, and I stop at the sound of her voice, turning around.

"We were engaged? Why didn't you tell me?" My voice comes out harsher than expected and it seems to take Emily by surprise too because she just stands there motionless, speechless. “Marriage is a big thing Emily, that’s not something you can just conveniently not tell me.” I let out a frustrated groan, momentarily letting the anger wash all over me before I’m left with a bitter feeling in the pit of my stomach. “I’m sick of having random people tell me things about my life which I can’t even remember when my own fianc–” I stop, not even being able to say the word, shaking my head as the agony brought by my predicament proves to be too much. “I can’t do this. I'm sorry," I croak before running towards my room, slamming the door behind me. I then curl myself in bed as the tears fall freely.

[furys-mercy]

Mimble is no expert on such things (and neither am I), but this Polyamory business seems terribly complicated for Mr Mercer. I mean he has a husband, a girlfriend and two boyfriends.

How does he spread himself (so to speak) between them? Does he find different qualities in each relationship? Does he play a different role in each? And are they very compartmentalised or do they have relationships (of whatever kind) together?

Apologies if it is too personal a question. Please ignore if so! :(

It would just be nice to know how many names to put on the card if Mimble were to send one to AM Steelworks next Starlight Celebration...

As a polyamorous person, myself, I am always happy to answer questions. :D

I'll answer each question one by one and then add some bits at the end... probably.

How does he spread himself (so to speak) between them?

Mercer lives with three of his partners. His husband (Khala), his girlfriend (Yhta), and one of his boyfriends (Elrick). They all cohabitate (when they are not off adventuring or getting into trouble) in a seaside house in the Mists. This means it's a bit easier for him to spend time with the three of them as they are typically more readily available to him, assuming everyone is home and not off doing whatever dangerous thing they've been roped into this time. Mercer's other boyfriend (Tai) does not live there, but it is not at all uncommon to find Tai at AM Steelworks. Either helping Mercer with whatever outlandish project he's taken on now, or catching up on the recent goings-on. There's not a set schedule as they are all very busy people with many responsibilities, but they do their best to make time for each other and have been doing a pretty bang up job of it, I'd say since Mercer has been with Khala, Yhta, and Elrick for several years in real-time.

Does he find different qualities in each relationship?

Oh absolutely. Each relationship is its own entity and is different and separate from the others. Sure, there are similarities in that he can go to any one of his partners for comfort, cuddles, or general support for anything he might need, but that doesn't mean there aren’t differences in how the relationships feel and function. While Mercer and Khala have ended up in adventuring-type situations before, that's not something Khala usually seeks out for himself. So, if Mercer is looking to test his mettle against huge beats, raid dilapidated castrums for parts, or traipse through Allagan ruins, he's far more likely to do that sort of thing with Elrick, Tai, or Yhta. Just like if he's in the mood to have a night in with a good romance novel his companion is almost certainly Khala. It's difficult to reduce the relationships down to such short descriptions as all of them have very complex and long-running histories, but the ship tags I use, are actually pretty good for that.

Guard My Heart is for Khala and Mercer (@khalacrumbles) and is intended to represent how they were both in fragile places when they met and found solace and comfort in each other. As they built themselves up they have become fiercely defensive of each other, wanting to make certain that neither one ends up back where they were before.

Magick and Machina is for Yhta (@little-purple-thundercloud) and Mercer and is probably fairly self-explanatory. These two find all sorts of ways to do ill-advised things with Yhta's immense magical prowess and Mercer's skills as a magitek engineer. While these interactions are at the core of their relationship they fell in love with each other due to shared feelings and kinship of spirit. There are things that they both feel the only the other will understand.

Double Trouble is for Mercer and Elrick. What a lovely pair of bad idea bears these two are. Both have a hankering for adventure and a taste for danger and this means that they egg each other on in these behaviors. You won't find many couples who think their perfect date night is scrounging around Allagan ruins and fighting off whatever monsters may come past. But that's exactly what you would find these two doing. Or snuggling because Elrick is a giant cinnamon-flavored cupcake.

