#theres 3 white people including myself here

[dimonds456]

Fuck, you really don't realize how good you have it until you live in a racially diverse work environment.

In other news, I'm probably gonna be putting together a GoFundMe for a friend soon, so watch out for that.

[lizaluvsthis]

what is good about cnb? i see lots of a art thought i ask creator

Oh my- looks like we pulled a new curious person off the peeps!

(CnB) Coffee N' Bombs - Brewing Romance AU is an inspiration from the first full episode in the SMG4 Channel called "SMG4: SMG3'S BOMB CAFE"

I really liked the whole model and details from the inside and outside of Three's new Cafe and at first I've been picturing about Smg4 working there- but nahh he just worked there once its not like theres gonna be an au abou-

I came in tumblr a few months back and some anon asked me what kind of design SMG4's attire would be since he works as a waitress from Three's coffee n bombs.

For a second my mind went blank of what the uniform would look like so- I gave myself on and on about some few details getting inspired by watching some other episodes of SMG4's

So then- I made the hat and I thought of something that reminded me about- a reversible color!

(A few years back I bought this octopus which was cute and then I figured it was reversible by looking underneath and putting the detail here- I was like- ah Liz you're gonna make it look so special!)

Straight in to detail that the fabric used from this hat is silk, with polkadots! And it was made by Three :>

For the pride pins I also thought of- "hey- this is a crazy idea but what if I also created a pride pin next to his apron. But instead it's a bomb than just a regular circular pin." Then there represents Four having the bi bomb flag :)

The Apron is specifically made by me on which where its all gotta be purple themed since it is his cafe and everything is purple and purple to a color black!

For the shoes tho- I might've gave myself a try to say it's one of those glow in the dark classic shoes- glow in the dark has been my favorite types of stuff to look on or even paint, the nostalgic vibe of being a small kid having fun observing and using glow in the dark (bracelets) for example- is like a funny thing and a classic thing to have.

Then that calls for it. "Heck why not?"

Theres the bomb logo and also the spilled coffee logo, it was designed by our man Three to himself.

It feels sort of childish to put in when four complains about glow in the dark having it as a childish thing- good thing three back fires in about his shoes having wheels XD (it might seem to be for kids but its all for ages and above ^^)

The gloves were designed for funziez and making it feels like getting sent back on the themed black and white (sia or melanie martinez the hair color or if you fancy it enough going back to the earliest movies that has black and white colors)

Even putting on a aymbol of "S.U.L." on the back of the gloves and Four's "IV" roman numeral signature on the palm of his gloves.

And even for the tiniest detail from his hairtie having the color of red and his slit pants on the ends. (Also including the part of the three-beaned pin that only four made it special for him and three only)

Lets put up the post!

This inspired so much from the design that my followers or other people had want to try it out!

Then coming upon the reply from @shygirl4991 therefore the AU was born/created, they thought about wanting to write about this cafe au and I let them in for ideas and for writing the fic. :D

I pulled out a new attire for Three's outfit (ngl he looks like purp-

And now there is- the release of the first chapter-

Before the first chapter- Shay gave it a title of "Brewing Romance" since its a silly fic for these two gay boys working together on the cafe :>

Again I'm only an artist who does doodles or design stuff the real person who created this is @shygirl4991 by mentioning it as "Cafe AU" thats where it's been born :)

CnB Brewing Romance AU is a fun space for our two fruits getting together and such ^^ this AU is made for fun relating to also the cafe shop itself.

(We'd also like to thank you for all of the artists who made those lovely fanarts <3)

To the point where I accidentally created a meme out of the two.

Man behind the coffee/memes (slaughter) as smg3

And the Fish Flounder as Smg4

If people would like to put their ocs there for fun you can make art out of it.

(Shoot I'm making it longer- AHHGGR)

Whats cnb br au?

Its a silly au me and shay made and made it alive for the shippers

Whats good about it?

The two gay boys

The designed details from their attires

Karen.

Bringing from the fic for angst/fluff

Whose Idea was the fic?

All on for Shay ^^

Who created it?

I did the design mostly people thought it was all on me but its shay's :)

When is the date of creation?

December 9, 2023

Can we make fanarts out of it?

Yes you can by mentioning/tagging me and @shygirl4991

Whats in it for this au?

Me and Shay collaborated this

These two boys

The whole ass journey and coming into developments

Karen?

Yes. She works here :) design of hers will come out soon tho.

What about the other characters like Mario?

Oh they will come out- as side characters only :>

Where does this AU focus on?

Dealing with trauma

Four getting a job since he's broke af

The past memories

Development - Chemistry

Changing.

How does putting our ocs in the au work?

You can put your oc for ex. Ordering, chilling on le table, sipping your coffee, idk pay for those bombs(?), commit arso-, selfie on yourself (if you have any other ocs you'd want to add- you can), pride bombs, make yourself as an employee i guess? All whatever your choices.

Except-

NSFW - GENERAL S3XU4LIZING

Oc x canon is allowed now yay

Spaghetti. Spaghetti is not available in a coffee shop.

Does this au contain with the canon events/arc?

It has the arc and event but it contains non-canon creation. Due to some remake of the scenes.

Did luke approved of this?/j

Not yet :)

I'm not even sure if he uses tumblr atp

Do you have any other works of yours and shay about this au?

I am planning on making a side fic that'll come out very soon

Theres a quick doodle/sketch about it

Some personal diary or info Three picks up (including sticky notes)

Shay is still working and doing their best for the future chapters 'u'

‽

What happens in the future chapter?

You'll have to wait and see. (Again I keep getting this even relating about zero that is a spoiler I'm not trying to be like gooseworx here pls stop-)

Wait what memes are you talking about?

Fnaf for Man behind the slaughter but instead it's SMG3 being the one whose purple guy and is called Man Behind The Coffee

Flounder from Ariel whose a fish and Four looked like one because of his ponytail looking like the fish's tail

What orders do they have in there?

Coffee:

Normal Coffee

Special White Mocha

Matcha Gun Powder Latte

Soy Boy Flat White

Al Pacino

Wake me up before you cocoaf

Morning Brown

Cyanide Supreme Latte

Titanium Black (trust me you don't want to try this)

café minuit (midnight)

Bombs:

Tsar Bomba

Hydrogen bomb

Fat man

Little Boy

Refined uranium

Saturnist Capurn

NUKE CHONK (DONT-)

Displays/Collections/Accessories:

Eggdog plush

Smg3 mugs

Pride Bombs

Stickers

A button. (Do it at your own risk)

Foodies/Food/Snacks:

Non-Donut (its invisible but more of an air food)

Gun powdered donut (white or brown)

Shinkled donut

Pieced- cake

Chompstick (chocolate stick)

Breed Bread (it has raisins)

KWASON (croissant)

Waffu Daffus (waffles)

DEADLY DUNGLE (its a spiciest donut I warned you.)

Nomul Chaki (a "normal" chocolate...)

Whats something that was mentioned from the design?

Terrance.

Did you plan on making this au?

Nope but for some reason we're here thanks to my artwork and shay :DD

Does PuzzleVision or TV Adware exist in this?

No.

Will the side characters make an appearance?

...

Is it true that Karen and Meggy both gossip about the boys?

Yep- kinda hilarious now that Karen's here, she observes.

Where'd you get that idea about Karen and Meggy?

@anartisticalniche

Where can I see the fanarts section?

In my Introduction Page :)

Why don't you post this to twitter?

Twitter is for talking/rants

Tumblr is to share the post you want to share.

Plus twitter for me is a "not-safe-app" regardless on people sending death threats and doxxing. (Even elon musk.)

I'm not tryna reach out for Luke's attention when it comes to CnB I just did this for fun :3

Are you still hyped that they're still making the cafe shop's appearance?

Yes. You have NO idea.

How do you and shay feel about it?

Very- super- brain- storming ideas on the gays and the plots also the notes- we love this progress ^^

The gayness/fruitiness of these two

Will you and Shay be planning on something more than just CnB?

Shh-

Funny to ask but how old are you while collaborating this work?

I'm a minor-

Don't you find it weird to be friends with adults? Or having them as your fans?

(I get these asks alot) my final answer is no.

There are some other adults who are predators out there but not in my sight. I keep a closer eye on that. And I don't allow pedos or groomers here.

I don't really see what the problem is about when an adult likes a minor's work. It's artwork and most of ems crave for the ship and the ship itself its basically a free fun type for people who likes it. (Age regressor say no more cuz its all free to have fun here)

I have no idea why I made this too long but please carry on your glasses people-

[jalo-parker]

I would like to hear your species assignment for xisuma and ex ^-^

Going to put a cut in this one cause omg it's going to be a lot.. so be prepared to read I suppose 😁😁 (came back to add after I finished writing that yes, this is pretty long..) (if you don't want to read the species info, xisuma is a voidwalker and ex is part voidwalker part Estrial)

Ok so ex and xisuma are both voidwalkers. Well ex is a little more than just a voidwalker but we'll get to that.

First up: voidwalkers + xisuma

So voidwalkers are a thing that I somewhat made up by myself (combination of me making things up and taking bits and pieces from media and other people's ideas). Basically to sum it up; there are 3 species of voidwalker end, overworld, and nether (cause yes all of the lore in my head is based on Minecraft to some degree). There are two types of end voidwalker though! Royals are one kind and the others are just called voidwalkers cause yeah idk. The main difference between royals and the others are the horns. Royals have horns and others don't (with a few exceptions but again we'll get there) so this does mean that x does not have horns. Another reason is x is actually an overworld voidwalker! So no overworld or nether voidwalkers have horns, though I'm thinking of giving nether ones like spikes or something cause nether = more dangerous in my brain (also yeah this species is slightly a wip.. oopsies).

The difference between the 3 different void walker species would be; overworld voidwalkers are a bit smaller in their void forms (most voidwalkers can shift between void forms and more human looking ones) something like a bit taller than your average human (think kinda like endermen) and have a bit more speckly star bits. They all have like average length fur here, though it's said that some of them can grow longer or shorter fur depending on their environments!

Nether voidwalkers are a bit taller, are typically more warm toned, most have spikes (yeah I'm giving them spikes actually), and have much shorter or no fur at all, some even have scales!

End voidwalkers are the biggest of the bunch, most of them towering over your average human. Royals are even bigger! My sona (weird case of both technically being a voidwalker and also not being one) is a royal and his void form is 9ft tall! These guys look the most like endermen, some of them even have purple speckles instead of white ones. Though most end voidwalkers barely even have speckles. Royals also have distinct markings and some have a weird little halo thingy in their void forms so there's no chance for anyone to confuse a royal for any other voidwalker. End voidwalkers probably have the longest fur of the bunch, it's pretty cold in the void here.

Void forms would be ones like this where the entire body is just a void (sometimes including their clothes sometimes not idk) (also impulse is here, he's not a voidwalker though)

And the more human looking ones would be like these where their tails and some extremities are voids. Each voidwalker has differing levels of void bits in this form. So some of them could only have void tails or maybe they have a lot more void, like their hair, their arms and legs, pretty much everything like their void form but theres now a bit that isn't void.

Also here's the royal markings (ft a couple other examples of voidwalkers and my sonas cat friend)

Voidwalkers live in the voids of their respective dimensions btw! Though now in the age of technology and exploration some voidwalkers live in other voids (like a nether voidwalker in the end or the overworld) and some of them don't live in the void at all! Hence the ones in the overworld getting different fur lengths based on their environments as the void stays around the same temperature everywhere (like one temperature for each dimension) so they wouldn't have changed there.

Ok I think that's all on voidwalkers.. uh if you have questions feel free to ask away I might be able to answer (if the question is "can I make my own voidwalker" the answer is always yes)

So now: evil xisuma + voidwalker hybrids

Now that voidwalkers live everywhere, there are more beings who are part voidwalker and part some other thing (maybe even multiple other things)! This is where you start getting voidwalkers with extra limbs, voidwalkers that aren't royals but they have horns, voidwalkers with slightly different features than normal, and voidwalkers who have next to no voidwalker features (a bit more rare as voidwalker genes tend to make themselves known one way or another).

Ex is not just a voidwalker, he's also an Estrial (another species I made up, they require their own post though.. too much info for just one post..)!

Ex happens to have tiny little horns (they would have a bigger pair but the voidwalker genes make them a bit smaller), fluffy ears that somewhat resemble cat ears, and a tail that's extra fluffy. It also has a pair of wings and an elemental power (provided by the Estrial genes) though most winged beings can magic their wings away for convenience (they can bring them back whenever) and ex very much does this. His elemental power is fire btw, though ex only really knows the lightning wielding aspect of this (cause lightning powers = cool and ex is cool).

Ok that should be everything.. again if you have questions do ask I will gladly answer, I like letting the thoughts out. If anyone wants to know about Estrials.. ask and you shall receive, but be prepared for another very long text post with a few images.. I'll make a species sheet for both voidwalkers and Estrials eventually (emphasis on eventually..)

[dundeey]

Saudi & Swiss gal here, hi :-)! I noticed you were Dutch and from the Middle East, so i found it fit to ask you. Well, if you're not comfortable answering this one, then that is totally OK, too! 🫶🏻

If I may ask? How does one keep in touch with their roots whilst being a mixie living in Europe? Or at least, what is the experience like there for you? I've lived in Switzerland my entire life— born and raised actually— and I'm still treated like an outsider.

Also, I see you like Transformers too! Haha, I'm definitely obsessed with it a "normal" amount 😉

wow, didnt expect this kind of ask today. interesting question, thanks for asking.

sadly im afraid i dont have much of an answer for you; i think we're in the same boat. i was born and raised here, but im also treated like an outsider a lot of the time. theres a derogatory term here used to describe "foreigners", but that includes children of immigrants, and i fall under this term. which is a really weird feeling, knowing that im not viewed as a true dutch person by a lot of the country. its even weirder when i then go online and have people claiming im "white" after they see my pictures. like, i get that im lightskinned, but ive never been treated like a white - and be extension, dutch- person in my own country, even without them knowing of my heritage. i get addressed in english all the time, too, even though i myself am sick of hearing english speaking tourists all around me. its frustrating.

i feel in touch with my iranian heritage through my father, but uh, not to overshare, but im not as in touch with him as i used to be. so my "iranian side" is mostly rooted in nostalgia; iranian childrens books, movies and classes. so yeah, i dont really have a good answer for you. 😔

i rarely meet people like us so i appreciate you coming to talk to me about this, its nice <3 makes me feel less alone. and 🤝 transformers!!!

[autisticseaserpent]

I watched the first episode of extraordinary attorney woo. Here are my thoughts.

1. The set up with her as a kid is the worst most tropey part of the show. Though I would say keep watching it gets better. They do rely on the autistic genius trope a bit much. Like they could do the same premise with the law is a special interest and she’s really smart. Even setting that up in childhood makes sense. Rather than she has a photographic memory and her first words when she’s 5 are multiple complete sentences from a law book. (tis a stretch) Otherwise they got a lot of things right with the acting. The actress that plays her as a child did a good job. The details with the visual stimming and the autism shuffle and the trampoline were chef’s kiss. Someone did their research.

