#this is genuinely so important to me thank you scout

[thoughtfulfiction]

The P Word

Author’s Note: Two fics in two days?

In 2013, Joe sent a dm to a recruiting analyst for scout.com, asking which camps he should attend because he was flying under the national radar.

Most four star recruits get about 20 college offers. He had 12.

At Ohio State he sat on the bench for three years, only gaining attention as a scout team player who would later have to graduate in three years just so he could transfer and get some playing time elsewhere.

That same scout team player would become the best player in college football and a Heisman trophy winner and the number one pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. A few years after that fateful private message to Dave Burk.

Robin Burrow had been there the entire time. Through every shining moment and the times that seemed rather dark. She drove two hours to do his laundry just to make sure he was physically and mentally healthy when he lived in Columbus, has attended every game since he began playing sports, made him snickers salad when he tore his ACL…and when he tore his scapholunate ligament in his wrist. All in all, she’s been a constant presence in the midst of all of the mayhem. To be frank, there’s nowhere else in the world she’d rather be than between him and anything that could possibly serve to harm him or cause him any pain, no matter how old he is.

That included protecting him from himself.

The last few months had been filled with joy. After the news of his engagement, the wedding planning process had been smooth. You and Robin along with your mom, had gone to several appointments together and Joe had even added his input in most of the details without you feeling like you had to twist his arm and force him to participate.

You were now in the home stretch of the most important day of your lives. Less than two months from now you’d be saying “I do” to the love of your life. And Robin had taken her role as future mother in-law very seriously. You knew that Joe was a mama’s boy, his brothers much older than him with their own mom, and it was clear to anyone with eyes that he was Robin’s pride and joy. But not in a creepy way that would get them to star in a TLC show. It was just very evident that she was proud of him and his achievements and that she didn’t mess around when it came down to business.

After one of your dress fittings, she pulled you aside. “There’s one quick thing I need to mention to you. You’ll be getting a formal document in the mail in the next few days. Nothing huge, just a formality that Peter and the team drafted up for you to sign. I hate the word prenup but that’s essentially what this is.” She said in a matter of fact way. “We just need to make sure to dot our i’s and cross our t’s if that makes sense. Get the boring stuff out of the way so that we can focus on showering you and Joey with our love on your special day.”

“No that makes complete sense, just send it over and I’ll sign whatever you need me to. Thank you Robin seriously, for everything. You’ve made planning this entire thing a breeze.”

She shakes her head with a genuine smile, giving you a warm hug. “This has been an honor, I’m so happy for the both of you sweetie. I’ll see you in a few days for brunch at your house? The kids are so excited they won’t stop talking about it.”

“Yes absolutely, I can’t wait either it’s been so long since we’ve gotten both families together it’ll be really fun.”

There weren’t many opportunities for your family to interact with Joe’s and vice versa, unless everyone met at a football game but that wasn’t exactly quality family bonding. That felt more like a collective screaming match where the adults pregamed with beer and the kids wore his jersey. Most of them didn’t really know what was going on in the actual game. So you and Joe were going to host both sets of parents, all of your siblings and their kids in order for everyone to really spend time together before the wedding.

A few days later, you were finalizing the menu with the catering company when Joe came home.

“It’s gonna be like Cheaper by the Dozen in here tomorrow,�� he notes, grabbing a Body Armour from the fridge. “Are we sure we’re ready for this?”

“We kinda have to be. Should we do smoked salmon or shrimp crostinis?” You held up one of each and let him examine them. He snagged the salmon one first and took a bite then did the same with the shrimp.

“Definitely the salmon. What time is everyone getting here?” The catering people jot down their last notes and head out the door after you and Joe thanked them.

You could tell he was going to need time to mentally prepare in case he got overstimulated. “They’ll be here at 1pm, so you can probably get an early workout in and take a nap afterwards,” walking over to him on the other side of the counter, holding his face in your hands. “I know you get cranky when you’re tired and Uncle Joe needs to be at his best tomorrow because the kids will need a QB for their flag football game.”

He wraps his arms around your waist, sticking out his lips that are begging to be kissed. You happily grant his wish, pressing your lips against his, giving him a quick smooch. He asks for a few more, about to get lost in a full make out session when a stack of papers on the counter catch his eye. Joe pulls back so abruptly that your face smacks against his chest.

“Sorry baby,” he cradles your head, reaching around you to grab the piece of paper that’s on top. You take that as your cue to go after his second apology for nearly giving you a concussion. That chest is a brick wall.

The more he skims the words, the tighter his grip gets on the little sheet and the confused look on his face deepens. “Um…what is this?”

“What is what?” You give him a look that matches his energy.

He holds up the paper. “This. What is this? Where did you get it from?”

You look around the room to make sure you aren’t getting Punk’d. “Wait—are you being serious?”

“Do I look like I’m joking,” it wasn’t a question. He’s legitimately starting to look upset. “Who gave this to you?”

“Joe,” you let out a dry chuckle, “your mom did. Said it was a formality and that I should sign it and give it to her so she can hand it off to Peter so your lawyers can process it.” When your fiancé continues to stand there motionless in the middle of the room, that’s when it hits you. “Did—did you not know about this?”

He usually has something to say about everything, so watching him silently shake his head is a little scary. Joe places the first page of the prenuptial agreement on the table with a heavy sigh, visibly trying to compose himself. The man had the patience of a saint, known to have blow ups on the field but that was Football Joe. Off the field Joe was calm and rarely ever let things get to him. You’d probably only heard him yell twice in the entire time you’ve been together. And now he was dead quiet. You didn’t know what to do with that.

“Joe, your mom is just trying to protect you. Get this out of the way so that we can—”

“Please don’t try to defend her right now,” his tone was laced with venom, a seething anger you hadn’t seen before and weren’t too keen on getting familiar with. “I don’t like that this was just drafted, printed and handed to you without my permission. She and Peter shouldn’t have done that. And my mom definitely shouldn’t have ambushed you with this.”

Now he was being dramatic. “Robin didn’t ambush me! She told me a couple days ago and I thought you knew so I didn’t mention it.”

“I would never do that to you,” he says with a pain in his voice that makes your chest clench. “WE, you and I should be talking about this. Not my mom and Peter. Jesus.” He rested his arms on the counter, running his hands through his hair.

You hated seeing him get worked up like this, crossing the room again to place a comforting hand on his back. “Why don’t you talk to her tomorrow, I’m sure she didn’t mean to upset you. She most likely just thought she would do this for you so you didn’t need to worry about it.”

“That’s the thing, this isn’t something she should be doing for me. We’re getting married. You’re going to be my wife. There’s no reason she needs to be handing you documents on my behalf like you’re some fucking stranger. I don’t care how ‘busy’ I am. You come first.” You can feel the tension in his muscles even when he stands up to his normal height. He’s really trying to keep it together, giving you an empty kiss on the cheek before heading into his office to cool off. An hour later you head up to check on him, assuming he has his headphones on and can’t hear you, you find that the door is locked.

Tomorrow’s brunch is going to be very interesting to say the least.

Joe surprised you by being in bed by the time you came upstairs to get ready to go to sleep. You thought for sure he’d be on a run to clear his mind. As soon as you climbed in next to him he put his phone away, wrapping his arms around you and giving your body a squeeze.

Whatever private meeting he had with himself must have done the trick because he was actually letting you be the big spoon for once. His touch was soft and intentional, the previously icy aura was liquified and only warm and cuddly Joe remained. “Are you okay?” You asked him and he nodded without looking at you. He just interlocked your fingers in his before sitting up.

“Switch me.” You knew the little spoon wouldn’t last long. “That’s better,” he sighs kissing your head, feeling at home with your arm draped across his waist.

After a few seconds of silence he mutters, “I’m so sorry this is happening. Are you sure you want to sign up for a lifetime of this?”

You look up to meet Joe’s gaze to see if he’s trying to be funny. “A lifetime of you? I can’t think of anything I would want more. The rest of it is just extra, the good and the bad. As long as I have you I don’t care.”

His shoulders sag once again in relief, “good.” Joe peppers a few kisses on your neck, making his way up to your jaw, taking his sweet time until he got to your lips. A joyous hum leaves his mouth as the kiss grows deeper, each swipe of his tongue against yours makes you feel dizzy…love drunk. Nothing compares to the way that Joe kisses you, sensually careful but hungry at the same time, almost as if this is the last thing he’ll ever get to do. This kiss is different, it’s a promise to always protect you, to never let the outside noise sway what his heart knows is true. He’s found the one person in the world that consistently makes his heart sing and no one—not even his mom—will have the final say. And he was going to make that very clear.

When Joe sluggishly came down the stairs the next day rubbing his eyes after his nap wearing a hoodie and cargo pants, you were just thankful he wasn’t in sweats.

“Hi there Sleeping Beauty, I’ve already gotten a few texts that most of them are about five minutes out.”

“Great,” he grunts, parking himself on the couch, “I’m starving,” he scoots around trying to subtly adjust himself.

Joe stares at you , running his hand down your thigh. “Hungry…for food right?” You give him a pointed look.

“Yeah, yeah for food. What did you think I meant?” He laughs as he catches the pillow you launch his way and scoot far enough away that he can’t grab you.

“Don’t. Today really needs to be a stress free day. Can you promise you will be nice and not yell at your mother?” And with that statement he is no longer in the mood.

“I will not yell at my mom,” he crosses his arms over his chest with a scowl only like a youngest child could. “Can’t promise I’ll be nice.”

Before you can negotiate any further the doorbell rings and your first guests arrive. Nieces and nephews come running in, suffocating you with hugs and the youngest one tugging at Joe’s legs demanding to be picked up. Less than 30 minutes later the entire backyard is filled with kids playing tag, drinking juice boxes while the adults enjoyed the appetizer spread.

Joe wasn’t making it blatantly obvious that he was mad but he wasn’t exactly hiding it either. He kept the greeting with his parents short, keeping his distance throughout the afternoon focused on entertaining the kids and playing the perfect host.

“I just realized I never asked,” Codie, one of Joe’s sister in laws speaks up. “Where are you two going for your honeymoon?”

“Bora Bora! I can’t wait,” you respond, topping off her wine glass.

His brother Dan’s ears perk up. “We were thinking about going there for an anniversary trip. Are you guys staying in a resort?”

Joe shakes his head, “I got us an underwater bungalow. The view is supposed to be insane.”

“Yeah I bet,” your dad notes.

“Take lots of pictures,” his dad adds in.

He waits for a second taking a mental note of his mom’s silence throughout the conversation, nudging you to make sure that you’re on the same page. By the time everyone was gone you needed something stronger than wine. Robin and your mom insisted on helping you clean up but you let them know that the caterers were coming back to grab everything. As you bid your family goodbye and thanked them for coming, your mom whispered in your ear, letting you know that the man inside was a keeper. You responded by telling her you intended on keeping him.

Once the door was fully closed you could breathe a sigh of relief…until you heard Robin ask Joe what was going on with him.

Here we go.

Joe didn’t respond. He just went up to his office and came right back down with the prenup in hand. “Care to explain?”

“Oh,” she looked rather unfazed, “Peter and I thought that—”

“And that’s where you went wrong,” Joe interrupts, voice surprisingly even. “You and Peter don’t get to ‘think.’ You don’t get to do whatever you ‘think’ I need. You have to ask me.”

You can tell she’s visibly taken aback at how this has gone. “It was not at all my intention to go behind your back. You’re just very busy and now with wedding planning and everything else, it just made sense to get it put into place so you’d have one less thing to worry about.”

“Mom, I get that. But you crossed the line here. I’m an adult who would’ve liked to have a mature conversation with the person I am going to marry about a topic that is extremely uncomfortable for everyone. It is not your job to play the middle man here. There is no middle man. This is between y/n and I.”