The Crow and Dragon is for Tai(@scales-claws-and-thorns) and Mercer. Ok. So, this one isn't really very descriptive of their relationship at all. Oops. These two are, for lack of a better word, Intense. But I figure that is to be expected from a love that bloomed during the actual end of the world and where one of them meant to kill the other when they first met. This relationship is also rooted in a sort of recognition of things about themselves in the other. Not to mention a significant amount of respect for how they handled very difficult times, loss, and family. Tai is also one of Merc's tek buddies. So, projects abound.

Does he play a different role in each?

I'd say yes, given that each relationship is different and each partner wants and needs something different. For example, Mercer can often be found protecting Khala from the harsher aspects of combat and adventuring, where he wouldn't do that with any of his other partners, all of whom are either skilled adventurers, combatants, or soldiers in their own rights.

I will say that Mercer does not practice hierarchical poly, so you won't hear him refer to anyone as his primary partner. Nor will the term secondary partner be used. As far as he is concerned no relationship ranks above another and he would never do anything to suggest such a thing.

And are they very compartmentalized or do they have relationships (of whatever kind) together?

Mercer's little polypod has a lot of... overlap. And it can be a bit confusing to explain. So, for the short answer, there is overlap, and the members of what we call "the pod" often have relationships with each other. Whether those are romantic or platonic depends.

The long explanation:

Yhta and Elrick are dating and were an established couple prior to Mercer beginning to date either one of them.

Khala and Yhta are also dating. Their flirtation started prior to Mercer and Yhta's relationship, but Mercer and Yhta somehow became an item before they did.

Khala and Yhta also share another partner, Kurenai. Mercer is not romanticall involved with her, but the two are friendly.

Khala and Elrick are also, rather obviously, friendly as they live in the same house.

Tai is the slight outlier in that he's not especially close to anyone else Mercer is dating. However, Mercer did date his sister, Lazne, once upon a time and that was an interesting thing to discover and is an interesting thing to see play out.

#polyproblems

So, that's the short of it, really. Or the long of it, I guess. Since this did go on for a fair bit. I will say, that all poly relationships are different and all polycules will look different based on what works for the folks in them. My RL relationships don't look anything like Mercer's (and I certainly don't have the time or spoons for four relationships). This is just to say that I don't speak for all poly people or all poly relationships either in fiction or in real life.

Thanks for the ask! If you have any other questions, I am always happy to answer.

[sambvcks]

crawl home to her, b.b. x reader

chapter four // three days on drunken sin

summary: bucky decides to rifle through those boxes and finds the will to make the first move.

warnings: food/eating, nothing too bad this time!

word count: 1.7k

author’s note: how are we feeling about this week’s episode?? we’re getting closer to the start of tfatws with this chapter!! hope i don’t break your heart too much with the boxes :)

[ read on ao3 | series masterlist | inbox | join my taglist! ]

[ PREVIOUS | NEXT ]

The boxes taunted him for three days.

Three stacks of two boxes each cluttered his entranceway, each with that familiar scrawl of Steve’s God-awful handwriting.

‘BUCKY’

All caps, in black Sharpie, underlined three times just for good measure. Steve was always good at getting his message across.

He didn’t want to know what was in them, he told himself. But Steve was gone, and this was all he had left. These, that stupid notebook he still hadn’t found the will to write in, and the shield that was kicking around Sam’s apartment somewhere.

He wanted to toss them in his building’s dumpster, to push these aside like he did with everything else in his life. Out of sight, out of mind. That week, he didn’t tell his therapist about the boxes, or Sam’s unexpected visit, or his neighbor that he was now avoiding like the plague. Thankfully, she chalked his silence up to Steve and tried to fill in the conversational lulls with suggestions of amends and lists and he just wanted to go back to sleep.

Like always, sleep never came.

He knew the single night in his bed was a fluke, but he kept trying at least. He’d untuck his flat sheet from under hit mattress, fluff his pillow, and tuck himself in. Within five minutes, he was back on the hardwood floor of his living room, the lamplights illuminating his window and casting a perfect shadow on those stupid boxes. Finally, on the third night, he huffed a sigh and sat up, his arm whirring at the sudden movement. He wasn’t accomplishing anything letting them sit and gather dust.

Bucky reached under the cushions of his couch, fishing for the knife he had stashed away and got to work slicing through the clear packing tape securing each one.

