#and I think... a polycule was also the solution in my dream

[pepimeinrad]

my brain is kinda fun sometimes... I spent last night watching ‘Der letzte Bulle - Der Film’ (awful) and then tonight in my dreams my brain substituted Henning Baum with Bettina Lamprecht and Michael Kessler and Bastian Pastewka (making it a ‘Blonder als die Polizei erlaubt’/’Pastewka’-crossover, which just HAS to happen when you give me Max Grill and Sonsee Neu together)

the plot-y bits still didn’t make sense, but I did enjoy myself a lot (I think it all revolved around co-parenting a baby, which my brain seems to have taken from ‘Pastewka’ and my ‘Bettys Diagnose’-headcanons) and kept thinking that Max and Betty need to do more together.

[innytoes]

Road Trip AU / bonus points if it involves the GPP

-Ever since he was like eight, Willie has had this idea in his head that when he was 18, he was going to go on a Road Trip Across The States To Find Himself. Even though he's pretty confident in who he is now, he doesn't want to let down Tiny Willie.

-Except he's kind of maybe sort of part of this great big Polycule. And if he invites Alex, who honestly looks like he could use a Coming Of Age roadtrip, he has to invite his other boyfriend. And his boyfriends' girlfriends and girlfriends. And their girlfriends... and boyfriends. It's complicated.

-So clearly his idea to steal one of Caleb's cars... ahem find a car and hit the road isn't going to work. But doesn't want to give up on his dream, and he also doesn't want to leave everyone behind. What if they figure out they don't really miss him?

-Reggie finally teases it out of him, but Luke's the one who is most enthusiastic about it. For a hot second, Willie is worried his big adventure is going to be co-opted by some kind of music tour, but it turns out Luke just thinks it would be really inspiring.

-"And it'll be one last summer all together before everyone does their own thing," he adds shyly. Because yeah. Julie and the Phantoms is pretty much set to explode onto the music scene, but Flynn is going to head off to college. So, shockingly, is Carrie, after Dirty Candi crashed and burned their senior year.

-Carrie is the one who comes up with the solution. By which she means 'throws her dad's money at the problem' and suddenly they have a converted bus which is... like a tour bus-camper van-tiny house combined.

-She admits she knows it's not exactly the rugged living Willie envisioned, but she shows him that inside the storage, there's room for a bunch of tents so they can still go camping and stuff, too.

"You're going camping?" he asked.

"Obviously not, but you guys can and I'll make sure nobody steals the bus," she rolls her eyes.

-They set out and it's different than Willie imagined it, but also better. Like, he never expected that him and four of his friends would have to get their special Driving A Giant Ass Tourbus licenses beforehand, but it's better than Carrie's idea of bringing a driver. That's not very coming of age at all.

-There's people to bicker about the music with. He doesn't have to do all the driving, so sometimes he can just sit and watch the scenery. There's always someone to snuggle with, at any hour.

-They do a lot of things and go a lot of places that Willie never really thought about. Kayla and Flynn seem determined to hit up the weirdest tourist traps. Luke knows all the best music-y places to go. Julie keeps them updates about every region's cryptids, because her brother keeps sending her links. (Of course their giant fortress has perfect wifi.)

-Reggie really flourishes when they get to 'yeehaw country' and he makes them all go horseback riding with him. And line dancing. And there may be a mechanical bull that gets a lot of use while they're there. Even if Alex is worried they're going to break something until Reggie coaxes him on with him.

-Watching his two boyfriends on a mechanical bull together Does Things To Willie, okay.

-Okay, so maybe watching Luke on the mechanical bull also Did Things To Him, but he tried to avoid thinking of that.

-Between the mechanical bull, swimming in the lake at the park they stopped by, the campfire sing alongs, and seeing Luke in something other than IT'S ABOUT THE MUSIC mode, Willie is like: oh no I have a crush on my boyfriend's boyfriend.

-Of course Luke is still wrote songs, scribbling away in his song book, plucking at his guitar at rest stops (no guitars or skateboarding in the enclosed space with no escape while we're hurtling down the highway, they'd established.) But he also made time for all of them, and indulged every group photo in front of World's Biggest Bowling Pin or Ball Of String or what not, listened attentively to Reggie geeking out over a comic book exhibition they stumbled upon, and agreed to stay with Kayla while the others went on the Big Scary Roller Coaster so she wouldn't have to sit alone.