The tension in the air was getting a little too thick for your liking. You stood next to Joe, running your hand down his arm trying to diffuse the situation as much as possible. “Okay I think you’ve made your point. Robin, I am not at all upset with you, this can all be resolved rather—”

“I am upset with you mom. There was no reason to hand over that document without at least giving me a phone call,” Joe counters, starting to stand in front of you a bit like he’s physically shielding you from her.

“Now Joey I don’t think your mom meant any harm,” Joe’s dad speaks up seeing his wife almost in tears. “Why don’t we all just take a breather here.”

You nod in agreement.

“I’m so sorry, to both of you. In hindsight that wasn’t the best way to go about it but like you said this is uncomfortable. I thought keeping it casual would remove some of that awkwardness and I just made it worse. I really am sorry.”

Joe still seemed unmoved but you really didn’t think she needed to apologize this much. He just told her he appreciated the sentiments but that she needs to recognize that’s he’s an adult, telling them goodnight and immediately heading upstairs.

You’re left to walk them out alone, giving them both hugs goodbye. “Honey I’m so sorry,” Robin states again, “I never want you to think that I don’t love you or that I was intentionally going behind Joe’s back. I was just making sure we have all of our bases covered so we aren’t sweating the small stuff on your big day. I hope you can forgive me.”

“You’re totally fine, I understand. And I agree. I think he just got a little freaked out at the reminder that his life is abnormal. He wants things to be simple and sometimes they just aren’t. That probably stressed him out a little. Or a lot.”

It feels good to leave their tense interaction with her smiling. Even though it didn’t reach her eyes like usual, it was still a small step forward.

“How can you not be upset about this?” Joe asks after brushing his teeth.

You focused on what was going on at your sink, taking your time to complete your skincare routine. “Because I see where both of you are coming from. You have every right to be angry at her for doing this behind your back. But at the same time I understand why she feels like she should get a jump on protecting your assets.”

“Protect my assets…” he scoffs, “…from you? What’s mine is going to be yours.” He hands you a towel after you wash your face, having memorized the steps at this point.

“Yeah ok, legally. But your accomplishments and accolades are yours. That’s how you got here and your mom saw all the blood, sweat and tears that went into you being in the position you are today. She may have overstepped a little but you’re still her baby at the end of the day and sometimes it’s hard for them to recognize that they have adult children who are fully capable of making their own decisions.” He grabs the moisturizer off the counter and places it in your hand as you laugh, whispering thank you. “My mom has done the same to me, not to this extent obviously because we’re in completely different tax brackets but—they just want to make sure we’re okay no matter what.”

Joe leans against the counter, deep in thought. Growing up with his dad coaching it was usually just the two of them, she drove him to basketball and football practices and tournaments, took him to school and worked the entire day at school and came home still ready to dedicate all of her time to him if he asked. “I was too harsh wasn’t I?”

“A teeny bit? Maybe? I do thoroughly appreciate you looking out for me though. Going to bat for me against your mom of all people.”

He shrugs, giving you a hug from behind, resting his chin on your head. “She protects me so somebody’s gotta protect you. That’s what I’m signing up for and I promise to always take that job very seriously.” I should put that in my vows, he tells himself. He leans over a little more to press a kiss against your temple.

“Is that a promise?”

“That is a promise,” he holds out a pinky, making you gasp as you turn around.

“Isn’t a pinky shake you and Ja’Marr’s thing?”

Joe looks at you sheepishly, smiling so wide his eyes crinkle. “I won’t tell him if you don’t.”

You lock your pinky in his, kissing the smile off of his face.

That night before he went to sleep, he texted his mom telling her that he loved her. You gave them privacy when she came over the next day, smiling and hugging it out so you assumed everything went well. You hoped to have open communication with your kids even as adults one day, but did not envy the journey that your parents were constantly navigating. This once tiny person you created and had to make sure to teach them everything was now not only getting married and had established their own life but in Joe’s case everything was heightened. She’s been there through her son being the overlooked player who Urban Meyer said threw like a girl to now if he so much as has a paper cut an entire city of people, a whole fanbase is worried and asking for minute by minute updates on his condition. You couldn’t imagine the whirlwind that must be.

So you were going to sign that prenup whether Joe liked it or not.

“We need to decide on bridal party gifts,” Joe suggests a week later. “I was thinking about getting the guys customized golf carts. They could be delivered straight to their houses after the wedding or I could have them dropped off the day we get there and they can drive around the property whenever they need to get somewhere? What sounds better?”

“It sounds like you’ve had this very specific plan and just couldn’t wait to make your big announcement. How am I supposed to compete with that?”

Joe laughs, grabbing his water. “You can give them all Cartier bracelets, have the wedding date engraved on the inside. That’d be pretty cool.”

Cool and expensive. “Don’t do that, I can actually hear what you’re thinking.” Curse him for knowing you so well. “We’re only gonna do this once, might as well do it right. Make it a great experience for everyone we love.”

“Fine. You’re right. But we are not doing an ice sculpture then.” He gives you a blank stare but says nothing, both of you know that it’ll be coming back up sooner rather than later. “There is something else we need to talk about though.”

He rolls his eyes, deciding this is the perfect time to get up and put his plate in the sink, like you can’t just follow him. “We really don’t have to do this.”

“Oh but we do. Joe seriously we’re gonna have to figure this out. It’s important.”

He lets out a deep breath, looking up at the ceiling before putting his eyes back on you. “I’m just uncomfortable with any conversation that plans a breakup. I don’t ever want to breakup.”

“Then let’s not breakup and we won’t even have to worry about any of this. We’ll discuss the details, I’ll sign it and we’ll never talk about it ever again. Deal?”

You place a hand on his cheek and he kisses the inside of your hand before he speaks. “Deal. I can’t wait to marry you. Even got a countdown on my phone.”

“That’s probably the single most adorable thing you’ve ever said.” He pulls his phone out to show you a countdown app with a timer down to the hour the ceremony is supposed to start. A picture from your engagement shoot is set as the background. “I can’t wait either. I love you, so much.”

“I love you more.”

[spelled-like-pajamas]

Something I don't think I've ever seen someone talk about with TF2 (though there probably is someone) is a small detail in the Expiration Date video (which came out in June of 2014, for context that's important later). For context, here's the clip in question:

Did you catch something small? When Scout stands up and says he'll do the date without Spy's help, Spy does something he rarely ever does, something absolutely tiny, but that speaks volumes.

He smiles. A genuine, non-snarky smile.

If you were to watch this when it first came out, and notice this detail, I'd not make any sense, really. Why would he be smiling, when Scout is arguing with him, telling him that he's wrong, basically saying he just wasted his supposed final hours on this world teaching him something he's not going to use?

But then, in January of 2017, nearly 2 and half years later, and (okay spoilers but this has been around for like more than 7, nearly 8 years since posting) it is all but directly shouted from the heavens that Spy is Scout's father. And all of a sudden, this small detail, Spy's smile, takes on a whole new meaning.

As Scout's father, Spy is proud of him.

Even though for what has been presumed to be the finals days of their life, even though Spy has taken ever opportunity to belittle him, to tell him he is a failure and this won't work, that he won't get Pauling (which he probably won't regardless since she is, much like the Spy-Scout relationship, pretty much confirmed to be a lesbian), Scout stands up to him. He stands his ground for something he wants to at least try to do.

And Spy smiles because he is proud of his son for learning one of the best lessons he could ever teach him: stand up for yourself when you believe in something and really want it. He never got to teach him so many things with how he never got to be involved in his raising because of his job, but over the course of 3 days they have, he gets to teach him so much, and leaves him with the most important advice without even saying it.

And it helps to explain a good bit more. It explains why the only reason he interrupts isn't to talk back or put him in his place, but remind him that he's got a date to get to, and his smile only fades when Scout just flat out insults him, like he ruined their father-son bonding moment. It explains why he's so attentive, watching him attempt to start the date, and why when he seems him next, instead of telling him something snarky or rude, or telling him to fight better, he reminds him there is someone he needs to make an apology to, and try to give him the space to take care of that admits the chaos.

Spy can't show it, but he is proud of his son.

Anywho, happy 100th post (took me long enough). Hope to be more active on here, and post more things, and maybe even show off some cool things I make. But to everyone who has been a part of this, from the voice overs on YouTube that first intrigued me to check this place out, to the few but wonderful mutuals I'm so lucky to have, to every weird and amazing person that makes this site somewhere we can call home, I thank you!

okay, bye!

[ballad-of-birdy-lamb]

saw you accept teamfortress 2 requests... so maybe I was thinkin you could write a enimes to lovers kinda thing with scout and GN reader? Same thing for Pyro and medic? Please and thank you?

(My first time askin without being an annon :>)

It's you- all the roads lead to you.

Scout/Pyro/Medic x Gender neutral! Reader enemies to lovers romantic headcanons Summary: How cruel you are for a Blu merc. Warnings: Reader is the 10th merc for Blu team (what kind of merc isn't specified), red team headcanons, (not a warning but just a statement) Pyro uses interchanging she/he/they pronouns, mention of violence (not descriptive). Word Count: 1.1k ⋆.ೃ࿔.𖥔 ݁ ˖*:･༄

Scout:

It’s insanely easy to become his enemy with how boastful he is, you wouldn’t even need to be on the enemy team to become an enemy of his. Scout is very vocal about his accomplishments and genuinely views himself as better than many, especially Blu team.

While out on the battlefield, you heard him loudly proclaiming his excellence and kill him from annoyance. You are on the opposing team just makes it worse on his end, sitting in respawn and realizing you had also killed him several times before. Other interactions with opposing forces lead to him in respawn because of you! You!

Scout would target you more times than not, intentionally hitting you while reprimanding you. After his constant violence against you, your annoyance would turn to hatred.

It is more likely you both meet when Miss Pauling is going about getting the mercs together for the Administrator. You both were stuck together and were forced to talk, mainly being encouraged to stop any violence that could possibly entail.

Scout would, again, naturally, degrade you and tell you you weren’t as important as he was for the team. It would go on for such a long time, even the other mercs (for both Blu and Red) getting annoyed by it.

It would be a gradual care he would get, starting with compliments that he would hide with a bit of degradation.

“You’re really good at killing the robots but I’m, like, ten billion times better at it. Don’t get your hopes up on being better.”

When he gets back to Red with Heavy, he’ll spend his time telling you how his muscles are huge because he pushed the ginormous rock ten feet and how Heavy was like “woah!” and stuff. Scout will state it’s to show how much better he is than you but it’s to see if you find that attractive.

You probably ask him out. He was going to, but he was so busy hyping himself up for it he forgot the time! Scout will act like he knew and that he understood why you’d fall for such a gorgeous man as himself. Of course, he’s a tomato but will accept your proposal of a date almost instantly.

“Of course you’d fall for me, who wouldn’t!”

Medic:

It’s likely you were a faster merc, making it around the battlefield quick enough to harm several red mercs and making Medic run around helping them. Your existence is draining and beyond annoying. You don’t deal enough damage to kill them but just enough to have them need his help.

Medic would spend his time encouraging you to just go for him personally.

“You might as well go for me to get the others down, no point in running around if I’ll just get them fixed.”

And you then wake up in respawn.

With the news from Miss Pauling needing Red and Blu to work together, he was one of the most annoyed. Medic would have to deal with you. You! And it’s not like you’d like him back, those little stunts where he’d taunt you then kill you didn’t fly with you.

He’d find a way to get Archimedes to attack you whenever you were near his lab.

