#just groups of buddies going off to war together! there's no way this can end badly!

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

i wish i knew how to make a fire emblem bc... game ideasce. waugh.

brief summary: emotionally detached lesbian leader of a mercenary group saves a sweet peppy manakete woman (who does look like shes 20 and not 11) and ends up getting hauled into her adopted unadopted father's capitalistic quest to conquer all the (lycian alliance like) other nations on his continent. manakete woman is like hey um this is fucked up why are you lostening to this guy and the leader is like well i have mysterious reasons. they do a few war crimes before they realize Why : evil cult of guys who wanna revive a fell dragon are working in the distant Hugeass Empire to do just that and need manaketes to do this... but they scared them all off by existing so theyre trying to bribe people to do it. the warring alliance are too busy at war to do that, the nation of knockoff laguz are too busy giving a shit about other shapeshifters, and the other less defined nations dont have the manpower to capture a fuckimg dragon. the merc leader realizes this and as she has become a little gay but mostly besties w her manakete friend, she begins working against her father unfather to stop this shit from happening. she unconquers the other nations in the alliance but given she and her band defeated and killed the leaders of the nations they have no leader and given her band is now the strongest... people just start following the merc leader anyway. it helps that most of the leaders of the allied nations were assholes making the commonfolk do battle for their personal gain, and the merc leader does her own battling. merc leader lesbian is crowned the first queen of this new united kingdom (against her will) and is bullied into marrying Someone bc thats how royalty works and she chooses someone from her merc band Of Course.

20 year timeskip.

the new nation has become a safe haven for manaketes and all sorts of outcasts as Her Gay Highness has worked tirelessly to make sure the people who made her queen dont regret it because she has thinly veiled anxiety issues about her worth as a person. thanks guy (the lord who made her conquer in the first place) who adopted this war orphan from the streets and then unadopted her when his wife finally bore him a child. oh speaking of children given its been 20 years, characters who youve paired can have kids. but you gotta pair em before the timeskip, and only two characters always have a kid and thats the merc leader and the manakete girl best friend (gay). hey remember that huge fuckoff empire to the east? Yeah theyve launched a fullscale war against the laguz nation to just force them to hand over any manaketes after the evil cult installed a 14 year old puppet emperor. the laguz nation goes Ah Fuck Ah Shit Ah Fuck and asks their good buddies the combined kingdom to help them which they Do. but by the time they get there, the losses are extreme and the king of the laguz nation is dying. the ex merc leader helps his successor into her role and the two women go "oh yeah we're going to fucking destroy the evil empire" and then they do. The war is hard and sucks but eventually they fight their way to the evil cult. a few things happen : 1 the manakete who the ex merc leader has been besties with for 20 years is the DAUGHTER of the fell dragon the cult is trying to resurrect. the merc leader freaks out, and because of her trauma about people she loved abandoning her, kicks the manakete woman out of the band and Also Take Your Damn Kid. and your spouse unless the spouse is the merc leader in which case a truly heartwrenching cutscene plays. 2 : the cult members immediately find snd capture the manakete woman and are preparing to kill her kid and use the blood of the fell dragon to revive it. the merc leader hears about this and decides the final battle has to start Now to save them because holy shit that was a mistake obviously theyre not working together. 3 : yknow who WAS working w the cult? all the nobles who hate the merc leaders unnoble blood. so the cult know theyre there. whoops. they fight the cult but just barely lose, and fhe manakete woman's kid is Slain. the fell dragon rises, not bc of the blood, but bc the fell dragons only daughter got So Pissed. turns out the fell dragon isnt actually that cruel, not in life anyway, but given how he was revived by anger snd not by true love he comes back Wrong and the cult descend on him and tear him apart and eat his flesh & use his bones as weapons. oh they dont worship him they want to use him to kill all shapeshifters and anyone who works against them forever. they can, however, use this pissed off manakete by casting a spell on her and having her fight her former friends. Huge fuckoff battle. It ends w the lesbian merc leader slaying the leader of the cult and, agonizingly, the friend she saved forever ago. the manakete returns to normal once the mortal blow is dealt, and thanks the mercenary leader for saving her once again, and begs her to remain a peaceful and kind leader for the rest of her life. she dies. the merc leader is Only Anguish. the world is saved at what cost?

epilogue : the merc leader rules until she dies, ensuring that the still-combined nations of the west, the newly managed empire of the east, and the reconstructed laguz kingdom to the south are all on good terms and recovering well from the war. manaketes establish their own nation after being given land from each nation where they meet to own for themselves. the leader of it is revealed to be the manakete bestie's other child she had borne RIGHT before the war began who she had only implied existed in her supports w her eldest child and a few others. merc leader leaves behind a vast and tumultuous legacy, but her child rises to keep her ideals alive and make sure nobody can accuse her of having no worth. she chose peace and love and thats what is important at the end of the day.

various paired endings. if the merc leader and manakete bestie got married (the canon route but w/e), the merc leader never remarried and vowed to see her wife in anime chess heaven. its very gay. end credits.

oh i forgot to mention. there is an avatar character who can marry anyone who likes that gender as every character now has a canon sexuality. the avatar character is the m/cs childhood friend who does nothing in the story but is Kind Of Cool. goodnight

👀 love the concept

#there is actually a half finished plot of a hypothetical fe game in my drafts. i should finish it soon #long post #fe #fire emblem #i should make a tag for these #emblems beyond our reach

[dingochef]

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x You (OFC)

Warnings: Swearing, Smut (MDNI 18+ Only), Angst with a Happy Ending, Stalking, P in V, oral (female and male receiving), Semi-public sex, light spanking,

Summary: You and Jake geek out at the fly in.  Later things get heated and you start to realize you might be in over your head with the feelings you're developing for Jake. 

Word Count: 2.6k

Masterlist

Chapter 9

Chapter 10: Vintage

Group Chat: Your favorite hoes

Members: Lydia, Beth

Lydia: How was the date with Bob, just Bob?  Any good action?

Beth: It was good. 

Beth: Real good.

You: Details! 

Beth: Let's just say he has a bit of an oral fixation and he's definitely more of a giver, 😉

Lydia: It all makes sense.  Like he knew he had to be really great at eating pussy to make up for some of the initial blandness

Beth: You're so vulgar

Lydia: But you love me for it, 😍

You: Still waters run deep…..like his tongue deep inside you

Beth: Not you too. 

Beth: Speaking of the devil, he's calling.  Buh-bye

It's Saturday morning and you're pulling together the last few items for your day bag for the air show.  You're looking forward to spending the day with Jake and checking out the vintage aircraft.  Jake is picking you up here shortly, he mentioned something about having the better car for today and purposely remained vague on details.  

I'm looking out the window when you see a turquoise vintage Corvette convertible pull up with the fabric top up.  You can't see who is driving as the car stops at the curb in front of your  house. A familiar head of blond hair followed by a leather bomber jacket with mission patches unfolds out of the driver's seat.  Jake is of course wearing his aviators. He just smiles wide and stretches his arms out presenting the car, he shouts, 

"A vintage ride to a vintage air show!" as you walk out to meet him.  He runs around the car to greet you with a hug and a kiss and opens the door for you.  

"Ooh, vintage manners too," you coo as you get into the car.  He shuts your door and walks around the car and climbs into the driver seat.  He starts the car and you are off towards Chula Vista where the fly in is being held.  

"You know, if you had told me you had a 61 Corvette when we first met, I might have been nicer to you," you say as he pulls on the freeway heading south from San Diego, hand trailing on the dash. 

"The lady knows her cars," Jake replies.

"Of course I do, I'm the daughter of an automotive engineer from Michigan.  In fact my dad worked for GM." 

"And yet you drive a Honda CR-V, the store brand vanilla ice cream of cars." He teases back.  

"Yeah, it's definitely utilitarian and I got a good deal on it from a friend who was moving overseas. Besides, I drive way too many miles for my  job to have anything like this."

The rest of the drive passes quickly and soon you're pulling into the lot at the general aviation airport hosting the event.  Jake and you walk up to the entrance and grab a map,

"So where do we want to go first? Ooh, they have a World War 2 section," you ask scanning the map.  Jake hooks his chin on your shoulder to peek at the map. He scans the map and says, 

"That sounds good, we'll have to make sure to see the fighters," Jake says pointing at the map from over your shoulder.

"I wouldn't dare miss that, dear," you say to Jake as you kiss his cheek.  It comes so naturally to you that the intimacy of the gesture doesn't register till you start walking handing hand towards where the World War II planes are arranged on the tarmac.  This has definitely moved past fuck buddies and you try to convince yourself it's just friends with benefits, ignoring the slight panic that flutters up in your gut.  

There are dozens of aircraft from World War II lined up on the tarmac.  You and Jake find yourself gravitating to the bombers.  

“These always intrigued me because of just how many people were in a crew, how many people it took to fly these and hit targets.  All of that stuff we can just do with one or two people now,"  you say as you wander around a B-29. 

“I’ve always liked the WWII bombers for the nose art, mostly the pin up girls to be honest.  I had a few posters of some of them on your  wall in high school.  Closest I could get to putting up a bikini model poster without my mom freaking out,”  Jake replies.  

You laugh at the thought of Jake as horny teenager looking at pin up girls for hormonal inspiration.  

“So, you’re saying you like the pin up look.”

“I’d have you on the side of my jet, but I think the Navy’s not going to be into that,” he leans in closer and whispers, 

“But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t ravage you the second I saw you all gussied up like that.” 

He points up to the classic nose art of a woman astride a bomb, skimpy red dress and heels, and Jessica Rabbit style red hair.  You make a mental note for later.  

You’ve traversed most of the air show and you finally get to fighter jet row after lunch from a food truck.  The way Jake kept catching your  eye as you were trying to eat a ridiculously large Italian sausage made you nearly choke on it with laughter. 

“You’re going to kill me if you keep that up,” you joke as you bump shoulders with him.    

“Whatever do you mean? I just see a woman really enjoying a large girthy sausage,” he replies back with an innocent look. 

As you walk through the planes it's apparent whoever curated the show did a great job with lining the aircraft up in chronological order.  It’s easy to see the evolution of the planes.  Jake stops when we get to a F-14 Tomcat.  

“Maverick flew one of these when he was at Top Gun,” he says.  

Climbing up the step ladder you check out the cockpit.  All the same elements that are in the jets you work on are there, but they're so rudimentary compared to what we equip aircraft with now.   

“It’s like looking back at a stone hammer versus buying one at Home Depot,” you say. “There’s actually a few guys I work with who worked on the F-16s around the time this was made by Grunnam.”  

“It does give me a tiny, tiny” he pinches his fingers together, “bit more respect for the old man to have shot down as many planes as he has when he had this to work with.”

The afternoon is getting hot so you call it and head back to Jake’s car, the turquoise is easy to spot in the field of cars.  As we get closer, Jake looks at you and asks, 

“How about I put the top down and we can drive back by the coast?”  

“That sounds good,”  you quickly find a hair tie out of your  purse and pull your hair back to keep it from flying around in the wind as we drive.  After navigating through town you finally make it out to the main coast road that will take you back to Coronado Island.  The wind noise is so loud you can’t really talk, but you find yourself looking at Jake a lot of the way back and just how beautiful he is especially with the setting sun behind him as we drive.  Every once in a while he catches you staring and smiles that panty dropper smile of his.   

You see a sign for a scenic turnout and you point it out to Jake. He nods, turning the car into the gravel lot and pulls to the far end of the lot.  You get out to stretch our legs and watch the sunset.  As you lean against the front of the car Jake wraps his arm around you and you curl into his side as the cool ocean breeze rolls in.  The sun slowly sets and Jake turns to kiss you.  You stand up between Jake's legs where he is leaning on against the car.  He is finally at a height where you can access his lips easily.  You reach in his bomber jacket and wrap your  arms around his back.  He grabs your hips and pulls you in close.  The kiss deepens and you can feel that familiar tug low in your belly. Grabbing the lapels of his jacket you pull him in closer. The kissing and sliding of hands over each other's bodies starts to build, the heat between you rising.

Jake stands up to his full height and gently pushes you away and runs to the back of the car and starts to pull the top of the car into place. His plan becomes clear when he sits down in the passenger seat and pats his lap.  You're thankful you're wearing a dress.  Jake is already hauling his pants and boxers down and stroking his cock. He pulls a condom out of his pocket and rolls it on as he watches you  walk up to the open door, lean down and slip your underwear off and climb in. As you straddle his lap Jake closes the door.  He reaches in between you and grabs the base of his cock and guides himself into you.  You sink down on him as far as you can.   He pants out between groans, 

"Fuck, El, so good." 

Jake reaches up to push the denim jacket you have over your sundress off and slide the straps of your dress and bra down exposing your breasts.  His firms hands slide up and palm your tits as he works each nipple with his mouth and rough fingers. 

The pleasure of his mouth and hands becomes too much and you start to ride him, desperate to quell the ache between your thighs. Your moans get louder and breathier and Jake pants out a few words,

"God damn, El, ride my cock." 

His hands have slipped down your side and are holding the globes of your ass.  He pulls your dress over your hips and kneads at the flesh of your ass.

Fucking his head to yours he whispers, 

"Such a pretty ass, makes me want to slap and spank it."

He grabs and holds you still against his cock as he squeezes your butt hard. 

You clench around him at the thought of his big hands leaving red hand prints on your smooth flesh.

