#i know at least one of my party members is active on tumblr so uh. if you see this then please look away

[aimfall]

I spent far too much time on this so you’re seeing this too fuck you

(this is my dnd party)

[sleepless-rain]

Karasuno studies! – View from the second years (Part 5) –

Translator: Leo | Sleepless-rain | Leoppii Editor: San | Naffnuffnice Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

NOTE: PLEASE READ ALL THE OTHER PARTS BEFORE THIS ONE (or at least part 4) as understanding the punchline of this section relies on the previous parts.

Kageyama left the bookstore with his monthly volleyball magazine, head filled only with thoughts of tako-pho. Combined with the post club activity hunger, Kageyama stumbled down the street. With a bump he walked into someone...

“WHAT?”

TRANSLATORS NOTE:

Please do NOT repost this translation ANYWHERE. If I see the whole thing elsewhere I will stop translating novel chapters and delete all chapter translations I have done. Sharing small snippets are okay but not the whole thing. Please link back to this tumblr post if you want to share it.

Jerking his head up in response to the angry outburst, Kageyama found himself looking up at the volleyball club’s second year member, Tanaka Ryuunosuke. The others, Nishinoya Yuu and Ennoshita Chikara, were here as well.

“…wait it’s just Kageyama. Why are you walking around all spaced out? You alright?” Tanaka asked.

Kageyama, still dazed, answered, “Huh. Uh, I’m fine. Just went to buy the monthly volleyball magazine.”

“Oh, lemmie have a look tomorrow.”

“Sure.”

“Thanks… wait, that’s not what I meant! You’re looking spaced out! Are you seriously okay?” Tanaka gave Kageyama a worried look.

“No…” Kageyama pouted.

“What’s wrong? Is it something you’re worried about? You can tell Tanaka-senpai anything!”

Behind the proud Tanaka, Ennoshita had given up. “There it is, the senpai thing...”

But Kageyama played into it and told him, “Well, uh… I was just wondering what tako-pho was… ”

“Tako-pho?”

Upon hearing the unfamiliar word the second years exchanged glances. 

“What is it?”

“Do you know?” 

“Never heard of it.”

Ennoshita smiled teasingly, a second’s worth of eye contact saying, “Hey, you’re the senpai he can talk about anything to.” And flustered, Tanaka opened his mouth.

“Ah, well you know, it’s that thing! Ah… that thing! Yes! Like… the octopus version of pho!”

And to that Kageyama muttered quietly, “Ah, that’s what I thought…”

“What about it?”

“It’s just that I heard that Hinata and Yachi-san were going to make tako-pho…”

Why he was so concerned about them making tako-pho was unknown to even Kageyama himself. But it stuck to him like a thorn in his side and that bothered him. What was tako-pho?

Kageyama had clammed up and Nishinoya piped, “In other words, is it like imoni*? An imoni party? Is it time for this imoni leader’s debut? ” (* Imoni: this is a traditional dish in the Tohoku area, literal translation being “potato boiling” usually done in autumn on the riverside (this segment takes place in winter). A massive pot is set on rocks, and seasonal vegetables are put in to make a soup. The main ingredient is something called sato imo. There are different versions of imoni depending on where in Tohoku you have it (for example using beef instead of pork, miso instead of soysauce for the soup base). The original reference was to gyuujiru (a supposed beef version of tonjiru) . But I didn’t want to replace this whole Imoni section so it may seem a bit random for Nishinoya to suddenly bring it up. I apologise. )

“I don’t really get what you’re saying…” responded Kageyama, and Ennoshita cut in.

“No, isn’t it too cold for imoni?”

“What are you saying? If you put your spirit into it you can do it!”

“Really? Isn’t it too cold out?”

“Put some spirit into it Chikara!!”

“Imoni and spirit have nothing to do with each other!?”

“What are you saying Chikara? This is imoni we’re talking about!”

A sense of discord began to descend between Ennoshita and Nishinoya before Tanaka interrupted, “Wait, you guys. Stop it. We shouldn’t be arguing about miso based soup or soy-sauce based soup, or sato-imo or potatoes, right now is some precious time before the spring tournament, we don’t have time for this.”

Just as T anaka finished, Kageyama came to a realisation.

That’s it.

He wasn’t sure of the details of what Hinata and Yachi were talking about. But he was curious as it involved a topic similar to imoni. It wasn’t about the soup base or the type of noodles, not about the beef or chicken but….octopus. Thinking about it weighed on Kageyama’s thoughts and his hunger increased.

Imoni – this was a problem involving the identity of someone from Tohoku and Kageyama was a fine Tohoku born person.

“I knew I could count on you senpai…” he muttered and looked up at Tanaka, his face completely different from before, free of worry. “Thanks!” He bowed energetically, and took off at full sprint.

Tanaka, watching Kageyama’s silhouette, commented after him, “What was all that about just now…”

“I have no idea but it seems like he’s cheered up so it’s fine right?”

Tanaka replied to Ennoshita’s words with a “RIGHT!” He picked himself back up. 

“It’s your senpai power!” Nishinoya responded with a triumphant pose.

“You’re right! Senpai-power!”

Ennoshita started walking, leaving the laughing Nishinoya and Tanaka behind. “Hurry up, let’s go, it’s cold.” 

                                                            ***

“Hey sis, can I ask you something?” Tanaka, who had just arrived home, turned stiffly towards his sister, Saeko, who was wearing a face mask. 

“What is it?”

“So… what do you think tako-pho is?” Tanaka asked his face mask covered sister awkwardly.

“Huh? Tako-pho? No idea. Like an octopus version of pho or something? Is this a new menu item at the restaurant?” Saeko replied through her teeth as to avoid wrinkling the mask, and hearing her response, Tanaka laughed in relief. Thank god. 

He didn’t tell his precious junior any lies. Thank god...

Seeing her relieved little brother, Saeko let out an unrestrained laugh. “I’ll be the one to tako-pho** this Tanaka household though.”

“A pun, really? You drinking already?”　Tanaka frowned and Saeko’s expression changed quickly.

“Shut up. Get to your room and start studying already. Didn’t you do badly on the term tests?”

“What? Did you look at them without telling me? It wasn’t a failing grade so it’s fine!” 

Seeing Tanaka’s face go red, she gave his head a poke. “Haha, you can’t fool me. You just missed the failing grade. With a brain like that, are you really my little bro?”

“W-what!? You mean you lied about seeing my papers!?” 

“High school students should be studying! Study!”

And so the pitiful Tanaka was pushed upstairs to his room by his older sister who had taken over the house and its residents. 

                                                              ***

“Studying… huh…” Tanaka laid out over his bed and reached over to take a textbook from his desk. And as he opened it to look at the pages, as if he had been knocked unconscious, he fell asleep.  That was quick. A strangely clean and new English textbook closed neatly on the bed covers. 

It seems that it’s a little too early for some of the first and second years to be focusing on studying.

And so the third years will graduate soon and new students will start high school. Tanaka and the others will become third years and a new Karasuno volleyball club will be born. And when that day comes, this responsible senpai will surely be the support for an amazing team. Probably. 

TRANSLATION NOTES:

**Tako-pho: In this case a better translation would be “rule the roost” but Saeko has used the same word play from part 4. Her intention for it to mean  “Take over“ as Hinata had used when speaking to Yachi.

As a small disclaimer:  I have taken some liberties in translation to make the novel read smoothly. So please don’t quote specific words as canon. That being said I tried my best to stay faithful to the original.  For this reason I will not allow translations into another language using this as the base text. I apologise to anyone who is keen on sharing it in another language but please do so using the original Japanese text.

Anyway, if you enjoyed this chapter please consider supporting Haikyuu and buying a copy of this novel (volume 11) ! I may consider doing more novel translations in the future!

I do have a Ko-fi so if you do feel like it, please donate!

[twisted-eels]

Get To Know Me

❦  Shout out to @nonsensical-twistedriddles, who tagged me at the end of their post.

❦  And I don’t really know many people here so instead of tagging someone in response, anyone who wants to do it can. Go wild kids. Introduce yourself to this cold, uncaring world.

1. What do you prefer to be called name wise?

I usually go by Rae, I used to go by Raven so I guess you can also call me that. Nicknames are also fine, any nickname you wanna throw at me, I’ll take it.

2. When is your birthday?

2nd of August.

3. Where do you live? (you can just give the country’s or state name if you’re not comfortable with sharing the city name)

Sydney, Australia. So now you can all come and find me or whatever.

4. Three things you’re doing right now?

❦  Listening to music

❦  Singing along with said music

❦  Writing about Marcela’s relationships with NRC students

5. Four fandoms that have your peak interest right now?

❦  Twisted Wonderland

❦  Jibaku Shounen Hanako-Kun

❦  Watcher

❦  Disney

6. How has this pandemic been treating you?

Surprisingly well. My parents got Disney+ a couple weeks ago so I’ve been binging as many movies as possible. I watched Ratatouille for the first time last night, and am currently regretting not seeing it sooner. I’ve also been baking a lot, and attempting not to eat everything I’ve made. Online classes have been a struggle through, dodgy internet and a short attention span don’t mix well. 

7. A song you can’t stop listening to right now?

Oh you think there’s just one? How cute.

❦  Young and Beautiful - Lana Del Rey

❦  God Help The Outcasts - Heidi Mollenhauer (I’m singing along to this as I’m writing this)

❦  Hellfire - Tony Jay

❦  Pretty Funny - Lindsey Mendez

❦  When He Sees Me - Kimiko Glen

❦  For Your Entertainment - Adam Lambert

❦  Poor Unfortunate Souls - Jonas Brothers cover

❦  I Won’t Say I’m In Love - Susan Egan

8. Recommend a movie

Hercules (1997), the music in this absolutely bops. And Meg. I love her. She’s amazing. Other recommendations would be Ratatouille (2007) and Aladdin (2019) I heard a lot of people didn’t enjoy the new Aladdin, and while sure it isn’t perfect, I liked it. So it’s on my recommendation list. Fight me.

9. How old are you?

16, going on 17.

10. School, university, occupation, or other?

High school. I was planning on getting a part time job around about now but... uh... I don’t think my parents would let me now, all things considered...

11. Do you prefer heat or cold?

Heat. I wear shorts all year round, and while I don’t dislike the cold, people keep commenting on what I wear during cold weather and it’s annoying. The “aren’t you cold” and “do you want a jacket” comments get real irritating after 16 years. Plus it feels like more family members have birthdays during the colder months, and family birthday parties are one of my least favourite things. So it’s nothing to do with the weather itself, simply what I associate with it.

12. Name one fact about you that others might find unusual:

I actively chose to leave a super high ranking school to go to a bottom ranking one. Also I overshare even though I know I probably shouldn’t, which is unusual because I know I shouldn’t yet do regardless.