To encourage him to be kind to you, you allow him to experiment on you. Don’t expect him to be kind but he’ll enjoy it. It’s mostly because, in that situation, he’ll have the upper hand.

Will use the experiment times to do random things to you, whether it’s detrimental or not is not fully disclosed while he’s working. You’ll hear him giggling while he’s about doing his own thing, you’ll ask why, and he’ll answer by saying it’s nothing (it’s not nothing).

Most likely in denial when it comes to his feelings since you’re so annoying! And you aren’t entertaining to watch but he does like looking at you. Medic will claim it’s because you’re funny looking when in reality, it’s because he’s trying to understand why he feels the way he does. But he can’t fully accept his feelings.

It’s quite entertaining to witness you doing stupid things while fighting the OG Team Fortress mercs with Medic watching, going through the five stages of grief when he realizes he’s still attracted to you.

He’s the most likely one to ask you out once everyone is at a calmer point in the mission. Medic will not be traditional about his proposal, simply giving you a well-kept human heart for the occasion. Don’t gag, of course.

“It’s very nice, very pristine. I kept it in good shape for you!”

Pyro:

If Pyro hates you, it’s more likely because you’re a water based merc for Blu team. You would go around helping fix the fires she had created intentionally. It would then lead to a hatred that he couldn’t deny, absolute hatred.

They’d target you at random points on the battlefield, especially in water areas where you’d more likely be around. The hatred you gain is because she’s a fire based merc, just simple hatred, maybe even stereotypical. But who cares, you both hate each other.

When out and about on a random morning, Pyro found you alone, sitting with the water. She naturally tries avoiding you since it wasn’t something he wanted to deal with in the morning. Then you stopped them and tried encouraging a normal coworker relationship because Miss Pauling needed Red and Blu to work together.

The way Pyro would be grateful Blu members can’t understand him is beyond words, she quietly makes remarks about the way you do things and Red team would be forced to listen to whatever they had to say about you.

If you tried being kind to him, she’d take it with a grain of salt. You set a fire for them? Are you going to torture him by putting it out before she can truly enjoy it? They bet you will!

It wouldn’t take as long as the others when it comes to gaining feelings for you. Yeah, Pyro is violent but when you need to work together and you’re putting an effort into making him happy, she can’t deny the feelings they gradually get for you.

It would be a quiet crush thing. She follows you around since he doesn’t know how to fully express to you how they feel. And it’s also because she kind of wants to admire you but that’s not for you to know.

Another thing Pyro does is constantly try protecting you. She knows other mercs don’t like him for the fire and stuff, so they’re beyond willing to follow you around to help you.

Pyro vision gives hearts around you.

Asking you out will be eventual, but very difficult. Once, she tried being vocal about his feelings and you couldn’t understand a word. Then, they turned to note writing and that went ten times better.

Pyro adores when you kiss their mask, especially the areas that would be considered mouth areas. You’ll never see her without the mask, but you’ll get used to it.

⋆.ೃ࿔.𖥔 ݁ ˖*:･༄

TF2 masterlist Request list

[lara-cairncross]

Hello hello! I love your pixie hollow AU so much! I especially love how Donnie, being disabled, finds a way to work with his disability instead of them trying to fix it,,, idk it tugs on my heartstrings how he adjusts and instead invents something extremely cool (the wing brace and damn it looks cool) that not only functions but also highlights his broken wing (like how amputees show their prosthetic/bionic limbs instead of hiding it in sleeves or leg pants to tell the message "why should I hide it? Its part of me" thing AAAAAAA)

Anyways onto the question-- (lol) I saw from an ask reply that you said that Raph picked two talents? I know what the egg is (animal.. right? iirc), but what's the other one? :))

thanks once again!

I’m so happy you love it!! And yes— Donnie building something to both work his disability AND show off his talent was super important to me! I’m glad everyone seems to like that idea too :DD I won’t go off on too much of a rant, but as I’ve said before, one of my biggest disappointments in the Tinkerbell movies was the fact that Tink got her damaged wing,,,, fixed by magic bullshit.

instead of. yknow.

tinkering a solution.

(genuinely what the hell were the writers thinking that that one—)

but anyway, the other “talent” Raph picked was the scouting talent! I couldn’t find anything definitive, but I’m fairly sure the scouting talent is represented during the choosing ceremony with a porcupine quill, so that’s what I went with!

fun fact tho: Raph still technically doesn’t have a second talent. He’s an animal fairy through and through, and the egg was the only item to do that whole glowing thing during his choosing ceremony! He ended up picking up the porcupine quill just because he wanted to— and everyone kinda just accepted it as, okay, well I guess he wants to be that too. So he did lmao. Raph doesn’t have any of the scouting talent abilities, like far-seeing and far-listening, but he’s really strong and knows how to deal with animals, so he’s kind of an honorable scouting-talent to the Hidden Hollow :DD

[childlikegoblinqueen]

SCOM FINALE writing notes (Probably the first of MANY!)

THE IMPORTANCE OF NAMES.

Hey! I am so excited to have brought Sweet Child O' Mine full circle. One thing I kept REALLY close to the chest was the name of the baby.

I DID share it with a few artists I worked with though. Thank you in particular to @lovemoroporo @findmeinthefallair @smallpapers for holding onto that! You are AMAZING!

Thanks also to @the-omori-archives who made AMAZING fanart of her!

Quick note below. I think I accidentally shared an ask with her name yesterday, but I want to pretend to keep it under wraps for a little longer.

Names are super important in folklore! I think the whole TOH fandom began really SEEING Hunter in Hunting Palisman. Obviously, we saw him unmasked for the first time, but we also saw his quirks and vulnerabilities. Also, we saw that the Golden Guard is a child.

So for me, the first real heart breaking moment was when Hunter lowered his staff. His eyes softened and he gave Luz his name.

Shortly after is our real first visual proof that Hunter's relationship with Belos is both emotionally and physically abusive. We see him accept Flapjack and loosen his grip and apologize for holding him so hard.

THE FORESHADOWING!

But we all know this! What I wanted to work with in SCOM was that it seemed that NO ONE other than Belos (and later Luz) actually knew Hunter's name. Maybe this was just my conclusion. Others have analyzed this as well. But it seemed like just another thing used to exert control and ownership over Hunter.

Hunter's feeling about his name comes up A LOT in SCOM. At one point he explicitly asks Willow not to name the baby "Hunter", because his name is his burden to bear.

Funnily enough, Steve and Katya are naming their son Orion. Something that genuinely shocks Hunter. Steve tells him he and Katya wanted to name their son after him because they (Steve especially) admires Hunter. I also realize this means that one of Artemis' close family friends will have a name that's a similar variation to her own.

Do you all think they'd be close?

Of course, Steve's reveal about the name he has chosen for his son is followed by a flashback where Steve and Hunter meet for the first time and Steve is hazed by the Scouts who tell him he has to beat Hunter up (I think Hunter was 8 at the time? I have to look back.) I imagine Steve in SCOM universe to be 8 years older than Hunter. I'm working on an AU where that gap is SLIGHTLY LESS, but here, it seemed to make more sense.

Steve himself in SCOM only became "Steve Tholomule" after realizing his birth father was a bad person, and accepting his stepdad as a parent -- and taking his name.

As I mentioned in my notes at the last chapter, Artemis was ALWAYS going to be the baby's name, for many reasons that readers have already picked up on.

But on top of everything, what I REALLY wanted to play with Hunter's feelings about his name and with Artemis coming into his life, allowing Hunter to change what he saw as a burden to a blessing.

Any questions about this or anything else? Feel free to ask.

[jamisonwritestf2trash]

How good are the ft2 mercs at baking and cooking respectively

TF2 Mercs Cooking And Baking Skills!

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Oh boy, you've asked a guy who loves to cook a bake, prepare for a ramble.

Moot appreciation: Thank you for your asks! I've had fun with the prompts you've sent it. Also, I love your blog!

Also, oops, a little Spy angst fell in, who would have guessed.

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Demo- I'm gonna go out on a limb and say most people think he can't cook. Wrong! He can cook. Just uh, unique dishes. This man has made haggis for the other mercs, Scout whole heartedly thought Demo was trying to kill them. (Little off topic but, did you guys know deep-fried Mars bars are a Scottish thing)? But in general he can cook, and cook well, it just depends on if what he's cooking is something your willing to try.

I don't think this man can bake, but that won't stop him from trying! He tries to learn, but always gets frustrated when things don't work. Like the cupcakes have been in the oven for well over two hours and are still not cooked? This man is pissed. But what he lacks in an ability to bake, he makes up for by being amazing at decorating cakes and cupcakes somehow? Like he can't bake a cupcake to save his life, but you bet your ass he can turn it into one of the prettiest things with a bag of frosting and sprinkles.

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Engie- This man is so good at cooking its not even funny. Like the he cooks for everyone one night and everyone begs him to cook at least once a month. Sure, is it the healthiest food? Not really. But it is good food! And for the mercs that's all they really care about some days.

I'm gonna be honest, he'd be a really good baker, but has never had any desire to. Never felt the need to. He'd rather just buy whatever he wants or needs. He can, however be convinced to bake, but even then he's indifferent to it. He thinks it's a fine enough hobby but would never find enthralled with it. Is always very proud of his work in either cooking or baking though!

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Heavy- He can cook! And really likes to do it too. He loves making traditional Russian food. Loves being able to share his culture through something so simple. Likes making anything really. Finds cooking to be relaxing. As long as he can be left alone while doing so.

He can bake too, he just choses not to. It's very precise, one wrong measurement and it's all going to hell. He'd love to bake, but at the end of the day I think it would stress him out more than it would calm him down, or more than it would be worth it for the final product.

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Medic- This is such a toss up for me. I want to say he can cook, and cook well. But the other part of me thinks that he'd be way too giddy to use cooking the team dinner to run a test or two. (What am I talking about he put fertility hormones in someone's rations, he'd take any chance to do it (lovingly)! To the other mercs). I guess I'll say he can cook, but be weary of what he's feeding you at any given time. Also I think if he's not in a testing mood he gets all happy at the idea of cooking traditional food as well.

Due to the fact that, may or may not be up to no good when cooking! The mercs are not super keen on letting him into the kitchen. But if Medic manages to convince (threaten) them into trusting him enough to bake, he's insanely good at it! Baking is a science, and he's incredibly good at getting measurements to be perfect. Plus even if he's not using baking or cooking as an excuse to run some tests on his teammates, it's still an experiment in it's own right. So he genuinely enjoys baking and cooking.

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Scout- You really think his mom would let him leave the house without knowing to cook? Sure, he's probably his mom's favorite, and the youngest child, so you'd think he'd be spoiled, but nope! His mom taught him from a young age the importance of having cooking as a skill, and now he loves it. He cooks when he's homesick, it reminds him of his mom, he looks at it as a connection with one another.

Same thing with baking, but I think he likes baking a bit more than cooking due to the presence of a shit ton of sugar. You'd also think this man would be chill in the kitchen. Absolutely not. He hates having other people in the kitchen when he's busy. He finds them to be distracting. Also, he's super cautious when people ask to try what he's baking specifically. He doesn't want someone to get E. Coli, because of the raw flour in the raw cookie dough. All in all, though, when he's alone (or with Pyro if they decide to join Scout). Then he's genuinely enjoying both baking and cooking.

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Sniper- Mr. Runs off instant ramen and fairy bread. Has the basic skills. He could make rice, grilled cheese, and fried eggs if need be. But for the most part, he can't cook. He has a stove in his van, and it has never been used other than to boil water. He could learn how to cook if he was really persuaded by a certain team member, but it would take a lot, and it would take a long time to learn how to cook a decent meal.

