#druid... answers?

[druidshollow]

*punches a hole through ur door and opens it*hiii~ Tell me about your ancients I've seen some of your art of them but I do not know the deets if there's any public.

hello. i've decided to go absolutely off the wall with this one instead of answering like a normal person! :D

separating this into categories, i've made a masterpost of ancient headcanons. sorry this took so long to answer but i think you will come to understand as most of this only existed in my brain until you hit my inbox

Government/the Council Pillars

A local group is consisted of atleast three cities, and always has atleast one Council Pillar, typically on the oldest structure but not always. The Council Pillar houses the governing body consisting of the High Councillors, the Esteemed, and the local Low Council.

HIGH COUNCILLORS High Councillors are the highest government of their society and are responsible for many things, including punishment of criminals, judgment regarding severe crimes, assigning people to governing positions, and overseeing their Lower Councils and the Iterator Project. They are only chosen by eachother, and live in the highest rooms of Council Pillars. They typically come from backgrounds of privilege, scholars, rich folk and people of influence. They are the only people who aren't required to always have an ID drone on hand.

ESTEEMED MEMBERS OF THE ITERATOR PROJECT A position gifted to Iterator Project scientists who show special talent with and understanding of the iterators and/or organism purposing. Esteemed Members are directly responsible for an iterator in some way. They are administrators, project leads, bio-engineers and analysts, to name a few. They must be endorsed by another Esteemed or a High Councillor, and then be approved by the rest of their High Council. They are either chosen from the pre-existing team on an iterator, or from scientists and new scholars. Typically, the top student of the graduate class from the School of Solutions is endorsed and sent to a structure in need of scientists.

ADMINISTRATORS Iterator Admins are always Esteemed and are considered of more influence than their peers. They can access everything an iterator can about themselves as well as more. They are responsible for the continued functionality of their charges, as well as the quality of their workload. They are often approached by their local High Council for their opinions on issues and are typically held at very high esteem (haha) by society. Their rooms in the Council Pillars are always above the rest of their local Esteemed, and contains a large motherboard of sorts for their iterator. Here they can access their statistics, health, work, current processes, memories, overseers, and probably most other things you can think of. Iterators must run some things by their admins before they do them, for example purposing life.

LOW COUNCILLORS If a city loses a Low Councillor to death or ascension, candidates are chosen by their Council and an election is held after multiple sessions of debate. Low Councillors are responsible for less severe crime, city construction/welfare, management of emergency resources, overseeing festivals/celebrations, and governing law enforcement, as well as other municipal work.

Punishment for crime is usually things like public service, but severe crimes and sometimes breaches of sensitive information can involve more harsh punishment. Violent criminals or enemies of the High Councils are sometimes responded to with a... mandatory visit to the religious acid bath! (void fluid tub time babyyyy)

There is visible class divide. People still live below the clouds, away from the Iterator cities. These lower industrial settlements are often quite slumlike, and the high class are scorned and often disdained by them. These settlements tend to be quite close-knit and casual, very opposite to the professional and flamboyant nature of the higher class. They have eachothers' backs because the government doesn't seem to have theirs. Life extending treatment and easy access to void fluid are not available to these people. They must fight very hard to reach scholar positions and achieve "success" in high society's eyes.

Everyone outside the High Councillors MUST have an ID Drone so they can be kept track of. Ways around this are common among the lower class. Some even just smash them as act of rebellion.

Anatomy/The Ancient Race/Customs

Ancients share a common ancestor with Scavengers and are bipedal mammals. They have frills and barbells like scavengers do, and their "hair" is not really hair and is closer to large frills in a sense? to be fully honest I'm not fully sure how it works. The Ancients have large hands, long limbs, and three digits on their feet. They have flat teeth, except for four sharp shark-like back teeth evolved for breaking insect exoskeletons and shellfish shells. Ancients now typically live off of nectar and plant matter.

