#the ship name is a way for us to identify each other and having too many makes it confusing

[fireheartwraith]

I don't get the obsession with defining "oh i'm a dkbk" "i'm a bkdk". Guys. They're the same characters

[ecrivainsolitaire]

Humans have the capability of perceiving when they're being stared at, even if they can't see it.

Dr. T'Chem was staring at Lieutenant /θkɡɾɑːˈŋæ/ (or as his current fling affectionately nicknamed her, "Tucker-Annie"), whose dorsal spikes were still rattling after the incident at the holodeck. It was his first time at the witness stand, and he didn't want to ruin a young star sailor's life.

Lieutenant Tucker-Annie was the combat specialist in charge of the training dojo of Federation Vessel TSN457, named after the Terra-Saturn-Ceres coalition where Dr. T'Chem currently served as the xenoanthropologist charged with facilitating human integration to the local Federation of Fraternal Planets and Satellites. The FFPS had the goal of finding planets with intelligent life to trade resources and technology, and due to their recent incorporation, local research vessels were fitted with diverse crews to acclimate everyone to each other's cultures and biological needs. Dr. T'Chem was the human expert in the ship, and was tasked with helping smooth over interpersonal relations among the crew.

The relations were, at that moment, as bumpy as Lt. Tucker-Annie's dorsal spike line.

An incident had occurred during a training exercise. The squad consisted of a Venusian, two Saturnians, three Ceresians, two monks from the Transcorporeal Temple of Robotic Ascension, and five Terrans (two humans, two dogs and a cybernetically enhanced cat). The exercise consisted of getting through a generic jungle scenario and, unbeknownst to the squad, avoiding a team of ninjas lead by Lt. Tucker-Annie trying to take them out one by one. It was supposed to test the way they would react to a surprise attack.

It was not supposed to reveal that humans could sense when they were being stalked.

Of course, any trained sailor would have an ingrained knowledge of potential threats and how to spot them. Look for the shadows that are too dark, listen for the spot air isn't blowing from, things like that. Basic things most people don't think about but that can be identified if you think about them.

This was not that.

"Something's watching us," said Crew Johnson, in that sloppy way only creatures with lips spoke.

"What do you mean? There's cameras everywhere, of course they're watching us," responded Crew Hessikh, slithering over the vines on a tree branch to cross a river. She grabbed the axe in Crew Johnson's belt with her telekinesis and took down a small tree to serve as a bridge.

"Crew Flufflepaws, could you please take a look?" Asked Crew Johnson, nervously looking around. Crew Flufflepaws got on the tree as well and scanned the terrain from above.

"I can't see anything, or smell anything. And my hearing isn't what it used to be. I'll stay on the lookout for—" a horrendous hiss interrupted the automatic translator's feed. Crew Flufflepaws' comm line cut off.

Hessikh and Johnson looked at each other. That was the strongest fighter of their team, gone. They knew it was a simulation, but it still gave them chills.

The rest of their crew mates were split into two different teams further along the path. Crew Fanning's voice came from the comm line.

"Johnson, Hessikh, are you okay? What happened to Flufflepaws?"

"We don't know, Johnson said something was watching us and it went to check, then we lost comms."

"I felt it too. I know this isn't that kind of exercise but I think— AAAHHH!"

Two blaster shots were heard, then a thud.

Lieutenant Tucker-Annie, who was watching Hessikh and Johnson from the mud pit behind the latter, had her tranquilizer dart ready. She got ready to shoot down Hessikh, but then heard a voice over the comm line.

"Code Lithium, we have a Code Lithium, we have to end the simulation, I just took down- I can't-" the breathing was sounding heavier and faster, too fast for a human.

"Fanning, calm down, remember your sutras. We need you focused, what happened?"

"I felt like I was being watched, so I turned around and saw this thing and it scared me and I jumped and I thought it was on stun mode and-"

"It's alright, we're calling it off. Captain, we have a Code Lithium! End the simulation now or- fuck, there it is again. Hessikh, do you see any heat sources?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary- why haven't they shot it down alre-"

The next thing Lieutenant Tucker-Annie remembered was the sound of a heel turn over the mud, followed by darkness.

Lt. Tucker-Annie woke up in the hospital bay, getting her tail regenerated by a robot nurse. She looked over and found her underling on the next bed, with a huge bandage on the side of his neck and a wing in a cast. Thankfully, he would be alright as soon as the stem cell bank was reprogrammed after her treatment.

The disciplinary board was called, an investigation was open, and both Crew Fanning and their captain were put on paid leave while the investigation was ongoing. Dr. T'Chem was called in as an expert after a review of the holodeck footage revealed there was no way Crew Fanning could have heard, seen or smelled the hidden sailor.

It was the first time in a while he hadn't helped himself to a glass of Venusian whiskey for breakfast. He really didn't want to mess this up.

"And would you care to explain how this is possible, Doctor?" Asked the prosecution, staring him down with an unnerving amount of eyes.

"I am as astounded as this court; our firm has been looking into Terran medical literature and we're still trying to figure out how it works; they don't even know, but they know it does happen, it's been documented for thousands of years. I have a hypothesis, but I don't know if it's even testable."

There was a murmur in the court. The judge asked him to elaborate.

"The way eyesight works is the light bounces off of opaque bodies and in its way it collides with the lenses in our corneas, which send it to the brain as electrical signals to be interpreted. The light that doesn't go into our eyes just bounces off our bodies and other opaque objects as well, the photons go everywhere and anywhere. This is the same for most species in this constellation, including humans. But even other Terran species don't have these abilities, as Crew Flufflepaws has testified."

A begrudging meow was heard from the audience.

"Order in the court, please. Dr. T'Chem, what do you suggest is the origin of this mysterious sense?"

The camera drones all hoovered around him. Dr. T'Chem straightened his fins and got close to the microphone.

"I believe it's possible that humans have a sense of touch so sensitive that they can feel the photons that don't bounce back. The ones that go into an eye instead of an opaque body. I think humans can actually feel in their skin when they are being watched."

There was an uproar in the crowd. His paramour, a dark skinned young human from the human settlement known as "Colombia", grabbed the religious symbol on her necklace and made a gesture with it he hadn't quite figured out yet.

The trial had to go on recess.

The implications were incalculable. Three dozen biologists from six different planets, including Terra, had emailed him before the end of the day to ask him to justify himself. Multiple human religious leaders took the chance to link it to demonic possession or moral evils. By the end of the week, four different labs were trying to figure out a way to double blind test shooting a photon cannon on a human's back and trying to get them to sense it.

But most importantly, the news made it outside of the Federation. The rumours about this new species that couldn't be stalked got so far, it ended up affecting the outcome of a border conflict with the Betelgeuse Libertarian Army on the Federation's favour.

Humans were terrifying.

If this is what they evolved to be, what was their planet like?

[jikooklove9795]

Was going through ur last post it was amazing. I am curious though! What was *that* moment of realization to u?

To be honest I am in this jikook shit for years now and feel very refreshed and happy when I see more and more people share and celebrate their relationship

Lots of love❤️❤️

Hi Sweetheart! Thanks so much for your kind words.

The first ever video I watched of BTS was their Dynamite MV. In 2020. I loved it! Everything. The beats, the choreography, their outfits, their voices, their sync. Everything! I started watching everything related to Dynamite. And that's how I stumbled upon the behinds of their MV. I loved how loud and fun the members were. How enthusiastic they seemed about their job.

By this time I was able to tell which members were which. It took me almost a week 😅 It was my first time watching anything Korean. So, I kept getting confused about who was who. However, Namjoon was easy to spot. Maybe it was his blue hair at that time. But by the end of a week I could comfortably identify all of them and got their names correct too.

While I was watching a behinds video of Dynamite I chanced upon this video here. And what struck me was the way Jungkook kept staring at Jimin. He was so into the staring that I doubt he heard anything what was being said until Taehyung had to tap him to get his attention. Not only that but I also noticed that Jimin felt Jungkook's stares on him and was trying not to look at him directly but still looked like he enjoyed the attention.

I got intrigued by what I saw and tried to dig into it to see if it was just a one time thing or if there was more to it. I watched a few Jikook videos on YT. And sure there seemed to be something but I realized all the members are touchy feely and super close with each other. But still the way Jungkook kept looking at Jimin in the above video was something else. It cannot be explained away with normal skin ship, affection or friendship. So, I decided to watch original content instead of compilation videos cause then I can get the proper context.

I saw all the big, loud Jikook moments: RB, GCFT, GCFS, MMA 2018. But what made me realize that Jikook are different, that they're a couple was when I started watching og content in chronological order. Starting from the pre debut days. I could see their story slowly unfolding.

Them being best friends and being fond of each other. Jungkook going up to seek Jimin's advice regarding him wanting to pursue a career in dance. We need to remember that Jimin was the last member to get in the team and Jikook knew each other for just 6 months at this time. But Jungkook still felt comfortable going upto Jimin for that talk and nobody else.

