#it's like the writers didn't understand catharsis at all

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[topazadine]

On Fandom Entitlement

It seems every week, there's a new spate of ungrateful fanfic readers complaining about fanfic, whether that's whining that their favorite story hasn't updated or that the work isn't of the same caliber as they would expect from a book they paid for.

"This hobbyist wrote horrible dialogue! Pillory them!"

"Oh no, fic writers use this as catharsis! How horrible!"

I believe this stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of who they are as a reader and what fanfic is as a whole.

Entitled fanfic readers like this have a specific problem: they think they are consumers rather than fellow hobbyists.

Consumers are allowed to expect a certain level of quality from the item or experience that they purchased. (Note well the purchasing aspect.) They have protections under law, are encouraged to leave feedback for the benefit of other consumers, and can demand a refund if necessary.

With fanfic, no money is changing hands - in fact, no money CAN legally change hands, because the writer is dabbling in someone else's intellectual property.

Readers didn't purchase anything, have no legal protections, and can't take recourse if they're dissatisfied, because they willingly chose to engage with the work without any expectation of quality. The reader lost nothing whatsoever by opening that fic other than some of their free time. (Note well the "free" time aspect.)

Many people use this analogy, and I completely agree: reading fanfic is like getting a free meal from a family member or friend. It's not going to be restaurant quality; you wouldn't expect it to be, even if that person is a great cook or professional chef. If you didn't like it, you don't demand they make you something better or refund you, because that'd be insane. You eat it, thank the person who graciously made you something, and keep your opinions to yourself unless they ask you for feedback.

And if you act like an asshole and tell them to their face that their cooking is awful, you shouldn't expect them to make you anything else. Same as fanfic writers often leave their fandoms because entitled readers complain about their work and demand tailor-made fic for free.

Some complain that they'll just read professional work from now on because fanfics are so awful, a la this gem:

What they don't seem to understand is that every writer needs to practice, and fanfic is one of the best ways to do so because there are no consequences.

No one springs from the womb as a literary genius; you need to spend years honing your talents. I've been writing for well over 15 years now, but I only started to become really confident in my skills after writing over 1 million words of fanfiction as practice. I wouldn't have bothered creating my own OCs and writing a trilogy if I hadn't gotten so much positive feedback from readers of my Touken Ranbu fics.

When you're a bitch to fanfic writers and castigate them for imperfections, you are directly limiting the professional literature you'll have in the future. You're telling people that unless they're perfect, they might as well not try at all, and then they don't reach that level. You expect free, professional-grade work that matches your current special interest, then wonder why your stock of new fics to enjoy is dwindling.

YOU are the problem when you waltz into AO3 with a consumer mindset. Not the fanfic writers providing you with free content. YOU.

And frankly, I wish someone would take your internet away until you take a course in fandom etiquette. Get out.

[coriphallus]

A little rant on patch 6 and the implications for bg3's future

Okay, bear with me for a sec its gonna go somewhere eventually. My first bg3 run (thats spammed here on this blog) i played ascended astarion/dark urge romance where i picked the reject bhaal and become the absolute ending.

as it was my first playthrough on release i was vibrating off mt seat and i didnt really have elaborate HCs or anything, i was just doing a quick evil run until the bugs get sorted out. i didn't think much beyond "yes this dude would want the shiny stones for himself"

first time i saw astarion enthralled, i was confused. he asked me to do it, he was quite insistent on it since the beginning of the game. i was confused for a couple of hours, digesting the entire game i just played. Then it hit me; the game was calling me out. it was telling me ive been stupid for not having seen this coming and at that point i felt awe.

it was right, everything pointed to this, it was right in front of my eyes all i needed was to connect the dots that the game laid out quite visibly and i was just too caught up to see.

'well my durge would never do that' didnt matter because thats exactly what the companions thought. Gale thought the powers of an insatiable weave wouldnt corrupt him, that he'd stay true to himself, shadowheart thought shar had blessed and her she'd guide her, that she could be her true self under her influence, astarion thought he'd be free, that he'd cherish the bond he'd made with the player but at the end of the day power reveals; and when that power is acquired through the corpses of thousands its quite evident that Absolute power corrupts absolutely. IT WAS IN THE FKIN NAME.

it was a shining bait i was so focused on getting my hands on that i didn't look back to see the mountain of corpses i had to step on to get there. the game was telling me 'HEY LOOK AT EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE TO GET HERE, LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THE OTHERS WHO THOUGHT THEY COULD ACHIEVE THIS, DO YOU THINK YOU'D HOLD HANDS AND SING KUMBAYA WITH YOUR FRIENDS AFTER ALL THIS?'

just as there was never an option where frodo could stab saurons flaming eyeball and sit on his throne with the ring on his finger and sam at his side, there was never an ending i could get my 'happy ending' the way id like it to. i wanted frodo to remain in middle earth and have some peace in the end, i didnt understand how he was 'too changed' to remain and sam wasnt when i first read the books. i was angry even, that i didnt get what i wanted. it wasnt like tolkien haphazardly put together an ending out of his ass bcs he didnt know what to do with the characters, its not that he didn't think while writing that the fans would hate it, he wrote a story that achieved its catharsis by reaching its narrative conclusion. it couldnt have done that any other way. it was deliberate. i may not have understood or agreed at the time but it was the story he wanted to tell, and it wouldnt be one of the greatest stories ever told if the writer wanted to please a 10 y/o like myself.

it was never out of character for my durge at all, i was just blissfully avoiding the NARRATIVE.

months later we get this absolute narrative abomination:

and all i can say is im worried.

im worried bcs this is a clear disrespect to the story they've written, im worried bcs if they can do off with huge plot elements and beats such as this just like that it shows a lack of commitment to their own plot and if a huge Point of the game can be treated like a minor mistake than what else can? was is just a lack of oversight that laezel gets killed under vlaakith? can it be waved off if enough vlaakith loving gith players come together and shout loud enough that they want to ride alongside their queen with their gith gf?

what part of the game is tangible to hold on to, and after two years worth of patches that are made to appease the fans at the expense of the story, will it still be the game i fell in love with?

i dont blame the fans for wanting, i blame the devs for delivering. that they could sacrifice the integrity of a pretty straightforward story bodes ill tidings for the future of this game.

yes i wanted this feature, but i was glad i wasn't given it. i may have been confused and slightly miffed that i didn't get to reign supreme with my evil bf, but i immensely respected the game that could call me out on it. i wish they could show the same respect to their own writing.

[robotlesbianjavert]

What's the problem with Deku's writing?

well for one he's a main character. which is strike one.

technically that's a joke but also not. there's a lot angles i could take in order to complain about deku, so for now i want to take the angle that as a main character, there are things that are going to be taken for granted as endgame for the narrative, but it's so taken for granted that the story forgets about the actual material needed to reach the endgame.

i'm going to use ofmd s2 as an example of this, because it's another thing i like to point at and go :) bad writing. so for that, it's very evident that the writers are aiming for "ed and stede are together and are ready to embark on a new, more mature phase of their life together". you can tell this because the showrunner was constantly talking about it in interviews. and indeed, the season ends with ed and stede parting ways with their crew and pirate life to try their hands as innkeepers.

but to reach that endgame, the series has to a) get stede and ed back together as soon possible, meaning they have to lean heavily on coincidence rather than any real efforts on the part of the characters, b) resolve the very emotionally stark situations the characters had left s1/started s2 in a way that makes the happy innkeeper endgame possible, but this makes the segue from drama to resolution unbelievable because the series can't really dedicate the time to dealing with that fallout before hopping onto the next big issue, which c) means that the ways that the other characters have been hurt as a result ed and stede's relationship drama have their pain sidelined and shrugged off, and in turn d) the focus on ensuring that ed and stede are together and in love means that their relationships with other characters get de-emphasized and feel much less lived, which rebounds and makes ed and stede feel more one-dimensional without the magic that fleshed them out. and most dire of all e) the audience is expected to believe that "sorry i was a dick" "you're not a dick life's a dick" is meant to indicate a development of maturity that means they are able to go off and be innkeepers together. it is NOT there.

essentially, the focus on a specific endgame without care about how that endgame is achieved ends up undercutting the triumph and catharsis of that endgame, rendering it much more hollow. people still enjoyed ofmd s2, and they're allowed to! but they enjoy it because their otp ended the season standing next to each other. three feet part. not for any genuine critical acclaim.

it's a similar issue with deku, especially in this final arc. his obvious endgame is that he'll affirm shigaraki's humanity and pain, "save" him (what that looks like yet, we don't know), and in turn become the greatest hero. we've got all the bones of that - just recently in 411, deku did his whole "you ARE human" declaration. but the lead up to deku and shigaraki's confrontation is thematically shallow and heavily dependent on us knowing that deku is a great kid and a great hero.

deku starts the third act realizing that if he understood the villains that he's faced, things could have turned out differently - the set up is that deku has to understand shigaraki as a person in order to stop him. the lead up to this is. well he asks muscular "what's up with you" one time in the middle of battle. that didn't work out. and then he had his nagant confrontation, where he was more shocked about her killing the former commission president than he was about the commission ordering a lot of evil assassinations. and then never thought about what that meant for society at large. and he was just like "well i know the world has some greys in it now" and that fixed her i guess. overhaul was there and deku made no real effort there to get why he was so frantic about seeing his boss. and then he has that conversation with ochaco where they both go "isn't it crazy that we have empathy for villains".

so basically the most work that he actually put into "understanding villains" was with nagant, who is a completely new character who has the baggage of "hero commission assassin is ANYONE in series gonna talk about that", and the potential she possesses as a shigaraki foil and a stepping stone for deku towards his endgame gets muddled. she's also basically, while a significant confrontation, is one beat of many in the third act.

so the set up for "understanding villains" as a factor in deku's endgame, in seeing villains as human, is pretty weak. and deku was honestly really dependent on getting that build up and using other villains as a learning experience, bc his actual dynamic with shigaraki is sparse. compare it to uraraka and toga - the "understanding" thread fares a lot better there, because uraraka has had specific and charged interactions with toga that deeply affected her and made her think. deku's most constructive interaction with shigaraki was way back at the mall, before the training camp, but that's not enough to carry chemistry through their supposed arc as hero & villain.

but the story already knows that deku, one way or another, is meant to succeed, so it acts like he received the necessary development to be able to understand shigaraki as human in their confrontation.

there's a similar lack of meat for many other aspects of deku's characters - like his relationship with the vestiges, where yoichi could be 2nd and 3rd around on deku's behalf, and his mastering of the new ofa quirks, which we get TOLD has consequences or that he's struggling with, but it's never in a way that actually causes him substantial issues that he must overcome.

but actually, we can move all of that aside and ask one simple question about deku's character: what does he think about the floating death coffin the other heroes built for shigaraki?

deku gets confronted by the vestiges about having to possibly kill shigaraki, and his response to that is "yeah i guess but i gotta try saving him". which is very nice, but it just ends there. deku doesn't have to deal with how everyone else - people who are scared, or have been hurt by shigaraki and the villain's actions - might feel about this initiative. at no point does deku have to stand his ground against the other heroes after shigaraki's head, he doesn't have to convince anyone of his point of view, he doesn't have to look inward and understand why he wants to do this. it's just "well if i can!"

deku doesn't have to have any thoughts about the floating death coffin. he never has to be in scene with it before it started malfunctioning. he doesn't have to have any opinions about its construction, about the heroes deciding to take this path. he doesn't need to have feelings about it, he just has to save shigaraki.

and when that happens, the narrative will celebrate him, and the heroes will be like "wow deku really is the greatest hero, kids these days are so great". they don't need to have thoughts about deku wanting to do this in the first place, because it's going to happen and no one can stop it.

in a similar way that some ofmd fans can walk away happy with season 2 because they don't need anything more than their otp standing together three feet apart, a lot of fans would be happy with deku and shigaraki's likely endgame because what matters is that deku is the hero and that he saves shigaraki. but from where i'm standing, deku has so little substance and build up to this endgame (or at least the build up is THERE, but poorly done) that it's hard for me to be impressed.

also everything @codenamesazanka said here. everything she says i nod and go hell yeah.

[senlinyu]

Hi, I hope you’re well! I’ve followed you for quite a few years now, I’ve read many stories but just now found the courage to read Manacled (even tho I’ve spoiled myself because I’m a masochist). I just wanted to ask, how did it feel writing this story? Like mentally, emotionally how did you feel? It amazes me how someone could come up with and create something so amazing. Have a great day❤️

In retrospect, I think I was a lot more depressed at the time than I realised. (Everyone who has read Manacled side-eyes me egregiously.) And, also I was very much a baby writer and I didn't really have a good understanding or practice for separating myself from what I was writing. I am by disposition a bit of a method writer, in part because I was raised in theatre from the time I could talk, so I tend go very deep into the headspace of characters.

On the one hand, I was in a place at the time where I needed a source of catharsis, and writing functioned as that outlet, but I also think it made me spiral somewhat deeper due to my 370k treatise on human misery. And then, at first writing fanfic was all very chill and fun, but during the final third or so, when Manacled started getting popular and there were a lot of expectations, I got really anxious about disappointing my readers, so when I published the final chapter and my life suddenly went from this monumentally intricate project to nothing at all, it just felt sort of empty. I told my beta that it felt like a bomb had gone off in my brain. There were a couple weeks where I teetered on the verge of a sort of dissociative shock afterwards.

But at the same time this was an entirely private hobby. No one in my real life had any idea I was writing at all. So it was a very odd feeling like I'd hollowed myself out and bled for 370k words, but on the surface, in my actual day to day, there were no traces of it.

In summary: I was unwell.

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Mommy Dearest

Moonlight Chicken, Ep. 7 is all about parent/child relationships. And I for one could not be more grateful to P'Aof and the other writers, cast, and crew involved in highlighting that. As I've gotten older my appreciation for slice of life style stories has continued to grow, and I think that stems from finding comfort and catharsis in seeing other people portray my reality. Especially when it is treated with empathy and understanding.

Which is why I was so happy to see Li Ming's interactions with his mother this episode. Cause the second they meet face to face, I knew I would be relating hard to Li Ming's feelings towards his mother.

It is vitally, vitally important to me that Jam is introduced in this way. That she is always being shown throughout this entire episode to be kind. She is nice, she is expressing interest in her son, she is cooking for him, she is asking him to come home. Even when she is expressing her thoughts on Li Ming being gay to Jim, ones that are harmful, she is not doing so maliciously. She is allowed to be seen as not inherently evil, and Li Ming is still allowed to feel no love for her.