He chuckles, having picked up on your response to his dirty thoughts.

"Oh El, you dirty girl. You want me to slap your ass, make it hurt a little, hurt in a good way?"

You can't control the whine that escapes your throat while you rock into him harder. Taking your response as permission he pulls back his hand and lands a resounding slap on your soft flesh. The sound is deafening in the closed car.  You whine in pleasure at the flash of pain.   

"You like that?" he asks, in a soft tone.

You duck your head into his neck, a little embarrassed, but oh so turned on. Ignoring the thought of your feminist credentials being tarnished by this, you reply,

"Yes, I do."

He slaps your other cheek, and says, 

"Say 'Yes, sir.'"

You pull your head back and look him directly in the eyes and challenge him and gain back a little control, 

"I do, Lieutenant."

He raises an eyebrow and pulls his mouth into that smirk right before he slaps both of your cheeks at the same time.  The delicious pain ricochets down through your clit causing you to clench hard around him finally breaking his cool facade, 

"Fuck, so good.'

You start to lift up and down on Jake's cock at a faster pace while he rubs your ass, keeping it warm and the hint of pain lingering.  Your mutual heavy breathing fills the car.  Jake moves one hand to place his thumb over your clit and starts slowly rolling circles around your  sensitive point.  The slowness of his touch is contrast to your frantic pace. His other hand pulls your  head down to him and he gives you a filthy kiss as he says, 

"You ride me so good, like you were made to do that, El."

"Yes, Lieutenant, your cock is so good. Give it to me, please," you whine in response.  

The tension is starting to build in your belly and you keep riding Jake even though your legs are starting to ache and shake with strain.  

Jake's hand on your ass is helping lift you each time and to keep your pace going. 

His thumb on your clit pushes down harder and he slaps your ass at the same time, breaking that wave of pleasure over you. 

"Fuck, fuck, oh my god," you rasp as your release triggers Jake's and he goes slack under you, the tension released. 

The air in the car is thick with your deep breaths as you both come down from your highs. You tuck your head into Jake's neck and he wraps his strong arms around you. You and him just exist for a few minutes, still joined. 

The casual closeness of the moment startles you, the safety and security, and mostly just how right it feels to be in Jake's arms. It  overwhelms you, sending a niggling sense of panic and alarm through you. That familiar wave of vulnerability and fear rolls through you and you push back off Jake's chest, desperate to get rid of these feelings. This is not what you had planned on, developing feelings for him, not for anyone after Liam. Jake's arms are still around your waist, his head leaned back and his eyes closed, he doesn't pick up on your unease.

Your next words are chosen intentionally to break the spell you're under.

"Hey there, did I fuck your brains out there, Lieutenant?" you ask as Jake comes back to reality.  His cock twitches inside you as you say Lieutenant.  He looks into your eyes with an expression that you can't place, almost hopeful and wistful, and you know that the enormity of the moment has surrounded him also. Your own panic and doubt  starts to swell as he pulls your head down for one more deep kiss before you separate hoping to quell this tsunami of emotions brewing in you. You step out of the car and rummage around in your purse to find some tissues to clean up, handing some to Jake as you piece yourselves back together and get back on the road.

The ride back is quiet, the night turned dark.  Jake has taken your hand in his and is rubbing his thumb on the back of yours as he drives. As you slow down and roll through the residential streets to get back to your  house, he asks,

"Hungry?”  

The question startles you from your thoughts, and you fumble for an answer,

“Yes, I was too into the scenery to think about dinner till now.”  

He grins back at you full of self satisfaction as you realize the secondary meaning of your statement.  You give him an affectionate eye roll in return.

“Want to hit the Hard Deck? You can’t beat the fish tacos,” he asks.

“Works for me,” you reply, happy that they'll be something to redirect your attention and thoughts when you get there.

It doesn’t take long for you to pull into the parking lot and the place is its usual level of busy for an early Saturday night.  Jake parks the car and you walk over hand in hand to the entrance when Jake suddenly stops, his shoes crunching on the gravel in response the abruptness of his motion, and says, 

“Shit, my squadron is here.”

--

Worry not my pretties, the next chapter is on deck and will be posted soon (I have no impulse control, lol.)

Chapter 11

@starswholistenanddreamsanswered

@mayhemmanaged

@callmemana

@dempy

@hangmanscoming

@lanie-k

@callsign-viper

@senjoritanana

@djs8891

@atarmychick007

#top gun maverick #hangman fanfiction #hangman x you #jake hangman seresin x reader #hangman #jake hangman seresin x you #jake seresin fanfiction #jake seresin x you #top gun smut #top gun fanfiction

[cosmica-galaxy]

How would the three allience members and the mimics react to finding out that the human was once part of a team(or a pack in the mimics eyes), and the entire team survived throughout most of the war, but the human ended up as the lone survivor after all of their teammates died off one by one? The team could be a sports team from their school, a close group of friends of colleagues that managed to find eachother, but it was a team that functioned kind of closely to the allience or how a mimic pack functions? And they find this out via the human breaking down from survivor’s guilt?

sorry for the long question(s), I adore your work!

Camron would feel sorry for the human. It must've been so hard to loose your friends one after the other. He can only sit next to you and let you sob into his shoulder. He doesn't blame you for carrying around such a guilt. You did everything you could to try and keep them safe...but sometimes that's never enough. At least you're with the alliance now! Maybe they can be your new family? It's an option...until then, he'll just sit with you. DJ would feel a sense of sorrow take over the mood of the room the moment you admit everything and break down. Maybe that's why you don't like going to the medical ward...some units are too far gone to repair and parts are recycled to keep the fixable fighting. It's sad in a way...plus, they lost a lot when their titan turned on them. Lots of units went down and dozens were destroyed by their own ally. He can understand...some of those units were his older friends. He misses them a lot too. Maybe you two can miss your buddies together? Vee wouldn't be at all surprised from your breakdown and waterfall of tears after admitting what you were feeling after he confronted you about your strange behavior as of late. A human that slowly lost everything to this war...it's tragic. First, your home...then your people...and then your friends...and now your own sense of worth. It's gut wrenching to see the human so beaten down from their guilt and self-hatred that Vee will teleport them to the human's quarters and sit with them until they become coherent again. He will reassure you that it's not your fault and there was very little you could do. You're only human after all. Buddy would feel a sense of remembrance of his own past. His old clan wasn't the kindest...but they were all he had. This event reminded him of why he decided to leave in the first place. He didn't belong with them and was a loner for a long time. He was on his own for the first time and the sense of being all alone...whether or not you would manage to survive or not...it's grating. It's something he wouldn't wish on anyone. So he'll nuzzle you and lick away your tears...because he felt the same once. Pal would pick up the human and hold them close once they break down into tears. He can't imagine the pain you've experienced...he himself can't imagine losing his whole clan to an event beyond his control. It would devastate him too. Pal would enter a empathetic state of mind and would whine and whimper with the human...cause it's all his kind knew how to do. He can't change the past...but he can make sure you aren't alone. He'll cry with you. Fiend would feel sadness and pity clench his heart as his human collapses and cries about why they are still alive and why they even bother to keep fighting. It's disheartening to see the human, usually so determined and firm, beaten down and crying their eyes out. He'll sit close to the human while they sob and sniffle into their arms and he'll lean on them. Trying to think of anything he can do to help them feel better. He would project your loved ones...but he has a feeling it would just make things worse. So, instead of messing with your mind, he decides to just lean into your form and purr loudly. Trying to show support in the only way he could think of at the time.

#haxorus imp #hax speaks #cosmica galaxy #cosmica-galaxy #anonymous #anon asks #anon ask #skibidi tag #skibidi mimic #skibidi toilet mimic

[serpentinearchitect17]

Just a short scene I wrote because Zutara has been occupying about 90% of my thoughts lately 😅

Side Note: This scene diverges from canon after the end of the war because damn it, Zuko and Katara will always end up together in whatever context, scene, or story I write. I’m also still working on my full fledged fanfic! I don’t want to give away too many details, but it is a Modern-Day AU with Lunar New Year celebrations, and an extreme amount of fluff and pining. I can’t wait to finally share it! I’m hoping for a late spring/early summer release on AO3, but that may be optimistic because I write about as fast as a snail-sloth.

Anyway, without further ado…

*****

~Zuko’s Favorite Color~

Three years after the end of the 100 Year War, the Gaang meets on Ember Island to spend the week together. Before leaving, Zuko asked Iroh to take over his Fire Lord duties for the time being, just so he could spend his holiday relaxing and enjoying his time with his friends.

They’re all lounging on the beach at the night, drinking tea around a fire.

After slurping her tea and setting the empty cup aside, Toph turns to the group.

“Let’s play a game,” she suggests. “The rules are simple. All you have to do is guess Sparky’s favorite color. The winner gets to have all of their meals paid for by him tomorrow.” She slaps Zuko, who’s sitting next to her, on the back. With a wicked grin, she continues, “And the loser has to plant one on him tonight, with his consent, of course.”

Zuko chokes on his tea. “Hey, wait a minute! None of that is even remotely fair,” he protests, gesturing wildly. He glares at the world’s greatest Earthbender with a scowl. “Either I have to dole out money or I have to give out a kiss. How does any of that benefit me? And why in Agni’s name would we play a game where you all guess my favorite color? It makes so sense!”

Sokka laughs. “Dude, you’re just afraid I’m gonna win and you’re gonna have buy me food. You’ve seen the way I eat - you’ll be out of money by the end of tomorrow!

Snorting, Zuko shakes his head. “Buddy, I think you’re afraid that you’re gonna lose and have to kiss me.”

“Psh, you’d be lucky to kiss me! I’m a real catch, aren’t I, Suki?”

Suki kisses her boyfriend’s cheek and coos, “You sure are.”

Impatiently, Toph sighs. “Are you in or not, Fire Lord? C’mon, you’re among friends. No one’s gonna hurt you. You can back out if you wanna, but I think it’ll be fun.”

Zuko knows she’s right. It’s all in good fun. These are his friends - the ones he’s trusted time and time again. No one would be cruel. Plus, if he’s being honest, he’s hoping that he’ll get to kiss a certain someone tonight. Someone he’s had a crush on for a long time.

“Fine,” Zuko mutters. “Go ahead.”

Toph gleefully rubs her hands together. “Excellent. Does everyone consent to the rules of the game?”

A chorus of ‘yeahs’, ‘yeses’, and ‘yeps’ goes around.

“Sweet,” Toph says. “I’ll go first. Sparky’s favorite color is…blue.”

Sokka nods sagely. “Yep, it’s 100% blue, no doubt about it.”

Suki chimes in with, “I agree. It’s totally blue.”

Aang hums, stroking his chin. “I think blue would be the correct answer here.”

It’s Katara’s turn. She furrows her brows and frowns. “Why are you all saying blue? His favorite color is obviously red! It’s the color of his homeland, and every article of clothing he owns has some shade of red in it!”

Zuko’s cheeks flush to a deep crimson. He feels himself sinking further into the sand. “Um…” he trails off, scrubbing his hands over his face. He’s not even sure how to respond.

Everyone looks at him expectantly.

Toph smirks. “So, Sparky, what is your favorite color?”

He knows he can’t lie. He’s never been able to, and he doesn’t think he could start now. He decides to give in, resigned to his fate.

Peeking between his fingers, he mumbles, “It’s…um…blue.”

Toph laughs uproariously. “Called it! And we all know why! See, you love blue because everything about it reminds you of Sugar Queen.”

Sokka makes a gagging sound, but offers his own explanation. “Blue is the color of her eyes, which you’re constantly drawn to, by the way. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

Suki smiles. “Blue is the color of the clothing that she wears.”

Finally, Aang wraps up the conversation with, “Blue is the color of water, which is the element that she bends.”

Katara has been silent this whole time, her entire face highlighted in a lovely, rosy hue. She only has eyes for Zuko right now.

Quietly, she stands from her spot and crosses over to him, sitting down beside him. “Is any of this true?” she asks him softly, an unreadable expression on her face.

A shaky breath leaves his lips, and he nods. “Yeah, all of it,” he answers honestly, feeling his heart thump wildly.

Then, to his complete dismay, she gives him breathtaking smile.

Her ocean blue eyes never leave his as she murmurs, “Now might be a good time to tell you my favorite two colors.” She pauses, leaning over to brush the hair out of his eyes. “Red and gold because they’ll always be a part of you, Zuko. Every time I see those colors, I immediately think of you.”

His gasp is low, but an enormous grin overtakes his face. “Really?”

“Really.” She turns back to the group, who’s been watching with rapt attention. With a gentle smirk, she shrugs. “Guess I lost the game. And I’m nothing if not a gracious loser.”

Zuko hears Sokka snort, but only focuses on Katara.

“Do you really want to kiss me?” he asks nervously, hands clenching the bottom of his tunic to keep them from shaking. “Because I want to kiss you. Spirits, do I ever want to. But, your comfort comes first to me, always. So, we can forget this whole thing if it makes you uncomfortable.”

“I want to,” she sighs dreamily. “I’ve been waiting three years. Don’t make me wait any more.”

With that, they both lean and their lips touch. Finally.

As they continue to kiss, Zuko vaguely registers the sounds of claps, hollers, and an indignant whine of, “Dude, that’s my sister!” in the background.

Eventually, Katara pulls back to catch her breath, leaving Zuko in a dazed state.