Both of them having a soft spot for each other. Jimin being loud and open about his fondness for Jungkook. But for me the more telling was Jungkook's behavior. Jungkook's constant teasing of Jimin (this is something I have seen a lot of teens do when they have a crush, want to get the other's attention but still not ready to admit that there is a romantic interest). Seeking him out, wanting to be next to him, wanting his affection and attention. All of it.

I could see the realization of feelings, the acting on it. By this time in almost every video, let it be backstage or even award shows Jikook were glued at the hip. They were constantly together all the time by their voluntary choice. Jungkook started openly enjoying Jimin's affection, he became more daring and outgoing in seeking out Jimin. He started enjoying his effect on Jimin. And was always coming up with ways to get more of that reaction out of Jimin.

There were grand gestures, most of it from Jungkook. Sometimes it's impulsive but most of the times its because he wants to show Jimin openly how much he's in love and cares for Jimin. He wanted everyone including us, fans to know that he sees and treats Jimin differently.

There's the living together theories (if I'm being honest its not a theory to me cause there's so much evidence pointing to it). Since we are talking about living together how can we not talk about sharing rooms in hotels. They're the only ones doing it. None of the other members are sharing rooms unless its decided by games that they have to share. The others are more than happy to have their own space.

By 2020 they gave an established, secure in their relationship vibes.

So, yeah for me it was all the og content when watched in that order which cemented my belief that they're a couple. A long term one at that. Who cherish what they found unexpectedly when they came to Seoul for their careers.

Once again thank you so much for sending this in 😊

Lots of love to you too ❤

[meshla-cyarika]

Migraines

Pairing: Hunter x gn!reader

Word count: 805

Tags/warnings: tooth-rotting fluff, established relationship, cuddles, Crosshair being Crosshair.

Summary: Your boyfriend is back from a mission, but all his sensory input is catching up with him.

--------------------------------------------------

Fuck the Sepratists.

You've been on a week long mission with Delta Squad and have only just gotten back Coruscant. You didn't even see any action, all you had to do was sit in hiding for a week and snoop around to find out if there were Separatists on the planet. There were, but they had left long before you even arrived.

A drawn out sigh leaves your lips, as you make your way towards the mess hall. You've already showered and you're planning on taking a long nap, but you know that if you dont eat anything before then, Scorch's mother hen instincts will take over.

Once you get to the front of the que, the option of stew, or a slop that looks like it could be used to build houses stands before you. You ask for the stew, then you're about to make your way to a quieter table, when a booming voice yells out your name.

Your eyes land on the misfit band of clones known as the Bad Batch, who are sat at a small table by themselves. You instantly notice a certain sergeant's absence.

"Wrecker, I thought you lot were on Kashyyyk?" You tactfully take a seat next to Crosshair, knowing it's the spot where you're least likely to get bits of bread thrown at you by the snarky sniper.

"We were, but we crushed those clankers to dust!" Wrecker's booming laugh fills the air, while he clasps his fist in his other hand to emphasise his point.

"Is that a new record of how fast you've completed a mission?" You arch a brow and take a bite out of a piece of bantha meat.

"Hardly." Tech speaks up, not looking at his datapad for once. "Remember Felucia?" He gives you a look, referring to when they managed to take out an entire droid factory without even leaving the Marauder.

You let Tech and Wrecker break out into their own conversation, then you turn to Crosshair. "Where's Hunter?"

You're not that concerned, because you know that if anything drastic happened to the sergeant, you'd be the first to know. He is your boyfriend after all.

"Migraine." The sniper replies, seemingly too busy with picking off pieces of his bread to use as ammunition to actually look at you.

You sigh quietly and continuing eating your meal. Migraines aren't an uncommon battle for Hunter. With his enhanced senses, everything can become all too much very quickly. His migraines can vary from just a very strong headache, to throwing up and not being able to form sentences. Considering Crosshair's unbothered tone, this is one of the more mild ones.

You finish your meal quickly and stand up from the table to make your leave. "Well, not like this isn't fun, but I have more pressing matters to attend to."

"Which translates to: "don't come back to the ship, unless you want to be scarred for life"." Crosshair smirks up at you.

"Please. In his state, that might kill him." You scoff at his words.

"Urgh! Some people are trying to eat!" Wrecker complains, with a grimace set on his face.

《》《》《》《》

It's almost eery how silent and dark the Marauder is, when you step inside. Tech had mentioned something a while back about how he had managed to get rid of most of the noise pollution that the ship creates. How much they are willing to do for each other never fails to tug on your heart strings.

The light from the open door allows you to see a lump on one of the bunks at the back that you identify as Hunter. You step out of the doorway and the durasteel slides shut behind you, leaving you in darkness.

"Hunter." You call out softly, navigating your way to his bunk from memory alone. There's a grunt and a mumble of something that sounds like your name. "You need anything, cyare?" You sit on the edge of his bunk and your eyes gradually adjust to the darkness, which allows you to notice the few strands of hair in his face that you tuck back behind his ear.

"You. Just you." Hunter murmurs and you can't help the warm smile that etches it's way onto your face at his words.

"Shift over then, trooper." You give him a playful smirk.

"Rude." He huffs back, as he shimmies closer to the wall. You slide off your shoes and crawl into the narrow bunk beside him. Instantly, Hunter's arms are around your torso and he's tucking his face into the crook of your neck.

"I love you, you know that?" You absentmindedly comb your fingers through his hair and press a kiss to the crown of his head.

"Ni kar'taylir gar darasuum." He sounds like he's already half asleep, so you nestle closer to him and let your eyes drift closed...

[eveledoze]

Which tadc ship do you like more? Funnybunny or Showtime?

oh well long-post comes-

okay i did a little searching, since i often don't understand such ship names. if google doesn't lie to me, then the first one is Pomni/Jax, and the second is Pomni/Caine.

damn, I thought funnybunny was the name for Ragatha/Jax ��💔

i don't ship Pomni/Jax but i find the pairing cute. i don't sense any special dynamic between them, Jax just makes fun of her the same way he makes fun of everyone else because he's a jerk (i say this lovingly). when i discovered that this pairing was the most popular in the fandom, i didn’t really understand why, since i wouldn’t say that there was anything particularly interesting going on between these two. I think the dynamics between Jax and Ragatha were more distinct, which I immediately noticed, they had tension and i really liked it x) but then, after thinking about it a little, i realized why Pomni/Jax is the most popular ship (I guess?? it's just my supposition) — people combined two of the most main characters, one of whom is a badass-tumblr-sexyman, and the second is an angsty ordinary person with whom people could identify themselves. anyway i just find it funny that so many people like this ship. i saved fanarts of these two a couple of times because i thought they were cute. to be honest, kitsch's (@ bunnyjesters/ nuzipilled) works probably influenced my opinion about this ship the most. arts with Pomni and Jax from kitsch is probably my favorite among all the other fanarts for this couple, i think that he well preserves their canon behavior and characters despite the fact that the pairing itself in the cartoon is non-canon, and their interactions in his art feel quite realistic for me! i love how kitsch draws them and how he uses gestures and body language to show their emotions, it's very, very cute. so yeah, i don't ship them, but i do find some of the fanart of them cute. i drew this a while ago, so have this if it will make you happy 🌸

now Kaine/Pomni...ahmmm, to be honest, i was even more surprised that this is probably the second most popular pairing in the fandom? :D apparently it really comes across often and haha, i don’t understand it... i’ve never been interested in the dynamics of student/teacher or employee/boss, in my understanding there can be no romance in their relationship, maximum platonic, family relationships, understanding each other. Kaine is very quirky and doesn't seem like he's interested in romance (i generally like Kaine/Moon, but i really think Kaine is just confused by Moon's behavior since he's not interested in her romantically x)). it's more like he treats all the guys in circus like friends, colleagues or something like that. so yeah, it's weird for me to see romantic stuff with Pomni/Caine, but like the first one, occasionally i might come across fanart with them that i think is cute. once I saw a mini-comic (don't remember the author) dedicated to that circus teaser, in the comic Caine suddenly appeared in Pomni's room. Pomni, out of fear, hits him sharply, after which he got upset and she began to apologize <з

if we talk about my fav ship, i love Ragatha/Jax! i don't remember this "name" for the pairing, but yes, that's them. dynamics like theirs are my favorite dynamic in couples, i just love it when characters can't stand each other lol. i love the tension between them and i'm afraid i paid too much attention to it while watching the pilot... oh my god, a moron, who pisses everyone off, with a good-natured girl, who wants to help everyone, but she has to deal with this asshole. i guess it's the "from hate to love" trope, right? i like that the first thing that manifests itself in such couples is negativity, they just piss each other off and cannot calm down. but after a while the annoying cools down and they begin to open up to each other. ofc i don't know Gooseworks’ plans, but you guys probably thought that Jax is actually not such a jerk as he shows himself to be, and in fact he is a deeper character, with his own traumas and trials? let's not turn this into a tragic sob story, but nevertheless, Gooseworks said "every tadc character has a reason why they behave the way they do" and i believe that we will be revealed that. it seems to me that to some extent Jax and Ragatha can complement each other. Like, you know, it’s like N helps Uzi cool down and be calm, and Uzi helps N to be confident and defend his positions. maybe Jax can show Ragata that her toxic positivity is not the best option and sometimes you need to be tough, and Ragatha can help him open up, share his problems and well...to be less jerk-like. and yes, of course i can't get it out of my head that Jax called her "dollface" while he gave the others rude nicknames haha

also i like Ragatha/Pomni, i probably don’t pay much attention to them, but they're good. there are cute interactions between them and it seems that Ragatha was better than the others in being able to approach her and become somewhat of a friend. Ragatha has this energy of a caring mother or something, so her desire to help Pomni get comfortable in the circus and direct her to positive thoughts is cute. at the same time, Pomni looks extremely confused, but Ragatha is the one she turns to because she seems the most adequate and friendly of the others. i liked to draw how they hug, but in i think that most likely Ragatha would not have allowed herself to hug someone without asking, at least she would have asked permission x) however, it seems to me that physical contact and kind words are Ragatha's way of support, so simply holding hands with her would calm Pomni down

also i like Pomni/Gangle and Gangle/Kinger and i don'tind other ships as well !!