And this is very important to me specifically because it the way she engages with Li Ming is nearly identical to the way my father is currently trying to engage with me. He's started calling me more, started asking me more questions about my life, started inviting me over for dinner when I'm in town. And the reason why I'm so invested in this scene is because, I recognize the deadness in Li Ming's eyes, we know from later on in the episode that Li Ming isn't sure that he loves his mother, and as a result we have a colder, more stand-offish, and unusually quiet Li Ming. He is not capable of engaging with his mother in a loving way, and it radiates out of him. Before we've had more than ten seconds of a conversation between them, we can already tell that Li Ming is incapable of buying in to her pleasantries.

Even worse for Li Ming, this is a surprise. He did not know she was coming, and now she is here, giving him no time to emotionally or mentally prepare to interact with her.

And this statement speaks volumes to me, probably does to Li Ming too. She didn't come here to see Li Ming, she didn't come here because she missed Li Ming, she came here because her boyfriend was coming here, she just happened to be in town. It's understandable if the expense to travel is a burden, but we know pretty soon after she says this line that she is currently living comfortably.

Crucially, Jam doesn't say this to be cruel, she is not trying to hurt Li Ming. She's just telling him information, but if my father said this to me after an extended time apart, I know I certainly would be thinking of course. of course you only come when it's convenient for you.

Love this line. Because it establishes a fact. Li Ming and Jam do not talk to each other. Li Ming has no idea who Uncle Tong is in relation to his mother.

Li Ming's entire character centers around connection and disconnection. And if his body language wasn't a neon sign in and of itself to the disconnect he has between himself and his mother, everything she has said and continues to say puts further distance between them. "That uncle who took you fishing when you were small," when you were small. She hasn't seen Li Ming in years, she has no idea who he is as a person now, no idea what memories he's made since living in Pattaya. Li Ming is her child, so he will always be a child, and his current likes and interests and memories must surely still be tied to his childhood. Because she only knows Li Ming has he was, before she lost left him

Ok, I know I say this every time, but Fourth is such a good actor, there is so much more darkness and anger in Li Ming than in Gun and I always have to remind myself he's playing both characters. And right here, I want to ask Fourth what Li Ming is feeling. Is he lying or is he telling the truth? Is he scared of what is coming next? He knows what will happen, he knows what is coming. Does he lie about not remembering P'Tong to try to drive the knife in a little? Or does he genuinely not remember and it's a good indication that Jam will have to work very very hard to brighten up the relationship between her and her son?

We love the incredibly human characters that are in this show. Li Ming's mother does actually care about her son's opinion here. She wants him to know that she is thinking of marrying P'Tong. I do genuinely believe that, that she is seeking permission here from Li Ming, regardless of whether P'Tong was the one who suggested it or not.

Zero tolerance for bullshit.

I know Li Ming as a character is very willing and able to call out the injustices he sees, anywhere, anytime, with anyone in any position of power. But God, (sorry this is getting too personal) it feels so satisfying some times to deliver a cut like this to a parent.

Li Ming is still not buying in to it, so Jam is being more intentional about what she is feeling. Jam wants Li Ming's opinion, or...she wants Li Ming to absolve her of some of her guilt and her hesitations and her worries.

ZERO! TOLERANCE! FOR! BULLSHIT!

God. His face in this whole scene is great, so detached from everything, he is giving her as few emotions as possible. It's cold, it's distant, his physicality bears the emotional distance between them. It is so so different from his confrontations with Jim. Someone he is also very clearly willing and able to talk back to. To get punchy with.

When Li Ming is mad at Jim he gets close, as close to him as possible, right up in to his face.

When Jim gives him a command "don't raise your voice at me," "I said stop." it does take a few attempts but Li Ming does listen. Does calm down. Does apologize. And even after his uncle has constantly, sometimes unintentionally, and sometimes for safety, over-stepped Li Ming's boundaries and autonomy, Li Ming still often checks in with Jim. In the confrontation with Heart's parents when Heart runs upstairs, Li Ming looks to Jim (in my mind seeking permission) before he runs up after him.

But crucially, Li Ming trusts Jim, Li Ming loves Jim, Li Ming knows Jim cares about him and as a result, he gives Jim his whole self. He calms himself down when Jim tells him he's crossed the line, he goes to Jim's birthday party, he apologizes to Jim. He tells Jim what is bothering him, and while that often ends in an argument, Li Ming is fully willing to be honest with him.

"If you want me to say it's okay, just say it,"

Jam does not get the same honesty. Whatever he can do to just finish this conversation sooner, he will do. Whatever Jam wants him to say so she can feel better and he can get more distance between them, he will say.

Oh. I can see how easy it would be for Li Ming to fully believe it was P'Tong who actually decided to consider Li Ming's feelings. Not hers.

Straight to the point. Just say what you mean, just tell me what you want, stop dragging this conversation out.

He looks...absolutely the same. No emotion. Closed off. There is no excitement, no hope, no joy. This is not good news to him. This does not change anything between them. This does not make him love his mother more, or make him feel more loved by his mother in return.

"My life is more comfortable now, you know? You're about to graduate from high school. Maybe we can be together again." Now, we all know that Li Ming is not interested in going to college, he wants to leave, to do work and travel. But his mother doesn't know that, we'll get to the sentence immediately following this one in a second but I just...I can't help thinking about whether or not Li Ming would even live at home if he did go to college. How much parenting would she really have to do. How much of a time commitment would she really be putting in?

We know Li Ming has desperately been seeking freedom and understanding. He has found understanding by way of Heart. But the freedom from poverty? He now has that if he goes to live with his Mom. She's living a comfortable life. But he doesn't want it. Because fundamentally, more than anything else, Li Ming wants freedom to make his own choices.

And see, here is the thing. "IF YOU WANT to continue your studies," she's giving him a choice here...technically. But Jim and Li Ming have had this conversation already. Jim and Li Ming have already had this fight. Going back with his mother would not solve any of his problems, and in fact creates more because it separates him from the community he has here.

"Why do you all decide for me? Nobody bothers to ask me first."

Now, in the first place we know there is no way in Hell Li Ming is going back with his mother. There is not a second in this entire interaction that Li Ming even entertains the idea. He does not love his mother, he does not want to live with his mother, his mother has no clue who he even is as a person at this point.

And in the second place, he would be facing the same exact problem he has right now. People aren't asking him what he wants. They aren't treating him like an adult. And yes, as you get older, you realize that people were doing their best, and as you get older you realize that it's difficult to successfully balance when you need to protect or guide young adults and when you need to let them make their own decisions. In the conversation Li Ming has with Jim at the end of Episode 5 after they return home. Jim asks "What if something more serious occurs to [Heart]?" and Li Ming replies with "I never think it would happen," and that is what Jim is trying to shield Li Ming from. And all Li Ming is asking for is to be allowed to learn from those moments.

Okay, tangent over, back to Li Ming and Jam. Where we have seen Li Ming be cold, near dissociative, and definitely detached through most of the conversation with his mother. But this, the lack of autonomy he is constantly facing by his family, is Li Ming's biggest sore spot. And he has been bravely trudging along through a conversation he does not want to be in, where he is being met with just so much kindness that lacks so much understanding of him, that he is ready to be done.

But this is not the reaction his mother is expecting of Li Ming, again, because she hasn't been here for this. We have. Jim has. We know that this is a sore spot, and we know that Li Ming has already been in a very emotionally charged argument about this with his uncle before, and I doubt he really wants to do it again.

"Isn't it good to have options?" because she is confused. Because she doesn't know that Li Ming has chosen his option already. That his choice is to leave. And this question is double edged, though I don't think Jam realizes it. Isn't is good to have options? To have college as a back up if you decide you want to go. To have me as a backup if you are tired of living with Uncle Jim. If you are tired of living here in poverty, in a community that accepts you, in a place where you have friends and you have love and you have connection. You can come back with me to live in a comfortable home, with a man that I don't really want to marry but will anyway, away from all your friends, away from the man that raised you, away from your community.

No wonder Li Ming hits her back immediately with "What do you want me to be happy about first?"

The face of a man who is very much not happy about any of this. "About your breakup with Uncle Sith, about your new boyfriend, or about you being well-off and having a comfortable life, and wanting to take me back with you?"

If anyone can remind me of the timeline with Beam, I would really love to know, because I want to know if Li Ming knew Beam, if Li Ming met Beam. How many people has he lost? How often is his mother breaking up with people? How out of the loop does Li Ming feel?

Babes, you didn't come here for Li Ming at all. The list of reasons you gave for coming to Pattaya, in order:

"P'Tong was in town running errands"

"P'Tong wanted me to ask you if it was okay if he married me,"

"I want to be with you,"

The reason you actually came to Pattaya:

Jim called and asked for a title, and you want to use it to get him to try to help you get your son to move back with you.

The face of a man who is absolutely done compromising his own feelings for his mother's.

And God, okay it is time to talk about Li Ming and eye contact. Because we know he is so so capable of keeping eye contact. When he fights with Jim his eyes are always always right on him. When he's with Heart, he's making as much eye contact as possible.

When he is with Jam, it is completely reversed, he makes eye contact with his mother as little as possible. Physically turning himself away from her at the end here. And she tries to be physically affectionate with him, to show her love for him, but Li Ming does not love his mother, and so he just sits there unable to reciprocate.

Lmao, me when my Dad tries to hug me.

Okay, so I started this whole thing by saying that I was incredibly grateful to this show for making Li Ming's mother kind, and for allowing Li Ming to treat her this way anyway, and for that to be okay. Warning, personal story ahead...when I was sixteen, in a fit of anger, my father said he could live perfectly happily without me, and it did irreparable harm to our already extremely tenuous relationship. The thing that even made me tolerate him was going to college and getting thousands of miles between us. And by the end of college our relationship broke down further, and then even distance couldn't save it. But, my father is incredibly charming and charismatic to the outside world. I do not love my father. And that is something I have never said out loud. Because I feel guilty about it. But, I do not love my father, and unfortunately, that's clear to anyone that sees us interact. Because I am Li Ming in my own situation. I am detached, emotionless, giving the shortest possible replies with no extra information. When my father ends his phone calls with "I love you" I do not say it back, because I can't and because I don't believe him. When my father hugs me, I do not hug him back. When my father invites me to dinner, and his girlfriend is there, I can't shake the feeling that it was her who suggested we all get together in the first place. Or if it wasn't, that he's just trying to show himself off as a good father to impress her.

And from the outside looking in, to strangers who do not know the history that has come between us, the history that has gotten us to that point, I look like the asshole. And it is something that I am painfully aware of. So this scene means a lot to me, because I have not seen this type of relationship between a parent and a child in any media before. Either the parents are great, or the parents are abusive, or the parents have been cut off because they are asking too much of their kids. I haven't seen my relationship to my parent accurately represented, and humanely represented. I do not think that Li Ming is being unfair here, I do not think that he is being cruel. And that brings me such relief.

[vespaer77]

You just did the impossible. You changed someone’s opinion online. I can see Gale now. Thank you!

Listen, I'd be the first to forgive anyone if they didn't share my feelings. Gale is the worst about filling in the gaps in his story, and I filled a lot of them by suddenly taking an interest... and then going out to the Forbidden Realms wiki pages and doing supplementary reading on Mystra and Blackstaff Academy which made me first go, "Oh." And then, "OH." And then finally, "Oh my god."

It's like the same criticism I have about Star Wars, haha =) In order to know the whole story, one has to have seen x and y shows and read z comic book. Otherwise you wouldn't know that Kylo Ren wasn't actually responsible for the destruction of Luke's temple, which is somewhat critical yet relatively hidden information.

I *hated* Gale in early access. He was my dead last least favorite character. They changed him somewhat in full release (not to mention he was infinitely hotter, lol), but it wasn't until damned near the end of the game when I was like, "Wait... wait a minute." I think that's also why they did to Rolan what they did - in the same place, even. While we were completing Gale's companion quest. Rolan was the clue, the tip off. Another insufferably egotistical wizard. Suffering abuse. They laid the parallel out so plainly and I still walked right past it until Gale read the book and suddenly took a very surprisingly dark turn. And I felt so silly that it surprised me so.

And I was so disinterested in Gale at the time that I saved his companion quest for basically the last. Sort of. I think I did Gortash after him. But I got to watch all the other companions face their abuser and win. I got to help Wyll break his contract AND free his father. I got to help Shadowheart free herself from Shar and return to the open arms of Selune. I got to help Halsin fix his past mistakes and return Moonrise to its former self. I got to help Astarion face his abuser at long, long last and free himself for the first time in his own memory, along with thousands of others. And Sebastian <3 And then I even helped Karlach face her abuser and bring him to justice.

But what did Gale get to do? Where was his freedom? His catharsis? When he faced his abuser, the only thing that happened was her expressing her disappointment that he was still alive, that he didn't choose her above his own self-inflicted demise. And then she subjected him to yet another new pact that still indebted him to her. Because he's a wizard. No matter what he does, as long as he draws breath and casts spells, he'll always be indebted to her. And it just felt so... hollow. Unfair.

it made me FEEEEEEELLLLLLugh things haha! And then I was like, fuck. No, I do. I like this character.

OKAY I LOVE HIM, ALRIGHT? THERE. I SAID IT.

So I unbelievably and totally and with full chest and face understand and respect it. Not every character is going to be to everyone's tastes. If anything? It just proves how well these characters are written. That this team of writers were capable of such subtlety and depth. I'm not sure I could do the same justice to a fictional creation of my own. I'm just in awe of Larian Studios =)

[liquidorcard]

I'm listening to streams I missed while doing my stuff right now.

At the 1:01:07 mark, what Malcome says here-- as a CSA and regular ol' adult SA survivor myself I can't stress enough how much appreciate him bringing this up and how he articulated the point. Making this distinction between the kinds of ways victims process shit and what Lily does.

TW: very mildly graphic discussion of coping with sexual trauma.

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There's what I can only really describe as a catharsis of sorts to (within healthy limits) expressing the messy, ugly, complicated feelings you're left with battling for the rest of your life when it comes to having to go on living in a body that's been so deeply violated like that. Not always in Psychosexual or in intentionally titillating ways, but ways often others will read as such by it being inherently related to sex, etc. Ways that will just not make sense to people who have never had that experience, sometimes in ways that don't make sense to other survivors.

Not to psychoanalize myself too much here-- but I strongly suspect my deep fascination and love of body horror, which I've had quite literally as long as I can remember, in some part is because it was my only outlet (especially as a child) to metabolize and cope with things that happen to me I both had no framework to understand and no words to express. From a very young age, I have been writing and drawing some extremely violent shit that, to me at the time, wasn't intended to be sexual (I mean, I was a kid. I didn't really have a concept of that shit yet.) But like, I could see how someone could twist it that way if they wanted to be an asshole. This is very much not an uncommon behavior (and a warning sign, btw) for children who have been abused.

Should I have gotten therapy for it? Yes. But that didn't happen. Would it be horribly embarrassing if the horrific fanfics I wrote when I was 12 and could barely spell in English resurfaced full of a traumatized mentally ill kid's understanding of sexual violence resurfaced? If my old DeviantArt account got clocked? Yeah. Again, I could see someone with no understanding of the circumstances in which that live experience puts you in twisting that into the same thing the nightmare mode horny cesspit shit Lily's done.

