#overtagging this one lmao

[tritoch]

Have you got any thoughts to share about Sphene? I saw your post about how misrepresented FFXIV’s female characters are, and I’ve been hoping to see anything more than the typical “Evil AI colonizer etc.” or “Tragic woman who can never change ever” or “Wuk Lamat’s girlfriend”. Maybe our interpretations will differ but I’ll be happy if you can provide anything more complex than those.

Sure! Throwing all this under a read-more for anyone who hasn't finished 7.0 yet. I think I'll probably expand on this more later but wanted to get initial thoughts down. (Note after writing: I meant this to be brief but uhhhh brevity is not my strong suit sorry. This take just sort of ends abruptly because I realize I'm rambling.) Again, spoilers through the end of 7.0 MSQ.

I think Sphene is the sharpest work the game has done yet in casting the antagonist as the noble double of the protagonist (a well it returns to a lot with Emet, and Zenos, and Golbez, and...). But because the protagonist here is Wuk Lamat and not the Warrior of Light, that's also a much more defined and interesting role. To me, Wuk Lamat is, above all, the Righteous Queen, who rules thoughtfully, wisely, and justly, and whose claim to the throne is justified by her moral clarity. Sphene, in turn, is also a wise and good queen, one who undertakes all her actions with her people first in her hearts, a sense of compassion towards all, and a clear eye for the consequences and costs of her intended course of action. And it leads to utter disaster, for her, her people, and the people of Tural. That rocks!

The first half of 7.0 is about justifying the fact that Wuk Lamat's going to be Dawnservant. Wuk Lamat is compassionate, curious, wise, and open-minded. She wins over rebels and malcontents not by asserting her authority or by strength of force, but by taking her obligations to them (as her subjects) seriously. She knows many of her subjects personally and takes a great interest in their lives, and she respects even those who openly oppose her.

And everything Wuk Lamat does, Sphene does to 11. Wuk Lamat respects her subject peoples and is curious about their cultures? Sphene forcibly annexes Yyasulani, but goes out of her way and expends Alexandria's limited resources to enable the remaining Xak Turali to live in their accustomed way if desired (…to the extent allowed by the new permanent lightning storms and the internal conflicts caused by regulator adoption). Wuk Lamat cares about her people not just in the abstract but as individuals? Sphene visits sick kids, knows them by name! Wuk Lamat understands the burden of rulership is too great and cedes half her power to her brother? Sphene recognizes her own weaknesses and makes a deal with the devil to keep Alexandria's culture alive! Wuk Lamat is willing to die for her people? Sphene will forcibly traumatize herself into being a better queen, if that's what rulership demands.

For an expansion that spends the first half being like "wow isn't this perfect candidate for the crown so likable and humble? wouldn't it be nice to be ruled by a good king?," it sure is funny that the final boss is THE QUEEN ETERNAL and she hits you with attacks like LEGITIMATE FORCE and ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY and ROYAL DOMAIN. This, to me, is Sphene's role: she complicates and questions the themes we've developed in the first half. Most importantly to me, she makes us ask: what is devotion to a people or culture even worth?

There's a thing I kept thinking of constantly during Dawntrail, not because I think it directly influenced the game in any way but because the parallels were so stark and startling. It's Jonathan Hickman's New Avengers #18 (2014). Truthfully, I'm not a big comics guy; I only know this sequence because Ta-Nehisi Coates cited it as inspiration for his Black Panther run on Twitter once (I also didn't read TNC's run, I was following him for politics talk). Forgive me, comics people, if I get any details wrong. The parallels are almost comical, though. It goes like this:

A superhuman secret society formed of some of the smartest heroes (and villains) in the land re-forms to oppose an existential threat caused by incursions from other dimensions that threaten to cause literal collisions between Earth and its alternate dimension counterparts. Seeing no other alternatives, they undertake work on a weapon to destroy these other worlds. T'challa—king of a fictional hyperadvanced nation called Wakanda, and also the superhuman Black Panther—meets with his ghostly predecessors, the previous Black Panthers/kings, for he fears the moral stain on his soul and the souls of the people of Wakanda, if they survive explicitly by killing their alternate counterparts, will be too heavy to bear. His ancestors are not impressed.

To them, there is no question at all. A king's duty may be complex in the execution, but it is simple in its conception. Your people come before all others. Always. This is, must be, the fundamental ethic of a good king. To do otherwise would be a betrayal of the social order on which this imagined good monarchy is built. In a situation like this, the only option is to do what you must to protect them. "Will there be a cost? Yes. Might the universe burn? Let it. . . . You will kill them all if it means Wakanda stands. The golden city must never fall."

"I will do what I must" is Sphene's guiding principle. It is so important to her that when she recognizes that her sentimental attachments are making her waver in her duty, she severs them entirely, sacrificing her whole identity to the throne. It is also implicitly Wuk Lamat's position: she has no choice but to fight Sphene because to do otherwise would be to fail to protect her people. In fact, it's briefly even sort of the Warrior of Light's position, as when you tell Sphene before her trial that you understand what you must do, which is shut her down to protect others.

(One quick thought about the Warrior of Light: one cool thing about the antagonist this time being a double in a more exact way than Emet or Zenos is that it means other characters get a chance to relate to her differently than Wuk Lamat. The Warrior of Light, for example, is pressed into her service immediately upon your first meeting as the Queen's Champion, there to defend her if need be against all evil. This role is further affirmed by both robot Otis and Endless Otis, who essentially hand off their role as her knight to you, and reinforced when you flash back to the "might I call upon your aid" moment right before the end. Except, of course, you are loyal not just to her, but to the principles she represents, which her own acts betray, and so your ultimate act of aid is to essentially pass judgment on her and execute her. In a sense, you become the internal safeguard that a political system is supposed to have to protect against this very issue, and which Alexandria explicitly lost when it cast out/forgot Otis. Very Voeburt/ShB tank quests, it owns.)

