#but whether you're going for functional multiplicity

[tronform]

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[thewriteadviceforwriters]

Master Dialogue Writing Techniques for Engaging Fiction (For Writers)

(Beware, long post!)

As fiction writers, we all know that effective dialogue is essential for bringing our stories and characters to life. After all, the way our protagonists, antagonists, and supporting players speak to one another is one of the primary ways readers get to know them on a deep, intimate level. Dialogue reveals personality, uncovers motivation, and propels the narrative forward in a way that felt narration simply can't match.

But nailing natural, compelling dialogue is easier said than done. It's a craft that takes serious skill to master, requiring writers to have a keen ear for authentic speech patterns, a nimble handle on subtext and implication, and the ability to strike that delicate balance between being true to real-world conversation while also keeping things snappy, dynamic, and laser-focused on the story at hand.

If you're someone who struggles with crafting dialogue that truly sings, never fear. In this in-depth guide, I'm going to dive deep into the techniques and best practices that will help you elevate your dialogue writing to new heights. By the end, you'll have a toolbox full of strategies to ensure that every exchange between your characters is as gripping, revealing, and unforgettable as possible.

The Fundamentals of Effective Dialogue

Before we get into the more advanced nuances of dialogue writing, let's start by covering some of the foundational principles that all great fictional conversations are built upon:

Reveal Character One of the primary functions of dialogue is to give readers a window into who your characters are as people. The way they speak — their word choices, their tone, their body language, their turns of phrase — should provide vivid insight into their personalities, backgrounds, values, quirks, and emotional states.

Think about how much you can glean about someone just from how they communicate in real life. Do they use a lot of slang and shorthand? Are they verbose and flowery with their language? Do they struggle to make eye contact or fail to respond directly to questions? All of these subtle linguistic cues are powerful tools for crafting multi-dimensional characters.

Drive the Plot Forward While revelations about character are crucial, you also want to ensure that your dialogue is constantly pushing the story itself forward. Each exchange should feel purposeful, moving the narrative along by introducing new information, triggering plot points, creating conflict, or prompting characters to make pivotal decisions.

Dialogue that feels aimless or extraneous will ultimately bore readers and detract from the forward momentum of your story. Every line should have a clear intent or function, whether it's uncovering a hidden truth, setting up a future complication, or escalating the tension in a high-stakes moment.

Establish Distinct Voices In a story featuring multiple characters, it's crucial that each person has a clearly defined and differentiated way of speaking. Readers should be able to tell who's talking just from the rhythm, diction, and personality of the dialogue, without any additional context clues.

This doesn't mean every character has to have an over-the-top, hyper-stylized way of communicating. In fact, the most effective character voices often feel grounded and natural. But there should still be distinct markers — whether it's word choice, sentence structure, tone, or speech patterns — that make each person's voice instantly recognizable.

Convey Subtext While the literal words being spoken are important, great dialogue also traffics heavily in subtext — the unspoken emotional undercurrents, power dynamics, and hidden agendas that simmer beneath the surface of a conversation.

The most compelling exchanges happen when characters are communicating on multiple levels simultaneously. Perhaps they're saying one thing out loud while their body language and tone convey a completely different sentiment. Or maybe they're engaged in a subtle war of wits, trading verbal jabs that reveal deeper wells of resentment, attraction, or vulnerability.

Mastering the art of subtext is key to creating dialogue that feels layered, lifelike, and imbued with dramatic tension.

Strategies for Writing Snappy, Realistic Dialogue

Now that we've covered the foundational principles, let's dive into some specific techniques and best practices that will take your dialogue writing to the next level:

Omit Unnecessary Details One of the biggest mistakes many writers make with dialogue is bogging it down with too much extraneous information. In real life, people rarely speak in perfectly composed, grammatically correct full sentences. We stumble over our words, interrupt each other, trail off mid-thought, and pack our speech with filler words like "um," "uh," and "you know."

While you don't want to go overboard with mimicking that messiness, you should aim to strip your dialogue of any overly formal or expository language. Stick to the essentials — the core thoughts, feelings, and information being exchanged — and let the subtext and character voices do the heavy lifting. Your readers will fill in the gaps and appreciate the authenticity.

Master the Art of Subtext As mentioned earlier, crafting dialogue that's rich in subtext is one of the keys to making it feel gripping and lifelike. Think about how much is often left unsaid in real-world conversations, with people dancing around sensitive topics, conveying hidden agendas, or engaging in subtle power struggles.

To layer that sense of unspoken tension into your own dialogue, consider techniques like:

• Having characters contradict themselves or say one thing while their body language says another

• Utilizing loaded pauses, interruptions, and moments of uncomfortable silence

• Injecting subtle sarcasm, skepticism, or implication into a character's word choices

• Allowing characters to talk past each other, missing the unspoken point of what the other person is really saying

The more you can imbue your dialogue with that layered, emotionally-charged subtext, the more it will resonate with readers on a deeper level.

Establish Distinct Voices As mentioned earlier, ensuring that each of your characters has a clearly defined and differentiated speaking voice is crucial for great dialogue. But how exactly do you go about accomplishing that?

One effective strategy is to give each person a unique set of verbal tics, idioms, or speech patterns. Maybe one character is prone to long-winded, flowery metaphors, while another speaks in clipped, efficiency-minded sentences. Perhaps your protagonist has a habit of ending statements with questioning upticks, while the sarcastic best friend always punctuates their barbs with an eye roll.

You can also play with differences in diction, syntax, and even accent/dialect to further distinguish how your characters communicate. The key is to really get to know the unique personality, background, and psychology of each person — then let those elements shine through in how they express themselves.

Lean Into Conflict and Confrontation When it comes to crafting gripping dialogue, conflict is your friend. The most compelling exchanges often arise from characters butting heads, engaging in verbal sparring matches, or working through deep-seated tensions and disagreements.

Conflict allows you to showcase the high stakes, unresolved needs, and deeper emotional currents that are driving your characters. It forces them to make bold choices, reveals aspects of their personalities that might not otherwise surface, and generates the kind of dramatic tension that will really hook your readers.

Of course, you'll want to avoid making every single dialogue scene a full-blown argument. But learning to sprinkle in well-placed moments of friction, confrontation, and clashing agendas is a surefire way to elevate the energy and impact of your character interactions.

Read Your Dialogue Out Loud One of the most valuable tricks for ensuring your dialogue sounds natural and lifelike is to read it aloud as you're writing. Hearing the words out loud will quickly expose any clunky phrasing, overly formal grammar, or inauthentic rhythms that would otherwise go unnoticed on the page.

Pay close attention to how the dialogue rolls off your tongue. Does it have a smooth, conversational flow? Or does it feel stilted and unnatural? Are your characters' unique voices shining through clearly? Are there any spots where the back-and-forth starts to drag or feel repetitive?

Actively listening to your dialogue — and making adjustments based on how it sounds in the real world — is an essential part of the writing process. It's one of the best ways to refine and polish those character interactions until they feel truly alive.

Hopefully, this can help you all!

The key is to always keep your focus on authenticity. Ask yourself: how would real people actually speak?

Hey fellow writers! I'm super excited to share that I've just launched a Tumblr community. I'm inviting all of you to join my community. All you have to do is fill out this Google form, and I'll personally send you an invitation to join the Write Right Society on Tumblr! Can't wait to see your posts!

[netherworldpost]

@kernyen-xo /

Cheaply.

Watercolor sets made by Crayola. Acrylics made by Crayola. The brushes these kits come with are frustrating, cheap brushes are typically $3-5 each. You can spend as much as you want on a brush, the cheap ones are surprisingly good. This is extremely common advice, this isn't just from me.

When you find "ah I like this" go with a student grade of whichever you prefer. Or both! I find watercolor frustrating. I find acrylic doesn't look graphic as much as I want. I fell in love with a paint called gouache because it is very flat, layers nicely.

I would not start with oil paint. It is expensive, requires a lot of special care to keep you safe. Fumes, cleaning agents, etc. Fall in love with painting, then if you want, give oil a try. Be prepared for days (weeks, months, literally) for paint to dry. This isn't to scare you off it -- it's great -- but I wouldn't start here.

Oil has tremendous variety of things you can do with it.

Watercolor is ethereal.

Acrylic has great graphic qualities, lots of range.

I like gouache because it looks almost animated (there is a reason for that, it was/is used in animation background sometimes). It's tricky and tempermental.

Paint by numbers kits if you don't draw. Maybe even if you do and just want to dive into painting.

Mixed media sketchbooks. Lets you experiment a lot, cheaply. The big thing about sketchbook paper is it comes in a few forms -- very cheap (newsprint) and takes dry media (pencils, etc.) well, cheap (mixed media, lets you experiment quickly and a lot), and expensive (hot press has no texture, cold press has a texture).

Painting needs something that can get wet and not fall apart.

Start with a cheap mixed media sketchbook and see how you like it. Move on from there.

Ton of videos across lots of social media and much content. Has the advantage of multiple perspectives, you don't get trapped in "I think this is crap" or "This is the best" versus your thoughts.

Start cheaply.

Art stores and product manufacturers exist to make money. This is a neutral statement. The point is they are a store, they will sell you whatever you think you need, whether you need it or not.

Conversely!

Some things that are not universally useful but sold in art stores are great labor savers. Some people look down at disposable palette paper, others need the flexibility because they have a hard time washing palettes... etc.

Start cheaply. Look at hardware stores, lots of duplicate functions in items.

I come from a background of digital art and a lifetime of business where "ah where the BONES ARE WE GOING TO FIND MONEY FOR--"

Have fun.

Get in deep and frustrated and then drink the frustration (but not the paint water) because you realize you're frustrated because you can FEEL how it should look but you can't get there yet.

The journey is amazing.

I've started looking at the mountain of business problems I have been sorting through for the last few years.

"Okay. How is this supply chain issue with stationery compared to a painting I want to do of the piranha plants of Super Mario Brothers?"

This is literally something I asked myself.

It took me out of the problem (supply chain issue, boxes, our office size, the number of stationery items I want to design) and forced me to look at it as a painting (structure, where does it stay simple, where does it get complex -- what makes sense -- ah, PDF downloads).

Paint.

Learn by doing.