Sexual dimorphism is incredibly limited and is only really visible in the sin bits. Trans and queer people are widely accepted and pretty common. Having children is rarely a priority. There are medical advancements available mostly to the rich that allow for lifespans to be stretched much longer than natural, and many consider introducing new lives to the Great Cycle immoral.

Although their spiritual beliefs revolve around enlightenment beyond the self, they are an indulgent people. Celebrations and festivals take place throughout the major cycles, and body mods and fancy clothes are commonplace in iterator cities. There are alcohol and drug equivalents, i sketched a comic once (that I've never posted) in which Flowers gets absolutely wasted. I'll probably post the full thing sometime but it in general covers some pretty sensitive themes haha

Its a drunk evil man wow

I haven't chosen any specific festivals but I imagine there are some based on the seasons, and there is probably large celebrations when people of importance go to the void.

The Ancients are called that for their innate understanding of the Great Cycle, and for the old belief that their kind all have old souls. They've been around the cycle so many times that they themselves Are Ancient. Extended lifespans has resulted in the same people remaining in positions of power for very extended periods of time, and the desperation for a solution to the Great Problem to be found increasing. I have some confusing headcanons on how the cycle of life and death works- I'll spare you all that garbage for now mostly because I've already been writing for so long. All you really need to know is that if you die of any way that isn't old age or disease like the rot, you cycle back to the beginning of that day. If you DO die of age or destructive illness, you begin a new cycle and reincarnate. Extending their lives was intended to help continue scientific revolution but it just meant entrapping themselves longer. Their increasing desperation eventually lead to The Mass Ascension.

The Mass Ascension

(the following text is copy-pasted from the above picture so you don't read it twice lol)

A member of the High Council of one of the first iterator cities one day decided that they could tolerate the imprisoning nature of the cycle no longer. They developed a weapon of mass destruction, a device that would release a soundwave powerful enough to tear along the entire world. This soundwave was not the real weapon; rather it was the trillions of single cell lifeforms it ferried across the planet. These organisms were comprised of almost pure void fluid, were invisible to the eye, and were programmed to specifically consume Ancient matter and break it away in the same manner that void fluid does. Once they run out of matter to consume they die. This process happened much too quickly for the Ancients to have time to feel much pain, or even comprehend what happened.

Basically, it released a gaseous wave of void fluid across the entire world. This attack was horrifically efficient. Almost the entirety of Ancientkind were destroyed 30 hours after the attack, and those who were fortunate enough to somehow evade the blast were spread too far apart and were unable to carry society on their own. The Ancients went extinct.

This behaved like normal ascension. If you had reached enlightenment or were well-enough attuned, you properly ascended. If not, you became an echo. This most likely resulted in a lot of echoes.

It was the nuclear warfare rapture, basically.

(copy-paste text end)

One day I might give a name to the guy who ended the world but for now I got nothing, lol. I think I'll name the iterator they lived on Deafening Secret or something like that. I imagine the blast caused Secret considerable damage.

I'm sure I'm going to think of 500 things to add once I post this but for the sake of actually answering one of these asks I'm gonna post it, lmao. hope this sates your curiousity a bit!! thanks for the opportunity to infodump

[adhd-merlin]

"I've sent word to your people" HOW

[yangjeongin]

SKZ as DND CLASSES: RANGER MINHO

far from the bustle of cities and towns, past the hedges that shelter the most distant farms from the terrors of the wild, amid the dense-packed trees of trackless forests and across wide and empty plains, rangers keep their unending watch.

[stabbyfoxandrew]

Hello! May I request some more of the mafia boyos? The boys!! They’d killing me!!! (pos)

WIP Wednesday (6/11)| Mafia Front Restaurant AU (Part 327)

KEVIN

"Wait. Jean," Kevin grabs his arm and Jean freezes up. "What if he comes back here?" 

