#you can just outright steal an idea from me if you want. be free.

[winteriron-trash]

pinned faq

hi, my name is roman. i used to be a semi-popular winteriron blog, but now this blog is mostly dead. so. rip, gone but not forgotten. but i still get some pretty common questions so here's a one-stop shop for most of them as well as links to the important things.

My Tumblr Fic Masterlist

My Ao3

My (dead) WinterIron Discord Server

Did you write the Tony Stark wifi tower fic?

yes, i wrote that fic! it is by far the most popular thing i've ever written and it will probably outlive me.

I found that fic on [insert site here], do they have your permission?

probably not, no. i have found that fic everywhere. and i mean everywhere. pinterest, wattpad, facebook, instagram, tiktok, mediachomp, and so on. honestly, it's been years and i can't control or chase down every single copy and i have no interest in doing so. i don't love that it was stolen from me (especially on for-profit sites) but it just is what it is. it's a fanfic rite of passage to have your stuff stolen, honestly.

can i do a translation/podfic/write something inspired by one of your fics/posts?

yes! there is always a blanket permission to do any sort of transformative work with my work, especially my older stuff. if it sparks joy and creativity in you, run wild with it. i prefer to be credited, but honestly, i'm just happy to see my stuff still inspiring people.

will you ever write winteriron/mcu fanfic again?

well, you should never say never. but in this case, you might want to say never. i have very little interest in winteriron or the mcu in general outside of nostalgia, and i likely will never write anything substantial for them again. it's sad, i miss it too, but i just don't have that spark for marvel these days. mostly i write dc comics fanfiction.

did you write [insert winteriron fic/post here]?

idk. maybe. probably. i wrote and posted a lot of things. you can scroll the tag on this blog to find all my old posts, some more popular than others. if you think it was me, chances are, it probably was. i got around a lot from like 2018 to 2020.

do you have a tagging system?

i used to but lord if i'm going to use it now. i don't even remember it, so your guess is as good as mine. tbh i just use tags as a place to ramble these days so navigating my blog is about as easy for you as it is for me. which is to say, it's not easy at all. because tumblr's search function is ass. i do know one of my old tags has my deadname in it. you'll probably find it if you look hard enough, but that is what it is.

are you going to revive this blog?

probably not consistently, no. if i have something i really want to say here, i'll say it, but i don't have much interest in maintaining this like i used to. i want to be able to, i miss posting here a lot, i just don't think it'll spark joy for me the way it used to, which sucks but that's just the way things go.

why did you leave this blog?

idk. life happened. i was an 18-year-old fighting chronic health conditions and mental health issues that led to me dropping out of high school so, tumblr sort of fell to the back burner, then got forgotten about entirely. eventually, i lost interest in the mcu as i felt the quality of it took a turn for the worst and i went back to dc, which i'm still into. i read some marvel comics, enjoy an occasional mcu project, but largely i just don't have the interest i used to. it sucks and i miss it, this blog probably kept me alive as a teenager. but now it's mostly just an archive of my past, and i'm okay with that.

can i talk to you/send you an ask/befriend you anyway?

sure, if you want, don't know if i'm good company though. but i'm always open to making friends and reminiscing about winteriron, marvel, and all that good stuff. i've gotta warn you though, tumblr fucking eats my DMs on this blog like no fucking business. i'm regularly fighting it. my discord is devilbonesofmetal if you wanna yell at me there, just say you're from tumblr.

[hobartshobie]

a non-comprehensive list of "official" spider-punk merch that i cannot condone anyone stealing for legal reasons

please do NOT buy anything listed in this post. i'm trying to clown corporations for monetizing anti-capitalism.

$11 for a comic about a guy trying to save his community from the rot of capitalism when all it takes is a vpn and the right Totally Legal website to read the whole thing for free is almost an outright challenge

look at the price of this jacket and tell me you don't want to jump off a cliff. the $4 increase from an xs to a 3x is mocking us more than the jacket already was. go to a thrift store, brush up on painting and make it yourself. it will be cheaper and look so much more punk than this thing

i'm putting all the t-shirts in the same section. i've decided to put as much effort into this as the people who "designed" these shirts did. yet again animators and comic artists do all the leg work while guys with business degrees copy and paste their art onto a low quality shirt for $20 because their trust fund pulled them up by the bootstraps

okay i know i said i put all the shirts in the one section but this one just impresses me. it's objectively more boring than the other shirts in this post yet it's like $15 more expensive. it doesn't have the spider-punk branding which is the easiest part of selling spider-punk merch. also the marvel logo is there just to remind you this is funding copaganda. insanely low effort and expensive. never spend $37 on a t-shirt

i understand not everyone is good at art so "just make it yourself" isn't the solution here. i'd like to take this time to encourage you to look into artists that can give you something more worth your money. it may not be less expensive but it will be better than spending $30 on a poster which you should never do

hobart brown would be horrified to see the price on this thing. i legally can't tell you to steal it so i just won't say it. there's no reason on earth to pay this amount of money for this. "it's hard to resist" and "no ethical consumption under capitalism" etc etc. i get it. if the price doesn't de-motivate you just imagine that hobie would be throwing up at the idea. you're welcome

at this point they just don't understand the target audience of spider-PUNK. no hobie fan is paying $30+ for this. high prices only punish the ones who want to legally obtain the thing. don't be the guy who picks up the tab for the moron who wants to milk the anti-capitalism cash cow. you're better than that

hobie merch marketed toward children makes me laugh. i could go on about how this thing existing waters down anti-capitalism and hobie's connection to the punk subculture but it's low-hanging fruit.

all i can say about this is it being a 6 pack will stop no one. you don't need to spend $60 on this when all of this together should not be more than $25 maybe $30. there were higher quality spider-man action figures in burger king kid's meals in 2012 during tasm promo. also i can't tell you to steal it. remember that.

in conclusion,

corporations are very dumb for trying to make money off of spider-punk, the real official merch is made by hobie fans, and most importantly do not buy anything in this post

[makwandis]

The teutonic order was incredibly fucked up and an evil genociding land stealing freak group, and committed horrific atrocities. I think if you make Gil a baltic and he isn't like outright a little child or something, I think making him forget the baltic stuff is....just strange. Why would he. Teutonics didn't suppress prussian culture fully nor successfully, nor did they really give a shit to. Prussian paganism was practiced among their ranks. Teutonic knights, particularly the prussian nobles who were baptised and then fought along side the knights and had their own groups within the order of the knights of speared warriors and such, did cremation, sooth saying, animal sacrifice etc. There was nearly a century of prussian peasant rebellions against the order, and then the century after that the order was just basically fighting the Lithuanians, who said they weren't Christian enough. The crusades only used Christianity as a justification for what they did, but many even at the time criticised this as it was obvious they didn't give a fuck about Christianity beyond the power using it gave them militarily and economically in the process of their land thieving.

If you want a sad story...it is a sad story. You could perhaps have a conflict where Prussia doesn't know if he stands with the prussian nobles or the prussian peasants. You can have him angry that his land has been stolen from under him and many forces in the baltic region wanted and assisted this in order to gain control of the valuable land he was on. You can have him fighting other balts for the changed interests of the prussian nobility. You can have him do many many things. I have him doing many many things. Cause it's like a period of 300 or so years, a lot happens and there were many internal struggles and a lot of politics going on.

And for me as an indigenous person, the story is similar to what happened to my people and what happened in the crusades ofc had lasting effects and gave the Catholic Church a lot of power and understanding in how to continue using Christianity as justification for horrific crimes and land theft. As the order left Prussia, the new frontier opened up in what is now Latin America. And it's similar stories. I think just having him get brain washed and then be enthusiastically killing other balts is lazy and weird...... colonialism doesn't work that way. You could say any tribe that tried to make things work for their people and allied with colonial powers, they were brain washed and happy to kill other tribes. But no man. It doesn't work that way. And leans into weird ideas about indigenous peoples struggles with colonialism.

If he's a German that's different lol. While I think giving a nation rep to the teutonic order is fucking weird haha they weren't a proper country and were a complete mishmash of culture and we don't really see any national identity or anything or whatever they were just a violent militaristic religious group who seized land (imagine giving a rep to other militaristic religious groups who seized land ya know??), it's also hetalia I am not pressed lol

Making him a balt who gets colonized I think requires a lot of sensitivity. And thought. If you wanna be accurate and sensitive to the material. You definitely don't have to be, free country or whatever. But if you want to be...it's not so cut and dry imo. The prussians may no longer exist but it's still a real story with present world effects, we are talking horrific genocide and land disposession and brutality, but it's more complicated than it seems.

[xaytheloser]

the lengths the beasts and elder would go for benign oh my god

we already know the beasts are fucked up but oh little do we know elder faerie is probably just as fucked up as them, that man wouldn't even think to hesitate to do some horribly drastic shit for benign

if benign were to somehow get hurt to a near crumbling state, elder would not even hesitate to make a deal with shadow milk, no hesitation to use dark magic to aid in her recovery

"Help me, I'll free you from your prison."

"Why should I believe you?! You're the one who locked us in this stupid tree in the first place!!"

"Benign Butter is hurt." "Help me and I will set you free."

shadow milk wouldn't hesitate either now knowing the reason for elder faerie making a deal with him, because if they were in opposite positions, he'd likely do the same

elder faerie knows he shouldn't be selfish, shouldn't be freeing the beasts period, but he already lost white lily, he refuses to lose benign butter

the beasts refuse to lose her too

and the most surprising part? everyone is completely civil with each other, because this is benign they're worrying about, they all share a common goal in the moment, and lord knows benign would hate for them to be fighting in a moment where they should be working together, so they're being as polite with each other as they can be

"love makes you do stupid things" is a quote that has never applied anywhere more than it applies here, because it's completely foolish and stupid idea to free literal evil incarnate just to save your wife from death that isn't even guaranteed

and something to make that quote even truer? elder willingly breaks into the home of one of the witches to acquire more life powder for benign's recovery, with shadow milk and eternal sugar's help!!! he strictly goes against the rule of the witches and steals from them just to help her because he is not losing his wife!! THEY are not losing THEIR wife!!!

poor benign is probably mortified when she's fully recovered because elder specifically went against his duties as the guardian of the silver tree and outright freed her former comrades to save her, and he has absolutely no explanation for it!! but low and behold- the beasts actually stay civil after she's recovered!

why do they stay civil? because they learned just how deeply elder faerie cares for her, and actually them too, because he went to some fucking cracked ass lengths to get them all free to help him with her recovery, entirely took it upon himself to fight tooth and nail to keep THEM safe while they regained enough strength to fight on their own and travel back to the silver kingdom

they learned he cared about them just as much as he cared about benign when he rushed to their sides to protect them from a severely mutated yeast spore more than likely caused by dark enchantress's bullshit somewhere on beast-yeast, shielded them from all sorts of attacks while they recovered and still fought to protect them when they were back on their feet and beating the absolute shit of the massive bastard of a spore

when benign wakes up, she's greeted by the faces of her former comrades huddled around her, all quietly checking on her and a sleeping elder who had been crying just hours before until he passed out, and the moment they realize she's awake, their expressions erupt into pure joy, burning spice goes to yell but eternal sugar smacks a hand over his mouth and reminds him the fae king is sleeping, to which burning spice sheepishly shrinks back before practically tackle hugging benign, nearly jostling elder from his place draped over her lap, causing eternal to shake her head as she and mystic go to join the hug

silent is miraculously without most of his armor, at least the heavy duty stuff, instead wearing a severely modified robe from elder's closet with just his gauntlets and boots, plus the joint coverage pieces like shoulder pads and knee pads, and shadow milk is surprisingly back in a set of scholar's robes (he wanted to look the part for going into dark magic again but also the robes were just fuckin' comfy man)

mystic is, well, being mystic, they're in tears, but they've sucked it up and are keeping their voice as even as they can as they nuzzle up to benign, whispering about how glad they are that she's okay as they hold her hand, gently rubbing her fingers and humming softly

eternal's expression is the softest of the beasts, she knows benign is probably still exhausted, but she's genuinely delighted that their dear companion is okay, that she's alive, and she can't help herself from coiling her tail around benign's arm, if only to feel her pulse just a bit better, to make sure she's alive

burning is trying so hard not to jump around and shout in joy because elder is sleeping, but it's still very clear just how happy the spicy boy is about her recovery, he hugs her so tightly but so gently at the same time that it's almost disorienting

when elder wakes up, lifts his head from benign's lap, benign can see his face, can see his puffy red eyes from crying and staying up so late worrying about her, shadow would tap elder's shoulder, making him start to turn his head, only to realize benign is awake, and actually properly wake up from there in an instant, and he's in tears for the fourth time that night

elder has the biggest loving grin in his face as he hugs her, sobbing joyfully into her dough as he laughs in a way that seems like he's absolutely lost it, and truthfully he probably has given the lengths he went for her safety, but nonetheless he's laugh-crying and he hugs her and everyone joins in on the hug, even silent who i imagine wouldn't have been the biggest on hug unless it's a really important or special moment

i can't imagine benign being anything but confused about the situation, the outfit changes of some of her former comrades, the fact her former comrades are like legitimately free and moving around, the fact they seem to be getting along surprisingly well with elder like they've learned something about the fae king that makes them respect him

but screw it, who's she to complain if her spouses are getting along?