13. Are you shy?

Yeah, kinda. Once I get to know people it lessens... somewhat? But when I first meet people I can be pretty shy. Even if I seem confident, internally I am not having a great time. That’s the power of acting I guess? I’ll rarely ever start the conversation with someone else, so if any ever wants to talk you’re better off messaging me first than waiting for me to magically grow a pair and start talking.

14. Do you have preferred pronouns?

She/her, but I won’t really be offended or anything if you guys get them wrong. This is probably the only time I’ve mentioned them on tumblr after all.

15. Biggest pet peeves

When they put superglue/industrial strength glue in tiny 3 gram bottles with long nozzles that are impossible to actually get the glue out of. This pet peeve has nothing to do with my current drama project, I promise. I definitely had this pet peeve before this week, it’s not new and specific at all. Haha... ha... ha

16. What is your favourite “-dere” type?

Tsunderes are a classic and also a mood, so I’ll probably go with them? Kinda basic of me, I know, but there isn’t really a type that jumps out at me as an immediate favourite.

17. Rate your life 1-10. 1 being crappy, 10 being amazing:

A solid 7 or 8? Could be better, could be worse. Wouldn’t call my life exciting, but I have a comfortable lifestyle and nothing too shitty has ever happened to me, so that balances out the lack of amazement I guess.

18. What is your main blog?

My main blog would be @a-good-one-but-taken, it’s just me reblogging stuff I like. I don’t stick to any particular fandom on that blog. Would not recommend checking it out.

19. List your side blogs and what they are used for:

@twisted-eels is my Twisted Wonderland side blog. Come here for twst bird memes and a couple dumb posts. It’s also the home of my OC Marcela Lupei, a chaotic queen.

20. One thing you think people should know about you before they become your friends?

I’m kinda hard to get along with. I mean, I’m mean. My first instinct is usually to make a snarky or sarcastic comment, and while I do mean it as a joke, I get the feeling that I come off as being genuine. I generally do want to talk to you however, and if I don’t want to then I’ll outright say it. My bitchy comments aren’t meant to be hinting at anything, they’re just a habit that I need to break. If you want then you can tell me to stop and I’ll be extra careful not to make them, although as of right now it’s pretty instinctual so I kinda just do it without thinking.

[theycallmebeccawrites]

Perfectly Imperfect: Chapter 2

With Tumblr holding my original writing blog @beccaheartschrisevans captive (aka flagged as explicit), I have made a secondary writing blog and may end up closing the other all together. In the meantime, I am reposting all of my stories on my new blog.

Pairing: Chris Evans x Wren Arnold (OFC)

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: n/a

Disclaimer: This work of fiction is not to be reposted, used or translated without my permission.

Perfectly Imperfect Masterlist | Chris & Wren Masterlist

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

May 9, 2020

An old, solid wood door with a cheap hook lock separated Chris Evans and the four women who had showed up over an hour early to Addy's third birthday party. They had brought their children, all of who Addy had been happy to see, but the four moms were way overdressed, or rather underdressed, for a preschool party. One mom was wearing a tight pair of black jeans with a silk top that barely concealed her breasts, while another was wearing a black leather skirt, a partially see through maroon top and a pair of knee high boots. The other two moms were wearing dresses that one would expect to see at a cocktail party, one skin tight and red and the other black and short.

Adelaide had turned three 2 days ago and Chris had arranged for all of her classmates at her preschool to come over to their house for a Sofia the First themed party. What he hadn't expected was for four of the moms to show up an hour early and proceed to flirt with him, or try to, instead of actually trying to help him set anything up. He'd lost count of the number of times his butt had been pinched or he'd been told how strong he was while they had petted his bicep.

Chris felt guilty for the way he'd told them to keep an eye on the kids while he'd fled to the laundry room right of the kitchen. The term 'chicken shit' came to mind as he leaned against his washing machine trying to figure out what to do. Taking his phone out of his pocket, he selected his family members and Wren and quickly typed a message:

SOS GET HERE NOW!

He hit send and then started to type again:

House invaded by the

He paused, for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain the situation he was facing. They were all moms, they'd come in a group and they all, apparently, wanted him and were offering themselves to him in front of each other and the kids.

House invaded by the horny mom brigade.

He hit send and his phone blew up a moment later with 'lol's, 'lmao's, and 'on our way'.

Then he got Wren's message:

Just parked. I'll be there in a few minutes.

Knowing he needed to get out there before the women decided to try and find his bedroom, Chris took a deep breath and unlocked the door. He opened it and startled when he saw one of the women leaning against the doorframe.

"There you are," she smiled, flipping her hair. "I wondered what you were up to." Her eyes flickered around the laundry room. "This room is a good -"

The sound of the doorbell cut her off and Chris breathed a sigh of relief as he ducked under her arm then all but ran to answer the door. After throwing it open, a large smiled spread across his face when he saw it was Wren. He all but pulled her inside and gave her a big hug.

"You have no idea how happy I am you are here," he muttered to her, holding her in his arms for a minute longer than needed, hoping the horny mom brigade would back off if they thought he and Wren were something.

"They can't be that bad," Wren laughed as she stepped out of his embrace. She smoothed her floral knee length skirt. "Where are the kids?"

Chris's face paled as he realized that the house was too quiet.

"We put a movie on for them," the mom in the black dress said from the entrance to the kitchen. She was holding a wine glass that was half full. "Who's this?"

"This is Wren," Chris told her. "She's my uh -"

Once again, Chris was saved by somebody arriving and he said a silent prayer of thanks when he saw it was his mom, siblings, niece and nephews.

"I'll go check on the kids," Wren offered with a smile. She slipped the strap of her crossbody purse over her head and then tucked it behind a chair so it was out of the way. She quickly said her hellos to Chris's family and then led his niece and nephews to the TV room where Addy and her school friends were watching a movie.

"Well, I assume there is still a lot to do before the other guests arrive," Chris's mom declared. "It will be all hands on deck to get this party ready." She headed into the kitchen, grabbing the wine glass out of black dress's hands as she went. "Thanks, dear. But alcohol at a three year old's birthday party might be a bit much."

Chris waited until everyone else had followed his mom into the kitchen before he did a little happy dance. He didn't feel an ounce of guilt for sticking his mother on the horny mom brigade; they deserved whatever she threw at them.

By the time Chris made it into the kitchen, his mom had everyone doing jobs: skinny jeans was helping Scott fill coolers with juice boxes; red dress was helping his older sister put together vegetable trays; black dress was helping his mom open the Sofia the First themed party plates and cups; and leather skirt was helping his younger sister fill the piñata that Addy had begged him to buy. With the four women occupied, Chris went out to the backyard to make sure both gates were closed and that the party games were ready to go.

It was another fifteen minutes, or so, until more of Addy's classmates arrived. Chris helped her answer the door while Wren, his niece and nephews wrangled the other three year olds. Most of the parents stayed for the party while others made their apologies and promised to be back within two hours time.

The next two hours were complete chaos, at least to Chris. Wren, who was used to dealing with twenty excited kids for eight hours a day, handled it like a pro. She seemed to have a sixth sense about when it was time to do a different activity and when the kids needed to rest for a little bit.

Meanwhile, the horny mom brigade had hidden themselves in the shade of the large tree in the backyard, trying to stay out of Chris's mom's eye line to avoid getting set with another task. It had humored Chris to great lengths that his mom had deemed the four women the perfect volunteers for helping little ones, whose parents had left, get to the bathroom.

Therefore, it was no surprise to anyone, when the horny mom brigade and their offspring were the first to leave the party. It was only after they'd left that the other parents, both moms and dads, started laughing and had informed Chris that the women tried this stunt whenever they knew there was a single dad in the picture. They'd all gotten a kick out of his nickname for them and had asked him to bring his mom with him to future birthday parties that the four women would be attending.

By the time the last party guests and their parents had left, Addy was stretched out on the couch in the TV room passed out from exhaustion and a sugar crash. Chris's family stuck around to help with the major clean up, but they eventually filled out, leaving the last bit of the cleaning to Chris and Wren.

"Thanks for your help today," Chris said as he dried the serving dish she had just washed. "I can honestly say we couldn't have done this without you."

"I love being around kids, you know that," Wren shrugged as she washed a bowl.

"Why don't you have any kids?" Chris asked her as he put the towel down to put the bowl away.

"Because I don't have a husband," Wren replied. "I'm an old fashioned girl, Chris."

"You'll be a great mom someday," Chris stated. His mind instantly went to Jessa and with a crack in his voice, he added, "and your kids will be lucky to have a mom like you."

Chris saw Wren's shoulders tense and then heard her shut off the water. He watched as she turned around and he knew that she'd caught the change in his voice. Turning away from her, he fussed with the dishes in the cupboard in order to get his emotions under control. He wasn't ready, wasn't sure he'd ever be ready, to talk about Jessa.

Only his family knew the real reason behind his and Jessa's divorce and he'd purposefully kept it that way. After all, the last thing he wanted was for the media to splash the fact that Jessa didn't want to be a mom all over the front pages and have his daughter find out one day from one of her classmates.

His mind flashed back to that November afternoon when he'd brought Addy home from a playdate. He'd put her down for a nap and then had gone into the bedroom he'd shared with Jessa, only to find her bags packed and her sitting at the end of the bed waiting for him.

At first, he'd thought she was going on a trip or being called away to fill in for another wardrobe assistant for Marvel, but then she'd handed him a manila envelope and had said the word 'divorce'. She had done some more talking, but all he had heard was 'blah blah I can't do this anymore blah blah blah I never wanted to be a mom blah blah blah.'

"Chris?" Wren's soft voice forced him back to the present. "What's wrong?"

Chris felt her hand on his shoulder and he took a deep breath as the anger he felt at Jessa for abandoning Addy threatened to return. He refused to let that anger affect Wren more than it already had and he refused to ruin an otherwise perfect day.

"I'm ok," he told her as he turned around. "Just had a not so pleasant memory."

"I'm here if you ever need to talk," she said, genuine concern showing on her face. "You know that, right?"

"I do know that," Chris nodded. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close.

Chris knew that Addy would suffer from not having her mom in her life, but he also knew that she would always have his mom, sisters and Wren in her corner. Those four strong women would show her more love than she'd know what do with. Knowing that made his heart hurt a little less for his daughter.

After ending their hug, Chris and Wren returned to their task of washing and drying dishes. It was as they were working that Chris mentioned that he'd recently gotten a job on a television drama that was going to start shooting in Boston in June.

"What are you doing this summer?" he asked. He had planned to have Addy in daycare with his mom and sisters taking up the slack when they could, but when Wren mentioned that she had the summer off, he had started to get an idea.