Jean opens his mouth and Kevin holds his arm tighter. In reality, he doesn't think there's any possible situation in which a single man could get past either of his partners, but Jean has already been shot once in the last three days and Kevin doesn't want him involved in this particular fracas when Neil is startlingly efficient on his own. Jean looks from Kevin's doe eyes to the door, like he isn't sure what to do. 

"If he does he won't get far," says Andrew, snapping open a huge knife and ruining Kevin's plan. Kevin eyes flit to him and Andrew spins the knife around a finger like a baton, pointing it at the door. "Go, Moreau."

Jean locks eyes with Andrew for a moment and Kevin can't breathe. He can do nothing but stare as steel and gold hold each other like magnets. Then Jean nods, once, and dashes out the door to Neil's side where he belongs. Kevin taps two fingers against his thigh in a pattern.

Two, three, four. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. No ones. He does this over and over and over again. A good luck charm, to keep them all safe. He's been carrying it since the Nest. Two, three, four.

He wonders if he should add another three, for Andrew. But he tries it that way once and decides it doesn't work. He takes a couple steps backward to dampen the urge he has to fall on Andrew's knife and stands there, tapping out his anxiety to the best of his ability. But it's hard when one source of it is a mere yard away.

Last night Neil told Kevin what Andrew had said about mourning him. That his father had blamed himself, that the Foxes held a wake for him!

All that and Kevin didn't even have the decency to be dead.

He feels like shit, but what else is new. Kevin stares at Andrew's back and ponders what he could possibly say. Not tall enough to see through the window, Andrew is instead watching through a crack in the door. Kevin glances at the knife, but can't tell if its one of the ones he had before. He wonders how the hell Andrew brought with him on a plane. Or if he had left his knives at home and bought this one here in England. That would be ridiculous, but then again so was Andrew. Sometimes.

All Kevin's thoughts tumble around each other— and his mental chant of two, three, four, two, three, four— and he sort of loses himself in them. There's a noise. He blinks himself back into reality in time to see Andrew put his knife away, slipping up back up under his sleeve just like old times.

"Kevin, don't look out here!" Neil calls a moment later. He does not have to tell Kevin twice.

"He's..." Kevin clears his throat and lets his fingers rest. "They're done already?"

[taygra5shaon]

Jaqc

Stop pretending to be a badass

[loviatarsluv-old]

If you’re still taking writing prompts, may I request Halsin comforting the reader who gets bad anxiety about going to sleep?

ahhh this is so sweet and definitely something I think about constantly, imagine curling up in Halsin’s lap and him holding you and comforting you im going to scream!!!!!!!!

ty for this prompt, I needed it 😭

Halsin x gn!reader/tav 🩷

rating: sfw (very soft and fluffy and sweet)

Sleep has never come very easily to you. And the few times it did, it was restless - filled from start to finish with nightmares that always inevitably woke you up in the middle of the night, clutching onto your bedroll, chest heaving and eyes streaked with tears.

You’d been able to hide it from the others for the most part, but Halsin noticed a few nights ago while on night watch, when you lurched out of your bedroll, silently sobbing. He watched you as you tried to calm yourself, burying your head in your hands and curling your knees to your chest. He wanted so badly to comfort you then, but he didn’t wish to make you uncomfortable in his efforts. So he silently watched you until you finally settled back into your bedroll, and your eyes closed once again for the night.

The next night, you noticed he’d been lingering close to you all evening, periodically asking you if you needed any help with anything, even offering you a cup of the tea that he’d brewed, bringing it to you with a warm smile that made your heart skip a beat.

He towers over you as you sit on a log next to the campfire, watching the flames lick at the night air and the smoke swirl and try to find shapes in it. You almost gawk at his size and stature, despite having already spent a considerable amount of time with him - you’d think you’d be used to it by now.

You smiled and took the cup gratefully, your fingers brushing against his as you took it from him.

“Thank you.”

His smile softens, and he brings a hand up to brush a lock of hair behind your ear.

“No need. It should help you sleep, we must take all the rest we can before morning.” He says, resting his hand on your cheek - his warm palms feel like a beam of sunlight.

