#polyship week 2023

[polyshipweek]

One Month to Polyship Week!

Expanded Prompts: Day 1–2

April 16 & 17

Road Trip: Send your polycule on a journey! This could be a literal road trip — car snacks, squabbles over the aux cable, weird roadside attractions — or something more fantastic. "Road" trip in space? Sailing around the world? Four metamours on a quest to find their missing shared partner? Maybe you wanna draw the squad flying down the highway while crammed into a minivan! Go wherever the road (or the prompt) takes you!

Sedoretu: Maybe you're a long-time Ursula Le Guin fan, or maybe you just read some sedoretu fic or bemusedlybespectacled's primer and got inspired — either way, assign some moieties and see what happens. You can play it straight or mix it up: Maybe your characters are the "wrong" genders or moieties to form a sedoretu. Maybe your polycule has too many members to fit the pattern. Maybe they're a Morning couple looking for a set of lavender marriages with a nice Evening couple. Have fun with this classic framework!

5+1 Things: A classic fanfic trope that lends itself especially well to polyship shenanigans! 5 different dates + 1 group night in, perhaps. Or how about five times Character A got pranked + one time they pranked the rest of the polycule? This trope also pairs well with an Outsider POV — something like 5 times Character A saw their crush kissing someone + 1 time they got a kiss!

Visual Prompt — OT3 Pose Meme: Aren't mcnuggyy's poses just the cutest? Draw one or combine a few or tell us the story of how your polycule got into this position. Remember to tag @/mcnuggyy when you share your creations!

Huddling for Warmth: Another classic trope that's even better polyam style! Perhaps they've gotten trapped in an ice cave on a dangerous expedition. Or they could be getting cozy in a Canadian shack as a surprise blizzard rolls through. Or maybe there's just that one member of the polycule who always seems to be freezing. Whatever the case, bundle those blorbos up!

Second Chances: Get your heartstrings ready for tugging with this prompt! What happens when your partner's new partner is a familiar face? How does the squad support Character A when that person who broke their heart blows back into their life? Whether it's a breakup-makeup story, a surprise encounter with an old flame, or a missed connection that comes back around, this prompt is all about how your polyship navigates trying to start again.

Missing Scene / Epilogue: Sometimes canon just leaves the perfect amount of space for a story. Whether it's a moment of intimacy, a messy argument, or a hilarious and heartwarming get-together, this prompt asks the questions: What happened when the narrative wasn't looking? And what comes after happily ever after?

Visual Prompt — View from Above: Are they posing for pictures, or exhausted after a battle, or maybe out stargazing? It doesn't have to be this exact stock photo pose, just give us a bird's-eye view of the crew!

The ao3 collection is now open for submissions, and we'll start revealing the fics on April 16! We'll be watching the #PolyshipWeek23 hashtags, and you can also @ us when you post for reblogs and retweets. Remember that text prompts can be art prompts and visual prompts can be story prompts — whatever inspires you, we can't wait to see what you come up with!

Masterpost & Guidelines

[torturedpoetskywalker]

Polyship Week 2023

Post-Season Four - Nini's still in California writing her new album, Ricky and Gina decide to make a surprise visit to her. - Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts/Gina Porter

wc: 365 | ao3 | polyship week (@polyshipweek): day 18, long-distance relationship | fandom: high school musical the musical the series | rating: general | tags: polyamory, triad, established relationship, long-distance relationship, fluff, teen romance, pov nini salazar-roberts, post-season/series 04, california

[treemaidengeek]

Music For The Road (AO3)

a Lan Xichen / Song Zichen / Xiao Xingchen modern AU road trip ficlet for @polyshipweek

.................................................................................

Xingchen was legally blind, driving made Xichen anxious, and Zichen needed his hands free to talk. When they could, they often just took the train. Though Zichen didn't love public transit, either: too much grime, too many people crowded together. When they took their car instead, the two who actually could drive traded off.

Xichen felt guilty about it, no matter how many times Zichen would repeat, I don't mind silence.

I hate conversing in front of you when you can't reply if you want to, Xichen always countered.

Which was how their family road trips inevitably turned into singalongs.

"-- EAR-LY IN THE MORNING!"

Zichen glanced at the clock. Sea shanty hour was almost up.