2. So when we first see her as an adult. All the whales in her room are a+. The other tropey thing that bothered me the most is the having to have everything perfectly straight thing. Where does that come from? Pretty much every autistic person I know is a bit of a mess, including myself. It’s a recurring gag so you won’t escape it watching this show. Seriously does anyone know a neurodivergent person like that? But they get the details right once again she sleeps with earplugs in and wears headphones when out and about and her Dad cut off the tag on her jacket and when she goes down the stairs she does the going down them one at a time thing.

3. Seriously, the actress playing Woo did a fantastic job. She got so many things right. I never got the sense that anything was exaggerated. She genuinely read as autistic to me. The fact that the her performance embraces the awkward (with a female main character. In media it’s so easy for female characters to get stuck in a cute or sexy box and she’s just allowed to be awkward). That her autism is conveyed in how she moves and that she is always moving. In a lot of media the default is to portray autistic characters as stiff and unmoving. Literally, a couple of months ago I was watching the thanksgiving day parade and they had a sesame street musical number. And I was watching the autistic character they have and got a sense that something was off and then it hit me. All the other puppets were doing their cartoony idle animations to the music and the autistic puppet was barely moving. Which in my experience is the opposite of how autistic people convey that they’re enjoying things. She really nailed how autistic people express their emotions through movement. The autistic eye contact, I’ve never seen someone get that right. a. she never makes “proper eye contact” with anyone. Not her love interest or her dad b. There’s variation in how much she looks at people depending on how comfortable she is. When she’s interacting with her boss theres times where she’s not looking at him at all and she’s generally looks towards her dad when talking to him. Which is how it’s been for me. Seriously this is the first time I’ve seen how I move and interact with people actually on television.

4. They got special interests and infodumping right. They got same foods right. They got struggling with simple things like revolving doors right. I definitely did the same thing when I was a kid of just repeatedly coming out where I came in. (the adult version is having to unlock something as part of your job.) Which is something that I haven’t seen done with your typical stiff white guy autistic characters and I don’t know why because it is a good comedy set up.

5. Literally how people react to her at work is every experience I’ve ever had at a job. I’ve been in the awkward situation of basically I have to disclose otherwise I’ll just get dinged more for it. I’ve had people who hadn’t even see me with clients prejudge me as incompetent because of it. How her coworkers think either she’s a dumbass or faking it, oof, that’s close to home.

So in conclusion, it’s good, watch it!

[spinaroos-47]

How do you design the outfits for people (like your GG ocs and young Darius/Eberwold and stuff) They're all so pretty!!

Thank you! I was actually thinking of one day making a post about how i make up witchy outfits! This ask isnt going to be that but Im glad to answer my process!

In short, its a lot of observation, references and extrapolating from there

And here's the long version:

For younger Darius and Eber i mostly did small changes to these outfits i did when they were even younger, around 17, with some changes + adding some flare of their current outfits as well

And in turn, for Darius' outfit i took inspiration from the photo in reaching out where he's booing Alador + the boots he used in TTBK.

Eber was mostly improvised, kept the main aspects of his current outfit (and the hollow mind one too), the raggedy bits, shorts/skirts, no sleeves, little boots, wrist things, and implemented them in different ways

And also on these i started adding details they have now, like the wrist bands on Eber and a cape + white gloves for Darius

(plus i had been sketching some ideas for casual outfits for current Darius and those have been inspired by the outfits I have for a non toh oc of mine because they kinda fit Darius' vibe and he also has a bit of diamond shape motif like Darius. That's where the sash thing comes from)

(titty window was a suggestion from a friend)

Another important thing i keep doing on a lot of characters is that a common shape for the neck of the shirts is V that Hunter, Lilith and many other characters have. Its all over the place when you stop to look for it. And other really common thing is that theres a lot of long shirts that have a belt or waitsband, extremely common

I did answer a bit of how I designed Cain and Salem's outfits here but in short, it was a lot of referencing both Hunter's outfits, concept art for coven scouts/Hunter (i actually found more concept art for coven scouts but haven't took the time to really absorb them) and also the hollow mind portraits.

Something I haven't shown a lot here yet is that Ive designed casual outfits for all my main four GGs (sorry Alexander and William, you're too hard for me to design stuff for now :'3) which was really helpful on figuring out on what feels like Boiling Isles' fashion. Might do a post about my process on that + the uniforms of my other GGs and their physical appearances

(fun fact, Cain has a lot of stuff that I drew on older versions of Hunter, including the scar across the eye)

So yeah, lots of observation, references and a healthy dose of extrapolation and improvising. And taking vibes from other places helps too. I think even some stuff from my old Hunter aus have seeped into some of these designs too, like the Hunter Whispers outfit, looks pretty similar to the 17 year old Darius outfit i did so it was probably an unconscious reference (which also, remembering again, i did also base on the shape of his hollow mind shirt. See, i keep remembering things that are or could have been inspirations for these things fjsndnd)

But its also a thing you have to get some practice going on before it feels right and turns into something easy to do

I myself have struggled a lot with Darius' outfit on his early 20s, this is actually the fourth attempt or so. Here's the previous attempt, from before i decided to make him younger than Cain + his outfit at 17 because i also found it while looking for the other photo and i don't think i posted that drawing before

His hair was a challenge to decide. But im happy with the final result!

Here you go, a bit of the process i go through!

[monarchisms]

a large chunk of writers in the ah community (hell a large chunk of the ah community full stop) are white and it shows in how a good sum of them write non-white characters. its an issue in all fanfiction about non-white characters/people written by white people. often theyre reduced make them one-note, one joke, one purpose narrative tools that often rely on weird racist fanon that interprets them as uwu smol beans or total evil bad!!! no matter what role said character might play in the story. theres no development or character study, no room for complex ideas and concepts. its something white writers (myself included) need to unlearn because from learning about this from bipoc whp are creators that i know, ive learnt just how blatant it is (especially when it comes to black people in fandom and the treatment of black characters. thats a WHOLE connected and massive issue).

I'm glad you've pointed this out in the AH fandom because the way people choose still to focus on ryans character instead of the many new personalities and members that have been added in the recent year is incredibly telling about where the focus lies. Racism isn't just the blatant stuff we see on reddit. It's ingrained and needs active work to unlearn and it should be recognised and rectified if spaces like these are going to be made safe for BIPOC who are fans and/or creators.

:) <3

i have a bad habit of putting the most important stuff i want to say in the tags, especially in regards to subjects like racism in fandom, and part of that is due to the fear of being harassed. going forward, i'm going to try to kill that habit, because i've truly been through a lot of shit; from everything with haywood since last october, to the constant, rampant attacks towards mica, fiona, ky, bk, and every other member, guest, and fan of color since i first joined the fandom back in early 2014, and much longer before i even joined. hell, i rarely mention that i'm black because of all this shit. i'm still scared of being harassed, but at this point, i truly have nothing to lose.

frankly, a reason why a decent chunk of the AH fandom, and any fandom in general, are white is because fans of color just don't feel safe. either that, or they're ran out of what they thought was an inclusive, welcoming community due to the harassment they received. in the worst case scenario, that harassment can lead to someone taking their own life, but that's considered too taboo to talk about in a white-dominated fandom space.

the beef i personally have with fanfiction writers in this community is, along with everything you've said, that they treat the real people they're writing about as purely fictional ocs. this is why i believe that people are still writing the vagabond or the mad king or whatever fucking character ryan came up with as if it were their own. they use the bullshit "separate the art from the artist" excuse because they know what they're doing is wrong, but they don't care enough to stop. they just want to find some lame justification to get away with it. it's the same thing when general fans, especially white fans, pretend the blatantly racist comments they spew are totally fine because, in their words, "it's just criticism."

they're too stubborn to change. and i guess, so am i, in a way? despite everything, i'm still here, because no matter what, i'm too stubborn to leave.

[thedevilliers]

this is less a tutorial and more a semi in-depth explanation on my process while taking screenies. my do’s and don’ts about lightning, angles, text/dialogue, close-ups and other!

as a disclaimer, anyone is free to take their screenies however they want and this is just my personal preference and opinions ♡ everything is under the cut! i did say its LONG so dont say i didnt warn u 😳

i use the nobluv2 and noglo mods by luumia! i recommend them 100000%

1. lightning

with its exceptions, this being i’m in a room with candles/chandelier/anything that doesnt naturally produce a white light OR ambiance reasons, my setting with screenies is with the ‘Neutral White’ color. this is for me, more visually appealing than just bathing your sim in yellow light.

EXAMPLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

warmer white:

poor lit:

good <3:

i usually test my lightning before i actually take any screenies so my sim is well-lit but also preventing overexposure bc of the lighting. an example of overexposure is when for example the lighting is SO strong, your sim looks like its ‘shining’

you can see it here on her chest highlights, her arm and her cheeks. i exaggerated it here so its more obvious. fixing overexposure is HARDER than upping the brightness in a poor-lit screenshot. overexposure and makin sims look like they are SHINING is a crime. JAIL

the best light ever tbh. just dont get... to carried away

1.2 outdoor lightning

this is one a bit trickier depending on your location but USUALLY your screenies would look well dark. again, test lightning before actually shooting screenies! i generally look for a lamp posts that have good lightning and shrink them down so if im taking angled shots, it doesnt get in the way. change the color to neutral white and if its too much lightning, just lower the dimmer:

2. just no

just no to all this:

in general, you can ZOOM to the max, and with the scroll-wheel zoom out THREE TIMES. four times we on the edge but its still acceptable. five times and you are goin to JAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

in general i also recommend having a semi-big room so you can move around without any problems. small rooms DO work but chances are while moving around you’re either going to go outside the room, run into a plant in the shot or into another decor item.

for example, this is a ‘small’ room. while taking photos i have run into the bookshelves for over the shoulder shots like 8000 times. still, doable, but why put myself thru the suffering>?????

2.2 fill the room

nothin sadder than, for example, doing a bedroom scene and there just being...a bed. the game comes with so much clutter and theres also a lot of clutter cc to make rooms seem more ‘lived in’. its also a lot more visually appealing than the room being empty.

3. angles for screenies

my controversial OPINION!!!! i dont care for FULL surroundings shots for more than for a singular panel. THERE I SAID IT!!! usually i show the surroundings/scene setting in ONE panel and then i move on to other angles. again, has exceptions. these being a banquet, party, ball, another sim joins the scene, montages, etc! ANYWHERE that has something happening with multiple people in general.

for example, i don’t see why repeat the same angle with different poses. i can do it for one panel, but for the next ones? there’s the option of over the shoulder shots,  detail shots, them looking at each other shots, cinammon tography shots........... more than likely your reader already has an idea of where your characters are so showing it in every single panel is not necessary.

always try and leave a lil breathin room for the heads on top so it isnt all CRAMPED! but this all depends on the pose, if theres a height difference included in said poses and the angle you are taking the screenshot from!

same thing about not just doing...full on surrounding shots for when something is HAPPENING. say, someone is fainting, collapsing...ANYTHIN!! theres so many shot options than just repeating the same angle over and over again. DONT BE SHY!!!! DO VARIETY !!!

we in photography class now. BUT yes keep these in mind ALSO while taking photos so it isnt just the same angle, same distance just different pose. your sim has a nice outfit? showing it once is enough! every panel? ummmm......... your sim is crying?  do a medium close up/medium shot and not a full body shot!

3.1 close ups

your close ups and ALL screenies in general, don’t have to be FRONTAL only. they can be right/left side, a lil angled...

waist/chest level is a good level for a close-up sim wise since if you ZOOM in too much WELL

4. text/dialogue

i’d recommend any SANS-SERIF fonts. serif fonts are so hard to read even if nice looking. usually a font-size of over 40px+ works and you can add outside stroke and even drop shadow!

i personally use calibri (bold italic) for my screenies, but other subtitle fonts like arial, myriad pro, helvetica...really any sans-serif ones work.

my stroke settings:

i also wouldn’t recommend putting 4000 word paragraphs in ONE screenie because it’s just visually exhausting. the MAXIMUM i’d do and thats if ABSOLUTELY necessary is FOUR!!!! lines of text. id keep it to three ONLY and thats if your text is the same size as mine. if bigger then two 😳

yes <3:

another no-no for readability is INSIDE stroke or adding bevel/emboss to the text. pick bright, contrasting colors to the background or even clothes your characters are wearing so it’s not hard to read.

something a lil extra i also recommend is if your dialogue has different sentences and one ends and another one starts in the same line, continue it on another line. DOES THIS MAKE SENSE ok lets see:

the “Yes, maybe I went on [...]” continues on the first line, but to make it a bit easier to read just press enter and move it to the second line so it’s on it’s own line.

same thing for the "Be nice or [...]” line! it gets cut off to the third line anyways, so just put it in a singular line. final result:

for me, this is easier to read, less I GUESS ‘immersion breaking’  and easier on the eyes too.

and just other quick things to keep in mind:

will the post be horizontal or vertical? if its vertical, you have to angle and move the camera around keeping in mind you’re going to crop it later. yes, the scenary might be nice if its horizontal, but a lil vertical photo is cute!

best times for OUTDOOR lightning photos are 2pm-4pm. morning light is a bit too dark, 12 pm is the slightest too bright, but 2pm-4pm is just ENOUGH!!!

and thats all : ) i THINK i talked about most things screenies wise??? if you have questions, my askbox is always open : ) and remember these are just my opinions : )

[ethoslut]

I'm not the same anon but I'd also love to know about your OCs :]

OKAY SO these are more or less in the order i created them. so here we go this is gonna be <33 long<33 and also if u wanna ask anything more PLEASE do cuz im trying to keep this answer. not a whole book just maybe an essay also im gonna put it all under read more so its not annoyign to scroll over<3 also if u read all this. i love you and if u wanna ask anything more cuz there a big chance i didnt mention sth even tho it is There Canonically is bc i wanted to keep this short. and its 2.5k words anyways. so <3

theres mira (she/her) whos a bisexual trans girl whos also the mom friend but not fully like she WILL yell at you to shower and eat something but also she will do a drug run if u dont want to. also between helping an idiot cook pasta and having to quickly and efficiently hide a body guess which one of those skills is used more<3 and also her last names farren also also. shes 183cm (6'0) tall and shes fat an also mostly wears grey/monochrome. also mostly sweatpants and loose shirts. also she was my first oc and bc of her once canonically owning a grey shirt with a lennyface on it i got myself a shirt like that. so<3 also she has a dog but its a schroedingers dog in a way that it depends if i wanna include the dog. but i do know what dog is it and its a medium mutt that has sth from a frenchie but not fully and shit<3 also i got at least one angry anon abt her cuz shes transfem and im not and i made her fat and im a terf apparently bc of that??