Your face falls.

“Y-yeah. Right.” You reply, your voice meek and small as your eyes fall to the cup in your hands, staring at your reflection in the tea.

Halsin notices your demeanor shift, his brows softening as he kneels in front of you.

He holds your chin between his thumb and his index finger, guiding your face up so your eyes meet.

“What is troubling you? Is there anything I can do to help you?” He asks, his expression outwardly calm but his light eyes flicker with concern.

Your body tenses, and you feel your eyes start to sting with tears that you can’t shed. You shake your head, and force another weak smile.

“I’m okay, really. Nothing dire or important. Thank you.”

You feel a tightness in your chest - you wanted so badly to talk to someone about this, you knew that you likely needed to, but for some reason the words just wouldn’t come out, the taste of them bitter on your tongue. It wasn’t out of fear of Halsin judging you, as you knew he was the last person in the realm that would judge you for such a thing or probably most things. He had a true heart of gold.

Part of you just wanted to preserve the image of you that he had in his mind - strong and fearless and unbreakable. It was unbecoming of a leader to be wrecked over something as simple as nightmares.

“It is important to me, if it is important enough for you to lose sleep over. But, if you are not ready to talk about it, I shall be here when you are ready.” He says simply, pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead. You close your eyes and savor his touch, still feeling his lips burning on your skin even after he pulls away.

He turns to walk away, and you grab his arm to stop him.

“Halsin?”

He turns, his scarred face glowing in the orange light of the fire, his eyes reflecting the flames. “Yes, my heart?”

“I’m so happy you joined us. Thank you.”

His eyes soften more than you’ve ever seen, almost resembling those of a puppy whose just been adopted.

“As am I.”

You give his arm a gentle squeeze before letting go, and watch him lumber back to his own tent, sitting just outside of it and fixing his gaze back on you. He watched you as if he were ready to leap in front of an arrow for you, as if he were ready to fight to the death for you. Your cheeks heat under his stare, and you look back down at your tea.

Just drink it. You need to sleep. He made it for you, just drink it.

You take a big sip, the warm liquid heating you as it goes down your throat and it tastes of chamomile and honey. You smile, as you remember Halsin telling you of his sweet tooth, and how you teased him about being a bear that loves honey.

The tea helps you ease your nerves just enough to finally let yourself feel tired enough to seek your bedroll and lay down, slowly drifting off to sleep.

You only sleep for a few hours, every second of it plagued by your usual nightmares - flashes of bloody battles and mind flayers and everyone you care for either hurt or dying. Just as an arrow hits you in your dream, you wake with a start, lurching out of your bedroll, gasping and clawing at your blanket.

Your eyes burn with previously unshed tears, now falling in a full torrential downpour. You bring your knees to your chest and just sob, unable to control or care about your volume as every sob racks through your body like a tidal wave.

You don’t notice Halsin approaching you before you feel his arms wrapping around you and pulling you into his lap, cradling you and shushing you until your breathing calms.

“S-sorry…” you sob into his chest, gripping the fabric of his nightclothes for dear life.

He shakes his head, then rests his chin on the top of your head.

“Do not apologize. You are not made of steel. You are made of flesh and blood, and a beating heart. You are made to feel.”

You sigh, your shoulders still shaking and your hands and voice trembling as you speak. “I’m just so exhausted… and I can’t even find respite in sleeping.”

He tightens his arms around you, tilting his head so that his cheek presses to your scalp. “Would it help to have someone to keep you company? I can stay here beside you, if you desire.”

You nod, your breathing finally slows and your body starts to settle. “Please.”

He scoots aside into your bedroll with you as you cling to him, refusing to let him go and let go of the bliss that is being enveloped in his embrace. He grabs your blanket, pulling it so that it covers you, tucking it in between the two of you so it’ll stay.

“Are you comfortable?” He asks, his large hands gently rubbing your arm and leg.

You nod, and snuggle into his chest.