[haveyoureadthisfanfic]

I'm aroacespec (and honestly confused about where I fall on that spectrum, but I do know I'm sex/romance favorable) and tbh my relationship with shipping is weird.

There are some ships I look at and I'm like "how can you see this as anything but romantic" and there are other ships where I'm like "okay but why do we have to ship them, can't they just be friends?" and it's almost always the total opposite of what the fandom majority's view is. For example, my Sonic "how can you see this as anything but romantic" ship is Espilver, and my "okay but why do we have to ship them, can't they just be friends?" ship is Silvaze.

I will say that something I've noticed is there tends to be a double-standard with allo people (specifically cishet people) when it comes to ships. You get a ton of "why can't they just be friends" with slash and femslash ships, but then those same people will ship a het pairing that look at each other in a single frame. I don't know if it's something that's more obvious to me because I'm gay myself (or even if it's more obvious because I'm aroacespec specifically), but it's weird to me. I choose to look at it this way: if this was a het ship with the same character dynamic, would people still say "why can't they just be friends?"

That's not to say aroace people are in the wrong for looking at a pairing and saying "can't they just be friends? Why do we have to ship them?" but with a lot of cishet people specifically, it feels like there's a lot of people perpetuating a borderline homophobic double-standard. I get it when it's something like Scott and Jay from Ninjago, but so many masc characters' dynamics are canonically given homoerotic or even just romantic undertones (a good example of this being, in my opinion, Sonadow; there's not an almost 3 and a half hour long Sonadow iceberg video on YouTube for no reason. As far as I'm aware it's the longest Sonic-related iceberg video on YouTube that covers exclusively official content) which is why people tend to gravitate towards those ships. I could do an entire analysis on why gay ships tend to have bigger followings than het ships but if I did this would get too long lmao. I will once again point to the Sonadow iceberg video though.

I generally use shipping to explore my own relationship with my aroace-ness, and usually I do that using characters I either headcanon as aroace in some way or who are canonically aroace, because I can relate to those experiences. It's kinda weird to me to see other aroace people acting like doing that is bad or wrong, because usually that's what people are doing, and even if that's not what's going on, fanfiction doesn't affect canon.

There is no right or wrong way to participate in fandom (unless you're harassing people and/or actively putting people in danger), no matter what you identify as.

Basically: People should be allowed to do what they want, if something bothers you that bad there's nothing wrong with blocking a person or tag.

(I might've gotten off subject a few times, sorry lol)

Okay, that thing about blocking tags inspired me to look through my blocked tags to see what ships I've blocked and here's my petty aroace thoughts on all of them without naming names lmao

Fanon het ship. They've never given any indication that they know of each other's existence. Her girlfriend is right there.

Canon het ship. Had the chemistry of two wet paper bags. Literally just shoehorned in there because god forbid any story exist without a romance subplot.

Semi-canon het ship. I'm mostly neutral about them. Just unnecessary.

Fanon mlm ship. Literally brothers?? I don't care that one of them is adopted, they grew up together?? As brothers??

Fanon het ship. I don't care what you call their relationship. You can call it professional, platonic, familial, just please don't call it romantic.

Semi-canon het ship. Again, completely unnecessary. God forbid a man convince a woman to become a villain without there being ~attraction~

Fanon het ship. She is 14?? And he is like 30??

Semi-semi-canon het ship. He did have a crush on her when he was, like, 14 but he's a grown adult now and she's the most lesbian-looking woman to ever exist and they're the most found family siblings to ever find a family

Fanon het ship. LET MEN AND WOMEN BE FRIENDS. LET MEN AND WOMEN BE PLATONICALLY MARRIED.

Fanon mlm ship. I personally see them more as brothers. But whatever floats your boat.

Semi-canon het ship. Just really shoehorned. I don't like the woman very much. I liked her more when she was allowed to be a badass without being a ~flirty badass~

Fanon mlm ship. Again. Adopted brothers. Gross.

Canon het ship. I've seen many things from this director. He's a creative man. He couldn't think of a way to move the plot forward without a smooch?? He couldn't create a series that didn't have an unnecessary love triangle??

Semi-canon het ship. The man isn't coming back for S2 and boy golly gee am I glad

Fanon het ship. Not my cup of tea. Just let them be friends

good lord I have a lot more ship tags blocked than I thought

anyway, this is your daily reminder to just block stuff you don't want to see and move on

[hozukitofu]

not a ship post but how funny would it be for people to mix shino and kiba's names up? at some point people give up and call them by 'shiba' just because it's guaranteed to send both kids running (we are talking genin-age).

tsume at some point: shi - ki - argh whatever SHIBA!

shino and kiba tuning into a very old summoning technique - call your kids the wrong name jutsu: THAT'S NOT MY NAME!!

bonus fun facts

tsume and hana had genuinely mixed up shino, kiba and akamaru. shino by virtue of his association with kiba had been called akamaru more times than his name. he's used to it

kakashi has a ninken named shiba that runs loose and he doesn't genuinely want to summon kibashino but somehow they've been trained to react to the name so kakashi is walking the street calling for shiba (the dog) and two teenagers (shiba - shino and kiba - unholy duo) turn up like 'you called?'

people who haven't met shino or kiba before think shiba is their name

shino and kiba have called each other shiba completely on instincts and now they just sigh and move on

it was funny when they were 12 but now naruto can't tease kiba anymore because kiba hypes up shino like you wouldn't believe. every team needs a cool guy and kiba nominates shino for this title (he literally told everyone but shino and hinata)

actually convenient to summon all three of them (akamaru is now part of the shiba bundle). imagine you're out in a field then suddenly there's a dog, a dog ninja and a bug ninja summoned from thin air. i'd retire

easier to shift blame. kiba played this card well into adulthood. he's perfected 'did you mean to call for shino or kiba?' and when people try to deliberate this he would disappear

shino's kids at the academy call him 'shiba sensei' and it stuck. they think shino's legal name is shiba aburame

kakashi somehow worked out a deal with akamaru and occasionally takes the massive dog out for a walk with all his 8 dogs (sometimes even without kiba knowing). when asked, he makes sure to introduce akamaru as shiba 2.0 and akamaru would nod and shake (why does he have two dogs name shiba? why not?)

it's listed in bingo books under aliases and as someone who have to endure bureaucracy weekly, making changes is akin to hell so people leave 'shiba' where it is. the trouble is that both shibas get in a rotten mood if they hear 'are you shiba?' from an enemy because that should really never leave village gossip

kiba very seriously said one day that if they get married it would be mr shiba aburame or shiba inuzuka x2 (think mr and mrs taylor lautner) and shino gave him fleas

mirai doesn't know who is who but she does know shiba. shino will let her have that one up until the age of 3

a lot of people just assumed they got married somewhere along the way? anbu delivering messages for kiba sometimes would find shino who's dead on his feet and would receive the message like it's for him. ANBU: are you mr inuzuka? shino who is too tired to correct the joke at this point: yes i am. people call kiba mr aburame in the same vein except kiba takes it with more fanfare

tsume wasn't that happy they eloped without her knowledge but shibi also genuinely doesn't know what's going on and he's not going to ask shino, so they roll with it and have family dinners between the two clans every fortnight and the shiba trio don't register this as anything unusual

im southeast asian and my aunt was a teacher so the spouse of a teacher is also a teacher by association. what this means is that kids also call kiba sensei. inuzuka sensei. shiba sensei. kiba who had never taught in his life after a child incorrectly identified him as married to his best friend and also his first name: yes sensei is here. how can i help you my child

when they do get married they were threatened by the clan elders to actually say kiba (shiba) aburame (he is a second son and the aburames love akamaru) and shino likewise dutifully put (shiba) on his actual legal marriage certificate

[akenya]

Rizzoli and Isles is actually a show about a Queerplatonic Relationship.

Okay hear me out.