of course, elder has a mountain of things to explain to her, and he is not going to get away with sweeping it under the rug, but for the moment explanations can wait

anyways resurrection through considered highly unethical means is the greatest show of love in existence nobody is allowed to fight me on that /silly WOOOOOO I LOVE MORALLY FUCKED UP AND COMPLEX RELATIONSHIPS AND CHARACTERS AISNHDUAHWEIAHWEIAWEIHAW

oh my god wait here me out guy oh my god Elder Faerie corruption arc Elder Faerie corruption arc Elder Faerie corruption arc-

'elder faerie is probably just as fucked up as them, that man wouldn't even think to hesitate to do some horribly drastic shit for benign' what if this man just fucking snaps- GOD EVIL AND FUCKED UP ELDER FAERIE BRAINROT

[talesfromsiteredacted]

The Garden of Inter-Site Tranquility

Everyone here has a side project, it seems. Dr. Gears builds robots, Dr. Clef tortures people via ukulele, Dr. Iceberg is a very good archer. Me? I like playing in the dirt, planting stuff. And, thanks to a little help from my friends... hard work is paying off handsomely. We have the only rooftop park/zen garden/flower garden in the Foundation, so far.

It took years, and tons of wheeling, dealing, and in one memorable case, outright stealing, but... it is finished. The Garden of Inter-Site Tranquility. A quaint little rooftop slice of heaven. Pretty sure Granddad would love it. He ought to, he inspired it in a way.

It's no Shangri-la, nor will it ever be anything as grand as Eden, but it's ours. A modest little gazebo with seating, surrounded by roses and other delightful flora. A brick path to a Zen garden, a small tea area, and the tool shed. There's even a small koi pond, with a stone fountain. There's a bonsai pine in the corner, this Hogswatch I'll decorate it.

First though... I need to plan a bit more. If I want this to be something everyone enjoys, I need ground rules. But... I can't resist the urge to show off the hard work. I get an idea. 166 never gets to do anything outside. Since technically neither of us are leaving Foundation grounds, maybe Meri would like a bit of fresh air?

I head to her quarters, and knock on her door.

"Hi, Meri? I'm Dr. Snow, and I'd like to ask a tiny, harmless favor, if I may."

"Dr. Snow? Ah, I think I remember you. The Hoodoo doll lady, right?" I could listen to Meri all day, there's just something about an Irish accent that sits right in the ear, Nan says. I have to agree.

"Yep, that I am. Only today I have something different in mind. I kind of did a thing, a rooftop oasis in this depressing concrete labyrinth. I'd like your honest informal opinion on it, if you're willing?"

"Absolutely, my dear Dr. Snow. Any excuse to breathe nonrecyled air. Lay on, good Doctor." The door opens, and we head to the roof. I open the access door, and Meri laughs.

"Dr. Snow, this is incredible. It's a little miracle from God. Sister Agnes, rest her soul, would love this. There's even a rose garden! I love roses. You didn't do all this by yourself, did ye?"

"I had a lot of help, from 343 and Cain helping plan the layout, the boys in Procurement getting me supplies and plants, had tips on koi pond management from Agent Arrisoka's granddad, I even bribed a few D-Class with free beer and pizza to help with planting and labor. It was a huge project, but worth it." I ran a hand through my messy hair. "Since you don't get out a lot, I thought you'd like a sneak peak before the grand public unveiling."

"Rather sweet of you, Dr. Snow. I have to say, this is lovely." So is the smile on Meri.

"Once I open it to everyone, I'll have to schedule some time blocks so that you and some of our other residents can enjoy it too. After all, it's nice to see the flowers, hear the bees and birds flying about, and get away for a bit even if we never actually leave the grounds."

"Aye, that it is." We take a stroll along the path leading to the koi pond. "Dr. Snow... do the other doctors know about this? I'd hate for you to get into trouble."

"They know. Dr. Gears even sent up the gravel for the Zen garden. Dr. Clef helped too, just don't ask where those koi came from."

"I'm more worried about how he got them here."

"Very carefully, was the answer I got. I didn't want to know more."

"Probably best not to look gift koi too deeply in the mouth anyhow." We have a good chuckle over Clef. I love him, but he does tend to be a bit of a kleptomaniac. He's certainly always stealing kisses from me, at least.

After a while, the daylight begins to fade.

"We should head back, they'll miss me at head count if I'm not there."

"Good idea. I did promise Dr. Gears first rake of the Zen garden, there's just enough light left by the time we get you home."

Speaking of Dr. Gears, I ran into him once I got Meri in her quarters. I just wordlessly handed him the gravel rake, and headed back up to the roof with him in tow. I must have outdid even my expectations, I never heard Dr. Gears whistle before. Yet, here he is, whistling as he rakes. 343 help me, I think I might be on to something here.

[tabletopmonsteroftheweek]

do you have any ideas for a game where the mission is to sneak in and steal a silkies fur coat back from someone?

Hmm, the best I can think of honestly depends on what goes on for the sneaking mission. The four big rolls i can think of for it would be Act Under Pressure, Read a Bad Situation, Investigate a Mystery (general questions version), and Manipulate Someone if they run into any guards.

Act Under Pressure for general sneaking past points that seem well guarded or breaking locks, Investigate a Mystery to figure out exactly where to go, and Read a Bad Situation if they start to feel like this is going way too easy.

For me, personally, I would make it be a "one strike and you're out!" type of situation. What I mean is if they roll a miss, unless they use a luck point, the missions busted. They get caught or they get lost. With that too, its not like its fully ended- they just have security on their tail or they cant tell if they just passed that facility before or not. I would say they would get a -1 forward for the rest of the encounter.

But that also doesn't mean they can't use their own player moves too. I'd say if the move does not have anything listed for what happens if they miss, you can free ball it and the missions not comprimised. Let them get creative! Anothing thing I'd suggest is that they prepare for the sneaking mission- do research on it, get equipment that might help, etc. But like, don't outright state "prepare for it" ya know- just say "alright, you guys have the option to do some preparations and research if you want. Otherwise, lets do this." That way it gives them the freedom of choice.

I'd also say that, as the keeper, make a general list of what can help with mission so you can check them off. Maybe even a certain number listed they have to reach to be set as 'prepared.' If they get the right stuff related to the mission, then congrats they get +1 forward for the duration of the mission! If they get compromised during it, then the +1 goes away and just leaves the rolls without a bonus, not giving them the negative previously stated. They're still prepared, they're just caught.

That's all I can think of after waking up at 9am lol. If other folks have more ideas, feel free to give em! I hope this helps either way!

[chaseyesterdays]

For the commentary ask game:

So he led the charge in this, assuming a leadership role Keyleth knows he would have rather avoided. Convinced the others this was a worthwhile endeavor. Appealed to Vax and Scanlan and Grog’s (and Pike’s) love of pranks and mischief, nudged them towards roles in the heist they would all enjoy the most. He gave Keyleth the position of lookout so she wouldn’t have to get her hands dirty if this whole debacle went tits up. Didn’t ask Vex to shield him, just to watch the machine and report back to him on what it was doing. He’d taken on the bulk of the responsibility himself, the bulk of the work, but he’d done it willingly for the happiness of a friend.

Percy’s not as bad a man as he believes he is, Keyleth thinks. Meanders another loop around the arcade. Given to anger, yes; haunted by things he refuses to speak of, sure. But bad men don’t lie awake at night worrying if they’re bad. Bad men don’t fix their best friend’s car free of charge and teach her how to handle the issue herself if she needs to.

Bad men don’t pop out of the guts of a claw machine with glasses knocked askew, glancing up at the girl they admire and handing her a token with a half-grunted “Try it now” as they hold together some monstrous amalgamation of wiring and circuitry only they can understand.

BLESS YOU TIA I LOVE YOU I HAVE SO MANY THINGS I WANNA SCREAM ABOUT

(Placing under a cut because when I said "DVD commentary" I, uh. Wasn't fuckin' kidding)

So when I started writing Secret I knew that I wanted to focus on aspects of Percy and Vex's characters that wouldn't come up in idle conversation. Since neither of them are prone to introspection while actively focusing on a task, it evolved to Keyleth being the one to observe their interactions from afar, and given her high wisdom stats mechanically, it gave me a way to delve into character intricacies that sometimes aren't explicitly laid out in fic.

I knew going in that I wanted to focus on two things in Percy's character. One: the idea that he defends and protects those he loves by arming them rather than interposing himself; and two, which I believe is the crux of Percy's character: "bad men don't lie awake at night wondering if they're bad." For Vex, I wanted to juxtapose her outward confidence and capability with the small part of her that was a child in an emotionally neglectful, if not outright abusive, parental relationship, because that explains a lot of her behavior in most aspects of her life.

For Percy, the part with fixing Keyleth's car was important to include in my mind, because it's both a real world example of something he would do and a perfect prelude to the claw machine heist shenanigans he winds up inciting in the fic (also, breaking into a machine to fix it and make it fair rather than just... steal the toy is such a Percy thing to me -- he wants to win, but only if it's enough of a victory to rub it in somebody's smug face). In both instances, two people he cares about very deeply are in a bind. In both instances, he has more of the know-how to address the issue than they do. However, it's clear that Percy has issues with autonomy and is very, very concerned with chivalry and respect and other customs of court that I'm sure he was steeped in growing up, so his default is to address the immediate issue but arm his loved ones with the knowledge they need to get themselves out of said issue. For Keyleth, that's fixing her car and showing her exactly how he did it so she can do it herself. For Vex, it's fixing the machine so she can win the toy through her own skill, because he knows she's capable and intelligent but also knows her father's disapproval means she questions her own worth and capability at times.

And, going along with that, Percy is an excellent leader -- his plans are sometimes... well (lookin' at you, murdering Draconians to piss off Vorugal), but despite his distaste for it, he's good at knowing where people are best used and placing them in those positions. He might not like leadership, and he might defer to the group more often than not, but he is good at it, and I think he'd be more than willing to step into the role if it benefited Vex or Keyleth (but especially Vex).

As far as the second bit of focus on Percy's character goes, I think the quote is pretty self explanatory. "Bad men don't lie awake at night wondering if they're bad." This is the line I constantly go back to when trying to describe Percy's character -- he's done some awful things, he has great capability for cruelty and violence, but he acknowledges those things about himself and shoulders his flaws, though he obviously wants to be redeemed in some way (Osysa's speech in TLOVM and his own admission of "I don't want to die who I am. I would like to live long enough to be someone else" prove this point). Percy has a conscience, and for that reason he wrestles with the darkness in himself and hates it as much as he owns his own failings and commits to his mistakes. I wanted that to come up in this fic, and it really felt organic for it to occur in this moment where Keyleth's watching him and recalling the things he does for the people he cares about -- he has issues, yes, but it's the little things like this that prove he isn't a bad man. Just a damaged one.