“Could you talk to me? Like… tell me a story, or something,”

You don’t see it but you can feel the smile radiating off of him as he lets out a contented breath, then places a kiss to the top of your head.

“Of course.”

He begins to tell you of his time with Thaniel all those centuries ago, of their adventures in the forest and describing the serenity of being wrapped in nature’s embrace. He tells you of the times he was in wild shape and got mistaken by other bears as a true bear, and how he acquired the large scar on his face. You listen to the steady beat of his heart and the gentle rumbling in his chest as he speaks and it’s infinitely more effective than even a lullaby is to lull a baby to sleep.

Your eyes slowly close and you drift back to sleep, this time, rather than horrific nightmares, you dream of a calm and peaceful clearing, the wet grass tickling your bare feet as you walk - and you see him, waiting near the water, hand outstretched and beckoning you. You smile in your sleep.

He looks down at you, watching you as you slumber, his heart pounding as he runs his thumb along your cheek. He would cherish this moment of seeing you in pure bliss, and cherish the thought of him having given it to you. He’d give you the moon and the stars if he could, he thinks.

god I am unwell I love him so much halsin snuggles would fix me I think

[kawareo]

did strike also romance halsin alongside astarion?

He did! Well, he at least had the romance scene but they didn't exactly get into an actual relationship

[silverskye13]

Someone left a comment for R&S on my last Helsknight oneshot so I've come to hand deliver it to you like some kind of messager pigeon 🙏

Really funny experience opening my email and being like 'oh new comment! .... Wait. I don't think that's my line. Isn't that from yesterday's r&s chapter?' Laughed my ass off. Someone got their ao3 tabs mixed up apparently

pfffhaha oh no! I'm sorry you got randomly pounced on!

Though since you're here I adored? Evildoers? You are fantastic at characterization anyway, but the way you wrote Helsknight's cynicism, and Evil X's manic, just a little off energy was fantastic.

Also, adore a pair of villains working together, for better or worse.

Fantastic work dude!

[dark-twist-fairytales]

I've been thinking more about what Gideon's headspace might look like (I haven't thought about it much before because I didn't feel like I understood it enough, but I feel like I have a better grasp on why it can exist now.)

And I think for a long while there's not really a inner world it's just dark. Johnny and Phoenix are just kinda sitting in the dark. Nyx however did have a bedroom she would hide in, but it was just like a door in the middle of the void. It's just their childhood bedroom really.

They don't really build an inner world until they go through therapy together and build better connection with each other. Which means Chuckles never got to expierence a fleshed out headspace (they might have gatekept him from it if possible though lol.) So in Gideon's head when Chuckles wasn't annoying Gideon or his headmates by asking them a million questions about Gideon that they don't want to get into; Chuckles is just laying there in the void sleeping. I've always just assumed when he wasn't active in the campaign he'd just be asleep lmao.

But back on topic, I think their inner world would be in an unspecific space in Yona. It's a cabin in the middle of a valley. It's somewhat based on their childhood home. Nyx has her bedroom but it's more decorated to how she would have ideally wanted it to look like. So more posters and spray paint on the walls and ceiling. A few rooms are based on the home Kremy lived in when they met (which was an old southern looking home). He has a little fireplace that's from Kremy's old house. The living room is Kremy's old house. The bathroom is also Kremy's, Phoenix likes to lay in the bath and just sit there. He thinks about the night they met Kremy alot. It's his favorite memory to relive. Better than the truama she's been holding.

They have a kitchen where they have meetings, but sometimes they also have a front porch they sit at for meetings. Sometimes they sit there to just relax together. Johnny spends a lot of time at the front porch with a radio. Sometimes he has whisky or coffee in hand. They have a garage that Gideon hangs out in. It's his Dad's old garage and has the motorcycle they crashed. Gideon spends time tinkering with it. They also have a basement where they keep memories or feelings one or any of them don't want to deal with at the moment. There's a train car that looks like the car Phoenix/Gideon was chained up too. It's dark and empty and sits on an unused train track that goes nowhere. Phoenix or Johnny has spent time there while reflecting on truamatic memories. There's a lake outside that they swim or fish in sometimes. There's fireflies there at night. Sometimes there's snow, sometimes it's dinnertime. It really depends.