I do believe that part of why Lily wrote shit like Stockholm has IN PART, something to do with the trauma she went through as a kid. But that she was;

a) old enough that she had to have understood more of what she was doing.

b) continued to write the same kinds of stuff, just less mask off and more layered under a veil of implication and plausible deniability with shit like Poke Madhouse.

c) shown a million red flags that she doesn't regard this shit as horrific inherently and continues to frame it as such in and out of her fiction. When, even when I was a kid-- like, obviously the point of the pieces I did was to express a sense of horror. I framed what I wrote and drew from the position of the victim-- not even as a conscious choice, but because that's what I was. That's what I was trying to express even though I wasn't exactly aware of that-- my feelings as a victim.

Even as an adult, I gravitate towards extreme horror in both my creative work and the media I consume--- not WHOLLY because of all the ways my childhood wasn't that great, but I can't really deny that's part of it. Especially with my professional work as an artist and (hopefully soon) as a writer, even in directly or in a metaphorical way, I draw a lot of my own unpleasant life experiences as my primary idea pool. I don't think that's inherently a bad thing.

It's Lily's PRESENTATION of these kinds of concepts that end up being her telling on herself.

[bao-dur]

Hello! I just completed the 5some scene witb Halsin and Astarion and I dont really have anyone to comment this with I hope you dont mind me dropping here real quick to say [SPOILERS]

So... he just dissociates no matter what? I completed Astarion's quest and I could swear that meant he wouldnt dissociate in the scene. But I think what bothers me the most isnt even the dissociating itself but the lack of response from the Player Character. I just LET him?? I dont comfort him, I dont stop the whole thing in its tracks??

And its the only way to get Halsin's backstory?? Am I doing something wrong? I feel so conflicted about the whole thing. Opinions? Thanks for reading this far if you have, sorry for any inconvenience!

I don't claim to be the best source on Astarion lore or on his storyline consistencies/inconsistencies since we're like a bitter divorced couple, I can't talk about him without getting slightly annoyed. But,

I got that exact same scene (5some) after Astarion's story conclusion. To me it makes sense that he's still distant - we fixed his Cazador situation but we didnt fix his sexual abuse issue because he never brought up the trauma. I'm assuming you didnt romance Astarion ang got this scene? For me, a non-Astarionmancer it made sense, since he never told me about his intimacy issues in the first place. But if that happened to you, and you romanced him, then I can still understand him being distant in that moment. He's not that into sex with other people and you just asked him to perform in front of 4 others. I can see how he would default to an auto-pilot. But that's assuming you did romance him. If you didn't then there's not much to be surprised about. He's tired of performing seduction.

To me, it's not that big of a deal that the PlayerCharacter doesn't respond to catching Astarion drift away. Without romancing him and learning about his baggage PC at best can only assume that Astarion is not into sex due to his past of sleeping with his victims and that possibly bringing up bad memories. Since the narraror line about him being distant during the encounter was only a brief mention (narrator mentions PC and Astarion catching eyes for a moment, any further descriptions of his performative behaviour are a general description of the scene since nothing is visible, not necessarly describing what the PC is seeing).

What! I! Fully! Agree! With! You! Is how Halsin's mega traumatic backstory is only ever accessible through a hidden option (i wouldn't even call it a mission, just a random NPC conversation) in Act 3. That conversation could have been naturally implemented into the (currently bare-bone) Halsin romance route. This is why I'm still screaming about letting the players have access to Halsin as a companion in Act 1 already, so that he can go with the PC to the Underdark. That could lead to him having some flashbacks to his time there, and perhaps slipping in some titbits during idk the exploration of the wizard tower in the underdark and him seeing the chain mounted to a wall and that bringing up some nasty memories?? Like the story writes itself, it's all there but I'm guessing the devs had better things to do then flesh out their fanservice and fan demands. Like adding Halsin as a romance options SHOULD HAVE BEEN a post release thing !!!

My opinions are more or less summed up here. It's ass that an abuse victim such as Astarion gets all the special treatment and a catharsis while Halsin, who also went through a traumatic experience doesn't. He actually laughs it off. But that's okay, people cope differently. So why not have us explore his backstory more? Well, it's crunch of course. The devs had no time to put love and care into Halsin even tho him being a romance option/companion (so those conversations about his past wouldn't come up) wasn't even on their initial goal list, just something a few discord people suggested.

I feel like the writers had too much on their plates and too little time to make sure inconsistencies in character motivations/ reactions, backstories don't occur. But we should all be happy Astarion got all the attention he deserved. Oh, you're saying there are other companions in this game too? Since when?

[lemonhemlock]

i am way too late for any of this, but i felt like ranting a little (a lot) over tma, so here it goes.

i actually really, really liked the dreamlike quality of the S5 statements. i think they're some of jonny's best work. so evocative and just beautifully written, the feeling of horror so prevalent, so delicate, so entrapping. i would listen to them absolutely enthralled. what a submersive experience. so on that front, 100% would recommend.

the problems i have are mainly with the meta-plot. certainly, personal preferences and biases come into play here, bc i despise jonmartin with the fire of a thousand suns and would have loved a jonelias corruption narrative, but, i feel that, in his quest to appease the j-mart shippers, jonny sacrificed a lot of his story's integrity. also, i have no way of verifying this, but it also felt like he inserted his own biases in a way that wasn't necessarily productive.

ultimately, i feel like he disrespected his main antagonists and that essentially translated into a sort of irreverence towards his own story. elias was easily his most dramatic and interesting villain (regardless of what he originally intended for him, it's how he developed throughout the story & i think there is a certain honesty in a writer acknowledging and respecting that), stole every scene he was in, yet after his great villain reveal in S4, he is absolutely absent throughout his entire apocalypse. it creates a lack of catharsis that i find bothersome. his death is way too easy. yet when he finally appears in MAG 193, it is glorious. he is terrifyingly in the throws of religious ecstasy as the eye's pupil. such an interesting idea! so little it was developed though bc jonny for some reason doesn't like elias.

there's this entire commentary about how elias is really just there to be eye's pupil until jon takes over from him, bc it's jon the eye truly desires. as if after faithfully serving the beholding for two centuries and bringing about his ritual, the eye would just disregard elias and actually be interested in the one person who is unwilling to play ball. please be serious. not saying that jon can't be the eye's "special little boy" or whatever, but the nerfing of elias/jonah borderlines on petulant. ofc, jonny is the author and you cannot begrudge a man for writing whatever he wants, but, as a listener, i have to say it feels very unsatisfying whenever authorial biases directly affect the storyline. very deus-ex-machina. very unearned.

i also have a problem with how the eye was ultimately handled and, once again, nerfed. the introduction of this element in relation to the beholding, that it sees but does not understand, felt very trite to me. it was added as a way to de-power the eye and elevate the web. but how could it even be true in the context of the entity conceptualization? the reason scopophobia is a thing is because people fear someone is behind the watching. what they fear is judgment or someone keeping tabs on them and using that information to harm them in some way. that requires intelligence, a capacity to distinguish between the harmless and the incriminatory, a propensity for casting moral judgment, of holding people accountable, of assigning blame, of discovering people's deepest, darkest secrets, of weaponizing shame. no one is afraid of a crow or a cat staring back at them, because, while those are also living beings, they lack the higher intelligence that creates the context necessary for scopophobia. so how can the eye not possess intelligence? apparently it doesn't, because jonny decided he didn't like the eye and the spider was oh-so-cooler instead.

but that only lead to the spider being way too overpowered than it should have been. as the so-called brain of the operation, the web really manifests a lot of faults that could have been exploited, yet the character never do, because the web needs to be true It Girl for some reason. this all feels very childish. the web's motivations do not work in-universe. we are often told it doesn't have a ritual because it is content with playing its games of manipulation within the world as it currently is. and that honestly seemed a rather fair assessment to make, but later proved to be a red herring, because it was the web that was actually behind the eye's own ritual.

i have several gripes with this. 1. if the spider is so smart, why doesn't it/can't it have its own ritual and re-shape the world according to its own preferences? why does it have to piggyback on the eye's grind? 2. the spider's big plan seems to be bringing about the eyepocalypse just to convince the characters to let the fears out into the metaverse so it can start again. because, as it turns out, the eyepocalypse isn't really it's preferred state of being? it was the status-quo after all? the web DID prefer the world as it was, because it allowed it to thrive off manipulation and puppeteering, things it can't really engage in as much as it would like, since now everyone is trapped inside various fear domains. so, why-oh-why, not just leave the world as is? why even bring about an apocalypse in the first place if your intention is to always inhabit a apocalypse-less place?

i felt like this was such a plot-hole of an explanation the way it was presented. the web's greatest flaw was that it loved intricate plots so much there was a real danger of over-complicating its own plans and failing to see the forest from the trees, so to speak. the eye could have been used not to boggle down on meaningless details and ramifications, but to get a better sense of the bigger picture, something the web could very well lose sight of (pun intended). so the web's "plan" could have been ultimately rendered meaningless, because instead of choosing the simplistic, straightforward, occam's razor solution (no apocalypse, just thrive off the world as it is), it chose the overly complicated path that placed it in a situation it didn't thrive in (eyepocalypse) and made it even more complicated to get out of in the first place. it basically surrendered its destiny into the hands of people who had zero reasons to act sympathetic and could have very well chosen to destroy the entire world, fears included. and yet i am supposed to be in awe of the web's great intelligence and buy into the whole dumb eye propaganda?

many things have already been said about the moral dilemma at the end of S5 and my take on that is that jon was right. it was the merciful and just solution to prevent other people from other universes from suffering at the hands of fear entities. but i will be indulgent and account that it is a difficult choice to make for anyone, since human beings are so survivalist in nature and the choice to just make the fears someone else's problem in the hopes of their plans maybe getting foiled more effectively by others is tantalizing. who knows what any of us would have chosen had we been in their situation? perpetuating the horrors on someone else just so you could get reprieve is so cravenly but it's human and i get it. however, by no means is this a happy ending the way it was framed by the narrative. what melanie, georgie, basira and martin did was horrible and evil, but it is never acknowledged in that way. the least jonny could have done is have jon resist martin's selfish decision and have martin genuinely kill him. but, no, martin gets his romantic send-off together with jon, with the open possibility that they get transported to another world where they could start over. melanie, georgie and basira get to start a new life in the entity-less world, after contributing almost nothing. the worst characters get to live & they're validated in their awful behaviour.

however. i do feel like there were other ways to resolve the eyepocalypse without resorting to a horrible sophie's choice in the first place, but that would require a more extensive endgame re-write.

[kaaragen]

2, 14, 35, 36 for the fanfic writer asks, please?

Hey! Sorry for taking so long to respond and thanks for the ask!

2. Do you plan each chapter ahead or write as you go?

A little bit of both. I have a general plan that I have set out and then I'll write each chapter in accordance with that. Sometimes of course this changes things, or something I think will take one chapter ends up taking two or three, but I like following the muse. As the story gets more complicated, though, I am starting to move toward planning chapters just because otherwise I struggle to keep track of everything that's going on and the timeline intersections!

14. How do you write emotional scenes? Do you feel what the characters feel? Do you draw on personal experiences?

This is an interesting one! I'd say it depend on exactly what the nature of the emotional scene is that depends on how I'd approach it. In general, though, I try and get 'into character'. I'll often speak the dialogue outloud which is a great way of getting the rhythm right, as well as I suppose acting the part which gets a feel for the emotions too. So in that I can usually if not feel what the characters feel at least have an impression of it.

I wouldn't say I directly draw on personal experiences (except for depression), but certainly indirectly. I might not know what it feels like, for example, to be Barriss post-Temple bombing, but I've certainly had experiences where I did something wrong and felt guilty about it, but also didn't want ot own up to it. I can take that experience and then channel and magnify it, fitting it with the personality to get a sense of what it might be like.

35. What is one essential thing to remember when writing a villain?

Their vibe. It's good to have an understanding of why they're a villain and how that then effects their behaviour and the way they are. And they're all going to have a different vibe to some degree.

Ventress, for example, is very caustic and snide but at her core she's a villain because she wants to be cared for and valued. Being a villain offers that because she gets some twisted form of care from Dooku. But it comes out in her keeping a distance through the snideness (not wanting to be hurt), as well as her flirting with Obi-Wan. Because hey, yes he's on the opposite side of a war and they are trying to kill each other, but he is showing her respect and attention.

Sidious, on the other hand, is just evil for being evil; there's not much more depth to it. So I just write him as a (intelligent) force of nature: he's relentless, remorseless, you can't reason with him or appeal to him. All you can do is get the hell out of his way and hope he doesn't notice you.

36. How do you write kissing scenes?

Another interesting one! I guess I try and work out what the meaning of the kiss is. The kissing itself is incidental, it's just exchanging saliva, but how does it make the characters feel? Is it comforting? Healing? Sad? Happy? Pained? Horny(er)? In essence, what is the kiss symbolising.

When Barriss and Ahsoka finally kiss in And if we Fell Together, it's a big moment but the kiss itself doesn't really matter; what matters is its a moment of catharsis (certainly was for me!), and shows their willingness to finally let go of their pains, anxieties and truly open up to each other. And from that moment onwards, they never hide anything from one another.

[dapg-otmebytheballs]

Someone mentioned in the tags of that post the times when it was taboo to write fic treating Dan's depression branding as serious and how those fics actually helped this person come to terms with their own mental health struggles (not adding the tags for privacy) and I think that really exemplifies why all these taboos around fiction are just causing repression and harm.

Others in the fandom have already talked about their experience being fic writers getting bullied off of platforms, and it's something we should hope not to repeat. Fiction is fiction at the end of the day, including rpf. It's meant for just a way to project some story that you want to or need to hear onto some characters. And every story out there, no matter how much you might personally hate it or think it's "romanticising" something awful, it still has an audience of at least one (the author) and possibly many more, for whom that story can work as anything from solace, to a safer way to deal with something that's too scary and intimidating in its real raw form, to much needed catharsis over bad shit happening in someone's life.

Fics on ao3 have tags and ratings, and most authors I've seen post even on tumblr take care to put ratings on them. If you have trouble with any of the tropes or with the sex or the kinks or the dark themes etc etc you can skip out of it, but to go seeking them and then saying "this causes harm to people who don't heed the warnings and still read it" is just being obtuse.

People are talking about how fucked up the wave of 'romanticising depression' was, but too many of us didn't have the language to be allowed to take our struggles seriously. Too many of us were too repressed, or surrounded by people who wouldn't be supportive, and sometimes you need that distance that comes from fiction and exaggerated themes and kind of unrealistic portrayals of mental health issues because that distance enables you to explore something about yourself that's too taboo to even consider outside of depressive jokes and fucked up fiction. Not just mental health either, a ton of horrible inhumane things are very real experiences that people have and they're too taboo to deal with head on for many of us.