But really, it's Sphene who embodies this sort of grim logic best. Aside from her transformation into the Queen Eternal, it's also why she suggests you simply become Alexandrians. It's the only way for her to reconcile her values and worldview, which have backed her into a corner where preserving Alexandria has come to mean a maximalist declaration of war on all life outside its borders because the kind of absolutely pain-free life she envisions for her citizens is completely unsustainable.

In this reading, one of Sphene's main beats is to unsettle what has preceded her in MSQ. In nearly all respects, she shares your values. She prizes life, is curious about other cultures, believes in the greatest good for the greatest possible number. But she is also a queen, and therefore irrevocably (in her eyes) tied to her state. Gulool Ja Ja and Wuk Lamat (and Koana) are the mythical wise rulers, thank god--but what if Wuk had inherited a Turali state that wasn't desperately in need of cross-cultural understanding, but one in a state of war? What value would her deep love for the people of Tural have held then? Sphene says, it would have held no value. If the survival of your people means harming the innocent, you harm the innocent. Kingship allows for no alternatives.

But she also concedes, in the very next breath, that she is still kind of wrong. Because what happened here was not inevitable, despite her programming (a brief note: to me Sphene being programmed is exactly the same as Emet being maybe-tempered, it's a fantasy gloss on the idea of social and cultural education. "I was programmed for this" is really no different from "I was trained and educated for this"), because the truth is that this kind of thoughtful, principled devotion to the state and its people is also a form of sentimental attachment, in the end. One that is maintained not because it is natural, and necessary, but because the monarch, too, likes it, and gets something from it.

In so many ways, in so many senses, the monarch is the state. Kings and queens may fancy themselves merely a reflection of their people's needs and desires, but of course even a cursory glance at history will tell you that far more often, states reflect their rulers. Sphene and Wuk Lamat both suggest that their conflict was inevitable, but was it? Or is the truth, as Sphene glancingly acknowledges here, that she turned her own fears and desires into the same policy goals that led to this tragedy? And if so...what does that say of our Good Queen, Wuk Lamat? Perhaps this could be different if they met earlier, says Wuk Lamat. But when? When did Wuk Lamat ever not love her people so dearly that she would not have sacrificed herself for them, or caused mass death for the sake of their survival? When did Sphene not believe the Endless to be people, or the preservation of Alexandria to be the most important thing? Maybe she means "had we met before you met Zoraal Ja," but of course, we the player actually saw their meeting. And we know that Sphene even then was not the hapless naif she'd like to pretend. She always knew exactly what she was doing.

We know the price of this kind of thinking, this Hobbesian view that states are engaged in a struggle of all against all. Living Memory lets you walk through it. To preserve Tural, we exterminate the Endless. We befriend them, learn about their lives, promise to remember them, and then we destroy them and their homes, leaving nothing but a bleak blank landscape and the sound of wind. This is what Sphene would have done to Tural and Eorzea. Indeed, it's what she's already doing to the people of Yyasulani, because no amount of well-intentioned aid can make up for trapping people under the dome for 30 years and systematically eroding their culture through the resonators.

To me, this is what makes Sphene really work, that way she has of forcing Wuk Lamat and the player to commit the same kinds of sins she has. We'd like to think ourselves better than her, but of course, we've already reconciled with and integrated Mamook's brutal eugenicist regime back into Turali society well before we ever met Sphene. At the end of our long "wow isn't having a wise queen cool???" expansion, we are met with "Legitimate Force" and "Absolute Authority" and see them for what they truly are: nothing but tools of violence. No longer does the idea of the Warrior of Light hanging around Tural as Wuk Lamat's advisor have the same attraction, now that we have been reminded of the way the putatively unquestionable logic of kingship can ultimately lock even the wisest and kindest rulers into a path of war and exploitation and destruction.

I think Sphene is FFXIV's most interesting and nuanced depiction yet of a leader. She really, truly, wants nothing more than to save her people and protect them from pain. But even seemingly loving and compassionate goals like these can readily lead us down dark paths. She's a "hard men make hard choices"-type character, a noble but misguided opponent, but as a loving and elegant fairy queen instead of a grizzled knight or extremely sad man. She fucking rocks.

[lotus-lamps]

originally just quick doodles but i got carried away gege style LMAO (gege when i catch you gege) not too satisfied with the second one but alas. i apologize to artfight i got distracted by jjk 😭😭😭

anyways. guess my favorite character (i have two sketchbook pages worth of drawings of junpei. i lobe him dearly)

[askthetoudensiblings]

okay this is like, one of few serious posts I'll make, and this goes out to non-ask blogs and ask blogs.

I get being upset that ask blogs are "clogging tags up" but like...how do you expect an ASK BLOG to get asks without tagging their stuff? Like, I get that some of us (me included) use a ton of tags and like. for good reason?? we're ask blogs. this like, a dying style of blogs in general.

Just block the blogs annoying you?? there's no need to make a (very obviously targeted) post about it. The original poster already blocked me so like, I can't even try to communicate with them so...

I went on my other account and their tags were basically like "there's so much untagged labru from anime onlys"... No shit?? I've been posting Laios x Kabru for at least a month dude, get over it. And I almost always have mine and @askkabru 's threads tagged at least with "Laios x Kabru" like sorry that I forget sometimes I'm only human?

I also literally can't "fix my tags" I have over 200 posts. I'm a minor doing this blog for fun dude. This is a hobby for me, I literally only do this because it's fun.

