#which is bad as they're not sentient (yet?) and will go where the water and wind take them so

[izzy-b-hands]

I know Stede is technically probably most at fault for the ship running aground, but it's funny as fuck to picture everyone else going abt their business while presumably

The ship slows. The ship makes odd noises. The ship finally stops abruptly sending ppl tumbling. And then does everyone go out to look and go ah fuck

I love them all so much, I would almost definitely do the same tbh

[dracomort]

Hello, how are you?? Hope you're having a great weekend!! I was reading the traveling cabinet and it left me wondering, if Draco actually wanted to end things, would that Tom kill him? He knows way too much to not be a liability. Or would he not let him go at all? I'm curious as to what he would do, if they hadn't achieved a compromise and if Draco was actually willing to leave him (I don't believe he ever would be, tbh) Anyway, you're a great writer, thanks for sharing your works!!

I swear I answered something similar to this, but I cannot for the life of me find my reply. I assume it's buried in an AO3 comment section somewhere because it's not in my ask tag.

When Tom considers killing Draco in The Travelling Cabinet, they're not yet in a relationship. Tom still thinks of him as an annoying roommate but a useful hot water bottle who cooks and pays half the rent. Even then, he's still somewhat uneasy about it, though he doesn't have the self-awareness to recognise why. Tom from Bluebeard onward wouldn't ever even consider killing Draco unless it was Draco's life vs his own, in which case his own always comes first.

'Would Tom let him/her leave?' is always the awkward question in any superficially healthy portrayal of a relationship with him. Given his track record, I would say... no. He would see it as a betrayal and his empathy is not developed enough to be capable of or willing to see it from Draco's perspective. He understands, in theory, that Draco is a sentient being who continues to exist when Tom isn't in the room, but he doesn't instinctively comprehend that on a deeper level.

Their relationship is quite fluffy in that series but if you read between the lines, you can see Tom's disinterest in Draco's feelings from the closing scenes of TTC. Whether Draco has any interest in him is not even factored in; he simply decides that he wants Draco, and that's that. Luckily, Draco has been quietly pining away for a while, but to Tom, that's irrelevant. What he wants, he'll take. Doesn't mean Draco is having a bad time... unless he did want to leave. But I don't think they'd ever find themselves in a situation where Draco would try to leave, regardless of what Tom does. I mean, he literally found out his boyfriend was Voldemort and in all his spiralling never once considered leaving him.

[waterlogged-detective]

💫🌲!

I forgor I still had asks I'm so sorry

💫What is your favourite fact about this character and why?

So now that I've posted more about him hopefully this fun fact won't be too confusing haha, but technically if/when Doe realizes he's words he could theoretically transfer himself into a different body than the suit. This is due entirely to the way he exists now, as the words went through a lot of different vessels before finding one that worked right (the suit). Think of it like a snail trying to find a good shell and going through a bunch of different ones before finding one they fit in.

Like the fun part about this is that technically yes we could go the boring way of Doe possessing a corpse or something humanoid but blegh. Thats the cowards way out. Disgusting! Get it outta here!

I like to think of Doe posessing random shit. A velocipede? Hell yeah gotta go fast. Can a coffee cup taste? Let's test that shit out boys. Sword? Fuck yeah swords are cool.

You get the idea. Limit is relative size and cohesiveness. Like water or a building or blades of grass wouldn't work (maybe an apartment). But a tree (which is complicated but it's close to human so it's easier to translate for him) or a handful of rocks would be perfect.

Likewise while he could technically possess something already sentient, that would cause brain death (sort of, it's complicated) in whatever it is the words take control of but a) thematically I find the words doing that boring (personally) and b) Doe would never do that because he doesn't want to kill something else just to make things easier for himself (unless they're human. He doesn't care too much about that tbh.)

But none of that matters anyway until I get to the point in his story where he finds out.

If I ever decide to do so. Haven't decided yet.

🌲 How deeply does your OC feel? Are they typically empathetic or do they have a hard time connecting with others in this way? What are they like when offering support and comfort to someone they care for?

Doe feels very deeply, to the point of potentially his own detriment sometimes, but not necessarily on behalf of other people. He's not exactly empathetic, but he does feel....pity for others? He often feels bad or sorry for their plights which is why he tries to help when he can, but it's not exactly connection he feels. More a sense of injustice (or because he likes seeing people happy). He can *sort of* be empathetic to certain people if he's around them long enough (friends, Darcy, animals (which are easier for him to understand anyway)), but there's a disconnect there when it comes to how he feels things in the first place.

I'm not sure I'm making much sense with this, apologies.

It really just comes down to...I think the easiest analogy to make with Doe would be like a robot. Only programmed with the words he's made of, and being able to learn more, only emotions are a bit harder as they're more abstract. It's always easier to feel and understand yourself, but people are a bit of a mystery aren't they?