Dan talking that openly about not being okay - even if it was framed as a joke - was one of the earliest outlets I had to think upon my own mental state. It's understandable that a lot of people are very uncomfortable with those jokes now, and that people were uncomfortable with certain kinds of fics (and probably still are). But repressing our expression and telling people they can't post something because it makes us uncomfortable is only going to take away some safe options of exploring really tough personal issues that might be the only thing helping someone face their struggles.

If it's not for you, it's not for you. Let's not repeat the mistakes of acting like it's not for anyone and can't help or mean something to anyone at all. Mind the ratings, mind the tags, and as always, mind your business ✌🏻🌸

[spermwhalescantcum]

random Dream SMP fanfics that I have read

These big blobs of texts are just descriptions of the fics. None of this are works by me, credits to their original writer. ( also, idk what happened to the format, just live with it)

🩵Passerine ✅ 100/10 (blujamas, thcscus(bluejamas) )   - SBI, Royal AU, Cannon character death, god AU, Dream Antagonist, Wilbur Centric, Family AU, SO MUCH PLOT

 “I understand. You heard the place you loved was in trouble, so you came back, but I don’t—I just—why didn’t you take me?” Here it was, at last. Catharsis, or something close to it. “I would have hunted them down with you, Philza, the people who did that to your town. I would have given you your vengeance on a silver platter. I would have given you the world.”

Philza didn’t look guilty. He just looked tired. “I didn’t hunt them down, though.”

//

Or, that fic where Techno and Phil are old immortals, and Tommy and Wilbur are decidedly... not.

This fic is a must read and an all-time classic in the Dream SMP fandom. It is not bold to say this is one of the best fanfiction that you will find on ao3. 

Shrike  ✅ 9/10  (blujamas, thcscus(bluejamas) ) -  Passerine pre-sequel, God AU, Royal AU, Dream Antagonist, Dream team, Georgenotfound Centric, SO MUCH PLOT

“You know, you might be the only thing alive that knows my name. I don’t know how long I’ve been sleeping, but it must have been long enough for people to have forgotten.” The stag finished the last of the berries and stared at George wonderingly. George chuckled, plucked another handful to offer to it, and continued, “I’d gone to sleep tired. And I wake up tired. Tell me, do you think that’s fair?”

The stag, because it was a stag, did not reply.

But George didn’t mind that, either.

//

Or, that fic about passerine!Dream Team, but before passerine.

This fic is good though in my opinion not as good as Passerine. The primary plot in the story is centred around more emotional than physical problems I would say. This can be read anytime, either before or after Passerine, but I recommend reading it after so things can make a bit more sense. 

The world forgetting by the world forgot🟡 8/10 (bonesandthebees) - SBI, Dream Antagonist, Hero/villain AU, Tommy Centric, Adoption AU , Bench Trio, Magic AU

“Something has been stolen from us,” Thanatos said, his wings puffing up as he spoke. “Something that is very important to us. And we are fairly certain that the person who stole this thing of ours is in this very crowd.”

Dream tensed beside Tommy as the crowd broke out into murmurs. Eyes were darting towards the different heroes in the crowd, the benefactors no doubt assuming that the culprit had to be a hero.

“Like we said, we haven’t crashed your party to cause trouble. But we want this thing returned to us, and we won’t hesitate to take extreme measures to get what we want.”

or, Tommy was a lot of things: a newly debuted hero sidekick, an amnesiac, and a former kidnapping victim of the Syndicate.

Tommy didn't actually remember that last one though. That was just what Dream told him.

Only weeks after his hero debut, the Syndicate announces they are searching for something, and Tommy knows it has to be him. The scariest part? If they find him, Tommy will have no clue what to expect, because the Syndicate might know him, but he has no memories of them.

So he can't let them find him. No matter what.

Of course they end up finding him anyway.

This fic has a great character development for Tommy in my opinion, from denial and all. This is one of the Hero/Villian AUs that is different from the other. 

🩵One Day I met a God ( Turns Out, He’s an Idiot )🟡 11/10 ( Sunshine_3)  - SBI, Tommy centric, God AU, Temporary Main Character Death, Minor plot, Adoption AU 

Every year, the Tournament of the Gods is held to determine who is worthy to gain the favour of the universe's deities.

This year, Tommy is determined to win, to be the youngest person ever to claim a victory.

Not because he wants to be blessed or anything. He just thinks it's funny.

--------

An AU in which Tommy Innit is just a mortal vibin' and doing his thing and the rest of SBI are gods who have claimed him as their favourite.

Series

This fic is one of my favourite, there is fluff and plot balanced out and is very fast paced if you just can't handle 50 chapters of build up like me. This is highly recommended 

🩵Reborn, Relive, Repeat ✅ 11/10  ( Aria_Cinabun) - Phoenix/avian AU, SBI, Dream Antagonist, Tommy Centric , Adoption AU , Bench Trio, SO MUCH PLOT

There once was an empire built on prosperity and promises of a better future.

There once was a young prince, wingless yet, who stared out the window of his room and willed the world to go in his favour.

There once were two brothers and a father who despaired in the death of their youngest.

There once was a young boy, and in his bloodline lay that of the Phoenix - and when he gained his wings, they burned with the same fire that shrivelled in his heart as he lay in his cell, listening to the captors who lay on the other side of the thin bars.

There once was a grown-up prince, a kid no longer, whose fire was long burnt out, whose hope had long vanished with that of his kin. Who sat in his cell and listened to Death’s calls as his feathers turned to dust around him.

There once was another boy, another prince - another half.

There once was a tattoo of a bee that shone golden on his wrist and dreams of laughter that rung in his ears of people long forgotten. This is his tale.

🩵Of Wilder Things ❌ 11/10 ( itsultraviolet) -Fae/Fairies AU, SBI , Phil Centric, Fluff, Minor plot , Adoption AU 

There are a million and one deadly things living in the woods outside of Phil’s door.

Some of them are poisonous. Some of them have wickedly sharp claws. Some of them have hooves made for trampling or mouths full of teeth made for ripping.

Most of them are magic. Most of them can kill him without sparing a second thought.

But that has never stopped Phil.

Or: Phil the human and his chaotic fae family

His Curse of Binding ✅ 8/10 ( orphan_account) - God AU, Tommy Centric, SBI, Fluff, Reincarnation AU, Greek Mythology AU, Temporary Main Character Death, Adoption AU 

Tommy had lived and died as Theseus, Icarus, Orpheus and Sisyphus. But all he wanted to be was free.

In which Tommy Soot, originally born in 1509, is cursed to be reborn, to never reach adulthood unless he figured out the Greek myth of his lifetime. He had one rule of not allowing himself to get attached to people but he would have never guessed that a foster family of the creator of Minecraft, an anime stan and a Soundcloud musician would break that rule.

~ SBI Foster AU but with Greek mythology.

🩵Tommyinnit’s clinic for supervillain ✅ 11/10 (bonesandthebees) - SBI, Dream Antagonist, Hero/villain/vigilante AU, Tommy Centric, Family Fluff, Adoption AU , Bench Trio, Hybrid AU

“W-What do you- I mean can I- are you here to rob us?” The person managed to stammer out.

Siren snorted. “No. I’m just here to order some food.”

“Wh-What about him?” The cashier asked, glancing at Tommy. “Did you- did you kidnap him?”

“I mean… yeah, let’s go with that in case this ends up on the news,” Siren shrugged, looking back at Tommy. “I kidnapped you, right?”

“Yeah, sure,” Tommy agreed, knowing that if they said he was kidnapped, it would keep people from getting suspicious of why he was seen in public with Siren. “Anyway, can I get the chicken nuggets happy meal, with a coke?”

or, how Tommy—who is not a hero, or a villain, or even a vigilante—saves the life of one of L'Manberg's most feared supervillains, and accidentally ends up becoming the resident doctor for every supervillain in town (and maybe gets a family along the way too).

Tommyinnt’s unbeatable method of avoiding sudden death  🟡 8/10  ( eneliii)  - SBI, Dream Antagonist, Hero/villain/vigilante AU, Tommy Centric, Family Fluff, Adoption AU , Bench Trio, Hybrid AU, everything is a dream, tragedy, sad ending

“I uh,” Tommy starts, not knowing how to break this to the hero lightly. He hates to be the bearer of bad news. “I think your powers are broken? It’s not a bad thing of course, but like, I swear you tried to mind control me and it like, totally failed. Which is fine, honestly, don’t feel insecure. Everyone’s power stop working sometimes… I think.” 

Sheesh, this is very awkward. Why is no one else talking? Why is Philza looking at him like he grew three heads? Why is the Blade staring at him so intensely? Why is Willow still frozen?

“Did I, did I hit a nerve? Yikes,” Tommy hisses, “Well um,” He steps back, bracing his legs and bending his knees, “This was like super fun, but I’m - I’mma head out.”

or,

in which Tommy manages to annoy the hell out of Phil, Techno and Wilbur by being both impossible to catch and irritatingly endearing.

or or,

a crack fic where Tommy is a vigilante and Phil, Techno and Wilbur are the heroes hunting him down.

Bones in the Ocean 🟡  8/10 ( bunflower) - SBI, Dream Antagonist, Pirate AU, Technoblade Centric

“The Angel of Death, the ferryman of the Styx, the terror of the western seas. One of the most feared captains ever to sail, and yet, I have to wonder… how did a man like you end up all on his own? We searched the area where you were found—not another soul in sight. So,” He fixes him with a long look, allowing the silence to hover like a dark cloud, the words rolling off of his tongue with all the venom and smugness he can muster, “—tell me, Philza. Where is your crew?”

—

OR: Technoblade is a naval captain, and Phil his unwilling prisoner. Somehow, they manage to come out of it as friends in the end.

🩵I was a kid in a village, doing alright, then I became a prince overnight 🟡 11/10 ( sircantus)  -  Family Fluff, SBI, Adoption AU, No plot, Royal AU, Tommy Centric, Minor plot, Bench Trio

In which Phil has created the Antarctic Empire from the ground up and takes in Techno and Wilbur along the way, and raises them while also ruling his kingdom. Tommy, sixteen, lives with Tubbo in an orphanage, the two of them running around in the cold streets of their town.

After a hectic day of getting separated from Tubbo, getting into a few fights, and ending up in an entirely new town, he comes across Phil, and saves him from an assassination attempt by smashing a plate over someone's head.

So then both Techno and Wilbur decide to see who this kid is, and Tommy sure is endearing, in the way that the first time they spy on him, he starts a fight in an alleyway over a bag of cookies.

(and then Tommy basically gets kidnapped into the royal family, but like, legally, y’know?)

Stay under my wing ✅ 8/10 ( sircantus)- Zombie Apocalypse AU, Technoblade Centric, Family Fluff, Adoption AU 

"Wilby says that- that if a stranger ever tries to grab me, I can bite them." Tommy nods, giving a little glare towards Techno and his bitten hand.

"Okay." Technoblade says slowly. "But don't bite me."

"No, I'm gonna bite you."

---

SBI Zombie apocalypse AU, in which Tommy is a little kid who's been separated from Wilbur. While Wilbur is on a desperate search for his little brother with Phil, Tommy stumbles across Technoblade, who is the definition of 'no chill' in the zombie apocalypse.

Techno accidentally gains a new little brother.

The skies we seek 🟡 6/10 ( Batmansmom) - Dream Antagonist, Hero/Villain/Vigilante Au, Technoblade/Tommy Centric, Adoption AU, Family Dynamics, SBI, Bench Trio, Hybrid AU

***

"Techno?"

"Yeah Tommy?"

"What does the sky look like?"

Techno paused, the question, like most of Tommy's questions made his heart ache for reasons he didn't understand.

"I'll show it to you one day" he doesn't know why he says that, he knows by now not to make promises he doesn't know he can keep.

"Really?"

"I promise" and he swears to himself he'll find a way to keep it.

***

Or Techno is a hero on a mission that quickly gets derailed when he meets Tommy, a boy who's spent his whole life locked in one room with only Dream, the biggest villain of the century, for company.

Consequences of the Dead 🟡 6/10 ( Libis) - Wilbur Centric, Alternate Universe Travelling AU, Adoption Au, Family Dynamics, SBI, Dream Antagonist, Hybrid AU

Wilbur rolls his eyes. “I’m just patching you up out of some misplaced sense of guilt or nostalgia or whatever; after this, you can try and arrest me again as much as you want-” “Nostalgia?” Tommy interrupts. He squints at the figure, all confusing tangents and cynical jokes, the bird still perched on his head. “What, do I know you or something?” Wilbur’s face darkens. He reaches out a hand, rubbing absently at a long slash going through his trench coat, a tear in the seams of it all. Tommy stills. “No,” the villain finally mutters with a brittle laugh. “No, you don’t.” …

Or: Superhero AU in which Wilbur, upon waking up in an alternate universe, accidentally becomes a villain. Maybe not a very good one, though - he remains insanely, outrageously protective over the very heroes (and vigilante) hunting him down.

I’ll Fall, you catch me, okay? ❌ 7/10  ( sircantus)- Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Minor Plot, No Antagonist, Bench Trio SBI, Multiple POVs, Alternate Universe

“Jump!” Phil yells, holding his arms out.

“No!” Tommy shrieks, and Phil can hear the way Wilbur’s struggling to hold back a laugh, Tommy’s voice nearly cracking at the end. “I’ll die if I fall!”

“You won’t die.” Phil drawls, grinning and flying a bit closer. “I’ll catch you.”

“What if you don’t, though?!”

“Mate, even if I don’t, you’re just going to hit water, and you’ll be fine.”

“But then I’ll be wet.”

or

5 times where Phil was there to catch someone + 1 time where someone was there to catch him

Do Us Part ❌ ( SilverWing15) 6/10 - Tommy Centric, Minor Family Dynamics, Minor Family Fluff, Ghost AU, Necromancy AU, SBI, Bench Trio

Tommy takes one step back, another. Technoblade keeps advancing, like a tidal wave, like a storm, like a mountain come crashing down on them. Unstoppable, and destructive. He has come to destroy all that Tommy holds dear. He has come to kill Tommy. Dream’s hand rises to his throat, with a flick of his wrist, he drops his cloak to the ground. “Go, Tommy,” he says over his shoulder.

OR: Tommy is the lost prince of the Antarctic Empire and he would really like to *remain* lost since his family tried to sacrifice him to some creepy necromancy ritual when he was two. Dream has kept him safe for all his life, but he can't do that any more. Since he's you know. Dead.