-And maybe there's more to Luke than meets the eye. They end up driving through the night together and talk, really talk, and yeah.

-Alex is the first to notice and just gives Willie a fake judgemental look. He and Luke never worked out romantically after they dated when they were fifteen, but he still knows the appeal.

-Reggie is over the MOON when Willie maybe kind of confesses it on one of their private walks. They all make sure to spend time together one on one, either splitting up to do different stuff when they hit a big city, or just going to different places to get food.

-Of course his stupid boyfriends do everything in their power to get him and Luke alone together over the next week.

-By the end of their big coming of age road trip, Willie may not have found some mythical version of himself, but he did find a new boyfriend.

[polyamorouspunk]

hi hello I hope you're day evening etc. is going alright. sending metaphysical pancakes or sth your way if you want them and if you're up to it maybe asking for. advice. in return. though I'm strongly assuming the only solution here is ✨communication✨ but unfortunately on occasion that is scary and hard to figure out

so. my partner wants to live with me. ideally for me to move in with them. which is great! I've been sorta dreaming about that for years! all good, right?

well. the thing is. we've been planning to live together in the past. repeatedly. repeatedly and not continuously because somehow the plans were always cancelled, and hate to say it but never from my side. I don't like pointing this out to them bc it sounds like I'm holding a grudge or sth, though they always had valid reason for backing out and obviously it's better anyway for both of us if they back out if they don't feel ready rather than having to deal with a difficult-to-reverse situation like sharing a living space. but nonetheless it has happened... 3? 4? times over the last... decade or so and I'm having a hard time trusting that this time it's not gonna suddenly pulled back again which would. y'know. hurt kinda.

additionally, we've both moved into our respective flats fairly recently (2 and 1 years aho respectively), and neither is really made for 2 people. theirs would work alright if needed but I'm fairly certain we'd want/need more space sooner rather than later, and I don't really want to move all the time since it's bloody exhausting. and like... we DO have pretty different idk styles of living? they're all about pretty places and a good level of tidiness, and I'm kind of a mess with stuff everywhere and mismatched furniture and decoration bc functionality trumps style and also I collect all the stuff that I like and display it regardless of whether it objectively looks "good". meaning, and in the past we'd always agreed on this, that it'd be good if we both did have separate spaces at our disposal, so the general living space can be nice and aesthetic and they can decorate their space how they like and I can contain my chaos in my own space without bothering anyone much. except now out of the blue they seem adamant to move in together asap and get really excited about it and I HAVE explained most of this but they seem insistent on making it work somehow which is. sweet, and I do love that apparently it's become so important to not be separated from me for long, but I have a hard time trusting that as well due to uhhh our relationship history idk.

it's just. it's sweet and I should be over the moon but I can't share their optimism regarding making it work (I don't want fighting to happen bc I left my stuff lying around too much) and I can't fully trust the whole thing so now it's just them being excited and me being sort of a buzzkill and I'm not really sure how to. address. all of it

sorry this got long haha please don't feel obliged to answer or anything, and take care!

I think your feeling are totally reasonable. I’ve had a partner who would always say they were going to come over and then something always came up so I just… stopped hoping. It’s soul-crushing! I think it’s a reasonable boundary to say “listen this has been an issue in the past and every time you say you wanna move in and then back out even if you have your reasons and they are valid it still hurts me, even if it doesn’t have anything to do with me”. I’m lucky that my ex and I both had similar living styles so the idea was when we moved in together like we would function well. We pretty much already lived together on weekends, so we knew we worked out well. I think having someone stay at your place/stay at someone’s place for a few days is a great test to see how you guys live together. But yeah, as someone who is poly, I’ve always been adamant about the fact I would want my own bedroom in a polycule situation. For a lot of reasons I need my own space in a shared living area. Things like that aren’t easy, and I’m not going to say “it’s just about communicating” because while it is yes it also seems like “maybe your partner needs to work on not getting your hopes up about things like that only to back track” (aka you establishing that boundary).

[trollocks-in-my-bollocks]

Loved your fanfic! Baby Moiraine is adorable. Any wot recs?