For Vex, I knew I needed an inciting incident to kick off the claw machine heist, and the image of a little Trinket plush in a skill game would not leave me. Vex likes material things in canon but they feed in to her years of starvation and barely scraping by as a child/young adult; the only way she would be this drawn to a cheap toy is if she either wanted one badly as a child and never got it or she had one and was forced to leave it behind. My personal headcanon is that it was her favorite toy as a child, one of the very few things Elaina was ever able to buy her children to play with, and Vex was forced by Syldor to leave it behind when he took her and Vax to live with him (stuffed toys don't tend to survive house fires very well, so she never saw it again). And I think that sudden spike of grief and longing and nostalgia coupled with the childish instinct to just... grab something you love dearly and run would leave her off balance enough to admit her past association with the toy to her friends, because we all know Vex plays things close to the vest when it comes to vulnerability.

So. All of those things together culminated in Keyleth (me. read: me) rambling for like six thousand words about my blorbos, and I'm so glad Tumblr doesn't give an ask response word count because dear fucking Jesus I don't even wanna know how long I've been droning on

THANK YOU AGAIN TIA I LOVE YOU FEEL FREE TO ASK ME ANYTHING ABOUT ANYTHING IVE EVER WRITTEN IM NOT SLIGHTLY MANIC ABOUT THIS NOPE NOT ME

[nowis-scales]

Hey Koto!

For the Awakening Ask Game, how about 7, 30 and... rolls random rumber

...16?

This post is in regards to this ask set.

I took forever to answer this, I’m sorry I blame my education stealing all my free time in November

7. “What stuck with you after finishing this game?”

There is no way of saying this without making myself sound corny as hell, but what stuck with me after enjoying Awakening was that it was just dripping with love. I’ve heard people call it “lazy” in the past, and while I won’t lie and say it’s always elegant, I think conveying that they didn’t care about the game is just plain ignorant. I find it incredibly easy to tell when a work has been loved, and the people who made Awakening loved what they were working on. It’s honestly part of the reason why I think it can get away with some of the things it does with less elegance. For example, some aren’t so fond of its three-act structure. Personally, I actually found I quite liked it, because it gave a sense of really being involved with the world. The conflicts were unique, but still managed to build off each other, as did the characters that we met as we moved further through the story. They don’t just do away with Plegia the first time you’re done with them and just bring them back later; they keep a hold on them the whole time around to keep the threads pulled together. Chrom and Robin’s relationship is another great example of this because it never has to deteriorate for the sake of a plot point. Hell, Robin and Lucina’s relationship never loses anything for the sake of a plot point, either. Even when Chrom’s demise seems as if it’s written in the stars, they never give up on each other. The importance of those relationships carries throughout the game.

I think that the fact that it’s the entire game that’s loved is something that really sticks with me, too. The three games that succeeded it are all games I love, but their deepest passions don’t necessarily attach to the story equally. Fates, Echoes, and Three Houses each rather obviously proclaim a special love for a particular character or place, for example. While I won’t deny that Awakening is more so biased towards Ylisse, it can be easily seen as more of a perspective issue. We really aren’t let in on Valm or Plegia that much beyond the conflict, but I think that’s purposeful. The game wants you to think for yourself about what Chrom’s doing and how this influences the places around him, rather than just dismissing everything he does as right because he’s the hero. After all, his flaws are very front and centre, and Gangrel and Walhart both get dialogue with him confronting his perspective.

Compared to all of the dialogue surrounding Three Houses where we act like there’s more moral greyness than there is to conform to bias, Awakening is much more pleasant. I actually like the idea of Chrom being permitted to not always be in the right in regards to moral conflict, but I think it’s good for us to have to think about it for ourselves. The story doesn’t attempt to send mixed messages about who’s right based on who they think will be the most marketable. They could just tell their story and let things progress from there. Yes, Chrom is right to be angry that Plegia is trying to steal the Emblem and killed Emmeryn. Yes, Plegia is right to be angry about Chrom’s father’s crusades, and about him offering little connecting support after taking out Gangrel (Hoshido and Nohr, per the end of BR/CQ, show even less animosity than this, and they have thousands of years of feuds). The game isn’t outright hammering you over the head with whatever the characters themselves might want you to think, but they are presenting it as is for you to form the idea. In essence, we know that Chrom is a good guy, but he can still be a good guy who does some bad things. 

That’s not all I have to say, of course, but those are just a few things that I love about it. It’s by no means a perfect game, but so much of Awakening seems to have been done just for the love of it, and that’s a power that should not be underestimated.

30. “Freebie! Talk about anything Awakening-related that's on your mind🔮”

There are not really characters in Awakening that I actually dislike, which I would consider a win, but there are a larger handful that I am just… indifferent to, I guess? I try to be a very positive person, so if I had to sway either way I would probably say that I like them, but I must admit… some of them just don’t speak to me? It’s probably not the most profound of thoughts, but my indifference to them always makes me surprised because others aren’t.

Take Cherche for example. I don’t inherently dislike Cherche — she’s pretty, she’s a good unit (as far as my casual derrière knows), and her personality is nice as far as I know. She just… doesn’t quite speak to me! It could be just from my own indifference, but I did not find her to be intriguing enough for me to want to learn more. She felt quite attached to Virion at first, and I didn’t really feel like I got much from her to lure me in to make me want more. It’s a similar case with Virion as well, and even Miriel, too. I know it’s definitely a product of the game only having so much time to focus on certain characters and wanting to devote energy to the ones that matter to the story, but I find that the lures we are given to try and attach us to them don’t always work for me. For some, like Virion, it’s a nuisance to unlock their support conversations because he’s practically made of a single stick of spaghetti, and for others it’s just not feeling like you would get the most of your efforts. None of these characters are bad by any means, but I always do wonder... what is it about them that attracts other people to them? Is there a way for me to get some of that flavour?

After all, as I said, I don’t actually dislike anyone in Awakening’s playable cast. I would love the opportunity to find a place in my heart for characters like Cherche, Virion, and Miriel. I just don’t quite know how to do that yet.

16. “Favorite platonic relationship?”

You see, the problem with me is that I’m one of those people who is usually concerned with character dynamics first and foremost. If I ship something, I usually like their platonic relationship first, and then it becomes a struggle for me to think of ones I like purely platonically because... well, they can be good in so many iterations! It’s a problem. Seriously. Chrom and Robin? Maribelle and Lissa? Nowi and Ricken? Cordelia and Sumia? The characters are just a little too shippable in Awakening, and that’s a problem. 

In the interest of fairness, I think one I could say that I truly do like as non-romantic is Inigo and Owain. The fact that their support conversation can just be described as “two losers arguing over who the biggest loser is” is hilarious, but I like that you can see the genuineness in their interactions as well. At first Inigo cements himself as a bit of a bully, but it turns out to be part of his own vain attempt to be cool. After all, by the end of the support conversation, he’s agreed that named weapons do really move cooler, that Owain’s personal skill (game-style) would be useful, and that his categorization system for weapon names is actually kind of fun. You kind of get the sense of their relationship being a mutual, “he’s an idiot but he’s my idiot” kind of thing, and I really like that. The fact that we get to see even more of that in Fates is great, too!

[springboggle]

Your ignorance and hatred astounds and overwhelms.

I'm not sure what this is about? Is it about this post or?

I don't hate my creative peers (I have a lot to say on my experiences with them though), but I've just accepted that we all write differently because our lives are different. Most artisans that can dedicate loads and loads of time to their work are usually not poor people that are forced to see their gender, race, sexuality, you name it, as something more than the metaphor they choose to communicate their marginalization or alienation with.

More under the cut.

To me, simply slapping transformation powers on a trans character isn't enough, especially if they aren't using said magic for gender affirming care or using this magic to explore how our bodies are like putty that adapts to what we need and want, or lack thereof. To me, gay/sapphic knights isn't empowering or interesting to me, especially if it isn't exploring the fact that queer relationships are meant to and should subvert the expectations heterosexual people put on the other gender (which the romantic ideal of knighthood plays into).

Of course it isn't wrong to enjoy a story that has these tropes in it, I liked Nimona (genderfluid shapeshifter struggling with suicidal ideation), I liked WolfWalkers (women being constricted by social rules but breaking free from that by becoming spirit walking druids), I like cheesy art of knights in love and saving people and doing cool things-I'm also a fan of folkloric stories, which tend to not be progressive marvels all the time, especially when religion gets involved.

But I think it's fair to say that when you've been demonized horribly for being queer or a certain ethnicity or race in a specific way, your itch to make art evolves past "I feel like a monster, let me explore this with queer werewolves that work office jobs by day and run in the forest at night" to "I feel like a monster and I know exactly why I do after looking at my life and the systemic ways I've been abused/abused others/set up to not get my needs met/have been alienated by my peers-and I'm going to use this metaphor to further inform/enhance the character's predicaments, not to replace them outright."

I think the little I've seen of Utena (still working on it) is a good example of what i mean here. Using fairytale motifs and meta and ideas to not replace critique of misogyny, but to explore the power of REAL connection over fake roles we put on each other romantically and friendship wise, to explore misogyny further, to ask how this cycle can be broken etc etc.

And this wasn't even a scathing post about Somerton if that's what you're on about. I find his plagiarism to be a dumb move and a symptom of not having the realities of the writers he stole from to actually be creative in his video essays as he watches (which it's been layer revealed he didn't even watch some of the things he was reviewing, like BBC's Merlin) these movies and shows.

This isn't a white cis gay dude hate post, this is me saying not all queer people have lives where we understand or are forced to understand our identities in a way that allows us to say something meaningful about them, and this shows in some of the media I see among my peers-and while this stereotype is usually attributed to whoever is the night's biggest culture war loser in the eyes of their peers (bisexual women often, especially if they're cis or slightly cringy) no queer person is immune to just not having the chops to articulate how they see themselves in media beyond metaphors or stealing someone else's words outright.

This isn't a crime against humanity or media literacy or whatever else-I too have topics that I can't articulate well because I haven't lived it, so I nab a quote or two and attempt to save it for when I need a reference (for example, text on the global south, esp LatAm). All I'm saying is, when it comes to my peers, I have a hard time making community and discussing my own work because the way I write, in my opinion, goes beyond the queer shaman or the queer knight, and instead leans into specific bigotries that won't be replaced by the monsters I choose to use to communicate my fascination with how abuse operates, how it's enabled by every social technology we believe in and stand by, how the smallest of things can lead to unmet needs, abuse, and a refusal to see one as capable of love and fear and hatred and compassion like any other living thing...being a monster or knight or whatever else on top of being queer or black or hispanic or a woman and that being shown explicitly alongside the monster/role the character is in is more intriguing than what I think many artists on the web go for.

[ragnarokhound]

18 + 20 for the ask game!

<33

18. Do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines?

I have tried to use proper outlining before, writing something out in full before I start really writing the prose, and honestly it sometimes sucks the idea out of me prematurely @_@ It tricks my brain into thinking 'ah, yes, good job you have told the story. We're Done Now' and the rest of me goes 'wait what' - so a full outline of the story usually doesn't get written lol

But I will drop notes for a scene idea as they come to me when I'm in the middle of writing, so that I don't lose the idea and can flesh them out later as needed. I like being able to move them around in the continuity like little notecards, but still be grounded in my word doc. I tend to jump around (the morning of the sex scene in Sit, Stay, Speak was one of the first scenes I wrote for it lol) so I'm often bridging from Point A to Point G with my little [Jason finds something else in the apartment] notes helping pick up the slack in between. Can't just go from [Jason finds the photos] to [Jason wakes up with Tim naked (EXCEPT THE COLLAR OwO)] straight away lol we GOTTA WORK FOR IT

I also write notes about the story at the end of the word doc for myself to reference if I'm stuck; when I needed to know why Tim was mad in my latest fic "sigh no more", I worked out some key notes on his emotional timeline during the two and half weeks that Jason went missing, and it helped a lot with pinning down his dialogue and emotional state!