Xingchen waved a hand to claim the next verse. "Put him in a convent and tell him it's a brothel –"

"That's terrible, don't do that–"

"I know, it really is, but wait for it. Put 'im in a convent and tell 'im it's a brothel, put 'im in a convent and tell 'im it's a brothel – EAR-LY IN THE MORNING! "

Zichen glanced away from the road just long enough to poke his phone screen. His choice, next. He had known for twenty-two minutes what it was going to be. He loved his boyfriends, truly he did, but sometimes a man needed a break.

" Put 'im in a brothel and tell 'im it's a convent, put 'im in a brothel and tell 'im it's a convent, put 'im in a brothel and tell 'im it's a convent--EAR-LY IN THE MORNING!"

Xichen laughed. "That's still terrible."

"Yes, but the mental image–"

"I know!"

Zichen tapped on the dashboard. The other two quieted.

"Thank you for indulging us." Xingchen's voice still bubbled with mirth. Zichen smiled fondly at him in the rear-view mirror.

He pressed play.

The car's speakers thrummed with layers of percussion and the throaty sounds of Tuvan singers. Mongolian fiddles keened a descant.

Xingchen crowed in delight as Zichen started humming deep within his chest. After a moment of backseat shuffling, Xichen's xiao joined the mid harmonies.

This was way better than the train.

[aiyexayen]

Chapters: 1/1

Words: 8940

Fandom: 山河令 | Word of Honor (TV 2021)

Rating: Explicit

Relationships: Han Ying/Liu Qianqiao/Zhou Zishu

Characters: Han Ying, Liu Qianqiao, Zhou Zishu

Additional Tags: Polyship Week 2023, Polyamory, Under-negotiated Kink, Dubious Consent, Drug Use, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Poisoning, Dom/sub Undertones, Secret Organizations, Undercover Missions, Near Death Experiences, Asphyxiation, (not sexy), Running Away, Starting Over, Dubious Science, Dubious Ethics, in the words of zhou zishu himself:, do you think he is running tianchuang with his dignity?, Set During Zhou Zishu's Leadership of Tian Chuang, Aphrodisiacs, Mild Sexual Content, Mutual Masturbation, house fire, Truth Serum, Deception, Kissing, Getting Together, Developing Relationship, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Trust, Trust Kink, Fluff and Angst, Hopeful Ending, Happy Ending, look in spite of the tags i swear it's sweet, in a fucked up way but look at the characters, Qin Jiuxiao Lives, 5+1 Things, Road Trips, Podfic Welcome

Summary: Five times Zhou Zishu poisoned his lovers, and one time they poisoned him instead.

A story about trust.

[luxuriousmalfoy]

Cafe Sirens | Polyship Week

wc: 574 | ship: Rachel Berry/Quinn Fabray/Santana Lopez | @polyshipweek: day 4, specific job au

It could possibly be a lapse in judgement, but the women were just so—enchanting. Rachel didn't like her chances of surviving a boat trip through siren-inhabited waters.

Read on AO3.

[the-noisiest-pumpkin]

ayyyyy blood red song (with a dash of loud questions) chatfic for @polyshipweek

prompts were chatfic and metamours :)

[victorluvsalice]

AU Thursday: Valicer Polyship Week Masterpost

For anyone who wants a quick way to find their favorite story from the Polyship Week we just completed. :) Stories here are grouped by AU, then sorted by day:

Modern Human!Smiler AU (aka The Valicer Road Trip)

Day One: Road Trip

Day Three: Bed Sharing

Day Five: Dancing

Day Seven: Metamours

--

Valicer In The Dark AU

Day Two: Huddling For Warmth

Day Eight: Free Day -- Outsider POV

--

Soulmates AU

Day Four: Soulmates

Day Six: Drabble(s)

Hope you enjoyed the week! I hope to write more Valicer stuff in the future -- look out for updates on my current projects later!

[suprememysticalbeing]

Aizen x Urahara x Soul King Ichigo

Redemption or Destruction : which one will you be to me

[peachpety]

Upon reflecting this past year, I’m reminded of one area as a fandom citizen that i am lacking - reading fic. And so was born an idea to canvas my fandom family and friends to share with me a fic they've written, art they've created, a podfic they've recorded in 2023 of which they are most proud.

This two part 'rec yourself' list is the result.