Thanks for asking and sorry for answering this a bit late. I wanted to write a rec anyway, so anon, your timing’s excellent! There are a few things, however, I need to clear up first: I’m not suggesting here, that these are the best fics ever written in the fandom, this is not a hall of fame. This is a collection of my comfort fics as a reader who loves to read intricate and unlikely AUs about Siuan/Moiraine and plotless stories about That weird thing Lan and Moiraine have. I’m 100% sure there are great fics out there about Rand&Mat and the Polycule(tm), it’s not a judgement of value that I’m leaving stuff out. 

Also before the rec, psst here’s my wishlist of the things I’d love to see on AO3: the “How I met your Greenman” story, outtakes from Birgitte’s lives, an entire story from Aviendha’s POV. If you’ve read anything similar, hmu pls (I mean I was desperate enough to write a Birgitte story recently, rip.)

An incomplete list of fics I adore (might write a 2nd part):

Their Dinners by aptasi (T)

A truly in-character piece about Lan and Moiraine: there is no dialogue, they are just having dinner in complete silence and that’s the entire plot. Such a brilliant story, I’d say this is my favourite but aptasi has tons of gutting short stories  and I’m not able to just choose one. aptasi also writes amazing  Rand & Moiraine dialogues, the kind that leaves you staring out of the foggy window, rethinking your ways.

echoes of her dynasty by alittlelesspain (E) There are so many things in this fanfic I still think about every once in a while, just to list a few of them:

- Alric has an actual personality in this story?? he’s the saltiest ace/aro Warder and I absolutely loved how being someone on the grayscale was not depicted as being innocent or clueless about stuff, but “When she looked up, Moiraine was staring at her, not the puzzle. “Oh,” said Alric in a voice of revelation, when Siuan got back to the inn that night, puzzle dangling uselessly from her hand, and brain equally useless to holding any sort of sensible conversation with him. “I understand now. She’s equally pathetic.”

- most of the story is from Siuan’s POV which is a relatively rare thing and it was so amazing to stay in her mind for a while. Technically this story is a Very Reluctant Sun Queen AU where Moiraine re-builds Cairhien with her Dream Team (Siuan, Alric, Lan and Bukama) instead of becoming Aes Sedai. There are also heavy Beauty and the Beast undertones, as the story starts with Siuan encountering the last surviving Damodred lurking in the Royal Library with her stone faced Borderlander bbf

- a battle is won because Siuan loves to chat with Ogier stonemasons and re-uses a centuries-old waterway for her tactics.

- a lot of this fic is about the importance of rebuilding lost knowledge and making education more accessible. The entire thing has such a positive message while keeping the reader on their toes by staying brutally realistic at the same time. Ugh, just make a huge pot of tea and read this.

The Path of Fires and Foxes by LarraineLynch (M)

Time-travel AU from multiple POVs and I loved reading all of them. The first book of this series is already finished, it’s so intricate and masterfully woven that I don’t know how to describe this story, I just want to say that her weekly updates kept me going through a vacationless summer. What I liked best about it was 1. that instead of pitting women against each other the author lets them communicate (or for Moiraine’s part, manipulate, but we love her nonetheless) and plot against the system 2. it felt so gross to read about stilling men then leaving them to go crazy and die alone through the series and finally, this fic addresses this waste of human life and potential and creates an amazing solution.

cause for separation by fuelprices (G)

Delicious long-distance relationship angst and crack! don’t want to spoil the plot, I just want to say I love her way of writing the Siuan-Lan dynamic <3 (+check out the rest if you’re unlike me and can read some good hurt & comfort stuff rn) Fractal by aptasi (E)

Moiraine and Siuan have a debate about the metaphysical nature of time and the Wheel while having sex. I had to go for a 10k run after reading this to be able to function as a person for the rest of the day, thanks.

[ostensiblyarticulate]

Edit August 2023

Today on stuff I keep meaning to do, an updated writing post to pin, now with added Actually Everything. My intent is just to edit this for updates instead of making new posts; we’ll see how that goes.

Things I Have Written:

She-Ra (my beloved)

Catradora & Best Friends Squad hijinks, front to finish. Including 100+k words of post-canon stories focusing on the Best Friends Squad as they have space adventures (The Squad Goes Intergalactic), the super short one about predestination (Remade all the time), the also super short one where catradora doesn’t get married (Only Constant), the much longer one I wrote with @fuhadeza​ where catradora gets married a lot (The Thing About Forever), the self-indulgent one about fiber art (Twist; talk to me about spinning!), and the one where they’re Arthurian Knights that’s secretly an ode to the whole thing Tristram/Lamorak have going on (I will do you gentleness).