She giggles, presses a light kiss to his scarred cheek, and says, “I think you may need to tap into the Fire Nation’s budget tomorrow. Your personal finances aren’t going to look so good with all of those mouths to feed.”

His eyes widen and dart to his friends, who all wave back at him smugly.

Groaning, he wraps his arm around her waist to pull her closer.

He addresses the group. “You’re all the worst. But…” he trails off to kiss the top of Katara’s head. “This stupid game was worth it.”

#avatar the last airbender #atla #zutara #zuko x katara #zuko and katara #zuko #katara #the gaang #the whole Gaang ships Zutara #fire lord zuko #ambassador katara #ember island

[mariesocuniverse]

Byeol’s Relationships: Hyung Line

ByeolChan

byeol’s soulmate

literally one of the only reasons byeol stayed in JYP 

chan said that he had this dark image as a trainee bc of how long he’s been at the company but byeol never saw that

even if he tried to hide it, byeol always saw the way he got her to get food or how he quietly tried to get her out of trouble

she wanted to return the favor and thus a friendship formed that it would take a very very very big event to happen to break them apart

she knows that she can depend on him for anything and vice versa

byeol tries her best to relieve the burden of him as a leader whenever she can so he can relax

and also force the man to sleep bc sir you need to get off your laptop and sleep

she can, will, and has dragged him to bed and cuddle him so he won’t leave chan knows that he could remove her but he doesn’t want to so he yields

basically the parents of skz

if chan isn’t there to get the members focused, byeol is there to corral everyone 

good comparison would be vice captain? like how in nct dream theres leader mark, captain jeno, and vice captain (?) renjun?

that but byeol and chan

MinByeol

Byeol’s dance teacher

Byeol is very slow when learning dance so she always asks Minho for help

said dance practices are 90% serious and 10% jokes bc someone says something stupid and they need to take a ten minute break to recover from laughter

he’s also very protective of her and making sure she’s eating by cooking her food

was actually the one who asked minho to join their group considering he was the last member who joined jyp

you don’t understand how much grief she went through when he got eliminated during the survival show

nor the relief when he got added back in the last episode

she didn’t say it out loud but byeol very much wanted to fight jyp in the moment even now but who doesnt really

the two of them are like really clingy so whenever they’re resting the two of them just gravitate towards each other

she just doesn’t want to leave him you guys 🥺

you know how some people say minho is the mom of skz? yeah byeol and minho are unintentionally fighting for that title amongst the fans

they just have a silly dynamic with each other considering how much banter they have

byeol has jokingly said she will take away minho’s cats and minho took that as a declaration of war /hj

they’re stupid but they’re stupid together yknow?

ChangByeol

same age friends!!!!!

they’re the only 99liners so they have to look out for each other yknow?

although he does make fun on byeol for being old even though she’s only five months older seo changbin

very protective of her

he always makes sure that she’s inside they’re little bubble surrounded by the members and staff whenever they go to airports or other schedules

gym buddies too!

whenever he goes to work out he tries to bring byeol along too for her to build muscle for her noodle arms

not for her to get built like him but enough to get toned yknow?

he also likes to run through lyrics with her whenever 3RACHA is producing new songs for the album

he always gets shy whenever he gets complimented with also a sense of pride

also another person she has to drag home bc music can wait i’ll fight you if you don’t go to bed

fans think the dynamic is funny bc at first glance they look like complete opposites

but then five minutes later byeol is smiling while changbin ends up doing aegyo for whatever reason

sometimes byeol wonders if changbin is really the same age as her or if he’s really just part of the maknae line

HyunByeol

you know how hyunjin and jisung said they used to fight? yeah byeol was the one who stopped them

he likes to think he’s her favorite of the 00liners and he’s right /hj

they take the time together and paint and have quiet time whenever they want to relax

they just have a sense of comfort for each other whenever they’re stressed

whenever hyunjin is feeling very overwhelmed or unconfident byeol always makes sure to stay by his side and cheer him up

she will literally square up to anyone who says bad things against him and no hyunjin you can’t stop me let me go-

she’s also very affectionate with him and loves clinging to him like she does with minho

there are a lot of clips of byeol looping her arm around hyunjin’s and leaning towards him

of course it doesn’t stop the teasing from him

as one of the taller, if not the tallest, he always clowns her for her height and pretends he can’t see her from his perspective

sometimes she threatens to hit his kneecaps, other times she sighs and accepts it

hyunjin likes to think of byeol as the sister he never knew he wanted

you know that look when people who are the only child find someone who they consider a sibling? yeah that

#9th member of stray kids #stray kids 9th member #stray kids female oc #stray kids female member #stray kids female addition #kpop female addition

[adoranoia]

headcanon dump for ovtsa, a mix of Important hcs and just. one-off silly ones! let's do this...

>based off the good ending, ends up marrying narinder. aka, (@sacricat), she absolutely domesticates that man, and i'm so sorry about it, buddy. >is based of slavic fairytales, has a thick russian accent, and slightly stilted/broken english. originally from ~another land~ >is basically group mom friend cult edition because she really does care for her followers, wants to keep them safe, and sees them as her new family. someone tries to hurt one of them and suddenly you experience the wrath of god but like, for realsies.

>has a 'girl with the green ribbon' thing going on, her collar holds her head on, as in it detaches freely, but this reminds of her sacrifice, so she never takes it off. >the red crown is its own little entity, sometimes she asks it for advice, or just chats back and forth with it. >her favorite weapon is an battle axe, it's almost as big as her, and certainly heavier, but she swings it around fine, somehow.

>is like, 4'8". small. little. tiny. also: wears a red cloak with a hood, a simple white dress, a quilted over-skirt, with a frilly apron over top. >likes cooking, sewing, gardening, fighting/sparring, woodcarving, and fishing, among a few other random hobbies here and there.

>has the following doctrines in place:

* faithful trait, inspire, ritual of enlightenment, holy day. * belief in afterlife trait, funeral, respect your elders, return to the earth. * bribe follower, belief in false idols trait, alms for the poor, devotee trait. * ascend follower ritual, wedding, belief in absolution trait, loyalty enforcer. * feasting, grass eater trait, ritual of the ocean's bounty, belief in prohibition trait.

>as you can probably guess, due to the game's canon--ovtsa's family is, like. very much dead, sadly. she grew up in a cute little village, but once the war happened, and word of the prophecy got out, then well. her parents went together, eventually her twin sister, and then herself.

>when ovtsa was young/still in hiding, her families way of dealing with the whole ‘sheeps being hunted’ thing, was to dan cloaks and different animal masks. ovtsa’s in particular was a wolf’s, which she still has. she actually still wears said mask at times, specifically when out on her crusades. there's for sure a urban legend surrounding ovtsa, talk of a wolf-masked spirit, singing lullabies as a warning that you'll die by her hand if you don't get out of her way.

>speaking of which, when ovtsa goes out on crusades/treks, she tends to sing to herself, usually old folk music she heard growing up. it’s became sort of a warning for the surrounding critters to scatter, or their death will surely follow: a legend now known well throughout the lands.

>thinking abt ovtsa pre-game, when she finally got caught by the bishops, and was taken into custody to be executed like the rest of her kind, etc. in-game, lamb cries before their beheading, but, i don't think that was ovtsa's reaction. >she was angry, she went down fighting the whole way, that wildfire nature still something she carries now--seen in how fiercely protective she is, her short temper.

>thinking abt ovtsa and the foxes deals, what she took, what she didn’t, so. lemme give you the rundown rq.

* handed over some fish, it was an innocent enough request, after all. * did not sacrifice any of her followers, though. she considers them family. * however, did sacrifice half a heart--taking off one of her arms, elbow down. * did not give up ratau’s life, and probs wrecked the fox’s shit for even trying.

>ovtsa loves foraging, and making tasty things out of the stuff she finds, then giving them to her friends. it's very much a love language for her, her go-to gifts are woven flowers, hand-carved wooden trinkets, and jams/broths/etc in pretty decorated jars.

>thinking abt how bad ovtsa is at being fancy, growing up in a humble little village, excess was not s/t she knew well. she carries that with her, even now, and as a bishop down the line. narinder is the one who has to teach her how to really dress, and act the part. muddy feet from working outside w/ the followers, dressed in quilted fabrics she had sewn herself, excitedly stuffing her face full of foods at dinner-time, etc etc.

>ovtsa can sing, as i've mentioned, but she also plays the concertina! she's had one since childhood, and plays it during festivals and such, sometimes. along with this, she likes the tambourine a lot, as well. if the prophecy hadn't happened, and ovtsa wasn't chosen be a vessel, she would've wanted to be a performer, specifically a musician.

>ovtsa bleats when surprised and/or scared, and she finds it really embarrassing.

#* && OOC #* && SCARIFICAL LAMB / GLORIOUS LEADER . #i am posing dramatically. look at my girl! do u care her !!! #religion tw #cults tw #death tw

[asexual-fandom-queen]

Fanfic Writer 20 Questions

I was tagged by @nixie-deangel to do fanfic writer 20 questions, so let's dive in! Tagging @42wallaby-way-sydney @fatherofthebride @coldtomyflash to participate, if they are so inclined.

How many works do you have on AO3? 72

What's your AO3 word count? Just shy of 366,000

What fandoms do you write for? I started out doing most of my writing for The Flash/Arrowverse, but most recently have moved on to writing primarily for Stranger Things, Ted Lasso, 9-1-1, and Teen Wolf

What are your top five fics by kudos? 1. Turn And Face The Strange (Stranger Things, Stoncy) 2. All On The Line (9-1-1, Buddie) 3. Givin' Yourself to Me Can Never Be Wrong (The Flash, Coldflashwave) 4. Hands On Me (I Think I Wanna Let It Happen) (9-1-1, Buddie) 5. House Like a Homecoming (Stranger Things, Poly Monster Hunters)

Do you respond to comments? I do! I kinda never shut up about how important comments are to a fandom's ecosystem, so when I get them, I answer back!

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I don't usually end fics in full angst mode, but maybe the fic with the most bittersweet ending is Unfair. It's a SethKate (From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series) fic set in the aftermath of a sex pollen situation that leaves them both hurt and vulnerable. But there's still that nugget of hope, because they're hurt and vulnerable together.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? If I'm going for not just pure fluff factor, but how satisfying the happy ending is in the context of the rest of the fic/the source material, I would say Maybe We'll Get Forty Years Together which is a Jamie/Keeley/Roy future fic set during their wedding where Jamie has a chance to hash things out with his father.

Do you get hate on fics? Every once in a blue moon. I write a lot of polyships, and sometimes those polyships are an amalgamation of two sides of a ship war, and people have opinions about that lol. But generally, no.

Do you write smut? What kind? Sure do! I'd say it's what I write primarily. Generally, I write smut with feelings, or angsty smut. Sometimes it's definitely just smut for smut's sake though, which is also fun! I'm a big supporter of being horny on main.

Do you write cross-overs? I don't. The closest I've gotten is writing an AU based on another tv/show. I don't dislike them in principle, I've just never written one myself.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Yes! Someone stole Taste of Your Lips (I'm On A Ride) and changed it from the original pairing of Zari/Amaya from Legends of Tomorrow to a Lauren/Camilla RPF and posted it on Wattpad. I'm very grateful to the person who messaged me on Tumblr to let me know, because the thief did take it down when I confronted them about it.

Have you ever had a fic translated? I have, and it's really cool to have been asked. My Buddie fic Exploration has been translated to Chinese.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Not exactly. I was part of a multi-creator rewrite for season 2 of Legends of Tomorrow, which involved re-plotting and re-drafting as a group, so you could technically count Episode 2: Crisis and Faith.

What's your all-time favourite ship? I'm actually gonna have the dumbest answer for this question because it's a ship I've never written for, probably never will, and don't even really read, but it's Frank Castle and Karen Page from Daredevil/The Punisher. Their dynamic is just exactly what I want out of a ship. No notes.

What's a WIP you'd like to finish, but doubt you ever will? I have an Abby/Buck/Eddie fic that's on permanent hiatus that I almost certainly will never finish, especially because, in working on it, it started to splinter off a lot of ideas and dynamics and scenes I actually want to use for an original novel someday, so I don't see myself ever completing it. I would like to finish that novel though lol.

What are your writing strengths? I think I always feel most proud of my characterization being pretty on point, and I get enough comments to that effect that I don't think I'm just making that up. I also think I'm good at writing in small details that seem minor but make an impact.

What are your writing weaknesses? I fizzle out! I don't have good stamina to go back to something if it's gonna take me more than one sitting to write, which is why most of my stuff falls in the 2-4k range. I also lose steam without feedback and encouragement. My educational background is in creative writing, and I've been a long-time member of fandom, plus part of writer's groups even before then, so the idea of writing being a solitary thing is kinda wild to me.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? To each their own for this. For me, personally, I'll use a word or a very small sentence I'm reasonably confident is correct in a fic, but for longer sentences, I would write in English and just indicate it was said in another language in the dialogue tag. Plus, even if it was a language I do speak fluently like Frech, it doesn't mean readers do, so I think English is still the way to go.