I love all of this. Because: Yeah, we didn't have a beadspace before, and what we did imagine was just our house at the time. That has since expanded and changed (majorly), and more when we felt like we had more freedom to change stuff around. To be us, in a sense.

Also, yes: Gatekeeping is 100% a thing- Is it true for all systems? No, but Chuckles not being able to experience a full fledged headspace/having a limited view could fall under a protector or a gatekeeper (or both). get sent to the void, chuckles, is it better or worse than clown hell. ehehe.

I really like this visual though. Something neat about us/our headspace, the weather depends on the weather outside of the body/the body's external temperature. Watching the seasons change inside and out is just very neat to us.

[sweeetcheeese]

Hi! I love your Druid!Jack au. Can you tell us more about it please? Also I would love to see more of the Hiccup of this Au. How different is he from the canon Hiccup?

AHADFHAHKDA thank you I love this question.

I have lots of ideas for this AU, and a lot of it is still kinda in the draft stage so I really only want to share the stuff that is more or less fact (in this AU). As far as Jack, the basics about him is that he is not a viking, or from Berk originally. He's from a neighboring island close to Berk, and his village was attacked by a group of "vikings" when he was a child. Stoick had heard of the attack, and being it was a territory close to Berk, took a group to investigate to try and determine who this group was and what they wanted. The concern was that this group was advancing on territory and would be attacking Berk next, but upon investigation, their motives were unclear, as they didn't seem to take anything of value, and it appeared as if they just wanted to level the village and kill the residents. (huehue mystery) Jack is one of the survivors they pull from the rubble, he's about 8 years old at this time. He develops a resentment for vikings because he confuses the two groups, and doesn't trust the people of Berk. Even as he grows up in Berk, he always holds some level of resentment towards vikings in general (because he believes that vikings had killed his family and destroyed his village), and deliberately does not call or consider himself a viking.

Part of this resentment is also fed by Berk's bad relationship with dragons at the time he lives there as a child.

Jack and Hiccup meet when Stoick brings Jack back to Berk, and they're both around 8-10 years old. Hiccup's first impression of Jack is that he's surely a wildling or something feral. At first, Jack is taken in by Astrid's family, and this results in him and Astrid actually forming a strong, sibling-like bond later on. However as Jack grows, he becomes more and more independent, and grows up just as this kid that sleeps in the Great Hall, is fed by various families and is just kind of like a stray, and doesn't stay in one place for long. This is entirely his own decision, as he felt staying with one family was too confining and he deliberately did not want to "become a viking".

Jack finds an order of druids, and decides to leave Berk and join them around the age of 13-14. This is set right before the events of the first movie. He visits Astrid when he can, and when he comes back, Hiccup has changed the village into accepting dragons, and their relationship starts to develop more. Also, Jack's view on vikings positively improves, because of Hiccup specifically.

As for Hiccup's differences, he really hasn't changed all that much. The events of the first and second movie still play out (aside from his relationship with Astrid), because its essential to his character development. His relationship with Jack started when they were around 15, and I want to say they get married towards the end of the second movie, or shortly after, so they're about 20-21. With Jack being a druid, the order he's part of requires him to be away for months at a time, mainly in the winter. This puts a strain on the relationship for both of them, and Hiccup is always kind of dealing with Jack being the free spirit he is, while Hiccup wants that freedom but is chief of Berk. On the flip side, Jack wants his freedom but also wants Hiccup. He struggles to find his place between both worlds, and still feels like an outsider a lot of the time in Berk, despite being married to the chief.

