#with 4 very different reactions

[tennessoui]

the counseling au update!!!!!!!! now I'm grinning like a lunatic imagining Anakin trying to hug Obiwan whenever possible, now that they are doing The Hug thingy... Ani being like 'my master hugged me first, and then hugged me again, so it must be perfectly alright and perfectly normal if I just hugged him whenever I feel like it - which is all the time tbh- right?' and Obiwan is so confused and guilty but happy beyond words☺️

one of the bestest developments i cannot wait to write is shortly after they find out that she thinks they're together, and they decide to keep going to her anyway because it's a good idea to see someone and it would be so exhausting to go through the whole thing and all the traumas all over again (i mean the questionnaire took like 12k words alone!), she gives them homework!! to work on their intimacy!! which involves hugs and hand holding and cuddles!! not just hugs that take them by surprise but like casual, constant cuddling while on the sofa ! hand holding while they walk around the coruscanti farmers market!!

anakin is ecstatic!! obi-wan is shyly pleased and also beyond radiant

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

part 4 / part 22

[daily-hanamura]

[moe-broey]

I never claimed to be a writer and never will. On account of I WILL get lost in the details forever. The perfectionism of it all. HOWEVER. I need to maybe take a break from drawing but my brain NEVER quits. So. I'm throwing some notes at you. Varying degrees of put-together/rough. ENJOY

Aka very politely under a cut: Alfonse's adventures in attempting to wrangle an 8 year old Moe.

[A somewhat common current day exchange]

"I can do it myself." / "I believe you can, with certainty. But I'm asking, do you want to?" / Moe stares at him blankly for a long moment, before bursting into tears. / [Fondly] (Ah.)

Vs

"I can do it myself."

Thinking he can pull the same thing again, confident, "Yes, I believe you can. Wholeheartedly. But I'm asking, do you want to?"

[Kid] Moe thinks about it. Mulls it over. Then, with determination, "Yeah, I think so."

(... Okay, different strategy.)

"... If I'm honest, I do not wish to, myself. I'm searching for my dear friend, you see. And I feel terribly alone."

Moe scoffs at him. "You're an adult. You can handle it." Then it narrows its eyes at him. "I'm not stupid, either. You're trying to keep an eye on me. Why?"

It measures him up, scrutinizing him. "Are you a teacher? A social worker? With... armor, and a ✨sword✨...." Serious again. "What's your authority, here?"

Alfonse determines lying won't work (... what is a social worker?). However... he picks what information to share carefully. "I confess, I have no authority. I am simply a concerned bystander."

Something clicks in his mind. If he were to drop one little detail in here... "I typically travel with my friend and my little sister."

Moe perks up to attention. "Oh, you have a little sister?!"

Got it. "Yes, I do."

He continues, "Together, alongside our leader, we work as a team. One collective unit. I appear to have gotten separated from them." *

"Ohhh... that's why you're lonely."

"Yes. I am lost without them."

Resolved, "Okay! I understand. I'll help you find them!"

Warmly, "Thank you. What a relief... I feel better, already."

* It feels unnatural for him to say "our boss" (first take) or "our leader" (maybe what I'm going with?) instead of the Commander (or Commander Anna). But I think he's carefully guiding the conversation, here. He doesn't want Moe to get lost in the details, or worse, identify A Threat*. He knows just how easy it is to lose Moe's favor and trust, just how thin that ice is. How thin, it seemingly always has been. Right now, he's prioritizing catching Moe on common ground. A "leader" can really refer to anything, anybody. Possibly even someone of equal status, just different skill sets. He can get into the finer details as they come.

* Like. All authority figures are threats until proven otherwise. And even then. You have to earn that authority, from Moe. To get it to cooperate. Alfonse knows this. All too well. He is guessing (correctly) that this trait of Moe's is even more pronounced, at this age.

Also -- About, when Moe is measuring him up:

> Realistically, I think Moe goes on another Stranger Danger You're Trying to Trick Me to Get What You Want Out of Me which is BAD AND YOU'RE GONNA HURT ME rant, but. Maybe it got that out of its system, earlier. There is a scenario, though, where Moe WOULD scold him and disparage him for being SO stupid to think that Obvious Lie would Work. MOM SAYS.... [Recites Every Single Stranger Danger line in the book in GREAT detail until it's breathless.]