First fandom you wrote for? So, if we're talking first fic ever, we have to go back to when I was five and six years old and I would make little "books" out of folded index cards where I'd write stories about Sailor Moon or Cardcaptors. My first fic on the Internet was back in my FF.net days, and it was a Kyoya/Haruhi fic for Ouran High School Host Club. My first fic on AO3 was actually a multi-chapter Sterek fic that was never completed and that I've since taken down. The oldest fic of mine you can still find posted on AO3 is a multi-chapter Coldflash fic We Could Keep Things Just The Same, the first chapter of which was posted on February 24th, 2016!

Favourite fic you've ever written? I still feel like I've never topped There's a Menace In My Bed; Can You See His Silhouette. There are some edits I might go back and make with my extra eight (EIGHT!?!) years of writing experience, but the core of what that fic accomplishes? The delicious angst? The emotional minefield of dubious consent/sex pollen/fuck-or-die? The smut as character study? The caretaking? This just hit on a lot of things I like, and I'm really proud of it even all these years later.

#ask meme #tag game #about me #fanfiction #writer

[luimagines]

(Mafia imagine: )

Blind sitting down with wolfie by them since they all have to head to the capital since all three houses: Royals, heros, shadow and demonking are going to gather and blind can feel or hear the chain make small noises like they're not happy but blind is confused yet try not to be nervous so they lightly tag on their sleeves end to feel the fabric.

Time: alright, we will be heading to the capital since something happen. You all know the rules?

Warrior: yes time we all know but, isn't this a bad idea to bring them?

Time: you know well warrior that "all" members must be prepared or risk the possibility of a all out war..

The chain quiet to hear that but are not going to risk that since the war nearly took many people lives as blind listen and frown to never hear of a possible war or its history but knows it a bad thing.

Once they all make it to the capital we're the other houses is being held at time look to his group and blind as in stay together and don't let anyone near blind since this is a dangerous situation and everyone head inside the building four, wind stay with blind as warrior,twilight stay with time.

Blind ears twitch to hear every voices, whispers amd noises but stay focused on feel four hand on their and wolfie right next to them til they hear a fancy male voice and the crazy voice as blind felt a cold chill and accidentally squeeze four hand but they all can't leave the room since this meeting started and all leader houses are presented.

Four *whispered *: blind? You okay?-

Blind: n-no..bad men..their here...

Wolfie sit but stay glue to the child like he's trying to hide them from those bad men as wind have his hand on his gun right behind blind to stay guard as four look around trying to see were those bad men are but can't see them.

Four: who are?-

Sky come over to them as fancy pants,Zant came over and they all start have a "friendly" conversation but four,wind and sky can see that blind let go four hand to grip onto wolfie fur to show they completely terrified that they look pale.

Fancy pants: oh? I didn't know you have a pet link? He say as fancy pants put his hand on blind head as blind try not to lose control of their magic grip on wolfie fur as wolfie growls but sky grab fancy pants arm to make him not touch blind.

Sky: hand off them.

Sky lowly whisper out a threat to him.

-🔥

Ghirahim raises an eyebrow, amused and entertained. "Oh? And why not? After all this is a 'no fire' zone. There's nothing going on here. We're just hello to your new member that's all."

"They're just a kid." Sky growls. "New member or not, they're under our protection. Watch yourself."

Wind glares and twirls his weapon in his hands, not taking his eyes off of them for one moment. Twilight looks over at just the right second and sees Zant next to the child. He charges over, picking the kid up. "Hey buddy, papa wants to see you. Let's go."

Before the kid or Zant can say anything, Twilight takes them away with Wolfie right n his heels as they make their way to Time.

No one would want to bother The Boss. Even though it would announce that a child is present in the assembly, maybe it would help everyone keep their tempers in check. Maybe. Some groups have more morals than others.

#pinky replies #blind child #mafia! chain

[seesgood]

types of dynamics i would love to plot out ,  for anyone interested 👀

that older mentory type thing,  bonus points for advice giving and validation and neither of them really intend to get attached to one another but god damn it it happens anyway 

caroline being a mentor to someone else but the someone else is very much like “fuck you i don’t need a mentor or someone to care about me just fuck off” but also they care about one another and it’s just a really deep, supportive, snarky bond 

exes who are friends and yeah it’s a little awkward, but they just know one another so well and there’s so much love there it just didn’t work out but every once in awhile there’s a witty comment about the time they dated or there’s that ‘we just weren’t right and that really hurts’ moments 

exes who are NOT friends but they’re stuck in the same friend group or same proximity and there’s just tension and they can maybe keep things civil for two seconds before they’re at one another’s throats 

that super cliche 90′s teen movie style makeover moment where care gets to give your muse a style / fashion / hair / makeup / love life / total life makeover 

enemies with benefits, they’re on opposite sides of a conflict / war and there’s really no finding any middle ground but they’ve definitely hooked up at least once ( or twice or every time ) because the tension and chemistry are just perfect and maybe one of them cares about the other enough to not want them to get hurt but how is that supposed to go when all of this can only end in one way?

enemies who are forced to work together to defeat a common enemy or escape a commonly sucky situation

the ‘i would die for you and you probably couldn’t even tell me the color of my eyes’ type of maybe unrequited thing but just one person assumes the other is so far out of they’re league and they’re not that wrong 

protective older sibling type dynamics / aka the ‘really mean but in a way that cares about you’ type of way’

forced proximity survival buddies

Vibes™ that are not fleshed out or developed but i would still love these types of dynamics,

“keep your eyes on me / just keep looking at me it’s okay i’m sorry just keep looking at me it’ll  be okay just keep your eyes on me”

you came / you called 

i didn’t have anywhere else to go

i’m scared

“that was so stupid why the hell did you do that you knew it was a trap / dangerous / etc.” /  “you were hurt / i heard you scream / they were going to hurt you / etc.” 

screw i’d die for you, i’d life for you

#i feel like you can really tell what media im ingesting based on the types of wishlist things i post #ᴘʟᴀɴs ; ᴀ ғᴜᴛᴜʀᴇ ; ᴛʜɪɴɢs ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪ ᴡᴀɴᴛ. ⸺ wishlist. #if you see one that you're all 'eyes emoji' over pls either message me or comment #**comment which one you'd be interested in #and i might reach out tomorrow or the weekend bc ive just been kinda low

[themculibrary]

Movie Night Masterlist

A Night In (ao3) - shyheadbanger bucky/steve/tony T, 3k

Summary: Based off of this prompt: Imagine your OTP falling asleep during a movie night and waking up tangled in each other, early in the morning.

Steve, Bucky, and Tony watch a movie in bed after a long mission. Nothing but fluff.

Atlantean Analysis (ao3) - bluerosele steve/tony G, 2k

Summary: The Avengers are dorks who bond in dork ways; from almost causing war over a board game, to weekly movie marathons. When Steve is left alone sulking with disney movies and puppy cap eyes, Tony has to fix it and join in.

even bad boys cry during the lion king (ao3) - haveufoundwhaturlookingfor bucky/scott G, 1k

Summary: Bucky Barnes somehow finds himself dating Scott Lang, someone who is totally the opposite of him, but they make it work, until Scott finds out Bucky has never seen a Disney movie before. He makes it his mission to change that.

in which the avengers have a movie night and tony sits out (ao3) - genesis_frog N/R, 1k

Summary: They just wanted to watch the movie, but no, the power has to keep going out. And only in some rooms! Thanks, Tony.

Just Your Average Avengers Movie Night (ao3) - surprisinglyokaytea steve/bucky, clint/natasha G, 661

Summary: Bucky, Steve, Natasha, Clint, and Sam all watch a movie together. The whole cuddling thing happens.

Louder Than Words (ao3) - ARGHHHHHH steve/tony G, 858

Summary: Domestic Avengers movie night, post 2012 Avengers.

Movie knight (ao3) - smalllittlepopsicle G, 1k

Summary: Steven is invited to the Avengers movie night by Peter Parker 😺

Prompt: movie night

Movie Night (ao3) - Wolf5bane G, 1k

Summary: Peter spends the night for the first time at the Tower with Tony, and finds more out about his room.

Movie Night at Avengers Tower (ao3) - Mysterious_L bruce/natasha G, 287

Summary: The Avengers decide to have a movie night to update Steve on popular movies and pop culture references.

Movie Night with the Avengers (ao3) - PinkAvidReader G, 2k

Summary: Scott Lang gets invited to an Avenger hangout. They’re all there - even Thor - plus Stark’s personal intern, Peter Parker. Whatever could possibly occur?

Surprises and Secrets revealed to the group.

Movie Special (ao3) - shenala steve/bucky, pepper/tony, clint/natasha, jane/thor G, 1k

Summary: The Avengers have a Christmas movie night.

Step by Step (ao3) - Malvoish nebula/peter G, 1k

Summary: Nebula and Peter met to watch a movie but are more invested in their own feelings.

plays after GOTG3 with the small difference that Peter never left for earth or just postpones it

Stupid For You (ao3) - thorgodoflesbians clint/scott T, 2k

Summary: When Steve suggested a movie night, what Clint didn’t expect was to have a lap-full of Scott Lang by the end, although he wasn’t necessarily opposed to it.

The essence of love (ao3) - jedifox peter/adam T, 1k

Summary: Peter and Adam cuddle on the couch after a movie night with the guardians and Peter’s curious about Adam.

There's No Such a Thing as Avengers' Movie Night (ao3) - Katbelle pepper/tony, peggy/steve, bruce/betty T, 3k

Summary: There's no such a things as Avengers' movie night. They do, however, watch movies together every Friday. And sometimes they cry, when a movie hits too close to all the repressed feelings they have. But it's all in the name of science and team-building exercises, really.

viii. (disco) fever (ao3) - tempestaurora T, 1k

Summary: “Please don’t make me watch this,” Peter whined, moving to lean on Tony as he did so.

“No can do, buddy,” Tony said. “It’s movie night. It’s May’s turn. Law is, we have to watch this.”

“Don’t act like you’re not excited,” Pepper commented, pulling her feet up onto the cushions. “You’ve been humming Stayin’ Alive all day.”

Tony grinned. “That’s because it’s got a great soundtrack. I am excited. May’s turns are the best turns.”

May’s turns were the worst turns.

#themculibrary #masterlists #fluff #movienight #movienight masterlist

[peninkwrites]

mafia au you say?

I made a moodboard for this au idea before posting anything about the au, so here's the gist!

OKAY.

So. Two sections of sorts. The Before Times and the Now. With an eight year gap in between. The factions have changed over that time. Before times, the majority of the city was occupied by the Arctic Empire led by the Crowfather, but when a rookie cop, Dream, commits himself to a war on organized crime (for reasons unknown) once an attempt is made on the Crowfather's son's life, Phil breaks down, takes his kid and his ally Technoblade, and flees. In that power vacuum left behind, Schlatt takes over with ruthless abandon. The Before Times have a few character focused prequel fics at present, but I'll have more plot stuff for it later!

(I'll put my shitty maps in here too for reference) (Yes I called the region under government control pig land. ACAB and all that.)

So at the beginning of the fic, the Empire has been divided up between Schlatt and the Badlands, with a lot of violence over some turf in the middle, but the real prize is West of the river, a much more upper class part of town which the cops keep careful control over. The arrows indicate borders shifting/where each group hopes to expand. The only other party of relevance is Puffy, who has a small strip along the docks from a deal with the Badlands, she is the one who runs all the drugs and booze in the city (city is in a prohibition type beat) after she quit the force.

The plot will start out with a few bangs, people going missing and dying and meeting and betraying each other, fun stuff like that, but I don't want to spoil anything so I'll talk characters instead– some of them will be important enough to have stuff from their pov, especially earlier on the list, but I don't know for sure yet who I'll focus on!

Tubbo: Just turned 18. Son of a mob boss. (Schlatt. I am sorry.) He's a ruthless little genius, but he hates the way things are run right now. His dad has put Tubbo and everyone he cares about in danger. Schlatt has made enemies, behaved recklessly, but it's Tubbo who will be left to pick up the pieces and try to keep everyone safe. The moment he can, he's going to change things for the better and strike down anyone who gets in his way. His friends include Tommy, the proud street rat, Niki and Ranboo, sister and brother who run a bakery/speakeasy together, and tentatively Schlatt's lawyer Quackity (they're foxhole buddies. friendship means survival)

Quackity: Schlatt's lawyer. Has an... interesting relationship with the guy (ew) but he's got a Plan. He's gonna get the fuck out of there and start up a casino with his boyfriend Karl (who sells counterfeit watches lol I had to) but you can't just up and leave the mob. So he's keeping his cards close to his chest for now, and when he sees an opportunity, he'll get out. He'd never admit it, but part of why he's sticking around is because he won't leave Tubbo alone with that piece of shit.

Sapnap: Grew up in the mob life because his father, BBH, led the Badlands, but left it the moment he turned 18 because he didn't want to live a life of crime. He wanted to help people, so he became a cop (please laugh. laughter is appropriate. Sapnap starts out wearing clown shoes.) it ended messy with his dad, as he basically completely cut him off. He joined the police academy with his best friend Dream and never looked back. (he joined eight years before around the same time everything changed.) Karlnapity is endgame.