AKA: Necromancy AU

All Screams Sound the Same 🟡 7/10 (BlueSkysTheLimit)  - Assassin AU, Tommy Centric, Temporary Main Character Death, Dream Antagonist, Royal AU, Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Bench Trio, SBI, Adoption Au, Hybrid AU

Tommy used to be an average street kid: starved, hungry, and practically half dead. One day, however, he heard of a guild who practically took in street kids- fed them, clothed them, gave them a place to sleep- and the offer was too good to pass up. All he had to do was work at the guild!

Now, a couple years later, Tommy is one of the best assassins in the Essempi guild, but his mentor sends him on his hardest mission yet: "Kill the royal family of the Antarctic Empire on the night of their annual ball, October 31st." Tommy takes the missions as a challenge, but little does he know that this mission will be unlike any other he's completed before and will change his life forever.

All Good Devils Masquerade Under the Light🟡 7/10 (kyoromii) - Vampire Au, Possessive SBI ( but SBI nonetheless), Bench trio, Minor Plot, No Antagonist, Adoption Au ( forced ), Dark SBI, Tommy Centric, Major Character death x 2

Tommy just wants to make ends meet in the dystopian city streets of Manburg. Alongside his two best friends Tubbo and Ranboo.

Unbeknownst to him, a trio of vampires have already claimed him as their own, and a seemingly harmless stroll around the city may mark the end of life as he knows it.

or

Eternity raises no saints.

🩵The Children’s rebellion ✅ 11/10  ( Aria_Cinabun)- Star Wars AU, Space AU, Adoption Au, Tommy Centric, TRAUMA, SBI, Bench Trio, SO MUCH PLOT, 

His name was Tommy Innes, and he was born to touch the stars.

Of course, touching the stars was going to have to wait, because he'd lost that dream the moment his parents had died when he was ten years old—the moment he had watched that starship explosion and felt a bit of his heart die with them. He'd lost that dream when he was transported to prison and then to a place called Pogtopia.

He'd lost that dream when he watched hundreds of children starve on the streets of Pogtopia. When he and two friends become the lone survivors of the Red Planet's Genocide. When they were rescued, and he was captured again.

But maybe—maybe one day, he would regain that dream. Maybe he would hunt down the mass murderer that had executed his friends and gain his revenge—but that day was not now, and now he sat in a prison and stared at the faraway stars.

Perhaps there would be people that he could call family again. People he would see again—people whom he had lost years ago. One day.

Because he was an Avian, born to be forever alone amongst broken stars.

And Avians did not fall unless they wanted to.

or

a science fiction fic about rebellion

Extension 🟡 8/10  ( dancewiththewaves) - Blind Tommy Centric, Royal Au, Adoption AU, Minor plot, Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, SBI, Bench Trio, BOUNDING , Magic AU

"That was Floaty. Or at least, that's what I'm calling him. Fucking kid won't tell us his name," Dream carried on like nothing had happened, and from beside Techno, Wilbur started wheezing like he was dying. "I think he's twelve or thirteen. Wind magic, he's quick and real snarky, very malnourished, blind-"

"Wait, blind?" Techno peered harder at the communicator. Wilbur stopped laughing. "How the hell is he able to slip by you then?"

"Uses the air currents like feelers, I think," Dream's breath was coming heavier as he carried on running. "Gets an idea of where things are in relation to him. He doesn't always get it right, sometimes there are cracks in things big enough to feel like an escape route and he slams into a wall. Or he doesn't angle close enough to the ground and trips on things. He's uh-" Dream flipped the communicator around, and Techno blinked as Bad flew through the air, screeching the whole way. "He's slippery."

---

TLDR: Blindinnit has wind magic and gets himself adopted by the Antarctic Empire's royal family.

By your Ancient Names 🟡 8/10 ( Charnel )  - Tommy Centric, God AU, ( I would say Middle Ages AU ), Forced adoption AU, Dream Antagonist, Mainly Just Tommy and Technoblade

“My gold.” Techno spoke, thousands of voices echoing in his words. Whispering and chattering. His calloused hand reaching up, dragging along the blood that was dripping from Tommy’s neck. Dripping down and burning away in the flames consuming the roots that held him.

The same hand that had fed him and given him shelter, as involuntary as it had been, was gently placed at the back of his skull. Techno’s thumb pulling across the golden earring that now felt like an anchor dragging him below the surface of a pool of magma.

Wearing Techno’s face, the Blood God grinned at him.

Tommy did not regret punching him.

***

Td;lr: Tommy unwillingly takes refuge into the hold of a banished god.

Turn of the Tide ❌ ( SilverWing15) 6/10 - Tommy Centric, Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Dream Antagonist, Hybrid AU, SBI

Tommy’s fins twitch at the mention of Dream’s ancestors. Dream talks about them a lot, how they made their fortune hunting down mer pods, how they were cruel and greedy. Nothing like Dream is. They’ve both overcome their roots, he says.

Tommy is nothing like the wild mer out in the ocean, who spend their lives scraping by just to survive, who kicked him out of the pod when he was a baby because he was too small. He’s also better than the pit mer, who can’t overcome their wild instincts and knows nothing but fighting.

He’s different from them, he’s better than them. He’s Dream’s. //// OR: Change is like the tide, when it comes, you can only sink or swim. You would think that a mer would be better at keeping afloat.

Between the sun and the stars🟡  7/10  ( Anonymous ) - Trauma, Space AU, Hybrid AU, Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, SBI, Bench Trio, Tommy Centric

Recent escapees from The Compound, Tommy and Tubbo are living their life in the slums of Hypixel, making their money by thieving and taking jobs on the blackmarket. But when they accidentally find their way onto the spaceship of Wilbur Soot, commander and heir to the Antarctic Empire, their carefully concealed secrets are bound to come out. Their time at the Compound being one of them…

Or, the very traumatized tommyinnit and tubbo underscore are forced into a found family arc against their will. (SPACE AU)

Let’s play a game 🟡 9/10 ( Aria_Cinabun) - Elementalist AU, Tommy centric, Dream Antagonist, Family Dynamics, Minor Family Fluff, Forced adoption, SBI, Minor Bench trio interactions, BIG BRAIN TOMMYINNIT

Tommy was once a slave. That's gone now - shoved in his past with the memories of blood and gore and death. He wants to forget who he was; what he has to do to survive.

Of course, the Elementalists will always come back to haunt him. They aren't the ones who killed his mother, but they're close enough.

And now he and his brother have been dragged into the mess, as Elementalists with their own, separate covens, to find the Pit - the place where he'd lived and killed and hurt for the first twelve years of his life.

His coven can't know. Can't know who he really is, what he can really do. Can't know anything about his past.

He doesn't want a coven full of Elementalists who don't trust him; one of whom he's pretty sure despises him. He doesn't want that life.

He wants the life of a pickpocket, on the streets, because nobody questions street kids, and nobody comes asking about his past and pushes him to tell his secrets that he holds closest inside.

Tubbo tries to tell him to trust people.

But trust is how you die.

Mayday, mayday, mayday🟡 (always_an_axious_mess)  7/10 - Space AU ( possibly Star Wars as well but I haven't watched Star Wars yet), Tommy Centric, SBI

“Mayday mayday mayday, this is Ship 268454, CCS Clara, does anyone copy?”

After an accident that he isn’t even sure how occurred, Junior Crewmember Tommy Innit is stuck out in the dead zone of space with a dead crew and on a damaged ship. No nearby inhabited planets. No nearby stations. Nothing.

He’s billions of kilometres away from any hope of rescue, and has to figure out a way to safety. Not only that, for the first time in his life, he’s completely alone.

All in a day’s work 🟡 7/10 (spiromachia)  - Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Dream Antagonist, Hybrid AU, SBI, Tommy Centric, Hero/Villain/Vigilante Au, Bench Trio

Most crime fighters are heroes, superpowered people who were trained at a young age to beat the bad guys and serve the everyman, born and raised to protect and save the lives of those who couldn't defend themselves. Pretty much every kid wanted to grow up to be a hero, obviously. Fame, fortune, fighting, it was every tiny child's dream, but only a select few were allowed to become heroes, especially not powerless ones.

And that was just Tommy's issue, he was powerless.

It seemed that everyone around him had some sort of quirk or superpower that made them stronger, that gave them incredible abilities like no other, but Tommy, arguably the kid who wanted to be a hero the most, was left untouched by luck.

But that didn't mean he couldn't help out. Far from it, in fact.

Or...

Tommy is a vigilante, kicking ass and fighting crime, but catches the attention of a few familiar faces.

Teach me how to say goodbye 🟡 8/10 ( Aria_Cinabun, taye_z-mcyt archive) )- Afterlife AU, Tommy Centric, Mainly Just Tommy and Technoblade

With his head held high, Tommy walked to his death. But man, was he willing to sacrifice himself for his nation.

He stood, bow in hand, staring down the man who caused him so much fear, so much anger, so much pain.

No hesitation was present as he pulled back the string, hoping to at least go out with a bang.

Or

Local Hamilton role-player dies and has to survive the afterlife.

A Magical Future ❌ 8/10 ( Aria_Cinabun) - MCC AU, Magic AU, Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Family AU, Tommy Centric, SBI, Clingy Duo

He's eight when he starts seeing monsters, nine when he can see forward in time.

Tommy wants to be off with Techno and Phil and Wilbur, off adventuring.

'Course, he and Tubbo are too young.

Until they're not.

One Man’s Trash ( is another man’s brother) 🟡7/10 ( SilverWing15) -  SBI, Tommy Centric, Adoption AU , Hero/Villain/Vigilante AU, Family Dynamics, Magic AU

The kid is glaring down at him and eating a partially moldy apple like he’s daring Wilbur to come fight him for it. “What the fuck?” Wilbur says. The kid takes a huge chunk out of the apple and definitely doesn't chew it enough before he swallows. “You got a fucking problem, asshole?” “I mean...kind of?” Wilbur says. “There’s a child eating literal garbage in front of me so I feel like that’s a bit concerning.” “Shouldn’t you be robbing a bank or getting your ass kicked by superheroes?” “Shouldn’t you be in school?” The kid snarls wordlessly and chucks an empty carton from some chinese place at him. “Fuck off man. Forget this dump.” “What, you know a better one to eat from?” “I know one that doesn’t have a fucking weirdo supervillain in it!” The kid slams the lid of the dumpster down. Rude.

Or: It was only a matter of time before I did a superhero AU

Diasporas Blue ❌ 6/10 ( SilverWing15) - Werewolf/fae/vampire/harpy AU, Family Au, Adoption AU, Family Fluff, Family Dynamics, Tommy Centric, SBI

See, the thing about werewolves, is they love family. They’re all about family. Their family. They’re not nearly as enthusiastic about some stray. Sure they’re more than their instincts, they can take in kids, but you start out on thin fucking ice and Tommy’s never been very good about being respectful. So he gets kicked out of a lot of packs. The other thing about werewolves is that they’re terrible fucking gossips. So getting kicked out of one pack is as good as getting kicked out of at least five or six of their closest neighbor-packs. Which is why Tommy is now stuck with fucking humans and their weird smelling house.

OR: Tommy is a werewolf in the foster care system. It's less uncommon than you'd think. What is uncommon is ending up in a house full of humans.

🩵Rogue ✅11/10 ( milk_tea24) - Dream Antagonist, Hybrid AU, SBI, Tommy Centric, Hero/Villain/Vigilante Au, Bench Trio, Magic AU, God AU

Tommy ran. He ran as fast as he could. He needed to leave. To be safe. And he thought he finally was. He made it out. Away from the monster who raised him. Tommy found friends and got a job. But he screwed everything up like he always does. Now what can he do but what he does best. Go Rogue. ______________________________

Or, Tommy escapes Dream, after being locked away by him for years and becomes a vigilante.

🩵Take this compass, follow it home ✅ 11/10 ( lightening_anon ) - Tommy centric, Adoption AU, Modern AU, Clingy Duo, SBI, Family dynamics, Family Fluff, Minor Plot

Tommy's a fuck up, he can't pay attention, and never sits still. He taps his hands, pushes people away, and has never had a best friend. He's a screwed up, forgotten kid lost in the foster system. He's also just been placed with a new family. Tommy knows how this goes, he never ends up staying long. After all, no one wants a fuck up like him.

Why would this house be any different?

-

Or: the obligatory sbi foster au, but with a focus on the neurodivergent kids that inevitably get lost in the system.

🩵No cause for concern  🟡 11/10 ( hedgehoggeryyy) -  Hybrid AU, SBI, Tommy Centric, Hero/Villain/Vigilante Au, Bench Trio, Family Fluff, Family Dynamics, DISCONTINUED 

So maybe applying for a job at the heroes' base of operations when he could be arrested any moment for being an illegal vigilante wasn't Tommy's smartest move. But he gets to work with his idols — Ghostbur, the Blade, and Philza Minecraft, Angel of Death himself, just to name a few — how could he turn down that opportunity, honestly?

And keeping his two identities separate can't be that difficult, really. It'll all be a piece of cake.

---

or, tommyinnit just wanted to pay the rent and save people at the same time. things can't go his way for just once, can they?

***DISCONTINUED***

Nothing Sweeter ❌8/10 ( SilverWing15) - SBI, PURE FLUFF AHHHHHHHHHHHH, Family Fluff, Family Dynamics, Tommy Centric

He’s doing it, he’s growing a watermelon. He hasn’t killed it, he hasn’t fucked it up. Phil chuckles softly, “good job.” He squeezes Tommy’s shoulder and Tommy had almost forgotten his hand was there. It's a warm weight, the way Wilbur’s hand used to be. Tommy doesn’t pull away from it. He just keeps looking down at the bud that’s going to be a watermelon. A watermelon he grew. That’s…insane. He’s never grown anything before. He kind of thought he was only capable of breaking things.

OR: Foster Family fic where the watermelons are a Metaphor

🩵Butterfly Reign ✅ 11/10 ( SilentTeyz) - Royal Au, Tommy Centric, SBI, Unfinished, Dream Antagonist

The royal family of the Antarctic empire isn’t exactly close.

Emperor Philza is always occupied; Tommy hasn’t seen Techno in months, and even if Wilbur is here, their relationship can be described to be strained at best.

The royal family doesn’t need to be close, however, it only needs to be balanced, like the pillars holding the country above their heads – as long as they are strong and steady, the Empire will be too. It’s the principle that held Tommy’s back straight and his shoulders broad through the years of hardships and trials of errors; through yet another formal meeting where his father’s gaze would look past him and where his brother’s words would be filled with poison that makes the deepest parts of his soul ache.

At that time, Tommy couldn't know that his family would find a replacement for him in the face of a commoner boy named Ranboo.

~🦋~

Tommy's family has replaced him. It's only fair that he gets to do the same.

Evermore ❌ 8/10 (rabiddog) - Tommy Centric, Dream Antagonist, SBI,  Disease AU?, Main character death? 