and then theres leo (he/him) whos miras older brother and also his middle names isaac and hes the reason why mira has to teach a grown man how to live cuz leo is just. a fucking idiot. a golder retriever himbo. and also if u think of any of the boys will be boys tik toks or sth thats just him<3 hes also trans like mira and so they did the good ol switcharoo to their parents but their parents died when leo was like 7 and mirai was like 5 but thats a whole other thing but also hes slightly shorter than mira (hes 180cm/5'10) and he cries and wails about it all the time and just to annoy him mira loves to call him a short king even tho hes not actually short and also he plays the guitar and looks like a white dad on holidays with hawaiian/bad pattern shirts and beige cargo shorts and shit and also he canonically a boyfriend whos my besties for like 8 years??? and theyre both just awful i love them also i wrote a fic where leos a singer n shit and ginger (his bf) is like a sound dude??? or sth?? idk but they go on tours and shit and it was fun but fun fact i gave it to my polish teacher for a grade and it was like 44 A4 pages in arial size 11. and she read it all.

then theres ayako (she/her) whos full name is sulika ayako hitomi and just… my beloved. i love her so much. shes this energetic extroverted bitch and shes llike 185cm/6'0 but usually wears platforms or heels or so and theres a tiktoker who looks EXACTLY like her and even acts like her and is basically ayako irl (imanixnick specifically the ones where they have the pink/purple wig) and shes been miras besties forever and when mira came out she was helping her with makeup and bc they both lived in like. poorish suburbs where people barely accept black and queer people ayako was going with mira to the stores and shit and she was buying clothes for her before mira started passing as a girl enough not to get weird looks and also she's my only cishet oc and after leo transitioned she used to have a MASSIVE crush on him and she went. design wise. from a skinny white straight hair fangirl but then i wanted to give her very curly hair cuz it just Fit and then i settled on giving her an afro and realized white people dont have. afros. so she went thru Stuff also she will mix five billion accessories together and steal lip gloss from chain stores and go to raves and try and make mira wear other stuff than sweatpants also shes. canonicaly does have cat ears and tail<3

then theres nakka (they/them) whos full name is nakka faye and i think i got their name from going to google translate and going with shit like fox/coyote/etc to random languages until i find sth that sounds cool cuz theyre autistic as fuck (which. they are i just didnt know that when i made them) and for comfort they just wear a fox onesie or so and they dont swear much bc they just dont like it but they Do Swear Sometimes. also they like doin makeup stuff and theyre Good at it and theyre also pretty short cuz theyre like 156cm (5'1) or so and they volunteer at a shelter and bring random pets home to get them used to it and help them get adopted and also they work at a coffee shop in the same building as their apartment just like downstairs and theyre also not white like ayako and they help mira out with cooking and stuff cuz they actually got their shit together more than leo or ayako and theyre just. baby i luv them they dont have Much character cuz theyre just chilling but i love them so much anyway

theres also truce!! (they/he) and uh he is. maybe just MAYBE i made them after listening to truce 21pilots and was like yes i need an overthetop emo fucker. but then they kinda got more character and shit also just like miras dog truce has wings but only when i feel like it<3 also theyre 168cm/5'6 and just. skinny with emo fringe u google emo boy and its just them. they also have two boyfriends but abt them later and also theyre depressed and anxious and all that stuff that emo boys have and also their wings are like. when he has them. its a black to white gradient and honestly the wings would be Absolutely Canon if i fucking knew how to draw wings. cuz its just fun<3 also i designed him right. and then it hit me. google phil lester 2009. thats what they look like down to side of the fringe and eye colour<3 also they like designing clothes and shit and also they like bothering ceres (their bf) with emo knowledge and stuff and also theyre kinda a Whore so theyre the one i go to when i wanna sketch like. yknow. idk i have a drawing of them from like 2 yrs ago in like a full on harness and stuff and their first deisgn had like. uhh open shoulder?? like wide head hole that goes down the arms of like flowy bright blue material or sth and it just stayed until i made him a whore. oh also their full name is truce caspian blemish. yes. iknow. also hes bisexual<3

and theres ceres!!! (he/whatever) and fun fact i couldnt come up with a last name for him and my bestie came up with just it being ceres moon. cuz his first design had like silver rings around his head and also his whole thing was like spacey and his hair is like dark blue and its either in a bun cuz he has shaved sides or just messy cuz why not also hes 186cm/6'1<3 and also. hes a schizophernic bipolar drug addict. and truces boyfriend<33 also he just. barely functions. but bc truce is also Not Well and they care abt each other they kinda. both had to get slightly better and stuff even tho truce does have suicide attmepts like once a month lmao and ceres just got used to that even tho its not Great and they just vibe together and get high and drunk and jump to music even tho truce listens to emo shit and ceres listens to like. soundcloud rappers. and also he loves to annoy mira by stumbling drunk into her apartment to look around for Something he doesnt remember and mira is just. so used to it so she knows how to deal w him and just either lets him sleep it off and takes him back to truce before ceres gets drunk again and he like. has a whole backstory when it comes to like drug abuse and stuff lmao also!! hes just. queer he doesnt like labels much and he just doesnt really give a shit abt it also he has multiple ear piercings and snake bites<3 also he has a beard like not a long one but its There

and!!! theres william. william aaron nowell (he/him) whos also truces boyfriend and ceres's boyfriend and hes a punk vampire and hes 191cm/6'3 and he was born in like first half of 1700s (either 30s or 40s i never remember) and was changed bc of an accident when he was coming home and then just. long story short fucked around until he met the others blah blah blah but he got. quite a reputation for killing cops and stuff to the point where whnever hes Caught which. he chooses to be caught sometimes for fun the cops are either like "uh oh" and leave him alone OR if they do decide to fuckin arrest him theyre like uhh. uhm. well. uh. and sometiems bc william (also if u call him will hes gonna get pissed off) likes to just Fuck Off Who Knows Where from time to time sometimes mira gets a phone call from like. argentina from him like yo ye im fine anyway ticket money to come back?? but like. both ceres and truce are fine with williams disappearing cuz. he tends to like bring back idk Fancy Kinds of Weed so ceres and truce are like yep thatll do thanks but also they know william just gets. bored and annoyed if he has to be in one place for too long. also he likes to make fun of truce for havin a vampire kink (as a mcr fan does) and having a vampire bf and also im writing a fic w all three of them and the thing rn is that both truce and ceres Died and william has to decide if he wants to make them vampires which isnt That Easy<3 also he has a bunch of piercings and a tattoo of a pentagram on the side of his head

then theres cassie!! (he/him) his full name is trevor cassidy actually but he goes by cassie cuz at one point one of his friends called him cassie and he was like oh actually i like that more than trevor thanks even tho it was kinda. making fun of him cuz hes a pop punk rejceted sum41 member lookin ass and was kinda feminine when he was younger so it was a case of "haha girl name" and he was like noo its MY name now fuck you<3 anyway hes also not white and has vitiligo and his hair is like. dyed green hair but not fully cuz his roots are like half the length and the green is like. washed off and yellowish and also hes just. living off energy drinks and chips he also like. has always been kinda intimidated by william so when truce was like "oh yea u know ceres but my other bf williams gonna come over" cassie was like oh god hes cooler than me and also cassie is nonbinary but he still uses he/him just bc hes comfortable with that but hes stil nb. and also he plays guitar and bass also i dont think i said but hes like 175cm/5'8 and hes the second out of my 2 Bearded ocs not bc he Wants to have a beard but usually he just. forgets to shave he prefers his face shaven but sometimes he just. doesnt do that<3

theres also pixie!! (xe/xem) and xes ayakos best friend and xes a black scene kid who looks like a monster can and xes first design had xem have like green tongue and ngl i feel like. just for fun. im gonna keep xem having a green tongue<3 also xe doesnt have much like backstory and shit cuz i havent worked on xem much unfortunately but. xes ayakos bestie and they steal lip gloss and earrings together and go to raves and hang out and stuff and ayako does xes hair and they exchange earrings sometiees and just. ayako and mira are best friends since forever but theyre different besties than pixie and ayako cuz yknow its different when u have a Whole Life bestie and a not whole life bestie and also xes like 170cm more or less? which is almost 5'7. and xe met ayako cuz they were both shoplifting and just made eye contact and then security thought theyre together like friends so they were yelled at and had to leave together and ayako was like what were u getting tho and pixie was like uhh earrings these ones:D and ayako goes YOOO u wanna go for bubble tea or sth and hit up another claires and then they just started hanging out together<3

theres also eden (it/its) whos my main minesona and it has SO much story to it but it was mostly made for a smp im in but anyway. its like. has no hesitation murdering people and have killed before and also i Could go off abt its minecraft lore bc its connected but basically its like. goes off on trading values? like u give it something itll give back but also if u hurt it or give it shit it WILL fuck you up completely bc it has no sense of Holding Back and basically. it Does exist in the same universe (?) as the rest as seen in the fucking fic ill never finish i mean</3 and its like. this 210cm/6'11 fucker with fucked up burnt wings and red eyes that glow sometimes and claws and Mutations and general fuckupery<33 but yea it has a backstory its just Minecraft long story short it was an experiment to make the player better the science place got blown up by accident it survived bc its dna is mixed w like piglin brutes and other shit but there was redstone radietionm so it got radiated and yeeted to the nether and its first experience with Society were piglins and thats why its value system works like that

but talkin abt minecraft ocs theres also kierah (they/them) whos just There and has horns and was a minecraft oc first but now its Just an Oc but they dont have basically. anything done abt them so<3 i also have like a fursona designed but its not an oc cuz im trying to stop myself from making furry ocs cuz im not a furry artist

[moons-and-stars-and-shit]

hi !! can I please get a 🍰?

i just came across of you writing and it is so cute !! (´-﹏-`；) every post made me feel all warm & fuzzy inside ~ please feel free to totally ignore this if this isn't the proper way to ask or if you already closed your request (also I'm sorry if you already closed your request I didn't noticed) . Also sorry if this has any grammatical errors or if the descriptions don't make sense, english isn't my first language.

so, uhm, to begin my name is elliot (she/her) I'm 5'4, I'm from argentina (south america) i speak spanish & english (among other languages) idk how much I'm supposed to put on here so I'm just going to describe myself as redacted as possible. (Don't know if this is necessary but I'm jewish ¿) ^_________^

I have short brown wavy hair, just a couple of centimeters below my ears, i have bangs, I'm very pale ¿ not chubby but also not skinny average if i may say so. My fashion style changes from time to time but i usually wear clothing in the range of black to white, also sometimes I like trying whatever aesthetic is going around at the time.

Personality wise I'm pretty calm at first, i'm not very good with getting to know new people so I try to be as quite as possible but once I get comfortable i tend to be very loud, i like making my friends laugh since i think that's the most sincere way of knowing they talk to me because they like me. I would say I'm like the mom friend/therapist friend since i really like helping and listening people talk. I love having deep conversations with friends/loved ones, they give me this sense of connection nothing else can give me. I am very blunt and it usually comes off as rude but i try to sugar-coat my words as much as possible.

And while I very much love everyone who is friends with me I have a very hard time showing it and/or showing my empathy for them (one of the reasons as to why I'm not good with meeting new people) but i try to become a better version of me day to day.

What i look in a person is someone who can understand me and my boundaries, since I'm germophobic PDA isn't really something that i enjoy doing but with time i can get myself around to it. Someone whom I can trust enough to be emotionally open with and vice versa. Talkative or not doesn't matter to me. My love language is acts of service. ^_________^

I hope you have a really amazing day ! ! remember to drink water and eat something yummy (*＾3＾)/～♡ don't be too harsh on yourself and keep in mind that many people love you, ba-bye ! ╰(⸝⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝⸝)╯

🍰 for @vvanteffect

Romantic Matchup

Sakusa Kiyoomi

How yall met

You guys met during the All-Japan Youth Training Camp

(You were a partial manager from Nekoma during that time)

Shockingly enough he actually approached you

Granted his cousin was forcing him to socialize but that's not important

He had noticed how you tended to stay away from other people or how when you did talk to someone it was usually a very short conversation

Basically you seemed like the least contaminated person he could talk to so he just went for it

Right away he noticed how blunt you were

Like he would ask you a question adn the longest answer you would give him was about a sentence

“Hey how are you”

“Good”

“Uh so what school are you from”

“Nekoma”

You get what i'm saying

But honestly he didn't really care he just kept talking to you

And the longer he talked to you the longer your responses would get

You guys spent the rest of camp together

And when it was time to go home you exchanged numbers so you could stay in contact

Your schools weren't too far from each other so you guys would see each other in person when you were both free

And well he ended up falling for you

What they love about you

Of course he loves that your also a partial germaphobe

It makes it easier for him to be around you knowing that you try your best to stay clean

He loves how simple you are

From the clothes you wear

To how you talk to other people

He tends to over analize if people are to complicated

But with you everything is just short and sweet

He loves how good of a listener you are

Like if he's had a bad day he can just call you and rant about it

And not only do you listen

But you also help him solve his problems

This next one isn't really something he loves more like something he's proud of

He's very proud that he's gained enough of your trust for you to talk to him

Like full blown conversations

Your guys convos have come a long way from the very first conversation you had

He's just happy that you trust him enough to talk to him

What you love about them

You love that he respects your boundaries

Let's be honest here

Mans isn't really into PDA either

Like come on

LOOK who were talking about here

But that's not the only boundary he respects

He respects All of your boundaries

Like all you have to do is tell him you don't like something and he'll stop

You love how he can handle your bluntness and not get offended

Honestly when you look back on how you met him

Your shocked that he even kept talking to you

That whole training camp people would keep on trying to talk to you

But then leave after a short while because you were being blunt and they took it the wrong way

But not Sakusa

He kept on talking to you even when you were acting pretty cold

And your very appreciative about that

Favorite things to do together

Ok so even though you live semi close together

It's not like your neighbors

So his favorite thing to do with you is to just facetime you and talk about each others days

And when you guys are able to get together

He prefers that you both just stay inside for the most part

So you do just that

Usually your in person hangouts include playing board games, reading,or watching movies together

And if you guys decide to go out

He makes you wear a mask the whole time

And you guys will usually just take a walk at a park or on the beach

Somewhere where theres not a lot of people yk

Random Hc

He has bought you two matching masks

His homescreen on his phone is a picture of you that he took while facetime you

Once you guys were in public and he accidently gave you a kiss while both of your masks were on

And now thats just became a norm for you two

You guys have these matching pajamas

Friendship Matchup

Kuroo Tetsurou

How yall met

You are Nekomas manager

And since kuroo was the captain you worked very closely with him

Which eventually made a friendship bloom

Why you became friends

He kind of saw you as a compitition if that makes sense??

Like when he first met you it's almost like you didn't want to talk to him

Which couldn't be true because he's awesome!