So tldr - sort of? It's been kind of fun discovering my own writing process and how trying to force myself into a mold of how I ""should"" be writing doesn't really work lol

20. Describe your perfect writing conditions.

Anything that gets the hyperfocus to trigger lol - when I get stuck on a scene I have to find a way to trick myself into finding it interesting which usually means framing it as a puzzle to be solved, and also cutting off my brain's usual distraction shortcuts. Like, no girl, I know you're conflict averse but we don't need another cup of tea just because you don't want to write the girls fighting.

(side tangent: there was this guy I knew in college who I found Awful - but who i was also attracted to against my will. He was funny and smart and a little bit sad (! the bait), but also wore a shirt that said "ayn rand is my home girl" and was a poli sci major. He was the definition of "i can fix him". Two of my friends quietly fought over him and I think it damaged their friendship irreparably, if not outright killed it. He had evil charisma and I never understood wanting to punch someone in the mouth yet also wanting to dick them down until I met him. When I write Tim and Jason's early relationship like, right after Titan's Tower, this is the energy I seek to capture)

ANYWAY Usually the coffeeshop down the road does the trick: temperature controlled, wearing a light layer I can take off or put on but hopefully don't even need so I stop being distracted by it. Music playlist that becomes white noise. Ready access to tea & food. Sitting upright in a chair and, unfortunately, not curled up on anything too comfy :') Blinds open so I can stare outside rather than at tumblr when I'm trying to think something through - tumblr steals my problem-solving brain from me, and I need that program to be running uninterrupted when I'm stuck lol

And apparently the ability to pick up my laptop and walk around with it - ever since my laptop battery busted and I need to be plugged into a wall to use it, my ability to write from home TANKED. It doesn't help that my roommate uses the dining table (the preferred spot) when they're working from home, and my laptop can only barely make it to the coffee table in the living room (the next runner up) from the outlet. Also it's a pure brain trick - my laptop is fettered. Therefore I am fettered. I must be FREE OTL

That got really long Thanks for the questions! <33

[classpect-navelgazing]

taking classpect, flippin it turnways

Hello. My name is Arcturus. I am here to talk about classpect. Why? Hard to say.

I've been percolating this for quite a while now, and I feel I have finally settled on a unified theory of classpect. But I feel I have to do a few disclaimers up front, so if you don't vibe with what I'm laying out, you can hit that back button and be free to go about your day.

Disclaimer One: I am an archive reader of Homestuck, and only consider "canon" to be the actual comic from page one up to the Act 7/Credits flashes. Nothing from friendsim, pesterquest, or any of the """Post Canon""" content will be taken into account here. This also includes the "official" quiz that WP finally put up, because I find it lacking in several metrics.

Disclaimer Two: I strongly consider everyone in HS to be an Unreliable Narrator, and I heavily doubt anything that is outright 'told' to the reader by specific characters. My profiles of each aspect and class come from observation of actions. More specifically: I think Calliope's infodumps in Act 6 are interesting theorycraft but nothing more. Meaning…

Disclaimer Three: I don't give much stock to inversion theory, to gendering the classes, to passive/active classes (and outright disagree with some of Calliope's assessments), and frankly to a lot of the sort of Assumed Truths of classpect. Going into this, you can expect to see some ideas that I think go against the popular fanon.

If any of these are dealbreakers for you, then smash that back button and have a lovely day!

Let's get started! How do you explore this project?

My preferred method of figuring out classpect is the self-doxxing method. I have written some pretty thorough (but hopefully not overlong) descriptions of the common traits of each class and aspect. I would recommend starting with the Classes and begin to navigate through and read them.

This project has been pretty thoroughly beta tested at this point, and the common refrain is someone finding something that feels like a person attack. That would be the correct selection for you, the one that makes you feel particularly seen and observed.

Now, personally, I think its extremely hard to test for classpect. I think Aspect is slightly more feasible but Class is impossible. This is because I believe Class should be understood as what role you play in the narrative. When the audience is handed a playbill with the Dramatis Personae, what is the little descriptor next to your name? That is your class.

As such, it's hard for someone else to tell you what it is; it's about your personal journey and how you interact with the world. In the end, the person who is best going to understand what class you are is you. not me.

Aspect is slightly easier to assign from the outside. For that, I am currently working on a quiz for the people who truly have no idea or who just like quizzes. But for the time being, I would suggest figuring out your Class first, then moving onto Aspect. There have been a handful of people who found it easier to work the other way around, though, so don't feel like you're not allowed to look at Aspect if you want.

That's enough from me! Get started!

CLASSES (tagged here)

MAID: "Burdened by the aspect"

SLYPH: "Heals their aspect in others"

WITCH: "Sponsored by their aspect"

PAGE: "Served by their aspect"

KNIGHT: "Guardian of their aspect"

ROGUE: "Distributing their aspect to others"

SEER: "Knowledge of their aspect to serve others"

THIEF: "Steals aspect for self"

MAGE: "Knowledge of their aspect to serve self"

PRINCE: "In service to their aspect"

HEIR: "Avatar of their aspect"

BARD: "The Facilitator of the narrative"

ASPECTS (tagged here)

BLOOD: the aspect of obligation

DOOM: the aspect of inevitability

LIGHT: the aspect of relevance

SPACE: the aspect of the concrete

HOPE: the aspect of imagination

VOID: the aspect of obsession

LIFE: the aspect of affluence

BREATH: the aspect of freedom

RAGE: the aspect of impulse

TIME: the aspect of opportunity

HEART: the aspect of identity

MIND: the aspect of skepticism

Hey, what about Prospit vs Derse?

Sure, that one's easy. I got a quiz for that here.

Where are Muse and Lord?

Nah. I don't think I can extrapolate the similarities of the class from a single example. The games of Sburb seems to only use Muse/Lord in the event of a two player game, as they don't appear naturally in any of the four other sessions we get to look at. So nope.

Hey this is a lot of information and I'm still struggling to decide my class/aspect.

I'll make a post outlining some similarities and delineations to help you out later.

Final Thoughts

This was a metric fuckton of work. I have struggled with a lot of other analyses of classpect, and every time I go to HS wiki and look at their page on in, I see red, because none of it makes sense! None of it has internal logic! This project has been me throwing out everything I've seen on the topic and trying to create something that makes sense.

If you enjoyed it and want to give me a tip, I have a ko-fi over here.

Thanks to everyone who tolerated me working on this project, especially my Whomstve server. If it were for all y'all going "GASP I'VE BEEN DOXXED" and "WHY IS THIS SO ACCURATE" I would've quit.

For the curious, the hardest class to nail down was Prince. Trying to fucking unify Dirk, Eridan, and Kurloz was a nightmare, but I actually am very happy with the final product. Though admitting that shit about myself wasn't fun.

The hardest class to write was, hilariously, Heart, for the same reason. Unifying the experiences of the characters was difficult.

I am a Prince of Heart, but my favorite class is Page. My favorite aspect is Blood.

[luvyanfei]

with a short & insecure s/o (hcs)

ft. xiao, kaeya, zhongli, & xingqiu requested by anon

this,,, this is me

xiao. 

he’s appalled when he finds out people actually tease you for your height. xiao has always known how terrible humans can be, but to think they would attempt to tear someone down, specifically his lover, just because they’re considered small irate him to no end. you might want to hold on to him tightly before he can storm off and declare war on the bullies who dared to torment you in any way. 

he honestly doesn’t care if you’re short or tall, ugly or pretty - your appearance isn’t what’s important here. he fell in love with you for what’s inside of you, don’t forget that, okay? xiao may not outright say all that because he’s embarrassed of showing his soft side to you, but if your insecurity gets the better of you, he’ll at least lend an ear to you as you rant to him while stargazing together. 

however, what xiao despises more than others treating you poorly is you belittling yourself. he has zero tolerance for that kind of attitude and will react quite aggressively, gripping you by the shoulders and shaking you. he can’t help himself. it hurts him deeply, dare he say more than a stab to his heart, seeing you wallowing in self-hatred. he’s harsh, but he means well. xiao would much rather see a content smile on your face than having you look disconsolate. 

“have you finally stopped your wailing yet?” xiao peers at your face drenched in tears in disinterest, but really, he’s pretty concerned on the inside. your sobs have been reduced to quiet sniffles, but your body won’t stop trembling. he looks away for a minute, sighs heavily, and pulls you into his arms, a blush coating his cheeks. 

he stays silent the whole time, too nervous to do anything really, as your palms press against his chest lightly and will yourself to calm down. xiao clears his throat and brings a finger down to brush away the glistening tears from your eyes. 

“look, just because you’re short, it doesn’t mean i don’t like you any less,” he whispers only for you to hear, and presses his lips to your forehead, letting it linger there for a few seconds. “even if you, or anybody else, don’t think you’re worthy enough, i at lease still care about you, so don’t let others’ opinions get to you.”

kaeya.

not to be blunt or anything, but kaeya being, well kaeya, he’s probably going to relentlessly tease you. he doesn’t do it because he harbors any ill-intent towards you. it’s just, kaeya is very fond of your flustered expression. if you happen to end up crying from his words, he’ll immediately stop and apologize guiltily. the last thing he needs is for you to abandon him too because of a fault on his end. 

kaeya really does love you a lot, despite your flaws and silently admires you for your empathy and altruism. one good thing about being shorter than your boyfriend is that you can wear his clothing on and he’ll be a gushing mess in no time. he’ll purposefully place his jacket somewhere for you to find in hopes you’ll put it on. he may be doing this just for the purpose of having fun, but he likes knowing that it means you're comfortable and accepting in your relationship with him. 

he likes patting you on the head when you pass by each other at random times, his lips curling in a knowing smirk. if you ever need help obtaining items that are out of your reach, kaeya will conveniently be there to lend a hand. it fuels his confidence how you always go to him for help instead of seeking support from someone who might be more reliable. it goes to show that your trust in him is deep. 

“having difficulties, [name]?” kaeya hollers to gain your attention as you look down from the ladder to glance at the knight, your hand outreached to grab at the material you need with failed attempts. “allow me to be of service~” 

he gestures for you to climb down and gets up the ladder himself, easily grasping the object in his fingers. once his feet has touched the ground, he lowers his hand to give it to you, but before your fingertips can make contact with it, he pulls it away from you. "ah ah ah~ shouldn’t i get some kind of a compensation for helping my dearest?” you stare at him in confusion before an idea plants itself in your head. ah. so that’s what he wants. with a roll of your eyes, you stride up the ladder till your eyes meet and kisses him on the lips. 

as you push your body away from him, he gives a closed-eye grin and nods in satisfaction. “that wasn’t too bad, now was it?” kaeya finally hands you the item, but he grips your free hand in his and guides it to press against his warm cheek. “you should realize by now what you’re capable of doing, stealing my heart like this. you’re so cruel [name], but perhaps that’s why i’ve grown to love you.” 

zhongli.

zhongli is an honest and good-natured man. he’ll immediately tell you that he doesn’t think to care about your height, so there’s no reason for you to worry about it either. he’s not an idiot though. he’s aware that your self-deprecating thoughts won’t disappear so easily with his consoling words alone. actions speak louder than words, after all. 

if anyone ends up insulting you for your size, zhongli won’t hesitate to politely stand up for you. although, if they stubbornly persist in demeaning you, it’ll push him to the brink of indignation, but he’ll still attempt to keep up a courteous manner for your sake as he calmly tells them to back off. like kaeya, he loves it when you wear his clothing! he’s lived for a long time to see many things, but witnessing you cuddling him while his jacket is draped snugly over your body has got to be the cutest thing he’s seen yet. 

ever the supportive individual, zhongli will help you come out of your shell and build up on your self-esteem. he’s there with you every step of the day, so if you ever slip and feel like you’re about to fall into an abyss of despair, he’ll take your out-stretched hands in his and guide you back into the light. 