Start cheaply.

Keep going. Build up.

[collaredkittyboy]

Well it's come up multiple times today so I'll make a post about it.

I think the popularization of the word "twink" has ultimately been really bad for people in general.

I know it's hard to track the positive and negative effects of language but I don't think it's hard to see how creating a word for a group of people wherein the most consistent qualifying trait is "being skinny" is healthy for people's self image. Obviously people have lots of ideas about what it means to be a twink- gay, lacking body hair, feminine, beautiful, young, white- but the most consistent descriptor I've seen is "skinny." Hell, it's even a body type on Grindr; the size below "average."

So it kind of functions as a code word in the gay community: anyone can say that they're only interested in twinks and they don't have to look shallow by saying they only like skinny guys. It's such an accepted attitude that no one really bats an eye when they hear it.

I'm not even going to get into how it's become part of the larger issue of people turning "top" and "bottom" into gender roles 2.0, but that is closely related, because people with any internalized homophobia can look at a skinny, feminine man and turn off their fag alarms by viewing him as a woman or not a "real" man, and it makes twinks more acceptable to society at large.

No, ignoring all of that, one of the biggest issues is that gay men are taught by society that they are only attractive while they are skinny. Just having the label "twink" reminds a boy that people are looking at his body and judging it. There were countless times when I was growing up that people would tell me, "You're such a twink," or argue about whether or not I qualified as a twink because I had body hair. People around you, unpromted, judge your body and give you a label based on it, and that label has a large influence on whether or not you're seen as objectively attractive. I know many other gay people who say they wish they were a twink so they could be more attractive to guys.

So think, you have all these kids growing up being told whether or not they qualify as a twink, and then we have the gay community as a whole where it's completely acceptable to say you're only attracted to twinks. I think its because of all of this pressure to be a twink (in other words, to have a below average weight) that many of the gay people that I interact with struggle with a negative body image or eating disorders.

I mean, people talk about "twink death" like it's an actual event that makes a gay man much less attractive, and no one thinks that, maybe, it's harmful to tell a guy that the very day he stops being young and thin and pretty, he will stop being attractive and celebrated?

I'm not qualified to speak on fatphobia in physical queer spaces because I don't have the ability to frequent them where I live, but I can't imagine that these aren't issues at social gatherings as well. I also can't speak on my own experiences with weight discrimination because so far in my life I have had a naturally thin body, but I have experienced a lot of outside pressure to be thin that have caused me to pick up unhealthy eating habits to reduce my weight in fear that I could become fat later on. Thankfully that is something that I've mostly been able to work past. I'm not an expert, but idk, I just wanted to rant on my silly tumblr blog.

Obviously it's impossible for a word to be inherently bad. I'm not trying to imply that saying "twink" is a magic word with evil powers. Obviously the real issues at play here are fatphobia and harmful beauty standards and body shaming. But in my opinion, the popular use of the word twink has made it much easier and acceptable to express fatphobia, etc, in the gay community by turning "skinny person" into a "type of guy that you should try to be so you can be attractive."

[river-taxbird]

I really like my CO2 meter and I want to tell you about it!

It's a little gadget that measures the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Did you know your body at rest burns about 100 grams of food/fat an hour? This means you're constantly breathing out carbon dioxide at a rate of about 100 grams an hour. This can rise by quite a lot of you're exercising, and it's less when you're sleeping. This means if you usually keep your doors and windows closed, as I usually do in winter since I live in a cold climate, it can build up fast. You can even breathe directly on the meter and watch the number rise rapidly.

I've had this meter on my desk for many years. It's basically a clock so you can notice the air quality at a glance and it's always on and doesn't produce light. (Note the black tape over the power LED on the left because my autistic ass can NOT sleep with an LED in the room.) It cost about £90 when it was new so it's not the cheapest thing in the world but it's built to last and it's been worth it. This isn't an ad and I'm not saying go for this brand, it's just a gadget that I think improves my life. It's always a good reminder of when I should open the windows.

I'm not 100% sure how well supported this is, but I've seen it said online that a carbon dioxide level of over 1000ppm can lower a person's cognitive function by about 25%. It can be an issue with classrooms with a lot of people. Normal outdoor levels are about 300-400ppm. Whether you believe that is up to you, but I do think fresh air makes people feel better and this serves as a good reminder to let it in. People like to make carbon monoxide jokes on this website, but sometimes high CO2 can be an issue around his you generally feel. It can also build up faster than you'd think if you have multiple people about and no windows open.

Time to open the window! (Apologies for the photo quality, the reflective LCD is not the easiest thing in the world to photograph without shadows or huge reflections.)

[starlight-and-snowflakes]

5 strategies that have improved my executive functioning in 2023

1. Preparing tasks in advance

This tip has been one of the most useful things for me to be able to actually get the things I want to do done without getting stuck in the process. I am very prone to difficulties with task initiation and task switching. Basically I've found that if I check what activities are upcoming for that day in my calendar (but you can use any task that you want to do sometime that day) then I set the task up in advance it's a lot easier to actually do the task.

So if my goal is to stream after dinner then I turn my pc on and have my setup ready to go before dinner. If I want to do a Pilates workout I set up my mat an hour before I actually want to do the workout. If I want to go to the gym I get into gym clothes at the start of the day so I don't have to change later.

I basically eliminate all the difficult prep work and then I find doing the task so much easier when I get to it.

2. Task switching when stuck

A lot of neurodivergent people have issues with getting 'stuck' or 'frozen', myself included. Whether it's autistic inertia or decision paralysis or something else it's very common to find yourself unable to do anything at all. You'll know that even if you put your phone away or stop what you're doing you'll just continue to sit there doing nothing.

The solution to this for me has consistently been to switch goal. I want to get up and shower but can't? I'll find that I can pull my laptop out and get some work done instead (and then shower after lunch later in the day). I am stuck when I want to stream? I find I can do my skincare instead (and I ended up streaming the next day).

Yes this means you don't get your original goal done when you wanted but you get something done, and something is better than nothing.

3. Task chaining

I've found that task chaining is the easiest way for me to get multiple tasks done. It's basically building upon your success. Take the example from my task switching section where I couldn't get myself to start streaming so I decided to do my skincare instead. While doing skincare I remembered I wanted to ask my brother about a particular product. So suddenly I'm capable of going to ask him about it. I couldn't even get out of bed before but now I have the motivation to move (I keep my skincare next to my bed so I didn't have to get up prior to this). After talking to him I decide I can go downstairs and make tea (something I originally wanted to do before streaming but was too stuck to do). While downstairs my mother tells me that she has a pile of laundry for me. I decide to take it back upstairs and put it away immediately. While doing so I figure I may as well sort all the laundry that's piled up on my floor as well.

I've gone from not doing anything to completing 4 separate tasks. If I wanted to get up and put the clothes on my floor away originally I'd never have been able to do it. I built on my successfully completed tasks and chained them together. Of course you should still remember to rest after chaining a number of tasks together.

4. Prioritise harder tasks earlier

I get all my energy at the start of the day and feel quite tired by the end of the day. This is how most people feel due to how our circadian rhythms function. Because of this I have found it's a lot easier to get difficult tasks done in the morning.

So now instead of trying to clean my room or go to the gym at 5pm I'll do it at 9am. I'll save 5pm for my easy tasks, things like studying Korean, meditating, studying geography, and coding. Take some time to figure out which tasks you find easy and which you find hard. If you consistently find yourself unable to do a task that's a hint that it's difficult for you. Vice versa if you're consistently capable of a task it might be a sign it's an easier one for you.

5. Using an AI scheduler

I saved this one for last, not because it's ineffective, it's actually made a huge difference in my life. But it does cost money to take full advantage of this so I put it down the bottom. Still there's a lot to be said for using an AI scheduler. I hate choosing what to do and have always preferred to be told what tasks I should do each day. It also takes a huge amount of mental energy to decide what tasks I should do when each week and organise them in advance.

Enter Reclaim, the AI scheduler of my dreams (there are lots of other ones on the market too like Motion! Take a look around and see if you can find one you like but unfortunately they all seem paid). Reclaim does have a free version but for me their paid version is necessary to achieve my goals.

I set up all my tasks and habits in Reclaim, I can customise how often I want to do things, how long they should take, and what hours I have free. Then I just check my calendar each day and see what tasks I'm meant to do. If I end up taking more time than expected I just hit the 'reschedule' button on a task and it's automatically slotted in somewhere else that week. This has definitely made one of the biggest changes to my quality of life I could probably make a whole separate post about using Reclaim.

That's all the tips that have worked for me this year so far, maybe some of them might help you!

[wren-dy-flowergarden]

My precious treasures ✦ *.✧ *.✦

✦ *.✧.* Being childhood friends with Seishiro Nagi created a world just for you and him. Then Mikage Reo comes along with his energetic charm busting it all the pieces and you don't know what to do. Word Count: 2.9k / Nagi x f!reader x Reo Tags: childhood friends to high school love birds, sfw, character study, not that beta'd ───────────✧.*✦ *.✧.*✦ *.✧.*✦ ───────────── A/N: My first posted story here! ლ(◉‿◉ ლ) finally... pls interact if you want more, I don't usually write short stories so sorry this is so long. Grand ideas for nsfw later hehe. Let me know what you think!

──────────── ✦ *.✧.*✦ *.✧.* ────────────

At first it was more of a chore to be friends with Nagi Seishiro than have what you define as a functioning friendship.

He was lazy, lazy in a way that you needed to check up on him daily just to make sure he wasn't passed out in his house. Not only that he was stubborn, stubborn in the sense that if the building was burning down vs. a high score on the newest game you definitely be attending a funeral the next day. Lastly, he's honest, honest to a fault where you have seen him deny so many confessions because 'they weren't like (Y/N).'

That always made your heart beat a little faster than healthy, but a little abnormality made life interesting right?

Ever since you were little you looked after Nagi. Whether it was coming to his empty house after his parents business trip was taking longer than usual, or after school grabbing ice cream (for yourself) then heading to the local arcade (for him).

It wasn't perfect, but it was something you gotten used to.

It wasn't until high school that your world began to shift.

You both went to the same school. A prep school known for its rounded curriculum, national sport teams and most importantly its connections.