"You don't have to tag the character you're role-playing as" ...okay and?? Is that harming you?? no! this blog isn't serious whatsoever, and if you have such a problem just block the ask blogs and move on!! it's the internet, people are gonna do shit that you don't like!

anyways, sorry for the rant, I'm just a major overthinker and also a bit of an asshole who doesn't really care if this gets me hate lmao. I just wish they would've just, y'know, communicated rather then making a whole post OBVIOUSLY about me and then having another ask blog comment how much it pisses them off like... wow! But yeah I wasn't gonna be able to sleep if I didn't make this so goodnight y'all. Have fun with this post cause I'm gonna overtag it for fun!! :3

[ceilidho]

WAIT I LOVE IN THE CAULDRON BOIL AND BAKE ITS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE GHOST FICS EVER !!!! i can’t believe it’s not more popular?!!!!!!!!

lmao if i use the "noncon" tag on any fic, it automatically becomes less popular, which i get. lots of people are not interested in that material, and even though i personally feel like i tend to write more dubcon than rough noncon, i prefer overtagging so that people are absolutely sure they know what they're getting into.

also no one likes spooky halloween fics 😡😡😡 even that reylo one!!!!!

[padfootastic]

Your tags on that “we know nothing about the marauders so we can make it all up post”… YES wow especially the part about tagging OOC content??? What a world that would be… as it stands now there is absolutely no way to filter between canon and non-canon/canon versions of the characters.

And the overtagging! Why is Jegulus tagged on Sirius fanart? Why are all the marauders-era characters tagged on a portrait of Lupin? Why is wolfstar tagged on literally everything?? It’s straight up impossible to find specific character related content via the tags, or any content at all if you’re trying to filter out one or more of the above. How do you manage to find the content you’re looking for?

exactly!! and it’s really a bit of a doubled edged thing for me, bc i am NOT someone who enjoys canon characterisations usually (my current tirades notwithstanding and that’s really mainly bc i hate the fanon versions even more) and honestly, i’d like shit to be tagged bc i want to look for it lmao

it’s like—imagine if all fics, regardless of how they were plotted, were just ‘golden era’ or ‘marauders era’ with NO concept of canon compliant or divergence or AU or anything. u can argue ‘meh what does it matter’ but then really, that’s a question for the entire institution of tagging then, isn’t it?

as it stands, as our ~fandom social contract~ dictates, tagging is a way for us to find what we want and avoid what we don’t. having a baseline helps operationalise that. u can say ‘okay, yeah, this is a thing and i’m CHANGING it’. it’s a scientific experiment 😌 but to straight up say?? nothing is real?? like bro take ur nihilism elsewhere pls thx

and gosh. don’t even get me start on the overtagging. literally every time one of my posts gets rb’d with wolfstar, it makes me wanna scream. i can’t see my own posts. and that’s not to mention all the others that get mistagged and i keep playing roulette w them. i honestly mostly blame tumblr’s system for this bc,,,why u including everyone’s additional tags bruh. obv someone will tag what they see. that’s what we all do. why do i have to suffer for it 😭

i also think it’s bc of like,,,those auto generated text thingys? and reader insert accs who want reach? that are fully clogging the tags. atp i just go by recs and a few trusted mutuals pages lol that’s what i’d recommend to anyone similarly frustrated 💀

[pyrosomatic-metamorphosis]

I read that same fic earlier and I just straight up muted the person so their works don't show up for me anymore lmao

there was also another one like that posted yesterday because the person was mad at something qBad did a couple of days ago while not at all in his right mind and amnesiac, it was odd (not shitting on the person just confused and slightly concerned)

yeah there’s. a lot of misconceptions around qbad rn lmao. It’s one of the reasons Im so obnoxious about him, tbh, so that it’s not JUST the negativity that gets spread. He’s a really good target for the hate rn, because he has a smaller fanbase and his pvp playstyle + lore lead him to all that antagonizing during purgatory, and that gets vented out into fics.

It’s genuinely really interesting, the dichotomy that seems to exist between tumblr and twitter regarding him. Ive heard nothing but slander about bbh from twitter (again, he is not faking his illness, that is a lie), but he’s got a solid enough foothold on tumblr that ive seen more hate towards the fans that the cc, here. which makes sense, given how we take over the tag almost ever day when he logs on. genuine o7 to people who find that obnoxious but thats one of the reasons i overtag so much, for blocking purposes.

anyway i think all the bbh mischaracterization means that we just need to write about him more >:D please this is a call for more bbh centric fics from people who do not hate him/know a little bit about his lore. blease he’s such a fun pov to write i promise

[serenescribe]

Hello <3

There wasn't a limit so i hope these three 🥰 🎯 🤗 are alright?

Fanfic Writer Emoji Ask (and no limit at all! you're gucci o7)

🥰 How do you feel about reader interaction? Are you open to receiving questions about your fics?

i LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!!!! READER INTERACTION!!!!! comments are my LIFEBLOOD replies are my MEDICINE asks on tumblr are my ADDICTION!!!!!! seriously, the part that makes writing most rewarding for me is the sense of community i get when i write something and people enjoy it enough to talk to me about it. it's so!! it's also why i'm so active in twst rn, having burrowed in a corner in the diasomnia side of things and being very happy that people enjoy my works!

and god, PLEASE send me questions about my fics. if i can't answer it for spoiler reasons, i'll literally just say "i legally cannot reply :D" but it makes me soooooo happy to talk to people abt this. grabby hands pspsps cmere come talk to me

🎯 Have any of your readers accurately guessed major plot points? Care to share which?

this is a tricky one cause i think you can only really have this if you're writing a multichaptered fic. which i don't do very much! but... yes. back when i was still working on dr54 (the full title is too long lmao) there were a few people who threw some theories that were correct. i can't remember them off the top of my head, nor do i want to list them because of spoilers (it's on hiatus but i hope to return someday!! my dear ocs i love you) but they got me SCREAMING to skep in dms ;v;

apart from that... stares at olive. you. you predicted one of my bad things happen bingos.

🤗 What advice would you give to new fanfic writers that are just getting started?

write. like, seriously, write a lot. i've been writing fanfiction since i was 11, starting at crappy oc insert niche shit that's since been nuked off the internet, to whatever i have now. and please do have fun with it! both of that sound very generic, but it's definitely true. if you wind up feeling stressed and upset by writing, which is supposed to be something that should make you feel fulfilled, then maybe it's time to take a step back.

on another note... if you're posting to ao3 and are hoping to get some people reading your works: don't self-deprecate (don't say stuff like "this fic sucks" or "idk how to do a summary" because people will NOT read out of pity), don't overtag, make sure to have proper spacing between your paragraphs (a lot of people are willing to overlook simple errors as long as it's readable, aka the spacing), and... i think that's about it, really. if you need help with ao3 posting, tbh just hit me up off-anon and i can help (<- has helped friends before with it).