So, I always have shipped Rizzles. There are many MANY ways in which these are queer coded characters with a heavy romantic subtext, that a lot of the time honestly bleeds into the maintext. A lot of the actions and dialogue that we would typically interpret as romantic, especially between a hetero pairing, certainly works for this show. 

But I did a re-watch of the show recently, and while I still ship them romantically, I actually think what is being portrayed between them is something else. They are DEFINITELY more than friends; I mean they are life partners in every sense of the word. But the kind of dynamic that is CANONICALLY portrayed between Maura and Jane, is in fact, a Queerplatonic Relationship.

So here’s a working definition of the term for those who aren’t familiar with it: 

Queerplatonic relationships and queerplatonic partnerships are committed intimate relationships which are not romantic in nature. They may differ from usual close friendships by having more explicit commitment, validation, status, structure, and norms, similar to a conventional romantic relationship

I have actually experienced something like this, (and yes I’m going to get a bit anecdotally personal here; I’ll try not to be too long winded, but it’s relevant, I promise lol): 

I had an (unspoken) kind of relationship like this with my best friend in my early/mid 20s. We have been best friends since I was 11, but something definitely shifted when we became adults, and I have to say, I ended up, quite unexpectedly, being deeply in love with my best friend...platonically. I didn’t want to date her. I didn’t want to sleep with her. But, I was totally devoted to her and we were each other’s person for years. We were each other’s assumed plus one for everything, we regularly did dinner dates, we gave each other super sentimental cards and specialized gifts on birthdays, we also regularly did domestic shit together like grocery shopping, errands, chores, house projects; you name it, we had it/did it. I mean we were even each other’s phone background for a while lmao. We never lived together, but we had keys to each other’s places. 

Now a lot of this shit can happen and does happen in standard friendships (maybe not the phone background thing; that was super gay ngl hahaha), but the thing that made this different was the level of assumed partnership going on between us. And the...energy. We would stare deeply into each other’s eyes. We had that magnetic kind of magic with each other, like no matter where the other is in the room, we find our way back to each other. And people literally perceived us as a couple. Hell, my other friends teased us about it. 

Any of this sound familiar?

Oh and I DO find her to be attractive and even sexy. And we flirted (still do lolol) a LOT. 

But I didn’t ever really.....actually want to have sex with her. Not that I would’ve even necessarily been opposed to it, because we were so close, but it just, wasn’t ever a desire for me.

This was interesting to experience, because I do identify as a lesbian, I have been romantically attracted to people, sexually attracted to people, and the two, as society expects, do usually go hand in hand for me. But with her, I honestly could’ve seen forever; like being exactly as we were, as life partners, I could’ve even seen myself raising kids with her, and I would have been TOTALLY, GENUINELY content with it, ‘cause my relationship with her filled me up in a way nothing else has. This was confusing as all hell to me for a long time, because I didn’t have a name for this until recently when I learned about the concept of Queerplatonic Relationships which again supersede friendship and often are life partnerships, but aren’t inherently romantic or sexual, even though they are quite deep. I actually think QPRs speak to that “limitless” “otherwise undefinable” kind of relationship dynamic. 

Sooo - and I promise I’m wrapping my story up - when my bff met her current boyfriend, which is her first super serious adult relationship, I didn’t quite experience jealousy, I mean I always envisioned a romantic partnership for her, and I still want that for me! Buuuut...my feelings were complicated because it’s like...I had to mourn what I lost, as our dynamic inherently changed, and the fact that I wasn’t her person anymore. Weird thing to process indeed. Also *ahem* SOUND FAMILIAR?

Without getting too carried away here (oh who am I kidding, I already have 😂) for comparison’s sake, I actually went through a crazy ass heartbreak with someone, also while I was in my mid 20s; someone to whom I WAS romantically, sexually, spiritually, connected and attracted. I mean I was IN LOVE with this woman and she broke my heart by not fully reciprocating my feelings and not wanting to be with me. I thought I was gonna die when we stopped talking. Hell, it’s been years and I still think about her. 

But if you were to ask me who the true love. of. my. life. has been so far...I’d pick my best friend! 

The funny thing is I think a LOT of women end up in these kinds of dynamics, ESPECIALLY queer women, maybe even more so queer women who form super close relationships to “straight” women (gotta put str8 in quotes ‘cause...this shit is inherently queer even though it’s not romantic/sexual). You all know what I’m talking about; You’d do anything for each other, there’s chemistry, connection, and care, yet it doesn’t quite fit into any box you try to give it. People read you as a couple. You know this about yourselves, and you just...accept it. Because what you have is actually beyond any label. You know?

Anyway, I think there’s actually something cool and radical about this and I know that queer people want and deserve romantic and sexual representation, but I think this IS an accurate kind of representation that happens all the time that isn’t appropriately covered or discussed in media.

In hindsight, I think that’s what really hooked me on R&I. I mean, I started watching ‘cause I thought they were lesbians, and I kept watching ‘cause I thought it would be canon! And yeah, I still think about what could’ve been with them: fanfiction is good for that. But why do I still watch the actual show? Well...I LIVED it. 

Now: do I think that Maura and Jane often tip the scales a lil’ TOOOOO far in the explicitly gay direction on this show? Oh hell yes! Do I think you can interpret them as two people who are madly in love, romantically, with each other, yet are too scared to do anything about it? Oh hell yes! Like I said I do ship Rizzles. BUT, if I’m honest about what is FULLY, CANONICALLY being portrayed, no subtext, ALL maintext: It’s 10000% a QPR. 

So no: Maura Isles and Jane Rizzoli are certainly not JUST friends. They aren’t just colleagues, although their work relationship is just as powerful and awe inspiring as their personal one. They aren’t really like sisters, although they can quarrel like siblings at times. They aren’t truly romantic, although they are essentially life partners. They aren’t in a sexual relationship with each other; not that it couldn’t go there, but I also see how it wouldn’t need to go there, and how that doesn’t diminish the bond at all. They have something that I recognize -and something I think perhaps many of us recognize too- something beyond definition, because at the core of it they are true-blue soulmates who share a kind of unconditional love that is rarely found in ANY kind of relationship. If there is a definition that comes close to summing this kind of thing up: Queerplatonic Relationship is the answer!

Idk just felt like sharing this. Thanks for reading 🤓

[rainberry-system]

inspired by that post asking the plural community to share their personal experiences, here's a bunch of questions inspired by various system ask games that i'll be answering!

do you have a system name?

technically yes. i use rainberry, the name of a zayn malik song, as a system name online. i also have a personal system name i've been attached to for years, but i won't be sharing it here. i don't go by my system name typically, and i use it more as an online username than anything else.

irl i have 2 names people typically know me by, both the names of frequent fronters. i eventually plan to legally change my name to those 2 names as a first and middle name.

what is your alter headcount?

i have around 8 DID parts, and 4 endogenic alters. so 12-ish in total.

what are your system's origins?

traumagenic first and foremost, as i have DID. i also have some endogenic alters i specifically coined the term reveromantigenic for. my reveromantigenic alters formed unintentionally as thoughtforms, specifically from me daydreaming about fictional ships to fall asleep.

my DID parts are ever-present whether i want them to be or not, and i can somewhat-clearly trace them back to traumas in my past and i can see what trauma responses they are made of. my endogenic alters on the other hand, they're purely positive and don't have any negative or harmful aspects to them. they don't relate to my trauma in any way, and act as sentient comfort characters more than anything.

what terms do you use to describe yourself?

i gravitate towards 'parts' for my DID parts, and 'alters' for my endogenic alters. i do refer to myself as a system sometimes, but typically i call myself a person with DID or a person with parts. i rarely call myself plural, the word icks me for purely syllabic reasons.

i tend to use i/me language as well, unless i feel like clarifying we/us is necessary to make sense.

how did you discover your system?

i was 15 and somebody in a fandom discord i ran asked me to add pluralkit to the server for systems. i didn't know what a system was, so they explained to me what DID is in basic terms. i wanted to support them, so i started looking into DID and systems, and i noticed a lot of links leading to tumblr.

i made a tumblr account so i could read all the posts google was linking me, and discovered i was a system too. i originally thought i was traumaendo i believe, before i got sucked into sysmedicalism and considered myself an OSDD system for i think a year, eventually landing on DID, and now as of recent labelling myself mixed origins due to my thoughtforms.

have your views on plurality changed over time?

yes! as i said, i started off as pro-endo, but i got sucked into sysmedicalism for quite a few years. i had endogenic thoughtform alters while i was anti-endo, ironically enough, i just mislabelled them and tried to force them into traumagenic boxes.

do you have an innerworld?

nope. i have aphantasia, so i don't visualize at all. i have a strong internal monologue and i tend to think in audible words more than anything else. my parts/alters pick faceclaims based on the vague vibes they have of their appearances, and via a lot of trial and error.

how do your levels of distinction range?

my DID parts are covert, as i have the typical covert version of DID. they're distinct enough that i can sometimes tell what part is fronting, and some close friends can occasionally guess accurately, but most of the distinction isn't in personality or outward characteristics.