Part One features Drarry creations (heavily featured since that's my OTP). Part Two (here) includes a kick-ass mix of various HP ships and ships from other fandoms, including Carry On, Check Please!, Good Omens, Teen Wolf, and Stranger Things. Also, and most importantly, each entry presents a smol blurb from the creator about why they chose their particular piece as their 2023 favorite.

For ease in reading, I've also placed all submitted works posted to AO3 into a filterable bookmark collection, Rec Yourself 2023. Be aware that there's a range of ratings and archive/creator tags, so please, take appropriate responsibility for your personal consumption. And please also be sure to shower the creators with kudos and lovely comments.

Y'all. This endeavor has been a fucking blast. One thing's for sure, I am blessed, humbled and honored to know a whole bunch of fantastic, brilliant, fun folks. Big love to you all, and thank you for participating.

So go forth. Indulge and enjoy! xo peach

* * *

✩ @pato-roldnart ✩ Quiet as a mouse HP | Viktor Krum x Ron Weasely | ART | G rating | Unleashed!Fest 2023 I'm quite proud of this one, I don't know how I made it, I had never drawn them before! My mind went full "oh yeah ronvik " Also, I like the idea of them bonding over their pets and Ron seeing that Viktor cares about something else that is not Quidditch.

✩ @tontonguetonks ✩ Coffee and a Croissant HP Next Gen | Scorpius x Albus | 903 FIC | G rating There are parts of myself and my lived experience in every story and character I write—how I socialize, how I take my coffee… I can’t help it. In *Coffee and a Croissant*, I put a lot of myself in my ace and autistic Albus. He is very dear to me in this story, and in my Fizzy Lifting Drinks drabble. The fic is just a toe-dip in the Soulmate waters where Albus grapples with what to do if he is someone’s Soulmate, but they’re not his. Parts 2 and 3 are in the works, but there is no timeline on either of them. Maybe in 2024?

✩ @crazybutgood ✩ I Bloom Pink For You HP | Narcissa Malfoy x Pansy Parkinson | 993 FIC + ORIGAMI COMIC | M rating | HP Bodice Ripper Fest 2023 This whole idea came about because I got so excited to fold a corset for hp bodice ripper fest, realised I couldn't just submit that one thing, and started brainstorming more loose ideas. It all clicked together when I was inspired by a fic by @schmem14, whose writing I adore. I was so grateful and even more excited when Em gave permission to make this. From there started the self-indulgent process of folding fancy things with fancier papers for this origami comic, and I couldn't have done it without Em and my lovely support team.

✩ @seekercass ✩ Something Cosmic HP | Cedric x Draco x Harry | 1.7k FIC | M rating | Polyship Week 2022 A self-rec that I am still extremely proud of is a short fic written for Polyshipping Week 2022 called Something Cosmic. It's a small coda to Something Good to Always Keep, another fic that I wrote for Quidditch Fest 2021 that I cherish very much. Even though writing is still hard for me these days, I often think about this 'verse and what life is like for Harry, Draco and Cedric after they graduated from Oxford. These three and slice of life bring me such joy. I hope to write more of them.

✩ @roseharpermaxwell ✩ Sounds Worth It HP | Hermione x Draco | 5k FIC | T rating | D/Hr Advent 2023 Being nominated for d/hr advent was a sweet surprise. It gave me a good excuse to remember how to write and the nudge I needed to create something this year.

✩ @basicallyahedgehog ✩ (They) Keep Me Warm HP | Hermione x Harry x Ron | 5.8k FIC | E rating | HP Trans Fest 2023 This was my transfest fic - I wrote it as a love letter to all my trans and Enby friends and as a way of processing some of my own feelings. It’s my first (and so far only) foray into poly golden trio and I loved playing with their dynamics with that added layer to their relationship.

✩ @lumosatnight ✩ For I Have Found Salvation HP | Harry x Severus | 7.1k FIC | E rating | Snarry AUctoberfest 2023 Although this is a smut fic at its core, I tried really hard to make the pacing flow, bringing in background characters, and creating memorable imagery. I am very proud of how it turned out. However, this is probably my favorite fic from 2023 simply for the fact that I had the most fun writing it!