"I haven't made any plans yet, why?" she asked.

"Do you have any interest in taking care of Addy for me this summer?" he asked. "It will only be during the week and most of the time it will be normal hours, but I do know there will be some night shoots."

"Do you need an answer now?" Wren asked, hesitantly.

"No, I don't," he replied then quickly added, "But please don't feel pressured to say yes. My mom and sisters have already agreed to help. I just thought you and Addy would have fun together."

"I think we would, too," Wren nodded. "But I'll still need to think it over."

"I understand," Chris told her. "Take all the time you need."

They finished doing the dishes and then Wren said her goodbyes. Chris watched from the doorway as she whispered goodbye to Addy and then he followed her to the front door.

"Text me when you get home," he told her as he opened the front door.

"Will do," Wren nodded.

Chris watched as she made her way down the path to the sidewalk. She gave a slight wave as she reached the end and then she started walking to her car, disappearing from his view.

Closing the door, Chris took a deep breath as he leaned against the door. He barely had a minute to himself before he heard Addy call for him. Shaking his head, he pushed off the door and made his way into the TV room where the best part of his life waited for his attention.

Chapter 3

Want to find me off tumblr? I'm @beccatheycallme on twitter. I also post my stories on AO3.

My tag list is always open, just let me know if you'd like to be added!

[sebseyesandbuckysthighs]

Love is For Children (2/2)

summary: You’re a former mercenary turned Avenger who joins the team after fighting, and defeating, each member that tried to recruit you. You’re confident in your abilities and even challenge the man formerly known as the Winter Soldier. A battle of egos ensues and it’s Bucky that fights to get your attention but you’re a professional and won’t fall easy for his charm.

pairing: bucky x reader wc: 4832 (sorry???) a/n: Oh hello again. Don’t mind me, just thought I’d pop in for a bit to confirm that I’m still living and also here’s part 2 of a fic I posted over a year ago! 

More importantly, I want to dedicate this fic to one of the most amazing ladies I know and a true friend, @avengerofyourheart Today is her birthday and if you know Anika then you know just how kind and sweet and absolutely brilliant she is. I met her through tumblr a few years ago and she remains to be an important person in my life. She’s never given up on me and she continues to be the most supportive and caring friend I’ve ever had. So if you haven’t already, please head over to her blog and leave some love for her! ❤

tl;dr I’m still a pleb but not dead and Anika is the birthday girl! 🎉🎂

ALSO the song mentioned at a certain point in the story is Ariana Grande’s ‘Dangerous Woman.’

READ PART ONE HERE

~previously~

“I think you’ve met your match, Buck.”

“Real smooth, Barnes.”

Bucky ignored them and turned to lay flat on his back again. He shut his eyes and pictured you on top of him, looking down with an innocent smile and that devilish glint in your eyes.

“You okay there, Bucky?” Steve asked, humor in his tone.

“I think I’m in love.” He sighed whimsically and the three men laughed together.

You were alone in the kitchen waiting for the machine to finish brewing your favorite blend of coffee. The Compound would be hosting it's annual charity event tonight and although you weren't typically into the whole 'formal attire' scene, knowing that it was all for a good cause made you happy to attend. Still, these parties usually lasted well into the early morning hours, so you felt the need to be as caffeinated as possible. The smell of fresh coffee seemed to act as a beacon and called the attention of a few like-minded individuals the second the pot was done.

Clint and Tony were a blur as they rushed in, barely acknowledging that you were even in the room. You laughed them off, though, thankful that you had the foresight to make enough for at least 10 servings and surprised that they managed to leave enough for maybe two. You were tempted to take the rest for herself when Bucky strolled in. He was dressed casually in his typical everyday outfit, and as annoying as he was, at least he was easy on the eyes. His grey v-neck tee was sheer enough that you could see the dog tags resting on his chest and dark wash jeans hugged those thick thighs so affectionately. It was a good look, but clearly not what he would be wearing for tonight. You were in a bit of state yourself since you were in the process of getting ready when the need for caffeine interrupted. Fresh out of the shower with your hair wrapped in a soft towel, damp strands sticking out in random spots, and wearing nothing underneath your light robe. You were definitely a sight to see. Bucky took a brief pause to groan appreciatively at your appearance before preparing his own mug.

“You gonna save me a dance tonight, doll?” he asked, watching you from the corner of his eye.

You stuck out your bottom lip in mock disappointment. "Aw, isn't that sweet? Not a chance in hell, darling."

"We'll see about that, Y/N." He took a sip of his coffee as he leaned back against the counter.

As silence fell over the room Bucky took the time to shamelessly look over your figure more intently. His eyes leisurely trailed up your exposed legs, lingering on your thighs. His mind flooded with images of having them wrapped around his waist, holding you tightly against him while he ravaged your lips, neck and chest. Yo u were both always so brazen when it came to checking each other out. Not the slightest bit ashamed or embarrassed because you liked the attention. You let him stare a bit longer before clearing your throat and directing his eyes away from your chest and back to your face.

Once you had his attention, you started scanning the room thoughtfully for a moment. “I count 16 in this room,” you announced. “19 if I wanted to get a little creative.”

Bucky smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. “Bare hands?” he asked. You mimicked his stance and said, “First on the list, as always.”

“Then I make 21,” he countered. “24 if I want to get my hands dirty. Which I always do.” You watched him pull his bottom lip between his teeth, a habit that made most women want to fall at his feet.

Too bad for him you were not most women, but that didn’t stop you from having a little fun. You made a show of swaying your hips as you stepped up to him, getting close enough to trace your fingers along his shirt collar and toying with the bit of chest hair that peaked through. "Tryna impress a girl, huh Barnes?"

"Mmhm,” he hummed. “Is it working, doll?” He smiled as he thought over his list for you. If it were possible to die from multiple orgasms, would that really be such a terrible thing?

You noticed the dark glint in his eyes and decided to push him just that little bit further. Standing on your toes, you leaned forward until your breath tickled against his lips. His eyes fell shut and nostrils flared as he breathed in your sweet scent and sighed. You were surprised that he actually managed to respect your 'no touching' rule this time. Even though he was clearly struggling his hands remained at his side clutched tightly into fists.

Satisfied with his reaction you smacked his chest and pushed him out of your way. “Nope! Sorry, Buck. Better luck next time. Have fun tonight, though.” You scurried off trying to contain your laughter when you saw the indignant look cast over his face.

This was the type of relationship you had forged with Bucky ever since you moved in. Threatening each other, fighting over dominance and playing silly games, like counting how many objects you could kill each other with in any given room. That was all it was, though, a game and nothing more. It had to be. So you ignored the warmth in your belly and increased thumping in your chest as you reached your room to get ready for the night. Unaware that Bucky was feeling the same while also trying to readjust himself in pants that felt just a little bit tighter now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hours later, you were sitting at the bar of the Compound's large party room drinking from a glass of punch. Compromising your senses in a crowd was never appealing to you, so you rarely drank in public, but you still enjoyed the atmosphere. The active bodies on the dance floor moving together to a loud beat, everyone with a drink in their hand, and all inhibitions left at coat check.

You listened to your friends share stories that wouldn't typically be brought up if they were sober. Like the mission where Steve, Nat, and Clint had an unfortunate run-in with leeches and were forced to strip themselves of their uniforms. The rest of the team waited to rendezvous at the jet for almost an hour, but all impatience was forgotten when they saw them finally approaching. Completely naked. Natasha had taken possession of Steve's shield to cover herself while the two men cupped themselves protectively. The group howled with laughter and you almost choked on your drink when Steve’s face turned a deep shade of red at the memory.

As the night progressed, it seemed like every five minutes a different man would approach you with an invitation to show you a 'good' time. Judging by their liquor-soaked breath and clumsy advances you severely doubted it and shot each of them down. After an hour of this you noticed that there was one man that had yet to make his usual attempt at seducing you.

Bucky was at the other end of the bar with a positively beautiful woman keeping him company. She was clearly having a hard time deciding which part of him to keep her hands on. The muscles in her arms strained as she kept pulling at him, a definite indicator that she wanted him to take her somewhere less crowded. But he wasn't budging. Bucky's attention was focused on you from the minute she walked up to him. Your eyes locked in a silent battle to see who would blink first.

“Mhm,” someone murmured as they stood next to you. “Can't take your eyes off Barnes, huh?”

You didn't even as you took a sip of your drink. “Take a break, Wilson.”

“When are you gonna admit it, Y/N?"  Sam's inquiry was met with a stony silence, so he continued. "It’s obvious you have feelings for tall, dark, and dumb over there.” He nodded towards Bucky.

You abandoned the staring contest to glare at the man beside you instead. “We’ve been over this, Sam. I’m a professional, I don’t do feelings. Especially feelings for Barnes.”

“Uh-huh." He rolled his eyes and you narrowed yours.

Lately, Sam and even Steve were in the habit of calling out your friendship with Bucky, trying to turn it into something more. You dismissed them outright. Not ready or willing to accept that even you started to notice a change. Sure, it was fun messing around with the brunette super soldier, turning him into a drooling mess of lust and temptation while you walked away unaffected. Except that last bit was happening less frequently now and, concerning as it was, you chose to ignore it.

While you were trying to figure out a way to dodge Sam's judgment, the next song started playing over the speakers giving you a wicked idea. It was certainly fitting for the moment and also might help you prove a point.

Sam instantly recognized the mischievous sparkle in your eyes and sighed. “Just be careful, Y/N. He's an old man. Don't go giving him a heart attack.” He paused, thinking to himself for a moment. “On second thought, you go girl!”

You rolled your eyes at Sam and stepped away from the bar, striding towards the dance floor. The golden silk dress trailed behind you as the large slit coming up your left leg showcased your thigh almost up to your hipbone. The supple curve of your breasts peaking over the neckline was practically modest in comparison to your completely exposed back. The loose material draped just below the small of your back, calling more attention to your round backside. Even before you turned to face him, you knew Bucky had his eyes trained on you the entire time.

As the song played you started dancing provocatively to the beat. Hips swiveling as your hands roamed up and down your body before reaching into your hair to play with the loose tendrils. You crooked your finger towards Bucky and motioned for him to come closer. He didn't give it a second thought as he broke away from the other woman and began his journey over.

Strutting towards you with such purpose and ferocity, you almost couldn't tell whether he was coming to ravish you or murder you. The way his dark hair framed his face casting a shadow over his lust-crazed eyes added to that predatory effect. He had abandoned his suit jacket early on, leaving him in just the crisp white dress shirt with the cuffs rolled up to show off his impressive forearms. One muscular flesh, the other shining metal, both distracting and enticing as hell.