most of my part distinction, for the traumagenic ones, is in trauma responses, behaviors, and views on the world. those trauma-influenced traits are what show through the strongest.

meanwhile my endogenic alters are mainly distinct in personality, and strongly identifying as their sources. that, and they're all british for some reason except for one. coincidences lol.

what are your fronting patterns like?

my DID parts are situationally triggered out. they're each suited for different types of situations, be it potential traumatization, physical hardship, a work environment, a safe environment, ect. their roles reflect this a lot, too. if i feel threatened, physically or emotionally, i know my primary protector is going to be triggered out. if i feel safe and comfortable, there's a good chance my unethical caretaker is going to front.

my endogenic alters are more intentionally positive triggered out, either by focusing on their sources and unintentionally daydreaming about them (as is my habit to help me fall asleep), or by choosing to act like them until they front (my attempt at willogenesis lol, they may have gained sentience by accident but i intend to purposefully keep them around)

in general i tend to switch multiple times a day, if i had to guess probably 3-6 times a day. my situational needs vary frequently throughout my average day, triggering out various parts for various reasons.

do you experience amnesia? how so?

i do. i'm monoconcious, but i experience what i consider to be blackout amnesia in the sense i lose entire chunks of recent time. my amnesia isn't really tied to switching, though. my parts/alters don't have their own individual memories, like you might see in the movies.

my amnesia is collective; i lose the majority of every single day, conversations and situations, everything unless i write it down or recite it until memorized. i tend to only retain vague outlines of my most recent day, such as "i know i went to work yesterday and i worked on my fanfic, but i cant remember anything specific beyond that."

and that's only for my most recent day. the day before yesterday is a mystery to me. unless it's written down or i'm somehow reminded of a specific notable event by an outside party, i don't retain it.

what are your thoughts on fusion?

i want final fusion, at least for my DID parts. i'm not sure what my end goals are for my endogenic alters, as they don't really cause me distress. i want to final fuse all of my DID parts because i want to stop relying on dissociation as my primary coping mechanism, i want to fully get rid of my dissociative amnesia, and i want to have a cohesive sense of identity that isn't split up by various reactions to trauma.

fusion at all, and especially final fusion, are longterm goals for me though. right now i'm focused on symptom management, building communication, and overall integration in whatever small ways i can manage it.

do you have any in-system couples?

yes, particularly my endogenic parts. because they are all reveromantigenic (formed from daydreaming about my favourite fictional ships), they are all inherently paired into relationships. because i have 4 of them right now, that means i have 2 in-sys couples.

do you have any in-system families?

yes, but this time with my DID parts. 3 of my DID parts see themselves as siblings; my primary protector being the elder brother to 2 parts that identify with being younger ages than i am physically.

my primary protector is also very similar to another part who you've probably seen here, his name is zain, he runs our sideblog @zain-syscourse. my primary protector and zain have been in some sort of strange qpr/situationship for years, i'm not sure if they've even labelled it.

how does your gender vary across the system?

i'm bigender (male/agender) overall, and i use he/they pronouns overall. many of my DID parts identify as fully male and use he/him pronouns or as nonbinary/agender with he/they pronouns, while my endogenic alters have less reality-grounded concepts of their gender such as one identifying as a cis male and another as transfemmasc despite us overall being NOWHERE near feminine- or female-aligned.

how does your sexuality vary across the system?

it honestly doesn't vary much, surprisingly. overall i identify as demiromantic demisexual and gay (boys), and that seems to ring true system-wide. none of us are attracted to girls as far as i can tell. the demi part varies, but all of us are some level of gay.

do you tend to have collective or individual hobbies/interests?

all of my interests and hobbies are collective. that's mainly comprised of writing fanfiction, syscoursing, learning about DID, and listening to music. as far as interests, right now it's just One Direction. i have ADHD, and right now 1D is my sole hyperfixation.

does anybody irl know you're a system?

yes, two people. i live with my found family slash adoptive parents, and they know i have DID. one of them can tell some of my parts apart and has clocked the current fronter multiple times before.

do you know any other systems irl?

the same person who can clock some of my parts is also a DID system. he's very supportive of me and my problems in general, and i love him.

this was really fun to do! i went for mainly collective-aimed questions, since i didn't want to get into specific parts/alters too much. at least not on this post, maybe in the future on others! if you read all this, it's your sign to go find a bunch of plurality questions to answer! share your experiences!

[erraticprocrastinator]

A Guide to AO3, Part 1: Relationships

In tandem with sharing my usual random writing tips, I thought it might be nice to finally put my five years of experience on AO3 to good use. I'm compiling a list of things that I commonly see misunderstood by people who are new to the site, or fandom culture in general, and will do my best make a post explaining each, so that others might have an easier time getting to know the lay of the land than I did.

What better place to start than the Relationships section?

Warning: This post contains brief discussions of non-consent and underage relationships in fanworks (in relation to the use of Archive Warnings).

On AO3, it's a common (and expected) practice for authors to provide basic information about the relationships within a work. This is done through four main means, all of which I will touch on here:

Archive Warnings

Relationship Categories

Relationship Tags (Otherwise known as "Ships")

Additional Tags

Archive Warnings

Whilst archive warnings are required for all works uploaded to AO3, there are two in particular that are explicitly relevant to the relationships within a story; "Rape/Non-Con", and "Underage".

Unless selecting "Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings", any story containing non-consensual or underage sexual behaviour should be equipped with the respective Archive Warnings. I am aware that there are many discussions around this topic, particularly in relation to dub-con and other subtypes of non-consent, and differing definitions of "underage" in certain fandoms, but I encourage that this be used as a general rule. If you are unsure of whether these warnings are relevant to your story, I recommend seeking the opinion of other AO3 users (my preferred platform for this is r/AO3 on Reddit), and, if a clear consensus can't be reached, using "Choose Not To Warn" to be on the safe side.

Relationship Categories

In a nutshell, this section boils down to the presence (or absence) of sexual or romantic relationships in your story, and the type of relationships that these may be. I think that the attached guide available on AO3 itself explains it well, so I won't dwell on this for too long, but one thing (that I discuss more in the next section) that I think should be noted is that, in this context, "/" refers to the existence of a romantic or sexual relationship between the genders in question, and not a platonic bond. For example, if your story focuses on a purely friendly relationship between two women, you do not need to select "F/F", and should instead choose "Gen".

Relationship ("Ship") Tags

These are the tags used to identify the specific main relationships within your story, both sexual/romantic and platonic. They use the characters' names, with either "/" or "&" between them to identify the nature of the relationship.

Now, that note I wanted to expand on:

I've recently seen a lot of confusion surrounding the correct way to tag romantic and platonic relationships, including a few people commenting on mine and others' works thinking that misleading tags have been used, so I'd like to take this opportunity to set things straight.

"/" is the symbol that should be used when tagging a relationship that is romantic or sexual in nature (this is actually where the term "slash" in smut originated from!). "X" can also be used for this purpose in general fandom spaces, but isn't used on AO3.

"&", on the other hand, should only be used for non-sexual, non-romantic relationships within a story. If your story contains a major platonic relationship, this is the symbol to use.

Example: The tags below indicate two different types of relationship and are not interchangeable.

It's completely fine to use both of these if the romantic relationship in your story also has a heavy emphasis on friendship, or if you're following a friends-to-lovers arc, but "&' alone should not be used to indicate a romantic relationship, and "/" should not be used for one that is purely platonic. This is something that's good to keep in mind for both authors and readers!

Additional Tags

Additional Tags, as well as being the place to tag anything not encompassed in previous sections, is also a great place to tag any other information you think is relevant about the relationships in your story. This can include anything from the story arc that takes place ("enemies to lovers" etc) to the nature and specific dynamics involved. Many people who post explicit works use this section to tag the acts and positions performed, as well as other details such as kinks. You can use this section to explain as much about the relationships as you like. I plan on doing a more in-depth guide to tagging in general in the future, which will expand on this, as well as explain more general expectations and courtesies that new authors should be aware of.

[reinabeestudio]

I'm late, but using my (recent) birthday as an excuse to ramble about Cee and the other mercs—mostly Cee, with hints of ship stuff :]

This is kinda long btw

The arrival of Ms. Doremi was not something unexpected, since the team had been notified a few days prior of a new hire from Spain. However, she wasn't what they imagined.

The answer depends on who you ask, but all of them more or less were expecting a tough mercenary, someone that has clearly fought and killed before. Someone that gets the job done no matter what. But before them was the damndest fanciest lady they've ever seen. Scout was the one tasked to showing her around due to being the fastest, and it was clear some doubts about this new teammate quickly started to appear after each one met her personally.

Not only that, but there was something particular about Ms. Doremi: she had a room for herself like the others, but she didn't always sleep on it. In fact, many nights she'd leave the base and come back in the morning. Spy even identified her car as an ivory Seat 600 D. Not exactly a model seen in the US.

Now, as I mentioned in past posts, I ship her with almost all of them (except Pyro)—not at the same time. So how things develop depends on the merc! Although the ones I think about the most are Engineer, Soldier, and Scout.