✩ @sugareey-makes-stuff ✩ Feel You Breathing Teen Wolf | Derek Hale x Stiles Stilinski | 8.4k TEXTING FIC | E rating | 2023 Year of the OTP This is my fav 2023 piece because I learned how to create a custom text message AO3 skin, stylize things for plain text reading, and I wrote a whole story  that had some plot that was told through text messages. Also, I did not know I could achieve so much spiciness and throw in so many bad pick-up lines through this medium, but hey, the more you know! XD

✩ @schmem14 ✩ Mastermind HP | Harry x Ron; Draco x Harry; Ron x Draco | 10.7k FIC | E rating | Dronarry Fest 2023 This is one of the few times a story just flew out of me. Possessive stalker Draco sets out to win over Ron in this creepy thriller, but there’s a catch: Ron is already in love with Draco’s boyfriend, Harry.

✩ @drwhoisginnyholmes & @fledglinger ✩ Not Bad, For A 6000 Year Old Classic! Good Omens | Aziraphale x Crowley | 11.8k FIC + ART | E rating | DIWS Reverse! Reverse! Mini Bang

✩ @sniperjade ✩ The Sounds of Us HP Marauders | Regulus x Remus | 20.4k FIC | M rating | Remus Lupin Fest 2023; HPFC Spring Fling 2023 I've been thinking about this for a couple of days and whilst I would really love to say it was the drarry I wrote for this fest last year my favourite would have to be this moonseeker I wrote for Remus Lupin Fest last year. It's my favourite because I lived this fic. It became the entirety of my personality for a whole month because I desperately needed to get to the chapter where Regulus was riding on Padfoots back, through the forbidden forest, with only the light of the full moon to guide them, just to try and help Remus. It's also just because it's very musical and I'm very musical so that makes me love it all the more.

✩ @ghaniblue ✩ Sleeping With Ghosts HP | Regulus x Draco x Harry | 21.9k FIC | M rating | Harry Potter Rare Pair Fest IV I posted a Regulus/Harry/Draco fic last month that I'm very fond of. I started writing it more than 1 1/2 years ago, before I ever read a single Regulus fic. It's triad fic, and I'm pretty proud of the way the individual relationships develop. That was important to me, and I think I succeeded. Posting the first fic on ao3 with this triad tag doesn't hurt either.

✩ @celilasart & @wolfspurr ✩ Shifted Teen Wolf | Derek Hale x Stiles Stilinski | 25k FIC + ART | T rating | Sterek Reverse Bang This work was created for sterek reverse bang, a collaboration fest where the artists create first and the writers write second. wolfspurr and I just clicked when we talked about my art and the things that it inspired in their writer brain ;D the result is just an amazingly sweet and wholesome fic, that is still set in the teenwolf universe as we know it. but unlike many other fics which are full of violence and danger, this one starts with a bang and then it is a beautifully woven story of two people who just complete each other. also... the working title for my art was: tiny fox & sour wolf.

✩ @orange-peony ✩ At the speed of light Carry On | Basilton Pitch x Simon Snow | 26.3k FIC | E rating I picked [this fic] because I had a lot of fun writing it! It started off as a drabble and ended up 26k because I just had a blast writing it and the fandom support was so lovely. Last but not least, Pato made an absolutely stunning art piece for this fic, and it was the best present ever.

✩ @wynnyfryd ✩ i don’t know, you figure it out Stranger Things | Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson | 35.4k WIP FIC | E rating bragging about yourself is difficult, but i’ll just say it’s my favorite because i’m proud of myself for sticking to one project for this long, i love all the artwork the fic has inspired, and i just think the line “the river styx must taste like pennies” fucks severely lmao.

✩ @decaflondonfog ✩ growing pains Check Please! | Eric Bittle x Kent Parson | 50k FIC | T rating i am not usually a long fic gal, which i think is in part lack of patience, but also how attached i get to a universe if i’m working on it for a longer period of time. i finished writing this back in june but this fic felt very “me” in many ways and i think about them so often still  so it’s definitely my 2023 creation i’m proudest of!

[omorirarepairweek]

Hello! and welcome to OMORI RAREPAIR WEEK 2023!! A ship week from the 11-18th of November dedicated to ALL Omori rarepairs!

Prompts and rules below!

(art by @nonbinaryaubrey)

Day 1-First Meet/Timeskip

Day 2- First kiss/Cuddle

Day 3-Baking/Stargazing

Day 4-Cold weather/By the fire

Day 5-Headspace/AU

Day 6-Double date/School Dance

Day 7-Free Day!