You turned your back to him as he closed in and it wasn't long before his warm arm was wrapped around your midsection pulling you to his chest as you started dancing together. Cool metal fingers trailed up your arm and moved your hair aside exposing your neck to him.

“You looked a little jealous there, doll.” His voice was low and gravelly, lips barely making contact at that sensitive spot below your ear.

You placed one hand on his and lifted the other to hold the back of his neck. “Oh I don't get jealous, sweetheart. I'm just proving a point.”

“Mmm, and what's that?” Whatever it was, he liked where this was going.

“That you're willing to drop everything the second I wave a finger just so you can get your hands on me for a minute. You got it bad, Barnes.”

He chuckled softly. “Maybe I do,” he whispered in your ear, sending an unexpected chill up your spine. “You’re an incredible woman, Y/N. You’re smart. Strong. Can take care of yourself in a fight. And you’re fucking beautiful. You got me going crazy, doll. I can’t get my mind off you.” He nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck and held you tighter.

Maybe it was the low timber of his voice or his metal hand gripping firmly on your exposed thigh, but suddenly you felt your skin prickle with heat. His hips followed the languid rhythm you set and you loved how comfortable and strong his thighs felt behind yours. His hard chest pressed against your exposed back, the buttons of his shirt practically digging into your flesh from the friction. You moved your hand into his hair and started pawing at his scalp, tugging on the soft strands. A deep growl reverberated through his chest and traveled straight down to your core.

What he said, the way he moved and the sounds he made, it was all making you feel lightheaded. You had to bite down on your lip to stop yourself from whimpering when a devastating roll of his hips had your ass grinding against his hardening length. Being so lost in the moment, in his touch, you forgot what point you were trying to make in the first place. You needed to walk away from this.

Somehow you managed to compose yourself enough to escape his embrace and back away from him, smiling softly when you saw yet another dazed look on his face. “Well I guess I saved a dance for you after all. Don't say I never do anything for you, Buck.” You didn't look back as you left, pretending that your arousal hadn't just soaked through your lingerie.

“Fuck,” Bucky groaned as he watched you saunter away. Your hips swayed just as they did against him seconds ago, leaving him with only a throbbing ache pushing against his briefs as a reminder. “She's gotta stop doing that.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was 3am and even though the guests were gone, the team didn't want the party to end just yet. After changing out of their formal wear, everyone gathered in the lounge to continue the fun. Nothing too scandalous, just a couple of drinks and some games amongst friends. How the hell it ended up turning into an arm wrestling contest was beyond you.

Clint was paired with Sam, who was drunkenly boasting about his inevitable victory against the archer. Their friendly rivalry was made all the more hilarious when they were drunk off their asses. Seconds after the match began, Sam was pinned and Clint was flailing his arms and legs like a giddy child as he celebrated. Natasha took the rest of his drink away immediately.

“Slick move, Barton. Getting your girl to throw me off like that.” Sam pouted, claiming that Nat purposely distracted him. Steve had to take away Sam’s beer when he started arguing that blinking rhymes with winking, so she was obviously flirting with him.

“Don't try to pin this on her, Wilson." Clint objected. His voice sounded a little scratchy and he could barely keep his eyes open. "What do you think I shoot arrows with all day, huh?  My feet?” He started showing off his muscular forearms and biceps in a series of ridiculous poses. “Now if this was a contest to see who could break a watermelon with their legs, you'd take that one easy, buddy.”

Sam considered his words for a minute before smiling lazily, nodding in agreement. “You're right about that. I do have some great thighs.” He started rubbing his legs and praising them for being so thick and perfect.

The group laughed at the pair of drunken aviary Avengers as they stumbled away from the table. Tony was declaring the matches and after a brief chat with Natasha, he called out the next pair.

“Alright, we have a theory that needs testing. Barnes. Y/N.” He clapped his hands on the flat surface. “You're up!”

“What?! But I thought I was sup–"

“My God, Rogers!" Tony interrupted, turning to face the now pouting Captain. "Must you and the tin man do everything together? Could you just share him for a minute? I'm sure Y/N won't steal him away from you.”

“No promises,” Bucky said, blowing a kiss towards you and making you stick your tongue out at him.

“Sit your ass down, Buck. And keep your pretty mouth shut for everyone's sake.” You tried to sound serious, but your smile said otherwise.

Once seated, you both made a show of stretching out your muscles before putting your elbows on the table. Bucky was about to make a comment that was sure to have your skin crawling but you stopped him. “I don't think so, pal. I want the other one.” You pointed towards his left arm instead.

He quirked an eyebrow, but still switched arms. The light reflected off the metal plates when he flexed and waved his fingers at you. “You sure about this, doll? I know you’re tough, but c’mon, you don’t stand a chance here. I don't wanna hurt you, baby girl. Unless you're into that sorta thing.” His suggestive wink and smug tone only solidified your resolve.

“Oh I love it when you sweet talk me, baby." You rolled your eyes and grabbed his hand. "Let's do this, Barnes. You're going down.”

He smirked and pulled you in a little closer, the soft whir of the metal plates vibrated against your palm. “On you, maybe later. First I got a match to win.”

You choked back a gasp, quickly disguising it as laughter and hoping that it would distract him from the sudden blush that filled your cheeks.

“Okay lovebirds,” Tony clasped his hands over yours and Bucky’s. “The second I let go of your fists, the match begins. We don't frown upon cheap tricks here, but just don't be a whiner like Wilson.” Tony repeated the rules, ignored Sam's slurred insults, and checked to make sure you were both ready.

Without breaking eye contact you nodded your heads and confirmed that you heard him. Stark let a few more seconds pass to build suspense before finally pulling away. The second he did, you lunged forward and crashed your lips against Bucky's. The unexpected contact caught him completely off guard and while your lips were connected, you pinned his arm. Your lips lingered on his for a moment longer before you pulled away and met your victory with a series of whistling and applause.

Bucky sat motionless. Staring at you wide-eyed and speechless, trying to process what just happened as the group congratulated you on a clean win. His lips were still tingling from your kiss. This was something he'd fantasized about for weeks but never expected for it to happen like that. Game or not, he couldn't deny that there was something more behind your motive.

He needed to pull himself together before anyone called him out, so he donned his signature grin and congratulated you. “Well played, Y/N.”

“Element of surprise, doll,” you jeered, proud of yourself for pulling it off.

After Tony was done cursing Bucky under his breath, he paid Natasha for losing their little bet and moved on to face off against Steve. You watched for a minute as Tony desperately tried to pin the immovable super soldier with both hands. At one point, he was basically dangling off his arm while Steve cackled. Positive that Tony was only seconds away from summoning his armor, you decided now was a good time to slip away towards the empty kitchen and get a drink. After grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, you turned to see that you were no longer alone.

“What was that about, Y/N?”

“What are you talking about, Bucky?” you answered his question with one of your own.

“You know what I’m talking about.” He nodded towards the other room. “What just happened back there?”

You shrugged, drinking almost the entire bottle while avoiding eye contact. "What about it? It was a game. Don't be such a sore loser."

"It was more than that, Y/N." He stepped closer as he spoke. "And the dancing earlier.”

He was close enough that you could smell the light yet incredibly intoxicating scent of his cologne. It mixed beautifully with his own indescribably scent and you silently cursed him. Since when did he smell so good?

"It was a tactic, Bucky,” you explained. “I was just trying to throw you off by doing something stupid. And it worked didn't it? I won fair and square. And the dance was just a dance, I was messing around. It was nothing."

You moved to walk away, but he reached out for your arm turning you to face him. "I don't buy it, Y/N. Sounds like your trying to convince yourself rather than admit the truth. I know it wasn't nothing."

Now you were getting frustrated. Why did he have to keep on pressing the matter instead of letting it go like he usually did? Why now?

“Oh really? What was it then?” you seethed. “You seem to know better than me, so tell me. Why? Because you're Bucky Barnes and no woman can resist you? Bullshit.”

“No, because I have proof,” he stated, still holding onto your arm and his face serious.

Biting back a scoff, you looked up at him expectantly. “What proof?”

He took a cautious step towards you and when you didn't pull back, he moved in a little closer. Metal fingers barely grazed your skin as he trailed them up your arm. With every inch they climbed, your body reacted to his tentative touch. The slow drag of his knuckles along your collar bone up to your jawline, a trail of goosebumps followed. He leaned forward, nudging your nose with his and feeling the warmth of his breath against your lips. Lips that you just learned were softer than you could have imagined. You were struggling to keep your eyes open when he finally pulled back. His long warm fingers still wrapped around your wrist, lifting it to rest on his chest while his metal hand moved to your hip.

“Your pulse beats faster whenever I’m close to you,” he whispered. “Your pupils dilate and your body temperature rises.” He looked into your eyes and cupped your cheek. “I know because you have the same symptoms as me and I have feelings for you, Y/N.”

There was no trace of smug ego or cocky bravado in the way he looked at you with those unreasonably blue eyes. His smile was so warm and genuine you could practically feel your walls crumbling apart. This was all new territory and you didn't know how to deal with it. You couldn't admit it to yourself, let alone Bucky, that you started to develop feelings for him. You spent your life in the company of heartless criminals, training and killing for faceless men. None of this allowed room for a chance at romance and you were fine with that!

You were fine with that.

Standing here with Bucky now, your bodies close and your mind and heart racing, you didn't know what to think anymore. But you were too damn stubborn for your own good.

“No,” you choked. “Enough. It was nothing.” Your hands curled into fists on his chest. “Dammit, just stop it, Bucky.” You pushed him away and ran out of the room, leaving him to stare at your retreating form once again.

So damn stubborn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After that night a few weeks ago, you and Bucky hardly saw each other. Both choosing to deal with the others absence as though you were dealing with a loss. For the first couple weeks, you were upset and hurt, with yourselves and with each other. Wishing for things to go back to the way they were before either of you realized your feelings were changing. That obviously wasn’t going to happen with two such hardheaded people. Sadness shifted into denial which eventually led to anger and frustration, your current and most volatile stage. However, you were both professionals and whatever was happening between you was not about to come in the way of work. Or so you thought.

While out on a mission, you and Bucky were ordered to distract a number of hostiles away from the others so they could slip into the target building unnoticed. Despite finding yourself a little outnumbered at one point everything was going according to plan. That was until Bucky came barreling out of nowhere redirecting all enemy fire away from you and onto himself. You both managed to get away relatively unscathed, but he ended taking a bullet to his side because of his own stupidity.

Back at the compound and standing outside the medbay, you watched as they extracted the bullet and stitched him up. When they were all done he got up and headed towards the exit where you were waiting, silently fuming.

“What the hell were you thinking, Bucky?” you screamed as he came out the doors and started walking away.