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Spy- Can cook, he has before. It was a life skill just like any other. I got pretty good at it. He can still make decently elaborate dishes, but he's not a fan of it. He doesn't really like cooking. He never had anyone to share his food with. He always wanted someone to share food with, someone to cook with. Was always too scared for said person to actually stick around, said person couldn't stick around.

He's never tried to bake, and I don't think he'd enjoy it. He'd complain about how messy it is. He'd be fine with the having to be careful and precise part. Hell He'd even be good at decorating and just baking in general. But he just wouldn't like doing it.

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Soldier- This man can't so much as cook as he can grill. It's super weird, he'll make the most normal american food and it's like really good? Like he'll make steaks, hamburgers, and hot dogs for a 4th of July party and it's the best shit you've ever had. Ask this man to fry an egg and all hell breaks loose. He is only allowed to man the grill from now on.

Do not ask this man to bake, please, please don't. He cooks with cartoon logic. The recipe calls for three eggs? He drops in three fully-shelled eggs. A stick of butter? The wrapper is still on. And the scariest part is whatever he's baking always comes out looking, edible? Cartoonish? Like straight up looks like someone drew it into existence. For the sake of everyone's mental health, they don't let Soldier bake anymore.

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Pyro- Teach them how to flambé and they're going to have the best time of their lives. They aren't horrible at cooking but aren't a master chef either. They have tried to use their flamethrower to cook on multiple occasions, but they have been banned from being in the kitchen alone due to "inciting panic." Whatever that means. They mainly will cook with Engie, as he's the most patient when it comes to Pyro's "help." (Standing menacingly until they can be trusted to do something. They do it with love, though)!

Speaking of flambé! They love to try and convince the other mercs to let them make bananas Foster, and when they eventually wear the other mercs down and are allowed to try it, they do well! It was a one-time thing, they all got too scared to let them do it again. Now they spend a lot of time helping Scout while he bakes. Overall, they can cook and bake, but should only be allowed to under supervision.

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I hope you like this! Sorry it took me so long to write I've been exhausted all week. But it was fun to write :)

New fic tomorrow, someone asked about the mercs at Barbie, which is going to be so fun!

[coloringthebanner]

finally getting back to posting these losers! here’s stan, they’re so soooo important to me <3. she’s got multiple scars like eddie- the blood oath one, around her face (from when pennywise was trying to eat their face when they faced it the first time), & ones on her wrist. i also gave them one lighter eye cuz i absolutely loveee the hc that stan saw the deadlights during the incident that gave her their face scars :) also ignore the fact that stan is the only one i gave a wedding ring to, i forgot to put one on bill & eddie 🫠 but yes stan is happily married to their wife patty uris-blum

(more hc character info, a mood board, & spotify playlist below)

name: samantha abigail uris (uris-blum after getting married)

nickname(s): stan, staniel, stan the man, stanny, sam, sammy

age: 12/13 (chapter 1), 39/40 (chapter 2)

birthday: july 13, 1976

star sign: cancer

height: 5’4 (chapter 1), 5’9 (chapter 2)

sexuality: pansexual

pronouns: she/they, non-binary

love language: quality time

character description: samantha uris is the realist of the losers club, thank you very much. an avid lover of classical music & birds, stan is always the first to point out where something could go wrong. growing up under the watchful eye of her religious parents, they’re hyper aware of themself, their actions, & the world around them. this also means that she’s grown up with a familial- & self-imposed standard for herself. with the help of the losers, stan learns how to be herself & realize it’s okay to make mistakes & to be scared. they act exhausted with dealing with the losers’ antics, but they genuinely love their friends more than anything & wouldn’t have it any other way. despite being paranoid & freezing in the face of danger, she’s the reason the losers are alive & stuck together through all the years. they’re incredible with words & always know how to comfort each loser individually, even if she comes off as cold sometimes. & even if those words take 27 years to truly be understood.

extra info: youngest member of the losers club, was in a different grade than the losers due to parents holding off on starting them in school, was a girl scout from ages 7-12 but she begged her mom to let her quit, would go birdwatching with their dad when they were younger before he started getting stricter with them, has ocd & depression, has rbf but isn’t usually as angry or annoyed as people think

[milliesfishes]

pleaseeeee do billy with a reader who wants to be a writer/singer/ any type of artist (your choice!!) but her family pushes her to do something more traditional like an engineer or doctor or a lawyer

𝜗𝜚 ࣪˖ ִ𐙚𝓫𝓲𝓵𝓵𝔂 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓪 𝓼𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓻(𝓶𝓸𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓷 𝓪𝓾)𝜗𝜚 ࣪˖ ִ𐙚 𝓯𝓮𝓶 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝔁 𝓫𝓲𝓵𝓵𝔂 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓴𝓲𝓭

Your voice was unrivaled in Billy's opinion, rich as a nightingale's smooth as the glassy surface of a lake. He'd spent many an evening in the front row of your performance settings, unable to control his grin as he watched you light up the room with your talent.

It was a slice of heaven. You were radiant when you sang, decorating the space of time with whatever melody lifted your voice. Evidently clear, you were at your happiest when the stage lights were on you, ears perked to take in your song.

As your man, he had special rights when it came to shows, being ushered backstage to meet you as you walked off. You would run to him first always, jumping into his arms with the applause-driven adrenaline fresh in your body. Giggling, you would ask him if he liked it, genuinely wondering. He never lied to you- he had never seen a bad performance by you.

So great was your talent that people with important names and good connections came to scout you, determining whether or not they wanted you on their roster. The answer was nearly always yes- you had a bevy of business cards in your side drawer, just begging to be indulged in. Billy tried to push you into it- he knew it was your dream.

But the disapproving opinions of your family always put an end to any hoping. They supported your talent, recognized that you loved it. But whenever the conversation turned to making a career out of your voice, everything was shot down. The first time it had happened, you'd been starry eyed and hopeful, sure that they would be happy that you'd found the thing you wanted to do most.

Later that night you had called him crying. singing for a paycheck wasn't practical, they said. It was fine to do it for fun or in church, but otherwise you should focus on more serious pursuits. A steady career would do you good. He'd stayed on the line with you for hours, assuring you that it had nothing to do with how good you were. In a misguided way, they were trying to protect you from rejection, from the cruelties that came with being an artist.

Still, you persevered. He was proud of you and how despite objections you continued to perform, earning money in that way along with your day job. Still, you were cautious about contacting any of the agents who approached you gushing after a show.

"The thing is," you told Billy one night in bed, head in his lap after an hour-long performance, eyes closed as he ran his fingers through your hair soothingly. "The chances of me failing are a lot smaller if I use an agency. Even if I have to wait out success, that wouldn't be so bad."

Opening your eyes, you stared up at him, a new kind of determination reflected in you. "I think I'm going to call one of them, Billy. This is what I want to do."

He was quiet for a moment, fingers stilling against your scalp. You seemed to hold your breath, waiting anxiously for his response. Would he reject you like you were used to? You braced yourself for the sting of sharp words.

But instead he leaned down, brushing his lips against your head. One hand framed the side of your face, and he smiled down at you. "If it's what you want, then I'm with you."

Relief crashed over you, and you sat up, arms flying around his neck. "Thank you." He nosed a kiss into your hair, cuddling you close.

"No need to thank me. 's my job ain't it? I'll always be your biggest fan," he murmured, swaying back and forth. "Whatever's up ahead, I've gotcha baby. You're always gonna have me."

[miintsprigz]

Hey there!! Can you write something about the mercs reactions to a GN!Reader showing signs of toxicity towards the mercs and them confronting them and rebuilding their relationship together. It would be really cute :3 especially with scout (I just think he's a soft boyo lololol)

Not gonna lie to ya, this one was a challenge for me, I even asked to have it proofread. It’s not often I see a prompt like this. I really like it though—I don’t think we see repairing relationships and changing toxic behavior enough. It so often gets shut down, and while unfortunately there are times where you must separate, sometimes you can work on it!

So thank you for such a raw and real prompt, Anon. I appreciate you, and I hope that this meets your expectations and makes you smile.

GN!Reader who shows some toxicity from previous relationships

Song used for inspiration: Heart To Heart by Mac Demarco

Characters: Scout (TF2)

Warnings: uh, I don’t know—there are implications of past relationship trauma here (toxic behavior is sadly often learned from previous toxic relationships), so please be wary of that. Also, this may be considered a somewhat “difficult conversation”, but I promise you it ends well.

_

You sat on your bed, staring at your feet as they dangled just above the floor. A fast heartbeat pounded in your ears, you swore you could feel the blood coursing through every part of you.

Jeremy had said that he…wanted to talk to you. He wasn’t always the most conscientious of the connotation of his words. As soon as terror flooded your face, he had immediately clarified.

“You’re not in trouble, I promise! Geez, now I know how Ma felt…no, but it’s somethin’ serious…somethin’ important, ya know?”

That still left a good bit to the imagination.

So as the Scout finally made his way over to your room, you felt sick to your stomach. You still got that trademark knock on your doorframe.

“Hey. All set?”

Ready as I’ll ever be. Which is not at all.

You nodded your head, feeling the beginnings of a lump in your throat.

You felt the bed sink just a little as he sat down beside you—light as a feather, always, even holding still.

“I’m sorry that I made a whole big deal here but…well, it is a big deal to me.”

You truly thought you knew what was coming. You’d heard it before, out of people’s mouths, in the things they didn’t say, and echoing for years longer in your own mind, after the people voicing it were long out of your life.

“…you’ve had enough of me?”

“What??”

Genuine shock filled his voice, you could feel him go rigid.

“No. Absolutely not. That…that’s not even a thought in my mind, (Y/N), honest.”

Out of the corner of your eye, through quickly blurring vision, you saw a bandage-wrapped hand reaching for yours. You felt frozen, distant. Giving you a moment to move if you wanted to, he placed his hand over yours gently.

“Could ya just take a breath, babe? Please.”

You did just that, the sound rattling painfully. Why couldn’t you get through things like this without getting so emotional…

“I am not goin’ anywhere, okay? You know I love you, right?”

“…yeah.”

“…does it…not feel that way sometimes?”

The question sort of brought you back a bit, out of the haze of dread that conversations like this thrusted you into.

“…m…maybe…?”

“Yeah. I could kinda tell.”

Oh no. “I’m sorry—”

“It’s okay, don’t worry, lemme just explain a bit here—”

His fingertips brushed the back of your hand. A few tears escaped your eyes, but somehow, the gentle touch grounded you a bit.

“See…I forget stuff a lot. I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed. You know it, I know it. And I know it’s not good. But sometimes, when I do that, even if it’s by accident, it feels like ya kinda…shrink back? Or if I tell ya somethin’s goin’ on… Ya get quiet, even after I say I’m sorry, and…I just worry.”

He fidgeted a little, trying to sit more upright.

“And so…Spy talked to me, the other day. He felt bad revealin’ it—ah, who am I kiddin’, the guy loves this stuff—that you said I’m… really loud. And I’m sometimes too… in your face?”

You could feel your face flush as you remembered what you had said. Part of you was mad at Spy for telling Scout, he surely knew this was sensitive information…but…

“He said he told you that you should tell me to cut it out…and it seemed ta him like ya thought I wouldn’t do anything if ya did.”

You looked up to find that he was already looking right at you. He didn’t look angry. Not anywhere. But surely he must have been…right?

“…was it somethin’ like that?”

Slowly, you nodded your head, feeling your shoulders go stiff.

He looked down at his hand, still over yours, and looked back up at you worriedly.

“…I think ya might be doin’ it now. And I might be too. Do you want me ta move back?”

“N-No!!!”

Jeremy’s eyes went wide, blinking quick, before his mouth went taut on the edges.