Sure you are kuroo

Anyways kenma had made some backhand comment on how some people just dont wanna talk to him

And kuroo was like 🧐

So he made it his goal to befriend you

It started with him having basic conversation with you everyday

Then it turned into him talking to you during the school day

Which then turned into him inviting you to hand out after school

Eventually you guys just became besties

What yall love about each other

He loves how straightforward you are

Like if you don't like something youll say it

If someones ticking you off you'll tell them

Even though your bluntness is something you get insecure about sometimes

He thinks it's one of your best traits

He also loves that you are bilingual

It makes for a good time when your ranting about something because your languages will start to blend

And if your really mad you'll just switch to spanish and just start ranting

And even though he can't understand a word your saying

He just smile and nods till your done

You love how deep your conversations can get

Like he'll play along with whatever deep topic you talk about

“What's the meaning of life”

“I would say its to give life a meaning”

Yeah y'all talked about that for HOURS

You also like how helpful he is

If your ever having a hard time managing the team he'll always offer a helping hand

And if your ever struggling with schoolwork he's always there to help you

Random Hc

He was very shocked when you and Sakusa started dating

He threatened to kick his ass if he ever broke up with you

Hes tried to learn spanish but gave up after a week

But he did learn how to say all the cuss words in spanish

After he befriended you he rubbed it in kenmas face

Kenma was just like 😐 ok

But kuroo took satisfaction in his victory

You really had kuroo thinking for a whole day when you asked him

Did the color orange come before the fruit? Or is it vice versa?

Still hasn't come up with an answer to that question

[adorpheus]

on fujoshi and fetishization

Lately, more and more, both here on tumblr and on other sites, I keep seeing people spew unfiltered hatred at fujoshi - that is, women who like mlm content such as gay fanfic and fanart featuring men with other men. And I don’t mean like a specific type of fujoshi, like the ones who are genuinely being weird about it, but just like a general hatred for girls (but especially straight identifying girls) who express love for gay romance.

I hate to break this to you all, but women (including straight women!) actually are allowed to like mlm fanfiction and fanart, even enthusiastically so. A woman simply expressing her love of gay fanfic, even if it is in kind of a cringey way or a way that you personally don’t like, is NOT automatically fetishization.

I’ve been on the receiving end of fetishization for my entire life, from a very young age, as many black and brown folx have, so I consider myself pretty well acquainted with how it works. Fetishization isn’t just like, being really into drawings of boys kissing, or whatever the fuck y’all are trying to imply on this god forsaken site. 

Fetishization is complicated imo, and can encompass a lot of things, such as (but not limited to):

1 - dehumanization, e.g. viewing a group of people as sexual objects who exist purely for entertainment purposes, rather than acknowledging them as actual people who deserve respect and rights

and

2 - projecting certain assumptions onto said people based on their race/sexuality/whatever is being fetishized. These assumptions are often, but not always, sexual in nature (like the idea that black people in general are more sexual than other races, etc etc etc).

I’m going to use myself as an example to illustrate my point. Please note this isn’t the best or most nuanced example, but it is the most simplistic. A white person finding me attractive and respectfully appreciating my black features as part of what makes me beautiful is not, on its own, fetishization. A white person finding me attractive solely or mostly because I’m a PoC is now in fetishization territory. Similarly, assuming I’m dominant because of my blackness (like saying “step on me mommy” and shit like that) is hella fetishistic. 

That being said, theres definitely a difference between how fetishization works in real life with real people, and how it shows up in fandom. 

Fetishization manifests in many different ways in fandom, but most commonly on the mlm side of things, I personally see it appear as conservative (or centrist) women who love the idea of two men together, but don’t actually like gay people, and don’t necessarily think LGBT+ people deserve rights (or “special treatment” as its sometimes dog whistled). These women view queer men as sexual objects for entertainment rather than an actual group of people who deserve to be protected from systemic oppression. I’ve noticed that they often don’t even think of the men they “ship” together as actually being gay, and may even express disgust at the idea of a character in an mlm ship being headcanon’d gay. In case its not obvious, this is pretty much exactly the same way a lot of cishet men fetishize lesbians (they see “lesbian” as a porn category, rather than like, what actual LGBT people think of when we read the word lesbian). There’s a pretty popular viral tweet thread going around where someone explains seeing this trend of conservative women who like mlm stuff, and I have also personally witnessed this phenomenon myself in more than one fandom. 

The funny thing is, maybe its just me buuuut.... The place I see this particular kind of fetishization happen most is not in the anime/BL fandom, from which the term fujoshi originates - I actually see these type of women way way more in western fandom spaces like Supernatural, Harry Potter, and Hannibal. I can’t stress this enough, there’s a shocking amount of people who are like, straight up trump supporters in these fandoms. If you want to experience it, try joining a Hannigram or Destiel group on facebook and you will probably encounter one eventually especially if you happen to be living through a major historical event. Like these women probably wouldn’t even be considered “fujoshi”, because that term doesn’t really apply to them given they aren’t in the BL/anime fandom, yet they’re the ones I personally see actually doing the most harm.

Of course this isn’t the ONLY kind of fetishizing woman in the mlm/BL world, there are other ways fetishization shows up, but this is the most toxic kind that I see.

A girl just being really into BL or whatever may be “cringe” to you, or she may be expressing her love for BL in a “cringey” way, but a straight woman really enjoying BL is not, on its own, somehow inherently fetishization. Yes, sometimes teenage girls act kind of cringe about how much they like BL and that might be annoying to you, but its not necessarily ~problematic~. 

That being said, IT NEEDS BE REMARKED that a lot of the “fujoshi” that you all hate so deeply, are actually closeted trans men or nonbinary people who haven’t yet come to terms with their gender identity, or are otherwise just NOT cishet. I know because I was one of these closeted people for years, and I honestly think tumblr and the cultural obsession around purity is one of the many reasons I was closeted so deeply for so long. STORYTIME LOL!!! In my early adolescence, I was a sort of proto “fujoshi”. I identified as a bi girl who was mostly attracted to men, or as most (biphobic) people called it, “practically straight”. I wrote and read “slash” fanfic and looked at as well as drew my own fanart. We didn’t use the term fujoshi back then, but that’s definitely how I could have been described. I was obsessed with yaoi, BL, whatever you want to call it, to a cringe-inducing degree. I really struggled to relate to most het romances, so when I first discovered yaoi fanfics (as we called them at the time), I fell in love and felt like I finally found the type of romance content that was made for me. I didn’t know exactly why, I just knew it hit different. LGBT+ fanart and fanfiction brought me an immense amount of joy, and I didn’t really think too hard about why.

At some point, in my early 20s, after reading lots of discourse™ here on tumblr and other places like twitter, I started to get the sinking feeling that my passion for gay fanfiction was ~problematic~. I had always felt a sense of guilt for being into mlm content, because literally anyone who found out I liked BL (especially the men I dated) shamed me for liking it all the fucking time (which btw is literally just homophobic, like can we talk about that?). In addition to THAT bullshit, now I’m seeing posts telling me that girls who like BL are cringey gross fetishists who inspire rage and should go die? 

Let me tell you, I internalized the fuck out of messages like this. I desperately wanted to avoid being ~problematic~. At the time, I thought being problematic was like the worst thing you could be. I was terrified of being “cancelled”, before canceling was even really a thing. I thought to myself, “oh my god, I’m gross for liking this stuff? I should stop.” I beat myself up over this. I wanted so badly to be accepted, and to be deemed a Good Person by the internet and society at large.

I tried to shape up and become a good ally (lmfao). I stopped writing fanfic and deleted all the ones I was working on at the time. I made a concerted effort to assimilate into cishet culture, including trying to indulge myself more deeply in the few fandoms I could find that had het content I did enjoy (Buffy, True Blood, Pretty Little Liars, etc). I would occasionally look at BL/fanfic/etc in private, but then I would repress my interest in it and not look for a while. Instead I would look at women in straight relationships, and create extremely heterosexual Couple Goals pinterest boards, and try to figure out how I could become more like these women, so I, too, could be loved someday. 

This cycle of repression lasted like eight years. Throughout it all, I was performing womanhood to the best of my ability and trying to become a woman that was worthy of being in a relationship. I went in and out of several “straight” relationships, wondering why they didn’t make me feel the way reading fanfic did. Most of all, I couldn’t figure out why straight intimacy didn’t work for me. I just didn’t enjoy it. I always preferred looking at or making gay fanfiction/fanart over actual intimacy with men in real life. 

Eventually, I stumbled upon a trans coming out video that someone I was following posted online, my egg started to crack, and to make an extremely long story short, after like 3 years of introspection and many gender panic attacks that I still experience to this day, I realized that I’m uh... MAYBE... NOT CIS..!? :|

I truly believe if I had just been ALLOWED TO LIKE GAY STUFF WITHOUT BEING SHAMED FOR IT, I probably would have realized I was trans way way sooner. Because for me, indulging in my love of gay romance and writing gay fanfic wasn’t me being a weirdo fetishist, it was actually me exploring my own gender identity. It is what helped me come to terms with being a nonbinary trans boy.

Not everyone realizes they are trans at age 2 or whatever the fuck. Sometimes you have to go through a cringey fujoshi phase and multiple existential crises to realize how fucking gay you are AND THATS FINE.

And one more thing - can we just be real here? 

A lot of anti-fujoshi sentiment is literally just misogyny. omg please realize this. Its “women aren’t allowed to enjoy things” but, like... with gay fanfics. Some of the anti-fujoshi posts I see come across my dash are clearly ppl projecting a caricature they invented in their head of a demonic fujoshi fetishist onto any woman who expresses what they consider to be a little too much enthusiasm for gay content and then using their perception of that individual as an excuse to justify their disdain for any women, especially straight women, ‘invading’ their ~oh so exclusive~ queer fandom spaces.

 god get over yrselfs this is gatekeeping by another name

idk why i spent so long writing this no one is even going to read it, does anyone even still use this site

*EDIT: HOLY SHIT WHEN DOING RESEARCH FOR THIS POST I FOUND OUT THAT Y-GALLERY IS BACK OMG!!! 

[autisticpride]

April 10th: How important is representation to you? Is the representation that is out there generally good or bad? What is your favorite piece of representation? What you like to see more of in autism representation? What would you like to see less of?

representation is really important to us and we’ll end up going on a couple long rants about some of our favorites (under the cut) because we can, it’ll be real messy because theres at least 3 of us talking and im just about positive that people were blurry when writing shit out so sorry about that but that’s just how it is

for us, representation enables us to see people like us in stories. the other thing for us, not specific to autistic representation, is just that we tend to enjoy more diverse stories more? maybe we’ve just had good luck but we’ve found that stories with characters who are members of marginalized groups (whether the story itself is diverse or not) tend to be better written. maybe it’s because we generally prioritize ownvoices works, idk.

so first i wanted to take a look at some numbers regarding autistic characters we’re familiar with (yes we know there are more, we just have a focus on books in our brain) and we started with books & comics and got some interesting numbers that we weren’t expecting! we haven’t read all these books yet so there are some gaps in the information.

of the 10 characters (from 8 books and 1 webcomic):

5 are female, 4 are male, and 1 is nonbinary.  2 are black, 2 are white, 1 is mixed (surinamese/dutch), 1 is mixed (vietnamese/irish), 1 is mixed (fictional races). 9 (possibly all 10) are main characters 6 are over 21, 2 are under 12 (9 and 11), 1 is 16, 1 is 18 3 are straight, 3 are gay/lesbian, 1 is bi.

I think that’s very cool actually! we would like to see more trans autistic characters (the only trans character out of the 10 seems to be the 1 nonbinary character) for sure, and more explicitly canon autistic characters in general. i’d like to see less “autism representation” that isn’t actually canon (even though we do love some of the characters, if you have to go find an interview with a producer where they say probably in order to find out the character’s autistic, it’s not canon).

now time for our specialized little rambles!

so i’m going to start with another quick explanation of fictives again because it’s extremely relevant right now.

again, a system is multiple people in one body. individuals within a system are system members (there are many different terms, that’s what we prefer). fictives are system members who are/are based on/are versions of characters

i’m a fictive of danny becket from the webcomic sharp zero and honestly we all love sharp zero! it’s extra fun now because it’s one of the special interests we all share and it’s my source and i’m double autistic (system as a whole is autistic, and I was autistic to begin with) so i now have this intense special interest surrounding... myself??? anyway, sharp zero is great because

sharp zero doesn’t go “the autism one is pure and innocent <3�� sharp zero goes “the autism one drags a corpse through a magic portal to perform a ritual to resurrect him” and that’s pretty cool

also explicitly showing the use of stim toys!! tangle spotted

~Danny

I’m a fictive of Julian from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and I’m one of the favorite cases of representation for most of the system, which is very interesting for me. In the show, it’s a case of unnamed disorder, which my parents tried to ‘fix’ via genetic engineering. I specifically matter to the system because of one particular parallel.

When I was a child, my parents noticed me ‘falling behind’ and decided to ‘fix’ me, and then proceeded to hide that information from me. When I was 15, I found out what they’d done, and began going by a different name.

When the body was a child, we were going to a neurologist for other reasons, and the parents were told that we’re most likely autistic but to not get a diagnosis ‘unless it gets in the way’. They proceeded to hide that information from us. When we were 15, we found out about that. Around the same time, the old host came out as trans and began using a different name.

That parallel is very important to most of our system members, especially the old host.

Despite it never being stated that I’m autistic, and it being implied that my parents may have succeeded in their attempt to ‘fix’ me, it’s clear from my behaviour that they didn’t. Even if they had, it was clearly shown that what they did was illegal and wrong, and that it did direct harm to me. But every autistic person we’ve met who has watched DS9 has taken one look at me and said something along the lines of that man’s a whole autism.

I’m shown having clear interpersonal issues, including trouble with social cues and clear implications that I never had friends before arriving on DS9. My own parents thought a half-finished hologram with no personality who didn’t recognize them was me.

I think that kind of representation is important. The kind where things did go wrong, where there has been suffering and loneliness, and it takes time, but a support system does get found.

-Julian

k now y’all need someone who isn’t just sorta talkin about themself i think, who fuckin knew i’d be the one who was giving the general system-wide opinion

so, rep is really important to all of us, seeing people who’re like us. makes us all feel like someone might actually understand it and understand us

our favorite autistic rep is probably julian, which is real fun with him being here and all that. and i mean it’s actually fun and we all get each other. the way our system works, the way we have a mostly-shared memory, means that we all really get it, and all of us relate to julian a lot in one way or another

anyway, a while back we started lookin’ for books with autistic rep by autistic authors and the first one we found was on the edge of gone by corinne duyvis, and we’ll always have a soft spot for it cuz it’s really good and it was the first one we got

-trip

[dream-sans-mogai]

The sunset lesbian flag

By: @x-mogai-glitch-x

I know theres like 3 bajillion lesbian flags already but as a butch aroace-spec cusper disabled he/they indiginous system lesbian myself, i felt really disconnected from most lesbian flags i find. They are mostly pink which is a dysphoric color for me as a non-binary individual and most dont explicitly include lesbians like me for butchphobic, aphobic, trans/enbyphobic, ablesit, racist or pncphobic reasons which is not the kind of things id want to be used to represent me so i made my own lesbian flag that i think ill call the sunset lesbian flag! Its got 6 stripes and i also made the usual 7 stripe lesbian varient as well.