You could find anyone here; the daughter of the Tamayo hospitality known for their five star hotels, half of the directors on the school board are wealthy investors looking for their next big venture and the most popular find would be Reo Mikage, the heir of the Mikage corporation.

A world outside her own and Nagi's.

It was by luck that you got accepted into this high school (plus countless nights of studying and coffee overdrive). Nagi on the other hand is a "genius". At least that's what his parents call him, they congratulated him with a quick three minute phone call and enough money to buy the newest game on the market.

You have never called Nagi a genius. Not that you don't agree, but it felt cold to define him as one and not as Nagi. The one who would always cheer you up by knowing your favorite sweets, turn on your favorite TV show while you be cooking at his house.

Nagi is Nagi.

He is your treasure.

A couple weeks later, spring started to turn into summer and with that beginning shift of your life.

It started with Nagi coming home with dirty cleats hanging off his school backpack and a jersey stained with grass.

"You've joined a club?"

Nagi gives a nod before flopping on the couch, you frowned, "Hey take a bath first, you're filthy." With that comment all you see is a bed of silver hair roll onto the floor with a grunt.

A short dinner later, a couple rounds of the newest Tekken game and you were off to study back at your own house. Putting on your shoes Nagi shouts from upstairs

"Hey (Y/N), you don't need to come here after school everyday."

You stop fidgeting with your shoe ties before twisting back to meet Nagi leaning against the wall. Towel over his head and droplets of water dripping down his neck to a barely exposed collar bone.

Your head whips down to your shoelaces, ears turning red. You don't meet his eyes as multiple thoughts spiral in your head, "If I don't come over who is going to make sure you eat?"

You expect a laugh, a shrug of the shoulder what you don't expect is a name.

"Reo."

You freeze. Reo Mikage the most popular guy in school, not Reo-san or Reo-kun just Reo.

It was almost as if Nagi could read your thoughts because he slumps further against the wall, "Its a pain, and football is not as fun as playing games, but Reo is ok." He says as if that explained the whole picture.

You want to ask a million questions. Oh Nagi how did you meet the heir of the Mikage corporation that literal net worth is in the billions, or why do you call him without honorifics?

"That's- um, great?" You try to compliment, because you don't know if this is a 'great' thing or not. You have never seen Nagi even touch a football in your whole time knowing him, let alone make a friend on first name basis in a week.

Nagi walks up to you as you fiddle with the unclipped thread tearing at the bottom of your shirt. He gives a small pat on the head, hesitant, the same form of love he use when you both first were 'required' to hang out with each other during your childhood days. It meant "you're alright" or "you got this" used after a tumble at the local park or if Nagi didn't go easy on you with his video games leaving you in a teary mess.

Today, it felt different.

──────────── ✦ *.✧.*✦ *.✧.* ────────────

When you first met Mikage Reo you don't have good impression.

He has weird purple colored hair that you aren't sure is dyed or natural, a charismatic smile used by snakes of the business world and most importantly his refers to Nagi as "his treasure".

Now that just makes your blood boil.

Boil in a way that this sparkling water that you were barely sipping, out of a champagne flute while sitting on leather seats in a six person limo, would soon turn into boiling water that you "accidentally" drop (throw) into the heir of Mikage corporations lap.

Before thoughts come into reality, you see Nagi smoothly whisking your glass away before swallowing the bubbly mess in one gulp.

Mikage-san brightens as he pours another glass for Nagi before continuing his spew about becoming the best football star in the world or something like that.

Breaking away from Mikage-san's own world you stare at Nagi his brows twisted in concentration as he swirls a full glass clear bubbles.

You lean over, chin barely reaching his shoulder as you whisper, "You like bubbly water?"

He gives a pained expression, probably read as a blank expression from someone who did not grow up with Nagi.

"I hate the taste."

You tone becomes confused, "Then why drink mine?"

Nagi looks into the glass before taking another sip, lips frowning before turning towards the window instead of answering.

He didn't touch the rest of his glass the remainder of the car ride.

──────────── ✦ *.✧.*✦ *.✧.* ────────────

School continued as usual. You go to homeroom as the teacher talked about the latest events happening this week. You go through the classes in similar style, homework, correction, lecture, questions until you finally be released for lunch.

Lunch, a usual fixture of leftovers you and Nagi shared from the night before wrapped with a blue cloth with printed on bunnies for cuteness. You were about to go find Nagi until purple hair entered the classroom making his way to your desk.

If only you could be swallowed by the ground right now.

"(Y/N)-san! Im so glad I found you." Clear enthusiasm shone in his eyes, he had a presence that announced himself to the whole class room. Everybody was looking at you two.

Bloody murder that what you think but you give a smile before tilting your head, "Ah. Mikage-san is there a reason you need me?"

He sits down on the chair in front of you, legs split leaning close to your unopened bento, "I was wondering if you could tell me about Nagi."

Oh. He was on first name basis also.

He looks down before smiling bashfully, "Sorry! I know it's lunch right now please eat."

You frown wishing you could be anywhere but here, as you crack open the bento revealing small rolled eggs cut into triangles and half a hamburger steak placed next to seaweed rice along with a small amount of cut out vegetables.

The boy in front of you eyes widened as you take your first bite, "Woah that looks like the one Nagi brought to lunch." A second he blurts out, "You cook for him?"

He says it in a way that makes you feel like a maid, rather than a friend and it doesn't leave a good taste in your mouth.

"It's easier to cook for two instead of one." You interject taking a mouthful of egg, hopefully you could chew this one piece as long as the lunch break.

Reo hums before continuing, "Nagi likes hamburger steak?"

"He likes crab." And you choke because why did you feel the need to prove yourself against a boy Nagi met a week ago.

Reo grins like a cat before leaning backwards, "Crab is a good choice though I rather eat steak." He looks at your meal, "What about you (Y/N)-san?"

After taking a gulp of water you beat your chest, coughing, "Ice- cough Ice cream."

Purple iris blinked before he gives a laugh leaning his head back exposing the curve of his Adam's apple- which no you were not looking just observing- before ducking your head back into your meal. He wipes a tear away from his eye, "Ice cream isn't a meal you know."

You give a shrug not wanting to continue, "It taste good." A pause and a smaller voice, "especially salty cream flavor."

Mikage-san gives an all knowing nod before he talks all about his favorite type of he emphasizes "desserts" until the lunch bell rings.

A couple days later the heir invites both you and Nagi to lunch, where it is a spread of crab dishes and lastly to clean the palate is salty vanilla ice cream.

...He's not terrible you guess.

──────────── ✦ *.✧.*✦ *.✧.* ────────────

Things even get more confusing as football season went into full swing. The whole school was abuzz about Aomori Dadada High, one of the best high school team playing against a prep school during before Kanto tour was unheard of.

It wasn't until you heard Reo-san at the dinner table the other night, complain about how "easy" it was to stroke those "muscle head egos" and get them to play a game later in the week, getting the upper hand on his father or something like that.

Oh. How could you forget, Nagi started to invite Reo to dinner every night after football practice (which was every night). You stared at the two of them across the dinner table, currently munching on smoked mackerel spitting out bones.

"We could have had special grade tuna tonight if you just let Ba-ya drop by the market!" The purple head complained as he stuck a fin in his mouth to suck on. You've learned earlier that the comment wasn't more about your cooking but more about "living the fullest of life". Reo-san always had the most empty plate after dinner.

"It's fine- I be more worried if I ended up cooking it wrong and Nagi eat your carrots." You point to the carrots pushed to the side of his plate.

He gives a whine, pushing them back and forwards before looking over, "But you aren't eating your tomatoes..."

You put a hand over your miso soup, three cherry tomatoes bobbing lifelessly, covering it from scrutinizing eyes.

"I- they are sour today!"

Nagi lets out a non committal hum as Reo comments, "but tomatoes are good for your skin."

"My skin is fine Reo-san."

"She's already pretty Reo."

A pause before simultaneously all of you turned a different shade of red. Reo is the first to break the silence hands flailing, "He means you could be a model! You know the ones that are on the bulletin board promoting Calpico fresh!"

The red on your cheek darkens before you mumble, "I've only seen the ads with the girls in swimsuits." On the way to school there be smiling girl holding a bottle of Calico fresh as the showed just enough cleavage to the camera but not enough to distract you from the product itself. They all had flawless photoshopped skin tucked into a tight yellow bikini.

Reo, face as red as yours now (probably remembered the same ad), cries before ducking his face into his hands, "I mean the ad with the school uniform!" Before he gives a groan, "That sounds even worse."

You look at Nagi, the instigator as he stared at the curves of his fish bones a faint cherry red painted on the tip of his ears before he mutters, "Yellow is nice."

You kick both him and Reo underneath the table as you pop a cherry from your soup into your mouth urging them out of the kitchen so you could clean in peace.

.

.

.

It's game day, and you have not wanted (or did you) to continue that conversation at the dinner table. Instead you kept your head down sipping on now a mix of orange and cranberry juice in the Mikage's limo instead of that bubbly monstrosity people says is water.

Life has gone on rather normally other than the new friendship with Reo-san. What was more noticeable was instead of the yellow bikinied girl posing on a billboard it was now replaced with a more family friendly ad showing a girl in a summer uniform, head tilting back as she drank Calpico fresh, the word "refreshing" curved on top of her head.

You blinked, staring at the Mikage heir, him refusing to make eye contact with you.

Money could do anything.

──────────── ✦ *.✧.*✦ *.✧.* ────────────

There was excitement in school that day. People gossiped about how Aomori Dadada high school would be arriving and that this be the spectacle of the year.

After the last bell rang you could see almost all the classroom make a mad dash towards the field. You included though behind the mass of crowd as you see figures on the field facing what seemed to be students two times their muscle build.

You're glad this wasn't American football, you know you be seeing Reo-san and Nagi in the nearest hospital.

"Miss (Y/N-san)." You turn to Reo's personal attendant an elderly lady who stood a good two heads taller than you, back hunched but suit bulking with muscle.

You give a greeting, "Ba-ya-san, weather is nice today." You look past the ocean of people noticing the kick off, "Think they will win?"

A chuckle answers your questions as she nods, "Though Mr. Mikage-sama does not agree with his son's decisions they share simmilarities, talent seeks talent Ms. (Y/N)-san."