“[name], is something the matter? you look as if you’re bothered by something.” zhongli questions innocently, studying your face carefully. your eyes droop slightly, but you reassure him that you were pondering how it would feel like if you were as tall as him. he nods in understanding and brings a hand up to his chin in thought. 

before you know it, he’s turned his back towards you and kneeled down. perplexed, you stare at him, unsure of what he’s doing. “you said you desired to know what it’s like to be around my height, so this is the only thing i can think of.” hesitantly, you place your hands on his shoulder blades to balance yourself and he makes sure to hold onto you tightly as he stands up slowly. you smile in appreciation at zhongli’s consideration over your feelings and presses your body closer to his. 

he beams back at you, sealing a kiss to your lips. “if you ever feel down, remember that there’s at least one person in the world that loves you - one of them being me, of course.” 

xingqiu.

he also reacts similar to kaeya, although his teasing is slightly toned down and less vocal. like, if you wanted to give him a kiss on the cheek, he might lean away from you and probably use a stool to make himself taller, but he’ll stop after a bit of fun and laughter. it’s not funny unless both of you are smiling, right?

he finds your short stature to be one of your charm points and will compliment you for that, calling you adorable and such. it’s kind of perfect for him because he likes being the big spoon, embracing you from behind and nuzzling his face against the back of your neck. if you’re around the same age as him, it’s alright! there’s still time for you to grow. he’s sure the both of you will be tall soon. there’s no judgement when you’re with him, so don’t be afraid of being yourself around xingqiu, alright? 

if he finds out your confidence is still lacking, he’ll scribble down a list of all the things he loves about you for you to read to lift your spirits up! although, that might prove to be a challenge considering his handwriting is infamously known for being illegible. 

“hmm... isn’t that the picture we took at liyue harbor together?” xingqiu observes the photo in your hand, reminiscing the fond memories. his honey irises flicker to you. “hey, what’s with the frown?” 

you shake your head and tries to change the subject, but he presses on to persuade you into explaining. when you finally do, he bursts into a fit of laughter, wiping away the tears pricking the edge of his eyes. “i apologize for my behavior, but [name], you shouldn’t have to concern yourself with such a trivial matter.” he tucks away a stray strand of your hair behind your ear, his index finger ghosting over your lips. 

“have i ever told you that you’re cute?” xingqiu murmurs, a sense of genuine compassion laced in his tone. “don’t stare at me like that, please. i’m quite serious, so there’s no need to compare yourself with me. no matter the height difference, i’ll always love you - if you’ll allow me too. 

tagging. @liliisacutieowo, @scarymoosh

[wellfine]

hey, I love fanfic, big props to everyone who writes it, but uhh... fanfic authors, please know that not everything exists on the Internet to be fodder for your writing

I have had multiple uncomfortable experiences of people either implying or outright stating that they wanted to/planned to take the concepts I explored in my art or my comics and reuse them for fics. not as in they were inspired by me, or that they were going to ask me to collab with them, but just... “I am going to take this idea and turn it into a fic”

That’s. That’s plagiarism? and you shouldn’t do it lmao?

I know the line between being inspired by another person’s content and straight up just reproducing it in written form can be a fine one, and you may ask “but how can you tell if something is inspired by someone else’s work?” and to that I say, well, the AUTHOR knows, lmao. if you KNOW you have been inspired by someone’s fanart, fan designs, or especially fan-comics, then the LEAST you can do is credit that someone, and what you really SHOULD be doing is asking them permission first. And accepting it if they say no, because, again, creators don’t share their content with you just to serve as your next story idea.

Like, if I took your fanfiction and turned it into fanart or a comic without asking you, and oftentimes without even crediting you, just presenting it as something “inspired by some story I read”... that would be stealing. And you could rightfully be pissed off with me (whether you personally think you would be or not), even though the medium/genre has changed. Because it’s still your idea that I took from you without any acknowledgment.

If I wanted something to be a written story then I would write it that way. Comics in particular take a lot of work, and are... I mean, they’re already a written work. Just because I’ve executed an idea in a different medium doesn’t mean it’s free real estate for you to reproduce and present as if it were your own idea, your own baby.

Again, the line here is very blurry, and I’m not saying you’re never allowed to spring-board off of someone else’s fan-content to create something several degrees removed just because they share one common idea. Everyone borrows from someone, and I don’t think anything I’ve ever made has been unique. But what I am talking about here is the sentiment of “this very specific, intricate concept is now Mine” that reproduces my work so closely it’s basically a transcription, not its own work, or even a transformative work.

I’ll also say that I HAVE had people reach out to me to say they’ve written things based on/inspired by my work, and asked if they could share it, and each time I’ve said yes! And I love reading those things!! But a big part of it is that they acknowledged they were taking something from me, and that my content wasn’t just free for them to pick over and use for themselves. It became sharing instead of stealing, which I wish I saw more of, instead of tags/reblogs/replies saying “I’m totally using this for my next fic!” as if the idea just fell out of the sky from some prompt generator and into their lap and wasn’t, you know, a concept someone already put their time and feeling and work into.

Anyway. Love fics. Love to stay up til 3 AM on my phone reading them when I should be sleeping as much as the next guy. And I have nothing but respect for the amount of work, skill, and effort that goes into them. But I wouldn’t steal from you, so please don’t steal from me just because we both choose to communicate our ideas through different mediums. Please!!!!!

[cienie-isengardu]

Not only do I not regret asking you to "RELEASE THE RAMBLES!", I'm sending you requests for more. Below is a list of questions that I asked @bihansthot , and enjoyed their answers, but because you are so thorough, and answer in such depth, I'm re-asking them to you.

Brace yourself, it's a list. I didnt have time to sort thru them, I just copied and pasted, so if any are questions you already answered before, please feel free to include the links.

"LET US BEGIN!"

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

In the spirit of potential future writing,  I'm trying to find a building that  would make a good substitution for Lin Kuei temple.

I've tried looking up ancient Chinese military barracks/forts, and have found some stuff,  but is all exterior.  Anyone know of any locations (or several I can cobble together) that would make good inspiration fodder?

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So, uhm, religion? What's the Lin Kuei's take on that one? I know they are aware of Gods, they team up with/ encounter Raiden all the time,  and have literally worked for/against Shinook, so I know they recognize higher powers... but I  guess the question is,  do they care?

Do they have a religion,  or spiritual practice that resembles religion? Or do they have a more practical approach "gods exist,  but we just consider them very strong people"?

Which segues into... do they recognize and participate in holidays, or things like birthdays? Or are all their celebrations work related (I.E. successful missions or levels of combat mastery)?

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

Food.  What foods do they normally eat? What foods do they like?  What foods don't they like? What foods do they absolutely love so much they'll stop what they're doing to get it?

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If you had to match the Lin Kuei with a dynasty,  what one would it be? (I know the 2021 movie has the opening in the Ming dynasty, so the Lin Kuei is at least that old,  but given that movie Bi Han hasn't aged in 400 years, and was taken is a child,  its probably much older) (and also know the game probably cherry picked random Chinese things it liked).

What do you think the Lin Kuei's view on artistic culture (probably not the right word) is? I know they are heavily militaristic,  but in the game,  Kuai Liang offers Hanzo tea and he properly prepares it the Japanese way, that says they have something of an education other than just related to fighting?

Lastly,  in the movie,  everything Bi Han does is "for the Lin Kuei", but the Lin Kuei is on Earth (assumedly),  and he is working for a guy who wants to enslave Earth, so what do you think the deal is?

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

Question about the Cryomancers. I know the game lore says that they are supposed to be rare, but I also know that the Lin Kuei have had at least 5 (grandpa, papa, older, and younger Sub Zero,  and Frost). 4 of which are part of 3 generations that inherited it even with mixed blood (I'm assuming Mama Sub Zero wasn't Cryomancer since they left her alone).

That's a lot of generations in a row for a rare trait... So do you think the Cryomancers as a group have figured out they're being hunted and have chosen to live in hiding?

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

Lin Kuei society question? I like writing so I also like world building and I think about these things.

Is Lin Kuei society ever covered? I know there is a Grandmaster, a handful master assassins (Sub Zero's, Sektor, Cyrax, etc) and the  movies always have a bunch canon fodder lesser assassins.

And they live in the very isolated Lin Kuei Palace/Temple in Arktika (or wherever it used to be)

But is Lin Kuei (we'll call it "village") ever covered?   Do they have willing servants, kidnapped slaves, or a mix of both? Are there women (non fighter women,  I know there's Frost) or do they employ strictly male help? If there are women, what's their role, and are there children born there? What about Elderly? What about resources,  is everything (from food, clothes, weapons, and the raw materials to create them) grown or manufactured on sight by skilled laborers or do they import/interact with the outside world? How vicious or civil is this society, could you be killed for looking at Sektor wrong or do they value your services to a degree? What's the degree? This is obviously a combat culture,  but is everyone expected to know martial arts of some variety, is it optional, or do they prohibit it among the servants/slaves? How strict are they on things like clothing, food, alcohol,  drugs, "luxuries", or pleasures? Money? If they interact with the world do they recognize and use $$ currency, commodity currency, or a mixture? Internally are the Lin Kuei payed or just provided for? What about illness or injury,  if you're not a master and it a serious injury/illness are you taken care of or do they just give you a quick death?

Etc. That's all the questions I can think of,  but please feel free to answer questions I didn't ask,  if you think of anything else.

Thank you for this wonderful list to talk about! I’m gonna split the answer into smaller parts, for better focusing on each aspect but also so I don’t feel bad for keeping you waiting for ages, lol. For now let’s focus on asks about the religion!

So good questions! I do think they have some spiritual practice(s) because in martial arts the state of a mind is as important as the physical body and religion is one of many ways to shape someone’s mindset from a young age. I do, however, think that Lin Kuei does not worship the gods. They are aware that the gods exist (with Raiden as the thorn in the side) and may even respect their supernatural powers and battle skills but it never has stopped Lin Kuei from desecrating holy places, murdering people and stealing stuff for the best price. So, it seems to me that whatever religion the members of the clan follow, by nature it is rooted in nontheism.

Of course, there is also a chance that Lin Kuei worships some forgotten deity or deities (as a remnant of their ancient connections with Outworld / realms conquered and destroyed by Shao Kahn?) or may even practice ancestor worship which seems like a good way to uphold a widely understood tradition that plays an important role in the discussed community.

The closest thing to religious practice was seen in Mortal Kombat X, when Sub-Zero and his warriors seemed to pray together before statue of god / deity / ancestor / legendary warrior / personalized thing they value the most (sadly, my knowledge about Asian religious practices or faiths is very limited so I don’t have idea if the statue is supposed to represent any real god/religious symbol).

At the same time, it could be just a bluff since Grandmaster was aware of Cage’s team infiltrating the Lin Kuei territory and used this moment to lure them into a trap. Additionally, Mortal Kombat X comics presented once Kuai Liang sitting before the same statue albeit in a completely different (devoid of reverence?) position.

Of course, if we take into account Mortal Kombat Armageddon, the game states that Lin Kuei Temple placed in Arctika was actually once the Temple of Delia (the great sorceress & wife of god Argus) that at some point get abandoned and re-used by Sub-Zero’s clan.

(In the background, we can see a statue of Delia that Lin Kuei does not worship but did not remove for whatever reason. Mixing both old and new games, we can only wonder if MKX!statue is also the remnant of someone else's faith/religion?)

Beside that, Kuai Liang was pretty vocal about Lin Kuei not worshipping the Elder Gods, what was seen in MK11’s intro dialogue with Cetrion

Sub-Zero: The Lin Kuei do not worship the Elder Gods.

Cetrion: We seek gratitude, not worship.