“I was thinking I was doing my damn job, Y/N.” He knew you were pissed off when you didn’t say anything the entire flight back, instead choosing to sit in the corner of the jet while Steve hovered over him like a worried parent.

He continued to try and get away from you, navigating the hallways and heading towards the compound's living space as you shouted at his back. “Your job is not to get yourself killed by doing something stupid like that!”

He stopped and turned to face you. His expression was so intense, almost threatening, and instantly halting you in your tracks. “Making sure you don’t get hurt or killed isn’t stupid to me, Y/N!” Bucky yelled, his voice echoing through the empty corridor.

You stood completely still as you stared blankly up at him. He sighed exasperatedly. “Y'know when someone takes a bullet for you, the polite thing to do is say thank you or something. Not bitch at ‘em for saving your life because you’re too damn arrogant to admit you needed help.”

You folded your arms over your chest, instantly offended. “I had the situation under control, Bucky. I am not your responsibility and you are not mine. Pull a stunt like that again and I’ll shoot you myself.”

He dragged his fingers through his hair and growled furiously. “You're so fucking stubborn!”

“So are you, asshole!” you barked back.

You were so worked up that you started shoving and hitting him. He stood there and took each hit without complaint, letting you work through your emotions. Though your words and actions said one thing, anytime you touched him you made sure to avoid the areas you knew were wounded. Truth was, it scared the shit out of you when you saw him get hit and fall to the ground. The sight of him clutching his side as blood seeped through his fingers was an image you never wanted to see again.

Once you had calmed down enough you wanted to run, but Bucky grabbed you and pinned your back to the wall with a thud. He went to cage you in with his arms, but you were quick and took him by the collar of his uniform, spinning your bodies until his back was against the wall. Any frustration he still felt resolved into amusement as your grip on his uniform loosened, but your hands remained on his chest.

“You’re mad cause you were scared that I got hurt. That’s it, isn’t it?” he asked, moving his hands to rest on your hips.

“No,” you replied a little too quickly and not at all convincing. He laughed. “Aw, you were worried about me, huh doll?”

“Shut up, Bucky,” you whined.

“Guess you kinda like me more than you let on. Don’t deny it, you think I’m cute.” He batted his long eyelashes and smiled that toothy grin. Out of all the people to fall for, it just had to be a man that was just as capable of irritating you to no end as he was to leave you weak at the knees.

You shook your head and let out a tired laugh. “You’re such a child.”

His shit-eating grin could not be contained as he said, “You still love me though.”

You finally looked at him, seeing the same sincerity and affection in his eyes that you knew matched your own. “Yeah well, so what if I do.”

His hand came up to caress your blushing cheek and you instinctively leaned into his touch. “Finally,” he whispered before pressing your lips together. You both sighed happily as you felt the soft plump flesh again. If kisses like this were what you had to look forward to then it was definitely a feeling you could get used to.

“For the record, I love you too,” he murmured against your lips when you pulled back a little to breathe.

“Of course you do. I’m amazing,” you said, suppressing a giggle as he shook his head affectionately.

“I know you’re expecting me to come back with some witty or cocky comment, but I’m just gonna agree and keep kissing you instead. Sound good?” His thumb swiped across your bottom lip, tugging it down slightly before letting it fall back in place.

You squinted your eyes and pretended to think about it for a moment before Bucky pinched your sides. He jutted out his jaw seductively  and licked his lips when you squealed.

“Sounds good, Barnes.”

<< part one :: part two (end)

feel free to leave me some feedback ❤

tag list (which I’ve lost so I’m just gonna tag everyone who was tagged in the first part)

@avengerofyourheart @buckysberrie @marvelingatthewonder @buckyywiththegoodhair @imaginingbucky @memiskypirate @anya-lv @heismyhunter @melanie451 @palaiasaurus64 @fantasticimpaladoctor @the-renaissance @bucky-on-a-bike @whatsbetterthanfantasy @jbb-98 @fallingpanickedkilljoys @feelmyroarrrr @annadier @no-im-not-dead-nor-i-have-a-pool @tatortot2701 @blogdebooklover16 @cassiopeiassky @aenna-4 @lilasiannerd @alphadareme @badassbaker @chrisevans-imagines @sergeant-angels-trashcan @aenna-4 @lilasiannerd @mrs–healy @dead-inside52 @nea90sweetie @callingmrsbarnes @tempestinatea-cup @dearmisterhiddles @flowercrownsandmetallicarms @imshalida @sarahjeaniejean @phvckingphandoms @re2d2 @the–baroness @rebel-different @the-witching-hours12-3 @buckyandsebsinbin @sighodinson

[emmelfish]

100 Followers Gift: Born-In-Game Sims (Free to Good Home)

What the hell? 100 whole people are following this nonsense? I barely expected even five people to be interested!

Well thank you, you absolute beautiful people on Tumblr – I feel like I should gift you something in return. And until I learn how to recolor sweaters (it is after all my dream to make special sweaters for all the fraternities and sororities in the game), you can have some born-in-game sims. Do with them as you please! Utilize their lovely genetics as face templates! Be wary of their alarming personalities!

They come CC-free, packaged in basegame clothing. I do have some Maxis Match in-between skintone blends by PurplePaws installed that I use in my game, so if any sim is not S1, 2, 3 or 4, I’ll make that clear in the descriptions so you can apply your own equivalent when in CAS. 

You’ve not seen them yet in my gameplay pics, but my defaults are now the beautiful Fountain Eyes by @dreadpirate. Just be sure to use Clean Installer so that these simmies pick up your own defaults :)

Satan’s Twins, I mean... Skip Jr and Susie Broke

From the loins of evil (uh, actually Brandi’s and deceased Skip Broke’s) come these cheekboned blonds with their horrible personalities, but at least they love each other, right? Susie’s always dragging Skip Jr to parties he’s too introverted for, but he enjoys being misanthropic with her once they’re there and dragging everyone’s outfits. Christ, how did someone as friendly as Brandi ever give birth to these chodes?

Susie Broke

Sloppy/Neat – 3

Shy/Outgoing – 10

Lazy/Active – 9

Serious/Playful – 3

Grouchy/Nice – 3

Hobby – Fitness

I was planning on setting Suse to Popularity (baaaahahahahaha) because of those bonkers max outgoing points, but also, her love of Fitness means her body skills would be on point come career time and potentially lead to a Hall of Famer situation. Nope, when I put prototype adult Susie in a different neighborhood for this shoot she rolled Cult Leader. Of course she did.

Download Susie Broke

Skip Broke Jr

Sloppy/Neat – 3

Shy/Outgoing – 1

Lazy/Active – 10

Serious/Playful – 10

Grouchy/Nice – 3

Hobby – Sports

I’ve thought about making SJ a Knowledge sim – I think he has an interesting personality for that aspiration. When I tried it in his test hood he opted for the top of the Intelligence Career, and if it wasn’t for those 10 Playful points I’d probably wholly agree with that. Maybe he’d be the inappropriate prankster of the SCIA office?

Download Skip Broke Jr

Frida and Remedios Broke-Dreamer

Twin girls of Brandi and Darren Broke-Dreamer (Brandi’s second set of twins GOOD LORD), conceived when that pair said not one word to one another upon meeting and proceeded to plow. Here they are, old enough to be truly horrified by that story. Named after surrealist painters because of their artsy parents, they’re the youngest of SEVEN GODDANG CHILDREN (related to Dirk Dreamer and all four Broke kids). Man I love these two. 

Frida Broke-Dreamer

Sloppy/Neat – 3

Shy/Outgoing – 7

Lazy/Active – 10

Serious/Playful – 7

Grouchy/Nice – 7

Hobby – Fitness

Given I imagine Brandi’s second set of twins to be a little more laid back and hippyish than their older siblings, I headcanon Frida as an aspiring yoga teacher (the more spiritual end of the Fitness hobby?) although she’s the one family member who could potentially beat Skip Jr and Susie in an endurance test. She’d take after her mama as a Family sim I reckon.

Download Frida Broke-Dreamer

Remedios Broke-Dreamer

Sloppy/Neat – 3

Shy/Outgoing – 8

Lazy/Active – 4

Serious/Playful – 7

Grouchy/Nice – 6

Hobby – Nature

Didn’t I tell you I’d make one of Brandi’s kids a Romance sim? Step right up Remy! Laid back and chill, with effortless charm and bags of confidence, I could imagine her being quite the success on the dating scene. I’d also really love to do something cool with her Nature hobby – maybe she’ll buy Florence Delarosa’s flower shop after Flo retires?

Remy’s skintone is between S2 and S3, so I’ve packaged her as S3... please remember to use Clean Installer just in case any of my CC lingers!

Download Remedios Broke-Dreamer

Matilda Caliente-Goth and Joséfina Caliente(-Lothario)

Remind you of a certain two sisters? Yep, I’m pretty excited at how much these cousin BFFs look like their mothers. Matilda is the laid-back and fun-loving daughter of Mortimer Goth and Dina Caliente, and Joséfina Caliente is the jaw-droppingly confident and energetic result of an ill-advised afternoon of passion between Nina Caliente and Don Lothario. They each only have four nice points so you can’t sit with them.

Joséfina Caliente

Sloppy/Neat – 1

Shy/Outgoing – 9

Lazy/Active – 8

Serious/Playful – 5

Grouchy/Nice – 4

Hobby – Fitness

There’s an interesting mix of both parents’ personalities (and looks) with Josie, and as the progeny of Don and Nina of course her hobby would be something that involves racking up Body points. Given how extroverted she is, I thought perhaps the perfect aspiration for the lovechild of two Romance sims would be Popularity. No doubt there’d be something sporty in her future but I do headcanon her as having serious book smarts, so we shall see... *strokes chin*

Download Joséfina Caliente

Matilda Caliente-Goth

Sloppy/Neat – 4

Shy/Outgoing – 6

Lazy/Active – 4

Serious/Playful – 7

Grouchy/Nice – 4

Hobby – Games

When you’re drowning in Fitness and Nature sims it’s so nice to get a Gamer. They’re super rare in the uberhood! I could imagine Matilda growing up on chess, stealing all of Alex’s video games, then maybe one day interning at Lucy Burb’s game development company (Luce rolled the LTW to reach the top of the Gamer career in my game) and likely becoming a vlogger in the field. She’s definitely a Pleasure sim, the spitting image of her mother Dina... and takes after her in the ‘well, black goes with everything?’ fashion stakes.

Like Remy, Matty’s skintone is between S2 and S3. I’ve packaged her as S3 like her mother, so add the skintone you feel suits her best – also, you’ll see that she appears in your CAS in Mama’s basegame dress, for funsies. 

Download Matilda Goth

Hope you enjoy! Please let me know if any links are broken or if anything borks with the files, I will gladly try to fix.