Your eye brow rises, "That's why Reo-san is attached to Nagi? Because of talent?" The ball flies into the air as the crowd erupts into a roar you can barely hear the elderly women reply.

"Do you not agree?"

You shrug.

"No." You think about the more lively lunches, Nagi coming home exhausted with a hint of a smile, Reo eventually joining for dinner every night. You heart twinges with sadness as the whistle blows announcing the first goal of the inning. Nagi being tackled by Reo the two of them barely balancing on two feet.

"It just seems more than talent, that's all."

──────────── ✦ *.✧.*✦ *.✧.* ────────────

Your world is shifting, rapidly.

From a singular world that revolved around Nagi Seishiro, Reo Mikage was forcing himself in this pocket of happiness. You be lying if you said you didn't mind before, but now his presence would be missed if he stopped hanging out with you both.

Reading through Nagi's letter from the Blue Lock Project, identical to Reo's letter (other than name) felt like vertigo.

Reo had excitement showing on his face, Nagi a look of boredom and you?

What type of look were you making right now?

"It's huge news (Y/N)! This is the first step of becoming top of the world, not only that but we will be meeting other stepping stones there that will take us further." He puts an arm over Nagi's shoulder who was playing on his phone, "We will become the best players in the world."

Again, like the start of Nagi's football journey you give a congratulations, "It's- ah" You look for the words a moment before you decide:

It felt like they were both leaving you behind, because talent craves talents and you, what did you do? A world of you Nagi and Reo was not seeming that realistic but you knew you had to answer as expectant purple eyes brimming with excitement waited for your answer.

"It's wonderful."

It must of not been the right word because Reo's face drops and Nagi even pauses his game sits up shuffling closer before he reaches out for you, "Don't do that."

You frowned, "Do what?"

He puts a hand on your cheek, cold, as he gently pressing his thumb against the bottom of your eyes rubbing back and forward.

"Cry."

You laugh, a type of laugh that gets caught in your throat, "I'm not though." Nagi grey eyes focused on you keeps pressing his thumb against you cheek as Reo reaches over taking your hands pressing them together to stop them from shaking, rubbing small circles against your wrists.

You didn't even realize you were shaking.

The heir's voice dropped into a soothing voice, reassuring, "It says a couple months..." He grins, confidence flooding his face, "But it will take only a couple weeks knowing how talented I am and how genius Nagi is." He hasn't stopped rubbing circles.

You sight, leaning into Nagi's hand as he moves his hand to the back of your nap massaging the tension, "You guys will eat healthy, right?"

Reo squeezed his hands against your as Nagi hums in agreement.

"And you guys will be together? You won't miss me?"

It was instantaneous.

"How could we not!" Purple irises burn with sincerity.

"It be hard not to miss you." Lazy eyes blink.

You give a small laugh leaning against Nagi's shoulder and gave a tight squeeze against Reo's in agreement. It was hard to believe Nagi was your only treasure before Reo butted into your life, I guess now you had two.

"Okay. I'll wait for you both to come back then."

[kcamberart]

Development going forward

So in case anyone hasn't heard, Unity announced this morning that they're going to be making some pretty major (baffling) changes to their licensing plans and monetization. TLDR regarding the pertinent info (from what I understand. The company hasn't made another statement at the time of writing, and the FAQ is very vague):

They've removed the cheapest paid subscription tier (Unity Plus) completely, and are altering Unity Personal (the free one) so that the editor needs an internet connection in order to function. If you're offline for 3 days, it kicks you out until you reconnect to the internet again for the software to phone home. This is apparently not an issue if you subscribe to Unity Pro, the $2,000/yr plan.

If you publish a game made using the Unity engine, once it passes a certain threshold of installations and revenue, Unity will charge you a fee for every subsequent installation of your game on a per-month basis (and it's not per-purchase, it's per-installation. So (allegedly) if someone on Steam buys, installs, uninstalls and then reinstalls your game, or if they need to update the game, that's considered multiple different instances of installation and Unity will (allegedly) charge the developer as such). This will go into effect in January of 2024, but will seemingly retroactively apply to all games published before then as well.

If I've misunderstood any of this, please feel free to correct me.

I would not be surprised if they heavily walk back some of this (i.e., "the last time we announced something bad everyone got mad about it, so this time we'll announce something unbelievable and then say that we changed our minds so people will be more willing to accept the slightly less bad thing we wanted to do in the first place"), but it's setting a very bad precedent for using Unity for any future projects.

I'm currently weighing my options on whether to finish Vollema in Unity and then migrate to a new engine for future projects (Godot gets better every day, from what I've heard), or to just take what I've made so far and start over using different software. Honestly, it's early enough in development that the vast majority of what I have finished and ready to implement is visual assets, dialogue, narrative stuff and audio, so I'm leaning heavily towards testing the waters with a different engine. I likely also will not be able to work on or release any smaller games in the coming months for the time being (RIP 2023 Halloween Game, I'll make it up to you) while I make some decisions. Regardless, I'll keep you all in the loop.

TLDR: I'm likely going to be changing game engines, which will definitely set Vollema's development time back a bit (along with my other projects), but development in general will continue regardless.

Hopefully I'll have more positive news to share with you soon! I'm gonna miss my add-ons, though. Oh man, am I gonna miss my add-ons.

[solar-wing]

⚣ Forever 💛

⚣💛 A/N → This is a testament to how I'm unable to write anything under 1.5k words. This was supposed to be a short drabble/prompt writing and turned into a whole fic. Lord help me...still super cute though. WARNINGS: none really. just fluff. comfort vibes. emotional tingz. kind of neglectful parenting.

⚣💛 Summary → After an accident during a training session earlier, Conner and you are cuddling on a couch with your Kryptonian wanting to make sure you're safe and cared for. That includes keeping you from going back to your boarding school which is doing the opposite of that. He really doesn't like your parents.

⚣💛 Words → 4.1k

REBLOGS and replies are greatly appreciated, please! 💛

⚣ ENJOY 💛

It was late at night. You and Conner were laying together under a blanket on the couch for a few hours, watching movies and random episodes from your favorite tv shows.

You were laid against a pillow on the arm of the sofa with the Kryptonian on top of you between your legs, his head lying on your chest, and arms wrapped around your body. He almost resembled a child hugging their favorite teddy bear.

You had your arms rested over his shoulders with one of your hands rubbing up and down his back while the other massaged his head, fingers threading through his dark hair while you both watched the ‘Graveyard Shift’ episode from Spongebob Squarepants.

“I still don’t get it,” Conner spoke gruffly,  “How is he a talking sponge? What gives him the ability to speak and walk?

You chuckled at his words, feeling how he nuzzled his head against your chest from the vibration of your voice.

“I don’t know. It’s a cartoon. Not everything is supposed to make sense.”

“How am I supposed to follow along if I don’t get how the world functions?” He responded, taking one of his arms from under you to gesture at the TV. You couldn’t help the sigh and eye roll that came from your lips at your boyfriend’s antics.

As Spongebob screamed frantically while running to throw the trash out, you removed your hand from Conner’s head to grab your phone. He let out a disgruntled noise, turning to look at you with one of his signature frowns, “Oh, calm down, you big baby. I was just grabbing my phone.” You laughed.

He eyed you with a disapproving look before reaching to snatch your phone out of your hand before you could look at it.

“Conner!” 

“Shut up and rub my head.” He mumbled, laying his head back down on your chest while tucking your phone away in his grasp under your body.

“Conner, give me my phone.” You insisted, trying to squeeze your hand under your body to retrieve it from his hands.

“Watch the talking sponge, Y/N,” He replied, scooting himself up a little so more of his body rested on you, limiting your movement.

Now, it was your turn to huff as you raised an eyebrow at his antics. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing.”

He didn’t respond to you, but you knew he was holding a smug look on his face.

It had been the same thing for the past few nights. You and Conner would hang out with the team after a mission or training session. Then, you both would separate from everyone else to spend time with each other whether that was reading, sparring, laying out by the beach, watching television, or other stuff. 

At some point, you’d realize how late it was and would check your phone to see the time.

The boarding school you attended had a strict curfew policy, and while you had broken this rule multiple times (sometimes in a row) for team missions, you couldn’t count on Batman or Red Tornado to write you an excuse as your ‘parents’ for the simple reason of cuddling with your boyfriend.

Thus, whenever you reached for your phone to check the time, Conner knew it meant you were about to leave. So, for the third night in a row, your boyfriend attempted to prevent that by keeping your phone from you. 

The first night, he simply kept it in his pocket. Everything was fine as you hadn’t even noticed it was missing until you were making out with him in his room, and your roommate had called, wondering why you weren’t back yet as it was close to curfew.

He smiled sheepishly at you, cursing himself for forgetting to silence the ringtone.

The next night, the Kryptonian remembered to place it on silent and decided to leap up to one of the high walls in the Cave to hide it up there. You could’ve left without it if it wasn’t for the fact that the locks on the door to your dorm were Bluetooth-enabled, requiring a link from an app you could only access on your phone, which you now regretted telling him. 

When you spent half an hour searching around the Cave for it, you demanded he tell you where it was since you had already searched his pockets and room. He promised to give it to you in the morning with a cheeky smile thinking he’d won since it was getting late. 

The smile was quickly wiped from his face when he discovered the beauty of Find My iPhone after watching you use it on your computer to locate the phone and make it ring. 

Though, remembering where he left it, he kept his smirk since he knew only he’d be able to reach it, at least until he watched you fly up and grab it, landing in front of him with your arms crossed eyebrows raised in mocking victory.

He forgot about that as well.

Now, he resorted to simply holding your phone hostage, figuring as long as you couldn’t get it out of his grip, you’d have to stay, and he could cuddle you all night.

“Conner, I’m so serious right now. Give me my phone.” You demanded, starting to get annoyed with your boyfriend’s childish antics.

“No.” He responded, tightening his arm around your body.

“Conner, come on, please!” You grabbed at his black shirt, pulling it back and forth to shake him.

“Why can’t you just stay here? You could transfer to Happy Harbor with M’Gann, Zatanna, and me.” He whined when he realized you weren’t going to give up easily.