I'll focus only on Engineer/Cee for now. Maybe I'll explore different reactions in the future (please ask me about any of the other ships gimme an excuse to gush please please please pl--).

Surprise, he fell in love at first sight 💥

I imagine they found him on his workshop, arguing with one of the others for touching his tools or something else (probably Spy? I like to think they don't get along at all lol). So there he was, cursing up a Texan Storm(tm) until he hears stifled laughter behind him and he turns around like ???. And when he sees her, he completely freezes.

“Apologies, I didn't mean to laugh. You just have such a way with words, I coulnd't help”

And aren't you a vision of loveliness.

She would offer her hand for a handshake, while introducing herself. How proper, ain't she cute. “I'm Cee Doremi. I'm the new RED member. And what might your name be?”

“I'm mighty sorry 'bout earlier, promise I'm nicer than that!” He took her hand then, a bit too tightly. “Dell Conagher, or the Engineer. At your service.”

“It's alright, Mr. Conagher. As my mother used to say, when we argue it's because we care. Don't you think?”

“Please, call me Dell. And I can't say I fully agree with ya, Ms. Doremi, but I can see yer point!"

“Call me Cee." God, that smile of hers could resurrect an angel. The guy is practically leaking toony hearts while Spy and Scout look at them like 👁 (nosy father & nosy son lol). “It was nice meeting you. But I still have to finish my little tour, and I'd kindly like to have my hand back, yes?”

Engie's face scrunched up in confusion before he looked down at his hand and noticing that he's, in fact, still shaking her hand.

So she waved him bye and he waved back with a face warmer than an oven. Meanwhile Spy just looked at him with the most insufferable knowing smile ever.

“What a gracefully embarassing display of those 11 PhDs, pardner.”

“Shut it, you snake.”

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ⟐ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

Time passes, and Cee's presence is just one more on base. She even got her own nickname: the Lady (very original). It started as a joke, but it ended up just becoming a thing lol.

She gets along with her teammates! Some more than others, but she has a minimum level of property that she doesn't seem to like breaking, no matter how rude some people might be. Old habits, she calls it (makes you curious how she was raised).

And everyday as usual, when night comes, she drives off... somewhere. And everyday she comes back in the morning. She's been asked about this by the others many times; she has her own room here, what's the need of leaving every night? Where does she even go? But as polite as she is, that's a question she doesn't answer.

Until one day the answer comes to them.

Cee called for a meeting, which was odd. She was the only one standing up, the rest of the mercs sitting down and no doubt confused what was going on.

“As all of you know, I spend most of my nights outside of the base. First I want to clarify, I have no problem with my room. I'm thankful I was given my own space.” she started, her hands clasped in front of her. “But I did for a good reason. Something very important.”

She explains how she was told by the higher-ups it'd be best if she stopped the car trips, mostly because the enemy could follow her and learn the location of the base. How she explained her situation, and a solution would be searched.

But until then, she'd have to compromise.

“I'm only doing this because I have no other choice. Apologies in advance,” she finished explaining.

They see Cee turn around to the doorframe behind her and says something in Spanish (“Ya podéis salir”). And the 9 mercs watch with wide eyes how a young girl and a young boy come out and quickly go to Cee, the kids looking at the men while hiding behind her. They looked similar to Cee.

“Gentlemen, these are my twins: Lance and Renée.”

She looked down at them, gently patting their heads. “They will be staying on my bedroom, until a safer place for them is found. I've already told them to behave and not bother any of you unless it's a dire situation and I'm not around. Please, be patient with them while they are here.”

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ⟐ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

An addendum: Cee comes from wealth and was raised 'properly' and to be ladylike at all times.

She's not helpless tho, she was hired as a merc after all lol (and by the time she meets the mercs, it's been many years since she was in that upper social bubble). But she has a lot of old habits ingrained in her due to her upbringing, and being with the mercs is when she really learns how to let loose.

Yes I know, I didn't really talk about actual ships AJSDNGDS. But I thought that it'd be best to first establish some facts about Cee for better understanding ☝ If you wanna learn more, ask about it (/j /lh)

[blackjackkent]

OK, now for the actual reason Rakha even came in here, which was definitely not to make snake-related moral decisions.

Hi Nettie!

Rakha was very patient while Nettie dealt with the bird healing, although she definitely stood slightly too close and just sort of stared at the whole process, fascinated by watching the ripple of the healing magic play out through the bird and the Weave around it.

"Now, what was it you needed?"

"I need help. Now."

One of Rakha's defining characteristics is starting to be that she simply does not sugar-coat things or try to shy away from facts about herself or the situation. Her policy seems to be - this is the state of things and it's up to you to decide how you want to react to that, and if you make it a problem, that's on you.

In this way, I suppose, she is somewhat like Hector in his compulsive honesty, although for her it is less a moral stance and more of a practical one.

In any event, she is pretty straightforward about the parasite. Nettie says she looks healthy enough, but she shakes her head and answers matter-of-factly: "Everything about me is sick. The dizzy spells, the memory loss, the illithid parasite."

Honestly she's more concerned about the memory loss part, but Nettie (understandably) fixates on the parasite. "A tadpole? A mind flayer tadpole?"

"You know of them? Can you help me?"

Nettie hesitates, and her eyes narrow with a keen expression Rakha can't quite parse. Then she nods. "I... I'll do what I can. Come, follow me. I might be able to help."

-----

She leads Rakha into a hidden back room of the sanctuary, where they find a scattered workshop full of potions and medical accoutrements - and a dead elf lying in his underclothes on a table.

"This one had the same problem as you," Nettie explains. "Attacked us in the woods together with some goblins. Tadpole crawled out of his head soon after."

Rakha squints warily. Is this a subtle threat? "So you killed him and laid him out on the table?" she asks cautiously.

"No," the healer says with a slightly sad smile. "That was Master Halsin."

Halsin. They've heard that name already. Zevlor mentioned him - the druid leader Kagha has stepped in for. The one left behind by the mercenaries.

Nettie fidgets on the table for a moment and comes up with a thin twig a little longer than Rakha's hand, lined with sharp spines. "A pity you got me instead of him," she says quietly. "He understands these things. Studied them. Still... we have options."

Rakha's head swims suddenly as the beast whines... picturing the small woman attempting to drive this stick into Rakha's eye, to pry the tadpole out, and Rakha wresting it from her hands, turning the point and lancing it deep into Nettie's throat--

"What's that plant?" she asks sharply. "Will it help?"

"It might," Nettie says with a slight shrug. "But first thing's first. Tell me about your symptoms. Have you noticed anything strange happening?"

Rakha stares at her. Yes. Everything. She cannot think of a single thing that has happened in her memory that has not been strange. "I can merge my mind with anyone else that's infected," she says, choosing one item out of the tremendous array of options.

"Victims can identify each other?" Nettie says thoughtfully. "Not that the others know they're victims, of course."

This puzzles Rakha for a moment, but then she remembers - the corpse on the road. Edowin. He also had a tadpole in his head. His siblings said they followed something called the Absolute, and they likely weren't the only ones. Others of that faction must also carry the worm - unknowingly, by Nettie's description.

"How'd you pick up the parasite?" the healer presses. "Halsin was desperate to find where all this was happening."

"On a mind flayer ship. I was kidnapped and infected." Well, the kidnapped part is a guess, based on her companions' stories. For all she knows, she lived there. Or was born from that pod fully grown. It would be no less strange than the alternatives.

"A mind flayer ship?" Oddly, this seems to surprise Nettie more than anything else. "But Master Halsin was sure--"

She stops, then squares her shoulders and looks at Rakha steadily. "Look. You've been straight with me, so I'll be straight with you. You're dangerous," she says flatly. "If you transform here, we're all dead."

A pause. "But you seem like a good soul. You deserve a chance to save yourself." She reaches into her pocket, pulls out a squat vial full of green liquid, and extends it in Rakha's direction. "This is a vial of wyvern poison. Swear to me you'll swallow it if you feel any symptoms."

Rakha goes very still.

THREAT, says the beast, uncoiling itself in her skull. KILL. Half of her mind roars with eagerness to take the bottle and shove it into Nettie's eye socket.

The rest of her is stuck on the words good soul. Why would Nettie describe her so? What cause has Rakha given her?

Based on the current conversation, to be a good soul is to answer questions plainly and to swallow poison rather than become a mind flayer. But Rakha doubts that that is all Nettie means.

Perhaps, somehow, she means whatever Wyll meant, when he said she makes her own light. That didn't make any sense either.

She reaches out abruptly, takes the bottle, squeezes it tightly in one fist. "I swear," she mutters hoarsely, her voice tight with the effort of battling the Urge back into submission. The poison will serve some use, whether in her throat or otherwise. But she does not mean to die yet, not if she can help it.

Nettie seems visibly relieved. She speaks a little more about the research she and this Halsin were doing, studying the tadpoles and their hosts, who seem to be centered around a local temple. This is also - likely not coincidentally - where the goblins are headquartered.