Sub-Zero: I see no distinction.

and personally did not have any reason to pray to the goddess:

Sub-Zero: Why should I pray to you?

Cetrion: Why does a bird flap its wings?

Sub-Zero: I asked a simple question.

In all fairness, in MK11 Kuai Liang seems the most passive-aggressive toward the Elder God while Frost is focused on her ambitions and Noob!Bi-Han just wants to be left alone when bothered by Cetrion. Similar thing happens toward Raiden. Despite gratitude for saving him, Kuai Liang does not spare the god criticism (can’t serve both Elder Gods and Earthrealm, isn’t fit for his role of protector) and in MKX outright says he does not fear divine beings:

Raiden: Sub-Zero...

Sub-Zero: I fear no gods, Raiden.

Raiden': That's why you shall lose.

Surprisingly, Kuai Liang’s interaction with MK11!Fujin sounds less accusing than with Raiden and Cetrion and it is connected closely to their ties with Bi-Han. And maybe Kuai Liang did seek in the past Fujin and other elements to make a peace with them, like he planned to do so in Mortal Kombat 4 Limited comics?

"I came here to make peace with the gods of the elements that you fought [...]"

Anyway, the accusingly behaviour toward Raiden and Cetrion could be just Kuai Liang’s personal dislike for gods and serious authority issues, which makes sense considering how much he suffered because of their meddling and conflicts.

But honestly?

The available examples of Lin Kuei attitude toward gods, demigods and supernatural beings suggest how little the warriors - especially cryomancers - care for them.

Like, we have Bi-Han in Mythologies, who asked Quan Chi about details of mission:

Sub-Zero: If it's so precious, why don't you get it yourself?

Quan Chi: I cannot enter the temple until the four elements within its walls have been defeated. And I am not on the best of terms with the gods of your realm... especially your god of thunder.

Sub-Zero: Tell me about these elements.

Quan Chi outright said he and earthrealm gods weren’t friends and Bi-Han, reading between the lines, could get the idea that he may end on bad terms with Thunder God. Yet he was interested only in elements (lesser gods than protector of realm?) guarding the temple.

Then Bi-Han beat down four demigods and met a displeased Raiden after Quan Chi got the Shinnok Amulet. His reaction? No fear, like meeting an angry god was a normal occurrence.

Rayden: Do you realize what you've done??

Sub-Zero: I was just earning my living.

Rayden: Your clan's ignorance and greed will cost this entire realm. You must now set things straight.

Sub-Zero: Quan Chi could simply be a lunatic sorcerer. I've never heard of an elder god named Shinnok or of a place called the Netherrealm.

Rayden: Well, you'd better start believing in both, because you're going to the Netherrealm and you're going to bring the amulet back. We must act quickly. I have no dominion in the Netherrealm... You are reality's only hope.

Sub-Zero: I'll do it, Thunder God... but only because I have no choice.

And once he came back from Netherrealm, where he was fixing what he messed up in the first place on Raiden’s order, his abrasive attitude did not change much:

Sub-Zero: Here... the amulet.

Rayden: Impressive, Sub-Zero. Perhaps you will reconcile your reckless past after all.

Sub-Zero: That's it? Not even a thank you?

Of course, to some degree Raiden’s words did have an impact on Bi-Han but even the god’s warning about his soul tainted with evil did not stop him from coming back to Lin Kuei. Bi-Han’s attitude and/or approach to gods seems to change somehow once he was reborn as Noob, but that is a different matter for different times.

Anyway, Mythologies!Bi-Han and MK11!Noob act less aggressive toward gods than Kuai Liang. But then we have Sub-Zero from from the MK novel by Jeff Rovin, who not only is not afraid of gods but outright insult them:

“Wait! Be warned, Shang Tsung. He is cursed!”

“Cursed? By whom?”

Ruthay wailed, “By the immortal Yu.”

Shang Tsung felt cold spiders crawl up his spine. “The demigod Yu?”

“Yes… he who is said to dwell in the underground caverns of Horse Ear Mountain… which is sacred to the goddess Kuan Lin. He who protects the canals… and the tunnels… and looks after all who use them, human and animal.”

“What did our brash friend do to Yu?”

“He… killed a man,” said Ruthay.

“What man?”

“A toll-taker… one who had given up a life of crime… one who had been a partner of the man… you… seek.”

“And how did that crime come to the attention of the spirit of Yu?” Shang Tsung asked.

“The man was killed… slowly disemboweled with a sword… while accomplices forced his wife and his son to look on! After his murder… the man’s remains… were dumped into a canal!”

Shang Tsung raised an eyebrow. “Is that all? I was expecting something truly terrible!”

“It was!” Ruthay shrieked. “When he disposed of the body… in that way … he profaned one of the sacred waterways… of Yu!”

Shang Tsung smiled now. “Then he is definitely the man I want,” he said. “Anyone who is impudent enough to insult a demigod won’t be afraid to attack a member of the White Lotus Society, or the gods who watch after them. I will send Hamachi, Ruthay. When he nears his goal, see through his eyes and guide him!”

Book!Sub-Zero was impudent enough to insult a demigod which is why he was one of Shang Tsung’s favorites. And to be clear - book!Sub-Zero did not regret insulting the demigod at all. Even more! He found humor in it!:

He dwelt in a cave two hundred feet up the face of a cliff by the sea. The mouth of his home was barely wide enough to accommodate a slender adult, and was accessible only by climbing the sheer wall of rock, a feat that was impossible for most adults and daunting even to the few arachnids and marsupials that tried it.

Maybe some of them were even sent by Yu, he thought with a smirk, little assassins who would chastise me for having spilled blood in his precious canal.

The less abrasive attitude toward gods was shown by Cyrax, who talked a bit with Raiden over Bi-Han’s remains. He wasn’t outright antagonistic but wasn’t overall respectful either. He talked with Thunder God like he would talk with any other human being that wasn’t actually Scorpion. Frankly, from the named Lin Kuei only MK9!Smoke actually addressed Raiden in respectful manner, with proper bow and the name of lord

albeit did he do so because he respects the divine beings or just out of gratitude for saving him, hard to tell for sure.

So yeah, it seems like no matter what kind of timeline or age or medium of the story, Lin Kuei does not fear gods nor pray to them. And the clan has a long history of dealing with Raiden, so the Lin Kuei had first-hand experiences with supernatural beings. Somehow, cryomancers are the most impudent warriors when it comes to dealing with or criticizing the gods.

Interestingly, as much as Lin Kuei warriors don’t care for gods, most of the known to us named characters believe to have - and to care - for their own souls. Sektor and MK11!Frost embraced the Cyber Lin Kuei idea but Kuai Liang, Cyrax and Smoke were opposed to C.I. project out for concern for their souls among other things. Even Bi-Han, to some degree became concerned about his soul after trip to Netherrealm.

Believing in souls is usually a sign of belief in the afterlife, albeit after all of them went through (the change into cyborgs, death and change into Revenants) this is less a matter of faith (religion) and more first-hand experiences. And let's not forget that regularly dealing over the centuries with Shang Tsung who steals people's souls on a daily basis makes it really hard to not believe spirits are real.

Also, an interesting matter of Lin Kuei practices that could have a religious/spiritual ground and/or be an example of ancestor worship is the clan’s funeral rites. I don’t think we actually saw any Lin Kuei to bury their own (especially after warrior’s failure?) and for sure MK9!Cyrax and Sektor did not bother to take care of Bi-Han’s remains. However the sources provide examples of Lin Kuei keeping corpses, most likely of their own leaders or warriors.

And so, we could see human remains:

put in two coffins on each side of statue

hidden / kept in a block of ice(?) in chamber of Fallen Lin Kuei in which Frost’s frozen body was also laid, but on the altar

Cyrax’s cyber body was kept and guarded by Sub-Zero (and this is like the only thing that Kuai Liang and Cyber Sektor so far agreed on)

and even Cyber Sektor’s remains, even if just for pragmatic reasons, are kept in what seems to be respectful manner:

It could be just Kuai Liang’s good nature to honor fallen of his clan (I’m still not sure if Lin Kuei Palace is the new place for Sub-Zero’s clan or the ancient hideout) but even in MK Conquest TV series, after Grandmaster was killed by then-currently-Sub-Zero, there was the farewell ceremony with clothes on display (cause there was not much left of body after freezing and shattering) while new leader gave the speech promising to punish the guilty.

Which makes me think that Lin Kuei did honor their fallen warriors (especially those exceptional, deserving). Such custom and apparently common belief in soul could also support the ancestor worship - both as some ancient, mythical ancestor(s) connecting warriors into one clan (family) and tradition to follow in the footsteps of forefathers (Bi-Han taking place of his father [old timeline] or grandfather [current timeline] or Kuai Liang taking Bi-Han’s place as Sub-Zero).

My general conclusion about Lin Kuei is that its members believe in souls, have respect and use of spiritual matters (meditation?) and maybe ancestor worship. Whatever the religious / spiritual practices they have over the centuries, it is not something they will share, as the Lin Kuei by nature are secretive people who keep personal things mostly for themselves. The people that joined the clan (Cyrax and Smoke) maybe kept their old, eventual religious beliefs but overall, Lin Kuei warriors did not fear, care for nor pray to gods. They may respect god (Raiden, Fujin) as a person but not because of their divine nature. And even that would not stop them from criticizing said god. Which is pretty much how Kuai Liang and Raiden’s relationship looks like. Grandmaster is grateful to Thunder God for saving him but he won’t blindly follow his authority.

(Kuai Liang has serious authority issues, hasn't he?)

As for holidays, I can’t really see Lin Kuei to follow any specific religious (theistic) special day cause they don’t care much for gods in the first place. Unless they worked undercover and needed to act as normal human beings, religious holidays would mean nothing to them. The warriors may however celebrate their mission success, combat mastery or promotion between themselves or in secret, I think. Like, Lin Kuei did forbid friendship because it was considered warrior’s flaw yet we know some members either were blood-related (Kuai Liang, Bi-Han, previous Sub-Zero - father or grandfather, depending on which timeline is correct) or considered each other a family (Kuai Liang and Tomas Vrbada) and most named characters worked in duos so they have both opportunity and knowledge about each other to celebrate important matters. If they managed to remember anything from previous life, that is. Because from ancient to at least Great Kung Lao’s times most(?) adepts were kidnapped from biological families at a really young age (something around 6 years old). And Mythologies: Sub-Zero takes that even further:

Its warriors are chosen at birth to be raised apart from the workings of day to day civilization and are stripped of their former lives. Only the clan knows their existence. Each of them posses certain skills and abilities that set them apart from normal men. These abilities are passed on from generation to generation and honed throughout the experiences of life.

So, celebrating birthdays doesn’t sound like happening much, unless those with family around could allow themselves such luxury. The clan may however celebrate the day of becoming a fully trained and sworn warrior? Or the fallen warriors? Who knows.

Also, something worth thinking about: in Mortal Kombat Conquest TV series, when the Grandmaster presented newly appointed Sub-Zero to the rest of the clan, he “celebrated” the cryomancer's first official performance as the execution of two men who failed their mission. So, yeah, celebration of something special in (old) Lin Kuei does not necessarily mean anything nice.

(The next part of answer most likely will be focused either on food or architecture / origin of Lin Kuei. Let's hope I will get it written sooner than later)

<><> EDIT <><>

RELIGION <> ORIGINS / ARCHITECTURE <> FOOD <> FOR THE LIN KUEI <> ART <> CRYOMANCERS <> LIN KUEI SOCIETY <> MONEY & MATERIAL GOODS

[azucanela]

6. LOCKED IN A CLOSET | BAKUGOU KATSUKI

1K CELEBRATION MASTERLIST

SUMMARY: In which Mina Ashido gets sick of the pining turned avoiding, so she decides the best course of action is to steal the Janitor’s keys and lock her idiotic friends in a closet until they sort themselves out. 