Another sigh escaped your lips as you pinched the bridge of your nose in frustration. This was also the third time you had this conversation. 

“Conner, you know why I can’t do that.” You said, even if there was nothing more you wanted to do than exactly what he suggested.

But you couldn’t, and he knew it, hence the unhappy grumbling under his breath.

It wasn’t your school that was the problem. It was your parents. 

You hailed from one of the wealthiest families on the east coast, right up there with Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne, who they both knew through social events. But, they shared ideologies that aligned more with Lex regarding his view of Superman. 

It didn’t help when they realized their son possessed abilities similar to the Man of Steel. Minus the heat/X-ray vision and super strength, you could fly, manipulate energy fields, move at inhuman speeds, and possessed enhanced durability. Not the same as invulnerability but somewhat still close.

Your parents sent you to your boarding school under the guise that they wanted the best education for you, but in reality, they wanted the scientists at the school to find a way to ‘cleanse’ you of your powers. Something Lex Luthor was happy to help with at their request. 

Eventually, during another one of Lex’s attempts to destroy Superman, the Justice League found a way to hack into LexCorp, discovering your existence and the experiments being performed on you through an encrypted file. When Batman, aka Bruce Wayne, recognized your picture, he along with Superman and The Flash showed up at your school (in disguise) to meet you. 

When they revealed who they were, you excitedly showed them the extent of your abilities, thoroughly impressing them. You told them about your parents and their wish to rid you of your powers and that you didn’t know where they came from, but you had been teaching yourself how to control them. They told you they could help you learn more about your powers with time and study, especially on the newly discovered possibility of you gaining new ones over time from the information they found in your file from LexCorp.

With little convincing needed, they recruited you to The Team without your parent’s knowledge, and that’s when you met your boyfriend, Conner Kent, aka Superboy.

Of course, this posed many potential problems. 

You couldn’t risk tipping off your parents or Lex Luthor that you were with the Justice League since it could put you and the team at risk, but also your parents. Plus, the scientists couldn’t be allowed to continue their experiments on you with any success. Thankfully, you were smart enough to never reveal all your abilities to them. 

The most they knew was that you could fly and move really fast. So, you had to find subtle ways to sabotage it, which the Dark Knight was more than happy to help in that department.

He did advise not to tell your story to your teammates yet, especially Conner until they found a way to shut down Lex’s little project without hurting your parents. Of course, you agreed. 

You may not have seen eye to eye with them all the time, but you didn’t want any harm to come to them because of you. Plus, with someone like Lex Luthor involved, even you knew there was more to his words than he let on. There was a very real possibility of him using whatever came out of those experiments in a ploy against Superman and the entire Justice League. It was almost definite.

It wasn’t until Conner overheard one of your conversations with Batman in the main room that the team started to get suspicious about your mysterious origins, so they sent him to try and figure it out. He overheard you on the phone with your parents saying how much you had been ‘enjoying’ your time at the school and that ‘Uncle Lex’s’ tests were very effective. 

They were all lies, of course, but Conner didn’t know that when he rushed back to tell the others.

Leading to a mess of complicated events, including a fake mission, you tied to a tree, and Wally, for whatever reason, throwing peanuts at you. Thankfully, Batman revealed the truth to your ‘captors,’ leading them to give you embarrassed apologies.

Accepted by the team now, you got a suit to conceal your identity from not only Lex but also your parents. And you chose the alias, ‘Primus.’

This also sparked the beginning of your and Conner’s relationship with you both sharing a connection over being subjects of Lex Luthor’s experimenting, which is an odd way to bond, but slay queens.

Of course, there was already an attraction between the two of you when you first joined that had the Kryptonian confused, but the fact that he and your other comrades thought you were some molerat sent to spy on the team got in the way of him exploring that attraction.

But, not that everything was in the air, he was free to pursue his interests in you which also led him to want to tell you the truth about his connection to Lex Luthor.

The day he told you was one to remember. You were hanging out with the team on the beach and decided to ask why Batman told you to specifically never mention your background to Conner. When you saw how everyone tensed, you became nervous but he still told you, not wanting to have any secrets between you two. He was scared to tell you, thinking you would look at him differently and not consider him an actual person.

Your response left everyone speechless.

“Wow. You are a miracle to all the gays around the world.”

He held a confused expression on his face as well as M’Gann. Wally, Artemis, and Zatanna couldn’t stop laughing while Dick and Kaldur tried to hide their chuckles.

After that, you two became inseparable. He and M’Gann had already broken up due to him realizing he only felt a friendship for M’Gann, considering he didn’t understand feelings and emotions that well when he came out of the pod hence him having to ‘explore’ his attraction to you. And explore he did…

Wait, are we keeping this PG-13? Well, no one told—Ugh, fine.

He was very very very interested in you.

Happy?

Anyway, when he discovered the world around him, he only saw guys with girls and girls with guys, figuring that was what he was supposed to do.

Then, you came into his life, and, well…he thought his stomach was broken for a week and a half.

It was butterflies.

As you and he discovered your feelings for each other and soon entered a relationship, Conner began to see how some of the experiments were affecting you. Batman and the League still hadn’t found a way to shut down Lex’s operation quietly and safely, and he became frustrated with the time and danger it posed for you. 

Even with Batman’s sabotage attempts, the scientist’s tampering with your powers was causing various side effects putting a strain on your body. There was never a moment when the topic of your ‘schooling’ came up that Conner did not make clear how he felt about your parents.

Plus, since he made it his personal responsibility to walk you back to your campus every night (wearing a disguise, of course) to make sure you got back safely, at some point, he was bound to meet your roommate.

Conner had accompanied you to the gate of your campus, insisting that he walk you to your room to make sure you got back, but you didn’t want to take any chances of Lex discovering him here and linking you two together. Then, your roommate Mason decided to appear at that very moment.

You’d be lying six ways to Sunday if you said the expression on Conner’s face was neutral, at a bare minimum.

After an awkward exchange, your roommate headed to your shared dorm, saying he got you some food from the dining hall, which, for whatever reason, Conner did not appreciate. 

As soon as he was out of earshot, Conner’s first words were, ‘I don’t like him.’ That was the first time he suggested you come live at the Cave with him and the others. When you told him you couldn’t, he suggested (demanded) you switch rooms, to which you reminded him you’d just get placed with another guy. So he circled back to the first option, and you chose to kiss him and run back to your room before he decided to drag you back to Mount Justice (which you had no doubt he would do given the opportunity).

So yeah, it was safe to say Connerhated when you’d leave back to campus every night.

“I don’t like your parents,” He growled, the 1000th time you’ve probably heard him say that exact sentence.

“Conner, I need to get back,” You spoke softly, rubbing his head again, hoping he would give in. But, knowing him and how stubborn he could be, there wasn’t that much hope in the world.

“No, you don’t! You need to stay here where I can keep you safe.” He remarked, pushing himself up and throwing the blanket to the floor before standing up to walk toward his room with your phone still in his hand.

“Conner…” You groaned, getting up yourself and following after him.

You continued to call out to him as you walked through the hallways, eventually reaching the door to his room just as your phone began ringing in his hand. 

“Oh look, it’s your little boyfriend now.”

You could see Mason’s contact appearing across your phone screen before he opened the door to his bedroom walking inside. And even though you could hear the sarcasm dripping from his voice, the urge to make a joke was hard to resist.

“I have another boyfriend? Wow. I must be hot stuff,” You chuckled, flipping imaginary hair out of your face while following him inside the bedroom before closing the door behind you.

Conner held a sour look at your words, very much not impressed. “Not funny,” He huffed.

“What! You said it. Come on, Conner. You know what will happen if I don’t go back.”

“And I know what will happen if you do go back!” He shouted.

You froze right where you were, surprised at the outburst while he continued his tirade, “You barely could keep up today with training. You’ve got so many drugs and serums running through your body, not to mention Batman’s dilutions to nullify their effects and it’s clearly taking a toll on you! You think I didn’t notice how exhausted you looked when you put up that shield? Let’s not forget you basically fell out of the air mid-flight and would’ve hit the ground from 50 feet up if I hadn’t caught you in time. These experiments are hurting you, Y/N! And you think I’m just going to keep letting you go back so they can do more twisted shit to you? Do you really think I’m going to be okay with that?!” 

At this point, Conner had grabbed you by your shoulders, his voice almost in hysterics.

You could tell he was trying to sound unaffected, but the trembling in his voice was unmistakable. His hands clenched at your shoulders, dropping your phone on the ground which probably cracked and broke it, yet, you couldn’t find an ounce of care in your body about it seeing how distressed your boyfriend was standing in front of you.

The experiments were becoming more extreme, there was no denying it. You were the one on the end of the needles and syringes, so you’d definitely know.

Conner was right, it was definitely putting more stress on your body from constantly fighting the drugs and ‘medicines’ they injected into you. Batman thought adding what he called a ‘dilution’ solution (rhyme unintended) to counter the effects of the drugs would help. But, your body’s immune system saw it as another foreign virus and attempted to flush it from your system.

He and the Red Tornado were concerned when they saw how you were barely keeping up with the others during training. Usually, you were easily the most combative fighter on your team, picking up your lessons and training easily when you joined. But, the last few weeks had been different with today being the worst out of all of them. 

Just trying to fly felt like you were pulling 10 truckloads of bricks, and that was usually the easiest thing for you to do. When had basically fainted during an exercise and fell out of flight, Conner had to leap up to catch you before you hit the ground head-first.

Everyone came to make sure you were okay while the Kryptonian lost it on the Dark Knight. Not only was he yelling and shouting at him, he was also blaming the entire League for allowing you to stay in this situation as long as they did and threatened that if they didn’t find a way to get you out of that school and away from Lex’s experiments soon, he’d take matters into his own hands.

He carried you away to his room to rest, stating you were done with training for the day. When you woke up to him staring at you while caressing your face, you jokingly asked if you should be worried about this in the future. 

You were still slightly confused on why you were in his room and had asked him what happened only for him to respond with a kiss on your lips before nuzzling his face into your neck, breathing in your scent. 