[corrodedbisexual]

Hello hope you don't mind me butting in. You're free to not answer this publicly if you don't want to bring more attention to the vent post but I relate man. When I first got into the stranger things fandom on Tumblr I quickly realised the main tag and the character tags are like. very hard to navigate (either because of the untagged reader fics or -for smaller characters- because they're tagged in Every post they feature in, and they're generally not at all the focus of it). and i do think the solution is following blogs that make what you like seeing and silently blocking blogs that dont. just blacklisting is never enough apparently.

also, sometimes i see posts tagged x reader that only feature the character? is that a convention or something? i saw it in other fandoms before but i never got it. or like. ships randomly tagged in fanart or edits of only one character, with no relation to the ship at all. perhaps ops way of finding their audience? it confuses me greatly though.

I don't mind the attention, I started the whole rant lmao. I could go full on evil and tag this post with "eddie munson x reader" but I have a bang draft to finish instead of dealing with the inevitable backlash.

Yeah I rarely go into the Eddie Munson tag myself, it's an uncharted forest of incredibly detailed girly thirst, which I'm not judging, just not particularly interested in seeing it lol. The post that got through my carefully constructed blocking systems was on my dash, I do have moots who are into "x reader", I love them and I don't wanna unfollow them, so the next best solution is blocking OPs they reblog who don't bother tagging, which is what I've decided to do.

And yeah, you're right, that's another thing. Overtagging with "x reader" probably to get more attention from people who follow the tags. I sometimes get a little culture shock when I see exclusively Steddie blogs I follow reblog things that get filtered for me, and then I open that and realize it has nothing to do with "x reader", it's just a fanart of Eddie or Steve. Ughhhh why, people. Why.

[mkstrigidae]

CHRIST chapter 13 of APWH is a monster, even after I’ve moved some of it to the next chapter. So far, it’s about 19,000 words, with one brief scene i still need to write, and i’m really annoying MS Word’s spellchecking function with all the Westerosi names.

[marksollinger]

i would post more archive 81 content but tragically there’s just way more tma fanart than there is a81 fanart 😔

[wittystiles]

The Agreement || Part Three || Stiles Stilinski

Author: wittystiles

Word Count: 3.5k

Summary: Stiles goes to surprise reader at work, and the two end up getting a surprise of a different kind.

Warnings: Cursing (its me afterall). Fluff. So much fluff. Sass (again, it’s me).

A/N: Once and again, I have to give thank you credit to my wonderful wifey @ellie-bee242 for helping me with this part. I don’t think I can write anything at this point without her by my side (metaphorically) egging me on. She’s my muse (sort of. God, who do I think I am?). Anyway. This parts disgustingly cute and I hope you enjoy.

Patients were steadily coming in and out of the ER, staff being kept on their toes as they worked to keep everyone happy and keep things moving. (Y/N), however, was falling short. She’d been sick for days, which she chalked up to catching the stomach flu from a patient that she’d been helping around the time she got sick. She was luckily not running a fever as she sat in a chair behind the desk of the nurses station, chewing on a saltine. 

Melissa rounded the desk, giving her a soft smile. “Hey, sweetie. How’re you feeling?” Melissa asked, looking (Y/N) over. (Y/N) shrugged her shoulder, setting the cracker back down in the plastic saltine sleeve.

“I’m feeling alright,” she sat forward and made a face. “Scratch that, I lied. I feel like every time I move I’m going to shoot chunks.” 

Melissa nodded, “go home.” She picked up (Y/N)’s sleeve of crackers, shoving it into her hand. “Go home, drink lots of fluids, and rest. I don’t want to see your butt back here until you’re feeling better. It’d be your luck, you’d get sick suddenly, and puke on a patient.”

(Y/N) widened her eyes, “Melissa! I would never.” She stood from her chair slowly and rubbed her forehead. “It’s just a little stomach flu. I’m fine.” “Yeah, but it’s lasted a good long while. I don’t think that’s what it is anymore, (Y/N). Maybe something you’re eating is messing with you. Do you have something every day?” 

(Y/N) thought for a moment, shaking her head. “Just coffee? Though, I have had that every day for years. It wouldn’t just start to affect me now.” Melissa nodded, furrowing her brows. “What else is wrong?” 

“Just the vomiting, really. And God, even when I drink my weight in coffee, I’m still exhausted. I’ve contemplated taking a shot of adrenaline and just, suffering.”

Melissa gave (Y/N) a shrug, taking her arm while the two walked away from the nurses station towards the nurses locker room. “Could the fatigue be part of your PMS? I know you always get worn down easily when you’re about to drop.”

(Y/N) stopped abruptly, eyes widening. “Oh, fuck.”

“What?” Melissa asked with evident concern in her voice. “Do you need a bucket?”

(Y/N) shook her head. “No, I just.. Felt like I was going to, it’s passed. I can get the rest of the way there on my own, Melissa. Thank you for your concern. I’m off tomorrow, right?”

Melissa nodded.

“Perfect, I’ll see you the day after then, hopefully feeling as good as new. And, you know what? Maybe it’s this stupid new popfetti popcorn I’ve been addicted to that’s doing it? It’s probably too sweet for me, and it’s upsetting my stomach and causing me to be sluggish.”

Melissa chuckled, “maybe. I’d stop eating it anyway, sounds like it’s terrible.” (Y/N) shrugged, giving Melissa a small smile before hurrying into the locker room. She took her stethoscope off of her neck, flinging it into her locker the moment she got it open. She was starting to get panicked, her mind running faster than she wanted.