(Art by @krakenkakes)

1: NO proships or any NSFW content

2: Any form of media is allowed (art, edits, etc), but PLEASE dont trace or steal artwork

3: respect other rarepairs! and participants in general

4: ONLY RAREPAIRS!! NO main character x main character (an exception is made for cactiflower (a rarepair) and polyships)

5: HAVE FUN!!!!!

--

When posting, please use the tag #omori rarepair week 2023, and @ us!! If we ever miss something or its a late submission, please feel free to tell us!!

Thank you for your time!!! We look forward to seeing what you create!!

[torturedpoetskywalker]

a political marriage

read on AO3

390 wc, Aaron Burr/Theodosia Prevost Burr/Alexander Hamilton/Eliza Schuyler and Aaron Burr & Eliza Schuyler, Pre-Relationship, G-rating, Alternate Universe - Sedoretu, for @polyshipweek, part 1 of Polyship Week 2023

Summary: Prompt: Since John died and Martha went back to England, Alexander and Eliza are half a marriage. Meanwhile, Aaron and Theodosia are uninterested in anyone else and tired of waiting. But everyone knows you don't get anywhere in politics without a full four. A marriage of convenience is the obvious solution, right? What could possibly go wrong?

[wolysayleweek]

Get in heretics, we’re going Wolysayle shipping!

Date: Nov. 4th - Nov. 10th, 2023

The event will be hosted here and on X Twitter, please post your fan art, fic, gpose, etc in the wolysayle week 2023 tag! An AO3 collection will also be opened as the event approaches for posting your written works.

Prompts:

Day 1: Dream | Journey

Day 2: Forest | Dragons

Day 3: Destiny | Conviction

Day 4: Cold | Secrets

Day 5: Home | Rapture

Day 6: Chosen | Tenderness

Day 7: Free Day

Feel free to use one or both prompts each day, whatever you wish!

Rules:

1) All kinds of fanwork (art, fic, gpose, etc) are welcome.

2) Polyships with your WoL and Ysayle are 100% welcome!

3) Please be respectful of each other’s ships and headcanons. No hateration or holleration in this dancery. Be excellent to each other!

4) NSFW is cool (well, not on here lolsob), but please tag it appropriately on AO3 and twitter.

5) This is intentionally a super chill, low pressure event. If the dates don’t work for you, please know there is no time limit. Mod ( @elfyourmother !) will be following the tag and will continue to reblog works whenever. This is all about love and appreciation for Ysayle and her WoLs!

[mumscarianweek]

Mumscarian Week Spring 2023 (3rd-9th of April)

A week dedicated entirely to celebrating the polyship between the characters of Grian, Good TimesWithScar, and Mumbo Jumbo.

Rules:

Mumscarian must be the main ship depicted in the work, but other background ships are welcome too! All three of them do not need to appear in the work, as long as the relationship is explicitly between all of them.

No requirements for participation on multiple days! You can do one prompt or you can do all of them, however many you want.

You can do one or both prompts for a particular day.

All fanworks are welcome! Some examples are fanart, fanfic, webweaving, gifs, and needlework. Anything goes!

If you do not feel like using one of the prompts on a particular day you can use one of the replacement prompts instead. These can be used at any point during the week and will be reblogged alongside other prompts on the day they are posted.

If you are posting your works to AO3 please consider adding them to the Mumscarian Week 2023 collection.

Please tag common triggers and NSFW on your work and keep these below a read more if you want your fanworks reblogged to the mumscarianweek blog :)

If you would like your fanworks reblogged on the mumscarian week blog please use the main tag #mumscarianweek, as well as a tag to indicate what prompt you are using in the format #day1prompt, #day2prompt, #day3prompt, etc. If you are using one of the replacement prompts use the tag #replacementprompts.

The prompts:

Day 1, Monday 3rd: Nature/New Beginnings

Day 2, Tuesday 4th: Handmade Gifts/Favours

Day 3, Wednesday 5th: Night/Music

Day 4, Thursday 6th: Role Swap/Sharing Knowledge

Day 5, Friday 7th: Non-Human/Cultural Differences 

Day 6, Saturday 8th: Alternative Universes/The Past

Day 7, Sunday 9th: Anniversary/Family

Replacement prompts: Technology, Sick Day, Vacation

-

Happy creating, I look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with!