WORD COUNT: 2.5k

WARNINGS: kissing, pining, stealing, references to events in season three, damn?

A/N: i was considering using another gif and realized that bakugou’s hands literally SMOKE after he uses his quirk

This was the last straw.

Mina had been observing Bakugou for a while now, and she had determined a few things. First of all, Bakugou does care, he just has his own weird way of showing it, his concerns were laced in with his insults in an attempt to prevent others from noticing that he cared. Even though he would complain about the presence of Mina and the rest of the Bakusquad, he’d never outright kicked them out of his room. And when they needed help, with anything, he’d be there. Studying happened to be something they did together frequently, and though Bakugou insisted on insulting them every five seconds, he was actually a fairly good teacher. Then again, Bakugou also sought to be good at everything.

The second thing Mina had noticed was that actions like this were far more pronounced whenever he was with Y/N L/N. It seemed the girl made him, ‘soft’ to put it simply, not that Mina would ever say that out loud, seeing as she wanted to live to see another day. But it was clear in the way he encouraged the girl, pushing her to work as hard as she could, and yet when she overworked, he was there to keep her from the edge. It had been pretty obvious the day he’d offered Y/N his lunch because she’d forgotten her own, and sure, his offering was couple with a few insults about how foolish she was to forget her meal, but it was an offering nonetheless. 

It was then that Mina began to wonder if Bakugou could feel things other than anger. She’d tried to ask him herself, but he’d simply blushed furiously and begun cursing her out. So, Mina hatched her plan to try and get him to admit feeling something for Y/N. She’d send Kirishima to ask him about it, only for the boy to come back with holes blown into his clothes by Bakugou’s infamous explosions. Then, she’d tried to get Kaminari to hit on Y/N, to gauge Bakugou’s reaction.

That didn’t end well for Kaminari.

Prior to beginning her effort to bring the two together, she’d gone to Y/N to determine if the possible feelings were mutual. Though the only answer she got was, “I don’t see why it matters, Mina.” Which Mina had a feeling meant, “yes I do, but I doubt Bakugou would like me back since he has his sights set on being a hero.” Not that Mina needed confirmation, she just would’ve preferred it, though the few times Y/N had offhandedly mentioned Bakugou in conversation were confirmation enough. 

But no, watching Bakugou, seated closely beside Y/N as he explained the homework that had baffled her, Mina knew that whatever Bakugou felt for Y/N, it was far from platonic. He hadn’t cursed, hadn’t called her an idiot or some other crude name, hadn’t teased her for not understanding the concept they’d been learning in class all week. No, he’d simply told her to shut up and listen as he explained. If Mina had made such a request, he would’ve told her to start paying attention in class, or to quit being such a damn idiot. 

This, this was the last straw. Now, this definitely wasn’t Mina’s brightest idea, I mean, who in their right mind would lock Bakugou Katsuki in a closet? Nobody. And yet, there Mina stood— with keys she’d asked Sero to... borrow from the school janitor— ramming the keys into the keyhole and locking the door behind Bakugou and Y/N. Mina refused to watch the pair pine for each other any longer. If they wanted to simp for each other mutually, then they would do it as a couple.

Also, Mina just loved to play matchmaker with her friends. 

“LET US OUT OF HERE RACCOON EYES.” Bakugou called out, fist ramming against the door as he glared at the girl through the door, not that this was possible. 

He could hear Mina begin to laugh as she simply replied, “sort yourselves out and then I’ll let you out.” All the subtle hints of their true feelings disappeared after Y/N accompanied Midoriya and his friends to save Bakugou, Mina was fairly sure that Bakugou was avoiding Y/N at this point, though she couldn’t come up with a good reason why, aside from the kidnapping itself. So now, she would force them to make up, and hopefully confess their feelings. 

The tension was getting tiring for everyone in their class. 

This only serves to anger Bakugou more, and Y/N seems to take notice of this as Bakugou feels her hand come to his shoulder, he can’t help but hate the way he relaxes as he turns to see Y/N, shaking her head, “Calm down.”

“Yeah, Katsuki, we’ll be back in an hour. Have fun, lovebirds.” Mina could vividly recall the day Y/N had accidentally called him by his first name, the boy’s cheeks had become a bright red, but when Y/N tried to correct herself, he shut her down almost immediately. And yet Mina couldn’t even remember the last time the two had even acknowledged each other now.

These words earn a growl frmo Bakugou, who is moving backwards to aim his palms at the door, hoping to activate his quirk and blow the door down, only for his back to hit Y/N. “I don’t think using your quirk would be the best idea.”

“Well do you have a better idea?” She was right, if he used his quirk, it could easily do more harm than good. Bakugou wasn’t sure how reinforced the doors of the school were, especially in light of all the recent attacks, he also didn’t want to pay for any damage he did. That and he could easily end up harming Y/N in the process.

She exhales deeply, hands moving to his shoulders to force him to turn around in the small closet and face her. “We wait until someone comes by, the janitor will definitely be looking for his keys.” 

Bakugou evades her gaze he turns to glare at the locked door once more, “what if no one comes by and we have to wait for those idiots to come back?” Y/N shrugs, looking behind her before moving to sit on the ground, just for Bakugou look back to her incredulously, “what the hell are you doing?”

“Getting comfortable.” Y/N brings her knees to her chest, resting her head on top of them as she continues, “it’s not like she’d free us until we sorted ourselves out.” The words come out harsher than Y/N intended, but she was annoyed at the way Bakugou had been treating her recently, the way he was obviously avoiding her.

The boy before her grimaces, but settles down against the door nonetheless. The closet isn’t that large, Even with his knees bent, there still isn’t much space between him and Y/N, who had taken to staring at one of the many cleaning products in the room, rather than him. “There’s nothing to sort out.” 

A bitter laugh escapes Y/N as she returns her gaze to him eyes narrowing, “you’ve been avoiding me for weeks and there’s absolutely nothing to sort out?” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He grumbles out, averting his eyes from her cold gaze. 

And suddenly Y/N is grabbing one of the boxes of tissues on the shelf beside and and throwing it at Bakugou, hitting him square in the chest because of his spread legs. “What the hell?”

“I’m gonna keep throwing stuff at you—” She picks up another item, this time a spray bottle, “until you are honest with me.” Comes her response, throwing the item, only for Bakguo to catch it, placing it down beside it.

Y/N is already moving to grab something else off the shelf as Bakugou begins to protest, “hey—Hey! Cut it out.” Y/N is already throwing an unopened bottle of hand soap, which Bakugou dodges, glaring at Y/N as he hears it hit the door behind him. “Y/N, I swear if you—” she doesn’t break eye contact as she reaches beside her for another object, only for Bakugou to launch himself forwards and grab her wrists to prevent her from continuing her assault. “Stop.” There’s a tone of finality in voice, but Y/N disregards it as she begins to speak.

“You ready to talk yet?” She makes an attempt to yank her hands from his grasp, but Bakugou’s grip remains firm as he holds her. “Because I am sick of this, Bakugou.”

He pauses, brows furrowing as his grip on her wrists loosens and he releases them, “what did you just call me?”

“Your name.”

Bakugou is scowling now, falling back into a seat, though he’s no longer pressed against the door as he replies, “that’s not my name and you know it.” 

Y/N can’t help but scoff, “first names are reserved for people who you care about.” He’d barely been interacting with her these past few weeks, ever since his kidnapping. Y/N had a feeling that had something to do with his behavior, but she’d assumed he had needed space to process, until space turned into Bakugou avoiding her entirely. She’d confided in Mina about the possibility once, and the girl had simply told her to confront Bakugou. 

That was easier said than done.  

“Do you really think I don’t care about you?” He asks, disbelief clear in his voice as he watches her, “Y/N, you could’ve died going to save me like the damn idiot you are. And what would I have done?!” 

Y/N inhales deeply, bringing her hands to her face as she begins to speak once more, “Bakugou-”

“Don’t call me that.” He snaps, looking away from her, silence engulfs the pair as Y/N stares at him, still processing his words when he decides to continue, “I thought things couldn’t get any worse, but seeing you there? ” Bakugou runs a hand through his hair, tugging at it as he contemplates what to say next momentarily, before looking back up at Y/N, “I’ve never felt more horrified. So don’t you dare say I don’t care.”

Y/N is about to respond when the small light above them began to flicker to nothing, effectively darkening the room. Y/N can hear Bakugou rise to a stand, hand coming to the wall and ficking the light switch a few times, only for nothing to happen. Her breath hitches as she grabs the edge of one of the shelves, rising to her feet as well. “Do you think the power went out?” 

Y/N can hear the way Bakugou inhales shakily, causing her to reach out for him, hand meeting his chest. Y/N could’ve sworn she could feel his heart beating as her hand fisted at the material of his shirt in an attempt to bring him closer to her. “You don’t think it;s an attack do you?”

Oh.

“It’s not, this is just an old light.” She assures, pulling him closer, something Bakugou doesn’t fight. “Bakugou.” Y/N mutters, trying to garner his attention, she can’t see his face right now, and he seems to have gone completely silent save for his breathing. “Bakugou,” she repeats, brows furrowing from his lack of response. “Katsuki, listen to me.”

A hand comes to her arm, grasping it tightly, “what?” 

“Your quirk— do you think you could make an explosion small enough to light up the room and not cause any damage?” Seeing as they were in a room filled with highly flammable chemicals, it was a gamble, but Y/N had a feeling this would do more good than bad. 

He doesn’t respond, simply removing his hand from her and taking a step back, Y/N can hear a small crackle as the room lights up spottily, small explosions at Bakugou’s fingertips. His brows are drawn together, attention focused on his hand that was now lighting up the room, 

Y/N found herself bringing her hand to Bakugou’s forearm as she moved closer, causing him to look up at the small explosions faltered. “See?” She mumbled, “we’re safe.” Y/N is rubbing small circles in his arm as she looks up at him, meeting his eyes.

“You don’t know that.” 

 Shaking her head, Y/N replies, “are you calling me a liar?” She brings her free hand to the back of his neck, hand tangling with the hair at the nape of his neck.

“I didn’t say that.” He grumbles, the small explosions now steadily brightening the room. “And be careful, idiot.” Bakugou tries to pull away from her, worried that the explosion could harm her, but Y/N doesn’t accept this, grip on his hair tigtening. 

She scoffs, eyes narrowing as she looks around the room for something that could help them escape the closet, to no avail. Y/N fails to notice the way Bakugou’s eyes trail over her, watching as her face is lit up by the glow of his explosions. When Y/N turns to look back at him, she doesn’t expect his eyes to already be on her, and can feel the her cheeks warm.

Their eyes lock and and Y/N finds herself moving closer to Bakugou, he makes no attempts to stop her this time, but Y/N can see red blossom on his cheeks in the glow of his explosions, which were beginning to become more infrequent. It’s not until the explosions come to a stop entirely that Bakugou presses his lips to hers, his warm hand coming to her side as he pulls her closer. 

Y/N’s hand leaves his hair to grip his other arm, just for Bakugou to force them to switch places without his lips leaving hers. He forces Y/N’s back against the door, only for her to pull away, mouth gaping open as Bakugou’s lips find their way to her neck as he breathes heavily. 

“That was a very sudden change of pace.” Y/N mumbled, a small laugh escaping her. 

Bakugou grunted in reply, playfully biting at Y/N’s neck and causing her to swat at his chest gently, before looking back up to her, not that either of them could see much. Despite this, Bakugou’s hand finds its way to Y/N’s face gripping her chin as he brings her into a much shorter kiss, “you’re my girlfriend.” 

It wasn’t really a question, mostly because Bakugou wasn’t asking, but it wasn’t a demand either. Even though she couldn’t see him, Y/N could practically feel Bakugou’s eyes burning into her, awaiting a response, whether it was an agreement or not. 

“Okay, Katsuki.” 