When you figured he wasn’t ready to speak about it, that’s when you suggested going to the lounge room to watch movies and TV, figuring he wouldn’t let you out of his sight from his behavior. He carried you the way there and was going to let you rest against him, but you said you liked it better when he laid against you (which he did too but he would never admit it).

Your friends had stopped by to check on you when they were passing through, and while thanking them and letting them know you were okay, you had to pinch at your boyfriend’s back a few times feeling how tense he got from his arms tightening around you whenever one of them came closer than he liked. 

He was almost like a guard dog that was on full alert, seeing anything that came near you as a possible threat. Somehow, you got the sense that a part of him needed to be near you and constantly holding or having some type of physical contact with you, assuring himself that you were okay and safe. You figured it was a Kryptonian thing.

Now, you knew exactly what happened and why he had been so clingy with you and grumpy at everyone who came by, especially Batman. He looked like he wanted to snap his head off.

And the look on his face communicated his feelings clearly as day without him having to say a word. He was scared, terrified really. You figured the sight of you falling and hitting the ground like that had more than an impressionable effect on the Kryptonian. If the roles were reversed and it was him that almost got hurt like that, you’d probably (definitely) be acting the same way (worse actually).

“Conner, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize-” You started to apologize but he didn’t let you finish, pressing his lips against yours.

You stood there lost in each other for a moment, forgetting about the world outside the bedroom door and all the problems you had. It was a blissful moment, one you wish you could stay in forever.

Eventually, though, you had to come up for air, breaking the kiss as Conner once again brought a hand up to caress your face.

“Don’t apologize. None of this is your fault, but the only way you’re going back to that school is if I’m going with you. And if not, then you’re staying here.” He declared to which you raised a playful eyebrow.

It was no secret to anyone but you that you very much enjoyed how protective your boyfriend was over you, liking to poke at him a few times just to get a reaction.

“Do I get a say in this?” You asked, twirling your fingers through the hair at the back of his head.

A slight smirk appeared on his lips before he leaned his head down between your jaw and shoulder. You leaned to the side, allowing him more access while he traced his nose up and down your neck.

“Nope,” He stated.

“Rude.”

“Don’t care.”

You stood there in silence for a few more minutes with your head resting on his shoulder while he still traced your neck, planting a few kisses now and then. His hands were rubbing up and down your back with one slipping under your shirt to press against your skin which left you shuddering in his hold. How was it a man who ran so hot could have hands that felt so cold?

“Why can’t we stay here forever?” You muttered, nuzzling your face into his chest.

“We could if you’d just move in here. We could wake up and have breakfast together. Go to school together. Have movie nights all the time. You could sleep in my room, which means we could even-”

“Ah ah ah, watch those hands, tough guy!” Your hands shot down to his wrists, stopping them from reaching into your pants with a laugh.

PG-13, remember?

Ever since he was introduced to the world of corny but with an ‘H,’ you’d had a hard time keeping his hands off you. His libido was something else. Another Kryptonian thing, you figured.

He playfully whined as you dragged his hands off you before leaning down to grab your phone off the floor. Surprisingly, it didn’t have a scratch on them. There were missed calls and messages from Mason, alerting you that curfew was soon and asking where you were. Conner grumbled as he watched you reply to your roommate's messages.

“Oh, hush you, big baby. I’m asking him to cover for me since I’m apparently spending the night. You’re lucky it’s Friday,” You laughed before he snatched your phone again, “Conner!”

He held your phone above you, using the phone’s camera to snap a picture of you two before quickly sending it to Mason. You launched yourself off the ground to snatch the device back while flying above the room to see what he sent.

“Seriously?”

“Had to make sure he knows whose room you’re gonna be sleeping in,” He joked, though you knew part of him was serious. The boy was so freaking territorial.

You loved it though.

A hum sounded from your lips though when a thought came to mind and a mischievous grin appeared on your face as you tapped your phone against your chin, “Maybe I’ll tell him I’m bored and ask him to come to get me.”

That wiped the smirk off his face quickly, “You wouldn’t…”

You played like you were typing a fake message as Conner jumped at you, chasing you all over the room.

Yeah, you knew you wanted to stay here forever.

☀️ | Conner Kent/Superboy | ☀️

☀️ | Masterlists | ☀️

[interstellarsystem]

Cofronting with your in-system partner is very nice because you get to just. Be there with them but different because you're in one body. I'm cuddling in headspace with him while he's got main body control and is scrolling through Pinterest and it's almost like we're in separate psychical bodies in a way. But it's closer in a way too? It's hard to describe but I think in-system relationships should be acknowledged more and not just treated as cringe or lesser.

People (usually outside of system community groups but not always) feel like they have a judgemental vibe towards in-system partners even if they accept other aspects of systems with open arms. Like it feels like some see it as sad to "have no one else". I'm poly and I have an in-system partner and an out-of-system partner and I don't see either of them as lesser because guess what? They're both people, within my system or not. I don't "have no one else", I love both of them a lot and I wouldn't trade either of them for the other.

Having an in-system relationship like that can be so... Healing, too. Like not only are they there a lot of the time compared to out of system partners so you have more support but you get to have such a close bond with someone in your own brain. And considering you have to share the body, I'd rather be friends with my headmates at least so it doesn't feel like I'm stuck at a horrible office job for the rest of my life. Dating someone just means you're closer to another aspect of your system and really it in our experience makes us feel more... Unified when there's complex positive relationships between us. For some systems it's actively a part of healing from trauma to get to be friends or at least tolerant of your headmates and sometimes it leads to dating which can be a huge benefit whether you're going for functional multiplicity or integration or anything. Of course it's not the only way to heal, that would be silly to even imply, it's just... Really not a thing that should be so looked down upon.

It's not cringe to "only be able to get with your headmates" because they tend to know others in their system better than most people outside of it on the basis of sharing a brain and being aware of things like inner thought processes. For some people they'd even prefer to only date their system members and that's great and shouldn't come with the sentiment of "they can't get with anyone else, that's sad".

[yan-lorkai]

Hiiiiiiiiii😍 ...so happy to see your request open😍😍 please write for yandere jamil and yandere riddle sharing the same darling (female reader) .(please make it fluffy if possible)...thank you ❤❤❤❤

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Warnings: Yandere content, poly relationship, female reader, implied isolation, murders, punishments.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ In theory, it is a relationship capable of being long-lasting and functional. Riddle and Jamil are able to maintain a relationship based on mutual respect and the desire to keep you protected from other people. But before that happens they have things to discuss and deal with it, Jamil doesn't like how restrictive Riddle is and Riddle feels insecure that you'll like Jamil more for all the things he knows how to do.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Although when they resolve these issues, they are quick to work to make you fall in love with them and propose a three-way relationship, Jamil and Riddle will always make sure you feel comfortable with them, whether this is your first time having a poly relationship or not.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Riddle has no knowledge on what is expected in a romantic relationship but he did read quite a ton of romances. He is a little nervous but he doesn't show it, maintaining a gentleman persona around you, opening doors and accompanying you wherever you need to go, lending his ear to your problems and coaxing you to spend time with him and Jamil. He's not that touchy, both because he is not used to it and because he is too mindful of your boundaries and won't do something you don't explicitly want, he has more of a acts of service as his love language, but he occasionally likes to hold your hand or put one of his arms around your shoulders. He do more romantic things as your relationship progress and you're both comfortable with it.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Jamil, on the other hand, is more relaxed with his affection to you, he knows you truly loves them both equally and he adjust himself to what you're more comfortable with. Though I do see him as someone who has more of a acts or service and quality time person, he absolutely love to spend his free time with you because you breath new air onto his stagnant life, you are a sight for sore eyes. And he is left giddy everytime you come to watch him play, scoring multiple times just to hear you cheering for him.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Jamil sometimes helps Riddle articulate his thoughts, though he does find funny how much Riddle fumble awkwardly around you.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Having a sister, Jamil knows quite well what get a girl's heart swelling happily and he does all sorts of things for you. He even let you using as a model for you, braiding his hair and painting his nails. Jamil likes gifting you things, though he rather likes making them himself. Turns the gift into something more personal since he was the one who created it. He can makes jewelry for you, can knit, sew and weave you clothes.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ And while Jamil makes you those things, Riddle remain more suave, writing little poems or passing you little cute notes to remember you to drink water and take care of yourself. If Jamil provides for more on the material side of things, Riddle works more on your emotional, always checking on you.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ They fall in sync very quickly and understand each other very well because of their love for you, almost being able to communicate through their looks. Sometimes they send each other photos and videos of you or exchange names about people that are being a bit too flirty and touchy with you, people who ended up missing and a bloody mess, oops. You're like the light in the end of the tunnel for them, the only good thing in their life and they spoil rotten. Attention, affection, everything you could ask for. They only ask is that you don't let your light be tainted by those other peoples.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ While on NRC, you guys normally have study dates or baking dates, chitchat on Riddle's unbirthday parties, or just do something you really want to. You also have regularly sleepovers on your dorm.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Things got complicated on vacation because Jamil and Riddle lives in different countries, plus Jamil has to deal with a lot being Kalim's servant. You three have to think of a way to deal with it everytime.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ They don't punish you, they can't. Riddle can collar you, sure, but that won't stop you, if anything you'd be angry. So Jamil is usually the one to make you stop acting a certain way using his unique magic on you while cradles your face lovingly in his hands as he stared into your eyes. Your eyes slowly rolling back and your mind foggy, but it's ok, they've got you. Just stay pretty and love them as much as they love you.

[xkseii]

⎮The magnificent bird and the golden cage⎮

⏤ Including → 18+ content

⏤ Warnings → implied yandere's behaviour, protectiveness, mention of violence, implied manipulation, unhealthy relationship

⏤ Summary → Who is the magnificent bird in the gold cage, and who keeps him locked there.

Part 1 → Alexis Ness, Michael Kaiser, Oliver Aiku & Julien Loki

✖︎ You are the magnificent golden pheasant, and he's the falconer.

✷ Despite his angelic face, Alexis Ness is more twisted than you thought. He hates not being in control or being able to see what you're doing and with whom.

✷ He needs to know everything, so he can protect you, even though he is aware that you can defend yourself fairly well. You are his treasure, the most beautiful bird, and he's convinced that you can't survive in the wild without him.