And Nettie has an idea.

"I've sent birds to find him," she explains, when Rakha asks if Halsin could still be alive. "But they can't get close without goblins trying to shoot them down. You, though? You're one of them - technically speaking, I mean. They won't kill someone carrying their parasite." Her voice strengthens, warming to this sudden thought. "If you can find Halsin and get him out of there, we can discover what he learned. And perhaps he can save your life. How's that sound?"

It sounds disheartening, in truth. Lae'zel has had a plan from the beginning - the creche, and yet matters have conspired to slow them in that goal repeatedly.

On the other hand... this temple is nearer at hand. Halsin might have useful answers, if he is not dead, and Rakha craves answers even more than the beast craves blood - which it will also get, if they come near goblins again. And should Halsin live, it will trouble the plans of Kagha, which... her companions would find satisfying. (And so would she, honestly.)

"All right. I'll find Halsin," she agrees.

Nettie's expression brightens. "Thank you. It would mean everything to the grove. To me."

Rakha decides not to tell her that none of that figured into her planning at all.

[snarkivistfic]

Shipper Tag Game

Tagged by @heyholmesletsgo, thank you! :) I apologize that this took me literally forever to do!!!

1. What ship were you completely obsessed with when you were a teenager, but now you don't care about anymore? I think probably Alec Scutter/ Maurice Hall from Maurice but I wouldn’t say I don’t care about them anymore

2. Which ship would you consider your first one? I had to think about this really hard. I don’t remember if it was George and Susan San Francisco from Alien Nation or Maurice Hall and Alec Scutter from Maurice.  I loved both of these couples fiercely but especially the former I haven’t even thought of until I started thinking about this. 

3. Your first fanfic was about which couple? I didn’t ever write it down till much later

4. Do you remember the first couple you saw fanart of? I apologize to artists – I do not!!

5. Have you ever gotten into ship discourse? With my social anxiety? Heavens no.

6. Did you use to have any NOTP or have one currently? I guess I do but I honestly don’t think about it too much. Like I don’t read those ships but honestly can’t be bothered to block any content because I don’t care that much.

7. Who were the couple in the last fanfic you read? WeiLan from Guardian (Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan)

8. Currently, do you have any OTPs? SO MANY (can one have multiple One True Pairings?  Yes, yes you can).  ZiNing (Ouyang Zizhen /Wen Ning) is my absolute number one.  But I also passionately love ChuGuo, BigTay, ChanPol, XiYao, YaoYang (CLs Yao and Ouyang), ZhuiLing, and Qin Su/Bicao.

9. Is there any couple that, to this day, you are extremely mad about not getting together? Okay so this is a bit of a deep cut and I refuse to google the names of the characters lest it upset me again. I adore the actor Rupert Graves (Probably because he plays Alec Scutter) and he was in this movie called Dreaming of Joseph Lees.  His character has sooooo much chemistry with the female lead and they are so good together. But in the end she goes back to her horrible and cruel husband because he’s been injured or something I don’t remember.  I just remember I was sooooo mad and it still upsets me to think about it now.

10. Is there any ship you used to dislike but now you think they are kind of interesting? I mean probably if you have a really wide definition of ship and it encompasses my whole life of imagining fictional characters together. But I can’t think of one right now.  

11. Do you have any ship that, in the past, would've been considered normal but now you would be cancelled over? I can’t think of anything. 

12. What is your favorite crack ship? People consider YaoYang to be a crack ship but like I don’t think I could be so passionate about them if I thought that. I am not writing them as a pairing as a joke.  I think the first time I wrote them seriously (a fic called A Call to Arms) I started it as a joke and a way to play with unreliable characters. But I ended up sort of getting in their heads and now I love them so much. Because I think people in my life find me annoying and a little too much of a know-it-all (who is often wrong about things) so I kind of identify with CL Yao in a way.  So but yeah I guess technically this is my favourite crack ship?

13. What is the couple you read the most fanfics about? Honestly, I guess WangXian just because there are the MOST of them. 

14. What do most of your ships usually have in common? Hmmmm.  I think, and maybe this is in all ships?, that each of the characters sees something in the other that no one else can. Like maybe everyone else thinks they are annoying (lol YaoYang) or just a sweet sexless cinnamon roll (ZiNing), or for whatever reasons the characters don’t think they deserve love or that anyone could love them.  I think that’s the thing.

15. What you absolutely hate in a ship? This is hard for me to answer because the whole point of fiction is that you can like things that would be terrible in real life.  So a dynamic that would suck irl could be a great ship dynamic?  I guess I don’t have an answer.

Tagging @unfortunatelycake @jaggededges123 @justacoyote @linacies @zaelriel (no pressure at all! I won't be offended if you're not interested!) and whoever else would like to answer!

[worldismyne]

For the shipping bingo game: Soul/Maka, Black Star/Maka, Kid/Maka. Heheheh.

Oooo full Maka sweep.

SoMa first

I am very much a fan of Maka having a crush on Soul and Soul trying to matrix his way into staying friends and not hurting her feelings lol.

I saw Stein say they seem to resonate, but don't and took that to heart.

I don't think it would work long term because Soul is very passive/cut off and Maka's insecure about their relationship from day 1. Very teen sweet hearts that break up after they stop sharing classes coded to me.

Still, I think the fandom has used the ship as a jumping off point to make great stuff. But I firmly believed fanon Maka/Soul > canon Maka/Soul.

Next Kid x Maka

On paper and politically, I think this would work. Especially post time skip. There's a reason I had them briefly arranged/engadged in my first fic. I think they could be good together.

I just hardcore ship them with other characters too much to make them endgame. Bonus points for Kid being an eldirch being that only appears human and ages/grows differently while Maka stays human. Love me some immortal watching their human loved ones die angst.

MaStar

Listen, my fic is breeching novel length, so I'm abt to go off.

But I will leave above the cut that this niche part of the fandom deciding his government name is Blake is a huge pet peeve of mine. Like, him choosing to identify as Star Clan with the name he was given and still holding his head high and demanding people recognize him on his terms is like, really important to his character. And 4kids-ing his name kept me away from a lot of the best written fics.

*inhales*

So I initially had this as a fringe one-sided ship in my first fic. I just kinda left them there on the chessboard and didn't think much of it.

Then after editing my old fic years later I wanted to do a sequel and that story beat was the only thing I had left open ended and when I thought abt it...

Maka and Black Star have such serious abandonment issues and workaholic tendancies, I can only see them getting together with someone after years of sniffing them out from afar.

So I did my lil one-shot of what I thought everyone would be up to after 20 years of 'peace' and realized as adults they'd be perfect for each other, since being the best at what they do is one of the most important things to them. Their general life goals lined up.

And I've been obessed with banging out this concept ever since.

Do I think they would have worked during the timeframe SE took place? Hell no. That would have been a flaming friendship ruining disaster.

Like post time skip he seemed a lil protective of her in canon, plus they constantly compare themselves to each other in the manga. But the manga left off with Black Star being a teen parent and Maka stuck spinning her wheels post time skip, still unable to shake this fear of failure. It seemed like a good way to tie off those plot threads (meanwhile Soul and Kid seemed to have pretty finished off arcs by the end). Been really enjoying having these two be equally stubborn about wanting them to work without ever saying it directly, and doing mental gymnastics to avoid acknowledging they're dating.

Both canons have Maka punching a god and fighting it head on, you can't tell me that power obsessed goober wouldn't find that hot.

Side note - I noticed while rereading Soul Eater miester/weapon romantic pairs/trouples were common, but in all iterations I don't recall seeing any meister/meister or weapon/weapon romantic pairs. So that's been an interesting concept to play around with too.

I fully acknowledge that this will always be a rare-pair. Though I value the 10-12 people consistently reading my fic abt them. I see y'all. I thank y'all!

[knarme-art]

Public note to self about ALL my Avatar OCs and fanclans...

So one day I might remember to make proper infoshits on them lmao.

Recoms

Esko Ilves - ...Medic and a kind of a badly turned out specimen whose life starts as being locked-up in a confused identity state. Currently a complete mess with the lore. Despite stereotypical masc Finnish old dude name has fat boobs and kinda destroys gender by existing.

Vilhelmi - Finnish-American army grunt who worships and respects nothing else than power. Sour-faced joyless bitch who's a bully whenever he can. Hates happy people. Straight. Simps for scary people. The kind of person whose insecurity is taken on absolutely everyone around him in the most destructive ways possible if he's given authority to do so.

Metkayina

Currently unnamed massive dude - Is actually a masc agender fella who uses masc terms etc. but doesn't actually "feel male" (let alone anything else..). He's gigantic and... Hear me out... He literally kins water, like he doesn't identify with na'vi shape or physique at all. If he was on Tumblr he'd say he's xenogender with an ocean-adjacent gender and that he's... Water but in human form. He's truly an odd one, has a rep as a mighty strong warrior but kind of... Likes to stick to his own company. I think he grew up orphaned and severely neglected, or maybe he's just born that way...? I can't be sure! He hunts RDA as almost like a sport and he's feared like an akula!!