I’m a Healer, but… 🟡  7/10 ( yellowleader )  - Hybrid AU, SBI, Tommy Centric, Hero/Villain/Vigilante Au, Bench Trio, Family Fluff, Family Dynamics, TRAUMA

Magic always comes with a price, which is why superpowers are the best evolution since bipedalism, and of all powers, healing is one of the rarest- and thus, healers are quickly stolen away by heroes the moment their powers are discovered.

Which is why the SBI, semi-immortal villains who can only die by injury, want their hands on one. So when a weird, loud, pushy teen shows up and offers to trade them a powerful healer in exchange for the smallest, simplest favour... how could they say no?

Too bad this won't be as easy as they think.

Burning sage doesn't keep you away 🟡 8/10 ( Anonymous ) - Fae AU, Kristin ( mumza ) centric, Minor SBI, Minor Family Fluff, FLUFF

With rumors pilling up around the village and Kristin's surprise encounter with a fae, she should have thought twice about living so close by the forest.

Or

Kristin meets a fae, life is never quite the same after that.

The stars and their children ✅ 8/10  (bonesandthebees) - Space AU, Royal AU, Dream Antagonist, Empires/Kingdoms AU, Science Fiction, Wilbur Centric, SBI, Minor dark SBI, Minor Family Fluff, Betrayal 

Yes. Wilbur had to bite his tongue to keep the answer from spilling out of his mouth, because yes he wanted more. Of course he wanted more. He wanted to be more than the bastard prince. He wanted to be more than a mistake his mother made before she married Tommy’s father.

But that wasn’t the role he had been cast for in his life.

“It doesn’t matter,” Wilbur said instead. “When Tommy turns eighteen he’ll be crowned King, and I will be his advisor. He’ll be a good king, I’ll make sure of it.”

or, as the bastard prince of the planet of Eldingvegr, Wilbur has always known he was never meant for greatness. That was his younger brother's destiny. Wilbur's job was simply to try and make sure Tommy could fulfil that destiny.

That becomes decidedly more difficult when the brothers are betrayed, and are forced to flee their home planet. With the Essempi Empire being one of the largest imperial powers in the universe, the only place that can offer them refuge from Emperor Dream is Zephys IV—capital planet of the Antarctic Empire, ruled by the ruthless Emperor Philza.

Icing those hurts 🟡 9/10 ( Drhair76, plantform) - Olympic AU, Modern AU, Dream smp members, emotional challenges, Tommy centric

“And everyone is so old,” Tubbo complains. Somehow, without them knowing about it, Tubbo’s managed to swipe a waffle and is chewing on it happily. Sapnap stifles a laugh. “Well, not everyone, I guess- the kid in our room is our age, I think. He might be younger.”

Wilbur perks up. “Does he ice skate?”

“Yeah, he does. He’s got these sick skates and everything.” Tubbo explains. “He’s quiet though. We tried talking to him, but…”

“But?”

Tubbo shrugs. "He's quiet. He doesn't talk much. I guess he's busy."

or, Tommy's made it to the Olympics for figure skating- he's the youngest contestant on the ice and he's the favor for the gold. He's supposed to be living the dream. So why is he still so unhappy? And why do all these hockey players and snowboarders care so much about him?

Series

In the Treetops 🟡 7/10  ( SilverWing15) - modern AU, Syndicate AU, SBI, Minor bench trio, Wings AU, Tommy Centric, Minor Family Fluff

“Sir!” Punz shouts in the distance, “think we’ve got something.”

Tommy hardly dares to breathe as Dream’s footsteps stalk across the hill to Punz’s side. Its Now or never.

Now or never.

He gets up and bolts. He makes it a solid ten steps before they spot him. The hounds are baying, he can hear them panting as they chase him.

The School is bounded on the eastern side by a deep gorge, just after the barbed wire fence that looms in front of him.

Any normal person would have a hell of a time getting past this.

Tommy isn’t a normal person, though. The School has ensured it.

He can hear the dogs behind him, catching up. If they catch him its all over.

Its now or never.

Fly or die.

Tommy leaps and unfurls his wings.

* Flowers from 1970 🟡8/10 (astronomika) - DNF, Dreamnotfound ship, Modern AU, Timetravle communication AU, DNF fluff

Who are you?" "Who are you?" They both asked at the same time, but the man answered first, "My name's Cl-Dream." "Dream?" George raised a brow. "It's a nickname. I don't want to give you my real name yet since you could be some government spy or something." George chuckled, "Well I'm George."

Dream asked, "So tell me about the future. Wait, does that sound nerdy? Hm, tell me about 2020."

Interpreter 🟡 8/10 ( SilverWing 15)  - Tommy centric, God AU, Royal AU, Seer/interpreter/power AU, Blessings, Wings, Dream Main Antagonist, Adoption AU

His father asks the gods for their favour, and Wilbur feels pain. It explodes across his brow as though he has been struck against the side of the altar, it wraps around his head like a crown of agony. His father asks the gods for their favour, and Wilbur screams.

His father asks the gods for their favour and Wilbur sees. . Wilbur opens his eyes and he is laying on the ground before the altar, his body is shaking, every muscle trembling, his wings are spread across the ground. His father’s hands are on his shoulders, Techno’s hand under his head. His father looks terrified.

His father asks the gods for their favour, and they grant it.

///

“Tommy?” Sam asks gently.

“I--I need help,” Tommy whispers.

“What’s the matter,” Sam asks, sitting up and turning so he’s facing Tommy, his elbows on his knees.

“I’m--A man took me here,” Tommy whispers. “He said I was an Interpreter, and he was gonna bring me to the Emperors, but I didn’t want to go.”

 Guitar Strings and Keyrings are What it Takes to Build a Home 🟡 ( Anonymous) - adoption AU, SBI, Minor Bench Trio, Family Fluff, Modern AU, Foster AU, Minor/no plot, character development 10/10, technoblade centric

Techno was adopted by Phil when he was 12 years old.

He'd been enjoying his morning before Phil came to him asking if he would mind them taking in another kid. Against his better judgement, Techno agrees and ends up with two new foster brothers who he was determined to not get attached to, no matter what.

~*~

Another Tommy Foster AU but this time with Wilbur

🩵 A Con Artist, A Mafia Boss, An Arsonist, A Hitman and A Delinquent Cause A Scene Outside Of A Bar  🟡(hyperbolic) 11/10  - adoption AU, BADASS FAMILY, SBI, Multiple perspectives, also mumza is alive and well

Kristin needs a mortgage for her money laundering scheme.

Phil wants alibis who won’t ask any questions.

Wilbur needs a landlord that will overlook his felonies.

Techno requires a good washer and dryer that can clean blood easily.

Tommy wishes CPS would get off his ass.

Each with their own agendas, flaws and secrets, these five are pushed with the common goal of needing to come together as a family in order to evade the law.

Or: SBI needs to pretend to be a family in order to avoid the police's suspicions.

A smile and a gun 🟡 ( SilverWing15) 9/10 - mafia AU, SBI, modern AU, Family Fluff, Minor terrorism. 

“You can go a long way with a smile. You can go a lot farther with a smile and a gun.”

― Al Capone ///

It isn’t the sort of place you would look for a couple of high school kids smart enough to pull one over on an international crime organization. The apartment is cheap and it shows. But if you’re perceptive enough, you can look past the water stains and the cracked drywall. You can see evidence of a home vacated cleanly and efficiently. The evacuation is more orderly than most Phil has witnessed. Usually when someone hears he’s coming around, they storm through their house in a whirlwind, not caring for what they might leave scattered in their wake. This place is messy, sure, but its messy in the way one might expect that a house full of teenage boys would be. Phil picks his way past a jacket left discarded in the entryway and deeper into the apartment. There is a sagging couch with a stack of school books scattered on it. He flips open the cover of one, eyes trailing down the ‘distributed to’ list. There, at the very bottom is familiar handwriting. Tommy. Their thief. //// AKA: Dream SMP Mafia AU with SBI bois

How to smile with bloody teeth 🟡(lockergirl) 11/10 - god Au, family Au, technoblade centric, SBI

“Please,” one soldier told Techno over dinner, “The Blood God isn’t going to help you. He doesn’t accept any of the blood sacrifices the generals leave for him, so either he doesn’t exist, or he thinks he’s too good for the likes of us. Either way, it’s best to find a different patron.”

Techno had punched him in the face for that. None of his other comrades ever brought up the Blood God again.

Well, except for one.

“You follow the Blood God?” the new kid said, staring up at Techno with unbelievably blue eyes.“Yeah,” Techno replied, perhaps a bit gruffer than he meant to, “What’s it to you?”“Nothing!” the new kid said, grinning wildly, “I love that guy. He gets all the ladies. Hey, we should be friends!”

Or: Techno is the last devout follower of the Blood God. Tommy may or may not be said god.”

Set Me Free, My Honeybee ✅(orphan_account) 8/10 - Tubbo Centric, Hero/Villain/Vigilante Au, Hybrid Au, Bee Duo Ship

“Have you ever heard of the vigilante; Honeybee?”

The question made Tubbo choke lightly on his water. Tubbo swallowed it down with a raised hand, hitting his chest lightly before he could speak again, “the vigilante Honeybee?” Tubbo echoed. “Um, Sorta?” Tubbo said with a shrug.

(If only Sam knew. . .)

-

In which, Tubbo’s vigilante career isn’t doing a good enough job of keeping a roof over his and his best friend Tommy’s head so Tubbo decides to be an intern for some higher up superhero’s.

And just when Tubbo thinks his luck can’t get any better - his bosses (along with Tubbo’s coworker, Ranboo) are trying to hunt down his alter ego; Honeybee.

Oh! And on top of that some hero’s - that are old friends of Dream - are trying to find Tubbo and Tommy because they’re “worried about the teens” and “they’ve been missing for four months”.

Can’t Tubbo ever get a break?

To Establish Connection 🟡( SilverWing 15) 7/10 - Tommy Centric, Royal AU, Hybrid AU, Adoption AU, Family Fluff, Minor Plots, SBI

"What does that mean -- tame?" "It is an act too often neglected," said the fox. "It means to establish ties.To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world.... /// “Hey!” The prince barks, whirling on him. Tommy lets his hood fall as he bolts away. He stops and spins, like he’s just heard the shout, his ears perked. His heart flutters. The royals hate hybrids and being robbed by one will make the prince furious. So angry that he won’t realize that Tommy is just bait.

OR: Royalty Adoption AU hell yeah

Hands rated E for everyone ❌(sircantus) 6/10 - Family AU, Modern AU, School, Technoblade Centric, SBI

Wilbur’s standing absolutely still, like a stone statue, eyes wide, hands shaking, water dripping off from his hair. Kids are chattering and laughing, phones being raised high as everyone crowds around. One person is laughing louder than all the rest, and Wilbur looks up with something mortified.

The expression on Wil’s face is recorded more than once. The disbelief and shock is preserved perfectly on camera, and there’s no doubt it will be the most popular image in the school for weeks.

At least, that’s what everyone is assuming, until Technoblade comes running into frame, slamming a fist right into Dream’s face.

(Or, a twinduo highschool AU, in which Techno is just Wilbur's twin who likes to stay in the background. Until one day he throws hands for Wilbur, because no way is he going to let his twin get bullied without acting out some Violence.)

Chosen By The Gods 🟡(LilBitO_Sunny) 8/10 - God AU, Family adoption, Tommy centric, SBI, family fluff

“You could become a temple hand!” Niki pushed a paper into his hands and he looked it over. “They’d provide food, shelter, and new clothes for you! Everything you need!” She grinned at him and wrung her hands as he scanned the paper in his hands.

Tommy’s heart stuttered as the information sank in. “I..I don’t know..” He winced a bit when Niki’s face fell. “I just- I don’t think they’d want some random homeless teenager working in their pristine temple..” He mumbled.

---

Or: Tommy- a random street kid -gets a job working at a temple of the gods. Wilbur, Techno and Phil all notice Tommy trying his best and collectively decide, "Ah yes. I like this one." Hijinks and found family ensues.

Or or: Super light comfort fic of Tommy being showered in love by his divine found family.

Black Bird Fly ✅MollyPollyKinz 9/10 - Royal AU, Magic AU, Wings AU, Adoption Au, Family AU, SBI, Bench trio, Dream Antagonist

“Sure thing, kiddo,” Schlatt told Tubbo. He looked over at Tommy. “You can take your cloak off if you want, kid.”

“I’m not a kid,” Tommy said automatically, immediately gripping onto his cloak more tightly.

He didn’t want Tubbo to hate him. As much as Tommy hated to admit it, he actually liked Tubbo quite a bit, and if he took the cloak off, Tommy was sure to be cast out immediately.

Or, Tommy runs away from Dream, hiding his wings from everyone he knows.

Saturday’s at the Diner ❌ (justsummr (orphan_account)) 9/10 - Adoption AU, SBI, Pure Fluff, Family Au, Minor/No Plot

“Hey kid, sorry I didn't see you there. How can I help you?”

The kid shoots up and he looks scared out of his mind for a second before scowling. “I’m not a fuckin’ kid,” he snaps. Wilbur laughs softly, the kids eyes are blue, they remind him of Phil.

“Right, how can I help you?”

The kids’ bristling demeanor dies down instantly and he looks suddenly much more nervous. The kids posture is shit, Wilbur notices, his shoulders are up and slouched over his chest almost protectively. He starts fidgeting with sleeves of his shirt and he quickly but quietly pulls out a five dollar bill, he slides it across the bar to Wilbur.

“Could I have a- could I get a-“ He pauses, shakes his head and looks up. “Hamburger and sweet potato fries,” He says it with a confident voice but scared eyes and body language.

or phil, techno, and wilbur own a diner and tommy becomes a regular customer. one found family arc later and they adopt him

Devil Town 🟡(hoorayy) 8/10 - SBI & Bench Trio as Family, Angst, Happy Ending, Switching between POV, The Egg, Kidnapping, Modern Au, Horror AU

The night Tommy disappeared, it went like this:

Tubbo screamed the words that became his goodbye. He can’t accept that Tommy is gone, because that would be accepting that the last words they exchanged were angry and intended to hurt. So he doesn’t accept it. He’ll search for years if he has to.

Techno let Tommy leave without so much as trying to stop him. He’s replayed the memory of that night and wished he’d done anything else, until he thinks the guilt might be enough to destroy him. He thinks he might already be on his way there.

And Quackity can’t help but feel like this is all just a bitter echo. This town is cursed, and Tommy is only its latest victim.

— ( the small town horror au where tommy goes missing and it all goes downhill from there! )

You can put your dukes down, stringbean 🟡(orphan_account) 8/10 - Hero/Villain/Vigilante Au, SBI, Benchtrio, Tommy Centric

The Jester is a famed vigilante, protecting the city of L'manburg for as long as people can remember. No one knows where he operates, when he appeared, or who he is. It's hero Zephyrus' job to figure out his identity and capture him, with the help of his friend and son.