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

So I have a lot of somewhat diverging, incoherent thoughts about things you and your anons've said said, and I'll try to whip them into shape. 1) I wonder if there is a some gap between rational acknowledge and subconscious - bias (or if we're being impolite, homophobia) when it comes to these things. Of course, that can be rationalized away to an extent, but what I'm mainly talking about is the subconscious bias that Louis "reads" as gay to a majority of people and Harry does not. 1/

To use external examples, one of my favs from kpop is Zhou Mi from Super Junior M, and it’s pretty much an open secret in his fan base that he’s gay. He got a lot of flack when he and another member late-joined the group which can be attributed to overzealous fans and xenophobia, but Zhou Mi, unlike the other new group member, reads as less straight even in a non-Western context and still to this day (9+ years) gets more hate/is less popular. 2/

OTOH we have someone like Matt Bomer who is publically out, but still has a lot of straight female fans who are outright thirsty for him. They campaigned for him to be Christian Grey, and recently I saw someone describe him as “Can look, can’t touch”. To me, Bomer - and Harry (and Ziam) - doesn’t necessarily read as “straight” but more as “not-NOT straight” (the new Hollywood soft action hero) whereas Louis doesn’t get that benefit. 3/

This has very little to do with their actual sexuality, but again just subconscious bias. Unless if we’re able to acknowledge and confront our bias, oftentimes that can turn into discomfort and hate/anger, which might explain some of the over-the-top reactions we’ve seen in the past against Louis (and Zayn too - his otherness, in more obvious ways). 2) In terms of the straight female fans/queer female fans/desiring - desirability/triangulation of desire conversation– 4/ 

I just want to make a couple of observations (1) Queer female fans who make up a large part of L’s fanbase also include women / NB individuals who ARE attracted to men, as well as women / NB individuals who aren’t attracted to ANYONE. It felt worth mentioning to be factual and objective that actual ability to desire is not always the issue. Of the ones I follow who identify as bi/pan/other queer, a majority seem to express similar aesthetic reverence towards H and L instead of sexual. 5/

(2) I’ve seen at least one lesbian-identifying blogger recently who recently got a lesbian-identifying anon who said they would be happy to do [explicit sexual things] to Louis despite the fact she was a WLW and Louis is a MLM and the blogger agreed. So there might be something else going on there– But in terms of general fan response, similarly, over many fan polls, Zhou Mi’s fans often cited that they’d rather be his friend than date him. So it might have to do with how Louis/ZM are “read” 6/

3) In terms of your “There’s nothing wrong with a woman fantasising about Harry fucking her.” comment – I might be misinterpretting or overreading your intention with that statement, but it makes me uncomfortable for a few reasons. I respect why you’ve come to feeling this way and for other bloggers “shaming” women, but I inherently disagree because there’s other factors at play. 7/ 

 I think we can readily agree that men vocalizing their violently objectifying and sexualizing comments towards women, especially women they don’t know, is problematic (e.g. Adam going “I’d fuck [Celebrity A]” while joking with his friends, Brad saying, “Her face don’t do it for me, but I’d take her bare on her hands and knees.”) I know that are ways in which the relationship is inversed with Harry because he is white, male, rich, privileged, in an industry where that is the peak of power 8/ 

That being said, you yourself pointed out that One Direction, and many boy bands, are treated the same way that females in the industry are treated – objectified, devalued for the actual talents they are selling while being told their most valuable feature is their desirability. ESPECIALLY for Harry, who has been given this role despite his vehement objections. For many larries, who are queer women, the violent objection against other [straight] women sexualizing Harry might be commiseration 9/

–as they themselves are often subjected to sexualization and unwanted advances despite their own sexuality or feelings, which is another level on top of just harassment. I want to point out that that commiseration is *empathy* with someone they perceive as a victim of systemic homophobia (also something else they experience) and not necessarily internalized misogyny against women and what they feel as a requirement for reciprocity in order to express desire for another party. 10/

I agree you can’t help who you’re attracted to, and if the fantasy is between you and yourself, then no harm done. However, in my experience on Tumblr, many straight fans of Harry do take it the next level equivalent with the Adam/Brad example I created above, in a way that treats Harry like an object for their fantasies rather than a person with autonomy, and a person who’s expressed discomfort in the past for being made into this object. 11/12

I understand if you disagree with me, but I wanted to offer another perspective that’s more nuanced than “women hate that women have desire because of internalized misogyny which is why they’re angry when women express desire”. Anyway if you read this… uh thanks!

**************

Hi Discluded - thanks so much for your asks.  I think they’re really interesting.  I think your idea of people being seen as not-NOT-straight is a really useful way of looking at some of the different ways celebrities are read.  I think your comments will be really interesting to people who have been part of this discussion.  I’m only going to respond tot he last bit, about Harry and het fans.

I’m not sure I agree that Harry has vehemently objected to being the object of desire at this point in his career.  He definitely objected to being seen as someone with a huge desire for women, but that’s not quite the same thing.  While he’s put some boundaries up (including literally with his wardrobe), his album gave heterosexual fans everything they needed in order to feel desired by him.  I’m not saying I know how Harry feels about all this, but I am saying I’m very wary of other fans using a claim that they know Harry’s feelings as a way of bolstering their own reactions.

To your more substantive point - you end with motivations, why people might be objecting to fans who desire Harry. It’s not something I had touched on.  If I was going to give a reason for why I wouldn’t talk about internalised misogyny.  I would probably start with fandom dynamics - in this case Larries creating a ‘bad’ fan’ to differentiate themselvesselves from.  I agree that a feeling of empathy and experiencing their own boundaries is probably a factor for queer women (although I’m not sure I think that queer women are more likely than straight women to express objection to women desiring Harry).

I think that people can have very good reasons for why they respond the way they do and still end up reinforcing existing power structures in the way they express that response (a distinction that tumblr is quite bad at acknowledging).  It’s possible that queer women are responding to particular aspects of how particular women express their desire to Harry, but the easiest language to hand is language that shames women for having sexual desires. 

For women who are objecting to particular articulations of other women’s desire for Harry then the way to make it clear is to be specific. To name expressions and actions that are crossing the line, rather than focusing on women’s desire.

And while I don’t think it negates your main point since I’ve been thinking about the gendered nature of desire - I also wonder about the example you used.  The whole point of hetreosexuality (as like a social instituion) is that it’s not easily reversible.  The language around sex gives very little option but to portray men as active and easily ignores women’s consent.  I’m not sure that ‘Fuck me in that hat Harry’ in the tags is very similar to your example with Adam and Brad.  I’m not sure I think heterosexuality works that way.

Thanks for your thoughts - and I’d love to hear anything else you have to say.

[koinekid]

Kame Island Romance

The first chapter of a new K18 romance/humor anthology series by koinekid is available on FanFiction.Net

You can also read here on Tumblr by clicking the Keep reading link below.

I’m looking for feedback/suggestions for the next chapter. Details are at the end of the post.

Rights to Dragonball and related properties are held by their respective owners. No infringement is implied or intended.

Kame Island Romance

By koinekid

1. The Article

Part 1

The magazine was an impulse buy as Eighteen did the weekly grocery shopping—her preferred chore as a member of the Kame Household since it combined her favorite activity with the ability, when deviating from Oolong’s prepared shopping list, to decide what she and her roommates ate for dinner. The magazine’s glossy cover boasted an article on twenty-five activities for budget-minded couples.

She thumbed through the pages as the clerk rang up her purchases. A throat clearing reminded her the magazine needed to be scanned as well. The annoyance in the clerk’s face had Eighteen considering how easy it would have been to push the cart out of the store without paying and flip off anyone who tried to stop her. Old habits and all.

Instead, she angled the magazine so its UPC label was visible, forcing the clerk to resort to her handheld scanner: Male clerks usually did so without complaint, but the female ones gave her attitude.

The clerk announced the total, and Eighteen handed over Roshi’s credit card. She stuffed the receipt into one of the bags and reluctantly did the same with the magazine before retrieving a capsule from her pocket. A group of bag boys groaned their disappointment at not being permitted to help the beautiful blonde with her bags.

Eighteen rolled her eyes. Did they think she would fall madly in love with the one who pushed her cart for her?

She returned the full capsule to the pocket of her denim vest and snapped it shut before walking outside. At a suitable distance from the store—for some reason, her new friends insisted they all hide their powers from ordinary people—she took to the sky.

The old perv would give her an earful about charging the magazine to his credit card when she got home. “That card is to be used for essentials only,” he would exclaim, though the genuine source of his upset would be her continued refusal to pick up his pornography when she did her shopping.

Roshi’s yelling amused her. True, she could roast him alive at a whim, but they both knew she wouldn’t. And the fact that he was willing to yell meant he considered her part of the family. It was a welcome change from his and Oolong’s cowering after she first accepted Krillin’s invitation to move in.

Krillin. The mere thought of the little man made her smile. After less than a year on the island, she could no longer imagine life without him. He was the first of his friends to treat her as a person rather than a machine, and when she was with him, sometimes—just for an instant—she forgot she was a cyborg and felt almost normal.

He was a true friend, though lately, the feelings she harbored for him went beyond friendship. But had she arrived at those feelings too late? Long ago, she overheard Krillin’s friends tease him about having a crush on her. Embarrassed, she loudly proclaimed in front of everyone that his actions that day hadn’t won her heart. Perhaps time or her own big mouth had soured him on the prospect of a romance with her. She hoped not.

The island with its small pink house came into view, and she spotted Krillin out front, clearing the beach of debris washed up during a recent storm. He took aim at a nearby piece of driftwood, and she startled him by blasting it first.

Though taken aback, he grinned as she lighted beside him.

“Hey, Shorty.”

“Hi, Blondie.”

Krillin showed spirit today. Normally, he didn’t tease back.

“Are the others here?” she asked.

“Nope, just you and me. And Turtle, of course.”

The ancient sea turtle that frequented the island lay near the front door. She nodded to it absently. If the old man were gone, he wouldn’t know about the magazine. Good, one less headache. She turned back to Krillin. “Help me put away the groceries?”

“Okay.”

When he cleared a spot on the kitchen counter, Eighteen triggered the capsule’s release, causing the bags to appear. They worked slowly, chatting all the while. It would be more efficient to divide the dry goods from the refrigerated and work them separately, but Krillin’s way of choosing a bag at random and handing her an item at a time led to more interaction and more than a few “accidental” touches. She liked Krillin’s way.

Still, it would be best to unpack the bag containing the magazine herself. The last thing she needed was for him to discover it and start asking questions before she was ready. Now, which bag was it?

“Hey, you bought my favorite cereal.”

She shrugged. “It was your turn.”