Riverdale (Rest In Chaos) 

Join me in the descent from Jughead’s impenetrably pretentious s5 polyam-subtext-but-textually-bughead-because-Jughead’s-unreliable introspection that you should skip unless you’re up for an endurance challenge (Another Love Song for Betty Cooper) to Betty’s much more succinct and readable adventures in being aromantic but cool to make out with him (An Antonym for Serenade) to wait actually I think I’m going all in on the Betty/Archie/Veronica/Jughead polyamory (alternative solutions for gordian knots) to cool they have superpowers but only Betty/Veronica/Archie get to quite literally come (In then out, and other ways to breathe) to POP THE CHAMPAGNE THE OT4 IS CANON let’s get Jughead back in there, yeah he’s confused about it too (In which Reggie Mantle is not invited to the polycule). Somewhere in there I also wrote a completely canon compliant character study of the Biblical Angel Raphael (Shall the water not remember).

Star Wars (is a fun time)

Weird little philosophical things about Count Dooku’s Qui-Gon Jinn guilt (this thing of darkness), Ezra Bridger & Leia Organa almost hooking up as reckless teens in the least sexy encounter ever and never talking about it ever again (Requiem for a Misspent Youth), Hera Syndulla & Luke Skywalker talking because I think they should talk (They talk about Jedi), and the uncomfortable generational angst that just kind of lives between Luke Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano (Chiasmus).

Stranger Things (is also here)

Gets its own section because I have two more I’ll be super sad if I never finish. Currently two Steve fics (the king is dead, Steve Harrington is Having a Crisis Today) and one Robin fic (Party Plan) in which everyone assumes everyone else is straight, everyone is wrong, and it leads to silliness with a side of feelings. Very, very robust drafts of the Nancy and Eddie fic very much continue to exist in my drafts and oh boy would I love to ffs finish them.

Other

Midsummer Night’s Dream ot4 shenanigans (four bosoms and one troth), a non-linear Arcane fic about CaitVi (Pins & String), a more important Arcane fic about spotlights ([that one saying about a nail]), the one about the fairy tale you’re more likely to know (about 12 Princesses, Dancing), the one about the fairy tale you’re less likely to know (Jorinde & Joringel; Fraxinella), concerning changelings (original work), concerning dragons (Game of Thrones/Harry Potter xover), concerning witches (The Squire’s Tales by Gerald Morris; the company of witches), concerning punching god(s) in the face (RWBY; if it had to perish twice), Harry Potter house sorting meta (Out of Sorts), a very silly Destiel fix-it fic (how soon unaccountable), an even sillier Teen Wolf fic ft. none of the characters anyone cares about (Brett Talbot’s Last Week in Beacon Hills), a character study of Mulan from the Once Upon A Time TV show (Tactical Advantage), gay shit about the Enchanted sequel for some reason (Some Enchanted Evening), and now there’s a HSMTMTS one about the inherent homoeroticism of being romantic rivals in two different sequential love triangles ([line from I Don’t Dance here])

And of course all of it is on ao3 here. 

I could totally end the post here, in which case it would be reasonably sized, very informative, and in no way make any promises I cannot keep. But where’s the fun in that, so...

...Things In My Drafts Folder (She-Ra, unless indicated otherwise):

I have a lot of drafts, and I’m writing them very slowly. Turns out, it takes longer to write things when you are (a) busy and (b) hopping between ten drafts at the whim of your brain instead of focusing on just one. The good news is that, historically speaking, when I stick with a hobby for a full year it tends to mean it’s not going anywhere. So while I can’t promise I’ll end up finishing all of these, the highest chance is that I’ll finish a bunch. Just...slowly.

(Edit 4/16/22: just...SO slowly. And I’m gonna run ttrpg again now so like...the slowest. But the drafts all DO still exist.)(Edit to add 8/31/23: I still really do want to finish these bc I am extremely proud of them but like idk who knows when. Ttrpg is going great tho so like hmu to talk about arthurian roleplay I guess)

Most of these fics have titles already, but I’m vaguely and nonsensically superstitious about announcing them so formally so early. So I...won’t.