Avatar by @goodtimeswithgrian.

[luxuriousmalfoy]

When You Assume | Polyship Week

wc: 753 | ship: Andre Harris/Tori Vega/Jade West | @polyshipweek: day 3, outsider pov

Beck decides to tell Tori that Andre is cheating on her, but he doesn't have the whole picture.

Read on AO3.

[the-noisiest-pumpkin]

holy shit noise finally wrote some fucking murdoch mysteries fanfic :0

oh and it’s for @polyshipweek

(the prompt was drabbles)

[victorluvsalice]

Valicer Polyship Week 2024, Day Two: “Blorbo Has Two Hands” (Soulmate AU)

It's Day Two of Valicer Polyship Week 2024, "sponsored" by @polyshipweek, and today's prompt is "Blorbo Has Two Hands!" This prompt, as per PolyshipWeek's write-up on the matter, is all about "The rallying cry of polyshippers everywhere: Why have a love triangle when you can have a trio of lovers instead?" and how the polycule makes love, not war. This is naturally an excellent prompt, but I wasn't sure whether I was going to use it or one of the other ones when it came to writing a story for Day Two --

Aaaand then Wednesday, November 6th happened. And after rather a lot of time spent staring at the prompts with no inspiration because I was still feeling kind of numb inside over the fucking election results, I came back to the list right before going to bed, looked at "Blorbo Has Two Hands" again, and thought, "You know what, I can probably do something with that and my Soulmates AU -- specifically, someone doubting the trio are all actually soulmates because multiple soulmates isn't a common thing in that verse." So I drafted out a story about Smiler, working at a bar post-the trio fleeing England to avoid the wrath of Kelman, the wrath of Victor's parents, and possibly the wrath of the police after Alice killed Bumby, getting harassed by a customer who didn't believe them when they said that both they and Alice were Victor's soulmates -- only to get proven wrong when said soulmates showed up to find out why Smiler was suddenly feeling so upset. It was pretty rough, but I figured it worked for the prompt --

And then I went, "Hang on...didn't I just do something like this yesterday?" For indeed, this story was rather similar, at least in general theme, to the "Alice vs Nessa" Valicer In The Dark tale I wrote for Day One. But given my mental state at the time, I couldn't come up with anything better for Day Two. So I left it be and gave myself a choice -- either try to write a different story later, or lean into the theme and do a Victor-POV story of some jerk inserting their nose into the polycule's business and getting theirs for Day Three.

...given the story I'm about to present is the "Smiler gets harassed by a customer about whether or not multiple soulmates is a thing" story, you can probably guess what I chose. XD For now, here is your Day Two story! Sorry it took a bit to get there! XD

--

“So – Mister Van Dort over there is your soulmate?”

“Yup,” Smiler confirmed, smiling over at the table where Victor was currently involved in what looked like a rather intense conversation with Alice, his hands flying all over the place as they spoke. “We met at one of his parents’ parties – ended up in the same corner together, started commiserating over the fact that we both hated stuffy social gatherings, went to formally introduce ourselves by shaking hands, and – well.” Smiler grinned down at their own hands, currently drying a glass. “Suddenly the party was that much better.”

“I see,” their current customer – a fellow named Robert, who apparently ran a woodworking shop in town – murmured, nursing his third whiskey. “And Missus Van Dort is – all right with that?”

Smiler tilted their head. “Er – yes. Why wouldn’t she be?”

Robert raised an eyebrow at Smiler. “Because – she’s his wife?” he said slowly, as if they were an idiot. “And would likely want to be her husband’s soulmate?”

“Oh, there’s no problem there,” Smiler said brightly, putting away the dried glass. “She’s also his soulmate.”

Robert blinked at them. It was a pretty long blink. “What?”

“Alice is also Victor’s soulmate,” Smiler repeated obligingly. “We’ve got a bit of a thing going on.”

“You’re – but – that’s impossible,” Robert insisted, leaning heavily on the bar.

“It’s not,” Smiler said, mentally preparing their usual speech. “It’s rare, yes, but–”

“Balderdash,” Robert cut in, putting a finger in Smiler’s face. “People can only have the one soulmate. Otherwise, what’s the point of them?”