Heres the basic sunset lesbian flag, i tried to make it easier on the eyes:

The stripes represent many facets of lesbianism:

1. (Stone/high/soft/king) butches, (stone/high/soft/king) studs and (stone/high/soft/king) ags

2. Aro/aro-spec, ace/ace-spec and aroace/aroace-spec lesbians

3. Trans, nonbinary, two-spirit and cusper lesbians

4. Disabled, Neurodiverse and system lesbians

5. He/him, they/them, neopronouned and emoji pronouned lesbians

6. (Stone/high/tom/queen) femme lesbians

Heres the 7-stripe varient to match the typical lesbian flags. All through this white stripe's meanings are also in the flag above, its not so explicitly expressed.

The white stripe here means: love of women and non-binary people as women and nonbinary.

I also made versions based on presentations just to match as well as 7 stripe versions:

Feminine lesbian( not explicitly femme as they dont mean the same as feminine in this context.)

1. (Stone/high/soft) butches,(stone/high/soft) studs, (stone/high/soft) ags

2. Fem/clover/solomans seal aro/aro-scec, fem/violet/orchid ace/ace-spec, fem/sakura/maple aroace/aroace-spec lesbians

3. Fem Trans, fem nonbinary, fem cusper and fem Two-spirit ( note: this is feminine in presentation, not inherently feminine in gender) lesbians

4. Fem disabled, fem neurodiverse, fem system lesbians

5. Fem he/him, fem they/them, fem neopronouned and fem emoji pronouned lesbians

6.(stone/high/queen) femme lesbians

7-stripe varient

Masculine lesbian( not explicitly butch as they dont mean the same as masculine in this context.)

1. (Stone/high/king) butches, (stone/high/king) studs, (stone/high/king) ags

2. Masc/larch/solomans aro/aro-spec, masc/ bluebell/orchid ace/ace-spec, masc/juniper/maple aroace/aroace-spec lesbians

3. Masc trans, masc non-binary, masc cusper and masc two spirit( note: this is masculine in presentation, not inherently masculine in gender) lesbians

4. Masc disabled, masc neurodiverse, Masc system lesbians

5. Masc he/him, masc they/them, masc neopronouned and masc emoji pronouned lesbians

6. (stone/high/tom) femme lesbians

7 stripe varient

Androgynous lesbian (specifically genderless-presenting.)

1. (Stone/high) butches, (stone/high) studs, (stone/high) ags

2. Andro/thyme aro/aro-spec, andro/lilac ace/ace-spec, andro/aspen aroace/aroace-spec lesbians

3. Andro trans, andro non-binary, andro cusper and andro two spirit( note: this is androgynous in presentation, not inherently androygne in gender) lesbians

4. Andro disabled, andro neurodiverse, andro system lesbians

5. Andro he/him, andro they/them, andro neopronouned and andro emoji pronouned lesbians

6. (stone/high) femme lesbians

7 stripe varient

Mixed/multi/fluid/flux/fluxid lesbian (specifically presention.)

1. (Stone/high) butches, (stone/high) studs, (stone/high) ags

2. Mix/solomans aro/aro-spec, mix/orchid ace/ace-spec, mix/maple aroace/aroace-spec lesbians

3. Mix trans, mix non-binary, mix cusper and mix two spirit( note: this is mixed/multi/flow/flux/fluxid in presentation, not inherently in gender) lesbians

4. Mix disabled, mix neurodiverse, mix system lesbians

5. Mix he/him, mix they/them, mix neopronouned and mix emoji pronouned lesbians

6. (stone/high) femme lesbians

7 stripe varient

Finally thoughts: this lesbian flag operates under this definition.

This flag is open to all lesbians regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity or status. It includes polyamorous, otherkin and sex worker lesbians.

[dancerlittle006]

With Fancy Ties and a Top Hat On

First things first, I don’t own anything related to Disney or Newsies. Second of all, this is a continuation of my “The Many Adventures of Sammi & Race” series. You may want to read the others in the series but it’s not necessary! There are two poems that are mentioned in this part and I do not own either one of them - see end notes for proper credit. 

Tuesday, October 17, 1905

The night before the wedding, Spot and Race were commandeered by their respected boroughs for one last night of fun before the big day.  Jack and Albert had stolen Race away from Spot, dragging him from a long drawn out goodbye. The two men gave Race a proper sendoff into marriage, with a party at Jacobi’s filled with all the Manhattan Newsies before collapsing on the roof of the Lodging House for one final send off. 

Race had been loud and excited the entire night but on the roof of the Lodging House, he was quiet and withdrawn. Jack and Albert traded glances before Jack nudged Race. “Yous okay?”

“Justs thinkin’.” Race resting his head on his drawn up legs, his eyes looking over on the city he loved. “What ifs I ain’t too good at marriage?” 

Albert and Jack grinned at each other, knowing exactly the doubts their brother had, as they had each experienced the same, Albert much more recently than Jack. Jack cleared his throat before speaking.  “Yous be fine. It’s Spot yous marryin’. The best part is that yous never been married to anyones and neither had Spot. Yous discover it togetha.” 

Race shook his head, knowing his brother was right. “What’s botherin’ you Race?” 

“Is excited to be marryin’ Spot but there’s just an unsettledness there, ya know?” Race looked between his best friend and brother before his gaze drifted to the city around them. 

Albert put his hand on his shoulder. “Yous worried that Spot ain’t gonna show? Becauses that's the last thing yous should be worryin’ about - the ‘Hattan boys’ll make sure hes shows.” 

“Nah, he’ll show.” Race grinned. “Is don’t know how to explain it.” 

Jack smiled, reaching over to ruffle Race’s head. “Let me give yous some advice. Don’t go to bed angry, always tell him he looks pretty, say “I love you” at least once a day, pull yous weight equally - in the house, in the relationship, in life - and surprise him every now and then.” 

Race nodded, taking every word to heart. He raised an eyebrow in Albert’s direction. “Always offer to pick something up when yous out and about. Argue - it’s healthy for a relationship and communicate - don’t let them fester, get them out in the open.” 

“Have yous met Spot? Hes the king of arguin’.” Race chuckled.

 “And yous the king of arguin’ right back.” Albert bit back. 

A calm quiet rest over the three, all lost in their own thoughts.  All three had been very involved with the wedding details and knew the entire rundown by heart. Katherine had made them all agendas with every single detail on it on where they needed to be and what needed to be brought with. Race chuckled, thankful to have Kat by his side as he and Spot planned this. 

“How many peoples comin’ tomorrow?” Jack asked, nudging Race’s shoulder. 

Shruggin’, Race bit his lip. “I thinks we mailed out 100 invites but we’ll see whos shows up.” 

“Yous nervous?” Albert reached over putting his hand on Race’s shoulder before gentle squeezing. “It’s completely okay to say yes.” 

Race smiled. “Not nervous to marry Spot. But to stand in front of those people . . .”

“Yous just have to stand there and looks pretty. Yous don’t even have to look into the crowd, just stare lovin’ly into Spot’s deep brown eyes.” Jack chuckled. “And Albert and Is will be right beside you. But nothin’ gonna happen. Yous and Spot are gonna get married and live happily ever afta.” 

Race grinned. “Yous been readin’ too many of Sammi’s fairy tales, Jackie Boy.” 

“It’s true. Yous and Spot will run off into the sunset and live happily ever afta. Mark my words.” Jack gave him a pointed look. “Yous two will build a great marriage, just as yous built a great home and relationship to begin with.” 

As he woke up that morning, Race grinned knowing a big day lay ahead. He took a few minutes to himself, to mentally prepare for the day before walking out of the guest room. He heard a gentle hum of activity, including a little girl singing off key to a song. Peeking into the living room, a grin slid across his face as he saw Jack holding Tommy, Kat trying to wrangle Sammi’s curls, and Albert enjoying a cup of coffee. 

“Mornin’ Race. How are you feeling?” Kat looked away from Sammi’s curls for a moment when she noticed him standing in the doorway of the living room. 

Shruggin’, he hid his yawn before collapsing into the chair in the corner, looking around the room. “Good. Ready for 4:00.”

“Well considering that’s 8 hours away, you’ve got some things that need to be completed before that.” Kat gave him a look before sending Sammi over in his direction. 

Sammi crawled up in his lap, her finger at her lip before snuggling deeper into his embrace. “It’s yous ‘eddin’ day, Uncle Race.” 

“It is Sammi. Yous excited?” He hugged her a bit tighter. 

She nodded her head as she looked around the room at her parents and other uncle. “Momma says theres cake.”

“There will be cake. Will yous help me eat it Sammi?” He chuckled at the four year old’s excitement for the sweet. 

“Yeah.” She went quiet, looking at her uncle. “Momma says theres dancin’ and Is has a ‘retty dress.”

Race nodded. “Yous do have a pretty dress; I bet yous’ll be the best dressed girl there.” 

“Not uh huh.” She popped up and looked at him. “Momma will be.” 

Looking over at Kat, Race grinned. “Is think yous and your momma will both be the prettiest girls in the room.” 

Bouncing Sammi on his leg, her sweet giggles filled the room. Looking at her friend, Katherine smiled. “Hey Race, how about you take a walk around the neighborhood? Spend a little bit of time by yourself before the madness starts.” 

He smiled at Kat, loving how she knew him so well. Taking his leave from the house, Race promised Kat he would be back in 20 minutes. Putting the familiar cigar in his mouth, he made his way down the sidewalk. The street was busy with Newsies hawkin’ headlines and the street vendors were busy setting up for the day. His feet led him, no real destination in mind. 

Coming up to a stall, he bought a sour green apple before continuing on his journey.  Biting into the juicy apple, his mind was packed with details of the day and nothing all at once. Pausing to stand on the corner, he heard a Newsies hawkin’ a completely made up headline “Dozens injured as fairy crashes in the harbor.” 

Race grinned, remembering all the ridiculous headlines he and his friends would make up just for a penny. Feeling in his pocket for a dime, he approached the Newsies. “Buy a pape, mister?”

Holding out the dime, Race grinned. “Good headlines today?” 

“Dozens injured as a fairy crashes in the harbor.” The kid grinned, handing over a pape to Race. 

Race hummed, opening up the paper before seeing the story on page 3. “Only two people were injured, kid.” 

“Gotta embellishin’’ a bit mister; ya know to sell papes? Thanks for the dime.” The kid grinned. Race folded the paper back up, putting it under his arm before nodding. “I know that all too well. Have a great day.” 

Race had a grin on his face as his feet led him back to the Kelly House. Walking up the front steps, he let himself in the front door, causing the conversation to die down in the room. “Where did you go?”

“Corner for an apple and pape.” Race grinned at Jack. “Kid on the corner is quite the embellisher.” 

Kat raised her eyebrow at him. “As I recall, you were quite the embellisher as well Higgins.” 

“And look at me now.” He grinned, sitting on the couch opening the paper to read the headlines. 

Jack sat next to him, raising an eyebrow. “Why the pape?”

“Sentimentally sake. Remind myself where Is was and wheres Is now.” Race shrugged, giving Jack a smile. “Besides Is wanted somethin’ from the wedding day.” 

“Yous a sap, Racetrack Higgins. Sap.” Albert quipped from the opposite couch. 

Kat smiled at the three. “Leave him be. He’s allowed to be a sap on his wedding day. Need I remind you two of your own wedding days?” Kat gave them both a look. “As I recall, one of you was sobbing in the corner just before you walked down the aisle and the other was sentimental for many days before the wedding.” 

“Yous don’t gotta remind me.” Albert put his hands up in surrender before shooting Kat a mean glare.

“Love you too Albie.” Kat kissed the top of his head before depositing Tommy in Race’s lap. “I’m going to start to get ready. Jack, my mother will be here at 9 to pick up Tommy. Will you make sure everything is in his bag?” 

Race grinned at his nephew who had just started recognizing his own voice and loved to vocalize it. “Hey Tommy boy. Yous get to go to yous grandparents tonight while mom and dad are at the weddin’.”

Tommy just babbled as Race nodded his head. Thankfully, Sammi had warmed up to her brother. Sammi is the only one who Tommy will laugh for and as soon as she’s up in the morning, she’s always looking for him. She’s a great helper with giving him his bottle or a toy. 

Once Tommy was handed off to Kate, Jack clapped his hands and suggested they get some breakfast before starting to get ready. The three men and Sammi ventured down to the local diner, hungry and excited for the day ahead. 

2:00pm

Arriving at the Pier A Harbor House in Battery Park, Race hopped out of the carriage before straightening his black tuxedo. He had a black jacket with tails on top of a grey vest over a crisp white shirt, a grey and white stripe tie around his neck.  He took a quick look at himself - everything was rented for the wedding, including the black top hat that Jack had just handed to him. Jack and Albert had stepped out of the carriage, both dressed in tailed tuxedos and matching top hats. 

“Wow do you three clean up!” Kat exclaimed watching them walk up the walkway towards the venue. Her hair was tied up in an elegant updo while pulling off an elegant emerald green wrap dress. Sammi was at her side in a white and navy blue flower girl dress, her hair up as well. 

Meeting them halfway, Sammi ran to Race’s side, the older bending over to pick her up. “Wows Sammi, yous so pretty.” 

“Tank yous Uncle Race. Yous gettin’ ‘arried!” She placed a kiss on his check and grinned brightly at her uncle before pushing away from him. “Mys dress ‘wirls.” 

She turned around, letting the edges of her dress twirl around her, her giggles echoing off the buildings. “Sees, Uncle Race?”

“Very pretty Sammi girl.” Bending over, he placed a kiss on her cheek before looking over at Kat. “Where do wes need to go?” 

Kat looked over from having her own private moment with her husband with a grin. “You’re in the Willow Room. There’s some food in there for you guys and you can relax before the next part.” 

The three headed inside, feeling the cool of the air circulating within the building. Finding the Willow Room, the three settled in, Race flexing his fingers and toes tapping while waiting for 4pm to roll around. 

“Yous got your vows?” Jack asked, looking over the back of the couch. “You did write them out, didn’t yous?” 

Race smirked, tapping his head. “Its all in here. I didn’t writes them out.” 

Albert snorted loudly. “Yous gonna remember?” 

“Someone told mes to just speak from the heart and thats all Is gonna do.” Race shrugged, not really understanding what the big deal was. 

Jack smirked. “Yous be fine. Just make sure you don’t cuss in yous vows.” 

“Yous should be tellin’ Spot that, not me.” Race’s eyes went wide. “But that’ll be a memory wes have forever if hes did that.” 