The one where Catra & Glimmer have a space adventure ft. all of Catra’s shitty bosses. (I started this draft last summer, forgot about it for most of the year, and then proceeded to write a ton for it two nights ago. So: case in point about this stuff getting written just slowly.)

Adora And Her Spaceship.

The highkey catradora romance amnesia fic where I name the chapters after poems because sometimes I get to be pretentious, as a treat.

The catradora au that’s mostly about dragons and a little about a bad pun.

The star trek voyager au. Yes, also catradora, it’s all catradora.

Possibly a seamista fic??

An arranged marriage au that’s so deeply and totally backburnered that I’m not even bolding it but which I want to mention here on the off chance that if I ever get around to finishing it I can look back from a decade in the future and tell my past self I told you so.

(not She-Ra) Another Supernatural fic - aka the one where I rewrite plots for a bunch of female characters, because that’s what I did while I binged that show but also dear goodness it needs so much editing

(not She-Ra) The one where Anakin Skywalker is a shitty teen force ghost.

(not She-Ra) I would like to finish the Stranger Things drafts a lot yeah. Same with a bunch of Arcane stuff.

In conclusion: sorry for the long post. Extra sorry if you are someone who follows me for non-writing/non-She-Ra reasons. If it helps, it’ll probably be a long time until I make another one. In the meantime, my writing tag continues to be #forsythiarising, and if I remember to I may make a series of posts about the titles of my existing fics bc I have a lot of meta and love titles a lot. As with most of all this: we shall see.

[angeltrapz]

u mentioned them in th ask abt the Matthews-Faulkner-Stanheight-Blank family dynamic so I’d honestly love 2 hear more on ur thoughts abt how Lawrence n Mallick would interact there! whether in a polycule sense or a Just Friends sense ^_^

thank u!! yeye I wld love 2 talk abt that!! (I hope yr feeling a bit better today also!! just wanted 2 add tht + THANK U fr the super sweet comment abt my earlier family dynamic response <3)

I'm personally writing this on th assumption tht Mallick + Lawrence are AT LEAST dating Adam + Eric, so its still within th polycule sense!

I think, much like he does with Adam, Daniel wld get along GREAT w Mallick!! I like 2 think tht they have very similar senses of humour + their snark levels r pretty evenly matched. Eric doesn't ever say as much, but he LOVES 2 hear thm go back n forth, ESP when Adam joins in - its just like. his 2 weird boyfriends bonding w his kid in a way tht has them all laughing n in high spirits n enjoying each other's company and honestly? Eric lives fr little moments like that! he loves getting 2 hear his living room filled w laughter and love and light like tht. sometimes he'll just lean against Art's shoulder while he's helping him cook dinner n listen to th three of them in the living room, voices carrying over th bg noise of th TV, n he'll close his eyes and sigh. it means SO MUCH 2 Eric to have his partners get along so well w his son.

I agree w what u said when I asked abt Adam/Mallick/Lawrence - tht Lawrence will often act affectionately disgruntled when his bfs r engaging in Shenanigans/just in general. so like he'll be reclined on th couch w a book or maybe he'll be in th kitchen helping Eric and/or Art, n he's sighing n shaking his head but he's smiling so wide it kind of hurts bc this is a family. this is smth he hasn't rly experienced b4 - Diana is his whole world, his sunshine n he loves her more than anything, but he didn't have this w Alison. as I've seen it mentioned b4, they were just playing house, grasping like straws at th hollow replication of the so-called suburban American dream, and its like. Lawrence doesn't truly grasp th gravity of tht statement until he's standing in the kitchen n listening to Adam Mallick n Daniel talking and laughing and sometimes infodumping back n forth. he doesn't realize what he's been yearning for until he takes over watching th pot boiling on th stove so Art can make his pasta sauce, until Eric comes up behind him n wraps his arms around his middle n rests his cheek against his back for a little bit. this is all Lawrence has ever truly wanted n I know I said tht w Eric too, but like. this is Lawrence's family, just as much as Diana is. n he like has to take a quick moment, set th wooden spoon down he's using 2 stir th pot w the pasta itself in it n just breathe. n Eric just Gets It, y'know? like Lawrence doesn't even have to say a word 2 know he's understood n its just. he's so so happy, for all his (entirely feigned, this man has such a big heart) exasperation n sighing. he loves these ppl. this is his family.