Now it was Smiler’s turn to blink. “What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about how the whole point of a soulmate is that they are the person that the universe has ordained as the most important one in your entire life,” Robert said, warming to his topic. “The relationship beyond which all others pale. The one twinned to the very center of your being! If you were given more than one, then – then it would cheapen that bond. Make it – make it lesser. It wouldn’t be about finding your perfect match – it would be about finding someone you just kind of like more than the rest. A person only has room in their soul for one soulmate. It’s simple fact.”

“It’s not,” Smiler insisted. “There’s been studies done on the bond, and–”

“Oh, studies,” Robert said derisively, grabbing his drink and taking a big swig. “Yes, everyone appreciates a study. As if any scientist really knows how to measure a soul.” He looked Smiler up and down. “And what do you know about studies? You’re a bartender.”

“My father’s an alienist,” Smiler said, wrinkling their nose against the bitter taste in their mouth produced by even obliquely mentioning Kelman. “And I study chemistry in my spare time. I’m not an idiot just because I pour drinks for a living.”

“No – you’re an idiot for letting your soulmate get married to someone else,” Robert retorted, attempting to poke Smiler’s arm – they jerked it out of the way just in time. “Shame on you for that. He’ll never be able to be a proper husband to his wife if you’ve already taken up that space in his soul! Everyone knows that people who have soulmates that are just friends have to remain single. It’s the natural order of things!” He took another drink. “Cruel of you both to lead that poor woman on. She should be off trying to find her actual soulmate, not being – taken advantage of by two horrible monsters like yourselves.”

Smiler opened their mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Closed it again. Where the hell were their words right when they needed them most? Alice had once said they could talk their way out of a murder scene while holding a bloody knife, and now they couldn’t refute one drunk?! One deeply annoying drunk who’d hit pretty much every nerve in their body, sure, but… “I...you…”

“Smiler?”

Smiler and Robert both looked over to see Victor and Alice approaching, wearing identical expressions of concern. “Is everything all right?” Victor continued, picking at the knot of his tie. “You – you feel quite upset about something.”

“Very deeply annoyed indeed,” Alice added, giving Robert a suspicious glare. He smartly shrank away. “Is this fellow bothering you?”

“Yes, but he might not be for much longer,” Smiler said, smirking. “You were saying about how people can only have one soulmate?”

Robert looked between the three of them, visibly processing the fact that Alice too had felt Smiler’s emotions. “I – but – she – you?” he stammered, clearly having trouble collecting his thoughts.

“All three of us,” Smiler said, leaning on the bar. “Two romantic bonds and one platonic one, and all very real. And even if we weren’t all soulmates – so what? I think Victor would still have enough love in him to handle both his wife and me.” They put on an innocent stare. “Unless you’re saying that nobody can care about anyone but their soulmate? Because that sounds like a pretty lonely and miserable life to me.”

Robert stared at them for a moment more. Then he reached into his pocket, plonked some coins on the bar, and fled out the door. The trio watched him stumble away on wobbly legs. “...so I guess he didn’t believe you when you told him we were all soulmates,” Victor finally said.

“He did not, and decided to give me a big old lecture about it,” Smiler said, scooping up the money and counting it. “Okay, good, this is what he owed...anyway, it was all about how ‘multiple soulmates cheapens the bond’ and ‘if your soulmate is your best friend you need to remain single’ and nonsense like that.” They shook their head as they put the money away. “Who comes up with those things?”

“Arses,” Alice said succinctly.

Victor and Smiler both snorted. “Well put,” Victor said, then laid a hand on Smiler’s wrist. “And for what it’s worth, I don’t feel at all that having both you and Alice as soulmates has cheapened anything. If anything I feel – I feel blessed. I had trouble believing sometimes when I was younger that I was worthy of one soulmate, let alone two.” A bright smile split his face. “And now look at me. Tied forever to the two most wonderful people in the world.”

Smiler beamed, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. “I feel exactly the same. Two bonds just means twice the love to spread around.”

“Well said,” Alice said, putting her hand over theirs. “Hopefully someday people will understand that better.”

“Mmm. Until then…” Smiler leaned in and gave Victor a quick peck, before shooting Alice a grin. “I’ll just enjoy what we’ve got.”