“…are ya sure that ya mean that?”

You went to reassert that yes, yes you did…but you knew that you didn’t mean that. The contact had helped at first, but it was too much right now. Slowly, you shook your head.

“…yeah. See, (Y/N), this is why I wanted ta talk.”

His hands folded together, pulling away from you. You couldn’t look at him anymore, staring down at your lap through a veil of tears.

“Ya can look down if it helps ya. I know this is kinda…scary, I guess? But just listen to me, please.”

You nodded, and did just that.

Scout took a breath, and it felt like he was weighing each word.

“You want me to feel at ease when we’re together, right?”

You nodded again. His voice was so soft. The normally bombastic and energetic speed and volume had been dialed down. So careful. Very unlike how he was with the others.

“Yeah. I want you to feel that way, too. And if that means that I gotta knock somethin’ off, I’d like you…ta let me know, ya know what I mean?”

A slightly nervous laugh sounded from him, and you were beginning to see what he was trying to say.

He did forget important dates—you knew he didn’t mean to, but it hurt. And as much as you loved seeing him happy and excited, the volume and the physical contact could be extremely overstimulating.

“I’m not angry at you at all, by the way. I never wanted you ta feel like that. Maybe other people have gotten mad at ya for, for tellin’ em you didn’t like stuff they did. But I won’t. I promise ya that. And you know how stubborn I am about promises.”

A slight smile came to your face, even with how hard you were trying not to cry.

“…did people do that to ya, (Y/N)? People ya grew up with? Or other folks ya dated?”

Your lip quivered, and again, you nodded your head.

“Oh…I’m sorry, baby. That ain’t right. Not at all. You’re never gonna get any of that with me, and if you do? You tell me. Don’t hold nothin’ back, okay? Cuz that’s the last thing I’d ever wanna do to ya.”

Feeling bold enough to look up again, in spite of basically falling apart at this point, you caught a switch between the most serious you had ever seen Scout…and possibly the most adoring look he’d ever given to you.

“…I love you so much, (Y/N). I don’t know if I’ve ever loved anyone so much. I’m tellin’ ya all this because I love ya! You’re such a sweetheart—you’re always lookin’ out for me. Very few people have done that, so it means everythin’ ta me.”

You exhaled softly, a muted laugh, and that seemed to perk him up even more.

“And I don’t just love what ya do, I love everything you are. The way ya smile, the way ya make jokes, the way ya sing…it’s all so…so good, baby. You are so good.”

You couldn’t help but smile at that. If he had a tail, it would be wagging. The voices that so often nagged at you that he’d get tired of you went dead silent whenever he talked like this. And in moments like these, you knew he was telling the truth.

“You make me feel like I’m on top of the world. So, could ya give me the chance ta look out for you, too? Cuz I want to. Tell me anything, and I’ll do the best I can to make it happen. I’m always gonna be a little loud, a little clingy, a little…obnoxious. But…you knew that, right?”

Slowly, you nodded, wiping your eyes, your tears having subsided.

“Yeah. And I love you so much because of…a-and sometimes, in spite of those things.”

“See? There ya go!! That was great. May I uh…”

Scout stretched his hand out, and, now wanting to hold it, you quickly grabbed on tight, and tried to pull him in closer. He caught on quick.

“Oh…oh! Okay, hang on…”

Wrapping you in his arms, Scout held you close.

“Is this good?”

You fidgeted a little, then nodded. “Yeah. This is great, Jeremy. Hey…”

“Hm?”

“…thank you. For talking to me. I know it can be hard to talk stuff through with me sometimes. I was so, so scared…that you were just done…”

“I knew ya were, babe. And I hate seein’ ya hurtin’ so much. But, I think…when ya love a person—like, really love ‘em—you’ll do what ya gotta do to make it the best it can be. Even if that means doin’ scary stuff.”

“Yeah…yeah, I think I got it.”

Giggling a little, Jeremy reached for the side of your face with one hand, and you leaned into it, craning your head upwards to peck him on the lips before you curled up against his chest.

“I know it’s hard when ya learned somethin’ one way for years, and now ya gotta…unlearn it, I guess? Honestly, it was hard not ta mess around with the resta the guys when I first got here, cuz I was used’ta it with my brothers back home. But…honestly, I got a different deal with these wackos, so the change kinda works out.”

Giggling at his teasing the others, you looked back up at him, feeling your once racing heart now only aflutter with joy at being in the arms of the man you loved.

“…I think this one works out too.”

“Yeah.”

[breadjustbread]

I guess it happened….

The comic#7 of Team Fortress 2 is finally released

‼️Spoilers Alert ‼️ (it’s just my opinion you don’t have to agree with me)

I’m going to be honest with you all..I’m disappointed. I was expecting a lot bigger from the final product, like a massive answers on all of our questions! But we’ve got the final that was just…fine I guess? Throughout the reading I was followed with growing disappointed and frustration…

Was it really all they gave us?

My own opinion is that they showed everything too quickly and too rapidly to understand, a few more pages about Admin’s or Miss Pauling’s interactions would really hurt right? I also don’t like the plot twist of the comic that Soldier actually did have a Australium and gave it to Pauling. I understand that that was probably a respect towards VA of Soldier…but tbh that doesn’t work for me.

A great example of what I’m trying to say its literally the plane in the bush for the team and Scout’s confession to Miss P. So he decided to move on? What was the reason??? He literally said in previous comics that he will not accept any other woman in his life and then suddenly changed? Plus his confession doesn’t even feel so genuine. He just decided not to like her or smth? Well that’s a good example of a bad character progression. And I feel bad, his conflict could have really be shown so good, maybe give some of that at least a hint of it in previous comics.

Also didn’t get the part with Admin and Z. Mann maybe I’m stupid or something, but I read that part like. 3 times and each of the time I didn’t get the massage….Did she loved him so much that she decided to keep him alive? Did she hate him so much that she wanted to keep him alive? On either side of that trope I have a question ’Why?’. Was it a joke about necrophilia??? All she did was explaining the situation between them at that all.

I also don’t like how mercs were just really a background characters, they didn’t do anything really important for the comic and just followed Miss Pauling..That might be for character development, but that was shown so strange and weird. Like..That development really happened in 2 freaking frames… The question was about her life, that a huge change in her life and she decided to to betray a woman, who she worked with for ‘all her life’ in 2 frames…

Overall I’d like to say that the comic is not bad..but not something I was expecting for. It’s just all the expectations were made to get a pretty solid and normal ending. At the end characters are smiling and looking directly into the camera thanking the ‘reader’ as if saying goodbye. It was really just nice to see. However looking at what fans managed to create just for fun is crazy..I guess. It’s end of Tf2 comics saga.

[highfantasy-soul]

Things I LOVED in NATLA Episode 7 - The North

Lt Jee actually being worried for Zuko!!!!

And Iroh tenderly bandaging Zuko's head 🥺

Zuko desperate to make sure his father doesn’t truly think he's turned against him!!!!!

A FANTASTIC set-up for his eventual ACUTAL turn against his father

Zuko genuinely thanking Lt. Jee 😢

And aaggghhhh!!! Zhao being a tricky slimey mf

This is a slick way to get Zuko being blown up without the pirates - though they're fun characters, I think this set-up enhanced the themes they were exploring in the season more

TEAM AVATAR!!

So cute that Aang excitedly tells his friends he made a connection with Zuko - Sokka is unimpressed while Katara has hope that people can turn out to be good.

Agna Qel'a!!!!

It looks GORGEOUS! And love that it has a name now!!

Apparently it was given a name in one of the books, but they never did name it in the show, so I'm glad they did it here

I don't even care that they know it's the Avatar right off bat and they're ready to welcome them in - it was cool as shit flying over the city on Appa

Maybe they had scouts out that saw Appa flying and brought news to the city, same as the scouts who saw the Fire Nation fleet - I'll accept that

Them treating Aang like a weapon rather than a person 😡

It's something that comes up a lot in the series and I'm glad they aren't shying away from it

Lol Katara's sibling jibing at Sokka staring at Yue 🤣

I love these little sibling moments - they're just so cute

And Sokka now hard-core staring at the ground instead of at Yue because Katara said he looked like a weirdo doing that 😅

Zhao's overacting at how pissed he is 🤣

Then his 'omg I can yes and this. I can SO yes and this!' as Iroh tells him what he 'think's happened

Oooohhh Iroh's understated insults at Zhao's qualifications

And Zhao's comeback about no record of failure unlike Iroh😐 bitch, that still doesn't make you qualified!

More Azulaaa!!!!

I really love this added storyline to see exactly why Azula is the way she is

It's great to see that her place as next-in-line isn't a shoe-in here - she's desperate to show her father that 'she's the one' and will do anything to get there

Sokka's heart eyes ���

Stewed sea prunes 😭😭😭

"It tastes like home" 😢

I like this intro to Pakku - like with Sokka, they're not doing a comical level of sexism, they're making it more realistic

YUE IS A BEEENNDDEERR!!!!!!

Also, using it for the most important things: dessert

Sokka's absolutely abysmal (bet very endearing) interaction attempts with Yue 😅

Her little fake gasps as he keeps saying the wrong thing, but smiling because she knows what he means, she's just teasing him 🥺 incredibly adorable

Love that they have a conversation that actually has substance!

Don't hate me, but in the cartoon, they never had a substantive conversation ONCE. It was just Sokka flirting, Yue giggling, then Yue freaking out and running away - rinse and repeat like, 5 times in the course of 3 episodes.

Omg Hahn isn't a dick!!!

I like the more mature tone they've taken in the live action - they can have jokes, but for serious topics like…idk, a battle against the Northern Water Tribe being genocided, they make the characters take it seriously

GOOOOODDDD the adults expecting Aang to be a master strategist and offensive weapon!!

This actually makes sense that they'd believe he could do it - Aang is the culmination of all the past Avatars, so they'd assume he has all their knowledge and power.

The poor kid just got out of his iceberg, though!!!

"Airbending is primarily a defensive discipline"

You tell them, Aang!!

"But you're not JUST an airbender" :( don't bring logic and reality into this, Arnook

"I did it with the help of my friends 😊"  sweet baby Aang

And here's Pakku, telling Aang what a lot of watchers were frustrated about this season: uuhh maybe you should have been focused on your training

While that's a legit comment, I think the live-action showed why Aang didn't pretty well

Love love LOVE that we're introduced to healing with respect rather than the distain it was shown in the animated series

Healing is a wonderful and beautiful skill and I'm glad we got to see Katara interested in it (and it being used) rather than Katara sadly moping into the igloo filled with children learning healing

Sometimes, when people try to make things less sexist, they end up making it more-so. I think that happened with the animated series where healing was actually put up in conflict with combat - where combat was clearly shown as the 'better' skill and healing was 'stupid and bad, we don’t want to do that'. The live-action showed that healing is an important and powerful skill, the only issue comes when you aren't ALLOWED to do anything else. Healing itself isn't the issue, the fact the women are kept from combat IS the issue.

Nice Hahn and Sokka fishing for info about Yue

Avatar Kuruk RESPECT!!!!

LOVE Yue getting more character here!

She can pop into the spirit world! It makes so much sense with her having part of the moon spirit inside her!

The live action fleshed her out soooo well!

Poor Sokka not understanding AT ALL why someone would want to go to the Spirit World for fun 😂

"Don't do that. Don't make it less than what it is"

Such an important message for EVERYONE. You don’t have to have the most tragic of backstories for your trauma to be important. This isn't the oppression olympics - we aren't doing the whole 'well someone else has it worse so you can't complain' bullshit.