> Sobbing, wait. 8 year old Moe's response to Alfonse's plea (some genuine feelings in there, but definitely trying to win it over) is LITERALLY just "What are you, a cop 🤨❓" NO RESPECT. NONE AT ALL.

/

"What do you do, anyway? You said you travel with your leader?" Not at all subtly staring at Folkvangr at his hip. "... with a ✨sword✨...?"

Alfonse decides he can give more details. He gives it the rundown, the whole spiel. Trying to strike the balance of speaking as he normally does, as if Moe were a colleague (it responds well to this!), but plainly enough that Moe doesn't get lost (it is eight years old.)

My name is Alfonse, Prince of Askr... member of the Order of Heroes... we fight to protect [example ect]... we oft go on field missions to do this... ect ect

Moe is dazzled. "Wow...!" Then narrows its eyes at him again. "... Really?"

"Truly!" He adds, as if for emphasis. "I've no reason to lie about that."

Moe scoffs. "Yeah, right!" Acting tougher, "That's what they ALL say. If that were True, why'd you have t'say it?"

"I can tell you're still wary of me."

"Wary?"

"Suspicious. Cautious. Unwilling to trust or believe me at my word. Of which, I find commendable. It's good, to approach unfamiliar situations with an appropriate level of wariness."*

Moe nods very seriously. Taking this in, chest puffed out. Clearly liking the validation.

[Here, Moe says something that makes it clear that it still doesn't really believe Alfonse is Actually a Prince. But it's taking the information he gave it, and interpreting it as if he's playing pretend to a degree. Maybe, it's his job to play pretend. Like the actors at Disneyland*. You know it's a role being played, but you believe in the magic, you believe in the game. You believe in the fun. You play along.]

[LIKE. Little Moe is striking a balance, here. Between logic and whimsey. And it is ALWAYS up for intricate and extravagant deep complex world building.]

Alfonse takes note of this response, able to follow enough details to continue proceeding accordingly.

* REALLY LOVE THIS LINE. Alfonse, providing synonyms for a word Moe isn't familiar with. Throwing in a new word that an eight year old might not be familiar with (commendable), then in the same breath providing more information (commendable = Good). And Moe responding SO WELL to it. Raised on PBS Kids, ass. Word Girl being a favorite, ass

* Was. Tempted to use mall Santas as an example. But no, I think it's important actually. Kind of communicates, like. First of all, its mom would NOT be caught dead doing a mall Santa thing. Even if she trusted the man playing Santa enough, granting that he's qualified (is he? 🤨❓) AND Well Supervised. She hates the mall. She hates big crowds and commotion. Hates shopping, too. And ultimately prefers more classy fancy gigs. Like the Nutcracker ballet.

I wanted to avoid the Disneyland example because like. Well, maybe I'm embarrassed to admit there were times I was spoiled and got to experience nice things. But to be fair, it was just Once. With its grandparents, auntie and brother. And hell, if a Literal Princess can find herself in the Realm of Dreams, Moe can, too.

... Also the irony is not lost on me being embarrassed to admit being able to go to Disneyland and going to see the Nutcracker in the same breath LMFAOO LIKE.......... comfortably middle class at least on your mom's side, ass

/

Finally, he acknowledges Moe's fascination with The ✨Sword✨. He's been taking note of this, but waiting for the right time draw attention to it (he's also been really amused by the way Moe's demeanor changes COMPLETELY when talking about it).

NOW HERE. SOMETHING REALLY FUNNY HAPPENS. LIKE. You THINK, okay Alfonse is overly cautious and in ANY other world, would NOT hand FOLKVANGR to A Child. But. He's from The Order of Heroes. The Order of Heroes are no strangers to having children in their ranks. So his perspective is a bit squeued, here. This isn't just any random child, either. It's Moe. His friend. Knowing all that he knows... he just cannot resist the urge to be a cool older brother for Moe, in this moment.

"Would you like a closer look?"

"YEAH!!! Yeah!!"