Sam: Used to be a top dog in the Badlands before he pussied out– I mean had a moral crisis. Police captain after Puffy went awol. very canon-esque. Strong moral compass, but also such a fucking idiot. He lives on the nicer side of town with his boyfriend Ponk. Who works at Eret's museum and volunteers in the evening to give medical care to the homeless (aww isn't that sweet)

Ponk: Ponk is a fence who runs their operations out of Eret's basement. They're also Schlatt's doctor and sneak over there after dark to try and keep the stupid bastard alive. But they want out. They're tired of lying to Sam and working for someone they find morally reprehensible. So they make a deal with the Badlands– if they give them a way to get into the police station without breaking in/getting caught, the Badlands will protect them from Schlatt when they leave. So they steal Sam's keys (police files? haven't decided yet). One more job, then they go straight. For Sam. They're well liked across borders, but will that be enough to keep them safe?

Wilbur: Son of the Crowfather. Grew up in the city alongside the Empire kids, kids Phil took in, Fundy, Jack, Niki, Ranboo, along with a less close... rivalry? friendship? with the Badland's kid Sapnap. Then all of the sudden things got bad and when he was 18 or 19 his dad took him and ran, leaving all of his friends behind. (The other Empire kids were safe, they had no known affiliation with the Arctic Empire, Fundy squared away to become an accountant, Jack had already sort of separated him from the empire and had a job at a hotel, and Niki had her bakery to support herself and Ranboo.). Wilbur, going firmly against everything his father taught him, wanted to return to the city a new man, a musician who was down for a scheme or two, but definitely not the son of a mob boss. His first night back he runs into two people: his old friend Sapnap, who has degraded himself into working for the man, and Tommy. This annoying random kid who was kind enough to help him find Niki's speakeasy– The Secret City.

Tommy: street rat. refuses to tie himself down to an organization and heavily frowns upon it, tolerating Tubbo's family ties, but refusing to join anyone. He likes the freedom of it all, even if it gets lonely at times. He used to work with his buddy Eryn, the two of them planning pickpocketing hits and breaking into hotel rooms to sleep for the night, until Eryn decided he wanted to be a part of something more and joined up with the Badlands. He still spends most nights breaking into hotel rooms, his favorite being one which belongs to Jack Manifold, who hates his guts but also has never been able to catch him until he's already sneaking down the fire escape. 17 at the start of the fic. Helps this stupid tall fuck with a guitar find Niki's place because he's just ASKING to get mugged. Has no idea they'll one day consider each other brothers.

(the rest are more minor characters but boy do i have a lot for them lol)

Puffy: Basically in the Before Times she was the police captain that trained Sapnap and Dream when they were rookies. Her son Foolish is taken hostage, because ofc the mob want the police captain in their pocket, but she doesn't know who took him. The rest of the department/higher ups basically go "ya we can't do anything until they make demands good luck lol" so she goes. Okay. Fuck you guys. And takes her and her two little rookies to go look for him. The Arctic Empire are the most powerful players on the board at the time, but it's not them. The Badlands offer to help Puffy get her son back if she agrees to come work for them. She does. The police force basically were gonna leave Foolish to die. First she plays both sides, keeping an eye on Sapnap for Bad, undermining the police force, but Quackity the lawyer owes her a favor and helps her retire peacefully when the pigs start to catch on. She works for the Badlands for a few years, becomes a drug lord, starts her own little empire. Becomes the Godfather. (get it. bc Foolish is her son. the Godfather.)

Dream: A driven little bastard. In the before times, he and Sapnap joined the academy together. For reasons I will not yet explain, Dream makes it his one fucking mission to get all organized crime out of their city. He's ruthless. He's not committed to justice, he's committed to victory, damn whoever gets caught in the crossfire. He is supposed to play a major role as a villain, but I might make his whole deal more off-screen/reduced if I can.

Badboyhalo: was the second most powerful mob boss in the Empire days. Proud of his work, until his son left the family and basically went "you're dead to me." Bad had a crisis of faith. He cares about his family more than he does power, so he gives up some of his territory to Puffy, and asks Skeppy to run things for him. He's going to open up a diner (with a hint of money laundering ofc) and live a Normal Life in the hopes that one day Sapnap will come back to him. His peaceful retirement is an illusion. He could return to his former glory on a whim, but he'll wait for Sapnap for now.

Phil and Technoblade: Not too much to say here, they won't be active for the majority of the story, but Philza is The Crowfather. Insanely powerful. Even after he left the city to take over another one, he left behind some of his Crows to keep on eye on things (crows are people/spies, not birds lol) and Technoblade. He is Phil's enforcer and his right hand. He wears a pig skull mask because he's a notorious cop killer.

Eret: RICH. Runs the museum. Partially blind. Gives off an aura of being naively above all of the crime running rampant in the city. But she knows Everything. She is fiercely protective of her staff, which includes Ponk, museum curator, HBomb, her chauffeur/general guide, Fundy who runs the museum finances (aw an accountant just like his mom), and Foolish who has no idea what he's doing but Eret hired him as a favor to his dad Puffy.

Eryn: Was a street rat running around with Tommy, left him for a few years to go sailing with a crew as a little cabin boy. Came back with some cool scars and stories, tried to work with Tommy again but found he still wanted to be a part of a 'crew' of some sort, so he joined the Badlands. Now a spy with... let's say limited loyalties. (Tommy will always come first, but other than that...)

Niki: runs a bakery which is mostly a front for her speakeasy. Ranboo isn't really her brother, but she looked after him when she was alone on the streets until Philza took them under his wing. She just wants to make bread and a safe haven, but her speakeasy is right in the middle of highly fought over territory. She's used to being threatened or bullied by idiots trying to claim her fucking business. She doesn't blame Tubbo for his father's bullshit when he comes to collect dues, but she will keep this place running or burn down the city with it. Her speakeasy is open to everyone. No conflict, no sides, no guns allowed.

Ranboo: he's just a shy little dude. Didn't ask to be involved in this shit, but when one of your best friends ends up being the son of a mob boss you gotta roll with the punches. He's got a scar and a not-so-mysterious backstory.

Skeppy: this man is terrifying. A force to be reckoned with. When Bad stepped down, he stepped up. Has a soft spot for Bad and Bad alone, even if he doesn't understand him giving up everything for his son, he wants to help him and has the power to do so. (until, on the night of the first chapter, he mysteriously goes missing...)

Foolish: Found trouble in his youth, violent troublemaker in his early teens, but his dad is super protective of him from that one time he got kidnapped when he was like 14. He's a bit clueless about how the every day world works as he went from an absent father to basically being bubble-wrapped 24/7, so he starts working at Eret's place. He's buddies with Ponk and Eret, loves his job at the museum, not very good at it yet. Has a slight propensity for violence that his dad has made him outgrow, but will protect his friends.

Jack: Runs a hotel. Former Empire kid. Will lose his mind (he's moments away from Snapping) and end up helping Tubbo with his whole deal. Cares a lot about his friends. Sometimes wants to strangle Tommy.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head! And this was me trying to avoid spoilers lmao.

If you managed to read all this, thank you!!! I am always happy to talk about this au and maybe even some sneaky plot stuff but right now nothing is written yet! I am trying to figure out how I'm going to write it, I might write a bunch of fics each centered around different characters, but chapter titles with correspond to where in the timeline it takes place. Something like that, bc I don't think I can make this into one huge fic, and if folks are interested in a specific character/storyline, they can pick and choose what they read!

But again, i already have many wip I am in the middle of. But god does this au tempt me.

***UPDATE***

Part 1 of the series is now posted!

#mafia au #I am So enthused #thank you everyone who showed interest it surprised and delighted me #my writing #writing mood #i will probably respond to asks just linking to this post idk #i don't think anons get notified when something is answered ? so might just leave those be

[theseventhoffrostfall]

I did have one idea for this one faction (and it's not even a faction as it is just a minor group of people, nothing like the Railroad or Minutemen).

There's a group of people, all self-taught philosophers, scholars, and historians, who travel around trying to learn one very important question: what is America? Who lived in America? What kind of country was it? Someone had to build these roads, someone built all of these massive skyscrapers, someone built the bombs, someone built all these guns and laser rifles. How could such a society suddenly decide to kill itself in the most horrible way possible one day and leave behind all these buildings and roads and bridges? Was there ever any real America at all or is it just another piece of Pre-War trash like Nuka-Cola?

This group needs your help because they're writing a "thesis" on the United States of America, a history primer about life, culture, and ideals 200 years ago. Ironically, they don't believe that you're from that time period, considering you don't exactly have a birth certificate or anything that can prove you're 200 years old ("You're 200 years old? Psh, yeah, what kind of chems are you doped on, buddy?"). You can help them out with the promise of a big reward at the end. All you need to do is collect information regarding Pre-War culture and life and bring it back to them.

There would be four ways of completing the quest, each based on a different "focus point" of pre-war life.

1: You take the easy way out and you collect all of this easy-to-find whitewashed corporate/government propaganda stuff (like a holotape produced by the U.S. government talking about a kid-friendly, extremely biased version of Operation: Anchorage meant for grade schoolers or a goofy 4th of July promotion event from Nuka-Cola). Basically, you don't do any real work so much as you collect all this dumbed-down corporate "Land of the Free (tm)" bullshit and try to pass it off as the real thing. The scholarly group notices this and gives you 400 caps to fuck off and leave them alone (and maybe you get a perk boosting Speech, considering how you tried to bullshit your way into easy money).

2: You focus on the "good times" of Pre-War culture, finding newspaper articles, holotapes, and archival records that are "feel good." Stuff like how a town got together to help a group of veterans keep their homes by raising money, stories about family events during Christmas, marches for peace, etc. Think the "good parts" of history, the sappy and sweet pieces of life cut out from the more grisly and gritty parts. The group believes that this paper will help inspire people to do good, see the world in a brighter way, and give them hope. While this does work on some people, it also carries the unintended side-effect of depressing people. If the pre-war world was so warm and loving and friendly, imagine learning that your forefathers blew it up. People long for a paradise that maybe never really existed to begin with and feel nihilistic and bitter, considering that "we destroyed paradise, we don't deserve anything but to wallow in our guilt."

3: You focus on the "bad parts" of America, such as the war, the persecution of Chinese-Americans, the corruption, government abuse, stories of food riots, and the New Plague. The group thinks that this will be "shocking" to people, a horrifying yet powerful message about the traumas of war and racism and greed. It will be so terrible it will shock the common man into doing good, to recognize the evil man can do and encourage them to be better. The side-effect of this is that it causes some to fall into wild hedonism. If life was so full of pain and misery before the bombs, they reason, why bother to have a better life? This America place was a shithole then and it still is now, so why try to rescue it? After all, if killing and stealing was the norm then, why not just follow the crowd?

4: You go above and beyond to present as much an in-depth look into pre-war society as much as you can, presenting both the good and the bad. You have to hack into encrypted databases, library vaults, interview ghouls who were alive back then, search museum subbasements, etc. You get stories about a soldier carrying his wounded comrade through the Anchorage blizzard just because he promised him to, you hear stories about a doctor sacrificing his own health to save people during the bombs, an act of kindness in a world that's literally falling apart. You talk about both the evils of America and the innate goodness inside each American. The only problem the scholars have with it? It's dry, it sounds too historical and far removed from anyone to understand it. And while it's not a history of sunshine and daises or a history of violence and corruption, it resonates with a lot of people, who see that, for all of the shame and sins the Old World had, there was still human kindness and love that appeared through the muck and that such virtues never truly died. Perhaps America wasn't a paradise on Earth, but maybe there are still some things worth carrying on from it.

I like the idea in theory, but don't ghouls kind of throw a wrench in this?

[feanorianethicsdepartment]

i ain’t done anything for @tolkienocweek yet, mostly because my covid-induced neet-dom has decoupled me from any association with sidereal time and thus there’s no way i could guarantee getting something out on its specific day. still, i do have one character that could potentially qualify for day 3 (background characters) or day 4 (self-inserts), sorta. i’d like to introduce you all to the proprietor of the fëanorian ethics department, the as-yet-nameless fed elf

fed elf is a... moderately idealised self-insert of mine, though she’s taking on a life of her own

she’s also a noldo. of course she is

her Noldorin Craft™ is, as i’ve said before, arguing. she has very strong opinions about almost everything and will debate them at length

she’s moderately infamous for it in tirion

she’s especially fond of philosophy, in the ancient-greek asking-a-million-rhetorical questions style. what should we do? why do we do the things we do? why do the valar get to tell us what to do?