Everyone has hurt in their lives and everyone deserves to have their hurt taken seriously and healed. It isn't 'strength' to pretend it's nothing - it's strength to face it and accept that it was important, not something to shove under the rug

Yue reminding Sokka about what makes him special - his care for his friends! He's not a selfish guy - just because he wasn't the best leader or warrior when he was 13 doesn't mean he has nothing to offer the world

"Hahn is everything a girl could want. But he is not the boy of my dreams" 😭😭😭

"Being the Avatar means being the one who bears the burden: alone."

The thing is: like in the animated version, this advice MAKES SENSE! But it's how you USE the advice that makes the difference

No, you can't put all the weight of responsibility on your friends, but neither can you do it without any help - or without caring for others. It's very much advice coming from pain: all the Avatars got hurt because they DIDN'T abandon their friends and so they're giving a skewed version of the advice onto Aang to try to spare him the pain they went through.

It's Aang's job to find the balance

Sokka's fish carving that Yue thinks is a bear 😭😭😭

I wanna see it, props department!!!!

Yeess!! Katara's first confrontation with Pakku!

I like how she still tries to lead with diplomacy, making her case, and Pakku has 'reasonable' excuses not to let her fight

Instead of him being cartoonishly sexist, he's much more realistic giving 'logical' reasons for Katara not to be in combat, but she stands up anyways because she knows it's wrong.

I can see how some might find Aang not wanting Katara to fight to be jarring, but this is in line with the animated series

When they're going into particularly dangerous missions, Aang does have a tendency to try to do it himself and tell Katara to sit this one out - he does it in The Winter Solstice: Part 2.

He's just been told a past life's love was killed because he didn't keep her out of his fight, he has no idea how he's going to win this battle, and he's realizing that he does see Katara as someone incredibly important to him. It's in line with who Aang is to try to keep her safe and away from the battle

Zhao coming up with nicknames for himself 😑

Iroh straight up calling Fire Nation 'info' propaganda!!

While some people could see this as 'treason', when you're in positions of power in high-control groups, you KNOW it's propaganda - you HELP CREATE the lies and when people are going to do something stupid (like attack the North without a solid plan), you let them know that they're being stupid if they're going to make battle plans based on the lies you've helped spread.

Zhao and his dumb bitch destiny 🙄 he's such a great villain - he's one who's bought into his own lies

"The plan is to prove my father wasn't wrong to trust me with this mission. The plan is to go in and capture the Avatar once and for all. The PLAN is to reclaim what is rightfully MINE!! 😤" - "So, no plan? 😐" - "I'm working on it uncle 🥺"

This exchange = gold. Pure gold.

"It's almost as if he's working for someone else - someone much smarter"

WOOOOWWW Iroh, throw that shade a little more, why don't ya 🤣

Though I LOVE that they're giving Azula her brainy due - she's smart and she's the one not to be underestimated.

AZULA'S LIGHTNING!!!!!!!

Love how she stood up to her father, but because she was able to 'prove' her strength, he respected it rather than punished it

"Set me loose" AAAAHHHHHHH

SUPPORTIVE BROTHER SOKKA!!!

Love how matter of fact Katara is "I'm going to challenge Pakku to fight" - just like that. She's decided, so it's going to happen.

Sokka admitting Katara was right 😭😭😭😭😭

"Who's talking sense? What I'm trying to say is: go kick his ass" FUCK YEAH THAT'S RIGHT!!!!

Aang trying to go forward and help Katara, but Sokka holds him back

Love the sibling solidarity!!

The fight is almost beat for beat the one from the animated series!!!

I love that the live action knew exactly which sequences to put in almost 1-1 from the animated - this fight being one of them

"Is that all you got?!?!" FUCK YEAH!!

"They'll just say I lost" "Did you?"

The fact that it wasn't just Pakku's opinion that would change everything - Katara's actions inspired everyone else, even if Pakku didn't want to change his decision.

Change isn't made by changing one man's mind - it's about standing up to them and inspiring others (like in the Imprisoned storyline) to stand up too

Even inspiring Aang to realize that the conclusion the other Avatars came to from their pain was wrong - that Katara was right and that EVERYONE gets to choose whether to fight or not for themselves

Avatars aren't the only ones who worry about protecting people - it's a human, family thing, not just a mystical force of balance thing

Only Aang can write his own story - not anyone else.

This is a great through-line for the whole series where everyone has expectations put on them and they have to decide themselves who they want to be

Don't eat the sooty snow, Momo!!!!!

"Ok, time to fight"

I like that we end on the fire nation ships arriving: next episode is going to be THE BATTLE

[Masterlist of my NATLA thoughts]

[blaithnne]

I was looking at some Hilda stuff and saw some maps of trolberg/tofoten/the wilderness (huldrawood???) and I was reminded of I think what was one of your notes on Plenism where you were taking about naming stuff and I was very curious on where you'd place the places you came up with in reference to this stuff. (Also Plenism is so good).

OKAY first of all thank u sm i’m glad ur enjoying Plenism! Second of all oh boy anon you have just opened the BIGGEST can of worms, prepare yourself, i’m about to get real neurodivergent 

So one of the things that has always confused and slightly annoyed me in Hilda is the inconsistent scale of it all. Trolberg, for example, is described as being this massive sprawling city, so far out and separate from the wilderness that it’s a completely new world for Hilda, and has it’s own unique holidays and celebrations. 

But, if you look at a map of Trolberg it really doesn’t look that big, and the more ou learn about it the smaller it seems?? In the show, driving from Trolberg to the wilderness seems to take no time at all, and like the second you leave the wall it’s immediately greenery and wilderness lol. The city itself is crawling with nature! And it only gets more confusing when you read tie-in material, especially Hilda’s World. 

The maps in this book are beautifully illustrated and contain almost all of the important locations seen in the show, but they make Trolberg seem tiny! And, according to this book, Trolberg has only one school, and one sparrow scout troop. Now I live in the absolute middle of nowhere, tiny island 4 hours away from the mainland. I went to school in a little town on the mainland, so small it was like barely a town, and it had 4 schools and a college just within the town (i.e. not counting the neighbourin villages and more rural schools), and 4-5 scout troops. This place was TINY, cities have WAY more, but Trolberg apparently only has one of each! Also, according to this book, Tofoten is so close to Trolberg that it’s considered an attraction for Trolberg visitors. What. 

There’s a pretty simple explanation for this - there’s just no point in making more. From a creative perspective, Trolberg doesn’t need multiple schools or sparrow scout troops when the story only requires on each, it would be pointless! And when it comes to tie in bokos like Hilda’s World, 90% of people don’t actually want an extensive guide to the innerworkings of a fictional town, they just wanna see the places they got to know in the show. Same logic applies to the distance between Trolberg and The Wilderness, no one wants to watch Johanna and Hilda driving for 5 hours lmao, it’s just easier to skip that and make the journey seem shorter. Having locations be nearer eachother makes it easier for characters to quickly move around. 

But. I’m deranged. I NEED detailed world building I REQUIRE detailed descriptions of how this place works I NEED to understand these character’s lives and what their day to day is like, sooo for Plenism and my general Laurenverse I have taken some creative liberties. I haven’t gotten rid of anything from the show, just sort of went “Yes, and—”

First things first I don’t consider Hilda’s World canon lol. In the sense that I don’t consider it to be the in universe guide to Trolberg and beyond it presents itself as, it’s just a fun lil silly book with gorgeous artwork !! I’ve kinda ragged on this book a bit but, i genuinely do love it it’s so pretty.

SO, I’ve upped the scale of Trolberg quite considerably. Hilda’s school is just one of many (Glasgow, the biggest city in Scotland, at a glance seems to have over 100 primary schools, so yeah), as is her Sparrow Scout Troop. It’s big enough that Hilda hasn’t even come close to seeing the whole city, and the area she and her family move into is pretty much brand new to Johanna and Lauren, who previously lived in a totally different side of the city. 

Hilda’s old cabin, which I’ll call “Folke Cottage”, is approximately a 4-5 hour drive from Trolberg. This is to help drive home the isolation the lil family has living out in the wilderness. 

Speaking of The Wilderness, I gave it a name - Frihäf! In the context of the show, the wilderness doesn’t really need a name (despite how frustrating it can be sometimes when key characters remain nameless for entire seasons, or in some cases the entire show, i actually like the element of realism the show creates by leaving certain characters unnamed. People don’t always ask eachother their names lol, especially kids! Idk i think its neat), but for Plenism I felt it needed one. Frihäf isn’t really a specific place, it’s just the name for this general wilderness area that the family live in, probably encompassing about a…1 hour to 2 hour radius? I’m bad at geography. 

The next important location, this one unique to Plenism, is Tågstad! This is a little village about an hour away from Folke Cottage, and 3-4 from Trolberg. It has a little post office and shop, where Johanna can obtain essentials, but in order to get a lot of supplies, they have to go shopping in Trolberg. So, to avoid having to take baby Hilda into Trolberg, Johanna drives Lauren to Tågstad, where she then takes the train into Trolberg, get’s the shopping, and then comes back where Johanna picks her up. From Folke Cottage, Tågstad is the nearest stop on the train to Trolberg, and the little town acts as a “gateway” to many different destinations, such as Toføten, which, from Tågstad, is about 4-5 hours in the opposite direction from Trolberg, I think.

This is all very boring and technical, hence why the actual show didn’t bother with it lol, but I enjoy thinking of these technicalities! Maybe one day I’ll whip up a lil map or something, but even then i’ll prolly run into the same problem the canon maps do where everything seems very small in scale lol.

Oh, btw, Gröttavux is another town name that gets mentioned in The Roundabout, but I don’t have anything about it lol, I just needed another place name or Johanna to say whilst rambling to add in a cheeky wee bit of realism. Umm the only other thing I know about my Trolberg world building so far is that there’s multiple train stations within the city, one of them spits you out nearby some sort of shopping street or market, so that Lauren can easily access it without having to go too deep into the city, effectively restricting her Trolberg exploration to just one street, therefore still maintaining her disconnect from the city, so it’s still a difficult transition come season 1. 

THANK U FOR ASKING THIS and letting me ramble about this shit, makes my brain very happy :). I might expand upon this more in future chapters of Plenism, but it depend! I have to be very careful to avoid dumping exposition on ppl when writing Plenism bc god damnit i would if i could. I’d write a whole chapter thats just johanna talking about the geography of the world. Thank you and goodnight

[unhonestlymirror]

Shortly after the conquer of Kyiv by Lithuanian troops, Liet walks around undercover to scout out the situation, and he hears old ladies, old men, teens and kids, all talking about the same. "Every family has lost a brave son or father or brother because of the Horde, and now these pagans are gonna cut our throats for having churches of one God and not shrines of many..." People hug each other and wish farewell because they genuinely don't believe in staying alive tomorrow.

Liet comes to his camp, makes sure no one hears and sees him, and just cries a lot. He ended up being like that man who stole his brother's body, who turned his hair from red to white. He ended up bringing other people in misery. He ended up being a conqueror like fucking Teutons. He never wanted all this.

At the audience with Ruthenia, he says one thing. "I will not ruin the old, and I will not bring the new. Could you please teach me the language you speak?" Ruthenia believes he's just mocking her.

Liet is a diligent student, and although he always feels awkward, he never stops practicing. He already knows the very helpful languge of Gudija, but Ruthenia has completely different pronunciation... He tries to learn by heart every nuance, every detail, he's always being polite. Old ladies of the big market absolutely love him (although he still understands only 1 word out of 5 they speak) and they always try to give him a little jar of honey for free.