That's basically the setup for the AU, and like I said before I have tons of ideas for the current timeline, but that's still in progress XD Thank you for your questions! <3 Here's some extra WIP sketches for this AU too~ (NEHEHEHE ANGST)

[hayweerc]

Hey, there, Werebeast Anon here.

Wanted to give you an important warning; NEVER give a Werebeast Wolfsbane.

No, it's not poisonous to them, but you'd wish it was.

It's like super-potent catnip for Werewolves. Villages with the stuff growing around it aren't attacked not because it drives the werebeasts away, but because the local Werebeasts are too nipped up to care about them. Chaos and collateral damage can be caused occasionally, but no one will be injured unless they go out there and try to stop it.

Oh, and Sonic's Werebeast form might be violent because he's worried that he's going to hurt someone, and is trying to drive people away from him when he turns. Show him he hasn't caused any harm and he might stop being violent. Violent Werebeasts are usually just scared werebeasts. If he believes that his Werebeast form won't hurt anyone, it won't hurt anyone.

Without spoiling too much of the fanfic I'm writing for these guys, I do plan on having Shadow figure out what's causing Sonic's violent behavior when he transforms. You're very good at predicting what Sonic is going through emotionally.

[druidshollow]

do you think young strawberry lizards

should they be called Zooplings

yes definitely

[theanoninyourinbox]

hmmm… how about squirrel & leaf as grayprincess kits? also a tabaxi druid or half-elf artificer :)

a snake in the grass and a light in the morning

A Nakey Pal

[stabbyfoxandrew]

Hello! Making my way through mafia front now (sorry for spamming) but nowhere near caught up, so I’ll ask for more arsonist Neil for now 😊

WIP Wednesday (4/30) | Arsonist Neil / Firefighter Andrew AU (Part 303)

There has been a square plastic container living on Andrew's kitchen counter for so long he thinks, legally, he should have added it to the lease. At the very least it should be offering to take out the trash and contribute to groceries, but alas it's just a box. Andrew's been shuffling it around the kitchen and planning to return it for coming on three weeks, but he just hasn't had time. He's been busy with Abram and work and the ever-boring monotony of everything that comes between.

He had actually been planning to take it home today, until Aaron showed up unannounced at lunchtime with an enormous pizza in one hand and an Xbox tucked under his other arm. With little more than a "What's up?" Aaron he slipped inside and started plugging cords into Andrew's TV. They've been deep in the throes of pepperoni and Grand Theft Auto ever since, Aaron passing his junky controller to Andrew anytime he gets WASTED.

Neither of them are any good at the game— Andrew suspects they might be if the controller wasn't working against them— but it's still fun. After a couple slices of pizza and many deaths on screen, Andrew asks how Katelyn is and Aaron starts talking about morning sickness and other terribly unpleasant things that come with growing tiny humans. In turn, Andrew tells Aaron that he found a spider in the shower yesterday. As if that's the biggest news he's got to share.

It is, though. Because Andrew is not the type to share about his relationships. (If that's what this thing truly is.) And even if he were, he is not ready to discuss Abram the incredibly sexy, annoyingly witty arsonist with his brother. He's not sure he'll ever be if he's honest. Aaron isn't someone he's ever talked about men with— that list is very short: Renee, Jeremy, and Kevin, when he is not being difficult. Even then, these conversations are mostly about hookups or men Andrew thinks are hot. Not something continuous— Andrew loathes to use the word 'serious' to describe this thing they have going on, but it is the longest anyone's ever tolerated him before. And the longest he's ever wanted to tolerate anybody.

Perhaps he should tell Aaron about his thing with Abram. A tidbit, a factoid, a statement: I'm dating a man. He is the prettiest thing I've ever seen and he gets my sense of humor and he's an arsonist. Flows right off the tongue. Like motor oil. Andrew sighs and dies on screen and shoves the controller into Aaron's already waiting hand.

"You suck at this."

[zabichat]

i am currently holding a kickstarter with dnd classes pins, and i wonder what classes dnd people ply, and why (explain in tags)