... you can probably tell which side of the fëanor/fingolfin debate she landed on, if it wasn’t already obvious

she’s not particularly close to any of the future capital-H House, but she is in their rough orbit. one of the miscellaneous guild trolls that form the rank-and-file of their initial expeditionary force

idk if she’s ~devoted to the cause enough to go to formenos, but when the trees get eaten and fëanor rolls up into tirion with the solution to all their spider problems, she is all for it

she’s a passing acquaintance of maedhros from those times when he’d show up in her guild hall for debate night, so she probably ends up with his crew, at least initially

... there’s a very good chance her first attempts at crafting a new noldorin ethical system happen on that horrible night aboard the blood-stained swanships of alqualondë

in any case, she gets good enough at murder to not die before the brothers hellspawn are divvying up east beleriand, and the formerly reasonably undelineated fëanorian host is splitting up into its various garrisons

most people stay with whoever they’re already riding with, but there are exceptions. she is one of them, as soon as she hears about caranthir’s Plans she immediately switches allegiance to the future lord of thargelion

he’s deliberately trying to set up on the trade routes! they’re gonna make contact with the dwarves! there are apparently trails leading over the blue mountains, links to communities of elves unlike she’s ever seen!

so many new people to argue with!!!!!!

so she heads up to lake helevorn, and helps with setting up the city. she winds up filling some middling role in east beleriand’s military bureaucracy, when she’s not on orc-killing duty

but her true passion is *~ethics~*

there is actually a practical component to this. due to Certain Events the noldor (especially the fëanorians) aren’t as-well suited to their pre-darkening moral codes as they might have once been

they need a new one, with contingencies for, like, murder, and all the other new situations they’ll encounter in this new world! the questions of what’s right and wrong have been blown right open, and fed elf is possibly the happiest she’s been in her life. they’re building everything else from first principles, why not this?

and the fëanorian host in aggregate does actually care about morality, even though outsiders never believe that. it’s what separates them from the orcs (in their minds at least); they’re doing everything for a Cause, not for destruction’s sake alone. say what you want about the fëanorians, their problem was never a lack of ideals

she gets people coming in sometimes, wanting to know what the right thing to do in a situation is. either that, or they think she’s wrong about something and want to explain why in depth, which is almost as fun

soon enough, there’s a small shop just off the main streets of lake helevorn called the fëanorian ethics department

(she’s the only one with a shop, but she’s not the only member of the host with Opinions. the guy on the other side of the market district whose system is fairly similar in the broad strokes but completely different in the details is her personal archnemesis)

for most of the first age, fed elf has it pretty good. by her standards, at least, and she’ll happily exposit at length as to why they’re the only ones that matter

the work on the system of ethics never quite stops, but it does slow down. she’s less prescriptivist than most noldor, so she does a lot of observation and interviewing and stuff, and also new things keep happening for her to cover, but she does manage to nail down the basics!

she does consultation, in varying levels of official capacity, but she’ll also just. answer anyone who comes in with a question. or asks one within earshot

it’s mostly noldorin fëanorians she has debates with, the sindar and atani generally prefer to ask her whatever they want to know with minimum fuss, but whenever she gets a real fight going they all join the crowd. watching fed elf argue with people is one of lake helevorn’s municipal spectator sports

she also has conversations with travellers! these usually start when some newcomer is staring in befuddlement at the sign outside her shop and she takes the opportunity to pounce

she asks them detailed questions about their own ethical systems, which she files away for potential future incorporation/argument ammunition. they fairly frequently ask questions of their own, most often variations on ‘you guys seriously have morals?’

sometimes this even turns into a proper ethical debate! these aren’t usually as well-argued or intense as the ones she has with other fëanorians, particularly if she’s not talking to a noldo, but when she meets someone who’s a proper match for her it is the highlight of her year

running the shop does generate a fair bit of paperwork she tends to be too emotionally invested in to deal with properly, so she hires help now and then. one recurring underling is a clumsy perpetually-ill atan who is nevertheless really good with the filing and holds fierce opinions of their own, even if they hide under the table whenever anyone so much as raises their voice

(that atan is me. much less idealised self insert)

like every other elf in the host, fed elf is still under arms. she has a unit, she’s part of the orc patrol rotas, when caranthir needs to do a battle she pulls her broadsword out from under her desk and reports for the muster. east beleriand is just a pretty violent place in general, and her most impassioned arguments frequently shade into all-out duels. east beleriand, where even especially the philosophers will knife you

but just like fëanor promised on tirion upon túna so long ago, she’s built a place where she can be the best version of herself, and she couldn’t be happier (marketplace douche notwithstanding)

like so much of the host, she has big plans for when they topple angband and reclaim the silmarils. it’s just, well

i am not entirely sure what fed elf’s fate is after the fall of thargelion. most likely she died at some point, because so do most of her peers and also because she has an aversion to cutting her losses that’s definitely gonna backfire sooner or later

it’s either that, or she abandons everything she ever worked out to flee over the blue mountains, or she sticks with the host long enough to see all their ideals and dreams burn to ash. out of all of them death is probably her kindest fate

if she does die - she’s definitely a kinslayer at least one time over, she is staying in the halls for a While. the local maiar completely stonewall her every time she tries to argue her way out, she has plenty of time to sit around and think

because yeah, the host’s century-long self-immolation has given her a lot to think about. she was wrong, it turns out, in several important ways, and from the outside she can see how much the ethical system she put her heart and soul into was bent towards destruction

if she ever gets out, it’ll be after a lot of self-reflection, a massive dose of humility, and her accepting her own small-but-not-insignificant role in the nightmare they created

the fëanorians as get let out of the halls of mandos are without fail less violent, more self-aware, and just generally more conscious of their actions than they were when they went in. fed elf is no exception to this

she’s also no exception to the rule that their time in elf afterlife therapy generally fails to lower their volume at all. soon after her rebirth, after some time spent rethinking her personal moral code, fed elf puts out a thesis as to why elwing’s refusal to give up the silmaril was perfectly justifiable under fëanorian ethical mores

this pisses off a measurable proportion of aman’s sapient population. soon the furious letters of rebuke are pouring in nightly

exactly. as. planned

#tolkienocweek #my terrible headcanons #my terrible ocs #feanorian minions #i have a lot of hcs about how they work that i tried to fit into here #in general i feel like their initial noldorin core is mostly made up of the family hellspawn's personal friends #just groups of buddies going off to war together! there's no way this can end badly! #my mental image of fed elf is way more defined than it has any right to be #i made her up to have a cool blog title and for absolutely no other reason #still it is oc week. y'all are basically asking for my ideas at their dumbest

[c-is-for-circinate]

For a long, large part of my life, being queer in a media landscape--finding queerness in a media landscape--has meant theft.

I'm a Fandom Old, somehow, these days, older than most and younger than some, in that way that's grown associated with grumpy crotchetyness and shotguns on porches and back in my day, we had to wade through our Yahoo Groups mailing lists uphill both ways, boring and irrelevant anecdotes from Back In Those Days when homophobia clearly worked differently than it does now, probably because we weren't trying hard enough. I've seen a lot of stories through the years. I've read a lot of fanfic. (More days than not, for the past twenty years. I've read a lot of fanfic.)

When people my age start groaning and sighing at conversations about representation and queerbaiting, when we roll our eyes and drag all the old war stories out again in the face of AO3 is terrible and Not Good Enough, so often what we say is: you Young Folks Today have no idea how hard, how scary, how limiting it was to be queer anywhere Back In Those Days. Including online, maybe especially online, including in a media landscape that hated us so much more than any one you've ever known. And that is true. Always and everywhere, again and again, it's true, we remember, it's true.

We don't talk so much about the joy of it.

Online fan spaces were my very first queer communities, ever. I was thirteen, I was fourteen, I was fifteen--I was a lonely, over-precocious "gifted kid" two years too young for my grade level in an all-girls' Catholic school in the suburbs--I lived in a world where gay people were a rumor and an insult and a news story about murder. I was straight, of course, obviously, because real people were straight and anyway I was weird enough already--I couldn't be two things strange, couldn't be gay too, but--well, I could read the stories. I could feel things about that. I would have those stories to help me, a few years later, when I knew I couldn't call myself straight any more.

And those stories were theft. There was never any doubt about that. We wrote disclaimers at the top of every fic, with the specter of Anne Rice's lawyers around every corner. We hid in back-corners of the internet, places you could only find through a link from a link from a link on somebody else's recs page, being grateful for the tiny single-fandom archives when you found them, grateful for the webrings where they existed. It was theft, all of it, the stories about characters we did not own, the videotaped episodes on your best friend's VHS player, one single episode pulled off of Limewire over the course of three days.

It was theft, we knew, to even try and find ourselves in these stories to begin with. How many fics did I read in those days about two men who'd always been straight, except for each other, in this one case, when love was stronger than sexual orientation? We stole our characters away from the heterosexual lives they were destined to have. We stole them away from writers and producers and TV networks who work overtime to shower them in Babes of the Week, to pretend that queerness was never even an option. This wasn't given to us. This wasn't meant for us. This wasn't ours to have, ever, ever in the first place. But we took it anyway.

And oh, my friends, it was glorious.

We took it. We stole. And again and again, for years and years and years, we turned that theft into an art. We looked for every opening, every crack in every sidewalk where a little sprout of queerness might grow, and we claimed it for our own and we grew whole gardens. We grew so sly and so skilled with it, learning to spot the hints of oh, this could be slashy in every new show and movie to come our way. Do you see how they left these character dynamics here, unattended on the table? How ripe they are for the pocketing. Here, I'll help you carry them. We'll make off with these so-called straight boys, and we only have to look back if somebody sets out another scene we want for our own.

We were thieves, all of us, and that was fine and that was fair, because to exist as queer in the world was theft to begin with. Stolen time, stolen moments--grand larceny of the institution of marriage, breaking and entering to rob my mother's hopes for grandchildren. Every shoplifted glance at the wrong person in the locker room (and it didn't matter if we never peeked, never dared, they called us out on it anyway). Every character in every fic whose queerness became a crime against this ex-wife, that new love interest. Every time we dared steal ourselves away from the good straight partners we didn't want to date.

And: we built ourselves a den, we thieves, wallpapered in stolen images and filled to the brim with all the words we'd written ourselves. We built ourselves a home, and we filled it with joy. Every vid and art and fic, every ship, every squee. Over and over, every straight boy protagonist who abandoned all womankind for just this one exception with his straight boy protagonist partner found gay orgasms and true love at the end.

Over and over, we said: this isn't ours, this isn't meant to be ours, you did not give this to us--but we are taking it anyway. We will burglarize you for building blocks and build ourselves a palace. These stories and this place in the world is not for us, but we exist, and you can't stop us. It's ours now, full of color and noise, a thousand peoples' ideas mosaic'ed together in celebration. We made this, and it will never be just yours again. You won't ever truly get it back, no matter how many lawyers you send, not completely. We keep what we steal.

.

Things shifted over time, of course. That's good. That's to be celebrated. Nobody should have to steal to survive. It should not be a crime, should not feel like a crime, to find yourself and your space in the world.

There were always content creators who could slip a little wink in when they laid out their wares, oh what's this over here, silly me leaving this unattended where anybody could grab it, of course there might be more over by the side door if you come around the alleyway (but if anybody asks, you didn't get this from ME). We all watched Xena marry Gabrielle, in body language and between the lines. We sat around and traded theories and rumors about whether the people writing Due South knew what they were doing when they sent their buddy cops off into the frozen north alone together at the end of the show, if they'd done it on purpose, if they knew. But over the years, slowly, thankfully, the winks became less sly.

A teenage boy put his hand on another teenage boy's hand and said, you move me, and they kissed on network TV, in a prime-time show, on FOX, and the world didn't burn down. Here and there, where they wanted to, where they could without getting caught by their bosses and managers, content creators stopped subtly nudging people around the back door and started saying, "Here. This is on offer here too, on purpose. You get to have this, too."

And of course, of course that came with a whole host of problems too. Slide around to the back door but you didn't get this from me turned into it's an item on our special menu, totally legit, you've just got to ask because the boss throws a fit if we put it out front. Shopkeepers and content creators started advertising on the sly, come buy your fix here!, hiding the fine print that says you still have to take what you've purchased home and rebuild it with your semi-legal IKEA hacks. Maybe they'll consider listing that Destiel or Sterek as a full-service menu item next year. Is that Crowley/Aziraphale the real thing or is it lite?

And those problems are real and the conversations are worth having, and it's absolutely fair to be frustrated that you can't find the ship you want on sale in anything like your color and size in a vast media landscape packed full of discount hetships and fast-fashion m/f. It's fair to be angry. It's fair to be frustrated. Queerbait is a word that exists for a reason.

There's a part of me that hurts, though, every time the topic comes up. It's a confusing, bad-mannered part of me, but it's still very real. And it's not because I'm fawning for crumbs, trying to be the Good, Non-Threatening Gay. It's not that I'm scared and traumatized by the thought of what might happen if we dare raise our voices and ask for attention. (Well. Not mostly. I'll always remember being quiet and scared and fifteen, but it's been a long two decades since then. I know how to ask for a hell of a lot more now.)

It's because I remember that cozy, plush-wallpapered den of joyful thieves. I remember you keep what you steal.

Every single time--every time--when a story I love sets a couple of characters out on a low, unguarded table, perfectly placed to be pilfered on the sly and taken home and smushed together like a couple of dolls, my very first thought is always, always joy. Always, that instinct says, yay! Says, this is ours now. As soon as I go home and crawl into that pillow-fort den, my instincts say, I will surely find people already at work combing through spoils and finding new ways to combine them, new ways to make them our own. I know there's fic for that. I've already seen fic for that, and I wasn't really interested last time, but the new store display's got my brain churning, and I can't wait to see what the crew back at the hideout does with this.

Every time, that's where my brain goes. And oh, when I realize the display's put out on purpose, that somebody snuck in a legitimate special menu item, when the proprietor gives me the nod and wink and says, you don't have to come around the side, I know it's not much but here--there is so much joy and relief and hope in me from that! Oh, what we can make with these beautiful building blocks. Oh what a story we can craft from the pieces. Oh, the things we can cobble together. Look at that, this one's a little skimpy on parts but we can supplement it, this one's got a whole outline we can fill in however we want. This one technically comes semi-preassembled, and that's boring as shit and a pain to take back apart, but that's fine, we'll manage. We're artists and thieves. I bet someone's pulling out the AU saw to cut it to pieces already.