Chuckling, Albert shook his head. “Well yous always go your own way so cussin’ in vows shouldn’t be anys surprises to anyone.” 

A knock at the door caused the three to look over. Standing in the doorway, Crutchie, Specs, Elmer, Finch and Romeo were all standing there looking dressed to the nines with grins on their faces. Even though they were all at Jacobi’s the night before, there was a loud excitement as the eight men greeted one another.  Settling in various places around the room, a calm quiet enveloped the room. “So yous ready?”

Race grinned at Elmer’s question. “Just antsy . . . wants to just get the show on the road.” 

“Why a Tuesday and why 4pm?” Finch asked, raising an eyebrow at Race. He was used to this question by now, almost all of the Newsies had asked at one moment or another.

The groom looked around the room at all of his friends. “Tomorrows a year since Spot proposed . . . wes didn’t wanna go a year so wes gettin’ married today. Four is when the venue would be ready.” 

Jack started a conversation regarding the New York Giants baseball team which pulled all of the Newsies into the discussion. Every Newsies was very invested in the game, often standing outside of the stadium on game days trying to hear the familiar crack of the bat as it sent the ball flyin’ into the outfield. 

Race caught a glance at the watch on his wrist, a present from Spot. 2:50pm. He knew Kat would be comin’ to get him in a few minutes to give him some alone time prior to the ceremony.  

In those few minutes, Race ran over the details of the afternoon. He knew Spot had Itey and Hotshot standing up as his best man and groomsman. But Spot had told him nothing’ about his tuxedo for the wedding. All Race knew is that they would both wear the same boutineer, a white Ranunculus flower with some greenery and some twine wrapped around the stems. Kat promised the ceremony would be pretty straight forward - two readings and exchange of vows then they would be pronounced husbands and the party could start. 

The loudness of the room pulled Race from his thoughts. The room had split into two different conversations. Albert caught Race’s eye, raising his own to ask the nonverbal question if he was okay. Race nodded, a grin on his face, toes continuing their nervous taps. 

A knock on the door caught Race’s attention. He grinned seeing Sammi and Kat standing there. “Race?”

Nodding, he stood and told the guys he would see them in a little bit. He followed Kat and Sammi out of the room, walking out of the venue to see the harbor in front of him. Kat gave him a big hug and a grin. “I’m so proud of you. You are going to be a wonderful husband.” 

“Thanks Kat.” He paused, pulling her back into a hug. “Thank you for everything yous done. This day has gone so smoothly, simply because yous got everything handled. The venue looks amazing.” 

Squeezing his arm, she grinned at the praise. “You’re welcome. Now you’ll have 30 minutes out here before I’ll come get you. I’ll try to keep the boys away from the windows.”

“Thanks.” 

He heard her heels click as she made her way back to the venue. He leaned against the barrier, listening to the waves crash and the seagulls call as they lazily flew around the harbor. He heard a door click shut and gentle footsteps behind him as a grin slid across his lips. 

“Are you waiting for someone?” The smooth voice of the one and only Spot Conlon caused him to turn around, his eyes moving up and down taking in his appearance. “Because if yous not, that’s a damn shame.” 

Spot was dressed in a navy blue tuxedo with tails, a cream vest, and a navy blue polkadot tie around his neck. In his hands was the familiar Newsies cap Spot was rarely seen without. “Yous look breathtakin’.” 

“You don’t look half bad either, Higgins.” Spot closed the gap between the two, pulling Race into his arms. “Happy Weddin’ Day, love.” 

Race nodded, suddenly overcome with emotions at seein’ his soon to be husband dressed to the nines. He sniffled, trying to keep the tears at bay. Spot softened seeing his boy so emotional, taking a handkerchief from his pocket, and gently wiped the tears away. “I love you.” 

“Love you too.” A watery smile crossed Race’s lips before he bent over and placed a chaste kiss on Spot’s lips, turning to face the harbor, watching the water hit the pier. “Been wanting to do that since yesterday.” 

Spot chuckled. “Soon, cara, soon. What did you do today?” 

“Nothin’ much. Got breakfast, bought a pape, played with Sammi and Tommy, and came here. Yous?” 

Spot leaned against the barrier, mimicking Race’s stance. “Swam in the harbor for old times sakes then went to the Lodgin’ House before getting ready and comin’ here.” 

Hummin’ in contentment, Race laced his fingers with Spot’s, squeezing them gently. “Of course yous swim in da harbor before wes got married.” 

“It was relaxin’ and its a tradition.” Spot exclaimed, Race shaking his head at him with a chuckle. 

“I love you.” 

“I love you too. Ready to be married to yous. Is it 4pm yet?” Spot whined as Race brought their connected hands up and kissed the back of his hand. 

Looking at his watch, Race smiled. “We’ve got 45 minutes until the weddin’. Kat will be heres in 15 minutes.”

“And in 75 minutes wes married and time to party.” Spot grinned, squeezing their connected hands. 

The clicking of high heels caught their attention. Looking over their shoulders, they both smiled seeing Kat coming closer to them. “Sorry boys to interrupt, but I figured you’d want to pin these on each other.” 

Handing over their boutineers, Kat gave them both a smile before disappearing back into the venue. Facing his betrothed, Spot took the pin out of the arrangement, before quickly attached it to the lapel of Race’s tuxedo before kissing his cheek. Race followed suit before dippin’ Spot and placing a kiss on his lips. “If yous gonna do it, do it right, Conlon.” 

“Last time you’ll get to call me that, Higgins.” Spot grinned. 

Race’s eyes lit up at the thought. “Last time you’ll call me that, Sean.” 

“That might be a new nickname for you snookums.” 

Race paused as a thought hit him. “Jack and Albert told me Is shouldn’t cuss in our vows.” 

“Was that a bet?” Spot turned, leaning over the barrier, watching the waves crash against the pier. 

Race shook his head. “No but then they amended that would be a pretty amazin’ memory if wes did.” 

“There may or may not bes a cuss word in mine.” Spot shrugged, grinning as Race’s head whipped up in his direction. “Gotta keep you on yous toes, cara.” 

Running a hand through his hair, Race chuckled. “Did you write yours?” 

“No. Is gonna speaks from my heart.” Spot smiled, lacing their hands together once more. “Did yous?”

Squeezing their locked hands, Race smiled, a seagull catching his attention as it flew by. “No. I just figured Is speak from the heart.” He shrugged. “So Is apologize if its a jumbled mess.”

“Wes steppin’ into this togetha. If it’s a jumble mess, then its our jumbled mess.” Spot grinned, Racce’s heart melting at the sweet words. “Is love you Anthony Racetrack Higgins and no messy vows will every change that.”

Tears clouded Race’s eyes once more, Spot reaching up to catch the tears on his finger. “Is love you too Sean Spot Conlon.” 

The door opening once more caught their attention. Spot and Race both smiled seeing Kat coming towards them with a grin of her own. “Alright you two, you have 30 minutes until the wedding. Back to your rooms and I’ll come get you when it's your time to walk down the aisle.” 

The two kissed for the last time as boyfriends before making their way to their own rooms, where their boys were waiting. Walking into the room, Race grinned, shutting the door behind him. “How about you be a little more lovey dovey there Higgins?”

Looking around the room, all seven of his brothers were still in the positions he left them before he met Spot. He shrugged, grinning at Finch who made the comment. “Not sure whats you talkin’ about but it’s my weddin’ day so Is be as much lovey dovey as Is want.” 

“That was quite an impressive dip you did to Spot, Higgins.” Crutchie piped up giving Race a big grin. 

Race chuckled, pausing and looking at each of the seven people in the room. “Is know I haven’t said this lately, but yous my best friends. Yous been there for the good times and the bads and Is damn lucky to have yous in my life. I love you guys.” 

“Yous a sap Higgins.” Specs grinned. “But wes loves you too.” 

And with that, the others left the room, leaving Race with Albert and Jack. “Any partin’ words before Is walk down the aisle, oh wise married ones?” 

Jack and Albert traded glances with each other. “Just be good to each other.” 

Jack nodded, agreeing with Albert’s sentiments. “Just be happy. Don’t let anger fester, talk it out, and just loves him. He’s really good for you, Race; better than anyone wes could’ve picked out for you.” 

Kat came to grab Albert and Jack, getting them in place leaving Race in the room alone. The door opened, causing him to turn around and grin. “Hi Sammi. Hows you doin’?”

“Good, there’s music playin’. Uncle Race?” 

“Yes Sammi?”

She climbed up into his lap, throwing her arms around his shoulders. “Yous gettin’ ‘arried, right?”

“Yes, to Uncle Spot.” He chuckled, seeing the girl’s excitement. “Is that okay?”

“Yes! Love Uncle Pottie!” She exclaimed. “But Is still yous best girl, right?”

Hugging Sammi tightly to his chest. “Yous always will be my best girl, even if Is have a girl of my own, got that?”

“Got it. Love you Uncle Race.” She reached up and smacked her lips against his cheek. 

“Love you too Sammi.” Kissing her forehead, he gave her a tight hug. 

Kat stood in the doorway and wiped away tears that had clouded her eyes at the sweetness between her daughter and uncle. “You two ready? Everyone’s seated and Spot’s up front with the boys.” 

“Momma, Is throw ‘lowers?” Sammi hopped off Race’s lap before running over to Kat.

Kat bent down, wrapping her arms around Sammi’s shoulders. “Yes, you’ll throw flowers before Uncle Race walks down the aisle.” 

Grabbing the basket full of white rose petals, Kat handed it to her daughter before giving her a hug. “Go stand by daddy when you get up the aisle, okay?”

Nodding her head, Sammi grinned. Hearing the music change, Kat quickly opened the door, allowing Sammi to slip through, before starting her journey up the aisle.  “You doing okay?”

“Me? Is should be askin’ you that.” Race grinned. “Yous been runnin’ around like a crazy person while Is been relaxin’ in a room.” He paused. “Is ready to be married.” 

“Kat, Is need to ask you somethin’.” Race had stopped by the brownstone after work one afternoon in September. She was typing up her newest article as a four month old Tommy slept soundly in his bassinet across the room. 

Motioning him to give her a minute, she finished her sentence before standing and making her way to him. “What’s wrong? Is it Spot?”

“Spots fine.” He looked at her. “But wes were talkin’ last night about the weddin’ and Is wanted to asks you something.” 

Kat smiled, giving him a quick hug. “Anything.”

“Spot wants to watch mes walk down the aisle but I don’t wants to walk down by myself.” He paused. “Jack’s in the weddin’ along with Albert so neither of them can do it. But since yous my sister, will you walk with me?”

Tears clouded her eyes. “Race, really?”

“Yous my sister, Kat. Always has been and always wills be.” He squeezed her hand. “Please?”

Throwing her arms around his shoulders, she bounced on her toes and let out a happy squeal. “Of course I would. It’ll be an honor to walk you down the aisle. But why didn’t you want to walk down by yourself?”

“I wouldn’t be heres if it wasn’t for yous, Jack, or Albert. Those two are already ins the weddin’ but I wanted a few moments where its just yous and me.” He shrugged. “Besides, yous always been not only a sister to me but a moms as well.” 

“Race, Racetrack.” She cooed quietly putting a hand on his back, not wanting to startle him from whatever memory he was in. “Are you ready to walk down the aisle?”

Shaking his head, he looked at his sister with a grin. “Let’s do this.” 

Standing side by side with their arms linked, Kat winked at Race as they stepped into the chapel. The music had changed to “Clair de Lune,” by Debussy and Kat and Race took their journey down the aisle.  Race had locked eyes with Spot about halfway down and hadn’t looked away. 

Standing with Spot was Buttons, who had gone into Seminary School and become a preacher. When Spot and Race had gone to him with the request to marry them, Buttons happily accepted. 

Coming to a stop at the end of the aisle, Kat turned to Race with a smile before standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek and whisper “be good to one another,” before making her way to her seat. Spot walked over and laced his fingers with Race’s, giving them a squeeze before they both faced Buttons. 

“Dearly beloved, we gather here to witness the union between Anthony ‘Racetrack’ Higgins and Sean ‘Spot’ Conlon. Before we begin, does anyone object to this union, speak now or forever hold your peace.” 

Spot and Race glared around the chapel, daring anyone to speak up. After a few uncomfortable moments, Buttons grinned and continued on with the ceremony. 

“Marriage is a sacred act, between two people in the presence of God, their family and friends. Race and Spot have decided on their own twist to the ceremony. I believe York will start us off with a poem.” 

York stood, walking over to the side of Spot with a piece of paper, grinning at the two grooms. 

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;

 Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.”

York made his way back to his seat as Buttons shifted. “A marriage is not only the joining together of two individuals, it is also a joining together of two families. The care, support, and nurture which have been extended to Anthony and Sean by their families is as important now as it has ever been. In fact, it needs to be extended now to include another person” 

“Katherine, I believe you have a reading Anthony and Sean would like you to read.” Buttons said with a smile in his friend’s direction. 

Kat walked to the front on Race’s side. Clearing her throat a bit, she started reading, keeping her eye on the grooms, a smile crossed her lips. 

"A good marriage must be created. In the art of marriage the little things are the big things –- It is never being too old to hold hands. It is remembering to say ‘I love you’ at least once each day. It is never going to sleep angry. It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives. It is standing together facing the world. It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family. It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways. It is having the capacity to forgive and forget. It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow. It is finding room for the things of the spirit. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful. It is not only marrying the right partner –- It is being the right partner."

Race squeezed Spot’s hand after Kat finished reading. Flashing a smile at his sister, she flashed him one back. Waiting until she sat down, Button looked between Race and Spot. “Now the grooms have written their own vows. Sean, would you like to begin?” 

“Race, from the first time I laid eyes on you, Is thought you were a pain in the ass. But Is guess from this day forward, yous will be my pain in the ass. I love that you may sometimes make questionable decisions but what Is love about yous is Is know that you do those things because you care so deeply about those who are close to you and are genuinely one of the most thoughtful and considerate people Is have ever known. As we continue to grow in our lives together, Is promise to give you all of my words when needed, and to share in the silence when they are not, to pick you up if you are down, and to love you unconditionally. Anthony, yous my everythin’ and this is my promise to you.” Sniffling, Spot squeezed Race’s hand as he finished.

“Anthony, your turn.” Button smiled as Race squeezed Spot’s hand. 

“Spot, I never imagined this day would come, but now that we are here.  Is couldn't have imagined choosin’ anyone else but you to go through life's journey with. Is love your laugh, your smile, your tough guyness and the sentimental side that you only share with me. Yous my best friend, my biggest cheerleader, and the one Is want to spill all my secrets to. Is will not take our time together for granted. And because words cannot do it, Is promise to show you, for the rest of my life, how much Is love you. Is promise to make you laugh when you are takin’ yourself too seriously.  From today forward, you’ll never walk alone again; I’ll forever be bys your side. Spot, yous my everything and this is my promise to you.”  Sniffling, Race bit his lip trying to keep the tears at bay. Spot reached over with a handkerchief and wiped the tears that had slipped down Race’s face as the two smiled at the tender moment. 