The first five boxes were files. Mission reports, everything Steve could get his hands on about The Winter Soldier. The translations were rough, the descriptions weren’t as vivid as he remembered them now, and it wasn’t even close to everything. Why Steve kept them when Bucky was working to erase every trace of this from the universe, he would never understand. Steve was sentimental, even with the bad stuff. Bucky glanced over the files scattered across his entranceway, which maybe amounted to a year of his missions. If Zemo had looked in some suburb in upstate New York, he would have found everything he needed.

The dumpster behind his building was starting to feel more and more enticing.

The last box felt different. Significantly lighter and smaller, the items rolling and clanking as he dragged it towards him. He braced himself for more files, more reminders of what he had done as though they didn’t exist in his mind every second of the day.

The first thing he recognized was his mother’s handwriting. ‘Recipes’, scrawled so perfectly on a yellowing label.

The tin box was tinted with age, dented after so many years. He laughed and could remember it tucked away on the top shelf of the cabinet by the fridge, just out of Rebecca’s reach, even when she’d stand on her tiptoes in search of it. His Ma rarely fished it out, other than to let his little sister read over the ingredients with sticky hands as she helped stir pots and peel potatoes. She had them memorized by the time she was a teenager, having transcribed her own mother’s recipes onto these little cards. He was sure Rebecca did, too.

Next was the worn fabric of his Ma’s favorite apron. Yellow embroidered flowers scattered the crimped edge, strings falling loose. He recognized some of the stains, from spaghetti night and cake batter that she let dry on the cloth for too long.

Finally, a worn silver chain was buried at the bottom of the box.

JAMES B BARNES 32557038 T42 A

Of course, Steve with all his connections and know-it-all attitude and ‘I can do this all day’ would find some way to find his dog tags, probably tucked away in some ancient Hydra file. His flesh fingers ran over the indentation of his name, pressed into metal like millions of other boys had, off to fight a war that had nothing to do with them. Everything to lose, nothing to gain.

When he was most alone, settled into muddy trenches with wet socks and a stiff military jacket, he would recite those numbers out into the night sky. He’d map constellations over his head, wondering if it would be his last night and all there would be left of him would be those stupid discs of metal clanking around his neck and the letter tucked away in his jacket breast pocket, addressed to his mother.

His mother was long gone, he knew that. But to a fully conscious James Buchanan Barnes – not the Winter Soldier - he had only seen her a few years ago when he shipped off.

After a moment, he pulled the chain of his dog tags over his head, settling them under his shirt. His ears rung with the sound of footsteps in the hallway. The sound of dragging feet and the jangle of your keychain signaled your return from class.

His family was gone, Steve included. The only people he has left are halfway across the world, or off on some death-defying mission wearing metal bird wings. Except you, who still leaves bags of cookies on his front door mat, despite the silent treatment from his end. His maybe too friendly neighbor who poured over lists of albums for him to find taped to his door in barely legible handwriting when you should have been studying.

His mother’s recipe box was calling his name.

-

The knock on your door startled you from your nap. Well, if you can call dozing off at your desk using a law book as a makeshift pillow a nap. You stalled in your desk chair, eyes bleary as you squinted at your front door, then at the top corner of your computer.

2:36 AM

You nuzzled back into your book, content to chalk it up to your sleep deprived brain making things up.

The second knock was much more insistent and was certainly coming from your door. You rushed out of your chair, sock-clad feet dragging the blanket draped across your shoulders as you shuffled over, the knocking never ceasing. You blinked the sleep from your eyes, peering out your peephole into the dark hallway.

Bucky, with slumped shoulders and a bowed head, trying with all of his might to make himself as small as possible still took up so much of the doorway with his broad shoulders.

You should be mad at him.

You should go to bed, ignore him like he’d been ignoring you for the past few weeks. Like you hadn’t shared late nights and he hadn’t sat in your kitchen, licking your spoons clean or tucked into your couch just to watch you study, a new record playing gently. Your forehead pressed to the door, vile building in your throat as seething words collected on your tongue.

“I know you’re there.” His voice was muffled through the wooden door, feeling so close but sounding so far away. “We should work on you dragging your feet, doll.”

If you had taken another peek, you would have seen him pressing his forehead to the other side.

“You ignored me, Bucky.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” He sounded sincere, even through the door. “Some family stuff came up. But it’s no excuse, I shouldn’t have pushed you away.”