✷ Alexis has the habit of keeping you close, whether it's having your hand in his, an arm around your waist, or simply holding your sleeve. To function properly, he needs to feel your presence near him.

✷ It is also the same reason why he goes everywhere with you, to all his matches, even if it's in another country, he threatens the coach to not play if you aren't here. Whenever he gets out, you are by his side, and the paparazzi are always excited to take new pictures of you two.  

✷ The staff and his teammates are used to his behaviour, but they can't help but have chills going down their spines when Alexis glares at them just because they manage to catch your attention.

✷ Don't get him wrong, though, he has been and always will be the sweetest and kindest with you. And he will never let you see his more twisted side of himself, you only see him as protective of you.

✷ Alexis absolutely adores you.

✖︎ You locked yourselves together in a golden cage.

✷ Michael Kaiser has always been greedy and arrogant, along with being crazily possessive.

✷ It is what scared most of his past partners away, so he tried to keep it down when you got together. But one day, after someone tried to flirt with you in front of him, he snapped and did something unimaginable.

✷ He knew it was over between you from that moment, when he showed his true colours. And yet, you only smiled sweetly, helping him hide his mistake and continued on with your life. To say he was confused, was an understatement.

✷ Though, he understood why, not so long after. As he never imagined that you could be as bad, if not worse than him, especially when you almost bashed someone's head open publicly. Man did it gave him butterflies.

✷ You complete each other, he is on the aggressive side and takes his time, savouring it, while you are more manipulative and tend to end things quickly. He may have jokingly said in one of his interviews “we are a match made in hell”, the journalists far from knowing how true it was.

✷ Still, you keep a good appearance publicly, and many fans of his see you as the perfect couple. And Kaiser never misses an opportunity of showing you off, only making the fans love your dynamic even more.

✷ Everything will be fine for you, as long as nobody comes snooping around your shared house.

✖︎ You are the wild bird who tamed his own falconer, and he ended up in the golden cage.

✷ Oliver Aiku has always been a womanizer, and never really cared about his past relationship. Despite his tendencies to flirt left and right, he never cheated in his life and promised himself to never do. As long as it stays a flirt, for him, it was alright.

✷ Until he starts to go out with you. Not only you had a strong personality, but you were such a good flirt that you managed to make him go out with you. Which, was an accomplishment for someone like him.

✷ Unfortunately for Oliver, you were a bit spiteful sometimes. And after telling him multiple times that you hated seeing him flirt with people in front of you, you started doing the same.

✷ The more he would do it, the less time you would spend with him and end up hanging out with other people. It didn't disturb him, or he never noticed, until he got out to buy something and saw you with another person, chuckling as they held your forearm, and boy, he lost his mind.

✷ Suddenly, he was all over you, by your side all the time, never looking at anyone else but now. The more he pays attention to you, the more he would get rewarded with love and affection. You had him wrapped around your fingers.

✷ And then, it became uncontrollable. He needed and desired with all his heart for you to be his one and only, going as far as taking care of the ones standing in his way. This calm and calculative man turned into a much more dangerous character. He would do anything if it means that you will be his, and no one else's.

✷ He would purposely mix up your clothes, steal some of your accessories, send messages to you when he knew that you were with friends, and delete contacts on your phone or pictures from people he found too close to you. The only person you needed to be close to, was him.

✷ He couldn't live without you anymore.

✖︎ You are the falconer, and he is the tamed eagle.

✷ Julien Loki is the sweetest man you have ever met.

✷ He is kind and caring, so soft and delicate with you, whatever he's doing. Despite being rather demanding with his teammates, he never shouted or ordered anything in your presence.

✷ To say Julien Loki was a sweetheart is an understatement.

✷ Everyone, teammates, staff, and fans were always admiring your relationship, seeming so perfect. Yet, it was far from the truth, on the common norms, standards, and expectations at least.

✷ While Julien was considered perfect, you were the complete opposite. Aggressive, manipulative, perfectionist and intimidating, most traits that a person shouldn't have, or not to this extent, at least. And yet, Julien was head over heels for you.

✷ He knew how you were when he started dating you, you have been honest about it, and told him that choosing you would be the worst decision of his life. But he never regretted it. For him, this relationship was his safe space, only filled with joy and bliss.

✷ With you, he loved not being in charge, not being seen as a prodigy, he was just a normal human being. Leaving everything to you, he trusts you immensely and knows better than to disobey. He follows you around like a puppy, trusts you with his diet, and lets you take care of him whenever he is sick or injured.

✷ Despite how unhealthy it is, as he knows that if you ever decide to, you could cut him off from the world completely. He relishes in this peace he found, and never would go back on his words, that you were the best decision of his life.

✷ If one day, you do decide to hide him from the world, he won't complain. He only needs you.

⏤ Thank you for reading! I wish you a great day.

⏤ here is my masterlist & ko-fi ⏤

[ohcorny]

hey corny. so i always see people recommending to outline their story before starting it, but could you talk a little bit more about what that means? what is an outline and how do you structure one? how long are the ones you write, depending on the project? do you focus on plot beats or feelings? how specific do you get? can u recommend any readings for learning more?

up front i don't have any resources for this, only experience. and outlines feel like one of those things where it's like... there are a million ways to do it and the way that works for me might not work for you. i have a friend who writes out all his ideas on index cards and that, for me, is insane. but he's also a better writer than me so who can say what is right or wrong.

anyway an outline is essentially a sketch but for a story. you go through the whole thing, start to finish, and figure out what goes where and what happens when. the idea is that this is the stage where you work out all the big picture stuff and make sure it all fits together, now, and not after you've drawn twenty pages and suddenly go "wait shit that doesn't work" and have to do it over. it is much easier to delete and rewrite a paragraph than to redraw several pages.

doing anything more, ie including dialogue or feelings, depends entirely on how useful that information is to you at that point in the process and whether the purpose of the outline is for your own guidance, or so somebody else can tell what you're trying to achieve.

this got really long with multiple examples

here is an excerpt from the original outline i used to pitch Hunger's Bite to publishers. this one had to be polished to a professional standard, because somebody else was going to read it and decide whether they wanted to give me thousands of dollars to tell this story. (also several of the details are no longer accurate. for instance it now takes place 9 years earlier lmao)

this paragraph represents the first eight pages of the book. the final book is 264 pages long, and the outline was 12 pages of paragraphs as dense as this one.

it establishes where we are, who's there, and what they're doing. i describe their conversation, but i don't commit to the dialogue. i will occasionally include snippets of literal dialogue, but usually only if it's Important Dialogue, or i just don't want to forget a good idea i had while outlining. it's not expected at this step.

an outline written as part of a pitch to a publisher should tell the whole story, with all the important details, and leave nothing ambiguous. they need to know the tone, shape, and the arcs. no secrets! all the spoilers. outlines for yourself should do this too, but outlines for others need to be as clear about your vision as possible. again, an outline like this exists for the purpose of getting you paid thousands of dollars. you should write it like that.

in comparison, here's an excerpt from the outline i wrote for revisions to my WIP prose novel, so i could show it to my agent (who already read the draft) to be like "do these changes sound good?" i'm not selling it to anyone yet, just making a guide so i can have a conversation about it. so it doesn't need to be neat, it just needs to be functional and clear. the first chapter was entirely new stuff. the second bit was just writing down what was already in the chapter that existed.

i have historically been very bad at outlining things when i don't think i "need" to, and only wrote this one after having written like 60k words of the book without any overall plan. i gave what i had to my agent for feedback and then sat down and figured out how i could apply it. it's made the whole revisions process significantly less daunting. now i have a checklist for things i need to do! this one was a paragraph or two for each chapter, with the ones that needed a lot of rewriting given a bit more detail.

lastly, here's a bit of the outline for the first roger crenshaw book. i was the only person who had to see this, and since the story was planned to be very short i didn't have to worry about a whole lot. as long as i knew what was supposed to go where, it would work. honestly it's not a whole lot different from the previous example.

this one was like five paragraphs and it did the job, and this story was like 15k words. you only need as much or as little as will actually help you on the page.

basically if you take nothing else from this, it's that there are multiple ways to write an outline, that it does not need to be perfect if you're doing it for yourself, and that it only needs what you think is important (unless it is for other people. then it should have everything). and also it's a good idea to do it earlier in the project than after you've written 60k words or drawn--jesus christ i got up to 12 chapters in never satisfied? it's amazing i didn't quit sooner

[damagedcoda6669]

okay so i am. so confused! are you a system/plural after all?

you made a post on your twitter about being the "original host" which is. a plural term of course but ALSO i'd like to say that the idea of there being an "original" is veeery misleading and not actually possible in DID/OSDD

the reason DID/OSDD exists at all is because a child's identity was unable to fully form in their developmental years, so the identity splits off and fractures into several parts necessary to keep the child safe. because of this, there can be no "original host" because there was never an identity formed that could be considered the "core," in a way, at all. it gives off the idea that there was one set identity that split off others later on in life, which isnt how DID/OSDD works in terms of alter formation

also, the disorder can only be developed in your early formative years, so its mostly unheard of for a system to go through life with a single part only to split off later on. your brain splits off alters in response to stressors or traumatic experiences, and so when the disorder is formed there would have to have been a fracture from the beginning where your identity wasnt able to come together to form a single one. multiple alters can be "original," in a sense, but there is not one sole original

i suppose that other alters could have simply been integrated and so they arent a part of your system anymore (leaving you as the "original host"), but thats probably not my place to explore and its all a bit too complicated for a tumblr ask

there are parts that have been around longer than all the other parts and there are parts that identify with/as the body or the head of the system, buuuut i just wanted to share that tidbit of information because misinformation can be very harmful when it comes to healthy plurality!!

in any case, dont let this cause you to spiral into more self-doubt because — surprise! DID/OSDD is supposed to be hard to understand or identify within yourself. its a trauma disorder formed to make you as functional as possible, so generally the disorder tries very hard to hide your other parts from you as to protect you from those traumas. being confused is a major part of plurality, and most long-term hosts do have the misconception of being "original" because there was no reason to think otherwise.

its also fully possible that you have been the host for the majority (or entirety) of your life, so dont get me wrong! im just trying to share that the idea of an "original" alter isnt possible.