“You have chosen to seal your vows by the giving and receiving of rings. The ring forms a perfect circle, without a beginning or an end, and is thereby a symbol of eternity and signifies the duration of the commitment you are making. Let us now exchange these rings.”

Handing a beat up silver ring to Race, Buttons looked at him. “Anthony, repeat after me: I give you this ring, as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and with all that I have, I will honor you.”

“I give you this ring, as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and with all that I have, I will honor you.” Race smiled, sliding the ring onto Spot’s ring finger. Spot squeezed his hand with a smile before Buttons continued. 

Handing a ring to Spot, Buttons looked at him. “Sean, repeat after me: I give you this ring, as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and with all that I have, I will honor you.”

“I give you this ring, as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and with all that I have, I will honor you.” Spot grinned, sliding Race’s engagement ring back onto his ring finger. 

“And now, by the authority invested in me as a preacher, and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, I now pronounce you man and man. Anthony, you may kiss your husband.” Catcalls and excited cheers rang out from both sides of the aisles as Race pulled Spot into his arms and dramatically dipped him before kissing him not so chastly. Settling Spot back on his feet, Race pulled him and dropped a chaste kiss on his lips before linking their hands together. 

“Gentlemen, please face the congregation.” Buttons grinned at both his friends before clearing his throat. “It is my pleasure to introduce to you, for the very first time, Mr. and Mr. Higgins-Conlon.”

The noise level in the chapel escalated as the two raised their hands in celebration before walking down the aisle to the catcalls of their friends.  Walking out of the chapel, Race drug Spot behind a column, where the two wouldn’t immediately be found. Pulling Spot to him, Race grinned before kissing him. “Hello husband.” 

“Hmm . . . Is could get used to hearing you call me that.” Spot purred before standing on his tiptoes kissing Race once more. “Hello husband. Wes did it, wes married!”

Their bubble was busted a few moments later as Kat found them with her eyes covered. “Is it okay to peak?” 

“Wes still decent if thats what yous asking.” Spot chuckled, watching Kat remove her hand from her eyes. 

She rolled her eyes before grinning at the two. “You two have some things you need to take care of before you run off. Come greet everyone before you sign your marriage certificate.”  

Standing outside the chapel, they greeted all of their guests with hugs, kisses, and a few comments. Medda was wiping her eyes as she greeted them while Elmer and Specs were both looking for the free booze they were promised. Jack, Kat, and Sammi were the last ones out of the chapel. Sammi quickly ran to her uncle who easily picked her up and put her on his hip. “What did yous think Sammi?”

“Yous married Uncle Race to Uncle Pottie.” She exclaimed, throwing her arms around his shoulders before smacking her lips to his cheek. “Con’tulations!” 

“Thank you Sammi. Yous threw the flowers perfectly.” He snuggled her before she jumped into Spot’s arms to congratulate him. 

Turning to his brother, he was surprised to see the remnants of tear tracks on Jack’s cheeks. “You okays, Jackie?”

“Yous vows got me.” He shrugged. “It was a beautiful ceremony, Race. Congratulations!” 

Race brought him in for a hug before slapping the back of his back. “Yous wife is a godsent. She’s an amazin’ planner and wes got her to thank for this.” 

Jack smiled. “She is pretty spectacular. But it’s your day today. Makes sure you take some time to commit this to memory. It’ll go by too fast.” 

Nodding at Jack’s advice, Race patted him on the back before turning to the one person he knew was the biggest piece of the day being pulled off beautifully. “Plums, yous amazing, yous know that right?”

“Race, your the amazing one. I just did what you asked.” She pulled him into a hug. “Congratulations, the ceremony was beautiful and look, you’re a married man now.” 

“All thanks to you, Kat. Seriously, yous pulled off an amazing ceremony.” Race grinned at his sister before Spot popped up, with Sammi still in his arms. “He’s right yous know. Thank you, Kat. Wes couldn’t have done it without yous.” 

Hugging them both, she grinned pulling back, grabbing Sammi from Spot’s arms. “You’re more than welcome. I’d do anything for you two since you’ve done so much for me and Jack. Enjoy tonight but take some time and really soak this in - tonight will go by too fast for you both. Trust me.” 

Looking in the chapel, she saw Itey, Albert, and Buttons waiting for them. “Go sign your marriage certificate. Then, you’ve got a few minutes before they’ll announce you as husbands inside the dining room - take some time just for the two of you and I’ll come get you before they announce you.” 

Quickly signing the document, the two made their way back down the aisle waiting to be called in as Albert, Itey and Buttons all walked into the dining room. Race pulled Spot into a hug, letting the calm of the moment pass over them. “Is love you.” 

“Is love you too.” 

“What song did yous pick for the dance?” Race had given that to Spot as he had no idea what to pick. Spot was quite secretive on what he had picked. 

Spot grinned. “Yous just have to wait. Any surprises tonight, snookums?” 

“Not that Is aware of. Wes havin’ dinner, dancin’, speeches; Albert and Itey may has come surprises up their sleeves but none that Is aware of.” 

Spot shook his head. “Is told Itey to go easy on us.” 

“Is told Albert the same but Is slightly afraid of what lies ahead.”  Race reached for Spot’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “Husband . . . when do you think it’ll hit us?”

Spot squeezed his hand, grinning at the metal on his ring finger. “Is hopin’ not for a longs time.” 

Kat stuck her head out in the lobby. “You two ready?” 

They walked over to the room’s entrance, hands intertwined before hearing a booming voice speak. “For the first time, please welcome Mr. and Mr. Higgins-Conlon.” 

The room was loud and crazy as the two walked in. They were both greeting people as they made their way to their own table. As soon as they sat down, there were clinking glasses, signaling them to kiss. Race happily obliged, leaning over and sweetly kissing Spot. 

Soft music started to play as everyone got situated at their tables and the waitstaff started serving salads. Race took a moment to look around the room at all the tables set up. They hadn’t made table assignments, instead all of their friends could sit wherever and with whoever they wanted to. There were vases of white peonies on each of the tables with a candle (or tea light as Kat always corrected him) flickering bringing a gentle ambiance to the room. 

Spot nuding his shoulder broke him from his thoughts. “You okay?” 

“Just takin’ it all in.” He smiled, leaning over and kissing Spot’s lips. “Is love you.” 

Spot smiled. “Is love you too, snookums.” 

Soon, the buffet opened for everyone while the servers delivered plates to Spot and Race. The room quietened into a comfortable hum as everyone got their food and started eating. 

Before long, Itey stood up and clanked his glass, getting the attention of everyone in the room. 

“Ladies and Gentleman, if there is anyone here amongst us this afternoon who should be feeling nervous, apprehensive and maybe little queasy at the thought of what lies ahead… It's probably Race because you have just married Spot. For those who donts know me, my name is Itey and Is would like to thank Spot for finally confirming that I am indeed the best man.” A hearty laughter rolled through the room as Itey gave Spot a cheesy smile. 

“Some would describe him as loyal, caring, sincere, popular, honest, good looking and most of all modest. But that's enough about me; we should maybe talk about Spot. Spot and Is met back in 1887 when we were just wee lads as we ended up in the same Lodging House hawkin’ papes for the World. Spot was a reserved young man who rarely talked, a skill he seems to lose as hes gotten older.” Spot sent a glare in Itey’s direction before shaking his head. 

“Is could go on humiliating Spot but I have to remind myself that there are children present and he can do a good job of it himself anyway. Is have other stories about Spot that are available for a small fee at the bar later, just buy me a lager. Spot has been a wonderful friend with a tough guy exterior but once you break through that exterior, you’re friends with him. Over the years I've been taught several great things by Spot, the art of drinking-too much, how not to go chatting up a pretty girl. But the biggest thing he’s taught me is how to be a decent person; hows to keep your word and how to be a great leader. Spot, Is happy for you and Race and I  sincerely hope the pair of you have a long and happy marriage together. I know that you will make him very happy and you are everything that he needs. Just please try and look after him as much as we do.  Please raise your glasses and toast Spot and Race.”

“To Spot and Race!” The room echoed Itey as he made his way over to the grooms with a grin. Spot bearhugged him as Race gave him a bright smile. 

As soon as Itey was seated, Albert stood up with a piece of paper and a big grin on his face. 

“Hi! For those of you who don’t know me I’m Albert, Race’s best man. When Race asked me to be his best man I felt honoured and had to say yes.” Albert grinned, looking between Spot and Race. “I’ve known Race for 16 years now, and he’s asked me to talk today about what a great guy he is, so I can honestly say that he is handsome, brilliant, funny and char…. (TURN TO Race) … Race, I can’t read your writing. What’s this last word?” A loud ripple of laughter sounded through the room while Albert grinned brightly at Race. 

“Since we first met, I have seen his transformation from an awkward youth to a slightly less awkward adult and it’s my great pleasure to speak on this important occasion. I met Race when Jack picked me up from the streets and brought me into the Lodging House. We struck up a good friendship and it’s stayed like that ever since. We may have gotten into our fair share of trouble - can anyone recall the incident in Central Park?”  

“Moving on Albert!” Race yelled, squeezing Spot’s hand as he glared at his best friend. Albert grinned brightly and turned his head. “Love you too Race!”

“Moving on . . . Is look back at some of the stuff we have done together and it makes me proud to have a friend like you. We have had some truly great times and have shared some great experiences together, memories Is will never forget. Is have been honoured to have been your best man and want you to know that Is look up to you more than you could imagine. Just remember, love is like a circle, it goes on forever and I love you man! I can see how happy you make each other and I wish you both nothing but happiness for your future together. Ladies and gentlemen, it truly has been an honour delivering this speech to you, so please, join me in raising your glasses to the happy couple!”

Raising his class, Albert grinned. “To Race and Spot!” 

Everyone in the room reciprocated the action while Albert hugged Race. “Thank you, Albie. Why the Central Park incident? Nothing really happened.” 

“You’re welcome, Race. Gotta let the people wonderin’ what happened.” Chuckling, Albert patted him and Spot on the back, he headed back to his seat beside Marie.  

Music started up as Spot held his hand out for Race. “Shall we?”

Spot pulled Race into his arms as they started twirling around the dance floor. Race grinned, letting Spot lead him across the floor. “So Is got a question for you.” 

“What’s that?” 

“Hows many kids yous want?” Race titled his head, giving Spot a soft smile. 

Spot gave him a look, shaking his head. “Shouldn’t wes talked about this before the weddin’?” 

“Ugh . . . I knows you want kids and yous know I want kids. We knews there’ll be kids but Is askin’ how many.” Race gave him a cheesy look while tryin’ to look innocent. 

Spot chuckled, dancing in tune with the music softly playing. “Maybe 2 or 3. More than 1 for sures.” 

“Sounds like a plans to me.” He said before Spot dipped him in the middle of the dance floor as applause rang around them at their first dance. 

They parted ways after their dance as people wanted to talk with them. Race got pulled into a conversation with some of his coworkers as Spot headed to the Brooklyn table. Within minutes, Race was scanning the crowd looking for someone in particular. He grinned when he spotted her, excusing him from the conversation before heading over to where she was. 

Bowing at her, he grinned at her. “Can Is have this dance, m’lady?” 

Sammi giggled, her curls falling out of her ponytail. “Uncle Race, yous silly.” 

“Is silly? Will yous dance with me?” Race gave her a puppy dog smile as she nodded her head before hopping off the chair she was kneeling on. 

Following him onto the dance floor, Sammi hopped on top of his shoes, as they twirled around the dance floor. Her giggles were loud as Race sang along to the music. Picking her up in his arms, she threw her arms around his shoulders as they moved together. “You havin’ fun, Sammi?”

Nodding her head, she looked over his shoulder. “Uncle Race?”

“Yes Sammi?”

Cupping her hands around his ear, she leaned in to whisper. “Whens da cake?” 

Throwing his head back laughin’, Race shook his head at his niece. “Soon, Sammi. Yous’ll get the first piece, alright?” 

“Okay!” She giggled before her eyes went wide. “Momma!” 

“Samantha.” Kat giggled as the two stopped dancing. “May I cut in and dance with Uncle Race?” 

Sammi looked at her uncle. “Its a plea’ure dancin’ with you, Uncle Race.” She kissed his cheek before he set her on the ground. A moment passed before she headed back to the table where her coloring book and crayons were. 

Pulling Kat into his arms, Race started dancing as they made their way around the dance floor. She took a moment to look at her brother. “You doing okay, Race?” 

“Is just over the moon happy.” He sighed. “Alls I want is to go home and just be with Spot.” 

Kat laughed. “I remember that all too well from my own wedding. You just want the quiet and your spouse.” 

“Yes!” Race grinned. “Lookin’ forward to the rest of the week in Cold Springs just the two of us. Wes rented a cabin ups there.” 

Kat grinned. “You’ll enjoy that. We used to spend summers up there at a family cottage. There’s a lot to see and do. Jack and I really enjoyed getting away from the city on our honeymoon. Dinner when you get back?” 

“Is sure Spot and Is can swing that.” Race grinned, pulling her into a hug. “Thanks Kat. Is know you’re probably tired of hearin’ it but yous been a lifesaver and Is thankful for yous friendship and sisterness.” 

She grinned. “Just remember that when you have kids and you need to think of a middle name. Kate or Katherine would be great middle names.” 

Throwing his head back, Race laughed loudly, catching the attention of several others on the dance floor, including Jack as he made his way towards his wife and brother. “You two causin’ trouble over here?” 

“No more than usual.” Race grinned. “Where yous been, Jackie? Thought you’d be tearin’ up the dance floor.” 

Sticking his hands in his pockets, Jack rocked back on his heels. “Just conjuring up a surprise for yous and Spot. Can yous grab him and meet me in the Willow Room?”

Kissing Kat’s cheek, Race promised he’d meet Jack there in a few minutes before going to find Spot. Sliding up beside his husband, he slid his hand into Spot’s squeezing it gently, as Spot looked up from his conversation with Itey and Hotshot. 

“There’s my husband.” Spot exclaimed. 

Saying his hellos to Spot’s best friends, Race grinned. “Can I steal you away for a few minutes?” 

Promising to catch up next week after they returned, Spot followed Race across the room and out into the lobby of the venue. Spot squeezed Race’s hands but not asking any questions. “Jack wanted to see us in the Willow Room.” 

Walking into the room, they saw Jack leaning against a table with something on the table. “Ah there yous two.” 

“What’s up Jackie?” Race asked looking at his brother for any signs of what Jack needed them for. 

“I wanted to give yous something as a present. I sketched it earlier and was trying to figure out how to get it to yous two - thought about sneakin’ it into the house but Kat said this would be better for yous two.” Jack rambled, which never happened, giving Race the heads up that he was nervous about whatever was on the table. 