Arctic Na'vi

Arctic Ocean People

These are chunky fellas that are even more extremely aquatic-adapted than Reef Na'vi are. There is mostly just barren tundra or ice for land near them so most of their materials are harvested from their oceanic prey.

One of my fanclans is of these Ocean people...

Ice Pirate - (waiting for proper naming) He is literally a pirate because land dwellers with their ships rob his waters of prey and kill his people too.. So he rides Space!Orcas with his chums to go rob those ships back!

Arctic Land People

Short subspecies of Na'vi who are fuzzier relatives of the rainforest Na'vi. They're very widespread in arctic and subarctic lands of Pandora, and many regional variants have a lot of different colorations going on etc.

I have like three different fanclans of these I've thought about.

The Ship Clan - These are the nemesis of Ice Pirate and his people. This clan is unusually dystopian by na'vi standards, since they're sort of colonizers. They have ships. They sail them ships to places and take stuff.

-> I've got one OC draft who's basically a captain of one of these thieving ships and a personal old nemesis of Ice Pirate

The Silver Fur Clan - These are based on a single painting of mine and an associated headcanon. So far I only know a lot of them became refugees because of something that is going on with their home. They have black and silver or gray hair.

The Ochre Fur Clan - Arctic land dwellers who live someplace remote and isolated. Also based on my headcanon of those same paintings I did. They have curly light-brownish-gray hair.

A little storylet with the two previous clans...

Two women from both of these clans get to know each other due to the displacement of the Silver Furs. The Ochre one comes to love and care for the Silver one deeply, but feels like she can't quite reach her the way she'd like to, - due to the events affecting the Silver one having changed her life in ways the Ochre one has never had to navigate. A gap in being able to relate. My headcanons of these two are very... Slice of life. Displaced person adjusts to new life. Another person learns to know her, but learns on the way that there are nightmares bigger than she can ever do anything about. Two people learning to live in an unpredictable world but also with their own differences. Etc. Especially Ochre one is a chronic "fixer", unknowingly ignoring her own obvious problems to be "helpful" and a lot of the time the result is... All but helpful. In this story everyone's mental health is in shambles. Road to shittyplace (since Na'vi don't know Hell) is paved with Good Intentions, right?

....

Now that's all about the Arctic. Moving on!

....

Subarctic Lake Dwellers!

A. k. a. my self-insert pseudo-ancient-Baltic-Finnic-influenced Na'vi. These are actually a hybrid population between Arctic Ocean and Arctic Land Na'vi (mirroring the Finno-Ugrian North Asian and Nortwestern European mixed ancestry). They live in a boreal taiga style forested biome with a gigantic fuckton of lakes. Oh no, I wonder if a Finn made this... THERE ARE SO MANY LAKES.

I only have like one OC draft for these guys and he's just... Well.. Basically my fursona Kalamit in Na'vi form. Pompous hedonistic but generous fisherman (*in transmasc butch lesbian sense) who takes great pride in all he can do for ya babeyy. His magnificent bastard energy is unmatched because he's like pure life energy kinda like Kalamit, my sona, thematically is.

No story going on in here. Na'vi!Kalamit is possibly meant to be simply an RP character to craft stories with...

....

Kxayltirey Nation

...A. k. a. my most ambitious fanclan and the only one I've properly named so far. This is the one with a fuckton of historical and societal worldbuilding attached. Dystopian situation where a past occupation materially vanished, yet stayed in the minds and ways of the people, severing their connection to Eywa.

Class & ecology issues and dystopian angst of people who are born not knowing why their society teaches self-hate and acceptance of authority figures that have the most impressive gaslighting game ever.

Kxayltirey lore is so expansive that it'll need its own posts. Gonna go over some Kxayl OCs of mine...

Kxasi - Young hunter from Kxaylian outskirts. Everyone is disappearing from his village to pursue a life in the central plateau, - the hegemonious hub of the Kxayl society, so Kxasi follows the path of what makes one a well-accomplished one. Kxasi's whole identity revolves around succeeding in the hierarchy, and he is churned into a full existential crisis when gaining a disability that makes flying an ikran impossible. MORE STORY IS OUT THERE BUT IT'S VERY LONG, SORRY CHUMS. <\3

Commander - Trust me bro, he has an actual name too. One of those "air force commanders" of the Kxayl, but reduced to a humiliating job of training n00bs. Takes a mutual curiosity in Kxasi, who is also from the Outskirts. Both had to fight hard for their position, and neither is well-versed in Plateau social etiquette, and they share old cultural practices that still thrive in the Outskirts, and that have become taboo and disappeared in the central plateau. Commander/Kxasi is a canon ship and they are Toxic Yuri. <3 (how toxic, depends on the verse... )

Kxasi's little bro - Tallest person in his family. Really genuine and nice fella but also will hold his ground. Kxasi is reminded of the goodness of people by his brother.

Kxasi's father - Very knowledgeable hunter of the foresty lower plateau cliffs. Has his ancestry in the now-secluded Gorge Forest part of Kxayl society, so he is a knower of ancient ways. He's plural. Generational trauma because of past conflicts is strong here. Him and Kxasi resemble one another deeply.

Kxasi's mother - ...Is from the Plateau. Knows Kxasi's weaker side and feels protective of it.

Kxasi has two uncles and two aunts. But I'm tired of typing.

......

(REMINDER TO WRITE ABOUT THOSE "MISSING LINK SPECIES" THAT ARE TO NA'VI WHAT OTHER HOMININS ARE TO HUMANS, BUT WEIRDER AND MORE EXPANSIVE)

[mephitsguidetothemultiverse]

Hello. This is Archivist Jax. I was told a reference image was required for Skettil for this assignment. I do not have reference images of the Skettil because Mephit is behind on acquisitions paperwork for this project. Instead, have this drawing of an approximate shape of what a single Skettil looks like in their famous "compact" form. Don't be fooled, the model I sketched is the size of a bus and is hiding 250+ legs, pincers, claws, and various appendages underneath the portion of shell behind their head. I refuse to draw any unfolded version as each looks like a nightmare unless you're ready for it. A few more fun facts about these guys because they're one of my favorite things in the entire Multiverse:

Their mouth is on the bottom of their head. It is backwards facing so that the individual's appendages can grab food it walks over and push it into its mouth. When in space flight, they can depressurize their mouths to eat space gas and rocks, although they do not always eat at all. This is exactly as gross to watch as it sounds.

It is incredibly heavy. Like several hundred tons heavy. This makes fuel costs for transporting them expensive. As such, Skettil who have bound themselves as part of a ship's crew (generally navigation as they can survive in open space by curling into a pressurized multichambered ball and are also Ley sensitive enough to guide most ships) are one of three at most on average ships and ten at most on average space stations.

On a related note, all Skettil have wings and can perform Ley based space flight outside of a ship, but they are too heavy to fly very high or far. Instead, the Skettil have sophisticated and powerful rockets based on a fungal fuel engine they use to launch themselves for flight. If they are going spaceward, this then means they use the end momentum to fly to just below orbit. Next they release a held burst of air in a "shout" that acts and sounds like a jet engine to get all the way into orbit. Finally, they slingshot from orbit in the direction of the Ley Path or planet/moon they wish to go to next and settle in for long flight. The aforementioned space junk they eat in flight? Processed into a gas they shoot as jets to make necessary in-flight adjustments.

They don't always eat because they have three different sailcloth like organs they can spread to absorb solar, nuclear, thermal, and electromagnetic energy and process it. It is believed this was an adaptation to prevent their overeating as megafauna themselves. The Skettil seem to indicate this is how they became scavengers who process the remains of larger megafauna from Skettilex Prime into compost.

They all paint their shells in lieu of names as they have only a visual language and not a spoken one. However, since Skettil have a hierarchy of sorts based on age and size, and they never stop growing until they die, there exists one exception to this rule. The Elders, Sages, and Judges respectively are the categories of the third, second and first largest categories of Skettil. Each of these has a position of authority and a domain over which they are responsible for maintaining balance. As such, they have a sound of authority they make in order to announce use of their authority in the most trying of times. This sound, or rather its onomatopoeia, acts as a name for these esteemed Skettil.

Lastly and most importantly to me, they are all one gender. Each Skettil has a personal cycle of of going from asexual to an egg layer to asexual to an egg fertilizer. All of this happens by laying and spraying eggs in a method that is actually one of the least upsetting things to watch a Skettil do when not completely compact. That all said, Skettil have learned of other genders besides their unigender and have come to understand the concept of gender identity. The entire population of Skettil in the known universe have since come out as identifying as a race of men, despite having no genetic male of their species. Thus, these giant beetle puppies are also all transgender. As such, they have become a symbol of transgender pride in Universe 78735-Zala.

Last, if you're wondering why there isn't a catalogue number... Mephit is behind on acquisitions so I can't actually archive my own communications across the multiverse in our archive, ok? Not a big deal, I can just pin this to your local space time so you can read it anyways. Good luck, keep going, and goodbye for now.