“That’s what you said last time.”

“I won’t tell if you…” The bag with the cereal—that’s where she stashed the magazine. “Krillin, why don’t you let me—?”

“Twenty-five activities for budget-minded couples?” He raised his eyes from the glossy cover and looked at her curiously.

Eighteen could feel the blush rising in her cheeks as she snatched the magazine away. “I, uh—”

The front door opened with a bang, diverting Krillin’s attention. Into the house stumbled two stacks of magazines with legs—Roshi and Oolong laden down with armfuls of what Eighteen assumed to be the pornography they nagged her to buy. She used the distraction to slip from the room unnoticed while Krillin took pity and asked just what their roommates thought they were doing.

“Someone forgot to bring capsules,” Oolong growled.

Roshi’s protest—“We wouldn’t need to worry about capsules if Krillin’s girlfriend picked up the magazines for us”—was the last thing she heard before reaching the top of the stairs.

Krillin’s girlfriend, eh? If they called her that behind her back, there could be hope for a romance yet, and somewhere in this article just might be the key to igniting it. She tapped the magazine against her chin. Time to start reading.

<<>>

“Do you think Eighteen is seeing anyone? She has to be, right? Why else would she want to read about couples’ activities?”

Yamcha sighed. Every Wednesday that his baseball team wasn’t on the road, he and Krillin sparred on one of the islands near Kame House. Ordinarily, it was the highlight of Yamcha’s week, but today his friend couldn’t stop talking about that magazine.

“Maybe she bought it for a different article. Magazines generally print more than one an issue.”

“Then, why did she blush when I read the title of that article?”

“You got me there.” Yamcha readied an energy blast and sent it toward Krillin, who easily swatted it aside, much to the taller man’s annoyance. “Eighteen is a beautiful woman. Did you expect her to stay celibate forever?”

“No,” Krillin said, “but I figured she would move out before she started dating. Then I wouldn’t have to see her with another guy.”

“Do you want her to leave?”

“Of course not. The island is her home. I just…” Krillin kicked at the dirt. “How would you feel seeing someone else dating the woman you—oh, right. Sorry, bro. I didn’t think—”

“I’m way over that, Krillin.” That wasn’t strictly true, but Yamcha thought it best to limit their conversation to one lovesick martial artist at a time. It might be too late for him and Bulma, but Krillin still had a shot with Eighteen. I won’t let you go through the same thing I did, even if I have to knock some sense into you to stop it.

Yamcha surged forward and threw a barrage of punches that knocked the distracted Krillin onto his back, then held out a hand to pull him to his feet.

“She isn’t your girl, you know.”

Krillin sighed. “Yeah, guess I’m just dreaming, huh?”

“No, you aren’t. Eighteen isn’t with you because you haven’t made a move. So, what if she is dating another guy? I bet if you asked her out, she’d drop him in a heartbeat.”

Krillin brightened. “You think so?”

“Absolutely. After everything you’ve done for her—”

“She doesn’t owe me anything, Yamcha.”

“I know, I know. I just mean that she already knows you’re a great guy. Even if she doesn’t think of you romantically now, telling her how you feel will plant the seed. And—worst case scenario—if she doesn’t want to go out with you, at least she’ll keep the guys she dates away from the island. She’s your friend if nothing else and wouldn’t want to hurt you.”

“Shouldn’t she already know how I feel? She was at the Lookout when I told you guys I like her.”

“Eighteen isn’t exactly normal.”

Anger flashed in Krillin’s eyes, and Yamcha felt a flicker of fear. “T-take it easy. I’m not belittling her for being a cyborg. But you said she doesn’t remember anything from before Gero modified her, right?”

Krillin nodded. “Not much, anyway.”

“That means he wiped out whatever dating experience she had. Chances are, she doesn’t even know how to interpret the signals you’re sending her.”

“You think Eighteen can’t tell I’m interested.”

“Yeah, bro, you need to spell it out for her. If you treated most girls half as well as you do Eighteen, they’d know. But ten-to-one she’s oblivious. Plus, she’s pretty, and guys will fall all over themselves to help a pretty girl. Heck, I’m tempted to hold doors for her myself.”

“She’d break your hand if you tried.”

Yamcha grinned. “But not yours.��

A smile tugged at the corners of Krillin’s mouth. “No, not mine.”

“You’re in, man. Ask her out. Look, there’s this physical therapist I’ve been flirting with. We could double.”

Krillin looked as if he were about to panic.

Yamcha held up his hands. “Okay, okay. That’s too much. How about a group thing?”

“Maybe.” Krillin nodded again. “But Eighteen and I have gone to parties together. How’s this any different?”

“We’ll make it more intimate and invite only couples.”

“That…could work.”

“Good, let’s head back, and you can ask her now. What? It isn’t as if you’ll give me a decent workout until you get this sorted anyway.”

<<>> 

After escaping the kitchen, Eighteen locked herself in her room and worked through the article with a red marker, pausing only to watch from her window as Yamcha arrived to pick up Krillin for their weekly training session. Why didn’t Krillin spar with her? She’d certainly make a better partner than some weakling who gave up martial arts to play games for a living. Probably because you never asked, came her mind’s response. True, she conceded.

A box fan propped in her window circulated a cool breeze through the room. It was no hotter than usual indoors, but the noise drowned out the sound of her roommates stomping around on the first floor. Eighteen sat at her desk and twirled the marker between her fingers as she read:

Shared interests lead to couples spending more time together and engaging in livelier conversations. And the best part is that it doesn’t take a boatload of zenni for you and your sweetheart to have a good time. Here are 25 activities that won’t break the bank!

That sounded good to her. She could barely scrape together a pocket full of zenni, much less a boatload. Unless she absconded with the old man’s credit card or returned to a life of crime, whatever activity she chose would need to be cheap. Or better yet, free.

The article’s first suggestion—gardening—was out. They lived on a tropical island with limited real estate, so unless they wanted to plant another palm tree…

Her marker swept down and crossed out the illustrated flower next to the suggestion.

Join a local sports team. Interacting with new people…no. The point was to grow closer to Krillin, not make nice with strangers. She crossed through that one as well.

Photography…much too expensive unless she shoplifted a camera. But the thought of Krillin’s disappointment squelched the idea. She desired his respect as much as his affection, and though she might joke about it, she had changed. Whatever drove her and her brother to terrorize society in the past was no longer a part of her. She started to mark another X but paused.

Pictures of Krillin’s friends decorated the walls of his room. Eighteen even allowed him to add a few snapshots of her to his collection, pretending to be annoyed as he took them. A few more on display—ones where she actually smiled—would be gratifying. Krillin borrowed the camera he used to take those photos. They could always ask to borrow it again. She circled the suggestion and drew a question mark next to it.

Walk or hike. Again, limited real estate. Though she had spied a few decent parks while flying over nearby islands.

Stargazing. Lying on the roof and watching the stars—that could work. It would be a good time to talk, and if she worked up the courage, to lay her head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat, wait for it to steady, and then raise her mouth for a kiss. Was it getting hot in here?

PJ Day. Spend the entire day in your pajamas. Eighteen twisted her face. How was that an activity?

Camping. A sleeping bag for two. Hmm…

Have sex! Her cheeks burned. Did they need to be so blunt? Well, eventually, if it worked out between them, she’d love to. A memory surfaced of the last time she saw Krillin shirtless in the surf. Definitely love to. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and turned the fan to high. It was getting hot.

With her marker poised to strike, she read the next suggestion. Her hand stayed put. That…actually sounded perfect. If Krillin went for it.

Through the window she saw him and Yamcha approaching over the horizon. Closing the magazine and capping the marker, she shut them in her desk drawer and hurried downstairs. Best ask now before she lost her nerve.

Arms crossed over her chest, she watched Krillin land, her instinct to blurt out what she had in mind undermined by the other man’s presence. Krillin stammered out a greeting. For some reason, he seemed as nervous as she. Was she putting out a bad vibe?

No matter; it was now or never. “I want—”

“Eighteen—”

They shared a smile over interrupting one another.

“You first,” he said.

“I want to ask you something.”

“A-all right.”

She cut her eyes at Yamcha, her stare menacing.

He rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously. “Guess I’ll let the two of you talk.” To Krillin, he said, “Does Friday night work for you?”

“I’ll call when I know for certain.”

“Friday?” Eighteen questioned once Yamcha flew away. That was the day she intended to ask Krillin out. “What’s Friday?”

Krillin took a deep breath. “That’s what I wanted to ask you about. But you were—”

“No, go ahead.”

“Thanks. Um, Yamcha and I are planning to host a game night—cards, board games, that sort of thing—and invite a few people over. Our group used to hold them years ago but sort of fell out of the habit.”

“You want to hold it here—on Friday?” Great, there went her plans. Though it wasn’t Krillin’s intent, she couldn’t help feeling rejected. It was a new feeling, and she didn’t like it. “I guess I can find somewhere to spend the evening.”

“No!” he shouted, then added more quietly, “No, we—I want you to—if you don’t mind—to take part. Be my partner, actually. We usually play teams, and well…”

“Partner, huh?” Was Krillin asking her on a date? It wasn’t exactly dinner and a movie, or even the activity she planned. But a low-key evening with a group they already knew could help ease them into a dating relationship. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

“Of course, if you’re not interested or if you already have plans—” Krillin’s brows furrowed.

“Yes.”

“Yes, you have plans?”

“Yes, I’ll be your partner.” She fought and failed to keep the silly grin off her face. “Who knows? It could be fun.”

Krillin looked relieved, though he averted his gaze and blushed when their eyes met. Had asking her out been that intimidating?

“Oh,” he said suddenly. “You wanted to ask me something.”

“It can wait.” Eighteen beckoned him to accompany her into the house, bumping his shoulder playfully as he came alongside her. “So, partner, what games are we playing?”

In response, Krillin only smiled.

TBC

Thanks for reading; reviews, likes, and reblogs are appreciated.

I’m also looking for feedback on what games should be played at Game Night. I’m especially interested in games that cause frustration and annoyance for the players. For example: Apples to Apples, a game which caused me no end of vexation and led me to question whether my girlfriend secretly hated me whenever she suggested we play.

I planned to make this story a one-shot but decided to split the story as I’ll likely be off the radar for the next few weeks studying for a certification exam I’ve scheduled for the end of the month.

Thanks to @chestnutisland and @deadlybeautydbz for keeping the flames of this fandom alive.

Note: Suggestions for activities in this chapter were taken from this blog post.