Liet fights the Horde, and Gudija always yells at him for that: "You shouldn't waste your people when you still have Teutonic Order!" Liet doesn't consider it a waste, and secretly, neither does Gudija. She's also quite soft-hearted, after all. The Horde is being pushed out successfully, so are the Teutons. Life becomes stable, people on the streets smile a lot, and it warms Liet's heart.

Liet works with the documents, but he's not Gudija, he can't digest bureaucracy for long and he doesn't find the beauty in dusty papers and dark, cold libraries - "You have no taste, Liet, knowledge is the biggest weapon!" Liet loves the sun, Liet loves the warm fresh air and the clear blue sky, Liet loves singing, and the workers of the fields, the steppes, the forests, the mountains, the sea - they know a lot of beautiful melodies with heartful lyrics. Singing helps with the language, and heavy work with the physical shape. Liet speaks Ruthenian like a local, Liet plays in kvach with kids, Liet genuinely has a good time, and people love him because he's always here to help and he's dedicated to what he does. Decades pass, they naturally call him Taras now, and Liet doesn't seem to mind. He doesn't mind going to churches either, but he never prays there. His friends never judge his rituals, as well. It's just the way things are, and Liet thanks the Sun every day for this.

People of Kyivan Rus' love him, and that's why Ruthenia just can't help but fall in love with him, too.

***

-- Why does your main hero of folk tales always have long brown hair? No pressure, he just looks so specific, I'm curious.

Myroslava looks at the illustration she's just finished for the weekly kids' magazine. She goes through all the books published in the last decades in her memory, and feels at a loss. It's as if you forgot something important when leaving home before a long trip, but she can't remember. What's that?..

-- He's kind.

Crimea pshaws. As if it explains everything.

[mickmundy]

spy headcanon thread! just some of my personal thoughts and musings about his character :-) enjoy!

starting off by saying that spy is Absolutely Everything to me.. i've put his thread off for so long because i have SO much to say and im afraid i'll leave stuff out BUT we're going to take a Stab at it (😏) and i guess i'll just add more stuff later if i need! As Usual this is just pasted from my twitter so i'm sorry for any wonky formatting issues!

the most important thing to me about spy's character is that it is Varied and can be Contradictory. i say this about all of the mercs tbh but spy is among the Most important given his role/occupation as a spy. he IS A Spy, but he's also Just Some Guy (gender neutral).

spy is a bit dry; very sarcastic, a bit stoic, but he's definitely not heartless. i think he's very "emotionally in-tune" to those around him and prides himself on being able to read a room exceptionally well!

... but just because he knows what people might be thinking doesn't mean he's going to do anything about it! he likes being in the know but seldom ever enjoys interfering; it's best if he keeps out of the fray, or so he tells himself!

that being said, i Do think spy makes exceptions to this rule (which To Me is what makes his character Interesting!).... as we see in expiration date! he spends his "last living days" helping scout become a worthy date for miss pauling!

if he sees someone Floundering or really stuck in some kind of emotional squander, he'll pass by with a hand on the shoulder and a concise, discreet, kind word of advice in their ear and move on. no need for thanks, he's just Sharing an Observation! if you try to thank him, he'll give you a coy look and be like "for what?" but he knows. he's just letting you know you don't need to thank him <3

loves breaking balls. he'll help you if you ask him, but not before he gives you a LOT of shit for it. he'll volunteer himself to help you (even if you tell him you need his Stinking Help!) and he'll roll his eyes and say "ha! you are So helpless! i know you're glad i'm here to see this through with you uUu" LOL

but he will give you genuine insight and Surprisingly Good advice. huh, you didn't know he knew you so well! despite his job as a spy, he'll tell you to be authentic and will encourage you to listen to your instincts.

is an Observer First and an Action-taker second. prioritizes being in the know and likes being in the background (despite how good he is at being in the spotlight!). always thinks before he speaks, very calculated in everything he does!

got wiser with age. when he was younger i think he was quick to save his own skin and thought only about himself. among his first "selfless" acts were running out on scout and his mom to "protect" them, but with the wisdom of hindsight, that wasn't the smartest idea!

firmly believes in the power of respect. seems to have a positive relationship with all of his teammates (yes, even sniper, engineer and pyro lol) and scout's mom, too (regardless of how u see their relationship). tells scout that he has to earn pauling's respect to be worthy of her!

won't hesitate to stick his neck out for/work with people he appreciates. in the comics, he works with (and even prioritizes the safety of) miss pauling, helps sniper, and obviously comforts scout when he's dying in the way that Scout would want to be comforted. good job pops!

which brings me to dadspy... how i love you... i could make an entire other thread about my dadspy thoughts BUT i'll keep it "brief" here. i don't think he ever "treated scout like shit" nor do i think he was abusive to scout's mom or scout. he's just the world's most mediocre absent father to me... KDSKF

i think scout's mom knew What Spy Was and knew that at some point, he'd have to leave her. i think she's a perfectly capable woman who spy is genuinely still in love with (they have an open, long-distance relationship!) and is quite the deadly catch herself! perhaps i'll make a thread on her if that's something people would want....

i don't think she resents spy for running out and i think spy has complicated feelings about running out. he's convinced himself he did it for everyone involved's safety but in hindsight he Does feel a Bit (emphasis on Bit. it's not Earth Shatteringly Dramatic, just a little demon that sneaks up on him now and then...) guilty and tries to "make up for it" by Trying to get along with scout even if it's... not easy LOL. him turning into tom jones when scout died was to comfort scout the way Scout would want, which i think says a lot about spy's character.

however, once scout finds out the truth, i think he tells spy that he shouldn't have lied to him about it ("what kind of dumbass lies to their son on his deathbed! 🧍") and spy's like "ah... i suppose that... was also a mistake." and they smirk/smile at each other.. Road To Forgiveness begins..

also i personally love the running gag that everyone knows that spy is scout's dad (except for scout), not because i think spy would tell all/even some of the mercs but because it's SO obvious that all of them are like "i mean yeah.. doy". extra points if their knowledge Also surprises spy. "WHO TOLD YOU? HOW DID YOU KNOW?!" and the mercs are like ??? "erm... we have eyes...?" LOL

DESPITE being Stoic and Unknowable and Mysterious, he is also Quite the Doofus. one of my favorite and most important thoughts on his character. i think his authentic laugh is his snort laugh and i think that's what made scout's mom fall in love with him... :') has a great sense of humor.

loves playing pranks, causing mischief and being a Smug Cunt. will hide behind his Carefully Crafted Facade, but those who really know him (heavy, scout's mom) can see right through it! teaches scout some of his "best ones" (though not before pranking HIM with them first! it's okay though. scout's a good sport and gives him props LMAO)

a short list of spy's "best ones":

cleaning a glass door REALLY well and tricking the mercs to run into it at full force

oil on the kitchen floor so that anyone who comes running in will slam into the oven that engineer Just Fixed God Dammit! and destroy it

mentos in soda

scout and spy have the "same laugh" when they REALLY start howling. snorting, wheezing.... they sound almost identical. usually if they're laughing THAT hard, the rest of the mercs are looking at them like this >__> (covered in soda, can't get up from the ground because oil, etc)

obviously enjoys literature! language is one of his favorite things, though. loves learning about different dialects, slang, accents and learning the intricacies of grammar, too! likes studying the other mercs for this reason. the base is a fun, mixed bag for him!

the best secret keeper. contrary to popular belief, spy will NOT air your business if it's Serious. he might "let it slip" to medic that sniper sleeps with a stuffed animal, but he won't let anyone know that heavy has ptsd. he likes giving people shit, but not genuinely causing harm!

ah.. breaking balls as a love language.. this is something that i think is shared between spy, scout, and scout's mom. they LOOOOVE to give you shit, but it comes from a loving place. i think a lot of scout and spy's banter in exp date is like this:

it's not actually Insulting to either of them (spy calling scout a failure, scout telling spy to go to hell, etc) and is in fact more like a thing of Endearment. if you know people like this then you know what i'm talking about. idk how else to describe it KSDFKS

he is very girlfailure that thinks he's a girlboss but is actually a girlfailure and is coming to terms with his girlfailing. as i've said, spy isn't heartless. he knows he's made mistakes and knows his job has costed him a lot and now he's trying to reconcile with it. sometimes it's funny, sometimes its angsty!

is a total foodie and has a LOT of opinions about all kinds of cuisine! loves cooking with engineer and pyro (YES i think pyro is an INCREDIBLE chef. they only burn things because it's fun/funny! for the bit. you understand), and heavy has a perfect palette (just a personal hc of mine heh) so he always gets to tag along and taste test! <3

if spy is involved with any of the other mercs, scout's mom knows about it. they're in an open relationship and spy values her just like he'd value any of the mercs in a romantic relationship. she knows all of them and they're all very polite to her (ala like they are with miss pauling), but she quickly surprises them by being snarky and playful like spy and scout! she also doesn't hesitate to begin telling the mercs the most Humiliating Dirt on spy AND scout! HEHEHE

i don't think he'd cheat on her nor do i think he'd bother cheating on any of his partners. he's very open with communication when it comes to his interpersonal relationships (this is ironic to everyone but him because his relationship with his son is currently in shambles). he's good at it when it comes to romantic relationships though!

his love languages are, well, any and all of them! he loves being in love, he's a huge romantic and is not shy about showing it. will absolutely DROWN his partner in gifts and pretty words (that he really does mean!) and so on... perhaps to the point of it being a little overwhelming! at his partner's request, he'll dial it back... but he still loves to spoil his lovers, and THAT is something he WON'T apologize for! >:)

as i touched on earlier, has a good rapport with all of the mercs and pauling. he's patient with soldier and the other mercs hear him out about the bucket list idea (and are all Quietly Amused by how scout promptly ruins that for him. team dynamic ykwim). i think he's the closest with heavy (i'm a spoovy enjoyer), engineer, pyro, and sniper (BUT in kind of a "unique" way. perhaps i'll elaborate) but he enjoys the company of all of the other mercs as well!

is Informed about engineer's, demoman's and medic's research (though not on the levels they are of course) and likes being in the know about things going on around the base. he mostly shares enemy intelligence with these three over anyone else. they talk frequently and Love to gossip (engineer SWEARS its not gossiping but demo and medic are like "no. its gossip!" SKDFKSDF)!

will absolutely always enable you to treat yourself. scout, spy, medic and demo are the KINGS of "go on!! treat yourself!! :D" no matter what it is. if spy sees you really struggling about whether to get something, he'll slip it in with his own purchases and gift it to you later. "this one is from me, so you don't need to worry about compromise. <3"

in battle, he's a bit more sadistic than his teammates; likes making people squirm and is more than capable of getting under your skin. information extraction is part of his job and he treats it as such: Part Of The Job. he doesn't get a LOT of pleasure from hurting others, but he Does enjoy starring in a good revenge tale!

no, i do NOT think the world's most absent father cares about his 30 year old son's sex life nor do i think he's even "fiercely overprotective" of scout just in general. i think he knows scout is a grown man who has to make (and account for) any failures and fumbles he makes in his life. he'll be there with a kind word (and a few snarky ones!) when shit hits the fan, but he's not running around fighting scout's battles for him. scout loves battling too much to let him anyway! LOL

he teaches him things that Spy Himself values (like respect) because he... values it and since spy IS trying to be a bit more of a Dad to scout, it's also a reflection on him (to spy. scout doesn't care or think of it that way). insists on the value of self improvement! (something he himself didn't learn until he was Much Older... but scout doesn't need to know that!)

[majorasnightmare]

Hellooo for the character asks, Lae'zel 2, Shadowheart 5, and Minthara 123 please and thank you!!