regardless of whether or not you're plural, i wish you the best in exploring yourself and the way that your brain functions. you're doing great, truly!

and if i misinterpreted anything, im deeply sorry for that too. i'm just a stranger on the internet trying to provide input using the information i was given, and i genuinely dont mean any offense by this ask. DID/OSDD is also something i'm very interested in and passionate about as an autistic individual, so... im very sorry for the essay

THIS IS SO HELPFUL U HAVE NO IDEA. I KNOW NEXT 2 NOTHING ABT PLURALITY AND SYSTEMS. dont apologize 4 the rambling, its much appreciated!!! i get the same way abt bpd and autism so i get it!!! psychology and mental disorders r one of my special interests so im the same way!!! ^_^

i guess my post moreso came from the concern that i only have vry vry spotty, fuzzy, sometimes FAKE memories of my childhood, if any at all (id say i remember less than 1% of it, and most of what i "remember" is only becuz of photo evidence or testimony from other ppl) and my identity only rlly formed when i joined the internet at maybe 12 yrs old. so i sometimes have doubts that i formed when the body was born, but rather that i was created and that im a product of the internet inparticular, but that might also be a delusion??? its confusing, whenever i get ideas abt my identity they turn out 2 be fake sometimes. its hard 2 pinpoint what i am. so i was trying 2 say that i dont think ive been here since the birth of the body and that i spawned later on. idk if im explaining myself correctly, its hard 4 me 2 understand. but i appreciate u correcting me and explaining it 2 me in a way thats easy 4 me 2 digest!!! i dont want 2 spread misinfo evr.

i think im plural??? ive had liek 8 headmates (and a headspace at one point) that ive been able 2 identify, but nobodys rlly taken me srsly abt it until vry vry recently. ive always been told that im making it up 4 attention, or that im faking DID, and i was even told by a dumbass doctor that it was just my autism and that they were all imaginary. i nvr rlly claimed 2 be plural either, i always just got shot down whenevr i introduced the possibility of there being other sentient ppl in my brain. but i think that i am, probably. im not sticking 2 any labels atm becuz im confused and uneducated abt my headmates and im not diagnosed w anything, but i feel comfy with plural as a label becuz its a vague umbrella term. i nevr claimed 2 have DID becuz ive always known that my headmates cant front and take over my body (ive even asked one and she told me she couldnt LOL) ALTHOUGH. they MIGHT be able 2 front simultaneously as me, ive had edgy (whos currently dormant) finish art 4 me if i got tired, back in 2020 when he was still active. and i know alters fronting is a diagnostic requirement for DID (i think???) but i dunno. theres SOMETHING up w my brain.

i tried 2 post abt it on twitter actually, that i thought i was plural (a handful of ppl asked me so i wanted 2 confirm) but i deleted the post like an hour later becuz i wasnt getting any comments or likes and i was scared that i did something wrong and didnt know, or that im not actually plural and other plural ppl were mad at me 4 using their label. it made me so anxious >n<

i am such a yapper.. 4give me

[captain-hen]

the ‘sunshine personified’ / ‘he makes everyone around him happy’ thing is sooo interesting because i don’t think we’ve really seen that from buck, have we? and by that i specifically mean in the fanon context of buck being the social PTA dad at all of chris’s school functions while eddie broods in the corner and only wants to talk to buck. if anything, we’ve seen the opposite behavior with eddie — he’s clearly good friends with chris’s friends’ parents, he was so happy and glowy when he first met the 118, he befriended may and linda so easily at dispatch, and i could go on and on.

he just seems to connect with people so easily, and i think a lot of that genuine friendliness is lost on people because he also has a tendency to get casually snarky with people he isn’t so fond of, whether it’s annoying temporary coworkers or selfish people on calls or opportunistic reporters. the same thing goes for his private nature vs. buck’s bleeding heart — it’s assumed that eddie isn’t a people person because he likes to keep his innermost feelings close to his chest and it’s also assumed that buck is good at instantly forming connections bc his feelings spill out of him at all times.

and like. it’s not that buck isn’t a kind and friendly person, but i do feel like his specialty is deep acts of love for the people he loves. idk if i’m articulating this right but i’m trying to point out that he’s never more ‘sunshine personified’ than when he’s with the 118 and co. he would do anything for them and he lights up around them in a way that he doesn’t really do with anyone else. and we haven’t seen him be so casually close to people outside that friend group.

when we got a glimpse of connor and buck’s friendship, it seemed more about what they could do for each other than about true connection. when we got that episode about buck and red, a lot of it was projection on buck’s part re. his fear of abandonment and his desire not to let his future turn out like red’s and it was also about his need to fix things for everyone else so he can feel like he’s needed. when he met lucy, he was desperate to fill a void and not feel as hollow as he felt going home to taylor kelly every night with his sister and his brother in law and his partner gone.

don’t get me wrong, i’m not trying to ascribe selfish motivations to buck bc i do believe he always tries to do the right thing, but when it comes to people outside of the 118, with the way it’s been written in canon, i feel like those dynamics have always been more about his own issues than they’ve been about actual friendship. and this isn’t even getting into how he acts when he feels like someone new is encroaching on his territory (see: eddie in 2x01 and lena). idk….i just think that kind of casual connection comes so much easier to eddie for whatever reason. maybe it’s because his abandonment issues are a whole other flavor, or because eddie’s upbringing was so different from buck’s. either way, it’s so interesting and ppl blinded by fanon are really missing out. i apologize for the long ass rambling and i don’t think i really articulated this well, so TL;DR — fanon sunshine buck and broody eddie do not exist in canon and i’m Very excited to see the way that mr. possessive, jealous, broody evan buckley acts when eddie meets someone new this week :)

no, you're so right about all of this, though! buck genuinely does light up and is at his most comfortable and golden retriever-like around the 118, because he sees them as family and trusts them so much—and i think people get carried away and attribute the same thing to everything else (like, for example, the social PTA dad thing). when in canon, buck on multiple occasions has not dealt with new people too well—whether it was eddie, or lena, or ravi...and now, as it looks like, tommy. and you kinda hit the nail on the head about how most of buck's relationships outside the 118 being very transactional in nature up to this point, it's sad, but it's true.

eddie is the complete opposite in this regard, though, like, the guy goes around collecting new friends like they're pokemon. lol. he is so wildly different to the fandom portrayal of him as this anti-social loner that i struggle with understanding how people even got there in the first place (i mean, i know why. but still).

anyway, buck's issues with jealousy and insecurity are sooo interesting to delve into as character flaws and so much more compelling than fandom's portrayal of him as a perfect angel baby who's never done anything wrong, but 🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️ at least i have canon giving me the stuff i want lol

[wing-ed-thing]

Jean Kirstein Relationship Headcanons

Tags/Warnings: No Reader Pronouns

𓆃 All around a fairly well-rounded partner who will treat you right in a simple, low-drama but loving relationship.

𓆃 Jean is the kind of guy who thinks he already knows it all, especially if it's his first relationship. Most of this has to do with his mom, who raised him "to be a gentleman."

𓆃 Buying chocolates, flowers, holding the door open, walking closest to the road on the sidewalk, and paying the bill to name a few, Jean has a strict list of behaviors that he's already designated as his to perform in a relationship.

𓆃 It'll surely throw him for a loop if you don't want him to do any of them, especially if your relationship leans on the more non-traditional side.

𓆃 But no matter the dynamic or how you present in a relationship, Jean continues to function with his own idea of "chivalry."

𓆃 Throwing your card or cash out to pay the bill on one of your first few dates will surely throw a wrench in your night.

𓆃 And it's not that Jean thinks that "you think he's weak" or is insecure that you might "have a higher income," but it comes more from the fact that he had a specific idea of how things were going to go and Jean isn't great at readjusting.

𓆃 He's upset and semi-moody the rest of the night because Mama Kirstein taught him that he's supposed to get the bill, but how the hell is he going to bring that up? He can't.

𓆃 Not to mention if his finances are a lot lower than he anticipated. He wants to pay, but who else isn't embarrassed by their card declining?

𓆃 He's not attached to an unhealthy extent to the concept of being a man (or masculinity in general), but it is very important to him and a part of who he is.

𓆃 While this correlated to physical strength and status to him in his youth, as he grows older, this will manifest as healthy self-grooming, confidence in his communication skills, and emotional sharing, using language that doesn't denigrate others, and strong and inclusive leadership skills.

𓆃 And it's important to note that Jean's idea of being a man also strongly correlates to taking care of and caring for you.

𓆃 He's especially skilled at baking, and prides himself on making meals for you. Whether it's baked goods for special occasions or little treats like breakfast in bed, Jean enjoys using his skill in the kitchen to surprise you.

𓆃 Even if his surprises are impractical. You might have to tell him that while some of his gestures are thoughtful, they aren't practical.

𓆃 Breakfast in bed means you have to change the sheets because crumbs got everywhere. His running you a nice bath with flower petals was thoughtful, but you had just seen the largest insect you had ever seen in your entire life and you think it ran to hide in the towels.

𓆃 He gets a bit down on himself the same way you paying for your date would. Where he almost sees it as a personal failure. That he wants to do nice things for you and it's embarrassing when he doesn't hit the mark.

𓆃 Jean has a bad habit of inadvertently taking this out on you by becoming quiet and pouting, making you regret saying anything. That's a conversation to have.

𓆃 And sometimes he's misguided about what he thinks is best: for you, for himself, and for both of you.

𓆃 Sometimes, he'll fixate on something "chivalrous" to an annoying extent.

𓆃 Perhaps he notices you're walking on the street side of the sidewalk, he might grab you by the shoulders and physically move you to the other side saying, "Nope, wrong side."

𓆃 That might be annoying to you, and you'll have to remind him multiple times to stop.

𓆃 That's one thing that might be concerning to you, is when he locks into something, he needs to be told multiple times before he actually listens to you.

𓆃 He also has a hard time setting boundaries with his mother, so hope you have a good relationship with Mama Kirstein.

𓆃 Overall, Jean clearly cares about you very much. He's just a little slow when it comes to change and admitting when one thing isn't the answer to everything.

𓆃 It might take you both some time to adjust to and communicate how you want your relationship to operate, but once Jean understands what you need, you'll never want for anything.

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