----

It was a much closer call than Tommy would have preferred. In his haste of escaping a group of thugs, he almost missed out on talking to a pretty woman. Granted, Tubbo was gonna be pissed when he got home. Such is the life of a heroically handsome vigilante.

OR

A fic in which Tommy manages to annoy the hell out of Phil, Techno, and Wilbur by being impossible to catch, annoyingly loud, and irritatingly endearing.

amethyst and flowers on the table (is it real or a fable?) ❌( bonesandcacti) 9/10 - Fae AU, SBI, Adoption Au, Tommy Centric, Family Fluff

The fae was tall. Much taller than Tommy, and probably anyone else in the village for that matter. Hair the color of dark oak spilled over his forehead in tumbling curls. Flecks of gold dotted his cheeks like freckles, sitting underneath a pair of knowing eyes that seemed to flash between shades of earth and honey. His tall frame was draped in the most expensive-looking clothes Tommy had ever seen—flowing fabric in shades of snow and sunlight billowed in the light breeze. And there was so much jewelry. Gold bands decorated his arms, dangling gems decorated his pointed ears, and a shimmering gold circlet rested on his forehead. 

  Past the beauty though, there was danger. His nails were pointed, his teeth too sharp. When Tommy tried to look him in the eyes, his head grew fuzzy, as if perceiving the fae directly wasn’t something he was supposed to attempt.   He was smiling as he looked over Tommy.   “Are you lost?” He asked in that same lyrical voice.or, Tommy gets adopted by the fae

a togetherness 🟡(Set_Suna) 8/10 - IRL content, SBI (adoption kinda ), Christmas themed, FLUFF

“Do you know how to ice skate, Tommy?" Wil asked, gesturing ahead of them.Tommy glanced forward, seeing Techno lacing up some skates while Phil held three other pairs. He shrugged."Well enough." Tommy didn't know how to ice skate. He assumed he could manage alright, but that proved to be false as soon as he was on the ice. He'd never got the chance to try it before. His parents were never interested enough to teach him, if they even knew how. When they were home for the holidays, they usually spent the time indoors. It's probably why Tommy was so unaccustomed to the cold.”

Where is your rider?✅(Jacenbren) 9/10 - Post-nuclear war Au, Tommy Centric, Bench Trio, c!TNT duo, c! Bee duo, c! Karlnap, c!Antfrost&Velvet, c!Skephalo

“It’s been almost four hundred years since the bombs dropped, since the toxic jungle currently devouring the world took root. 

Tubbo has it good in L’Manberg with his semi-reluctant older brother figure, his shy amnesiac boyfriend, and all the pie he can eat. So when he finds a guy his age in an ancient vault, and hears the rumors about Manberg supposedly building a weapon capable of destroying cities, he isn’t sure what to do. 

Tommy, however, isn’t exactly thrilled when he wakes up four hundred years later than when he fell asleep with no memory of how he got here or how the hell he got strong enough to effortlessly rip a door off its hinges. A lot of the people he woke up to don’t seem to want him around, and soon enough he finds himself in a terrifying race against time, struggling to put together the scattered pieces of his past before a madman blows the planet to hell again. 

Tensions are rising, the jungle is spreading, and the fate of the world rests on the shoulders of a handful of uncooperative individuals with enough collective trauma to make your average therapist have a breakdown. What could possibly go wrong?

And the Universe said: "I'm not a fucking child!" 🟡(DeerlyAza, OfFeathersAndWax) 9/10 - God AU, Hero/Villain/Vigilante Au, SBI, Bench trio, tubbo adopted tommy… , tommy centric

“Tommy was a tired God who's sick of sleeping all the time. He goes down to the mortal world and discovers heroes, vigilantes, and villains. He gets dragged into it forcefully by his new friends - who also dragged him forcefully into their lives - and, honestly? He doesn't regret a thing. Being a vigilante is fun! Even if he has to hide the fact that he's a God from them. And then he has to hide the fact that he's a vigilante from the heroes who he now works for and have taken an interest in him. Should be easy, right? Well...He should be able to do at least one of those things!-“Congrats, you've met Ranboo, we’re now kidnapping you.”“Wait what-”“Tubbo, wait, you said we’d talk about this first-”

Take me home, let me rest 🟡( sircantus ) 8/10 - magic AU, family ‘adoption’, SBI, FLUFF, techno centric

Oh, I’m sorry, sorry, mate-” Phil reaches his hands out, Techno kicking his legs out, trying to scoot away. “No, no-” Techno chokes out, heart slamming into his ribs. He’s going to die, he’s going to die here, he should’ve known, Phil was never human, he was never human at all-“I should’ve told you earlier.” Phil smiles, kneeling down to Techno’s level. He’s not reaching out anymore, but he’s not leaving either. “Sorry again for the scare. That was a bit much, huh?”Techno blinks. “What?”

OrPhil is not quite human, but he’s still very much a dad, with two children he loves very much. 

Techno gets adopted into the family.

He was not informed of this.”

We Don't Make The Rules, We Simply Break Them ✅✅✅(Dragonire) 8/10 - hero/villain/vigilante AU, SBI family arch, angst, family problems, Wilbur main antagonist, temporary character death, tommy centric

“Are you—fucking mad?” Sentinel heaves. “You asked for me,” Tommy pants, trying not to show pain but knows he’s not succeeding as he heaves air like a man starved. “You asked the heroes to hand me over in exchange for the hostages. You’ve seen me fight. Zyghost knows too.” He knows that Tommy can’t jump anymore, but that’s all of it. Maybe they’re thinking his electricity and power shocks is something tied to his teleportation, but they can’t know the true extent of Tommy’s “power” and he’s pretty sure that that is what’s keeping him alive.

“You want to poke me,” he hisses, although it doesn’t sound nearly as threatening as he wants, when he’s so goddamned tired and hurt and fucking aching. “You want to prod me. You want to figure out my powers. Either you think I’m your new bargaining chip or your new protégé you want to torture into submission,” he spits, hitting the nail on its fucking head when Sentinel freezes in his sights. “Well I’m fucking neither. I’m Theseus, illegal fucking vigilante and two of your hostages happened to be my family.

“And this is personal, bitch.”

Or: Being a vigilante isn’t simple—or legal—but Tommy refuses to sit on the sidelines.

saltwater in the afternoon❌ - (bonesandthebees (bonesandcacti)) 8/10- Mer Au, Tommy adoption AU, SBI + Bench Trio, tommy centric

“So, like, how much did this entire getup run you?” Tommy asked, glancing up to the guy’s face again. “This looks like big movie budget level makeup or something. It couldn’t have been cheap.”

The guy clenched his jaw. “It’s not a fucking costume,” he grit out between his teeth.

“Look, I’m not an idiot, pal,” Tommy scoffed. “It’s a little weirdchamp that your only hobbies seem to be dressing up like a mermaid to swim around at night, and trying to convince random teenagers you meet that you’re a real fucking mermaid.”

or, Wilbur's first time meeting a human doesn't go as expected

Baby Steps ❌(SilverWing15) 8/10 - hybrid Au, adoption Au, Tommy centric, fluff

“Don’t tell me you’re scared of your own prisoner,” the piglin says, and there’s a mocking laugh in his voice and Tommy hates it, hates it, hates it! The humans always laughed at him and said he was scared. He’s not scared!

“I’m not scared!” He yelps, glaring at the piglin from around the tree. He’s not scared, but he’s not stupid either.

The piglin stares at him, his eyes wide, his mouth open a little bit and it shows even more of his big teeth. Tommy goes back behind the tree.

“I’m not scared!” he says again, “so you better not laugh at me!”

“I--I’m sorry?” the piglin says, and he sounds weird, kind of high pitched. “Come back here.”

How Much Earth Do You Carry In Your Lungs? ❌(Dragonire) - tommy centric, space AU, SBI ‘adoption’, fluff, aliens AU

The aliens haven’t experimented on him. They’re scared of him and Tommy is glad for it. Almost all.

The Demon, green-silver-mercury; tall, muscled with golden horns is the only one that isn’t. He doesn’t flinch whenever Tommy screams at him through the glass, when he pounds his fist or charges the door with a ducked shoulder and a brace for bruises, but neither does he appreciate it for long. He, at least, is the only one so far to threaten Tommy. It had only been a raised hand—the glass between them protecting Tommy from the violence and protecting the alien from his retaliation—but it was a threat, nonetheless. Unacted upon, because in all the weeks Tommy has been in his possession, he hasn’t made a move to come into his enclosure cell and do anything against him.

But that’s just the point. It’s been, weeks? A month? Nearly two? Tommy knows that the aliens’ patience is going to eventually run out at some point and he’s not keen to find out what will happen next. He’s expecting violence. He’s expecting pain, he’s expecting blood, he’s expecting….

He’s not expecting this.

Or: Humans will pack bond with anything.

Imprinted🟡8/10 (Euripides406BCE) - tommy centric, SBI, Bench trio, Hero/Villain/vigilante Au, Hybrid Au, Adoption:)

SBI superhero au- where civilian Tommy, with newly grown wings, dares to leave his apartment for the first time since manifesting them. He doesn't mean to end up in the midst of a hostage situation with the syndicate

Some SBI supervillain madness with some fun Origins shit thrown in!

Sedated 🟡9/10 ( grasstastic) - Tommy centric, SBI, Vampire AU, Possessive SBI, kinda dark

Tommy had heard the stories. Creatures of night, stalking the shadows with crimson eyes and eternal hunger. Everyone who wanted to keep their heart beating had a deadbolt on their door and an oak stake in their bedside table. 

He followed the rules for survival. He wasn’t stupid. He didn’t go out after dark, he didn’t leave the busy parts of town. 

He did everything right.

So why was there an undead being sprawled below his kitchen window?

This is just a terrible way to die. And the thing broke his window on the way in. Fucking great. 

A smile tugs at the creature’s mouth, the corners just barely pulling up, the smallest flash of fangs. 

“Ayup.”  

OrCrimeboys but one of them is a vampire. Another instance in which someone asks me if I'm just a crimeboys writer pretending to be an sbi writer, and I repeatedly prove, Yes.

Few mercies for fools 🟡 ( MathanLin) 7/10 - SBI, War, Tommy centric, ANGST, Magic AU

“Bullshit. That’s the dumbest thing you could do.”

“And why would that be?”

Too many responses to count flashed through Tommy’s mind. This man was going to kill him, there was no denying that. No denying that Tommy had been stupid. That mantra had gotten him through the night, sure, but it wasn’t true, and now he was going to die.

In the forest, he didn't know what was coming to kill him. Now, though, he knew it would be this man, with his soft cloak and softer eyes, Tommy wasn’t so afraid.

Might as well encourage him to make it quick.

“Because I know where you live, you rebel fuck,” he spat. “I know exactly where we are.” /// Or, the SBI coven adopts a foul-mouthed child soldier with trust issues.

Storgē 🟡(Dragonire)8/10 - Magic AU, Tommy Centric, Hybrid AU, SBI, Mainly fluff

“Fucking—let—me—go!” he snarls, wrapping both hands around the length of the rope, painfully aware of the laughter ringing through the trees; the sounds of feet crashing through bracken; and Tommy—he doesn’t understand why the rope isn’t burning, why the frayed strands aren’t catching—it’s just a length of rope used for hunting, its not important enough to be enchanted, no one would waste coin enchanting rope to make it fireproof when it’s only use is to be part of a snare and nothing more. 

The voices are getting louder and Tommy is running out of time.There’s a trail of smoke where something just barely catches alight and Tommy doesn’t bother with a cry of victory—not when he’s not free, not when he’s still suspended up in the air, dangling by his foot, trying to burn through his shoe so that he can gain favour towards escape or free his knife—

“Oh my god Techno, your snare caught a child!”

🩵 - Every rating above 10/10 is highly recommended ( it's also has a blue heart next to it ) 

✅ - Good read-time/ 20 chapters and above

🟡 - Meh read-time / Minor storylines

❌ - pretty bad read-time/ oneshots

*-    work originally uploaded on wattpad but can be found on Ao3

Other fics that i've read but didn't bother to write about:

When the curtains fall - REALLY GOOD, SBI centric, sitcom show AU

Step by step to mortality - immortality AU , SBI centric but mainly phil

can't wait to be king - Royalty AU, SBI centric

scaled schemes - shapeshifter AU, SBI centric

under the brine - Fae AU, SBI centric

the fall of icarus - hero/villain /vigilante Au, SBI centric

baby birds - hybrid AU, SBI FLUFF

godling - God au, SBI centric

my rommate is a vigilante - hero/villain/vigilante AU

shut up and drive - Drag racing AU, SBI centric

Sir, this is a Drive Thru - Hero/villain/vigilante AU, SBI centric

Yet a trace - Hero/villain/vigilante AU, SBI centric

Gladiator - Magic/hybrid AU, SBI centric

I really need somebody to call my own - singer AU/ adoption AU, tommy and wilbur centric

I love you Beary much - hybrid au, tommy and wilbur centric

the day music died - God AU, wilbur and tommy centric

I'm Ok with that - silent_flower21 -

There's a Baby Dragon in my Flowers - Dragon hybrid/ magic AU, SBI fluff

TommyInnit's wild adventure through a Kidnapping, a couple of Murders, and a really scary Thunderstorm. -Cryptid Au, SBI Centric

From underneath the stormdrain - Cat shifter AU , SBI centric

won't you open up the sunroof (in my head) - Soulmate AU, SBI centric

Pink hair and pixie dust - pixie/fae AU, SBI centric

Royal debt - royal Au, SBI centric

pen to skin to heart - Soulmate AU, SBI centric

In an Old World so Different - Canon Divergence Au, Tommy centric

Peeps - Hybrid AU, and SBI FLUFF

Catalysm ( sequel: antecendent) - Royal Au, SBI centric

Distrust Their Name - Fae AU, SBI centric

run boy, run - hero/villain/vigilante AU, SBI centric

My sworn enemy brother mine - royal Au, technoblade and wilbur centric

Blackwater pond - superpowers AU, SBI centric

Caging a Wild Animal - hero/villain/vigilante Au, SBI centric

and if i come home how will i ever leave - little red riding hood au, SBI centric

Small Death and Codeine, - dark vampire SBI Au

Cherry Wine - dark vampire SBI Au^2

What ever remains, however improbable - detective au, tommy and wilbur

Series : 

I'm Writing Fanfiction About Block Men God Help Me ( SilverWing15) - The collection with a LOT of good writing in it. Would recommend 10/10.

Wait That's Illegal ( SilverWing15) - Again a collection of fics by the amazing SiverWing15

I am Still Writing Fanfiction About Block Men God Can No Longer Help Me ( SiverWing15)  - Sequel of ‘I’m Writing Fanfiction About Block Men God Help Me’. Just a general collection of fics if you don't know where to go, it is mainly one-shots and all written by SilverWing15.