smth tht is very important 2 Lawrence regarding Daniel is tht he makes sure they know he's there fr them. u've mentioned this b4 also, but Lawrence has a very unique understanding of what Eric went thru as a parent who had a child tht was Also endangered by Jigsaw, n as such also has tht unique understanding of helping his child cope w what she went thru during her Own experience. he makes a point to sort of make himself available fr Daniel like tht bc yes they aren't Diana, and yes Daniel isn't his kid, but he still Cares abt them + is more than willing 2 pass on some of th stuff he's learned while helping Diana cope w her own experience (he's very careful abt this, bc he doesn't want 2 like. take tht role frm Eric, esp when he's doing much better in his recovery. but they've had talks abt tht b4 n Eric makes it very clear tht its okay). I think it takes Daniel a lil bit 2 approach him on their own - not bc they don't trust him or bc they think he's intimidating - but once they do, its very beneficial fr both of them tbh? even if they're not discussing the Nerve Gas House/Bathroom/what have u its a rly nice thing fr them to just sit together n talk.

Lawrence, like Art, is a good listener but on th flip side: Daniel tends 2 look to him fr a solution, or at least smth he can do to like. take his mind off of it fr a bit. a good avenue of this is tht Daniel has a mild interest in th medical field, so he often likes listening 2 whatever Lawrence is willing 2 tell him abt on tht front! n its still smth Lawrence is very passionate abt (he DID return to working in th hospital eventually, after all), so he honestly rly enjoys getting to talk abt it every now n then! so like sometimes Eric will come home frm work n see Adam sat on th couch next to Art + with Mallick's head resting against his thigh while he plays w his hair, n Lawrence n Daniel are spread out on th floor deep in discussion abt what Lawrence had done at work tht day/a topic Daniel had specifically requested, sitting diagonally across frm each other w their feet touching while they roll a ball back n forth bc Daniel focuses easier when they've got smth to fidget w and its just like. this synchronicity. shared heartbeats n breath n space. they've never belonged anywhere more than they all do right here, in this moment, together.

and it's so easy, like they've never done any different. like they've known each other for years and years and have always been this unit, have always been AdamEricArtMallickLawrence + Daniel. n tht is their family. that is their special brand of love and kindness and understanding. tht is how they cherish their lives, whether or not John would deem it the "right" way - who the fuck cares? they're happy! they're so blissfully domestically overwhelmingly happy and there is more than enough love 2 go around n THAT is what I'm here 4. they couldn't find the family they so desperately sought after so they MADE one!!! I could go on abt that fr hours!!! its the togetherness the unconditional love the hand-in-hand shoulder-to-shoulder of it all!!! (which is, of course, only made BETTER by th connectedness and understanding of trans ppl w other trans ppl + their supportive partners/parents (in Daniel's case)!! I'm losing it!!!)

ANYWAY I had way more thoughts abt this than I thought I did hfjdkskdk thank u so so much!!

[yeeiguess]

Omg I just had the best kallurance dream !! (I was technically also part of the Polycule)

So Lance was from another universe, the canon one I think. Allura too but she couldn’t remember it maybe ? It happened on a train and it was like modern time. So there was Lance, Keith and Allura (and me) and we were together :) lots of kissing happening for some reason.

There was also another... group of Keith, Lance and Allura and I don’t remember exactly but they were from another world too ?

And at the end these two start to fade away and go back to their world, and our Allura and Lance start to do it too (though it was so much longer), and then someone came in and was like « [insert scientific gibberish] we may have the solution so they can stay here ! »

It was just some orange powder they put on their hand, and they stopped fading away :D I asked them if they actually wanted to stay, cause maybe they had a family etc in their world but they said they did :)

Before that Lance didn’t want to get too close to Allura because... idk, because he wasn’t from this world ? I mean it’s a dream things don’t make sense. So when they stopped fading Allura ran after Lance like ‘hey, so now that we’re staying here for good, is it okay for us to be together ?’

Then we went to the canteen and it became weird, saw one of my friend and there was something about showering with the thing you use to wash the dishes. Yeah

Anyway I woke up and I was so happy about that dream that I just thought about it and tried to remember as much as I could before writing that