Stepping forward, Race looked at the frame on the table. Jack had sketched the two of them as they stood on the pier earlier before the ceremony. Spot’s face was facing the river as their hands were linked, perched on the barrier. Race’s face was turned towards Spot’s with a big grin on his face. Race’s top hat was skewed on his head while Spot’s Newsies cap was perched delicately on top of his head. 

Race swallowed the sudden rush of emotions of seeing the sketch. “Jack . . . this is incredible. When did you have time to do this?” 

“While you two fools were standing out there.” Jack smiled. “I asked Kat to ensure that you two had 30 minutes to just see each other before the weddin’. I knew I wanted to sketch something from today but didn’t know what - this just sorta happened.” 

Spot swung his arm around Jack, pulling him in for a hug. “This is incredible - it’ll go in the living room of the house, right above the couch. Thank you for sketching it - we’ll cherish it always.” 

Race followed suit, pulling his brother into a hug, tears in his eyes. “Thanks Jackie. This is the best present yous could’ve given us. A perfect weddin’ memento.” 

“Kat and Is will take it to the house tomorrow but Is wanted you to see it tonight.” Jack grinned, the nervousness from earlier gone. 

Spot and Jack gave him one more hug before they headed back into the lobby, taking one moment just the two of them. “Yous made me the happiest man alive, Sean Higgins-Conlon and Is love you forever for it.” 

“Yous made me pretty happy yourself, Anthony Higgins-Conlon. Is love you.” 

They joined their guests in the room as an upbeat song was played. They danced, laughed, and shoved cake in each other’s faces as the night came to an end. Long drawn out goodbyes to their friends and family were said before the two left via carriage as tin cans tied to the undercarriage sang their departure. Mr. and Mr. Higgins-Conlon married at last. 

Okay some credit is due. There are two poems that are read in the wedding ceremony. The first poem York read is “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. You may recall that this was partially read when Spot proposed to Race. This poem wasn’t written until 1916 but I felt like it fit Race and Spot so well - so forgive me for utilizing artistic liberties. The second poem that Kat read is called “The Art of Marriage” by Wilferd Arlan Peterson. When I read this, I immediately fell in love with it and knew that it fit our two leading men perfectly. 

So what did you think? This is 8,900 words of pure love written over two days and I would really appreciate some comments on what you loved, hated, or got emotional at. I had some tears in my eyes as I wrote this. Any feedback would be appreciated!!!! 

[rootiebaga]

im also sorry for uploading this twice-

sorry for not doing much

B U T- i have ideas for abnormality ocs, these are mostly related to nursery rhymes and stories i remember,

these might not be original ideas so,, bear with me

(tiny tw for: murder, death, comas and mass disappearances,)

just a reminder i dont know what these guys risk classes would be, so bear with me on this one

so lets start off with the story one, more specifically, the pied piper

so i read an article of its disturbing truth and its said that the piper is the personification of death, you know what that means?

i make the piper a gentleman with a wife and 2 sons who are twins (isabel and gregory, see? their important) named mori (”i apologize to my sons that i couldn’t control myself, i hope you two are doing well,”)

mori’s life before his death basically played out like the pied piper, but it took a much different turn

he decided to put the rats who were infesting the town into an abandoned clock tower, before they all starved and died, some of the rats, with all the strength they had left, formed 2 rat kings that were both merged together, (fun fact: this is another abnormality i thought of thats well- a clock filled with undead and decomposing mice, you probably know where im going with this)

what happened to the children? (except for his two sons) he murdered them and he went insane and murdered himself aswell, the police found the children and also his body many months later, and he moves on as a restless spirit, if any children have been bad a snake-like spirit with an angler fish’s face will rise up from their bodies, these guys dont do much harm, (theres a 30% chance that a plague (i thought inner demon was kinda cliche so uh) will rise from an employee’s body after they were killed) (tiny little thing i wanna add but i may not, if there are 5 plagues then they’ll merge with mori, making him even more dangerous) (also off topic to the story but mori himself wasn’t diagnosed with anything before he died, he didn’t have any mental trauma, in fact, he was generally a nice person to talk to, but rumour has it the flute might’ve caused this murders to happen)

he was basically locked in the cabin for well- months, until someone (isabel who was training to be a flute player) played the song his father usually plays on his flute every new year

that was.. a bit dark, holy shit-

heres the next one for this post

you know the nursery rhyme hey diddle diddle?

well i thought of 4 different abnormalities for this one, that usually switch randomly from one abnormality to another every day, reset, or if you had them first in one of the departments, every memory repository

the least harmful (dammit, accidentally put harmless instead of harmful) one is the laughing dog (”with every cry the spirit made, the kingdom’s castle broke more and more, until the residents of the kingdom disappeared, even himself.”)

basically its a regular pet dog but its in a jester outfit like its halloween or something, the dog was said to be a reincarnation of a medieval jester

basically, kinda like crumbling armour except with attachment, if you do attatchment, you’ll get a gift that gives you more work success

but, dont get your hopes up! if you do attachment too much the person with the gift will laugh until they cant breathe and eventually die (hi yes i didn’t notice that library of ruina has a jester related abnormality, im not kidding. i really didn’t know that it already existed)

the next one is moon jumper (”who knew the moon orbiting the earth would also have something orbiting it? it would seem pretty crazy to believe!”)

this guy is an astronaut with cow horns that hasn’t succumbed to space even though the glass thats protecting their face from space, has cracked a little, they were found circling the moon for some reason and even trying to jump over it

when they breach, they do it passively, usually, everywhere they go theres an effect that causes the room to have the gravity of the moon, meaning abnormalities (even himself) including employees go very slow (heres a thing i added, sometimes an employee may float upwards, they will soon fall down. the fall causes red damage, because you know- they fell-)

moon jumper can be very helpful when suppressing abnormalities due to this power, and after a few minutes he will slowly walk back to his containment

the next one is the cat’s fiddle (”people have thought the instrument was a curse made for the person wielding it,”) a lady with cat eyes, if you zoom in you can hear the sound of someone playing the fiddle. theres a new special work for this abnormality called “trade” for if the person wants to trade their weapon for the fiddle for a while, if you forget to bring it back by the end of the day, dont worry as the weapon that was traded for the fiddle will return back to the employee the next day, if the person wielding the fiddle ever goes insane, they’re eyes will become cat-like (mostly like the woman’s) and they’ll begin slicing the throats of people.

and the last one from the hey diddle diddle gang is the dish that ran with the spoon, (”wake up! please! its not over yet..”) it is a widower who sees illusions of his wife and the wedding disaster, he usually thinks his wife is still breathing. what this wedding disaster means is unknown.

when he breaches his illusion (aka his wife) will appear from another department, on top of a random department’s room will be a wedding ring, they are harmless at first, but if they finally see each other, and the wedding starts, the wedding will abruptly end with the wife’s neck bleeding, her falling onto the floor and fading out of existence, and the widower quickly snapped back to real life, with the realization that his wife is long gone, madness takes over him and he starts to attack the guests that partook in the wedding

next one! its another nursery rhyme related abnormality,

old man coma! (”whatever they said, whatever they tried to do, they couldn’t save him from eternal rest, I already took his last moments away.”)

basically its an old man, who appears to be sleeping in a bed.

his qliphoth counter is at 2, when its at 1, (either bad result, prudence level 3 and lower or repression work, it’ll also go down if the person was damaged by white damage in any way the day they’re working on old man coma) the containment will start to glitch a bit, likes its slipping back into reality, when its at 0, a flat-line can be heard, the containment will change again and the old man will now be lying in a hospital bed thats right next to a heart monitor,

the actual abnormality is his condition, which takes the form of a shadow with bleeding eyes, although its sort of calm, its violent to those who had previous head injuries, (example: hitting your head on things) since head injuries remind it of the old man

when it escapes from the containment it will search for employees with prudence 3 or lower, after it finds one it will soon go into the employee’s brain and make them pass out by just bumping either an employee or an abnormality, they will stay passed out till the end of the day, they will only go for one person, then they’ll be back in containment, but that doesn’t mean the employee will still live! at the next day the employee will be missing, and a notification will pop up that the employee is dead.

i keep getting alot of ideas so heres the final one: missing persons busride! (its based off of glitch in the matrix stuff,) (”so.. this is the thing that caused the mass disappearances?”)

this is a tool abnormality i thought of. like the name says its a bus with grayscale colors,  when an employee gets onto the bus (aka uses it) it’ll drive to a portal and come back. there is a chance that the employee will get a work speed boost, but theres also a chance that the person will go missing, you’ll know this if the person comes back as a sorta visible glitchy shadow, there will be no notification specifying the person’s death, and if they are gone, they are gone forever, even if you try to reset or memory repository, they will still be gone. you will have to create the employee again if you want them back.

so thats all for now! i hope that this is alright,

[boobear-harold]

I was tagged by @sunflowrhaz to answer a few questions that dig a little deeper. thank you love <3

1. Do you prefer writing with a black pen or a blue pen?

don’t really care but prob black

2. Would you prefer to live in the country or in the city?

Country. I’ve lived in the bush all my life - although I would love it if I lived closer to a big city.

3. If you could learn a new skill, what would it be?

Piano (i know like the right hand of one song), and I spent a year studying Italian and dont remember anything from it so I would like to actually be fluent.

4. do you drink your tea/coffee with sugar?

I only drink black tea(with milk) and I have 2 sugars. I do have pretty big mugs though

5. What was your favourite book as a child?

the harry potter series, and then probably the Eragon series or the Wings series. do not get me started on just how badly they did the Eragon movie though

6. Do you prefer baths or showers?

showers tbh

7. If you could be a mythical creature, which one would you be?

a mermaid or a faerie, I was obsessed with both as a kid

8. Paper or electronic books?

Defffinitely paper. Theres just something about the smell and the feel <3

9. What is your favourite item of clothing?

😬 i have an overflowing wardrobe... maybe the Spell dress I treated myself to, or my denim jacket, or one of my maxi dresses idk idk

10. Do you like your name? Would you like to change it?

as a kid i always wanted my middle name to be my name... like i started calling myself that and everything sdskfjhlksfk but now no not really. I like my name (although it is annoying that there is a brand with the same name)

11. Who is a mentor to you?

my mum 💕 she’s an absolute legend

12. Would you like to be famous? If so, what for?

I wouldn’t mind if like my art or the things I made were famous but like me actually famous myself? noooooo thank you i’ll pass

13. Are you a restless sleeper?

lmao no i remember once my dad apologised for using the chainsaw near my bedroom window and i was like ??? I didn’t hear it at all.

14. Do you consider yourself to be a romantic person?

very much so but I feel like other people don’t think I am

15. Which element best represents you?

i am an earth sign but would probably pick water

16. Who do you want to be closer to?

i miss seeing my siblings as much as i did when we were kids, and i miss my friends from high school so much... we never see each other anymore

17. Do you miss someone at the moment?

yeah

18. Tell us about an early childhood memory.

most of my childhood memories include horseriding or swimming at the beach or river

19. What is the strangest thing you have eaten?

tbh i’m pretty fussy. Oh! actually I had kangaroo once in primary school when we had this like ‘indigenous culture education’ thing. Do not remember what it tastes like at all

20. What are you most thankful for?

i was going to say the same thing so I’m just going to leave your answer there lol 

my family, my health, the beautiful country i live in, the friends i have made on here 💛so many things

21. Do you like spicy food?

not in the slightest. I dont even like pepper on my food

22. Have you ever met someone famous?

depends on what kind of famous we’re talking lol i’ve met a couple of mildly well known aussie bands, a politician, an athlete that carried the 2000 olympic torch through my town, but nobody like really famous

23. Do you keep a diary or journal?

i dont use it as much anymore but from like mid teens until a few years ago i used one a lot. It was the best feeling to just like write everything i felt like i couldn’t/shouldn’t say but i guess i dont need it so much anymore

24. Do you prefer to use pen or pencil?

pen

25. What is your star sign?

capricorn sun, aries moon, aquarius rising

26. Do you like your cereal crunchy or soggy?

i haven’t eaten cereal in years but its gotta be crunchy. are there actually people who like soggy cereal lmao

27. What would you want your legacy to be?

this sounds so cheesy but I just wanna be someone people are comfortable to be around

28. Do you like reading? What was the last book you read?

do i like breathing? my first memory of books is having fairytale books stacked like 30cm+ high on the end of my bed when I was like 4/5. I just finished The Lost Book of the White and am currently reading Midnight Sun(dont judge me i needed to know what it was like)

29. How do you show someone you love them?

i’m definitely a show not tell kind of person. hugs, doing a task they don’t like doing so that they dont have to do it, hugs, gifts, hugs, 

30. Do you like ice in your drinks?

sometimes

31. What are you afraid of?

losing my family, never travelling, not doing anything with my life

32. What is your favourite scent?

jasmine, rain, freesias, books, roses, my mums perfume, 

33. Do you address older people by their name or surname?

calling anyone by their surname is not really a thing where i’m from (unless it gets turned into a nickname)

34. If money was not a factor, how would you live your life?

travelling a lot, secretly paying off peoples debts, handing out money to strangers, I would just travel and try to make peoples lives easier

35. Do you prefer swimming in pools or the ocean?

100% pool. I always feel like a plant that someone poured salt on after i’ve swam at the beach

36. What would you do if you found $50 on the ground

keep it unless i could figure out who’s it was

37. Have you ever seen a shooting star? Did you make a wish?

i’ve seen a few :) and yes

38. What is one thing you would want to teach your children?

i don’t think i want kids, but if I had them probably just to be kind, tolerant and not to judge to quickly, and definitely to use common sense

39. If you had to have a tattoo, what would it be and where would you get it?

hmmm definitely something small, probably ~aesthetic~ artsy or some symbol that means something to me. I’d get it wrist, above or below my elbow (inner), or maybe ankle. I’ve actually always wanted an infinity symbol on the side of my ring finger

40. What can you hear right now?

my fan and my cat yawning

41. Where do you feel the safest?

at home, probably in my bed reading or smth

42. What is one thing you want to overcome/conquer?

procrastination, self-doubt, anxiety

43. If you could travel back to any era, what would it be?

i’m always thinking fashion when it comes to history so probably some where from 1850s - 1920s england/france. or like 1600s france.

44. What is your most used emoji?

😂💖🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️

45. Describe yourself using one word.

creative... or stubborn, or kind idk

46. What do you regret the most?

... not trying. But there’s always time to change that I guess :)

47. Last movie you saw?

dont remember... i’ve been watching a lot of tv

48. Last tv show you watched?

currently watching Hart of Dixie

49. Invent a word and its meaning

solgim - the sparkly feeling when you have a crush on someone

i tag: @weareonejazzhand @queerlydestructive @sunsetlarry @feellikearainbow @babygater @fuckingniall @sunflower-vol14 @oneandonlyhl @softcoeurs @heyangel @louisteapot @proudandexcited only if you feel like it <3 also if i didnt tag you and you want to please do and tag me