It’s so stupid, letting yourself get so attached to the first guy to bat his eyelashes and read to you. It’s idiotic to want him to seep into your days and nights, to never leave like he had left you, after only knowing each other for a month.

It’s so foolish to open the door. But you do it anyways.

He swallows as he stands straight, and the widening of his eyes tells you that he wasn’t expecting you to give him a second chance.

“I, uh, here. Thought I’d finally return the favor.”” Bucky shoves forward a plate of cookies, misshapen and unevenly cooked. His eyes finally found yours. “My mom’s recipe.”

Family stuff, you remembered. The weight of the plate felt heavy in your hands, almost as heavy as his gaze on you as you lifted one of the lesser burnt cookies to your mouth and took a timid bite.

Bucky, you’ve come to learn, gives his love in silent acts of approval. He shines when you tell him his singing isn’t totally awful or that he makes a great sous chef, eyes crinkling when you approve of his music choice for the night or compliment the voices he picks when reading from his books. As he watched you, you felt that this cookie meant more to him then just flour and eggs.

He was reaching out, terrified of your rejection.

“You made these?”

“Alright, I’m not totally helpless.”

“They’re amazing, Bucky. Your mom should be proud.”

He returned your smile, knowing that she wouldn’t be. How could she, after all that his hands have done? Hands that should’ve been home, hoisting his sisters onto his shoulders. Hands that should have been helping set the table and at work so they had something to eat in the first place.

He looked so timid in your hallway, unsure of the next move. You rolled your eyes, moving to clear your doorway, despite his hesitation.

“Come on.” You spoke, like ushering in a stray cat with the promise of food and love.

He took the first step forward, shoulder to shoulder, head tilted down to catch your playful gaze with his serious one. Your mouth opened to make some sort of quip to ease the tension, but the words died in your throat as he pressed his forehead against yours for just a second.

His eyes closed as he drew in a single serene breath through his nose.

He was gone as quickly as he had come, moving further into your apartment and directly to your shelves of records, gloved fingers grazing over the sleeves in contemplation for his first choice of the night. As you finally collected yourself enough to close the door, you wondered how many people in the world had ever loved Bucky Barnes enough to give him a second chance.

taglist: @tisthedamninez @wcndamaxcmoff @freyagallileaevans @bibliophilewednesday @justtoreblogfics @teti-menchon0604 @l-adysansa @heart-eyes-horan @thiswasnevermylifefromtony @rexorangecouny @dilfvision @urafakebetch @comphersjost @am-tired-bois @spid3rgwen @beautyandthebleh @euphoricaaaa @inadquacy @mackycat11 @withyoutilltheendofthismess @motherofallthesmallthings @victoriabaker112213 @macrillez @stvalentiness @nova10711 @tailsoflightning @okiegirl24 @qhbr2013 @beachbabe925 @weenersoldierr @venusinart @marvel-mistress @orthellqs @phasma-trash @beni-angie @infinitely-yellow @riverlethe1

[emo-and-confused]

Headcannons based on @cb28 ‘s “ceo of many hotels tommy and hotel receptionist tubbo” au art (includes dysfunctional sleepy bois) (awesamdad)

-techno, wilbur, and tommy are phil’s kids

-(the three kids are adopted, techno was adopted when he was five, wilbur was adopted when he was four, and tommy was adopted when he was seven)

-techno is older than wilbur by two years and wilbur is older than tommy by eight years

-phil is this rich businessman. techno is some powerful leader. wilbur is a famous songwriter.

-then tommy owns a hotel

-he's still like 16/17 but he owns and manages it

-techno is the oldest therefore favorite and heir to whatever money and property phil owns

-tommy is least favorite. phil ignored him.

-then one day phil just gave him money and said "stop being a disappointment" so he started his hotel at 15

tommy: i’m going to build a hotel in rage

-then best friend tubbo who works there and is nice to tommy

phil: oh, theseus, my son. come, i was just telling my companions about your ho- who is that?

tommy: this is tubbo.

tubbo: hello :)

-wilbur being the normal brother and treating him like a normal person and taking him and tubbo to hang out and be kids

wilbur: tommy, let’s go get ice cream

tommy: wilbur, ive got things to do, paper work and, and shippments and-

wilbur: tommy.

tommy:

wilbur: let’s go. bring tubbo.