"Very well! Keep a safe distance, though. It is sharp." He worries for a moment that Moe will think he's still playing. So, for emphasis, "I mean it. Treat it with the same level of caution and care as you would a real life knife. If not MORE so."

Moe, understanding. "Okay. I'll be careful."

"All right!" He unsheathes the blade. Steady, a dramatic flair. After brandishing it with a flourish, he sets it tip down into the ground. The sword itself is nearly as tall as Moe. Moe is COMPLETELY enraptured by it. Alfonse rambles on a bit, "See these stones at the hilt? They burn like white flames."

"That's SO COOL! Soooo so cool...."

Alfonse, absolutely getting carried away. "Would you like to take hold of it?"

"Can I?!?!"

Serious. "Yes. But again, I must emphasize, do be careful."

Also serious. "Okay. I will."

"Now then! Follow my lead." Standing side by side, he adjusts Folkvangr at an angle for easier reach, guiding Moe's hands to the hilt. He becomes pensive, as each of set of hands wrap around it. 'Goodness, its hands are so small...' Drifting away, 'were they always so -- Well. I suppose I too was small, back then.' Hands tightly grasped, he lifts the blade slowly, but effortlessly.

He's back to being playful. "Hold steady, with a firm grip."

"Okay."

He warns with a grin, in that same airy tone, "Be careful. It's heavy."

Moe, increasingly impatient, if not insulted. "It's NOT heavy."

"All right! I'll let go, now."

"OKAY okay!"

He finally does. Moe tilts over at the sudden weight, before steadying itself. As it holds the sword for a long moment, its arms begin to shake, knuckles white.

Moe, strained. "It's Not Heavy."

"What an impressive show of strength!"

Moe, EXTREMELY satisfied with itself, sparkle in its eye. "Heh." Then it turns to Alfonse. "Okay you can take it back now."

Alfonse, smiling, "Certainly."

/

Stray dialogue:

[I cannot help but be reminded of Sharena, just a bit.] [Rewriting: Saying "my own sister..." as a comparison feels too close to him misgendering/mislabeling Moe. So when prompted, he clarifies Sharena is his sister, and allows Moe to come to any conclusion it does about that]

"Is she my age?"*

"Oh, no. She's all grown up, now."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense."

It continues. "It's really nice that you still play together, though. It sucks when you can't see your sisters. I only see mine, on the weekends. And my brother never wants to play with me."

Alfonse, picking his words carefully. Knowing, even if only vaguely. Where this story goes, and how this story ends. "How tragic..."

"Yeah. He thinks he's too cool for me."

"What a jerk."

Moe, vindicated, "YEAH! What a JERK!"

/

* Okay separate thought. Goes crazy. Like this was just kid being a kid dialogue. But the fact that Moe asks "Is she my age?" When, she would have been. For that Moe, she currently Is. They've met. They're friends.

[sysig]

He’s my little meow meow, my darling, my bbygirl (Patreon)

[imeminemp3]

ive made this post before but it's so weird being a fan of queen the way i am cause they're world fucking famous but those are just... my four guys!! my buddies. my pals.

[knaveofmogadore]

So like, imagine this. It's the first big family reunion after COVID restrictions let up, your family took a few years to all get vaccinated, ect. Your kid is 6, so they weren't old enough to take to the last one, this is the first time they're meeting some of these more distant relatives. So you introduce them to Uncle Mike, and you say "This is Uncle Mike. He thinks you're so small and delicious, and that it'd be so easy to pick you up and throw you at the nearest wall and break all your bones." If that 6 year old then power kicks uncle Mike in the nuts and runs away screaming, whose fault is that?

So this post is about Doctor Who. The patron unknowable Eldritch entity of your country has just spent an entire afternoon telling you that the universe is full of things that are stronger and bigger than you, and a lot of them will happily blenderize your planet for a bit of rocket fuel, or eat all of you for a big Sunday brunch. And he's letting that ship full of slavers happily fly away to tell the entire galaxy about your tiny planet's existence. You are an animal, your empathy and reason only extends to the boundaries of what you can understand, and the Doctor has just told you that the vast majority of the galaxy sees you as prey. Me, personally? I'm with Harriet, I wouldn't stand a chance in that situation, I'd 100% take that shot.