And then I get back to our den, which has moved addresses a dozen times over the years and mostly hangs out on Tumblr now (and the roof leaks and the landlord's sketchy as fuck but at least they don't charge rent, and we've made worse places our own). And I show up, ready for joy--ready for a dozen other people who saw that low-hanging fruit on that unguarded table, who got the nod and wink about the special menu item, who're ready to get so excited about this newest haul. Did you see what we picked up? The theft was so easy, practically begging to be stolen. The last owner was an idiot with no idea what to do with it. The last owner knew exactly what it could become, bless their heart, under a craftsman with more time on their hands, so they looked away on purpose at just the right time to let me take it home. I show up every time ready for our space, the place that fed me on joy and self-confidence when I was fifteen and starving. The place that taught me, yes, we are thieves, because it is RIGHT to take what we need, and the beautiful things we create are their own justification. We are thieves, and that's wonderful, because nothing is handed to us and that means we get to build our own palaces. We get to keep everything we steal.

I go home, and even knowing the world is different, my instincts and heart are waiting for that. And I walk in the door, and I look at my dash, and I glance over at twitter, and--

And people are angry, again. Angry at the slim pickings from the hidden special menu. So, so tired and angry, at once again having to steal.

And they're right to be! Sometimes (often, maybe) I think they're angry at the wrong people--more angry with the shopkeeper who offers the bite-sized sampler platter of side characters or sneaks their queer content in on the special menu than the ones who don't include it at all. But it's not wrong to be mad that Disney's once again advertising their First Gay Character only to find out it's a tiny sprinkle of a one-line extra on an otherwise straight sundae. It's not wrong to be furious at the world because you've spent your whole life needing to be a thief to survive. It's far from wrong. I'm angry about it too.

But this was my den of thieves, my chop shop, my makerspace. Growing up in fandom, I learned to pick the locks on stories and crack the safes of subtext at the very same time I learned to create. They were the same thing, the same art. We are thieves, my heart says, we are thieves, and that's what makes us better than the people we steal from. We deconstruct every time we create. We build better things out of the pieces.

And people are angry that the pre-fab materials are too hard to find, the pickings too slim, the items on sale too limited? Yes, of course they are, of course they should be--but my heart. Oh, my heart. Every single time, just a little bit, it breaks.

Of course the stories are terrible (they have always been terrible). Of course they are, but we are thieves. We steal the best parts and cobble them back together and what we make is better than it was before. The craftsman's eye that cases a story for weak points, for blank spaces, for anywhere we can fit a crowbar and pry apart this casing--that's skill and art and joy. Of course we shouldn't have to, of course we shouldn't have to, but I still love it. I still want it, crave it. I still thrill every time I see it, a story with hairline cracks that we can work open with clever hands to let the queer in.

That used to be cause for celebration, around here. I ask him to go back to the ruins of Aeor with me, two men together alone on an expedition in the frozen north, it feels like a gift. And I understand why some people take it as an insult. I understand not good enough. I understand how something can feel like a few drops of water to someone dying of thirst, like a slap in the face. If it was so easy to sneak it hidden onto the special menu, to place it on the unguarded side table for someone else to run off to, why not let it sit out front and center in the first place? I know it's frustrating. It should be. We should fight. We should always fight. I know why.

But my heart, oh, my heart. My heart only knows what it's been taught. My heart sees, this thing right here, the proprietor left it there for you with a nod and a wink because they Get It. It's not put together yet, but it's better that way anyway. It's so full of pieces to pull apart and reassemble. I bet they've got a whole mosaic wall going up at home already. We can bring it home and make it OURS, more than it was ever theirs, forget half of what it came from and grow a new garden in what remains.

And I go home to find anger, and my heart breaks instead.

#I don't actually know how to tag this #representation #maybe? #C needs help feeding the dinosaurs #because this is very much about being a fandom old #probably also #driveby meta attack #because that's where I keep my impromptu rambles #CR spoilers #technically I guess? #there's one line that references the finale #fandom history

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 311: Hand Gun

Previously on BnHA: Horikoshi was all “thinkin’ about dropping in some woke analogies of the very real and very presently relevant issue of racial profiling idk what do you guys think” and then shrugged and did it without waiting for an answer, and ngl it was a bit sudden, but I’m here for it. All Might was all “DEKU YOU NEED TO EAT” and Deku was all “OKAY” and took his hero bento and went to go stand dramatically on a tower in the rain whilst having some highly anticipated Vestige flashbacks. OFA II was all, “sup, I guess I’m not Kacchan... OR AM I,” and ngl I think he is?? Alternate universes anybody?? Hello??? But anyway, so OFA the First a.k.a. Yoichi was all “remember that time you guys rescued me from my evil brother and Two took my hand and we Had A Moment?”, and Two and Three were all “ahh yeah good times”, and it was very nice and very, very gay. The chapter ended with it being very unclear if Two and Three have actually lent their power to Deku yet or not lmao. Y’all need to get your shit together dudes.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all “what if I gave a random bad guy a fucking tommy gun that shoots nails” and jesus christ calm down son. The Hawksquad, a.k.a. SQUAWK as per @hotchocolatier​, are all “time to drive aimlessly around town acting like Deku has a restraining order on us because that’s literally the best plan to combat the League we could come up with,” and I have no further comment. Hawks is all “idk about you guys but I want to know more about AFO and Tomura’s whole deal” and I can’t remember the last time I identified so strongly with one of these characters. All Might is all, “[EXPLODES???]”, and the chapter ends with that mysterious hot girl from the Tartarus breakout being all “HELLO I CAN TURN INTO A GUN AND I LITERALLY DON’T GIVE A FUCK” and (1) WOW, and (2) IT’S TRUE, SHE CAN, AND SHE REALLY DOESN’T. GODDAMN.

(ETA: so this wholly escaped my notice on the first go, and also has nothing to do with the chapter itself, but I only just realized that this chapter was scanlated by a new group, TCB Scans. they actually did a very good job, and I’m curious if they’ve found a new RAW provider, because the quality this week is actually crazy good in comparison to what we’ve been dealing with for the past few months. I’m gonna have to get caught up on what exactly happened here lol.)

so what will it be this week? more Vestige antics? more of Sad Nomad Deku standing on buildings and pretending like he’s some cool aloof antihero, as if he could fool us when we all know his hero backpack is secretly stuffed full with his nerd diaries and the remnants of all the hero bentos that All Might keeps giving him?? or, just putting it out there, just a crazy thought, but you don’t suppose we might actually cut back to U.A.? mmm. side-eyes emoji

maaaaaan I’m starting to get tired of this trend of beginning chapters by dropping in on random power-tripping civilians and/or Shindou lol. just once can we get a chapter that opens with someone I actually give a fuck about

oh at least Endeavor is here

A WHAT SUPPORT ITEM!??! HOLY SHIT DDLKJSLFKJL

lol somehow that’s more terrifying than bullets for me?? like I’m fully aware that bullets will fuck you up way worse and that in real life nail guns probably don’t work like this AT ALL and only have a range of like... hold up let me just google... up to 100 to 150 m/s and distances of up to 500m wait WHAT

okay wait. hold up. like I was expecting google to tell me nail guns only shoot a few feet at most, and instead the first search result is some CDC blog article that’s “dispelling” the “””myth””” -- please note my repeated sarcastic quotation marks -- that nail guns can fire 1400 feet per second, by explaining that actually they can fire anywhere from 315 ft/sec to 1,295 ft/sec, and that “it is in the pneumatic nail gun user’s best interest to handle these tools as if they were a firearm despite having a lower velocity” dlkjdslkjflkl

SO THAT SCENE IN IRON MAN 3 WHERE TONY RAIDS A HOME DEPOT AND BUYS A BUNCH OF RANDOM TOOLS AND SHIT AND GOES ON TO STAGE A ONE-MAN INVASION OF AN INTERNATIONAL TERRORIST’S FLORIDA MANSION HQ IS ACTUALLY TRUE. YOU’RE TELLING ME THAT THE FILM “HOME ALONE” IS ACTUALLY A DOCUMENTARY. “the Discovery Channel television program “Mythbusters” compared the penetration capacity of an airborne projectile shot from a pneumatic framing nail gun to that of a 9mm hand gun” HELLO YES AND A MERRY “WHAT THE FUCK” TO YOU AS WELL

anyway, so. there’s apparently a reason why the Number One hero, who can burn people with the intensity of a sun going supernova, is hiding here behind this concrete support column making frowny faces. nope. nuh uh. he ain’t about that. I don’t blame you buddy

so now he’s barrel rolling out of his hiding place and setting this dude THE FUCK ON FIRE because HELL NO. BAD ENOUGH I HAD TO WATCH THAT FUCKING MUSHROOM EPISODE LAST WEEK! YOU TAKE THAT SHIT SOMEWHERE ELSE

LOL look at his face

I know the context is actually him being all “I know I’m responsible for basically everything that happened and so that’s why I’m so grim and serious about this mission to set things right piece by piece,” but in my mind this pissed-off face is 100% all because this dude tried to shoot his eye out with a nail gun. look at that. you made him go full flame face again. beard and all. protecting his face so that it can hopefully melt any stray nails that get too close. nope nope nope

good lord. so what’s up next. let me guess the guy fighting Best Jeanist has like an atomic chainsaw or some shit

lol nope we’re just cutting back to Hawks and Jeanist chilling in the Jesla after they’ve wrapped things up

Jeanist has got some serious Groot energy you guys jesus christ he’s like 12 feet tall

oh snap someone threw a pipe at him now

today is just the chapter of Endeavor being assaulted by random DIY tools I guess

I mean, I get why they’re pissed at him obviously; I would be too lol. but tbh I also don’t really understand the “get out of here we don’t want your help” attitude that all of these people suddenly seem to have?? like it if were me, I would be fucking DEMANDING for him and the other heroes to be working round the clock to fix their stupid mess. I mean who else is gonna do it?? it’s their mess, I sure don’t want to be the one to clean it up instead. anyways but whatever lol

oh shit?

so they haven’t dropped the whole “OFA secret potentially gets revealed to the world” thing yet after all. that makes sense I suppose, it did seem like that whole thing wound up playing out a bit too easily

anyway so yeah

the locals are definitely none too happy. well at least Dabi’s got something to be cheerful about I guess

so now we’re cutting to the interior of the Jesla and they’re chitchatting about the current investigation

oh wow this actually makes a bit of sense now. so there was a reason they were keeping their distance from Deku

please note that even in this abstract Endeavor’s-Mental-Image-Of-Him panel, Deku’s eyes still don’t have the light in them anymore :( my poor son

also ftr I still think using Deku as bait in this particular sense is the shittiest idea ever ngl. like sure, let’s let the sixteen-year-old run around battling miscellaneous escaped prison convicts while we stay several kilometers away ON PURPOSE despite the fact that you’re using him as bait to draw out the Big Bad, who just a reminder can destroy anything with a mere touch and who you were all basically helpless against. what exactly are you all planning to do if Tomura or one of the other League VIPs actually shows up to retrieve him?? are you even keeping tabs on him at all in real time?? jesus

(ETA: well that escalated quickly lol.)

Horikoshi is all of a sudden dropping whole pages of exposition here and I can’t be bothered to summarize this lol so just,

a big fat YES to what Jeanist said, though. that’s why imo they would have been better off laying a trap at U.A. rather than just wandering around out in the open. I assume they’re trying to cut their potential losses because U.A. is full of students (and civilians), but those students also happen to be more capable than pretty much anyone else in the manga at this point. and tbh they’re already in life-threatening danger regardless of how things play out from here on, so they might as well at least try to use the few advantages they have right now. U.A. is almost certainly going to come under siege at some point anyway, so they might as well prepare for it

lol I don’t think I’m explaining this very well because I don’t have the patience right now to break it down point by point like it really ought to be, so for now I’ll just say that imo “U.A. siege” stands a good chance of being the eventual endgame even now, and so this whole “Deku runs around being bait” arc is really just killing time until then lol. like and subscribe for more rambling nonsensical takes such as this. maybe next time I’ll even put it all into one single sentence for maximum meandering senior citizen rant value

well it’s nice that they’re finally talking about all of this I guess

we readers have known all of this for months now but this confirms the heroes are finally caught up. ALSO, Hawks is so fucking smart, as always. kinda wonder if things would have played out differently if All Might had let him in on the secret a bit earlier. probably that’s why Horikoshi made damn sure they didn’t find out until after the War arc lol

OH MY GOD YOOOOOO HAWKS OUT HERE ASKING THE REAL QUESTIONS

“anyone else wondering why AFO bothered to raise Tomura as his fake heir for fifteen years when he was secretly planning on taking over his body the whole time” YES, [raises hand] lmao Hawks where the hell were you when I was debating this “AFO is the final villain and Tomura is just his pawn” thing on multiple occasions over the past several years lol

lmao seeing them debate the metaphysics of OFA and all of its mystical bullshit is seriously surreal you guys

JEANIST HAVE YOU CHECKED OUT MY META TAG I HAVE WRITTEN SO MANY ESSAYS. I ACTUALLY WAS PLANNING ON WRITING ANOTHER ESSAY ABOUT THE THING THAT I’M PRETTY SURE HAWKS IS ABOUT TO BRING UP, BUT I NEVER GOT AROUND TO IT WHOOPS, BUT MAYBE I WILL NOW LOL LET’S SEE HOW IT GOES

yes!!