Calm down! (Y/N) ordered herself as she pulled her scrub shirt off over her head. She took a few deep breathes, “don’t get yourself worked up over this. It could just be a bunch of weird coincidences. Don’t go getting your hopes up, (Y/N). You’ve got to make sure.”

“Make sure of what?” Stiles asked from behind her. (Y/N) whirled around to face him, clutching her chest in fright.

“Jesus Christ, Stiles! What the fuck are you doing in here? This is the female nurses locker room.” She waved her hand around, indicating the locker room. “Seeing as how you’re not a chick, and you’re not a nurse, you shouldn’t be in here.” She looked down, huffing. “Or at least turn around, I’m not wearing a shirt!” She reached into her locker to grab her regular shirt, holding it against her.

“Oh, would you relax?” Stiles asked, taking a seat on the bench between the lockers. “There’s no one else in here, and I’ve seen you naked before. Should we recount two days ago?” He wriggled his eyebrows at her and she slapped him in the face with her shirt.

“Why are you here, Stiles?” 

“I was going to bring you soup for your stomach. You said you weren’t feeling well yesterday, figured you still weren’t.” 

“I hate soup.” (Y/N) sighed.

“That’s why I said I was going to. Instead I settled on lightly buttered toast, and ramen noodles, cause it’s soup like. Salty as hell, but. I figured you’d be okay with that.”

(Y/N) pulled her shirt on over her head, kicking her work shoes off. “You did not have to do that, Stiles. That was really sweet of you, thank you”

Stiles gave her his signature smug smile, “you’re welcome. Gotta take care of my future baby mama, don’t I?”

“And you ruined it. You’re excellent at that you know? Ruining a sweet moment by opening your stupid mouth. You should write a book, ‘how to kill the mood in 10 words or less’ by Stiles Stilinski.”

“Ouch,” Stiles said, standing up from his seat on the bench. “You can starve now, (Y/N). Last time I try being nice to you.” He began slowly walking back to the door, intending on leaving the locker room.

Smiling, (Y/N) shrugged her shoulders. “Fine by me. I wasn’t gonna eat your gross, probably soggy ramen anyway.”

Stiles scoffed, turning around to look at (Y/N) as she was shimmying her scrub pants off. He took a deep inhale, watching her for a second before his brain caught up. “First of all, (Y/N), my ramen is not anywhere close to soggy. I know how to make it, we’ve had enough fights where you took over cooking them for me to know how you like it. Secondly, you weren’t calling my mouth stupid when it was between your thighs.”

(Y/N) opened her mouth to snap a comeback at him, instead going wide eyed, spinning on her heels to the large wash bin sink beside her locker. She gripped the edge, leaned over, and released the contents of her stomach, her throat feeling raw when she was done.

Stiles had quickly crossed the room to hold her hair back as she retched into the sink, his free hand rubbing small circles into her lower back. (Y/N) stayed hunched over the sink for a moment, making sure that she was done for the time being, before standing. Stiles released her hair and reached into her locker, grabbing her water bottle.

“I didn’t know that me talking about eating you out was gonna make you that sick, I’m sorry.” He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck while looking down at his feet.

(Y/N) snorted a laugh, shaking her head at him, taking a few small sips from her water bottle. “It wasn’t your comment, Stiles. You doing that was wonderful, and I’m pleased to know we have a use for your stupid mouth. The puking was all me. I’ve been sick, remember? Welcome to what I’ve been dealing with for days.”

“You seem… fine now? You just look a little sweaty if anything, and like you’re about to pass out.”

(Y/N) shrugged, “thanks?”

Stiles gave her a soft smile, turning the water on to wash the sink out, not wanting the smell to make her sick all over again. “So, you think I’m wonderful, huh?”

(Y/N), having realized her mistake, shook her head adamantly. “No, you’re not. I was just trying to be nice since you had to witness me puking.” She pulled her leggings on before reaching into her locker, quickly finding her toiletries bag. She dug around in it before she found her toothbrush and toothpaste. She wet her toothbrush at the sink and began brushing her teeth, leaning her hip against the sink.

“Why do you think you’re sick? Should I head out and get you something after I get you home? An anti-nausea medicine or something?”

(Y/N) shook her head, spitting into the sink. She rinsed her mouth and toothbrush before shutting the water off. “No, I don’t think that this is anything that simple medicine could fix.”

“Oh?” Stiles took her purse from the locker before moving out of the way for her to shut it, letting her slip her feet into a pair of flip flops before offering her purse out to her. “What do you think it is?” He asked, figuring she’d self diagnosed again like usual.

“I think we’ll talk about it on the way back to my place.” (Y/N) pulled her purse onto her shoulder walking out of the locker room, knowing Stiles would automatically follow her.

(Y/N) walked out of the bathroom in her apartment, wiping at the corners of her mouth with the sleeve of the hoodie she wore. “Would you please not use my jacket as a puke napkin?” Stiles asked, looking over at her. “Feeling okay? You haven’t puked in a bit, I was almost sure you were better.”

(Y/N) ignored him, walking for the front door, slipping her feet back into the flipflops she’d kicked off when she’d gotten home. She grabbed her keys off of the hook beside the door. “You coming?” She asked, holding the door open. Stiles scrambled off of the couch, hurrying for the front door. He went to hook his arm around her shoulders after she locked the door, a bit taken back when she began speed walking for the stairs down.

“Alright,” Stiles said, hurrying after her. He took the stairs two at a time, keeping his hand on the railing to make sure he doesn’t fall. “Is there something in particular that’s lit this fire under your ass, (Y/N)?”

Continuing to ignore him, she reached the first floor, heading straight for the door to leave the apartment building. She threw it open, taking a right when she walked out, hurrying down the sidewalk.

“(Y/N)!” Stiles called, following after her. “Would you mind slowing down? You know for someone who was just throwing up, I would expect you to not move as quickly.” (Y/N) reached the Walgreens walking in as soon as the automatic door allowed her to. Stiles walked in after her, managing to keep easy pace with her now that she slowed down. “(Y/N)! Would you please tell me what the fuck is going on?”