A/N: well that escalated quickly, also i hate editing kjashkjdahskjdh

TAGLISTS[lmk if you wanna be added or removed via reply or askbox]:

BNHA: @shawkneecaps​​ @beifongsss​​ 

BAKUGOU KATSUKI: @hadespleasesteponmyneck​

[cosmicbash]

Fuck it.

I got possessed by a Pelly ghost, or my heavy duty flu medication I'm on and somehow started and finished a Pelly smut prompt in like a half hour, so, to that anon who asked-

Here's some completely unedited, messy ass, probably nonsensical Pelly smut from my medicated ass. I hope you enjoy it 👏

This shit is like 2.5k what the FUCK

Colson and Pete liked to fool around.

Not just in the childish prank war or food fight type of way either. Alot of times their goofy little games quickly changed genres to something more adult. It was hard to avoid, what with the drugs, their chemistry, and the allure of something taboo that came with kissing your best friend.

It never got much farther than handjobs and side by side circle jerks though, and even those felt weird for the first dozen times. Colson didn't really think of himself as bi, or pan, or queer, or whatever the hell they were calling dudes who also jerked off dudes in between banging hot chick's nowadays. Mainly because he didn't jerk off dudes. Just one dude. Pete. He had some stupid exception made in his head for the younger comedian that seemed to cross every and any boundary he tried to set.

So yeah, they fool around. They kiss, they bite eachother, hump, stuff hands down one another's jeans just for laughs, sometimes they even cuddle, but not in an after sex kind of way, just a, move over your couch isn't big enough for me and it's pointless to watch a movie together in the guest room kind of way. It's weird, but not? Colson can't ever seem to put too much thought into whatever he and Pete have going on before he gets distracted or develops a headache.

They're just friends. He thinks.

But. Then again, that doesn't explain how they've ended up here in the comedians bed again. Pete's mouth warm and wet against his own. Kissing him in all the ways he feels like he kisses girls, stealing away his breath and sending a warm tickle down his body all the way to the tips of his toes. It's so different from the usual leading position he finds himself taking in every other hook up that Colson can't help but find himself carried away by it. He would probably be content to lay back and let Pete kiss and fondle him for hours if the brunette didn't always find some stupid joke he had to make and interrupt the mood.

So far tonight they're off to a good start though, maybe a bit too good of one with how his jeans are already down around his ankles and his cock is slick between Pete's tight fist. 

Colson can barely remember what stupid creepy unsolved case files episode they'd been watching on the TV before he jokingly asked Pete to distract him from his paranoid thoughts. Rarely did weed and suspicious murders weigh lightly on Colson's head. He'd spent a whole week after humoring one of Pete's marathons of the show utterly convinced his stylist was out to secretly kill him. People are just so unpredictable its scary.

Like Pete. His mouth might be up pressing against his one second, and down sucking and biting on his tatted nipple the next. It's jarring how random his best friends actions seem sometimes. Like, just when Colson thinks he has Pete's rhythm figured out the comedian senses it and decides to switch things up on him again.

Last week Pete had called Colson weird for curiously flicking his tongue over one of the other man's hard nubs. Outright laughing at his attempt for foreplay and spinning some joke about breastfeeding and asking Colson to call him mommy until the rapper had abandoned the idea altogether. 

Yet here the little hypocrite was, absolutely moaning into his chest while he did the same thing. Free hand stuffed down his own sweats where he's crowded himself between Colson's legs.

It shouldn't be hot, Colson wants to give the same incredulous laugh at his best friends actions and tease him just the same but his throat feels tight and his body electric at the attention. Like Pete knows some secret trick he hasn't yet deciphered that swaps the nerves in your tits and your dick around to drive you wild.

Instead he just moans. Head tipping back and lips parting for a "Fuck- Petey-" before he carts his fingers through soft short brown hair. Maybe it's just the combo of jacking off alongside it, or his pain kink coming back to bite him in the ass. He can't say, but Pete's teeth gnawing softly at his nipple makes his dick squirt just a little more precum with every jerk.

He feels like he might be close. Hips kicking up softly from the mattress when Pete's mouth travels in hungry kisses across his chest to suck at and nibble on the other. 

It's weird. Pushing invisible boundaries yet again but Colson doesn't want him to stop. 

He's hardly participating at all too, one arm thrown above his head to grab at the head board and help arch his back, while the other is still glued to the back of Pete's head like it has been since they first kissed. Usually their flings are two sided, fists racing in their jerks to make the other come first, not self indulgent like tonight where he's hardly touched Pete's dick at all outside of a few over the clothes gropes.

It's got that question nagging at the back of Colson's mind again. Why they're doing this? What he's getting out of opening himself up so vulnerably to his best friend's traveling hands and wandering mouth?

The invasive thoughts are so distracting for a moment that Colson doesn't even realize Pete's traveled souther until he has the electric shock of wet lips sealing around the tip of his dick. Eyes bursting open and heart racing because Pete's kissing him somewhere new. His best friend's fucking taking his dick into his hot warm mouth for the first time.

And holy fuck does he love it.

"F-fuck-" Colson feels like a teenager getting his first blowie again with how his hips instantly jerk up and his fingers tighten around hair. 

Fuck fuck fuck, Pete is swallowing his dick down too fast for him to watch. He knows the comedian has a big mouth but christ, it can't be that deep can it? There's no way Pete has sucked dick before and not told him, they share everything, and until this moment, he thought the disinterest in tasting dick was a big one of those things.

But apparently not, because the comedian is slurping obscenely and sucking all over the tip and length of his dick like a lollipop offered to a man starved. It's so attentive that Colson doesn't even mind the few moments where he cock clumsily slips out of the other's mouth and bumps against a scratchy cheek or blunt teeth. It's amazing.

Colson definitely knows he must be close now. His neck feels stuck in a permanent arch back, face burying itself in the croon of his arm while he moans and curses, and pleas for Pete to not stop.

Less than delicate fingers fondle his balls and spit slips down between his legs but Colson only loves it all more. He wants to fuck his best friends face. Stuff Pete's head down hard and bury his cock down the comedians throat to paint the next couple jokes that come out of his mouth white. He tries to push though and finds a strong resistance, Pete's immediate gag and flinch back easily overpowering his weak shove.

Then the hot mouth is gone. Ripping an embarrassing whimper from the rapper's lips before he can catch it. The quick thrust up of his hips and stretch of his toes to try and kick his way back up into Pete's mouth ignored.

Colson's just about to whine and curse, and bitch at Pete for being such a fucking stupid tease when that evil mouth descends yet again. This time skating down over the long vein stretching the length of his dick to go even lower. Tongue and teeth finding his balls to offer attention there instead. 

Now his curse is more breathy, and his hips arching up higher. Because holy fucking shit Pete is sucking and tugging on his balls like an expert, fist back around the base of his dick to pick up where it left off. 

"God, Pete- Pete-" Colson's own hand has abandoned soft hair to clumsily grab at his own thigh. Fingers slipping and struggling to find purchase on sweat slick skin so that he can help hike his legs up a little higher to get Pete going lower. Every inch of his sack begging for the same attention that's fluttering across it. It takes a few swift kicks to free his one foot from his jeans but when he does it only lets his legs spread open wider. Every part of him arching and opening itself up for Pete to see with no flash of the usual shame he feels from even stripping his pants off all the way around the comedian.

He just needs more. He's so so close and Pete's tasting him like someone starved.

His dick is leaking, precum streaming out in more consistent spurts and oversensitivity just starting to tingle at the tip with every twist of Pete's wrist. Colson knows he's going to come, his neck is twisted and his face pressed hard against the hard wood of the headboard from all of his stretching and kicking to guide Pete lower and it should hurt but he can barely feel any of those aches over the chills he gets when both of Pete's hands suddenly grab him by the thighs and yank him down a little. Uncharacteristically rough in their manhandling until Colson is blinking blearily up at the bland ceiling and trembling because his ass is leaving the bed. Pete's nose bumping against his balls and tongue swiping over his taint.

The noise that bursts from between his parted lips doesn't even sound human at this point. Something between a wheeze and a moan while the room spins and his best friends tongue abruptly drags flat over his asshole to top off the absurdity of the whole night.

Colson's fingers are still cutting sharp into the back of his thigh though, grip only tightening as his body moves on its own to pull his knee closer to his chest. The bump of Pete's fingers near his own tingly in every good way.

There's no backing out now, he's losing his mind in the rush of everything, all thought flying out the window to make room for a mantra of, fuck, please, please, Petey, please- until there's another lap tongue against his hole and a fist curling back around his neglected dick.

He only lasts another few jerks. Pete's mouth sucking and humming around the rim of his asshole while he paints his own chest. Tongue out in a long moan and eyes rolled back into his head until he sees stars. It's so good. Colson can feel he body rocking and twitching with every spurt of cum, and Pete's tongue isn't slowing either. Pressing and licking until it has wiggled its way inside his ass and the moans coming from his mouth wind their way down into whimpers from overstimulation. 

Colson's legs drop fast, snapping down from his grip like his fingers are a broke rubber band to catch on Pete's shoulder. Over the blood rushing in his ears he can hear Pete moaning, fuck, he can feel it against his skin. It's desperate, so much that eventually the comedian isn't even licking or tongueing him anymore, just mumbling and bumping his mouth between the rapper's cheeks in escalating fervor.

Colson's brain is still too busy rebooting for him to properly appreciate how fucking hot it sounds. He can hear the wet slap of Pete's dick too, skin clapping against skin with what he can only guess is lightning jerks of fist.

"Fuuuuck-" Pete's finally the one cursing, his whole body jerking up from where he's been burying his face between Colsons legs to scramble up onto his knees. Sweats shoved down around his thighs, dick all shiny and almost purple while he moans and jerks it off in front of him. The leg Colson had dropped down on Pete's shoulder half rising with him, caught before it can slip by the comedian extra hand to keep it high and his back arched before the man comes. Hot spurts burning Colson's skin everywhere it lands between them. Especially across his own balls and inner thighs, Pete not stopping until he's half stumbling forward to crush the blonde and cum is peppering thick drops against Colson's twitching hole too. His groan long and deep while he watches.

The visual alone is enough to make the rapper's spent dick twitch. Heart beat quickening and face burning hotter in embarrassment over how blissed out his best friends expression has become once their eyes finally meet.

Pete's going to kiss him. He can see it clear as day in those honey brown eyes and that wet pout of lips. 

He just narrowly avoids it with a fast slap of hand across the comedians mouth after Pete drops forward. His own knuckles bumping hard against his teeth with how close of call it is, and Pete's nose poking softly at his cheek.

"Fuck dude-" Colson still feels shaky as he speaks. Head twisting sideways away from Pete's repeated bump and weak smooch against his palm before he continues. "No way, fuck, man, your tongue was just in my ass-" Even saying the word out loud burns Colson's ears and makes his thighs tremble a little.  "Gross, gross, gross dude!"

"Mm, sowwy-" Pete's mouth is still pressing with its kisses, his words half mumbled and slurred by the flat press of Colson's hand that refuses to move.

"Fuck." The heat of the moment finally fading Colson can't help but find himself cursing again and again. "Fucking fuck-" a hysterical laugh is bubbling up his throat and with it a couple dozen more that burst free with a shake of his shoulders and a light shove at Pete's face so he can rub his hand over his face instead. "You fucking licked my ass-"

"I know-" Pete sounds downright apologetic where he buries his face against one sweaty tatted shoulder but Colson can only shake harder. More and more laughter coming until he's almost in tears repeating it yet again.

"You ate my fucking ass Pete!" It's so funny he almost can't breathe. Boundaries and embarrassment aside the reality of the situation finally settling in just has Colson cackling in disbelief. "Oh my god dude-"

"I- I got caught up in the moment-" Pete's face is redder than he's ever seen it when Colson peeks out from behind his hand, and if he could laugh harder he would. But he can't so instead he smiles. He smiles as wide and as big as he can until his cheeks hurt up at his ashamed best friend.

"And you called me a weirdo for licking your nipple dude?"

He is never letting Pete live this down.