GET HEART BLASTED BWAH

i was fighting for my LIFE on this cuz my body decided to viscerally betray me. thankfully not even god himself could stop me from talking about my mentally ill lil freak

Lae'zel:

2. How did your character handle Lae’zel’s interrogation of the tiefling scout at the druid grove?

Dirge's brain is still reloading by the time he does the interrogation, so he's pretty hands off when Lae'zel does her thing. He mostly just backs her up as she questions Zorru, and leaves him there bowing. He DOES correct Lae'zels pronounciation on tiefling and Faerun after though.

Shadowheart:

5. Did your character influence Shadowheart into staying loyal to or rejecting Shar? How did this affect their relationship with her?

Unfortunately Shar isn't nearly as cool as Shadowheart makes her out to be, so Dirge's opinion on Shar is pretty negative. But its mostly Shar-the-deity and less the values Shar professes to hold (she mostly seems to be petty and spiteful more than an actual deity), so any Sharran iconography Dirge finds he tosses Shadowhearts way. Loyalty has to be earned, even by gods, and protecting Shadowheart mildly from the shadow curse is NOT enough to be worth her service, in Dirge's opinion. Murder, cannibalism, sacrificing heretics, seeking power, capturing the god spawn of your deities sworn and eternal rival and sacrificing them on an altar, all of thats perfectly fine to Dirge and he doesn't have a problem with any of it, but is Shar worth it? Is Shar worthy of having Shadowheart? Absofuckinlutely not. Shadowheart isn't getting nearly enough back out of this deal, and Dirge is VERY vocal on that front. Dirge mostly encourages Shadowheart to think of herself and what she wants, and to avoid reflexively sacrificing things important to her without evaluating what they mean to her first. Rejecting Shar is basically a side effect.

They've always been close since the nautiloid, but Dirge's unwavering confidence in her ability and worth even after she rejects Shar and is punished by her goes a long way towards helping Shadowheart rebuild her life and self worth.

Minthara:

1. What motivated your character to initially spare or side with Minthara, then later rescue her from Moonrise Tower?

Puppy love LMAO. Minthara wants to probe his mind in the Goblin Camp, and given that Dirge had just killed Guts not that long ago for exactly that, he doesn't let her in to avoid starting a fight he hadn't satisfactorily prepared for, which makes Minthara try to dig into him. The subsequent battle of wills even starts to approach being mutually enjoyable, both of them finding a real genuine challenge for the first time in ages, and through that exchange Dirge gets a glimpse of the person Minthara COULD be without the Absolute. Someone ruthless, and cunning, with a steeled will, yes, but also someone almost... playful? Its such a brief glimpse that Dirge can't see much of anything through it but it tantalizes him endlessly, and the thought of condemning someone to a half life as an enthralled shell of themselves just to kill them while they're essentually sleepwalking disquiets him in a way he struggles to verbalize. It sticks out in his mind because its the first time he experiences an active desire to keep someone alive, so he does what he can to draw the goblins into a controlled conflict to ensure both a figurative smokescreen for his actions (no one will question him for trying to isolate the Goblin Commander) and a literal one (in the chaos of combat, theyre less likely to notice Minthara's only been knocked unconscious instead of killed, as opposed to a stealth op in the camp where it would be. Blatantly obvious he was pulling punches. He can also discreetly move her away from the conflict in case anyone checks the bodies, but thats resolved p quickly when the tieflings want to leave immediately lmao. Hes a selfish person who acts according to his whims, and at the end of the day, he had a chance encounter that made him care for Minthara, but the same could not be said for Dror Ragzlin or Guts. Those two barely occupied a single spared thought, whereas Minthara lives in his head rent free. He genuinely never thought he'd see her again, and tried to content himself with the knowledge she'd be alive somewhere out there, and that maybe once he got the tadpole out he could try and find her just to... catch up? Talk to her? He didn't really plan it out all too well, because he had a lot on his plate.

Seeing her again at Moonrise felt like a confluence of Fate. Absolute be damned, his uttermost top priority was saving Minthara and if that meant playing nice, he'd do it, and if it meant carving a bloody path from the dungeon back to camp, he'd do that too. In that instant, she's the only thing that matters, because by some miracle, the only person hes ever wanted to spare is here in front of him, and against all odds he finally, FINALLY, has a chance to talk to the person he caught a fleeting glimpse of in the Goblin Camp, the person who utterly charmed and bewitched him with the faintest echo of hidden depths obscured by the Absolute's machinations. She's here and she's alive and she needs help, and there is not a single question or doubt in his mind about it. Dirge walks straight out of that throne room directly to the dungeons. Its around that time that anyone in the party still considering trying to tie Dirge down kind of gives up, cuz honestly. Look at the guy. He's down bad.

2. How did your character feel about Minthara’s opinions on the gods?

Minthara is ever cautious of making enemies, and thus keeps her disdain for the gods at a healthy distance, where she won't be caught in the blast radius. Dirge understands, but feels its a bit TOO risk averse. He toes the line on blasphemy all the time, after all. Hes exceptionally confident in the abilities of himself and his comrades to handle threats, and the gods ability to directly intervene on the material plane is limited after all.

The biggest difference of opinion there was on the matter of Bhaal. Minthara was of the opinion that Bhaal was better as an ally than as an enemy, and represented Dirge's best hope of mastering the Urges, and Dirge didn't really have a way of convincing her otherwise. It isn't something easily intuitive, especially when your used to the capricious manipulations of Lolth. Bhaal is a far cry from the Webweaver, and is more spiteful than sensible, and there is no position of favor you can occupy that will keep you safe from his temper. Its a hard lesson to learn.

3. Did your character help Minthara get her revenge on Orin, or handle Orin alone?

Orin insists on a personal duel with Dirge, spawn to spawn, Chosen to Chosen. Minthara supports it because she wants Dirge to reclaim his inherited power, but the temple conflict is an absolute clusterfuck. Bhaal chews up and spits out his Chosen at the first hint of second thoughts, and then forces Dirge to choose whether or not to put himself in the same position, before brutally torturing and killing him when Dirge refuses to become Bhaal's puppet again. Minthara is forced to flee with the rest of the party as Caiphon fulfills its pact and destroys the temple, and is left utterly haunted by it all. Theres no closure for anyone here. Minthara doesn't get to enact revenge on Orin, Dirge doesn't get to break Orin away from Bhaal, because Bhaal chose to take that from both of them, and then kills Dirge on top of it all. Its an awful, terrible experience, that drives home just how awful petty and cruel the gods can be, even to their most faithful worshippers.

I really enjoy Minthara's post Orin-capture dialogue and I want to include it in her characterization, even though Orin can't kidnap your romanced companion. I think that entire shitshow and seeing Dirge try to pull Orin out of the deathspiral shes in, only for Bhaal to force the Slayer onto her, in combination with discussions they'd had earlier, would be enough for Minthara to really see the similarities between her position and Orin's and finally understand the exact kind of god Bhaal makes himself to be. There really is no winning there.

As much as Dirge loves Orin, Minthara's vengeance is her own and Dirge would never wish to take that from her. Whatever life he could give Orin is Minthara's to take, and he won't involve himself in that unless invoked. But he hates that he couldn't help Minthara close that chapter of her life in a way that gave her peace. He hates that he couldn't fight Orin on her own terms, for her own reasons. That, instead, they fought to the death in a home they both hated for a father that loved neither of them. Just one more thing Bhaal took from all of them.

[possibilistfanfiction]

Genuine question, how did you figure out or realize the whole being butch thing? What does being butch mean to you?

idk if it was like… figure out? more so just putting a name to something i’ve always felt or known about myself. i came out as a lesbian, then i came out as nb, then i was like well i want gender affirming care so that must mean i am Trans™️, & it’s like… none of those words or kind of… vibes (lol sorry) quite fit? i don’t feel like a cis lesbian, & i actually kind of despise non-binary as a concept (don’t send asks abt this i won’t answer them lol, do ur own thing if u love it that’s cool); i think for me personally Transness is a little too serious & intense & limiting to how i feel. & im a white afab person in a smaller body, & honestly…….. we are often the wooooorst demographic of trans ppl lmao so i just didn’t even rly like some spaces i was in. i got the most important gender affirming care i wanted, i moved & i got married, i got to work remotely etc

& so just sitting with all of that it was like. ok well a lot of neoliberal queer spaces piss me the fuck off; i’m not cis, but i’m not TRANS in the way a lot of ppl (very validly) feel; i do Not like nb. i’d read stone butch blues before, i have a degree in critical theory where i worked a loooot w queer theory, obviously i’ve written abt queerness for ages lol. so then i was just like ah. butch. dyke. YAH! sweet. 100/10 feels amazing i love it

& i think for me i love those words most bc they’re rooted in really radical belief that i have. they carry an ethic with them that, at its best & most intersectional ofc, i want to act on, all the time. i want to show up for people & be protective & tough & strong but i also so deeply want to be nurturing & nourishing. i want to allow myself to be nourished & cared for. i think it feels rly wonderful to have a word for transgressive gender that sums it all up bc people lived it before me. they made that very specific & particular space to experience femininity in a way that doesn’t feel like a noose.

i think also butchness is so expansive! something that never sat right w me abt the way we talk abt transness in the west is that i don’t think there are ‘pre’ & ‘post’ transition selves. like… i’ve never been Not Me? like i came out of the womb a dyke. all i did my entire childhood is run around in the mountains, catalogue leaves, play w my dog, read nancy drew, & avidly watch + play any women’s soccer i could. i loved to fish & mountain bike, i grew up in the desert so gardening to me was a miracle. i never cared abt gender at all beyond like ‘well i guess i’m a girl & the women i admire just won a world cup, they’re badass’ & that was it. i liked boys clothes bc they were practical & felt better, but i just. didn’t think about it. ppl called me a tomboy which was fine, i liked scout in to kill a mockingbird so whatever. but i never felt “non-binary” & i certainly never felt like a boy.

& i am… still just like that lmao. i hated my boobs, point blank day 1 lol, but that doesn’t have to mean i’m trans, or that i’ve somehow changed in a way that requires separation from who i’ve been my whole life. i HATE the language of ‘dead/lived’ name; i hate the weird expectation that u should allow the state to have all of ur gender stuff on record (no fucking thank you, y’all can keep my legal name & i will be flying under the radar lol). so i think western transness rly just. irritates me. doesn’t fit. hasn’t ever fit.

so butchness is like. i am 8 year old jude, i’m just older now. if this makes sense ur butch lmao but. it’s this rly free space to play w masculinity in a way that doesn’t necessitate western transness, & also doesn’t necessitate a separation from maternalism, which i fundamentally believe in. i don’t even rly think of my own care as “gender affirming” & more just like… essence affirming. i didn’t want top surgery so my body could be read as male; i wanted it so i could look like me. i want my clothes to feel & fit in a Very particular way bc that’s how i like them. it’s abt practicality, efficiency, comfort.

& lastly to me butchness has a remarkable space for tenderness that masculinity on its own just cannot hold. like. it’s abt being protective & strong, sure, but it’s in service of others. always always always. so sometimes that looks like communicating calmly, sometimes that looks like infinite small acts of service for ur friends or ur partner. when i think of settling into myself it’s more about returning to who i knew i was when i was a kid, when i was the only person my dog liked & how it felt to sit on the swings when the sun was setting after the monsoon; it’s allowing myself to love like that — caring, & quiet, & full.

ultimately to me butchness is about devotion, more than anything in the world. devoted to safety, devoted to community. no one is devoted the way dykes are bc it’s how we survive. it’s how we have always survived — the steadfastness, the faith, the joy, even thru suffering, to not be boxed in. to help each other. to be funny & kind & thoughtful & not reject the absolute best parts of womanhood for the sake of a western box. to demand care. it’s so beautiful. devotion.

tldr it’s the best