Aerie  (blujamas, thcscus(bluejamas) - The good stuff ( aka Passerine and sequels) 

RRR trilogy ( Aria_Cinabun)  - Phoenix AU, with PLOT.

And goddess said let there be chaos (itsultraviolet) -  Sequels to ‘of wilder things’; Just Fluff. ( and nothing more ) 

The Children of the Stars  ( Aria_Cinabun) - One of the best Star Trek AUs, although the last book is not finished the first book is still an excellent read.

From ice to water ( Drhair76, plantform ) - Dream smp Winter Olympics AU, mainly fluff not much focused on plot.

Blood Brothers (Blood God!Tommy AU) ( lockergirl) - the title says it all.

Honeybee (ophan_account) - Vigilante AU with Tubbo POV.

Rules are made to be broken ( Dragonire) - We Don't Make The Rules, We Simply Break Them sequels

Starchild ( Dragonire ) - Tommy space AU with SBI gang, sequels to 

Let God Say Fuck  ( DeerlyAza, OfFeathersAndWax )  - sequels to And the Universe said: "I'm not a fucking child!" 

Authors 

SilverWing15 - If you like one shots, go to him/her/them. Excellent writing, most of it is  fluff, sometimes write multi-chapter fics, but not long. Signature work/s: One man’s trash ( is another man’s brother) 

Aria_Cinabun - Mainly Plot, with SBI fluff mentions. Writes for mcyt characters, not just dream smp. Signature work/s: RRR trilogy and the children’s rebellion series

Bonesandthebees - More plot based with minor SBI fluff. Signature work/s: Tommyinnit’s clinic for supervillains 

Sircantus - you can trust him for SBI fluff, you won’t find any dark content in his/her/their works. Signature work: I was a kid in a village, doing alright, then I became a prince overnight 

Dragonire - really good fanfic writer with art!

[two-reflections]

🌟!

This ask is in response to this fanfic writer's Director's Cut meme!

There are so many stories I'd love to talk about, but today, I want to talk about Ritual Catharsis, one of my least-read stories.

I understand why almost no one read it. It's not super shippy, doesn't contain canon characters, and is kind of a midquel to another story very few people read, Five Games Radjedef Lost and One He Won.

I have a massive soft spot for the original story because it's about the Thousand Sons characters my spouse and I came up with together for their Kill Team. The two of us brainstormed the sorcerors' personalities and interpersonal conflict while picking blackberries late last summer. Though the story does have its weak points, I was so glad when I had the chance to write it all out for last December's gift exchange, and my lovely giftee seemed to like the story too. 💙

While writing that story, the character Setka Radjedef quickly became a favourite of mine. He's a seemingly soft little wizard who often downplays his most powerful abilities. Though he was in the Athanaean (basically TSon Astropaths), his true skills lie in rituals, manipulation and mind control. Before the final game, the only time we see him fully bring out his powers is against a Space Wolf terminator during the Burning of Prospero, and he wrecks the terminator despite being fully unarmoured and in an enclosed space.

I like it when a character with that sort of power also has a conscience. Radjedef knows how unpleasant his ability to magically manipulate others is. He tries hard not to influence the brothers he cares about, but he fails, constantly doing it in ways even he isn't fully aware of. In the end, he can only win the game when he consciously employs his powers, which threatens to break his relationship with his beloved friend Kemal Afshar. But for years, Afshar has won using his own clairvoyance to its maximum potential. Isn't it time for Radjedef to have a turn?

In the longer story, I didn't actually manage to show how Radjedef cleared his mind from the guilt of the past in order to let himself use his powers in the final game against Afshar. I also didn't fully explain why he's covered with sorcerous tattoos at the end. I tried to show the reader that Radjedef has been through a lot of personal growth in the time between the penultimate and final games, but I didn't actually write a scene showcasing any of it, since the story focuses on times when Radjedef and Afshar are together.

Still, I always felt like something was missing...

Until I saw this prompt meme prompt:

PERFECT.

In Ritual Catharsis, Yazid Melek, a new friend Radjedef has made post his arrival on Sortiarius, conducts a ritual to clear Radjedef's mental blocks and focus his power. The ritual covers Radjedef's body in beautiful sorcerous tattoos that enhance his powers, but what clears his guilt more than anything is Melek treating him gently, like a treasured friend who deserves all this power and attention.

Melek and Radjedef's relationship is very different to the obsession and almost familial toxicity that has grown between Afshar and Radjedef over the millennia. It is a bit more transactional, but is rooted in respect and good vibes. Melek gives up something pretty important to him to power this ritual, and then says it was worth it. Radjedef can tell he truly means it. This is what gives Radjedef the power to finally beat Afshar back in the main story. He finally wants to and believes he deserves to win, even if it means using powers Afshar looks down on.

One last thing:

I filked/rewrote a large chunk from Aleister Crowley's The Rites of Eleusis for this. The bit I used was from The Rite of Jupiter, Part III.

I love writing rituals and sorcery. At larp, sorcery and ritual are two of my favourite things to get involved in, and it was great to have a chance to bring that fun into another story. That's a big reason why I've loved writing for the Thousand Sons, tbh. Even though neither story was a huge hit, I may do so again in the future. We'll have to see.

Thanks for the ask! If this wasn't the story you were expecting or wanted to read about, please feel free to request another.

[cookinguptales]

capribornio said: From my own personal perspective? Write it. Lots of people have complicated feelings about the end of s5, and it might help others to process them. And it would definitely help you, I think.

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Complicated is a good word for it... Like there are parts that I find interesting and parts that I enjoyed and parts I would like to explore more but like. Let's just say I wrote a very long rant here and then deleted all of it.

(but the rant did come out in the end, so I'm putting this under a cut)

But I guess, fic-wise... It's hard for me to write something in direct opposition to what canon has said re: Guillermo's desires and motivations, but I also find that reveal to be completely unsatisfying when paired with... literally every event of the series thus far. I found the ending of the season to be so deeply unsatisfying that it... honestly kind of killed my love for the show a little. Even the past seasons. I haven't been able to bring myself to watch a single episode since the finale aired. It doesn't feel fun anymore. I know I'll bounce back eventually, but right now I still feel so frustrated. I worry that I might feel that way until I see how s6 shakes out, at this point.

So... when I think about writing a fic, all I can do is feel that sense of... things not being finished, I guess. That sense of dissatisfaction. Like I can write a version of nandermo that is still largely canon compliant, but that version of nandermo will be just as dissatisfying as the show has been. I can't build to catharsis that doesn't exist. I can't bring together all the things the characters have done thus far to a satisfying and logical conclusion because the show didn't do that. This last season pretty much said that all of the character motivations we've had thus far didn't amount to a hill of shit, so like... how do I write something satisfying using stuff from the entire series when the writers completely ignored a lot of that early canon in s5?

So whenever I think about writing for them now... the end of the fic is not cathartic. It feels like things are okay for now but are doomed to failure eventually.

I guess... as far as the show goes, I'm not at the point where like. I have lost all hope in it. I'm really, really hoping that they fix some of this in s6, as much as is possible. Like... some things I'm pretty sure I'll never be able to move past, but I'm hoping they at least find some other way to make Guillermo truly supernatural and comfortable in his own (deadly!!!) power. Like at least give me fucking that, otherwise what the fuck are we even doing here.

At least give me confirmation that Guillermo de la Cruz does not actually see vampiric life as being worth less than human life, because it's starting to feel an awful lot like he thinks murdering vampires is fine but murdering humans isn't because vampiric life is intrinsically less valuable than human life. And therefore his human friends and family matter more than the family they keep telling us he's been building with the vampires.

At least!!! Understand that after using the vampiric world as a very thinly veiled metaphor for queerness and being socially othered for four and a half seasons! It feels awful for your queer and/or socially othered audience to see the only protagonist with a choice actively choose the mainstream world instead! Because he understands now that the vampiric world is just too ~gross and terrible~ for him!

Like we can never get back s5 and have a version of it without massive plot holes and character decisions that make no fucking sense (especially Laszlo, christ) but the writers still have the ability to give me those things, I guess, if they actually! want to!

I'm sorry I literally cannot talk about this without ranting lmao. It's frustrating because a lot of Nandor's thoughts and feelings about Guillermo's changing are fascinating and I'd love to explore them. I think they're generally pretty IC. I like thinking about him believing that Guillermo could never be a vampire because he's too sweet, and him believing that he morally can't turn Guillermo because Guillermo would hate it, and him believing that he can never truly be with Guillermo because Guillermo's not actually cut out for their world -- and will thus die probably centuries before Nandor will.

But god, the fact that s5 tells us that Nandor's right when everything in the first few seasons shows us that he's wrong is so fucking frustrating. It's like they forgot that Guillermo de la Cruz was one of the most interesting and complicated and downright vicious characters on television while simultaneously being adorably endearing. The flattening of his characterization that we've seen happen steadily over the past few seasons has culminated in this, us being told with a straight face that Guillermo de la Cruz can't handle killing humans and has somehow never realized that he'd have to do that in order to be a vampire. He's too?? Nice?????? Guillermo de la Cruz, whom we've seen mock humans for being sad and lonely as he leads them to their deaths and then dismembers their bodies. Too empathetic to feed on a human!

Fucking! okay!

I actually always kind of suspected that he wouldn't become a vampire with the others, at least not exactly the same kind. I'm not actually upset about that. I'm upset that he actively rejected that world, not because he could be something better and more interesting on his own, but because he didn't have the stomach for it. I always thought he'd realize that he's too strong to be just a basic-ass vampire, not that he'd realize he's too weak.

Seeing Guillermo build his own strength for several seasons only for them to tell us at the last minute that no, he is actually too weak just like they'd always mocked him as being, feels fucking insulting. Guillermo, after stubbornly wresting his power from the jaws of mediocrity with his own two hands, willingly giving it up--! Because he couldn't handle the life.

fuck, man.

This wasn't Guillermo realizing that he's stronger without vampirism. This is him just... being defanged again, both literally and metaphorically, just like they've been systematically doing for... honestly, since the showrunner change, really. S3 was fun and I enjoyed it, but now I can see the fucking writing on the wall. They never intended to let that man kill indiscriminately again, and I hate that. They're just going to keep taking away his power and his backbone and have him get kicked around again and again Freddie-style until we all die I guess. Because I guess they think that's funnier and easier to write.

I don't even know what to make of it all. It's so diametrically opposed to everything I found interesting about the character. The first few seasons were all about weirdos living in a normal human world. The humor was mostly derived from, like, a vampire trying to figure out the DMV. And Guillermo was finding that he was much less of a "straight man" to their weirdness as he thought. That he was being thrust into a wild and powerful world that he couldn't control, until he could. Until he found his own power and used it to devastating effect. He killed so many people in s2.

But as the show has progressed, as they swapped showrunners, as the focus has changed to exploring a much more supernatural world, Guillermo has been getting more and more "normal". He really is becoming more of the straight man. He almost never kills anymore, and when he does, it's solely out of direct protection that he can find no other way out of. He keeps trying to be responsible, to be caring, to be fair, and nothing else. Who gives a shit about that? Let the man kill a room full of people again. Let him throw a fit because the vampires didn't kill a victim he brought to them. Let him manipulate innocents into an early grave solely because it suits his own selfish needs.

Like damn, where's the man I remember who could be feral and selfish and sweet and caring all at once? What is this "too kind to be a vampire" bullshit? Was it just too hard for them to keep writing a character who was so complex and had so many contradictions? Did they think they had to make him suddenly feel conflicted about killing so they could justify his sweetness? Like Guillermo hasn't always managed to do both? What's even the point of giving him these powers, of having an arc where he comes to accept these powers, if you never let him truly use them anymore?

fuck

The entire time I was watching s5, I wanted to write a fic where they all get dosed with some kind of sex potion and Nandor and Guillermo have a lot of sex while thinking they have no choice for ages before finding out that it wore off weeks ago. And Guillermo finding out the truth and, like... I wanted to use him having that terrible knowledge that could destroy the relationship they'd been building to mirror the other secrets Guillermo is keeping. And I didn't know how I wanted to end it because I didn't know how the season would end. What Nandor knew and what he didn't and what his response would be.

And now I know how I want to end that fic, and it's with them together but not in a fully open and meaningful way. Guillermo is still retreating into humanity because he can't figure out that he lost that a long time ago, and Nandor has come to terms with the fact that he'll probably never truly have Guillermo. There's still anger and hurt feelings and a sense of dissatisfaction, like they'll never have an honest, truthful, and fully emotionally satisfying relationship if things stay as they are then. But they both love each other too much to give up the pale substitute for a relationship that they have. They both know what they have now isn't as good as what they could have had, but the alternative, living without each other, is too awful to contemplate.

And I know, I know that's just mirroring the way I feel about the actual series but...

damn, man. I guess I do still have a lot of feelings. lmao

SORRY I may be too exhausted right now to hold back. I'm just. Frustrated. idk.

[julianobungus]

Looking from your reblogs seems that you don’t like the TOH finale. Do you want to talk about it? We’re not here solely for shipping syk

Alrighty, so, spoilers ahead:

I did like the finale, but I didn't love it if that makes sense. While it was fun and heartfelt, there are a few things I think they writers fumbled with:

The Hexsquad are sidelined hard by the narrative. While you could argue that some of them have had their emotional payoffs (like Willow or Amity, perhaps), they're more-or-less away from the action as it happens - now, I understand that the final battle is supposed to focus on King, Eda, and Luz as they fight Belos, which is fine in theory. And yet, it feels like Hunter, Amity, Gus and Willow should be involved too, in some way. Hunter especially should have been present for Belos' death, of not complicit in it (poor Gus got virtually nothing in terms of character development, I think).

While I don't hate the idea of Belos dying - I think it was only ever gonna end that way for him - the manner in which he died is a bit anticlimatic. Everything was perfect up until Eda, King and Raine(??) just comedically stomped him to death. Any subtlety or seriousness is snuffed out for the sake of catharsis... even though it didn't feel all that cathartic.

We didn't get any Wittebane lore not even an acknowledgement of it. This feels weird, since For The Future seemed to be setting that up with Caleb's ghost appearing, as well as his brief appearance in the opening to Thanks to Them. But we get nothing here. It feels so rushed and strange considering how CENTRAL Caleb, Eveyln and Philip are to the story's beginnings.

Why is Raine there, again? I like them, but it feels weird to have the final battle like: 'the three protagonists of the story fight the main villain... also another character is there I guess'.

I might be missing some stuff, but that's all I have for now. I understand that it may not be the crew's fault solely, but I feel like they could have at least planned ahead and rejigged things, make the story flow better, y'know?

But hey, I enjoyed it for what it was.