She stopped abruptly in an aisle and he had to keep himself from crashing against her. “You know I hate being ignored, (Y/N). This is honestly about to drive me insane. Would you please ju-”

(Y/N) reached up and grabbed his jaw in her hand, turning his head to look at the shelves in front of them. “Oh.” He nodded, feeling her release his jaw. He looked over the boxes for a moment before actually processing why they were there. “OH!” He shouted, looking over at her. “(Y/N)! You think that-... That you-...”

She nodded, giving him an angry look. “Yes, now would you shut the fuck up? Jesus, you’re being loud right now.”

Stiles grumbled, “sounds like what I have to say to you at night.”

She elbowed him in the ribs, returning her attention to the selection of pregnancy tests. She took her time reading them over, deciding on three different brands. “Is that all?” Stiles asked, looking at the three boxes that (Y/N) had shoved into his arms. “Might as well grab a fourth, why do an uneven number?” He asked, looking up at her.

(Y/N) looked less than amused, “does it matter how many I take, Stiles? Really?”

He shook his head, deciding to keep his mouth shut and just follow her to the register. He set the boxes on the counter, reaching into his back pocket to pull out his wallet. “Do you want anything else while we’re here because I don’t think we’ll be leaving again tonight. Maybe more crackers?”

(Y/N) shook her head, “no.” She took the bag from the woman and walked out as soon as Stiles had paid. The two made their way back to (Y/N)’s apartment without speaking to each other, the bag in (Y/N)’s hand felt particularly heavy.

Stiles’ mind was racing at a million miles per minute. He knew that if those little sticks in those unassuming boxes came back positive, his life would be instantaneously changed. He’d go from just being Stiles Stilinski, the exceptional FBI profiler, to Stiles Stilinski the soon-to-be father.

He began thinking about how he would be connected to (Y/N) forever after this, how she was forever going to go from just being his best friend to being the mother of his child. He concerned himself with if he would be a good father, if the two of them were making a huge mistake. If (Y/N) would back out, if she would realize that this idea was absolutely insane, if she would want an abortion. He wouldn’t fight her on that, it was her body that would be carrying their child after all, but -

Stiles snapped out of his thoughts when she cursed loudly, fiddling with the keys in her hand. Stiles took her hand in his, giving her a reassuring smile before finding her house key, unlocking her front door. He could practically see the anxiety rolling off of her in waves. The two entered the apartment, and she rushed straight for the bathroom. “Puking?” Stiles called out, ready to offer to hold her hair or get her a glass of water.

She shook her head, not bothering to respond as she slammed the door behind her. Stiles nodded, biting on his lips. “Right.” He took a seat on the couch, resting his elbows on his thighs and his chin on his hand, his knees bouncing nervously. He looked back at the bathroom and felt his stomach do a flip, considering if maybe he was going to be sick instead of (Y/N).

The bathroom door opened and Stiles shot to his feet, feeling like he suddenly couldn’t breathe. He took a few shallow breaths, giving her his attention. “So,” Stiles prompted, gripping his fist with his other hand. “What did they say?”

She held up her phone, “they said wait five minutes for the piss to marinate or something so. We’ll find out in roughly four minutes.”

Stiles nodded, a lump in his throat big enough to choke him. The two sat together on the couch, neither speaking, staring straight ahead at the black television screen. When (Y/N)’s phone went off the pair shot to their feet, eyes wide and hearts pounding. “I guess that’s my cue..” (Y/N) indicated towards the bathroom with her thumb, clearing her throat. “I’ll be right back.”

Stiles nodded, not wanting to speak at this point. (Y/N) bit on her lips, walking off to the bathroom. Stiles began pacing around her living room, his heart pounding in his ears. He clenched his hands into fists to stop them from shaking. He’d been through so much, more than any twenty something should ever have witnessed. But this. The anticipation of finding out if (Y/N) was pregnant or not. This might have been the scariest thing he’d ever experienced.

He stopped pacing the second he heard the bathroom door open, watching (Y/N) walk out with her head hung low. His heart dropped to his knees, he felt like it stopped. “(Y/N)…” He whispered, quickly making his way over to her.

(Y/N) wound her arms around his ribs, resting her head against his chest. He could feel a spot of wetness bloom against his chest where her cheek rest. He wrapped his arms around her, beginning to rub her back gently. “I’m sorry,” he whispered against her hair, resting his cheek on the top of her head. “Please, stop crying. I - I don’t know what to say. Fuck, I’m sorry. We don’t have to keep trying. I don’t want you having to go through this again.” Stiles assured her, assuming that the test had come back negative.

(Y/N) kept her cheek pressed against his chest, unable to speak yet, tears still pouring down her cheeks.

“You’re gonna be okay, (Y/N).” Stiles said as way of reassurance. “I know that you wanted this, or, fuck I hope you wanted to be pregnant because if not that would have just been a lot of trying without you mentioning it wasn’t what you wanted. However, it’s okay. So it didn’t happen. It’s cool, it’s fine. We could I dunno, we could keep trying, it’s not like it isn’t fun. Or, I know you’re not a fan but… Doctors really do know a lot, you know? And I mean. Yeah it’s a turkey baster, but it’s got better chances doesn’t it? I’m sure there’s more of an assuran-” He stopped talking, taking a seat on the couch, feeling like he was about to have a panic attack. His heart was back to pounding. He didn’t realize how badly he had actually wanted this baby. How much he had actually thought about it. How badly he wanted to raise his own child, watch it grow. And he thought, God, he thought he was so fucking close. He could practically see his son or daughter staring up at him. Now, that future. That image he had of his happy family was wiped away from him. In the matter of four, eternally long minutes.