-tommy feels like he has to prove something to phil

-he also feels like he might be able to earn attention from him. that if he works hard enough phil will be proud of him

-wilbur’s music is what makes phil pay attention to him, but when he was a kid phil said his music was never going to be a stable source of income and actively encouraged other future job choices. this only made wilbur more focused on his music

-both tommy and wilbur feel the need to prove themselves

-tommy meets sam when starting up his hotel, and immediately gets attached

-sam is basically his guide, even after building the hotel. sam saw the child and went “yeah he needs parental guidance” and continued to stay in contact with tommy

-tommy is the one who gives sam the creeper mask. because sam is always working on construction and stuff and he's always inhaling debris and tommy likes minecraft so he gives it to him. sam adores it and wears it all the time.

-tommy totally calls him sam nook

sam: hey tommy! just building your hotel. i do need some more things for construction though... could you ship them over to me?

tommy: y'know this reminds me of a game my brother made me play over the holidays...

sam: ... uh,,,, what?

tommy: animal crossing! that's it. you're totally tom nook.

sam: alright, tommy.

-[over emails]

]Mr. Danger Careful Innit,

Could you supply more building materials?

Sincerely, Sam Nook

]Mr. Samuel Nook,

sure.

Sincerely, Tommy

-sam gets a very official hand written contract (the same one as the lore)

-he gets it and just goes with it (there’s a more real contract but tommy values his handwritten one more)

-sam signing it and tommy cheering and immediately going to text phil

sam: and... there you go! signed. :)

tommy: really??? ... YES!!! LETS GO!!! (calls phil and tells him)

-then tommy hanging up and smiling, then looking back over to sam.

tommmy: (clears his throat) um. my apologies. that was very unprofessional. thank you very much, sam.

-tubbo is the receptionist for the main hotel in the chain, (the one tommy is constantly at) but he basically becomes sort of a manager

-tommy sends him off to do multiple jobs throughout the day, and tubbo does them with only little complaint

tubbo: you know i’m not room service right?

tommy: i don’t remember asking

tubbo, already holding the room order: this isn’t my job tho-

tommy: and yet here you are, doing the job

-tommy pays him more than everyone else though, but tubbo doesn’t know that because tommy won’t let him see the usual staff paycheck

-tubbo is half a year older but his parents are constantly away on buisness trips so he is often home alone and has to take care of himself

-tommy is not good with showing his affection, the only one in his family to do so was wilbur. phil just kind of threw money at him on holidays and ignored him the rest of the time, and while techno was a lot more attentive to him, he wasn’t the best at affection either

-when tommy started making money with the hotel, (how very successful hotel chain), to show tubbo he cared he just started offering to buy him things

tommy, upon finding out tubbo likes bees: you know i could buy you a bee sanctuary if you’d like?

tubbo: tommy no-

-tubbo teaches him that money isn’t the only form of showing you care. it’s a long process

tommy: so you’re saying i shouldn’t buy sam a private engineering lab for his birthday?

tubbo: i know for a fact sam wouldn’t know how to accept such a gift and that he’d rather you close the hotel for a day and take him to play laser tag

tommy: ...okay but what if i do that and buy him a private engineering lab?

tubbo:

-the dream team are bell hoppers.

-tommy gets hate for being that young and successful

-the dream team are like “stfu i'm proud to be working for a very successful 16 yo how dare you" and go off on every rich person who says something about tommy’s age

they're still streamers. they just don't tell tommy. (tommy totally knows tho, he’s a 16 year old kid who plays minecraft and animal crossing, ofc he knows they’re video game streamers)

dream: hey tommy-

tommy: yes? is there a reason you're barging into my office?

dream: .. is that... animal crossing music? are you playing on a switch?

tommy: no!! i'm signing very important and legal documents!!! if you have nothing to say, get out!!

dream, to sapnap and george: he’s totally playing animal crossing.