All I'm saying is that if the Doctor wanted to foster empathy, they probably shouldn't have started with enthusiastically explaining how cleverly the aliens were going to coerce them into slavery, especially not to a woman who grew up in Britain as it rebuilt itself from the blitz in a post-nazi Europe

[copiawife]

i got a couple little metal cardinal charm things at work to put in my husband shrine yippee!!

[gay-artificer]

I feel like I see much more complaining about innocent sad mom girlboss fandomized Artificer than i actually see innocent sad mom girlboss Artificer. Past like, jokes about them being a girlboss. Which don't count.

[stillfruit]

i love not knowing if i'll ever be healthy again i love all of the time i've used to move my body become nothing i love spending my adulthood wasting away year after year for various reasons baby!

[negrowhat]

I find it intriguing that Yak told Dee about Taemrak and also even more intriguing that Dee is trying to help Yak figure out a way to confess to her. I like that Yoryak felt comfortable to tell Wandee and I like that Wandee is rooting for Yak and Taem. This situation feels like it should be messy and so far it's just...not.

[angst-is-love-angst-is-life]

Tormenting my poor friend who hasn’t even seen the show with my writing

[ridgystasis]

was enneagram-ing dmc characters for fun and basically the current list is something like this

dante: type 9

vergil: type 8

nero: type 6

lady: type 1 (not super confident on this one)

trish: type 4 or 6 (currently leaning towards 4 but i can see either, not really sure here too lol)

[zel-duhhh]

Hi

Just did all the dragon tears missions in totk

Absolutly devestated

4/10 dont recommend it if you like being happy

Well thank god that I like to make myself sad and upset!

Really interesting rating though, I’ve only done the first tear yet since I’m a stinker and explore so much so I’m excited to see the rest of these tears! I gotta know…

[not-mary-sue]

Alright, to ao3's soon to be arriving Wattpad Refugees, a basic guide to general user culture:

1.) Unlike Wattpads vote system that let's you like each chapter, the ao3 equivalent kudos only allows one per work. Everyone is generally quietly annoyed about this. To engage with each chapter, you're heavily encouraged to comment. Trust me, it makes people's day.

2.) Ao3 has no algorithm. By default it's latest updated work first. You can find things to your taste through searches, filters and tags.

3.) 'No archive warnings apply' and 'user has chosen not to use archive warnings' mean two very different things. No archives warnings means the work is free from any content that could require a warning tag (character death, graphic depictions of violence, non-con, etc). User has chosen not to use archive warnings means it could contain any of the warning content, be it hasn't been explicitly tagged. Treat it like an allergen. No archive warnings apply is allergen free. User has chosen not to use archive warnings, may contain traces or whole chunks of the allergen. If you're likely to have a bad reaction, maybe don't take the risk.

4.) Speaking of warnings, ao3 has very few restrictions on the type of work that's allowed. Whatever your personal thoughts or feelings on that are, thats how the site is. You're likely to run across some dark subject matters and a lot of people are uncomfortable with reading that. You're well within your rights not like these works and have your opinion on whether they should be allowed, but harassing the authors of such works (or any works) is more likely to come back on you than them. Ao3 operates on a strong policy of 'don't like, don't read'. Use the tagging system to your full advantage to only engage with the kind of works you want to see.

We look forward to welcoming you all and seeing the fantastic works you create. Happy writing!

[skypalacearchitect]

Since Jewish people are such a small population globally yet face so much violence and hate, I think it's important for gentiles (such as myself) to be allies and stand against antisemitism.

I don't think I am particularly good at this, I do want to find ways to do more than just reblogging tumblr blogs, I want to find ways to help in-person, but this is what I know to do right now.

I’m low on hope today. If you’re a goyim (ie non-Jewish) leftist of any religion or lack thereof, and you stand up to antisemitism, interact with this. I literally don’t believe anyone actually cares about us at all.

Jews DNI.

I genuinely want to see if any goyim who are loudly decrying all other forms of hatred are willing to be the ones to spread this message.

And this isn’t a “if you have a heart, you’ll reblog this” point scoring thing I’m trying to get. I am actually truly feeling like most people don’t have the balls to share this. Most people hate Jews this much.