(Y/N) looked down at him in confusion, “Stiles…” She held out a test, waiting for him to take it before wrapping her arms around herself. Stiles took a deep breath, turning the stick over to look at the little window, preparing himself mentally for the new wave of disappointment.

One pink line, standing boldly out against the white background.

And another.

He looked from the lines up to (Y/N) before looking back at them, trying to make sure he had interpreted them right. “(Y/N),” he held the test up a bit. “(Y/N), please. I’m begging you. Please tell me this is what I think it is. Please tell me this is positive. God, please let this be positive.”

(Y/N) nodded, biting on her lips to keep from beaming too bright of a smile, “that one and the two others on the counter in the bathroom.”

Stiles felt his eyes well, sitting up on the couch to be able to reach out and grab her, pulling her against him, pressing his face against her stomach. Stiles let out a breathy laugh, kissing her stomach softly, his fingers splayed on her back, holding her as close to him as he could. “I can’t - I don’t -.” He closed his mouth, words failing him. (Y/N) began combing her fingers through his hair, letting him hold her to him. In that moment, (Y/N) realized there wasn’t anyone else she’d rather share this with. Stiles pressed another kiss to her stomach, and she felt a wider smile spread across her lips.

“God, you’re actually pregnant.” Stiles said, but it felt more like a question. “God, you’re pregnant. We did it.. Thank you.” He stood then, and (Y/N) felt what she figured was her heart skipping a beat when she saw the smile on Stiles’ face. In all of the years she had known him, she had never seen him look happier.

“I am.” She assured him, returning his smile.

“I just -, I…” Stiles reached out, cupping (Y/N)’s cheeks in his hands, pulling her into a kiss. (Y/N) hesitated for a moment before reaching up, winding her arms around Stiles’ neck, pressing her body against his. He moved his hands from her cheeks to her hips, gripping them tight before his hands moved to her back, pressing her tighter against him.

(Y/N) broke the kiss for a breath, leaning back a little to look at him. “Thank you, Stiles.”

“No,” he shook his head. “Thank you, (Y/N). For being my best friend, for accepting this crazy agreement, and for not backing out.”

(Y/N) smiled, “we’re in this for the long haul, punk.”

Stiles returned her smile warmly, “so. You’re happy, with this? With being pregnant? It’s not too late, you know…”

(Y/N) let go of Stiles, shaking her head. “Stiles, I’ve never wanted anything more than I want this baby with you. I’m in if you’re in. Forever.”

Stiles held his pinky out to her, “forever.”

She looked at his pinky, rolling her eyes a little. “Stiles, come on. We’re not kids anymore. I’m carrying one, but that doesn’t mean I’ve regressed to being fifteen. We don’t make pinky promises anymore.” Stiles nearly pouted, keeping his pinky up. “Come on, (Y/N). What’s it going to hurt? You used to do them all of the time with me in high school, and neither of us have broken one since. Might as well make another one regarding our baby.”

(Y/N) sighed, deciding to acquiesce.

The two locked pinkies, each kissing their thumbs to seal the promise.

~

Tags: @ellie-bee242, @redstringlovers, @lovefilledtragedy, @behind-my-hazeleyes27, @cuillere, @sumcp, @daddyxraeken

If you’d like to be tagged please let me know. (-:

[pa-panda-heroes]

Akskgjhsjff SuKuna!! Like, can you imagine him cockwarming you on his lap though?? Making you sit still back-to-chest and wait, and when he's finally fed up with all the antsy squirming he grabs you behind the knees, brings em up damn near to your shoulders and fuckin ruins ya? 10/10 solid lap to sit on imo

please!! cockwarming + lapsitting = <3 Paige my dear, i swear you had to have read my mind because i've always wanted to talk about sitting on his lap ah- and idk if we all know this but i'm a slut for cock warming lmao

i wasn't even gonna make it nsfw but now you've got my gears turning omg- now i'm feral. thank you thank you thank you <3

Minors, dni.

gonna put a warning on this one: smut, cockwarming, slight size kink, tummy bulging (not sure what it's called?), teensy pain/blood play, one mention of branding, i'm probably overtagging but i just want to avoid triggering someone :>

Head empty, only fucking Sukuna on his throne--

Hear me out: this bitch spreads his legs when he sits yes? gotta make room for that monster cock right I'm pretty sure it's canon but if not i'm making it canon because listen. listen. He would deadass yank you on his lap and just as quickly slide you down his cock, knees spread really wide to force yours wide too, stretching you so nicely inside and out, one of his hands snaking to your lower abdomen where his cock bulges your skin because there's no way he can resist poking at you.

Sukuna would just rub the bulge so soft and tenderly and litter your skin with gooseflesh, but you can bet his other hand isn't being so sweet. it's either pulling your hair and tugging your head to the side so he can bite and suckle your neck, or raking the gentlest, shallowest marks that still draw just thin trail of blood in their wake with his claws, all coloured and sharp and so pretty for you <3 bonus points if you let him brand you

Sukuna can be patient when he wants to. he'll deprive himself of pleasure for the sake of teasing you if he's in the mood for it, and so cockwarming him can go one of two ways: 1), he can go for hours just to fuck you, forcing you to hold still and slapping your ass or thigh if you so much as squeeze, and 2), it takes about five seconds before he throws all resolve aside and starts railing into you lmao

And once he's had his fill, he would handle you so rough you end up bobbing and falling back against his chest again, so he teases you about being such an itty bitty human, so easily manhandled by a big bad curse like him, so cute when you squeak like that... Sukuna's voice is so sweet and lulling that you're almost unsure it's actually him, but his pace is fucking brutal. You can barely hear him over your own cries and whines and attempts to fucking breathe because your knees are crushing your poor chest so good, while the squelching of your poor, puffy cunt swallowing him right up only gets louder~

Just don't think you're getting away with just one orgasm at all, let alone that quickly, babe... edging is his favourite pasttime <3

[snickerdoodlles]