-tommy makes them greet people at the doors and carry peoples bags purely because they’re famous. they don’t know this though

-they don't think tommy knows. tommy and tubbo think it’s hilarious. tommy hints it all the time that he knows but they just think he's being a kid

-quackity is on sam’s building/contracting team

-even after the hotel is built, q comes in to "check up" on the building with sam. and they "make sure nothing is going wrong with the building"

-they really just want to make sure tommy is okay under so much pressure

-wilbur totally has tubbo’s schedule and knows when tubbo’s on break, he can usually be found with tommy in tommy’s office

-wilbur will just barge in and be like “okay let’s go, you need a break”

-one time wilbur came in while sam and quackity were there

wilbur, barging in: kay, tommy, tubbo, let’s-

sam, mid lecture with tommy: you can’t keep doing this!

quackity, also scolding: you need to take a break, man.

tubbo, who noticed wilbur come in: wil! tell tommy he needs to go to bed and sleep! he hasn’t slept in twenty seven hours!

tommy, from his desk, with his head in his hands and leaning over paper work: i’m being ganged up on.

-wilbur instantly likes sam and quackity, because they care for his little brother (he totally has a rivalry with them though, he was there first, and tommy’s actual brother)

-the main hotel in the chain is sometimes used as an international meeting place for big companies and politicians

-more than once has phil or techno needed to stay for a few nights due to major meetings with powerful people

-it’s kind of awkward sometimes because tommy’s the hotel chain owner and since he’s based at the main hotel, he sometimes needs to greet the people going in for meetings

tommy: good afternoon, madam secretary

tommy: good afternoon, mister minister

tommy: good afternoon... *awkward cough* ...technoblade.

-or since he’s the ceo of a big name company, he sometimes has to attend big rich people galas that he hates

tommy: tubbo i literally hate these types of places, when can i leave, when am i allowed to to leave

tubbo, who is tommy’s plus one and moral support: dude i don’t know, i didn’t grow up rich

tommy, who grew up talking care of himself when wilbur wasn’t there: yeah well technically neither did i!

-and his father is a business man..

tommy, faking confidence and striding across the room: tubbo, i have no idea what i’m doing-

phil, from a table a few feet away, calling him over: theseus!

tommy, slowly turning around to see phil with a bunch of other rich people: fuckkkk-

-tommy makes sure everyone calls him tommy and not theseus

[in an interview]

interviewer: so theseus-

tommy: it's tommy.

interviewer: ... alright, tommy. would you like to address the rumors going around of your boyfriend?

tommy: huh??? oh, you mean tubbo? no, we're just best friends. and that's weird. i'm a minor.

interviewer: are you gay, though? we've never seen you date any women.

tommy: no, i do date women! all the time!!

-tommy being legally named "theseus watson" but calling himself "tommy innit"

-wilbur is legally “wilbur watson” but only ever goes by his stage name “wilbur soot”

-they both totally end up changing their names. legally.

-tommy saying i hate men because he just hates his father

-tommy getting scandals and controversies all the time but just by the upper class

-everyone else loves and adores him and knows he's literally just a 16 yo kid so that kind of stuff is a joke and he can say that without getting in trouble

-tommy will be in his office and tubbo will be at the front desk and sometimes tommy will just yell “TUBBOOOOO HELP MEEEEE” if his laptop crashes because Tubbo Tech

tommy: [during a meeting] oh, tubbo's clocked in for work.... TUBBOOO!

tommy: he's gonna come in here. surely. he'll go "hellœ?" surely. he'll walk in here...

tubbo: [walks in the room] hellœ?

-phil still has no idea who tubbo is

wilbur: yeah, i’m going to go check on tommy and tubbo

phil: ..the receptionist?

wilbur: ...

wilbur, internally: also your sons best friend but yeah sure, the receptionist.

-techno is lowkey fond of tubbo

-techno notices how tommy is clinging to tubbo at parties and galas all the time so he tries to get tommy to talk about him

-he likes that tubbo is there for tommy and totally resonates with the chaotic energy the two create

-sometimes when tommy can’t get tubbo in to the parties/galas, and techno is there, tommy will hang around him and steal his things

-like taking his wallet so techno will have to go back to the hotel afterwards and visit tommy

-he does it for attention. 

-tommy lives at the hotel. it’s not technically legal cause he wasn’t emancipated from his family and he’s only 16 but they’re rich so people don’t really say anything

-technically he still has a room at phil’s place, but he stays in a room at the hotel. when designing the place, he made sure to map out an area for his living space

-tubbo takes naps in his room

tubbo: i'm gonna go take a nap in the break room

quackity: there is no break room??

tubbo: yea there is. on the top floor. with the giant door.

quackity:... isn't that tommy's room???