WHICH AFO FUCKING ENSURED HE WOULD BE BY LITERALLY PLANNING OUT EVERY LAST DETAIL OF HIS FAMILY TRAGEDY, FROM SECRETLY GIVING TENKO THE QUIRK TO MAKING SURE NO CIVILIANS OR HEROES WOULD HELP HIM UNTIL AFO FINALLY STEPPED IN. I’M 1000% CONVINCED THIS IS THE CASE YOU GUYS. NOT JUST BECAUSE I’M NOT A FAN OF “THE WORLD IS A FUNDAMENTALLY SHITTY PLACE, ACTUALLY” TAKES BECAUSE MISTER ROGERS TOLD ME TO ALWAYS LOOK FOR THE HELPERS, BUT ALSO BECAUSE IT LITERALLY JUST DOESN’T MAKE A LICK OF SENSE OTHERWISE. THEIR ENTIRE HOUSE CAVED IN FFS, YOU’RE TELLING ME NONE OF THE NEIGHBORS FUCKING OVERHEARD THAT SHIT AND WENT “UMMMMMMMMM” AND WENT TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON?? “DIDN’T THERE USED TO BE A HOUSE HERE, AND LIKE A WHOLE FAMILY, AND SHIT?”

LIKE I’M SORRY, BUT IT’S ONE THING TO SAY IT’S REALISTIC THAT NOT A SINGLE PERSON WOULD ATTEMPT TO HELP THE WANDERING TRAUMATIZED CHILD AFTERWARDS (WHICH I DISAGREE WITH AS WELL BUT AT LEAST THAT’S MORE SUBJECTIVE), AND IT’S A WHOLE OTHER THING TO ARGUE THAT IT’S REALISTIC THAT NO ONE WOULD BE FUCKING NOSY. LIKE THAT’S A WHOLE DIFFERENT LEVEL OF “THAT’S NOT HOW ANY OF THIS WORKS” ENTIRELY LOL. anyway tl;dr AFO is a piece of shit and Tomura’s entire worldview is based on a magnificently intricate and savagely cruel lie more at 11

anyway so after all that ranting it looks like that wasn’t even what Hawks was talking about after all lol. I just went off for absolutely no reason lol oh well. instead it seems that Hawks is suggesting that Tomura’s carefully cultivated hatred might not yet have actually reached “can defeat OFA” levels even after all of that trauma. interesting!

don’t mind me, I’m just sitting here while my brain furiously scrambles to put together all the parallels between Hawks and Tomura that it never noticed before until exactly this second. like I’m not even sure that was the intent here at all (I need to check out another translation or two lol), but regardless my mind decided that now would be the perfect time to make the connection between these two twenty-somethings who both had horrific childhoods and spent years being molded by their respective manipulative guardians, and developed eerily similar “laugh at everything because what else can you do” coping mechanisms to deal with it all hmmmmm

anyway so they were talking more about their strategy, but now all of a sudden Jeanist’s phone is beeping??

AND NOW WE’RE CUTTING AWAY TO ALL MIGHT AND HIS MIGHTMOBILE DAMMIT so that means the call to Jeanist was actually something important then!! WAS IT BAKUGOU OMG. DOES YOUR INTERN WANT A WORD FFFKLFSJK please it’s been so long I just need a little crumb or two to tide me over lmao have mercy

anyway so All Might’s following the GPS tracking device he’s apparently got planted on Deku (which in my conspiracy headcanons he’s actually had for a long time now, like since before DvK2 lol because HOW ELSE WOULD HAVE HAVE KNOWN THAT THEY WERE FIGHTING EACH OTHER IN GROUND BETA, PEOPLE) and thinking angsty thoughts about Deku’s sucky life

AND NOW ALL MIGHT’S PHONE IS RINGING TOO?? BAKUGOU HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE YOU CALLING. “WHERE ARE YOU HIDING THE NERD GODDAMMIT”

OMG

lol is he under attack or is he just finally giving All Might the slip like we all know he SECRETLY PLANNED TO ALL ALONG oh my poor dumb angstmuffin

OMG AHHHHHHH WHAT

DID ALL MIGHT JUST FUCKING DIE LMAO NO OF COURSE NOT, BUT WHAT

WHAT IS HAPPENING OMG

THE FUCK IS THAT. AT LEAST IT’S NOT A NAIL

OH IT’S A SPEAKER!! OMG DID THEY TAKE ALL MIGHT HOSTAGE

“THEY’RE HERE” WELP, TIME TO SEE JUST HOW SHITTY THIS SHITTY PLAN REALLY IS LOL

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

SHE!!!!

omg. AND OVERHAUL JUST CHILLING THERE IN THE BACKGROUND ALL “WHAT DO YOU EVEN WANT ME TO DO I’VE GOT NO FUCKING ARMS” YEAH GOOD RIDDANCE LOL

DOES THIS GIRL HAVE ONE GIANT LEG OR WHAT, LIKE WHAT’S THE DEAL HERE

-- HOLD UP WAIT, THE GUN IS HER ARM, HOLY SHIT SHE CAN TURN INTO A GUN -- OKAY HOLD UP BECAUSE I NEED TO SAY THAT IN BIGGER TEXT BECAUSE !!!!

YOU GUYS, THE COOL TARTARUS GIRL IS BACK AND HER QUIRK IS “CAN TURN INTO A FUCKING GUN.” THIS IS NOT A DRILL!! MY BEST GIRL MT. GUN IS FINALLY BACK ON THE SCENE WITH HER QUIRK “CAN DO ANYTHING A GUN CAN DO.” “I HEARD Y’ALL WENT AND NAMED ONE OF YOUR HEROES ‘GUNHEAD’ EVEN THOUGH HIS HEAD ISN’T EVEN A GUN, LIKE WTF IS UP WITH THAT LET ME SHOW YOU HOW IT’S DONE” DANG OKAY

lmao only fifteen pages this week, and STILL NO KACCHAN (THEN WHO WAS PHONE!!!), but man I don’t even care because finally we’ve got a cliffhanger that’s actually deserving of being a cliffhanger! hot dog. okay then

#bnha 311 #endeavor #hawks (bnha) #takami keigo #shigaraki tomura #best jeanist #all might #midoriya izuku #cool tartarus gun transforming girl #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha

[riacte]

Dogwarts / 3rd Life Cheat Sheet for MCC 15 Purple Pandas

Ren and Martyn were buddies in Season 1 of the 3rd Life SMP and they are an alliance known as the Renchanting duo/ Kingdom of Dogwarts. Now they’re finally teamed up, and the 3rd Life SMP members have a habit of referring to 3rd Life in MCC. The Ren-Martyn fandom also talks about Dogwarts a lot. If you have no idea what is a Dogwarts and why people love them, no fear! This post will try to explain it in simple terms.

3rd Life SMP is a SMP started by Grian. Season 1 has 14 members (roughly half are hermits, other half are friends of the hermits. You can find the full list in the description of Ren’s 3rd Life videos.) Everyone on the server has three lives— the first life symbolised by green names, second by yellow names, third by red names. If you lose all three lives, you permadie. Green names and yellow names are not allowed to be hostile unless they were attacked first, but the goal of red names is to kill everyone on the server. The three lives are also symbolised by three hearts, like this:

(Fun fact: Because of the green-yellow-red colours, the subtwt for 3rd Life is called traffictwt after traffic lights. The 3rd Life tumblr fandom is occasionally referred to as trafficblr.)

3rd Lifers record every week for three hours at the same time with proximity chat. The server has a small border to encourage interaction. They are eight sessions in total, and they’re all cut into YouTube episodes (no streams!), so it’s fairly bingeable.

So what’s the deal with Martyn and Ren?

Ren decided to set up an enchanting shop during the first session. Martyn was wandering around and having fun scaring people with creeper noises until he came to Ren’s enchanting shop. Martyn then used Ren’s enchanting service without paying (essentially a robbery), but Ren let Martyn go on the condition Martyn would act as a walking free advertisement. Martyn agreed, and they became business partners. Martyn actually coined the name Renchanting and its motto “Don’t be a Dog, be a God”. Ren named Martyn as his “marketing manager” (which sounds a little like Martynmanager).

True to his word, Martyn went around and spread the good news of Renchanting to everyone. Martyn brought business to Renchanting, and when Ren was being threatened by customers (who harassed Ren into lower his prices/ giving out enchantments for free), Martyn acted defensive of Ren and even said Ren was being “bullied”. Ren was being taken advantage of because he was too nice. (Martyn did do some stuff not related to Ren, but since this is a Dogwarts cheat sheet I won’t be mentioning that.)

Then came GoodTimesWithScar. The main “villain” to Renchanting, if you will.

Basically, Scar was playing the role of a cartoon villain. He scammed people out of their armour and possessions, and eventually found his way to Renchanting. At that point, Martyn and Ren were loyal to each other. Scar asked for Ren’s enchanting table. In return, when Scar turned red, he would not kill Ren and Martyn. Ren appeared to be torn, but due to Martyn depending on him and the business, he refused Scar’s offer (“you can’t take the enchanting out of Renchanting!”). Scar also acted condescending to Martyn (Martyn was seen as Ren’s “minion”). So Ren and Martyn were officially on Scar’s kill list, but Ren did not regret it.

At some point, Ren got tired of people walking into his store and stepping all over him, so he built high walls around the Renchanting building. Everyone (including Renchanting themselves) broke through the walls, and this was a running gag. Ren declared himself king by wearing the crown he got from MCC9 Blue Bats.

Note: Ren was kind, and it was the cruel world that forced Ren to be defensive. Other POVs paint them as the villain but Dogwarts enthusiasts will say that is not the case AT ALL.

Time passed. Scar turned red. He and his buddy Grian set up traps at Renchanting, and one blew up Ren and a bunch of other people. Ren, now a yellow name, was furious, but could not get his revenge because yellow names were not allowed to hurt other players. So naturally, Ren decided to become a red.

Ren renamed an axe to “RED WINTER IS COMING” and gave it to Martyn to chop his head off. (There’s some dramatic roleplay here, highly recommend a watch.) Martyn painfully did, and the message “Red Winter is Coming” was shown in the chat, which told everyone that Ren meant business. To test Martyn’s loyalty, Ren told Martyn he could kill him if he wanted to. Ren, freshly respawned and without armour, punched Martyn. Martyn, as a green name, could attack Ren due to Ren attacking first. However, Martyn did not kill Ren, and dramatically declared Ren was the one who showed him life, and thus he would return the favour.

So Ren was known as the Red King (with grey skin, bloodied MCC crown, and a Scottish/pirate accent). Martyn became known as the King’s Hand, and called Ren “my lord” “my liege”. Later, Martyn acquired an outfit with a cloak and a red hand on the back of the cloak, which is now used to symbolise Martyn.

They established the Kingdom of Dogwarts (after Hogwarts and the enchanting/magic gimmick) to find more allies (notable ones include Ethoslab and Skizzleman). Allies could stick a Red Banner in their base to show loyalty, members were called Red Knights / Red Army.

A Red Banner (the design is supposed to be blood dripping down):

Without spoiling too much, Ren and Martyn remained loyal to each other till the very end. They were very dramatic (even jokingly called homoerotic by some lmao) and had many hardcore quotes, and are highly beloved. They are the most dramatic and RP intensive group on the server. So people want Dogwarts, the king and his hand, together again.

A small sample of quotes that might be referenced:

I think going red next week is in my fate. It’s in my cards. There will be blood, for this. A king cannot be king without war. (Ren)

I won’t do it! You took me in when I was a lowly traveller, goin’ across the lands, searchin’ the four corners of this world. I learned that there was nothing in this world for me. Nothing but walls, corners, edges. And you know what? You showed me life. As much as I’ve taken it from you, you gave it back to me in bucket fulls. and I just- I’m with you. This is us now. This is us. (Martyn)

If we're going to survive the Red Winter, we gotta do it together, laddies. Hand in hand. Rotten hand in hand of the living. To the end! (Ren)

It’s just the world versus us. (Martyn)

(Note: Dogwarts refers to the group of people allied with Ren and Martyn, including Etho and Skizzleman. Renchanting duo refers to Ren and Martyn ONLY)

Other references:

Joel notably screamed “THE RED KING DIES TONIGHT, FELLAS!” with a crowd of wolves following him

Dogwarts killed Grian and Scar’s llama Pizza because Scar stole a Red Banner

Jimmy and Scott were flower husbands. Jimmy thought Renchanting was going to sacrifice Scott.

Everyone else in MCC (Grian, Scott, Jimmy, Joel) were enemies with Dogwarts

The 3rd Lifers reference 3rd Life a lot despite it being over. Martyn even fought for Dogwarts in MCC14 and MCCP but failed. Haha.

The fandom commonly refers to Purple15 as King (Ren), Queen (False), Ace (Illumina), and Joker/Hand (Martyn) after playing cards.

This is it, I am tired, this is probably too long but I feel I skipped a lot of details. If anyone has anything to add or correct, feel free to do so. Also, I’m pretty certain this won’t appear in the tags, so please reblog! Thank you, and Red Winter is Coming.

(I might add a reblog detailing False’s very much fanon involvement in Dogwarts, and why everyone was so hyped for Renchanting + False.)

#3rd life smp #3rdlifesmp #mcyt #mcc #purple pandas #falsesymmetry #rendog #illuminahd #inthelittlewood #ria.txt #dogwarts #renchanting #long post #pls rb im sure this isnt in the tags lol