[diamondarmored-blog1]

Just some stuff from yesterday’s post nothin’ special particularly--

@corditeheart  Idek, it's so small that people think one comment speaks for the entire fandom

INCOHERENT HOWLING NOISES. I can’t even comprehend this mindset. Clearly I am still a summer child who knows not the struggle of fandom veterans. I was relatively late to the party and it’s still my firm opinion that people can do what they want as long as it’s not in an attempt to overwrite someone else. I sort of assume everyone else feels like that as well, so it’s never occurred to me to take one comment as law.

@ahmyhotdog I can only speak from where I've been. Most people in this fandom are nice. This is true. I've met way more nicer people than not nice. But I think part of the issue is if you don't want to people with certain people for whatever reason then a lot of others just don't seem to play with you as well? Or it could just simply be once you find people you enjoy playing with you just end up not looking for new muns to play with.

That’s true, actually! So it could be partly down to misreading peoples’ motivations for doing that? I would usually assume it’s because our headcanons don’t mesh, though I will say that’s happened to me elsewhere. I don’t think it’s the fault of the collective though, I think there are just arseholes wherever you go. Idk, I hear “x is a bad fandom” and I think of Bloodborne (INB4 SOMEONE IS A BLOODBORNE PART TIMER AND TAKES OFFENCE... @ them, come on, man, you know exactly what I mean here. BB is a mushroom cloud on the horizon for everyone else). 

@eruditorem I’ve heard things but honestly ive never seen anything and everyone has been so welcoming??? so idk either. also i dont pick my nose, i pick my butt. i  mean... wait-- dont reply to that

Mostly adding this so everyone knows Bri picks her butt

@legendaryturk Hmm.  Well I'm kind of newish to the fandom at least for RP, and I think...things just go in cycles?  I've seen ups and downs in various fandoms - not just 8, but also ffvii, doctor who, mgs, and tons of other fandoms I've RPed in.  overall I'd say ff8 has been mostly welcoming to me? it's small, and tumblr being the animal it is, people may just flock toward others who share similar writing styles or fanon. Idk, if I find I have something in common with another mun, be it writing style or fanon ideas, I'll kind of squee with them over it, but I *never* do so with the intent of excluding others, kwim? that said, there are times where I feel like muns talk around me and there's a joke I'm not in on, but, I think that's just the beast that is tumblr, and not fandom related tbh.

You were in MGS tho//// / ?!?!?/q/1/

That part about not doing it with the intent to exclude is so important tbh. So far, I’m getting the impression that most of it is misunderstanding. I can’t imagine anyone I’ve come across so far being deliberately dickish in that way. Eg, there’s one person I can think of who doesn’t really want to acknowledge me, but that’s okay, cos I know they’re a heavy Seiferx[redacted] shipper and I’ve already said I’m not, so I’d not be much use to them. We still follow each other, though, and I can’t think that they’d be all like YOU CAN’T SIT WITH ME if I spoke to them.

@diosleighrp  There's douchenozzles in every fandom who try to dictate what other fans can and can't do. It's quite unfortunate, but there are just entitled brats everywhere.

I can’t say much about this, I haven’t had it! Idk why. Maybe I’m too babbymode for the haters to have found. I have had it elsewhere though so I know what you mean and you’re right, they are definitely lurking somewhere. They’re lurking everywhere. 

@lionseed Just like American politics, it's the small angry voices that get the most attention for some reason. Sometimes there's a bad experience, and people take that as proof the fandom is shit.

MMMM and there’s always people with a bad experience to talk about because nowhere’s perfect, so I guess it’s partly on the reader to be on it enough to realise that. I would like if people within the fandom wouldn’t say that about all currently participating members though :( Obviously people can talk about their experience, good or bad, but their experience is with a person, not all of us. 

@underplater Okay, so. I will say that what I've personally experienced with the ff8 fandom is a lot of, "oh wow, I really like your blog and your take on the character you're doing. That's wonderful!" "Oh awesome, do you maybe want to do something with her/him/me?" "Uh... Maybe." Which... Means no. And then people are always all, "You just keep doing you, dear, it's wonderful," but no one sends in memes or replies to stuff? And it just.. I always feel like I'm pressed up against the glass, looking in.So I'd say my experience with the ff8 comm has definitely been that it's very insular and hard to for me, personally speaking, to break in on. ... Sorry, I'm fairly sure this was about my comment earlier? I think I was the one who used insular.... Unless, of course, I guess the problem could be me? But if it is, I wish someone would tell me so that I could drop the muses and just stop cluttering up people's dashes.

JJKASHDJASHFGGHFJDSJJHH this hurt me to read and is the main reason I’ve made time to do this reply post rn. I couldn’t remember who said what, to be honest with you and it surprises me that it was you, purely because you’re always one of the first people to come to mind when I think of “the FFVIII community”, you seem like a valued part of it to me, even if you’re not one of the most active. YOU ARE DEFINITELY NOT THE PROBLEM. I can’t really say with 100% certainty what *is*. With the meme thing, I think it depends what it is. If someone reblogs one of those “send me x and I’ll tell you about y”, I try to send it, but if it’s a starter or something that feels thready, I won’t unless I have an idea to back it with, cos it doesn’t feel any different to writing an actual starter for me. I’d rather do that, but I won’t do it uninvited/randomly because that’s putting pressure on someone who didn’t ask for it. If a lot of people do the same as me and don’t mention it, then that could be a big factor because people can well end up waiting for each other to approach without realising it. It might also be something to do with you having multiple blogs (particularly Reno) and that altering your perception. The reason I say that is because I had the exact same thing myself, I had a male muse in a fandom and everyone loved him - mostly everyone wanted to lowkey do him tbh - and I had a female one who got comparatively zero attention because she wasn’t as accessible to such a wide audience. Ellone in particular is a complex character and it’s a sad fact that people tumblr-wide aren’t always into the idea of paying attention to something before they interact with it. Reno is much more easy to interact with in a casual way, since he’s had more exposure in source material and is widely regarded as being a fun, not-serious character (though I acknowledge he very likely IS, and I know from experience that you will have put a lot of thought into him - I love Reno and anything that gives him some substance). He attracts people from further afield, people who might have only seen Advent Children or only know him through fan works. Ellone doesn’t have a movie or much fanfic, and she’s not really subject of the most popular speculation (lbr - by that I mean “who she’s sleeping with”), so she doesn’t have that far a reach. Your Ellone is so valuable to the whole community, you have a hell of a lot to share in your headcanons and your ideas. I haven’t seen you use Julia too much yet, but I’m sure she’ll be that way too. I think you should pick one of those ideas, pick someone who seems like they could pull it off and tell them about it, because I’m so sure 90% if not 100% of us would thread them with you. That’s all I do tbh!! I’m always prepared for someone to say no, but mostly they’re happy to have been approached with an idea to use as a starting point. PLEASE DON’T DROP THEM. You’re not cluttering up anything. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s sad to see you inactive on her whenever you are, tbh. I don’t think you realise how essential she is. I know it’s a small, slow fandom, but anything you post raises the overall standard for the sheer fact you did it, and it had your characteristic level of consideration put in. Course, I’m probably biased, cos I think I can tell when people work more behind the scenes than out front on their muse and the related background and I appreciate that, always have.

@misplacedxheroics .... I'm hoping this is permitted that I comment, as it was my blog where you read this post. I'm only addressing what I've experienced in the community, not trying to speak for everyone here. In my personal experience with VIII, more often than not, I see a lot of the insular behavior mentioned. Several blogs that start up are made to feel so unwelcomed that they leave or close up shop. Then there are the pass/agg anons, the ones who attack strong female characters (OC or otherwise) and 'correct' headcanons for canon characters. Whoever the person is, I have to believe it's just one single person. But anons have begun to reach out and outright tell people who they can or can't write with, which is baffling. And lastly, I'm guilty of this, and I'll own it -- We also become so comfortable and so familiar with who we write with we don't try out other players. There's also the overlap of muns playing with 'private' blogs. To me, the word 'private' tells me I don't have access to them. So what's the bother in following or engaging if everyone who writes muses that are in the fandom closed off to the rest of us? I can't say how the fandom should be run, I know I'm the least liked person in this fandom but this is my experience. A very polarizing, cold and unwelcoming experience.  We need to communicate more among one another, set clear boundaries and maintain community and unity, imo.

I think private is just a word people slap on a blog to make it look legit these days, or as a get-out clause if they find themselves followed by some kind of My Immortal Eldritch horror. Least, that’s what I’ve seen in my travels. Private blogs seem to favour their existing friends, but be open to others who will bring them ideas. I had one blog I called private and that’s because I kept getting people saying “wanna rp?” and I’d be like “yeah okay” and they’d literally say “alright you come up with an idea then”. ? / / //???? Also... I’m trying to word this in the least mean-sounding way possible because I’m not one to shit on anyone’s parade, but if I’m really honest with you, I had to unfollow you on an older blog because you were posting vagues about people so often. I don’t mind when people vent, but it got to the point where it was almost every day someone was on blast and I felt like I’d walked in on a family argument. You can do what you want with your blog, it’s on me to unfollow if I don’t like it, so I did. But. Any oversensitive person seeing it probably assumed you meant them and that might have something to do with you finding it difficult to connect with people. You follow that up by slating the entire fandom when it’s not exactly a fandom problem, which makes people less likely to approach you as you’ve already indirectly blasted them. I’ve had people tell me more than once that you’ve posted something about me without naming me; notably when you made a point of reblogging that one anti-Xu post from an inactive account after saying you hate people who disagree with you “on purpose”. I had just posted a silly Xu support one liner that got a few reblogs. I don’t really have a fig to give whether it was about me or not, but it’s a good example of how a vaguepost causes negative ripples. If one person assumed that was about me, another ten probably guessed it was someone else. I was welcomed to the fandom with a couple of how-do-you-dos and an anon telling me to stay away from you or you’d bully me into deleting. That was the first of several. Then you got that anon telling you to stop sending me hate when you hadn’t (what basis did that have?), and one of your friends for some reason assumed I was the one who had sent it and demanded that “anon” show IP proof, which gives the impression that they’d been led to believe it was me for some reason. I know you said you didn’t understand the logic behind me saying that, but we’re both running Statcounter, you know as well as I do how it works and what the implications are of saying that. It’s also how I know the anons I’ve had that I’ve mentioned are not all one person. Maybe it really was a totally out-of-nowhere thing that person said, but when you combine it with the vagues and the assertions that there’s a split in the fandom that no one else (so far) has detected, it causes bigger problems than it would on its own. I’m not trying to put you on blast, this ain’t a callout post and I haven’t taken any of it to heart - it’s no big deal to me - I’m just trying to offer an outsiders’ perspective because I read this as you being honestly oblivious to it, and if I didn’t I’d either have to ignore your comment or lie to you, neither of which I think you’d appreciate - and I assume since you made the effort to drop in despite not following me that you would want a response.