-tubbo sometimes stays the night with tommy, when his parents have been on a business trip for over two weeks. he still goes to in-person school so he usually only stays on weekends during the school year

-tommy does online school, and forces himself to get his schoolwork for the week done over the weekend so he can focus on the hotel and other responsibilities

-he fakes having the “lmao i'm better and have more money also you don't play minecraft" mentality towards other kids and claims that’s why he does online

-it’s actually because he doesn’t have time to balance everything and he was bullied in the past so he switched to online school as soon as he started his hotel

-sometimes tubbo helps him with his classes tommy is overworked. like, in his off time. he has the passwords to tommy's computer so he just goes on it and does some of his school work

-tommy ranting to tubbo about how he hates his dad and how he said phil was gonna visit him the next day

-phil arriving and asking tubbo (because he's the receptionist) where tommy is. tubbo saying he doesn't know and that he left. even though tommy is literally in his room

-phil tries. he just doesn’t know how to parent. techno was 17 and wilbur was 15 when he adopted tommy, and he just got busy enough and forgot how to take care of a child

-tommy knows if he talks to phil, it’ll be awkward and phil will just try and buy him off (not intentionally, it’s just how business men be working, yknow)

-tommy just wants to prove himself, to both himself and phil. and hes using his hotel to do that

———————

fanart that was posted with @cb28 ‘s work

(i got permission to post this)

[kiruuuuu]

Kiru's Advent Calendar, Day 4 💧

This ship is my newest obsession and I refuse to elaborate. Just know that I've got one very long fic about them all planned out in my head and trying to find the courage and time to write it 😔 Also, this is based on Wamai's concept art, you'll know the one. (Wamai/Lion, Rating T, Lion is up to his neck in the largest Egyptian river, ~1.3k words)

.

This display is preposterous.

Bored, Lion leans against the nearest column and attempts to ignore all the excited, shrill chatter assaulting his ears over, well, something hardly worth celebrating. It followed a bet – good-natured, of course, Valkyrie is a bumbling fool who welcomes anything with open arms, be it a friend or chronic disease – and entirely too many people got roped into it and now most of Rainbow is present. As if they had nothing better to do.

It looks like a surprisingly even split, with half of them chanting the American woman’s name and the other half rooting for the newcomer. In moments like these, Lion enjoys watching the audience more than the spectacle: there’s so much politics going on that he simply couldn’t refuse to join the fray. Are they trying to be inclusive by choosing Wamai’s side, a transparent attempt at winning Kali over? Sticking to their guns in performing undying loyalty to the organisation? Is it personal, are they acting out of spite, or merely chose the perceived underdog?

Or, like the Russians, are they just making use of every opportunity to yell loudly?

“This is silly”, says Lion, disdain dripping from every syllable. His gaze wanders back to Wamai who’s barely breaking a sweat whereas sweat is pouring down Valkyrie’s face from the exertion – Nighthaven’s second-in-command bragged about his stamina until Blackbeard took it personally and urged Valkyrie to shut him up (a sentiment Lion shared), which unfortunately resulted in this stupid competition (a result Lion regrets). He’s idly wondering what will happen first: a treadmill breaking or a misstep. He’d love to watch Wamai go flying.

“His body did invite scientific research”, Montagne replies, diplomatic as ever. The man is indestructible, good-humoured and much too tolerant. He even looks invested in the outcome of this pissing contest.

Lion merely scoffs. It sounds more like a freak of nature type of thing to him, where maybe Wamai was born with four lungs (and yes, he knows that’s not how it works). Big deal, he can hold his breath a long time, that’ll surely help in the field when they’re trying to neutralise terrorists. Running fast for a long time has always been the main criterium for joining Rainbow, sure.

One thing he has to admit, however. Wamai makes it look easy. The way he brings his feet down, moves his arms perfectly in sync with the toned thighs, there is some natural… not beauty, no, he wouldn’t go that far, maybe allure. That’s not the correct word either and Lion shakes it out of his head immediately. He does appreciate legs, and Wamai’s do look quite… well taken care of, but that is irrelevant. He’s weird, obnoxious, a braggart, and most of all the enemy. Lion has gathered snippets here and rumours of rumours there, with one conclusion: Harry only invited Kali in so she wouldn’t destroy Rainbow. Or something like that.