'#honestly I don’t like seeing it even for kink stuff' GOD THIS tag i feel this so much. if the kink is explored and over and moved past in the space of less than two whole sentences, it doesn't need to be tagged lmao. mention it in the authors/chapter notes or the summary idc, u just dont need to be tagging ur speedruns of kinks that r inherently about being dragged out lol. if its one that is a common squick then at least do 'kink a [briefly mentioned]' instead? yeah it'll still show up in the main 'kink a' tag but at least we will know before going in lmao

ANYWAY im sorry sdgsdghjfhd,, u unlocked a rant i didnt realise i had loaded there

ALL GOOD FRIEND, you get me!!!! It might be a little thing for me to have such a huge rant over myself, but I hate this trend of tagging Literally Every Little Thing so much because it completely ruins the integrity of the archive system 😭 In the same way that tagging non-essential characters and ships clutters and interferes with people searching for content through those (often smaller) tags, over tagging kink content interferes with the purpose of tags in general. Tagging literally any mention of any kink not only clutters or interferes with tag filters, it can also interfere with the actual definition of a tag (like. I 100% understand the worry on not tagging something as ✨controversial✨ as dub/noncon or similarly loaded kinks/topics, but it’s supremely fucking annoying to see people tag fully consensual smut as ‘dubcon’ only because there wasn’t 3k of kink discussion & fully stated ‘yes’es preceding the porn 🙄 ). How do you even filter content if the tags don’t accurately represent the works? How do you accurately gauge your comfort levels with kink fics hellishly overtagged? It’s already difficult enough to filter/navigate works based on people’s differing definitions, awareness and comfort levels, there’s no need to further muddle the waters with overtagging vaguely mentioned and/or blink and you miss it kinks!! If the kink could be deleted from the story and the story remains unchanged, there’s no need to tag it. If you’re really that worried, that’s what ANs are for!! Poor tagging has always been an issue (@ ppl that tag mentioned rarepairs and characters that show up for a single line: do you know that we all hate you and you need to get tf out of our tags 😡), but I can’t tell if the rising trend of overtagging kink is more the fault of purity culture or people just genuinely not understanding the concept of tags (probably both). Either way, it’d be a much better experience for everyone if people realized tags are there to be informative, not a statement 🙄🤦‍♂️

[babygirlwolverine]

Hey I'm sorry people are assholes about your writing n stuff, you're doing such a wonderful job and you highkey don't have a lot of tags on your work lmao. Keep on keeping on, you're doing amazing and my dash wouldn't be the same without you

Cas, I freaking love you with my whole heart. Thank you for saying I’m doing a wonderful job. I’m glad you don’t think I overtag my work. Thank you for encouraging me to keep on keeping on. YOU are the amazing one. I swear you swooped in and made me feel so much better and my life wouldnt be the same without you in it. Thanks for always making me feel better and supporting me <3

[wherestoriescomefrom]

your set tags are the best thing ever. like that the people??? want me to answer??? one and the tropes are hungry and here be good vibes. I just wanna say <333 I read them all and they're so lovely and I would've put this in a message but ?? no? Tumblr has to know how amazing you are. I appreciate you my dear!!!!

i am going to cry i love that you pay attention to my set tags because for real, i think i tend to overtag things lmao. anyway everyone stan carloabay

[sarahlancashire]

answer 30 questions and tag 20 people you’d like to get to know better! (tagged by @hannahgrose​ thank u leah 💜)

name: lamorna

gender: female (cis)

star sign: i mean, aries, technically, but my personality is polar opposite of an “aries personality”

height: five foot three

time: quarter to nine (evening)

birthday: 24th march

favorite bands: fleetwood mac, abba, yazoo / yaz, the carpenters, the bangles, blondie, the pretenders, the who, the smiths

favorite solo artists: kirsty maccoll (@ everyone ever u should listen to kirsty maccoll!!!!), marina (diamandis), alison moyet, cher, kate bush, janis joplin, hayley kiyoko

song stuck in my head: there isn’t one rn which is very unusual

last movie: twins

last show: richard osman’s house of games

when did i create this blog: in the dark ages

what do i post: many things, too many things. older women (particularly actresses over forty), old sitcoms, gothic fiction, about a million tv shows, 1970s stuff, dogs, excessively overtagged everything, gay crying, i could go on

last thing i googled: it was “sarah lancashire” lmao

other blogs: i might have a secret super gay sideblog maybe possibly

do i get asks: i mean i used to but not so much anymore

why i chose this url: bc two-time bafta award winner sarah-jane abigail lancashire, obe,

following: two hundred and twenty-six

followers: between 1k and 2k ..... let’s not talk about how many followers i lost during my absence .....

average hours of sleep: i don’t know!!! six at a guess

lucky number: literally no idea, how does anyone know what these are honestly

instruments: unfortunately i am terrible at playing instruments despite my best efforts, however i do sing. a lot. more than i should, probably. certainly more than anyone else listens

what i’m wearing: a dark blue jumper depicting some night time trees, and jeans

dream job: acting

dream trip: ugh so many!!!! at the moment canada might be at the top of my list

favorite food: pasta, cake

nationality: cornish / english / british

favorite song: there are so many honestly; tread lightly by kirsty maccoll, are you satisfied? by marina, i’ve been waiting for you by abba, dreaming by blondie, only you by yazoo / alison moyet, basically all of the album rumours by fleetwood mac, etc., how do you choose favourites, please teach me

last book i read: okay i am still reading it (chapter thirty-three baby) but can we please talk about the thursday murder club by richard osman, this book is so!!!!!

top three fictional universes i’d like to live in: the good life (bc everyone’s so nice, also it’s the seventies), gilmore girls (bc it’s fucking gilmore girls), the universe of every p. g. wodehouse novel (self-explanatory)   tagging (if u want, feel free to ignore!!) @juliewlters, @moxyphinx, @lesbianmoomin, @beatricelacy, @andforgotten, @henriettamaria​, @lesleymanville, @lukesdanes​, that’ll do, twenty is far too many, don’t u realise people frighten me