In any case, Wamai’s physique may well be the most impressive Lion has ever seen, but he remains an obstacle. Of sorts. And, well, maybe it’s not the most impressive one, he might just have well-formed calves and pronounced pecs and the way his thigh muscles bulge -

Just then, Valkyrie stops, putting her feet next to the worryingly fast belt while shaking her head in both defeat and approval, causing half the room to erupt in cheers. Most people clap for Wamai, visibly impressed, and the fucker just keeps going with the most irritating shit-eating grin Lion has ever seen.

“We need to go talk to him”, he decides and though Montagne’s expression doesn’t scream neverending support nor total agreement, his friend tags along regardless. Possibly to keep an eye on him, who knows.

.

Lion has always wanted to do the reveal where someone closes their locker door and suddenly someone else is standing right next to them, except that he doesn’t even get close to the reaction he was hoping for. Instead, Wamai greets him with a polite smile. “Hi”, he says.

“Is this the sort of thing you choose to do for money?”, Lion accuses him without missing a beat, arms crossed and leaning against the wall of lockers. He waited until everyone else had left, just to be safe. Well, Montagne had waited with him, complaining about missing lunch and getting crankier by the minute, but now he’s all smiles again.

“That was impressive”, the very same chimes in, unasked, and offers Wamai his hand. “Never seen anything like it.”

Another smile, this one somehow more genuine as he accepts the handshake. “Thanks. Running is just something I can do well.” He turns to Lion, brows raised. “As for your question: yes, actually.”

Lion, prepared for a blatant and transparent refusal, instead furrows his brows. “What do you mean?”

“Well, what did you mean?”

He ignores Montagne’s quiet snort which he masks badly as a cough and tries to muster up all the outrage he can once more. “Spying on an organisation founded for the benefit of mankind. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? I haven’t figured out why yet, but you’re trying to harm Rainbow in some way.”

“Spying is the last thing I would do for money. It’s boring and I wouldn’t be very good at it.” Wamai grabs his collar and pulls off his shirt in one swoop, revealing glistening skin and even more muscles. “You’ve been trying to antagonise me.”

“I’m attempting to find out the truth”, Lion bristles at the blunt accusation.

“Will you be satisfied with the answers I can give you?” The question catches him off guard, as do so many things coming out of Wamai’s mouth. Conducting a normal conversation is nigh impossible with the man, no wonder Harry described him as ‘difficult to get close to’. Not that Lion is vying for that position, he just wants to know what their game plan is, and now that Wamai says it, he probably won’t believe anything Wamai claims to be true. He has a point. “Thought so. Then why ask?”

“Um”, Lion offers intelligently. There’s a drop of sweat running down Wamai’s torso, pausing slightly on each little bump of his abs -

“Up here, mzungu.”

His eyes snap back to Wamai’s face. Montagne makes another unintelligible noise and alright, at this point he’ll have to talk to him about it. He can’t keep undermining Lion’s authority, there’s a time and a place for being cordial and chummy, and there’s also one for interrogating a possible danger to the very thing they’ve sworn to protect. And he will be laughed at in only one of these scenarios.

“Maybe we should let you shower in peace.” Montagne really is hell-bent on foiling all of Lion’s plans. “Come on, Olivier.”

“Besides, Kali is the one with the master plan.” Wamai shrugs and, without a care in the world, sheds both shorts and underwear. “You should refer to her, not me.”

Once Lion is able to unclench his jaw again (it takes some effort, and no, he will not elaborate), he snaps back: “So we’ve wasted our time with a henchman.”

Wamai shows his teeth and steps right into Lion’s personal space and dear god -

“Actually”, he mutters, looking deep into Lion’s eyes, his own hypnotising, soft, “I think I’ve found the last thing in the world I would do for money.”

And Lion only realises he forgot how to breathe once Wamai has left the room entirely, and of course it was out of pure irritation over his words, how dare he assume -

“I can’t believe you’re going to sleep with him”, states Montagne, voice even.

Lion glares. “Are you out of your mind? Not in a million years!” Furious, he rushes out of the locker room, but not fast enough to miss Montagne’s quiet no, you’re going to.

Preposterous.